Chapter Thirty-Two

 

Giles stood propped against a wall, one hand occupied with a paper plate laden with cake.  Birthday cake.  Buffy’s birthday cake.  Looking at all the faces milling about the university rec room, he couldn’t help but be smacked in the face with Buffy’s reality.  For the most part he could tell that the majority of them were not friends, just others who shared her dorm floor- or classes- and with whom Willow obviously thought it would be a good idea to associate.  Nobody was older than twenty, except for him.  Well, unless you included Spike, and maybe that Riley fellow.  But no one as old as himself.  He had never felt so superfluous in his life.

 

Of course it was a blast for Buffy to celebrate her getting older with her friends, but it was really important that they do something very soon about this Initiative problem. The continual delays for setting up a plan frustrated him.  He had tried to converse with Xander and Anya, only to be shelved for food and dancing, and quickly realised that his stories of his own youth were tremendously boring to his younger charges and his lip curled a little in resentment.  It seemed his whole existence had come to a grinding halt. Buffy seemed to have everything under control, her hand firmly ensconced in Spike’s.  Even that resulted in a small grimace, although he was accepting to an extent- well, the extent that the relationship had been sanctioned by much Higher Powers than he, so who was he to stand in the way?

 

Willow replenished his empty cake plate and wished him well, and again disappeared to mingle.  Buffy finally located his miserable wall occupation and dragged Riley over for an introduction, Spike standing close and vibrating with low yet menacing growls, and Giles felt like laughing aloud.

 

“Giles?”  Buffy fair bubbled with good humour, sated in that way only a true love can be, as well as that hunger for dominance over a foe with too much power.  She was awash in confidence and Giles found that he could not deny that he had the vampire and his unwavering acceptance of her to thank.  She had gained an intensity and creativity in her fighting skills since mating with the vampire that could only be of  benefit to her.  He decided to let go of his concerns and just be happy for her.

 

“Happy Birthday, Buffy.”  He smiled and for the first time that night felt pleased that he was in on her surprise bash.

 

“Were you in on this, Rupert?” Spike’s voice held a tone of amusement, of a hidden message that the Watcher decided to ignore. 

 

Giles was sure the bastard knew that he was uncomfortable.

 

“I-I-It was more Willow and Xander actually.  Though, um, good idea wasn’t it?”  His voice held all the superficial brightness of his party expression for the night as he tried to bluff his way through.  “I’m not sure I would have gone with the surprise party.”  His smile was a little too planned, and to the observing eye, a lot pained.  “You know, you have enough things jumping out at you in the dark.”

 

“It’s good though, everyone here.  Of course, you could smash in all my toes with a hammer and it will still be the bestest Buffy Birthday Bash in a big long while.”

 

Giles choked on cake and Spike thumped him on the back, grinning evilly at his girl. 

 

“Your tongue is acerbic, baby.”

 

Buffy’s look of confusion was comical as she turned to Spike and her eyes widened.

 

“Huh?”

 

Spike and Giles engaged in a knowing look that just screamed ‘for the grown-ups’ and snickered on the side.

 

Buffy shot them a hard look before defiantly taking a hold of Riley’s arm and shoving him in front of Giles.

 

“Giles.  This is Riley Finn.  He works for the Initiative.  He’s willing to come and talk to us about our little Adam problem. He’s trying to think of a way of getting me inside the base.”

 

Giles visibly brightened at the prospect of getting the gang back on track and grabbed the boy, walking him away before Buffy could start pronouncing him in need of more blasted cake. 

 

Spike’s arm snaked around her waist as she watched them go and pulled her flush against his front.

 

“They’re playing our song, pet.  Wanna dance?”

 

Buffy smiled happily and kissed him gently on the lips.

 

“What’s our song, Spike?”

 

That evil grin was back as he positioned her on the space consigned for dancing and began to move slowly against her.

 

“This one!  It’s playing; I want to dance, we need a song.  Baby, this is it.”

