CHAPTER 9 - Preparations
Buffy awoke late the next morning, feeling refreshed and completely rested. Throwing back the covers, she got out of bed and headed for the bathroom contemplating her day ahead. There were a couple of things she still needed to take care of before the evening and Willow and Tara were coming over to help. Realising she didn't have long before they arrived, she quickly showered and dressed then headed down the stairs to the kitchen.
Greeting her sister, she grabbed a box of cereal and poured some out in a bowl. She added some milk then sat down next to Dawn.
"All set for tonight?" the brown haired girl asked.
"Pretty much," Buffy replied in-between mouthfuls of food. "Just a couple of last minute details to take care of and then I can get ready."
Dawn grinned. "Major pampering, huh?"
"Yep," the Slayer confirmed with a nod. "Bath oils, excess hair removal, manicure, pedicure and hair primpage."
"All by nine o’clock tonight? Geez, Buffy, best get started now," the younger Summers said with a pointed look at her watch.
"Very funny," her sister replied dryly at the implication that eleven hours wasn’t enough time for her to beautify herself. Picking up her now empty bowl, Buffy carried it over to the sink then turned around and leaned against the counter with her arms folded. "So, you arranged to stay at Janice’s tonight?"
"Yep, she said it’s no problem, so don’t worry, you and Spike will have the house all to yourselves," Dawn assured her with a mischievous giggle.
Buffy grinned back, a faint blush lighting her cheeks at the thought of possibly spending the night with Spike. Alone. All night. No distractions. And with any luck…naked. Oh God…please…let there be nakedness. Especially of the bleached blond, undead, lean-muscled variety.
Dawn rolled her eyes as she lost her sister to what she gathered must be an extremely pleasant daydream then stood up and went to answer the front door when she heard the doorbell ring.
"Hey Dawnie, Buffy up yet?" Willow greeted brightly as she and Tara entered the house.
"Hey Willow. Hey Tara. Yeah, she’s in here," the teen replied carelessly as she walked back into the kitchen and gestured over at her sister who was still staring into space with a sappy smile on her face.
"Let me guess; thinking about Spike again?" Willow asked wryly, having experienced the Slayer phasing out on her four times the previous afternoon while out shopping.
"More like major droolage," Dawn replied with a shake of her head.
"I think it's sweet," Tara commented with a smile.
"Yeah," Dawn and Willow both agreed softly. Smiles appeared on their own faces as they gazed at their sister and friend, noting with pleasure that she looked happier than she had in months.
Buffy sighed then blinked a couple of times as she came out of her reverie and saw Dawn, Willow and Tara all standing in the kitchen doorway smiling knowingly at her. "I did it again, didn’t I?" she asked wryly.
"Yep," Dawn answered with a laugh.
"Totally gone," Tara agreed.
"Sorry guys, I was just thinking about tonight," she said, hoping they’d take her explanation at face value and not realise that she’d been happily fantasising about Spike laying stretched out on her bed wearing nothing but his duster and trademark smirk.
"Don’t worry, it’s going to go just fine," Willow told her assuredly. "I’m pretty sure I’ve got everything covered."
Determinedly putting thoughts of Spike from her mind, Buffy nodded then pushed herself away from the sink and looked at her friends expectantly. "So, we ready to go?" They nodded and she turned to Dawn. "You want to come along too? Could use an extra pair of hands."
"Yeah, sure," the teen replied eager to help get her sister and favourite vampire together.
That decided, the sisters grabbed their coats and followed the witches out of the house. As they reached the end of the path, Buffy glanced over at the tree in her front yard out of habit, knowing that was where Spike used to spend his nights watching over them. Not expecting to see anything, she slowed to a stop when she noticed several cigarette butts littering the ground beneath the towering branches. It took a few seconds for the realisation to sink in that the vampire had obviously stood there the previous night and she felt a rush of warmth flood through her system at the knowledge. A smile lighting her face, she hurried after the others, determined more than ever that what she had planned that night would be a resounding success and Spike would no longer believe he belonged on the fringes of her life.
