(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 11 - The Devil In Disguise

"Run home" Angel said coldly as he stepped in between a little boy and an evil vampire he knew only too well. The kid did as he was told and Angel turned to face his unruly childe that he'd assumed was long dead in Prague.

"Hello, Drusilla" he said with half a smile. As much as he ought to hate her, and himself for what he'd made her into, he had a strange sort of affection still deep inside him for the girl.

"Angel" she smiled, leaning on the children's climbing frame beside them, "We've missed you terribly" she told him.

"You shouldn't've come here, Dru" Angel shook his head, "It won't end well if you stay"

"Greens not a pretty colour for Daddy" his childe said as she stared into his eyes, "I see the monster deep inside, green and bubbling beneath the surface..." she reached out a hand, placing it on his chest where his undead heart lie, "Little girl still lives there, always did like innocent little girls" she crooned, fingers walking across his chest and creeping inside his shirt.

"Dru" Angel snapped, grabbing her hand before it went too far, "Don't"

"Have to get my pleasures somewhere" she told him with a sigh, "Spike won't do anymore, he pines for the same little saint as you"

"You know about Buffy?" Angel checked, thinking it strange that his childe would put up with Spike's interest in the cute blonde that he himself had such strong feels for that he thought she once returned. He'd forgotten how fickle young girls could be, how easily their interest shifted from one man to another.

"Little Slayer girl" Dru sneered, "Ought to know better than to steal other peoples toys"

"She thinks Spike is her knight in shining armour" Angel explained, "She doesn't know he's playing her"

"My boy forgot the rules" Drusilla shook her head, hand dropping out of Angel's as she turned around and looked out into the night, "The music hadn't stopped but he already picked a chair. She sat on his lap and he forgot to kick her off to make room for me" she said, hands going to her head as if she was in some sort of pain, "No more room for princess now, it's all too late" she moaned.

"It's not" Angel said quickly, moving up behind her, turning her back around to face him, "Dru, you haven't lost Spike, not if you fix it now" he told her, "Take him out of Sunnydale, far away from here. He'll forget about Buffy in no time, it's you he loves"

"You loved me once, didn't you, Daddy?" Drusilla smiled, leaning in close to him, "Loved to love me" she said running a hand down his arm, "and hurt me" she continued, eyes hardening as her grip tightened, sharp nails eating into his flesh even through the jacket and shirt he wore. Angel barely flinched.

"Things change, Dru" he told her sadly, "You belong with Spike now. Get him, and get out. That's the only way for this to end well" he told her.

"Silly Daddy" his childe giggled, suddenly so amused but he wasn't sure what it was he'd said to make her so, "You don't understand" she said, leaning in close and whispering in his ear, "Nothing will end well here" she tells him, still giggling as she moved away and disappeared into the dark. Angel watched her go, not realising he too was being watched.

From the roof of a building across the street, Buffy watched the exchange between her ex-almost-boyfriend and a strange woman in an old-fashioned cream dress. It didn't matter to her if he had a friend, a girlfriend even, but he was still a vampire and if this mystery woman was too, Buffy wanted to know about it. The Slayer needed to know if there was a new player in town, someone she should be watching out for. She would have to remember to speak to Angel about it later, but not right now, she had somewhere else to be. A perfect back flip took her down off the roof, landing on her feet on the ground with no problem at all.

The sound of clapping behind her made her jump slightly and she spun around, already in a fighting stance. She relaxed instantly when she realised who was there.

"Hey you" she smiled, as William came towards her, "I thought we were meeting at the Bronze"

"Case you hadn't noticed, luv, you're running a little late" he told her with a smirk, "And I was so painfully bored without you" he said as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"That's actually kinda sweet" she smiled as he leaned in to kiss her deeply, "But y'know" she continued a moment later as they began to walk back towards the Bronze, "You shouldn't be out here alone in the dark. I know you know how to fight and all, but I don't think you get how dangerous this place is, what with the Hellmouth and everything"
"Don't need you worryin' about me, pet" Spike promised her, "Can take care of myself y'know"

"I can't help it" Buffy sighed, "I do worry about you, just the same as I worry about all my other friends"

"Oh we're friends now are we" he smirked as he glanced at her, "Snog all your mates then, do you, Slayer?"

"No" she said, to rhyme with 'duh!', as she batted him in the chest with the back of her hand, "I just... it still feels a little weird, y'know having a boyfriend who my friends haven't even met, and who I hardly know at all..." she said thoughtfully.

"S'pose it has all happened a bit sudden" Spike agreed, as he let his mind wander. He'd arrived in this town just a few short weeks ago with plans to restore Dru, his dark beauty, and kill himself a third Chosen One to boot. Now here he was, arm around the little blonde Slayer of Sunnyhell, having already confessed love for her on two different occasions and backing up his words with tender kisses and soft looks. William the Bloody, The Big Bad, Slayer of Slayers had been reduced to a lovesick kid, and all because of this one girl whom he should've killed within his first few nights of arriving in town. It was insane.

"...and I know you're really going to like them" Buffy was saying as he tuned back into her sweet voice, all girlish and excited.

"Sorry, luv, what were you saying?" he said, shaking his head slightly to clear the foggy mess that had descended.

"Are you okay?" Buffy frowned as she stopped walking and turned to stand in frown of him, "You don't look so good"
"I'm fine" he said quickly but her brow stayed wrinkled as she stared at him.

"You look pale and kind of... not sick exactly but, like you could use some sleep maybe?" she suggested.

