Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me Joss owns all things Buffy.
Spoilers: This chapter includes rumored spoilers for upcoming eps.
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Chapter 6

As Xander grabbed a drink out of the fridge he heard the muffled, but unmistakable, sounds of pleasure coming from the basement. He rolled his eyes, as he wished, not for the first time, that he had made the room soundproof. He knew that Buffy and Spike never made love unless they were sure that the SITs were asleep, but they didn't seem to worry about their other guests.

He walked out on the back porch only to find Willow, Andrew, and Anya already there.

"Anyone else sorry I didn't soundproof the new room?" He asked. All three raised their hands.

"I'm glad that Buffy is happy and all, I just didn't realize her happiness was going to be interrupting my sleepy time", said Willow. "And, how did we not know this was going on last year? I mean they are very...not quiet. How did they keep this a secret?"

Nobody answered her.

After a few minutes of silence Xander cleared his throat, "So, how much longer till one of us confronts Buffy about the whole Giles avoidance?

Everyone looked uncomfortable, but Willow spoke up, "I guess I'll talk to her. I mean I have sort of been in Giles' shoes before."

Before anyone else could say anything they heard the door behind them open and Buffy and Spike stepped out.

As Spike lit a cigarette Buffy looked at her friends, "What's everybody doing out here at this time of night?"

"Couldn't sleep", Andrew said.

"All of you?"

"Well with all the moaning and growling and 'Oh God's', it was a little noisy in the house." Anya announced with typical bluntness.

Buffy blushed bright red and mumbled an apology. Then she looked expectantly at Spike who was smirking proudly. She elbowed him and tilted her head toward the others.

"What?"

"Spike..."

"Why should I apologize for showing the woman I love how I feel about her? 'Sides, not like they ever apologized to me."

"Why would they need to apologize to you?"

"I lived in Monkey Boy's basement for weeks. Anytime his folks were out; he and Demon Girl were at it like rabbits. Not to mention all the times I came into the Magic Box through the sewers and heard 'em in the basement or the training room. 'Course the only time it actually bothered me was the night they were goin' at it in the basement when they were supposed to be lookin' for the Dagon Sphere to fight Glory." He paused when he saw Willow and Buffy shoot disbelieving looks at Xander and Anya.

"That's what took you so long that night?"

"We, uh, well, see, the end of the world, and uh..." Xander gave up and glared at Spike who merely lifted an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Then there was also the summer you were gone. More than once I came over here to check on the 'Bit and couldn't help but hear the lover Wiccas havin' a bit of fun."

Now it was Willow's turn to blush. "Sorry, Spike"

"Nothin' to be sorry 'bout, Red. You were just showin' your girl how you felt about her."

Buffy smiled and leaned against Spike, tacitly approving his choice not to apologize for the volume of their lovemaking sessions. He did have a point after all. They were just expressing their love. Maybe a little noisily, but still. They were in love, and happy.

***********************************

"Buffy, I need to talk to you." Willow said over breakfast later that morning.

"'Bout what?" Buffy asked around a mouthful of eggs as she tried to keep Spike away from her salsa-covered eggs. "Drink your blood, this is mine"

"But, luv, you know how much I love spicy things." He pouted.

Buff laughed and gave him a forkful of eggs. "There, now drink your blood and leave my food alone. I need all the energy I can get."

Willow sighed and shook her head. Buffy was in such a good mood and she was about to ruin it. Sometimes being a best friend sucked.

"Buffy, are you planning to tell Giles about you and Spike?"

Buffy gagged on her eggs and Spike grabbed a glass of water for Buffy while he glared at Willow.

Willow was unfazed. "They need to talk Spike. I mean what Giles did was wrong, but Buffy's going to need him in this fight."

Spike rolled his eyes, "Know that, Red. But don't you think you could have picked a time when she didn't have a mouthful of food. You know how she reacts."

