The Illuminati

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Joss. Just having a little non-profit fun. Any resemblance to any organizational member, living or dead is accidental. This is a work of fan fiction.

Setting: The “Getting Pumped Universe.”

Notes: All historical documents and organizations are freely documented in history. They existed in their own time and place. My extrapolations to pull them into my universe are purely speculation and fictional. Many have speculated but none know for sure.....Enjoy.

Rating: NC-17

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The closer she got to the old oak door, the more her heart began to pound in her chest. Her mind alternated between thoughts which encouraged her forward and those which encouraged her to flee.

Stopping for a moment, she took a deep breath and willed herself to be calm.

Unfortunately, a state of calm was not encouraged by the surroundings that she found herself in. The hallway of the decrepit old mansion was dark, musty and completely bereft of furniture. The only source of light was a narrow beam which shone out weakly from beneath the old door. Taking one last look into the darkest reaches of the hallway, Buffy again assured herself that she wasn’t being watched.

Then reaching out, with a less than steady hand, she took hold of the door’s brass knob and gave it a gentle turn. She half expected to hear a loud groan from the old hinges, but to her surprise, the door slid open a crack on well-oiled hinges.

Taking a deep breath, Buffy leaned forward so that she could see through the crack. The room in front of her appeared to be about the size of a soccer field and it, like the hallway, was dark and musty. Unlike the hallway, it was inhabited.

At the far end of the long room was a large fireplace which took up a most of the end wall. A fire glowed warmly in the grate sending shafts of orange and red shadows across the dark wood paneling of the surrounding walls. The room was empty of furniture except for one expansive old armchair which faced the fire. At the side of the chair was a small table that held a gently fluttering candle. The candle was obviously scented and Buffy’s nose twitched at the scent of burning wood mixed with the subtle scent of spices.

The reason for her visit to this old mansion was sitting in the old armchair. The back of the armchair shielded him from her view, but she knew he was there.

Giving the door another gentle push, Buffy slid into the room. She thought about calling out to him, but instead she found herself taking stealthy footsteps towards the chair. For a moment she considered the fact that sneaking up on him was one good way to get herself killed, but she brushed that thought away. Instead, another thought came to her mind and a frown of confusion crossed her brow. Why had he not heard her, smelt her, coming?

That thought caused her to change her direction. Instead of coming up directly behind his chair, she angled off to the right. With each step he began to come into view. First an elbow resting on the arm of the chair. Then a bare shoulder, and finally the profile of his face.

Buffy came to a standstill and drank in the sight of him. It had been a long time since she had seen him last and she realized that she had almost forgotten how beautiful he was.

He still had not seen her. His attention seemed to be riveted on something he held in his lap. Curious, as to what could take his attention so completely that he left himself open to potential attack, Buffy took another step forward.

As she did, Spike’s hand reached out to the table and picked up a magnifying glass from the table at his side. Another step forward and she saw the focus of his attention. A book! Spike’s head was bent forward low over the magnifying glass as he studied the book in his lap.

Suddenly, he knew she was there. His body stiffened and his head turned towards her with the quickness of a snake striking it’s prey. For a second a stunned statement crossed his face, before being quickly replaced by his trademark nonchalance.

A moment of silence followed while he adjusted himself to her presence.

“Look what the cat dragged in then” he said quietly as he laid the open book down on the table.

“Getting slack in your old age Spike, I could’ve staked you without you even knowing” she quipped nervously.

Spike gave a derogative snort. “Thinking highly of yourself these days aren’t you Slayer?”

Right back to the same old banter she thought to herself as she drank in the sight of him. Time didn’t seem to be an issue.

“You’ll have to excuse me Slayer, I wasn’t expecting company; especially not you” he drawled as he stood and turned to face her. Buffy’s breath caught in her throat as she realized that he was wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers. She tried very hard to keep her eyes on his face, but her eyes seemed drawn to look at his body. She hoped he didn’t notice.

He noticed. Buffy blushed scarlet at the lewd wink she received and anger rushed to her defense.

“For God’s sake Spike, go put on some clothes?” She hissed at him.

Spike chuckled. “I’m kind of comfortable like this and lets face it, you‘ve seen it all before.”

“Spike!” She warned.

Her anger and threats only brought a bigger smile to his face as he worked on drawing the moment out.

“Spike!” She warned again, this time more forcefully.

Spike gave in with a snort of laughter. “OK slayer. Just give me a minute,” he said over his shoulder as he walked towards a door to the side of the fireplace and left the room.

Alone in the room, Buffy walked over to the armchair and sat down to wait on him. Unbidden her eyes moved to the book laying on the table. Still curious as to what had held Spike’s attention so completely, she Leaned over and glanced at the open pages. The manuscripts pages were yellowed with age and looked fragile enough to turn to dust at the slightest miss handling. That, however, was not the most interesting thing about the book. What really held her attention was the language that it was written in. I was like nothing she had ever seen before, and she had seen a fair few of

Giles’s old tombs of books.

Confusion furrowed her brow as she glanced towards the door that Spike had gone through. Spike, the self-confessed non-book type vampire reading what appeared to be an ancient text in some long forgotten language? She wouldn’t have credited him with even being able to spit out a few words of Spanish let alone read ancient languages. That was Giles’s department.

For some reason, nervousness gripped her and she glanced over at the door again. Somehow she sensed that Spike would not be pleased that she was prying. For a moment her hands withdrew from the book but then a thought hit her.

What if Spike was up to something bad? What if the book contained something evil that Spike had a mind to use for his own purposes. He was a vampire after all, and maybe his nature could not be denied. No matter what, she was the Slayer and it was her duty to protect.

Undecided, her hands hovered over the book as she warred with herself over her need to believe in him against her duties as a Slayer. I’ll just take a quick peak at the title and then I can discuss it with Giles later and find out if it is anything to be worried about, she finally resolved. With a flick of her finger she turned to the front of the old text. “De Nugis Curialium”

Absentmindedly, Buffy’s finger tapped on the book cover as she contemplated the title. It meant nothing to her, but then, she hadn’t expected it to. Books had never been her thing.

The sound of a door handle snapping back into place jerked her out of her thoughts about the book. With guiltily quick reflexes, her hand jumped away from the book and onto her lap as she glanced towards the sound of the noise.

Spike was already in the room and walking towards her. If he had seen her hand on the book, he made no comment about it.

He looked sexy. There was no other appropriate word for it. He still favored his black and he still had the ability to make black jeans and T-Shirt look like a million-dollar outfit.

