Good evening, One and All,
Okay, so still no Spuffy, but lots of Spike! Next chapter will be chock full of Spike and Buffy. On the bright side, looks like you'll have a three chapter week, as I expect to present another on Sunday. ::: crossing fingers::::
Hope you enjoy this little foray into the dynamics of the Spike/Giles relationship. Hang on, more Spike/Buff lovin' to come.
Thanks for all the feedback and please let me know what you think of this chapter.
*Cheery Vibes*, Nimue
"As sick as it sounds, in my little head, there's a little Sunnydale, and a widdle Spike and a widdle Buffy and Spike wubs Buffy." James Marsters 14 July 2002
Title: Pipe Dreams (Chapter Twenty-Six of The One)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG -13
Pairing: Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.
Feedback: Yes, please
For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com . Also, please visit the wonderful fan listing that Rachel put together. Sign up today and link to your website (or just sign up to say hi!). The fan listing can be found at .
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (With, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)
Summary: Giles and Spike have a back porch discussion on what is happening and what's to come.
Pipe Dreams
He awoke slowly. Painfully. His entire body achy and tired. Still, he knew he had to rise. Knew there was something he had to do before she came back to herself. Hopefully.
She was curled against him, sleeping quietly, her eyelashes curled against golden skin looking so innocent and so sweet. It was a stark contrast to the night before. In the dim room, she looked like a slightly larger version of Emma. His golden goddess. His world.
Spike disentangled himself from her sleeping form, sliding off the bed and grabbing the phone in one, quick, almost silent movement. He pulled on his jeans and walked to the bathroom on bare feet, running his hands through his hair and feeling every muscle in his body scream in protest. Before she rolled again in her sleep, burrowing into his vacated warm spot, he was shutting himself in the bathroom and making the call.
"Magic Box!" A too chipper, female voice answered. His head groaned at the sound.
"Anya, I need to speak to Rupert," Spike said gruffly, his voice more gravely for the damage inflicted the night before.
There was a pause. "Are you okay? I mean, Rupie told me that."
"Now, Anya," Spike growled with uncharacteristic annoyance. "Please," he amended before she could be completely put off. He'd apologize properly later.
"Sure," she muttered, the phone brushing against the material of her slacks as she lowered it and walked into the back. "Rupert?" She held the phone out silently, and spun on a heel when her lover took it with a curious look and a shrug.
"Hello?" The older man's voice was full of concern, knowing what the call was about even prior to receiving it. Years of being a Watcher. The premonitions became contagious.
"It's time," Spike whispered. "Tonight."
There was silence on the other end. "Where is she?"
"Asleep," Spike answered, his voice barely audible. He didn't want to take the chance that her hearing had become more advanced to go with the rest of her newly acquired traits.
"What. what happened?"
"Not here, Rupert," Spike whispered. "Come to the house."
Spike could almost hear the Watcher nod. "Right then. Is she.?"
"She's herself at the moment. But I can't take chances with them." Spike's voice wavered at the last few words, tears running to his eyes. "Please tell me I'm right to do this."
"You are," Giles agreed. "You can't take chances with them. Peacemaker or no, prophesy or no, they are your children, Spike. Buffy's children. If you think that she is a danger to them, she would want you to."
"Please," Spike pleaded. "Come."
"Right then," Giles answered, pausing to rub his glasses on his shirttail. "I'll be there in an hour. Shall I be ready then to...?"
"No," Spike answered, his voice filling with tears. "Tonight. When we leave for patrol. Then. For now, just help us suss this out, Rupert. Please. I need her."
"I'll be there shortly," Giles answered, his tone confident. "And we will get her back."
~~~~~
Spike sat on the porch, a plume of smoke escaping out of the corner of his mouth as he exhaled. The cigarette didn't taste quite as good as he had remembered, but there was something comforting about the motion. About bringing it to his lips and taking a deep breath, and then pulling it down again as he blew the trail of smoke over bruised and parched lips.
Tara had taken the kids out to breakfast. He'd asked her to bring them back in a few hours and to please lay low for the rest of the day. The Witches had to stay to watch the spell, but Spike thought it only fair that Buffy had some time with the little ones while she still. while she knew what it was to be their mum.
