Dracula – challenge at Good/Evil
Title: The Bodyguard (10/25/05)
Season IV – sort of. I’ve played fast and loose with the episodes and dialogue, not to mention the timeline. And the story itself is clearly non-canon.
Rating – no worse than R, if that
Disclaimer – Joss’s characters – well, except for Dracula – he belongs to Bram Stoker.
Distribution- this was written for the Good__Evil community, so no one else should take it without checking with me first. The requirements for the challenge were Dracula, a chess piece and some of the dialogue (I forget just which words). Thanks to Always_jbj for the read throughs and to Selene for this wonderful banner. This is an original work based on characters created by Joss Whedon and belongs solely to the author, Slaymesoftly.
THE BODYGUARD
“Get OUT!”
The tall, dark and extremely handsome vampire smiled indulgently as the blond Slayer gawked at him in disbelief. He preened with self-satisfaction at the recognition and admiration on the girl’s face. A quick glance at the equally awe-struck boy behind her told him he might have located a human assistant for his stay in Sunnydale and he favored the boy with a short, intense look into his eyes.
After a short conversation, and after promising to see her again soon, he vanished into the air, smiling again at the surprised gasps he left behind. Oh yes, this slayer, with her Hollywood-influenced knowledge of his history was going to be a wonderful addition to his harem. If what he’d heard about her was true, she might even be worthy of sitting at his side as a consort.
******************
“I’m serious, Giles! It was Dracula. I swear! And he came here to meet me. Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Buffy’s fan girl squealing over the appearance of the storied vamp was causing eye rolling, polishing of eyeglasses, and rumbling growls from the other men in the room.
“I came here to meet you, Slayer. Didn’t see you going all gaga over that, did I?”
Spike couldn’t have said why he was so put out at Buffy’s obvious delight in being singled out by the older vampire, but he knew if he heard one more squeal from her he was going to rip her throat out – chip or no chip.
“You came here to KILL me, Spike,” she said blithely. “Dracula came here to meet me. Because he heard I was…”she frowned slightly. “What did he hear about me, I wonder?”
“Possibly he heard that you killed the Master, sent Angelus to Hell and defeated William the Bloody, repeatedly,“ her watcher said dryly, ignoring Spike’s indignant snort. “That, and having survived into your late teens is quite an accomplishment for a Slayer. You are, in your own way, almost as famous as he.”
“But, why would he want to meet me, then? Shouldn’t he be afraid of me?”
“Bloody hell, Slayer, if he looks at your track record, you seem to be whittling down the remaining members of the Order of Aurelius. You’re just reducing the number of things he has to be afraid of. There’s no love lost between us and that gypsy poof, I can guarantee you.”
The sour expression on Spike’s face inspired Xander to chime in.
“Hey, Buff, maybe he’s here to thank you! Or offer to help you finish off the job,” he said with a suggestive nod at Spike.
“Pffft! I don’t need any help with Spike,” she said airily, ignoring the snarl from the impotent vampire.
“Be that as it may, Buffy,” Giles’ voice brought her back to the real subject, “It is imperative that you remember that he IS a vampire and not to be treated as an honored guest in our city. If the chance presents itself, I expect you to stake him just as you would any other…” His voice trailed off as he noticed the glowering blond near the door and he sighed heavily. “Well, almost any other undead visitor.”
“Hey, I’m not a visitor. I bloody well live here now!”
No one paid any attention to Spike’s protests, except Buffy who gave him a brief smile before quickly looking away. In no way did she want her chipped mortal enemy to know that she actually enjoyed fighting with him, at first physically and now verbally, and that she would miss him if he left. Spike looked at the blushing Slayer quizzically then shrugged his shoulders and pushed past Xander to go out the door.
“Well, if you see the poncey bastard again, Slayer, remind him he still owes me eleven pounds.”
Xander was next to leave, making it only as far as the parking lot before running into the subject of discussion. His original hero-worship having faded with the reminders that this was, in fact, another bloodsucking demon, he began to back away, babbling inane excuses for leaving. It took only a second for him to be captured by those deep, dark eyes and to begin nodding and calling the tall, slender vampire “Master.” Not until the Dracula was sure he had established control, did he release the unfortunate Scooby to scramble home.
