Disclaimer: Joss’ season 3 was aired on TV, this version was made by me. I hope he doesn’t mind too much.

Author’s note: Beta’d by the fun and fab Bloodytearsoflife.

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Chapter 17: Bondage Fun Girl

Giles grabbed a stake and stepped towards the trio of women.

“Willow? Are you alright?” Giles asked but his eyes never wavered from Buffy.

“I’d say no, to that one,” started Willow, smiling at Oz. “So when you hug me? Be gentle. I got staked.”

Ignoring the watcher with the stake, Oz stepped forward and touched Willow’s face, bringing her chin forward with his fingers. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

“Gentle enough?” he asked.

Willow nodded.

“I missed you,” he continued.

“I missed you!” she exclaimed, leaning forward for more Oz kisses.

There was a moan from the bound Slayer.

“Dare I ask why Faith is bound and gagged?” asked Giles, stake still in hand.

“Who cares?” asked Xander. “Buffy’s home!” Xander stepped forward to hug his friend. He stopped mid hug. “You aren’t all bitey are you?” he asked.

“No,” she admitted.

“Ok, good to know,” he said resuming his enthusiastic hugging.

“Ah, Xander?” asked Buffy after a while. “If you don’t stop hugging me, a not so unbitey vampire is going to steal a car and come here to kick your ass.”

Xander backed away. “’Nough said. Spike, vampire with bite. Gotcha. So what’s the deal with Faith all bondage fun?”

“Well, it seems that the Watcher’s Council and Faith decided to pay me a house call, in the middle of the day. And then Faith decided to stake Willow,” explained Buffy.

Willow nodded her head. “It’s true! I could have died! Buffy took me to the hospital.”

“We thought you had kidnapped Wills,” started Xander.

“Blasted Council!” exclaimed Giles, slamming the stake he held in his hand down on a nearby table.

The whole group turned to look at Giles, a little shocked.

“Faith was supposed to go for enrichment training. I had no idea what they were up to Buffy,” he explained.

Buffy looked at her watcher hopefully. She wanted to believe him. Faith had said pretty much the same thing in LA.

“Look, I’m sorry I took Willow. She didn’t want to come but, we worked an arrangement out. She’s back now, so you can enjoy the Willowy goodness. I’ll go back to LA,” explained Buffy.

“We don’t get to enjoy the Buffy goodness?” asked Xander.

“Your mother has been worried about you,” interjected Giles. “We’ve all missed you.”

“You’ve all missed me?” she asked sceptically, eyeing her watcher.

“Well, erm, yes, indeed. Of course. I’ve missed you Buffy,” continued the watcher, despite his obvious discomfort he was going his best to make sure his words sounded sincere.

“Missed me enough to not want to stake me? I mean, here I come with Faith, all bondage fun girl and you’re not, ‘Vamp! Buffy! Must stake good and proper.’”

“Giles is all with the vamp lovin’ already. Can you two just hug so we can untie Faith?” asked Xander cocking his head sideways. “Cause I think she’s doing the pee pee dance for the gagged and bound. I vote for no puddle on the library floor.”

“I second that,” noted Oz, raising his hand.

“Motioned carried,” stated Willow. “Hug!”
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“I’m really not going to stay,” Buffy explained to Xander as he walked her home. “Just here to drop off Willow.”

Xander nodded, his hands in his pockets. “Look, Buffy. I know that things haven’t been great for you since Spike came back, well since he turned you into his undead bride, but you have people that care about you here too. Maybe school isn’t for you, but your friends missed you, a lot. Amy still goes on about how if you hadn’t saved her she would have been stuck a rat forever.”

Buffy giggled.

“I just don’t want you to go away and never come back. I want you around,” concluded Xander.

“Awww, Xander!” cooed Buffy, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “But I can’t stay. I have to be with Spike.”

“Bride of the Undead arise!” cackled Xander.

“Funny Xan, funny.”

They stopped in front of her mother’s house, both shuffling from foot to foot.

“Well this is where we say till tomorrow!” said Xander. “Giles called her to let her know you were on your way.”

