As You Weren't (BTVS, B/A, Mature, 1/1) [COMPLETE]

[Jezebel Jinx]

Title: As You Weren’t
Author: Dez/Jezebel Jinx/VampireQueen21/Angeluslover412
Rating: Teen-Mature (language, violence, slight sexual situations)
Summary: A rewrite of ‘As You Were’ Season 6. When Riley comes to see Buffy he finds that she is very happy. Why? Well, your just going to have to read to find out. (Not a great summary I know but if I say anymore it will give the story away)
Couple: B/A, little Dawn/Spike friendship
Warning: Since I am not a huge fan of Riley there will be a little bashing (not much) of him in this fic…there might be some bashing of Cordelia, however it’s not a definite. I stopped being a fan of her after David Greenwalt and Joss Whedon thought it would be a good idea to push her and Angel together and to make her a higher being (which by the way who the hell would believe that she would become a higher being.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing, if I did Buffy never would have gotten together with Riley and Cordelia and Angel would have stayed just friends. Some of the lines I use are from ‘As You Were’.
Note: I changed a few things from Season 6 so it can fit the story. Buffy doesn’t work at the Doublemeat Palace, in fact as of right now she doesn’t work (the reason will be explained). Buffy and Spike never kissed or slept together, but he has become a close friend of hers. And lastly, Buffy did die but not for as long as she did in the show, it was only for about month.
Note 2: Angel did have sex with Darla back in season 2, but Darla didn’t get pregnant. However she did show up pregnant during ‘Offspring’ but it was a spell that she had a shaman do because she wanted Angel back.
Note 3: About half of this is written from Dawn’s perspective. I didn’t plan it that way, but that’s the way it came out. I don’t think I wrote her whiny, I just wrote her as the younger sister.

~*~*~*~*~Summer’s Household~*~*~*~*~

A knock sounds at the front door, waking a sick napping Dawn on the couch. She sits up, waiting for a moment to see if the person at the door leaves, but the second knock that followed dashed those hopes. Rubbing at her sleep encrusted eyes, she yawns and stands stretching her tired muscles. “I'm coming, hold on.”

Dawn shuffles her way over to the door and glances out the door windows. Smiling when she sees Xander, the man she’s had a crush on since she was 10, standing there. She opens the door and steps back to let him in. “I told Buffy I didn’t need someone to watch over me.”

“She just wants to make sure that you’ll have everything you need while you’re sick since neither she nor Angel are going to be here all day.” Earlier that day Buffy called him asking if he could stop by the house sometime around lunch to check up on Dawn since Angel was taking Buffy out for the day then to lunch at the Mansion.

Ever since Angel’s soul became permanent, a week before Buffy rose from the dead, he’s been a constant in the lives of the Sunnydale gang. He still goes to L.A. every week to battle the forces of evil or if Cordelia has a vision but for the most part he resides in Sunnydale with Buffy.

“I'm just glad they left the house. I swear anymore of that lovey-dovey stuff they do and I was going to hurl. Not to mention ever since Buffy became pregnant she and Angel have been goin’ at it non-stop.” Dawn shuts the door and makes her way back to the couch, where she curls up with her blanket that fell on the floor.

“Those two are a couple of horndogs aren’t they?” Xander takes a seat close to Dawn and puts his feet on the table.

“No need to tell me,” She sneezes and takes a Kleenex wiping her nose, “eww, gross.” She throws the tissue into the paper bag sitting on the floor.

“Looks like the Dawnster is going to need some more Kleenex and more medicine.” He treads up the stairs and into the bathroom grabbing a box full of cold pills and tissue paper.

Descending back down the stairs he hears a soft snore coming from the living room. Dawns fast asleep with one arm underneath the pillow supporting her head and the other arm dangling off the side of the sofa. Smiling he sets down the pills and tissue onto the table and makes his way toward the kitchen to make himself a snack.

For the past year or so, whenever he was bored or nervous, he’s been eating anything that he could find…at least according to Anya. His fiancée hardly states something unless on some level it was true. His fiancée. He likes the sound of that, soon Anya will be his wife.

