Episode 13

Buffy’s mind held nothing but the beat. Just the thrum of drum and bass, the rhythm of her heart matching the music, pushing out the nightmares. Her eyes closed as she moved against the warm body behind her. But she didn’t see him; behind her closed eyes was the man in her dreams, pale skin and hair, black nails. A sneer that hid soulful eyes, and the strength to break her.

Miles away, Spike stopped feeding, the blood tasting sour, wrong somehow. He was being pulled towards the light, and couldn’t fight it any longer.

“Dru, love – how far’s Sunnydale?”



Episode 14

Buffy sighed as she and Angel walked slowly through the cemetery. He’d admitted to being jealous of Xander at last; it hadn’t pleased her as much as she’d thought it would.

“Love makes you do the wacky,” she whispered softly.

Like wishing the vampire at your side was blond and smaller and here...

~*~*~*~*~

Drusilla pouted; her poet was wandering in the sunshine as he lay at her side.

“Pet, pack up, yeah? Gotta go get the Slayer.”

Drusilla whined, her head full of flashing pain as she did as he asked.

“Love makes you do the wacky,” she whispered.



Episode 15

Spike clapped slowly, emerging from the shadows. Sunnydale – and damn if the reality wasn’t better than the dream. The Slayer was hot personified, had all but set alight the dance floor. Definitely more vibrant in person than she’d been in his dreams.

Now, all he had to do was kill her and the dreams would end and he’d be lord of the manor with his ripe, wicked plum once again.

Wouldn’t be that easy though. He wanted her. He loathed her.

“What happens on Saturday?” Her voice rocked his existence, made him spit venom.

“I kill you.”

...or kiss you...



Episode 16

Spike lit his cigarette and watched from the shadows backstage at the Bronze. He’d heard rumour that the Slayer would be there, but so far it was just the losers, no tasty little blonde with a killer punch. Her boy was having his life sucked out by some crumbly bird – pretty funny, that.

~*~

Silly bitch hadn’t finished the job; bonus – he didn’t have to go searching for dinner. The Slayer raced in suddenly and Spike stepped back, cursing softly. Dinner was off, but did he imagine that she turned her head and smiled as she supported her friend out?



Episode 17

Buffy blushed; Willow wanted more details of her vampire dreams. She’d assumed it was Angel, and Buffy had let her. After all, it should be Angel...

Despite her panic, Buffy smiled. Her dreams since actually meeting the starring vampire were more intense, moving to a whole new level.

She zoned out as Willow chattered on, reliving the one from last night.

Cool lips moved along her throat while fingers slid down her abdomen. Her breath hitched as fangs grazed her flesh, and she yearned for the sting of his bite.

“I can’t have a relationship with him,” Buffy murmured aloud.



Episode 18

Spike watched the Slayer on video.

“She’s tricky. Baby likes to play.”

He couldn’t look away.

~*~*~*~*~

On edge, Spike ignored Halloween and stalked Sunnydale’s streets, delighting in the mischief he found. And when he came across the Slayer, all helpless and confused, with the added benefit of pissing off Peaches, his night was complete.

“Look at you; shaking, terrified, alone. I love it.”

Gripping the Slayer’s hair, he moved in for the kill, noting the way she arched to meet his fangs. Her whispered “Sorry” puzzled him, until he was left holding a wig and being kicked in the chest.



Episode 19

Spike smirked as he, Drusilla, and the minions reached the Sunset Club, set for bloody carnage.

“Take them all. Save the Slayer for me.”

All for him; his mouth watered, craving her sweet blood, and her plump lips.

~*~*~*~*~

Buffy glared at Spike, feeding off a blonde girl who could pass for her in a bad light. Bitch. Those were her fangs to feel...

~*~*~*~*~

Drusilla was alone on the balcony and soon Buffy was holding a stake to the vampire’s chest and bellowing Spike’s name.

~*~*~*~*~

Spike was torn; his ripe, wicked plum or his pure, golden goddess? He really couldn’t choose.



