First Date

Read the mini-Spikefeed chat transcript (complete with 'SQUEEE's) here

Giles and the SITs are walking in the cemetery, and he's explaining how he's not dead. (Caught the axe. From the wrong side, but hey. <G>) He says it was due to reflexes, an innate watchfulness that's almost like another sense--and Spike comes flying into the frame, tackles him, knocks him to the ground.

"HEY!!" they say at the same time, both, peeved, both on the ground.

"You're not the First!" Spike says, at the same time Giles says, "You're not in pain!"

"What?" Giles says.

"Anya said you were the First. Said you were evil." Spike gets up. "You're supposed to be all...go-through-able."

Giles is still cranky. "Well, what the hell did you tackle me for, you birk? What's that supposed to do?"

Spike is embarrassed. "I, uh, I didn't think of that."

Giles, isn't savoring the moment, though. "More importantly," he says, "you just hit me, Why didn't your chip go off?"

Spike looks at his toes. "Well...uh...," Clearly, he doesn't want to have to 'fess up to this.

Buffy comes to his rescue. "Well, uh, when we were at the Initiative..." But she doesn't want to 'fess up, either.

Spike turns to her, helping her out now. "There was a choice."

"Right," Buffy says, a little too brightly. "To repair the chip, or to remove it." She has her very determined to be cheerful face on. Spike watches Giles, brow furrowed, ready to run at the first hint of a stake.

"You remo...You had the chip removed?!?" Giles is incredulous and SO not happy.

"Yeah," she says, drawing the word out so that it sounds very much like, "Well, DUH!"

Spike, still wary, but not as worried now, says, "Had to make a choice."

"It really is okay," Buffy says, very upbeat.

Meanwhile the SiTs are confused about the chip, except for Kennedy. She appears to know exactly what the chip removal means, and she's worried.

Chao An, the new one, says (in Cantonese) that she doesn't understand a word anybody is saying.

Giles comes to Buffy as she's getting ready to go to work. He's concerned about Spike's chip being out. He wants to know why Buffy made that decision.

"I guess it was instinct," she says. "You know, like you were talking about?"

"I made that up!" Giles says. "I knew the Bringer was there because his shoes squeaked." He's not happy with Buffy's decision in light of all the other dangers they're facing, and feels that it's an unnecessary addition to the pile. Buffy brings up Wood and the shovel in the school basement, and says she's checking on him.

"Well that sounds very responsible of you," Giles says, but in that sarcastic way that means he's not too impressed. "Balances out that vampire on the loose issue."

Buffy moves away, getting her things together. "Nothing's changed, Giles. Spike had a chip before, remember?. When the First had him kill and sire people?"

"We have no idea if the chip was working then. A new chip might restrain him if the First attempts to activate him again."

Buffy looks Giles right in the eyes. "Spike has his soul now," she says, very serious. "That's what's going to stop him from hurting people."

Giles isn't buying that. "Buffy..." he begins to protest. She cuts him off before he can go any further. She's not having any of that.

"He can =be= a good man, Giles," she says, "I can feel it. But he's never going to get there if we don't give him the chance." She's not trying to convince Giles; she's telling him how it is. She goes to the door, collects her coat and scarf. Giles follows her.

"Buffy," he says, obviously frustated but trying to be rational. "I want more for you. Your feelings for him are coloring your judgement, I can hear it in your voice. And that way lies a future filled with pain and I don't want that for you."

"We haven't..." Buffy looks down, not wanting to finish that in front of Giles. Maybe not wanting to think about it too hard her own self. "Things are different since he came back," she says gently, but firmly, and she looks him in the eye again. Still telling.

"It doesn't matter if you're not...physical with each other any more," Giles says, obviously not happy with that mental image. "There's a =connection=. You rely on him, he relies on you. That's what's affecting your judgement."

Buffy stares at him for a moment, and there's a flash of anger gathering in her eyes. She gives a small shake of her head. "You think I'm losing sight of the big picture," she says, and Giles is about to agree with her but she doesn't even let him speak. "But I'm =not=. When Spike had that chip, it was like having him in a muzzle. It was =wrong=." She gives Giles a look that's about a millimeter away from a glare; She's not going to be moved on this, she's not changing her mind and she'd not going to let him change it for her. "You can't beat evil by doing evil. I know that." She walks around Giles and leaves.

"Well, I hope you're right," Giles calls after her. "You're gambling with a lot of lives." But she's gone. He's talking to the air, a parent losing an argument with a grown-up child, and his last words are mostly to make him feel better.

((Ed. Note on Wood's weapons in the hidden cabinet: WOW. He's got some cooooool stuff, there, and most of it I recognize from the Museum Replicas catalogue. Some of it I have in my own collection; that wicked cool warhammer in the upper right-hand corner, for example. <G> Can't fault his weapons taste...))

Buffy is in the living room, talking to Willow about Wood and the date. Willow is folding laundry.

Buffy is wondering about Wood, and mentions that it can't be a good thing, being fifteen feet above the Hellmouth and being constantly showered with Evil. Except, from beneath.

"Not a shower," Willow points out.

