Living For Love - (1) Rolling Into Town
By Tasha

Story Summary: (Sequel to Revenge For Love) Set in an alternate season 3, the story picks up about a week after Revenge For Love ended. Faith and Wesley arrive in Sunnydale, and sparks fly all around. Identities and truths clash with lies and the past. Also thrown in are bits of chaos that Ethan Rayne would be proud to see. The PTB (Powers That Be) decide to interfere in things the rest of the Scoobies wish they wouldn't have. The Council still can't get it through their heads that Sunnydale is off limits. True loves grow, other relationships emerge, old enemies become new again, and new enemies are found. Through it all we shall learn that death is not the end of life for some, merely a new beginning.

Chapter Summary: Faith and Wesley arrive in Sunnydale. Spike and Buffy are there to greet them. Words are exchanged, and the newcomers are given the opportunity to see the truth from the lies they've been told. Will the newcomers listen to what the find out, or will their prejudices and preconceived notions make them turn a blind eye to the possibilities of a new life in Sunnydale?

***Warning: As with Revenge For Love, there will be blood play involved in this story through feeding and claiming. I will not always put a warning at the beginning of each chapter. Please assume that this story is not for those who do not enjoy claiming, sexual situations, innuendos, or partially unconventional relationships that were not listed in the show. Please do not read if you are not of legal age to be doing so or if the above items freak you out.***

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

"Will you stop shaking already, Watcherman?" Faith rolled her eyes in annoyance at the man standing next to her.

"But the vamp ... vampires," Wesley stuttered. Dressed from head to toe in tweed and loafers, the Watcher looked like an easy target for any hungry vamps. The threatening cross in his hand lost most of its danger factor because it shook heavily. He rubbed his elbows and knees to get rid of the dirt and dust on them from his rolling fall in the middle of the street during the fight.

Faith brushed her hands off. "Were you absent during your Watcher training on vampire staking day?" She tucked the stake back in her waistband, up along her spine. "They're gone. I'm not worried about a couple fledges, and neither should you."

"There is no need to be insulting Miss ... " Wesley held onto his glasses with one hand while Faith pulled him along behind her.

Faith stopped abruptly, swung around to face her Watcher, and pinned a steely glare on him. "So help me if you call me Miss anything again you won't need to worry about vampires because I'll kill you myself."

Wesley huffed and puffed in astonishment. His Slayer showed no respect for his training, leadership, or position with the Council. He'd already learned the futility of arguing with Faith. "I still don't understand why the Council didn't arrange for daytime travel accommodations from the bus stop. It is unsafe to travel at night on a," He looked back and forth to check for anyone around them, "Hellmouth," he finished the sentence in a whisper.

"Hello, Slayer here." Faith wanted to throttle her new Watcher. He was quite cute to look at, but his fears were getting on her nerves. She held no doubts about why the Council assigned him to her. "Didn't you get the memo Watcherman? The Council wants me dead, and I'm afraid you are a bonus along for the ride. Two for the price of one deal at the morgue today."

"That's preposterous!" Wesley puffed up his pathetically lacking chest. "My father is renowned with the Council. They wouldn't dare do this to my family."

"You must have disappointed Daddy Dearest one too many times," Faith quipped. She'd only known Wesley for a week, and she already wanted to kill him herself.

A deep male voice emerged from the shadows, "'Fraid that I have to agree with Sparky there Tweed Boy."

"You weren't sent here to save puppies and Christmas," An equally dark, but female voice, followed shortly after the male's voice. "You were given a one-way ticket to Hell and a push to speed up the journey." On the side she muttered to the man next to her, "And Giles thought I was hard to handle?"

Wesley's and Faith's heads snapped in the direction of the voices. Wesley trembled, and Faith took up a defensive stance. Her previous Watchers told her stories about Sunnydale's turned Slayer and her vampire Mate. The tinglies at the back of Faith's neck gave off conflicting vibes from the two that stood before her. Light and dark clashed and mingled together.

"I can tell this one is even more unconventional than you, pet." Spike's shocking blond hair practically glowed in the darkness of the night. His confident swagger radiated his lack of fear in Faith's presence.

The two Slayers sized each other up. Buffy knew she was in no danger from the feisty brunette. The girl had some spunk and fire, but Buffy knew the new Slayer hadn't tapped into her full potential yet. She sensed the tension and repression within the girl even towards her calling. There was a lot under the surface that was waiting for the new Slayer to explore.

Faith knew the creature before her was the Buffy Summers she'd heard about. The Council lied to her about many things, but Faith felt the power that surrounded the blonde couple. Something about that power drew her to it, as if something within her recognized a call was being sent to her. Buffy Summers was a force to be cautious of, and she was dangerous. After the visit from a very interesting woman in England, Faith wondered if she really needed to be afraid of Buffy, or were they on the same side?

"I see the Council hasn't lost all its gall," Spike said before he lit the end of his cigarette. He took a long drag from it before he added, "You would think they'd learn after the last little incident." He shifted from his game face back into his human guise.

"I would have relished the look on Travers' face when the Coven taught him a lesson last time." Buffy shifted her weight back on her left foot and crossed her arms over her chest. She'd already retained her human face shortly after she emerged from the shadows. "It seems he might need a refresher course. I believe we told him never to send any of his lackeys our way again. Yet, here we have a new pair entering our town."

Wesley gaped at the pair in shock. Quentin Travers was never someone that it was wise to upset. The fact that the pair spoke so nonchalantly about putting the head of the Council in his place sent a chill down his spine. No one would dare go up against Travers in such a blatant manner. Right? If they were willing to take Travers head on, what else were the demons capable of?

Spike watched Wesley's every move. He had no worries about Buffy's abilities, but people weren't always what they seemed. He inhaled deeply with the next pull of nicotine into his body. "Ah, there's nothing like the fresh smell of fear to start the day off right." He flicked his cigarette butt at Wesley.

"Stop teasing them, Spike." Buffy moved a step closer to Faith. "He's not that bad once you get to know him."

A small streak of bravery shot through Wesley. "I do not wish to become acquaintances with vampires and other demons." He decided that he'd die with at least a little dignity.

Spike laughed softly. 'He has a bit more backbone than I thought he had, pet.' He spoke to Buffy's mind without looking at her.

"If you want to learn the truth, and survive on this Hellmouth, you'll make many demon friends." Buffy made a promise to Giles to bring the new Watcher and Slayer to their group, but the stuck up man was making that difficult. "Not every demon is bad, and not all humans are good." She resisted the urge to grab Wesley by the collar and strangle him.

"That wanker Travers is right up there in the evil human category," Spike piped up. He walked up next to Buffy, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. "He's done things that many demons wouldn't think about doing to another human." He offered Buffy his support through his touch and nearness.

"I'm Buffy Summers, and this is Spike," Buffy made brief introductions. She looked at the confused expression on Wesley's face. "You probably know him as William the Bloody, the Slayer of Slayers." She directed her comment at the Watcher. When Wesley's eyes widened, she knew her message of just how dangerous they could be was well received. "We're here to tell you that the Council is not welcome in this town."

"How nice," Wesley took a couple steps back as he spoke, "We'll just be going then." He had no wish to die, and retreat sounded like the best option. He was confused as to what reason the slayer of Slayers would have for being aligned with a vamped Slayer. He assumed that Buffy Summers must be evil if Spike was willing to keep company with her.

"The Council isn't exactly a friend of mine either. They don't appreciate my style." Faith extended her arm behind Wes before he was able to turn around and move too far away. "They haven't done me any favors. I had a feeling this trip was a death sentence."

"Faith!" Wesley exclaimed. "Surely you aren't considering going anywhere with these demons?"

Spike growled, "Be careful who you call demon, Watcher Boy." His advance was halted by Buffy's soothing voice.

"Don't judge what you truly know nothing about." Buffy set a thick wire-bound book on the ground and a couple scrolls. "You have 36 hours to read these and decide whose side you're on. Your safety in this town is guaranteed until then."

"And after that?" Faith asked.

Spike interrupted Buffy's response with a threat directed at Faith and Wesley, "If you go about killing some of Sunnydale's faithful non-human citizens, your safety is null and void." He narrowed his gaze on both of them.

Wesley gulped, and Faith nodded her head in understanding.

"There are instructions for contacting us among the documents," Buffy explained.

Spike finished the explanation, "Either you contact us before the 36 hours are up or leave this town. The Hellmouth is well guarded without the Council's presence here."

"You may only take with you what you brought in, which means you leave the information we just gave you." Both blond supernatural beings vanished back into the shadows. Buffy's voice drifted off into the night, "I hope we can count on you, Faith."

Wesley picked up the book and scrolls. "You do realize this is even ludicrous to consider? We should report this to the Council at once."

"Wake up and smell the Earl Grey, Watcher." Faith was more than exasperated with the tweedy whiner. "The Council sent us here to die." She snatched the book from Wesley's hands and walked down the street towards the nearest hotel.

"You have only the word of two demons to support that hypothesis." No matter what the two demons had said, he refused to believe his assignment, as Faith's Watcher, was a death warrant.

"Let's just say I had a bit more of a warning than you did." Faith rolled her eyes. "We have a 36 hour reprieve right now. Why don't you call your precious Council and see just how surprised they are to hear you're alive still?"

Wesley followed Faith into the first hotel they found. "I believe I shall call, if only to prove your support of the demon's accusations is wrong."

Faith checked them in at the hotel, and Wesley blustered at her choice of a double queen bed suite. He was used to his privacy, and he was not accustomed to sharing a living space with a young woman. "We should not sleep so close to each other. It is not proper."

Faith rolled her eyes. She argued that it was the most economical way to stretch their funds on hand. She told him to shut up, slapped a key card into his hand, and headed for the elevator. "I'm sure I can keep myself from ravishing you, Watcher. Don't worry about it."

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(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (2) Intelligence or Ignorance?
By Tasha

Chapter Summary: Faith and Wesley look over the information they were given by Spike and Buffy. Everyone else waits to hear from Faith and Wesley on their decision to stay or go. Will the newcomers listen to what the find out, or will their prejudices and preconceived notions make them turn a blind eye to the possibilities of a new life in Sunnydale?

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

Wesley removed his glasses. He chewed on the end of one of the arms while he read some of the information in the book he was given. "This is extraordinary."

Faith looked up from her position across from Wes. Her feet were on the table, and she leaned back in her chair far enough that two of the legs were up off the floor. "What is?" She'd listened to Wesley mutter several "Good Lord's" and "Bloody Hell's" over the last two hours they'd been reading.

Wesley nearly dropped his glasses. He'd been so engrossed in his reading that he forgot Faith was even in the same room with him. He glanced over at Faith. "If we are to believe this information is accurate, it flies in the face of all the Council's has taught for hundreds of years."

"You mean the gibberish the Council pushes off as the gospel truth?" Faith snorted in disgust. Ever since she found out about being a Slayer, she'd felt like an even bigger freak than she was before. The Council treated her like she was an abnormality of "Slayerhood" as well. The documents in front of her said she wasn't a freak. She actually felt a little more special.

"You should not be so disrespectful towards your calling or your elders," Wesley chastised. "Being a Slayer is a honored position, and the Council simply tries to guide you girls in the right direction. They only want to help you."

"The Council is made up of a bunch of dictators who get upset if their toys don't play like they want them to," Faith snarked. She was fed up with the mentality that she belonged to anyone other than herself. The scroll she read gave her a purpose, but she also felt freer than she had since first knowing about her calling.

"Why I never," Wesley blustered on in self-righteous frustration. "I'm sure the Council will be interested in seeing these papers. They are probably not aware of this information being spread around, and it would be helpful to ..."

"Wait a minute tweed boy." Faith jumped up from her chair. She snatched the book out of Wesley's hands. "I don't think B gave us this stuff to hand it over to the Council. Remember her little pep talk about only leave with what you came with?"

Wesley stood up, grabbed the book in Faith's hands, and wrestled her for it. "Then she shouldn't have given me proof of her blasphemy." He fell to the floor after a hard yank away from Faith lost his grip on the book. "B?" He questioned from his position on the floor.

"B stands for Buffy Summers, a little nickname." Faith almost laughed at the gobsmacked look on Wes' face. "Don't tell me you didn't believe that she was who she said she was?"

"We have no proof of her claim, except the documents given to us by demons." Wesley slipped his glasses back on his face, and he worked his way back up into a chair at the table.

"I'm telling you this straight up, Watcher. She is who she says she is." Faith remembered the different type of tinglies she felt around the blonde pair. "I could feel it. She's a lot more than your everyday vampire. That Spike guy is different too."

"That is where you must be wrong. Hence your hypothesis about Miss Summers is inaccurate as well." Wesley grabbed a book out of his leather attaché. He tossed it in front of Faith on the table. "Spike is also known as William the Bloody, the Slayer of Slayers, and he is a member of the Scourge of Europe. He was a ruffian before his turning, and he was a murdering fiend afterwards. The Council has this documented already. He is a normal evil vampire."

"Just like the Council is right about everything, Watcher? I don't think so." Faith shook her head back and forth. "I don't care what this book says. I know what I felt."

"You are still a fairly new Slayer. Perhaps your radar is off." Wes refused to believe that the vampire he'd read about during his youth was anything other than what he already knew him to be.

"There is something different about both of them. I'm positive about it." Faith grabbed Wes by the lapels of his tweed jacket. She pushed him up against the wall of the hotel room. "And I'm tired of you second guessing my choices or telling me that I'm wrong. I'm the Slayer, not you."

Wes gulped hard when Faith released him. He watched her gather up the rest of the documents from the table. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to arrange a meeting with Mr. Rupert Giles, her old Watcher." He wasn't convinced yet, but Rupert Giles was a name Wes respected while he underwent his Watcher training.

"I won't let you hurt them," Faith declared defiantly. "No matter what you decide, I'm not leaving Sunnydale."

"Until I meet with Mister Giles, I will not make a decision. I think you are not wise in your course of action." Wesley straightened his jacket and backed away from Faith.

Before Faith was able to say anything else, the phone rang. Faith and Wes stared at the phone. Neither of them was sure who should answer it or who wanted to.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike laughed from his position across the hotel parking lot. "The pillocks are staring at the phone as if it is cursed." He nearly doubled over in laughter. "This is priceless."

"Be good." Buffy turned around and solidly punched Spike in the upper arm.

"I'm always good, baby." Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy's mid-section. "I can make you scream my name for hours without breaking a sweat."

"None of that. We're on a mission." Buffy's body quivered and her legs wobbled. "Besides we can't sweat, remember?"

"You're no fun." Spike pouted like a child who had his favorite toy taken away. "Who knows what other perks we'll keep finding out about? I may end up sweating like a pig."

"Ewww!" Buffy made a disgusted face at Spike. "Could you be any more gross, Spike?"

Spike nibbled on the side of Buffy's neck near his mating mark. He growled deep in his chest, and one of his hands pinched the hardened pebble of her nipple through her top. "I thought there was nothing about my body you didn't like, pet?" He whispered near her ear.

"That's not fair, Spike. That's being evil." Buffy whimpered. She tried to squirm away from his grasp, but her body betrayed what her mind told her she should do. "I promise you lots of loving when we get home, but for now we need to concentrate on those two." She shifted in Spike's embrace. "We have to know if they'll be waiting around the corner to shoot an arrow into my heart or not."

Spike sighed. His Childe and Mate knew his one weakness, his Achilles Heal. Her safety and happiness were the most important things to him. He would give his unlife if it meant she would continue to walk the Earth. "Now who's playing dirty pool? You know I can't fight you when you use that argument."

"Good, at least I have one ace in the hole." Buffy smirked.

"You have a lot more than that, and you know it." Spike snuggled up behind Buffy, and he focused his attention back on his acute sense of hearing.

One thing Buffy and Spike found out early on was that if they gave it any thought, they heard things over much greater distances than normal vampires. It was both a helpful and annoying trait. With some focusing and meditation techniques they learned from Giles, they were able to fine tune the sense to assist them. They were able to turn it "off" when they didn't need it too.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Despite his earlier blustering, Wes hadn't contacted the Council yet. A part of him was afraid the accusations were true. It was unwise to arrive in a Hellmouth at night. No arrangements were made for lodging ahead of time either. Travers told him that there were always vacancies at the hotels. So, a reservation wasn't necessary ahead of time. Now, he wondered if Travers expected them to be dead before lodging was necessary.

Faith pushed Wes closer to the phone. There was no way she was answering it. Her gut tightened, waiting to find out who was on the other end.

Wesley slowly grabbed the phone's handset. His hands shook, and he put the receiver up to his ear.

"Mr. Wesley Wyndham-Price?" A distinctly British accent floated over the telephone line.

"Yes," Wesley answered with a slight tremor in his voice. 'Who else knows we are in Sunnydale and where we are staying?' He thought to himself.

"Hello," The male voice started off the conversation politely. "My name is Rupert Giles. I believe you are familiar with my name."

"Indeed, Mister Giles." Wesley paced back and forth from the nightstand to the end of his bed. "You were a well respected Watcher until the scandal in Sunnydale."

"Scandal?" Giles laughed on his end of the phone. "You make it sound like I had a shameful affair with my charge instead of seeing the light out of the darkness that we've been taught."

"Why ... I would ... never suggest ..." Wesley stuttered and turned several shades of red.

"Relax Mr. Wyndham-Price." Giles tried to calm the young Watcher. 'This one is wound pretty tight.' He switched the phone to his other ear. "I find it amusing to hear what attribute the Council has given my actions and decisions over the last year."

"I am perplexed myself about the reasons you chose this path, Mr. Giles." Wesley sat down on the edge of his bed. "You were a well respected man both intellectually and dutifully, despite the lapse during your young adulthood years."

"You feel I have turned my back on the oath I took to train the Chosen One and remove all evil, even at the expense of my own life?" Giles had gone over his oath many times in the first weeks after they broke away from the Council. He'd nitpicked every line. In the end, he felt that he had stayed true to the intent of the oath.

"You allow demons to roam free and unchecked," Wesley stated succinctly. "I met two of them when we came into town. You can't honestly believe that she is still your Slayer?"

"I believe exactly that because it is true." Giles defended his choices and Buffy's destiny. It wasn't the destiny that he thought she'd have, but now he was glad that his Slayer wasn't the same trained puppy that other girls had been in the past. "She is more of a pure Slayer now than she was before. Her soul remains intact."

"It seems unfathomable, Mr. Giles." Wesley absentmindedly scribbled on a notepad on the nightstand. "Your actions fly in the face of the very oath you swore to before God and country."

"Will you stop being a trained prat for a moment and listen to yourself." Giles pinched the bridge of his nose. His glasses had long since been removed earlier in the conversation. "I swore to defend this realm against evil. Not all demons are evil. Many species simply want to live out their lives in peace without our interference in their lives. Hell, I know of many humans who are more evil than some of the demons I've met."

"Where do you draw the line on what is evil or not if you eradicated the guideline you used to live by?" A part of Wesley's mind wanted to open the door to the new knowledge. It rebelled against the training and abuse he'd received at hands of his father and the Council. The more predominant and fearful portion of his mind spat back the arguments his father beat into him. "Are they only evil if they kill children instead of adults? Maybe they are only evil if they kill more than 50 people a year?"

Cursing and a loud male voice echoed from the phone out into the hotel room. Wes nearly dropped the phone in a panic over the unexpected reaction out of who he'd been told was a passive man by nature.

"Give me that! Are you really that much of an idiot?" Faith snatched the phone away from Wes. "You're going to get us killed."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (3) Tentative Steps
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Faith and Wesley read all the information they were given by Spike and Buffy. Spike and Buffy watched the hotel room Faith and Wes shared from across the hotel parking lot. Giles called the hotel room. Wesley insulted and provoked Giles to anger with his accusations and ideas. Faith tried to head things off by taking the phone away from Wesley.

Current Chapter Summary: Joyce, Dalton, Willow, and Xander share information about the Council and the Slayer line while Giles talks to Faith. We also learn a little bit more about Dalton. Giles calms down considerably, and Faith works out a meeting time and place for the next day. Wesley calls the Council in an attempt to ease his fears that they were sent to Sunnydale to die.

Author's Note: I am not sure what Faith's real last name was. For some reason LaHaye came to my mind. So whatever her last name was in the season, it is LaHaye here in this story. {Smiles}

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

"Give me that! Are you really that much of an idiot?" Faith snatched the phone away from Wes. "You're going to get us killed."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Uh oh ... I think the even stuffier Watcher pissed off your Watcher." Spike shook his head back and forth.

"If I heard that tweedy idiot right, then yeah I'm sure he did." Buffy sighed. "I can practically hear the string of British curses that would be coming from Giles' mouth."

"Your Watcher is not a man I would like on my bad side." Spike chuckled. He was glad that he wasn't on the receiving end of Giles' anger.

"His Ripper side isn't as hidden as he would like us to believe," Buffy acknowledged in agreement. "Remember when we rescued you guys from the Council?"

"Oh yeah." Spike nodded. "When that bloke went after Joyce, I thought Rupert was going to rip the guys head right off his body." He gulped. He'd seen anger before, but he hadn't seen such strength and passion from a human before. "That bloke's neck was broken in seconds. He protected her like a true Mate. He lovers your Mum very much."

Buffy shivered. "I'm thinking it is a good thing that their first conversation was over the phone. I don't think Wesley would have wanted to be close enough for Giles to grab him."

"The new guy is still shaking in his loafered feet." Spike laughed.

"He deserves a lot more than that after he opened his mouth to say what he did." Buffy growled. "He's lucky that I'm out here as well, or I'd give him a piece of my mind with my fists."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You ignorant, condescending ..." Giles spat the insults into the phone. " ... Self-righteous prick." He punched the doorframe between the kitchen and dining room in frustration.

"Oh dear." Joyce set the tray of snacks down on the table in the living room. She turned her head in the direction of Giles' voice that continued its litany of British profanities, and other colorful phrases, that would make Spike proud of him.

"I would say things are not going over well with the newcomers." Xander sat next to Willow on the couch. He only recently arrived at the Summers' home after a quick sweep of one of the more passive cemeteries.