Upon Dead Boy’s request he and An had invited the AI team, at Angel’s expense. Anya wouldn’t agree to having people she hardly knew at the wedding, if she or Xander had to pay for them. Xander had to admit, Anya always spoke her mind…even if it wasn’t polite.

Xander having his snacks strolls his way back to the living room, where he sits down in the recliner he had vacated previously. Reaching over to the coffee table he grabs the TV remote, keeping the volume on low and watches old episodes of Law & Order. He had stumbled across it a couple of months ago on one of his days off, and now he was hooked.

~*~*~*~*~Mansion~*~*~*~*~

A loud roar of satisfaction echoes through the newly refurbished Mansion, the vampire and his mate pant, tired from the many sexual acts that the day had brought, but utterly content.

Angel rests his head in the crook of Buffy’s neck lightly licking the reopened puncture wounds gracing the smooth column. He can’t remember the last time he was this happy. Buffy’s 17th birthday came close but it didn’t reach his current feeling of contentment and happiness.

Buffy was his wife, mate, best friend, mother of his unborn child, and fellow warrior. A week before Buffy came to him he had felt a strong painful pull flow through his entire body. It had lasted only seconds but in those brief moments he knew his soul was bound.

He had gone to the Oracles immediately after, demanding to know why now was the time for his soul to be bound. The only reason for it to become permanent was gone and wasn’t coming back, not this time. It had to be a cruel joke…it wouldn’t be a surprise with the Powers track record regarding him and Buffy.

The Oracles told him that it there was a reason. Everything would be revealed in time. And he thought he was cryptic.

For a week he split his time between LA and Sunnydale and Buffy’s grave. Some nights he would just lay on top of the grave and cry, the last night he was there he felt a heartbeat, very soft and slow, but it soon quickened in fear. He had looked everywhere trying to find the owner of the frantic heartbeat. Finally he figured out where.

It came from beneath him.

In Buffy’s grave.

He fell to his knees and clawed at the ground ripping grass and pushing at the dirt. There was no time to think, he knew Buffy was down there, alive, and his mate had to be freed from her underground prison.

It took three minutes and thirty-seven seconds to dig his mate out of her grave. Her hair was tangled and dirty with pieces of leaves and grass woven into the strands. The black dress she wore was torn and dirtied but she couldn’t have been more beautiful to him.

She hadn’t looked around or anything; the only thing she was staring at was him. The world around them had melted away till all that was left was them. Within moments she was in his arms being held and him whispering her name like it was a prayer.

For a couple of weeks Buffy was depressed, not really wanting to interact with anybody except Angel and Spike. At first Buffy didn’t talk about where she had been but he had had a fairly good idea. After all she was/is a Slayer, all Slayers unless they become the ultimate evil go to Heaven…or something similar to Heaven.

So when Buffy finally told him where she was he wasn’t the least bit shocked.

His mate’s moans break him out of his thoughts. “Mmm, now this is Heaven. I should know, I’ve been there.” She grins wide and stares up at his gorgeous face.

“You’ve reached Heaven a lot today.” Of course he was right there beside her this time around, as he had been since she returned to Earth. Smirking he leans down capturing her lips in a heated kiss that make her insides melt.

“Well, you are very good at what you do.” Buffy nips his jaw as he rolls over to lie beside her, keeping his arm around her waist. “I can’t thank you enough for today, I needed time away from Dawnie watching. I'm in a definite no responsibility mood.”

Angel pulls her closer till she’s laying flush against his side, her arm draped across his stomach. “Well, it’s the anniversary of many things today. Six months ago today you came back into my un-life. And 4 months ago you told me the news that we are having a child.” He kisses the crown of her head.

“Can you believe it…we’re going to be parents of an adorable baby boy or a gorgeous baby girl.” When she took the pregnancy test all those months ago, she was in complete shock. The only man she had been with was Angel, and from everything she knew about vampires…they couldn’t have children.

Although there was the Darla incident. She had come to LA, pregnant and told Angel he was the father. Buffy had been almost 2 months along then, she had just told Angel no more then a week before that she was pregnant with his child.

