Acknowledgements: As always, my thanks and admiration to Tracy and Abby. It's hard to find the words to express how much they have helped me, and how much I owe them. They're not just my beta's any more, I consider them friends.

The vampire was tough and sneaky. Vampires didn't survive long unless they were. So he knew that by coming to Sunnydale, he was pushing his luck. The slayer that lived here was the best. Rumor had it she had even returned from the dead… a couple times. Still, he thought, a job's a job. You do what you have to. And right now he had to survive this fight. He peeked around the side of the crypt and searched the night's darkness with vampire eyes. She was out there; he could feel it. Where, was the question.

His only answer was silence as he searched the dark expanse of the cemetery. A thought occurred to him, Maybe I need a different point of view. He backed away from the side of the small building, preparing to jump to the roof. He paused, his vampire hearing picking up a sound. He turned his head trying to pinpoint it and caught a whiff of something familiar in the slight breeze. "Slayer," he whispered; she was close.

He jumped up to the roof of the crypt in one smooth leap, then suddenly came flying back down, landing on his back. He looked up for only a moment before rolling out of the way, as Buffy's boot landed hard, right where his face had been. "You're good." she admitted breathlessly.

She charged him as he prepared himself for another go-round. They had been fighting for what seemed like hours and were both tiring. Despite how fatigued her muscles were, Buffy never slowed her punches. With a final kick, she sent him falling over the top of a tombstone. He tried to rise, but was still on one knee when Buffy leapt over him and staked him cleanly through the back.

As his dust settled, Buffy stood straight up and glared at the space where he had been. "But not quite good enough." She was exhausted, but invigorated at the same time. Lately, more and more of the older and stronger vampires had been showing up, gunning for her. And as the fights got harder, she became stronger. Each one pushing her to be better, to be more than she was.

She suddenly whirled at the sound of footsteps behind her. "'Bout bloody time, luv." Spike walked up to her, grinning his typical smart-ass grin. "Thought you were gonna fight that one all night."

Buffy raised her eyebrows at him, "What's the matter, jealous?"

Spike scoffed at her remark "Me? Jealous? Of that…that poofter? What, just 'cause he got to see some of your best moves? 'Cause he could actually throw a punch without some soddin' chip zapping his skull? Just 'cause… it's been a long time since I've been able to fight you that hard?" He stepped closer to her.

Buffy gave him a mock defensive look and protested, "He didn't fight that hard. I won didn't I? He's dusty; I'm still standing. Piece of cake."

Spike grinned at her. "Piece of cake, right. That why it took you close to a bleedin' hour to dust him?" He noticed her shaking arms and took a step closer. "By the looks of things, you wouldn't 'ave been standin' much longer." He tilted his head and grinned at her as she shivered slightly. "Or are you just tremblin' with desire for me?" he gave her his sexiest smile and lightly traced one finger down her bare arm.

She took a step closer to him and glared in his eyes. "In your dreams, bleach boy."

"No, pet, in yours." He was inches from her as they looked into each other's eyes.

She knew what he was waiting for; the traditional make out session that always followed any particular hard fight. He always waited for her to start it. He was being true to his word about giving her the time she needed and letting her set the pace. It had been months though, and she was getting tired of the now agonizingly slow pace. Time to turn things up a notch, she thought. She turned and quickly walked away.

It took him a moment to react. "Bloody hell. Hey!" When he finally had use of his legs again, he trotted the few steps to catch up with her. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She ignored him and kept walking. He grabbed her arm to stop her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To the Magic Box." She turned to leave again, and this time he grabbed her more forcefully and pulled her too him. She had to struggle not to smile.

"Is that what you really want to do?" He looked deep into her eyes, trying to read her.

She gazed back placidly at first, but soon she could feel her pulse start to pick up. She knew he would notice, but she didn't want to give away anymore than she had to. "What do you think? You're so good at knowing what I want. You tell me." She raised her chin slightly, trying to seem stubborn and unaffected.

He didn't buy it. In the space of one breath he could feel her desire rising. That old familiar pattern of changes in her body that told him the truth she would never speak. "I'll do better than tell, luv. I'll show you." He gave her a seductive smile as he drew closer.

