A/N: Nice long chapter today. Thanks for the reviews!

(Note: Some dialog taken directly from the episode.)

Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its characters are the property of Joss Whedon.

When you smile, I melt inside

I'm not worthy for a minute of your time

I really wish it was only me and you

I'm jealous of everybody in the room

Please don't look at me with those eyes

Please don't hint that you're capable of lies

-Blink 182, "First Date"

Buffy heard from the others what they'd been up to while she and Spike were taking care of his chip problem. A surviving Watcher had called the house saying he might have seen Giles about to be killed before he passed out from his injuries, so Xander, Dawn, Anya, and Andrew all piled into the car and drove out to the desert to find out if Giles was actually the First. They were pretty straightforward about it; all tackling him at once to see whether or not he was go-through-able. Which was how the very much alive Giles found himself at the bottom of a dog-pile in the middle of the night being poked and prodded.

Meanwhile, Tara had spent her recovery trying to come up with a locator spell for Amy that the other witch wouldn't know how to block. Luckily, Tara had found a single strand of hair tangled up in the chain of the mind-controlling medallion. She used the hair in a seldom-used homing spell and when it seemed to work, she and Willow were so impatient to catch Amy before she could get away that the two of them rushed out to confront her. Unfortunately, Amy managed to slip away, and there were no more hairs to use for the homing spell. The two women were devastated, feeling like they'd let Buffy down. She was just grateful neither of them got hurt.

There were quite a few mixed reactions to the news that Spike no longer had the chip. Dawn was happy, Anya indifferent. Willow and Tara were a tiny bit nervous, but supportive. Xander was rather vocal in his disapproval before he resigned himself to the situation. The Potentials weren't sure what to think, since they hadn't known about the chip to begin with. And Giles... Buffy wasn't sure what he was thinking. She'd expected a lot of grim frowns and some stern lectures about making rash decisions based on emotional attachments, but the Watcher remained silent. Buffy figured he wanted to speak to her about it in private, so she awaited the inevitable confrontation with butterflies in her stomach.

Giles entered her room as she was getting ready for work. Buffy was sitting at her vanity, putting in some large hoop earrings she didn't wear very often. She saw him in the corner of her eye, leaning against the doorjamb. Here it comes, she thought.

"You know this is dangerous," he stated calmly.

Buffy decided to pretend to misunderstand. "Ah, you just heard the horror stories. Wear hoops, they'll catch on something, rip your lobe off. Lobes flyin' everywhere."

Giles sighed, "That's not what I'm talking about."

Buffy finally looked at him as she finished putting in the last earring. "You mean Spike not having a chip."

"You understand why I have to ask," Giles stated in a reasonable tone of voice, "It's crucial that we keep these girls safe. Are you certain having Spike's chip removed was the wisest decision?"

"It wasn't spur-of-the-moment, Giles," she answered, just as reasonable, "I'd been thinking about having that thing taken out of him for a long time."

Giles moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. With a weary sigh, he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "It's just that I-I can't count the dangers. The First, the Bringers, random demons, and now possibly Spike?"

"And the principal," Buffy muttered.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing much," she explained, "He was in the school basement holding a shovel, acting kind of evasive. Plus he's got that whole 'too charming to be real' thing going on. I'm looking into it."

Giles smiled and replaced his glasses. "Well, that sounds very responsible of you. Balances out the 'vampire on the loose' issue."

"It's not an issue," Buffy calmly argued, "Besides, Spike had a chip before, remember? When the First had Amy make him kill and sire all those people."

"We have no idea if the chip was working then," Giles retorted, "A new chip might restrain him should he decide to start snacking on live humans again."

"Spike has me and the Claim, now. We share a soul. That's what's gonna stop him from hurting people."

"And you believe that's enough." Buffy could see that Giles wasn't being stubborn. If anything, he looked like he wanted her to convince him.

"He can be a good man, Giles. He is a good man," she stated with total conviction, "And he got there on his own. He didn't need the chip for that. When Spike had that chip, it was like having him in a muzzle. It was wrong. You can't beat evil by doing evil."

After a thoughtful nod, Giles got back to his feet and headed for the door. "Well, I hope you're right."

"I-I know trusting a vampire isn't easy for you. Everything you were taught, things that happened..." Angel's name hung unspoken between them. "I just need you to trust me, Giles."

The older man gave her a fatherly smile. "I do."

Relieved, Buffy felt her shoulders relax and she smiled at Giles's retreating back. That's one problem averted. Now to check out the principal.

Later at work, Buffy took the first opportunity to sneak into Principal Wood's office while he was out. She riffled through some papers on his desk, looked for anything suspicious inside the drawers. "Now, if I were a sign of being evil, where would I be?" she wondered.

