No One Is Innocent

By: Tropicwhale

Disclaimer: Not mine. Why would I want it when it's owners won't take care of it properly? Except, you know, plot and orginal characters are mine. You no use-y.

Dedicated to: my returning reviewers who know who they are (Goodfairy, chezzah, jazzy2may, Alwaysand, twice-as-evil-as-you121212) who here in shall be called the Peanut Gallery.

Warning: A little smut, bad language. Turn back now if not your thing

Author Notes: And before you all ask; My vacation was fantastic and decadent. I just thought of something for this story; a relationship development that will blow you all away but you won't get to see it for awhile. HA!


Chapter Four:
Entry of Plot and bad ass characters . . .wait that's not right

Sorry, go my notes mixed up

Chapter Three:
Smack-downs of Opposition (that's the right one)

I woke up around three' o'clock in the afternoon to see that the digital clock was actually working as well as the air conditioner. Xander can be a miracle worker when he wants to be. I get dressed and wander downstairs. What passes for music in the States was blaring from the radio. Brendon is fixing the front door so I have skirt the sunlight. We nod at each other and I wander down to the kitchen. Kelly's vacuuming the hallway, Amber and Allison were dusting, Nicki was in the kitchen eating, and Harris and Sharesia were MIA. I look into the (working) fridge and find blood (the good stuff) in the crisper. I snatch a bag up and grab a mug from the drying rack. I bite it open and squeeze the cold liquid into the cup. Nicki cringes over her tea. I grin as I pop it into the microwave. "Can I help you, pet?"

"That's disgusting." She said and went back to her magazine and sandwich.

"I see that Xander and you lot have had a busy morning. How did he get the air conditioner on so fast?" She shrugs. Okay. This is a little awkward. I'll just amp up the charm a little. I grin and lean back against the counter, making my chest muscles bulge out. "So, where did the big lunge and Sharesia go?"

"Cleaning out the basement for a training room."

"Oh." Seconds tick by. Hmm. "Not much of a talker, are you?"

"I just don't talk to the enemy." Ah, so that's it.

"Hey, I'm not the enemy. I'm on your side."

"You're a vampire. Who would want to be on your side? I certainly don't."

"Xander doesn't seem to mind it so much." I resist the urge to cross my arms and act defensive. I've gone through hell and around the world for my soul. I've earned my place among the good guys. I don't need to defend myself against this little bitch.

"Who are you kidding? I don't know what you think you did to deserve him but it is obvious that you embarrass and annoy him and its obvious that you don't deserve him. Face it, vampire, you're beneath him." And like that my world crashed down around my ears. She sneered at me and walked out. The microwave dinged and I got my breakfast out and drank it slowly. Why is it that every time I start falling for someone I get- I shake my head and clean out my mug and clean up after Nicki. There's no reason that her bad habits should attract pests into the house. Doesn't mean that I didn't damn near break the bloody plate she was using. She didn't have a right to say that shit to me. I end up sitting at a kitchen table glaring down at the wood grain when Xander walks in all sweaty and panting.

"Hey! You're up!" he drops a kiss on the top of my head (oblivious) and gets a drink of water from the tap. "I swear that there is so much crap down in that basement that it's going to take all week to clear it out. Did you get blood yet? Because we could really use your help."

"Yeah, I'll be down in a few."

"Alright." I could feel his eyes boring into my scalp. "Why so serious?" I glare up at him.

"I'm never taking you to another movie ever again." He laughs, his hand falling onto my head, petting my hair.

"Come on! You got to admit that 'Dark Knight' was freaking awesome."

"Yeah, yeah. Heath Ledger was all that and a bag of chips. Quit with the impressions though. They annoy me." I shrug him off my hair.

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the coffin, bleach boy? 'Cause this 'tude has got to stop."

"Fuck off, Harris." I was in a bad mood. I couldn't help it. Someone had just informed me, for about the hundredth time in my existence, that I wasn't good enough for what I was getting. Seems like i should be used to it.

"Spike, you look ready to kill something. What happened?" Xander sat down across from me. I did want to kill something. Nicki.

"Nothing."

"Spike." Xander's voice demanded that I look at him in that rare quality it gets sometimes. I look up into his eye. "Shit, Spike." He stated with feeling, his hands reaching out for my hands. "Who do I need to kill?" It wasn't really a question, it was a statement. Xander Harris, all around good guy would kill for me. I drew in a breath.

