Past Glory Chapters 21

Chapter 21

"What the hell is this, Finn? A set-up?"

"No set-up, Spike. Or should I call you Doctor?"

"Why the hell should you call me Doctor?" Turning to a quiet Buffy he said, "Love, you've got to believe me, I have nothing to do with this. I didn't know these things were here."

When she still just stood there quietly, not answering him, not looking at him, just staring at the eggs with a deep frown on her face, he cried out desperately, "Buffy, please! Do you think I'd let something like this come near to you? Near the Bit? She comes here too, you know, after school sometimes. I'd never let anything hurt her, you know that." He grabbed her shoulders and swung her around to face him. "Buffy, please."

Buffy blinked as if coming out of a trance. "Huh? What?" Seeing the panicked look on Spike's face, she scowled and said, "Oh for god's sake, Spike, calm down. I know you aren't involved in this."

Turning to Riley she said, "Tell me everything you know about this arms dealer."

"Ask Spike about him while I call in my team. We'll move these eggs out of here." He was starting to speak into his communications device when she pulled it out of his hand and clicked it off. At his surprised look, she said, "Don't take this the wrong way, Riley, but there's no way I'm allowing you or anyone else to take these things
out of here whole." "What?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, Riley. I just don't trust the people you work for. We destroy these things, then your men can come in and clean up the mess while we track down your arms dealer." He stared at her in shock. "You think we'd use those things?"

"You wouldn't. Your bosses? Not so sure. So I'm not taking any chances. We scramble the eggs and then we go hunting."

"I can't do that, Buffy. My orders are specific. Retrieve the Suvolte and its eggs and arrest the Doctor."

"Oh. Okay."

Just as Riley relaxed a bit, Buffy kicked out and caught him in the stomach. As he doubled over, she wrenched his rifle off his shoulder tossing it to Spike. A sweeping leg kick, and Riley was down.

"Destroy the eggs, Spike, while I keep an eye on Agent Finn."

Spike smirked at his fallen rival, turned his attention to the eggs and methodically destroyed each egg in turn. Buffy covered her ears to protect them from the sound of the reverberations of the rifle fire but her eyes never left Riley. When Spike finally stopped firing, she looked over at a gross mess consisting of broken eggshells and dead half-developed embryos liberally coated with sticky albumen. "Good job," she said drily.

"My pleasure, love," Spike grinned handing her back the rifle. Riley had gotten shakily to his feet and she returned his gun to him.

"I'm sorry, Riley, but you gave me no choice. I'll never again trust the people you work for. Never. Now call in your men to clean up this mess for us. They can take the goop to your superiors. Then we can track down and kill the Suvolte."

"This was unnecessary, Buffy," Riley said angrily. "If we wanted a Suvolte or its eggs we could get all we wanted in Belize."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I'm just making sure that no one gets these eggs or this Suvolte."

Riley stared at the destroyed eggs and then switched the communicator back on. As he was talking to one of his men, Spike pulled Buffy some distance off. "Thank you, love."

"What for?"

"For not believing I had anything to do with those eggs being here."

Buffy looked at him with a serious expression. "Do you love me, Spike?"

"You know I do."

"Did you make me a promise not so long ago? About being the man I deserve?"

"I did."

"That's why I knew you didn't have anything to do with those eggs. Oh, and there's one more thing." Caressing his face with one hand she added, "I believe I said something to you just a little while ago. I trust you, Spike."

Spike pulled her into his arms, his face going immediately to the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Riley had been watching the interplay between the two and even though he couldn't hear what they said, the tender caresses and facial expressions made it pretty evident that Buffy was reassuring Spike. Riley's hand fisted at his side and it was all he could do to keep from grabbing his stake again and lunging at the vampire. He couldn't believe his fears about her had turned out to be justified. It was clear to him now that a regular human man stood no chance with her. And the fact that it was Spike she'd turned to sickened him. He'd been wise to leave town when he had. Unable to stand looking at the embrace any longer he stepped forward to interrupt.

"We have a bead on the Suvolte. It's heading towards the Sunnydale Hydroelectric Dam. I've ordered my men here to clean up the mess and retrieve the egg fragments while we go after the demon."

"I hope you told your men I prefer a lemony fresh scent instead of pine."

Riley just glared at Spike and moved off. Buffy rolled her eyes, shook her head and followed. Spike smirked and brought up the rear. They followed Riley's tracking scanner to the bottom of the dam where it indicated the demon was located. They were just getting ready to begin a search of the darkened recesses when another Kevlar-clad body rappelled down to the dam floor. Buffy watched the soldier with suspicion and glanced to the top of the dam half expecting to see Riley's entire unit. If he had double-crossed her, she'd be hard put to fight off the entire unit and Spike would be unable to help. But it appeared the soldier was alone. And then she spoke. "Everything all right here, Riley?"

"The tracker indicates the Suvolte's here. We were just getting ready to do a sweep. Did you bring the containment van?"

"Just as you ordered."

"A containment van? There won't be anything to contain," Buffy remarked.

"So Riley said, but it's the only thing we have that'll be big enough to haul the body away."

Buffy was looking at the female soldier curiously. This was a surprise. She hadn't expected any women to be on Riley's special ops squad. She well remembered feeling unwelcome while playing on The Initiative's all boys' team. And she was surprised with the easy familiarity with which the soldier spoke to Riley. The woman turned to her and smiled.

"Hi, you must be Buffy. My husband's told me some very interesting things about you."

"Your husband?"

The woman turned to Riley with a mock glare. "You didn't tell her you were married?"

Buffy's mouth dropped open. "You two are married?"

The woman turned back to her with a friendly smile. "Yes, almost four months now. You'd think it was still recent enough that he'd be able to remember it, wouldn't you?" she teased. "My name's Sam by the way, " she added holding out her hand to Buffy. Buffy shook it weakly.

"Well, well, well," Spike drawled. "That's interestin' news. I take it you two haven't known each other very long?"

She looked curiously at Spike. "Since I joined his outfit in Belize a little over seven months ago." She smiled warmly at her husband. "I guess you could say he swept me off my feet."

Spike arched his scarred eyebrow at Riley. "Good goin', mate. Get her locked in before she really gets to know you. Smart move."

"Spike, shut up," Buffy said a little irritably.

"Sorry, Sam," Riley said, ignoring Spike altogether. "I hadn't had the time yet to mention it." Walking over to his wife, he relieved her of the equipment she'd hauled down with her and laid in on the ground. "Okay everyone let's fan out and flush out our demon. We still have a bad guy to find. Or at least identify." The last was said with a sharp look to Spike.

