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No such thing as coincidences	By : All4Spike Category: AtS/BtVS Crossovers > Threesomes/Moresomes > Angel(us)/Buffy/Spike(William) > Angel(us)/Buffy/Spike(William) Views: 6097 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter three.

The following morning, Spike and Angel were sitting drinking their morning mugs of blood enjoying the quiet, with Connor cradled in his father’s arms after his first feed of the day, when Buffy emerged at the top of the stairs. With a worried frown Spike watched her slowly descend the last flight, eyes lowered, shoulders hunched, tousled hair unbrushed. She looked so young and so frail, so vulnerable and scared. Then he realised he could help her, in fact he was the only person who could. He stood to greet her. She looked up at him and softly pleaded, “coffee?”

“No, no coffee Pet. No more caffeine to fool your system and make you think you are alert and ready to face what may come, when you’re not. I have been thinking about this bloody prophecy Giles has found. I know you hate asking for my help, that I am the last person on earth whose help you want to accept. The fact remains that to keep Dawnie safe you are going to need me. In the same way as Dawn is going to have to rely on both you and me, and I am going to have to rely on both of you. The prophecy has made us into a team. When I promised last year to protect Dawn until the end of the world, I failed and you had to jump. This is my second chance. The way I see it now, there are two ways I can keep that promise. Either you accept the challenge of the prophecy, swallow that sodding Summers pride and allow me to help you, to train you and get you up to the peak of fitness, to show you how to access your full Slayer powers which you aren’t even close to doing… or you take the easy way out and dust me now. With me gone the team is broken, and the prophecy can’t be fulfilled.” Spike lifted Buffy’s left arm, slid the ever present stake from her sleeve, and held it out to her.

Buffy stood staring at him in wonder, as if she had never truly seen him before. “But…”
“Your choice love.” He said quietly.

Buffy slowly reached out and took the stake, her eyes never leaving his.

“Buffy, No!” Shrieked Dawn from the top of the stairs where she stood with Xander Willow and Tara who had paused in their descent to watch the scene unfolding below.

“Dawn…” Buffy said in a warning tone.

Dawn protested, “No Buffy, you don’t get to decide this alone. As Spike said, we’re a team now, I get to have a say in what happens.”

Spike looked up at her. “Dawnie pet, do you really want to live as The Key again? Remember what it was like last year. You’d be scared and in danger all the time and you’d have to learn to fight. You’d never be able to have a normal life.”

“Normal life? I’ve never had a normal life Spike, have you forgotten that less than two years ago I was a ball of glowy green energy? I never will have a normal life with Buffy the Slayer as my sister. Besides, I’d be bored to death within a week. These portals I’m supposed to be able to make, Spike, are they always a bad thing? Is it only evil demons who will want to use them? Can’t we use them to help the fight against evil somehow?”

Spike frowned thoughtfully and turned back to Buffy. “Niblet’s got a point Slayer, that possibility never occurred to me. What do you think?”

Buffy’s pensive gaze travelled slowly from Spike to Dawn, and back again. She slipped the stake back into her sleeve. “I don’t see any reason why portals can’t be used for good, so for now we’ll work from the assumption they can. Dawn? Stop worrying, I’m not going to dust Spike. He’s right, I’m not at my best, and we do need his help.” Buffy raised one quizzical eyebrow at him and asked, “So… what’s the plan then?”

“We’ll have to get Dawn onto a training programme, she’ll need to learn to fight with you, as once these portals are open and you two are at your most vulnerable, I won’t be able to help as I’ll be busy with the closing process. That can wait until we’re back home though.” He turned to Xander, “Are you going to join the party Harris? I know the prophecy only tells of the three of us, but I know what you’re like, if there’s going to be a fight where the Slayer or Dawn is at risk you’ll want to be in it won’t you?”
Xander nodded, “I’ll be there with them all right!”

“In that case I think it’s about time you started doing some formal hand to hand and weapons training too. We don’t want the Slayer to have to choose between protecting you or her sister if you get into trouble. I won’t be able to spar with either you or Dawn because of the chip, but I expect we’ll be able to figure something out, what do you say?”
“That sounds like a good idea Spike,” Xander agreed.

Spike resumed explaining his plan to Buffy. “As you know, I’ve killed two Slayers. I made it my unlife’s mission to know more about Slayers than they did themselves. Rupert did his best, he has taught you as he was instructed by his precious Council, but those idiots have completely lost touch with the true nature of the Slayer, they’ve forgotten their roots. Do you trust me to know how to train you, to show you what you are really capable of?”

Buffy considered for a moment, and then nodded, “yes Spike, I think I do.”

“Right then, for the next week you will drink only water, and I mean a lot of water, after that we’ll add in fruit juices and some herbal teas I’ll select for you. You’re much too thin; you need to be built up. No more sodding junk food, no more rubbish such as burgers and pizza, you’ll eat regular healthy meals. We’ll work out your diet and training schedule later. We’ll have to try to figure out another way of getting money for you too, because you are not going back to work at that ghastly fast-food Hellhole, it is draining all the life out of you and stealing your smile.” He noticed the suspicious look she was giving him. He rolled his eyes comically, “Oh all right, a legal way of getting money, and saying that, I think I’m going to ring this bloke back in Sunnydale in a minute. I’d agreed to this deal, and it’s suddenly not feeling like such a good idea after all. He’ll have to find someone else. Now where was I? Oh yes, the most important thing to address right now, is your attitude, your self-confidence.” He stepped closer, and cupped her chin in his hand, lifting it so he was staring directly into her eyes. “Who are you?”