She leaned back, a teasing smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. He noticed, and immediately changed his mood from slow and seductive to fast and demanding. He pulled her to him and wrapped one arm behind her head, quickly claiming her mouth with his own. She was ready for him and responded with equal passion. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him hard against her.

He stopped the assault on her mouth and began kissing a wet trail down the side of her neck to the dip where it met her shoulder. There he settled and began teasing her in earnest, biting and licking at her tender skin. He clutched her to him as her breathing quickened.

This was what she had always wanted, what she could never get from anyone else, pure passion, aggressive and demanding. A desire so strong it held nothing back. As his blunt teeth bit and scraped along her neck, she realized how much she truly trusted him. He sucked hard on her neck, causing shivers up her spine. She let out a small quiet moan.

He lifted his head to look at her face. Her eyes were burning as she gazed back at him. "Tonight." She said. "Now." No other words were needed. He took her hand and began walking quickly toward his crypt.

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

Giles was at the Magic Box's front counter, unpacking two huge antique books. He put the first one down gently and began unwrapping the second. As he removed the acid free tissue paper from the back cover, he smiled at how well preserved the dark burgundy color of the leather still was. He lightly traced his hand down the cover, marveling at the smooth supple texture. The only thing better than receiving rare old books, was receiving rare old books in mint condition.

Giles slowly turned it to gaze at the binding and noticed the title embossed in gold leaf. As he finally turned it to the front cover he gasped slightly. Centered in the front cover was a raised emblem of a blood red dragon carrying a sorcerers magic staff in its taloned claw. It's furrowed brows rode two bloodstone eyes that glared at him with fiery hatred. Above it the title 'The Legend of Enoch' fairly glowed, embossed in gold.

Giles slowly began to open the book, holding his breath in anticipation. Suddenly the phone rang and he started, nearly dropping the book. He rolled his eyes and carefully placed the book down as he picked up the phone. "The Magic Box, how may I help you?" His eyes were still on the book till he heard the familiar voice at the other end.

"Rupert? This is Edward. We need to talk" His voice was strained and Giles immediately knew something was wrong.

"Yes, Edward. What is it?" Giles placed the books back in the box.

"Things here are rather… well, we've been a bit preoccupied here as of late, which is why I haven't called before. How is Miss Summers doing?"

Giles bristled at the question. The last time the Council had visited them they had put everyone on the defensive, claiming the need to know if Buffy was prepared for the information they had on Glory. They had attacked her methods, grilled her friends needlessly, not to mention threatened Giles with deportation. The fact that they had called out of the blue and asked about Buffy put him on edge, to say the least. "She is doing well."

"And her friends… are they remaining… useful?"

"Yes, quite. Edward what…"

Edward interrupted him, "And the vampire… Spike. What about him?"

Giles was taken aback. "Spike? Edward, what is going on here? Have you not been receiving my reports?"

Edward was silent for a moment. "Some of them, yes. But…uh…circumstances being what they are here, we've found it rather difficult to…keep up…as it were." He paused. "I really need to know about the vampire, Rupert. It's very important."

Giles answered, "Spike is…um…well, he's still among the undead. He has become quite an integral part of our group actually, helping with patrols…"

Edward sounded shocked. "He has?"

"Well…yes. It…it's really quite remarkable how…"

"What about his bloodlust? How is that effecting him?" Edward asked.

"Well, I…I don't really know. It's not a topic we discuss…I suppose the same as it always has." Giles was beginning to resent the interruptions but was intrigued to find out why all the sudden interest in Spike.

"So nothing has changed? How odd. We were certain that it would have had some effect on him." Edward drifted off in thought.

"You were certain what would have some effect on him? Really Edward, I do wish you would just explain what you're talking about."

Now Giles was really confused. Lately the Watchers Council had been more and more out of the loop for some unexplained reason. Though Giles had continued to send his reports to the council as regularly as possible, replies from them had come fewer and farther between. When Buffy died and they had decided to use the Buffybot to keep up appearances, Giles had decided to keep that detail out of his reports. Dawn and the Scooby's needed him here. If the council found out the Slayer was dead they would have pulled him back to England.

After a few moments of silence Edward spoke, "Are you alone?"

Giles carried the phone around to the other side of the counter and looked around the store. The store was completely empty and though he knew Anya was around somewhere he couldn't see her. "I… I believe so."