Buffy considers that. "A bidet," she says. "A bidet of evil!"

Willow wants to know if Buffy likes Wood, and Buffy hems and haws, but finally admits that, yeah, she does. He's solid and smart and normal and not with the wicked thing. Except, what if he is wicked--does that mean she's only attracted to wicked types? Willow declines to comment on that. Buffy, making up her mind, says, "Yeah, I think I like him. And it would be good for me."

"Yeah," Willow says, giving her a sympathetic look. "Help you move on."

"Why does EVERYone in this house think I'm still in love with Spike???" Buffy says, a touch exasperated that everybody seems to be harping on this. But not in the Just-Frelling-QUIT-with-that way, more the Oh-for-crying-out-LOUD sort of way. Willow is a little taken aback.

"No," she says, "no, I mean, move on from this super-self-reliance. Let somebody get close." She doesn't seem terribly surprised to hear "in love with Spike" coming out of Buffy's mouth.

"Oh," Buffy says. Whoops...

Then Xander comes in with news of his date.

Anya has to pee, and sends Buffy out of the bathroom, where they've been trying to get a stain out of Buffy's shirt. (According to Anya, the stain is blood. Or maybe pizza...) Buffy is wearing a tight, lacy camisole, very low-cut.

She steps out into the hallway, and nearly runs into Spike. They're both startled; Spike looks at her, his eyes drawn to her cleavage, but he immediately shifts his gaze to her hairline. She starts to cover herself with the shirt she's holding, but stops herself and lowers the shirt before she's got it up very far.

Spike notices, tries not to smile. "You look nice," he says, still staring at her hair, but it's clear he -really- wants to look elsewhere; he keeps starting to flick glances at her chest, but never quite does it.

"Oh, thanks," Buffy says, very flustered. "Uh, traditionally one wears something...over this..." Okay, that didn't help, and he's still not looking any lower than her nose.

"Hear you got a date." He sounds calm, relaxed, maybe a little bit of gentle joshing going on.

"Well, it's unclear," Buffy says. She doesn't want to admit that it's a real date; she said the same thing to Anya not two minutes before. A little nervous that he's not saying anything, she goes on. "I have this whole theory about a promotion. Or, he's evil."

Spike smiles at her. "Buffy, I'm all right." And he sounds convincing, too.

"You don't have to..."

"What, be noble?" he says. "I'm not. Really, I'm all right." He gives her another smile. "Think I still dream of a crypt for two with a white picket fence?" He's gently making fun of himself, maybe. "My eyes are clear." He looks into her eyes, trying to convey his sincerity.

"Good," Buffy says. "I'm glad." But she drops her eyes, can't look at him when she says it. After a tiny pause, she looks up at him again. "Thank you."

He gives her the ghost of his old snarky smile. "Never much cared for picket fences, anyway," he says, "Bloody dangerous." Trying for a laugh. But the attempt sails right over her head.

"You should try this, too," she says earnestly. "The...going-out thing. I mean...there's that girl you brought to Anya and Xander's not-a-wedding...?" She's clearly groping for something to say, something to take his mind off her date.

"Yeah, right," Spike says, agreeing easily. "Well, there's always those that like the look. Bad boy, you know, does it for some of them. " Very matter-of-fact.

She gives a tiny, half-embarrassed laugh. Playing along, maybe remembering his whole bad boy thing... "Yeah, I can see that." They share a second of humor over it. His eyes flick downward, but before he can see anything, he stops it. "Well, I...I'd better get going," Buffy says, clearly uncomfortable with the reaction she's having to him. "Don't want to be late." She looks away, steps around him, goes on down the hall.

He stands there, holding himself very still, and all the animation drains away from him, leaving emptiness.

***

Spike, Giles and Anya are listening to Willow explain what happened with the First/Jonathon. Dawn is removing the wires from Andrew's chest, going slowly because he wouldn't let her just rip the tape off.

Spike wants to know what they thought they were going to accomplish by recording the FE--pissing it right the hell off?

Willow says no. Spike wants to know why it appeared to Andrew. "Thought it was supposed to be pulling my strings?"

Andrew tells him, "It said it wasn't time for you yet." Spike looks thoughtful, maybe a little worried.

Andrew tells them what the First wanted him to do, and everybody worries. Except Dawn, who is relieved that she wasn't on the "shoot 'em" list.

Giles says they have to circle the wagons, tells Willow to call Buffy to come home. Spike offers to get her, but Willow says she'll call. Text message from Xander, Dawn breaks the code--it's a demon, and not Xander getting lucky.

"Buffy will know what to do," Andrew says. Spike offers to go get her again, but Willow is already dialling Buffy's number, and dismisses his offer. He rolls his eyes at that.

Buffy's phone, unfortunately, is right there in the room with them. "I'll go get Buffy," Spike says. "She'll be worried about the boy. Maybe I can still track her scent." He doesn't wait, this time, for permission, just goes and gets his jacket. (And there was something weird going on with the right shoulder of his shirt--when he turned around, there was a big stain or a rip or...something marring the fabric.)

