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CHAPTER NINE

After Buffy had eaten something more substantial than toasted waffles, and Spike had drunk another of his rapidly-disappearing packets of pig blood, they settled onto the couch comfortably. Buffy was tucked under his arm and snuggled into his side in a reversal of their normal positions when he was a bat.

“We never did test out if your chip is still working,” she said, drawing little circles on his leg.

“Well, if it didn’t go off earlier, when we were, um… I mean when I….”

“When you bit me, you mean?”

“Noticed that, did you?” He sounded almost ashamed as he peered at her from the corners of his eyes.

“I did. I was just too busy having the biggest orgasm of my life to mention it at the time. But I knew you did it.” She paused, then added, “and I heard what you said.” She turned her head to meet his worried gaze. “If the chip really reads intent, like you say it does sometimes, then biting me while you tell me you love me probably wouldn’t set it off, would it?”

“Might not. I honestly don’t know, sweetheart. I certainly wasn’t trying to hurt you, or even thinking about hurting you just then, so I can’t tell you if it was a good test or not.”

“I guess we need to find out—just to keep Giles from joining the stake-Spike club.”

“Is that what you think he’ll want to do?”

“If he thinks you can bite or kill? Oh yeah. You can take the man out of the Council, but you can’t take the Council out of the man.”

“We probably shouldn’t let him know I bit you, then,” he said. “Probably wouldn’t go well… even if he does believe I wouldn’t harm you.”

“Given how he reacted to knowing I don’t mind seeing you naked, I don’t think he needs to know anything about what we did here today!”

“Gonna keep me a secret then, are you?” Spike’s face shut down in a way Buffy really didn’t like.

“Stop that!”

“Stop what?”

“Getting all defensive about this. All I’m saying is ‘Hey, Giles, I’m boinking Spike now. That’s okay, isn’t it?’ isn’t going to fly. We need to let Giles, and everybody else, including my mom, get used to seeing us together all the time. We can work our way up to telling people we’re a couple. I think we need to start with… I dunno, we’re friends? But we might be dating?”

“You’re right, love. I’m sorry. Still a bit gobsmacked and insecure about this.”

“After the day we just had?”

“Said I was sorry.” His lip came out in a pout, and Buffy bit it and growled, resulting in an end to conversation for several minutes.

“I’ll play it any way you ask me to,” Spike said when they came up for air. He shook his head. “You know it doesn’t matter how slow we take it, your ex is gonna go completely Carrot Top.”

Buffy sighed and stood up. “You’re probably right. He’ll be sure I’ve been planning this all along.” She gave him a quick look from the corner of her eye. “Both my exes are going to go nuts about it.”

Spike snorted. “True enough. But at least we know I can protect myself from Angelus. It’s the human ex that I might be hard put to defend myself from, even when I’m me and not a teeny little bat. Not that I wouldn’t try,” he added. “Won’t kill him, but I’m not plannin’ to roll over and be dust, either.”

“Do you think you could? Kill him, I mean, or even defend yourself? Do you know for sure you can’t?”

There was a long pause before he said, “Do I know it? No. But I already know I can defend myself as long as I don’t fight back. I can dodge a punch, or even block one. I just can’t retaliate. Unless the watcher’s worries about the chip not surviving the transformations has something to it.” He gave her a sad smile and stood up to stroke her cheek. “Not sure you heard him, but he thinks it’s a possibility, and seems like he thinks you wouldn’t take the news well.”

Buffy exhaled and moved away from him. With her back to him, she said, “I heard what he said, I just ignored it. I didn’t want to think about it. About what it would mean…. And now….” She whirled around. “What am I supposed to do now, Spike? Now that I… we… you…. What if I have to stake you?”

“Wouldn’t do that to you, love. Chip or no chip, I wouldn’t do anything you’d have to stake me for.”

“I’m the Slayer, Spike. You’re William the Bloody. No soul. No—”

“So, you’re sayin’ I’d be dust for just existing? Because I’m me? Never mind if I never give you a reason?” His expression went from disbelief to disappointment to something she didn’t want to think about, but she plowed on.

“Spike, the only reason I didn’t slay you last year was because of the chip. It makes you safe. You were trying to kill me! Even got yourself a cheater ring to do it.”

“That was last year! This is now, Buffy.” His tone of voice was almost pleading.

“Do you expect me to believe if you can kill again, I’m not going to have to slay you?”