“I’m Buffy Summers.” She replied, puzzled.

“No, you are not,” he contradicted, “that is a label that was stuck on you before it became clear who you really are. It’s just a necessary convenience for the modern world. Who are you in here?” He placed a hand on the centre of her chest, “and in here,” the hand was transferred to her belly.

She realised what he meant, “I’m the Slayer.”

“Say the litany, tell me who the Slayer is.”

Buffy sighed, and started chanting quickly in sing-song fashion “Into every generation a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world…”

“No!” Spike said, harshly. “Feel the words; understand what they mean about you, about your very existence! Start again; listen to what the words tell you about yourself.”

She took a deep breath and recited slowly. “Into every generation a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the Vampires, the Demons, and forces of darkness; with the strength and skill to stop the spread of evil throughout the world.”

“Let’s examine the words,” Spike said. “‘One girl in all the world’. We know that at the moment there are two of you, but we can forget that for now. You were Chosen, Chosen because you are special. I know that, do you? Now let us look at the phrase that you always become fixated upon. ‘She alone will stand against the Vampires…’ It says you are alone. Are you alone?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer. “You know you are not alone. You are the luckiest sodding Slayer there has ever been. You have a family and friends, a support system. You had a mother, a wonderful woman who adored you. She raised you and supported you and accepted you just as you are, even though she never understood exactly what you are. By her example alone she taught you everything you will ever need to know about being a good woman.”

He gestured to Dawn, now standing by his side, “You have a sister who loves you and accepts you for who and what you are. You are her hero, her idol. She knows that you love her with every fibre of your being, that you will protect her with your life. She knows this because she watched you give up your life for her.”

Spike pointed to the group now sitting quietly at the foot of the stairs. “You have your friends, Xander and Willow, Tara and Anya. They love you so much they repeatedly follow you into battle without hesitation, even though none of them has a fraction of the power or skill that you possess. They love you so much they couldn’t contemplate life without you.”

“You have Giles, who loves you more than any father ever could, and through him you have access to the Council of Watchers. They may be a bunch of hopeless tossers, but after the lecture you gave them last year they understand that the sole reason for their miserable existence is to support you with the mass of knowledge and experience they have gathered over the centuries. All you have to do is ask for what you need.”

“You have Angel here, who loved you so much he gave you up… and you have me. Get this into your thick skull woman; let it sink into your consciousness, into your blood and bones so you never have to think of it again. You. Are. Not. Alone.”

Buffy stood gazing up at him, silent tears streaming down her face.

As he had been speaking Spike’s voice gradually changed. Instead of the usual broad North London tones replete with swear words, it was becoming far more like Giles’s clear educated accent, and he was using a far wider vocabulary. He was sounding like a teacher.
“Now for the part you always seem to forget, the most important part. ‘With the strength and skill to stop the spread of evil’. You have within you a source of physical and emotional strength that no other human being possesses. Do you believe you are stronger than me, with my supernatural vampire strength?”

Buffy frowned. “I think I’m a little bit stronger than you, not by much though.”

“Fool woman, you have no idea how strong you are! You remember that Troll God’s enchanted hammer you were flinging about with such thoughtless ease last year? Have you any idea how much it weighs? Have you even accepted the fact that you crushed a God with it? An honest to goodness God, woman! The night I helped Dawn break into the Magic Box, when she discovered she was the Key, I thought that hammer was cool and I tried to nick it. I couldn’t even lift the sodding thing! As for skill, how much training do you really need? When you pick up a new weapon, how long does it take you to feel comfortable with it, understand how to use it effectively? You defeated Angel here with a sword when you were just seventeen. How much had you trained with one before then? A few hours? Angel has been handling swords for over two centuries! Put him in a room with three human sword masters, and he’d be the only one left standing after less than five minutes. The skills you have can’t be learned, they are born within you as part of your gift and they’re pure instinct, as much so as your Slayer sense for identifying vampires. When you pick up a weapon it becomes part of you.” He guided her over to the sofa and eased her down onto it. “Sit down here, have a drink of water. I’m going to prove something to you now. Gather your wits about you, calm yourself and think about what I have told you, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Spike handed Buffy a bottle of water from behind the desk, and went over to hold a whispered conversation with Angel, who had sat through the whole exchange in stunned silence. After a few moments he nodded in agreement, and left the room. Spike stood in thought for a few seconds before approaching Dawn and the Scoobies, and gave them whispered instructions before going off into the back of the hotel.

Ten minutes later the lobby of the Hyperion looked slightly different. The floor had been cleared, and both groups of demon fighters, except for Gunn who was absent, were gathered together in the area behind the reception desk waiting for what was to come next. Buffy was sitting alone on the sofa which had been pushed into a corner, looking small and lost and confused.

Spike and Angel appeared, carrying some long thick bamboo poles. Spike addressed Buffy, asking “Slayer, are you ready to find out who you are? What you are capable of?”
She looked up at him and replied “Yes Spike, I think so.”

“Come here” he ordered, pointing to the spot in front of him, in the very centre of the room. She walked slowly over to him and took her place. “Take off those idiotic high heeled boots. They don’t fit you, the left heel rubs and the toes on your right foot are cramped, so they hamper your movement. From now on you will be barefoot on the training floor, and when patrolling you will wear sensible boots with a good grip on the sole and heels of no more than two inches, preferably less. You need to be in contact with the ground to find your balance, your centre.”

