Blackmail Can Be Useful

Disclaimer: Not mine, still playing.

Reviews: Yes please. Live for em, crave em, need em like I need Spike moments. Readers Rock but Reviewers RULE!

A/N: Just wanna say once more to Wayward Childe that your support and encouragement are so helpful you will never know how much I depend on you sometimes. I'm happy we decided to be partners. Thanks.

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Spike ran suddenly shaky fingers through his hair. He jumped up to pace. He didn't notice in his agitation that Giles would have been listening to a very interesting rant. 'No way he found out. How could he? There weren't any records, were there? Damn! Over a century of privacy and all of a sudden some poncy watcher has to go get curious. What tipped him off? Oh, Bloody Hell!'

Giles watched as Spike paced. He could see the vampire's mouth moving furiously. He wished that he could read lips. It appeared that his information was indeed correct. The last niggling little doubt had just been dispelled by the reaction of the blond menace.

Spike stopped and pulled his fist back to punch the wall but hesitated when he heard Giles hiss in a shocked breath. He turned to the human questioningly. He arched his scarred brow.

"Your hands are healed." Giles got up and reached for the remarkably flawless fist. Spike looked at it and shrugged. "Did Faith give you her blood?"

Spike gazed at Giles for a moment trying to determine if telling the truth would get himself dusted. He pulled his fist out of the watcher's grasp and picked up the paper. He took a steadying breath and wrote carefully. 'She made me.'

"How? How can she make you feed from her?" Giles demanded.

Spike glared at the human and wrote again. 'She knew I hadn't been feeding. Clem ratted on me. She planted herself in my lap and sliced her neck with a knife. The demon took over and fed. Just a few swallows, I swear.'

Rupert read the note. A distracted part of him noticed the elegant writing. He was also amused to see that the vampire was left-handed. He hadn't noticed either trait before. Spike saw the glint of humor sparking in Giles's green eyes. 'WHAT?' The demand was printed.

"I don't know what you mean." The watcher was beginning to enjoy himself just a little too much.

Spike bared his teeth in a silent snarl. He snatched the paper back and sat down in a huff. He folded his arms and waited. He tapped his foot impatiently.

Giles took the other end of the sofa. He watched the silently fuming vampire for a few minutes. "You know, I could get used to not listening to you spout that atrocious accent that I now know is as fake as your hair color."

Spike dropped his head in defeat. He closed his eyes and turned away from the watching human. He should have known the watcher wouldn't help him. It didn't matter how much he'd helped the lot of them, he'd known that they would just enjoy his misery.

"Spike." Giles called softly. The vampire ignored him, sinking back into the crushing depression that had led to his destruction of his hands. Rupert put his hand on a slender shoulder. Spike shrugged it off and shrank away from the touch.

"Spike, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be teasing you. We can get your voice back. You'll be annoying all of us soon." Giles told him consolingly.

Spike shot up and put the length of the room between them. Giles could see the tension in the slim body. Faith came in the door and took in the situation in a glance.

"Hey, what's going on? Giles, are you upsetting my vampire?" She walked over and slid her arms around Spike's slender waist. He resisted her hug. She moved around to face him and pulled his head down for a kiss. The heat of her mouth melted his anger and he returned her affection. She stepped away after a few searing kisses and faced the other man who was furiously cleaning his glasses. Her smirk brought a smile to Spike's face. He stepped up behind her and put his arms around her waist.

"I'm sorry. I came over to talk to Spike about something and lost track of the topic. I was rather surprised to find that you'd fed him your blood." Giles replaced his glasses.

Faith looked back over her shoulder at the blond vampire. "I had to. He wasn't feeding." She said softly.

"Yes, Spike told me, or rather, he wrote me a note. I have a very good idea what happened to his voice and I need both of you to meet me at the Magic Box later." The watcher said.

Spike was shaking his head violently before the sentence was finished.

"Fine. Then why don't we have a seat and discuss the information I've uncovered." Giles felt a tiny flare of guilt at the panic on Spike's face. "Very well. I'll see both of you at the shop at eight."

Faith nodded, vaguely aware of the undercurrent between the two men. If she'd seen the look on Spike's face, she'd have been more suspicious.