Her gaze fell upon a set of cabinet doors on the far wall. For whatever reason, evil masterminds always seemed to have cabinets with false backs where they kept all their deadly paraphernalia. Part of her idly wondered if they all used the same contractor to build those things. As she approached the suspicious doors, Principal Wood suddenly returned to the office.

"Buffy?"

She jumped back guiltily. "Uh, Principal Wood! It's you." Oh, real smooth, Summers.

"You lookin' for something?"

Buffy spouted the first thing she thought of, "File folders. And mechanical pencils. I, uh, wanna write on a file folder with a mechanical pencil."

Wood pointed over his shoulder with his left hand; his other hand stayed in his hip pocket. "The supply cabinet in the outer office has those things."

"Oh, this isn't a supply cabinet?" she innocently pointed at the doors, "My bad. Okay, thanks!"

As she tried to hurry out the door without seeming to be hurrying, the principal brought her to a halt with, "Hey, Buffy?"

She froze, managed to keep her cool as she turned to face him. "Yeah?"

He seemed oddly nervous as he asked her, "Um, what are you doing tonight?"

"Preparing for tomorrow's counseling sessions," was Buffy's diligent response.

The principal smiled. "No, really."

Buffy's eyes turned down in embarrassment, "Watching a reality show about a millionaire." That was a lie as well, but it wasn't like she could tell him that she was training a bunch of girls to do battle with the forces of evil—and, if she had a chance and wasn't too exhausted, squeeze in some snuggle-time with her vampire boyfriend.

Principal Wood surprised her by saying, "Well, then, I'd like to take you out to dinner, if that's alright with you. I mean, you don't have to. I'm certainly not saying 'Come to dinner if you enjoy having a job.'" He chuckled, then when his words sank in, hastily added, "Y'know, I may have to make up a little document saying I didn't just say that and have you sign it."

Buffy sure as hell hadn't expected to be asked on a date, but once the initial shock wore off, she realized this might be an opportunity to glean some information from him. Or at least find out if he was, in fact, evil. "Sure," she replied, "I-I'd be happy to have dinner with you."

Wood looked pleased, and maybe a little excited. "Great. I'll draw up the paperwork."

Buffy was halfway back to her cubicle before it occurred to her that she would have to tell Spike about this. She groaned.

"So, another man asked you on a date, and you say yes."

Buffy winced. Somehow, the fact that Spike sounded all calm and reasonable only made the jealousy and resentment that emanated from him that much more guilt-inducing. Which was probably the point.

The two of them were sitting on the couch, Buffy with her feet tucked under her, Spike with his arms crossed and a sullen expression on his face. The curtains were drawn over the windows to blot out the sunlight. The sounds of the Potentials doing their exercises in the backyard could be dimly heard. Buffy almost wished they were finished so the girls could stampede in and put this uncomfortable conversation to an end.

"I told you, it's not a real date."

"Right," he snorted, "You're 'investigating.' Nothin' like fishing for information over a romantic candlelit dinner."

"Spiiike," Buffy's voice held a note of pleading, "D'you really think I'd ever be interested in another guy? Don't you trust me?"

Spike's features softened a little and he reached out to grip her hand. "'Course I trust you, luv," he squeezed her hand, "I just don't trust him."

Buffy smiled and shifted closer to lean against his shoulder. "Well, you don't have anything to worry about. So not interested. I mean, he's way older than me. And he's bald."

Spike looked at her, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I'm older than you by like a hundred years."

"Yeah, but you're not bald." She reached up with her free hand to muss his peroxided hair. Spike batted her hand away and tried to fix the damage, much to Buffy's amusement.

Willow entered the living room with a basket of clean laundry. "Hey, guys. Mind if I do some folding in here?"

"Sure. Go ahead." Buffy scooted a little so that Willow could set the basket down on the couch.

As she started folding the laundry and laying it out on the coffee table, the redhead casually asked, "Did I hear you guys say something about a date?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Apparently, the possibly evil principal asked Buffy out to dinner."

Willow's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. Isn't that weird? I mean, he's a principal. He's a youngish, hot principal with earrings—who I'm totally not interested in!" she added hastily for the vampire's benefit, "But he's a principal."

Spike sighed, resigning himself to sitting through the girl-talk. It was either that or leave the room, and truth be told, he was too comfy at the moment with Buffy curled up against him on the couch. Lately, things were so hectic that opportunities to just idly sit together were too rare to pass up. Besides, sometimes he found Buffy's conversations with her friends kind of entertaining.

"Why do you think he asked me out?" Buffy asked her best friend, "He could be interested, right?"

Willow nodded, "Yeah, sure. You're a frisky vixen."

Spike grinned and Buffy elbowed him to curb his dirty thoughts.

"O-Or it could be work related," Buffy ventured, "Maybe I'm being promoted for doing such a good job."

Willow laughed. Then she realized Buffy was serious and stammered, "Oh, right. That—That makes sense, too."

Buffy didn't even have to look to know that Spike was holding back a laugh. She elbowed him again.

