Chapter # 5

"How can you tell me that Willow? How can you even suggest that he would ever do that to me?" the agitated Slayer demanded of her friend.

Willow pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. She wasn't getting anywhere.

"Buffy, I'm not saying that I am a hundred percent certain. Prophecies are anything but clear cut… still the Pergamun Codex seems to be pointing to Spike as a threat to you"

"No. No way Will, Giles must have botched the translation. Or maybe it's just referring to Dru or Darla. Angel did say that Dru was supposedly on her way here"
"Maybe but Spike does have a connection to you. He even drank from you"
"Because I forced him. I made him drink to save him. And I would do it again in a heartbeat because I love him"

Willow looked contrite "And he loves you too. I'm sorry Buffy, I should be supporting you and instead I'm being all judgmental. It's like I didn't know about unconventional love"

Buffy gave Willow a quick forgiving hug. Her best friend was a very good person and was only trying to protect her.

"That's okay, you just wigged momentarily. Hey, I am wigging out over this whole prophecy business"

"Giles said it was pretty serious since those particular prophecies are very accurate"

"So what are you saying. I am gonna die no matter what?" Buffy's right hand instinctively reached for the cross and chain in her jean pocket. The smooth metal giving her a sense of security. She wasn't alone.

"No, we won't let that happen. We'll just have to find a way to stop it" Willow's tone held all the reassurance that she could muster.

Buffy nodded absently. Her mind on something else, or rather someone else.

It wasn't that she wasn't concerned over her own fate. She was. It was just that she was filled with a certainty that nothing could really hurt her as long as he was near her.

In a way he was her strength.

The vampire had come into the Slayer's life and completely turned it upside down. He made her question her values and her place in a world that had gone amiss. Through him and because of him she had been forced to find her own way. Buffy Summers had finally become the Slayer she was meant to be and nothing could take her.

"That's right Will. We'll find a way to stop it"

***

Maggie Welsh flipped through the weekly statistical report, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she read the series of numbers that described activity in the region. Something was definitely happening.

Demonic activity was on the rise in a town controlled by the Initiative and inhabited by the Slayer.

This was unexpected to say the least. Most demons (except for the really confrontational types) are wont to avoid hostile territories but Sunnydale was fast becoming a demon hotspot. It didn't fit the equation. There had to be something that was attracting them. Some kind of unexpected variable.

The scientist sighed. It was getting harder to keep everything under control especially now that Riley Finn had relocated back to the Midwest. He had never been clear on the reasons but she knew that Buffy Summers was involved somehow.

Maggie grimaced, even thinking of the Slayer brought a bitter taste to her mouth. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but the formerly pliant Buffy had become a force to be reckoned with. She no longer did as she was told and often went against her explicit commands. A line had gradually been drawn between the Initiative and the Slayer.

Walsh had contacted the Council of Watcher's but they did not report any inconsistencies in Buffy's behavior. Maggie knew that this was due to Giles' interference. He would do anything to protect his Slayer.

So the scientist dug deeper. She investigated both Willow Rosenberg and Alexander Harris because they were close to the Slayer. Aside from an interesting tidbit concerning the witch's love life, she was clean. Harris was another matter altogether.

It was quite a surprise discovering that a member of the Initiative force was consorting with a former vengeance demon. Maggie's first impulse was to confront Harris with the knowledge and securing Anyanka for study. But upon further consideration it would be better to keep the knowledge to herself. She never knew when she might need Harris and it was always good to have an ace up her sleeve. A bargaining chip if you will.

So for now she would bide her time and simply observe. And after a scientist was always very good at that.

***

Spike waited for the sun to finally set. He had to see her tonight. He needed to warn her of what was coming.

And he needed to take her away from Sunnydale.

TBC. The big B&S reunion coming up really soon.