Summary: Buffy and Spike are recruited to protect an important gift for a high ranking official. This story is complete, the first of a three story arc.
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Thank you to my beta EnigmaticBlues
The Grundy should have the claws on all four paws ground on a
regular basis to avoid behavioral problems, especially if kept indoors
as a family pet. It is imperative that the immature Grundy be trained
to allow the paws to be handled. Each claw should be ground once per
month using an electric disc grinder with a sixty grit disc.
-The Complete Manual of Domestic Demon Care
2001 Edition
Chapter 3- The Grundy
Buffy awoke from a sound sleep before the alarm. She realized that
something heavy was across the lower half of both legs, making her
uncomfortable. Trying to shift so she could fall back to sleep, she
realized whatever it was wouldn’t allow her to move. Groaning, she
reluctantly opened one eye. The Grundy was lying stretched across both
calves, mouth open in a pant, staring intensely at the Slayer. When
Buffy opened the other eye, the demon jumped to her feet, wagging her
tail enthusiastically.
“Oh, so look at who wants to be friendly all of a sudden. Let me guess. You need to go outside, don’t you?”
Sitting up on her elbows, Buffy noticed the leash lying next to her.
“You brought me your leash? That’s actually pretty cool. Okay, here’s
the thing you should know about me. I could flip you across the room in
a heartbeat, but I don’t really want to do that, so if you move it’ll
go a lot better.”
She had hardly finished the sentence before the Grundy bounded from the
bed and stood at the door. Shuffling from paw to paw she stared
anxiously between Buffy and the door.
Stretching, Buffy stood up and glanced at the other bed. Spike was
still asleep. Sometime during the early morning, he’d rolled onto his
stomach. He was such a hyper mouthy guy that this total stillness gave
her a serious wig. Buffy decided she really liked him better when he
was awake, at least then she knew how to deal with him. The fidgeting
Grundy snuffled loudly, reminding her of why she’d gotten up in the
first place.
Still yawning, she snapped on the leash. Opening the door Buffy stepped
outside and squinted in the sunshine. She’d forgotten it was daylight,
the room was so dark. Her internal clock was going to be so screwed up.
Scanning for an appropriate area, she steered the small demon around
the concrete sign toward the back of the worn motor lodge to a patch of
brown grass that had once been a play yard. They walked past a rusted
swing set that had been new when Hutch- or maybe Starsky- had enjoyed a flat stomach and a full head of hair. Stopping just beyond, the Slayer yawned again.
Taking her first good look at the decrepit building in daylight, Buffy
wrinkled her nose. This place is a serious dump. Motor Lodge even
sounds cheaper than motel and I so see why. The Grundy pulled on the
leash so Buffy pulled her eyes away from a particularly large crack in
the foundation and obediently followed. Once the Grundy had completed
her morning routine, they headed back toward the room.
Walking across the hot concrete parking lot, the Slayer was struck
again by the fact that the Grundy had requested her for walking detail
instead of Spike. It’s almost as if she knew Spike couldn’t come out here right now. Okay
now the thought that this little demon knows about vampires is just a
little too wiggy to think about before lunch. Her stomach growled. Oh, lunch.
“Uh, Empress?” Buffy wasn’t sure she liked the name Spike had attached
to the demon, but she answered to it readily, so why rock the boat? A
little pretentious to her ears, it was still way better than ‘hey you.’
She smirked. And it would get more than a little confusing if Spike started calling the Grundy ‘pet’ like he does everybody else. She realized the demon had stopped and was staring up at her. Oh yeah, I said her name.
“We need to walk up to the office and see if Giles wired our money.”
She waited to see what would happen next. Bemused, she caught herself. Am I really waiting to see if the she understood me? The Grundy turned away from their door. Oh my God! She got the message.
But all the little demon did was move to the sidewalk and start sniffing. Buffy shook her head, laughing at herself. Okay, she just doesn’t want to go in yet. She started for the office and the little animal fell sedately into
step by her side. It was amazing how well behaved the Grundy was being
for her this morning. On the other hand, at the moment I’m all she’s got.
Opening the door to the office, she was hit with a dual blast of ice cold air and classic rock.
“Excuse me.”
A heavy set gray haired man in a faded Hawaiian shirt looked up from
the desk. He frowned at the blond with the little dog. “Sorry, no
refunds. Check out was an hour ago.”