"Ponce," Spike muttered, but he began to search. As Riley reached a doorway, the demon attacked, knocking Riley to the ground and leaping on him. Spike, who was nearest, hesitated only a second and then ran to throw the demon away from Riley. Buffy arrived and kicked out at it as it rose to its feet knocking it several feet away. Unfortunately Sam had been running towards the fray and Buffy inadvertently kicked the demon into her. They slammed into the wall of the dam and the demon was able to grab hold of Sam and pull her towards it. It growled and opened its jaws wide displaying a mouthful of long, sharp teeth.

"Sam!" Riley called out in fear and scrambled to retrieve the rifle that had been lost in his own scuffle but Buffy and Spike were already there. Buffy grabbed hold of its head while Spike grasped an arm, twisting its grip loose from Sam. The sound of a neck snapping was followed by a squeal of pain from the demon. When Buffy let go it tumbled to the ground, dead.

Riley checked that his wife was unharmed and then gathered up the equipment she'd brought with her. Hooking it up to the demon he said to her, "We'll get this thing topside and safely stowed away and then you can drive it to the rendezvous point. Buffy and I are going to try to track down the arms dealer."

The four climbed back out of the dam and hauled the demon up. Buffy and Spike carried it to the containment van and dumped it in. "It was nice to finally meet you, Buffy," Sam told her. "And thanks, both of you," she added nodding to Spike, "for saving my life."

"Yeah, you're welcome," Spike answered nonchalantly, lighting up a smoke. Seemed Mrs. Captain Cardboard had better manners than the Captain did at least. They watched as Sam drove away and then Buffy asked Riley, "Okay, any idea where we can find this Doctor of yours?"

"Spike? You have any thoughts on it?" Riley challenged Spike.

"Oh for the love of... Look, I don't know any Doctor. Never heard of the blo..."

"Spike?"

"Well," Spike said, suddenly uncomfortable. "I don't know of any Doctor, but there is a guy, or demon, not sure which he is really. Smells funny, I do know that, Course that could be cause he's so old he just has old person smell. Still..."

"Spike!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Okay, there's this guy, goes by the name of Doc, but I'm pretty sure he's not who you're lookin' for, Finn, 'cause I think he's only interested in magic and such. Knows a lot about a lot, if you know what I mean. No, now that I think about it, he's not your guy. So sorry, no, don't know anyone."

"Where's this Doc at, Spike," Buffy asked.

"Look, I really don't think..."

"Nobody cares what you think, Spike. Just take us to him and I'll determine if he's the guy we're looking for," Riley said officiously. Riley and Buffy started heading for the SUV. Spike hesitated but had no choice other than to follow. Bugger! He had a bad feeling about this.

Spike gave them directions to Doc's place and they drove there immediately. He hung back as Riley pounded on the old man's door. When it opened, Doc looked at his visitors with surprise.

"My, what unexpected callers. A former Initiative soldier, the Slayer and, don't I know you?"

"No, wasn't me, some other guy," Spike answered quickly.

"No, no, it was you, I remember now. You brought that pretty little girl here. How is she? Did that spell work out for her?"

Buffy looked at Spike with narrowed eyes. "What pretty little girl?"

"Why I believe she was your sister," Doc answered, an innocent expression on his face. "Didn't she tell you? Our vampire friend brought her here oh nine months or so back, wanted help with a resurrection spell. So tell me, did it work? Did you get your mother back?"

Buffy rounded on Spike furiously. "You brought my little sister here to help her raise my mother from the dead?!"

"Buffy, look I can explain."

"There is no explanation, Spike! God, I just cannot believe you'd do something so incredibility stupid! And cruel." Tears welled in Buffy's eyes.

"Buffy, love, please. Let me explain."

"Shut up, Spike! Not another word out of you." Turning her back on him she leveled icy eyes on Doc. "And you. You helped her? Told her what to do to perform that spell?"

Doc shrugged, not intimidated by the Slayer's fury. "People come to me for help. I give it. I warned her of the perils, but she insisted."

"Buffy," Riley said softly. "I don't know what this is about, but we need to question him about why we came here, okay?"

"You can do whatever you need to, Riley," Buffy answered flatly. Nodding, Riley turned to the old man. "We're looking for a man that goes by the name The Doctor. That you?"

"No, I go by the name Doc. Just Doc."

"Uh huh. You know anything about a Suvolte being lured here to Sunnydale?"

Doc looked at him with large round eyes peering out from behind his thick glasses. "A Suvolte? Oh, no. Those creatures are extremely dangerous, you know."

"I know," Riley said. "You know anything about someone wanting to buy Suvolte eggs?"

"No. Now the Ghora demon's eggs, you remember the Ghora, don't you, young man?" he added as an aside to the dejected looking Spike, "they have a practical use in resurrection spells. I don't know of any spell that would require a Suvolte demon's egg."

"Not for spells, to hatch and use as a weapon."

"Oh no, surely not. They're too unpredictable, as likely to turn and devour you as your enemy. No, sorry, I know nothing of that."

"Then you won't mind if we search your apartment."

"Well yes I do, but as you are the ones armed, I doubt my protests will stop you."

"And you'd be correct," Riley stated firmly. "Buffy, let's toss the place and see if we come up with anything regarding the demon, its eggs or a contract for sale." He completely ignored Spike who just stood by the door, neither moving nor talking.

Spike had been afraid something like with would happen as soon as he'd slipped up and let Buffy see he knew something. He only hoped that once Buffy calmed down, she'd give him the opportunity to... what? Explain how he'd brought her little sister to a creepy wizard for help in bringing her mum back from the dead and then ended up nearly getting her killed by taking her into the nest of the Ghora demon? As he watched Buffy and Riley search the apartment, he was afraid that act, thoughtlessly done but with the best intentions so long ago, may have cost him Buffy's affections.

Chapter 22

They performed a thorough search of the old man's apartment without luck. They found nothing to tie Doc to the Suvolte, its eggs, or a black market arms deal. Buffy made note however to discuss with Giles some of the texts she'd noticed. He may not be Riley's arms dealer but he certainly wasn't a stand-up citizen of Sunnydale either, so it infuriated Buffy all the more that Spike had brought Dawn here. They left Doc's apartment and returned to the SUV.

"What now?" Buffy asked.

Riley turned in his seat and stared at Spike who sat slumped in the back. "Well, any other ideas, Spike? Any more of your friends you think might fit the bill?"

Spike glared at Riley but thought about who he knew in Sunnydale that could be involved in such a scheme. Shrugging he said, "I've told you, I don't know of anyone, haven't heard of anyone called The Doctor. There's plenty of bad guys in town, but you know that seeings as how you worked with some of them."

