Finding The Consequences

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Giles moved closer to Spike to quietly inquire what the vampire meant. "You know what's wrong with Willow?"

"I think so." Spike glanced toward the main area of the shop. "We have to investigate the spell that Red used to bring Buffy back. I told the Whelp something that night and I might have been more right than I thought." He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Giles was intrigued once more with the transformation from snarky vampire to intelligent young man. The older man waited impatiently for long minutes.

"Well? What did you tell Xander?" Giles prompted.

The blond vampire shook himself slightly to pull away from the painful memories. "'That's the thing about magic. There's always consequences. Always!' Now that I think about it, maybe there were more consequences than just that demon that hitched a ride with the slayer." He stopped when his vampiric hearing picked up the not-so-welcome voice of the slayer in question. His platinum head tilted as he concentrated on overhearing what his ex-lover was saying. Ordinarily he merely identified the speaker and tuned out private conversations but he'd heard his name mentioned and needed to know why. Giles watched silently as he recognized the 'listening mode' of his companion. He'd seen the action numerous times while patrolling with the vampire during the long miserable summer that his slayer had been gone. He'd not witnessed it recently, admittedly because of the separation of vampire and Scoobies as soon as it had been ascertained that Buffy had returned to them relatively unchanged.

Without conscious thought, Spike began straightening the papers and returning them to the file. Rupert could tell the vampire's attention was not on his task but on whatever he was listening to so intently. The human watched as the lean features of the blond grew more remote and distant. It occurred to the watcher that whatever Spike was hearing, it was not pleasant. He jumped when Spike spoke.

"Rupes, just get Glenda to tell you what spell was used. Find out what she had to do to cast it, everything. Don't let her leave out a single detail." Spike cleared his throat as his voice grew husky. He finished stacking the papers and closed the folder before sliding it into the drawer. His slender fingers caressed the small book once more then placed it carefully on top of the file. He used excessive caution to close the drawer and turn the key. "Tell Faith I couldn't wait, something came up."

Giles stared at the keyring Spike held out to him. "Are you all right?" He couldn't stop the question.

A small bitter smile flickered across Spike's mouth. "I'm fine. Evil and soulless, remember?"

The watcher gaped at Spike. "I talked to Buffy…"

Spike visibly swallowed, a spark of pain flashed through his dark blue eyes. "Not Buffy. Willow." He turned and left the alcove, unfortunately having to pass through the main portion of the shop before he could leave by way of the back door. The sudden silence that met his appearance gave Giles a moment's concern. Guilt was reflected on more than one female face. Willow being the one without a trace of discomfort on her pretty features.

Giles cast a sweeping glance at the women he considered family before following Spike through the training room and out into the alley. He watched Spike as he leaned against the wall attempting to light a cigarette with shaking fingers. The vampire cursed and thudded his head back on the unyielding bricks. The human approached cautiously, well aware of the unpredictable nature of the blond's temper.

"Spike? What happened in there? What did you hear?" Giles asked quietly.

Spike chuckled humorlessly. "Nothing. I didn't hear anything I haven't heard before." He contemplated the end of his cigarette. He inhaled. "Just get that documentation, yeah? I really want to get a better place for Faith." Discarding the half-smoked white cylinder, he pushed away from the wall and strode out of the alley.

Ten minutes earlier…

Anya glanced up as she heard the bell above the door announce Buffy and Dawn's arrival. Willow and Tara were already at the research table leafing through a couple of spell books.

"Hey, Wills, Tara. What's up?" Buffy greeted the witches amiably.

"Well, I was just wondering what possessed Anya and Tara to return Spike's voice last night?" Willow's sudden attack startled them all.

"They did?" Dawn's delight was apparent but she was the only one happy about the restoration of her friend's speaking ability.

"It wasn't right to leave him like that." Anya stated defensively. "It's not as if it was a vengeance curse. I wouldn't have helped reverse one of those but what you did was an accident and he might be annoying but he didn't deserve it."

Tara watched nervously as her lover glowered at the ex-demon. "He's an evil, soulless demon and doesn't deserve anyone's kindness or consideration. It may have been an accident but I can't regret it. I like having the power to do things like that." Willow's eyes grew dark with her anger.

"While I'm inclined to agree with the evil, soulless part." Buffy began. "There's a part of me that has to admit that Spike without his voice just isn't the same. Patrolling the past three weeks has been pretty hard. I hadn't realized how much he helps."