*********************
Giles looked up from the reference book he was reading and stared at the four young women who had just entered the shop and were now stood in front of him. "Good Lord, what on earth have you all been doing?" he enquired curiously, noting the fine coating of dust that liberally covered their shoulders and their hair.
All four touched a hand to their heads self-consciously then looked at each other and chuckled when they realised what they'd done.
"We've just been helping Buffy get a few last minute things done before tonight," Willow explained.
"Tonight?" the Watcher asked blankly. "I don't follow."
"I told you yesterday, Giles," Buffy reminded him. "You know, the whole Spike guilt, Willow plannage, Spike smooch…"
"Yes! Yes, I think you've jogged my memory quite enough thank you, Buffy," the Englishman replied with a pained look as he held up a hand to stop her completing the sentence. "No need to continue."
"Okay," Buffy acquiesced with a grin. Resting her hands on the chair opposite him she continued, "We were just passing and I thought I'd better stop in and ask how the research was going."
The Watcher removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose before replacing them and blinking a couple of times. "Not good, I’m afraid," he admitted on a sigh. "While there are numerous demons that could drain a body if they so chose to, I can’t find a single reference to one that needs a willing participant." He leaned back in his chair. "I suppose that since there’s only been the one occurrence, I’ll just have to make a note of it for future reference."
"Actually, Willy found another body. A girl this time," the Slayer informed him. "Spike seems to think that it could be the same guy behind it but the blood wasn’t drained from this one."
"Then what makes him think it’s linked?" the Watcher asked, puzzled.
"Because, apparently, there wasn’t any sign of a struggle. Spike thinks that the killer may have been interrupted."
"It’s feasible, I suppose," Giles allowed consideringly. "Does he have any idea on who could be doing this?"
"He says that he saw a really ugly demon talking to the girl that Willy found. Could be new in town. We checked in a few bars last night but didn’t find him," she explained.
"Ugly, you say?" Giles queried with raised eyebrows. "Well, I could try cross referencing that piece of information but as that particular description fits most of the demon population, I doubt that it will be of much value."
"Me either, but I thought you might want to know anyway," the Slayer replied with a shrug.
"Quite. You never know when something seemingly trivial turns out to be the answer to everything," he commented as he closed the book he'd been reading. Standing, he picked it up then turned and put it back in its place on the shelf behind. He took a few seconds to choose another tome then turned back and placed it on the table. "So, what time does your grand scheme begin tonight?" he asked as he sat back down.
"Around nine-ish, all being well," Buffy replied.
"Well, I suppose I should wish you good luck," the Watcher offered with a small smile.
"Thanks," the Slayer responded warmly. She turned to her sister and checked the time. Upon hearing that it was nearly three o'clock, she gave a little squeak of dismay then announced that she'd better go and get ready. All four girls said their goodbyes to Giles and Anya, who was at the counter, then headed for the door.
Giles watched them for a moment, then opened up the large book in front of him, smiling wryly as he heard Willow comment on the fact that six hours was a little excessive, even for Buffy, to get ready. The door opening and shutting cut off any response the Slayer made and Giles sighed hoping that everything went well that night. He had feeling that if it didn't, Spike, with all his unpredictable complexities, might possibly move even further out of her reach.
*****************
Spike turned over onto his front and let out a frustrated huff. "Bloody go to sleep, you prat," he grumbled to himself in annoyance. After leaving his vigil shortly before dawn, the vampire had returned to his crypt, downed a bottle of JD and then retired to bed.
Knowing that the drink wouldn't be enough to make him pass out, he'd turned to the only other option that did…pleasuring himself. Of all the thoughts of the evening spent with Buffy filling his head, it was the remembrance of her hand firmly clasping arm as she said, "Forgive me," that finally triggered his climax, her name tumbling repeatedly from his lips in short gasps of unneeded air.
As soon as he started to come down from his high, he'd mentally castigated himself for being so pathetic as to get off on what she'd said, while, at the same time, trying hard not to feel guilty over using her words and image like that in the first place. Impatiently, he’d waited for the relaxing calm that usually followed his act to bathe him in its glow so he could get some much needed rest.
