February 2000

Buffy and Willow watched the last of the trucks haul away the debris
from the now demolished Lowell House.  It had been almost two months
since the events of Christmas Eve and things had happened quickly. 

Riley had been gone for a couple weeks when Buffy received a phone
call at her dorm asking her to meet him for coffee.  It had been
uncomfortable and awkward for her, but it was also something she knew
she needed to do.

"I'm sorry that I used you like that, Riley," she told him after they
had settled at a table, "but if I had to do it over again, I'd do the
same thing."  She looked into his sad eyes and then down into her
coffee cup.  "You must understand, I have a duty.  It's my job to
help keep this world safe from the forces of darkness.  In this case,
the forces turned out to be a crazy scientist and a bunch of
Frankenstein demons."

Riley nodded.  "I understand about duty, Buffy.  I really do.  It's
just, well, I grew to care for you.  A lot.  It hurts to know that
you never really cared about me."  He hesitated a bit and then
asked, "This guy, this vampire, you and he are together?"

Buffy nodded.  "Yeah.  It wasn't something I was expecting to
happen.  Especially with Spike."  An ironic smile formed at her
mouth.  "Slayers in general aren't supposed to have any kind of
personal life.  And they certainly aren't supposed to fall in love
with a vampire."  She shrugged.  "It just so happens that I've met
two extraordinary vampires in my life."

Riley looked shocked.  "Two?"

"Uh yeah.  Long story."  She decided to change the subject.  "So did
you get into a lot of trouble with your superiors?"

Now it was Riley's turn to shrug.  "Enough.  On the one hand, I
stopped a cold-blooded murder.  On the other, I helped destroy a long-
term research project into which millions of dollars had been sunk." 
He took a deep breath.  "So I was given a choice.  I could leave the
service with an O-T-H discharge..."

"O-T-H?" Buffy interrupted.

"Other Than Honorable," Riley answered.

"Oh.  God, Riley, I'm sorry." Buffy exclaimed.

"It's okay, Buffy.  The other choice was to take a reduction in rank
and join another squad in South America.  There's been an increase in
demon activity down there, and they've dispatched a squad on a search
and destroy mission.  So I'm off to Belize later tonight.  I just
came back here to gather my stuff, tie up some loose ends."  He
looked at Buffy when he said the last.

"Oh."  Buffy lowered her eyes to her mug again.  "What's going to
happen with that lab?" she asked after an uncomfortable silence. 

"It's going to be announced that Lowell House has Radon and is being
demolished.  The land around it will be paved over to prevent any
further gas escaping into the area.  The men will all transfer to
other colleges." 

"And Professor Walsh?"

Riley shrugged.  "I was assured that she would be "taken care of"
whatever that means."  Standing up Riley shrugged into his jacket. 
"Look, Buffy, I have to go now.  You take care of yourself, okay?"

"You too, Riley.  And again, thanks for everything you did for me. 
For us."

Riley nodded and left.

True to his words, the announcement that Lowell House would be
demolished was made shortly thereafter.  The men disappeared, but
hardly anyone noticed.  Now that the building was cleared, the paving
would begin the next day.

"Do you think all this is actually over?" Willow asked.  "Or do you
think they just moved operations somewhere else?"

Buffy gave Willow a concerned look.  "Good question, Will.  I hope
that we've seen the last of this, but who knows.  Riley said the
government had sunk millions of dollars into this project.  Somehow I
don't think they'll just forget about it."

Willow and Buffy had been rebuilding their relationship slowly but
steadily.  Mostly it had come about because of the changes Willow
herself had been going through.  After working with Jenny's coven,
she decided that she'd like to find a coven of her own to work with
and learn from.  Unfortunately the Wiccans at Sunnydale University
were a group dedicated more to bake sales and female empowerment than
magic.  However one girl, Tara Maclay, was a true witch.  She and
Willow had become friends and to Willow's shock, she found that she
had stronger feelings for Tara than she had ever had for another
woman.

Buffy had been a little freaked when she learned about Willow's
change in orientation and was voicing her misgivings to Spike one
night when he put it all into perspective for her.  Kissing her
lightly on the shoulder he simply said, "We love who we love, pet." 
Since she was lying naked snuggled up with an equally naked vampire
with whom she had just been making love for the past hour, she got
what he was saying.

Her acceptance of Tara had been the beginning of her and Willow's
reconciliation.

The reconciliation with Xander came about in an entirely different
way.  Spike had taken patrol alone one night when Buffy was working
on a paper.  During a sweep in the area around The Bronze, he heard
the sounds of a fight and upon investigation found Xander Harris
being attacked by three human muggers.  He had been holding his own
until one of the men hit him in the back of the head with a length of
wood.  Once down, the men started hitting and kicking the defenseless
young man.

Spike leapt into the fray throwing the men away from Xander,
frightening them off with his game face and then helped the injured
boy to his feet.  He had taken him to the hospital where Xander
received several stitches and pain medication and then taken him home
making sure he had everything he needed before leaving.

Neither man ever talked about the incident, but Xander's entire
attitude changed with regard to Spike.  They weren't best buddies,
but a wary friendship was beginning to develop.

The biggest surprise since Buffy told Spike she loved him was how her
mother had reacted to the news.  Gathering their courage, they sat
Joyce down one evening and informed her of their relationship.

"Well I wondered if you two were ever going to tell me," she said
calmly.  At the surprised expressions on their faces, she merely
shook her head and said, "Buffy, I realize I might not be the most
observant of mothers, but even I could tell something was up between
you two on Christmas Day."

