Disclaimer: The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox studios. This story is not meant to infringe upon anyone's rights, only to entertain.

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Chapter 13 - About the Council

It had taken Mr. Rupert Giles, the Watcher a couple of hours and at least two pots of tea to digest everything that was going on. Buffy did leave a couple of things out of picture though, not wanting to discuss what exactly had happened to her while being with Angelus. She didn’t even tell Spike about it and thankfully, he never pressured her for details. Giles was obviously disturbed about the whole situation and just like what Spike warned her before, a Slayer and a vampire together seemed to be viewed as an abomination.

Spike watched warily, his leg bobbing up and down, as the two talked. He was pissed off at the whole situation. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen now and he wondered if the end was near. He figured this would happen some day. Her conscience wouldn’t be able to ignore who he was or what he’d done, they’d end up arguing then fighting then going their separate ways until the day he'd have his good day and he’d take from her -- body, blood and soul. But he was enjoying himself with Buffy too much to let it end so quickly. He wished she would just kick the old fart out so that it could be just the two of them, and he could pick up where they left off before being rudely interrupted.

“Well,” Giles said nervously cleaning his glasses “Does Angelus know about, uhm, the current situation?”

Buffy turned to face Spike. They had decided it was best for Buffy to keep a low profile, and they had been successful so far. Spike had always reminded her that if she was going to do her Slayer duties that she had to make sure that she killed every single baddie she met.

Spike would often visit his contacts to see what they knew. “Just rumors… Everyone believes that there’s a Slayer in town, but so far, haven’t heard anyone confirm that it was Buffy.”

“Well then … I guess that’s good … yes .. yes … Now, as for your training. There are a couple of things we will need to go over and I was hoping that maybe we can meet tomorrow?”

Buffy sighed with boredom and Spike could care less about the formalities going on. He headed towards the kitchen and started rummaging through the refrigerator for something to eat. He wondered how much longer the wanker of a Watcher was going to stay. He could go out and get something more warm and living. As he poured the contents of a bag of blood into a mug, the thought he had earlier was starting to sound really tempting but he didn’t trust leaving Buffy alone with this Watcher. He seemed harmless enough just by looking at him, but there was something about the way he carried himself that sent tiny alarms in the back of Spike’s head. He could still hear them but tried his best to ignore what was being said. "Not my bloody problem. Not my bloody concern. Instead, he watched the mug travel around in circles in the microwave, half anticipating, half dreading the drink he was preparing. A few more rotations and the microwave beeped, but Spike could have sworn he heard something else. He closed his eyes, trying to determine if he could hear that sound again but all he got was the damn watcher raising his voice and Buffy’s heart now running a mile a minute. Without really thinking, he rushed back into the living room, his eyes catching a glimpse of the gun the watcher was aiming at the slayer.
“Forgive me Ms. Summers. But if you insist on continuing your relationship with that vampire, then I will be forced to deal with the situation.”

Buffy was in shock. Her body didn’t move although her mind was willing it to. As she heard the gun fire, all she could do was close her eyes and wait for the pain that she knew was coming. But it never came. Instead she felt the floor shake beneath her.

“Buffy, you okay, love?” Spike asked though he already knew the answer to that question.
She opened her eyes tentatively and found Giles on the floor, with Spike pinning both of the watcher’s arms down.

“The Council will not let this pass unnoticed.” Giles said struggling uselessly against the vampire.

Buffy finally got control of her body again and took a few deep breaths as she walked over to the Watcher. Spike looked up at her, the demon out in full view, and he licked his lips obviously more than ready to drain Giles dry.

“I don’t know much about the Council. But if this is how it works then I’m not sure if I want to know anything else about it. You don’t know what kind of vampire Angelus is and I know I’m not strong enough to go against him. I need Spike if I hope to ever destroy Angelus. But I could use your help, if your willing. But come between me and him again, and I’ll give the Council something else to find unacceptable." she said trying her best to sound threatening.

Spike bared his fangs again toying with the Watcher before quickly relieving the Watcher's gun as well as the stake he was carrying before releasing him.

Giles picked himself up, his eyes moving from Slayer to vampire as he was trying to figure out why the two obviously had a bond.

“Ms. Summers, Buffy … surely you must reconsider. You are a Slayer. He is a vampire, a killer…”

“I don’t want to hear anymore. You don’t know what I’ve been through and with your action here tonight how do you expect me to trust the Council at all. Where was the Council when I was kidnapped? Where was the Council when my Mother was hurt? Has the Council even tried to look after her welfare? Oh, I forgot, nothing else matters but the Slayer right? That’s why Watchers are sent to train the Slayer… yet, if a Slayer goes against what they deem is proper, she should be terminated like the demons she is sent to kill? Who is really evil here? I’ve lost everything … my Mother may never wake up and my life is forever changed -- saddled with a destiny where I have no future, nothing to look forward to but to be your weapon. So tell me Watcher, what would you do if you were in my shoes? Would you have me kill my savior?”

Giles was silent for a few moments, getting a better understanding of the situation. Sighing softly, Giles knew that what he was about to do could get him kicked out of the Council. But there was just something about Buffy. And maybe the fact that Spike hadn’t killed him was something to consider as well. For now, he’ll be her Watcher, give her a chance. Maybe he could still sway her decision. “I will continue to hope that you will reconsider. I’ll see you?”, Giles said hopefully.

Buffy rolled her eyes in irritation but nodded anyway.

“I guess I’ll take my leave then.”, he said as he turned and walked out of the house.

Buffy took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. It was bad enough that she had to worry about vampires, now she had to worry about a Council who might very well kill her as help her. Buffy turned to Spike, wanting to thank him for intervening, but he already had his back turned to her, heading towards the kitchen and his now cold mug.

Buffy followed him but stopped in mid-stride when she smelled what seemed like burning flesh. “Ewww… what did you put in the microwave?”