Buffy flushed angrily, but obeyed, throwing the offending boots into the corner by the sofa.

“There are a few points I need you to understand before we begin.” She nodded. “First,” he continued, holding up one forefinger, “know that as the Slayer, you are both stronger and faster than any vampire there has ever been, or ever will be. Accept it, it is who you are. Second,” he lifted a second finger, “anything you see a vampire doing, any fighting move, any acrobatic skill they try, you can do it better. Accept it, it is who you are. Third,” a third finger was raised, “anything you see around you, any everyday object, has the potential in your hands to become a weapon. All you need to learn is the skill to see it. Accept it, it is who you are. Fourth,” his little finger joined the others under her nose, “any weapon you pick up will become part of you, you will know instinctively how to wield it, how to take advantage of its properties. Accept it, it is who you are. The fifth point is possibly the most important thing I will ever be able to teach you.” His thumb lifted to form a full spread hand, “This is your mantra. Memorise it. You have no limits but those you set yourself. Say it to yourself every morning when you wake, and again every night before you go to sleep. Last year the lovely Anya urged us all to think outside the box for ways to defeat Glory. She did so, and came up with our strategy. You have to learn that there is no box around you, for you anything is possible.”

Buffy stared at him, eyes wide, face pale, bottom lip trembling. She swallowed nervously.

“Say it.” Spike instructed.

“I have no limits but those I set myself” Buffy’s voice shook as she spoke.

“Again, make yourself believe it!”

“I have no limits but those I set myself.” Her voice was steadier, stronger.

Spike looked over to Angel and held out his hand. Angel tossed him one of the bamboo poles, and Spike placed it into Buffy’s hands. “This is called a Bo. To you however, its name is irrelevant, its origin is irrelevant. As the Slayer, all you need to know is that it is a weapon. Close your eyes. Run your hands up and down its length. Feel its weight, its balance, the flexibility and strength within it. Imagine yourself fighting with it. By holding it with both hands at the centre you can fight multiple opponents with the ends, and protect the people behind you. By holding it at one end and swinging it, your reach is immediately extended by six feet. You can plant one end in the ground and use it to vault with, you can throw it like a spear... you are strong enough to make it go right through just about any demon you could name… although I would not recommend that tactic unless you have an alternative weapon handy. You will be able to think of more uses as we work. Don’t forget that while you are holding it, it is not your only weapon; you also have your fists and your feet. Both Angel and I have fought with these weapons before, and could be considered masters in their use. You are the Slayer. You will be able to beat us both at the same time. Now. After holding it for a minute, you understand more about this weapon and its uses than either of us ever will. Believe it, it is who you are. Are you ready Angel?”

Angel had changed into loose trousers and singlet, and removed his shoes. He came out from behind the desk carrying two more Bos, tossed one of them to Spike, and took his place behind Buffy holding the other.

“Begin!” ordered Spike, and advanced on Buffy, swinging directly at her head. Angel simultaneously attacked from behind her, intending to sweep her feet from under her. Buffy squeaked in surprise, but reacted with Slayer speed, leaping to one side to avoid both blows. The three of them spun and danced for a few moments, leaping and twisting, kicking and dodging, with no sound but the padding of bare feet, bamboo whistling through the air, and lots of cracking sounds as the weapons made contact. For a while, each time one of the vampires got close to hitting the Slayer she was able to evade the blows, but she also seemed to be unable to land any on her two opponents. Suddenly Buffy found herself flat on her face, and her Bo shot across the floor as she lost her grip on it. Angel had tripped her and she had lost her balance momentarily, allowing Spike to make solid contact with her back.

“This isn’t right,” Spike muttered as he helped her to her feet, “I should never have been able to do that. What can we do…? Oh I know. Slayer, you are in a room with two vampires. It is a situation you will frequently find yourself in, but this is likely to be the only time it’ll happen when neither of them is trying to kill you. It gives us an opportunity to test something. Close your eyes, count to five slowly, and then use your Slayer sense to locate Angel and myself. Point to us, tell us how far from you we are, and if you can, tell us which is which.” He gestured to Angel to move around, and then jumped lightly up to sit on the balcony rail. Angel glided silently behind the reception desk, and hid behind a pillar.

“….three, four, five,” Buffy finished counting. She turned her head slowly, paused, and then pointed unerringly to Spike. “That’s you Spike, you are about twenty five feet from me, and from the height I guess you’re on the balcony. Angel is over there,” she pointed to the pillar, “and he’s about fifteen feet from me.”

“What is the difference? How do you tell us apart?” Spike asked.

“Angel feels like a cool tingle on my skin, he’s all misty soft blues and greens. You are all bright gold and silver, Spike. You’re hot. You light the place up like a pillar of fire and make my blood hum.”

For the longest moment there was utter silence in the room.

“Bloody Hell!”

The whispered exclamation galvanised Buffy into movement. “Giles!” She squealed, and ran over to where he was sitting behind the pillar next to Angel and Gunn, “How long have you been here?” She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

“I arrived a little while ago; Gunn here brought me in from the airport. Spike asked me to wait until after the demonstration before announcing my presence. He said I would learn something. I did.”

“We’ve not finished yet, Watcher.” Spike dropped back down to the floor and returned to the centre of the room. “That was a little diversion off the main track. Start taking notes; I think the Slayer’s Handbook is going to need to be rewritten. That Council of yours has no idea what a Slayer really is.” Spike beckoned, “come back here Sunshine, we’ve more work to do.”

