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There was a sudden hush, as everybody gaped at the Watcher. The only sound was the vampire groaning in the background.

“You killed him?” Buffy whispered.

Giles put out his hand towards her, but Buffy took a step back. “I can’t believe you could do that.”

Giles slowly lowered his hand. “Buffy, someone had to – we had no guarantee that Glory was really gone. She could have re-appeared at any time. And, and, well, you are humanity’s champion, I know that you wouldn’t have – couldn’t have done it.”

Buffy shook her head, “Giles, he was human – and an innocent.”

“No!” said Giles sharply. “Not innocent. You can’t expect us to believe that he didn’t know he shared his body with a hell-god. He had to have known.” His voice became quiet. “I was protecting you, your sister and everyone else, the only way I knew how.”

Buffy looked at him silently. She supposed he was right – but to kill a human went against everything she believed in.

Spike’s groan broke the tension, “What the bleedin’ hell is goin’ on? I’m dyin’ here.”

“Already dead, bleach-brain.” Xander replied automatically,

“Oh, stop complaining;” Anya said briskly, “it’s only a touch of food poisoning.”

“Food poisoning?” Xander spluttered, “a vamp with food poisoning!” and burst into laughter.

Willow looked at him disapprovingly, but his laughter was so infectious that she started to giggle, putting her hand over her mouth in an attempt to muffle the sound. Anya and Tara stared at their respective partners for a moment, but the urge to join in the hysterical laughter was too great.

Shivering, the vampire glared up at their laughing faces. A flame of pure hatred burned through him. Why had he bothered to save this sodding group of ingrates? He knew he couldn’t have fallen any lower, both figuratively and literally.

Dawn looked towards Spike and his expression stopped her giggles dead. She crouched down and spoke to him.

“Oh Spike. I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing because it’s really over and Glory won’t be hunting me any more.” She rubbed his arm and smiled softly at him.

He looked from her to the Slayer, who was staring disapprovingly at the others. She caught his look and smiled warmly at him. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and suddenly he knew it was all worth it.

“’s all right Bit.” He managed through gritted teeth. She helped him drag himself away from the already congealing pool of blood. His body was still wracked with spasms and his vision was distorted as if he were peering through the wrong end of a telescope.

He only had a hazy recollection of what happened next or how he got back to Revello Drive. He remembered the whelp saying that he wasn’t going to have a “barfing blood-sucker” in his car. Xander had been firmly overruled by Buffy and, to Spike’s surprise, Giles and they had carefully loaded him into the back of Xander’s car.

______________________

When the group finally arrived, they filed into the living room. No-one wanted to voice the question in all their minds, except Anya, of course.

“Well, what was that blinding flash of light and where did it come from?” She asked crossly. “I only just shut my eyes in time – not all of us have accelerated healing powers you know.”

“It was me, wasn’t it?” Dawn whispered. “I caused all those poor demons to burn to death.” When the euphoria of their narrow escape had died down, all she could see in her mind were the screaming and writhing bodies of the hell-god’s acolytes. It was like a living nightmare.

“Poor demons!” Xander exclaimed. “Said “poor demons” were doing their best to annihilate us.”

Buffy rose from the couch, where she’d been trying to make Spike comfortable and went to her sister. Putting her arms round her trembling figure, she hugged Dawn close.

“You saved us all Dawn. I don’t think we had a chance of beating them without that help.”

“You knew?” Dawn pulled back from her sister’s embrace. “How long have you known?”

“Well I thought a lot about the last time it happened, and it was the only explanation. At least I hoped it was the only explanation – we were relying on you getting all glowy.” She smiled gently at her sister, glad that the trembling seemed to be lessening.

The others grouped round the girls and added their congratulations and thanks and Dawn slowly felt the tension leaving her.

“I’m really tired now.” She yawned widely. “I’m gonna get some shut eye.”

“I’ll come up later, see if you’re okay.” Buffy patted her sister’s arm and Dawn impulsively hugged her tight, before running up the stairs.


________________________________________


After everyone except Giles had left, Buffy looked down at the hollow-eyed vampire, who lay sprawled on her couch. She’d offered to warm some blood for him, but it only made him feel nauseous. In desperation, she got him a glass of water, and he’d managed to keep that down – so far.