Episode 20

Spike wasn’t sure what angered him more, the fact that the Slayer had been marked by a demon other than himself, that she was practically leaning up against Angelus, or that the thought of both filled him with a possessive rage unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

He stood there, seething in the shadows, as the Slayer and her buddies filtered out and went home. Finally forced himself to follow along at a discreet distance as she broke away from the others – refusing to believe that he did so only to see that she encountered no problems on her lonely walk.



Episode 21

Spike paced, ranting. “She’s the bloody thorn in my bloody side!”

The Slayer was in his gut, his throat. He was drowning in her and didn’t know how to swim in the unfamiliar waters.

Drusilla cocked her head and whimpered. Sunshine burned...

~*~*~*~*~

Buffy gasped as she skated into the arms of her dream lover. She’d been fantasising about his kisses...

Softly he whispered of the three, kissed her gently and was gone by the time an iron-hard fist grabbed her from behind. She fought, Angel helping and finally holding her as she recalled Spike’s final words.

“Forgive me...”



Episode 22

It was hard, finding out about the deadly Order of Taraka, knowing it was Spike that sent them. Then there was Drusilla.

Spike was a vampire, she couldn’t trust him. But in her dreams, it seemed so right...

Their eyes locked as she walked into the church, his heart on show for one brief moment. Her gaze hardened as she remembered why he was there... to cure his lover.

She had to stop him.

As they fought, his hands lingered on her body, caressing more than hurting. And her heart broke as she brought the organ tumbling down on him.



Episode 23

Buffy sat on the swing, one foot tracing random patterns in the sand beneath her as she contemplated the mess that was slowly becoming her life.

She shouldn’t be feeling guilty because she dropped an organ on Spike. Just because he was her hottie dream guy…

He was evil. She was the Slayer. It was her job and all that.

Kissing Angel in an attempt to help banish the sinful thoughts she was still having about Spike was wrong though.

Now she had another problem – Ted. Man, what a whack job!

She needed to swear off men altogether. Vampires too.



Episode 24

Buffy was still preoccupied with thoughts of Spike as she patrolled with Angel, looking for the Gorches. Angel was kissing her, and while she let him, she did so with the image of a slighter vampire behind her closed lids.

Was he still alive? God, she hoped so. She couldn’t bear the thought of him being gone, even if it was her duty.

Angel sensed her distraction, tried kissing her harder – but she wasn’t there with him, the distance between them getting wider every second.

~*~*~*~*~

Drusilla tended Spike’s wounds and tried to ignore the name whispered from his lips.



Episode 25

The crowd parted and Angel stood there. Then he was gone and it was Spike. She smiled and started to walk towards him. She could have him here, in her dreams.

Then suddenly, Drusilla was there. Buffy was too slow to stop the stake as it entered Spike’s back.

Oh god…

“Why?” she whispered.

“My Spike,” Drusilla hissed.

~*~*~*~*~

Buffy and Angel barely escaped from the warehouse with their lives and split up in the underground sewer system to return to their respective homes.

~*~*~*~*~

“Buffy!”

Angel was surprised to see her standing there.

“Be in me,” Drusilla murmured and walked inside.



Episode 26

She’d been worried about Angel, especially when he didn’t contact her the next day. Seeing him, seeing what he’d become, was like a nightmare come to life. He’d been her friend, and now…

Now he was just another vampire. One in a long line she was destined to kill.

~*~*~*~*~

Buffy knew Angelus and the others were gone the moment she stepped inside the warehouse. While the others tried to figure out their next destination, Buffy’s mind wandered, remembering the last time she’d been here – Spike’s sneer of disgust to hide the brief look of wounded hurt in his eyes.



Episode 27

Buffy headed deeper into the woods in search of the werewolf. The net took her by surprise, hoisting her high, and below her, she could hear a heated exchange.

Then he was there: he was in a wheelchair, his face scarred and creased with pain.

Spike.

“Thanks, mate,” he said and handed a bundle of notes to somebody in the shadows.

