Summary:       Buffy learns a little something about what Spike was doing while he was gone.  Jealousy rears its ugly head once again. 

Disclaimer:    Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own everything.  But I wouldn't mind leasing Spike from them for a couple of weeks :)

Feedback:     As always, appreciated.

Seeing Spike Through Buffy's Eyes Chapter 16 - Busted

Spike didn't release Buffy until they were back in her bedroom.  He knew that she was still angry with him, but he also knew he could postpone the anger if he kept her busy with other things.  Spike had always been a quick study, and if he'd learned anything the night before it was that Buffy could be easily distracted if given the right motivation.  Namely him – naked.  Of course, he'd never tell her that, knowing where the conversation would lead.  No, he'd keep that bit of information to himself.  He was pulled out of his thoughts by an annoying beeping. 

Buffy's forehead scrunched up as the sound penetrated her brain.  "What is that?"  She turned around, trying to locate the source of the beeping.

Spike crossed the room, heading straight for the bag he had brought with him.  "Nothing, luv.  Just my cell phone.  Must have missed a call while we were downstairs."  Spike opened the bag, pulling out the offending object.

Buffy lifted her eyebrow in surprise, placing her hands on her hips for emphasis.  "YOU have a cell phone?  Who would be calling you?"

Spike was busy dialing the number to his voicemail.  "Plenty of people, Slayer."  He put the phone to his ear.  "Look, go call Red while I check the message.  I'll explain it all later."  Spike turned his back to Buffy as Cassandra's voice filled his ear, not waiting to see if she followed his instructions.

With a very un-Slayer like stomp of her foot, Buffy left to grab the cordless in Dawn's room.  Yeah, she'd call Willow, then she was going to have a long talk with the presumptuous vampire.  First the show downstairs, then ordering her about.  Who the hell did he think he was?

Spike finished listening to Cassandra's brief message.  Giles had more news about the binding spell and she had the Thursday/Friday totals for the pub.  Both things were of interest to him.  Spike grabbed his notebook out of his bag, then sat on the edge of Buffy's bed as he dialed the number to his flat.  After two rings, a familiar voice answered the phone.  "Good morning, oh evil master.  Nice of you to call me back." 

Spike shook his head.  So he had caller id, did she have to answer the phone that way?  "Mornin', pet.  How'd we do this weekend?"  Spike wanted to get the conversation over with before Buffy returned.

In New Orleans, Cassandra raised her own eyebrow at her ex-lover's clipped tone.  "Bit testy aren't we?  No, how are you?  No, how's your grandfather?  Just straight to business?  One would think you paid me to run this crumby place of yours."  It was obvious Cass was in a good mood this morning.

A slight smile crossed Spike's face.  No respect.  No respect at all.  Didn't anyone think he was the Big Bad anymore?  "I do pay you – much more than you're worth.  Now, how was business?"

"Fine, be that way.  I am just a lowly servant.  I bow down to your superior wishes."  Spike could hear Cass riffling through some papers.  When she spoke again, it was in her no-nonsense tone.  "We pulled in close to $750 at the door for cover on Friday and made over $2500 in drinks.  We should bring the band back again.  They got great response from the customers.  People stayed a little longer than they normally do, even the regulars.  I had them play an extra set, business was so good.  Paid them more than we originally contracted, but it was worth it.  Thursday was slightly off, but no band, so no cover.  I think total, we hit another $1500 for the night.  I haven't done the official tallies, but those are the rough estimates.  Words getting out.  We're popular with both the demon crowd and the humans.  If this keeps up, we'll need to hire another waitress for the weekend, maybe another bartender.  Especially if you stay in Sunnydale.  We're already down a man because you're not here."

Spike was busy writing down the figures and notes as Cass talked.  Almost $5300 for the two nights and they still had Saturday night to go.  It was better than he had expected.  "Sounds good.  Call the manager of the band; see when they're available again.  If you think it's worth it, talk to him about making them a regular act.  Try to negotiate close to the original pay, but up it if necessary.  Also, see who else he manages.  The customers liked the other band he sent us too.  I'm not that worried about Thursday.  Like you said, there was no band.  Make sure we have someone scheduled for all three nights for the next couple of months.  I don't want to miss out.  Once you've down the books, e-mail the spreadsheets to me.  I want to check inventory and general overhead.  Hiring a couple more people might be the way to go.  I'll have an answer for you once I review the numbers.  Anything else?"

