Chapter V - Alex

London, England:

"Does this city have even one graveyard?" Buffy wanted to know as she paced in their tiny motel room. She really needed to patrol. She just really, really needed to.

Once out of the forest, the slayer and the vampire found themselves a small town. An over night stay was enough to tell them that they were in Jolly Olde England. After this, that they had both agreed in a truce. Easier for them to run.

Spike had hypothesized and Buffy had reluctantly agreed that the people who had kept them, who ever they were, would stop at nothing until they were back in captivity and that going back to Sunnydale was the worst possible idea. Unfortunately that was exactly what Buffy had it in her mind to do, but Spike had somehow managed to convince the stubborn slayer that even contacting her friends and family would not only put herself in danger, but her friends as well. After this Spike had suggested they go to London, easier to blend in a crowded city than a small town. So they boarded a bus and checked in to a none descript hotel.

"Like I bloody know!" Spike exclaimed. "The last time I was here was a little less than a decade ago."

"Don't you English have respect the dead?" Buffy demanded. Spike gave her a look. "Oh look at us! We're English and we're just carting around dead bodies. Cheerio!" she added in the most horrible fake English accent spike had ever heard.

Spike chuckled and shook his head.

"What?" Buffy demanded.

"That was quite possibly the worst fake accent I have ever heard. The Watcher'll have your head." he replied Buffy could see his trademark smirking beginning at the corners of his mouth.

She scowled.

"I suppose you meant to insult Brits?" Spike asked.

"Well, duh!" Buffy exclaimed. "No matter what changed they aren't just going to be making with the ghoul-y-ness!"

"Who're they?"

"Okay, fang-less-face no more side tracking, we're going to look for a cemetery to patrol." she said.

Spike sighed and shrugged on his duster.

They both stepped out of their small hotel.

It had just rained, so they had the city to themselves, after all, it was dank, cold and the middle of the night. Their footsteps to echoed of the walls. After a while Buffy sighed heavily.

"Do people not die in this city?" she wanted to know.

Spike stayed silent satisfied to know.

"What?" she demanded. "Are you going to pretend to be Mister I'm-so-sane-guy?"

Buffy whirled around, frustrated with the vampire. He fully expected that she was about to start a fight, but instead she smiled triumphantly.

"Ha!" she declared she flashed spike a grin and hurried to the cemetery she had discovered.

"That is one strange girl." Spike muttered under his breath.

The cemetery was bigger than it looked but it seemed familiar to Spike somehow and he mentioned as much.

"Spike, it's a cemetery. You've seen one you practically seen 'em all. This one is just particularly dull." Buffy replied as she plopped down one a tomb stone and sighed heavily again. "Even when I find one I end up just as restless as I start... my life, ladies and gentlemen. Or should it be lady and gentle-I mean-man-I mean- oh you know..."

Shaking his head, spike continued to poke around; unable to shake the feeling the he was familiar with the place. He knew

Lost in thought, Spike did not see an exposed root and tripped. As he tried to get up he caught sight of the tomb stone.

Spike just lay there staring at the tomb stone for a second. He felt a single tear slip down his cheek. Now he knew why it seemed so familiar, he had avoided this place for two centuries.

"Spike?" Buffy called looking for what seemed to be the only vampire in the immediate vicinity. Her call was greeted by silence and then a slight rustling round in behind the thicket near by. Buffy approached this place, stake in hand. What she saw was something she least expected.

Spike was gently placing a makeshift bouquet of flowers on a grave.

Buffy wanted to call him but she held back for some reason. At this moment, he was not to be disturbed.

Suddenly a blinding light light knocked slayer and vampire to the floor.

"Spike?" Buffy called again. The light had resided just a suddenly as it had come. "I tripped on a root. You okay?" she nearly snorted at the irony. Back home spike could have fallen of a bridge and she wouldn't care, but right now he was all she had.

"Fine, slayer." he called back.

Buffy followed the sound of his voice to see the vampire picking someone of the ground. he turned around and Buffy caught a glimpse of the young girl he was carrying.

"Friend of yours?"

