Author's Notes:

Since a few people have asked, Edith's name is purely coincidental. It was the first name I came up with and it stuck, despite my attempts to re-name her.

Many thanks for the reviews and your thoughts!

Buffy shook her head. Do I know him or what? "I'm sorry. I bet this has got to be real torture for you. But I can't let you go, you know that."

He squirmed. "If you're not going to stake me, get it over with, could at least fix it so I can use my arms. Hold a book or something. T'would be the decent thing to do."

Buffy sat back down next to him. "You really think I'm going to leave your arms free? That would just be stupid; you'd figure out a way to get out in no time."

"You think so?" he asked, grinning hugely, pleased at her compliment. "Think I'm devious, do you?"

"Mmm. Devious and untrustworthy and cunning and all kinds of bad, evil things."

His smile was incandescent. "Well, that's a bit of all right then! You're not so bad yourself." Buffy snorted, and they sat together in silence for a while. Spike began to hum under his breath.

Finally, he said, "But you think I'm more'n just evil." His tone implied that he was simply making conversation, and could care less what her reply was.

"I think you could be. I think you could be whatever you put your mind to."

Spike looked away. When he looked back, Buffy saw a trace of the vampire she knew in his open, vulnerable face. "Why? What do you see in me, makes you so sure?"

"I see a man worth knowing."

His response was hesitant, sapphire eyes searching hers. "One that could make you proud."

"Not just could. Will. One day you will make me proud." Her hand had unconsciously found his, her thumb tracing soothing circles in his palm, mimicking the way he had held her hand in the RV. They stayed like that for several moments, until Spike jerked his hand away as best he could, snarling.

"Never happen."

Buffy stood. "That's what I used to think. Turns out I was wrong."

He considered her. "You're not like other Slayers."

"As if you would know!" she scoffed. "I'm only the second one you've run into!"

"Fair enough. But from what I've heard. You're not like other Slayers."

"Yeah, well, ditto to you. You're not like other vampires."

Spike cocked a scarred eyebrow. "How's that?"

"Neither of us plays by the rules."

In the morning, when she returned, Spike was beyond restless. "Look, if you won't let me feed, how 'bout a fuck?" He'd managed to fall over in the night so he was flat on his back, and even through the chains and his thick, woolen pants, Buffy could see his arousal. It was practically staring at her.

"I'll just lie, here, right? Let you do whatever you want, long as you get me off too. I'm going crazy, Slayer. Have pity on a bloke."

Buffy couldn't believe there was a tiny corner of her mind even considering his suggestion. Boinking the evil dead is so not okay.

She couldn't wrench her eyes away from the very large bulge in his pants though, no matter how much she berated herself. It had been a long time since Riley… and she was a modern woman with modern needs. That she hadn't been able to satisfy in weeks now, not with having a bedmate of the non-satisfying variety, never mind the lack of toys a modern woman might keep hidden in her bedside drawer.

Spike twisted, his slim hips writhing under the chains, and she licked her lips with a shudder.

Because… there'd also been a dream last night, and she'd woken to find herself… ahem. In a compromising position. Her own fingers doing naughty, naughty things to herself, things that shouldn't be done when sharing a bed with another woman in a purely platonic way.

Something had to be done. Soon.

But not with Spike. No way, no how.

"You're a pig, Spike," she snapped, disquieted by the turns her mind was taking. This was not the vampire she knew. Not the vampire who claimed to love her. Ergo, any lusty thoughts were twice as wrong as usual. Hormones wrestled into check, she stomped over to him and wrenched him into a sitting position.

"Knew you wanted me," he purred. "Need a man, don't you, love?"

Buffy lashed out, hitting him across the mouth. "You're not a man."

"Could be. For you. Never got it on with a Slayer before. Bet you know how to make it hurt real good." His tongue darted out, licking the blood that was welling on his lip.

A very tiny, very bad corner of her mind wondered – could she build a bond with Spike that way? One that might encourage him to quit killing? If Spike – her Spike – had been telling the truth, if this vampire could fall in love with her too… well, she wanted to encourage that outcome. A Spike who loved Buffy would be more likely to change for her, give up at least the worst of his evil. It was the only way she could consider letting him live for the near century it would take before he reached Sunnydale.

