"What?" Giles asked, foregoing any social niceties.

"He’s here," the vampire said quietly.

Giles swallowed convulsively, desperately wanting his suspicions to be wrong.  "He?"

"Angelus."

Giles sat down heavily on the sofa.  He’d always known that Angelus’ arrival was an inevitability, but it had taken so long he’d dared to hope it wouldn’t transpire at all.  However, hoping it wouldn’t happen hadn’t meant that he hadn’t made plans for that eventuality.

"It may not be as dire as it seems, William," the Watcher said quietly.

Will looked at him incredulously and snorted.  "Maybe I didn’t make myself clear earlier, but Angelus is one sick motherfucker.  He’ll tear this town apart and Buffy will wish that some random vamp had taken her out years ago."

Giles winced at the vampire’s tone.  There was no doubt that Angelus’ intentions were every bit as twisted as William believed them to be.

"I ... " the Watcher began, "there might ... we’re not without means."

"Of course we’re not," Will replied.  "We’ve got a damn talented Slayer."

Giles shook his head.  "That’s not what I mean.  I ... er ... Miss Calendar, Jenny, and I have been looking into a few ... options."

"You and the computer nerd?" Will asked, amused despite his foul mood.  "What are you two possibly going to do against Angelus?"

Giles expression became very sober as he said, "Miss Calendar is more than what she seems, William."

Will straightened in his chair.  He’s never liked the sultry brunette, but he’d never been able to place exactly why.  "What do you mean?"

"Her real name is Janna Kalderash.  She’s a gypsy."

Will sank back in his chair and laughed.  It made perfect sense.  "Let me guess," he said wryly.  "You’re going to try and neuter Angelus the same way I was."

Giles nodded slowly.  "Yes, but it’s a bit more involved than that."

"How so?"

"It would be easier if I let Jenny explain-" Giles began.

"No!" Will interrupted.  "That bitch makes my skin crawl.  You explain it."

Giles nodded.  It was not at all unusual that William had no desire to be around a member of the tribe that cursed his eternal existence.  "Her people originally intended to curse both of you for your transgressions."

"Murders, you mean," Will supplied acridly.

"Yes," Giles admitted.  "Unfortunately, some of the members believed that Angelus should have a special, even more devious curse.  They weren’t able to work quickly enough.  Your curse was completed, but given the complexity of the one they were trying to mold for him, he was able to escape before it was finished."

Will’s expression was neutral.  "So he got away while I got stuck with all of our sins."

"Yes."

"So, is the gypsy bitch still trying to work this special mojo for Angelus?"

Giles bristled at William’s term for his girlfriend, but chose to ignore it.  "No," he said evenly.  "She was able to locate a copy of the curse that was worked on you.  It’s straight forward, no special loopholes like the other they were trying to complete."

Will was quiet for long minutes while he contemplated everything Giles had said.  "You really think this can work?"

Giles rubbed his eyes wearily.  "If we can contain Angelus long enough to cast the spell, if the text is indeed complete.  Yes, it should work just as yours did."

William nodded.  "Fine.  Let’s give it a try."

With a sigh, Buffy leaned into her boyfriend.  He’d been in a bad mood all evening and categorically refused to dance or talk or move even.  She could have danced alone, or in a group with Xander and Willow, but she didn’t like to leave him alone when he got like this.

"You gonna tell me what’s goin on?" she asked quietly.

Will looked at her with hooded eyes for several heartbeats before his mouth twisted into a wry grin.  "Observant, aren’t you?" he asked with a smirk.

Buffy smiled back.  "You’re not even trying to get into my pants," she said with mock seriousness.  "That usually means something’s really wrong."

He hadn’t been expecting her response and it amused him to no end.  With a bark of laughter, he pulled her into his lap, kissing her soundly.  "I’ll do my best to remedy the situation," he said with a wink.

Buffy smiled.  She’d definitely been kidding.  She practically had to maul him to get him to do anything most of the time.  It was like he was terrified she was going to push him away at every turn.  At this rate, she’d either be a forty year old virgin, or she’d have to take matters into her own hands.

Will responded immediately as she deepened the kiss, his fingers digging into her hips as they mutually molested each others’ mouths.  However, as Buffy’s hand began to move up from his knee, he broke it off and placed his hand over hers, stopping it’s assent.

"What?" Buffy asked, she was flushed and breathing hard.

"Pet," he said in a strangled voice.

She giggled which just enflamed him more.  "Come on," she whispered, "I know you want it."

He groaned, wondering to himself what he’d done recently to have the fates test him like this.  He wanted nothing more than to bury himself in her at that very moment, but regardless of what she thought, he knew she wasn’t ready.  He wasn’t going to rush her, and he wasn’t going to let her do it either.

