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Chapter Thirty-eight

In the tense silence that followed Xander’s announcement, Joyce began moving toward Travers with blood in her eye. Giles grabbed her arm, halting her progress but his eyes were sending his own silent message to his former superior. To his complete amazement, the head of the Watcher’s Council gestured to the justice to continue and stood off to one side with his arms folded.

Buffy narrowed her eyes at him dangerously, but when he didn’t say anything to halt the ceremony, she turned back to the man performing her wedding and nodded, blushing with embarrassment at the interruption. Spike’s eyes were flashing amber, and she held his hand tightly, afraid he would spoil the entire wedding by eating Xander right in front of everybody.

The somewhat startled justice swallowed hard, trying not to see the wrinkled brow ridges and fangs that had suddenly appeared on the groom. A whispered word from the bride, though, and they went away and the handsome blond man was back in front of him, gesturing for him to proceed.

He rushed quickly through the rest of the ceremony, pausing only when Xander began to rant at the head of the Watchers’ Council. He was berating the frowning man for not stopping the ceremony; insisting that not only was the notorious William the Bloody unchipped and dangerous, but the Slayer had allowed him to claim her and was now a liability. He went on to say that her former watcher was now dating an ex-vengeance demon, and had therefore also changed sides.

He had just begun on how the blond lesbian witch had seduced his best friend into the dark arts when the rant was abruptly cut off as Teddy walked over. The clearly angry vampire picked the rather substantial young man up as though he weighed no more than a toddler and carried him out of the yard.

Xander’s piercing scream as he realized exactly what had hold of him broke off in mid-shriek and Buffy’s brow creased for a moment. She could see Willow’s anxious look behind her, but Spike winked at the witch, reassuring her that Teddy would not do any permanent damage to her old friend.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the justice finished with a sigh of relief. While Spike and Buffy shared a chaste, but heartfelt kiss, the onlookers burst into applause. Joyce wiped a tear away, then smiled at Giles as she caught him doing the same.

“I don’t understand why you are crying,” Anya said angrily, completely unaware that she had tears in her eyes also. “Aren’t you happy for them?”

Joyce nodded her head vigorously, smiling through her tears at the ex demon. She hugged the sniffling girl, the watcher, and Tara before turning to watch the now-married couple walk back toward the house. When Quentin Travers moved toward the newlyweds, Spike stepped in front of Buffy and fixed the man with a lethal glare.

The head of the Council of Watchers showed no fear as he gazed back at one of the most famous vampires in modern times. He met Spike’s cold blue eyes with an equally cold and calculating stare, not looking away until he’d seen what he wanted to see. When he had satisfied himself with what he saw in those pieces of deadly blue ice, he shocked the entire assembly by nodding and holding out his hand to the wary vampire.

“May I be the first to congratulate you, Mr. Carlisle. I trust you will be taking good care of our…of the former Miss Summers.”

“That is my intention,” Spike said, carefully staying between the tightly smiling man and Buffy.

Which was not all that easy, as Buffy was trying to place herself between Spike and the man whose job it was to destroy demons. Travers watched in amusement for several seconds as each of them struggled to get in front so as to protect the other with his or her body. Finally he spoke again.

“Mr and Mrs Carlisle, please! While your willingness to sacrifice yourselves for each other is to be commended, it is totally unnecessary. I have no intention of harming either one of you. I cannot imagine a better situation for the Hellmouth than to have an experienced Slayer and the Master of the City working together.

“Please accept my congratulations on your marriage and my best wishes for your future. And now, if I may, I should like to speak to your former Watcher.”

With a polite dip of his head, he left the startled newlyweds and walked toward Giles, leaving them to stare after him with their mouths open.

As soon as Travers and Giles moved onto the porch for a private conversation, the other guests rushed to congratulate the new couple and they too were busy with hugs and handshakes to keep their eyes on the two tweedy Brits.

Giles led the Council head into the kitchen, deftly avoiding Joyce and Tara who were loading trays with food for the guests. Travers turned down Joyce’s offer of a drink, sensing, no doubt, the lack of sincerity on her part, and he followed Giles into the living room where he sat in an easy chair and leaned back gesturing to the couch.

“Please, Rupert. Do sit down and stop impersonating your younger self. I mean no harm to your Slayer –“ he paused and smiled at Giles’ startled twitch. “We are well aware that, even though neither one of you acknowledges our right to supervise, she is still fulfilling her duties admirably and that you are still her Watcher in all but name. Hence, YOUR Slayer.

