Title: My Boyfriend's Back...Part 5 Author: Pattyanne Disclaimer: Still don't own 'em (Believe me, I checked) Takes place after graduation. Angel is gone (Yay!) and Buffy is in her second year of college. Part Five.... "Are you all right, baby face?" "Mm-hmm." "I didn't hurt you, did I?" "No." "Yes, I did." Buffy opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Just a little at first...cause it's been so long." Spike sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart." She snuggled closer. "S'all right," she assured him, smiling sweetly. "I'm fine." He threaded his fingers into her hair. "Some- times I forget what a little thing you are." Buffy's smile turned sassy. "Not to mention what a 'big' thing YOU are." "That's my clever girl." He laughed and gave her a squeeze. "God, I missed you." She was silent for a long moment, then said, "Does that mean you're going to stay with me?" "Sweetheart," He hesitated a moment. "I want to..." Buffy immediately shook her head and moved away from him, not wanting to hear what she feared was about to come out of his mouth. "Never mind," she said quickly, swinging her legs out of bed. Spike grabbed her hand. "Where are you going?" "I have to put the phone back on the hook," she explained, locating her robe and slip- ping it on. "In case my mother calls." "Where is she?" "She's visiting some friends in New York." Without another word, she turned and left the room. Spike settled back against the pillows and waited, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. After several minutes went by without her returning, he climbed out of bed and pulled on his trousers, leaving them unfastened. He found her in the kitchen, staring out the window, holding a glass of milk in her hand. She turned when he came in. "Want some?" she offered, holding out the glass. "No, thanks," he answered, crossing the room at a leisurely pace. "You drink it all up, baby. I want my girl healthy and happy." Buffy shrugged. "Uh-huh," she muttered under her breath. Ignoring her belligerant tone, Spike leaned back against the counter, then kissed her cheek. "The milk will help keep you healthy, and I'll keep you happy," he said, flashing a grin that could only be described as lech- erous. She drained the glass, then stared at him in utter silence. Spike trailed one finger across her upper lip, cleaning off the milk that was clinging to it. "You'll keep me happy?" she asked, reaching for a napkin and wiping her face. "Well, for as long as you're HERE anyway." "Buffy..." "Hey, it's all right," she interrupted. "I under- stand. You gotta be free. A vampire can't tie himself down, especially with a slayer. I mean...how would it look?" Spike frowned "How would it LOOK?" Buffy rinsed the glass and left it on the counter, then turned to meet his eyes. "Listen, you don't need to worry about me," she informed him. "I'll see you whenever you decide to breeze through town and in the meantime...well, I'm sure Parker will call again." It was of the worst things she could have said, but it was out of her mouth now, and she couldn't call it back Spike's eyes darkened ominously. "You know if I thought for one second that you really meant that...I'd kill him." He smiled dangerously. "Surely you don't want to be responsible for the boy's death?" Buffy held his gaze boldly for a moment, then glanced away. "No. No, I don't." "That's my good little girl," he said, pinch- her cheek. "Now, tell me...do you like diamonds?" His question was so out of the blue that Buffy wasn't sure she had heard him properly. "Excuse me?" "Diamonds," he said again. "Do you like them?" "Well...I guess I...I mean...everybody likes...huh?" Spike pulled a small black velvet bag from his front pocket, opened it, and extracted a ring...a thin gold band with channel set diamonds all the way around. "I wasn't sure if you did," he mused, taking her left hand and sliding the ring onto her third finger. Buffy stared at it. "What's THAT?" "It's called a ring, darling. Now, some girls," he said, reaching back into the bag, "prefer sapphires." He placed another ring on her finger, this one banded with deep blue gems. "And some girls prefer rubies." He added another ring. "While some fancy emeralds." After placing the last ring on her finger, he kissed her hand. "I wasn't sure what you'd like best, so I bought all of them." Buffy kept her eyes on the stack of rings nestled on her finger. The stones glittered in the overhead light, making rainbow prisms dance. Spike grinned. "Now, aren't you sorry you said all those mean things?" She finally found her voice, and looked up at him. "But...why?" "I told you, babyface...you belong to me and I want every man you meet to know that you're taken." "Oh." she replied