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Chapter 1

It all started because Buffy decided to make a sweep through Sunnydale City Park before heading back to the dorm and getting in a little study time. Just a nice little walk in the park to round out patrol. She'd dust whatever vamps were hanging about waiting for necking teenagers to show up, and then call it a day. So when Buffy saw the oddly dressed little demon making its way across the playground, she was less than happy. Still, it wasn't very big so killing it should have been easy enough.

Things didn't quite work out that way.


Two hours earlier.

"You sure you can't make it to Xander's after patrol tonight?" Willow asked as the two girls strolled down the sidewalk from their dorm. "There'll be Jackie Chan, free pizza, and quality Xander time."

"And Anya," Buffy added dryly. The two girls exchanged a look of mutual commiseration. "I wish I could, Willow, but I really need to start studying for that lit exam, and with Riley and the rest of the Initiative out on that military thingy, I might as well do it tonight."

"I thought you were all tight with the Initiative now," Willow said. "How come you're not with them?"

"Riley said it was a regular Army thing," Buffy shrugged. "So I'm single Slayer tonight."

They reached the street and Willow stopped. "Well, here's my stop," she said. "Xander's supposed to pick me up."

"Tell Xander I said hi. Maybe we can all go to The Bronze this weekend."

"That'd be great," Willow said enthusiastically. "Have fun studying," she added with a grin. Buffy made a face at her friend and walked away to start her patrol.

Finishing a sweep of the last of Sunnydale's many cemeteries, Buffy glanced at her watch and saw that she had time to make a quick patrol through the park. Tonight's patrol had been one of the more boring ones. She hadn't run into very many vampires, certainly none that had given her any problems, and she was feeling impatient to finish when she reached the playground in the center of the park.

And then she saw the demon.

***

The creature was about three feet tall and nearly as wide. It had a round toad-like face with bulging eyes and a wide thin-lipped mouth. A long, hooded cloak of a grayish-green color almost the exact shade of its skin was draped over its body. It stood stolidly before the Slayer, brushing off each punch, each kick, and each jab with the ease of a mountain lion fending off the attack of a house cat.

One of Buffy's punches managed to get through the demon's defenses and connect with its face. It turned its head, absorbing the punch with no visible effect, and then swept out its arm, knocking the Slayer back fifteen feet. She landed on her back with a loud grunt and the clip that held her hair popped loose and fell to the ground. She brushed her hair out of her face, flipped upright, and executed a series of handsprings that ended with both feet kicking the demon in the head. She followed up her attack with a punch, a backhanded slap, and then, twirling around, another kick. Her sturdy half boots landed solidly on the demon's head.

The demon barely reacted.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, Buffy renewed her attack, raining blow after blow on the indifferent demon. Completely ignoring her, the demon began moving forward in a queer not-quite hopping movement. Buffy stood in front of it, placed both hands on its chest, and shoved. The demon grabbed her by her upper arms and hurled her out of its way.

She landed hard on her backside and silently cursed when she heard a familiar chuckle. She turned her head to see Spike leaning nonchalantly against the swing set, cigarette hanging from his mouth, thumbs hooked in the waistband of his jeans and a look of immense enjoyment on his face. She paused only long enough to glare at him before returning to the fight. She kicked out, landing a blow on the demon's chest. It stumbled back a step, but then continued its forward progress.

"What the hell is this thing?" Buffy gritted out breathlessly as it casually pushed its way past her.

"Damned if I know, Slayer. Whatever it is, I hope it kills you."

Sweeping her jean-clad leg against its ankle, she attempted to trip it. "I thought you wanted to kill me yourself," she said as she watched the demon easily hop over her leg.

"I do," Spike said. "But I got this chip in my head, remember? So since I can't kill you myself, I'll just have to settle on watching some other lucky bloke do the job."

Buffy stood still for a moment while she caught her breath. Nothing she'd done so far had made the least bit of difference, and she didn't think her stake would be of much use either.

"I don't suppose you have anything sharp and pointy in that disgusting coat of yours," she said, her eyes never leaving her opponent.

"I might. How much you willing to pay me for it?"

Buffy looked at him in amazement. "You want me to pay to borrow a weapon from you?"

Spike shrugged. "Supply and demand, Slayer. You want me to supply you with a weapon, I demand to be paid."

She knew that she could just beat him up and take the weapon from him, but she was getting tired from her mostly one-sided fight against the toad demon and didn't feel like bothering. "Ten bucks."

Spike just snorted. "Try again."

Buffy watched the demon's slow progress across the playground. Well, if she had to pay, she was going to get her money's worth. Turning back to him she said, "Fifty dollars and you help me fight this thing."

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow, considered for a moment, and then nodded his head. "Deal."

Moving forward rapidly, he handed Buffy a long, heavy knife with a razor sharp blade as he passed her. Slipping into game face, he stopped in front of the demon, his coat swinging dramatically around him.

"That's far enough, Kermit," he said with a smirk. "You're not playing with little girls anymore. The Big Bad's here, and I'm going to..."

He never got any further than that in his speech. The demon reached forward, picked him up as easily as a child and threw him. Right into Buffy. They tumbled to the ground, a mass of arms and legs entangled together. Buffy had part of Spike's coat under her pinning him to her.

"Get off me, you oaf," Buffy snapped as she tried to push him away from her. The demon temporarily forgotten, they worked at separating themselves. They'd almost succeeded when a blinding white light enveloped them. Shielding her eyes, Buffy just caught a glimpse of the demon holding out its hand with a shaft of light pouring from it before she felt a wave of dizziness overcome her. When her head cleared, she and Spike were in the middle of a sunlit meadow surrounded by a vast forest.

Spike rolled away from her with a yelp of distress, jumped up and began beating at his arms and chest. Buffy watched at first in horror, and then with eyes widening in astonishment. Spike stopped slapping at himself and held his arms straight out in front of him, staring at them with a frown creasing his forehead.

He looked up at the sun blazing high in the sky above them and then down at his arms. "How come I'm not burning up?" he asked in confusion.

Buffy rose shakily to her feet. Her fight must have worn her out more than she'd realized, she thought as a wave of weakness washed over her. "Good question." Her eyes swept across the meadow and stopped at a low-growing shrub not far from where she stood. Walking over to it, she knelt down studying the plant closely. Tiny odd-looking flowers hung limply from thick thorny branches.

"You ever see a flower like this before?" she asked. When she got no response, she turned to look at Spike. He was standing stock-still, head thrown back, eyes closed, face tilted to the sun. Something about the pose, an almost innocent, child-like quality, brought a tiny hitch to Buffy's breathing. She quickly quashed the reaction and snapped, "Spike!"

He lowered his head, opened his eyes, and frowned at her. "What? Can't you see I'm catching a few rays?"

"Yeah? Well come over here and catch this," she said, pointing at the bush. "I'm no vegetarian, but I don't think I've ever seen a flower like this before."

"Botanist."

"What?"

He walked over to stand next to her, pausing only long enough to pick up the knife lying on the ground where they'd landed. "Botanist," he repeated with a hint of scorn in his voice. "Not vegetarian."

"Whatever," she said impatiently. "Have you ever seen a flower like this or not?"

Spike studied the plant. Shrugging, he surveyed the surrounding area. "It's new to me, but then I'm no botanist either, Slayer."

Buffy stood up and glanced into the sky, observing for the first time that instead of the blue she was used to, the sky had a pinkish tinge to it. Turning in a semi-circle, her eyes tracked across the sky. Stiffening suddenly, she reached out and tightly grasped Spike's arm.

"Look," she said with a breathless voice.

When he didn't respond, Buffy glanced back at him. He was looking down at the hand she had clamped on his arm, a small frown creasing his forehead.

"Dammit, Spike, look," she insisted, giving his arm a shake and pointing up at the sky.

He turned his head to follow the direction her finger pointed, and Buffy felt his start of surprise. A large moon hung low in the sky. It was so close that Buffy felt as if she could jump up and touch it. It was obviously not the moon she was used to.

Staring at it Spike said, "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

Buffy glared at him. "What gave you the first clue, Dorothy? The weird flowers, the pink sky, the humongous moon, or the you not burning up?"

Spike smirked at her. "There's another clue, too."

"What?"

Spike glanced around and then walked over to a largish rock a few feet away. Picking it up, he measured its weight and tossed it to Buffy.

"Here, catch," he said.

Buffy sidestepped the rock, which landed with a dull thud on the ground by her feet. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she snapped.

"Pick it up."

"And I want to pick up that dirty rock, why, exactly?"

"Call it a test."

"Spike, we don't have time for whatever stupid tricks you're up to. We need to find out where we are and figure out how to get home."

He walked past her, bent over and picked up the rock. Holding it out, he challenged, "Take the rock, Slayer."

"Oh for...fine, Spike. I'll take the stupid rock. Maybe after I hit you in the head with it we can actually start..." She stopped talking abruptly as she took the rock from Spike's hands and immediately dropped it. She stared at it in shock. Swallowing, she bent down and picked the rock up. It was a struggle, but she finally held it in her arms -- arms that were now trembling under the rock's weight.

Dropping it again, she brushed dirt off her jacket with shaking hands and watched as Spike reached down and picked the rock up, casually tossing it from hand to hand as if its weight were negligible.

"Someone's lost her strength," he singsonged.

Chapter 2

"No!" Buffy exclaimed. "That's not... That's impossible."

Holding the heavy rock out in one hand, Spike smirked, "Yeah? Want the rock again, Slayer?"

Buffy stepped back. Her heart was pounding and she felt droplets of sweat trickle down her back. Memories flooded her mind, memories of a time when her strength had been taken from her. Memories of an insane vampire, a locked house, and her mother tied and helpless. She'd forgiven Giles, eventually, but she'd never forgotten the feeling of helplessness she'd had. But she'd survived then, she assured herself. She'd survive now.

"How..."

"When you grabbed my arm. Didn't hurt, and I know how much you like to hurt me." He waggled his eyebrows, his tongue peeked out from between his teeth, and his eyes gleamed maliciously. Spike casually tossed the rock aside and swaggered up next to Buffy. "You know, Slayer," he said silkily, "with all these differences, I can't help wondering what else has changed."

"What are you talking about, Spike?" Buffy asked, lifting her chin with a bravado she really wasn't feeling. She'd be damned before she'd let on how much his proximity was unnerving her.

