(Sunday, 1:23AM)
When Buffy entered the house everyone else had gone to bed. She carried the box with the money up to her room. She undressed and walked naked to the bathroom and took a long hot shower. When she dried off she walked back to her room and got into bed. She laid there in bed trying to relive the feeling that she'd had while having sex with Spike. The more she tried to regain the feeling the farther away it seemed to be. She knew that what she had done tonight was a mistake she would have to pay for later. She had felt so low, so dirty, for wanting to kill Willy, not just wanting but ready to do it. She had reached out to the only person who was there. The only person who seemed to always be there when she was feeling lost and alone. The only person who said he loved her that she couldn't love in return. The only person who made her feel alive.
**********
When the sun came up Buffy was still awake as she laid in bed. She got up, got dressed, and went downstairs to the kitchen. The coffee pot had been smashed when the house was broken into, but there was an old one in the basement that she retrieved. She cleaned the pot out and started a pot brewing. When it finished she poured herself a mug full and sipped it slowly as she sat on the floor leaning back against the broken cabinets. There wasn't any sugar or milk to make it the way she liked, she drank it black.
She was on her second cup when Willow entered the kitchen. Seeing Buffy sitting on the floor she smiled a half smile at her and headed for the coffee pot. Willow had become so addicted to coffee over the past few years that she needed a cup before she was truly awake. Tara came into the kitchen a few minutes later, followed by Dawn. There wasn't any food to eat, everything had been spoiled or ruined by the demons. The only reason they had coffee was because the demon who had stomped on the can had bent it but hadn't managed to burst it open. Tara poured herself a cup and a half cup for Dawn. Dawn didn't like black coffee, but she was so tired this morning she just sat down on the floor and drank it.
It was a little after 7:30 when Xander arrived with Anya. He had gone by the construction site he was working at and borrowed a truck, they weren't working today and wouldn't need it. He had then gone to the Donut Shop for donuts and a Quick Food Mart to pick up sugar, milk and orange juice. When he walked through the door Dawn almost attacked him to get at what he was carrying. She had already wolfed down one donut and was on a second before he could set down the bag with the other things. Anya had followed him through the door and looked as tired as the rest of them felt.
Buffy got up off the floor and gave them both a hug, then found a couple more coffee mugs that hadn't been broken and poured them both a cup. Tara went to the dinning room and came back with some wine glasses and filled one with milk for Dawn. Dawn drank it down and started on a third donut. They all stood around the kitchen counter eating donuts, drinking milk, juice or coffee and tried to get focused for the day. There was hardly any talking, it was like no one knew what to say to each other. The rubble the house had been turned into had them all depressed.
Giles arrived a little before 8:00, he had gone by the Magic Shop after leaving Buffy's the night before and had spent half the night cleaning up some of the mess there. He'd had to pull some of the wires and hidden cameras around the shop to be sure no one would notice them when the real cleanup took place. His eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep. He gulped down a cup of coffee loaded with sugar and ate a couple of donuts to help him wake up.
With a sigh, everyone went out into the backyard where all the broken furniture, refrigerator, stove, cabinets, table, door and bags of trash had been stacked the day before during the first cleanup. The truck Xander had borrowed was fairly big, but it took three loads before they could haul it all away to the dump. The man at the dump had charged them $50 a load to dump it. Buffy had pulled cash out of her pocket to pay him. After the last load she stopped to pick up food for lunch and took it back to the house. They sat outside at the picnic bench and ate because they needed the energy, not because any of them wanted food.
When everyone was finished Buffy got up and went into the house without a word. When she came back out she was carrying a metal box that she sat down on the picnic table. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then shook her head vigorously as if she were shaking off something.
"Okay guy's" she said with a determined look on her face. "Yesterday was bad and this morning wasn't much better, but that parts over. Now comes the fun part." She opened the box and started tossing bundles of money to Xander and Willow. They all looked at her with their mouths open wondering where the money had come from.
"Xander, I want you to go buy new cabinets for the kitchen and whatever else you need to repair the house. Get whatever they have in stock and pay extra if you have to for the earliest possible delivery. If they have people that install them pay extra to move us to the top of the list. If they don't install them, I need you to find someone who can. Pay whatever you have to for top priority. I want the kitchen back in order as soon as possible. If you don't think you have enough money, take more."