"Don't worry about it." I pull my hands away and stand up, heading to the door. He doesn't need to get drawn into my drama with the slayer. It was personal. I must have been distracted because I didn't hear him get up. But his arms were around me and stopping me from leaving the room so he must have gotten up at some point.

"What happened, Spike?" He held me in a grip that I couldn't break without seriously injuring him. Dammit.

"Nothing." I'm not a girl. I'm a master vampire in my own right. I don't need to go crying to my mortal boyfriend every time someone gets a little smart with me. I'm better than that. I can deal with it on my own.

"Spike, quit being a stubborn ass and talk to me. What happened?" Stubborn bastard. Might as well tell him. Won't get any rest until I do anyway. I inhale deeply.

"Nicki was in here a few minutes ago. She said some stuff that got me thinking."

"Thinking my eye! You, mister, were brooding."

"So? I'm allowed to brood. Got a soul. It comes with the territory. Like a warranty."

"Yeah, well stop. Because I don't want to date a wannabe Angel. I want Spike, the loud mouthed pain in my ass who is the exact opposite of Neanderthal-brow." I smirk. "You annoy and embarrass me sometimes. But right now you're starting to scare me." My smirk disappears. "Spike?"

"I embarrass you?"

"Sometimes." He answered honestly.

"Nicki said it was obvious that I embarrassed you."

"SHe just doesn't know any better. Wait until there's a conversation about music. I still say 'Mmm Bop' is a good song. Then she'll realize that I embarrass you waaaay more then you embarrass me. What else did she say?"

"That I don't deserve you. That I'm beneath you." Fuck it. My voice didn't crack just then.

"You are beneath me-" What? "-in bed with a rope . . .or a chain . . .or those silk scarves, or whatever else we can find."

"I'm being serious here." His hug tightened.

"It really upset you, didn't it?"

"Yeah." There was a moment of silence where the only sounds were the clock, Xander's heartbeat, and the distant sound of the radio blaring.

"Can I ask why?" I breathed in.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Cecily James said it to me a long time ago."

"Alright." We stood there for a moment, me counting the seconds. Three, two,-"Okay, I give. I have no idea who that is." He was a second early.

"Cecily James was a woman I had a crush on when I was human. There was an incident and she found out that I liked her and she told me that it would never happen. I pleaded with her to see me for the man I was and she told me she did see me and that I was beneath her. Buffy said it too. Exact same words." Xander hugged me tighter and pressed a kiss to my bare shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Spike."

"Yeah. Whatever. Let me go." He didn't.

"For the record? I don't deserve you. You have a soul. You try your hardest. You're-you-God, Spike, anyone who says that shit to you obviously doesn't know you. Doesn't know what you're capable of. I was serious about what I said. I don't care if she is a slayer. Do you want me to kill her for you?"

"No. Don't do that. Think of the paperwork." He chuckled into my shoulder and neck.

"You're right. She's not worth it. But it doesn't mean I can't teach her a lesson. Come on." He dragged me out of the kitchen, gathering the squad as he went (he had to remind Brendon to shut the front door on his way past) and led us all down into the basement where Sharesia and Nicki were. Sharesia looked up.

"What's up? You look fit to kill, Xander." Xander's grip on my hand tightened painfully.

"Oh I am." I've never heard that sound from Xander's mouth before. It was chillingly. Angelus' voice at the height of his massacring years back in the day. The surety of Caleb and the control of Darla and the viciousness of Glory were all in his voice. I glanced over at him in the dim light. He looked scary. Beyond anything I could have accomplished or saw when I was evil. Obviously, Sharesia and the others saw the same thing. "You're lucky Spike's holding me back." Actually, he was keeping me from saying 'fuck it all' and running. At least, that's why I thought he was holding my hand so tightly.

"What do you mean?" Sharesia, who probably had seen her fair share of drug dealers, gang wars, and demons, looked afraid.

"Nicki said something utterly unforgiveable to Spike. And what she says to Spike, what any one of you says to Spike you say to me. You say it to Buffy and Willow and Dawn and Giles and Anya and Faith and Andrew and everyone else who fought and died in Sunnydale that day when you all received the Chain of the Gift. Spike's the one who bought us enough time to save the world. He saved me from losing the eye that I have left. I'll be damned as a murderer before I let anyone attack him that way. You will apologize." He looked right at Nicki. I heard her heart start to pound and fear flooded the air in a sharp, spicy wave. She snarled at him.