Sighing she frowned slightly.  "I'm not going to say I'm thrilled
about this.  Quite frankly, Buffy, I'm worried."  Joyce looked
directly into Spike's eyes and told him, "Spike, I like you
personally, you know that.  But you're a vampire.  I just don't think
it's a good idea for you and Buffy to be romantically involved.  I
want her to have the chance to have as normal a life as a girl in her
position can have.  Being with a vampire is not normal."

"I understand that, Joyce.  Believe me, we two," he nodded in Buffy's
direction, "are well aware that this is a very bad idea."  He smiled
a little before continuing.  "Unfortunately, as much as we've tried
to deny it, we can't.  As much as we've hoped our feelings would go
away, they haven't.  But I promise you, Joyce, I'll do everything in
my power to make Buffy happy.  I'll do everything in my power to help
her do her job and keep her safe.  I love her with all my heart."

And so Joyce had reluctantly and with misgivings given them her
blessing. 

The only one that was still vehemently opposed to their relationship
was Giles.  No amount of discussion changed his mind.  He tolerated
Spike, barely.  But there was never a minute when Buffy was with
Giles that she wasn't aware of his censure.  It was causing a schism
between the two of them that tore at Buffy's heart.  And she knew
that the only way to fix things between them was for her to break up
with Spike, preferably by staking him.  That was never going to
happen.  On the day that Giles informed her that he was returning to
England, she had simply gotten up and walked out of Giles' apartment
without saying a word. 

She didn't come by Spike's crypt that night or the next.  When he
went to her dorm to find out what was wrong, no one was there.  By
now he was getting frantic with worry and called Xander.

"Giles is leaving and Buffy's closed down.  She's not talking to me
and Willow says she's not talking to her, but we didn't know she
wasn't talking to you either.  You'd better find her, man.  She
shouldn't be alone in this condition."

Spike searched all their patrol areas and finally found her fighting
two demons in one of the cemeteries.  She was unleashing all of her
fury against the two so Spike just held back, available if she needed
help but otherwise staying out of her way.

When she finally dispatched them, Spike came up to her, put his arms
around her trembling body and held her despite her protests, curses
and shoves.  At last Buffy gave in and clutching at his shirt she
sobbed into his chest like a lost little girl. 

He took her back to his crypt and kissing her gently, he began to
slowly undress her, offering her comfort in the way he knew best.  At
first Buffy just stood there unresponsive to his touch but as his
hands caressed her tenderly, as his lips slid sensuously over her
flesh, her breathing began to quicken and she began to lean into his
touch.  Spike unbuttoned and slid her blouse down her arms, placing
kisses along her shoulders and across her chest to the top of her
bra.  Reaching behind her he unhooked and lowered the bra and then
took one exposed nipple into his mouth.  Buffy moaned softly as he
tugged at the swelling flesh.  His tongue swiped across the sensitive
nerve endings causing Buffy to press closer to him.

Switching to the other breast, he sucked and teased while his hands
swept over her back, hips and buttocks.  Reaching in front of her, he
undid the button on her slacks, lowered the zipper and pushing the
waistband down slightly, slid his hand down her taunt, flat belly. 
He slowly lowered himself to his knees kissing his way down her ribs,
stopping at her belly button and inserting his tongue into the small
indentation, then moving across her body to kiss her belly and
hipbones. Pushing her slacks down a little more, he kissed right
above the soft curls between her thighs slipping his tongue under the
waistband of her panties to give her clit the tiniest of licks.  By
now, Buffy had her head thrown back and her hips pressed forward to
his questing mouth.  Spike pushed the pants down farther, following
their progress with his mouth.  First one thigh and then the other
were lavished with lips and tongue and blunt human teeth.  Buffy held
onto his head as he lifted one foot removing the shoe and pushing the
trouser leg off and then repeating with the other leg.  Pushing her
legs slightly apart, he worked his way back up kissing the tender
flesh of her inner thighs.  He could smell her arousal and his shaft
rubbed painfully against the rough cloth of his jeans. 

Pushing his face upward, he inhaled deeply of her scent at the crotch
of her panties.  Sticking out his tongue, he licked at the wet patch
that appeared there.  Buffy's grip on his hair was painful now, but
Spike ignored it, too lost in her taste, scent and feel.  Hooking his
fingers in the waistband of her panties, he pulled them down,
exposing the soft wet curls.  He drew the tiny scrap of material all
the way off and then eagerly pushed his face between her legs. 

Buffy cried out when she felt his vigorously lapping tongue.  The
hard point flashed back and forth over her clit and in and out of her
opening causing her to keen at the sensation.  Sucking gently he drew
the sensitive nub into his mouth brushing it with the flat of his
tongue, then released it and thrust the pointed tip of his tongue
deeply into her, then out, then in again.  When he began sucking at
her clit again, Buffy's legs trembled and she wasn't sure how much
longer they would support her. 

Sensing her weakness, Spike gave her one last twirling lick and
shooting up to his feet, swept her up in his arms and laid her on his
couch.  Pulling back from her, he ripped his own clothes off and
covering her completely with his body, he began kissing her deeply
with ever-growing passion.  Buffy spread her legs and tried to take
him in, but he had other ideas.  Once again he began to work his way
down her body, stopping and exploring each erogenous zone on the
way.  He nuzzled her neck and then moved up to nibble on her earlobe
and huff a gentle breath into her ear causing Buffy to shiver from
the sensation.  Lowering his head, he took a nipple into his mouth,
sucking and nipping at it, pulling it into his mouth and then sliding
his tongue across the engorged tip causing her to moan and push her
breast further into his mouth.  Moving further down her body, he
kissed and licked his way down her ribs and across her stomach and
then bypassing that sweet-smelling area between her legs, he lowered
himself to her feet where he began sucking each toe, kissing the
soles of her feet and gently rubbing them. 

