Growing Up on the Hellmouth Part 11

TITLE: Growing Up on the Hellmouth pt 11/?
AUTHOR: Faery
FEEDBACK: Remember, feedback is like a cattle prod�the more you hit
me with it, the faster I write :-)
DISTRIBUTION: I would be honoured, just let me know first.
PAIRING: Spike/Dawn
RATING: Somewhere between PG and PG-13. Not really naughty at all
DISCLAIMER: Joss owns all. Joss rules all. But if he ever wants to
give up Spike I'd be more than happy to play with him for a while.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Still screwing with the timeline. Some things from
the actual show are still making an appearance, but not in the right
order.    I guess we can call this Alternate Universe inspired by
canon :-)
SUMMARY: Giles and Buffy learn of Dawn's bond to Spike. Much arguing
ensues.

Dawn groaned as she sat up, feeling for all intents and purposes like
she had a hangover minus the getting drunk part. Her head throbbed
and her body ached. Tentatively, she moved to sit up, keeping her
movements slow.

"Did anyone get the number of the truck that hit me?" she said to the
quiet room.

At her feet, two sleeping figures began to stir. Buffy had curled up
in Giles's lap, her arms around his waist. With a start, the Watcher
and Slayer woke up and hurriedly disentangled from each other.

"Whoa, I must have been out for a while. Since when have you two
been all cozy?" Dawn asked, a smirk on her face.

Buffy quickly scrambled to get off the floor and put as much distance
as possible between her and Giles. "I'm gonna go make tea or
something," she said hurriedly as she scampered to the kitchen.

Giles moved to sit next to Dawn on the couch. Rubbing the bridge of
his nose, he began to explain. "We...we were merely sitting watch by
your side, to ensure your safety. During the course of the night, we
must have fallen asleep. I assure you nothing untoward occurred."
Despite his protestations, Giles seemed extremely flustered by Dawn's
taunting words.

"Then why are you blushing," Dawn asked, feigning innocence.

Buffy emerged from the kitchen, several cups of tea in hand. She
lept to defend Giles as she distributed steaming mugs to
everyone. "It's all my fault, Dawn. Really. So leave the old guy
alone. I refused to leave your side last night, so Giles sat down
with me to keep me company. We both kind of fell asleep, and at some
point during the night I turned Giles into a pillow. I mean, he's a
lot more comfy than a cold, hard floor."

Buffy totally missed the mixed emotions flying across Giles's face.
First anguish at being referred to as `the old guy' and then a warm
sort of elation at being deemed a good pillow.

"Yes...well, a...a Watcher's job is to serve his Slayer through all
manner of hardship. Even if that hardship happens to be the threat
of a floor too hard. My aching back is well worth the knowledge that
my Slayer slept the night through in ease."

Dawn giggled at Giles's dry sarcasm. "Hey...since when did you get a
sense of humour, Giles?" Dawn asked, still in a teasing mood after
finding Giles's in such an un-Watcherlike position.

"I have many talents, I assure you. Unappreciated as they may go,"
Giles said, a hint of bitterness creeping into his voice.

Frowns creased the foreheads of both Dawn and Buffy. Dawn, however,
was the first to assure Giles of his worth. "No! Humour's good.
Girls just love a guy with a good sense of humour. Don't they
Buffy? And, hey! If your back really hurts, I bet Buffy could like
give you a massage later or something and make you feel a lot better."

"Dawn, what are you doing?" Buffy asked, not liking the direction
the conversation was going.

"It...it's just, you and Mr. Giles make a nice couple, that's all,"
Dawn said, a hint of a smirk on her face. This was a great way to
keep Buffy's attention away from her and Spike.

Buffy's expression was unreadable. She had fought hard to never think of Giles as anything more than stuffy Watcher guy. She realized that two pairs of eyes were staring intently at her, waiting for a response. Not willing to even begin to examine what her feelings might be in front of either Dawn or Giles, she made the appropriate outraged face and exclaimed, "Oh. My. God. Giles and I are *not* a couple. Where on Earth did you get that idea?"

"It's just that Mr. Giles is so sweet, and you two have to be
together like, forever, anyway since he's your Watcher and all. It
makes perfect sense. And...and you're lonely...he's lonely. Maybe
you could like, stop being lonely together?" Dawn smiled nervously as
Buffy and Giles stared at her, incredulous looks on their faces.

