It had been, as far as Spike was concerned, a most satisfying evening. Finding himself actually inside the sacred precincts of the Council was not a highlight, but he'd enjoyed a good spot of violence and Buffy had shown no hesitation in showing affection towards him around other people. He hadn't wanted to admit that had been a worry niggling at the back of his brain when they'd decided to come to London and go public with their relationship; in the space of three short months, he'd grown very comfortable with being able to touch her without worrying she'd pull away. Oh, there had been one or two times when he'd been a bit too affectionate in public and had his hand slapped for his pains, but he'd known he was pushing the edge of the envelope on those occasions.

He really did long to be back in Rome, sitting in the garden under the stars, Buffy leaning against him as the rest of their little household chattered as girls were wont to do. Spike had not had much use for the constantly-underfoot potentials in Sunnydale, caught up in his personal struggle with the First and Buffy, but he was beginning to feel just a wee bit parental toward the eight slayers in Buffy's charge...though he'd deny it if he was asked.

Instead, he was slumped in a chair, ignoring the nasty looks being thrown him from some of Giles' minions as the group argued about whether or not they should deal with the rather obvious fact that not all of the girls who had received slayer abilities were necessarily suited to the task. Buffy had been grappling with that herself, worrying about Lucretia every time she took her out on slayer-related business. Not surprisingly, the watchers felt the girls should do their duty no matter the consequences; it was a view not shared by Giles, Buffy or Faith and they were being vocal about it.

Spike hadn't really thought about the new, supposedly-improved Council at all, none of the brief contacts he'd had with it encouraging further exploration. It hadn't been a topic of conversation since he'd come to Rome, Buffy seeming to prefer to ignore that aspect of her life. He should have known they'd intrude into the quiet little existence he'd been enjoying sooner or later.

He sighed and shifted, wondering why he'd agreed to come along and how soon they could get out of there when he became aware that everyone was looking at him. "What?"

"Buffy suggested that you might have something to add to the discussion about why some of these girls shouldn't be sent out in the field." Giles sounded a bit resigned. "From your unique perspective."

Damn. He hadn't been listening to a word that'd been said and now he needed make some intelligent comment. "Um" wouldn't cut it and what could he say that wouldn't lead to one of these wankers trying to lunge across the table and summarily stake him? Okay, they probably couldn't make it across the table, but it'd be inconvenient.

Buffy was watching him nervously, though, and he had to wonder if she'd been defending his right to be here. If she had been, he didn't want to embarrass her; he might think them wankers, but what the Council was doing now was important to Buffy.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to speak from his "unique" perspective. "If you send a slayer who's not ready out into the field, all you're doing is providing a meal for some vampire and the opportunity for bragging rights. Killing a slayer is still considered a mark of prestige, even if there are more of them in the world than there used to be."

He could tell the words didn't sit well with some of them and that surprisingly made things easier. It probably didn't sit well because they didn't actually want to hear it. "A girl who's scared to death -- I mean seriously scared of what she's doing -- is either going to freeze, which might get both her or her teammates hurt or killed, or they're going to develop their death wish much quicker than usual because they just want it to be over with."

That touched a nerve; he could see it in the way the watchers shifted in their chairs and didn't look at him. "I've heard that theory before," one man ventured as he bristled defensively, "but there's been nothing to prove it."

"Except that I've seen it," Spike said quietly. "More than once."

He glanced down the table at Wood, who was watching him with an unreadable expression. Probably a good thing the man was in Asia and he was in Italy; Spike might be at peace with his part in the death of Nikki Wood, but her son would never be.

To his surprise, Wood looked away to address the others. "He knows what he's talking about. The fighting, the running, going out night after night...it wore on Mama. Wore her down to the point where she wasn't strong enough to win against a vampire whom she should have easily dusted. If we have girls we know aren't going to cut it, we need to not send them to their deaths."

This time, there were some grumbles but no actual arguments, which Giles took advantage of to adjourn the meeting. People started to scatter and Spike levered himself out of his chair, more than ready to get out of there. Perhaps he and Buffy could grab a late supper and do some dancing if she felt like it before retiring back to the hotel. If they'd been free to go once their bit in the cemetery had been done, he knew she would have enjoyed burning a little energy before turning in...though she might have wanted to turn in immediately with no argument from him.

During the meeting, though, he'd watched her begin to draw in on herself several times, clearly not thrilled with the arguments and discussion. They might try to present a unified face, but it was clear things weren't running completely smoothly and there were those who chafed a little under Giles' leadership. Much as he hated to admit it, he knew his presence wasn't helping and it'd be best if he laid low for the rest of the trip. It wasn't that he was afraid of the little pissants or didn't want to offend them; he just wanted to make life easier for Buffy.