Buffy went straight to her room when she got home, quickly brushing her teeth and putting on her pajamas. She got into her bed and snuggled under the covers, clutching Mr. Gordo and mulling over the arrival of a legendary vampire who was not promising to kill her. Which only reminded her of the one that HAD come back to Sunnydale for that purpose, and the way their relationship had changed since he’d been effectively rendered harmless by Riley’s boss.
Without volition, her mind went – as it did much too often to suit her – to the time she spent engaged to the sexy blond vampire while under Willow’s will-be-done spell. She squirmed and tried to dismiss the thoughts of what a good kisser Spike was, and how gently and tenderly he’d stroked her body when the others were preoccupied with their own spell-gone-wrong problems. Telling herself that she hated him just as much as he hated her, and that nothing they’d shared at that time meant anything, she resolutely pushed him from her mind and drifted off to sleep.
A sleep that was full of erotic flashes of dreams involving a man who looked suspiciously like a certain peroxide blond vampire. A vampire whose lips were tickling her neck, making her moan and— She sat up abruptly, wondering what had interrupted the nice dream that most definitely was NOT about Spike or anyone resembling him.
The bed dipped and she spun around, the words, “Riley? What are you-“ cut off as she met a pair of mesmerizing brown eyes. Even as her Slayer senses screamed out that there was a vampire in her room, on her bed, she felt herself surrendering to the soft voice and those eyes from which she couldn’t seem to look away.
When his cool lips touched her neck, she dropped her head back, giving the old vampire better access to her throat and murmuring appreciatively as slid his fangs into her vein. Dracula was well into his plan to put a preliminary claim on the Slayer by partially draining her while she was under his thrall when he was interrupted by a hand closing tightly around his own throat.
“Take your bloody teeth out of her, or I’ll break ‘em off one at a time,” Spike snarled, knowing he couldn’t just yank the older vamp off Buffy without risking serious tearing of her flesh.
Dracula slowly released his hold on the Slayer, gently laying her back down on the bed and smiling at the tiny rivulets of blood running down her neck. He easily shrugged off Spike’s hand and rose to his feet to confront the much shorter vampire.
“So, William the Bloody, because you can’t kill her, you don’t want anyone else to have her? Is that it?”
“Uh…yeah. That’s it! Of course that’s it. This slayer is mine, you bloody ponce. You just keep your pearly whites to yourself around her. In fact, I think you should just take your whole gypsy magic show on the road. I got this Hellmouth under control.”
The other vampire looked like he was planning to argue for a minute, then he drew himself up to his full height and swirled his cloak around theatrically.
“Very well. I will leave for the evening. But I have marked this woman and she WILL be mine before I leave here. I have spoken with Angelus, and he concurs that she will make an excellent consort for me. Your opinion means nothing. The head of your order has given his permission for me to avenge the Master and Darla.”
Spike’s snarled, “Angelus doesn’t make decisions for me…or for the Slayer,” almost drowned out Buffy’s surprised gasp and the older vamp smiled as he walked to the window and leapt out, turning into a bat as he did so and fluttering away. Spike shook his head at the theatrical display, then turned back to look at a confused Buffy.
“Did he just say that A-angel sent him here for me?”
“He called him Angelus, pet. Don’t care how mad the poof was about your new demon hunting boyfriend, I don’t think he’d sic old Drac on you if he had his soul.”
Even without being vamped out, he could tell her lower lip was sneaking out in a pout and he moved closer to her without thinking about it. After a few seconds of silence while she considered the possibility that Angel had lost his soul again and teamed up with the famed Vlad the Impaler, the events of the past few minutes came back to her and Buffy sat up abruptly.
“Did you just save me? And did I really just let that slimy…Am I bleeding?”
“Yeah, Slayer. You let him bite you. You are bleedin’, and I just chased the soddin’ poofter off. Now let me see that…”
He leaned over and before she could collect her thoughts to stop him, he ran his tongue over the bleeding holes, effectively sealing them. The taste of her blood went straight to his nether parts, making his pants suddenly very tight.
The feel of Spike’s tongue on her neck sent a shiver all through Buffy’s body. A shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature of said tongue, and everything to do with having his lips in such close proximity. For just a moment, they remained frozen, the vampire inhaling the scent from her warm body, the Slayer trembling from the feel of his lips on neck.
