Chapter 2: Getting Him into the Tub

Buffy set about untying the myriad of knots holding him to the chair while Giles stood silently holding the crossbow aimed at Spike's chest. Spike sat there grumbling to himself trying to think of someway out of this. The only plan he could come up with was to let them dust him and at the moment that thought didn't sound like such a bad idea to him. Why and the bloody hell did he come to them in the first place? He was such a wanker to get himself in this situation. Well he wasn't going to let his desperation show to the slayer and her bloody watcher. He was determined not to lose his cool in front of them. Well actually he didn't care about the watcher but he would never lose it in front of Buffy.

Buffy finished untying him and he rubbed his arms to get feeling back in them. He waited for the word to move, so he wouldn't give Giles an excuse to shoot him plus he might as well delay the inevitable. "Lets go Spike", Giles said using the crossbow to point in the direction of the bathroom. Spike got up and went in the direction he was told with Giles a few feet behind. Buffy stood back so she wouldn't be in between Giles and Spike. She followed behind them carrying the heavy load of chains and locks.

Spike walked down the darkened hallway past the kitchen. There were three doors in the hallway and all the doors were shut. He had no idea, which was the bathroom. The first door was smaller than the other two so Spike took it to be a closet and went to the second door and opened it. It was obviously not the right room. It was a little study with a love seat and a desk. Not much room in there for anything else.

"Sorry Spike", Giles said coming up behind him. "It's the door on the left at the end of the hall." Spike looked over his shoulder at the watcher who was standing there waiting patiently for him to move on down the hall. All the while pointing that sodding crossbow at him. It unnerved him that the Watcher was so calm about all this. Humans were suppose to be nervous around him not the other way around. "Fine", he said in a nasty snarl as he moved down the hall to the bathroom.

Spike opened the door to the bathroom and walked in. An old cast iron tub that stood on lion-clawed legs dominated the room. Spike walked to the tub but didn't get in; instead he stood there looking down at it. Giles stayed by the door while Buffy squeezed past him and into the room. "Get in the tub Spike", Buffy said as she noticed his hesitation. Spike turned to look at her. Did she really expect him to stay in the tub? From her look it was obvious that she did. "In!" She said harshly.

Spike resigned stepped into the tub. Buffy dropped the pile of chains and pulled out the shackles. It was a pair of thick ankle and wrist shackles connected by a three-foot long heavy gauged chain. "Sit down Spike", Buffy said calmly.

"Hang on a second", Spike said as he took off his red shirt. "Be a good lad and clean this for me watcher" Spike said as he threw the shirt at Giles. Giles, caught off guard, dropped the crossbow on his foot as he reached to catch the shirt. "Oww" That did it; the watcher was definitely paying attention now.

Giles quickly reached down and picked up the crossbow. "You arrogant prat!" Giles said as he took a step forward and brought the crossbow back to point at Spike's chest. Spike tensed, was the watcher going to shoot him? 'Well', Spike thought, 'I don't mind annoying them, if that's all I can do, but not to the point they dust me.' Even as he thought this he pushed his luck further. "What ever happened to British hospitality Rupert? Is this how you treat your guests? Guess that's why your only guests are Little Miss Muffet here and her wannabe slayer groupies."

Before Giles could respond Buffy interrupted. "Shut up Spike! And sit! Now! ", she said with a thinly veiled threat in her voice. Well actually it wasn't veiled at all. Spike sat down.

Buffy immediately set about putting the shackles on Spike's ankles as he sullenly looked on. When she was finished with his feet she reached up and grabbed one of his hands to attach the handcuffs. The full impact of his situation hit Spike and he bulked. He pulled his hand out of her gripped as she tried to attach the cuff. "Those aren't necessary", he said. "Even if I could get out of the tub how far do you think I'm going to get with my feet chained?" A touch of desperation edged his voice but he didn't care.

Buffy ignored his plea. "Give me your hands Spike", Buffy said as they played a comical version of keep away, with Spike waving his hands around and Buffy trying to catch one. Buffy stopped and sat back on her heels and looked at him. "I thought you were going to cooperate?"

"I am!" Spike said as he tucked his hands tightly under his arms. "You know I can't hurt anyone. Why do you need to put those on me?"

"That's it! I'm not going to put up with you anymore." Buffy turned to Giles. "We can get the information he has some other way Giles. Just dust him and we'll rinse him down the drain." Giles smiled a small sinister smile at Spike. "My pleasure Buffy. Thought you would never ask."

That wasn't a pleasant thought. 'Rinsed down the drain!' Spike wondered if they were bluffing him but he didn't give it too much thought before deciding to play it safe. "OK, ok, do what you like", he said as he thrust both of his hands out in front of him.

Buffy quickly put the cuffs on him before he changed his mind. 'Wow that's a relief. Now he's safe.' Not that he could harm anyone in his present condition, 'strange that', but being Spike he could still cause a lot of damage. Surely being chained in a bathtub will keep him out of trouble. Buffy stood up and surveyed her work. Spike had his head bowed and eyes lowered to his hands. 'No part of me should feels sorry for him but damn him if his pathetic act isn't having some affect on me. He's evil and a pain in the ass and has tried to kill me more than once', she reminded herself. Then she thought of leaving him alone in the house with Giles. There is no room for sympathy when a friend's life was at stake.

"That will do I think" Buffy said with a quick glance at Giles then turned to leave the bathroom. Giles looked down at Spike as if he to was judging her handy work, then he also turned to leave. Spike got the feeling that neither of them was planning to come back and feed him. He suddenly felt very desperate and didn't care who saw him that way. "You are coming back to feed me right?", he asked in a voice near panic. Buffy stopped at the door and turned back to him. "I said I would feed you tonight if you cooperated Spike. You didn't so you wait." Her face became determined.

"I did! I did cooperate Slayer. I did everything you told me to do" He put on his most innocent face. The need to feed was overwhelming and with him being chained in the tub and unable to do anything about it he feared he might go insane. 'Can she really be that cruel?'

"I had to threaten to kill you before I could get you to do anything. I wouldn't call that cooperation Spike."

"I did my best! I was just trying to tell you that I thought you were overreacting with all these chains." Spike raised his bound hands to emphasize his meaning.

Buffy took a step closer to him, ready to go a verbal round but Giles interrupted. "You go on home Buffy I'll feed him before I go to bed." Giles put his hand on Buffy's shoulder and turned her towards the door. "Don't worry Spike, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Spike relaxed a bit as he watched them leave the room. He rested his head against the back of the tub and tried to find some position that would be comfortable. It wasn't too bad right now but he had the feeling that after he had been here all night that would change. 'At least I'm going to be fed', he told himself. 'Maybe that watcher isn't all bad after all. That bloody slayer on the other hand would have left me here all night without feeding me.' 'Well she's got spunk', Spike thought with a small smile. 'It's what I would have done if I was her. Still I think I prefer Giles who isn't as nasty.'