Latter Days by Enigmaticblue

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Chapter 10: Bath, England

“…We had three days after we got back from Osmotherley before Giles came up with another emergency. I know his intention isn’t to split us up, but that’s not what it feels like. It’s one thing after another, and Giles keep telling us that we’re the best people for the job…” ~Excerpt from an email from Buffy Summers to Xander Harris

“It’s not fair,” Buffy muttered, throwing her clothes in her bag. “At least we could go together.”

Spike watched her silently, his forearms resting on the back of the chair he’d spun around to sit on when he came in. She turned to glare at him. “Well?”

“Well what, luv?” he asked. “We talked about this. Two emergencies means two people to deal with them.”

Buffy stared at him. “You know, if you’re not happy being with me, you could just say it.”

“I could, if that’s how I felt,” Spike responded, his tone sharp. “You were the one who was always going on about your sacred duty, an’ now that we’ve both got one, you’re the one complaining that I’m takin’ mine seriously.”

She flushed and sank down on the bed. “I’m sorry, Spike. It’s—I just found you again; I don’t want to lose you.”

“You’re not goin’ to lose me, Buffy.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I don’t know that I won’t lose you again.”

He had a point. They were probably the only two people on the planet who had watched the other die, only to see them alive again. “Yeah.”

Spike rose from his chair, coming over to squeeze her shoulders. “We have our jobs to do, pet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be together. We’re just goin’ to have to do it over the distance.”

“First things first,” Buffy said, taking a deep breath. “You get a cell phone, and I want regular calls.”

He smiled. “Long as you do the same.”

“And you’re taking Audra with you. I already checked with Giles, and he agreed. I want to know that someone is watching your back, and she’s good.” Buffy was ready to fight with him about it, but she was hoping that he would agree without argument. She needed to know that he would be safe, and that he would come back to her.

His smile turned into a smirk as he sat down next to her. “Long as you’re takin’ Vi with you, you’ll get no argument from me.”

Buffy laid her forehead on his chest. “When are you leaving?”

“Tonight, soon as the sun goes down. We’ll take the train to Newcastle an’ contact the new Slayer.” His hands stroked her back. “You have to leave now, or you’ll miss your flight. You’ve got a Watcher meetin’ you in Germany, right?”

She nodded, then pulled him close for a kiss, the embrace taking on a desperation. There hadn’t been enough time to reconnect, to reassure herself that he was alive and well and in one piece. So much time had been wasted, and now they were being separated again.

“I have to go,” she gasped when she stopped to catch her breath.

As if on cue, Vi called through the door, “Buffy! We have to go!”

“Be right there.” She tried to pull Spike closer for another quick kiss, but he pulled back and rose to his feet, bringing her up with him.

“If we do that again, you’re not goin’ to get out of this room anytime soon,” he said in a low voice.

She smiled and pressed her hand to his cheek. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Buffy grabbed her bag and dashed out the door past Spike. Striding down the hallway, Vi at her heels, Buffy asked, “Where’s Giles?”

“Right here.” Her Watcher joined her as she walked towards the front door. “Willem will meet you there. He should be able to assist you.”

Buffy shook her head. “We’ve been over this, Giles. I need you to do a favor for me.”

“What’s that?”

“Spike needs a cell phone.” Her tone brooked no argument, and she was grateful when he offered none.

“I’ve already arranged it,” he assured her. “I had a feeling that you might ask.” He hesitated. “I want you to take Andrew with you.”

“Absolutely not,” Buffy hissed. “He’ll just get in the way.”

“The boy has been feeling a bit useless,” Giles whispered. “And he might be of some assistance.”

“As what? Cannon fodder?”

“If it comes to that.” Giles’ voice suggested that he meant it as a joke more than anything else. “I realize that he can be annoying, but he’s learned quite a bit in the time he’s been here, and he wants to help.”

Buffy couldn’t believe the words were coming out of her mouth, but she asked anyway. “Why can’t you send him with Spike?”

