Chapter 10

Spike's head was pounding, he felt as if he had been hit with the truck that had just ran him over. He opened his eyes and winced at the intensity of the light. He was in a large, bare room, all the walls were painted white. He tried to stand but found himself tied to a chair. He felt two people walk up behind him. The two people walked round so Spike could see them. It was Riley and Giles.

"You." Spike snarled. "What the bloody hell do you think you are doing?" He demanded.

Riley smirked at him. "You're a vampire Spike. We have sworn to fight against vampires. And that includes you." Spike realised what the pair were up to. They were going to kill him, he new how much Riley hated him, so he new it was going to be slow and painful.

"You see Spike. I have never believed that you were good. I think it is all a trick." Giles said. "Now Buffy has grown attached to you. She has feelings for you." Riley visibly tensed at this. Spike smirked at him. "I believe these feelings are dangerous for her. She will only end up getting hurt and that is something that I can not allow. Anyway I have to head off now. Someone has to open the Magic Box. I'll leave you in Riley's very capable hands. Goodbye Spike" The watcher concluded in a very final tone.

Back at the Summer's house.

Dawn came down stairs that night to find Lilly in the same place she had left her the night before. "Has he not come home?"

"No." Lilly said with frustration. "Something is wrong I can feel it."

"I'm sure there is nothing wrong. He is probably laying low somewhere until the sun goes down." Dawn countered.

"No. I know something isn't right. Dad said he would be back before sunrise. If my dad says he is going to something, he will do it."

"Hey guys. What's up?" Buffy asked as she came in the room. She looked a lot happier than she had last night.

"Dad didn't come home last night. He said he would be here before sunrise."

"I've tried to tell her that he is probably laying low somewhere." Dawn said.

Buffy frowned. That wasn't like Spike. He didn't just disappear. "I agree with Lilly, that just isn't like Spike, he would find some way of getting back here. Why couldn't he just use the sewers?" They all thought about it for a moment. They all silently agreed that something wasn't right.

"So what do we do?" Dawn asked.

"Well Lilly you have to go and pick up William today." Lilly was about to protest. She wanted to help her father. Buffy cut her off. "I promise you, we will have Spike back here by the time you get back." Lilly agreed. "Dawn I want you to call the gang and have them meet us at the Magic Box."

Half an hour later Buffy and Dawn met the Scooby Gang at the Magic Box. Lilly had left for LA. "Ok guys." Buffy addressed the group. "I need your help Spike has gone missing. I need you to help me find him. He went out last night and said he would be back before sunrise. Lilly is really freaking out and I made her a promise that I would bring him back. I do not want to break that promise."

"Buffy I hardly think Spike's disappearance, and a promise you made to a vampires daughter is really what we should be concerning ourselves with right now." Giles said wishing that his Slayer would drop the whole topic of Spike. "I mean we don't even know what Lilly is. We should be concerning ourselves with the recent rise in demonic activity."

Buffy saw red. "What do you mean 'this isn't something we should be concerning ourselves with'" She said mimicking her Watchers voice. "Spike is missing, he could be in danger. And if anything happened to him Lilly would be devastated." 'And so would I.' She thought.

"So?" Xander said.

"What?" Buffy replied dangerously.

"Who cares what happens to Spike. And who cares what happens to Lilly. She is a vampires daughter. What is wrong with you Buffy? Has Spike done some mojo on you or something? He is a vampire you are a Slayer. You aren't meant to form a relationship with him."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Buffy thundered. Xander new then that he had crossed the line. Buffy punched him. Everyone gasped. "I care what happens to Spike and Lilly. Dawn cares what happens to them. And nothing is wrong with me. Spike hasn't done anything to me. God!! You know what? I've had enough of all of you. As of now you are all out of my life. Me and Dawn will find Spike by ourselves." She turned and walked to the door Dawn followed. She stopped before the door and turned to the group. "Spike is a good man. You just have to look at Lilly to see that." The Scooby Gang looked confused so Buffy elaborated. "Spike found Lilly in an alley way wrapped in the arms of her dead mother when she was a few months old. He took her to an abandoned house and raised her until she was 15. Then he took her to social services because he new she needed to be with humans. Lilly has always known what Spike was and she still trusted him. When I heard all this I realised how wrong I've been about Spike. But you guys just can't do it can you. You know it wouldn't surprise me if you guys were the ones that did it." A light flickered on in her head. 'Maybe it was one of them. Where I Riley?' she thought suddenly noticing his absence. "Goodbye guys. Oh and if I find out that you had anything to do with Spike's disappearance I will kill you." With that Dawn and Buffy walked out of their lives.

'What have I done' Giles thought as he quickly left the shop.

Back at the warehouse

Spike was now hanging from the ceiling with arrows sticking out of him. Blood pouring from multiple wounds onto the floor. He was barley conscious. Next to him was a large table filled with various sharp implements, crosses and holy water. Riley was stood in front of him waving a loaded crossbow, while ranting on. "You have no right to be near her let alone kiss her. Yeah you thought I didn't know about that did you. Well guess again. I'm guna make you pay for touching her."

"Riley!" Giles shouted. "We have to stop this."

"No. Spike has to die." He said aiming the crossbow at Spike's heart.

"Riley listen to me. We were wrong. Buffy won't stand for this." Giles said. "She has made her feelings on that quite clear."

"What do you mean?" Riley asked never taking the crossbow away.

"She has . . ." The old watcher didn't know how to continue. He took in Spike's appearance. He was in a bad way. "Riley she has told us that we are no longer apart of her life."

"What? Why would she do that? She wouldn't have meant me."

"We were all at the Magic Box. We um. . . confronted her about Spike. And she said she wanted nothing more to do with us. She even hit Xander." Riley looked at Giles dumbfounded. 'She must have been really angry to have hit Xander.' Riley thought. "That's not all. Buffy said . . . Buffy said that if she finds out any of us are involved with Spike's disappearance that she would kill us."

"And I meant it." Buffy said coming through the door with Dawn.

"Spike!" Dawn screamed. She ran over to him. "Buffy he's hurt really bad."

"Get away from him Dawn." Riley demanded now pointing the crossbow at Dawn. He fired. Buffy made a move to stop Riley but she was to slow. Fortunately for Dawn Spike wasn't. He used his remaining strength to push Dawn out of the way. The arrow hit Spike just above the heart. He groaned then slipped into an unconscious state. Buffy crossed the room and knocked Riley out.

"Dawn, get Spike down and make sure he is ok." Dawn nodded in response. The Slayer turned to her Watcher. Her voice echoed through the warehouse. "I had a feeling it was you, so I followed you here. I really hoped that it wasn't you. You were the one person I trusted above everyone else. And you betrayed me." Giles hung his head in shame. He felt truly sorry for what he had done.

"Buffy I only wanted to protect you." He said lamely.

"Protect me? Tell me how do you think kidnapping the man who would give his life for me and the people I love, the man who I know will always be there for me when I need him whether I want him or not." As Buffy said this realisation dawned on her. "The man I love." She said quietly. Giles' head shot up. Spike, who had just started to come round, and Dawn listened intently. The vampire looked up at her with hope shining in his eyes. "I can never forgive you for this Giles. I want you to leave Sunnydale and I don't want you to come back." She finished with a serious tone. Giles just nodded and left.

"Buffy?" Dawn asked quietly. "We need to get Spike back home. He is unconscious again." Buffy nodded and helped her sister to carry the vampire. "What about Riley?"

"Just leave him. I don't care what happens to him."

The slayer, her sister and the vampire left the warehouse and Riley far behind. Or so they hope.

Hmmm what happens next? Will they see Riley again? Please Review they make me happy.