lamely. "What's wrong? Don't you like them?" "Uh...yes! " she nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course I like them...they're beautiful, but...what do they mean?" "What does it usually mean when a man puts a ring on a woman's finger?" Buffy wasn't convinced. "I know what it USUALLY means. I just don't know what YOU mean." Spike wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "All right, I'll try and keep this simple. I'M back...and YOU are going to marry me." He shrugged. "That's about it." Just when she'd thought she couldn't be more surprised. "You're asking me if I'll MARRY you?!!" "No, I'm TELLING you that you'll marry me." Buffy looked at the rings, then at him. "Have you been drinking?" she asked suspiciously. "Not a drop," he assured her. "I'm com- pletely sober and sound of mind." He grinned impishly. "Well...as sound as I ever am." "Yeah, I'm sure." Spike overlooked her doubtful tone. "You choose a date...make it soon...and I'll make all the arrangements," he said. "I know that it won't be strictly legal in your world, but it WILL be binding...and perma- nent." He turned her in his arms, and cupped her chin in one hand, lifting her face so she could see he was serious. "This is it for you, babyface. From now on, it's you and me...and God help ANYONE who tries to come between us." As his words began to sink in, Buffy began to smile. He wanted to marry her. To commit himself in a way he'd not done with anyone else. Even Drusilla, his lover for more than a century, hadn't gone through any form of marriage with him. Buffy despised Drusilla. Even leaving out the fact that she was a slayer and Drusilla was a vampire, she harbored an intense personal dislike for Spike's ex as well, though it had taken her some time to pinpoint the problem. At one time, she'd believed that the reason lay in the fac that Angel returned to Drusilla after he'd lost his soul. But when she forced herself to be brutally honest, she couldn't really claim simple jealously since her antipathy for the female vampire had started long before the return of Angelus. It wasn't until Angel had left town, and Spike showed up without his 'Queen of the Damned crazies' trailing along behind him, that Buffy begun to get a clear fix on why she hated Drusilla so venomously. Her feelings had nothing to do with Angel...and everything to do with Spike. The day he'd arrived back in Sunnydale he had gone looking for her, explaining what had occured between him and Dru in South America. He'd then begun an aggressive campaign of pursuit, not caring that she was a slayer, his mortal enemy. In a surprisngly short period of time, Spike had dismantled every one of her defences. Brick by brick, he pulled down the wall be- tween them, forcing her to admit to the physical attraction that had started on the night they'd clapped eyes on each other for the first time. From there it had been one short step into his bed. At that point, after becoming his lover, Buffy's dislike of Drusilla had blossomed into full blown jealous hatred. She'd made herself a promise that if Dru was ever crazy enough to return to Sunny- dale...which was a pretty safe bet...she'd be dust before the sun went down. An uneasy mixture of envy and uncertainty dogged the early days of her relationship with Spike. Envy of Drusilla's natural seductiveness, something she could turn on and off like a faucet, of her experience, and of the kind of talent in bed that had kept Spike's interest for so long. That...coupled with her lack of confidence in her own practically virginal charms...had worried her for a short time. It had pleased her to no end, and improved her outlook immensely, when she discovered that Spike hated Angel just as bitterly as Buffy hated Drusilla. He hadn't been shy about telling her that his animosity hadn't been rooted in the complex dynamic that the three vampires had shared, but in the simple fact that he despised the idea of Angel even TOUCHING Buffy...let alone taking her virginity. She knew that Spike would be perfectly willing and pleased to put an end to Angel in the most painful way he could devise, vampire code of ethics be damned. He'd warned her repeatedly to make sure that Angel stayed as far away from Sunny- dale...and from Buffy...as he could go. Determined to expunge any trace of her first lover from her mind and heart, Spike had gone so far as to take the silver clad- dagh ring that Angel had given her. Driving her to the beach, he'd made her watch as he flung the ring into the sea. In her head, Buffy had known that his possesiveness should have alarmed her, but it hadn't. She'd never experienced such heated behavior from a male before, and it had excited...and aroused her. Angel had loved her...and