“Ok, you two are going to tell us everything that‘s going on.” The quick wash had done nothing to calm Spike down. Quite the contrary, he’d spent most of the time fuming about how they’d been played. Of course, he didn’t know how they’d been tricked, but he just knew they had. Why else would the Slocombe wanna-be be sitting in the living room with a member of the Council of Wankers?

When the only response he got was two pairs of raised eyebrows, he growled and sat down on the coffee table facing the two women, his knees brushing with theirs. “Fine. You want to play that game?” He pointed to the older woman. “First things first. What the hell is your role in all this?”

The hotelier put her glass down beside the vampire and brushed his finger away from her face. “Now, now, William. No need to be uncivilized. I’m not sure what you mean by my ‘role’. If you mean with the Council of Watchers, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Aside from being Amelia’s great-aunt, I have no ties to them. As for my role in the recent development in your relationship with Miss Summers... Well, I must admit that‘s been a little pet project of mine since we met that first day.” She cast an affectionate glance at both blondes. “However, I must admit that my assistance hasn’t been as necessary as I would have believed--you seem naturally drawn to each other.” Her eyes flitted towards the bedroom. “Although I’m sure the canopied bed didn’t hurt...”

Spike bit back the suggestion that the two women leave them to test out the canopied bed once more. Instead, he simply rolled his eyes, making a conscious decision to ignore her comments on his and Buffy’s relationship--now was certainly not the time to discuss it. “Alright, so you’ve got a Cupid complex and willingly play host to a vampire and slayer. I’ve seen stranger.”

The vampire’s eyes darted to Amelia, but his interrogation remained aimed at her great-aunt. “However, I’m not quite convinced that that’s all there is to it. Funny how this little impromptu meeting of yours happens just after we bring a strange bird up to the room...”

For the first time, Hetty had the decency to look abashed. She cast her eyes down to her hands before bringing them back up to meet the vampire’s. “Yes. You’re absolutely right about that, my dear. Amelia asked me to let her know if anything out of the ordinary occurred; the girl you brought in the other night seemed an odd enough occurrence to give my niece a call.”

Without being prompted, the watcher put her glass of water down and spoke up. “When Hetty told me about the girl, I had an idea as to who she was.” She looked at Buffy, then Spike. “She was the nanny, wasn’t she?” When both blondes nodded, she smiled. “Her body was never found, which led us to believe that she could still be alive. Wherever did you find her?”

Spike gave a quick account of that particular night’s adventure, leaving out some of the more risqué parts, before reminding Amelia that it was her own story that they wanted to hear. The two women had been there for almost an hour and were yet to divulge their own secrets.

“The Council has received information about the sacrifice.” There. It was out in the open and, by the look on the two blondes’ faces, they were more than eager for her to continue. “One of our members had managed to infiltrate himself into Blakeford’s entourage. Although a constant contact would have alerted them to his presence--or his status as an informant, rather--Simon was able to send us the occasional message as to what was going on. The last one was received this past Thursday and relayed what may be the location for the sacrifice.”

Buffy jumped out of her seat and began to pace in front of the couch. Pacing was Spike’s MO, but at that moment she was making it hers. Why hadn’t they been told about the informant? Heck, why didn’t any of the information make its way to them quicker? After a bit more thought, the answers were clear enough to the Slayer--the informant’s safety would have been paramount, and the Council may have wanted to double-check the information before relaying it to her and Spike. But the most important question--to her, at least--was yet to be asked.

“Why don’t you get this Simon guy to sneak the baby out?”

Spike nodded in agreement--that same question was on his lips. Why even bother with him and the Slayer when they had someone on the inside? His brow creased, however, when he felt the watcher’s heartbeat accelerate and saw her hand tremble as she reached for her glass. One sideways glance at Buffy told him that she’d noticed as well.

Amelia worked hard at keeping her voice even. The news had hit the Council hard, but as Simon had been one of her classmates, she’d taken it even harder. “Because... because he was sent back to us. Or, rather, parts of him were sent back.” Hetty’s steady hand on her shoulder helped the watcher keep her emotions in check.

