Watchers

Holding his Slayer tight, Spike tried vainly to get some sleep. He had come close, way too close, to losing her. He had almost lost her trust, which was just about the same as losing her love. And if he didn’t have her love, he had nothing.

He spent the rest of the night just hugging her, listening to the random breaths she drew as her body fell back into unnecessary habits. Holding her, focusing his attention on her usually soothed him, but that night it didn’t.

Any other morning, he would have awakened her with soft kisses and even softer caresses. But, maybe for the first time ever, he didn’t dare touch her that intimately, afraid that she would reject him. She had accepted his promise, had said she trusted him. But was it enough? She had also said she wouldn’t forgive easily.

Some part of him still couldn’t believe he had risked what he had with her for the sake of people he didn’t even know. But a part just as big reminded him of the daughter of his first prey, a cute little girl, with big green eyes and two blonde pigtails. So very much like that picture of a younger Buffy in the living room.

He felt her shift against him, her muscles tensing imperceptibly, and he knew she was awake. She didn’t say a word or move though, and he pretended not to have noticed, waiting for her to make the first step. Waiting to see if she would pull away or snuggle closer. Before he could get his answer, the phone rang, making her jerk in his arms. She had insisted on having a phone in the bedroom, saying it was more convenient than running downstairs. In his mind, it was just more difficult to ignore when they didn’t feel like answering.

Muttering softly, she broke free of his embrace to reach for the damn thing on the bedside table. When she had it, however, she returned to her place, her back right against him. He let out a contented sigh as he nuzzled her hair, his arm finding its way back to her waist.

“Hello?” she said sleepily in the phone.

Her body stiffened suddenly and she escaped his embrace again, sitting up in the bed and turning wide eyes toward him. When she spoke again, her voice was fully alert, and icily cold.

“What do you want, Mr. Travers?”

It was Spike’s turn to sit up in surprise. The Council. He had dreaded this call for the last three years, often coming close to regretting the loss of the chip because of their price. She had agreed to the Council of Wankers’ terms. For him, his Slayer had agreed to owe a favor to a bunch of lunatics. Whatever favor they saw fit to ask from her. It was much too vague for his peace of mind. But, apparently, the suspense was about to come to an end, if the bloody head watcher was calling to collect.

He watched her as she listened, her face becoming more somber each second, until she was scowling.

“That’s it?” she practically spat. “You just want me to find her and convince her to work for you?”

Puzzled, Spike wondered who the hell she was talking about. She listened for a little while, now frowning.

“No. Not a team. We don’t need a hundred of your friends to survive an apocalypse. We just need one. ”

To Spike, the conversation made less and less sense. An apocalypse? Again?

“I don’t care that he doesn’t work for you anymore. You’ll just have to be very convincing. I’m sure if you’re generous he’ll be quite agreeable. And if he doesn’t agree, don’t bother sending anyone. ”

Now that, he could understand. She was talking about her Watcher. Technically, Giles wasn’t her Watcher any longer, not even a Watcher at all, but Spike wouldn’t be the one to tell that to an obviously pissed off Slayer.

After a few more words, Buffy hung up the phone, a deep frown creasing her forehead. Spike pulled her into his arms, running a light hand into her hair.

“So, luv, sounds like we have another end of the world to take care of?”

She chuckled a little, but her laugh sounded forced.

“That’s the easy part, Big Bad. Before that comes the real challenge. ”

“Which is?”

She raised her face to see his.

“We have to find Faith.”

If she hadn’t sounded and looked so serious, he would have laughed. Instead, he just repeated doubtfully:

“Find faith? What do you mean? Pray?”

She rolled her eyes at him.

“Not that kind of faith. Faith. As in, Faith the Vampire Slayer.”

She must have guessed at the face he made that she had lost him, so she explained further, a slight tinge of irritation growing in her voice.

“Remember when Drusilla killed a Slayer? Another Slayer was called after that. Faith. To make a long and boring story short and still boring, Faith had more fun helping demons than hunting them. She ended up in jail. She was released yesterday. And for a reason I don’t even want to understand, the Council wants to give her another chance. ”

He had noticed the cold anger when she said Dru’s name, and tried not to react to it. Drusilla was a touchy subject for both of them, though for different reasons. But, surprisingly enough, she injected the same anger in that other Slayer’s name.

She rose from the bed and he watched her as she gathered some clothes.

“So, that’s what they are asking?” he asked in disbelief. “They just want us to find the bint and tell her that she can be part of the good guys again?”

Buffy snorted in a very unladylike fashion and threw him an almost amused glance. Almost, but not quite.

“If you knew her, you’d know it won’t be as simple as it sounds. But, yeah, that’s basically it. Supposedly, there’s a new apocalypse on the way and, supposedly again, we’ll need her help to avoid it. I hope they manage to convince Giles to come. I’ll call him later. ”

With these last words, muttered more for her than for him, she walked into the bathroom. Spike was about to get up and join her, when, uncharacteristically, she closed the door. He let himself fall back on the bed and pressed his palms against his eyes. For a few blessed minutes, he had forgotten that he was in trouble. Obviously, she remembered.

As she let the water cascade over her body, Buffy couldn’t help replaying Quentin Travers’ words in her mind. The apocalypse part, she wasn’t really concerned about. As weird as the thought might be, it was just business as usual on the Hellmouth. Faith, on the other hand, was another matter.

