Betrayal…

Buffy was distracted all day long, still thinking about her dream that wasn’t a dream. She was convinced that it had been Drusilla’s idea of an invitation. But an invitation to what? A tea party with her dolls? A talk between the ex and the current girlfriend? A fight?

Several times, she thought about telling Spike about it. But after their talk of the previous night, she was almost certain of his reaction. He’d use any means necessary to keep her from the mansion and probably go himself. But, again, to do what?

As evening approached, Buffy made up her mind. She had missed her writing class the week before, and she told Manon and Spike that she would leave patrolling to them to go to school and catch up on her class. The two eyed each other, Manon still a bit suspicious of the vampire, Spike curious at her reaction. She wasn’t on her guard as much around him as she had been at first, but her Watcher certainly was. It was finally agreed that Andrea would accompany them, as she adamantly refused to leave her Slayer alone with the Slayer of Slayers.

At nightfall, Spike drove her to the college. She entered the building, waited a couple of minutes until she was sure he was gone, and then was striding purposefully toward the mansion. Just a little talk, she told herself on the way. She just needed to make it clear to the crazy one that Spike was hers now. No thoughts of hurting Drusilla. She had told Spike she wouldn’t hunt her, and truly she wasn’t hunting. Just a talk. Just an overdue explanation between two reasonable adults. Well, at least she could be reasonable. She could only hope that she would find Drusilla in one of her moments of semi-sanity.

When she pushed the door open, its sinister creaking echoed in the large entry room. Angel hadn’t resided here for several years, since she had been turned, actually. Why he hadn’t sold the building, she had no idea. It wasn’t like there was anything waiting for him in Sunnydale anymore. Or anyone.

She stepped in carefully, focused on her senses. It didn’t take her long to spot Drusilla in the dimly lit room. The brunette approached her, smiling brightly.

“My William’s Childe has arrived,” she said in a singsong voice. “How nice of you to come to my party!”

“He is not yours,” Buffy said firmly, her hand clutching the stake in her duster’s pocket.

Drusilla eyes glowed yellow as she came closer to Buffy.

“My Mate,” she growled. “You stole his heart, you are taking his mind, but you can’t have that. Mine.”

Her gaze softened, her eyes returning to light brown, and she smiled dreamily.

“He’s mine, but I will share,” she chuckled. “If you’re a good girl we can be a nice family. We’ll get Daddy’s boy also. Then maybe Daddy will come to us too. A big family, you will see. You would like that, wouldn’t you?”

Buffy was about to answer to that, protest, deny, claim her Sire, threaten the mad woman. But she suddenly realized she had made a mistake. A very dire mistake. Just the night before, she had warned Manon against doing this very thing. And her anger at the woman had made her forget about it. She had looked into her eyes. She still was looking in them. Now she was following her fingers waving in front of her face. And couldn’t make herself look away. Couldn’t even… think… any…

After dropping Buffy off at school, Spike drove to the Magic Box to join the young Slayer and her Watcher. When he entered the shop however, only Anya was there.

“Hey, demon girl. Where’s the European crew?”

Never stopping her dusting of the shelves, she glanced at him before gesturing toward the training room.

“Practicing, as usual. Except for Giles, he said he was going home. He mentioned something about being tired and not getting much sleep since he’s been here. And I don’t think he meant he is too worried to sleep.”

Spike stifled a laugh at the questioning eyebrow Anya was raising at him.

“It’s not that hard, you know,” she added after a second, more serious now.

“What isn’t?” he replied absently.

There was something off about her, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Something had changed. She was the same, and yet, different.

“Being human,” she explained, stopping her cleaning to turn to him. “It’s weird in the beginning, but you’ll get used to it. I was scared senseless at first too when I...”

“Hey!” he interrupted her, offended. “You’re forgetting who you’re talking to! I am not scared!”

She watched him for a moment, before shrugging and getting back to her shelves.

“I know who I’m talking to. The same guy who was all upset a few days ago because he thought he had been given a soul.”

Before Spike could find an answer to that, Manon and her Watcher were coming out of the back room, laughing together. They became very serious when they saw him, almost grim, and he was tempted to walk away and let them patrol by themselves. They didn’t want him with them anyway. And they most certainly could take a few vamps by themselves. It wasn’t like he had nothing better to do than play babysitter to a new Slayer. For one thing, he needed to find Dru and make sure she was going to leave town quickly. An ironic thought hit him, then. Insane Drusilla would soon be the oldest vampire of the Aurelius line. Bloody hilarious, that.

Yes, he had to make her leave Sunnyhell. But that would have to wait. Right now, he had to act as bodyguard to the French girl, even if she wasn’t even talking to him tonight as they patrolled, preferring to chat quietly with her Watcher. Grinding his teeth, he followed the pair through three cemeteries, giving a hand only once when they stumbled on four fledglings, and earning for his trouble identical glares from both girls. That was the last straw.

“Bloody hell! What’s wrong with you women?” he spat out angrily. “Can’t you see I’m trying to help?”

“I’m sure you were trying to help when you killed Faith, too,” the Watcher replied icily.

“As a matter of fact, I was,” he replied just as coldly. “With you bloody Watchers ready to kill her, at least now she’s free.”

“How dare you!” she shouted back. “You’re the one who kills Slayers! The Council does all it can to protect them!”

Throwing his hands in the air, Spike turned away, giving up. After a few steps however, he glanced back at the glowering woman.

“We owed the Council a favor. That’s what they asked from us. To give them a new Slayer. Only way to do that was to kill the old one. I may be guilty for doing it, but they are as guilty for asking it. How well do you know your father and his methods, Travers?”

For a brief instant, there was a flash of doubt on the Watcher’s face, then it was gone. Manon herself seemed puzzled, and a little thoughtful. He did leave them, then, striding away and out of the cemetery. He had no proof to offer them, and they certainly weren’t going to take his word for it. He shouldn’t even have tried. After all, he was just a killer. Of course they were wary of him. As well they should be.

Within a few minutes, he had returned to his car and was driving toward the college. He was there a bit too early, but he didn’t mind waiting. That would give him a chance to cool down before his Slayer joined him. Leaning against the car in the parking lot, he had the time to smoke a couple of cigarettes before students started coming out of the building. He had managed to steal back the packet and lighter from Buffy’s pocket as he drove her to school earlier. It was strange that she had been wearing her duster, now that he thought of it. She never wore it to class.

The stream of students was thinning out now, and still no Buffy. He noticed a couple of girls he knew Buffy was friends with, and approached them, asking if they had seen her. They hadn’t. She hadn’t been to class. As he heard this, he knew immediately where she had gone. And he cursed himself for not seeing it coming. Now, he really had to find Dru, fast, and just hope nothing had happened to his Childe.

If Drusilla hadn’t changed, she had certainly made her lair in a place she was familiar with. She liked staying in places she already knew. Or at least, she used to like it. His first try was the old factory. Nothing there but charred remains and old memories. Wasn’t anyone ever going to clean the damn place? Or destroy it?

Next, he tried his crypt. If she had come to Sunnyhell to meet him, it made sense that she would look for him in the last place where she had seen him, and maybe even stay there. He left skid marks on the road as he sped his way to the cemetery, but again, he found nothing. Except for a very faint scent. Dru had been there. She hadn’t stayed, but she had been in the crypt, not long ago.

There was just one last possibility he could think of, one he hated with his whole being. Cursing, he drove to the mansion. As soon as he got out of the car, he could tell that he had been right. Drusilla was there. And so was his Slayer.