"Or maybe he knows that you suspect he's up to something and he's taking you out to kill you," the vampire suggested.

"You'll have to dress for the ambiguity," Willow advised her friend.

Buffy sighed, "You know, it's not even that he's acting that suspicious. It's just, there he is, on the Hellmouth, all day every day. That's gotta be like being showered with evil. Only from underneath."

"Not really a shower," Willow muttered as she finished with the socks and started on the shirts.

"More like a bidet," Spike declared with a smirk, "A bidet of evil."

Buffy laughed at the image that conjured.

Looking at the couple, Willow hesitated and cleared her throat, "Buff, if he's really interested in you..."

"Yeah, I know," Buffy leaned her head against Spike's shoulder, "I'll have to let him down easy."

Spike didn't know what masochistic streak compelled him to ask her, "If you weren't already with me, would you be interested back?"

Buffy looked at him, mulling over whether or not to answer. Finally, she shrugged and said, "I don't know. He's good looking, and he's—he's solid, he's smart, he's normal. So not with the wicked energy, which is nice."

"Thought you liked my wicked energy," Spike half-teased, tightening his arms around her.

"I do!" she assured him, "I just don't wanna only be attracted to wicked energy." She frowned. "Or what if he is wicked? In which case, is that why I think he's kinda attractive?"

Willow's brow furrowed. "I'm gonna wait for that sentence to come around again before I jump on."

Xander burst through the front door, excitement pouring from him. "Guys, guess what happened!"

"Buffy got a date," Willow eagerly replied.

"No, I did!" Xander froze, then visibly wilted, "Fine, way to steal my thunder."

"Sorry," Buffy pouted sympathetically.

"What're you doing going on a date anyway? You tired of Captain Peroxide already?"

"Oi," the vampire growled, "Sittin' right here, whelp."

"It's not a real date," Buffy responded, "Principal Wood asked me out, and I think he's aligned with the First."

"Also, like, ten years older than you, right?" Xander added.

"Which is like, a hundred years younger than your type, Buff," Willow quipped.

Buffy laughed, "Yay! Someone who doesn't remember the Industrial Revolution."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Great, you can bring that up on your bloody date."

"Fake date," Buffy corrected.

"Right," he said in a wry tone, "I can see it now: fake date in a fake French restaurant. You leaning over the table with fake interest so you can fake kiss him."

"Spike, cut it out." In spite of her response, Buffy didn't look or sound exasperated, much to her friends' surprise. They didn't realize that Buffy was picking up on the fact that Spike wasn't being petulant; he really was only teasing. And this relieved her, because it meant he was over his momentary bout of jealousy.

"'Oh, Principal Wood,' she'll gasp, 'I love your lack of wicked energy.'" Spike ducked as Buffy swung a throw pillow at him. Both of them were laughing at this point.

Xander shook his head in dismay. Those two were definitely insane.

"How 'bout yours, Xander," Willow asked, "Is she evil?"

"Well, she's interested in me, so there's a good chance. But I'm hoping for the best," Xander grinned optimistically, "We're going for coffee. She has a kayak—"

The front door opened yet again, admitting a harried Giles and the newest Potential, a Chinese girl by the name of Chao-Ahn. The poor girl had barely escaped a Bringer attack in Shanghai and had to leave so suddenly that she didn't have time to pack a bag. She arrived in Sunnydale the day before with nothing but the clothes on her back, so Giles took her out on a shopping trip.

"Dear lord, I hate that mall!" the Watcher groused as he carried in an armload of retail shopping bags, "The shop assistants are rude, and everyone in the food court is sticky."

"Looks like you found her some stuff," Spike remarked.

"That's gotta be rough," Xander sympathized, "Getting just, like, pulled out of your home, being told you're a Potential Slayer, and not being able to bring anything."

"A-And the language barrier is-is formidable," Giles added, "I-I was concerned that my Mandarin is a little thin. But as it turns out, she speaks Cantonese...which is thinner. But we muddle through." He smiled. "And as I suspected, ice cream is a universal language."

Chao-Ahn nodded politely and spoke to the others. Unfortunately, none of them could understand a word of what she was saying, which was in fact, "Like many from Asia, I am lactose intolerant. I'm very uncomfortable."

Everyone smiled and nodded uncomfortably—except for Spike, who didn't give a damn.

"What's she saying?" Buffy asked through her broad grin.

"She's grateful to be in the land of plenty," Giles blatantly fibbed. He picked up the shopping bags and addressed Chao-Ahn in that loud, slow way people tended to do when they seemed to think lack of understanding English equaled deafness, "Let's, uh, go and...put away...your new clothes!" He pointed with exaggerated movements towards the stairs. Chao-Ahn beamed and followed him up to the second floor where most of the Potentials were bunked.

