“I knew something was up. I knew you were itching to get out of here with your secret girl, no doubt. You seriously don’t know when you’ll be back?” Faith frowned and those two little worry lines came out on top of the bridge of her nose.

She looked achingly beautiful was she was upset, but Spike didn’t like seeing it. He had hoped that her upset look could go on holiday for a little longer, like for the next 30-70 years or so. Faith looked off towards the front window as she absent-mindedly walked towards it. Spike silently followed her and sat on the couch and stared at Faith’s deep-thinking face that he knew only surfaced for viewing by accident.

“There’s something serious going on. I don’t know how serious, but I have to go there and see. See if it’s true—What do you mean secret girlfriend? Did someone—I have no secret girlfriend,” Angel said to Faith as he followed her several feet behind. “Nina isn’t a secret.”

“I’m not talking about werewolf girl. I’m talking about the girl who texts me from time to time, but I guess you didn’t know about that,” Faith said to Angel as she turned to him and grinned suddenly

“What?” Angel said, “Text? That’s like an email, right? Who text you? Taxed you? Texted you? ”

Spike pulled Faith into his lap. She even smiled, though she may’ve just been smiling smugly at Angel. Spike smiled too. He seemed to be allowed to reach for her, to hold her as much as he liked at home—their home. Their home was where he saw her smile more than anywhere. Especially in the morning light that he could see her in now because she insisted they put those bloody Wolfram and Hart windows in. Spike didn’t complain.

“He was like this when the phone came out too. Give him fifty years,” Spike said.

“You know who texted me,” Faith answered Angel, “The girl you’re going away with. She’s achingly beautiful, sexually deadly, well not to everyone, just the unlucky ones. I think she just broke up with a friend of yours and she screwed another one before I could get to him, but he’s mine now.”

She causally laid herself across his lap on the Scandinavian beige and lilac striped couch Spike took home after a vamp nest raid.

“She’s a girl after my own heart,” Faith continued to go on about Angel’s situation, “Totally electrifying…”

“Gwen!” Angel said suddenly as he face loosened with relief, “You tex—Gwen sent you a message. About me wanting to take her on--about her coming with me.”

“Yeah,” Faith said, “But, I thought you were just trying to do her, now that her and Gunn broke up. I didn’t know it was a world saving thing.”

“Her and Gunn broke up?” Spike asked.

“Gunn and Gwen were dating?” Angel asked.

“I thought you had to go alone,” Connor spoke as he continued to clean the weapons with his Ipod phones in his ears.

He was further back in the dinning nook with their finer swords on the dinning table that used for everything but dinning.

“I’m bringing Gwen along because I know—I thought—she’d be discreet, and she has certain skills that could help,” Angel said.

“Mad electric skillz,” Faith said, “Look, Gunn was stupid enough to let Gwen go because he’s all about business these days. If you want to mix business with pleasure I’d say she’s fair game.”

“Why am I not surprised that all of this sudden drama is really about a girl everyone got to be with except you?” Connor said dully.

Spike smiled. He had a lot less work to do with Connor around.

“This is not about—“Angel began roughly but then softened, “I’m dating Nina. I’m not interested in anyone else. Did I mention this is about saving the world?”

“Hey, I’m just sayin’ you don’t have to hide what you do with your business. It’s all good by me,” Faith said.

“It wasn’t good by you when his corporation teamed up with the old Watchers and The daughter of the dead Initiative scientist to put a new version of a chip in my head that would make me a living-dead Terminator that wanted to kill you and Connor and do who knows what else,” Spike said and he instantly regretted it.

Faith did more than get those two cute worry lines on the bridge of her nose. Her deep honey stained-glass eyes went wide with misery. He was happy when they snapped back and focused on him and narrowed into agitation.

“Shut-up,” she said as she quickly sat up and elbowed him in the chest, “You know Angel had nothing to do with any of that! That was Wes and only did it because you were relapsed back into a psycho-killer.”

“I was not bloody psycho! Just a killer,” Spike said.

