Chapter Seven: No Easy Cure

It was dark.

There were walls all around her, too close.

There was no air.

She couldn't breathe; couldn't think.

She threw her hands out and desperately beat on the sides, trying to form words, but nothing came from her mouth. She needed to breathe. Panic rose; her heart pounded in her chest. It was too loud in her ears.

She drew in air finally and shrieked.

Giles dropped the washcloth he was wetting in the sink and threw Spike aside in his rush to get to Buffy's side. She thrashed on the couch, eyes squeezed tightly shut, her mouth wide as she shrieked again. The sound lanced through his body, bringing goose bumps up to pepper his skin. The sound wasn't human.

Grabbing her arms in his hands, he shouted down at her in an attempt to drag her back to reality. "Buffy! You're safe!" Her convulsions doubled, and he planted a knee against her chest as firmly as he could without hurting her, transferring her other hand to his right. Normally he didn't think he'd be able to handle the slayer with one hand, but the terror in her screams, the sheer horror that filled him at the sound, was enough to give him the strength to bind her wrists together with five fingers against the couch. Reigning in all his courage, he grabbed her chin with his other hand.

"Wake up! Buffy, you need to wake up!"

She opened her eyes at last, her pupils contracted to mere pinpricks in fright. Focusing on his face, she shuddered deeply and then convulsed, dislodging him from atop her and onto the floor, wrenching her hands away from him. Spike hovered in the background.

"I'm fine," she said flatly, swinging her legs to the floor and running a hand over her face.

He began to pull himself up painfully. "Buffy, this nightmare -"

She cut of Giles' words with an abrupt gesture. "It wasn't a nightmare."

"Happens when you wake up in a coffin, mate," Spike said, suddenly glad to be of help. Buffy shot him a baleful glare and stood on shaky legs. Giles stood with her, reaching out a concerned hand. The slayer had gotten good at evasion since she had been back, and easily avoided the contact.

"Does this happen often?" he asked softly, trying not to feel the sting of yet another silent rebuff.

"Couple nights a week." Glancing back at him, she softened her tone. "It's no biggie, Giles. Nothing I can't handle."

"I think you've been handling more than enough," he replied, his face grim. He glanced over at Spike and changed topics. "Why are you here, by the way?" The vampire smirked and made to answer when Buffy interposed herself between them.

"We were talking, Giles, it's okay." She gave the blond a small smile. "I had a couple things to thank him for, and then I just got..." The words trailed off, and she stared hard at the floor. A noise above caused them to look towards the stairs.

"Wuffy?" a shaky little girl's voice called down the stairs. She dashed to the hallway, and Spike stared over at Giles, disconcerted.

"What have you lot been doing here?" he asked, baffled as Buffy returned cuddling a muss-haired toddler against her chest.

"Spike, I think you two have met before," she sighed. "This is Dawn. Aged three."

Silence was king.

"I was wondering where the Little Bit was," he began slowly. "But I had no idea it was...What the sodding hell happened?"

"Willow."

He cursed vehemently, and for once, Giles was inclined to agree with him. Buffy sat down on the couch, shifting the child in her lap. "I think I scared her when I woke up."

"And the others?" Giles asked, glancing out into the foyer.

"Others?!" Spike spluttered.

"Not a peep. Thank God for small favors." Dawn stuck a thumb in her mouth and, noticing the stranger, scooted off her sister's lap and made her way over to him. Feeling drained of energy suddenly, Buffy could only sit back and watch the show, shaking her head at Giles as he attempted to reach out for the toddler. Dawn stopped in front of the vampire and squinted up at him, her eyes still fogged with sleep.

"Who you?" she demanded as she pulled the wet digit out of her mouth. Aghast, Spike could only stare at her. The child patted her own chest and added, "Dawn." She then reached out and patted his knee, looking up at him curiously, treating him like a simpleton. Buffy snorted, and Giles found himself smiling slightly, though he was still tensed to leap to the girl's aid if she should need it.

For his part, Spike couldn't look away from the cherubic face presented before him. A part of him melted inside, not that he would ever admit it, and he knelt in front of her, his leather trench pooling around his feet. Eye level with Dawn, he answered her solemnly, "My name is Spike." The name seemed to displease her, and she wrinkled her nose at him, causing him to backtrack and quickly add, "But you can call me William, if you want."

Buffy's mouth dropped open in shock at the tenderness in his voice, and glanced over at her Watcher to see if he was feeling the same. Giles' eyes were wide, but otherwise the only difference was that his shoulders relaxed somewhat, though he remained fixed on the couple.

"So, what's the deal here, Watcher?" Spike asked, tearing his eyes away from the scrutiny of the little kid in front of him. The man shook his head in frustration.

"The only thing we've had time to assess is that Willow did a spell."

"Yeah, and now we're Party of Five-ing it." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. Giles met her eyes, raising an eyebrow.

"I could spend twenty four hours a day in front of the tv and I'd still be behind, wouldn't I?" he asked mildly. She shrugged.

