"I still can't believe it," Buffy said, as she, Xander and Willow stumbled through the front door of the magic shop.

"Me either," Willow agreed.

"It's Jonathan I don't get. Do you know how many times I saved that little weasel's life, and now he's...he's...well, he's shooting that freeze ray at me. Where does he get off?" Buffy picked up a candle from the display, tossing it from one hand to the other as she spoke.

"Hey!" Anya yelled when she saw some of her inventory in danger, but she took a second to re-prioritize. "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine, Ahn," Xander comforted her. "It was much easier to get away when those three twerps suddenly seemed to remember why they should be afraid of Buffy."

"Well, if everyone's okay, I don't see any reason to put the merchandise in unneccessary peril." Anya pointed at the candle in Buffy's hand.

"What? Oh, this? Here you go," Buffy said, putting the candle in Anya's outstretched hand. "Where were we?"

"I think we were somewhere around, 'how dare they'," Xander reminded her.

"Right. You know, I knew that Warren guy was trouble, ever since that whole 'bot thing. He was supposed to stay out of town, that jerk. I gave him a chance to start over somewhere else, but no, he's got to come back here and start stealing everything that isn't nailed down," Buffy fumed.

"Anyone know who that third guy was? The one they called Andrew? He looked kinda familiar," Xander said.

"I think he went to our high school. Maybe he was a year behind us?" Willow speculated.

"I was all ready to face a demon, or a vampire, or something else Hellmouthy. But to think that humans have been behind all this stuff..." Buffy said. "You know, it explains a lot, come to think of it. I wonder what else they've been behind?"

"Well, Warren's pretty good with the electronics, and who knows what kind of skills that Andrew kid brings to the table," Xander speculated.

"Yeah, they all seem pretty geeky," Buffy agreed.

"Hey, yeah..." Willow said, staring off into space.

"'Hey, yeah' what, Wills?" Xander asked her, waving his hand in front of her face.

"They're geeky. So that means they might be using computers. And if they're using computers, I might be able to—"

"Break in some back door and take a peek?" Buffy finished for her.

"Somewhere, a nail is yelling 'Ow!' because you just hit it on the head," Xander said.

"I can at least give it a try...you know, it's weird. I really thought the two of you suggested patrolling together tonight to get me out of the house...you know, make sure I'm still on the wagon. And then, something like this happens, and it just proves we—"

Willow abruptly stopped talking when she noticed the guilty looks Xander and Buffy exchanged.

"You did just take me out there to get me out of the house, didn't you?"

"Maybe a lit—"

"Yes," Xander interrupted Buffy in mid-sentence. "But only because we want to help."

"Listen, guys. It doesn't matter why we were there. We were, we have the info, and now we need to do something about it," Buffy said, hoping they could get back on track.

Willow nodded in agreement.

"Let me just hop on my laptop and see what I can come up with," Willow said. She looked at her friends, and then added, "The conventional way."

"Thanks," Buffy said. "In the meantime, is there anything we can do to help?"

"Well," Willow began, "I am a little hungry."

"Oh, you know, me too! I could murder a roast beef sandwich," Buffy said, looking at Xander.

"And so, delivery boy is on his way," Xander said, and headed to the counter to see what Anya wanted.

"Anything yet?" Buffy asked, taking a break from pacing behind Willow's chair.

"Actually, I'm not sure. Maybe?"

"Maybe, how?"

"I was having some trouble getting a fix on their system, so I started trying some weird stuff. And...well, I just can't believe what I'm seeing."

"Okay, and that stuff is...?"

"Jonathan's running a web server on their machine," Willow said, as if that would explain everything to Buffy.

"And?"

"And...that's an incredibly stupid thing to do on a system you want to keep secret."

"Well, maybe they need it. Maybe it's a clue to what they're trying to do."

"I don't think so. I just found the site," Willow said, and turned her laptop so Buffy could see the screen.

"Babylon 5?"

"It's...a fan site," Willow said, stifling a giggle. "And it's a really ugly one."

"Is that woman naked?" Buffy asked, pointing to a grainy picture on Willow's screen.

"Jonathan's got some serious problems," Willow said, shaking her head slowly.

The girls burst out laughing, drawing a curious look from Anya.

"But seriously, Will. What good will this do us?"