She had been crushed when she saw Darla, the only creature that she could ever remember loathing with such a passion, strolling in her hands on her large stomach, and rubbing Buffy’s face in the fact that she would have ‘her boy’s’ first child. Buffy had known about Angel and Darla and how they had sex when he had hit rock bottom, she hadn’t been happy to hear about it, but she understood. If Angel hadn’t been with her to pull her out of her short depression she might have gone to seek comfort in someone that she normally wouldn’t have…like Spike, she shivers at the mental image that brings.

“You cold beloved?” Angel rubs his hands up and down her arms.

“No, I was just thinking about things, and it happened to be thoughts that weren’t so pleasant in my Buffy mind.” She traces shapes on Angel’s chest with her finger and follows with her tongue, causing her husband to groan in pleasure.

“And what thoughts might those be?”

“Having sex with Spike.” Buffy says simply.

Growling he rolls Buffy over till he’s above her. “What?” Not liking the thought of her and his Childe in a passionate embrace.

“I said it was a non-pleasant Buffy thought.”

“Exactly what made you think of this?” His demon howls with jealousy and his vampiric features make themselves known.

She loved it when Angel got all vampy and jealous. “I was thinking about when you hit rock bottom and slept with slut-o-roma, and that if you hadn’t been here to help me after I came back I might have done something stupid like slept with Spike. See, a not very happy Buffy thought. You my vampire lover have nothing to worry about.” Buffy pulls him toward her, kissing him sensually and slowly. The lip-lock quickly heats up, till they are tangled in each other’s arms for the fifth time that day.

~*~*~*~*~Next Night; Summer’s Household~*~*~*~*~

“No way Janice, the first one wasn’t nearly as good as the second…” Dawn hears the microwave beep, her popcorn’s done. It was so great being sick; she can eat whatever she wants. Her sister and Angel are fairly lenient when it comes to her, especially when she’s ill.

She empties the contents of the bag into a huge bowl, then she takes out a stick of butter and places it into a small bowl and settled it in the microwave. Dawn sets the time and munches on the popcorn while waiting for the butter to melt.

“…you’re kidding, in front of the whole class. Oh man they are so going to expel her. This is what happens when I'm out sick, all the good stuff goes on.” A knock at the door moves Dawn from her spot on the island to go answer the door. “Listen I’ll call you back, Buffy wanted me off the phone by 9 and it’s almost 10… no, she probably doesn’t even care right now… her and my brother in law have been attached at the hip since she got pregnant… ok I should be at school tomorrow, bye.”

A knock sounds again as she’s placing the phone back onto the cradle. “All right, jeez, can’t you wait two seconds?” Dressed all in black from head to toe stands Riley and tall brunette.

“Hi Dawn.”

“Riley, what are you doing here? I thought you were in Africa or South America…a country that isn’t this one.” Her arms are crossed, staring him down.

“South America. I actually need to see Buffy. Is she in?” Riley almost completely forgets his wife at his side at the thought of seeing Buffy again. He loves Sam, he knows he does, but he has a past with Buffy and when he left he knew he loved her too. A part of him still does.

The entire trip over to the Summer’s home he couldn’t help wondering what she was doing now. He knows his ex, he’s sure that he does or at least did, there’s almost no doubt in his mind that she’ll still be by herself, or going with some loser. After all, when Angel left she went to the first guy who gave her sweet words, Parker.

“Maybe, why do you want to see her?” Ever since Buffy came back she’s been protective of Buffy. Especially around people who leave without so much as a goodbye and suddenly want to see her.

“There’s a demon issue, can I…” he takes a quick glance toward is wife, suddenly remembering that she was there with him too, “we, can we come in? This is my wife, Sam.”

“I guess…” Knowing full well that her vague invitation wouldn’t be enough for a vampire to come into her home…however it would be enough for a human. After the time she accidentally invited Harmony into the house she promised herself never to make that mistake again, if not only for her safety but also because she didn’t want Buffy to get all high and mighty with her again.

