*****

Buffy hung the last picture and stepped back to see if it looked good on the wall. She wanted everything to look perfect even though she knew that there was no such thing as perfection. This picture was one of her and her daughter, Dawn. Riley wasn't in the picture. In fact Riley wasn't in any of the pictures she just finished hanging up. She couldn't look at him anymore. After all the things he put her through she had a right to be angry, no furious at him. No one blamed her for trying to get out of her marriage to Riley. In fact, people asked her why it took her this long to realize he was a piece of shit.

Buffy herself couldn't image why she had ever been that stupid. Her father, before he died, had warned her about men like Riley. Buffy felt the tears in her eyes as she thought about her father mixed in with all the hurt and the pain of the last four years of her life, but quickly wiped them away. She would shed no more tears of pity for herself. That time had come and now it was time to get on with her life.

Her ex-husband was a terrible man who hurt her and she would let the same fate fall on her daughter. In the beginning he was a joy to be around; he was always happy and carefree. That was what made Buffy fall hard for him. Now he was mean and cruel. Buffy wouldn't let him near her or their daughter. She would fight as long as it took to keep him away from Dawn, even if it meant spending all she had. She would no longer be Mrs. Riley Finn. She would be Buffy Summers again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

William Flannery hated working family law. He had lost his corporate because he yelled at his older then dirt boss. When he was fired he was already on the edge of losing his job. Now he was working for his crappy brother-in-law and proving his dad's theory correct. William's life had taken wrong turns, not to mention the fact that he barely got into law school.

That was what turned his life around: Law. In his youth, William was arrest numerous times. Each time his father's attorney, Rupert Giles, would expunge his record. Will would spend countless hours in Rupert's office looking at law files. His father wanted Will to go into the family business, which was being a cop. Will's older brother, Liam or Angel as he was called by family members, was a detective for Sunnnydale police department. Will had defied his dad and became an ambulance chaser as his father and brother would put it.

Now the dream was over. He was working for a guy he hated and a section of law he wasn't all that qualified for. He couldn't let his father have the last laugh. He would get out of this job and open his own practice. He just had to wait awhile.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alexander Harris was listening to a new client talk. A sob story that women use when they were going through a divorce. This one was no exception. Trying to get half of everything, custody of the kid, and keep away the ex-husband in the process. It would be another slam-dunk, Alexander thought. He, personally, could not take the case, but he could give it to one of his underlings with no experience. Wives always got everything. He could give it to someone. Someone being his brother-in-law Will.

Xander hated Will or Spike as he was called throughout the office. Spike was his street name from the time when he was a hoodlum. Worthless son of a bitch in Xander's opinion. Spike was a screw-up who didn't deserve to practice law. Xander only hired him because his wife, Anya, begged him mercilessly for weeks. After she realized begging wasn't going to work she withheld sex until Xander finally caved. Xander knew that Spike would hate taking a case.

This lady seemed ready to cry at any moment. It would be the perfect stress pusher. Xander hated making his wife unhappy and a lot of that was because of Spike. Well not a lot, but it seemed to tie in with her family who hated lawyers. Anya herself was involved with the police department. She was a forensic examiner for the Sunny-D police department.

The woman seemed done with her story so Xander took this as the time to speak up. " Ms. Finn.." Xander started off, but didn't get finished because the petite blonde interrupted.

"It's Miss Summers. Finn is my ex-husband's name." She said with such pride and confidence that Xander couldn't help, but admire.

"Miss Summers, I myself can't take the case, but one of my associates can." Xander said with his usual sweet caring voice. He had been in the business to long.

"Is he or she qualified?" Buffy asked not wanting to seem too skeptical about the qualifications of the lawyers that worked for the man sitting in front of her. The problem was she wanted nothing but the best. Riley's lawyer was a cruel hearted bitch who worked for his family. She needed to fight fire with fire.

"Mr. Flannery is more than qualified to take this case." Xander said. He could sense that tone in a woman's voice any day. It was doubt. She wanted the best.

"So you know which lawyer you are assigning the case to?" Buffy asked. She was amazed that he had even given it any thought. He seemed like he was zoning out during the meeting.

"Yes, Mr. Flannery is a very good colleague. He is very dedicated to his work." Xander said without hinting that some parts weren't true. Spike was dedicated to his work, but not this work.

"May I meet with him? I would really like to get the ball rolling on the case so I can hurry up and put all this behind my daughter and me." Buffy said. She really needed all this to end. She was maxed-out on her sick days at work and couldn't afford to lose her job.

"Let me show you to his office."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike sat at his desk working through all the paper work. He had firmly stated to his baby sister that he would not take a case. Anya had discussed it with Xander and told Spike that he would just be filing paper work unless he felt like taking a case. That was Anya for you. She could have been a lawyer but decided to become a doctor instead. Spike knew Anya looked up to him and he hated exploiting it. He hadn't asked for a job but she knew he needed one so she took it upon herself to get him one at Xander's office. Now all Spike had to do was wait until he rode this out for about a year than he could start his own practice. That was all it was about. His practice.

There was a knock at the door and Spike wondered who it might be. No one every knocked on Spike's door. They all came in and handed him paper work. " Come in." he said with a little too much curiosity that he couldn't keep back. Also his accent leaked out. It had been a long time since that happened last. Spike's accent all came out when he was extremely nervous or curious nowadays.