“Because Spike reminded me that I sent Andrew with him on his last mission, and he said that it was someone else’s turn.” The rueful twist of his lips told Buffy that he was still feeling guilty about his actions in Sunnydale. “Also, I owe him.”

“Fine,” Buffy sighed. She glanced over her shoulder at Vi, who had been listening in silence. “You okay with that?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“I’m afraid not,” Giles replied. “I’ve already purchased his tickets.” They stood at the front door, and Giles put his hand on her shoulder. “Be careful, Buffy. From what Willem has told me, it looks as though Munich has the beginnings of a full-fledged Hellmouth.”

Buffy nodded. “Send backup when you can?”

“Of course.” He squeezed her shoulder affectionately, then let her go.

She sighed when she saw Andrew already waiting in the car for them. “You know,” Vi whispered from behind her, “we can always throw him into the Hellmouth. He’d probably talk the demons to death and close it down that way.”

Buffy couldn’t help the grin that formed.

~~~~~

Dawn glanced into the study and saw Spike surrounded by young Slayers and Watchers. She shook her head in amusement. Although it had been difficult to tear him from Buffy’s side, the moment either of them had emerged from Buffy’s room, they had been swarmed by the younger ones in residence.

She knew why, of course. They were both heroes, the ones who had died to save the world, and the fact that there was romance involved only made it more alluring.

Dawn paused to listen to the story he was telling, wondering what kind of tall tale he was passing off as truth. “…an’ then this troll comes strollin’ into the Bronze where we were, calling for babies and ale. He was about twice my size, so you can bet I wasn’t goin’ to tell him he couldn’t have it.”

She grinned as she realized that Spike was telling the story of Olaf the Troll, and mostly sticking to the facts. Leaning against the doorway, she listened as he finished the tale, making Buffy the hero and himself the joker.

When he’d finished the story, Spike rose from his seat. “That’s all for today. I’ve got places to be.”

“Please, Spike!” Rose protested. “One more story.”

Spike met Dawn’s eyes across the room. “I’ve got to see the lovely Watcher over there about my travel arrangements.”

“I’m not a Watcher yet,” Dawn reminded him in a low voice as he joined her.

He shook his head. “Sure you are, Bit. You might not have the title, but you have everything else, and titles don’t matter so much.”

“I thought you already had your tickets,” Dawn said, referring to his excuse for leaving the gathering.

“I do,” Spike replied. “But I only have an hour or so before we have to leave, an’ Rupert said something about wanting to talk to me.”

Dawn nodded. “Something about the amulet. We haven’t been able to spare anyone to talk to Angel about it yet. Giles is thinking about sending Faith when she’s finished up in Brazil.”

“From what I hear, they always got along alright,” Spike replied.

Dawn didn’t mention the other reason Giles wanted to see the vampire; the coven had created something that they said would help him, but she had no idea what that would be. “I think so,” she replied, leading him into the study, where Giles was talking with Miriam over tea.

“There you are,” Giles said, rising. “Good of you to join us.”

“I came as soon as I could get away,” Spike replied.

Miriam smiled. “You are a highly desirable speaker, I hear.”

The vampire shrugged uncomfortably. “The kiddies have never seen a vampire before, an’ they’ll be facing them down soon enough. More information never hurt anybody.”

“If the crises ever reach manageable levels, I’d like you to stay here,” Giles said. “You’ll be invaluable as a trainer, Spike.”

He looked even more embarrassed. “Don’t think I’d make a good role model.”

“Be that as it may, we do need you to pick up Sally in Newcastle,” Giles replied. “As long as it’s feasible, I would like to give each Slayer an escort here.”

“Includin’ the ones on other continents?”

Giles shook his head. “No, but those in Europe at least. No matter. Miriam has something for you.”

Dawn watched as Miriam reached into the bag next to her chair and drew out a silk-wrapped bundle. “Hold out your hand,” she directed.

