A/N: Any mistakes are my fault. Most probably because of post-beta tinkering, which I really shouldn't do.



Telling Buffy that she needed a virgin for the ritual was a novel idea, or so Willow thought. She knew most of the residents of Sunnydale had left, and even if some had stayed, Buffy wouldn't really know who was a virgin or not. It wasn't much of a plan, but it would have to do. It would at least give Spike enough time to help her and Buffy. As long as Buffy didn't find out that Willow had absolutely no clue what the text said and that she had no plans to find out, she would be fine.

“The heart of a virgin? Really?” Buffy asked. She’d arrived at the crypt several hours earlier and had not slept. Apparently this meant that Willow shouldn't get any sleep either. She was sitting on a chair near Willow, who was sitting on the floor with books and papers surrounding her.

By the doubtful look Buffy was giving her, Willow thought she'd gone too far with that one, even if it had seemed like Buffy believed what she'd said. She swallowed. She watched way too much television, she thought. The heart of a virgin thing she’d come up with was just too much.

“Y-yes. And you have to cut it out w-with a... with a stake.” Willow cringed at her own lame lie. It was the first thing that popped into her head. She couldn't believe she didn't make up a mystical knife or sword or whatnot, which would have been much more believable. “That's all I have so far. I still need to interpret the incantations and all the other... important stuff.” She ducked her head, her voice fading while she said the last line.

Buffy only raised her eyebrows as if saying wow. Willow was surprised as well as relieved at Buffy's gullibility. She'd been trying to be as calm and as cooperative as possible in the hope that Buffy would let her guard down and start trusting her a little. If she could make Buffy believe she was with her all the way then maybe Buffy would lessen the number of demons watching and guarding her every move. Any noise, any slight move or hint she was trying to use her mind for magic and a demon would approach her. If stalling until Spike could help didn’t work out, she knew her only hope for escape would be if Buffy and the demons thought of her as one of them.

“That's really morbid. I kind of feel bad for Dawn now,” Buffy said. She looked to her right and saw Roh'gna signaling her. It was time.

Willow jerked her head up at Buffy who was now standing and was about to leave. “Dawn? Our Dawn? Previously-ball-of-energy-slash-mystical-key Dawn?”

“Uh-huh.” Buffy briskly walked past Willow and was soon ascending the ladder.

Willow was so shocked she couldn’t speak. It seemed as if she had only made things worse.



The government chip in Spike's brain fired before the irrepressible demon that had burst out of him managed to lay a finger on Dawn. It was the first time since he had the chip that he actually thanked God for the piercing pain that shot through his head. He staggered backwards, holding his head and screaming, and hit the wall with a loud thump.

The noise made Dawn twitch. She had fallen on her buttocks to the floor and was now sitting still, gazing up at the now human-faced Spike. She watched him pant, eyes closed, as he tried to regain his composure. She was breathing quickly as well, her heart still pounding in fear. The first time she tried to speak, nothing but a squeak came out. She closed her half-opened mouth and swallowed hard. When she tried to speak again, she managed to ask, “What-what happened?”

Spike opened his eyes, bent his head and looked at Dawn. She deserved the truth. “I can't control it.”

“Control what?” Dawn asked as she stood up.

“The demon. My blood lust.” Spike gazed at the floor. “What I am,” he whispered sullenly.

“Spike...”

Spike faced her again. “You have to go back to L.A. It's safer for you there.”

“I feel safer here, with you. They don't care about me ther–”

“I just tried to kill you, Dawn.”

“But you didn't!”

“The chip stopped me. What if I didn't have this sodding chip in my head? What then, hm?” Spike said with his hands on his waist, head tilted to one side, eyebrows raised.

Dawn sighed. She cared too much for Spike to even think about leaving him alone, especially now that he had another problem. “But you do. And I'm fine. You can't hurt me, right? You can't hurt anyone.”

Spike wanted to agree but he wasn't so sure any more. The chip may have contained his urges before, but now they just felt bigger than him. Stronger. He shook his head and started to reach for her but instantly dropped his arm, setting his hand on top of the island instead. “Bloody stubborn, you are. Just like your sister.”

Dawn grinned and covered his hand with hers. “Summers women are stubborn.”

“Won't argue with that,” he said, unsmiling. He knew he couldn't force Dawn to do anything she didn't want to do. He'd have to find a way to get her away from all the madness without her knowing it.

Dawn was the first to let go. “Do you know what might have caused this?” she asked.

Buffy, he thought. But Dawn didn't have to know that. “I have an idea, yeah.” And the bitch was going to pay, he thought.

If Spike could see Buffy now, he’d know it was punishment enough for Buffy that Dawn still hadn't come out of the house.

“What the fuck is taking so long?” Buffy paced. “Where the hell is my virgin?”

She and Tehg'do were behind some bushes near the Summers' house, waiting for Dawn to run out. But after the two screams they heard, everything stayed quiet. Buffy feared Spike had killed Dawn. “This is all your fault!” she said and turned to Tehg'do. Her hands were shaking with fury.

“You wanted a way to eliminate the virgin's guardian,” the green demon almost roared, “and we gave you one!”

Buffy turned as she said, “Ugh!” and walked away from the demon. A few seconds later, she rushed back to him, pulling a knife from her pocket and thrusting it through his stomach. Tehg'do stared at her, mouth open, and eyes wide, while she drove the knife upward, slicing a line through the demon's mid-section. As if that weren’t enough, at the top of her stroke, she turned the blade and cut another line, this time a short, diagonal one. “There's your one.” She pushed the limp body off the knife and it fell to the ground.

Spike was going to be number two.