Chapter 14:

------------------------------------------

Spike slowly came to. He seemed to be lying at the foot of the stairs, bones aching and skin sore. How the hell had he got here? Looking up he saw Hilda, who was sitting on the bottom step, looking at him worriedly.

"What happened? How'd I get here?" Then he remembered. The pain. The panic. The loss of control. It was still going on in the back of his mind. "Oh hell, didn't hurt you did I?" He saw her rubbing absently at a large scratch on her arm. He slowly got to his feet and approached her.

"They cast a spell and it took away your humanity." The witch said slowly.

He stepped back as if she had struck him. What was the woman raving about? He hadn't struggled all these years to create and sustain a persona for himself, just for her to destroy it with a few words.

"Humanity? Don't be daft woman - have you gone completely doolally? I'm a demon - no humanity here!"

"That's not what your aura is telling me. It's the only explanation that fits. Why you can love and care for people.."

"No!" he said desperately, "I'm a demon through and through - big bad! Evil!" He began pacing back and forth. This was when he missed his leather duster the most. Feeling it swing round him, heavy and - bad.

She carried on as if she hadn't heard him, "The human part of you wasn't completely destroyed when the demon entered your body," she raised her head and stared deep into his eyes, "it's still there and it's slowly getting stronger."

"You must be out of your tree." Spike said roughly, "you haven't had enough sleep, that's what's wrong with you."

"Alright, let's not argue," She said testily, "we have a much bigger problem on our hands - Alice and a couple of her cronies. What I can't understand is how they managed to pinpoint you so accurately. For that they'd need something of yours - the more personal the better."

"I think I might know what it is." Spike looked at her thoughtfully. "When that scrawny witch was pulling at my chains last night, she put her hand on the back of my head and pulled some hair out. I just thought she was being vindictive."

"She has some of your hair! Oh, no, that's not good." The witch put her head in her hands, and then rubbed her face tiredly. "We'll have to get out of here as quickly as possible, before they try something else. I have added a stronger protection spell to the ward, but it's not going to last forever."

She hurriedly washed, dressed and gathered together some spell ingredients, put them in a shoulder bag then collected his blood from the fridge. Spike watched her move about, feeling somewhat helpless. He could still feel the effects of the magic - pain, terror - but the protection spell was keeping it in the background of his mind.

"Spike, could I have a couple of strands of your hair? I need it for a spell to try and fool them that you are here after we have left."

He had no idea what she was talking about, but willingly pulled out some hair for her. She put a kitchen chair in the middle of the room, placed his hair on the seat and drew a circle round it. Scattering herbs and other magical items into the circle she began to chant. After a few seconds the area round the chair began to shimmer and shine. An outline of a seated man began to emerge. Spike watched in fascination as the image solidified. Who was it? Then he took in the white blond hair, the black jeans and t shirt clad body and realised that it was a simulacrum - an exact likeness of himself. He felt his respect for Hilda increase. What a powerful witch she was.

He looked at it critically. Well, no wonder the birds swooned over him. What a handsome fellow! He circled the chair slowly, looking at every detail. So that's what the collar looked like on. Not bad, not bad. Mmmm it could do with a black leather duster, though.

"If you've quite finished admiring yourself!" Hilda had been watching him with some amusement.

"I'd forgotten just how bloody good looking I am." He grinned over at her. "Quite a party trick, love."

She grew serious; "It should keep them guessing for a while. I'm not strong enough to hold off three witches for any length of time. We'll need help from a witch outside of my coven. The problem is I don't know any. But first things first - we must get away from here now."

She cast another spell to shield Spike from the sun and make him invisible to the other witches. She told him to keep as close as he could as she manoeuvred out of the door. They made their way to the car and, with a collective sigh of relief, drove away.

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

"So, where're we going pet?"

"I have absolutely no idea - I'm just trying to get us as far away from the house as I can." she said grimly.

They drove in silence, each of them deep in their own thoughts. Spike, who had never been any good at silence, spoke first. "So, you don't know any other witches?"

