Chapter 10 – Trust Has To Be Earned


Sunnydale, 2000


Buffy walked into Giles’ home and wasn’t surprised to see that her friends were already assembled there, waiting for her. She had called Giles about half an hour earlier, asking him to call everyone and request that they be there for a meeting.

Giles greeted her as she came in, which she ignored, still upset by what Spike had told her the night before about Giles opting to keep some details about Dawn and her death a secret from both she and her mother.

“Is everything okay?” he asked as he followed her to where her friends were seated.

“I’ll deal with you later,” she answered sternly, sitting down on a chair across from the couch, where Willow, Xander, and Anya were. Tara exited the kitchen area and sat down on the arm of the sofa while Giles stood beside her.

“Giles said you had some new info to tell us,” Anya said. “What did you find out?”

“I think we should be asking her how she is first,” Xander replied, nudging his girlfriend’s arm before turning his attention to Buffy. “How are you?”

“I’m here,” she said, waving it off. “How I am doesn’t matter right now – we need to talk about more important things.”

“Buffy, we’re all worried about you,” Willow said. “You haven’t been talking to anyone.”

“With the exception of Spike,” Giles mumbled, walking away to pour himself a glass of Scotch.

“Yeah, and what’s that all about?” Xander asked. “You won’t talk to your friends, but you’ll spend time with the evil undead?”

“Xander,” Willow said in a warning tone, shaking her head as she looked at him.

“What?” he asked. “I think finding out why Buffy is shutting herself off from us and turning to Spike is interesting to talk about, don’t you?”

“Spike understands what’s going on,” Buffy answered, frowning when Xander scoffed.

“And we don’t?” he asked. “You don’t think we know what’s going on, what you’re feeling?”

“We’re not discussing this right now,” Buffy replied. “There are more important matters at stake. I know who killed Dawn.”

“What?” Willow asked, stunned. “Who? Or what?”

“Harmony,” Buffy answered, standing up as everyone stared at her in shocked silence. “Spike found Dawn in his crypt, a detail which Giles knew and didn’t tell either me or anyone else-”

Giles, who had been leaning against a wall, gave her an apologetic look and opened his mouth to speak, but Buffy continued.

“Spike caught Harmony’s scent on Dawn’s body and tracked her down after he told Giles about Dawn.” Buffy looked down as her eyes began watering.

“And you believe him?” Xander asked. “What makes you think he wasn’t involved? What’s saying he didn’t lie to you, to Giles?”

“Because I heard how shaken up he was when he called,” Giles answered. “And Spike cared about Dawn – that’s not a secret to anyone here.”

“But he’s evil,” Xander replied angrily. “He gets off on killing people.”

“He wouldn’t kill Dawn,” Buffy said, crossing her arms. “And I believe what he told me.”

Xander began to say something, but Willow cut him off. “Shouldn’t we go after Harmony, then? If Spike knows where she is, shouldn’t we go and confront her?”

“Spike already did,” Buffy answered. “He staked her the same night he called Giles.”

“How can we be sure?” Xander asked. “Don’t you think he’d lie and keep her around for some shagging shenanigans? He wouldn’t care if she killed Dawn or not.”

“Have you not been listening?” Buffy asked, upset. “I believe Spike, and if he says that he didn’t play a part in Dawn’s death and that he dusted Harmony, then I’m not going to question him.”

“Since when have you started trusting him?” Xander asked.

“Since when is it your business?” she shot back, heading towards the front door.

“We’re your friends, Buffy,” Willow said, getting up. “We care about you, and we’re worried that something is going on that we don’t know about.”

“They talked about maybe needing to have an intervention before,” Anya said quietly. “I’d be careful – their tactics sounded clever and well-planned.”

“No one mentioned an intervention,” Tara replied, looking at Buffy. “We just want to make sure that everything is okay and to be here for you.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Buffy said as she opened the door. “I can hold my own.”

She left, closing the door behind her, and everyone looked at each other.

“We need to do something,” Xander said. “I’m not okay with Buffy being so confident in what Spike is telling her – it’s not safe, and we can’t be sure that he isn’t trying to lead her to her own death.”

“Maybe Harmony and Spike banded together to kill Dawn,” Anya said, beginning to chip off the cracking nail polish on her fingers. “Spike was friends with her, but maybe they thought they could somehow trap Buffy and lure her into an early grave.”

