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Author's Chapter Notes:
Many thanks to LadyForAsh for the great beta job
Thoughts are in ‘single quotes’
Disclaimer: I own nothing, am not associated with anyone. I simply delight in Spike and Buffy’s joy, and how they finally get together after her waywardness. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 4 – The Potentials, et al.

Reactions to Buffy's news were mixed with the potentials. Xander settled into an arm chair to watch the show, impassive on the surface. Privately, he hoped they'd make such a stink that Buffy would rethink her union with Spike. Ignoring the "true love" that was required to make the spell work in the first place, he just wanted it gone. He wished he'd known about this yesterday, so he could have talked some sense into her.

Anya was still annoyed with him and gravitated to the opposite side of the living room, enjoying the spectacle and frequently adding her opinion on whatever was said nearby. Glancing at each other in unspoken agreement, Willow and Dawn mingled, keeping their eyes open and watching for any trouble spots in case Buffy needed some help.

Kennedy was outraged by the news. Her dark eyes flashed as she gestured emphatically, "He's a vampire, for God's sakes! We slay vampires, we don't lay them!" Xander smirked, "Ha! Truism! A girl after my own heart!" then, seeing Dawn glare at him, he subsided back into silence.

Vi stood off to the side, rubbing her forearm and looking vaguely worried. She'd never really gotten over Spike vamping at her neck and bruising her arm on their first patrol. ‘Easy on the eyes, yes, but he's scary.' Her arm ached every time she looked at him. ‘How can Buffy trust him enough to love him? How does she dare to?' She listened to the others uncertainly. Would protecting the potentials and defeating The First still be Buffy's first priority; and now Spike's as well? Or would they focus on each other? She wondered what would happen to them all now.

Rona smirked and commented in an aside to Amanda, "See, I told you they were hot for each other." Amanda had missed Buffy and Spike's first training patrol with the girls, not yet being identified as a potential. Rona had told her all about the electricity, the touches and flirting that Buffy and Spike had traded back and forth that night. "Office romances," remarked Rona sarcastically, shaking her head and making her dreadlocks swing, "bad idea, they never turn out well."

Since Amanda and Dawn had fought a vampire together, and Amanda had officially become a potential, Buffy and Spike hadn't been together much around them, so she hadn't been sure she believed Rona's gossip. Now Buffy's babbling about boys and mixed up feelings for them, when she and Buffy had first met in the school counselor's office, made more sense to Amanda. Buffy was in love with the ultimate bad boy; a vampire. Watching Buffy closely, Amanda twirled a strand of her long brown hair absently, wondering at this new development and what it meant for them all.

Kennedy stamped around glaring, muttering opinions on the stupidity of some Slayers, letting themselves be seduced by sexy smiles and buff bodies and foretelling impending doom, until Willow took her and some of the others aside.

Several other Potentials, those with crushes on Spike themselves, thought it was "wicked romantic." Around the room excited conversations broke out discussing the new powers of Buffy and Spike, how awesome it was that a vampire really loved her and how amazing the mating spell was. Speculation about how had she dared to take the chance at all, and general prattle about the hotness that was Spike ran rampant through the room.

Giles heard everyone gather from the den where he kept his lap top (he had reluctantly given in to the computer age recently), and the few salvaged textbooks from the explosion that had destroyed the Council of Watchers. He had been researching mating rituals, refreshing his memory on the known specifics of them. Entering the living room as Buffy began her announcement, the Watcher observed his charges and their reactions. He started worrying that some of them might start looking for their "very own vampire" and groaned.

Giles decided he'd better make sure that Buffy got across to them that Spike was unique, and not to think they'd be able to find the same, or they'd wind up drained. Shaking his head, he worried about teenage girls being so impressionable. This was a potentially dangerous response to Buffy's news. Reaching for his missing glasses, Giles reminded himself to get them replaced in the morning. He noticed Willow talking to a group of potentials, and ambled over to listen.

"Has he turned her?" Kennedy demanded. When Willow shook her head, Kennedy continued, "Well then, she must be under thrall!"

When that suspicion was also negated by Willow, Vi asked timidly, "How can you be sure?" She hadn't thought of Buffy being turned or under thrall, but agreed with Kennedy. It was a good explanation for her actions.

"I checked when she first told us. I can see auras, and can also tell if someone is under magical influence. She's herself, and her self-will is intact," Willow explained confidently.