Unfortunately, unlike him, it didn't come and the sleep he craved continued to allude him. Cleaning himself up with the bed sheet, he'd balled it up and thrown it into a corner in disgust before getting himself another. For hours he'd tossed and turned, trying out different positions. On his back, on his front, left side, right side, feet raised on his pillow, head hanging off the bed, sitting up…hell, even standing up! Nothing worked.
Nothing. Nothing stopped the incessant clamour of guilt that kept knocking at the back of this mind with a determination that he was sure would eventually make him insane.
Flipping over onto his back, he let out a long sigh and officially gave up. Going by his internal vamp clock, he knew still had a few hours before the sun went down, but he decided to get up anyway. Throwing the sheet back off his body, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached out to grab his jeans from the floor. Standing, he put them on then walked over to the ladder that led to the upper level. A couple of minutes later, he was seated in his chair, a bag of blood in one hand and the television remote in the other. Absently flicking through the channels he stopped on an eighty’s high school based chick flick and settled down to watch. If this didn’t send him off to sleep double quick, then the boredom of it would soon have him staking himself…either way, he figured, his internal torment would be happily over for another day.
*****************
Buffy clicked off the hairdryer then put it down on her dresser and ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing it to the desired effect. Staring at herself in the mirror, she teased a couple more strands into place and tilted her head appraisingly. Finally, happy with the result, she stood up and padded over to her closet where her clothes for that evening were on hangers on the door.
Removing her bathrobe, she took the blouse off its hanger and slipped it on over her black, lacey, strapless bra. Next, she reached for the skirt she was going to wear with it and pulled it up over her black, sheer, hold-up stockinged legs to cover her black lacey high cut panties. Once she'd drawn up the side zip fastening, she sat down on her bed and pulled on black suede, knee high boots and zipped them up too.
Fully dressed, she left her bedroom and went into the bathroom where she applied her make-up with practised ease. With one last fluff of her hair, she blew herself a kiss in the mirror and then headed downstairs to her waiting friends.
*****************
After becoming thoroughly engrossed in the film, Spike had watched it to its inevitable romantically slushy outcome then eventually fallen asleep for a couple of hours in his chair when the news began. Awakening just as the sun finished it's descent into blackness, Spike got up feeling only slightly better than before he'd slept and finished dressing.
Pulling on his duster, he grabbed his cigarette packet from a rickety old dresser he'd aquisitioned from the nearby dump one night then walked out of his crypt into the warm evening. Shutting the door after him, he strode through the cemetery towards the exit. When he reached the sidewalk, he paused for a moment and looked left, contemplating whether to go the Bronze or not for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening.
With a slight shake of his head, he turned right and headed into town. He’d told Buffy that he’d carry on looking for the ugly git and he was going to do it, no matter how much he longed to do the opposite.
Bloody guilt complex…turning him into a right do-gooding pansy.
*****************
Buffy slowly walked down the stairs to be met at the bottom by five pairs of admiring eyes.
"You look great," Willow enthused with a grin.
"Very pretty," Tara agreed.
"I think you look fantastic," said Dawn almost bouncing up and down with excitement.
"Yeah, I…uh…like your…uh…top," Xander sputtered, unable to tear his eyes away from the ample amount of cleavage that she had on display.
"Yes…excellent choice of clothing," Anya complimented. "Spike's going to jump your bones as soon as he sees you wearing that."
"Ahn!" Xander exclaimed, finally looking away from Buffy's chest long enough to cast his fiancée a horrified look.
"What?" she queried innocently. "Isn't that the whole purpose of this evening?"
"No!" the brunet told her crossly. "At least…not within the range of my hearing, it isn't!"
