Spike put Dawn at the table with her homework and Xander, Willow and Tara to help her. Anya was busy talking with a customer. He nodded at Giles and the pair made there way into the training room. He took off his duster and threw it over the pommel horse. He didn't bother wrapping his hands before he started punching at the bag.

"You got everything for the spell?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Of course."

"And you haven't said anything to the others?"

Giles took off his glasses and started cleaning away.

"As we agreed. We can tell the others after we have results." Giles replaced his glasses and gave his charge a serious look. "Your not changing your mind are you?"

"No!" Spike gave the bag one last punch, sending it swinging. "When I went to get Dawn, Buffy suggested it."

Giles frowned at him. Sometimes Giles could be so stuck in his ways. While Spike liked to believe he had made some head way in un-stuffing the Watcher, sometimes it felt like nothing could ever change. Giles never thought of Buffy as anything but a demon. And she was more than that. He'd noticed. Not at first but it didn't take long for him to see the change in her. She wasn't the same vampire that had stormed parent/teacher night and tried to kill him.

But it was Giles's mantra that kept him from letting himself believe. Kept himself from letting his feelings take hold. Stopping himself from falling for her. He'd dated a vampire before and look how that turned out. He could let himself be weak like that again, putting everyone around him in danger.

"She suggested it?" Giles asked cutting through his frustrated thoughts.

Spike snorted and turned back towards the bag. "What I said, isn't it?"

Giles voice rose over the sound of his fists hitting the bag again and again.

"Could she have figured out our plan? Maybe she has a counter spell. We were going to use this spell on her before."

"How could she? She can hardly move." As images of her beaten body entered his mind he began hitting the bag harder.

It was because it felt like a betrayal. Glory's demons had yet to make another appearance and there'd been no sign of anyone watching Dawn. No one knew. Buffy hadn't told. He'd known it last night but hadn't let himself believe because of some stupid Slayer sense of duty. He couldn't let himself be taken in by her and risk Dawn's life. Everyone's lives.

But he knew Buffy wouldn't do that. His mother and Dawn had always been safe from her. She'd had an invitation to his house for how many years? He'd trusted her when they'd called a truce to defeat a soulless Drusilla and that had been years ago. If she was going to kill him, he'd know about it. She'd tell him and it would be an honourable battle of sorts.

And now she'd done this for Dawn. Glory could have killed her. He'd never seen her this bruised, battered and bloody. And she hadn't given up the name. He knew it no matter Giles's doubts.

"Can we just go and get this over and done with? I want to get Dawn home before dark." Spike sighed.

"Very well. Give me a second to get everything together." With that he left.

Spike put a hand on the bag to stop it swinging. He didn't want to go with Giles. Didn't want to go back to the crypt and be reminded of the fact that he'd left her there on the sarcophagus. He hadn't had the full story from Xander then about the attack and Buffy's capture. But the minions could have come back, hell even followed them, to Buffy's crypt. Taken her straight back to Glory's lair. Finished what they started. And no one would have known. Dawn was the only one worried enough to go check on her and he'd made her wait.

And of course he couldn't imagine the pain she'd gone through after he left. She'd had to get herself down the ladder and across the cavern to her bed.

Buffy had done this huge thing for him. For Dawn and he'd left her there to her fate. And now he was going to go back and rub it in her face that she couldn't be trusted.

Spike reluctantly followed Giles into Restfield carrying the Watcher's supplies. The sun shone brightly but he kept his senses extended as far as he could. He felt Buffy under the dirt but nothing else. They weren't being watched. Buffy's familiar tingle ran up his spine making the guilt about what he was doing stab at him again.

He'd been silent on the way over and Giles kept giving him sideways glances. He obviously noted the tension in his shoulders and jaw. Tension Spike couldn't shake. He wanted to shout at him that this was all unnecessary and they should call the whole thing off. That he believed her and that was enough.

But it wasn't. Giles would never accept it and then there'd be an intervention and lots of talking about his feelings and how everyone felt he was letting them down by not being the perfect Slayer. How he was letting himself get taken in by another vampire. And a soulless one at that.

Steeling himself he pushed the crypt door open and made his way to the cover stone. Giles gave him a funny look when he bent down to reach for it and it occurred to Spike that not even his Watcher knew that this was here. Only him and Dawn. And maybe his mother had. Spike had stashed them here when the Council had been in town.

