Latter Days by Enigmaticblue

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Chapter 6: Bath, England

“…I’m glad to hear that you’ve settled into Osmotherley without problems. Spike arrived yesterday, but as he’d been awake for nearly 48 hours, and we barely made it back to headquarters before sunrise, we haven’t spoken in any depth yet. I am getting reports of other disturbances, and Willow’s situation is rather dire at the moment, so I will send Spike onto you when I can…” ~Excerpt from an email from Rupert Giles to Buffy Summers

Giles hit “send,” feeling a sense of accomplishment. Although he often asked Dawn to assist him with all things having to do with computers and the internet, he could manage to communicate now—without blowing anything up. He called that an improvement.

He had no desire to keep Spike and Buffy apart, but he was the head of the Council now, and he bore certain responsibilities that forced him to make difficult decisions. In this instance, Giles was looking at the very real need for Spike’s services, and the strong possibility that he would be needed at a location where Buffy was not.

If he’d treated the vampire better—if he hadn’t tried to have him killed—Giles would have felt a little more sanguine about asking him to go elsewhere. As things stood between them, Spike would have no reason to trust him.

“Giles?” Dawn’s voice filtered into the study. “Where’s Spike? Did he get in okay?” She entered the room slowly, looking around as though she expected to see the vampire there.

“He’s sleeping, as far as I know,” Giles replied. “We arrived just before the sun rose this morning.”

She frowned. “He didn’t want to see Buffy immediately?”

“I don’t know,” the Watcher admitted. “We didn’t talk about it.”

Turning to go, Dawn nearly ran into Spike, who was standing in the doorway. “Spike!”

“Dawn.” His voice was even, his tone wary, as though he wasn’t quite sure of his welcome. Giles wondered how much of that was due to seeing the girl, and how much of it was his fault.

They stood, staring at one another, until Dawn turned to give Giles a pleading look. He realized that she resembled her sister very much in that moment, and Giles had rarely been able to say no to Buffy. “I think I’ll make some tea,” he announced. “Are you hungry, Spike?”

“Yeah,” he said, then added, “Thanks.”

Giles left them to it, wondering what it was that lay between them.

~~~~~

He looked the same. That was the first thing that Dawn noticed, although she could see changes; the lack of the duster was a big one.

Of course, he would look the same. No time had passed for him, and weeks had gone by in the outside world. And, of course, vampire.

The silence lay heavy between them, and Dawn realized that he wasn’t going to make the first move, and that she’d given him no reason to believe that his welcome from her would be anything but cold. “It’s good to see you,” she finally managed.

Spike met her eyes, and something there seemed to relax and uncoil. “Yeah. Same here. How have you been, Dawn?”

She missed his nicknames for her, but maybe they were past that now. “Good,” she replied. “Busy.”

“Yeah, I heard that.”

Dawn had no idea what to say to him, how to make up for all the months she’d treated him to a chilly silence. He’d died to save them all, died to save her sister, and it was clear now that she’d been wrong about him.

“We really missed you,” she finally said simply.

Hope flickered in his eyes. “Yeah?”

The one word loosed her tongue. “She cried, you know. A lot. She didn’t think you believed her, and she was worried—” Dawn didn’t know how to put it into words. Her sister hadn’t been able to fully explain her distress over Spike not believing her.

“S’pose it worked out for the best,” he said. “The world got saved, an’ here I am.”

“I guess so.”

Anything else she might have said was interrupted by Giles’ entry. He put the tray down on his desk, and Dawn settled into her customary chair. After a moment’s hesitation, Spike sat down in the other chair, and Giles pulled the desk chair around to join them.

The next few minutes were filled with pouring tea and doctoring it with milk and sugar. Spike took his mug of blood and watched the process through half-closed eyes. “Well, then,” Giles began, clearing his throat. “Has Willow filled you in on the current situation, Spike?”

“Some,” he replied. “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full.”

“You know that she’s having trouble.” Giles looked apologetic. “If you hadn’t just arrived, I would probably ask you to help her with the situation, but Faith has agreed to go.”

Spike’s face darkened. “Buffy—”

“Please believe me when I tell you that this has nothing to do with Buffy, or any desire to keep you two apart,” Giles assured him. “Far from it. The problem is that we’re seeing more and more demonic activity, and we do not have enough people trained to deal with it.”

Spike nodded slowly. “And I’m one of them.”

“You’re one of the most capable warriors we have, Spike.” Giles’ tone was almost apologetic. He glanced at Dawn and sighed. She wasn’t sure where he was going until he said, “I must apologize for my actions in Sunnydale. I’m afraid I greatly misjudged you. I realize that there isn’t anything I can say or do to make it up to you, but—”

“No, it’s alright,” Spike said quickly. “We all bollocks things up.”

Giles nodded, apparently relieved. “Thank you.”

Spike looked thoughtful, and Dawn noticed that the wariness had left his eyes. “Where do you need me, Rupert?”

The Watcher smiled slightly. “I rather think that Buffy would kill me if I didn’t send you along as soon as possible,” he replied. “It’s likely that she’ll need you, but—”

“You can’t promise that we’ll be in the same place.” Spike’s expression was wry. “That’s a bit of irony.”

“I suppose it is,” Giles acknowledged. “Today, however, I understand that you are short on supplies. I’ll send Dawn out with you. You’ll likely need something more than what you’re currently wearing. Before you leave tonight, I’d also like you to meet with the head of the coven. Willow said she sent the amulet back with you, and I’d like her to examine it.”

“Yeah, sure.” Spike looked a little uncomfortable, and Dawn thought she understood why. It was probably for the same reason that Buffy hated to talk about her resurrection. Coming back from the dead was never fun.