Spike did as he was told, and Miriam opened the cloth, allowing a heavy silver ring to drop into his hand. There was a brief flash of light and all was still again. “What the—”

“It’s sealed to you and only you now,” she said, sounding satisfied with herself. “It won’t work for anyone else.”

Spike glanced up at her, then his eyes were drawn back to the ring. “What does it do?”

“Put it on.” When he did as he was told, Miriam said, “Go look in the mirror.”

He looked startled, but did as he was told. Dawn had expected him to argue, but then again, Miriam wasn’t someone you argued with.

From where she sat, Dawn caught a glimpse of Spike’s reflection in the mirror. He put a hand up to his face, running a finger across the scar through his eyebrow. “What—” he began hoarsely.

“It doesn’t make you mortal, of course,” Miriam said. “That would hardly be worth our while, since you’re of much more use as a vampire.” His face darkened slightly at her words, but he didn’t interrupt. Dawn understood why he might take offense at her blunt assessment—it made him sound like extra help and nothing else. “The ring functions much as the Gem of Amara did, but it will only work for you, and it should come in handy if you are lost.”

“Lost?” he questioned.

“As long as you’re wearing it, the coven will know where you are, and whether you’re alive,” Miriam explained. “I’m sure that once you tell Buffy about it, she’ll be quite happy.”

Spike shook his head. “Why me?”

“Because we’ve seen enough to know that you’ll need it, and that you’re important to our efforts.” Miriam sighed. “Even with the seeing bowl that you and Buffy brought back from Osmotherley, our visions of the future aren’t completely clear. All we know is that you are at the center, and that it’s imperative that you’re safe.”

Spike’s hand clenched into a fist, and he stared at the ring. It was completely unremarkable—a plain silver band that adorned his left middle finger. “And sunlight?”

“Not an issue for you, although I’m afraid that there’s nothing we can do about stakes or beheadings—or fire, for that matter. Anything that would kill a human will still kill you.”

He nodded slowly. “I see.”

“What else have you discovered about the amulet?” Giles asked the witch.

She glanced at Spike before replying. “I do not believe that it reached its intended target. There was a secondary spell that was meant to bind the person trapped inside in incorporeal form.”

“I would have been a ghost?” Spike asked, sounding alarmed.

Miriam shrugged elegantly. “Something like that, yes, but only if you had been released at that specific location. As it was, the secondary spell was never triggered, and Willow managed to release you herself—probably when she cut her finger. There were traces of blood on it.”

Spike sat back in his chair, looking a little stunned. “That doesn’t make me comfortable. Can it be used again?”

“No,” Miriam assured him. “Its power has been spent.”

There was a soft knock on the door, and Audra poked her head in. “I just wanted to see if you were ready to go,” she said, looking at Spike.

“Yeah. The car here?”

“No, but it will be shortly.”

“We’re wrapping this up,” Giles promised.

The Slayer nodded and ducked out again.

“Anything else I should know?” Spike asked, looking at Miriam.

She shook her head. “No. I believe we have some time before we ought to begin worrying.”

Dawn didn’t know about the head of the coven, but she was already worried; there were way too many things that could go wrong between now and then.

~~~~~

Giles closed his eyes, trying to pull his thoughts into some order. He had not continued his habit of recording his Slayer’s activities once he’d left Sunnydale, and after he’d returned, there had been too much to do to spend any time at all writing. Now, he found that he had to write everything down, or he’d begin to lose track of the surviving Slayers and their Watchers.

Glancing down at the paper again, he went back over the list, wanting to be sure that he’d recorded everything.

“According to remaining Council logs and current counts, there are twenty-seven Watchers remaining, including those in their last year at the Academy. Of those twenty-seven, three have been sent to Brazil, one is in Germany, one is in South Africa, and ten are potentially ready to go out into the field with supervision. Those Watchers remaining will need to be assigned to troubled areas.