"Oh, yes I know quite a few outside of the coven, but of course so do the others. They'd track us down easily. Anyway, I don't think anyone would be likely to help a renegade and a vampire."

"Look, why don't you just drop me off here? I've got a good head start. Then you can wait until they've cooled off a bit and go back home." Spike said earnestly.

"I told you before, that is not going to happen. I don't abandon my friends!" she retorted sharply. "We'll find a way out of this - I just don't know what it is yet."

He looked at her in wonder. So this is what having a friend meant. Sticking with you through thick and thin - he was learning all the time.

"OK love, if that's what .." He got no further. His body suddenly convulsed and the feelings of terror and pain flooded back along with an almost uncontrollable blood lust. He felt as though he was infested with burning snakes. Writhing, stinging, biting at his insides. This time he used the pain to focus his mind - to concentrate on not losing control.

Hilda looked over at him, the car swerving dangerously. She saw his face morphing from human to demon as he struggled with the spell. "Oh, goddess!" She shouted. "Hold on!" Steering the car to the side of the country road, she pulled up. Watching him the whole time, she reached over to the back seat and her shoulder bag. The spell book was on the top and with trembling hands, she began to flick through it feverishly. He was gasping and panting with effort and the clinical part of her mind watched with interest as his chest heaved with pseudo breathing. Finding the spell she needed, she began to chant. Slowly, very slowly he began to relax, his breathing eased and then stopped.

"Bugger me! That was bad. Good job I've got the ward you gave me, I think it helped me fight" He croaked. When she didn't reply he glanced over at her and was shocked at her appearance. She was grey with fatigue and her face was drawn and lined. She suddenly looked years older.

"What's wrong?"

"Too much magic in too short a time. There are always consequences Spike, always."

"Then I should drive pet, you look all in."

"Didn't know you could drive." She murmured.

"Been driving since there were cars on the road," he replied trying to lighten the mood. "Took a driving test once. Got fed up with all the bloody stupid questions. Ate the instructor instead. Driving improved though."

She smiled at him faintly and then closed her eyes. He hoped that she didn't need to be conscious for the spell to keep working. Concentrating on going as fast as he could but staying within the speed limits, he started to wrack his brain to think of somewhere they could head for.

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

Giles glanced up from his newspaper and across to Buffy, who had just returned from what she called her "retreat" - the garden in the centre of the square. They had had a leisurely breakfast and agreed to spend a lazy day at Michael's home after their fun packed previous day. Well, thought Giles, fun packed would not be the way he would describe it - but he had known that it was what Buffy had needed - some retail therapy. She had seemed so down after yesterday's telephone conversations with her family and friends. Perhaps she was more homesick than she was letting on. This had to be the strangest holiday he had ever experienced.

Staying at Michael's was turning out to be better than he had first thought. They had so much in common. Giles was having real, intellectual discussions with someone who knew what he was talking about. It was like finding an oasis in the desert.

It was such a shame that Hilda had acted like a lovesick teenager - going off with that irritating bloodsucker. Giles would have liked to get to know her better, she was a very interesting woman, who seemed to have extensive knowledge of magic.

A loud pounding on the door interrupted his musings. Throwing down the newspaper, he got to his feet, grumbling loudly as the pounding went on. He opened the door and was almost bowled over as Spike carrying Hilda's limp form in his arms stumbled through.

Spike tottered to the sitting room and gently laid her on the sofa.

"What have you done to her?" Giles whispered.

"Oh, shut up you bloody stupid wanker!" Can't you see she needs help?" Spike picked up her hand and started to pat at it ineffectually. It was what they used to do for young ladies who fainted back in the day.

"I said WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Giles shouted, his face suffused with rage.

"Do you really think I'd bring her here if I'd hurt her. Even I'm not that stupid!" the vampire yelled back.

"Get out of the way." Pushing Spike aside, Giles took over examining the witch as best he could.