"Maybe we were wrong to take the chance on them?" Willow's voice trembled, and she questioned her original vote. She was so tired. Between her magical training, school, and Scooby duties, she was getting worn out. 'It would be nice to have help, but not at the expense of anyone of us.'

Xander smiled warmly at Willow. "We had to try." He squeezed her arm with a comforting hand. "If I could change my mind, anything is possible."

"Every time we encounter someone from the Council I realize more and more how deep their brainwashing is embedded." Joyce shook her head back and forth in sadness. "I'm sure many of the young men we've met are very nice if you agree with their way of thinking."

"Quentin Travers, along with almost everyone involved in the higher Council positions in the past and present, carefully manipulated everything. Those who follow in the lower positions don't know anything other than the altered truths." Dalton sipped from the mug of heated blood Joyce brought to him. "The Watcher's Diaries are thoroughly scoured for any "unorthodox" teachings or recollections of events."

"That's just wrong," Willow spoke up. "The Watcher's diary is supposed to be an accurate first hand account of a particular Slayer's life. They shouldn't change the facts, thoughts and emotions of a Slayer and Watcher just because they don't like how they were."

"That is exactly what they do though." Dalton sat his empty mug on the small table next to his chair. "You would not believe the means they use to ensure that the diaries still appear authentic to each Watcher. For one thing, they hire master forgers to match style and penmanship for any diary rewrites."

Joyce gasped. "So, even later family members and colleagues would believe the journals to be authentic originals?"

"Yes, exactly," Dalton answered.

"What about the Watchers themselves?" Willow questioned. "Wouldn't they realize that their diaries are wrong?"

Xander answered before Dalton could, "Once a Watcher loses his Slayer to death, they usually go into a form of seclusion. Most Watchers are pretty close to their charges, and it kills them when she dies. They don't deal with the Council any more after that."

Dalton nodded. "The Coven has so much knowledge about Council practices, policies, and procedures. They've watched the Watchers for centuries."

"Why did they wait until now to do something about it?" Xander wondered out loud.

"Their vows kept them from stepping in until the right Slayer appeared," Dalton explained. "Without the shift of power in the Slayer line, anything they tried to do would have failed." He'd spent a considerable amount of time doing research with the Coven in England. He'd also sought out other resources to compare notes and versions. The new Scoobies wanted to make sure that another power hungry faction wasn't simply leading them around.

"I can't imagine what else would have happened to Buffy if Angelus hadn't tried to kill her that night." Joyce visibly shuddered. With all they already knew about the Council, she was afraid to learn what other arcane and cruel rituals her daughter would have faced.

"It's scary to even think about being thankful for that." Willow rested her head on Xander's shoulder. She'd spent a long day with her Coven mentor to work on discipline within her magical realm. They'd originally been surprised to find out just how natural her magic came to her.

Willow spent most of her time with her mentor Koran learning control, discipline and meditation. The rest of her time was spent with a shy young Wicca who had the opposite issues to deal with. Her partner was well disciplined, but she lacked the connection with her natural abilities. Koran praised both Wiccas for how well they completed each other's strengths with weakness and weaknesses with strengths.

"I know I'm thankful for it," Dalton spoke without being the least bit ashamed of his statement. Things at the mansion were horrible after Angelus moved them there. He'd been so worried at the factory when the Judge was near completion that he'd hid deep within the factory walls. He had a feeling it was the only reason he was still alive. He'd breathed a sigh of relief when the Slayer killed the blue demon. So many of the releases and freedoms he enjoyed, to be who he really was, he owed to his Mistress Buffy and Master Spike. The family and friends he sat with now in Joyce Summers' home would never have been a reality without the turned Slayer.

Xander and Willow stared at Dalton with open mouths. Both of them thought that Dalton liked Joyce Summers. They couldn't believe that Dalton would make such a statement about her daughter. They glanced over at Joyce Summers, worried about the effect Dalton's words would have on her.

Joyce smiled warmly at Dalton. She understood why he was thankful, and she was glad that positive things were gained out of the whole ordeal. "I'm happy to have you in the family too, Dalton."

Xander and Willow relaxed and little bit, and Dalton beamed. "Thank you, Joyce. You are a very special woman." He adjusted his wire-rimmed spectacles. "I never had a true and caring family until Master Spike and Mistress Buffy."

"Not even before you were turned?" Xander asked. He sympathized with anyone who suffered uncaring and mean parents like the drunken ones he had.

"I was the outcast to them, the black sheep." Dalton sighed. "Even back in my day, being a bookworm in a family of athletic males was a disgrace. I was always looked upon as weak and worthless no matter how scholarly I was." He slumped in his chair a little.

"My parents barely realize I'm alive." Willow sighed. "They never question where I am or what I'm doing. My grades are good, and no calls reach them from Principal Snyder. So, they figure everything is good in Willowland. They're always off doing their own thing or trips."

Joyce's heart went out to the children and Dalton. She cared very much about each of them. Her thoughts drifted back towards her fiancé in the kitchen. The voices in the living room faded into the background, and she attempted to listen in on Giles' conversation again. 'At least the shouting stopped.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Faith held the phone away from her ear. British curses, mixed with American ones, continued for 5 minutes before she dared to interrupt Giles. "Mr. Giles, please give us a chance."

The soft and slightly frightened feminine tones halted Giles mid-tirade. "Miss Faith LaHaye?"

'It must be a British or Watcher thing.' Faith cringed. She didn't want any reminders of the life she carried on before being called, but she needed a last name. So, she'd kept her original one. "Just Faith will be good, Mr. Giles."

"Very well then, Faith." Giles' report from Buffy and Spike stated that Faith matched their information from the Coven. She appeared to be rebellious and spirited in nature.

"I found the stuff B gave us pretty interesting." Wesley's attempt to interrupt Faith's conversation was met with a stern glare from the Slayer.

"It would seem that we were not very successful with our attempt to sway Mr. Wyndham-Price." Giles paused. He considered his next words carefully. "Buffy, Spike and the rest of us had hoped to welcome new allies to the cause."

"Some people aren't as quick on the up take as others." Faith rolled her eyes at Wesley.

Giles stifled a chuckle on his end of the phone. "Are there any questions I can answer for you?"

"Some of it made sense to me." Faith started to feel more at ease talking with Giles. "I still have some questions for B though. She's the only one who could answer them for sure, but I'm sure Watcherman has questions for you."

"I am sure we can find a place to meet and discuss things." The lack of noise in the background on Faith's end encouraged Giles to have hope. At least her Watcher wasn't protesting as loudly anymore.

"It would have to be somewhere in broad daylight." Faith knew there was no way she'd get mister stick-up-his-butt to attend any meetings after sunset. "I'm sure you know why."

"That would be fine. May I please speak with your Watcher again?" Giles requested. He needed both Faith and Wesley at the meeting. They'd see first hand how different Buffy and Spike were. 'Seeing goes a long way towards believing.'

"Hello again, Mr. Giles." Wesley cleared his throat.

"Will you agree to a meeting tomorrow afternoon at the Sunnydale Park?" Giles wasn't about to say anything that could set the young Watcher off again. Right now he wanted a nice hot cup of tea and a long night of restful sleep next to Joyce.

"That would be agreeable," Wesley stopped, and then he added, "Weather permitting of course."

Faith and Giles both rolled their eyes. Giles answered, "Of course. The forecast calls for a nice sunny day, Mr. Wyndham-Price."

"Say two o'clock then?" Wesley asked.

"That is acceptable. I'll see you both at 2 o'clock tomorrow." Giles agreed. "I will be bringing a few colleagues with me to show you the truth."

"No vampires," Wesley emphasized. "I am sure the sun will take care of any unwanted guests for me."

"Agreed." Giles was happy that the conversation was nearly finished. He knew nothing would keep Buffy and Spike from the meeting. "They aren't truly vampires anymore, Mr. Wyndham-Price. You'll see that for yourself tomorrow."

"But ..." Wesley tried to interrupt.

"Good night." Giles hung up the phone before Wesley could call the meeting off. "Good riddance," he muttered under his breath.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Looks like all is set for tomorrow. Rupert better not have agreed to the no vampires rule." Spike growled. "I'm not letting him face that pillock by himself. He's family."

Spike protected family with his very unlife. Giles was of Spike's blood family even before the necessary exchanges for the protection spells. Buffy rubbed her fingertips over Spike's bumpy forehead. He'd been upset enough that he vamped out without knowing it. "Easy there, lover. Giles isn't stupid."

"You're right. Sorry, pet." Spike hugged Buffy closer to him.

"Come on, beloved. I believe that I promised someone lots of nookie if he was a good boy." Buffy nipped Spike's neck hard enough to draw blood, giggled, jumped up, and ran in the general direction of their home.

Spike growled. "You better be prepared to deliver." He jumped up and chased after her. Anyone on the streets that night would have seen a dark blur streak past them along with a light breeze in the wake of the two supernatural beings passing them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After Wesley hung up with Rupert Giles, he decided it would be the best time to contact the Council's Headquarters in England. It was late at night in Sunnydale, but that made it a reasonable time to receive a call in England. Wesley waited for the overseas call to connect through the various switchboards across the ocean. He tapped the top of his pen on the table. "Hello this is Mr. Wesley Wyndham-Price. I'm reporting our arrival and lodging in Sunnydale."

The Council secretary sputtered out, "Please ... please wait on the phone." She knew what the rumor mill was saying. Mister Travers wasn't going to be happy that the young Watcher and Slayer were still alive. She pressed a shaky finger on the intercom button into Quentin Travers' office. "Mister Travers?"

"Yes, Amelia?" Quentin happily leaned back in his chair. He figured that two thorns in his side were finally wiped from the Earth. Wesley and Faith should have arrived in Sunnydale by now, and he was confidant that the former Slayer and her Sire would have killed the two of them. It would give him more fodder against the turned Slayer to use with the disbelievers that remained in the Council's ranks.

"Mr. Wyndham-Price is on line one, Sir." Amelia quickly released the button to avoid hearing Travers' anger.

Quentin Travers jolted up in his chair. He cursed loudly, grabbed the phone, and pushed the button for line one. "Wyndham-Price? How the Hell are you alive?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (4) Threats, Nightmares, and Passions - Part 1
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: A meeting was set between Faith, Wesley and Giles for the next afternoon. Giles has every intention of having Buffy and Spike at that sunny day meeting to prove a point to the wary Watcher. Wesley finally checked in with the Council in England. A shocked, and angry, Travers blurted out quite a faux pas statement asking why the Watcher was still alive. Buffy and Spike chased each other all the way back to their house for a bit of private time.

Current Chapter Summary: Wesley finishes his conversation with Travers, and repercussions abound when the real one who wanted Wesley's death is revealed. Giles and Joyce talk to Willow, Xander and Dalton for a little longer before they head to bed.

Author's Note: I've been told that Faith's name was mentioned once as Lehane. I will try to go back and change it in the previous posts to my web site and elsewhere. If I missed a site, it will still be Faith Lehane from here on out in the chapters. Sorry for any confusion, and thank you to Valerie who sent me a nice email about it. Thanks, Val!

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

(Hotel in Sunnydale)

Wesley stared at the phone in his hands. The beat of the dial tone echoed loudly over the receiver. His hands visibly shook with the pent up fear, adrenaline, and anger that warred within him for dominance. No matter how hard Quentin Travers tried to back out of his initial comment, Wesley knew that the first words spoken were what the head of the Council really felt. 'Faith and I were really supposed to be dead right now.'

Faith stared at Wesley in disgust. She was about to head into the bathroom for a shower when she realized who Wesley was calling. The conversation she heard from Wes' end made her mad. The Watcher told the Council about the meeting. Although he hadn't shared a lot of details, she still felt that he betrayed Rupert Giles and his group. Once Wes hung up, she gathered her toiletry bag and night clothes. Her hand was poised over the door knob to the bathroom.

Wes' shaky voice stopped Faith before she entered the bathroom. "You were right," He choked out the words. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt the tears welling up in the back of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He was enough of a nancy boy already without adding tears to the mix. Faith already had little respect for him. He didn't want to lose the last bit of respect he might have had from her by breaking down in front of her.

"About what?" Faith asked. She'd seen the various expressions move over Wesley's face during the conversation, but even if he was upset Wes shouldn't have given away anything about the meeting. 'Maybe this will get that pole out of his ass,' She thought.

"They sent us here to be killed," Wesley's shoulders slumped as he spoke. He'd recently fought with his father over career opportunities and placements within the Council. Wes' questions about some of the Council's ethics seemed to infuriate his father, but he never expected the man to have him killed for it. There was no love lost between father and son, but did his father really hate him that much?

"I've been telling you that all night long," Faith sighed in exasperation. "What made the revelation a bit clearer for you?" She stood facing Wes with a hand on her hip and tapping her foot.

"Mr. Travers let something slip at the beginning of the conversation." Wes nervously gathered the books and papers that were on the table in their hotel room out of an old habit to keep himself occupied when his thoughts were in turmoil. "It was too obvious for even the great motivator to back around it."

Faith wasn't unfeeling of the Watcher's plight, but she figured that some of the turmoil he brought on himself. He had refused to acknowledge what was plainly in front of his face.

"No one would have dared to order our execution if my father didn't sanction it. The Wyndham-Prices are too wrapped up in Council history and politics for that to go unnoticed." Wesley turned away from Faith to hide the emotions on his face from her. "My own father ... I can't believe it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Council Headquarters in England, Travers' Office)

Roger Wyndham-Price, Wesley's father, strolled into Travers' office. He had been waiting for the news that his son's demise was taken care of. Although it was a nasty business to deal with, it was necessary in his eyes. Wesley would never be anything other than a black mark in their family line. If the vamped Slayer killed him, Wesley would gain more credibility and respect in death than the Watcher ever had in life.

Quentin Travers looked up at the man who entered his office. At first he was going to snap at the person who dared invade his sanctuary, but he thought better of it when he saw Roger. Roger Wyndham-Price was even more of a vicious man at times than himself. Usually he would applaud and praise such a man, but now Travers was going to be the one to bear the brunt of Price's anger.

"Is it finished?" Roger Wyndham-Price asked the head of the Watcher's Council. His voice held strong and firm. He expected the death order to have been carried out.

"There seems to have been a problem."

"A problem?" Roger stalked closer to Travers' desk. The anger in his eyes matched the tension of his stance. "What do you mean problem?"

"It would seem that Ms. Summers did not take the action we expected her to." Travers gulped. "That one's always been a bit unpredictable. Otherwise we wouldn't be dealing with this in the first place."

"Are you trying to tell me that he is still alive?" Roger leaned on Travers' desk with his knuckles pressed against the top of it hard enough to whiten them.

"Temporarily, but I'm sure it won't last," Travers tried to rush his sentences out before Roger became physically violent against him. "He's meeting with Rupert Giles tomorrow under the guise of cooperation. He assured me that he will gather more information from the traitor and report it back to us."

Roger Wyndham-Price slammed a fist into the desk hard enough to splinter the wood around his hand and make a hole in the top. "That is unacceptable!" He roared out angrily.

"Once Ms. Summers finds out about that, she is sure to eliminate your son." Travers tried to stand firm, but even he was intimidated by Roger's stature. "It shouldn't be a problem."

"Rupert Giles is going to use every means necessary to gain another ally." Roger paced back and forth across the office in slow measured steps. "Did you forget that my son used Rupert Giles as his guideline and mentor when he was a Watcher in training?"

"No, of course I didn't." Travers gulped. 'Bloody Hell,' He thought. "It matters not. Your son is a dedicated Watcher. He won't fall for their lines."

"You had better bloody well hope not." Roger spun around towards Travers' desk. He grabbed Quentin by the collar of his tweedy jacket and shoved him back into his hard-backed chair. "I will not have that boy disgracing my family name further by joining that riff raff. If that boy does not come back to HQ with a book of information on the Sunnydale happenings, I will have your balls on a platter by tea time."

Quentin Travers' face remained impassive, but his inner mind was in an turbulent whirlwind of fear and anger. He held onto the arms of the chair until Roger let go, and he didn't relax at all until the door closed behind the man. 'Bollocksed that one up.' He slumped down in his chair, drew his full hand over his face, and shook his head back and forth. 'What a fine mess we have now.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Summers' Home)

Warm female arms wrapped around Giles from behind. Joyce's fingers gently rubbed tiny circles up and down his chest. "That didn't sound good, but it wasn't all bad either."

Giles entwined one of Joyce's hands with his. He brought her hand to his mouth, and he kissed the top of each knuckle carefully. "I hope tomorrow goes much better, Dove."

"We have to hope it will." Joyce kissed the back of Giles' neck near his shoulder. She loved it when he called her Dove. It was his special nickname for the woman he loved. "Buffy and Spike can take care of a problem, but it would be nice to have more help. Having another 2 sets of eyes, ears, and hands would free up more study time for Buffy, Xander and Willow."

"I know." Giles turned around. His arms automatically cuddled Joyce in a tender embrace. "They've had so many changes in their lives already. I want them to have some good things to look back on from their senior year of high school."

"I'm so proud of them, but I'm also sad to see their "carefree childhood days" ripped away from them so cruelly." Joyce rested her cheek against Giles' shoulder. "I know Buffy wouldn't have found her peace and purpose if she hadn't fought Angelus that night, but sometimes I wish we could have stopped it."

"We have to take the good with the bad, Dove. Unfortunately having the fate of the world on your shoulders, and being forced to face the darkness of pure evil, will change anyone." Giles guided Joyce back into the living room while he talked. "Buffy's life is very complicated."

Willow, Xander, and Dalton stopped their conversation to listen to the two adults chatter. All three of them had agreed that they would find a way to be near the meeting place tomorrow. Dalton would have to be near in the tunnels, but he'd have an escape route ready for them if need be. None of them were leaving Buffy and Spike at the mercy of what seemed to be a temperamental newcomer.

"The original reason for removing a potential Slayer from her family was to uncomplicate her life," Giles explained. "That way she wouldn't have the worry over protecting her family and friends specifically because they wouldn't be a target for the forces of evil. The Watchers were supposed to help the potential Slayer with the transition to make it more natural, less of a shock to them, if they were called."

"Until Buffy was called, no one ever approached us from the Council." Joyce remembered Buffy's story about her first Watcher named Merrick. Joyce only saw the man once, and she now knew that it was after Buffy was already called.

"I've never quite figured out how Buffy slipped through the cracks," Giles said with curiosity. "Maybe it was the only way the Powers That Be could ensure that she was unsoiled by the Council's main influence?"

"It's too bad the Watcher's Council changed their main focus from transitional to dominating. If they'd kept up with guiding them in their training without trying to turn them into killing robots, we'd all be better off," Xander offered his opinion.

Dalton followed Xander's words with some of his own, "I agree, Xander." He adjusted his spectacles higher up on his nose. "The Council's history suggests that they had good intentions to start with, but they let their egos, a lust for power, and a desire to control, get in the way of their original goals."

"My mentor said that for a couple centuries the Coven worked very closely with the Council," Willow imparted some of her knowledge on the group. "They assisted in bringing the new Slayers in harmony with their mystical sides. As time pass, the Council forced the Coven out of the path of potential Slayers, and they ignored the mystical training completely. The Council didn't want the Slayers to know just what they were made from or what power they carried."

Giles and Joyce listened to Xander, Willow and Dalton. They were both very proud of the contributions to the group from the three of them. All three gave all of themselves to the cause, and no one felt left out. If one started to falter, one of the other two "stepped up to the plate".

Behind all of Xander's jokes was a shy and insecure young man. He'd gained a lot more confidence in himself when he stood up to the Council representative on Buffy's behalf. He earned and gained more respect for himself, and with the group, when Willow, Giles and Spike were kidnapped. He'd acted with the maturity of someone ten years his senior while they planned to get the ones they loved back.

Dalton had the hardest time among the group to start with. He'd been displaced from his home, and his entire way of life had changed. Seeing Xander made him uneasy and angry for months, even though he knew that the real Xander wasn't the Childe he created out of revenge for the pain his Mistress suffered. Dalton was very protective of Buffy and Spike. His attitude towards Xander caused a few arguments amongst the Scoobies before the two males worked it out.

Willow grew much more powerful as each month went by. Several times she needed to be knocked down a notch or two, but she accepted her limitations with grace instead of haughtiness. Whenever it seemed that the Wicca was getting too confident, she was shown just how much she still had to learn.

Willow's relationship with Xander grew to be more than simply friendship. After she was kidnapped, both of them realized they needed to be honest with the other one about their feelings.

Willow and Dalton spent many evenings wrapped up in intellectual debates and discussions. She was the catalyst that finally brought Xander and Dalton together as friends. She recognized what each of their problems were, and she knew both of them well enough to find a way for them to work it out. Now the three of them were like the three musketeers of the Scoobies.

Joyce smiled at Giles. She wrapped her hand and arm around his. Then, she tucked her head up against, and on, Giles' shoulder. She shared a look of joy with Giles, and he nodded his agreement. Even if everything fell apart with Wesley and Faith, they would persevere and survive well.

Giles yawned. He was pretty tired. Being put on the defensive, even if only verbally, was exhausting. It drained his energy considerably faster than physical combat would. He'd much rather go a round of fisticuffs with someone instead of a verbal debate. "As you heard, the meeting is set for tomorrow. I'm assuming you three will be around in some way even if I tell you not to be there?"

"You have that right, G-man," Xander teased Giles with the nickname that he knew rankled the librarian.

"Xander how many ..." Giles' voice trailed off, and he shook his head. No matter how many times Xander said that, Giles always fell for the teasing.

Willow giggled behind the hand that covered her mouth. "We'll make sure to hide really well, but you can't ask us not to be there ... not after everything we've already gone through."

"I hate putting you in harm's way. You already do so much, in that regard." Giles wished that he could spare the young adults from any more pain and suffering.

"It is not you that creates the harm, Rupert," Dalton offered as consolation. "If anything happens, it will be the Council's fault. I'll go by Willy's again tonight to see if any of our contacts have heard anything. We'll do a sweep before I head home."

"That would be helpful. Thank you, Dalton." Joyce turned to Xander and Willow. "You two better head on home too. Do you want us to drive you?"

