Chapter 2

"Why'd we stop?" Lexa asked, suddenly realizing Buffy was standing silently in front of a crypt.

"This is where Spike lives," Buffy said with virtually no emotion on her face. But Lexa could see the conflict going on inside her, and she was fascinated by it. This girl is totally and completely in love with you Spike! --Is that your plan? To turn her and have her take Dru's place?-she wondered.

"Well?" Buffy asked, with her hand on the door, "are you coming or not?" Buffy was still trying to figure out why she was talking this vampire to see Spike. Any acquaintance of Spike's should be dead and dusted. But, for some reason Buffy's curiosity overcame her slayer sensibilities and here she was, taking this blood-sucking fiend to her lover, that is ex- lover, knowing full well that no good could come of it.

"I'm coming," Lexa replied, turning around and walked into Spike's house, behind the slayer. She could hardly wait to see Spike, to hear all about his adventures and how he ruled this town, and the slayer's heart.

"I knew you couldn't stay away for long Slayer," Spike's sexy voice called up. Buffy descended into his crypt, trying to hide her fluctuating emotions. She hadn't been back here since she'd broken it off completely with Spike and for some reason she was nervous.

Buffy glanced back at Lexa, trying to figure her out. She wasn't sure who she was or what she wanted with Spike, but there was on thing that Buffy did know, and that was that Lexa could somehow smell Spike on her, even though it'd been a while since they'd been together. What had it been, one week? God it felt like so much more! For some reason, the way the vamp kept looking at her made Buffy very uncomfortable, like she knew something about her. Buffy couldn't figure it out. But there was also something familiar in the mannerism of Lexa, but she couldn't, or didn't want to, place her finger on it.

Lexa hesitated as Buffy reached the bottom. When Spike saw Buffy's face he immediately ran up to her. "Is something wrong Pet? Is Nibblet alright?"

"No, Dawn's fine. It's just that." Buffy stopped. She didn't really know what to say. But it didn't matter. Lexa walked down the rest of the stairs, causing Spike to take notice of her. He looked up and stepped back in surprise. "Alexandra! Bloody hell! What are you doing here?" he looked back at Buffy and asked, "She didn't hurt you did she?"

"No, she." Lexa interrupted her.

"Daddy! Is that anyway to greet your favorite childe? And by the way, it's Lexa now." She stopped talking, a huge grin appeared on her face as Buffy's eyes widened in realization.

"God Spike! How the hell big is your family?" she asked in annoyance.

"Just to her, I think," Spike said, not liking the look Lexa was giving her.

"Just to me! I have found anybody yet worthy of continuing the Master's line. Now, Buffy, be a good little slayer and let Daddy and me get reacquainted."

Buffy had been in Slayer mode ever since Lexa's declaration and for some reason didn't feel comfortable leaving Spike alone with her. She glanced over at Spike to see if he wanted or needed her to stay.

"Be seein' ya Slayer!" Spike said with a cocky grin on his face. Buffy sighed and turned around, but not before catching a look in Spike's eye. She paused briefly to try and decipher it, but then continued out of the crypt. But instead of leaving she put her ear up to the door to listen to what Spike and Lexa were going to say.

"So, Spike, nice place. A little BBQ but." Spike stopped her before she could finish.

"Lexa is it?" Spike asked as he took out a smoke and lit it. "What bring my precious childe out of her beloved England?"

"Bugger off old man. I wasn't bloody well looking for you. I just needed a change of scenery and felt drawn by the power culminating here. I should've known the big bad would be residing at a hellmouth. Besides, the last I heard of ya was three damn years ago after Dru dumped ya for some demon poof. But then the little Trollop always did leave you for some poof, didn't she?"

Both Spike and Buffy cringed at the mention of Angelus.

Spike just stared at her. At first he didn't remember her being so bitchy and evil, but as he thought back he saw that she was just as annoying then as now. That's one of the reasons he created her, she was so much like him. It's just that before he was part of the evil, now he couldn't do a damn thing thanks to the sodden' chip in his head.

"So, Spike," Lexa called, waking him from his thoughts. "Are you going to ask me to sit down?"

She smiled as he waved his hand around, telling her she was free to make her self at home in the rubble, for now anyway.

"What the hell happened here anyway Spike? Buffy try to light you on fire as you were shaggin' her?" Lexa was surprised and perplexed as she saw pain and sadness dance across his face. Both emotions were brief, but she saw them. "So," she asked again.

Spike lit another smoke and told her about the eggs and Captain Cardboard and how Buffy blew up the eggs.

"Why'd you have those eggs?" she ridiculed. "Even you aren't stupid enough to mess with those creatures."

"I didn't bloody well know that the eggs would hatch if I didn't keep them frozen. And if I had known what kind of eggs they were I sure as hell wouldn't've been watching them." He stopped for a moment, lit his third smoke, and then continued. "The funny thing is, I don't even know who had me watch them. I just thought that I'd make some easy money; maybe let Buffy have a little break from the DMP. Of course Buffy didn't hear my side of the story. To her it was just me being me. The kicker of this whole sodden' story is that that night was the only night I had them. If the good captain Finn had come the day before or the day after I'd still be in Buffy's good graces."

Lexa stopped Spike from going on. "No Daddy, you'd be dead.er. Those things would've hatched and you would've been first on the menu." Spike wasn't really listening to her anymore and she realized something else. --Daddy's fallen for the bloody Slayer. He's gotten all soft and poofy, like dear old granddaddy-- It would've been hilarious if it weren't so sad. Suddenly Lexa knew why she was here, to get Spike back on the path of evil, where he belonged.

When Buffy heard what Spike had said she quickly left. While listening to Spike's side of the story she had come to the conclusion that it had to be more than just coincidence that Riley had been here for the one night Spike had those eggs. Somehow he had been involved with the whole thing. She was gonna ask Willow to help her find out once and for all the truth about it. And she knew that she had to find out now.