Chapter 3: Dinner
'Damn if this tub isn't as cold as hell!', Spike thought. Having no body heat of his own meant that it wouldn't be getting any warmer. 'Well maybe if I'm real polite with Giles when he comes back I can talk him out of a pillow and a blanket.' Spike was confident that he could do this, which raised his spirits. He relaxed and waited patiently for his dinner.
Giles saw Buffy off then set about getting Spike his dinner. They had sent a grumbling Xander out to the butchers to get blood after dinner and Giles had put it in the fridge so it needed to be warmed up. Giles opened his glass cabinet and looked for a mug that he didn't use. Somehow he didn't believe he would be reusing the mug once Spike was done with it. He pulled out his yellow "Kiss the Librarian" mug. 'This will do', he thought; 'I've never liked this mug.' Some student at the high school had given it to him filled with candies for Christmas. He had never used it; it was too embarrassing to use even if he was alone.
After pouring the blood into the mug he stuck it in the microwave to warm it up. While he waited for the blood to warm up he let his thoughts drift and before he knew it the bell dinged. He opened the door to the microwave and gagged at the smell of the blood, which had boiled over in the microwave. 'Lord I may have over done this a bit.' "Spike!", he yelled to the vampire chained in his tub, "can you drink blood after it has boiled? I may have left it in the microwave too long."
"At this point I will drink it anyway you give it to me so long as you just BLOODY Well give it to me!", Spike yelled back. Giles shrugged and carried the mug down the hall to Spike.
When Giles walked into the bathroom Spike had his head resting on the back of the tub and his eyes closed. "Thank God", Spike said opening his eyes to look at Giles and his dinner. 'Too bad Giles isn't my dinner,' he thought, '.oh well.' "I feel like I am wasting away here." Spike said out loud to Giles.
"Alright", Giles said walking over and kneeling beside the tub. He realized that Spike's chains were too short for Spike to feed himself easily so he held the mug up to Spike's lips. Spike gave him a pained look but said nothing.
Spike was starving enough that didn't give a rat's ass about the humiliation of being fed from a stupid novelty mug. Though he was frustrated at not being able to use his hands. He hungrily bent his head to take a big gulp just as Giles said, "Be careful.," Spike swallowed a whole mouthful of the blood. Spike jerked his head back and yelled, "Bloody Hell!" ".it's hot.", Giles finished.
"Hot! I'm surprised it's not on fire." Spike glared at the Watcher. "You couldn't have warned me a bit earlier?"
"Sorry, but I did tell you that it had boiled." Giles said with a shrug. "I'll go put a couple of pieces of ice in it to cool it off." Giles quickly got up and left Spike alone again in the bathroom.
'Patience Spike patience', he told himself. 'If you piss him off you won't get anything you need.' He lay there and tried to calm his anger. Giles was back quickly with the mug and Spike was more cautious this time as he started to drink. He took a small sip and when he found it cool enough to drink he drank hungrily, finishing off the whole mug in a few seconds. He tried to reach some of the blood he had dribbled on his chin with his tongue but most of it was too far down his chin to catch.
Giles reached over and pull off some toilet paper. "Here let me get that for you." He said as he started to wipe Spikes chin clean.
"Hey!", Spike said jerking his head back. It was one thing to be fed by the Watcher it was something else to have him cleaning his face for him.
"Suit yourself Spike." Giles handed the toilet paper to Spike. Spike bent his knees and leaned forward till he could just get the tissue to his face. He made it look harder than it was, didn't want the human to think he was making it easy for him.
"Will that be enough for the night Spike?", Giles asked. "I can feed you more in the morning but I'd really like to get some sleep now."
Spike was still hungry and thought about asking for more. But he wanted a pillow and blanket more than he wanted blood at the moment. The blood had done little warm him even as hot as it had been. "Yeah, that will do me for tonight Watcher...thanks", he forced out after a long pause.
Giles got up to leave the room and Spike waited until he got to the door and then asked as if it were an afterthought, "You wouldn't happen to have a pillow and blanket I could use? It's bloody cold in here."
Giles turned to look at the captive vampire. 'Does look a little uncomfortable', he thought. "Yes well.hold on a second Spike." He went to the hallway closet and grabbed a comforter and then grabbed a throw pillow off his couch.
"Thanks Watcher", Spike said as Giles entered with the pillow and blanket. Giles dropped the blanket over Spike then touched his shoulder to get him to sit up. Spike looked over his shoulder at the watcher. It was strange to be touched by a human who knew what he was. 'Guess I better get use to it', Spike thought.
When Spike didn't move Giles just held out the pillow and gave him a questioning look. Spike sat forward and Giles put the pillow behind his back. "All better?", Giles asked cheerfully.
"Well let's see I'm chained in the bathtub of my mortal enemy, with the taste of scorched pigs blood in my mouth, along with blisters I might add and I have the prospect of complete and udder boredom ahead of me. So yeah, thanks, the blanket and pillow make it all better!" Spike had what he wanted which meant that he felt that he didn't have to be nice anymore.