“Great,” said Buffy bitterly. “So that means no running away. I’m good at that.”

“The bestest. See you tomorrow?”

Buffy nodded and watched him travel down the street away from her, leaving the vampire standing in front of her mom’s yard. Buffy exhaled a stagnant breath and walked slowly up to the house. Gingerly she knocked on the door.

“Buffy?” questioned her mother, as she opened the door. “Oh Buffy! I’m so sorry! I would never tied you to a stake and tried to light you on fire if I had been in my right mind!” Joyce wrapped her arms around her daughter and squeezed.

Buffy stood there like a post. It was one thing to have your mother hug you, quite another to be spontaneously attacked with a hug after running away again after your mother tried to light you on fire.

Joyce pulled back from the hug. “Come in! Do you want blood or regular food or maybe just some hot chocolate? “ sputtered Joyce.

“Hot chocolate will be fine mom,” Buffy responded following her mother into the kitchen.

“Is Spike in Sunnydale with you? I should invite him over to apologise to him too. No doubt he did not like the whole lighting you on fire thing. Did I mention that I’m sorry?”

Buffy giggled softly. “You did mom. And it’s fine, I’m over it. Much worse things have happened to me when I was alive. Spike’s in LA still. I’m not staying, mom. I’m going back to LA as soon as I know that Willow’s ok.”

“Something happened to Willow?” asked Joyce concerned.

“Faith tried to kill her. Faith is all tied up girl in the library. If Willow had died...”

“Oh Buffy,” sighed Joyce reaching out to clasp her daughter’s hand. “I know how important Willow is to you. But I know even if you didn’t have her always with you, you’d still be ok,” observed her mom, with a twinkle in her eye.

“You didn’t just talk to Giles did you?” asked Buffy.

Joyce sighed. “No, I talked to Willow too. Gave me the Willow, not placing blame version of the last two weeks. I can read between the lines and the oddly exclaimed sentences though. You took her, didn’t you?”

Buffy looked down at her hand that her mother held. “I did. I didn’t mean for her to get hurt.”

“She’s not a vampire, Buffy. She can’t live like you seem to want to now. I’d like to say that her parents missed her, but you know them, barely pay attention to her when she is here.”

“At the time, I needed her. I still do, a little bit. But I won’t be taking her back with me. I need to work without the safety net.”

Joyce nodded in understanding.

“I’m glad you came back Buffy. Even if it is only for a short visit. “ Joyce leaned forward to hug her daughter. “I love you Buffy. I may not like the vampire thing, but it’s what you are.”

Buffy sighed. “No, it’s past time for me to accept the reality of my choice.”

“Your choice?” asked Joyce her voice bordering on hysteria. “I thought you said that it happened when you were on patrol, that a vampire got the better of you? Are you saying that you chose to be a vampire...that Spike did this to you?”

Buffy looked at her mom with wide eyes and internally cursed her word choice. There was no point about lying about it now.

“Yes, I chose this. Maybe a big mistake, but it was mine to make. I love Spike. I want to be with him forever. This,” she pointed at the bite mark on her neck, “makes it so.”

“You let him kill you...”

“Yes, I did. And lately, not so sorry about it.”

“Drusilla’s left?”

“Yes, and Spike and I are happy.”

“What if she comes back? Will you be miserable again? Will you be running back home to your mother when things don’t work out?” said Joyce bitterly.

“Well not if you yell at me!” spat Buffy. “Look I came here tonight, to say hello, and sorry that I left again without telling you I was leaving. I’ll just go get my stuff out of my room. You can turn it into your home gym or something.”

“Buffy, that’s not what I want!” protested her mother.

“Then what do you want mom? Cause I’m just a little bit confused here.”

“I want my little girl back!” cried Joyce, holding her tears back for the time being.

“I grew up,” said Buffy factually as she headed up to her room.
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As Buffy carried a sole box down Revello Drive and back towards the school to get the Desoto she realised that she hadn’t really planned the whole move out of her mom’s house very well. She had far too much stuff to move by herself, especially since she walked to her mom’s house instead of driving.