~~~~~

Spike didn’t know how he felt about all of this. He appreciated that Giles was trying to help him, but he felt as though he was being moved around like a pawn on a chessboard.

Then again, he hadn’t been in control of his own destiny from the moment the Initiative put the chip in his head. From that moment on, he’d been on a path that had nothing to do with what he wanted, but Spike was beginning to believe that it might turn out after all.

Assuming he and Buffy both survived the next set of emergencies.

“You okay?” Dawn asked. The sky above them was a solid gray, and Giles had it on very good authority that the clouds wouldn’t lift anytime soon, allowing them to get their shopping done without Spike risking incineration.

He shrugged. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“You’ve been really quiet.”

“Just thinkin’ is all.” He let the silence hang, then added, “Doesn’t quite feel like I’m in control of things.”

“None of us are,” Dawn replied. “I know that Buffy feels the same way. She really wanted to go to Brazil.”

Spike nodded. He supposed that he and the Slayer were very much alike in that their lives were not their own. They belonged to the fight, their duty was to the greater good. “Guess so.”

“At least you’re going to Osmotherley.” There was a touch of bitterness in her voice. “I’m stuck here in Bath, and I probably will be forever.”

Spike glanced over at her. “I thought you were needed here.”

“I am, but it’s not the same,” Dawn replied. “Buffy and the other Slayers and Watchers get to travel, but I’m stuck trying to finish high school. Not that it’s started yet, and I’ll probably be a year behind everybody my age, but—”

“Education is important,” Spike intoned, knowing that Buffy would say the same.

Dawn stared at him. “Why? I’m never going to be anything other than a Watcher, Spike. There’s no point in me learning anything but demon languages and as much about fighting evil as I can. If there was still a Watcher’s Academy, that’s where I would want to go, but Buffy won’t hear of it, and Giles won’t go against her.”

Spike sensed that he could easily be pulled into the middle on this one, which was not a place he wanted to be. “If there’s not a Watcher’s Academy, why not go to school, Nibblet?” The old nickname slipped out before he could stop it, but he saw the smile that curved her lips.

“There’s no point to it, and Buffy wants me to go to college, too.”

“Think you can put your foot down on that,” he pointed out. “You’ll be old enough by then.”

“I want to be old enough now.” She pointed. “Let’s go in there.”

It was another men’s clothing shop, and Spike stifled a sigh. Spike had tried to convince her that all he needed was another pair of black jeans and a few black t-shirts, but Dawn wasn’t having any of it. “You’ll need a new coat anyway,” she’d said, and then proceeded to insist on a number of garments that Spike wouldn’t have chosen if he’d been on his own.