The back door opened and closed with a click and solid, sturdy footsteps crossed the wooden deck to the stairway. Spike didn't turn. He didn't have to to know.
"I haven't seen you do that in quite some time," the familiar voice said as it approached. The voice was comfort. Warmth. The only one who seemed to know the magnitude of what it meant to be both human and in charge of saving the world, even if he'd never done it himself. Spike let the sound wrap around him like a blanket.
"Felt like I needed to," Spike answered, half -heartedly.
"Buffy will be disappointed," Giles answered, sitting down next to Spike on the stairwell, an identical plume of smoke filling the air with the smell of cherry and vanilla. Spike turned his head to the source. Giles sat, his teeth working a pipe as he smoked quietly.
Spike smiled. "Can't say I've ever seen you with a smoke, Watcher."
"It's only recently, since I've been ensconced with Anya," Giles answered, smiling wryly. "Felt like I needed to."
Again, Spike smiled. "How is your bird?"
Giles chuckled. "She's. wonderful and terrifying and perfect and utterly insane," he replied, his face lighting up with joy. "I'm not quite sure what I'd do without her."
"Don't ever try it, Mate," Spike commented, turning his face to the tree line and taking another long drag from the cigarette.
"I plan not to," the Watcher confirmed, leaning his elbows to his knees. They were silent for a long moment before Giles spoke again. "I have to say, Spike, you look like hell."
Spike chuckled, tossing the butt to the ground and reaching out with one long leg to squash it with the heel of his boot. "Felt better."
Giles leaned forward, taking in the battered landscape of the Vampire's face. The white gauze on his neck. "May I?" He asked, reaching for the gauze.
The Vampire put his hands up in a gesture of submission, allowing the Watcher to peel away the tape. The look on Giles' face said it all. He winced as the white bandages were pulled partially away from the wound. "How nasty?"
"It's quite. it's not a Vampire bite," Giles articulated, trying to pull the covering back over the ragged wound.
"B'coz she's not a Vampire," Spike answered, his voice torn between anger and hurt. "She's.Buffy."
Giles nodded, understanding the statement. "She did that unprovoked?"
Spike shook his head vehemently. "No. Got it all wrong. I encouraged her to feed."
A shocked look overtook the Watcher's features. "Spike, for Heaven's sake, *why*?"
Another cigarette found its way from the pocket of his duster into his mouth. Giles leaned over to light it for him. "She needed to feed. The demon. wasn't going to give her any choice."
Giles nodded, trying to accept that. "Why not pig's blood?"
"Tried that," Spike answered, staring off at the trees. "She spilled it. Wasn't time to fetch a new batch."
Again, the Watcher sat, thinking. There was more to it, Spike just wasn't ready to spill. So, he waited. One thing about being a Watcher is that one learns patience. A Waiter would have been just as apropos a title.
Spike sighed. "It's always the blood," he finally began. Giles had to smile, feeling one of Spike's prosaic speeches starting. It reminded him of a time the two of them had not understood each other and thought themselves on opposite sides of the fence. Now they were as good as brothers. Or father and son. United by the one girl that both of them loved.
"Knew that the transfer did something to our insides. I can feel this bloody light burning inside of me. Making my blood.warm. Stupid, sodding, imposing little sense of right and wrong the girl has," Spike continued, fingering the bandages on his neck. Giles nodded, trying not to grin again, and watched the Vampire sigh, shrugging. "Feel it in my veins, her Slayer. Nearly as pushy as my demon. Just a different feel. Foreign, but not. Like I've known it all along, just never had to deal with it before. Like an annoying in-law."
That, Giles had to laugh at. Spike even cracked a smile at the implication. "Know one or two of those, do you?" The Watcher asked.
"My bloody share," Spike agreed, nodding. "Even if they aren't by blood."
"Just the same," Giles confirmed, leaning back so his elbows touched the deck behind them. "So, you thought that if you fed her.."
Spike nodded. "That I could give her back her light," he continued. "Her Slayer."
"Not bad," the Watcher commented, blinking up at the early afternoon sun. "Did it work, may I ask?"
Spike sighed. "Temporarily. Had a few nasty side affects."
"The not artistically pleasing hole in your throat," Giles enumerated.
Spike nodded. "Not to mention that she didn't. she couldn't."
