The Hunt

A/N: I reformatted. The first two parts were never meant to be two chapters, i wrote them as one but the end of the second part was lost when i transferred data to my new computer. So now i've gone and put them together. enjoy!

It was always the hunt. That was the true drive, the thrill of the hunt. Searching and finding something to try for, then the pursuit. Then came two options, he would catch his prey or it would get away. The > end result sometimes didn’t seem to matter, it was the hunt that called to him.

Tonight Spike’s prey was a small blonde slayer. He had seen her with her friends, dancing in that noisy club. He watched as the music flowed through her body which seemed to move with liquid grace that he had hardly ever seen in a human being. He had watched her sway, moving her hips enticingly. He had watched, hidden in the shadows as numerous boys had attempted to join her but she had shaken them off easily. She was an outstanding creature, as unique and outstanding as if she had been basked in a golden spotlight.

He had been entranced. He remembered the year before, fighting with her had been wonderful. Her muscles rippled beneath her skin with a grace that surpassed even those slayers he had fought before. The thrill and exhilaration had been unparalleled, and he had never wanted that dance to end.

Now he had returned and he was enthralled once more. He had come back to Sunnyhell to find her and had become engrossed with her in the process, like a fly caught inexorably in the beautiful webbing of the spider, only he wasn’t trying too hard to escape.

Spike caught her scent as he wandered through the third cemetery that night, the scent of apples and sweat laced with power. He approached and could hear the sounds of a fight not too far away. He settled into the shadows to watch.

The slayer had come across a newly risen fledgling, dirt still clinging to the navy blue suit the corpse had been lovingly buried in. The vamp was clumsy and uncoordinated as he fought, and defeat was inevitable. The slayer moved gracefully, her leg swinging around to hit the tiny vamp in the side of the head. She followed through with the momentum and aimed a potent right punch at the creature’s mid-section. As the vamp stumbled back the slayer drew out a stake and threw it with deadly precision.

The vamp never had a chance. As it crumbled into dust the slayer noted that there was still the tingling at the back of her neck that signaled the presence of the undead. Usually after she dusted one the feeling would go away since most other vamps would run from an encounter with the slayer. She checked around, looking intently for the vamp that had stayed to fight the slayer.

Spike could see her looking around and knew that she had sensed him. He watched her intently, wondering what she would do now that she had sensed him. He wondered if she could sense that it was him, if there was any familiarity flowing towards her through her slayer senses. But yet again, she was still young, her senses might not be that refined yet.

Finally she seemed to give up, since the vamp was not presenting itself she doubted that it was even aware of her presence, so she walked off towards the center of the graveyard to continue her patrol. She remained unaware of just how erroneous her assumption had been. He watched her with fascination from the shadows and moved silent as the wind after her once she left.

The tingling in the back of her neck didn’t cease as she sauntered through the graveyard. However no vamps crossed her path that would allow her to ease the tension that had permeated her being with the feeling of the vampire. Now she could no longer ignore the feeling and she had an acute sense that she was being followed.

She proceeded to the center of the cemetery and stopped in an area with only low-lying tombstones about, the trees bordering the area parting for a few meters to allow minimum coverage for anyone in the center trying to hide. She turned around in the center, trying to find the source of the tingling in the vamp she was sure was following her like the poisonous exhaust fumes from an old car.

Spike looked on from the shadows of the trees bordering the clearing, and smiled to himself. She knew that she was being followed and had gone here trying to draw him out. She was clever. She was looking around her and she hadn’t spotted him and he knew that she still didn’t know it was him. He decided that it was time to announce his presence.

He emerged from the trees, a part of the shadow detaching itself to draw itself into the halo of the moonlight. It glinted off his white hair and made it take on a bluish tint and cast shadows on his handsome face. He stood there in the moonlight, the stars glittering above his head, waiting for his prey to notice.

Finally her sweep brought her eyes to him and she jumped, as it seemed to her that he had materialized from the night air, made of fairy dust and assembled miraculously right before her gaze. Her surprise however, turned to one of fear, anger, and finally stony determination. Spike smiled, that was his slayer, always ready for what the world had to throw at her. “What are you doing here, Spike?”

He sauntered forward towards her, not surprised when she didn’t back down, “Now, now, luv, is that any way to greet a friend?”

“A friend, no. You, yes. Why did you come back? You said you wouldn’t see me again. Problems with your crazy ho?”

He smirked, “Language slayer. You’re supposed to be a paragon of virtue or > what all, and good girls don’t swear like that.” He paused for a moment to look at her now, his prey, so beautiful basked in the moonlight. “Dru had some issues she needed to work through. Missed her daddy, and I got sick < of hearing ‘bout it. Left her with a chaos demon who I hope can deal with her.”

She tossed her hair back, her eyes flashing with annoyance. “That still doesn’t explain why you came here Spike. What’s here that’s so special?”

He pretended to looked shocked at this one, “Why pet, I thought you would have figured it out by now.” He took a step towards her, “I came back for you.”

She felt the world spin around her. This was it, he had come back to kill her, make her his third slayer. He had always been stronger than her, their previous fights she always survived only because someone would intervene or he would find something else to catch his more immediate attention. Now that he was back he had nothing to distract him from accomplishing his task. Her fear wrapped itself around her but she managed to gather herself together, “All right then Spike, let’s go.” She dropped to a fighting stance.

Spike smirked at her before he turned his head to gaze at something else beyond her, “Maybe later, slayer. I don’t like company. I’ll return to finish the hunt later.” With that he faded back into the trees, once again becoming part of the shadows.

From behind her she heard a sound and she turned to see Angel emerge from the trees behind her, thankful for his interruption not sure of the outcome of the upcoming fight. She walked over to her protector, who remained oblivious to the presence of his childe and the encounter between him and the slayer as only the tingle of some vamp's presence registered, which he quickly disregarded.

*~***~~**~~*~**~~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Three days had passed since she had last seen him and she was on edge. She hadn’t yet told her friends that Spike was back in town. She feared that doing so would only cause them to panic, and she wanted to avoid causing them any
pain. She certainly wouldn’t tell them that he had come back with the express intent to see her, they would go into a frenzy, and that she did not need.

She hadn’t even told Angel, any mention of Spike would send him into his over-protective mode which, although it was cute, could often get in her way. No, better let him find out on his own. He’d probably be furious with her when he found out that she had known but she was willing to risk that in order to avoid his domineering attitude now.

Now she was in the third cemetery she had visited that night without any sign of the blonde haired vampire that so irked her. However halfway through the cemetery she felt the familiar prickle that meant a vampire was near. She looked around and saw no vamps anywhere, and she knew immediately that it was Spike. “Come on out, Spike; I know you’re there.”

Once again he seemed to materialize from the shadows, his hands clapping slowly, “Bravo slayer. Didn’t take you as long this time. Other night I thought I’d spend the entire night in those trees.”

She fell into a fighting stance, raising a stake in her right hand, keeping it at the ready to drive straight into his undead heart and send him scattering in the wind, another clout of sand from a beach no one had ever seen. “Cut the small talk, Spike. If we’re gonna fight let’s get it over with.”

That smirk never left his eyes as he allowed his muscles to prepare for the confrontation about to occur. His body loosened itself out, preparing to counter any tricks that the slayer might throw his way. Slowly he started circling, planning up his first move. He was still the hunter, planning how to approach his prey.

She saw him begin to move and decided to make the first attack. If her past fights with Spike were any indication she would have to get him quick if she was going to live to fight another day. She lunged forward, aiming a hard left to his face and rejoiced when it connected, causing his head to momentarily snap back. She tried to take advantage of the blow she had struck and thrust her right arm towards his chest, the stake towards his heart.

It was not to be, however. Spike’s left hand whipped up and knocked away her wrist, causing her to drop the stake that she had been holding. He followed that up with a punch with his right, which she blocked, his arm now trapped by hers. He grabbed her other arm and pulled her close, head-butting her and causing her to stumble back a few steps and release his arms.

Her shock was short-lived though as she recovered quickly from the blow he had given her. Quickly she straitened up just as he was coming towards her. He threw a punch that she able to evade quite easily, countering it with one of her own. However her attack failed as he caught her wrist in his hand and twisted her arm around so her back was pressed against his front. He caught her free hand and pinned it to her side as he brought his face down to her neck.

Buffy stiffened in his arms as she felt his ridges against her neck. It had all been over so quickly, and now she was helpless, about to have his fangs suck the life out of her. The fight had been over so quickly, she had barely begun to fight when it was over. Now he had finally won. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

At her neck he could smell the fear wafting off of her in waves. He chuckles softly into her neck, he knew what she was expecting, but the hunt wasn’t over yet. The most enjoyable part was going to come later. Quickly he shifted his face and sank his fangs gently into her neck.

Warm Slayer blood filled his mouth, carrying her essence into him like water burst from a dam. He saw her, little girl Buffy with her blonde hair bound into two pigtails bounding down the stairs into the waiting arms of her mother with her father laughing next to her. He saw elementary-school Buffy wearing a long-sleeved Care-Bears T-shirt with her hair falling freely around her shoulders shining with the lights in the arena watching ice-capades with her father sitting next to her. He saw Buffy after she had first been called tears running down her face as she watched the fire she had set to destroy the vamps within claim the life of her watcher. He saw her a few months later huddled in a ball inside the bathroom crying as the sounds of her parents’ shouting floated up to her. He saw her smiling with her friends at Sunnydale High. He was her face when she found Angelus by the bed she had made love to Angel the night before. He saw her whole life through her blood.

He took a few slow sips of the intoxicating wine that was her blood before slipping his fangs from her neck. He drew his tongue across his fang, cutting it and allowing the blood to well up, and licked the wound closed muttering “HANC FEMINAM VINDICO, EA EST MEUS AC EI PARENDUM EST MIHI.” The wound immediately stopped bleeding, the blood forming a webbing that would clot and he smiled, knowing it would scar.

With his words Buffy felt as though her entire body suddenly caught fire. It felt as if her blood was boiling, her blood was liquid fire running rampant through her veins, as every nerve ending in her body seemed to explode causing her to want to scream in agony and moan in ecstacy. She felt everything around her and her body was assaulted with so much feeling as all she could hear was the rushing of blood through her ears and the galloping of her heart. All this swelled up inside her until the dam seemed to burst as she reached her climax, trapping the air in her throat and silencing her scream to the stars. She came down as the fire in her blood lessened and focused on the bite on her neck and finally disappeared, leaving only a pleasant tingling at the mark on her neck.

From his position nuzzling his mark on her neck Spike smirked. He knew what had just happened, he could hear how her heart rate had skyrocketed and the change in her scent filled the air like an exotic spice. He knew that it sometimes happened to a female that when they were claimed they would reach an orgasm, but it was not overly common and it still gave him a sense of pride. If he could do that with just a bite, what else could he do to her?

Buffy slowly came down from her peak in a fuzzy haze as she felt Spike’s cool lips on her neck, soothing the tender wound on her neck with his gentle touch. Suddenly she came shooting back to herself with unparalleled speed. It was as if she had been punched in the gut. She realized that Spike was no longer drinking from her and she could still hear her heart beating in her chest. Why wasn’t he draining her now?

Spike felt her body, which had been loose and relaxed following his initial bite, become taut as a bowstring in his arms. Inwardly he sighed, knowing this brief reprieve was about to come to a screeching halt. He had enjoyed having her in his arms and it was a shame that he would have to let go, even for a moment.

The slayer began to struggle against him, her body twisting against his as it attempted to free itself. Spike felt himself reacting to her movements as he growled into her ear, “None of that now” and her body instantly stilled as a dancer grabbed in the middle of a move.

Buffy was disturbed by her body’s unquestioning obedience. What had he done to her? She was scared that he would have such power over her. Was it not enough that he had beat her, that he had to control her too? Buffy felt herself teetering, “Please, let me go.” As he released her she fought back the tears. When he let her go it was as if she lost something inside of her. She wanted to jump back into his arms and never leave. Her eyes welled up as she turned away from him and bolted through the cemetery towards her house.

Spike watched her as she ran off, himself torn. It hurt something inside him to see her in tears. But the larger part of him was thrilled at the completion of his claim. The hardest part was done, now the real hunt would begin. He would make the Slayer his in all ways. He turned and once again became part of the night. ***********************
A/N: I might not post again for a week or so, the next chap isn't written yet. Reviews help me write.

Also the latin, I won't translate it all but it's very domineering. The verb VINDICO is to claim,
in a legal sense sort of like a cow or something. It means he owns her. Thanx!
A/N: My first fic! Review Please......

Buffy ran hard from the spot where Spike had just bitten her. She ran hard, focused only on getting away from him. For a while she didn’t feel anything but the sting on her face from the cool night breeze. However after the first mile her muscles began to protest and her lungs strained with the effort of sustaining her pace but she took no notice, and ran to her house in a full panic.

She reached her house and scaled the tree to shoot inside her bedroom window. Without even removing her boots or jacket she fell face first onto her bed. Everything that had been going on recently, the SAT’s, Angel’s return from Hell and her friends animosity towards him, Faith popping in and out without warning, and now to cap it all off, Spike!

His presence itself was a big enough problem Now - oh god what was going on?!? He had beaten her, captured her and held her immobile, helpless. He had bitten her, had buried his fangs in her neck. By all rights she should be dead now. So why was she still alive? Why did he let her go when she asked?

Even more disturbing had been her bodies reaction to him. Her face lit up as the blood rushed to her cheeks with the memory. She had gotten off on his bite! She hoped with all her being that he had not noticed, but knowing her luck it wasn’t likely. And after, she had tried to get away. Why had she obeyed him when he told her to stop? Why didn’t she fight harder; say “screw you” and broken his nose with the back of her skull? Why did she obey him without question?

And now, since she had pulled away from him in the graveyard, it seemed as though something inside of her was missing. She felt incomplete, as if part of her was somewhere else. Not gone forever, just misplaced. She hadn’t felt like this when she had been in his arms. She felt her body protest, felt it need him, his touch. She needed it more than anything else she had felt before, even when she had been with Angel the year before. Nothing could compare.

Finally overcome by the emotional flood she broke down, the tears spilling from her eyes and dampening the pillow beneath her. When the tears finally slowed she fell into sleep, overwhelmed by both the physical toil of running the mile and a half to her house, and the emotional strain that she had been carrying.

Walking into school then next day Buffy felt even worse. The gloomy weather mirrored her mood as the dark clouds above her head threatened rain. It was as if the gods themselves were also angered from the previous nights events. She had woken up that morning gloomy and the dreary sky was almost a relief.

She had awoken to find that the encounter the night before had not been a dream as she had desperately hoped it would be. Her clothes were pressing painfully against her body, having never been meant for sleep wear. The marks on her neck remained, and though they had closed there was a mark there none the less. The skin was red and raised up, and the marks stood out in stark contrast to her tanned neck. It had taken quite a while to cover that up, and even now the marks remained visible, if only less so.

And to top it all off, the feeling from the night before had not gone away as she had hoped it would. She still acutely felt the need for the British vamp as acutely as last night, if not more so. What had he done to her? Why did she have to crave HIM so?

This sour disposition stayed with her as she walked into school and headed through the aged oak of the library double doors. She pushed through, coming to face the worried countenances of her friends and anxious Watcher.

Worry covered the faces of three people at the table. One face remained impassive with the other remaining just studied her nails. The slayer had not checked in the night before and it had worried them. Now their fears were only slightly alleviated as she seemed to be dragging in her own personal dark cloud and the ominous marks on her neck.

Buffy looked up and saw the worry in her friend’s eyes, “Not so much this morning Wills.” She looked over to where her Watcher and Xander still sat, identical worried masks on beside the two indifferent ones, “Last night some vamp beat me. We fought, he won, and he bit me.”

The faces of Xander and Willow became even deeper coated in worry, while Cordelia finally took notice as her expression became one of fear, “You aren’t a vampire, are you? Please don’t tell me you are, cause - Oh god, help!” She jumped up and put Giles between herself and the Slayer.

“That’s the thing, he pulled out after only a short while. He didn’t even attempt to drain me. “ She resisted the urge to laugh as Cordelia came out from behind Giles and sat regally in the chair next to Xander, examining her nails as if nothing had happened.

Willow turned to face a perplexed librarian, “Giles, why would they do that?”

Xander broke in, “Yeah, I would think any vamp would be thrilled to have a Slayer under his belt.”

Giles seemed to snap out of a daze, taking off his glasses as he began to pace restlessly, “I’m not sure. Vampires never hesitate to kill a victim, they are ruthless killers. That this one did is unheard of.”

“If I may,” Oz spoke up. “Maybe killing the Slayer wasn’t his objective. Perhaps it was more of a power thing.”

Giles continued pacing, gesturing with his hands, moving his glasses back and forth, “Yes I suppose that is a possibility. Many vampiric rituals deal with issues of dominance and blood. To do that, to show superiority over a Slayer, would be a great status symbol.”

“So in other words he just wants to show off and have her alive to prove it?”

Giles looked at the teen exasperated, “Yes, Xander, if you must simplify it so.” Giles replaced his glasses and turned back to his Slayer, “I’ll stay here and research certain rituals involving vampire bites. Is there anything else you can tell us?”

Buffy thought a bit, “Yeah, he said some words too. They weren’t in English, so I couldn’t understand.”

“Thank you, that will be most helpful. I’ll stay here tonight and look into that. Would you recognize the vampire who bit you?”

Buffy shifted uncomfortably suddenly finding the pattern on the carpet very interesting, a move that went unnoticed by her Watcher, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I could.” She really hoped that he wouldn’t make her tell him it was Spike, it would first send him into a fit about why she hadn’t said something before. Add to that the research he’d make her do, trying to figure out why Spike, the slayer of Slayers, would behave that way. And to top it off, the over protectiveness that would emerge with the revelation of Spike’s identity.

Buffy scrambled her mind to come up with a good excuse. “No that’s okay. I’ve got Angel with me, I’ll be ok.”

Willow grabbed her best friend’s arm, “Oh, what did Angel say when he saw those?”

Buffy looked sheepishly at the redhead, “I haven’t told him yet. I haven’t seen his since I got bitten.”

The day passed and with it the rains. They swept over the ground, washing the earth like teardrops from heaven. It settled on the ground, softening the earth. It stuck to the grass, who held the captive droplets as testament to the sin of the heavens.

Now the clouds had passed and the sky was clear, like a curtain drawn back. The half moon looked down on the world, kept company by the numerous stars. They shed their clear light down upon the world, making it so the marble seemed to glow.

The smell of the damp grass filled the air, masking the scent of death that lingered in the moonlit cemetery. The smell wafted up to the slayer, who sat on a monument nervously fidgeting. She did not notice the freshness of the air; her anxiety controlled her.

Angel was going to meet her here tonight. Her friends had called him and made sure that he knew to come. Buffy had begged them no to tell him about the bite yet, claiming that she really wanted to tell him about the incident herself.

In truth she was putting it off. She knew that he would overreact when he saw it. From what she had heard of vampire rituals and their habits from Giles’ attempts to educate her, bites were a big deal in their lives and were not only something used to feed.

But there was more beyond just the bite. It was the fact that this was Spike’s bite. She had heard that each vamp had his own distinctive bite like any human that could be recognized. After spending so much time with him Angel might recognize the pattern. She hoped he didn’t look that close.

Angel wove through the tombstones to where he would meet Buffy. Willow had called him this morning and told him that it was necessary that he patrol with the Slayer. The thought that she had been in danger had brought his heart to his throat, but Willow would not divulge any information. She had said that Buffy would enlighten him upon his arrival as to the urgency.

He came to the clearing where she sat basked in moonlight like a Grecian goddess. She was so beautiful he felt unclean, as if he was unworthy of her love. He would worship her if he had a chance, give her what he wanted, what she deserved. He would find a way, if it took him to the ends of the earth.

Suddenly his demon jumped up, something was wrong here. He took a step closer and let her scent waft over to him. His demon raged. Her scent had changed, become laced with a warning to any other vamp. The marks on her neck seemed to stand out brighter than any neon sign ever could.

Buffy looked up to see Angel looming over her, a strange look in his face. He was fighting back rage, she had never seen this look directed in her direction before, only at those who had tried to hurt her. Like the frat boys the year before, this was not a look she wanted aimed at her.

He knew, the mark on her neck told him what had happened. At that moment he felt like he needed to kill something, which he damn well was going to do. He had touched her! She was his! How dare he touch her! Not for the first time he wished with both his soul and his demon that he had placed his mark on her when he had the chance.

Buffy saw that his fists were clenched and he seemed to be fighting with himself. He spoke up in a deadly soft voice, “When did he claim you?”

Buffy couldn’t look at his face, it was too frightening, “Last night. We fought, but he was too strong. He beat me.”

Now was the moment of truth, she knew she was in trouble. She wasn’t used to lying to Angel and she wasn’t going to start now though, “A couple days, at least four.”

“FOUR DAYS!?! He’s been here for FOUR DAYS and you haven’t told anyone yet?! Why didn’t you tell me he’d come back? Why did you hide it? Buffy?” He was so upset, he was so hurt. Why would she keep this from him?

Buffy finally dared to look up at him and immediately wished she hadn’t. His face was a confliction of anger and despair all in one. He looked like he would tear something’s head off and at the same time he looked like he wanted to cry.

She couldn’t stand to see him cry. She would do anything to make him happy. She rose to her feet and moved to put her arms around him only to have him move away from her. Tears welled up in her eyes, why had he drawn away from her?

Angel saw the tears in her eyes. He wanted more than anything to take her in his arms and make it all go away. But he couldn’t. Those marks on her neck, he knew what they meant. He couldn’t touch her. “Buffy, I’m so sorry. I can’t: that bite, he claimed you. I can’t touch you at all without his permission or without challenging him face to face.”

Buffy sat back on the tombstone and let her head fall into her hands. Then another thing came to Angel belatedly, “Do your friends know?”

She shook her head, “No, I haven’t told them. I didn’t want to worry them at first, and now when they find out that I knew and didn’t tell them, oh god they are gonna be so angry with me!”

Angel sighed, “Buffy, we all care about you. We get to worry about you. If Xander knew that the Mummy Girl was back and didn’t tell you, what would you think?”

Angel looked down at her with sorrow. How could Spike get this and he didn’t? What had Spike done to deserve her? “I’m sorry, I could but it’s really not my place to tell you.”

Spike emerged from the shadows in that way where it seemed that he had materialized from the night itself. He stood there an apparition of white skin cloaked in black. The moonlight glinted off his sharp cheekbones and his hair shone in the cool night air.

Angel’s game face, which had been hiding beneath the surface waiting to come out, came to the forefront with the arrival of his child. Spike had taken what had been his. How dare he?! Every demon in Sunnydale knew that the slayer belonged to him! Even without the mark they knew. And now to be usurped.

And by his childe no less. The demon inside him raged at this. First he had betrayed him the year before, a move that was unheard of in vampire history, at least among reputable vamps, and now Spike had gone further to affront him. Angel thought that he might kill his wayward childe right there and take the claim by right.

Spike seemed to sense the older vampire’s feelings. He smirked at him but nevertheless shifted a bit so that he would be able to spring into action faster if the need arise. He knew his sire was not above attacking him to get the slayer. But he also knew that he could beat his sire; the blood that he had drank the night before was still rushing through his viens and the claiming bond gave him extra strength. There was no way Angel could beat him now. He wondered if Angel knew that himself.

He wasn’t surprised that Angel was unable to touch the slayer at all. The claim worked so that anyone who touched his slayer with more than friendly thoughts would be subject to custom. Vampires that broke custom were hunted down and killed without mercy. Although Angel was ensouled, he had never blatantly gone back on custom except when he had killed his sire and helped in the destruction of the Master and these were overlooked due to the existence of his soul, which some believed to be driving him insane, and that the master was becoming very unpopular to many vampires..

To poach on someone else’s claim was a serious offense. Even his soul would not excuse him from punishment and he knew it. Vampires were creatures of honor, they respected each other’s territory and rights. Those that didn’t were disposed of to prevent chaos. The customs had been set up a thousand years before during the dark ages when vampires were fighting wars over territory and feeding. Their wars had wiped out small villages and nearly starved them. From then every vampire had to swear to respect the territories and hunting rights of every other in order to preserve the peace. Those that had broken that vow since had been captured and tortured.

Buffy was in agony. Not twenty feet away was Spike, who she knew could calm the raging inferno beneath her skin. She had felt the need for him all day and had felt her body call and beg for him. There he was, and though she hated him she needed him. So while her mind was screaming at her to kill him her body wanted desperately to fall into his arms.

All day she had felt this. She had been distracted during class and with Giles later as he tried to research what was happening to her. Of course he hadn’t found anything useful, the books on vampires that he had were extremely limited. Apparently the council didn’t know much about them aside from the obvious. He was still there now, trying to sort through all his books trying to find some reference to rituals involving bites.

Spike knew what she was feeling, he could sense it. He had not completed the claim yet, she would feel that yearning until he did. But he wouldn’t do that, not yet. He would have patience, something he was not good at he admitted to himself, and bring her slowly into his claim. He felt the burn for her as well, if not as strongly as she felt for him. He was the one who held the cards, that was the way the claim worked. Self-preservation for the vampire.

Angel growled and Spike returned his gaze to his wayward grandsire. “Peaches, so good of you to look after her. I really appreciate it mate.”

Spike cocked his head to the side with feigned ignorance, “Something bothering you, you’re lookin’ somewhat tense.”

Spike’s anger rose within him but he was able to keep it in check, “YOUR mate? I see no mark on her and your scent on her is not strong enough to be recognized by some.” His voice lowered dangerously, “I don’t bloody well care what arrangement you’ve set up with the local community, the laws still apply. You didn’t claim her. She’s mine.”

Angel lunged at the younger vampire, his anger finally boiling over. Buffy was his, dammit, and no one was taking her away from him.

Spike sidestepped his sire easily. He waited as Angel regained his footing as Angel came back at him with a right hook aimed at his jaw. Spike ducked only to get the left in his gut. Angel’s success was short-lived as Spike recovered with his own jab to his nose. For a short time the two fought, Angel attacking and Spike dodging easily while landing a few blows of his own. Finally Spike got tired of beating on Angel and dodged a hard punch from his sire, putting him behind his sire with his hands on Angel’s head, ready to rip it off.

From the sidelines Buffy yelled, “STOP!” She didn’t want to see Angel dust. She would feel so guilty, having just brought him from hell only to send him back so quickly. She would have said something earlier, but she was overwhelmed that these two men were fighting over her.

Spike looked over at the woman sitting on the stone who wore his mark. He wanted nothing more than to tear off his sire’s arrogant head and send him into oblivion. But the look on the Slayer’s face would be devastating. He nodded and let go of Angel’s head, taking a step back as his sire fell to the ground, pride hurt more than his body.

Spike stepped back as Angel stood up. Angel was conflicted, it was unusual for him to lose a fight and when he did he usually ran. But now his desire to protect Buffy was conflicting with his urge to leave. He looked over at her, still sitting on the tombstone, looking very conflicted herself.

Spike saw the look in his sire’s eyes, knowing what he was thinking. He had spent a great deal of Angelus in his early years, and knew his habits. Of course he knew that his sire was getting ready to flee, or was thinking about it. He would have laughed at the situation, but the thought that Angel thought that he would hurt Buffy angered him. “Don’t worry, Peaches, you can leave. I won’t hurt my mate.” He smirked, “Well, almost my mate.”

Spike cocked his head to the side, “Oh really? Still whipped, huh?” He paused for a moment before continuing, “You can’t keep me from her forever. She’s mine.”

Buffy was getting pissed. She hated when people talked as if she wasn’t in the room, “You don’t own me, Spike. I don’t belong to anyone!”

Buffy felt her body responding. As if they had a will of their own, her arms pushed her up and she walked towards him. She had no other thought than to GO TO SPIKE. She walked up to him until she was less than a foot away where she stopped, looking up at him.

Spike was pleased with her obedience. He reached a hand out and brushed a hair behind her ear, letting the back of his hand trace a path down the side of her face over her chin, while his other arm wrapped around her waist. Her skin tingled in the wake of his hand, as if he had set sparks beneath her skin. The chaos within her calmed somewhat with his touch.

His hand came to rest on the side of her face and she unconsciously leaned into in. He lowered his mouth until it was next to her ear and his voice was low, “It appears that you do belong to me. Your body at least knows it.”

Her anger rose at that. No one owned her, no matter what her body said. Finding some will power deep inside her she put her hands against his chest and pushed. He sensed what she was about to do and released her, allowing her to leave his embrace.

Immediately after he let go the feeling of emptiness returned to her, so strong that she almost wanted to return to his arms just to make this feeling of loneliness leave. She didn’t though, she needed to be strong. She backed up a few steps to show her resolve. She needed to show him that he had no effect on her, or to pretend it.

Angel had watched the entire display with anger. It had infuriated him, but he was unable to do anything about it. He knew that once given a command, the claimed human could do nothing but obey, doing everything in their power to do so. And to try and stop her would be a major breach of Spike’s rights, and he wasn’t about to risk being hunted by every vampire on earth for it.

Spike looked at the woman over whom he held his claim. He saw her attempts to defy his authority, smiling gently. She was so beautiful, so powerful. He knew that her body must be protesting her actions but she persevered in her stubbornness all the more. It was adorable, “I will come for you, Buffy. You’re mine and eventually you will accept that.”

He chuckled softly, “I’ll be coming to see you and your friends tomorrow, pet. I suggest you go and tell them that. I’ll be explaining my claim then.” Then all of a sudden he was less than a foot away from her, running his hand down her face to cup her chin “‘Till then, luv.”