made love to her...gently. His love was tender, calm and protected. Spike's love, although just as protective, was reckless and wild, and something primitively female in her responded to it with a wildness of her own. He had never hurt her, but he was a strong and demanding lover who thought nothing of approaching her any time of the day or night, picking her up in his arms, and carrying her off to bed. Knowing that she provoked such powerful feelings in him made her blood run hot. Stand- ing beneath the black velvet sky that night, watching the muscle of his bicep work as he clenched his fist around Angel's ring, had called forth her need for what he could do to her. They'd ended the evening by making urgent love at the end of the pier. Time had done nothing to dull their jealousy for each other. If anything, it got sharper. Fearing their reactions, Buffy had asked her lover to keep their relationship private, a secret from her friends. Spike had shrugged his shoulders and gone along with it, not caring whether they knew or not. His laissez-faire had continued until Buffy's friends began trying to fix her up with other men in a search for boyfriend material. THAT had put the brakes on his indifference, bringing it to a screeching halt. He had then forced her to inform everyone of her non-available status, telling her that if SHE didn't, then HE most definitely would, and he wouldn't be particularly delicate about it, either. Although they'd been horrified at first, they had respected her decision as she'd explained that in matters of the heart, she had to follow her own happiness. Seeing that nothing they could say would change her mind, they had accepted the situation as well as they could, and had been kind enough not to say "I told you so" when the predicted blow up occured. "What are you thinking about, baby?" Spike's voice brought Buffy back from her reflective state. She smiled slowly. "Is this real?" He smiled back. "This is as real as it gets, sweetness," he said, bending to kiss her. Buffy needed more, and she ducked away. "You'll stay with me?" she asked. "Even though I'm the slayer? No matter what your vampire pals think?" "Since when do I care about someone else's opinions?" She gave him a look. "You cared about it a year ago." Spike had the grace to look slightly guilty. "That's one for you, luv," he said, acknowled- ging the truth of her words. Putting an end to the conversation, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. "Right, then," He gave her a light swat on the rear. "I suppose you want a big wedding, don't you? All the trimmings?" Laughing, Buffy placed her hands on his back and lifted herself up a bit. "Those are really expensive." "Not to worry," he said, carrying her out of the kitchen. "Money's not a problem." "How come?" "I'll explain it to you later," he promised, climbing the stairs. "Right now...I've got something else in mind." "Big surprise." Spike tossed her on the bed, discarding his pants. "Brace yourself," he warned her. "This is gonna be a rough ride." She grinned as he crawled up her body. "I'm the slayer...and I can take the rough- est ride you've got," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. He paused. "In case I haven't said it yet.. I love you." "Don't just tell me...show me!" ***** ***** ***** ***** The next morning... Willow unlocked the door to the Magic Box, wishing once again that Giles would have enough of the warm weather in Mexico and come home to mind his own store. Anya hated getting up early, and refused to show up until 9:00 on the dot. Sipping a cup of coffee she'd picked up at Starbucks, she noticed the red light of the answering machine flickering, and thumbed the 'play' button. "Hi, Wil...it's me...I 'm just calling to let you know that everything's fine. Ac- tually it's more than fine. You ready? I'M ENGAGED!! He came back to marry me! Wait until you see my ring! I mean my rings! Call me later, okay, but...don't scold me cause I'm so happy and I want everyone else to be happy, too. Um...gotta go now, so we'll talk later." Willow listened, smiling at Buffy's effer- vescent babbling, then reached for the phone. "Anya, it's Willow...I know you're not coming until 9:00...Is Xander around anywhere?...Good morning...are you sitting down?...Yeah, you probably should...Try to contain your enthusiasm but Spike is back...Last night...He came to the shop and then went to find Buffy...It doesn't matter anymore..Be- cause things have changed...They're getting married and...What was that noise?...Xander...Are you still...Yeah, I'M here...What happened to...Of, for crying out loud...Well, dump some cold water on him and wake him up..I'm coming over and I'll explain it when I get there...." The End