~Belonging ~ Chapter 6~

Two days had passed since Spike and Giles had spoken. They had made plans as to when the incident would take place. They decided that they needed to get the ball rolling quickly if everything were to be made right by the wedding day.

Dawn had the evening off and Spike told her yet again that he was going out with friends. She seemed a little disappointed that he didn't want to spend the evening with her, and she pouted about it. He promised her he would make it up to her.

Buffy sat alone at her house watching television again. Brandon was with his bowling friends and on Tuesday nights she often sat down to watch her favorite shows.

She had never been much for TV in the past. Most of her evenings were usually spent patrolling and fighting evil. But since she had retired, she found comfort and joy in the normalcy of her life.

Brandon had made good money and she was enjoying playing housewife to him. It was a life she never dreamed she would achieve or live to achieve anyway. For once she had found peace with her life.

When the phone rang, she casually reached over to grab it. It was probably Brandon telling her that he had just gotten a strike or something. He was always doing silly things like that.

"Hello?"

"Buffy, thank god you're home. You must come quickly. There are vampires in the shop. Please hurry." Giles said frantically into the phone.

Buffy's heart jumped into her throat.

"I'll be right down. Don't move, just hold them off until I get there." She said anxiously slamming down the phone.

She grabbed her bag from the hall closet and ran out the door. She jumped into her car and sped off.

Her heart pounded furiously in her chest. She could not lose him. She would die rather than lose him. Giles meant the world to her and she could not imagine life without him. She couldn't bear to think of harm coming to him. She wiped a tear from her eye and pressed the gas pedal down to the floor.

Giles replaced the receiver after delivering a similar phone call to Dawn. He instantly felt remorseful for making them worry for nothing, but he knew it would be for the best, just as Spike told him.

"I do hate this idea more and more, Spike." He said turning to him.

"I know, but if it works, they'll forgive you…and me, I hope." He said.

Dawn and Buffy reached the shop together. They were startled to see each other, but both were too preoccupied with Giles' safety to resume their feud.

"Here Dawn, take this." Buffy said handing her a stake. "Try to stay out of trouble and don't fight unless you have to." Buffy explained to her.

"I can take care of myself, Buffy." Dawn said becoming irritated. Buffy never stopped treating her like a child.

"Fine. Be careful." Buffy said, rolling her eyes as they walked through the unlocked entrance.

They found the front room dark and empty. Buffy cautiously peered around.

"Giles?" She said hoping he was still here and able to answer.

Dawn was starting to cry and become panicked.

"Oh god…Where is he?" She said as she looked around.

"I don't see any signs of a struggle." Buffy said perplexed.

"Help! I'm back here!" They heard Giles cry out.

They both raced to where the voice came from and found themselves in the old training room. It was filled with boxes on one side, but most of the old equipment was still in place. Buffy used it occasionally just to work out and keep her strength up.

"Giles?" They both called out.

Just then the door slammed shut, and they heard a lock clicking into place.

Dawn panicked. "What's happening? Buffy, I'm scared. Where's Giles?"

"I don't know, but I don't like this." She said going to door and trying to open it. "It's locked…Giles!!" She yelled.

"Relax Buffy." She heard Giles voice on the other side of the door. "This is for your own good. I'm so sorry that I tricked you, but this was the only way." He tried to explain through the heavy door.

"What? What the hell is going on? Are you okay, Giles? Your phone call...You said their were vampires here." She said confused by what was going on.

"I know what I said Buffy, but I'm perfectly fine. I do apologize for deceiving you, but we wanted you two to spend some time alone, and work things out. I hope you understand." He said wondering if he had made a huge mistake.

"We?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, well, Spike and I." Giles said.

"Hello, girls." Spike said through the door.

"Spike! Let me out of here!" Dawn yelled as she pushed Buffy out of the way and began pounding on the door.

"Sorry, pet. Not until you and sis work things out." He said calmly.

"This is ridiculous! You both are so gonna pay for this!" Dawn screeched angrily. The last thing she wanted was to be locked in some musty room with Buffy.

Buffy only relaxed her rigid stance and moved away from the door. She appreciated what they were trying to do, but she doubted that Dawn would have any of it.