Giles buried his disappointment at Buffy's clearly negative reaction
and lept into the conversation, intent upon making himself seem just
as uninterested. "Dawn, dear, while I am sincerely flattered that
you think so highly of me, I don't know if it is all together
appropriate for you to be...how do you say...fixing me up with
anyone, least of all, your sister. The sentiment is appreciated, but
I must ask that you leave me to find my own companionship, if and
when I so desire it." Giles again had a flustered look on his face,
cracking his composure, and this time it was not lost on Buffy.

Rather than force the issue right then, Buffy tucked away that tiny
piece of knowledge and instead brought the focus back to Dawn. "I
know what this is about," Buffy exclaimed. "You're afraid that I'm
gonna go after Spike again. Believe me, you have nothing to worry
about. I wouldn't touch his undead ass with a ten-foot pole, and
honestly, I don't think you should see him anymore either. But you
certainly don't need to fix me up just so I stay away from Spike."

Giles went from being flustered to baffled. Since when had Spike
become an object of debate between the sisters? Slipping into his
parental/Watcher mode, he began to grill them.

"Wait just one moment here!" Giles interjected. "Go after Spike
*again*...Dawn shouldn't see him *anymore*! Just what have you two
been keeping from me? Buffy, as your Watcher, I need to be informed
of all major happenings in your life, especially when they involve
things of an undead nature. Now please do inform me...just what is
going on between the Summers sisters and our reluctant ally Spike?"

Buffy suddenly found the ground very interesting. Not being able to
meet Giles's eyes, she said quietly, "It's not a big deal or
anything. I, um, sorta tried to seduce Spike to prove to Dawn that
he is nothing but an uncaring, soulless demon who'd go after anything
in a skirt. It, um, didn't go well."

Grief and anger warred across Giles's face. He had never dreamed
that Buffy could demean herself so much. "Buffy, you should be
*ashamed* of yourself!" he admonished.   "While I admit, we need to
protect Dawn at all costs, there was no need to whore yourself out to
a vampire merely to quelch a shoolgirl's crush. That was
unnecessarily cruel and entirely shallow on your part. Just think of
the feelings you've harmed. What were you thinking?"

"Taking this a bit personally, aren't we Giles?" Buffy spat out,
shame quickly turning to anger at his attack. `Whore myself out to a
vampire?' Is that what you think of me? For your information, I did
*not* sleep with Spike. I do not have *feelings* for Spike. Let's
get that straight right now. How could you think I'd stoop that low?"

Giles was about to lay into Buffy again when Dawn interrupted. "Stop!
Would you two just stop?" she screamed. "This isn't helping *anything*.
If you two could stop screaming at each other for just a minute, maybe we
could focus on the issue at hand...like what happened to me last night."

"Dawn's right," Buffy said. "Now isn't the time to fight. We need
to figure out why Dawn was channeling Spike, and how we stop it."

"I...I was channeling Spike? What exactly do you mean by that?"
Dawn said, half-fearing she already knew the answer.

"Dawn, last night you went nuts. First point on the creep
scale...you were talking like him. Had the British accent down pat.
Then things got even wiggier. You *threw me* across the room, and I
swear your eyes glowed yellow. Unless you've been pumping some sort
of demon steroids, this is *not* normal behavior, Dawnie. I'm scared
for you."

"Yes, Dawn. I must agree with Buffy. This behavior is quite out of
the ordinary. You appear to be fine now, but we have no idea whether
you will have a relapse, if you would call it that. Any information
you could give us would be of extraordinary help.   Just what is the
nature of your relationship with Spike?"

Dawn turned crimson red, and she too suddenly found the floor to be
very interesting. "Um...ah...we're friends," Dawn stuttered. That's
all...honest! Just...good friends."

Buffy narrowed her eyes as she listened to her sister. Getting up
from the chair she'd been sitting in, Buffy grabbed her sister's chin
and pulled Dawn's eyes up to meet hers. "Are you sleeping with him?"
Buffy bluntly asked.

Dawn scrambled away from her sister, and Giles had to put a
restraining hand up to keep Buffy at bay. "Buffy! I can't believe
you'd ask me that!" Dawn said, trying to muster enough outrage to
deflect Buffy's questions.

Giles guided the Slayer back to her seat, then gave Dawn a
sympathetic look as he sat down again. "Buffy, really. Show some
restraint. She's only 14...far too young to be engaged in that sort
of activity."