Buffy turned to the redhead, all business now, "Hey, Wil, you think you can do a computer check on Principal Wood, see if you can find anything out?"

"Yeah, sure. Want me to check your girl out while I'm at it, Xan?"

Xander shook his head at her offer. "Nope. I'm goin' in blind. I'm gonna be an optimist about this. Why go lookin' for trouble? If it's gonna find ya, it's gonna find ya."

"Seems to find you often enough," Spike mumbled. If anybody heard this remark, they chose not to acknowledge it.

Buffy discovered that dressing for a fake date was as tricky as dressing for a real one. While she wanted to look nice, she didn't want to look too nice and give Principal Wood the wrong idea. She finally settled on jeans and a nice top. Unfortunately, the white top she chose had a suspicious red stain on it. Damn. She really needed to start wearing darker clothes when on patrol.

She took the top to Anya, hoping the fashionable ex-demon would know how to clean it. The two of them went to the bathroom and Anya started scrubbing at the stain with cold water.

"I don't think it's really a date," she said at one point, "That's what I think."

"Well, it isn't. For me, anyway," Buffy replied, "That's why I chose a top that says 'I'm comfortable in a stodgy office, or a swingin' casual setting...or killing you, y'know, if you're a demon.'"

Anya frowned at the top. "It also says 'I sometimes get blood on my shoulder.' Or...it might be pizza. I don't think I can fix it."

"Thanks for trying." Buffy took the item of clothing back.

Anya leaned against the bathroom sink, thumbs hooked in her hip pockets. "I wasn't talking about your date, anyway. I was talking about that sham date of Xander's. I think it's part of a plan to make me jealous."

"Well, it's not working," Buffy tried to humor her.

"Are you nuts? Of course it's working," the ex-demon sputtered, "O-Observe my-my bitter ranting. Hear the shrill edge of hysteria in my voice!"

Wide-eyed, Buffy carefully edged towards the door. "Uh-huh. Um...I should really go find something else to wear."

Anya huffed, "Fine, go. Leave me here to stew in my impotent rage." When Buffy hesitated, Anya shuffled her feet and told her, "I'm also gonna pee, so you should probably go."

Just when I think I finally got a handle on her, Buffy mused with a rueful shake of her head. As she hurried away from the bathroom, she nearly bumped into Spike in the hall. The blonde vampire eyed the lacy cami she was wearing.

"You look nice." He didn't mean to make it sound like an accusation. Really.

"Um, traditionally, one wears something over this." Buffy stifled a sigh. Apparently, Spike wasn't quite over his jealousy after all. "You know nothing's gonna happen, right?"

Spike quirked his scarred eyebrow. "You mean he won't try to kill you?"

"That's not what I—"

"Buffy," Spike closed the distance between them, cupped the side of her face with his hand, "I'm alright. This... It's got nothing to do with you. I know I can trust you. These are my issues, and I'll work through them."

Buffy placed her hand over his and gently guided it down to her neck. As his fingers brushed her Claim mark, she murmured to him, "Just focus on this. I'm yours. Always."

Spike nodded, then leaned in to kiss her. "I'll be listening," he told her, "If there's trouble—"

"You'll come a-runnin'," Buffy smiled, "I know." She reluctantly pulled away. "I gotta go find another top to wear before Wood picks me up."

Spike nodded and watched her walk away.

Buffy was more than a little mistrustful when Principal Wood parked his SUV on the side of the road and informed her that they had to walk the rest of the way. Her doubts grew as he led them down a darkened alleyway. It certainly lent credence to the whole 'walking into a trap' theory. "This isn't right."

Wood chuckled, "I know it doesn't look promising, but I swear this place is great. It's the best-kept secret in town. It's just right down this way."

"Well, it is one of the nicer dark alleys," she remarked, speaking from ample experience.

"I promise you, it's just a little bit further," the principal assured her.

She didn't even try to hide the doubt in her voice when she answered, "Okay."

A moment later, Buffy's Slayer sense tingled and five vampires emerged from the darkness. Three of them came at her; she lost track of the other two, but figured they were hanging back with their boss. Buffy's rage fueled her actions and she staked the three vamps in quick succession. She glared up from where she crouched and shouted, "You set me up, you son of a— What?"

Wood was fighting the last two vampires. Judging from his moves—and the stake that had appeared in his hand—he was no amateur. He dusted one vamp, then the other, then holstered his stake and approached the stunned Slayer. He offered his hand. Dazed, Buffy accepted it and let him help her to her feet.

"I guess we should talk," he regarded her soberly, "The restaurant's right there."

Sure enough, Buffy looked where he pointed and saw the small, out-of-the-way restaurant waiting for them. They walked in and were escorted to their reserved table. Wood pulled her chair out for her, then seated himself on the opposite side of the table. As they picked up their menus, Buffy blurted out in one long breath, "This place is nice. How the hell did you do that?"