“I’d like to think you’d give me the benefit of the doubt… but seems that’s out of the question.” He stared at her, his eyes blue chips of ice. “I’ll just get my stuff and go.”

“What go? Go where? Are we fighting about something that probably isn’t even a thing? You’re getting all mad about something that might never happen. As long as you have the chip, we don’t even have to talk about this. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” She stuck her lip out stubbornly and crossed her arms.

He stared back at her, then suddenly lashed out with his left hand and knocked her across the room and into a chair. She stared at him, eyes wide and frightened. He gazed back at her, sadness replacing the anger on his face, and with no trace of pain.

“We don’t have to talk about it right now, Slayer. But seems like we bloody well do have to deal with it. You’re going to have to decide what you want to do about me.”

He turned and went upstairs so quickly she had barely started after him when he was on his way down, a blanket, his boots and shirt in hand. Without speaking to her, he finished dressing, then stood up near the front door, preparing to throw the blanket over his head.

“I’ll be in my crypt when you make up your mind.”

She watched from the doorway as he used his speed to get to the manhole in front of the house. He yanked it open and dropped out of sight in one smooth motion, leaving the cover and the blanket lying in the street. Still numb from the way the day had gone from wonderful to terrible so rapidly, Buffy walked out and replaced the manhole cover, ignoring the astonished stares from drivers who saw her pick it up with one hand. She walked back to the house, dragging the blanket, and went back to her room to stare at the rumpled bed.

XXX

As soon as the sun set, Buffy left the house and headed for Restfield, still not sure what she wanted to do, or why, but knowing instinctively that she needed to talk to Spike again, and have it straight in her own mind what she intended to do before she talked to Giles or the Scoobies. The idea of staking him made her almost sick to her stomach, as did remembering the expression on his face when he’d realized she was considering it.

“It’s not like it would be a done deal,” she muttered as she approached his crypt. “If he can fight back, I don’t even know if I could stake him, even if I wanted to.” Which I don’t, she allowed herself to admit silently.

As she approached, she saw that the doors were both closed, and she frowned at this sign that Spike wasn’t planning to go out that night. Even though he knew she normally would be coming to get him, he usually left both doors ajar enough that he could slip out if he needed or wanted to while in bat form.

She opened the doors, peering around the inner one to say, “Spike? Are you here?”

“He’s not here now.” Riley’s voice startled her and she stared in his direction. He was seated in a chair facing the door, a battery-powered lantern on the table behind him. On the floor at his side was his net, containing a small black bat. It wasn’t moving, and she gave a little moan of fear as she ran to it. Ignoring Riley for the moment, she reached into the net, only to have the bat retreat from her hand and stare at her with frightened black eyes. It looked terrified, and remained in the back of the net, trembling.

“What the hell, Riley?” Buffy stood up and put her hands on her hips.

“I’m waiting for Spike to come home so I can show him that I’m on to his scheme, and that I’m taking away his excuse to spend time with you. You’ll get over the loss of your pet. It probably wouldn’t have lived very much longer anyway.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “I don’t know where you got that wild bat, but it isn’t Spike. It’s not my ‘pet’ and I don’t care what you do to it.” She frowned in thought. “I take that back. It’s a harmless little creature and it’s scared to death. You need to let it go.” She reached for the net, surprised into momentary inertia when Riley reached for her arm.

“It isn’t going anywhere until Spike walks in that door.”

“This isn’t my Spike bat, Riley.”

“Of course it is. Why else would a bat that looks just like the one you named Spike be flying around in his crypt?”

“It doesn’t look just like him, but if you never paid any more attention than that, it explains a lot. Giles, or any one of the Scoobies could tell you the same thing. This isn’t my bat. And if he was flying around inside a dark, cave-like building, I’d guess it’s because he’s a, you know, bat!”

While she was yelling at Riley, she was trying to see around the room, in case Bat-Spike was there. A glimpse of movement against a back wall showed her another bat, hanging from the roof. A gleam of a blue eye was all she needed to identify the real Spike, and she relaxed with a sigh.

Shaking off Riley’s hand, she picked up the net and carried it to the door. She opened it far enough for the bat to fly out. Which it did, immediately. Satisfied with having saved its life, she turned her attention back to Riley, who was on his feet and clearly furious with her.

“You let him go!”

“Uh, yeah. Which part of he’s a terrified and a harmless little animal was confusing you?”

“Well, if that’s not your bat, then what the hell are you doing here?”

