Part Eleven - Surprise

Buffy was patrolling with Willow and Oz. It was shortly before
mid-terms, but they'd all decided to take a study break to kill some
demons. All except Xander, he was doing a job at the other end of town,
so he wouldn't be able to help that night. "You know, we haven't seen
Spike in two months," Buffy said.

"Can we not mention his name?" Willow frowned. "I'm a fan of 'don't
ask for trouble'."

Buffy heard something behind her, and turned. The treeline behind her
was a perfect hiding place for a demon. "Stay here guys," she said to
the other two. "Come out come out wherever you are," she called, pulling
a stake out of her pocket. She saw movement in nearby trees, and dove
in after it. She saw it, whatever it was, and grabbed it by the shoulders,
throwing it out into the clearing.


"You again? What the hell are you doing still here?" she asked the
blond vampire.

"Being annoying?" Willow offered.

"Bloody hell, what did *I* do?" Spike said looking at them innocently.

"Do you *really* need a run-down of the past two hundred years?"
Buffy replied, with a raised eyebrow.

"Aw, I'm touched, Blondie. You've been studying up on the exploits of
William the Bloody? Read anything that impressed you?" he teased.

"Um...." Buffy tilted her head to the side, thinking. "No. I *am*
thinking, though, that staking you would be overdue. I am so sending
you to hell tonight."

"Yeah, I hear you're good at that," Spike replied, grinning. At
Buffy's stricken look, he chuckled. "Score one for me!" he said
in triumph.

Buffy recovered, shaking off the sadness and guilt that always
accompanied thoughts of Angel and how she'd had to kill him. "I only
regret that I won't be able to send your crazy bitch of a girlfriend
there with you," she said, approaching Spike slowly.

"Now that hit below the belt," Spike growled, angrily. "I'm going to
make this very painful for you."

"Stop talking, and start fighting," Buffy sighed. She rushed at him,
and ducked the punch he threw. She continued forward, tackling him. She
rolled away from him, and rose to her knees. She lifted her stake, but
he caught her arm, pulling her down on top of him. He leaned forward
in gameface now, trying to bite her, but she kneed him and rolled away again.

She jumped to her feet about the same time that he did. He threw a
punch, which she blocked.

She then kicked him in the gut, sending him back to the ground. "You
know, life on the Hellmouth is likely to be pretty boring after
you're dust," she said, waiting for him to get to his feet. "No more
Master Vamps makes Sunnydale a boring place."

"I know something you don't know," Spike said in a sing-song voice,
grinning at his own personal joke.

"Yeah? What's that?" Buffy asked, but didn't wait for an answer. She
punched at him, but he blocked the punch, and grabbed her staking
hand, twisting the wrist. Buffy yelled as she heard the bones crack,
and dropped the stake. She fell to her knees, holding her broken wrist.

"Even if you did dust me, which you won't, this town will _not_ be
free of Master Vampires," Spike said.

He turned to block Willow's attack, backhanding her and sending her
flying twenty feet away, to have her fall broken by a headstone. As
her head hit it, she cried out in pain before slipping into unconsciousness.

Oz was torn, but his love for Willow made him go to her first.

Buffy saw Spike running away, but looked toward Willow and Oz, unsure
what to do.

"Buffy, go dust him!" Oz yelled. That was all Buffy needed to hear and
she got up and ran after Spike.


********

She stopped in front of the Mansion, and felt vaguely irritated.
This was Angel's place, and she'd be damned if the English demon would
defile it. "Defile. Yay SAT's" Buffy said to herself with a giggle.
"'Kay, be serious now. Spike dusting underway."

She walked in, and saw no Spike. She did see the place had been lived
in, very recently.

There was a fire in the fireplace, and books lying around. *Books?
Spike reads?* she wondered.

She heard footsteps behind her, coming from the hallway, and she
turned, arm raised ready to stake Spike. The stake dropped from her
hand, however, as she saw the occupant of the house.

"Angel," she gasped.

******