"Rupert," Edward spoke impatiently. "You must be certain. This is important."

Giles frowned and looked around the store again. "Well alright. There's no one here, I'm sure of it. What's this all about then?"

Edward sighed and began in a low voice. "A few months ago you came to me with a problem. Do you remember? Having to do with Buffy's… reluctance in staking a certain vampire ?"

Giles remembered all too well. When Buffy had told him about Spike chaining her up in order to confesses his love for her, Giles had nearly hit the roof. Gone through it in fact. Then when Spike had come to the Magic Box Giles had assumed he was trying to weasel his way into her good graces by going through her friends. He had barely restrained himself from staking Spike then and there. Instead, he sent him on his way and called the Council. He had decided it would be best for everyone if Spike would finally get that chip out of his head. That way there would be nothing holding anyone back from staking him.

In order to get the Council to do that, Giles had told them about Spike's infatuation with Buffy. He had told them that the combination of that and the chip keeping him from hurting anyone, was giving Buffy a reason to resist killing him. Without the chip, she would see him for his true self and certainly have no qualms about killing him.

Giles regretted making that call now, for so many reasons. "Oh dear Lord. You mean…"

"Yes. I took your advice and had the chip removed from Spike. He is fully capable of taking human life now. In fact he has been for some time."

"What? How long is 'for some time'… exactly?" Dread was pooling in the pit of Giles stomach as he realized what Edward was suggesting.

"The operation was carried out just after the issue with Glory had been resolved. Our people were lucky enough to find him in a state of… well… he was quite out of it when they found him. Apparently he had been taking to the bottle quite a bit for some reason. He did us a favor actually. Made it easier to capture him without his being aware. The operation went smoothly, and we had him back in his crypt five days later. He was completely unaware anything had happened."

Giles sat slowly on the stool behind him. He couldn't believe all that time had gone by without anyone knowing. Spike had been with them all, including Dawn, without anything to hold him back from killing them, or worse. He wondered briefly why Spike hadn't tried. He dismissed the thought quickly reminding himself that he had become an important part of the group, even to the point of risking his life for them. That coupled with the fact that Spike didn't know it was out, of course he wouldn't try anything. But it was only a matter of time.

Edward broke through his thoughts. "Giles, I was going to tell you right away but… well… as I said, we've been a bit preoccupied with problems of our own. In fact… I really need to go now. I'm not sure when we'll be able to speak again… so…good luck." The line suddenly went dead.

Giles looked at the receiver in confusion. "Bloody hell." He knew something had to be seriously wrong for Edward to just hang up on him like that. Good, he thought. Serves them right. Giles hung up the phone and smirked happily for a moment before his mind brought him back to the danger at hand. "Buffy!"

He jumped up and rushed to the door, nearly running into Dawn head first. "Dawn, have you seen Buffy? Is she at your house?"

"No, I just came from there." Dawn looked up at him warily. He looked completely panicked and she was about to ask him what was wrong.

He suddenly grabbed her shoulders. "Where are they?"

"She and Spike went patrolling hours ago. Jeesh Giles, what's the problem?"

"Stay here," he told her firmly and disappeared out the door.

Dawn walked over to the table as she tried to figure out what just happened. Anya stepped slowly out of the training room and crossed to the table, a look of fear on her face.

Dawn was too confused over Giles behavior to notice. As she sat down, she asked Anya, "What the heck was that about?"

"Trouble." Anya looked up at Dawn. "The big kind."

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

The door of Spike's crypt flew open as he and Buffy stumbled inside. They had run the last few yards and Buffy was laughing breathlessly. Spike closed the door behind them and turned to see his love trying to calm a giggling fit.

She looked up to see him approaching her. Her giggles subsided as she took in his seductive smile. He was hunting her as he stalked ever closer, his eyes never leaving hers, his desire showing clearly in their blue depths.

When he was mere inches from her he stopped and tilted his head to look her over. He watched her chest rise and fall heavily, felt the heat radiating from her body. When he looked into her eyes and saw the naked passion displayed there his desire nearly overwhelmed him.

"What are you waiting for, Spike?" She said huskily. "Show me you want me." She smiled at him and leaned slightly forward.

