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"Thank you, Joyce," Giles said as the woman handed him a mug of coffee. "I did need a bit of warming up after being out there."

Buffy leaned in the doorway, Spike as close to her as he could be without being too obvious. "Okay, Giles, what's the deal? Are we all going to die, or what?"

"Well, I don't know for certain, but I did some more research on grenbrek demons after you faced them, and…"

"Wait—did you just say grenbrek demons?" Spike asked. "Bloody hell, Slayer, why didn't you tell me that's what they were?"

"I did!"

"No, you said 'Green Breath' demons."

"Same thing."

"No it isn't! Dammit, Watcher, do you teach the girl anything?"

"Hey!" Buffy exclaimed. "Besides, Giles acted like they were no big deal. But now he's here in the middle of the night, and you're freaking out, so I'm guessing it is sort of a big deal…"

"Grenbrek demons are commonly used as assassins, and…"

Spike snorted. "You needed a book to tell you that?"

"You didn't know what they were either," Buffy pointed out.

"Grenbreks are shapeshifters," Spike replied. "They change their outward appearance to fit their environment. Never fought any in the snow before, so I'd never seen them with fur coats. Besides, I was a bit busy helping you kill the bloody things, Slayer."

Giles shot a glance at Spike. "Wait, did you just say you helped Buffy fight them? What about the chip?"

"Yeah, I did. Turns out the chip lets me hurt demons." Spike turned back to Buffy. "You didn't tell him?"

"No…"

Spike shook his head in disgust. "So what, Slayer, it wasn't important? I don't matter at all? Is that it?"

"That's not it! You do matter, Spike!"

"Excuse me," Giles asked, "But when exactly did Spike matter?"

Buffy glanced between Giles and Spike. She knew she had two options. One, she could deny anything had happened at all with Spike. Two, she could fess up and face the Giles meltdown. She looked into Spike's eyes, seeing the hope he had there. Well, she'd already faced her mom—how bad could this be? "Spike matters because, well, he's sorta my maybe boyfriend?" Buffy winced at her own words. Way to sound fickle…

"He's your what!" Giles stood, tearing off his glasses and cleaning them as he began to pace the room. "Buffy, are you completely insane? I thought you would've learned your lesson after that debacle with Angel."

"I did!" Buffy yelled. "I learned not to date Angel!" Her eyes grew wide. Had she really just said that?

"This is…it's just insanity! I won't stand for it."

"It's not your choice!" Buffy replied.

"He's a killer, Buffy! How can you call yourself the Slayer and align yourself with a monster?"

"Oi!" Spike exclaimed. "I've been helping her!"

Joyce cleared her throat loudly, and the three other occupants of the room turned back to him. "You know, I'm not a Slayer or a Watcher, but I was thinking maybe we should concentrate on this thing where Buffy might be in danger. Just a thought."

Giles looked a little sheepish as he replaced his glasses and went back to the table. "Yes, well, I suppose that should take precedence over this particular development." Giles added under his breath, "Although this may be a sign the end is indeed near."

"So these grenbrek demons," Buffy shot Spike a look, earning her a smirk from the vampire, "Are more dangerous than you thought. Fill me in on why."

"Well, it seems that they are primarily underground dwellers, and venture to the surface only when they have been assigned a target to assassinate. Since they were here, there's a very good chance that someone has placed a hit on you."

"I guess it's too much to hope for that the hit was on someone who just happens to currently be located really close to the Slayer?" Buffy asked.

"I would suspect not," Giles replied.

"But if Buffy and Spike killed these things, wouldn't she be out of danger?" Joyce asked.

"I have no reason to believe so. If someone took the trouble to hunt down and employ grenbrek demons, the odds are not in favor of them simply giving up. It is very likely that whoever it is will send someone else to attack Buffy. Hiring grenbreks means this adversary is very serious. It is very much like putting out a contract with, oh, say the Order of Taraka." Giles gave Spike a pointed look.

"The order of what?" Joyce asked.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it, Mom. Giles is just finding ways to drive his point home with a very large mallet. Besides, these guys weren't anywhere near as hard to kill as those Taraka guys. Granted, that one almost killed me, but Spike and I together had them dead in minutes."

"What did you do with the bodies?" Giles asked. "We could possibly study them, learn a bit more."

Buffy blinked. "Um, bodies? They didn't leave any bodies. They just sort of dissolved. It was icky, but no bodies…"

Giles took off his glasses again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Then you merely injured them. When grenbreks are injured, they liquefy and return to their underground dwellings. The only way to ensure their demise is to sever the head from the body."

"Now you tell me?" Buffy asked, exasperated. "You know, when you told me they were grenbreks, you could've told me that, too. Or possibly any of this. I thought you were supposed to be the one with all the answers."

"I was not aware of any of this when we spoke, Buffy. Contrary to what you may believe, I do not have every detail of every demon species in existence stored in my brain. Grenbreks are rare in this dimension. It's lucky that I was able to discern what they were from your description at all. If it had not been for the fact you stated there were three of them, I may not have."

"What, is this my fault now? I'm not good enough at describing things I saw in the dark while fighting for my life?"

"That is not it at all!" Giles exclaimed. "But it isn't as if I purposely withheld information either. It took a great deal of research to uncover what I do know now."

"Could've just asked me," Spike said. "Watcher hasn't said anything I didn't know. Well, except maybe that 'turning to slime when injured' thing."

"Would you please shut up?" Giles snapped at Spike.

"Don't take this out on him!" Buffy yelled back. "He only wants to be helpful."

"I'm sure," Giles replied. "Helpful to whatever this is trying to kill you, that is."

"Oi! What part of me not wanting to hurt Buffy now did you not understand?"

"The part where it makes sense coming from a soulless demon!"

"Hey!" Joyce yelled, quieting the room again. "This is really getting us nowhere. Now it's going to be morning soon, and if there's one thing I've figured out from having a Slayer for a daughter, it's that demons tend to prefer nighttime for their attacks. I suggest we all get some rest and discuss this in more detail when we're all a bit more clear headed."

Giles wiped his glasses before replacing them. "Yes, well, I suppose that would be a good plan."

"Great. I'm going back to bed then," Buffy replied. "Giles can have the couch."

Giles looked up sharply. "And may I inquire where you will be sleeping?"

"As if it's any of your business, but with Spike. Good night, Mom." Buffy took Spike's hand and dragged him behind her out of the kitchen.

Giles glanced at Joyce in shock. "And you're just allowing her to…" He trailed off, unable to bring himself to complete the sentence.

"I'm not allowing her to do anything, but you know Buffy. She does things her way. I've told them how I feel about this. There's nothing else I can do."

"But you’re her mother. Surely she would listen if…"

"Do you know Buffy?" Joyce gave him a shy smile. "Besides, when I tried, she started talking about police cars…"

Giles blushed furiously, again whipping his glasses from his face. "Yes, well, um, I suppose I should get some rest. It was a rather long trip here after all."

"Good night, Rupert."

"Good night, Joyce."

*** *** ***

Spike reached his arms out to Buffy as soon as they were back in the privacy of the bedroom. "Come here."

Buffy wasted no time in moving into his arms, wrapping her own tightly around him. "I don't like it when people send assassins after me."

Spike winced. "I know. And…and I'm sorry. You know, for when I did it."

Buffy looked up at him without loosening her grip. "It's all right. Things were…different between us then."

"If it's any consolation, I wouldn't have hired them if you weren't so damn hard to kill."

Buffy giggled. "Surprisingly, it is a little."

"Come on, kitten. Let's get some sleep. We're probably going to need it if this is as bad as Giles seems to think it is."

"I hope it isn't," Buffy replied. "I sort of wanted a Christmas that didn't include death and destruction."

"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

Buffy stiffened in his embrace. "I don't need to be protected, you know. Angel was always doing that, trying to protect me like I was some fragile little girl, and…"

Spike kissed her quickly. "Not gonna coddle you, luv. I know what you're capable of, and I know you don't need a knight in shining armor. What I meant was, I've got your back. Whatever you're up against this time, I'm right in there with you, making sure you kick the arse of any nasty that gets in your way."

"You mean that?"

"Yeah, I do." He winked. "'Fraid I've gotten myself all Slayer-whipped."

"I think I can work with that. As long as I'm the Slayer holding the whip, that is."

"Only you, luv. Only you."

Buffy slipped out of his arms and walked over to the bed, climbing in under the covers. "Care to join me?" she asked.

Spike grinned. "Best offer I've had in a while."

*** *** ***

Buffy left Spike sleeping the next morning and went into the kitchen. Giles was already awake, and Buffy could tell from the bags under his eyes he hadn't slept much—if at all. "That couch is a real bear, isn't it?" Buffy said.

"It wasn't the couch that kept me up, Buffy."

"Jet lag then?"

"No. It was the knowledge that you—the Slayer—were in the next room sharing a bed with that thing."

"Well then you lost sleep over nothing," Buffy replied. "Besides, we were just sleeping, Giles." She shrugged. "No point in someone sleeping on the floor when there's a bed big enough for two."

Giles slammed the book he had been reading to the table, causing Buffy to jump. "How can you be so bloody flippant about this? Do you honestly believe Spike has any feelings for you aside from seething hatred? He's a demon, Buffy. He can't care about you. He doesn't even have a soul."

"He loved Drusilla."

"Please. That mockery of a relationship was not love. He has no concept of what real love is."

"Look, my relationship, or whatever it is, with Spike is not up for debate right now. Someone wants me dead for reasons still unknown—how about we focus on that?"

"How can you even be sure Spike doesn't play some part in all of this?" Giles asked. "You told me he heard the demon the first night and sent you out to fight it. Now he claims he knows about grenbreks, but didn't know that's what they were."

"What, just like you didn't know they were assassins? Geez, Giles—jump to crazy conclusions much? Besides, when could he have formed this big conspiracy against me, huh? Was he tapping out Morse code to his demon buddies on the pipes in your bath tub?"

"I don't know! All I'm saying is you seem very quick to accept him."

"Things have been different between us these past couple of days."

Giles snorted. "Apparently."

"And here's something I never thought I'd say— Giles, get your mind out of the gutter. It's not just that. Yes, Spike and I have…um, been intimate." Giles glasses came off at her words, and Buffy thought she might have caught a muttered "oh dear god." "But that isn't the point. The point is he's done other things to lead me to believe that maybe he's not well, as bad as he used to be. He saved my life, Giles. That first attack—he heard me scream, and he saved me."

"By hurting your attacker," Giles replied. "Buffy, have you given a thought to the possibility that the chip stopped working, and he's merely trying to weaken your defenses?"

"If that was the chance, then he's had plenty of chances to snap my neck, believe me. And don't give me that look. He could've done it in my sleep. Besides, the chip still works on humans. I saw that with me shortly after the first grenbrek fight."

Giles eyes widened. "He hurt you and…"

"Not on purpose. My shoulder got dislocated in the fight, and it hurt when he popped it back in—so stop thinking all those bad thoughts."

"Could he have been faking the reaction to the chip in order to get your guard down?"

"Um, no. He didn't even think that would set the chip off."

"He could be…"

"No. Why can't you just accept that something's changed here?"

"Because the last time I trusted you with a vampire someone I loved ended up dead!"

Buffy blinked, silent for a moment. "This is different, Giles."

"How? Tell me how this is different!"

"Because Spike isn't Angel! The way he's been with me these past couple of days—he hasn't been faking it, Giles. And I know it's crazy, and I'm not saying I want to go pick out china patterns or anything, but there's something there. We can trust him now."

"No we can't!"

"God, why do you people never believe me? No one believed me about Ted or Kathy, and look how those turned out. Well, I know people, Giles. Call it—Slayer intuition. And as crazy as it sounds, I know we can trust Spike on this. He's not going to hurt me. Not anymore."

"And if he gets the chip out? Then what? More broken necks and messages written in blood?"

"I…I don't know. But that so isn't the point right now. There's something out there much more dangerous than chipped Spike, and we need to find it and kill it. Any suggestions on that?"

Giles sighed. "I don't know. I've been going though these books, but grenbreks will sell themselves out to the highest bidder, with no set pattern of employers. It's impossible to find out this way who sent them after you, or why."

Buffy frowned, chewing on her bottom lip. Suddenly, her face brightened. "I have an idea."

"Why does that make me nervous?"

"No, it's a good one. We need to somehow find out who in the demon world wants to kill me this time, right? Well, we have our in to the demons sleeping right back there in the bedroom. All we have to do is send Spike in, get him talking to the right people, and we can find out what the sitch is."

"Buffy, that's a completely ludicrous idea! There is no way that Spike could—or would—do something like that."

"What choice do we have? We know nothing about what's going on, Giles. Spike's all we've got."

"No. I am not letting you…"

Buffy lifted her chin. "You're right, Giles. You're not letting me do anything. I'm the Slayer, and I'm making a decision. Deal with it or go home."

"Buffy…"

"All you have here is a choice, Giles—with me, yes or not?"

"This isn't going to work."

"Maybe not, but it's all we've got."

"Don't blame me when we all end up dead."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "How about you have just the tiniest bit of faith in me? I was chosen for this job, and all. I can't be a complete moron…"

"I don't…"

"Save it. I'm going to talk to Spike."

Giles slumped as Buffy walked out of the kitchen.

*** *** ***

"Wake up, sleeping bleachy." Spike stirred lightly, but didn't wake. Buffy sighed, took a deep breath, and called out in the most high-pitched voice she could manage, "Blondie bear!"

Spike sat up, his eyes wide. When he saw it was Buffy, he relaxed, but gave her a scowl. "Bleedin' hell, Slayer. 'S not nice to scare a bloke like that. Coulda had a heart attack. Well, if that was possible, that is."

Buffy giggled. "I figured it would wake you up. Besides, the look of total terror on your face—pretty funny."

"And I thought I was the evil one. So what was so important that you had to scare me awake, hmm?"

"I have an idea. But seeing as it involves you, I thought I should probably discuss it with you first."

"Is this a handcuffs and whipped cream kind of an idea, or a crazy plan that can probably get us all killed kind of idea?"

"Um…more of the second one. Although I'm thinking I like the sound of the first one better."

Spike waggled his eyebrows. "Me, too. Got either one around here?"

Buffy lightly smacked his chest. "Behave."

"Spoil all my fun then. So what's the deal?"

"Well, Giles says he has no way of figuring out who sent the grenbreks after me. So, I was thinking that if we had some sort of contact with the demon world then…"

"You want me to go see if I can rustle up some info for you?"

"Please?"

"Will there be some handcuffs and whipped cream in it for me if I do?"

"Spike!"

"Teasing, Slayer. Well, partly. But yeah, whatever you need me for, I'm there. I told you that already."

"I know. And thank you."

Spike took hold of Buffy's hands, pulling her into his lap. "How about thanking me another way, pet?" he asked, nuzzling against her neck.

"Spike, my mom and Giles are right out there. And that door doesn't lock. I checked."

"We can be real quiet like. They'd never know…"

Buffy sighed. "It's not that I don't want to—because boy, do I ever—but we can't. Later, I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that, Slayer."

"I know."

Spike lay back down. "Seeing as I can't do a lot of undercover work in the broad daylight, I'm going to get a bit more sleep. Care to join me, pet?"

"Promise to behave?"

Spike gave her a surprisingly innocent look. "Would I do anything but?"

"Um, yes?"

"I'm hurt that you'd think such a thing."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. Right." She lay down, resting her head against his chest. "Get some sleep, Spike."

Spike chuckled, kissing her forehead before closing his eyes again.

*** *** ***

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