"From a security perspective, the most dangerous thing you can do is connect your machine to the internet. Running a web server, on top of that, well, that's ten times worse. They might have a firewall or something I need to get through, but I can probably find a hole somewhere."

Buffy smiled as Willow turned back to her computer and clicked away at the keyboard. It was good to see Willow engrossed in something other than the mess she'd gotten herself into with Amy.

"This will probably take awhile," Willow warned, between taps on her keyboard.

"Maybe I'll just go and train while you're working. Can you send Dawn back to me when she gets here?"

"Sure, no—wait, where is she?"

"She's—she's safe. I know where she is."

Willow frowned a little, but she didn't pursue it any further. After her visit to Rack's had put Dawn in such danger last week, she didn't really feel she had the right to ask.

Buffy was pummeling her punching bag when Willow interrupted her about an hour later.

"Buffy! Buffy! Come here!"

"What is it?" Buffy asked, throwing a towel around her shoulders as she made her way to the table. "Hey, no one told me the sandwiches were here..."

"Sorry, Buffy. But I needed Xander out here to help me," Willow said, and she pointed out something on her screen to Xander. "So, it's just these two, right?"

"That's what it looks like to me. I wish I could tell you more about it, but sometimes the soldier guy memories from that Halloween are pretty fuzzy."

"Wait, wait. What are you two talking about?" Buffy asked.

"There was a security hole in their webserver, and I used to to gain access. I found what looks like Warren's journal. A lot of it is just meaningless stuff, although he does mention the bank robbery and the diamond heist," Willow said.

"So, we've got them. I can't really go slay them, but we can turn them in to the cops, right?"

"Well, we might want to do a little work first. I found these two weird lines that seem to be in some kind of code. See?" Willow pointed to two places in the text she'd hacked into.

One of them said: APR: ZMSMS OLJAU WHAPJ QQJSB NYMTE EF

The other was similar: BOT: UJHNJ LBYNN WCKCJ JAAWC OWHCU FRYPH YPZGH ZBPXX UWVUS OYUQC SPTV

"I thought it might be some kind of simple cypher, but Xander thought he recognized the pattern," Willow said.

Xander picked up where Willow had left off, leaning over Willow's shoulder to get another look at the coded lines.

"The groups of five seemed so familiar...I think it's a code from World War II. Or, at least, my soldier guy knowledge says it is."

"Here it is. Enigma," Willow said, looking at a website she'd brought up on her computer. "It was an encoding machine with rotating rotors. The Germans used it during World War II. The code it generated used to be an incredibly difficult code to crack."

"Used to be?" Buffy asked.

"Well, two things," Willow began. "First, I found this java applet I can use to help me decode these lines."

"Umm-hmm," Buffy said, although Willow could just as well have said, 'blah, blah blah blah blah' for all that it had made sense to her.

"And the second thing is that I think Warren gave us the rotor settings. Either that, or the pegboard settings. They're supposed to be kept separate from the message, but I'm pretty sure the 'APR' and 'BOT' at the beginning of the lines are the key to decrypting them," Willow explained.

"Why would he leave the key right there with the message?" Buffy asked.

"He's either too cocky, or too lazy. He thinks no one will recognize the code, or he's too lazy to memorize the keys," Willow said, and started to make some notes on a piece of paper.

"So, if these are the only two lines he encrypted, they must be really important," Xander said.

"Either that, or he's keeping the information from someone else who might have access to his notes. Jonathan, or the other guy," Buffy speculated.

"Okay, let's say these are rotor settings. If I assign a number to each of the letters, APR is 0, 15, 17, and BOT is 1, 14, 19. Let's try the first message," Willow said, as she put the rotor settings into the enigma decoder.

Willow started to type in the encrypted line, and the applet spit out a stream of letters in response.

'LOOKINGATSPECSOFVAMPIRECHIP'

"Looking at specs of vampire chip," Willow said, watching a look of horror cross Buffy's face.

"Do the other one, Willow," Buffy said.

Willow enterd the new rotor settings, and started to type the second message.

'FIGUREDOUTCHIPWILLSTARTREMOTECONTROLTESTINGBYENDOFWEEK'

"Figured out chip...will start remote control testing by end of week," Willow read.

"When was that entry made?" Buffy demanded.

"Three days ago," Willow said.

"I've got to go see what's going on. And—oh, my god. Dawn...Dawn's with him."

