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No Rest For the Wicked by SMS by slaymesoftly
 
Three
 
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Chapter Three
 
By the time Spike arrived the following evening, Giles had filled everyone in on the danger lurking in Spike’s crypt. As Spike had said, no one seemed to have had any plans to surprise him with a visit, but they all paled visibly as what could have happened to any one of them sank in.
 
Even Xander was looking at Spike almost sympathetically, causing him to demand, “What?”
 
“Giles told us what Riley did to your crypt.  He must really, really not like you.”
 
“Yeah, well....” Spike looked embarrassed at being the subject of so much sympathy.  “Slayer will sort it out when she gets back.  Are we ready to go?”
 
“But where are you staying? Are you staying here with Giles again?” Willow’s expression was a combination of curiosity and concern.
 
“No. Stayin’ someplace safe and that’s all you need to know.  Let’s go. Evil’s afoot and we’re wasting time.”
 
 
XXXXXXXX
 
Three cemeteries cleaned out of newly risen vamps and one demonic ritual interrupted, they all agreed it had been a good night’s work.  Xander had driven from one cemetery to the other, so he and the girls got into his car and waved their goodnights.
 
“Come on, Watcher. I’ll see you safely home.”  Spike began striding off without waiting to see if he was keeping up.
 
Puffing slightly, Giles quickly caught up with Spike and grumbled at him to slow down.  “What’s your hurry? Were you lying about having a place to stay?”
 
“Wasn’t lyin’, just want to get there before it gets too late. Don’t want the door being left unlocked all night just because I’m not back before bedtime.  Demons aren’t the only evil things in Sunnyhell and I don’t want to put... my host... in any danger.”
 
“You’re staying with a human?” Giles paused with his hand on his door, eyebrows raised in astonishment. “A human that isn’t Xander or me?”
 
“There are other people in this town, you know.”
 
“Yes, yes, of course there are, I just....”
 
“You just thought I wouldn’t know any of them well enough to ask for a place to stay until the Slayer gets back?”  Spike grimaced. “Could be stayin’ with Willy for all you know. Or a willing bird.” He gave Giles a leer that quickly faded in the face of the man’s disbelieving snort.
 
“Why are you so sure you’ll be safe when Buffy returns? Riley will still know where you live. And he set that trap before she left town.”
 
Spike shrugged. “Worry about that when the time comes.”  He started to turn away.  “She’ll be home tomorrow, but don’t know if she’ll be ready to step right back into slaying. I think she’s enjoying her little vacation.”
 
“Do I even want to know why you know more about my slayer’s activities than I do?”
 
“Probably not,” Spike admitted.  “All you need to know is that she’ll be back and I’ll be looking for a new place to stay if she hasn’t sorted out the hayseed by tomorrow night.”
 
“If she hasn’t—Oh dear lord, you’re staying at Buffy’s house!”
 
Spike whirled back around and glared at Giles. “Think you could say that any louder, you stupid git?  Just in case the soldier boys watching us didn’t hear it.”
 
“They’re watching us?” Giles lowered his voice. “What makes you think so?”
 
“Heard the clumsy wankers following us and arguing about whether they should grab me in front of you or wait until you go to sleep.  Now they know I’m not hiding out here.”
 
“Maybe they didn’t hear me... And what do they mean by ‘waiting until I go to sleep?’ Are the bloody bastards planning to invade my home?” Spike paused to admire the underlying threat in Giles’s question before he answered, keeping his own voice so low Giles could barely hear him.
 
“Maybe they didn’t. Depends on how much and what kind of equipment they’ve got with them. If they don’t have listening devices, they probably will try to get me here. Don’t want that to happen, so I’ll need to let them see me leave.  But if they didn’t hear you, I don’t want to lead them to Joyce’s house. Have to do something else for tonight.”
 
“My apologies,” Giles said as he opened the door. “Why don’t you come in so we can discuss it in private?”
 
Spike shrugged, then followed Giles inside. “Can’t stay here, you know. They’ll just break down your door.”
 
“I’m actually counting on it,” Giles said as he took a large automatic pistol from a drawer in his desk and very competently checked that it was loaded.  He cocked it and set it down on the desk. “I believe I am entitled to shoot in my own defense should anyone burst through my front door in the middle of the night.”
 
Spike gave him an admiring grin. “You have hidden depths, Watcher.” He frowned. “Course I always knew you had balls – coming after Angelus like you did last year...”
 
Giles winced at the memory and turned away, bringing a rare apology from Spike.
 
“Sorry, Rupert. Didn’t mean to dredge up an unhappy memory like that. Forgot for a second why you were so determined to make the old bastard dust.”
 
Giles shook his head. “I only wish I had succeeded,” he muttered. “I don’t care how helpful he was with the Mayor and Faith. We could have done it without him.”
 
Before Spike could comment upon Giles’s obvious dislike for his grandsire, there was a loud knock at the door.  They exchanged glances before Giles slipped the gun into his jacket pocket.  He gestured toward the door with his head, and Spike walked to it, putting himself behind the door as he pulled it open for a surprised Riley.
 
His face paled as he realized Giles could not have opened the door from where he was standing.  Pulling a stake from his pocket, he grabbed the door and yanked it closed. Spike was leaning against the wall, the picture of unconcern and relaxation. 
 
“Lookin’ for something, Capt’n?” he drawled, straightening up and turning to move toward Giles. A flicker of Giles’s eyes gave Spike the warning he needed to drop and roll, avoiding Riley’s stake and causing him to trip at the same time.  Spike growled and clutched his head, but shook off the minor effects of having knocked Riley down.  When Riley looked up, Giles was pointing the gun at him with a very steady hand.
 
