Chapter 7


AN* Sorry it’s been so long, some RL got in the way of the writing. I almost split this into two chapters – cos you know I love the cliff-hangers, but you have all waited long enough. As you have all been SO patient, this is a nice long chapter.


*Huggles* to smudgiboo for the absolutely fantastic banner. Is it not just gorgeous?



##


Giles dropped the phone receiver back into its cradle with a feeling of trepidation. The Council could neither confirm nor deny Spike’s claim of having a mate, and he had promised Joyce he would find out the truth. There was nothing else for it, he would have to go to the crypt and ask the bleached idiot himself.

Glancing quickly at the watch on his wrist, he decided that time was of the essence. He needed answers tonight, and there was only one way he would get them. As he made his way to the door of his apartment, he patted his pockets for his car keys determined to make his way to Restfield by the quickest route possible.

As he locked his car at the gates of the cemetery, Giles pondered on how he would broach the subject of Spike’s mate. Now that he was standing within yards of the gates, the idea struck him to talk about the prophecy and work his way up to the claiming. Yes, he decided, that is what he would do.

Now that he had a purpose, Giles walked quickly through the cemetery. Within minutes he was standing outside the crypt door, gathering the courage to knock. Taking a deep breath, he knocked loudly, and stood impatiently waiting on an answer.

Inside the crypt, Spike and Clem were sitting side by side on the large sofa watching ‘Passions’. Clem had the last ten episodes recorded on DVD, and Spike was in his element catching up on his favourite soap. In the years he had been away, Clem had copied his programme faithfully for him, sending the discs to him in batches of twelve. So far they were on the second episode when a knock on the crypt door disturbed them

Looking blankly at one another, both demons shrugged. Neither felt like opening the door, yet the insistent knocking would not go away. With another shrug of his shoulders, Spike hit pause on the remote, and made his way to the door. Opening it wide, he smiled his most sarcastic smile at their late night visitor.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the Watcher come to call.” Spike watched the obvious discomfort of the man in front of him; and a little bit of him rejoiced at the man’s distress. He had always believed that this man held too much influence over Buffy’s life. The fact that Giles’ job description WAS to influence Buffy did not enter his head.

“Spike,” Giles’ contempt for the vampire could be clearly heard in his voice. “May I come in?”

The irony of the situation was not lost on Spike. Here before him stood the Watcher, hand-picked by the Council of Wankers to look after the slayer, asking a master vampire permission to enter his home. He could not help a bubble of mirth rising to his lips.

Giles’ temper was close to the surface, and the cocky smile on Spike’s lips did not help. Smug bastard, thought the watcher as he waited out the vampire. Knowing he had taken this little confrontation as far as he dared, Spike opened the door further and waved Giles into the crypt.

Clem, ever the gracious host, immediately rose from the couch to offer his visitor his favourite tea. Without waiting on a reply, Clem walked to the kitchen area, switching off the DVD player as he passed. With deft movements he filled the kettle and set out the mugs.

Spike decided to break the uneasy silence that had descended over the crypt. “Right then, watcher, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

Determined not to be under-mined by the vampire, Giles moved further into the room and seated himself calmly on the large sofa. Spike, not to be outdone, sat at the opposite end turning slightly towards the watcher.

Giles decided to come directly to the point. “Joyce called me tonight, Spike. It would appear you have returned to help with the prophecy concerning Dawn.”

Spike’s eyes narrowed slightly at the watcher’s tone, but he only nodded his head in reply.

“And once we defeat whatever is trying to harm Dawn you will be returning to Iceland, and your mate? Is that correct?”

“Two questions there, watcher.” Spike sneered. “Which one do you want me to answer first?”

Giles watched the vampire closely. He seemed unperturbed by his questions. “Have you come back to help defeat the Blood Red Moon prophecy?”

“Yes,” Spike replied. “Next question, watcher.”

“Will you be returning to your mate, Spike?”

Spike lips rose in a half smile as his head tilted slightly to one side. “News travels fast in good old Sunnyhell. Is that what brought you to my door so quickly, Giles? Were you determined to find out if I still wanted to shag your slayer? Or did you want to know if I had got over my little obsession and moved on.”

“Something like that, Spike.” Giles replied calmly.

Clem, who had been listening intently as the two men talked, walked through from the kitchen with the tea-filled mugs. Placing them carefully on the table in front of the sofa, he lifted his eyes to Spike trying to catch his attention. This conversation was becoming dangerous for his friend. As the mugs clattered down on the table, the occupants of the sofa turned their attention to him.

“Tea, guys.” Clem said brightly, hoping to break the tension in the room.