"I've had a little practice," Wood stated modestly, "Never took on two at once before, but I have taken out a vamp here or there and some demons."

A freelance demon hunter? Buffy certainly hadn't expected that. "And...you know who I am?"

The principal smiled. "You're the Slayer."

"Right. Okay," Buffy laughed, flustered, "Um...So, I'm guessing that you don't work in an office fifteen feet above the Hellmouth because you enjoy educational administration?"

"Well, I actually do enjoy the work, but...yeah. Yeah, you're right. I maneuvered myself into that school, that office, just like I maneuvered you there. The Hellmouth draws the bad things in close. And now we're headed for something big, Buffy, really big, and I need to be here when it happens. I wanna help."

All this time she'd expected him to be yet another baddie; it never occurred to her that he could be a good guy. That just didn't happen, in her experience.

"Why didn't you tell me about you?"

Wood shrugged, "I wasn't sure about things, yet."

Buffy frowned, "You didn't think you could trust me?"

"Oh, no, no!" he hastened to assure her, "I wasn't sure I was ready, yet. Ready to jump into this fight. But now the fight is starting, or is starting to start. And I don't have time to worry anymore. I have to do something."

"So, you knew who I was before you even came here. How? How do you know about Slayers?" She'd never met a human, other than Watchers or magical practitioners, who'd ever even heard of the Slayer. Even those who knew about vamps and demons didn't know about her.

Wood shifted in his chair. "Right. Okay," he took a breath, "See, when I was a little boy, my mother was one. The one, actually. The Slayer."

"Your mother..." Buffy gawped, feeling as if the record player in her mind had skipped a groove, "Wow, I—I didn't know that any Slayers had children."

"Well, I don't know of any others," Wood admitted, "She was killed when I was four. I still remember her, but it's a little...fuzzy."

Buffy's heart clenched in sympathy. It seemed that having a child did nothing to prolong that Slayer's short lifespan. "Um, something got her? A demon?"

"A vampire," Wood stated bluntly, the long-held rage coloring his voice. "Oh, man, I went through this whole avenging son phase in my twenties, but I never found him. So now I just dust as many of 'em as I can find. I figure eventually I'll get him. That's probably why we got jumped outside. I'm not very popular with the bumpy-forehead crowd," he smiled, "and I bet you aren't either."

"No. Not most of 'em," she chuckled, thinking of a couple of notable exceptions. "Um, so...do you have any Slayer powers? I'm sorry, I-I'm just so floored. I-I have no idea what to ask."

Wood chuckled kindly at her disconcerted stammering. "No, I don't have powers. No, uh, super-strength or mythic responsibilities. I'm just a guy with a few skills because her Watcher took me in and raised me."

"So...you decided to tell me in a darkened little romantic French restaurant?" Buffy quirked an eyebrow.

"Um...yeah," he nodded, somewhat surprised, "Yeah, I'm not really sure how that happened, but...yeah."

Buffy chewed her lip, then took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "I think I should tell you...the reason I said yes when you asked me out is because I, uh, was kinda thinking you might be—"

"A bad guy?" Wood smiled.

"Yeah. A-And I wanted to see if I could get some answers from you."

The principal nodded in understanding. "I figured as much when I saw you snooping around in my office. Guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought."

"That and I'm really paranoid," Buffy admitted, "But the thing is...I'm already with someone."

There was a flicker of disappointment in Wood's dark eyes, but he took it well. "Alright, then. We'll just consider this a dinner between friends."

Buffy flashed a broad smile. "Friends is good."

While Buffy was out on her fake date, Spike went on patrol. He kept half his attention on Buffy's emotions, and from what he was picking up, she was gonna have one hell of a story to relate to him when she got back. First there was rage, which had concerned Spike at first, but then it gave way to shock. Then there was confusion, amazement, intrigue, utter gobsmacked astonishment, and just a hint of...delight? What the bloody hell was that about?

Interesting things had gone on at the house as well. When Spike returned from patrol, he found everyone gathered in the living room and soon learned that the First had returned. It had approached Andrew, but instead of giving in to the being's wishes, Andrew told the Scoobies and they came up with a plan that Spike thought was both ridiculously clever and sad.

"You tried to record the ultimate evil," Spike repeated in dismay, "Why? In a complex effort to royally piss it off?"

"Guess w-we succeeded pretty good, huh?" Tara muttered. They all looked somewhat embarrassed at the way their plan had backfired. They'd had Andrew pretend to play along with the First while wearing a wire. But "Andrew" and "subtle" were not close friends, or even distant acquaintances, and so the First had caught on to the scheme pretty quickly.

"I never should have gone in wired," Andrew whined, "Redemption is hard! Ow!" He squirmed as Dawn peeled the tape off his chest to remove the wire.

"Getting back to Spike's question," Giles interjected from his seat in front of the fireplace, "why did you try to record it?" Giles hadn't been there, otherwise there might have been a voice of sanity at the time.