"Willow, I want you and Tara to go buy a new stove and refrigerator, table and chairs, dishes, glasses, plus anything else we need for the kitchen. Same as Xander, pay extra for quick delivery or find someone who will deliver it to us. Take more money if you need it and take my car."
"Giles, I would like for you to take Dawn and I around to buy furniture and other things for the living room. I also need you to tell me if you think what I have here will be enough? I've got about ten thousand dollars here now and will have more tomorrow, another twelve thousand. I've never had to do this kind of shopping before and I'm not really sure what it's all going to cost? Also, whatever is left over you can have for the Magic Shop, but the house has to come first."
"Buffy, I'd be more than happy to help you" Giles said with a shocked look on his face, "but where did this money come from? The Counsel couldn't have brought you any money yet, Mr. Mensey said it would take several days to get the cash money you requested."
"It didn't come from the Counsel. It's from the 'Let's get Buffy's house fixed fast, courtesy of Willy' fund" she told him with a half smile. "When I explained the situation to Willy last night he was more than happy to contribute."
Everyone sat there with their mouths open as they started to comprehend what she had just told them. All except Dawn, who flopped down on the grass and started laughing so hard she almost peed in her pants. The others took a little longer, they first started smiling and then started laughing too. The justice of the situation was apparent to all of them. There wasn't anything in the world that could hurt Willy more than to have to part with his money.
Giles smiled a little half smile, but he didn't laugh. He seemed to be the only one who understood what kind of threat it must have taken to get Willy to part with his money. Just the idea of such a threat disturbed him greatly, but he didn't say anything in front of the others. He would save his comments for a private conversation with Buffy later.
*********
Everyone went off in their own directions to take care of their part. Xander went to a lumber yard that that also made and installed cabinets. He bought hardware and other supplies for the house and paid a large deposit with a promise of cash on delivery and installment of the cabinets. The earliest it could be done was Tuesday morning. He also bought paint, brushes and drop cloths. If they were going to remodel the kitchen they might as well go all the way. He knew a couple of guys at work that would help with the painting for a little extra cash income.
Willow and Tara bought two shopping carts full of new dishes, pots and pans, a coffee pot and other utensils for the kitchen. They also paid for a new stove, refrigerator and kitchen table with chairs, but the man at the store told them that he couldn't deliver for several days. The stove and refrigerator had to be delivered to him from the warehouse before he could deliver it himself. Willow worked out a deal with one of the salesmen, he would pick up the items himself and deliver them the next day for three hundred dollars. Willow paid him half up front and promised the rest on delivery.
Buffy, with Dawn and Giles went to two different furniture stores ordering things. Buffy was shocked by how much good furniture cost. It amazed her that her mother had been able to afford such good furniture in the first place. Giles was able to work out some good deals for her and she was extremely glad that he had come with her. The stores promised delivery on Thursday morning. They next went out and bought a new TV and VCR. They loaded them in Giles car and headed home.
Xander and Anya were the first back, followed by Willow and Tara. He was helping them carry the things they had purchased into the house when Buffy, Dawn and Giles arrived. He helped to unload their car too. Buffy had stopped for take-out on the way home so they all sat down for dinner. While they ate they discussed the purchases they had made and when the deliveries would be made. Xander also told Buffy about buying the paint and planing to hire a couple of guys from work to help with the painting. Buffy was very pleased with the idea of painting the kitchen and thanked Xander for coming up with the idea. Xander admitted that the idea had actually been Anyas. She had been the one to notice that the new cabinets wouldn't match the paint in the kitchen and wouldn't look right. Buffy thanked Anya too.
With everything done that could be done today, Buffy thanked Xander, Anya and Giles and told them to go on home and get some rest. Once they were gone Willow and Tara went up to their room. They were both so tired they were going to go to bed immediately. Dawn couldn't keep her eyes open and followed them up the stairs and went to bed too.
*********
Buffy watched the TV until 9:00 then put on her jacket and went out to her car. She drove to 'Willy's Place' and parked the car a half block away. As she walked the rest of the way, just before getting there, Spike stepped out of the shadows.