Once Buffy had returned to stand in front of him, Spike produced a length of black silk fabric from his pocket. “Do you trust us enough to fight us both blindfold? He asked. “It sounds impossible, but I promise you it will be easy for you.”

Buffy nodded eagerly, she was used to sparring with Giles blindfold, so Spike carefully tied the silk to cover Buffy’s eyes, checking she had no vision at all. Then retrieving the length of bamboo she had lost and handing it back to her, he stepped back a few feet and Angel moved up beside him.

“Now you can’t see us you won’t be able to try to plan your moves, you’ll have to sense us, react to our movements, anticipate our attacks and improvise,” Spike instructed. “Don’t try to think, it was your thinking that was slowing you down. You don’t need to think when you are fighting; you must use your instincts.”

Xander’s quiet voice could clearly be heard in the sudden silence as Spike stopped speaking, “Use the Force Buffy!”

Everyone laughed. “He thinks he’s joking, but Harris has hit the nail on the head, Slayer, that’s exactly what you must do. Feel the force, the power that is inside you, and use it.”

“Ready? Begin!” Spike yelled.

Once more the three figures began their dance across the floor. Spike and Angel were clearly working together. They had after all fought side by side for years before parting to go their separate ways. Buffy became a blur of movement as she spun, leaped and kicked her way past and around the vampires, landing occasional blows on a shoulder or a chest, a leg or a head, as she came to terms with her skills. Once Spike managed to land a glancing blow on her shoulder, and once Angel accidentally hit Spike on the chest as he missed Buffy by a fraction of an inch, and it became clear that she was gaining in confidence as the seconds ticked by. Suddenly it was all over. Buffy swept her Bo around in a half-circle, cracking Angel on the knees and toppling him over, while simultaneously landing a solid back-kick in Spike’s abdomen. Both vampires landed flat on their backs, and Buffy swiftly followed through by snapping her Bo in two over her knee, and with half in each hand she mimed stabbing both of them in their hearts. She stopped short with about half an inch to spare over each chest.

“Bloody marvellous!” Spike yelled as he checked the clock, “well done Pet, you beat us both in less than 4 minutes!” He leapt up, ripped the blindfold from Buffy’s grinning face, and held out a hand to Angel to help him up.

“Come on you great poof, let’s get straight on to round two.”

“Just a minute,” Xander’s worried voice suddenly sounded very loud, “how can Spike be fighting Buffy? How come his chip didn’t fire when he hit her? Is it broken?”

Buffy looked over to her friend and reassured him, “It’s OK Xander, it’s not broken; it’s just that since I came back it hasn’t worked with me. It still works fine with everyone else.”

“How can that possibly be OK? Without the chip working how can you tell that Spike isn’t going to hurt you?”

“I know he won’t Xander, as you should.” Buffy addressed Xander directly. “He has proved over and over again that he has no intention of hurting me, of hurting any of us. Look at what he is doing now; he is trying to make me stronger! Apart from that, the most important thing you should always remember is, if at any time in the past couple of years he had wanted any of us harmed, all he ever had to do was stop fighting on our side and to Stop. Saving. Our. Lives.” She gave him a stern look, then turned back to Spike, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable at the direction the conversation had taken. “Now then teach, what’s this round two you were talking about?... and by the way, how did you know my boots were uncomfortable?”

Spike gave himself a little shake as if to bring himself back to the present. “Your boots? It was obvious they didn’t fit, I only had to watch you walk across the floor towards me to see your balance was off, and it was easy to identify which part of each foot was affected. Now then pet, time for round two, a little classic vampire hunting.” He reached under the reception desk and brought out a stake. “You are trapped in a big old hotel with two nasty Master Vampires. They can’t get out as it’s broad daylight outside, and there is no sewer access. For the purpose of the exercise, this is the only weapon you are allowed to use.” He handed the stake to her.

Buffy examined it carefully. “This isn’t wood.”

“No pet, it’s plastic wood-grain. It was a surprise gift the enormous hall monitor gave me shortly before he buggered off, he got a bit upset with me when he realised how I feel about you. Gave me a bit of a turn it did. Anyway, it comes in handy now since as I’m one of the vampires you are going to be hunting this morning I really didn’t want you to be using a wooden stake!”

Buffy stared at him, “Riley staked you? With a fake stake? The bastard!” Spike couldn’t help laughing at her indignant expression. “And how come he knew how you felt before I did?”

“A fella always knows when he’s got competition love; I was winding the great git up wasn’t I? I took every opportunity to make him jealous. I rubbed it in that you told me rather than him about your poor lovely mum being ill, and how she was at the hospital for tests; and remember when we fought the Killer Snot Monster From Outer Space in your kitchen? He was so pissed off that I was there helping you, and that we’d already sorted it when he galloped in with the cavalry to rescue you. He could never accept that you didn’t need rescuing, that you are the one who does the rescuing. He hated it that I had an invitation into your home at all. God it was fun! I thought I was going to have to fight him for you like, chip and all, but then after he staked me and we got rat arsed together he just pissed off. Quite disappointing really.”

Angel was seething with curiosity, and actually put his hand up “Er… excuse me, Killer Snot Monster From Outer Space? Are you serious?”

