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Chapter Four:

The vampire sauntered into the room, casting an appraising eye at Tara and Anya, hiding behind Willow. “Evenin’, Red,” he drawled. “Who’re your friends?”

“Uh, this is Tara,” she stammered, “and this is Anya.”

“Nice to meet you, ladies,” he said, giving them his most charming smile. Tara blushed and looked down while Anya studied him appraisingly.

He ignored Xander completely and turned to ask Buffy, “So, pet, are we having a meeting or not?”

Giles cleared his throat and said, “Yes, quite. We should all share our information and see what else we’ve learned.”

Willow told about being attacked by the vampires the night before. Spike mentioned that it was strange they didn’t just drain her right there and she said they seemed to be trying to take her somewhere. Buffy frowned at that and wondered out loud who would want Willow and why.

Tara, who rarely spoke at the Scoobie meetings, stammered out, “W....well, you are becoming a very powerful witch – ma...maybe somebody wanted to use you for a spell or something.”

“That’s certainly possible,” Giles agreed. “Willow, perhaps you need to be more cautious than usual for awhile. Next time, Buffy – and Spike – might not be there to save you.

Buffy went on to talk about the info she got from Riley. Spike became very still at the mention of the soldier’s name and remained quiet and impassive until Buffy got to the part about them wanting to experiment on him. He went briefly into game face and growled, sending everyone but Buffy cringing away from him. He relaxed immediately, and smiled reassuringly at the girls. When Buffy told about walking out and Riley’s attempt to physically stop her, both Giles and Spike sat up. The watcher to ask, “What did you do?” concerned about what the answer might be. The vampire just got up and headed for the door, eyes flashing yellow.

“Spike.” Buffy leaped up and put her hand on his arm. He stopped but didn’t turn around. She could feel the tension in his body and she added softly, “Don’t. Please?”

To everyone’s astonishment, after a tense few seconds, he visibly relaxed and turned around. He came back to his seat, shooting Buffy an apologetic look before he sat back down.

“What the hell just happened here?” Xander asked no one in particular. Giles looked speculatively at the vampire and slayer – noting the little smile Buffy gave Spike as he came back in the room, as well as her sigh of relief when he sat down.

“I repeat, Buffy, what did you do when he tried to stop you?”

“I left,” she said flatly, daring anyone to ask any more questions.

Undaunted, Anya asked cheerily, “Did you hurt him, Buffy?”

“Yeah, Slayer. Did you break the boy?” Spike snarked.

Glaring at Anya and kicking Spike’s ankle hard enough to get a “Bloody hell” out of him, she answered tersely, “I doubt it. The table might have suffered a little damage, though….”

Everyone laughed at the image of Riley being tossed into a table and Giles relaxed a little.

“All right, let’s go over what we know – the Initiative is killing and experimenting on demons and the occasional vampire,” he glanced at Spike. “They are also pursuing Adam – and seem to know something about him.”

“Oh!” Buffy piped up, “and the guys are much stronger than normal. I knew Riley was pretty strong (under the table she pressed her leg against Spike’s in warning and he swallowed his growl), but he said something yesterday about my enhancements being like his.”

Spike snorted and Giles smiled briefly before asking, “He’s as strong as you?”

“Oh, no. No superpowers that I can tell – not like me – or, or like Spike – but definitely more than a normal human.”

“Could there be a connection between the Initiative and Adam?” Willow wondered. “I mean, enhanced soldiers, captured demons, man/monster combo bad guy?”

“That’s an excellent thought, Willow,” Giles nodded approvingly.

“And it would explain why they’re so hot to handle him themselves,” Xander put in. “If they created him…..”

“If they created him, they’ve got some serious ‘splainin’ to do,” Buffy said grimly. “He’s been responsible for a lot of deaths in the last few months.”

“Didn’t you say they were experimenting with using demons as weapons?” Xander asked. “Maybe he’s an experiment gone wrong.”

“That makes sense,” Willow agreed. “They made him and now they can’t control him and they’re trying to fix it.”

“But, what would they want Spike for then?”

“Hey, I’d make a great weapon!” he protested.

“Riley said they had a new technology to control vampires – but they needed a really strong one to experiment on. That’s why he wants Spike.”

“How do they know how strong I am, pet?” he asked, looking at her out of the corners of his eyes.

Buffy colored slightly and stammered, “Well, I might have…..he said they couldn’t catch you last night and I….might have mentioned that you were really old and….I’m sorry, Spike.” She sighed. “I guess I put the idea in his head.”

“Braggin’ on me, were you, Slayer?” he smirked at her.