Not able to resist any longer, Spike pulled her close and seared her lips with a burning kiss. She clung to him trying desperately to get closer. He withdrew from her and once again his mouth began a slow wet journey down her neck as his hands roamed under her shirt.

She arched back, leaning against the tomb behind her, and wrapped her legs around his waist. He could feel her heat right through his jeans and it coaxed a low growl from his throat. The vibrations of his growl against the pulse in her neck sent shivers through her body. "Oh, Spike" She moaned.

Suddenly the door of the crypt flew open, banging loudly. Spike was startled enough that his game face flew on as he turned to fight. As soon as he saw Giles come through the doorway, he shook off his demon visage and relaxed a bit. "Bloody hell!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Giles rushed up to them as they separated, and stood protectively in front of Buffy. "You just stay back, Spike. I'm warning you."

Buffy embarrassment melted as confusion took it's place. She stared at him in disbelief. "Giles, What's the matter?"

"Yea, I was just… Um…I was going to…uh…" Spike stumbled over trying to come up with something other than the truth. Buffy had given him a long talk about how she didn't want anyone to know what was going on with them until, well, until she knew just what was going on. He had agreed to keep their make-out sessions a secret for the time being. So just how was he supposed to explain this?

"I know bloody well what you were going to do, and I won't let you. You will not turn her." Giles gave Spike a dangerous look. For a second Spike saw the Ripper in his eyes.

"Turn me? What are you talking about Giles?" Buffy stepped around Giles and stood between him and Spike.

Giles looked from Buffy to Spike and back. They were both looking at him as if he'd gone insane. Maybe he had. He'd seen the way they looked at each other when they thought no one was watching. He knew Buffy was starting to fall for him and that was something he couldn't allow. Despite Spike's obvious love and loyalty for Buffy, he was still a vampire. And especially now that Spike was freed of the chip, he was certain it wouldn't be long before his vampire urges resurfaced. He was just glad he had gotten there in time. "Buffy, come with me." He took her hand and tried to pull her away from Spike, all the while watching him as one would a cobra about to strike.

She stood her ground "No, Giles. Not till you tell me what's going on. I haven't seen you this tweaked since… well, I don't think I've ever seen you this tweaked." He really did look slightly crazed and Buffy was beginning to worry.

"I will explain everything later, just come with me now." He tried to pull her away again but this time she yanked her hand out of his grasp.

"No." She suddenly had that look she got when she would not leave something alone. "I'm not going anywhere till you explain why you are so sure Spike will try to turn me. As we all remember he can't hurt anyone with that computer chip in his brain." Giles remained silent, glaring at Spike, with his hand on Buffy's arm. "Giles, what is it?" She suddenly had a bad feeling something was terribly wrong. "Tell me, now." Her voice left no room for argument and Giles broke his gaze on Spike, long enough to get a read of her face.

Giles spoke quietly and slowly, watching Spike for a reaction, more than Buffy, "Well, Buffy. You see…he doesn't… exactly have… the chip… anymore. It was removed." He gently pulled the shocked Slayer, away from the even more shocked vampire.

After several minutes of tense silence, Spike was the first to recover. "Now wait just a bloody minute. That's impossible. I think I would bloody well remember somebody cutting a hole in my skull."

Giles hadn't taken his eyes off Spike. "Not necessarily. They could have drugged you without you knowing and kept you out of it the entire time."

"How long?" Buffy stared at Spike as if she'd been betrayed. "How long have you been without it?"

Spike was hurt by the look on her face. He knew she was thinking that he had kept it a secret from her. "How the bloody hell should I know?"

"Think," Giles replied. "when was the last time you actually tried to hurt someone?"

Buffy tried to think but her brain wouldn't respond. She felt like she was falling into a great abyss. For months she had trusted him, with her life, with her sister… with her heart. Had he been playing her that whole time? Waiting till the right moment to strike out at all of them?

"The fight with Glory." His voice and face were calm. The kind of dread calm you get when you realize something you would give your life not to know. He looked straight at Buffy. "The last time I hurt a human was that night at the gas station. You remember. The Knights-of-misplaced-loyalties were trying to get lil' bit? I stepped in to fight the good fight, and got zapped right on my soddin' ass for tryin'."