Xander entered the room with a pretty blonde close behind him. She must have been a new worker who was there to help Spike with the paper work.

"Oh, hello Xand." Spike said trying to hide the British accent that was making its way through. Spike hated that accent. It represented something that he was no longer a part of.

"Will this is Miss Summers. She is a new client at this firm." Xander said. He has smiling in spite of himself. He could see the curiosity that played in those blue eyes of his. Add that and the accent and Spike could have just said that it was killing him not knowing why Xander was there.

Spike didn't know what Xander was playing at and wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Xander had on that stupid grin he wore when he was bursting with glee.

"So why are you showing the bird to my neck of the woods?" It was a slip, but one he didn't care about. He was dying to know what Xander was playing at.

Buffy wasn't sure she liked what was going on. The two men seemed to needed to communicate more with each other. She felt it was time to speak up because like Spike the suspense was killing her.

"Mr. Harris said that you would be able to take my case. He said that you were one of his best associates." There now everything was out in the open. Xander didn't like that she ruined the surprise but knew that she must be going through a lot and didn't want games to be played.

Spike could have killed Xander right there and then. He had to be clinically insane to think that Spike would want anything to do with all these said women. He knew that the best thing to do was not to lose his cool in front of this women who seemed to be very impatient. She didn't need their bickering.

"Well, Xander is terrible wrong to make an assumption like that. I have piles of work to do and there is just no way I could take on one more case. Sorry, luv." Spike said with a very soft voice. His accent was almost gone as he said that except for the luv part. Xander didn't get mad or huffy. He simply reiterated this.

"Will I know that you have important cases to work on, but I would really like it if you took this one. Miss Summers has been through quiet an ordeal. She needs a very good lawyer to defend her case. I can get other people to cover your cases. Just please except this one." Xander said this in his lawyer voice. Xander had a very convincing voice that would make anyone agree.

As much as Spike hated it he always fell for it as well. He wanted to get angry, but he felt like he couldn't. Maybe it was because of Xander's charming personality or maybe it was because of the woman standing in front of him. Spike knew he had to get back in the game whether it be family law or business law he needed to be in a courtroom.

"Alright all take the case but you really are going to have to pawn of some of this work to all the other people at this place. I'm not the only working here you know." Spike said playing into the game that Xander presented.

Xander sighed internally. He knew that he had actually just helped Spike more than punish him, but at least this case would go to someone who would treat it with some respect. That was all Xander could hope for. He said good-bye and left the room still wondering what really happened right now.

"Miss Summers why don't you take a seat?" Spike said trying to get the ball rolling. He knew she was anxious. Buffy sat down. All her nerves were frazzled and she needed to sit. "so why don't you tell me about your case." Buffy sighed. She had been doing a lot of that lately, but it was like a reflex. She set her hands on her lap and began to talk.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy had just finished explaining the details of her marriage. She had a daughter and her husband had been abusive. Spike wondered how good people ended up in terrible situations like this. She seemed like such a good person. Her green eyes were full of sadness and hurt. The only time they even showed the slightest signs of happiness was at the mentioning of her daughter Dawn. She loved her daughter a lot. Spike took in a deep breath and prepared to talk.

"Can you prove any signs of the abuse?"

Buffy thought it was an odd question to ask. It didn't seem to have anything to do with the relevance of the case. She knew he must have had a reason.

"A few of my friends were witnesses to some of his violence and I have emergency room reports, plus a few pictures. Still I don't see how it is relevant to the case?" She had to ask.

Damn, he had some how managed to sound like a defense attorney. He just couldn't hide that. His accent he could hide, but his annoying habit of having to know every detail was just something he had to wear on his sleeve. "Oh it was just some background information. I just thought that if there was any need to back up your request that I should know ahead of time." Good you saved your ass from an unwanted inquiry Spike thought.

"Oh I see what you're saying. I don't know if it would be a problem though. Riley never denied that he hit me. It was the one thing he told the truth about."

"Well if you say that the lawyer he has is pretty good than she will try to say that there was no abuse and that your claims are unjustified."

Buffy hadn't thought about that. What if Riley tried to say that he never laid a hand on her or never tried to hurt Dawn. Buffy couldn't let that happen. She needed Mr. Flannery to beat her ex-husband. "You don't really think that Riley would pull something like that?"

"It is a definite possibility. If he really loves your child like you says he does than he will do anything to be able to see her. No matter what the price." Spike said in a calm but matter-of-fact voice. He knew that she needed to know all that went along with a trial.

"Mr. Flannery do you think you are up to the challenge of going to trial with my case? I know that you are a good lawyer and that this is probably an everyday run of the mill divorce cases. I just feel that I will need someone who is fully prepared to through himself into this case. My case. It is very important that Dawn doesn't ever have to see her father unless it is a supervised visit." It was a long speech that Buffy thought was unnecessary, but she needed to say it.

Spike could see that she was suffering from all this and thought the best way to approach the situation was to tell her what was the closest to the truth as he could get. He was a lawyer after all.

"Miss Summers, I'm fully prepared to dive into this case head first. I really feel that what you went through was very difficult and stress worthy. More than that I don't think your daughter who is so young needs to go through that. And its Will. I don't think that you should bother with Mr. Flannery. If you want Mr. Flannery you can find him at the 22nd precinct." Spike said.