“No, not checking out. I’m still in. Summers. Room 106. I’m looking for some money that was supposed to be wired for me.”
Happy that Buffy wasn’t another hung over customer that hadn’t left the
room in time, the clerk smiled, displaying a full set of yellowed
teeth. “It’s here. We got it in a little while ago.” He slid a form
across the counter. “Fill this out and I’ll need some identification.”
He looked down at the quiet Grundy. “Nice dog. What happened to it?”
Buffy handed back the form. “Bad groomer. I’m so suing.”
“I don’t blame you.” He reached in the register for the money.
*****
The soldiers had to wait quite awhile before the shop proprietor and
his companions left the premises. Once they were certain the trio would
not return, they broke in through the back door and began their search.
It was quickly apparent that the beast was not being housed in this
location either. Other than the phone persistently ringing during their
search, the apartment was quiet.
The soldiers phoned their lieutenant and were given orders to
watch the shop itself until further notice. As the telephone began
ringing yet again, the soldiers left for the shop surveillance.
*****
Lydia closed her cell phone. Nervously pacing in the tiny bathroom of
the Indian restaurant where she always dined, she slipped the little
phone back into her purse. Once again she’d summoned up the nerve to
ring Rupert and once again she’d been unable to reach him. Pushing her
glasses up, she set her shoulders. If Mohammed wouldn’t come to the
mountain, the mountain would go to Mohammed.
Walking out of the restaurant, she hailed a taxi. “I need to locate an internet café, please, preferably close by.”
The taxi driver twisted around slightly to address his passenger. “There’s one four blocks over. Will that be alright?”
“That will be fine. Thank you.” The taxi threaded its way through the
snarl of early evening London traffic while Lydia leaned back against
the seat and closed her eyes in concentration. If only she could
remember the internet address that she needed, the rest would be
child’s play.
*****
“I’m sorry but Morty doesn’t usually show up here until well after
dark.” Willy nervously wiped the same part of the scarred bar over
again. “It’s the type of clientele he caters to, you know. Most of them
aren’t too interested in acquiring a tan.”
He stared at the silent man dressed in black standing with his arms
crossed. “If you want, I’ll be glad to give him a message.” He tried a
tremulous smile. “Would you like a beer? It’s on the house.”
He looked over the man’s shoulder at the two men standing behind him.
“Of course, I’m offering for everyone. I could probably rustle up some
pretzels, too. We’re not open for another couple hours so the deep
fryer isn’t hot enough for anything.” Willy realized he was babbling
and quickly clamped his mouth shut.
Ignoring the overture, the Lieutenant looked at the twitchy bartender and snapped, “Where is the demon now?”
“Um, I’m not supposed to give that information out. Morty doesn’t like
most people to know where he lives.” Willy cringed, twisting his bar
rag into a tight knot.
The man leaned across the bar and grabbed the small man by the lapels.
His eyes glittered. “You can tell me. I’m not most people.”
Willy saw the knife and gulped. “No problem. I can tell you’re the type
of discriminating visitor Morty would enjoy seeing any time of day.”
When the stranger released him, Willy wiped the flop sweat from his
brow with the bar rag and reached for a pen. “I’ll write the address
down for you.” His hand shook so much it took two tries.
****
When Buffy returned to the room, she heard the shower running. A look
at the empty bed and she brilliantly deduced Spike was getting cleaned
up. Unhooking the Grundy‘s leash from her collar, she watched the young
demon gambol around the room. She started to reprimand the Grundy for
jumping and stopped herself. It isn’t like she can really hurt anything in here. Running her eyes across the worn out furniture, she lingered briefly on the tote bag. I need to remember to tell Giles about that other collar. No way would
the Council pay for that. I bet it’s stolen or something.
Digging around in a couple of bedside drawers, Buffy found the
Seabreeze phone directory. Running her finger down the listings, she
located a pizza place that delivered.
Spike opened the door to the bathroom just as she hung up the phone. “I hope you like mushrooms.”
The vampire nodded. “Mushrooms are good.” He reached down to pet the
Grundy butting her head against his leg. “Hi Empress, are you ready for
breakfast?” Pulling things out of the tote, he started setting up her
dishes.