"Well," he said, looking up at the bright, hot sun. "I'm not burning up, and you've lost your Slayer strength, so it just makes a fellow wonder." Slipping into game face with a shake of his head, he finished, "What else has changed?"

Buffy hurriedly stepped back away from him and fumbled for her stake, but her speed was gone with her strength, and Spike had her arms trapped before she could free her weapon.

"Ah, ah, Slayer, none of that now."

Buffy struggled, but he held her easily in place as his head began its slow descent to her neck. His mouth opened, his fangs touched her skin, and he doubled over with a loud cry of pain.

Spike writhed on the ground clutching his mangled manhood in his hands. Finally managing to pull her stake from her pocket, Buffy leapt on him. Straddling him, she raised the stake in the beginning of a killing stroke. Spike reached up in time to wrench the stake from her hand and toss her off him.

Buffy rolled several times before she was able to stop and sit upright on the ground. Spike sat up as well, still rubbing his smarting balls.

"Did you have to knee me so hard?" he whined, his face back to human.

"You were going to bite me, Spike, so yeah, I did."

"Wasn't going to bite you...hard," he muttered sullenly. "I was just conducting an experiment."

"An experiment in eating me?"

"An experiment to see if this sodding chip would go off. Which," he added with cool satisfaction, "it didn't."

Buffy swallowed and eyed the discarded stake. Spike reached over and claimed it, slipping it into his duster pocket. "I think I'll just hold onto this for the time being," he said.

Buffy cast a quick glance at the woods behind them, wondering if she could outrun Spike in his current condition. There would be plenty of staking material there. She heard him sigh.

"Look, Slayer, I wasn't going to bite you. Really."

"Of course you weren't," she told him with a bright false smile. "I mean, I know you wouldn't really bite me. We're best friends."

"No, we hate each other. But we're all we've got right now, and we might just need each other to get back home."

Buffy looked at him dubiously. "Why would you want to get back home? I'd think you'd want to stay here. No sun allergies. No chip zapping you. This place is Spike heaven."

Spike stared at her for a second and then said, "Tell me, Slayer. Have you noticed anything strange about this meadow?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Did you get brain damage when I kneed you in the nuts, Spike? We've already had this conversation."

Spike gave her a disgusted look. "No, this is a whole new conversation. Look around you, Slayer, and think about something other than yourself. What do you see?"

Buffy glared at him, but looked around the meadow. She didn't see anything she hadn't seen before. Turning back to him she said, "I see flowers, shrubs, grass, rocks, stones, and dirt."

"Yeah. See any bees, Slayer? Hear any birdsong? See one sodding butterfly fluttering around out there? Has one insect crawled on you?"

Buffy went perfectly still as his words struck her. Listening carefully, she noticed for the first time the complete absence of any sound other than the wind blowing. No buzzing, twittering, chittering, or scrabbling noises reached her ears. There were absolutely no sounds of animal life.

Buffy swallowed as she immediately realized what that meant.

"So, if there are no animals here," Spike said as if reading her mind, "I'm going to get real hungry real fast. And you're so small you wouldn't last more than three, four days tops."

Buffy glared at him.

He smirked back.

Getting up, she brushed the dirt from the back of her pants. "Can you walk yet?"

Spike jumped up, only a slight wince betraying the pain that still throbbed through his groin. "Yeah. You have a plan, Slayer?

Buffy shrugged and glanced across the wide empty meadow to the forest that surrounded it on all sides. "We need to try to find civilization and locate somebody that can help us get back home. And we need to find food. Maybe there are animals in the woods. If nothing else, there may be water and some fruit or nuts."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, let's try to keep you healthy just in case I do need to eat you."

Buffy stomped forward muttering to herself about finding a nice pointy stick and ridding herself of one annoying vampire.

She could hear Spike chuckle as he followed her.

As soon as she stepped into the woods, Buffy came to a sudden halt and slapped her hand over her nose and mouth.

"Ewww," she said with a muffled voice. "It stinks in here."

Spike drew in a deep breath and then made a gagging noise. "God, it smells like Xander's underwear!"

Buffy choked back surprised laughter and turned away from him so he couldn't see her amusement at his gibe.

"I think we just found out why there aren't any animals around here," he continued, oblivious to her laughter. "This is the Bog of Eternal Stench. They can't get past this sodding smell."

"Yeah," was all Buffy could muster in response.

"So, what do you want to do, Slayer? You're the one that has to breathe."

Buffy looked back the way they'd come. She really didn't see much choice. There was open meadow and there was forest. They could leave this bit of forest and hike the five miles or so across the meadow to the other side only to discover the same smell. Buffy was nervous at the thought of being stuck in this weird dimension without her Slayer powers and with only Spike for company. He was dangerous and unpredictable and she was vulnerable, and it was going to take all the strength she had left to hide her unease from him. She needed to find help and fast. Buffy cautiously removed her hand from her face. If she breathed through her mouth, she thought she'd be able to stand the smell.

She wasn't going to like it though.

***

The forest was thick with tall leprous-looking trees whose broad foliage blocked out most of the sun and thick scrubby bushes. Buffy noted that none of the plants looked very healthy, probably owing to the foul stench in the air. Or perhaps they were the cause.

Despite the fact that the forest appeared to be as devoid of animal life as the meadow had been, Buffy and Spike were able to spot several trail-like openings leading in different directions. They picked one of the wider ones and headed deeper into the woods. It'd been fairly smooth and obstruction free, and at first Spike had moved at a pace that had Buffy wheezing from the bad air. It surprised her when he seemed to notice and slowed up.

As they moved deeper into the woods, Buffy found that she was becoming used to the fetid air that hung like a miasma throughout the woods. They'd been walking through the cool, dank woods for a couple hours when she realized that she could breathe easier.

Spike was several feet ahead of her when he stopped suddenly and tilted his head as if listening intently.

"What?"

"Come on," he said, moving off the path and pushing his way through the bushes.

"Spike, why are we leaving the path? Spike! Dammit!"

Buffy was furious as she fought her way through the undergrowth, yanking her hair and jacket clear of clutching branches while trying to protect her face from jutting tree limbs.

If I had the energy and breath, she fumed, I'd catch up with him and slug him.

Well, if I had the energy and breath and my Slayer powers, she thought miserably.

When she pushed through the last bit of brush she stopped in disbelief, her anger at Spike immediately dissipating.

"Oh."

He had led her to a sparkling stream. The clear water rushed past them splashing forcefully over rocks. Droplets from the spray glistened like rainbow-colored jewels in the bright sunlight. The sight made Buffy's throat ache with thirst, and she walked to the stream's edge.

"Do you think it's safe to drink?"

Spike moved up beside her, hands casually stuffed into his coat pockets, and looked down at the water. He shrugged disinterestedly.

Buffy licked dry lips. "Guess we won't know unless I take a drink, huh?"

"Yeah, go ahead, Slayer. I promise that if it poisons you, I won't let you suffer. I'll just eat you right quick-like."

Buffy gave him her millionth glare of the day, knelt down and scooped a bit of the water into the palm of her hand. Leaning forward she took a small sip.

"Tastes okay," she said. Her thirst was really raging now, so she scooped up more water and took a deeper drink. As the cool, fresh water slid down her dry throat, she moaned softly. Bending over once more, she brought more and more of the refreshing liquid to her mouth. Her thirst finally satisfied, she took a double handful of the water and splashed it on her face. When she sat back, tiny streamlets ran down her neck dampening the top of her blouse. A few glistening drops slid down her chest and into the vee of her neckline, trickling down into the valley between her breasts. When the cool breeze hit her damp skin, her nipples hardened into peaks.

Buffy heard an inarticulate sound coming from Spike's direction and looking up saw that he was staring at her.

"What?" she asked challengingly.

Spike turned away, bent down and rubbed some of the water over his own face and across the back of his neck not answering her. Standing up again, he avoided looking at her and asked, "You ready to go?"

Buffy nodded and stood up. "Yeah, I guess." As she followed Spike, she gazed anxiously around. So far, they still hadn't seen any signs of animal life, and Buffy was beginning to become concerned. How long would Spike wait until he decided he was hungry enough to attack?

Chapter 3

They walked for several more hours following a path that paralleled the stream until the darkening of the woods gave evidence that the sun was at last setting. They'd not spoken to each other more than was necessary, and Buffy knew their truce was tenuous at best. She still didn't understand why he didn't attack her. It was possible, she supposed, that he really did want to get home as much as she did and didn't want to take the chance that killing her would jeopardize that.

The forest had been much cooler than the meadow, and with the lengthening shadows the temperature dropped considerably. Buffy shivered slightly and pulled her jacket closer to her body. The path they were now on was narrower than the first one, and tree roots and rocks made the footing uneven. Buffy was stumbling a bit, tripping over the obstacles as her weariness increased with each step she took. She was loath to ask Spike to stop however. The last thing she needed was to remind him that she was weak now. Not that she believed for one second that he'd forgotten that little fact.

It was when she tripped over yet another root that Spike said in disgust, "You know, Slayer, if there were any animals around, you crashing about like a herd of wild Braxall demons would've scared 'em right off."

Buffy flashed him yet another glare.

"It's getting dark, you know," she snapped, hoping to disguise the real reason she was stumbling.

Spike raised an eyebrow and said, "So, night vision's gone with the rest of the slayer powers, eh, Summers?"

Buffy sighed and sat down on a large exposed tree root. "Yes, Spike. And I'm tired too. Can we just stop and rest for a bit?"

Spike looked around and pointed to a spot deeper in the forest. "There's a bit of a clearing ahead. We can spend the night there."

Not waiting for her, he headed in the direction he'd pointed out. Buffy wearily got to her feet and followed. The clearing boasted a bit of grass and fewer tree roots and rocks for which she was grateful. Spike was already sitting against a tree smoking a cigarette when she entered the glade. Buffy sat down as far from him as she could get and leaned against her own tree.

The temperature seemed to be dropping rapidly now and Buffy shivered again. She had dressed appropriately enough for a mild Sunnydale night. The brown jacket she wore was lightweight, but it was long enough that it gave her some protection as she sat on the hard ground. The jeans she wore were old and comfortable, and her socks and half boots of dark-brown leather were keeping her feet warm. As it grew colder, she began to wish she'd worn something warmer than the peasant blouse she had on. The natural colored blouse trimmed with bright blue and red embroidery was one of her favorites, but the thin cotton gauze material did nothing to help keep her warm.

