Chapter Five
Buffy emerged with Spike from the basement feeling a little more confident about letting the Scoobies in on what had happened. But first, she needed to talk about it with Giles; he was all with the smarts and should be able to find out more about the chip in Spike’s head. He may also know how to approach the gang, especially Xander, about letting Spike join the crew.
She had grown close to the vamp over the weeks they spent imprisoned together and though she was sure many would cry Stockholm-syndrome, she had started to actually like him. Not like-like, but like him, as a person.
Giles looked up from where he was talking to her mother at the counter where she’d left them earlier. He narrowed his eyes at Spike as if he was trying to determine if anything untoward had happened between him and his charge, before smiling softly at Buffy.
“Giles, there’s something we need to tell you,” Buffy began, glancing over at Spike to reassure herself he was still fine with it.
“Of course, Buffy,” Giles answered, the excitement of finally getting some much desired answers dancing in his eyes, and Buffy had to fight the grin that twitched at the corner of her lips when she noticed this. “Shall we relocate to the dining room perhaps?”
“`Kay,” Buffy replied, turning to head in that direction, but she stopped when she hear Spike speak.
“Why don’ you join us, Joyce?” Spike cordially offered Buffy’s mother. When Buffy glanced at him questioningly he added, “Well, she’s bound to find out, an’ she’s basically part of the group. ‘Sides, I think she should be included considerin’ she put up with me for the night an’ all.” Spike smiled genuinely over at the older woman who beamed back at him.
“Oh, sure,” Joyce said happily, and followed the two blonds into the dining room where less natural light came in through the windows, making it safer for Spike to sit around the table.
“So what is it you need to tell me?” Giles asked when they were all seated comfortably around the dining room table, taking out his pen and notebook to make sure he didn’t miss a single important detail.
Spike smirked over at Buffy, acknowledging her earlier comment about Watchers and their need to keep methodical notes. Buffy grinned in reply before turning to Giles.
“First, I just want to tell you that I’m not sure I’ll be able to go into too much detail about what they did to me,” she looked down at her hands to avoid the looks of sympathy she was sure her mother and Giles were sending her. “I was in and out of consciousness most of the time and you’ve both seen what they did to my b-body,” she finished shakily, suppressing the shudder of distaste that itched to crawl up her spine.
“Of course, sweetheart,” her mother reached to grasp her hand and Buffy looked up to see her mother smiling at her. “You don’t have to tell us any of that if you’re not ready.”
Buffy shifted her gaze to her Watcher to see if he felt the same way as her mother. At his short nod she felt a little better about revealing the details of what had happened to her. When she looked at Spike she found him watching her intently with an unreadable expression.
“They did experiments on all of us,” Buffy said softly. “Some demons came back, some didn’t. The first few days I was there, they must have taken at least a dozen vamps to the labs, but none of them ever returned. I wasn’t sure at first what they were doing to them, and no one talked to me, cause hello, Slayer here. Not that they believed me though…
“But once they started taking me away to the experimentation rooms, too, some of them started telling me what had happened to them. Basically it’s all biological stuff, like what they could do, what they could withstand, what their weapons and natural defenses were. But then one of them mentioned behavior modification which explains why Professor Walsh drilled into to us the good points of its use.”
“Wait, Proffesor Walsh? Isn’t that your psychology professor?” Giles cut in when Buffy paused to take a breath.
“Yeah, she’s the nut job that’s leading the whole operation,” Buffy replied.
“Oh good Lord,” Giles plucked his glasses off his nose and polished them forcefully with his handkerchief. “So they are using the university to cover up their operations?”
“Well, I guess they could be,” Buffy looked over at Spike who nodded. “When we got out we were on campus, by the fraternity houses I think. So I guess that’s the connection.”
“Willow’s locator spells always showed you around campus, that would certainly explain a lot,” Giles muttered, more to himself than the others.
“At least we know where to start looking for them,” Buffy said with false optimism.
“So aside from these horrific experiments, what else were they doing that you know of?” Giles asked, looking over his notes briefly. “You said something about behavior modification?”
“Well, yeah, see, that’s where Spike comes in,” Buffy replied nervously, looking again at the remarkably calm vampire. Spike smiled at her again, indicating that she should continue. “They put a chip in his head.”
“They put what in his head?” Giles frowned, certain he’d heard wrong.
“A chip. A computer chip. At least that’s what our theory is, well, my theory,” she grinned over at Spike who shook his head playfully.
“A computer chip? What does it do?” Joyce asked.
“It stops him from hurting humans,” Buffy looked at her Watcher whose face had become a study of unanswered questions. He looked over at Spike with a bit too much enthusiasm.
“You can’t harm humans? How is that possible?” Giles was truly intrigued.