"Maybe you'll remember better if I beat it out of you," Riley ground out reaching back for Spike. His arm was grabbed in an ironclad grip. "I don't think so, Riley," Buffy said calmly. "Let's go to my house. We'll talk to Willow and Tara. Maybe they can come up with some way to track your arms dealer."

Riley spared one more glare at Spike then turned around and started the vehicle. "Maybe we should call in Giles, too. He may have some ideas or know something."

"Giles isn't here right now, Riley. He went to England a few months ago to report on Glory and do some more research on her and ended up getting sucked into some big Watcher research project. He says he'll probably be tied up there for several more weeks. Maybe longer."

"Oh." Riley glanced into the rearview mirror at the spot where he knew the vampire was sitting. The expression on his face left no doubt as to his thoughts. If Giles were here, Buffy would have never taken up with Spike. Spike wasn't so sure he was wrong.

The rest of the drive was made in silence and when they entered the house, Spike walked into the living room and slouched against the far wall. Buffy ran up the stairs to awaken the two witches and then returned immediately to the first floor.

"I'm going to make some coffee. The girls will be right down."

Minutes later, the two witches descended wrapped in fluffy robes and matching bunny slippers. Willow gave Riley a warm hug while Tara bobbed her head shyly in greeting. A third figure descended on their heels.

"Dawnie! It so good to see you." Riley reached out and gathered the girl up in a big hug. Dawn stood stiffly neither accepting nor rejecting his embrace.

"So you're back, huh? I thought you were in Barbados." Her voice was not welcoming.

"Belize," Riley said with forced patience. "And I'm only here for a little while, Dawn, until I finish my mission."

"Oh. That's good, 'cause you know Buffy's with Spike now, right?" she said just a little aggressively. If Spike didn't feel so miserable he would have smiled. Leave it to the Bit to stick up for him.

Riley frowned over Dawn's tone but before he could say anything, Buffy walked into the room carrying a tray with mugs of coffee, creamer and sugar.

"Riley knows Spike and I are together, Dawn," Buffy said as she walked over to the coffee table to deposit the tray. With a black look at Spike she added, "At least we were."

"What do you mean, were? What happened?" Whirling on Riley, she said, "Did you do something to try and break them up? You have no right to come back here and..."

"Dawn! That's enough." Buffy shot her sister a furious glare. "We have more important things to talk about right now, and you don't need to be here. Go back to bed."

Instead of obeying her sister's order, Dawn flounced over to Spike. "What happened, Spike? Why is Buffy talking like you two broke up?"

It hardly seemed possible that Spike could feel or look more miserable, but Buffy's words had cut him to the heart. "'t's alright, Dawnie. She's just a little put out with me right now, nothing for you to worry about. Go back to bed like she said so you don't get on her bad side too."

"But what happened?"

"Nothin', Kitten. Now go back..."

Dawn whipped around as she caught Buffy saying, "Spike took us to some weird guy called Doc, but he wasn't the one Riley's looking for so we hoped there was some way you guys could track him down for us." Turning back to Spike with eyes wide she whispered, "Doc? That smelly old guy who told us about the Ghora eggs? You took them to him?"

"Yeah, Niblet. I had to. And he let it out I brought you to him that time."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah, but she's mad at me not you, so you don't have to worry about being in trouble. It was my fault, not yours. Now you go on back to bed like a good girl. Everything will work itself out."

"Un-un, Spike," Dawn said determinedly. "It was my fault and I'm going to let Buffy know that."

"Dawn, wait." Before Spike could reach out, Dawn was over standing beside Buffy.

"I want to talk to you," she said stiffly.

Buffy gave her a cold look. "I'm busy right now, Dawn. We'll talk in the morning. Go back to bed."

"No, we'll talk now."

"Dawn," Buffy warned.

Dawn shook her head, her hair flying out in a swirl around her. "You can carry me upstairs kicking and screaming the whole way, or you can come with me into the kitchen and we can talk."

Buffy stood up, anger evident in her stiff posture. "I'll be right back, you guys," she excused herself. Walking ahead of her sister, she went into the kitchen and then turned around, arms crossed over her chest and toe tapping impatiently. "I really don't have time for this, Dawn. We're having a very important meeting in there."

"Yeah, well my meeting is more important. Buffy, don't blame Spike about what happened last year. He was protecting me."

"By taking you to that foul old man?" Buffy asked incredulously. "God, Dawn, he gave me the creeps and I'm the Slayer. Do you have any idea what he could have done to you?"

"No. But he didn't do anything to me except help," the girl insisted. "Well, he was kinda creepy, but Spike was with me so I wasn't afraid."

"I know all about the help he gave you, Dawn. That's how you were able to do that resurrection spell. If it hadn't've been for Spike, you never would have done it." Tears were forming in Buffy eyes and her voice broke a bit on her words.

"No, Buffy, you're wrong. I was doing a resurrection spell when Spike found me at Mom's grave. He told me if the spell I was doing called for more than graveyard dirt, I was going to call up a zombie and that was bad. But he could see how bad I was hurting and he... he said he couldn't stand to see it. So he helped me."

Taking a deep breath she looked directly into her sister's angry eyes. "That old man Doc told us about the Ghora and where to find its nest. Spike told me to wait while he went and got the Ghora egg, but I told him I'd get the egg while he distracted the demon. He couldn't stop me, I mean how could he with the chip and all, so we both went into the nest. And everything went fine. I got the egg, no problem. Well, hardly any problem. So anyway I got the egg and we were running up the stairs and I-I dropped it. Spike said to forget it, it was too dangerous to go back, but I wouldn't listen and ran back down and the demon almost got me. But Spike distracted it again, and got chomped on pretty bad, but he held it off me and then I was free and he got free and we ran." She paused only long enough to draw in a shaky breath. "And I know we were wrong, but I was going to do that spell no matter what 'cause I just wanted Mom back so much. And I wasn't sure of my translations but I was going to do it anyway and who knows what would have happened if Spike hadn't come along. And...and..." By now, Dawn was sobbing and her speech was almost incoherent.

Buffy gathered her little sister into her arms. "Promise me you won't attempt any more spells. Ever. White magic, black magic, I don't care. No more spells."

Dawn nodded her head, her breath coming in hiccupping little gasps. "P-please don't be mad at Spike, Buffy. Don't blame him. It was all my fault. He was just trying to help me."

"He should never have helped you, Dawn and you know it. He should have stopped you or come to me."

"Buffy, this is Spike we're talking about. He doesn't run and tattle."