"I'm sure she's fine, Buffy...wait for us," Xander said, as Buffy put on her jacket and headed for the door.

"Stay here. I'm taking care of this," Buffy said, and slammed the door behind her.

"She didn't even eat her sandwich," Xander observed, and Willow rolled her eyes at him.

Buffy threw open the door to Spike's crypt.

"Dawn!"

When there was no answer, she felt her heart start to race.

"Spike!" she yelled, even louder than before.

"All right, Slayer. Keep your knickers on," came a voice from the general vicinity of Spike's bedroom. His head poked up from downstairs, followed quickly by the rest of him. "Or, you could take them o—"

"Where is my sister?"

"I just left her at the magic shop," he replied, evenly. "They told me you were looking for me here. I hurried back, and this is the thanks I get?"

"Listen, Spike. I don't have time to explain. I just...you just...I have to..."

"Red told me to tell you that I 'don't know'. Whatever that means."

Buffy hadn't thought this through very well. How much should she tell him?

"I guess you deserve to know the whole story. There are these three guys—humans—who have been behind the robberies in town, and somehow, they seem to have gotten information about your chip."

Spike feigned surprise. She wouldn't be too thrilled with him if she found out he'd gone to them to test his chip.

"You know one of them, actually," she continued. "One of them made you the...you know..."

"The 'bot?" he asked, and Buffy nodded. "Well, I think we know he's trouble. Do you know what they're going to do?" he asked.

"Control you. Maybe override the behavior modification effects of the chip," she shrugged. "I don't know the details. But it won't be good."

Spike just nodded at her in response.

"You're probably happy about this, aren't you? That they might make it possible for you to attack humans again."

"I can't say I'm a big fan of someone controlling me, Buffy. Being someone's mindless automaton isn't high on my list of things to do on a fun evening."

"They'll probably try to use you to come after me."

"I could do that now, but I haven't, have I?" Spike pointed out.

"But what if they could force you to do it? Or they might send you after Dawn to distract me."

"From what?"

"I'm not sure yet. We have to worry about what we do know about."

"So, what are you going to do? Stake me before they figure out how to control me?"

"No," she said, quietly. "If I was going to dust you because you might someday be a threat again, I would have done it already."

"I'm touched, Slayer."

"But I can't just wait for them to send you after me. We have to come up with a plan. I need to talk to the gang, but I think the less you go out, the better."

"There's a pay phone around the corner. You know the one, I called you from there—"

"I remember," she cut him off. "All right, let's go. I'll tell them to meet us here."

"So, let me get this straight. You, the Slayer, get turned into a vampire babysitter, and we hover nearby and wait for an opportunity to try out the tranquilizer guns?"

Xander was clearly not on board with the plan. Yet.

"I know it sounds weird," Buffy said. "But hear me out. When they decide to try out their experiment on Spike, they'll probably be nearby. They'll want to see the results first-hand. So I keep Spike here, as bait, and we draw them out. I'll be here to stop Spike from...whatever it is they're going to try to get him to do. Once they move in, I need all three of you," she looked carefully at Xander, Willow, and Anya, "to move in with the tranquilizer guns. Break into their van, or wherever they're hiding, and incapacitate them. Then we call in the cops, and turn over the evidence. And I won't have to kill them."

"And if something goes wrong?" Xander asked, clearly hoping to poke a hole in Buffy's plan.

"If something goes wrong, then we re-evaluate. But for now, we try it my way," Buffy answered, and it was clear her mind was made up.

"You know, Xander, it sounds like a pretty good plan," Willow said.

"What if he," Xander pointed at Spike, "hurts you, Buffy? While Warren's controlling him?"

"Xander, I don't think—"

"It's a fair question," Spike interrupted her, and Xander looked at him in surprise.

"I'm the only one who's got the strength to keep Spike here if they're controlling him. If anyone else is here, they'll just get in the way, and maybe get hurt. Anyway, I need all three of you to face off with Warren and his pals. I don't want you outnumbered."

"When do we start?" Willow asked.

"Right—"

"Isn't anyone going to ask me what I think?" Anya asked.

"Of course, Anya. I'm sorry. If you're going to be a part of this, you should have a say," Buffy said.

"Well, I'll do it if Xander does it."

Buffy tried not to let her mild exasperation show on her face.

"Thank you, Anya. I appreciate that."

"Oh, I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for Xander," she said, and beamed at Xander.