"My parents are out of town. So, Xander is staying at my house this week." Willow blushed at the implications of her words. "I mean his parent's don't notice when he's home, and we thought it would be best to have both of us in the same place. So, we've got the going home covered. We can watch each other's backs."

Joyce grinned. "All right. Ring us when you get home." She put up her hand to refute their objections. "Just in case."

"We will." Xander offered his hand to Willow, and he helped her up off the couch. The two of them headed for the door with Dalton right behind them.

Joyce slyly grinned at Giles once the front door was closed and the house locked down for the night. "I do believe that you were a very good boy today, Ripper." She stalked from the front door to his side. "You didn't go to the hotel and rip the fool's head off." She cupped his cheek in her hand and kissed him with fervor.

Giles laughed. He loved it when Joyce was playful. So, he knew that neither of them were getting any sleep for a little bit longer tonight. He scooped Joyce up into a fireman's carry like a caveman would have done, and he headed up the stairs to their bedroom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (5) Threats, Nightmares, and Passions - Part 2
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Wesley finished his conversation with Travers, and he realized that his father must have approved of his execution. He was very shook up about it, and he discussed it with Faith a little. Giles and Joyce talked to Willow, Xander and Dalton after the phone call, and both of them reflected on the growth of the three over the last few months.

Current Chapter Summary: Spike and Buffy get a little one on one time in their home. (YEAH SPUFFY!) Wesley and Faith try to get some rest, but Wesley is plagued with nightmares from his past.

Author's Note: A BIG thank you to Tam (Spikelovesbite) for all of her help on the Spuffy portion of the chapter. She was my sounding board because I was worried about it being boring. She is such a great person to bounce things off of, as well as a good friend. Thanks for letting me vent and assuring me that things were good. This chapter is dedicated to you.

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

The walls shook at the house next door to Spike and Buffy's. A floppy skinned demon looked at his wife, and they shared a conspiring smile between them.

"The welcome must not have gone too horribly Clem," The floppy skinned female said to her husband.

"I'm sure happy they went with the sound proofing ward you suggested, Annabelle." Clem held his wife's hand. "I have a feeling they'll be baying at the moon tonight."

"That's for werewolves, silly," Annabelle teased. Both good natured demons laughed. They loved their neighbors, but they still enjoyed teasing Buffy and Spike about their sexcapades.

After one such teasing, Buffy and Spike asked Willow if she knew of any spells that deadened sound. With the help of her mentor, Willow located the right spell, and she was able to perform it. Now the vampiric couple didn't worry about keeping the neighbors up during the night and day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike tackled Buffy to the ground on the porch of their home. He caught a potted midnight rose that was dislodged from its perch during the scuffle before it fell on their heads. "Why do we bother to put things on the porch, luv?"

"Because they're pretty." Buffy giggled in delight. "We should get inside before Clem and Belle tease us again."

"We can blame it on one of California's many earthquakes." Spike covered Buffy's neck with fanged kisses.

"They'll never believe it." As much as Buffy wanted to ravage Spike on the porch, she preferred to keep Spike's naked body for her eyes only. She knew the Brachen couple across the street liked to play peeping Tom on them anytime possible. She tried to crab crawl out from underneath Spike.

"Not so fast, pet." Spike gripped Buffy's arms tighter. "I'm not through with you yet." He nipped his way down Buffy's chest, and he buried his face in the valley of her clothed breasts.

Buffy moaned and went lax in Spike's arms. When Spike, thinking she'd given up her retreat, relaxed his grip, she pushed herself out from underneath him. She scrambled for the door to get inside.

"That's not playing fair, pet." Spike mock pouted at Buffy, but he crawled panther like through the entryway on the prowl for his Mate. He kicked the door closed behind him. "You shouldn't tease a bloke like that."

"It's only mean if I don't plan on delivering." Buffy pointed her index finger at Spike and curled it towards her. "Come here, tiger."

Spike snarled, crawled closer, and swished a clawed hand into the air in front of him. "Tiger's gonna get his kitty."

Buffy shivered in response. She loved it when Spike was willing to play. His every move aroused and taunted her at the same time. She knew how wild he could be. Many nights she was grateful for the soundproofing spell over their home. Otherwise she was afraid that her friends in the neighborhood would think something was killing her or Spike. The neighborhood was pretty protective of its residents, and they all looked out for each other's well being.

Spike advanced closer to Buffy with twice as many steps forward as she stepped back. He was hungry for his Mate. He'd played the good vamp and followed the Watcher's orders earlier in the night. Now was their time for frolicking.

Buffy tried to back peddle quicker once she made it into their living room. With Spike stalking his prey from the floor, she hoped she'd be able to spin around and make a run for the stairs in time.

Spike anticipated Buffy's path by the slight turns of her posture. He pressed some of his weight back on his toes, and he readied himself to pounce once she turned.

Buffy's heels hit the lowest step of the staircase. She kept her eyes on Spike, and she snuck her left hand behind her to grab the reinforced railing. Using the railing as leverage, Buffy twisted herself around, and she made a mad dash up the flight of stairs.

Spike wriggled his butt and crouched down like a cat for a moment before he pounced forward and pounded up the stairs. He reached the top in time to wrap his hands around Buffy's ankles in a tackle.

Buffy fell face first on the upstairs landing. She kicked at Spike and shimmied her legs to try to break his hold on her.

Both of their enhanced reflexes and strengths fought back and forth in a stalemate battle. Buffy succeeded in scooting forward a little in the upper hallway. Then, Spike twisted Buffy around and pulled her tighter to him.

Back and forth their wrestling match continued. The pictures on the walls shook with each blow from one side of the hallway to another. Later on they would remember to thank Dalton and Xander for their suggestions to firmly secure anything that hung on the walls.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The darkness encroached around the young boy who was alone in a park somewhere in London, England. The boy was not more than 8 years of age, and he looked lost and scared. The boy's head shook back and forth with each sound that echoed around him.

Golden eyes watched from the shadows. The vampire attached to the eyes prowled along the edge of the park while he followed the tasty little treat that would be his evening meal. 'Young ... I always love a little veal.' He darted out of the trees and behind a climbing structure.

'Come on, Dad. Where are you?' The boy's nanny had dropped him off at the park over an hour ago. It wasn't unusual for his father to be late, but he wasn't normally dropped off outside in the dark. There was no sign of his father's arrival. Usually his father arrived with several of his lackey's in tow. So, there was no way to miss his father's approach usually.

Seeing his opportunity to strike, the vampire jumped from the shadows. He snatched the boy up off the ground. His fangs had only grazed the boy's neck when his head was jerked back by a rope. He dropped the boy to the ground and snarled at his captors.

"Hold him!" Roger Wyndham-Pryce yelled out to the three different men who had ropes around the vampire's neck and arms. Two more men joined the three to hold the main rope around the vampire's neck.

The boy looked up at his father with tears in his eyes. Roger shook his head at his son. "Get up, Wesley. We do not cower before evil," He scolded the boy in anger.

"But father, I had no ..."

"No excuses, young man." Roger pulled Wesley to his feet. "You are a poor excuse for a son. They are the enemy, and you nearly got yourself killed. Then you quiver and snivel like a weakling. You are a disgrace."

Wesley would have felt less pain if his father slapped him across the face. Why could he never please him? He wanted his father to be proud of him, but he always lacked whatever it was his father wanted to see in him.

"If you don't kill them, they will kill you." Roger Wyndham-Pryce yelled at his son Wesley. He handed the stake in his hand to his son. He pushed the young boy closer to the restrained vampire.

Wesley looked back at his father nervously. He didn't understand everything his father said, and he was scared of the malformed face on the creature that attacked him earlier.

"Do it!" Roger urged his son on. "Kill that creature. It doesn't deserve to live."

Wesley clutched the stake tightly in his hands. He walked slowly closer to the restrained enemy of his family. Each step drew him nearer to his fears and heightened the vampire's agitation.

Behind Wesley, Roger motioned for the men holding the vampire back to let go. He watched with anger when his son froze in place in front of the vampire.

Wes' eyes widened, and he froze. He was rooted to the spot in fear. Just before the vampire grabbed him he closed his eyes ...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy looked up into the eyes of her Sire, Mate, and lover. Though they had no need to breathe, both of them panted in exertion from their romp along the floor. Buffy pushed back the stray tendrils of bleached hair that had fallen into Spike's face. She cupped his face with her hand lovingly. 'I love you, Spike.'

Spike never tired of hearing Buffy say those beautiful words to him. He'd spent over a century and a half feeling rejected, unloved, and unworthy. Now, in the arms of his Childe, he found the acceptance and peace that he'd never before found. The awe of feeling loved reflected in his eyes. He pressed his lips against Buffy's and kissed her with passionate joy. 'I love you too, Buffy. Always.'

Buffy opened her legs and locked her ankles together around Spike's waist. Although they were still on the ground and clothed, she felt his hard erection tight against her body. She loved that she could make him this aroused. No matter how Angelus treated her after she lost her virginity, Spike showed her every time they made love, or had feral sex, that she was beautiful and a perfect choice of mate.

Spike snarled into their kiss. His fangs nipped Buffy's lower lip and tongue as his kisses grew more wild and uncontrolled. Buffy drove him insane with all the smells, warmth, and tiny sounds she made when they were together. Although she was a vampire, Buffy never completely lost all of her human warmth. Though not the 98.6 degrees of a human, her 90 degree body still felt like an inferno to his room temperature one. The only times his body temperature rose higher was when they were both enjoying the warmth of the sun or they shared blood.

The scent of Buffy's blood in the air called her own demon forth, and she punctured Spike's tongue with her fangs to mingle their blood together. She supped on the flavorful and powerful blood that surged through both of their veins. Each joining and feeding seemed to strengthen their bond as well as the power that flowed between them. Something was gained with each exchange of blood, and nothing was lost.

Spike clawed at Buffy's top, and he shredded it to reach the suppleness of her breasts. He pinched and nearly pierced her nipples with his claws, and he alternated between squeezing and caressing her golden globes. His cock strained within the confines of his jeans, and the zipper's pattern was pressed into the skin covering his hard rod.

Buffy's back arched towards Spike's touch. The painful pleasures wracked her nerves and body into a frenzy of sensations and reactions. She clawed her way underneath Spike's shirt and tore it from his body, removing the last barrier between their chests to feel skin against skin. She rubbed her butt along the ground to rub herself against Spike's covered erection. She mewled and whined at being kept from feeling his cock against her.

Spike jumped up, jerked Buffy to her feet, and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. He kicked at the partially opened door of their bedroom and strode purposefully to their bathroom.

Buffy squealed in delight. She leaned over further and bit Spike in the butt with her full fangs.

Spike growled, and he slapped Buffy's butt hard when she wouldn't release her fangs. He snarled a command to her in a demonic language that only other blood family understood.

Buffy let her fangs recede, and she lifted her head up to answer her Sire. She meekly growled a response and lay limp against his back again.

Spike purred and cooed his approval to his Childe. He lowered her feet to the floor in front of him. He licked up the side of her neck and nibbled playfully over his claiming marks while he started the water for a shower.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wesley sat up straight in bed and screamed. "NO!" He panted and shook in fear. His hands trembled even as he ran his fingers through his mussed up hair.

Faith woke up groggily. "Are you all right?" She asked with concern. She was usually a pretty heavy sleeper, but nothing could have slept through that shout of the Watcher's.

"It's nothing," Wesley's voice trembled.

"Didn't sound like nothing to me," Faith said without malice or sarcasm. She was worried about Wesley because his cry sounded like that of a small frightened child. She'd heard him shriek in fear when they faced the vampires, but this time he sounded really scared.

"It was only a nightmare, Faith," Wesley answered. In his confusion, he hadn't even given a thought to calling her Miss Lehane. Tears leaked out the edge of his eyes and down his cheeks. He wished that he could attribute the nightmare to fantasy. Unfortunately the recurring nightmare was an actual memory from his youth.

Faith turned over in bed to face her Watcher. "Want to talk about it?" She asked sincerely. "I know I'm not the world's greatest listener, but we are in this together. Aren't we?"

"I have to deal with this on my own," Wesley snapped back. Then, he sighed in a much softer tone, "But thank you for offering."

"No problem. It's cool." Faith shrugged her shoulders. She buried her head back into her pillow and closed her eyes. "Wake me if you change your mind."

It was a long time before Wesley fell back asleep. At some point during the night the Slayer and the Watcher both ended up near the middle of the bed. The twisted blanket that acted like a dividing line between their sleeping spaces lay underneath their joined hands, as if each of them had reached out for the other in comfort.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike massaged soap into Buffy's golden tresses. He lightly scratched her scalp and delighted in the purring that answered his actions. 'My precious little kitty,' he thought to his Mate.

'Purr ... purr,' Buffy thought back in words at Spike with a chuckle of mirth in her tone. Her eyes were closed, and she leaned into his touch. She loved sharing showers and baths with Spike. He paid attention to every detail of pleasure that she never realized was possible while getting clean. Of course they ended up getting "dirty" during the cleaning process, but that made bathing that much more fun.

Spike pulled Buffy's back tight against his chest. He growled low in her ear and sucked her ear lobe into his mouth. One of his fangs slipped easily into the piercing on the lobe and teased the flesh around it. He pulled back to rinse the soap from Buffy's hair.

Buffy grabbed the liquid soap from the shower shelf. She squeezed some of the cool liquid into her hands and offered the bottle to Spike. She lathered her hands together, reached back behind her, and rubbed her hands down Spike's back to his butt cheeks. She massaged and caressed her sudsy hands over the pale roundness that had yet to see the sun. She slipped her fingertips between his cheeks and teased the tight pucker hidden there.

Whenever they planned on heading to the beach, they never stayed long enough to get a good tan. Frolicking of one kind or another always cut the trips short or at least the time out in the sun short. The citizens of Sunnydale weren't ready to be blinded by Spike's lily white ass pumping and pounding Buffy into the sand in the middle of the day.

Spike filled one hand with soap. He snapped the cap back down, and he put it back on the shelf. Without lathering it in his hands he massaged a thick layer of soap from into the skin of Buffy's neck, over her shoulders, down her arms, across her abdomen, and finally back up to coat her breasts. He scratched his fingernails over her hardening nipples, despite the heat of the water hitting her skin. 'Do you realize just how much you turn me on, pet? How bad I want you?'

Buffy quivered. Her head fell back on Spike's shoulder with her eyes closed. 'I have some idea.' She rubbed her ass against his hard cock. 'I need you, Spike.' She bent her knees a little and stood back up to tease his length along the cleft of her ass. 'I need to feel you fill me with your cock and pierce me with your fangs.'

Spike's snarl echoed even deeper in the shower stall. He ground his erection against her ass, bent down lower, and surged back up until his cock slipped into Buffy's wet pussy in one stroke. His cock always zeroed in on its goal with perfection to find the entrance of Buffy's sweet pussy. He grasped her breasts tightly, and he used them for leverage to plunge in and out of her repeatedly. 'Like that, pet?'

'By the gods, yes.' Buffy dug her fingernails into Spike's ass so hard that they punctured the skin. Rivets of blood trickled down his cheeks while Buffy pulled his ass forward to take her harder.

The water beating down on them both washed away all traces of soap from their skins while they bucked against each other. Soap wasn't the only slickness caressing their bodies though. Buffy's juices coated her curls, Spike's cock and flowed down her inner thighs with a heat that rivaled the shower's spray.

Buffy let go of Spike's butt to press the palms of her hands against the shower wall in front of her. The position gave her more leverage to rock back against Spike's forward thrusts. She spread her legs a little further apart and arched her back. 'Harder ... More ... please ... more.'

'I'll give you harder,' Spike thought back to his lover while he pounded into her pussy with long hard thrusts that buried him to the base of his cock. His ball sac slapped Buffy's clit and jolted her with the sting against her sensitive nub.

Buffy gasped and whimpered. Her inner muscles clutched tighter around Spike's cock. Her claws extended and scratched into the wall like it was made of corkboard instead of tile. She lifted one foot onto the ledge a couple feet up from the floor and then the other.

Spike was forced to brace his feet against the back of the shower to keep his leverage. Buffy was thrusting back harder in her new position. His footing faltered briefly, and his cock plumbed her depths to the entrance of her womb.

Buffy nearly fell when Spike lost his footing. His cock broached the barrier into her womb, and her body seized up in painful pleasure. Her orgasm barreled through her in that moment, and she screamed out his name.

Buffy's screams echoed in Spike's ear while the tight spasms of her pussy wrenched his own orgasm from him. His fangs struck the claimed side of Buffy's neck in one swift motion. Her blood quickly filled his mouth, and he drank her essence deeply into himself while he filled her with his manly essence.

In the throes of their passion neither realized that Spike's seed was a little bit warmer than it usually was. Neither cared about the tingling between their loins except that they both were lost in the bliss they felt.

Spike tore his fangs out of Buffy's neck with a roared, "Mine!"

"Yours," Buffy responded with eagerness and without a moment's hesitation. Her knees wobbled, and her body shook. It didn't stop her from pulling away from Spike, turning around, jumping up, wrapping her legs around Spike's waist and impaling herself on Spike's cock again. She buried her face in Spike's neck and her fangs in his neck. She pulled on his blood hard and fast.

Spike came again the instant Buffy's fangs entered his neck. He clawed at her back, and he pulled in and out of her pussy even as his cock spilled more of its seed into her.

"Mine!" Buffy nearly howled into the heated air around them. Her eyes flashed and locked on Spike's gaze as if she dared him to question her claim.

"Yours," Spike answered. He was rewarded with another orgasm from Buffy clenching him within her channel.

A golden nimbus flashed around their joined bodies and filled the air with electricity and ancient magics. The claim was renewed and strengthened once more. The two of them collapsed against the back of the shower still joined, unconscious.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (6) Meetings - Part 1
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Spuffy fun abounded as our heroes were finally able to get some alone time that night. Wesley had a nightmare about his earlier childhood days, and we had a glimpse into the attitude of his father that was prevalent as Wes was growing up.

Current Chapter Summary: Spike and Buffy have a visit in their dreams from Charmand and Antoinette. Faith and Wesley seem to have gotten a little closer during the night. What will they do when they wake up?

Author's Note: Several people wondered if Buffy was pregnant (or getting pregnant) at the end of the last chapter. I won't say if it is or isn't possible. I am trying to show that their bodies are changing the more times they share blood and the further they delve into their joint destinies. Spike is no longer just a vampire, and Buffy was never just a vampire. Also I am making Faith already 18 in this story. I know she wasn't in canon, but she is for this story.

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

A soft golden light haloed around the two beings moving towards Buffy and Spike. The vampires looked pleased to see the two beings again, but they were also worried about the reason for their presence.

"I didn't think we'd be seeing you again." Buffy walked up to Antoinette and hugged her. "The Coven seemed to cover the mystical portion of our lives now."

Antoinette smiled warmly in greeting, and she eagerly returned Buffy's hug. "You've both been busy. We didn't want to influence your path."

"The Powers That Be needed to see what choices you'd make or path's you'd take on your own," Charmand chirped in.

"Wankers," Spike grumbled. "Turn your life upside down with the whole bloody destiny thing and then don't trust you."

Charmand laughed a little. "Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks that."

Antoinette glared at her mate. Buffy tried to support her fellow Slayer. So, she forced her smiling giggle behind the hand that covered her mouth.

"Speaking of the "Powers That Screw With You"," Spike spoke with a lecture like tone, "You could have been more specific about the amulet." He evened his glare on Charmand. "Buffy would have been dust without that sunlight perk."

"We had no control over our limitations on what we could say," Antoinette quickly jumped to defend the man she loved.

"I get that the Wankers wanted to be the only ones "all-knowing", but they caused a bunch of unnecessary suffering." Spike kissed the back of Buffy's hand that he held.

"Look at it this way, William," Charmand tried to offer a bright spot out of the situation with the amulet, "You will never be able to doubt Buffy's love and devotion. Without you, she'd rather be dust."

Buffy looked up into the eyes of her Sire, lover, and Mate. Her piercing green eyes twinkled in the golden light around them. "I love you, and only you, from now until eternity."

Spike hugged Buffy. He kissed her passionately. Unshed tears of joy glistened in his eyes. "I would have spared you the pain if I could have."

"I know." Buffy rested her head against Spike's upper arm. Side by side, they stood as one against whatever the "Powers That Be" threw at them next.

"At least this time we won't be so ominous." Antoinette grinned.

"I don't know about that," Charmand countered. He knew how vampires felt about change and stability. Although he and William were not like other vampires, he knew some things were going to become a shock to the one hundred and fifty plus year old male. "There are still a few more surprises in store for them."

"Shush, you'll panic them for no reason," Antoinette chastised Charmand.

"You both were right to go with a blood bond for the protection of your family and friends." Charmand smiled at Buffy and Spike.

"After the Council's last stunt we didn't have much choice," Buffy snorted. "I still say the Council somehow poisoned the Wiccas in Sunnydale. It all seemed too convenient."

"I wouldn't put anything past them." Antoinette rolled her eyes. "Likewise, you need to be careful about who else you extend the bond too."

"A blood bond can't be erased," Charmand explained. "It is a positive and a negative thing. Blood bonds are powerful, but they can work against you if you let the wrong person in."

"Are you trying to tell us not to trust the new Slayer and her Watcher?" Spike asked.

Antoinette placed a restraining hand on Charmand's arm. "We are only saying to be careful."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Sounds like another cryptic clue to me. We'll take it under advisement," She answered in a mock serious tone.

Antoinette rolled her eyes at Buffy. "The young man is full of pain and fear. He's been bullied his entire life into believing he is worthless," She said sadly. "He can relate to you in some ways, William, but the wrong words or actions could send him against you. I'm sure you remember how you rebelled against Angelus."

Spike nodded, but he didn't say anything. Charmand decided is was time he shared his information about Sunnydale's other newest resident. "This new Slayer is highly volatile. Her path varies widely from one dimension to the next. She can be a strong ally or a formidable foe."

"Right now both are inwardly willing to listen." Antoinette glances skyward as if she was listening to someone or something. She looked back down at Buffy and Spike. "You will need them for what is to come."

