| Follow Me Part Seven. Standard CYA applies, I own nothing. But if I ever do own Spike, I promise to share. Author notes: Giant monster sized hugs to everyone who has written feedback. You are all my favourite people. Except the people who saw JM at Nocturne, All of you I envy. Why doesn't JM ever come to Canada? More importantly to Alberta? Or better yet, my apartment? ::grin:: But I digress. There is more undressed Spike in this part, and it is in no way essential to the plot. I just like writing it. :D If you haven't gotten the other parts, e-mail me for a link. -- It had four arms, a torso like an elm tree and appeared to be dripping some sort of reddish foam. Dawn wrinkled her nose and changed the channel. "Glad we don't have those here." -- Spike was halfway through a battle with an especially ugly demon but he was beginning to feel the strain and the back of his brain still expected Buffy to come out of nowhere and save his sorry arse. More yellow goo dropped on his duster as he blocked hits from the three arms of the beast. It had been released when the portal had opened and appeared to have a taste for lattes or latte drinkers, judging from the scattered debris in the monsters den. He still hadn't figured out how to kill it, but he had a couple ideas. Chopping off heads killed most things, but just pissed off others. Sword to the heart, if you could find it, was fairly effective. He studied the movement of the huge yellow thing in front of him, hoping to see something, a weakness, anything he could use. Spike shifted back and forth on his feet, ducking but not blocking any hits. The demon opened its great goo filled mouth and roared, covering Spike from tip to toe in the stuff. Acting with the stealth of a predatory animal, Spike reached into the back of its throat and ripped out what he hoped was its brain stem. He looked at the still demon, a mound of greyish strings in his hand. It swayed for a few seconds before falling backwards. Spike jumped several feet backwards to avoid a new flow of goo. "That was new, it's never been yellow before." Spike kicked the mass at his feet with the tip of his steel-toed boot. It didn't move and Spike threw the brain stem far into the den. Walking back to the Summers home, he raised his arm and looked at the large globs of yellow clinging to his duster and hands. Spike walked quickly, fighting the urge to both fed and light up another cigarette. Blood could wait, it was more of a habit to feed after a good kill, and the cigarette would have to be put off till he got the demon goo off him. He didn't know if it was flammable, and wasn't keen on doing his Roman candle impression. It had been several hours since he left, the anger and frustration had left his body when the first of several vampires landed dusty at his feet. The word was out amongst the nocturnal world, the Slayer was dead and it was fun feeding time again. Tomorrow he would start the demon grapevine going, reminding everyone he was in town. Tonight, he wanted the last pint of chocolate ice cream with a little O positive sauce and if Buffy wasn't to pissed at him, maybe she could send down some good dreams or even a Manchester game on cable. He sniffed the air and felt some of the dark going out of the night. It had been a good hunt, he had killed the bad guy, taken the vampire population down a few. And he knew there would be more tomorrow, which suited him fine. Spike always did enjoy a bit of roughhousing before bedding down. The porch light was still burning and Spike swore softly under his breath. "If that pack of geese are still in my living room.." He took the steps in one motion and landed lightly on the porch, directly in front of the door. Listening carefully, he heard laughter coming from the family room and for a brief second he considered slipping in the back way to avoid questions about his appearance. That though lasted all of two seconds as he turned the handle on the door and strode into the house. The family room was thankfully empty, the sounds he had picked up on coming from the television. Spike chuckled as he shed his duster, careful not to drip on the carpet, realising how disoriented he must be if he mistook a laugh track for living people. The duster was laid carefully on the back porch for cleaning later and Spike felt his mouth go into a grin as water run in the main floor bathroom. "Pet, you mind.." The grin slipped off his face. "Harris. Where's Nibblet?" Xander looked at the yellow tinged vampire in front of him and burst out in silent chuckles. The sight of Spike covered in the goo was to much for Xander and he had to brace himself against the wall to keep from falling over. "You look like �" The laughing impaired his speech and he just gestured. "I repeat, where is Dawn?" "Up�" giggle "stairs." Spike turned on his heel and began to walk to the stair when Xander put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to face him. "She made her friends leave around 10:00. They even helped with the dishes; so don't go to `grrr' on her. She was just being a teenager, which all things included, is pretty good. You got her to talk to her friends again. She was laughing and being a brat." Xander lifted his hand from the vampires shoulder and made an `eww' look