"To study it," Willow answered, defensive, "To see if we could figure something out from what it was saying. Because, guys, we have to face it. We know nothing about the First."

Anya spoke up, "Well, we know not to record it. That's something."

His chest now tape-free, Andrew pulled his shirt down and went to sit on a nearby chair. "I'm frightened," he lamented, "And my chest hurts where the tape was."

Dawn patted his shoulder. "It's okay, Andrew. You did good. You stood up to it. That's really amazing."

Andrew smiled up at her. "Thank you. You're a peach."

Dawn actually blushed at the compliment.

"What did it want you to do, anyway?" Anya asked.

"Shoot all the girls," Andrew casually replied, "He told me where I could find a gun."

Dawn's eyes widened in alarm. "Shoot girls?"

"Not you, just the Potentials."

Her shoulders sagged in relief.

"This proves my point," an increasingly agitated Giles declared, "This time is crucial. We should be circling the wagons instead of doing things like going out on dates when-when gunplay is imminent. Willow, call Buffy. Get her back here. We need to dispose of the gun and figure out our next move."

"I'll go get her," Spike volunteered.

"No, it's okay. I'll call." Willow picked up her own cell and was about to dial when the phone chirped.

"Bet that's her," Tara said, "Sometimes you're th-thinking about calling someone—"

"No, i-it's a text message," Willow squinted at the tiny screen, "Oh, it's from Xander! It's one of our signals. It's a system we set up a while back, like codes. This one's either, 'I just got lucky. Don't call me for a while.'"

Anya rolled her eyes.

"Or, 'My date's a demon who's trying to kill me.'"

"You don't remember which?" Tara asked.

The redhead shrugged. "It was a long time ago."

Dawn smirked, "Well, if we play the percentages..."

"Something's eating Xander's head," Giles concluded.

Anya brightened at this. "Say, that's gratifying."

"Buffy will know what to do," Andrew stated.

"I'll go get her." Spike started for the door, only to be halted once again by Willow.

"That's okay. We don't even know where she went."

The vampire gritted his teeth in impatience.

Willow dialed the number. A ringing sound from one of the end tables drew everyone's attention to Buffy's forgotten cellphone. "That's not good."

"I'll go get Buffy," Spike repeated yet again, and this time he wouldn't take no for an answer. "I can track her through the Claim. She'll be worried about the boy." Besides, it'd give him a chance to crash her fake date, see this principal bloke for himself. Spike grabbed a cellphone and put on a denim jacket, choosing to leave his duster in the upstairs closet, and walked out the front door.

"Oh, my god!" Buffy moaned as she swallowed a mouthful of dessert, "Oh, my god! That might be the best thing I've ever had in my mouth."

Wood grinned, "Isn't it good? They soak the pears in brandy. Here, you need a bite with the sauce." He offered her a forkful. Buffy laughingly bent down to take the offered bit of fruit into her mouth. As she savored the delicious taste, a mental nudge caused her to turn her head and straighten in surprise at the unexpected appearance of a certain platinum blonde.

Spike gazed at the intimately eating couple with an uncharacteristic blank expression. He was standing so close, Buffy was surprised she hadn't noticed him sooner. Had she really been that distracted?

"What're you doing here?" she mumbled around her full mouth.

A puzzled frown creased Wood's brow. "Is there a problem?"

Spike answered Buffy's question, "It's Xander."

"Xan—" Buffy rolled her eyes. "Lemme guess, his date isn't going so well?"

Spike nodded.

Buffy turned an apologetic look towards the principal. "We gotta go. There's this friend of mine—he's, uh, apparently getting his head eaten by a demon."

Wood blinked, then asked in all seriousness, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Buffy's first impulse was to say no, but then she reconsidered. "Yeah, that might be good."

"Okay. I'll take care of the check."

"We'll meet you at the car." Buffy stood, put on her coat, and took Spike's arm, leading him to the restaurant's exit. She knew she had some explaining to do.

"He knows about demons?" Spike asked as they hurried down the alley.

"Yeah. Turns out he's not evil," Buffy grinned, "He's a demon hunter." She told him about their run-in with the vampires.

"Bloody brilliant," Spike growled.

Sensing his poorly-suppressed anger, Buffy asked, "Why the big frowny face?"

"Nothin'," the vampire bit out, "Just think it's funny how the description 'older and bald' brings up a whole other set of images."

Buffy winced. "Um..."

"I mean, I don't even pay attention to other men, and even I can tell he's—he's..." he cut himself off with a snarl, "What is it with you and all these soddin' tall blokes with perfect bloody skin—"

Buffy couldn't help it, she started giggling.

Spike tried to scowl at her, but her mirth was just too damned cute for him to hold onto his anger. Turning his head away so she wouldn't see the smile tugging at his lips, he grumbled, "Oh, piss off."