With an effort, Spike wrenched himself away and walked to the window. Buffy’s “Where are you go-“ was interrupted when he closed the window and pulled the drapes shut. He walked over to the chair, shrugging off his duster as he did so, and pushed the clothes piled on it to the floor. He sat down, tipped his head back, closed his eyes and stretched his long legs out in front of him.
He could feel the Slayer’s eyes on him and he finally sighed and leaned forward to meet her puzzled gaze.
“I’m gonna stay here till dawn, alright? Just to make sure he doesn’t come back.”
“Oh. Okay,” she said in the most subdued tone he’d ever heard from her. She was quiet for a few minutes and then asked softly, “What will you do when it’s daylight and you can’t leave?”
“I’m gonna get into your nice warm bed and sleep all day while you go out to play college coed,” he growled. “Just be sure you warn your mum so she doesn’t take the axe to me when she finds me here.”
Buffy fought off visions of Spike sprawled naked in her bed and firmly closed her eyes and willed herself to go back to sleep. An hour later, a scraping noise outside the window woke her just in time to see a fully vamped out Spike throw aside the curtains only to be met with a startled squirrel’s terrified scamper to the tree.
She bit back her laughter when he glanced over to see if she’d noticed his embarrassment. Instead of laughing at him as he would have expected, she smiled shyly and said, “Thank you, Spike.”
“For what?” he answered gruffly. “Almost killing a bloody squirrel?”
“No, for saving me from Dracula…and for being here to scare the squirrel away.”
Spike was no more sure how to deal with a polite, grateful Slayer than the Slayer was about how to deal with a formerly evil mortal enemy who seemed determined to keep her alive even if it meant risking his big bad persona. He shuffled his feet uncomfortably, not really wanting to go back to the uncomfortable chair but too worried to leave before the sun could protect the house and its occupants. Buffy twisted the sheets with her fingers, trying to smother the urge to invite him to protect her from the vantage point of her bed.
The vampire compromised by perching on the window sill, rolling his shoulders to get out the kinks and telling her softly, “Go back to sleep, luv. I’ll be here just in case any more squirrels try to break in.”
Just as Buffy started to lie down again, she was struck be a sudden thought and she jumped to her feet.
“Mom!” she gasped, running toward the door. “He got in here without an invitation, maybe he….”
“Relax, Slayer.” Spike was across the room before she could open the door, grabbing her by her upper arms. “She’s fine. I can hear her heartbeat and her breathing. He’s not interested in your mum; he’s interested in you and only you.”
She tilted her head and looked at his eyes, which had flashed amber for just a second, then put her hand to his cheek.
“But I have a bodyguard,” she breathed softly. “He can’t get to me.”
“Not if I have anything to say about,” he growled softly. The vibration against her hand sent a tingle up her arm and down her body and she pulled it back quickly, blushing and grateful for the darkness in the room.
The darkness didn’t prevent Spike from sensing her elevated heart rate and rise in body temperature. He stepped closer, not sure what he was going to do, but unable stay away from the warmth that was calling to him. Then he remembered how angry he’d been to find Dracula taking advantage of his thrall skills to bite the best warrior Spike had come up against and he forced himself away from the obviously still-vulnerable slayer.
Before he could change his mind, he quickly sat back down in the chair and gestured to the bed. “Best try to get some more sleep, pet. You’re going to want to spend tomorrow looking for his lair and you’ll need to be on your toes.”
Smothering a pang of disappointment, Buffy climbed back into her bed and put her head back on the pillow. She looked at the tense vampire sitting in the straight-back chair and said timidly, “Maybe you would be more comfortable if you were…I mean…it’s a double bed. There’s lots of room.”
“Really not a good idea, pet,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Fine!” she huffed, offended that he would turn down her very generous offer to share her bed. “I just thought that chair looked really uncomfortable, but if you—“
“Trust me, Slayer. I’m a lot less uncomfortable sittin’ here than I would be lying next to you right now.”
“Wha-? Well that’s just ridi—oh.” The rush of blood to her face did nothing to ease his discomfort, although it did make him smile briefly.
“Yeah. Oh. Go to sleep, Slayer. I’ve got your back for the rest of the night.”
Buffy fell asleep wondering why the vampire who was usually full of sexual innuendos around her was suddenly backing off from a chance to follow up on them.
