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Continuing on...
Spike had been poised ready to open the locker room door when Buffy came rushing out and straight into his arms. Stumbling back a step he swiftly wrapped his arms tightly around her. It wasn’t until he felt her tense in his arms that he looked down and realized who he held in his arms. Buffy looked up at him and he thought he saw a bit of fear in her eyes that swiftly turned to relief as she realized it was him.
“Spike!” she exclaimed, relieved that she knew the person who was holding on to her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”
“It’s okay, pet.” He said quietly still holding on to her. He didn’t really want to let her go, but he knew he should, so he gently set her away from him. Buffy blushed as she realized how uncommonly good it felt to have his arms around her, and how much she missed them when they were no longer there. Her breath caught in her throat as she took a moment to take him in. He looked as handsome as usual in is typical black jeans and tight black t-shirt that accented his well sculpted chest. His bright blonde hair was slicked back as usual, but a few strands had come loose and curled into tight curls, that to Buffy only made him look cuter. It was quite obvious why he had always been a favorite of the ladies at the rink.
“So where are you off to in such a hurry?” he asked, pulling her from her thoughts. Buffy frowned.
“To see Giles,” she answered evasively. She never quite knew what to say anymore when he was around. It was almost as if she lost her voice when he was near. Which would surprise almost anyone who really knew her. She also didn’t know how much she wanted to confide in him about her note yet, if at all.
“Well, isn’t that interestin’” Spike said carefully watching her. He could tell that she was in a hurry and he was curious as to why she was in a hurry to see Giles.
“Why?” Buffy asked momentarily forgetting the note she carried. She couldn’t fathom why it would be interesting to him. It wasn’t like she rarely saw Giles, they spoke every day.
“Giles just asked me to come find you. He said he wanted to talk to you about something”
“About what?” Buffy asked, absentmindedly running a hand through her now loose hair. Spike suppressed a groan, as he watched her. He had always loved her hair. He could already feel the tightness in his jeans getting worse, and he had only been around her for a moment.
“I can’t say exactly.” He couldn’t look her in the eye, worried that she could tell that he was lying. He knew exactly what Giles wanted to talk to her about and he didn’t want to be the one to tell her. Considering their past, he didn’t really envy Giles the job of convincing her to go along with their plan.
“Oh,” Buffy said, still a little flushed at being so close to Spike. She couldn’t help but admit that no matter what she told Willow, she was still very attracted to him. She had never gotten over him leaving. With him standing so close in front of her, there was no denying it. She was still 100% in love with Spike Pratt.
“So who’s the rose from, luv?” he asked quickly changing the subject. He had noticed in the locker room earlier, but had suppressed the desire to take a peek at who had put it there. Buffy looked surprised at what she thought was a hint of jealousy in his tone.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, looking down at the rose and note in her hand. “I don’t know. I found it stuck in my locker along with this note.”
Spike said nothing but reached out and quickly snatched the note from her. Buffy cried out in protest, but Spike shushed her with a wave of her hand. She pouted for a moment thinking that even though it wasn’t an actual love not, it wasn’t any of his business to be reading it! He seemed to have other ideas.
“Fuck,” he said when he finished reading the note a minute later. Buffy looked up at him, shock illuminating her already bright green eyes. “You’re taking this to Giles, right?”
“Of course, you dimwit. I said that’s where I was headed when I ran into you, remember?” It wasn’t like she was overwhelmingly baffled by his response, but she had to admit it did surprise her a little.
“C’mon, I’ll walk back to his office with you.” Spike stepped aside so she could move and started to walk down the hallway towards the administrative offices.
“I’m sure it’s no big deal, Spike. I bet it’s just one of the other skaters playing a practical joke oh me.” She told him as they walked along the hall. “You know how some of the guys get a kick out of playing jokes on me and Willow.”
Spike grunted, but didn’t make any other comment. That bothered Buffy. Spike couldn’t believe that a note had actually gotten to Buffy. His mind was racing as they walked down the hallway. After all the precautions he and Giles had taken to make sure that nothing got to her, the bastard still seemed to get through. Though maybe this was what Buffy needed to motivate her to go along with their plan.