"Oh, well, you'd better go into the other room then because I have a few handy tips to aid in vampire seduction that I want to give Buffy and you probably won't want to hear them," the ex-demon instructed matter-of-factly. Without waiting to see if he did as she said, she looked back at the Slayer and smiled. "Now, necks, obviously, are an erogenous zone. So are their ears, chests, arms, legs…well, actually, pretty much anywhere you to touch them will induce instant arousal, especially their pe…"
"Okay, okay, minor amongst us," Buffy interrupted hastily, holding her hand up to stop the woman from talking. "I really don’t want Dawn hearing this…"
"Oh, Buffy!" the teen protested with a whine. "I'm not a kid!"
"…but, uh, thanks for the tip Anya, it was…uh…it's been a big help," the Slayer concluded after shooting her sister a silencing glare which produced folded arms, an eye roll and a very pronounced sulky pout from her sibling.
"Oh, but I have loads more," Anya began eagerly, ignoring the fact that Buffy didn't want to listen. "Sex toys and bond…"
"Anya, honey, I think Buffy gets the idea," Xander cut in, taking his fiancée's arm in a firm grip and pulling her away towards the door. "We have to go," he said looking over his shoulder at the Buffy and the others. "Good luck with tonight."
Buffy smiled and gave Xander a grateful look then couldn’t help but cringe when the ex-demon continued to talk. "But Xander, I haven’t had a chance to tell Buffy about their staying power. I’m quite envious really…being a vampire, Spike can have sex all night long; he’ll always be ready…"
"Hey!" Xander exclaimed an aggrieved tone as he opened the door and all but pushed Anya through it. "First off, I have staying power, thank you very much and I'm always ready…unless I've had a hard day at work, of course. And second off…Oh…my…god! Did you have to say the words 'Spike' and 'sex' in the same sentence? Do you know what that does to my nervous system? I think it's shut down."
"Oh, stop overreacting, Xander. Just me saying 'Spike' and 'sex' can't possibly affect you physically."
"You said it again! My God, it really has shut down this time! I think you've actually managed to traumatise me for life, you know that?"
"Oh please…"
The door shut behind the bickering pair leaving the four remaining women to look at each other. As one, they started smiling and then laughing which only abated when the sound of a horn blaring outside filled the air.
"Oh, that's Janice's mom, I gotta go," Dawn exclaimed running up the stairs and grabbing her overnight bag from her room. She rushed back down and engulfed her sister in a quick hug before wishing her luck with the evening and running out the door to her waiting ride.
"Well, guess I'd better get going too," Buffy said, suddenly feeling a little nervous.
"Did you want to wait a couple of minutes until we find out where he is exactly?" Tara asked, sensing the blonde woman's unease. "It'll give you a better idea of how long you've got then."
"Yeah, that's good idea," the Slayer replied with a smile.
The witches moved into the lounge and sat on opposite sides of the town map that they'd laid out in preparation a couple of hours before. Herbs were mixed, words chanted and a small burst of flame ignited near the centre of the map.
"He's at Willy's," Buffy said, bending over to take a look. "That should give me about forty five minutes."
"Right," Willow said, standing up. "We'd best get going."
Tara also stood and the three women walked to the door and out into the night. At the end of the path they stopped and grinned at each other.
"I'll call you later, okay?" Buffy promised.
"We want all the details," the redhead told her with a mischievous giggle.
The Slayer just shook her head and gave her friend a gentle push to get her moving. "Just go already."
The witches waved goodbye then headed into town towards Willy's, while Buffy turned and walked off in the opposite direction. Nerves fleeing with each step she took nearer to her destination, Buffy was soon looking forward to the evening ahead.
*****************
Fen strolled into Willy's place and surveyed the bar appraisingly. He needed to feed. Saul hadn't sustained him for a long as he'd hoped and now his limbs ached protestingly, crying out for more nourishment. He'd visited a couple of bars on the other side of town the night before but had found nothing of interest and so had returned to the place where, so far, his hunting had been successful. He hoped it would be again tonight.
His gaze flitted around the room, pausing every now and then to rest on certain demons as he silently reached out his senses to check if they were a likely candidate. Three quarters of the way around he found what he was looking for and smiled. She was exquisite and he felt a momentary pang that she wouldn't be alive by the end of the night.
