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Both Sides Now	By : addielogan Category: BtVS AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 6136 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Dawn stared for long moments, unable to
believe what she was seeing. Spike�Spike who had burnt to a crisp down in the Hellmouth
a year earlier�was standing in front of her, very much not a pile of ashes.
Spike cleared his throat, and his expression
grew nervous as Dawn continued to remain silent. "You gonna say something,
nib?"
His words broke Dawn from her trance, and she
ran to him, threw her arms around him. Spike immediately returned her embrace,
grateful that she didn't still seem to hold the grudge she'd had against him
the last year back in Sunnydale.
As her initial shock began to wear off, Dawn
began to notice that something about Spike seemed different. She'd hugged him
before, and always his skin had been cool to the touch, but now, it was warm
against hers. His breathing was more regular, too, not the reflexive memory of
an action it had been before. And his heart�
It was pounding beneath her ear.
With a start, Dawn realized the man she was
hugging was not a vampire, but was in
fact, very much alive. She pulled back with a start, though she kept her arms
wrapped loosely around her waist, unwilling to give up contact just yet now
that she had him back. "What�how�?"
"You wanna know how I came back?"
Spike asked.
"Yeah," Dawn replied. "And
how you got a pulse would be nice, too."
Spike gave her a half smile. "Noticed
that, did you?"
"It's a little obvious," Dawn
said. "I just�" Dawn reached up and touched his face. "You're
real. You're really real."
"I am. Got trapped in that amulet down
in the Hellmouth. Found myself in L.A. a few days later, all incorporeal like.
Got recorporealized some time after that, and at the end of that last battle I
became the happy recipient of a newly beating heart," Spike told her as he
tried to sum up the past year as best he could. "Something about a
prophecy and a vampire with a soul."
Dawn was silent for a moment as she tried to
process everything. What could she possibly say? This was something she'd
wanted for a year, and now that she had it�that Spike was really standing in
front of her�she couldn't find a single word to let him know that yes, all was
forgiven.
So she didn't speak. She hugged him again,
squeezed him tightly and buried her face in his shoulder as she cried softly
with joy and relief. "I missed you so much," she whispered, her hands
digging in to the leather of his duster.
"I missed you, too," Spike said.
Finally, Dawn broke away from him again.
"So�did you just drop by for an 'I'm not dead visit?" she asked,
wiping the tears out of her eyes.
"Not exactly�" Spike glanced over
at the blonde woman beside him. "Buffy?"
Buffy smiled sweetly up at him, and Dawn's
eyebrow went up. Since when did Buffy look at Spike like that? Well, when she
knew people were watching her anyway� "Spike's not here just for a
visit," Buffy said as she turned back to face her sister. "He's going
to be around for good now�as my husband."
Dawn's mouth fell open, hanging for a moment
before Buffy's announcement sunk in and she clapped her hands together,
squealing as she did. "Oh my god! You guys are really going to� This is
great!" She hugged both Buffy and Spike in turn, her urge to jump around
the living room barely contained. "So when? Where? Are you going to�"
"Whoa, Dawnie, slow down," Buffy
said. "We just walked in the door, you know. Let's go and sit on the couch
to talk."
"Oh, right," Dawn said as she
backed up. "Sorry. I didn't really plan to ambush you in the foyer, but
well, Spike�"
Buffy smiled. "I know." She peeked
over her sister's shoulder and noticed Andrew standing back from them all, his
hands in his pockets. "Hey, Andrew," Buffy said as she gave him a
small wave. "I didn't even notice you over there. Sorry."
Andrew shrugged. "I didn't want to
interrupt the moment."
Spike regarded Andrew for a moment, his head
cocked to the side. He was much more subdued than Spike had ever seen him
before, seeming almost�afraid? Spike frowned and sniffed the air, his vampire
senses still intact despite his recent return to the world of the
living�something about the Powers that Be wanting to keep him in top fighting
form�and realized exactly what Andrew had to be nervous about. He used every
ounce of willpower he had to keep from exploding, knowing it probably wasn't
the best move he could make.
He'd have a nice, long chat alone with the
boy, first chance he got�
For the time being, he followed the two
Summers women over to the couch, taking his place beside Buffy. Andrew stuck to
a chair a little bit back from the couch, and Spike noticed him trying to watch
Dawn without being too obvious about it. He was failing miserably as far as
Spike was concerned, but luckily for Andrew, Buffy wasn't paying him any
attention. Spike doubted his Slayer would be as unwilling to cause a scene
right there as he was.
