********

********

progress

********

Spike sat on the couch in Giles' living room, idly flipping channels on the television and sipping his cup of spiked blood. He hadn't heard so much as a peep out of demon-girl since Giles had left a good hour or two earlier to search for more information about what was happening.

With nothing of interest on the telly, he finally shut the thing off and carefully strode to the door of the guest room that stood slightly ajar. Just a quick peek in on the slumbering girl and he would step out onto the porch and calm the nicotine craving that was nagging at him. He wasn't sure which was stranger: his concern that Anya was resting peacefully or the consideration he had decided to bestow on the watcher by not filling his home with cigarette smoke.

Easing the door open a bit more, he peered around it into the dim recesses of the room, seeing Anya's restless form on the rumpled bed. She might not be making much of a fuss vocally, but she'd completely destroyed what order the sheets had once had. He entered the room, lifting the ridiculously fluffy pillow she'd dislodged from the bed from where it had fallen on the floor. Gently easing it back beneath her head, he attempted to smooth the linens over her again.

He was dumbfounded when she grabbed hold of his arm in her sleep, mumbling incoherently, and pulling him closer to her. He reached down with is free hand and tried to pry her chilled fingers from his equally cool forearm until he understood her muffled plea.

"Help me, please."

Resigned to his fate, Spike settled himself on the floor, allowing her to keep hold of his arm while he awkwardly smoothed her damp hair away from tear-stained cheeks with the same hand that had just tried to free himself of her claim.

"Hush now, luv. You've not gone back just yet. You'll need your rest if you plan on facing those blokes again." He kept his voice soft and soothing, murmuring just above a whisper into her ear as her head tossed on the pillow. He considered telling her that everything would be all right, but he didn't know that it would. "Sleep now."

He was inordinately pleased with himself when she did at last seem to relax and drift away from the nightmare that had held her. Slowly easing himself up off the floor, he slipped his arm from her loosened grasp and started to back out of the room. Anya stirred as Spike moved from the bedside and he stayed his movements, humming softly until she was once again still.

Stealthily slipping from the room, he scoffed at his own actions. William the Bloody getting domestic and soothing a sleeping girl? What in bloody hell was the world coming to?

~~~~

Xander stood up again and resumed his pacing. He hadn't been able to remain still for longer than a few minutes at a time since he'd returned to the apartment he generally shared with his 'newly human and strangely literal' girlfriend. He had never realized how much her essence was in the apartment until he had been shoved out of her affairs that afternoon.

"I... I'm sure she's all right. Mr. Giles will help her sort through this problem with the summons." Tara watched helplessly as he wore a path in the carpet.

"Yeah, Xan. I'll betcha she's sitting in Giles' living room right now sipping tea and reminiscing about her glory days as a demon."

Xander turned his head to face his best friend. He had been more than simply shocked when both Willow and Tara had appeared at his front door less than an hour after he'd finally arrived home. Now he wasn't sure if he could make them leave if he wanted to.

"I should'a gone after her."

Willow looked up at him. He'd been repeating the same thought probably since before they'd arrived.

"Giles will..."

Xander cut off Willow's assurance. "Yeah, but it should be me. I'm the boyfriend," he insisted, "You know, the big strong manly half of the relationship that takes care of all the problems." Xander paused, a strange expression crossing his eyes while he watched Tara and Willow look at each other. "At least in our relationship."

"Anya just doesn't strike me as the helpless lady in distress, Xander. She is more than a thousand years old, after all. You know, all the hanging out with Dracula, the witnessing two Ascensions, the hurting men in the name of vengeance demonhood, that sort of thing kinda makes her seem a little less vulnerable than say, I dunno, Fort Knox."

Xander turned on Willow. "Did you see her face this afternoon? Huh, Wills? Did you see how terrified she was? Why didn't I follow her? It's a joke, you know..."

Tara waited a moment to see if he would continue without coercion. Looking from Xander to Willow and back again, she hesitantly asked, "Wha-- what's a joke?"

"She scared me when she first lost her powers: 'demon Anya, punisher of evil males'. But she kinda grows on ya' after a while. I remember her asking me to the prom and how confused she was about why she even wanted to go. And when the Ascension was coming, she wanted me to leave with her so I would be safe. And once she came back... It just seemed right."

He walked to the window and drew the curtains aside. She'd spent three days looking for the right curtains for that window, dragging him all over town until he was ready to strangle her and cover the window with aluminum foil. But once she'd found what she'd been searching for, he realized she was right, they were perfect. She was perfect. Sure she had her faults, no one could live anywhere near as long as she had and not have accumulated their fair share, but the whole Anya-package was perfect nonetheless.

"I love her, more than I could have ever thought possible, and she's scared and there's nothing I can do to help her. I know there isn't, and that, ladies, is why I am here and she is at Giles' house."

"Xander?" Willow stood up and walked up behind him. "You're really in love with Anya."

"What did you think?"

"I don't know, she's got that sex kitten thing going pretty strong most of the time. I guess I just thought she was a passing fancy."

"Will, Anya and I have been together for more than two years now."

"Well, a really long passing fancy?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Xander. Guess I never really thought about it in terms of long term. Huh, that's amazing. Umm, but about the summons thing? I'm sure she'll work it all out and tell you what's going on as soon as she can. It's not like she's the epitome of secret keeping."

"She's scared, Will. Whatever those other ex-demons represented, it terrified her. That's what kept me in the magic shop and not trailing after her in the rain. She's seen so much, not very many things shake her up, but that little roll of paper scared her. What kind of a boyfriend does that make me? Letting her go off to fight her demons alone, no pun intended."