Spike almost laughed at Clem’s attempt to stop the confrontation between him and the watcher. Giles, the soul of British politeness, thanked Clem as he raised his mug to his lips; his eyes never left the vampire seated at the opposite end of the sofa.

“Calm down, Giles,” Spike sighed. “I have every intention of leaving Sunnyhell as soon as Dawn is safe.”

Giles relaxed, and the tension left his body. His biggest fear since Joyce had told him of Spike’s return had been that the vampire was here to stay.

“So you will be returning to your mate?” Giles asked blandly asked.

Spike decided to tell Giles the truth. “There is no mate, Giles, and you damn well know it. I said that to stop Joyce and Dawn asking me to stay on in Sunnyhell when this was over. I have no intention of living here ever again. Don’t tell me you know nothing of how I’ve lived for the last few years. I don’t care what Buffy thinks she knows about you, Giles, I KNOW you’re still in touch with the Council of Wankers.”

Giles contemplated Spike’s answer as he studied the vampire over the rim of his mug. “Do you want to discuss the prophecy now? “

Laughing at Giles’ refusal to rebut his accusation, Spike just shook his head before he replied.

“Right, watcher, let’s get on with it.”

Clearing a space on the table in front of them, Clem watched as Spike moved closer to Giles on the sofa. Deciding that he wanted to be in on this too, he sat in the space left by Spike.

Giles withdrew a piece of paper from the inside pocket of his jacket. It looked crumpled and well used as he smoothed it out on the table. Moving one the lamps closer to the paper, Giles started to read.



“When the Blood Red Moon rises, over the mouth of Hell
The slayer of the damned reprises, the life she cannot tell.

Her life will not be forfeit while the sun and moon align
The time will be reserved for one who shares her line
The bringer of her life must live to tell the tale
And the one who shares her blood must travel to the vale

The slayer of the damned must watch her loved one die
To feel the pain of death, and know that she must try
To save the one she loves to end her heartfelt pain
And know that for forever, she will never love again

The life of one she loves, shall be forfeit on that night
The blood that will be spilled, shall make the perfect site
To bring forth all the demons, that she has put to death
May they lay claim to their killer, and take her final breath.”


Spike sat staring at the piece of paper laid out before him. Its meaning was quite clear. The slayer must lose someone she loves, and who shared her blood, but it could not be her mother. Pondering over the words, he thought deeply of their meaning. Dawn had not been mentioned by name, but these prophecies rarely did.

The answer to their dilemma was staring him in the face.

“Giles,” Spike said softly. “I know how we can beat this.”

“You do?” Giles asked; his eyes trained on the vampire sitting beside him.

“The Blood Red Moon refers to an eclipse of the moon.” Lifting his eyes from the paper on the table, he looked Giles in the eye. “Check the calendar, Giles, there must be an eclipse due in the next few days. Once the sun passes the moon, it will leave a red moon behind.”

Giles nodded at the vampire while he removed his notebook from his pocket and started to write. “You said you know how to stop the prophecy, Spike. Just how do we do that?”

Taking a deep un-needed breath, Spike continued to look at the watcher as he spoke. “Do you think the slayer has feelings for me, Giles? I want an honest answer, as I think this is the only way to save Dawn’s life.”

Every instinct inside Giles wanted him to answer in the negative, but he knew it would be a lie. Since Spike had left three years before, he was convinced that his slayer had missed the vampire very much. Her slaying had become reckless at times, and Joyce had often spoken of her daughter’s pre-occupation with the vampire’s whereabouts. It was because of this that he had never told them that he had known for two years exactly where Spike had been.

“If I’m honest, I believe that she does,” the admission was almost torn from his throat.

Spike gave the watcher a small smile before he continued.

“The prophecy says that she must lose someone who shares her blood, and who is part of her line.” Spike paused for a few moments, determined to let his words sink in. “I need to talk to Buffy and make her understand that to save Dawn’s life I have to claim her as my mate.”

Giles was confused, how would claiming Buffy save Dawn’s life. At the look of confusion on the watcher’s face, Spike knew he would have to continue with his explanation.

“Once I claim her, Giles, I will have her blood running through my veins. That will make me part of her line.”

Giles was still confused. “And how will this help Dawn, Spike, or are you looking for an excuse to be with Buffy?”

A tortured laugh escaped Spike as he continued to look at Giles.

“It’s quite simple, watcher, I’ll take Dawn’s place.”

Staring open-mouthed at the vampire sitting before him as he calmly announced that he was willing to die for Dawn; Giles did not know what to say. As he let Spike’s words sink in, he could see that he could have found the answer to their problems. He wondered if Spike realised just what he was saying. Finally finding his voice, Giles could hardly keep the amazement out of his voice as he answered.

