It was a good night's kip. I must have been tired. I didn't even notice the snoring from the Watcher. Probably the same for the girls, after all we'd been through in the last few days. They were certainly quiet enough. So, either they are getting closer to being mates, or they've finally killed each other. If they had I'm pretty sure there would have been considerably more noise, and I still have supernaturally good hearing. So I'll take the optimistic view. Hope I'm right.

We headed out down the main drag for some brekky. Found hoards of travellers heading for of all things the "Pumpernickel Bakery", so we followed 'em in search of good coffee for the girls and some tea for us Brits. Hey! Gotta keep up that national stereotype, don't take care of itself you know. Though I draw a line at carrying a brolly, unless it's more of a shooting stick with concealed weaponry.

There was a nice garden out back, and we sat down to enjoy the early morning sunshine. This is still something of a novel experience for me, as you'll imagine. Fresh mountain air, steaming hot caffeine, cinnamon rolls, fried eggs, friends and the girl I love. Top this! I can't, but I'm gonna try.

Buffy was wearing her "on the lam" woolly hat. The one she wore when we made that deal over Acathla. I love that hat. She looks adorable in it. Giles made me put that dammed fedora on again, in case we needed to do reccon. Giles and Anyanka looked like the model Action! Couple! on the front of a trekking company catalogue. They were colour co-ordinated. They were just too cute. That is a strange and worrying thing for even a re- tuned vampire to admit.

Fuelled up we paid, left and headed down the winding streets. The shopkeepers were already busy. Not much of the season left, what with the monsoon coming and departure of the travellers to warmer, drier climates, and one not quite so close to the threat of flying nukes. So we had lots of cries to "come in", and look at thangka paintings, rugs, jewellery, t- shirts, statues and the curved Gurkha knives. Buffy kept being distracted by the clothes and the knives. Giles kept stopping to check out the statues. Force of habit I suppose. Anyanka nearly bought a rug. She's definitely nesting. Rupert didn't even look scared. I'm well impressed.

Buffy nearly had a culture shock fit when we came across a shrine covered in someone's washing, and goats eating at the fluttering flags tied to the top. She had another one when we tried crossing the road and had to move past a slumbering cow first. God, it's good to get out of sanitised for your protection California.

We got to the main square eventually, without too much shopping.

It was weird. There was a big white European style palace opposite pagoda things, with more ancient brick temples with intricate carvings over the doors and windows. The hawkers had their pitch. The soldiers guarded the palace. As we walked further into the square Buffy pointed at a huge statue, of a black 6 armed figure wearing a garland of skulls trampling a corpse.

Buffy looked at me and said, "didn't we kill something like that in Restfield Cemetery last November?"

Giles gave a small smile and said, "I certainly hope not Buffy. We'd have to get out of here pretty fast, and you'd have about a billion people after you. That's the Bhairab, the most fearsome aspect of Shiva, trampling human ignorance. Shiva's one of most popular Hindu gods, so I hope you didn't kill him. Two gods would be a bit excessive don't you think?"

Anyanka looked adoringly at him and said, "Rupie, you know everything!"

He blushed, shook his head, smiled and said, "I wish.and no you don't have to grant that. No, combination of watcher training and well.in the early 70's you had to know that sort of things on the India trail to get laid." He blushed again and we went for a walk around the square.

Didn't see any un-naturally big corn-feds.

Buffy did get rather distracted though. She'd been looking around at the temples and statues like a kid in a sweet shop. Not sure she'd have noticed the cardboards if the tossers had come up and bit us. Which is something I definitely don't want. She kept saying, "look at that! Look at this! Wow! I can't believe I'm here!" And that perennial favourite, "Cool!"

Then she looked up at the roof of one of the temples. Stopped. Her eyes got huge, her cheeks pink, her heart rate shot right up and her breathing like it did when she threw me to the floor of the crypt.

I looked up to where her attention was glued. My dad would have had a heart attack if those carvings had been on the roof of the cathedral. Some of the positions the figures carved on the roof struts were busy occupied in I hadn't even tried with Buffy. OK I had with Dru, but you do need to try new things to keep the spark if you're gonna shag the same person for over a hundred years. The threesomes and foursomes depicted I hadn't played with since we escaped Darla and the Poof. OK they dumped us. But if I want to think of it that way I will. Right?

Giles and Anyanka joined us, hands linked. Anyanka looked straight up, studied the carvings with interest and said, "ooh Rupie can we try that one?"

He blushed, but studied it anyway.

Buffy's hand took my forearm and gripped it. Her attention was fixed on the carvings but her grip was sure, and her thumb was moving slowly, stroking my skin. The combination of her caressing my arm and the sun warming it, after so long in the cold, was marvellous. I'd write a poem about it, but it'd only end up a bad version of "There's a little Yellow Idol to the North of Kathmandu." Re-tuning can't do much on the old lack of poetic talent front.

Ok, breathe, move eyes away from naughty but nice carvings, enjoy the sensations, no. Slow! Remember! Bad Spike, no biscuit. She gets to make all the moves. No matter how hard it is, in any meaning of that phrase.

Giles comes to our rescue.

I don't know whether to hit him or kiss him. In an entirely fraternal way you'd understand. I mean.love the guy but not that way.

He coughed, pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "we haven't seen anything suspicious here, we should move on to Freak St. It's south of here, if I remember correctly."

So we left the bulk of the temples behind.

There was a group of travellers going into a temple/palace on the corner of the square. Still need the distraction at this point so I ask teacher. I get the lecture. Bullet point being, "home of living goddess."

At this Buffy stops, her shoulders slump and she glares at Giles, "Another one? Coz gotta tell ya. Been there, done that, not fun!"

He smiled at her and patted her arm with the hand not busy tracing pattens on Anyanka's palm. "We're all perfectly safe Buffy. This one is a little girl who is the incarnation of Durga.the demon slayer, until she grows up."

"Lucky her!" from Buffy. I took her hand at that and gave it a small squeeze. She squeezed back. Comfort accepted. Superb! But not rushing stuff, so I let her listen to dad.

I missed some of his "Hindu Gods and Goddesses for beginners". Well I haven't had to kill any so never had to learn before. So attention Spike. "Durga is an aspect of Parvati, whose terrible aspect is Kali wife of our 6 armed friend over there. She is the active sexual partner with Shiva Lord of the Dance."

Oops. Buffy started blushing again. I would, but I can't.

In full on lecture mode Giles continued, "Shiva is the creator and destroyer, unlike Brahma the preserver. Shiva is represented by the lingam symbol you'll have noticed people anointing with milk."

"Buffy had gone bright red at this point and interrupted, "the thing I thought was a stone sausage?"

He nodded. She decided death by terminal embarrassment was not a good move and said in a voice higher pitched than normal, "So Freak St. Why Freak St, not very Nepaly?"

Giles looked all nostalgic like at that one, and it took his mind off "gods we certainly ain't used to" wonderfully. "It's where all the hippies used to stay in the late 60's and early 70's. Great fun, pies, cheap.things that are bad and I shouldn't have.But."he trailed off wistfully.

Anyanka looked at him and said, "it's ok I want to hear all of it later. I want to know everything about you." He smiled and kissed her.

We walked off down a narrow rutted street leading off the square. We were clearly in hippy territory. Cheap guesthouses rubbed shoulders with restaurants offering banana pancakes and pizza.

We'd got halfway down the street when a thin man with dark hair and an English accent said, "hello Ripper?"

Giles looked gobsmacked. "Ethan?"