“Buffy is so going to owe me,” Dawn said, leading him into the store.

“How’s that?”

Dawn just smirked. “Come to think of it, you’re going to owe me, too.”

Spike frowned. “What are you talking about, Bit?”

“She’ll take one look at you, and she’ll be all over you,” Dawn promised. “Trust me.”

He shrugged, deciding that he didn’t actually have to wear anything that she insisted on buying for him, and he wasn’t paying for it. “I’d rather have weapons.”

“Giles will take care of that,” Dawn replied confidently. “That’s one thing that we don’t have a shortage of.” She grabbed a couple of long-sleeved t-shirts and shoved them into his arms. “Here. Those should work, right? I think we’re supposed to be getting back soon.”

“I’ve got plenty, Dawn,” he said with some amusement. “Think I told you that three stores back.”

She waved off his protests. “There are fighting clothes, and then there are other kinds of clothes. If you take my sister out to dinner, you’ll need both.”

“You seem awful sure that we’re goin’ to be dating,” he observed.

Dawn’s expression grew uncertain. “Don’t you want to?”

“Yeah, sure, but Buffy—”

“No, it’s not going to be Buffy pulling back this time.” Dawn’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not going to hurt her.”

It was a statement, not a question, and Spike wasn’t sure how to respond. “These things don’t always work out, pet,” he said gently. “With what happened between us…”

“I told you she cried for you,” Dawn said. She searched his face, then sighed. “I guess you’ll see for yourself. We’re good, though, right?”

Spike was reminded of the conversation they’d had when he’d been hiding her from Glory in the tunnels below his crypt, when she’d wanted reassurance that she wasn’t evil. “We’re good, Bit. You’ll just have to give your sister an’ me some time.”

