4.

Buffy picked at the food on her plate, simply rearranging it, pushing it round rather than eating it. Joyce watched her with concern for a few moments, looking at her daughter's frowning face, the blue eyes that stared at the plate but didn't see anything.

"Honey? Are you – are you alright?" she asked finally, carefully. Buffy looked up and gave her a bright, completely false smile. "Is everything OK?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she replied, voice brittle. "Why?"

Joyce opened her mouth to answer, stopped short by a knock at their front door. It provided Buffy a quick and convenient escape from her mother's questions. After all, how could you tell her you were worried that your Watcher, the school librarian, had been snatched and maybe turned into a vampire by his probably Undead girlfriend? "I'll go!" Buffy exclaimed, scraping her chair back and leaping to her feet. Joyce watched her hurry from the room and shrugged She heard the flurry of voices from the hall and identified them as Xander and Willow and Cordelia. At least, she thought, Buffy had fallen in with a good crowd this time. They seemed nice, though Cordelia had more money than was good for her…… She shook her head reflectively and carried on with her meal.

* * * *

Ripper and Jenny made their way out of the school into the swiftly growing darkness of early evening, pausing once to watch a janitor idly pushing a cleaning cart along the hallways. They slipped by him silently, easily, the janitor little knowing how close he had come to a sudden and swift death at their hands.

They wandered now through the centre of Sunnydale, hands clasped, watching people hurry passed them on their own business, late shoppers out and running errands. Ripper smiled suddenly, pulling Jenny round and over to a bench where they sat for a moment. He could smell the warmth of the blood pounding through the people near them, could hear their hearts beating. "How stupid they all are," he murmured softly. "Like cattle. Just there for us to feed on. How little they know."

Jenny nodded agreement, then pointed at a figure some distance away from them, white blonde hair shining as he passed under a streetlight. "He's like us, though," she said quietly, glancing up at Ripper, the words soft and murmured, for him alone. "A hunter. A predator." Ripper silently watched as he approached, and was unsurprised when the vampire stopped in front of them, looking down.

"Well, well," Spike said, smiling grimly. "And what do we have here?" Idly he pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his long leather coat, and lit one, insolently blowing the smoke towards them. "A couple of newborns," he scoffed. "I suppose you did this? He directed the comment to Jenny who gazed up at him defiantly, dark hair swinging behind her. He nodded abruptly. "Bloody Angelus. Always got to bugger about and play with people he wants to kill. You know, kill their friends, drive them mad. Surprised he didn't Change her bloody mother." He gazed down at them, eyes travelling over the librarian's tweed suit and plain white shirt and snorted, amused, grinning, started to move away. And paused, as if struck by a thought, turning slightly back towards them. "Better watch out for the Slayer," he said softly. "Don't think she'll spare you because you were her Watcher. You know what she's capable of, more than anyone. She won't be happy……… Nice suit, by the way."

Ripper smiled wolfishly back, but the smile didn't reach the watchful, inhuman eyes as he stared back at Spike. "And it's because I know what she's capable of that I'll do what you've always failed at. I'll fight her – and I'll win."

Spike snorted contemptuously again and turned on his heel, the coat swinging behind him. "I wish you luck," he tossed back over his shoulder as he strode away. "You'll need it." The amusement in his voice was clear. "She'll wipe the bloody floor with you, librarian. You'll never be strong enough to take her."

Ripper rose suddenly to his feet and plucked at the clothes he wore, face wrinkling in distaste at the feel of the tweed and the plain shirts that he worn when he was Giles. "Come on," he said, pulling Jenny to her feet and kissing her. "We've got some things to do. And I'm hungry again."

* * * * *

The young woman in the department store watched the couple approach, taking in the expensive suit and the woman's soft leather pants and beautifully cut dark hair. They had money, she decided, and a tip was always useful…… She pasted a smile on her face and moved forwards, ignoring her aching feet and legs. "Good evening," she said, the words bored and dull, words she could say in her sleep. Thank God her shift was nearly finished and they'd be closing soon. "May I help you with something?"

The man looked at her, his eyes moving over her from her feet to the top of her blonde, shining hair, smiling lazily. She felt herself redden under his thorough inspection. "Yes," he said eventually, with an odd smile. "I'm looking for – something a little different."

Ripper turned in front of Jenny. No use looking in the mirror, he thought sardonically, but he liked the feel of the loose black shirt and the soft, buttery feel of the leather trousers the assistant had brought them. Jenny had taken the stuff and passed it into him, the assistant calling out suggestions of things he might like to try, the greed in her voice clearly apparent. Jenny smiled and slid closer to him, raising her hands to his shoulders and running them over the silk, feeling his muscles tense and flex, moving smoothly beneath the soft black material. "You look evil!" she said in delight, even more when he Changed, the features even more pronounced under the bright light of the changing rooms. He smiled, fangs glinting in the light. He turned swiftly as the voice of the assistant came from outside, warning them that the store was about to shut and did they wish to pay by credit card or cash? He grinned wolfishly – who had any intention of paying?

"I'm hungry," he said softly. "I think the girl needs to come in and take some of this stuff away." He indicated the piles of garments that hadn't suited so well. Jenny smiled in response and opened the door to the changing cubicle; Ripper carefully turned away so that he wasn't in the line of the mirrors and also so that his face would be hidden when the girl entered. He listened as they approached, the girl prattling brainlessly, broken by Jenny's low growl. He busied himself examining a shirt as they came in – until the door was swiftly shut and blocked by Jenny's body. The sales girl didn't even have time to scream as he turned and was upon her, holding her immobile as he fastened onto her throat, feeling the roar and pound of her blood. Jenny followed and they fed together, the girls eyes slowly glazing and her body becoming limp, head falling back as they drained the lifeblood from her.

They left her body in the cubicle without a backwards glance, gazing sightlessly at the ceiling, sprawled amidst the piles of clothes she'd brought them, the garments all black – except for the tweed suit and the plain, white shirt that had belonged to the Watcher.