Buffy made it to the end of the sidewalk before the strange sensation set in. It was like a tug, somewhere just behind her ribcage, pulling her forward. She dug her feet into the concrete and shook her head as the tugging became more insistent. Taking a step back, she started to rush toward her house, then screeched as her feet left the ground and she was hurtled backward through darkness.

She landed hard against a pile of gravel and groaned, massaging her elbows which had not only broken her fall, but had split open as the rocks stabbed her flesh. Unsure of where she was, she pulled her bag around and dug a weapon from it.

"You won’t need that yet," Bob told her, emerging from behind another large pile of rocks. "We’re at the quarry, since you were concerned with your location."

"You can read my mind?" she snapped, angry now.

"No, I could read the confusion on your pretty little face." He smiled at her. "My job would be easier if I could read minds, though."

"Why am I here?"

"I told you I’d find you when you made your decision."

"About that ... I accidentally bled on that scroll. I am *not* interested in being a part of your organization."

"Blood is binding. It doesn’t matter how it got there."

"That’s not fair. Look, it was a horrible mistake and-"

Bob shook his head. "I don’t believe in mistakes. I believe in fate, destiny, and karma, but not mistakes. Your blood was meant. You were destined to be ours, Buffy, one of us. That’s why you were brought back. That’s why I couldn’t kill you when Glory hired me."

"I thought I killed myself on the night you were supposed to."

"Champions don’t stay dead. Look at Angel." He saw her open her mouth to speak and held up a hand. "No, he’s not one of ours. I simply mean that people like you and him ... you don’t stay dead. The world needs you too much."

"I don’t want to play on your team. I’ll give you the contract back or whatever you need to null and void it."

"Only death. I told you that."

"So kill me. I don’t care."

"No."

"I’ll kill myself then."

"You can try. Your wounds will heal almost instantly now."

So that explained the healing. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the man, who crossed his arms as well, mirroring her scowl. "Stop doing that," she finally snapped. "I’ll find a way out of this. I always do."

"I think when you begin to receive a steady paycheck and find that your life hasn’t been significantly altered you will change your mind." He lowered his arms and smiled at her. "We’re not evil. We simply want to stay one step ahead of the demon underworld. And that brings us around to Belzor."

"He attacked one of my friends."

"I know. I had him under surveillance when your friend, Alexander Harris, thought it would be wise to confront him. Your friend is brave, though somewhat stupid. Even I would know better than to attack a demon when all I had on me was a bag of groceries."

"Xander doesn’t always do the thinking thing."

"Reminds me a bit of you. With the vampires last night." Bob dug through his pocket and pulled out a knife. The handle was shaped like a snake and the blade was long and serrated. "Keep this with you at all times. You’ll find that it will fit just about anywhere and will ride your hand like an extension of your arm. And it becomes what you need it to be."

"You know, I read in Harry Potter than you should never trust inanimate things that can think for themselves."

"It doesn’t think for itself. It *does* read your mind, however. If you need a stake, it becomes a stake. It you need Holy Water, a knife, whatever. You get the point."

"And does it send you a memo to let you know what I’m thinking?"

"No. It’s loyal to you."

"I want out of the deal, Bob. I want the contract torn up and I want you to forget that you know me."

Bob dug into his breast pocket this time and pulled out the thickest wad of cash that Buffy had ever seen. "This is fifty thousand dollars. Half of what I owe you. If you get Belzor, tonight, then the rest is yours."

"And if I don’t?"

"You try again tomorrow. But you lose ten thousand every day that I have to wait. You should have committed the contract to memory."

"I would have if I had bothered to unroll it before I ACCIDENTALLY bled on it." She snatched the snake knife from him. "What if I kill you? Does that null and void it?"

"No. That just means that you’ll be killed by *my* boss."

"Shit."

Bob patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. "Look on the bright side. Your money issues are solved."

"I want a new contract so I can read it. And it better be a real one."

Reaching back into his pocket, Bob produced another scroll. "This one isn’t enchanted or anything. And only you can read it."

"Do I have to tap it and say ‘Mischief Managed’ when I’m done?"

He chuckled a little. "I’m glad you read. Study it well. I may quiz you next time."