But on the other hand… evil Spike. Buffy couldn't rationalize fucking him, no matter how she spun it. A vampire she cared about was one thing, but the creature in front of her was an entirely different story. Never mind that she didn't want to use his potential feelings for her that way. As convenient as it might be, it somehow seemed wrong.

"Give it up," she said instead, squatting in front of him. "You could help me with something else, though."

"If you want to sit on my face, fine, I'll oblige, but I think it's right selfish of you."

Her cheeks flaming, she slapped him. "Ew. Gross." The bad corner of her mind didn't quite agree, but she ignored it and his flexing tongue. "Something that doesn't involve any of your body parts touching any of mine."

"And I would do that why?"

She shrugged. "Because you're bored. And at my mercy."

Spike grumbled under his breath, but didn't object outright, so she took that as assent. "Last week, something slaughtered all the soldiers at the Fricourt field hospital. Tore them apart. And since it wasn't you, I need to know what did it. I need to hunt it." She bit her lip, not used to asking Spike nicely for help. Normally she would have beat the information out of him without a second thought, but she was trying to encourage him to see himself as something other than evil. The seed had been planted in his mind, and it was up to her to make sure it grew.

"I was hoping you would tell me what I should be looking for. What kind of demon," she continued.

"Why the hell would I know?"

Buffy was taken aback. "Because you do. Know. Usually. You've run into…" Hardly any demons compared to your future. Oops. "Well, you're smart. I just thought you might."

He was examining her intently again. "You are going to tell me how you think you know me so well, Slayer." Spike tilted his head, watching her, and said, "Starting to get the feeling you've done a Wells."

"Huh?"

"Time-travel," he said, his expression thoughtful. "I will make you proud, you said. As if you know my future. And how could you, but were you in it?"

Rolling her eyes, Buffy said, "That's just silly. Time-travel isn't possible; it's science fiction. Besides, Dru gets visions, knows the future. You ever see her pop in and out of time?" Please believe me…

"You get visions too, then?"

"Not what I'm here to discuss. Do you know anything or not?"

Spike smirked. "Tell me again why you think I might be able to help."

"Um… oh. Sometimes you know things." She wasn't about to repeat that she thought he was smart.

"Nuh-uh, pet, got to do better than that."

Buffy huffed. "Fine. Isaidyouweresmart," she rushed out. "Sometimes. Rarely. Not often."

Grinning, the vampire replied, "Don't know a thing."

She blinked at him, certain he was lying. "You're such an asshole. Fine, you want to do this the hard way?" To hell with being nice. "We'll do this the hard way." She slugged him across the jaw. "What do you know, Spike?"

He grinned wider and she slugged him again, sending him to the ground. "Oooh, Slayer, having fun?"

She popped him in the nose. "Now that you mention it, why, yes I am." She straddled him, fist cocked. "Give me something to work with, here, before I turn you black and blue."

He snickered. "What'd I tell you. Baby likes it rough." And before she could hit him again, he bucked under her, flipping them so he was on top, grinding into her as best he could with his arms pinned to his sides and the chains between them. "Fuck, you make me randy, Slayer. Want in that cunny of yours." He thrust his tongue into Buffy's surprised mouth, moaning low in his throat, his eyes half-shut.

Shoving him off, she spat, "You try that again and you'll be losing body parts, Spike."

"C'mon. Bored here," he whined from the ground, his face smashed into the cold stone under her boot. "Gotta do something. 'Sides, I know you want it."

Buffy's voice was low and dangerous. "I don't want it, Spike, not with you. You're a disgusting thing." She pressed harder with her foot, until he began to protest. "I'll be back later. And when I am, you better have an answer for me."

By the end of the day, Buffy was exhausted. They'd had to make several runs with the ambulance between Fricourt and Albert, and Buffy's minimal first aid services had been required in the hospital between runs. To top it all off, the engine had overheated on their final trip and they'd had to wait over an hour on the side of the road for it to cool, trying to comfort the miserable wounded in the back.

