Disclaimer: It’s not mine…



Summary: Faith and Giles have a talk about the relationship between Buffy and Spike, and Giles begins to realize a few things…

Spoilers: Up to “End Of Days”…



Rating: PG-13 (Actually, it’s probably PG)



Author’s Notes: Set sometime after “End Of Days”… To explain the end, Buffy and Spike have talked the whole thing with Angel out and have come to the conclusion that they both want to be together… I was gonna write that in a short story, and I probably still will… This one just ended up on paper first… My mind works in mysterious ways… Oh, and this one’s probably no good, considering I wrote it in all of a day, not to mention the fact that I don’t typically write these things using characters other than Buffy and Spike, but I tried…

Distribution: If ya want it, take it, just give me credit… And, if ya could, let me know where it’s going.



Feedback: You can send it to brock3005@aol.com or otownfan1520@yahoo.com.

~*~*~*~

“She’s still not real happy with you, is she?” Faith made herself comfortable beside Giles, on the arm of the couch; the question sounding far more like a statement. Just a few minutes earlier, Buffy had left in a huff, throwing yet another bitter remark at Giles.

“Seems that way.” Giles sighed. He had assumed Buffy would be over the whole trying to kill Spike thing by now… But she wasn’t. His actions had obviously hurt her… Maybe her feelings for Spike were stronger than he had initially believed.

The younger Slayer glanced over at him, contemplating her next words for a moment. “You think she loves him?”

Another sigh. “Honestly? I don’t know. But I still believe that her feelings for him are clouding her judgment… Putting us all in danger.”

“And I think they’re the only thing holding her together.” The Watcher looked up at her curiously, his eyes reflecting confusion and a hint of something that looked almost like anger. This time it was Faith’s turn to sigh. “Look, all I know is, when she left here the other day, she had given up. Completely. I could see it in her eyes; hear it in her voice… And then Spike went out, found her, and all of a sudden she shows up with some magical, mystical weapon thingy and does some major uber-ass-kicking…Not really something I was expecting from her after she left the house.”

Giles just shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. Of all people, he had believed Faith would be with him on this. After all the changes she’d shown, and considering that she too knew Buffy just as well as anyone else living in the Summers home, he had believed she would see things his way… But she obviously didn’t. “Faith, he is not good for her. All he has ever done… All he will ever do, is hurt her. She deserves better than that.” he argued, never looking directly at Faith.

“What if she doesn’t want better than that? Giles, what if she just wants him. I’ve seen the way she looks at him and it’s… I don’t know. It’s different, ya know? Like it would destroy her completely if she lost him. Like he is her strength… And, hey, I‘ve seen the way he looks at her. He loves her. Hell, he adores her like nothing else in this world. He’s completely devoted. If I could find myself a man like that, I sure as hell wouldn’t hesitate to snatch him up… He’s one of a kind.”

She had seen them together… The first night she had come back to Sunnydale and caught up with Spike in the cemetery. That night she had seen them together; seen the way Buffy looked at him. The way he had looked at her. Buffy had tried to hide it. Tried to make her concern seem casual and impassive… But it hadn’t been. Anyone who had seen her eyes that night would have know… She needed him.

“Faith, you weren’t here!” Giles’ voice was rising with each word; his anger mounting. “You have no idea what he’s done to her!”

“Maybe not…” Faith admitted as she stood, and began pacing slightly. “Look, Giles, I know I haven’t been around, and I know I’ve missed a lot, but that’s not really the point. Maybe I’m the only one seeing this because I haven’t been around. I know nobody here, excluding Buffy of course, is all too fond of Spike, but I’m thinking he’s real important to her. I see her with him, and I see the Buffy I used to know… But when he’s not with her; when she’s afraid he’s in danger or something like that… Then she’s a completely different person. Not even a person. When she’s not with him, she’s lost. I really think she needs him, and ya know what? Honestly, I think maybe she’s right about us needing him for this final battle… Even if it’s only because she needs him to be there…”

Giles was giving up. He knew she was right. He too had seen the pair together, and they were certainly closer than he had ever seen them before… And for whatever reason, Spike seemed to mean the world to her right now. Suddenly, he was beginning to see that he had made a major mistake when he had conspired with Wood in order to get rid of the bleached vampire for good… Spike hadn’t hurt anyone since he had gotten the chip out of his head. He wasn’t going to hurt anyone… Certainly not Buffy. Even when The First had triggered him, Spike had never been able to hurt Buffy in any way that was at all serious. He had managed to stop himself every time he had come close. So why would it be so bad to let them be together? To let them be happy? Especially now, when there was so little time left…

“But why does she need him here?” he questioned weakly, in a final attempt to continue his side of the argument, as he ran his hands through his hair exasperatedly.

“I don’t know…” Faith admitted honestly. How could she know? She wasn’t Buffy. She couldn’t feel what Buffy was feeling. She didn’t know exactly what the older Slayer felt for the vampire, but it was obviously something strong… Something pretty damn close to love… “I think she might love him…”

~*~*~*~

Spike smiled down at the beautiful blonde woman who lay beneath him. His love. His Buffy.

The pair had heard every word the Watcher and the younger Slayer had exchanged; enhanced senses giving them the extra edge needed to make out what the two in the living room were discussing. A bit more so on Spike’s end, however. At least now they knew they had someone on their side… Granted, she was the one person they had least expected, but that wasn’t the point… She was down there defending them; supporting them when no one else would. That meant something…

They were lying together in Buffy’s bed, where they had intended to make love… However, Faith’s little speech had distracted them. Now they simply lay in one another’s arms, listening as they held each other.

Buffy smiled lightly when she heard Faith’s closing words… “I think she may be right.” Buffy murmured in agreement, pulling Spike down to her and kissing him sweetly.

After a moment, he pulled away, and she gave him a curious look. “Ya know, I think I’m startin’ to like this Faith bird… She certainly knows how to put Giles in his place.” he considered thoughtfully; his eyes twinkling with mischief as he smirked down at Buffy.

The Slayer giggled lightly, before swatting him playfully on the chest. “Shut up and love me.”

“Whatever you say, Luv…Whatever you say…”