Chapter Six: I Smiled

Or, The Truckstop Floozy

 *Xander*

"The count of three is not a plan, it's Sesame street." -Faith

"So what are our orders?" Riley asked frustrated. I sighed and beat my head on the back of the couch. The soldier had been awake and coherent for all of twenty minutes and all he seemed to say was: "Where's Buffy?" and "What're our orders?" I really wanted him to pass out again and I could tell that Spike was about a second from decking him, chip or no chip.

"Spike, what exactly did they tell you to do when they sent everyone into hiding?" Oz asked calmly. I smiled at him greatfully. Oz was a wonderful marvelous person.

"Hide the kids until further notice and keep the Uber-witch safe." Spike snapped at him and continued with his endless pacing. I resisted the urge to tackle him to the floor and sit on him until he stopped moving, except I had a feeling that any sitting on Spike would result in lots of movement that wasn't suitable for public consumption.

"Okay so our orders are to protect Willow. And seeing as Willow is..absent, then we need to get her back." Oz pointed out. I nodded enthusiastically. YAY! Oz's taking charge! I don't have to think any more!

"How do we do that?" Riley asked. I inwardly danced in joy. Everyone was getting a grip finally!

"We can still do the s-spell? We can use the same basic working to find Buffy as well." Tara pointed out in a small voice. She looked nervously at Oz and then at me.

"Well yeah, that makes sense, if we can get the ingredients without being abducted by aliens." I pointed out. I sighed. I'm going to have to go, aren't I? I always end up severely imperiled. "Volunteers for the wicca shopping?" I asked hopefully.

"Well, I'm not exactly Greased Lightning with my leg being hacked up and all..." Oz pointed out.

"I'm still weak..." Tara pointed out. Riley just went back to staring blankly and where his arm used to be. Jonathan blinked at me, eyes still glassy from his fun injuries. I sighed and shot a glance to my undead counterpart.

"Right then, I'll just run to the store and be back in no time." Spike said and started for the door. I blinked and grabbed his duster as he strode past.

"You aren't going by yourself, dumbass." I told him, climbing over the couch back to face him down on foot. "Its too dangerous and you don't have the list." He growled at me. Its so cute when he thinks he's intimidating.

"Gimme the soddin' list and I'll run out real quick like." He said, sounding rather frustrated. I shook my head.

"Sorry Sweetcheeks, you're not going alone." I turned to Jonathan. "List?" He dug the scrap of paper out of his pocket and gave it over, all without losing the dazed look in his eyes. "Lets go." I said to Spike, slipping the list in my t-shirt's breast pocket. I smiled at the others. "If we're not back in an hour, hide under the covers." With a goofy grin I shoved Spike out ahead of me.

"Quit it." I snapped at him. He just growled louder, walking slightly ahead of me. He was sniffing at the air like a great big hunting dog between growls. "Smell anything or do you have the sniffles?" He didn't look at me but I just knew that he was rolling his eyes at me. He always exhaled and dropped his chin when he did that. It was a Spike thing.

"Nothin' but us here, love." He said finally and dropped back to walk beside me. I shrugged non-committally and looked up at the night sky. It was beautiful and empty. The emptiness of it was beautiful. Just stars, no aliens. I smiled at the little illusion and let my shoulder and arm brush against Spike's.

I looked over at him when I heard him grunt. "Left my smokes." He grumbled and started towards a locked up and quiet truck-stop. I followed, unhappy that we were wasting time, but knowing that arguing was pointless.

He broke into the store portion of the stop and started looting through the cigarette stash. I leaned on the counter and watched him. It struck me then, just how familiar he was to me. It seemed that I knew every movement he would make before it happened. The way he tossed the pack into the air and caught it, grinning in triumph when he found his brand was familiar. I knew that he'd hop up on the counter and sit next to me while he lit up. I knew that he'd start relaxing and talking to me again as soon as he'd had two good drags off of the cigarette.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye, pretending to study the keychain rack next to the register. One drag and he visibley loosened, his posture relaxing to a near-slouch. Two, and he looked at me. "Should we take some liquor back in case the mojo don't work?" He asked with a smirk in his voice. I smiled to myself, somehow happy that I probably knew the vampire better than anyone in the world aside from Dru, and she didn't really count.