“My bat is still here. He’s just hiding from you. Which is apparently smart thinking on his part….”

“Bats don’t think,” Riley scoffed. “If he’s here, why hasn’t he landed on your shoulder yet?”

“Because he’s not stupid.” Buffy shot a quick glare at Spike in case he was about to do something that stupid, but he remained hanging where he blended in with the shadows.

“I think you should leave now, Riley. You have no business in Spike’s crypt. It is his home, you know.”

“And yet, for some reason Spike’s ‘home’ is where you leave your pet bat in the daytime. Would you like to explain that, Buffy? Do you just need an excuse to see Spike every day? Is that why he’s the bat sitter? He wasn’t even here earlier today. I checked several times. No Spike and no bat except the one you just let go.”

Buffy sighed and shook her head. “I can’t explain it, Riley. I tried to tell you weeks ago, but you don’t want to believe it. Almost under her breath, she muttered, “And now I should probably be grateful that you don’t.” Raising her voice again, she went on, “Spike wasn’t here earlier because he was safe from you somewhere else. And he’s hiding now, because you’re an even bigger danger to him now than you would have been in the daytime. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. Now get lost, so I can get my bat and start patrol.”

Riley narrowed his eyes at her as he picked up his net. “If that bat is here, I’m not leaving without it. I suppose you’re going to tell me that isn’t ‘your’ bat, either,” he said, pointing behind her.

Even as Spike flew down to land on the top of the couch behind her, tiny little growls coming from his throat, Buffy was saying, “Have you forgotten who you’re talking to? And yes, that is my Spike.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re the Slayer and you’re stronger than I am… in theory. But you don’t hurt humans, so you can’t stop me from getting rid of Spike… either Spike.”

Making ‘stay there’ motions behind her back, Buffy said as calmly as she could manage, “The Slayer doesn’t slay humans, Riley. I’ve got no problem hurting them if they are trying to harm someone or something that I care about. Have you forgotten what happened to your squad when they jumped me last year?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” he said, dropping the net and pulling a taser from his pocket. “I hate to do this, Buffy, but you’re leaving me no choice. I think Dracula is responsible for this bat fascination. He probably left a thrall on you, and you’re explaining it by saying it’s a curse on Spike.”

Only Buffy’s slayer instincts saved her from being tased, although her shock at Riley’s attempt meant that he didn’t miss by much. Still standing between him and Spike, whose bat swearing had gone to ear-splitting range, she shook her head at him.

“Don’t make me hurt you, Riley,” she said, poised for a fight. “I think losing those enhancements that were killing you has affected your common sense. Just go home and get some sleep. Now. While you can.”

“I’m not leaving without the bat, and without staking Spike. Obviously he’s part of this curse or spell or whatever it is that is making you defend him. Once he’s gone, that should take care of it and you’ll be back to yourself again.”

“You want to stake Spike? I’m not going to let you do that, Riley. And I can’t even begin to tell you what a bad idea that is.”

“You can’t stop me. Once and for all, I’m going to get rid of—" Riley paled, his expression going from determination to shock to disbelief. “… Spike?”

“She won’t need to stop you.” Spike’s cold voice from behind her told her he was no longer a bat, and she sighed.

“Couldn’t let me handle it, could you?” she snapped at him.

Riley stared from her to the naked vampire Buffy obviously wasn’t surprised to find behind her.

“How… what…where? Why isn’t he dressed????”

“Bats don’t wear clothes, Riley.” Buffy waited to see if he was going to accept what his own eyes had seen. “Put on some pants, Spike,” she added over her shoulder.

Riley’s taser had dropped to his side as he visibly tried to process what he wanted to assure himself he hadn’t really seen. He stared around the room frantically. “Where’s the bat?”

“I’m right here, wanker,” Spike said, clearly not having obeyed Buffy’s command. At her glare, he sighed and turned to pick up his neatly folded clothes from the couch. He had just picked up his jeans when Riley shook himself out of his stupor and pushed Buffy away hard enough to make her lose her balance. He’d dropped the taser in favor of a stake, which was aimed at Spike’s bare back.

“Spike!” Buffy shrieked, twisting as she stumbled so as to remain on her feet.

“I’ve got it,” he said, whirling and grabbing the hand holding the stake. He was in full game face and grinned as Riley blanched. “Might be a mite harder than you think it will,” he said, not releasing the hand holding the stake. Since he hadn’t done anything more aggressive than to continue squeezing Riley’s hand to the point of pain, it was obvious that Riley wasn’t sure if he was safe or not.