“Yeah, because going to kill a guy that last screwed me in 1995 thinking that would make me take you back after you beat up Wes was totally sane,” Faith snorted, “Besides, Wes had to use you as bait to know what know that crazy bitch was up to. How could he know they’d go so far?”

“Past experience?” Connor suggested as he looked at up from cleaning his weapons to Faith.

“You shut-up too,” Faith said with less venom, “It doesn’t matter anymore. Wes and I are even, and now that Wes and Fred are the power couple she’ll never let him do anything stupid again.”

“Wes and Fred are dating?” Angel asked.

“Thanks to the Slayer here,” Spike smiled and pulled Faith into his lap again, “She has a way with words that get people to act lest they don’t go for what they really want until they’re dead.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Faith said. Spike could feel her whole body flush, “You make me sound like I’m some girly advice girl. God, why did I ever tell you! I didn’t--I just told her Wes would never be perfect, and she should forgive him. Ya know for murdering that guy who tried to turn her into that thing and for almost killing Spike and stuff. She was all touchy about that for some reason. I mean, it wasn’t like he was screwing someone else behind her back and any idiot could see she wanted him.”

“I hope all this dating doesn’t lead somewhere bad. I mean, it’s nice you did that, Faith. You did a nice thing,” Angel said.

“I didn’t—I don’t do nice—“she flushed even more. She tried to get off of Spike’s lap but he held her tighter and she didn’t fight it.

“But, dating, relationships—love--complicates things,” Angel went on clueless to Faith’s embarrassment, “It can make people unfocused and selfish and--“

“Speak for yourself,” Spike said, “I’ve never been stronger. I’ve never fought better. How many innocent lives have we saved this month alone? How many vampires have we killed? How many kittens in how many trees? How many parallel universe holes have we closed? How many zombie Nazis?”

“Actually, that was just Dawn that closed that parallel hole by herself. I shouldn’t have left her alone like that,” Connor said as he took his Ipod phones out of his ears.

“You were kind of busy with like 30 zombie Nazis. Harris helped Dawn,” Faith reminded, “I really hope Robin expelled that kid from school. History project my ass! Though it was really awesome to see Kennedy go ape-shit like that when they came down on Willow. I was so glad she got to be a Slayer again, even if it was only for one night. I miss K though. Her and Willow have been screwing so much at B’s house since then it’s like she lives there.”

“Proves my point,” Spike said, “If those two didn’t have a thing going Willow never could have given Kennedy power to become a Slayer, Kennedy never would’ve had the strength to go on. Harris is even useful due to his fatherly love for Dawn. Love is the blood that keeps you going. Love only complicates things if you’re some kind of a simpering puss who’s--“

“I’m not talking about fatherly love!” Angel snapped, “I’m talking about--I’m not talking about anything.”

“Right, except leaving, so just go,” Connor said dully and went back to cleaning weapons.

“No,” Faith said, “Your dad is trying to talk about stuff we’re just not giving him a chance to say it for a change. Where did you say you were going, Ang?”

“He didn’t,” Connor spoke as he continued to clean the weapons with his Ipod phones in his ears.

“Europe,” Angel said, “There’s been a big temporal disturbance and I need to go to see it, check on it.”

“Europe—a temporal disturbance,” Connor said, “Now we know everything. Thanks, Dick Chaney.”

The kid knew exactly how his father was, and wasn’t holding out for anything different. Spike laughed too loudly knowing he’d get Faith’s elbow in his chest. “Ow!” Spike didn’t exactly mind that Angel was going off to do whatever he did to keep the world turning. Let him have the glory. Spike’s would be right here living his live with his redeemed soul and redeemed soul-mate in The Re-risen Hellmouth of the suburbs.

“Sounds all physical or metaphysical or whatever,” Faith said, “Connor is good at that stuff. Why don’t you take him?”

“Who said I wanted to go?” Connor said as he looked up from the sword he was polishing and looked at Faith.