“I don’ rightly know. I can’t say when it happened, either. I jus’ remember the blindin’ pain when I hit one of the soldiers comin’ to get me for another one of their sadistic games,” Spike replied. “The Slayer an’ I were locked in the same cage after we refused to fight an’ one night we provoked one of the soldiers into tellin’ us what they’d done.”
“Have you tested its capabilities?” Giles asked, furiously writing details in his well-worn notebook.
“We tested it this morning,” Buffy replied, smiling at her discovery. “It seems to work on intent because when Spike knew he wasn’t going to hurt me, like with sparring, it didn’t fire.” Buffy beamed over at Spike, very proud of her amazing deductive skills.
“Fascinating,” Giles said absently. “Care to do a demonstration?” he asked, his nose still buried in his book. He looked up at Buffy before turning to Spike. “I-I mean, if you don’t mind. I’d like to see it in operation.”
“Fine,” Spike grumbled, but got up on his feet and approached the watcher. Buffy swatted his hand away before he could attempt to demonstrate on Giles. “Hey! He asked me to,” the vamp pouted.
“Yeah, right. Pinch me,” Buffy smiled at him, presenting her arm to him for the second time that morning.
“Fine, ruin all my fun, Slayer,” Spike reached out and pinched her arm hard. The electric shock was instantaneous and the pain of it registered on his handsome features. Spike didn’t utter a complaint, just rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands before pinching the bridge of his nose, waiting for the pain to abate.
Joyce gasped at the display and immediately went into the kitchen for a cool towel. She came in and fussed over the vampire as if he were a small boy, a display that made Buffy smile and Giles cringe. Spike was half-heartedly swatting away her attempts and protested when she told him to sit down and take it easy.
“’S just a headache, Joyce,” Spike muttered but looked at her softly. “Thanks.”
“Fascinating, and that only happens with humans?” Giles looked up at Spike, too involved in the recent discovery to be concerned about the vampire’s discomfort. Not that he normally would worry about a vampire’s discomfort at all anyway.
At Giles’ comment Buffy raised her eyes sharply to meet Spike’s. They had no idea if the chip was exclusive to humans or if he was restricted from harming anything in general. Maybe he could still hit demons.
“We don’t know, Giles,” Buffy replied when the Watcher looked intently at her. “There haven’t been any oh-so-convenient demons around to practice on unless you brought one of your very own. But I suppose we could patrol and try it.”
“Sure,” Spike replied when Buffy shot him a questioning look. If he could hurt demons, maybe his entire purpose in life wasn’t gone. At least he could still get into a decent scrap or two if he wanted to.
“I would suggest that perhaps you should wait another night before patrolling, Buffy. Get your strength up completely because you’ll need all your faculties in order to keep track of both demons and these soldiers,” Giles said, concern evident in his voice.
“Yeah,” Buffy replied. “Besides, I could use some quality down-time. I’m not as slay-happy as I thought I’d be. I’m actually kinda worn out,” she admitted softly.
“I’m sure you are, honey,” Joyce said reaching over to hold her daughter’s hand. “Why don’t you and Spike go relax on the couch and watch some TV until your friends come so you can have a bit of a breather.” She looked meaningfully at Rupert when it appeared he was about to disagree, before shooing the two of them into the other room.
Buffy busied herself with closing the blinds and curtains tightly, making sure no stray beam of sunlight filtered through before motioning for Spike to come join her on the sofa.
“Best do what Mom says, Spike. She’ll be in to check on us and spoil us with hot cocoa in about five minutes after she’s finished lecturing Giles over leaving us alone to rest,” Buffy smiled up at him from where she had settled on the sofa. He looked reluctant to agree, so she patted the cushions next to her and reached for the remote control.
Spike moved towards her slowly, unsure of this new easiness between them, his nerves still on edge after being imprisoned for so long. He wondered how long this truce would last between them now that she was free and clear of the situation. But when she smiled up at him warmly, he decided to let go of his fears for the time being and settled down beside her, allowing himself a much needed moment of peace.
“Did Wills and Mom see to you, too?” Buffy asked softly after a moment, shooting him a sideways glance. He was wearing a plain grey t-shirt rather than his trademark black one, so she could only assume his other clothes had been too damaged to wear.
“Yeah, the little witch squared me away,” Spike acknowledged, rubbing the muscles around his injured side. They were knotted and tight after trying to avoid sleeping on his injured side all night.
“Is it still sore?” Buffy asked, turning to face him when she noticed his attempts at soothing a pain. “Do you want me to have a look?”
“Nah, ‘s alright, Slayer,” Spike muttered, feeling oddly shy under all the caring scrutiny of the two Summers women.
