Buffy wondered what type of threats Giles was using on Spike and how badly Spike was provoking him in response. While she was fairly sure Giles wouldn't try to convince Spike to leave her at this point, she had no illusions that he wouldn't take the opportunity to let Spike know there would be penalties if he hurt her.

"Want to grab some dinner?" Xander asked. Willow had said good night a few minutes before, surprisingly not wanting to hang about and complaining of a headache. The others had disappeared shortly after Giles had carried Spike off, and the two of them were the only ones left.

"I'd have to check with Spike, see what he'd been thinking about." At the twist to Xander's face, she added, "You were thinking just us, weren't you?"

"I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you without everyone else aroundÉwithout him around. Buffy, tell me the truth: is this really what you want? Spike's been evil undead guy for a long time and a leopard doesn't easily change his spots. I know he got the soul and died to save us from the Hellmouth, but he still killed people after he got that soul and there's what he did to you in the bathÉ"

"Xander, if you say another word, I swear I'm going to walk out of here and never speak to you again. I love Spike. Deal with it.

"Deal with it? Is that all you have to say to me?"

"What do you want me to say? That I'm going to walk away from him because you don't like it? We've had this conversation before. I. Love. Spike. It took me a long time to get there and since I thought I'd never get a chance to try to make it work, I'm not going to throw it out the window now that I have it."

"Even though all your friends know it's wrong?"

"How do you know it's wrong? What information do you possess that tells you Buffy and Spike should not be together?"

Xander took a deep breath. "He's a vampire, for one thing."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Okay, how do you know he isn't going to turn on you?"

Willow wasn't going to be the only one with a headache at this point. "I don't want to do this. We're only going to end up mad at each other and say things we don't mean. I wish you were happy for me, but I'm not going to change my mind just because you don't like him. Xander, if I didn't date every guy you didn't want me to, I never would have dated anyone."

"That's not true. I thought Scott Hope was okay."

"Who dumped me just before Homecoming and then apparently spread the rumor I was gay."

Xander looked a bit sheepish. "I thought you hadn't heard about that."

"And you thought he was okay." Buffy sighed. "Look, Spike's going to try to get along; can't you?"

"What if I say no?"

Violence was not the answer, she knew, but she really did feel like slamming Xander's head against the table a few times to knock some sense into it. "What would you do if I don't approve of -- what's her name? -- Narissa? Are you going to stop seeing her?"

"We're not actually seeing each other yet."

"Okay, would you stop considering seeing her?"

"Of course not; but she's not a demon."

"Jokes aside, Xander, you don't have the best track record there."

"And you guys warned me and I should have paid attention. You tried to tell me the praying mantis lady was no good, but I didn't want to listen. If I had, well, you wouldn't have come to rescue meÉso you should listen to your friends."

Buffy threw her hands up into the air. "Fine. I'm listening. You don't like Spike and think I shouldn't be with him. I'm in love with him and don't want to give him up. Can we admit that we're never going to agree and give it a rest?"

"I just have your best interests at heart, Buffy."

"And you think I don't? Giles has told me why he didn't let me know Spike was alive; why did you? What possible reason could you have had to keep that secret from me?'

He stood his ground. "Because I didn't want to see you run off and make a fool of yourself by chasing after him. Because you were better off without him. If you don't want to see me anymore because of that, so be it. I've said my piece, though."

This was exactly why she hadn't wanted to come to London. "I don't think the question is if I still want to see you, I think it's whether or not you're still willing to see me if I'm with someone you don't like."

She tried to say it as non-confrontationally as possible, but Xander looked like he'd just been punched in his gut. "IÉI gotta go. See you in the morning."

He headed for the door, pushing past Spike as he left. Spike watched him go, then shrugged. "What's gotten into him?"

She tried to speak but felt her throat start to tighten. She wasn't sure what to say, how to explain to him that all her ties seemed to be raveling. It must shown on her face because he frowned and moved to gather her in his arms. "Bugger. What did the whelp say?"

Buffy balled a fist and thumped him on the chest. "Stop that. It's not helping."

He grimaced, his mouth screwed up like he wanted to say something. He didn't give voice to it, but wrapped his arms tighter around her, trying to offer comfort that way. Buffy hung on, glad she could bury her face in his chest and inhale the familiar smells of leather, soap and earth mixed with a tang of vamp dust. She wasn't quite certain when those had come to mean home for her, but she knew it was here in the circle of his arms that she felt safest.

They stood like that for quite some time, just holding on to one another. She couldn't understand why Xander would want her to give this up, why he couldn't understand that after a long road this was what made her happy. At last, Spike kissed her on the forehead. "Let's go, luv. At the very least, we should get some food into you."

Buffy managed a smile. "Not the evening you planned is it? I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You've got nothing to be sorry about; it's them that should apologize for causing you the upset."

They left the conference room, arms wrapped around each other's waist. For all his talk and snark, she was learning there were moments when he could be amazingly silent and stillÉand that he seemed to know when she needed him to be that way.

"I thought the two of you were gone," Giles said as they arrived at the elevators at the same time as he did, then frowned as he looked at Buffy. "Is anything wrong?"

Buffy started to shake her head, but Spike growled, "Harris."

Giles nodded as if he understood and let them enter the elevator first as the doors opened. "You must have suspected that would happen, Buffy. Xander's never made a secret of his feelings about Spike."