He disappeared back into the night as suddenly as he appeared. Buffy stood there, still in turmoil. Her body craved his touch and the few moments in his arms had been the only time in the last twenty-four hours when she had been at peace. She could have wept.

Behind her she heard Angel growling and turned to look. His eyes were focused on the spot where Spike had stood just a moment ago. He was growling softly and his eyes were golden as he had reverted to his game face at some point.

Angel couldn’t look at her, “I should have challenged him. I should have tried.” He turned around so his back was to her, “Dammit! How could I have underestimated him again!”

His shoulders sagged and he sighed, “Buffy, I failed you. I couldn’t beat him, I couldn’t protect you.”

“You didn’t fail me. There was nothing you could do, my blood is making him stronger still. I don’t need you to protect me. I’m strong, I’ll deal with it.”

He spun to face her, his eyes blazing, “You can’t fight him! You saw how he controlled you, one command and he could make you do whatever he wants! You’re completely defenseless against that.” He let his frustration flow out. He needed the anger, he embraced it. Anger was the only thing that was keeping back the tears.

Buffy saw beneath his anger, how close he was to tears and it broke her heart. “I know. There’s nothing we can do though.” She sighed, “We better go tell Giles. I’m not sure if Spike was serious, but we better be prepared in case he does come.” She turned towards the entrance of the cemetery, “You coming?”

Buffy spun around, “You think I don’t know that?!? I know that better than you think! I can feel him, under my skin. I feel this need for him. I know this isn’t some game, or a nightmare I’m going to wake up from. I know how serious it is. But there’s no use fighting it. He holds all the cards here. So let’s deal with the problems we can, and for that we need to go tell Giles.”

She turned and stomped off towards the entrance of the cemetery and the school, Angel following glumly behind her. She was right, he knew. But it didn’t ease his hurt pride. He had wanted the Slayer to be his, had already started on the search for a way to anchor his soul.

He had planned it all out. There was a shaman in Africa who he heard was an expert on soul restoration and all that. He had planned to visit him after Faith returned to town and the problems with Mr. Trick had been taken care of. He had planned to anchor down his soul. When that was done he had planned to ask Buffy to accept his claim.

Now that would never happen. Unless Spike was willing to transfer the claim, there was no way that Buffy would ever be his. Spike had killed two Slayers, and his strength had been increased by those kills. There was no way that Angel could win if he formally challenged him. All that would result in was getting him killed. And although he didn’t like the situation, he would still didn’t look forward to returning to hell any time soon.

And so the two figures stalked through the night, two silent predators weary of the fight. They walked with their heads high throughout all trials, taking it all with the resolve of a tin soldier, trying not to show how each blow would weaken them.

From the side the third warrior watched, his expression blank. He didn’t know what was coming and he braced himself for the next day. He had made a choice when he claimed the Slayer, and he had no intention of going back on it. He couldn’t if he wanted to. The claim tied them to each other for eternity.

Sighing he returned to the house where he had taken up residence. He took out a bag of blood from the fridge and drained it before stripping down and falling into bed. Tomorrow would be trying, and he needed to be ready.

A/N: before we start, i am not a Xander fan. one of the ideas i'm toying
with is making the villian Xander in this story. THis is not flattering to him. One of the reasons that i don't like S7 is because his demeanor changes so much. Continue knowing this.

The afternoon was overcast on the day following the confrontation in
the cemetery. Buffy knew what was coming now, she was dreading the confrontation between Spike and her Watcher and friends. Angel had asked to be there as well, but after his reaction last night, she had
thought it better if he stayed away for now.

The conversation with her watcher the night before had gone just as she had expected it to. Her friends had been sitting around the tables looking through dusty old tomes as she walked through the door. Giles had emerged from his office at the sound of the door, carrying one of the Watcher diaries from some long-dead tweed-wearer.

“Hey guys,” she called out to get their attention. She wasn’t sure how to broach the subject before her, because this sort of thing had never happened before. She thought it best to get it out, “Um, I met the vampire who bit me on patrol tonight.”

Buffy sighed, “Worse than I thought. He went totally berserk, growling and trying to kill the guy.”

“No, he got beaten real bad. But that’s off topic. I’m here to say that Giles,” She looked up at her Watcher then, the concern showing in his eyes, “Spike’s gonna be paying you a visit tomorrow.”

Giles nearly dropped the book in his hand, “SPIKE?!? Spike’s coming here? Why?” He believed he already knew the answer, and wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what was about to come out of his Slayer’s mouth.

Buffy’s eyes dropped to the floor. Better get this over with, “Spike is the one who bit me. He came up to me four days ago and said that he’d left Drusilla and came back to Sunnydale for me.” She braced herself for what was about to come.

“Don’t you think we deserve to know that he’s come back? What if he had come after one of us? We would be completely unprepared for such an action.”

“No, you obviously weren’t. Honestly Buffy sometimes your negligence is just stunning.”

Buffy was near to tears. She had expected this, yes, but it still hurt to hear her Watcher say these things. “I’m sorry, Giles.”

Willow saw the state her best friend was in and came to her, “C’mon, Buffy. We just wish you had told us.”

She shook her head, “I couldn’t. Besides, would he have listened to me anyway? He’s gonna come whether we want him to or not.”

Giles took off his glasses to polish them, “Yes, well I thank you for that kernel of information. We shall be sure to be prepared tomorrow evening for his arrival. I will be speaking to you though. You should not be keeping things to yourself for any reason.”

Giles had walked into his office and Willow had brought the distraught slayer home.

Now after a night’s sleep she didn’t feel any better as she walked into school on an overcast afternoon. She walked down the corridors filled with the yellow-white light of industrial florescent light bulbs that are in every school across the country so that corrupt penny-pinchers could save money.

She came to the doors of the library and put her hands on the rough wood and pushed open the door with ease as it skimmed against the carpet that inhabited the library collecting more dust to add to those on the books. The light filtered through the shelves to fall upon the center of the library where the table sat in the middle of the room where the slayer was accustomed to train.

Clustered to one side of the room were Giles Willow and Xander, grouped together like frightened sheep cowering in a corner of the pen. On all of their faces were expressions of fear or panic aimed at the person in the center of the room between them and the weapons cage.

There at the table between the office and the weapons cage stood Spike, swathed in leather. He radiated strength and confidence with his black duster hanging from his frame and molding to the contours of his upper back. He looked intimidating without any effort, standing at the table idly flipping through some of the books that had been left there with minimal interest. They didn’t concern him.

He knew what they had been doing with those tomes. He could see the text and he could read several different languages both demon and human. These books were of no interest to him. Even if they could find what had happened to the slayer, there was no way they could change it. And from looking at the direction of their research, he knew they were nowhere near anything important. He felt her come in and he turned to face her.

Buffy saw him turn to face her and the world seemed to stop. There he was, his handsome face with its high cheekbones and emerald blue eyes that seemed to look through her. His lips were so soft and his skin looked so smooth. His white hair stood in stark contrast to his black leather, and provided a visual for all the contradictions in his personality that she would learn of.

He stood there in the library which she considered another home to her. He stood in the middle of her safe haven in the daytime no less! But still her body called out to him as it had since his bite with the brief respite that she had experienced in his arms the night before. His eyes bore into her and she felt a war start within her.

She wanted to run and hide. She wanted to stay. She wanted to curl into a ball somewhere far away. She wanted to curl up in his lap. She wanted to rush to her watcher. She wanted to rush to Spike and have his arms around her.

She settled for none of those, instead she stood just inside the door, her arms crossed in front of her, “What are you doing here, Spike?”

He looked shocked, “Why, Slayer, I told you I would be dropping in today. I’m sure you told your friends that too. Your surprise is quite shocking.”

In an exasperated tone of voice Buffy replied, “I mean why NOW. It’s daylight outside, we weren’t expecting you till sunset.”

“I bloody well knew what you meant. I figured that by nightfall that your watcher here would be stocked up on weapons so I figured I might come before that happened.” He crossed to one of the chairs and sat, propping his boots up on the table. “Besides, I figure this is as good a time as any to have a little chat, don’t you?”

He saw the anxiety in the faces of the huddled humans, “You can bring crosses with you, if it makes you feel better.”

Giles’ sent Willow into his office and she retrieved three wooden crosses that had been in his drawers. They approached slowly, crosses outstretched as Spike sat at the table. Buffy crossed the room and drew out a chair, facing the blonde vamp so she could glare at him.

Her friends drew out chairs and cautiously sat down, following the slayer’s lead. There was silence for a while as the tension and fear in the air seemed to smother the three weak humans clutching at the wooden slats that were crosses.

Finally Spike spoke up, “Not that I’m not loving the fear simmering in the air here, but I think that you blokes wanted to talk to me.”

Giles took off his glasses, “Q-q-quite right. Um, first, why are you here, exactly?”

“Nothing that I’m ready to talk about now. Let’s just say I’m a white hat.”

Xander spoke up, insolent and brave behind the false protection of the cross he held, “Why should we believe you anyway?”

Spike growled. He could smell the boy. He lusted after HIS Buffy, it was all around him. Stupid child couldn’t appreciate what he had. He could smell Cordelia all over him (the boy was a virgin, but they’d been close) and yet the whelp still lusted after the slayer. “That’s none of your business. I told you, I’m not bloody well gonna talk about it yet.”

Buffy spoke up, “Say I believe you, that you’re not gonna harm us, where does that leave us?”

Spike looked at her, “I’m here to help you, make sure you get along well.” He looked around at them, “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna get along with your mates here. I have no business with them.”

Spike smirked, “You know why. I claimed you, and I take care of what’s mine.”

Giles cleared his throat before starting up again, “Yes, um, that is the matter at hand. What is this claim?”

Spike turned his eyes to the flustered librarian, “It means that she’s mine. I bit her and claimed her.” He took out his lighter and started twirling it in his fingers, “My claim offers her protection from other vamps. It also provides other benefits that are rather, personal.” He smirked here. “Plus others once I complete the ritual.”

“Yeah, but that I’m not discussing either. Besides, if I did the probability of me getting to go through with it become less.”

“What if we don’t want your help?” this of coarse from Xander, who had been glaring at the vamp the entire interview.

Spike’s head snapped back to the youth and Xander blanched slightly but held his ground, “It’s not up to you, boy.” He lowered his voice before speaking the next line, “Make no mistake, whelp, I am not Peaches. I do not take kindly to people interfering in my business.”

“Yeah, I know you’re not like him. He at least has a soul to lift him above your status as a worthless monster.”

It took all Spike had not to leap across the table and rip Xander’s throat out. He growled loudly and barked out “Watch your tongue. I give you one free pass on account of the slayer. Next time I might not be so giving.”

He glared across the table, “You think I don’t know what’s going on? I can smell you. You want what’s mine. You lust for my slayer.” Eyes turned to Xander at this comment, “Angel might have put up with that, but if you don’t grow up I’m not sure I can hold back, mate.”

Xander didn’t back down, he had always wanted Buffy. He had looked at all others who caught her attention with jealous anger. It had become a way of life for him, and he wasn’t about to stop now, “So what. Doesn’t make it any less true.”

Buffy realized that this was not a line that was going to end well. She decided that this was time to end this and set some peace to the room, “Xander, that’s enough. Why don’t you go tell Angel not to come tonight?”

Xander, thoroughly snubbed, stood up and walked out of the library, slamming the doors behind him as he left. With him left a lot of the tension that had been hanging in the air for the past few minutes. Spike seemed more relaxed and more amicable now that the teen had left the room.

Buffy turned back to the blonde vampire. She had known that Xander had a thing for her, and had suspected that it affected his attitude towards Angel. However the extent of his obsession was kind of disturbing. She tried to turn her mind away from that now, “What did you do to me, Spike?”

“I told you already, luv. I claimed you. I gave you my protection and told the world that you are mine.”

Giles needed a bit more clarification, “What does a mate entail? How does it differ from a claim?”

“I never intended to just claim her. I want to be by her side forever. By completing the ritual she will still be a human, but she will become an immortal. Or rather, she will realize her immortality. And I get the nifty advantage of daylight immunity.”

Spike looked down at the lighter in his hand, “It’s not important now.
It’s not time yet.” He stood up and walked so that he was looking
down at her, “I’m gonna help you, luv. I’ll make sure you’re alright.”

He smiled, “that’s a story for another day.” He looked at all of them
before he walked out the door.

*******

ch 5, issuing a challenge

The streets were nearly bare that night, nearly all the
residents of the small town having figured not to stay
out long after dark. No other footsteps disturbed the
silence of the night.

Angel was hunting. His instincts, which had been so
long quashed, he now turned to in order that he succeed
this night. His prey was one where he would need those
instincts which were now unfaithful due to lack of use.

Years of malnourishment had dulled his senses, since
he had been en-souled he hadn’t been eating as he
should have been. Rats and other small creatures
weren’t enough for a large vampire like him. And even
after he had begun buying butcher’s blood, he hadn’t
had as much as he should have.

He remembered how Angelus had felt when he had
realized how much of his strength had been lost. He had
been thrilled to find Spike in a wheelchair, knowing
that he would be of no match to the younger man if
Spike had been well. It had been infuriating to know
that he had been surpassed as the head of his family by
a younger male.

Now for the first time Angel regretted his self-
deprivation. At his full strength he would have been
able to pick up his childe’s scent a mile away. Hell, at
his full strength he would be able to sense his childe
from anywhere in the city.

He prowled around the city, looking for the places
where he knew Spike had been. If he was at a place
where Spike had been, he could track his childe’s scent
from there.

Hopefully.

He searched through the cemeteries, keeping alert for
any trace of his childe’s scent. Anything at all to help
him learn where Spike had been would help.

A scent wafted to his nose. Buffy. It was a few days old
but it was strong. He must have stumbled across the
area where she patrolled. He knew that she hadn’t taken
her usual route the night before due to the fact that she
left after her meeting with him and Spike.

He indulged himself briefly, and drew her scent into his
nose. He loved her scent, rich and full of innocence and
power masked with a scent of vanilla. He began moving
towards the source, following her patrol route.

He came to the area where Buffy had stopped the other
night. Here he picked it up. Spike. This was where her
old scent stopped and became saturated with his. Plus
there was some other scent here. He wracked his brain
for the origin of this scent. His demon emerged.

The area was filled with the scent of Buffy and of his
childe. He could almost trace out the moves they had
made with what his nose was telling him.

Then there was the spot where he knew that Spike had
claimed her. He could smell her blood on the air, and
the scent of his childe’s blood as well even if it was
weaker and fainter that her scent. The scent that raised
his demon and caused him to see red was the smell of
Buffy’s arousal. Spike had made her come with his bite.

This wasn’t unheard of, he knew. But still it angered
him when the scent filled his nostrils. The demon in
him believed that Buffy was his and to have this scent
wafting around only served to enrage it.

Spike’s scent was strong here even as Buffy’s scent,
now changed and saturated with the scent of his childe,
veered off and headed towards her house. He thanked
his stars for that fact, that Spike had not taken the time
to hide his scent here.

He followed Spike’s scent back through the woods and
out of the cemetery. It went through the streets across
the small town to one of the residential streets. He
followed it through here to a reasonable house where
the scent seemed to go inside.

This was it, this was where Spike was hiding himself. A
one-story house with thick curtains covering the
windows. The walls were whitewashed wooden planks
and the door was oak and looked solid.

Spike was inside in the living room when he felt the
presence of his sire. He was watching an episode of
Passions which had been taped using the Tivo that was
hooked up to the satellite. He took a breath and walked
to the door, opening it to reveal a very angry looking
Angel.

“Tried to break the door down, huh Peaches?”

Angel growled, pressing against the barrier in the
doorway. He had done just that, but had found that the
invite barrier was over the threshold, preventing him
from making any movement against the house. “Why
can’t I get in, Spike?”

Spike grinned, staying on the inside of the door if only
to enjoy the enraged look on his sire’s face at his
inability to enter the house. It was too damn funny,
“Owner’s human, and he’s still alive. I’m renting it
from him since he’s out of the country for a while. I met him him when I came
into town and we talked a bit and he
offered to let me stay while he was out of town.” He
was enjoying the look on his sire’s face right now. If he
only had a camera, “Fully furnished too. All I gotta do
is pay the bills while he’s gone and I get a swell place to
stay. Now is there some reason you’re here?”

“You know damn well why I’m here.”

Of course Spike knew, but he wanted to irritate Angel
more while the elder vamp was helpless to do anything.
Besides, Passions was taped, he could stay out here as
long as he wanted, “Was it to tell me that you’re finally
going to lay off the hair gel and complement me for my
stellar fashion taste?”

“Buffy.”

“Ah yes, the Slayer. My mate. What about her?”

“I want you to give up your claim to her.”

Spike’s smile vanished. He knew this was what his sire
wanted and he wasn’t going to give up his mate, “Not a
chance, mate. I’m not giving her up just because you
didn’t have the guts to do it yourself.”

“Then I challenge you for the claim.” Angel really
hadn’t wanted to do that. He had hoped that Spike
would be intimidated by him, but thet tht that Spike
was living in a house owned by someone else, who
happened to be living, had put a damper on that. Even if
there hadn’t been a barrier, Spike probably wouldn’t
have backed down.

Angel wouldn’t win this fight, he knew that. It was not
very likely that he could regain much, if any, of his
former strength that would allow him to overcome the
younger vamp. This was yet another intimidation tactic.

Spike thought for a second. He knew that he was
stronger than his sire. The scent that Angel was giving
off now was not one of confidence, but of uncertainty
and fear. He knew also that the time Angel had spent
under-feeding would have destroyed much of his
strength. This was a fight he would be sure to win, and
after that Angel would have to forfeit all rights to the
Slayer. He would never be able to challenge his claim
again.

Spike came to his decision and spoke to his sire, “I
accept the challenge. When are we gonna fight? You
know the Slayer will have to be there for it, don’t you?”

Angel felt his insides fall. Spike had seen through him.
He knew what would happen when he lost. If Spike
didn’t kill him, which would be his right, he would
never be able to challenge him ever again. He wished
now that he had waited, gained some of his strength
back before challenging Spike.

He was able to keep a straight face though. He knew his
scent must be telling how he was feeling now (much to
Spike’s joy and amusement) but he wouldn’t give him
visual conformation to gloat on as well. “In two days at
midnight. Restfield cemetery. That should give enough
time to summon up the appropriate officials.”

Spike nodded. Certain members of the demon
community would have to be there to witness the event.
“I’ll go summon them tomorrow. Who’s gonna tell the
slayer?”

Angel looked down, he knew that this wasn’t going to
be pleasant. She’d probably be upset or angry when he
explained it to her, “I’ll do it. I’ll want to tell her what’s
going on.”

Spike shrugged. There wasn’t anything Angel could do
anyway. Might as well let him talk to the slayer and let
her know what was going on, “Alright mate. I’ll see you
in two days.” He closed the door in Angel’s face,
reveling in that he was able to do that. He loved pissing
off his sire.

He returned to the living room after making a pit stop at
the kitchen for some blood. He fell into the chair and
ripped the first bag open with his fangs dog itg it
quickly. He would need to be well fed for the fight. He
knew he would win, but still it didn’t hurt to keep in
shape. He flipped through the guide and returned to his
episode of Passions.

He would defeat his sire and then nobody would
challenge him for his mate. He looked forward to
beating his sire. But he didn’t envy Angel’s job, he
didn’t want to be the one who told the slayer what was
going on. She was a phenomenal woman, but he knew
that she had a short fuse, which he had been on the
receiving end of a time too many.

He looked around his home. He had rented it not only to
provide a place where demon’s couldn’t enter without
an invite, but also to impress his mate. It was
comfortably decorated and would provide a good place
for them.

He turned his attention to the tv again. Soon the time
would come. He would show her how he lived, that
he’d changed. He’d earn her trust. Then he would have
the most beautiful creature at his side. He smiled, the
people on the screen flashing before him. Soon.

*********************************

“I HAVE TO WHAT?!?”

Angel cringed. He knew that Buffy wouldn’t receive
the news of the challenge well. And he had been
certain that this particular point would not be warmly
received. This was the point which he had really
dreaded telling her about.

For a moment he wondered to himself why he had
volunteered to be the one to tell her about her role in
the upcoming fight. He must have known that she
would react this way. With her experiences he should
have known she wouldn’t be open to this.

So why had he volunteered to be the one to tell her?
He looked down at her, sitting on the tombstone with
her arms crossed across her chest. Oh yeah, so he
could see her again before the fight.

“Buffy, I promise, nothing is going to happen.”

“Then why do I have to be chained up?”

“It’s an ancient tradition that’s been passed down for
thousands of years and neither Spike nor myself is
going to try and change it.”

“Yeah, well it’s a dumb tradition.”

“Buffy, demons are very particular creatures that are
prone to habit. They don’t like to change custom and
the thought of it is hard for them to take in.”

“So be a trendsetter.”

“Buffy I’m already not very highly esteemed in the
demon world and doing that would just serve to
infuriate them more and put me in greater danger.”

Buffy started to pout. She hated this, that she would
have to be chained up just so those two could have a
fight to see which one of them had claim to her. No
one owned her! This sucked.

Angel looked down at Buffy sitting on a tombstone
pouting. She looked so beautiful there, and he knew
again why he had volunteered to tell her about the
challenge. He knew that he might not get to see her
again before it happened and he didn’t think he
would live after it.

“Buffy there’s something else.”

“What, do I have to be dressed like princess Leia as
well?”

Angel didn’t take the time to appreciate the mental
picture of Buffy in a revealing slave outfit like Leia
had been dressed in. Well, not much time anyway.
“No, it’s not that.”

Buffy heard the tone in his voice, the worry and
hesitation. There was something important that he
was going to tell her and he was afraid it would upset
her, “Angel, what’s wrong?” Angel was fidgeting
slightly, trying his best to look anywhere but at her,
“Angel, tell me. Please.”

He took a deep breath and steadied himself. This
would hurt her, he knew, “At the end of the fight, it
is customary that the winner kill the defeated
challenger.”

He looked down finally into her face and almost
instantly regretted it. Her face was a portrait of hurt,
and he could see the pain in her eyes. He wished
again more than ever that he could reach out and
embrace her but the rules of the claim stopped him.
He couldn’t touch her without Spike’s consent if he
felt anything for her. And now he felt love and
sympathy streaming through himself.

Buffy looked up at him, “Maybe, you could beat
him?”

Angel shook his head, “There’s no way. He’s faster
and stronger than I am. I haven’t been eating as I
should have. If the contest had been scheduled a year
from now I wouldn’t be able to build up enough
strength.” His head fell, “I’m sorry.”

Buffy backed away, her eyes brimming over with
tears. Angel saw it and took a step towards her as if
to console her, but she turned from him and ran
through the cemetery. As she flew out of sight Angel
wished with all his might that he hadn’t challenged
Spike. He sat down on the tombstone his beloved
had just vacated and let his head fall to his hands.

He sat there his head in his hands, and in the first
time in so many years, he allowed himself to cry. He
cried out his pain at the frustration of losing her to
his childe. He cried his pain of causing her to suffer.
He cried at the thought of dying and never seeing her
again. He regretted his decision and wished again
that he could take it all back.

Buffy dashed through the cemetery, her eyes filled
with tears. She hoped for some vamp to come across
her path for her to take out this aggression on. She
needed something, anything, to take away from the
pain she felt.

She was filled with all these feelings of pain and
anger. How could he do that to her? He had to know
that this would be devastating for her, so why on
earth did he accept that damn challenge? She needed
to find some way to deal with all this before she had
to see it tomorrow evening.

She suddenly found herself on the ground looking up
at a blonde vampire. She had been so preoccupied
with trying to escape from Angel and the pain she
was feeling that she hadn’t noticed him until she ran
smack into him. Now she was on the ground looking
up at him standing there holding a grocery bag in one
arm and a cigarette in the other hand with one
eyebrow quirked at her.

“Hello luv, what you doin’ out here?”

“Leave me alone, Spike. What business is it of yours
anyway?”

“It’s my business when my woman goes running
through the cemetery lookin’ like a kicked puppy and
not whatching where she’s headed.” He extended a
hand to help her up.

She looked scathingly up at him, knocking back the
offered hand and secretly thrilling in the tingling that
raced through her at the brief contact. She pushed
that feeling aside and focused on all the pain she felt,
“I’m not your woman, Spike.”

Spike’s eyebrows raised at this, and the slap that she
had given him. He knew what was going through
her, and decided that things needed to be explained
to her. He took a few steps and placed the grocery
bag on an above-ground tomb before he brought the
cigarette to his lips. “The marks on your neck say
otherwise, luv.” He blew the smoke out from his
lungs, creating a blue-grey cloud of smoke in the
moonlight, “I’m guessing Peaches told you about our
little fight tomorrow night.”

“He said you were gonna kill him.”

“I wonder where he got that idea?”

“He said it was customary for the winner to kill the
loser. He said he wasn’t going to win.”

Spike smiled a small half smile, “Well, he’s half
right, I am going to win.” He took a drag on his
cigarette before he continued, “‘m not gonna kill ‘im
though.”

Buffy felt her spirits lift a little at this declaration.
She knew he wasn’t lying. Through the bond she felt
his sincerity, she couldn’t explain it but she knew
that he was telling her the truth. But still, she had to
give him a hard time about it, “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why aren’t you going to kill him?”

He blew out smoke, “It’s an old custom luv. He
might be right in saying that demons are very much
tied to their old ways but what can I say,” he smiled,
“I’m a trendsetter.” He paused, “Besides, I’m not
required to kill him, it’s just an option made up long
ago to make sure that challengers wouldn’t be a
threat after losing the fight. It’s not really necessary
in this instance.”

“So why did he sound so sure that he was going to die?”

He looked over at her, “You sure you wanna hear
this, luv?”

She nodded, “I’m sure, I wouldn’t have asked
otherwise.”

He drew in a deep breath and then spoke to her,
“After he loses he will never be able to challenge me
for that again. He knows that and he can’t bear the
thought of losing. He never could. I expect that he
wants to die tomorrow when he loses. He might beg
me to kill him.”

“But you won’t, right?”

He looked over at her, she wasn’t as shocked by this
as he thought she would be. She had probably
figured out by now that Angelus didn’t like to lose,
something that his souled counterpart shared. He was
secretly pleased, his girl was smart and strong, “No,
luv, I won’t. Wouldn’t do that to you.”

She looked down, “Why do you care so much?”

He chuckled, pulling out a bottle of amber liquid and
opening it. He took a swig and offered it to her,
which she took with little fuss. “I told you, I’m a
white hat now.”

She scoffed, taking a swig of the hard liquor and
making a face as it burned its way down her throat.
She handed the bottle back as he himself took a swig
without a grimace on his face. He handed the bottle
back to her and they sat in the clearing drinking.

A while passed while they sat out there drinking,
until it came to Spike’s attention just how the drink
was affecting the small slayer. He looked over at her,
“Perhaps we should head inside luv.”

“Tha’s a great idea, where’s we go’n’?”

He had picked up the grocery bag and had put the
bottle with the amber liquid inside. She lurched
forward towards him and lost her balance, but he
quickly reached out and steadied her, slipping one
arm around her waist. “We’re goin’ to m’ house. It’s
closer than yours and if you want I can take you
home from there.”

She turned to look up at him, loving the feeling of
being in contact with him that was created with the
claim. “Naw, we’sh can shtay at your placshe.”

He chuckled, “Good, since there are no objections,
off we go.”

They walked through the cemetery to the small house
that Spike rented. He pulled out the key, not a small
task while holding a grocery bag and a slayer, and
unlocked the door, ushering in the small girl and
leaving her in the living room while he deposited his
things in the kitchen.

As Buffy began to flip through the channels Spike
unloaded his groceries. Six bags of human blood
from the blood bank, five bags of orangutan blood,
two boxes of Wheetabix, and a pint of Double Fudge
Brownie Ice cream which he left out. He pulled out
two spoons and headed out to the living room where
the slayer was sitting and threw himself onto the sofa
next to her, opening the pint of ice cream and diving
into it.

Buffy noticed the shift of the sofa that came when he
sat down and stopped flipping to look over and see
him eating the ice cream. “Ohh, Ice cream!” She
reached out for it.

Spike held it away from her, amused at her attempts
for the pint, “Now now, what’s the magic word?”

“Gimme now!”

He shrugged, “That works too.” He pulled out the
second spoon and handed it to her and she dug in
before returning to her previous occupation of
flipping channels.

Spike watched her as she ate ice cream and flipped
channels. She was so beautiful and he thanked the
forces that had turned him this way. He thanked his
lucky star that had let him claim this gorgeous
creature. He felt a feeling of possessiveness swell up
inside of him as he watched her eat the ice cream and
sit on his couch, watching TV.

Suddenly his focus was drawn away from her when
he became aware of exactly what she had
flipped to.

“Oooooh, Spikey’s watchin’ porno.”

She had stumbled across one of the late-night soft
porn channels. On the screen there was a woman
who was rocking with a man who was taking her
from behind while he fingered her clit. Sounds of
harsh breathing and moaning filled the room.

Spike reached for the remote but she held it out of
his reach, giggling. He reached again, and she held it
out of his reach. This continued, they wrestled for a
few minutes until he finally was able to wrest the
remote from her grasp.

He looked down, in their efforts she had ended up
pinned beneath him. Her face was flushed and her
eyes were glazed over. On the screen a woman
moaned loudly as the man ate her out. From beneath
him he could smell the slayer’s arousal and his cock
was hard as a rock, there was nothing he wanted
more than to act out the desires that were plaguing
both of them.