"So, engagement�how did it
happen?" Dawn asked as soon as they were sitting down. She glanced at
Buffy's left hand. "And he didn't buy you a ring? Geez, Spike, cheap
much?"
Spike shot Dawn a look, though his mouth
curved up slightly in the beginnings of a smile. "I haven't had a chance
yet. It was all spur-of-the-moment like. We'll pick one out later." He
kissed the top of Buffy's head.
"It was just a couple of days
ago," Buffy added. "And not really anything planned, since hey, I
thought he was dead and all. But he wasn't�and then he really wasn't�and
we decided that we want to get married." She looked at Dawn, a twinkle in
her eyes. "And I doubt you want to hear all the details on when we decided
on that."
Dawn coughed, the look on her sister's face
telling her more than enough. "No, I can live without that
description, thank you. But other stuff� Is Spike going to move in here with
us? How's this going to work?"
Buffy glanced up at her fianc� for a moment.
"Actually, I've decided I should go to England�we should go to
England. Giles has been getting on me to be more proactive with the whole
Slayer Army thing anyway, and I think it's time for me to do that. So I'm
taking over, and I'm going to put Spike in charge of training."
Dawn tried unsuccessfully not to giggle.
"The Slayer of Slayers teaching Slayers to fight. That's�amusingly
ironic."
"I said something along those lines
myself, but Buffy thinks that makes me
the best man for the job," Spike said. "Something about me knowing how
to kill them making me well-suited for showing them how not to get
killed."
"So we're
going to England then?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah,"
Buffy said. "Are you okay with that?"
"Moving to a
country where they speak English? Oh yeah, I am definitely okay with
that." Dawn smirked at Spike. "Even if it is way messed up sounding
English�"
"Oi! You
bloody little Americans are the ones that bollixed it up�not us," Spike
protested.
Dawn ruffled his
hair. "You're as easy to tease as you've ever been."
Buffy glanced over
at Andrew, surprising him when she addressed him directly. "I wasn't sure
exactly what you'd want to do. You can stay here if you want�the apartment
belongs to the Council. Or you can come back to England, too. Or I guess, go
wherever it is you want to go. I just wanted you to know that I wasn't throwing
you on the street or anything."
Andrew gave her a
small smile. "Thanks. But I can, um, go back to England. Giles just wanted
me here so you'd have a local contact from the Council if you needed one. So if
you're leaving�" The quick shift of his gaze towards Dawn was almost
imperceptible, but Spike still managed to catch it. "I go where you
go."
"Okay then. I
guess we close up shop in Rome and head on over to England," Buffy said.
"I've talked to Giles about sending some new Slayers to Rome, since there
is a large enough vampire community in the area to warrant it. My guess is they
think they're rebels because they're feeding so close to the Vatican or
something."
"Or maybe
they're like your git of an ex and have a thing for nuns," Spike replied.
Buffy elbowed him.
"Behave yourself."
Spike responded
with a slow grin. "But then you'd be disappointed."
"Yeah, okay,
good point," Buffy said with something that could almost classify as a
girlish giggle.
Dawn's eyebrow
rose again. If this was how Buffy was going to be around Spike now, she
supposed it was going to take some getting used to.
But Buffy did look
happy�happier than Dawn remembered her being in well, possibly ever. She
hadn't stopped smiling since they'd come through the door, and it wasn't the
forced smile that Dawn had gotten used to seeing on Buffy's face. Instead, her
sister was genuinely beaming.
Dawn looked over
at Andrew, noting how quiet he was. She found it odd that he hadn't said
anything to Spike. She'd thought they'd had an almost-friendship back in
Sunnydale, but maybe she'd been wrong. She mouthed "Are you okay?" at
him, and he responded with a quick nod, though his body language suggested
anything but. He seemed very uncomfortable, and more than a little nervous.
Dawn decided it
must be because of the changes in their relationship. Was Andrew afraid that
Spike would hurt him for daring to touch her, or something like that? She'd
been planning to just go ahead and tell Buffy that she and Andrew were together
now, but Dawn decided maybe she should wait on that until she talked to Andrew
about it. He might not want it out in the open now that Spike was there, too.
She decided to
focus on her sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law instead, coaxing them into
telling her all about what had happened in Los Angeles.

