Drawing The Line

Disclaimer: Not owning anything but a very strange imagination.

Summary: Buffy confesses to Giles and Spike makes a discovery.

Reviews: Yes, please. Readers Rock but Reviewers RULE!

A/N: Sorry it's taken sooo long to get this chapter up but somehow got a massive case of writer's block. But only with this story as you've all noticed with the updates to the Xander/Spike 'Can't Help But See' story. Anyway, it's here and I hope you enjoy it.

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Tara faced Willow. She was trembling but determined. "No, I'm not against you. I love you. You know that. But leaving Spike like that was just cruel. The magic is too much you have to back away from it before you cause someone real damage."

Willow stared at Tara for long moments. The blonde was frightened by the malevolence in the unnaturally dark gaze. "I love you, Willow." She whispered desperately.

Slowly the blackness receded. Willow gasped as her green eyes returned to normal. "Tara, what's happening?"

"I don't know sweetie. But we'll fix it I swear. I love you." Tara inched closer until she could wrap her arms around the shaking redhead.

The next day, Spike's crypt…

Faith rose on one elbow until she could look down into Spike's sleeping face. She was slightly shocked that she had spent a second complete night with the vampire. She stretched slowly enjoying the pull of well-used muscles. She'd been pleasantly surprised to discover that his sexual appetite was a good match for her own. Having his voice back was definitely a plus as far as she was concerned. His whispered endearments had added a whole new level of pleasure to their lovemaking. His thick lashes fluttered as he became aware of her scrutiny. His full lower lip stuck out in a pout and his sparkling gaze peeked at her from their dark fringe.

"Just what are you looking at, Pet?" His sleep-roughened voice sent a shiver down Faith's spine. She realized that no one else had ever done that to her. She smiled softly.

"You." She answered.

Spike's slender fingers threaded through her tousled hair. He tugged her down for a slow kiss, licking his lips when she finally raised her head. "Yum." He murmured. She grinned down at him.

"So what are you planning to do today?" She asked. She let her dark eyes roam over his handsome face, liking what she saw.

"Weelll, considering it's daytime, I'm kinda limited. Unless you're fond of the sewers…" He let his words trail off as he became distracted by a strand of silky dark hair draped over her bare shoulder.

A lascivious gleam entered her chocolate gaze. "Not overly fond of going underground." She mused. "Wonder how I could keep you occupied until sundown."

"Oh, I'm sure I could think of something." Spike smiled slowly as he drew her face back down to his. He grasped her hand and jerked her elbow from beneath her and flipped her quickly so she was reclining under his slender form.

"If you can't, I'm sure I could." Faith had time to say before his mouth caught hers in a passionate kiss.

Later at the Magic Box…

Giles was in the training room with Buffy as he guided her through her normal training routine. He debated silently with himself over the best way to approach the touchy subject of the blond vampire that his slayer had apparently misused. He grunted softly as she landed a particularly strong blow to the punching bag he was steadying.

"Buffy." He puffed breathlessly. "We need to talk."

"Those words never precede anything good." Buffy began to unwind the tape from her knuckles. "What's on your mind?"

Giles led her over to the sofa, took a seat and patted the cushion in invitation for her to sit down next to him. "I'd like to know what Faith meant when she told you that you couldn't hurt Spike any more."

Buffy jumped up and paced agitatedly in front of her watcher. "He's just so annoying." The blonde slayer began to rant. "He provokes me. Sometimes I think he enjoys getting beat down. He lives for the pain. You know?"

Rupert slid his glasses off and pulled out his handkerchief to clean them. "Somehow I doubt that." He remarked mildly.

"Buffy." He paused in his glasses cleaning. "Did you have a relationship with Spike?"

She stopped and whirled around to stare at him. "What? How can you ask that? I'd never… I couldn't… He's an evil, soulless thing…"

Giles had his answer in her bluster. He nodded. "I thought that you had. The way you've treated him recently and his changed attitude toward you were fairly good indicators that there was something between the two of you. I'm not going to judge you, you are an adult. I just would like you to know that I want you to be happy and I get the feeling that you've been as far from that as you can get. I'm sorry your friends pulled you from Heaven." He paused at her flinch. "To be honest, I cannot regret that you are back. But I don't think you've dealt with your feelings stemming from their actions. I believe that you took your anger and sorrow out on Spike."

