Author's note: Thank you for every single one of your reviews! :D I replied to them all.

Beta'd by dawnofme and Mabel Marsters, the best betas ever.

Disclaimer in full effect.

Chapter 2


Buffy and Willow walked beside each other towards Giles' flat, reveling in the sunny afternoon.


“So, are you all packed and ready for your summer in England?” Buffy asked.


“I am! I can’t believe our flight is tomorrow. Tara’s excited too.”


“So you're planning on ditching Giles once you're there, right?” Buffy grinned at Willow. She wondered if Spike ever missed England. And why was she thinking about him? Annoying pest.


“Buffy! I would do no such thing,” Willow sputtered.


“You do realize that you're a bad liar, don't you? Come on, I won't give you a lecture you. I totally get it. You want to have Tara all to yourself, doing magic and stuff.”


“There will be no stuff.” Willow's cheeks flushed and at Buffy's disbelieving gaze she corrected herself. “Okay, yeah there will definitely be the... stuff. She's just so amazing, you know? The way she smiles crookedly, or the way she walks, or how she frowns in concentration when she's reading a book.” Willow sighed and smiled the way only people in love can.


“I'm really happy for you. I just wish I found someone too. I'm starting to believe the whole romance thing is doomed for me.”


“No it's not! You'll find someone, I promise.” Willow patted her on the back and smiled reassuringly.


“Yeah.” Buffy said, her shoulders slumped.


“So what are your plans for the summer? Demons tend to keep a low profile this time of the year. Must be the heat or something. So, you're free to do whatever you want.” Willow frowned. ”Do you think Fyarl demons sunbathe as they sip a mixed drink from a coconut?”


Buffy just looked at her strangely and Willow shrugged. Her mind worked in mysterious ways.


“Mom wants me to go with her to my Aunt Sarah’s in LA, but I'm not sure. I mean, I don't really want to spend my summer listening to my cousin Jess talk about her ‘fabulous’ new wardrobe and what a great new boyfriend she has. Ugh... I think I'll stay here and hang out with Xander and Anya instead.” Buffy grimaced at the prospect.


“You could always come with us.”


“So that Giles can bury me under the books of demonology and slayer knowledge? I think I'll pass. Plus, me and rain--not mixy.”


“I don’t think the weather is that bad. But you could always hang out with Spike.”


Buffy's eyes almost bugged out of her sockets. “Willow! Why would you say something like that?”


“Bad joke, sorry! But, I don't know... he seems so sad lately.”


“Yeah, well, he can't kill people anymore, so that must put a damper on his mood. Don't tell me you actually feel sorry for him.”


“I kinda do... a little. I think he's lonely.”


Buffy glanced at Willow's compassionate expression and sighed. “You're just too good a person, Will. You do realize Spike would bite your head off if he knew you felt sorry for him, don't you?”


“Yep.”


Buffy shook her head and was just about to knock on Giles' door when it swung opened.


“You're here. Do come in.” Giles looked positively disheveled as he took off his glasses to clean them with his handkerchief.


“So what’s the big? Is the world ending... again?” Buffy asked as they entered the apartment and plopped down on the couch while Willow sat on a chair next to the kitchen counter.


“Please, Buffy, try not to be so flippant about the fate of our world, would you? However, that's not why I called. Eh... Willow, I need your aid in a rather tricky situation.” Giles went to pour himself a glass of scotch.


“So is it a computer problem, or a magicky one?” Willow asked


“The latter. It is about--”


“Rupes, you didn't tell me that ladies were coming, you old dog.” Spike smirked, swaggered into the living room and lay down onto the couch, his boot covered feet almost falling into Buffy's lap. She inched warily away and dusted off her pants.


“Willow I need you to do a repelling spell,” Giles said.


“For what?” Spike, Willow and Buffy asked at the same time.


“I found a rather effective spell to repel demons away from a lived in house. I would like you to do it before we leave for England and I have so many things to do take care of that I have no time to do it myself. But I need you to exclude Spike from the list… even though he just comes in as he pleases and doesn't respect my demands,” Giles muttered.


“I still don’t see why go to all this trouble to exclude him from the list,” Buffy offered.


“We might need him in the future, now that he can't hurt humans, so it would be rather fruitless to cast the repelling spell on him too.”


“Hey! I'm bloody sitting right here, so stop talking about me as if I weren’t!” Spike pouted and Buffy's eyes were immediately drawn to the full lower lip. She snapped back when she realized she was leaning in his direction. Thank God Spike didn't notice, too busy arguing with Giles.


“O-okay I'll try.” Willow interrupted them. “But I'll need Spike's DNA.”


“I'm not having you put a spell anywhere near my sodding DNA, Red.”


Buffy scooted towards Spike and yanked a few hairs from his head.


“Ow, you bitch. That fucking hurt!” He scowled at her, but Buffy just smiled sweetly at him.


“Don't be a baby, Spike.” Buffy hopped up from the couch and handed the hair to a dubious Willow. With Spike's hair at hand, she set out to do the ritual. She leafed through the pages of a book Giles had brought to her and propped it before her as Giles fetched the ingredients.