Buffy snorted and her lips curled up in a sneer. "Giles, please tell
me that somewhere under all that tweed there is a man who still lives
in this world. Girls her age...even younger...get pregnant every
day. Sex is a real issue here.   And just how old were you mister,
when you lost your virginity?" Giles coughed and looked towards the
ground, his silence answer enough.

"I thought so..." Buffy said with a hint of self-satisfaction at
being right. "So answer me, Dawn. Are you sleeping with the
bleached-blonde wonder?"

"No!" Dawn yelled. "No..." she said more softly. "I've decided that
I'm not ready to have sex yet. I'm only 14, and I'm still growing
up. As much as I hate to be called a kid, I'm not really an adult
yet either. Throw on top of that being the Key, and you have got one
complicated life. I don't need to throw sleeping with a 126 year old
vampire into the mix. As if my life weren't crazy enough as it is."

"Dawn, I d..don't mean to pry, but do you mean to tell me that you've
actually *discussed* this with Spike?" Giles asked, disbelief written
across his face.

"Yeah, we talk about stuff. Spike's pretty cool. I can tell him how
I feel, and he doesn't put me down or anything." Dawn's face notably
brightened, just at the mention of Spike. A smile beamed across her
face.

Giles noted the almost too happy glow on her face, and a faint memory
began to twitch in the back of his mind. Something he had read once
before...something he had experienced long ago, in the wild days of
his youth. "Dawn, is it safe to say you and Spike are close..."
Giles asked, moving to tenderly cup the side of her face. "...dare I
say, even intimate?" He slowly moved his hand back, gently moving
the hair that covered her neck.

Buffy gasped as she truly saw the marks on Dawn's neck for the first
time. The first night she noticed them, all she could see were bite
marks. She never thought to examine them until now. These were not
the hurried marks of a minion looking for an easy meal...they were
marks made with care. No vicious tears ran across her throat. Only
two angry red marks marred the pale length of Dawn's neck.

"How long have you been letting Spike feed from you?" Giles asked
quietly.

"No, no, no, no, no! This *cannot* be happening. You did *not* just
tell me that my little sister has been volunteering as vamp chow for
that Billy Idol wannabe!" Buffy was furious. She got up from where
she'd been sitting and paced furiously around the room. "I'll kill
him. If he touched you, I'll kill him!"

"Buffy...Buffy!" Dawn shouted. "Calm down...please! Let...let me
explain. You don't understand. I asked him to do it...I *wanted*
him to!" Dawn was frantic, and tears streamed down her face.

"Buffy, do sit down!" Giles snapped as he grabbed Buffy by the
shoulders and firmly pushed her down into a wooden chair
nearby. "You must remain calm. Now is not the time to let your
anger control you. We have to hear Dawn out...her life may depend
upon it."

The moment Giles mentioned a threat to Dawn's life, Buffy settled
down. Anger still rolled off of her in waves, but she kept it
contained, barely hidden under the surface. "Fine," Buffy said in a
steely tone.

Dawn was curled up in a ball on Giles's sofa. She had let her hair
fall to cover the mark on her neck again. "I won't let you hurt
him," she whispered.

Giles stroked the frightened girl's hair, calming her with soothing
words. "Dawn, I may not be ...fond...of Spike, but at this moment I
have no desire to see him come to harm. I fear that you two may have
formed a unique sort of bond, and to hurt Spike is to hurt you. I
care for you greatly, Dawn. You are like a daughter to me, so if
hurting Spike in any way endangers you, I will gladly see him live to
a ripe old age."

"So you won't kill him?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"No, *we* won't," Giles said with a pointed look at Buffy. "But I am
a bit concerned. From what I know, such a bond can only be formed in
blood. An intimate embrace...a lover's kiss. It wouldn't take
much..." Giles left the statement open, silently asking if Dawn had
indeed done what he feared.

"I...I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late," Dawn
murmured, starting slowly. "Spike...he was so gentle with me.
Kissing me and touching me...he made me feel so loved. He made me
want to live, even after finding out I'm not all together real. So
I...I wanted to give him something. I heard vampires had a thing for
pain. I mean, every time Buffy beat up on Spike, he got a happy... �
Buffy cringed at this little tidbit of information, but Dawn continued.
�...so I bit him. I bit him hard enough to split his lip, and my lip got cut
on his fangs. Our blood mixed together in our mouths. I thought it would
be disgusting, but it was *amazing* Giles. For a second, I could see into
him, and through him, all the way back his bloodline. I know you are going
to tell me it was wrong, but I wouldn't take it back. Not for the world."
Dawn stared at him defiantly, just waiting for an excuse to run out of the
house and into her lover's arms.