"We'll see you in the morning." Giles said.

Spike and Giles then turned and walked out into the front of the store. They sat down at the table. Giles held his head in his hands and tried to soothe away the pounding headache that began to plague him.

"It'll work. Trust me." Spike said, hoping it was true.

Giles scratched his head thoughtfully.

"Do you suppose we should have taken their weapons first?" He asked only half joking.

Spike smiled at him and shook his head.

"They'll be fine." He said reassuringly. He sure hoped that Dawn wasn't going to be too angry with him. He was only trying to do the right thing, but somehow what seemed right to him, had a tendency to backfire.

Giles got up and retrieved a bottle of scotch from under the counter. He grabbed two glasses and poured one for each of them.

"To sisterly love..." Giles said raising his glass. "Dear god, help us all..." He muttered under his breath as he took a long swallow.

At first, the girls sat on opposite sides of the room, saying nothing. Dawn had tried to break the door down, but only ended up hurting her arm in the process.

Buffy knew that she probably could have done the job herself, but didn't want to. She actually wanted to be there with Dawn. She wanted to make things right. She was still reeling from the fact that Giles and Spike had planned this little charade, but she supposed that she could forgive Giles for scaring her half to death. She wondered what Spike had to gain by all of this. Buffy figured he couldn't care less whether Dawn hated her or not. Maybe he had changed a little, she thought.

Buffy broke the silence first. "Dawn, listen, I know this is insane, but we do need to talk."

"I don't have anything to say." She said defiantly.

"Come on. Please talk to me. What more can I say to you? How many times do I have to say sorry? I thought we were past all of this." Buffy pleaded.

"Right. Everything has just been peachy for the last three years. You killed Carlos, and expected me to just say 'That's okay' and move on? I loved him and you tried to keep us apart. When that didn't work, you killed him." Dawn said with tears in her eyes.

Buffy tried to stifle the sob that was rising in her throat.

"That wasn't the way it happened. It was an accident. I told you…" She said getting choked up.

"Was it? I mean, it was awfully convenient that you just happened to accidentally kill my boyfriend that you hated. Buffy, we had a life together. You just couldn't see that. You refused to see past your moral judgments and accept that he was good, even without a soul." Dawn cried burying her face in her hands.

Buffy moved over to her and tried to put her arms around her. Dawn shrugged her off.

"Please, I swear I never meant for that to happen. I never would have done that on purpose. I knew you loved him. Yes, I didn't approve or understand, but I knew he meant everything to you. You have no idea what I felt when I realized who I had killed. Why do you think I gave up slaying? Because I was bored? No, it was because I couldn't do it anymore. That night, I realized that I just couldn't do it anymore. If I could switch places with him right now, I would. Would you be satisfied then?" Buffy cried as she fell to her knees.

Dawn looked over at her through her tears. She felt a sudden wave of compassion envelop her. She had never really allowed herself to notice that Buffy was hurting too. She tried to push away her feelings and retrieve the anger that she had grown so used to.

"Buffy…You know I don't want you to trade places with him it's just...I just can't forgive you…" She said softly.

Buffy looked up at her and tried to compose herself.

"You know, I guess I don't blame you. I never forgave myself either." She said softly.

Dawn watched as her sister dissolved once more into tears. She tried to harden her heart, but found that it was more difficult than it had been in the past. She reached out and touched her hair. Buffy looked up at her.

"Dawn, you know I love you, you are my sister. Everything I have done has been for you. To protect you. Please…"

Dawn tried to keep a stiff upper lip, but quickly lost her resolve. She lunged forward and took Buffy into her arms tightly.

"Oh, Buffy, I love you too. I have missed you so much. I just couldn't get over it. I tried, but I couldn't." She sobbed.

Buffy stroked her hair and tried to soothe her.

"It's okay." Buffy said softly into her hair.

"I thought I could move on, but it was so hard." Dawn cried. "And then, Spike showed up and I thought you would make him leave too."

"Oh, Dawn... Can we start over? I swear I won't try to run your life anymore and even though I can't change what happened in the past, let me try and make things right again." Buffy told her.