Buffy stood watching silently. Spike, she thought stupidly. He's back. "What happened?" She asked softly.

Spike didn't seem to hear her, so she said again more loudly, "what happened?"

He turned and caught sight of her for the first time - it was like a hammer blow. Her scent surrounded him, her face, so beautiful, so troubled. All the time he'd been away he'd consciously fought against thinking about her, but now she was here, within arms reach. He groaned to himself, why the bloody hell did he love her so much?

"I didn't. I haven't hurt her." He muttered.

"So, tell me what happened." Buffy said patiently.

Spike recounted the events that had occurred since he and the witch had left this house.

"The second time they attacked me, I was able to fight it for long enough for Hilda to reinforce the shield around me. I think the mojo was different though - the bloodlust was almost too much for me to control. The first spell was against me, but I think that one was against us both. They wanted me to kill her and then run." He was pacing up and down, running his hands through his hair.

Buffy longed to comfort him maybe put her arms around him. But he was obviously over her and now Hilda was all he could think of. Instead she smiled at him encouragingly as she awkwardly patted his arm. "I'm sure she's going to be fine." Oh, great, Buffy, way to go she thought, next you'll be offering him a nice cup of tea.

Giles had realised that the witch was in a deep sleep, and not injured in any way. He moved her into a more comfortable position on the sofa and turned to the slayer and vampire.

"Now, what are we going to do about Spike. He should be contained in some way."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked belligerently.

"He's right slayer - those bloody witches could strike at any time and without Hilda to repel the magic, I could hurt someone."

Buffy turned to the professor, who had come downstairs to see what all the fuss was about "Do you have a secure room we could lock him in? Maybe in the basement?"

He looked puzzled until Spike translated. "She means the cellar."

"Oh, yes. Uh no. The cellar is one large room which, I'm afraid, is rather crammed with a hotch potch of things that I can't bring myself to get rid of." He smiled apologetically.

"Well then, do you have any chains?"

"Not here." He said thoughtfully. "But I have at the station. I also have a secure room for him." He suddenly smiled. "Do you think that it would confuse the witches if Spike was in a place with other vampires?"

Giles looked thoughtful. "Yes, that might work."

"Come on then people - we can't hang about. Never know when they're gonna catch up again." Spike was conflicted. He didn't much like the idea of chains and a 'secure room' but if it meant that he was made safe, then he'd go along with it.

TBC

Chapter 16:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Buffy gazed down at the vampire resting on her lap. Blood was still seeping from his ears and nose and, although now he was deeply unconscious, he was twitching and trembling, obviously still in great pain.

"Here", the professor held out a damp towel, "put it over the wound."

Without looking she put out her hand, and when he passed it to her, began to wipe Spike's face.

"I meant it for you." Mackness said wryly.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten." Buffy put the cloth to the bite on her neck and rubbed at it absently.

"How on earth can you forget being bitten by a vampire?" He asked, shaking his head. "He looks as though he's reverted to a feral state. Don't you think we should put him out of his misery? I could give him a simple injection and he'll just slip away, won't feel a thing."

His breath caught in his throat as he saw her expression.

"You don't touch him! If he needs dusting I do it - nobody else!" Her voice echoed round the cell, "He tried to warn me before the spell got too much for him. We have to find a way to help him that doesn't include ending his existence."

She didn't seem to register the tears which, as they slid down her cheeks, dropped on the face of the creature lying on her knees. Buffy looked up and saw the professor's stricken expression. "Look, I'm sorry you got involved in this. Why don't you go home now, Giles can't be much longer, we can take over from here"

Mackness was stung that she thought so little of him. He had seen the attack on his monitor and had rushed down to the cell, only to find the vampire had fainted. "I'll stay if it's all the same to you - do a bit of research. You never know I might come in useful at some stage." He said in a dignified voice, only spoiled a little by a slight tremor.