"It's cold."

"Yeah. So?"

"So, you have a lighter and we need a fire."

"You need a fire, Slayer. I can do without it."

"Okay," Buffy said with increasing irritation. "I need a fire. Will you help me build one?"

Spike sighed as if he were being much put upon. "Go get the firewood and I'll light it," he said reaching into his pocket for his lighter.

Buffy closed her eyes and groaned. She was exhausted, but of course Spike wouldn't do the chivalrous thing and gather the firewood for her. Angel would have. Riley would have. Xander would have. Hell, even Parker would have before he'd shown himself to be a complete jerk. Pushing herself to her feet, she went back into the forest and began to gather up dead wood. She guessed she was lucky he'd agree to light it for her.

When she'd gathered as much as she could carry, she returned to the clearing and was surprised to see that Spike was setting down the last stone in a circle surrounding an area he'd obviously cleared. Buffy walked over to him and dumped the wood.

Spike eyed the pile and said, "Where's the kindling?"

"Where's the who?"

He gave her a disgusted look and said, "Christ, Summers, didn't your Watcher teach you anything about survival?"

"Yeah, Spike," she snapped, her irritation and fatigue overcoming her good sense. "He taught me how to put the pointy end of stake A into the dried-up heart of vampire B. You want me to show you my survival skills?"

He stood up shifting into game face. Buffy involuntarily took a step back.

Oh shit, she thought.

Before she could react he grabbed her, trapping her arms behind her back and her legs between his thighs. If he hadn't been holding her so tightly, she would have fallen over.

"Show me your skills, Slayer," he growled in her ear.

"Stop it, Spike."

"Or you'll do what? Seems you're pretty much helpless right now, aren't you, pet?"

"Let me go."

He slid his fangs down her neck. She stiffened but didn't struggle, refusing to show fear. The moment seemed to last for an eternity and then she was free and he was back kneeling beside the wood she'd brought, sorting through it.

"Kindling," he said calmly as if nothing had happened, "is dry twigs and small sticks or anything that will catch fire easily and get the larger pieces burning. Go get some."

Buffy turned and reentered the forest, more to get away from him than to obey his order.

***

Buffy would never admit it in a million years, but she was pretty impressed by the competent ease with which Spike worked at building the campfire. She just couldn't imagine why a vampire would need to know how to build a campfire.

And then she could imagine a hundred different ways a vampire might make use of a campfire.

And then she wished she'd left her imagination parked at the curb.

To change the direction of her thoughts, she asked, "How long do you think we've been here?"

Spike shrugged. "About twelve hours, I suppose."

"I wonder if time moves the same here as back home."

Spike shrugged again and continued building a little teepee of sticks in the center of the circle.

"If it does, everyone must be getting pretty worried by now," Buffy said quietly.

Spike cast a quick glance at her and said, "Imagine they are. Which means that your Watcher has everyone working on finding you. Maybe Willow can cast a spell, find us, and bring us home. Unless she buggers it up."

"Hey! Don't talk about Willow like that."

Spike just gave her a steady look. "We were engaged, Slayer."

"There were circumstances why she messed up that spell, and you know it," Buffy defended her friend. "She's getting better."

"I hope so," Spike said dryly. "I don't want another horrible experience like that again."

"The feeling's mutual," Buffy said huffily, dropping the conversation.

She sat silently, her arms wrapped around her knees, doing her best to keep warm until the fire was ready. She frowned a bit when Spike leaned down and blew gently on the tiny flames.

"What are you doing?"

"Feedin' the kindling a bit of oxygen to help it catch," he told her as he carefully fed more sticks to the tiny flame.

"You can't do that."

He looked at her, his forehead creased in confusion. "Can't do what?"

"Breathe."

"'Course I can breathe. Just 'cause I don't need to breathe doesn't mean I can't."

"But Angel said..."

"Oh, Angel said," Spike mimicked. "Well, if His Holiness the Poof said it, it must be true then." Bending down again, he angrily blew a large breath of air into the fire causing burning twigs to fly up and land on him. He jumped back with a curse and beat at the small fires on his coat.

Buffy barked out a laugh and Spike scowled at her. Standing up he snarled, "Build your own sodding fire, bitch," and returned to the tree he'd been resting against when she'd first come into the glade.

Buffy stared wide-eyed at the tiny fire that was now very much in danger of dying. Hurrying around to where Spike had been, she began shoving more twigs and sticks into it. She knocked over the little pile of sticks he'd built, and the fire went completely out.

She sat back on her heels and looked at the wisps of smoke - all that remained of the fire - with dismay. She turned to the sullen vampire and said, "Uh, Spike?"

He was smoking another cigarette and ignored her. When she called his name again he turned cold blue eyes on her.

"What?"

"The fire went out."

"Yeah? Too bad for you."

"Spike, please. I'm, uh, sorry?"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't strain yourself with the apology, Slayer."

"Well I don't know why you got so mad. All I did was say that..."

"Don't!" Spike snapped, pointing his cigarette at her. "Do not mention his name again, Slayer, or I swear I'll bite you right now."

It was Buffy's turn to roll her eyes. "Fine, Spike. No mention of he-who-must-not-be-named. Now, will you come here and start the fire again?"

He stared at her through narrowed eyes for a few seconds, then stood up, walked over to the campfire and flicked his cigarette into it. Bending down, he began the ritual of coaxing the fire to life all over again. Buffy moved out of the way and watched. After what seemed forever to the freezing Buffy, the larger pieces of wood were at last burning brightly.

"There's your fire, Slayer," Spike said as he stood and walked away from her. He cleared a patch of ground with his foot and lay down wrapping his coat around him. A wave of total exhaustion crashed over Buffy and she followed his example. The ground was hard, cold, and uncomfortable, but she was so worn out that she fell asleep almost immediately.

She wasn't sure if it was the chattering of her teeth or the shivers racking her body that woke her up. The fire had burned down to embers. Buffy stiffly got up and stumbled over to it.

"What are you doing, Slayer?"

"What's it look like, Spike?" Buffy said through chattering teeth. "I'm trying to get the fire started again. I'm freezing."

Her hands were stiff and shaking from the cold, her breath came out in little white puffs. "Come here and help me."

"No, sorry. Used up my full complement of good deeds for the day. Do it yourself." He closed his eyes again and went still.

Buffy looked at him in frustration and then said, "You could at least give me your coat."

"No."

"Why not? It's not like you need it."

"And what makes you think I don't need it?"

"Hello, Spike. You're a vampire, remember? You don't feel the cold."

Spike opened his eyes again. "Where'd you get a daft idea like that? No, wait, don't tell me. Professor Bulging Forehead included that in his lessons for not-too-bright Slayers. Am I right?"

"And you're trying to tell me vampires do feel the cold?"

"'Course we do. Not as much as humans do, but we feel it. So I'm keeping my coat, Slayer."

"But you said you didn't need a fire." Buffy hated the hint of whining she heard in her voice.

"Don't. Doesn't mean I'm giving up my coat."

Buffy turned back to the fire, but in the time her conversation with Spike had taken, it had gone completely out.

"It's out," she said dispiritedly.

"What?"

"The fire's gone out."

"Oh for... Come here, Slayer."

She looked over at him to see him lying on his side holding open one side of his coat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm offering to share my coat with you."

Buffy's eyes widened. "You want me to sleep with you?"

"Not particularly," he answered. "But I don't want to hear you whine about the bloody fire for the rest of the night either. I need my beauty sleep. So you come here, wrap yourself up in the coat with me, and we can share body heat."

"You don't have body heat, Spike."

"Then we can share your body heat."

"Forget it," she said flatly.

Spike shrugged, wrapped his coat tightly around himself once more, and shut his eyes. "Your loss, Slayer. Have a good rest."

Shivers racked Buffy's body as a breeze blew through the clearing. Another glance at the lifeless fire helped Buffy make up her mind. Standing up, she walked over to where Spike lay and knelt down.

Fingering the small, sharp piece of wood she had secreted in her coat pocket, she asked, "You won't bite me?"

"Told you I wasn't going to, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I believe you."

Spike opened his eyes and just looked at her.

Another breeze, another shiver, and Buffy gave in. "Okay."

He opened his coat again in invitation. She lay down next to him and he wrapped his coat and his arm around her drawing her body up close to his. She stiffened and tried to pull away.

"For god's sake, Slayer, would you relax?"

She tried, but as soon as she pressed up against him, it felt as if his body was leeching what little warmth she had left away from her. She was just about to pull away again when a strange thing happened. His body began to reflect her heat back to her and she began to warm up.

She was just on the edge of sleep when Spike said, "Slayer?"

"Hmmmm?"

"If Willow does manage to pull you out of here and she doesn't grab me too..."

Buffy felt the tension in his body and finally believed that he really was as worried as she was about being stuck here.

"If she misses you, I'll have her do another spell," she told him softly. She felt him relax.

"Yeah, okay," he said nonchalantly. "Go to sleep, Slayer."

Within minutes, she was sound asleep again.

Chapter 4

Buffy pressed herself more tightly against Riley. Wow, that was a weird dream, she thought sleepily. More a nightmare really. She wondered what it meant - her losing her Slayer powers and having to depend on Spike like that. The weirdest part was Spike being free-range again and not even trying to kill her.

She wiggled her body until she was lying on top of her boyfriend and started to nibble at his neck. Her legs slipped to either side of his hips and she began to rock against the bulge that prodded at the juncture between her thighs. His hands grasped her hips, pressing her down, increasing the friction. Her breathing sped up, and she reached up to run her hands through his hair while her mouth worked its way toward his. Her fingers encountered thick, tightly-curled hair that felt nothing like Riley's. Her eyes flew open and she stared into bright blue eyes - eyes that were hooded with sexual desire.

"Morning, Slayer," her nemesis said throatily. "Interested in a wake up shag, are you?"

Buffy gasped, rolled off Spike, and scrambled to her feet. She could feel the heat blazing her cheeks.

