CHAPTER NINE (the plot thickens)

CHAPTER NINE (the plot thickens)

Spike sat up in bed and swung his legs over the edge. He grabbed his cigarettes off the nightstand. He slowly shook out one cigarette and placed it between his lips that were still in the shape of a half grin as he was recalling last night's dream. He flung the pack back on the stand a picked up his zippo, slowly flipping it open and lighting the cigarette. "Spike, my boy" he said to himself, "time to crack the books" He got up and walked across the chest of drawers that held his clothes, he opened the third drawer down which held several pair of black jeans. He grabbed one pair, not caring which and then proceeded to grab a T-shirt from the drawer above it. With his clothes in hand he proceed to the bathroom grabbing a blue silk shirt from the closet on the way. He extinguished his cigarette and quickly brushed his teeth and hair and threw on the clothes. He headed up stairs dreading what he had to do next, wake up Dawn.

Once on the first floor he headed to the stairs quickly jogging up them. He knocked loudly on Dawn's bedroom door "Dawn, wakey, wakey" Spike yelled at the door. Spike waited for a response already knowing there wouldn't be one. He proceeded to knock harder on the door and yelled, "Get your prepubescent arse up, we have things to do!"

"What time is it?" Dawn sleepily whispered knowing Spikes supernatural hearing would be able to pick it up.

"It's one o'clock and blood well time to get up" Spike shouted through the door.

"Fine!, five more minutes and then I'll be down" Dawn said exasperated as she flung the covers off her pajama clad body.

"You better be, we have things to do" Spike shouted back as he headed down the hall approaching the door to Buffy's bedroom. He stood outside the door for a few minutes just looking at the knob. No one had been in the room since that night, he and Dawn had made everyone leave it be and not mess with any of Buffy's things. Now he was going to have to break his own rule to retrieve Buffy's journal. "Bugger it all" he finally said as he reached out and turned the knob pushing the door open and stepping inside. Luckily the blinds were drawn tight with only a small amount of sunlight coming in around the edges. "If I was Buffy's journal where would I be?" he asked aloud while looking around the room. "Boy, I've been talking to myself a lot lately. Isn't that a sign of insanity? Only if you answer yourself, bloody hell" he said while shaking his head at his own stupidity. He walked over and sat on the edge of Buffy's bed. He could still smell her shampoo wafting up from her pillow, he slowly ran his hand over the pillow while closing his eyes and picturing Buffy in his mind. Soon, he thought, she'll be back. He then opened the drawer on her nightstand and discovered her journal. Just as he was reaching in to get it he heard.

"What do you thing you're doing!" Dawn accused angrily from the doorway. "You know this room is off-limits, heck it was partially your idea!" Dawn started to tear up at the sight of Buffy's things.

Spike grabbed the journal and crossed the room to Dawn putting his arm around her. "It's okay Little Bit, I had another dream last night. Buffy said that we would need her journal to help with bringing her back"

"Oh" Dawn said while sniffling, "I guess it's alright then, did she say anything else?"

"Not much, come on let's get some lunch and head over to the shop" Spike said while guiding her out of the doorway and closing the door behind them. They quietly made their way back to the kitchen. Spike guided Dawn over to the kitchen table and sat her down. "Captain Crunch, ok?" Spike asked as he made his way to the cupboard.

"Yeah, it's fine, sorry I spazed on you"

"No problem, that's what good ol' Spike is here for" Spike shrugged while taking down two cereal bowls and the box of Captain Crunch. He grabbed two spoons and made his way back to the table setting out the dishes. He then went over to the refrigerator and took out a carton of milk and a carton of blood while Dawn poured cereal into the two bowls. Spike walked back to the table and handed the milk carton to Dawn "Here you go" he said and then poured his carton of blood over his bowl of cereal.

"You are so gross, why can't you just drink you blood like a normal vampire?" Dawn asked while crinkling her nose and pouring her own milk over her cereal.

"Because if I did that I would be drinking my blood out of your neck" Spike replied matter of factly.

"Good point, carry on" Dawn said.

"By the way, since we are on the subject. My chip doesn't work anymore," Spike said in an off-handed manner.

"Yeah, I figured" Dawn said.

"You did?" Spike said a little taken back "How did you know?"

"Elementary my dear Watson, a couple of things clued me in" Dawn explained "First was the night in the cemetery after the funeral and I refused to go home and you threw me over your shoulder and carried me kicking and screaming back to the house, that one was kinda iffy because you weren't trying to hurt me but you were still forcing me to do something I didn't want to. The next time was a couple weeks ago, I don't even remember what I said, it was something smart-alecky and you biffed me on the back of the head. I knew then because Giles said you did that to Xander once and the hit hurt you more than Xander"

"Huh, good deductions Sherlock. I didn't even think about the chip in the cemetery. I didn't even figure out the chip didn't work till later that evening" Spike said proud of her for figuring out what none of the rest of them had. "Giles is telling the other's about it, this morning. That's why you got to sleep in"

"Didn't want to be around when Giles told Xander, huh?"