She dropped the box into the trunk of the Desoto and unlocked the driver side door. She was about to get in when a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Elizabeth, Childe of William the Bloody!” greeted Anya from across the parking lot.

“Anya, friend of Cordelia,” responded Buffy.

“Hey,” said Anya as she came to rest in front of the vampire. “Do you know a witch that I could butter up? And not have to pay currency to for doing a spell? ‘Cause this whole mortal existence in this very capitalistic country is very monetarily based. I lack currency.”

“Ok,” noted Buffy, thinking that this was random and odd. “Umm, how about Willow, or Amy. Both witches and they probably won’t charge you for the spell.”

Anya nodded. “Ok, great. Will I see you at school tomorrow?”

“Maybe, I haven’t decided yet. I need to clean out my locker at the very least.”

“You’re dropping out?”

“I should have as soon as I started walking around without a heartbeat,” Buffy explained sadly. “Hey where do you live?” she asked out of the blue curious.

“I have an apartment, it’s sucking up all the cash I had hoarded away over the centuries.”

“Huh, well I have a house. No one is living in it, you wanna be like my house keeper slash sometimes roommate. Of course, if we ever officially move back here there’d probably be minions there too.”

“That the mansion on Crawford street?” asked Anya.

Buffy nodded.

“Ok, I’ll agree. I’m not paying to clean it up though. Those minions didn’t take very good care of it, before Spike dusted them all.”

“Cleaning, right. Things to do tomorrow,” observed Buffy. “See you tomorrow at school?”

Anya nodded with a happier look on her face.

Buffy pulled away in the big black car leaving Anya in the parking lot. The former vengeance demon giggled. She knew that even if she did get her pendant back there was no way she was going to be in her boss’ good books for quite some time.

Staying in that big house would certainly help her out with accommodation issues, demon or not.

Anya walked off in the direction of her apartment with a happy tune.
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Buffy walked up through the basement of the school just as the first bell rang. The hallways were full of scurrying students eager to get to class. She noticed the looks that a few of them had been giving her as she walked through the halls on her way to the library.

What kind of excuse did Xander make up for me?

“Wow, Buffy!” came Cordelia Chase’s voice from behind her. “You’ve never looked more, dead.”

“Why thank you Cordelia,” countered Buffy. “It’s a look I’ve been working on ever so hard.”

“Ya, well I thought I’d let you know that you haven’t made any friends by letting Xander tell everyone that you and Willow went to England for two weeks. I don’t care if the Watcher’s Council decided you don’t need school anymore.”

Buffy’s eyes widened with comprehension. She had thought that Cordelia had been aware of the vampiness. “Huh, well some of us just have that hidden specialness that some people never achieve. But thanks Cordelia, cause I was really wondering if you were still in the loop since Xander moved on to better things.”

Buffy walked on, leaving the cheerleader stunned in the hallway.

ok, new plan. Need to get Xander set up with someone. Wonder if Anya’s seeing anyone.
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Buffy stepped into the Library to find Giles coming out of his office, which suspiciously had the blinds closed.

“Faith in there?” Buffy asked.

Giles nodded. “She seems to be repentant for staking Willow. However she is quite violently resolved to do away with you Buffy and your mate. Is...is the entire wet works squad dead?” Giles asked, removing his glasses and polishing them vigorously.

“Yes. They are. They attacked, in the middle of the day. What did they think was going to happen? Spike, Willow and I were playing poker!”

Giles put his glasses back on. “Yes, well it is the policy of the Council to put an end to Slayers that have allowed themselves to be turned.”

“This has happened before?”

“Not in this way of course,” started Giles, only to pause when Buffy gave him a look. “Your mother phoned me last night. I trust you found shelter for the time being?”

“Crawford Street mansion.”

Giles nodded. “Very well. You must be made aware that they won’t stop coming after you and Spike until you are both dusted.”

“’Cause their first attempt was so well thought out and scary!” Buffy said sarcastically.

The library doors swung open revealing Principal Snyder in all his horribleness.

“Summers! Shouldn’t you be in class?”
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tbc...