Still nervous, Buffy stood up from the chair as he approached. Sitting while he stood would make her feel vulnerable, and she was already very vulnerable without that little addition.

Spike had no such qualms. He plonked himself down in the vacated chair with nonchalance and ease that said that he felt none of the trepidation the Slayer was experiencing.

“So Slayer, What brings you here?” He asked with mock casualness.

It was certainly a predictable question. It was one she had gone over in her mind at least two million times in every scenario possible. She had prepared at least two million answers to that question but in the crunch non-of them worked.

“Why am I here?”

“That’s the question Slayer. Two years and you show up on my doorstep. Legitimate question I’m thinking.”

“You think?”

“Buffy, just answer the question”

“OK...well...it’s like this....well, I wanted to....eh....to talk....” came her more than flustered response.

Spike’s eyes rolled at her stuttered response.

“OK Slayer, lets try an easier question. What did you say to your Watcher to get him to tell you where I was?”

That left Buffy in a stunned silence. Spike simply waited for the implications of his question to sink in.

“Yes, that’s right Slayer. I left plenty of clues to make sure those Watcher prats knew exactly were I was. All it took was for you to ask the question.”

Realization began to dawn on her face. Quietly, “You knew I’d try to find you!”

Spike shook his head. “Didn’t know, just thought maybe I’d leave a door open.”

“Oh” was the only response she could find.

“Figured if you ever wanted to find me bad enough you’d swallow that pride of yours and go to your Watcher for help. I am still interested in what excuse you gave hi for your need to find me. I’ll bet it wasn’t the truth.”

“Mmm, lets not go into that now,” she said as she struggled to bring herself into line with this new info.

The awkward silence, which ensued, was finally broken by his insistent question.

“So Slayer, Why are you here?”

Still no answer.

A wicked grin began to twitch at the side of his mouth. “Could it be you missed my witty charm, my intelligent conversation...” he paused and his face hardened slightly, “...or could it be you missed my body and life you felt when you were with me?”

Buffy glared at him. “Now I remember why I hated you!”

“Don’t kid yourself Slayer. You might hate me but you crave me as well. That’s why you’re here.”

“OK STOP. I didn’t come here for this!” Snapped Buffy in a desperate attempt to stop his flow of words.

“What did you come here for then Slayer?”

Again silence reigned while she searched for words. It was impossible. He had that uncanny knack of twisting and turning her words to a point where she didn’t know what to say.

Spike, for his part, sat quietly watching his Slayer. She looked beautiful standing there with her mouth opening and closing, like a stranded fish, as she searched for an acceptable answer to his question. He had known all along that she wouldn’t be able to answer him but he had felt like having some fun with her. Just hearing her and seeing her was enough to keep him drawing the conversation out. But now it was time to show some pity, after all, she had shown courage in coming here in the first place.

“Looking all serious there luv. Starting to give me a headache. How’s about we lighten the load for awhile and get back to this conversation later?”

Buffy looked at him apprehensively at this change of track.

Spike ignored it. “I was going to go out and get something to eat before you dropped in, want to come along?”

Buffy’s looked at him warningly.

“Not blood Slayer! For Christ sake, give me some credit. I’m not going to invite the bloody Slayer along on a nibble neck event am I?”

Buffy still looked somewhat apprehensive. Christ, she was hard work. Always had been and he reckoned that she always would be.

“I meant crab dip.”

“What?”

“I know this place that sells bloody brilliant crab dip,” came his animated reply.

“A vampire with a craving for crab dip. Now I’m hearing it all!” Came her somewhat sarcastic reply.

“I like what I like” he said with a tone that had a slightly double meaning.

Buffy ignored the subtle double meaning. “OK, why not. Anywhere has got to be better than this place.”

“Hey. Don’t knock the real estate” he said with a hurt statement.

“Yeh Yeh Yeh” she quipped. Now it was her turn to have a little fun.

“Really, this area is prime real estate,” he tried to continue, but she interrupted him.

“OK already. Enough with the real estate. If we are going, can we get on with it?”

Spike smiled. “Absolutely” he said with a slight bow in her direction. “After you my lady.”

“Giles.......Giles.......Giles, are you awake?” The telephone crackled from some interference as Buffy tried to shake Giles out of the realms of sleep.

“Eh, yes...eh Buffy is that you?”

“Of course it’s me Giles. Wake up, I need you to research something for me.”

“Eh, yes, right. Buffy is there anything wrong. Did you find Spike”?

“No and Yes”

“What?”

“No, nothing is wrong and yes I found Spike” elaborated the Slayer impatiently.

“Ah” it was only one syllable but it spoke volumes for the Slayer. It said Giles was prepared to stay out of her business but that he wanted her to know he didn’t like it.

“Where are you”?

“I’m in a Casino”

What?

Giles! I haven’t got all night to play twenty questions with you. I have something I need you to research for me. Are you ready to take this down?

“Oh...well...yes...quite. One moment while I get a pen.

Buffy check her time remaining on her call and decided to drop another couple of quarters into the phone before she got cut of.

“OK Buffy, I’m ready”

“I want to know about a book titled “De Nugis Curialium”

“Buffy, are you quite sure that is the name of the book?”

“Absolutely positive.”

‘Hmm’

“Do you know what it is?’

“I might, but I would rather check to be sure if this is not some type of emergency situation.’

“Not an emergency, but soon might be better than later.”

“Buffy, where in the world did you see this book?”

“I’d rather not answer that question at the moment Giles. Just get me the info”

“Spike”

“Giles. Don’t.”

“OK Buffy. Call me in the morning and I’ll have the information for you.”

“Talk to you then.”

“Buffy...”

“Yes Giles”

“Be careful. Spike is still a vampire no matter what qualities you attribute to him. He is still dangerous.”

“Mother Hen”

“Quite”

Buffy laid the phone back on its base with an indulgent smile on her face. Giles would always worry, no matter what.

Buffy turned away from the phones beside the restrooms and headed back to where she had left Spike sitting at the revolving bar eating crab dip.

Like most LasVegas casinos this one had a theme. The theme was based on life in the Old West. The casino was built in a square shape with a hollow middle area. This open middle area formed a great hall, which was surrounded on four sides by massive cliff faces of hotel rooms. The facade of the hotel rooms and the shear sense of depth and height gave one the impression of standing at the base of a canyon looking up. To enhance this effect the open area had been beautifully created to present a covered indoor park at with running stream and twinkling fairy lights to mark the pathways. Recorded sounds of birds, wind and water filled the air with a sense of peace.

