Willow: Yes. Hi. You must be Angel's handsome, yet androgynous, son. Connor: It's Connor. Willow: And the sneer's genetic. Who knew?

'A Hole in the World'


Buffista Fic: It Could Be Plot Bunnies  

Where the Buffistas let their fanfic creative juices flow. May contain erotica.


Connie Neil - Sep 23, 2002 12:21:04 pm PDT #112 of 10001
brillig

"What is it, Anya?" Xander asked tensely.

She stared at the document she'd pulled out of the envelope. "Formal transfer of ownership and the lease of the Magic Box to me," she whispered. Then she frowned. "For the price agreed upon." She glared at Giles. "What price? I've negotiated with vampires before, what am I agreeing on?"

Giles blinked, then smiled again. "That was just a bit of legal misdirection. No price needed between us, Anya."

"I don't think so." She grabbed her purse and pulled out her wallet. "I have fifty dollars. Xander--"

Willow cleared her throat. "Um, in situations like this, one dollar is traditional, just to show that a transfer of something of value took place."

Anya held out a dollar bill. Giles hesitated, then accepted. She picked up a pen and added the words "the sum of one dollar" to the transfer statement. "There, everything legal and aboveboard. Except that dead men can't sign contracts. Stupid mortal laws."

She smiled brightly and almost leaned forward to hug Giles, catching herself partway.

"You're welcome," Giles said. "One less thing to worry about. I'm sure you'll do well. And thank you, Willow." The witch went pink with pleasure.

Xander didn't take his hand off the crossbow. "I'm sure you're glad to be rid of the place. Running a store would probably get in the way of the carnage and the whole plotting world destruction thing. Isn't that what all the unsouled, unchipped vampires want these days?"

Giles glared at him, and Xander flinched, but he didn't look away. After a moment, Giles took breath to speak. "I have no interest in the destruction of the world. That's why I'm here."

"So the whole screaming, mayhem, blood in the streets thing doesn't get you off, unlike some undead people we could mention." Xander glared at the smirking Spike and missed the expression that flickered across Giles' face. The Ripper look, they'd come to call it, a flash of viciousness and unholy glee.

"Personal proclivities aside, I don't particularly want to see the world overrun by hellbeasts and demons as Glory rips open the dimensional walls and saunters home."

Buffy turned slowly. "And to stop that you were willing to kill my sister."

Giles met her eyes without flinching. "Yes, I was. It would have solved everything."

"Everything except for the fact of you killing my sister." He nodded in resigned acceptance. Buffy clenched her fists. "You're not even sorry, are you."

"I did regret the grief you would feel, but I felt it was necessary."

Now she believed he was a vampire. "Were you always this ruthless?"

The look he gave her was calm. "Yes, actually, I was." He glanced around the room. "Where's Dawn?"

"As if I'd tell you!" Her heart ached at the familiar scolding glance he gave her.

"There are other beings looking for her. The whole point of this is to make sure Glory does not get her hands on the girl."

"She's somewhere safe."

Giles glanced around the room, obviously wondering who was doing guard duty if everyone was here. His eyes fell on Spike, who leaned against a bookcase.

"I would take the Slayer's word for it, Rupert," the blond vampire said quietly. "Don't worry yourself about Dawn."

"I most certainly shall worry myself about the location of the magical crux of this upcoming apocalypse--"

"Leave it."

The humans in the room shivered as the vampires glared at each other. Buffy took a cautious step back, feeling rage and violence rolling off her former mentor. Spike never shifted from his casual pose, but his eyes were not something anyone who might be considered prey wanted to see. She heard a very faint growl from one of them, refusing to admit that it could be Giles who was acting the part of the wild, vicious demon.

There was no Sire-Childe dynamic between the pair of them to force Giles to submit to Spike. The memory of the fight on the lawn, though, still twinged in his mended bones. He could gain the upper hand any time he wished, just by setting off a binding spell before he made his move. If he went that route, though, he'd best be prepared to go the whole way and finish Spike.


Connie Neil - Sep 23, 2002 12:22:04 pm PDT #113 of 10001
brillig

He fondled that thought a moment, staking Spike, being free of him and his assumptions that he was the dominant one. Free of the companionship, the guidance in this strange new world, the respect from the others that having Spike behind him brought. Yes, he had power, and those vampires who knew him walked carefully around him. But he had no illusions that he would be perceived as anything but a fledgling that was getting above himself by anyone else.