“’m a sodding vamp that can’t drink blood – it must be some sort of cosmic joke. Oh, bloody hell!” He fought back another urge to vomit. “Stake me, please!”

“Don’t even joke about it.” Buffy said worriedly. “Anyway, it wasn’t just any blood; it was the blood of a hell god. It would be indigestible to any vamp – not that *any* vamp would’ve done what you’ve done. Did I say thanks?” She knew she was babbling, but how do you console a vampire with food poisoning? Or was it blood poisoning? She really had no idea.

“I’ll go and see if Giles has any ideas. If you need me just shout.” She made her way into the kitchen, where her Watcher was busy making tea. She watched him for a moment and there was an awkward pause. They hadn’t mentioned the death of the hell-god since leaving the factory, neither knowing what to say to the other.

“Giles….”

“Buffy…”

They both spoke at the same time. Giles signaled to her to speak first.

“I know you were right with the, um, Glory-Ben thing, you knew that I could never do it. It couldn’t have been easy for you.”

“Oh, it wasn’t difficult Buffy. I just thought about what that terrible devil god had done to you and Dawn.” He said soberly. “I’d do it again, under the same circumstances.”

They exchanged a smile, both feeling relieved that the other understood.

Buffy sighed. “And then there’s Spike.”

“How is he?” Giles asked.

“Still not good, I don’t know how to help him.” Buffy shrugged helplessly.

“Maybe all he needs is rest. I have never heard of a vampire‘s body rejecting blood – perhaps I should have taken a sample of it from the floor before we left.”

Buffy looked at him with disbelief, “Giles! That’s disgusting!”

“Mmm, what?” He was obviously deep in thought.

“Ugh! You really mean it don’t you. I thought you were putting me on.”

“Well, it’s too late now anyway,” the Watcher sighed. People never did see the importance of research. He decided that maybe he’d better change the subject. “How long are you going to let Spike stay here? After he recovers, of course.”

“I haven’t thought about it really. I’ve been so busy worrying about Dawn and Mom and fighting Glory, I haven’t had time. I think Mom and Dawn would like him to stay forever.” She smiled.

“I don’t think that would be a very good idea Buffy.” When she made to interrupt, he held up his hand. “He really ought to find his own place. You know what he’s like, give him an inch and he’ll take several hundred yards.” Giles smiled humorlessly. “And, I have to say this, what if his chip fails or wears out? What would he do? The most probable action would be that he’d return to type.”

“Giles, he wouldn’t hurt us. I know it.”

“Yes, all right I accept that, but he would be sure to start hunting again and you’d have no choice but to stake him. If you allow him to stay here much longer, it will get more and more difficult to be objective.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Buffy said reluctantly, fighting an instinct to let Spike stay as long as he wanted. “But he must be allowed to recover completely before he moves out.”

A sudden crash from the other room stopped all conversation.

____________________________


Spike lay trying to tune out the voices he could clearly hear from the kitchen. Bloody Watcher ranting on. He’d started to feel marginally better, perhaps he needed to drink more water, although the very thought of it made him shudder. A vampire drinking water! Maybe he’d call Buffy and ask her to get him another glassful. Better still, he’d walk over himself. He had risen shakily to his feet, when the mention of his name made him concentrate on the Slayer’s conversation. He smiled when he heard that Joyce and the Bit would like him to stay and he grinned at Buffy’s defence of him. Then, like a stake to the heart, she agreed to throw him out.

He swayed and fell, catching a small side table and crashing to the floor. The Slayer and Watcher ran to his side and helped him up.

“Perhaps you’d be better off downstairs.” Buffy said worriedly. “I’ll make your bed up.”

Spike allowed them to fuss over him, while his mind tried to assimilate what he’d heard. Buffy couldn’t trust him without his chip – and he no longer had it. What a sodding mess. What the bloody hell was he going to do?


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A/N So… what’s Spike gonna do now?

Also, many thanks to you wonderful reviewers! I can’t believe how many of you have taken the trouble to write – almost 200 reviews now!!!

Marianne





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