"It's an ingredient they put in children's vitamins here, Giles. It's called pop culture. How many times do we have to discuss this?" she smiled faintly up at him. Encouraged by the smile, he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at her fondly.

"As many times as it takes for you all to recognize that I shall never get it."

"Yeah, like I'll never understand that whole Bay City Rollers thing you have going on," she answered dryly.

"That was a joke, you know," he smiled.

Buffy stared up at him in shocked silence. "You mean, all these years, I thought you were a great big nerd?"

"Don't see the difference," Spike interjected.

"Shut up, Spike," they answered in unison. She stood, her hands on her hips. "Do you know I actually downloaded a couple songs from the internet and listened to them?" she demanded, annoyed. He grinned at her.

"I bet you liked them."

"I - I did not!"

"Did so."

"Shut up!" She whirled away from him and began marching up the stairs. The glance she sent him over her shoulder showed no hard feelings, and he snorted. Spike shook his head and threw himself down in the nearest chair.

"So, Rupes, what's the plan?" he asked casually. Dawn moved to his side and stared up at him with large blue eyes, her thumb once again creeping into her mouth. Unnerved by her scrutiny, his tried his best to ignore her.

Buffy came back down the stairs. "All snug as bugs," she answered simply. "They must sleep like logs. Even I woke myself up back there, what with the screaming and all." She scrubbed her hands tiredly over her face.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Buffy," Giles said softly, moving to her side. She rolled her shoulders.

"Nah, I think I'm good for another few hours. Maybe even a patrol."

"Buffy." His admonishment was light, but she was unable to meet his eyes, instead watching as her baby sister crawled into Spike's lap. The vampire winced in pain as the child innocently stomped on a tender part of his anatomy.

"Oi, watch where you're going, Bit," he complained, but his annoyance melted away as the girl promptly fell asleep.

Buffy smiled and shook her head. "I think I must be dreaming this. This is really as surreal as it gets, isn't it." It wasn't a question.

"Quite," Giles replied, and he leaned down slightly to catch her eye. "I really think you should get some sleep."

The slayer shook her head and turned to head out of the room, passing into the darkness of the dining room and pausing to stare out the window into the night. "It wouldn't solve anything," she whispered. He had to strain to catch her words, and he followed her into the dark.

"There isn't going to be an easy cure, Buffy." They both knew he wasn't referring to the current Scooby situation. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, feeling suddenly resentful at his endless probing.

"Don't you think I've figured that out already? Give me credit for a little thought here, please!"

He blocked her exit and reached out for her. She shied away from him, and he felt his temperature rise inexplicably. With more force than he intended, he caught her by the shoulders and dragged her into the light of the hallway. "I wish I could solve this for you, Buffy," he said feelingly. "But this isn't a demon I can look up and show you how to slay. This is how real life goes, and sometimes there isn't an answer at the ready."

She laughed harshly and pulled away from him roughly. "You sound like an after school special, Giles. Except it's not everyday your friends violate you in the way they did me." She glared up the stairs, and the fury in her face surprised him.

"I'm sorry, Buffy. I didn't realize."

She looked at him with contempt. "When would you ever? Do you think you know me?" She advanced on him, and he felt the doorway at his back. "You think I'm still the same flighty Buffy, don't you? The girl who only cares what the new cute boy in school thinks about me, if my outfit's still in season? Well, I haven't been that girl in a long time, Giles. This is just the final nail in the coffin." She pushed past him opened the front door, stomping out angrily.

He didn't allow himself to think about what he was going to say. Too long he had held back, and he followed her down the steps, yanking her by the arm to face him.

"I'm not the idiot you perceive me to be, either," he said fiercely. Her eyes widened as he glared down at her. "I never thought you were flighty, Buffy. What I saw was a beautiful, intelligent girl. A girl who I was sent to serve. I've trained you for years. I taught you how to think in battle. I helped hone your instincts. And I've been nothing but the butt of your jokes since I've started this. Well, I've changed, too. I've made sacrifices, more than I'd care to name."

"So you're blaming it all on me, too?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Believe me, Giles, I know what you've gone through. I held you that night at the factory, when you tried to kill Angel. I saw the way you looked after you'd been tortured. You hate it here, and you hate spending your time with me. So why don't you just go home, Rupert!"

His name on her lips sent a jolt through his system, and he took her by the shoulders, pulling her close to him, breathing heavily in desperation, trying to form words before she disappeared. "I wasn't saying that, Buffy. I've stayed for you. I've happily sacrificed to be here, beside you. I could never leave you alone, not just because it's my duty to remain as your Watcher, but because..."

Releasing her, he stepped back, fearing he had said too much. Emotion had always come hard to him, and declaring anything as important as this caused him to stutter, closing his throat in embarrassment. "Y-you are my home, you silly girl."

Buffy stared up at him mutely, color rising to flush her cheeks. They stared at each other, and then she whirled and set off down the street, the pounding of her feet echoing in his ears.