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CHAPTER 6: Life isn't always fair to gentlemen


Extending an arm in front of her, the young warden pushed the seemingly endless piles of papers and files cluttering her desk to the side and sighed tiredly. Resting her weight on her elbows, Buffy massaged her sore temples and closed her eyes, willing the headache to go away, without much success.


Giles poked his head through the open door of her office. The security headquarters, where his own office was located, was a little further down the hall. In the week she had been working there, he made a habit of stopping by to chat once in a while, when her office door was open and he had a minute to himself.


He cleared his throat to get her attention. “I got you some coffee. You look like you might need it. You‘ve had your head buried in those documents all morning.”


“My hero! You are, by far, my favorite person in the world right now. Thank you so much.” She gestured for him to have a seat while taking the paper cup from him.


“No need to thank me Buffy. I just noticed that you’ve been working at your desk since you arrived this morning and thought you might need a break. And after working around her for a few years now, I realize Harmony does have a tendency to be forgetful about these things. It’s not that she doesn’t try, it’s just that--If you ask her for a coffee, you will be lucky to get it sometime during the next week.”


Buffy laughed at this. “Yes, but I think I’ll keep her anyway. Despite her lack of decorum, she seems to be a sweet girl and she’s not doing such a bad job. She can be annoying sometimes, but nothing I can’t deal with. I guess as long as I accept the fact that I’ll have to get my own coffee, we’ll be fine. Thanks for checking on me though, I appreciate it. You have no idea how much my brain cells needed a break right now. I swear, I‘m looking at you, and I can still see legal documents dancing in front of my eyes.”


Giles glanced at the piles of files on Buffy’s desk. “Am I wrong in assuming that your predecessor left you with a tremendous amount of unfinished projects to sort through?”


“You’re right on. The son of a… “ Buffy caught herself, and gave Giles an innocent smile. “I mean, Mr. Wilkins left a gigantic mess behind. I’m sure he’s roasting on some Mexican beach, a playboy model rubbing sun tan lotion on his back, and he’s laughing at me right now.” Buffy frowned, suddenly unsure. “He IS the corrupted one you were talking about, right? Or is he the one who killed himself? In which case, he’s probably roasting in hell for this.” She pointed at the work scattered all over her desk.


“Corrupted one.” Giles confirmed with a smile. “He stole a great deal of money from the prison. But… you’re probably already aware of that.”


The blonde woman snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I got that memo. Is there anything he didn’t do? The guy was way evil.”


“I’m afraid he was, yes.”


Buffy stretched in her chair, rolling her neck and pulling her arms above her head. She made a face at the soreness in her tired limbs.


“You know Giles, I’ve been sitting here for hours and my butt is kinda numb. What about doing that inspection of the facilities I’ve been putting off for a week? Are you up to it?”


“Of course. We could do it now if you wish.”


“Yes, I think I need a change of scenery before I go insane.”


Buffy got up, grabbed her jacket from the back of her leather chair. She fumbled for a moment, trying to find her clipboard and a pen that worked, then she followed Giles out of the office.


When they walked pass Harmony’s desk, the perky blonde secretary stopped them.


“Oh boss? Ms. Osborne called.”


Buffy frowned in confusion. “Who?”


Harmony rolled her eyes at her. “Hello! The criminologist? She works here? Anyway, she said she’ll come back from her vacation a day early to have a chance to meet with you.”


Buffy took a deep breath not to snap at the girl. “And that’d be when exactly Harmony?”


“Well duh, Friday.”


“Fine. Block some time on my schedule would you?”


“On it!” Harmony carefully wrote it down on her pad, then smiled at Buffy, obviously pleased with herself.


Buffy just shook her head and followed Giles down the corridor.


“This girl amazes me. It’s like we speak two different languages.”


“Don’t worry too much about it. Took me at least two years to get what the bloody hell that girl was talking about. You’ll get the hang of it… eventually.”


“Yeah, I won’t keep my hopes up. I might have to hire a translator eventually or I risk a permanent headache.”


They passed the metal detectors, then a few bulletproof glass doors and into the secure area. Two other guards accompanied them in case of trouble.


That’s how started what seemed like days of walking, listening to Giles pointing out the things he had been wanting to bring to her attention and taking notes on her clipboard. This wasn’t getting rid of her headache at all, but at least they were moving. She had desperately needed to ease the cramps in her legs caused by the long hours sitting behind her desk. Immobility wasn’t one of Buffy Summers’ favorite things. She was more of an action girl. Always had been.


But stepping into the workout area, Buffy’s need for action was about to be fulfilled dramatically.


