Teaser-- excerpt from "Forever," which is subject to change before posting due to lots of revision... Also, there's spoilers for "Immortal."

*****

"Come out from there," he told her, standing still as he watched her pace the shadows.

"Spike, we've had this conversation," she said, her voice devoid of any emotion, but he wouldn't be deterred. She might not love him, but she was still his responsibility.

"Yeah, love, but if I remember, I went to you as someone that loved you. Not saying I don't, but I didn't come here as your besotted boyfriend. I came here as your sire."

She laughed at him, and though he knew she didn't really understand the importance of his words, it burned him all the same. "My sire? That almost sounds scary," she quipped. "What's with the backup, then?" she asked, gesturing at the others, who were wisely keeping their distance from the two.

"Because we're taking you," Spike replied. "Coming peacefully is just one option."

"Well, barring that option, how many do I have?" She stepped from the shadows then, the lights from the street illuminating her face, and the almost tangible presence of her hit him once again. Not only was she a striking vision of a vampire, but she was also a very real Slayer. Not afraid, and not taking prisoners.

"Your other option is to get shot and dragged to the car," Spike told her, ignoring her beauty, and fed up with her conceit. He approached her, not holding his gun up, but she came at him, quicker than lightning. No one was prepared for her speed, and Spike heard a dart fly past his ear before his own gun was quickly kicked out of his hand. He was hit again in the stomach before he could focus the energy to dodge her next blow. He knew he had to keep her fighting. If he didn't, she'd run, and they most likely wouldn't be able to keep up.

Spike knew Buffy's fighting style like the back of his hand, and though being a vampire had made her faster, her moves were the same. She still dropped her shoulder, belying the punch she meant to throw, and he ducked out of her way, catching her jaw with his fist with a blow that sent her sprawling to the ground.

Angered, Buffy's demon visage appeared, and Spike returned it in kind. He knew this was something Giles probably didn't want the baby Slayers to see, but it wasn't something he could help. If his childe wanted to battle, he couldn't help but oblige.

He watched as Buffy sprang up from the ground, and he was ready, planting his foot firmly against her chest, and launching her into a nearby tombstone. The impact caused the granite to crumble as the Slayer rolled over it, but she never missed a step.

"Buffy, you want to stop this," he warned her as she came running at him again.

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked after clipping him in the chin with the heel of her boot. He barely felt the pain; he was too focused on taking her down. One, to help her, and two, to teach her a bloody lesson.

"Because you think I won't hurt you," he replied, rolling away from another roundhouse, and kicking her legs out from beneath her. She caught herself, however, and blocked the punch he threw at her.

"Actually, I was sort of hoping you'd try," she told him, smiling around her fangs. "Because you really don't know what you're dealing with."

"No, love," he said, grabbing her by the lapels of her jacket, sick of her ego trip. She was his everything, but compared to the life he'd lived, she was a boasting little girl. "I've been soft on you. I've always been soft on you. Maybe because I always felt something for you, and maybe because you just haven't really pissed me off yet, but I think you've gone and accomplished that task."