He took a step towards her table, then stopped as the door behind him opened and someone in a long leather coat with a shock of white bleached hair walked past, heading straight for the bar. Fen couldn't believe his eyes…or his luck. He'd been so certain that the witches had killed the unholy creature who was ordering a bottle of whisky as he watched.
"Oh, vampire, your pain is great but soon you'll not have to suffer any more," he breathed, his grin widening as his senses latched onto to Spike's tumultuous emotions. His earlier prey forgotten, Fen saw the blond pay for his drink, then head for a table at the back of the room. As soon as he sat down, Fen wiped the smile from his face to adopt a concerned look and headed over.
***********************
Willow and Tara stood nervously outside Willy's hand in hand.
"You ready, sweetie?" Willow asked her girlfriend.
"Ready," Tara replied with a gentle squeeze of her hand.
The redhead took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, we're going in."
With a nod of assent, Tara gripped Willow's hand a little tighter and together they entered to bar.
************************
Spike raised the shot glass to his lips and surreptitiously gazed over the top, his eyes immediately locking onto the ugly demon who was wending his way through the tables to the bar. Or not, he realised as the man changed direction and nonchalantly headed his way. Even better.
When Spike had approached Willy’s he’d felt a chill run up his spine and recognised it as the feeling he’d recently had twice before. The initial time was when he’d first seen the very demon that was walking towards him and the second had been in the alley when he was being followed. Now, as he sat there with his spine still tingling, he knew without a doubt that his stalker that night was the demon that had just stopped at his table and was smiling at him in a friendly way.
"Something you wanted?" the vampire asked coldly.
Fen’s smile widened just a fraction. "You looked like you could use a friend," he replied, sitting down on the chair next to Spike. "Someone to talk to."
"That right?" the vampire asked slowly.
He nodded. "Name's Fen. I'm a very good listener." He leaned forward, staring hard at the blond. "Go on, you can tell me. Let it all out. You know you want to," he encouraged.
As the quietly spoken request reached him, Spike was taken aback when he felt a compulsion to do exactly what Fen wanted and tell him everything. The vampire's eyes widened slightly as he realised what Fen was trying to do and he forced a tight lipped smile to his face and as ground out tersely, "A thrall is it? Vampire here, you nit. Don't work on us."
Fen chuckled. "Yes it does and what I do is so much more than a mere thrall, Vampire. I wouldn't fight it if I were you, you'll only hurt yourself."
Spike gritted his teeth and made a determined effort to try and look away but found that he couldn't. He was just starting to feel slightly worried when he suddenly felt a hand land on his shoulder followed by Willow's voice urgently saying his name.
"Spike! Oh, thank Goddess we found you."
Disturbed by the interruption, Fen broke eye contact with Spike and shot the witch a baleful glare instead. Regaining control of his senses and body once more, the vampire let out a low growl and swiftly stood up, turning his back on the demon to face Willow and Tara.
"What's up, Red?" asked Spike, taking a step to his left and effectively blocking Fen's view of the two witches so that the demon couldn't try his trick on either of them.
Angry at being thwarted by the same witches that had interfered previously, Fen furiously pushed his chair back with a loud scrape and stood up. The noise was enough to make Spike turn around, although he still made sure that he provided enough protection for the women. For a split second, their eyes locked and Spike felt the pull of the thrall run briefly through his body before Fen released him and gave him a nasty smile. "I'll be seeing you, Vampire," he promised with a sneer then abruptly turned and walked away.
Spike watched him leave the bar then a hand on his arm drew his attention back to the witches.
"Who was that?" Willow asked with a worried frown. "Was he the ugly demon you told Buffy about?"
The vampire looked at her blankly, debating whether to tell the truth or not. If he did then it’d be all hands to the Scooby decks with Buffy shouldering the load as usual. If he said no, he could deal with Fen himself and Buffy would be none the wiser and a whole lot safer until it was over. Fen was powerful, but Spike was sure he could take him out. Hell, if a hundred and twenty years worth of Dru's attempts at enthralling him hadn't worked then this guy should be a doddle to resist once he was prepared. And maybe, just maybe, at the end of it all, if he was really, really lucky…he’d have earned himself enough redemption to ease the guilt he carried over Dawn to a more manageable level.