Later, at the Magic Box…

Giles flipped the closed sign on the door with a sigh. Anya had already closed out the register and locked away the day's receipts. She and Xander were sitting at the research table talking quietly with Tara and Willow. The watcher was keeping a very close eye on the redheaded witch. He wasn't sure but he thought maybe there had been more to her magical mishaps than she'd told him. He was almost completely positive that she was responsible for Spike's speechless state. How he was going to get her to reverse it was currently eluded him. He wandered back to his desk and pulled the well-thumbed file from its hiding place once more. A bemused smile ghosted across his face as the humor of it all struck him. That Angelus would choose this individual to turn at that particular time was astounding. He resolved to have a private word with Spike as soon as his power of speech was returned.

"What do you have there, G-Man?" Xander asked loudly.

"Nothing. Just some personal research." Giles answered mildly. He noticed that Buffy and Dawn had arrived while he was distracted. It was still a few minutes before eight so Faith and Spike had a little time yet.

The bell above the door jangled and the unlikely couple entered. Faith led the way, pulling Spike in by the hand. He had a mutinous look on his face. The thought occurred to Rupert that she'd had to force the vampire into showing up. Once they were safely inside, she released his hand. He grasped the edges of his duster and pulled the old leather closer around his thin body. He leaned against the counter defensively, foregoing his usual position on the staircase.

"We're here." Faith announced.

"So I see. Thank you for coming." Giles came out from his alcove. Buffy eyed the newcomers suspiciously.

"Faith. Why are you with him?" The blonde slayer asked.

The brunette stood next to her vampire and crossed her arms over her chest. "There's a reason I shouldn't be?" She wanted to know.

"Several that I can think of. Most of them have to do with that he's a vampire." Buffy told her. The elder slayer stuck her hand in her pocket and fingered the stake she kept there. Spike felt a stab of betrayal at her words. He'd been good enough for her on more than one occasion. His stoic face concealed his thoughts.

Faith gazed up at Spike's remote profile. The expression in her dark eyes surprised everyone. "I'm helping him."

Xander shivered without really knowing why. "He looks fine to me." He said.

Spike's head snapped up and he glared at the carpenter. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself before his secret got out. He sent a pleading look at Giles. He turned his back on the Scoobies and gazed into Faith's eyes. 'I can not do this.' His lips formed the words deliberately.

"Yes, you can. You have to. It's the only way." Faith told him.

"Um… Faith? Spike didn't say anything." Willow ventured.

"Yes, he did. You just can't hear him." Faith shot back.

Dawn defied her sister and approached the vampire she was very fond of. "Spike? What's wrong?"

Spike's eyes squeezed closed and he tilted his head back. A muscle pulsed in his jaw. Faith put her small hand on his arm. He bent his head back down to look at her. "It's okay. They have to know."

Spike heaved a huge sigh and turned toward the teenager he'd willingly die for. Misery burned in his sapphire eyes as he opened his mouth to speak. 'Niblet.'

Dawn saw his lips move. Could see her nickname formed on them but there was absolutely no sound to go with the movement. Fear ripped through her heart. "Oh my God. You can't speak!"

Silence echoed through the shop at her announcement. Then a chorus of questions pounded the stricken vampire.

"When? How? Were you injured?" Tara's quiet questions made their way to Spike's ears.

Xander was ecstatic. "Oh happy day! Silent Spike. Christmas came early this year." Spike's lips curled back in a snarl. Dawn put a hand on his left arm while Faith took the right.

"Was it a vengeance spell? It sounds like something that a vengeance demon would do. Who did you piss off, Spike?" Anya thought maybe she knew the demon who could devise such a punishment for the vampire.

Willow was unusually quiet. A sneaky, horrible kind of glee was inching its way through her thoughts. Had she done this? Was this another example of her magical misfires? If it was, then when had it happened? They hadn't seen the bleached menace in almost three weeks. Oh Goddess! That night that Buffy had told Spike to shut up and Xander was going on about 'speechless Spike'. They hadn't seen him since that night. Her thoughts allowed the darkness that had been invading her being to grow a little more. Her guilty satisfaction that she'd silenced Spike so easily made her shiver with an evil sort of pleasure.