"I'm happy to have your help, regardless of the reason," Buffy said, and tried to remember where they'd been before this distraction.

"Excuse me, but where am I supposed to go?" Dawn asked, feeling like the forgotten person in the room.

"I want you to stay with Tara until this is all over. I'll come and get you. Go nowhere until then," Buffy said. Willow's reaction to hearing Tara's name was not lost on Buffy, but there was no one else Buffy trusted to look after her sister.

"I think I should help," Dawn whined.

"It will help me," Buffy said, "to know you are far away from here and safe."

"Me too, Niblet," Spike said. "Don't make me worry that they might make me hurt you," he added.

"Oh...okay. Whatever," Dawn said, and crossed her arms over her chest in silent protest.

"So, as I was saying. We start right now. Xander, can you take my sister to Tara's and then come right back?"

"You got it, boss. Do you need anything else?" Xander asked.

"Rope," Spike answered for her. "And lots of it."

Buffy looked at him quizzically.

"I just figured you'd be tying me up. Seems safer, doesn't it? I'd rather you do that than have to end up staking me because I'm about to get away," he continued.

"Okay, so...rope. And the tranquilizer guns. And get some food to keep with you. We might be here for awhile," Buffy said, and Xander nodded, kissed Anya goodbye, and then left.

"Be careful, guys," Dawn called behind her, as Xander dragged her away.

"Is that tight enough?" Anya asked, tugging on the end of one of the ropes, and Spike winced.

"Watch it," Spike warned.

"I don't think he can get out of those," Buffy said. "Okay, it's time. You guys find a good hiding place out there, where they won't see you until it's too late. I'll keep an eye on things here."

As she watched her friends leave, Buffy had one last thought for them.

"Yell if you get into trouble out there. I don't want any of you getting hurt."

And then the crypt door closed, leaving Buffy and Spike alone.

"Last place you want to be," he said.

"What?" she answered. She'd been too distracted to listen to him.

"Not important. Forget it."

"Listen, Spike...I think this will be easier for both of us if we just stay focused on what's going on now."

"Right. You're right," he said, although he didn't mean it.

"I mean, just because we're stuck here doesn't mean we have to talk about...anything. We don't have to talk at all."

"No, we don't," Spike said, finally figuring out that Buffy wanted to talk, but apparently only if she thought Spike didn't.

"We can just sit here in silence."

"Suits me."

The room was silent for a few minutes, except for the sound of Buffy's shoes shuffling against the stone floor as she paced.

"I didn't tell anyone, you know," she said, breaking the stalemate.

"About what, love?"

"Don't—don't call me that."

"Fine, Slayer," he said, calmly. "Didn't tell anyone what?"

"About the...about what we did."

"I didn't think you would."

"Well...no. Of course not. And...why are you being so...so..."

"'So' what?"

"So...reasonable?"

"Did you prefer me when I wasn't?"

"I asked you first."

"And I asked you second," he said, as thoughts swirled in his head. Was this the right way to handle things? He'd tried being her friend, and he'd tried forcing her to confront her own feelings. The only thing left was to do...well, nothing.

"I—I don't prefer you at all."

"Well, then. You've made yourself pretty clear. And weren't you saying something a few minutes back about not having to talk?"

"See, see? Why do you do that?"

"Do what? Listen to you? Believe me, love, I'm starting to wonder, myself." He was indulging his temper a little, but he couldn't help it.

"Oh, you are so infuriating."

"And so are you," he said, thinking how sexy she looked when she was angry.

They just stared at each other for awhile, and then she turned away from him. Her voice was small, so quiet he almost couldn't make out the words.

"You never answered me. Why are you being so reasonable?"

"Because I've tried everything else, and it hasn't worked," he took a deep breath, and decided to take a chance. "Because I'm a fool, and I'm still hoping something will work."

"Why do you have to do that?"

"What have I done this time?"

"Be the perfect boyfriend one minute, and a killer the next."

"Haven't been a killer in awhile, love. Toyed a bit with being a Slayer, though, helping you. Your pal Xander's singing spell caused more human deaths last month than I have in the past two years, I might point out."

"The difference is, the only thing keeping you from being a killer is that chip."

"You so sure about that, love? How can you be, when I'm not? And I could kill you, you know. But I haven't, and I won't. I let you tie me up here just to keep it from happening by accident. Wasn't the chip doing that, love. That was me."