“I can see the logic behind your reasoning, Spike, but we have a small problem.”

Spike knew just what Giles was going to say before he had chance to voice it.

“How are you going to convince Buffy to let you claim her when she thinks you already have a mate?”

“Now that, watcher, is the question that I don’t have an answer for. Right now I think she hates me and wants to stake me for hurting her.” Spike paused in his rhetoric for effect. “You are going to have to talk to her and tell her about our plan, and while you’re at it, you can tell her I was lying.”

Giles rose quickly from the sofa, and stood over Spike. “No, Spike, I will tell her nothing. If you are so convinced that your plan will work, we will go to her house now and explain it. I won’t do your dirty work for you. You tell Buffy you told her lies, I want nothing to do with it.”

Spike knew the watcher was right. He would have to face her sometime and tell her the truth, and he could not put it off much longer. The moon was on the rise and the eclipse would happen within the next few days. He had to convince her that his plan would save Dawn. One the advantages of being a master vampire, was to know when to admit defeat. Giles was right they needed to speak to Buffy tonight.

Rising from the sofa, Spike quickly found his leather duster and slid his arms through the sleeves. As he shrugged his well-worn coat over his shoulders, he looked back at Giles.

“Right then, Giles. Let’s get this over with, and you better pray that she doesn’t stake me on sight.”

“To be honest, Spike, part of me would be glad she finally staked you.”

Spike laughed at the watcher’s comment as they made their way to the door.

##

The three Summers’ women were showered and ready for bed. Sitting together on the sofa sipping cocoa, there was a comfortable silence over the room. Dawn still vibrated slightly with anger at her friend, and Buffy had allowed her grief to overtake her while she showered. Joyce had heard her daughter crying in the bathroom as she had changed for the night, but had wisely left her alone. She still had her doubts about Spike’s ‘being mated’ statement, and she kept looking at the phone hoping Rupert would call.

When the sound of the knocker banging loudly broke the silence, all three women jumped slightly on the sofa. Without thinking, Buffy rose to answer the door. Anything that banged at your door this late at night in Sunnydale could not be a welcome visitor. Stake in hand, she opened the door.

The comforting face of Giles smiled at her from the doorway. Spike stood beside him, his head bent slightly to avoid her eyes. Giles quickly stepped between Buffy and Spike when he spotted the stake in her hand; killing Spike would not help them beat the prophecy.

“Buffy,” Giles spoke before she could react. “We need to talk to you. Spike has found a way to beat the prophecy and save Dawn, and I would advise you to listen.”

Staring at the man she regarded as a surrogate father, Buffy felt disappointment rise in her chest. “We’ve known about the prophecy for weeks, and he’s back in town two minutes and knows how to beat it. Colour me a bit confused here, Giles.”

When she made no move to allow them to enter the house, Giles knew he would need to make her understand. “Spike looked at it with a fresh pair of eyes, Buffy. Maybe that was what we needed.”

“Oh really,” she sarcastically replied. “His eyes are almost two hundred years old Giles, I doubt they’re very fresh.”

Exasperated, Giles felt his temper rise. He did not want to be here trying to convince Buffy to let Spike explain. If there was any other way to stop this prophecy, they would have found it by now.

“Buffy, just let us in to talk to you. Spike’s suggestion will work, but we need to go through some of the details.”

Still smarting from his comments earlier, Buffy found it hard to welcome him into her home. She simply held the door open wider and nodded for them to enter.

As Spike passed within inches of Buffy, he could smell her. She had recently showered, and the smell of her vanilla shampoo invaded his senses. Standing at the door in her yummy sushi pyjamas with fluffy slippers on her feet, she looked like any other young woman ready for bed. All her power and strength were hidden from sight.

As the two men entered the lounge, Joyce and Dawn stood. Arms folded over her chest, and right foot tapping out a rhythm on the wooden floor, Dawn stared at the vampire she thought of as a friend.

Spike noticed her stance, and smiled inwardly. His Little Bit may have grown into a beautiful young woman, but inside she was still a wilful girl. The little speech he was about to give would either make her hate him more, or allow her to forgive him. He really hoped that she would chose to forgive.

Buffy moved around the men and went to stand next to her sister. Unconsciously she mirrored her stance, and Spike was struck by just how alike they were. They may not look much like each other, but their personalities were so similar that it was frightening. The sudden thought that Dawn could be a potential slayer strayed into his thoughts.

While his mind was processing his musings, Giles and Joyce had moved into the kitchen, ostensibly to make fresh cocoa. Spike found himself standing in the middle of Summers’ lounge facing the love of his life, and her little sis.

The stretched out silence was too much for Buffy. She was too raw from his admission earlier, and although she didn’t want to stake him, she didn’t want him to see her in pain because of him.

