"Hi, Giles? It's me."
"Buffy?"
"Got it in one. We have a small problem on our hands. Could you run by our room to pick up me and Will?"
"Um. How small a problem? On your hands? Do you need soap?"
"Did I wake you up? Sorry."
Sigh.
"I'll be there."
"Thanks. We'll see you in a minute. You might want to call Xander and Anya. Have them wait at your place."
Silence.
"Giles?"
"I have refreshments."
"'Kay. Bye"
Buffy put down the handset, and turned to look into the face of a grinning Willow. "Was he still half asleep?" she asked, having overheard the conversation. Buffy rolled her eyes. "Try fully asleep." Both heads turned to look at the vampire. Willow looked uncomfortable. Buffy sensed her discomfort. "What's up Will?" Willow turned to face Buffy. "Well, her!" she said, pointing to the girl. "Not literally. Obviously. But she's a vampire, and she came asking you for help. She knew that you were the Slayer." Willow waved her hands around. "And Slayers kill vampires! Except for Angel. And more recently Spike." She noticed the warning look in Buffy's eyes. "Only because he's impotent, to use a Giles-ism. Something isn't right here." Willow finished, studying her friend's face. Buffy looked from the vampire to the red-head. She shrugged. ***** Giles pulled up to the girls' block on campus. He parked his car, and jumped out of the door. He wondered what Buffy had in store for them this time. < Let's just hope it isn't another new boyfriend. > He sprinted up the steps two at a time. < Well at least she's telling me things again. > Giles was well aware that the gang had drifted apart since college started. He was mostly worried that Buffy would leave him behind as she grew up. < No fear of that, Giles old boy. She needs you, for now. I wonder if it's as much as you need her. > He reached their door. "Giles. Thank goodness you're here." Buffy spoke quickly, leading Giles to show him the vampire girl. "We've got one very sick vamp on the bed. She came here asking me for help. I think she's unconscious." Giles pulled off his glasses and looked worriedly at the prone form on the bed. "I think you're spot on. I'll need some help getting her into my car. Xander and Anya are on their way." Giles and Buffy carried the vampire while Willow ran ahead to keep lookout. "The coast's clear. Bring her through." Willow stage-whispered to Buffy and Giles. The vampire safely on the backseat with Willow, they drove back to Giles house. ***** "How much longer can they be?" Spike muttered to himself, squatting by Giles' window. "I mean, I know he's got a crap car, but this is fucking ridiculous." A light flashed on in the house. Spike sat up, and looked tentatively through the glass, before groaning and sliding back against the wall. It was just Xander and Anya. "I don't see why they needed us to come. I would have thought they could cope well on their own." Anya said irritably. Xander looked annoyed. "They're only my best friends. I mean, why would they possibly want me to come?" he said sarcastically. "Exactly my point. It's not as if you've got some sort of 'special' power, is it? I mean, Giles was a Watcher, Buffy is the Slayer, Willow is a witch, Spike is a vampire, I'm an ex-demon. What are you?" Anya replied seriously. "I'm…a valuable member of the team, as a…spirits-keeper-upper. You know, I laugh, I joke, I quip. Anyway, Spike doesn't count." Xander walked over to the sofa, visibly hurt. Anya started to walk over to him, when the door slammed open. In ran Willow. Spike watched the events inside with something approaching curiosity. "Hey Xander, Anya. Help me clear the table will you? We've got a sort of vamp casualty on our hands." Anya moved to help while Xander stared on in disbelief. "What, are we turning into a refuge for evil creatures of the night? Kids, remember, a vampire ain't just for Christmas.." Willow interrupted, "Or Hanukkah." Xander looked at her. "Okay, or Hanukkah, it's for life." Buffy and Giles came in, carrying the pretty vampire. Xander gave a low whistle. "She's cut up pretty bad. That arms a mess." Buffy flashed him a quick smile. "See you haven't lost your gift for stating the obvious." Xander got a closer look. "What's with the whole leather fixation? Why do all vampires wear it? Is it some kinda code?" He plucked at the vamp's leather jacket. His hand came away covered in dark blood. "Euugh." Giles turned to his medicine cupboard and threw Buffy some swabs, alcohol, plasters and bandages. Willow and Buffy tended to the cuts on the vamp's face, while Xander looked at her arm. "Hey Giles. Could do with some help here man. There's like some icky bone and stuff showing." Giles came into the room. "I wouldn't worry about