For a while, at least, he still needed Spike around. Knowledge and magic were one thing, a century of experience was something else. For now, they were stronger as a partnership than apart.

He remembered the night before, when Spike had appeared in his bedroom and Giles hadn't thrown him out. The partnership had its perks.

He glared at Spike a moment longer, then carefully shifted his gaze just enough to show he was conceding the point. The notetaker in his mind jotted a memo to investigate wolf psychology.

Spike did nothing more than smile very faintly in acknowledgement of his victory. Giles turned away from the other vampire and looked at Buffy. "How is Joyce?"

Buffy blinked for several seconds, catching up with the change. "Um, OK." Giles gave her a painfully familiar look that said "I know you speak English, could there be a few more words to that explanation please?" She would have smiled at the familiarity if she hadn't been so close to crying. "They're going to let her try walking in a couple of days. The speech therapist says she's doing really well."

Giles closed his eyes and nodded. "Good, that's very good."

"See? Told you it would mend itself," Spike said quietly. Giles glared at him, but he just smirked.

Buffy looked back and forth at the two of them. There were sub-texty things going on, things that made her think of stuff she'd read in the books about how vampires related to each other. The two--the two vampires looked at each other the way two people who knew each other pretty darned well would look.

Giles muttered something too low for any but vampire ears to hear, Spike snickered, and Giles turned back to the Scoobies. "We have work to do. What do we have on Glory?"

There was little new information. Giles let it be cautiously known that denizens of other dimensions were interested in the outcome of the situation. Both Buffy and Spike twitched at that, but Willow leaned forward in fascination.

"So there are creatures in other worlds who keep an eye on things here? Do they keep watch? How do people find out the stuff about other dimensions, anyway?"

"Travellers, mostly," Giles told her. "Though few of them are willing travellers. Creatures come through as the victims of spells gone wrong, scholars quiz them on the conditions of the places they come from."

"But you could go there willingly, right? They're not all icky nasty hell places, are they?"

Tara looked at her lover's eager face and frowned slightly. She took one of Willow's hands and held it in both of hers.

Giles smiled at her eagerness for knowledge. "I've never been to any myself, but from what I hear there are dimensions that are not inherently inimical to human life."

Spike pulled out a cigarette and toyed with it. "Still not nice places to be," he muttered. "And the trip is never fun."

Willow turned to him. "You've been to another dimension?"

"Yep."

"What was it like?"

The cigarette went to paper shreds and tobacco leaves in his fingers. "It's not in the tour guides, Red. Leave it at that."

Willow tried not to pout too obviously as she turned away.

"Most dimensions are smelly, nasty places," Anya spoke up. "Most of them don't even have chocolate."

"The horror," Xander murmured.

Giles glanced over to give him a smile at the quip, but the familiar easy tone was not matched by what was in the young man's eyes. Xander stared back at Giles with profound distrust and betrayal. Xander couldn't hold the look long, and he shifted his gaze to Spike. Hatred was all that burned in the human's eyes then. Giles noted the way he leaned against the wall, his arms relaxed against his sides, hands less than four inches from the two loaded crossbows on tables on either side of him. His hands flexed occasionally, staying limber.

Gary Cooper, wasn't it, in High Noon?

"What else do we have on Glory?" he said, turning to the room. "For what it's worth, I believe we only have a few more days before the alignment occurs. If we can hang on till then, we should be home free."

"If," Anya murmured.

"Are we going purely defensive?" Buffy said, "or do we go after the bitch?"

"In her own form, she is fairly invulnerable. If we could find her human disguise ... She was bound to a human form so that when it died she would likewise be destroyed."

Willow played with her hair. "I suppose it's too much to hope for that her human form's lying in the terminal ward at Sunnydale General."


Connie Neil - Sep 23, 2002 12:22:51 pm PDT #114 of 10001
brillig

Giles snorted. "No, I believe those who bound her thought that being human might teach her lessons in humility and compassion." Perhaps he should have tried to make that sound a little less cynical, he told himself as the children shared looks of dismay. But Spike was smirking knowingly, and Willow, interestingly enough, looked more thoughtful than outraged.

"So, um, we're looking for someone young?" the witch volunteered.

"Adult, though perhaps not much older than you folk."

"Even if she is invulnerable," Buffy said impatiently, "do we even know where she is? She must have minions and all that, and they have to sleep somewhere."

"Some sort of rallying point, yes," Giles mused. He glanced at Spike. "Perhaps a job best suited for you or myself."