“What do you think, Giles?” Willow asked, looking at him.

“We can’t trust what we know,” he answered. “But I don’t believe Spike helped kill Dawn.”

“Do you think he staked Harmony?” Tara asked.

“I hope for his sake he did,” he answered. “Because if he didn’t and he’s been lying to Buffy, he’ll have more than just the Slayer after him.”

“Should we be cautious of how much time they’re spending together?” Willow asked. “In case maybe there is a trap in place?”

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” Giles answered, taking off his glasses and beginning to clean them with the hem of his shirt. “I guess we can’t be too careful. If the threat of Harmony is gone, we might be in the clear, but as long as Spike is around, we can’t be sure of anything.”

“I don’t like this budding friendship of theirs,” Xander said, cracking his knuckles. “Not at all.”

“Maybe an intervention wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all,” Anya murmured, looking at everyone as they fell silent for a long moment.

~~~~~~~~~~

That night, Buffy headed to Spike’s crypt, and they began to do a sweep of the cemetery. He noticed how quiet she seemed and stopped walking at one point, waiting until she turned to face him before asking, “What’s wrong?”

“What isn’t wrong?” she asked, sighing. “Today sucked.”

“Want to tell me about it?” he asked, lighting a cigarette.

“I went to Giles’ to tell everyone what you told me last night,” she said. “About you finding Dawn, figuring out that Harmony did it, and staking her.” She looked down. “They didn’t react too well… but they seemed upset that I’m talking to you and seemingly ignoring them. They don’t think it’s a good idea for me to trust what you’ve been telling me.”

“Are you surprised?” he asked. “Your friends aren’t fans of me. I’m a vampire, remember?”

“How can I forget?” she asked, frowning. “I know I probably shouldn’t believe you, but I don’t see a reason why you’d lie, why I shouldn’t listen to you.”

“I haven’t lied to you about anything, Buffy,” he replied. “You know Dawn was my friend – I wouldn’t have ever hurt her.”

“I know,” she said, nodding. “I just don’t know what to think anymore. Everything seems so messed up. I feel… confused… and lost… and I wish things could be different.”

“We all do,” he said, taking a step closer to her. “I’m here for you, luv, and that won’t change until the day you decide you’ve had enough and dust me.”

“Unless you lose that chip, I’m not fighting you,” she said. “How many times do I have to tell you that I won’t try until I know you can properly fight me back?”

“I like hearing you say it,” he replied, smirking a little. “I’ve been honest with you, Slayer – I wouldn’t have anything to gain by lying, would I?”

“No, I guess not,” she answered. “Thank you for understanding and being here, Spike – I can’t say it enough.”

Before she could stop herself, she pressed her lips to his for a brief kiss before taking a small step back and studying the surprised look in his eyes.

“Buffy-”

“We should probably keep patrolling,” she said, quickly changing the subject before he could ask why she had kissed him.

He simply nodded, following her as she began to walk away. They exited the cemetery together in silence, neither knowing what to say as thoughts filled their heads, trying to figure out why it felt like things were changing between them.

Tessa, who had been hiding behind Spike’s crypt, witnessed the kiss and wished that it had been her and not Buffy, her admiration for him never fading throughout the years, even as her anger towards him continuously grew.

“I hope you’re not expecting everything to be easy from now on,” she said as she watched them walk through the cemetery’s entrance gates. “I still have more tricks up my sleeve, and I think it’s time to make things interesting again.”

~~~~~~~~~


Outside London, 1880


Tessa slowly opened her eyes, instantly feeling the dull ache in her head from where it had hit the ground an hour before. She realized she was in transit as the carriage she was in jolted from hitting a bump in the road, and she looked across from her, seeing Angelus and Darla quietly talking to each other.

“Where are we?” Tessa asked, looking out the small window beside her at the darkness surrounding them

“We are going to take a small trip,” Darla answered, patting her hand. “William requested that we show you around England more while he and Drusilla get to know one another more.”

“In the biblical sense,” Angelus murmured, laughing with Darla.

“William wanted me to leave?” Tessa asked, feeling tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes.

“He thought traveling would be good for you,” Darla replied before whispering to Angelus.

Tessa looked outside again and let tears roll down her cheeks, in disbelief that William wanted her to leave and wondering if perhaps the trip they were taking was one-way only and if she would ever see him again.

For the first time in her life, Tessa truly felt scared and did not know what the future held for her.