The young woman seemed to forget him as soon as she looked away. In fact, she seemed only to be aware of the demon and was stroking its face. In spite of himself the professor was fascinated. He hadn't seen Spike's game face before, the vampire had seemed to have absolute control - and now all that control had gone. He shuddered at the thought of what it could have done to this beautiful girl, had it not been restrained.

"I'll be in my office if you need me. And please, if he shows signs of waking up, get out of here as quickly as you can." The professor was unsure that she'd heard anything he'd said. He made his way back to his office and sat watching the monitor for any sign of the vampire attacking again.

Buffy gently brushed her fingers over the ridges on the vampire's forehead and marvelled that she felt none of the revulsion and hatred of the past years, only concern and - and - she forced herself to complete the thought - and love. The last barrier round her heart was broken. Examining him closely for the first time, she saw him, really saw him, game face and all - not just the vampire, but the man. He was, even in this state, handsome and when he was showing his "human" face, he was beautiful. Her heart seemed to squeeze and falter as she studied him.

He had loved her, she now knew it to be true - and she had thrown it in his face. Not surprising that he had finally given up, with all the physical and verbal abuse that she'd heaped on him. Now all he wanted was to be with the witch.

But it didn't mean that she couldn't help him, fight for him. She found that she was filled with steely determination. She would find a way to protect him. She had to.

She glanced down to the ward at his throat and she noticed that the crystal was no longer glowing and that the vampire was lying completely still. Suddenly she heard a growl and realised that his golden eyes were open and he was staring up at her expressionlessly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the pain receded, the vampire slowly regained consciousness. He became aware that something was dreadfully wrong. He could feel that he was leaning against a warm, living, breathing being, but he was in absolute silence. That was impossible. He should be able to hear the intake of breath and the beating of a pulse. But there was nothing. Fear slowly filled him when he made another terrible discovery - his senses of smell and taste had vanished too. He also realised that he was under some kind of restraint; he could feel the pressure of metal bands round his wrists.

Something hot and wet dropped on to his cheek and it was only by a supreme force of will that he kept motionless. OK, he was deaf, had no sense of smell/taste and he felt as though he had been beaten with a steak tenderiser. Was he blind too? What kind of predator could he be now? He fought the impulse to open his eyes, but his need to know what threat he faced outweighed everything else. He snapped them open with an unheard growl and found himself looking up into the face of a beautiful woman. Her lips moved silently and she gave him a heart-stopping smile. Without thought, he tried to raise his hand to wipe off the tears that were streaming down her face, but was brought short by a chain attached to his wrists. She spoke again and drew her hand through his hair. He tried to speak to her, but distressingly, couldn't even hear his own voice.

His gaze slid down to her throat. She had a bite on her neck and, with a jolt, he saw that it was his mark! He looked back up into her eyes in confusion. She must be his mate - but she was human! Why the hell couldn't he remember this gorgeous female, and why was he under restraint? Was she a prisoner too? If so, why wasn't she chained? The thoughts and questions tumbled around his head making him dizzy. She was still smiling down at him and, crazily, he felt comforted. He tried to blink away the black spots that swam into his vision, but felt himself fall back into unconsciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TBC

Chapter 17:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making Spike as comfortable as she could, Buffy reluctantly left him and sped to the professor's office to see if Giles was back from his research trip.

"He rang just now, and he's on his way." the professor informed her, "He thinks he might have found a spell powerful enough to protect us, at least until help arrives."