Buffy thought that his answer was genuine. His good manners and his sense of humor floored her. He had lost the accent though. She couldn't understand for the life of her why he hid it. It was a nice accent that added to his over all charm. Buffy hadn't spent the whole time looking at him, but she wouldn't deny that he was very handsome.

"Thank you for excepting the challenge. I really wish that you will live up to my expectations." Buffy said. She moved out of her chair and was walking to the door when he spoke again.

Spike couldn't let her leave yet. There were a few minor details to work out. Basically shop talk, but it would need to be done now to avoid messy pick-ups later.

"Miss Summers there is still the minor detail of how much money you actually want from Mr. Finn?" he said in the nicest voice possible. He didn't want to overwhelm her.

Buffy quietly came back to her seat and sat down. The number hadn't really popped into her head. She was content with no money at all. She didn't need his money, but still she had Dawn to think about. Dawn might need the money later on in life for college or something.

"I suppose the usual amount of money a person would pay for child support. I really don't want nor need his money. Dawn and I will be just fine after this whole thing is put behind us." Buffy was a little shaky when she said this and Spike could tell. She didn't want his money, but need might be a different story.

"Miss Summers what do you do for a living?" There it was again. That ability to turn everything into an investigation.

Buffy answered his question with ease. "I'm a nurse at a hospital." No further explanation than that. Spike wanted to inquiry, but he knew that would be too much for her.

"Okay so you are seeking the minimum amount that a child can receive for child support? That would be about three hundred dollars a month, I believe." Spike finished saying this, but knew that he should have consulted with Xander before saying exact amounts. Buffy didn't know what to say. Three hundred dollars a month seemed reasonable, but she didn't know for sure.

It would be so much easier if Willow were there with her, she thought.

"It sounds like a good amount but I would like to discuss it further. I'm not quiet sure if that is too much or too little and I don't want Riley to feel that he owns something of mine. He needs to realize that he blew his chance with me when he first started taking his angry out on not only me, but on Dawn as well. He never hurt Dawn too bad but the scars are there." Buffy said this and then started to make her way to the door. She knew that it was almost time to start work and she couldn't be late.

Spike saw her do a dash to the door. He knew that she needed to get out of there and was happy to oblige her request.

"Miss Summers you can go now although I don't think I have much say on whether you leave right now or if you leave four days from now. We will however need to discuss the case more in a couple of days. When is your day off?" Spike asked.

"Thursday."

"That is two days from now that should be fine."

"No I meant two Thursdays from now. I used up all my sick days and now I don't have another day off until then."

"That is perfectly fine. You will need to come back though." Spike said to tell her that this wasn't the end but only the beginning.

"I know." She reached for the doorknob and was slowly turning it when he said

"Remember that you will win. I will personally make sure of that, Miss Summers." Buffy turned to face him.

"Thank you, and its Buffy." She said as she turned back and walked through the door.

Chapter 2:

Spike had been spending the last few days looking for information on his new case. There was nothing much to get, but he had wanted to double check things just in case there was something the defense could use against his client. His client, he thought. She would be coming to his office shortly. She had decided that she couldn't wait any longer to get things really started, so she asked for a different day off. Spike thought that Buffy was a very strong person, but a little too impatient.

He knew that it took a lot of time for cases to develop, even divorce cases. In fact divorce cases probably took the longest. But there was nothing he could do to make her see that. She had decided how fast she wanted things to run. She was the client and customer as Spike liked to call it. The customer is always right, except when they're being stupid.

Spike finished typing the last word of the document he was working on and turned off his computer. He had to stop thinking about her case... and her. Spike would admit that Buffy was very pretty, in fact almost beautiful, but she was a client and she just happened to be getting out of a marriage. Spike didn't go for women who were still legally married no matter how long they had been separated from their husbands.

The only thing that would get his mind off of her and her problems, which were now his too, was to go to his favorite bar. Of course when she came to his office tomorrow it would start all over again, but tonight was his night to be Spike. He hated having to be Will all day. Now he could go have a drink and smoke all he wanted. Mostly, though, it was time to stop thinking about her.

Buffy had just put Dawn to sleep and was heading for the living room. Willow was waiting for her in there. Buffy was on edge about her meeting with Will tomorrow. It wasn't so much the fact that it was to talk about the case, but she would be seeing him again. His face was a picture she couldn't shake out of her mind.

He had the bluest most amazing eyes she had ever seen. He was also very good looking, although the suit he was wearing didn't suit him. He didn't seem like the suit type. His hair was partly the reason. It was frosted bleach blonde on the tips. It looked more like the dye job was running out than if he had it professional done. His hair must have been bleach blonde before.

Buffy knew that she had to stop thinking about him and focus on the case. She had just gotten out of a marriage and she didn't need to start dating right away. She and Riley had been separated for eight months now, but she was still legally married. She would just have to set him out of her mind for now. Willow was the best person to help her do that. She would make her forget about the very handsome lawyer. Of course tomorrow it would start all over again. Tonight was her night to be around a good friend.

Buffy made those last steps to the living room of her new apartment and plopped down on the couch. Willow eyed her with a hint of worry. She knew Buffy wasn't the plopping type before her marriage to that jackass, but now she seemed drained of all energy. Willow knew that Dawn was a handful, but she also knew that Buffy knew how to handle Dawn. Six-year olds were very rambunctious. Willow decided to speak up.

