Buffy was glad to be back on American soil. She rolled down the window and let the cool air blow through her hair as Spike merged the DeSoto onto the freeway. If she never saw another plane in her life, she’d be very happy. They’d been delayed in Boston for three hours, and hiding from the workers coming in and out of the cargo hold had frazzled her nerves.

She glanced over at Spike, smiling softly at him. He looked so at home behind the wheel of his car. Already he had the Sex Pistols blaring on the radio. He sang along, tapping one hand to the beat on his thigh.

They’d been gone for seventeen grueling days. Buffy wondered how everyone was doing at home. The only phone call they had been able to make was six days into the trip. The place they were staying while Torch got used to the soul didn’t have phones. They’d travelled to the nearest town for supplies and found a phone that worked. All had been well then, so she wasn’t expecting to hear any bad news. It was just the not knowing.

“You don’t think it was too soon for them to have gone off to Scotland, do you?” Spike suddenly said. He turned down the music and waited for her answer.

“I don’t think so. Torch looked good. Seemed to have himself back together.”

Spike nodded and kept his eyes on the road. “He just had such a rough time of it, you know?”

And he had. Torch had stumbled out of the hut that covered the entrance of the cave in quite a state. Even though Spike had tried to prepare them for all that they would experience, seeing the normally tough and nonchalant vampire with burnt flesh, haunted eyes and singed hair was a shock to them all. Getting him to the place they’d rented was a chore as he wouldn’t sit still and kept begging them to stake him. He kept yelling about not deserving to live and tearing at what little clothing still hung to his form.

“All those days we spent taking turns guarding him,” Buffy said. “I was so worried he’d get by one of us and walk out into the sunlight.”

Spike sighed. “I know. The only thing that stopped me from doing that was knowing that I had to get back to Sunnydale and beg your forgiveness for the things I’d done.”

“I can’t believe you did all that alone. And then you came back here and had to deal with finding out I was a vampire. After seeing what Torch went through, I can really appreciate how strong you really are. I mean, you were there for me, when you probably needed someone there for you. You are amazing.”

He took his eyes off the road to gaze at her. “So are you.”

Ignoring his compliment she said, “Torch doesn’t smile much, but the way he looked at Andra before they got on that plane to Scotland--that was the nicest smile I’ve ever seen from him.”

“He won’t regret getting his soul.” Spike took her hand. “I never have. In fact, wish I’d done it about a year earlier.”

She scooted closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. “So what are we going to do about Dawn and Connor?”

He let go of her hand. “I don’t know. I hate that’s he’s staying at the house, and you know I want him gone. But for some reason, no one else seems to see it that way. I promised to shut my gob about it, to keep the peace, but it’s not going to be easy.”

“Thank you.”

“I did tell him that if he hurt her in any way, I’d kill him when I got back.”

Not wanting to start a fight with him again, she left it at that and Spike kept quiet all the way home. Buffy didn’t like disagreeing with him. It wasn’t the first or the last thing they’d ever fight about, but she knew that Dawn hated being part of the reason for their fighting. She didn’t hate it enough to stop crushing on Angel’s son, but Buffy couldn’t blame her. She was young and latching on to any guy that showed her attention.

They pulled up to the curb just before nine. Lights were on everywhere in the house. Not able to wait a second longer, she jumped out of the car and hurried to the door, leaving Spike to get their bag.

The living room was packed with her friends, all watching a horror flick. Xander used the remote to pause the movie and the next thing she knew, everyone was hugging her and exclaiming how much they’d missed her. Spike was able to take a step into the room before Dawn threw herself at him and gave him a big hug. The others greeted him.

“Where’s Angel’s spawn?” Spike finally asked.

Dawn backed away from him, sitting on the arm of the couch. She shrugged. “He went back to L.A. about a week ago.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yep. I think he got bored with no one to piss off after you left,” Dawn said without much emotion.

“I’m sorry he left,” Buffy told her softly.

“No big deal.” Dawn dropped into the open spot on the couch next to the arm. “Wanna watch this movie with us?”

Buffy glanced at Spike, who jerked his head in the direction of the basement. “We’re both pretty wiped out. Think we’ll just go get some rest.”

“Wait!” Xander said, stepping forward. He glanced back at the others, who encouraged him to go on. “We’re all dying to know where you went with the other vampires and why.”

Buffy smiled at that. It would have been impossible to tell any of them earlier without it getting back to the Council. But now that Andra and Torch were safely in Scotland, she figured it couldn’t hurt to tell them where they had been.

“We took Torch to Africa,” Spike said before she could say it.

Giles was now curious. “What for?”

“That’s where Spike went when he got his soul,” Buffy said softly, gazing at him. After all this time, she was still amazed that he’d done that for her.

Dawn looked just as shocked as the others did. “So, there’s like five of you now?”

“Yes. Five vampires with souls,” Buffy stated the obvious. She liked the sound of it.

“You guys are like the Justice League or something,” Xander blurted out. “Fighting their own kind to keep the humans safe.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “We’re not comic book heroes.”

“Yeah, but you gotta admit, it would make for a good story,” Faith said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “The League of Souls. They’re on your side.”

With a laugh, Dawn added, “Yeah, they could make movies about you and you could have your own theme song and—”

“Stop already,” Spike said, putting his hand up. He made a face. “League of Souls. That’s just stupid. I think I’ll go downstairs and unpack. You coming?”

Buffy couldn’t help but smile with the others over Spike’s complaints. “You go on down. I’ll be there in a minute.”

By the time she got downstairs and had their door locked behind them, Spike had all the dirty clothes in the hamper and was folding the duffle bag to put it away. She stopped to take in their small, dark, yet cozy living space.

“Did Giles want all the details?” Spike asked, as he sat down on the couch and took his boots off.”

“He did, but I put him off.” She paused to sit down with him, their knees touching. “I asked Dawn what happened with Connor.”

“He didn’t hurt her feelings, did he?” Spike tensed up, ready to go kill the boy if her answer was yes.

“No. I asked Dawn how she felt about Connor leaving and she didn’t seem bothered by it. Said that she was getting tired of him always complaining about how dumb Angel was and how hard his life was.”

Spike shook his slowly. “Like father, like son.” He raised a brow at her, tilting his head. “So, I’m guessing you're dying to say it. Might as well get it over with.”

Buffy smirked at him, cleared her throat and said, “I told you so.”

With a big smile on his face, he said, “I’m glad you were right.”

“Ooh! Say that again.”

“What?”

“That part where I was right.”

“You little minx! Come here.” He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap. “You were right, okay?”

She kissed his nose, happy that the whole Connor thing was over. “It turns me on to hear you say that.”

“You were right,” he said in a deep voice and he kissed her collarbone. “I was wrong.” He planted little kisses up her neck and she held on to his shoulders and tilted her head back. “Right, right, right.”

Buffy relaxed and let herself enjoy Spike’s attentions, thinking that, yes, everything was right in the world.

- The End -