"Hey! Sitting right here." Buffy yelled once she had stopped coughing. "And I don't need Giles. I already know what he'll say. 'Buffy, I'm afraid that I've found a prophecy or passage that says that in order to stop this apocalypse you must kill Spike, or Willow, or Xander, or Dawn.' It's always the same with him. I have to kill someone I love to stop the apocalypse. Except that I don't. Besides Angel, the only other person who has ever had to die to save the world is me. I don't want to die, but I know it's a possibility. I'm not going to sacrifice anyone else I love. So, there is nothing of value that Giles could possibly have left to tell me at this point in time."

Spike put his arms around Buffy. "Luv, I know you're angry. Fact is, I am too. But, sweetheart, he might know something we don't. He might know a way that we can survive this."

"He wanted me to let you die. How am I supposed to forgive that?"

Spike laughed out loud. "Sweetheart, you forgave me for 120-plus years of murder and mayhem, the murder of two Slayers, multiple attempts on your life, attempted rape, and my live sex show with Anya. You forgave the poof for killin' the Watcher's girlfriend, torturin' your Watcher, tryin' to kill you, and tryin' to end the world. You forgave Red for tryin' to kill you and the 'Bit and tryin' to end the world. And you forgave your whole Scooby gang for yankin' you out of Heaven. And you don't think you can forgive the Watcher for doin' something you tried to do yourself dozens of times? C'mon, luv."

" When you put it like that..." she trailed off and pouted. Spike growled softly and bit her lip lightly.

Willow rolled her eyes. She had never seen the way that they acted during her "do thy will" spell, but she had a pretty good idea now of what they had been like.

She looked at Willow. "I'll call him and ask him to meet you." Willow said. "Considering the topic of conversation, I think it might be best if you don't talk here."

Buffy nodded and moved into Spike's comforting embrace.

******************************

Willow arranged for Buffy and Giles to meet in the park just after sunset. Buffy wanted to meet before patrol, and Spike wanted to be able to be nearby in case Buffy needed him.

When Giles arrived at the park he found Buffy already sitting on a bench waiting for him.
He wasn't surprised to see the anger on her face.

He sat down next to her. "Buffy, I know that you are angry with me and that you have feelings for Spike, but I am relieved that you have realized that we need to..."

"Spike and Willow convinced me to come here tonight, and Spike was the one who told me that I should forgive you. He reminded me how many times I have forgiven the other people in my life." She paused and sighed.

"I know that I should forgive you. You were doing what you thought was best and I've forgiven Spike and Angel and Willow for actually killing people. But somehow, it's the fact that you thought killing Spike was in my best interest that makes it so hard for me to forgive you." Tears began welling up in her eyes. "You were more of a father to me than my own was for so long. I loved you like my father, and you claimed to feel the same way. But Giles, what kind of father tries to kill the man his daughter loves. How could you do that to me? Haven't I lost enough?

"Six years ago I died. Five years ago I had to send the man I loved to Hell. Two years ago I lost my mother and you tried to convince me to kill my sister. Then I was torn out of Heaven after only 147 days. And two months later you left me. Last year I nearly had to kill my best friend. How much more do I have to lose? How many more sacrifices do you think I can make before I break?"

"Buffy, I know that you have lost alot. I'm truly sorry for that, but after all these years, surely you realize that loss and sacrifice are part of being the Slayer. You are different than others. You are stronger than they are and as a result you are called upon to do what others cannot.

"I believe Spike is a threat and..."

"Stop it! If you want to talk, we'll talk, but if you keep attacking Spike, I will walk away."

"I will not stop it! You are allowing your infatuation to cloud your judgment yet again. This is just like Angelus all over again. You couldn't accept that he was a serious threat until it was too late. How many people will have to die at Spike's hands before you realize that he is a danger?"

Buffy stared at Giles in anger and disbelief. "This isn't even about Spike. It's about Angelus and Ms. Calendar. You blame me for her death, don't you? You've never forgiven me for not killing him before he could kill her.