"Buff do you think that you will be able to get through this. I know you are strong, but this whole ordeal is very draining. Maybe you should consider some help from your mom?" Willow knew she shouldn't have said the last part, but it seemed true.

Buffy eyed Willow suspiciously. Willow knew what had happened between her mom and her when Buffy told her mother she was getting a divorce. Her mom had asked her why she would do a stupid thing like that. She said that Riley was a great husband who just had a few problems. She called Buffy some mean names and implied that she couldn't take care of Dawn on her own.

It was terrible and Buffy didn't want to have to deal with the criticism that Joyce Summers was bound to give her. Buffy finally spoke up " I'm fine with all this, Wills. I know I look tired and not able to go on, but it's just the outer exterior. Inside I'm me who needs to fight this on my own. There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

Willow knew that Buffy needed to do this without anybody's help. Well maybe Willow's, but that was different. Buffy relied on her parents and guys too much. When she was in high school she had a boyfriend named Parker.

Parker always said that he would be there for her, but they lost touch after high school and Buffy was crushed. If the case wasn't bothering her friend than there had to be something. Her curiosity got the best of her as she asked her next question.

"So what's the matter then?"

Great, Buffy thought, just great I can't hide anything from this smart redhead.

"Nothing, just a meeting with my lawyer tomorrow."

Uh oh I sounded too possessive. Crap, why don't I just tell her?

"Oh that doesn't seem to bad. Why would that make you nervous?"

Because he's very handsome and I can't have him, Buffy thought.

She calmed down and said, " Just the fact that the lawyer mentioned Riley's lawyer trying to pull a fast one makes me a little nervous. He can't have Dawn. I won't let him."

Good sound like the mother who is fighting for her daughters life.

Willow knew there was something more and had to inquiry some more,

"Are you sure. You look like you have a huge secret that you want to spill, but think you can't. You know you can tell me anything, Buff."

Good I gave her the whole 'Willow knows best guilt trip'. She always falls for that.

"Well, it would seem that my mind has gotten the better of me again." Buffy wondered why she always fell for the guilt trip, but was ready to burst if she didn't tell Willow.

"How so?" Willow said in her gentle voice that said 'tell me'.

"The lawyer, Mr. Flannery, well... he seems like a nice men... I don't know why I'm being so... childish... I just think that maybe... I don't know... I feel that he..." Buffy never got out all of what she was trying to say before Willow intervened.

"You're attracted to him, aren't you?" All Buffy could do was nod her head in a silent yes.

"Well there's nothing wrong with that. You will be a single woman in a couple of months. You practically are now."

"Isn't it wrong to feel this way when I'm legally married?" Buffy was still searching for the wrong in this situation.

"No, its not. Moving on with your life is a huge step to being free. You must find yourself first though. When you do find Buffy then you could consider dating again. Although being attracted to someone isn't a bad thing."

Damn it!

Willow was giving Buffy the psychobabble. She was probably right though.

"Fine I get what you are saying. I don't want to be attracted to him, but I guess I'll have to live with it."

"Good."

"Now, how are things going between you and Oz." Buffy said. It was now time to talk about Willow and her life. They had spent too much time on Buffy's. Buffy wanted to get back to the friend talk.

Spike had had two drinks now. He was on his third cigarette. He knew that they were bad, but it was a habit he could afford and also one he just couldn't shake off. He had been in Willie's for about an hour now and couldn't shake off his uneasiness. None of his friend's had been into the bar yet. Wesley was probably at home with his wife right now. Wes had just gotten married to Winfred and was spending most of his time at home with her.

Not that Spike was jealous or anything, but it would be nice to have his best friends guidance. Wes was his oldest and dearest friend. Wes had been there when Spike was going through the hard times of his teens. He never judged Spike, which was exactly what Spike needed. When they got older Wes had helped Spike through college.

Winfred or Fred, which was what most people called her, was their mutual friend. Spike had played matchmaker with them. He knew Wes loved her and she loved Wes, so he took it upon himself to set the two up. Anything to make his best friend happy.

Wes was like a brother to Spike. His real brother, Angel, liked to play the big brother part and it suited him, but he was too overprotective of Spike and Anya. Spike always felt that Angel was more of a father figure than a cool older brother who he could hang out with. He felt smothered by Angel's overprotective side that seemed to come out when it came to Spike.

Angel liked to nit pick, not as bad as his father though, Spike's every decision and didn't realize that it annoyed the heck out of his little brother. Wes never did that to Spike and Spike was internally grateful for that.

Spike took another sip of his glass of whiskey and took a long drag from his cigarette. It would be a whole night of this. Spike's attention turned to the door where he saw a bunch of cops enter. This was the bar where the lawyers and cops integrated. Spike had learned of this bar his first day as an A.D.A. He came back even after he quit that job to become a defense attorney. He met lots of cops who he would have casual conversations with.

He knew two of the cops that had just entered the bar as Charles Gunn and Lawrence McBride. The other two he didn't know, but soon a fifth person made his way into the bar. Spike recognized him right away as his older brother. He was very nervous at being at a bar as he should be. He should be home with his wife, Cordelia, and two children, Madison and Connor. " Bloody hell." Spike murmured to himself as his Gunn spotted him and pointed in his direction.