From her seat, Buffy fumed. She had a million things she wanted to
scream at Dawn, but she held her tongue, just biding her time until
she could lecture Dawn on every single reason why it was *not* ok to
get involved with a vampire.

For a moment, Giles was silent. He pinched the bridge of his nose
again and a sigh escaped him. "Dear Lord, it's worse than I had
imagined," he gasped. "To feel that sort of connection, your bond
must be very deep, founded in the strongest of emotions."

"I love him...I really do. Not in the `oh I just love Justin
Timberlake from N'Sync' sort of way. I mean love, love." Dawn
clutched a couch pillow to her chest, stunned by the confession she
had just made.

"I don't doubt the sincerity of your feelings, my dear, but I don't
think you realize the gravity of the situation you are in. You are
deeply bound to Spike. It is a feeling unlike any other.� Giles paused
a moment and took a deep breath before continuing.

�I hate to admit this, but once, long ago, I too was in this situation. I
carelessly bound myself to a vampire, more out of defiance to my father
than any real sort of affection. The bond was shallow at best, my feelings
for her only being superficial. But when she was slain, killed by the Slayer,
my world was turned upside down.   I went into a coma for three days,
and I was in emotional torment for months afterwards. I felt as though a
part of me had died, yet I barely even cared for her. If something should
happen to Spike, the consequences to you would be dire. The physically
ramifications alone could cripple you, and the emotional pain would be
unimaginable. It is unlikely you would survive. And the closer you become
to Spike, the deeper your bond will become. Are you willing to take that risk,
all for the love of somebody who professes himself to be evil?"

"Giles, you don't understand. I am not a normal teenager. I have
something inside of me that *gods* are fighting over. You threaten
me with the potential of death if I stay with Spike, but I may not
even live past Glory. Why should I give up what may be my *one*
chance at love before I am killed, just because I *might* get hurt.
I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

Giles and Dawn leaned toward each other, their foreheads touching, as
they sat in silence, both thinking on what had been said. Buffy,
tired of being ignored, broke the tender moment with another
tirade. "I can't believe I am hearing this!" she exclaimed. "You,"
she said, pointing accusingly at Giles, "you claim you love
her...that you love me, yet you almost seem to *approve* of this
relationship. There are no bursts of outrage. There is no oh-so-
British stuttering at the �impropriety of it all�. All you can think
to say is be careful, you might get hurt. And Dawn, what were you
*thinking*? Letting a vampire feed on you. Has everyone but me
totally lost their mind?"

"You dated Angel...now I'm dating Spike. I don't see the problem
here," Dawn said, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

"Dating? Now you're dating him? That's it! I can't take any more
of this. I may not be able to stake Spike, but I sure as hell can
use him as a punching bag." That said, Buffy stormed out the door of
Giles's house.

Giles chased after her, begging for her to stop, but it was no use.
She easily outdistanced him, and he was forced to return to his home,
panting and out of breath. Dawn threw her arms around his waist and
began to cry as they both stared out the door, wondering what
the consequences of Buffy's rash behavior would be.

At the crypt, Spike was just beginning to wake up. In his head,
visions of a blond ball of anger beating the bloody snot out of him
were playing ping pong inside his skull. The words "Be careful,
Spike. Buffy's coming," echoed through his mind. With a sigh, he
got up, groaning at yet again being awakened while the sun was still
high in the sky.

"Guess the Slayer's in the know about all me and kid sis have been up
to," he grumbled. Outside he could hear somebody approaching.

"Master, what is wrong? Do you require assistance?" the Buffybot
asked.

"You be quiet now, ya hear? I can't have the Slayer getting' into
even more of a snit once she gets an eyeful of you. Go hide," Spike
said, making shooing motions with his arms. "Don't come out unless
you hear me screamin' in pain or the like."

"That will make you happy?" she asked?

"Yes!" Spike hissed.

"Ok," she replied in a chipper tone, flipping her hair to the side as
she turned to go to the lower level of the crypt.

Just as the Buffybot disappeared from sight, the real Buffy stormed
into the crypt. Careful to avoid the sunlight now streaming into the crypt,
Spike crept silently behind her and smashed a large chunk of rock against
her head. Buffy crumpled to the ground, unconscious, as
Spike stood above her menacingly.

"Oh, this has been a long time comin', Slayer," Spike sneered as he
began to drag the unconscious form of the Slayer across the floor.

Faery

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