Disclaimer: Joss owns ‘em, not me.

Author’s note: Dialogue from ‘First Date’ Thanks and Hugs once again to the wonderful BTL for the betaing and to everyone who’s been reading and reviewing, you guys rock my socks.
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Chapter 38: Didn’t you see the Flash Cards?

Buffy popped back into her New York apartment wondering just how to approach the subject of helping Liz. She knew that Dawn had been right, that Spike would jump at the chance to go back to Sunnydale all accepted like. But Buffy didn’t want Spike to be the token vampire that got chased by little potential slayers. She didn’t want him to be taken for granted again. She was protective of her mate.

Spike was sitting in front of the TV watching some stupid infomercial about a random kitchen appliance that cooked anything as she walked in. She stepped towards him, and planted herself in front of the TV, blocking his view.

“Do you wanna go back to Sunnydale?” she asked. “You know, like full time? Help out with the slaying?”

Spike perked up his eyebrow questioning this turn of conversation. “Since when do you want to help out with the slaying? You haven’t slayed a vampire since 1880.”

Buffy let out a sigh and with it the worry she had been holding back flood her body. “Since Liz asked. This First Evil thing has got them way spooked. I can’t just leave it to chance that everything’s gonna be ok this time, Spike. And are you saying I can’t slay vampires?” She asked as his words sunk in.

“I’m saying you are out of practice luv,” he started.

“Well,” she said standing up, her hands on her hips, “watch me prove you wrong!”

He flashed a leer at her, curling his tongue behind his teeth. “You do that luv. Ahhhhh!” Spike’s hand went to his head as he screamed in pain.

“Spike?” Buffy questioned, watching her lover in pain. “Spike!”
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She had moved Spike to the bed, moistening his forehead with a towel as he lay waiting for the chip to go off in yet another searing onslaught of pain.

“Wish it out,” she begged him. “Please Spike, wish it out. It’ll kill you.”

“Already dead love,” he whispered, reaching up to take the towel from her hands.

“I can’t stand to see you in pain,” Buffy whimpered.

“I doubt it’ll be pleasant to watch luv, maybe you should go,” he said sadly.

Buffy stood up. He couldn’t be suggesting what she thought he was suggesting.

“So that’s it then? You are giving up, prepared to live the rest of your unlife in pain and torment? Spike! Think about that. You can’t live your life like this! And even if you did, I’m not leaving you! Please, wish it out!” she pleaded, on the verge of tears.

“I can’t,” he moaned and shut his eyes; he couldn‘t stand to see her cry.

“Why the bloody hell not?” she screamed. “And don’t you dare tell me you deserve it because of all your vampire type activities over the years. Don’t start acting all soulful on me!” She stepped away from him and started pacing.

“Dawn won’t trust me without the chip! I won’t have it removed!”

“Dawn loves you! Don’t put so little faith in her!”

“Liz has too much influence in her life. It’s Liz that won’t be able to accept it. You can bet our invitation to join the Scooby ranks will be revoked the instant Liz finds out,” he explained, his voice holding just an edge of bitterness.

“She doesn’t have to know!”

“It’s not how that works, Buffy and you know it.”

Spike started groaning and trashing on the bed as he was zapped by the chip yet again.
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As the sun rose over the New York cityscape, Spike had finally passed out from the pain. Buffy had refused to leave him all night long. Now as he had finally reached some moment of peace Buffy stood from the edge of their bed and opened a portal. Stepping through to Arashamahar she made her way straight to Anya’s throne room.

“I need a wish,” started Buffy.

“What no proper ritual?” asked Anya looking up from her copy of Cosmo.

“No, don’t have time,” stated Buffy simply. “Calling in a best friend favour here.”

Anya nodded. “Fire away.”

“I wish the microchip in Spike’s head removed.”

Anya shifted into demonic guise. “Wish granted.” Then shifting back into her human face she opened her magazine again. “You know, the Slayer isn’t going to like this at all.”

“You won’t tell her?” asked Buffy. “Please? Or Spike?”

“Rixy?”

“Please, Anya. Please don’t tell them or anyone. They have to believe that he’s still got the chip.” The two looked each other in the eye for a moment, Buffy begging Anya to see how important this was.

“Fine,” noted Anya turning her attention to the magazine again.

“Thank you Anyanka,” Buffy whispered into the cavernous room that her son once played in, before opening a portal back to New York.

Spike was still asleep as she arrived. The question of how he’d react, how he’d find out, and whether or not she should tell him. She wanted no secrets between them. But this one was for his own good. This one was so that she wouldn’t have to, someday put him out of his misery.