"Spike, what are you doing here" Buffy asked uncomfortably as she came to a stop.
"Just a little backup Slayer, that's all" Spike replied. "You can never tell about a worm like Willy."
Buffy nodded her head and resumed walking without speaking. When she walked through the door into 'Willy's Place' she immediately noticed that there were a half dozen demons sitting at the bar and none of them had a drink in front of them. Spike noticed the same as Buffy and started to pull out his sword. Buffy reached over and caught his hand stopping him. She looked the place over again and turning her head toward Spike said "I don't think there's going to be any trouble." She walked the rest of the way into the room and walked over to the bar. Willy was behind the bar as usual, but was already pale and sweating before she ever reached him.
"You been waiting for me long Willy" she asked calmly as she rested her arms on the bar.
Willy swallowed hard before he could speak. "I've been waiting for you Slayer, just like you told me to."
"You got what I came for" she asked?
"I got it Slayer" he said with a little more confidence in his voice. "But I want to ask you a question. I been talking to some friends and they tell me that it was some kind of military outfit that raided that warehouse the other night. They said that these guys were seen going in, that there was a lot of shooting, and they were seen coming out. But no one saw you anywhere near the place. How is it that I owe you so much money if you weren't even around?"
Buffy smiled at Willy, but there wasn't any humor in her eyes. Willy took a step back from the bar and beads of sweat popped out on his forehead again. "You don't owe me for where I was or wasn't Willy" she said coldly. "You owe me for selling the wrong information. So pay up!"
Willy looked at the Slayer again and then at the six demons sitting at the bar watching her closely. He knew that if he gave the signal they would jump her immediately. He glanced over at Spike and tried to figure the odds, six against two shouldn't be a problem. But the smile on the Slayers face had him spooked. He made the decision not to risk it. He could always get more money, but he only had one life. He opened the door to a beer cooler and pulled a canvas bag out of it and set it on the bar. Buffy reached over and picked the bag up and tucked it under her arm. She leaned over the bar and motioned Willy to come closer. He eased up to the bar, but stayed out of Buffy's reach.
"Willy, your right, no one saw me go in and no one saw me come out. Think about that" she whispered to him. "Just like no one will ever see me if I decide to burn this place to the ground with you still in it." The look she gave Willy made his blood run cold with fear. Willy stepped further away from the bar, swallowing hard, as Buffy turned and walked out the doorway.
Spike followed Buffy out the door and down the street to her car. She opened the door and tossed the money bag on the passenger side and started to get into the car. Spike grabbed the door and looking at Buffy he said "About last night."
Before he could say anymore, Buffy spoke. "Last night was a mistake Spike. It shouldn't have happened. It won't happen again. Just forget it." She pulled the door shut, started the ignition and drove away.
Spike stood there watching her car disappear, feeling both hurt and anger at the same time. 'Just forget it ever happened, you say' he said to himself. 'Not bloody likely Slayer, not bloody likely.'
*********
(Monday)
In the morning Buffy got Dawn off to school with a note explaining why she had been absent the week before, a very sick relative out of state that had passed away. Xander had come by to pick Dawn up, as usual, and went to work himself. Willow and Tara had classes and left early to go around and find out what class work they needed to make up. Buffy cleaned up the kitchen and waited for the delivery of the new stove, refrigerator and other things Willow had ordered.
The two men from the store arrived at 9:00 and unloaded everything. Buffy paid them the agreed amount plus an extra hundred for setting everything up and hauling the shipping boxes and trash away with them. When they were gone she took a shower, got dressed, then went shopping for food to replace everything that had been ruined or spoiled. By the time she was done it was almost noon. She then drove to the Magic Shop and spent the afternoon helping to clean up and sort out the mess that had been made there. At a little before 3:00 she left to picked up Dawn from school and take her home. Willow and Tara arrived a short time later and Tara sat down almost immediately with Dawn to help her with her makeup homework.
At a little after 5:00 Xander showed up with two of his friends from work and they started painting the kitchen and breakfast nook area immediately. Giles arrived with Anya around 5:30 with a bucket of chicken and carryout finger foods from the Chinese place. Everyone ate as they worked and the painting was finished by 8:30. Buffy paid Xanders friends the agreed amount plus a hundred extra each for working so hard. With everything done Xander, Anya and Giles left for home and Willow, Tara and Dawn all went to bed. Buffy went out on patrol. She didn't find any vampires or demons. She didn't see Spike.