She used the professor's washroom to clean herself up, bandage the bite and, after changing out of her blood spattered clothes, felt a little better. He asked if she would "keep an eye on things" while he went to look for some equipment that might come in useful. Alone and with nothing constructive to do, Buffy started to pace. This was the time when she'd usually go out and fight something, slay something. It was so frustrating. Picking up and putting down random books and papers, the usually tidy office slowly started to look as though a small tornado had struck. Glancing up to the monitor, Buffy was shocked to see a figure standing just inside Spike's prison door. She left at a dead run.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike came to slowly. There was an awful, mind stunning noise - screeching, whistling, squealing, clicking - what the hell was it? Groaning, he sat up. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was sitting on the floor with Buffy, laughing hysterically. Had he nodded off to sleep? He certainly remembered having a dream. His face softened. It had been about Buffy, as most of his dreams were these days. Only this one had been different. Usually, he was fighting or shagging her, but this time he was just lying in her lap, while she stroked his hair and looked at him with love. She had smiled at him softly - no revulsion, no disdain, no hatred - only love. He held on to the vision and smiled inwardly. Buffy in love with him - yeah right! He remembered seeing a bite mark on her neck and thinking she was his mate! She'd dust him for sure if he ever had the temerity kiss her, let alone bite her. He'd tried to kiss her once and ended up on his arse for his trouble. Wishful bloody thinking you stupid bugger! He shook himself out of his self-indulgence and looked around for the source of the noise. It was unlike anything he had heard, but over it he could hear footsteps.

The door to his cell crashed open and he grinned when he saw who it was.

"Hilda! Pet. You OK?"

She seemed to be looking at him oddly, no smile of recognition. They both swung their heads as they heard the sound of pounding feet echoing down the hallway. Buffy appeared in the doorway. The witch put up her hand and the slayer felt as though she had run into a brick wall.

"Stay there. This is perfect - you should watch this." The witch spoke in a cold voice. Buffy found that she couldn't move a muscle - only look on silently.

Spike's smile faltered, "What's wrong luv?"

"Don't call me that!" As she spoke, the witch thrust her fingers towards the vampire and suddenly a deadly, needle pointed wooden dart shot across the room and plunged into his shoulder.

Gasping with shock and pain, Spike stared at her wild-eyed. "What the bloody hell did you do that for?"

"I'll do a lot worse before I'm finished with you, you disgusting, evil, murdering monster!" Shaking, the witch's mouth peeled back in a parody of a smile.

Buffy, caught like a fly in amber, could only watch in horror as another two darts pierced his body. She felt as though her heart would break as she saw Spike's anguished face.

"You think you could take over my life, move in with me and make me forget all my friends?" Again the witch gestured and another dart hit him, this time in his arm.

The witch seemed to quiver, but recovered quickly. "On your knees." The shackles dropped away from his wrists and he was flung down onto the stone floor.

He started to slowly pull himself towards her. "Please. Hilda. What has happened to make you treat me like this, after what we had together?"

"You think that you meant anything to me? You disgusted me every time you touched me." The words dripped from her mouth like acid.

Another dart hit him in the neck, but he hardly seemed to notice. "Listen to me, my witch, please - whatever it is, let me put it right."

The witch shook more violently this time, and her air of supreme superiority seemed to be leeching away. "That's where you belong you despicable creature, crawling on your hands and knees." She said hoarsely

The vampire reached the witch's feet and looked up at her, "I'm sorry Hilda." Sickened Buffy watched, as he bent as though he was going to kiss her foot. Instead he grasped her ankle and pulled as hard as he could. Hilda crashed down, hitting her head on the stone floor and lay unmoving.

As soon as the witch was down, Buffy was released from her invisible prison and she staggered into the room. Spike was kneeling next to Hilda, his shoulders hunched, stroking her hand and saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

A cold, hard voice said, "Get away from her." The vampire looked up and saw Giles pointing a crossbow at his chest through the bars and he could see death in the Watcher's face.

Shakily he got to his feet and stumbled back to the far wall. "Slayer, look after her will you? "

Buffy saw Giles' finger tighten on the trigger and she stepped between him and the vampire. "Giles, you don't understand - he didn't attack Hilda, she attacked him."

"She attacked him? Why would she do that?"

"Because she was taken over just the same as me." Spike muttered, trying hard to look relaxed, but having to lean against the wall to stop falling over.

"You can't deny that he bit you." Giles said to Buffy angrily.

"I bit you?" Both humans could hear the shock and amazement in his voice.

He saw Buffy put her hand up to a bandage that had been hidden by her hair. "Yes, he bit me, but it was an accident."