"Can Spike do thrall?" Amanda asked. "Giles said it's really rare." She shivered at the thought of living with a vampire who could cause you to see things that weren't there and make you act against your will. Looking pleadingly at Giles, she wordlessly asked for reassurance.

Willow answered before their Watcher did. "Spike's sire, Drusilla can, and does. Spike told us once that he never bothered to because he didn't feel it was fighting fair, but I thought I'd better check it out just in case."

Kennedy cut in impatiently, "Can we get back on topic here? If she's not turned, and isn't under thrall, how could she do this? He's a vampire!" That was the bottom line with Kennedy. ‘How could Buffy have fallen for a dead, murdering, blood sucking thing?'

Willow told them some of Buffy and Spike's history, how their relationship over the years had slowly progressed from arch enemies--that never managed to kill each other despite many chances, to reluctant allies, to friends, and finally to lovers. She told them how from the very beginning, there had been something different about Spike, how he was not only more powerful, but also had an uncanny understanding, even empathy that other vampires didn't seem to have. He had a sense of fair play that was unusual, and hadn't had someone else kill them when he was chipped and couldn't do it himself. She explained Spike's transformation over the years, and that he had sought his soul voluntarily.

Giles decided Willow would do a better job of damage control than Buffy, and determined to have her talk to the potentials as a whole. Buffy would probably have just said, "Don't kid yourselves. There aren't any more like him. Don't even try it," and expected them to obey her just because she said so. They'd understand and listen to Willow, someone that had been there but wasn't Buffy, and Willow could explain why they mustn't look for what Buffy had found. It just wasn't there to be found.'

Giles stepped in and told them that he suspected that the chip was the only reason Spike and Buffy had eventually fallen in love instead of killing one other. Spike refused to have someone else kill Buffy when he couldn't do it, and hostilities had eased between the two when Buffy declared that she wouldn't slay a helpless Spike. He explained in more depth about the advantages and dangers of the mating. Slowly the girls' faces relaxed and became more accepting.

‘Impressive that Willow thought to check for turning and thrall,' the Watcher thought. He'd known enough about the ceremony to realize that they weren't an issue, because of the true love requirement. ‘I'm surprised that Willow could, and did investigate them on her own without a lengthy spell, though. She's shaping up into a formidable ally. I'll have to be sure to utilize her more in the future,' Giles contemplated.

Meanwhile, Andrew beamed at Spike and Buffy, and hugged them exuberantly. He led the "wicked romantic" delegation, rambling on about how he must record ‘this most historic union'. He took a solemn posture, with one arm raised to the square, index finger pointing towards the ceiling, and gazed off into the distance. Importantly, he announced, "I must record and archive...the ‘Chronicles of the Greatest Vampyre Slayer of all time...and her consort, the Great, White, Vampyre Warrior!'"

Ignoring Xander's snickers and eye rolling, he started gathering video equipment and computer discs. When no one else was watching, though, Buffy noticed Andrew gazing at Spike with a lost look, and whenever he wasn't busy ‘recording for posterity', he sat quietly in the corner, staring pensively into space.

With narrowed eyes, Dawn pulled Xander into the hall and confronted him. "You're not helping anything with your sarcasm, Xander." Scowling at him angrily she demanded, "And why did you tell everyone about Spike attacking Buffy last year? You didn't even get it right! You ruined my relationship with him over lies!" She glared at him with a reddened face and an expression that threatened she'd start shouting at any moment.

Xander straightened up defensively. "I may not have known all the details, Dawnie, but there was no excuse for what he did! You were a little girl with a crush on him. He was dangerous, you had to be warned! Everyone had to be warned!"

"I was not a little girl! I can take care of myself, thank you very much. Spike helped me get through Buffy's death more than the rest of you put together. Tara tried, but Spike understood. He was going through the same pain I was. Spike spent time with me, we comforted each other. You destroyed that with your finger pointing! You acted twitchy around me the whole summer Buffy was gone, avoiding my eyes when we were together, not coming over to the house. As if you blamed me for what happened to Buffy," she concluded.

"No," Dawn scoffed, "you weren't worried about me, you were just jealous! It wasn't any of your business! From now on, keep your big nose to yourself!" She stomped off back to the living room to listen to Willow's talk with the potentials.

Xander was frozen in place for a moment, stunned that Dawn had called him jealous. So what if it was true, he still couldn't believe she'd said it out loud. It was his dark little secret, no one else was supposed to even know about it. ‘Besides, it was immaterial. They'd still needed to be warned,' he thought in self-defense. ‘Whether Buffy had some fault in it or not, Spike had still attacked her.'