"I—I know all that. I just don't think—"

"You know what? Just tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me you don't feel anything for me at all. Then you can untie me, and I'll leave town. Go far away from anyone with a remote control, and never come back."

Buffy turned around, and looked him straight in the eye.

"I don't..."

"You don't..."

"I don't...feel—I can't."

And Spike just sat there, not saying a word.

"I don't know what it is I feel. But it's not nothing," she said.

"Hatred and revulsion isn't nothing, either," he replied, subtly reminding her of the many times she'd professed to hate him.

"It's—it's not that, either. I wish I hated you, Spike. It's too complicated not to."

"I felt the same way about you, in the beginning. When I first started to realize..." He let his voice die away, knowing Buffy understood the rest.

"Can you tell me something, Spike? Promise me you'll be honest?"

"I've got no reason not to be."

"When I first...got back...when Willow brought me back," Spike nodded, and she continued, "you were so gentle with me. And fighting alongside my friends while I was gone...and taking care of my sister..."

"I meant all of it, Buffy. I helped your friends and the Bit because I knew that's what you'd have wanted. Someone to look out for them when you couldn't. And I tried to help you when you got back, because I could see you needed it."

"No, that's not it. That's not what I was getting at," she said.

"Go on, then. I'm listening."

"I started to depend on you. And as soon as I did, you sang that song to me. How I should leave you alone—"

"That's not what I said. I was just impatient because I wanted—"

"Shush, Spike. Let me finish," she paused, gathering her thoughts. "Then I kissed you. And all your gentleness went away. It was all, 'do you want to jump straight to the kissing' banter, and violence."

She looked at him, trying to read his face, and found she couldn't.

"Listen, Buffy...I thought that was the way to get your attention. I thought you'd never bring it up again, if I didn't make a nuisance of myself."

"So it was me," she whispered.

"What was 'you'?"

"The way you acted. I made you act that way. There...there is something about me that turns men into monsters."

"What are you talking about...Buffy? Is that what you think? That it's your fault that..."

"Look at Angel. I turned him into Angelus. Look at Riley. You're the one who showed me what I did to him. And the others, the others just...leave."

"Buffy, no. I never thought...I thought you expected me to act that way. Expected me to be a monster," he said, and realized how much that made it sound as if it was her fault. "It was my fault, Buffy. I acted like a git, strutting around, trying to get your attention...trying to force you to pay attention to me, the only way I knew how."

"Wait," she said, quietly. "It took both of us to screw things up. If I hadn't—"

"I shouldn't have pushed you, if you weren't ready."

"And I shouldn't have kissed you, if I wasn't."

Spike took a deep breath, still wondering how being bound to a chair had somehow, paradoxically, made him feel free enough to tell her the truth.

"Listen, Buffy. I've done terrible things to you. Unspeakable things," he looked down at the floor, for the first time tearing his eyes away from her. "I know it. I made mistakes...big ones. But they weren't about you. You didn't make me into that. That was me."

"You shouldn't—"

"Let me finish, this time," he said, and waited for her to defer to him. "I'm trying not to be that thing you knew me as, but I'm afraid you'll never be able to see it. I can't blame you, love. I'm trying to deserve you, but I'm not daft enough to think I ever really will...I suppose that's all I have to say."

"I do feel something for you, Spike."

A slow smile spread across his face, and he seemed to relax into the chair he was tied to.

"Then just stake me."

She looked at him, her eyes widened with shock.

"Wha—"

"Stake me before they mess with the chip. You and I both know they'll send me after you. I want you to dust me before they do it."

"But we'll stop them. Everyone's ready to—"

"Buffy...I can't let you risk yourself because you feel something for me. I won't."

"What are you going to do about it, all tied up like that?" she asked, walking slowly toward him.

"I'm not kidding around. I wouldn't say this lightly. It's a matter of life and death...literally. Just...do it quick, right?"

She reached him, kneeling in front of the chair to bring their faces level.

"I'd rather do this," she said, and leaned in to kiss him.

Spike gave in, just for a minute, savoring the feel of her mouth against his, but then he broke away.

"Buffy...what are you—"

"You wanted me to see you? I think I finally do."

"I don't think—"

"I'm not saying we still don't both have a long way to go," she said, seriously, and then smiled at him. "But when someone gives you what you've wanted, when I tell you I can see you...you...maybe there should be less arguing."

