Chapter Three

Spike and Buffy stared at each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. It was Spike who roared and moved to attack. Buffy grabbed a chair and threw it at him, tripping him up long enough to get her mother and the other innocents away.

"Everybody, this way! C'mon! C'mon!" She motioned for them to follow. Snyder and others ran past her as she shoved a cleaning cart into the two vampires chasing them. Grabbing her mother's hand, she ran through the hallways seeking safety. As she passed the library, Giles came out with Jenny and Xander.

"Spike and an army!" she warned. "Look out!"

A vampire advanced on them. They ran back into the library, closing the door behind them as a vampire slammed into it.

Buffy looked around, trying to find the safest place to hide her mother while she dealt with Spike. She spotted a science classroom to her left.

"In here! Now!"

They all ran into the room. Buffy followed them, closing the door before any vampire could get in. She ran over to the other door, closed it, and locked it. Think. She had to think. And fast. Spike was out there looking for her and, the longer she spent hiding, the more innocent people he'd kill. She needed to catch him off guard. Needed to gain the upper hand.

Suddenly the power went out.

Buffy sighed in frustration.

"Who are those people?" a parent demanded. "And what do they want?"

"I didn't get much of a look, but is there something wrong with their faces?" Joyce asked.

Buffy tried not to roll her eyes. They were demons! It still baffled her that people lived on the Hellmouth without knowing what lurked underneath.

"Yes! PCP! It's a gang on PCP! We've got to get out of here," Snyder said. He grabbed a desk, set it in front of a window, and started climbing.

"You can't go outside! They'll kill you!" Buffy said.

"You don't tell me! I tell you!"

The stupid troll was only making her job harder. She pulled him down from the window.

"They will kill everybody in this room. Nobody goes out; nobody comes in until I say so. Do you hear me?" she commanded.

Snyder sneered. "Who do you think you are?"

"I'm the one that knows how to stop them," she replied.

Weapons. She needed weapons. She couldn't get to the library through the hallway without risking everyone's lives; she needed to find another way. She looked up at the ceiling. Could she climb through there? She paced the room, looking for the easiest way to climb up.

Joyce grabbed her by the shoulders. "Buffy, are you crazy? Look, I know you've been accused of fighting and other things, but those guys are serious. You can't go out there."

"I know. That's why I'm going up there." Buffy pointed towards the ceiling.

She grabbed a stool, set it on a lab table, climbed up, and pushed a ceiling panel aside. She looked down at her mom. "Don't worry, Mom."

This is what I do.

She lifted herself into the ceiling.

It took her three wrong turns, two scraped knees, and much wasted time before she found the library. She broke through the ceiling and dropped to the floor.

"Buffy!" Giles exclaimed, lowering his ax. "You're all right!"

Buffy nodded and took off her debris-covered sweater.

"How are the others?" Jenny asked.

"Principal Snyder, my mother, and four others are locked in the science room across the hall. Willow and Cordelia ran the other way," she said, shoving stakes and holy water into a gym bag. "I don't know if they're—" dead. She squeezed the stake in her hand. If anything happened to them… Spike would wish he'd never step foot in Sunnydale.

"Where's Xander?" she asked.

"He got out through the stacks. He's getting Angel."

Buffy felt relieved that Angel was coming. The more muscle, the better.

"Good. Okay, I'm going to take the vamps out in the hall," she said. "After that, you get my mother and the others out the same way."

"Let me help you," Giles said.

Buffy shook her head. "Giles, my mother's in that room. If I don't make it out of here, I know you'll make sure she does."

She needed Giles' promise. If she couldn't stop Spike, her mother could die, and she couldn't let that happen. Her death was something she'd accepted last year when she'd faced the Master. And it had been back on her mind ever since she'd learned about the two slayers Spike had killed. Her mortality she could deal with, but not her mother's. Never her mother's. She needed to know that Giles' main priority was helping her mother escape.

"Bloody right, I will," Giles assured her. "Fair enough. What's your plan?"

"Well, they split up to hold us here, so I'm going to take them one on one," she replied, grabbing a stool and positioning it under the hole in the ceiling. "Set them up and knock them down."

She got up on the stool and lifted herself back up.

As she began crawling again, she heard Giles yell from the ground, "Watch your back!"

Buffy decided to check on her mother first. She broke through the ceiling into the hallway outside the science room, pulled a vampire down with her, and quickly staked him.

She stood up and looked at her mother through the tiny hole in the door.

"Buffy! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom."

"Buffy, look, uh, get out of here, okay? We'll be all right!" Joyce said.

"Look, just hang on for one more minute until I tell you to open the door."

She quietly made her way to the other hall, stake in hand. Peeking around the corner, she saw a vampire with his back to her, and she raised her stake, quickly dusting him.

And then she heard Giles yell, "Buffy! Look out!"

Spinning around, she punched the vampire that was about to attack her. Seeing an ax on the ground, she picked it up and swung it, hitting the vampire in the jaw with the bottom of the handle. Quickly recovering, the vampire attacked and ducked as she swung the ax at him. The ax ended up buried in the wall. The vampire smiled as he straightened back up, clearly thinking he avoided her blow, but then looked down at the stake protruding from his chest. He collapsed to the floor and burst into ash.