it too much," he stared staring at the damage to the vamp's arm. "Vampires can, and do heal in a relatively fast amount of time compared to humans. What we really need is another vampire, to help gauge the extent of the damage." Spike perked up. < Time for my entrance. > He took a deep breath, and walked through the door, eager to see what the vamp looked like. She had been blocked from view by the ever infuriating Giles. < That poof thinks he knows it all. Well, he's wrong. He underestimates me every time. > Spike swaggered as he walked over to the table. The only person in the room that he had any respect for was Buffy. < And I hope she never bloody finds out. > ***** "What exciting event has enraptured the little Slayer and Co today? Have they finally worked out how to operate the television? Maybe it's something big, like a scary spider? Never fear, Spike's here." he called as he crossed the room. < I still can't see it. > Giles stepped in front of him. "What's the deal? What makes you think that you can stop me?" Spike smirked at the man blocking his way. Giles smiled. "Just try and make me move Spike." Spike took a step forward. "Okay." He made as if to hit Giles, then recoiled sharply back. "OW! That bloody kills!" he yelled, clutching his hands to his head, writhing in pain for the second time that night. Giles stepped over to him. "Right Spike, what do you want? Why are you here?" Spike looked up at him, rolled his eyes and thought frantically for an explanation. "I…erm…some-one stole my dinner. I thought it might have been one of you idiots pratting around, so I came here. I'm starving." Giles looked Spike up and down, then sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his forehead. "Alright," he groaned, "There's some blood left over from when you were here last. Second shelf in the fridge." Spike allowed himself an inward smile. Now not only would he get a closer look at the vamp, he could grab a free meal. He walked towards the table. "What have we got here then?" Buffy glared up at him. "Go and get your blood," she retorted, "then get out." Spike bent down for a closer look. "Don't you love her when she's angry…" he started speaking then stopped mid-sentence. "Spike?" Buffy stared at him. "This is too good to be true. Don't tell me you're speechless?" Spike was staring at the vamp as though he'd just seen a ghost. He cleared his throat. "So, do you want a vampire's opinion on those wounds?" he said, blinking, and looking everywhere but the vamp. Willow exchanged a look with Buffy and Xander. "Well, if you're offering to help.." she started amusedly. Spike glared at her. "I might as well make myself useful. That arm needs a potion. Get the witch to knock up Athena's Healing Bind, Third Class. If you disinfect the other cuts she'll be alright by tomorrow." Giles interrupted. "I thought all of a vampire's wounds healed without intervention?" Spike glanced back at the vampire. "Some wounds never heal." The vamp started to stir, and moved her head. Spike looked worried. "I better be going." He ran off, without a backwards glance. "What about the blood?" Giles called after him. Too late, he was gone. Xander was the first to voice his opinion. "A reaction like that from Spike can only mean one thing. This vampire's big trouble." Buffy shook her head. "I don't think so. She came asking me for help." Willow leaned over and moved the vamp's jacket to one side. "Maybe it was this that he was scared of." She held up a pendant hanging from a chain. However, this was no ordinary bauble. All five of them stared into the pendant's mysterious depths. It was filled with a black intensely evil and yet enticing, inviting. Buffy shuddered, breaking the silence. Wordlessly, Giles removed the necklace, and Willow went to the magic store. ***** Spike ran for a few streets, then slowed as he approached the cemetery. < That was close. Too close. She might have seen me, and it was too soon. Maybe I can just stay in my tomb and I won't have to see her, or speak to her. I can go back to forgetting everything that's happened. > He nodded, confirming the plan. < After all, it has been a hundred years. She may not even remember me. > That thought hurt. Spike shook his head. She must remember those days, back when they ran with Angelus. Otherwise she wouldn't have come here. She must be looking for Angel, he decided. "Angel, not Angelus." He snorted in contempt, then turned on his heel and entered the tomb. ***** "Will, are you sure that you know what you're doing?" Xander asked quizzically. Willow glowered at him. "I've done this spell a million times. It just doesn't seem to want to work. Hold on. There. See?" She exclaimed