Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Joss Whedon. Thanks for sharing.
 
Thank you to all my amazing reviewers!
 
*********
 
They were all dozing on the chairs in the waiting room when the nurse came back at midnight. Poor boy looks dead, the nurse thought sympathetically as she eyed Spike leaning against the wall with Dawn resting against his shoulder. He really should have seen a doctor. She put her hand on his knee and shook it. “Sir?”
 
Spike woke up and shook himself. “Yes?” he asked blearily. The others stirred and opened their eyes around him.
 
“Miss Summers is awake. Are you Spike?” the nurse asked, her eyebrow drifting upward again at the odd nickname.
 
“Yeah, that’s me.”
 
“She’s asking for you.” The nurse led the way down the hall. Spike followed her, as the others looked at each other in bewilderment.
 
“Should we go too?” asked Willow.
 
“Of course! We’re her friends,” answered Xander. They all trooped down the hall after the nurse and Spike.
 
When they got to the room, the nurse was coming out. “She asked me to tell you to wait a moment. She wanted to talk to the young man alone.” The group looked at each other, wondering why Buffy would want to see Spike, but not them.
 
Spike closed the door softly and moved to the bedside. “Buffy? ‘M here, love.”
 
Buffy opened her eyes, and Spike thought it was the most beautiful sight in the world. “I wanted to see that you were ok,” she said by way of explanation.
 
“I’m not the one who’s in hospital, pet,” he replied, sitting down. He held her hand with one of his hands and stroked her hair gently with the other. “How are you feeling?”
 
“Ok, I guess. Only…” She stopped, and bit her lip. “This is going to sound like the most idiotic thing to be upset about…”
 
Spike cocked his head to one side. “It’s me, remember? What’s troubling you?”
 
Buffy turned her head and looked away for a minute, gathering her thoughts. Then she spoke quietly. “The doctor said… he said that I’ll probably never be able to have children after this.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke. “I know, it’s stupid. Like slayers ever live long enough to have children anyhow. I can’t even take care of Dawn! But still I…” She didn’t know how to express it.
 
“Would have been nice to have the option,” Spike finished. Buffy nodded, grateful for his understanding. “I kind of understand where you’re coming from. When I was alive, my ambition was to find myself a suitable wife and give my mother some grandchildren to dote on. That all sort of fell by the wayside after I was turned. I’m so sorry, love.” He squeezed her hand gently and wiped away an errant tear from her face.
 
“Don’t… don’t tell the others, ok?” she pleaded. “I don’t want to have to deal with them and… all that. Not right now.”
 
“I won’t, love,” he promised. Inwardly, he wished that Buffy would just get over her need to protect her friends from anything upsetting. Although he truly valued being her confidant, he felt like someday it was all going to come crashing down in an ugly way. Still, he knew he would never break her confidence. “Should we let the others in now?”
 
Buffy wiped her eyes on the back of her hands and sat up a bit. “I guess we should.” Spike turned to open the door. “Spike?” she called. He paused, turning to fix her with his adoring blue eyes. “Thank you. For everything.” she finished.
 
“Anytime, love,” Spike responded. God, I love this girl. He shook himself a bit, and opened the door. “Come on in, Slayer’s waiting,” he said to the assembled Scoobies.
 
They practically knocked Spike down in their eagerness to see Buffy. Dawn ran over and hugged her sister, tears of relief running down her face. Buffy for her part held her sister as tightly as she could.
 
“Buffy, how are you?” asked Giles when Dawn finally let go of her.
 
“I’m ok, Giles,” Buffy said in a tired voice. “I’m pretty sore.”
 
“Aw, you know you’ll be back in gear in no time,” Xander piped up.
 
Buffy froze for a moment. Something about his usual cheery banter just struck her like a blade. “What if I’m not?” she whispered.
 
The smile faded from Xander’s face to be replaced by a puzzled expression. “What do you mean?”
 
Buffy fixed her friends with a haunted look. “I don’t know… if I can cope with this. You have… no idea how bad it was.” She twisted her hands nervously.
 
“Buffy, we’re here for you,” said Willow with a concerned voice. “I could look for a spell that would…”
 
“NO!” cried Buffy. “No spells. I just… I just…” Panicking, she looked to Spike, standing behind the others. He pushed his way past the others to her side. He sat down next to her on the bed and cradled her to his chest as she clung to him and shuddered.
 
