Author's Note: Looks like things are starting to get complicated for our favorite Vampire Slayer!

Who wants to know what happens next? Me!

These next few chapters are going to be kind of slow and maybe a little short because not too much is happening in them but believe me it will be picking up.

I have a little surprise in store and I hope you guys will love it.

And I know you guys want to see Buffy and Spike get together but I am trying not to rush into it just yet.

R&R

Chapter VIII

Buffy replayed the message once then glanced over at Spike who was sitting on the couch with a mug of pig's blood and watching some soap opera.

"I guess we have a meeting with this guy Lindsey at Five, were you going to come along?"

Spike shrugged, "Suppose."

Buffy sighed; he had been in a funky mood ever since he left her at 'Caritas' with Faith last night and she still didn't know why.

"Suppose is not really an answer Spike."

The vampire glared, "Do whatever you want Slayer, I could care less."

Buffy folded her arms over her chest and stood in front of him blocking his view of the TV, "Okay what is your problem, last night you just left without saying a word and now you can't even give me a decent answer."

Spike glared at her, "My problem is and always has been you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Spike got to his feet and stalked over to her, "It means that I'm getting bleeding tired of you treating me like your little lap dog, don't you forget Slayer. I'm not your trained Angel, I'm still a killer and I won't hesitate to suck the life from your veins."

"Are you still mad about that Skorpitch demon because I thought we already discussed this on the way to Buelgrador's mansion yesterday?"

"I'm talkin' about you makin comments all the time about how you're gonna put a stake through my heart if I even look at you the wrong way. This is supposed to be a partnership, a team and you keep treating me like dirt. I'm tellin' you right now Slayer, I won't take it anymore. I think I've more'n proved m'self."

Buffy sighed, she felt kind of bad. She hadn't realized how offensive he would take her little threats. She was just so used to treating him like that, "You're right…"she paused, she looked him in the eyes, "I'm sorry."

Spike stared at her, "Damn right, I'm-what?"

"I said, I'm sorry. You were right. I have been treating you badly and I apologize, I guess I was just so used to threatening you. I didn't realize that it offended you so much."

Spike huffed, "Well it did, and I accept your apology."

"Good, so now…are you going to come with me and meet with this Lindsey guy?"

Spike shoved his hands in his pockets, "I'll come with you, but you should meet him alone. I'll hang back and keep a watch."

Buffy nodded, "Good idea, I'll go get ready."

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'Caritas' wasn't very crowded that night when they went inside; they glanced around as they situated themselves in opposite ends of the bar.

One guy was wearing a business suit and tried to act as though he was grabbing a drink after work, while the other was dressed much more casual in a pair of blue jeans and white t-shirt. The man in the suit had a microphone in his ear while the other had a cell phone; they needed to be able to contact each other and the rest of the team as soon as they spotted the Slayer.

The Captain was sitting in the van watching everything on the giant monitor, "Act natural boys we don't want the Slayer to get suspicious, anybody see her yet?"

The man in the suit dipped his head down, "Negative."

The other guy leaned back in his chair, "That's a negative, son." His job was to act like he was a father, helping his son with his homework over the phone.

"Keep looking boys, if she's not there yet then we gotta keep a look out for when she does come."

The man in the suit took a sip of his beer and turned around so that his back was leaning against the bar; he scanned the room again avoiding eye contact with his partner.

The other man was the one to spot her at a table in the corner, she was talking with a gentleman in a blue business suit, "Just a minute son, I'm losing the signal."

He moved the phone around, as though he was trying to get a signal but held on the slayer and her companion for a minute before putting the phone back to his ear, "Are you still there son?"

In the van, the Captain was recording the images from the phone and watching them on his screen, he turned to the guy next to him, "Run a search on this guy, we need to know who he is before we go in there and try to capture the slayer."

The man nodded, "I'm running a scan on him now sir, it'll be just a second."