"Only us, pet." He called down when he'd lifted up the entrance.

He jumped down and left his Watcher to follow. The single candle flickered next to her bed, leaving most of the room in darkness. She was struggling to push herself up into a seated position. He rushed to her side and helped move the cushions behind her. Her brow knitted together as she looked up at him. She seemed out of breath and Spike winced inwardly at the pain she must be in.

"You were quick." Buffy looked through the darkness as Giles made his way down to them. "Suppose you've been planning this since..." She grunted lifting herself straighter. "...yesterday."

"Yes well," Giles cleared his throat. "We have to know for sure and you have lied to us in the past."

Buffy's accusing eyes flickered over to him and Spike looked at his feet. He hated himself right now. Hated his calling. Hated his duty. Hated Glory and the position she'd put him in. Hated the chip the initiative had shoved in her head, forcing the two of them closer.

Buffy sighed and focused on the Watcher once more.

"Just get it done with."

He watched her settle back into the bed and close her eyes as if to shut them out. He didn't like her like this. Defeated. Buffy was always moving, full of energy. She had a spark to her and now it was gone. She didn't look like this when he'd put her in a wheelchair. Spike sighed and began pacing back and forth next to her bed. He didn't look at Giles as he got the spell components ready.

He began chanting and burning what Spike guessed was sage. There was always sage with these spells. That and eye of newt. He snorted but kept his mouth shut, unwilling to interrupt the spell with god only knew what results.

Spike noticed the predictable if shaky rise and fall of Buffy's chest stop. She'd stopped breathing. He wished he could join her. The spell was especially smelly in the confines of Buffy's bedroom.

Giles finished and threw a fine powder over her. Spike rose an eyebrow. That was it?

"Err... Did it work?" He just couldn't help himself.

Giles bristled slightly and cleared his throat, returning the book back to his bag. "We'll just have to ask her something she'd usually lie about."

Buffy's eyes snapped open.

"Hey. I said no unnecessary questions. Just ask about Dawn and get out of here 'til this wears off!" Buffy said with as much mustard as she could ring out of her beaten body. "And what are you going to ask about anyway? I tell the truth most of the time, much more painful that way."

Buffy giggled breathlessly before her smile faded.

"See that just proves it. I wanted to say all the time and said most of the time instead. See Watcher it's working."

He could tell by Giles's face that he clearly didn't believe her.

"Come on, Giles." Spike implored.

"No. We must be sure the information we retrieve is accurate. We cannot risk everyone's safety. Dawn's safety." He added just to nail his point home.

Spike sighed. He wanted to argue more but it wouldn't matter what he said. Giles reached into his bag again and pulled out his journal. Spike recognised it immediately. He dreaded when that thing got dragged out. It usually meant a few hours debriefing on whatever Big Bad he had recently defeated. The Watcher diary that was his story. The battles he won. Demons he killed. The sum of his life.

Spike knew Giles had written about Buffy in there aswell. At first as an enemy, an obstacle for Spike to slay. Then everything she knew about The initiative and the tale of her time there. Not that she'd shared much about all that though. He also knew that Buffy had shared a few of her stories of her and Angelus travels through Europe one night when the both of them had had too much to drink. Giles had probably copied as much down of those he could remember as well.

Spike frowned at his Watcher. He wasn't, was he? Sadly his suspicions were confirmed.

"You've always been particularly evasive about your life as a human." Giles opened the book and pulled a pen out of his pocket.

"Giles!"

But he carried on regardless, not even taking his eyes off of the vampire. Spike's head snapped round to look at Buffy. A nasty smile flittered across her face. She'd known. She'd known when she had suggested it that Giles wouldn't let it go. That he'd have to ask. Were they all that predictable?

"When were you born?" Giles's voice was steady but there was a dare to it.

"The year of out Lord, 1861." Buffy scrunched up her nose at that.

"And you were turned in 1880?" Giles continued, scribbling in his journal.

"Yes" Buffy hissed.

Nineteen. That gave Spike pause. She was only nineteen when she died. He'd known she was young, she looked it. But nineteen? He would have thought her in her early twenties at least.

"Isn't that enough, Giles?" Spike asked.

Giles shook his head without looking up.