“Just give her some time, for God’s sake,” he snapped at them. Jesus, just like when they brought her back from the grave. In her face and yammering a mile a minute. Have they no sense whatsoever? “She’s been through hell. You can’t expect her to bounce back like a rubber ball.”
 
Buffy continued to cling to Spike’s cool chest. It seemed the only comforting thing in the world right now. The Scoobies didn’t know what to think. Giles found his voice first. “We didn’t mean to overwhelm you. We’re just… glad you’re back.”
 
Buffy turned toward the others, still in the protective circle of Spike’s arms. “Please. Don’t take this wrong. But I just can’t deal right now. Can you please just go?” Her voice was uncharacteristically small.
 
“But… but Buffy we just want to…” Willow began.
 
She was cut short by Spike’s cold, hard voice. “You. Need. To. Leave.” His eyes flashed yellow briefly. The others were so stunned at the turn of events that they turned and slowly filed out. Dawn lingered behind. “Buffy?” she asked in a nervous voice. “Do you want me to go too?”
 
“Just for a little while, ok Dawnie?” Buffy responded. Dawn came over and hugged Buffy again. “I love you, Dawn. Remember that, ok?” Dawn sniffled and nodded. Then she left to join the others.
 
“Want me to leave too, love?” Spike asked quietly.
 
“No, stay. Please. Just stay here next to me.” She shifted over on the bed enough for him to stretch out next to her. Wondering at his good fortune, he stretched out next to her, letting her curl up with her head on his chest and his strong arms around her. “I’ve got you, Slayer. You’re safe here,” he crooned. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Spike had had an extremely long day. He planted a loving kiss on her hair, and fell asleep as well.
 
**********
 
“What the hell was that all about?” Xander snapped when they got out in the hall. “We get her out of hell again and she doesn’t even want to talk to us!”
 
“Could it be some sort of side effect from the spell?” asked Willow. Although she wasn’t as vocal about it as Xander, she too was hurt. Once again, not even a simple thank you? What did she want from them?
 
“Are you both blind?” cried Tara. They spun around to face her. “Are you that self absorbed?”
 
“Huh?” said Xander.
 
Tara was uncharacteristically angry. “Xander, did you not hear a word Spike said earlier? She’s been tortured for months! She gave birth to a demon less than 24 hours ago! And you two are going to get bent out of shape because she isn’t jumping up and down to see you?” Tara was completely flabbergasted at Willow and Xander’s pigheadedness.
 
“She seems fine with him though!” Xander continued, as though he hadn’t heard a word. “She escapes a world of demons and who does she turn to? Another demon? What the hell?”
 
“What the hell is wrong with you, Xander?” said Anya. She had kept her own counsel so far in this mess, but now too she had had enough. “She didn’t say she was never speaking to you again. She just needs to recover. “
 
“Just stop it! All of you!” screamed Dawn. They all stopped to look at the teen, who was nearly in tears. “This isn’t helping!” Dawn had started to become fully aware of how badly her sister had been hurt. It was insane that they were fighting over who had the right to comfort her.
 
Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “It’s been a very long day. Let’s just go home and get some sleep. We’re all on edge and Dawn is right – this is not helping.”
 
Xander shook his head in confusion. “Come on, Anya. Let’s go.” He turned and stalked off, with Anya following. Tara tugged Willow’s arm. Willow looked at Giles and Dawn, searching for some sort of answers. “Just take me home,” said Dawn quietly. Giles took one last look at Buffy’s door and then shepherded Dawn out.
 
********
 
The nurse who came in at about three in the morning to check on Buffy was surprised to find her with a companion. Spike opened his eyes when he heard her. “What are you doing here?” the nurse began. But Spike shook his head. “Shh. She’s asleep, yeah? Just let her rest,” he whispered.
 
The nurse was touched by the obvious tenderness in this man’s eyes as he looked at Buffy. She nodded and said, “You call if she needs something, ok?” Spike nodded, and the nurse left quietly. Spike looked back down at the sleeping woman in his arms. So beautiful. My God, I want nothing more than this. To hold her and watch her sleep. To have her trust me. This is heaven. Still a voice in the back of his head worried at him. When she recovered, would he be out on his ear again? The outcast? The hired muscle and the target for all the Scoobies’ scorn? After all he had gone through with her, he wasn’t sure he could bear it. She had trusted him, and needed him. To go back to being merely tolerated… He sighed quietly. Best enjoy it while it lasts.

