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sorry it took so long to update ya'll!! for my closest girls, u know why! hope you like it!!
Buffy sighed as she flipped through her seventh book. It felt like a hundred. A thousand. Millionth one. Groaning, she pushed it away. "Giles there's nothing in here about Lurthan ." Glancing over her shoulder, she watched Giles sigh and close his book as well.

"I found nothing as well. The git could've at least been more helpful." Wearily, he removed his glasses and fiddled with the earpieces. Glancing around The Magic Box, he sank into a chair and sighed. "You're going to have to go back and gather more information. It's the only way."

Buffy shifted nervously in her seat. "You don't think that he might be playing us?" Fiddling with her hands, she looked away. It made no sense. The last couple of weeks, she'd been hesitant about approaching Spike. He hadn't come around at all and she had avoided his cemetary. He'd made her jumpy. She hated herself for it but it couldn't be helped. She'd fought plenty of monsters in her day but Spike being around was something else altogether. Give her an apocolypse any day.

"Well I don't know. On one hand I would say yes. This is right up his alley. We all know that he has this infatuation with you. One would figure that he'd make it up just to be around. But it is odd that he would disappear without a word. Especially with the promise he made your mother. He seemingly respects her a great deal." Giles slid his glasses back on and gazed at Buffy.

"Well...he does. You know, at first it was just creepy. They would sit and talk for hours. Drink their stupid hot chocolate and talk about dusty antiques. He and Dawn would do their thing. Have their fun. But then with me...he just becomes all avoidy and...shirty." Screwing up her eyes in confusion, she shook her head. "What does that even mean?"

Giles smiled softly. "Well I think it would mean that he's situating himself into your--"

Buffy waved her hand. "No not that. Shirty. What does that mean? I mean, I've heard him say a couple of times and now Dawn is picking up his words! I heard her say 'bloody hell' yesterday! And Mom! She's even worse. She keeps going on about how nice it is to talk to an intellectual for once! Like what am I? Paris Hilton? So I don't know about some ancient mask or some African statue. I'm smart! Look at my SAT scores!"

Giles chuckled. "I don't think they're saying you're impared. I happen to think you're very smart. It's just that they perhaps know more about culture."

Buffy smiled. "I am crafty, and inventive. And I know a little about culture!" Her smile dropped a little. "Just don't ask me about anything before nineteen-eighty and I should be fine." Twirling a book in a circle, she asked, "Do you think Spike is good for Dawn?"

Giles gazed her, puzzled.

Buffy shrugged. "Well he is starting to influence her. I know that he's a soulless evil thing a-and I should stake him but..." She trailed off, gazing at the book in her hands.

Giles sighed calmly. "But he's worked his way in. The longer he stays, the harder it will be to cut him out."

An anxious expression crossed her face. "So you think I should stake him? Get rid of him?" That line of thought oddly scared her.

Giles slowly shook his head. "Buffy, you know I'd be the first one to suggest that, seeing how he's evil but...it's gone too far past that. You know, Spike made a comment to me the other evening. He suggested I study up on him. It got me to thinking. As you know, when Angel lost his soul, he became the Devil incarnate. When he got it back, he tried to repent." Buffy nodded glumly and stared at the table. He continued. "But Spike...Spike doesn't have the luxury of a soul. But he did change his ways. He may be considered evil but he's not doing evil. There is a difference."

Buffy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You sound like my mother."

"Joyce is a very wise woman," Giles smiled softly. Shaking his head, he continued. "Buffy I can't tell you how to handle Spike. I can't tell you how to handle your life. All I can suggest is that you tred carefully with him. He clearly has some sort of feelings for you. He wouldn't be around otherwise. If you return his feelings--"

"I don't!" she protested.

Giles put up a staying hand. "If you return his feelings--well I can't say that I'd be happy about it. But this is your life. No one can live it but you. You shouldn't worry about what I or anyone else think. But only if you return his feelings."

Buffy stared solemnly at the table, her mind churning. Spike was evil. He didn't have a soul. He couldn't kill because of his chip. But he wasn't really complaining about it either. She'd seen him more than a few times simply bite a bag of blood and move on to the next thing. If he got the chip out, would he go back to killing? Or continue to bag it? What would it be like to actually accept Spike into her life? She knew he'd be around constantly but that didn't seem to bother her either. He was around anyways.