Spike shrugged. "Send the lads out, let them have a look around."

"Good idea."

"The lads?" Buffy repeated suspiciously.

Spike grinned at her. "Just a few minions we've got sitting about."

"Setting yourself up as the new master of the area, are you?"

"There's probably things going on that you don't want to know about, Slayer."

"I see your lads out bothering people, and they're going to get staked. You tell them that.'

Spike shrugged. "Fact of life on the Hellmouth, you could run foul of the Slayer. Cleans out the stupid ones."

"Vampiric Darwinism," Willow mused.

Buffy glared at her friend. "Can we save the thirst for knowledge thing for later, Will?"

"So where do we stand?" Xander asked quietly from his corner.

Giles glanced at Buffy before answering. "Spike and I shall begin inquiries into the location of Glory's headquarters. It would be very useful if we could get more information on the alignment we're waiting for, as well. Was there any reference to what specific form Glory was placed in?"

Willow shook her head. "The chronicles only refer to an infant. Kind of hard to track an infant."

"It seem so irresponsible of them," Tara said quietly. She blinked at the looks she got. "To create these human lives as the vessels for all this power. Couldn't they have turned Glory into a--a rat or something? And turning the key into a girl--poor Dawn."

Buffy leaned against a counter. "I don't think I'd care so much if the key were just a coat rack or something."

"Which is precisely the point," Giles commented. "Still, it would be nice to know where we could find Glory when she was in her vulnerable human form." The silence that greeted him reminded him that squeamish humans were in the room. Though Anya only looked thoughtful and Xander--Xander had the disturbed expression of someone who sees the absolute logic of a proposition and hates himself for it.

Spike straightened from his post at the wall. "Is that it for now?"

Buffy shrugged in frustration. "I guess so." She stared at Giles for several moments, then grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. "Wills, I'll be home in a couple of hours."

As the door closed behind the Slayer, Anya smiled at everyone in the room. "If that's the end of the meeting, then I have to close up the shop. My shop."

"I take it that's a hint," Giles said, amused.

"Yep," Xander said, "time for all the living and the dead to go home."

Spike smirked at him. "What, not going to invite us to stay for the milk and cookies?"

"Nope."

"I am not feeling the love here."

Xander rested his hand on a crossbow. "We can fix that," he said with a smile.

Giles put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "Spike, don't annoy men who are very good shots when they have crossbows to hand."

"Good point."

Xander blinked at Giles with a surprised, flattered look on his face, but he turned away before Giles could ask what he was thinking. He heard the young man's quiet mutter, though: "And it takes being the evil undead to let me know these things?"


Connie Neil - Sep 23, 2002 12:23:13 pm PDT #115 of 10001
brillig

Anya watched them all, her arms crossed. "Why are none of you going home yet?"

Tara smiled at her. "Because we hate to leave you, Anya."

"That all very nice, but I want to go home and play with Xander. Don't you want to go home and play with Willow?" The two witches blushed but didn't deny it.

Spike grinned at Giles. "So, Ripper, shall we go home and--"

"Do be quiet, Spike." He turned so his glare and muted smile would not be seen by the children. "Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Giles," Willow said with a smile. Tara nodded, not quite meeting Giles' eyes.

Anya ran her hand over the deed to the store. "Good night, Giles. And thank you for the store."

"You're welcome. I'm sure it's in good hands." Giles looked at Xander again. The young man seemed about to say anything, but he looked down at the floor. Giles waited a moment, then nodded to himself and headed out the door. Spike followed without acknowledging any of the Scoobies.

Out on the street, Giles took off his glasses and returned them to their case in his pocket. "That went better than I expected."

"Harris is not a happy boy," Spike observed, lighting a cigarette.

"No." Giles spared a moment for nostalgic sympathy. All Xander's male companions and role models disappointed him in one way or another. Though all men learned that eventually. "Willow was a pleasant surprise. She's a dear girl."

"That she is."

Giles heard the thoughtful tone of voice and glared at his fellow vampire. "Leave Willow alone."

"Why?" Spike asked pointedly. "I've had my eye on Red for quite a while. Exercising a prior claim, are you?"

"If you will. And we don't have time for those kinds of games just now. Besides, Tara would not give up easily, and I honestly have no idea of how much she's capable of."

Spike shrugged. "Wouldn't mind a matched set of pretty young witches around the place. Stupid hellgod," he muttered. "Why couldn't she bugger off to LA or something and bother somebody else? There's so much fun to be had, and we've got to save the bloody world again. Didn't you ever get tired of it?"