************

 
Buffy woke up at one point to find that Spike was no longer on the bed. He was quietly making his way to the door. “Where are you going?” she asked, her voice fuzzy with sleep.
 
“Really need some clean clothes and some blood, pet,” he explained. Buffy noticed for the first time that he was still in his bloodstained jeans and an unfamiliar gray t-shirt. He returned to her side and kissed her forehead gently. “I promise I’ll be back later. You’ll be ok.”
 
“Hurry back,” she said softly. He smiled, then slipped out into the hallway. Buffy lay back on the bed, thinking. It had felt so right to be in his arms. She was still sore from the surgery, her leg was still mangled, and she nearly cried at the way her hand looked. But when he was holding her she felt safe. Protected. Warm, despite his low body temperature. He guarded her, but didn’t smother her. He had faith in her abilities to survive, but gave her support when she needed it. But he’s a vampire! She just couldn’t get her brain around that. He was a vampire with no soul. But somehow, he managed to control his demon and do the right thing for her sake. How can I get involved with a vampire again? she worried. But then another thought came into her head. How can I get through this without him? Which would be worse – dealing with the Scoobies’ disapproval or facing all this alone? She mulled these questions over and over in her mind for a long time.
 
*********
 
A couple hours later, Buffy was sitting up and enjoying breakfast. Food. Where have you been all my life? She wolfed down everything they brought her, and practically nibbled the design off the plates as well. Even the somewhat bland hospital food was like ambrosia after months of demon slop and roasted toad. As she was finishing up, her door opened and Giles entered.
 
“Good morning,” he said, glad to see her sitting up and eating. “Can I come in?” Buffy nodded with her mouth full of toast. Giles sat down in the chair at her bedside. “Did Spike leave?”
 
“He needed some clean clothes and something to eat,” Buffy answered. “He’ll be back later.”
 
Giles took a deep breath. “You seem to have become rather… close to Spike of late,” he observed.
 
Buffy frowned a bit. She wasn’t sure she liked the tone of his voice. “Spike took care of me, Giles. He kept me alive. He helped me deliver that… creature I had inside me. I owe him my life.”
 
“Yes, but are you sure he doesn’t have any ulterior motives? He is still a vampire, with no soul. I just don’t want…” Giles hesitated.
 
“What?” Buffy prompted. “What are you worried about?”
 
“I just want to know whether you are contemplating another relationship with a vampire. Under these circumstances, I fear your judgment may be clouded by your traumatic experience and that you may be blinded to Spike’s faults.”
 
“Giles, even before he came to rescue me, he was helping me,” Buffy explained. “He listened to me, helped me patrol. Before that he took care of Dawn, helped you guys all summer. Why are you all of a sudden deciding he is untrustworthy?”
 
“Buffy, I’m just concerned, that’s all,” Giles began. He was interrupted by the arrival of the other Scoobies. “Can we come in?” Dawn asked. Buffy sighed inwardly, but nodded.
 
Dawn came over and gave Buffy a hug. Willow looked around and asked, “Where’s Spike?”
 
“Probably took off to go to Willie’s,” muttered Xander.
 
Buffy pushed her breakfast tray to the side and sat up as straight as possible. Angrily she said, “Xander, do you think you could go for maybe one whole minute without ragging on Spike? Is it possible? Or is your diarrhea of the mouth a permanent condition?”
 
“You know, I don’t get it, Buffy,” barked Xander. “We bring you back from hell, and you barely speak to us. Spike does the same thing, which wouldn’t have happened without Willow’s spell by the way, and you’re his number one fan!”
 
Buffy closed her eyes for a minute. This had to stop. Looking down at her lap, she said in a low, tired voice, “I wasn’t in hell the first time.”
 
“What do you mean?” asked Giles, suddenly concerned.
 
Buffy looked around at all of them. “I was in heaven. I was in a warm place where I was loved. I was finished, at peace. And you guys dragged me out of there. Dragged me back here to fight and suffer. None of this would have happened if you had just left me alone. I’ve been going through hell every day since I got back. And all of you have been too busy patting each other on the back and saying ‘Good job’ to even notice how hard it has been for me.”
 