Cassandra flipped though her own notes.  "Couple more things.  We've got blood in stock that's going bad.  I think the supplier is lying about the donation dates.  I'm going to have grandfather check it out.  Next week, the Board of Health has a scheduled visit, but I don't see any problems there.  The place is clean.  No one would be able to tell the regular liquor from the special stuff we keep on the shelves.  Duncan tossed a couple of guys out last night.  They started a fight over a pool game.  One of the guys was hustling the other.  The commotion didn't last long.  Both of them were human.  That's about it.  How are things going with you?"  Cass and Spike talked almost every day.  She knew Giles' request to have Spike watch Buffy and Dawn was hard on him.  He was really stuck on the girl.

Spike set the notebook aside as he stretched out on the bed.  His eyes lit up as he stared at the dark curtains blocking out the light from Buffy's bedroom.  She'd thought of everything.  "Yesterday, I would have told you my life was shit, but today…  Today is a good day.  Cassandra, you'll never guess where I'm calling you from."

Spike was so happy with his present situation, he didn't notice Buffy standing in the doorway, phone in hand.  "He's still here, Will.  He's laying on MY bed, in MY house, talking to a WOMAN on the phone."  Spike's head whipped around when he heard her voice.  Cassandra was silent on the other end of the line.  That must be the Slayer, she thought.  Spike was in for it now.  "Willow, I'll have to call you back.  I need to stake Spike now."  Buffy hit the talk button, abruptly ending her phone conversation with her best friend.  "You are so busted."  Anger was seeping out of her as she crossed the room to stand in front of Spike.

Spike knew it looked bad.  "Uh, Cass.  I'll call you back later."  Before he hung up the phone, he heard Cassandra's uncontrollable laughter ringing in his ears.  He slowly placed the phone on the bed next to him.  Don't want to make any sudden moves, mate, or this is over before it begins.  "Buffy, luv, I can explain."

Before he knew what hit him, Buffy's body came flying at him.  She was straddling his legs, a stake dangerously close to his heart.  Where had she been hiding that?  "You better explain.  I'm NOT in the mood for this, blondie.  Not this morning." 

Any other time, Spike would have laughed.  The Slayer was jealous, and it was over him.  It was sort of comforting to know the green-eyed monster ran in both directions.  "She works for me, luv.  It was just a business call, nothing else."

Buffy brought the stake a little closer to Spike's chest.  "You have minions calling you now?  What?  You're keeping tabs on whatever half-ass scheme you have going in whatever podunk town you've been living in?  Were you about to tell her about your conquest of the Slayer so the two of you could laugh at my stupidity for letting you back into my life?"  Tears were threatening to break through Buffy's anger. 

Spike should have been mad, but he knew she was close to tears.  She had no faith in him.  But, could he blame her?  "Podunk town?  You've been watching too much television.  And Cassandra isn't a minion."  Spike slowly moved his hand so it rested on Buffy's thigh.  "She works for me in an non-evil sense of the word.  I pay her and everything."  Spike moved his hand a little higher up Buffy's body.  At least she was letting him touch her.  "Buffy, if you stop threatening me with that thing, I'll explain.  But if you dust me, you'll never know the truth."  He used his thumb to make small circles under her breast.  "Slayer, I love you, remember?"

The stake wavered in Buffy's hand.  Spike loved her.  It wasn't the words; it was the look in his eyes that finally persuaded her.  She drew the stake closer to her own body.  "You have two minutes, but I'm not moving and I'm keeping the stake."  Buffy looked at him with her resolve face, waiting for him to challenge her.