Buffy couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe it. All that time without it. She looked from Spike to Giles. "Yea, but wouldn't we have noticed he was missing? I mean, an operation like that doesn't happen one day and then you're up and around the next, scar free like nothing's wrong."

Giles answered her, still looking at Spike. "Actually, it took five days exactly."

"Five days when?" Buffy crossed her arms. Spike had been with her or Dawn pretty much constantly since Buffy was reborn. There wasn't a single five-day span since… then it hit her. She looked at Spike. "When I… while I was…"

"Dead." he finished for her. "After you died Buffy… I wasn't exactly my usual, fun-loving self." He tried to smile. "Not for a while at least." He hung his head down as painful memories resurfaced.

"There were actually two weeks during that time when none of us saw him." Giles relaxed enough to glance at Buffy. "We just thought he was either grieving or had left town."

Spike's head snapped up. "I would never leave Dawn, you know that." The defensive anger in his eyes put Giles back on edge, and he moved to stand between him and Buffy.

"We didn't know that then, Spike. And now, without the chip, we have no reassurances that you will continue to protect her." Spike took a threatening step towards him, but Giles stood his ground.

As they locked eyes, Spike realized that now was not the time to show force. He regained control of his emotions and tried, what he hoped was a sincere smile. "Guess I have some reassuring to do, now don't I?"

The two men stared each other down, neither one sure if they trusted the other. Finally Giles spoke in a low, threatening voice. "Well, the only thing that will accomplish that task is time. Something I am willing to grant you. However, you only have one chance Spike. You hurt one hair on anyone's head, you so much as bruise anyone's feelings… I will make sure you wish Buffy staked you a long time ago."

Spike nearly shivered at Giles' tone. The look in his eyes was pure Ripper. Spike never could resist tempting fate though, so he smiled and tilted his head. "You know? You would have made one hell of a vampire, mate."

Giles smiled back humorlessly. "You don't know the half of it." He took a step back. "Remember Spike, one chance." In the instant he turned from Spike to Buffy, all signs of the Ripper vanished from his face. Giles smiled tenderly at her, "We really should go tell the others. I came straight to tell you first."

She nodded absently at him and they turned to go. As Spike watched them leave he thought to himself, Well Spike. You finally got your wish, you're chip free. And you know what? You're also just about the luckiest bloke on the planet. If you can just convince Buffy's watchdog there that you're not a threat…

Spike walked away happily. He'd had the chip for two years and during that time had grown to love Buffy more than his own life. He felt certain he wouldn't have a problem resisting his vampire urges. Giles was right, it would just take time for them to come around. And, being a vampire, time was something he had plenty of.

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

Giles and Buffy walked silently though the night toward The Magic Box. He kept silent, aware of her turmoil, simply keeping her company, ready for the time when she would want to talk.

A million thoughts raced though her mind as she struggled with the ramifications of what she had just been told. Spike no longer had a chip. That meant he could hurt anyone, he could hunt again. Sure, he'd been without the chip for months now, but that didn't mean anything. It was like the prison door had been left unlocked without him knowing it. He had thought it was locked, so he'd had no reason to try to open it before. But now… now he could.

She stopped walking and turned to Giles. "This is huge. Bigger than huge, it… it's… huge! Spike is without a chip. Spike is chipless. He could hurt anyone, kill anyone." She resumed walking, faster this time. "I just don't get why this happened, either. I mean, why would someone want to take his chip out without telling him? It, it's like they were experimenting or…the Initiative." Buffy stopped and looked at Giles.

Before her confused mind could form the next thought, Giles replied, "It wasn't the Initiative." He paused. Buffy raised her eyebrows at him in exasperation, and he continued reluctantly. "It… it was the Council of Watchers."

Buffy was dumfounded. "The Council of Watchers? Ok, I know there are some pretty twisted minds running that thing, but why the hell would they want Spike chipless? If anything, I would think they'd just want him dead. Unless… they thought with the chip gone I'd have no reason to let him live anymore?" Buffy read Giles face as affirmative. Affirmative and… guilty. "Ok, you know something you're not telling, so tell."

Giles fidgeted uncomfortably. "We really should be getting on so we can tell the others, don't you think?"

"What I think is that you'd better spill what you know. Now." She stood in front of him, pinning him with her eyes.