"This is very irresponsible, Slayer," he said, just before he bent his head toward hers and they kissed again.

Spike could stay here forever, kissing her. Every kiss they shared was different. Every change of angle, every unique way her lips touched his. And her hands, the way they graced his neck, slowly brushing down the length of his shoulder, and then back again.

She moved into his lap, her legs settling to the either side of his. She pressed against him, and was rewarded when he growled against her lips.

"You have terrible timing, pet. We shouldn't do this right now."

"You're right," she agreed, between kisses. "This all might go down, any second now." She kissed him again, longer and deeper, before they broke apart again.

"We should stop," he agreed, and then bit his lower lip as she arched against him.

"We should...we have to. Warren and his gang could show up any minute now. This is...this is serious," she said, as she pulled her blouse over her head. Her bra followed it, and his mouth closed over the tip of her breast, his tongue slowly circling her nipple.

She pushed her hips downward, grinding against him, and she could feel his body react beneath hers.

"Buffy, oh...this is killing me. I wish I could touch you."

She caught his jaw in her hands and brought his face to hers.

"We are touching. Can't you feel it?"

She drew him into one more kiss before she stood up, eliciting a whimper of protest from Spike. She slowly pulled down on the zipper along her hip, and then slid her pants and underwear down her legs until she could step out of them.

"You are...the most perfect creature...I can't..." he told her, hoping she could understand his meaning through his incoherent stammering. "Please...just let me look at you."

She stood, burning under his gaze, until she couldn't stand another second of his open admiration of her body. She moved toward him, kneeling in front of the chair when she reached him. She reached for the button and zipper of his jeans, and deftly undid them. Her hands slipped inside, finding what she was looking for, and she gently pulled him free.

"Oh god, Buffy, please," Spike said, straining uselessly against his bindings.

Buffy lowered her mouth to him, taking just the tip of him into her mouth. Spike's head fell back, his eyes closing in ecstacy.

She took him deeper into her mouth, letting her tongue play over him, learning him. She moved her head slowly, pulling him inside her, then letting him go.

"Buffy, we don't have," a gasp interrupted his sentence, and then he continued, "time, love."

She ran her tongue up the underside of him one last time before she let him go, and pulled herself onto his lap.

"I need you so much," he whispered against her ear.

"Spike," she began, uncertainly.

"Yes, love?"

"Can I try something out, even if I'm still not sure what it means?"

His brow furrowed as he wondered what she could mean.

"Anything, Buffy. Anything you need, if it's in my power to give it."

She pulled back, so she could look him directly in the eye. He gave her that look, the one she only recently had been able to understand. It was the look of complete devotion to her and her alone, and in it, she found the strength to say what she was thinking.

"I think," she paused, kissing him lightly, "I'm falling in love with you."

He drew in a deep, shaky breath.

"Don't say that, pet, unless you're sure you—"

She put her finger to his mouth to stop him.

"I've been pushing it away for awhile, now. I told you—I'm not sure what it means. Just...take it...for what it means to you."

"I'll never hurt you, Buffy. And I'll never leave you, not unless you ask me to," he said, the words rushing from him in a hurried but sincere confession.

Buffy shifted over him, tears welling in her eyes, and she kissed him as he entered her.

They pulled away from the kiss, letting their eyes lock as she started to move over him, moving slowly at first, and then faster.

"I don't deserve you," he said.

"I know," she said, smiling at him wickedly.

They chuckled, together, until their laughter died away and the only thing left in the world was the way they were joined together. She quickened the pace, circling her hips against him each time he filled her.

Their eyes remained together as she moved, faster and faster. Her hands dug into his shoulders, and he whispered her name.

He felt her, just about to go over the edge, and he watched her face as it overtook her, wave after wave of pleasure playing over her features. He held on as long as he could before following her, but finally had to give in when he heard his name escape her lips.

And then, all was still. There was nothing except the feel of her arms around his shoulders, her head slumped against his forehead, and the sound of her heart beating in her chest.

"Love," he said, when he felt he could bear to feel her pull herself away, "I think perhaps you should—"

"I know. I need to be ready when...when whatever happens, happens."

"Just don't let them&mdash"

"I won't. I promise," she said, and tore herself away from him.

And later, once Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew had been turned over to the police, Buffy and Spike shared one long, knowing look, before she returned home.