BANG!!

On reflex, Buffy threw the book in her hand without even looking. She heard it crunch and jumped to her feet to follow it's path. She stopped cold when she saw that she'd hit Xander and he was down.

"Buffy! What the hell?" Anya screeched. Bending down beside Xander, she ran her fingers through his hair and whimpered. "Xander! Are you okay?" Blood was running out of his nose and it was starting to swell.

"Mmrph." His head lolled back and he made no move to get up.

Buffy hurried to his side, wringing her hands. "Xander! I'm so sorry. It was reflex." Kneeling by his side, she touched his shoulder but was shooed away by Anya.

Placing her hands over him protectively, she glared. "What? Did you think we were attacking the store or something?"

Buffy shrugged weakly. "Wouldn't be the first time it happened."

Anya huffed. "Not on my watch. No one steals my money!"

Giles approached with a handful of towels. He watched as Buffy and Anya sat him up and then handed them to Anya. Picking up the book, he noted that it wasn't even scatched. "Good throw Buffy," he murmured. She cringed and Anya glared. "Was there a problem you two were coming to see us about? You did enter rather quickly."

Anya shifted Xander and he groaned as she sat him up. Opening his eyes slowly, he gazed up at them. "Auntie Em?" Buffy hid her smile as Anya rolled her eyes.

"We were coming to tell you that something weird was going on over at Spike's place," supplied Anya.

Giles face became somber while Buffy's eyebrows flew up to her hairline. "What were you doing at Spike's?" she asked.

Anya waved her hand dismissively and pushed Xander until he was sitting up. Xander groaned softly and clutched his head. "We went by because Joyce asked us to. We stopped by your house to see if we could Bronze it tonight. She happened to mention that he hadn't been by in a couple of weeks and wanted us to check since we were heading this way."

"What did you find?" Giles asked. Buffy was too busy pacing.

Xander shook his head. "It was demolished. All his stuff was destroyed or stolen."

Buffy frowned and shook her head. "It isn't like Spike to leave his place just sitting. Something's wrong."

Xander groaned again as Anya helped him to his feet. "Yeah well...I would say 'good riddance' but I've already been smacked for it once today." Buffy quriked an eyebrow and he shrugged. "Dawn's in the car."

The door banged open again and Dawn hurried in this time. "You guys! I'm not sitting in the car all day! C'mon, we need to find Spike!" Glaring at the group, she turned on her heel and slammed back out the door.

Xander sighed along with Giles. Buffy picked up her coat off her chair and headed towards the door. "Well you heard her. Let's go find Spike."

Wincing at the sunshine, Xander shook his head. "Summers women are so violent."

Giles chuckled as he followed them out, locking the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike's brain bounced against his skull as his head violently richocheted off the wall he was chained to. Groaning, he spit blood out of his mouth and swallowed harshly. Opening his partially swollen left eye, he glared at his captor. "Dak! You rotten piece of tripe!! I'm going to tear your hearts out!" His reward was another punch in the ribs. Unable to move far due to his chains, he bowed into himself. Coughing roughly, he spit out more blood. Sagging against the wall, he wheezed and looked up at the ceiling. How did he always get into these things?

Dak, the demon in question, bared his needle sharp teeth at him and cracked his knuckles, both sets of them. His voice was gruttal and deep as he breathed his fetid breath in Spike's face. "I'm so terrified of the once almighty Spike. You've gone soft mate, " he mocked. His eyes glowed within their scaly green eyesockets. "Now, tell me about this Slayer of yours. From what I witnessed, you're pretty chummy with the female. I know you told her I was coming."

"I'm not friend's with the Slayer!" he protested. His reward was another punch to the gut.

"That's three times you've denied my friend. Another time and to hell you'll go." Crossing his four arms across his massive chest, he stepped back and considered the fallen vampire. He was a mess, due to his own vocation. All he had to do was give up the girl. They'd been at this for a week and a half. He was getting a little tired of playing.

Spike chuckled madly. "I'm already there. Can't be any worse than this last week." Glaring up at him, Spike spit at his face. "Do your worst. I'm not telling you shit." He never saw the punch coming and went limp as he was finally knocked out.

Dak walked away, shaking his head. What sort of spell had this female put on the once mighty William the Bloody?





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