Was It Worth It?

Chapter 6
by Miss Binks & Richess

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As the early morning sun rose , Faith paced the Summers house wondering what to do next. Sure Giles was her pseudo -Watcher for now , but she knew where his loyalties lay. She hated feeling this way. Helpless. It's the way she felt when her Watcher died.

"I'm going to go look up on her." Mrs. Summers told Faith before walking slowly up the stairs.

Faith stared after her. Buffy would awaken as a vampire, and if Willow wasn't here to restore her soul before the demon took over then Faith would have to stake Buffy.

The dark-haired Slayer shook her head, troubled. Despite their less than sisterly history, she was reluctant to take a stake to the other Slayer, even a vampire Buffy. And, Faith wasn't sure she would be able to pull it off if it came down to it. Her defeat at Buffy's hands when they had fought over Angel was vivid in her mind. Buffy was a great fighter, and as a vamp she'd probably be even more powerful. Faith sat down suddenly, tired and pessimistic. She had a bad feeling that everything wasn't going to be five by five.

Giles, Oz, and Xander searched every inch of Sunnydale. No Willow and no Buffy. Oz looked worried, Giles panicked, and Xander distraught. In a matter of hours their whole world had changed. Buffy was dead and about to be reborn as a demon. The only person who could possibly redeem this situation – Willow – was missing. And, although none of them were ready to admit it, the disappearance of both girls was a little too convenient and definitely ominous.

"This is too much to fathom. Where could she be?" Giles muttered as looked at the mid -morning sun.

"Could Buffy have woken up? Maybe she heard us about giving her soul. If she was already taken over by the demon, then maybe she…." Xander couldn't even finish the sentence.

Oz just drove on silently.

Faith grabbed an apple from the fridge and walked into the living room to see Joyce standing frozen in the middle of the floor. Mrs. Summers' face was ghost white.

"What's wrong? What is it?"

"Sh-she's gone."

Faith dashed up the stairs and flung open Buffy's door to see nothing in the bed. "Shit!" She ran back down the stairs just as Giles, Xander , and Oz walk through the door. "B's gone." By their lack of reaction, she knew that this was not news to them. "So no one thought I was important enough to tell?"

"Faith , we…."

"Faith what? Joyce is like freaking because she thinks her daughter is now a blood-sucking fiend somewhere and you guys knew she was gone all along. You Scoobies want to deal with everything on your own? FINE. I'm outta here."

Faith grabbed her jacket and stomped out of the door. "Merry fucking Christmas."

"I think that we should set up shop somewhere else pet." Spike pulled Buffy in a crushing embrace. Buffy looked at him wondering exactly what he meant. "Well , I think that Angel's digs were a pretty good place."

Buffy's face clouded over for brief second, memories of her last visit to the mansion flashing through her mind. "I can't wait to get a hold of Faith."

"Now, now, Pet." Spike smiled, giving her a crushing kiss that seemed like forever. He finally broke away, staring with affection into her passion-bemused eyes. "I had the boys go and get you some treats and goodies. They have them back at the mansion."

"Presents? For me?" Buffy smiled.

"For you and Red here." He turned back toward the bed, looking at the dead redhead. Her awakening wouldn't happen for another day, so he and the slayer had plenty of time to play.

"Spike?"

"Yes Slayer?"

"I'm not a Slayer anymore." Buffy replied.

"You are my Slayer. What's the question?"

"Will I be yours, or will Willow?" Buffy asked, glancing down at the redhead. Spike was actually a bit surprised at her question. The demon had taken the Slayer over quicker then he had anticipated, or maybe it was just Buffy's inherent insecurity prompting her anxious question.

"You'll always be mine, Pet." He snarled as he grabbed her close to him, "I'm your sire now."

He placed a hard kiss to her tender cold lips and revelled in the feeling as her hands began to possessively consume him. Spike was surprised at Buffy's responsiveness. But he thoroughly enjoyed the feel of her cold sculpted body against his. When the kiss finally broke , Spike smiled. For once I'm loving Sunnydale.