Buffy spread herself even wider, offering herself to him, needing
him, begging for his attention.  Spike ran his hands up her inner
thighs and back down again in an erotic massage flicking one finger
across her clit with each upstroke.  Buffy's hips were thrusting up
and down now and she was crying his name over and over, begging him
to enter her.  She was so wet her thighs glistened.  Spike's own need
had become increasingly painful.  He had not allowed Buffy to touch
him and his flesh craved contact.  Once again moving up her body, he
fitted himself to her and slowly entered, shuddering in pleasure as
her heat scalded him.  Buffy's arms and legs wrapped around him
immediately, holding him to her, locking him in place.  He began to
move in a slow, steady rhythm all the while kissing her mouth and her
neck, murmuring his love for her into her ear.  As the pressure built
and their climaxes neared Buffy clasped him tighter to her moaning,
"Oh god, Spike, I'm gonna, I'm gonna..."  Spike thrust harder in
response, whispering to her, begging her to come for him.  Buffy
turned her head to the side and Spike responded to her invitation. 
Slipping into game face he sank his fangs gently into her neck.  It
had been weeks since he last bit her and her reaction was
instantaneous.  A mortal man would have been crushed in her embrace,
but Spike reveled in it.  His pace increased as her blood filled his
mouth, his thrusting coming ever harder, faster and more demanding. 
Buffy grabbed his head keeping his mouth in place on her neck and
answering him thrust for thrust came with a howling scream.  The
clenching of her inner walls encased Spike, pulled him in and he
followed her into an explosive climax.

Buffy fell asleep wrapped in Spike's arms.  He held her close to him,
watching as she slept and imagining a dozen scenarios for the slow
painful death of one Rupert Giles.
 

The next day, despite a clear, sunny sky, Spike made his way to
Giles' apartment.  Huddling in the shade hiding under his blanket, he
knocked on the door and waited impatiently for the Watcher to
answer.  Opening the door, Giles glared when he saw who was there.

"Let me in, Giles, before I burst into flames."  Giles had worked an
uninvite spell on his home the night after Christmas and Spike had
not been allowed in since.

"Should you burst into flames, I shall rejoice in your demise," Giles
told him coldly. 

Spike tilted his head to one side and said, "You know, I'm supposed
to be the evil one here, but you're the one destroying your Slayer."

Giles' eyes flashed in fury.  "How dare you!"

Spike said as calmly as he could while trying to evade the
encroaching rays of sun, "I dare because I'm right and you know it. 
She loves you, Giles.  You're the closest thing she has to a father
since that pillock Joyce was married to scarpered off.  And now
you're going to abandon her too?  Ow! Son of a bitch."  This last was
said as the sunlight hit his hand.

Giles watched in satisfaction as the vampire swiped at his smoking
flesh and then with a sigh of resignation stepped back and said,
"Come in, you sod."

Spike entered speedily and heaved a sigh of relief as the door was
closed against his certain, painful death.  Giles walked past him
without saying a word, went into the kitchen, poured a couple drinks
and returned, handing one to Spike.  Spike looked at the drink in
surprise, but took it and nodded his thanks.

"I'm not leaving to hurt Buffy or punish her, Spike," Giles told
him.  "I'm leaving because I'm of no use to her anymore.  She relies
on you, not me."

"Bollocks, Giles.  The girl needs you.  Hell, we all need you. 
You're the one with all the knowledge.  Yeah, I know some stuff, but
you have the research material and you have the training.  Plus,"
Spike added staring somberly at Giles, "the girl loves you."

"She loves you too, Spike, and that I cannot tolerate.  It was bad
enough with Angel, but he at least had a soul.  What do you have?"

"A heart full of love for her," the vampire told him seriously. 
Ignoring Giles' grimace of distaste, he stood up and started to
pace.  "I know that you don't think I can love her without that
precious soul you're always nattering on about, but consider this. 
You never have to worry about me waking up one night and turning
evil.  I'm already evil, so no surprises there.  You don't have to
worry about me trying to kill you all in your beds, because the chip
prevents that.  And you don't have to worry about me suddenly falling
out of love with her and hurting her.  After all," Spike grinned,
"the last relationship I was in lasted over 100 years and I didn't
feel a fraction for Dru that I feel for Buffy."

Spike stopped pacing and dropping the grin told the Watcher. "Stay,
Giles, she needs you."

Giles looked into the face of the vampire and wavered.  It had never
been his intention to hurt Buffy.  Had he been too pig-headed?  The
relationship was wrong, but he knew that she was happy.  Spike was a
strong fighter and fiercely loyal to her.  Willow and Xander had even
started to accept him. 

"I'll think about it some more, Spike, that's all I can promise."

Spike nodded his acceptance.  Getting up, he picked up his blanket
and prepared to return to his crypt.  It was a start.  He knew Giles
would never truly accept him, but as long as the Watcher remained in
Buffy's life, he would put up with the man's dislike.  He didn't care
about that one way or the other.  He cared only about Buffy.

Giles watched the vampire run from shadow to shadow until he
disappeared into the sewers.  He wasn't sure what the future held,
but he knew he needed to find a new place for himself.  The truth was
he was bored stiff sitting around all day in his apartment.  Perhaps
it was time to look for another job.  Picking up the morning paper,
he opened it to the classified section.

***

Buffy listened to the message on her answering machine with growing
trepidation.  "Buffy, this is Giles.  Please call me as soon as you
receive this message."

What more was there to say?  Had he already bought his airplane
ticket?  Didn't he need time to dispose of his belongings first or
was he just going to give it all away?  Buffy stared at the phone for
a long time before, drawing in a deep breath, she picked it up and
placed the call.