Chapter Two
When Buffy arose the following morning and went to take her shower, Spike groaned and pulled his aching body out of the hard chair. Pausing only to kick off his boots, he fell face down on the bed and let the deep sleep that the morning sun inspired take him. By the time the Slayer came back into the room, he was sound asleep and oblivious to her as she got dressed and ready to leave. She started out of the room, then turned back and quickly double checked the drapes to be sure there was no chance of the sun breaking through.
She stood over her bed indecisively for a few seconds and then carefully pulled the sheet up to cover the vampire, putting it all the way over his head. Satisfied that she’d done as much as she could to protect him from any flammable accidents, she went downstairs to alert her mother to their houseguest.
Joyce took the news that Spike had spent the night in Buffy’s room surprisingly well – commenting only that if Dracula could get in without the usual invitation required by his kind, that having another master vampire with the same privileges was probably a very good idea.
“So, Buffy,” she said as casually as she could, “exactly how many vampires does that make now, with access to our home?”
“Uh, just the two…oh, no, wait. Make that three. Angel still has an invitation I guess. I never had it revoked.”
“Is that wise?” her mother asked with some trepidation. “As I remember it, he was very unpleasant the last time he lost his soul.”
Buffy grimaced at hearing Angelus and his actions referred to as “unpleasant”, but nodded in agreement.
“Probably not, but he gets all offended when I lock him out. There’s no reason to think he’s going to come back here anytime soon, anyway,” she added sadly, remembering his last visit and the fight with Riley. “He just, apparently, gave Dracula permission to kill me. I’ll have Willow do a dis-invite spell as soon as she gets a chance, just in case, but I doubt he’ll come back.”
Thinking of Riley reminded her that the commando was probably not going to be very happy to find Spike in her bed and she glanced at her mother, blushing hard as she said, “Uh, Mom. If Riley should come by for any reason –not that he probably would, but if he did, it would be better if he didn’t …”
“Don’t let Riley know Spike is sleeping in your bed,” Joyce surprised her by stating calmly. “Really, Buffy. Do you think I’m stupid?”
Buffy gawked at her mother before smiling and giving her a hug.
“No, Mom. I don’t think you’re stupid. I’m sorry. I just don’t want to deal with the drama right now and…”
“Then I suggest you spend the day trying find a way to discourage Riley from thinking he should be the one to stand guard over you at night,” her mother said, giving Buffy a kiss on the cheek and pushing her toward the door. “Because, I personally think Spike would be a much better choice – for a bodyguard,” she added quickly at her daughter’s wide-eyed expression.
Buffy waved a quick good-bye and promised her mother she would have Willow do a dis-invite spell in case Dracula wasn’t lying about talking with Angelus. She also told her to be sure to keep all the doors and windows locked, just in case.
An afternoon spent trying to locate a possible hiding place for the famous vampire had yielded nothing but tired legs and sore feet. Buffy was grateful to find herself back at her Watcher’s, sitting in the comfy chair with her feet up and a Diet Coke in her hand. The room seemed very full, with everyone who needed to know the situation present.
Riley hovered over Buffy, angering her with his air of protectiveness, although she couldn’t really complain too much with her neck bearing the obvious marks of her inability to deal with Dracula on her own. She’d admitted that the famous vamp had been able to put her in some sort of thrall – but insisted it was because she was asleep and dreaming that he was able to do it so easily.
Riley’s curious, “What were you dreaming about that would prevent you from recognizing that there was a vampire in the room?” sent her into a brief panic before she recovered quickly and answered, “I’m the Slayer, Riley. I dream about vampires all the time.”
She carefully avoided Spike’s speculative stare and glossed over his timely rescue, saying simply that he’d been passing by and had seen Dracula enter her window.
The blond vampire stayed in the doorway to the kitchen growling softly to himself as Buffy’s boyfriend glared and blustered that Hostile 17, as Riley insisted on referring to him, should have called for help rather than entering Buffy’s house himself. He then demanded to know why Spike was able to do so without an invitation, and Buffy casually explained that she had never revoked the invitation he’d received years before he was chipped.
Riley’s muttered, “It’s a wonder you aren’t bitten more often as trusting as you are of these animals,” had everyone in the room blinking at him in surprise and had Buffy’s hand squeezing her can of Coke so tightly it exploded, showering the commando with sticky soda.
Her apology was perfunctory and she made no attempt to help him clean up, simply taking her can to the kitchen sink and rinsing off her own hands and arms. She was intensely aware of Spike’s presence behind her as he turned to face her rather than the room full of people.
