Thank you to all my reviews and their praise of my flawed works of fiction. I got on a mental roll here so here is another chapter with love from me to you.

Spike needs about a year of sleep by the times he pulls into Giles driveway. He carries Faith first and then Tara into Giles guest bedroom quietly as it is the early morning hours but as he goes to get some blood out of the freezer he finds Giles toiling away at a pot of tea and find that his blood is sitting on the kitchen table already prepared. He stands in the archway until a groggy Giles sits down with his cup and repeatedly motions for him to sit across from him.

"I see that you found Faith and have otherwise calmed or sedated her ?" Giles asked in a inquisitive but very English manner as he tipped his cup.

Spike held his head and swallowed down the blood he nodded his head. "I'll go over all the details with you tonight , Watcher. Just know that she is no harm to anyone and I will protect her if anyone raises a hand to her".

Giles chuckled and nodded "No ill will befall you or your charges under this roof. You may join them in the guest room if you wish, the curtains are more than adequate protection and we shall speak more of this tonight. " He pointed his cup towards where the girls were and gave him a slight smile.

Spike went to sleep with the absurd thought that he was growing on Rupert Giles and more absurdly, that Rupert Giles was growing on him.

Spike slept like he has dead. Well, more dead than the usual vampire type dead anyways. He was awoken by a soft kick and then a hand clamped over his mouth. He opened his eyes to Faith staring back at him.

"You're Flo's beau so I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt but you even twitch the wrong way and I swear you'll be dust before your jaw can drop. We five by five ?"

Spike nodded and grinned as she pulled her hand away from his mouth. He liked this girl, made what he had figured he had to do a little bit less of a burden on his brain.

She stood from crouching over him and extended her hand while putting a finger over her mouth. He looked at her like she was a little crazy until he heard the muffled voices coming from Rupert's living room. There were voices he hadn't heard before mingled with those of the Scooby Gang but they all sounded very heated. He could discern his name and Faith's name and rolled his eyes , he loved being discussed when he was not there and he was pretty sure Faith would feel the same if she had his hearing. He felt Tara wake and Faith motion for her to be quiet as well. He looked at the girls and said under his breath "I've got a plan for all of us to get the hell out of here but you gotta trust me completely on this , just stand behind me, don't say a word, and no matter what happens never let the game face slip". Faith looked at him quizzically but nodded none the less and Tara just straight out agreed.

With that Spike made sure the girls were keeping up and strode like the cock of the walk into Rupert's living room which made all arguments stop. He nodded at Giles and Anya only, the only ones that spoke up for both Spike and Faith when he was eavesdropping. He sat at the head of the table and kicked up his feet on the table and leaned the chair back , he put on his biggest evil grin.

"Well, What's all this then ? You and your little scooby gang conspiring with ... " He smiled and looked over the man in the suit and the manicured beard that made the watcher look like a Motorhead roadie in comparison "... ooooh you must be Quentin Travers head bint of the bint brigade ... sitting here with a bunch of kids conspiring against yours truly and a harmless little rogue slayer, wouldn't daddy be proud" before he could even muster a response between sputters Spike turned away, knowing that was the biggest disrespect he could ever do to the wanker.

"Ooooh looks like there was a cock up right proper with you bunch looking the way you are so let Spikey in on the gossip" . He felt a little bad seeing the flash of tears that graced Anya's eyes but that was quickly replaced by the look of a woman scorned

"He cheated on another girlfriend ... he cheated on me ... with her of all damn people" her pointer finger shook with rage as she pointed at Willow.

"Didn't the ex with the re-bar in her gut teach you two anything?" Spike grinned, he was gonna scorch and salt the earth underneath their damn feet

" Then Oz came back, discovered them again and then got captured by Riley's group. And because you were gone, the only one to ever escape there, because this group in all their arrogance and all their close-mindedness and all their selfishness treats anyone else like an outsider, one of their own died"

Bloody Hell, Spike was not expecting this. Everything shot to hell because he of all people wasn't there . That explained why the negative feelings were at a fever pitch and Buffy was standing alone. The wolf wasn't that bad from what little he had seen and no one deserved what those bastards did, especially not one of the white hats. For the first time in his unlife, Spike wanted to take his words back. He wanted to use it as a bargaining chip but seeing the faces in front of him, no matter how they had treated him, deserved a break.