She raised an eyebrow skeptically, but shrugged. “Okay. Suit yourself. Let’s get out of here. The head of the coven will probably be there already.”

~~~~~

Giles ushered Miriam into the study. As much as he liked the woman, she intimidated the hell out of him; her aura of power was unmistakable, and he knew she could turn him into a toad without effort. “Thank you for coming.”

“I thought it was time for us to touch base,” she replied. “And I want to meet this souled vampire of yours.”

“He’s quite remarkable.” Giles’ smile was rueful. “Unfortunately, I didn’t recognize that fact in time.”

Miriam made a thoughtful sound. “Perhaps, but he is a vampire, and the Council was never very good at exploring the shades of gray. I’m sure that you’re aware of that.”

“I hope we do a better job of that in the future.” Giles glanced around the study. “Although, we have yet to decide on a direction for the new Council, or the Academy. We’re simply lucky to have a place to use as a base of operations.”

Miriam raised her eyebrows. “Why not continue the Academy? Train Watchers and Slayers side-by-side; that will engender respect in each for the other.”

“We’ve thought about that option,” he admitted. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the teachers that we would need.”

“Something can be done about that. The coven can help you there, as can the Watchers coming in.”

“We have perhaps a half dozen of those, and we need them in the field.”

Miriam shook her head. “Send the younger ones. Most of those in their last year, or next to last year, are well-trained enough. They can receive experience in the field. If they survive, they’ll be that much better.”

Giles knew that she had a point. He’d already sent young Bertrand, but that was because Xander had needed someone who could do research, work magic, and speak the local languages. The boy had been the only choice.

He leaned back in his chair, considering his options. “We have perhaps fifteen who might be ready and willing to go,” he finally said. “They’re all over sixteen, at least.”

“And the others?”

Giles took off his glasses. “We have twenty who may be ready in the next year or two if given the proper training, but we simply do not have the resources for the younger ones.”

“You do not need your traditional Watchers, Rupert,” Miriam reminded him. “In the past, one man or woman was in charge of the Slayer. At this point, you need soldiers for a war, and what they need most is enough training so they may keep themselves and others alive.”

Her words were blunt, but she was right, of course. Giles knew that everything had changed once the spell had been performed. The landscape of the world had been irrevocably altered. In the past, training Watchers had as much to do with weeding out those ill-suited to train a Slayer—at least in theory—as it did preparing them to deal with the sort of issues they faced now.

“And finding the Slayers?” he asked. “We’ve been having some trouble with that, and the Demos have been systematically hunting down new Slayers.”

“That’s what I wanted to discuss with you,” Miriam replied. “Good and evil have always fought for dominance, Rupert, but they have largely remained in balance. The influx of Slayers has disrupted that balance, and it appears that we’ll be seeing more demonic activity than we might have otherwise.”

“But most of our Slayers are barely more than children.” He knew that his protest was futile; Slayers had always been regarded as warriors for the light, and the potential was there.

Miriam didn’t respond, instead turning towards the doorway where Spike and Dawn stood. He had no idea how long they’d been listening, but it didn’t matter. Everything he had been discussing with the head of the coven was also information that they would need.

“Dawn, you’ve met Miriam. Spike, this is the head of the coven.” He watched as the witch put out her hand, which Spike took after a moment’s hesitation.

Giles wasn’t prepared for what happened next; Miriam seized his hand in both of hers, and her eyes went glassy. “Fate rests heavily on you.” She seemed to be looking right through him. “But your soul burns brightly. You will walk a dark road indeed before the end; be true to your calling, and it will turn out right.”

She slumped, and Spike immediately moved to support her with his free hand, leading her to a seat in the chair. As soon as she was settled, he moved away quickly, as though her touch had burned him. “Forgive me,” Miriam murmured. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Nor was I,” Giles replied, giving Spike a thoughtful look. “How was your shopping expedition?”

“Good,” Dawn answered when the vampire remained silent. “It was the perfect day for shopping with a vampire.”

“When am I leaving?” Spike asked. Giles could tell that he was very uncomfortable in the presence of the witch. “Thought you said it was a bit of an emergency.”

“From what Buffy has said, they’re having trouble locating the item of power.”

“William will not have the same trouble.” Miriam gave him a piercing look. “In fact, he knows exactly where it is.”

Spike shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

“You have been in this town before,” she replied. “A number of years ago, with your sire, Drusilla, and Angelus.”

Spike shook his head and began to say something, then stopped abruptly. “That’s—bugger me.”

Giles’ eyebrows went up. “What do you know about this, Spike?”

“Didn’t know that I knew anythin’, so don’t get your knickers twisted,” he snapped. “An’ I don’t know exactly where it is. Dru did, an’ Angelus wanted it, but I never came close.”

Giles frowned. “But what is it? The coven hasn’t been able to tell us much more than the fact that it is important and immensely powerful.”

Miriam shrugged, clearly unfazed by his unspoken reproach. “I told you that I would bring more information today. I knew I would get information; I didn’t know that I would get it from William.”

“It’s Spike,” the vampire growled. “An’ I told you. I don’t have that much information.”

“Spike,” Giles said, keeping his voice gentle. “Whatever you know could be helpful for us.”

He sighed. “Angelus seemed to think that it was a bowl, but not just any bowl—one used by seers that would always give a true seeing, whether you had the gift or not. Dru usually saw somethin’ of the future, but she wasn’t clear most of the time.”

“That would be a prize,” Giles murmured.

“It would also be immensely helpful in marshalling our forces and locating Slayers,” Miriam observed. “And it could be used in the same way by others, only to harm our cause.”

Spike frowned. “I don’t remember much about it,” he admitted. “I wasn’t much involved in looking for it, an’ we got run out of town before they found it.”

“You know where it was supposed to be located,” Miriam said softly. “And you will help Buffy to find it.”

“I’ll do everythin’ I can,” Spike promised. “Of course.”

“The coven will do what it can for you, William,” Miriam said, speaking only to him. “When you return to Bath, we will have something to help you.”

He shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. “I can take care of myself.”

“Not this time, I think.” She leaned back in her chair. “But we have time before the darkness encroaches too far.”

Giles didn’t like the sound of that, and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the vampire, who was apparently going to be in the center of the battle once again.

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