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely," Charmand quoted the famous phrase. "Some things have been in motion since before either of you arrived in Sunnydale. This year the time will come for him to reveal his true self."

"A father will return, and the sins of the father torture the son," Antoinette spoke sadly. "Forgiveness is yours to give. Weigh the good with the bad, and remember that the needs of the man outweigh the needs of the one."

Buffy and Spike both looked at each other and then their companions again with questions in their eyes.

"You are both changing, and you will continue to do so the closer you get." Charmand hugged Antoinette close to him. "This isn't a bad thing, but you will not understand some developments. Rest assured things are as they were meant to be."

"You are becoming Daywalkers, living vampires." Antoinette reached out to cup Buffy's cheek. "You will not always be alone in this. Even though you can not change all the walkers of the night, show them the way to co-exist peacefully as you have with Dalton."

Charmand extended his hand out to Spike for a handshake. "There are other vampires who never lost all of their humanity. Seek them out when you can, and show them the way to live in this world of love."

"We'll do our best." Spike shook Charmand's hand.

Buffy looked sad. She knew it was time for them to leave. "Will we see you again soon?"

"We're always with you in spirit to give that extra little push when needed," Antoinette replied with a smile.

"Always with the cryptic." Buffy chuckled. She waved goodbye as she felt the pull of wakefulness drawing them out of their dreams and back into the realm of the living.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Faith deeply inhaled the inherently masculine scent that surrounded her. A smile caressed her lips, and she pressed her face closer to the scent.

Wesley woke up after he felt the smooth caress of Faith's hair against his face. He was about to open his eyes, but the feeling of Faith snuggling closer to him forced him to keep his eyes shut. 'Does she realize that she is doing?'

Faith moaned softly. There was something comforting about the scent, but she felt an underlying irritation with the scent's owner as well. She tilted her head up and sucked on the exposed flesh near his collarbone.

'Bloody Hell,' Wesley mentally cursed and tensed up. 'Rupert thought I was accusing him of having sex with his Slayer? I'll be lucky if I don't have sex with mine.' He tried to slide away from Faith, but their joined hands only allowed him to move so far.

Faith grumbled in protest. Her lips pursed and smacked together in the open air, like a baby looking for her mother's breast. She stretched in her sleep. She curled both hands close to her body.

'How much can a man withstand with such a temptation close by?' Wesley inwardly groaned. Their joint hands were pressed against Faith's bosom. A flicker of his fingers would graze the hardening nipple he felt against the side of his hand. He was not the kind of man who had any prior experience with women, but even he felt the draw to touch her.

Faith was already 18, and in the eyes of the law that made her of legal age and consent. Her age wasn't an issue, but she was still Wesley's charge. He felt ashamed of himself for even allowing any lustful thoughts to cross his mind about his infuriating but beautiful Slayer.

Faith drew closer to wakefulness. She fidgeted around more, and a muttered name passed from her lips, "Wesssss".

'Don't react. Don't react,' Wesley repeated the mantra in his head. 'She doesn't realize what she is saying. Her body is merely recognizing the scent that is near her.'

"Wes ..." Faith's eyes snapped opened. 'Wait a minute, Wesley?' She gazed at what appeared to be the sleeping face of her Watcher only a couple inches from her face. She started to move away from their dividing line, but she halted when one of her hands seemed heavier than the other.

Wesley felt the tug on the hand that was entwined with Faith's. He knew she realized they were holding hands. 'At least she isn't trying to wake you up, taunt you, and rub your face in it after all her jokes about keeping your hands to yourself,' His insecure thoughts echoed in his head.

Faith stared at their clasping hands. 'I wonder when that happened.' She slowly opened her hand and hoped that it would be enough to release the hold.

Wesley sensed that Faith's action was the easiest way for them to get out of this mess without letting the other one know that they were both awake. He stirred in his "sleep", opened his hand, and turned to lay half on his back with his previously joined hand on his chest.

Faith's heart raced. She was glad that Wes was asleep. She'd promised to keep from ravaging him in his sleep, but it seemed that her body had other ideas. 'At least I was just holding his hand and not something else.' Was the sheet bunched up at his waist or was that ...? She cringed at the thought.

Wes' heart raced. He thought it was beating so hard that Faith would hear it, but he was thankful that she seemed to be concentrating on other things. He wouldn't have been so calm if he realized just where her concentration was fixated on.

Faith slowly slipped from the bed. She hoped Wesley wouldn't wake up until she was in the bathroom. She quietly gathered her clothes and toiletry bag. Then, she slipped into the bathroom.

When the door clicked shut to the bathroom, Wes opened his eyes. He rubbed his trembling hand down his face and stared up at the ceiling. He laid on his back fully and tried to ignore the tenting of the sheet at his waist. 'I am in deep trouble. My father wants me dead, and the Council is helping him. Now I seem to be adding lustful thoughts about my Slayer to the mix. I might as well join in with the demons because I am surely already evil for having such thoughts.' He willed his erection to go down, but nothing was helping. There was no way he was going to take care of it with Faith still in the same hotel room. 'It's going to be a long day.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (7) Meetings - Part 2
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Spike and Buffy had a visit in their dreams from Charmand and Antoinette. What did their cryptic messages mean? Faith and Wesley found that there was at least a little bit of physical attraction or comfort sought between them in their sleep. Will they act on it?

Current Chapter Summary: It's time for Wesley and Faith to meet up with Giles and other Scoobies. What is going on in everyone's mind as they get ready for the meeting? How much has word spread throughout the demon world about Sunnydale's protectors? Who might it lure to the Hellmouth?

Author's Note: I would like to thank Kevin for putting a little plot bunny in my ear for this story. I really liked it, and I hope that he likes what I will do with it.

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

(Wes and Faith's Hotel Room in Sunnydale)

Faith brushed out her long nearly black hair. She wasn't a vain young woman, but she liked her hair long. It tended to get in the way when she fought. After she brushed it out, she braided it in one long piece down her back. She wanted to be ready for the worst even though she had a feeling the precaution was unnecessary.

Across the room from Faith, Wesley prepared his leather attaché for the meeting. He straightened a stack of papers with his notes, clipped them together, and arranged them in one of the pockets of the container. Ever since his earlier wake up snuggled close to Faith, he'd been on edge. Not being able to release the tension that her nearness created only added to his frustration levels. He tried to keep himself focused, but his brain was overloaded with all of the information, realizations, and disappointments of the last few days.

Faith picked up a leather tie from her dresser. She secured the end of the braid in a rubber band, covered the band with a wide leather strip, and zig zagged the ties of the leather piece up her braid. She pulled the braid up to fold it in half and tie the top and bottom of it together securely with the leather ties attached to the band.

Wesley glanced sideways at Faith. She seemed even more beautiful to him today than she was yesterday. He tried to wipe those thoughts from his mind. Those kinds of thoughts would only lead to trouble for them both. She got under his skin in an annoying way with her different mannerisms and habits, but there was something about this feisty woman that drew him to her. He tried to tell himself that it was just because he felt a desire to protect his Slayer. He drew in a deep breath.

Faith took in a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. 'Am I ready for this?' She snuck a sidelong glance at Wesley. 'Are we ready for this?'

'Are we ready for this?' Wesley tucked a couple stakes and a flask of holy water into his attaché. He opened a wood box that he removed from his luggage earlier. Although it looked a bit uncharacteristic for the stuffy Watcher, he picked up a gold rope style necklace with a heavy solid gold cross that dangled from it. He opened the top buttons of his shirt, attached the necklace, and rebuttoned his shirt to hide the necklace. He snuck another glance at Faith. 'Will I ever truly be ready for this?'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Summers' Home of Joyce and Giles)

Joyce handed a cup of tea to Giles over the kitchen island. Lunch times were usually an informal affair at their household. Giles insisted on a "proper cup of tea" with his lunch, and Joyce had been willing to cater to Giles' desires for a "taste of home".

Giles kissed Joyce's cheek. "Thank you, Dove." He sipped from the teacup. He set the cup down next to his plate once he'd finished his first taste. "I could almost forget that you are American with how well you make a cup of tea now," He teased.

Joyce grinned. She waggled a finger at Giles with a hand on her hips. "Don't you go getting all British on me, Ripper." Her pose mimicked the same one her daughter used on Spike a lot of times. "We "bloody colonials" are not entirely uncivilized," She mangled Giles' accent on purpose.

"Good heavens, woman. That was bloody horrible." Giles stared at Joyce in mock disgust. They enjoyed teasing each other. The love they shared rivaled that of the most infatuated young teenagers. They may be older, but they were still playful and very much in love with each other.

Joyce walked around the island, and she slid into Giles' lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her elbows on his shoulders. She leaned her forehead against his and rubbed their noses together in an Eskimo kiss. "I love you, Rupert."

"And I you, Joyce." Giles closed his eyes and sighed. Despite what he told Spike and Buffy earlier in the morning, he was a bit worried about Wesley Wyndham-Pryce's reactions. Much depended on what the Council told the young Watcher when he called them last night. His connections in Sunnydale told him that an overseas call had gone out last night from the hotel.

"I know that look, Rupert." Joyce sat back and rubbed the pads of her fingers over the furrowed lines of her fiancé's brow. "You're bothered by something. I can feel the tension rolling off of you."

"You should know by now that I worry about everything, Dove." Giles tried to assuage his future wife's worries. "I'm sure the meeting will go well, but I won't relax until it is over."

Joyce raised a disbelieving brow. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself for the moment. Rupert needed her support. If he wanted to hold his thoughts in for now, she wouldn't push. After the meeting, she would ask him what was bothering him though. "It's almost time to go."

Giles nodded. "I know." With one arm firmly wrapped around Joyce's waist, Giles enjoyed the feeling of the woman he loved sitting in his lap while he finished his lunch.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Spike and Buffy's Home)

Buffy slapped the textbook on the table closed. She attempted to get some last minute studying in before they left for the meeting. "I don't know why I let you talk me into taking French again as one of my electives." She pouted. She'd tried to take the language class the year before, and she failed it.

"Maybe because you have a more interesting tutor this time around," Spike curled his tongue behind is teeth and waggled his eyebrows playfully at Buffy. "No offense to Red of course, but I think I am a bit more persuasive."

Buffy giggled. "Yes, you are a bit more of a hands on tutor." She wrapped her arms around Spike's waist. "I love those practical labs, but it still doesn't help me speak the language any better." She flickered her tongue out to lick her lips to indicate just what practical labs she meant. 'I'll always love French with those kinds of kisses.'

"Minx," Spike bent his head slightly. He quickly snatched Buffy's tongue into his own mouth, suckling it. His tongue continued to pull hers into his mouth, and the two appendages twisted and rolled around and over each other.

Buffy broke free from their kiss, breathless. His eyes were glazed over with lust. "If we don't leave now, I don't think we will leave." She panted. 'How is it that something I don't need any more, you still manage to steal from me as if I do?' She teased.

"You're right," Spike grunted unhappily. "They'd better not cause problems this time, pet. I'm in too good of a mood to have it ruined by that pillock."

"Hey, you guys were the ones that wanted to give them a chance. Not my fault you all voted to let them into town in the first place." Buffy placed her hands on her hips and waggled a finger of chastisement at Spike just as her mother was doing to Giles at the same moment in time.

Spike snapped his teeth at Buffy's finger. Only her lightning fast reflexes kept it from being pricked by his fangs. "You can't tell me that you didn't admire the chit, pet."

Buffy smirked. "All right, I won't deny that I felt a pull towards her last night." She chuckled. "The way she put that wimpy Watcher in his place was pretty funny too. It was like she had him on a leash."

Spike joined in the mirth of Buffy's laughter. "I think he's more of a wild card than the Slayer. Not that I think he's some wild rebel, but I think he is our unpredictable factor."

Buffy remembered the call they'd received from Giles earlier in the morning. "Giles seems confident about a change of heart in the new Watcher. We have to trust Giles' instincts on this one. He knows Watchers better than we do."

"I specialized in Slayers not Watchers," Spike answered with a nod. "Now that Rupes has his head out of the sand, I trust his instincts too."

"You just say that because you know he is your blood family," Buffy poked Spike in the chest.

"It doesn't hurt that I know Jamison blood flows through his veins." Spike playfully puffed out his chest. "At least that is where he gets his dashing good looks from."

Buffy snorted. "Sure, Sire. Whatever you say."

"We've managed to snag two of the most beautiful women in the world who happen to both be from the same family, haven't we?" Spike raised a curious brow. He dared her to refute his statement.

Buffy made a motion of zipping her lips sealed and throwing away the key. She yelped when Spike started to tickle her waist mercilessly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Xander raised his hand to knock on the opened door to Buffy and Spike's house. His hand hovered near the door when he heard the ruckus going on through the living room into the kitchen. He turned to Willow and rolled his eyes. "Do they ever stop?"

Willow giggled. "Would you rather they were fighting, Xander?"

"No, but geez. They need to keep their focus today."

"Oh leave them be." Willow walked into the house. She was sure that Buffy and Spike were expecting them, or they wouldn't have left the door open. The entrance was warded for only specific invites or blood bonds. All of the current Scoobies shared a familial blood link that coincided with the safety wards. So Willow and Xander were both able to just walk in.

Xander walked alongside Willow. He stared at the tickling match that was before them in the kitchen. He couldn't resist the chance to tease the two daywalkers, "Is this a private party or a group thing?"

Spike jerked up from the floor and hit his head on the counter. "Bloody Hell, Whelp!" He rubbed the top of his head.

Buffy went off into another fit of giggles. She pointed to Spike and laughed harder.

Spike growled. Before he was able to dive down and attack Buffy, Willow stepped in between them. "Meeting anyone?"

Spike huffed, stood up, and offered his hand to Buffy to help her up. "I'll get you back for that, Harris."

"Don't leave the door open next time then, Bleach Boy," Xander teased. He loved any chance that he got to catch Spike unaware. He respected the vampire now for many reasons. He was proud to call Spike his friend, but that didn't mean they didn't still playfully insult and tease each other.

Spike slapped Xander on the back. "I'll remember that." He laughed.

The four of them walked out in the bright afternoon sunshine. Walking down the middle of the street side by side, the group almost looked like they were heading out for a high noon fight at the OK Corral.

Buffy felt Dalton secure his link with his Master and Mistress. "Dalton's on the move too. What does he think he's doing?"

Willow and Xander nodded. "He said that he would stay in the tunnels around the area of the park in case we needed an exit route."

Spike squeezed Buffy's hand. "He knows what he's doing, Buffy. Have faith in him."

Buffy nodded. "I do, but I don't like it when he takes chances like that."

"Kind of reminds me of his "dad"," Xander slapped Spike on the back teasingly.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Buffy sighed.

"Oy! Watch it Slayer!" Spike held his hand over his heart as if he'd been staked. "You wound me!"

The other three laughed at Spike's antics.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Faith sat on a swing in the Sunnydale Park. Wesley paced back and forth in front of her. A few times she had to divert her swing to avoid hitting the nervous Watcher in the head with her feet.

Wesley Wyndham-Pryce looked down at his pocket watch for the tenth time. It was still only 1:30 pm. Because he and Faith had to walk, they'd left the hotel at 1 o'clock. Sunnydale wasn't a huge town, and they found the park with relative ease. Consequently, they had over a half hour to wait for the appointed meeting time. Time to wait gave Wesley time to question his sanity about meeting with the rebel Watcher and his group.

Joyce entered the park from the side opposite where Giles was coming in. They kept their eyes open for any sign of the Council's men. Joyce stifled a laugh when she saw Wesley and Faith. "At least they are punctual," She spoke into her walkie-talkie. "You should appreciate that, love."

Giles groaned. He loved her dearly, but Joyce loved to tease him about his habits. Being nearly at least a half hour early for every event was one of them. It was one of the reasons why they arrived at the park at 1:30 pm. "Maybe he isn't as bad as we thought then," He snarked back at Joyce.

Faith heard the voices in the distance and the echo of the walkie-talkies. She flew off the swing in mid-air and stood in a fighting stance. She scanned all sides of them to find out why the voices were coming from two directions.

"What is it?" Wesley hadn't heard anything, but Faith's posture told him that something or someone was near.

"There is no need for concern, Faith." Joyce stepped around the jungle gym. She held up the walkie-talkie in her hand. "We had to be sure that the Council didn't send anyone else to this little meeting of ours." She closed the distance between herself and the two newcomers.

Giles darted around the merry-go-round at the same time. He looked closely at the tweed covered young man. He pointed at Wesley, but his comments were directed at Joyce, "Was I ever that tweedy, Dove?"

Joyce chuckled. "Fraid so, beloved." She turned to face Wesley. "Nothing wrong with tweed mind you, but we are a bit less formal here in Sunnydale." Now that she was close enough for Faith and Wesley to follow her actions without alarming them, she hooked the walkie-talkie back to her belt with the transmission button locked down for the others to hear.

Giles turned off his walkie-talkie. Then, he clipped his to the leather belt that held up his dark blue jeans. "Sunnydale tends to be a lot warmer than London. I have found that your form of clothing is not practical for the climate."

Faith watched the pair interact. She was still on her guard, but the threat level had gone down. The two of them were definitely a couple. There was something familiar to her about the woman. She wasn't able to put her finger on the source of that familiarity.

Wesley gulped hard. He was used to being the butt of everyone's jokes, but the man before him intimidated him in a different way than others. He'd revered Rupert Giles as he went through his own Watcher training. The Giles family was a well documented Council fixture over the last one hundred years or more. "Mr. Giles?" He questioned.

Giles nodded. "I had a feeling that you would recognize me, but forgive my manners. I should have introduced myself and my fiancé." He wrapped Joyce's hand around his arm. "Mr. Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, please meet my fiancé Joyce Summers. Joyce, this is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce."

"That's why she looked familiar!" Faith burst out in a shout. "You're B's mother."

"B's?" Joyce looked perplexed for a moment. "Oh, I see. Yes, I am Buffy's mother." She smiled at the young woman.

"Why don't we sit down over there?" Giles pointed to a nearby grouping of picnic tables. "The rest will be here shortly." He escorted Joyce over to the tables, and he sat down.

Wesley followed the ex-Watcher and the previous Slayer's mother over to the picnic tables. He hefted his leather attaché onto the top of the table in front of him. In a measure of good faith he opened it up facing Rupert Giles and Joyce Summers. Then, he slowly removed a pen and some paper, along with his notes, from the inside.

Giles nodded to Wesley. "I supposed we should just get right down to it. Shall we?"

Wesley, Faith and Joyce all nodded their heads in agreement.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow, Xander, Spike and Buffy listened to everything that was happening at the park through the walkie-talkies each of them had. Spike and Buffy's devices had earplugs attached to them. They'd been helpful while the pair was out on patrol. They were able to keep their hands free to fight while at the same time keeping in touch with the rest of the Scoobies.

Giles had decided that it would be best for Buffy and Spike to arrive a little bit after the meeting was supposed to begin. With the early arrival of the other parties, the foursome started to walk faster across town. None of them liked leaving Giles and Joyce "unguarded" amongst strangers.

Spike felt the trepidation radiating from Buffy. "They have the conversation open to us, luv. We'll know if we need to do something."

"That won't matter if we aren't close enough," Buffy replied with a frown. She picked up the pace a little bit more.

Willow and Xander scrambled to keep up with Buffy and Spike. If the two daywalkers took off, there would be no way for them to keep up. For now, they did their best to follow at the same pace. They hoped a burst of speed wouldn't' be necessary.

"G-Man knows what he's doing, Buffster," Xander offered his own support. "He wouldn't have started the meeting at all, if he had any fear for their safety.

Buffy nodded, but she sent a sense of urgency to Dalton through their vampiric claim to hasten him along on his journey. Since he lived at the mansion with the other "minions", he was closer to the park than they were. He should be able to get there sooner.

Dalton sent waves of calm through to his Mistress and Master. He was already at the scene, having the forethought to leave early himself, and he reassured them that all was well at the park.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Giles set a worn tome on the tabletop. "This is Louis' original diary. It goes way beyond when his Slayer, Antoinette, was killed then turned." He kept his hands firmly on the tome to prevent it from being stolen from him.

"I found some of the photocopied entries quite fascinating to read, but you must admit it all sounded pretty far fetched." Wesley's blind support of the Council was wavering, but he was still a man who liked to secure facts before he believed anything.

"I was skeptical as well to begin with." Giles nodded his head in understanding. "I'd received the news of my Slayer's death and turning from a strange vampire who brought the book to me."

Faith listened intently to every word. She wasn't big on the research end of her destiny, but this went beyond the normal prattle and knowledge her previous Watchers tried to force on her. Her life changed dramatically the day she woke up as a Slayer. Instead of finding a purpose, she felt even more like an outsider. She wanted to belong to something important. Despite her tough girl exterior, she longed to be accepted and loved.

Giles and Wesley droned on back and forth. Questions were raised, answers given, scenarios designed and theories discussed. Everything came back to one simple question that everyone had to answer for themselves. Did anyone trust the Council to never lie to them?

Giles asked the question point blank, "Do you believe that the Council will never lie to you?" His gaze wandered from Wesley to Faith and back to Wesley.

"They would nev ..." Wesley started to answer. He felt the automatic response to that question try to force its way out of his mouth, but his heart stopped it.

Faith was ready to cover her Watcher's mouth with her hand if he started to upset Rupert Giles. She was surprised when Wesley stopped himself from spitting out the same rhetoric that her other Watchers fed her. She smiled inwardly. 'Maybe he is finally getting it.'

"Do you have anything to say, Miss ... I mean Faith?" Giles directed the conversation to the Slayer who had remained silent during most of the meeting.

Faith grinned. She fingered the edges of the envelope in her pocket. She thought about the woman in England who gave it to her. She wondered if now would be the right time to bring it up.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In Los Angeles, California a teenage vampire woke up after a shorter sleep schedule than she normally had. The sun was still fairly high in the sky. Despite that fact, she and her Sire had to be on the move again. They'd heard rumors about some vampires in Sunnydale, California who might be able to protect them from the master of their clan, who happened to be her Sire's Sire, who was chasing after them.

