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When Giles found her, Buffy was staring sightlessly out of the sitting room window.

“Ah, Buffy? Is everything all right? Not bad news from home I hope?”

“Huh? Oh, no.” Buffy had made her customary bi-weekly phone call to Sunnydale a few minutes before. “No, they’re all fine.”

[“Hey Buf! Me & Anya are just going to the mall – she’s seen some shoes that she can’t live without. We’re fine, no sign of Glory - you keep on with the vacation.”]

[“Buffy dear, I’m fine, no more headaches. You must be having a wonderful time, don’t come back on my account.”]

[“Hi sis, I hope you’re gonna get me a real good gift from London. Can’t talk, I’m going to the movies with Janice. See ya.”]

“Yeah, everybody’s fine.” She muttered.

“Oh, good. Michael said that we can stay here as long as we want. This is the perfect place from which to visit all London’s major museums you know. Natural History, V & A, Science museum.”

Buffy was looking at him with an expression close to panic.

“I’m joking.” He said with a smile. “Actually we are also really near all the good shopping areas and department stores here – Knightsbridge, Harrods, Dickens & Jones.” He was relieved to see her return his smile.

“You are so going to regret that “joke”.” She laughed, relieved that there was something to take her mind off a certain stupid vampire for a few hours. Retail therapy was just the thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Spike was standing where Hilda had left him, his chin raised, looking down his nose at her, and a low rumbling growl emanating from his throat. Why didn’t he say anything? Then it suddenly occurred to her. “Spike you are not under a spell.” She gestured and the manacles opened and fell clanking to the ground.

He slowly relaxed, not daring to take his eyes from the witch. He found that he was trembling and it filled him with rage. “So, I can’t be trusted around your friends eh? What, you think I’d savage them? Tear out all their pretty little throats? Put a mojo on Spike so he can’t hurt anyone!” As he took a breath to carry on his rant, Hilda broke in.

“There was no spell.” She said firmly.

“No spell?” He said in a dangerously quiet voice.

“It was for your own good. Do you think that if we had just waltzed in here hand in hand, everything would have been hunky dory?” Her voice was hard. “They would have reduced you to dust in a second – or worse! Do you know how rare vampire parts are? They are highly valued in spell casting. The coven might have spared you long enough to harvest them – and then poof!”

“Parts?” He echoed, reflexively clasping his hands in front of himself.

“Yes, parts that I’m sure you’d sooner not be without!”

She sighed, turned and walked away from him into the kitchen, leaning over the sink as if she was about to vomit.

Spike shook himself and followed her, slowly becoming aware of her distress. Her heart was beating erratically and her breathing was ragged.

“Then why couldn’t I move or speak?” He asked quietly.

“I just used the power of suggestion – you know, mind over matter. I needed you to look as if you were in my power. Worked really well didn’t it?” She said wearily.

He walked towards her and put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing his thumbs across the back of her neck. “Bit of warning would’ve been nice.”

“No, they wouldn’t have been fooled – your reaction was perfect. I’ve never seen you so angry.”

She was trembling under his grasp. Now what did he do? What did she expect of him? He had absolutely no idea. He’d just have to play it by ear.

She suddenly straightened, took a deep breath and side-stepped away from him. “I’ll go and get the supplies from the car.” She said tonelessly.

Spike watched her go out the back door and sighed. A creature of instinct - an instinct that usually told him to kill and feed on humans - he felt completely out of his depth.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hilda unpacked the cool-box and placed the containers of blood, which the professor had obtained, in the fridge. Michael’s sons had unknowingly donated some clothes to the vampire too. She smiled to herself as she remembered Spike picking them over disdainfully, finally condescending to accept a couple of pairs of faded jeans and some plain dark coloured shirts. She could hear the vampire was in the bathroom, so she put some of the clothes outside the door for him.

Lying in the huge old-fashioned bath, Spike had heard the witch re-enter the house. He thought he might give her a bit of breathing space – she seemed really on edge. But then she had lied, or at least misled, all her friends for him and he had been such a wanker about it. But how was he to know? It was all so confusing. He let himself sink below the hot, comforting water and thought about the last time he had been in her bathroom.

[“You can’t say I’m not old enough for you.”]

[“Spike, you’ll never be old enough!”]

And they’d laughed together. Things had been so simple then, she hadn’t meant much to him. Well, he’d been grateful for all her help of course – he knew that he would have been dust without her. Then she’d complicated things by giving him the ward, and on top of that rescuing him again! He knew what he felt was more complex than just gratitude. This human woman so wise, so powerful, actually liked and valued him. Grumbling under his breath, he got out of the bath and wrapped a towel round his waist. He found that she had left some clothes for him, which he slipped on. Wandering along the landing, he found the witch in one of the three small bedrooms.

“I’ve made up the guest bed for you.” She smiled briefly at him and then fled the room.

Well that answered one question for him – platonic it was then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hilda woke after only a few hours of disturbed sleep. A cup of tea she thought, that’ll soothe my jangled nerves. She got up wearily, wrapped herself in her dressing gown and wandered down stairs. After putting the kettle on, she made herself busy cleaning down the worktops, to keep her mind off the mesmerising creature upstairs.

She was shocked out of her reverie by a sharp knocking on the back door. Mind still whirling, she thoughtlessly unlocked and opened the door. Alice smiled thinly at her and pushed past into the kitchen, uninvited.

“The more I thought of you here all on your own with that monster, the more worried I got.” She said in that high pitched, irritating voice.

Hilda watched her helplessly, as she bustled in and out of each room.

“I know you think that you can cope with it, but they are such vicious, bloodthirsty creatures, I thought I’d better check to make sure that you are all right.”

Horrified, Hilda realised that the woman was heading up the stairs. At last her legs started to obey her and she swiftly followed. Alice peered into the bedrooms. When she got to the small guestroom, Hilda braced herself for what was to come. When the woman said nothing, Hilda peered over her shoulder. The bed was made neatly and no sign of vampire anywhere.

“Well, where have you hidden him eh?” Alice said, as if this was some weird kind of “find the vampire” hide and seek game.

They both heard a slight noise that came from above their heads. “Ah, the loft. Why didn’t I think of that?” Alice was off like a shot, putting the ladder in place and climbing up, Hilda close behind her. They both gaped at the scene in front of them.

The vampire, his toes barely reaching the floor, was hanging chained by the wrists to a rafter. He growled low in his throat and glared at them malevolently.

“I’ll just check that he’s secure.” Alice reached up and pulled at his arms, then put her hand up to his head. Spike felt a sharp tug and then she backed off. “I can see that you have this well under control. I was so worried about you, but now I can rest easy.”

Hilda felt faint with shock, but managed to escort the busy body out of the house and lock the door after her.

She made her way slowly back up the stairs and up into the loft. Spike still hung there, only this time he was expressionless.

“How the hell did you manage that?” Hilda said faintly.

He grinned and dropped to the ground, tossing the manacles carelessly into a corner. He curled his tongue behind his teeth and raised one eyebrow. “Must be mind over matter, or the power of suggestion luv.”

She stood immobile for a second and then strode forward and punched him hard in the chest. “You bastard!”

He laughed then and put his arms around her shaking body.





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