He reached into his coat while looking the slayer directly in the eyes. She looked beaten down and broken and a little confused as he slid the CD across the table and leaned back.

"What is this?" she croaked.

"Contact information for the most powerful techno-mage this side of the milky way . Told him about your little problem with the army boys and modern Frankenstein and, due to favors owed to yours truly and professional curiosity, he's willing to help you take care of everything."

Buffy gave him a look like he had grown a second head and other looks that just screamed why.

Spike had his little moment of being nice though, no explanation was needed and his eyes steeled with determination once again.

"So here's whats going to happen. You, my overly repressed starched shirt, are going to work your little political mojo and scrub Faith's record as clean as Mary on Sunday morning and you my little garden of thorns," He motioned to the scoobies "are going to let us walk away without a second glance, never to darken your door again and we expect the same" He could feel Faith tense at this curve but true to her word she had the best poker face in the world. "You have my word and bond that none of us will stray from the rosy path, I'm strictly baggin it and Faith here will definitely be on a path to redemption that would put the poof to shame"

"And we should trust you at your word why , you unclean soulless monster?" ... He was kind of glad that Travers was the first one to protest.

He was up and dangling Travers in the air before another breath escaped his lips "The fact that even without a soul, I have refrained from gorging myself on all your corpses since I got back from LA."

You could have heard a pin drop but it was actually the flow of urine hitting the carpet that broke the silence and the mask slipped a bit as Faith chocked back a laugh. Spike placed the now soiled Englishman back on his feet and casually swept off both the head watcher's shoulders as Xander started sputtering

"But the chip ... with the zap and the not hurting anything ... oh hell ... don't eat us ... how "

"The purpose of a truce is so that no one has to hurt, young whelp and lets just say that mage owed me a lot of favors, and I mean a lot" He grinned in game face.

"So what do you say, little Miss Slayer. We mosey on off into the moon-set to find our own little slice of hell-mouth and promise all to be good puppies and you let the vampire, the witch, and the rogue slayer..."

"And the ex-demon" Anya chimed in. He took a moment to contemplate how he'd become the salvation army of misfit toys and sidekicks but shrugged and decided to go with the flow as he continued,

"And the ex-demon I guess a get out of Sunnydale free card"

Buffy looked at the disc and then back at Spike, thinking hard

"Scouts Honor . Never was a scout, but ate a few so same difference" Spike said

"So not helping" Buffy said with a disdainful smirk

" If you think the council will allow a rogue slayer of all things loose without our ..." Travers was interrupted by Giles' held up hand, is other hand a support device for the fingers now squeezing the bridge of his nose.

"Do you ever shut up you droning Pratt of a man? If it will silence your constant monotonous drone I shall take her under my charge and report again to the council."

"GILES" Buffy shouted as she looked like she was just shot.

" Buffy, I have felt utterly useless this year, you have grown into such and extraordinary woman and I don't have anything to do with myself since the school burned down and quite frankly I've been going stir crazy. Faith needs someone to help her , train her and hone her skills."

Buffy still looked so betrayed so Giles went to her side.

"Faith needs a watcher that will love her as much as I loved you." He squeezed her shoulder "Of course if she allows it" Giles smiles towards Faith and her mask slips again as her eyes glisten for a split second.

"If Faith ALOWS IT ... you mean if the council allows it " Travers piped in

"Well then, Belvedere . You have a bloody decision to make and please , allow the fact that I can torture you with the ease of a Sunday drive in the country influence your decision" Spike put his elbows on the table and interlaced his fingers.

"Fine he will be reinstated to the council on the trial basis with the understanding that Miss Lehane is kept on the straight and narrow" Travers decreed, as if it was his decision.

"Retroactively and with enough of a stipend that Faith can live comfortably as well" Spike gave a cat like growl to show the Watcher it wasn't a request.

"Yes Yes ... as long as she is fulfilling her slayer duties" Travers spit out as he made his way towards the door "And with this, I say good night" He grabbed his coat and flew out the door by the speed of British pretentiousness.