Buffy rolled her eyes and snapped, “I had to tell him something to explain how I let you get away, didn’t I? I’ve spent all this time trying to make him understand how powerful I am and then he sees you toss me off like a flea….”

“Well,” he drawled, “you could have told him you were distracted by-“

Buffy’s eyes got huge, then narrowed as she gave him a glare that should have caused him to burst into flame. “Spike!” she hissed.

He laughed, then noticed the looks they were getting from the Scoobies and he shifted slightly away from the Slayer as he said, “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Slayer. I’m just having some fun with you.”

“This is me, not laughing,” she grumbled at him.

“All right, you two. Whatever that’s about, we don’t have time for it now,” Giles interrupted. “Buffy, exactly how do you expect Spike to be of help to you?”

Buffy looked at the blond vampire and realized she hadn’t actually thought any further ahead than having Spike there.

“Um, well, he’s really strong and he fights well, so I just thought he’d…..”She threw him a desperate look.

“I’ll have her back, Watcher. Or fight beside her if that’s what it takes to beat this thing. ‘Sides, if he’s collecting vamps like she says, he might be real happy to find me. I could get on the inside and maybe find out when he plans to take over.”

“That’s not a bad suggestion,” Giles agreed at the same time as Buffy said, “No! That’s too dange-“ Spike touched her foot with his gently and she swallowed the rest of her protest.

The meeting broke up with all agreeing that waiting to see if Adam made contact with Spike was the best plan. Willow offered to go on-line and see what she could dig up on demon hybrids, animate weapons research, etc. As everyone moved toward the door, Giles touched Buffy’s arm and said quietly, “I’d like to talk to you – and to you, Spike – for a moment.”

Buffy and Spike exchanged glances, then he shrugged and came back into the room. The vampire sprawled across an easy chair, swinging his booted foot and looking bored. Buffy perched primly on the arm of the couch and said, ”Yes, Giles?”

The Watcher removed his glasses, cleared his throat and began, “Perhaps I should hold these conversations separately, but I would like us all to be on the same page here.” He turned to address Buffy and asked, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing here? This is Spike. A soulless vampire who has killed two Slayers. What makes you think you can trust him?”

Buffy sent a panicky look in Spike’s direction, then stammered, “I….I….uh, I just ….he promised…”

“I keep my word, Watcher.” Spike said coldly. “And the Slayer knows that.”

“How do you know that?” Giles demanded of Buffy.

“Because he always has. Whether he was promising to kill me or promising not to. He does what he says.”

Giles looked at the stubborn expression on her face and sighed. “I have a feeling there’s more to this than you’re telling me. But, I will trust your judgment - for now,” he added, casting a suspicious eye in Spike’s direction.

Turning to the vampire he asked, “Why are you doing this?”

“I made a promise, and like I already told you, I keep my promises.”

“But why would you make such a promise? I would think you’d be happy if something took out the Slayer.”

“Not this one,” he said shortly. “She’s mine.”

“So, you’ve gone from killer of slayers to protector?” Giles asked skeptically.

“”Well, this one, anyway,” Spike said, casting a look in Buffy’s direction.

“Come on, Spike. Let’s get started,” Buffy said, edging toward the door. She was anxious to get out of there before Giles could ask any more questions.

“What’s your plan for the night, then?” Giles asked them.

Buffy was sure her plans for the night were written all over her face, but she gamely provided what she hoped was a reasonable answer.

“I’m going to patrol for awhile – then I’ll go back to my dorm and Spike will try to make contact with Adam.”

“And what will Spike be doing while you’re patrolling?”

“Watchin’ her back,” he said flatly. At Buffy’s indignant glare, he raised his hands in supplication and added, “From a distance, luv. From a distance.”

“I suppose that’s not a bad idea, just now.” The watcher reluctantly agreed. “We don’t know how many vamps and demons Adam has added to his army. Even you can’t fight them all at one time, Buffy.”

“Humph!” and an eye roll was her only response as she sashayed out the door.

As Spike started to follow her, Giles stepped in front of him and looking every inch the Ripper, he met the vamp’s eyes and growled, “Do I even have to say it?”

Spike shook his head and replied mildly, “I’m here to keep her alive, Watcher, not hurt her. She’s safe with me. Or as safe as a girl in her line of work can be.”

The watcher grudgingly stood aside and admitted, “I just worry about her. She’s a very special girl.”

“D’you think you’re the only one who’s noticed that, Watcher?” he asked softly and allowed his cocky mask to slip for just a second. While Giles was digesting what he’d seen and heard, the vampire slipped out the door and was gone.





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