“Is Giles around?” Buffy quickly glanced around the room as soon as she had entered the Magic Box.
“Not yet. He should be here soon, though. Want me to call him?” Anya looked up from the cash register and reached for the phone.
“No! A world of no.” Buffy shrugged out of her coat and tossed it on a nearby chair.
“Is something wrong, Buffy?” Willow had just entered the shop from the room in the back and heard what Buffy said. Now she walked up to her best friend, a concerned look on her face.
“No. It’s just…” Buffy sighed. “Let’s just say Giles and I had sort of a disagreement last night.”
Willow frowned. “About what?”
Buffy was just about to answer when Xander came hurrying out in the shop, Wesley following, a book in his hand. “I’m a carpenter, Wes! I build things. I don’t protect the world from evil, and I certainly don’t…” He gestured towards the book with a shudder. “…read!”
Wesley placed the book on a table and gave Xander an annoyed look. “We all need to be prepared for the inevitable battle. You have to be ready for what’s coming. There is evil out there, and…”
Buffy turned back to Willow, ignoring the two men bickering. “What’s going on here?”
Willow glanced at Xander and Wesley, then gave Buffy a small smile. “I think Wesley’s bored. He’s been like this all morning.”
“I don’t get it.” Anya left the counter and came around to stand next to Buffy and Willow. “If Spike quit, why is Wesley still here? Shouldn’t that make him without a job?”
Buffy shrugged. “I doubt he’s told the Council about it. It wouldn’t make him look good, not being able to handle his Slayer. I’m sure he’ll keep hanging here, trying to act useful.” Just then, the little bell on top of the door sounded, and Spike entered the store. The room became silent for a moment.
“Spike! You’re back.” Anya smiled, then seemed to remember something and the smile disappeared. “If you’re gonna start working here again, I’m not paying you for the last couple of days.”
Spike ignored her and walked over to the bookcase. Buffy walked up to him. “Hey.”
He gave her an apologetic look. “Hey.”
She gave him a nervous smile. “So, how did patrolling go last night?”
“Hold on.” Xander looked confused. “You patrol? I thought you quit.”
Spike shrugged. “Someone’s got to keep the town safe.” He turned back to the bookcase, paled a little at the sight of the large amount of books and decided that he would never be able to find what he was looking for by himself. Sighing, he glanced around the room. “Don’t suppose anyone’s heard about a vampire called Drusilla?”
Buffy, Willow, Xander and Anya all got a blank look on their faces and shook their heads. Wesley, however, looked interested. “Drusilla, you say? That sounds awfully familiar. Hold on…” He hurriedly left the room, leaving the others to look after him in confusion.
Anya returned to her place behind the counter as a small group of potential customers entered the store. Buffy gave Spike a questioning look. “Who’s Drusilla?”
“A vampire I ran into last night.” Spike decided it was best not mentioning that it wasn’t the first time he had met her. “I’m just curious, is all.”
Buffy frowned. “But you did kill her, right?”
Spike looked away. “Well, thing is…”
“Drusilla has a soul.” Everybody stared at Wesley, who had just returned, now carrying another, larger book.
“Excuse me?!” Xander glanced at the newly arrived customers and lowered his voice. “A vampire with a soul? That’s not possible.”
“I will explain. Um… Why don’t we…?” Wesley gestured towards the other room. In a state of shock, the others followed him.
A moment later, they were all sitting around the table in the room Xander had long since named the ‘research room’. Needless to say, he avoided that room as much as possible. Wesley was the only one standing, and for once, he was the center of attention. He cleared his throat and started. “Drusilla was killed and turned in 1785 by an ancient vampire known as The Master. For almost two centuries, she was ravaging around Europe, killing, maiming, and torturing, men, women and children, everyone she came across.” He paused, then read directly from the book. “It says here that Drusilla was one of the few vampires who were known for using thrall on her victims. Apparently, she also had the ability to see what others couldn’t.”
Buffy raised her hand to stop him. “What does that mean?”
Wesley opened his mouth to respond, but Willow beat him to it; “She was psychic!” She then blushed and gave Wesley an apologetic look. “That’s what ‘see what others couldn’t’ means, right? She could see into the future and stuff?”
Wesley nodded in confirmation. “I believe so, yes.” Xander let out a low whistle, the others remained silent.
Wesley went on; “1977, in Ireland, Drusilla killed a young man named...” He stopped and looked down at the book, searching the page until he found what he was looking for. “Ah. Liam O’Connor. Although, it turned out that the young man’s mother was a very powerful witch. Broken with grief for her lost son, the woman put a curse on Drusilla. Her soul was returned to her. Haunted by the memories of her victims, the quilt drove her mad.” He closed the book.
No one said anything for a couple of minutes. Then Spike finally spoke up. “She’s here in Sunnydale.”
“Are you certain?” Wesley gave him a doubtful look. “There has been no sign of Drusilla for thirty years.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “She’s here. I’ve seen her. Talked to her.”
Buffy spoke up. “The other day, Giles said something about a rumor going around town. Something about an old and powerful vampire. That could be her, right?”
“I see.” Wesley got a thoughtful look on his face, then turned back to Spike. “You said you talked to her. What did she say?”
Spike shrugged. “Said she had a soul, and that she wanted me to help her. And…”
Wesley frowned. “And what?”
“I…” Spike hesitated, not wanting to bring up the possibility of Drusilla having known William. He knew that he had seen Drusilla three nights in a row, but he couldn’t for his life remember what else they had been talking about. Still, he had a feeling he was forgetting something very important. That was weird. He shrugged again. “That’s all.”
Wesley didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? There must be more. This could be most important, if you know anything…”
“He just said he didn’t.” Buffy glared at Wesley.
Spike gave Buffy a surprised look, then turned back to Wesley. “There’s nothing more.”
Wesley opened his mouth to object, then closed it again and nodded. He was silent for a moment before speaking again. “If you see her again…”
“I probably won’t.” Spike didn’t look the Watcher in the eyes, knowing that was a lie. He had no doubts that he would meet Drusilla again the next time he went on patrol. He just didn’t know how he felt about it. A part of him still wanted to stake her, yet another part was curious and wanted to know more about her. But for some reason, he didn’t think the others would understand. “Got to go. See you guys around.” He got up from the table and headed for the door.
Buffy only hesitated for a moment before jumping up and following Spike back out in the shop. “Spike, wait.” He turned around, giving her a questioning look. She smiled a little. “Going home?” She frowned. “Wherever that is.”
Spike suddenly felt stupid. Buffy was obviously trying here, and he knew he had practically ignored her lately. He was still a little hurt by her actions the other day, but if he kept avoiding her, he would push her away for sure, and he didn’t want that. He still loved her, after all. Making up his mind, he returned her smile. “Got a small apartment not far from here. It’s not much, but…” He shrugged. “Wanna see?”
The look of relief on her face was impossible to miss. “Sure. Now?”
“Why not?” He suddenly felt nervous. “Um… We could grab something to eat on the way. If you want, I mean. We don’t have to...”
Her smile widened. “Like a date?”
“No!” He looked away, suddenly beyond embarrassed. Then he took a deep breath. “I mean… do you want it to be?”
TBC
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for all the lovely reviews for last chapter! Also thanks to Tammy for betaing.