“I’m sorry, Mr…?” Giles turned to Wesley, arms crossed over his chest and an annoyed expression on his face.
“Wyndam-Price.” Wesley paused. “And you are…?”
“My name is Rupert Giles. And if I may say…”
“Ah.” Wesley interrupted him. “I was told about you, Mr Giles, I’m terribly sorry for your loss.” Giles didn’t bother to comment. Wesley then turned to Spike. “The sun will set in about an hour. Before we will go out, I would like to observe your fighting skills. Is there some place we can…?”
“You can use the training room,” Anya piped up, helpfully, and pointed towards another door in the far way of the small room.
“Excellent!” Wesley gave Spike an expectant look, clearly expecting him to follow.
“Hold on, just one bloody moment!” Ignoring Wesley, Spike turned to Giles. “Wanker’s from the bleedin’ Council?”
“I, um…” Giles let out a sigh. “It appears so.” Then he turned to Wesley. “Mr Wyndam-Price, no offense, but…” He seemed to be searching for the right words. “I was going to train Spike myself; in fact, we were just about to discuss…”
Wesley interrupted him, looking surprised. “Mr Giles, from what I’ve heard, you were fired by the Watcher’s Council three years ago.”
“Fired?” Xander spoke up for the first time since Wesley had arrived, looking at Giles in confusion. “I thought you said you quit?”
“Yes, well…” Giles cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. “You see… there were circumstances…” He stopped, glaring at Wesley. “I received a phone call from Quentin Travers last night; he did not inform me about your arrival.”
“Really?” Wesley got a smug look on his face, but tried to cover up. “Well, I suppose he did not find it necessary, since you no longer work for him. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He turned back to Spike. “We have work to do.”
Spike snorted. “Not bloody likely!”
Before Wesley got the chance to say anything, Giles spoke up, removing his glasses and wiping them with a handkershief he pulled out from his pocket; “Spike, I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice.” Seeing that Spike was about to object, he hurriedly went on. “You see, as the Slayer, you are bound to work with the Council…”
“Yeah?” Spike gave Wesley a look-over before turning back to his uncle. “And why is that? Oh, right, so that git can take away my powers and have me killed. Sorry, not interested.”
Giles opened his mouth to speak, but Wesley beat him to it. “I beg your pardon? What ever gave you the idea…?”
Buffy spoke up, interrupting him. “No need to play innocent, Wes. He already knows about the Cruciamentum.”
Wesley stared at her, exasperated, then turned to Giles. “Mr Giles, this is…! That information is strictly classified, you had no right…” He stopped. “Mr Travers will not be pleased when he hears about this.”
Giles rolled his eyes, and the others watched the scene between the two Watchers with wide eyes. Buffy was the only one who noticed Spike slipping into the training room. After only a brief moment’s hesitation, she glanced around the room before quietly following.
Spike looked around the training room, realizing that it was quite impressive. He walked over to the punching bag, hit it a few times before he glanced up and noticed Buffy watching him, an amused look on her face. “Working off some steam?” She paused. “Was it just me, or is the new Watcher a complete…?” Then she frowned, not able to come up with a suitable description, besides ‘moron’.
“Wanker? Git? Nancy-boy?” Spike suggested, helpfully. Buffy gave him a confused look, and he raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been living with Rupert for how long, pet? Should be used to it by now.”
Buffy shrugged, finding herself curious about the scar, marking his left brow. She wondered how he had gotten it. “I’ve never heard Giles use a word like ‘nancy-boy’.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Good point.” Then he turned serious. “You okay, luv?”
Again, Buffy was confused. “Me? Why shouldn’t I be?” Then she remembered what they had been talking about before Wesley had arrived. “Oh. Yeah, I’m fine.” He didn’t look totally convinced, but was obviously willing to let it go. For that, she was grateful. She decided to change the subject. “So, wanna spar?”
Spike looked surprised. “You were serious about that?” She just smiled, an expectant look on her face. He took a step closer, and their eyes met. For a moment, neither of them seemed to be able to look away. His voice was barely more than a whisper when he finally spoke. “Someone might get hurt.”
She swallowed, lost in the dept of his blue eyes, so much like William’s. “I’m willing to take my chances if you are.”
He just stared at her, not knowing what to think. Was she even aware of what her words were implying? The double messages she was giving him? Probably not. Still, he couldn’t help but hope, finding himself getting more and more intrigued by her by the minute. He knew he was already falling for her, deeply. But surely, she couldn’t feel the same? She probably still hadn’t gotten over William, and maybe she never would. Also, they had only known each other for a couple of days. But still, that look in her eyes… He took another step closer, reaching out a shaky hand towards her face. Buffy stared at his hand, like hypnotized.
Suddenly, a throat was being cleared in the doorway. Buffy jumped back, guiltily, and the moment was over. She mumbled an apology, then hurried past Giles and left the room. Spike was about to follow, when Giles stepped in his way. “Spike, we need to talk.” Spike sighed, expecting to get a lecture. However, his uncle’s next words weren’t what he had been expecting at all; “You need to go patrolling with Wesley tonight.”
Spike stared at him, then snorted. “Is that so? And why would I wanna do that?”
Giles sighed. “I don’t like this anymore than you do. However, you don’t have a choice, you must obey the Council.” Spike opened his mouth to protest, something that Giles realized he did a lot, so he raised his hand to stop him. “Spike, the Council is very powerful, and by no means follows the same laws we do. In fact, in these circles, they are the law. I don’t believe you realize what they are capable of.” Spike just looked at him, so he went on; “I was lucky, they just fired me. I may not be working for them anymore, but in a way, they still own me. Just as they now own you, as well.” Giles looked away for a moment. “I apologize; I wish I had been given the time to explain things more to you before Wesley showed up.”
“Yeah?” Spike glared at him, exasperated. “Me too! Then I would be far away from here by now. Bloody hell, Rupert, this is just…” He hesitated. “I wanna help, all right? Fight the good fight, and all. But I refuse to be anybody’s soddin’ property, especially the bleedin’ Council’s.”
“You have no choice.” Giles let out another tired sigh. “Don’t you see? If you will leave now, they will only come after you. You are the Slayer now, Spike. And it is time for you to start acting like one, whether you like it, or not.”
TBC