"Giles, it's Buffy.  You wanted me to call you?"

Giles noticed right away the flat, restrained tenor of Buffy's
voice.  Spike had been right about one thing; he had hurt his Slayer
deeply.

"Ah yes, Buffy.  I wanted to let you know that it appears I won't be
returning to England after all.  I've bought The Magic Box and intend
to become a shopkeeper."

Silence.

"Buffy, did you hear me?  I'm not leaving."

Buffy quietly hung up the phone, sat down on her bed, placed her head
in her hands and began to weep.  It was this scene that Willow walked
in on when she returned to the room after class.  Hurrying to Buffy
she asked anxiously, "Buffy, what's wrong?  Did something happen to
Spike?  Or, or is it your mother?  Please, Buffy, tell me what's
wrong."

Hiccuping and sniffing Buffy told her friend, "I just t-talked to
Giles and he said he's not leaving."  Buffy looked into her friend's
joy-filled face and they fell into each other's arms hugging and
laughing.  Wiping the tears from her face Buffy exclaimed, "God, I
haven't cried this much in, well, forever."

"Oh," Willow cried, "we'll have to tell Xander.  I know he didn't say
much but he was really upset too."

Buffy nodded and then getting up she said, "I'm going to go over to
see Giles.  You want to come with?"

Willow eagerly agreed and the two girls hurried out of their dorm
room

***

Giles was depressed.  He didn't know what he had expected when he
called Buffy today, but it certainly hadn't been being hung up on. 
Maybe it had been a mistake to listen to that ridiculous vampire. 
Buffy had resigned herself to his leaving and now she didn't even
care if he stayed or not.  As he sat there wallowing in self-pity,
the door burst open and two laughing, happy girls entered.  Looking
up in surprise, he realized what a fool he had been. 

The three looked at each other for a long second and then Giles' arms
were filled with his surrogate daughters.  "I knew you wouldn't leave
us, Giles, I just knew it," Willow babbled happily. 

The three sat down and Giles explained his business plan.  "I looked
over the books and was amazed at the profit margin for that place. 
The location is excellent, I can build up the inventory and there's
even a large room in the back that we can make into a training room
for you, Buffy.  And, although I hate to say this, there's even
access to the sewers so that that idiot boyfriend of yours and come
and go in relative safety."

Buffy looked at Giles in surprise.  "You're going to allow Spike to
come to the shop?"

Giles gave Buffy a look of resignation.  "I don't approve, Buffy.  I
will never approve.  However, it appears that you've made up that
stubborn mind of yours in this matter so I'll have to accept it. 
Unwillingly, mind you, but I'll accept it."  When Buffy's face began
to blossom into a smile, Giles leaned forward and said very
seriously, "Understand this though, Buffy.  If I learn he's feeding
from humans, if I learn he's doing anything that will put you or any
of us in harm's way, I will take it upon myself to stake him. 

"The chip," Buffy began, her smile fading.

"We've discussed this before," Giles stated firmly.  "The chip stops
him from killing.  It does not stop him from feeding or committing
any number of other horrors, physical violence being the least of
them.  I do not place great trust in the chip's ability to hold him
in check, nor do I trust his good intentions.  You may believe him
capable of reason, Buffy, I do not."

Buffy looked directly into her watcher's eye and said just as
firmly, "And you understand this, Giles.  If I feel you're trying to
harm Spike without absolutely solid-gold proof of wrong-doing, I'll
stop you by any means necessary."

Watcher and Slayer looked into each other's deadly serious face and
nodded understanding of each other's position.

"So, Giles," Willow chirped in trying to break the tension, "tell us
more about the business.  When are you planning on opening it up? 
Because we really need to get that store open soon.  Tara and I are
having a terrible time practicing some of our spells because we can't
get the right ingredients around here."

Giles and Buffy relaxed having made their points and entered into the
conversation regarding The Magic Box.

"Well I want to do some remodeling before I open as well as order
inventory.  You could be helpful there, Willow, by letting me know
what things you and Tara need.  I thought of hiring Xander to help me
with the building of shelving and storage cases.  He's become quite
capable with a hammer since he started working construction."

"Maybe you could hire Spike to help too," Buffy chimed in.  At Giles'
look of disbelief she added, "Look, Giles, he's super strong so
that'd be a help with lifting and stuff, plus Magic Box shopkeepers
seem to have a limited shelf-life.  He could be like your bodyguard
or something.  And it would be a legitimate way for him to earn some
money."

"It would also mean I would have to be around him all the time.  If
you remember correctly, Buffy, that was not something I enjoyed
tremendously when he was staying here."

Buffy grinned, "Yeah, but you'd be his boss and could order him
around and he'd have to do as you say."

Giles did not look convinced, but promised that he'd consider it. 
Good grief, Spike as an employee.  The mind boggled.

Opening day at The Magic Box was chaotic.  It started out quietly,
but soon escalated into full-out pandemonium.  By the time closing
time arrived everyone, including a reluctantly employed vampire, was
exhausted.  "My God," Giles groaned, "I think I'd rather face an
apocalypse than another day like this.  I had no idea that business
would be so brisk opening day."

Willow lifted her head wearily from the table around which they
sat.  "I told you, Giles, this place was closed too long.  Everyone
was out of everything unless they wanted to drive all the way to LA."

Spike had Buffy's feet in his lap and was rubbing them gently.  "I'll
tell you right now, Rupert, if this keeps up you'd better hire a shop
assistant because I'm not waiting on that lot.  You have no idea how
many times I wanted to bite those pillocks today."

Giles glared at him and then looked at Buffy and said with
exasperation, "This is exactly why I didn't want to hire him.  Now
he's threatening to eat my customers."