Angel saw his little brother and wondered what the hell he was doing here smoking and drinking. Will was a recovering alcoholic and shouldn't be drinking no matter the circumstances. Angel knew that he was letting his big-brother-knows-best side shine through too much, but he couldn't help but care that much for Will. He made his way across the bar to where Will was sitting and knew that his brother would have a fit if he came of too preachy. He started to pick his words carefully in his mind before saying.

"Hullo will. Nice to see you here how have you been?"

Spike knew that he was pretending to be the good guy before he exploded. Spike could see it in Angel's eyes. He knew that look better than anyone knew it. It was the look he reserved for only him when he was disappointed in Spike's choice or curious to what was wrong. Spike wasn't quiet sure which one it was right now though. He answered very softly,

"Hey Angel. It was been a rather tiring day. Thank you for asking. How was your day?"

Either he is being a smart-ass or he is trying to keep it civil, Angel thought.

Although Spike's tone of voice would suggested the latter. Spike was never a smart- ass to Angel. In fact, Spike was more scared of Angel than he was of their dad. He was amazed on how that happened.

"It was actually a very good day. We solved a crime that has been stumping us for weeks. The guys just wanted to come here and celebrate." Angel motioned to the group of police officers that were congregated around a table ordering beers. Spike thought that this nice attitude wouldn't last much longer so he decided to tell Angel why he was there.

"I know it looks bad. Me in a bar and everything, but well these last couple of days have been well draining." There he said it and now he felt sick to his stomach. Why was it that he was more scared of Angel than anyone in the world. He was twenty-eight for the love of pete.

Angel knew that that would happen. He would make Spike feel like a little boy trying to convince his parents that he hadn't done anything wrong. Angel hated that he had that kind of power over his twenty-eight year old brother. Spike would never seek his approval, but Angel knew Spike needed it.

"Look you don't have to explain. You are a big boy now and you can make your own decisions. Although you are welcome to join us if you want?"

Spike was floored. Angel was actually being civil and not abusing the power he had over him. Spike would have like to sit and listen to the other guys talk, but felt like her needed to be alone.

"No, I'd rather be alone right now."

"So you can wallow in the wreck that is your life?" Angel didn't like to see his brother pity himself.

"No, I just need to be alone for a little while. I know that my life isn't going in the direction that I want it to, but that doesn't mean it's terrible." Spike was lying. He hated what his life had become, but the only person he could talk to about it was at home with his wife.

"Ever since that Dru girl dumped you, you have been a wreck. You got fired from a job you loved because you yelled at your boss about what was it again?"

"Paper in the copy room."

Okay so it was a little lame, but it wasn't just about the paper although it had started off that way.

"Paper in the copy room. That is really lame, Will."

"It wasn't just about the paper. Besides, I thought you said I was a big boy who could make my own decisions."

"Unless they're really stupid."

"Maybe I like being stupid."

Okay that was really retarded. Come up with some better comebacks you stupid git.

"If you like being stupid that is you're own thing, but I hate seeing you play stupid. Try to be a little more bright."

"I'm bright I just hid it, Dad."

Great insult the fact that he acts like dad voluntarily. You just said that you were bright.

Angel had listened to the conversation and wondered were that confident guy who was present in the courtroom went when he talked to him. He decided it would be better to change the subject.

"So, how are things going at Xander's office? Anything exciting or noteworthy."

"Just a bunch of paperwork." Spike said with a low voice.

Bring up his boring useless job just like Angel. Although he probably did it unintentionally.

"No cases?"

"No part of the deal with Ahn. I don't take any cases."

"You sure that it wouldn't do you some good to get back in the court room? Even if it is some boring family case."

"No I don't think so." Spike was lying about not having a case and not wanting to be back in a court room. Angel would be able to tell.

Angel did pick up on the fact that Spike was lying to him. He could tell because Spike wasn't looking directly into his eyes. All he needed was for Spike to start speaking with an accent and he would no for sure.

"So no new anything, huh?"

"No, there isn't anything that is bloody new 'ight. For the luv of god will you sod of now."

Great just tell Angel to his face that your lying. Now he'll never go away.

That was all Angel needed to hear.

"You are definitely lying to me now just tell me what the hell is wrong with having a new case and wanting to do what you love?"

"It isn't that easy. I jus' feel that I don't know, that I hate doing this family law crap and here I'm with a case. I luv being a lawyer, but this is the bottom of the barrel. It might work for the poof that our sister married, but it doesn't stack up for me." Spike's accent slowly went away as he calmed down.

Angel knew that there was more.

"That isn't it. I know you Will. I'm your big brother."

Always so damn intuitive. I should just tell him.

"Well, no that isn't all. Mostly it is because of the client of my new case. She is going through a rough divorce and I just want to do everything to help her. She seems like such a strong person, but is pretty stressed out about this whole thing."

Great talk about her like she's a saint. You don't even know her that well.

"Well, it seems that my little brother has a crush on some girl. You feel that you shouldn't because she's going through a divorce." It was more of a statement then a question, but Spike nodded his head. It was good to talk to someone about this, even though he imagined it would be Wes.