The finished the walk to Giles’ office in silence, Buffy occasionally stealing a glimpse at Spike, wondering what he was thinking. Then again, she thought, it might be better if I don’t know. At the door to Giles’ office Spike whirled her around to face him before she could knock.
“It’s not a bloody joke, Buffy.” He said thrusting the note back into her hand. Buffy was shocked at the forceful tone of his voice. “Things are gonna change for you, and there’s no stopping it. You need to be careful. You make sure you tell Giles everything, and don’t you dare blow it off!” With that he turned and briskly walked down the hall and past the few doors that separated his office from Giles’. Completely shocked and confused by his sudden outburst, Buffy watched as he disappeared from view.
“That was weird,” she muttered to no one but herself as she turned back to Giles’ door. With a sigh she reached up and knocked softly.
“Come in,” she smiled slightly when she heard his voice. Even though both he and Spike were from England there was such a difference in their accents at times. Giles was always so formal, surprising considering his line of work. Spike’s accent fit him, rough around the edges, yet refined when it needed to be. Taking a deep breath Buffy pushed open the door and entered the office. One would never guess Giles to be the assistant manager of an ice rink. But he was very good at his job, and apparently enjoyed it. His office was a definite show of his personality. The walls were lined with bookcases, filled to nearly overflowing. Buffy never understood his need for so many books. The area in front of his big mahogany desk was almost like a small living area. Two comfortable chairs sat directly in front of his desk, and a small table sat between them. Giles always said this was like his home away from home so he wanted it to be as comfortable as possible. Once inside Buffy carefully shut the door and made her way towards her favorite of the two chairs. She took a moment to just look at the man who had almost become a father to her. In the past few years his hair had started to grey, and lines of worry creased his eyes. Closing the file he had been looking at Giles glanced up at Buffy and smiled slightly. The smile helped Buffy relax a bit.
“How are you doing, Buffy?”
“Not so good right now, Giles. I have something to show you.” She told him. “I thought it was just a joke, but after seeing Spike I really don’t know what to think. Speaking of Spike, why did you send him to get me?”
“He offered,” Giles said hesitantly, reaching up to swipe his glasses off his face. “What was it you wanted to show me?” Perhaps if he let her speak first, his news wouldn’t be so troubling. He hoped.
Buffy watched in amusement as he pulled out a handkerchief and began to absentmindedly clean his glasses. He always seemed to do that when he was nervous about something. It made her curious as to what he wanted. Brushing off the feeling of curiosity she placed the rose on his desk and handed him the note. Giles eyed her questioningly, but said nothing as he replaced his glasses and took the note from her to read.
“Damn it!” he said loudly as he angrily tossed the note on the desk in front of him. Buffy grimaced. So much for the joke theory, she thought.
“So I’m guessing you don’t think it’s a joke?” It didn’t hurt to ask, did it?
“Buffy, I sent Spike to find you because I have something important I need to discuss with you. This note is related to that.” Giles watched her carefully to gauge her reaction to his news.
“Giles, how did you know about it? I just got it?” There was no way Willow could have gotten to Giles before her. She had only been in the locker room for a few minutes after Willow had left. And she knew that Willow would never go behind her back like that. Giles couldn’t have known about the note.
“I did not know about this particular note, Buffy, but this does not happen to be the first that you have received.”
“What?!” Buffy exclaimed, once she got over her moment of shock. “I never saw any other notes, Giles! I think I would have known if there had been more.”
Giles grimaced as he prepared for what he knew was to come. If there was anyone he knew well it was Buffy, and he had a feeling she wasn’t going to like where this conversation led.
“I know you haven’t seen any other notes, Buffy. You were never supposed to. They have been arriving in the mail here at the rink and we have been intercepting them before they actually reached you.” He ignored her look of betrayal and continued on. “We were hoping to figure out who was sending them before we told you anything. They really had been quite harmless until recently.”
“Until recently? How long have they been coming? What’s have they said?” Buffy’s heart was pounding. This was far worse than she had expected. Deep down she had hoped that Giles would just brush it off and tell her it was a joke. Seeing how serious he was in talking to her, she knew it wasn’t anything good. “And who’s we?” she added as an afterthought.
“Recently they have started to become far more detailed to your personal life. This person knows where you live, when you practice, even your car. I am quite surprised, but relieved, that you have not received anything at home yet.” Giles purposefully didn’t answer her last question. He wanted to hold that one off until the last minute possible.