“I hate the whole lot of you!” Spike stomped down the hallway, slamming the door behind him.


Buffy felt a pang of guilt about the way they treated him, but she pushed it back like every time she felt bad for him. It was stupid enough of her to apologize to him the night before. Spike would turn on them minute his chip was out and she had to remember that.


******


Spike collapsed down on the bed in Giles' guest room and folded his arms across his chest. He was sick and tired of the way the bunch of the so-called White Hats treated him. As if he were some kind of thrash they could kick around whenever the mood struck them and Making him a guinea pig for their spells that never went right. Not that they'd care if he suddenly disintegrated. No lost sleep over another bloodsucker biting the dust, right?


If they were so righteous and good, weren't they supposed to help him? To steer him in the right direction, to try to make him cross to the side of light and change while the inspirational music played in the background as they all held hands and sang? Spike scoffed.


Not that Giles hadn't tried. Not that Spike would ever join someone who had no respect for him; they wanted nothing but to use him. And he let them, because what else was he supposed to do? He had no one. He'd never been so alone in his entire existence-- be it the egoistical prattling of Angelus, or Dru's mad rambling, God, even Darla's snobby bitching-- he had always been with someone.


All he had now was the poorly concealed pitying gazes Red threw his way, thinking he didn’t notice, Doughnut boy's threats, and the Watcher's dismissal. At least the slayer was fun to pick on. It made his long days a little more fun. Which in itself was sodding lamentable.


Spike stood up and paced. It was such a shame the two of them couldn't fight. That he was reduced to banter with her instead of trading blows. That thought led dangerously close to scraping off the false bravado Spike wielded to cover his vulnerability. One taunt too many and he just might find himself on the wrong end of Buffy's stake.


'Not that she'd have the stones. Me being impotent and all. Spike thought bitterly. Besides, the bint seems to be all hot for yours truly to end me.'


The point was, he was a walking target for any human. Hell, even the whelp could kill him now and there was no way he would be able to protect himself. Spike hated admitting it, but he was scared. A vampire scared of humans. Bloody hilarious, wasn't it?


'How the mighty have fallen.'


Everything used to be so clear. Humans were nothing but cattle; he wasn't supposed to fear them or think of them in any other terms than the Happy Meals with legs that they were. And here he was, at the mercy of do-gooders who barely tolerated him.


'That's it, no more playing nice. The second Giles leaves I'm coming back and messing up his record collection... or nicking them.'


Spike realized with horror that his brow was furrowed. He had been brooding! What would come next? Hair that defied gravity, helping the helpless bimbos while driving a Spike mobile? He shuddered.


******


Buffy hovered above Willow, not noticing a single hair falling over her shoulder and straight into the magic circle. Willow was just reading the incantation, focusing her will when a front door slammed open and Xander and Anya walked in, disrupting her concentration. Willow jumped and mispronounced a word, then cringed, hoping nobody would notice her slip. She finished the spell and scowled at the newcomers.


“Hasn’t anyone ever heard of knocking?” Giles asked, exasperated.


“Maybe you shouldn’t leave it unlocked like that.” Anya said. “Anyway, I don’t see a problem. It’s not like we interrupted you in the middle of intercourse. Me and Xander were playing a fireman and a hysteric woman that needed his help earlier. You should try that.”


“I’ll keep that in mind,” Giles replied.


“What is that smell, G-man?” Xander asked, desperate to change the course of conversation.


“Not fruit roll-ups, I assure you.” Giles said sarcastically and faced Willow. “So did it work?”


“I t-think so.” Willow's eye twitched as she smiled too brightly, but Giles just sighed in relief. She added. “It may not come in its full effect right away though. Within 24 hours at most.”


“Splendid! Thank you, Willow. Now with that out of the way, may I ask you a favour, Buffy?


“Sure. What's up.”


“Eh... Would you mind looking after the apartment while I'm away? Water the plants and such.”


“We could do that!” Xander proclaimed, eyes gleaming at a prospect of having a place to do the hot monkey sex with Anya at. Giles saw right through that.


“Buffy will do it, won't you, Buffy?”


Buffy shrugged. “Why not? It's not like I've got better things to do.” She thought for a moment and asked, “What is Spike doing here? I thought he was living in a crypt.”


“He does. He comes sometimes to eat all my Weetabix supplies and drink all the good scotch.” Giles grimaced and took a sip from his glass.


“Go figure,” she said.


The Scoobies chatted amongst themselves and Buffy glanced at her watch, remembering she promised her mom to help her at the gallery. She came from the convention today and probably thought Buffy was coming with her to LA tomorrow. At least now Buffy had an excuse not to go. She took the spare key from Giles, waved goodbye to everyone and left.


Wisps of magical smoke billowed up from the magic circle that Willow had yet to clean up. Willow glanced at it nervously, wondering if the smoke was supposed to be the green colour. She really hoped she hadn’t screwed up another spell, but there was no way to tell until twenty-four hours had passed.


TBC

Author's note: Happy New Year to everyone! :)