Riley and Sam come in without any problems, convincing Dawn of their non-vampire status. “Umm, why don’t you have a seat on the couch and I’ll go get Buffy.” Closing the door behind them she watches as they sit on the couch holding hands.

All she can think is that she’s glad Angel is here with Buffy now. Here Riley is about to flaunt his new life and wife in front of Buffy. At least her sister has her studly husband to rub in his face; the commando has always had issues where Angel was concerned. About how Buffy didn’t really him like she loved Angel, damn right she didn’t why would she, what did he have that Angel didn’t...besides a pulse and body heat. Not much that’s what.

Dawn bounds up the stairs and without hesitation knocks on her sister’s door. Muffled cries and the sound of sheets rustling manage their way out the tightly sealed door.

“Yea?” Buffy’s voice comes filtering out sounding kind of breathless.

“Buffy, umm, you really need to come downstairs. Can I come in or maybe I shouldn’t, but you and Angel really need to come out.” She pleads.

After a brief hesitation Angel speaks. “Ok, Dawnie, we’ll be right out.” His deep voice tells her.

“Make it fast ok, I really don’t want to be in the house with these two…in fact I didn’t really want to invite them in, but they are kind of harmless, and besides you two a lot scarier then I am, and plus you both have that super strength going for ya. Are you guys dressed yet, cause if you’re not out here soon I'm going…” the door opens to Buffy in gray sweats and Angel’s black shirt.

“Good, now where’s Angel, he’s going to want to be here too.” Angel comes up behind Buffy dressed only in his leather pants. Leather pants have become part of Angel’s wardrobe, since Buffy told him how much she loved seeing him in them.

“What’s goin’ on Dawnie?” Buffy questions, wanting to get back to riding her Angel.

“Riley is here, and needs to talk to you. I wasn’t going to invite them in but he said it was some demon issue that he needed you on. Not to mention he brought his wife, can you believe that? I mean he doesn’t know you moved on, for all he knows you could be moping around here with no guy of your own. He shouldn’t have brought her here. She’s too tall and walks weird.”

Her sister chuckles at Dawn’s rant. “Ok, I’ll be down. Why don’t you call the others and get them here. They might be needed.”

As she turns she hears Buffy say her name. “Yea?”

“After you call the gang, no phone for 3 days.” She says in her best motherly tone.

“What? Why?”

“I told you to be off the phone at 9, you weren’t off until 10 minutes ago. And it’s 10:03.”

“Dammit, how did you know. You and Angel were to busy humping like rabbits to notice anything besides each other.” She whines. Behind Buffy Angel’s cheek turn a soft pink in embarrassment of having Dawn know what they’re doing. But then again, she is Buffy’s age when he began to see her, so he shouldn’t be so shocked.

“Fine.” She stomps downstairs mumbling to herself about Buffy starting to turn into Mom where she knows everything that goes on even if she wasn’t in the room when something happened.

Glancing toward the couch she notices Riley missing, she looks up and finds him at the mantel looking at the pictures that grace the top. “Where’s Joyce?”

“She died.” Not willing to offer anything more then that.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t know. How did it happen?”

“Well, that’s what happens when someone leaves without calling, they miss out on a lot of things. Things they have no right knowing about anymore. And Buffy will be right down.” Dawn leaves out Angel, wanting Riley to have a heart attack when he sees him.

~*~*~*~*~Buffy’s Room~*~*~*~*~

“Honey, what’s the matter.” Buffy notices the glare the formed on his handsome face. Straddling his lap she puts her forehead up against his, and he automatically drapes his arms around her waist holding her close.

“Nothing.”

“You don’t have a nothing face, you have a something face.” Those words bring back the memory of the night before the Order of Taraka attacked her. “Spill.”

“I'm still not a fan of Riley. I don’t want him near you, he’s too much of a loose canon when it comes to you." He growls out.

“Hmm, that growl is so sexy.” Buffy kisses his nose in affection. “Anyway back to the subject at hand, what does Riley being a loose canon when it comes to me have to do with anything?”