He turned off the TV. He would have restraint. When
he made her his mate it would be a night to
remember, not some quickie that she would be too
drunk to remember.

He stood up and picked her up, carrying her into the
bedroom. She squealed slightly but really didn’t
protest. He carried her over to the bed and put her
down, giving her a stern look. “Only sleeping
tonight, missy.” He reached down and helped her
remove her boots and jacket before removing his
own boots and belt and turning out the light.

As he settled himself into bed she was already fast
asleep, passed out from exhaustion and the alcohol
she had consumed. He smiled gently down at her and
wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back
against him. He listened to her gentle breathing for a
while, enjoying the closeness before drifting off to
sleep. They would need their rest in the coming day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
chapter 7
Welcome to the jungle
We got fun 'n' games
We got evrything you want
Honey we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money honey
We got your disease

Bright lights, roaring demons, commotion and
chaos. It all filled the arena, swelling until it felt
like a physical thing that would do actual damage
to the structure.

A hidden arena, someplace that most in
Sunnydale didn’t even know about. It was sunken
into the ground beneath the sewers and was
hidden carefully. Only demons knew where it
was. The capacity was huge and all the room was
filled around the stage and the raised dias at one
end. They were all waiting for the fight. For the
contest that would come.

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
I wanna watch you bleed

In the center of the ring were the two combatants.
They had come here to this underground for the
one purpose, to compete for the girl who was
now chained on the dias. They were dressed in the ceremonial garb that had been worn for
centuries. They wore pants and boots made from
skins of the demons that had challenged them.
These skins had been conjured specially by the
referee, who was a warlock capable of many
things.

Their chests were bare as were their arms except
for simple metal bands that showed their age and
rank. Spike had five, he was considered a high
ranking demon due to the fact that he had bested
two slayers and was over one hundred years old,
something most vampires never got near. Angel
had four, since he was over two hundred and had
outlived the head of his family in the master, but
one had been taken off due to his tendency to kill
off his kind.

Buffy was chained on the stone dias with special
restrains that she could not break with her
enhanced slayer strength. The chains as well had
been specially conjured for her. It frustrated her
to no end to wear them, but she knew it was
necessary now.

She was dressed, as was custom, in clothes that
Spike had chosen for her. Black leather pants
hugged her legs, hugging her leg to the knee
before flaring out slightly over heavy black
boots. She wore a red halter top that shone in the
light. And she also wore one accessory that she
would never have chosen herself, black arm
warmers. The black lattice covered her hand like
a fingerless glove and extended to her elbows.
She looked punk, but she couldn’t deny it worked
on her.

Welcome to the jungle
We take it day by day
If you want it you're gonna bleed
But it's the price you pay
And you're a very sexy girl
That's very hard to please
You can taste the bright lights
But you won't get them for free
The demon referee stood on the dias as well. He
moved to stand in front of the bound slayer and
he opened his mouth to speak to the assembled
crowd and the combatants below. As he spoke
his voice was magically amplified so that he
could be heard by all above the roaring cheers.

“Friends, we are here today in a ritual that has
been passed down through the ages. This is a
fight, a combat to determine who has claim to
this female.” The roar of the crowd grew in
approval. The claiming of the slayer was a big
deal with them. “I am here to state the rules of
the games. The two combatants will fight for this
female. Once they begin they will not stop
fighting until one of them has been defeated.
When one combatant wins he has the right to kill
his opponant.” The cheers of the crowd became
almost deafening. “This is a choice that is the
victor’s to make.”

The two vampires in the center of the ring waited
for the call that would begin the match. They
heard the crowd and though some amount of
spectators was expected this many were not
typical.

The judge looked down and raise one clawed
hand. The crowd quieted, “May the fight begin.”
The crowd cheered as the claw fell and he
returned to his seat positioned behind the chained
slayer.

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my serpentine
I, I wanna hear you scream

The two vampires began to circle each other.
Crouched down, ready to spring, they studied
each other looking for an opening. It had been
nearly one hundred years since they had faced off
and their strategies had changed drastically during that time. Their strengths had changed,
their speed had altered, and their style had
adapted to both over time, evolving into what
they did now.

Angel knew that he was the weaker one here. He
couldn’t beat Spike just with sheer strength. He
would need to use his brain if he was going to
win this one. He would have to outsmart the
younger vampire. It was a slim chance, but he
had last known Spike to be an impulsive vamp
with little control of himself.

He wouldn’t wait for Spike to attack. Nor would
he attack fueled only by his rage. He had seen
what that had gotten him before. He moved
forward slightly, faking a punch before drawing
back quickly.

Spike jumped forward at the move from his sire,
moving to punch him in the jaw. Angel saw it
and ducked, rolling the younger vampire off his
back to the other side. Spike fell to the ground
and Angel advanced quickly, punching him as he
got to his feet. Spike’s head snapped to the side
with the blow as his body fell slightly to the side.

Angel felt empowered by his hit. He moved to
punch Spike again but his move was anticipated
as Spike crossed under the older vampire’s arm
as it swung for him, ending up facing the older
vampire’s back.

Welcome to the jungle
It gets worse here evryday
Ya learn ta live like an animal
In the jungle where we play
If you got a hunger for what you see
You'll take it eventually
You can have anything you want
But you better not take it from me

The crowd cheered loudly but it was lost to the
two in the ring. The crowd was caught up by the clash of these two great master vampires. Both
were legends in their own right. This was
something they would be speaking of for years to
come, it was very rare these days that they were
any claims, and even more rare that they were
challenged like this.

Buffy was tense. She hadn’t known that there
were going to be spectators here. If she had been
told she certainly hadn’t heard it. The demons
were causing the slayer inside her to claw at her,
telling her that she was in very grave danger. She
pushed that part of her down as she watched the
fight, she had not been touched or threatened by
any of these demons (except for the second when
the judge put his hand on her ass to feel her up)
and she forced herself to relax somewhat.

She was transfixed by the site of the two males
below her. They were dancing around each other
with unparalleled grace and skill. Angel had got
in the first blow with his cleverness but it was
clear that he was slower than the younger
vampire. They danced now, trading blows as
Angel tried his level best to outwit his opponant,
landing a punch or kick now and then with his
quick thinking. But it was clear, Spike was
landing more of his blows and was dodging
faster than Angel.

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
I wanna watch you bleed

Spike had caught onto what Angel was doing.
His sire was counting on him acting impulsively
and rashly. Spike had to give him credit, he had
been known to be quite impulsive. But his time
with Drusilla had curbed that slightly, allowing
his to control himself better.

Well, if Angel wanted to play a game of wits he
supposed he could accommodate the older vamp. He waited as Angel approached him again. He
saw the older vampire draw back his arm slightly
and made a move to dodge, purposely starting
too late and going slightly too slow.

The punch landed and another one came, and
Spike fell to the floor. He had received quite a
few blows that night and the pain he felt wasn’t
all for show as he waited for a moment as Angel
drew near him. He waited as Angel pulled near,
believing that he had done it, had subdued his
childer and the battle was finally won.

And when you're high you never
Ever want to come down, YEAH!

Angel went on one knee and prepared to deliver a
firm blow that would hit Spike in the back of the
neck right below his skull and know him out. In
that instant Spike saw his chance.

Quick as a snake his arm struck out and caught
the older vampire’s knee. He pulled and his sire
was flat on his back. Spike sprang up, bouncing
lightly on his toes as his sire painfully pulled
himself to his feet. His knee had been hurt and it
hurt him. He knew now that he had been duped,
that the fight was truly over. He could barely
stand and there Spike was jumping like a baby
kangaroo.

Spike saw it and so did the crowd the time for the
final blow was near. Angel tried once more for
an offensive strike and Spike moved quickly,
dropping down and sweeping his foot along the
floor and sweeping up the older vampire’s feet
from under him.

You know where you are
You're in the jungle baby
You're gonna die
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
In the jungleWelcome to the jungle
Feel my, my serpentine

Angel fell to his knees, and it was over. Spike
stood behind him, his hands on Angel’s head,
ready to tear it from his shoulders entirely. The
crowd cheered even louder, the vibrations shook
some of the dust from the ceiling. They all
wanted to see what would happen next.

Whether or not Spike killed him, Spike would be
a legend now. The killer of two slayers, the one
who claimed the third, and had become a master
in his own right. The defeat of his sire was
something that few vampires ever did. They
remained subservient, weaker, their entire
existence. That Spike had escaped it and had
proved it just glorified him more in their eyes.

It didn’t hurt Spike’s case that they hated Angel
either.

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
It's gonna bring you down

Spike looked around and saw Buffy looking
down at him. He had won, they all knew it. She
looked pleadingly down, hoping and entreating
him not to kill his sire. The look of vulnerability
in her eyes touched him. But there was more.

It was that softness, that vulnerability in her eyes
that touched him most. He wouldn’t kill the poof,
and he looked up at her and she knew it. She
smiled and the look of trust in her eyes almost
melted him.

He felt Angel’s muscles tense. He was waiting,
“Do it Spike, it’s your right. Please.”
Spike shoved his sire to the floor and the noise in
the room swelled to an all time high. They knew
he had refused to kill Angel, and to that pleased
them perhaps more than his death would have.
Refusing to kill Angel was a great insult to the
older vamp in the eyes of the demon community.
Spike had dismissed him as a threat and allowed
him to live.

Spike stood over the older vamp who was on all
fours on the floor, “I renounce my right as victor
to kill him, instead letting him live with the
knowledge that he can never take what is mine.
He can never challenge me again. Let him live
with that.” His last words were drowned out by
the roar of approval from the crowd.

Spike jumped up to the dias and the referee gave
him the key, which he used to quickly used to
divest the slayer of her restraints. He scooped her
up in his arms as was customary and carried her
out of the arena through the crowd of cheering
spectators while Angel still lay in the dirt near
tears with sorrow and humiliation.

Ha!
****
fun fun fun

the last chap is not very good. It was deleted from both
this archive and my computer so i had to rewrite.

It was incredible Giles, you should have been
there. All those demons all around cheering and
shouting for him to kill him but he DIDN’T. It was
amazing.”

Giles was furiously taking notes at his desk while
all the scoobies were sitting around and Faith, back
finally from her long trip, was lounging in the
corner while Buffy related the story. This was the
morning after the fight and Buffy had thought that
she ought to report to her watcher before she forgot
what had happened. Then it had turned into story
time with all the scoobies gathered round.

“This is quite amazing. You say the challenge took
place in an arena of some sort? Could you tell me
where?”

She shook her head, “Sorry Giles, Spike made me
promise not to tell. But Spike says there’s one like it
at every hellmouth.”

“Yes, well, I see.” He paused, “But this ritual is
quite extraordinary. The council has nothing like
this challenge ever recorded. I feel proud that I’m
the one to be recording it.”

“Anything for my favorite watcher.”

Giles looked down at his notebook again, “So, you
say that the combatants were wearing?”

“Demon skins, with gold rings around their arms to
show their rank or something.”

“And the set up was?”

“They fought in an area with raised seats around it
and a raised podium.”

“And this podium?”

“Was where I was chained up with the referee guy.”

Giles looked up for a second and Xander’s eyes
were slightly glossed over as he imagined Buffy
chained up a-la Princess Lea, “And these chains,
you were unable to break free you say.”

Buffy nodded, “They were conjured up for me like
all the stuff there. The clothes I was wearing were
the only things they had to go out and buy.”

Willow piped up at this, “Spike bought clothes?”

Buffy turned to look at her friend, “Yeah, he did.

Leather pants too.”

Xander’s eyes glazed over even more. Buffy in
leather. Yum.

“Well damn B, bet you looked hot in that!”

Xander was still off in dreamland, “Yeah, why
didn’t you come see us in that?”

Giles attempted to gain control of the room once
more, like a schoolmaster over a room of unruly
students that wished nothing more than to discuss
the present going-ons of each other, “Let’s please
move on from her attire. Now, what happened,
exactly?”

Buffy had already explained this but she was used to
Giles needing her to repeat the story over and over.
“The referee talked and his voice was magically
amplified,” Giles scribbled furiously at that. “He
told them to begin fighting and sat back down to
watch as Angel and Spike fought. Spike tricked
Angel by pretending he was injured and knocked
out his knees so that he was able to get Angel in a
vulnerable position.”

Giles looked up, “You say that Spike tricked
Angel?” Buffy nodded. “And at the end of the
challenge the victor is allowed to kill the defeated?”

Buffy nodded again, “All the demons around were
cheering for him to rip Angel’s head off but instead
he just threw him to the ground and went over to the
podium and took me out of there.”

Willow looked like that was the most romantic
thing she had ever heard, “Just like Prince
Charming, only, evil and undead.”

“That must have been hot, having two guys fighting
over you.”

Buffy paused for a moment, “I think it was as much
about Spike and Angel’s conflicts as it was about
me. Those two have a lot of history and I think this
had to do more with their past than me. I just think I
was the breaking point where Spike took something
Angel thought was his.”

Giles finished making hurried notes in his book
concerning the fight and referring to the conflict
between the two vampires before he stood up. He
took off his glasses and started polishing them, “I
think that’s enough for right now. I have a
fascinating night tonight in the books concerning
these two. If you would like to help me you could.”

Xander shot up at this, “That’s it? Wow that was
short.”

“Well, we still have research to do. I’d like to know
more about the relationship between those two
when I make my entry.”

Xander stood up and stretched, “So research time. I
guess I’ll go get the sugary supplements.”

Faith and Buffy nodded before Buffy picked up her
jacket and they headed out. They weren’t really
needed there ane their talents weren’t really suited
for the sedentary nature of the library. They were
hunters, they needed the night air and the thrill that
came with the hunt.

Heading out into the night the two of them tried to
widen their perception. They searched out with their
senses for their pray, seeking them out from among
the shadows. If they found one they set into pursuit,
no longer a thing human but more like a cat. Their
muscles moved languidly and smoothly beneath
their skin as they pursued and caught their prey.
They pounced upon it swiftly, killing it before it had
much of a chance to react.

The dust settled around the two of them. Both were
flushed slightly and their breathing was slightly
elevated. However the fight had calmed them both
somewhat, satisfying their immediate need for
violence which pulsed through them as Slayers.

“So B, this Spike gy. What you think.”

They turned and started walking through the bone-
yard, calmly aware and secure in the knowledge of
their power. Buffy pushed her hair behind her ear,
“He’s just, Spike. It’s really weird how he’s just
decided to be a white hat all of a sudden.”

“But he didn’t kill Angel. He must be really hot on
ya’ if he let the guy live.”

“Why you say that?”

“When I came back into town last night I swung by
Willie’s, you know, here what had gone down while
I was away. First thing I hear is about your boy,
Spike.”

Buffy didn’t let her curiosity show too much. She
wasn’t afraid of letting Faith know of her interest
but she didn’t want to sound like a schoolgirl eager
to hear about her crush. Keeping her voice casual
she asked, “What about him?”

“All the demons are talking about that fight he had
with Angel. He’s all they were talking about. It
seems that they all expected him to kill Angel.”

“Any reason?”

Faith shrugged, “Apparently it has to do with the
fact that there was so much bad blood between
them. The demons kept on talking about how the
two of them had been fighting for over a hundred
years.”

Buffy shrugged, she knew about that. She had
inferred that the two of them were not real close the
year before when Spike came to her for help. His
attitude implied that what was happening was not a
first-time occurrence. He acted like a man, not
outraged by a first betrayal, but who had seen one
too many.

Faith continued, “Plus now it seems that Spike is
some sort of legend. They act like he’s the most
amazing thing since sliced bread.”

That surprised Buffy. She had known that Spike
was esteemed, but she didn’t know that it was to
that extent. “Really? That’s...”

Faith smiled, “Cool, huh? I’ve never heard of a
vampire that was treated like that. I’d like to meet
this guy. Hey, B, is he hot?”

“Well...”

She felt it then, he was close by. Her body ached in
that way that had become familiar to her since that
night he had bitten her. She felt the need to run out
to him but she held back. Her mind wavered in her
conviction to not go to him, and she called out to
him, “see for yourself Faith. Spike, come out.”

Faith’s head turned as Spike seemed to melt out of
the shadows. He stood there, an arrogant smirk
upon his face, “Hullo, ladies.”

Buffy tried to look annoyed, but a small smile
played at the corners of her lips. He had earned her
trust when he had chosen not to kill Angel and had
begun to worm his way into her kindness when she
woke up next to him that morning with a headache
and he had tended to her. “How long have you been
listening, Spike?”

He pretended to look shocked, “Why pet, I can’t
believe you! A gentleman would never eavesdrop
on a ladies’ conversation!”

“Yes but whoever accused you of being a
gentleman?”

“I’ll have you know that I was brought up a perfect
English gentleman.”

“Coulda’ fooled me.”

He chuckled lightly, taking a few steps forward to
come closer to the two slayers in the cemetery. “I
was only there a few minutes, honest.”

“So this is William the Bloody. Dang, B, you didn’t
say he was this hot!”

“You must be the new Slayer.”

“Yeah, that’s me. Called about a year ago. Name’s
Faith. I’ve been hearing a lot about you around town
lately.”

“And I’ve heard a good bit about you. Makin’
Sunnydale your home base now?”

Faith shrugged, “It’s a place to hang when I don’t
feel like bein’ anywhere.”

Buffy looked at him, “So, why you out tonight?”

“I wanted to check up on my woman, is that a
crime?”

“Please Spike, there has to be another reason.”

He chuckled, “You know me too well. I’ve come to
issue an invitation. You and the slayer-ettes. All of
you, come over to my house tomorrow night to
watch movies and consume sugar-covered snacks.
All are welcome except for the poofter.”

“What’s the occasion? Why are you inviting us?”

Spike looked down at her, this was the little spitfire
that he had wanted to be with him for all eternity.
He would have her, he knew. “To apologize for
terrorizin’ you last year, to show that I’m acceptin’
of you blokes, and all that rot.” He pause for a
moment, “Plus I got some stuff I’d like to tell you
and the watcher.”

She smiled up at him, “I’ll tell them. I’ll be there at
least.”

Spike turned to Faith, “You comin’ too?”

Buffy looked at her, imploring her to come, “He’s
got a big screen TV. Plasma screen and everything.”

Faith shrugged her shoulders, “How could I resist a
big screen TV. Yeah, I’ll be there.”

Spike looked down at Buffy again, “That’s great,
I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

She smiled up at him, “Yeah.”

He smiled and ran his hand down the side of her
face, cupping it lightly in his palm before running
his thumb along her bottom lip. He pulled back,
turned and melted back into the night.

Title: The Hunt
author: spikegirl7
email: spikegirl7@hotmail.com
rating: I have no clue
Summery: The group gathers at Spike’s house and
he tells why he’s changed to Giles and his mate.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Buffy, but I do own Tionne.
Please give me feedback, I don’t bite (much)

“Yes, gratuitous violence, my favorite. Buffy, hand
over the popcorn.”

The gang had congregated in Spike’s living room in
front of the TV and had selected Total Recall from
the vast selection of movies that were available.
Cordelia had objected, but put to a vote it won out
with Spike, Xander, Oz, Fait, and Buffy voting for
Shwartzenegger while Willow and Cordelia voted
for The Princess Bride and Giles searched for the
scotch.

Now they had all settled in around the giant TV
with a plethora of snack foods and sodas as they
watched Arnold shove the needle that held a chair
arm to the body through a technician’s head. Xander
shoveled popcorn into his mouth as he sat on the
floor by the chair Cordelia had situated herself in,
entranced in the movie. Oz sat in the other armchair
with Willow on his lap while Buffy, Spike and Faith
sat on the couch. Giles was still searching the
kitchen for the scotch.

The gang had gathered here with some trepidation at
coming to the house of a vampire. However when
they had seen the TV the guys had been won over
with that. Cordelia had found herself impressed by
the decorating (although she wouldn’t admit it) and
Willow had been won over by the snacks. Thus they
had all decided to stay and watch movies granted
that the two slayers were there.

So they had settled into the living room and were
watching scenes of gore and bloodshed. Giles
moved into the living room after a while and pulled
a chair over from the dining room to sit next to
Cordelia’s chair as he took in the movie with
distaste. For the next two hours or so they sat and
watched the screen flicker.

Buffy was more content than she had been in days.
The calling ache that had been present since the bite
was soothed by the presence of Spike sitting beside
her holding the popcorn. They were sitting so that
his feet were on the coffee table and her feet were
tucked beneath her and her knees were against his
thighs. The contact soothed her to no end.

Spike’s touch was like magic. His claim made her
burn when they were apart. Though she wouldn’t let
her friends know she needed him around to calm the
storm he had left there. It was probably part of the
claim that he had placed on her but she didn’t care.

Spike’s actions had endeared him to her. She
wanted to believe him. He had spared Angel, and in
the time that she had known him he had always
been true to his word. He had taken care of her
when she woke up in his bed with a terrible
hangover and from what she could tell he hadn’t
taken advantage of her the night before.

And now he was indulging one of her favorite
habits, the watching of violent movies with
inordinately large amounts of junk food.

Spike smiled down at the small girl sitting beside
him. He was here to protect her. He could see that
she had been hurt before and he didn’t want that. He
would tell her and the watcher tonight the cause of
his change. They would know the reason that he had
finally come to see the light.

He had always been attracted to her. Ever since he
saw her dancing that night, her body swaying with
the music. She had exuded innocence like a flower
did its scent.

Spike had been angered when his sire had taken that
from her. The bastard had run off with some of her
innocence that would never be returned. Angelus
had been blessed then that Spike had been confined
to his chair, because Spike’s anger would have
turned destructive otherwise.

But as she sat her beside him now he could still
sense so much innocence in her. She had been hurt,
yes, but not destroyed. She was still young and she
would endure. He would see to it.

As the movie rolled to a close the scoobies stood to
leave. They all thanked Spike for his invitation with
reassurances that they should do it again sometime.
On her way out Willow stopped by Buffy, “Tell me
tomorrow about the rest.” With that she too left
leaving Buffy and Giles in the house with Spike.

Spike moved back to the couch and motioned the
two others to take seats. Buffy move to sit next to
him. Giles hesitated a moment.

Spike noticed, speaking up to reassure the man said,
“Don’t worry watcher. I think it’s about time you
knew what caused this change.”

Giles moved into the room further, “Yes, I had been
wondering about that.”

“You want a pen? This story is one you might want
to remember.”

“No thank you, I’m sure I’ll remember it fine.”

Spike sighed, “Okay, then. It was last summer...

South America

The air was hot and thick. The scent of spices filled
the air, the smell not from any cooking herb but that
of the flowers that bloomed all over. The ground
was a soft red clay that lost its tint slightly in the
dark of the night. Above millions of tiny pinpricks
of light shone down and the moon hung lazily.

The place where they were living was on the
outskirts of a small town. The demons there were
living freely since there were fewer people to hide
from. The people of the village kept to themselves,
not venturing far from their homes.

Spike was out on this night, staring up at the sky.
He pulled smoke from a cigarette into his dead
lungs and blew it out again, watching the cloud
form and then dissolve into the night sky. He was
thinking.

He had taken Dru out of the country. Angelus was
gone and he had her back. This was what he wanted.
Although she was a little distant at times things
were as they should be.

So why was he out here? He had his woman back,
he’d left Sunnydale, and he’d left the slayer to
almost certain death. For some reason he felt
unfulfilled.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts of the
blonde slayer that he had left behind. There was
something about her that made him wish that he had
stayed. She was different.

A sound floated through the air and caught his ear.
This wasn’t the incessant ramblings of his dark
princess. This was something different all together.
He threw his cigarette away, moving to the source
of the sound.

There was a clearing a few feet away. Standing
there in the center was the source of the sound. It
was a tall woman with almost white-blonde hair.
She was singing. It was otherworldly.

She stopped and looked at him and Spike realized
that she couldn’t be human. Her eyes were purple
and seemed to look right through him. They seemed
too old to be human. For the first time as well he
noticed that her ears were slightly pointed. She
smiled lightly, “Hello.”

Her voice was musical, like the chiming of bells. It
floated around him. He stared at her, taking in her
voice and form before replying, “Um, hello.”

She laughed lightly at his awe. It was like wind
chimes, that sound. “I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced
myself. I am Tionne. You might say I’m an Angel.”
She shrugged, “Well actually, I’m the Angel.
There’s only one. And I’m her.”

Spike stood there, aghast. He didn’t doubt her for a
second. But why would she come here to see him?
He struggled to find his voice, “Well, I’m Spike.
And I’d like to know what you’re doin’ here.”

“Now that’s a good question, isn’t it. I’m here to
help things along.”

This sounded ominous. Whatever it meant he did
not like the sound of it. “What does that mean?”

Tionne turned and looked for a moment before
finding a rock jutting up from the ground. She
turned back to Spike and sat down on it. Looking up
at him she started, “I’m old. I’ve been here since
before this world came into being and I’ll be here
after it putters out. I have watched ages come and go
and I foresee all that will come and I’ve kept my
nose out of it for quite some time. However this
time I thought I might intervene.”

“Why this time?”

She shrugged, “Didn’t want to for the longest time.
But I’ve finally got fed up with a few things and I’m
putting them to right.”

“Well that sounds all right and proper but where do
I come in?”

She smiled, “As I’ve said, I have foreseen all that
will be. I’ve seen hundreds of possible paths, some
of them in which you die, and none of them satisfies
me. You’re here to right the world.”

Spike really didn’t like the sound of that. That
sounded suspiciously like joining the side of
righteousness and all that rot. That wasn’t so bad in
and of itself, but his sire had done that and he was
no Angel. “You got the wrong vamp here.”

She shook her head, “You mean Angel? Hah!
Please, if I wanted someone like him I’d be
recruiting a neanderthal. Sweet guy, but he’s going
about it all wrong. I think you’re the one for the
job.”

“I’m hard-pressed to deny such a lady, but I don’t
think so.”

“I know what you’re feeling Spike, and this is the
path for you. You’re empty inside. You feel
unfulfilled. You want to go back.”

“How can you know that?”

“I’m omniscient, I told you that. I’m going to give
you what you want, that feeling of completion, of
wholeness. Plus, I’m going to throw in that Slayer
you lust for.”

It couldn’t be that easy. It couldn’t be. “What’s the
catch?”

She shrugged, “No catch. You go and claim your
slayer.”

He looked at her skeptically, “It can’t be that easy.”

She half smiled, “I guess you’re right. You will
have to leave Drusilla, as you know. You’ve been
thinking it for a while, haven’t you?”

He knew she was right. Dru was tiring him. All this
time she had been distant, and it was different than
it used to be. She looked at him now like he was
some criminal, something to be loathed for taking
away her daddy. He had begun to question staying
with her.

She saw the look in his eyes and knew she was
right, “Also, you’ll have to start helping her, the
slayer I mean. Fight the good fight and what not.
And you’ll have to give up hunting.”

He knew there was a catch. Nothing was ever easy.
“That’s a lot to give up. What do I get in return.”

“You will get a feeling of completion. You will
have a warm mate who will be with you forever.
You will get to walk in the sun. You will not be
affected by crosses, stakes, or holy water. You will
not need an invite to enter a house. In short you get
to keep all the perks of fangs and immortality that
come with the whole vamp package but you don’t
have any of the downsides. All this you get with a
new mate.”

Spike looked at her skeptically. This was terribly
tempting. However, “The Slayer’s gonna get old
and die, even if I am around. What then?”

“And this is why I need you.”

“You want me to turn her?”

She shook her head, “No. When the slayer line was
created to fight the forces of evil and protect the
world from the abominations we thought that there
ought to be some... rewards for taking up such a
large burden.”

She paused for a moment, considering how to
continue, “I suppose you hear how no Slayer lives
beyond the age of 25. How the Slayer is always
alone. You know all that rot. Do you know why all
these qualifiers exist?”

Spike shrugged, “Hazard of the job.”

She shook her head, “Not at all. They’re artificially
imposed. All slayers are isolated and trained to be
isolated by their watchers. This gives them little or
no will to live, as you know. So at this point it’s
unlikely that the girl will live long.”

She sighed and continued, telling Spike the reason
why there was no slayer who had lived past twenty-
five. She told him all that he had suspected and was
still somewhat surprised to hear. She finished
relating and looked back up to him.

“You understand now, you have to protect her. In
thousands of years this is the first slayer who’s
come close to realizing her gift, that I gave her.
She’s the strongest in hundreds of years and the first
who’s sought out her gift without knowing what it
was.”

She saw his eyes and smiled. She knew already.

Chapter 10
“Thank you.”Title: The Hunt
author: spikegirl7
email: spikegirl7@hotmail.com
rating: I have no clue
Summery: After the story...
Disclaimer: Well, in my dreams I own them, but not
for real
Please give me feedback, I don’t bite (much)

A/N: I love Giles, I really do. He was going to be a
good guy, but the story kinda wrote the council into
a bad light. So um. . . sorry. I’ll try to redeem him
later.

They sat in Spike’s living room, having just heard
the last of his story. Spike looked to the two of his
guests to gauge their reactions to his story. He knew
there was going to be something to be said now.

Buffy’s eyes were tearing up. It couldn’t be true.
She turned to her watcher, “Is it true, Giles?”

Giles seemed a little flustered, “Well . . . ”

“Is it true? Is it true that the council kills all slayers
once they reach the age of twenty-five? Is it true?”

Giles had the decency to look abashed, “Yes it’s
true.”

Her eyes teared up, “Why?”

Giles drew in breath, “As Spike said, slayers
naturally don’t die, they’re immortal. When the
council came into existence our first priority was to
help the slayers protect the world. We trained them
the best that we knew how. The job of the council
was to keep the slayers alive.” He paused, letting his
words sink in before continuing. “For a while that
was the sole purpose of the council.”