At the far end of the park a cliff face rose up about 100ft into the air. Waterfalls trickled down the cliff face and water fountains shot into the air for fantastic heights. The ambience of the area provided a haven for the whirlwind experience of the business that can be Las Vegas. Here gamblers could relax, take a break and then return to the tables rested and ready to win and loose.

It was into this indoor park that Buffy headed. Spike was sitting at a revolving bar located by the stream and just below the waterfall. She spotted him without any problems. That bleach blond head gave his location away every time.

To her surprise she saw that he was not alone. An older man, dressed casually in jeans and a sport jacket, was standing slightly behind Spike and appeared to be whispering into his ear. Spike, for his part, seemed to be uninterested in anything other that the crab dip on the bar in front of him.

Just as Buffy stepped up from the park onto the revolving bar, Spike smelled her. He glanced over at her and smiled, then turned and said something to the man at his side. The man looked over at her and then said a few more words to Spike before walking quickly away in the opposite direction to her approach.

“I didn’t chase your friend away did I?” She asked with casual curiosity as she perched herself up on the barstool beside him.

“Nope, he is just my gamblers anonymous buddy” he replied with a twinkle in his eye.

“Funny Ha Ha” said Buffy derogatively.

“I thought it was funny” he said deadpan.

“You would” she replied with an equal deadpan statement.

“Want to try the dip” he offered pushing the bowel in her direction.

Buffy just wrinkled her nose and pushed the rather pungent dip back in his direction.

“Don’t like shellfish”

“Don’t know what you’re missing”

The conversation, if it could be called that, was cut short as the lights in the hall dimmed and took the park into the darkness of night. People had begun to arrive and the park was now packed with people all looking towards the cliff face and the waterfalls.

Buffy raised a questioning eyebrow at Spike.

“Watch” was his only answer as he continued to dig into the dip.

Buffy turned back toward the cliff face. As she watched, the waterfalls ceased to flow and the taped birds fell silent. An eerie quiet came over the park as a spotlight moon began to glow on a point at the top of the cliff face.

And then he came. The huge gray wolf. Beautiful. Animatronic but real non the less. The wolf’s head angled down as he looked at the people below him for a moment. Then the wolf raised his powerful neck towards the moon and howled. The sound raised every hair on the back of Buffy’s neck and most of them on her arms also. It was the most beautifully wild thing that she had ever seen or heard. The wolf’s howl spoke of a time before, a time when things were different, of a time when he was wild. By the utter silence around her, Buffy knew the crowd had gone there too.

And then the wolf sits. His head angles down towards the cliff face. The moon spotlight fades from him as lights and water begin to tell his story of how the wild ended. Lasers dance across the canyon walls and fountains shoot water hundreds of feet into the air as lights cause fairies to dance in the droplets of falling water. On the canyon walls the lasers depict the story of the wagon trains, buffalo and of the American Indian, while classical music roars and brings the story to life. The crowd is still and silent. Awe struck by the majesty. Even the children and babies stop. The children know when they are witness to magic.

And then the waters and lasers are silent. The moon returns to its wolf. He stands and looks down at the crowd. Now you know. Now you understand.

One last time, he raises his head toward his soul mate the moon and reminds the crowd what wild really is. His howl echoes around the canyon walls and fades slowly away.

And the scene fades to black. The wolf is gone. The house lights are back up. Birds begin to chirp in the park, but for moments the crowd continues to stand silent. Their soul has been touched and it takes a minute before they are able to move back into the bustle and life of the casino. They move on, but few will ever forget what wild really is.

Beside her, Spike was no longer interested in the dip. He wasn’t interested in the wolf either. What held him captive was the multitude of expressions crossing Buffy’s face as she watched. Now she had felt the spirit of the wild.

“That was the most wonderful thing I have ever seen,” Buffy managed to croak out after a few moments. “The owners of this casino are to be highly commended for such a beautiful show.”

Spike didn’t comment.

“Buffy, I have to leave for awhile” he said shortly.

Buffy look at him with dismay. She tired to hide it, but she still was not very good at hiding her emotions.

“I’ll only be gone for a day or so. Listen, I’d like you to stay here while I’m gone. I can get you a room here.” He said quietly.

Buffy didn’t say a word. Her mind was racing at a million miles an hour.

“You came here for a reason and I really want to hear what that reason is, but I have to go and take care of some business first.” He added.

Buffy’s mind continued to race. What could be so important that he’d leave me here alone? What could a vampire who claims to do nothing, have that is so important on the agenda. She couldn’t help it, her mind kept returning to the book. Spike was definitely up to something.

Schooling her face to hide her emotions, she grinned and looked him straight in the eye.

“So, I’ll go along”

For once, Spike looked at a loss for words.

“Not this time Slayer. Can’t do it. Got to do this one alone”

His face was set for an argument and Buffy knew it was an argument she could loose if she didn’t change her tactics.

Giving Spike an evil grin she started, “Well, I guess there is worse places to be stranded than a casino. There is gambling, entertainment, booze and very sexy men” she said pointedly as she looked the handsome bartender up and down. The bartender noticed her look and winked. Spike noticed the wink and growled.

“OK., OK , you win. You can come along” he ground out, “but there are a few ground rules”

Buffy had a huge grin on her face that made him want to punch her straight in the jaw. “OK shoot. I’m listening” she replied with a tone that said she was trying for seriousness but that it was still unlikely that she would follow any of his rules.

Spike shook his head in defeat. “First, don’t question anything I do or anywhere I go. I know you and you will have a million questions, but do me a favor and save them until we are alone. Can you do that?”

Buffy nodded willingly. “Think I can manage that one.”

Spike gave a derisive snort, which said he did not have her confidence in her abilities. “Second, do not mention you are the Slayer. If anyone asks I am going tell them you are a vamp wanna be and that I am going to turn you in time. Got it.”

Buffy’s nose was wrinkled up in distaste.

“That’s the way it’s got to be Slayer. Still want to go?”

Buffy chuckled. “I wouldn’t miss this one for the World”

Spike looked at her and couldn’t keep the smile down. “I don’t imagine you would.”

Las Vegas airport was almost deserted by the time they arrived. Neither one of them carried any baggage so they moved quickly through the corridors of the airport. Slot machines lined the corridor walls, giving the departing gambler the chance to loose the last few quarters and nickels that he had managed to retain.

