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You Mean the World To Me by Brat
 
Chapter Three
 
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Chapter Three


Giles sat and watched his spiritual child as she watched TV. She’d been doing that all day. She had refused to go home on account that Spike could show up. He had gently reminded her that Spike was a vampire and therefore incapable of going out in the sunlight. She had promptly reminded him that it hadn’t stopped him before. So, he had collected the belongings she needed and brought them to her. She had decided that since he was her High Priest, he was the only one that could help her. Her family wouldn’t understand. They loved Spike and depended on Spike. They had commented how good Spike was for her. She had blanched at the thought as she stared at her bite marks in the mirror. Yet, Giles wondered why she felt the need to protect his crime from her family if she was indeed truly angry with him. The more he thought about it however, the more incensed he became with Spike. He hadn’t trusted Spike’s intentions in the beginning, thinking he only wanted to find a way to destroy the powerful supergirl. Spike had argued with him time and again about his intentions with Buffy. He firmly vowed to her spiritual leader that his intentions with her was to help her, stand by her and protect her. After some time, Giles had come to grudgingly trust and accept the vampire. Aside from battling evil together, they had become fast friends. Everything Giles had heard about Spike was horrid indeed. He was a slayer of slayers, a killing machine; one that traveled and tortured the world with his beloved Drusilla. Until Dru left him.

Spike had made it his business to insinuate himself firmly in her life. Buffy had been hesitant at first, parts of her reaching to normalcy even though she knew she could never truly have that. Spike, for his part, tried to make it as normal as he could for her. Took her to movies, bars, clubs. Helped her study while she was in college, gave her advice and acted like her supreme confidante. Giles had noted that there was a period where Buffy had immersed herself in dating. She had wanted to take part of the normalcy of communicating with humans who held no special power. She had shut Spike out for a spell and he’d been devastated by it. He’d whined to Giles, of all people. When she came back around, Spike had acted as though nothing had happened and welcomed her back with open arms. As long as he had his Buffy, he was content to play whatever part she needed him to play.

Giles couldn’t help but not be completely surprised by the turn of events. Intuitively, Giles knew that one day Spike would lose his control and patience where Buffy was concerned. He thought that was why he had so many qualms about their relationship. Now, his fears had come to pass and Giles felt guilt. Guilt for not protecting her more strongly against him. Guilt for demanding Spike stay away from her. Guilt for not telling her of his intuitive feelings. If he’d told her, Buffy could have somehow protected herself against such an outright and blatant intrusion.

Suddenly, she jumped as if startled and looked towards the window. She was on alert for something.

“What is it, dear?” Giles asked.

“Spike. He’s near. He’s…I can feel him coming. Oh god, is this part of the claim?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“My neck, it’s throbbing. I want to…tie me up Giles.”

His eyes widened. “What?!” He stood, facing her.

“Tie me up. I don’t want to go to him. Please, Giles!”

“I’m not going to tie you up, Buffy. I will go to him, talk to him.”

She pleaded with him with her eyes. He shook his head, firm in his decision.

“Hurry, Giles. Please? Tell him to stop calling to me or whatever he’s doing with the claim.”

“Yes, you need not worry about that.”

“Tell him to leave me alone. To leave town. To never come back.”

Giles paused. “Anything else?”

“Tell him I hate him.”

Giles nodded and strode out into the night. He didn’t have to go very far, just around to the back of the house and he came face to face with a very frightened looking Spike.

“She hates you, you know, “Giles told him.

Spike winced, “I figured she would. She tell you to tell me that?”

“She did. She wants me to find a way to stop the claim and short of killing you, I can’t think of any way to do that.”

“That would be the only way to do it. But, I’m not going to die. Not while she’s still alive.”

“I should stake you for what you did. You had no right.”

“Don’t you think I know that? I know. It shred me to hear her tell me she ran away, essentially, from me.”

“She didn’t run away from just you, Spike. She left to find herself.”

“Why’d she bloody have to go and do that for? I could have told her what and who she is!”

“She had to find it out for herself. She wants a normal life, Spike. You’re not part of the normalcy. You’re her vampire best friend that she relies on. She wanted to rely on something else—herself.”

“It was no excuse to do what I did.” Spike admitted softly.

“No, it wasn’t. It was a form of rape. You’ve changed everything. Ruined every hope she had to lead a normal life. What are your plans now, for her?”

“To get her to forgive me. Grovel if I have to. Anything so that she’ll…she’ll—“

“Be yours just as the claim intended?”

“I won’t deny it’s what I want. I don’t like the way I went about it, but if she had ever given me an inkling of a sign…I would have done it anyway.”

“She wants you to leave town. She wants you out of her life completely.”

“I know she does, Rupert. And it’s not going to happen. She’s my mate now and I stay with my mate.”

“And Dru? Was she not your mate?”

Spike looked away and then shook his head. “She wasn’t. I never claimed her. She never claimed me.”

“Why ever not?”

“Her heart always belonged to her beloved ‘daddy’. I always knew…always knew I was meant for something greater.”

“Buffy,” Giles said softly.

“Yes, Buffy.”

“I’m not going to help you. You should know that. I cannot betray her like that. She has entrusted me to help her. And seeing as how she is my responsibility—“

“You make her sound like a sodding rental car, Rupert! Do you help her because it’s your responsibility or because you care about her?”

Giles’ eyes flashed. Anger simmered just below the surface. He did not want to show the vampire how truly angry he was. It would be of no use Buffy to let his defenses down. “You know I care about her. You know I’d do anything for her.”

“Right. Because you love her too. You can hide it behind your stuffy British ways and long speeches about her being your spiritual child, but the fact remains Rupert that you love her and are too afraid to let yourself feel it. Which, I’m not going to lie to you, it works well in my favor. Because you see, she’s mine now.”

Giles was seething. “She won’t forgive you for your callousness towards this. She’ll hold it against you.”

“What I feel about what I did is not your concern. It’s between her and me. What I am telling you is out of sheer jealousy. She’s mine now and you’d do best to remember yourself.”

Giles glided forward and glared at the insolent vampire. “And if something were to happen? Would you kill me?”

Spike’s eyes glowed brightly he bared his fangs. He growled at the man. “You would be loathe to try it.”

“You couldn’t kill me. If you killed me, you would lose her forever and you know it.”

Spike snarled at him.

“Leave him alone.”

Both men jumped at her voice. Spike moved around Giles and started towards his mate.

She held up her hands. “Don’t come near me.”

“Luv—“

“I’m not your ‘luv’ or your Buffy or anything else anymore.”

“You’re my mate now.”

She glared at him. “In blood only. Not in my heart. That’s where it counts doesn’t it?” She started to walk away.

“Wait,” Spike shouted and started after her. She broke into a run and sprinted to the house. Giles caught Spike’s arm.

“Leave her alone,” Giles ground out. “If you love her the way you claim to, then you will abide by her wishes and leave her alone.”

Spike glared at the man. “This isn’t over.”

“No, you’re right Spike. It’s far from bloody over.” And with that, Giles strode back in the house to comfort the trembling woman in his house.


 
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