"I-I..." She tried to speak, but her embarrassment choked the words out of her. "I thought you were... I have to go..." She pointed vaguely into the woods, turned, and ran off. She could hear Spike's chuckle as she smashed through the underbrush. When she could no longer hear him, she stopped and slumped against a tree. God, that was humiliating, she thought. And Spike would never let her forget it either. Great, just great. How could she have ever thought for one single second, even sleep drugged, that Spike was Riley? They felt nothing alike. Riley was big and strong and muscular. And Spike was not. Okay, he was strong and, well, yeah, muscular. Very muscular. And firm. Very firm. But he was so not Riley, she thought fiercely.

She banged her head against the tree she was leaning against. She really, really wanted to go home.

***

When she made it back to the glade, Spike stood up and took a step forward. "Ready to finish what you started?" he asked, his eyes raking her body.

Buffy held up a hand. "Don't, Spike," she said firmly. "You know I was more than half asleep and thought you were Riley."

Spike snorted. "Yeah, 'cause we're so much alike and all. I can see how you made the mistake."

Buffy flushed again, but refused to be baited. "It was a mistake and it'll never happen again. The thought of touching you like that-" Buffy shuddered.

Spike stiffened. "Then keep off me in future, Slayer," he snarled. Turning away from her, he walked out of the glade heading back toward the stream they'd been following the day before.

They proceeded in silence, the quiet interrupted only by the growls coming from Buffy's stomach. At long last they came to the end of the forest and stepped into another meadow. To Buffy's great relief, as soon as they stepped away from the trees, the foul smell dissipated. A range of mountains and rolling hills rose about fifteen miles distant. On the other side of the stream, the forest began again.

"So, you want to go running through the meadow singing "you're out of the woods" or go through more forest?" Spike asked. They were the first words he'd spoken to her since they'd left their glade.

Buffy stared at Spike. "Just how many times have you seen The Wizard of Oz?"

He glared at her and she sighed. "What I really want is to find something to eat," Buffy answered as her stomach gave another loud growl.

"Yeah, me too. I'm starting to feel right peckish."

Buffy braced herself to keep from reacting to the look he was giving her. She was opening her mouth to tell him to stop looking at her like she was wearing a sign reading "eat me" when a plopping sound drew their attention to the stream.

Spike walked over to the bank and stared into the water with narrowed eyes. Wading into the middle of the stream, he stood perfectly still looking down with intense concentration, and then with lightning fast speed he reached into the water and grabbed something. Standing upright again, he held a large, silver-scaled fish in his hand.

"Congratulations, Slayer. You get breakfast." Wading out of the water, he went over to a large rock and smashed the fish against it, killing it. Walking past Buffy, he handed her his catch and his knife and said, "Here, clean this while I get a fire started."

"How..."

He waved a hand in the air as he walked back into the forest. "You're on your own there, Slayer."

Buffy looked down at the fish and sighed. She was so hungry she could tear into it right now, scales and all. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she raised the knife and prepared to clean the fish.

***

Buffy licked her fingers, capturing the last crumb. The fish had tasted terrible, burnt in some places and raw in others, but it felt so good to have food in her stomach again that she didn't complain. Spike had disappeared across the stream after getting the fire started. When she'd called after him, he simply told her to enjoy her meal. She'd worried a little when he disappeared from sight and then lectured herself for acting so stupid. She was the Slayer; she didn't need Spike. She could take care of herself.

Except here she wasn't the Slayer, she didn't seem to be doing a very good job of taking care of herself, and she did need Spike.

She didn't really think he was abandoning her, not after what he'd said last night. But then they'd had that fight this morning. But then again, they'd had lots of fights. It's what they did...fight. And he did catch that fish for her. And built her a fire so she could cook it. Buffy silently shook her head. He was completely confusing her with the way he was acting. Maybe he was just keeping her healthy in case he needed to eat her like he'd said yesterday.

Buffy's heart gave a little lurch at that thought, and she couldn't help but worry what it'd mean if they didn't find anything but fish. She didn't dare let down her guard. She may temporarily need Spike, but she would never trust him.

Except she had let down her guard and she had trusted him last night when she'd crawled into his arms and slept soundly.

Buffy's head began to pound. Come on, Giles, she whispered desperately. Get me out of here.

Buffy made sure the fire was completely out - a lifetime of Smokey Bear commercials and California wildfires having left their mark - and then washed her face and hands in the stream. The water was cold and she found herself longing for a real bathroom complete with toilet and shower and lots of hot water. And soap. Lovely, fish-stink-removing soap.

When she finished washing, she decided she'd better try and track down Spike. After taking off her boots and socks and rolling up her pant legs, she waded across the stream.

Buffy braced herself to enter the foul air of the forest. To her surprise, however, the air smelled fresh and clean. As she looked around for signs of Spike, she noticed that the trees were different. Where the trees on the other side of the stream were gnarled and twisted as if sickened from the bad air, these trees looked strong and healthy. But it wasn't just the health of the trees. The entire forest just felt different. Friendlier. She pulled her socks and boots back on and walked deeper into the woods.

"Spike?"

When he didn't answer her, she called again.

"Spike!"

"Miss me, Slayer?"

Buffy whirled around to see him leaning against a tree behind her, a roguish smile on his face. There was blood on his mouth.

"There's blood on your mouth."

He lifted his hand and wiped his mouth with his thumb. "Yeah. Guess what? There're animals in these woods."

Buffy sighed in relief.

He reached into his duster pocket, pulled something out and tossed it to her. Buffy caught it and looked at it in surprise. It was reddish-brown in color, round, and about the size of an apple.

"There're fruit trees here too," Spike said unnecessarily.

Buffy wiped it on her jacket and brought it to her mouth. Hesitating for just a second, she parted her lips and sank her sharp, white teeth into it. Juice dribbled down her chin as she bit down and tore off a piece of the fruit's tangy-sweet pulp. The flavor burst over her tongue as she chewed and she closed her eyes in pleasure. She swallowed and the tip of her tongue darted out to lick at the corner of her mouth.

"Good, is it?" Spike asked. His voice held a deep, sensuous timber.

"Mmmmmmm," was all Buffy could answer, biting once again into the juicy treat. When she finished the last bite, she threw the core down and smiled at Spike. "Thanks."

He shrugged; his eyes dark and unreadable, his face impassive. "Didn't grow it, Slayer, just picked it."

She nodded, feeling unexpectedly shy under his gaze, and said, "Just let me wash up and then we can go on. I'm all sticky."

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed suddenly, and she felt his eyes following her as she walked back to the stream.

***

"I don't get it," she said as they walked side-by-side down a wide path cushioned with a thick coating of leaves. "Why does the air smell better here and why are there birds and animals and fruit and stuff on this side of that stream and not on the other?"

"I'm assuming that's a rhetorical question, Slayer?" Spike asked dryly.

"Well, yeah. It's just so weird, that's all."

"Could be that the air kills the animals in this world even if it didn't hurt you." Spike said. "Don't know why the air stinks across the stream and not here though. I'm sure there's a logical explanation."

"Yeah, thanks, Mr. Spock."

Spike looked at her and raised one eyebrow causing Buffy to laugh.

Feeling uncomfortable over the sense of connection she'd just felt, she looked away.

The woods were full of bird song and the rustling of undergrowth as the forest inhabitants went about their business. Out of habit Buffy kept an alert eye out for danger, and she was aware that Spike was doing the same, but they traveled unmolested. They continued their journey for several more hours stopping occasionally so that Buffy could rest or take care of personal business. Surprisingly, Spike never complained about the breaks, probably because he used them to smoke his smelly cigarettes, Buffy mused. She had warned him once the day before about being careful with his cigarettes. He has rolled his eyes and said, "Combustible vampire here, Slayer. I think I know enough not to set the bloody woods on fire."

As the hours passed, Buffy began to feel fatigued and glanced up at what bits of the sky could be seen through the thick foliage.

"It's getting dark."

"Yeah, that's why I've been watching out for another camping spot."

"Oh."

"You really do know chuff all about roughing it, don't you, Slayer?"

"I know...stuff," she said defensively.

"You may know how to kill vampires and demons, Slayer, but you'd be dead before long if I weren't with you, and you know it."

"Would not," Buffy insisted.

"Would too."

"Geez, Spike, think much of yourself?"

He gave her a look that spoke volumes before heading off the animal track they'd been following and right into another small glade. They prepared camp much as they had the night before. The connection Buffy had felt with Spike on the trail returned, and they talked easily together as they worked. Spike taught her how to make a proper campfire, although he made sure to pick at every mistake she made. They insulted each other, though without rancor, and Spike made her laugh again. And occasionally a niggling worry would pop into her brain that she shouldn't be feeling this comfortable in Spike's company.

After they got the campfire going, Spike left the glade without a word to Buffy. She wished he'd taken her with him on his hunt. She was feeling hungry again but didn't think it would be a good idea to go searching for one of the fruit trees alone. The woods were completely dark outside the range of the firelight, and Buffy wasn't sure she'd be able to find her way back to the campsite. And even though they hadn't seen any yet, there might be predators out there.

Besides Spike.

Her own personal predator.

Buffy sighed and huddled closer to the fire - the air may be sweeter here, but it wasn't any warmer after the sun went down. Spike had only been gone about ten minutes when a rustling in the brush brought Buffy to wary attention. She visibly relaxed when Spike entered the glade.

"That didn't take long."

Instead of answering her, he tossed a fruit at her.

"Bon appétit, Slayer."

She caught it and looked at Spike in surprise. "You went to get me food?"

"Figured you'd be hungry again," he said casually. He sat down next to her handing her two more fruits. "I'll hunt in the morning."

"Uh, thanks." Buffy ate her dinner casting occasional glances at Spike as he smoked a cigarette and lounged by the fire next to her, apparently content to remain silent for a change. Once again, his consideration of her had taken Buffy by surprise. Since they'd come into this world, their relationship had subtly begun to change. Where before it had been defined by what they were, Slayer and vampire, now they were...something else. The casual way he went about finding her food and water and making sure she could keep up and that she rested when needed confused her. She wished she could figure him out, but Spike was the poster child for a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. But it was the nagging thought that she was beginning to trust him that worried her most. He really wasn't trustworthy, was he?

When it came time to sleep, Spike lay down and opened his coat again.

"Slayer?"

"I'm not sleeping with you, Spike," Buffy said warily.

"Afraid you can't keep your hands off me?" he mocked.

"As if."

"Then there's no reason why we can't get all cuddly and keep warm. Going to be right cold again tonight."

Buffy hesitated. The temperature was dropping dramatically again, just as it had last night.