“Toy soldier’s got a point, pet,” he murmured too low for anyone else to hear. “Why didn’t you revoke my invite? Weren’t you afraid I’d come back and eat you in your bed?”
The sudden image his words created made her gasp and clench her legs together as she whirled on him and slapped his surprised face. They stared at each other in shock for a full minute, with the vampire recovering first.
“Didn’t really mean it like that, luv,” he purred, holding a hand to his cheek, “but if that’s what you were thinkin’ would happen, I guess it answers my question.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Buffy muttered as convincingly as she could and pushed past him to go back into the living room. His quiet chuckle followed her back to her chair and she knew her face was still flaming.
To her surprise, Giles answered Riley’s remark by observing mildly that they “should all be quite grateful that Spike did not require an invitation to enter Buffy’s home or she might already be on her way to Transylvannia.”
The Watcher was more concerned about Dracula’s statements concerning Angelus than he was in the old vamp’s ability to get past both Spike and an awake and aware Buffy, and he grilled her repeatedly on what Dracula had said.
“He said he had talked to Angel—Angelus and he told him he should take me for one of his ‘brides’.”
Buffy’s face was a mixture of rage and hurt feelings at the thought that even without his soul, Angel would sell her out to another vampire. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room until everyone could see tension leave the Slayer’s face and body as she relaxed back into the chair.
An almost audible group sigh of relief brought a small smile to her lips and she glanced at Spike as she giggled, “You’d think they were afraid of me or something. Am I that scary when I’m mad?”
The blond vampire grinned at her and began, “Well, pet, speaking from experience, I—“
He was cut off by Riley’s snort of derision, as the big man said, “No one here is afraid of you, Buffy. Temper or no temper, they know you wouldn’t hurt the civilians in here and I’m certainly not afraid of you.“
Spike looked at the commando with his mouth agape.
“You’re dumber than you look, aren’t you, soldier-boy? And,” he added with a theatrical shudder, “you’ve obviously never seen a brassed off Slayer in action.”
Giles broke up the impending glaring contest by mildly observing that someone should probably make a phone call to Los Angeles to find out what was going on there. Willow and Buffy exchanged looks and the red haired witch nodded her head.
“I’ll do it,” she volunteered, earning a grateful look from her friend. “But what are we going to do if Angelus really is back?”
“I want you to do dis-invite spells everywhere Angel has been, starting with your house and my mother’s. Then do our dorm room, and any place else he might go.” Slayer fully in charge, Buffy turned to her Watcher. “I am assuming you can do your own dis-invite?”
The older man nodded and waited to see how his suddenly mature slayer wanted to proceed. When she laid out all the precautions that needed to be taken against Angelus, he was surprised to hear her suggest they arm themselves as well.
“Buffy?” His voice was incredulous. “Are you seriously suggesting we shoot Angelus?”
“I’m seriously suggesting that since dis-invite spells might not work on Dracula, and Angel-Angelus knows his way around Sunnydale, I want everyone protected. We may not be dealing with just one Big Bad here. We’ll need to be prepared for anything.”
Xander had been wandering around the room, randomly suggesting that Buffy should go with him to “patrol”, but generally ignored by most of the other people in the room. Only Spike noticed his strange behavior and frowned as the boy kept insisting Buffy come with him.
Willow commiserated with Buffy about the bites on her neck and agreed willingly that spending the night somewhere other than their dorm room was probably a good plan. She cheerfully assured Buffy that she could spend the night with her new friend, Tara, and between the two of them they should be able to ward the room against even as powerful a vampire as Dracula.
Not one to know when to shut up, Riley growled that he supposed she’d given Spike an invitation to her dorm room also. He already knew that Angel had been invited in when he’d visited the previous week. Before Buffy could answer, Willow held up her hand timidly and said, “Uh, no, Riley. That would have been me, actually. I sort of invited Spike in.”
The big soldier just threw up his hands in disgust and sat down in a chair muttering to himself about “civilians” and glaring at the smirking vampire leaning in the doorway.
“Buffy, what will you be doing to remain safe?” Her watcher tried to bring the conversation back to the primary issue, which was the fact that his Slayer seemed unperturbed by the thought of having a dangerous vampire able to come and go as he pleased in her home.