"I guess that it would seem a little wrong, but I don't think it is. if you wait until after she is legally divorced that is. Don't go after her right now."

"I wouldn't even try. I don't even think I would go after her after she was divorced. I'm not exactly looking for that right now."

"Is it because of Dru?"

Dru was a girl who Spike had dated for over two years he met her while he was a prosecutor. She was defending a criminal that he put away. They didn't date right away, but started dating a couple months later. She was there when he decided to go for a job as a defense attorney.

She broke up with him a little before he was fired from his job. She was cheating on him and decided it was time to cut him loose. Spike had been heart broken and drank himself silly before both Wes and Angel stopped him and made him see the error of his ways. Not in time to save his job, though.

"Yes and No. I'm not still in love with the cold hearted bitch, but the scar is still there. It wasn't gone away and it still needs some time. No girl is going to make me forget my dreams." Spike said this with a little too much conviction.

"Right, your own practice. How could I forget? It's the only thing you have been talking about since you were eighteen. Just remember that it gets lonely at the top, bro. You will want someone up there with you sooner or later. Only a matter of time."

"Don't you think I know that. For awhile I thought it would be Dru, but that idea is shoot to hell. I just need some time to forget all the rotten things I've done and have had done to me. One day I'll wake up and go ' Hey I think I want to give Angel's life a try', but for now I want to give Spike's life a try."

"Good speech, maybe you should have been a politician."

"No doesn't fit me. Although I do think it was a good speech."

"Do you think you'd like to join us now?"

"Yeah. So, how's the wife and kids."

Chapter 3:

Buffy stood in front of the law firm that she had to go into. Her legs didn't seem to want to move. She fixedly stared at the building and the huge sign the said Harris and associates didn't know what worried her more: the possibility she might have to let Riley see Dawn or the fact she had to see him again. She was being stupid and she knew it. She barely knew the man and she was already acting like a teenager. He just seemed so nice and understanding.

Buffy looked at her watch and realized that she was already five minutes late. She wanted to hurry, but she wasn't moving. She sighed and realized that sooner or later she would have to talk to the man she hired as her lawyer. It was just no matter how much she said she was ready to take that step in her life she knew she was scared.

The thought of losing to someone as controlling as her ex-husband was too much for her. Also the fact that the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes was waiting for her inside those walls. Buffy knew she had to face the music and started to walk again only to stop right in front of the doors with her arm reaching out for the door knob. She slowly put her arm to her side and wondered why is this so hard.

Spike had been waiting for her all day. He had nothing better to do. She was ten minutes late no and he wondered if she hadn't decided to go with a more power hitting attorney. No, he thought, she would have pulled her retainer if that was the case. Still she didn't seem like the type to forget an appointment as serious as this one. He wondered if maybe she got held up in traffic or something when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Spike said. A brunette in a lab coat entered the room. She was tall and wore glasses. Her hair was shoulder length and wavy. She was wearing a huge smile that she reserved only for him.

"Spike hi." She said. Her voice was very upbeat and cheery.

"Hello Anya. How are you?" Spike said to his little sister. She was very grown-up, but Spike still saw the same goofy looking teenager with glasses that used to follow him around everywhere.

"Fine Spike. I just dropped by to have lunch with Xander. I figured why not say hi to one of my favorite brothers."

"I'm only one of two Anya. But it was nice of you to drop by." He couldn't but smile. Anya always had a smile plastered on her face, especially when she was around Spike.

"Spike, why haven't you taken your lunch break yet? It's very late and you should eat. I hope Xander isn't giving too much work. I could talk to him of you want?" Anya was babbling on and on, she knew that, but she couldn't help the fact that she cared a lot about her older brother.

She knew that Spike didn't want this job and that she had goaded him into taking it. She just want to make sure that he was adjusting to it. Family law was totally different from criminal law. She knew he thought that it was for the weak lawyers, but a job was a job.

"No don't do that. Everything's fine. I was just waiting for a client."

"I thought you said you didn't want to take any cases?"

"Sometimes I can be a stubborn jack ass, but Xander and Angel helped me see that I love being in front of judge. Maybe it is the ham side of me, but I love being in a court room."

"Wow, Xander and Dad couldn't have inspired that much of a change. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"You still call Angel by his nickname. That's sweet." Spike said trying not to let his sister see that there was in fact a change in his attitude.

"Don't change the subject. Now spill what is making you all happy."

"Ahn, you know that I love it when you visit me. I'm always happy when I'm around my baby sister. You bring it out in everyone."

"That isn't it, but if you want to be secretive about this girl go ahead, but know that it won't last for very long. I know you better than you know you. Which scares me at times, but it was its fringe benefits."

Spike laughed at the assessment of their relationship. It was true despite the fact that Spike didn't want it to be. Anya knew him better than most people. The only person who knew more about him then her was Wes.

"So, this client, is she a woman?" Anya was trying to pry into her older brother's life some more with out being direct about it. The problem was Anya was always direct about everything. She said what was on her mind and didn't hold back. Sometimes it was brutal, but most people she knew learned to accept it.

"Yes, most people who come to this law firm are women going through divorces. You know that. Your husband owns this law firm." Spike knew she was trying to get the scoop, but didn't want to re-hash everything. Buffy might walk through the door any minute now.

"That's fantastic." Anya looked at her watch and knew she had to go. Xander had reservations at a very nice restaurant.