~~~~

Buffy walked down the sidewalk with Giles at her side. Once they had asked the right questions, Lisenka had been quite willing to talk to them. Now that she and Giles knew what the trial was about, they had to discover a way to help Anya. Much easier said than done.

"I always thought that demons were pretty much, you know... impervious to things like that. What with having their demon powers and all."

Giles looked down at her. He was still a bit shocked himself and understood Buffy's confusion. "Yes, well I suppose we were mistaken."

She continued once they reached his car, "I mean, sexual assault and harassment in the workplace is one thing. But in a demon realm? And to Anya? I never would have..."

He rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "None of us would, Buffy. As much as Anya might sometimes grate on one's nerves, none of us would wish her ill. It does however explain why she was unwilling to share this with anyone, especially with Xander."

"We should tell him, ya' know." Seated in the passenger's seat, she turned to watch Giles' turn the key in the ignition.

"No, actually we shouldn't. As much as we might want to, we should let Anya tell him herself. This is quite a personal matter and I'm sure she will be rather upset with us when she finds out we went to Lisenka without first telling her."

Driving down the quiet neighborhood streets in silence, Giles was taken aback by the unmistakable sight of Spike standing on his front porch, cigarette smoke trailing away across the grass. Parking and approaching the stoop, he nodded when Buffy said she wanted to stay to help.

"The chit keeps having bloody nightmares."

Giles looked questioningly at the vampire who was obviously distressed by the fact, regardless of the sour expression he wore. "Wholly understandable given the situation she has been thrust into. Thank you, Spike, for staying with her. You may leave now."

"Yes," Buffy agreed. "I'm sure there are some crime victims out there somewhere with your name on 'em."

"Now just wait one bloody minute. I've spent the last three hours trying to comfort demon-girl, and all you want is for me to leave? No, I want in on the information sharing you two are sure to have going on in a minute or two." He ignored the look that passed between them at his mention of comforting Anya and stared at Giles, daring the watcher to try to deny him.

Sighing, Giles opened the front door just as a shrill cry erupted from his guest room.

"Bollocks," Spike muttered, striding past both Giles and Buffy. He rounded the corner and entered the room again, kneeling next to the bed again and whispering softly to the sleeping girl.

Buffy peered into the dim room, watching in sheer amazement as Spike worked to calm Anya. Her brain was in overload, she decided. First learning about Anya's abuse and now witnessing a whole new side to Spike was sending her right into meltdown phase.

A few minutes later, Spike detached his hand from Anya's and returned to the living room. "She'll be quiet for a while at least. Plenty long enough for you to tell me what's got lovie so panicked."