“Then why are you rubbing your shoulder?” Buffy asked, shifting closer to him and gently pushing his hand out of the way. He grumbled a non-verbal objection, but she insistently pushed him away and ran her fingertips across his shoulders gently until she found the mass of knotted muscle. Her fingers felt like heaven as she massaged his shoulder with just the right amount of pressure, but he still insisted on moving out of her reach, unsure of how to handle the intimate gesture.
“Let me,” she whispered, looking up at him from under her thick lashes. “Please, it’s the least I can do,” she added when he shook his head in objection. Spike looked at her then, realizing that this was how she was choosing to thank him for divulging his new weakness to Giles.
“Alright,” Spike conceded and allowed Buffy to turn his back to her as she busied her hot little hands in massaging out each knot and kink in his back. He had to bite back a series of moans as she found a particularly sore spot on his spine, no doubt from spending weeks sleeping on a cold tile floor.
“Good?” Buffy asked as a moan escaped unchecked.
“Yeah, luv,” he replied, rolling his neck across his shoulders to further ease the tension. “You could probably pick up a few extra quid doin’ this for a livin’.”
Buffy laughed at the unexpected compliment and searched the expanse of his spine for any other neglected areas. She had learned massage out of necessity in her first couple of years with Giles so she could tend to any emergency muscle cramps on patrol or stiff legs on the mornings after a particularly bad fight. Her natural strength and dexterity had been used on many occasions by Willow on girl’s nights and after the few occasions where she came along for patrol. Massaging Spike was a way to show him that she appreciated what he’d done for her while they were imprisoned and to put him at ease knowing she wasn’t about to turn her back on him now that they were free.
Buffy ran the palms of her hands over Spike’s strong back to keep the muscles warm as she finished off, though whether that was a necessity when massaging vampires she had no idea. She moved herself away from him on the couch, patting him on the shoulder to indicate that she was finished. When he turned around, Buffy could see that some of the strained expression he’d been wearing the last few weeks had finally disappeared.
“Thank you, Buffy,” he said sincerely and held her eyes as he took one of her small hands in his and raised it to his lips for a kiss. “That was bloody brilliant.”
Buffy felt herself blush at the intensity of his stare and found the sound of her mother and Giles still arguing in the kitchen a welcomed distraction.
*~*
Meanwhile in the kitchen…
“You cannot be serious about this, Joyce,” Giles sighed deeply, feeling knots of tension build up between his shoulders from the stress of the conversation. He had thought that he had developed a relationship with Joyce these last few weeks and that she trusted his opinion in matters enough to listen to a friendly piece of advice.
“Dead serious, Rupert, if you’ll excuse the pun,” Joyce crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at the older man. No one was going to come into her home and tell her who she could and not allow to stay. Not even rather handsome man with whom she thought she’d been building the basis of something with.
“You can’t let Spike live here,” Giles stepped closer to her trying to emphasize his point. “He’s a killer. A vampire, no less. He’s tried to kill Buffy several times. And her friends.”
“I am well aware of that,” Joyce countered. “But now he has that chip in his head and he has nowhere else to go. And he saved Buffy’s life. He brought my baby back home.”
“Be that as it may,” Giles started, trying to find another way to explain the foolhardiness of the decision to allow Spike to remain in the Summers’ home.
“Enough, Rupert,” Joyce cut him off sharply. “I am offering him a place to stay and that’s final. The same people that are after Buffy are surely after him as well and he can’t fight back if they get him again. I won’t stand for it. Spike stays.”
Giles could only sigh heavily, knowing that he was out of options. “Fine, Joyce, but I’ll be here every day to check on him. And you should keep him tied up when you’re not in the house. Who knows what kind of trouble he could get himself into…”
“Don’t be absurd,” Joyce admonished, putting cups on a tray and handing it to the Watcher. “Now bring the kettle and tea into the living room. The rest of the children will be here soon.”
Giles grumbled but did as he was told, arranging the tray and motioning for her to precede him out of the kitchen. It was amazing what powers mothers had over others, even people older than themselves. Joyce smiled at him and walked ahead of him carrying a tray of snacks for the soon to be assembled group.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Giles remained back in the kitchen as he tried to digest what Joyce had said and insisted on during their conversation. The whole issue had come up while Buffy had been down in the basement with Spike, apparently testing the functioning of what Buffy believed to be a computer chip inserted into the vampire’s brain. Of all the things modern technology made possible. Giles nearly shivered at the possibility of what an army of trained vampires could do if they needed to.
Joyce had been so adamant in her defense of the bleached menace that Giles found himself almost believing what she had said about him being different than other demons. She recounted a story of a heartbroken young man who came and shared hot cocoa with her in her kitchen, seeking out the help of a motherly figure. It was a picture that certainly didn’t fit with the vicious killer he had always known Spike to be. The monster tortured people with railroad spikes for Pete’s sake.