Buffy’s heart raced. He was here! But did he want revenge?

Spike tried to hate her; but his eyes betrayed him. “Slayer, I...”

Hearing Giles near, Spike melted away, leaving behind a whispered, “I'll be back, love.”

Buffy sobbed.



Episode 28

Buffy tried to hide her nudity, embarrassed. Oz, ever the gentleman, had gone to fetch some clothes.

So she was alone. Alone with her thoughts of Spike, and his promise to return.

She daydreamed, her arms unwrapping from her torso, hands skimming along her flesh to raise goose bumps as she imagined cool fingers caressing her nipples to hardness.

“Spike,” she murmured as her hands moved lower, sliding a finger along her cleft. As she rocked to her climax, screaming his name, Buffy admitted that she was his. Always.

~*~*~*~*~

Spike awoke from his dream with a smile on his face.



Episode 29

Spike had to admit, the Slayer could fight. He would have appreciated it more – and not that seeing her lay into Angelus wasn’t spectacular – but it was taking place in his own bloody home.

“Uh, uh. No fair going into the ring unless he tags you first,” Spike murmured and grabbed hold of Drusilla’s wrist when she would have interfered. Couldn’t have anything prevent his grandsire’s comeuppance.

He winced when the Slayer buckled beneath a particularly harsh kick and told himself it was because he wanted Angelus to lose, not because he cared whether or not the Slayer was hurt.



Episode 30

Angelus was an annoying prick, but was a font of information when he was in a rant. Something twisted inside his gut when he heard that the Slayer wasn’t up to par, and he barely held back his demon when Angelus announced his intentions to pay the girl a visit at the hospital.

Alone in his room, Spike slowly paced back and forth, welcoming the jarring pain of every step he took. He focused on that, rather than the rising fear that Angelus would soon lay claim to having bested a slayer.

~*~*~*~*~

“Bested by a mere boy, Angelus? Tsk. Tsk.”



Episode 31

Spike couldn’t hide his grin when Angelus returned to the mansion. The Slayer was still alive and Angelus was shaken. Couldn’t be better. He watched as his grandsire scrubbed at his skin until it was red raw.

When Angelus and Dru headed out for a slaughter, Spike didn’t even mind the taunting. While they were gone he could try and settle himself, test his strength. Plan how best to get to the Slayer.

He’d had enough of being on the fringe of her life; it was time for the two of them to dance.

The Big Bad was back… finally.



Episode 32

He was going to rip the boy’s arms off and take great pleasure in doing so. The Slayer wasn’t supposed to be entertaining thoughts of another.

He stalked towards the pool table, intent on his target, eyes flashing when the boy walked off and confronted the Slayer. Their ensuing conversation made his brows draw together, though it did temper the jealousy he’d been feeling.

The Slayer left not long afterwards and Spike started after her, only to freeze at the entrance when he felt Angelus’ presence lurking outside the door.

Cursing under his breath, he ducked back inside.

Another time.



Episode 33

Spike hid his smirk as Angelus’ plan to awaken Acathla came to naught.

“Someone wasn’t worthy,” he sing-songed, delighting in the glint of anger it provoked in his grandsire's eyes.

He listened attentively when Angelus and Dru planned the abduction of the Watcher. It was unusually clever for Angelus, he’d give him that.

The Slayer’s friends may be her strength, but they were also her weakness. It was something he’d planned to use against her.

Sneaking out of the mansion when Angelus and Dru began pawing at each other, he went in search of his prey.

Let the dance begin.



Episode 34

The anguish she felt when he turned cold eyes to her and announced the conditions of his truce was unlike anything she’d ever felt before.

“Fine,” she ground out.

Rather than let him see her pain, she stared at him through narrowed eyes and walked him to the door.

It burst back open a moment later and she was manhandled against the wall, then his lips were on hers and he was kissing her… and she was kissing him back.

~*~*~*~*~

She fell to her knees sobbing, not because of the vampire she’d killed, but the one that had walked away.