“The number of Slayers is more difficult to determine. The coven estimates that anywhere between five hundred and two thousand were Chosen through Willow’s spell. A few have been located, but there have been confirmed hits placed on surviving Slayers in at least two areas of the world, and likely more. Of those located, more than half appear to be under the age of fifteen, making training difficult.”

Training girls that young was more than difficult. They ought to be in school, not thinking about possible attacks from demons and vampires. It was difficult enough stealing the last part of childhood from the older girls, but the younger ones—

The girls like Rose, who had always known they were Slayers, were perhaps in a better position, and the Council certainly had easier access. The others had to be found, and then their parents had to be convinced to let them be trained, and the younger they were, the harder it was to do.

Giles would have preferred to locate the younger ones and leave them with their parents for a few years until they’d matured, particularly in countries like Brazil, where there was a price on the head of every girl.

“Here.”

He took the sheaf of papers Dawn held out to him. “What’s this?”

“It’s a list I’ve been working on,” she replied. “Slayers, their Watchers, and allies. I’ve separated them out into categories as to whether we’ve located them, contacted them, or have only heard rumors.”

Giles blinked. “This is wonderful, Dawn.”

“Andrew helped a little,” she admitted. “I had to do something while Buffy and Spike were boinking.”

He cleared his throat. While he may have given into the idea that the two were together, he didn’t like to be reminded that they were actually sleeping together. There were a few things about which he preferred to remain ignorant. “Yes, well, thank you. I believe this will be of great help.”

“How long are you going to let the kids stick around?” Dawn asked, plopping herself down in the chair across from his desk.

“Where would I send them?” he asked softly. “Trust me, Dawn, I’ve thought about it, but most of the Watchers lost one parent, if not two, when the headquarters were blown up, and the Slayers who were here haven’t seen their families in years. The Council is all they’ve ever known.”

Dawn nodded, as though she hadn’t expected another answer. “We need to begin training them, then. I know we’ve got emergencies to deal with, Giles, but we’re never going to have the girl-power to deal with it if they don’t know the right end of a weapon.”

Giles studied the girl for a long moment, realizing that she’d grown up even more than he’d suspected during that last year in Sunnydale. Gone was the teenager who had been convinced that the world revolved around her; in her place was an adult who was willing to put aside her own desires and needs for the greater good.

He wondered why he hadn’t seen it earlier.

“What did you have in mind?” he asked evenly.

Dawn moved forward, sitting at the edge of her chair. “Recall all the Watchers who shouldn’t be out in the field, and either keep them here, or send them to a centralized location where they’re needed. I think that if we have regional training centers, that will make it easier to respond to emergencies.”

“You put together the list.” Giles raised an eyebrow. “What Watchers would you recall?”

Dawn took the report out of his hands and flipped to the back page. “I made a list.”

Giles scanned it, recognizing a number of names. Most of them were well over the age of retirement, but would probably do for teachers. “Wesley Wyndam-Pryce’s name is on this list,” he said, surprised.

“We need him more than Angel does,” Dawn said bluntly. “And you know it.”

Giles sighed. “Wesley is a prat, Dawn. I hardly think—”

“How long has he been working for Angel?” she demanded. “And he’s still alive, so he can’t be that bad anymore. Besides, you heard Willow when she got back from stuffing Angel’s soul back in. He’s definitely gotten better.”

Giles closed his eyes, thinking about their options—and they didn’t have many. Dawn was right about that, anyway. They needed every man and woman who had even a smattering of Watcher training, and Wesley had had more than that. “Very well. I’m planning to send Faith to talk to Angel about the amulet and where he got it—assuming that she can take care of the Demos problem in Brazil. I’ll have her speak with Wesley as well.”

“Good,” Dawn said with a satisfied nod. “I think that’s it, then.”

“Dawn—” he began as she started to leave. “This was very well done. Thank you.”

She flushed slightly. “Thanks.”

When she’d gone, Giles made a mental note to offer her praise more often. The girl was doing quite a bit, without much recognition, and that probably ought to change.

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