"Just don't try anything, Spike."

"I wasn't the one getting groiny this morning, pet. You were."

Buffy glared at him. "I told you..."

"Yeah, that you thought I was your soldier boy." Spike snorted. "You'd be wise to keep insults like that to yourself, too."

Buffy sighed, admitted to herself that she wasn't going to get much sleep if she was freezing, and came over to Spike. She lay down and allowed him to draw her body up close to his. She shifted around a bit trying to find a comfortable position until Spike ground out, "Keep wiggling like that, Slayer, and you're going to find yourself on your back after all."

Buffy immediately went still.

"Oh, now that's disappointing," he said with wicked amusement in his voice.

Buffy elbowed his ribs. "Just shut up and go to sleep, Spike"

He grunted from the impact of her elbow, and then molded himself around her, muttering in her ear, "Bossy bint."

They were quiet for the rest of the night

Chapter 5

When she awoke the next morning there was no confusion as to whose body she was pressed against. She'd rolled over again in the night and lay half on top of him; her head resting on his shoulder, her bent leg snuggled between his thighs, her knee resting on his crotch.

He was lying flat on his back and his right arm was wrapped around her, holding her securely to him. She opened her eyes and looked at her hand resting on the black-clad expanse of his chest. His hand rested on top of hers with his fingers curled under her palm, his thumb across the back of her hand.

Buffy's breath caught in her throat when his thumb began to slide lightly across her skin. She felt as if an electrical charge was passing through her body and her heartbeat accelerated. Tilting her head slightly, she looked up at him.

He was awake and looking at her with a hesitant, watchful, slightly vulnerable expression on his face. It tugged at her mind that she'd seen that expression on him before, but she couldn't quite grasp when or where. They stared at each other, the only movement the sensuous motion of Spike's thumb brushing her over-sensitized flesh and the rapid rise and fall of her chest. And then she felt his arm tighten around her. Felt him pulling her to him. Saw his head moving toward her, his eyes darkening, felt his cock springing to life beneath her leg.

Buffy gasped and pulled away from him, jumping to her feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed breathlessly.

The expression on his face changed immediately. The sultry look was gone, replaced by a mocking smirk.

"What, no snog this morning, Slayer?"

"God, you're such a pig, Spike," Buffy exclaimed as she turned away from him and left the clearing. She was trembling as she made her way deep into the woods to relieve herself. From anger, she told herself. He made her so angry. That was why her hands were trembling as she pushed her way through the brush.

***

He was gone when she returned to the campsite. Not knowing whether to stay put or attempt to follow him, Buffy dithered a bit, checking to make sure the campfire was out and that they hadn't left anything lying around forgotten. Not that they actually had anything to leave behind. She was making one final sweep of the area when she heard a thrashing in the underbrush and a horrible squeal. Pushing her way through the thick growth, she came upon Spike, fangs sunk deep into the neck of a struggling animal about the size of a fawn. She watched in fascinated revulsion as the animal's struggles slowed and then stopped.

Spike lifted his head and gazed at her, his golden eyes feral looking, his face stained with blood. Buffy shuddered and turned away, trying to push down the nausea that threatened.

"Not going all girly on me, are you, Slayer?" he asked mockingly from behind her. "Not going to faint?"

She turned to face him. He wore his human face again and he'd cleaned the blood from around his mouth.

She lifted her chin. "No, Spike," she answered with forced calm. "Nothing you do could make me faint."

He raised one eyebrow, a speculative look coming over his face. "That a challenge? Because I'm up for it if it is, and I can think of at least one thing I could do that would make you faint." His expression became darkly sensual and he leaned in closer. "Something you'd enjoy," he added his voice a deep husky whisper. Buffy felt her face flush and her heartbeat speed up.

She turned away from him. "Where's the fruit tree?" she asked, changing the subject. She was quite proud of the fact that her voice barely trembled.

She felt him come up and stand close behind her. She was afraid he was going to touch her and didn't understand the flash of disappointment when all he did was point to an area to her left.

"Right over there about a hundred yards."

Buffy nodded and walked away from him, drawing deep gulps of air into her lungs once she was out of his presence. What was wrong with her? She hadn't wanted him touching her. That was the last thing she wanted.

Really.

It was.

***

The terrain began to rise sharply and the going became rougher. Buffy was sweating from the exertion of the climb, and she'd tied her jacket around her waist. Her stamina was flagging again and she kept losing her footing, slipping and falling to her knees. Spike led the way and seemed determined to ignore her, not even commenting on all the noise she was making. They were climbing up over a steep rocky patch when Buffy lost her footing completely. With a cry, she started to slide back down the path, crashing into rocks and sharp stones. One of the rocks she hit ripped a gash into her upper arm and Buffy cried out from the pain. She finally came to rest against a tree trunk. Spike skidded to a halt beside her almost immediately, a look of concern on his face.

"Slayer! You all right?"

Buffy managed to push herself into a sitting position and pulled her tattered sleeve aside revealing a long bloody gash.

"Let me see," Spike said, grabbing hold of her bleeding arm. She tried to tug away from him, but he wouldn't let go.

"Doesn't look deep," he said thickly. Her eyes widened in shock when he lowered his head and ran his tongue up the length of the gash. Buffy gasped at the touch of his tongue on her skin and she felt heat flare through her body. Her heart started racing and her breathing sped up, but then she remembered what he was, how dangerous what he was doing was, and she began to panic, pulling her arm, struggling to get away from him as he licked again.

"Stop it, Spike! Stop it!"

He raised his head and looked at her through eyes gone gold. Buffy's hand located a rock and she brought it forward, intending to smash it into his head. He grabbed her arm before the rock made contact. Angry blue eyes stared at her.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?"

"Protecting myself," she snapped as she finally tugged her arm loose from his grasp.

Spike rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, you stupid bint? I'm not going to eat you."

"Yeah? Well, excuse me, but it sure looked to me like you were about to go all bloodlusty," she exclaimed, scooting away from him and holding her wounded arm.

"Christ, Summers, it was a tiny taste. I didn't hurt you. I didn't even change faces."

"Your eyes changed."

"What?"

"Your eyes. They went all demony."

He looked at her in surprise. "Oh. Well, I still wasn't going to bite you. Just don't see the sense in letting good blood go to waste, is all."

"Well, keep your tongue to yourself, Spike. My blood is off limits."

Spike sighed. "Right. We need to bandage that cut. Don't want it to get infected."

Buffy looked at her wound. He was right that it wasn't deep, and if she had her slayer powers, it would be almost healed already. But she didn't and it wasn't so a bandage was probably a good idea. With a sigh of regret, she raised the hem of her top to reveal the silk camisole she wore underneath.

"Cut a piece off of this to use," she instructed.

Spike grinned and reached into his coat for the knife. "I was wondering when we'd get to the part of this adventure where the lady sacrifices an undergarment."

After he had her arm bandaged, he made her proceed in front of him. "Just do it, and don't argue with me for once. If you fall again, I can catch you, and if we both fall, I can cushion you. I don't want to have to carry you if you break a leg, Summers."

It was the last sentence that made her turn away from him and take the lead. She gritted her teeth every time they came to an especially steep part of the path and Spike had to put his hand on her butt to give her a boost. She couldn't help but think that he was enjoying that just a little too much.

When they finally reached the top of the hill they'd been climbing, Buffy collapsed, sucking breath into her lungs as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Here."

She looked up to see Spike holding out a flask.

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Ew. I don't think so, thanks."

"It's not whiskey," Spike said in exasperation. "It's water. I drank all the whiskey and filled the flask back at the stream."

Buffy's eyes widened. "You've had this all the time and you didn't tell me? I've been dying of thirst!"

"You'd have drunk it all up by now if I'd told you. Drink it now and then we can start down. I want to get off this hill before sunset."

Buffy snatched the flask from him, twisted off the cap and drank deeply. When she lowered it again, he reached into his duster pocket and pulled out another fruit. He held it out to her wordlessly.

Buffy flushed, realizing how ungracious she'd just been.

Taking the fruit from his hand, she lowered her eyes and said softly, "Thanks, Spike."

"'s okay, Slayer."

She looked up at him again, their eyes met, and they smiled at each other. Lowering her eyes again, she brought the fruit to her mouth and began to eat.

Chapter 6

The trip back down the hill was accomplished without further incident. Spike led the way glancing back occasionally to make sure Buffy was following with no problem. Buffy wasn't sure whether to be touched, irritated, or squicked by his attentiveness.

There were still a couple hours of daylight left when they reached the forest floor again, but Buffy's legs were shaking with fatigue.

"Spike, do you think we could make camp early tonight?"

"I thought I saw water a couple miles in. You think you can walk that far?"

"Sure," she said tiredly.

"Want a piggy-back ride?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Uh, no."

He smirked at her, turned and led the way back into the forest.

They found the water and a place to camp. When they came to the stream, Spike had insisted that they bathe Buffy's wounded arm. He used gentle care as he washed the gash and patted it dry, stopping if he saw her flinch and asking if he was hurting her. She always answered no, and their eyes would lock before one of them looked away. When he was satisfied that it was clean, he carefully rewrapped it. When he had finished, he said, "Look, you just rest and I'll get the firewood."

Buffy was surprised and touched at his offer and considered it – for about two seconds – but then her stubborn Slayer pride kicked in. "I can get the firewood, Spike. You just get everything ready for it."

He shrugged and she went in search of wood.

***

By the time they had the fire going, the sun had set and the temperature had dropped. Buffy ate more fruit for her dinner and warmed herself in front of the roaring fire while Spike went out to hunt. She was getting tired of fruit, but the thought of eating the meat from one of the animals that Spike had drained made her slightly nauseous. Maybe tomorrow, she thought as she stretched out in front of the fire, she'd ask Spike to go fishing for her again. She awakened when she felt a body wrapping around her.

"Spike?" she murmured sleepily.

"Yeah, Slayer, go back to sleep," he said softly.

Buffy twisted around until she was facing him. She rested her head on his shoulder, wrapped her arm around his waist and entwined her legs with his. His arms tightened around her enfolding her in his coat, and as Buffy was drifting off to sleep again she felt the briefest brush against top of her head.

She sighed contentedly, snuggled closer, and slept.