"The watcher's diaries believe you were a..." He turned slightly red. "... Working girl. Is that true?"

Buffy snorted. "No."

And then she clamped her lips together and Spike sensed her tense. She didn't want to talk about this. And when Spike looked over at Giles he thought he saw a slight flicker of triumph. Maybe Giles had realised the potential of the spell when he'd first suggested it to Spike last night. Or maybe Giles had been waiting for a chance to use this spell on the vampire. To get all the answers his Watcher-y heart desired. Giles had said something once about Buffy being intriguing for a vampire.

"What was your profession then?" Giles prodded.

"I didn't have a profession." Disgust tinged the word, like working was beneath her.

Giles tilted his head in confusion and then a look of disbelief crossed over his features.

"Old money?"

Buffy burst out laughing. As much as she could. It sounded painful but she didn't stop just clutched at her sides as if in hopes of keeping them still.

"American heiress. Father was desperate to marry me off to some financially unfortunate lord. Become proper British society." Her last sentence coming across in a voice she hadn't used since her human days.

She sounded as if she came from home. England. He'd missed it so much since coming to the Hellmouth. Buffy had been turned there.

"So all your books think I'm a whore." She snorted again. "Suppose the Watchers think it runs in the family. Darla and Drusilla running around the world with legs open wide. It sickens me to get lumped in with that lot."

Spike tried not to let that touch him. It looked to him that Buffy's mouth had run away from her because of the spell. Still any mention of Dru still smarted. He almost hated that Buffy knew her so well. Because the older he got the more he felt he never really knew her. It had all been some childhood fantasy. He supposed most first loves were.

Buffy's good hand came up to her mouth and she tried to stop herself saying something. Spike paused in his pacing unsure what to do. He didn't know how to help her keep her secrets.

"I've only ever been with two men!" She suddenly burst.

Spike felt his cheeks redden and looked back at his feet. She couldn't help it. Anger and resignation warred on her face but Spike could tell she was embarrassed as well. He supposed soulless vampires were supposed to be promiscuous and up for anything or anyone. Even he'd slept with more people than that and she'd had over a hundred years to get around.

"And one woman. But I didn't even want to really do that. A Sires order is a Sires order." Buffy sighed and closed her eyes again.

Giles coughed and cleared his throat, clearly not expecting those kinds of confessions.

"Yes. Well." And he reached to straighten his tie.

Spike lost his temper.

"Clearly the spell worked. Just ask her already so we can leave her to heal." He shouted at his Watcher, his voice echoing back at him off the cold stone walls.

Giles nodded at Spike and then turned back to Buffy.

"Did you tell Glory anything?" Giles asked his tone expectant.

"Yes." And Buffy opened up her eyes and frowned.

Spike felt an invisible hand reach into his chest and grab ahold of his heart. How could he have let himself believe her? He was an idiot. A stupid idiot who could be getting his sister and all his friends killed at this very moment. He wanted to leave. Run. Find Dawn and hide her away from here. But he couldn't; his feet were frozen to the ground. He was barely breathing as the vampire turned to look at him. Her eyes were pleading. Like he could believe her when the spell had already been proven to work.

"You told Glory about Dawn?" Giles' voice was low and dangerous and Spike was sure any moment he would strike and plant a stake in the vampire's heart.

"No." Buffy visibly relaxed and rolled her eyes. "I told her Bob Barker was the key. I told her she was an idiot. That the Slayer here is going to kick her skanky lopsided arse back to wherever she came from. That I'd been tortured worse by kittens and every punch to the face tickled. I-"

Every sentence from her mouth was like a balm. She really hadn't told. Buffy hadn't betrayed them. She'd got beaten more than half way to death and she hadn't told. And he had proof. No matter what anyone said, he would remember this.

"Thank you, that's enough." Giles interrupted. "So you didn't tell Glory anything about Dawn?"

"No. I couldn't. Wouldn't. She doesn't deserve all this."

"See. Let's go. I've gotta get back to Dawn." Spike said sharply.

Giles sighed but nodded and began packing up his stuff. Spike watched him climb the ladder and turned round to look at Buffy. She looked better than she had done yesterday and he had no doubt she'd be up in no time.

"Do you need more blood, pet?" He asked.

Buffy nodded but kept her eyes off him.

"I'll bring some by tomorrow. That okay?"

