All characters belong to Joss Whedon, The WB Network, and 20th Century Fox. I am just a fan.

Buffy lay there, trying desperately not to fall asleep. She watched outside, as the snow fell harshly to the ground. Just looking at it sent a shiver down her spine. She wondered where her friends were and if they were worried about her. They must be going crazy searching for her. Her thoughts were interrupted though, when she felt Spike stirring.

She immediately sat up and found him looking at her, his eyes in a state of bewilderment. Great, he was still delirious.

“Slayer...what the hell are you doing in my bloody lap?”

Or not.

“Spike! You’re...not unconscious anymore.”

“Right, now what are you doing in my lap? Not that I mind...”

“Trying to keep warm,” she interrupted, knowing how Spike’s mind worked, but taking it as a sign he was feeling better.

Spike gazed around at his surroundings.

“Uh, where the hell are we?”

“In a tunnel,” Buffy replied, now sitting beside him.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Look, there’s a blizzard outside so this is just a temporary stay.”

“A bleeding blizzard? Where the hell have I been?”

This time Buffy raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, right...unconscious.”

“Anyway,” Buffy said. “We have pray that this blizzard dies down before morning. Or else Dawn is in major trouble.”

They sat in silence for a few moments and Spike just stared at her. He had woken up long before Buffy realized he did and had taken in the moments of having her snuggled up inside his jacket. It was definitely the closest to Heaven he would ever get. Just her presence made him feel content. He knew he had been close to dying. Even when he was unconscious, he could feel himself slipping further and further into the darkness. He was still unsure of how he managed to come back, but some weird feeling inside him made him think that Buffy had something to do with it. After all, she had tried to bandage him up. He looked down at the blood soaked cloth wrapped around his waist. Then he looked over at Buffy’s shirt. Ripped. He smiled to himself, realizing she had used her own shirt to in order to help save his life. He then frowned, as he noticed her trembling. He slowly slipped off his duster, tensing as pain shot through his body, and placed it around her. Buffy looked up at him as he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. He was only wearing a black wife-beater underneath.

“Spike, I’m fine. It looks like you need this more than I do.”

He shook his head and leaned back against the wall.

“Don’t try arguin’ with me, Slayer. You’re not gonna win.”

She definitely wasn’t in any mood to argue, so she excepted.

“Thanks,” she whispered, her eyes fixated on the brick wall in front of her.

They both sighed. Spike looked down at her arm and realized it was wrapped in the same material as his bandage. Curiosity immediately surfaced.

“Buffy,” he said.

“Hmm?” she replied.

“What happened to your arm?”

Buffy quickly looked at him and instinctively covered up her arm.

“Oh, that. I got cut.”

For some reason, Buffy didn’t want him to know about what she did. How she saved his life. Spike looked at her questioningly.

“What, Spike?” she asked, annoyance in her tone.

He looked back at the wall.

“Didn’t say anything.”

She let out a deep breath and continued to hide her arm, as if he didn’t already see it. She then glanced down at her watch.

Midnight. That left them with only a few hours before dawn. Buffy began to feel nervous and kept fidgeting.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get to her in time,” Spike told her.

Why did he always do that? How did he always know what she was feeling and what she was thinking about?

Buffy sighed.

“I hope you’re right.”

The blizzard was at its worst and Buffy had still not returned. The Scoobies were getting worried. After getting lost about 20 times, Giles had finally found his way back and everyone was gathered around the table in the Magic Shop. They had assumed Buffy would arrive back home as soon as the blizzard hit, but she hadn’t and they feared the worst.

“M-Maybe Ben took her to a safe place...” Willow suggested.

“I don’t know. Don’t you think she would have called?” Tara replied.

Nobody answered.

“Well, we can’t just sit here. Buffy might need out help. I mean, what if she’s fighting Glory alone? What if she’s trapped in some underground tunnel? What if --”

“Xander, I - I don’t think that’s the case.” Giles interrupted. “I’m uessing she stopped somewhere and is waiting for the storm to retreat. Her phone probably doesn’t even work under these circumstances.”