Buffy was surprised to find the mansion decorated with furniture and thick oriental rugs. Two minions carried Willow's body up the stairs, towards a bedroom. Buffy felt Spike's hands snake around her waist as he pulled her close. "Like the look, Pet?"

"It looks great. Much better than the farmhouse." Buffy smirked. "Where's my room?"

"You mean our room." His voice dipped low. The ex-Slayer felt a tingle at the base of her spin. Spike guided her up the stairs.

They stopped before an ornately carved wooden door. Buffy slowly opened it and Spike gently ushered her into the room. He turned on the light as Buffy looked in awe at a large four-poster bed situated against the wall, covered in black satin sheets and pillows.

"Wow." Buffy jumped on the huge bed and began to roll around on the pillows.

Spike watched her, marvelling at how beautiful her pale skin looked against the black sheets. He prowled around the room, moving with a predator's grace, his eyes never leaving the stunning body draped across the sheets. Buffy was wearing a skimpy blue sundress that rose high on her hips as she lay on the bed. Spike caught a glimpse of tiny black panties and became almost painfully aroused. He had wanted to take her the first minute she had awoken, but with Willow's turning, he hadn't had any time to make his intentions clear. As his eyes followed her slender thighs to the lacy triangle, he figured that there was no time like the present.

Buffy had scooted to the top of the bed and was leaning back against the pillow, her hair contrasting brightly with the dark satin. Spike walked to the bed and quickly shed his shirt. His arm and chest muscles rippled as he knelt on the bed, stalking the former slayer on his hands and knees. Buffy sat up and watched him slowly move closer, her eyes drawn to the remarkable way that his body moved. She felt a moment's flush of fear, but quickly suppressed it.

Spike reached her side, and faster than she could follow, grabbed a fistful of her hair in his hand, pulling her head to his. Their mouths met with a bruising force, their tongues fighting for dominance. Spike trailed his hand up her naked legs to black lace damp with arousal. His fingers pulled, the lace splitting and ripping apart. Spike broke off the kiss and held up the tattered fabric, a smile of triumph overwhelming his features. Buffy belatedly tried to cover her partially naked body with frantic hands, her very human modesty still in place. Spike's demeanor immediately gentled as he remembered that she had not yet adjusted to his vampiric lack of shame. He smiled reassuredly, and threaded his fingers through hers , bringing her hand up to his mouth for a gentlemanly kiss. Buffy begun to relax under his touch.

"Pet, you have nothing to fear here. And nothing to be ashamed of either." Spike let his gaze move to the triangle of tufted brown hair. "You're beautiful." Spike kissed her again, this time their mouths met with camaraderie, each giving power rather than trying to take it. He could feel Buffy's hesitation fading as she wrapped her arms around him, clutching him close. His hand returned to her body, moving upwards from her waist to cup a naked breast. Buffy arched into his hand and moaned- the sound swallowed in their kiss. He fingered the taut nipple, and Buffy rewarded him by moving so that she was sitting on his lap, her legs twisted around his back. He could feel her downy center caressing his stomach , and his need for her almost consumed him. He wrenched his mouth from hers, ignoring her protests.

"You wearing too much clothing, luv. Have to do something about that." Buffy obediently raised her arms and Spike pulled off the dress , tossing it in the corner. Leaning away from her, he devoured her body with his eyes, memorizing every last detail, from her tight stomach, pert small breasts , and long lithe neck. Needing to taste her skin, he nibbled at her neck, growling at the residual scars left by his sire and hers.

Buffy sensed the cause of his anger. "Don't worry, Spike. I am all yours now. Always should have been yours." He looked at her, meeting her eyes and saw that she was speaking the truth. Her regret for all the times in the past when her thoughts revolved only around Angel was plainly evident.

"Damn right." Spike returned his attention to her neck, his hand s trailing down to cup each buttock and lift her so that she was pressing into him. Both of them were so involved with each other that neither heard the door opening.

"Um, Master." Spike looked up with a growl at the intruder.