The next day when she awakened, she felt so tired and sluggish that she had to struggle to open her eyes. She wasn't surprised to find that she'd once again wrapped herself around Spike. In fact, she was pretty sure that this was how she'd fallen asleep last night after he'd joined her.

"You awake, Slayer?"

"No."

His chuckle rumbled in her ear. "Want to sleep a bit more?"

She sighed and rolled over onto her back. He rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his hand, watching her.

"I hate not having my strength."

"Yeah, I understand."

She looked over at him. "Is this what it's like for you? Back home, I mean. Feeling all weak and helpless and useless?"

"Well, I'm not useless, but yeah, that's how I feel. The Big Bad's just a big neutered puppy. 'ts not fun."

She turned onto her side and propped her head on her hand, mirroring him.

"I'm not sorry you can't kill, Spike."

He reached out his hand and brushed her hair back from her face. "Not surprising. You being the Slayer and all."

The touch of his fingers as they skimmed over her cheek made her shiver, and she felt a pulse between her thighs. She was unnerved by the intimacy of the gesture and her response to it.

"Why haven't you killed me yet?" she asked suddenly. "Or just taken off and left me?"

He went still, his hand frozen in midair. "Told you. I may need you to get back home," he said lowering his hand to his side.

"But you can live here, Spike. There are animals here for you to eat."

"A bloke could go insane with only himself for company, pet."

Buffy grinned wickedly. "Yeah, I could see how having only you to talk to would make ya crazy."

One eyebrow rose. "I don't notice you being any dafter than usual, Slayer."

"That's because half the time we aren't talking to each other," she quipped.

"And that's because half the time you're a giant pain in the arse, Slayer," he said with a smirk.

"Hey!" she said rising up on her elbow. "I am not. Take that back!"

"Make me."

"Oh, I'll make you all right," she said as she lunged at him knocking him over onto his back. She straddled him and although she knew he could have easily overpowered her, she captured his wrists and pinned them over his head.

"The mighty Slayer has beaten the evil vampire once more," she crowed. "Now, take back what you said."

"Bugger off," he said, laughter sparkling in his eyes. Breaking free of her hold he twisted until she was trapped under him, her wrists pinned above her head. "Now what are you going to do, Slayer?" he asked with a smirk. She wiggled under him, laughing and demanding release. It was all fun and games and squeals and laughter until their eyes met.

Buffy felt the now familiar current thrum through her body. Spike looked from her eyes to her lips and Buffy's breath caught in her throat. Slowly, so very slowly, he lowered his head. A tiny voice in the back of her mind was screaming, Don't let him kiss you! but Buffy's heart was pounding so loudly that it was drowned out.

She wasn't sure what she expected, but it certainly wasn't what she got. The kiss he brushed across her mouth was feather light. He nibbled gently on her lower lip, tugging it into his mouth and sucking it tenderly. Releasing her lip, he circled her mouth with his tongue, barely touching her. She gasped as shivers coursed down her body and she opened her mouth to him.

He resisted her silent plea and continued his gentle assault, brushing his mouth lightly across hers, nipping at her bottom lip, licking her lips with flicks of his tongue. When she moaned, he covered her mouth with his, slid the tip of his tongue over hers and then withdrew. He made his way from her mouth to her jaw with light, teasing kisses, and when he reached her neck, she turned her head to allow him access.

The tiny voice in her head screamed at her Vampire! but she ignored it again as his mouth caressed her skin. He nibbled at her neck and his tongue darted out sending pulses of pleasure throughout her nervous system. Buffy moaned again and thrust her hips up. Her body was racked with chills and longing and desire. She opened her legs and allowed him to nestle between her thighs.

Spike raised his head and Buffy was mesmerized by the desire she saw reflected in them. He whispered her name and brought his mouth to hers. This kiss was deeper, more demanding. She kissed him back ravenously and began tugging frantically, trying desperately to free her arms from captivity. He released the hold he had on her wrists and rolled over so that she was on top of him. She grabbed handfuls of his hair and eagerly opened her mouth to his questing tongue. Buffy was beyond thinking now. She only wanted, needed. She pulled back and now it was her turn to tease and taste his skin. He moaned when she kissed her way down his neck, sucking and nipping and licking, learning each pleasure spot on the way. Buffy could feel the hardness of his arousal as he thrust up against her, and the ache between her thighs was becoming painful. She wanted him to touch her. His arms wrapped tightly around her, and he rolled them over so that he was on top again, his mouth slipping to her neck.

Pain tore though Buffy's body and she began pushing at his shoulders, trying to break away from him. He raised his head, looking at her with passion-glazed eyes.

"Buffy?"

"Get off, Spike. Now! Get off!"

He stiffened and rolled off her, springing to his feet. She jumped to her feet rubbing at her left buttock. Kicking out, she knocked away the sharp rock that had dug into her flesh.

"Stupid rock," she muttered still rubbing at the pain.

"That's why you stopped me?" His voice was quiet behind her.

She glanced at him and then blushed red to the roots of her hair.

"Yeah."

Spike chuckled. "Poor Buffy. Come here, love. I'll make the hurt go away." He reached out to her, but she stepped away.

"Don't, Spike. This is so not a good idea."

The smile faded from his face. "You thought it was a good idea a minute ago."

"A minute ago I wasn't thinking at all."

"Buffy..."

But she held up a hand and stopped his words.

"Don't. Let's just get going, okay?"

He was silent for a long while and Buffy thought he was going to argue with her, press her. Instead he simply nodded his head, his face cold and remote, and walked away from her.

***

Buffy felt miserable as she followed Spike. He maintained a substantial distance between them, his anger and frustration emanating from him in almost visible waves. She didn't blame him for his anger. She'd allowed this whatever-it-was that was brewing between them to get out of hand. She didn't even blame him for trying to get in her pants because a) he was a guy and b) he was evil and soulless so he couldn't see why this was such a bad, bad thing. Oh, and c) he was a guy.

Buffy sighed. And what was her excuse? Because the teeny, tiny voice in her head that she hated to listen to - the one that told her only the truth – was telling her that she wanted in his pants every bit as much as he wanted in hers. And how had that happened? They were mortal enemies. He was a killer, a vampire, her natural prey. She wasn't supposed to find vampires hot. She was supposed to dust them. And she was good at it. But then Angel came along, her tall, dark, and handsome mysterious stranger – who at least had a soul, she comforted herself – and now, Spike – who did not have a soul and was only held in check by a chip in his head. And who had not tried to kill her since they'd come to this dimension where she wasn't the Slayer and his chip didn't work. And who had caught her a fish and picked fruit for her and gave her water and bandaged her wounds, and made her laugh, and kept her warm at night and didn't try to bite her even when she'd offered up her neck to his mouth.

Buffy shook her head. It was wrong. She knew it. Really. She did.

And what about Riley? the teeny tiny voice asked.

Buffy closed her eyes at that thought, tripped over a tree root, and opened her eyes again. Riley was a good man, strong and honest and brave and all the other boy scouty things that every woman wanted in a man. He was a nice guy. The kind of clean-cut, all-American guy her friends wanted her to be with. The kind of guy with whom she could have a somewhat normal life.

The kind of guy who loved her.

And what do you feel about him?

I love him too, Buffy thought stubbornly.

Do you? You love him so much you mack on the first vampire that comes along?

Oh, that is so not true, Buffy thought defensively. It was a-a thing. That was all. A response to the stress I'm under here.

I see. And you always respond to stress by having make-out sessions with your mortal enemies?

Not enemies! One. One mortal enemy.

Spike.

Yeah, Spike, Buffy sighed. The worst of her mortal enemies because for some reason she never could seem to kill him.

You don't seem to have any problem kissing him though.

Well, the kissage thing isn't going to happen again, she thought forcefully.

You sure about that?

Shut up!

The voice went silent, but Buffy was troubled. What did it mean, really, that she'd kissed Spike this morning? And really, really enjoyed kissing Spike this morning? She did care about Riley, but he hadn't crossed her mind when she'd been kissing Spike. In fact she hadn't thought about him since she'd sleepily mistaken Spike for him. Deep inside herself, Buffy knew that her feelings for Riley were never going to be any deeper than they were now. Riley was the kind of guy she could care about but never really love. Was it fair to him to keep dating him now that she knew she was never going to be able to give him what he wanted? What he deserved?

She was going to have to break up with him.

Crap.

Chapter 7

Between Buffy's oversleeping and the snog-o-rama (^tmBuffy), they'd started out late that day, so when the sky began to get dark Buffy assumed that it was later than she thought. She was so absorbed in working out a way to tell Riley she was breaking up with him - Riley, you're a really great guy, and the past few weeks have been some of the best in my life. But it turns out I'm really just a big ole skanky vamp ho and you deserve someone better than that, so I have to break up with you now. Sorry. - she didn't notice Spike had stopped and was gazing up at the sky.

"For Christ's sake, Slayer, watch where you're going," he snapped when she plowed right into his back, almost knocking him off his feet.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you'd stopped."

"Well get your head out of your ass and pay attention."

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"I was trying not to talk to you at all."

"Yeah, I noticed you being all sulky and stuff."

"Sulky? For your information, Slayer, I'm not being sulky. I'm trying to resist the temptation to bite you a good one."

"Oh, now your true colors are showing, aren't they? I won't sleep with you so you're going to bite me?"

"News flash, Blondie. You've been sleeping with me. It's the cockteasing that's got me feeling a bit fangy."

Buffy flushed in both shame and anger. "I wasn't... what you said. I-I just remembered it was wrong."

Spike took an angry step toward her. "Guess it's just lucky for you that you remembered before I had the chance to get your knickers off then, isn't it? Wouldn't want to be the cause of you doing something wrong and enjoying it."

Buffy's chin went up. "You seem awful sure I'd enjoy it. Well, maybe I wouldn't have."

"Don't fool yourself, Slayer. You'd have enjoyed it. More times than you could count."

Buffy swallowed and she felt her whole body flush. She decided the wisest thing to do was change the subject.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I didn't stop; you did. Remember?"

"No! I-I mean now. Why'd you stop walking?"

He pointed up. "It's getting overcast. I think we're going to need to find shelter pretty soon."

She looked up and saw that indeed it wasn't getting dark because it was late. Peering up through the thick ceiling of leaves, she could tell that dark clouds were gathering overhead. She looked around the forest and had a sinking feeling that they were going to spend a very cold, wet night.