“I don’t want him to yell at you and have you become pissed and stressed out. You and the baby don’t need that, it’s not good for either of you.” Angel tells her, he’s been reading so many books on pregnancy so that he knows practically everything about a normal pregnancy. However the situation they’re in is uncharted territory. A Vampire Slayer and a vampire, one ensouled no less, having a child has never, as far as he knows, happened before.

Buffy lets out a breath and makes Angel look at her. “Baby, Riley won’t get me worked up. For him to get me worked up I would to still have to care about the doofus and I haven’t since a week after he left me.”

When Riley left she was almost shocked at how much she didn’t care…almost. She knew that she had never truly let him all the way into her heart. It was impossible for her too. Angel was the only one that she let take her heart; the problem was she didn’t take it back. She couldn’t and more importantly didn’t want too.

Riley was nice, sweet, and dependable, but there had been no passion, no flame that ignited into a full-fledged fire. With Angel, even though his body was cold always had a fire burning inside her, till the flames would let loose and get out of control. That’s what she loved, what she craved. And Riley couldn’t give her that.

“Now come on. I wanna show off my deliciously handsome cradle-robbing-creature-of-the-night-husband.” She smirks at Angel at his chuckle.

“Alright, but if he upsets you I'm ripping out his arms, shoving one up his ass and beating him to death with the other one.” Giving Buffy one last kiss he sets her on her feet and follows her downstairs.

The couple hears Dawn talking to Riley about school and how she’s going to try to get Steven Logan to ask her to the St. Patrick’s Day Dance in March. Then Riley asks the question that was on his mind since he came in, ‘how was Buffy?’ Instantly Dawn’s tone goes from chipper and upbeat to cold and defensive. “Buffy’s fine, not that it’s any of your concern.”

“I was just curious Dawn. I haven’t seen her in a year and want to know that she’s ok.” Irritated that Dawn would talk to him like that.

“She’s right, it’s not your concern Riley.” Buffy states from the entrance to the living room with Angel standing behind her barely dressed. “So you wanna tell me what you’re doing here?”

Out of the corner of her eye she spies a woman sitting on her couch that she’s never seen before. “Who are you?”

“I'm Sam, Riley’s wife.” She holds out her hand for Buffy to shake which she promptly does more out of instinct then anything else. “Wow, the Slayer, Ri’s told me so much about you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Sam polite as always.

She’s perfect for Riley; she’s like the female version of him. “Nice to meet you.”

“Buffy, why is Angel here?” Riley hesitantly questions.

Being as cryptic as she can, “Where else would he be.” She shrugs her shoulders, taking Angel’s hand and guiding him over to the large, plush, and comfy chair. Automatically Angel sits first and pulls Buffy down onto his lap wrapping his arms around her slightly bulged waist.

“Angel and Buffy got married 5 months ago, shortly after Buffy came back.” Dawn smiles wide at the chance to shove Buffy’s happiness with Angel in Riley’s face.

“Married? Back from where?”

Before Buffy can answer the front door opens and in walks the Scooby Gang that Dawn called while she and Angel were upstairs. Willow, Xander, Anya, and Spike come walking into the Summers home, without knocking as usual.

Xander is the first to speak to Riley. “Hey, there’s the man. Life-taker, heartbreaker.” He shakes his hand. “Figuratively of course.” He fleetingly sends glances at Buffy sitting contently in Angel’s arms, playing with his slightly mussed hair, not paying a bit of attention to him and his ramblings.

“Xander, Willow, and…Spike? What are you doing here?” Riley’s voice full of disgust. “Are you supposed to be here?”

“That I am mate, the lil’ nibblet called. Said my assist was needed. Where are the love birds?” Spike lifts his head to take a peek around but doesn’t see them; he takes a few steps toward the living room before he hears the Slayer’s voice call out to him.

“In here Spike. Have a seat everyone, cuz there is no way my ever widening ass is rising from this spot.” Buffy grins at Spike. Since she returned from the dead her and Spike’s banter and fight relationship has become more brother and sisterly. However there is still plenty bantering and fighting. Especially with Angel, Spike will never like Angel and Angel will never like Spike, she didn’t even bother to ask if they could get along for her sake. Although the two vampires keep the arguing to a minimum now that Buffy’s pregnant since because they don’t want to upset her.