“What changed?”

“It began when the council noticed some of the
slayers that were living longer. Some would grow to
be thirty or forty years old. However they would
seem to be no older than their mid twenties. They
realized that slayers would reach their peak in their
early twenties and would stop aging, as Spike has
already related.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“The council believed that if the slayer knew about
their agelessness, they would question the authority
of the council. They might seek their own way and
deviate from what the council wished. We couldn’t
have that. So, to insure the authority of the council,
we made sure that no slayer would ever come to
know of their own immortality.”

“And the other parts, about the way that vampires
and slayers are closely related?”

Giles nodded, “Another reason we had to hide it.
How could we tell women to kill those beings
which are so closely related to them and the only
creatures with whom they can mate?”

Tears were flowing silently down her face now,
“When were you planning on telling me this? Or
were you? Were you just hoping I would die before
it got time for that?”

“Buffy I-”

Spike stood up, sensing her distress, and knowing
that there was no more information that the watcher
could give them this night. He walked over to the
other man, “I think it’s time you left.”

“Well I. . .”

Buffy was in tears by this point, “Just go, Giles.”

Giles stood up, affronted. He stood up and glared at
the vampire before gathering his coat and leaving
the house, the door slamming behind him.

As the sound reverberated through the house Spike
rushed over and knelt by his woman, drawing her
into his arms. He rocked the weeping woman
gently, hoping that the contact would soothe her.

“How could it be? I trusted him. How could he have
kept that from me?”

Spike’s heart broke for the small girl in his arms. He
really had nothing to offer as comfort. “I’m sorry
pet. I wish it wasn’t so.”

He rocked her gently as her crying died down. He
shifted as her crying died down so that he was
sitting on the couch holding her on his lap. He felt
torn, she had needed to know, but the knowledge
had hurt her so much. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have
told you.”

She shook her head, which was still buried in his
chest, “I’m glad you did. It’s just that I trusted him
so much.” She looked up at him and smiled weakly,
“Thank you for telling me.”

“Of course pet.”

She tried to smile again, “Imagine, I’m gonna live
forever. You’re gonna be stuck with me for the rest
of your un-life.”

He chuckled at her attempts at lightness, “Yeah, luv.
I am at that. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She sniffled and looked up at him, “Spike, could I
stay here with you tonight?”

“Are you sure that’s wise, luv?”

She nodded, “I want someone to comfort me. Could
you do that?”

His heart melted. How could he refuse her? “Of
course luv, anything you want.”

She sniffled again, “Thanks.” She collected herself,
sniffing lightly and drying her eyes with the back of
her hand, before looking back at him. “So, you
really left Drusilla for me?”

“Well, yeah. As I said, I felt empty after I left. I kept
thinking about you.” The slayer snuggled down into
his arms, listening to him speak. She looked so cute,
he thought. “All that I could think of was how you
looked when you were dancing. I thought about how
intensely you fought. Never been anyone else like
you.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“Not at all. Why else do you think the angel chose
you? You’re special. When I thought that you might
have died here by Angelus’ hand, it just didn’t sit
well with me. Don’t know what the world would do
without you in it.”

The slayer sighed, snuggled into his chest. He heard
her breathing deaden as the stress caught up to her.
He decided that he ought to keep talking, since it
seemed to be calming to her. “Do you remember the
first time we met? You were in that club, dancing.
Even then I could feel you, that you were like no
other slayer. You seemed so beautiful and so
powerful out there. And yet at the same time you
seemed so innocent. God how I wanted that
innocence. You have no idea how jealous I was of
anyone who was near you.”

Her breathing was slow and deep now, drifting into
sleep. He looked down at her, “You have no idea,
even back then I was protective of you. I knew that
was wrong but I wanted you. I couldn’t bear the
thought of anyone hurting you.”

The slayer’s breathing was deep and she was most
definitely asleep. He smiled down at her and kissed
the top of her head, pausing to draw in the scent of
her hair. Lifting her up into his arms for the second
time in three days and carried her into his bedroom.
He set her down and then slipped in next to her,
smiling when she turned in her sleep to curl up
against him.

**********

Buffy woke up refreshed and completely content for
the first time in over a week. She was aware of
where she was and who she was with. She knew
why her body was so calm and not screaming out in
protest as it had been doing for the past week.

She shifted closer to the body next to her. The arm
around her waist tightened and she sighed.

“Morning luv.”

“Morning.” She looked up at the vampire next to
her. He was looking at her with half-opened eyes,
still heavy from sleep. “Thank you Spike, for letting
me stay.”

He smiled faintly, still not quite awake. “Anytime.
Now, what do you plan to tell your friends and your
mum?”

“You mean about me spending the night?”

“I was referring to the topic of conversation last
night, but if you prefer. . .”

“Oh, that.” She sighed, “I guess the whole truth.
Especially mom, she ought to know. Although I’m
not sure that they will all believe us.”

“We could ask Tionne to tell them.”

Her head snapped up, “You could do that? I could
meet her? Really?”

He shrugged, “We could request her presence. She
is very busy and I’m not sure she would come. But
yeah, we could.”

“You mean, she might not come if we called her?”

He held her close, “Don’t worry pet, I’m sure you’re
friends will understand and I’m sure they’ll believe
you, even without divine intervention.”

She shook her head, “You don’t know Xander.”

“I think I know enough, pet. He’ll come around. His
first priority is to you, no matter how his methods
may seem otherwise.” He tried to comfort her,
knowing that this would be a sticking point with
her, “Besides, I think he’ll be more angry with your
watcher than he will be ready to believe that I’m
lying arbitrarily.”

She settled down against his chest. He was probably
right anyway. She toyed lightly with the fabric over
his chest. “Spike, I really liked this. I think I would
like to do it again.”

“You mean discovering painful secrets and
alienating more people?”

She glared at him, slapping him lightly. He
chuckled, “I know what you’re talking about luv. I’d
love it if you could stay here more often. We’d have
to talk to your mum though.” At her nervous look
he said, “Don’t worry, luv. Your mum’s a good
lady.”

“She really hated Angel, though. I’m not sure how
she’ll feel about you.”

“Well, having the person her daughter was dating
introduce himself by telling her that he had made
love to her and then try and terrorize her is not the
way to win hearts and minds.” He smiled gently,
“I’m sure that if I stay away from that, she’ll
understand.”

(A/N: it's short, i know, I ran out of ideas for how to
continue the chap. Ideas?)

Chapter 11

In one of the buildings in the small downtown of
Sunnydale was the mayor’s office. A building of
neo-classical design, it stood with all the pomp and
dignity that the style had held for a thousand years.
The white marble columns gleamed in the sunlight
while the rest of the building was of red brick and
glass.

In the second story above the imposing stairway
were the offices of Richard Wilkins III, mayor of
Sunnydale and founder as well. He had seen a
hundred years with the town, a hundred years since
he had signed over his soul for a chance at
immortality. He had shook hands with the devil and
had never looked back.

Mayor Wilkins looked to the future. He had no time
for regret. His plans were ambitious to say the least.
He sought and he planned to get.

And at the moment he planned to get his little
yellow golf ball into that damn hole across his
office on a fake green. He set his feet square and
shifted his weight. He leveled the head of his putter
on a line with the small hole and drew back, letting
the club swing forward to contact the ball. The ball
rolled across the floor and skimmed the left side of
the hole, sadistically refusing to go in.

“Oh, gosh darn it. You know, I’d sell my soul for a
decent short game. But I guess it’s a little late for
that, eh?” He laughed, a high pitched annoying
sound.

His assistant next to him stuttered, trying to break in
but fearful of doing so. Over the time that he had
known Wilkins he had seen some horrible things.
He had considered turning over to the other side a
time or two but the things he had seen kept him in
line.

“I know, I know. So, we have a Spike problem,
huh?” He walked over and retrieved his ball.

“He c-c-came into town a week or so ago, according
to sources at Willie’s and other places. He’s taken
up residence at a private house, we’re not sure
where yet.”

“Well, we better find out then. Shouldn’t we?”

Here was about to come some bad news, and the aid
knew it. “W-w-well, it seems that we can’t.”

Wilkins straightened up from his position about to
take another put, “Well why gosh-darn not?”

“It seems as if the place has w-w-wards around it,
preventing any uninvited from looking upon it.”

“Like the home of the order of the Pheonix?”

“Yes s-sir.”

“I love that book.” He bent over again, taking a
good look at the ball he was hoping would go into
the hole this time. “So, we can’t find him at his
home. Do we know what he’s been up to?”

The aid flipped through a notebook he was holding,
“Um, yes. He’s been making quite a stir with the
demon community. Apparently he has participated
in the tournament of Aarok-mar.”

That caught the mayor’s attention, “Aarok-mar, the
challenge tournament. Are you sure?” The aid
nodded. “Who with?”

“Angel.”

“Did he kill him?”

“Umm, no. Apparently it created quite an upset.
They were fighting over the claim on the Slayer and
it was expected that Spike kill Angel. The fact that
he didn’t leaves Angel humiliated and degraded
among the demon community.”

“They were fighting over claim to the Slayer?”

“Yes.”

“Well, this is unexpected. And he didn’t kill
Angel.” The aid shook his head. “Well, this is
unexpected. Claiming a Slayer. The Slayer of
Slayers has claimed a Slayer, how ironic.”

“Umm, sir.”

“I know, we have to deal with the Spike problem.
This thing with the warded house does present a
problem though. And the fact that he has claimed a
slayer.”

“Sir, what does claiming entail, exactly?”

“It means that she is not going to want him hurt.”
He drew back his putter again and let it swing
forward sending the ball towards the hole again. It
missed to the left. “It also means that he is not going
to want her hurt.”

“Sir?”

He retrieved his ball and brought it back, readying
himself for another put in. “We’re going to have to
figure a way to get rid of this problem. This is a
crucial year. We can’t have a loose cannon rock the
boat.” He pulled back his putter and hit the ball. It
sailed across the floor and into the small hole.

“Should I send a committee to deal with the
problem?”

“Yeah, go do that.”

*******
Buffy walked nervously through the halls towards
the twin doors of the library. She had called a
meeting of the Slayerettes to let them know what
was going on. They needed to know what had
happened and know what the score was.

Perhaps meeting in the library had not been the best
idea but it was the only place she could think of that
was reasonably private. They had to hear the truth
and it wasn’t something they could do in a very
public place. So the library had seemed like the only
possible solution.

She pushed open the double doors to see her friends
milling about. Giles was not with them, she
assumed that he was in his office since the library
was not locked. If he was not out here talking to
them they couldn’t know about what had happened.
They also wouldn’t be turned against her by his
Council rhetoric.

Xander and Willow turned to look at her as she
walked in while Cordelia, Oz, and Faith still stayed
off in their own worlds, concerned with their own
issues. Willow smiled, “Hey, Buffy!”

She smiled weakly, “Hey.”

Willow’s face fell slightly, “What’s wrong? Is
something wrong? Can we help? I mean if
something’s wrong we can help. That’s what we’re
here for, to help you.”

“No, everything’s fine. I just gotta talk to you guys.”

Xander looked over at her, “You gonna tell us about
what happened after we left the other night?”

“Yeah.”

Cordelia tossed her head as she filed her nails,
“Why do we have to be here, then. I mean, it was
fun and all but I don’t want to know about what you
do in your personal time.”

“There’s some stuff that Spike told me that I think
that you guys need to know. Something really
important.”

Xander shifted slightly, settling his elbows on his
knees, “He tell you why he’s decided to go all white
hat then?”

“Yeah, but there’s something else too that concerns
your safety.”

“Well, what is it then?”

She drew in breath, “Spike told me and Giles that he
was contacted by an angel called Tionne. She talked
to him and told him that it was his destiny to come
here and to protect me and to be a force for good.
She told him a bunch of stuff about how the world
was in trouble and how I was needed and that if he
helped me he would be happy.”

She paused, drawing in breath. Willow looked at
her, “I’m guessing that that’s not all.”

Buffy shook her head, “The angel said some other
stuff too. Scary stuff.”

“Like what?”

“About the Council.” She stopped for a moment,
steeling herself, “Apparently they’ve been doing
some very bad stuff.”

Faith gave a small snicker, “No kidding, what kind
of stuff?”

“You know how slayers all die young?”

Everyone in the room nodded, Oz spoke up, “Isn’t it
just a hazard of the job?”

She shook her head, “Apparently slayers live
forever. Spike said that the angel told him when
slayers were made she thought there ought to be
some compensation for the girls who were chosen
so she made it so that they stopped aging when they
hit their peaks in their mid-twenties. In this way
they could live forever and never deteriorate with a
mate who would stay with her forever.”

Willow and Xander looked stunned, Faith was
looking at her expectantly, and Oz’s eyebrows were
somewhat higher than usual, “Woah,” Willow felt
like breaking the silence.

“Yeah, woah.”

Xander spoke up, “But if she’s supposed to live
forever with her mate, would that mean that the one
she chooses gets to be immortal too? Cool!”

“Not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Slayers are a lot stronger than ordinary people as
you know. Their mates, they have to be just as
strong or stronger. So slayers’ mates are usually
vampires.”

Well that caused quite a stir, she thought. Cordelia’s
head shot around and Oz’s eyebrows actually went
all the way up. Willow’s mouth hung open as was
Xander’s and Faith was smirking.

Buffy continued, “Spike told me that the council
saw this as a threat to the order of things. They
believe that if slayer’s found out reached this stage
that they wouldn’t want to fight by the council’s
rules. They would be hard to control.”

“As if we’re easy to control as is.”

Willow looked at Faith, “You didn’t meet Kendra
though, she was like a machine.”

Buffy spoke up again, “So the council felt
threatened. They decided that to keep control they
would eliminate any possibility of the slayers
finding out. If the slayers don’t die fighting demons
by their twenty-fifth birthday, the council kills
them.”

Faith flew into a rage, “I KNEW IT! I knew there
was something up with those suits! Ever since they
found me they’ve been all over my back trying to
change the way I do things. Trying to take all the
fun out of life. I shoulda’ known they were up to
something like this!”

Xander was sitting there with cold eyes, “Spike told
you this? Why should we believe him? It’s probably
another trick to turn us against each other. I mean
he’s tried to kill us so many times and now he wants
us to believe that Giles, a guy who we’ve always
trusted, is the bad guy?”

Buffy turned to him, “I believe him.”

Xander looked up at her, “Oh really? I’ll bet he’s
making it all up. I bet it’s all lies!”

“It’s not! Giles was there. He confirmed what Spike
said about the council.”

“Oh really? And what about this angel, huh? You
think that’s real too?”

A voice came from the back of the library, “She is.”
Angel walked out from the stacks. “The story about
the angel is true. Tionne does exist.”

“So you’ve seen her too then?”

He nodded, “When I was brought back from hell, I
wasn’t really coherent. But there are a few things I
can remember. One of them was a woman with
purple eyes who called herself Tionne. This is who
Spike is talking about. She’s the angel that controls
much of what goes on in this world.”

“Then why hasn’t she done anything before?”

“She’s quite busy, there’s only one of her. The fact
that she’s shown up now means that something big
must be happening.”

“Well maybe Spike’s making it up, he’s probably
heard all this before.”

Angel shook his head, “Impossible. There’s been no
record of her, and the only people who’ve met her
are for the majority dead by hundreds or thousands
of years.”

“Well I don’t care! I still don’t trust him!” He stood
up a bit and took a few paces before beginning his
tirade anew, “And what about this council thing.”

“Giles confirmed that it was true.”

“So what? They’re the good guys. They run the war
against demons. They’re regular humans who
dedicate they’re lives to the war against evil. They
deserve some respect!”

“But to kill slayers?”

“If that helps in the war I say go ahead! This is war,
and if my time as army guy told me anything it’s
that in war there are always casualties. The way I
see it is that the slayers have to be put down before
they turn traitor by joining with the things they’re
supposed to kill in order to keep the wold safe and
whole.”

Willow tried to break in, “Xander, it’s not right.”

“Look at the world Will. It’s still here, isn’t it? Still
in good shape? It hasn’t been destroyed through all
the times that demons have tried. And the council
has made sure of that. If they’re methods keep the
world rotating then I say stick with what works.”

Everyone in the library was staring at him. Willow
drew away. After a moment a low rumble could be
heard from Angel’s throat, “You’re lucky Spike
isn’t here. As much as I don’t like him I wouldn’t
stop him from tearing out your throat right now
because the only thing that’s stopping me is my
soul. Now get out.”

Xander stood there with the coldest eyes. Faith
looked over to him, “I think you should leave now.”
Xander still didn’t move.

Angel growled, lunging forward and catching the
boy by his collar before dragging him roughly to the
door and throwing him out. Xander flew into the
hall and into the lockers opposite the door. Some
jocks saw the big man throw him into the wall and
snickered lightly before moving on.

As Angel returned Buffy was near tears and Faith
was standing there with empty eyes. No one knew
what to say. Faith finally shook herself out of her
trance enough to go over to Buffy, “Come on, B. I
think you and I need to go take a walk.”

Buffy nodded, being led out the door by the darker
slayer, leaving the rest in the library to digest what
had just happened.

Oz finally broke the silence, “Wow, well that was a
bit of excitement.”

At that point Giles came stumbling out of his office,
bleary-eyed and smelling of alcohol. He was met
with a slew glaring and disgusted eyes. “Oh bloody
hell, did I miss something?”
**********

Hours later after the sun had set Buffy was out
patrolling the cemeteries. After the meeting in the
library Faith and her had headed towards Buffy’s
home where her mother had just returned from her
buying trip. After relating the events of the past few
days the three women had sat in the living room
eating junk food and watching TV until the sun set
and the two slayers would be able to take out their
aggression elsewhere.

The two slayers had left the house then split up to
vent their own frustrations and muse in solitude.
Buffy had headed into Roanoke Memorial Park as
she started her patrol. She hoped that some vamp
would come up for her to fight.

Surprisingly thought it was pretty quiet out that
night. She only came across one fledgling who put
up only a small fight before he was blowing in the
wind.

Disappointed and still full of energy that she had yet
to find an outlet for she walked through the
cemetery. She was lost in her own contemplation
when she felt a familiar presence behind her. She
stopped, “Come on out, Spike.”

He pulled himself out from behind a tree where he
had been watching her for the moments before she
had called him out. Through their bond he could
sense the tension and anxiety that flowed through
her, and he walked forward and wrapped around her
waist from behind. “What’s wrong luv?”

She sighed, relishing in the calm that his touch
brought her. The claim still had the effect on her
that left her aching for him and his touch. She
sighed, making no move to escape the hold he had
on her, “I told the gang about the council today.”

He sensed some distress from her through the bond
as she mentioned the meeting with her friends that
afternoon. He tightened his arms around her waist,
“I’m guessing that didn’t go too well.”

She shook her head, drawing strength from the form
behind her, “Most of the group was really outraged
when I told them about it. Angel even came out at
the end and verified your story when they tried to
say that you were lying about Tionne.”

Spike grunted, “Gonna hafta’ thank ‘im for that .
Right decent thing for him to do. Now, what do you
mean by most of the gang?”

She leaned back into him, “When I told them most
of them were just appalled at what the council was
doing. But Xander didn’t take it at all like we
thought that he would. He said...” here she broke
down, tears staring to leak from the corners of her
eyes, “he said that the council was right to take such
measures in order to keep control and to keep the
world intact.” She was letting the tears roll freely
down her face now.

Spike turned her around in his arms and drew her
against his chest, letting her cry into his shoulder.
He was shocked, he hadn’t expected this. He had
assumed that the boy’s feelings for the slayer would
come through to outrage at the council at this. He
hadn’t thought that the feelings of jealousy would
manifest themselves this way.

He tightened his arms around her, trying desperately
to bring comfort to the weeping girl in his arms. He
gave out a low grown from his chest, “I’m gonna
kill that boy. Slowly and painfully with lots of
torture.”

Buffy sniffed, “Angel threw him into some lockers
across the hall.”

“Good. Boy needs someone to teach him a few
things and to deal out some pain to his worthless
hide.”

Buffy sniffed again, pulling back slightly to look up
at him, “Spike, we can’t trust him anymore. What
are we going to do?”

“You’re gonna die.”

A vamp had come up behind the two of them as
they had been talking. He was dressed in cargo
pants and an ugly-as-hell jacket over a sea-foam
green shirt.

The slayer rolled her eyes, pulling out of Spike’s
arms and putting her hands on her hips as she faced
down the vampire that had dared to interrupt them
while they were having a moment. “Oh, please. I’ve
heard that line so many times it’s lost all real
meaning. What makes you think you can do any
better than them?”

The vamp smirked, “I got help.”

Vampires began appearing from the woods around
them. They drew themselves into a circle around the
pair in the middle. Finally they all settled down.
There were about ten of them in all. The lead vamp
spoke up, “We were only told to kill Spike here, but
I guess the Slayer will be an added plus.”

Buffy turned back to look at Spike, “Who did you
piss off this time?”

He shrugged, “Dunno luv. Not anyone I know has
enough influence to pull this off though.”

The vamps around them growled, “You should have
never come back Spike, there’s a new boss in town
and they got some stuff goin’ down that you can’t
screw up.”

“Now when have I been known to muck up plans.”

Buffy rolled her eyes, “Oh please, Spike.”

Spike looked around, “Sorry folks, but this is my
town again. I’ve come back and I have no intention
of leaving it this time. So you can tell your boss to
piss off unless he wishes to fight me face-to-face
like a real man.”

The vamps around them growled and attacked.
Three of them went for Buffy while five went for
Spike. He managed to duck as one of them swung at
him, catching them and using their momentum to
send him into another two.

Unfortunately one of them managed to get a punch
to his back and he stumbled. He spun around and
received another to the jaw. The next he blocked,
drawing the vamp forward to smash his fish into his
nose, breaking it before digging a stake out and
shoving it into his chest.

The three that had gone down were getting up now
and came at him together. He brought around a
roundhouse to two of them then quickly recovered,
grabbing the third and punching him in the solar
plexus before slamming his knee into his
opponent’s face. The vamp fell to the ground
clutching his face. Spike broke off a tree limb and
staked the vamps coming towards him before he
returned to the one on the ground and shoved the
branch through his chest.

Before he could make another move searing pain
laced through his body. He looked down to see a
crossbow bolt sticking out from his chest while the
remaining vamps disappeared back into the night.

Buffy was finishing up the three vamps that had
come at her when she heard the twang of a
crossbow. She looked over at Spike to see the
crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest. She quickly
dusted the remaining vamp and rushed to his side.

She grabbed his just as he began to fall, bringing
Buffy to her knees. She looked up at the arrow that
looked like it had pierced his heart, “Oh god,
Spike.”

“Pull it out luv, please.”

She looked into his blue eyes and gripped the bolt
sticking out from his chest. She closed her eyes and
pulled, expecting his to explode into dust and
surprised when he didn’t. Instead he howled and
slumped unconscious in her arms.

She threw the arrow aside, shaking his gently,
“Spike? Spike wake up. Please Spike!”

Tears were running down her face again. She had
lost her friend today, she was not going to lose
Spike too. Oh god, please don’t let him dust.

She stood up, wrapping his arm around her
shoulders and her arm around his waist as she
struggled to carry him. She had to get him inside.
She had to get him somewhere safe. She turned to
her house, bearing the heavy male with her, hoping
that he wouldn’t turn to dust from some bit of wood
still left in his heart.

A/N: don't worry, I'm not gonna kill Spike. We haven't
even seen him naked yet!

There will be character death though (not Buffy or Spike,
don't worry, I like fluffy endings) so be warned.

Reviews make me write faster!

*******

Buffy struggled under the weight of the unconscious
Spike. She was moving as fast as she could towards
her house but he was heavy and hard to carry. She
had to get him back to her house where he would be
safe from both those out to kill him tonight and
from the nearing rays of the sun.

She rushed to her house where she would be able to
bandage him up. He needed bandages and blood.
Please don’t let him dust, oh God, please. She
hoped that the scent of his blood didn’t attract other
opponents to them.

It was a miracle he hadn’t dusted. Buffy was still
expecting him to deteriorate into dust and scatter to
the wind at any moment. She hoped that he stayed
whole, that he didn’t die.

Oh God, don’t let me lose him now.

She rounded the corner and her house came into
view and she let out a cry of relief. Oh God, please
let him make it. She dragged him up the stairs to her
door and pushed it open, feeling the tension ease
from her body. She was here, he was inside. He
would be safe. She closed the door behind her with
her foot.

The sound of the door closing caught the attention
of Joyce, who had been making herself some snack
in the kitchen. She called out, “Buffy, that you
there?” No answer followed as the Slayer was too
winded to raise her voice to call out and the
condition of the vampire had deafened her to all
else.

Joyce walked out into the living room to see her
daughter, her face streaked with tear tracks, carrying
a man towards the couch and setting him down.
Joyce gasped, recognizing the man. She rushed
forward to help her daughter.

She could see that the man on her couch was
injured. There was a dark stain on his shirt and
blood was caked on his hands and the hands of her
daughter from where she had been carrying him.

Buffy was removing the jacket from Spike and
found her mother’s hands helping her sit him up. As
she pulled off the jacket and threw it aside Joyce
asked, “What happened to him?”

Buffy’s voice almost failed her as she struggled to
answer her mother’s question, “We were fighting
some vamps in the cemetery. They ganged up on
him and shot him with a crossbow bolt. Then he
passed out.”

Joyce was silent. She had puzzled out last year that
this man in front of her was a vampire. After Buffy
had left that night last year she had thought for a
long time over the events of the nigh. She had
assumed, along with other things, that the man she
had seen that night was a vampire.

And she had heard the two girls that afternoon.
They had told her about the meeting in the library
and Joyce had felt for the pain and betrayal that her
daughter must feel.

She had also heard about the vampire her daughter
called Spike. Buffy had told her about the claim,
and about the things Spike had told her. Spike had
in effect given her daughter information that could
save her life and had come to watch out for her
safety. She had been appalled at what she had been
told about the council, and about the response that
her so-called friend had given her out of jealousy.

Now as she watched Buffy remove the bloodied
shirt from the vampire she safely assumed was
Spike she could see the affection for him in her
daughter. Genuine worry and concern shown in
Buffy’s eyes for the man she had carried to safety.

Joyce saw the wound on his chest now that his shirt
was gone. It was a deep hole with red swelling
around it with blood flowing from it. Quickly, she
went into the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit
before rushing into the kitchen and grabbing a knife,
bringing the items to her daughter.

Buffy looked at her mom and gave her a weak smile
in thanks before reaching into the kit before drawing
out the bandages and a towel. Carefully she wiped
the blood off his chest, picking out any remaining
splinters she found in the round wound. After
cleaning him off she placed clean gauze over the
wound and taped it down.

That task completed Joyce cleaned up the bloody
towel and his ruined shirt and took them into the
kitchen where she tossed the towel into the sink
where it wouldn’t stain anything else. She took the
shirt into the laundry room and pulled out a pre-
treater and began to spray it on the stain, hoping to
get rid of some blood before putting it in the
machine.

Buffy looked down at the still-unconscious vampire
laying on her mother’s couch. The immediate
danger was gone, since the wound had been cleaned
and all remaining splinters had been removed. Idly
she stroked his hair, she had been so worried that he
would dust and be lost to her forever. The fact that
he hadn’t surprised her and relieved her. But still he
looked paler than he should.

During the last fight one of the vamps had clawed
her and had managed to cut open her forearm. Spike
needed blood. There was no bagged blood in the
house. And slayer blood would help him heal faster
than pig’s blood. With the knife she had used to cut
the bandages she cut into the healing skin of her arm
and held the bleeding wound to his lips.

For a moment there was nothing from the blonde
vampire. Then came a gentle sucking on her wound.
Buffy could have wept for joy. She held her arm to
his mouth as the pulls at her blood grew stronger.

The sucking on her arm suddenly stopped and his
blue eyes opened. She pulled her arm away and he
wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his
hand, licking the last drops from there as well.
Slowly he sat up, wincing at the pain in his chest.

“I think you should rest, Spike.”

“And I will, just wanna be sitting up while doing
so.” He pulled himself into a seated position,
turning so his legs were on the floor in front of him.
He motioned for Buffy to come up and sit next to
him.

She crawled onto the couch on his uninjured side.
She threw her arms around his neck and pressed
herself to his body, clutching to him as if afraid he
would disappear. He wrapped his arms around her,
drawing her closer to him. “I was so worried about
you, Spike.”

“It’s ok luv.”

She was crying into his shoulder now, her sobs
shaking her body, “I was afraid you were going to
turn to dust right in front of me. I could have sworn
that the arrow hit your heart. Then you passed up
and when I shook you nothing happened. You
wouldn’t wake up and I thought...”

Spike took her face in his hands and brought his
mouth down on hers to quiet her tears and to
reassure her. Her mouth was soft under his. He
tasted the salt on her lips from the tears that had
been rolling down her face.

His kiss was gentle and firm. His kiss was a
reassurance, that he was still there and that he
would always be there. It told her that he was ok.
His kiss was a promise that he would stay with her
and wouldn’t dust any time soon.

He pulled back to look down at the dazed eyes of
his girl. She needed to be reassured, and he was
going to give her that, “I’m not dusting anytime
soon, luv. As long as you’re here in this world I
can’t dust. I would never leave you behind.”

Another tear had escaped her eye as he told her this.
He bent his head down and gently licked it up
before returning his mouth to hers. He licked at her
lips, asking her for entry and she complied, letting
him in. Her tongue came out and danced with his
and she could taste her won tears on him.