"He's not going to eat your customers, Giles, but he has a point.  I
think you need to hire an assistant.  You can't be here all the time,
and Spike really isn't salesclerk material.  Put an ad in the paper. 
Surely there's someone capable of working in a magic shop in this
town."

***

The ad was duly placed and the very morning it appeared an attractive
young woman with dark-blonde hair entered the shop.  Looking up,
Giles frowned slightly trying to place the girl as she marched up to
him, laid the newspaper down on the counter with the ad circled and
stated, "You should hire me.  I would be an excellent employee.  I'm
honest, intelligent, good with money, punctual and have a pleasing
personality."

"Do I know you?" Giles asked.

The young woman stared at him for a minute and said, "Yes.  I
graduated from Sunnydale High School where you were the librarian
before you blew it up."

Giles blinked at the girl's forthrightness.  Searching his memory he
finally dredged up a name.  "Of course, it's Anya isn't it?"

"Yes, Anya Christina Emanuella Jenkins.  Now, do I get the job?"

"Uh, well you see, uh, Anya," Giles began.

"Oi, Rupert, where you want this lot?" Spike entered the shop
carrying a large box of scented beeswax candles.  Noticing the girl,
he stopped.  "Oh, didn't know you had a customer."  He started to
turn back when the girl stated bluntly, "Did you know that that man
is a vampire, Mr. Giles?"

Both men stared at her in surprise.  "You could tell Spike is a
vampire just by looking at him?" Giles asked in astonishment.

"Of course, can't everyone?" the girl asked.  "I mean just look at
him.  No one has a complexion that pale unless they're dead, and
since he's walking around that means he's either a zombie or a
vampire.  He's not shuffling and he can talk intelligently, so that
means he's not a zombie.  Of course he could be a Revenant, but
Revenants are very rare.  Therefore, he's a vampire."

Giles was staring at the girl in amazement.  She had stated her
observation as if it were the most natural thing in the world.  And
since it was not the most natural thing in the world, the world being
determinedly blind when it came to the supernatural, it meant that
there was more to Miss Jenkins than met the eye.

Spike was looking at the girl with his eyes narrowed.  He too had
come to the conclusion that there was something not quite right here,
but all of his senses told him that she was fully human. 

"As you can see, I'm also observant.  You should hire me.  I can
start right away."

"Um yes, well if you'll complete this application I'll certainly give
you all due consideration.  However, as this is the first day the
ad's been in the paper, I believe I should allow others to also
apply."

Shrugging, Anya took the application Giles handed her, went to one of
the tables and began filling it out, completely ignoring the two
staring men.  When she had finished, she brought it back to Giles
stating, "I'll be waiting for your call.  You won't find anyone
nearly as excellent as I to fill this position."  And with that she
strode from the shop.

"Odd bird," Spike noted.  Giles agreed and then coming around the
counter proceeded to show Spike where to set up the candles.

Over the next three days, an assortment of people came into The Magic
Box to apply for the clerking position, and Giles made an interesting
discovery.  When one owned a magic shop it appeared that only odd
people applied to work there.  For the most part, they were young,
female, black of hair and black of clothing, with bits of metal
attached to various parts of their anatomies.  Occasionally the
female would be older and looked to be a member of the Stevie Nicks
fan club.  One applicant, a young man with wild eyes, claimed to be
the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley.  Giles tore his application up
as soon as he left the shop.  None was in the least bit suitable.  On
the evening of the third day of taking applications, Giles gave in
and called Anya Jenkins.  She started work the next morning.

And true to her word she was an excellent employee, well versed in
the arcane merchandise handled by the shop, able to answer numerous
questions without hesitation and eager to ensure that anyone who
entered the shop made a purchase.  "I'm afraid I can only pay you
minimum wage to start, Anya," Giles had informed his new
employee.  "However, you will receive a commission on each sale you
make."  At the end of the first week her commissions nearly equaled
her salary.

There had been a little friction between Buffy and Anya at first. 
Buffy picked up on the fact right away that Anya found Spike
attractive and was putting out semaphore-sized signals that she was
interested.  Buffy let it quickly be known that Spike was in no way
available and if Anya valued her hide she'd stay well away from
Buffy's vampire.

Spike found it all very amusing.  Buffy found it necessary to
increase her training time and was at the shop whenever her school
schedule permitted it.  Spike kept finding places for them to sneak
off to.  Giles gritted his teeth and threatened staking, beheading
and death by flame-thrower if the trysting vampire didn't quit using
the store as his own personal love nest.  Spike found even more
places to drag Buffy off to.

***

The Magic Box became Scooby central with all manner of research
taking place there.  At first Anya wasn't a part of the group, but
little by little she added insight and advice that proved
surprisingly helpful.  Her knowledge of demons was truly impressive. 
Willow and Xander felt uncomfortable around the girl however.  She
had come to Sunnydale High shortly after the disastrous Spring Fling
and had hung out with Cordelia for a short while.

It was at the Spring Fling that Cordelia and Oz had caught Willow and
Xander acting upon a sudden and unexpected attraction.  While
searching for their significant others, they had found the two
friends locked in an embrace, kissing passionately.  Cordelia had
been deeply hurt and humiliated, as had Oz, but Willow and Oz had
been able to work through it.  Cordelia had never forgiven Xander and
had moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduation.

For some reason Willow felt that there was more to their discomfort
around Anya than the fact that the girl had been a friend of
Cordelia's for a few short weeks.  Even Tara felt that there was
something different about Giles' new employee.  "She's human of
course, there's no doubt there," Tara had said one night while the
two girls cuddled in bed.  "But her aura is strange."

"Strange how, baby?" Willow had asked.

