Thanks go out to the wonderful Tasha who once again did a great beta job and to Kara for the pep talk. I’m sorry for such a long wait between chapters for this one. I have several more written but I didn’t want to post until I knew I could finish the story. Since I feel as though my writing sucks right now, it’s more a question of “Is it good enough” rather than a “writer’s block” problem. Hopefully, that mood won’t last


It took some time to calm the vampire enough for him to tell Joyce what had happened to Buffy.  Spike left out some parts, but he had the feeling that she wasn’t fooled and that she knew what he was leaving out of his story.

 

It was a subdued Spike that followed Joyce to her jeep and waited beside her when she knocked on Giles door.  She had called the Watcher, asking him to meet them at his apartment.  The Magic Box wasn’t the place for this kind of discussion.  Giles had agreed, if a bit warily.

 

The door opened on a curious, and a bit anxious, Giles.  He motioned them inside.  “Joyce. Spike. Do come in.  What can I do for you?”

 

“Rupert, it’s Buffy.” Joyce said softly.

 

The Watcher snapped to attention when he caught the looks being exchange between his two visitors.  “Buffy? Did something happened to her?” He asked, his gut twitching.

 

“Yes Rupes.” Slowly, cautiously, the pair started to tell the tale. Joyce picked up where Spike left off when he got choked up again.  When they were done, Spike looked at the floor, unwilling to see the accusation in Giles’ eyes.  He had come to respect the watcher a great deal during the last months, and he thought that this would prove to be the end of the budding relationship.  Probably going to be the end of me too he thought.  When the silence stretched on, he finally looked up to find Giles staring off. 

 

Giles absentmindedly cleaned his glasses while he digested what had been said.  His first reaction was anger, but something he had read in his Ripper days was gnawing at his mind.  He hadn’t always been a Council man, and he still retained a wealthy dose of scepticism over what they deemed to be the truth.

 

Lost in his thoughts, Giles moved to one of his book laden shelves.  He searched for the book he was looking for, and his fingers caressed the spines of each book in an automatic and loving way.  He finally found the object of his search and he opened up the dusty tome that had been hidden in the back of the shelf.  Thumbing through, he stopped when he reached the passage he was looking for.  He read, still oblivious to the two people who were watching him.  “Ah yes,”  he said.  The passage was just as he had remembered.

 

“Rupert?   What is it?” Joyce asked, unable to stop the question from coming out. Giles started, the voice bringing him back to the room and it’s anxious occupants.

 

“It seems that turned slayers always retain their souls.  They usually wake up fast, and they are disoriented upon wakening.  They often stake their Sire before killing themselves, unable to cope with the turning.”

 

“But she asked me to turn her Rupes.” Spike felt obligated to speak out for himself.  He sure hoped the slayer didn’t stake him before staking herself.  He wanted to teach her and be with her for a long time.  He would be a good Sire, making sure she understood what she was.   If it would help her, he would even called Peaches to help her with the soul.  His thought were suddenly interrupted when he suddenly asked, “How soon do they wake up?”

 

“A few hours at best.  When did you left Buffy?” Giles asked, his mind trying to decide the best course of actions.

 

“We should still have some time.  Wait a minute,” Spike interrupted himself with another thought he vocalized, “I read something once, about turned slayers.  It’s not because of the soul that they are rarely turned.   It’s because sometimes the turning doesn’t work like it should.  Something about the slayer essence messes with the process.  God, what have I done?”

 

“What do you mean Spike?”

 

“There are legends about turned slayers who came back wrong.  Mindless slayers and ultra powerful ones who destroyed everything demonic around them before letting themselves die. I don’t know how much is true.  I’ve never seen it, but Darla used to talk about it when I was a fledge.  Maybe we should call Peaches?”  The fact that Spike was the one to propose it left the others speechless.  Spike was anything if not vocal on his hatred for his own Sire.  That he was now proposing to call him as a testament to his worry.

 

“Let’s wait on that a bit.   I have another idea,” Giles answered.  He headed to the phone and called Anya.  In the last few months, his admiration of the ex-demon had grown.  While working at the shop he had discovered that she was quite knowledgeable about all things demony, something that should have occurred to him earlier.  A thousand years as a vengeance demon was bound to have left her with a lot of knowledge.   As he listened to her answers to his questions, his eyes grew wide.  Shocked, he thanked Anya for her help and lowered the phone back.

 

Turning back to  face Joyce and Spike, Giles cleaned his glasses again.  His mind was still trying to absorb what Anya had said.

 

“It seems that the effect of a turning varies a lot for every slayer.  In extreme cases, they become a Pure Slayer.   In other cases, they were nothing more than a fledgling, with no residue of what they were before.  Anya thinks that because of Buffy’s peculiar … history, the results may surprise us.  I think Spike needs to be by her side when she wakes up.  I have no idea of what she will be like.  I will call Willow up and ask her to meet me at the Magic Box.  I have several orbs of Thessulah that I keep for emergencies.  We will prepare the ensouling spell in case Buffy didn’t retain hers.  Joyce, why don’t you come with me?”

 

Spike’s head snapped up before Joyce or Giles could move.   He felt something click inside himself.  His childe was awake, and she was alone.  “I have to go!”