"I said that we were not to be disturbed. Get the fuck out of here."

The minion cowered under Spike's baleful glare, but found the nerve to speak again. "Y-y-you wanted me to let you know when t-t-things were s-starting. That t-t-thing that we were t-t-talking about earlier." The minion stuttered.

Spike looked at Buffy, and saw the questions on her face. He ignored her and stood.

"Right, let's go."

Buffy scrambled off the bed , her nakedness forgotten in her anger. "What? Go where? What is going on, Spike?" Her voice deepened, a trace of a growl filling the last word.

"Sorry Pet, gotta go, things to do. Hang out. Amuse yourself. I will be back before dawn." Spike pulled on his shirt and moved towards the minion.

Buffy's hand shot out and grabbed Spike by the arm. "First of all, you are not finished here. Second, you are going to tell me what is going on and quit with this 007 crap. And finally, you are not leaving me here in this mansion to play with myself. If you are going anywhere, you are taking me with you."

Spike could feel the anger rising. He had been interrupted at a crucial moment, the tightness of his jeans was seriously wounding the family jewels, and now he had to deal with the pissy little lady. "Listen, Slayer. You are not going anywhere. Now if you want to survive 'til dawn you will remove your hand and sit back down on that bed. The last thing that I need while trying to deal with underworld types is a very famous and very sought-after dead slayer. I have things to do and you are just going to get in the way." He shook off her hand and walked out, slamming the thick wood door behind him, shaking the entire floor. Buffy moved back to the bed and pulled on her dress, ignoring the tattered panties.

"I will be damned if I am going to sit at home like a suburban wife." She muttered to herself as she crept after Spike, treading carefully until she was sure that he had left the mansion . "Time for me to have a little fun."

A quick survey of the bedroom revealed a closet filled with non Slayer-friendly clothing. Buffy quickly changed out of the rumpled sundress into a black leather mini skirt and a blood red halter-top. In a way, she was glad that Spike wasn't around. Tonight she had things to do, and he probably would have tried to stop her.

A minion approached Buffy as she left her room.

"Ehmm, Mistress." Buffy kept walking. "Ehmm, Mistress Buffy."

She halted , turning around slowly.

"Spike told us to stay with you at all times."

"What? I need bodyguards now?"

The sharpness of her response sent prickles down his spine. He was thankful for distance between them. "Well, he thinks that you are too young."

He ducked his head, hoping to appear unthreatening. His new vantage point allowed him to take in her shapely legs and an inadvertent leer crossed his face.

"Like what you see?" Buffy goaded.

"Ehmm , no Mistress." Buffy's eyes opened wide at his false admission. "Well yes , Mistress , but well…" The minion cowered as Buffy stepped closer, pressing her body into his. The minion was suddenly trapped between the wall and a hostile and super strong vampire.

"Let me see your human face." He let it descend and Buffy was suddenly staring into dark brown eyes that reminded her of Angel. "Bleugh." She moved away from him and rolled her eyes, "So how many 'bodyguards' do I need?"

"Well there is me, Mitch, and Steve."

"Fine, you better get moving then 'cause I need to pay someone a visit and I need some food. But don't get in my way and listen to what I say." Buffy commanded as the minions followed her out of the mansion.

Joyce took another drink, her hands shaking as she brought the harsh liquid to her lips. She grimaced as the alcohol burned her raw throat but that didn't matter. She was glad her house was empty. There was no need to feel, no need to react. No need to be anything but numb. Everything that she had lived for had been ripped away in one night –Christmas night. There would be no joyful celebration, only the harsh unreality of her daughter's wake.

The doorbell rang, the sound resounding through the house. Mrs. Summers didn't even move to get out of the chair until she heard a familiar voice call out from the other side of the door.

"Mom? Mommy?"

Joyce dashed to the door and flung it open to see her daughter standing before her. She instinctively reached to enfold Buffy in her arms. Joyce's joy lasted only a brief second before she noticed the coldness against her skin where she pressed her cheek to Buffy's.