"Well he'd better learn to."

"You'll forgive him?"

"Once he's suffered enough."

Dawn's eyes widened and she wiped the tears from her eyes. "You mean you were going to forgive him all along."

Buffy sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, Dawn? No. Regardless of why, he put you in danger. That's a pretty unforgivable sin in my book. But," she added firmly interrupting her sister's protest; "I know you were far from innocent in the whole matter. But listen to me, Dawn. Listen very carefully. You get him to help you with any more dangerous stunts, any more black magic spells, and he and I are through. And he won't be allowed anywhere near you. I'll do whatever it takes to ensure that. You understand me?"

Dawn nodded, her lip trembling.

"Good. Now go back to bed."

Dawn nodded again, then turned abruptly and ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room.

Spike watched as Dawn ran up the stairs and back to her bedroom. He couldn't help but see the tears in her eyes and his heart broke anew. Looking towards Buffy he saw the cold anger in her eyes as she glanced at him and then she returned to her friends and shut him out. Spike pushed away from the wall. No need to hang about. It was pretty obvious that she wanted naught to do with him.

He started to walk towards the door when Buffy snapped out, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home. I'm not needed or wanted here."

"Sit down, Spike. We may have questions for you."

Spike stared at her for an instant, gave one brief nod and sat down. Willow and Tara exchanged curious glances but didn't ask any questions. Returning to the discussion at hand Willow addressed Riley. "So I'm not sure if it'll work, but if you bring a piece of the demon with you tomorrow we may be able to locate the general vicinity where the lure was coming from. There should still be magical traces like an ant trail. Don't know if it'll work but we can try anyway."

"Okay, good. Thanks, Will. Riley, we all have classes tomorrow and then I have a meeting with the estate lawyer at four. I should be home between five and five-thirty. Why don't you and Sam come to dinner at six and then the girls can try the location spell."

"Sam?" Willow asked.

Buffy looked chagrined. "Oh gosh, Riley, I'm sorry. With all the interruptions tonight I forgot to tell them. Riley's married. We met his wife earlier."

Willow looked shocked. "You're married? Wow. Congratulations. Okay, well you have to bring her tomorrow night. I'll call Xander and Anya cause they'll kill me if they don't get to meet her too. We'll have a big family dinner and then on to the magic."

Riley stood up and smiled. "Sounds good. We'll see you tomorrow night." Glancing over to where Spike silently sat he said, "You want me to take Spike with me, Buffy?"

"No."

"Okay, but anytime you need me to take him off your hands, let me know."

"Good night, Riley," Buffy said firmly.

"Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Riley,"

As Buffy walked Riley to the door, Willow and Tara began cleaning up the used coffee cups and carried them to the kitchen. When they returned, Buffy was locking the front door.

"Well, good night, Buffy."

"G'night, guys. Thanks."

The two girls nodded, glanced at where Spike still sat and then retreated up the stairs. When Buffy heard their bedroom door close she walked into the living room and stood looking at Spike.

"As long at Riley and his unit are in Sunnydale, I don't want you staying at your crypt."

Spike looked up at her in surprise. "You worried your ex is gonna stake me, love?"

"I think there's a real possibility. So you stay here until they go."

"Alright. Tell the girls to mind they don't pull the curtains tomorrow morning, else you'll have a scorched couch and a dusty mess to clean up." He tried to sound cheerful, but he just sounded sad.

"You're not sleeping on the couch, Spike."

"Oh. Where then? The basement?"

"No." And then turning away, she slowly walked up the stairs towards her room.

Chapter 23

Taking a deep breath, Spike rose from his chair and followed Buffy up the stairs. He had no illusions that he was being invited to her bed. She was still pissed enough to stake him herself. And that was it, wasn't it? He'd felt warmed that she'd shown concern over his safety with Riley in town, but the truth was if she felt he needed staking she'd do it herself, not farm it out to her ex. Just as he reached the top landing, Buffy came out of her room carrying her nightclothes. She entered the bathroom without saying a word to him and closed the door. Spike entered her bedroom and then stood there unsure what to do. It wasn't the first time he'd been here, of course. It was the first time she'd invited him there though. But this wasn't the way he'd imagined it. He imagined them wrapped in each other's arms, so hot for each other it was a wonder the walls didn't burn. Falling onto that bed. Making love. How many times had he dreamed of making love to Buffy in her own bed? Too many to count. But now things were buggered all to hell.

Buffy returned to the bedroom and closed the door. She was dressed in a tank top and cotton pajama bottoms. Her face was freshly scrubbed and her hair freshly brushed. He could smell the mint from her toothpaste. Spike didn't think she'd ever looked more beautiful. She walked to the bed without saying a word to him, pulled off the bedspread and slid under the covers.

"Come to bed, Spike."

At his surprised look, she added, "But stay on your own side."

Spike shrugged out of his duster and then sat down on the edge of the bed to remove his boots. Next went his shirt and belt. Leaving his jeans on, he lay stiffly beside Buffy on top of the covers. She was lying on her side with her back to him. Reaching over she turned out the light. They lay there in the dark: motionless, silent.

"I'm sorry, love."

"You could have gotten her killed, Spike."

"I'd die myself first before I'd let anything touch her."

"And after you were dead? She told me what happened down there. Once that demon killed you, Spike, she wouldn't have had a chance."

"Yeah, I know," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Buffy turned around until she was facing him. "I told Dawn and now I'm telling you. You help her do anything dangerous like that again, you help her to break into any shops or do magic spells or so much as sneak into the movies, and that's it, Spike. I will not tolerate you or anyone else putting Dawn in danger. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"And if you find out she's up to something and you can't stop her yourself, you'd better hie your ass to me and tell me. You got that?"

"Got it. Stop her or run to you singin' like a canary."

Buffy reared up on one elbow, her body stiff. "You think I'm joking, Spike?"

"Not in the least, love." He reached out to touch her but drew his hand back uncertainly. "And I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to keep the Bit safe, even from me."

Buffy flopped down on her back. "Good," she said huffily.

They were silent again for a while.

"Spike?"

"Yeah, love?"

"If I get killed..." Before she could continue her sentence, he was leaning over her, his hand pressed over her mouth shutting off her words.

"Don't say it, Buffy! Don't even think it. Nothing's going to happen to you. I won't allow it."

Buffy smiled slightly under his palm. Reaching up she pulled his hand away from her mouth. "I'm the Slayer, Spike. The odds are..."

His hand covered her mouth again. "I've got your back, Slayer," he said in a gentle voice.