"Nah, we'll just grab a shotgun and a 2x4." I said dryly. I knew it'd only take one more comment to push him to argue and I wanted him to. Maybe just to prove that he cared, even though I knew already that he did. He grabbed my arm, squeezing almost painfully tight.

"No more of that talk, love. No offin' yourself or anyone else." He commanded, his attitude suddenly fierce. I smiled again.

"You're goin' to stick around. I still haven't gotten a proper shaggin'..." He leered at me and used the grip on my arm to pull me in front of him where he sprawled on the tall countertop. I looked up at him disbelievingly when he wrapped his legs around my back and pulled me against him.

"You aren't serious..." He sure looked serious. "I'm not having sex with you here, Spike...I-I'm not some truckstop floozy giving blowjobs in the men's room!" Spike just leered at me and answered in a horrible southern accent.

"Open up, sweet pea! You's haff a perty mouf..." The accent and the wiggling eyebrows were too much. I burst into some disturbingly girly-sounding giggles.

After a couple minutes of laughing uncontrollably, I lifted my head from where it was resting against his stomach and looked up at him, my eyes streaming from laughing so hard. "Sometimes you scare me Spike, and it has nothing to do with you being evil." He preened as if I'd paid him the highest of compliments. I couldn't help but grin at him.

His expression turned serious and he lifted a hand to wipe the laugh-induced tears off my cheeks. When they were gone he smoothed my hair back. He smiled slightly, his eyes softening. He leaned down and brushed his lips over mine teasing me. I leaned further into his grip and wrapped my arms around his waist, waiting for him to deepen the contact.

"Ahem!"

"Angel?!" Xan jumped a mile and whirled around to face the hovering image of the Souled Wonder. Am I ever going to get sex? I growled in annoyance at the magical image.

"Wes can only hold this connection up for a moment. Give me a report." Angel ordered gruffly. Xander glanced up at me, obviously expecting me to do the reporting. I sighed and hopped off the bench to come face to face with the glowing image of Angel's head.

"Right then, Slayer's been nabbed by the baddies, we picked up a werewolf, and the Witch is wondering around somewhere sans body." I reported. Angel frowned. Actually, his face stayed the same as always, but it seemed like he was frowning. Poof needs new expressions.

"The aliens got Buffy?" I growled.

"They took her. We're going to do a spell to find her and try to locate Willow. We think the fight knocked her out of her body. We found Oz here too." Xander reiterated for the moron.

Angel turned and looked like he was conferring with someone else before he turned back again. "Do the spell. We have to get Willow back, she's all we've really got that can take a ship. We're all heading back to Sunnydale to regroup and plan our next attack. Try to be there in two days at the latest." Xander glanced at me as if to make sure I was listening. I nodded at him. The git had no memory for plans unless they were written down or beaten into his head.

"Okay, got it. Seeya in two days." He told the other vampire. Angel nodded and blinked at Xander.

"When did you change back into a man again?"

"What? I've always been a man..." Xander answered him, a perfectly composed look of confusion on his face. I stifled a grin. Angel shook his head, looking a little lost and turned away again.

We heard, "Xander was a girl right, Wes? I'm not losing it am I?" as the connection fizzled out. I grinned and tugged the boy into a quick kiss. He was grinning like a loon.

"There is nothing more entertaining in the world then screwing with Angel's head." Xan said smugly. I shook my head at him.

"I know a few things that're better..." I leered at him. He swatted my arm and started out of the truckstop.

"No sex now, must save world." He stated, pulling the crinkled list of witchy things for our scavenger hunt.

I sighed and followed along obediently with a grumbled "Quack."