Chapter 6
Spike’s lightning quick punch knocked Xander to the ground and out cold. The vampire stared down at the unconscious male in consternation. “How long’s your mate been under Dru’s thrall, pet?”
“Um... not Drusilla, Dracula.”
Spike shook his head in disagreement. “The boy might have been under Drac’s power at some point, but he’s definitely still under Dru’s. I can smell it on him, luv.”
Buffy’s eyes widened as the impact of what he was saying hit her.
“He’s gonna get worse unless the thrall’s broken, Buffy. Even then, it might be too late to pull his darkness back. He’s gonna have to want to pull it back.”
Spike’s use of her actual name convinced her of his seriousness. She couldn’t remember him using it at any other time during their date.
“Can you help me get him to Giles’?” Buffy implored. “He’ll know what to do.”
Spike easily picked up the larger man and followed the tiny blonde. His agile mind racing to form some sort of plan to help the girl he was quickly developing deep feelings for.
“Luv, do you trust your watcher?”
Buffy considered how to answer the question. “For most things, absolutely, but I’m not so sure about the whole slayer’s true love is a vampire thing. After the Angelus stitch, he’s kinda stuck in his vampire-bad mode.”
When they reached Giles’ apartment, Spike handed off his burden and offered to disappear until she had finished speaking with her watcher. He needed the time away from her to make his decision.
“Good Lord! Buffy, what happened?” Giles quickly moved to aid her in navigating the unresponsive male Scooby’s body to the couch.
Buffy told him.
Showing Giles the broken vial, Buffy calmly suggested that she take the sample to Willow for analysis.
“Giles?” Buffy asked for his complete attention. “Have you considered that maybe Xander wasn’t just under Dracula’s thrall? He could be getting so bad because he’s still monkey boy. Didn’t you say that Drusilla could thrall, too?”
“Yes, Drusilla is more than capable of…” he broke off the rest of his thought as his eyes settled on Xander. He didn’t want to believe that the lad was lost to them. The possibility of the unconscious male still being enthralled, and under the influence of an insane vampiress was as appealing as it was repugnant.
Offering the distracted ex-librarian a goodnight and the promise of a meeting the next day, Buffy left the apartment to return to her waiting date.
Spike had watched her disappear inside the flat while he gave very serious consideration to the plan he was contemplating. When she returned, his decision was made.
As they made their way back to Revello Drive Spike offered her a piece of paper with his address written on it and suggested that she bring her group there for their meeting. “I’ll introduce your watcher to someone that might make things easier on him.”
“Okay,” Buffy cautiously agreed. “But I hope you’re sure about this ‘cause it’s gonna have to be pretty big with the impression making to get Giles onto the train of acceptance.”
Spike smirked smugly. “That works out nicely then, doesn’t it? I’m a fella that’s chock full of surprises.” He wiggled his eyebrows and waited for her answering grin.
Buffy walked through her front doorway, closed the door and leaned back against it with a deeply satisfied sign. Her hand tingled pleasantly where he had gallantly kissed her in such a gentlemanly fashion.
Life was good.
With a shake of her head she realised that sentiment wasn’t completely correct. She hurried to the phone to call Willow. They really needed that analysis.
~*~*~
“I don’t understand, Buffy. Why are we here?” Giles asked as he looked around the surprisingly tasteful room in the understated mansion. The fact that his slayer had walked in without knocking and ushered the entire group with her had left him feeling confused and ill at ease.
“You must be Mr Giles,” the well spoken young Englishman stated at he entered the room.
“You have me at a disadvantage, sir?” Giles responded formerly.
Spike crossed the room to Buffy and kissed her cheek before addressing the watcher’s query. “A situation I hope to remedy shortly,” the vampire offered courteously as he held out his hand to indicate that he was not alone.
“Good Lord! Bernard Crowley?” Giles stared at his old friend in shock.
Bernard chuckled lightly. “Rupert Giles, as I live and breath. How are you, old man?”
Giles blinked a few times, wondering briefly if he was seeing things. Focusing on the group that accompanied Crowley, the ex-librarian was faced with another shock. “Nikki Wood?” he gasped.
The tall imposing black man at her side pushed Nikki behind him and glared at Spike. “This man is Council,” he snarled.