This kiss was a bit more forceful than the last one.
He claimed her again with his mouth on hers, his
savagery and possessiveness coming across. He let
her know that she was his and he wanted her more
than anything.

Spike pulled away from their kiss letting his woman
breathe in panting gulps of oxygen. Spike moved
down to her neck, nipping and worrying the skin
there with his blunt human teeth. He moved over his
old mark and licked at it gently.

Buffy felt him at her neck and she knew somehow
what it was he wanted. She tilted her head to the
side, giving him better access to his old mark. She
trusted him there at her neck, and she had given him
a sign of that trust.

Spike growled and let his face shift to the sharp
planes of his demon form. Gently he bit down into
the skin at her neck, reasserting his claim on her. He
took a long pull on her blood and drew back, licking
the wound closed with his rough tongue. He
growled out, “Mine.”

Buffy wasn’t sure exactly why, but his bite was
reassuring to her. The worry she had felt ebbed
away as he drank from her. His bite made her feel
safe, an irony that was not lost on her. As he pulled
away she felt something else and it almost
overwhelmed her, “I can feel you now.”

He nodded, “Second part of the claim, luv. You
willingly let me in, and now I’ve bonded us
together. You’re stuck with me now, no getting
away from it. You’ll always be able to sense me and
I’ll be able to sense you. You never have to be alone
again.”

Buffy was so happy. She jumped at Spike and
wrapped her arms around his neck. Ever since her
father left she had been afraid of people leaving her,
developing into quite a nasty abandonment issue.
Now she had a promise from someone that he never
would. She was overjoyed.

**********
I watch her every night. Her guardian angel, so to
speak. I stay in the shadows and watch her as she
fights, making sure she’s safe.

I haven’t approached her. Not since I lost her. Lost
her forever. She can never be mine. Not so long as
he lives. She’s lost to me as long as he lives.

But still I watch her. I watch my light, my love, my
life. Even beyond my reach she is my salvation and
my only hope. She is my reason to live, my reason
to be. Her face brought me through hell and restored
my sanity. She is the inspiration for my art.

She is my sun.

I love her. More than the stars, the grass, more than
my own life. I would give anything to see her smile.
Her laugh lights up the night and her smile is that of
an angel.

My angel.

No, not mine. Not anymore. His. His angel.

Why does he get her? I suffer for my sins, I walked
through hell, I have fought the darkness. What do I
get in return? Nothing. Shame. Knocked in the dirt
and my shining star stolen.

He doesn’t repent. He doesn’t suffer. He comes
back and decides that he wants her. He no longer
kills, but he doesn’t regret having killed. He is
rewarded, given the greatest gift of all without
anything in return.

She would have been mine. She should have been
mine. Mine to hold. Mine to love. Mine to cherish.
Mine forever.

I got the call from a monk in Romania. Too late. He
told me that he had anchored down my soul, that I
would be able to enjoy my life again. That I would
never have to worry about hurting those I love ever
again.

But that’s a moot point now. I was going to claim
her myself, once I got the word. I would ask her to
be with me forever. And we could be together, be
happy, like before her seventeenth birthday.

I cherish that memory while I curse it. I remember
how it felt to hold her in my arms. How she looked
at me with such love and trust as I moved inside her
for the first time. I remember how soft her skin was
and the taste of her skin. I remember clear as day the
heaven I found in her arms that night.

That memory burns into me. And I would have
claimed her, brought us together for all time. We
could be happy and content in our own heaven.

But it’s been snatched away now. I can’t even touch
her because of the feelings I harbor towards her. I
could never hold her as a friend, as a brother. She
will always be my heaven.

Even Angelus knew it. He wanted her, and hated
her for it. He wanted the pleasure that came from
her and he would have taken it, turning her and
changing her sun into the dark moon for his
enjoyment. He loved her as well he could in his
dark obsessive way and hated her for the feelings
she stirred.

So now I watch her from the shadows as she makes
her rounds. She moves so gracefully, so softly. I
watch her as she fights on, unknowing of the gifts
she has.

And so I saw her tonight. I saw him come up to her,
and hold her the way I wish I could. I saw the way
she sagged into the arms I hate and envy. I heard
him comfort her as she told him the pain she felt
inside.

And I saw the fight. I saw how they distracted her as
they tried to kill him. I prayed as I watched that they
succeeded, that he would die and free her from him.
Let me have her again. Let me hold her.

And so the crossbow bolt struck his heart, and the
group backed up thinking he would dust,
unknowing of the claim that protected him from
such and easy death. I saw her run to him and pull
the arrow from his chest before he passed out. I
watched her carry him to her home.

I followed her. I watched over her. I fought off those
who were coming for the blood of my childe. I
couldn’t let them hurt her. As much as I hated him
they would kill her to get to him. I could never let
them get her.

As she got to her house I watched through the
window as the two women cared for him. I watched
as they bandaged him. Why does Joyce accept him
so readily? Why does she heal his wounds while she
shuns me? What has he done that makes him worthy
in her eyes?

And I watched as my angel cut her arm to feed him.
I watched as she gave him that precious liquid that
filled her veins. I saw her do that for him.

And she went into his arms. My heart seemed to
break as she threw herself into his arms. I wish
more than anything that it was me who held her as
she cried. I wish it was me who dried her tears. I
wish it was me who she turned to and felt safe.

And he kissed her.

He kissed my angel, my heaven, my paradise. He
took my life from me with that kiss. Once again my
heart ripped in two as I watched him dry her tears
with kisses, kisses I wished I had given her. Kisses I
couldn’t give her. Kisses with a promise, with
desire. And I hate him for it.

And then he completed his claim. She’s his now, in
truth. Never mine. She gave her neck to him, let him
bite her. He has made her his again. And he will
never let her go.

She’s lost to me forever. As long as he lives she will
feel him through that bond. He will always be a part
of her, so long as he walks this earth.

So long as he walks this earth.

Now as I sit here in my home, staring at the fire and
drinking myself into oblivion I find myself thinking
of her. My angel. In the arms of the man I hate the
most.

I want to make her happy. I want to see her smile. I
want to hold her in my arms once more, to feel her
soft skin and the firm muscle. I want her to be mine
once more. To hold, to have, to love and to cherish.

But he has her. He holds her when she cries. He
wipes away her tears. He kisses her fears and
worries away. And he will get to make love to her.

So long as he walks this earth, I cannot have her.

He claims her. She’s his now. The claim he has on
her protects them both. They feel each other. He
will know her feelings. She will know his. I wish I
could be that close to her, to have a part of me with
her always, never alone.

I cannot have her.

I will have her.

My heaven, my angel, my Buffy. I will have her.
She will be mine and we will be happy. We will
find that heaven together once more. I will have my

paradise, I will hold it in my arms once more.

Once he no longer walks this earth.

His claim protects him. It lends him strength. He
will not die by stake and he will be able to stand in
the sun for a few minutes before he burns. If he
mates with her the sun will never burn him.

So how do I remove him from this earth? How do I
take back what is mine? How can I get what I want,
what I need to keep going.

Once he no longer walks this earth, she will be
mine.

My love, you will be mine. We will be together
once more.

I love you Buffy.

***********

Giles sat in his office, staring through his drunken
haze at the telephone. He’d been in a drunken state
for the past few days since his slayer threw him out
of Spike’s house. Now he sat in a stupor looking at
the phone wondering whether or not to call
someone.

And he knew who to call. He’d call the council.
Yeah, that’s what he’d do. That would show her!
He’d tell the council!

But he’d be betraying Buffy. Buffy, who was like a
daughter to him. He loved Buffy even though she
had found out about the plans of the council. She
was endearing in her own way.

But she’s the one that drove him to drink. She was
the one who knowingly disregarded the council.
She’d doubted him, thrown him out and now put
more trust in a soulless vampire than she did in him.

He’d show her trust! He was a good man! Not
Spike, never Spike.

He picked up the phone, and pushed the numbers he
knew well. He listened to it ring once, twice before
someone picked up. “Hello, this is Mr. Giles. I’d
like to speak with Missster Travers please.”

He waited a moment, “Yesh, I’m quite aware of
that, thank you.” He waited a moment again as the
secretary connected him.

“Hello Mr. Travers! What.... Yes, I am quite drunk,
thank you....Why am I calling, you ask? Well, my
slayer.... Yes, as I said before I know exactly what
time it is over there....”

He leaned back in his chair, spinning around once.
This tangled the cord around him before he realized
it and he turned back. “My slayer... Yes, Buffy,
her.... Yes sir, it’s news about her......No, I’m afraid
it’s bad news today....I WILL NOT WAIT TILL I’M
MORE SOBER!.....Sorry, Quentin.... Okay, I’ll tell
you now....

“She’s been frater- fraternizing with a vampire....
no, not Angel.... Spike.... Yes, that Spike..... He’s
claimed her, he’s told her about the council.... Yes,
she knows about her gift, to some
extent...........You’re welcome Quentin, always a
pleasure.”

He hung up the phone and stared at it for a while.
That’d show her! Now the council would come and
yell at her. He picked up his bottle of scotch and
took a deep swig. A few minutes later he had passed
out on his desk, his drool pooling around him.

****

Buffy walked into the school the next day feeling
much better. The feelings of longing that had filled
her since the first time Spike had bitten her were
gone because of the renewal he had placed on her
last night. She felt whole and complete.

She could still feel him, of course. He was back at
her house, sleeping. Her mom had sun-proofed the
guest room for him, insisting he stay so she could
keep an eye on his wounds, as well as wash the
blood-stained clothes. He had agreed, glad to move
as little as possible with the hole in his chest.

He was sleeping contentedly from what the bond
told her. He must be having some pleasant dreams
too, because he was giving off happy waves from
time to time. And his good mood, even in sleep,
was rubbing off through the bond to her.

She began humming absently as she went to her
locker and deposited the things she would not need
and picking up the stuff for her first period. Shutting
the door she caught Willow walking down the
hallway towards her. She waved to her friend, “Hey,
Wills!”

Willow caught sight of her and ran up to meet her,
“Hey Buffy. You’re in a good mood today. Any
particular reason?”

Buffy smiled and shook her head, “Nope. Just in a
good mood is all.”

Willow looked up at her imploringly, “Are you still
mad at Xander?”

Buffy shrugged, “A little bit, yeah. What he said
was really hurtful, but I’ll get over it. He has his
own issues to deal with and I won’t let him drag me
down into them with him. So let’s just enjoy the
day, okay?”

Willow nodded, “This good mood have anything to
do with Spike, pray tell.”

Buffy blushed, and turned away to hide it. “Maybe.
Sort of.” She deposited her stuff in a desk and sat
down.

Willow plopped herself down in a desk next to hers,
“So, dish girl. It’s share time!”

Another voice came from the seat in front of Buffy,
“Yeah, Buffy, tell us what’s the what.”

Xander had deposited himself in the seat in front of
the slayer. He cleared his throat, “Buffy, I’m sorry
about how I acted the other day. It was uncalled for.
I still don’t like the idea of you and that vampire,
but I still want to be your friend if that’s possible.”

Buffy sighed, “He’s a part of my life now, Xander.
You’ll have to learn to deal. I don’t expect you to
accept it, but don’t bring up your prejudices and
we’ll be ok.”

Xander nodded, looking again at his friend, “I’ll try
Buffy. That’s all I can promise for now.” He looked
between the two of the girls, “So you were about to
dish something before I sat down. What’s stopping
you?”

“Xander, class-“

“-Doesn’t begin for another five minutes. It’s still
only 7:05, the bell doesn’t ring until 7:10 and class
doesn’t really begin until the late bell rings at 7:15.
We have plenty of time. Dish!”

“Alright!” She let her eyes fall, “Last night Spike
was hurt in a fight by some other vamps. He was ok,
and I brought him home and patched him up with
my mom’s help.”

Willow broke in when her friend didn’t proceed any
further, “But I doubt that’s why you’re all good
moody this morning, is it?”

Buffy blushed a light pink as the events came back
to her and she felt another wave of contented
happiness roll through the bond, “Nope, not really.”

“Well then spill girlfriend! What’s with the
happiness and the blushing. Not that there’s
anything wrong with being happy. We like happy
Buffy. You should be happy. It’s your right to be
happy.”

“Yeah, Buff. Share the joy and tell us so we can
revel in it as well.”

Buffy was fidgeting with her nails, “After we
bandaged him up and he regained consciousness he
was really sweet. He told me that he would never
dust and that he would always be there for me. And
then we... he kissed me.”

Willow was almost bouncing in her seat, “Omigod
Buffy that is so sweet and romantic! Was it a good
kiss? I bet it was a good kiss. He’s been around for
so long I bet he can really kiss like anything. Was it
good?”

Buffy smiled, “Yeah, it was. It was sweet and he
was so good at it.”

“And when exactly did he bite you then?” Xander
asked.

Buffy’s head shot up, “So I was right then. Really
Buffy, did you think I wouldn’t notice? It’s there on
your neck, clear as day.” Buffy brought her hand to
her neck.

Willow gasped, “Buffy, he bit you? Are you okay?
Is everything all right.”

Buffy nodded, “Yeah, it is. That’s another reason
for the good mood.”

“How could him biting you serve to put you in a
good mood?”

“It’s the other part of the claiming bite. When he bit
me he stopped the craving and emptiness that I felt
since the first bite. Plus I can feel him now. There’s
this psychic link between us. And the coolest thing
was as he bit me it was as if he was draining all the
worry from me.”

Xander scoffed, “Yeah, I’ll bet it’s part of the
demonic power. Lull their victim into a sense of
security so they don’t fight back.”

“Xander!”

“Can we change the subject? This subject is getting
kind of tense for my liking.”

But Xander wasn’t the only one who had noticed.
Snyder had seen the marks on her neck as well as
she came into the school.

Snyder had long known about her status as the
Slayer. He knew there were good reasons for the
trouble that she caused but that didn’t stop him from
writing her up. He had other plans.

But he had been surprised to see vampire bite marks
on the Slayer as she walked into school this
morning. But it filled him with a sort of glee. He
knew what had been going on through his
connection to the mayor. Those were claiming
marks.

He rushed to his office and told the people working
at the front desk that he had an important call to
make and not to disturb him. He shut the door and
locked it. Walking over to his phone he pushed the
first number on his speed dial.

“Mr. Mayor, I have some interesting news for
you...”

Buffy was on her way home. School had been a
bitch, as usual, but it couldn’t be helped. It could
also be attributed to the fact that she had been
anxious to get back home. At least she hadn’t come
across Snyder all day. She counted her blessings for
that.

She could feel Spike through the bond. It seemed to
hum almost through her whole body. She felt whole,
for the first time.

He was anxious for her to get home. He was happy
that she was on her way. She could almost see him
in her mind, pacing. She knew he probably wasn’t,
he was probably on her bed playing absently with
something or other but she liked the mental image
pacing-Spike made.

She had filled her mind all day with thoughts about
him. How he was recovering, how her mother was
treating him, if he would need any more blood,
where he would keep his clothes, if she would need
to go by his house to pick some up. Yep, she should
probably do that.

She turned towards his house to get his clothes
before she went home. She sent a message through
the bond of disappointment that she would be kept a
little longer. She felt his irritation lightly come back
through to her.

She couldn’t read his thoughts, and he couldn’t
hers, but they could send feelings to each other. It
had been distracting all day when she would feel
him and his moods. He had chosen one point in the
day to wank off and she had felt that too. That had
been hard to explain why her face was red and she
was panting heavily in the middle of class.

The sun was setting over the horizon as she made
her way over to Spike’s house and the pale orange
glow that had settled over the streets like slow-
flowing molasses disappeared with the final rays of
the sun. Quickly with the sun gone darkness spread
over the land as the sky spread out her blanket of
stars on the world.

She quickened her pace slightly. She knew that soon
there would be all sorts of demons and vampires out
and she didn’t want to deal with slaying stuff right
now. She could if she had to, she supposed, but she
didn’t want to. Plus Spike would get anxious the
longer he was out. Not that she didn’t like an
anxious Spike, but the feeling of him in her head
would be too much.

Her vamp senses had been going haywire all day
long. They had probably been somewhat messed up
when Spike bonded her last night, since she knew
that vamps couldn’t be out during the daytime so it
must be a fluke. Still, she would have to get Spike
to help her with that. She wasn’t able to tell right
now what was Spike and what were other vamps.

As she thought on that a bit of worry crept over her.
Perhaps she should hurry a little more, if she
couldn’t tell if a vamp was near her it could be
dangerous for her to be out after dark.

Spike had obviously sensed her worry because it
was now reflected back at her. She tried to send
some encouragement through to him but she wasn’t
sure if it worked or not. She hoped it did, she didn’t
want him running out here after her if he was still
hurt.

She neared the street that Spike’s house was on. She
rounded the corner and almost sighed in relief as it
came into view. She was almost there now.

Since the sunset, however, she had acquired a tail
that had chosen not to make themselves known.
Young and inexperienced, they were hiding in the
shadows of the streets. Had it not been for her
messed up senses she would have known they were
there already.

But they had known she would not sense them.
They had been told that she would not be at full
potential this evening and had been told to make
good use of the time that they had.

Slowly they followed her, waiting for a while to see
if she noticed them. She didn’t. As she got to a
certain street it seemed that she relaxed greatly and
they knew that she was approaching a safe point.
They knew the time to act was now.

They emerged all around her, scaring her from her
sense of relief. Damn, but she hadn’t sensed these
guys! And there were at least six of them all around
her.

“Guys, this is really not a good night for this. I just
want to be on my way. Could we reschedule?”

One of them growled, “No, this is perfect. You’re
gonna be coming with us now.”

She scoffed, trying to sound sure of themselves,
“Yeah right, what makes you think that’s gonna
happen?”

One of the ones in front of her smiled cruelly, “A
cattle prod.”

Her face twisted in puzzlement before she felt a
shock to her back. Then everything went black as
she faded into unconsciousness.

One of the vampires who had been standing behind
her had held the cattle prod. Now he came forward
and nudged her with his shoe. She didn’t stir. “Do
we kill her now?”

“No, you heard the orders. We’re to bring her in
alive. He said if we killed her that he’d tie us all up
and let us watch the sunrise. Besides, we can’t bite
her anyway. She’s already claimed and bonded, and
we’d get in big trouble if we drank from her now.”

“So, we just bring her in then? You carrying her or
what?”

****

Spike had been pacing anxiously, waiting for Buffy
to return from school. Joyce had been nice and put
thick drapes up through the house so he was able to
move around freely. He was grateful to her for that,
she was a very nice lady.

He wanted Buffy home, now. He had been waiting
all day. The bond between them was new and this
feeling of separation was not good for him. He
wouldn’t be able to go with her until they were
mated so for the time being he was stuck here while
she went out.

During the past few weeks he had grown very
attached to her. He had always known that she was
remarkable but being close to her he was able to see
it more clearly. He thanked the angel that had come
down to him and told him to claim her. He had
someone who was his now, and who would never
leave him.

He had been able to feel her in his head all day. For
a while he had relished that, amusing himself for a
little bit by seeing how embarrassed he could make
her. But now as the sun was setting he was getting
worried as he sensed her unease through the bond.

She was trying to send him more soothing feelings,
but he could tell she was worried. He was worried
too. He had never heard of bonds between slayers
and vampires before, although Tionne had told him
it had happened. He didn’t know how they would
effect each other.

Suddenly he felt a great amount of fear come
through the bond. He straitened up immediately.
She was in trouble. He told himself to calm down,
that she was the slayer and that she could handle
herself. She would be OK.

Then there was nothing. The feeling in his head
stopped and he knew that she had gone
unconscious.

He jumped up, “Bloody Hell!” He grabbed his
jacket and rushed out the door, heading for the one
person who would know what to do. He might not
be the most reliable, but he would have the phone
numbers Spike needed.

Spike was pacing the library floor as the Scoobies
sat around warily. Spike had gotten Giles to give
him the phone numbers of the Slayer’s mates, and
he had called them telling them to come over to the
library immediately. He had told them little, only
that his Slayer was in trouble and he might need
their help.

It had been a chore to get the information out of the
watcher. The man had been passed out in his office
and very hung over. Spike could smell stale alcohol
on the man and it almost sickened him. It smelled as
if the man had been bathing in the stuff for almost a
week.

Now the gang had gathered in the library and were
discussing what could have happened to the Slayer
while Spike paced anxiously up and down the
library floor. All were assembled, including
Cordelia, who had yet to utter a single protest.

Faith was there as well. She looked at Spike with
sympathy and occasionally shot angry glares at the
watcher who was holding an ice pack to his head.
She was genuinely worried about the fate of the
only person who had shown any concern for her and
could completely sympathize with the anxiety that
Spike felt.

Cordelia spoke up from her seat as far away from
Xander as she could get, “You know it would help
if you could give us a little more to go on. How do
you even know that she’s in trouble, anyway?” She
had been rather distant from Xander ever since the
last time they had all been in the library together. He
no longer made her feel safe.

Spike growled, “I’d tell you if I knew more. All I
know is that she was out. She was coming home and
it got dark. Then I felt a surge of fear from her and
then nothing. She was knocked out. I won’t know
anything else until she regains consciousness.”

Willow spoke up, “So, what will you do when she
wakes up?”

He growled again. He was anxious, “I’ll know
where she is and in what kind of state.”

“You can tell all that through the claim? What if she
doesn’t wake up?”

His eyes flashed amber, “Don’t even think that!
She’s ok, she’s going to wake up and then I’ll find
her and tear to pieces the person who tried to take
her away from me.”

“I’m wondering how anyone was able to get to B
and knock her out. She’s a great fighter, one of the
best I’ve seen. She might be better even than I am.”

“Someone knew. They knew she couldn’t sense
vampires again yet and they took advantage of it.”

“What do you mean she can’t sense vampires?!?
B’s got the most acute vamp sense I’ve ever heard
of. How could that be on the fritz?”

Spike fell into a chair, “It’s my fault. My claim
threw off her senses. It was still new, she shouldn’t
have been out without me. I knew it would be like
this for a few days.”

Willow wanted desperately to comfort him, “Hey,
don’t be like that. You couldn’t have known that
someone would take advantage of it. I mean, it’s not
your fault.”

“So this is all Buffy’s fault. This is what she gets for
hanging out with monsters like him.”

Spike’s demon came to the forefront as he shot to
his feet. He was going to rip out the boy’s throat this
time, there was nothing stopping him from doing it.

“Now isn’t this an interesting little group meeting
here.”

Xander was saved from the wrath of Spike’s angry
demon by the arrival of a new person in the room
who now stood in the doorway of the library.
Principal Snyder was standing there looking at the
group and at Spike who was in full game face at this
point. And he was not flinching or starting as he
saw Spike’s demon, as if he had expected it.

“Who the bloody fuck are you?”

“You know, I really should report this unauthorized
meeting. And Mr. Giles, I see that you’re out of
your office. Had a bit much to drink, perhaps? I’d
fire you if I could, but as you know, my hands are
tied in that department. Otherwise you would have
been gone a long time ago.”

Spike growled. He didn’t like this man, “You
haven’t answered my question yet. Who are you?”

“Now, now, temper. If you were one of my students
you would be punished for such a show of
insolence. But then again, I don’t teach any
monsters or freaks at this school. At least, not
anymore.”

“What are you talking about?”

Willow spoke up, “That’s principal Snyder. Don’t
you remember him?”

“Well I remember you. You ruined my parent-
teacher night last year. I’m happy that I’ve removed
some of the corrupting influences that caused that
from my school.”

Spike lunged at him, pinning him to a wall with one
of his forearms, “What did you do with my girl?”

“Spike, what are you doing?!?”

Spike never let the arm slip from the grip on the
principal, “This worm knows what’s happened to
Buffy. He keeps hinting that she’s not coming back.
Haven’t you been hearing it? And I want to know
where my girl is and this worm knows what’s
happened.”

“Even if I do, what makes you think that I’m going
to tell the likes of you?”

Spike smiled maliciously, “I heard about what
happened to the last principal here. Eaten by wild
dogs, wasn’t he?”

Snyder’s face paled considerably as Spike
continued, “Now those were only wild dogs, after
all. Now have you ever seen what a vampire set on
mauling a person can do? I have. A hundred years
and you learn a few things. Do you know how much
blood there is in a man of your size? How many
bones can be broken before a man collapses from
the pain? I do. Wanna find out?”

“I’m not supposed to tell you anything. I was told to
wait...”

“Well then I suppose I should start breaking things
off. I’ve always wondered if I could remove ribs
from a person who’s still alive without them passing
out.”

“All right. The mayor sent some people out to
collect her. They knew you were back in town and
being friendly with the slayer and they thought the
two of you together would put a hamper in their
plans for this year. So they took advantage of the
new claim and took her.”

“And how, pray tell, did they know about the
claim?”

“I told them. She came into school today with those
marks on her neck and I knew what she had been
doing. It was obvious to anyone who knows what to
look for.”

“And where are they keeping her?”

“Downtown in the mayor’s office. They were going
to keep her out for a while and then wake her up,
letting you know where she is so you would come
down and they would kill you.”

Spike smiled, a cold smile that held no mirth,
“Congratulations. That was the right information.
I’m not going to torture you now.” Snyder breathed
out a sigh of relief.

Spike let go of the man and gripped each side of his
head with each of his hands. With a swift movement
he broke the man’s neck and let the body fall
uselessly to the floor, “That doesn’t mean I’m not
going to kill him for what he did to my girl though.”

He turned around to face the scared, and somewhat
admiring, Scoobies. “You heard what he said, didn’t
you? She’s at the office downtown. Pack up the
supplies, we’re going to get her back. Now.”

A/N: the last chapter had some violence that wasn't
too bad. This one is a bit more graphic with the murder.
Consider yourself warned.
*******

Buffy slowly swam to consciousness through the
darkness that enveloped her mind. Her head hurt.
Her back hurt, her whole body hurt. She groaned,
shifting slightly.

A voice spoke up, “Oh you’re awake then. That’s
super!”

She knew that voice. She had never met the person
it belonged to but she had heard it often enough on
TV when her mom would watch the news. She
wasn’t totally out of touch. Slowly she opened her
eyes and there in front of her was Mayor Wilkins
himself.

Buffy became more aware of her surroundings. Her
arms were chained behind her back and her ankles
were tied together. In her mouth was a wadded up
cloth and there was a strip of Duck Tape over her
mouth to hold it all in, acting as an effective gag.

The room was carpeted and the windows were
blocked out. The sun wasn’t up yet outside, she
could tell from the fact that no light came from
behind the blinds. That was good, it meant that she
had only been out a couple of hours.

In the room were a group of vampires, along with
Mr. Trick. They were standing about, as Mr. Trick
idly fingered some of the exotic objects that were
located around the room. There were only about
three others, not a real force just enough to make
sure that she was bound up real well.

In her head she could feel Spike. He was worried
about her. It seemed that her awakening had eased
him some though, she could feel a small thread of
relief flow through the bond to her. And
determination. There was a lot of that. He was
planning something. She thanked God for that.

She glared at the Mayor. He laughed at her look,
and picked up a glass that was sitting on his desk
that was filled with a deep red wine. He took a long
sniff and then raised the glass to his lips and took a
sip of it. “You know there’s nothing better than a
good wine. This is a blend from 1895. I’ve been
saving it myself for a very special occasion. I was
going to drink some at the opening of the new
Youth center next week but I thought this would be
more fitting.”

He raised the glass back up to his lips, “Delicious.
And fitting, to have such a great wine on the night I
get rid of the two greatest obstacles in my path to
greatness: you and your vampire mate.”

Her eyes widened at this. He was going to kill her
and Spike. But then...

“You’re wondering why I haven’t killed you yet.
Well it’s quite simple, little missy. I need you alive
so that your friend Spike will know where you are.
He’ll sense your distress and come to your rescue,
just like all those old fairy tales. Only this one
doesn’t have a happy ending.”

Spike could sense where she was through the bond?
Cool. Oh wait, not cool. He was going to get killed.
Not good. And the Mayor was still talking, “Right
now I bet he’s overcome with joy to know that
you’re not dead. He’s probably at his home rushing
off now to save you. Knowing how much he
distrusts people I’m guessing he’s gonna come
alone so he can seem more the gallant hero. I’m
thinking that I have a good hour or so before he gets
here.”

Buffy realized that indeed, she could sense where
Spike was through the bond. And he was not
at her house. He was a lot closer than that. Less than
a quarter mile, actually. And it didn’t feel as if he
was by himself either. That was comforting.

Wilkins took another drink out of his glass. “This is
excellent. I’d let you have some only you’re too
young. Perhaps I’ll let you have some after Spike
has been taken care of, just so you can get a taste of
this stuff. It seems a shame to go a lifetime, even
one as short as yours, without having a taste of good
wine.”

Something was happening with Spike. There was
more anger being transferred through the bond, and
it seemed as if he was under more physical stress,
too. He must be closer than she had thought.

A light flickered on the Mayor’s phone. He saw it
and pressed it to open the line. “What is it?”

A voice came through the phone, “Sir, it appears we
have a situation.” The voice sounded frightened and
as if the speaker was under a lot of stress himself.

“Well, what is it then. Hurry up, out with it.” He
was slightly annoyed at the interruption of his
enjoyment of a fine glass of good wine.

“Well, it seems that Spike is here a little earlier than
was anticipated, and he’s brought a group with him.
They’ve already killed the guards outside and are on
the way up right now.”

Wilkins released the button for the intercom. “Well,
this is unexpected.” He laughed, “You know, that’s
why I always admired that Spike, he’s so
unpredictable.”