Spike was silent and contemplative and he strode on without really noticing the Slayer who was almost running to keep up. He was walking so fast that his duster was blowing out behind him and it occasionally slapped Buffy in the arms or face. Buffy slapped the duster away and blessed her decision on clothing. Plain jeans, sweatshirt and sneakers were working to her advantage now.

Spike hadn’t stopped at the ticket counter and had refused to answer her question about how she was going to go with him without a ticket. Buffy tried to remember the rules about questioning him and decided to simply concentrate on keeping up. Her questions were soon to be answered anyway.

Just ahead of them the corridor ended in a circular departure lounge which housed several departure gates. All but one of the gates were closed down for the night and unmanned. Spike headed straight towards the manned gate. The stewardess, seeing him coming, stepped back and swung open the door to the loading gate.

“Good evening sir, your plane is ready” she said as they came even with her. Spike gave a brief nod of acknowledgement but didn’t slow his pace as he passed through the door to the loading gate. Two at a time he took the stairs down to the tarmac with Buffy still rushing to keep up.

Once on the tarmac, he strode purposefully towards a Lear jet that was waiting with engines running. This time, however, the Slayer was not right behind him.

Turning to look for her, he found her standing at the foot of the departure gate exit with eyes fixed on the Lear and once again with a mouth hanging open.

The look on her face made him chuckle. “Coming Slayer?”

Buffy looked at him with accusing eyes. “You and me, we need to talk, big time!”

“Like I said, are you coming?” He prompted again, while ignoring her statement.

“Oh, I am most definitely coming. The chance to have you pinned down in one place so I can painfully extract answers to my questions is an opportunity I can’t see myself turning down.”

Spike didn’t comment, but the sound of his chuckle reached her ears as he swung round and leapt up the Lear jets steps three at a time.

Buffy followed him up the stairs at a slightly more sedate pace. It was as she reached to top of the stairs that she saw the flight stewardess. She was a beautiful petite Asian girl with jet-black hair that fell below her knees. She was dressed in an orange silk sheath dress that accented her curves beyond belief. Suddenly Buffy felt scruffy. Very scruffy. The jeans and sweatshirt no longer seemed such a good idea. From the look the stewardess gave her, it was obvious that she agreed that Buffy’s dress was less than appropriate.

The stewardess’s attention only rested on Buffy for a moment, because Spike was most definitely the center of her world. As Buffy entered the plane she saw the stewardess helping Spike remove his coat with such a fawning and adoring statement on her face that Buffy was momentarily taken aback.

Spike ignored her and turned to Buffy. “You can leave your coat with Kitten” he said gesturing towards the stewardess.

“Kitten!” Buffy virtually spurted before remembering her manners and toning it down some.

Spike grinned to himself. He had known that would get the Slayer going.

“Yep, well I like the name. You know how partial I am to kittens.”

“You disgusting pig” Buffy ground out as she barged passed Spike and the stewardess without so much as a second glance.

Spike looked at the stunned stewardess. “She is a bit rough, but she grows on you after awhile” he promised. The stewardess looked doubtful.

Despite being in the passenger cabin, Buffy overheard the comment. “What room have you got to talk Mr. Manners of a sewer!” she mumbled to herself.

The retort was cut short as Buffy finally took in the cabin. It was appointed with several burgundy leather recliners and at the far end was what appeared to be a round conference table. Against the back wall was a door that appeared to lead to another cabin area.

Spike came up behind her a laid a hand on her shoulder. “Better get your seat belt on, we are scheduled for immediate take off.” He said as he guided her to one of the recliners.

Buffy took her time getting comfortable and fastening her seat belt. It gave her time to think, time she desperately needed. Things had been moving extraordinarily fast. Beneath her feet the floor began to vibrate as the engines took on a deeper tone and the Lear began to taxi away from the loading area.

Wanting to see the take off, not to mention buying some more time for thought, Buffy reached out and pushed up the window blind. Instead of seeing the lights of the airport, Buffy was confronted with glinting steal.

Spike, watching her every move, explained, “Precautions luv. There are no real windows on this plane, except in the cockpit.”

Buffy nodded understanding. “I know it can’t be, but I have to ask. Is this your plane?”

Spike smiled. “Where would I get the money for a lay out like this?”

Buffy wasn’t conned by his make light of the situation attitude. “Spike, drop the attitude. Two years ago, I thought you were just another dumb vampire. Dangerous yes, intelligent no. Then I got to know you. I didn’t want to but I did. Then I knew you were dangerous but that you were also very intelligent. It is something you work hard on hiding.”

Spike said nothing. He just sat and watched her intently.

Buffy continued without pause, “Then we had that night together....” At the mention of that night two years ago, Buffy’s voice finally faltered. It was the first time the subject had been raised between them and it was untred waters. Glancing over at Spike, she looked for some acknowledgement, for some reassurance but none was forthcoming. The Slayer was on her own with this one.

Taking a steadying breath she continued, “During that night, you let me see another side of you. You let me see what is beneath that facade you carry around with you. I took me two years to work all that out in my mind, but now I know that you are much more than you pretend to be.”

A slight smile played on the corners of Spike’s lips. “And what exactly do you think I am?”

“I don’t have a clue, but I aim to find out” said Buffy with a sense of determination.

“Dangerous waters pet. Best left alone”

“You started this two years ago. I aim to finish it” she retorted,

At this Spike openly laughed. “You know Slayer, I haven’t had this much fun arguing with anyone in two years. May I just say you are the most difficult, argumentative and totally uncontrollable woman that I have ever met”

“Spike, be serious”

“and did I mention that you are also the most beautiful,” he added quietly and with deadly seriousness.

That shut the Slayer right up. Nowhere to go with that comment.

Spike stood up and held out a hand to her. “Come with me.”

“Where?” Asked the Slayer as she totally ignored his outstretched hand

Spike’s hand fell to his side. “Do you always have to argue and question everything I say!”

“Totally” Buffy affirmed, but she did stand.

Spike led the way to the back of the cabin and opened the door there. Leaning through he flicked on the wall light and stood back to allow her to pass. Looking in the Slayer saw a small but luxuriously appointed bedroom.

Turning accusing eyes on him she hissed, “If you think for one second I am going to sleep with you...”

She was cut off in mid sentence by a weary Spike. “Not hardly Slayer. As you so carefully pointed out, I am not dumb. I just want you to have a place to rest, on your own. It will be along flight.”

Buffy let his explanation sink in. She didn’t want to take up the offer, but the alternative would require her to tell him that she wanted to stay with him. She wasn’t ready for that admission yet.