Add all that to her frustrating session with Spike in the morning, and Buffy had no desire to patrol, no desire to check up on the evil vampire. All she wanted was a hot shower and to chill in front of the TV with a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

Wrong lifetime…

She could at least beg off patrolling.

"Well, Anne, shall we be patrolling tonight?" Edith asked eagerly.

Or not.

Buffy plastered on a smile. "Yeah. Let me get changed first."

It wasn't so bad after she was out and about, the adrenaline rush washing away her exhaustion. She'd snuck Edith out of the house and down the street, away from a patrol and over to the cemetery on the edge of town where a fledgling vamp or two could typically be had for the staking.

After the second vampire of the evening, Edith said, "You have me convinced, Miss Buffy the Vampire Slayer of the Future." She shivered. "Their faces..."

Remembering the first time she'd seen a vampire in game face, Buffy commiserated with the other woman. "Freaky, I know. You get used to it though."

"This Spike… this is how he looks?"

"Not usually. Vampires don't always wear their demon faces. They can look as normal as you and me when they want to blend in, to make hunting easier. Although vampires seem to stay in game face most of the time. Spike, though… He usually wears his human face. Probably because he knows how good looking he is. He's kinda vain," she snickered. "And you know, even Spike's demon face isn't that bad. Or… I'm used to it, I guess."

Edith frowned. Then screamed, pointing over Buffy's shoulder. Twirling gracefully, Buffy staked the hapless fledgling through the heart with a single thrust.

"You'd think they'd learn not to sneak up on a Slayer, but no… Vampires," she said in disgust. "Always thinking with their fangs, never their brains." Buffy took the still-trembling arm of her friend, leading her towards home. "I believe that's enough excitement for one night, Miss Gladstone. Let's get out of here before we run into something worse."

Edith's face turned white. "Worse?"

Buffy gave her a thin-lipped smile. "Trust me, there's way worse. Fortunately we're not on a Hellmouth here, so we're not going to see many demons. Still… whatever massacred our boys, it's out there." Her smile turned feral. "And I'm looking forward to meeting it."

With her friend safe and sound in bed, Buffy headed out once more to check on Spike. She almost didn't bother, figuring she could go in the morning instead, but she didn't want to leave Spike alone that long. He might have found a way to free himself.

At least that's what Buffy told herself. It had nothing to do with her feeling guilty about him being lonely and bored. If only there was TV… or even radio. But the wireless wasn't available to the common folk yet, which meant nothing for a hyperactive chained up vamp to do.

Approaching the cellar, everything was quiet, leaving Buffy with a bad feeling. She'd been hoping he would be feeling talkative and ready to share his knowledge of the local demons. The silence didn't bode well.

When she opened the door, she had to squint. All but one of the flickering lanterns had guttered out, leaving the cellar cloaked in gloom. Note to self: figure out where to get more fuel. Or some torches. But there Spike was, propped up against the wall where she'd left him, humming quietly to himself. Buffy wondered if he'd finally started to go insane from boredom.

"Spike? How you doing?"

She slid closer to him, her senses going haywire, Spike's prediction echoing in her mind.

Hey, speaking of, bet she'll be by sooner or later, come fetch me. What will you do then, eh?

The room was empty though, except for the chained-up vampire, who was still humming, his eyes closed. The sound did little to reassure her. If Spike's loony lover had come for him, surely she would have freed him?

"I didn't have time to get you anything to eat, I'm sorry. I'll bring you some blood in the morning, okay? Spike?"

His eyes snapped open just as she reached out to touch him. "Doubt I'll need it, love." In a single, fluid motion he rose up, the chains clattering to the ground around him. "Have a feeling I'll be plenty full." His face shifted as he drove her backwards with his fists. "Thanks ever so for the offer."

Buffy's mind whirled as they fought, trying to figure out how he'd gotten free. Maybe he'd done it himself? "You do realize I'm just going to chain you back up, right? Not that I'm complaining, but why didn't you run?"

Spike didn't reply, only leered and nodded at something behind her. She spun, coming face to face with Drusilla. The vampire hissed and slashed out with her nails, and suddenly it was a whole different fight.

One that Buffy might not win.