The Scoobies all found their jaws dropping at her revelation. Suddenly all her sadness, her disconnected behavior, and her depression made sense. “We didn’t know…” Willow started. The horror of what they had done crashed in on her. Heaven? I didn’t even consider that possibility. Xander shook his head in disbelief. Tara saw the pain in Buffy’s eyes and felt a crushing remorse for her own part in what had been done before.
 
“Buffy, why didn’t you tell anyone?” Giles asked. His own guilt weighed heavily on him. How could I have been so blind? Of course she’s been having trouble! I’m going on at her about being an adult when she can’t handle being alive.
 
“I told Spike,” she answered softly. “Spike listens. He doesn’t pity me, or try to fix me, or tell me to snap out of it. He just… listens. He takes me exactly as I am, not as he needs me to be.” She spoke up again in a stronger, more determined voice. “You are all going to have to get your brains around one thing. Spike is my friend. I need him around. I feel better when he’s around. I’m never going to heal from all this without his help. So you all have two choices. You can either deal with Spike being here and leave him be, or you can get the hell out of my life. I’m through with hiding what I need and what I am feeling to protect and please all of you. So make your choice.”
 
Willow’s eyes were wide as she stared at her friend. At that point, she noticed, for the first time, the faint marks on Buffy’s neck. They were fading, but clearly they were the mark of a vampire, and they were relatively new, not the old, nearly faded scars from Angel. “Did he bite you?” she cried. Buffy sighed, confirming Willow’s suspicions. “He bit you! How can you be sitting there defending him when he bit you?”
 
“What?” roared Xander. “Didn’t his chip fire? I’ll stake that son of a bitch right now…”
 
“Shut up!” screamed Buffy. She was nearly shaking with fury and stress. “He was injured, ok? He took on one of those demons after having not eaten in a week. There was nothing there for him to eat. He was afraid that he couldn’t defend me if he didn’t heal. So yeah, he took a few sips. Didn’t hurt me. Didn’t nearly drain me like Angel did. Barely took enough to heal. Even after I offered him some more freely he barely took any. I don’t know why his chip didn’t fire there. But I was completely out of it. Even when I came to I couldn’t walk or fight. He could have drained me any time he wanted. He could have turned me or done anything he damn well pleased. But he didn’t, even when he was desperate.”
 
Giles couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A starving, injured vampire with that degree of control? It was unheard of. He had never seen anything like that in any of the Watcher’s diaries. Slowly, he started to come to the conclusion that Buffy was right – something was different about Spike. But would it last? Would she end up having to destroy someone she cared about again? Would the others be in danger? He just didn’t know. After a bit of a pause he said, “Buffy, do you trust him?”
 
Buffy looked straight into Giles’ eyes. “I trust him with my life.”
 
Giles polished his glasses thoughtfully. “Buffy, you know my reservations about vampires. But if you feel that having Spike around will help you recover from all this, then I will trust your judgment,” he said finally.
 
“Giles!’ said Xander. “He’s a killer! He’s evil! How can you…”
 
“Xander, get out,” Buffy said with steel in her voice. “Get out of my room, out of my sight. Stay the hell away from me and Spike until you can get your brain around the idea that you do not run my life. I am the Slayer. I think I can handle one vampire. I need him around. Until you can accept that, just get out.” Xander sputtered, looking hurt and crushed. But in the end, he looked away from her cold, hard stare and turned to go. Anya followed, rolling her eyes at Xander’s stubborn prejudice.
 
Buffy turned to Willow. “I know you didn’t know I was in heaven. But coming back here was… a nightmare. I appreciate what you did to get me out of the demons’ dimension. From now on, though, I need to do things my way. If you want to stay in my house, and in my life, you had better accept that my way is not necessarily going to be your way. Spike is going to be in my life, period, full stop. If you don’t like that, then pack up and leave.”
 
Willow started to protest, but Tara laid a hand on her arm and shook her head. Willow bit her lip then said, “I… I don’t know what to do. I feel like this is all my fault…”
 
“Look,” said Buffy. “What’s done is done. What I need from you now is your support, and not your interference, and really, really not your magic. I may not be my old self ever again. I’m not going to act and respond the way I did before – that Buffy is dead. You need to accept that. “
 
Willow hesitated, then nodded, sniffling a bit. Tara took her hand and said, “Let’s leave her alone for a while, ok?” Buffy looked at Tara with gratitude as she led Willow out.
 