Spike levelled a cold look at the unnamed man. “You and your family are under my protection, Marcus. Don’t bloody question that again.”
“What on Earth is going on here?” Giles dearly wished he had a very large glass of scotch. Nicky Wood was supposed to be dead, and Bernard Crowley had been missing for almost thirty years.
“Rupert, take a seat,” Bernard suggested with a smile. “I believe we have quite a tale to share. William?” he paused waiting for Spike to look at him. “Could I trouble you for something to drink? If memory serves, Rupert prefers scotch.”
Spike gave a nod to Lawson, knowing it was enough to get the vampire to act as bartender, and he urged Buffy to take a seat on one of the couches so that he could join her.
Once the young Englishman’s man-servant placed a drink in Giles’ hand, the watcher gratefully took his seat in one of the large and comfortable armchairs. His head was already spinning from the bevy of unasked questions that assaulted his mind. Had he known what was to come he might have asked for the bottle when offered the single glass.
“I’ll start, shall I?” Crowley offered but looked to Marcus for approval. With the large male’s nod of acceptance, the no longer missing man began his tale in a very watcher-like way.
“I need you to understand, my old friend, that our position is precarious. Were the Council ever to discover our whereabouts our lives would be forfeit. Given the circumstances, as they have been explained to me, I wholly support William’s inclusion of you, your slayers and their team as being among those very few that we can trust.”
Giles inclined his head, accepting the words, but saying nothing.
“I remember the lessons we received during our training, Rupert, and were it not for factual events that I have witnessed I would, perhaps, still be governed by Council teachings. In this particular instance I refer, more specifically, to an omission more than anything else.”
Crowley paused, mentally trying to formulate the best delivery for the words he was about to offer. “In certain circumstances, slayers can bear children.”
”I beg your pardon?” Giles questioned, fearing that he had heard correctly the first time but hopeful that he had not, given Buffy’s silence. He remembered her heartbreak and subsequent breakup at his news that she was sterile. To discover that he had been wrong would burden him with even more guilt over the matter than he already felt.
“I already knew, Giles,” Buffy offered quietly. “I’m really kinda glad that you didn’t.”
Willow stood and carried the book that had started Buffy quest over to the distressed man, showing him where to read before returning to her seat.
Crowley waited for the man he had once studied with to read the proffered passage.
“Bloody hell!”
Nikki snickered. “That’s what you said, Bern.”
Crowley chuckled lightly with self-deprecation. “True, but in my own defense that was after you not only told me that you were pregnant with Raymond but that he and Robin shared a father.” Returning his gaze to Giles, he explained. “I had always assumed Robin’s father was human and that Nikki had simply fallen pregnant before she was called. I was absolutely certain, because of my Council education, that a slayer could not get pregnant. The discovery that my slayer was pregnant had me reaching for my books, as you can imagine. I, too, discovered that particular tome in my research - hence the interjection - and as Nikki had already met and bonded with Marcus they had no need to perform the ritual.”
“You’re a vampire!” Giles gasped at the intimidating, huge black man and automatically cringed back in his seat before remembering that there were also two, perhaps three slayers in the room.
“A master vampire who just happens to be the mate of a slayer.” Nikki visibly tensed as did the three younger black men that made up their group.
The eldest of the three stepped forward. “And the father of three more.”
“Where are my manners?” Crowley interjected smoothly. “Rupert Giles, I would like you to meet Marcus of Rutilus, his mate Nikki Wood and their slayer sons Robin, Raymond and Roland.”
Giles’ eyes widened in shock. “Male slayers?”
Indicating Spike, Crowley continued. “And our protector, William the Bloody.”
“Do you think it would be possible for me to have another scotch?” Giles responded with dignity.
A moment's silence followed the request before the room’s occupants roared with laughter.
After Giles was furnished with a fresh drink, Bernard Crowley began the tale that was their life.
“When I discovered what the book said I couldn’t wait to share my astounding knowledge with the Council. The suggestion in the passage that the Council was already aware, and had actively worked against this knowledge being discovered seemed an outrageous and unwarranted accusation against an establishment that was beyond reproach. I was sure that they would be as excited as I was. The benefits from this discovery were monumental in my mind. I was incapable of suspecting the institution that I so firmly believed in would find it less so.” Bernard shook his head in disappointment. “I was wrong.”