Xander shied away from the other truth Dawn had spoken. He had been uncomfortable around her after Buffy jumped from the tower. He was ashamed that he hadn't done more to help Dawn when Buffy was gone, but he hadn't been able to get past the feeling that even though it wasn't Dawn's fault, Buffy had died to save her. Xander followed Dawn morosely back into the living room, conscious for the first time that he'd failed them both that summer, and had allowed Spike to move into the position of trust that should have been his.

Faith had stood stock still during the explanation, her eyes gradually narrowing, expression slowly turning from astonishment to envy. Inside she fumed, ‘B gets the best of everything while I still end up with leftovers! Spike and new superpowers? That is just wrong.' She pulled Spike aside a few minutes later, and whispered heatedly, "If you wanted a slayer playmate, why choose B? I would've treated you better than her any day of the week! I'd never be ashamed of you!" She fumed silently, ‘Unbelievable! B, with her Holier than Thou attitude doesn't deserve the sizzling Big Bad! She'll never appreciate his finer qualities.' Her look turned sultry, "and I could've made you scream with pleasure every night!"

Spike smiled slowly, and tongue in cheek, said, "Could you now?" But then he shrugged and continued, "Sorry, pet. To get the goodies, there'd have to be ‘true love' between us. Awkward little requirement, that. It's why vampires hardly ever mate. How can they be sure the other truly loves them? For if not, the ceremony ends up offing them both rather than giving them extra power."

Faith looked up at him with a pout on her full lips for a few moments, then leaned into him and ran a finger down his shirt front. She murmured in a silky voice, "Given time, we could've made it work. Now you'll always have to wonder just what you missed," and she turned away, hips swaying provocatively, to made a grand exit through the front door.

Faith kicked, punched and stabbed out her fury at Buffy's new powers and winning Spike on the hapless demons she met that night. In her berserker rage she even took out a Turok-Han. That calmed her down and she began to think clearly. Angel had taught her to be content with the life she was given. It was a good one, and there was no use in envying what someone else had. She'd learned first hand that that led to the dark side. If she could dust uber vamps without enhancements, she was doing just fine. Faith, the Other Vampire Slayer, returned to her bed before dawn with a measure of peace in her heart.

Principal Wood had been standing next to Faith during Buffy's announcement. His expression slowly hardened from disbelief to fury. Of all the disappointments and disillusionments in the past few weeks, this was the worst. He cornered Buffy as soon as she finished speaking and said tightly, "You're consorting with the monster that killed my mother...and another of your kind as well! You've betrayed them!"

Buffy paled at his attack, but shot back, "I've done no such thing! We have increased strength, new powers; better odds in fighting whatever The First throws at us! I've told you before that he's on our side, Robin. You know ‘the cause' comes first with Slayers. They'd both have done the same thing I did, given the same circumstances! Now the cause comes first with Spike, too!"

He refused to accept that. Grabbing her forearms, he retorted, "He's a monster. He'll betray you in the end. Why can't you see that?" He then added as a side argument, "and there's no way my mother would have mated with him."

Spike shook his head as he gazed after the departing Faith, and turned away. He ignored the conversations about himself that buzzed around the room. Ever since his turning, he had inspired excitement and lust in women. When he was on the prowl, he had used it to his advantage to get the tastiest treats, but at other times, he'd ignored it. He was a one woman man. His attention focusing on his love, he overheard her confrontation with Wood and saw the gobshite put his hands on her.

Bursting into game face, Spike manhandled Wood out through the kitchen to the back door and into the yard. Picking the larger man up by the back of his shirt, Spike threw him against the side of the house. "So I've killed two Slayers, have I, dickhead? Two that the Council of Wankers knew about! Think about that, and keep your hands off my woman! As for Nicky, she and I danced with the best of them. I wouldn't be too sure she'd have rejected me, were I you."

Then, picking Wood up again and holding him close by the shirt front; he added very softly, "I'm not going to have to worry about you, am I?" Lips pursed, Spike stared into Wood with deadly intent. "Hmm? Do I need to be looking over my shoulder and wondering where you are?" His gold eyes burned into brown ones. "Courtesy of your mum, I've already given you the only pass you're going to get from me."

