erika, I was nine, had only just moved to the US for the first go-round, and I thought she was fucking Aphrodite on wheels. She was even cooler with the girls than with the boys.

Hey, actual plot development, not just moving people around

Anya proved an efficient navigator. The first side road off the highway passed a few farms and ranches. Dawn kept her nose plastered to the window, watching for horses; Willow distracted Tara by pointing out new lambs.

Buffy settled into Xander's old seat, careful not to trip over the duffle bag underneath. She leaned against the window and stared out at the scenery. A tractor pulled some piece of arcane farm machinery through a field as the driver waved at the passing bus. Vampires liked cities, Buffy mused. It must be nice to live where the night was full of cricket noises and frogs instead of screams and death.

She was thinking of the fireflies at her aunt's house as she drifted to sleep.

The jerk of the bus coming to a stop woke her. There were trees outside the window, and the sun was much higher. "What's wrong?"

Joyce grinned back over her shoulder. "Good morning, sleepy head. Bathroom break."

"Oh. Yeah. Good idea." Her bladder was awake and agreeing with the plan. She looked outside again. They were on a dirt road now, surrounded by forest instead of farms. "So. Bushes. Who remembers what poison ivy looks like?"

Dawn raised her hand. "I do! Campfire Girls!" She went still. "Or, you know, I ..."

"I don't care how you know," Anya said. "So long as you know."

Xander pulled open the door. "So, ladies to the right, gentlemen to the left?" He and Anya left the bus.

Buffy started to follow, then went to the back. "Guys?"

Spike poked his head out from under the seat--on the opposite side from where Buffy remembered him bunking out at dawn. He raised his scarred eyebrow at her when she looked perplexed from one side of the bus to the other. "What?"

She gestured vaguely over her shoulder. "The rest of us--nature calls. Stretching our legs and--stuff. We won't be gone long."

Spike gave a smile that was more than a little pleased. "Thanks for telling us. We can go through everybody's bags now without being caught."

Buffy craned her neck, trying to locate Giles, checking under the seats on the other side of the aisle in case he and Spike had switched places.

"He's asleep," Spike said, almost moving to get in her way.

"What, and he has nightmares if he's all alone?"

He shrugged. "Didn't want him getting knocked around and out into the light, the way Harris does his kamikaze routine on these roads."

"Right." She studied him for a few moments, then straightened. "Be back in a bit."

"Right." Spike disappeared under the seats again.

In every lecture she'd ever heard, protectiveness was not high on the list of vampiric qualities. Just as well, or there'd be solicitous sires waiting over every fledgling's grave, making her job all the harder. So was it just a Spikey thing, that he stayed close to Giles, looking after him? Maybe it was part of what kept Spike with Dru all those years, maybe he just liked having someone to look after. Whatever it was, she was an idiot for ever allowing herself to think "that's kind of sweet" on the subject.

Business in the bushes was conducted quickly. Several napkins and tissues from Joyce's purse prevented the need for leaves and the identification of possible poison ivy.

"Boy," Willow said, "I hope we have a mom with us every time we're on the run." Tara tugged on her arm, pointing to several flowers on a nearby bush. "Yeah, those are pretty. Buffy, can we walk around a little? She might be a little less restless if we do."

"Probably not a bad idea. I'll go find Xander."

She found Xander checking the bus' tires and radiator. "How's it look, road warrior?"

"Tires are good, the thing seems to be holding up well." The look on his face contradicted his easy tone of voice. He glanced at the bus, then gestured for Buffy to follow him.

A couple of hundred feet down the road, around a curve that hid the bus, Xander stopped.

"How good is vampire hearing?" he asked. "Can they hear us here?"

Buffy glanced back down the road. "I don't think so. Not unless they were really trying. What don't you want them to hear?"

Xander stared at the tread patterns his boots made in the dirt surface of the road as he shuffled his feet. "The chip's out."

She almost said "what?", but all her breath had been knocked out. "When?" she whispered.

"Probably not too much after Giles got turned, I think."

"But--that's been weeks! He always swore--are you sure?"