"There is no shelter, Spike."

"We're almost to the mountains. With any kind of luck we'll find a cave or something."

She nodded and he started off again. Buffy followed noticing the stiff set of his shoulders where before he'd moved with the grace of a panther. And why was she being so obsessive because he was upset? This was Spike. She didn't care how Spike felt. She'd done the right thing in stopping before things got more out of hand, and if that made Spike mad, well too bad. Buffy didn't care how he felt.

Really, she didn't.

Really.

Buffy sighed. Well, that was less than convincing.

Crap.

***

Thunder was rumbling in the distance when they exited the forest and stood on the rocky terrain that surrounded the foot of the mountain. Spike stood scanning the area ahead. The base of the mountain seemed to consist mostly of rocks, hard-packed dirt, short, stunted trees, and thick, thorny bushes. Pointing up he said, "There. I think I see the opening of a cave about two hundred feet up."

Saying nothing more, he proceeded on. Buffy hoped that he really had seen a cave. The temperature was already dropping, and she really didn't want to get caught in an icy downpour.

The going was hard and treacherous from the steep incline and the loose rocks covering the ground. The stubby trees stuck out at odd angles from the hard packed ground and they had to go around them, making the climb even longer. Buffy almost called out to Spike to help her over a few of the harder bits, but pride kept her mouth shut. She might not be super-strong right now, but she was still the Slayer, dammit. She'd get herself up this mountain.

The sound of the thunder was closer, the flashes of lightning were more frequent, and the wind was making Buffy's hair whip around her head like a Gorgon's snakes by the time Spike stepped onto a narrow ledge. Buffy could see the hole set back in the mountain's side, and breathed out a silent thank you as she followed Spike inside. The interior of the cave was so dark Buffy couldn't see very much. Spike vamped out and looked around, then said, "I'm going to bring in some wood for a fire. Stay put."

"I can help get wood," she said following after him.

He glared at her. "Just stay here, Slayer. I can move faster without you tagging along."

Buffy glared back. "Fine. Do it yourself then," she snapped.

"I will," he said, storming out of the cave.

"Good!"

"Fine!"

She walked out of the cave and stood on the small ledge. A loud crack of thunder reverberated over their heads. "I hope you don't get hit by lightning and go all dusty," she called after him waspishly.

He glared back. "And I hope you don't fall off of that ledge and bash your brains out on a rock."

"Pig!"

"Bitch!"

She whirled around and reentered the cave, brushing tears from her eyes. It was the wind that had brought the tears to her eyes, she insisted to herself.

Stupid wind.

He was soon back with an armload of dry wood, dumping it on the floor of the cave without a word to Buffy. Buffy had tried to clear a spot for the fire just as he'd been doing, but it was even darker now and the interior of the cave was far too dim for her to see much. She could just make out Spike, once more in game face, clearing an area, arranging the wood and then flicking his lighter to get the fire started.

When it was finally going and light filled the cave, Buffy noticed what looked to be another opening. Standing up, she walked over and stuck her head through. She wasn't sure, but she thought it felt warmer on the other side.

"What's in there, Slayer?" His voice was normal again as if their last shouting match had burned his anger from him.

"Can't tell. It's dark."

She pulled back from the opening and turned to see Spike carefully pulling one of the pieces of firewood out of the fire.

"Let me look," he said coming to her with the torch.

She stepped out of his way and he thrust the brand through the opening. The flickering fire revealed a narrow passage. Spike entered it and Buffy followed him. The passage curved after about fifteen feet and Buffy lost sight of Spike as he rounded the corner. The passage turned pitch black again with the loss of the torch's light and she had to put out her hand to guide her the rest of the way. Turning the bend in the tunnel, she saw a glow up ahead.

The passage ended after a short distance, and Buffy exited into a cavern that caused her to catch her breath. The walls were glowing in places with an eerie green phosphorescence. The cavern was large, much larger than the one they'd just come from. And warm. Buffy peered around in awe. She'd never seen anything like it before. Huge stalactites hung like chandeliers from the ceiling and gave off the same ghostly green light as the walls. The floor was mostly flat with rocks of dark gray stone dispersed throughout the cave. Most of the rocks were ordinary looking, but a few were long and flat and reminded Buffy of the benches that could be found in Sunnydale's cemeteries. She was still taking in her surroundings when she heard Spike's voice.

"Well, lookie here, Slayer."

"What?" Buffy asked as she turned to walk toward him. He stood next to a large natural pool. Steam drifted off the surface of the water.

"Looks like we got us a hot tub," Spike said.

Buffy gazed as if mesmerized. Kneeling, she carefully reached down and skimmed her hand over the water's surface. It was hot, but no more so than a freshly drawn bath. Buffy sat back and twisted around to tell Spike to leave the cave while she took a bath. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped opened when she saw him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she practically shrieked.

Spike was sitting on one of the bench-like rocks tugging a boot from his foot and placing it beside its mate. Standing up, he shrugged the duster from his shoulders and then his red button-down shirt.

"What's it look like? I'm going to take a bath."

"You can't do that," Buffy cried out, jumping to her feet.

"Yeah? Why not?" he asked. Leaning over, he tugged his black T-shirt over his head and then threw it on top of the rest of his clothes.

Buffy stared at him. Oh my, she thought. She'd been aware of his muscles. She'd been curling herself around him for the past three nights, after all. A girl got to know if a man had muscles or not in those circumstances. She just hadn't been aware of the whole package. Oh my god, Buffy thought, look at that stomach.

"See something you like?" His voice held a sultry note.

Buffy started at the sound of his voice and looked into mocking blue eyes. She flushed in embarrassment and irritation. "Not really," she lied, lifting her chin proudly.

"So, you going to tell me why I can't take a bath?"

"Because I want to take a bath."

"Not stopping you, Slayer," he answered her as he began to unbuckle his belt.

"I can't take a bath with you here, Spike, so you need to go back to the other cave until I'm finished."

His belt was unbuckled and he began to pull it slowly though the belt loops. Buffy watched spellbound.

"No."

"Huh?"

"I said, no. I'm not leaving the cave so you can have a nice soak. I'm taking a bath now. You can join me or you can leave. Your choice." His hands went to the button of his jeans and popped it open.

"Come on, Spike," Buffy said with just a hint of desperation in her voice. "I'm all stinky. Just let me go first, okay?"

Spike grinned wickedly. "I always let the lady go first," he said. His fingers went to his zipper and he slowly pulled it down. The sound of his sliding zipper seemed to echo throughout the cave.

Gathering her wits about her one more time, she said, "But if you always let the lady go... Oh." Damn! She could feel her face burn again. Why was she blushing and stuttering like someone's maiden aunt? If Spike wanted to be a pig about this and take off all his clothes in front of her like a Chippendale's dancer, well just let him. Buffy didn't care.

And it wasn't making her in the least bit excited.

Spike's thumbs hooked into the open waistband of his jeans and he slid them down over his hips. Leaning over, he stepped out of them. He stood up holding the jeans casually in front of him. Buffy could see strong, lean legs and the smooth white flesh of his hips. He hesitated, as if wondering just how far to take his little striptease act, and then, as if making up his mind, he turned to his discarded pile of clothing and tossed down his jeans.

Buffy stared. He had an impressive chest and stomach; she couldn't deny that. But he had a truly beautiful ass. The firm white globes tempted her in ways she didn't even know she could be tempted.

She really wanted to bite that ass.

And then he turned around.

And Buffy was lost.

Chapter 8

"Magnificent" was not a Buffy word, but in this case it was the only one that fit. He was fully erect, his cock long and thick. Buffy swallowed, her eyes locked on him as he began walking toward her, his cock slapping lightly against his flat belly with each step he took.

When he reached her, Buffy stood frozen, knowing she should move away from him but locked into stasis by the force of her desire. He lifted his hand, and Buffy was sure he was going to pull her head to his to give her one of those mind-numbing kisses that they'd shared that morning. Her heartbeat sped up in anticipation. His index finger captured her chin, lifting her eyes to his.

"You can join me or you can leave. Your choice."

His hand dropped away from her face and he walked over to the pool. Buffy felt bereft and disappointed before the tiny voice in her head began telling her Come on. Let's leave! Don't watch him anymore. She ignored the voice as Spike slipped into the pool. The water near the edge came to just above his hips. As he waded farther out, the water rose until it reached mid-chest. Stopping, he turned around until he was facing her and began to wash. He sluiced handfuls of water over his face and chest sliding his palms in circles over his nipples and then slipping his hands under his arms. His movements were slow and his muscles flexed hypnotically as he washed. His eyes never leaving her, he slid his hands down his chest and belly under the water. When his hands began to move in a rhythmic back and forth motion, Buffy had no doubt what body part he was washing. She felt her face burn even as her inner walls clenched painfully and the crotch of her panties became drenched.

The tiny voice in the back of her head was probably still screaming at her to leave, but it was completely drowned out by the repeated litany of IwanthimIwanthimIwanthim. His voice echoed in her head, </i>Your choice</i>. She remembered another time she'd been confronted with making a choice. She'd made a horrible mistake with Parker.

Turning away from him, she walked to where Spike had removed his clothes. Turning back around she was surprised to see that his arms were hanging limply at his side and he'd shut his eyes. There was a look of such utter dejection on his face that it touched Buffy's heart. He must have thought she was leaving, she realized. She sat down on the bench-like rock and removed one of her boots letting it fall noisily to the ground. Spike's eyes flew open in surprise and then a look of astonishment crossed his face. He watched as she removed the other boot and her socks and then stood up slipping her jacket from her shoulders. Taking hold of the bottom of her blouse, she pulled it over her head and dropped it on top of his pile of discarded clothing. Undoing the fastening of her jeans, she wiggled her hips until they slid down her legs. Tossing them to join her top, she slowly walked to the edge of the pool clad only in her camisole and panties.

Their eyes stayed locked as she grasped the ragged hem of her camisole and slowly pulled it over her head. When it was off, she allowed it to float to the ground at her feet. Spike's eyes turned a smoky gray as he looked at her. Buffy felt a slight tremor pass through her body when she saw the look of hunger on Spike's face. She allowed him to look his fill for several seconds and then slipped her fingers under the elastic waistband of her panties and slid them down her legs until she could step out of them.