God, please, let him be that lucky.
"Spike?" Willow pressed when it looked like he wasn’t going to reply. "Did you hear me?"
"It’s not him, Red," Spike lied calmly. "That was just some guy wanting to know where the action was, that’s all."
Willow looked at him uncertainly then glanced at Tara who looked as disbelieving as she felt. Looking back at the vampire she said, "Are you sure? Because Buffy said that you said he was really ugly and that guy was really ugly."
"Not him," Spike repeated firmly then changed the subject. "Now, what was it you wanted again?"
"Wanted?" the redhead repeated dumbly. There was a momentary pause until Tara nudged her girlfriend in the back and leaned over to whisper Buffy's name in her ear.
"What about Buffy?" the vampire immediately challenged when he overheard.
Having forgotten about Spike's enhanced hearing, Willow was glad that Tara hadn't anything more than her friend's name. She didn't want to ruin her plan before it even had a chance. Shaking off the uneasy feeling she still had about the demon that had just left, she tried to focus on the task at hand. "Right, Buffy," she began, getting herself into pretend concerned friend mode. Pitching her voice to what she hoped was just the right amount of trepidation, she told him, "She found out there's a whole bunch of vamp's nesting in the Sherman crypt at Rosewood cemetery. She's on her way over there now and asked us to come get you."
"She wants my help?" Spike clarified, dubiously wondering if the effects of the thrall had affected his hearing in some way. Even though they patrolled almost every night, Buffy had never actually asked for his help. He just pitched into a fight when he wanted to.
"Yeah," Willow nodded then after a pause added, "She said she needs you."
Spike's eyes widened at that and he swallowed hard. Buffy needed him? Needed him! And he was standing there like a complete wanker. "How many?" he suddenly demanded as he began moving towards the exit.
"She doesn't know for sure, but we think at least twelve," Willow supplied, walking quickly to keep up with the blond's strides as he weaved through the tables.
"Maybe more," Tara added.
"Bloody hell! Couldn't you get the stupid bint to at least wait for me?" Spike ground out, his fear for the Slayer taking on that many vamps alone making him angry. Not even expecting a reply to his question, he reached the door and yanked it open then turned back to the witches and gestured around the bar. "This place it dangerous. Go home and I'll get the Slayer to call you when she gets back."
Once they nodded their assent, Spike turned on his heel and broke into a dead run in the direction of Rosewood cemetery.
Willow and Tara followed him out then stood just outside the bar and shared a satisfied smile. "And so begins phase two," the redhead said with a trace of smugness. "Gotta say, he was easier to convince than even I thought he would be."
"It was the, 'she said needs you' part that did it, I think," Tara replied as they began to walk. "Nicely done."
"Thanks, sweetie," Willow replied, grabbing her girlfriend's hand giving it a squeeze.
They walked in silence for a few moments until Tara ventured quietly, "That demon Spike was talking to when we came in had him kind of spooked, didn't it?"
Willow sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she admitted. "He looked kinda dazed but angry, it was odd. And I just know Spike was lying when he said that wasn't who he and Buffy were looking for…I mean…hello?…not blind…pretty darn ugly demon guy, standing right there." She sighed again then frowned. "And did you hear his parting shot?" she asked before adopting a deep voice to say, "I'll be seeing you, Vampire."
"Yeah, definite threat," Tara agreed. "I think we should let Giles know. It should help with his cross referencing now we know what we're looking for."
Willow nodded. "Let's go now. If this guy has Spike worried then I think we should try and find out exactly what he's capable of."
As they hurried away, they failed to notice the figure staring after them from out of the shadows. "Don't worry, Witch, you'll have your answers soon enough when your pet vampire is nothing but dust trickling through your fingers," Fen muttered spitefully. With one last malevolent glare at their retreating backs, he turned around and headed back inside Willy's. There was still his hunger to sate.
END CHAPTER 9
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