(Tuesday)
Dawn got off to school on time, Xander went to work, Willow and Tara went to classes, Anya and Giles were at the shop. At 8:00 the three men from the lumber yard arrived and started ripping out the old cabinets and installing the new ones. Buffy ordered in a lunch for them and when they finished she paid the agreed amount plus two hundred extra each for working so hard and getting the job done so fast. They hauled off the old cabinets and trash with them. She picked Dawn up at school, took her home and started dinner. Willow and Tara got home and helped finish preparing dinner. Xander came over straight from work, Giles brought Anya over. When dinner was finished they all went back to the shop and worked for several hours. Xander was making new display cases for the shop while the rest of them inventoried what was salvaged from the wreckage. Anya and Tara worked on order forms to resupply the shop as soon as possible. At 10:00 everyone went home to rest. Willow took the car to take Dawn and Tara home, Buffy went on patrol. She didn't find any vampires or demons. She didn't see Spike.
(Wednesday)
Dawn got off to school, Xander went to work, Willow and Tara went to the Magic Shop to work with Anya and Giles. Buffy waited at home for someone from the Counsel to arrive. At noon Mr. Mensey knocked on the door, he had a briefcase full of money. Buffy counted the money, a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. She gave Mr. Mensey the package with the artifacts in it and he left. They had said very few words to each other. She sorted the money out into piles, ten thousand each for Dawn, Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara, twenty thousand for Spike, and fifty thousand for Giles. She kept the remaining thirty thousand for herself, with the twenty-four thousand she had from Willy she thought that was a fair distribution. She drove to the furniture stores where she had ordered her new furniture and paid off the balance that was owed and was assured that all of the new furniture would be delivered the next day. She then went to the bank and rented a safety deposit box and put her share of the money into it. Next she went to the school and picked up Dawn and took her to the Magic Shop where she gave everyone else their share of the money.
Willow and Tara tried to refuse their share, but Buffy insisted that they take it and use it to help out with their schooling costs. Anya was more practical and willingly excepted her and Xanders share. She let Dawn have her share so that she could see it and count it, but told her that it was all going to go into a college fund for her so she wouldn't get to spend any of it. Dawn didn't think it was fair that she couldn't spend any of it, but after Buffy told her she would take her shopping to buy things she wanted from Buffy's share of the money Dawn calmed down. Giles thought Buffy had given him to much, his repairs and restocking of the shop would only come to about half of what she had given him. Buffy insisted that he take it all and he didn't argue with her, but told her that he would hold on to it in case she ever needed it. She also gave him Spikes share of the money. She asked him not to give it all to Spike at one time because he would just spend it and be broke again in no time. Giles agreed and told her he would take care of it. When Xander got to the shop after work and found out about the money he wanted to give it back to Buffy at first, but when Buffy insisted that he keep it and Anya insisted they keep it, he was very happy. They all continued to work on the repairs for several hours until Buffy saw Dawn yawning and had Willow take her and Tara home. The others went home too. Buffy went out on patrol. She saw one vampire and killed it. She didn't see Spike anywhere.
(Thursday)
Dawn got off to school, Xander went to work, Willow and Tara left for early classes, Giles and Anya were at the Magic Shop. At a little after 9:00 the delivery men from one of the furniture stores arrived and started bring the new furniture inside. The second truck from the other furniture store arrived a short time later and started bringing their things in too. With four delivery men and Buffy helping it didn't take long to get everything inside and arranged the way she wanted. Although she didn't have to, the furniture and delivery had already been paid for, Buffy gave each of the men and extra hundred dollars and they hauled the trash away with them.
With the furniture in place and the house back in order, for the first time since this whole mess had started almost two weeks previously, Buffy let out a long sigh of relief as she sat down on her new couch. As she sat there tears started running from her eyes as she cried quietly. After a few minutes she sighed again, wiped the tears away with her fingers and put a determined look back on her face. She went upstairs, stripped off her cloths and took a long hot shower and redressed. She drove to the Magic Shop to help out with whatever needed to be finished there. When she got there some orders of merchandise had just arrived for the restocking and she helped Anya and Giles inventory it and put it out on the new shelves and display cases that Xander had built.