triumphantly as the vampire's arm started to knit together, then became whole. Xander blinked. "Impressive. What's even more impressive is that Spike gave us the name of the right spell." Buffy looked at Xander. "You're right. We'll certainly have a load of questions to ask her when she wakes up." Riley stared at the vampire. He'd arrived a few minutes ago, at Buffy's request. < She looks so peaceful. But I bet she wouldn't think twice about killing any one of us. > Giles came into the room, carrying several piles of old books. "What else do we know about her, other than she's a vampire and appears to own this rather disgusting pendant?" Buffy smiled at him as she tried to remember something. "Her accent. It was English! Not like yours though, more like Spike's. She knew that I was the Slayer. Can you remember anything else Will?" Willow frowned. "Well, for a badly hurt vamp, she still managed to jump through our window. So I'm guessing she's pretty strong." Xander hastily moved away from the table, disturbing a pile of papers. The others looked at him. "What?" he asked them. While they carried on searching through the books, something caught his eye. He stared hard at one of the sheets of paper, but couldn't decide what was so unusual about it. He shrugged and kicked the whole pile under the sofa. Stephanie stirred. Her arm felt much better. She tensed her muscles, ready to fight if necessary. < I'm always ready to fight. Ready and willing. > Her eyes snapped open, and she managed to take in everything quickly. She was lying on a table in someone's sitting room. To her left there was a young man with black hair, gawking at her, and a taller man with sand colored hair. Behind her was the Slayer, her red-head friend and an older man. Presumably the Slayer's Watcher. Another girl walked over to the black-haired man. This one was different. She smelt like a demon, but she wasn't one. Stephanie sprang lightly to her feet, executed a front flip off the table and ended up facing the Slayer. "I'm Stephanie." The group tensed as Buffy stepped forward. "Buffy." Stephanie's eyes widened. Then they narrowed, and she spat on the floor. "Buffy? You're Elizabeth Summers?" The Slayer nodded, bemused. "The you're the one who's responsible for this!" The vampire slammed Giles' wall, then lunged at Buffy. The Slayer was ready. She delivered a swift roundhouse kick to Stephanie's midriff. Stephanie buckled, then grabbed Buffy's arm as she swung it forward for a punch. Buffy shook Stephanie off, and tried to kick at her legs and knock her over. Stephanie stumbled, swiping at Buffy. The Slayer easily dodged the attacks. They both flew apart. Then the vampire fell to her knees, exhausted. A few blood red tears slid down her cheek. Buffy offered her hand. The vampire snarled, and pushed her way through the others. She disappeared into Giles' bathroom and slammed the door. A shocked silence momentarily fell over the group. "So, Giles, what do you think? Recognise her?" Xander asked. Giles stared at him. "Just because I happen to be English doesn't mean I know everyone from England. As a matter of fact, now I have a name to go on I'll try and find some more information on her." Buffy nodded. Willow tried a hesitant smile. "So much for the whole 'we can trust her, she asked for help' thing, huh?" They all turned as the door opened. Stephanie walked in and stood defiantly by the door. Xander noticed a tiny silver scar on the left side of her forehead. Buffy walked over to her. Before she could help it, a brief flash of anger crossed the vampire's face. Inwardly Buffy smiled. < Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Mostly for her. > "So, would you care to explain that little display?" Buffy asked, her eyes never moving from Stephanie's. The vampire snorted. "I don't owe you anything." She paused. "But you owe me everything." Buffy looked puzzled. Stephanie allowed her mouth to turn, ever so slightly, into a sneer. Giles spoke up. "What exactly is everything?" Stephanie fixed her piercing gaze on him. "Everything? To vampires? The answer would be blood." She paused, and glanced at the ring on her finger, before speaking again. "Blood and death. That's what's been taken from me." Her eyes dropped. "Among other things." Xander raised his hand. "I have two small but important questions. Why are you here? Who are you?" Stephanie flashed them all a sly grin, that reminded Buffy of Spike. < Let's hope she isn't as annoying. > "You mean Angelus never talked about me?" she asked innocently. Buffy tensed up. < Definitely a fore-runner in the Most-Annoying Vampire Awards. > "No. He never said a thing to me." Buffy grinned as she spoke, though