at the strings of gunk came off with it. "Anytime she needs me, call. I'm not happy about you being here and I would much rather have you as a pile of road grit, but you make her happy and that's all any of us want." He wiped the goo off on a clean part of Spike shirt. "I'm trying to say thanks, and if you hurt her, I'll get Giles to kill you and Willow to bring you back so we can do it again." Spike nodded and turned again. "I'll remember that, now get the hell out." Xander chuckled again and gathered his jacket silently. As he was leaving, he shouted over his shoulder. "I ate the last pint of chocolate, so no blood sundaes for you, ya leech with fangs." Spike stopped on the second step from the top and growled loudly, then carried on to the spare bathroom. "Pet, I'm gonna take a shower, you ok?" Dawn appeared from her bedroom, holding a pile of linens haphazardly. "Sure, I'm good. What the hell happened to you?" "Don't swear" He rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Can't believe I just said that. Swear all you want." She grinned widely. "You look like something out of one of the magic books I'm not allowed to read. Did you kill it or did it just sneeze on you and run away?" "Killed it. Ripped the buggers brain stem out." He grinned wickedly. "Was brilliant fun." "Knock on my door when you're done, ok?" "Sure pet. Give us a couple minutes to get un-gooed." She nodded and turned back into her room. "I would give you a hug, but yuck." -- The water ran hotter then he was used too but the goo seemed to come off better that way and he revealed in the heat. He could never get the RV to run that hot, and crypt had the settings of cold and colder. Clothes were in a pile on the floor and Spike suspected they were not going to make it threw a wash cycle. This was the third time he had washed his hair, each time getting a few more bits of yellow out. Bracing his hands against the wall, he leaned into the spray and felt the water run down his face and on to his chest, down his neck to the tensed muscles on his back. The stitches from his first encounter with Glory had healed, a scar still red where her finger had poked into him. He ran his hands up and down his arms, checking for missed wounds and hidden spots of goop. Spike curled his toes in the water gathering around his feet and he briefly considered using the vanilla scented shower gel that sat beside the shampoo. Straightening up, he poured more shampoo in his hand and massaged it through his hair as he read the bottle. "Specially formulated for colour-treated hair. Knew she was a bottle blonde." The past tense of the sentence shook him, and the tears he had shed at her grave threatened to well up again until he heard Dawn bang into something and give a string of curses that made his heart proud. He laughed from his chest and turned his back to the spray, rinsing the elderberry and hibiscus scented foam out of his hair. Turning the cold water off, Spike scalded his skin, enjoying the heat that seeped into his bones. It was a rare experience and one of the few things he missed from being human, being hot. Feeding brought a certain amount of warmth into the body, but it was short-lived and only came with a live feed. At the thought of blood, Spike licked his lips and turned the facet off. Steam filled the room and a message was written in soap on the mirror. It was a crudely drawn smiley face with fangs and a speech bubble that said `grrrr'. Spike shook his head and wrapped a green towel around his waist, his body and hair making puddles on the bathroom floor. Barefoot, he took the few short steps over to Dawn's room and knocked softly on the door. "Yeah?" He spoke into the wooden door, not wanting to invade her space. "You wanted to see me?" Dawn opened the door and her eyes widened. He was wet, dripping on the carpet and pretty much naked. Attempting to be casual, she spoke quickly and stepped into the hall beside him. "Where did you sleep last night?" He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. "A gentleman never tells." "You're not a gentleman." "Caught me." Spike shifted his weight and the towel slipped lower on his hips. "Dining room table." "Oh. Um," She forced her eyes away from the towel to his face. "I have a present for you." Dawn held out her hand for him to take and Spike obliged, following behind her a few steps. Dawn lead her down the short hallway and stopped in front of Joyce's door. Taking a deep breath and dropping Spike's hand, she opened the door and stepped inside. "Xander and I changed the sheets and made sure the drapes were heavy enough to block the sun. And there are fresh towel in the bathroom and I�." Dawn turned around and saw that Spike was still standing in the hallway. "You don't like it?" She asked in a small voice. Spike took a step into the room and ran his hand tentatively along the dresser. "You want me to stay here?" "Well, I thought that is would be more comfortable, but if you don't want to." She trailed off and fiddled with the corner of the bedspread. "Its your mum's room, luv. Are you sure?" Dawn shrugged. "She's not coming back and you need a place to stay." Spike nodded and fingered the drapes. "You say Harris helped you?" "I had to pretty much force him once he figured