Buffy gaped at her father figure. "It's not like it affects him. He's soulless. He can't feel. He says he loves me but I don't think that's possible. How can he love without a soul? It's just not possible." She sat down again.

"I think you'll find that Spike is an unusual vampire. He's an anomaly in the demon world. I believe he can and does feel. You didn't see him after your death. He was nearly destroyed. In all my years as a watcher, I've never seen a vampire weep. Buffy, he sobbed over your body. He was broken, bloodied and we had to drag him away so he wouldn't get caught in the sun. He didn't want you to be alone. It was days before he'd feed again and it was Dawn who convinced him he needed to survive. He loved you." Giles finished. He gazed at her bent head.

"Loved?" She didn't miss the past tense.

"Yes, loved. But I fear that your treatment of him has killed that feeling. He may continue to care for you but I believe he no longer loves you." He watched her carefully.

"I always do that, don't I?" She whispered miserably. "Chase away the people who love me. It's the men in particular who leave. My dad, Angel, Riley and you were going to leave. God, I'm so glad you decided to stay. I couldn't do this without you. I've leaned on you a little too much and I promise I'll try to do better. Just don't leave me. Please, Giles." She began to cry.

"Buffy. I told you I was staying. But we're not talking about me; we're talking about Spike. Buffy? What did you do to him?" He asked as gently as he knew how. He was not surprised when she leaned on his shoulder and, between sobs, began to tell him everything about her ill-fated relationship with the blond vampire.

The extent of her mistreatment of Spike nauseated Giles. Letting nothing of his feelings show, he used his handkerchief to dry her face as she wound down. "Thank God you broke it off before you drove him to desperation." He murmured.

She nodded and sniffled. "It was killing me. I couldn't face his 'love' any more. I didn't consider how it was affecting him. I guess it was killing him too. But I didn't really care how he felt. How could I have been such an unfeeling bitch?"

"Buffy, I don't believe that. There must have been a point when you cared how he felt or you would have continued with your assignations. I think his only concern was for you and helping you adjust to your resurrection." Giles rubbed her overly slender back comfortingly. "I believe he has moved on with Faith. Are you all right with that?" He asked.

She blew her nose in his handkerchief causing him to wince slightly. "I think so. I mean he was there all that time. Annoying but constant, you know?" She smiled vaguely. "Like a toothache you get used to and when it goes away you miss it."

Giles chuckled. "A toothache. Surprisingly concise but I don't think Spike would appreciate being compared to a toothache. Think of the slight to his 'big bad' reputation."

Buffy giggled. "Should I tell him?"

"Heavens no! Let him keep his illusion. I think he needs his self-image." Rupert smiled as he remembered the refined Victorian gentleman he'd been talking to the previous evening. His smile morphed into a huge grin as he recalled the disparity between the cultured accent and the bleached hair and leather duster. He rested his head against the wall as he remembered the conversation with the atypical vampire.

"What's so funny?" Buffy sat up and eyed him curiously.

He shook his head. "Nothing I can share." He answered cryptically. He took a closer look at his slayer. "Are you all right now?"

She nodded. "I feel much better."

"Please don't feel you can't talk to me. You can tell me anything. I promise I'll try to help no matter what the problem may be." His sage green eyes gazed at her steadily.

"Okay. Have I ever told you that I love you?" She asked shyly.

"I believe it may have been mentioned once but it's always nice to hear. I love you, too. I couldn't be more proud of you if you were my biological daughter." He told her sincerely.

Just before sunset, Spike's crypt….

"Where're you going?" Spike spoke without opening his eyes. He'd woken up to the rustle of Faith getting dressed.

"Just back to the motel to shower and snag some clean clothes. Thought I'd get a bite to eat while I'm at it." She answered as she sat on the side of the bed.

"It's almost safe for me to go out. Why don't you wait for me and I'll go with?" The blond vampire sat up and ran his finger down her arm.

Faith smiled as she shivered at the tickling sensation. "Cause I have things I have to do. I'll meet you at the Magic Box in a couple of hours, okay?"