"I have to go. Xander has this big surprise planned at some fancy restaurant for our anniversary."

"That's right. You guys have been married for two years now. That is excellent."

"Yeah I know. Now all we need is to have some kids and we'll be Angel and Cordelia. Maybe one day you could join us?"

"I'll think about it."

Anya got up and started walking to the door. Spike followed her and opened the door. Once in the hall, the two hugged and said good-bye.

"Now promise me you will try to meet someone new. The whole brooding thing doesn't work on you."

"I'll try. It isn't like you can just snap your fingers and instantly your soul mate would be standing in front of you."

"I know just try looking then." Anya said as she started to walk away. Anya worried about Spike, but she just couldn't tell him how to run his life. It was hard because he was always the grounded knew what he was doing one while she was the one who had no clue.

Spike watched as his sister walked away. He was happy for her success, but he felt himself becoming jealous. She had a good job and a husband. Angel had a good job and a family. Both his siblings were happy as could be, but he wasn't. He had been the one dreaming of a family for as long as he could remember.

Anya never wanted a family and Angel had thought that he would be too busy to keep one. Now both had families and he was the one who was single and alone. Life works in mysterious ways, he thought before entering his office and going back to waiting for his no-show client.

Buffy had finally managed to walk inside the building. When she reached his office she saw him hugging some women. Buffy didn't know why but she felt jealous.

Why do you feel jealous over a man you don't even know.

The women walked away and he stood there watching her walk away.

Must be a girlfriend or something, Buffy thought. Good anyway, no way am I going to go after a guy who is attached. No matter how good looking he is.

Buffy walked the remaining steps to his office. She knocked on the door.

"Come in." Spike said. He was hoping it was her otherwise he would go on his lunch break. She walked in to the office and sat down in the chair that faced him.

"Sorry I'm late, but Dawn was a little sick so I had to call a baby-sitter." Buffy said. She knew that she was lying but what was she going to say, I was late because I was worried I might jump you if I saw you again.

"S'okay. I wasn't waiting. I had some company earlier so everything is okay. Would you like something to eat?" Spike said. Buffy thought for sure that the girl who left his office was a girlfriend now.

"No I had something to eat before I got here."

"Well I hope you don't mind if I order something from the lunch cart. I haven't eaten all day so I'm famished."

"No that's perfectly alright."

"I'll just be a minute." He got up and went out of the door.

Buffy looked at his desk. It had a computer and papers were scattered everywhere. There were picture frames too. About six or seven. Curiosity got the better of Buffy and she walked to the other side of his desk to see what they were pictures of. There were three on one side and five on the other. The side with three were pictures of him with the same people. There was one of him with a guy and a girl and they seemed to be friends. There was another one with the just him and that same guy. The last one was of a wedding where that same guy and girl were getting married and he appeared to be the best man.

The other side had a picture with a family. She assumed that it must be his brother or something. There was a picture of him and his brother with a whole bunch of cops. Buffy could tell they were cops because they were in uniform. There was a picture of him as a little boy with his family. There was also one with him and an older man who might have been an uncle or something. The last one was of him and that girl. She was wearing a wedding dress! He wasn't wearing the usual wedding attire, so he couldn't be getting married to her. This was very interesting to Buffy, that she didn't even hear Spike come back inside the office.

"Are you looking at the pictures on my desk?" Spike knew that he was stating the obvious, but he had no idea why she would be doing that.

"Yes, I was just looking around."

"Would you mind putting that picture back where it was. I'm sort of a neat freak." Buffy didn't even realize that she was holding the picture. She hurriedly put it back in its place and sat down in the chair.

Spike went back to his desk and fixed the picture. He wasn't trying to make a joke about him being a neat freak. He looked at the picture she had been holding. It was of him and Anya dancing on Anya's wedding day. He wondered why she was holding that picture.

"Mind telling me why a picture of me with my sister would interest you so much?" It was his sister. Buffy could have hit herself for being so stupid.

"Just thought it was nice that a man had pictures on his desk."

Good cover.

"Oh well I like to have pictures on my desk of important people or events. Whenever I feel stuck I just remember something good that happened by looking at a picture. Huge stress reliever."

Okay so he doesn't have a girlfriend and he said that pictures help relieve his stress. He must be gay. Yes he's a faggot.

"Oh that's nice."

"Well to be truthful my sister came in her and put them on my desk. She said it was sad that all the other guys had pictures of their families and I had nothing, but paper on my desk. She's so sweet always thinking about me which can get annoying."

Damn it. Why does he have to totally ruin the image of all my guesses. Why can't he just be gay?

Spike wasn't sure if he was babbling or not. She seemed like she really didn't care about what he was talking about.

Of course she doesn't. She's here to get a divorce not meet nice people.

" So anyway you came her to discuss the case? I had a few questions about what is exactly you want." He had slipped into a professional tone in a matter of seconds. Buffy wondered if she had accidental asked the wrong question. She wanted him to talk more about his life.

"You know I was wondering if the shop talk could wait. I'm actually really nervous and I was wondering who all those people in the pictures were?" She didn't care if it sounded flirty.

"Oh, okay. Um well this one is one of my best friend, Wes, his now wife, Fred, and me. I think we were in college at the time." Spike said holding up a picture of him, Wes, and Fred.