"Stop," Giles finished for him. "Spike, I wish you'd have told me what you had planned to do. I would have been there. I would have..."
"First off, Mate," Spike began, "She'd have had you for supper at that point. Second, there wasn't any time between her spilling the pig's blood and my . donation. And third." The Vampire stopped, thinking about how to say the rest.
"Third?" Giles repeated.
"Yeah, well," Spike shrugged. "Biting is rather. it's erotic. and."
For the second time, Giles winced. "I think you can stop there. I've got the picture. And then a few others I didn't need."
"You asked," Spike said, nonchalantly, taking another drag from the cigarette.
"Yes, yes," the Watcher agreed, his face looking much like that of a man who had sucked on a rancid piece of meat. It made Spike positively giddy. Embarrassing the Watcher had become a pastime between himself and Anya. "Back to the crux of the matter. You said this was temporary?"
Spike's face returned to seriousness, his eyes returning to the tree line. "Yeah." His voice was quiet now, pensive. "While I was out, Buffy came to me. In my mind. Gave me this potion. She got it from the fairies."
"The fey are back?" The Watcher asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Don't think they ever left, Mate," Spike corrected. "They watch Emma."
Giles nodded. "Did she. Was."
"Emma came," Spike continued for him. "Well, the Peacemaker. Have to differentiate, as the girl who comes to us in dreams is not quite Emma. Older. More."
"Ancient," Giles finished. "I understand"
Spike shuddered. "She's so beautiful. Such a good little tot. But it is rather eerie seeing her all grown up in my head every time things get rough, you know? Like the sheep watching after the shepherd."
The Watcher smiled. "That's her duty, just as protecting her is yours."
"And Buffy's," Spike added, looking back at the Watcher. "What are we going to do, Rupert? Blood's only good for thirteen hours. She'll be. she'll be. by sundown."
Giles's eyes filled with compassion. "Spike, I'm quite sure we'll find a way to return her to herself. Just have faith." He paused, thinking a moment. "Did Emma say anything in regards to the imbalance of the One?"
"Love always wins," Spike muttered, tossing yet another cigarette butt onto the concrete and stubbing it out with the heel of his boot. "Wish it was as simple as that, though."
Giles took a draw off the pipe, making the air smell sweet with cherry and vanilla. It reminded Spike of his father. Not the monster Gwydion had become. But Henry Windsor. Devoted husband. Loving father. Friend. "Maybe it is. Has she ever led you astray in the past?"
Spike thought for a moment. "Peacemaker's got a knack for being right."
"Then trust her now. Not to say we won't work on something a bit more concrete in the meantime, but trust in what she told you and let it see you through."
The Vampire took a long look at the Watcher. "You think that'll do Rupert? Loving her is enough?"
"It's a start," Giles responded, earnestly. "More to the point is her loving you. Loving her kids. Loving her life."
Again, Spike fell silent, his eyes falling to his knees. "I'd like to think she does. Like to think I make her happy."
The Watcher burst into laughter at that, nearly dropping his dangling pipe from his lips. Spike looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't realize I'd become comic relief."
Giles tried to stifle another round of chuckles. "That's just. Spike. that's amusing."
"What?" The Vampire asked with indignation.
"You honestly think that if you didn't make Buffy happy, you'd have been spared becoming the filler for an ashtray by now? If not by my hand, then by Dawn's, or better yet, hers?"
Spike smiled. "I'd have thought the whelp would be the first to have a crack at it."
"He's a bit blustery," Giles replied, still chuckling. "Lots of words, but very little to back it up."
"Gotten better on the backing up of late," Spike defended, a shocked look spreading over his features as the question of *why* he was defending Xander Harris crossed his mind.
The Watcher agreed. "Far better. But the fact remains. If any of us thought that you didn't make Buffy happy, if you weren't good for her or those children, one of any number of us would have shuffled you from this . relatively.mortal coil."
Spike nodded. "So, I've passed?"
"Long ago."
"Good to hear," the Vampire replied, turning his head to the sky. "Gotta wake her up soon. She should spend the day with the mites. In case."
Slowly, Giles laid a hand on the Vampire's shoulder, catching his attention. Spike's eyes glittered at the Watcher in the sunlight. "We'll get her back. No doubts."