Spike stuck his lower lip out in an adorable pout. "You're tired of me already?"

She dove in and snagged his lip to nibble on. When she had him panting needlessly, she relented. "Of course not. I can get things done faster without some sexy vamp distracting me."

He peeked at her through his thick lashes. "I'm a distraction?"

"Look you. I'm on to all your cute little tricks. Stop it." She put her hand over his sparkling eyes.

He tilted his head back and placed a kiss on her palm. "Okay, Pet. I'll behave." He grinned at her. "Now that I think of it, I have a few things I need to see to."

Spike reclined on the pillows and watched her finish getting dressed. Part of him mourned her golden skin getting covered up in her leather pants and tank top. She stomped her boots on and slid her jacket over her shoulders. "So I'll meet you at the Magic Box in two?"

He gracefully got out of the bed and stalked over to pull her into a hug. She ran her hands appreciatively down his leanly muscled back to cup his bare ass. He chuckled into her neck. "Keep that up and you'll miss your shower." He teased.

She grinned. "Just making sure you don't forget about me."

"No chance of that." He murmured between nuzzling kisses.

Faith gave her vampire one last kiss and shoved his tempting nakedness away. She watched covetously as he slid his long pale legs into his black jeans. "Okay." She heaved a relieved sigh. "I'm going now. See you in a couple, okay?"

Spike hunted through his dresser, sure he had at least one more clean t-shirt in it. "Right, Pet, a couple of hours, Magic Box. Got it." He answered distractedly, his mind already half on the conversation he needed to have with the Watcher. He hoped fervently that this would be the one time his plan did not miserably fail. If he recalled correctly, there was a very important document in Rupert's file.

Faith watched him for another moment. She knew he had mentally deserted her and she really didn't mind. She was beginning to appreciate that he was not as dumb as Buffy had made him out to be. There were hidden depths to the blond vampire and she was just the slayer to discover just how deep those depths were. She grinned as she climbed the ladder, investigation sure could be fun.

Later at the Magic Box…

Spike and Giles were again sequestered in the alcove poring over the papers that the Watcher had gathered.

"I know I saw it." Spike was muttering viciously as he shuffled the papers around.

"Calm down, we'll find it." Giles sifted through his half of the papers once more. He froze as a name leapt out at him. "Here. Is this it?"

Spike grabbed the document and scanned it quickly. He closed his eyes in relief. He laughed. "I don't bloody believe it."

Giles reached for the paper as the vampire shoved towards him. The paragraph Spike indicated stunned the older man.

'The Wordsworth estate is to be held in trust indefinitely until the descendant of William James Wordsworth can be located. This descendant would of direct lineage from the childe William James Wordsworth sired with his companion Drusilla, whose last name has never been determined.'

"This cousin knew I was a vampire, Rupert. Look at the wording and the spelling of 'childe'. He knew." Spike laughed.

Giles cleaned his glasses in bemusement. "This means you can claim your rightful inheritance."

Spike frowned. "Need documentation. Damn. Another plan gone bollocks up. Wanted to make things good for Faith. She deserves more than a damp, dirty hole in the ground." He seemed to be talking to himself.

Giles studied the blond's bent head for long moments. "I know someone who might be able to help." He said finally.

"Not takin the piss are you, Watcher?" Spike ventured hopefully.

Rupert shook his head. "You should have your estate within a few weeks." The brilliance of the vampire's smile nearly blinded the human.

Both men looked toward the front of the shop when they heard Anya greet Tara and Willow. Spike winced when his sharp vampiric hearing picked up Willow's voice. He'd considered her a friend and her hexing of him had hurt. She'd started changing after Buffy's resurrection. It amazed the vampire that no one else had noticed. Once in a while it appeared as if Tara were becoming afraid of Willow's magic but those instances were few and far between. Not for the first time Spike wondered if the redhead was somehow manipulating the shy blonde. His own words from the night Buffy had returned sounded in his ears.

'That's the thing about magic. There's always consequences. Always!'

He froze. "Rupert."

Giles turned his questioning face toward his companion. "Yes, Spike?"

Shocked sapphire eyes pinned the human. "I know what's wrong with Red."