Dawn and Giles were left in the room with Buffy. Buffy turned to her sister. “Come here,” she said. Dawn came over and hugged Buffy. Buffy kissed her cheek and said, “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable in your own home. Do you mind if Spike is there sometimes?”
 
Dawn nearly laughed in relief. “Duh! He’s like one of my best friends! He treats me like a grownup, helps me with my homework, of course he can come over!”
 
Giles watched as the sisters embraced again, with Buffy showing one of the first real smiles he had seen from her since her return from the grave. He was never going to be happy with his slayer associating with William the Bloody. But he sensibly realized he needed to keep his mouth shut. She truly had been through hell. If the vampire could help her heal, then he needed to stay out of the way.
 
The four Scoobies rode down to the parking garage in the elevator. Xander was still grumbling under his breath. Willow frowned and bit her lip, trying to decide what had happened. They parted ways in the garage, each couple moving off to their respective cars. Xander was still furious as he stalked through the garage. “There’s got to be something wrong with her. Maybe he’s got some sort of thrall on her or something.”
 
“Xander, I really don’t see what the problem is,” Anya began. Then they rounded a corner and practically ran into Spike coming toward them, having just exited one of Sunnydale’s many tunnels. He had showered and put on a fresh t-shirt and jeans, with a red shirt over the ensemble. He stopped and glared at Xander, sensing trouble.
 
“You,” growled Xander. “What did you do to her? She’s throwing her friends out of her life because of you.”
 
Spike had had it. The area was otherwise empty, so there was no one to notice when he slammed Xander up against the wall. The chip fired in a blinding flare of pain, but he didn’t care. Guess it still works on this asshole. Pity. Then, holding the squirming Xander against the wall, Spike got within inches of his face and spoke in a low, menacing tone. “Do you love Anya?”
 
Xander spluttered, “Of course I do. What does that have to do with you and Buffy?”
 
Spike continued in that same tone, “I want to imagine that you came home from work to find Anya naked, beaten, and raped on your kitchen floor. I want you to imagine what that would feel like – to see someone you love in that state.” Spike’s voice cracked with emotion. “Then I want you to imagine that there is nothing you can do to get back at the bastard who did it to her. That’s what I went through for the past two weeks. Only what they did to the woman I love was 10 times worse.” The chip kept sending out shocks, but he just winced, ground his teeth and held Xander in place.
 
“You don’t love her,” Xander spat out. “You’ve got some sick obsession with her, but it’s not love. Demons can’t love.”
 
“What do you know, Xander?” said Anya. Both men turned to look at her. “Hello? Demon for a thousand years here! Of course demons can love. I didn’t suddenly start to love only because I became human.” Clearly I need to work on this man’s ignorance of the demon world, she thought.
 
“If Anya was lying there in that hospital bed, and everyone was saying that she should stay away from you, how do you think she’d feel?” Spike continued, determined to get through to this thick skulled idiot. “All I want is for Buffy to get better. That’s it. I intend to protect and support her every second, for as long as she needs me.” Spike’s nose started bleeding from the chip firing constantly, but he held on.
 
Xander stared at Spike for another minute. “All right,” he finally said, holding up his hands. Spike let go and stepped back, putting his hand to his temple in pain. “If the slayer wants you around, I’m not going to argue with her. But I don’t trust you. I will never trust you. And the second Buffy wises up and wants you gone I will personally stake you myself.” He shoved past Spike and stomped down to the car. Anya rolled her eyes again, shot an apologetic glance at Spike, and followed.
 
Spike dug a bandana out of his pocket to wipe his bleeding nose. Fuck, that hurt. Maybe I finally got through to the wanker. Not going to hold my breath though. He took the elevator and walked down the hall to Buffy’s room, dabbing at his nose and rubbing his temple.
 
He arrived in time to see the doctor leave. Is she ok? He sped up and almost leaped into the room. To his relief he saw her there, clearly tired but ok, and conversing with Giles and Dawn. She smiled when he came in. He lingered by the doorway for a moment. “Um, Dawn, could you…” He raised his eyebrows to indicate the open shade. Dawn scurried across to draw the curtain so that Spike could approach the bed. “Thanks, Nibblet,” he murmured gratefully. “Everything ok?”
 