This one would keep them together. Right?
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Buffy and Spike stood in the middle of Liz’s living room, being stared down by scads of potential slayers, Willow the witch, Rupert the watcher and Xander the moron of the ‘famous leaving at the altar, but Anya still likes him,’ kind. Stupid head.

“So Erixel is a vengeance demon?” asked a potential.

“Uh, if we are going to be friends in the slaying of evil, maybe you can call me Buffy?”

There was silence, either a reaction to her name or something else.

“Yay?” offered Dawn from the back of the crowd. “Come on people, another slayer, joining the ranks here! God! Could you be more dour?”

The whole group turned to look at Dawn.

“Dour?” questioned Liz. “You really have been hanging around British people too much.”

Buffy laughed, breaking the tension in the room. The potentials started to giggle, followed by Willow and Xander then by the watcher. Spike just stood there and glared.

“Where are they going to sleep?” asked a potential that hadn’t been introduced yet.

“That is a good question, Liz,” commented Giles.

“We don’t need to sleep here,” offered Buffy. “I’m sure it’s crowded enough around here,” said Buffy eyeing the sleeping bags rolled up in the corners of the room.

“No, I need you here. What if something happens in the middle of the night?” asked Liz.

“We don’t sleep during the night, Liz,” responded Buffy. “Uh, vampire, creature of the night? Ringing any bells?”

“How could we forget, with the bags of blood now cluttering the fridge,” piped up Xander. “There isn’t room for all of Andrew’s hot pockets now. I haven’t heard enough of his whining lately.”

“Hey!” whined a blond male sitting in the midst of the potential slayers. Obviously this Andrew person.

“So aside from the whole, nowhere to sleep, everyone’s good right?” asked Dawn, completely ignoring Andrew.

“Yep, until the horror of dateville approaches,“ snickered Willow. “Oh, Principal Wood,“ the witch carried on in a breathy voice, looking at Liz.

Both Buffy and Spike caught Liz‘s reaction to the look. It was a combination of a blush and a glare at her best friend. Buffy felt the wave of concern, not jealousy, that emanated from her link with Spike.

And it made her smile.

The potentials started to giggle as Liz turned redder.

“Liz has a date with the principal tonight,” explained Dawn, as if it went totally over their heads.

“Or he’s a demon trying to kill her,” added Xander.

“’Course the same thing is probably going to happen to you tonight, Xander,” added Dawn.

“Arrived on the wrong day then did we?” asked Spike with a smirk. “No problem, got mates to look up and all that.”

“We can set you two up in the basement, if that’s ok,” Liz suggested with a hopeful smile. “I have to get ready for my date/demon encounter group.”

The living room interrupted into talking, everyone assuming that the meeting was over. Dawn rushed over to Buffy and gave her a big hug.

“Thanks for coming! I'll get you two set up in the basement, you won’t even notice the dank. Really. I’m so happy you are here!” Dawn stepped back from the hug only to give Spike a big hug too.

“So Liz is going on a date, huh?” asked Buffy curiously, watching out of the corner of her eye as Liz ascended the stairs

“Yep, and she’s all nervous about it. She hasn’t even thought about anyone in that way since...” Dawn stopped short, her gaze turning to Spike once again. “I’m pulling for her. Really I am. Liz needs to move on.”

Leaving Dawn and Spike to talk about sleeping arrangements, Buffy ascended the stairs.

Buffy stopped suddenly in the upstairs hallway Buffy as she heard a familiar voice. She paused outside the bathroom door, surprised to find Anya standing in the loo with Liz.

“I don't think it's really a date. That's what I think,” said Anya holding a blouse and scrubbing at a stain.

When had Anya come into the house? Buffy asked herself. And why is she doing laundry, doesn’t she have minions to do that kind of thing?

“Well, it is unclear. That's why I chose a top that says, you know, I'm comfortable in a stodgy office or a swinging casual setting... or killing you, you know, if you're an evil demon,” responded Liz.

“It also says I sometimes get blood on my shoulder,” said Anya looking at the stain. “Or it might be pizza.” Anya handed off the shirt to Liz and made eye contact with Buffy in the hallway. “I don't think I can fix it.”

Liz looked down at the shirt in her hand and stepped back. “Thanks for trying.”

“And I wasn't talking about your date anyway. I was talking about this sham date of Xander's. I think it's part of a plan to make me jealous,” Anya began to rant.

“Well, it's not working,” interrupted Buffy from the hallway.