He stood up and walked across the floor to where
the Slayer lay against the wall, “This throws a
wrench in my plans, but it’s nothing that we can’t
fix. Mr. Trick, would you take hold of our Slayer
here?”

“It would be my pleasure.” Mr. Tick came forward
and grasped Buffy’s arm, hauling her into a standing
position. Outside there was a scuffle heard. Spike
was right outside. Trick dragged Buffy to the far
side of the office across from the door and Mayor
Wilkins went behind his desk and sat down.

The door burst open and in came the Scoobies with
Spike in the lead, carrying a crossbow. The
Scoobies were breathing harshly, except for Faith.
The fight up to the office had been less than they
had expected it to be, since they assumed the Mayor
would know that they were on their way. But the
fight had still been hard on those without special
powers.

Spike saw Buffy across the room and his heart
soared. She was ok. He had known it before but
seeing it was a great reassurance to him. He rejoiced
that she was unhurt, mostly, and in one piece.

It did not escape his notice that she was being held
by Mr. Trick. His face, which he had managed to
keep in its human form, changed instantly and he
snarled at the younger vampire.

Mayor Wilkins spoke to the snarling vampire, “Ah,
welcome Mr. Spike. We’re so glad you could make
it. A little earlier than we expected, but no matter.
May I ask how you knew where we were?”

Willow, who was behind Spike, answered him as
the vampire’s sole focus was on Buffy, “Snyder told
us where to find you, um, sir. He walked into the
library and Spike made him tell.”

Wilkins frowned slightly, “Well that’s
disappointing. I thought that he would be able to
handle the responsibility that comes with a job on
the hellmouth. I’ll have to have a talk with him
about that.”

Willow answered again, “Um, too late for that.
Spike killed him.”

“Oh, well that’s just a dog-gone shame. He was
doing a great job with those young people.”

Spike growled. Trick was holding his girl in far too
friendly a manner for him, “Give me back my girl.”

“Ah, see that’s the thing, Mr. Spike. You and your
girl pose a problem, a complication in my plans for
this town. So my thought is to remove potential
problems.”

Mayor Wilkins reached into his desk and drew out a
pistol. Drawing it up he pointed it at Buffy and
pulled back the hammer. The click went through the
office.

“This is a very special gun I have here, Mr. Spike.
It’s not loaded with metal, which I know would be
useless to use on you. These are special bullets.
They’re made of wood and doused in holy water.
Very deadly to vampires. And of course the sheer
force would make them deadly to humans.”

He leaned forward, “Now someone’s going to die
right now, Mr. Spike, and who is up to you. I could
kill her first, making you watch before I kill you.
Or, I could kill you first and agree to keep her alive.
She’d have to be restrained and retrained, mind you,
but she’d be alive.”

Mr Trick spoke up, “Wait a second, that thing’s got
wood in it? And you’re planning on shooting her
while I’m holding her? That’s whack man, that’d
kill me.”

“Oh, Mr Trick, don’t be such a drama queen, it’s all
for the greater good.”

Spike saw an opening, “Shows what you think of
our kind that you’d be willing to sacrifice someone
who’s worked so hard for you just like that. Pretty
nasty if you ask me. But can’t say I can’t admire it.
Great leadership quality. I like that.”

“He’s got a point there. I’ve busted my ass working
for you and you’re gonna kill me so you can get rid
of some broad you don’t really need to kill
anyway?”

“Mr. Trick, don’t be like that. That’s what he wants
you to do, he wants you to get angry with me.”

“So what if he does, he’s got a point. How whacked
are you?”

“Mr. Trick, you will not move or let go of the
Slayer.”

“And get my ass shot with one of them poison
bullets? Forget that.” He let go of the Slayer,
shoving her in the direction of Wilkins and his gun,
using her body as a possible shield for anything that
the Mayor might do.

Spike shot the bolt that was loaded in the crossbow
he held, imbedding it into Mayor Wilkins right
shoulder. Wilkins howled in pain, his arm jerking.
The gun in his hand went off, and the scent of slayer
blood filled the air.

Spike’s face shifted. In a flash he was on the Mayor,
one hand gripping the wrist that had held the gun
and the other on the man’s neck. Spike’s demon
was enraged at the injury done to his mate and he
wanted to take out his anger.

The other vampires in the room had backed off at
the sight of the master vampire now on the Mayor’s
desk. They had heard of, and many had attended, the
challenge fight that had been held beneath the city
streets. They knew of what this vampire could do
when he was challenged. And now the Mayor had
harmed what the demon considered his.

Spike was in a haze of anger. He squeezed on the
wrist in his grip until he felt the bones crunch and
snap and blood flowed over his fingers. He jerked
hard and bone and muscle separated. Tendons tore
and skin came away as the arm was completely
removed from the body.

Giles had pulled Willow against his chest, shielding
her eyes from the gruesome sight. He had done it as
soon as the Mayor had shot Buffy. Xander had
turned away as well, when he saw what Spike had
planned to do. They didn’t fault Spike’s anger. They
even knew that they would have done as much if
they could have. But seeing it done was still
disturbing.

Spike’s hand was still around the man’s neck. He
shifted his grip slightly. He squeezed hard around
the front of the man’s throat, digging his fingers into
Wilkins’ flesh. Then he pulled his hand out fast,
pulling the man’s trachea with him. Blood flowed
over his fingers as the man gasped as he tried to
draw in air as he died of asphyxiation and blood
loss.

Only when Spike heard Wilkins’ heart slow and
stop did he calm down. He looked down at his girl
who was lying on the floor. Luckily she had landed
so she couldn’t see what had happened on the other
side of the desk.

Spike bent down over her and lifted her head in his
bloody hands. He pulled the Duck Tape off her
mouth and she spit out the wadding in her mouth.
He inspected her all over and found where the bullet
had cut into her left biceps as it grazed her when she
fell.

Spike was beyond relieved. He drew her into his
arms, pressing her against his chest. He began
purring quietly as he held her to him. She was going
to be ok now.

“Um, Spike, I’m ok now. I’m gonna be ok, you
don’t have to freak. But could you untie me.”

Spike drew back and crushed his mouth to hers in a
kiss that conveyed the relief and desperation he felt
for her. It was intense and demanding and as he
drew back she was panting for air.

He reached down and tore off the ropes that bound
her ankles. Then he reached around behind her and
tore off the manacles on her wrists. She brought her
wrists around and rubbed them, and when she
looked up he kissed her again.

He stood up, gathering her in his arms. “Spike, I can
walk you know.”

He was carrying her in his arms out the door, “I
know. I just want to hold you for a while. You’re
not leaving my sight again tonight.” He carried her
out the door as the vampires and Scoobies split to
let him pass through. He walked out the building
with the Scoobies following as he walked to his
home.

A/N: Woot! This was so much fun! Next part coming soon!
Later the group sat around in Spike’s living room
watching TV and eating the food he had in his
cupboards. They were enjoying their traditional
save-the-day-averted-bad-guy party. On the TV was
John Cleese’s informational video How To Irritate
People. They had felt that there was some comedy
needed after the bloody show in the Mayor’s office.

Spike had called Joyce when they had arrived at his
house and told her that Buffy was safe and with him
and would be spending the night over at his home
with her friends where he could watch her. Ever
since then he had not let her leave his sight. There
had been a few moments when he had to but they
were few and he would always look immensely
relieved when she came back. It was amusing for
the other people in the room.

To Buffy herself she wasn’t sure whether to be
amused or annoyed. She understood what he felt, it
was swimming in her mind. But she was all right
and the constant attention was somewhat
suffocating as well. Not to say that it wasn’t nice at
times though.

Buffy knew basically what had happened at
Wilkins’ office. She didn’t know exactly how gory
it had been but she had assumed that Spike had
killed him and brought her out. Willow and Xander
had only said that Spike had killed the Mayor and
Willow had said it was kind of sweet in a gross kind
of way. She hadn’t been able to say more as Giles
had covered her face. Xander was silent on the
subject, and Buffy was surprised that Spike was
letting him stay.

Through most of the night Buffy had not only
stayed in Spike’s vision but most of the time he had
made sure he was touching her. He had held her in
his lap, in his arms, for most of the night. He had
nuzzled her neck and stolen kisses from her during
the movie, assuring himself that she was still there.

Buffy thought that was sweet. She knew what he
was doing. He had been scared and anxious while
she had been gone and he was relieved that she was
back.

Over the course of the evening, however, he had
grown more insistent. He had held her in his lap for
most of the night, nuzzling her neck. His kisses
were becoming more heated and she was sure it was
only the presence of her friends that stopped him at
kissing her.

However the night wore on and her friends got tired.
Faith was the one to suggest they all leave and go
home, noting the two on the sofa and how Spike
was holding and looking at her sister slayer. She
spoke up as the movie ended, suggesting that they
all return home after the hard day. The Scoobies
agreed, all too tired and wrapped up in their own
worries to notice the couple on the couch.

Spike got up and escorted them to the door, Buffy
following behind him. They bid all of them a
goodnight as the Scoobies set out for their own
homes and Buffy almost believed that she saw Faith
pass a wink her way.

Spike was pleased to see them leave. He wanted to
spend some more time with his girl. He had felt a
need to touch her all night, to reassure himself that
she was there with him, safe and sound. Now he
closed the door behind the retreating forms of her
friends and turned to face his girl with a smirk on
his face.

Buffy saw the burn in his eyes and she almost
blushed. She could feel his desire for her in her
mind and she couldn’t deny that she felt something
of the same herself. She had been on his lap, kissing
him all night and had struggled with herself to keep
her rising hormones in check as her friends were
still in the room.

Spike rushed forward, pulling Buffy into his arms
again and pressed his mouth down into hers. He
kissed her with all the pent up desperation and
frustration that he had harbored all night, letting it
flow into her as he kissed her.

He plundered her mouth with his tongue. He
claimed her with his kiss, branded her, and burned
her all at once. He gave her all this and she gave it
back to him. She shared her own passion with him,
letting her tongue dance with his, tasting the musk
of tobacco and alcohol that seemed so masculine.

Their shared bond allowed their feelings to pass
between them. As their arousal grew it passed
between them, feeding on the arousal of the other
and building between them, until the small flame
had blossomed into a raging forest fire.

Spike pulled away from her mouth, letting her gasp
in air. He saw her lips and enflamed he dove back in
for more. He ran his hands down her body as she
grasped the back of his neck while letting her other
hand explore the contours of his back over the black
cotton of his T-shirt.

He reached her ass and squeezed her, pulling her
tighter against him. Through the material of his
pants she felt the hard length pressing against her
pelvis. He lifted her up, forcing her to wrap her legs
around his waist.

Never breaking the contact with her mouth he
turned and headed towards his bedroom. He
continued to pillage her mouth as he carried her
towards his bed. She clung to him as they walked,
holding tightly onto his shoulders with one arm as
she used the other to hold his head to hers, running
her hand through the soft white curls.

He reached his bed and fell onto it with her beneath
him, never breaking contact. He moved his hands
up her sides then propped his weight off her. He
took his mouth from her mouth and moved it down
to her throat and to her ear. He bit it lightly then
licked before blowing a cool jet of air to her,
causing her to give a slight shudder.

He felt her insistent hands at his shirt as she grew
anxious to feel the flesh that was hinted at under the
cotton barrier that divided them. Sitting up he
pulled it over his head, taking the time to undo the
buttons on her shirt, slowly drawing it off her body.
She blushed as the fabric came away and leaving
her bare, trying to cover himself up.

Spike bent back down to her and kissed her gently
on the mouth, moving down to her heaving chest.
He moved her hands aside, “You’re beautiful, luv.”
He kissed the base of her throat and the hollow
between her breasts before drawing one nipple into
his mouth.

The feel of him at her breast felt so good, and
caused her to forget the embarrassment that she had
felt. Her hands once again went to his body as she
held his head to her breasts, moaning as she felt the
sharp tug at her nipple send a shock through her
body.

Spike felt her tension melt away under his mouth.
He smiled, raising one hand to caress and knead the
neglected breast. He pinched the peak into hardness,
and the girl beneath him gasped. He moved back up
to her mouth, kissing her deeply.

Her hands traveled over his body. They skimmed
the smooth planes of his back, feeling the coiled
muscles there. She moved her hands around to his
chest and marveled at the flat smooth expanse of it.
Her hands went to his biceps and felt the hard
muscle that held him above her. The feel of his skin
sent a thrill through her at the strength and beauty of
the male above her.

Spike’s hand left her breast and moved lower,
popping over the button on her jeans before delving
beneath the abrasive fabric and the soft cotton of her
underwear. He drew back as his fingers found her
clit, stroking it hard and rhythmically.

Buffy gasped out as Spike found her clit, “God,
SPIKE!” Her body tensed up and arched off the bed.
Soon she was reaching her brink and she cried out
sharply as she tensed up, her body coming
completely off his bed and her back bending. Spike
found the sight of her enchanting.

Buffy came down from her orgasm and slumped
against the sheets, breathing heavily. Her body was
limp, completely relaxed in the glow that Spike had
put there.

Spike removed his hand from her and stood up,
removing her shoes and pants as well as his own.
He stood there for a moment, looking at her spread
out on the bed in front of him. He was going to take
her now, he knew, and he wanted to see her before
he did.

Buffy saw him standing there and stared at him. She
had never seen a man naked before, since her time
with Angel had been brief. This was the first time
for her and Spike’s body was amazing to her. He
was perfectly sculpted, from the hard planes of his
chest down to his muscular thighs and calves. His
cock stood out proudly from his body, long and
hard. She looked up to see his eyes and she turned
away, blushing.

She had to be the most adorable creature in the
whole world. And she was his. He had claimed her
and bonded her and now he was going to mate her.
He smiled at her as he caught her perusal of his
body, “See anything you like, luv?”

She felt the mattress dip beneath him as he moved
back onto the bed. She looked up again to see him
above her once more. She could feel his arousal and
adoration through the bond they shared and she
knew that he was receiving similar feelings from
her. She reached her arms up and wound them
around his shoulders again. “You bet I do,” she told
him before pulling his mouth down to hers.

Spike began to feel his own need build up. He
nudged his knee between her thighs, urging her to
spread them for him. They fell apart easily, allowing
him to settle his weight between them. He drew his
head from her lips and looked down at her as he
shifted into his demon face, telling her silently what
she was doing and what he planned to do.

She didn’t hesitate. She kissed him again and drew
him down to her throat, moaning as she felt his lips
and tongue caress the skin over her pulse. She felt
his cock nudge at her opening and wrapped her legs
around his hips, urging him to give them both the
union they so craved.

With one thrust Spike buried himself within her
heat. At that moment he buried his fangs in her
neck, laying down his mating bite and completing
their bond. He began thrusting in and out of her
slowly, letting her grow accustomed to his size,
knowing it was only her second time.

She moaned beneath him, arching her hips against
his and pulling him in deeper with her legs around
his waist. He growled from her neck and sped up,
driving into her body fast and hard.

Soon he was driving into her with ferocity. He
angled his thrusts, grinding his pelvic bone to her
clit with each thrust as he held onto her neck with
his teeth. Beneath him she moaned, gasping out
with each thrust he gave her.

He felt the pressure build within him and brought
his hand down to her clit. He stroked her, and she
came with the force of a dam breaking. She
screamed out his name as the pleasure washed over
her and broke behind her eyes. The feeling of her
clasping around him sent him over the head as well,
and he spilled his seed into her.

Around them swirled the forces of their union, the
mating process. As they came it blended their
essences, binding them together even further. It
strengthened their bond and melded their essences
just as their bodies melded.

Both of them came down from their highs and Spike
drew his fangs from her neck, licking the wounds

closed. He pulled out of the limp slayer and rolled
to the side, pulling her so that she was spooned
against his chest.

“Spike?”

“What is it?”

“You’ll still be here when I wake up, right?”

He pulled her tighter to him, “Always luv.”

***
there's your smut
By the by, Duck Tape is an accepted spelling.

Ch. 21,

Angel's POV

I've been watching her. It's like a drug to me
now, I can't stay away. Like a dying man to
water I am drawn to her. I need to see her, my
heaven and my only love.

I know that she would not want me to follow her
like this. I know that, yet still I persist. I have
been barred by the claim that was laid upon her.
I can only watch from afar, the forbidden Juliet
to my Romeo.

I watched the claim bloom, their bond. I wish I
was him, so bad. She looked so happy when he
bonded himself to her. I felt tears welling when I
saw her smile.

She needs assurance. She needs someone to be
there for her. She needs someone who will never
leave her.

I could have been that for her. I wanted to be
that for her. I want to hold her in my arms each
night, like he will get to. I want to walk in the
park with her and see her laughter.

And now he will be able to. I followed them
again tonight. I followed them to the offices
downtown. I smell the blood as Spike did what I
wanted to do. I could sense the death that came
from the building as he drowned in his own
blood. And for a moment I forgot why I hated
Spike so much and went in to join him, my
family, as I have done countless times before.

But then I smelled it. I could sense it. My heart
tore apart as they mated, as the light of my heart
joined forever to my childe, the head of our
family as the victor of our fight.

They're mated now. Forever and eternally. The
woman I love and Spike, a younger vampire. He
can walk in the park with her, hold her in the
sun. He can take her out in daytime and protect
her at night.

And my heart breaks.

God, I wish I was him. I wish she was mine. I
wish I could hold her in my arms again, just one
more time.

But I can't do it. I can't break them apart so
easily. Bound together forever.

It will take help to break them apart without
hurting her. It will take quite a bit to take her
back. And it breaks my heart at times to think of
a world without him it hurts me more to think of
my unlife without her.

She asks him to hold her. Asks him to be there
for her when she wakes. My heart breaks. I did
that to her.

And now I weep because of the pain I must put
her through again. But it must be done. I can't
go through my eternity without her.

I look to the window of his house, their house,
and whisper to their sleeping forms, "I love you,
so much." I leap down and disappear into the
night.

******

As Angel jumped down off the ledge outside his
window Spike opened his eyes. He had sensed
his grandsire following them. He looked down
to his mate asleep in his arms. There would be
some hard times ahead.

22
In London Quentin Travers sat at the head of a
large conference table before his employees and
colleagues. In front of each of them was a stack
of papers detailing what they had come there to
discuss. The mood was very grave. This was a
business they did not enjoy.

Quentin looked around the table, adopting an
aloof air as he spoke, "Fellow council members.
You all have some idea of why we are here
today. It concerns the slayer, a miss Buffy
Summers."

He flipped through the stack of papers in front
of him before continuing, "As you all know, it is
our job as the Watcher's council to maintain
balance and to battle the darkness that tries to
creep into our world. In this battle there is no
place for weakness, and some sacrifices must be
made for the integrity and strength of the
movement.

"As you know it is often our unpleasant duty to
cleanse the movement with the death of our
slayers. The girls are on the front lines and are
susceptible to the demon influence that we must
fight. It is our duty to make sure that when the
girls are taken by the evil of the demonic forces
they fight that we free their souls and give them
a rest.

"It has come to my attention that miss Summers
has become contaminated by the demon
influence. She is a good slayer and a strong girl
but I am afraid it is time that we retired her."

One of the female members spoke up, a woman
in glasses and her blonde hair tied back,
"Excuse me sir, but she is quite young, not even
eighteen yet. What could have happened to her
at such a time to question the integrity of our
proceedings?"

Quentin smiled lightly, "I'm glad you asked,
Ms. Bennet. I know that you are familiar with a
William the Bloody, your thesis on him was
quite brilliant. It seems that he has taken interest
in miss Summers. Now usually his practice
would be to hunt and kill her, leaving our cause
uncontaminated. However this time he has
claimed her, leaving her alive but in his
control."

A murmur went around the table at this. It was
out of character for William the Bloody to do
such a thing. But if it was true it meant that not
only had the slayer fallen victim to the demonic
element, but that William the Bloody had
become even more potent.

Quentin smiled internally at the noise that filled
the room. He was the only one among them that
knew the whole truth. If the slayers realized
their true potential he would lose control. They
would realize the uselessness of the council and
forsake their teachings.

Quentin had always been a watcher. He believed
in order and discipline. The fight against the
darkness required these things. One did not
dabble in darkness in order to defeat it. Such
was the nature of slayers. They could defeat the
darkness, but they must embrace their own to do
so.

And he simply would not tolerate such. The
move towards order must be kept pure, and to
do that he had to destroy the darkness before the
girls realized that their strength lay in it. And to
do that he must destroy those girls from time to
time.

Quentin spoke up again, as if to pronounce a
sentence, which in a way he was, "In order to
preserve the integrity of our battle we must
eliminate the threats that face us now. It is our
unfortunate duty to eliminate miss Summers and
William the Bloody."

A general murmur of approval went around the
table. The woman who had spoken before raised
her voice in question, "Sir, we all agree that
action must be taken with those two, but what
should we do about the other slayer, Faith? Is it
safe to leave her there?"

Quentin sighed, "Again, Ms. Bennet, you make
a very good point. The other slayer, Faith, is far
to dangerous and volatile to leave there, it is
true. We are also afraid that this vampire may
have contaminated her as well. It will be
necessary to question her upon arrival. If we
find that she has been contaminated by the
vampire or miss Summers, we shall also have to
deal with her."

Quentin looked over at Ms. Bennet. She was a
clever woman, and quick thinking. He liked
that. But she was often questioning and might
pose a threat in the future. He'd have to keep a
close eye on that one.

A man down the table raised a question, "Mr.
Travers, do we have a force that is capable of
dealing with a master vampire and two slayers?
This seems to be quite a challenge."

"Right you are, Mr. Taylor. In fact as many of us
know there is a special force we keep for such
emergencies as this. They are highly trained in
dealing with both slayers and vampires. They
have always been able to deliver results, and
have been told of the situation already. They are
on their way to America as we speak."

He turned to the papers on the table in front of
him, and pulled to one of the last pages, "Now,
I'm sure all of you are wondering about the next
slayer after miss Summers. If you'll look in your
packet you'll find a picture of one Jessica
Gardener, who resides in New York..."

Waking up in his arms had been lovely. She had
not had that experience with Angel before and
found that she enjoyed waking up like that. She
enjoyed the sure solid strength of his body, the
reassurance of his presence as she lay next to
him in his bed the morning after.

But the wonders of the day had not ceased there.
Spike had left the blinds open and the sunlight
was dancing lightly across their skin. When she
realized that he wasn't bursting into flame she
awoke him, and he had marveled in the sunlight
for the first time in over a hundred years.

They had dressed quickly and he had run
outside, almost giddy. She almost found it
amusing, to see a vampire reacquainting himself
to the world of the daytime. He stared at the
blue sky, the shadows on the grass, the colors all
around him.

An he watched her in the sunlight. Truly, he
thought, this must be the greatest gift of all that
the sunlight can give to me. He gazed at her lit
up in the early morning light, the golden sun just
cresting the horizon, making her seem to glow.
He grasped her in his arms and kissed her, held
this angel he had found in the sunlight.

They had gone to her mother's in the early hours
and surprised her with his presence. She had
been overjoyed for him, celebrating with him
the joy of his new discovery. She laughed and
smiled with them and when they felt hungry she
made homemade waffles while Spike grabbed
some bagged blood and drank it with relish, as if
also celebrating his still vampiric status.

Of course he had insisted in accompanying her
to school. Nothing else would do. And she
couldn't say no to him on such a day when he
had just found this new joy. She had agreed, and
they walked along, hand in hand to the high
school.

Spike had needed to check in at the office,
where he was pleased to meet the new principal
Mr. Bates, a tall man with a friendly disposition
who greeted Spike warmly and welcomed him
into the school, giving him a pass after Spike
had explained that he wished to accompany his
girl today as it was a special day for him and he
wanted to spend it with her.

Leaving the office both had decided that Mr.
Bates was a vast improvement over his
predecessors.

Arriving in class together they had stunned
Willow and Xander who had already arrived.
The two had been amazed to see the blonde
vampire at school, standing in the sunlight that
streamed through the windows. Xander
sputtered and stammered while Willow started
babbling incoherently.

Spike had shown the instructor his pass and
taken a seat next to Buffy. In the fifteen minutes
before class started many people had noticed his
presence, not knowing who he was. Many of the
girls had glared jealously at Buffy, who had this
handsome stranger doting on her. The guys were
in awe of this cool older guy who had captured
the most beautiful girl in school.

Classes had passed, with the teachers varying
reactions to the strange man who gave them a
pass to sit in their classrooms. Some of the
teachers scowled at the man they viewed as a
distraction, some smiled, thinking that it was so
cute how he was spending time with Buffy,
others were charmed by his manners and
knowledge. Any way he managed to make it
through the day with little incident.

Going to Giles office had resulted in one
flustered librarian. He had openly gawked at the
vampire who was standing fully in the sunlight.
He had scribbled notes down and had asked
various questions, some of which neither Buffy
nor Spike was willing to answer at the moment.
They had both been smiling when they left.

Until Xander came along.

The only damper on a perfect day was Xander's
reaction to the two of them together. He had
been making mean looks at Spike all day and
had been sent to the office for hitting him in the
head with a paper football.

Cornering them in the halls after classes let out
he demanded to know why Spike was there, and
why he could walk freely in the sunshine. "Why
the hell is he here?"

"Xander, Spike wanted to come, and I couldn't
see any reason why I should say no. He has no
evil plots in mind we simply wanted to spend
the day together."

"You've slept with him, haven't you? That's
why he's here, because sleeping with you lets
him walk in sunshine."

Spike growled, "Watch it, boy."

"You put us all in danger, letting a vampire run
around a school with unsuspecting kids in it.
Why? Because he slept with you and suddenly
he's all special. Now there's a vampire who can
walk and kill in the sunlight because you can't
keep your legs shut."

Spike lashed out and punched the young man
across the mouth, sending the young man to the
floor. Xander looked up at him, blood leaking
from a split lip to see Giles and Willow come
down the hall.

"My god, what happened here?"

"This asshole punched me, I told you he was
dangerous."

"I don't blame him." Mr. Bates came out from
behind a corner. "I only managed to catch the
tail end of what you said but it sounds like you
were treating these two most unjustly."

"Then you saw him punch me. Why don't you
kick him out!"

Mr. Bates shook his head, "I'm afraid I didn't
see that, so I have nothing on him. I'm afraid
that I must believe you did that to yourself in
order to get this young man in trouble. However
you were speaking to a visitor in a manner that
doesn't show that class that we expect from
people at this school. I'm afraid I'm going to ask
you to come early for the next week for
detention."

Mr. Bates turned away, giving a small smile to
Spike and Buffy before continuing down the
hall. Xander glared at them and pushed himself
up, stomping out of the school.

After that fiasco the two had returned to Buffy's
home. She had found that he was very helpful as
he gave her tips with her homework and she
found herself finishing it quicker than usual, and
absorbing more of the knowledge than she had
with Willow's often off-topic tutoring.

They had sat together on the sofa downstairs,
watching television and cuddling while they
waited for Joyce to come home. From time to
time they would exchange kisses that would
linger until they completely forgot about the TV,
stopping only when the chime of the clock told
them that Joyce would soon be there.

Joyce had again been more than happy to come
home to find both her daughter and the man who
had saved her baby waiting for her at home
watching television. She had grown fond of
Spike and even knowing his past she felt
eternally grateful for what he had done for her
daughter, earning her esteem and favor.

The three of them had sat down to dinner, each
throwing smart remarks and Joyce felt more
happy and complete than she had since she had
left her husband. Finally she had a family that
was whole.
********

The old docks were always an area that was
overlooked by the local authorities. It was
known that there were a lot of unexplained
disappearances that centered around there and
that stuff came into the country there that they
didn't want to know about.

That's why the ship coming in from Edinburgh
met little resistance coming in. There were no
security checks, no customs guards, no border
patrol. Nothing. The ship slid into port without
even the slightest resistance.

A few men came off the ship and secured it
down. They had been assured that this dock
would be cleared for their use. They did not
intend to stay very long. They had a job to do.

The ship itself was not very large. It was just big
enough to suit the needs of the men who had
brought it. It was hollowed out on the inside, so
they could store the armored vehicle that they
used in their work. It also served as a base for
while they were there. It contained everything
they would need in the stalking of their pray.

They were the elite squad. They had been
contacted by Quentin Travers a few weeks ago
with the assignment. It was not a task that they
were fond of but it was one that was familiar to
them, and as long as Travers ran the council
they would continue to do it.

They had all had experience with hunting
dangerous prey. Before they had been recruited
for the council and their "legitimate" work many
of them had been big game hunters or poachers.
They had tracked and killed many dangerous
beasts, earning them respect and awe among
certain circles.

Since the council had hired them they had killed
nine girls. It didn't quite sit right with them,
they always had drawn the line before. But
Travers had used very effective methods of
persuasion. They were forced to tell themselves
each time they killed one of those young girls
that what they were doing was the right thing.
That they were making the world safe.

But the pleading and cries of those girls always
pulled at them. Maybe it was time to change
careers...

No. Travers had made it very clear what would
happen if they disobeyed. They would have to
keep quiet and continue their work in silence. It
kept good food on their tables and kept them out
of jail.

It was time to take to the task at hand. They set
up their base and moved out at sunset, taking
with them various thinner weapons. Tonight was
not for the kill, tonight was for stalking out their
prey. They all knew it was better not to engage
until they knew the enemy well.

They spread out, each one covering and area that
they knew the girls to frequent. They knew the
patterns of these girls and knew what they
would tend to do.

They also knew that this girl was special, so it
was best to move with caution. They moved
quietly, silently, hidden. Until one came across
the girl in the park, lying beside a blonde man
who they had been told was her vampire mate.