He was about to ask her what she wanted to do when Giles was at his side. "If I could have a word, Spike?"

Realizing this was exactly why he'd been asked to come along, Spike reached out to touch Buffy on the arm. "Old Rupert wants a word with me, luv. I'll be right back."

She smiled at him, reaching out to give his hand a quick squeeze. It was hard to walk away from that, but he followed Giles out of the conference room and into his private office. Like most of the facilities, it was posh but not ostentatiously so, offering two chairs and a couch in addition to Giles' desk. "That was quite a display you put on tonight," Giles said as he closed the door. "If anyone had any doubt that you and Buffy were an item, that's certainly put to rest now."

Why was he not surprised they were about to have this conversation? "You would prefer we kept it secret?"

"I would prefer the two of you weren't together at all," Giles snapped. "However, it's been made quite clear to me that this is Buffy's decision and that what I have to say really doesn't have much bearing on the matter. What I want is for her to be happy."

"Same thing I want for her and if you're about to go fatherly on me, I can promise you my intentions are honorable."

The look in Giles' eye was enough to have Spike scanning the surrounding area to make certain that was nothing that could be used as a stake. "Don't get glib with me. You've likely caused Buffy enormous trouble tonight; there are a great many people here who are not at all pleased with the idea that she's with you. They consider it an aberration if not an obscenity and there will be repercussions. We're still trying to find our way and there are those who'd be more than happy to seize the chance to go back to what the Council was."

"Which you don't want."

"Which I don't want." Giles sank into a chair and motioned for Spike to sit. "Stop hovering. I can't talk to you if you hover."

Spike took a seat on the couch, perched on the edge of the cushion because he couldn't quite relax. "I'm about to make you an offer," Giles said, "and I'd like you to seriously consider it before rejecting the idea. With Dawn ready to go off to university, Buffy is going to need a researcher to help cover what Dawn was doing. I'd like you to do it."

"I'm not joining the Council," was the first thing out of Spike's mouth. If Giles was about to give him a "work from inside speech," he'd walk out the door. Angel had tried that and it'd merely led to misery and death.

"I'm not asking you to become a watcher. I seriously doubt the others would accept you as one, anyway. What I am asking is that you consider coming on as a freelance researcher, hired to assist Buffy, thus freeing up a watcher to go elsewhere."

Spike let the words sink in. "You're saying they want to send someone to Rome to act as Buffy's watcher."

Giles nodded. "The idea is ridiculous, of course. Buffy acts as watcher to the girls in her charge, so the idea that she would want or need one is simply certain factions trying to exert control. Havers has already volunteered."

Spike didn't know which one Havers was, but clearly the man was a git. "So you want me there to pick up the slack, make certain they don't have an excuse to send anyone. What makes you think this Havers will buy that."

"I'm going to try to send him to Sri Lanka to replace David Starkey. He's the watcher the Youngar demon you were chasing killed."

"And if they wouldn't accept me as a watcher and don't like the idea of me being with Buffy, what makes you think they'd be willing to put with the idea of me as her researcher?"

"Oh, they won't like it, but the idea is far more palatable than the others and it gives me an excuse to keep them away from her, which we both know will make Buffy much happier." Giles paused. "You do know Latin, don't you?"

Knowing he was about to blow his reputation as the ill-educated street tough, which he imagined Giles had dismissed some time ago, Spike nodded. "Latin, Greek, Italian, French, Polish, a smattering of German and Spanish...plus bits and pieces of various demon languages like Fyarl. Haven't actually made a serious study of those."

"The demon languages are the key; that's the excuse I'm going to use. Will you do it?"

It didn't actually take much thought. He didn't want anyone from the Council joining them any more than Buffy did. "I'm your man."

"Good. There will some papers for you to sign, of course...do we need to get you some identification, make you exist in the system?"

Spike smiled. "I already do, courtesy Angel. Got us both papers while we were with the evil lawyers. Even got a passport all properly stamped, British, too, not American. Can I get back to Buffy now?"

Giles nodded and Spike levered himself off the couch. It wasn't exactly the conversation he expected, which was probably all for the good in some ways. Maybe Giles was simply bowing to the inevitable.

That was disproved before he reached the door. "Spike, I don't think it will surprise you to learn I have my doubts this relationship between you and Buffy can work."

Spike had to laugh. "It would surprise me if you didn't. You've never made a secret of how you felt. Just promise me that this time you'll have the courtesy to try to kill me to my face instead of a stake in the back."

"Actually, I hope that the two you do succeed, if only for the sake of Buffy's happiness. However, if things should fall apart..."

"You'll make my life a living hell before you stake me. I know."

Giles didn't move from his chair. "I won't stake you, Spike. You'll simply wish I had."

On to Part Six

Back to Part Four