She pulled his hand away again. "I know," she whispered. Reaching up, she gently stroked his face. "But promise me that if anything happens to me you'll still watch out for Dawn, protect her."

"That goes without saying, love. You know I'll protect her until the end of the world."

"Thank you, Spike. Now take your pants off and get under the covers." He rolled off the bed, dropped his jeans, jerked back the covers and slid into the bed before Buffy drew two breaths. Sliding up next to her, he tentatively reached out an arm to draw her to him. She rolled over into him and he grasped her head kissing her ravenously. She wrapped one of her legs around him pulling him to her and he slipped his hands under her shirt rubbing her back as he moved to kiss her neck and shoulders.

"Love you. Love you so much."

Buffy sucked in her breath as his touch ignited flames within her. "Spike, we have to be quiet."

"Mmmmm."

He pushed her shirt up and over her head and took a breast into his mouth. Buffy hissed as he sucked and ran his tongue over the hardened peak. Moving his mouth back up he recaptured her mouth and pulled her hips into his groin. All his movements were fast, desperate, almost frantic. Slipping his thumbs into the waistband of her pajama bottoms he pushed them down and off. They lay on their sides facing each other, kissing and caressing and when he reached down to pull her leg up, she hooked it over his waist allowing him to enter her. As soon as he was in her, he quieted, holding her tightly against him. They stayed like that, arms wrapped around each other, kissing, hips moving slowly as they loved, desire building until Buffy gasped and locked around him. He held her securely to him, his head resting on her shoulder and poured himself into her.

He rolled onto his back, bringing Buffy with him. She curled against his side, one leg thrown over his, her arm resting across his chest. Snuggling into a comfortable position, she placed one kiss on his chest, closed her eyes and slept. Spike smiled, murmured, "Love you," and followed her into sleep.

***

Since Buffy didn't have a class the next day until eleven, she slept in. When her alarm went off, she climbed out of bed, yawned, stretched and left the bedroom to take a shower. Returning sometime later, she noticed that her sleeping vampire was still unconscious.

She stood and watched him for several minutes, but he made no movement at all. No twitches, no rising or falling of his chest from breathing, nothing. She thought she should probably be creeped out by his corpse-like stillness but to her amazement, she found it really didn't bother her at all. And just as she was coming to this realization, he reached out for her and came awake instantly when he realized he was alone in bed.

Blue eyes locked onto her and noted she wore nothing but a towel. An appreciative look came over his face. "Did I miss shower time?"

"Yep. I was just about to get dressed. I have a class in less than an hour."

"Sure you don't want to skip that class? Take another shower?"

Buffy hesitated, but then resolutely went to her dresser and began to pull out underclothing. "Can't. Big exam coming up and I need all the class time I can get in this course."

"Bugger. All alone in the house. Hot and cold running water. Lots to fun to be had in a shower with the right person. Sure you can't stay, love?"

Buffy hesitated for an instant again, tempted by his deep seductive voice, but stepped into her panties and pulled them up under the towel. Dropping the towel but keeping her back to Spike, she slipped on the matching bra and then turned to see that he'd thrown back the covers and was displaying one of his more impressive erections.

"God, Spike, doesn't that thing ever get fed enough?"

"When I'm around you, love? Never."

"Well, it'll just have to go hungry for awhile," she said coming over to him and dropping a kiss on the tip before flipping the covers back over his hips. Spike growled and reached out to grab her but she ducked out of his grasp and went to her closet pulling out a mid-calf length skirt and blouse. After dressing she sat on the bed and pulled on a pair of boots. Going to her dresser, she ran a brush through her hair a few times, put on some lipstick and then walked over to Spike. Leaning down to give him a quick kiss, she said, "Gotta go now."

He reached up to hold her head to deepen the kiss for a moment, then pulling back a bit he murmured, "Love you." She gave him another quick kiss before pulling away and saying, "Get some more sleep, Spike. I'll see you this evening. Oh, and when Dawn gets home, please have some clothes on."

"Will do, love," he grinned.

"And Spike..."

"Don't worry, Buffy. Butch and I will stay outta trouble."

Buffy rolled her eyes and walked out of the bedroom closing the door after her.

***

The front door opened to a whirlwind contained in the small body of a young teenaged girl. Spike glanced up from the television screen and said, "Demons chasing you, Bit?"

"Spike!" Dawn squealed. "Why're you still here?"

"Big sis was afraid that Neanderthal she used to date is out to stake me so I get to hide out here under her protection for the duration of his visit."

"Cool!" Plopping down on the sofa next to the vampire, she asked, "What'ch ya watching?"

"Ricki Lake. See that bloke on the right with the nose ring? Well he's the boyfriend of the chunky bird with the multi-colored hair, but he went and got her sister, that's the mousey lookin' bint with the bad complexion, pregnant. Now personally, I wouldn't sink a fang into the whole lot of 'em, but the audience is all up in arms 'bout what a rotter he is."

"I love watching Ricki Lake."

"'s alright. Prefer Jerry Springer m'self. Least you're assured there'll be a good dust up with that show. Here it's all tears and yelling. Hardly any punches thrown at all."

Dawn nodded in commiseration and settled down to watch as Ricki ensured that her guests were publicly humiliated before a nationwide audience. Despite the lack of physical violence, Spike felt it was an hour well spent.

"So, Spike?" Dawn asked, trying to act nonchalantly as she sipped at the can of soda she'd fetched during a commercial break. "Buffy still mad at you?"

"Nah," Spike assured the girl. "We made up last night." He emphasized his statement by waggling his eyebrows and sticking out the tip of his tongue. Dawn rolled her eyes. "Please do not even explain to me what that means," she insisted disgustedly.

Spike smirked and then sobered. "Look, Dawn."

Dawn immediately stilled and looked at Spike with eyes widened in concern. Spike never called her Dawn unless it was something serious. Very serious.

"We both know your sister is only concerned with your safety. As she should be. But I want you to know that you can always come to me if you're in trouble. I'll always be here for you."

"But Buffy said she'd..."

"I know. And she's right. If I do something that puts you in danger, I deserve to be staked. But I don't want you to think you have to protect me. It's my job to protect you. I just want you know that."

Dawn stared at Spike's sober face and tears came to her eyes. Jerking forward she grabbed the vampire in an awkward hug and said, "I love you, Spike." Then leaping off the couch she ran up the stairs to her room.

Spike swallowed down the lump in his throat. It was the first time anyone had told him they loved him since his mother's death.