Buffy watched the breakfast preparations for a moment. “Giles wired the
money.” She laid some bills on the little corner table. “I’m going to
grab a shower; I hope you left some hot water.”
“Never turned it on.”
“Oh.” For an instant there, I forgot Spike was a vampire. How weird is that? “Will you pay the pizza guy?”
Spike filled the Grundy’s water dish. “No problem. Say, Slayer, have
you seen the remote control for the telly? I thought I saw one sittin’
on the table when we checked in.”
Buffy racked her brain, trying to remember if she’d seen one. “No, but
after lunch I can go to the office and ask if you want. We’re gonna be
stuck in here all day, it would be nice to have TV goodness.” She
picked up the overnight bag she’d hurriedly packed on their way out of
town and went in the bathroom.
Spike waited until the Grundy was working heartily on her food before
he started searching the room. Checking under the table in case the
active demon knocked it on the floor, Spike was reminded again of his
missing lighter. What if that bloody chip causes gradual memory loss?
Beginning to worry that he was eventually going to be as daft as his
Sire, he thoroughly searched all around the room, pulling out drawers
and lifting furniture. After looking under both beds for the second
time, he gave up the hunt.
Clenching his fists, he reluctantly admitted defeat. The remote, if
there had ever been one to begin with- he was no longer sure of
anything anymore- had vanished into thin air. He flashed on himself
wandering around Sunnydale half dressed, having forgotten to put on
some of his clothes. Wouldn’t the Slayer have a laugh.
Spike lit a cigarette with a faded book of matches he found in a clear
glass ashtray and punched on the television manually. Waiting for the
old machine to warm up completely, the vampire exhaled and then inhaled
deeply again, calming his nerves. There were definite benefits to old
motels, especially when it came to smoking in the rooms.
Besides his mental worries, Spike felt a little dazed this morning
about his current situation. He was standing in a motel room, albeit an
old ratty one, having had an actual shower with free soap and shampoo,
preparing to watch color telly, and with a pizza on the way that he
didn’t have to scam or otherwise pay for. He even had company for the
day in the form of the Grundy, not to mention the Slayer, who’d been
decent company in her own right and for the past twenty four hours.
That alone was one for the books.
He looked down fondly at the little demon noisily crunching, her nose buried in the bowl. No wonder you’re such a popular pet, you’re really a fairy godmother with fur.
A knock on the door pulled him back to the present. He heard a human
heartbeat on the other side and moving closer, he could smell pizza.
Certain now that it was safe to open the door, he grabbed the dosh the
Slayer had left on the table. But before he could open the door, the
Grundy had moved in front of him growling.
He reached down to pet the young demon. “’s alright Empress, it’s just
mine and the Slayer’s food.” He nudged her back with his foot and
opened the door. “Move back, you can’t go outside.” He blocked her with
his legs and the Grundy pushed harder against him. “Sorry, pet, but I’m
a wee bit stronger than you.”
Carefully avoiding the sunlight and holding the Grundy back, Spike held
out the bills. Once the delivery driver had them in his grasp, he
grabbed the pizza and bottled drinks, closing the door with one foot.
As soon as the door closed, the Grundy immediately abandoned her spot
in front of it, choosing to dance around the room, tail wagging.
Spike smirked. “Oh, so now you want to play? Just like every female
I’ve ever met. You won’t listen to a word I say, instead you want me to
do everythin’ your way.”
The Grundy looked at Spike and snuffled, her nose in the air.
“She’s just saying what every woman says when a man comes up with
something that dumb.” Buffy was leaning against the door jam with her
arms crossed, a smile playing across her lips.
Spike set the pizza on the table and turned to the blonde. “Oh and what might that be?”
“She just said, “I’m ready to listen- but are you ready to think?” She smirked at the vampire.
He chuckled and countered, “Nah, that can’t be right.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“Because blokes know that women really like their men silent- That way they can think we’re really listening to them.”
“I think this is a conversation neither of us will win, so in the name
of eating warm pizza, I’m calling it a draw.” She looked down at the
Grundy. “We’ll get him next time.”
The little demon crooned, laying her head on her paws.
Reaching in the pizza box, he muttered. “No way I could win anyway, the estrogen level in here’s way too high.”
Buffy giggled.
Spike’s lips curved in a smile before biting into the slice.
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