Xander's smile was twisted. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure."

"What did he do?"

"I caught him playing with one of those Knights of Byzantium one night on patrol. We...chatted. I haven't told you before now because he threatened to go after Willow if I did."

"Why didn't he just kill you--no offense," she added quickly.

"None taken. And he said it was because we couldn't afford any distractions with Glory still around."

Buffy stared at the trees around them. At least this explained the odd feeling she'd gotten from Spike the last few weeks. He no longer held himself like a vampire who had to scrounge his food second-hand, who feared his natural prey instead of hunting them. The barely restrained rage and frustration had been replaced with a master predator's swagger and confidence.

Other realizations hit. "He's been in my house! He's visited my mom, he's been wandering around smirking at us and thinking about food."

Xander nodded. "He'd be starting on the buffet except for Glory."

"I trusted him to look after Mom and Dawn, and he's William the Bloody again, without the leash." She paused. "I trusted him."

Xander frowned. "Vampire without a chip, Buffy. Sworn lots of times to shishkebob our internal organs while we're still watching. You can't trust him."

"Except I did. If it was just about Glory, he wouldn't have stopped Giles hurting Dawn. He promised to look after Mom and Dawn."

"Only because he's trying to stay on your good side."

"And that's why he let Glory dig a hole in his skull?"

"It's just that we have the same enemy just now. Buffy, he's back. The Spike that blew into town, took over, wreaked havoc--"

Buffy grinned just a little. "Had his butt kicked multiple times by me ..."

"Who's been killing for weeks now and laughing at us while we think he's still harmless ..."

She nodded and stared at the dirt for several moments. "We still need his and Giles' help with this."

"Do we? I know where we're going, we know the plan is to just avoid Glory until dawn tomorrow. We've got them trapped in a contained location, we won't get a chance like this again."

He could be so ruthless, sometimes. So practical. Buffy remembered the hyena thing, and the moment she'd looked into Xander's eyes and seen the predator. The pack defender that still lived in her friend had seen a threat to his group and was calmly planning the destruction of that threat. And she couldn't deny he was right in his way.

"Not until we finish Glory," she finally said. "I can't risk losing allies when we're this close to finishing this. The two of them, their knowledge and their strength, they might make the difference."

Xander nodded in resignation. "And after?"

"Is after."

He lowered his voice, abruptly diffident. "If you don't want to deal with Giles, I could ..."

She hoped her look of fond disbelief wasn't too offensive to a male ego. "I think it would be kind of hard to sneak up on a vampire who used to be a Watcher with a stake."

"Which is why I'd cheat. Crossbow, grenade--rocket launchers are always in fashion."

"And what about Spike? What would you do about him?" She frowned at the quick look of fear and dismay that went across his face.

"I would cheat harder," he said firmly. "Very much harder."

Buffy hugged him briefly. "We'll deal with that when we have to. Not now. We should get going." She took his arm and led the way back towards the bus. "How much farther?"

"Another thirty miles, maybe. I don't know how bad the roads will get or how hard it'll be to find them. But not much longer."

They came around the curve of the road to find everyone but Willow and Tara back on the bus. Tara was crouched down drawing in the dry dirt of the road.

Xander put a hand on Buffy's arm. "He was serious about going after Willow. Please be careful."

"I won't let him know I know. Though I'm not sure how," she added truthfully. "Hey, Will. What did she find?"

Willow blew an escaping strand of hair way from her nose. "Rocks. But she recognizes poison ivy and knows it's bad, so that's good." She crouched down next to Tara. "Come on, baby, time to get on the bus. Time to go."

Tara handed her a pebble. "The meadow green water. Bright darkness and red." She straightened, then looked at Buffy. "Seeing and red. Not long now." She tugged on Willow's hand, pulling her towards the bus.

"Does that mean something?" Buffy asked Willow.

Willow shrugged. "I don't have the faintest idea. I'm coming, sweetie."

Buffy looked at Xander, who shrugged in turn. He gestured for her to precede him up the steps. "After you, m'lady. And tell Dawn if she suggests singing 'Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall' again, I might hand her over to Glory myself."