Chapter 24

From the amount of chatter coming from the kitchen, Buffy could tell that dinner preparations were in full swing. After hanging her jacket and purse in the closet, she walked through the dining room to stop in amazed wonder at the sight before her. Spike stood at the stove, one of Joyce's old aprons tied under his armpits, stirring a huge pot of spaghetti sauce.

"Well, if it isn't Chef Boy ar Spike," she quipped.

Spike scowled at her and pointing the spoon at her growled, "One more crack out of you, Slayer, and this mess finds a new home in your backyard."

Buffy laughed and coming over leaned in to sample the aroma. "Smells good."

"Too bland," Spike answered, dipping a small bit out into a spoon and offering Buffy a taste. "Tried to talk Tara into adding some crushed red peppers to the sauce but she wouldn't go for it."

Buffy blew on the spoon and then sampled the sauce. "It's perfect the way it is, Spike. Unlike you, the rest of us still have active taste buds."

"That's what we tried to tell him," Dawn interjected from the island counter where she was preparing a salad. Spike opened his mouth to counter when the back door opened and Xander and Anya walked in. Xander took one look at Spike in his apron and said, "Oh, I hope someone captured that on film, cause I'm thinking blackmail."

"Ha, ha."

Buffy was surprised that Xander hadn't had a more virulent reaction to seeing Spike. Xander shrugged.

"Willow threatened rathood."

"Ah."

"So, Riley's married, huh?" He shot a quick glance at Spike. "Too bad."

"Oh, I don't know," Spike said going to the fridge and taking out a beer. "She's seems a nice enough sort if a tad bland. Too good for Finn, of course."

"That isn't what I meant," Xander snapped.

"No?"

"Guys," Willow interrupted from the oven where she was checking on the garlic bread. "I'm thinking Amyrat would love to have two boy rats with her in the cage."

Spike held up his hands in surrender and returned to stirring the pasta sauce. When the doorbell rang moments later Buffy was glad to leave the crowded kitchen and the tension and let in her two guests. Xander and Riley greeted each other with manly hugs and hearty back thumping. "Riley, man, it's so good to see you!" Xander exclaimed. "So how's Brazil? You gonna make it to Mardi Gras you think?"

Riley sighed and gave up. "Don't think so this year." Turning to his wife he introduced her. "Everyone, this is my wife, Samantha. Sam, this is Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara and Buffy's little sister, Dawn."

Sam greeted everyone pleasantly, smiling and shaking hands. Willow and Tara excused themselves to return to the kitchen.

"Dinner will be ready in a little bit. You guys go on into the living room. Riley, can I get you a beer?"

"Sure, Buffy, thanks."

"Sam, what would you like?"

"Wine would be fine if you have it."

"Sure." Returning a few minutes later with the drinks she heard Xander saying, "You know I love the girls and all but I sure miss having another guy around."

"What about Spike?" Sam asked.

Xander snorted. "A) I'm always happy when Spike's not around, and B) I wouldn't call him a guy."

At Sam's confused look, Riley clarified, "Spike's a vampire, Sam." Sam looked at Buffy with shock, "But I thought you were..."

"The Vampire Slayer," Buffy said, shooting Xander a glare. "I am. And Spike is a vampire. And he's my boyfriend."

"Oh," Sam said uncomfortably.

"Spike's good now," Dawn declared with a mulish look on her face.

"Spike can't kill now. There's a big difference, Dawn," Xander said forcefully.

"Look, Xander...."

"Okay, this conversation is over," Buffy interjected firmly. Turning to Sam she asked, "So how is it you came to be in Riley's Black Ops squad."

As Sam told her story, Willow and Tara were busily putting the finishing touches on dinner. When she could politely do so, Buffy excused herself to help. Entering the kitchen she saw Spike sitting at the counter, drinking his beer and talking with Tara as she drained the pasta. He glanced up when she entered and smiled.

"How's everything out there, pet? Xander through slobbering over Dudley Do Right? You know the boy has a serious case of puppy love, don't you?"

"Behave, Spike. Is everything ready to go on the table, Tara?"

"Yes, you can tell everyone dinner's ready, okay, Buffy?"

Nodding, Buffy returned to the living room and called everyone in to eat. The dinner went well although it was evident from the beginning that Riley wasn't happy to see Spike back in Buffy's good graces. There was also Dawn's obvious partisanship of Spike. But a few well-aimed glares from Buffy and Willow's resolve face kept all combatants in neutral corners. Sam cast more than one curious glance at Spike, especially when he poured crushed red peppers onto his serving of spaghetti and then ate it with obvious relish.

After dinner, the dining room was cleared and the dishes left to soak while Tara and Willow prepared to do the location spell in hopes of finding traces of the lure used to bring the Suvolte to Sunnydale. When everything was ready, the lights were dimmed, the candles lit and the two witches began the incantation. The map of Sunnydale and the surrounding area began go glow until a thin phosphorescent green line wove its way erratically around the surface and then stopped. They had the origin of the lure.

Turning the lights back on they studied the area indicated. It was Buffy who made the connection first. "Son of a..."

"What?" Riley asked. "You know who it is, Buffy?" He couldn't help but glance once more at Spike.

"Spike, Xander, look at the map. Anything ring a bell?"

The two men stood next to each other and stared at the map. It was Spike's rumbling growl and brief shift into game face that finally clued Xander in to what he was looking at.

"Warren's house."

"Warren?" Riley asked, instantly alert.

"Oh. Oh! Oooh," Willow said with dawning comprehension. Turning she hurried to the corner of the room where the materials taken from Warren's basement were stored. Grabbing up the binder, she returned to the table and began flipping through the pages. Stopping, she handed the opened catalog to Buffy. "Here it is."

Riley and Sam looked over Buffy's shoulder and saw a drawing of the Suvolte along with a descriptive passage.

"Riley, how long ago was it that the Suvolte started its journey to Sunnydale?"

"About ten days ago. Why?"

"That deranged little moron even knew it was a killer and he still summoned it," Buffy said through gritted teeth.

"Who is this Warren, Buffy? Do you think he's The Doctor?"

"He's a megalomaniac and a big pain in my ass, but I don't think he's an international arms dealer. He and two other boys, one of whom, by the way, is a demon summoner, have been causing me trouble lately, including summoning demons to keep me busy. Last week I broke up all their equipment and confiscated their books and papers and chased them out of town. If they were involved with anything like you're talking about, we haven't found any mention of it."

"Is this all their stuff?" Riley asked going to where Willow had retrieved the binder." He picked a few things up and glanced though them.

"Yeah. Willow and Tara have been going through everything when they have the time but haven't really discovered what they're up to yet besides pretending to be Super Villains."

"I think I should take this, Buffy. We can go through all this faster than you guys can. If this Warren is The Doctor, we need to find out and stop him."