out it was for you." She grinned "I told him that if he didn't help, I would invite my friends to stay the night and then he would have to stay over and watch our us, cause you wouldn't. It was a convincing argument." "Bet it was." He clapped his hands together to break the tension he was feeling. "Right. Spike's got himself a room, now if we can just find the poor bugger some clothes." Dawn laughed. "I could ask Meredan to bring some over." "Over my dusted self.." "I think there might be some old workout clothes of Riley's in the laundry room." Dawn wrinkled her brow. "Unless Buffy burned them. I'll go check." Spikes mind flew back to blood and he followed her down the hallway. "Did you really let Harris eat my chocolate?" "There was chocolate ice cream left!? You told me�" Dawn stopped walking and turned around to hit him in the stomach, her hand making contact with his bare skin. She blushed a deep red and pulled her hand back as if she had been burned. "I'll go get you some clothes." "No rush." Spike sniggered under his breath and sauntered into the kitchen. Half a bag of O positive was left in the crisper and he opened the freezer door, hoping to find a forgotten bit of ice cream to go with it. There was one container left, the chocolate he was craving and a note attached to it. "Bite Me. Heart with a dagger in it, Harris. Clever boy." Spike crumpled the note in his hand chucked in the garbage. Making an indent in the ice cream with a spoon, he poured the left over blood over top of it and smiled. He was a happy vampire indeed. -- Dawn emerged from the laundry with a undershirt and the same part of drawstring pants Spike had worn for his workout. "You're going to have to go shopping tomorrow, cause this won't be the best slaying gear in the world. Ick! What are you eating?" "Blood and ice cream, want some?" He asked through a mouthful. "That is just a crime against chocolate." She threw the clothes at him and Spike caught them with one hand. "Beddie bye time for you. You got class tomorrow." Spike put the ice cream down on the table and ushered Dawn up to her room. "Can we go the mall after school? I can help you pick out what to buy." "We'll see, now G'night." He kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams." "What would be sweet dreams for a vampire." A variety of images ran through Spikes mind, none of which were for consumption by someone of Dawn's age. "I'll tell you in the morning." "Will not." She pouted. "Probably." Dawn stuck out her tongue, then shut her door quickly. Spike just smiled. At 3 am, the phone rang once and Spike grabbed it from the cradle. "This better be important Harris." He hit the mute button on the remote. "Spike, its Giles." "Watcher, this better be important." "It looks as though I will be in England longer then I expected. The Council is using its, ah, influence to have one of us made Dawns guardian. Her father will have legal rights, of course, but since he.." Giles trailed off "Is a git who couldn't care less about his kin?" "Yes. I don't think there will be much trouble with that portion." "And you interrupted my telly time because?" "I am attempting to be civil you hapless idiot. I will remain in England until everything is squared away, will you be continuing to watch Dawn, yes?" "Course." Giles tone softened. "How is the girl?" "She's doing fine, Ripper. Even had some of her giggling bunch over tonight." He paused. "I'll tell her you asked after her." "I would appreciate that. Ah, how are you for money? T-there will be expenses in taking care of her, if you need I could have Anya..." Spike cut him off. "I've got some dosh squirreled away. No bother there mate." "Excellent. I'll let you get back to Passions." Giles hung up his end and left Spike listening to a dial tone. "Passion isn't on till the afternoon." Spike grumbled to himself and turned off the TV. His eyes adjusted instantly to the dark house and Spike walked up the stairs to Dawn's room. He could hear her moving and assumed the phone had woken her. He knocked and opened the door at the same time, trying not to scare the girl. "You awake?" Dawn sat up and spoke in groggy voice. "Yeah, is it evil?" Spike stayed in the door well and kept his voice low. "Nah, just Ripper. Wanted to remind us that England was wet and dark. Asked how you were, making sure I didn't eat ya." "Oh, good. He staying for long?" She yawned " Couple weeks. Go back to sleep." Spike started to close the door and smiled in the darkness. "Kay." Deciding it was a good time for to try out his new room, Spike checked the lower floor, making sure all the locks on and windows shut. Back upstairs, he laid down on the bed and felt the cushioning in the small of his back and inhaled the scent of laundry soap. Spike stole one more doubtful look at the curtains and closed his eyes for a few hours rest. Tomorrow, he had a full day of shopping and banking. He shuttered at the humanness of it all. "Its not for you," he mumbled, falling asleep. "Its for Buf�Dawn. Got to keep her safe. Gotta make her comfy.." Spike fell asleep on top of the covers and soon turned his sleeping form on to its side. His brain filled with images. He was dreaming. -- Next instalment forming in my brain right now. ::Grin:: Won't be long. Jess |