“OK. Thanks.” Was all she could manage as she stepped through the door and closed it behind her.

Buffy sat in the sparsely furnished hotel room and glared at the wall. She was going to have to kill him for this she assured herself for the hundredth time in the last hour.

They had arrived at their destination a few hours before dawn. A groggy Slayer had been hustled from the plane and into a waiting car and whisked with Spike to a nearby hotel room. Spike had checked them into separate rooms and told her he would come to collect her the next evening. Buffy had slept most of the day and had woken as night fell. Spike had not arrived and several hours of waiting had turned the Slayer into a very dangerous female.

She had no idea where she was, except that it seemed to be somewhere in Mexico. Her arrival last night had been hurried and the airport very small. All the signs she had been in Spanish and the Slayer cursed herself for not having paid attention in her Spanish class in high school.

Tired of waiting, Buffy stood and walked to the window for the millionth time. The scene from the window was one of gently masked poverty of a small Mexican town. Nothing much was visible from the window and certainly nothing that would give her any clue to her location.

Giving up on Spike, she decided it was time to investigate further, not to mention her need to call Giles. The hotel did not have telephones in the rooms and she was somewhat apprehensive about using the hotel’s central telephone in case someone listened in on her conversation.

Deciding that she would rather not have the hotel staff see her leave, she decided to exit from her room veranda down a rickety terrace. That accomplished without a hitch, Buffy found herself outside the hotel standing on a packed dried mud road.

Looking around, she tried to find something that would help her decided on a direction. The only sign of life seemed to be the lights from the small hotel and from another building about a mile down the road. Shrugging at her lack of options, Buffy set off for the building further down the road.

A brisk walk later, Buffy had arrived at the building. By the sounds of music coming from the building and by the activity around it, Buffy concluded that the building was in fact some kind of bar. It was not exactly her first choice of possible places to end up, but then again, bars usually had phones. Squaring her shoulders, Buffy headed into the bar.

As she entered the darkened room she was instantly aware of every eye in the place turning on her. Guess they are not used to new faces, she thought to herself as she gave a hesitant smile. Ignoring the pointed looks, Buffy made her way directly to the bar and squeezed herself between two bar stools holding rather large males.

She had the bartender’s full attention; in fact she had everyone's attention. “Do you have a phone that I could use?” She shouted loudly to be heard over the music.

The bartender looked at her blankly.

“Do you speak English?” Buffy tried again. She was pretty sure most of the people in the bar were bilingual, but none attempted to help her out.

The bartender understood that question, but shook his head in the negative.

“Phone” Buffy said simply and she mimed dialing and holding a receiver to her ear.

This time the bartender decided to understand. Reaching down below the bar, he pulled out an old rotary dial phone and plonked in down on the bar.

‘Great’ thought Buffy as she looked around her. She would have been better off staying at the motel to make the call, there was certainly going to be no privacy here.

Resigned to her situation, she reached out and picked up the receiver and started to dial. The bartender clicked the phone off.

“Hey, what are you doing?” She started to ask, but then noticed his outstretched palm.

“Oh, you want money. Of course. Money. Eh, let me see” she said as she began searching through pockets. A few minutes later, several dollars rested on the bar.

“That enough?” She asked. The bartender looked the money over and gave a brief nod before pushing the phone back in her direction.

Dialing one more time, Buffy glanced round the bar to see if she was still being watched. It seemed she remained the center of attention.

Hearing the phone start to ring on the other end, Buffy cupped the mouthpiece of the receiver with her hand, and lowered her head allowing her hair to fall around her face and the phone. It was a pretty useless attempt at gaining some privacy, but it was all she had.

“Hello,” said Giles as he picked up the call.

“Giles, its me. Do you have the information I needed?”

“Yes, I have it. Are you OK? Where are you?”

Buffy smiled. “I’m OK Giles, but for the other questions, you’ll have to hold them, cause I am not sure of the answers. Also, we need to hurry, this is a pay phone.”

“Oh, OK. Well I’ll get right to it then. The book you named “De Nugis Curialium” is exactly what I though it was, but I remain totally perplexed as to how or why Spike would have that book.”

“I never said Spike had the book did I Giles” said Buffy.

“No. No you didn’t. But he has it non-the less. Anyway, let me continue. The book was written around 1190 by Walter Map who was the Archdeacon of Oxford. It is a book containing stories about life during that time. Of note is the fact that it contains the first written story about a vampire. The De Nugis Curialium predates the popular Vlad the Impaler story by about 300 years.”

“Go on” Buffy prompted, “does the book contain more or is it just a vamp storybook?”

“No not quite. Not only does it tell of vampires but also it discusses the Knights of Templer and it reflects growing corruption within their ranks. It ends with an apocalyptic vision of the corruption of the Church.”

“OK, well I understood very little of that except that it has to do with vamps and an apocalyptic event. Those two I know” whispered Buffy as she tried to keep her conversation from nearby ears. “Who are these Templers and what kind of corruption were they into?”

“The Templers or Knights Templer were basically a Holy Order of Knights who protected the property of the Catholic Church. History tells us that the Templers became extraordinarily powerful and rich causing many people within the Church to doubt them. Rumors started to fly that they worshiped a demon by the name of Baphomet and pressure was put on the Pope to condemn the order of the Templers. The Pope refused and instead decreed dissolution by Apostolic Decree by Bull of 22 March 1312.”

“So they weren’t condemned just dissolved. That means they went somewhere, right?” Said Buffy as she tried to follow her Watchers explanation.

“One would believe so, they were very influential in their time.” Replied Giles

“So Giles, spit it out. Where did they go?”

“Well there are only rumors,” Giles began. “Some theories say the Templers faded into the order of Freemasons, specifically the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.”

“OK, I know that one. I have seen the Freemason Lodges” said Buffy with relief that she was following him. “But what exactly are Freemasons”

“That is a question in and of itself. They are, on the surface, an order that serves to improve and enhance their community..” Giles began.

“But underneath they are what?” Prompted Buffy.

“I’m getting to that if you just hold on for a moment,” said the watcher with some irritation.

“OK. I’m all in listen mode now, go on” apologized Buffy.

“In 1891 some literature was published which pointed to a highly secretive order within the Freemason’s called the Palladium. This order was accused of devil worship, namely of Baphomet...”

Buffy interrupted again. “That’s the same baddie that the Templers were accused of worshipping.”