“Bern,” Nikki softly chided his obvious guilt. Clearly it was a subject they had broached many times.
Nodding at his slayer, Crowley accepted her admonishment.
Nikki took up the mantle of story teller. “About three days after Bern contacted the Council I was on my way with Robin to visit Marcus and got confronted by a punked out, hyperactive, master vampire with a smart mouth.” Nikki grinned at the chuckling blond in question. “Dude had a bad attitude and some serious skills. We did a little dance and then Blondie spotted Robin and hit the road. The next day our man Spike contacted Bern and set up a meet.”
Spike stood and started pacing. He hated having to tell the part he played. “Dunno how they knew I was in New York at the time, but the Council of Wankers sent me the offer of a contract to take out my second slayer. Stupid buggers had no idea that the Chinese bird I offed was already dyin’ and asked me to finish the job so that she could go out a warrior. All she asked was that I didn’t turn her – not really a problem since I promised myself I’d never turn anyone a few days after I rose.” Spike stopped for a moment, suddenly realizing that he was getting off the point. “When I saw the nipper, I also noticed the fact that the Slayer had a claim on her and figured the best thing I could do was scamper until I had more information. So I contacted the Watcher and met with Marcus here. He told me what had been happening.”
“It was William’s plan to kill and revive Nikki with the hope that her momentary death would be enough to call the next slayer. We thought that by doing this Nikki would be able to disappear without the fear of more assassination attempts,” Marcus added.
“I knew she was bein’ watched. That meant we had to be bloody careful. Marcus suggested the subway and a last minute dash onto a late night train. That way we could be sure the wankers wouldn’t be able to see what was happening. I gave her a shot of the concoction ol’ Bernie Boy made up and watched her die. Let her be still for a minute of two then gave her the second shot which brought her back. Bernie did a bit of mojo and glammed our Nikki to appear like she was still dead and had a broken neck. It was bloody brilliant, fooled the doctors and everything. Lawson, here,” Spike said as he pointed to his first lieutenant. “He went out and spread the rumor that William the Bloody had killed his second slayer, and we nicked our girl back from the funeral home once Bernie told ‘em he wanted a closed casket ceremony.”
“I called the Council to inform them of Nikki’s passing and was informed about the new slayer,” Crowley continued. “We had hoped that would be the end of it.”
“Bastards,” Marcus spat out in disgust.
Spike nodded his agreement before taking up the narrative. “Next thing I knew the Council was sendin’ me another bloody contract. This time I was to take out the Watcher and snatch the li’l ‘un.
“William immediately called me, and we joined Nikki in hiding.” Crowley added. “We are known among the denizens of the night as the Protected Ones and have been under William’s protection for almost thirty years.”
Giles cleared his throat as he considered all that he had learned. “I am assuming that there is more that I need to be informed about given your presence here at this time. The fact that Nikki does not appear to have aged, and the need to bring us into this highly guarded secret, also lends to that conclusion. Furthermore, the fact that my slayer is, at the moment, holding hands with William the Bloody is another big indicator that life just turned more complicated.”
Buffy grinned sheepishly. “This was so totally Spike’s idea.”
Willow giggled at the dropped jaw expression on Spike’s face. “We did the Ritual, Giles. Spike is Buffy’s destined mate, and he figured you’d be more with the accepting if you knew about these guys.”
“Mated slayers don’t age,” Bernard added with a chuckle.
“We figure things won’t be so bad for B ‘cause we already got the whole two slayer gig. No reason for the Council to be tipped off at all.” Faith grinned at the idea of pulling the wool over their eyes.
Giles’ expression turned serious. “That may not still be the case. Xander escaped from my flat during the night. I would not be at all surprised to learn that he had already contacted Quentin Travers.”
“Not good, not good,” Willow muttered fretfully.
“My advice,” Nikki grabbed their attention with her words. “Your slayers go into hiding straight away, at least until the threat can be pinpointed.”
Spike nodded in agreement. “They could stay here. They’ll be safe under all the wards we’ve already got in place.”
“Giles?” Buffy asked her watcher’s opinion.
“It might be for the best, Buffy.”
Faith furtively glanced over at Lawson and thought that she might be up for a little down time.
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