The Sunnydale gang exchanged looks and burst into slightly hysterical laughter. Willow took pity on him. “It was a Queller demon Angel. It wasn’t really funny because people were dying, and it was trying to get Buffy’s mom who was really sick, and she and Dawn were terrified. The name just sort of happened, it described it so accurately. It was really only funny because it was Giles who invented the name, and he was so disgusted with himself for it… I guess you really had to be there…”

The laughter faded away, and once more all eyes were focussed on Spike and Buffy. “Give me your wooden stakes please pet, we wouldn’t want you to use the wrong one by mistake.” Buffy passed him both her stakes, and then tucked the plastic one away in the waistband of her trousers. Spike tossed the wooden ones over to Xander. “Ready?” Buffy nodded. “Now remember, we’re only vampires, you’re the Slayer. You are stronger and faster than either of us. There’s a song from an old movie, it goes like this: ‘Anything you can do, I can do better; I can do anything better than you...’ Sing it to yourself, repeat it as often as you need to until you can believe it.”

“Sing? Me? I don’t think so! I’ll say it though… Anything you can do, I can do better; I can do anything better than you...”

With that, Spike nodded a signal to Angel, they Vamped into Game Faces, and were off. Angel made a bee line for their audience, so Buffy charged him, and landed a flying kick in his ribs, knocking him sideways so he crashed into the wall. He took a moment to recover while Buffy checked Spike’s position. She looked round and saw him leaping straight from the floor up onto the balcony railing, and paused for a second open-mouthed in astonishment. Her slight hesitation gave Angel the opportunity to pick himself up and speed up the stairs out of sight.

Spike was still perched on the balcony grinning cheekily down at her, “What do you say Pet?”

She yelled back at him, “Anything you can do I can do better!” She gulped a deep breath, took three long running paces towards him, and leapt. Nobody was more astonished than her when she crashed into Spike, knocking him off his perch onto the floor of the balcony, drawing cries of surprise and congratulations from those watching.

“Come on then Slayer… bet you can’t catch me!” Spike taunted as he picked himself up and dashed off at full Vampire Superspeed into the hotel corridors.

Lots of exciting and destructive noisy crashing and smashing fighting action later……

Trying desperately to elude the pursuing Slayer who he could tell was almost on his heels; Spike dashed around a corner… and found himself in a short dead end passage. On one side at the far end there was just one door, to a linen closet. Opposite it was a closed off hatch to a laundry chute. “Oh bollocks,” he muttered to himself, and turned to retrace his steps. He found his way blocked by a flushed and grinning Slayer. He didn’t have time to blink before she charged and leapt, landing with both feet square in the centre of his chest. He went flying backwards with her on top of him, straight into the blank end wall of the passage. It held for a fraction of a second, and then gave way.
They crashed down about twenty feet onto a hard floor amid flying plaster and pieces of masonry, and tumbled along with limbs tangled, wrestling for the advantage. Buffy eventually landed a clean punch square on the point of Spike’s nose. He fell back causing his head to rebound off the hard floor, which stunned him for a second. She leapt to sit astride him, pinning him to the floor. Then she grabbed the stake from the small of her back, and raising it gripped in both hands high above her head she gave a gleeful shout of triumph and sank the fake stake deep into his chest over his heart.

Spike chuckled back up at his Slayer, losing his Game Face, and was suddenly enveloped by her mouth coming down upon his with some force, while her strong tiny hands cradled his head. He gave himself up to the pleasure, wrapping his right arm around her back while placing his left hand on her bottom to press her down onto the painfully hard bulge in his jeans. He was returning the kiss enthusiastically when he heard the sound of a throat being very deliberately cleared.

Spike opened one eye and found himself looking straight up into the quizzical face of Rupert Giles peering over the edge of the reception desk up against which they were lying. He shifted his focus slightly and saw other faces in a line along the edge of the desk, a wide eyed Willow, Tara who was giggling softly, an astonished Wesley, and a frowning Xander Harris.

Giving a horrified squeak Spike transferred his hands at lightning speed to Buffy’s shoulders and tried to push her up and away from him. He might as well have been trying to move a mountain. Buffy’s right hand began stroking from his head down across his neck and chest heading directly for his belt buckle. He whimpered deep in his throat as with his left hand he grabbed at it, and pressed it into his stomach, and with his right hand he took a firm grip in the hair on the top of her head and pulled upwards with all his strength. Luckily at that point she needed to release his mouth to take a gasping breath, so he was able to speak. “Buffy? Er... Buffy love?” She didn’t respond, and her mouth once more began descending towards his, despite his frantic grip in her hair. “Slayer?” He gasped, rather more loudly. There was a slight pause in her movement, but no other hint she had heard him. He panicked. The hand he was using to prevent hers wandering into dangerous territory released its grip, and he gave Buffy a sharp slap on the cheek. At this her glazed eyes came into focus.

She grunted, “Hunh?” Then in a very irritated voice she asked, “Spike? What’s the matter?”

“Ahem, not that I’m not enjoying… er... I mean… Time and place, Buffy love, you know? Time and place!” Spike was thoroughly flustered, acutely aware of the highly amused expression immediately above him.

“What are you on about?” Buffy asked, her hands once more wandering into places they shouldn’t go in public.

“Buffy!” His voice had risen to a cracked falsetto he was becoming so desperate. He pointed upwards, “Look where we ended up love!”