“Are you going to listen or talk?” Complained the Watcher.

“Listening” apologized Buffy again.

“As I was saying, the Palladium was accused of worshiping Baphomet, specifically sexual union with this demon. These accusations were eventually uncovered as a hoax, and the rumors died and with them the Palladium. However, there is, in current times, a secretive order within the Freemasons called The Order of Knights Templer.”

“So lets sum it up. Spike is reading a book about vampires tied in somehow with the time of the Knights Templers and the current day Freemasons?”

“Buffy, I must tell you the most important part. That book was thought to be lost to history. I had no idea it actually existed. I have no idea how Spike came to be in possession of the book, but more importantly I have no idea how he is able to read it.”

“Explain more Giles” she prompted him.

“Well the book is not just written in Latin. A text as old as the De Nugis Curialium is written in hexameters and pentameters of the strictly classical kind. It takes a great deal of study to be able to read such a text. Actually, there are only a handful of people in the world that could read such a text fluently. For Spike to be reading it, well!!!”

Buffy was about to ask another question, but the bartender was standing in front of her, making gestures for her to hang up.

“Giles, I have to go. Keep researching this for me, and I’ll call you back as soon as I can.” Any further comment she might have wished to make was cut off as the bartender cut the connection.

Buffy smiled at the bartender thought she was annoyed at the call being cut off. The bartender did not smile back.

“Thanks for the use of the phone.” Buffy said as she turned to leave. Walking briskly by some tables she headed towards the door, but before she could get there her way was blocked off by several rather large men.

“Would you dance with me?” Said one of the men in perfect English.

Buffy looked around nervously. She hadn’t planned on having to fight her way out of the bar. Tact was necessary.

“Thank you, but no. I have to get back to my hotel.” She tried politely.

The men leered at her, as one reached out and grabbed her arm, swinging her onto the dance floor. The band was playing a lively tune, and Buffy found her self being swung around the dance floor from one set of arms to another.

It was on one of these twirls that she spotted him. He was leaning up against the back wall of the bar with a highly amused look plastered to his face. On the next twirl she managed to gain eye contact for a split second, and the look she sent him said that he had better get himself off the wall and get out there and rescue her. The next twirl showed her that he hadn’t moved and that he was still enjoying her predicament.

What she didn’t know was that the enjoyment showing on his face really was really there to hide his sense of relief that he had found her and that she was OK. When he had returned to the hotel to find her gone, his rage had almost caused a couple of hotel workers to loose their life for letting her go out unaccompanied. The fact that she had sneaked away did little to placate his anger.

On the next twirl the look sent to him said that things were about to get very ugly. With a chuckle he pushed himself away from the wall and walked towards the dance floor.

Buffy half expected some kind of fight to break out between Spike and her dance partners, but what actually happened was totally freaky. As Spike moved onto the dance floor the band ceased to play. The dancers came to a halt and looked round to see what had brought an end to their fun. As soon as they saw Spike they backed off. Within seconds Buffy was alone on the dance floor with Spike.

“Do you actually work at getting yourself into trouble or do you just make stupid choices a way of life,” he said with a grin.

Buffy glared at him. “Well if I make stupid choices you would have to top the list of the most stupid choice ever!”

Spike almost laughed, but he managed to keep it under control. He held out a hand to her. “Come on, let’s go and get something to eat.”

Buffy glared at him before slapping the hand away. As she hit him, the patrons of the bar gave out a collective gasp of horror and fear. She looked round at them and saw their fear of Spike in their eyes.

“He isn't anything to be scared of, he is nothing but a big pansy” she hissed with a great deal of glee, as she turned and marched out of the bar leaving him to follow, chuckling, in her wake.

As they walked out of the bar, Spike moved in front of her and headed towards a waiting limosine, which looked totally out of place in its current surroundings of poverty.

Sarcastically she mumbled just loud enough for him to hear, “What, did we have it flown in so your ass would be comfortable?”

Spike didn’t answer her, he just opened the back door and stood aside so that she could climb in.

For once, Buffy chose not to argue. Instead she climbed in and sat facing the front of the car. Spike climbed in, but instead of sitting beside her, he made himself comfortable in the seat across from her. As soon as they were both seated the car pulled off, driven by someone unseeable through the tinted glass which divided the passanger and driver areas.

Spike was unusually quiet. He stared out the window into the darkness in deep thought about something she wasn’t privy to. Trying to jog him out of it, the Slayer leaned forward and touched his knee.

“Where are we going to now?” she asked as his eyes flicked onto her.

“Back” he said simply. “I’m finnished here.”

“Oh...and what exactly were you doing here?” the Slayer asked without any real hope that she would get an answer.

She was spot on. Spike just shook is head and smiled. “Nice try, Slayer, but its not working.” he commented as he reached out his hand to a concealed cupboard at his side. Opening it, he withdrew a crystal whiskey glass and a bottle of Glennfiddich whiskey. Pouring some into the glass, he placed the bottle between his knees and returned to staring out the window.

“Manners of a pig,” Buffy mumbled as she effectively regained his attention.

Spike looked exsasperated. “What in the Hell is it now, Slayer?”

“You could offer me a drink you know,” came her pointed reply.

Spike chuckled. Every time he got mad at her, she managed to say something that jerked him right out of his irritation.

“How crass of me. Of course you can have a drink” he said with dripping sarcasam.

Reaching into the cupboard, he withdrew another glass and then poured a heafty amount of the single malt scotch into the glass. “There you go, enjoy.”

Buffy took the glass from his hand and stared into the amber depths with some trepidation. She had never had whiskey before and she knew from hearing others talk that it could be some rough and powerful stuff. She glanced at Spike and noted that he was watching her intently with a slight smile.

Bastard knows he’s put me on the spot. Guess he thinks I’m not going to be able to drink or I’m going to choke on it, she thought as she looked at him. He is probably exactly right but I’m not going down without a fight!

Resolved, she smiled back at him sweetly, before raising her glass to her lips and throwing her head back, taking the whole contents of the glass in one gulp.

Swallowing, she felt the whiskey burn its way down her throat all the way to her toes. The smile was fixed onto her face with superglue as she determined that there was no way he was going to know that she was dying. Unfortunately, her eyes were not in on the deal. With a mind of their own, they started to well up with tears which began to slowly trickle down her cheeks. Game up, Buffy gave in and let her self go. Gasping for breath, she leaned forward in her seat grasping her stomach.

“What in the hell was that stuff?” she spluttered.