“C’mon,” Faith said, “You’re at that age where you should be doing all that back-packing crap. You could go to Prague or Bulgaria or whatever drink coffee and smoke pot and hook up with older chicks there. It has to be getting boring doing it in Sunny D, since we don’t need you to kill that many things these days. Those demos finally quiet with their prophecy crap.”

“We don’t know that. Besides, I already did all that back-packing stuff right before I went to Brown. That was when my memories started coming back. I like it here in the suburbs. I’m still killing plenty every night,” Connor said.

“You’re smoking pot, and you’re with an older woman—older women?” Angel’s brow furrowed.

“Sometimes,” Connor said as his eyes went back to cleaning the weapons, “You mean you can’t smell everything I’m doing while you going off to Mission Vague somewhere on the largest continent in the world?”

“I—“Angel began.

“Connor,” Faith began on her mum routine, “you’re dad--“

She got up to walk Angel to the door and Spike grabbed her between his knees.

“--should go somewhere to talk with you alone before he has to go be the Mick double O’ seven of the night,” Spike said.

“Don’t tell me what I should—Actually, we should do that. We can go--” Angel said.

“--to the sewers,” Connor completed dryly but then smiled, “Maybe we’ll run into some surviving zombies. I’ll bring the lathing hatchet.”

And almost quickly enough Angel and Connor were gone.

“You’re an asshole,” Faith said as she wiggled between his knee grip, “You really don’t care that they get along, that the kid stays on the right path. You just care because if he doesn’t it might interfere with you getting laid.”

“I do care,” Spike said as he pulled Faith into him and began to lay gentle kisses on her which she accepted with closed eyes.

“I just know things you don’t,” he said, “I know that you keep Connor on the right path far more than the jet-setting fanged CEO with a guilty conscious. I know I’d do anything to help Connor because that’s what you’d want, but I know he’s a good kid. But what is of the utmost importance is: I know nothing Angel does or doesn’t do can interfere with us making love.”

“Making—“she broke off laughing, like he knew she would, “Sometimes I think you’re totally gay, Spike.”

He also knew she would kiss him hard on the lips and straddle his lap. She slid up his lap with the friction of black denim on black denim and her lips.

“Well, I can think of one way I can get thought out of your head right now,” he said

“You—you’re right, you know?” she said after suddenly pulling away from an open-mouthed kiss she started.

“I know,” Spike said, “After I make love to you I’ll be able to say the phrase whenever I want and you’ll never question my manhood. Actually, —“

“Not that, moron! Stop saying that,” she grumbled and then flushed and bounced off of his lap and looked at him sheepishly, licked her lips and looked away.

“You were right about what you said about love an’ shit when Angel said it can get in the way,” she gave him another quick round-eyed look, “I mean, he’s not wrong. But, I—I’m stronger now like you said. I mean not literally. I’m literally weaker ‘cause I gave up my super powers to save your ass. And I did not do that because I was in—into you. I did it because it was the right thing to do. Just liking helping Connor or Fred or some poor schlub on the street is the right thing to do. But I am stronger ‘cause of my ties to Connor and Angel, Kennedy and-and you. I always thought if I got tied down it would make me weak or worse I’d—I’d make people weak. Angel’s just like me. How I used to be. He’s afraid if he gets too close—“

“Look at me!” she grumbled suddenly even though he had never stopped.

“I’m a stupid girl getting up in everyone’s business with my stupid —You did this to me, ya know? I knew Robin was a good guy, better than you, but you didn’t just show me how it was supposed to work, you showed me—You— because of you I’m--.”

“You’re a woman,” he couldn’t help but smile, “and as much of a fan I am of that fact it has sod off to do with me. You always bloody cared about people. But, you just had to become a woman because you were too scared to show it as a girl is all.”

“That’s something a guy would say to get his girlie girlfriend into bed,” she said, “You could’ve just bent me over the coffee table to shut me up. I’d have been fine with it.”

“I suppose you’re not enough of a woman to admit you like it better when I make love to you yet,” he said as he rolled his eyes and then landed them back on her shirty face.