"Isn't the snow pretty, Mom? I hope it melts tomorrow. I hear it looks bad when it's dirty."

Joyce stepped back across the threshold.

"Aren't you gonna invite me in, Mom?" Buffy waited . "I guess not. Well, I came to tell you thanks."

"Thanks?" Joyce gasped in confusion.

"Yes, thanks. Thank you for being so dense that you didn't know for the last four years that I was a vampire slayer or even that vampires existed. Thanks for being so blind that you couldn't see the turmoil that I went through last year with Angelus." Buffy's laugh sent shivers through her mother, "And I so want to thank you for abandoning me when I needed you to understand last summer, you were great then Mom." Buffy snorted at her sarcasm, "And thanks for being the huge simpering moron that I always knew you were. Angel didn't kill me. You did a long time ago. Do you realize how pathetic you are? How ridiculous you are? A Barbeque fork, a scavenger hunt, and the gem of all excuses a gang on PCP. You believed it all. Jeesh, what a brainless wonder you are Mother. You didn't even believe in vampires when one was dusted right in your face. Why don't you go have another drink. Besides being a complete fucking idiot that's the only other thing you are good at. And I want you to know that I will never try and kill you. Your pitiful lonely existence is much more torturous, I think. That's it, Mom. Luv ya!"

Joyce watched in shock as Buffy spun around laughing, her black wool coat billowing around her as she strode down the walkway. Joyce sank to her knees as not only the reality of Buffy's words hit her, but as she also realized that her daughter was truly lost forever as she crumbled into tears.

Faith strolled through the darkness of the cemetery, her feet dragging along the snow-covered gravel. After a while she realized that she wasn't even paying attention to her surroundings. Her focus was the repeating mantra in her head: I'm finally Number One. The only 'Chosen One'.

The distracted Slayer walked toward the mall, which was bustling on Christmas night. There was a long line at the movie theatre and people were playing in the snow. Faith headed towards the alley behind the mall. A trail of blood droplets lined the untouched white snow leading into the alley opening.

Slayer senses alert, she pulled out her stake and slowly walked into the alley. Four bodies lay like heaps on the ground in the dirty passage. Faith recognized the victims : Harmony, Scott, and two familiar-looking Sunnydale students. Their bodies had been torn apart. Harmony looked as though she was missing an arm, and something horrifying had been done to Scott's face. Faith looked closer and saw that his eyes were lying in Harmony's lap. Faith shuddered. She had seen a lot of blood in her tenure as the Slayer, but this was more extreme than most vampires had the stomach for. Faith thought of the stories that she had heard about Angelus. Looks like Buffy gotten a taste for torture from her sire. She shuddered again and looked up at the wall above the corpses. Scrawled in blood was a message for her.

'Can't wait to be seeing you, F. Luv B.'

Buffy and the minions watched from the rooftop as Faith stealthily left the alleyway.

"Is that the other Slayer?" Mitch asked.

"She's the 'Chosen One' now." Buffy smiled . "But she won't be for long. Let's get back to the mansion."

As Buffy entered the mansion, she could hear the minions talking about Willow's rebirth.

"It's about time that she was up." Buffy grumbled to herself as she reached the upstairs hallway. She opened the door to see Spike handing Willow a teen-age girl. Willow looked up at her sire , and then calmly licked the trembling girl's neck before shifting to game face and sinking her teeth into the fragile flesh. Spike smiled, then noticed the sliver of light from the opened door.

He glided across the room to wrap his arms around the ex-slayer's slim waist. Buffy watched over his shoulder as Willow continued to drain the girl, the redhead's eyes never leaving the blondes . Eyes locked with Willow's, Buffy kissed Spike deeply and deliberately . As Buffy's tongue suddenly invaded his mouth, it hit Spike that she was marking her territory. He smiled against her soft lips, but didn't break the kiss.

Willow finally let go of the body in her hands and dumped it with a hard thud on the floor.

"She tasted great, Spike." Willow smiled.

"I thought we would finish what we started earlier." Buffy said , ignoring Willow.