"Fine then I'll just take them back then." Giles said with a roll of his eyes and a long impatient sigh. He reached over to retrieve the blanket but Spike grabbed it and wouldn't let it go.
"They're fine Rupert, no need to get in a huff." Spike said putting on an air of nonchalance. "Kind of sensitive aren't you?" he asked rhetorically.
"Good night then", Giles said as he headed to the door. "I'll see you in the morning." He turned the light off and shut the door. About two seconds later he came back and re-opened the door a crack and then walked down the hallway and upstairs to his bed.
Spike listened to Giles getting ready for bed and for the quiet that told him Giles had gone to sleep. He wasn't too uncomfortable, now that he had the blanket and pillow but he wasn't tired in the least. He was a creature of the night and it was.well.Night. He was wide-awake and quickly becoming bored out of his undead mind. He laid his head back against the tub and closed his eyes. Spike let his mind wonder in an attempt to bring on sleep.
This turned out to be the wrong idea. All he could think about was where he had made the mistakes that had ended with him here chained in the Watcher's tub. First he had let himself be captured by those bloody commandos. He wondered how they had known he was a vampire. Maybe they have some device that tells them the difference between vampire and human. Well at least he had escaped from them alive. It was a little unsettling though to think they had done things to him while he had been unconscious. 'Yes', he thought, 'I am lucky I'm not dust right now.' He didn't feel very lucky though. He tried to stretch but his chains prevented him from stretching enough to relieve his tension.
His second big mistake had been to think that he could come to the slayer and her booby gang for help. He hadn't counted on them not trusting him to the point that they would keep him locked up the whole time. He wasn't really sure what he had been thinking. He had just found himself sizzling, covered only with a thin blanket, running to Giles' house in full daylight. He had known that his only chance to escape recapture was to get inside somewhere. Since Harmony had kicked him out he guessed he just went to the only other place where he knew someone well enough to ask for help. "Asking for help! Me! What have I done to myself? And all I get for my troubles is chains and a hell of a case of insomnia." He said quietly to the bathroom walls.
He lay there for hours alternating between self-debasement and semi- unconsciousness. Finally he just had to admit to himself that sleep would not be coming anytime soon. What to do he wondered. He tried to break the chain locking his hands to his feet but without success. Eventually he had more boredom then he could stand so he started planning his escape.
'Damn if this tub isn't as cold as hell!', Spike thought. Having no body heat of his own meant that it wouldn't be getting any warmer. 'Well maybe if I'm real polite with Giles when he comes back I can talk him out of a pillow and a blanket.' Spike was confident that he could do this, which raised his spirits. He relaxed and waited patiently for his dinner.
Giles saw Buffy off then set about getting Spike his dinner. They had sent a grumbling Xander out to the butchers to get blood after dinner and Giles had put it in the fridge so it needed to be warmed up. Giles opened his glass cabinet and looked for a mug that he didn't use. Somehow he didn't believe he would be reusing the mug once Spike was done with it. He pulled out his yellow "Kiss the Librarian" mug. 'This will do', he thought; 'I've never liked this mug.' Some student at the high school had given it to him filled with candies for Christmas. He had never used it; it was too embarrassing to use even if he was alone.
After pouring the blood into the mug he stuck it in the microwave to warm it up. While he waited for the blood to warm up he let his thoughts drift and before he knew it the bell dinged. He opened the door to the microwave and gagged at the smell of the blood, which had boiled over in the microwave. 'Lord I may have over done this a bit.' "Spike!", he yelled to the vampire chained in his tub, "can you drink blood after it has boiled? I may have left it in the microwave too long."
"At this point I will drink it anyway you give it to me so long as you just BLOODY Well give it to me!", Spike yelled back. Giles shrugged and carried the mug down the hall to Spike.
When Giles walked into the bathroom Spike had his head resting on the back of the tub and his eyes closed. "Thank God", Spike said opening his eyes to look at Giles and his dinner. 'Too bad Giles isn't my dinner,' he thought, '.oh well.' "I feel like I am wasting away here." Spike said out loud to Giles.
"Alright", Giles said walking over and kneeling beside the tub. He realized that Spike's chains were too short for Spike to feed himself easily so he held the mug up to Spike's lips. Spike gave him a pained look but said nothing.
Spike was starving enough that didn't give a rat's ass about the humiliation of being fed from a stupid novelty mug. Though he was frustrated at not being able to use his hands. He hungrily bent his head to take a big gulp just as Giles said, "Be careful.," Spike swallowed a whole mouthful of the blood. Spike jerked his head back and yelled, "Bloody Hell!" ".it's hot.", Giles finished.
"Hot! I'm surprised it's not on fire." Spike glared at the Watcher. "You couldn't have warned me a bit earlier?"
