Apologies folks if this is a little raw and for any mistakes. I was determined to finish the damn chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own but I borrow for my own nefarious purposes.

Betrayal

Chapter 26

What was it with women and the bathroom? Spike was waiting in the training room for Vi to come out. Bloody hell! Surely it didn't take ten minutes to change clothes. Bloody women! Spike sighed. Living in a house full of women was starting to get to him. (Andrew didn't count.) Vi was a good bird. She was brave and even though she was gorgeous she didn't seem to realize it. He felt bad lying to her. Over the last week Spike tried to forget all about his meeting with Dru. Despite his second thoughts he figured that Dracula would never put up with Dru for very long so it was doubtful they were working together. Nonetheless, he did keep an ear out for anything that sounded like his insane ex's doing. There was no mention of a vamp matching her description, missing kids or any of her stupid dolls, so he ignored the guilt in the pit of his belly at lying to everyone.

Spike tapped his foot impatiently. "Come on Vi! I'm not getting any younger."

"You're getting any older either," came her cheeky reply.

"Fuck you!" He shook his head exasperated. She was laughing and his lip was twitching trying not to smile. "You said you wanted to spar. I'm starting to suspect that you might be afraid of humiliating yourself."

Her laughter stopped suddenly and he knew he had hit a nerve; Slayers were so bloody predictable.

She burst into the room, hands on her hips and a determined expression on her face.

He grinned in appreciation. "That's more like it! You better not be going soft."

"You wish!" She raised her eyebrows.

After a very enjoyable sparring session Spike came down the stairs and made a grab for his coat, which has hanging by a hook at the bottom of the stairs. There was a stifled giggle from one of the Slayers in the hall. He frowned noticing the eyes of all three girls were on him and his coat. Michelle tittered and Stella elbowed her in the ribs.

What were the silly bints up to? He checked the pockets to make sure there were no unpleasant surprises; The Slayers had been known to perform pranks from time to time. Finding nothing in the pockets he went to put on the coat and there on the sleeve he noticed a large hole. It looked like a cigarette burn. His mouth dropped open as he ran his fingers over the damage. Fuck! It may not be the coat he pried form Nicki Wood's body but he was almost as attached to it. Gritting his teeth he whirled around. It wasn't as dramatic without the coat of course but he could still be threatening.

"My coat!" He turned on the Slayers and the laughter stopped suddenly. "Who ruined my duster?"

"Andrew," Michelle quickly volunteered.

"Of course it was." Spike clenched his jaw. "Andrew!" he yelled.

An answering "eep" sounded from the kitchen and there was a loud bang. The little wanker had obviously made a run for it. He shook his head. Never mind, he would get the little bastard when he least expected it. He put his duster back on the hook with a growl; It was ruined.

He rolled his shoulders, "I'm going for a drink and I'll do a sweep on the way back." He walked to the door and stopped with one hand before looking over his shoulder at the Slayers. "Tell Andrew I'll find him eventually. He owes me a new coat."

He stepped out into the night and pulled his box of fags from his pocket. Lighting one and bring it his mouth he continued on his way savouring the way his body reacted to the nicotine.

Spike usually went into one of the local demon bars for a drink. There wasn't much point in trying to get information anymore as everyone knew who he was; He was filthy turncoat that killed his own kind for a roll in the hay with a Slayer after all. Despite the dirty looks and occasion venom (literal and metaphorical) they knew not to mess with him. His reputation as a Big Bad might be shot to hell but his rep as a Bad Ass was still very much in place. Still, he'd found a bar he liked well enough and he made it his business to go there a least once a week. There was always a chance some demon's loose lips would give some information. It took only a few minutes to reach the demon dive. Located right in the back of a narrow alley it was unlikely for any human to find it. The front door looked like the entrance to a storeroom not a bar and the stench from the dumpsters probably would be enough to turn most people except perhaps some homeless misfortune. Spike was standing with his hand on the door handle when he heard a familiar voice. "Hello William."

He turned around to see Dracula on the other side of the street. The elder vampire looked immaculate as always. His ever present self-satisfied smile only served to irritate an already grumpy Spike.

"Hello wanker." Spike reached into the pocket of his duster to make sure his stake was there.

"I can see you have become quite the pet for the Slayers."

"I'm no one's pet," Spike growled. "Just a bloke trying to do the right thing."

Spike pulled out his stake and took a step towards the other vampire.

Dracula laughed. "Are you going to kill me, William?"

Spike didn't like the condescension in his voice and he gripped the stake so tight that he could feel the splinters breaking his skin. Lunging for the elder vampire he roared. Instead of meeting Dracula he met thin air as the vampire disappeared. Spike heard a laugh from behind him and he turned around to see a smug grin on the face of the wanker.

"You're cheatin'," Spike snarled.

"Jealous of my skills, William?"

"You're a coward. If you had to face me one on one without that mumbo jumbo you'd piss yourself." Spike jeered.

"Oh yes – you're quite formidable. How long is it you have been here in Moscow now?"