"I’d heard Slayers have extreme physical appetites, but I’d never taken them to be sluts."

Will reacted immediately to the voice, leaping from the futon, twisting and pulling Buffy behind him.  For her part, Buffy was confused as hell.  She looked around Will at the intruder and the whole world stopped.

"Angelus," Will hissed, making sure to keep himself between Buffy and his sire.

"Boy," the elder vampire returned coldly.

Buffy was unable to keep herself from staring.  She’d heard countless stories of William’s sire and had constructed a mental image to go along with the horrors.  Unfortunately, her mental image was no where near as attractive as the dark vampire standing in front of them.  In her naiveté she hadn’t thought to equate near physical perfection with a creature of unadulterated evil.  She instinctively pressed herself against Will’s back.

"Keeping pets?" Angelus asked, arching an eyebrow appreciatively at Buffy.  "Does her Watcher know about you?"

"He knows," Will hissed through clenched teeth.

"Really?" Angelus asked, genuinely amused.  "How novel.  A Watcher who condones a relationship between his Slayer and a vampire.  I always had to sneak around when I seduced the little tramps.  Of course, their Watchers all found out eventually when I left them the bodies.  You remember, don’t you?  The cute little redhead in Milan?  What was she, fourteen?"

"That wasn’t me," Will stated coldly.

Angelus laughed again.  "Sure it wasn’t," he said evenly.  Looking at Buffy, he whistled appreciatively.  "She is one nice piece of ass, William."

Will’s posture stiffened even further, but he did not respond.

"She’s yours?" Angelus asked, already knowing the answer.  "You do know what that means, don’t you, boy?"

"I don’t follow those traditions anymore," Will bit out.

"But *I* do, boy," Angelus said darkly.  "And by those traditions, what is yours, is mine.  It is my right as Sire."

Will felt Buffy stiffen behind him and changed the subject.  "What do you want?" he bit out.

Angelus laughed.  "I came here to kill you both," he said evenly.  "But, I really hadn’t anticipated the little Slayer being such a tasty morsel.  Maybe I’ll have a little fun with her before I finish her off."

Will growled instinctively.  He knew exactly how Angelus liked to "have fun" and he had absolutely no intention of letting him anywhere near Buffy.  "Fuck you," he spat at the older male.

The smirk that William remembered so well in his nightmares lit Angelus’ face.  "Is that an offer?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.  "I’m shocked, William.  I wouldn’t think you would want your little pet to know how things *really* are between us."

Will bristled.  That had been more than a century before.  Reading his expression, Angelus laughed again and then was gone ...

"Where’d he go?" Buffy asked, whipping her head around the room frantically searching.

"He’s gone, Luv," Spike said, ending the statement with a sigh.

"Was he serious about ... the other Slayers?" Buffy asked, trying to sound bored.

Will fixed her with a hard stare and she instinctively looked away, burrowing deeper into her covers.  Will rocked on the window sill where he sat, watching over her until she sleep took her.

"Yes, he was serious," Will said, his voice rife with self loathing.

"How many?" she asked, somewhat shocked by her own morbid curiosity.

"Luv, I don’t think we should be talking about this."

"Tell me."

Spike sighed, rubbing his jaw absently.  "I don’t know for sure.  I saw him take three.  He always boasted that it was over a dozen, but I don’t know."

"So, he’s good at killing Slayers," she noted wryly.

"No," Will qualified, "he’s good at killing innocent young girls.  He likes seduction and manipulation.  If you know his game, he can’t get to you."

Buffy sighed, looking at Will for long moments before she spoke.  "What did he mean about his ‘rights’?" she asked quietly.

Will rubbed his eyes with one hand, wishing to hell he’d just stayed away from Sunnydale.  If he hadn’t killed Darla, Angelus would never have shown up in the first place.

"Vampire tradition," Will said quietly.  "According to it, anything that is mine is his by virtue of him being my Sire."

"And this includes your girlfriend?" Buffy asked, shocked at the barbarism.

"Especially my girlfriends," Will noted wryly.  Drusilla had always been Angelus’ favorite negotiating tool with is most favored childe.

Buffy laughed, trying to break the tension.  "Don’t worry," she said lightly.  "I’m a one vamp kind of girl."

Will nodded, but he knew there was more to it than Buffy was admitting.  He’d sensed her reaction to Angelus, despite however bad she knew him to be, she was still attracted to him, if only on a physical level.  Angelus would do everything in his power to exploit that to his advantage.

"You need to sleep, Buffy," he said quietly.

"I know," she said with a sleepy yawn, "just be careful out there."

"Don’t worry," he said quietly and slipped from the room.

The End

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