~*~
Chapter 9
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"Hot wings? You brought hot wings for our picnic?" Buffy looked at the interesting choices of food spread before her. The sticky chicken wings looked suspiciously like they had been prepared at the Bronze and the rest was the best variety of junk food ever collected from a convenience store.

"Yeah. Isn’t chicken one of those typical American picnic items?" Spike was a bit stung by Buffy’s reaction to his effort in preparing the feast for their lunch date. It had been over a century since a picnic involved more than selecting an appropriately isolated family to drain, after all! Spike was a vampire, not the Galloping Gourmet. Not like the crypt had a full-service kitchen either, even if Spike had known how to mix up a proper potato salad. Bint should show some appreciation.

Buffy saw the slight pout and flash of hurt on Spike’s face and felt a stab of guilt. "Not that there’s anything wrong with yummy spicy goodness, and no one has ever said no to Doritos and Cheetos as side dishes." She smiled apologetically and kissed Spike lightly. "This is perfect! Every teenage girl’s dream date. Her hot, sexy guy bearing loads of junk food to share on a beautiful California day with no lectures about her cutting one little class to make it a long picnic by the pond. Gotta take advantage of the current lack of principalness in the school while I can."

A mollified Spike stretched out on the blanket and basked in both the sunlight and in hearing Buffy call him "her hot, sexy guy". Buffy looked like a spring flower herself in her flowy dress with its garden print and her sun-streaked hair gently blowing in the mild breeze. Not for the first time, Spike reveled in the freedom digging up the Gem had given him. He was glad he hadn’t wasted its possibilities like he had the first time.

The two laughed and teased over their lunch, with Buffy making a daisy chain and chasing Spike around trying to crown him with her flower wreath. The chase ended with a tackle to the blanket and much rolling about and giggling. They looked like something from a TV sitcom cast from the perfectly featured blond stock of California actors.

Spike felt as light-hearted as a boy. Something about this girl seemed to breathe life back in his undead body. She was fresh and untouched by the horrors she confronted nightly. She still had the razor sharp wit that Spike had enjoyed, but the bitter edge, especially when it was focused on him, wasn’t there.

Spike began to see the damage left by his grandsire and the ill-fated first love that had left the unhappy girl he knew in his original timeline. That girl had already begun to pile on the mortar she used to encase her heart as she sharpened her tongue for more verbal stakings. ‘Poof managed to leave a mess in his wake, even with that shiny soul,’ Spike thought in disgust.

Giles wasn’t used to playing the stalker, but now that all things had returned to normal, or as normal as it could ever be on a Hellmouth, he was determined to solve the puzzle of this Spike. He watched the couple as they played, ate and traded gentle touches and kisses in the bright mid-day sun.