The young vampire's long brown hair flowed down her back and fluttered in the wind that traveled down the tunnels of their hiding place in Los Angeles' sewer system. She looked down at the dead body of the older gentleman that she'd fed on shortly before the sunrise. She shivered in disgust from feeding off a human, but this one had begged her and her Sire to end his pain. It seemed that the homeless man was dying of a very painful and terminal disease.

Constance, the young girl's Sire, walked up behind her. She rubbed the teenage vampire's shoulders. "It was a mercy killing, Childe."

"That still doesn't take away all the pain, Sire." The blue eyes of the girl were filled with tears when she turned to face her Sire. "Why do I have to be so different from the rest of you?"

Constance wrapped the girl in her arms. "We're both different, remember?" She cooed nonsensical words into her Childe's ears in an attempt to sooth her Childe's guilt. "You did nothing wrong."

(FLASHBACK)

Constance found a young girl being attacked by a rival clan's member. Anger coursed through her at seeing a larger vampire attacking someone so thin and so young. Without thought she twisted off the vampire's head. She was too late to save the girl completely though.

With every soft tap of the teenager's heartbeat, Constance felt an even stronger desire to make the girl hers. Against her Sire's orders that she not Sire anyone, she took the last bit of blood that the girl had and offered her own slit wrist to her. Surprisingly the girl accepted the blood readily, and a new vampire was born.

In the fear that her Sire would kill her Childe before she awakened, Constance hid the girl away from him. Her Sire was the master of their clan, and he knew what she'd done. He'd punished her severely for going against his orders. He beat her so severely that she wasn't able to leave their lair for days. The master hoped that Constance's Childe would awaken alone and end up getting herself killed before his Childe could reach her.

When Constance snuck out of the lair to find her Childe, she found the young girl weeping in an alley next to a couple dead bodies. Blood stained the newly risen vampire's lips. No wounds were visible on the girl, but she sounded like her heart was being ripped out of her body. The moment the girl's eyes looked up into Constance's, the vampire gasped.

"Your soul?" Constance rushed to her Childe's side. Most vampires would have run away from such an abomination, but not Constance. It had taken many years for her Sire to beat the guilt out of her own system when she was turned.

"Sire?" The young woman, about 17 when she was turned, pulled her knees closer to her body. "It hurts." She continued to cry. "I needed to ... but ... I can't stand it ... it hurts." She hiccupped with each phrase that she uttered, and her body shuddered.

Constance had nearly forgotten the pain that she always felt with each kill in the beginning. Now, decades later the pain was pushed back by the rationalization that she had to kill to eat. It was the only way she kept from going insane herself. She now knew why her Sire didn't want her to turn anyone. He knew this would happen.

The two bonded immediately with a common ground. It seemed that the girl, "Mouse" as others affectionately called her on the street, had kept a great deal of her soul intact even after turning. Now they were both on the run. Constance only hoped that the rumors she'd heard about Sunnydale were true. Word about vampires who forbade the killing of innocents no matter if they were human or demon spread through the communities like wild fire. Her Sire would catch up with them, and she'd need all the help she could get to keep her little "Mouse" safe.

"Will it ever end, Sire?"

"I don't know, but I'll protect you until my dust blows in the breeze." Constance ran her fingers through her Childe's hair. "Let's get moving. With all luck we'll be in Sunnydale before sunrise tomorrow. Walking takes a lot longer than driving."

"Yes, Sire." The teenage vampire gathered up the last of their belongings in the backpack and satchel that they pilfered from a local Army surplus store.

Constance stood in front of her Childe once they were ready to move. "Never give up hope, Dawn. Remember what I told you about your true name?"

"Yes, it means new beginnings, a new day." Dawn sighed.

Constance nodded. She squeezed Dawn's hand, which was now in hers, and the pair walked through the sewers of L.A. to their future and hopefully a new beginning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (8) Meetings - Part 3
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Giles and Joyce met up with Wesley and Faith at the Sunnydale Park. All four of them arrived a half an hour earlier to the meeting place. Buffy, Spike, Willow, and Xander quickened their pace along Sunnydale's streets from Spike's house to get to the park. Buffy was worried about no one being there to help protect their family. Dalton assured Buffy, through their link that he was already at the park in the tunnels.

Current Chapter Summary: Wesley and Faith get a look at true daywalkers for the first time. Spike and Buffy will be in full view in the sunlight. Will that clinch things in Wesley and Faith's minds that Spike and Buffy are more than "evil demons"? It's time for Wesley and Faith to truly meet Spike and Buffy. Will Wesley and Faith accept the daywalkers? Will Travers make good on his promise to Roger Wyndham-Pryce to kill Wesley?

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.



Faith moved her hand out of her pocket and into her waistband. A strong supernatural presence was coming closer to them. Her Slayer side was pacing around inside her like a caged animal. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing for it to do.

Giles noticed Faith’s change in posture and demeanor. He was pretty positive that Spike and Buffy were getting closer to their position. The tendrils of the protective blood link they all shared usually tingled when one of the two “heads” of the “family” were near. A sideways glance at Joyce’s smiling face confirmed that she felt Buffy and Spike as well.

“We have one more very important book to show you, but I think that you need to meet a few people first.” Joyce grinned. She didn’t bother to turn around. She felt Spike and Buffy’s presence near, and she assumed they had made it to the edges of the park.

“No tricks,” Wesley stiffened beside Faith. Although vampires were not able to stroll through the sunlight, any other number of demons had no sunlight afflictions. He started to get nervous again. Things were going so well with Mr. Giles. He hoped his curious nature hadn’t allowed him to put Faith and himself in harm’s direct path.

“You wanted this meeting in the middle of the day, Wesley.” Giles used a more familiar tone and salutation for the young Watcher. “We agreed to your terms, but you are about to find out that the sunlight does not bother …” He paused until he heard Wesley and Faith both gasp, “ … Daywalkers.”

“Dear Lord in Heaven.” Wesley stood up so fast that he tripped over the picnic bench and fell on his backside. He made the sign of the cross and sent up a prayer to the heavens quickly. Then, he repeated it again for good measure, in case God was occupied the first time. “How … How …”

Faith stood up much more slowly. Her entire body was coiled tightly, every muscle ready to spring into action if needed. Her grip tightened on the stake in her waistband, but she made no move to bring it out of its hiding place.

“You weren’t expecting us?” Spike chuckled behind a fangy grin. “Too bad. I’d never miss a party.”

Buffy playfully slapped Spike on the arm. “How many times do I have to tell you to play nice with the other kiddies?” She grinned.

“But you like it when I’m all big and bad, pet.” Spike playfully nipped the air in front of Buffy. His demon face receded behind his human mask.

Willow and Xander rolled their eyes jointly. They had walked up behind Spike and Buffy. They moved around the vampire couple slowly and sat down at the table on either side of Giles and Joyce.

Xander extended his hand out to Faith. “Xander Harris.” He didn’t expect the Slayer to take it, but he wanted to be polite. “Not a vampire or daywalker. Just a human part of the Scoobies.” He dropped his hand onto the top of the table when Faith remained rigid.

“I’m Willow Rosenberg. Resident Wicca in training.” Willow waved slowly. She felt bad for the sputtering man on the ground. “I think that you’d better take some deep breaths, or you are going to pass out.” She pointed at Wesley.

“If you are done mocking me, I demand an explanation!” Wesley jumped to his feet. His anger over looking like a fool, over rode his fears. “I specifically said …”

“Open your eyes! The sun is high overhead, you prat.” Giles slammed his fist on the table. “I did exactly as you wanted. You are the one being a narrow minded git.”

Joyce wrapped her hand around Giles’ arm and rested her head on his shoulder. Buffy was like a daughter to him, and the months since her turning had been hard on them all. He was as much of a Papa Bear about her safety as Joyce was a Mama Bear.

Giles forced himself to calm down. He inhaled several deep gulps of air in and let them out. “If Buffy was all that the Council keeps accusing her of, do you honestly think that she could walk in the sun?”

“No, but … but …” Wesley tried to regain his wits about him, but he was at a loss as to how to act or what to say.

“This is what I’ve been trying to tell you about.” Giles scooted the book across the table that Athena gave to them several months ago. “Athena, the head of the Coven in England, gave this book to us when she came to Sunnydale after Buffy was turned. She specifically gave Spike and Buffy her blessings before she left as well.”

“Athena?” Wesley cautiously sat back down at the table. He kept his eyes on Buffy and Spike, but his hand tugged the book closer to him. He scooted closer to Faith. He wasn’t looking for her protection. He merely needed to know that she was safe.

Faith calmed down a lot more when Wesley sat closer to her. She slowly let go of her stake and sat back down completely. She inched a little closer to him too for comfort.

Buffy and Spike stepped up to the table and stood behind Joyce Summers and Rupert Giles. Both of them scanned the horizon in all directions to be sure they were alone in the park. A mental check with Dalton below, confirmed that no one else was in the vicinity. They both relaxed a little bit.

Spike glanced at the new Watcher and then the new Slayer. Something seemed different to him from the night before. There seemed to be a bit more tension between them, but they were sitting awfully close to each other. Was there a fight after Spike and Buffy went home? Was it something more?

Wesley noticed Spike’s switching stares between him and Faith. He scooted a little further away from Faith nervously.

Faith fingered the edges of the envelope in her pocket again. “Do you think I could talk to you for a minute, B?” She motioned her head away from the table and the rest of the group. “It’s kind of private.”

Spike tensed up next to his Mate. He shook his head back and forth even as Buffy squeezed his arm and nodded her head. He looked down into her eyes. ‘I don’t like it.’

‘Trust me, Spike.’ Buffy smiled up at Spike warmly. ‘I think I know what she wants to talk to me about.’

‘Please be careful.’

“Always,” Buffy said out loud. She turned to Faith, stepped away from Spike and motioned for Faith to lead the way.

“Amazing,” Wesley spoke in awe. “They really share a telepathic communication between them.”

“I believe Rupert told you that already,” Spike growled out in annoyance. “Did the Council take away your eardrums as well as brain cells when they brainwashed you?”

“William!” Joyce chastised and cuffed Spike in the back of the head. “That was rude.”

Spike, duly chastised, sighed. “Sorry, Mum.” His nerves were strung so tightly that he almost snapped back at Joyce before her words permeated his stressed out brain. Thankfully his anger receded in time for him to hold his tongue from releasing further insults.

“It isn’t me that you should be apologizing to. How are we ever going to convince him that we know what we’re doing, if you keep being such a hard ass?”

The rest of the Scoobies blinked. Joyce Summers hardly ever swore. They were glad her chastisement was directed at Spike and not them.

“Sorry,” Spike ground out the word past his lips in Wes’ direction. “Sometimes my mouth gets away with me when I’m worried about those I love.” He looked back at Joyce. “That sufficient, Mum?”

Wesley would have fallen to the ground again if he wasn’t already sitting back down. A 150+ year old Master vampire, the killer of more than one Slayer, was bowing to the wishes of a human female … one not even his Mate.

“It will do for now. Now behave, William.” Joyce waggled her finger at Spike in reprisal.

“Yes, Mum.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, Faith. Lay em on me.” Buffy sat down on one of the swings.

“I do have a lot of questions, but I have something to deliver first.” Faith stood in front of Buffy’s swing. She pulled the ragged envelope from her back pocket. “It didn’t travel as well as I did, but I never opened it.” She extended her hand out to Buffy to give her the envelope.

“Thank you very much!” Buffy beamed with pride at Faith. She accepted the envelope and tucked it into the front pocket of her leather pants. The first part of Faith’s test was over, and the brunette Slayer had passed. Buffy was very happy about that.

“You aren’t going to read it?”

“Nope. I can wait until we’re done to get the message.” Buffy smiled. She could see Faith’s curiosity about ready to bubble over. “It’s just the answer to a question I sent to England.”

“Come on, B.” Faith was trying not to pout, but she was dying to know what she carried around and kept away from Wesley and the Council. “She told me it was important, and it would help out.” She plopped down on a swing next to Buffy. “Please don’t leave me hanging here.”

Buffy chuckled good naturedly. “All right, Faith.”

Faith sat on the edge of her swing and twisted the chain around as she twirled herself.

Buffy opened the envelope and unfolded the piece of parchment inside. She read it silently. “I asked Athena to check something for me to help you and Wes with your decision.”

“And? You’re killing me here, B.” Faith felt the kinship towards her “Slayer” sister strengthen. For the first time in a great long time, she really felt like someone could truly understand her.

Buffy handed the paper to Faith. “I think we should take that back over to ...” Buffy puffed up her chest and straightened her back. She looked like she had a pole up her butt. In a prim but mangled British accent she spoke, “… Mr. Wesley Wyndham-Pryce for his analysis.”

Faith clutched one hand to her stomach and laughed hard. “Oh B, that was priceless. I might not be able to look at him with a straight face ever again.”

Buffy mockingly mimicked the young Watcher, straightening invisible glasses. “Really, Miss Lehane. Is that a proper way to act?” She continued her impersonation.

Faith practically fell off the swing. She hooted her mirth out more loudly. The sound reached the others at the picnic table several yards away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Scoobies and Wesley looked over the park in the direction of the two women on the swings. “I don’t believe I’ve seen Miss Lehane share in such mirth the entire week I’ve known her,” Wesley commented first.

“You haven’t made her smile in a whole week?” Spike tutted. “Not quite the ladies man are you, Watcher? I’d have gotten more than a smile out of her in a week. Slayers are very passionate.”

Wesley splutted, “Miss Lehane is my charge. I would never … It would be unseemly.” His face turned beet red, not in anger but in embarrassment.

Giles tried to hide his own mirth behind a hand over his mouth. He could see that Joyce was ready to cuff Spike in the back of the head again, and he didn’t want her smacking him too.

‘Hmmm, seems I hit a nerve. Very interesting,’ Spike thought. “Don’t have a coronary, Watcher. I’m just teasing.”

‘What’s interesting?’ Buffy stood at the head of the picnic table with a softly chuckling Faith beside her. “Did we miss anything?”

“Not really Miss Summers,” Wesley quickly answered Buffy before Spike could tease him any further. He was mortified with himself enough without having Faith being party to his embarrassment too. “Did the two of you get anything settled?”

Faith handed the piece of parchment to Wesley. “We’ll have time to talk later, but I think you should see this now.”

“Where did this come from?” Wesley scanned the paper’s contents quickly. He reread it a couple times to be sure.

“A woman named Athena gave it to me before we left England.

“Athena? From the Coven?” Wesley questioned. “Are you sure?”

“Yep, pretty positive.” Faith nodded her head. “She told me to bring it with me to Sunnydale and give it to the Slayer. I thought she was a bit strange to trust me with it, but I figured I had nothing to lose.”

“That was a dangerous thing to do, Faith.” Wesley reread the note again. “You could have been wrong about her identity and put yourself in grave danger.”

“I made a Slayer decision, and it looks like it was the right one.” Faith pointed at the paper. “This proves that Buffy Summers still has her soul. She isn’t an evil demon like the Council said.”

“It would seem so. Athena is well respected as the leader of one of the largest Covens in existence, certainly the largest in England.” Wesley set the paper on the table and pushed it towards Giles. “I know her magical signature. It can not be reproduced.” He looked up at Giles. “This only adds to the evidence that your cause is just.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dalton paced back and forth in the sewers below the park. He knew that his Master and Mistress were safe at the moment, but he wished that he could be up there with them. He envied them for being able to live in the light as well as the darkness.

Knowing that Buffy and Spike were able to walk into the sun reinforced his own damnation in his mind. No matter how many times they tried to reassure him of his due, he felt like a lesser being in the scheme of things.

Dalton was grateful for their love and the sense of belonging that they shared with him. He supposed that he was foolish to want more than he’d already been given, but he did envy them. He wished that he could have one more day in the sun, but he knew one day would never be enough.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike peered over Giles shoulder to read the note. He read it, and he was confused about the contents. He turned to Buffy to question her about it. “Why did you ask Athena to check on your soul, love? Was something wrong that you weren’t telling me about?”

“No, but I thought it would help to make things easier for the new Watcher and Slayer to accept.” Buffy looked up into the worried eyes of her Mate and Sire. “You know I didn’t want them here, but you all outvoted me. I thought this could be my way of helping out. I didn’t want to have to hurt anyone because we couldn’t convince them.”

Spike drew Buffy into his arms. He knew how much each death weighed on her soul. The truth be told, it was starting to bother him as well, but he tried not to show it to spare Buffy any further pain. “We do what we have to do, pet. Evil is evil, no matter if they are human or demon.”

“I know, but sometimes I really wish we didn’t have to.” Buffy nestled her face in Spike’s chest. She took comfort in his warm embrace, the suns rays having heated up his skin.

Wesley watched the two vampires interact. He shook his head back and forth.

“Something wrong, Wesley?” Giles asked. He’d been watching the young Watcher’s every moment and action for the entire meeting.

“Anyone who sees them like this would be blind not to see the love and tenderness they share.” Wesley sighed. “It could all be an act, but somehow I seriously doubt that.” He pushed the book that he had been looking through back over to Giles. “I don’t need to read any more about the prophecy or daywalkers right now. You have my support.”

“And you, Faith?” Joyce asked the brunette woman. “What do you think?”

“I’m willing to give it a shot.” Faith shrugged her shoulders. She tried to feign nonchalance, but she was glad that things were working out so far. “Worst that could happen is B tries to kill me. It’s not like that hasn’t happened to me since I’ve been called.” She chuckled.

Buffy looked up at Faith, and she untwisted herself from Spike’s arms to hug the other Slayer. “I’m glad that you’re with us, Faith.”

“It’s cool, B. You don’t bite me, and I won’t stake you.” Faith teased her “sister” Slayer.

“There might come a time that you’ll …” Buffy’s sentence was never finished as Dalton’s thoughts broke into her mind and Spike’s.

‘Master I think that …’ Dalton’s thoughts entered Spike’s mind at the same moment that Spike picked up a nearby scent. “Everybody down!” Spike yelled, and his eyes located the unwanted guest at the same time that a bullet was shot in Wesley Wyndham-Pryce’s direction.

Wesley hit the ground hard, breaking his glasses under the pressure of the fall. Spike’s body covered Wesley’s, and two screams of pain rent through the air right before they both impacted with the dirt.

“Spike!” Buffy called out at the same moment that Faith yelled out, “Wes!” Both girls scrambled along the ground to the two men to asses them both for wounds.

‘Dalton!’ Buffy’s thoughts called out to her son.

‘I’m on it Mistress. They won’t get far.’ Dalton was already running through the tunnels that traversed all of Sunnydale underground. He followed the scent, pounding feet, and beating heart of his enemy. He had no idea how the enemy got that close without them noticing it, but he would find out. He was his family’s arm of vengeance.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (9) Interruptions
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Everyone arrived at the meeting. Faith pulled Buffy to the side to give her a note from Athena, in England. It stated that Buffy’s soul was intact, and Athena’s magical signature authenticated the contents. After Wesley was shown the note, it was the final straw to get him to agree to join the Scoobies. An unwanted visitor to the meeting took a shot at the group. It seemed they were aiming for Wesley, but Spike tried to save him.

Current Chapter Summary: Who was injured? Who shot at the Scoobies? What other trouble is on the horizon? Also, our little "Mouse" and her Sire are on their way to Sunnydale. Are they trouble, or does trouble only follow them?

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

Buffy and Faith dropped to the ground next to Spike and Wesley. “Spike!” Buffy pulled Spike off of Wesley.

“Oh God, Wes!” Faith covered her mouth with one hand. There was a large pool of blood on Wesley’s shoulder in the back. She frantically turned the Watcher around so that he lay in her lap. She looked down at him perplexed. There wasn’t any blood on the front of his shirt. “Wes?” She slapped his cheeks gently to rouse him. Was it his or Spike’s?

Buffy’s hands roamed up and down Spike’s chest. Her mind kept telling her that he wasn’t dust. So, he would be all right, but tears formed in her eyes. “Spike, come on sweetie. Come back to me.”

Spike groaned. “Bloody Hell.” He opened his eyes slowly. “I don’t care if it kills me or not. That bloody well hurts to get shot.”

Buffy choked back her sob. She ran her fingers through Spike’s hair. “You love to scare the Hell out of me, don’t you? I hate it when you do that.”

“Oy. It wasn’t my idea to get shot.” Spike half laughed. The movement caused a searing pain to go through his chest. He clutched over the bullet wound area.

Giles, Joyce, Willow and Xander formed a protective circle around the 4 on the ground. Joyce faced inward. “We need to get out of the open. Can we move them?” The local police were fairly blind to Sunnydale’s night life, but she didn’t want any of Sunnydale’s finest asking them questions about daylight shootings.

Spike, with Buffy’s help, propped himself up on his elbows. “The bullet is going to have to come out. I can feel it wriggling around in there, but it doesn’t burn. So, at least it wasn’t coated with Holy water.”

“Which means the intended target was most assuredly supposed to be human.” Giles spoke only loud enough for their group to hear him.

Wesley groaned and came to. Spike had saved him from taking a bullet, but the blow to the head when he hit the ground knocked him unconscious. He brought a hand up to his temple. “Dear Lord. Did anyone get the number of that truck?”

Faith let out a breath of relief. She slapped him in the arm out of reflex. “Don’t you ever do that to me again. You can’t get out of the whole Watcher gig that easily, Wes.” She reasoned that the blood on the back of Wes’ shirt had to belong to Spike.

“Ow!” Wesley rubbed his shoulder. He opened his eyes fully. His smile widened when he realized that Faith’s face was the only thing in his line of vision. He felt the softness of her lap against the back of his head. He blushed when he realized where the warmth at the back of his head was coming from.

“I say he was just faking it to get into your good graces.” Spike teased. “What bloke wouldn’t feign pain for such a cozy place as what he got?”

Wesley groaned and closed his eyes again. He felt thoroughly embarrassed. Faith actually blushed, but she didn’t push Wesley away.

“Shouldn’t we get these guys back to one of our places?” Xander brought the conversation back to the danger at hand.

“Would we be able to crash at the hotel?” Buffy asked.

“It’s a little small for all of us. Why not your place?” Faith questioned.