“Bloody hell--Council should have known better than anyone about the Pelorak’s fascination with dismemberment!”

Buffy froze at these words. This was the kind of demon Spike had gambled her freedom against? She made a mental note to talk to the vampire when their guests left...

“Simon was well aware of it, but he was sure of himself and of his ability to infiltrate them. The Pelorak, actually, were a bit of an infatuation for him. He’d written his final thesis on their social structure and its resemblance to that of the human race.” She smiled ruefully. “Not that any of that helped him, in the end.”

No one knew what to say to that; the room was silent until Buffy finally spoke. She felt that there was something more to Simon and Amelia, something that was being left unsaid--but something that was none of her business.

So she decided that it was time to resume the impromptu meeting. “Amelia, what information did Simon get about the location?”

Glad to get her mind back to business, the watcher straightened back up and tried to be as forthright with her information as possible. “The last message we received, the one from Thursday, gave us a location of a warehouse along the waterfront.”

Not a bad start, if the waterfront didn’t span for miles. “Okay... Do you know precisely where, along the waterfront?” Buffy reeled at the image of herself scouring dock after dock for a building that probably looked like all the others surrounding it. At that rate, the baby’s fate could be to die of old age and she still couldn’t save her.

At this, the watcher’s face fell. “No. We don’t. But we do know that it’s in the East End, possibly just east of the Tower Bridge. What we do know for certain is that the building itself sports a faded Alpha symbol on its frontispiece.”

At the Slayer’s confused look, Spike leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Alpha--you know, the Greek...”

Buffy turned to face the vampire. Did he think she was stupid? “I know what an Alpha looks like! It’s the fronty thingie that I’m not sure of...”

“It’s the front of the building, love.”

“Oh.” Then why hadn’t Amelia just said so? Stupid British people. Why don’t they just speak English?! “Ok, then. Here’s the plan. Tomorrow morning, I head out and try to locate this Alpha building. I scope it out, try to find out as much as possible about it--does it have windows, how many entrances/exits, blah blah. If I can get in, I’ll do that so I can get a good idea of what we‘ll be up against once we‘re in there. Heck, I might even get a glimpse of how many we‘ll be against.”

The Slayer paused, waiting for a reaction to her plan.

“No.”

Ok. Spike obviously had a reaction. A negative one.

“No, what? Could you maybe be more specific?” Really, she wasn’t in a mood for guessing games. Her body was telling her that it was bedtime--two hours ago, her eyes kept trying to close of their own volition, and here Spike was playing ‘guess my objection’.

“You‘re not going on your own.” What was she trying to prove? That she was stronger than him? That she could take care of herself? That she didn’t need him? “You’ll right likely get yourself killed if you do.”

Great. Mr. Victorian misogynist makes an appearance. “Oh, so I just managed to survive all these years on my own because of luck? Sorry, Spike, but I can hold my own on a recon assignment. I may be a girl, but I don’t need you shadowing me all the time.” Buffy instantly regretted lashing out at the vampire. The hurt in his eyes betrayed the anger that his body was exuding. She paused and took a breath, allowing her voice to soften; she wasn’t mad at him, because she understood that he was worried about her. Taking his hand in hers, she smiled at him. “Anyway, I’m just looking--remember? It’s not like I’m going to walk in the midst of a big Pelorak pow-wow and say ‘hey, guys!’.”

Amelia’s mouth quirked at the couple’s bickering. It was so... normal, even though there was nothing normal about either the situation or the people involved. A century-old vampire and a girl with heightened powers arguing about gender stereotyping.

The watcher stood up and pressed her hands down her skirt, flattening out the wrinkles. “It’s settled, then. Buffy will head over to the East End to find the warehouse in question and gather as much information as possible. That should provide us with a basis upon which we can determine what actions we must take to retrieve the baby.” She directed a weary yet compassionate gaze towards the Slayer. “And do be careful, Buffy. William isn’t the only one who’s grown fond of you.”