“S’all right. I’ve got time. Not getting any older, but I’m quite fine with you doing it. And since I’ve prolly bollixed this up to the point where you’re just going to hit me and run away, I’ll tell you I’d marry you right now, but I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

She stared at him. Her eyes didn’t move about like they did when she was overwhelmed or in battle. Her heart wasn’t beating any faster. They didn’t narrow in anger. She didn’t lick her lips or flush or try to hide a smile. He was expecting some combination of these reactions going 100 miles an hour in every direction. Faith just looked at Spike with her skin glowing orange with the setting sun in the widow along wither her hair that had grown quite long and fell in slight waves past her shoulders. She looked almost serene. Her stare made him stand up but freeze on his feet at not come anywhere closer to her.

“Sorry,” he said after what seemed like much too much time went by, “That was a shit way of purposing, I suppose, but I’ve truly never did it before. I don’t have any experience. I wasn’t planning on doing it like this. Balls! I guess you don’t get to do it again, do you? Great idea, propose as a dare after you’ve ruined your chances for sex on the coffee table with the mail pilling up of skate punk and lesbian magazines. That’s ideal. I couldn’t have waited until I was dramatically rescuing you from a dragon or something. And before you have your fun with me there are dragons, you know! They’ve been endangered since the 15th century so I’ve never fought one. But, I killed fire breathing Drake Demon for Dru once. Right. Now I’m talking about things I did for other girls before I really knew about love. It was easy with her. I just had to kill things and act like I had the biggest fangs. With my luck with real love, you’d end up saving me from the dragon and I’d have to fight with you so you wouldn’t sacrifice yourself to save me. Why do you do that? You’re so bloody-- If you even think of risking yourself to save me again I’ll—I won’t be happy. I won’t be bloody happy at all!”

“You won’t be happy until you strip me down to the bone, will you?” she said.

She smiled at him in a way that made him get himself back from wherever he had went in her silence. She always surprised him.

“I’d much prefer if your bones stayed under the skin, if you wanted to strip down to the flesh though I’d be perfectly happy,” he smirked.

Then, she looked at him in a way that made all his parts ache in all ways. Then she turned away from him and shimmied out of her jeans and all the rest of it like the way an old jazz singer would shimmy out of a dress. It took him back to the days when taking off your clothes really was an art and they sang and stripped with their souls not polls; and you wouldn’t even dream of touching them with your hands or dirty money. Maybe you would just embrace them and take them as achingly, poetically with your fangs as had taken you with that dance. He wanted to take Faith and to be taken by her dance more than he ever did with any of them. He wanted to take her in a way so that would last for her whole life. Faith looked back at him with nothing but that severe pout and he smiled wickedly. Josephine Baker had nothing on her. He knew he was the luckiest bastard alive or dead. Then, she had to surprise him again.

“Make love to me, Spike,” she said looking him dead in the face, “There. Now if you really think this is your one true moment of happiness get back to me when you can, but don’t—don’t hurt me. Okay? I—I’m pretty sure now that I can’t hurt you. So, don’t do it to me.”

“You can do anything you want to me, love. I’ll always come back,” he said.

Her eyes misted as she had a new face of aching beauty.

“And I can tell you right now,” he whispered as he walked over to her gently, “This is not my one true moment of happiness because ever since I’ve been with you, I think ever since I’ve gotten to know you-- I’ve been truly happy. And the only way I would ever hurt you is if someone took over my body and forced me to and what are the odds of that happening again?”

Spike had plenty of time to react to her rushing at him, but she still toppled him over and they fell to the floor.

“You gonna make love to me or what?”

She smiled and kissed and moaned like the Faith he always knew with many little surprises. Spike knew she was just more of the girl he knew when she flushed and came but now didn’t look away when he said he loved her over and over. She didn’t say she loved him too; she didn’t have to. All she had to do was let him inside and he came inside until he was dizzy. Faith told Spike to stay inside even when he had nbvo more to give and was small because she said she always wanted him inside her even when she could “sleep for like a week.”