Dawn grinned in approval at her sister. "You like him!" The teenager stated.

Buffy's face scrunched in a scowl. "Eeeewww. No! He's a demon. There's no liking of evil vampires by the slayer. He's handy. He can be useful. But liking him is so not gonna happen."

Anya's constant glances toward the back of the shop finally registered on the consciousness of the others.

"Anya? What's wrong?" Tara asked.

The blonde ex-demon cast one more nervous look toward the office and shrugged. "Spike's here."

Dawn elbowed her sister when she saw the vampire in question emerge from the alcove. Unnatural silence fell over the girls as they watched the blond exit through the training room. After a short uncomfortable pause, Giles followed him out.

"Oh, God. I wonder if he heard." Dawn closed her eyes in hope that her friend had been spared the cruel words being said about him.

They watched the door and waited quietly for Giles to return. He closed the door firmly and turned to face the source of Spike's distress. His sage green eyes gazed soberly at the girls. He opened his mouth to speak but was forestalled as Faith bounced in the door, setting the bell jangling. He smiled at her exuberance. Her dark eyes scanned the interior of the shop and Rupert saw her expectant stance wilt just a little when she didn't see a certain vampire anywhere in the room.

"Hey, Giles. What's the stitch? Haven't seen my vampire lurking around have you?" Faith's question caused guilty shuffling among the female Scoobies. It didn't go unnoticed by the dark haired slayer. "What's going on? Where's Spike? Is he okay? Giles?"

The Watcher removed his glasses for cleaning, making the younger slayer even more nervous. "Giles! Tell me! Where's Spike?" She rushed over to pull on his arm in her agitation.

"Faith, I'm sorry." He began.

"No! You bitch! Did you stake him? I'll kill you!" Faith's dive toward Buffy was halted by Rupert's hand clasping her arm.

"Faith! No. It's not that. He had to leave. He said to tell you something came up. Come with me." He tugged her toward the training room.

She resisted his insistent tug toward the back of the building, finally allowing him to draw her away from the others into the privacy of the back room.

"Faith. It's all right. Apparently they were talking about him and he overheard it. Instead of causing a confrontation over it, he left. I'm sure you'll find him at his crypt." The relief on her face melted his heart. "You really care about him." It was a statement rather than a question.

The brunette smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, who would've believed me falling for a vampire?" Her chocolate eyes softened at the thought of the unusual love she'd discovered. "He's different."

Giles smiled at her distraction. "You have no idea." He murmured.

She looked up from her musing. "What?"

"Nothing." He patted her shoulder.

Anya opened the door and stuck her head through. "Giles, there's someone here to see you." She said.

"Go ahead and close for the day. I'll be there in a moment." He answered her. He turned back to the former rogue slayer. "Are you all right now?"

"Five by five, G. Gonna go find my vamp, okay?" She smiled at him. "Guess I need to figure out how to cheer him up."

Giles laughed. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

He locked the door behind the younger slayer, still smiling about her happiness over her new romance with the blond vampire. He was thoughtful by the time he moved over to enter the main part of the shop. He was surprised to see a tall lanky young man in a smartly tailored suit. The girls were gathered around the poor chap who brightened immeasurably at the sight of the watcher.

"Excuse me, ladies." The crisp British accent roused Giles's curiosity. A nervous smile creased the stranger's lean face. He shoved shaky fingers through straight brown hair and moved toward the older Brit. Anya, Buffy and Dawn in particular watched him as he escaped their circle. He glanced back at the giggling girls. "Not very shy are they?"

"Sometimes, but not often. How can I help you?" Giles led the young man to the back of the shop and into the privacy of the alcove.

The stranger reached into his jacket pocket and extracted a small white card. "My name is Gerald Whitestone and I'm a private detective representing the law firm of Colson, Waverly and Hunter. Are you Rupert Giles?"

Rupert accepted the card and glanced at it briefly before laying it on the desk. "Yes." He said briefly, not wanting to commit to anything before he knew what this man wanted.

"The same Rupert Giles who recently did an Internet search for…" His question was interrupted when Giles held up his hand.

"I would rather not discuss this here." He said, glancing toward the outer room where he knew the girls were barely containing their curiosity.

The private detective nodded, his composure returning now that he was no longer the object of attention from the young American girls. "Where then?" He asked. Giles scribbled down his home address on a scrap of paper and handed it over.

"Meet me here in one hour." Giles instructed.