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It was a normal day for the group of people trying to make the most of the second chance they had all been given. It hadn’t been an easy year, evil law firms, resurrected vampires, zombies and even a trip to another dimension but the team had only bonded closer together during all the trials set before them. They’d made new friends, recovered an old friendship as their family extended and grew but then it happened.
Buffy had always known that some secrets could never be kept forever but as she stared into the faces of her past, she had never imagined that she’d be facing it alone. Since joining with Spike, she had always felt safe and protected and without him standing behind her she suddenly felt lost.
“Elizabeth, you all right girl?” Gunn asked, moving to stand in between his friend and the group of people that had entered the lobby. He’d seen her go into battle after battle without the slightest flicker of fear and suddenly she seemed unbearably fragile. That alone was enough to push his protective instincts into overdrive. Like Doyle, he saw her as a surrogate sister and family looked out for one another.
“I need you to find the others.” Buffy said, never taking her eyes off the grim accusing faces that seemed to have already passed their judgment on her.
“You sure, I don’t feel right leaving you.” Gunn said, ignoring the warning growl coming from the tall, dark haired man at the front of the group.
“Go, I’ll be fine.” Buffy said, silently screaming for Spike to come to her. She didn’t want to do this, not without him and the sooner he was here, she’d feel secure again. Everything she had built up inside her was crumbling down around her and she needed to see him to remind herself that she wasn’t that girl anymore; that weak and broken girl who once believed in everything but herself. “They’re patrolling near Valley View Cemetery.”
Gunn almost protested again but at the last second decided against it. If anyone could snap Elizabeth out of whatever fear that seemed to be paralyzing her, it would be William. He’d never been a fan of the blond vampire but since he’d helped save his crew and was clearly devoted to Elizabeth, an uneasy friendship had formed between them. At Phoenix, Elizabeth was the thread that seemed to tie everyone together and if something happened to her, he didn’t want to know what would happen. “Elizabeth, do what you gotta do alright. If I come back and you’re dead, the others will have my ass.”
“Buffy.” Angel said coldly, devouring her with his eyes the moment the man headed out the door. “You died, I felt it, so imagine my surprise to see you standing here now but also hearing your heart pounding away inside your chest. I think you owe me an explanation.”
That’s exactly what she needed to snap her out of it; Buffy decided regrouping before their very eyes. How dare he come into her home and demand explanations; she didn’t owe him a damn thing. “You haven’t changed a bit have you Angel.” Buffy said with a bitter laugh. “You just walk in and expect me to play by your rules and that’s soo not going to happen. This is my town, my life and my place of business so we‘re going to do things my way. Starting with why you are here.”
Angel opened his mouth to respond but Giles beat him to it. “We needed help and the oracles sent us to the Host, who in turn recommended Phoenix Investigations. We didn’t know you‘d…dear lord Buffy how is this possible?”
Buffy smirked and almost everyone in the room found it somewhat familiar but couldn’t remember why. “It’s a really long story, one I will tell in my own time. I’m sorry if that hurts you but I thought I made it clear when I left Sunnydale that you all were suppose to let me go. I know about your spells to find me when I obviously didn’t want to be found and if you couldn’t respect my decision to leave, then I don’t owe any of you anything.”
“What about you’re mom B.” Faith asked softly. “She thinks you’re dead.”
“Mom knows where I am, she’s even visited me here.” Buffy said giving her sister Slayer a genuine smile. “She understands that I want the life I’ve got going here and I asked her not to tell anyone, especially you.”
Catching the flicker of pain in her warm brown eyes, Buffy quickly walked over to her and stood there until Faith met her eyes. “It wasn’t because I didn’t trust you Faith; it was because I didn’t want to put you in a position of having to lie to the others. I didn’t want you to be blamed if I was ever found.”
Faith searched her eyes, looking for any sign of deception but all she saw was naked truth and concern. “It’s cool B; I get the need to just do your own thing.”