"But what about Spike? I know you hate him. Can you accept him as part of my life? Because if you can't, then…" Dawn asked pulling away to face her once more.

Buffy sighed and nodded her head.

"Yes, Dawn. I will accept Spike. But are you sure that's what you want though? I mean, Dawn, he's a vampire. What about your future? Marriage and children?" She asked only wanting a normal happy life for her sister.

"Yes, it's what I want. I don't care about children Buffy. That was always your thing. I'll be fine just being an aunt. And marriage...well, we can still get married. Remember that time when you were going to marry Spike?" Dawn said with a laugh.

Buffy rolled her eyes and shook her head at the memory of Willow's misguided spell.

"Agh! I'd rather not think of that, thank you very much." She smiled then turned serious again. "Are you sure you really love him, Dawn?"

"Yes. I have always loved him, Buffy. I never cared what he was. I was just a kid when he left, but I always hoped that he would come back and that maybe he would want me. When I saw him again, I knew that it was meant to be." Dawn said with an exuberant smile. "You know, I never stopped seeing him even when you told me not to."

"Yeah, I know. He told me." She smiled.

"Wait, you guys talked?"

"Yeah. It's a long story. Anyway…Look, as much as it pains me to say this, I don't actually hate him, and I never really did. I just wasn't prepared for him to fall in love with me. It was just freaky and I didn't want to encourage it." She said softly, knowing she should have admitted this long ago.

"You don't hate him?"

"No, in fact he can be kind of funny, yet incredibly annoying. And I will admit that he is slightly attractive, with those eyes and those cheekbones…" Buffy said with a smile.

"Slightly attractive? He's gorgeous, Buffy! But you better back off. You had your chance, sister. Now he's mine." Dawn teased her.

"Okay, okay, I won't steal him." She laughed. "Besides, I have Brandon, remember?"

"Of course. Um, sorry about all the bad things I said about him." She said sheepishly.

"It's okay. He is a little dull, I know that. But I do love him and we are going to be happy. In fact, I want you to be the first to know…" Buffy said excitedly.

"What?" Dawn said expectantly.

"Well, you said you wanted to be an aunt...I'm pregnant!" Buffy beamed.

Dawn embraced Buffy tightly and was truly happy for her. The sisters sat in that room all night talking and reminiscing about the good times. They each agreed to put the past behind them and move on, for real this time. All the painful memories were banished.

Dawn had finally softened her hard tone and realized that she had held her grudge for far too long. Buffy hadn't meant to hurt her, and Dawn finally accepted that. Their reunion was a long time coming and both were just happy that they could finally start over.

When Giles opened the door the next morning he hoped he wouldn't find both girls in pieces. He was surprised and gratified to find them asleep in each others arms. A tear sprang to his eye at the sight. Everything was going to be all right.

~Belonging ~ Chapter 7~ Final ~

The next few weeks passed by quickly in preparation for the wedding. Dawn was back as maid of honor and Buffy had agreed to let Spike attend.

She had spoken with him again and they had come to an understanding. Buffy admitted that she didn't hate him any longer, but that he better treat Dawn right or he would have to answer to her. He accepted that. He understood that Dawn was cherished by everyone that knew her, and if he stepped out of line, there was a barrage of people ready to kick his ass, Buffy would be first in line.

He had also assured Buffy that he was over her once and for all. It may have taken ten years but Dawn had changed everything. He still thought that Brandon was not the right man for Buffy, but he had met him and thought he was nice enough and would treat her right, so he kept his mouth shut.

The day of the wedding ended up being cloudy so Spike was able to come and go as a normal guest. He had planned to have Dawn sneak him into the chapel under a blanket, but it wasn't necessary.

All of Buffy's old friends were there. He saw Xander and Anya with two of their three kids. They had left the baby at their hotel with a sitter. They had come down for a week to visit with Buffy before the wedding.

Willow was there with her girlfriend. They made a striking pair, two beautiful redheads clearly in love with one another. Spike smiled at them as he took his seat.