Spike fingered the bandages as his neck again, nodding reluctantly. "But will she be the same?"
The Watcher furrowed his brow, studying Spike. "I'm not certain."
"Will she remember this?" Spike asked, his hands still on the bandages. "Will she remember what it feels like to be the demon? To feed? Bloodlust?"
"I don't know," Giles answered, dropping his hand back to his lap. "But if she does, we'll help her through."
"Will she forgive herself?" Spike asked, his face so serious it hurt the Watcher just in its depth.
"Can you forgive her, Spike?" The question was honest, although he already knew the answer. If there was one lesson the rest of them could learn from Spike, it was how to forgive.
"That's rot," Spike humphh'd. "Nothing to forgive her for. Did what she had to do. I did what I had to do. Had to bring her back. Not really a criminal offense, that."
"Then you'll just have to help her forgive herself," Giles comforted, patting Spike's shoulder again. "She's strong. Resilient."
"But she is what she despises most," the Vampire admitted, making his heart twinge in his chest. It killed him to realize that she was suffering through her worst thought. "She's her own worst nightmare."
Giles shook his head. "No, Spike. Her worst nightmare is losing you. Her kids. Us. We haven't gone anywhere. As long as we're here, as long as you're here, she'll recover."
The Vampire nodded. "Think I need to wake her. Give her time with the kiddies. Red's in the basement with Oz, working on the spell. Believe Dawn's front porch watching."
"I'll go down with them and see if we can make some headway into the pawn and ways to break the spell. We'll be sure to afford you both some privacy." The Watcher stood, lending a hand down to Spike and helping him to his feet. "You still want me to take them?"
Spike nodded, a tremble starting in the base of his spine. "Yes. Once Buffy and I've left for patrol, have Anya take them somewhere. Not your house. Don't tell me where unless it's dire, all right? She can get in my head and I'm quite sure she'll be right ticked when she realizes they're gone."
The Watcher nodded. "Will you be all right?"
"I'll manage," Spike comforted with what little he had left to offer. "I love her. "
"I know," Giles answered, opening the door. "We'll take care of the little ones."
Spike nodded. "Keep them safe."
To be contd.
Okay, so still no Spuffy, but lots of Spike! Next chapter will be chock full of Spike and Buffy. On the bright side, looks like you'll have a three chapter week, as I expect to present another on Sunday. ::: crossing fingers::::
Hope you enjoy this little foray into the dynamics of the Spike/Giles relationship. Hang on, more Spike/Buff lovin' to come.
Thanks for all the feedback and please let me know what you think of this chapter.
*Cheery Vibes*, Nimue
"As sick as it sounds, in my little head, there's a little Sunnydale, and a widdle Spike and a widdle Buffy and Spike wubs Buffy." James Marsters 14 July 2002
Title: Pipe Dreams (Chapter Twenty-Six of The One)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG -13
Pairing: Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.
Feedback: Yes, please
For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com . Also, please visit the wonderful fan listing that Rachel put together. Sign up today and link to your website (or just sign up to say hi!). The fan listing can be found at .
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (With, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)
Summary: Giles and Spike have a back porch discussion on what is happening and what's to come.
Pipe Dreams
He awoke slowly. Painfully. His entire body achy and tired. Still, he knew he had to rise. Knew there was something he had to do before she came back to herself. Hopefully.
She was curled against him, sleeping quietly, her eyelashes curled against golden skin looking so innocent and so sweet. It was a stark contrast to the night before. In the dim room, she looked like a slightly larger version of Emma. His golden goddess. His world.
Spike disentangled himself from her sleeping form, sliding off the bed and grabbing the phone in one, quick, almost silent movement. He pulled on his jeans and walked to the bathroom on bare feet, running his hands through his hair and feeling every muscle in his body scream in protest. Before she rolled again in her sleep, burrowing into his vacated warm spot, he was shutting himself in the bathroom and making the call.
"Magic Box!" A too chipper, female voice answered. His head groaned at the sound.
"Anya, I need to speak to Rupert," Spike said gruffly, his voice more gravely for the damage inflicted the night before.
There was a pause. "Are you okay? I mean, Rupie told me that."
"Now, Anya," Spike growled with uncharacteristic annoyance. "Please," he amended before she could be completely put off. He'd apologize properly later.