But Spike was uncapable of answering. He was now outrightly laughing at her. Buffy managed to glare at him for a few minutes before his contagious laugher managed to infect her. Starting to laugh, she acknowledged she must have looked idiotic.

Spike managed to gain some control, “That is why I love having you around Slayer, you always manage to make me laugh,” he said still chuckling.

Suddenly his face turned serious. “Damn” he said under his breath.

“What’s wrong” said Buffy also sobering at the sight of his deadly serious face.

At first he didn’t answer as he weighed his options. “I forgot something” he said absentmindedly.

“Well I guess we had better go and get it then,” said the Slayer with mock innocence.

Spike didn’t answer. He was looking out the window again, but this time he was chewing on his bottom lip as he tried to decide what to do. He hadn’t wanted the Slayer to see anything of any importance while she was with him, but he really needed to go and get what he had forgotten. He didn’t have time to return her to the hotel and then go and get it alone, because of the flight schedule. They had to get to their destination before dawn.

“Damn” he muttered again.

Buffy had already sussed out his quandrey, and she simply sat there with a knowing smirk on her face.

Spike took in the look on her face and muttered another, “Damn,” before turning and pressing on an intercom button.

“Take me to the temple before the airport,” he ordered the driver.

The driver didn’t reply, but Buffy felt the car turn and take off in a different direction.

“Temple Spike? Not a place I would credit you with having business!” said the Slayer leadingly.

Spike glared at her. No signs of laughter or friendliness remained. He was all business and obviously less than pleased at having her along.

“Keep your mouth shut Slayer. This is none of your business” he warned.

“You wish is my command oh masterful one,” she replied drippingly as she settled into her seat and virtually plastered her nose to the window. If Spike didn’t want her to see this, then she was absolutely going to be paying total attention.

Spike shook his head in defeat and settled back for the ride cursing himself for ever agreeing to bring the Slayer along in the first place.

The silence continued for the remained of the ride. As they reached their destination, the car slowed and then pulled over to the side of the road. Spike glared at the Slayer. “Stay here” he ground out as he opened the car door and left.

Buffy paid no attention to him. Her focus was on the building they were parked beside. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, and it didn’t look like a temple. It was a very strange shape and it was covered in engravings that peaked Buffy’s curiosity.

Not knowing how long Spike was going to be gone, Buffy began to hunt for a paper and something to write with. Behind one of the concealed cupboards in the limo, she found what she was looking for. Snatching up a couple of the complementary bonded letter head paper and a pen, she returned to the window. Sketching quickly she tried to copy down some of the symbols she saw on the side of the building.

First she sketched what looked like the open wings of an eagle. The eagles body was framed by the head of two cobras and between the cobras was a pyramid within a circle. Within the pyramid was an eye.

She had barely started to sketch the next symbol when she saw Spike striding out of the building, heading straight for the car.

Quickly Buffy dropped the pen down the side of the car seat and managed to get the paper stuffed into her jeans pocked just before Spike jerked open the car door.

“All done?” She started to ask with dripping sweetness, but that was cut short as he sat down directly beside her instead of across from her. His arm snaked round her neck and pulled her head towards him. Before she could object, he placed a kiss on the top of her head, then quickly released her.

“Please Buffy, stay out of it,” he said with deadly seriousness.

Buffy looked at him, still shocked by the kiss, “You dont really expect me to, do you?”

Standing quickly, he moved to put some distance between them by sitting in his old seat across from her.

Surprisingly, Buffy felt a loss as he moved away.

“Nope, I guess I don’t. But you need to know that this could kill you.”

“Lots of things can kill me Spike. Most nights, some of them try. Eventually something will kill me, but we will just have to wait and see what that something is, wont we?”

Spike didnt answer her. Instead he pressed down the intercom button. “Airport” he said as the car shifted into gear and pulled away from the temple.

The flight back from God Knows Where had been uneventful. Buffy had tried to use the down time to talk to Spike but he remained elusive and withdrawn through the whole flight. The only notable point in the whole flight occurred when “Kitten” decided that Spike’s bad mood was related to the scruffy girl that he had in tow. The stewardess’s attitude towards Buffy suffered a rapid deterioration while she practically fawned over Spike’s every move.

Spike suffered the stewardess’s attitude for a few moments before letting loose with a few choice words and a glare that could sink ships. It was obvious that the girl was devastated as she retreated back into the plane’s galley. Buffy felt kind of sorry for the girl and gave Spike a look of her own to let him know she thought he was out of line. Spike just shrugged it off, closed his eyes and ignored both women for the rest of the flight.

After the plane landed, Spike had made record time in leaving the airport and getting out to the short term parking area. The attendant recovered his old car for him, and Spike had bundled Buffy into the car with less than half a dozen words spoken through the whole event.

Out on the main road, he made a left turn onto Route 66 instead of a right turn that would have taken them back into Las Vegas. Buffy’s questioning glance had been met with a curt, “I’m taking you home.”

Buffy’s mouth opened ready to argue, but she snapped it closed again. She wanted to see where he was going with all off this and she sensed the best response would be to let him run with it. Settling back in her seat, she turned her head to watch out the window as the restaurants and shops fell away to the darkness of the dessert as they headed in the general direction of California.

****

And that had been all there was for the last hour and a half. Spike silent and sullen, hunched over the wheel of the car while they made rapid time through the dessert. At first the night sky was filled with millions of stars but soon they faded as the sky became overcast. The first drops of water to hit the windshield were soft and subtle, but that changed fast. Soon they were driving though a downpour, and Spike had to slow his speed due to the decreased visibility.

The dessert floor, deprived of water for many months, was unable to soak up the torrential down pour quickly enough and soon the dry washes became rushing streams capable of ripping a car from the road. Above them, thunder rolled and lightening cracked through the sky as nature put on one of her more stunning shows.

Unable to keep driving due to the flooded washes, Spike pulled the car to the side of the road, killed the lights and turned off the engine. Closing his eyes, he sank back into the car seat with a look that said that this was how he was going to stay until the storm finished.

That was more than Buffy was prepared to take. Her temper, short at the best of time, flared. Swinging round in her seat to face him, she punched him in the arm.

“OK, enough of the silent treatment. Time to talk.” She started.

Spike didn’t open his eyes. “Leave it Slayer” he said warningly.

“I don’t want to leave it, you’re going to talk whether you like it or not” she said as her voice began to rise with anger.

Spike sighed, opened his eyes and looked at the angry girl beside him.