“As I was saying,” he continued as a dazed Giles slid down onto the cushioned seat he’d been offered, “I mean no harm to either Mr. or Mrs. Carlisle. They seem quite well-suited to one another and I am sure they make a rather formidable team. In fact, rather than removing Ms. Sum-, Mrs. Carlisle, from her duties, we are hoping to be able to call on them as needed other places in the world.

“In the meantime, we are quite content to have them living on the most active Hellmouth and keeping things under control here.”

Giles just stared at his former employer, trying to discern any sign of demon possession or insanity.

“So, you’re all right with this relationship, then?” he questioned suspiciously.

“Quite all right. It is, you might be interested to know, not the first time a Slayer and a vampire have become romantically involved. Although I believe the wedding may well be a first.”

“I thought the Council killed Slayers who were involved with vampires,” Giles said flatly.

“If that were always true, Ms. Summers would not have survived her liaison with Angelus,” Travers said testily. “We have, in the past, made it a policy to eliminate any Slayers deemed dangerously involved with demons. However, we have been studying these two for some time now and I am convinced their feelings are genuine and not being affected by any spells performed by amateur witches.”

Giles flinched for Willow’s sake, as well as his own at the touch of disdain in the other man’s voice.

“Nor, it appears, are they influenced by a claim, as the irate young man who told me about the wedding so adamantly insisted. Would you care to elaborate on that, Rupert?” he asked with sudden intensity.

“Why don’t you just ask the parties involved,” came the casual drawl from the doorway.

Both men whirled to find the vampire leaning against the door frame in a deceptively casual pose. Giles could see the muscle jumping in the vampire’s jaw and knew that Spike was much tenser than he was endeavoring to appear.

“I didn’t wish to disturb the festivities any more than necessary,” Travers said smoothly as he stood up. “I assumed Rupert could fill me in on what I needed to know.”

“All you need to know,” Spike said coldly, “is that I love her and would never do anything to harm her or anyone she cares about. And since her job description is to save the world regularly, I guess that covers pretty much everybody, doesn’t it?”

“Is it true you claimed her?” the other man asked calmly.

“Did. Was under a spell at the time. Went away. Claim lapsed. Promised not to do it again. End of story. In spite of what the whelp might have told you,” he added with a growl.

Travers studied the vampire in front of him for several long minutes before sitting back down and smiling.

“It might surprise you to know that I do not have any serious reservations about a claim between yourself and your wife. Provided certain specific conditions are met.”

While Giles gaped at the man, Spike moved quickly into the room and sat down opposite the head Watcher, tilting his head inquiringly.

“And what would those be?” he asked in his best Oxford-educated-William voice.

Giles leaned back and watched as, for the first time since they’d met him, the normally impulsive, hyperactive vampire actually behaved like one might expect from someone who had been around for over 150 years. Looking and sounding much more like the Vampire Master of Sunnydale than the youthful bridegroom he’d seemed to be just a few short minutes ago, Spike engaged in the most bizarre bargaining session Giles had ever seen.

While the ex-watcher looked on in admiration, Spike met the wily Council head’s offers and counteroffers with calm consideration and well-thought-out responses. When the discussion had been concluded to their mutual satisfaction, Spike rose to his feet and accepted the proffered handshake from the man who should have been his nemesis.

“I can’t answer for the Slayer,” he said quietly. “She makes her own decisions and she’s no more likely to listen to me than she does anyone else.”

There was an exchange of understanding looks between the three males who had all tried at one time or another to control this particular Slayer.

“But I will definitely talk to her about it and Rupert can let you know what her decision is. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a honeymoon to enjoy.”

With a leering grin at the blushing ex-watcher, the Spike Giles was more familiar with left the room to find his mate.

“I believe I will have that drink now,” Travers said with what seemed suspiciously like a twinkle in his eye.



Chapter Thirty-nine

While the wedding reception festivities were in full swing, Xander was moaning in fear as the biggest vampire he had ever seen carried him along, tucked under one arm like a sack of potatoes. He’d screamed and struggled feebly at first, but when Teddy’s hand was placed over his mouth, effectively cutting off both his scream and his air supply, he quickly settled down and resigned himself to his fate.

(If I have to die to prove to them how dangerous it is for Spike to live, so be it. I’ll die a hero and then Willow and Buffy will be sorry! They’ll wish they’d listened to me.)

Xander comforted himself with the idea that he was going to be a martyr to the cause and finally relaxed enough to peer around to see where he was being taken. He was surprised to see that they were approaching Willie’s and immediately panicked again.

(Oh my god! He’s going to share me! I’m going to be passed around and…)

Teddy felt Xander’s heart rate increase and sighed in exasperation.

