Chapter 9: Sexy British Guys Talk

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A/N: Ok, so after reading through my most recent reviews, I realized that I haven't made certain things clear. So that's what this lil' interlude is about - cleaning up my mistakes.

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Spike wearily plodded down the stairs. For what felt like the millionth time, he'd taken Dawn and Buffy to bed; hopefully, this time they'd actually sleep. He needed to get some rest himself, but wanted to talk to Giles before he did so.

Upon entering the living room, Spike was relieved to find only the Watcher. "Where'd the other two go?"

"Angel's sleeping downstairs and Anya decided to go to the Magic Box," Giles replied. "You know how she gets about missing work."

"Yeah, I do. Nearly took my head off last summer when I suggested she miss a day or two for a sprained ankle."

"Sounds like Anya," Giles said fondly. "So, what have you got to drink?"

"Not much. Some imported beer - the good stuff, not the piss Americans call beer."

Giles chuckled. "Sounds good."

Once the men had gotten their beers and settled down in the kitchen, Spike began. "So, old man, what now? Plannin' on movin' back in?" he asked.

After Buffy's death, Spike had refused to leave Dawn's side. So he had moved in with her. Had the rest of the gang not been in deep mourning for Buffy, they likely would have protested; as it was, no one had to energy or the will to do so.

Giles had suggested that Willow and Tara also move in; to his surprise, they had refused. He now realized that they probably didn't want to worry about hiding their planning for Buffy's resurrection.

So Giles had moved in. Spike originally slept in the basement, but Dawn had terrible nightmares, from which only he could rescue her. He took to sleeping on her floor, by the side of her bed. Buffy's door remained shut; the only thing her room was used for was a space to store and recharge the Buffybot.

With the Buffybot, they hadn't needed to worry too much about Social Services, as long as Giles and Spike weren't around too often when the caseworker dropped by. She was programmed to be perfect - she was never impatient, cleaned the house, etc. And Spike came up with the idea for her to get a job. Giles had protested initially, but Spike had pointed out that not only would that solve some of their financial issues, but it would look good to Social Services. Giles gave in. She turned out to be the ideal worker. Her co-workers were amazed at her ability to remain cheerful after dealing with annoying customers for 8 hours.

There had been a lot of stress in the Summers' house following Buffy's demise. Spike was upset with himself for failing Buffy, and with Giles for demanding that his Sweet Bit should die. Giles didn't like Spike, and - at least subconsciously- blamed Dawn for Buffy's death.

Back in what he thought of as 'the good old days,' Spike would never have tried something as civilized as sitting down and talking through a problem with someone - he'd probably have just torn their head off. But, realizing all the tension wasn't good for Dawn, he went with the talking method. So, in one of the most shocking displays of maturity Giles had ever seen from him, Spike sat Giles down and told him they were going to settle matters between them.

They'd ended up getting slightly sloshed, and bawling together over Buffy's death. Luckily, Dawn was over at a friend's house, so she didn't witness the embarrassing and unmanly display of emotions.

They'd never spoken of that night again, but from then on, their mutual animosity lessened to the point that, if one weren't a Watcher and the other a vampire, they could be called friends.

Giles had eventually decided to head back to England. Most of what was left for him in Sunnydale was bad memories. Willow and Tara had finally agreed to move in, saying that they had another month on their lease, and then they'd live in the Summers' home. With them going to England, however, that plan was no longer viable.

Giles sighed, thinking over Spike's question. Should he move back? He'd created a nice life for himself over in England; on the other hand, he couldn't deny the pull his surrogate daughter had on him.

"I don't know, Spike. I'll need to think about it. At any rate, we should discuss Buffy's situation. How is she, truly?"

"Look, Rupes, she just came back from the dead a few days ago. How do you think she is?... I guess she's still in shock, or somethin'. From whatever her experiences were after her death, and then th' whole havin' to dig herself out of her grave..." Spike shuddered at his memories of doing the same. He shook off the unbidden thoughts and continued. "She's been sort of stuck in 'fight or flight' mode since she got back, though lately - as you saw with the Poof - it's more fight than flight, which I'd say is a good sign."

"Has she spoken?"

Spike sighed regretfully. "Nah, not yet. But she seems to understand Dawn an' me... Did ya find out anythin' from those books of yours?"

"Not much, unfortunately. It is extremely rare for a resurrection to actually bring back a person back as human. In those few cases, the person usually went mad."

Spike snorted. "Thanks, Rupes, that's real reassurin'."

"However," Giles continued, ignoring the interruption, "in the only instance I could find in which the person brought back did not go mad, he was raised using the same spell that Willow used."

Spike grinned. "Well, that gives me some hope. If anyone can do it, Buffy can. Now, I'm gonna go try and actually get some sleep."

Spike threw his beer can in the recycling bin - Dawn had been on his back about recycling lately - and started leaving the room.

Giles called out to him. "One more thing, Spike- are you familiar with this 'backlash' Anya was talking about? If it's true, it could affect Buffy as well as those who cast the spell."

Spike turned back to face Giles and shrugged. "Dunno. Most of the time, people who cast evil spells are either evil or on their way there, so maybe their extra-evilness due to the backlash just doesn't usually get noticed," he hypothesized.

Giles nodded thoughtfully. He'd discovered over the summer that Spike was actually quite intelligent. "That's possible... well, go get some rest. We'll talk more later."

"You need to get some sleep, too, old man," Spike said as he ascended the stairs.

Giles chuckled softly. Somehow, he found it humorous to have a 120 year old call him 'old.' Or perhaps he was just tired. He'd planned to do a bit more reading, but Spike was right; he needed sleep. Hopefully, everything would be clearer after they'd all rested.

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A/N: It's not the Spuffy that we all know and want - but that's coming, I swear!

I know this may not have been a very good chapter - it's more there to explain a few things, such as Buffy's current inability to talk (several ppl asked about that in reviews).

As for the whole 'where was Buffy really,' to be totally honest - I haven't decided yet! I've got 4 choices: Heaven, Hell, Purgatory (by that I mean some sort of in-between, waiting place), or no memory.

Thank you all so very very much for all the lovely reviews! I love reading what you guys are thinking about as you read this. And the constructive criticism is very helpful.

Please review!