"No. I will not apologize to a vampire. I don't care who it thinks it is." Something snapped in the air. Her teammates moved back and suddenly I was using most of my strength to keep Xander from ripping her throat out. She stepped back but every line in her body screamed attitude. Great, just what we need, a slayer with a vendetta and an attitude. Suddenly, Xander twisted and I lost my grip on his hand and he lunge at the Latina girl. She screamed and he was on her, punching everything he could reach, riding her down to the ground. The others and I leaped to her rescue. It took three of us to pull him off her and then she attacked, barreling us over. I landed on the bottom of the pile. Xander and Nicki were beating the crap out of each other, snarling wordlessly. I manage to get free of the dog fight and ripped her off of my lover. I fling the bitch carelessly across the room into some boxes and sit on Xander's chest with a hand at his windpipe.

"Enough." Sharesia and the others tackle Nicki and finally it's over. "It's not that big of a deal." I stare down at Xander. He looks up at me without remorse.

"I disagree." Sharesia had Nicki in a half-nelson as her team had Nicki's arms and legs. "What did she say to you?" the Black girl asks.

"Nothing important." I say. I don't want to start something worse then what's already going down. Nicki snarled.

"So you go whining to your faggot of a lover but won't say anything in public? You're a piece of work, vampire. I'll say it again since you're too much of a coward to. You're not good enough for him. You're not good enough for anything except maybe a dustbuster." This girl was nuts! Xander started trying to get at her again. What was with him? He was usually the peacebroker, pulling lame jokes out of thin air, and I'm the one biting at the bit to get some carnage in. Fuck Nicki. I want to know what was up with Xander. I let up on his windpipe enough so I won't throttle him. I kind of like having Xander breathing, for some strange reason.

"What is wrong with you?" I ask.

"Nothing." Nicki snarled and lunged at me. Her teammates scrambled to pull her back.

"Wasn't talking to you, bitch. Xander?" I snarled back at her and then looked back down at my boyfriend. He froze long enough to look into my eyes.

"I don't know." If was as if a light switch went off. He stop struggling and looked up with me with a dumbstruck expression. Something funky was going on.

"Alright. So tie her up." I point at Nicki. "My gut's tellin' me that she's not herself and tie this one up just in case when you're done."

"What? Who put you in charge?" Allison asked.

"The second whatever mojo is on your friend there started to affect Xander so flog off, do what you're told, and deal alright?"

"Mojo?" Amber asked.

"Magic."

"Oh." I gave this girl a good hard look. "What?"

"You remind me of someone. She was a good soul but you're too old to be a reincarnation of her." Xander looks up at me.

"Huh?" He's so smart sometimes. Just not when there's logic involved . . .or math . . .or history . . . or a bunch of other stuff. What was my point again? Oh, yeah. Xander's smart. Except not in the brain.

"Doesn't she remind you of Tara?" He looks over at Amber. Recognition dawns on his face. There we go. We have a winner!

"Oh yeah! Wow, that's creepy! You could be her little sister."

"Who?" she looks really confused.

"Our old friend, Tara. She died a few years ago. Spike, get off my chest."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you might start attacking people again and you were too difficult to hold down the first time which, when you think about it, probably means that whatever mojo was going on was affecting your physical body as well. You had the strength of a fledging vamp. Besides, I kinda like being on top; it doesn't happen too often so I'm going to enjoy it while I can."

"Ah." There was a nice level of awkwardness in the room.

"I'm going to go get ropes and chairs." Brendon said and wandered off.

"Don't forget bungee cords! They allow for give and work-oh bugger it, it'll take too long to explain just get them." He nods and leaves. "We need to call in an expert." I talk to Xander but am addressing everyone.

"Like who?"

"Wills could-"

"You want to get her involved in this dark magic crap? Is there anyone else?"

"Giles. We can call Giles."

"Alright. We're still tying you up though."

"Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikke! I'm fine-"

"Shut it. My answer is final."


Author Notes: It's doing it again. The plot is evolving beyond my control. We're swimming into deeper waters, people, find something to cling to and hold on.

Loving people who review at a friendly distance;

Tropic