"It's old, Willow.  Really old.  Older than Spike's even."

"Spike has an aura?" Willow had asked surprised.  "I thought only
humans or, you know, living things had auras."

"Well Spike is living, in a way," Tara had answered.  "He's animate
and sentient and vibrant.  Spike definitely has an aura and a strong
one at that.  His is strange too.  Most vampire's have auras that are
all black, and Spike's is too when he's fighting or angry, but most
of the time there's a lot of blue and red in his."

"From the chip?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't think the chip could change his aura."  Tara
shrugged, "But since it's a behavior modification device, maybe is
does have an affect.

"But to get back to Anya, her aura feels many times older than
Spike's, as much as 10 times older, which makes no sense.  That would
mean that she's over 1000 years old."

"Weird," was all that Willow could add to the conversation.

The vampire attacked and Buffy was thrown against the wall with
enough force to drive her breath from her body.  Rolling quickly, she
narrowly evaded a kick to her head.  Flipping to her feet, she swung
around, kicking out, but the vampire ducked and came back with a
strong right cross.

Buffy blocked the punch and returned one of her own that connected,
knocking her opponent back several feet.  A series of punches, kicks,
flips and rolls followed.  An opening presented itself and Buffy
jabbed a stake at the demon's heart.  It was quickly deflected and
the stake was knocked out of her hand.  Grabbing and throwing her
with all its might, the creature sent Buffy hurtling back into the
wall once again.  Her head hit hard enough to daze her and the
vampire was on her instantly, grabbing her hair and yanking her head
to the side exposing her neck.  Sharp fangs descended eager to pierce
the flesh and allow her enemy to drink the precious Slayer blood. 
Thrusting her arm up, she flat-handed the creature in the mouth as
hard as she could, dislodging it enough that she was able to knock it
off and away from her.  The vampire landed in a heap, its hand going
to its bloodied mouth.

"Ow!  Fuck, Slayer, I think you broke my fang," came the plaintive
wail.

Buffy went over and kneeling down said, "Here, let me look."  Pulling
back his lips, she carefully examined the damage.  "It's not broken,
you big baby.  Your lip's pretty torn up though."

Spike looked at the blood on his hand and began licking it clean.

"Oh for God's sake, Spike, must you do that?  It's disgusting."

"Yeah, well, Watcher, in case you missed the memo, I'm a vampire,"
came the sardonic reply as Buffy helped Spike to his feet.

That remark earned him a blistering glare.  "All right, Buffy, let's
critique today's training session, shall we?" Giles asked ignoring
Spike completely.  Spike merely snickered as he went into the
restroom to wash the blood from his face.  When he returned, Buffy
had pulled on sweats and was preparing to leave.

"Spike, you have to take patrol alone tonight, okay?" she informed
him.  "I have a study group session, and last time we didn't finish
until after midnight."

"All right, luv.  Coming to the crypt after?" he asked, pulling her
into his arms and nuzzling at the spot he had just recently tried to
bite.

Buffy wrapped her arms around him, enjoying the feel of his lips and
teeth on her sensitive skin.  "Not tonight, honey," she answered
somewhat breathlessly.  "Early class tomorrow."  Pulling back she
kissed him gently on the side of his mouth that wasn't bruised and
swollen.  "Make it up tomorrow night.  Promise."

"Oh you will, my girl, you will," Spike growled giving her a heated
look. 

Pulling back, she kissed him lightly once more, called goodbye to her
Watcher and left by the back door.  Sighing, Spike returned to the
stock room to finish unpacking the latest shipment of charms and
amulets.

When closing time came, Giles completed the bank deposit and prepared
to leave.  Spike had already left and only Willow and Anya remained
in the shop. 

"Uh, Willow, were you planning on remaining?" Giles asked. 

"If you don't mind, Giles.  Tara and I are working on this new
spell.  We're hoping we can conjure a ball of sunshine.  Figure it
would be useful if we ever face a large number of vamps."  Frowning
at the texts surrounding her she continued, "So far though it's been
really unstable.  We don't want to take a chance on it going out of
control when Spike's around."  Looking up at the Watcher she added
with a twinkle in her eye, "And don't say that that would be fine
with you, 'cause you'd be lying."

Her only answer was a "Harrumph!" as Giles headed for the
door.  "Well, just don't forget to lock up when you leave."

"I'll stay with her, Mr. Giles," Anya offered perkily as Giles closed
the shop door.

"You don't need to, Anya," Willow muttered, less than happy at having
the shop assistant stay.

"I don't mind.  In fact, I've been wanting to ask you for your help
with something."

At this Willow looked up curiously.  "Oh, what's that?"

Fluttering nervously, Anya sat down across from Willow and explained,
"Well, you see, I, uh, had this necklace.  Well actually it was my
Great-Grandmother's necklace.  And it was, uh, stolen from my
apartment.  And I really want to get it back.  So I thought that
maybe you could help me perform a spell that would transport it back
to me.

"A teleportation spell?" Willow asked eagerly, eyes lighting up.

Anya immediately relaxed.  This was going to be easier than she had
thought.

"More like a temporal fold; brings it forth from the time and place
it was lost.  I have the spell and the ingredients--paid for, of
course--but I needed someone else to help me perform the spell. 
You're a much more powerful Wicca than Tara, so naturally I thought
of you."

Willow couldn't help but be a little flattered by the compliment and
she was always eager to try new and powerful spells.  Without a
second's hesitation, she agreed.