Spike let go of him and Principal Wood slowly backed away, brushing off his clothes, and rubbing a newly bruised shoulder. "No. I learned my lesson; you taught me well. Your back is safe with me." Then he changed tacks, and added in his silkiest voice, "I do believe that I'm thankful that you just killed my mother, though, and didn't try to seduce her, didn't defile her. Someday Buffy'll be sorry that she trusted a monster, and someone will have to be there to pick up the pieces."

Spike roared and lunged at him, but Buffy had just walked out the door. Stepping between them and looking sardonically at Spike, she said, "Can't I take you anywhere without you getting into a fight?" Spike retreated silently to lean against the side of the house, a sulky expression on his face. Then to she turned to Wood, "Can I trust you or not, Robin? Are you, or are you not on our side? I need you, I need every able bodied warrior I can get. I don't, however, have time to worry about whether or not you're going to attack Spike again in revenge. Nor for that matter, to worry about you constantly baiting him."

Robin sidestepped the baiting issue. ‘It's inevitable that we'll snipe at each other now and again,' he thought. Looking at her hard, he said, "I'm on the side of good, the side against The First, and as long as that's your side, I'll be on it. Like I just said, I'll not go after him...but I can't say he'll do the same for me." He stared challengingly at the vampire for a few moments.

Spike said nothing, just looked at him with such a menacing expression as he lit a cigarette that Wood became nervous, turned on his heel, and slipped back inside the house. He'd be watching closely to see if the Slayer was in truth still good, or if the vampire had subverted her, and they'd switched sides. And what was that about having killed just two slayers that people knew about, anyway? He went in search of Giles to see if he could shed any light on the subject.

Inside, Wood drew Giles aside, and asked if he could speak with him privately. Nodding at Willow, Giles left his Potentials in her capable hands, and led Robin into the den, closing the door.

"What is it, Robin?" Giles folded his arms and asked, though he had a pretty good idea what Wood had to say.

"What do you think of this abomination? How could she have done this?" Sputtered Wood, sinking down into a chair and holding his head in his hands. "How can any good come of it?"

Sighing, Giles said, "I think I'd better call Xander in for this discussion. I imagine he has the same questions you do." He walked to the door, and seeing Xander already looking his way, motioned him in.

Once inside, Xander looked questioningly at Wood; then sank to the floor into a sitting position. Knocking the back of his head against the wall several times in frustration, he closed his eyes and asked, "Well, Giles? What pearls of wisdom shall we hear from you tonight?"

"You've both heard the story from Buffy. I just want to tell you that as much as I hate to admit it, what she says is true. I've been researching in the pitifully few books I have left, and online as well, to learn all I can about the mating ritual. In both places, multiple references state that the dangers are real, but that the payoff is also real. Buffy and Spike do have each other's powers, I've seen them, and personality strengths, and commitments, and the powers they had in common beforehand have been quadrupled in strength. Buffy has Spike's determination to win in the face of insurmountable odds. Spike really is committed to the Light now. There is no doubt. I have nothing more to say, other than I'd appreciate any help I can get in figuring out how we can use this to our best advantage." He sighed again, and rubbed his forehead.

"Fine. I'll bow to the inevitable," Wood said. "I just have one more question. When I accused Buffy of consorting with the monster that had killed two Slayers, Spike said to me, and I quote, ‘So I've killed two Slayers, have I? Two that the Council of Wankers knew about!' When the Watcher didn't answer, he demanded, "Well, Rupert?"

Looking old and tired, Giles admitted, "I don't know. There are a couple of Slayers that just disappeared during the past hundred years that neither their Watchers, nor the resources of the Council were ever able to locate. One day a new Slayer would simply turn up, thereby letting the Council know that the previous one had died. If Spike was responsible for their deaths, that only makes him more formidable than we ever knew, and makes no difference now. He's on our side."

Robin Wood and Xander Harris glanced at each other; then left the den quietly with much on their minds. Xander was in shock at the idea that Spike may have killed four Slayers rather than the two they'd known about. He grimaced at the many times he'd taunted Spike...pretty stupid of him, chip or no.

Wood and Harris both felt resigned to the union, but each privately vowed to continue vigilance regardless, for Buffy's sake. After all, Spike was a vampire. In their hearts, what more needed to be said?

Xander's brow furrowed as a thought occurred to him. ‘There was someone else who would be interested in what Spike had done; an old friendly enemy. He'd want to be warned as well, it was only fair to clue him in,' thought Xander, planning a quick call to Los Angeles.

Tbc...





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