Giles moved into the center of the room and held up his hand for silence. Buffy ignored him for a minute. She stood in front of Spike and looked up at him with her head tilted. "So, speechless huh? That's new. I have to say that I've really enjoyed the peace and quiet the last few weeks. Can I hope it's permanent?"

A twinge of guilt speared the blonde slayer when she saw the hurt invade the sapphire eyes of her former secret lover. She'd broken off her relationship with him six weeks ago and seeing him so cozy with Faith was prickling her pride. She didn't want him but she needed his fighting skills for patrol and had reluctantly come to depend on him watching her back. Patrol had been more hazardous in the few weeks of his absence although she'd rather get turned than admit she needed him in any capacity. The thought that she was jealous was promptly squelched.

Faith twitched at the vibes being emitted by the two blonds. She saw the flash of hurt shoot through Spike's beautiful eyes. She watched as her new lover's face grew even more remote and withdrawn than before.

'So that's it. I knew someone had hurt him. I would never have guess the ice queen would have unbent so far.' She thought. In the tiny amount of time she'd spent with the blond vampire she'd discovered how sensitive he truly was. He was the antithesis of evil vampire. He might not have a soul but his capacity for human emotions surpassed most people she knew. Anger built swiftly as she realized how damaging to Spike the relationship must had been. The pleased surprise that she was still there when he woke up earlier took on a whole new meaning. Buffy would never have allowed herself to remain in bed with an evil vampire any longer than necessary. She pushed between the two.

"Back off, B. This is my vampire now. You don't get to hurt him any more." She ignored the shock on Buffy's face and the pleading in Spike's eyes for her to let it go. Her dark gaze was caught by the glitter that appeared in the deep blue depths.

'Don't. Please.' His words were unmistakable.

"Don't what?" Faith let her anger slide just a bit. Spike stuck his hand in his duster pocket and pulled out his tablet and pen. He quickly scribbled his note. 'Please, just let it drop. I'll tell you everything later. I promise. Please, Love?'

It was the 'Love' that did it. She gazed into his eyes and responded to the plea with a kiss. "Okay." She breathed. He closed his eyes in relief and nodded. Faith spun around and glared at Buffy.

"Back off. Now." She warned. Behind her, Spike pulled his duster closer around his thin body and hunched over. Seeing Buffy again had brought back the pain she'd caused him. The physical pain she'd inflicted on his body combined with the emotional pain of having her in secret and her denials of him in public had nearly broken him. It had almost been a relief when she'd decided not to see him any more in anything other than a slaying capacity. The three weeks before he'd lost his voice had been the most honest part of their entire relationship. She'd reluctantly admitted he was helpful in killing some of the more dangerous demons.

Giles cleared his throat. He fixed a fatherly eye on his slayer. "We will discuss this later, I assure you." He told Buffy. "Now, we need to address Spike's problem and get it corrected."

Xander couldn't help himself. "Can't we leave him? This is so much more fun."

Faith growled and advanced on the boy.

"Faith, leave him alone. Take care of Spike." Giles said gently. "No, Xander, we can't just leave him. This is destroying him."

Attention turned to the blond vampire and the slayer that had wrapped her arms around him. He'd begun to tremble in reaction to all the stresses of the past few weeks. Without the physical outlet of pounding other demons or bedroom walls and without the chemical oblivion provided by alcohol, his composure began to crumble. The additional discomfort of having the Scoobies know about his disability had broken his last remaining shred of pride.

"Willow, I believe that you should be able to reverse the magic that caused Spike's voice to fail." Giles said. Spike's head snapped up from where he'd buried it in Faith's shoulder. He pulled away and began to pace, his mouth moving in silent ranting. It would have been funny if the circumstances hadn't been so serious. More than one human in the room wished for the ability to lip-read at that moment.

'Red did this to me? What did I do to her? I can't believe she hexed me! Me! I've never treated her anything but nice, well if you don't count the one time I kidnapped her and Chubs. Course I didn't hurt her then, did I? No, I didn't. Threats don't count. A little fear is good for a body. Aren't I the one who kept this little band of slayer wannabes alive during that time Buffy was gone? Saved all their asses more than once, I did.' He stopped in front of Willow. Betrayed pain shone brightly in his eyes as he gazed down at her. 'Why?'