"Giles' idea, he said it would be easier this way" Spike shrugged. "We'll head that direction as soon as we get done with breakfast and you get dressed"

. . . . . . . . . . .

"Morning" Willow said cheerily as she let herself and Tara in the shop.

"Top of the morning to ya" Xander replied while waving from his perch on top of the counter.

"Yes, good morning girls" Giles said raising his head from the book of prophesy he was reading.

"Where's Anya?" Tara asked

"She's in the restroom trying to compose herself" Giles answered sounding annoyed.

"Why, what happened?" Willow asked concerned.

"The mean boss man" Xander said while thumbing towards Giles "said he wasn't opening the shop today and therefore there will be a loss in profits" Xander expression was somewhere between amusement and embarrassment.

"Ohhhh" Tara and Willow said in unison as Anya re-entered the room looking peeved.

"Now that you are all here, there's something I need to tell you all" Giles said addressing the group "if you all could come over and sit down" everyone wandered towards the table and took their normal seats. "If you remember yesterday, Spike said he needed to talk to me after patrol, well he had some interesting news for us, and I thought it would be best if I was the one to tell you"

"What is it Giles? Is it something about Buffy?" Willow asked.

"Or Dawn?" Tara added.

"No, it was about himself. He informed me that his chip has been disabled ever since the night of the battle," Giles said bracing himself for the group's reaction.

Xander hopped up from his seat "What do you mean it's disabled" he said throwing his hands in the air. "Where's Dawn? Willow you need to get the uninvite spell ready, Anya hurry and go"

"Now just wait a bloody minute Xander" Giles interrupted.

"That's exactly what it will be, a BLOODY minute, we have to act fast no that he knows where on to him" Xander was speaking very fast and pacing.

"XANDER SIT" Anya said firmly and loudly and Xander hurriedly complied looking very sheepish. "I like Spike, he's funny and nice and he isn't nearly as evil as I used to be" Anya stated.

"Me too, I mean, I like Spike too" Tara stammered.

"The only reason, we're onto him Xander is because he told us about it himself, if he wanted us dead we already would be" Giles explained "In fact, you would have been dead last night if not for Spike, remember? He could have let the demon kill you and no one would have even blamed him"

"Well, yeah, but he's still a soulless demon and . . . ." Xander trailed off realizing Giles was correct.

"Soulless or not, he has choose to do good with his unlife and has given us much needed support. We wouldn't have last a week patrolling if it hadn't been for Spike. We are on a hellmouth with no slayer, you've seen the influx of demons we've had since Buffy's death. Like it or not we need Spike, he's also our only link to Buffy and seems to be the only way to bring her back" Giles explained then turned to Willow "You're being awfully quiet about this, don't you have anything to say?"

"I don't know anything, it wasn't me, I'm sure it quit working all by itself" Willow blurted out nervously.

"Willow, you naughty Wicca, what do you know" Xander asked.

Willow shifted her eyes to and from each member of the group as they stared at her like she had grown a second head. "Nothing, why would I know anything about breaking Spike's chip"

"You do know something, I insist you tell us, it might be helpful" Giles demanded.

"Well you guys remember when I communicated with Spike, telepathically during the battle? Well I kinda remember hearing a pop and I felt a little jolt when I did it, but I didn't realize what it was until just now. I think, that maybe, through no fault of my own, brokespikeschip" she explained running all her words together.

"Well that is a better, theory, than Spikes" Giles said "He thinks it was when he got hit in the head with a brick"

Xander started laughing and it was his turn to get starred at "What, you can't tell me that Spike getting hit in the head with that brick wasn't funny. I mean not at the time because the world was ending but thinking back now HA that was helllllarious" Xander explained. "Ok what do we do now?" Xander said trying to change the subject. "What's our policy on soulless demons being a Scooby?"

"I vote, we do nothing," Anya said. "Nothing has changed, he hasn't had a chip this entire time and we need him so that our fiancés don't get dead and ruin up coming weddings and we need him to bring Buffy back so that I don't have to sit in an old yucky car everynight" Anya finished nodding very proud of her own logic.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing with Anya, but I agree" Willow stated and Tara nodded in agreement.

"Fine, we keep the status quo, but dead boy better keep his fangs away from my neck and you guys necks, well everyone's necks for that matter"

"I don't think that will be a problem he hasn't even tried to feed from a human this entire time" Giles explained

"Good" Xander said just as the phone rang and Anya hopped up to answer it.