A lecherous smile spread across Spike's face.  He put his other hand under his head using it as a pillow, while his first hand continued lightly touching her.  "I'll never complain about you straddling me, Slayer.  It's one of my favorite positions."  Spike watched her blush.  Cor, she was perfection.  "Now, I'm going to tell you a story.  Once upon a time, in a land far away, a master vampire decided to make himself respectable…"

Spike told Buffy the same tale he had told Giles months earlier.  He added more information in some areas, like how he felt after his fight with Dawn and how much he had missed them both, and deleted information from others, like his contact with Faith, his personal relationship with Cassandra and his budding friendship with the Watcher.  He decided to keep those things to himself for a while.  Their new relationship was too fragile to bring other women into it, even if both relationships were strictly platonic now.  And Giles' name would only bring up questions for which he didn't have all the answers.  He hadn't been able to finish his conversation with Cass, so he didn't know how close they were in finding the spell to make Dawn's existence permanent.  Telling Buffy now would only scare her.

During the story, which lasted past the two minutes she had given him, Buffy started to relax.  She laid down, half-on/half-off Spike's body as she listened to him talk.  She placed her hand on his chest as he comfortingly rubbed her back.  Buffy didn't ask any questions, but her head shot up with the same shocked expression as Giles when he explained about the money to buy the pub.  When he was finished, they laid together in silence.

After a few minutes, Buffy spoke.  "What's your name?"  It wasn't the first question Spike thought she would ask.  Buffy pushed herself up on her elbows so she could get a better look at him.  "I know it sounds stupid, but I thought I should at least know the name of the guy I'm sleeping with."

Spike brushed her hair away from her face.  There was something so right about the two of them just being together.  No arguments, no punches, no snide remarks.  They'd never had this before.  "You know my name, luv.  Screamed it several times last night if I remember right."  He pulled Buffy back to him when she began to squirm.  "But I know what you mean.  Now, promise me you won't laugh, or get angry again."  Buffy made a cross over her heart.  "I put a lot of thought into my name.  For a while, I considered using the name my parents gave me, but it didn't seem right.  I'm not the William that was born to them.  Not the same man that was turned over a century ago.  So I tried to figure out exactly who I was now.  Who was this man that loved a Slayer and fought the good fight against evil.  This man that was trying to build something solid in his life.  A future.  Finally, I decided to incorporate all the people who were most important to me.  The people who had helped me get to the place I was at."  Spike locked his eyes with Buffy's.  "Legally, my name is William Ruppert Anthony Summers."

Buffy's eyes grew as big as saucers.  She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.  Spike turned his head away from her.  He wasn't sure what she was thinking.  Was she mad that he had used her last name?  Did she think it was silly of him to incorporate Giles into his new persona?  He was as bloody bad as Peaches.  Whatever her reaction, he didn't want to see it.   

Buffy placed her hand on Spike's cheek, turning his head back to her.  She waited until his eyes reached her own.  "I think it's a good name."  Spike rolled his eyes at her.  "No, really I do.  I'm sure Giles was touched when you told him."

"Like I'd bloody well tell the Watcher.  He's enough of a pain in my side without adding that."  Spike realized the minute the words were out of his mouth what he had just said.  He cautiously looked back at Buffy.  How much did she know?

"Stop looking at me that way.  I know you haven't told me everything.  You and Giles are talking.  I know he knows you're here.  He changes the subject every time I mention you on the phone.  And he was staying with a 'friend' in New Orleans doing research.  Do I look like an idiot, Spike?"  Spike started to stumble over his response.  "Don't even bother.  You can tell me all about it later.  And while we're on the subject, you can finish telling me about Cassandra later too."  Buffy pushed herself higher up on one arm as she poked Spike in the chest with her finger.  "Don't try to deny it.  There was something between the two of you.  You've never lied to me before, so don't start now.  But whatever there was, it better be in the past, or you and Mr Pointy will get reacquainted.  I.  Don't.  Share."

Spike rolled Buffy onto her back trapping her hand in between their bodies, but she continued.  "That whole macho-man thing you pulled last night with Angel.  'Nobody touches what's mine.'  When all along you had a girl stashed away in New Orleans.  I should beat you – "

Buffy never got to finish her sentence as Spike mouth descended on her own. 

---TBC