Smiling, Buffy pulled her into a quick hug before pulling away to give her a knowing look. “So I’m guessing tall and tasty is the Riley Finn mom’s been telling me so much about.”
“Whoa B, get your own stud, this one is all mine.” Faith said, seconds before a memory burst to the surface. “YOU’RE MARRIED!”
“Uh, yeah.” Buffy asked, a little confused by the sudden change of topic. “How’d you know?”
“Man, it just clicked, you’re the Elizabeth, mom’s always talking to and I remember going with her to buy a wedding present.” Faith said trying to recall exactly when she had heard the news.
“You’re married?” Angel asked gently, his voice thick with disbelief and bittersweet yearning.
Before she could respond the doors behind them suddenly burst open and Spike swaggered in, his long coat billowing behind him like a moving shadow. “Hello cutie.”
Angel moved to stand in front of Buffy, instinctively seeking to protect her but in a blur to fast for him to follow; she’d stepped around him and ran towards Spike. He opened his mouth to call out a warning,before helplessly watching Spike’s arms wrap around her lithe body.
“I missed you.” Buffy murmured quietly, burying her face in his neck.
He had heard her cries through their bond and he could feel the tension coiled inside her. Rubbing his hands down her back, he ignored the looks of outrage in front of him and called back over his shoulder. “Oi Watcher, come in and greet some old acquaintances of ours.”
Wes hurried forward and the moment he identified the three visitors, he shared a long look with Spike, silently asking it Buffy was alright.
Spike nodded, before glancing around the room. “Luv, where’d Gunn get off to?”
Buffy looked up, already feeling better and more secure. “I sent him out to find you guys.”
Icy blue eyes met and clashed against blazing brown, before Spike brushed back Buffy’s hair and ran his fingers over the mark he’d given her. “I felt you calling me through the claim luv, figured Wes and I better come home to check on our favorite girl.”
“YOU LET HIM CLAIM YOU!” Giles and Angel both yelled out at the same time.
“I understand that you are both shocked.” Wesley said crisply before moving to stand in front of the couple. “But this is our place of business and your outbursts will not be tolerated. What is going on between Buffy and Spike is their business and should they decide to share with you, that is their choice but you will act civilly when in our home.”
Underestimating Wesley, Angel moved forward intent on ripping Spike limb from limb, only to feel the sharp point of a stake pressed against his chest. Snarling, he faced Wesley as he shifted into full game face.
“I did warn you Angel.” Wes said coldly, not fazed by his display in the least. Training with both Spike and Buffy on a daily basis had done wonders for his own skills and his confidence reflected that change.
“Angel.” Buffy said softly, instantly attracting the vampire’s attention. “If you harm Wesley, you will not walk out of this building.”
“Would you really kill me Buffy?” Seeing the answer in her cold emotionless eyes, he shifted back into his human visage and let all the hurt he was feeling reflect in his eyes. “What’s happened to you beloved?”
“I grew up.” She said calmly. “I’m not the same starry-eyed teenager who fell in love with you and I’m not the desperate girl who finally let you go. I forgot that for a moment but I won’t forget again. This is the life I chose for myself and the one I want and if you or anyone else can’t understand that, there is nothing left to say. If you need our help professionally, we’ll do what we can because that’s what we do but if you can’t work with us, then leave. I won’t tolerate you fighting with my team or my mate and since I chose to slay, I don’t have to get involved in whatever battle brought you all here. Are we clear, because I won’t repeat myself?”
Giles couldn’t help being proud of the woman she’d become since the last time he saw her nearly two years ago and while he didn’t understand what was going on, her warning was impossible to miss. She may care for them still but now her loyalty was to the people she had now aligned herself with and if they couldn’t accept that, then she truly was lost to them. “I understand what you are saying Buffy but perhaps it would be easier to accept everything if we had some idea of what transpired since you left Sunnydale.”
“Alright Giles, why don’t you four take a seat and we’ll talk.” Buffy decided after a few moments.