"Mom, now!" she yelled.

Joyce opened the classroom door. "Okay, come on, let's go!"

Everyone rushed out of the classroom and into the library.

Buffy turned to Giles. "Get them out!"

Joyce grabbed her elbow. "You're coming too!"

"In a minute! Go!" she yelled and rushed off.

She heard her mother call her name but didn't stop running. It didn't take long to find Spike. He was back in the lounge where he had initially crashed into the building. He sensed her presence immediately and slowly turned towards her, a metal bar in his hand. "Fe, fi, fo fum. I smell the blood of a nice ripe girl."

"Do we really need weapons for this?" she asked. She didn't need the ax to kill him, just the stake secretly tucked into her skirt.

"I just like them. They make me feel all manly," he replied, his hand trailing down his stomach to his cock.

She blushed and turned her eyes away from his wandering hand.

He dropped the pole and slowly stepped toward her. She dropped the ax.

"The last Slayer I killed... she begged for her life," he said. "You don't strike me as the begging kind."

Buffy moved closer, watching him intently and trying to calm her racing heart. It was hard to believe this was the same man who had declared his love and devotion to her a year ago. Even if it wasn't real, it felt real to her. Too real. And suddenly she thought of what Willow had said to her only days before: Obviously, he doesn't love you! He doesn't even know you! It's a gradual thing, Buffy. Maybe he will fall in love with you later... or he becomes a good vampire like Angel.

Had she seen the future? Could he someday love her? Could she someday love him?

Did she already have feelings for a murderous monster?

She stared at the vampire in front of her. His yellow eyes gazed into hers.

"You shouldn't have come here."

"No. I've messed up your doilies and stuff," he said, smirking. "But I just got so bored."

She needed to know if it had been the future she had gone to, not some weird afterlife thing or a slayer dream. She needed proof. "Let me guess," she said. "You follow your blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of your brain?"

Curiosity flashed in his eyes. It was something he'd said before; he was over a hundred years old. Or he thought she had figured him out. Knew him somehow. But, either way, his response was confirmation: the words were his. And knowing that only made Buffy more curious.

"Been researching me, have you?" he asked.

"Sorry, Spikey, I've dealt with far more dangerous creatures than you. You're not all that special," she replied scathingly. It was a lie. An unbelievably terrible lie. No other creature had made her feel like this. Not even the Master. She wasn't sure what wigged her more: his slaughter of two of her slayer sisters… or the fact that she was attracted to him.

"You've got spunk. I like it. Tell you what, as a personal favor from me to you, I'll make it quick. It won't hurt a bit." He took a menacing step towards her.

"No, Spike," she said. "It's going to hurt a lot."

He threw the first punch, and Buffy ducked. They exchanged more. She couldn't help the thrill she felt as they fought. She also couldn't help the arousal that raced through her body every time one of her punches landed. Judging by the hungry look in his eyes, he knew. He was a skilled fighter. As she was enjoying their encounter, it wasn't until his next punch went through a wall and he emerged with a stud in his hand that she worried for her life.

"Now, that hurt!"

He swung the stud at her face. She landed on the floor, stunned.

"But not as much as this will," He stood over her and lifted the stud, ready to slam it into her.

She shot her leg out to connect with his kneecap, knocking him to the ground beside her. Grabbing her stake, she swung her leg over his waist and straddled him. She was raising her stake, ready to deliver the final blow when his vampire features slid to his human face. And she hesitated. His blue eyes were the ones she had met last year, the eyes of the vampire that had been in love with her.

She lowered her stake. Willow had been right; she couldn't do it. She couldn't kill him.

She heard voices in the distance, slowly growing louder as they were heading their way.

Spike grabbed her throat and pulled her face to his. "Should've killed me when you had the chance, Luv. Next time you won't be so lucky," he whispered and then pushed her off. He got up, ran through the lounge and out the broken window.

"Buffy!"

Buffy turned and felt relieved to see her mother unhurt.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" she asked. "I told you to leave!"

"I wasn't going to leave without you!" Joyce exclaimed.

As they embraced, Buffy looked over her mother's shoulder towards the broken window.

"You didn't want to kill him?" Willow asked the next day.

Buffy looked up from playing with her mushy peas. She wasn't mentally or physically ready to be at school yet. She'd hoped it'd be canceled after the so-called PCP gang's raid. But if they closed the school down every time something weird happened, it would be closed the entire school year. And her mother being proud of her, didn't give her a get-out-of-school card. So, she was back at the scene of her failure.

"Nope. I had the chance, my stake was ready, and I just went freezo girl."

"You'll get him next time!" Willow tried with forced cheer.

Buffy pouted and slumped in her chair. "Just stamp my forehead with Big Failure Buffy!"

"Stop getting down on yourself," Willow said. "I'm sure it's not easy killing somebody when you know what kind of future could come from it."

"But how many people will die before I get the courage to kill him finally?"

