Ring on her Finger

By Nickeltaffy

Disclaimer: I would like to thank Joss for the use of his characters. They are still his and will never be mine. (heavy sigh).

Synopsis: Anyone ever notice that Buffy never returned Spike's ring from when they were engaged? What if Willow's reversal of the Will Be Done spell from the Something Blue episode was not exactly 100% effective? What if Buffy was still under a spell and still considered herself engaged to a horrified Spike?

…

Chapter 4

As Giles was closing the front door and placing the bags from the grocery and butcher on the table, he noticed Buffy come bouncing into the hallway from the bathroom with a little more force than was normal. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that she had been helped through the door. She ended up on the far side of the hallway, bumping against the wall and looking back at where she had come from.

Buffy was looking at the closed bathroom door with a perplexed expression on her face. The last thing she could remember was that she had just decided not to threaten Spike….then she was out here in the hall. She couldn't remember what happened in the bathroom after looking at Spike's face. She turned and suddenly noticed Giles. Giles looked quizzically at the young woman. Looking down at herself, Buffy straightened her clothes and smoothed her hair away from her face.

Buffy looked up at Giles, tilted her head as she pasted an overly big smile on her face.

"Giles, you're back!" she said with an unnatural cheer.

"Yes, indeed I am." He said, suspicion wrinkling his forehead.

"I was just talking to Spike." She said awkwardly pointing to the door across her body. She was making halting steps to the end of the hallway by the kitchen, her eyes traveling over to the bathroom door as she passed it. She leaned against the wall next to the kitchen bar trying to look casual, her body language telling another story.

"Is he alright? You didn't hurt him?" Giles asked, his eyes shifting toward the bathroom door, listening for moans of pain.

"No, no. He's fine….I think." flipping her hand back toward the bathroom door as she said it.

Giles looked closely at the Slayer again. There was something going on, but he was still trying to recover from the previous night's spell. He just didn't have the energy tonight and there were still his regular watcher duties he had to take care of. With a sigh, he pulled off his glasses to clean them.

"Here, let me help you with those bags" Buffy said as she rushed over to the table to start unloading the bags and putting the items in up in the kitchen.

Giles thought It seemed that he had caught his Slayer at something, but he wasn't sure what. He chalked it up to being young and didn't think about it anymore. They had to discuss tonight's patrol.

"Buffy, have you laid out the itinerary for tonight's patrol? I think we should start…"

...

In the bathroom, Spike stood up from clutching his head while he closed, latched and locked the bathroom door with relief. Yes, the little push he gave the slayer to help her through the door had hurt like hell; but he wasn't going to be alone with her for a second longer than necessary.

He picked up the hand towel and used it to dry his body. He saw that Giles had a bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. "Giles, I owe you….although I'll never tell you" thought Spike as he gratefully pulled it down. The last thing he wanted to be standing there with the stupid little towel, if Buffy decided to come in again. He sincerely doubted the bathroom lock would stand in her way, but it was one of the few defenses he had and he was going to use it.

He pulled on Giles' robe and hung the hand towel around his neck. If he had a reflection in the mirror, he would have asked what just happened. There was something definitely wrong with Buffy. His hand went to the spot on his cheek where she kissed him. His eyes drifted to the side in thought. Huh? What was going on? She had never liked him before. "Hey, you stupid bloke! Wake up! She still doesn't!" he yelled at himself in his head. He blinked several times and shook his head to clear it. His mouth twisted in a grimace as he let out a grumble.

As he thought about their little incident, he remembered she seemed to get great pleasure from torturing him in the past. The kiss on the cheek, calling him baby, that's all part of it he though, some kind of new torture she had devised. She had decided to play some kind of mind game on him while he was dealing with this chip business. "Oh great, not that I don't have enough to deal with, now she's got to twist the knife." he thought. A small flame fire of anger began to grow and turn into a bonfire inside him. " Well, she doesn't know who she's picking on. I am William the Bloody, one of the fiercest vampires that Europe has ever seen. No one is going to use me for their little game." He announced in his head as he unlocked the door and yanked it open.

…..

Both Giles and Buffy turned when they heard the bathroom door open with a bang. Spike barged out into the hallway with a snarl in his eyes. He looked at the two humans and turned away to go back down the hall to the utility room.

"Hey, isn't that my robe?" Giles called.

"Gotta wear somthin. Got company." replied Spike grumpily.

Spike disappeared into the utility room where the dryer was located that held his clothes. The anger brewing behind his eyes was funneling out into his actions. He pulled his clothes roughly out of the dryer and proceeded to pull them on in the utility room. His clothes were a little snugger than normal due to the heat and the fact that they were totally not dry yet, but that wasn't going to stop him. He hotly paced back and forth in front of the washing machine and dryer after he finished dressing. His vampire hearing could pick up Buffy and Giles discussion regarding tonight's patrol. "When was that bint going to leave?" he asked himself. He caught himself "Why do I care? Why am I back here hiding from her? Get yourself together, man!" Taking a deep breath, and pulling himself up to his full height, he picked up Giles robe and turned to go back to the living area.

…

Buffy lifted her head up from the map that she and Giles were looking at when she saw movement coming back down the hall. Spike stopped in the bathroom to rehang the robe and promptly came back out into the hall. He didn't address Buffy or Giles as he glanced at them with a sour look.

Buffy watched Spike as he turned the corner into the kitchen. His slightly damp t-shirt was clinging to him as Buffy tried not to notice. He jerked the jug of pigs blood out the refrigerator. After pulling a large mug out the cabinet, he spun around to stare at her while he poured the blood into the mug.

Buffy pulled back as she saw the look on Spike's face. "What is going on with the unneeded drama? God, he looks like he hates me" she thought "What's got him all in a twist? Vampires! Can't live with them…Hey, actually you CAN"T live with them." She smirked at her own joke.

Spike saw the smirk and thought with his eyes narrowing: "OH, IT'S ON, SLAYER!"