Once they were seated, Buffy leaned back against Spike, unconsciously drawing on his strength to ground her emotions as she talked about the changes in her life. She told them about her immortality, making it clear that she had been released from her role as a Slayer and while she mentioned her magicks, she didn’t go into details. “I ran into Spike in Paris and when he told me about Angel’s claim I realized that you would eventually use that to find me. We had been seeing one another by that point and I asked Spike to help me break the claim. We’ve been together ever since and shortly after we moved here, we ran across Wesley as he investigated this place’s demonic history. Together we forced the demon into its corporeal form and freed the woman it had been feeding on. Judy didn’t make it, according to the coroner her heart gave out.” Buffy said glancing at Angel, to let him know she knew about his part in this places past. “We decided we loved the place and we’ve been living here ever since. Phoenix, is our way of finding those in need of help but another friend of ours Doyle, gets visions of people in trouble as well.”
“So you are being paid for your services?” Giles asked, unable to keep the censure out of his voice.
Un-offended because she felt the exact same way, Buffy gave him a warm smile. “No, we only charge for normal detective stuff. We have a contact at the police station and Kate sends us some freelance work. It’s mostly surveillance stuff and since Gunn knows a lot of people who need a part time job occasionally, we usually have more than enough people to handle helping the hopeless and the actual business part.”
“Just exactly how many people you got working for you B?” Faith asked more than a little impressed by Buffy the business woman.
“Wes is our demon expert, Fred is our resident genius, Spike and I are the muscle and Doyle handles the visions. All of us live here in the hotel but Gunn, Kate and Lorne are also part of the team. Gunn and another friend of mine Anne, devote most their time to a homeless shelter but he often drops by to pitch in during his free time. If we need more fighters, we can call him and his crew will show up as back-up. They’re mostly kids but they’ve been fighting vamps on the street for years. Kate’s a detective at the LAPD and she sends us over any case she thinks demons are involved with as well as recommending the agency to people she comes across on the job. And Lorne, well since he sent you all here I guess you can see his part in all this.” Buffy explained calmly, a slight smile playing on her lips as she talked about her extended family.
“I’ll admit Buffy; I’m quite impressed with what you’ve built here.” Giles said, pride ringing in his voice as well as shining in his eyes like the brightest of beacons. “But I am curious about how and when Spike acquired his soul?”
“I didn’t.” Spike said easily, unconsciously wrapping his arms around Buffy’s waist. “I’m not controlled by my demon Watcher; I haven’t hunted since I ran into Buffy in Paris. I gave the girl my word and since she’s my mate, she’d know if I didn’t keep it.”
“Only if she returned the claim, Spike.” Angel said with a slight smirk.
“She did.” Spike shot back, turning his head slightly to show the bright red mark that she had reopened this morning. “The same night I claimed her, she claimed me back and since then we’ve strengthened the bond by reaffirming it often.”
“I’ll admit Giles, I was shocked myself.” Wes said, recalling his own reaction to that bit of news. “Nothing I had ever been trained in by the Council had prepared me for such a notion but just like Buffy was never a typical Slayer, Spike is anything but a typical vampire.”
Giles pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he tried to assimilate everything he was being told. The thought that Spike possessed that much control over his demon was more than a little unbelievable but so was the idea of Buffy allowing him to remain alive if he was taking human lives. Letting out a sigh, he realized that he had no other choice but to take their word for it. “I see.”
“Don’t worry Watcher, I have a hard time believing it myself sometimes.” Spike said, deciding to cut the man some slack.
“Then why do you do it?” Giles asked, thinking he already knew the answer.
“I asked myself that same question once. In the old days taking out a Slayer was my idea of one right good day but now,” he broke off a moment to look into Buffy’s eyes, losing himself in the emotion echoed there.