Spike was a monster. Every day that passed was another day innocent people died. All because she couldn't do her job. She didn't think she could manage the guilt.

Xander dropped his plate on the table and sat down. "So, is anyone's parent doing the student exchange thing?"

And that was just another thing she had to worry about on top of Spike. A stranger in her house for two weeks. She was going to go insane! A danger to herself and others within three days. It was the Uber-suck. Her mother could've at least warned her.

"Count my mother in," she said bitterly.

"Count mine out," Willow added. "Do you know who yours is?"

"I don't know," she replied. "Guy like?"

"By guy-like, we are talking big, beefy, guy-like girl, right?" Xander asked.

Buffy shrugged. "I was just told 'guy.'"

"Hold on a sec." Xander put his hands up. "So, this person who's living with you for two weeks is a man. With man parts. This is a terrible idea."

Boy or girl, Buffy had to make sure no nasty got them. Specifically, not a nasty named Spike.

Buffy stood up and threw her lunch in the trash can. "As much fun as talking about a random stranger living in my house isn't; I told Giles I'd meet him in the library. I'll talk to you later," she said and walked out of the lunchroom.

Giles was face-deep in a book when Buffy entered the library.

"I don't suppose this is something about happy squirrels?"

"Vampires," Giles replied.

She sat in the chair across from him. "That was my next guess."

"I've been doing some further research into Spike. Trying to find out why he's here in Sunnydale now."

"I think it's kind of obvious. He's here to kill— "Buffy stopped and picked up a picture on the table. It was an old photograph: a beautiful woman with long dark hair. Frowning, she asked, "Who's this?"

"What?" Giles looked up from his book. "Oh, she's called Drusilla. A sometime paramour of Spike's."

Buffy swallowed. "By paramour, you mean girlfriend?"

"Yes, it's rumored she died by an angry mod in Prague, although the Watchers Council believes she's still alive, just weakened," Giles said, closing his book. "Quite a fascinating vampire, too. She's known to have hypnotic powers."

"Like the Master?"

Giles nodded. "She also possesses psychic abilities. She's Spike's sire, the one who made him into a vampire. They've been together for over a hundred years."

A hundred-plus years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of: you.

Buffy put the picture down on the table. A hundred years Spike and Drusilla had been together. How could he have ever fallen in love with her? It made no sense. Sure, she wasn't ugly or anything, but she was nothing special. She couldn't help the wave of jealousy that coursed through her at the thought of him with another woman. She was one sick puppy feeling this way over an evil vampire, regardless of the future. The future. She glanced at Giles. She should tell him. He would help her understand what it all meant… but he couldn't tell her why she was feeling this way towards Spike. Nobody could.

And she wasn't a big secret-sharer. She liked her secrets… Their secret.

Spike flipped through the channels on the telly, growing more annoyed with each click. Dru must've sensed his anger because she looked up from playing with her dolls and frowned.

"Something is bothering you," she said. "The Slayer is swimming all around your head."

Spike sighed and tossed the remote on the bed. "I was so close, baby, but…"

"Shh," she replied. "Come here."

He laid his head atop her breast as she gently stroked his hair. He had been off his game, allowing the Slayer the opportunity to sweep him off his feet while she gained the upper hand. He should be dust right now, but he wasn't, which led him to another question: why? He had close calls with the previous two Slayers, but that was years ago, and he was far stronger now than he was then, and they were better warriors than the girl he had faced the other night. She relied more on luck and her family and friends than the Chinese Slayer or Nikki. It was unheard of for a Slayer to have them. Hell, her bloody friends had even helped wipe out half of his minions.

Spike had heard of her reputation long before he arrived in Sunnydale. The girl who killed the Master. There was no denying that she had sparked interest in him the first night he saw her. If he were honest, maybe even before then. Her reputation was legendary already, and she had only been the Slayer for two years. She was good; there was no mistaking that, but he was better, and he hadn't shown that yesterday. She may be slightly stronger than him, but he was a more skilled fighter with over a hundred years of experience.

Spike hadn't forgotten what she had said to him before their fight, and he suspected is what made him off his game. "Let me guess," she said. "You follow your blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of your brain?" But it wasn't just the words that threw him off; it was the hopeful look in her eyes. It looked like she wanted him to recognize what she'd said to him, which only made him more confused. There was no denying that the words were his. He had said them plenty of times in his unlife. He tried to recall a time when they could've met but come up blank. He would've remembered her. As much as he loved Dru, he could still recognize other women's beauty, and the Slayer was very attractive.

As curious as he was to figure out how she knew who he was, he wouldn't mind killing her without the answer if he had to, but if given the opportunity, he would try and get a confession out of her before her death, which he hoped was soon. The last thing he needed was her in his business while he tried to find a cure for his dark princess. Nothing would come in between him and returning Dru to her powerful self. And now, with the Annoying One gone and him in charge, things would start to go more smoothly around here. Spike almost chuckled, remembering the annoying git's screams as he threw him into a cage as a patch of sunlight burned him away to dust. He was never a ritual sort of fella, and from now on, things were going to be a little more fun around here.