At 2:00 Willow and Tara arrived at the shop and both were smiling with happiness. When asked why, they took everyone outside and showed them the new used car that Willow had just bought. It was a ten year old blue convertible that she had just purchased from one of her professors. The professor had wanted five thousand for it but had taken four because she paid him in cash. He had even given her a written promise that if anything went wrong with the car for ninety days he would refund her money. Giles admitted that he didn't know very much about cars but the engine purred like a kitten and the condition of the car was impeccable. Willow was ecstatic, she had never owned a car before, or anything else of real value. She had always lived at home or in the dorms at school or at Buffy's house. Except for her computer, which her parents had paid for, she actually owned very little beyond her cloths. This was the first time she had ever had any money of her own to buy anything and she was very happy. Tara was happy because Willow was happy. Willow insisted that she be allowed to go pick up Dawn at school so that she could show off her new car.
When Xander arrived at the shop from work Willow was all over him to show off her car. Xander checked it out carefully and told her that it looked to be in excellent condition. He also gave her the name of his insurance company and reminded Willow that it was illegal for her to drive her car until she had insurance. Willow hadn't even thought about insurance and when she found out that it would probably cost her at least a hundred dollars a month for the insurance she was dismayed. Between the cost of the car and the insurance over half of the money she had received from Buffy was spent in one day. When she added in the cost of gas, oil, maintenance and a school parking permit she figured another thousand a year was spoken for as well. Willow sat down on the curb and started crying. For someone with an IQ of 148 she really hadn't thought things out very far.
Tara tried to soothe her and Xander tried to tease her out of her crying. When Buffy found out what she was crying about she offered to buy the car from Willow and put the car under her own insurance as a second car. Buffy reminded her that she had plenty of money to buy the car and pay for the extra insurance. Willow was reluctant at first, but finally agreed to sell the car, but insisted that she pay for the extra cost of the insurance that it was going to cost Buffy. Buffy told her it probably wouldn't be more than five or six hundred dollars a year extra and that with the kind of coverage she carried they would all be able to drive either car at anytime. Willow hadn't even realized that Buffy had been paying extra on her insurance all along just so that Willow and Tara could drive her car. Willow promised them all that she would think things through more clearly before she ever allowed herself to jump into something like this again. For the rest of the evening Willow worked to get the shop ready to open again in a kind of sad/happy/sad mood. Sad that she had jumped into such a major purchase without thinking things through, happy that Buffy had volunteered to buy the car and save her from most of the expense, and sad that she'd had to sell the car on the same day that she had bought it.
At 9:00 Buffy asked Willow and Tara to take Dawn home. Willow drove her car home slowly and carefully, without any insurance she wouldn't let anyone else ride with her. Tara, who didn't drive often drove Dawn home in Buffy's car following Willow all the way. Xander, Anya and Giles all went home to rest and get some sleep. Buffy went on patrol. She didn't see any vampires or demons. She didn't see Spike anywhere, again.
(Friday)
In the morning Buffy got up and made breakfast for Dawn as usual. Xander came by for coffee and drove Dawn to school as usual. Willow and Tara came down for breakfast as usual. At 8:00 Buffy called her insurance agent, explained she had just bought a second car, gave the agent all the information he needed and ordered new license plates from him for the car. When she hung up the phone she was able to tell Willow that the car was now covered and any of them could now drive it. Willow was pleased, but was still upset with herself for acting like a kid in a candy store the first time she had ever had any money. She promised Buffy that she wouldn't ever do that again. Buffy gave her a hug and a kiss and told her not to worry about it.
Ever since the Wicca Fair, and before the situation with the MacPherson mausoleum being broken into and the artifacts being discovered, Tara had been checking Buffy's aura everyday to see how her psychic energy was doing. During the pass two weeks Buffy's aura had gone from dark gray to a lighter shade of gray or cloudy white. Tara had put the light gray and cloudy white shade of her aura down to the stress of the situation they were in and had really felt good that under the circumstances Buffy was doing so much better than she had been before. When she came down for breakfast and checked Buffy's aura as usual she was shocked to see that her aura was black. She even took the crystal up to her room while Buffy was on the phone with the insurance man and did a cleansing ritual to clear it to a clear smooth white. When she came back down she used the crystal to check Buffy's aura again and it again turned a dark obsidian black.