“Now I get a lifetime of good days.” He said never taking his eyes off her. “I get a woman who knows what I am and accepts me for it. I get a woman who fights and makes love, with the same kind of intense passion that matches my own and I have a woman whose smile can make me feel like I’m standing in the sun again.” Reaching up he cupped her face with his palm, stroking his thumb across her check with aching gentleness. “The silly chit even cries when I get hurt. These large emerald eyes that have seen the worst of life and stared death in the face, fill with tears because a creature like myself is in pain. No fresh kill, no bit of bloodshed can compete with that…can compare to her.”
Lost to everything but each other, the couple moved as one to close the distance between them. It was a graceful ballet of limbs merging and flowing together as one, to a song that only their hearts could hear and the moment their lips met it was almost like the air around them let out a trembling sigh from the beauty of their embrace.
Wes, now immune to such displays watched the others as they witnessed the raw power harnessed by those two when they were together. Faith looked touched by what she was seeing, as though the innocence of the act had cast out the darkness inside her own soul and freed her from the unnatural melancholy that plagued her existence. Her own boyfriend, cradled her hand gently in his own and his eyes were filled with the same wonder and awe. Giles on the other hand looked both embarrassed by the display and soothed by the obvious affection they held for one another. But Angel, had allowed his eyes to fill with the cold viciousness of his demonic namesake Angelus and by the almost starving edge of desperation clearly burning bright within those amber depths, Wes knew that his obsession with Buffy had only been strengthened by the display.
Deciding to allow the lovers their moment, Wes reached behind them and grabbed the notepad resting on the desk. “Why don’t you tell me about what brings you all here today?”
“Shouldn’t we…well break them apart or something?” Faith asked wondering how the once stammering Watcher seemed completely oblivious to the fact his Slayer and a vampire were rounding third base just beside him. Apparently Spike and Buffy weren't the only ones who had changed.
“Not unless you wish to have a cursed vampiric pig sent after you.” Wes said gesturing to the stuffed animals resting behind them on the small table that rested in the center of the lounger they all sat on.
Cautiously, Faith picked up the one with the leather jacket and after a few seconds looked back up at Wes. “I don’t get it.”
“They may not look like much but they have become our standard way of dealing with member transgressions here at Phoenix Investigations. Believe me, you do not want to find yourself on Buffy’s bad side, she has quite a knack for vengeance spells and enchantments. D’hoffryn even offered her a position as one of his wish wielders and while Buffy refused, he still drops by occasionally for a spot of tea or some fresh soda bread.”
Still stung because Wesley had gotten the better of him earlier, Angel couldn’t resist needling him about that statement. Anything that would keep his mind off of his grandchilde taking liberties with his mate was necessary, before he once again lost his composure. “Sorry Wes but it’s hard to be afraid of a stuffed animal when you’ve experienced true vengeance.”
Buffy heard his cold superior boast and before Wesley could respond, she had said the necessary incantation in her head. The moment Wes’s tweedy pig came ’alive’ it was already in full game face and before anyone had noticed, it had pounced on Angel.
Having no idea what had attacked him, Angel leaped to his feet just as the pissed off piggy launched its second assault. “I’m a know it all piggy!” It screamed out as it’s ear piercing battle cry before using the height provided by the sofa to sink it’s fangs into Angel’s crotch.
Everyone in the room watched as Angel furiously battled the seemingly rabid and possessed stuffed animal, while it gnawed at his most delicate areas without mercy.
After watching a few minutes, Buffy nudged Wes in the side expectantly. He took the hint. “Angel, if you wish it to cease its attack, you need to apologize to it. And speaking from my own experience, I will warn you that the nasty little blighter knows when you are being sincere or not.”
Since Spike no-longer felt like he had anything to prove, he too took mercy on Angel. “Do it quick mate, as bad as its bite is; it’s not nearly as bad as when the bastard starts shagging your boots.”
Both men winced when Angel ignored their suggestions and reached down and ripped it apart with his bare hands. It turned into harmless dust that fluttered down to the floor.