He realized he wasn't going anywhere till he confessed, so he took a deep breath. "I called the Council and planted the seed of an idea in their minds that without the chip, Spike would return to his ways and you would quickly be forced to do away with him." At her stunned expression he hurriedly continued. "It… it was a long time ago, back when he uh… when it seemed his feelings for you were becoming… dangerous. I only did it to protect you, Buffy. I had no way of knowing things were going to develop as they have."

Buffy was silent, waiting to hear the rest she knew she wouldn't like.

"Today I received a call from the Council. The questions they asked lead me to believe they had decided it would be interesting… to um… remove it without telling him, or, or me… and see how he reacted."

"So you're saying they've been watching us this whole time? That they're probably watching us right now, amusing themselves with how our little drama is unfolding?" She looked angrily around.

"No, actually they haven't been able to… uh… watch us, for quite some time now. Apparently soon after the operation on Spike they ran into… well, they didn't say exactly what, but something else took a higher priority for them." Giles smiled at the possibilities of what the Council being distracted by a 'higher priority' could mean. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good for them. He turned serious again as he noticed the anger on Buffy's face.

"The… the point is, without the chip there is nothing to hold him back from his true nature. I'm sure it will not be long before he gives into his instincts, then I'm afraid you'll have to put him down for good."

Buffy's blood turned to ice as she realized what Giles had just admitted. "No."

He looked at her, confused. "No what?"

"No, I won't 'put him down for good'. He hasn't killed anyone in all these months that he's been without the chip, hasn't even tried to hurt anyone." She cut him off as he tried to speak, "And there is nothing to suggest that's what he going to do now. So you can put away any thoughts of Spike becoming dusty, by my hand or anyone else's. Unless and until he proves me wrong, he's one of the good guys."

She paused and became thoughtful, "You know, I always knew there was more to evil and good than just black and white, but I don't think it really sunk in until now. Of course, until now, I never thought that my Watcher, the man I looked up to and respected, would do something so dark and twisted as manipulating the Council to do his dirty work. Until now, I never thought that a soulless vampire could be anything but a cold blooded killer, incapable of any real feeling or decency."

She looked at him sadly and frowned, disappointed that the man before her was so different than she had thought. "I guess I'm gonna be doing a lot more thinking from now on." She turned her back on him and walked the rest of the way, alone.

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

After two years Spike was free. No more holding back. "Look out world. Spike's back." He laughed out loud at the pure joy his demon was finally feeling. Course, they'll be no actual killing, he chided himself. Buffy wouldn't stand for that, not even if I was starving. He smiled evilly, But then again, at least I won't have to pussyfoot around like some bloody poof trying not to step on anyone's toes. He thought of all the times he'd held back from smacking Xander, or… Oooo, training Dawn should be interesting.

He had been enjoying the sparing matches they'd had, but they both knew he was holding back and that wouldn't help her reach her full potential. Giles had tried to train her, but he acted fatherly toward her, treating her like she was glass. Buffy couldn't train her because of all the sister-angst between them, their fights always ended up being just that; fighting, not training.

But Spike… now with the chip gone, Spike could show her what vampire fighting was really like. He'd not seriously hurt her, of course, but actually being able to land a few punches would be… fun. Spike grinned wider at the idea, as his demon instincts beginning to surface. He turned down into an alley, headed for Buffy's house. There was no school for Dawn tomorrow, and Spike hoped he could convince her to join him in a little midnight training session.

As he got about half way down the alley he froze. He turned his head slightly, sniffing the air. Blood; fresh and warm. He turned around and stepped slowly back the way he'd come. One step, two. There it was again. He stopped and listened intently, his vampire hearing honing in on the small shuffling sound coming from behind a door on his left.

He stepped up to the door and noticed fresh blood smeared on its edge. He breathed in deeply and his vampire features covered his human face. The air was not only heavy with the smell of blood, but also fear. Whatever it was, it was wounded badly and its attacker was nearby. Spike took a step back and kicked the door open. It was pitch black inside, but he could still see a young girl cowering in the far corner of the small windowless room.

He stepped in and stalked slowly toward her, his senses on full alert for her attacker. When he got close he could see that she had bite marks on her neck and deep scratches all down her arms. Her blood was dripping from every mark, and a growl of pure demon pleasure rumbled in his throat. The instinctive reaction caused him to pause. Where did that come from? he wondered. The sight of humans in pain hadn't been a turn on for him in a long time. I must be more hungry than I realized, he thought dismissively. Shaking off his demon features he looked at her again. He could tell whatever vampire did this to her was inexperienced, or weak from hunger.