"Sure," she muttered, the phone brushing against the material of her slacks as she lowered it and walked into the back. "Rupert?" She held the phone out silently, and spun on a heel when her lover took it with a curious look and a shrug.
"Hello?" The older man's voice was full of concern, knowing what the call was about even prior to receiving it. Years of being a Watcher. The premonitions became contagious.
"It's time," Spike whispered. "Tonight."
There was silence on the other end. "Where is she?"
"Asleep," Spike answered, his voice barely audible. He didn't want to take the chance that her hearing had become more advanced to go with the rest of her newly acquired traits.
"What. what happened?"
"Not here, Rupert," Spike whispered. "Come to the house."
Spike could almost hear the Watcher nod. "Right then. Is she.?"
"She's herself at the moment. But I can't take chances with them." Spike's voice wavered at the last few words, tears running to his eyes. "Please tell me I'm right to do this."
"You are," Giles agreed. "You can't take chances with them. Peacemaker or no, prophesy or no, they are your children, Spike. Buffy's children. If you think that she is a danger to them, she would want you to."
"Please," Spike pleaded. "Come."
"Right then," Giles answered, pausing to rub his glasses on his shirttail. "I'll be there in an hour. Shall I be ready then to...?"
"No," Spike answered, his voice filling with tears. "Tonight. When we leave for patrol. Then. For now, just help us suss this out, Rupert. Please. I need her."
"I'll be there shortly," Giles answered, his tone confident. "And we will get her back."
~~~~~
Spike sat on the porch, a plume of smoke escaping out of the corner of his mouth as he exhaled. The cigarette didn't taste quite as good as he had remembered, but there was something comforting about the motion. About bringing it to his lips and taking a deep breath, and then pulling it down again as he blew the trail of smoke over bruised and parched lips.
Tara had taken the kids out to breakfast. He'd asked her to bring them back in a few hours and to please lay low for the rest of the day. The Witches had to stay to watch the spell, but Spike thought it only fair that Buffy had some time with the little ones while she still. while she knew what it was to be their mum.
The back door opened and closed with a click and solid, sturdy footsteps crossed the wooden deck to the stairway. Spike didn't turn. He didn't have to to know.
"I haven't seen you do that in quite some time," the familiar voice said as it approached. The voice was comfort. Warmth. The only one who seemed to know the magnitude of what it meant to be both human and in charge of saving the world, even if he'd never done it himself. Spike let the sound wrap around him like a blanket.
"Felt like I needed to," Spike answered, half -heartedly.
"Buffy will be disappointed," Giles answered, sitting down next to Spike on the stairwell, an identical plume of smoke filling the air with the smell of cherry and vanilla. Spike turned his head to the source. Giles sat, his teeth working a pipe as he smoked quietly.
Spike smiled. "Can't say I've ever seen you with a smoke, Watcher."
"It's only recently, since I've been ensconced with Anya," Giles answered, smiling wryly. "Felt like I needed to."
Again, Spike smiled. "How is your bird?"
Giles chuckled. "She's. wonderful and terrifying and perfect and utterly insane," he replied, his face lighting up with joy. "I'm not quite sure what I'd do without her."
"Don't ever try it, Mate," Spike commented, turning his face to the tree line and taking another long drag from the cigarette.
"I plan not to," the Watcher confirmed, leaning his elbows to his knees. They were silent for a long moment before Giles spoke again. "I have to say, Spike, you look like hell."
Spike chuckled, tossing the butt to the ground and reaching out with one long leg to squash it with the heel of his boot. "Felt better."
Giles leaned forward, taking in the battered landscape of the Vampire's face. The white gauze on his neck. "May I?" He asked, reaching for the gauze.
The Vampire put his hands up in a gesture of submission, allowing the Watcher to peel away the tape. The look on Giles' face said it all. He winced as the white bandages were pulled partially away from the wound. "How nasty?"
"It's quite. it's not a Vampire bite," Giles articulated, trying to pull the covering back over the ragged wound.
"B'coz she's not a Vampire," Spike answered, his voice torn between anger and hurt. "She's.Buffy."
Giles nodded, understanding the statement. "She did that unprovoked?"
Spike shook his head vehemently. "No. Got it all wrong. I encouraged her to feed."