"I suppose you can take it, Riley," Buffy said dubiously. "Everything except the demon catalog. That's too useful to us. But we don't know where Warren and the others are right now." Turning to Willow she asked, "Do you think you can do another location spell, this time to find them? I wouldn't mind having Riley's team pay them a visit even if they aren't the arms dealer he's looking for."

Willow shrugged. "I can try."

The table was set up for another location spell but no matter what Willow tried it fizzled.

"Sorry, Buffy. They've blocked any magical means to locate them."

"That's okay. Maybe Warren's mother has heard from him. I can check in the morning."

After Riley promised Buffy to let her know what they discovered, everyone began loading the material into the back of Riley's SUV. Pulling Buffy aside, Riley said, "You know, Buffy, this still doesn't explain why the Suvolte laid its eggs in Spike's crypt."

"Believe me, Riley, Spike has nothing to do with Warren or the others. Why that Suvolte decided to lay its eggs in Spike's crypt, I can't tell you. I can tell you, Spike's not involved."

"I hope for your sake you're right, Buffy. Just remember I tried to warn you if you discover he's not what you thought he was."

Chapter 25

Jonathan watched his two friends as they huddled together and spoke in low voices. He was being left out of the loop more and more lately, ever since he'd protested against Warren's plan to seek vengeance against the Slayer. The loss of the computer material hadn't been that dire since they had everything backed up through an on-line server. Andrew already had a new edition of his demon catalog and they had restored everything to the new computers. They'd replaced much of their equipment through the judicious use of credit card numbers Warren had obtained by hacking into an online vender's records. It was the loss of Jonathan's spellbooks and other hardcopy data that hadn't been scanned into the computers that hurt them the most. Warren's hatred of the Slayer had ratcheted up a notch because of that loss. Not to mention the beating he'd received at the hands of Xander Harris. Warren seemed to hate Xander only slightly less than he hated the Slayer. Spike came third.

Warren no longer seemed interested in anything except taking revenge against the Slayer. And Jonathan was becoming afraid. It was no longer a game. They were no longer playing at being evil. Of course Jonathan now realized they hadn't been playing for a very long time, ever since they'd frozen the guard at the Sunnydale Museum. The fact that the guard hadn't really been hurt didn't mitigate the fact that they'd actually done something that could have caused the man serious injury, even death. And the effects of the invisibility ray had been unexpected. They could have all dissolved into nothingness if Willow hadn't reversed the ray.

But what they'd done to Buffy, almost done to Buffy – that was what had really awakened Jonathan. He'd thought the cerebral dampener would do no more than make them irresistible to women, like his Superstar spell had done. Instead, it had made Buffy an automaton, unable to think for herself, a mindless slave. It had sickened Jonathan. And the fact that it was Buffy made it worse. He liked Buffy. Even more, he admired her. And Warren was picking up on that.

When he'd first met Warren, Jonathan had been in awe of his genius. He'd idolized him. He no longer idolized Warren. Now he was afraid of him. Very afraid.

***

Two days after the dinner party, Riley returned with all the documents he and Sam had taken with them that night. "There's nothing here to indicate that these guys are connected with The Doctor so my Commander ordered me to return all this stuff to you. They may not have anything to do with illegal arms deals, but there's a lot of weird stuff in here. Be careful if you locate them. I don't think they're playing with full decks."

"Yeah, I already figured that out. I talked to Warren's mother again, but she still hasn't heard from him. Maybe they left town altogether and I don't have to deal with them."

"Maybe, but watch your back anyway."

They were standing outside by Riley's SUV. "We haven't had any luck at all finding any evidence that The Doctor is here in Sunnydale. I guess these guys just summoned that demon to harass you. It was an incredibly stupid move and if we had more manpower, we'd leave a detachment here to find them and place them under arrest. Unfortunately, we don't and we've been ordered back to Belize. We leave tonight."

He looked at Buffy silently for a moment and then said, "Buffy, I love my wife, but you know you'll always have a special place in my heart. I hate seeing you with that... with Spike." He held up his hand before Buffy could speak. "I know it's your life. Just remember what he is. Don't trust him. And don't hesitate to stake him when the time comes. He'll betray you, Buffy. He may tell you he won't, but it's his nature to do evil. He is evil. Please, just keep my warning in mind, okay?"

"Be careful in the jungles, Riley. Say goodbye to Sam for me."

Riley sighed realizing that Buffy, for whatever reason – and Riley refused to believe that she could possibly be in love with the vampire - was not going to listen to his warnings. Reaching out, he gave her a brief hug. She hugged him back warmly, but he could tell it was as a friend only. He may still occasionally dream of her, but he doubted he populated her dreams. Getting into the SUV, he started the engine, gave her one more wave goodbye and drove off.

Buffy watched him leave and then returned to the house where Spike waited.

Willow looked up from the pile of materials when Buffy entered the house.

"Everything there, Will?"

"Seems to be. And they gave me an index! How cool is that? Now at least we have an idea as to what's all here. It'll make my job of trying to figure out what their plans were that much easier." Biting her lip, she gave Buffy a guilty look. "Do you think I should have mentioned to him the stack of CD's I forgot I had upstairs? They didn't have a chance to look over the information on them."

Buffy shrugged. "If you find anything that Riley's group needs to know about we can let them know. He gave me his e-mail address."

Willow looked relieved. "Good. I did find some plans on them that looked familiar to me. Tara and I are going to go to the Planning Department in City Hall tomorrow to see if we can find out what they're to."

"Good. Tara, you have that list of realtor's listings handy? I think Spike and I will check a few of them out tonight; see if we can locate those guys. I'm not going to be happy until I know where they are."

Tara silently handed Buffy the list Willow had downloaded earlier that day. Anya had suggested that they check out recently rented properties to see if they could find the three boys. Since magic wasn't working, legwork seemed the only answer.

Buffy glanced to where Spike and Dawn were watching TV together. "Spike, you ready to go on patrol?"

"Sure, pet." Getting up, he went to the coat closet to retrieve his duster. Slinging it on, he then gathered a few small weapons and joined Buffy at the front door. They called good night to everyone and left the house.

"The git patrol leaving town?" Spike asked.

"Yeah. Riley said they couldn't find anything that led them to The Doctor and they were being called back to Belize."

Spike snorted. "Bet it fried him that he couldn't pin it on me."

"Undoubtedly," Buffy smiled.

"So, guess I move back to the crypt tonight, eh pet?"

"Uh, not tonight."