The man in the business suit put his beer to his mouth as though he was going to take another sip, "Orders?" he asked.

"Hold your position for now." The Captain said as he stared at the screen.

"I've got it sir; the gentleman is Lindsey Mcdonald, a lawyer who works at Wolfram and Hart."

The Captain slammed his fist on the keyboard in front of him, "Damn it, what is she doing with Wolfram and Hart? This girl must be in deeper than we thought, pull back. I repeat pull back. We can not take action until I contact the council."

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Spike had seen when they came in; of course he had no idea who they were until his ears managed to catch the word 'council'. At first he wasn't sure if they were from Wolfram and Hart trying trap Buffy, he had watched them the entire time.

On the way over, Buffy had told him that the council had declared her a 'rogue' slayer and were after her. It was something that he deserved to know seeing that they were traveling together and working together.

Spike quickly scribbled something down on a napkin and handed it to Lorne, "Take this to her would you, it's important."

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Buffy smiled, this guy Lindsey didn't really seem so bad to her. Sure he worked for an evil law firm, but then again she worked for demons so who was she to judge. He was good looking in a cowboy sort of way, and she found herself thinking that she would not mind it one bit if they worked with each other.

"Excuse me; I believe this is for you."

She glanced up at Lorne who had appeared next to her, "Huh?"

"Message for you Kitten, sounds urgent."

Buffy read the note: Watcher boys here, two of 'em. Dad on the cell and Business bloke leaning against the counter. Want me to take care of 'em? She slipped the note into her purse and smiled, "Thank you, I'll take care of it later."

Lorne nodded and walked away.

She turned her attention back to Lindsey, "Sorry about that, some of my needier clients."

Lindsey nodded, "I understand, I've got a few of those myself."

Buffy smiled, "So what were you saying?"

"We have a mutual client Ms. Summers, I believe you know Buelgrador?"

"You represent him?"

"Yes I do, I was the one who hired Rex and Fly to transport his things but as you know things did not turn out as expected."

Buffy nodded, "He called me to complete the job."

"Buelgrador told me, that he and several other demons have been hiring you to do various jobs which require your specific…talents. I talked to my superiors and they agree with me, you would be a great asset to the firm."

"I don't know, I mean I'm not a lawyer. I didn't even graduate from high school, I moved out here because I didn't want to be controlled."

"Ms. Summers, Wolfram and Hart doesn't want to control you, they want to help you. They will provide you with your own team, equipments, and the works."

"I'm still waiting to hear the catch to all of this."

Lindsey grinned, "All you have to do is come in, sit in your office at Wolfram and Hart, and when you hand out your business cards they'll have the firm's name right underneath yours."

Buffy sighed, "You seem like a really nice guy Lindsey but I'm going to have to think about this for a while."

"Take your time; I understand that this is a big step for you believe me I was there too. I had a hard time getting big clients because I was just some kid lawyer, Wolfram and Hart offered me a job but I didn't jump on it right away. I wanted to try and make it on my own but I have to say that joining Wolfram and Hart was the best choice."

Buffy stood up and smiled, "Thanks for understanding."

Lindsey moved to his feet as well, "It was a pleasure meeting you Ms. Summers. I hope you decide to accept the offer, with you working there I'll have more to look forward to when I'm going to work."

Buffy blushed, "Thank you," she shook his hand, "I promise to give you an answer soon, I just have to talk to my partner first." Then she walked away.

Lindsey frowned, Partner? This girl was trickier than he thought; she had purposely left out the fact that she had a business partner. It made no matter, depending on whom she was working with, Wolfram and Hart would likely allow her to bring the person along with her. But if this person got in the way, Wolfram and Hart would easily have them removed from the equation.

He smiled thinking about their talk, she was a lot better in person and he decided that even if she refused the offer to work for the firm, he would still be interested in her. Perhaps after a little getting to know each other, she would change her mind. Then they would become Wolfram and Hart's most powerful couple, together they could elevate all the way to CEO.