When she stood upright again, she heard a soft growl come from Spike's direction as he waded through the water toward her. When he reached the pool's edge he lifted up both arms to her. She stepped forward, leaned down slightly, and placed her hands on his shoulders. He wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her up pulling her toward him. He slowly lowered her but stopped when her breasts were level with his mouth. Buffy's breath caught in her throat and she arched her body when he engulfed one breast with his mouth. He sucked and flicked his tongue over the hardened nipple until Buffy was moaning with need. Releasing her nipple with one last hard pull, he switched breasts and began all over again. Buffy couldn't remember ever wanting someone as much as she wanted Spike. When at long last he began lowering her again, she was ready to take him inside her.

He had other plans, however, and she found herself straddling him, his cock rubbing between her thighs. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as the sensation of his cock on her clitoris made her gasp. She saw her own desire reflected on his face and she reached up to pull his head to her. The kiss was deep and intense. When they broke the kiss, Buffy rubbed against him begging, "Please, Spike. I want you so much."

He moved his mouth to her ear and whispered, "I'm going to eat you now, little girl."

A thrill of fear flashed through Buffy and she tried to pull away, but he held onto her and began pressing kisses down her throat, across her collarbone and down to her breasts. He suckled at each one again and then continued his downward journey. His head disappeared below the surface of the water and Buffy closed her eyes, her head dropping back as he kissed his way down her thighs. When he applied pressure to separate her legs, she willingly, eagerly, complied and his mouth began its journey back up her leg, this time on her inner thighs.

Her legs almost buckled and she had to grab hold of the rocky wall of the pool when his mouth latched onto her clit. His tongue flicked lightly over the swollen nub and then he pulled it into his mouth and began to gently suck. Tiny, needy noises came out of Buffy's throat as he laved her with his tongue. He lifted one leg over his shoulder and Buffy's nails dug into the rough rock as the sensations of his mouth on her intensified. She was so near her climax that when he inserted a finger into her slick opening, it was too much and Buffy came with a cry. He slid her leg from his shoulder and then caught her to keep her from falling under the water as her legs collapsed.

His head broke the surface of the water again. He ran his hand through her hair and pressed his forehead to hers. "Did you like what I just did to you, love?" he asked in a voice thick with passion.

"Oh god, yes," Buffy gasped out.

He got a pleased, self-satisfied look on his face. Pulling her mouth to his he kissed her. Buffy could taste herself on him, and it was a very strange, erotic sensation to taste her own release.

As if reading her thoughts, he whispered, "Can you taste yourself on my tongue, love? I knew you'd taste like that. All sweet and tangy. I knew I'd love eating you."

The feel of his cock pressing against her reawakened Buffy's need and she pressed tightly against him. "Spike, please," she whispered.

"You want me in you now, Buffy?" he asked in a thick voice.

"Now," she panted, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "Please, Spike, I don't want to wait any longer."

He reached down and grabbed the back of her thighs lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted up as he guided his shaft to her opening. When the tip was in place, Buffy lowered herself, taking him slowly in. Their eyes met again and Buffy knew that the look of wonder that was on his face was reflected on her own. When she'd taken him all the way in, they stopped, arms wrapped around each other, adjusting to each other, taking pleasure in the intimacy.

Finally Spike positioned his arms so that he protected the tender skin of her back. Leaning her into the pool's wall, he began to move. Buffy had never felt anything like it before in her life. It was as if he'd been made just for her. Every nerve, every muscle responded to his touch, his skin, his movements, his taste, his smell, his voice. He started slowly but increased his pace until he was pounding into her. The way he moved his hips caused shocks of pleasure throughout Buffy's body. She could hear his own gasps and moans and when she tightened her inner muscles, he cried out, "Oh fuck, Buffy! I'm going to come. Come with me, baby."

His voice, the frantic pounding her was giving her, all the sensations of this coupling came together in the hardest climax Buffy had ever experienced in her life. She felt herself convulsing around his cock and then his own cry echoed in her ear as he exploded in her.

They held onto each other tightly as they recovered. She could feel Spike's legs trembling and knew that he'd been every bit as affected by what they'd just done as she had.

At last he raised his head from where it rested in the crook of her neck and looked into her eyes. A joyous smile creased his face and he began to swing around in a circle in the water with her as he laughed.

"Oh god," he exclaimed laughingly. "I should have known it'd be like this. I should have realized that the only thing better than killing a slayer would be shagging one."

Buffy gasped and pulled back.

"What?!" she cried out in shock.

He stopped twirling around and looking confused asked, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? God, you son of a...."

She might not have Slayer speed and strength in this dimension, but her aim was true. Spike cried out in pain and his hands flew from around her back to grab at his bleeding nose. Buffy began to fall backward into the water and she twisted around. He was still inside her and when she twisted around she twisted him as well.

Spike cried out even louder as he clutched at his wrenched manhood. Buffy made her way through the water as quickly as she could. She pulled herself out of the pool and ran up to where her discarded clothes lie.

"Fuck, Buffy," Spike choked out, wiping at his bloody nose and bending over in pain. "What'd you do that for?"

Buffy held her bundle of clothes in front of her as a barrier to his eyes and stared at him in fury. "I can't believe what an idiot I am," she spat. "That's all it was to you, wasn't it? Bagging another Slayer?" Her eyes were filled with tears, and she wasn't sure if they were simply tears of anger. "Well here's a news flash for you, Spike. I'm not a Slayer here, remember? I'm just a girl."

Turning, she ran from the cavern making her way through the dark tunnel, scraping her skin as she careened into the tunnel walls. She could hear Spike calling out her name as she fled, and it made her move even faster in an attempt to get away from him. When she at last reached the outer cavern, she had to wipe the tears from her eyes so that she could see. The fire Spike had started was still burning, though it had burned down considerably. She carefully added more wood to the fire and then stood in front of it shivering as she pulled on her clothes.

She hadn't grabbed her boots in her haste so she had to walk carefully across the rocky floor to stand in front of the cave's entrance. The storm had hit with a fury while they were in the inner cave, and rain was lashing down accompanied by ear-shattering peals of thunder and blinding flashes of lightning. She didn't even hear him enter the cave until he was right behind her.

"Buffy," he said placing his hands lightly on her arms.

"Don't touch me!" she spat out, jerking her arms away from him.

"Buffy, look. I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

She turned around and glared at him. He hadn't bothered to put on any clothes, but Buffy ignored his nudity. "No? Then just how did you mean it, Spike? I'm really curious."

He sighed and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "Look, when I..." he hesitated and then sighed again. "When I killed those two Slayers, it was in honorable combat." She stiffened even more at his words.

"Yeah, I know. You don't think there's anything honorable about me, but I defeated them, Buffy. In one-on-one unarmed combat. Well, the Chinese girl did have a sword," he added thoughtfully, lightly touching his scar. "And defeating them gave me the most intense feeling of satisfaction I've ever had."

Buffy turned away from him again, unable to look at him as he talked about killing her sister Slayers.

"It was the most intense feeling of satisfaction I've ever had until just a few minutes ago," he added softly standing close to her back. She could feel her nerves begin to hum again from his nearness and the sound of his voice. "Making love to you was the most amazing thing I've ever done. But you're right. It wasn't the Slayer I just made love to. It was the girl."

He placed his hands on her arms again, pulling her back until she rested against his body. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, "So I guess that means it's not your Slayerness I crave. It's your Buffyness."

Buffy felt her knees go weak at his words, and she closed her eyes when he began to nuzzle at her neck sending chills down her spine. His hands slid down her arms and when they roamed back up it was to cup her breasts. Buffy gasped as his thumbs flicked over her nipples and his teeth nibbled at her earlobe. She could feel his erection pressing against her back. She leaned back into it, but when Spike's hands moved down and began to work at the fastening to her slacks, she listened to the tiny voice in her head and pushed him away.

"No, Spike," she said in a breathless voice. "We're not doing that again."

"Buffy," Spike began, reaching for her again.

"No!" she said, batting his hands away desperately. "It's not going to happen again. It shouldn't have happened the first time, but I was weak. And I forgot. What you are. Who you are. I don't know why I keep forgetting," she said in small voice racked with confusion. Then she tilted her chin up and said in a stronger voice, "I'm not interested in taking another vampire lover, Spike. I loved Angel more than anything in this world and it turned into a disaster. People died. I'm not going through that again, especially with a vampire I don't love."

Spike stiffened and the expression on his face quickly changed from beseeching to hurt to unreadable mask. Buffy almost faltered, but she forced herself to ignore her reaction to his obvious hurt and pressed on. "I think it's best if we just keep away from each other as much as possible while we're here. And I think that once we get back home, you should leave Sunnydale."

Spike stared at her silently and then laughed cynically. His eyes narrowed and the color of his irises turned from sparkling blue to slate gray. Buffy could feel his barely restrained anger. "Is that right, Slayer? You want us to keep away from each other? Remember that the next time you get cold," he said with a sneer. "But I'll keep away from you while we're here, just like you want. We had a bit of fun back there, but it was just sex. Just another notch in your bedpost, yeah?" He took a step closer, and Buffy felt her heartbeat accelerate in alarm. "I just hope I was better in the sack than your last one-night stand."

Buffy flushed at this reminder that he had seen her humiliation with Parker, and his next words tore at her heart though she tried to ignore the pain she felt.

"And don't worry about when we get back home, Slayer. You're not so special I'll think twice about you once we're back in good old Sunnyhell. I just hope you don't chase after me the way you did that Parker git, because that's really pathetic."

Buffy swallowed but refused to show how much his words had hurt and shamed her.

"But I'm not going to leave town," he continued with a hint of a threat in his voice. "Not until I get this sodding chip out of my head. And when that happens, Slayer, you'll be the very first to know."

He turned to leave, but stopped and turned back, his eyes glacial. "And by the way, you knew exactly who I was in there, pet. It was my name you screamed when you came." With those final words, he turned on his heel and walked away.

Buffy wrapped her arms around herself and pushed down the hurt his words had caused. She assured herself she'd done the right thing. Getting involved with Spike would be the biggest mistake of her life, but her feelings for him were a jumble right now, and she just didn't understand why. She brushed yet another tear from her eyes. Maybe it was this crazy dimension and once they were back home, she'd go right back to hating him again. Things would be back to normal then.

She shivered and hugged herself tighter. It was from the cold air in the cave, she told herself. Not from the sudden feeling of loss she had.