“Okay, Spike. You have our attention now. Just how are we going to save Dawn, Mister know-it-all?”

Her tone was belligerent, and he desperately tried to find the words that would make her understand. He had not come here to fight with her, but he would if he had to. Dawn was the most important issue here, not their feelings for each other.

“This is going to take a while, slayer, why don’t we sit all comfy like on the couch while I tell you what we need to do.”

Buffy sneered at Spike as she replied. “No, we won’t sit ‘comfy like on the couch’ Spike. Spit out whatever it is you need to say; then leave.” All her hurt welled up inside her as she spoke. His words about his mate rattled around her head making it ache. “In fact, I don’t even want you in the house; but Giles says you know how to beat the prophecy so it better be good.”

Spike knew of old that there was no way to reason with her. Making an instant decision, he knew he would have to be blunt and tell her the truth.

“I lied earlier.”

Silence greeted his statement. He had expected a reaction, but none came. Deciding he would have to soldier on regardless, he opened his mouth to speak when Buffy raised her hand to stop him.

“I think mom and Giles should listen to this, don’t you Spike?” she said coolly. “MOM, GILES” she called into the kitchen. “You gotta hear this.”

Giles was dreading this moment. He had no idea how Buffy would react to Spike’s news about his fake mate. As he walked into the room with Joyce, his eyes were drawn to the stake she still had in her hand, and he wondered how he could remove it before Spike began to speak. Joyce, the epitome of common sense, calmly walked up to Buffy and took the stake from her hand.

Bereft of a weapon, Buffy felt vulnerable. She did not know what Spike was going to say, but she had a feeling it would be life-changing. Why did he have to invade her life like this? At least when he was gone from her life she could turn to slaying to help her cope. Having him so close, yet unattainable, hurt so much.

The five adults stood almost in a circle in the middle of room. Giles asked them all to be seated before he returned to the kitchen to fetch the cocoa. The surreal nature of the situation was not lost on him. Here they were, all sitting comfortably, waiting for the vampire to free them. This was definitely a glass-polishing moment.

As Spike waited to speak, he smiled as he watched Giles clean his glasses. He wondered if the man realised he did that every time he felt nervous or threatened. When Giles replaced his glasses on his face, Spike knew it was his cue to begin.

Every eye in the room was trained on him, as he began to speak.

“I’ve been over the prophecy with the watcher here, and I think I’ve found a way to beat it.” He waited on a reaction, but there was none. Nothing else for it, he thought, he was going to have to admit his lie and take whatever Buffy threw at him.

“The prophecy says that someone the slayer loves, and who is part of her blood, must die at the Blood Red Moon.”

Buffy could not keep patient and let him speak. “Yeah, we already know that, Spike. We’re all sitting here with bated breath to see what wonders your stupid mind can bring to the table.”

Clenching his teeth together, Spike took a deep breath. He really wanted to hit her at that moment, but he realised doing that would achieve nothing. It was more important that she listen.

“What we need to do,” he continued, “is transfer the bloodline from Dawn to someone else.”

Joyce answered him this time. “And just how do we do that, Spike?”

Spike turned to look at Joyce as he continued. “I need to claim Buffy as a mate. Once I take some of her blood during the claiming ritual, then I become part of her bloodline.”

Dawn’s laughter rang around the room. “And just how are you going to do that, Spike, when you already have a mate in Greenland?”

“I live in Iceland, Dawn, and that’s where the lies come in.” Spike turned his blue eyes on Buffy. “I don’t have a mate in Iceland or anywhere else in the world, I lied.” Sitting back in his chair, he waited on the explosion. It did not take long.

Green eyes, full of ice, glared at him from across the room. “You don’t have a mate?”

“No, Buffy, I don’t have a mate”

She rose from her seat on the couch and flew at him. Before her fist could connect with his face, Spike had grabbed her arm and twisted it up her back. Ferociously he whispered in her ear, “I warned you earlier, pet. You will never lay a hand on me in anger again. Now promise you’ll be a good girl, and I’ll let you go.”

Buffy was not in the mood to compliant. She dropped her head forward on her chest before throwing it back against his face. Spike anticipated her move and ducked below her shoulder. Enough was enough; it was time to end this now. Wrapping his free arm around her waist, he lifted her bodily from the floor.

“Excuse us, Joyce, but Buffy and I need to talk……alone.” With a wriggling slayer under his arm, Spike made his way to the door.

Out in the garden, he unceremoniously dropped his burden on the lawn. Stepping back quickly, he waited for her to strike. Buffy stood up slowly and stared at Spike in alarm.

“What happened to your chip?”