"This one is just Wes and me. This one was taken at Wes and Fred's wedding. This is one of me when I was little with my family. This one is when my brother became a detective. Those were all his cop friends. This is one of my mentor Giles and me. The last one is of my brother's family." Spike finished.

He wondered why she cared at all. It was all pretty boring. She seemed so interest though. " Well it's nice that you have a lot of people who care about you. I just have my one friend Willow. She's great and everything, but it's only one person." Buffy said it relieved her some.

Spike wondered where the nice small talk was coming from. He liked it though so he continued on with it.

"What about family members?"

"My dad left when I was young and my mom is mad at me for the divorce. She said that it was selfish of me to put Dawn through something like this at such a young age. Go figure."

"You're an only child?"

"Yes. My parents didn't stay together long enough to make another kid. I knew that my mom and dad loved each other even if they didn't stay together. Then he died and I really didn't get to have any brothers or sisters. It must be nice to have siblings."

"Some say it's easier when you aren't the middle child. It's great, but I have an older brother who is way too overprotective."

"Nothing wrong with your sister?"

"No. Well she married a guy I don't like, but other than that she did everything I dreamed for her."

"That's great. I mean that you have such a good relationship with her. It must make things easier."

"Well I can't talk to her about weird things like sex or anything but it does relieve some tension." Buffy started to laugh. He was making her laugh. It had been such a long time since anyone had made her laugh.

She was laughing. She is very beautiful when she laughed. Her face seems to light up, Spike thought. No bad thoughts she is a married woman who is your client. You don't go there. Mixing business with pleasure never works. Just start talking about the case.

"Um I think we should start talking about the case now. I really have to do some work after you leave." He had changed the subject so abruptly, Buffy thought.

He must not be comfortable talking about his family in front of me. Or he's nervous because of something that had nothing to do with me. Whichever it is he isn't going to talk about his family any more. Buffy thought as she started to answer his question.

The meeting had lasted for the better part of two hours. Spike had heard all he needed to hear about the situation that the case was in. Apparently, Buffy's ex-husband was in the army and his parents had money. They had hired the best lawyer for this case. Spike thought that in a, twisted way, this little girl was lucky to have people that cared so much.

Maybe it was just the fact that if his father and mother had divorced that his father wouldn't fight that hard to see him. Anya and Angel, yes, but Spike was the odd-ball of the bunch. His father never cared that much for Spike or Spike's life. When Spike's grandfather died it had been the hardest time of his life. Not just because he was dead although that was hard, but because his father started to pick on him after that. Spike was home more because he spent most of his time at his grandfather's house. His father would always say that Spike was a screw-up who would never amount to anything.

Buffy had talked about all of it. She had let it out. Everything Riley did to her and their daughter. She thought it would be hard, but it wasn't. they had discussed everything that was needed to be discussed about the case. She felt more assured that things would be just fine.

"So when is the court date set for?" she asked. She wanted this all over with.

"Um, well, it is set for two weeks from now." Spike saw Buffy's face drop into a frown. He wanted to saw something that would reassure her that things would be okay. Suddenly the thought popped into his head.

"I have a friend who is a judge. If you give me a couple minutes I could probably persuade her to move the trial up."

"Don't you think that Riley's lawyer would pick up on that? I mean if your friend was the judge that was presented with the case." Damn it. Spike hadn't thought of that.

"No, I could talk my friend into talking the original judge into moving the case up. It shouldn't be too hard. I know most of the judges at the courthouse."

"Oh. Well if you could pull some strings to make the case earlier then I won't say no to some help. I really want this over with." Buffy knew that she was being a little too over-dramatic. She would be very happy if he could make the date earlier.

"Of course I can. You are the only case I currently have. I worked out the kinks with Xander yesterday." Spike said keeping up the image that he worked there as a lawyer and not as a shitty paper filer.

"I never met someone that was on a first name basis with their boss."

"Oh well Xander is married to my sister."

"Ah nepotism at work for you." Buffy said and laughed at her own joke. Spike couldn't help but laugh. It was what actually happened.

"Well I guess you're right on the nose with that. So I'll see what I can do and than I'll cal you with any news."

"Right. Okay then I have to be on my way. Like I said Dawn isn't feeling very well."

"Right." Buffy got up and walked to the door and Spike followed closely behind her. She turned towards him and said,

"Thank you for being so helpful."

"I think you need to stop saying thank you. Some how I don't see you as the saying thank you type."

"No really," she said as she touched his hand, "It isn't necessary to your job to be nice and all. I thought that lawyers weren't exactly the nicest people in the world."

"Well not all of us are like that."

"Yeah thank you for showing me that." She said as she let go of his hand and walked out the door.

Crap what the hell just happened. She touched my hand! Why? What the hell just happened?

Spike thought. He sighed, closed his door, and walked to his desk.

Why did things have to be so fucking confusing. Was she giving me signals are was I just imagining it. Why was it that she could smile and I could turn into pudding. She is very pretty, but I can't do this. I can't. I can't... right?

Buffy practically ran out of the building.

Why did I touch his hand? Why is my hand feeling all tingly? Why do I feel all tingly? Why am I allowing myself to go down this path. It is the wrong path. He maybe very handsome, but I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't... right?"

Chapters 4,5,6

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