“Bad choice mate.” Spike said, hoping on the counter just in case it came back pissed at everyone.
When Wes followed his example without hesitation, Faith carefully pulled Giles back before shooting a questioning look at the leery blond vampire. “What happens now?” She asked, knowing that there was more to come.
“If I was you pet, I’d hop up on the sofa just in case.” Spike warned her completely serious. “The fuckers hate it when you dust them and you don’t want to be caught in the crossfire.”
Faith was sure they were being played but just then a menacing growl flooded into the room and after a quick glance at Angel’s feet revealed the dust was gone, Faith abandoned her pride and leaped onto the sofa, dragging Riley along for the ride. Giles, also seeing the need for caution joined her scant seconds later, leaving only Buffy and Angel on the ground floor. “How do we stop it?” Giles asked, as it once again pounced on Angel, shifting him off balance and knocking him to the ground.
“Don‘t worry Rupes, it may look bad but it‘s not lethal. It just hurts like hell but Peaches won‘t even have a bruise.” Spike said quickly, hoping to stop the older man from having an attack. “The only way to make it stop is to apologize and since its right pissed, it’s gonna take a good one.”
Angel struggled back to his feet, kicking the thing away before turning to Buffy for help. “Do something!”
Buffy crossed her arms and gave him a cool look. “Apologize to it Angel, aren’t you the one that just said it couldn’t be too bad?”
Angel glanced over at Spike and Wesley, fully expecting to see them doubled over in laughter but to his surprise they actually seemed to be sympathetic to his plight. Left with no other choice, he swallowed his pride and looked down at the pig as it stalked towards him. “I’m sorry…err…pig, I was an ass for mocking you. I am also very sorry for, well for dusting you and I sincerely hope you accept my apology.”
The piggy gave a little wiggle as it shifted back into its normal pig face before waddling over to Buffy like an obedient puppy. Laughing at the way its curly little tail started to waggle she picked it up and cuddled it for a moment, before ending the spell. Quickly she crossed over to the sofa and put it back in its place before turning to look at the others. “As you can see, these little guys make sure we treat each other with the utmost respect around here.”
Stunned by the remarkable display of magicks he’d witnessed, Giles looked at Buffy for an explanation. “That was extraordinary, is it your casting?”
“Yep.” Buffy admitted shamelessly with a dazzling smile. “Mostly those little guys are just our mascots but every once in awhile they get called into service. It’s completely white magicks because the purpose of the enchantment is cause a person to reflect on their actions and make amends. It‘s amazing how far a simple apology can go, isn‘t it?”
“Quite.” Giles said highly amused by her sense of justice. “But it’s growing quite late and we’ve all been forced to process a great deal of information tonight. So if it is agreeable to you, do you suppose we could bring the others round first thing in the morning to discuss why we sought you out?”
“You guys are more than welcome to stay here if you like.” Buffy said deciding that if they stayed, they’d be less likely to plot without them or against them. “We have plenty of room and all the glass in the building in vampire friendly. Besides I‘m guessing if you came all this way for help, you‘ll want to head back as soon as possible, so this just saves time all around. We can talk over the details, make some plans and after a good night‘s sleep we can go fight the big bad.”
“Are you quite sure, we don’t want to impose on you.” Giles said doing his best to be courteous, having no desire to experience a pig attack first hand. Yes, it was very clear that that method, however unorthodox was highly effective, he decided casting a wary glance in their general direction.
“Chill Watcher-mine.” Buffy said fondly. “You’ve been really great about everything and you’re all more than welcome to stay. Wes might even be convinced to let you in his library, which is stocked full of smelly old books just bursting with demon facts to know and share. We‘ve got fresh blood in the kitchen, a training room for blowing off steam and all the beds are super comfy, not at all hard and lumpy like what you‘d find at a motel.”
“Yes, well we’ll go back and discuss it with the other so that we can decide as a group.” Giles said, wanting a chance to fill them in on everything, to give them some time to make the necessary adjustments.