"About that. Do you have to teleport me every time we talk?"

"No, but if you fight the urge to come on your own I have no choice."

"Where is Belzor and how do I kill him."

"Take his head off. He’s in the sewers already, heading for the talisman."

"I don’t suppose you can teleport me there?"

Bob grinned at her and then she was flying through darkness again. This time she landed with a decidedly ungraceful splash in sewer water. It was cold and she yelped a little, jumping to her feet. She jumped up just in time to avoid the flying tail of Belzor, who was a mere three feet from her and had spun around when she landed.

"Great!" Buffy cried, ducking again as the tail whistled fast through the air. She had wanted to be dropped a good distance behind the demon, not at his feet.

The snake knife sprang to life in her hand. The part that looked like the reptile slithered up her arm, coiling tightly around her flesh and she watched in shock as they eyes turned red, then a four foot blade grew from the handle, crackling with blue sparks.

Belzor took a step away, roaring in anger as his tail swatted at the blade. Buffy brought it down, easily cutting the tail in half. This time Belzor screamed in pain, grabbing the piece of tail from the water and stuffing it into his mouth. "Eww," Buffy moaned in disgust, then watched in shock as the severed tail stopped bleeding and a new fork grew from the nub.

Caught of guard, she didn’t realize that it was whipping toward her again until it dug into the flesh of her shoulder and propelled her forward, straight toward the open mouth of the demon. She dug her feet against the slick tunnel, for all the good it did her, and rammed the blade into the demon’s razor toothed mouth. It howled again, flailing and whipping its tail, which was still embedded in her shoulder.

Her head hit the top of the tunnel, hard, and thought for a second that she would black out. She got her bearings as the demon was lowering its tail again and she shoved the knife further into its mouth, sawing back and forth in an attempt to remove the head. It used its gnarly arms to swat her away and she fell, dodging the tail again as she broke loose from it and rolled.

Buffy shot back to her feet as the demon lunged at her again. This time she sent the blade flying through the air and sliced cleanly through the neck. The head went left and the body went right. For a second, she thought that it was over, then she saw the headless body grappling to its knees as the hands felt around for the head.

"You’ve got to be kidding me." Buffy remembered all too well that the thing had eaten its own tail to grow another one. She glanced at the sword that was still attached to her arm and concentrated. Before her eyes it became a large hammer. Not as big as the Troll hammer that she had bashed Glory to smithereens with, but big enough to make a pancake out of Belzor’s head.

She backed up, raised it over her head, and proceeded to pulverize the head until it was nothing but liquid. Then she drug the body, which had finally gone limp, down through the tunnel, branching off into another direction and set about ripping it to shreds. It wouldn’t be able to form again. There wasn’t enough left by the time she had finished.

When she emerged from the tunnels a while later, wet and cranky, she found Bob sitting on a child’s swing. He motioned for her to join him and smiled fondly. "I knew you were special."

"Am I special enough to get a reprieve? To get out of this mess?"

He handed her another pile of money that was just as big as the first. "Why would you want out when there is so much to gain?"

She flipped through the wad of cash, then stowed it in her bag with the first. "What happens next?"

"Until we need you again you’re free to go about your life as if nothing happened. Pay your bills, buy yourself something pretty and try to enjoy the fact that you’re back." He stood and glanced into the darkness. "Your vampire is coming. Before I forget, here’s the talisman."


Buffy accepted the necklace from him and stowed it in her bag as well. "How did you get it from the vampires?"

"I pretended to be Belzor again and they left."

"Why didn’t you kill Belzor yourself?" She asked him.

"I can pretend to be anything, but at the end of the day I’m just a weak human. I’ve got connections, but I’m not connected to the super strength highway. You corner the market on that." He watched her for a second longer. "We’re not bad guys, Buffy. We’re not. And I’d never ask you to do anything that would go outside of what you were created for. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be friends. You’ll see."

She watched him walk away and sat down on the swing he had vacated.

Being pulled out of Heaven had been a cruel joke.

But having one hundred thousand dollars and a cool new weapon made it a little easier to swallow. She had protested the arrangement only half heartedly.

At least now her life, the very one she didn’t really want, was a little interesting.