Spike couldn't believe he'd fallen for a chit so stupid that it had taken her over a month to realise he was paler than the average, but at least she hadn't figured out the secret that would destroy their relationship yet. He knew something had to eventually. She was the Slayer, he was a vampire. Dru was onto him, he knew that, and if Angelus Version : Goody-two-shoes ever got wind of the romance between his grande-childe and Miss Summers all hell would break loose, Spike was certain of it. Him and Dru's precious Daddy had never gotten along too well, even when they were both evil. He doubted things would improve now he was all soul having.

"Er, reckon I might take myself off home, luv, if it's all the same to you" Spike said suddenly, stepping back as Buffy reached a hand to his forehead to check his temperature. If she felt how cold he was she'd panic or possibly even figure out what and who he truly was, and he couldn't deal with her having a hissy fit right now.

"You need me to come with?" she asked, sounding almost hopeful, but he shook his head.

"No thanks, luv" he told her with a half-mile, making a hasty retreat into the dark, "I'll see you soon, alright?"

"Okay" Buffy nodded, looking almost like she might cry as she watched him disappear from sight, "Bye"

Drusilla was waiting for Spike when he got home, something that wasn't wholly surprising. She didn't go out very much and never unaccompanied as far as he knew. She was still weak after all and part of him hated to know how hurt she would feel when she found out what he'd been doing with the Slayer, although he wondered if she did already know anyway. There was no way to hide Buffy's scent when he'd been so close to her and though he could say it was the result of fighting, Drusilla wasn't stupid, she knew the difference.

"Dear William" she crooned, getting off the bed and going over to him when he came into their room, "My darling boy... want to know a secret?" she giggled as she approached him.

"Sure, pet, if you want to share" Spike replied tiredly, managing half a smile for her. She still meant something to him, of course she did. She'd delivered him from mediocrity brought him into this world where he had strength and power, where he felt he belonged, or at least he had thought that til he came to Sunnydale. Now this world didn't feel right to him, he only felt content when he was with Buffy, and even then something was wrong. It was all lies, and as much as the vampire didn't used to care how much he bent the truth, how many people he deceived, he wasn't exactly enjoying it right now.

"Such a naughty boy, William" Drusilla scolded him like a child, waving an angry finger in his face, "Need a proper spanking" she smiled, making Spike almost laugh.

"'S that right, pet?" he asked, reaching out to put his arms around her, "Need punishing, do I?"

"Not by me" she shook her head solemnly, backing up a step before he could touch her, "Princess lost her crown, doesn't sparkle enough for Sweet Willy anymore" she snapped, becoming angry he noticed as her eyes flashed briefly gold. Even in her weakened state Spike didn't fancy a brawl with her.

"Course you sparkle pet, still my dark princess, always will be" he told her honestly, since he knew no matter what Buffy meant to him, Drusilla would always mean

something, always be his original saviour.

"Dark as the night" she replied, hand gripped round the bed post so tight it almost snapped under the pressure, "but her dark knight doesn't want to sing anymore. Like's the girl with sunshine in her hair... ought to have it ripped out at the roots" she said with a growl, her face hardening at the thought of the girl that would steal her precious boy. Her threats were not so welcome to Spike who's anger rose.

"Don't piss me off, Dru" he warned her, "Don't wanna hurt you, baby, but that doesn't mean I won't. Slayer's mine for the kill, remember?" he told her.

Drusilla was in fits of giggles within seconds, bending at the waste as if she couldn't breathe, despite the fact she hadn't needed oxygen for over a century. He really thought she was so stupid she didn't know he had no plans to kill the Slayer anymore, only to love her like a disgusting human would.

"Stupid boy" she spat, eventually when her laughter ceased, though her grin remained throughout her anger, "Daddy knows what a naughty boy you've been. Kiss the girls and make them cry, that's what William does" she sing-songed like a nursery rhyme, "Kiss and cry, kiss and cry... Daddy thinks he can stop you"

"Bloody Angelus?" he checked, trying to hide the shred of fear that always showed itself when his grand-sire was mentioned. He'd suffered at that maniacal bastard's hands too many times, and now he was going to stop him from doing something it seemed.

"He knows you're stuck, like a cork in a bottle" Dru explained as she sat down on the bed and picked up her latest doll that held the name Miss Edith, "Stuck between us and her, that naughty girl with her pointy sticks, that spiked your heart and took it away..." she trailed off as she concentrated on her doll and stabbed it in both eyes with her fingers.

"The sod knows, doesn't he?" Spike said more to himself than to his sire, as he realised the unholy mess he was about to get landed in if Angel did know what was happening with him and Buffy. He'd tell her, he batted for the white hats now and he'd take great delight in taking another one from Spike. Though Dru was annoyed to have her best toy taken away, deep down her childe knew that was all he would ever really be to her - just a toy. Though he'd felt like he'd loved her all these years and still cared even now, he hadn't felt for her what he felt for Buffy. This was overpowering, so intense it blew his mind. He loved her, he wanted her, he needed her to survive. As insane as that might sound, every part of it was true, and now he was set to lose the Slayers affection all because of bloody Angelus!

"No soddin' way!" he snapped, turning back towards the door.

There was no way in this world Spike's bastard of a grand-sire was going to ruin what he had with Buffy. Of course he knew things were not simple now, and wouldn't get any easier as time progressed. She would eventually have to know the truth about him, his past, everything, but now wasn't the time, and he'd see to it that Angel didn't change that, even if he had to dust him to do it.

To Be Continued...