CHAPTER NINE: TARGET
Angel paced outside the library, trying to collect his thoughts. Buffy and Spike?! He couldn't even begin to fathom how that had happened. He needed to talk to Buffy though, but he didn't know exactly how to approach the topic.
Ever since he had come back from hell, things between the two of them hadn't been very clear. They were lovers trying to be friends, and failing miserably. Even now, without having to worry about Buffy growing older with him staying ever youthful, he still had the curse.
He knew it was selfish of him to even think about asking her to stay with him. He had been thinking about leaving so that she could be with someone normal, but now that she was…undead, it seemed that she never could have that normality.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had been outside the library for the last hour, trying to give her space. He had been peeking through the window ever few moments to see what exactly she and Spike were up to, but Spike seemed to be maintaining a slight distance between them.
Inside, the Scooby gang seemed to be slipping back into their normal routine. Buffy was sitting with her mother, Joyce's hand running absently through Buffy's hair. Joyce was quietly talking about normal things, things that she could handle. Having her daughter turned was something she didn't even want to think about, but she had accepted it. Buffy smiled when she heard her mom was going to be at an art exhibit for the rest of the week, starting in the morning. The distance would probably do them some good.
Giles seemed to just be staring at his Slayer every now and then, almost amazed that she was sitting there with them. The fact that she was a vampire was just beyond him in every measure. He had seen her 'game face' for only a split second after he had hit her, and had yet to see it emerge again.
Xander, Willow, Oz and Cordelia had slipped back into the casual banter. Somehow the kidnapping by the Council had made things easier. It made them realise that, no matter what, they would always love Buffy, vampire or not.
Angel sighed again and hesitated before heading back inside. Xander shot him a disdainful look, hating that Angel was still there. For some bizarre reason, Xander actually preferred Spike over Angel. It seemed as though Spike had come through in the end. He had brought Buffy back, and for that, Spike would always have Xander's respect.
Beside him, Willow yawned and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Her movements caught Giles' eye, and he looked towards the clock on the wall.
"Good lord. It's nearly three o'clock," he commented.
Xander looked up and grinned a little. "Well, time sure does fly when you're not having fun," he quipped.
Buffy gave him a slight smile and stood up. She looked at her mom and helped her to her feet.
"Uh…now what?" Buffy asked.
Giles saw the confusion in her eyes, could hear it in her voice and see it in her stance.
"Well…I would say that he uh…the Council won't have anything planned, at…at least not for a while. You uh…you should be relatively safe," Giles said.
Buffy nodded and stared at her Watcher, trying to tell him that she meant so much more than that. He caught on fairly quickly.
"As…as for school…it uh…it would be best to…to inform Principal Snyder that you have…for lack of a better word, passed on," Giles said, trying to consider his words carefully.
Buffy sighed sadly. "So, school's a no go. What about everything else? I mean…do I still patrol, or what?"
"Well…that's entirely up to you I suppose," Giles said.
Buffy nodded and closed her eyes. "Then I still patrol."
Giles smiled thankfully. Not for the first time that evening, he knew he hadn't lost her entirely.
"And uh…where exactly am I staying?" Buffy asked.
Spike looked up quickly before anyone else could answer. "You've got a place with me if you want it," he offered.
The room went silent. Buffy could remember quite well the activities that had happened earlier that day. They seemed like a life time ago, but she knew they had happened. And, even though she hated to admit it, he had taken good care of her. Not to mention the other parts of the activities.
She smiled and nodded gratefully.
"You are always welcome at home Buffy," Joyce said quietly.
Buffy looked at her mother and smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you."
Spike put a gentle hand on the small of Buffy's back, and that small movement made Angel completely snap.
He rushed towards his childe, grabbing his neck and yanking him painfully away from Buffy who was too startled to even say anything.
Vamping out, Angel gave a low growl at Spike. Spike paused and began laughing until Angel shoved him against a wall, beginning to crush his throat. It wasn't as though Spike needed to breath, it was more the fact that he had seen Angel pull heads off minions when he had been Angelus that made Spike's smile fade.
He pushed Angel away and raised his scarred eyebrow.
"You're kidding me," Spike said.
Angel de-vamped and gave an evil smile. "No joke. Tomorrow. Sunset. You know the place."
With that, he stalked out of the room, ignoring the incredulous stares that everyone was giving him.
Spike tried to pull himself together, adjusting his leather duster and trying to remain calm. Buffy looked at him quizzically and walked towards him.
"What was that?" she asked.
Spike looked at her and pulled her into a hug, wondering if after tomorrow night he would ever be able to do that again. He held her in a grip that would have been painful for anyone else in the room.
She pulled away, but let his arms stay around her waist.
"Spike, what was that?" she asked. Her voice was small, afraid. She didn't understand what was happening to him or to her, and he knew that the entire turning had upset her more than she was letting on.
Spike sighed and ducked his head into her neck, nuzzling her gently. He lifted his mouth to her ear, giving the lobe a tiny kiss.
"He just challenged me," he said.
"Challenged? What does that mean? Challenged you for what?" she asked, fearing the answer.
He looked at her, pain reflected in both of their eyes.
"You."
Giles looked up, somewhat interested by the notion.
"He challenged you? I wasn't aware that that was still done," he said curiously.
"Not very common anymore," Spike said, his eyes meeting the Watchers. "S'only done for something real valuable."
Giles regarded his Slayer, seeing the small smile that came to her face as she realised that Spike was calling her valuable.
"And I suppose as the head of your bloodline, he feels entitled to her," Giles said thoughtfully.
