I'm finally back from vacation and will be updating more regularly again.

Last time: Willow convinced Buffy to be nice to Spike in an effort to get closer to him and find out his secrets. Spike was angry to learn that Professor Walsh was still giving Buffy bad grades.

*****

Gifts 16/?

Buffy and Willow were arguing...about how to deal with a particular problematic vampire.

"Date? Spike? No!" Buffy set her lips in a firm line, not liking the idea much at all.

"It's the only way," Willow insisted.

Buffy glared at her.

"Okay, not the *only* way, but a darn good one," her friend amended. "Look, you have to get closer to Spike, so ask him out on a casual group date and that way, you won't have to be alone with him but he'll appreciate the effort and you can worm more information out of him."

"Group date. Hmmm." Buffy considered. "Could be worse, I guess. But where?"

"A Halloween party." Willow indicated the wall calendar. "It's perfect. It's coming up soon, you have the night off anyway so you don't have to worry about patrolling, and it does seem oddly appropriate, doesn't it?"

"Odd, yeah. Appropriate, no. All right, I'll talk to him about it," Buffy agreed. Dating Spike: just another sacrifice she had to make to keep the world safe from demons.

*****

That same day, Buffy had the opportunity to approach Spike about the date. She had figured she could talk to him after comp, but as she headed toward the building on her way to class she spotted Spike leaning against the door, right next to a "No Smoking" sign. He was puffing away on yet another of his disgusting cigarettes, and as he noticed her he straightened and stepped away from the door. "Slayer, hi."

"Hi, Spike." She paused beside him, trying to avoid the smoke. "I wanted to talk to you about something." She bit her lip. God, this was hard.

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Go 'head."

"Umm, Halloween. Party. You and me." She sounded like an idiot, acting nervous over making a date with an evil vampire. Buffy pulled herself together and plowed ahead, almost choking on the words but determined to force out a complete sentence. "I was wondering if you would like to come to a Halloween party with me."

Spike's face lit up. "Really?"

"Well, Oz and Willow and Xander and Anya will be coming with us, too," Buffy clarified. "It's a group thing."

Spike looked a little less thrilled at this news, but still receptive.

"Yeah, I'll go with you."

"Okay, well, I'll let you know exactly when and where as soon as I have all the details myself." A stray gust of wind carried a cloud of smoke straight into Buffy's face and sent her into a coughing fit. Why did that stupid vampire have to smoke, anyway?

Spike looked down at his cigarette. "This bothering you?"

"Actually, yeah, I can't stand the smell of those things."

"Oh." Spike dropped the cigarette to the ground and crushed it out under his heel. "Sorry 'bout that."

They both moved aside as a group of their classmates headed into the building. Buffy consulted her watch. "We're going to be late for class. Better get inside." Together, they proceeded indoors. Well, Buffy thought, one fake "date" with the vampire wouldn't kill her. At least, she hoped not.

*****

Spike was pleased. He was clearly making progress with Buffy. After all, she'd actually asked him out on a date. Okay, so it was a group date with her friends, but it was still a move in the right direction. Now, he had to do something for her. Professor Walsh was at the top of his agenda. Spike's minions had obtained the information he needed to use against her, but he'd give her one last chance before he took any drastic steps. So, once again, Spike lurked near the professor's car, awaiting her arrival. He could have cornered in her office, of course, but it was best to hold their little meetings away from curious ears.

This time, it was still daylight when she approached her vehicle. Spike made no effort to hide, and Professor Walsh spotted him from a good 50 yards away. She hesitated for a brief, almost indiscernible, second, then proceeded on her way. As she inserted her key in the lock, ignoring him, Spike moved a little closer. "Good afternoon, Professor Walsh. Must say, I'm a bit disappointed. Can't follow simple instructions, can you? It's a wonder you ever graduated university."

She yanked open the door and turned to face him. "Whoever you are, I'm reporting your actions to the dean. You can rest assured, your plot to help Miss Summers has backfired. I won't be pressured into altering her grades."

"If that's the way you want it." Spike stepped back and watched as the professor, obviously startled at his quick agreement but not about to question it, got into her car and drove away.

It had been a strategic retreat, of course. Spike hadn't really expected the woman to give in to his demands, though matters would have been much easier all around if she'd just quit before she fell behind. Humming to himself, he strolled over to the DeSoto, jumped inside, and peeled out of the parking lot. He had some reconnaissance to do.

According to his most trusted minions, a demon-hunting operation called the Initiative had just recently set up shop in Sunnydale and they'd constructed an underground base that should be fairly simple to infiltrate with the aid of sewer access. Interestingly, Maggie Walsh had been spotted entering and leaving the base on several occasions. She was apparently a person of fairly high standing in the organization. Spike's plan was to sneak in, get an up-close look at the place, figure out some of its workings, and then use his knowledge to apply pressure to Walsh.

He parked the DeSoto in a safe place and entered the nearest sewer. Spike was pretty familiar with the maze of tunnels, having used them in the past to navigate around Sunnydale, so it was easy for him to wind his way to the new not-so-secret base. He turned his senses on high alert as he drew close, not sure how much security might be present.

Apparently, very little. The idiots must have assumed that any demons would be trying to break out, rather than in. As far as Spike could tell, the few heartbeats in the place came from quite a distance, probably way on the other side of the building.

He crept along to the wall and had little trouble finding a door set into a dark corner. Spike slowly pulled it open and let himself inside. Still no signs of the enemy. He found himself at the end of a long, white hallway with several doors set on either side. Not getting any warning vibes, he proceeded along the hall. No nearby heartbeats, or any sign of demonic presence, either.

At the end of the hall, Spike paused. He could go either right or left. He chose left and found himself looking at a series of cramped rooms that reminded him of prison cells. All were empty.

Deciding not to press his luck any farther, Spike returned to the exit and lit up a cigarette. So, this place was the center of operations for his newest enemies. It was big. Sterile. Boring. He already didn't like it.

The brief look he'd had was good enough for now. It had given him an idea of what he was up against. Spike didn't much like the thought of having to deal with human demon hunters, so he wasn't about to just leave the Initiative alone. The more information he could obtain about them, the better. In fact, the more allies he could rally against them, the better. It might be time to join forces with some of Sunnydale's unaffiliated demons.

Preparing to leave, he took another draw on his cigarette, then frowned. Buffy didn't like his smoking. She had been very negative about it, in fact, claiming to hate the smell. That was a problem. Well, he could always switch to those herbal things, or maybe just quit altogether if that still bothered her. Spike flicked the smoldering cigarette onto the floor and slipped back out the door. He had some preparations to make.

TBC

Spike will NOT be chipped, and the Initiative won't be around for long. In fact, it'll be taken care of probably in the next chapter.