I will spare y'all the forklatio. <G>

But just as Buffy takes the pear, she realizes that there's someone standing at the table. It's Spike, who is once again looking at her hairline. She straightens up. "What's wrong?" she says, pear still in her mouth.

"Is there a problem?" Wood, looking from Spike to Buffy, isn't happy at the interruption.

Spike doesn't look at Wood. "It's Xander, he says softly. More with the holding himself very still, and there's more in his eyes than just worry for Xander. Hurt, maybe, but he doesn't want her to see it.

The three of them are in Wood's car. Spike is in the back seat. They're way over the speed limit.

"You sure he's at the high school?" Buffy is worried, and doesn't like the silence.

"Willow did a locator spell," Spike replies. "Useful stuff."

"I'm not surprised," Wood says. "That school's at the center of everything."

Things get quiet again. It wigs Buffy.

"How much further is it?"

"Ten minutes," Wood tells her.

More silence. Wood glances into the rearview mirror, and perhaps his eyes narrow when he doesn't see Spike's reflection.

"So," he says, obviously striving for an even tone, "how do you two know each other?"

Buffy jumps on that. A little too quickly, maybe. "Um, Spike works with me." Wood gives her a look. "In the struggle against evil, you know," Buffy goes on. Still a little too quickly.

Wood gives her another look. "Cool," he says, but there's something wary in his eyes.

Buffy bursts into the school basement. "Xander!" She sees Demon-Girl, Xander strung up on the wheel, bleeding, and jumps Maya, who flings her off. Spike comes right at her, and she flips him onto the floor, starts choking him. He vamps out.

Wood, watching, mutters, "He's a vampire."

Spike manages to throw Demon-Girl off, and he and Buffy tag-team her. Wood goes to cut Xander down, managing it just as the seal is opening. He hauls Xander out of the way, and the seal closes, cutting off the arm of the Turok Han that's about to emerge. Demon-Girl knocks Buffy away, turns on Spike. She pins him against the wall, beating the crap out of him, until he goes down. But when she turns, Buffy's right there, and high-kicks her. Before she can recover, Buffy swings her own sword and cuts her head off. The body morphs into a demon. Buffy immediately kneels by Spike, who sits up. Wood, watching, sees the expression on her face as she touches Spike's arm, silently asking if he's all right. He gives a slight nod. "Hey," she whispers. Spike looks up at her, his face shining, and they're caught in each others' eyes for a moment. Wood, seeing, isn't happy. Spike puts his hand over Buffy's, perhaps to reassure her, perhaps to remind her that they're not alone.

She looks over at Wood, who is kneeling beside Xander. She sets her jaw and gets up, goes over to them. Spike follows, though he takes a moment to stand.

"I think your friend is going to be all right," Wood tells Buffy. Spike steps up behind her, and Wood steps away from the two of them.

Buffy kneels by Xander. "Hey, Xand," she says, "I'm here." Maybe apologetic for not getting there sooner.

Xander, weak and in pain, smiles up at her. "So, how's -your- date going?" he says. Buffy looks at Wood, who looks daggers at Spike. Spike lowers his eyes.

After Xander's decision to become gay, and the ensuing goofing around, after Giles' big wet blanket rant, Buffy is sitting alone, curled up on the sofa. She's obviously worried. She looks up; someone's coming. She sees who it is, looks back down again. Not having to pretend she isn't worried. Spike comes in, sits down. Not right next to her, but not at the other end of the sofa, either.

"Anyone tell you 'bout what happened 'round here tonight?" he says. He's quiet, not wanting to make it worse, but not putting it off.

"Willow did," Buffy says, not looking at him. "The First is back in the mix." She frets with the collar of her sweater.

"It...it talked to the little boy," Spike says. "Said it's not time for me yet."

He pauses, but she doesn't say anything, doesn't look at him.

Quietly, he goes on. Determined to get this out. "I should move out. Leave town. Before it -is- time for me." Not thrilled with leaving her alone, but this is necessary.

"No," Buffy says, still not looking at him. "You have to stay."

"You got another demon fighter now," Spike says. -And you don't need me now- hangs in the air between them.

She finally looks at him, her eyes huge. "That's not why I need you here."

It takes him by surprise. He stills for a minute, and speaks to her as though afraid his words might break something fragile. "That right? Why's that then?" Hope sparks in his eyes, but he's not ready to feel it yet.

She looks into his eyes. "Because I'm not ready for you not to be here," she says, and holds his gaze for just a second. Then she looks down, frets at the collar of her sweater again.

Spike stares at her, almost as though he isn't comprehending what she's said. He blinks, tilts his head, lowers his eyes. The sense of it finally comes through, and he pauses a moment before he speaks

"And the principal?" The words are even more cautious than before. Spike slowly looks up at her. He has to take this one face to face. "How's he fit in?"

She gives him a Look, which may mean, "Don't be an idiot," or possibly, "Don't start up with me again." (Ed. Note: I wouldn't take bets on that last one, but I may be, er, a tad biased.) He looks down, lowers his head, thinks about that. Whatever she means by it, it's something he's not sure how to deal with.

She purses her mouth when he looks away, and wraps her arms around herself again.

--

Dori

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