“What,” Spike spit out. “They’re dead and so am I?”

Buffy pushed herself back into the position she was before and put her foot back into his hand. Spike looked at her then grabbed her foot and began to begrudgingly massage her foot again. They sat in silence for several minutes before Spike said anything. “My father died before I was born. My mum remarried (as is the proper thing to do) to a Colonel Williams who preferred to be called Colonel or Sir. When me mum died when I was six, the Colonel remarried.”

“How long after?” Buffy asked softly when Spike stopped to pause.

“Not sure,” Spike reflected. “Ms. Marie was my nursemaid when the Colonel married her. She was just always there. I cared for her very much and thought of her as my mother. She was very strict like the Colonel, but she was proper woman and a proper mother. She didn’t send me off to school, as was often the case in a situation such as mine. She cared for me before my mother died and all the more so when the Colonel married her. When the Colonel died shortly before I was turned, we became very close. The hardest part of becoming a vampire was leaving her. I thought to turn her, but …”

Spike told his story and began to stare into space while shaking his head ‘no’. Buffy tried to get his attention, but Spike didn’t acknowledge her. Buffy said his name softly, but to no avail. So, Buffy snatched her foot from Spike abruptly. He looked up at her and found her starring at him. He glanced away then tried to grab her foot again. She resisted, kicking him, so he grabbed her by the thighs and pulled her downward taking away any leverage she had. Buffy screeched and laughed, hitting him with little strength behind it as he moved to grab her foot again, tickling her. She reacted by yelping and shoving her feet into his chest, which sent him back in the dresser drawer with a slam knocking several items from their space and breaking them.

Buffy covered her mouth, but she couldn’t stop laughing. Spike looked funny slumped on the floor like a rag doll. She went over to Spike and kneeled down next to him. Her face turned so red that Spike couldn’t help but to laugh too. He touched her face softly and looked into her eyes when he said, “We still need to talk…No…There’s something I have to tell you.  So try and be calm.”