“I’m going to stake his skinny ass if he shows up again,” she said firmly. When she saw Spike and her Watcher exchange looks she frowned and asked, “What? You don’t think I can do it? He’s just another vampire.”
Hastening to head off a Slayer tantrum that might cost him a bloody nose, Spike gave them a quick run-down on what a thrall by someone as old as Dracula could involve.
“It’s not that you couldn’t do it, pet. But he’s tasted you. He’s had you in thrall once and now he’s got your blood in his system. He can re-thrall you any time he wants. All he has to do is get close enough to look into your eyes. You need to be with someone who is immune to him. Someone who can’t be influenced.”
“Well, I suppose it is rather obvious who that will have to be,” Giles took his glasses off and rubbed them vigorously. “Although I would much prefer that it be someone else, it seems the best choice would be--”
Buffy’s face blanched and then flushed scarlet, but before she could say anything, Riley spoke up. “Well, of course she’ll be with me at all times,” he said as though there was no question.
Both Buffy and Spike stared at the oblivious soldier, marveling at his ignorance of how vulnerable he would be around a vamp as powerful as Dracula. While Buffy struggled to find a way to tell Riley she didn’t need his help, he and Xander made plans to go with her on her evening patrol. Buffy sent Spike a quick look and shrugged helplessly.
The vampire walked over to Xander and peered into his eyes for a few seconds, then nodded to himself and walked to the door. He opened it, taking care to remain away from the waning rays of the sun, and waited until a couple of flies flew into the apartment. When Giles began to protest, Spike silenced him with a wave and gestured to the dark haired boy trying to coax Buffy to leave with him right that minute.
The watcher subsided suspiciously and watched as the flies circled the room. When one of them flew past Xander’s face and he snatched it out of the air, Spike smirked in satisfaction and waited for everyone to notice what the boy did with the fly. Still talking animatedly with Buffy and Riley, Xander unwittingly put the fly in his mouth and ate it, licking his lips when he had swallowed the bug.
Giles’ eyes widened in horror and he crossed the room, prepared to do violence if necessary. Spike stopped him with a hand on his arm and whispered, “The whelp can lead us to him if we let him go.”
“He’ll lead Buffy to him, too,” the older man hissed back. “I’m not letting her go with him.”
“Let him take the soldier- it’ll keep Drac busy tonight, dodging the demon-hunters. I’ll make sure Buffy doesn’t leave her house.”
Giles shot him a suspicious look, but forbore asking how he intended to do that. He just quietly asked Buffy if he could see her for a moment and led her out of earshot of the two young men who were still discussing how to best protect Buffy while she patrolled.
“What!” Buffy’s indignant shout from the kitchen turned everyone’s attention to her for a second until she realized they were all staring and turned back to whisper with her Watcher. After a few minutes of quiet arguing, she flounced back into the living room, glaring at Spike.
She walked up to Xander and Riley, and in her best “blond” voice, she said, “Tell you what guys. If you are so worried about me, why don’t you two do the patrol for me and I’ll just stay safely…somewhere.”
Riley was so excited and happy to have been asked to patrol for Buffy as he always wanted to, that he missed the fact that she did not tell him where she was planning to spend the night. In spite of Xander’s protests, he dragged the other boy out into the gathering dusk, promising to come back as soon as they had located and slain Dracula.
When the door had closed behind them, Buffy whirled on her watcher and Spike demanding, “Okay, I did what you wanted. Now will you please tell me what’s going on?”
The watcher gestured to the vampire and walked away. Spike looked at Buffy’s angry face, admiring the way anger brought a flush to her cheeks and made her breathe heavily. He was so busy watching the way her angry breathing was making her chest rise and fall, that he almost missed the fist heading for his nose. At the last second, he felt the air movement and turned his head aside so that Buffy’s not terribly serious punch missed him completely.
“Hey!” he yelled indignantly.
“Oh shut up, you big baby. Where’d you go, anyway? I’ve been trying to get an answer out of you forever.”
“Sorry, luv. I was distracted for a minute.” He leered at her breasts as they moved up and down with her still rapid breathing.
“Pig,” she mumbled half-heartedly, crossing her arms over her chest to hide the way her nipples pebbled under his gaze.
“You know it, baby,” he agreed cheerfully, wiggling his eyebrows at her ala Groucho Marx.
The slayer giggled in spite of herself and relaxed, looking back and forth between her watcher and her undead bodyguard. “So, what’s up, guys?”
