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By the time Giles returned from picking Olivia up from the airport, four FBI agents and Buffy were gathered around the dining room table. Olivia greeted them warmly then bustled into the kitchen to start a late dinner. She wasn’t hungry in the least, but the activity would keep her mind off her fear for her son.

Giles sat in the empty chair next to Buffy and asked for an update on the situation. Unfortunately, there was no new information. Despite two hours of research, they weren’t any closer to finding out what organization Spike had infiltrated. He could feel the frustration rolling off Buffy in waves. With a two-week limit, they didn’t have time to waste just sitting around, idly planning.

“I still don’t see why you can’t just call Angel and ask him for the name of the group,” Xander grumbled. It had been a long day at the office and all he really wanted to do was to go home and relax in front of the television. He’d never enjoyed the research part of any investigation and Buffy’s bitchiness was only serving to frustrate him more.

Buffy growled in irritation and fought to control her temper. Xander had been asking this since he walked through the door and each time she gave him the same answer. “Because he’s CIA and would more than likely mislead or try to stop us.” She slammed her hand down on the table and stood up abruptly, sending her chair flying into the wall. “We’re never going to get anywhere this way!”

“Well, what do you suggest we do?” Anya asked, not bothering to look up from her laptop. “The CIA isn’t going to tell us, Spike’s obviously in no position to divulge any information, and there are literally dozens of groups that fit the description we have. We’re looking for a needle in a very large haystack – blindfolded.”

Buffy was silent as she racked her brain trying to come up with a viable plan. All her years of FBI training seemed worthless when faced with the task of trying to rescue her boyfriend. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, forcing herself to be objective. “Xander, I want you and Anya to follow Angel. Bug his house and car if you can. Put a tap on his phone, too.”

Xander opened his mouth to protest the illegal wire-tapping but the death-glare from Buffy made him change tactics. Instead he reminded her of his current caseload and the fact that, unlike her, he wasn’t on leave. Felons weren’t going to stop committing crimes just because Spike was in trouble.

“I’ll have everyone’s cases reassigned. Right now we need to focus on this situation,” Buffy assured him. When neither Xander nor Anya made any move to start their surveillance, her eyes narrowed. “What are you waiting for? I said I’d take care of it!”

Grateful to be given a chance to escape, the two agents quickly gathered their belongings and rushed out of the house. Until now, Buffy’s position as their boss hadn’t really affected their friendships, or the way she treated them in the office, for that matter. It worried Xander that she was willing to use her power for personal matters. Then again, he mused, if it meant saving Spike, she’d do anything to get him back, even if it meant risking her job.

Hearing Xander’s truck back out of the driveway, Buffy picked up the phone and dialed her boss’ home number. “Jack, it’s Buffy. I need Harris, Jenkins, Rosenberg, and Maclay for a few days. How many of their cases need reassigned? Yes, sir. Thank you. I’ll keep you updated.” She hung up the phone and turned to the two remaining agents. “Your cases will be taken care of. Jack’s agreed to let me ‘borrow’ you for three days. I want this figured out in two.”

Willow inwardly sighed at the seemingly impossible task. With little to no info on the infiltrated group or Spike’s assignment, they really had no clue what they were looking for. Buffy’s attitude wasn’t helping the situation, either. She sympathized with her friend, but was growing tired of her bossiness.

“I-I have an idea,” Tara spoke up timidly. She’d been peacefully tapping away at her keyboard, afraid of facing the wrath of Buffy. “It would be easier if Willow worked on finding the group while I did some research on hypnosis. You’re going to need to know how to bring Spike out.” She was relieved when Buffy readily agreed to her plan.

Giles, wearing a thoughtful expression, quietly left the room and walked into the kitchen to tell his wife that he would be leaving for a few hours. The look in his eye told her exactly what he was going to do. She nodded in agreement and promised to let the girls know that he’d return soon. “Tell Rhian I said hello,” was her parting comment.

Her friend working on their assigned tasks, Buffy excused herself and trudged up the stairs to Dawn’s room. The teen had grown increasingly withdrawn since the announcement that Olivia was flying in. Buffy couldn’t understand her sister’s behavior. Dawn spoke with Olivia regularly and seemed to genuinely like her. She pushed open the door without knocking. Dawn was lying on the bed on her back, her eyes closed.

Buffy softly padded into the room and gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. She reached out and brushed a strand of soft hair off Dawn’s face. The teen twitched and wrinkled her nose. Immediately knowing that the girl was awake, Buffy grinned and used one slim finger to poke her in the ribs. Dawn giggled and squirmed to get away, prompting Buffy to redouble her onslaught, tickling her sister mercilessly.

Dawn, now fully awake, struggled out of Buffy’s grasp and slid off the bed, gasping for breath. “What are you, twelve?”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders and gestured for Dawn to join her on the bed. She frowned when the teen just shook her head. “Wanna tell me why you refused to go with Giles to the airport? I thought you liked Olivia.”

Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and adopted a defensive pose. “She’s here to take me back to England, isn’t she?” She didn’t want to admit that she’d overheard Buffy and Giles talking about it the other night.

“Yes, she is. You were going to go anyway. What’s the big deal?” Buffy reasoned, hoping that Dawn wouldn’t put up a big fuss. On top of everything else, she didn’t need to deal with another of her teenage tantrums.

Dawn threw her hands up in the air and scowled at her sister. “The big deal is that whenever anything goes wrong you always send me away. Poor little Dawnie, she can’t handle anything serious. Let’s lock her away in the tower. Heaven forbid she actually sees what goes on in the real world!”

Buffy jumped to her feet and grabbed the girl by the shoulders. “It’s for your own good, Dawn. This is my job, not yours. I don’t want you dragged into all this mess.”

“Spike’s like my big brother, Buff. I’m already way involved. Why won’t you let me help?” Dawn inquired, her tone going from angry to slightly pleading.

Buffy pulled her sister in for a hug and stroked the back of her head. “I’m sorry if it seems that I’m shutting you out. I just worry about you, that’s all.”

Dawn pushed away from Buffy and glared. “And I’m not supposed to worry about you? Well, newsflash, I do. Sending me across the Atlantic isn’t going to stop that.”

Pressing an affectionate kiss to the top of Dawn’s head, Buffy reluctantly released her hold on the girl. “What’s today?”

“Wednesday the 8th,” Dawn responded, not following her sister’s train of thought.

Buffy nodded and headed for the door. “Go with Olivia. Figure out what schools you want to see and set up appointments for the 22nd and later. Spike and I will be there – I promise.”

A wide grin broke out across Dawn’s face. She bounded across the room and wrapped her arms around her sister’s slim waist. Like Spike, Buffy never broke her promises. If she said she’d be in London on the 22nd, she’d be in London on the 22nd with Spike in tow.





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