“Our homes are all warded against anyone who isn’t a part of a blood bond. I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’re quite to that stage yet.” Buffy nibbled on her lower lip.

“It’s okay.” Faith helped Wesley work his way to standing up again. She wrapped her arm underneath his and around his waist. “I need to get Watcherman here back to the hotel to lie down.”

“Why don’t we book a suite at their hotel, Buffy?” Willow offered as a suggestion. “We know the guy who runs the one that they are staying at. I’m sure he’d give us a deal.”

“That’s a good idea, Willow.” Joyce smiled. “That way we have a secondary base of operations when we all need to be near.”

Buffy and Spike nodded their agreement to the idea. “Did anyone bring a car? Spike, Willow, Xander and I all walked.”

“Faith and I also walked, but it isn’t that far.”

“Not when you are feeling all healthy, but when you’re injured every step can be an eternity,” Xander frowned. “Should I run to get one of your cars, Giles? Your house is the closest.”

“Let’s see if we can manage.” Wesley’s head was pounding, and he didn’t want to wait any longer to lay down than necessary.

Spike stood up next to Wes. “The shirt is ruined, but I can feel the hole already closing. I can make it to the hotel.”

“Well, we will have to get that bullet out once we get to the room. I’m not leaving it in there to hurt you another day.” Buffy was adamant about her statement. “I wish we didn’t have to reopen the wound, but I don’t see what other choice we have.”

“It’s fine, love. We’ll do what we have to do.” Spike smiled warmly at his Mate.

“Let’s get going then.” Faith, supporting part of Wesley’s weight in case he stumbled, headed off in the direction of their hotel.

Giles gathered up all of the paperwork, books, and notes of his and Wesley’s. He tucked everything into their respective cases. He double checked the area around them to be sure that nothing flew off the table. Satisfied that he had everything, he escorted Joyce across the park behind Wes, Spike, Faith and Buffy.

Willow and Xander followed right behind Giles and Joyce. They kept their eyes on everything around them. They knew Dalton ran after the shooter, but they didn’t want to take a chance that there was more than one out there.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dalton darted down the left fork of one of the tunnels. His prey was slowing down, but his destination above ground was still unclear to Dalton. He had to rely on his vampiric senses. Having to use his enhanced sense of smell was very unpleasant because of the sewers, but he’d gotten close enough at one point to catch the intruder’s scent more strongly. So, Dalton was using every ability at his disposal to track the enemy.

Dalton found himself face to face with a solid brick wall after a few more turns. ‘Damn,’ He thought. He was about to back track his path when he heard the scrambling of feet and voices above him. His amber colored eyes looked up at the ceiling for any kind of access point.

After a couple minutes Dalton located what appeared to be a steel cover with a few holes in it. He slowly pushed the metal upward. Thankfully there were no hinges to squeak. The voices were clearer, and Dalton listened carefully. There were several different sets of voices above him.

It was obvious that he wasn’t going to be able to capture the shooter. There were too many beings for one vampire to deal with. So, he needed to learn everything he could about who was involved.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Are you sure that he’s dead?”

“Yeah, I got two for the price of one.” The rather dense assassin said. “I aimed for one of the others, just like you said.”

“And?” The voice of the first one to speak sounded irritated and impatient.

“The freaky white haired guy jumped in, and both of them went down.”

“How are you sure that you managed to get one of them, let alone both? Did you see the dust?”

“They were both hollering in pain as they went down.” The would be assassin shrugged his shoulders.

“You didn’t stay to see if your mark was truly dead?” The dark-skinned demon shook his head back and forth at the incompetence of the hired gun.

“I wasn’t sticking around and taking a chance of being caught.” The hired gun huffed indignantly. “They looked right in my direction when the two went down. I hightailed it out of there. I shot him. Now where is my money?”

“You actually think that you’ll be paid for such shoddy work?” The dark-skinned demon felt his intelligence was being insulted. “I’ll give you this one chance to get out of my sight with your life.”

“That wasn’t the bargain.” The assassin got right in the dark-skinned demon’s face. “I want my money.”

“Don’t say I didn’t give you a sporting chance.” The demon switched to his vampire guise. Two other vampires jumped in behind the human. The two vampires held the assassin while the head vampire drained the pitiful excuse for humanity.

The assassin’s body dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. The dark-skinned vampire straightened his suit jacket and dabbed the traces of blood from the side of his lips. He licked his fingers clean. “Get rid of him.” He motioned to his minions to remove the body from his sight. “The boss isn’t going to be happy about this set back. I have to figure out what to tell him.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dalton replaced the metal cover. He ducked back against the wall in the shadows. He listened to the footsteps above move farther away. He heard a door open and close. After the rest of the footsteps disappeared in the distance, Dalton started to work his way back to the park.

‘He was a hired thug, Mistress,’ Dalton sent the thoughts in the direction of Buffy and Spike. ‘He’s dead, but I didn’t do it. Whoever hired him did it.’

‘All right, Dalton. Get back here,’ Buffy answered him. ‘We’re heading to the same hotel that Wesley and Faith were staying at.’

‘Yes, Mistress. I’ll come up through the lower laundry sewer entrance.’

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy opened the door of the hotel suite with her key card. She pushed it open and extended her senses out to check for intruders, demon or human. Her and Spike did a quick sweep of the entire suite. “All clear.”

The rest of the Scoobies plus Wesley and Faith walked into the suite from the outside.

Faith led Wesley over to one of the couches in the main living area. “I’m going to look for some ice.” She grabbed an ice bucket off the table. “I think I saw the machine on our way up here.”

“Take someone with you please, Faith.” Joyce made the motherly request. “Everyone shouldn’t go anywhere without at least being in pairs. It is safer that way.”

“But I’m the Slayer?” Faith said more like a question than a statement.

“Even Buffy usually has someone with her, and she has that whole undead thing going for her.” Xander chuckled. “In pairs gives at least one person a chance to go yelling for help if something happens.”

“I’ll go, Faith. That is if you don’t mind.” Willow offered. “I’m still too nervous to sit still yet.” She twisted her hands over each other.

“Don’t let her get any more caffeine, or we’ll never get Red to sit still,” Spike teased.

“Very funny, Spike.” Willow took the jab good naturedly. She grabbed a second ice bucket off the dining like table.

“We’ll be back soon.” Everyone watched Faith and Willow head back out into the hallway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So, how did you get mixed up in all of this?” Faith asked Willow while they searched for the ice machine.

“I kind of found out about Buffy’s slaying her first year here.” Willow answered honestly. “She saved me from getting eaten by a vampire one night. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to save a friend of Xander’s and mine who was taken at the same time.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Faith frowned. “Is that the same way Xander found out?”

“Actually he overheard Buffy and Giles speaking in the library shortly after she arrived. He thought they were both crazy until we saw our first vampires.”

“I’m surprised that Giles let you guys hang around. My first Watcher was a real bitch. She kept going on about the mission and what I should be doing. She wouldn’t let me have anyone around.”

“Buffy was still living with her mom when she moved here. Her first Watcher was killed in Los Angeles. She was never taken away from her family.” Willow explained. She didn’t think any of the information that she was telling Faith would be a problem for her to know. She was still a little wary of the new Slayer, but they needed to try to trust her. If Buffy was happy that Faith passed a test, then Willow needed to trust Buffy’s judgment.

“I really didn’t have much family to speak of before I was called.” Faith set the bucket under the spout of the ice machine. She pushed the button down and waited for enough ice to be dispensed. She handed the full bucket to Willow and took Willow’s empty one. “I pretty much kept to myself. I was kind of a street gal.”

Willow nodded in understanding. “You don’t have to be that anymore, you know.” She smiled. “Majority vote rules in this group, and we all voted to give you guys a chance.”

“B said that she didn’t vote for us?” Faith recalled hearing Buffy say something like that. Although she’d felt a kinship with the vamped Slayer, she wondered if there was an underlying problem that she should be on the watch for.

“The Council has been trying to kill her, and the rest of us, ever since they found out about her being turned. She was just being protective and cautious. She doesn’t trust the Council at all.” Willow sighed. “They’ve even kidnapped some of us to try and capture Buffy. I don’t even want to think about the tests they’d like to run on her.”

“If they’re so worried about her being a vamp, why not just stake her?” Faith pulled the second bucket out from under the spout.

“It’s not quite that easy for her. You read the book right?”

“Yeah, I read a lot of it.”

“She’s a different kind of Immortal Slayer of sorts. Athena called her a Daywalker.” Willow walked alongside Faith back to the suite. “There’s a prophecy and everything.”

“Ah, I know how much the Council loves those things.” Faith rolled her eyes. “My first Watcher kept trying to get me to memorize all of these prophecy things. None of them even made sense.”

“Yeah, that’s a prophecy for you. They hardly ever make sense until everything already happens.” Willow shook her head back and forth. “The first prophecy we found about Buffy ended up killing her at the hands of the Master. Thankfully she only drowned, and Xander was able to resuscitate.”

“Dang, B likes to die a lot.”

Willow laughed. “Yeah well I don’t think that Spike is going to let her die again any time soon.”

“I’ve never met a vampire that is like him. The way he looks at B is just … wow … you know?”

“Yeah, he caught us all off guard.” Willow knocked on the door to their suite.

Buffy slowly opened the door. Even though she’d seen it was Faith and Willow on the other side through the peephole, she wasn’t taking any chances. “That didn’t take too long.”

“Nope.” Faith walked in and Willow followed. Both women put their buckets on the counter of the breakfast nook between the living room and the suite’s kitchenette. Faith went to work getting a cold compress ready for Wes’ throbbing head.

“Bloody Hell Rupes!” Spike growled out.

“Language, Spike.” Joyce rolled her eyes at the vampire. She had no doubts that he was in pain, but his mouth really did run away from him at times.

“Sorry Mum. This bloody well hurts.” Spike turned his head to stare at Giles. “Are you digging to China for that bullet, Rupes?”

“Sit still, Spike.” Giles ground out in frustration. “You are making this ten times harder than it should be.”

“Let me take a sodding knife to your back, and we’ll see how calm you take it mate.”

“The big bad isn’t so big and bad now, is he?” Xander chuckled.

“Watch it Whelp. Next time I’ll shove you in the line of fire.”

“You know you don’t mean it, Deadboy.” Xander continued his playful string of jibes. “You know you love me.”

“Like the plague, Harris.” Spike knew Xander was teasing. The banter was always like that between them. They had fun seeing who could come up with the more creative insults.

Giles was glad for Xander’s distraction. It was making his job easier to get the bullet out. The clink of metal into the bowl on the table announced that the bullet was finally out. He motioned for Joyce to hand him the antiseptic covered towel. Vampires didn’t usually have to worry about infections, but Giles didn’t want to take any chances since Spike was exhibiting more signs of being a true Daywalker.

Buffy crossed the room to Spike. She ran her fingers through his loosened curly locks. She brushed some of the dirt from the top of his head. She lowered her wrist close to Spike’s mouth. “Drink baby. It will help you heal faster.”

Spike looked up reverently at his Mate. He gently kissed Buffy’s wrist before his face shifted. He would have rather supped from Buffy’s neck, but he figured it would freak the newcomers out less if he fed from the offered wrist. His fangs sliced neatly into Buffy’s skin, and he gulped down three mouthfuls of the potent blood. He shifted back into his human guise and licked the wounds clean. “Thank you, pet.” He kissed over the two puncture marks in her skin.

Wesley and Faith stared in amazement and fear at the scene they’d witnessed. Faith held a bag of ice with a towel wrapped around it to the side of Wesley’s head. She nearly dropped the compress when Spike shifted to his vampiric face. The calm acceptance of everyone else in the room helped to ease her fears some.

“Childe blood is helpful in healing a Sire as well as the reverse?” Wesley stuttered out the question. He was trying to keep his heart from pounding right out of his chest.

Buffy slipped into Spike’s lap. She laid her head on his non-wounded shoulder. She nestled against him and closed her eyes to seek out her Sire and Mate’s comforting presence. She wasn’t up to answering any more questions at the moment. She needed to rest from the trauma of seeing her Mate shot.

“According to Spike, Buffy’s blood is still as powerful as Slayer blood to him. In fact it seems that it gets stronger every time they mutually share blood or reaffirm their claims.” Giles pocketed the now washed bullet. He wanted to take a closer look at it for markings later. He washed out the other instruments and bowls that they’d used for the “surgery”.

“Extraordinary.” Wesley itched to have his notepad to write on, but his head hurt too much to bother with it at the moment.

Buffy jumped out of Spike’s lap and rushed to the suite door without a word to anyone else. “Come in, Dalton.” She quickly opened the door and a blanketed figure ran in from the sunlit hallway. “I swear you are far too much like your father.”

Dalton tossed the blanket to the floor and stomped on it. “I wasn’t expecting the room to be along the courtyard. The sun was too high in the sky for me to avoid it in the hallway.”

Faith and Wesley sat up straight. Faith held a stake tightly in her hand.

Spike looked at Faith. ‘Where do you Slayers keep those stakes, love? I swear you have them up your arse or something because no one knows you have any and then boom … stake in hand.’

‘Very funny, Spike.’ Buffy rolled her eyes at Spike.

“It’s okay, Faith. He’s with us.” Buffy stepped between the couch and where Dalton stood near the doorway. “He’s my son of sorts.”

“You turned someone?” Wesley asked in shock. Every time he thought he was getting a better handle on what was going on another curve ball was thrown his way.

“No No … he was a minion of the Anointed One.” Buffy explained. “He remained loyal to Spike even after Angelus’ arrival. Spike and I started our own clan of sorts. We began with Dalton.”

Spike took over some of the explanations for Buffy. “Dalton here seemed to retain a bit more of his humanity and soul than other vamps, like I did.” He patted Dalton on the back. He picked up the blanket and folded it for the younger vamp. He handed it back to Dalton. “We’ve found a few vamps here and there that have.”

Wesley stared at Buffy, Spike and Dalton with his mouth open. Faith reached over and closed his mouth by pressing her finger under his chin and moving upward. She was shocked as well, but she didn’t want Buffy and Spike to be worried about them.

“What did you find out?” Spike asked Dalton. “I’m assuming you were successful?”

“Not quite.” Dalton explained to everyone there what he’d overheard. The Scoobies were perplexed. No one knew the identity of the head demon or who his boss might be either. They weren’t happy to find out that they had a new problem in Sunnydale to worry about coming at them.

About halfway through the evening, Giles and Joyce headed back to their house. Willow and Xander bunked in one of suite’s rooms that had two full beds in it. They figured it would help Wesley and Faith to feel more comfortable if the humans outnumbered the demons for the night.

Dalton waited for sunset before he returned to the mansion to look over everything there. After Buffy and Spike made a call to Clem to let him know that they wouldn’t be home that night, Buffy and Faith headed out to patrol all of Sunnydale’s cemeteries. Usually Spike went with Buffy, but they both thought it would be a good idea for Faith to familiarize herself with the area. It also gave the two Slayers a chance to bond.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(The next morning)

Clem, a wrinkly-skinned friendly demon who lived next door to Buffy and Spike, approached hotel Faith and Wesley were staying at. His neighbors hadn’t come home the night before. Thankfully Buffy and Spike called him to let them know of their temporary location for the night. The Scoobies had a large multi-room suite at the Sunnydale Hotel. It was usually used for wedding parties or clan meetings to room together, but right now the extra large suite became Scooby Central for their group.

Word had already traveled through the demon grapevine about the meeting and the events following it. He was worried about his friends in more ways than one. He also didn’t like being the bearer of bad news, and that was what he had for them today.

Spike and Buffy treated the demon community well if you didn’t cross them on their no harming innocents rule. Word on the street was that a rising demon faction was involved in the shooting, but no one knew exactly who was responsible.

On top of the shooting, Clem now had to bring news of a Master Vampire that was on a killing spree through California. Normally that wouldn’t have affected Buffy and Spike directly, but it seemed like this vampire was cutting a path towards Sunnydale. Spike and Buffy were strong, but this vampire seemed determined to wipe out any demon that would not join him or help him. The more peaceful demon inhabitants were getting scared.

Clem raised his hand to knock on the door of the suite he was told Buffy and Spike were staying in. It flung open, and a brunette woman held a dagger in her hand ready to strike. “Easy Xena, I’m here to see Spike and Buffy.”

Faith’s brow lifted. She didn’t recognize the wrinkly demon, but he was holding his hands in the air in a surrender motion. She didn’t see any visible weapon on him, but she knew some demon species had weapons built in. “B!” She called out over your shoulder. “Come tell me if this is one of yours!” He wasn’t a vampire, but she kept her dagger ready in case he wasn’t a friendly demon species.

Clem waited patiently for Buffy to come to the door. He hadn’t met the newest Slayer yet. She seemed quite feisty, but at least she asked first and stabbed later.

“Clem!” Buffy stepped out of the doorway and into the light. She hugged her friend and neighbor. She turned to Faith. “Faith this is Clem. He and his wife are my neighbors and close friends.” She smiled at Clem. “Clem, this is the Slayer, Faith.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Faith.” Clem smiled toothily. His smile was scarier than his overall demon appearance, but Faith waved back slowly.

“What are you doing here, Clem?” Buffy questioned the wrinkly skinned demon. Most people in Sunnydale overlooked his “skin condition”, but Clem wasn’t a big time traveler during the daylight hours.

“I’m afraid I have some bad news.” Clem frowned at the slump of Buffy’s shoulders. “It’s better shared in private.”

“When it rains it pours.” Buffy sighed. She addressed Faith, “Do you mind if Clem comes in? He doesn’t need an invite, but this is your home right now too, and I don’t want to assume anything. I can talk to him out here if I need to.”

“Naw, no problem, B.” Faith motioned for Buffy and Clem to come in. “The more the merrier.” She leaned in to whisper in Buffy’s ear. “Besides I want to see the look on Wesley’s face when he comes out of the shower to see your buddy here.”

Buffy laughed. “You just might be evil, Faith. I like it.” The pair of girls had already shared in a few laughs at the Watcher’s expense over the course of the last day. They were bonding nicely, like sisters and friends.

Clem walked into the main room of the suite. It was set up like a living room in a home. Spike sat in a chair near a large television flipping through the channels. “Hi, Spike.” Clem waved at his best friend.

“Clem!” Spike dropped the remote on the table in front of him. He walked over to his buddy and patted him on the back. “What has you up and about at this time of day?”

“Bad news.” Clem licked his lips. “Wish it wasn’t.”

“What’s another interruption to our lives?” Spike teased. He pulled his friend over to a table to have a seat. “Drink?”

“Sure, you know what I like.” Clem pulled the map and notes he brought with him from his pocket. He laid them out on the table.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (10) Good News, Bad News
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Spike was injured when he jumped in front of a bullet that was meant for Wesley by a hired thug. Dalton followed the thug, and he reported back everything he heard. The Scoobies have a big suite set up at the Sunnydale Motel as a secondary Scooby Central because they are not ready to trust Faith and Wes with a blood bond yet.

Current Chapter Summary: Clem comes to them with news about a danger heading this way. He also has some other rumors to share with the Scoobies. Some of the new and old Scoobies work on plans and preparations to face the incoming threat as well as working to figure out the current threat in Sunnydale.

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

Clem pulled the map and notes he brought with him from his pocket. He laid them out on the table.

Spike hurried to the kitchen and back with one of Clem’s favorite beverages. The wrinkly skinned demon had a soft spot for fruity and carbonated drinks. Mixing the two together made him even happier. Spike set a Squirt and Fruit Punch mixed drink in front of Clem. He sat down next to Buffy with one arm hanging over the back of her chair.

Clem scooped up a couple nearby bowls of peanuts and other munchies lying around the room. He used the bowls to weigh down the corners of the large map to keep it from rolling in upon itself. Several red spots dotted the map from one part of California to another. Lines had been drawn in for the most likely path through all the noted skirmishes.

“Wow, Clem. Go you with the geography lesson,” Buffy teased. Too many people thought that demons weren’t as smart as humans. Many demons had already proved to Buffy the idiocy of that theory. How could so many demons never fall under the Slayer radar, or humans, if they were stupid? Although Clem was a more passive demon, there was nothing stupid about him.

Clem’s wrinkly skin turned a light shade of pink. “Ever since Angelus’ demise, word has spread through the demon world about you two in Sunnydale.” He pointed to some of the blue dots placed in various bordering states on the map. “Demons from all over the country have heard about how demons are treated if they agree to your rules on humans.”

Spike shrugged. He wasn’t sure why that was important. “Yeah, so? Why does that matter?”

“The demon population of Sunnydale, and right around it, is increasing at a fairly steady rate. The death rate has stayed the same or in some cases has lowered,” Clem further explained. “This is because demons that want to be free of the persecutions they’ve faced elsewhere are heading to Sunnydale to live.”

“That should be a good thing right?” Faith asked. She was still getting comfortable with the idea that not all demons were something she needed to kill. Peaceful demons were a good thing in her book though.

“Normally yes, but there are those who aren’t happy with the whole idea that demons are being “good” or not “living” like they feel demons should.” Clem took in a deep breath. “This is especially true for vampires.”

Spike sighed. Buffy and he had already killed a lot of vampires who weren’t willing to live under the new rules. He kept hoping that he would find more like Dalton and himself, but he was finding those opportunities few and far between. This was especially true with older vampires because the humanity had either been tortured out of them or pushed so far back that it couldn’t be brought out, if any existed in the first place. Their best chances had been with fairly young vampires or isolated ones. Even then, very few retained the humanity needed to bring them back from complete darkness.

Buffy squeezed Spike’s thigh softly and rested her hand there in a show of support and comfort. ‘We can handle anything that comes at us as long as we are together.’

Spike reached his free hand across to rest on top of Buffy’s hand. ‘You deserve a chance to rest.’

‘Somehow I don’t think that is going to happen for a very long time, if ever, but that’s all right.’ Buffy smiled warmly at her Mate. ‘I wouldn’t change a moment of my time with you to be as I was again.’

Faith’s eyes darted between Spike and Buffy. She was starting to get used to the fact that the two had a telepathic link to each other. Sometimes the pair would just drift off into their mental conversations, and everything else would be blocked out. In a way she envied the closeness that she’d witnessed between them.