In the last few weeks he had spent a lot of time with them. Willow had always been a sweet girl, Spike thought, and she was quicker to accept him than Xander had been. He was a tough sell, but had come around.

He spied Giles' girlfriend sitting with Willow. He knew from Dawn that Giles was intending to ask her to marry him. He waved at them casually.

The music began to start and everyone rose to watch the bridesmaids begin their march.

He spotted Dawn coming out first, a vision in lavender lace. Her hair swept up and tiny flowers intertwined in it. He smiled proudly at her and she blew him a kiss as she walked past.

The bride's song began to play and Buffy emerged on Giles' arm. He beamed proudly at his surrogate daughter. Spike was in awe of how beautiful she looked. Not as striking as Dawn had become, but beautiful none the less.

She marched past him and everyone sat down. The ceremony began. It was a nice, short, but meaningful ceremony. Buffy had never looked happier and Spike knew that she was already with child. He hoped for her sake that she would be happy with this normal life she had chosen.

After the ceremony everyone shuffled off to the reception that was in an adjacent hall. Spike hung back and watched everyone as their pictures were taken. He sipped his champagne quietly in the corner.

The photographer was pushing people together to get a group shot.

"Okay people! Everyone who is part of the family, get together." The photographer shouted.

All of the old Scoobies along with Giles and Brandon's family huddled together for the picture.

Dawn whispered to Buffy. "I wish mom was here."

Buffy smiled sadly and squeezed Dawn's hand. "Me too."

"Is this everyone?" The photographer called out.

"I think this is everyone." Buffy laughed as she looked around at the people she loved. She hoped that wherever her mother was, she was watching and was proud.

Dawn looked around and saw Spike standing in the corner watching and motioned him to come over. He shook his head.

"Wait! There's one more." Dawn said loudly.

Everyone turned in Spikes direction and he shifted nervously as everyone stared at him.

"Please, Luv. He said family." Spike explained uncomfortably.

Buffy stepped forward and motioned him over.

"It's okay. You are family now, Spike." She said to him with a smile.

He couldn't believe his ears and almost felt a tear come to his eye. Stupid emotions, he chided himself as he shook off the overwhelming feeling of belonging that he had never felt before.

He stepped forward and Buffy embraced him. She whispered in his ear.

"Don't make me regret this." She teased.

He smiled at her, and took his place among the crowd next to Dawn who hugged him tightly. Dawn mouthed the words 'Thank you' at her sister. Buffy smiled at her.

" Okay everyone! Smile!" Shrieked the photographer as the flash went off.

Later when the pictures came back, Spike was pleased at how well the picture had turned out. It had been a long time since he had actually seen what he looked like and thought he was doing pretty well. It was a good thing that the whole 'vampires not showing up in pictures' was a myth. He had decided to have the picture blown up and hung over the mantle at their apartment

He and Dawn had moved in together officially soon after Buffy's wedding. Spike had actually gotten a job working at the Dungeon as a bartender. He wanted to have money and be able to spoil Dawn the way she deserved. Buffy had cracked up when he told her that he had gotten a job.

Spike and Buffy got along well now. Buffy had given birth to a daughter that they named Joy. It was similar to Joyce and Buffy was so filled with joy at her birth, that the name fit perfectly. Spike and Dawn were the doting aunt and uncle. Buffy had been surprised at how good Spike handled the baby and Joy was crazy for him.

Giles had married his longtime love and they were now honeymooning in Hawaii. Willow and her girlfriend were thinking about getting married too. Spike chuckled at the idea of two women getting married, but it was legal now. Spike supposed a lot changed when you had been alive for more than a century.

Spike had never felt like this before. People actually cared for him and for the first time he felt part of a family. And not a twisted vampire family that only lived to kill and didn't really care about him. This was a real one. He knew he probably didn't deserve such happiness, but he was grateful anyway.

He sat back on the sofa admiring the picture when Dawn arrived home. She sat down next to him and put her arms around him.

"It's a great picture, isn't it?" She asked him noticing that he was staring at it.

"Yes, Luv. It's perfect." He said lost in thought.

"Welcome to the family." She said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"It's good to be home." He said with a smile. He had finally found a place where he belonged.

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