the smile didn't reach her eyes. Stephanie shook her head slowly. "I'm not talking about the poof that is Angel. I'm talking about Angelus." She emphasized the 'us' sound at the end, turning it into a hiss. "My sire, Angelus." Giles sat down. "Well, you have our attention. Please continue." Stephanie twisted a ring on her finger. Buffy found her eyes drawn to it, more the action than the ring itself. Stephanie started to move it round slowly, steadily. "I was a street brat. Progressed to street thief, then murderer. I was good at it. And for the street brats it was a choice of killing or whoring." The ring stopped. "Killing seemed cleaner." She began twisting it again. "Beware those beasts that lurk in the night. I'd like to say my mother told me that, but I never had one. They were actually the last words I heard as a human. Guess who said them? Got it in one. Angelus." The ring slowed. "I woke up and I wasn't all me. I was half of me. The other half had done me a favor by pissing off. I'd never really cared for my conscience." Faster now, until it looked painful. "Went back to murdering, only this time round it was fun. I was never lonely." She stared at them all. "Do any of you know what it's like to be lonely. Really lonely? To be completely isolated?" She clasped her hands together, the knuckles whitening. "I do. It's fucking horrible. Shunned by my own kind. I mean, when the bastard got his soul back, at least he didn't want to be a vampire anymore. I didn't even have a choice." Her eyes looked wistful. "It was hard to see them all. Eating and drinking and having fun and knowing. Knowing that if I tried to go back, they'd kill me. Dust." Stephanie's hands flew apart violently. "You know why? Why I suffered all of this? Because it was my fucking destiny to help some bloody Slayer. I was caught by the Watcher's council and defanged. I can't kill humans, haven't been able to for over 100 years. I had to give up my life and my family. To prepare me to help one Elizabeth Anne Summers. You." she said, pointing at Buffy." She spread her hands wide. "So here I am. I'm helping you whether you like it or not. Oh yeah. I've got something for you." Her hand flew to her neck. The cool composure rippled. "Where is it?" Giles held the necklace up wordlessly. Stephanie shrugged. "That's for you guys." Buffy stood up. "One more question. This may sound dumb, but do you have a soul?" Stephanie laughed. "No way. That's just me. I make my own soul." Giles gestured to the door. "Buffy, why don't you and Willow familiarize Stephanie with Sunnydale?" Stephanie looked annoyed at the idea, but Buffy proceeded to threaten her. She complied. The three young women < Well, two young women and one 218 year old. > left together. Xander and Anya also disappeared.< Probably to Xander's basement. > Giles inwardly groaned at the thought. He was quite unaware of Riley standing behind him. Riley coughed. Giles spun round. "Riley. You're still here. What would you like?" < It's not that I dislike the boy. I couldn't dislike anyone as much as I do…did Angel. He's just so damn…solid. > Riley shuffled his feet. "Actually I was wondering if I could make an observation about Buffy." Giles prompted him. "Go on." Riley looked him straight in the eye. "Why does she like vampires so much? She was in love with this Angel, I've seen a Hostile at your house, Spike or whatever, and now this? I don't get it." Giles sighed. < Maybe you never will. > "In the course of slaying, a Slayer gets to know a wide range of demons. Not all of them are bad. Unless you've actually become close to one, then you can't imagine how. Angel, for instance, has a soul. Stephanie has explained herself and Spike.." Giles thought for a moment. "I can't really explain Spike." ***** Spike had fallen into an uneasy sleep, brought on by hunger. He stirred as he heard voices nearing the tomb. Outside, the three girls talked sparingly. Buffy looked at Stephanie thoughtfully. < She's pretty sharp. A little too sharp. Sharper than me? I don't think so. Leaning towards sharp on the edge of annoyance. Oh well, annoying is as annoying does. Having made that observation, she'd get on well with Spike. They both have that evil outlook on life. I wonder if she knew him? Maybe she left before he met Angel. Angelus. Evil version. Grrr. > Stephanie raised her head. They were standing outside a tomb. < Something familiar. Something I know. > She sniffed the air and frowned. "I…I…need to go in there." Willow gave her a questioning glance. Stephanie turned. "I need to know something." She crossed the grass and tentatively touched the door. Buffy and Willow looked at each other and shrugged. Stephanie took a