“What the Council asks from you, Miss Summers, is to do everything in your power so that we have a Slayer, alive and cooperative, working for us again. Your part of the bargain will only be fulfilled once we have a Slayer. And may I remind you that failure is not an option?”

Angel said she had changed while she was in jail. But then, he had had a soft spot for the rogue Slayer for quite a while, hadn’t he? Not that Buffy cared about that anymore. The time was long past for misplaced jealousy. But she couldn’t forgive or forget so easily all that Faith had done. Allying with the mayor. Poisoning Angel. Trying to kill her. Stealing her body. Though that last episode had been quite revealing. When they had fought in the church, Buffy had understood at last that Faith hated what she had become. So, maybe, there was some hope in bringing her to work for the Council again. Be part of the good guys, as Spike had put it.

Spike… Her thoughts drifted toward him. She had expected him to join her, but she had been under the spray for at least twenty minutes and he still hadn’t come. She wasn’t sure what to tell him about the events of the previous day, but she knew she had to say something. They couldn’t just leave the matter like that, however tempting it was to just forget the problem. Faith really couldn’t have chosen a worse moment to get her parole.

She heard a knock on the hall door, and Dawn’s grumpy voice reminded her that other people had a use for the bathroom. With an apology, she stepped out of the shower and left the bathroom to her sister, returning directly to her bedroom. She realized then that she had closed the door behind her. That explained why Spike hadn’t joined her. He must have thought she was still angry. Which she was, truthfully, but not that much.

She dressed quickly in the empty bedroom before going downstairs for her breakfast. Spike gave her a half-hearted smile when she entered the kitchen. He was leaning against the counter, a mug in his hands. He gestured to a second one on the kitchen island.

“’Thought you’d be hungry.”

“I am, thanks.”

Slowly sipping the warm blood, she observed him. He wasn’t drinking, just staring at the contents of his mug, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

“So, where’s the bird?” he said after a while, his eyes finally coming up to meet hers.

“Faith? She was in jail in LA. She’s on parole so she should still be there.”

He nodded a little.

“When do we leave?”

Straight to business, that was Spike. And no question about whether she wanted him to come along or not. She doubted he would have let her go alone, had she even wanted to. Her agreement with the Council only mentioned her cooperation, but she knew Spike would as soon stake himself as let her deal with them by herself. And not only for the reason that she was in their debt because of his chip.

“Tonight,” she replied at last. “A few more hours won’t change anything, so there’s no reason to risk getting a sunburn.”

He nodded again and drained the rest of his blood in one long swallow. Taking her empty cup, he busied himself with washing them. She watched his turned back for a moment, before picking up the phone and dialing Giles number. They made a point of calling each other at least once a month, just to keep in touch, and she had finally memorized the dozen or so digits needed to reach him.

“Good afternoon, Giles! Or is it evening already?”

She could almost hear the smile of her Watcher as he answered.

“Afternoon, you got it right, Buffy. I was expecting your call. ”

“You heard from the Council then?”

“I did.”

“And?”

He gave a little chuckle. “What do you think?”

She felt a grin come to her lips. Of course, she had been sure he would come, but it was nice to actually know.

“Let me guess. You told them to sod off, then you played hard to get, and finally you accepted at the condition that they double your salary and pay it retroactively?”

This time, it was a true laugh that came from the other side of the world.

“Something like that, yes. Let’s just say that Dawn’s college fund just received a very generous donation. ”

Buffy felt her throat tighten at the words. That certainly hadn’t been what she had in mind when she requested him and no one else.

“Giles, you don’t need…”

“I know, but I want to,” he interrupted her. “I have to get a couple of books from the Council, so I won’t be able to leave immediately. I should be in Sunnydale the day after tomorrow. ”

“You’ll have to call Xander for a ride. We’ll probably still be in LA by then. They told you about the Faith part?”

Deep sigh and short pause. Ah, the infamous Cleaning of the Glasses.

“Yes, they told me. It doesn’t make much sense to me, I have to admit. They know the two of you have certain… problems, so I don’t understand why they expect you to be able to convince her. ”

“I was wondering about the same thing,” Buffy confessed.

“Do take care of yourself, Buffy. I don’t need to tell you she can be full of surprises. ”

“I’ll be fine, Giles. I have the bleached wonder with me if things turn sour. See you in a few days.”

“Yes dear. Good-bye. ”

As she hung up the phone, strong arms encircled her as an equally strong body pressed against her back.

“The bleached wonder?” he growled softly into her ear, sending shivers down to her toes. “How about a little respect for your Sire?”

As the last word escaped his lips, she involuntarily stiffened in his embrace. It reminded her suddenly how he had controlled her with just a couple of words the day before. She was certainly glad he had had a chance to explain himself before she turned him to ashes, but that didn’t mean she had liked the method. He seemed to feel her sudden stress, because he immediately let go of her.

“Buffy… Tell me, what can I do to fix it?”

In his pleading voice, sadness was easy to recognize. She turned toward him, and read the same thing in pale blue eyes. She wished she knew what to tell him, wished she knew how to bring things back as they were just twenty-four hours before, but she didn’t. So she answered by placing her arms around his neck and giving him a tender kiss. His expression softened a little, the barest smile tugging at his lips as he hugged her.