*** *** ***
Spike leaned
against the balcony, taking in the view of Rome at night. He smiled, thinking
of Dawn and Buffy and how they'd been ever since their arrival. They'd been gossipy
and giggly, acting more like sisters than Spike was used to seeing. Usually,
Buffy took on the role of surrogate mother, and Spike thought it was good that
she seemed to be doing a little less of that than she had back in Sunnydale. As
much as Dawn could use a parent, she could also use a sister, someone to share
whatever sort of things it was sisters shared. He was glad to see that between
them.
He flicked his
cigarette, then took a drag, wondering for the thousandth time since he'd
become human if he should kick this habit. It made his lungs burn in a way that
it hadn't before, and even though his seemed to have retained his accelerated
healing powers, this could still be doing damage to him. And he was, after all,
about to become a family man. Of sorts, anyway.
He heard a noise
behind him and turned to see Andrew walking past the balcony, obviously trying
to sneak past. Spike decided now was as good a time as any to have the talk
with him he wanted to have, since the girls had been otherwise occupied the
last time he'd checked. "Andrew? Come here for a minute, would you?"
Spike could hear
Andrew's heart begin to beat faster and he couldn't help the slow grin that
spread across his face at the time. The boy was afraid�good. Spike may have not
been evil anymore, or even still a vampire for that matter, but that didn't
stop him from appreciating a healthy dose of fear in certain situations.
Andrew tried
unsuccessfully not to tremble as he came out on to the balcony. "Um�you
want to talk about something, Spike?"
Spike cut to the
chase. "How long have you been sleeping with Dawn? And don't even think
about lying to me about it either."
Andrew turned
pale. He wished that something would swallow him whole right there and end the
suffering he was sure was coming before it began. "I�uh�are you gonna kill
me?"
Spike raised an
eyebrow. "I don't know. Depends on whether or not I like your answers. How
long?"
"A few
days," Andrew replied, not able to the other man's eyes.
"Are you
using her?"
Andrew's head flew
up at that. "What? No! No! I'd never do that. Not to Dawn. Not ever."
Spike could hear
the sincerity in Andrew's voice, but he still had his concerns. "It wasn't
more than a few weeks ago when I was here and saw you leave with two
women."
"I'm not with
them anymore," Andrew said. "That night, I didn't even stay with them
very long. I ran into Dawn, and�I don't know, something started between
us."
Spike threw his
cigarette down to the ground and stomped it out with his boot before crossing
his arms over his chest. "Something started between you? Elaborate.
Convince me not to rip your arms off and beat you with them."
Andrew's eyes
bugged. "I didn't sleep with her then, things just�changed. I don't know
how to really describe it. I mean, I've cared about her for a really long
time�she's why I wanted to work here in Rome, so I could be close to her, look
out for her, even if I knew that I'd never get a real chance with her. But then
I was getting a chance, and I know I probably shouldn't have because I'm
nowhere near good enough for her, but I love her, and she's wonderful and
beautiful, and I�" He took a step backwards. "Please don't kill
me."
Silence hung
between them as Spike considered Andrew's response. There was definitely
something genuine in what the boy was saying, and even if the thought of his
little bit with Andrew of all people at the very least confused him, Spike
wasn't going to stand in their way just because he didn't get the attraction
there. Andrew loved her. It was plain to see. And Dawn�she deserved to be
loved. The girl had had enough loneliness in her life.
"You hurt
her, and I end you. Got it?"
Andrew nodded.
"Got it. Completely. I hurt Dawn, and you kill me slowly and painfully.
All clear."
"Good. Now go
back inside."
Andrew was all too
happy to comply.

*** *** ***
Dawn had been on her
way to the kitchen when she'd heard Spike and Andrew talking outside on the
balcony. She knew that eavesdropping was rude, but she stopped anyway, wanting
to make sure that Spike wasn't about to tear her boyfriend into tiny pieces.
She'd gotten the impression that Spike was picking up on more than he was
letting on earlier, with the looks he'd been giving them.
Dawn's stomach
clenched when she heard Spike say something she hadn't been expecting at all.
"It wasn't
more than a few weeks ago when I was here and saw you leave with two
women."
She didn't want to
believe the implications of that, but it was clear, especially after Andrew
started speaking again. Andrew had known Spike was alive. All this time,
he'd known, and had kept the truth from her. And what was worse, Spike had been
there in Rome, and he'd kept that from her, too.
Unable to listen
to anymore, Dawn ran into her room as tears formed in her eyes.

*** *** ***
- 17
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- 19
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