She slowly turned her head, looked up at where he was pointing, and saw her audience. She made a very unflattering gargling noise in the back of her throat, and then turned back and buried her face in the hollow between Spike’s shoulder and chin. “OhGod ohGod ohGod ohGod ohGod ohGod……”

“Breathe love, breathe!” Spike croaked, and was rewarded by the sound of a shuddering gasp. “All right now…” He had no idea how to deal with this situation, “don’t worry, don’t think about it now, we’ll sort it out later, Pet. You’ve only fulfilled half your mission, you’ve got one more Master Vampire to go. Angel is still out there waiting for you, he’s not like me, he doesn’t enjoy the thrill of the chase. He’s sneaky. He’ll have holed up somewhere and prepared traps for you. You’ll need all your wits about you.”
Buffy lifted her head slightly to look him in the eye, face the colour of beetroot, and studiously avoided looking upwards. She asked “So, you mean I should think while hunting, but not while fighting?”

“Exactly love,” he agreed. He winced as he grasped the end of the stake that was firmly embedded in his chest, and pulled. It made a very unpleasant meaty sucking sound as it came free. “Here’s your stake, go get Granddad!”

She took it, and chuckled down at him, “He really hates it when you call him that.”

“I know Pet, why do you think I do it? Now send out your senses for him, where is he?”

Buffy closed her eyes and concentrated. “There, he’s up high in the West corner of the hotel.”

“Off you go then love, have fun… but not too much fun,” he added hastily.

Buffy smiled, stood up, flew back up onto the balcony and vanished from sight. Spike lay back, hands over his face, desperately trying to think of something to say.

“So… she enjoys the hunt then?” Was the first thing Giles said.

Spike risked a peek up at him, and saw the wide grin plastered across the Watcher’s face. He giggled slightly hysterically. “You could say that.” He realised Giles wasn’t angry, and giggled again. “Isn’t she magnificent?” His voice rose into a jubilant shout. “Ain’t she a glorious bleedin’ miracle?”

“So… you and Buffy are lovers?” Xander’s horrified voice broke into the sudden silence.

“She wouldn’t call it that Harris.” Spike sighed, “Do you realise just how much she has to hold back from using her Slayer strength, every minute of every day? Everything she does has to be calculated so she doesn’t hurt someone. If she hugs you she has to hold back so that she doesn’t crush your ribs, if she grabs your arm as you pass by, she has to judge it finely so she doesn’t wrench it right off. When she opens a door she has to be careful not to tear the handle off or rip the door off its hinges. Can you imagine how much she had to restrain herself with Soldier Boy last year? She had to stay in control every second, or she would have woken up next to a pulped bloody mass. ” Giles suddenly looked very thoughtful. “When I discovered a few weeks ago that I could hit her without my chip going off, I went to tease her with the knowledge. We had a lovely little fight, which for me suddenly became surprisingly pleasant. She realised that with me she didn’t have to hold back, she could allow herself to let go of all that control for a few hours, release the tension and express all the pain and anger and need that she had been feeling since she came back. What you saw here just now wasn’t your friend Buffy Summers, it was pure Slayer. I’m convenient for her, I’m the strongest person she knows, I can almost match her stamina and I don’t mind if a few bones get broken. Believe me, she hates the fact that I’m the only one she can turn to just as much as you do. Why do you think she couldn’t tell you? She knew how you would react.”

Xander’s expression took on an unaccustomed thoughtfulness.

“But you’re in love with her aren’t you?” Dawn asked quietly, coming around the end of the desk to kneel beside him.”

“You know I am Niblet, but that’s the thing. Her experience with Angel taught her that demons without souls can’t love. According to Buffy I’m… how did she put it? ‘An evil soulless thing with nothing good or clean inside’, which means that for her, what I’m feeling isn’t real.”

“How can you stand it?” Whispered Dawn, gently touching his cheek.

“What my lady wants, my lady gets, pet, it’s that simple.” Spike replied, taking her hand in his and smiling up at her sadly.

Wesley suddenly appeared around the desk too, “what did you just say Spike?”

“Wes? I said ‘What my lady wants, my lady gets’, all I do is try to make her happy you see. Not been having much soddin’ luck lately though.”

Wes disappeared into his office, muttering about consulting his books.

Giles asked “So… are you coming up here to join us for the rest of the show, Spike?”

“Er…thanks mate, but I can’t get up just yet, I’ll have to have a fiddle about with some broken bones first.” He shifted in discomfort, “it’s not bleedin’ fair,” he grumbled, “all she’s got for her trouble so far is a sore left wrist, a scratch on one shoulder where I caught her with the fang she hadn’t knocked out, a big bruise on her hip where we met that wall and a slightly twisted right knee. She’s mashed me into a flippin’ jig-saw puzzle.”

The amused expression became a concerned one. “Broken bones? Where?” Giles rounded the desk and knelt with Dawn beside Spike.

“Well, let’s see,” Spike closed his eyes and took stock of his battered body. “I’ll start at the top and work down. The skull’s cracked at the back, but that’s OK, it’ll mend itself; the nose has gone again of course, I don’t know why it’s always her first target, but anyway I can fix that in a moment; left shoulder...” he wiggled it, “ah good, it’s not broken after all, just dislocated; right collar bone; right humerus, that’s snapped clean in two, I’ll need a bit of traction to get it put back in place to mend straight; some small bones in my right wrist are crushed….” Spike stopped, went very still, and frowned thoughtfully. “My right wrist. I broke my right wrist. I was out in a punt looking for a quiet place to lie up and read my new volume of Keats. I wasn’t paying attention and crashed into another punt that was already hiding in amongst the weeping willows, in the spot I was heading for. He was in it, my chum who had all the strange books. He was with the lovely Miss Wyndham and they had a picnic basket with them. As the punts collided I lost my balance and toppled into his, and broke my right wrist on the gunwale. I remember yelling ‘Pryce you idiot, you should hang out a sign!’” Spike’s voice rose into a triumphant shout, “Giles, my friend with the book we need, his name was Pryce! I’ll give you all the details, the when and where, and perhaps we can trace his family, see if they still have that book!”