She nodded again. He turned to leave. She obviously didn't want to talk to him. Still when he reached the ladder and heard Giles open the door above him and make his ways through the bright cemetery, he turned back again.

"This means something to me. I know I couldn't believe you at first but I know now. And what you did for us, me and Dawn. It means something to me and I won't forget." With that he left, bouncing up the ladder.

8888888

Buffy didn't know what to make of the Slayer. He came back like he said he would. Brought her blood. Said he was glad to see her back on her feet. He'd seemed to mean it too. Spike had brought enough blood for a week and when she'd tried to give him back the money he'd simply said he owed her.

She hadn't seen him since but that didn't mean anything. A Slayer's life was a busy one. He had demons to kill and puppies to save. And Dawn to protect.

She was feeling strong enough to venture out today and after over a week inside she was going stir crazy. Before Buffy could go check on her favourite girl and the Slayer, she had to see to herself. Buffy dropped by Willy's and bought two bags of O Neg, just in case. The Slayer might need her at the top of her game. And Willy mostly ripped off blood banks. It wasn't like anyone got hurt. Well no one died. Probably. Buffy shrugged. What the Slayer didn't know couldn't hurt her.

She gave into temptation and drunk down one of the bags on her way home. At the taste of human blood on her tongue for once, she groaned. God she missed the good stuff.

Buffy had just tucked the other bag at the back of her fridge, behind what the Slayer had bought her, when the door slammed open. Buffy jumped round ready to fight when she saw the Slayer stride in with Dawn close at his heels.

"Oh, it's you two." She said trying not to sound too pleased. Then she took in the looks on their faces. "What's happened?"

"Glory's gone after Tara. I need you to look after Dawn." Spike said.

"Of course." She could tell how worried he was.

Dawn was the same. She held her blue leather jacket close to her body and her eyes flittered around the crypt like she'd never been there before.

Spike put his hands on the Nibblet's shoulders.

"I'll be back soon, Dawnie. Stay here with Buffy." He kissed the top of her head, gave Buffy one last look and swept out the door, closing it behind him.

Giving the girl a once over, Buffy decided a distraction was in order. She'd suggest the TV but it would probably be better if they were downstairs. Buffy still limped slightly and her face was still pretty much one big bruise. Or at least she thought it was. It felt like it. Her ribs were pretty much back together but a few good hits and they'd be shattered all over again.

The point was she wasn't up to a fight. At least not one with Dawn's life in the balance.

"There's caves downstairs. I've been meaning to check them out. Wanna come?" She asked.

It was a brilliant idea. The caves were deep enough to get them well out from under the crypt. No chance of anybody finding them. And it would keep Dawn busy, hopefully. She'd make sure to keep her senses stretched for when the Slayer came back. Wouldn't be good to worry him.

Dawn half nodded half shrugged. The poor girl's heart was tapping away faster than it should have been and she could smell the stress and worry coming off her. Her eyes roamed over Buffy's face. The swelling had gone down so she must have looked a darn sight better now. Still Buffy could tell her face pained her.

They made there way down and Buffy grabbed Dawn a torch from one of her draws before showing her the hole in the wall. The boulders in there were covered in moss and she could tell that it had been opened up ages ago. Forty years she guessed. Buffy told Dawn as much.

But when Buffy turned the look on Dawn's face had worsened. It was clear the distraction wasn't working. Maybe she wanted to talk about it. Well, Buffy could listen.

"Don't worry, Nib. No ones gonna hurt you."

"Oh yeah. The same no one who did that to you?" She snarked back.

Buffy snorted. "What? These? Just a few bruises. Nothing to write home about."

Buffy almost started telling Dawn about a time she'd been much worse off but she didn't need to be hearing gore like that. When Buffy turned to her again Dawn sighed and pursed her lips.

"Hey, chin up Platelet. Don't be scared. Maybe Glory doesn't want to kill you. Maybe it's something-"

"Worse." She interrupted.

Right this wasn't helping. Buffy ran a hand through her hair and led Dawn over to a large rock they could sit on. Buffy put her arm around Dawn and she instantly smelt salt on the air. Dawn's eyes glistened with tears.

"Hey." Buffy frowned wanting to pull her closer but feeling Dawn's reluctance.