Giles was perplexed. The vibe he was picking up from Buffy’s new boyfriend simply screamed ‘vampire’, yet in all the annals of the Council, there had never been a vampire immune to sunlight. Spike acted quite human as well, and not just because he seemed able to consume amazing quantities of high calorie, nutritionally unsound food either. This Spike was causing every warning bell possible to ring in the Watcher and Giles planned to devote time to finding out just why.

~~~

The Watcher entered his office and looked through the pile of faxes awaiting him. "Free vacation for four to the Caribbean." He sighed in frustration as he
tossed away all but a couple sheets of paper. "There is just no escaping junk mail, even in this electronic age."

He was disappointed in the two valid faxes, one from Council headquarters with information about the next retreat, which Giles had not been invited to attend, and the other from the school board with a request for his library budget figure for next term.

He had been hoping that his contact at the FBI had been able to run a check on the fingerprints he had managed to get from a paper Spike had handled. At the very least, Giles hoped to discover if the man had a criminal background or was in the
country illegally. There was something off about the latter day punk and Giles wanted to root out the obvious possibilities first.

So far, this Spike person had proved helpful and Buffy was clearly smitten. Indeed, Buffy was so taken with this unknown man that Giles felt it imperative to check him out before things combusted between the two. The electricity was palpable between them and Giles knew he was on borrowed time if he needed to bring the attraction to an abrupt end.

"So what’s the what with Buffy’s new inappropriately old honey?" Giles started at the sound of Xander’s slightly petulant voice. "I mean this guy shows up with his leather and his whole bad boy vibe and suddenly the Buffster turns down the mystery meat surprise in the cafeteria."

"Yes, well, that wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice, now would it?" Giles shook his head at the boy’s rather obvious jealousy. It was perfectly clear to everyone but the lad himself that Buffy would never see him as anything but a dear friend. "I would think you would be somewhat grateful to Spike for his preventing you from being an even bigger prat than you were under the hyena influence."

That shut the boy up properly. "Seriously, G-man, what do you think about the guy?"

"I think we don’t know enough to form any sort of opinion so far. There has been nothing in his actions to cause alarm and that is as much as I am willing to commit to at present." Giles turned to the sound of another incoming fax.

The Watcher pursed his lips and furrowed his brow as he scanned the paper he just received. There was absolutely no record of the fingerprints on file with the FBI or Interpol.

That was good in one respect; at least Giles could rule out Spike as some international criminal. It still left all the same unanswered questions, however. There was an element of danger that was nearly visible with the black-clad newcomer that made Giles fear the worst. Well, not the absolute worst, once the issue of Spike being a member of the undead was settled.

"Well, I guess the guy’s a step up from the last older guy Buffy was making eyes at. I mean what kind of name for a man is ‘Angel’ anyway?" Xander muttered.

"I don’t know that Buffy was ever truly interested in Angel. He seemed merely like a rather more attractive than usual informant." Giles was only half attending to the boy’s attempt at conversation. Evidently the shared secret about Xander’s lack of memory loss was being viewed by the boy as a bond of sorts.

"Is there something I can help you with, Xander?" Giles said with a sigh. He really wanted to be alone with his thoughts to decide where to go from here in his investigation of the actual male who had Buffy’s interest. Xander was too much of a distraction for his taste at the moment.

"No, I’m good." Xander plopped down on the Watcher’s desk and opened a bag of chips. "Will is doing some extra credit work for one of her science labs and Buffy is off with her new boy toy, so the lunchroom’s a bit empty, if you get my meaning."

"Yes, well, I’m a bit occupied at the moment and think you should perhaps find a more age-appropriate companion to amuse yourself with and let me get back to work for now." Giles said this in a mild enough tone that Xander didn’t take offense.

"Check. Busy Watcher Man. No time to save a fellow human being from a slow death by boredom when there are actual demons to check out, right?" Xander got down from the desk and ambled toward the library door. "Scooby meeting after school this afternoon?"

"No, other than the ongoing issues with the Master, there is nothing to call for a group research project. You are free to get into whatever trouble you might be prone to tonight." Giles smiled at the boy.

It was good to remember that with all his immaturity and annoying faults, the lad was a willing help to his Slayer. Xander had no special skills, no super powers, but he did have plenty of pluck and had never run from a battle, no matter how outgunned.

As soon as Xander left him to his thoughts, Giles went back to his mental list of areas to check out in Spike’s background, areas that might be vital to know about if he wanted to keep his Slayer safe.

~~~

Spike looked around the dusty crypt. It had served his purpose just fine, as long as his purpose was to lie low from his family until he killed his third Slayer. It didn’t serve his new purpose of making himself an acceptable suitor to the lovely girl he found himself besotted with this afternoon.

He could no longer deny what he was feeling. Everything about the girl excited him. Her strength, power, grace and fighting skills had always attracted Spike. Her openness and sweet disposition that had never been directed his way before were a revelation, however. All the initial attraction compounded by the lust and residual ‘love’ from Willow’s spell in his own timeline had been but a foundation to the things he was feeling after meeting this delightful girl now.

Dru had said Spike loved Buffy; he just hadn’t believed her. Now he wanted nothing more than to set himself up for a long courtship until the girl was old enough to accept all he had to offer. Spike was no borderline pedophile like some he could mention. He’d be there for her every step of the way and if he were careful in his actions, the day would come when he could offer himself as her partner in all things. In just these few weeks, Spike had come to the point where he couldn’t imagine his life without Buffy in it.