"Well, I must admit, the responsibilities can be daunting, but we have a sworn duty to protect the world ..." He trailed off as he contemplated the inherent illogic of that statement coming from the mouth of a vampire.

Spike looked up at the night sky. "Oi, if you're readyin' a lightning bolt up there, it was him what said it!"

"Oh, yes, thank you, Mr. Save the World for Manchester United and all the rest."

The blond shrugged and grinned. "So, we're off to set the minions on the trail of the hellbitch, are we?"

"It seems the logical step." Giles looked around the empty street. "But not just yet. I'm hungry." He checked his watch. "Early, yet. Where would be the best hunting, the park or the college?"

"Park. Too many people out and about on campus just yet. Somebody's bound to scream, and then there's the Slayer tappin' us on the shoulder and going 'Wot's all this, then?'"

Giles chuckled as they strolled down the street. "And how many bobbies did you run afoul of?"

"Well, there was that poor lad who was sure he'd found Jack the Lad when he interrupted me having dinner on a whore in Whitechapel. But Dru convinced him of the error of his ways."

"Jack the--oh, the Ripper."

Spike glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Always wondered about your choice of nom de guerre, mate. Role model?"

"Not in the slightest." Giles picked up the pace, trying to leave behind the memories that both thrilled him and repelled him. Demon summoning, along with the drug- and music-crazed sex was one thing, but there was more than one memory of uncomplicated happiness that he didn't want to have cluttering up his mind just at the moment.

The park was quiet to mortal senses, but the vampires heard the movement of large creatures among the trees and bushes. Spike changed to his vampiric face and tested the wind. "A couple of necking couples over by the band stand, there's a drunk under the hedge over there, and --" He took a deep breath, tasting the air. "Horses? Who the fuck is riding horses around here, at this time of night?"

"Cordelia mentioned there used to be a bridal path through here, though it's not used much anymore."

"Hate horses," Spike muttered. "God damned things stepping on you and flicking their tails at you."

"Not one of the horsey set, were you?" Giles observed. "Not enough money or not enough social standing?" He smiled faintly at the glare he got. "Perhaps we can agree that if you don't bring up my youth I shan't bring up yours." He nodded at the hand gesture he got. "Agreed."

They walked through the park, ostensibly two men out for a walk, though they paid more attention to other people than was typical. Spike caught sight of a middle-aged woman in a waitress' uniform walking slowly along the path ahead of them. "How's that, then, Ripper? Chock full of home cooked goodness."

Giles' eyes were already flickering towards gold. "She'll do. I'll be picky some time when I'm not so hungry." He started forward, then turned his head quickly. "Slayer."

"Fuck." Spike locked on the location of Buffy's scent. "You go ahead, I'll distract the Slayer."

"Are you sure? You haven't eaten yet either." But the ridges were already shaping out of the human flesh.

Spike frowned at the way the demon was so quickly overriding Giles' control. He kept forgetting how young a vampire the ex-Watcher was. "I can wait. Go on. And mind the drips, you don't want the Slayer seeing what you've been up to."

Giles nodded, his attention more on his chosen victim than on his reluctant mentor's words. But little of the predator showed as he followed the woman around a curve of the path, perhaps


Connie Neil - Sep 23, 2002 12:23:51 pm PDT #116 of 10001
brillig

Anya watched them all, her arms crossed. "Why are none of you going home yet?"

Tara smiled at her. "Because we hate to leave you, Anya."

"That all very nice, but I want to go home and play with Xander. Don't you want to go home and play with Willow?" The two witches blushed but didn't deny it.

Spike grinned at Giles. "So, Ripper, shall we go home and--"

"Do be quiet, Spike." He turned so his glare and muted smile would not be seen by the children. "Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Giles," Willow said with a smile. Tara nodded, not quite meeting Giles' eyes.

Anya ran her hand over the deed to the store. "Good night, Giles. And thank you for the store."

"You're welcome. I'm sure it's in good hands." Giles looked at Xander again. The young man seemed about to say anything, but he looked down at the floor. Giles waited a moment, then nodded to himself and headed out the door. Spike followed without acknowledging any of the Scoobies.

Out on the street, Giles took off his glasses and returned them to their case in his pocket. "That went better than I expected."

"Harris is not a happy boy," Spike observed, lighting a cigarette.