Spike was fuming. That’s what happens when you’re surrounded by women, mate. You get outvoted... “So, what am I supposed to do while she goes out? Keep the home fires burning?!”

“Don’t worry, William. You may feel that your talents are unappreciated, but you‘re an integral part of this operation. The Council specifically requested your presence--you have a role to play and you‘ll be expected to be at your best when the time comes. Now,” the watcher said, motioning for her great-aunt to follow, “we really should be leaving. It’s gotten rather late, I’m afraid, and there’s much to be done tomorrow.”

Just as she was closing the door behind her, Hetty popped her head back in. “Almost forgot, dears. Tomorrow is laundry day. What time should I pop in to fetch the sheets and towels?”

Buffy looked at Spike and hunched her shoulders. He was going to be the only one in, so it was up to him.

“Anytime after noon will do, luv. Just knock first. Wouldn’t want you to catch me starkers.”

Only Spike’s vampiric hearing caught the ‘wouldn’t be bad for me’ comment that the older lady mumbled as she closed the door.

Buffy sighed and sat down on the couch. “You know, this whole thing would be so much easier if we knew where to go. I mean, I don’t even know where the East End is! How can I find the building if I can’t even find the East End?” When silence met her rant, the young woman looked up. Had Spike gone out for a smoke without her noticing? Figures she’d be sitting around talking to herself...

But no, the vampire was right there in the living room, busying himself with cleaning up. That’s how the Slayer knew something was up. She smiled inwardly at her partner’s attempt to ignore her. So he was still pissed off--why should that surprise her? Maturity was obviously something he’d neglected to pick up in his century-plus of existence.

“Stop.”

Gaze still averted, Spike replied in a monotone voice. “Stop what?”

“Stop. Sulking.” Good--at least that got him to look at her.

“I’m not sulking, Slayer. Vampires do not sulk.”

Why me? Buffy stood up and crossed her arms across her chest. “Fine, then. Stop ignoring me by pretending to keep busy because you’re mad at me.”

Spike’s brow creased as he tried to decipher what had been said. Finally cluing in on her sarcasm, he replied, “I’m not...” Unable to restrain his emotions any longer, he threw the glass against a wall, shattering it into jagged pieces. “Bloody hell! You expect me to just sit around tomorrow waiting to see if you’re going to make it back in one piece? Didn’t you hear what she said about that Simon nit? Pelorak are bad news, and if they catch you sniffin’ around...”

“Spike...” She kept her voice calm and steady. The last thing she needed to do was fuel the fire that was raging within the vampire, especially when it burned for fear of her welfare. Walking towards him slowly, she placed a hand on his forearm. “They won’t catch me. I’ll be uber-careful girl. I’ll, like, hide behind old boat pieces and sneak around on my tiptoes like they do in cartoons.”

Damn that Slayer. He couldn’t even stay mad at her. “I know, pet. It’s just... It’s gonna be hell for me not being there to back you up. I’ll feel useless sittin’ around waiting for you.”

“You’d better not just sit around. Spike, you’ve got over a hundred years of experience in the demon world. You yourself used to plot all kinds of hairbrained schemes.” Buffy smiled at the vampire’s mock protest. “I need you to come up with a plan. Plans. As many as you can come up with--we don’t know how this is going to go down, and we need to be as prepared as we can. I know you can’t do much without the information I’m going out for, but we still need to get our gears turning. We might be separated tomorrow, but we‘ll be working towards one goal: getting that baby back.”

When she was done, Spike knew more than ever why he’d fallen in love with the Slayer. Strong enough to put him back in his place, yet diplomatic enough to make him agree with her. She was his equal, yet as different from him as anyone could be. Bringing his hand up to cup her neck, he stroked the newest set of bites with the pad of his thumb. “We’d best get to bed, then. See you off to an early start so you can come back sooner.”

Buffy turned towards the bed, chuckling softly. “Yeah, I think I’m going to need as much sleep as possible. It‘s been a truly crazy day.”

Author's Note: A great big thanks from my muse to all who have been reviewing! See you on Thursday :)