The truth of the statement stung.

You'll never find me unless I want you to," Dracula goaded.

The bloody idiot was too busy preening to notice Spike's fist coming towards his face. Spike felt the cartilage break under his fingers.

"If that's true then I guess you fancied a change in the nose department."

Spike was delighted to see the cool façade finally drop.

Dracula glared at him holding his nose. "You're foolish to make an enemy of me. The problem with you is your betters never reigned you in."

"Never been one for rules," Spike said advancing on the vampire once more.

Dracula took a step backward. "I'll be seeing you around," he said before he disappeared into thin air.

"You owe me ten pounds," Spike called after him. "Bugger." He kicked at the dumpster in anger.

So much for getting bladdered. He knew he had to head back to the girls and let them know about the meeting. He had gone weeks without seeing any sign of the master vampire and now he had seen both Dru and Dracula in the last two weeks. He had a nasty feeling that things were about to go pear shaped.

Spike swung his fist at the punching bag. In an effort to ease his frustration at the Dracula situation, he was spending a lot of time in the training. It wasn't working. It had been a couple of days since he had bumped into the wanker. Spike still had not mentioned anything about Dru to anyone and Dracula had seemingly gone to ground again. Spike knew that Dracula had been trying to get to him with his words and he was only giving him what he wanted by thinking about it. Still, it was true. This trip to Moscow had been a failure and his presence had added little to nothing to the mission.

He swung another fierce punch at the bag, on which he had drawn the bastard's face. He heard a little cough from outside the door and timid knock.

"What?" Spike yelled.

Andrew peeked his head in, "Got you some blood."

He put the mug on the floor before scarpering. Andrew was still avoiding Spike as much as possible. The smell of the blood reminded him how hungry he was. He walked over to the door and drank down the blood. He licked his lips, careful to get every last delicious drop. He had to give it to Andrew; the temperature was just right.

The door flew open and Vi walked in. "Hey, I was looking for you."

She smiled at him and he returned the smile. "Just whaling on the punch bag."

She took in the drawing on the bag and began to laugh. "Oh my god! You're such a kid." She took a closer look. "Yeah – you've even got the sexy come to bed eyes down." Her eyes sparkled mischievously.

He tilted his head, "You think so, huh? Funny – I never thought I was good at anything creative."

Her eyes widened. "I can just see it now. Years from now this masterpiece will hang in the Louvre with the Mona Lisa."

Spike shook his head in a mock sorrowful fashion. "You had to take it a step too far."

She grinned unrepentantly and slapped him on the back. "I had to cheer you up. You're turning the milk sour, stopping the clocks. It's a very serious business. I'm a Slayer – I've got to avert the apocalypse."

"Bitch."

"Yeah you are."

"Oi!"

"Sorry." She sounded anything but. "Now that you're back to your normal self, do you fancy doing a sweep?"

Spike rubbed his hands together. "Hell yeah. Who's taking night duty here tonight?"

She bit her lip thoughtfully, "Let me see… Oh yeah. Michelle for the first half and Kennedy's working the second half."

Spike flexed his fingers and curled his tongue in his teeth. "Let's go, pet. I really need to beat on something. The bigger and the nastier the better."

The open air had done Spike the world of good. He felt much better now. What was wrong with him anyway? He was turning into a right broody wanker. He reminded himself of Angel for fucks sake. Vi was nattering about a new movie she was looking forward to seeing in the cinema. He was trying to listen but he was distracted by his own thoughts. It was one thing to hide Dru turning up from the rest of the Slayers but Vi was his friend.

"Vi?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"There's something I should tell you," he said.

She turned to look at him, a blush staining her cheeks. Before he could begin to find the words to explain they were interrupted by a scream. They took off in the direction of the noise which was coming from the park. The park was locked at night but teenagers often broke in to go drinking or do drugs. They scaled the high walls and dropped down on the other side. The screaming had stopped.

"What way do you think it came from?" Vi asked.

Spike pointed towards the thickest part of the wooded area. "I think it was that way."

"Nice," Vi replied. "Good to know if I lose my stake, there's plenty more wood around."

Spike snorted. "Just keep it away from my undead heart, pet."

He listened out for the sound of footfalls and scoured the darkness for any sign of the person who had screamed. There was nothing and he was beginning to feel a little uneasy.

He grabbed Vi by the arm, "This doesn't feel right. I think we should get out of here."

They started to move backwards the way they came. He didn't like it. They would be easy targets for some sort of ambush. Still not seeing any threat he turned and pulling Vi along with him ran from the wooded area.

"What if there really is someone out there hurt or injured?"

Spike shook his head. "I don't think so. Someone was trying to distract us. I think we need to get back home right now."

Vi paled at this words. "Oh god I hope you're wrong."

They climbed the wall once more and Spike used to the height to see if he could spot anything unusual in the distance. He froze as he spotted the house in the distance. He could see a flickering light and smoke.

Vi turned to look at him. "Is that..?"

