a/n – Well, folks, this is the last chapter I have beta’d (before my trip) so I hope you enjoyed the deluge I’ve been giving. LOL.  Also, though I’m sure you know, I neglected to give credit where credit was due.  Though the thoughts are mine and I threw a monkey wrench into the mix by adding Spike, the dialogue, for the most part, comes directly from the episode, Who Are You?.  So, if you read the dialogue and say, “Um, I don’t think Giles would saysomething like that”...well, you’d be wrong. LOL.  Thanks so much to the writers of BtVS for being so dang good and letting me play with their stuff.  I’ll put them right back when I’m done with them, I promise. ;-)

As always, my betas – Gail and Megan – totally rock.  Thanks ladies.

**hugs** sfg

Who am I?
 
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Chapter 10

It had seemed like such a no-brainer, going to Giles for help, but it was not turning out to be Buffy’s day.  She was tired and battered and she really, really wanted to sit down, but with Faith out there in a Buffy Suit she just didn’t have the time.  And things weren’t going so well at Casa Giles.

“Giles, I swear, it’s me.”

Instead of meeting her eyes, Giles looked around, dumped the dirty dishes that he held on the sofa table beside him and said, “Um, if-if you are Buffy, then, uh, then you’ll let me tie you up w-without killing me.” 

Tie me up?  Right.  ‘Cause that worked out so well for me with the cops and the council guys.

Giles, oblivious to her rising anger, nodded once and finished his thought.  “Just until we find out whether you’re telling the truth.”

Before Buffy could snap at him, Spike growled and shoved himself off the wall.

“Un-friggin’-believable!  What the hell is with you people and tyin’ up those who come to you for help?” 

Okay, the world had officially gone bizarro.  Buffy in a Faith Suit.   Giles not believing her.  And Spike...all with the helping...and defending of her.  What was this?

Despite her confusion, warmth infused her at his affronted tone.  Spike.  Snarky, soulless Spike...was defending her.   To Giles.  Which totally shouldn’t even have been necessary but had turned out to be, oh, so necessary.

“Christ, Rupert, can’t you see the damage your Slayer’s sportin’?  Have you even offered her a band aid, you worthless—”

Whoa!  Let’s stop that right there.  

Buffy reached out her hand, gripping hard on Spike’s forearm to stall his words. 

His really firm, muscled forearm that seemed to fit perfectly under her palm.

Gah!  Focus!  Giles wants to tie you up, for god’s sake!

“Giles,” she said, keeping her hand on Spike’s arm and trying to keep her voice civil.  “Faith has taken my body, and for all I know, she’s taken it to Mexico by now.  I don’t have time for bondage fun.”

Spike’s grin was infectious but Buffy could tell by Giles’ expression she wasn’t winning him over.  Her frustration boiled over.  Ignoring the pain, she let go of Spike’s arm and began pacing.

“Ask me a question.  Ask me anything.”

“Who’s president?”

Spike snorted.  Buffy stopped pacing and closed her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief.  When she turned back to Giles, he stood there like a snotty kid, his jaw thrust out, all self-righteous know-it-all.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “We’re checking for Buffy, not a concussion.”  

Well, at least he had the good grace to flush as he stammered, “Oh, yes  Alright.  Um...”

Buffy started to pace again, frustration oozing from every pore.  It hadn’t been this hard to convince Spike.  She simply told him Slutty Faith in the Buffy Suit wasn’t Buffy and he just accepted it.  Why was Giles having such a hard time with it?  The whole thing was starting to piss her off on a major scale.

“Ugh, Giles!  You turned into a demon, and I knew it was you!  I mean, can’t you just look in my eyes and be all intuitive?”

She might as well have slapped him from the expression on his face, but he quickly recovered.  “Alright, how did I turn into a demon?”

Ooo, Buffy knew this one!  “Oh, cause, uh, Ethan Rayne!” 

Ah, now they were making progress.  Let’s see.  What else? 

“And-and you have a girlfriend named Olivia, and you haven’t had a job since we blew up the school.” 

Uh oh.  That looked like it stung.  Better go for damage control.  

“Which is valid, lifestyle-wise.  I mean, it’s not like you’re a slacker type, but...” 

Oh, for crying out loud.  Faith has my body and she’s doing who knows what in it right now, and I mention one teeny tiny thing about not having a job and he looks like I broke his favorite crayon, the big baby. 

That’s it, the gloves are coming off.  

“Oh, oh!   When I had psychic power, I heard my mom think that you were like a stevedore during sex.”  She ignored the choking sound coming from the vampire behind her, barely managing to keep her lips from twitching into a grin.  “Do you want me to continue?”

“Actually, I beg you to stop.”  Giles was pale.  And he looked like he needed to clean his glasses more then anything in the world.

Which he did when Spike spoke.  “You and Joyce?  Rupert, you dog!”

Later, Buffy would wonder what came over her, but while Giles attempted to rub off a layer of glass, she turned back to Spike, finally letting the grin out.  She made her voice oh-so-innocent and with a twinkle in her eye she said, “What’s a ‘stevedore’?”  She was rewarded with a cough from Giles and an answering grin from Spike.

“I could show you later, pet.”