"Oh, you accidentally fell against his fangs?"

That deserved the eye roll she gave him. "Oh, please Giles! Put the crossbow down and help me with Hilda." She bent down to pick up the witch.

"Put the shackles back on him first."

"I think we have got past that stage ..."

The humans' voices faded to the back of Spike's mind as he looked over at the witch. He concentrated hard and managed to hear her slow but steady heartbeat over the annoying voices. He'd known just after the first dart had hit him that the other witches were using Hilda to destroy him. But she was his friend - and he'd hurt her. And somehow in the confusion, he'd bitten the Slayer

Sorrow and pain flowed through him. It wasn't like the physical pain of his wounds, this was somehow worse. He began to feel strange, what were these thoughts and feelings? A vampire shouldn't be feeling like this about humans, he knew - but since when had he obeyed any rules? He was a free agent; he'd feel any bloody way he liked. And then he had a shattering realisation - the chip hadn't fired! He'd hurt these women and his chip hadn't punished him! "Spike!"

Filled with confusion and apprehension, he looked up at Buffy and her watcher, they were both looking at him impatiently as if they had spoken to him before.

Buffy picked the witch up, said, "Come on," and lead the way out of the cell.

"Against my better judgement, Buffy has persuaded me to let you live. Be aware that I don't need much of an excuse to end your existence." Giles gestured with the crossbow for Spike to precede him.

The vampire wasn't sure that his legs would support him, but he pushed away from the wall and stumbled after the Slayer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 18.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy glanced over at Spike worriedly. She had never seen him so quiet for so long - he seemed too subdued. He looked as though he was in shock - if vampires could experience shock. Not for the first time, Buffy wished she knew a bit more about them. Even when Giles had insisted that she tie Spike down whilst they were busy clearing the professor's room ready for casting the spell, he submitted without so much as a frown. He had asked in a quiet voice to be near the witch and had even helped her to move the chair next to the bed on which Hilda lay. And now he sat staring into space, eyes unfocussed. She wished she knew what he was thinking.

Spike was still grappling with his feelings of confusion and fear. He was hungry - ravenous in fact, but the scent of the witch's blood was making him nauseous. And the slayer - he realised he still loved her with every fibre of his body. Bloody hell, he shouldn't be feeling this way about his only natural enemy, it was unnatural! Usually he'd be proud of being unnatural - but this, this was sick! And as for having a dream about lying in her lap and smiling at her like a complete idiot - what a poufy prat!

He was desperately trying to wind himself up into an unrighteous fury, and then he made the mistake of glancing over towards the slayer and all his anger dissipated like mist in the sunshine. He knew he loved her more than he had ever loved anyone - even Dru, but she at best barely tolerated him. He closed his eyes and ground his teeth to stop groaning.

Although he had no memory of the attack, he accepted that he had bitten and tried to drain Buffy. And now Hilda, the only human woman who had ever shown any sort of affection for him, was lying unconscious, at his hand. Bloody hell, he needed a drink. No, he needed several drinks - an entire bottle probably wasn't enough.

No one as yet had wondered why he hadn't had a migraine from his attack on Hilda. He supposed it was only a matter of time - then they'd stake him for sure. The ropes were chafing one of the wounds in his chest, he pressed against them to try and use the pain to submerge his thoughts - it worked for all of about five seconds. "Just stake me now." He muttered under his breath.

The room was finally cleared and marked out for the spell casting. "I wish Hilda was well, she could probably do this in half the time and without all these messy ingredients." Giles sighed and then gestured to Buffy and Mackness. "Well you two had better get back now, just in case something goes wrong."

Buffy approached the vampire and the witch under the pretext of checking on Hilda's state of health. "How's she doing?" She asked Spike.

"Heart's steady. Just needs rest I guess." Spike answered in a monotone, not meeting her glance.

"As soon as Giles has finished the spell, I'll cut you loose." Buffy noticed that the ropes around his chest were stained red. She had offered to bandage his wounds before tying him down, but he had refused saying that they were almost healed. "And I'll have a look at you, some of the wounds seem to have opened up again."