She’d play along.


For now.

*~*~*~*~*

Spike found her swinging back and forth, her hair flying behind her like a flag. He stood with his back against a tree, watching her for a while. When Giles had asked him to look after her there had been no hesitation on his part. He would gladly step in, help her, guide her as much as a soulless vampire could guide anyone and keep her from self destructing. It was easier said than done, however.

He longed to tell the others what had happened to her. Explain about the Heaven she had been ripped from. But she had told him her secrets in confidence and if he understood anything it was that gaining and keeping her trust was the most valuable thing in the world. If he was going to help her, she’d have to trust him.

After a few more minutes had passed, he ventured closer and sat down next to her on another swing. He kicked off, soaring next to her in perfect unison.

"What are you doing, Spike?" she asked as they flew back and forth. She hadn’t expected him to join her. She had expected him to demand answers and attempt to go Dr. Phil on her again.

"Swingin’, love."

"There are other parks."

"You’re in this one."

When her swing moved all the way forward again, she flipped out of it, somersaulting through the air and landing on her feet. Not to be outdone, Spike did a little flip of his own and dropped in front of her. "Wanna hit the slide next?"

"Mostly I want to hit you."

He braced himself, but the blow never came. She sat down on the merry go round and slowly inched it in a circle. When she came back around, he flopped down next to her and pushed off. Buffy raised her feet, sitting Indian style as the rickety old toy bounced in another circle. She rested her head against the rusted railing and watched the park blur past her until she was light headed.

Spike slowed it down and watched her lie back, her eyes closed. "You okay?"

"No."

"Want to elaborate?"

"Not really."

"You were really hard on Dawn back there. On everyone. But it hurt her the most."

"I’m sure you’ll make it better."

"I shouldn’t have to. You should apologize to her. She needs you, you know? Losing her mother and her sister the way she did was hard on her."

"I need a drink." Buffy stood, grabbing her bag.

Spike stood as well. "I’ve told you about the Lair, Buffy. If you keep going there-"

"I know. You’ll get killed." She walked around the swing and headed towards Willy’s Alibi Room. "How could the world overcome such a loss?"

"Let’s go to my crypt. I have plenty of alcohol there."

"Didn’t I tell you that you’d get staked if you followed me?"

"I didn’t follow you, love. You had vanished when I left your house and I couldn’t pick up your scent. I was actually just passing through the park and there you were." He gave an innocent shrug. "Besides, I don’t have any plans."

"You’re *Spike*. You never have plans. That would require a life. Which you don’t have."

"Keep insulting me if it makes you feel better, pet." He nodded back toward his crypt. "Come on then."

"Just because Giles asked you to help me that doesn’t mean that I have to actually spend time with you."

"I know."

"So I’m only going to your place because I don’t really have plans either and *not* because your company is something I like." She moved past him, leading the way and he followed with a little smile on his face.

When they arrived, she dropped her bag and her jacket and helped herself to his scotch. She poured a liberal helping into his favorite glass and tossed it back without so much as a grimace, then downed a second. He sat back in his chair and watched as she surveyed the various bottles that he had amassed. She went for the cognac next, then drew her hand across her mouth and belched.


"Sexy, love," he told her, leaning forward as she began rummaging through his cd collection.

"How do you get all this stuff?"

"My powers of persuasion?"

"Whatever. How often do you go on stealing trips?"

"Only when the urge hits me."

"Everyday then?"

He shrugged. "I have to be careful now. I can’t kill the witnesses anymore."

She put a cd into his banged up radio and leaned back, listening to the sounds of ‘Bay City Rollers’. "This is Giles’ favorite band."

"Who do you think I stole it from?"

She grinned despite herself. "That looks an awful lot like Dawn’s Britney Spears cd."

"I did NOT steal that. She left it here when she stayed with me one night during the summer and it hasn’t been moved from that spot she left it in."

"Do us all a favor and burn it." She pondered his words then and frowned. "Dawn slept here?"

"Yes." Spike leaned forward, turning the volume down a little. "Your friends and the Buffybot had gone on a patrol that lasted overnight. Your house wasn’t safe because a few of Glory’s minions thought it would be fun to avenge her death. We stayed here all night and played games and listened to that alleged singer warble about being hit one more time which I would gladly have done, despite the pain it would have caused."