The man who spotted them sat in to watch. He
gave a silent little sigh, she was so young. Much
younger than the ones he usually saw. She was
so innocent and it reminded him of his own
daughter.

But no, he was sent to do a job. He steeled
himself and watched as the two began to talk.

******

"I've always wondered why they call that group
of stars Orion. I don't see a hunter when you
look at it."

Spike chuckled, "Neither do I love. What is it
that you do see?"

She pondered it for a moment. They were both
lying on their backs in the grass in the park.
They had decided to end this wonderful day
with some time in the park after most people
had left. It was something that they rarely got to
do to just enjoy the night.

Now she looked up at the stars in question for a
while before speaking up, "A quaHemur demon.
See the bloated body and the spindly little legs?
Definitely a quaHemur."

Spike looked up, "I can see that."

She looked over to him, "Spike, this has been
one of the best days yet. Thank you so much."

He chuckled, "I should be thanking you. It's not
everyday a bloke like me gets to walk out in the
sunshine. One of the best gifts I've gotten in a
long time."

She sat up slightly to look over at him, "One of
the best?"

He sat up as well, "Are you fishing for
compliments love?"

"Are you referring to me as a gift?"

He chuckled, "Of course. The most precious gift
in the world." He leaned in and placed a tender
kiss to her lips.

The kiss became more heated as he pressed her
back into the grass. He moved over her,
exploring her mouth with his tongue as he
mapped out her body with his hands. Her hands
wrapped around his neck to hold him closer,
craving more of him.

She pulled back briefly when she felt the cool
air meet her chest, meaning that Spike had
begun to remove her shirt. "Spike I'm not sure
we should do this out here."

He kissed her gently, "It's ok kitten. There's
nothing to be afraid of. It'll be wonderful, you'll
see."

"But what if someone sees us?"

"They'll just wonder at what a lucky bloke I am
to get a girl like you." He kissed her again, "I
tell you what, we won't even remove all our
clothes. We'll be completely hidden."

"Really?"

"Really."

He moved to capture her mouth again as his
hand went to her lace-covered breast, kneading
it lightly. She sighed into his mouth, running her
hands down his back and feeling the muscles
that were there.

Her legs spread and he settled himself between
them. His left hand dipped down under her skirt
and pushed aside her panties to find her wet slit.
He slipped one finger inside of her, feeling her
tight hole grip his finger in a vice. His cock,
already hard, swelled further at the feeling.

She moaned at the feeling of his fingers diving
into her. She ran her hands down to grip his ass,
giving it a hard squeeze. He growled and thrust
his hips forward, letting her feel the hardness in
her jeans.

She wanted him. He made her quake the his
fingers inside of her and she wanted to pay him
back somehow. She reached around and
unfastened his buckle. She pulled open the
button and tugged his zipper down before
reaching inside and pulling him out.

His head fell to the crook of her neck with a hiss
as he felt her hot hand engulf his rod. She felt so
good and the pleasure just washed over him as
she stroked him up and down. He kissed and
sucked at her neck so hard he knew it would
leave a mark.

She felt something warm and wet against the tip.
She took it under her thumb and rubbed it
around the head before guiding him to her
throbbing center.

He felt the heat of her meet the head of his cock
and he bucked forward, embedding the head
inside of her. He reached down and grabbed her
wrists, bringing them to the grass beside her
head. He raised himself up to look down at her
as he pushed himself into her.

She looked up at him as he entered her, pushing
her hips up to his with each inward thrust. He
felt so good inside her, and it gave her a sort of
thrill to feel as though she were pinned down
beneath this man.

He bent down to claim her mouth with his,
releasing his grip on her wrists in order to bring
one of his hands between them to caress her clit.
He felt her buck beneath him as he brought her
higher and higher, her legs shaking and her nails
digging into his shoulders through the material
that covered it.

She came hard, her scream captured in his
mouth. It was like water bursting from a dam the
pressure overcame her and flowed out, leaving
her in bliss.

The feeling of her quaking beneath him sent him
over his own peak. He released her mouth and
vamped out, biting into her neck as he came.
The feel of his fangs in her sent her over again
as the world seemed to explode into a haze of
fireworks.

She must have blacked out because the next
thing that she knew her clothes were fixed and
Spike was holding her, grinning down at her as
he held her in his lap, "I told you it'd be
wonderful."
Well this one was kinda difficult, I got kinda stuck.
Now I gotta actually write an outline, I'll get chap 26
to ya by Tuesday. (hopefully)

Sorry in advance that this was so short, but I ran
out of ideas.

Angel's POV:

He spent the day with her in the sun. I've heard
them talking about it all night. I've heard their
laughter as they speak of their day, of the people
they saw and what they did.

I wonder that they haven't noticed me following
them. They never do. Or perhaps he does, but
does not thin that I am worth his notice.

How can he think that?!? For a hundred years I
was feared throughout Europe and now my own
childer do not even deign to recognize my
presence.

They talk and they smile. Joyce laughs with
them and I can see that she is happy to have
them both with her. I know that it warms her
heart to feel as if she has a full family again.

I'm cold as I watch. I'm alone and I'm cold. She
never smiled at me that way. I was never
welcomed in. Not even when I was human.

I've always been outside, thrown out into the
cold. They say that vampires don't feel the cold
but we do. Maybe not in the way or the intensity
that humans do but we feel it.

And it seeps into me. He sits there welcomed in
while I'm an exile. Him, soulless and evil and
me on my road to redemption.

Sometimes I wonder if this too is a test. Am I to
see what I want, to have it so close to me, and
yet not be able to have it? Is this cosmic
retribution for the wrongs that I have done?

I follow them as they leave the house. They
seem so caught up in each other that they
become oblivious to all else. I know it's because
their bond is new but he should know better in
this town.

Because I am not the only one following them
tonight.

Somewhere they have picked up a human
stalker. He stinks of regret and sadness, but
determination and resignation as well. I don't
know why he would smell thus but since he is
human I leave him alone as we settle in to watch
the couple on the hill.

The two of them are so beautiful together. She
seems so happy and carefree. I hope that through
all time she never loses that.

I watch as they make love this time, on a hill
under the stars. My heart tears apart as I know
that he touches her in ways that no one else will,
that they connect up there on that hill.

As he fixes her clothes and holds her afterwards
I am tempted to rush out, but I know I can't. I
would be breaking our laws and I cannot do that.
I want to throttle him and hold her, but I can't.

The man hidden smells of tears now. And for
the first time I notice the stun gun in his hand. I
wonder why a mercenary from the council
would cry like that, but that is an issue for
another time.

Is this the chance that I have waited for? I can't
challenge Spike, but this man can kill him for
me.

I know the full plan that this man holds and I
know that some deception will be needed but it
will all be worth it. This man and his team can
kill Spike and I can take my mate.

They'll try and kill her, so we'll have to flee. I
can have them kill him for me and then take her
someplace far away, where no one could ever
find us. We can be happy for all time, living in
the sunshine.

My girl, we'll be together soon.
w00t! new outline, chap updates to come quickly. Story to be concluded
in two weeks. To be 35 chaps plus an epilogue.

Angel followed the man that he had seen
stalking his childe and his mate. The man was
obviously skilled, for he took great measure to
avoid detection. If Angel had been a mortal
man, he would have quickly lost this man.

However it was clear that this man had never
been in this town before and did not know the
layout. He became confused a few times and
would double back to orient himself.

This was not promoting safety. Although the
man would have evaded many humans and most
animal's detection he was attracting that of
many demons who knew the scent of a lost
human and registered the easy prey, or so they
believed.

They continued to go through the town, slowly
getting closer to the docks as the man began to
remember his way. However to get there he had
to pass through an area of the town that was
especially densely populated by demons.

So he was not surprised when a vampire jumped
out of an alley, eager to grab the human that was
foolish enough to be in this area alone at night.
Angel acted quickly, stepping between the man
and the attacking fledgling.

Quickly he had knocked the vampire's head into
a wall with a quick backhand. Using the
moment that the vamp was stunned he plunged a
stake deep into the heart of the creature, wiping
the dust from the sleeves of his coat.

Angel turned to face the man who he had been
following to see the man standing there pointing
a knife in his direction. Angel put his hands up
in a sign to calm the man before him, "Easy, I
just want to help."

The man looked skeptical, "Then why were you
following me? Why didn't you show yourself
before this?"

"I wanted to see how you moved and worked,
find out if there was anything I could learn
before making myself known." The man in front
of him had not lowered his knife or relaxed his
defensive stance, "I don't mean to harm you."

"Then what the bloody hell do you want?"

"I expect that you're one of the men the council
sent, those special assassins. I believe that you
were told to kill the girl and the blonde vampire
that you saw with her."

The man seemed stunned by Angel's statement,
but did not lower his weapon, "How do you
know all that and what does it matter to you?"

"I happen to know and work closely with a
watcher who lives in the area. He told me of a
group of specialists and you move in the way of
a seasoned hunter. I want to help you."

"Why? Why should I believe that?"

"The blonde vampire took something of mine,
something very precious to me and I want it
back. The only problem is that I can't challenge
him for it directly, I tried that once and he
proved a match for me. I need for him to die in
order to reclaim what he took, and for that I
need your help."

"Okay, I'll bite. Let's say that you're telling the
truth for now, what would you do? How could
you help me?" His stance had relaxed somewhat
and he had lowered his knife although it still
remained in his hand by his side.

"You ever heard of a vampire with a soul?"

The man in front of him nodded, "Yeah, they
told us he was helping in the fight for good and
all that."

"Well I'm him. I can get you in with the demon
world here, help you get an in on his
weaknesses. I don't like Spike, and although I'm
not well liked in the demon world I can gather
any information you might need while you are
here, as well as grant you safe passage."

The man in front of him considered him for a
while. Then he nodded, "All right. I suppose it
would help to have someone in their group
helping us out. My name's Hess."

Angel nodded, "Angel. But I'm not really on the
most friendly terms with that group. Spike
doesn't trust me although he doesn't see me as a
threat. However I can get you someone who's
even closer to them to help you guys out. I'll
bring him by in an hour."

******

Xander was lying on his bed tossing a ball
against the wall and catching it. Sometimes his
life just sucked. The girl of his dreams had
given in to another bloodsucker, and this time it
was forever, there was no chance of them ever
separating.

A vampire. He'd had problems with the
creatures ever since he had seen them take his
friend. The cool guy that was awkward and
strange like him had become a vampire, one of
them.

And Xander had been appalled at what the
transformation had done to Jesse. The friend he
had known was gone. The one he had seen
before him had been crass and cruel, too much
like the kids who spurned and made fun of them
in school.

Xander had hated what he knew the demon did.
He hated how it changed people, how it could
turn someone into something else, make them
cruel and just, different.

But what had really rankled him had been the
total disregard that Jesse had shown him, as if
Xander wasn't even worth his time. Jesse had
found that he was strong, confident, all the
things that he had lacked.

And Xander was jealous. He wanted that
strength. He wanted that power that he saw
when he looked at his friend. The power that he
had seen in Buffy.

The difference with Buffy was that she seemed
more attainable than Jesse, in a different way.
Where his old friend had been aloof Buffy was a
lot more down to earth. She didn't shun those
who were weaker than her, and respected what
they could do. She had preferred to spend her
time with them.

And now she had Spike. A vampire who had
saved her. She wanted to spend more time with
him, and had spent less with him and Willow.
She was not cold, but she was more wrapped up
in other matters. She was becoming more and
more like the vampires in his eyes.

Suddenly there was a knocking at his window.
He looked up, Willow had stopped coming by
since he had lost his temper in the library. He
wondered idly what could be out there.

He opened the window and frowned when he
spied the form of Angel, standing on his lawn.
He tried to close the window but Angel stopped
him. "What do you want, Angel?"

"I know that you don't like Spike. And neither
do I."

"Yeah, what of it? I don't particularly like you
either."

"Well it doesn't matter. You remember those
council guys who take out vampires and slayers?
They're here in Sunnydale."

Xander perked up at this news. "Really?"

Angel nodded, "You want to meet them?"

Xander nodded and shoved his feet into his
shoes. He climbed out his window and followed
Angel off into the night towards what he hoped
would make him feel somewhat better.


Spike walked along the streets of Sunnydale 
towards Buffy's house. He was making a trip to 
the butcher shop in order to stock up on blood for 
the next week. Since he had stopped hunting in 
order to be with his slayer, he had been bagging it. 
The butcher had grown accustomed to seeing him 
and knew what he would order: two baboon, five 
cow and seven pig.

Spike had wondered to himself many times why 
the butcher would have baboon blood. But he 
didn't question the man. There were some things 
he didn't want to know. Oh well, it can not be 
questioned about taste.

His time with Buffy had been some of the best in 
his un-life. He had been attracted to the blonde 
since the first time he had seen her but had 
dismissed it quickly. But she had lingered in his 
mind, even as he took Dru to South America.

When he had been told to pursue her he had only 
needed a small push to do so. He had wanted to 
know, knew that she was different. Different from 
all the other women who had passed through his 
life.

In Buffy he had seen the loneliness that haunted 
him. When he had claimed her he had seen the 
vulnerability and the pain that mirrored his in so 
many ways. He had felt her need for someone 
who would stay with her and her sense of 
hopelessness, believing she would never find such 
a person.

If he had held any doubts about wanting this girl 
that bite had erased all of them. He had known 
then that he had found the one for him, that he 
wanted to be the one for her. He had seen her pain 
that was so like his and he wanted to wrap his 
arms around her and never let go.

The effects of their mating had been more than he 
had expected. When they had joined they had both 
grown so much stronger. He had walked in the 
sun for the first time in over one hundred years, 
confirming that many of their weaknesses had 
been negated with their joining. Spike was sure 
that there were more perks that they had not 
discovered yet, but he would explore them with 
her.

Something suddenly caught his attention in the 
air. He inhaled deeply, trying to catch this scent. 
Yes, this was one he had smelled before, he was 
sure of it. He sniffed again.

This was a scent he had noticed several times 
before, always around him and Buffy or places 
where they had been. At first it hadn't concerned 
him so much, he had just assumed it was some 
gawker and thought nothing more of it. 

But the he caught the scent too many times for 
that and he was forced to abandon the idea. He 
sniffed again, someone was stalking him and his 
slayer. He did not like that idea, even though this 
stalker was human and he and his mate were quite 
a bit stronger. The idea of someone following 
them was disconcerting and rather worrisome.

Spike ran a list in his head, who would want to 
hurt him and his slayer? The list of demon 
culprits who would be after his slayer was 
endless, but this scent was human. He also didn't 
know of any in the demon world who would be 
after him. 

His list was narrowing down quite rapidly. He 
could only come up with two humans that would 
want to do harm to him or his slayer. One of them 
was too stupid and incompetent to be of any 
concern to him. That left the last option.

Yes, it had to be them. Dammit, but he was going 
to kill that watcher! The scent that was trailing 
him had to be that of one of the council assassins. 
The watcher must have summoned them, telling 
them about the mating between him and the 
slayer.

If he was right then this was a real threat to him 
and his girl. These people might not be as strong 
as him but they were trained to deal with slayers. 
They had killed countless slayers and knew how 
to deal with those who were stronger than them.

He was sure of this. Buffy would need to know 
about this. He knew that she had already felt his 
anxiety and would be worried. He picked up his 
pace towards her house.

Indeed Buffy had sensed the change in his mood. 
Through the bond that they shared she had felt his 
anxiety rise dramatically, and it worried her. She 
knew Spike well enough to know that he did not 
worry about just anything. When he was troubled 
it usually did not bode well.

What could have bothered him so much? His 
feelings were beginning to transfer over to her. 
Feeling as though she needed to relieve some 
tension she began pacing back and forth across 
the living room floor.

Spike walked in as she was pacing. He took a 
moment to smile inwardly, this was a habit that 
she had picked up from him and he found it kind 
of cute. He quickly abandoned that as he had 
important things to discuss with her.

She turned to him as he closed the door behind 
him and walked into the living room, placing his 
bag on the coffee table. He straightened up and 
looked to her, "Buffy luv, we have a problem."

She nodded, chewing her lower lip, "I thought so. 
I was wondering why you were so agitated." 
Spike was fiddling with his hands and looked as if 
he might start pacing himself, "Spike, what's 
wrong. I've never seen you this agitated before."

"Luv, have you talked to your watcher lately?"

She shook her head, "No, not for a while now. I 
haven't felt really comfortable around him since I 
found out about the council. Plus he's been 
locked in his office drinking." She looked at him, 
and he was now pacing across the floor, "Why 
Spike? Does he have something to do with why 
you're so upset?"


Spike sat down and motioned for her to do the 
same. She took a seat next to her and he took her 
hand in his, "I think that he called the council to 
send their special team after us."

Buffy drew back slightly at his words. She had 
heard Giles admit it but she would never have 
thought that he would actually call the council, "I 
don't believe it. Why do you think that?"

"Someone's been following us. I picked up their 
scent where we had been. At first I didn't pay it 
any mind but I kept on picking up the same scent 
all where we had been for the past week or so. I 
don't like the idea of someone following me or 
you."

"Why do you think that it's the council? There 
are plenty of people who might be following us. 
Why did you think it isn't one of them?"

"I thought about all the people that it could have 
been. The problem is that most of our enemies are 
demons and most of those wouldn't want to 
bother me. Besides the scent I picked up was 
human. And there really aren't that many humans 
who would want to come after us."

"You've got a point there." She was silent for a 
moment, "Spike, what are we going to do? If 
these guys are really the elite squad that is 
brought to kill slayers we are in a lot of trouble."

"It's ok kitten. We'll get through it, you just see. 
We just got to be a bit more careful is all."

"I hope you're right. But these guys job is to kill 
slayers. They're not going to stop untill I'm 
dead." Tears were welling up in her eyes. Spike 
pulled her into his arms.

"Shh, I'm scared too. It's ok, we're together. It's 
gonna be ok."

********
Despite their knowledge that they were in serious
peril from the council's assassins Buffy still felt
that it was her duty to go out patrolling the
following night. She had told Spike that mortal
danger or not protecting the world was still her
job. And besides, these guys had been following
them for a whole week, what would one more
night hurt?

Spike had shook his head but had grudgingly
agreed that she should patrol, and then insisted
that he should accompany her. He believed that if
any of them should attack her she would be safer
if he was there to help her fight them off. She
didn't mind, enjoying his presence on her patrols.

They told her mother where they were going and
informed them that they might stay at Spike's
place if they were out too late. Joyce wasn't
thrilled at this but conceded on the request that
they call her and tell her if they were staying there
or if they were in trouble.

Joyce looked out at them as she left. She really
was proud of her daughter for what she was
doing. She might not approve of the risks but she
understood that Buffy was doing something good
despite the danger that it brought.

And she was happy that her daughter had found
someone like Spike. She wanted her to be happy,
to be able to find someone who could understand
her and would stand by her no matter what. She
believed that Spike would do that for her
daughter. She knew that he had already gone to a
lot of trouble to make sure that she was safe and
that he would go through more to keep her that
way.

She didn't pretend to know what the future would
bring for her daughter, but she did know that not
all of it would be good. She knew that there was
the immediate danger which they had filled her in
on. She knew that it would be tough but she
hoped that the two of them would make it through
all right.

Buffy and Spike went through the cemeteries
saying little. They met with few vamps and those
they did see were killed with little flourish.
Neither was in any mood to quip or jibe. The
work was done silently and quickly so they could
get inside where they would be safer.

After six staked fledgelings they thought they
might head in when Spike went stiff. He inhaled
deeply, bringing the night scent into his dead
lungs. This worried Buffy, as she could sense his
fear through their bond, "What is it Spike?"

He grabbed her arm tightly as he looked around,
"We need to go, now. It's not safe here."

"Why, do you smell one of those stalker guys?"

"Not just one, at least five of them. They're all
around. It's not safe, we have to leave, now."

Suddenly he grabbed her and pushed her to the
ground. Above them something hit the tree
causing wood splinters to fall down on them.

They stood up and Buffy got a glimpse of the tree,
or what was left of it. Something had gone
completely through the old Ash tree, blowing a
hole in so it was tilting. Under the damage the tree
collapsed, breaking in half to fall to the ground
behind them.

Spike was focused onthe direction the shot had
come from. Crouching behind one of the
tombstones was Holtz, holding a high powered
rifle. Seeing his target get up unhurt he cocked his
rifle, sending the shell casing off to the side as a
new bullet was loaded into the barrel.

Around them others came out. There were four
others, just as Spike had thought. Holtz seemed to
be the only one who was carrying a gun, though.
The rest seemed to be armed with things more
focused towards the killing of vampires as well as
Slayers. One was holding a crossbow, while two
others held knives. The last man held a stake, all
of them seemed ready to strike.

Spike drew closer to Buffy, and spoke lowly into
her ear so that she would be the only one to hear,
"We have to try to get out of here, don't worry
about killing them. Remember what I said about
our mating making us stronger?" She nodded,
"Don't worry about me, the stakes won't dust me.
I'm not sure about you but I'm pretty sure you're
harder to kill as well."

He felt her exaltation flow through the bond,
although she was careful in not letting it get to her
face. "Don't get too confident though, I don't
know what will kill you and they might still do it
so just try to get out and get to my place as
quickly as possible."

She nodded and they moved apart slightly. They
dropped into a fighting stance as they prepared for
the attack. Whatever was going to happen, they
would be ready for it.

The two men with knives attacked Buffy. Deftly
she ducked as one of them attempted a slash at her
throat. She knocked his legs out from under him
with a sweep of her leg. As she came up other
man attempted to thrust his knife into her gut but
she grabbed his arm and flipped him over towards
Holtz, knocking them both to the ground.

Spike was fighting his own battle against the other
two men. As soon as the two knife men had
attacked Buffy the man with the crossbow had
released a bolt right at Spike's heart. Spike had
caught it out of the air, flipping it in his hand to
use as a weapon against the now attacking man
wielding a stake. The two men circled each other
slowly.

The crossbow man had quickly loaded in a new
bolt and snapped it off towards Spike. Spike heard
it and threw his arm up as he twisted sideways,
still keeping his eyes on the man with the stake.
The bolt sunk into his arm, going all the way
through to stop imbedded in his flesh.

Spike screamed out as the bolt hit. It might not be
fatal but it still hurt like hell. Seeing his
opportunity the man with the stake moved
forward to attack the hurt vampire.

Spike heard the man attacking and turned towards
him. Through great pain he moved quickly,
jabbing the first crossbow bolt that he was holding
into the wrist holding the stake. As the stake fell
from the man's hand Spike moved quickly,
snapping the man's neck.

As the man fell dead at his feet Spike pulled the
bolt out of his arm and turned to the man who had
shot the bolt. He didn't have time to kill this man,
he needed to end this quickly. He moved forward
swiftly, grabbing the reloaded crossbow arm and
moving it away from him as it discharged, hitting
a nearby tree. With his other hand he delivered an
uppercut to just to the side of the man's chin. The
man fell down to the ground with the blow,
unconscious.

Upon throwing the second knife man towards
Holtz the first knife man had rolled up and
delivered a shallow slice to her upper arm. She
cried out, cursing herself for not paying more
attention to the man. Quickly she turned her
attention to the man in front of her.

Spike turned his attention to the fight that his girl
was engaged in. He checked the two men collapsed
behind the tombstone. Holtz had dislocated his
shoulder and was no danger now as he lay
beneath the knife man who had hit his head on the
stone and now lay unconscious with blood
dripping from his wound.

He moved quickly to where his girl was dodging a
blow from the knife man. They needed to get out
of here. He could already pick up the sound of
more men approaching and he knew that they
wanted to be gone when they got there. He
grabbed a branch and moved over towards Buffy.

Buffy was caught up in her fight, trying to guess
the next move of her assailant when he went stiff
and collapsed on the ground. She looked up with
relief to see Spike standing behind him holding a
large branch. He was alright. She had felt his pain
during the fight and had become worried.

He grabbed her arm and they began running
quickly towards his house, "Quickly, luv. There's
more coming. We'll be safe in my place, I just
had it enchanted so that it's protected and hidden
from those who would do us harm."

"Spike, I felt something during the battle. Are you
ok?"

He nodded, "I'm fine luv, we'll deal with it once
we get inside."

They moved quickly through the streets towards
his house. They ducked inside, thanking their
lucky stars as they closed the door, while at the
park the reinforcements arrived to bring the dead
and wounded back to their base.

It was time for a first strike. The assassins knew
that they had been brought out into the open.
They looked at their dead friend. They would take
the next casualty in this war.
29

With the info that the girl's friend had provided
them they set out to destroy her. They needed to
root her out, to destroy her safe-havens. With the
death of their comrade they had seen the need to
step up their offensive.

They knew where they would strike. The girl's
friend had told them all about her. They knew
how and where to strike to hurt her.

They knew where she lived.

They knew that if they struck her while she was at
home they would catch her off guard. She
considered her home her safe haven, someplace
that the danger could never touch. She would be
unprepared for their attack and they would end
this quickly.

The girl's former lover had told them that the
vampire had been spending a lot of time over
there. If they were lucky they would be able to
kill him tonight as well. He was protective of her
so it was unlikely that he would part from her
after the fight they had endured this night.

The men crept up on Revello Dr silently. They
had taken guns, all of them. They were all armed
with bullets coated in holy water. They were
deadly to both human and vampire.

They would take no chances. Their dead comrade
had shown them the brutality that the vampire
could act with. They had found him with a
crossbow bolt through his wrist and a broken
neck.

The men were just glad that he was the only
fatality. The other four were going to be all right,
Holtz's shoulder was in a sling and two of the
others were coming to consciousness without a
problem. The other man had a slight concussion
but they believed he would be alright.

There were seven men in this party, three who had
regained consciousness from the last fight and
four who were fresh. Using the cover of darkness
they crept up to the house the boy had described
to them. The lights were on in the house; someone
was home.

Two men circled around to the back of the house
to block the exits in the rear. The five remaining
prepared to enter through the front door. They
approached the heavy oak and tried to the door to
find that it was locked.

Joyce had heard the fiddling at the doorway and
assumed that Buffy and Spike had returned home.
She came down the stairs to greet them when the
door was kicked in. That seemed to happen a lot
these days.

There were men at her door. She was scared for a
moment before a loud noise rang through the
house. She wondered where Buffy was and why it
was so cold.

The men poured through the door as the woman
on the stairs fell down, blood spattered against the
stairs behind her. She wasn't the target, she was
too old. The men spread out, looking for the
house for the girl.

Three of them searched the downstairs, tearing the
place apart in their search. They checked in the
basement where they found an old cot but it
seemed abandoned. Two walked upstairs past
Joyce's unblinking eyes.

They searched the house thoroughly. Nothing was
left untouched. When they knew that she wasn't
there they searched for anything that might tell
them where she was. They found nothing.

Only one hour since they had found their friends
in the park they had searched the girl's house and
found it empty. They left, knowing she would see
it. They got a perverse sort of satisfaction at this,
leaving all of this for the girl to find.

On the stairs Joyce's hair was spread around her
head in a golden-brown halo. Her green sweater
stained dark red and her arms spread to the sides
as she stared up with empty eyes, waiting for her
daughter.

*******

Buffy and Spike had arrived at his house, tired
and scared. Buffy had bandaged up Spike's arm
and had offered him some of her blood which he
had taken, biting her gently to reassert his claim
and to comfort, as well as feed.

They were curled up together on the couch,
wrapped around each other and enjoying the
comfort that they brought each other. Something
struck Buffy and she sat up, "Spike, I have to call
my mom. She said she wanted to know if I stayed
here."

He nodded, "Go on then pet."

She smiled lightly and leaned in to kiss him
lightly. She moved over to the phone and dialed
her home phone number.

She waited for at least ten rings before she turned
to Spike with her worry etched on her face,
"Spike, my mother's not answering."
Buffy stood in the ruined doorway of her house
looking at the figure on the stairs. Slowly she
walked forward to the body of her mother. It
couldn't be real, they couldn't have been that
cruel or thoughtless.

Tears were rolling silently down her face. She
felt a hand rest on her shoulder and she turned
and buried her face in Spike's chest, sobbing
hard. Spike held onto her tight. He stared at the
body of Joyce on the stairs, tears rolling down
his own cheeks. She didn't deserve this. If only
he had made them put protection spells on the
house...

He'd seen a lot of dead bodies, most of them by
his hand. He'd also seen humans kill humans,
and he had to say that the most brutal killings he
had ever seen had been done by humans to other
humans.

In brutality this wasn't very bad, but Joyce was
special. For the first time since he was human
when his father had been killed in a hunting
accident someone that he cared about had died.
Joyce had been a good woman, like a mother.

"Spike, what's going to happen now? What are
we going to do?"

"I don't know luv. I haven't dealt with anything
like this in quite some time. I don't know what
we're going to do."

"I've got to call the others. I've got to call them.
I've got to tell them..."

"Buffy, sit down." He guided her to the couch
and sat her down. She was staring forward at
nothing, shaking slightly. "Buffy, look at me."
She turned her head, "This was horrible, and
we're both hurting. Your mum was a good
lady."

She just stared at him blankly. How could her
mom be gone? She was supposed to be safe
from all the slaying dangers.

That damn council. "Spike, what's going to
happen to me? I'm only 17, what's going to
happen now that my mom's dead?"

"We'll figure something out. I'm not going to
let them take you away from me. But right now
you had a point, your friends do need to know
about the danger they're in. If they killed your
mum they wouldn't pause to kill your friends."

She nodded. They needed to know. She reached
over to the phone, dialing in the familiar number
for Willow's house. The phone rang about three
times before it picked up and a familiar voice
broke in, "Hello?"

"Willow?"