"Sorry, but I did tell you that it had boiled." Giles said with a shrug. "I'll go put a couple of pieces of ice in it to cool it off." Giles quickly got up and left Spike alone again in the bathroom.
'Patience Spike patience', he told himself. 'If you piss him off you won't get anything you need.' He lay there and tried to calm his anger. Giles was back quickly with the mug and Spike was more cautious this time as he started to drink. He took a small sip and when he found it cool enough to drink he drank hungrily, finishing off the whole mug in a few seconds. He tried to reach some of the blood he had dribbled on his chin with his tongue but most of it was too far down his chin to catch.
Giles reached over and pull off some toilet paper. "Here let me get that for you." He said as he started to wipe Spikes chin clean.
"Hey!", Spike said jerking his head back. It was one thing to be fed by the Watcher it was something else to have him cleaning his face for him.
"Suit yourself Spike." Giles handed the toilet paper to Spike. Spike bent his knees and leaned forward till he could just get the tissue to his face. He made it look harder than it was, didn't want the human to think he was making it easy for him.
"Will that be enough for the night Spike?", Giles asked. "I can feed you more in the morning but I'd really like to get some sleep now."
Spike was still hungry and thought about asking for more. But he wanted a pillow and blanket more than he wanted blood at the moment. The blood had done little warm him even as hot as it had been. "Yeah, that will do me for tonight Watcher...thanks", he forced out after a long pause.
Giles got up to leave the room and Spike waited until he got to the door and then asked as if it were an afterthought, "You wouldn't happen to have a pillow and blanket I could use? It's bloody cold in here."
Giles turned to look at the captive vampire. 'Does look a little uncomfortable', he thought. "Yes well.hold on a second Spike." He went to the hallway closet and grabbed a comforter and then grabbed a throw pillow off his couch.
"Thanks Watcher", Spike said as Giles entered with the pillow and blanket. Giles dropped the blanket over Spike then touched his shoulder to get him to sit up. Spike looked over his shoulder at the watcher. It was strange to be touched by a human who knew what he was. 'Guess I better get use to it', Spike thought.
When Spike didn't move Giles just held out the pillow and gave him a questioning look. Spike sat forward and Giles put the pillow behind his back. "All better?", Giles asked cheerfully.
"Well let's see I'm chained in the bathtub of my mortal enemy, with the taste of scorched pigs blood in my mouth, along with blisters I might add and I have the prospect of complete and udder boredom ahead of me. So yeah, thanks, the blanket and pillow make it all better!" Spike had what he wanted which meant that he felt that he didn't have to be nice anymore.
"Fine then I'll just take them back then." Giles said with a roll of his eyes and a long impatient sigh. He reached over to retrieve the blanket but Spike grabbed it and wouldn't let it go.
"They're fine Rupert, no need to get in a huff." Spike said putting on an air of nonchalance. "Kind of sensitive aren't you?" he asked rhetorically.
"Good night then", Giles said as he headed to the door. "I'll see you in the morning." He turned the light off and shut the door. About two seconds later he came back and re-opened the door a crack and then walked down the hallway and upstairs to his bed.
Spike listened to Giles getting ready for bed and for the quiet that told him Giles had gone to sleep. He wasn't too uncomfortable, now that he had the blanket and pillow but he wasn't tired in the least. He was a creature of the night and it was.well.Night. He was wide-awake and quickly becoming bored out of his undead mind. He laid his head back against the tub and closed his eyes. Spike let his mind wonder in an attempt to bring on sleep.
This turned out to be the wrong idea. All he could think about was where he had made the mistakes that had ended with him here chained in the Watcher's tub. First he had let himself be captured by those bloody commandos. He wondered how they had known he was a vampire. Maybe they have some device that tells them the difference between vampire and human. Well at least he had escaped from them alive. It was a little unsettling though to think they had done things to him while he had been unconscious. 'Yes', he thought, 'I am lucky I'm not dust right now.' He didn't feel very lucky though. He tried to stretch but his chains prevented him from stretching enough to relieve his tension.
His second big mistake had been to think that he could come to the slayer and her booby gang for help. He hadn't counted on them not trusting him to the point that they would keep him locked up the whole time. He wasn't really sure what he had been thinking. He had just found himself sizzling, covered only with a thin blanket, running to Giles' house in full daylight. He had known that his only chance to escape recapture was to get inside somewhere. Since Harmony had kicked him out he guessed he just went to the only other place where he knew someone well enough to ask for help. "Asking for help! Me! What have I done to myself? And all I get for my troubles is chains and a hell of a case of insomnia." He said quietly to the bathroom walls.
He lay there for hours alternating between self-debasement and semi- unconsciousness. Finally he just had to admit to himself that sleep would not be coming anytime soon. What to do he wondered. He tried to break the chain locking his hands to his feet but without success. Eventually he had more boredom then he could stand so he started planning his escape.