deep breath, then pushed the door. On the other side, Spike pulled. Hard. She stumbled and knocked him over. They lay sprawled together on the floor. Buffy ran in. "Are you okay Stephanie?" she asked, staring. Neither vamp was paying her or Willow any attention. Their eyes locked, they stood at the same time. Steel blue met ice blue. Spike helped Stephanie up, holding her arm for a few seconds longer than necessary. They both brushed the dust away from their clothing. Spike licked his dry lips. Stephanie's breath choked in her throat. Finally, she spoke. "Spike." He held her gaze. "Steph." < Shit. > < Shit. > Buffy looked bewildered. "Have I just interrupted a meeting of the monosyllabic club? I thought Oz was the only member." Stephanie walked towards Buffy. "I didn't expect…I wouldn't have come.. I shouldn't have.." She dropped her gaze and walked away from the tomb. She went to sit on a nearby gravestone. Buffy waved a hand in front of Spike's eyes. He stepped back. "Go away Slayer." Buffy followed him. "Would you care to explain the angst?" she said angrily. Spike turned. "We knew each other, a long time ago." He shook his head then rolled his eyes. "Why am I telling you this? I don't owe you an explanation. Fuck off." Buffy stared at him, then walked out. Willow was sitting beside Stephanie. She hadn't said a word. "I think we should take her back to Xander's for the night. He won't mind putting her up." Buffy nodded. "You take her back. I want to talk to Giles." ***** "I'm telling you Giles, the electricity in that room was high voltage. They have some kind of history." Giles looked hard at Buffy. She carried on, noting the look. "I'm not being nosy. You should have seen how she reacted. If that's going to happen every-time they see each other, I want to know why." Giles signed for her to stop. "She obviously feels uncomfortable around him because he knew her when she was bad. I've been doing my research and she was every bit as evil as Angelus. I'm no expert on vampiric psychology, but she may well feel like she's betrayed Spike. Maybe he was a friend." He glanced at Buffy. She still looked unsatisfied. Giles cleared his throat. "I'm sure she'll get over it. Goodnight Buffy." Buffy gave him a half wave. "Bye." ***** Stephanie lay on Xander's sofa, wide awake. He hadn't changed. The hair was a bit different. She liked it. The eyes were the same though. Hard and cool and cynical. She should know, they were so like her own. Part of her felt like punching him, the other part wanted to turn back the clock. Wanted him to hold her and stroke her hair. She turned over and tried to sleep. Spike was out walking. He had nowhere to go and he couldn't sleep. "Of all the bloody luck, she had to want to see my tomb. Jesus wept." < Still, she was in good health. The arm I held on to was fully healed. The witch did a good job. > The blue eyes were just as bright as he remembered. He'd almost expected the smirk that often followBuffy walked hesitantly into the library. The forcefield had released them upon the destruction of the necklace. She waited for a moment, expecting to hear Spike's cocky shout, Stephanie's sarcastic drawl.
Nothing.
"Spike? Stephanie?"
She picked her way over shattered wood, while the others remained at the entrance.
Dust.
There was a small, sad pile of vampiric dust on the floor. Buffy took a deep breath. Somehow she knew that it belonged to either Spike or Stephanie. < Oh boy. >
She saw a dark shape lying on the floor. It was Stephanie.
Buffy felt her skin. "She's really cold," she yelled back to the others.
"My hands are cold." said the vampire. Her voice was cracked, choked with tears. "My feet are cold," she continued, "my entire body is…" She turned to look at Buffy. Her cheeks were red with tears. "Cold." Buffy spoke gently, although she already knew the answer to the question. Stephanie was curled around his duster. "Where's Spike?" "He can't feel the cold anymore." She started to cry again, and Buffy felt a pang of remorse over her mortal enemy's death. < Never friends. Not yet, anyway. > The vampire used all her strength to face the Slayer. "Slayer. Please help me." Her eyes were so pleading, her voice just a whisper. Buffy held Stephanie's poor, broken body closely to her, and used a stake the vampire had been clutching to do the deed. Dust. Something clattered to the floor. < Her ring. Blood and love. > Buffy slid the ring on to her own finger, wrapped the duster around her shoulders. It smelt of blood, cigarettes and perfume. < It smells of them. > And as a single drop of salt-water trailed down the Slayer's face, she left the ashes of the vampires in the school. Together, they were everything.