“Interesting concept. Tell me, exactly how are you going to force me to talk. I’m going to hold out for something kinky.” He said slyly.

“That will not be necessary. You’re talking just fine now.” Replied the Slayer with a smile.

Spike shook his head in exasperation. “OK, so you want to talk, so we’ll talk. How about we get back to the conversation we had on hold and you explain to me why you decided to look me up.”

That wiped the smile from Buffy’s face. “I’d rather talk about you.” She said trying to redirect the conversation.

Spike gave a chuckle. “Thought you might. Let me guess, you want to know why I’m living in Vegas, how I came to have access to a Lear, why and how I’m reading the book you saw earlier, what I’m doing in Mexico and what the symbols on the building mean that you copied down on the piece of paper you have in your pocket. Shall we start with that?”

“That’s definitely a start.” Replied the Slayer pointedly ignoring his reference to her not so secret piece of paper.

“Well I tell you what, the answer is no. I’m not going to tell you anything. It’s none of your business, so as I said earlier, let it go.” As he said it, he looked her straight in the eye and she knew he meant business.

Buffy shook her head. “You know I can’t let it go, so why don’t you just tell me?”

“Damn it Slayer. If you can’t leave it alone, then I’ll be damned if I won’t leave you alone.” He snapped as he grabbed the door handle and swung the door wide open. Before Buffy could comment he was out of the car and she was left staring at the door that he slammed after him.

“Oh no you don’t, it’s not that easy,” she mumbled to herself as she grabbed her own door and swung it open. Her anger had her out of the car before she even remembered it was pouring with rain. Within two seconds she was soaked through.

Squinting her eyes against the rain, she looked through the pitch darkness of the dessert for any sight of him. She wasn’t making much headway until a flash of lightening directly overhead, helped her out. He was standing about thirty feet from the car, just staring off into the night.

Gritting her teeth she began sloshing through the standing water towards him. Several times, her feet slipped away from her as she put her weight down on a muddy area rather than on the still, somewhat firm sand. Flailing her arms slightly, she managed to keep her balance until she reached him.

He either didn’t hear her coming over the sound of the storm or he simply choose to ignore her. The Slayer stood behind him and pushed her straggly wet hair out of her face, before touching his arm.

Spike didn’t react to her presence or her touch, and anger flared again in the Slayer. Using all her Slayer strength, she reached out intending to turn him round to face her. What she met instead, was a brick wall. He was totally unmovable. The Slayer stared at his back in some confusion; Spike was strong but she had always been the one who was slightly stronger. Until now anyway.

Without any help from her, Spike turned round and took in the bedraggled small woman and the eyes that flashed pure fire at him. Seeing her standing there, dripping wet, yet totally unready to give an inch made him loose some of his resolve.

Reaching out, he used a finger to brush a wet strand of hair from her eyes. He half expected her to slap the hand away, but she didn’t.

“I missed you” he said quietly and simply as the thunder roared overhead.

At first Buffy was taken aback, not only by his words, but also by the change in track from the present day argument to a time two years ago. But then she looked at the man in front of her and saw his sincerity.

“I know” she replied softly. “If it’s any consolation, I wouldn’t do it that way again if I had it to do over.”

Spike nodded understanding. “Come here,” he said reaching out for her. As he pulled her to him, he opened his duster, which had been keeping him relatively dry, and wrapped it round both of them.

Buffy found herself pressed up against his lean body with his strong arms around her encasing her in leather. It felt good to be in his arms again after so long. But before she could get comfortable, Spike spoke again.

“Come on, let’s get you back to the car,” he said letting go of her only long enough to move her to his side so that they could walk. His arm went round her shoulder still giving her the protection of his coat

Buffy nodded agreement and they began to stumble in the direction of the car. They were making decent progress until they hit the muddy area. Being so close to one another impaired their individual balance; as they hit the mud, Spike leaned one way but the Slayer went the other. Next thing they knew they were both lying on their backs inches deep in mud.

Buffy stared in disbelief at the angry heavens above her, before turning her head to look at the man beside her. He was staring at the heavens also, but he had a highly amused look plastered to his face.

“You know something Slayer? These kinds of things only happen when you are around. You must be some kind of jinks,” he said laughingly as he rolled to face her.

The site of him lying there with mud dripping from most parts of his body brought a smile to Buffy’s lips.

“Gosh, but don’t you look cute,” she said with a laugh.

Spike’s face lost all signs of laughter. “Do I?” He asked her absentmindedly, as he stared deeply into her eyes.

The look he gave her robbed the Slayer of words and she managed only a small affirmative nod, as she stared back at him.

Spike propped himself up on one elbow, as he reached out with the other hand to cup her face, intent eyes covering every nuance of her face.

Slowly his head bent down towards her, and his lips claimed her. Passion flared within her at his touch and her heart picked up the beat. She had almost forgotten how good it felt to be in his arms. Lips moving slowly, Spike wrapped his arms round her and rolled himself over onto his back taking her with him.

On top of him now, with her full length spread against his, she had no doubt as to his arousal. Looking down into his eyes she saw the barely controlled passion, and without conscious thought her hips pressed down against him. Spike’s eyes closed as the sensations she was causing and his arms tightened around the girl pulling her down to meet his lips.

Then there was no gentleness between them. Buffy kissed him with a wildness that told him she wanted all of him, nothing held back. Spike didn’t need any encouragement, with a growl deep in his throat he gave into his desires.

Muddy hands moved over even muddier bodies, squelching and lubricating movements beyond belief. Then suddenly, just when Buffy thought she couldn’t stand it without more of him, she found herself alone in the mud.

Opening her eyes, she looked up and found him standing over her with an outstretched hand offered to pull her up. Closing her eyes for a second she struggled to slow her breathing. Alone in the mud, embarrassment at the wildness of her response to him began to sink in.

Ignoring the offered hand, Buffy stood up and began brushing some of the heavier clumps of mud from her.

“Buffy, I...” began Spike.

“Leave it Spike” said Buffy sharply, not wanting to hear his excuses.

Spike looked at her, well aware of the anger, hurt and embarrassment that he was causing her and he cursed himself for it, but he didn’t change his resolve. Realizing there was nothing he could say to ease the moment, he swung round on his heels and headed for the car.

“Let’s go Slayer. Got to get you home before dawn.”

Buffy stood there in the mud and watched him walk away from her. The rain poured over her and lightening continued to crack across the sky. For the first time, it began to dawn on her that getting Spike back might not be a forgone conclusion. The two years had taken a toll.