“It appears that Xander has been…recruited, by Dracula,” Giles explained slowly. “He is expected to take you to his master.”
“Xander? Xander is under thrall?”
“The gypsy bastard put you in thrall while you were sleeping, luv. How long do you think it would take him to get inside the whelp’s head?”
“Spike! You make it sound like Xander’s some weak-minded…” The look on her watcher’s face caused her voice to trail off and she winced with sympathy for her friend. “So, Xander’s become whats-his-name, huh?”
“The bug-catching gofer? Yep.”
Buffy poked Spike for the self-satisfied look on his face and smiled with delight when he gasped and doubled over.
“You’re ticklish!” she crowed, advancing on him with fingers extended.
“I most certainly am not!” he replied huffily, even as he retreated behind the bewildered watcher. Drawing himself up to his full height and wrapping his duster around himself protectively, he growled, “I am a bleedin’ Master Vampire. I most certainly am NOT ticklish!”
“Oh, you SO are! Come here, big bad vampire. I have something for you…” Buffy’s giggles as she pursued the snarling vampire around the room put a smile on her watcher’s face and only when she knocked the vamp to the floor and sat on him to dig her fingers into his ribs did he pause to wonder what was going on between the two super-powered blonds.
When the snarling, giggling duo appeared likely to start knocking over furniture, Giles finally put an end to it by shouting, “Could you please cease wrecking my flat and focus on the evening’s plan.”
Somewhat shamefaced, Buffy pushed herself up off the no-longer resisting vampire and struggled to her feet, casually offering Spike a hand and pulling him up beside her.
Giles looked at the two lithe, athletic beings in front of him; observed their happy faces and close proximity and groaned silently. Making a mental note to check the Council’s files for anything that would suggest a mystical link between Slayers and vampires, he shook his head and asked with resignation, “How do you plan to keep out of Dracula’s clutches tonight, Buffy? Since it appears that his thrall works on you, what is to prevent him from biting you again?”
“I am,” Spike said quietly, unconsciously stepping closer to Buffy. “Not gonna get in her way if she can take him, but the second it looks like he’s working his mojo on her, he’s gonna be wishing she’d staked him.”
“I don’t think he can thrall me if I’m awake and watching for it, Giles,” Buffy said quickly. “And if I’m asleep, Spike will be there to—to—“
“To keep him away,” he finished for her firmly.
“Exactly!”
Giles looked back and forth from one to the other, then shrugged his shoulders.
“You are welcome to stay here tonight, if you’d like,” he said slowly. “Although I think we have to assume that my apartment has been compromised also…” He glanced around as though he would be able to see the dis-invite spell he was planning to install immediately.
“Thanks, Giles. But I’m worried about leaving my mom alone if he can get into my house whenever he wants. I think we’d better stay there for the night. I’ll go looking for him again tomorrow – maybe I can get Xander to show me where it is.”
“I doubt that will be a problem,” her watcher said dryly. “I would assume one of his duties is to lure you into his master’s clutches.”
“Ohh, that sounds so spooky, Giles. ‘His master’s clutches’. Very Halloweeny.” Buffy’s eyes danced with laughter at the older man’s expense as she walked out the door.
While Spike rolled his eyes, the other Brit made a face and said with as much dignity as he could muster, “Well, it will be All Hallows Eve tomorrow night, so I presume my choice of words is quite appropriate for the season.”
He stopped Spike’s movement toward the door with a hand on his arm, removing it quickly when the vampire looked at him in surprise.
“I am- -and I cannot believe I am saying this -- trusting you to keep her safe until we can deal with this situation.”
“You have my word, Watcher. She’s going to be safe as houses. All she has to do is stay near me and do what I tell her until someone stakes the poncey bastard.”
Giles allowed a brief grin to cross his face. “And here I thought you knew Buffy fairly well, Spike. “
He laughed when the vampire’s face fell as he realized the truth of what the man was implying, but Spike said resolutely, “The Slayer’s not stupid. She may be pig-headed, but she isn’t stupid. She’ll stay close.”
“Really?” Giles asked calmly, “Then why is she out there alone, and you are still in here?”
He watched in amusement as the vampire raced out the door bellowing, “Slayer! You stupid bint. Come back here or so help me I’ll tear your head off myself. Chip or no chip!”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Fairly short fic - should be up completely in a few days.