Wesley re-emerged from his office. Excitedly he asked, “You say his name was Pryce? With a y? And he was with a Miss Wyndham? Going from what you said to Giles on the telephone yesterday this would have been in the mid 1870’s in Cambridge?” Spike nodded to confirm each detail, and Giles and Wesley shared a significant look.

Giles grinned down at Spike and said “You know what you were saying yesterday about coincidences Spike? I’d like to introduce you to an ex-watcher of my acquaintance, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, whose great-grandfather Roger Pryce went to Cambridge in the 1870s, which was where he met his wife-to-be Miss Wyndham.”

“Bloody Hell!” whispered Spike, stunned. “Any idea if the old man passed on his spooky book collection Wes?”

“My family has never thrown away a book in its entire existence Spike. If I haven’t got the right one here my father will have it in the library back home. You said yesterday that your friend was trying to get you interested in the family business?”

“Yes, that’s right; he was very mysterious about it. The areas of study looked fascinating, ancient languages and mystic legends, but when he suggested there might be some danger involved I lost interest. Poor old William, he was such a ninny he couldn’t stand the thought of violence.”

“This is just too delicious,” cried Wesley, “my father will never believe me. Great-Grandfather Pryce, the pillar of the Council, was only trying to recruit William the Bloody as a Watcher!”

“What?” Spike yelled. He dissolved into gales of laughter, and was joined by the whole group. As the hilarity faded he collected himself and addressed Giles again. “To get back to the catalogue of broken bones Rupert, there’s loads of ribs gone of course. Although to be fair some of them were from the Slayer’s greeting yesterday, and some weak spots just healing were left over from a little squabble I had with a bunch of demons a couple of days before. Er… let’s see now, what else? My left hip is broken, that happened in our landing just now, together with my left thigh, those will need some manipulation before I can stand up; both bones in my left leg just below the knee are cracked, together with the kneecap; and the bones of my left foot seem to be a bit jumbled up. Oh yes, and apart from all the bruises, in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s this bloody great gaping hole in my chest.”

“In pain?” Giles asked innocently.

“Pain?” Spike giggled, “you twerp… only when I don’t breathe.

Giles smiled, then meeting Spike’s eyes he began to giggle too. Within seconds the pair of them were lying next to each other on the floor, once more convulsed with helpless laughter.

Once he had been reduced to a sort of sobbing hiccups Spike asked, “I could do with a drop of something to deaden the pain before trying to sort myself out please fellas, got anything handy?”

Wesley produced a bottle of brandy from his office, and Spike gratefully started drinking. “This reminds me of the time you dug that bleedin’ tracer thing out of me Rupert. Did I ever thank you properly for that?”

“Think nothing of it Spike,” Giles replied.

“Would somebody please explain to me what the difference is between a regular vampire and a Master Vampire, and why Spike calls Angel Granddad?” Asked Tara.

“A Master Vampire is one who has managed to survive a hundred years after being sired, luv. It is a meaningless title really, but it shows you have superior survival skills suggesting you are a good fighter, and warns younger vampires they ought to show some respect or get out of the way,” Replied Spike. “As for the Granddad thing, Angel and I are part of the same vampire lineage. The Order of Aurelius. It’s sort of the vampire version of a family. As far as I can make out each Order is descended from the same original demon, and all vampires in the line tend to have similar talents, like we’ve all got the ability to use thrall. I don’t remember very far back into the family history, I was never very interested, but there was an ancient and powerful vampire called The Master, who the Slayer killed a few years ago. In 1609 he sired Darla. She took a while to choose her consort, but eventually in 1753 she sired Angelus. He in turn sired Drusilla in 1860. She was his obsession and plaything; before he sired her he killed all her family and tortured her until she became insane. When he lost interest in her for a time he allowed her to sire her own plaything, her ‘dolly’. He hoped that she’d pick someone who would look after her so he and Darla wouldn’t have to bother with caring for her, she was very needy, she always wanted her Grandma and Daddy to play with her and hurt her as they’d taught her to expect. So in 1880 she sired me. It means Angel is my Grandsire. He doesn’t like to be reminded of the fact, which is precisely why I remind him so often. Every time he looks at me he is forced to remember everything he did to Drusilla and me, and everything he taught us to do in our turn.”

“Dolly?” laughed Xander, “you were her dolly?”

“Yes Harris, as the new addition to the family, I was their dolly. Vampires make good dollies, you can play hard with us. You can cut us so we bleed out, strangle us, drown us, chain us up and starve us, rape us, cut bits off us, break all our bones and generally visit all kinds of horrors upon us, and we will not die, and we will quickly mend ready for you to have another go.” Spike’s voice had become hoarse with remembered pain and anger, and his unexpectedly frank explanation caused an uncomfortable silence to descend. “When I was first sired, I felt no different as a demon than I had as a man, except of course for the obvious shift in dietary preferences. I wanted to keep doing the things I had always done, studying, reading, singing, writing my poetry, going to concerts, the theatre and the ballet. Angelus didn’t approve of me, I wasn’t demon enough for him. He was looking for a partner in his favourite pastime of inflicting exciting pain torture and degradation as entertainment. He also felt like a bit of masculine company in his travels as he was fed up with having only his women to talk to. All I ever wanted was my dinner. It took a few years of being his dolly, but he finally trained my demon to act the way he wanted, and then he walked out on us, leaving me to care for two incredibly brassed off female vampires. Of course now I know that it was because of the soul curse, but only Darla knew about that then. Soon she got fed up with us and went off on her own, but it was years before Dru stopped crying for him.”