"No." Giles spared a moment for nostalgic sympathy. All Xander's male companions and role models disappointed him in one way or another. Though all men learned that eventually. "Willow was a pleasant surprise. She's a dear girl."

"That she is."

Giles heard the thoughtful tone of voice and glared at his fellow vampire. "Leave Willow alone."

"Why?" Spike asked pointedly. "I've had my eye on Red for quite a while. Exercising a prior claim, are you?"

"If you will. And we don't have time for those kinds of games just now. Besides, Tara would not give up easily, and I honestly have no idea of how much she's capable of."

Spike shrugged. "Wouldn't mind a matched set of pretty young witches around the place. Stupid hellgod," he muttered. "Why couldn't she bugger off to LA or something and bother somebody else? There's so much fun to be had, and we've got to save the bloody world again. Didn't you ever get tired of it?"

"Well, I must admit, the responsibilities can be daunting, but we have a sworn duty to protect the world ..." He trailed off as he contemplated the inherent illogic of that statement coming from the mouth of a vampire.

Spike looked up at the night sky. "Oi, if you're readyin' a lightning bolt up there, it was him what said it!"

"Oh, yes, thank you, Mr. Save the World for Manchester United and all the rest."

The blond shrugged and grinned. "So, we're off to set the minions on the trail of the hellbitch, are we?"

"It seems the logical step." Giles looked around the empty street. "But not just yet. I'm hungry." He checked his watch. "Early, yet. Where would be the best hunting, the park or the college?"

"Park. Too many people out and about on campus just yet. Somebody's bound to scream, and then there's the Slayer tappin' us on the shoulder and going 'Wot's all this, then?'"

Giles chuckled as they strolled down the street. "And how many bobbies did you run afoul of?"

"Well, there was that poor lad who was sure he'd found Jack the Lad when he interrupted me having dinner on a whore in Whitechapel. But Dru convinced him of the error of his ways."

"Jack the--oh, the Ripper."

Spike glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Always wondered about your choice of nom de guerre, mate. Role model?"

"Not in the slightest." Giles picked up the pace, trying to leave behind the memories that both thrilled him and repelled him. Demon summoning, along with the drug- and music-crazed sex was one thing, but there was more than one memory of uncomplicated happiness that he didn't want to have cluttering up his mind just at the moment.

The park was quiet to mortal senses, but the vampires heard the movement of large creatures among the trees and bushes. Spike changed to his vampiric face and tested the wind. "A couple of necking couples over by the band stand, there's a drunk under the hedge over there, and --" He took a deep breath, tasting the air. "Horses? Who the fuck is riding horses around here, at this time of night?"

"Cordelia mentioned there used to be a bridal path through here, though it's not used much anymore."

"Hate horses," Spike muttered. "God damned things stepping on you and flicking their tails at you."

"Not one of the horsey set, were you?" Giles observed. "Not enough money or not enough social standing?" He smiled faintly at the glare he got. "Perhaps we can agree that if you don't bring up my youth I shan't bring up yours." He nodded at the hand gesture he got. "Agreed."

They walked through the park, ostensibly two men out for a walk, though they paid more attention to other people than was typical. Spike caught sight of a middle-aged woman in a waitress' uniform walking slowly along the path ahead of them. "How's that, then, Ripper? Chock full of home cooked goodness."

Giles' eyes were already flickering towards gold. "She'll do. I'll be picky some time when I'm not so hungry." He started forward, then turned his head quickly. "Slayer."

"Fuck." Spike locked on the location of Buffy's scent. "You go ahead, I'll distract the Slayer."

"Are you sure? You haven't eaten yet either." But the ridges were already shaping out of the human flesh.

Spike frowned at the way the demon was so quickly overriding Giles' control. He kept forgetting how young a vampire the ex-Watcher was. "I can wait. Go on. And mind the drips, you don't want the Slayer seeing what you've been up to."

Giles nodded, his attention more on his chosen victim than on his reluctant mentor's words. But little of the predator showed as he followed the woman around a curve of the path, perhaps


Connie Neil - Sep 23, 2002 12:25:06 pm PDT #117 of 10001
brillig

Giles nodded, his attention more on his chosen victim than on his reluctant mentor's words. But little of the predator showed as he followed the woman around a curve of the path, perhaps just an extra spring in the step or the way he held his head.

  • **

More to come, angst with Buffy and V!Giles


Miracleman - Sep 23, 2002 12:47:56 pm PDT #118 of 10001
No, I don't think I will - me, quoting Captain Steve Rogers, to all of 2020

connie...Where's part one of that story?