After packing up the litter from their picnic and packing Buffy off to her next class, Spike spent the rest of the day hunting down a good forger in the large underground of the Hellmouth. One good thing about Sunnydale’s larger-than-average unofficial population was the network of forgers, hackers and other resources for making an identity out of nothing.

By sundown, Spike had all the paperwork one could purchase to make him a viable official human. Spike had chosen the surname of Edwards, a fairly common name and it honored William’s father at the same time. So it was that William Edwards, late of London and recently naturalized American citizen went apartment hunting. Without too much trouble, he found a nice two-bedroom flat with a small garden not too far from Buffy’s school.

A quick trip to a rental store furnished the place to an acceptable bachelor level. He’d add personal touches in time. Maybe Buffy would even help him decorate.

His educational records were all nicely implanted in the California university record system. The sheer number of students attendeding the various branches of the University of California made inserting a name in proper places a snap for the hacker Spike hired.

Mr. Edwards had no need for work, thanks to the stash of glitteries that had kept company with the Gem of Amara, but he had a ‘background’ that made him employable at any rate. He was now armed with an ordinary enough background as a foreign-born student taking a liking to the States and becoming a citizen after graduating.

Spike knew Giles was suspicious of him and now he had the necessary documents to build a story that might put the Watcher off the scent for a while. He wanted to build some trust before having his unbeating heart noticed by anyone. Actually, Spike was having to put together an entirely new plan since his goals had changed so radically.