Clem waited for Buffy and Spike’s attention to be refocused on him. It was better to wait for their full attention than to repeat himself later. “Some of the demons who have objections to our philosophy are taking matters into their own hands.” His fingers drifted over several of the red dots that seemed to follow a path through California down to Los Angeles. “There is a Master Vampire named Telshar laying waste to any demon in his path who will not join him in his quest to rid the planet of you two and your ideals. He doesn’t care how many humans get in the way either.”

Buffy gasped. “That’s horrible. How many have been killed?”

Spike shook his head at Clem to hold him off before he could answer. “How many isn’t important, pet.”

“But …”

“What is more important is stopping the git.” Spike reassured her. He knew how Buffy would react to the count of how many innocents were killed. He knew better than anyone how her self-imposed guilt factor would eat at her until she was absolutely miserable. “How long before he ends up here?”

“We’re not sure.” Clem pulled out the sheet of notes combined from the various sources they had around and out of town. “He seems to have stalled his forward assault in Los Angeles for the time being. He’s already been there two days, and it looks like he could be setting up shop there for a longer stay.”

“Good, that should give us more time to plan,” Faith added in her thoughts. “How many of the demon population on our side in Sunnydale can we count on to help defend the city?”

Spike and Buffy looked up in surprise at Faith. They were both impressed by her readiness to bring other friendly demons into the circle of defense.

Faith looked at the grins on Buffy and Spike’s face. “What?”

“Do you realize you just said our side in the same sentence with demon population?” Spike teased.

“I figured they’d want to keep from being slaughtered by someone who doesn’t like them.” Faith shrugged. “Since I tossed my hat in with you lot, I figured that meant I was on your side too.”

Buffy grinned. “You are, Faith. Glad to hear you say that.”

“One of our contacts in L.A. told me about a pair of vampires that seemed to fit a description of who Telshar is specifically looking for. My guess is that at least one of them is Telshar’s Childe, and he’s upset that a Childe of his is heading for us.”

“So, the good news is that we have a chance for new allies. The bad news is that others want to annihilate us all?” Buffy asked.

Clem forced a chuckle back from escaping. This was a serious matter, but sometimes Buffy’s flair for simplicity amused him. “That’s about it.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Simultaneously to the meeting with Clem, Buffy, Spike and Faith)

Despite the fact that two Daywalkers had slept in another bedroom of the suite, Wesley slept in later than his normal pattern. He was pretty worn out from the physical, mental, and emotional demands on his body the last few weeks. The bump on his head from it’s collision with the ground the day before still ached, but it wasn’t as bad.

Wesley stretched out in his bed. Although he’d only shared his bed the one night with Faith, he sadly felt that something was missing when he woke up. Her presence was already starting to mean something to him. He feared that she was starting to mean too much to him on a personal level. ‘I really need a shower. I feel like a dirty old man. Maybe I can wash away these thoughts from my system.’

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Oh, I remembered one more thing.” Clem pulled out another sheet of paper. “Some of our contacts in other demon communities noticed something else happening.” He handed one copy of the notes to Buffy and Spike, and the other one he passed along to Faith.

“Humans from several related and unrelated cities are heading to Sunnydale as well?” Spike questioned the information he was reading. “Why would they purposely move to a town that is known for its “gang members on PCP”?”

“Some are known for helping out demons in their communities,” Clem answered. “Maybe they are coming to help out?”

Buffy beamed. “If they’re coming to help, this is great news!” She looked around the table at a couple of the perplexed faces. “People in Sunnydale try to ignore everything around them. If we had more here who understood how things really are, and see the situation as we do, it should make life easier.”

“I’m worried that Sunnydale isn’t going to be big enough for all of this expansion. Something will have to give.” Spike worried about so many beings in the same place at once.

“The mayor has been running campaigns for years to try to boost the population of Sunnydale.” Clem offered the bit of information to the group. “That should make him happy to allow contractors to build more houses surrounding the town.”

“Something worries me about anyone that would end up the mayor of a town on top of a Hellmouth,” Spike said out loud instead of keeping the thoughts inside his own head. “Kind of makes you wonder what he had to do to get to be mayor. Don’t you think?”

“One problem at a time, Sherlock,” Faith teased Spike. “Well two or three problems at a time, but not that one yet.” She chuckled. “I think we have enough on our plate without you finding more side dishes to add to it.”

“I’m really starting to like you, Sparky.”

“Sparky?”

“It’s a Spike thing, Faith. Everyone has a nickname. It’s a compliment actually. Don’t worry,” Buffy reassured the brunette Slayer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wesley, more invigorated after his shower, walked back into his bedroom. A casual pair of lightweight, dark color slacks and dark green polo shirt rested on top of his dresser with a note on top of the pile. ‘I don’t remember seeing that before I went in to my shower. I need to be more alert of my surroundings.’ He picked up the note to read first.

Dear Wesley,

I hope that you will find these to be more comfortable to wear in the California heat. Hopefully we guessed the right size for you. I know that you would be more secure in your normal attire, but it also makes you draw more attention to yourself. It would be good for you to relax a bit more, and this will help you along your way. It will make you more approachable to the residents as well.

Joyce and I stopped by this morning for an early breakfast with Spike and Buffy. We didn’t want to wake you after your ordeal yesterday. We are looking further into the attempt on your life, and you have our word that we will do all we can to keep the Council from following through on their motives as well. We’ll be back by later in the evening. Joyce needed to go into her Gallery today, and I needed to do some research with the local Coven.

Welcome again to the family,
Rupert Giles

Wesley dropped the note on the other side of the pile. He examined the polo shirt with a mild look of disdain. After a few moments of examination he sighed. “When in Rome …” He muttered to himself, scooped up the shirt and pants, and opened the dresser drawers to get the rest of the clothing he’d need to get dressed for the day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I need to get back home to the Missus.” Clem stood up. He left the map and other notes for Buffy and her group to go over with the others later. “We’re going on a citywide tabby hunt together this afternoon.”

“Tabby hunt?” Faith queried.

“Don’t ask, Faith,” Buffy jumped in. She tried to keep her cringe inward and not let it show on her face. Clem needed to eat, and the tabbies they’d be chasing were specifically bred for the hunts. It still squicked her out to think about it though. “Have a good day, Clem, and thank you for all your work.”

“Anything for you guys, you know that.” Clem smiled and waved before the door closed behind him.

Wesley stepped out into the main room. “Who was at the door?” He headed for the kitchen. The scent of a blended herbal tea assaulted his senses as soon as he left his room. He was looking forward to a nice cup of tea. “Did Giles and Joyce arrive earlier than they thought?”

Faith stared open-mouthed at the slight transformed Watcher. ‘Now that is what I call drool worthy.’

“No, a friend of ours wanted to drop by some new information to us. News usually travels fast in Sunnydale about where we are,” Spike answered Wesley’s question in the most diplomatic way he could think of.

“And this friend of yours was of the demonic persuasion?” Wesley asked semi-casually.

“Why would you say that?” Buffy asked in return.

“You failed to tell me the visitor’s name or anything else about them which led me to believe they were not human, and you didn’t want to test my loyalties just yet,” Wesley answered simply. He poured himself a full cup of tea from the lightly decorated teapot on the counter. He waved the steaming cup under his nose and inhaled the alluring scent of the tea.

“Not bad for a Watcher,” Spike snarked.

Buffy and Faith both rolled their eyes simultaneously at Spike.

Wesley ignored Spike’s comment. He was too busy enjoying his morning cuppa. “Ahhh … Rupert must have made tea before he left. This is indeed a tea worthy of a true gentleman.”

Spike smirked from the other side of the room. “Actually I made that pot your sampling.”

Wesley froze with the cup at his lips for a moment before he continued to drink the tea. “I’m curious how someone who is renowned in Council history as a ruffian and a bully would know how to make a gentleman’s blend of tea.”

Buffy nudged Spike in the ribs. ‘Tell him.’

‘No bloody way, pet. Not going to happen.’ Spike growled softly at the pouting lip Buffy now sported. “Maybe I’ll let Rupert tell you about it some day. I’m sure as Hell not going to repeat the story again.” He huffed. It was as far as he would go to appease Buffy on the matter.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy, Spike, Faith and Wesley spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon going over the information Clem gave them. They talked about the various places that fortifications could be made, as well as the best ways to try to protect the population of Sunnydale. Willow, Xander, Giles and Joyce joined the quartet later in the evening for dinner and more planning.

It was decided that half of the group would focus on gathering more information about who could have hired the thug who shot at Wesley. They needed to figure out if the Council was related to the shooting or if another power was making its presence known. Worst case scenario would be that both were involved in what happened. The other half would work on keeping up to date with all their sources in and out of town to track the movements of both the threats and assets to their cause.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sun had barely set when a manhole cover was lifted away and replaced after a man crawled out onto the street. Dalton pulled himself to his full height and scouted through the streets of Sunnydale on his normal nightly patrol route. He usually worked from the outskirts of the town inward just after sunset every couple days. It helped him to locate newer nightly arrivals more easily. Newcomers had less of a chance to get into the heart of Sunnydale if he intercepted them on the outskirts.

Constance and Dawn, often called Mouse instead of Dawn, walked warily past the “Welcome to Sunnydale” sign. The night was quiet around them but not eerily so. The two female vampires let their senses guide them as they walked into town. To their relief, neither felt the presence of Constance’s Sire in the area.

Dawn’s long brown hair swirled around her neck and face when she twisted her head to the side quickly. “Someone is over there.” She nodded towards the shadows on the left.

“Come out and show yourself.” Constance called out tentatively. “We mean you no harm, but you will not succeed in an attack against us.”

Dalton’s figure emerged from the shadows slowly. He sensed the age of the vampires before him. The one woman was quite young and probably not quite an adult when she was turned in the first place. The other seemed much older. His perceptions were a little confused about her. She felt strong, but he couldn’t discern what her family’s bloodline was.

Constance and Dawn watched the seemingly meek man walk towards them. They knew all too well how looks could be deceiving. So, they kept themselves on guard in case he attacked.

“Hello there.” Dalton, who stood in front of the two new arrivals, pushed the glasses further up the bridge of nose that had slid down slightly. He looked deeply into Constance’s silvery eyes. He jerked back slightly at what he thought he saw.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (11) New Friends, Old Enemies
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Clem brought by news that other demons appeared to be heading to Sunnydale for refuge. Some humans who knew about demons were on their way too. Unfortunately some demons weren’t happy about Sunnydale’s “safe haven” existence, and they are on their way to destroy Buffy and Spike. Constance and Dawn have arrived in town just after sunset. Dalton was there to meet them.

Current Chapter Summary: Dalton talks with Constance and Dawn in an attempt to ascertain their intentions. He informs Spike of the new arrivals, and he is brought up to date on all the groups that might be heading to Sunnydale. Buffy and Spike go to meet the new visitors. Some of the Scoobies look into the attempt on Wesley’s life and search for Council involvement. There is a bit of a confrontation in England at the Council headquarters. I also put in a little bit of a flashback from when Dalton “tortured” Quentin before the end of Revenge For love for those who requested it before. It isn’t hugely graphic, and you can skip the little section between the single set of ~*~ if you want.

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

“Hello there.” Dalton, who stood in front of the two new arrivals, pushed the glasses further up the bridge of nose that had slid down slightly. He looked deeply into Constance’s silvery eyes. He jerked back slightly at what he thought he saw.

‘Uh oh,’ Constance thought to herself. ‘He can see it.’ She prepared herself mentally to have to fight the vampire before her. Any time that anyone recognized the humanity in her it ended up in a fight. Most vampires were disgusted by it. She thought she’d been good at hiding it, but maybe being in Dawn’s presence was making it more visible again. She mentally berated herself to be more vigilant at hiding it’s presence. To her surprise, the vampire didn’t attack. Instead he welcomed them to the town.

“Welcome to Sunnydale.” Dalton turned his gaze from the older vampiress to the younger one. “You two seem to be new in town.” What he saw lingering behind the younger woman’s eyes was even stronger than the older one. ‘I haven’t seen something so beautiful since Mistress Buffy and Master Spike during their mating.’ He was mesmerized by the young vampiress’ vivid blue eyes. She seemed fragile and fierce at the same time.

“Yes, we just arrived from Los Angeles.” Dawn kept her tone neutral, but the man’s gaze unnerved her. It felt like he was looking through her instead at her. “We heard that Sunnydale was a nice place for certain vamps to get a change of scenery in.”

“And who told you that?” The Scoobies had several contacts in Los Angeles. It was a huge city, and it was close enough to cause problems if certain situations got out of hand there or in Sunnydale.

“What business is it of yours?” Constance snapped at Dalton. She didn’t like how focused the male was on Dawn. His signature as a vampire was obvious, and she wasn’t about to allow anyone to take advantage of her Childe.

“My apologies, Madam. I was not trying to be rude. You both caught me a little off guard.” Dalton extended his hand slowly. Many creatures who wanted to enter the town gave themselves and their intentions away quickly. He tested their reactions further. Neither woman wore the vampiric faces he knew they had. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dalton.”

Constance warily accepted the hand and shook it. “My name is Constance, and she goes by the name Mouse.”

“A pleasure to meet both of you. Are you planning to stay long?” The exchange of small talk further confirmed Dalton’s belief that the two vampiress’ were not in Sunnydale to cause problems. Vampires, especially the more twisted and bloodshed craving ones, didn’t have the patience for idle chit chat. They would have given up the façade of friendliness fairly quickly in the conversation when they grew bored.

“It depends on if we find what we need here.” Constance evaded answering the question completely. “If we don’t, then we’ll have to move on quickly.”

Dalton found himself frowning at the thought of the older vampiress leaving before he could get to know her. “Perhaps I can help you find what you are looking for? I must warn you that Sunnydale has a few strict rules about feeding and conduct though. I’m afraid I can’t allow you to snack on the general populace.”

Dawn gasped, “We’d never ...”

Constance held out her arm in front of Dawn before her tirade could gain momentum. “You’ve already helped us out considerably. Would you know of a place we can spend the day tomorrow?”

“I think I can help you out there too.” Dalton motioned for the two women to follow him. “A few of us live in an old mansion on Crawford Street. There’s plenty of room for a couple more.”

“Thank you Dalton. We wouldn’t want to impose on your hospitality though.” Constance followed Dalton, but she kept her senses alert to possible trouble.

“I think that my Master and Mistress will be most pleased to have you stay at the mansion. I’m sure they’d like to meet you as well.”

As the three walked the Sunnydale streets, they came across what Dalton called a rogue vampire. In most towns the type of vampire who drained and killed humans was common, but not in Sunnydale anymore. He hated to have to dust the vampire in front of Constance and Mouse, but he had no choice. He couldn’t let a vampire run free that wasn’t following the rules.

While Dalton was taking care of one vampire, another one emerged for the shadows that he did not see. Fortunately Constance saw the danger. She and Dawn ran forward to intercept the vampire before it could attack Dalton from behind. One woman held the vampire while the other twisted its head right off its body.

Dalton dispatched his vampire with enough time to turn around and see the dust settle around Mouse and Constance. His eyes widened in shock, but nothing but gratitude fell from his lips. “Thank you.”

“It was the least we could do.” Constance brushed the dust off her clothing. Telshar had been a cruel Sire, and he taught his Childe how to fight well and without mercy. She knew that he was very upset with her that she was using that training against their own kind and not humans now. She hoped that Sunnydale would offer them the protection they needed. They had nothing to offer to anyone but themselves.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Suite at the Sunnydale Hotel)

The walkie talkie on Giles’ hip crackled. He turned to Spike and Buffy, and he could see that they were hearing the opening noises in their earpieces as well.

“Master Spike and Mistress Buffy, this is Dalton reporting in,” Dalton’s voice seemed to echo through the room with so many of the Scoobies in one place with their walkie talkies on.

“Go ahead, Dalton,” Spike answered the call. “Dare I say it, but you sound quite excited.”

“I am Master!” Dalton chirped over the airwaves happily. “We’ve had a few new arrivals tonight. I think you will find two of them to be very interesting. The one new vampiress practically glows from the inside like Mistress Buffy. The other vampiress is a bit more subdued, but I could still see that hue behind her eyes.”

“That didn’t take long,” Faith added in her two cents worth from the other side of the room. “They’re already showing up.”

“They weren’t very talkative, but maybe if you and Mistress Buffy came by they would be,” Dalton suggested. “They agreed to stay at the mansion for now. That’s where we are. Is it possible for you both to drop by?”

Spike looked over at Buffy who nodded her head. If Clem’s information was accurate, these arrivals could be the first of a much larger group. They wanted to establish good relations with them from the start. They were still wary about the warning of Telshar’s group as well, but Dalton was usually a very good judge of possible threats. He protected Spike and Buffy with every ability and “sixth sense” that he had.

“Did they say anything about where they came from, Dalton?” Giles asked. He was open to new allies, but he was also aware of the threats headed their way too.

“They came from Los Angeles, Rupert.”

Everyone in the room perked up at that information. Lots of demons and humans could come from L.A. easily. Shared glances between everyone in the room were in unspoken agreement to find out the vampiress’ story as soon as possible.

“We’ll be on our way shortly.” Buffy smiled at the thought of seeing Dalton. She enjoyed the younger vampire’s company, and she hadn’t seen him since the day before after Spike was shot.

“On a sadder note, I had to dust Parker, Master.”

“Pillock,” Spike grumbled. He hadn’t liked the brunette vampire from the moment he met him two weeks ago, but Buffy wanted to give the college aged man a chance to prove himself. “What happened?”

“I found him chasing skirts with more than just his “charming” personality,” Dalton answered sarcastically.

Buffy sighed. Sometimes she hated it when Spike was right about a person. She mock pouted at the “I told you so” face that Spike sent her way.

“You did what you had to do, Dalton. I’m proud of you,” Spike offered his heartfelt praise to the vampire he called his son. “Any other complications?”

“The two new vampiress’ dusted a second vampire that tried to attack me from behind. I didn’t see who it was. He or she was dust before I turned around from Parker.”

“They jumped right in and dusted a fellow vampire?”

“Yep, saved my undead arse too.”

“We’ll have to thank them,” Buffy’s gratefulness was apparent in her voice. She didn’t want to think what eternity would be like without Dalton by their side. “We’ll head over to the mansion as soon as possible. We need to wrap up a couple of things here first.”

“I look forward to it.”

Silence once again reigned in the hotel suite.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(England, Council Headquarters)

A very nervous Quentin Travers paced his office. Over 24 hours had passed since the meeting between Wesley Wyndham-Pryce and the renegade ex-Watcher Rupert Giles in Sunnydale. Roger Wyndham-Pryce, Wesley’s father, would be expecting a report from him soon. Quentin hadn’t heard a word from Sunnydale. Something in his gut told him it wasn’t because Wesley was dead.

Quentin absentmindedly rubbed the scarred over puncture wounds on his neck. He shivered in remembrance of the threat issued to him by Dalton after his last attempt to remove the Sunnydale threat. If his plans had been revealed, then he didn’t have much longer to live.

~*~

(England, Flashback to a few months ago after Travers tried to capture Buffy)

“You ... You can’t kill me,” Quentin’s voice wavered. “Your Mistress and the Coven won’t let you kill humans.” The warmth of his own blood already dripped down the side of his face after several well placed punches broke his nose and split his cheek.

Dalton laughed. It wasn’t a happy or joyous laugh. No, this laugh was filled with darkness and sadistic glee. “You really haven’t been listening to me, have you Quentin?”

Quentin Travers cowered away from the vampire. He tried to scoot across the floor, but the chains he’d forgotten were around his hands and feet stopped him from going very far.

“My Master and Mistress stand against evil in any form. Did you hear that? In any form!” Dalton emphasized the last statement with a growl in full vampiric visage that switched quickly to his human facade. “Human or not, you are evil Quentin Travers, and they know it.”

“No! I’m protecting the world from evil and filth such as yourself!” Quentin spat in Dalton’s face in a brief moment of courage and stupidity.

Dalton advanced on the head of the Council. “You were warned by the most powerful Coven in England that your actions were not welcomed.” He stepped another step closer. “You knew of the prophecies that foretold my Mistress’ second death and her purpose.” He kicked Travers in the shin when he was close enough. “You KNEW that my Mistress was NOT evil, and yet you still try to kill or capture her and my Master using methods that “GOOD” people consider inhumane.”

“If you kill me, others will take my place until that abomination is destroyed!” Quentin spat on Dalton with the last bit of moisture he had left in his mouth.

“You will not die by my hand today, Quentin Travers, but know this ... this is your final warning.” Dalton pulled Quentin into a standing position effortlessly. “If you come after us, or anyone aligned with us again, you and your entire family blood line will be wiped from this earth. Do you understand?”

“I will never bow down to vampires and demons,” Quentin vowed in a last ditch effort to make a point. “You are nothing to me.”

“I am the arm of vengeance for my family, and you are our enemy.” Dalton’s fangs sank deeply into Quentin’s neck. He drank deeply and savagely. The scar that would remain on Travers’ neck would serve as a mark and reminder of the debt that would be paid with his life if he crossed them again.

The blood curdling scream from Quentin Travers bounced off the Dungeon walls so many times that the reverberations took on a life of their own. With barely enough blood flowing through his body to sustain life, he was left abandoned on the cold stone floor.

~*~

Quentin Travers sunk back into his office chair. The sound of arguing outside his door meant only one thing. Roger Wyndham-Pryce was here. The man would want answers that Quentin just didn’t have to give. He feared his life was forfeit either way. The Sunnydale group was bound to know of his part in the latest attempt on their lives. If Roger didn’t kill him, they would.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Mansion on Crawford Street)

Buffy and Spike strolled up to the mansion hand in hand. They noted the various positions of sentry guards and nodded their approval. ‘He really is smart. He has everything covered,’ Buffy sent the thoughts towards her Mate.

‘Yes, he is. People generally underestimate him because of his looks, but he is fiercely protective and a good strategist.’ Spike opened the door for Buffy to enter before him.