“Now what are you all bent out of shape about?” he growled. “I thought you were settling down.”

“Wh…why are we here?” Xander squeaked. “What are you going to do with me? Are you going to auction me off to the highest bidding vampire?”

“You wish!” the amused vamp snorted. He set the boy down and took a hard grip on his arm. “Now, you are going to walk in here with me and behave yourself. Do you understand me?”

Xander nodded meekly, more than aware that even if Teddy let go of his arm, the larger, faster vamp would catch him before he’d taken two steps. Teddy pushed open the door and dragged the reluctant young man into the room and to a booth close to the bar. Willie approached the table and looked at them curiously.

“Shouldn’t you two be at the happy nuptials?” He looked back and forth between Teddy and Xander in confusion.

“Asshole, here, tried to mess up the wedding,” Teddy said with a glare at the cringing man. “I had to take him out before somebody killed him.”

“YOU’RE not going to kill me?” Xander gasped in disbelief.

Willie looked at him like he was mental. “Teddy doesn’t kill people, Harris. How do you not know that? Hasn’t Spike or the Slayer told you about him?”

Xander hung his head, not willing to admit that he hadn’t spoken to anyone of the Scoobies in over a month and had no idea who Teddy even was. He looked across the table, frowning at the strange vampire.

“You don’t? Do you have a chip too?”

The big vamp sighed and gestured for Willie to leave the bottle he’d carried over with him.

“No,” he said flatly, pouring himself a large portion of Jack Daniels and pushing the bottle toward Xander.

With shaky hands, Xander poured himself a stiff drink and swallowed it rapidly. He immediately poured another one and downed that just as quickly, ignoring the vampire’s raised eyebrows. By the time he was sipping on his third drink, his hands had stopped shaking and the alcohol was fueling his courage.

“Why don’t you kill people then? No chip – shouldn’t you be snacking your way through Sunnydale?”

“Don’t want to,” he answered, taking another swallow of his drink. “And, no, I shouldn’t be. Spike wouldn’t keep me around if I was doing that. And I’m pretty sure his missus would have staked me by now.”

“What made you stop killing people?”

“Never started,” he said flatly, finishing his drink and reaching for the bottle.

Xander downed another glass of whiskey while he absorbed this new information. With vision that was rapidly becoming blurry, he peered around the bar, noticing for the first time the mix of demons and humans in the place. He saw Teddy exchange nods with an attractive woman who then sat down beside a man with oddly pointed ears and what Xander was sure was a tail hanging from beneath his jacket.

He turned back to his companion, frowning in confusion.

“I don’t get it. Demons are evil. Vampires are evil bloodsucking demons…and why aren’t you sucking my blood right now?” He sound almost disappointed and Teddy rolled his eyes and prayed for patience.

“You’re an idiot,” he said with asperity. He took a long look at the tipsy young man and added with a leer, “Although, you ARE a rather good-looking idiot…”

Xander’s initial confusion was replaced by gut-wrenching fear as he recognized the speculative look on Teddy’s face for what it was.

“Wha?…No! I mean. No, I’m not good-looking. Not at all. No good looks here. Nothing but uglies. Really. I mean, you should see me without my clothes on – definitely ugly and oh my god, I sooo did not mean to say you should see me without my clothes on and why are you looking at me like that?” His voice had risen to a near shriek and the other patrons turned to look at them curiously.

“Shhh,” Teddy said soothingly. “Calm down. You’ll get us thrown out. Have another drink,” he offered, smiling for the first time and sending Xander’s heart skittering again.

“Drink. Yesh. Drink is good. More drink,” he muttered, throwing back another full glass of JD and holding it out for more. “Drinking brings oblivion and oblivion can be good.”

Teddy was too gentle to enjoy torturing and killing humans as most vampires did, but he WAS a vampire and he was beginning to really enjoy the terror he was causing in the annoying young man who had tried to ruin his boss’s wedding. And, as he took another look at him, he had to admit that the boy was rather good-looking. Or would be, if he wasn’t rapidly becoming so drunk that his facial muscles had all gone slack.

Having passed the point of caring what happened to him, Xander peered drunkenly at the vampire who was now licking his lips lasciviously and eyeing the boy’s neck.

“My besh friend is gay, you know,” he said from out of nowhere.

“So I heard,” Teddy answered wryly. “You pretty much announced it to the whole wedding.”

“Did I?” Xander screwed up his face in concentration. “I don’ ‘member that.”

Teddy gazed back at him noncommittally and poured more JD into his glass.

“Did I mention my bes’ fren’ is gay?”