While Buffy was getting ready to go to the Magic Shop, Giles wanted to reopen the shop this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest, Tara took Willow into their room and showed her the crystal. Willow was as shocked as Tara had been. She had known that Tara had been monitoring Buffy's aura and had been pleased that the color had turned so much lighter over the past two weeks, even with the stress of everything going on. To see it so black was unbelievable, what could have happened to make this happened. At first Willow wondered out loud if it could have anything with the car and insurance situation and maybe it was her fault for worrying Buffy. Tara told her forcefully that was ridiculous. If anything, being able to help Willow, who they both knew Buffy loved dearly, should have made her happy and should have made the color of the crystal lighter not darker. Neither one could understand what could have happened to make Buffy's aura so dark.
When Buffy was ready to leave she told them that she was going to take Willow's car to her insurance man so that he could see the car, she could write a check for the insurance and get the sticker for the window to show that new license plates had been ordered. As soon as she drove away Willow and Tara got into Buffy's car and drove to the Magic Shop. When they showed the crystal to Giles and explained that Tara had checked Buffy's aura twice, he became as concerned as they were and just as puzzled about what could have made it happen.
Should they confront Buffy and show her the crystal? Should they ask her what was troubling her so much? They all knew that if they asked her and she refused to answer they couldn't make her, and it would only upset her more to know that they had been monitoring her aura for weeks. Buffy had always been reluctant to share her pain with her friends. Since she had been returned to life she had become even more reluctant, especially since she had lost control of her emotions weeks ago and had cried for almost three days in a row. None of them had seen her cry since then and were certain that she was holding all of her emotions under a tight control.
It was at this time that Giles mentioned to them his concern about the money Buffy had received from Willy. They all knew Willy and knew that he must have been in fear for his very life if he had given any money to Buffy. If Buffy had threatened to kill him if he didn't pay her that could explain the darkness of her aura. Maybe she was feeling guilt and remorse. Tara said that she didn't think that was it, but didn't have any better suggestion.
When Buffy got to the Magic Shop and found Willow and Tara there she told Willow that it really was fun to drive a convertible and that they would have to switch cars again sometime. She then got busy helping Anya with the final arrangements for reopening the shop. Willow and Tara had to leave to go to their classes. After about an hour of working together Anya went to Giles and told him that she could sense that Buffy was full of emotional pain. So much pain in fact that it was making Anya feel sick. Giles put her to doing something else and went to working with Buffy himself. As they worked Giles kept a close eye on Buffy, searching for a clue in her behavior. Buffy was so self absorbed that she wasn't even aware that Giles was watching her or that Anya was avoiding her. At noon they turned the sign on outside to show that they were open again and unlocked the doors for the first time in almost two weeks.
The shop had only been open fifteen minutes before the first customer came through the door. For the rest of the afternoon they had a steady flow of customers. When Dawn got out of school she caught a bus and came to the Magic Shop. As soon as she got there she sat down at the big work table and did her homework so that the rest of the weekend would be free. Xander came to the shop from work and waited for Anya to get off work. The shop stayed open till 6:00, Xander took Anya home and Buffy took Dawn home. Giles locked the shop up behind them and said he was going to do some work on his books. By the time Buffy and Dawn got home Willow and Tara were already there and Tara was preparing diner. Dawn noticed that both Willow and Tara were keeping an eye on Buffy and that Buffy didn't even notice. Alarms started ringing inside Dawns head and the fear of the previous weeks when Buffy had been so distant came flooding back to her. Buffy stayed at home till 9:00 then went out on patrol. She didn't see any vampires or demons that night. She didn't see Spike anywhere either. She stayed out late and patrolled widely, but no sign of Spike anywhere.