 

She had no idea who it was sung by, or what the name of the song was, but just like she did with Spike, it fit.  Her head resting against his shoulder, she accepted the birthday dream of her friends and surrendered to good times and functioning toes, just knowing that this year, her birthday would be sensational.

 

Her night did not end with the party break up, or the running out of cake -Xander had that covered!-nor with the stroll through romantic cemeteries and parks, while twirling pointy pieces of wood.  The night ended with cool lips caressing hers and beautiful birthday wishes professed by loving hands.  And when her eyes closed at the completion of her nineteenth birthday she sighed in  perfect happiness.  She had had no expectation of goodness for this day, already knowing that her birthdays were cursed.  On another birthday, she had managed to break a curse, though this was a happy one.   In cool arms, she slept.

 

It would be days later before she completely understood the events of the next day.  Lying gleefully naked in her lover’s arms, she had come to wake with the garbled throat manipulations of a Fyarl demon- ugly as hell- leaning over her.  She shrunk back in shock, clinging to her skimpy covers against her breasts, and then took the time to glare at Spike who tipped over the side of the bed-partially dragging her covering with him- and laughed his ass off.

 

“What the hell is so funny?  We have a demon in our bedroom, we’re going to have to fight naked, and you are having a fit of the hysterics.  Sorry if I’m not seeing the humour here.”

 

“It’s Giles.”  Both the demon and Slayer swung to him, perfectly synchronised.

 

“You can understand me?” he snarled in Fyarl, and Spike gave up trying to be polite, laughing heartily in his face with tears of mirth pouring down his face.

 

“Of course I can.  I speak fluent Fyarl.” 

 

Giles stopped to look at the vampire in pleased surprise, and with a quick look to his right found Buffy to be doing the same.  She looked back and forth at the two, before holding the sheet a little closer to her chest. 

 

“Ah, Giles?  Would you mind giving us a chance to get dressed?”

 

He waved about his big horned head, throatily grumbled something, and then took himself out of the room.

 

Buffy remained sitting on the bed, momentarily stunned. 

 

“That was Giles?”  Her sleepiness was obviously affecting her judgement skills, and Spike just smiled at her indulgently.

 

“That was what I would call an angry, vengeful Fyarl demon, who just happens to be Giles.”

 

Buffy searched for his ‘just kidding’ look, and groaned when she didn’t find it.

 

“Oh boy.”  Shaking her head at the weirdness that was her life, she dressed then went out to hear the story.  Within minutes they vacated the apartment on a manhunt for Ethan Rayne, rage clicking on Buffy’s heels.

 

When the army vehicles started to follow them, Buffy swore colourfully under her breath.  She had no time to think of a plan, and as the seriousness of their sudden situation settled on her she felt like screaming.  She only had Riley’s word that he would stop trying to recapture Spike, but that didn’t stop the other hundred or so soldiers on the loose from trying to make a name for themselves.

 

Understandably, she was against the idea of them splitting up.  The Citroen was no match for army humvees however, so she allowed Spike to command her and Giles to jump out and let him play bait, leading the soldiers away from the temporary Fyarl demon.  As soon as she rolled across the bitumin however, she knew in her gut it was a mistake.

 

One thing at a time, she ordered her mind, and she made to drag Giles after her to the motel room hiding Ethan.  Until she found he was ambling rather determinedly about eight metres ahead of her.   She quickly followed him and encountered Rayne packing to leave town.

 

By the time they left, Ethan Rayne wondered why he had ever succumbed to the bright idea to change Giles into a large and strong Fyarl, instead of one of the lesser, weaker demons.

 

After a brief summary with the core Scoobies, Buffy raced back to Spike’s, hoping he would already be back and waiting in bed for her.  The place was dark and lonely.  She curled up onto the spectacularly unmade bed, and waited.  As night began to turn into day she was curled up into a ball of fear, feeling electric currents periodically scorching her neck.  Her tears flowed, her lips wobbling in misery, and her heart throbbed in panic. 

 

He hadn’t come home, and she knew that he had been recaptured.