Back at Buffy and Spike's Hotel Room (yes, just one.):

She woke up to see the blonde slayer's concerned face looking at her.

"Whoa, slayer, back it off a bit."

"I'm sorry- wait... did you just call me slayer?" Buffy asked her face suddenly suspicious of the girl in front of her. She couldn't be older than Buffy herself, she was skinny just a little taller than Buffy, dark brown hair, long, pulled back into a practical ponytail, with electric blue eyes.

But she didn't have much time to dwell on the girl's looks, although they did seem rather familiar, she had mention that Buffy was the slayer and that was suspicious.

The girl stared for a second, and then she nodded. She surveyed her surroundings, mentally noting the best escape routes. She then turned her familiar eyes on Buffy and studied her for a whole minute before replying.

"Well, yeah, I mean only the slayer would be walking a cemetery in the middle of the night." she said, her tone slightly defensive but purposely nonchalant. Buffy instinctively knew this girl knew that a pissed off slayer was not something she wanted to deal with. She relaxed upon knowing this. The girl was a human, not some demon or vampire-they tended to be a lot more polite.

"Slayer?" Spike's voice sounded from the other room. "Did you get the girl to wake up yet?"

He walked into the room and saw that both the slayer and the teenager were sitting up. Buffy had moved away from the young girl and the young girl was staring at him as if he came from beyond the grave.

Which is pretty funny if you think about it because he kinda did. Anyway...

"I see that you have..." he said as he entered."Are you okay, pet? You gave me and..." he trailed of with a look at Buffy. He realized that he probably should not have called her slayer; it wouldn't really mean anything to the average person but to a demon or a vampire...

"That's okay." Buffy said noticing the hesitation and realizing what it was for. "she knows about the whole slayer thing."

Spike narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, but nodded.

"Hmm...You got a name, bit?" he asked looking at the girl.

"Yours, vampire?" she asked lifting her chin.

Spike narrowed his eyes even more. She knew he was a vampire, at her age, she could very well be a slayer, and in fact the cold tone she used to address him very nearly sealed the deal. Maybe that faith-bird he kept hearing about finally kicked the bucket.

"William the bloody also known as Spike." he replied nonchalantly, he knew his name would be enough to put the girl on guard. He was well known in demon and slayer circles.

the girl didn't react, she turned to Buffy expectantly. it seemed she already knew who they were but was only looking for confirmation.

"Buffy Summers. Slayer, but you already knew that."

Slayer and vampire looked questioningly at the girl.

"I'm Alex."

"Just Alex?" Buffy pressed.

"Yeah, who's he just Spike?" Alex snapped. Buffy jerked her head back. The girl looked instantly contrite. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you... I'm just a little..." she paused. "Drained."

"So, where should we take you?" Spike asked.

Buff looked at him as if she was surprised that he would even think to ask that question. She thought the first thing he would ask was if he could eat Alex. It's strange to think that Spike could actually bring himself to care, even just little bit.

Alex looked confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Your parents." Buffy clarified. "They must be all worried and stuff about you."

Alex didn't answer.

"I don't really have anywhere to go." Alex said softly, she shrugged. "But you don't have to bring me anywhere, I can take care of myself. Have been for a while. I can just-"

"Alex," Buffy raised her eyebrows in question. Alex stopped, and then nodded for Buffy to continue. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen." Alex replied.

Buffy was shocked.

Fourteen? Dawn's age? When she was fourteen she was a total flake. She could never have dealt with the things that go bump in the night. At least with the calm coolness Alex dealt them with. As if they were just a leak in the kitchen sink- annoying, but not potentially dangerous.

they sat around again shrouded in uncomfortable silence. Buffy was dying to ask Alex how she knew about slayers and vampires but something held her back.

Alex didn't volunteer any information. This, as well puzzled Buffy, as far as she knew, any girl at this age would at least reveal her last name. a move that was not very smart, but quite typical.

This just made her want to ask more questions.

"So if we're not returning you to anyone... what do we do with you?" spike asked bluntly.

They sat in silence for about a second.

"I would have thought that was obvious, Spike." Buffy said suddenly. "She's coming with us."