(Saturday)
Everyone slept in late except Buffy. She had come home late, had trouble getting to sleep and had woke up early. She was downstairs in the kitchen reading the newspaper when everyone else got up around 9:00. When Tara secretly checked her aura with a smooth white crystal it turned black almost immediately. Whenever any of them tried to talk to Buffy or get her to talk to them she seemed preoccupied with something else on her mind. Dawn couldn't deal with it and went back up to her room. At 11:00 Buffy got up from the table and left the house without saying anything to anyone. She got into her car and drove away. Dawn came downstairs immediately and asked Tara what was going on. Tara showed Dawn the black crystal. Dawn sat there looking at it and tears started running down her face. Dawn got up and ran upstairs, when she came back down ten minutes later she had changed cloths and ran out the door saying she was going to Janet's house.
********
When Buffy left her house she drove straight to Spikes crypt. When she entered the upper level all was quiet and the slab was moved over the hole leading down. She moved the slab and went down the ladder, all of the things that had been left behind the previous Sunday were stacked neatly near the wall close to the foot of the ladder. She used her flashlight to find her way down the hall to Spikes vault. There were no candles burning in his vault and no sign that he had been there for several days. She climbed back up the ladder, moved the slab back in place and left the crypt.
******
Dawn had no intention of going to Janet's, as soon as she was out of the house she headed straight for Spikes place. She was almost there when she saw Buffy drive her car out of the cemetery. Buffy didn't see her and turned the car in the other direction. Dawn continued on to Spikes crypt and tried to move the slab. It was to heavy for her to move on her own and she couldn't find anything to use to pry it to one side. She left the crypt in frustration and full of anger at Buffy.
*******
Giles was working at the Magic Shop, he had given both Anya and Buffy the day off. It was almost noon when the phone rang and he answered it. The call was from Mr. Mensey in London. He had delivered the artifacts to the Counsel and when they opened the package they had found that one of the five five-sided disks was missing. They wanted to know where it was at?
Just at that moment Buffy entered the shop and headed for the backroom to workout for awhile. Giles called her over and asked her if she knew anything about the missing disk. Buffy got on the phone and asked Mr. Mensey to describe the other four disks. When he was finished she told him that the disk that wasn't there was the same one that had disappeared in her home. She told him that the missing disk appeared to be able to make itself invisible and to move short distances on it's own. She asked if he had opened the package any where else than the Counsel chambers. Because if he hadn't the disk was probably somewhere in the room only invisible. They could wait for it to make itself visible again or get someone with magic powers to try to locate it in the room.
Mr. Mensey admitted that he had looked at the artifacts once before leaving Los Angeles and a second time in New York before leaving for London. Buffy told him that the disk could have made itself disappear in any of the three places and moved itself away from the other artifacts. It could still be invisible at any of those three places or it could make itself visible at any time. She told him that as far as she knew the disk had made itself invisible for forty-eight hours the time it happened in her home, but she couldn't be sure of that because it could have made itself visible and then invisible again a number of times when they weren't at home.
Mr. Mensey was very upset to hear this and asked why he hadn't been warned that one of the disks could do such a thing. Buffy reminded him that she had mentioned it once and that if he checked his notes from the trip he would probably find the reference. Mr. Mensey checked his notes and admitted that the notation was there from notes he had made the first night and he had just forgotten about it. Buffy told Mr. Mensey that she hadn't forgotten and that was why she had kept the package wrapped up tight and unopened and he should have done the same, at least until he got it back to the Counsel. She told him it was his problem now and not hers, but she did suggest that he try to remember exactly where he opened the package each time and to post several men to look for the disk if it became visible again. She also reminded him that if the disk had disappeared in Los Angeles or New York it could already have made itself visible again and been found by someone and carried off to some other place. Buffy handed the phone back to Giles and went to the back room of the shop.
For two hours Buffy worked out hard without a break. Giles had looked in on her twice and she was acting as if she were fighting a whole pack of demons and vampires for her life. She was so focused on what she was doing she didn't even notice Giles looking in on her. When she finished her workout she was soaking wet with perspiration and took a shower and redressed in her street cloths. When she left the shop she didn't even talk to Giles, she just waved at him as she left.