"I think I'd help." They shared one more concerned look, then reboarded the bus.

Love it, connie. Protective Spike! Yay! More please?

Lovely stuff, connie.

It's all going to end in pain, isn't it?

Oh, Anne, I hope you're right.

Oh goodness, I love the Spred! I like the tension. Want more.

Connie, that's so nice. I'm getting tense wondering what happens when Glory finds them. More, please?

Yay! Whiny!Bitch (one of the new series of Care!Bitches available at a store near you) gets her way.

It's all going to end in pain, isn't it?

Would moi do something like that?

t looks around.

Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I would.

The last road to the convent was marked at the turnoff with a weathered wooden shrine shielding a statue of a figure in a hooded monk's robe holding a chalice. Anya hopped off the bus to investigate.

"It's St. Eugene all right," she called. "You can just make out the extra set of arms."

She climbed back on, and Xander put the bus in gear.

The new road was rough and narrow, forcing them to go slow. "Did anyone notice if this thing has a spare tire?" Xander asked as he nursed the bus across a wash-out filled with large rocks.

"Yes," came an English voice from the back.

"And a jack?"

There was silence from the back, and Anya shrugged. "If we wait till after dark, two vampires would make a good jack."

Xander laughed. "Vampires, no toolbox should be without one."

They opened several windows to let fresh, outdoorsy air in. Buffy leaned out for a better view of the passing trees and the mountains beyond.

"Mr. Bus Driver!" Willow yelled. "Buffy's sticking her head out the window!"

Buffy turned and glared. "Mom, Willow's a tattle-tale." She stuck her tongue out at Willow.

Willow pouted. "Buffy's being mean!"

Xander scowled into the driver's mirror. "If you kids don't settle down back there, I'm going to pull this bus over and make you all walk."

Dawn grinned. "Somebody's letting the power go to their head."

Joyce tried to look stern. "Buffy, don't be mean to Willow. Willow, no one likes a tattle-tale. Play nice, both of you."

The two put on their best innocent faces until she turned away, then they both stuck their tongues out at each other at the exact same moment, causing identical giggles. Tara gently touched the corner of Willow's smile, making Willow turn and hug her.

Buffy watched a moment, thinking only how sweet they looked together, then she turned back to the scenery outside the window. The air was cool, smelling the way those pine-scented cleaners wanted you to think was outdoorsy. When she'd first arrived in Sunnydale, she'd thought that was clean air, especially after Los Angeles. At night in the cemeteries, away from the streets, she'd been able to smell the grass and the trees, but even then there was the underlay of the town- -and the death and the blood and the dust. It was surprising how long it took her to learn to hold her breath when a vampire went poof.

Another deep breath of the forest air dispelled that thought. Sunlight. She didn't get out in the sunlight enough anymore. And, boy, was it nice to look at something other than buildings and tombstones and monsters. There was even still snow on those mountains in the distance. When was the last time she'd been in snow? Oh. Yes. She blinked fast, dispelling more thoughts and memories, of a slow walk through a miraculous dawn, of cool fingers entwined with hers, of a tall figure that, despite all sense, made her feel safe.

Cool, clean air, smelling of trees, the sound of tires crunching over the dirt and rocks, snowy mountains in the distance--an armored figure on horseback a hundred yards away, watching the bus go by.

"Hey!"

Xander hit the brakes. "What!"

"No! Keep going, keep going!" Buffy ran to the back windows of the bus, which had not been painted over. "It's one of those Knights of Byzantium guys! He's out there, watching!"

"Here?" Giles said from under the seats. "That's impossible! They couldn't possibly have followed us, not if they're on horseback!"

Spike scrambled out from cover and went to the back window, shielding his face as well as he could. "Where?"

Buffy pointed. "Back there, by that big dead tree."

Spike squinted to see. "Can spot a mouse at a hundred yards in the dark," he muttered, "damned light makes it hard. Yeah, there he is. He's riding off. Do you see any others, pet?"