Xander stood up.

“Well, wherever she is, I know she needs us. And I am not just going to sit here and wait.”

“But, Xander, the storm...” Willow insisted.

He looked out the window. Snow was hitting the earth like bullets and the wind was blowing furiously.

He sat back down.

“So, we wait?” He asked. All the Scoobies exchanged hesitant glances.

“We wait,” Willow replied.

Buffy placed her hands over her ears. Not because she was trying to protect them from the cold - no, this was worse.

Much worse.

“Look,” she finally said. “The serenading was sweet for the first few - well, never - but for Christ’s sake, Spike, stop singing.”

He looked at her and grinned. Then proceeded to sing louder. Buffy rolled her eyes and whined in frustration, pressing down on her ears harder than ever.

“Would you mind if I threw a giant rock at your head? I’m thinking I like the unconscious Spike much better.”

“Do you really want to?”

"Would it shut you up?”

Spike leaned back and sighed, still smiling.

“Alright, so you don’t fancy my singin’...but I can’t bloody well just sit here and do nothing.”

“Trust me, Spike. There are plenty of things you can do that don’t involve singing, or opening your mouth...or even breathing for that matter.”

“Vampires don’t breathe, love. You of all people should know that.”

“Oh, right...well, there’s one problem solved. One down, two to go,” she said sarcastically.

Spike shook his head.

“Are you always this bothersome?”

“Are you?” Spike was about to reply, but Buffy cut him off.

“Wait!” Buffy said, smacking herself in the forehead. “Stupid Buffy...why must you ask such dumb and obvious questions?”

Spike just rolled his eyes, not really in the mood for her sarcasm anymore.

“Go to sleep, Slayer. I’ll keep an eye on the time.”

“Ha, yeah right. The ‘Let’s-Put-Our-Trust-In-Spike’ Buffy is not in at the moment...and will never be again.”

He looked at her and frowned.

“Since when did I ever make you not trust me?”

“Since last weekish.”

He looked at blankly.

“Um, remember? Chains, ex-girlfriend, die-Buffy-die unless you confess your love for Spike?”

Oh, right.

“Please, you actually think I would let that bitch kill you?” He asked.

“How am I supposed to know? You’re one twisted vampire, Spike.”

“And you’re one daft chit.”

“Me?” She laughed. “You’re the obsessed stalker that thinks he has a chance with me, when really I would rather die then even consider touching him. Please, Spike. Who’s daft now?”

Buffy glanced over at him, with a smug smile on her face, waiting for him to respond.

He didn’t. Instead, Buffy noticed his eyes sadden, while he stared at the wall. OK, maybe she had gone a little too far. She was about to make a subtle apology, but he put his hand up as if telling her to stop.

“I’ve heard enough, so just shut your trap. Besides, I have a sodding headache.”

“Listen, I’m sorry, OK? I didn’t mean to --”

“Didn’t mean to what? Hurt my feelings? I thought vampires don’t know how to feel. Said so yourself. Said they can’t love either. Well, then, Miss-bloody-know-it-all, you explain to me what I’m feeling.”

He stood up.

“Tell me why I think about you every waking moment. Why I would do anything for you. Why I would give up my bloody life for you.”

He paused and began walking towards her.

“Explain to me why I want to cry when you cry. Why I want to laugh when you laugh. Why I want to comfort you when you need to be comforted.”

He kneeled down beside her.

“Tell me why it is that I would change for you. Why I would sacrifice who I am, just to be near you...to smell you...to hold you...”

Their faces were nearly touching.

“Tell me what this is I’m feeling because I’ve never felt this way before.”

For the first time in Buffy’s life, she was speechless. Spike didn’t move. Their eyes were locked and he could feel her breath upon his skin.

“That’s what I thought.”

He leaned in a bit further, until their lips were practically touching, and then stood up and walked away, leaving Buffy in a state of shock.

Change of Heart: Part VI
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