Spike grabs the desk chair and places it next to Buffy and Peaches seat. “Yes, let’s do get down to business. I’m ready to kill some big nasty.” He rubs his hands together in anticipation.

The three supernatural beings wait for everybody else to get a seat; Xander, Sam, and Riley take the couch across from Angel, Buffy and Spike. Willow sits on the edge of Angel and Buffy’s chair on the opposite side of Spike.

Buffy takes a look around. “Where’s Anya?”

“Oh she’s having tea with a demon friend of hers. Didn’t really want to be there.” Xander explains and shrugs embarrassed that he’s scared of Anya’s friends, but who wouldn’t be…they’re demons.

Buffy nods understanding her friends plight, a smart-assed comment on the tip of her tongue, but decided it would be too mean, at least in front of people Xander didn’t know that well. However Spike wasn’t that tactful.

“You were a bloody chicken weren’t ya?” He laughs loudly causing Xander to redden in bashfulness, which only makes Spike guffaw louder then before. “Can’t stay in the same room with one of Anya’s demony pals can ya boy.”

Buffy taking pity on Xander smacks Spike on the shoulder. “Shut up. This is not what you’re here for.” She turns her gaze to Sam and Riley. “Ok, what are you here for?”

Riley takes a breath before he launches into his explanation of everything. “Sam and I have been tracking a Suvolte demon through Central America. Killing machine. Nearly mature.”

“Yeah, three months old and growing fast.” She shakes her head.

“These things start to kill the minute they’re hatched and leave a real clear trail.” Riley shifts his gaze between Buffy and Angel, they’re looking at him while he’s talking but he knows their attention is else where. Angel is busy rubbing Buffy’s stomach and Buffy is sliding her fingers through his hair playing with the spikey ends.

“Yeah, just follow the villages with nothing in them but body parts.” Sam concurs with her husband.

Riley glances over at the entryway to the living room when he sees a flash of movement, Dawn is standing there listening to everything that is said. “Uhh, Dawn, are you sure you wanna be around hearing all this?”

“Oh come on Finn, she looks all grown-up to me.” Realizing she might have been overstepping her bounds she moves her gaze to Buffy and Angel. “That is if it’s all right with you?”

“That’s fine. Dawnie’s been helping us research for the past couple months, she’s able to listen to the gory details.” Buffy assures Sam.

Dawn speaks up from her place at the doorway. “So, this demon shredded your guys and now you’re looking for a little payback.”

“No, it came to the Hellmouth to spawn. But we think it already hatched it’s eggs somewhere. We just don’t know where.”

“The plan was to track it. Let the demon take us to it’s nest.”

“And now they’re gonna hatch a bunch of…what baby demon things?” Dawn asks in a nervous voice.

“Unless we stop it.” Sam tells her.

Buffy breathes in. “Ok, that means we just have to find the nest fast before this thing terrorizes the town. Great…you know demons are really cutting into my sex life lately.” Everyone stares at Buffy causing her to couch nervously. “I wish I said something else.” She hides her red face in Angel’s neck letting him sooth his hand down her back comforting her.

“Ok, so we track down the demon, find the nest, Mr. and Mrs. Angel O’Connor, Mr. and Mrs. Finn, and Capt. Peroxide here make with the killin’ and everyone goes home happy.” He smiles at his simply solution. “Now I have a question for you two.” He looks to the Finn couple. “If forced to choose between a photographer and place settings…”

“We can’t track the demon. It was hit by a semi while tracking it about 2 miles away. We got rid of the body before the authorities were called but when we checked its stomach it was empty. It had already laid its eggs somewhere. Now we have to find it.” Riley tells the group with embarrassment.

Spike lets out a loud boisterous laugh at Capt. Cardboard letting the demon be killed. “That’s bloody hilarious. It manages to get away from the demon hunters but it gets caught by a bleeding truck.”

“Spike.” Angel chastises his Grand Childe.