"Do you want to know what I'm scared of, Buffy?" Dawn looked at her. "Me. Right now Glory thinks Tara is the key. But I'm the key. I am. And anything that happens to her will be my fault. Your bruises. Your limp. That's all me too."

Buffy wanted to flat out deny it all but she could tell she wasn't finished. She felt the prickle of tears well up in her own eyes. She was too young to be dealing with all this.

"I'm like a lighting-rod for pain and hurt and everyone around me suffers. And dies." Buffy knew she was thinking about her mother.

A tear rolled down Dawn's cheek but Buffy hesitated to wipe it away.

"I must be so horrible. To cause so much pain. And evil."

"Rubbish."

Dawn rolled her eyes.

"What do you know?" She asked sullenly.

"I'm a vampire. I know something about evil. And your not evil." Buffy said with certainty.

Dawn was good. Good and pure and nice and maybe a little selfish at times but Buffy knew that was just normal teenager-ness. She was like any other teen out there really. This Key-ness, whatever that meant, didn't... Couldn't make her Evil.

"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe I'm not evil." Dawn frowned and looked into her eyes. "But I don't think I can be good."

There was only one thing she could say to that.

"Well, I'm not good. And I'm okay." She gave Dawn a small smile.

That seemed to help. Dawn gave her own half smile and wiped her face. Buffy began asking about school and Dawn told her about skipping a few classes. How Spike had told her that she could get taken away if she didn't go. How she'd felt so stupid for not realising it and so angry at Spike for not telling her straight away. How everyone at school thought she was acting out because of her mom and while that was probably still part of it, how frustrating it was not to be able to share things, important things with her friends.

It seemed Dawn had been due a vent. Buffy listened and agreed with her in all the right places and carefully, compassionately disagreed when Dawn was being young. Because that's where most of the drama came from. She didn't always get the why of things and really she shouldn't, not yet. Dawn could be kept innocent of some things a little longer.

The Slayer wasn't gone as long as Buffy had thought he would be. She felt him coming and led Dawn back through into her bedroom and pushed the cover stone up just in time to see him push open the door. She took in his grim look before jumping back down to Dawn.

"Whatever it is, it's not your fault." Buffy gave the girl a stern look then turned to her brother.

Spike jumped down and pulled his sister into his arms.

"What is it? What happened?" Dawn pleaded looking up at him.

Buffy watched his arms run up and down Dawn's back. Spike looked over the girl's head at her. Buffy knew it was bad.

"Glinda?" She asked in a small voice.

Please don't be dead. Tara was good and kind and deserved all this as much as Dawn. Buffy knew the girl wouldn't take it well. God only knew what Red was going through.

Spike settled down with Dawn and explained what had happened. He brushed the hair out of her eyes as she insisted again that it was all her fault. Spike tried to tell her it wasn't but since Buffy had been doing that for hours, she doubted it made any difference. Buffy thought the girl wouldn't start feeling better till this was all over.

"Cause... None of those guys got any better. I'm mean, none of them." Tears sprung to the surface again.

"Dawn," Spike swallowed. "Tara might not either."

Dawn sobbed almost silently. Spike brought her in for a hug. But Buffy was pacing. It could have been worse. Granted she hadn't seen Tara yet but madness wasn't the worst thing in the world. Depended on how much of her was in there. What Buffy couldn't figure out was why the Slayer was here and not with Red.

"How's Willow?" Dawn asked, reading Buffy's mind.

"Well..." Spike sighed. "She was looking to go all payback-y there for a second there but I cooled her down a little. Well maybe a lot."

Buffy's mouth hung open for a second. God as much as she loved him, the Slayer could be so dense sometimes.

"So she's not going to do anything... Rash?" Buffy asked raising an eyebrow.

"No. I mean I explained..." But his voice drifted off.

"Right." Buffy cut across the distance she'd kept since the Slayer showed up. "So you're an uber-powerful witch planning to go out and spill yourself a few pints of god blood and you change your mind because... You explained?"

"She wouldn't." Spike stood and Buffy could tell he was already half way out the door. "It'd be suicide."

"I'd do it." Buffy looked up into his eyes, willing him to see her sincerity. "For the right person. Someone I loved."

His blue eyes grew wide. And then he was gone.

Dawn's scared eyes followed him.

"Don't worry, Bit. It'll all be okay." Buffy really hoped it would be.