Going into Buffy's training room, Anya showed Willow how to place the
items in preparation for the spellcasting.  When they were ready,
Anya lit the candles, and clasping hands with Willow and closing her
eyes she began chanting, making supplication.  Everything seemed to
be going well until a pillar of energy appeared over a plate
containing a painted image of the lost necklace.  Willow snapped open
her eyes, startled by the dark energies pouring forth.  Strange
visions played before her eyes and just as Anya started to pour
sacred sand over the dish, Willow started back, a cry escaping from
her lips.  She had seen an image of The Master and a battle raging
between her old school friends and dozens of vampires.  Jerking her
hand, she inadvertently placed it under the pouring sand seeing even
more images including one of herself, or someone who looked just like
her, being pushed back by Oz and Larry.  As she watched, her
doppelganger disappeared.

Breaking contact with Anya, she skittered back away from the circle. 
Gasping for breath she cried, "What was that?  What was I seeing?"

"Look what you've done!" Anya cried in distress.  "You've broken the
circle and destroyed the spell.  We have to do it over again."

"No way, lady.  I don't know what kind of spell you were doing there
but there's no way I'm helping to do it again."  Getting up and
brushing the clinging sand from her hands, she rushed from the
training room.  Anya looked down at the empty dish and in a fit
pique, smashed it.

***

In an old abandoned factory on the outskirts of Sunnydale, a Goth-
clad Willow appeared from nowhere. 

"This is weird," she said.

***

It was several hours after leaving the shop before Giles returned
home.  Just as he inserted the key into the lock, he heard the
telephone ringing.  Entering his apartment, he set his groceries down
on the sofa table and picked up the receiver.

"Rupert Giles here."

As Giles listened to the voice on the other end of the wire, his face
paled visibly.  Hanging up, he immediately placed a call.  She wasn't
there, of course, so after leaving a message on her answering
machine, he hung up and went to pour himself a Scotch.  His hands
shook slightly as he lifted the glass to his lips.

***

Buffy was relieved when the study group broke up early.  Returning to
her dorm room, she noticed the blinking light on the answering
machine.  After listening to the message, she hurriedly placed a
return call to Giles.

***

Joyce Summers finished her nightly ritual of locking up before
heading off to bed.  Just as she turned to climb the stairs, a knock
sounded at her door.  Approaching it, she called out, "Who's there?" 
The force of the door being kicked open knocked her down.  Shocked,
she looked up into a frighteningly familiar face.

"Hi, Joyce.  Long time no see," Faith smirked.
 

Buffy was pacing up and down Giles' living room.  "How come it took
them twenty-four hours before they let us know she came out of the
coma?" she demanded.

"Apparently it took that long for the paperwork to get to the right
desk," Giles explained.  "You must go out looking for her, Buffy.  I
can only assume that she will attempt some sort of revenge tactic
once she learns that we managed to destroy the Mayor."

Buffy froze, her eyes wide as a horrible thought came to her.  "Mom,"
was all she said.  Without another word, she raced from Giles'
apartment.

***

Joyce's hands were tied in front of her and she was seated on her
bed.  Faith was taunting her that Buffy never came by; that she had
forgotten all about her now that she was in college.  Joyce remained
calm. 

"You know nothing about Buffy, Faith," she said.  "We're closer now
than we've ever been, and she's going to kick your ass when she gets
here."

"Is that right, Joyce?  And when's that going to be, huh?"

In answer to her question, Buffy crashed through the bedroom window,
knocking Faith across the room.  "Hi, Mom!" she quipped cheerfully.

"Hi, honey.  Good timing."

The fight between the two Slayers was furious, ending up with them
rolling down the stairs and into the dining room. 

Buffy stood up facing Faith.  "You are so going back into a coma."

"Don't think so, B.  I got other plans."  Lashing out, she grabbed
Buffy by the hand.  An energy discharge flashed around them just as
the distant sound of sirens reached the house.  The two Slayers
looked at each other in shock and then Buffy punched Faith as hard as
she could, knocking her out.

Joyce came down the stairs and told her daughter, "I've called the
police.  That must be them now."  Searching her daughter with anxious
eyes, she asked, "You all right?"

"Yeah, all thing considered," Buffy answered looking down at a
strange device in her hand.

"What's that?" Joyce asked.

"Some kind of weapon," Buffy answered.  Dropping it to the floor, she
smashed it with her foot.  "Doesn't matter now.  It didn't work."

***

Mother and daughter watched as the disoriented rogue Slayer was
cuffed and placed into a squad car.  "She'll be taken to jail and
held for the murders of Deputy Mayor Finch and Professor Wirth," the
police detective was telling them.  "You won't have to worry about
her bothering you for a long, long time."

As the cruiser pulled away, Joyce turned to Buffy and said, "Honey, I
think you should call Giles and tell him what happened.  He should
know about Faith."

"Yeah.  I'll stop by his place on my way back to the dorm. See you
later, okay?"

And without another glance back at her mother, Buffy walked off into
the night.

***

Willow and Tara were at The Bronze and Willow was telling Tara what
had happened with Anya.

"It was really creepy, Tara.  You never saw The Master, but we're
talking scary with a capital scare.  And then to see me, or someone
who looked like me, all skanky and Goth-looking, it was really
bizarre.

"Well, sweetie," Tara scolded gently, "You shouldn't have tried to do
a spell you weren't sure you could handle.  I keep telling you,
you're going too fast, trying too much too quickly."

Willow felt a faint rush of resentment at the chastisement.  The fact
that it was deserved didn't help matters.  Before she could say
anything she would later regret she heard Tara exclaim, "Buffy!  I
thought she was going to be with her study group tonight."

Willow looked to where Tara was pointing and standing up, waved until
she got her friend's attention.  She thought she saw a faint flash of
irritation cross her friend's face, but when Buffy joined them, she
seemed normal, if not enthused.

"Hey, Buff."