"Don't bother." He said roughly, and then said something under his breath that sounded like "not worth it."

"What?"

"If I hadn't persuaded her to take me home, none of this would have happened."

"Aw, isn't he sweet when he thinks he's the centre of the universe?" A soft, if sarcastic voice interrupted him.

Buffy and Spike's heads swung round in unison to see the witch looking at them groggily.

"Bugger me! I thought you were going to sleep for the rest of the night, you lazy bint." Spike tried to look angry, but it was spoiled by the broad grin all over his face. "How're you feeling?"

"Like someone hit me on the head with a stone floor." Hilda smiled faintly at him.

"Hilda! Wonderful. You're awake!"

"Bleedin' observant ain't he?" Spike said frowning at the watcher.

Giles ignored him. "Are you feeling well enough to advise me about this spell?"

"Look here you stupid wanker, she's only just woken up - leave her alone!"

"It's all right Spike, I can answer for myself. I'm sorry Rupert, I think I'm burnt out at the moment - no magic here."

"Oh, I wasn't suggesting that you do the spell, only advise me on the best way of casting it."

While Hilda and Giles discussed the spell's finer points, Buffy watched Spike. He had always been easy to read and for someone who considered himself the big bad, his emotions clearly showed on his face. He was glaring at Giles and, she was sure, unaware that he was struggling against his bonds. She made a decision, crouched down beside him and started to try to untie the knots binding him to the chair. He swung his head round and gave her a penetrating stare.

"Won't your watcher be pissed off with you if you let me go?"

"I can take care of myself," she said absently as she struggled with the knots.

"That you can luv, that you can."

She looked up just in time to catch his look. It was back. "The Look" was back. The look of tenderness and adoration. He recovered swiftly and the neutral expression that she had become accustomed to over the past few days replaced it. Her heart began to pound so hard she thought it might break through her ribcage. Oh, god Buffy, The Look! The Look! She realised that she had frozen to the spot and was staring at him.

"What?" He said trying to sound as casual as possible, "can't you untie it?" Why was she staring at him like that? Her heart rate and respiration were going wild. Was she ill? He was suddenly concerned. "What's wrong slayer, you sick?"

Giles chose that moment to interrupt. "Hilda agrees that it would be wise if you all kept away from the pentagram in case there are any, um, accidents. Not that I think there will be, but it's best to be safe. We have decided to try and encompass this entire level, so that we will be able to use the dormitory and the rest of the facilities. I think we could all do with some rest." He smiled at Buffy and went to the centre of the room. She smiled faintly back - damn the man! She had been on the point of saying something to Spike, but now the moment was gone. He was talking softly to the witch who was sitting close to him on the edge of the bed.

Had she imagined it? Wanted so much to see him look at her with love, that she had just seen what she wanted to see? Then Giles started the incantation and all thought fled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Magic filled the air like static electricity, crackling and sparking as Giles began his chant. Buffy could feel all the small hairs on her arms and legs stir and then stand on end. She shivered involuntarily at the sudden chill in the air and looked at the others, who appeared to be just as affected.

At that moment, Giles said the last words of the protection spell and everything faded into white for a second. The professor gasped in shock. There was a brilliant flash of bright blue and then their surroundings came back, but looking slightly out of focus, shifting eerily. Giles sat down abruptly as if his legs could no longer take his weight.

"Bloody hell!" The watcher spluttered, "that packed a punch." Buffy pulled him to his feet and helped him to sit down next to the witch, who was looking at Spike worriedly.

"Oh my! Oh my." She was saying over and over again.

"What's wrong Hilda?" Spike was looking just as worried.

"Something that has only just occurred to me, when I saw the crystal react." Then she muttered under her breath, "oh, Hilda you are such a stupid witch."

"Tell me what's wrong!" the Vampire shouted.

"I'm sorry Spike, but I'm going to have to remove the ward."