As soon as the Master and Mistress of Sunnydale entered the mansion, everything in the main room fell to silence. Everyone wondered what warranted the special visit. The two Daywalkers had been by the mansion the day before, and usually it was a few days before they would return directly to the mansion for a visit.

Constance and Dawn (Mouse) stood off to one side of the room hidden in the shadows as much as possible. The reactions to the presence of the two blonde vampires rippled throughout the entire mansion enough that they physically felt the power surge. Constance noted how the vampires in the mansion didn’t cower and hide away from the stronger Master like they did in Telshar’s court. Although they seemed surprise to see the two blondes, no one seemed overly scared.

Dalton emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. He walked over to Buffy and Spike, stopped in front of them, and lifted one wrist to each of them in a sign of loyalty. Although Buffy and Spike were confident of Dalton’s loyalty, they continued the practice of testing the blood as a sign to all the other vampires around them of tradition. It helped to show that no one was immune to the rules either. Dalton was checked, just as any of them were checked, to be sure of their intentions.

Spike and Buffy slipped their fangs into separate wrists simultaneously. They gathered only two small mouthfuls before they nodded their heads, licked the wound clean, and let go of the wrist. Buffy smiled warmly at Dalton. “As always you are a faithful and trusted Son.” She kissed him on the cheek.

Constance’s thoughts perked up at the word son. Her instincts told her that Dalton and the two newcomers were not of the same direct bloodline. For them to call him son in such a caring way, they must have claimed full Sire rights over him. Dalton didn’t seem unhappy about it at all. So, she assumed he was well cared for.

Mouse pointed at the blonde male and whispered softly to Constance, “That is the main voice I heard over the radio Dalton spoke into.” She pointed at the blonde female. “I remember hearing her too.”

“You love to live up to your name, don’t you Mouse?” Constance grinned. Dawn could be as quiet as a church mouse and sneak herself into the tightest and smallest of places so that you didn’t even realize she was there. Even with her tall and lanky form, Mouse was able to hide herself in crevices that no one else would dare try to fit into. It made it easier for her to sneak around and gather information on others without being noticed.

“Where are our new guests, Dalton?” Spike already knew that the two new vampiress’ were hiding in the shadows, but he didn’t want to frighten them. He thought it would be best if Dalton introduced them first.

“I know they were ... Ah, they are over there.” Dalton moved towards the pair of hiding vampiress’. He’d zeroed in on the vampiric signature that he’d felt when they came into town. When they were about 20 feet away, he motioned towards the shadows. “Constance, please come out and meet my Master.” He smiled reassuringly. “Master and Mistress mean you no harm. They only wish to meet you and speak with you.”

Constance stepped slowly out of the shadows. She made sure that Dawn was slightly behind her to give her the most protection from the others in the room. She wasn’t fool enough to believe that they’d get out of the room intact if they were attacked, but her Sire instincts wanted her to protect her Childe as much as possible.

“I’d like to introduce Constance,” Dalton pointed at the older vampiress, “And Mouse.”

“Oh my!” Buffy gasped. “You are beautiful.” She took one step towards Dawn, but she stopped when Dawn took one step back from her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you,” She spoke softly. “I’m Buffy, and this is Spike.” She pointed to her Mate. “I’ve never seen such purity in a vampire.”

Spike saw what Buffy referred to. To the Daywalkers the young vampiress did seem to glow from the inside out. It wasn’t a physical glow, but the purity of her soul was visible to them. They hadn’t come across anyone that was that strong until now. Even Dalton didn’t radiate that much purity. “It is a shame that your life was cut short at such a young age.” He turned his attention to Constance.

Constance immediately went on the defensive. “I couldn’t let her die like that.” She remembered all too well the sight of the broken and bleeding young woman in the alley. “A rival gang of vampires had Mouse cornered in the alley I passed by. I did the only thing I knew to do to save her.”

“Forgive my Mate, he wasn’t accusing you directly.” Buffy wrapped her arm around Spike’s waist and smiled tenderly at Constance. “He is very forthright, and he’s seen a lot of atrocities in his many decades. Your glow is buried deep, but I can still see it. I’m sure Spike can too.”

Spike nodded in agreement with Buffy. He could see the fainter glow within the older vampiress. She glowed in a way very similar to Dalton. Her humanity must have been suppressed in some way over the years. Perhaps it was to save her from other tortures and relieve the guilt she felt. They wouldn’t know until they found out more about her. “Dalton tells us that you came from Los Angeles?”

“Yes, is that a problem?” Constance’s posture stiffened.

“Not necessarily, but some of our contacts in L.A. have warned us about a very unsavory vampire named Telshar who is ripping his way through L.A. and maybe heading this way. We would be remiss in our duty if we didn’t follow up on that information,” Spike spoke in soft evened tones. He didn’t want to frighten the women away, but he wanted to know if these two were the ones that Clem spoke about.

“He is my Sire, and he is not so forgiving of the soul that you both can apparently see in us,” Constance hung her head low. “We won’t trouble you further. At the next sunset, we will leave.”

“Nonsense!” Buffy scowled. “We wouldn’t turn anyone away that wants to change. How did you know that Sunnydale might be a safe haven for you?”

“A Pylean named Lorne told us where we might find you.”

Buffy chuckled. “Did he make you sing for him?” She knew that Lorne was an empathic demon friend of theirs, but he could only read those that sang for him.

“Yes, he did. He told me that I was the cutest little “mouse” to ever sing for him,” The young vampiress answered instead of Constance. “He was pretty strange but friendly.”

Buffy smiled at Mouse. “Mouse is such an interesting name, but something tells me that isn’t what you were born with.” She hoped that the older teen would trust them with her true name.

Mouse looked up at Constance and then over at Buffy. “My name is Dawn. The kids on the street nicknamed me Mouse a long time ago.”

“Well Dawn,” Buffy began, “You and Constance are welcome in our town as long as you adhere to the rules. There aren’t many, but the ones we have are absolute.” She turned to Constance. “Any help you could give us about your Sire would help us to protect you in the long run. We take care of those who are sincere.”

“Thank you. We’ll do what we can to help.” Constance started to relax for the first time in longer than she could remember.

“We are guardians in more ways than one. Justice is enacted on those who deceive and defy the greater good.” Buffy did hate that part of her job, but it was becoming more apparent that a time of judgment was nearing in Sunnydale.

“We want Sunnydale to be our home to live in peace.”

“Then we shouldn’t have any problems.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Sunnydale Hotel)

Faith paced the main living room of the suite. “I need to be doing something.” She stopped in front of Wesley. “My fingers are itching to slay, but I don’t want to slay the wrong thing and get everyone mad at me.” She sighed.

Wesley could practically feel the nervous edge that permeated from his Slayer. He looked over at Joyce, Rupert, Willow and Xander. “Perhaps we could ask one of them to accompany you on a patrol? They know the town better until you and Buffy can work at bringing your inner Slayer closer to the surface to guide you.” He couldn’t believe that he was suggesting that Faith not kill all things that made her Slayer radar go off. It was a true sign that he was trying to change his way of thinking.

Faith stomped over to the assembled Scoobies. “Guys, I really want to go patrol, but I don’t want to piss off anyone here by staking our friends.” She sighed in exasperation. She wanted to help, but without slaying her Slayer urges were making her jittery. “Anyone care to come with me to help?”

“I think we can accommodate you.” Giles looked over at Wesley and smiled. He’d seen how Buffy got if she went too long without slaying. The Slayer’s need for violence was an instinctual part of the Slayer. It needed to be fed. “I can take you out tonight. Why don’t you join us Wesley? You are her Watcher, after all. Being a part of our group does not take that from you.”

Wesley smiled with excitement. He had been feeling a bit unnecessary the last couple days. Maybe he still had a purpose after all. He jumped up off the chair. “Let me grab a couple things from my bedroom. Then, I’ll be ready to go.”

When Wesley disappeared into his bedroom, Faith leaned in to whisper something in Giles’ ear, “Thank you, Giles.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(One Week Later - England, Council Headquarters)

“It is with great regret that I announce the passing of our dear friend Quentin Travers, former Head of the Watcher’s Council.” Roger Wyndham-Pryce, in a show of mock remorse, detailed how his dear friend was found outside his family home dying a couple days prior. He informed the assembly of Watchers, secretaries, and other Council personnel that the multiple wounds on Quentin were well beyond medical healing abilities by the time he was taken to a nearby hospital. “He was a great man and a great leader for our cause. Let us take a moment of silence to reflect on our old friend.”

After a pause of several minutes, Roger drew all eyes back up to him at the podium. “We can not let Quentin’s death be in vain. Evil must be vanquished.” He slammed his fist on the podium. “No ties, not even family, can allow us forget that anyone who supports the cause of evil shall be our enemy.” He let his words sink in to the minds of those gathered. “It is therefore, my honor to step in as the new Head of the Watcher’s Council to avenge my friend and bring all those who oppose me, and our goals, to their knees!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Living For Love - (12) Accusations and Growth
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Dalton met up with Constance and Dawn. Spike and Buffy were both impressed with the two new vampires. Roger Wyndham-Pryce is now the head of the Council following Travers' suspicious death.

Current Chapter Summary: The Sunnydale group gets some disturbing news from England. We flashback to after Dalton enacted justice on Quentin Travers before. Plus we see why Buffy and Dalton share a more telepathic connection now (for those that were wondering). We also find out more about those who tried to kill Wesley and Spike.

Disclaimer: By all rights, all characters originally created by Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy belong to them. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

"He said that?" Rupert Giles spoke with disbelief in his voice. "None of us have left Sunnydale for quite some time."

Buffy, Spike, Joyce, Faith and Wesley listened intently to Giles' side of the phone conversation. Each of them glanced around the room at the other allies sitting with them. Whoever was on the phone, it wasn't good news.

"We aren't trying to hide anything. I told you right away about Quentin and Dalton. We wanted to make sure no accusations of impropriety occurred any more than they were."

Spike growled loudly enough that it startled Wesley. Buffy rested her hand over Spike's and rubbed his knuckles. She was concerned, but she knew they only had one half of the conversation. She was certain that Giles would stand by Dalton.

"Please keep me informed Hugh, and I do appreciate the call and heads up." Giles hung up the phone, turned around, and sat on the couch next to Joyce.

Wesley and Faith were chomping at the bit to know what the phone call was about. Faith gazed in shock at the seemingly calm mated couple and Joyce. Why weren't they bombarding Giles with questions? "So? What's the what?"

Although Spike and Buffy wanted to know the answer to that question, they had experience with Giles and major revelations. Sometimes it took the Watcher a little bit to digest the news before he could share it. So, they attempted to wait as patiently as possible for a few minutes.

"Quentin Travers is dead," Giles said solemnly. He looked up at Wesley as he spoke.

"Why do I have the distinct impression that I'm not going to like what you have to say next?" Wesley questioned.

"That depends on if you believe your father will be a better Head Watcher than Quentin was or not."

Everyone else in the room stared in shock at Wesley and waited for his answer.

Buffy, Joyce and Spike knew that this would be a true test of Wesley's loyalty and how far he'd come since arriving in Sunnydale. Would Wesley abandon their cause now for a chance to reconnect with his father?

Faith worried something similar to the "Scoobies", but she also worried how this news would affect the relationship she shared with her watcher and the man behind him. They had been growing closer over the last couple weeks. They were learning each other's strengths and weaknesses both on patrol, during research, and personally. She'd seen him growing beyond the stuffy attitude that she first met. She knew if Wesley headed back to England, she'd be staying here. She didn't want to lose him.

Without knowing it, Wesley eased everyone's minds with his next words. He never even paused to contemplate his words, and that went a long way towards assuring the Scoobies that they were genuine. "Considering the fact that Mister Travers wouldn't have dared to kill me without my father's consent, this is not good news." He sighed. "Father already pulled a lot of strings within the Council. I don't believe it is a good idea for him to have all of the power and access now."

"What was all that about Dalton, Giles?" Buffy asked. If everything Wesley had already told them about his father were true, she knew they were in for trouble. She was worried about her family. Dalton was a part of that family now.

"It is being implied that foul play was involved in Quentin's death. Some have even questioned whether or not we were responsible for it."

"Wankers." Spike sat back on the couch, but inside he was anything but calm.

'They haven't taken us down yet, and we won't let them destroy our family now.' Buffy sent soothing thoughts to her Sire and Mate.

Joyce tried to be the voice of peace. She knew it probably wouldn't do any good, but maybe Roger Wyndham-Pryce would surprise them. "Perhaps we should ask Athena to speak to Roger. Once she explains everything from her perspective, maybe he will support us."

"As much as I would love that to work Dove, I don't think it will."

"It can't hurt to try. Everything worked out with Wesley and Faith so far. We have to take the high road to at least try. We have to give him the same chance Quentin, Faith and Wesley were given."

"I agree with Rupert, Joyce." It still felt strange to call the former Watcher Rupert, but they'd insisted on the informality. "My father is very firm in his beliefs on the superiority of humanity even though he himself is far from humane with actions. I doubt he will change his mind."

"Athena can warn him then, if he won't listen to her. We will have done all we could to prevent more violence and hatred."

"Mom's right about that. You know how I felt about someone being allowed into the circle, but this isn't as bad. We don't have to trust him. We are just informing him of the way things are. Either he listens or he doesn't."

"You go B, sounding all mature and grown up." Faith teased.

Over the last week Faith and Buffy patrolled a lot together. Wesley came with them most nights, and sometimes Spike joined them too. Faith continued to grow closer to her sister Slayer, and Buffy learned to trust Faith and her instincts more.

Wesley watched the camaraderie of the two women with a smile. He noticed that Spike was grinning as well. Spike caught Wesley by surprise many times since he met him. One minute he was all bluster and swagger. The next moment he would clearly see the love in Spike's eyes when he looked at his Mate and Childe, Buffy.

"Scooby meeting tonight?" Wesley both cringed at the frivolity of the name and smiled in amusement.

"Anything you say there, Scrappy," Spike teased. The new Watcher was growing on him.

"Sounds like this matter needs to go up for a vote." Joyce proclaimed.

Wesley knew when he was being baited by the vampire. So, instead of commenting, he rolled his eyes. The Council records had to be wrong about William the Bloody's human history. He hadn't asked Giles about it yet. Maybe it was time that he did.

Although Spike had more than 100 years of extra experience over Wesley, the two of them were closer in human years than Spike and Rupert.

"Dalton knows to come by tonight. I told him 8pm. It should be shadowy enough by then for him to make the mad dash down the hallway."

"That vampire is pretty crazy. Then again he's following in "daddy's" footsteps." Faith smirked.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile the vampire in question was following up at Willy's on the murder attempt. The Sheliak demon oozed all over the booth he "sat" in across from Dalton. A black tar-like substance flowed down the creature from head to toe.

"How did you come across this information?" Dalton knew that rival demon clans would be happy to feed misleading gossip to hurt another clan. He would need to double check everything he heard today, but the Sheliak demon was brought to his attention by another demon he trusted. So, he hoped the information was accurate.

"Our lack of solid bone structure allows my clan to remain undetected in many locales. The sewers are a great hiding place because who notices a bit more liquid down there. I overheard some humans and demons discussing a hit later in the week." The Sheliak gurgled his response.

"Why didn't you contact us sooner or warn us? As far as I know, your clan hasn't broken any of the Mistress' and Master's rules. So, you should have had no reason to fear retribution or punishment."

"It wasn't clear who the exact targets were until after the attack."

"How can you be sure the two events are linked?" Dalton needed to have all of the facts straight. It sounded like the last murder attempt would not be the only one. Something else was now being planned.

"Two of the same beings were talking in my tunnel yesterday. The human discussed his disappointment with the mission's failure. The vampire informed the human that the mistake was rectified."

Dalton nodded as he listened. He jotted down several notes in his small leather-bound notebook. It was a habit left over from his human days, but it came in handy.

"The human argued that as long as the Slayers and their Watchers were alive, nothing was rectified. He said his boss had a few more things to rectify at HQ before he could come here, but heads would roll if that became necessary."

"I'd say that was a direct threat since at least once of the conspirators was a vampire from what you observed."

"The vampire got angry at that. He said that his boss was promised non-interference in Sunnydale until after the end of the school year. The human said his boss would burn the town to ash instead of letting the Slayer maintain control of it. The vampire promised to take care of the problem by month's end. After the human left, the vampire muttered something about "Wilkins" not liking any deviations in his plans."

'Wilkins? Wasn't the mayor named Wilkins?' Dalton looked around Willy's back room again. He let all of his senses guide him to reassure himself again that no one, human or demon, was nearby. "Thank you for your help. You know I have to try to verify this, but at least we now have a solid direction to look in. I will let Master and Mistress know of your assistance."

"The Greenglave Sheliak clan has been happy with how our lives have been safer and more secure since the Slayer and her Mate became Masters of the Hellmouth. We do not wish for life to change."

"We appreciate everyone who shares our goals."

"We do not agree with everything, but we can abide by the no killing rules. We will give the Slayer no reason to eradicate us as long as she stays out of our political and social structures. Those areas will not clash with her rules about the killing of humans or other peaceful demons."

Dalton nodded. "Understood." He appreciated the honesty. No one would agree to everything, but as long as they followed the unbendable rules, they would be left in peace. He watched the Sheliak leave Willy's. He had a lot to do before the Scooby meeting that night. He wanted to have some better answers for Buffy and Spike by then.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Flashback to Several Months Ago, England)

Dalton growled as he snuck away from the Council headquarters. His anger was still in the forefront of his mind when he returned to the Coven that would transport him home.

Several of the women and men from the Coven skittered out of Dalton's way. Although they logically knew he fought for the light, he was scary in his current temperament. No one there, aside from Athena, had ever seen the vampire so lethal looking. They'd shared many hours together during the exchange of knowledge, and they'd found Dalton to be an avid academic. To see him completely feral was an eye opener.

Dried remnants of blood lingered on Dalton's lips. One of the Wiccas stepped into his path in an attempt to keep him from reaching Athena. Dalton snarled, ready to fight.

"It's all right, Westin. No harm will come to me from him." Athena's voice helped to soothe Dalton's frayed nerves more. Dalton's face finally relaxed into his human visage. "It is done?"

"Yes," Dalton growled. "Hopefully Travers will think twice before trying something like that again." He used the white cloth offered to him by the Head of the Coven to wipe his lips clean. "Is there nothing you can do to help this from happening again?"

"We have been pondering that quandary, Dalton. We believe a better protection solution is possible, but we must be in Sunnydale to enact it."

"I'm ready when you are. Although I enjoyed my time among the Coven, I hated being here when I knew they were in danger and I was powerless to help them."

"Patience, child. Your loyalty serves you well, but we need a larger contingent for the new spell. I'm waiting for two particular twin sisters to arrive. The strength of their natural blood bond will help to strengthen the protection we wish to use. All will be well soon."

When everyone returned to Sunnydale, Athena suggested a blood ward to be used as a more secure means of keeping them all safe. She warned that they had to be careful who was brought into protection because blood wards were not reversible.

"We have to what?" Xander gasped in shock. He was all for finding a way to keep the Council out of their homes, but he was worried about any spell that included the sharing of blood. "Won't that turn us into vampires since Buffy is a vampire? No offense guys, but I still like my trips to the beach."

"To be fully changed, you need to be near death and consume more than a mouthful or two of vampiric blood." Giles tried to eace the young man's concerns. He was a bit taken back by Athena's suggestion, but he was able to see the merits in the plan.

"I'm assuming an injection of Buffy's blood wouldn't work because of the intent involved by both parties?" Willow had already learned a lot from the Coven members in Sunnydale. Magic involved a lot more than herbs and chanted words. The same spell, spoken by 2 people with different reasons, could have drastic variations in the end result.

"Yes, my little red Wicca. The agreement and acceptance between both parties is a key to making this work. The spell tries to seek out the intent of the individual being brought in, but it is not 100% accurate."

"Would a barrier or cloaking spell around the area work to keep prying eyes away?" Giles' mind went over various ones that could be used.

"Yes, and we don't need to repeat it at each place. The spell is to create the ward itself. Any human or demon that is accepted will be linked to the personalized ward that can be used on more than one residence. Buffy will only need to remember an attachment phrase for a new building that needs to be protected."

"That will come in handy when we get a place of our own, love."

"Buffy and magical chanting aren't completely mixy, but I'm all for anything that will prevent that disaster from happening again." Buffy hugged Spike tightly. A week later and she was still petrified that this was all a dream and the Council had killed Spike.

"There are sometimes side effects from the blood sharing that the ward requires." Athena didn't want the Sunnydale group to change their minds, but it was her duty to inform them of every possibility she knew of.

"Like what?" Xander was the first one to ask the question on all of their minds.

"They vary depending on how close your connection is with the source, in this case Buffy. Some have experienced an emotional intuitiveness with the source. Others have formed a varying degree of telepathy with the source."

There were several looks of concern on the members around Athena. Some of them worried that nothing would happen after the sharing, reaffirming their insecurities that they weren't as special to Buffy as she was to them.

"It does not mean you are closer or farther away from the source if you don't have something happen during the sharing." Athena could sense the doubts in those around you. "Every human and demon is different. Some have natural blocks to magical interference. Others already have some sort of bond that you might not have even realized you have. For some others it is just that the small amount of blood shared is not enough to activate their traits."

Dalton stepped forward first. "I'll do anything to protect Master Spike and Mistress Buffy or keep them from being more vulnerable. I'm willing to join any bond or ward you feel we need."

Buffy and Spike smiled on one side of Dalton while Joyce and Giles smiled proudly on the other. Willow and Xander inhaled and exhaled deeply before they too nodded to Athena. "Count us in."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(On Another Plane of Existence in the Present)

"They aren't going to like this, Antoinette."

"It's not our decision to make, Charmand."

"Hell, I don't like it either. Hasn't he caused enough problems? Why would they send him back?"

"He's needed for what is to come."

"No one needs his sorry arse for anything."

"Some things never change my love."

"I'm not going to be the one to tell them."

"I don't think either of us are. Sometimes the Powers That Be have a twisted sense of humor."

Charmand chuckled. "That is an understatement. I'm surprised you freely admit it though."

"Well you have to be right about something at least once a century." Antoinette winked at her Mate.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)