This, of course, only made her laugh harder. But by the time Wood caught up to them, Buffy managed to regain her composure. She sat in the front passenger seat while Spike climbed into the back.

"You sure he's in the high school?" Buffy asked a few minutes later.

"Willow did a locator spell," Spike replied, holding up his cellphone for emphasis, "Useful stuff."

Wood nodded, "I'm not surprised. That school's at the center of everything."

"How much longer 'til we get there?" Buffy asked.

"Ten minutes."

A strained silence fell among them. Wood kept glancing at Spike in the rearview mirror, obviously trying to figure out if this was the "someone" Buffy said she was seeing. His curiosity finally got the better of him. "So, how do you two know each oth—"

"He works with me," Buffy answered far too quickly, "Uh, you know, i-in the struggle against evil."

Wood made a neutral sound in his throat. "Cool."

Again, that awkward silence. Buffy tried not to fidget in her seat. She hadn't meant to be so evasive with her answer, but something in her gut told her the principal-slash-demon hunter wouldn't be too thrilled to find out she was romantically involved with a vampire. She hoped that once he got to know Spike better, he might be more open-minded to the idea. She'd hate to lose a potential ally over a personal prejudice.

It was almost a relief when the school finally loomed into view. Wood parked the car, they all jumped out, and the principal used his key to get them into the building. Buffy led the way, the route to the Seal of Danzalthar being rather familiar to her at that point. She ran into the underground chamber in time to see Xander hanging face-down from the sacrificial wheel, blood from a stab wound to his belly oozing onto the seal below. There was also a beautiful looking woman wearing the kind of skimpy, sexy outfit one would expect from an evil priestess in one of those cheesy B-horror movies and holding a long knife (or possibly short sword) in her hand. As she spun to face the Slayer, Buffy saw the woman's eyes glowed yellow with slitted pupils.

Buffy knocked the blade from the woman's grasp and kicked her exposed midriff. That was when Spike arrived and got into the fight. The woman pinned him to the wall and punched his jaw, kicked Buffy away when she tried to help, then wrestled the vampire to the packed earth floor. Her hands went around his throat to crush the life out of him. She obviously wasn't aware that he didn't need to breathe. Spike snarled and shifted into his gameface.

"He's a vampire," the newly arrived Principal Wood stared. Xander's cries for help drew his attention away from the fight. Wood hurried over to the suspended man and used his pocket knife to cut away the restraining ropes. As he worked to free Xander, the Seal of Danzalthar started to open. A Turok-Han's hand reached through the gap and made a grab for the principal's ankle, but Wood managed to kick loose and caught Xander as he fell from the wheel, carrying him to safety. With its sacrificial blood cut off, the seal slammed shut, severing the unlucky übervamp's hand in the process.

While Xander was being rescued, Buffy and Spike continued fighting the demon woman. Buffy had snatched up the long blade and slashed at the woman, but the demon managed to grab her wrists and the two of them wrestled over the weapon for a few seconds before Buffy was flung aside. Spike laid a punch across the woman's jaw, knocking her to her knees. The demon woman hissed in anger and drove her elbow into the vampire's midsection. As he staggered back, she rose to her feet and started raining blows and kicks on him. Spike's face slammed into the wall, splitting his lower lip, then a flying kick from the demon woman sent him sprawling. Before the woman could finish him off, Buffy leapt in and swung the blade in a powerful arc, severing the woman's head from her shoulders. The headless body transformed into something with rough gray skin and patches of spiny hair, the rolling head into a bald creature with mottled black patterns on its crown and a wide, fangy maw with sharp quills at either side.

Buffy hurried to Spike's side as he started to sit up, his features human again. "You okay?" she asked, gently touching his bloodied lip.

Spike nodded and gripped her hand in reassurance. Neither one of them noticed Wood's hard glare as he took in the intimate exchange.

Buffy helped Spike to his feet, then the two of them walked over to where Xander slumped against the wall.

"I think your friend's gonna be okay," Wood informed them.

"Hey, Xand," Buffy waved, acting for all the world like this was just a casual meeting at a party or something, "I'm here."

Xander grinned up at her. "So, how's your date going?"

They took Xander's car home, having parted ways with Principal Wood at the school. Buffy had taken a moment to have a few words with him while Spike helped Xander to the car.

"Can't say this wasn't an interesting date," Wood remarked with a casual smile.

Buffy grinned, shrugged, "Sooner or later, all my free evenings wind up like this. You get used to it." She hesitated, "Um, y-you still wanna be a part of this, right?"

"Of course," Wood answered without hesitation, "What makes you think I'd change my mind?"

"Well, I figured you might've had second thoughts after seeing Spike..."

The principal nodded, his expression carefully neutral. "A Slayer teamed up with a vampire. Definitely wasn't expecting that."

"He's not like other vampires," she told him, "He has a soul, for one thing."