"Buffy? Is that you? What's wrong? Do you
want me to come over?"

"Call Xander and tell him that the council's
assassins are here."

"Oh my god, Buffy, are you ok? Is Spike hurt?
Is anyone hurt?"

"They killed my mom."

The line was silent. "I'll call him and we'll be
over as soon as we can."

Buffy hung up. She seemed so cold. She didn't
even realize she was crying until she found
herself in Spike's arms, with him stroking her
back as she sobbed into his wet shirt.

A few minutes later a voices came from the
open doorway where the councilmen had kicked
open the door. It was Xander and Willow,
Willow cried out, "Oh my goddess! Buffy,
Spike, you there?"

Willow came in followed by Xander. Willow
was crying softly while Xander was looking
around with shock and disgust. "How could they
have done this?"

Xander surveyed the carnage that was the house
as Willow sat next to her crying friend and her
mate. He had never wanted Joyce dead. She was
always good, she'd never done anything wrong.
He felt all tight, "I need to go... somewhere."

He fell out the door, just needing to leave the
room where an innocent woman lay dead. He
had never wanted this to happen, had never
thought that they would do this. He just wanted
to teach Buffy, he didn't want anything bad to
happen to Joyce.

He had to go to the docks. This had to be a
mistake. He had to talk to the men, they'd
explain it to him. It was just a mistake, they
would never kill Joyce. She was good.

He walked onto the ship where the council had
set up their base. The men inside were cleaning
their weapons as he came in. They had missed
their target and were cleaning in preparation to
continue their hunt tomorrow.

"You killed Joyce! How could you do that, she
was good."

"So was Darnell, but he's still dead. What's
gonna happen to his wife and kids now that the
vampire's killed him?"

"Joyce never did anything to hurt anyone. She
was an innocent! I thought you guys were
supposed to protect the innocent."

"She was harboring the slayer and that vampire.
We destroyed their safe haven. We have to take
every advantage that we can."

"I've got to tell them. I've got to tell them where
you are. This isn't right. You're killing innocent
people. I've got to tell them."

That caught their attention, "No you won't. That
would blow our advantage. You'll keep your
mouth shut."

Xander was appalled. He wanted to do the right
thing, but he didn't want to hurt the innocent.
That wasn't right, "I gotta tell them."

He started moving towards the door. This was
wrong. He had to tell Buffy and Spike, tell
Angel what had happened. They'd make sure
that no one else had to get hurt.

That didn't sit well with the councilmen. They
couldn't let the slayer knew where they were.
One of them held a gun with a silencer on the
end, and he raised it up. He aimed carefully and
fired. Xander's body fell to the floor.

The man put his gun down and walked over to
the corpse. He dragged it out and dropped it into
the bay. The body fell into the water and he
returned to the boat to plan for the next night.
31The deaths had come about a week before Buffy
had turned 18. She had to count this as the worst
birthday ever, something which she had thought
was impossible after the Angel fiasco.

Her dad had come as soon as he had heard, and
Buffy had stayed with him in the week before
the funerals. He had been devastated by the
news of Joyce's death, even if they hadn't been
close when the murder had happened.

Buffy didn't know what she would have done
without Spike, though. He introduced himself to
her father as William Collins, a writer and
Buffy's boyfriend. After Spike and Hank had
talked Hank was supportive of the relationship.
He was just glad to find that his daughter had
found someone who was so committed to her
and who made her happy.

He stayed with her through both of the services,
standing next to her in his suit that he had in his
closet for formal occasions. He had planned to
use it to take Buffy out for her birthday, but he
thought it would be inappropriate at the
moment.

Willow had bawled during the services. Xander
had been her only real friend for a long time. He
had helped her through so much, knew so much
about her, and now he was gone.

Joyce's funeral had been directly afterward.
Many of her friends from around town were
there. There were her friends from LA who had
driven down to bid their respects to her.

The day was cloudy and cool, the smell of fresh
earth filled the air. The eulogies were spoken
solemnly, and to Buffy it sounded like the noise
of a TV when you're not really listening to it,
distant and empty.

After the preacher had finished Giles walked
over to Buffy and Spike who were waiting for
Hank to drive them back to Buffy's house. He
stood in front of them looking at the ground,
"Buffy, I don't know what to say. I loved your
mother. I never thought that this would happen."

Spike growled, "Then you shouldn't have called
them in."

"I didn't know I had. Buffy, I'm so sorry, this
has never happened before. I didn't even know I
had called them until I heard about your mother.
I never would have thought that they would
murder the innocent."

Buffy looked at him, she wasn't ready to deal
with him yet, "This is war, Giles. They'll do
anything to win."

A car came round and Buffy turned as Spike led
her to where her father was waiting with the car
to drive them all home. As they walked off a
rain began to pour from the heavens as if the
earth itself was mourning the loss of such a
great woman. It fell upon the earth and covered
the ground, pattering softly against the stones
and the soil.

Giles stood there in the rain. He felt so guilty
about the whole situation. The past few weeks
he had mourned the loss of his slayer's trust. He
had called the council into question in his
moments of lucidity. He had drowned himself in
liquor to avoid the terrible feelings of guilt and
responsibility.

And now the rain falling on him seemed to was
away the fog that he had been living in. The
murder of Joyce Summers had settled the matter
of morality for him. He had decided.

Too much time has passed by
To lament that we were deeply in love

Not many people in the council knew what was
going on. The death of the slayers, the murder of
these girls was often explained away by the head
councilman, who would create acceptable
reasons for why the girl had been eliminated.
Very few actually knew the truth.

The years keep coming and my heart
Cannot heal all the tears in it

Giles had always questioned the practice. Ever
since he had been told upon entering the field he
had questioned it. He had seen so many girls
die, given the call sometimes. He had always
given himself excuses to explain it all away.

Somebody cry for me with parched eyes.

Now his actions had caused the death of the
woman that he loved and cost him the trust of
the girl he saw as a daughter. He had to face up
to the blood on his hands.

The Real Folk Blues
I only want to know what true sadness is

He had buried too many people. Too many
friends were gone. He had buried the women
that he loved. No one should have to do that.

Living a dirty life isn't so bad
If it ends after the first time.

He knew what he had to do. This act was wrong.
He understood why Spike growled at him, why
Buffy wouldn't look at him without contempt.
He deserved nothing better.

He turned and walked back to his home. He had
a few calls to make to a few friends of his back
in England. They didn't know the truth, but he
would tell them. He knew what they would
think of it, too.

********

****

Buffy lay in Spike's arms a few nights after the
funeral. She had spent almost every night with
him, and every night since her father had
returned to LA, promising to help her if she ever
needed it. He had been reluctant to leave but she
had refused and he had other business to attend
to that could not be neglected.

So Buffy had been left with an empty house that
reminded her of her mother with every turn. She
hadn't gone back there yet since her father had
stayed there while he was in town for the
funeral. She was wondering to herself if she
ought to sell it.

She was clinging to Spike for sanity. He had
kept her grounded, he had held her while she
cried, while he had cried his own tears. They
had shared their grief with each other, holding
each other for some reassurance. They would
come together in the night, reassuring each other
that they would always be there for each other.

They were together now, her sprawled out with
her head on his chest, her fingers playing light
patterns on his bare chest. She was enchanted by
how the lights would play against his pale skin.
The shadows made from the street lamps
coming through the leaves in the tree outside
were beautiful, creating patterns on his skin.

Spike held her close. It had been a rough week,
and he needed her. He never handled the death
of those he loved very well and seeing Joyce's
death had scared him. He couldn't stand the
thought of Buffy joining her. If she ever did he
would not be far behind.

Angel sat outside the closed window watching
them. He never wanted this. He had simply
intended to help the men kill off Spike, he had
never wanted the men to kill Joyce. He hadn't
counted on Xander's bigotry to mess it all up.

His soul was clawing inside of him. The guilt he
felt was monumental. He had caused Joyce's
death. He had hurt this girl, his goddess, his one
salvation and joy.

That had been swimming around in his mind
since he smelled the blood at the Summer's
household. He'd done that. He was responsible.
He had ran, drinking and then fighting, going to
places and picking fights just so he could be
beaten, just so he could make himself feel pain
on the outside, a physical manifestation of the
pain inside.

He knocked on the closed window, causing both
heads to turn to the window. He saw Buffy's
eyes look on him warmly and Spike's look like
he would rip his head off. Angel was so sorry,
he knew he was about to take that light out of
her eyes.

Spike got out of bed and pulled on a pair of
jeans before walking to the window and pulling
it open. He didn't know why his stupid sire
would come here now, he was in no mood for
this. Perhaps if it made Buffy happy...

The window opened and he caught a whiff of
his sire. His opinion of him worsened
immediately. His face shifted and his hand
reached out and grabbed the older vampire by
the throat, "Why the hell are you here?"

Buffy cried out from the bed, "Spike, what's
wrong? Why did you attack him?" She knew
that something must be wrong. Spike's mood
had changed so rapidly with the opening of the
window.

Spike growled, "This pillock has the same scent
as those humans that are hunting us. He's
covered in it." He squeezed his sire's neck,
Angel's hands were gripped around his wrist.
"What's the matter, sire, can't have her so you
thought you'd get those hunters to kill us? Not
very nice."

Buffy's eyes were filled with betrayal and hurt.
She knew that Spike was telling the truth, but it
hurt to hear it. "Angel, why?" Tears were falling
from her eyes now.

Angel looked over to her, "I never meant for
them to hurt you. I just wanted to be with you.
I'm so sorry."

Spike growled, his grip tightening. This pillock
had wanted him killed. "So you thought they'd
kill me and then you could run off with the girl.
I gotta say, Angelus, you've really lost your
touch. Did you think that they would go along
with that?"

Buffy walked to the window, holding the sheet
around her body and placed her hand on Spike's
shoulder, "Angel, why did you come here?"

"Yes that's a mighty fine question. Better
answer. I won't kill you, but I sure as hell would
hurt you for what you've done. Now you better
have a bloody good reason for being here."

Angel gasped out from Spike's grip. "You two
have to get out of town. There are too many of
them here, you have to go. I'll create a
distraction, make sure they think that you're still
here. Just get out of town."

Spike growled, "And why the hell should I trust
you? You've proven yourself so faithful these
last few weeks, after all."

"I'll give you a sacramentum sanguinis."

"Spike, what's that?"

"A blood oath. It's given by one vampire to the
leader of the bloodline, or the dominant vampire
in the area." He turned to look at her, "Do you
want to leave, pet? Give us some space from the
wankers who killed your mum?"

She nodded. He turned back to Angel, "Get in
here." He then yanked Angel through the
window, throwing him on the floor. Spike
scowled down at him. "Right then, let's get on
with it."

Spike knelt down on one knee in front of the
older vampire. Angel switched to his game face
and sat back on his knees with his head bowed.
Spike growled at him and Angel bore his neck.
Spike bent down and sunk his fangs into
Angel's neck. While Spike drank Angel made
mewling snapping noises, the language of the
demon inside of him, acknowledging Spike and
giving his oath.

Spike drew back from Angel's neck as he heard
the last of the oath in their primal language. He
stood up and shook off his demon face. "Now
Angelus, come morning me and her are going to
leave town. You are to get the witch to cast a
glamour spell so that it looks like we are still
around. This spell will last for no less than 48
hours. Can you do that?"

Angel's head was still bowed. He nodded
without looking up.

Spike growled at him, "Good, now go."

Angel stood up and went to climb out the
window. He looked back at Buffy as he left and
saw the hurt in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I hope
we can all meet again sometime."

She just looked at him. She wouldn't see him
again for a long time, and she didn't really care
about that. "Just go Angel."

With that Angel jumped out and set out for
Willow's. He had an oath to keep.

Giles sat down at his desk sober for the first
time in quite a while. He had promised that he
would do something when Joyce died. He had
promised Buffy and promised himself that
nothing like that would ever happen again.

He looked over at his clock. Good, she would
still be at home. He reached over to his phone
and dialed a familiar number.

His family had been in the council for as long as
anyone could remember. His father had been a
member, his father, and his father. It had just
been natural that the next ones in line had joined
the council as well.

Rupert Giles had not been an only child. His
brothers and sisters had joined as well, as well
as their children. His brother Charles and sister
Claire were both dead, and the only one of his
family in any position of power was his niece
Ms. Elizabeth Bennet, his sister's daughter.

And she was the one he was going to call. She
and him had always been close, she had been
very close to him when she was a child. He had
imparted many of his values to her. She had
risen through the levels of the council to be
appointed to the upper levels.

And like many she was unaware of the atrocities
that were being committed. Such affairs were
reserved for the highest levels and were
disseminated on a need-to-know basis. And
most of those even in the top levels didn't need
to know.

Well his conscience had gotten to him. The
practices had never really sat well with him but
he had gone along with it because that was what
he was supposed to do. His sense of obligation
had demanded that he go along with it. But now
he couldn't let it pass any longer.

The phone rang once, twice, three times. A
voice picked up, "Hello, Ms. Bennet speaking."

Giles smiled, "Hello Elizabeth, how are you?"

A gasp came over the phone line, "Uncle
Rupert! It's so good to hear from you!"

"Yes, it's been too long. I wish it could be under
better circumstances that we could talk now."

"What do you mean uncle?"

Giles sighed, "Elizabeth, I have something to
tell you that you should have been made aware
of a while ago."

**********

Angel ran through the night towards Willow's
house. He had given his word that he would
help Spike and Buffy leave town without the
notice of the assassins. To do so he would need
a good amount of magic and he only knew of
one person who could handle that.

He just hoped that she would be willing to help.

He had no reason to hope that Willow would be
willing to do this. He would understand if she
flat out refused. It was hard to lose one friend,
but now he was asking her to give up the only
other friend that she knew.

Poor girl, Angel really felt sorry for her. He
knew how she must feel. He hoped he could
help her through it, for he knew that if Buffy and
Spike did not leave town they would surely be
killed soon. He prayed that Willow would
understand.

He reached the girl's window to find it dark, the
blinds open so he could see inside. She was
curled up in bed, snoring softly. He felt bad
waking her but it had to be done.

The sound of his knocking on the window
caused the figure in the bed to stir. She sat up
and came to the window when she saw him
standing there. She was clothed in her nightshirt
and fuzzy slippers.

She opened the window with bleary eyes,
"Angel, what are you doing here?"

"I was sent here by Buffy and Spike. There's
something they have to do, and they need you to
help if it's going to work. They didn't want to
leave their house so they sent me."

"They need me for something? What is it what
can I do?" She walked to her desk and turned on
a light. She noticed Angel standing past the
threshold. "You promise you won't go evil
again?"

Angel nodded, "I got my soul anchored. I can't
lose it again, no matter what."

"You mean you got rid of the happiness clause?
And Buffy's... Oh Angel you must feel horrible.
I can't believe how unlucky that is. I mean if
I..." She remembered the barrier, "Oh sorry.
Come in."

"Thank you, Willow." He stepped through the
window into her room. "And it does hurt to see
her with Spike, but I'll have to learn to live with
it. I just hope that they can be happy."

Willow looked at him for a moment, "So what is
it that they need me to do? Is it more protection
spells because I hear that Spike's got his place
completely concealed to all unfriendly people.
Or maybe it's something else."

"They want to leave town."

Willow was shocked. Her voice came out
quietly, "They what?"

"Buffy and Spike realize that while they're here
they and everyone they love are in danger. They
want to leave so they can be safe and so the
council will leave those they love alone."

Willow started crying. Angel kneeled down next
to her chair and wrapped her in his arms as she
clung to him. She wept into his shoulder, "It's
not fair. I'll be all alone if she leaves."

Angel rubbed her back, "I know. I'll miss them
too. But they've made up their minds and I'm
sure that they'll keep in touch. They wouldn't
just abandon you. Besides, I'll be here, I won't
leave you alone. Neither will Oz."

She was still crying into his shoulder. He felt
there was more he could say as he softly stroked
her back, "I'm sure that they'll come back, at
least to visit, once they're sure that the council
goons are gone."

Willow sniffled and looked up at him, "You
think so?"

Angel nodded, "They wouldn't ever abandon the
ones they love, neither of them are like that.
They just need to make sure that they're safe
first."

Willow drew back, wiping her eyes with the
back of her hand. "What do they need me to
do?"

Angel sighed internally. He had really hoped
that she would be willing to do this. "We need a
way to make the council think that Buffy and
Spike are still here. They suggested a glamour."

She thought for a moment, "I guess I could
make it look like you were Spike, so that when
you go out at night for the next two days anyone
you come across will think that you're him."

Angel thought a moment and nodded, "That
works, but what about Buffy?"

"Well they're working under the assumption
that the two of them are acting as a team. If they
see you they won't need to see Buffy, they'll
assume that she's hidden somewhere."

Angel nodded, "That makes sense. Alright,
anything you need?"

"I've got everything I need in here. Are you sure
you're OK with this? It could be very dangerous
for you."

"I've been less than supportive of their
relationship. I need a way to make it up to them.
I'm more than willing to do this for them."

Willow looked at him and gathered the stuff she
would need to do the spell. She admired his
courage for doing this. She hoped that he would
be all right, she wanted him to be there in the
days ahead.

*********

"Then you understand what's been going on?
Why I had to call you?"

"Yes uncle Rupert. I just can't believe that this
has been allowed to continue. Why didn't you
tell me sooner?"

"We were instructed that the knowledge was not
to be shared with those that did not need to
know. My telling you this could cost me my fob,
you know."

"Yes uncle. I know what must be done now.
This cannot be allowed to continue. I will be
sure to put a stop to this."

Giles sighed in relief, "Thank you Elizabeth.
You have no idea how that makes me feel to
know that there will be an end to this practice."

"Of course. And uncle? Don't wait so long to
call again."

"I won't. In fact I was thinking of making a trip
out there this summer. I would love to see you
while I'm there."

"I would be delighted uncle Rupert."

*****
TBC

Quentin Travers sat behind his wide desk
flipping through genealogy charts in front of
him. With the death of the current slayer it
would be advisable to know where the next one
was likely to pop up.

He had been head of the council for a while
now, and had tracked the paths of many newly
risen slayers. It was his duty to keep the balance,
to insure the purity of the line.

To insure the control of the council. The council
needed that control in the war against the
darkness. He would not give up the control, not
for anything. He would continue the tradition
that had existed since the establishment of the
council in the days of Rome.

In the first days of the council they had not kept
the control that the current council had. They
had left much of the fighting to the slayers,
recording the actions for the future generations.
Over time the slayers learned of this and went to
the watchers for advice.

The council elders had agreed to give the advice
to these warriors. Time had passed and the
slayers turned to the watchers for training as
well. This gave the watchers some measure of
authority and control over the slayers.

The watchers became accustomed to this
control. They became convinced of their own
importance. This had become an obsession for
them. It gave them a feeling of superiority over
the rest of their culture.

The current practice of killing off the slayers
had risen from this need for control as well as
the paranoia of the day. When the men had
noticed the longevity of the girls they trained
they became afraid.

Their fear had increased their feel for the need
for control. They had seen the girls as little more
than animals at that point, to be used and thrown
away. It was then that they had begun the
practice, to keep control over what they saw as
dangerous creatures.

This tradition had come through the ages,
always given different justifications. Now it had
reached the present undeterred, and was in full
swing. And Travers would see to it that it
continued for a long time to come.

He had been carefully chosen to lead the
council, to take on this burden. Had gone
through a long series of selections and much
conditioning to get where he was. It was always
that way in order to preserve the council.

His selection had yet to begin. He had not yet
seen anyone whom he thought would be able to
carry on the traditions of the council. He was
still searching, but finding the right person was
hard.

He was thinking about Rupert Giles for a while
as a suitable successor. Rupert Giles came from
a long line of loyal men, and had done
extremely well to date. His work record was
almost impeccable.

Yet he had become concerned of late. Rupert
Giles had become more and more attached to
the current slayers under his watch. It was
distressing.

And his relations were not at the level that they
had been in the past. They strayed from the set
path more and more. They questioned, and
questions were dangerous.

The door burst open, and in came men with
guns. Not the elite, but dangerous men none the
less. And all of them had their weapons trained
on him. One of them was touched on the
shoulder and they parted in front of the desk,
allowing the one behind them to walk forward
to the desk.

"Ms. Bennet, would you care to explain what
this is about?"

"Mr. Travers, I am here to inform you that you
are being relieved of your duties. You will be
escorted from here to a secure location while
your sentence is being deliberated."

"And on whose authority are you acting may I
ask? When the rest of the board gets word of
this..."

"They already know." A voice came from the
doorway. More of the soldiers parted to reveil
the entire board. They stood behind Ms. Bennet,
looking contemptuously at Travers.

"May I ask the reason for this action?"

"I received a call from my uncle, Rupert Giles.
He had some very interesting things to say about
what we have been doing to these young girls
upon whose heads we place the fate of our
world."

"I see."

"We think it best that you be relieved of your
duties as head of council. These barbaric
practices cannot be tolerated."

"It is a practice that has survived for over a
thousand years."

"It is a tradition that ought to be broken. This is
a new time, and the old rules do not apply
anymore. It is time for reform."

"And who will you get to lead your new plans?
Will you sacrifice order and everything that we
have stood for if you cannot find a new leader?
And for what? To uphold your ideals?"

The soldiers moved forward and grabbed him,
handcuffing his wrists behind his back. Ms.
Bennet smiled at him, "I wouldn't worry about
that, Mr. Travers. Your immediate concern
should be for your own well-being. Besides, we
already have someone in mind."

With that a struggling Travers was led out of the
room and his position, leaving behind the board
members. Ms. Bennet turned to them, "Well I'm
sure that we all agree that the first order of
business should be to call off the assassins on
the Hellmouth."

A general sound of assent rang through the
room. The business of reformation had begun.

******

Buffy and Spike had left the town behind as
soon as the sun had come into the sky. They had
packed everything they would need into the
back of Spike's Desoto. Now they drove down
the open road into the desert with the windows
rolled down staring at the sky.

Never seen a blue sky
Yeah I can feel it reaching out
And moving closer

Buffy was leaning up against Spike, clutching at
his chest. Spike had his arm wrapped around
her, as he clung to something to keep him whole
at this moment.

The sunlight fell through the open windows,
warming the leather as the scent of the leather
and the warm desert air filled their noses. Spike
had scraped off the paint when he had
discovered that he no longer had an aversion to
sunlight. Now they both sat on the bench seat
bathed in the warm light while the air whipped
past them.

There's something about blue
Asked myself what it's all for
You know the funny thing about it
I couldn't answer
No I couldn't answer

The streets and buildings of Sunnydale had long
since faded into the horizon. There were few
cars out this far, away from all the towns.
Behind the sound of the wind and the engines
there was silence.

They were alone, truly alone. There was no one
else for hundreds of miles. And in all this they
were together. They felt closer to each other in
this than they had ever before.

Things have turned a deeper shade of blue
The images that might be real
May be illusion
Keep flashing off and on

Spike really didn't know where they were going.
He had no plan, in truth, but to get as far away
from Sunnydale as he could. All he could see
was the road ahead of him, no destination in
mind.

And with the feel of the girl at his side he
couldn't say that he really cared where they
ended up. As long as they were safe, as they
were together, it would be all right. He would be
happy.

Free
Wanna be free
Gonna be free
And move among the stars
You know they really aren't so far

Buffy had to share that sentiment. There was
nothing left for her in Sunnydale. Her mother
was dead. Her friends had betrayed her. All that
was left for her there was death, and its memory,
and the feelings of pain.

She felt Spike's arm around her. He felt like
home. He felt real. He was her anchor. He felt
better than anything had in quite a long time.
For the first time that she could remember, she
felt like things were right when she was with
him.

Feels so free
Gotta be free
Please
Don't wake me from the dream
It's really everything it seemed
I'm so free
No black and white in the blue

They had never really wanted to stay in
Sunnydale. She had always wanted to leave,
always saw in it the certainty of her death, a trap
for her. She had tried so hard to escape from it
but could not. Her sense of duty had always
forced her to go back.

Spike had hated the place. It had been a prison
for him, something that had reminded him of his
humiliation, of his defeat. How could he have
ever been happy in a place that always reminded
him of his inadequacy?

They needed to break their chains. They needed
to be free. They weren't the kind of creatures
meant for such things.

Everything is clearer now
Life is just a dream you know
That's never ending
I'm ascending

Spike tightened his arm around her. She curled
in closer to him, smelling his strong scent. He
kissed the top of her head.

They held each other as they flew across the
asphalt, finally at home with each other. They
were no longer the hunted, they never would be
again. They were free.

******

epilouge

79 years later...

Buffy stood by the window in the apartment that
she and Spike had rented. She watched the
sunrise over New York as her mate slept
soundly in the bed, a sheet over his waist as he
lay on his stomach, hugging the pillow.

It had been almost 80 years now that they were
together, and she still loved him just as much as
she had when she had fled Sunnydale with him.
He could still rile her passion into an inferno
with his look and touch.

The years had passed kindly. He had still not
forgone the bleach, insisting that it was retro and
that he was not lame. However she had stopped
dying her hair at his request and now it hung a
good dirty blonde instead of the bright blonde
that it had been.

Her form had only aged slightly. As he had said,
her slayer status had aged her until her mid
twenties. When she had hit her peak she had
stopped, and her body had remained like that
ever since. Of course he hadn't aged any either,
but she didn't expect him to.

She still wasn't stronger than him. Their
sparring sessions had made her stronger, but his
strength had grown along with hers. They were
equally matched, just as they had always been.

She thought to her friends. A few weeks after
they had fled the hellmouth they had called
Willow. Under her prompting and after some
assurances of her safety and well-being they had
called Giles.

Giles, it turned out, had been their savior. After
the funerals he had called his niece who was on
the board in the council. She had acted quickly
and Quentin Travers had been removed from his
position.

New leadership had arisen in the council
quickly. After not much debate it had been
decided that Giles become the new head. He had
told Buffy when she called, and soon afterwards
new practices were put into effect.

Travers had been eliminated. The new order in
the council, including Giles and his niece, had
felt that the crimes committed defied all
reasonable boundaries of ethics. The execution
had been silent and carried out in secret.

The council had reverted to their original role.
They now recorded and trained the slayers, no
longer giving orders on what should be done.
They were there to aid, not to mastermind.

This had led to slayers living longer. Faith
herself had lived to the age of 36 before finally
being cut down in an apocalypse, defeating the
first evil in the process. The current slayer was
24, and was doing very well.

The hunters had been called off quickly. When
it had been discovered that they were being
threatened in order to do this the council made
vehement apologies and arranged for them to
live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

Giles had run the council for a long time, and
had done quite well. Buffy and Spike had
attended his funeral twenty years ago. His
successor was his own daughter, Ms. Jane Giles.
She had been born about five years after Giles
had assumed his position as head of the council.

He had met a wonderful woman when he moved
to London. They had fallen in love and had
married very quickly. They were together for
many years, and had been faithful until the end.

Their other friends had done well for themselves
as well. Oz had learned to control his
transformation and had moved to Europe, where
he had joined a clan of werewolves that did not
hold hard feelings towards humans.

He had met there a beautiful werewolf and they
had grown old together. They had many cubs
whom now roamed across the world, speaking
to those afflicted and giving advice on how to
deal with their gift.

Cordelia had lost all her money. They lost all
track of her after she left Sunnydale.

After breaking up with Oz Willow had nearly
gone overboard with the magics. She would
have if Angel had not been there for her. He had
held her together through her break up, when
she thought that her heart would never heal.

Buffy had been glad to hear when they had
mated 10 years after she and Spike had fled. She
had always hoped that Angel would be able to
find someone else to make him happy. She
knew that Willow could do that for him and she
was happy for her friends. Willow and Angel's
mating had given Willow her own claim to
immortality. Now the two of them were
celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

She had come to forgive Angel for what he had
done. She had loved him and she knew that he
truly loved her, if he had some problems with
how he showed it. Spike was cautious but over
time he too had allowed his sire back into his
life.

Drusilla stopped in every once in a while. She
never stayed long, but praised their happiness
and their future joy. Truly, she did care for
Spike, if not in the way Spike had for her.

Buffy felt someone behind her, "You know she
shouldn't stalk people."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to disturb your
thoughts."

"It's okay." Buffy turned to see a tall woman
with pale skin, light hair and eyes. She
recognized her from the stories that Spike told
her. "Hello, Tionne."

Tionne smiled, "See you've heard of me."

Buffy shrugged, "It's not every day one meets
an angel."

"As I've said before, there's only one of me. I'm
the angel."

Tionne looked over to where Spike slept and
back at Buffy, "I see that you're happy now. Do
you like my gift?"

Buffy smiled, "Yeah, I do."

Tionne smiled back, "Well I got one more for
you. I already gave you the gift of your mate,
and the chance to be with him forever. But
there's one more I want to give you."

"I couldn't ask for more."

"I think you could." She looked at Buffy, "Isn't
there something that you've wanted, something
that would make your life complete?" She put
her hand on Buffy's flat stomach.

"Well I'm going to give it to you." A light
glowed from where her hand lay and when she
drew it away Buffy could feel it. She knew.

She looked at the angel, her eyes filled with
tears. "Thank you."

The angel smiled, "You'll be great. The world is
out there for you. Now go enjoy your gifts."

She turned and disappeared. Buffy turned to her
mate one the bed. She crawled in next to him.
Her gift...

******
sigh, it's over, my very first fic. I don't know what to
say. I'm ready to hear your responses. I want to know
what to write next. ANy requests? Tell me what you
thought.

The lyrics from the last chap come from a song called
Blue. If you want I'll give you a link so you can hear it.