“The camera in this corner, in my humble opinion, isn’t in the right angle. It should be moved or another one should be added so we can get a better coverage… “


Giles was suddenly interrupted by loud shouting coming from the other end of the room, followed by the sound of people fighting.


Automatically, the two security guards who had been following them quietly during the tour of the facilities sprang into action. They rushed to where a convict was just about to hit another with a 50 pound dumbbell, while the other cons cheered him on and started fighting amongst themselves.


The security guard on duty in the workout area ran to help them. Some of the prisoners decided to take advantage of the disruption to rush the exit but Giles saw it and made them back up. He wasn’t paying attention to Buffy anymore.


Engrossed in what was happening, and yelling orders in her two way radio, Buffy wasn’t paying attention either. She didn’t notice the con coming at her from behind until it was too late. She turned, just in time to have his meaty fist smashed into her stomach. She lost her wind long enough for him to throw her out of his way, and headfirst into the nearest wall.


Buffy blinked several times, trying to fight the darkness that threatened to swallow her. A face came into focus in her sight and she could hear his voice calling to her. It sounded very far away.


“Buffy… Ms. Summers! Are you alright? Don’t close your eyes luv, stay with me.”


It was Spike. She wanted to answer him, but then he was gone, and everything went black.


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“I’m alright… I’m fine… not closing my eyes, just resting them…” Buffy mumbled, slowly coming to.


She opened her eyes carefully. She blinked at the sudden harshness of the overhead light and looked around, surprised that Spike wasn’t there anymore. In his place was a girl that she remembered for being… What was her name again? Annie? Hanna? She looked around herself, trying to figure out where she was. She wasn’t in the workout area anymore. It looked like the infirmary.


**How the hell did I get here so fast? I just closed my eyes for like two seconds. Did someone finally figure out the secret to teleportation?**


Thinking hurt her head and she groaned before closing her eyes again.


“Don’t close your eyes and pretend that you’re still unconscious. I heard you groan.”


Buffy opened her eyes again and this time, the nurse’s face was mere inches from her own, making her jump.


“You’re gonna have a very unappealing bump on your head. But except for that, you’re perfectly fine and physically able to go on with your normal activities without worrying. Maybe you shouldn’t drive your car though. You’d probably end up killing someone. But hey, on the brighter side,” she added with a bright smile, “orgasms don‘t require concentration. So you can have them without risk.”


Buffy stared at the girl with her mouth open. Now she remembered what the girl’s name was. “… Anya, right?”


“Yes.” Anya smiled at her, obviously pleased that her employer remembered her name. “We met the day of your speech, but we haven’t had a chance to talk since.”


Buffy gave her a tight smile. **Oh joy, the girl was already making my head hurt when I was perfectly healthy. Now, she’s gonna kill me for sure.**


“Spike… “ Buffy started asking. “What happened to him?”


“Oh, don’t worry. He’s being taken care of. I’ll go and ask someone to drive you home. You look awful.” The brunette turned around without waiting for an answer, and left the room.


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The punch hit him square in the jaw and Spike fell on his knees, spitting out blood. He had already received a few solid ones to the ribs and by the pain radiating throughout his torso, he could tell they’d probably broken one or two.


“No bloody fair to hit a man who can’t defend himself you wankers.” He hissed through clenched teeth.


He had been dragged more roughly than usual towards isolation, but they really lashed out at him when he had asked if the warden was all right. He didn’t know exactly why but wasn‘t going to ask either.


One of the guards grabbed the back of his shirt and unceremoniously threw Spike headfirst in the isolation cell.


“You can expect to rot in here for a lifetime or two, Spike. And after what you did, we might even forget about your sorry ass. Nobody would miss you. ”


The other guard laughed.


Spike didn’t bother to answer. He wiped the blood from his face and sat back against the wall of the cell. He could be honest with himself and admit that he was usually actively looking for trouble. But for once, he didn’t think he did anything to deserve this treatment. He had only tried to protect the young woman from the ongoing fight.


**Right. Like fairness has any part to play in my bloody soddin life anyway** He thought somberly.


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The cab dropped Buffy off in front of her house, and the driver helped her reach the front door.


“You sure you alright miss? You look like a ghost.”


“I’ll be just fine sir, don’t worry. I’m tougher than I look. Thanks for your help.”


Buffy’s smile faded as soon as the cab driver turned to walk away. She felt like shit. It felt like her head was double its normal size.


She made her way to her bedroom and let herself sink into her plush bed. She was starting to think that she might take Giles’ advice after all, and take a few days off.


**I’ll have to make sure to thank Spike when I get back to work** She thought drowsily before drifting off to sleep.


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CHAPTER 7: French lessons


A/N: And please, don't forget Fanfiction Authors' drug of choice: Review! Please, gimme some! ;-)





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