"Like having me in your bed, do you?" he grinned waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Please, Spike, don't get so full of yourself," Buffy said dryly.

He grabbed her and pressed her against a nearby tree. Nuzzling her neck and slipping his hand between her legs he growled, "No, love, it's you being full of me we're talking about here."

Buffy meant to push him away from her, she really did. He was being a jerk, a big sexy, over-confident of his appeal, sexy - oh wait, she'd already thought that - okay then, arrogant, egotistical, conceited, sexy - shit! Giving in, she wrapped her arms around him and turned her head to capture his mouth for a heated kiss.

"I think we should stop by my crypt before patrol, love," Spike coaxed huskily.

"We can do this later, Spike, at home," Buffy protested faintly.

"Too quiet, he growled grabbing her hair in both hands and kissing her hungrily. "We have to be too quiet. I want to hear you scream."

Buffy's knees went weak. A short nod of assent, a last kiss and they headed for Spike's crypt.

An hour later, Buffy's cry of release echoed throughout Spike's bedchamber. Seconds later Spike's own howl followed. He collapsed on top of her, too spent to move. They'd had to be so careful in their lovemaking the past few nights. Buffy hadn't wanted any noise to betray what they were up to in her bedroom. It'd been very frustrating for Spike. He decided that if he ever moved permanently into the Slayer's house, he'd have the bedroom soundproofed. It amused him to think of having Xander do the job.

"Maybe we should just spend the night here," Spike said as he bonelessly rolled off Buffy.

"No," Buffy answered shaking her head in emphasis. "Not until I know for sure that Riley and his team have left Sunnydale. It's safer at the house."

Spike gave Buffy a long look. "You really don't trust him anymore, do you?"

Buffy was silent for a time. Looking over at Spike she answered truthfully, "I don't know. I don't trust the people he works for and that makes me leery of him. Anyway, once we know for sure that they're gone we can get back to normal. Well as normal as it gets in Sunnydale."

Spike chuckled and pulled her to him for a snuggle. They rested together for a few minutes and then Buffy sighed and pulled away. "We really should get on with the patrol and I want to check out a few of those houses.

"Right then," Spike grunted, swinging his legs over the end of the bed. They dressed and went on patrol. Willow had been right about one thing. Since they'd taken what-his-name's demon book, they hadn't encountered any unusual demon or vampire activity in town. But Buffy's spider-sense told her that this was just a lull before the storm. Something was going to happen. She just knew it.

After patrol was finished, they stopped by an all-night market so Spike could buy some cigarettes. Buffy elected to wait outside, and hearing a noise coming from the alley, went to investigate. At first, she didn't see anything although she could hear something moving around behind a dumpster halfway down the alley. Pulling out her stake, she cautiously and silently made her way towards the suspicious noise. She had nearly reached the dumpster when a demon popped up from behind an overflow of refuse that had spilled over into the alley.

The suddenness of its appearance caused Buffy to jump back startled. They stared at each other in equal measures of surprise and alarm. It was without doubt the strangest, and possibly ugliest, demon Buffy had ever seen. It was tall and bulky with baggy pink skin more wrinkled than Dawn's unmade bed, large floppy ears, beady red eyes, long fangs and talon-like nails on the tips of its fingers. After only a second's hesitation, Buffy lifted her stake and lunged towards the demon. It yelped out in distress, stumbled backwards and crossed its arms over its face in a protective gesture. Before Buffy could complete the downward thrust of the stake, a black-leather covered arm shot out and blocked her move.

"Buffy, wait! Don't kill him," Spike yelled.

Buffy gaped at Spike in surprise. "What do you mean, don't kill him? He's a demon, Spike."

"Yeah, I know, love. But he's harmless."

Buffy eyed the demon dubiously. He didn't look all that harmless with the teeth and claws and all, but she had to admit he certainly seemed less than threatening the way he was huddled against the wall staring at her with large, frightened eyes.

"What makes you think he's harmless?"

"I know him."

"You know him?"

"Yeah. Clem, Buffy. Buffy, Clem."

The big demon wiggled his fingers at her. "Hi, Buffy. I've heard a lot about you."

"Is that right?" Buffy said coldly. "I can't say the same about you." She fixed Spike with an icy glare.

Spike shrugged nonchalantly. "Clem and I are old mates. You don't have to worry about him, love. His kind don't hurt humans."

"Then what was he doing lurking here in the alley?"

The demon slowly reached down and picked up a kitten that was winding itself around his ankles. "I was looking for my kitten," he said, holding the squirming ball of fluff out to her.

"A kitten? You have a pet kitten?" Of all the weird things Buffy had come to consider commonplace since becoming the Slayer, this had to be one of the weirdest. A demon with a pet kitten.

"Uh," the demon stammered, glancing at Spike. Buffy's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms.

"Okay, what's up with the kitten?"

Spike sighed, gave a little shake of his head and decided it wasn't worth the trouble he'd get into if he lied to her. "It's a poker chip."

"What's a poker chip?" Buffy asked confused.

"The kitten. It's used as a poker chip."

"You play poker with kittens?" Buffy asked the demon in astonishment. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. What value do kittens have?"

"They make tasty snacks," Clem said enthusiastically.

Buffy's eyes widened in horror. "You eat them?" she exclaimed. "That's... that's..." Holding out her hand she said emphatically, "Give the kitten to me."

As Clem reluctantly handed the kitten to the Slayer, Spike said, "Yeah, that's a good idea, love. You can give it as a pet to Dawn. Shouldn't take too long to get the fleas out of the furniture after you clean it up."

"Fleas!" Buffy squeaked dropping the kitten and brushing off her hands. "That thing has fleas?"

"Well yeah, probably. It's a stray after all."

Buffy watched as the now startled kitten ran away down the darkened alley. That was probably for the best. It was free to live its life and Buffy didn't have the responsibility of taking it home and infesting her house with vermin.

Fleas. Ugh!

Clem sighed as he watched his late-night snack make its escape. Turning back to the vampire and Slayer, he wondered if now would be a good time to make his own escape.

"Well, it was nice to finally meet you, Buffy, but I really should go now. Leno's on in fifteen."

Buffy eyed him for several nerve-wracking seconds. Turning back to Spike she asked, "You sure he doesn't pose a threat to humans?"

"Positive, love."

Buffy sighed and stepped back out of the demon's way. "Okay. I guess you can go. Just don't go stealing people's pets, all right?"

"Sure, Slayer," he said edging carefully away from the tiny girl. "No stealing pets. Got it. Good night. Thanks, Spike. See you next game."

As he began to walk rapidly away, he heard the Slayer snap at the vampire, "See you next game?"