10.

"Whoa!" Xander halted in surprise, rocking backwards on his heels, hands coming up, palms outwards. "What the – how - Buffy? Do you know there's a vampire in your house?" He ducked his head and stared at her in disbelief.

She'd started pacing again after she'd opened the door. Now, she stopped for a moment and glanced at him, mouth tight. Willow waved weakly, then dropped her hand down, turning to look at the laptop she'd set up.

"Yes, Xander, I had noticed," Buffy answered tartly. "He's here to – to help us." The words caught in her throat for a moment before they made it out. Spike looked at Xander, grinning, and gave him a cheery wave from his comfortable perch in an armchair.

Xander looked from one to the other, with an expression on his face that said he couldn't decide whether he should run or humour them all. "Okaaay," he said finally, drawing the word out. "But I'm watching you, Spike. Don't forget it." He settled into a chair, glaring at the vampire.

Spike rolled his eyes and snorted. "Oh, please!" he drawled. He started to rise to his feet. "Bloody get over it, already. I've got a deal with the Slayer – didn't say nothing about her friends……" Xander also started to get to his feet, fists clenched, glaring at Spike.

"Sit down! Both of you!" Buffy snapped sharply, pointing at them. "We're not here for that. We're here to – to – to get my Mom back. And if you can't help, you can just – go."

"OK, OK! Wasn't gonna do anything. Don't get your bloody knickers in a twist." Spike muttered, subsiding back into the chair, rolling his eyes again.

Willow frowned as she looked at Buffy. The Slayer's voice was strained and Willow thought it wouldn't take much to push her over the edge, for her temper to snap. She decided to herself that she didn't want to be around when it went.

"So, do we have a plan or what?" Xander looked round.

Buffy nodded, swinging round to face the three of them, hands on her hips, face stony. "Yep. We go in, we get Mom. If they're there, I'll kill them. If they've hurt her, I'll kill them."

Xander rubbed his face. "OK, well, that seems simple enough…… direct and ah, to the point." He glanced at Willow, who shrugged. "How are we going to find them?"

"That's where Spike comes in," Willow piped up. "He saw them – he knows where they are."

The blond vampire nodded smugly. "We were just waiting for you to show up before we went," he said. "Come on, then, Slayer. Let's see what you've got. Show me everything – I wanna see it all!" He rubbed his hands together, smiling. "Weapons, I meant, weapons! God, you people!" the vampire added hurriedly, as Buffy glanced at him, taken aback, and Xander growled under his breath.

* * * *

"In there." Spike pointed towards the darkened building, glancing over at Buffy. "That's where they're lying up. Right under your noses, they were. Literally."

They were huddled in a group, though Spike stood back slightly from them, absently bouncing the double bladed axe up and down on one palm, the other gripping the haft tightly. The nearest streetlight was a fair distance away, but even the dim light burnished his blond hair, shone from the wickedly honed edges of the weapon he carried.

"How do you know?" Buffy asked softly.

"Ah. Well. I followed them for a bit and they came to the school – bit odd, I thought – so I stayed behind them. Didn't see me. Weren't expecting to be followed so they didn't look. And that's where they went. Into the library – and down."

"Down?" Buffy questioned.

Spike raised his eyebrows. "Yeah – you mean you didn't know about the basement under the library? And no, I don't mean the Hellmouth, I mean a normal, run of the mill basement. Storage space, I think it was. Didn't get close enough to go in with them, though, if you see what I mean."

Buffy nodded decisively. "Right. Xander, Willow, I want you to stay out of the way. If they're in there and we fight, I want you to get Mom out. OK? Don't put yourselves in danger. Stay back, let us go first. Spike, you're with me. If it comes to a fight, you're my backup. And if you don't help and I need you – you're dusted, deal or no deal. Got it?"

Willow and Xander nodded and Spike stared at her for a moment, eyes flat, before dipping his head also.

Buffy stood up. "Let's do it."