A shocked look overtook the Watcher's features. "Spike, for Heaven's sake, *why*?"
Another cigarette found its way from the pocket of his duster into his mouth. Giles leaned over to light it for him. "She needed to feed. The demon. wasn't going to give her any choice."
Giles nodded, trying to accept that. "Why not pig's blood?"
"Tried that," Spike answered, staring off at the trees. "She spilled it. Wasn't time to fetch a new batch."
Again, the Watcher sat, thinking. There was more to it, Spike just wasn't ready to spill. So, he waited. One thing about being a Watcher is that one learns patience. A Waiter would have been just as apropos a title.
Spike sighed. "It's always the blood," he finally began. Giles had to smile, feeling one of Spike's prosaic speeches starting. It reminded him of a time the two of them had not understood each other and thought themselves on opposite sides of the fence. Now they were as good as brothers. Or father and son. United by the one girl that both of them loved.
"Knew that the transfer did something to our insides. I can feel this bloody light burning inside of me. Making my blood.warm. Stupid, sodding, imposing little sense of right and wrong the girl has," Spike continued, fingering the bandages on his neck. Giles nodded, trying not to grin again, and watched the Vampire sigh, shrugging. "Feel it in my veins, her Slayer. Nearly as pushy as my demon. Just a different feel. Foreign, but not. Like I've known it all along, just never had to deal with it before. Like an annoying in-law."
That, Giles had to laugh at. Spike even cracked a smile at the implication. "Know one or two of those, do you?" The Watcher asked.
"My bloody share," Spike agreed, nodding. "Even if they aren't by blood."
"Just the same," Giles confirmed, leaning back so his elbows touched the deck behind them. "So, you thought that if you fed her.."
Spike nodded. "That I could give her back her light," he continued. "Her Slayer."
"Not bad," the Watcher commented, blinking up at the early afternoon sun. "Did it work, may I ask?"
Spike sighed. "Temporarily. Had a few nasty side affects."
"The not artistically pleasing hole in your throat," Giles enumerated.
Spike nodded. "Not to mention that she didn't. she couldn't."
"Stop," Giles finished for him. "Spike, I wish you'd have told me what you had planned to do. I would have been there. I would have..."
"First off, Mate," Spike began, "She'd have had you for supper at that point. Second, there wasn't any time between her spilling the pig's blood and my . donation. And third." The Vampire stopped, thinking about how to say the rest.
"Third?" Giles repeated.
"Yeah, well," Spike shrugged. "Biting is rather. it's erotic. and."
For the second time, Giles winced. "I think you can stop there. I've got the picture. And then a few others I didn't need."
"You asked," Spike said, nonchalantly, taking another drag from the cigarette.
"Yes, yes," the Watcher agreed, his face looking much like that of a man who had sucked on a rancid piece of meat. It made Spike positively giddy. Embarrassing the Watcher had become a pastime between himself and Anya. "Back to the crux of the matter. You said this was temporary?"
Spike's face returned to seriousness, his eyes returning to the tree line. "Yeah." His voice was quiet now, pensive. "While I was out, Buffy came to me. In my mind. Gave me this potion. She got it from the fairies."
"The fey are back?" The Watcher asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Don't think they ever left, Mate," Spike corrected. "They watch Emma."
Giles nodded. "Did she. Was."
"Emma came," Spike continued for him. "Well, the Peacemaker. Have to differentiate, as the girl who comes to us in dreams is not quite Emma. Older. More."
"Ancient," Giles finished. "I understand"
Spike shuddered. "She's so beautiful. Such a good little tot. But it is rather eerie seeing her all grown up in my head every time things get rough, you know? Like the sheep watching after the shepherd."
The Watcher smiled. "That's her duty, just as protecting her is yours."
"And Buffy's," Spike added, looking back at the Watcher. "What are we going to do, Rupert? Blood's only good for thirteen hours. She'll be. she'll be. by sundown."
Giles's eyes filled with compassion. "Spike, I'm quite sure we'll find a way to return her to herself. Just have faith." He paused, thinking a moment. "Did Emma say anything in regards to the imbalance of the One?"
"Love always wins," Spike muttered, tossing yet another cigarette butt onto the concrete and stubbing it out with the heel of his boot. "Wish it was as simple as that, though."