Giles reached for the kettle as it began whistling, transferring the boiling liquid into the carefully prepared teapot as he continued to reflect.
He couldn’t forget the looks his precious Buffy had shared with Spike during their revelation, however. She had looked to him for affirmation, not only of facts recounted, but in order to tell more intimate details of their torturous time at the hands of the government. It was the type of look one could only exchange with a trusted confidant, though he was certain both super beings were unaware of just how much trust was evident between them. The growth of such a bond was certainly not unusual in such stressful circumstances, even enemy soldiers had formed such bonds in countless wars. He knew that he would have to trust Buffy’s instincts and place his own trust and confidence in the apparently restrained vampire.
Placing the cups on the tray, Giles could feel the finely tuned rage of his youthful alter-ego seep into his consciousness as he remembered the various wounds that had been inflicted on his soft hearted charge. The simmering anger threatened to overwhelm him and he gripped the edges of the countertop as he tried to get his tumultuous emotions under control. Whoever was responsible for touching even a single hair on that girl’s head had no idea just what Ripper was capable of given the right incentive. Some things, it seemed would never change.
Shaking himself and picking up the full tray, Giles smile wryly to himself. Trusting Spike, however reluctantly, seemed the only way forward into this new unknown enemy. And Ripper may have been young and foolhearty, but never in his wildest dreams would he think he’d actually trust a vampire. Some things did indeed change.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“They’re arguing about me,” Spike said addressing Buffy’s troubled gaze which was fixed on the hallway to the kitchen.
“You?” Buffy asked, sounding genuinely confused.
“Your Mum wants to offer me a place to stay,” he replied, watching her face intently for any clue as to what she would think about the situation. Buffy’s eyes lit up in confusion, then narrowed before fixating again on the hallway.
“Well it’s our house, Mom can offer you a place to stay if she wants to. Giles isn’t with the support here, is he?” she asked and smiled when he shook his head. “You know it’s pretty cool that you hear so well. I’ll have to keep you around to spy on all conversations I wish I could overhear.”
“’S that so?” Spike asked, smirking at her. He was amazed that she hadn’t made any argument against her mother’s decision about inviting him to stay. In fact, it didn’t appear to bother her in the slightest. “I could find a decent crypt to stay in, Slayer.”
“Oh,” Buffy said, fixating on his face once more. “I-I guess. But what if the commandos come looking for you? You won’t be able to defend yourself. It’s probably smarter to stick together.”
“You sayin’ you want me around, pet?” Spike asked, raising one scarred brow.
“Well,” Buffy started, looking anywhere but at him. “Like I said. Safety in numbers. That’s my motto.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Well, maybe it should be,” Buffy replied, put off by his casual dismissal of her tactics. “The guys help me patrol sometimes. Extra eyes never hurt anyone.”
“Sure, Slayer,” Spike replied, not convinced as he leaned back against the plush sofa cushions. He’d heard Joyce firmly put the Watcher in his place and knew they’d be coming through the doorway soon. And the slamming of a car door outside heralded the arrival of some of the Scoobies.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Back at The Initiative…
Maggie Walsh paced in front of the group of assembled soldiers, eyeing them critically. They were dressed in full night reconnaissance gear, complete with infrared sensors and temperature gages. Two of her best troop commanders stood ready to lead their forces in a large sweeping search for escaped Hostiles 13 and 17.
“Now remember, I want them both back alive, if possible,” Walsh barked out, mouth set in a grim line. “Hostile 17 is the first of the vampires who have survived implantation and I want that technology back here safely.”
The men nodded in reply, silently watching their leader as she relayed the latest surveillance information.
“Now we know that Hostile 13 has family and friends in the area. It is likely they seek them out for shelter. We are unaware if these people are aware of the Hostile’s dangerous status or if they are potential threats as well,” Walsh continued, pointing up to pictures and profiles on one of the screens. The photos portrayed an older man and woman with full details of names and occupations.
“Search their homes for presence of activity first, then follow the routes I have assigned each of you,” she clicked off the monitors and turned back to the assembled group. “Agent Gates, you will take search perimeter B, Agent Finn, you will take search perimeter A. Any questions?”
The soldiers shook their heads in unison and dispersed efficiently after quick commands from their leaders. Maggie smiled as she watched them go. The girl and troublesome vampire would be back in her clutches soon enough, and when they were she would make them sorry they ever escaped to begin with.
TBC…
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry about the delay in posting this next chapter. I've been engaged in a ferocious battle with a nasty flu bug but it finally seems like I've won and am feeling better. Hope you enjoy the update and thanks for all the support you guys have given this story. Thank you as always to my wonderful beta Mari for helping me fix all those little mistakes :)