"What?" Spike gaped at her

"I've just realised how they have managed to track us so well. They have been following the magic of the ward all this time - it's acting like a beacon. I should have thought of it before - I'm so sorry." She buried her head in her hands.

"Hilda, you have spent most of the time here unconscious. I'm not surprised that the thought didn't strike you before. Give yourself a break," Giles smiled at her and she smiled faintly back.

"Won't the protection spell, you know - protect us now?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, but the ward is shouting our position to them loud and clear. If they get here, we'll be protected all right, but then all they have to do is wait until we run out of food.." She left the others to fill in the end of the sentence. "We just have to hope that they haven't pinpointed us yet."

"Oh bugger!" Spike said dismally - the collar was precious to him, a gift from a friend.

"I'll make you a new one, when we get out of this." The witch reached over and unclasped the ward from his neck as he smiled at her shyly.

Buffy crouched at the vampire's side again and started to wrestle with the knots around his body, trying not to show the jealousy lancing through her.

"Here," the professor was holding out a red handled knife, "Swiss Army knife, it was a present from my boys." He smiled at her, "should make short work of the rope."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are we going to do with it?" Mackness asked.

"Put it on a train - that'll lead them away from us."

"No Spike, if anyone finds it, as they are bound to, and then puts it on, they would be just as vulnerable to the witches as you were." Giles was busy polishing his glasses

"So?" the vampire struggled to understand that argument.

"Oh for Pete's sake!" Giles jammed the glasses back on his nose, "we can't let innocent people suffer."

"Well, they can't be that innocent taking something that's not theirs." Spike muttered sullenly.

Giles pointedly turned his back on the vampire and said "Any suggestions?"

"What about hiding it at St Mary's" Mackness said diffidently. "No-one goes there, not even the workmen, now I have disbanded them."

They all agreed that it was a good idea, but then couldn't agree about who should take it. Spike insisted that as it belonged to him, he should be the one to dispose of it. Hilda argued that as he had already been attacked through it twice, it probably wasn't a good idea. That also discounted her, as she had also been attacked and was the one that the other witches knew best. Giles volunteered, but he was the only one who could cast spells, as Hilda was temporarily out of commission.

"I'll take it. Since I'm the only one that doesn't have special powers, maybe they won't notice me." the professor spoke so softly they almost didn't hear him.

"You!" Spike said derisively, "what are you going to do if evil, bloodthirsty vampires attack? Scream and cry for your mummy?"

Over the uproar those words generated, Buffy said, "I'll go with him."

It seemed the best solution. Hilda wrapped the collar carefully in a strip torn off the bedsheets, emptied her leather shoulder bag and placed it inside.

"Don't touch the metal just in case they'll be able to sense you somehow. Bury it, bag and all, that'll be the safest." She smiled at him and patted his arm.

Giles shook his hand, "Buffy is an experienced warrior - do as she says and you should be safe."

Mackness picked up the bag in shaking hands and tried to smile bravely. "I'm sure we'll be back before you know it." He could see the vampire rolling his eyes in the background and somehow this gave him strength. "Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy looked down at her fashionable high-heeled boots, "just how far is it?"

"Oh, it's about three miles away - but don't worry, we have transport." The professor led her to an alcove in the tunnel in which a small electric truck was parked. It looked just like the ones they used in airports.

The journey was uneventful, boring even and Buffy was glad when the professor told her that they had reached their destination.

They entered the large area that used to be St Mary's station and memories came flooding back into Buffy's mind. Giles collapsing, Spike carrying him and half carrying her and then trying to fight off the crossbow-wielding humans. She realised that it was then that she had started to love him. She sighed sadly.

Mackness took the bag over to a pile of rubble where a wall had partially collapsed and started to dig a hole. He heaved some bricks aside and then burrowed into the detritus that was underneath. He looked up, about to ask the young woman if she thought it was deep enough, when he saw a movement behind her.

"Oh my!" Was all he could manage when he saw a group of five grinning vampires descending upon them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 19: