Spike settled himself onto Giles' couch and watched the commotion that filled the room.
Giles and Willow were busy in the kitchen working on a potion for the recent Big Bad to plague Sunnydale. Zander and Buffy sorted through Giles' weapons in the far corner of the room, laughing and joking as only good friends can, while Anya whined from her spot on the far lounge chair.
Everyone had something to do, except for good old Spike.
Since that goddamn chip was put into his head, he had been having a bit of an identity crisis. Instead of the brawling and the fighting that he had been used to, he was hanging with this gang of misfits, fighting crime and evil like a modern day Scooby Gang (and it was anyone's guess who was playing the part of the mangy mutt). And even worse than that, he was starting to actually develop a conscience! Not that he'd ever admit to that, but every once in a while, it actually felt good to feel like a part of something again.
He patted his cigarettes in his jacket and wished for the millionth time that he could either go outside to enjoy a good smoke or that tight-assed Giles would let him have a few drags in the house. Seeing as it was about 4pm and the sun was still high in the sky, it didn't look like he would get the chance any time soon.
He had finally moved out of Zander's basement and was settled into an old crypt in the cemetery. Normally he wouldn't have even bothered showing up to these little Scooby meetings, but Giles said it would be in his best interest, and it was common knowledge that Spike looked out for his best interests. Thankfully there were enough clouds in the sky to keep him from getting the sunburn of a lifetime on the way over, mostly thanks to his ratty old blanket sitting in a heap next to the door. After a good amount of use, it was singed a bit at the edges, but otherwise still in pretty good shape.
"Buffy, did you talk to Dani? Did she say where she was?" Giles shouted from the kitchen, as if he wasn't only a few feet away.
Buffy swung a gleaming silver battle-ax at the shield that Zander held and it connected with a loud clang. "It's Tuesday, so her last class doesn't get out until about 3:30, and then she said she was going to stop at home first before heading over. She should be here any minute now."
"Alright, we'll wait for her. Willow and I have taken on a small side project, and we're ready to divulge some of its details. But we'd rather wait until she gets here. It just won't do to have two separate demonstrations."
None of the crowd paid much mind to Giles' speech, but then again, they never really did. Making himself more comfortable on the couch, Spike purposely sat between two cushions, taking up more than half of the space on the couch. Unknowingly, he smiled to himself.
"And what are you smiling about, blood sucker?"
He never really spoke to Anya, seeing her as an annoyance more than anything, but he was recently finding that she was much more observant than he appreciated. Before he could respond with a sarcastic remark, the front door swung open, revealing the favorite part of Spike's day.
Daniela Malone was a woman to be reckoned with. She had California sun-kissed skin and curves built to make a man beg; unfortunately she either didn't notice or went out of her way to hide it. She wore unfitting jeans with a worn brick-red sweatshirt and pulled her lovely midnight-black curls into a ponytail. But her camouflage measures couldn't fool Spike; the way that the baggy clothing fell on her voluptuous body merely hinted at the hidden treasures below. A body like hers deserved tribute, and he had several X-rated ceremonies in mind.
When he'd first come to Sunnydale, intel had lead them to believe that she was dating Zander, and when he'd found out that wasn't the case, he still hadn't been sure what he thought about her. The group was especially protective of her, which naturally tempted him to want to find out why. Dru, always the little conqueror, had wanted to capture her and keep her as a pet for their little group, and for the first time since the mishap in Manhattan almost 40 years ago, he'd agreed. He'd wanted her to work for him, and even more than that, he wanted to play. He rarely took interest in any of Dru's prisoners, but in Daniela's case, he would have preferred to keep her for himself.
Naturally, the Slayer had destroyed his plans, causing him to run. Every once in a while he'd end up back at the Hellmouth, and every time he did, Daniela wasn't too far from his mind. Eventually, the bloody soldier types put the chip in his head, and since then, he'd had to play nice with the Slayer and her cronies, which included Daniela.
As a rule, he had only allowed himself to appreciate the view from afar. Oftentimes she caught him staring at her, and he found himself fascinated by the rosy color of her cheeks when she finally noticed him. Every time he spoke to her, or encountered her in any way for that matter, she blushed like mad, and Spike was developing a bit of an addiction to the rush it brought to his system. He kept finding himself trying harder and harder to get her attention, and he wasn't all that pleased with himself because of it.
But it didn't mean that he was planning on putting a stop to it either.
"Sorry I'm late guys, my dad was leaving for work and gave me another lecture about not going away to school."
"Dani, does your dad realize that you're getting ready for spring finals already? And you're already registered again for fall. It's not like you could leave for Yale now anyway."
"You know what, Zander? I don't think he cares. Advanced classes aren't enough for Dr. Malone's daughter. I don't think anything is."
Spike watched as Dani tossed her backpack onto the floor and exchanged pleasantries with her friends. Dani truly was a kind soul, making friends with everyone she met, and she was nothing like any of the women he shacked up with. She was a good girl and damned if he knew why she was so intriguing.
Everyone slowly sat down; making themselves comfortable for Giles and Willow's little presentation. Buffy claimed the other end of the couch, while Zander settled himself into the lounge chair with Anya squarely on his lap. Dani stood at the entrance to the living area, taking in her options. Spike smiled at her, knowing full and well that he was occupying the only other seat available besides the floor.
"Spike, just because you aren't human doesn't mean you can be an asshole. Scoot over and let Dani sit on the couch." Buffy motioned for Dani to come over, but she seemed skittish, and rightfully so.
Locking eyes with Dani, he scooted toward the end, leaving her a small space between himself and Buffy. She looked away from him, but the telltale blush was already spreading across her cheeks. She sat as far away from him as she could, but her thigh still touched his, and he'd be damned if it wasn't the most excitement he'd felt since moving into this hell-hole.
"Since everyone is here, and we do have quite a battle before us tonight, I say that we get started." Giles moved into the living area with his hands full of books before placing them all on the coffee table. Willow stayed in the kitchen, stirring the mysterious liquid in the large steel pot.
"Willow and I have been researching this predicament of Spike's. He is unable to hunt for himself because of the chip, but it is becoming more and more difficult to acquire blood bags, what with the recent change in management at the hospital."
"I don't see how this is our problem. He's just an annoying, sarcastic pain in my butt."
"Buffy, we can't exactly just let him loose on the public." Giles removed his glasses, cleaning them on his shirt, as he usually did when he grew annoyed with their conversations.
"Fine then, let's just stake him and be done with it." Buffy waved her hand, as if the matter was dealt with.
"Why the bloody hell would we do that? I don't want to do that." He turned to look around, but nobody seemed to listen. "Hello?! Anyone want to pay attention to the vampire?!"
Ignoring Spike's outburst, Giles looked at Buffy. "As annoying as he may be, he's willing to fight on our side, and he's the only one of us that has the strength and capabilities of fighting alongside you. Willow and Tara have been utilizing several methods of divination, and so far, everything has pointed to an upcoming battle unlike anything that you've faced before. We need him, and because of this, we need to deal with his issues just as we would for any other member of our team."
Buffy rolled her eyes, but Giles knew that given her stubborn attitude, that was as much of a concession as he was going to get.
"Yeah, you hear that, Blondie? I'm important. I'd keep that in mind the next time you-"
"Spike, I said I wouldn't stake you. But if you keep talking, I'm sure Giles won't have any problem with me removing a few unnecessary dangly parts."
Spike and Buffy leaned over Dani to glare at each other. Normally he would have been shaking in his boots at the Slayer's threat; but he was more focused on the soft smell of raspberry and vanilla emanating from Dani's hair. He'd never gotten close enough to smell her shampoo before, and it was all he could do to keep his primitive reaction from showing on his face.
"If you two are done posturing at each other, I would like to continue." Giles, used to such antics after spending so much time with teenagers, picked up a book from the pile on the table. He waited patiently as both Buffy and Spike settled into their respective corners before continuing. "We may have stumbled upon some ancient magicks that could help him, well, develop a conscience."
His statement was met with silence.
"Basically, it would involve infusing him with someone else's conscience for a short time, through their blood."
"So you're going to let him drink from some poor sap? How is that at all okay?" Buffy stared at Giles, dumbfounded.
"Well, another spell that Willow found makes it virtually painless for the other person. Naturally his chip would go off if he started to drink too much, but since humans can produce their own blood, it's technically a win-win situation." Giles flipped through the book in his hands, looking for a particular passage. "There are legends that discuss some hypothetical remedies for our situation, and we have been researching a couple of them. I did the research, while Willow developed a spell that would serve our purpose."
"There is a bit of magick involved with a vampire's feeding." Willow piped in from the kitchen. "More or less, it's the same magick that keeps Vampires from entering someone's home. Kind of like a magical prevention against invasion, or something. I combined elements from a few other ancient spells and, well, tweaked it to account for the technology involved."
"Basically…" Giles let his gaze fall on Spike. "Well, we think that this spell will work, as long as he receives spoken consent."
The room was silent, and Spike felt more than one pair of eyes on him, but he couldn't care less. Had his heart been beating, it would have been racing.
"So you're telling me, that as long as someone says that it's okay, I can feed and I won't get zapped?"
"Well, that's the idea."
"Blimey, cast the bloody spell and let's get this show on the road!"
"Well, actually, we've already cast the spell. All that we need to do now is try it out…" Willow rushed into the living area, motioning for Spike to stand up.
He stood, careful to graze his leg against Dani's thigh as much as possible in the process. He slowly walked to the front of the area, scanning his eyes around the room, even though he already had a volunteer in mind.
"So, any takers?" Spike smiled at the room, excited as hell.
"Not on your life." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest.
"None for me thanks." Zander wrapped his arms tightly around Anya's waist when Spike's gaze dropped on her. "And don't even think about it."
Spike allowed his gaze to fall on Dani, and he almost smiled when he saw that she was already sporting a crimson blush from the neck of her hooded sweatshirt.
"Love, I think that leaves you."
Dani looked to Buffy for help, but she seemed more curious about the idea of this little experiment than concerned for her friend's safety. As a matter of fact, all eyes were on Dani, and it made her nervous.
Hell, Spike made her nervous.
She would never admit it out loud, but she was harboring a major crush on the man. He was everything that her fantasies embodied: a bad boy with a fantastic body to boot. Unfortunately, he was also a blood-sucking fiend, which is exactly what she'd spent the past few years fighting against. She knew that nothing could ever come of it, which was why she spent so much time away from him.
She looked at Giles, and he nodded slowly.
Taking a deep breath and hoping that no one could hear her rapid heartbeat, she stood. She looked at the ground for the duration of the walk forward, and, she only made eye contact with him when she absolutely had to.
He smirked at her. She almost passed out.
She looked to Giles. "And this isn't going to hurt?"
"Well, if our calculations are correct, you should-". He cut himself off at her frightened expression. "No. It shouldn't hurt."
Taking as much time as possible, she slowly unzipped her hooded sweater, leaving her clad only in a thin t-shirt that had seen better days.
She knew that should anything go wrong, Buffy would stake Spike before he could kill her, but she couldn't help being afraid of him for other reasons. His pale blond hair was gelled back, and he smelled of worn leather. She had never before allowed herself to be this close to him, and the idea of his teeth on her made her squirm, and not all out of fear.
He motioned for her to stand in front of him, but instead she just thrust her wrist out at him. He smiled, and almost laughed before he set his fingers on her forearm and her palm. Finally, he lowered his head to her.
Stopping a mere millimeter from her skin, he gazed up at her.
"Say it." His voice was thick with hunger.
"Um, what?"
"You have to say it, Pet. Ask me to drink from you."
She bit her lip for a moment and watched as his eyes darkened from the small action.
"Um, okay. Please drink my blood…?"
In an instant she saw his face change and she felt the pinch of his teeth on her skin and, without another thought, everything disappeared from around her. Her mind filled only with the soft sucking on her wrist, the pulling and flowing of her blood as it left her body, and the light swiping of his tongue as he gathered the excess. She only vaguely heard the moan that left her lips, and she just barely felt his groan against her skin. Before she knew it, her knees buckled, but instead of hitting the ground, his other arm flew out, lightning-quick, and wrapped around her waist, tugging her against him.
She felt dizzy and overcome with emotions that were unfamiliar to her. Her whole body was responding to his contact, from the sensitive hardening of her nipples to the growing moisture between her thighs.
She wanted nothing more than to rub her body against his and reenact some of the fantasies that had plagued her since he'd joined their little make-shift gang. She turned until the front of her body was flush against his, and she could feel the weight of his erection against her stomach. She ground her hips against him and felt his other hand lowering from her hip to cup her ass, lifting her closer to him.
And then, there was nothing.
Dani physically shook her head to clear the fog. Buffy was holding a thrashing Spike, while Zander held her in the air; it wasn't until she heard his pained grunt that she realized that she had been kicking out as well.
"Zander, I'm fine. Put me down."
Wary, he did as she asked, and she sank into the armchair to gather her wits and collect her breath.
Looking down at her wrist, there was only a thin scar to show for the odd occurrence that had happened just moments before. Buffy was still guarding Spike, who slowly wiped his mouth and watched her with an intensity that she'd never seen before from him, or any other man for that matter. Dani felt her face warm and knew that she was blushing again.
No one said anything for a long time. Naturally, Anya broke the silence.
"So, did you guys know that we were getting a live porn show today? Because I would have brought popcorn."
Willow looked at Giles for a long time before looking back at Dani. "I'm so sorry Dani; I didn't realize that it would happen like that. There was nothing in the books to suggest, uh, that."
Dani waved it away, unsure if she was able to talk.
Slowly, the conversation turned away from her actions with Spike and onto the upcoming battle with the newest enemy in town. Dani only partly paid attention, and only spoke when she was spoken to. She could feel Spike watching her but was afraid to look back at him.
She sat in the lounge chair, nibbling on the cookies that Willow had brought her, and trying not to think about Spike.
She was failing miserably.