Buffy pulled away from Spike and stared at her Watcher. "Uh, hello? Standing right here. I'm not property to be challenged over."
Spike put a hand to her shoulder attempting to get her to calm down.
"You remember what I said earlier? Bout you being a prized commodity?" he asked.
She nodded, remembering his words. You'll be a target. It didn't sound particularly comforting at all.
"A uh…a vamped Slayer is something that no vampire…well, no sane vampire at least, has ever tried to do. It would uh…many vampires would see it as a uh…a novelty as it were to have a Slayer be…be dependant upon them," Giles explained.
"And once again, standing right here. I can take care of myself you know," she said.
"They'd try and break you luv, and…you could last for a while, but…they could do it if they wanted to," Spike said quietly, the very thought of his feisty firecracker of a Slayer being docile and subservient sickening him to the core.
Buffy paused at that, not even wanting to think about it.
"But…why Angel? Why would he challenge you?" Buffy asked.
"He's in love with you," Spike replied. "And…seeing you with me is making his demon come to play."
The entire room went silent with the implications of that simple sentence. Angelus.
Buffy shook her head, fear in her eyes. "No. No, no, no. I am not going to let you two fight over me. I don't have to be with him if I don't want to. He should be challenging me, not you."
Spike grabbed her wrist gently and pulled her towards him. "Your Sire's dead luv. He just thinks you're vulnerable and…he thinks that you and he should be together. For eternity."
Buffy shivered at the thought. Eternity with Angelus.
"We could leave. You and me. You wouldn't have to fight, I'd still be with you, it's as simple as that," she said, rambling a little.
Spike shook his head and gently kissed her forehead, smiling not only because she was trying to protect him, but because she had chosen him without a doubt.
"I won't back down from a challenge luv," he said quietly.
She closed her eyes, leaning her head against his.
"Uh…what exactly is a challenge?" Willow asked quietly.
Spike looked up at the young witch and gave a small shrug. "Fight to the death. Fist and fangs only."
Buffy's eyes suddenly went wide and she gripped Spike tightly.
"You are so not going to fight with him over me," she said.
"I have to," he said. "He's my Sire and…technically he has first rights."
"But I'm not even from your bloodline," she reminded him, desperately trying to think of some loophole to stop Spike and Angel from fighting.
"But I am," Spike said, trying to think of a way to make her understand. "He's a right git and I hate him, but in the vamp world, he's got a right to challenge me over…"
Buffy saw him pause and she looked at him curiously. "Over what?"
"A mate," Spike finished.
Buffy pulled back, her eyes open wide.
"And I don't have a say in this I take it," she said angrily.
Spike hesitated and finally nodded. "There is one way to avoid it."
"What's that?" Buffy asked.
Spike looked away, for some reason not even wanting to consider the option.
"That you choose neither of them," Giles said, fascinated by the goings on.
Buffy looked at Spike's expression, not entirely certain about what she saw written there. She thought for a moment that she was reading him wrong, but she could see that he clearly wanted to be with her.
"Oh," Buffy said quietly.
"Dunno if that would help mate," Spike said. "Peaches isn't exactly incompetent. He's persistent as hell, I'll give the bastard that. Even if she and I weren't…"
Willow shuddered at the thought. She remembered only too well what Angelus had wanted to do to Buffy the last time he had been free.
Spike looked towards Giles, the librarian noticing that Spike's eyes were oddly soft. "You know as well as I do what he wants to do to her."
Giles' eyes widened. No matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to erase the night of his torture at Angelus' hands. It hadn't been the chainsaws or the cigarette butts that had nearly broken him, it had been the taunts and barbs concerning his Slayer that had nearly done him.
"I'd make her scream for me Rupert. She'll never go back from me. She's tasted the darkness. She was so hot. And I'm gonna make you watch me while I do it. I'll make you watch as she calls out for me. And after that…she won't leave me. Ever. You'll see."
Giles shuddered, Buffy looked at him curiously.
"What?" she asked quietly.
Giles shook his head, not even wanting to rethink about what Angelus has said in regards to his Slayer. There was no way he was going to tell it to her. She was better off not knowing.
Giles looked towards Spike. "Are you confident that you'll win?"
Spike nodded. "There's no way I'm letting that git anywhere near my Slayer," he said vehemently.
Buffy bit back a smile at the claim he had made on her. My Slayer.
Willow whimpered a little fearfully. She had seen the look on Giles' eyes as he had obviously remembered something painful about Angelus.
"And uh…if you lose?" Willow asked quietly.
Spike scowled at the young red head. "I won't bloody lose. You can count on that."
Hey hey ppl! Thanks sooooo much for ur revews/emails!
: What did just happen/ Very good question…buggered if I know…;)
Sariana: Glad to see a fellow fluffy Spike lover!!
ello: Hehe, sorry for making you stay awake! Glad you liked it though!
Nyxandnixi: I loved S5 Spike…fluffy puppy Spike!
Vette: Hope you'e not that keen on Angel, cos…well…he's a bit of an arsehole in this fic.
Lord of Pillows: I have no words…I'm laughing too fricken hard to type…How did you know I'd taken those scenes out? Hmmm…I must be losing my touch if it's so obvious… *grins*
Funky Chicken: Hehe, I love Giles…so, he gets to be all loyal to his Slayer (*cough*B/Ger at heart!*cough*)
Dustyvamp: Glad you're enjoying this!!
S_V: Thank you!! Just so everyone knows there's only 13 chaps in total to this fic!
Keya: Ooo, ur gonna hafta keep reading to find out Angel's reaction… ;)
Spuffygirl: thank you!!
Anne Rose: *grins* I'll take that as a compliment then… ;)