“Are you nuts? Of course it's working. Observe my-my bitter ranting. Hear the shrill edge of hysteria in my voice,” continued Anya.

“Um, I should really go find something else to wear,” stated Liz walking out of the bathroom.

“Fine, go. Leave me here to stew in my impotent rage,” chastised Anya.

Liz stopped just as she passed Buffy, and turned to look at the Mistress of Arashamahar.

“I'm also gonna pee, so you should probably go,” added Anya.

Liz continued on down the hall to her room. Buffy turned to her friend and raised an eyebrow.

“You have to pee?” asked Buffy. “And since when did you arrive in the house?”

“Yes, I have to pee, demon’s pee! You know that! And I’ve been in with the Slayer and her gang since long before you were! It’s perfectly understandable if I pop in from time to time to chat and use the facilities. Have you been in the washroom of Sunnydale’s McDonald’s? Ewwww.”

Buffy chuckled at her friend. “Fair enough. But then you could pop in to use the bathroom at Harrod’s too, that’s much nicer. I’ll meet you downstairs.” She turned away from the bathroom door to be faced with Liz and Spike’s very awkward conversation.

“You look nice,” he stated as Liz covered herself with the stained blouse.

“Oh, thanks,” the Slayer said nervously, looking down. “Uh, traditionally, one wears something over this.”

“Heard you got a date.”

“Well, it's unclear. I mean, I have this whole theory about a promotion. Or he's evil.”

“Liz, good luck,“ Spike said quickly.

“You don't have to...” trailed off Liz. “Huh?”

“Good luck, hope he’s the guy for you, and all that rot,” Spike explained.

“Uh...I should go, get ready,” stammered Liz. “I don’t wanna be late.” Liz walked down the hallway past Spike and into her room.

“That was well done,” said Buffy softly, leaning against the hall wall.

Spike walked the few steps towards his mate and captured her lips with his own. “Let’s go check out our new digs,” he said quietly.
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Buffy and Spike came up from their basement room, having set up house in the dark underground to their satisfaction to find a group conversation about the date Liz was on happening in the dining room. The witch was sitting at the dining room table, with a laptop open before her. Dawn and two potentials were crowded around her looking at the screen.

“Nothing? No records or certificates? College transcripts?” asked Dawn shocked.

“Looks like the only stuff in the system about Principal Robin Wood is super-recent. Like, since he moved to Sunnydale,” added a potential whom Buffy had conveniently forgotten her name.

“I've Googled 'til I just can't Google no more. He's not in there,” explained the exasperated witch.

“Well, that's suspicious,” added another potential that Buffy knew she wasn‘t going to like, ever.

The whole group turned as Anya made an loud entrance into the room, carrying a stack of papers, followed by the watcher.

“Anya, calm down. They're educational...” Rupert trailed off.

Anya handed the papers to Buffy, who flipped through them with an amused look on her face. She handed them to Spike, who chuckled at the artistry, who handed them to Willow.

“What's this?” asked Willow as she flipped though them, a shocked look on her face as she did so.

“Giles made them for Chao-Ahn, and now she's locked herself in the bathroom. There's other girls upstairs, and they're starting to complain,” explained Anya.

“Those are flashcards. I-I made them to facilitate her training. Chao-Ahn never had a watcher. The language problem...” Giles tried explaining.

“You showed her these?” asked an incredulous Willow.

“I wanted her to understand the seriousness of her situation.”

“Holy crap!” exclaimed Dawn. Dawn held up one of the pages labelled "Turok-Han" that showed a particularly graphic depiction of a Turok Han and its victim, ripped apart at the waist.

“Perhaps I'll rethink the approach,” conceded Giles.

“In the meanwhile, wanna help us get researchy? We're trying to invade Liz's date's privacy,” asked Willow to the assembled group.

“So Liz has decided that is it in fact a date?” asked Giles.

“Yes... Didn't you hear? Everybody has a date. Liz has a date. Willow's been completely making out with this girl...” rambled Anya.

“Hey!” exclaimed the potential.

“Xander's out with some hardware-store-whore. It's Date Fest 2003,” said Anya finally sitting. Buffy reached over and patted her friend‘s shoulder in sympathy.

“Actually, Liz's investigating Principal Wood. It's not a date,” observed Willow.

“Really,” asked Giles uncertain.

“Might be a date,” added Willow.

“For God's sake! How can anyone think about their social life? We are about to fight the original primal evil. These girls are in mortal danger. Didn't you see the flashcards? This isn't right!”
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tbc...