Buffy felt a flush creep up her neck at the look he gave her but she didn’t look away.

Hold on.  Were they actually...flirting?  

My god, they were. 

Bad.  Bad, Buffy!  No flirting with the soulless demon.  None.  You have a boyfriend.  Oh, god, Riley!

“Alright,” Giles interrupted, bringing Buffy crashing back down to reality.  “Let’s, um, I need you to explain everything.”

Suddenly focused again, Buffy abruptly turned to Giles, giving her back to Spike.  “And I will, after we get Faith.”

As she said this, the door crashed open, spilling Willow and the same blonde from The Bronze into Giles’ apartment.

“Giles!” the redhead yelled, blushing when she belatedly realized he was right there.

“Will!”  Buffy knew there was no love-lost between Willow and Faith and, she had to admit, she was more than a little nervous of any spell her friend might aim at her thinking she was Faith.

“Oh, my god.”  Willow ’s eyes were wide and Buffy’s anxiety jumped up another notch.

“Willow , wait.  You don’t understand—”

Willow nodded her head and stunned them all when she spoke. “You’re Buffy.  You and Faith switched bodies.”  She turned to Giles.  “Probably through a Draconian Katra spell.”

Giles blinked.  “She understands it better than I do.”

Buffy looked at Spike.  When his shrug told her he didn’t understand anymore than she did how the witch knew about it, she turned back to her friend.  “How did you—”

“Tara .” A brilliant smile lit her face as she indicated the girl next to her.  “Tara , this is Buffy.  Only, really, this time.”

“Hi.”  The blonde gave an awkward little wave and a shy smile.

“Tara ’s a really powerful witch.”

“Not really,” Tara said, lowering her eyes.

“No, really,” Willow insisted.  “She knew right away that you weren’t you.  So, we connected with the Nether Realm to find out what happened.  Then we conjured this.”  She held up a small wooden box and flipped the top open, revealing a green glowing ball.

Buffy inched forward, a little hesitant to get too close to another of Willow ’s spells.  “What is it?”

Giles, noting her reluctance, stepped up to take the box. 

“It’s a katra.  Or a home-conjured version.  Holy Smokes, it’s Spike!”  Willow , who finally noticed Spike, grabbed onto Tara ’s arm and yanked her away from the vampire.  “Did you know that Spike was here?  Of course, you knew.  Not like he’s that easy to miss.  Except, I missed him.  For a whole three minutes.  I’ve been standing here and...he didn’t do anything, so I’m just going to stop talking now.”

Tara gave him a small smile and the same awkward wave.  “Hi.”

Willow , caught between the old fear of pissing off a master vampire and the older fear of being rude, stuttered.  “Uh...oh, well...uh, that’s...  Spike, Tara.  Tara , that’s Spike.”

“Hullo, luv,” he said, and Buffy noted the gentleness in his tone as he spoke to Willow ’s new friend.  “That there, green glowy thing?  You conjure that?”

“Uh, I-I h-helped W-Willow.”

It was obvious the girl was nervous being the center of attention but before Buffy could wave Spike off, he got to the point of his questions.

“Me, the Slayer and the Watcher, here, have been, shall we say, abused by Red’s spells in the past—”

“Hey!”  When Buffy, Spike and Giles all turned on Willow , she muttered, “It all worked out in the end.  And there were cookies.  Lots and lots of yummy chocolatey cookies.  Right?”

Spike ignored her and kept his eyes on Tara .  “She’s of a tendency to nip here, change there, with no thought to consequences.”

Tara looked thoroughly shocked, and turned wide eyes, first on Willow who couldn’t meet her eyes, then back to Spike.  “Oh, no.  No.  S-she d-didn’t improvise.  W-we did it right from the book.  W-word for word.  I swear.”

“Right, then.”  Giles stepped in.  “What can we expect from this katra ?”

“It should switch you back,” Willow said.  “If...you can get a hold of Faith.”

“Oh, thank god.”  Buffy was so relieved that she could get her own body back, she didn’t even care that the green glowy ball was a result Willow-magic and thus, had a greater than average chance of failing rather spectacularly.  “Do you know where Faith is?”

Willow shook her head and Buffy’s hopes plummeted.  Until Spike spoke up.

“Oh, come on, Red.  Sure you do.  Work it out.”

Buffy looked from Spike’s smirk to Willow ’s wide eyes. 

When Buffy raised her eyebrows at Willow , she shook her head quickly.  “No, Buffy, I don’t know.  Really.”

Buffy had enough.  “Spike, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, luv.  I’m just thinking back to Red’s last conversation with Slutty Faith in the Buffy Suit.  The one I overheard at The Bronze.”

“What?  What did I say?”

“Well, you asked her if she was gonna be in later or...”

Spike left it hanging and Willow gasped and paled.  “Oh, goddess.”

“What?!”

Willow turned to Buffy with panicked eyes.  “I think...  Maybe...”

Buffy drew a deep breath and waited for her best friend to say whatever it was that was wigging her out so much.  She didn’t have to wait long.

“...I might have mentioned...Riley’s.”

Buffy rolled her eyes closed and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out her breath slow and easy.  “And the hits just keep on coming.”

tbc