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Buffy's eyes opened almost lazily to meet his, only he could say her name like that, drawing out the syllables to make her silly frivolous name sound like and evocation. It took her a moment to register that he had asked her a question, she didn't have the answers, how could she? But she would try to find them for him, because no one else could say her name like that.

"Spike?" her own question, a single word to ask so much. Her hand came free of his now gentle grip and reached out to trace the line of his jaw. He closed his eyes, leaning in to her tender touch.

"Bloody hell!" he was off her and had taken three steps back before she realised he had moved. "What the hell have you done to me? Is your witch, screwing with my head?" he was pacing angrily, glaring at her accusingly

"No Spike, we didn't do anything, I swear" her voice was calm and reasoning, hands face down in front of her in a steadying gesture. "I didn't..." her voice broke with evident emotion "I didn't even know you where back" she finished softly eyes averted almost shyly.

"Buffy" Willow's voice drew both their attention to the small group approaching them. Willow scurrying ahead, concern etched deeply on her pale brow. Xander followed more slowly, arm wrapped protectively around a shivering Dawn, drowned in his oversized jacket.

"Fantastic, enter the super friends" Spike's sarcastic tone bit into the night air. His pose was casual now, thumbs tucked in his belt, hands splayed out over the buckle, the very image of indifferent calm.

"Dawnie, are you okay?" Buffy turned her back on the vampire to examine her sister "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." The brunette answered as she stepped forward to embrace the shorter girl, careful to keep the tell tale bruises on her wrist hidden beneath the jackets long sleeves. She caught Spike's eye over the Slayer's head, understanding passing between the two. An unspoken pact of silence.

Spike watched the girls embrace with tangible affection, the hug somehow more intimate even than a lovers touch. A strangely familiar scene. Curiosity may have been the downfall of the cat, Spike was certain that one day it would also be his undoing. Before he could stop himself the question was disturbing the stillness of the night.

"Who are you?" he asked, his head tilted to the side eyes locking with the brunettes.

To Spike it had seemed a reasonable question, to ask a familiar stranger who they were. Completely natural, right? Wrong, if the looks on the faces of the Slayer and her little gang where anything to go by. Gaped. That was a good word for it, like today's catch on a fishmongers slab.

"What?"
…………..

The Slayers where horribly outnumbered and taking heavy losses. Vi beheaded a vampire and turned to call the retreat. "Back!" She shouted, her once shy voice ringing out strongly over the din of battle. "Fall back!"

The retreat was swift and well organised, but still they lost girls on the way. Trex demons sprayed their paralysing venom onto the Slayers while flying bedrog demons swooped down to slash the immobilised girls with razor sharp talons.

A group of vampires where attempting to flank the on the right. Barking orders at her lieutenants she wheeled the group left and headed for the sanctuary of Rushden House, with its battle ready walls and protective wards.

She wasn't counting the fallen. There would be time for tears later when the survivors filed their devastating reports with the Watchers back at Rushden. Now her mind was focused on the desperate fight for survival, on bringing as many girls back to safety as possible.

………..

"You don't know her?" the witch's bemused question, served to irritate the vampire.

"Wouldn't be bloody asking if I did now, would I?" his tone implied that he considered her to be among the stupidest people in the world. "And would ye all stop gawking at me like that. Enough to make a fella nauseous, looking down your gullets"

"Ok" It was Xander who spoke, raising one hand "Who else is getting a good old fashion Sunnydale wiggins?"

The group nodded in agreement, all eyes still riveted to the vampire. It was Dawn who finally formed an answer, prompted by the impatient raising of his scarred eyebrow. "Dawn. I'm Dawn" a note hurt in her quiet voice

"Got that already, luv." He answered, his voice indescribably gentle. "Doesn't ring a bell is all"

"Dawn" she insisted as if repetition would somehow break through his ignorance. "Buffy's sister"

He titled his head back slightly and regarded the group suspiciously before speaking. "Slayer didn't have no sister last time me and her had a rumble" he glanced over at the unusually quite blond. "What is she then? Some kinda long lost?"

Finally Buffy managed to pull together enough brainpower to form actual words. "You don't remember her?" she asked rhetorically "What do you remember?"

……..

Giles resigned himself to leaving a message on the Buffy's machine. "Buffy, it's me Giles. Please call me as soon as you get this message. The council… I have news from… Buffy call me, we have a problem."

He hung up the phone carefully and moved to sit on the motel bed, thanking God that he had decided to splash out on one of the towns more expensive motel, one that supplied a mini-bar.

Knocking back a straight scotch, he let out a worried breath. The latest attack had been one of the most devastatingly well organised. It was only luck that it had been Vi leading the patrol when it was attacked, only a battle hardened Slayer could have brought the group back with so few losses.

So few losses? Twenty-seven girls dead, another nine badly injured. But given the circumstances it was quite and achievement. The hundred strong patrol had been engaged by nearly three times their number, demons of five different species. A well planned and perfectly executed attack launched just days before the European slayer division was due to depart for the Americas.

It left the watcher with a quandary, bring the group to America as planned, and leave a battalion of demons unchecked in England, or leave the girls at Rushden and weaken whatever army they could assemble for the inevitable showdown with Marcus.

Where in God's name was Buffy?
…………..

They where lying, they had to be. But if they where lying then they surely would have been able to concoct something a little less far fetched. He wasn't entirely clear on all the elements of the story, but the basic gist seemed to be that he had not died in the church as Marcus had said, but rather he had died years later during the destruction of Sunnydale.

He had a strong suspicion that they where keeping details of the story from him, they had told him that a government implanted chip had stopped him from harming humans and driven him into the Slayers circle. But that did not explain why he had actively offered them his help, or why he had taken a teenage girl into his sworn protection.

His forming a pact with the Slayer to spite his grandsire was one of the story's more believable elements. While the claim that he had fought side by side with for years was beyond ridiculous.

"You expect me to believe this load of old bollocks?" he asked the group when they paused in their confusing and disjointed tale, the clarity of which was in no way aided by them constantly interrupting and correcting one another.

He saw a flash of annoyed impatience cross the Slayers face and somehow it added to their pitiful credibility.

"It's the truth Spike" his Nibblet was speaking to his right, drawing his attention reluctantly away from the Slayer. She flashed him a smirk that he couldn't help but recognise as akin to his own "Could we make this stuff up?"

He gave a short bark of laughter and reached out to gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, amazed that after what had happened earlier that night, she didn't flinch at the contact, rather she leaned imperceptibly into the touch and gave him a lazy smile.

"Well if that's the truth of it, which I gather from the conspicuous lack of staking, it is. Then the question before the court is, what the hell is the wanker who brought me back up to?"

Okay this was better, Buffy thought, something positive to focus on, something slayery. She could do this, so much easier than trying to explain five complicated years of love and hate, while not actually coming clean on any of the love. Way too soon to drop that in to the conversation. What would she say anyway "Oh Spike, don't you remember you're supposed to be in love with me. That's pretty much why you endured, abuse torture, humiliation and eventual death" yeah right.

"What do you know about him? The guy that brought you back I mean" she asked. His face turned pensive and he held her eyes with his. Oh shit, she thought, oh shit, he's looking at me, he's gonna know everything, he always knows everything.

When he spoke she was almost shocked to hear him keeping on topic. "Not much, I was out of there pretty quick. Vampire, couple of strange demon types working for him, powerful warlock on the payroll, goes by the name of Marcus."

…….





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