Allison was amazed at her surroundings. The mansion was beautiful, yet comfortable looking at the same time. The walls were painted a soft coffee color, and the sofas and armchairs in the living room were filled with comforting, fluffy pillows. Tiffany lamps, obviously Giles's just like back in Sunnydale, adorned the end tables. And books were piled everywhere, but in semi-organized heaps.

And then, everything stopped. She saw him out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting at the kitchen table sipping from a mug. Dawn was sitting across from him and they seemed to be having a friendly chat. Allison grabbed Carolee's arm, and whispered in her ear. "SPIKE!"

Carolee smiled at Allison. "You should go talk to him." Allison's eyes glazed over, and she got a petrified look on her face. "Talk to him? What would I say?" She was saved from further anxiety, however, as Buffy spoke up. "Ok, guys, let's go into the den. We have work to do." Everyone started to make their way down the hall, but Buffy suddenly halted and pointed at Allison and Carolee. "Not you two. You stay out here." She turned towards Spike. "Spike, you stay with them."

"What? I get the bloody babysitting duty?" Buffy just glared at him, and she won the battle of wills. The rest of the gang went down the hall, Xander taking up the tail. He gave Carolee and Allison a small smile of apology as he closed the door, shutting them out.

Spike was still grumbling under his breath as he opened the refrigerator and refreshed his mug. Now they could see it was blood he was drinking. And it just wasn't as cute in person as it had been on television.

He looked up at the two nervous girls then, and gave them a small smile, gesturing them over to join him at the kitchen table. "I'd offer you something to drink, but.." He held up the mug of blood to them. They wrinkled their noses at him, but were grateful for his hospitality as they sat at the kitchen table with him.

Carolee finally worked her nerve up and asked, "Do you know what's going on?"

He gulped from his mug, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and snorted. "Like you, I'm not allowed in the inner sanctum. Hell, I died for all of them, yet I'm still an outsider."

"I'm surprised. I figured after everything that has happened, you'd all be closer now." Carolee felt kind of bad for them. She'd imagined them as a loving and close family, but it sure didn't seem that way. It was more like an army, toughened and cold, but Carolee thought even soldiers were close. Like brothers, weren't they? It didn't seem that way with this group of people.

Spike decided these two deserved to know what was going on. After all, from what he had gathered from snippets of conversation, these two were key in the coming battle. Buffy wanted them protected and treated like precious commodities. That was the key of it right there. These two ladies were not things, not commodities. They were human beings, with hot blood pumping through their veins. Spike had learned something about good and evil in his short time in LA with Wolfram and Hart, and his battle with the first. These two sitting before him mattered, and should be treated as such. If only Buffy could realize that.

So he decided to play narrator and biographer to each Scooby member, in the hopes that Allison and Carolee could gain some kind of understanding in what they were now caught up in the middle of. After all, they were not hostages.

He began with the easiest, that whelp, Xander. The boy was healing after Anya's death. He would lose himself in his woodshop for hours, sometimes days at a time. His humor wasn't as frequent anymore. He had become quieter and withdrawn, but more loyal than ever. Xander had vowed to never lose another loved one. Spike felt for the boy, but hell, death is what life is all about.

Willow was the one that had found Whispering Pines. After the death of the First, Kennedy had wanted to spread her wings in Cleveland, and kick some butt at another Hellmouth. But Willow wanted a break, as did the rest of the Scoobies. So the slayers that had wanted to do daily battle went to Cleveland with Wood and Faith and Kennedy, while others went back to their families and homes. The Scoobies had wandered for a time, until one evening Willow had been online and found this web page by a group of people called Lunatics. They had complete sections about this quaint little Oregon town called Whispering Pines, and it sounded just like the place for the Scoobies to settle in, relax, and heal. So they sold the school bus, bought a Suburban, and with Council funds that Giles had inherited, bought Scobey Manor and moved in.

But the research never ended for Giles, and he is the one that found the prophecy about the next apocalypse. In fact, these days it seemed as if Giles spent more time with his books than ever before. Spike thought it was the Watcher's way of dealing with the grief and loss of his family and the Council back in England. After all, the Council of Watchers was all but wiped out, and many of them had been family and friends of Giles. Now, more than ever before, Giles was alone in this land of the brave and true. He had basically become a "bloody Colonial", whether he liked it or not. And he was lonely. Books were an escape for him. Books gave him answers, and reasons to go on, and a will to do what was right. Buffy ignored him, the kids didn't need him anymore, and his inheritance kept him from needing a real job for the rest of his life. So he lost himself in the prophecies. Spike knew it had annoyed Buffy to no end when Giles had found another apocalypse. Their duty never ended, the Evil never stopped. Buffy was resigned to it, but not happily. Giles craved it, however. He had nothing else.

Spike jumped up to again refresh his mug, and prompted Allison and Carolee to go through the cupboards and make a nice pot of tea. Soon they were again settled in at the table, mesmerized by the continued tale.

Buffy, according to Spike, had become more distant than ever. She was hardly ever home. Sometimes she'd jet off to LA to help Angel, sometimes she'd travel to Europe to "find herself", or she'd just hole up in her bedroom. No one knew or understood what was going on with her, and she wouldn't confide in anyone. They had all tried at one time or another to reach her, but she had effectively shut them all down so many times, that they now just figured her bad mood was par for the course. They all had their own lives now, more or less. Buffy didn't have to stay here anymore, but she did, because of her sister. Dawn had said that Willow, Xander and Giles were her family, and she loved Whispering Pines and her new school, so that was why Buffy was here. Dawn had already lost so much in her life, and Buffy couldn't force her to abandon all that she knew. Dawn seemed to be the only one really blossoming, and that warmed Spike's heart. He felt himself like her older brother, and took pride in her accomplishments. Carolee thought it was kind of cute and endearing.

After Giles had found the prophecy, Spike and Cordy had been sent for. Spike wasn't totally in the loop, but apparently they would all be needed for whatever battle was coming. The gang seemed to treat Spike like a guard dog. Allison didn't like it one bit, and told the vampire so. He smiled at her, gave her a wink, and told her he didn't worry about it. He was a patient man nowadays, and knew that in the end, it would all work out. Allison blushed, and Spike was intrigued. For the rest of the conversation, Carolee pretty much felt like an outsider, but she was happy for Allison so it was all okay. She just wished she could be in that den with Giles. That's where her heart was. She understood his loneliness, and his need for a purpose. She ached for him in that way.

It was a few hours later when the group emerged from the den. Buffy and Dawn headed up to their bedrooms for some much needed sleep. Xander and Willow decided to go for a quiet walk before going to bed themselves. Cordelia ran off to call Angel and the gang in LA and catch them up to date. It was Giles that wandered into the kitchen to find Carolee asleep in her chair, her hand on her chin, her elbow resting on the table. Spike and Allison were wide awake, however. Allison was quietly giggling at Spike, as he held playing cards before her. He seemed to be trying to teach her how to play kitten poker, but it was slow going because he kept getting distracted by her shy giggle and the twinkle in her eyes.

Chapter 5