"So now what? Since I couldn't turn my feelings off like a faucet and kill the man I loved you lost the woman you loved and now I have to lose the man I love to even the score?"

"Of course not. And Spike is not a man. He is a vampire, a demon."

"You're wrong, Giles. He's both. My mother saw that a long time ago, even before the soul she saw the man inside the monster. Dawn could see it, so could Tara. I saw it, but I tried to deny it because I knew you would want me to.

" You and Angel told me that demons couldn't love. That they couldn't feel guilt or compassion, but you were wrong. Spike has always been capable of love. Even before the soul, he was more than capable of compassion.

"Did I ever tell you that Spike came to my house the night I found out that Mom had to go to the hospital? I had hurt him earlier in the evening. I said something cruel and broke his heart. He actually came to kill me, but when he saw me crying he came to me and did his best to comfort me. He sat beside me and patted me on the back and listened to me.

"After I died, Spike was overwhelmed by guilt. Did you even notice that? Or did you just ignore his pain as long as he was helping? And then after what happened last spring, he felt so guilty that he went out and went through a series of trials, pain and suffering to get his soul back so that he wouldn't hurt me like that again.

"He chose a long time ago to fight on our side. He chose to get his soul back. His trigger is deactivated and he is still here. Still fighting the good fight. He is not a threat anymore."

"But Buffy, he could become one again. We don't know anything about this trial he says he went through. How do we really know if the soul is permanent? And now that you've removed the chip, he is free to kill whomever he wants. The prudent thing to do is to remove him as a threat."

"Oh, I get it. We should kill him now because he might be trouble down the road.

"So, do I have to kill Willow, too? She's a potential threat. She still has all that Wicca power. Oh and I should probably take out Anya, too. She might find a way to become a demon again and then she would be a threat.

"And you know Dawn might still be able to open a portal to a demon dimension, and you did want me to kill her before. So, I should probably kill her.

"Andrew helped Warren last year and he killed Jonathan this year. The First might not be done with him, so maybe I should put his name right under Willow's on my list.

"Oh, and how about you, Ripper? You summoned a demon that killed...how many of your friends? It almost killed Ms. Calendar and me. So, even though Angelus killed Ms. Calendar, you almost beat him to the punch. In fact, if it hadn't been for Angel, Ms. Calendar would have been killed by that demon you brought forth.

"You killed Ben. He was a human. I should probably put you near the top of the list, after Spike, but before Willow. After all, you are responsible for more deaths than she is.

"And let's not forget Xander. He summoned that musical demon last year that killed those people. He also cast that spell that ended with every woman in Sunnydale trying to kill him and Cordelia and got me turned into a rat.

"Where does it end, Giles? If I remove every potential threat by killing them, then I may as well just go home and set fire to my house, because everyone in there is a threat. Even the potentials. After all, they could go bad like Faith and start working for the First."

Giles had begun getting angry during Buffy's speech. By the time she was done, however, he was able to see her point. Killing Spike just because he might become a threat in the future was-well, not wrong, but definitely not right either.

"Fine. We won't kill Spike unless he actually appears to be a threat. I sincerely hope we will have enough time to act.

"But, Buffy, I still think getting involved with him again would be a truly grievous error..."

"Too late."

"What?"

"I love him Giles. I love him and he loves me and I am living on borrowed time. I can't afford to waste it. "

Giles began cleaning his glasses. In the shadow of a nearby copse of trees Spike laughed softly and shook his head at the Watcher's typical reaction.

That was when Giles exploded. He jumped off the bench and began pacing as he yelled.

"You stupid, foolish child. When are you ever going to grow up? You are still making the same stupid, self-centered, irresponsible choices that you made in high school. Have you learned nothing in the last seven years?"

Spike edged close to Buffy and Giles, prepared to spring into action if needed.

Buffy stood up and faced Giles with a calm, cold, deadly look on her face and spoke in a voice just as cold, calm, and deadly.