Connie Neil - Sep 23, 2002 12:50:52 pm PDT #119 of 10001
brillig

Oh, gosh, the bit with Spike and Buffy at the Bronze? It's at WX and at home, respectively. Can we still get to the WX archives?


Connie Neil - Sep 23, 2002 12:57:06 pm PDT #120 of 10001
brillig

Incoming in a couple of seconds ...


Connie Neil - Sep 23, 2002 12:59:03 pm PDT #121 of 10001
brillig

The bartender at the Bronze didn't recognize Buffy, but he didn't ask for ID when she bought a beer. She must be looking old these days. Not hard to imagine, what with everything that had happened. Her baby sister who wasn't really her baby sister, Riley leaving, her mom being so sick ...

She took her beer to a corner table before anyone could see the tears that got away from her again.

Giles. Gone. Turned. Evil.

Trying to kill Dawn.

Only stopped because Spike was a weird kind of vampire.

No more teasing Giles about his clothes, no more making references to American culture that he always said he didn't get but which she figured he knew more of than he let on.

No more knowing he was backing her up, with sword or ax or chainsaw or weird languages or dirty tricks or magic or just a shoulder when she got tired.

She blinked as a glass was put on the table in front of her. "Looks like you could use something a little stronger than beer," Spike said, putting his own glass of whiskey on the table as he sat down across from her. "And, yeah, I know it's a felony to buy intoxicating spirits for underaged people, but, hey, I'm evil."

Buffy couldn't meet his eyes. She poked at one of the ice cubes in the glass. "You knew."

"Knew what?"

"About Giles."

"Well, yes, considering he was with me when he woke up."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, right. 'Lovely evening, Slayer, by the way, your Watcher's been drained and turned into a vampire.'"

"It'd be better than finding out by him ..."

"Trying to kill your sister. I agree. It's a classic, though, most people only find out their loved one's changed when he comes to kill them." He took a drink. "Don't think there is an easy way to find out."

"How did it happen? Who did it?"

"Dru. Lovely parting gift from her last visit."

Buffy glared at him. "Would that be the last visit where you threatened to kill her to prove your love for me?" She looked away. "I knew it was your fault."

"Right, it's my fault, everything's my fault. Get it out of your system now, Slayer, because we don't have time for the sturm und drang. Dramatics," he added at her puzzled look.

She drained half her whiskey in one shot, then coughed for a few seconds. She glared at Spike, expecting him to be laughing, but there was only a tired smile in his eyes. "What did you mean, he was with you when he ... woke up?"

"I came back to the crypt one morning and found him lying on the floor, Dru's smell all over him. Saw what she'd done."

"Why didn't you stake him?" She winced at the following image, her Giles, being staked.

"I liked the idea of him as a vamp, pet. I'm evil, remember?"

"Then I'm going to have to."

"Yeah, he told me about your deal. He talked about you a lot the first few days."

"He did?" And she actually smiled.

"Well, when he wasn't going on about hunting and such like." Spike could have kicked himself for the way her smile faded away. "I don't know what he would have done if he'd been left to his own devices, either run completely amuck or stayed up to meet the sunrise."

"Fledglings will do that?" She was fascinated in spite of herself. "I thought they were all just jump up, grr, kill."

"You don't become a Watcher without being strong willed. No common fledgling, he. There's still quite a lot of Rupert Giles in there."

Buffy played with the glass. "Then why did he go after Dawn?"

"No soul, pet, and no chip. He is the ultimate practical man, and he was doing it to help you."

"*Help* me?"

Spike shrugged. "No Niblet, no Key, Glory takes her toys and goes somewhere else, you're free to take care of Joyce and yourself."

"He said that?"

"Well," he said with a smirk, "he didn't really say it, as he's currently got some healing from a broken jaw and fractured skull work to do. But he's said similar before--and I understand wanting to make things easier for you." He stared at his own glass rather than meet her eyes.

"Am I supposed to be flattered by that?"

"You're supposed to deal with it as a reality and move on."

"Great, now I've got two psychopaths trying to prove their--affection by doing horrible things. I should have staked you a long time ago."

"Yes, you should have," he snapped, leaning closer. "Never leave functioning enemies behind you."

"So what's your excuse?"

"You know my excuse." He shook himself. "But you can't stake me now, Slayer."

"And why not?"