Spike had only seen marks like that once before, a long time ago. The vampire who made them had been at the end of his rope, starving, desperate for the slightest taste of blood. The vampire had lunged at a man, and clumsily managed to catch its teeth on his neck before the man backed up, screaming. During that struggle, the vampire had clawed frantically at the man's arms, trying to hold on to him long enough to get a good bite. That vampire had been Spike.

He was close to the girl now and crouched down low in front of her. He spoke quietly and calmly, "Don't worry now, luv. I won't hurt you."

The girl was startled by the sound of his voice. She was completely blind in the darkness and tried to press closer to the brick wall behind her. She was nearly hysterical but as Spike continued murmuring, his voice had an eerie calming quality, soothing her enough for her to be able to speak in a horse whisper. "Please, help me."

"Course I will, luv." Spike began to reach toward her but stopped, and turned his head slowly to the left.

Looking behind him he felt, rather than saw, the creature. The vampire was small, probably very young when it was turned. It began to crawl toward Spike, and as it entered the shaft of light from the open doorway, Spike could see he had been right. A dry skeleton of a boy crawled toward him, head barely raised enough to stare at him, arms wobbling as it tried to move closer. It's voice rasped through cracked lips to him. "She's mine. Leave us."

Spike turned and grinned at the vampire. "Oh I'll leave, mate. But she's coming with me."

The vampire struggled to rise. "You'll have to go through me." It tried to give a tough look, but ended up looking pitiful.

Spike thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright." Quick as lightning he leapt forward, grabbed the vampire's head, and twisted it clean off. As the dust settled, he turned back to the girl. She was still crouched against the wall, whimpering, quickly drawing closer to death, as her dripping cuts fed into the pool of blood forming around her.

Spike's demon screamed to take her quickly, before any more blood was wasted. "No." Spike commanded in a guttural voice. He took the girl up in his arms as gently as he could and carried her out the door to the alley. Her pulse was weakening and Spike knew she didn't have long. As he turned back up the alley, his demon raged, desperate for just a taste of the bloody girl in his arms.

Spike continued up the alley, carrying the weak girl, as his demon called out for her blood. He stopped suddenly, his unnecessary breath coming faster as he looked down at her exposed neck. He watched for a moment as her pulse beat weakly, her blood seeping out the jagged mark in her neck. The smell of her blood was all around him, intoxicating him, calling to him. He smiled as his demon features once again surfaced. He leaned his head closer to her… then backed away.

"No." He repeated and continued on up the alley, faster, desperate to get her to someone who could really help her. As he rounded the end of the alley, he ran straight into Giles.

They stared at each other for a moment, the vampire and the Ripper. Spike marveled again at how purely evil and dangerous Giles could look when he took on the persona of his youth. Giles looked down at the girl. "Is she still alive?"

Spike tried to let go of his vampire face but it wouldn't obey. "Yes she's alive. And I didn't do this."

Giles smiled at him. "Of course." He held out his arms. "May I?"

Spike gently placed the girl in his arms and stepped back, his human face finally returning. "You do believe me, right?" He watched as Giles carried the girl over to his car and carefully laid her in the back seat.

"What I believe is irrelevant, Spike." He closed the door and turned back to the vampire he so desperately wanted to stake. He realized however, that if he did, Buffy would never be able to move on. She would always remember Spike as the misunderstood vampire who loved her, not the brutal killer that Giles knew him to be.

"Although… I don't believe Buffy would quite see it that way." Giles stepped right up to Spike and stared at him with barely concealed hatred. "I will warn you for the last time, Spike. You have one chance with me. I find any real proof that you've hurt anyone…and I will stake you." He stood there for a moment before striding to the driver's side of his car. He gave Spike one last threatening look, and drove off toward the hospital.

Spike stood watching the car disappear around the corner. He had thought it would be so easy, thought his love for Buffy would keep him from the call of the hunt. He had been a fool. He turned and walked toward his crypt, dreading the days to come, realizing he was in for the struggle of his un-life.

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