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Chapter 3 – Making a Deal


Spike was pouring himself a glass of blood when he heard the door to his crypt open. Inhaling sharply, he didn’t bother to turn around as he identified the unannounced visitor.

“What do you need, Watcher?” he asked, taking a long swallow of blood.

Giles was slightly taken aback that Spike knew it was him before he remembered he was dealing with a vampire.

The blonde turned around with a raised eyebrow, staring at the other man. “Spit it out, Rupert, I don’t have all day.”

Giles looked outside at the sun brightly shining in the sky and had to smile. “I think you do.”

“Alright, but that doesn’t mean I want the pleasure of your company. ‘Passions’ is on in five, so tell me what brings you to my humble home?”

“Buffy.”

Spike was instantly concentrating on the conversation, although not letting Giles know that. He didn’t bother to think about why anything involving the Slayer would cause him to be this focused- he just knew that he’d been more worried about her than he should have been.

“How’s the Slayer doing?” he asked, taking another drink, pretending to act indifferent toward the situation. It had been a week since the incident in the graveyard, and Spike hadn’t seen the Slayer since.

“She’s deaf,” Giles answered simply, watching as Spike stared into his glass, showing no emotion to the news.

“Permanent?”

“It would appear to be.”

Spike nodded, never looking up. “How’s she handling it?”

“About as well as can be expected,” Giles replied. “She’s becoming quite capable of reading lips, but it’s obviously very frustrating for her.”

“Got to be a hell of a problem when she’s slaying,” he murmured, never making eye contact with the other man.

“That’s actually why I’m here,” Giles replied.

Spike took a deep breath, walking over to a coffin and jumping onto it with ease, letting one of his legs kick against the side as they studied each other.

“Well…are you going to stand there and stare at me all day, or am I supposed to guess why you came here?”

“I think you already know.”

“Humor me.”

“I want you to help, Buffy.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“And may I ask why you’re not willing to help her?”

“How long do you have?” Spike asked, tilting his head and setting his mouth in a hard line. “It’s bad enough I have to help your little Scooby gang whenever there’s a big evil brewing, but now you’re wanting me to go on nightly patrols with the Slayer? I don’t have a death wish, Rupert,” he finished, spitting out the name.

“You honestly think that if something comes after you for helping out the Slayer, you couldn’t handle yourself in a fight?”

“Of course I could,” Spike said with a scoff, realizing too late that he’d walked right into the trap. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

“How much is this going to cost me?”

A slow smile spread across Spike’s face as he bit his lip, thinking of an estimate.

“Two hundred a week,”

Spike would have gone higher, but he really only had the need for blood and smokes and two hundred was more than enough. He watched as Giles seemed to be contemplating the request.

“One fifty,” Giles replied after a minute as Spike smiled and shook his head.

“Come now, Watcher, I know you just bought yourself a pretty new shop.”

“Exactly, I don’t have the funds to be paying a vampire an extra two hundred dollars a week.”

“So your Slayer’s life isn’t worth two hundred, but it is worth one fifty?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow, studying the other man carefully, knowing that Buffy was his weakness.

“Fine,” Giles replied in a resigned voice. How could he put a price on his Slayer? “Two hundred a week and Buffy must stay alive. If she dies, you die a slow, painful death.”

Spike felt a small amount of fear go through him as Ripper seemed to make a rare appearance. “Fine,” he muttered. “When does the Slayer want to start?”

“Well…she doesn’t know about this.”

“What?” Spike asked, his brow furrowed.

“And she’s not going to,” Giles continued. “It’s going to be hard enough to convince her to work with you, but if she knew you were only doing it because you were getting paid, there’s no way she would agree to it.”

Spike sighed, rolling his eyes before he spoke. “You’re expecting her to think I’m just helping her out of the evilness of my heart?”

“No, I’m expecting her to think that if you work with her in return for a certain amount of protection, she’ll be a little more agreeable.”

“Bloody hell! I don’t need the Slayer protecting me like I’m some fledgling who doesn’t know how to work his fangs!”

“She doesn’t know that.”

Spike sighed, clenching his jaw. “She should,” he muttered, seeing the look that Giles was giving him. “Fine. She won’t know about the money. I’ll keep my end of the bargain and you keep yours. Everyone goes home happy. When do we start?”



“Spike’s really going to help her?” Willow asked as she exchanged a look with Tara. They were helping Giles set up a display in the Magic Box when he broached the subject.

“I-I think it’s a good idea,” Tara said with a soft smile.

“I felt he could help her in ways that we can’t,” Giles replied. “But Buffy must not know that he’s being paid.”

“Yeah,” Willow agreed with a nod. “That’s understandable. She’d never trust him.”

“I’m not sure if she’ll trust him now,” Giles said with a shake of his head. “I don’t even know if she should trust him, but I do feel Spike will protect her. If, for no other reason, to keep himself alive. And we are the only ones that know of this arrangement,” he continued, giving both girls a stern look. “Xander will have enough problems when he finds out, and I don’t think Anya knows how to keep a secret.”

“It’s okay, Giles,” Willow said with a smile. “You did the right thing. When do they start?”

“Buffy is supposed to be here tonight. I asked Spike to drop by later…maybe they can at least attempt to work together.”





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