Giles took a draw off the pipe, making the air smell sweet with cherry and vanilla. It reminded Spike of his father. Not the monster Gwydion had become. But Henry Windsor. Devoted husband. Loving father. Friend. "Maybe it is. Has she ever led you astray in the past?"
Spike thought for a moment. "Peacemaker's got a knack for being right."
"Then trust her now. Not to say we won't work on something a bit more concrete in the meantime, but trust in what she told you and let it see you through."
The Vampire took a long look at the Watcher. "You think that'll do Rupert? Loving her is enough?"
"It's a start," Giles responded, earnestly. "More to the point is her loving you. Loving her kids. Loving her life."
Again, Spike fell silent, his eyes falling to his knees. "I'd like to think she does. Like to think I make her happy."
The Watcher burst into laughter at that, nearly dropping his dangling pipe from his lips. Spike looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't realize I'd become comic relief."
Giles tried to stifle another round of chuckles. "That's just. Spike. that's amusing."
"What?" The Vampire asked with indignation.
"You honestly think that if you didn't make Buffy happy, you'd have been spared becoming the filler for an ashtray by now? If not by my hand, then by Dawn's, or better yet, hers?"
Spike smiled. "I'd have thought the whelp would be the first to have a crack at it."
"He's a bit blustery," Giles replied, still chuckling. "Lots of words, but very little to back it up."
"Gotten better on the backing up of late," Spike defended, a shocked look spreading over his features as the question of *why* he was defending Xander Harris crossed his mind.
The Watcher agreed. "Far better. But the fact remains. If any of us thought that you didn't make Buffy happy, if you weren't good for her or those children, one of any number of us would have shuffled you from this . relatively.mortal coil."
Spike nodded. "So, I've passed?"
"Long ago."
"Good to hear," the Vampire replied, turning his head to the sky. "Gotta wake her up soon. She should spend the day with the mites. In case."
Slowly, Giles laid a hand on the Vampire's shoulder, catching his attention. Spike's eyes glittered at the Watcher in the sunlight. "We'll get her back. No doubts."
Spike fingered the bandages as his neck again, nodding reluctantly. "But will she be the same?"
The Watcher furrowed his brow, studying Spike. "I'm not certain."
"Will she remember this?" Spike asked, his hands still on the bandages. "Will she remember what it feels like to be the demon? To feed? Bloodlust?"
"I don't know," Giles answered, dropping his hand back to his lap. "But if she does, we'll help her through."
"Will she forgive herself?" Spike asked, his face so serious it hurt the Watcher just in its depth.
"Can you forgive her, Spike?" The question was honest, although he already knew the answer. If there was one lesson the rest of them could learn from Spike, it was how to forgive.
"That's rot," Spike humphh'd. "Nothing to forgive her for. Did what she had to do. I did what I had to do. Had to bring her back. Not really a criminal offense, that."
"Then you'll just have to help her forgive herself," Giles comforted, patting Spike's shoulder again. "She's strong. Resilient."
"But she is what she despises most," the Vampire admitted, making his heart twinge in his chest. It killed him to realize that she was suffering through her worst thought. "She's her own worst nightmare."
Giles shook his head. "No, Spike. Her worst nightmare is losing you. Her kids. Us. We haven't gone anywhere. As long as we're here, as long as you're here, she'll recover."
The Vampire nodded. "Think I need to wake her. Give her time with the kiddies. Red's in the basement with Oz, working on the spell. Believe Dawn's front porch watching."
"I'll go down with them and see if we can make some headway into the pawn and ways to break the spell. We'll be sure to afford you both some privacy." The Watcher stood, lending a hand down to Spike and helping him to his feet. "You still want me to take them?"
Spike nodded, a tremble starting in the base of his spine. "Yes. Once Buffy and I've left for patrol, have Anya take them somewhere. Not your house. Don't tell me where unless it's dire, all right? She can get in my head and I'm quite sure she'll be right ticked when she realizes they're gone."
The Watcher nodded. "Will you be all right?"
"I'll manage," Spike comforted with what little he had left to offer. "I love her. "
"I know," Giles answered, opening the door. "We'll take care of the little ones."
Spike nodded. "Keep them safe."
To be contd.