“Yep.”

“Oh. I mean, caush, I’m okay with that, y’know. To each hish own. Not that I would – oh no, not me! But if you are…thash ok.”

“I’m not,” Teddy said without explanation.

“Then why are you lookin’ at my tashty body like that?” Xander demanded indignantly.

“Vampire.” Teddy gave him a toothy grin. “We’re very flexible.”

“Fleshible is good. People should be fleshible. I’m not, though. Fleshible, I mean. Nope. No fleshibilty for Xander. I’m a man’s man – uh, I mean, a womanly man - no, no, a woman’s man – well not sho mush anymore. My woman ish having sex wish an old man! An old, grouchy old man. He threw me out of hish shop, you know.”

“Why?”

Xander screwed up his face in confusion. “Why what?”

With a patient sigh, Teddy repeated, “Why did he throw you out of the Magic Box?”

Xander frowned again, thrown off by Teddy’s knowledge of the Magic Box. Recovering his train of thought, he mumbled, “He thought I wash gonna hurt Anya.”

“Were you?”

“I dunno,” Xander whispered honestly, staring into his glass. “Do you think I wash?” he looked up tearily into Teddy’s sympathetic eyes.

The big vampire gave a shrug and said, “You certainly were trying to cause some damage tonight. To all your friends.”

“I’m a bad pershon,” Xander put his head on the table and thumped it twice. “I should be punished.” He peered up at the suddenly interested looking vampire and asked, “Are you gonna punish me? Ish that why you took me away from the wedding?”

“I took you away because you were being a jackass,” Teddy said mildly. “But punishing you isn’t all that bad an idea,” he added with a trace of a leer.

“I should go back an’ tell ev’rbody I’m shorry,” Xander tried to stand up, but found that his legs didn’t work. “Whoopsh! You’re gonna hafta carry me again.”

“Looks like.”

“We should go then. I need to aplogish, applesh, ‘poloshis. I need to shay shorry to Buffy and Willow.”

Teddy stared at him hard.

“And to Anya?” he ventured. At Teddy’s encouraging nod, he bit his lip and said, “And maybe to Gilesh. And Tara. But not to Shpike! I’m not ‘pologishing to Shpike! He’sh a bad man…er vampire. He bit Buffy. And she liked it. That wash bad. Buffy is the Shlayer. Vampires can’ bite her. Not lesh she shays sho. You don’t think she shaid sho, do you?” He looked at Teddy in wide-eyed horror.

“I’m pretty sure she did,” Teddy replied, reaching across the table just in time to prevent Xander’s head from colliding with it.

“Well thash jush wrong,” he mumbled, before passing out.

With a sigh, Teddy stood up and lifted the inert body, throwing him over his shoulder and waving good-bye to Willie. He tossed a $20.00 bill on the table and walked out, patting the unconscious Xander on the ass as he did so.

Xander woke up to find himself naked and stretched across a hard mattress, his stomach rolling, and his head reeling. He opened one bleary eye to see an equally naked Teddy watching him with amusement. Suddenly wide awake, Xander sat up abruptly and stared around him.

He didn’t recognize the sparsely furnished room, but he was pretty sure the large man resting comfortably beside him was a vampire. He felt his neck quickly, but found no bite marks and visibly relaxed. Then he noticed the small holes on his femoral artery – only an inch away from his flaccid cock and he squealed like a girl.

“Oh my god! You bit me! Did you bite me? I mean, somebody bit me and you’re the only one here – and you’re naked. And I’m naked. And…why are we naked?” he asked plaintively.

A raised eyebrow and a smile was the only response from the vampire and Xander fell onto his back moaning in dismay.

“Tell me we didn’t…I didn’t…you didn’t….” He raised his head to look at Teddy. “Did we?”

“Not yet,” the vampire said, licking his lips and moving toward the rapidly retreating young man.

Xander’s heart was beating so fast he was sure it was going to burst out of his chest as the vampire closed a large, cool hand over his hip, effectively preventing him from retreating any further. He threw one leg over Xander’s, pinning him to the bed and giving him a look at an erect cock that would not have looked out of place on an elephant.

“You…you’re very big,” Xander squeaked, just before he passed out from fear.

Sighing in disappointment, Teddy released his hold on the man and got up to make sure the camera he’d set up was working. Satisfied that he’d gotten several good shots of their naked bodies and Xander’s wide open eyes, he got back on the bed and rolled over to get some sleep.

“I think I deserve a raise for this night,” he grumbled to himself as he dozed off. “Next time I’ll just let Spike kill him and he can argue about it with the Slayer later.”





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