********
Dawn was so upset with Buffy that when she couldn't get into Spikes crypt she caught a bus to the mall and went from store to store shoplifting. Mainly small items, but one of the things she slipped in her pocket was a ring worth several hundred dollars. When she got home Buffy hadn't returned yet and she went up to her room and put all of the things she had stolen in the box. In the box was also the missing five-sided disk. Dawn picked it up and played with it for several minutes before putting it back and hiding the box in her closet again.
*********
When Buffy got home both Willow and Tara tried to get her to talk to them. She told them she was tired and went up to her room and laid down on her bed and stared up at her ceiling. As she laid there a feeling of being disconnected came over her. Thoughts of Spike ran through her mind and thoughts of wanting to feel alive again.
*******
Tara had prepared dinner and Willow went up to get Buffy and Dawn. Buffy ate dinner, but didn't do much talking. Dawn talked to both Willow and Tara but didn't even try to talk to Buffy or even look in her direction. Buffy didn't really seem to notice one way or the other.
When dinner was over Buffy put on her jacket and left the house walking. It was only 6:00 and she was already out on patrol. For six hours she walked the streets, alleys and cemeteries of Sunnydale. In all that time she didn't see a single vampire and only one demon, one that she knew was harmless. She had looked everywhere but hadn't seen Spike anywhere.
(Sunday, 12:11AM)
It was a little after midnight when she found herself near the Bronze and could hear the beat of the music. She decided to go inside and see if she could spot any vampires. She cruised through the place once and didn't notice anything unusual. She sat down at the bar and was trying to decide if she wanted a drink or not when she got a feeling in the back of her head that someone was watching her. She turned around and Spike was standing there. She looked at him without saying a word, then looked away. Spike turned and walked off into the crowd.
When Buffy turned back and saw that Spike was gone she felt a pain in her chest as if she had just been stabbed. She got up and started looking for him. She went through the place looking in every direction and didn't see him anywhere. She was just getting ready to leave when a tall man stepped out from in front of her and Spike was standing only a few feet away under the steps leading up to the upper levels. She stopped and looked at him, he was looking at her also but didn't move. Buffy felt a pounding in her chest as she neared him. She reached out slowly with one of her hands and touched the side of his face lightly. She moved in against him and pulled his head down to meet hers and kissed him. In a moments time she had both arms around his neck and was kissing him deeply. Spike had his arms around her and was holding her tightly against himself as he returned her kisses. It seemed like hours but could only have been minutes before the kiss ended. Buffy felt weak in her knees and was holding on to Spike to stop herself from falling to the floor. Spike pulled her to him tighter and started kissing her deeply again. Buffy returned the kisses and felt as if a heavy weight was lifting off of her.
When Spike lead her out of the Bronze she didn't even notice. The first thing she did notice was Spike pinning her against a wall as he kissed her and roamed his hands over her body. He was squeezing her ass with one hand as he pressed himself against her. She could feel his erection pressing against her through their cloths. He had one hand inside her blouse and was squeezing one of her breasts and pinching it's nipple. He was kissing her neck and throat and she could feel the pulse of her blood beneath his lips where they touched her. She reached up and pulled his head up so that she could kiss him again.
When he turned his head toward her he was in full vampire mode. The shock of seeing him like that and knowing that he had just had his lips pressed against her throat sent a chill through her whole body. She stiffened up immediately and pushed him away with all her strength. Spike fell to the ground and looked up at her with a puzzled look on his face as it returned to normal. Buffy turned from him and ran from the alley behind the Bronze as fast has her legs could carry her. She stumbled once and almost fell but kept her feet under her and continued to run. She ran almost all the way home before she finally slowed to a walk.
The memory and sensations of what had just happened whirled through her mind. Kissing him, wanting him, feeling him pressed against her body. Feeling his hand on her breast, feeling the hardness of his erection, wanting him inside of her, wanting to feel alive again. Feeling his lips against hers, feeling his lips against her throat and how it made her pulse pound. Seeing his full vampire face and knowing he was evil. The revulsion she felt, the panic that made her run, and the desire to kiss him again.
When she got home she went to the back porch and sat down on the steps. She buried her face in her arms and cried. She cried for her thoughts and her feelings. She cried for her wants and her needs. She cried for her revulsion and self loathing. And she cried for the pain in her heart that she felt whenever she was near him.