"The Magic Shop, we put the hocus in your pocus." Anya said cheerfully into the phone. "Oh it's just you, I thought you were a customer, hold on. Giles it's for you, it's Spike" Anya held out the phone for Giles to take.

Giles walked over to the counter and took the phone "Thank you, Anya" then into the phone "Yes, Spike? Did you need something? . . . . Yes everything is fine here, you and Dawn can come over at anytime now. Yes I've found an interesting prophecy I think maybe in reference to Angel . . . . What's so funny? . . . . Who said I'd say that? . . . .ok, then we'll discuss it when you get here . . . . right" Giles finished and hung up the phone and addressed the others "Well, they're on their way, lets everyone" Giles said looking directly at Xander "try to act normal when they get here".

"What! Don't look at me, I am Mr. Normal remember, the only normal one in the bunch" Xander said trying to sound shocked but not accomplishing it very well.

. . . . . . . . . . .

A half hour later Dawn bursts in the front door holding it open for a smoldering Spike who ran in behind her with a smoking blanket held over his head. Dawn shut the door quickly behind him locking it and Spike threw the blanket on the floor by the door. "So what's new?" Spike said trying to act his normal cocky self and not quite pulling it off.

Everyone was sitting around the table each of them intently studying a book except for Willow who was surfing the internet. They tried to act uninterested in Spike and act normal but he could sense their nervousness and the quickening of their hearts. He could smell it, it was fear. He tried not to let it bother him, but it did. They had been mates for over a month now, working together, slaying together and their fear hurt him. "I'm going to head up and get the books I was working on" Spike said as he hurried past the group and raced up the ladder to the loft.

"Good one guys" Dawn hissed quietly. "Why don't you just put giant crosses around your necks or something" Spike just smiled a little at Dawn chastising the group.

"Sorry, Dawny, we didn't mean to" Xander whispered "We'll try to be better."

"You better" Dawn said as she took a seat and crossed her arms over her chest.

Spike then appeared at the top of the ladder with his arms full of books. He slid all the books to one arm and grasped the edge of the ladder with the other he then swung around and slid down one side of the ladder with a ain't I cool smirk on his face. "So Giles lets have a look at that prophesy you were telling me about" Spike said as he plopped the books down on the table with a thud and took a seat.

"Yes, it's in the codex" he said reaching for the book in the middle of the table. "It's not really clear, you know how these things are but it talks of a fallen slayer and the vampire with an inner light that loves her. It must by Buffy and Angel."

"Yeah, she said that you'd say that" Spike said with a cocky grin on his face and he propped his feet up on the table and put his hands behind his head.

"Who did?" Anya asked.

"Buffy did, in my dream the other day. She said to look in the book to find a prophesy and for me not to believe Giles when he said it was about Angel because it was actually about moi" Spike said gesturing to himself.

"Oh, I see" Giles said a little disappointed that his interpretation was wrong.

"So what does it say about this wonderful vamp?" Spike asked as he put his feet back on the floor and got into attention paying mode.

"Like I said it's not really clear, it says that the Priests of the Order of Life could cause the rebirth of the Chosen One if the vampire with the inner light who loves her can conquer the demon whose eggs are the giver of life. With the eggs, the head of the demon mother and the essence of her sister daughter the priests can perform a ceremony which will make the chosen one be reborn out of the ashes of the vampires old love." Giles finally concluded.

Spike clenched his jaw realizing what must be done, "Let's get on with it then," he said stiffly.

"But there is so much we don't know yet, like who these monks are" Giles said.

"Those are the monks that made Dawn" Spike answered quickly.

"But Glory killed them all" Tara stated.

"Doubtful, she probably just killed the local sect. Willow you'll need to get on the computer and see if you can locate their home temple" Spike said to Willow who immediately started typing on her laptop.

"We still have to find out which demon whose eggs are the giver of life and" Giles continued.

"Ghora demon, lives in the sewer on the north end of town" Dawn piped in. Everyone except Spike turned and looked at Dawn like she was the demon in question. "What, I've always told you guys that I know things, you just never listen to me"

"What else do you know about this demon? Giles asked visibly upset that Dawn has this sort of knowledge.

Spike interrupts, "Reptile type demon with three heads, I can take care of it. Anything else I'd like to get started"

"Ok, and I assume the sister daughter is Dawn and her essence would be a blood sample" Giles continued.

"It's always the blood" Xander mumbles almost to himself.

"What about this reference to dust? We have to know every piece of the prophesy if we are going to succeed" Giles finished.

Spike continued to clench and unclench his jaw and said quietly "It's Dru" his eyes going hard as he said her name.

TBC . . . . .