Sam blatantly ignores the bleached blonde, she feels something is off about him and the man called Angel but she can’t place it, instead of asking she turns to Xander. “Disposable cameras.”

“Di—wah?”

“Yea, you know, little plastic ones, ten bucks a pop. You arrange them like table settings, guests snap photos, breaks the ice and when the wedding’s over, you can take home the pictures.” She smiles at him and laces her fingers with Riley’s.

“I like it.” Xander agrees. “Unlike Dead-boy and Slay-gal I don’t have millions of dollars to throw towards my wedding.”

“Hey, don’t blame us about your lack of funds. We offered to pay for the wedding or help pay for something if not the whole wedding but you would have none of it. Anya wanted you to pay for it yourself and not get help from anybody. If you wanna blame anybody blame your soon to be wife.” Buffy’s anger rising from Xan placing blame where it doesn’t belong and calling Angel ‘Dead-boy’ but she doesn’t mention the name calling. It would just go out one ear and out the other.

“So, demon eggs. Any timetable on when they’re going to hatch?” Angel moves the topic away from his money and undead status.

Riley shoots a glare of annoyance at the vampire but doesn’t say a word. “Hatching is not the problem.”

“We think they’re gonna be sold on the black market. There are some foreign military powers that would love to have their own Suvolte. You could never train it, but drop it on an urban population…” Sam shudders at the possibilities.

“And it cleanses the area.”

“Is that a nice way of saying it kills people?” Dawn questions.

“Lots of ‘em. Money’s been exchanged. There’s a dealer in town, calls himself, The Doctor. Willow, you think you can help with a little locating spell?” Sam asks hopefully.

Willow tells her quietly. “I can’t do magicks.”

“Oh, Riley says you’re comin’ on as one major-league Wicca?” Unknowingly causing pain to the Willow.

“I got addicted. The way addicts do.” She rises from her spot on the arm of Buffy and Angel’s chair and exits toward the kitchen.

Buffy watches after Willow wanting to go after her but needing to attend to business first. “Wait a minute…did you just say The Doctor?”

“Yea? You know of him?” Sam asks, happy that this mission is probably going to be fairly easy.

“You could say that.” Buffy roves her gaze over to Spike whose sitting there nervous and antsy. “Is there something you want to tell me Doc?” She had heard from Willy about ‘The Doctor’ and he let it slip one night that it was Spike, of course at the time she had no clue what he was talking about just filed it away for possible future reference. Now it turns out it was important information that she needed to know, boy was she glad she went into the bar that night looking for Clem.

“Not particularly luv.” He starts to stand and head for the door but the firm hand that now gripped his jacket stopped any forward movement. Spike turns to face Angel who had yet to rise from his seat but had a firm hold on the long leather coat.

“Not so fast Spike. You’re going to tell us everything you know about the eggs. You don’t I’ll start pulling off body parts…and they will be things you will miss.” He growls not bothering to look at Spike to see if he obeyed his orders.

Everything inside the bleached blonde vampire was screaming to follow his Grand Sire’s orders but the part of him that had been on his own for a few years was louder. “You can’t tell me what to do Peaches. Just because you’re back does not make you my Master.” Immediately he knew he made a huge mistake in deifying Angel.

Angel gently places Buffy back on her feet beside the chair, he rises using his height to his advantage and stares down at the defiant Childe. Snatching him by the lapels of the jacket he brings Spike eye level with him and vamps out. “Everything you know Childe. Now.” His voice hardly rises past a whisper.

“Yes Sire.” Spike speaks meekly and stares down at the floor in submission.

Angel lets Spike go and sits back in the chair he briefly vacated. Buffy without missing a beat sits back down on his lap and strokes his still changed face smiling delightfully. She loves it when Angel is vamped, Buffy can’t help but be turned on by it and he knows it.

Sam quickly shoots her gaze around the room, was she the only one that thought a vampire with a vampire slayer was weird. “Wait, you’re a vampire? Why are you married to a vampire slayer?” She turns to look at the bleached blonde; “you’re a vampire too aren’t you?”