"You were with her a lot while I was gone."

"I was. Every day. I made sure she was eating right and taking care of herself because you asked me to."

"And you always keep your word?"

"When it comes to you, I do."

"So, you’re going to take this watcher thing completely overboard, right?"

"Only if you force me to. And Giles is right. I’m not actually a watcher. I think he called me a ‘seeing eye vampire’. Bloody tosser is making me keep a journal and everything."

"Can I read it?"

"If you want."

"Giles never lets me read his."

"Well, I’m not Giles. I don’t want to be Giles."

"Yeah, unless he’s playing it really close to the chest, he’s never been in love with me."

Spike was a little taken aback. "So you believe me then?"

"I believe that you believe it. Whatever that means."

"I guess that’s a start."

She resumed flipping through his cd collection and he was relieved to see that the alcohol had apparently lost its allure. He smiled when she pulled out Michael Jackson’s Thriller and raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked her. "I happen to like him. Gave demons something to dance about, he did."

"I think he is a demon."

"Nah." Spike picked up another cd and handed it to her. "Gene Simmons is a demon."

"Who?"

"Lead singer from KISS."

She stared at the case and grimaced. "Why do they have makeup on?"

"To cover up the ridges on their foreheads."

"That explains so much."

Standing, she went back to the cognac and poured the glass full, then sat down on the sarcophagus and surveyed the contents of the room. "You got a lot of new stuff."

"Are we making small talk to avoid the real issues?"

"I have no issues."

"Buffy, you can talk to me about anything that flies into that head of yours. Anything as long as it’s everything."

She took another sip of the cognac. "I tell you more than I tell anyone. You know where I was."

"I appreciate you telling me, love. But I need you to let me help you with the anger and depression. The only way I can do that is if you let me all the way in."

She shifted uncomfortably. "I am angry. Furious, even."

"At your friends or with Giles?"

"At the world."

"For?"

"Needing a Slayer. At myself for being one."

"And you’re angry at what else?"

"At Dawn for not being able to look at me and see what I went through. At Willow for becoming such a damn good witch. At Xander for going along with her plan to bring me back. At Tara and Anya for loving them both so much that they stay despite how weird it all is. I save the world, die for it, and no one stays with me." She drained the glass and reached for the bottle, drinking directly from it. "Not even Giles."

As he wanted to get her to this point, he found himself aching and at a loss for words. He watched her nurse the bottle for a second, then moved to sit next to her. "You do get that Angel was a dick, right? And Riley was threatened by you. Not just that you’re a Slayer, but because you’re a strong woman. Your dad was a fool to cut you out of his life and your mom never would have gone away if she’d had a say about it. As for Giles, it’s killing him."

"People leave me like clockwork. I get attached, they realize it, and leave."

"It’s not because of you. It’s because they’re weak." He nudged her with his shoulder. "And *I* don’t plan on leaving. No matter how many barbs you throw at me or how many times you break my nose. I’m here for the long haul."

"That’s what they all say."

"I’m like no one else, baby. One day you’ll see."

The liquor was making her woozy, she nudged him back. "And when I get attached to you you’re going to run as fast as you can."

"Love, the day you get attached to me is the day that I will run screaming into the sunlight and not burn up." He smiled at her and took the bottle, draining the contents. "Want to play checkers? Dawn left a ton of board games here."

She laughed then, really laughed. "You want me to play *checkers* with you?"

"I’m a champ. I can’t be beat."

"Please! I am the best strategizer in the country."

"Well, I’m not from this country and I have years on you." He grinned as he set the board up. "Want to wager on it?"

"What are the odds?"

"If I win, you give me a kiss."

"Uh." Her eyes widened. "And if I win?"

"I could give you a kiss." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Anywhere you want it."

She felt her face go crimson. "Or you could agree to stop following me."

"Nope. I told you, I keep my word."

"I’m black," she told him.

"No, you’re red. Like your face." He smiled when the blush in her cheeks deepened. "And I’ll go first."

For the first time in recent history, she wasn't thinking about her own problems.

She was thinking about how to throw the game.