"Fire!" they both yelled simultaneously.

The two sped in the direction of their home. Spike launched himself at the door and kicked it open. Vi began to cough as they walked in. The sofa and curtains were aflame and the wide open window was fanning the flame. The whole sitting room was about to go up any minute.

"Quick! You check the downstairs. Then get the hell out. I'll get the others." He rushed up the stairs and started to bang on the doors of the bedrooms yelling at the top of his lungs. A sleepy Kennedy and Beata rushed out of their room. "Get out of here!"

A couple more coughing Slayers emerged from their rooms and ran down the stairs. There was no sign of Andrew and Spike went into his bedroom. He gave the boy a shake. "Wake up you bloody idiot."

Andrew screamed. "Don't kill me! I'm sorry about your duster."

If it wasn't such a serious situation Spike might have laughed at the boy's expression.

"There's a fire you idiot. Get out!"

Spike grabbed him and shoved him down the stairs. The house was starting to fill up smoke. He ran into the kitchen to grab the fire hydrant. The sound of a fire engine could be heard in the distance. He cursed as he struggled with the hydrant. A scream from outside drew his attention and he dropped the hydrant on his toe.

"Spike, get the hell out of there!" Vi sounded worried. "Never mind the fire, we've got a more serious problem."

Spike rushed outside to see a familiar figure swaying. "Run and catch. Run and catch. The lamb is caught in the blackberry patch."

She clapped her hands. "My Spike is here to play. I've got one of your pets."

She moved away and he noticed there was another vampire behind here with his teeth to Michelle's neck.

"Dru, you bitch!"

She took Michelle from the minion. "You always did like Slayers. Taste like an aphrodesiac you said."

"Let the girl go, Dru," Spike ordered.

Drusilla just smiled and ran a long nail along Michelle's neck drawing blood. There was a whooshing sound and a stake flew past Dru's face and landed in the minion's heart.

Vi walked forward and stood next to Spike. "You'll be next if you don't let Michelle go! As you can see I've got good aim."

"Dru?"

Spike stiffened. The last thing they needed was Dracula added to the mix.

"I've been looking for you," Dracula said. "Let the girl go. You've had your fun. We have more important things to do."

Spike could help but feel a little betrayed by the fact that Dru was working with Dracula. "Dru?"

She flung Michelle at him. "You thought I was gone didn't you?"

The pair quickly took off and Spike let them. He was more concerned about the young girl in his arms especially seeing as it was his foolishly that had allowed this to happen.

He checked the girl for signs of life and was relieved to see she was still breathing. She looked a little banged up and she had a wound on her neck from where she had been bitten. He shook her and she began to stir. He handed her to Vi, who was more experience with playing Florence than he was.

"Buggering fuck," Spike mumbled.

The sound of screeching brakes and sirens announced the arrival of the fire brigade.

"Is there anyone inside?" one of the firemen asked.

"No," Spike replied quietly. "But one of the girls got hurt."

"There will be an ambulance any moment," the fireman assured him.

Within moments two paramedics came rushing over. Spike left the medics to get on with their work and he took a look to see how the firefighters were getting on.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see Vi looking at him.

She had a hard expression on her face. "What did she mean about you thinking she was gone?"

Spike couldn't look at her and looked at his feet instead.

"I saw her about a week ago but I thought she had left."

"You let her go?" There was disbelief and disappointment in her voice.

"It's not that simple," Spike protested, looking up finally. "I can explain."

Vi waved her hand in the air. "We'll discuss this later. I'm going in the ambulance with Michelle."

He could tell by the set of her jaw that she was very pissed off at him.

The fire was put out quickly by the firemen but other damage wasn't so easy to mend. They all had to stay elsewhere for the night. The majority of the damage was done to the furnishings in the living room but the building itself was fine and they were able to move back in the following day. Spike was stuck until it was dark.

When he arrived in the door Kennedy rounded on him, "This is all your fault, asshole!"

"I didn't know this was going to happen. I didn't think she would stick around or start working with Drac."

"You need to decide what side you're on, Spike. You can't have it both ways."

"Ah fuck you, you sanctimonious bitch. You know nothing about vampires. I warned her off and told her if she stuck around, then I would stake her. Would you be so quick to kill an old friend?"

"She's a vampire!"

Spike got right in her face, "So, am I!"

Vi got between them. "Stop you guys. We're all on the same side in here."

"But.." Spike interrupted.

"Should have known you'd take his side," Kennedy muttered before stalking off.

"Thanks for having my back," he said.

Vi shook her head. "Kennedy has a point, Spike. You can't keep things like this from us. How are we supposed to trust you when we're afraid that you'll choose your family over us?"

"I won't," he insisted. "You know I won't. I made a wrong call."

Vi sighed. "I believe you. But Michelle could have died back there. Anything happened anyone of the girls and it would have been your fault. I know you're sorry but I don't know if I can trust you anymore."

Before he could say a word she slammed the door in his face.

To be continued….