"Or Angel or Riley. I'm just tired of it, Giles. I'm tired of hiding and apologizing andÉI'm just tired."

The elevator began to descend and Buffy leaned back against Spike. Part of her was waiting for Giles to impart some wisdomÉand part was hoping he'd just stay quiet and not offer any defense for Xander's behavior.

He took the later course and once they reached the ground floor, the three made their way through the lobby in silence. At least Giles seemed to have taken the attitude of tolerating Spike and despite a conversation that must have centered on her, Spike seemed relatively at ease with her watcher.

No, not her watcher anymore. Giles had made that very clear at the outset of this new Council that she was an adult and was to be treated as such. Now it was time for her to mentor other slayers, something she hadn't been willing to do for almost a year after Sunnydale's collapse. She'd gone a little crazy then, reaching out to grab at all the things she hadn't gotten a chance to enjoy with both hands. It was actually a bit embarrassing to remember and she was grateful Spike had never inquired too closely into what she'd done immediately after settling in Rome.

Spike held the door to the street open for her, one hand resting at the small of her back as she passed through. Ironic that her friends hadn't said "boo" while she'd partied her way through Rome, yet raised a fit when she was ready to settle into something more serious.

The three of them stood on the sidewalk outside the building as if they were caught betwixt and between. She could feel her stomach growling and knew she did need something to eat even if her more immediate appetites had dimmed slightly. Still, she found herself not speaking, wondering how she and Spike could gracefully make their escape.

As if he'd been thinking the same thing, Giles nodded and bid them good night, turning away to head down the street. After only a few steps, though, he turned back. "Buffy, it's clear you've made your decision; Xander needs to make his. I can't guarantee the outcome, but you need to stand by the choice you've made and not try to tie yourself into knots trying to please everyone. If you do, you won't make anyone happy, least of all yourself."

With that he did say goodnight and moved quickly away, leaving her and Spike standing there. "Rupert's a good man," Spike said quietly, "even if he does act like he has a stick up his ass most of the time."

"Have I told you you're a pig today, Spike?" Buffy didn't take her eyes from Giles' rapidly disappearing back.

"No." He kissed the top of her head. "Why don't you do that over dinner?"

It was a quiet meal in the local equivalent of a diner as the meeting had gone so long most everywhere else was closed. Buffy ordered a large salad with chicken and some tea while Spike asked for a plate of chips and grudgingly accepted tea himself when told the place didn't have a license for spirits. "Bloody country's going to hell," he groused.

Buffy couldn't help smiling. "And how long have you been saying that?"

"Well, the place hasn't been the same since old Vicky died." He traced a pattern on the formica tabletop with his finger. "Giles and I had an interesting chat."

"Of the 'stay away from Buffy or else' kind?"

"Well, there was a hint of that, though it was more 'you don't want to know what I'll do to you if you hurt her' than anything else. No, he actually wanted to make me a proposition. Seems that from somewhere he got the bright idea that I should be hired on as a freelance researcher to help you, what with Dawn heading off to Florence and all that."

"You? A member of the Council?"

Spike snorted. "Hardly. I'd just be the hired help under your command. It's a pre-emptive strike to keep the rest of the wankers from trying to force one of their own down your throat. I'm afraid they're not taking the news of us very well either."

"I didn't expect they wouldÉbut, a researcher?"

"He doesn't want you saddled with someone you can't stand. This is his way of helping. I have to admit I like the idea of the Council paying for my blood and beer. You know I can handle probably ninety percent of everything we're going to deal with and if I can't, we'll call in Giles."

It sounded like a good plan, though Buffy had to wonder if Giles could pull it off. A year ago, she would have unhesitatingly said yes; as some of the surviving members of the old order became more comfortable in their positions, however, she'd noticed hints of growing opposition. "I hope you're rightÉI guess Giles isn't happy with us at the moment."

"Not happy with me and the same level of annoyance with you as whenever you ignore what he wants you to do. And the others might not be happy about us being out in the open, but it would have been worse if they'd found out accidentally."

The phrase, "your evil, undead, blood-sucking boyfriend," which was the phrase Xander had used that morning, was hardly what Buffy would have called a discreet way of announcing her relationship. "I suppose you're right," she said, poking at the last bits of her salad. "What we're doing -- training the slayers -- that's important, but I really prefer to deal with most of the Council as little as possible. Especially Havers. He's convinced that he knows what's best and I'm surprised he hasn'tÉ"

She slowed as a horrible idea occurred to her. "He's volunteered to come to Rome, hasn't he? Oh, god. I'd kill him in a month."

"Which is why Giles filled the position. No need of a watcher, and there's no available mystic at the moment, so we don't have to worry about one of them attaching themselves to us."

Buffy couldn't help but feel a bit guilty because there was a mystic who wanted to attach themselves. Hopefully Giles would have come up with something by the morning. She really wanted Willow settled in a new position without either Spike or Dawn knowing she'd given in to the pleadings.

Not wanting to dwell on those thoughts which were increasingly encroaching on her consciousness, Buffy leaned forward and gave Spike a smile. "So why don't we go celebrate your new position with a little dancing?"

It was always amazing how fast he could pay the check when she made that suggestion.

On to Part Seven

Back to Part Five