“You have got to be kidding me, Giles? Who would do something like this?”
“We don’t know, Buffy. “We do know that whoever this is, he fancies himself in love with you. It seems to have become a rather sick obsession. This latest letter only proves that even more. I don’t believe I can tell you any more than that. There is little that we have been able to ascertain about him. Whoever he is, he is deeply troubled.” Giles spoke so softly that Buffy struggled to hear him at times. He was genuinely concerned and it showed in the way he spoke. Looking back Buffy would probably remember that, but right at this moment she was both scared and angry.
“And you didn’t tell me about, why? Giles I’m 22 years old, I think I should have been told about this. I am not a child!” Her worry had suddenly turned to a mix of frustration and anger. She knew that they all cared about her at the rink, but sometimes she felt that they treated her like she was still that little 9 year old who came in early every morning for practice.
“Buffy, I understand how you feel, but we didn’t want to worry you. I had hoped that we could figure out who was sending them before you ever learned of the notes. I didn’t want to add to all the stress you have had lately.” Giles said anxiously, knowing that she was getting upset fast and an angry Buffy was not a fun Buffy. “I would never keep something from you, Buffy, unless it was imperative that I do so. I only wanted to protect you.”
Buffy slumped back into her chair with a huff. “So what’s the plan now that I do know? Do I just go on and pretend I never got this one? I can’t do that, Giles.”
“No, that’s why I wanted to talk to you today. I’m truly sorry that you received this note before I spoke to you. I am sure you were quite worried about it.”
“That’s an understatement,” she mumbled under her breath. “ So what are we going to do? Is Dawnie safe? This guy is only after me right?”
“Your sister is perfectly safe, I assure you.” He said warmly, before moving into his explanation. “After the first few notes arrived here at the rink, along with some rather detestable mementos, we approached the authorities, and brought in a private security team to consult with us on the situation. As things have progressed we have started to come up with a plan that will hopefully continue to keep you safe. There have been a lot of people working on this, Buffy.” He hoped acknowledging that would help curb her anger towards him slightly when she found out the rest. “With the continued escalation of the notes it has become apparent that we need to act. We can’t just wait for guy to show himself. I’m afraid of what could happen if we do that. So, together the security team, the local authorities and myself have come up with a plan that we all hope will keep you safe. It is our hope that it could possibly also bring this guy out into the open, or at perhaps even deter him from his fascination.”
“How?” Her voice wasn’t much louder than a whisper, her anger quickly fading back into concern. She had been overwhelmingly relieved when Giles had assured her that there was no danger to her sister. Yet she was becoming more and more concerned as she realized how many outside people Giles had been consulting with.
“You have to understand that we have records of a number of pieces of correspondence to you from this man. They are getting closer and closer to you and each discuss more intimate details about you. It was first suggested that we send you away somewhere for a short period of time, but knowing you I believed that you wouldn’t go. Of course we could assign you a bodyguard, but that could cause a number of problems, especially here at the rink, and they could not be with you at all times, thereby defeating the purpose.” Giles paused for a moment to catch his breath. He had been speaking unusually fast trying to get through everything before Buffy would interrupt him. Much to his surprise she had yet to do so. “The local police had already assigned someone to keep an eye on you when you weren’t here at the rink and that hasn’t proved fruitful. They have yet to get even a glimpse of someone who they believe could possibly be your stalker. So we have come up with something that we feel could either deter this madman enough that he moves on, or even get him caught in the act.”
Giles eyed Buffy carefully gauging Buffy’s reaction to what he had to say. The plan relied on her cooperation and he knew it might take some convincing to get her to do. It therefore seemed important for her to understand that they didn’t come up with this plan on a whim. They had looked at several options and this one seemed to be the best. Buffy was used to the careful, long explanations that Giles usually gave. This one was no exception.
“Out with it, Giles, just tell me the plan.” She said with a roll of her eyes. He needed to get to the point before she really wigged out. The more he put off telling her the plan, the more concerned she was that she wasn’t going to like it. She watched as Giles took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eye. Uh oh, Buffy thought, this can’t be good. Knowing full well the reaction he was about to get, Giles finally spoke.
“We want you to get married.”





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