“Giles, what are you doing?”
 
“I could ask you the same question, Riley.  Why are you here? Why were you following us tonight?  And why were you trying to stake Spike?”
 
“I...” He glared up at Spike, now standing and still rubbing his forehead. “I wanted to be sure he wasn’t stalking you. He was behind all of you almost the whole time tonight.”
 
“Except for those occasions when he stepped in front of us to do what he was there to do – provide a protective barrier for those of us lacking Buffy’s powers.”
 
“Well, yeah, but he could have been...” His voice trailed off as he correctly read the skeptical expression on Giles’s face, as well as the disgusted one on Spike’s.
 
“Bollocks!” Spike snorted. “Or would be, if you had any.  Can’t you just admit why you’re trying to kill me?”
 
“Spike....” Giles’s voice carried a warning, although the hand holding the gun pointed at Riley’s chest was still very steady.
 
Rather than respond to Spike, Riley appealed to Giles.  “You can’t possibly be all right with the amount of time Buffy spends with this creature.  She’s obviously got some kind of vampire hang up, probably left over from that other one that got to her when she was so young.  I can help her.  We – I mean what’s left of my unit – have people who can help. Counselors, psychiatrists—”
 
Spike’s snarl ripped the air, causing both humans to flinch. Still holding the gun, Giles stepped between them.
 
“Riley, I hope I am not understanding you to say that you think Buffy needs psychiatric help to sort out the men in her life.  Are you suggesting her willingness to permit Spike to assist her in meeting her often extremely dangerous duties, indicates she has gone mad?”
 
“I’m suggesting she’s got an unhealthy attraction to the very creatures she is, according to you, supposed to kill.  They’re nothing but dangerous animals and she treats them like... like people!”
 
Giles sighed. “Riley, I understand that your lack of knowledge about the Slayer’s role in keeping the balance between good and evil is impeding your ability to deal with the realities of her life, and that you’ve not had an opportunity to meet or interact with very many old vampires. As a result, your view of them is somewhat skewed.  I also understand that you are operating out of a sense of betrayal and jealousy that Buffy values Spike’s life enough to become angry at you for trying to end it. I understand those things, but I cannot permit that understanding to get in the way of protecting both my slayer and the man who is helping to keep her alive and unharmed.”
 
“He’s not a man, he’s an animal! A temporarily harmless but still dangerous animal.”
 
“An ‘animal’ with an Ox—” He broke off at a cough from Spike. “—tremely good education, who speaks dozens of demon languages as well as being able to translate Latin and Greek. An ‘animal’ who has helped her save the world at least once, and who is helping us in her absence simply because she asked him to. I can assure you that we consider Spike a valuable member of our group and I will not permit you to harm him.”
 
“You’re all as crazy as she is!”
 
“And there’s that word we knew was lurking behind all your wanting to ‘help’, you overfed wanker.  If she doesn’t want you, she must be batty?”  Spike snorted and walked to the kitchen. 
 
Giles glared at Spike’s retreating back, then quickly refocused on Riley just in time to catch him rising from the crouch he’d remained in as long as the gun was pointed at him. Riley raised his hands in the universal sign for peace, and began backing away.
 
“I’ll talk to Buffy about this when she gets back,” he said. “I don’t suppose you know when that will be?”  He addressed his question to Giles, flinching when the answer came from the direction of the kitchen.
 
“Tomorrow,” Spike said. “The Slayer and Bit will be back tomorrow – about noon. I’ll be sure to tell her you’d like to have a chat about how crazy she is.”
 
“Given it will be daylight then, I’m pretty sure I’ll see her before you do, Spike.”
 
Giles held his breath, waiting for Spike to say something that would give away where he’d been staying while Buffy was out of town, but he just shrugged and nodded.  “You’ll let us know how that goes, won’t you? When you tell the Slayer you think she needs a head doctor?”
 
“Maybe I should talk to her mother.”
 
Giles was well aware of what Buffy’s parents had done with her when she’d first tried to tell them about her calling and he stared hard at Riley. “I wouldn’t do that,” he said without explanation. 
 
Riley ignored him and gestured toward the door. “I’m going to leave now.” 
 
“You tellin’ us or askin’ permission?” Spike said as he came out to stand beside Giles who had not relinquished his hold on the pistol, although he was no longer aiming it at Riley.
 
“This isn’t over, Hostile Seventeen,” Riley said. “You may think I don’t understand what’s going on here, but you won’t always be where one of your human minions can protect you. I know about vampire thralls.”  He frowned when both Spike and Giles began to snort with laughter, making no attempt to hide their amusement.
 
“I don’t see why you find that funny, Giles,” Riley sniffed. “It’s becoming obvious that’s what you all are – his minions. Somehow he’s put you all under a strong thrall. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before this—”
 
Spike burst into more laughter and held his stomach as he doubled over. “I wish!” he said, gasping for air. “If you wanted to stake me, this might be a good time to try...”
 
 “I think I recognize a thrall when I see one,” Riley said, bristling with indignation. “I know what you’ve done to these people.”
 
“You hear that, Watcher?  I order you to pour me a drink.  The good stuff.”
 
Giles made a rude gesture at Spike, but his lips were still twitching with barely suppressed laughter.  He waved the hand not holding the gun at the door.
 
“Go on, Riley. Get out of here. Go read a book. Learn something about thrall and minions. And vampires, while you’re at it.”
 
Still frowning, Riley left the apartment and waved off the men who had just decided he’d been gone too long and that they should see what was going on.
 
“Come on,” he said without explanation. “I’ve got some research to do....”
 
 
 
 
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