“Yeah. The doctor was saying that they want to do surgery on my leg and my hand tomorrow or the day after.” Buffy still sounded so tired to Spike’s ears. Spike crossed to her and took her hand. Giles stood up at that point. “I think you two might need some time alone. Dawn, would you like to go get something from the cafeteria?” he asked. Dawn really wanted to stay, but when she saw Buffy and Spike staring deeply into each other’s eyes, she understood Giles’ point and followed him out.
 
“Did you know your nose is bleeding?” Buffy asked. “What happened?”
 
“Ran into Xander in the parking garage and had a few words.”
 
“Did he hit you? I’ll break his arm,” Buffy growled.
 
“No, love, he didn’t hit me,” Spike replied. “I shoved him against the wall for being an ass. Made my chip fire. Guess it still works on this side of the barrier. I didn’t hurt him,” Spike finished quickly. Last thing he needed was for her to start thinking he was somehow a danger to her mates.
 
“I’m so irritated with him that I would suggest eating him, if he wasn’t so disagreeable,” Buffy said. Spike’s eyes widened. Did I just imagine it, or did she defend me over her friends?
 
“I kicked them all out earlier,” said Buffy. She looked down for a minute. “I told them about heaven.”
 
Spike’s jaw dropped. He never thought she would ever actually tell them about that. “How did they take it?” he asked finally.
 
“Badly,” Buffy admitted. “But not as badly as when I told them they needed to deal with you being in my life.” She looked him straight in the eyes to see his reaction.
 
Time stopped. Spike couldn’t believe what he had just heard. She couldn’t mean… I heard her wrong. Finally he got enough control of his mouth to ask, “What… what was that, love?”
 
Buffy took both his hands in hers. “Spike, I need you as my friend. I think there’s a good chance we could be more than friends. I told my friends that I needed you around, and they could either treat you decent or get out of my life.”
 
Spike lost control of his jaw again. The Slayer had just said she wanted him around. “What brought this on, pet?” he said finally. “I know you’re grateful for the rescue, but… “
 
“No,” Buffy interrupted. “It’s not just because I’m grateful. It’s more than that.” She ran one hand down the side of his face tenderly.
 
He reached out in turn to stroke her hair. “What is it then?” He was afraid to hope.
 
“When I got pulled out of heaven, all I could think about was how awful it was here. Then I got a glimpse of what true hell was like. I almost got lost there. When you brought me out of there, it made me realize that I could live in the world again. But not like before. I’m not the same person. I can’t let my watcher and my friends dictate my life. I do need to take control of where I’m going. But I don’t have to do it unsupported. You’ve shown me that.” She reached for his hand with hers, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles.
 
“You’re strong, Slayer,” he said tenderly. “You can survive all this – heaven, hell, life. But you’re right – you don’t have to figure it out all at once, or alone. Whatever you need from me, you’ve got. Just please…” He hesitated. Really don’t need my hopes crushed here.
 
“Spike?” Buffy asked, stroking his cheekbone. “What is it?”
 
Swallowing, the Slayer of Slayers whispered, “I’m afraid.” God, you’re such a ponce, William. But he needed her to know how he felt. They had gone through too much for him to start avoiding the truth with her now.
 
“Of what?”
 
Spike struggled to put the thoughts into words, “Holding you, caring for you, it’s given me more purpose than I’ve ever had. I just… don’t want to lose that.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “I guess I’m afraid I’m going to screw things up somehow. That you’ll decide that having a vampire in your life again is a poor prospect. I just don’t want to lose this…” He trailed off and looked down at their joined hands.
 
“You’ve been so strong through all this. I need someone strong in my life,” said Buffy. She lifted his chin to look into his blue eyes once more. “I’m moody, and I’m stubborn. I don’t know… how soon I can put all that happened in that other dimension behind me. The others can’t deal with that right now. Can you put up with me?”
 
“I think I can handle that,” Spike answered, smiling.
 
Buffy took her other hand and drew his face gently down. She kissed him gently, lingering on his lips for a long minute. When they broke the kiss, Spike fixed her with that look of awe that he seemed to reserve just for her. Then he drew her in to his chest and embraced her with complete contentment. He had no idea where this would go. But at least the seed had been planted.


The End
*******************

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