He wasn’t yet sure how he wanted to deal with the Watcher. Spike’s new ‘background’ would buy him time to decide at the very least. Part of him wanted to take the chance and just level with Giles, at least the part about him being a vampire. Spike thought his uniqueness due to the chip and Gem might stay the hand of the Watcher, at least until Giles could ferret out the reason for this vampire’s non-human diet and special abilities. Spike was loath to lie for long-- he’d never been very good at it.

~~~

As Spike worked on formulating his new plan in his new apartment, Buffy began her nightly patrol across town.

Three rather formidable vampires seemed to come from nowhere. Buffy was preoccupied with thoughts of the yumminess that was Spike and didn’t notice them until they were almost on her.

"Gotta work on that vamp sensing thing Giles is always trying to teach me," Buffy told herself as she took a swing at the nearest vampire.

As she brought up the stake, one of the three grabbed her arm, surprising her long enough for another to grab her other arm. "Ooo! Okay, okay, nice.."

Buffy was being pulled into an alley and shoved up against a fence when one of her attackers moved slowly towards her. "Okay, look. I really don’t want to fight all three of you…unless I have to."

Buffy kicked one vamp in his danglies and elbowed another before attempting to land a punch on the third. Unfortunately, Vamp #3 neatly blocked Buffy’s move and slammed her into the fence. Buffy was beginning to think her days were at an end as she struggled to get away.

As one of the vamps moved closer to Buffy, grabbing her head and moving in to deliver a bite, Angel came up behind him and grabbed his hair, pulling the vamp off Buffy. "Good dogs don’t bite!" Angel punched the vampire as Buffy fought off the other two.

As the fight continued, one of the vamps pulled a security bar from a window and turned towards Angel. "Look out!" Buffy warned. The bar sliced Angel across the chest, opening a shallow cut. He bent over in pain and Buffy came to his rescue as the vamp prepared to stab Angel.

Having made an opening in the enemy’s flanks, Buffy yelled to her unexpected helper, "Run!" They managed to keep well ahead of the three pursuing vampires.

The duo reached Revello Drive quickly and Buffy wrenched open the front door. "Get in…come on!" She rushed in with Angel hot on her tail. Safely inside, Buffy
slammed the door and locked it. The three vampires looked through the windows at the pair. Buffy could feel her heart race. She rarely ran from a battle, but this one had gone wrong from the start.

Angel, strangely not out of breath, said calmly, "It’s all right. A vampire can’t come in unless you invite them."

Buffy noticed the seeping wound across Angel’s chest and told him to take off his shirt and jacket while she went for the first aid kit. Inspecting her patient, Buffy noticed a large tattoo of a griffin with an ‘A’ below the mystery man’s right shoulder. Funny, he didn’t look the tattoo type.

"Good thing for me you decided to do a drop-in." Buffy hadn’t added the ‘and chose to actually help’ that she had been thinking. "How did you happen to come along?" She began to clean his wound and bandage it.

"I live nearby. I was out for a walk," Angel lied.

"You weren’t stalking me? I had a feeling I was being followed." Buffy had been creeped out in the past by that habit of his.

Angel smiled his best misunderstood, innocent smile and asked, "Why would I do that?"

Good question, Buffy thought. "You tell me. You’re the mystery guy that pops in out of nowhere, drops some 4-1-1, then books. I’m pretty happy you showed up tonight, but…if you’re hanging around me like this, I’d like to know why."

Angel gave her his best pouty-eyed puppy dog look. "Maybe I like you."

He was flirting with her! If Angel had tried that a few weeks earlier, Buffy might have been intrigued. Now she merely rolled her eyes. "I have a boyfriend, Angel. I’m not a ‘ho either, so I don’t cheat."

"I’d never think you were anything but perfect, Buffy," Angel tried again.

Buffy was busy looking out the window to see where the trio of vampires had gone. Her mother was going to be coming home soon and the last thing Buffy wanted was to have her mom encounter them.

Angel peered over her shoulder. "I don’t see them."

Buffy turned to look at the now looming man. "You know, I’m the Chosen One and have to do this whole fighty thing. What’s your excuse?"

Angel took on a serious appearance. "Someone has to protect the innocents out there."

"Yup, that would be me," Buffy sighed. "What does your family think about your career choice?"

"They’re dead," Angel answered in a flat voice.

"Oh, sorry. Was it vampires?" Buffy suddenly felt she better understood this mystery man.

"Yes. It was a long time ago." Angel shifted his eyes back out the window.

"So this is a vengeance thing then." Buffy was relieved to see that the vampire trio did indeed seem to be gone, making the way safe for her mom to come home.

"You could say I have my reasons," Angel replied.

And again with the cryptic. "It looks like our buddies are gone. Do you think you need to drop by the hospital or anything?"

"No, I already had an angel of mercy patch me up. I’ll be fine." Angel leaned in and placed a kiss on Buffy’s lips. She gasped in surprise and tried to pull away, but Angel took her parted lips as an invitation to deepen the kiss. Just as she shoved him away, he went into game face.

Buffy screamed and reached for her stake. Angel growled and tried to shove down the demon long enough to explain. "No, Buffy! I’m on your side. I have a soul, a mission."

As Buffy raised the stake, Angel dashed to the door and out of the house, nearly knocking over Joyce as she came up the porch stairs.

Buffy quickly hid the stake and smiled at her mother in greeting.

"Who was that, Buffy? You know I don’t want you to have male friends over unsupervised." Joyce was tired and the last thing she wanted was a showdown with Buffy, but rules were rules and the young man she had but glimpsed had shown bad manners right off the bat.

"Angel’s not a male friend," Buffy said.

"From what I saw, he certainly was male." Joyce put her hands on her hips and gave her daughter a no-nonsense stare. "What was a shirtless male who’s ‘not a friend’ doing in my house while I was at the gallery?"

"Umm, about the no shirtyness…nothing happened, Mom." Buffy tried to think of how to explain Angel without getting into the whole slayage issue. "He, um, helps me with my schoolwork. He knows all kinds of history. He spilled coffee on his shirt and I bandaged the burn, Mom, that’s all."

"That had better be all, missy. You’re only a sophomore, Buffy, far too young to be getting involved with an older boy like that." Joyce looked at her with a worried frown.

"Don’t worry, Mom," Buffy reassured, "I have NO interest in Angel like that. In fact, I think he won’t be hanging around at all from now on."