“Well give the missus a prize. Yes I'm a vampire. So is the Poofter over there that Slayer is gettin’ all hot and bothered for.” Buffy shoots a glare at him and Spike shrugs. “Not like I can’t smell it Pet.”

Angel growls possessively but doesn’t say anything to him about smelling his wife. Spike can’t shut off his senses; he can dull them but not shut them off, same as him.

“I needed money, can’t exactly go out and get a bloody job. So I have to pull in money some other way. Selling rare items on the black market gives me what money I need for blood and smokes…and other things.” Spike explains. It wasn’t as if he was trying to do bad things, but if something he did inadvertently caused the deaths of a couple hundred people he could live with that…or not live.

“Where are you keeping them?” Buffy questions, not at all surprised that Spike was the one behind this latest baddie, he’s been getting antsy lately helping and whatnot.

Spike sighs, “In my crypt. Where else could I keep them?” He shrugs his shoulders.

“Ok, Angel, Riley, and Sam you guys go to Spike’s crypt and take care of the demon eggs. I’d go but Angel won’t let me so I'm not even going to bother arguing it would just waste time that you don’t have.” Buffy eases herself off her husband’s lap and Angel follows her up his hand securely around her waist.

“We’ll be back soon.” Angel goes upstairs and changes into something more suited for killing demon eggs then he, Riley, and Sam head for Spike’s crypt, without Spike, Angel wanted him to stay at the house incase any evil came popping up Buffy wouldn’t have to do anything that could endanger the baby.

~*~*~*~*~Cemetery~*~*~*~*~

Angel, along with Riley and Sam, walk through the cemetery getting closer to Spike’s crypt with every step. The group had yet to say anything to each other, but while the silence wasn’t bothering Angel it was bothering Riley.

“So how did you and Buffy get back together?”

“She came back from the dead.” He simply tells him.

“Wait she died? When did this happen?” Riley demands to know. Buffy didn’t look like someone who was dead, he knew that she died once but that was only for a few moments.

“Buffy died to close a portal that Glory opened.” The vampire rakes his gaze over the cemetery making sure nothing is about to come out and want to fight.

Riley continues to prod Angel for information. “How did that happen?”

Angel lets out a breath of frustration; Buffy’s death was, even now, a hard subject for him to talk about. Although she did come back, for a month she was dead and for that month he was in Hell. “Glory was a Hell god. In order for Glory to go home she had to open a portal, Dawn was the Key in order for her to go home. She needed Dawn’s blood, she managed to kidnap Dawn. The portal was opened, since the Monks made Dawn out of Buffy she figured that Dawn’s blood was also her blood. Buffy sacrificed herself to save Dawn and the world. Three weeks later the Powers restored my soul, a week after that I was visiting Buffy’s grave and I heard her blood flowing through her veins, I dug her out. End of story.”

“You don’t have to bite my head off about it you know. It’s not my fault she died.” Riley tells Angel.

“Listen, Buffy was, is, and always will be my soulmate, so excuse me if it’s somewhat difficult for me to talk about her deaths.” Angel spat. Finally they’re standing in front of Spike’s crypt, rolling his shoulders he prepares himself for a fight.

The vampire kicks open the door and roves his gaze slowly around the dark and dank hole in the wall that Spike resides in. As he walks toward the lower level of the crypt he hears a squishy sound coming from below, thinking quickly he rips off one of Riley’s grenades, pulls the pin, opens the trap door underneath his feet and throws the grenade down.

Angel grabs Riley and Sam’s collars and hauls them out of the soon to be demolished crypt. As soon as they hit the door an explosion rips through the silent night and tosses the trio roughly into the graveyard.

“There, the little shits are gone. I'm going to home my wife.” Angel tells the couple and leaves them by themselves in the cemetery still recovering from their near-death experience.

“He’s not really one for good-byes is he?” Riley chuckles and lays his face on the cool grass, Buffy sure knew how to pick em’. He can hardly wait till he’s out of Sunnydale and back in the jungle where things are much more predictable.

The End

Sequel As You Weren't...Again: Picks up from when Angel, Sam, and Riley leave the cemetery.