"As a matter of fact, I have! I've learned that you and almost everyone around me thinks that I'm not bright enough to find my way out of a paper bag with a map and a compass. That you don't trust my judgment because of Angel.

"But I also notice that when I come up with a plan to fight the Big Bad, you all jump on the bandwagon. And we have always ended up on top.

"So maybe I should be asking if you have learned nothing in the past seven years.

"Yes, I've made some bad choices, but guess what, I'm a human being. We do that.

"But this is not a stupid, adolescent, hormone-driven decision. Spike is a good man, a strong fighter, an important source of information, and a powerful ally. He survived the First, Giles. That has gotta be worth something."

Giles had the grace to look slightly ashamed at her rather accurate description of his somewhat unfair treatment of her. She may not have been blessed with the academic abilities Willow had, but she was not a stupid girl. She had in fact formed the battle plans for the defeat of the Master, Glory, the Mayor, and Angelus. And she had usually done so primarily on her own. She had a talent for strategy that bordered on brilliant.

He sighed heavily and sat back down. "I'm sorry. It's just that I wanted so much more for you than another vampire lover."

"What did you want for me, Giles? A nice human man? Tried that remember?

"Remember Owen? Nearly got him killed on our first date. Then Scott. He couldn't understand why I was always distracted. And let's not forget the illustrious Parker. What a catch he was.

"Which brings us to nice, normal Riley. Riley who couldn't handle that fact that I was stronger than he was. Riley who decided that because I had a couple of vampire bites that he needed to even the score by putting himself, and by extension the rest of us, in mortal danger by paying vampires to bite him.

"Or did you want me to settle down and have babies? Like Nikki? Robin was four when Spike killed his mother. Do you really want me to leave a motherless child behind? Look at Dawn. Is that any life for a child to have? Losing a mother early in life to some random demon or vampire?"

"Maybe. I don't know. All I know is that I want you to be happy."

"Giles, look at me. I AM happy. I'm happier than I've been since before Mom got sick. He's good to me Giles. But more than that, he's good for me. He keeps me in top fighting form. He makes me stay honest with myself. He helps me, but he doesn't stand in my way.

"He helps in other ways, too. He knows alot of demon languages and helps us translate texts we find. He also knows Latin, French, some Greek, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese. He kicks Willow's ass in the translating department. Dawn's starting to give him a run for his money, though. He's very low-key about it. I get all excited when he helps, but he still has some issues over being such a 'poncy prat' when he was human and he doesn't like to show that part of himself often.

"Giles, I love him. I love you. He loves me. You love me. Can't you just try, for my sake, to give him a chance.?

"He's not quite at you as angry as I am. And he's willing to give you a chance if you give him one."

Giles pondered her words. He was still unsure.

Giles grimaced as he saw Spike stride up to them. Giles suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He wondered how much the vampire had heard.

To Giles' utter surprise, Spike whipped out a stake. He then flipped it over and offered the blunt end to Giles.

"What is this for?"

"The day that I hurt Buffy is the day that I want you to use that little bit of wood right there to stake me good and proper"

Giles nodded, "I hope that I never have cause to use it."

Spike fixed him with a steady gaze, but chose not to respond.

"So, are we good now?" Buffy asked.

"I'll try." Giles said "That's all I can promise."

Buffy sighed. She had hoped for acceptance from her Watcher. She still hoped he'd come around. "All right. Well, Spike and I have to patrol tonight with the girls."

Buffy wrapped one arm around Spike's waist and smiled up at him. "Race you home."

Giles shook his head as he watched his Slayer racing off with her vampire. He had to admit, he hadn't seen her look so happy in years. She had even lost that look of complete exhaustion that he had seen on her face for so long. He was not entirely comfortable with the whole situation, but he was no longer quite so upset. He had always believed that 22 was far too young to be so tired. Maybe he'd been hasty in his decision to trust a stranger rather than his own Slayer and an ally who had proven himself more than once. An ally he now believed loved his Slayer enough to lay down his life for her.
TBC