“Let go of my hand, Spike,” Riley said firmly.

“Make me,” Spike said, still grinning and showing a lot of teeth, but otherwise wearing his human mien.

Buffy’s warning “Spike…” made him glance at her briefly.

“Not going to kill him, pet. But not going to stand here and let him kill me either.”

“Buffy! Something’s gone wrong with the chip! Do your duty!”

“Which duty would that be, Riley? The one that says I should slay harmless creatures? Or the one that says I should slay someone who is only trying to defend himself? I don’t remember either one of those being in the slayer handbook.”

“He threatened to kill me!”

“No, he said he wouldn’t kill you. He just isn’t going to stand still while you try to kill him. That seems fair to me.”

Riley’s hand had become so painful that he released the stake, which dropped to the floor. Spike immediately released him and stepped away, kicking the stake out of reach as he did. He continued facing Riley, but quickly pulled on his jeans and fastened them with one hand while the other grabbed his shirt.

Buffy got between them again, saying to Riley, “If you try to manhandle me like that again, I’ll break your arm. Is that clear?”

“That’s your pattern, isn’t it Buffy? I get into a fight with one of your vampires, and you threaten to hurt me. I see nothing’s changed. They’re more important to you than I am.”

“What’s he talking about?” Spike said. “The big poof can defend himself, and I bloody well know he would. Don’t tell me you had to come to his rescue?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Buffy said, moving closer to him. “They were fighting and it made me mad. I threatened to put both of them in the hospital.”

“Never pays to brass off the Slayer, soldier boy. Think you might have learned that by now.”

“Shut up, Spike!”

“Shut up, Spike!”

Buffy and Riley spoke simultaneously. Buffy turned her head to give him an apologetic smile. “Please?”

“Fine.” She didn’t need to be looking at him to picture his pout, but she didn’t want to take her eyes off Riley who was staring back and forth between them.

“Where did he come from? And why was he naked?”

“Riley, what do you think you saw?”

He didn’t answer, just shook his head in disbelief and began backing toward the door. When he bumped into it, he pulled it open without looking and left the building. They could hear the sound of his running footsteps.

“Do you think I should follow him?” Buffy said, frowning. “He left his stake and his taser here.”

“Up to you, love. I know you’ll blame yourself if something happens to him. You go on. I’ll just wait here.”

She frowned again. “Will you be okay?”

He shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Not sure if I’ll be me or a bat, but I’ll be here when you get back.”

She hesitated again, but he brushed his lips over hers. “Not leaving, love. Not until we’ve talked this out.”

With a nod, she ran out the door and quickly found Riley. He was facing down a fledgling vampire, but instead of using the stake she could see he had in a back pocket, he was punching the bewildered new vamp with all the anger he hadn’t been allowed to take out on Spike. Buffy admired his courage at first, but as he continued to beat the much smaller vampire long past the point he could have staked him, she began to fidget. When it became obvious he was inflicting the maximum amount of pain he could without actually dusting the vamp, she slipped past him and ran her stake through the small vampire’s back.

She looked at Riley to see if she was going to have to fight him, but he just stood there, breathing hard and seeming to be ashamed of himself. He straightened up and looked her in the eye. “You know I was pretending he was Spike, right?”

“I think I got that.” She grimaced. “But he wasn’t Spike.”

“He could have been. I can take Spike. Even if the chip isn’t working. I can take him.”

Buffy just shook her head and began to walk away. “No, Riley. You probably can’t. And not just because I’ll be watching his back.”

“Did you see what I did to that hostile?”

“I saw you beat up a much smaller vampire that had just crawled from his grave.” She paused to look back at him. “You do remember telling me how many men it took to put Spike in the cage when he woke up, don’t you?”

“They weren’t me. They weren’t even part of our regular vamp hunters. You can’t keep him safe forever, Buffy. I’m going to put him down just like I did this one.”

Buffy cringed at the expression normally used for dying animals, but simply said, “Spike isn’t a fledgling. He’s an old vampire.” As she walked away, she added, “You need to think about that and remember it.”

It occurred to her that the Initiative had been surprisingly ignorant about vampires in general, and even more so about old ones, and that he might well not know the difference between a newly risen one and one that had been around for well over a hundred years. Spike’s strength and speed had surprised his captors, but they’d chosen to think it just meant he was strong enough for a chip.





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