"Willow."  She looked at Tara without a trace of recognition in her
face.

"Hi, Buffy," Tara said, looking at her intently.  "I thought you were
with your study group tonight."

"Yeah, well I decided to go out instead.  Look, I'm going to go get
something to drink and see if I can't get some of these cuties to
dance.  See you guys later."  With that she casually walked away.

"Now that was strange," Willow exclaimed.  "Buffy's going to ask some
strange guys to dance?"  Turning to Tara with wide eyes she
asked, "Do you think she and Spike had a fight or something?"

Tara swallowed nervously and said, "It-it's worst than that, Willow. 
That wasn't Buffy."

***

Spike carefully tucked his winnings into his jeans pocket.  He'd
completed a quick sweep of the cemeteries and then come to indulge in
the one vice that he still hid from Buffy.  Kitten Poker.  He was
well aware that his Slayer would not approve of this.  It wasn't as
if *he* ate the kittens, he mused as he started for the back door to
finish patrol.  But he did sell his winnings to demons he knew did
eat them.  Well, he wasn't responsible for what happened to them once
they left his custody, and he'd be damned if he was going to feel
guilty about it.  He was still EVIL, damnit.  And besides, just how
bad was it?  It wasn't as if he was mugging old-age pensioners, or
engaging in illegal arms sales, or chatting up birds in a bar
somewhere.  And that last, he thought with a chuckle, would really
get him into trouble.  Not one for sharing was his Slayer.

Walking out the back door, his thoughts filled with Buffy, he jumped
when he almost ran directly into her.

"Buffy?  What are you doin' here, sweetheart?  I though you had to
study tonight."

Faith looked at the gorgeous Englishman standing in front of her and
a rush of lust swept through her body.

"Something came up," she answered the platinum-blond hottie.  Looking
him up and down, she added, "So what happened to your mouth?  Did
someone clock you in there?"

"Uh, you did this to me today while we were sparring, remember?" 
Spike looked at her and cocked his head a little to the side. 
Something about her bothered him.  Her body language was different,
her vocal cadence off.  "You all right, luv?" he asked in
concern.  "You don't seem yourself."

Faith's eyes narrowed slightly, but she answered casually, "Yep,
everything's five-by-five.  So, what's up with you?  Why're you here?"

Spike tried not to look guilty.  "Oh, you know.  Patrollin' through
Willie's, making sure the monsters are behavin' themselves."  In an
effort to change the subject, he moved closer to Buffy and said in
his deepest, sexiest voice, "So, Slayer, you want to come home with
me tonight after all?"

Faith smiled a predatory smile, licked her lips and coming close to
him said, "Yeah, I think that can be arranged."  Pressing her body
into his and claiming his mouth with a demanding kiss, she became
instantly aware of two things—-Buffy's latest lover was another
vampire, and he was hotter than a two-dollar pistol.

Spike pulled Buffy close to him, his mouth opening under her lips,
tongue entwining with hers.  And three seconds later he pulled back
and pushed her away, eyes narrowing as he examined her. "Somethin's
not right here," he growled.  "What's wrong with you, Slayer?  You
feel different."

"Nothing's wrong, baby," Faith insisted.  It'd been too long since
she'd had a man, being in a coma and all, and this man...well
vampire...was not only hotter than hell, he belonged to Buffy, so
bonus.  Pressing her body into his again, she wrapped one strong hand
around the back of his neck and pulled him into another kiss. 

Spike hardened when the scent of her arousal reached him.  Growling
deeply in his chest, he pulled her up tight against him, grabbing her
ass and pushing his erection against her belly.  She opened an eager
mouth to him, twirling her tongue around his and sucking it into her
mouth, all the while grinding herself up against him, grabbing,
groping, pulling, hurting.  Spike felt a haze of passion envelope
him, but also a sense of unease.  He'd made love to Buffy too many
times in too many ways and in too many places to not notice that she
was responding differently, more wantonly, all need and no love. 
Even at the beginning when they'd been burning uncontrollably for
each other she'd never acted like this.  Her responses bothered him
and he couldn't figure out why.

Pushing her back again, he gasped out, "Buffy, what's going on? 
There's something wrong with you. I can feel it."

"There's nothing wrong I tell you!" she insisted.  Slamming him back
against the door she forced herself on him again, almost wild and out
of control.

Spike felt a sense of panic begin deep inside.  Pushing her back once
again, he snarled, "Buffy, knock it off.  I don't know what's up with
you tonight, but I'm damn well going to find out."

"Yeah?  You think so?  It's really too bad you noticed a difference. 
I think we could have had a good time tonight."  With that, she
pulled a stake out of her waistband and lunged at Spike.

Two things saved Spike from an instant dusting.  He was an elder
vampire in his prime who happened to train almost every day with one
of the most formidable fighters he had ever come up against, so his
reflexes were blazingly fast.  The second thing was that Faith was
unused to Buffy's body and her coordination was slightly off.  As it
was, she did manage to stab Spike in the chest just to the right of
his heart.

Crying out in pain, Spike managed to kick her legs out from under her
and toss her across the alley.  Sprinting as fast as he could with
the wound, he escaped from her.  A sewer entrance was close by and he
made for it.  Ducking in, he ran a zigzag path, taking tunnels he
knew like the back of his hand.  After he had run several miles, he
realized that the false Buffy was no longer pursuing him.  Collapsing
to the floor, he drew in great gulps of air in an attempt to control
the pain that was radiating through him.  He was badly wounded and
had bled profusely which seriously weakened him.

When he finally had the pain somewhat under control, he pushed
himself upright and made his way slowly down the tunnel in the
direction that would take him to Rupert Giles.  The Watcher would
know what to do.