"Uhmm, maybe later Pet. I have to run an errand and see an old friend. But I do intend to keep my promise."

Buffy pouted.

"Maybe you and Red here can keep each other company." Spike kissed Buffy one last time before leaving the two girls alone in the room.

A brief silence hung in the air.

"So what did you do with Angel?" Willow asked licking her blood-soaked lips.

"Nothing really Wils. I went to stop him from committing suicide, and the next thing I know, I started feeling weak. It took me a while to even realize that he had bitten me. Then I woke up ."

"With Spike?"

"Yeah, with Spike." Buffy walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. One of the minions scooted in and took the body without a word. Willow patted her belly and stretched out beside Buffy on the bed, just like when they talked about boys. Buffy suddenly realized that her jealousy of Willow might be unfounded.

"But where's Angel?"

"Dust from what I understand , courtesy of Faith."

"Faith. Couldn't stand the ho." Willow laughed . "But hey , maybe we could torture her. I'd love to hear her whine like a lost puppy while I torture her to death."

"You want a puppy?" Buffy rolled her eyes, smiling.

"I always wanted a puppy." The new-born vampire said thoughtfully . "I guess it must suck that you don't have Angel though."

"Not really. Souled boy would have worn thin , and I don't think that he would want to risk the soul losing thingy again. But I don't have to think about that. We have other worries that I don't think Spike has considered."

"Like?"

"Giles, Xander, Oz?"

Willow paused at the mention of her boyfriend. Buffy watched her friend carefully for signs of remorse or pain at Oz's name, but Willow just shrugged and her face unclouded. "You are right. And we have to be careful of Faith."

"Faith is a side note. I could whop her ass while I was at slayer strength. She definitely can't beat me now that I have the strength of a slayer and a vampire. But Giles knows the spells and Xander and Oz will be able to help him." Buffy stated looking around the plainly furnished room; it was nowhere as extravagant as hers.

"But we have Spike. So then it's three against three: Giles, Oz, and Faith. Xander doesn't count."

Buffy roared with laughter, "I guess you are right. Hey, what about you and Oz? Did your special night happen Christmas Eve?"

"Nope, he didn't take me up on the offer. Maybe if he had, I wouldn't be here virginity all intact."

They both exploded with laughter.

"Too bad I can't turn him. I don't think a werevamp would be a good thing."

"I have to agree. But hey , there is always Xander."

"True. So have you? With him?"

"Have I ehhh… Oh! You mean sex with Spike." She huffed . "No."

"Oh?"

"Not YET, anyway." Buffy assured her best friend. "You want to go hunting tonight?"

"Sure." Willow smiled.

It had been nearly a week since Buffy was turned. So far, Spike had successfully kept her location and his presence in Sunnydale secret.

Buffy came back from feeding and went straight to her room to take a quick shower. As she dressed, Buffy became aware of noise and movement in the hallway outside her bedroom. Probably Spike and his stupid plan. She hadn't seen the blonde vampire in nearly two days. Apparently he had some secret scheme underway that no one seemed to know about but him.

Buffy was bored out of her mind, not to mention frustrated. Since their interrupted tryst on the first night in the mansion, she and Spike had not had a moment alone together. Buffy had resorted to satisfying herself and she was sick of it. When she had turned, Spike had made it clear that there would be no lack of good sex, but apparently he was not going to make good on that promise any time soon. She was getting seriously pissed and was at the end of her rope.

"Spike back?" Buffy asked one of the minions straggling around.

"He had something to take care of. Besides I think you should be…" The minion felt her strong grip around his neck.

"I think crushing your throat will take a while to heal, won't it?" Buffy squeezed tighter. "Don't ever think that you can tell me what to do."

"Ple…ase," he begged.

She let go of him sighing. "I'm bored. Where did he go?" Buffy pouted . Her glare fell on another vampire, walking with two large boxes into a room down the hall.

"Whose room is that?"

"That is Mistress Willow's new room."

"New room. And the boxes?"

"Spike's presents to his childe."

Buffy grinded her teeth . Her doubts about turning Willow were suddenly rekindled. "What kind of presents?"

"Things that she will need, I assume, to … ehmm… keep his attention." The minion stepped back out of arms length of the ex-slayer.

"His attention?"

"It is what your sire would have done for you."

The thought of Angel sent bile from her stomach to her throat. "My sire would never have done any of that. Besides, Spike is my sire now, and you better take note of that. Willow in there?"

The minion remained silent.

"Well?"

"I think that she should be up soon." He replied, not very confident of his lie, knowing that Willow was awake and Spike was with her.

Buffy nodded and was walking back towards her room when she heard the unmistakable sound of ecstasy come from the direction of Willow's old room. She turned abruptly. Spike's minion blocked her path.

"It's nothing, Mistress. Probably bad dreams." He tried to keep the fear from his voice, but Buffy could see him shaking. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed with all her strength. The minion flew across the hallway and into the wall, cracking the plaster, and then he slumped to the floor, unconscious. Buffy stalked to the door of Willow's room and wrenching it open, stopping abruptly at the sight before her.

The redhead was naked, her hands fastened above her head, attached to the headboard with handcuffs. Spike was kneeling on the side of the bed, his platinum head buried between her legs. Willow's head was thrown back, and her eyes were closed. The sounds of her ecstatic whimpering filled the room.

Buffy paused for a moment, and then her anger spurred her forward. She moved to Spike, her face shifting, and grabbed a hold of his hair, jerking his head up. Willow hissed at her lover's departure, and Buffy backhanded her before throwing Spike against the wall. Willow used all of her strength to break the handcuffs. But even with her hands free she couldn't fend off the infuriated vampire and a final punch from Buffy sent her flying across the room.

Spike shook crumbles of plaster off him and sprang forward, grabbing both of Buffy's hands, keeping her from continuing her assault on Willow. The redhead had scratches along her arms and face that healed as he watched while he struggled with the irate blonde.

"Calm down, Slayer." He muttered as he sought to control her.

Buffy shook off his hands and decked him, his body flying back from the force of the blow.

"Fuck you, Spike. Or better yet, fuck her," she said, pointing to her friend. "You are not getting anywhere near me, ever again." She turned and stalked out of the room, Spike watching her leave with regret.

"Bloody hell." He turned back to Willow, her body shaking with anger and fear. "Come now, luv. Everything is ok." As he gathered his red childe in his arms, he felt his passion re-ignite. Willow was panting with need, obviously excited by the violence of the encounter with Buffy. He kissed her as her hand settled on his head, pushing him back down to the joining of her legs.

Buffy only saw red as she left the bedroom, her rage consuming her. She turned to run down the stairs. Instead she ran into a minion, his arms out to stop her.

"Son of a bitch." Buffy said as she hit the ground, wincing as she landed flat on her ass. She got up quickly and punched the demon standing in her way. He fell off the balcony onto the first floor with a loud thud. She jumped down to where he landed, grabbed the lapels of his jacket, and threw him into the fireplace, cracking the marble mantle. The minion tried to get up and defend himself but instead screamed as Buffy slammed her fist into his mouth, shattering his jaw. He growled and rose to attack her, but paused as he saw the fury in the petite blonde's eyes. He backed away, knowing that this was a battle that he couldn't win.

Buffy looked around and discovered that everyone was gone. She looked at the new furnishing, her rage burning higher from all the gifts that Spike had provided for his girls. She had never been treated like a possession until now, now that she was more powerful than ever. Spike was in for a big surprise if he thought that she was just his toy. She was going to teach him some manners. She looked at the coffee table where Spike's most prized lighter lay next to the bottles of rum and whiskey that the minions had bought for their master. The ex-Slayer opened a bottle of rum and poured the liquor over the brand new leather couch. She brought the remaining droplets to her mouth and crinkled her nose at the strong taste. Throwing the bottle to the other side of the room , she moved to gather up the remaining bottles, an idea forming in her mind.

The remaining minions crouched in the hallway, hiding from and watching their master's surrogate childe flick on the lighter.

Dave turned to the other minions. He was made first, so he supposed that he take charge. He tried to control the quiver in his voice as he spoke to the others. "I'm gonna go get Spike. This chick is gonna burn this place to the ground if we don't stop her. Hell, it's daylight outside. What is she trying to do, kill us all?" He nodded to the others, motioning them to stay and watch Buffy as he ran to the kitchen and used the back stairs to reach the second floor.

Spike lifted his head from between Willow's legs, her cries of ecstasy filling the room. She kissed him ravenously, licking all traces of her fluids from his mouth.

"How'd you like that, my little strawberry tart?"

Willow giggled at the pet name and moaned in satisfaction. "Uhmm, Spike. That was just…amazing. Do it again."

"Little commanding aren't you, pet? Nope, I think that it is my turn. I want to bury myself in that little quivering passage of yours to the hilt. Make you scream all over again." He slid his fingers inside her and she squirmed onto his lap, fumbling at the buttons on his jeans, releasing his cock. Biting into his shoulder and raising herself up on her knees, Willow positioned herself above him. She captured his mouth in a searing kiss, and then shrieked as the door slammed open, interrupting them once again. She flung herself off of Spike's lap as the irate vampire rose off the bed, his voice rising in anger.

"Bloody hell, people. What does a man have to do to get laid around here?" He advanced towards Dave, doing up his pants and grabbing a stake from the bedside table. "That is the last time that anyone is interrupting us." He raised the stake and then paused as fire alarms rang throughout the mansion.

Spike looked at the minion looking at him, his eyes darting to the stake held over his heart. Spike, shrugged and thrust the stake into Dave's heart, turning him to dust.

"Shouldn't have interrupted us, even if the building is on fire." He threw the stake down and ran to the stairs, looking down at the main room in shock. Another minion rushed up the back stairs, yelling as he reached Spike's side.

"Spike, she's setting fire to things and beating the hell out of us downstairs."

"She's doing what…?"

"Buffy's gone crazy."

Spike ran down the stairs to see minions running around, frantically trying to put the fire out. He watched as Buffy tore off her tank top and dowsed it in whiskey. She carefully inserted the dripping fabric in the neck of the bottle, leaving a small tip sticking out of the top. Buffy laughed maniacally and lit the end of the cloth. She looked around her, spotting three minions trying to unpin the extinguisher. She giggled and threw her makeshift molotov cocktail in their direction, a huge ball of fire erupted from the shattered glass, engulfing the demons in flames. Their screams of terror were only masked by Buffy's laughter. The other minions stopped dead in their tracks, common sense taking over as they ran out of the room. She turned on her heels and headed back up the stairs. She stopped on the landing, looking at Spike. Her growl reverberated in the back of her throat as she walked past him. Spike noticed her game face never appeared , but her eyes were amber the whole time. In that one moment, she had let him know that she wasn't going to play second fiddle to anyone.

"Are we going to kiss and make up luv?" Spike smiled as he walked into their room.

"You smell like her." Buffy said flatly as she began shovelling clothes into a bag.

"I'm sorry, luv. I…" Before he knew it, he was being pushed into the hallway, his back was against the wall and a stake was pressed firmly against his chest. "No need to get drastic, pet."

"I'm leaving Spike. And you are not gonna stop me."

"Listen pet, I'm sorry."

"I don't like being second best. And I don't like sharing. So you either choose Willow or choose me."

"Slayer, it's not that simple."

"Fine Spike. Until you can decide, don't bother stepping foot in my bedroom door. Go ahead and do whatever you want with Willow." Buffy entered her room and slammed the door shut, rattling the solid wood door's frame.

Spike sighed as a minion entered the hallway, "Sir, there was a phone call during all the commotion. He needs your help to get something. He said it might take some time."

"Fine. Tell the chits I'm leaving."

"Me?"

"Yes you. Who the bloody hell else is around here?"

"Sorry Spike. By the way, have you seen Dave?"

"He's dust. I gotta go." Spike stormed down the hallway.

TBC…