The silence began to stretch out uncomfortably, and when he looked up and saw the tears in Dawn’s eyes Spike realised that because of the tongue loosening effects of the brandy, he had gone too far. He gently cupped her cheek with his hand, wiping a tear away with his thumb, and sighed loudly, “I’m sorry pet, I didn’t mean to go all true confessions on you. Harris, you really do say the stupidest things sometimes. How long have you been fighting with the Slayer? Five years? Six? I’d have thought that by now you would be familiar with vampire terminology, the social structure and common practices. Come on now, get round here with Giles and help me straighten myself out ready for when the Slayer finishes with Angel, it won’t take her much longer, I can hear them fighting. She’ll be ravenous as she’s had no breakfast yet, and I don’t want to be wasting more time lying here, I need to go cook her something. There’s plenty of food left that I never got to use last night. I don’t know if there will be enough for everyone though, perhaps someone could pop to the deli around the corner and get some more? We’ve got a lot of research to do after breakfast because there isn’t only our prophecy to sort out. Angel and his team have got themselves mixed up in a particularly nasty one featuring young Connor, and I was thinking we could all pool our resources and get them both deciphered quick smart, don’t you think so Giles?”

“Good idea Spike, but are you sure you want to go and start cooking? Aren’t you in too much pain for that?” asked Giles.

“It’s only pain dad, it’s in the mind. Once you’ve used it to discover where the damage is it’s of no further use, that’s when you ignore it.” Spike stopped and made himself analyse what he had just said. There had been something that felt wrong in there somewhere. “Oh hell, did I just call you dad? I did didn’t I? It’s that sodding suit and tie, it’s the same outfit you were wearing in the Magic Box when we were under that memory loss spell that made us think we were father and son. Sorry Rupert.”

“That’s all right Randy, son, don’t mention it.” Giles replied, “I wonder how long it is going to take Joan to stake Angel?” Then they both dissolved into giggles again. When he could speak coherently Giles got Xander and Gunn organised to manipulate Spike’s broken bones back into place, while Dawn kept hold of his hand, trying to comfort him. As they worked Giles suddenly thought of something Spike ought to know. “You know you found it hard to understand why I thought you were ‘The Protector of The Key’ mentioned in the prophecy, Spike? While we were waiting for Buffy to kill you, Willow told me about your little speech to Buffy before I got here. Did you really give her your word to protect Dawn until the end of the world?”

“Yes I did, it was while we were at her house getting her change of clothes and the weapons in preparation for facing Glory. We knew that it was likely one of us would be lost, and she wanted to make sure Dawn would be safe. Of course I figured it would be me going out in a blaze of glory. I failed to stop her being cut of course, that’s why the Slayer had to jump.” He turned to look up at Dawn, “sorry pet.”

“That explains it. That was when you became Dawn’s sworn protector Spike. On top of that... did you know that the name ‘William’ actually means ‘determined protector’ or ‘devoted protector’? There can really be no more doubt that the prophecy refers to you.”

Spike sighed in resignation. “Prophecies, I hate them. They’re almost as bad as magic, things never turn out quite as you expect.”

As they were finally dealing with Spike’s hip and thigh Giles voiced a question that had been bubbling up inside him. “Spike, you said that your whole line has the ability to use thrall? I thought it was something that only The Master and Drusilla used?”

“The Master had the power of course, he was very skilled with it. Darla could do it, but couldn’t control it very well. Angelus could never be bothered to learn how to use it, but Dru became an expert. She taught me, although I’m not sure Angelus knew about it. I tried using it once or twice, but it made the hunt too easy, and took all the fun out of it, it felt like cheating so I never bothered after that. I always preferred the rough and tumble of a fight myself. I’ve used it occasionally for other purposes, as Willow will be able to tell you. She was having a bad time with withdrawal symptoms a couple of weeks ago and I was able to give her a bit of peace for a while. Just let me know if you need another dose, Red,” he said to Willow, who was hanging over the desk watching the boys work. She smiled and nodded.

Tara then appeared with a dressing for the wound in Spike’s chest, and the red T shirt he had rejected earlier to replace the white one that was completely trashed. Spike sat up gingerly to remove the tattered white T shirt and allow Tara to dress his wound, then struggled to put on the despised red one.

He tried to stand, but discovered to his dismay that his damaged left hip and leg would not support his weight, and he had to save himself from falling by clutching onto Xander’s shoulder, and being supported by his strong arms into a chair. As he got Spike comfy Xander asked, “Spike, why do you sometimes call Angel Peaches? I can’t think of anyone less like a fuzzy fruit.”

“Ah Harris, that is one story you won’t get to hear, it’s a very private joke between Angel and me, and nothing on earth will persuade me to tell it.”

Instead of dashing off to the kitchen to prepare Buffy’s breakfast, Spike was reduced to being waited on, so while they waited for Buffy and Angel to appear Wesley sat with Spike as he described the book he was certain held the key for understanding the Portal Prophecy. He couldn’t remember the title, but knew that it was about six inches by four, and half an inch thick, and that it had an emerald green tooled leather binding with gold embossing including a kind of spiral symbol on the front.
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No such thing as coincidences