Wood's eyebrows raised in surprise. "A soul? How'd that happen?"

"Long story." She bit her lip anxiously, "Look, Spike's one of the good guys. I trust him with my life. God knows, we need all the help we can get, but if you don't think you can work with a vampire—"

"You don't need to worry," Wood assured her, "I can put aside my personal feelings for the greater good."

Buffy really hoped so.

When they got home, all the Scoobies were waiting up for them. They were obviously relieved to see Xander walk in under his own power.

"Wh-What happened?" Tara asked.

"What do you think happened?" Xander groused, "Another demon woman was attracted to me."

Anya glared.

"I'm going gay," Xander suddenly announced, "I've decided I'm turning gay. Willow, gay me up. C'mon, let's gay!"

"What?" his baffled friend gaped at him.

"You heard me. Just tell me what to do. I'm mentally undressing Scott Bakula right now. That's a start, isn't it?"

Andrew let out a dreamy sigh, "Captain Archer."

"Come on, let's get this gay show on the gay road," Xander cajoled, "Help me out here."

Fighting back laughter, Buffy asked, "What if you just start attracting male demons?"

"Clem always liked you," Dawn happily joined in.

Anya muttered to her ex, "Serve you right."

"Children, enough," Giles groaned.

Spike grinned at the carpenter. "You'll need some stylish new clothes, mate."

The resulting laughter was cut short by Giles's frustrated, "Oh, enough! Have you learned nothing from tonight's assorted chaos? There isn't time for fun and games and quips about orientation." He glared at them all like a disapproving father. "This isn't a joke. Girls are gonna die. We may die. It's time to get serious."

Everyone's gazes lowered, the mood effectively dampened by the Watcher's chastisement. He wasn't wrong; they needed to start taking the threat more seriously.

After everyone else left for bed, Buffy sat curled up on the living room sofa, her bare feet tucked under her. She was too wired to sleep, and too full of troublesome thoughts dredged up by Giles's speech and other things she'd learned from her friends. She didn't look up when she sensed Spike's approach. The vampire sat down beside her, rested his arms on his knees.

"Anybody tell you about what happened around here tonight?"

She nodded, "Willow did. The First is back in the mix."

"Looks like you found out about the principal none too soon," he remarked, voice subdued, "Can always use another demon hunter."

"Spike...I'm not attracted to him. I-I mean, I do think he's attractive," she tried to explain, "but I'm not interested—"

"I know," the vampire smiled, reaching over to place a hand on her leg, "Would've felt it if you were. Relax, luv. I don't feel threatened."

Relieved, Buffy scooted over and snuggled up to him. Spike's arm went around her shoulder, fingers toying with the ends of her hair. "So, how gobsmacked was he when you told him you were the Slayer?"

"He already knew," Buffy smiled at his puzzled surprise, "Get this, his mom was a Slayer. She died when he was four and her Watcher took him in. Can you believe it? I didn't even know Slayers could have kids!"

She frowned as Spike tensed. The emotions she picked up from him were a swirl of shock, suspicion, and...dread?

"Did he say what her name was?" Spike asked, the strain clear in his voice.

Buffy shook her head. She was starting to get worried.

Spike rubbed his hand across his eyes and suppressed a groan. He ran the sparse facts through his mind: last name Wood, mother a Slayer, in his early thirties now... He really wished it was all a coincidence, but when the bloody hell was he ever that lucky?

"Nikki Wood."

Buffy sat up and stared at him. "What?"

Spike stared down at his lap. "His mum. Nikki Wood."

Buffy ran her tongue over suddenly dry lips. "H-How do you know that?"

Spike forced himself to meet her gaze. "'Cause I'm the one who killed her."

Her mouth fell open, eyes widened in horror. "Y— Th-That can't be right."

"It is," the vampire reluctantly explained, "Nikki Wood's the Slayer I killed in New York, in '77. Stalked her for weeks, I did. And yeah, I remember seein' a little boy with her."

"Oh, god..." Buffy's face dropped into her hands. Her head shook from side to side.

Spike waited in agony for whatever her reaction would be. Finally, Buffy sat up and took a deep breath to steady herself. "He already hates vampires," she stated, "I saw the way he looked at you. If he finds out you—" She sighed, pursed her lips. "We can't tell him."

"Buffy," he swallowed, "I'm sorry."

Buffy looked at him and placed a gentle hand to his cheek. "Doesn't matter. You're not the same man you were then."

Spike exhaled as some of the anxious tension left him. He'd worried that she might hold it against him. Sure, she knew he killed two other Slayers before, but now she knew someone directly affected by his past actions. Spike knew how that made it all more real, not just stories.

"And if he does find out?" he felt compelled to ask.

Buffy rested her head on his shoulder. "Then we'll deal. But there's no way in hell I'll ever choose him over you."

The vampire smiled and kissed the top of her head.