"Do you have any idea what you have here?" The jeweler peered at me through his loupe. "A ring?" "Yes, obviously," he said. He leaned back in his chair and looked me in the eyes. "Do you know what the stone is?" "A ruby?" I was bored already. I never did have the patience to yammer on about jewelry or clothing or other fripperies. I had a century's worth of experience tuning it out. "No, this is a red diamond." "What of it?" I said impatiently. "Do you want to buy it or not?" He gave me a look of complete exasperation. It reminded me strongly of Giles. "The last red diamond to go to auction sold for 1.7 million dollars," he explained. "Go on," I said my attention focused on his words. "That ring was less than two carats." He held up Dru's ring. "This one is over six." My throat went dry. "Are you telling me that that little bauble is worth millions of dollars?" "That's exactly what I'm telling you." He smiled at me. "Now, obviously, I can't buy this ring." He rummaged in his mahogany desk and came up with a card. "Call this auction house. They specialize in rare fancy diamonds, which is what you've got here." He wrapped up the ring in a square of tissue and handed it to me. "I'd be very careful with it if I were you." **** I walked through the tunnel under downtown Sunnydale in a haze. This changed everything. I could take care of Tara. She could stop living off of Ramen noodles and peanut butter. We could move out of the dorm and into a place of our own. I could pay off her loans and put money in the bank. I could take care of my girl, without stealing to do it. I could be a good man. I broke into a run, desperate to tell her. I entered the section of tunnel underneath the campus and the basement of Tara's building. I whistled as I dashed up the stairs and down the hallway of her floor. A scent that I hadn't smelled in a long time filled my nostrils. Tara's fear. I ran for the door and found it locked. "You're a filthy little bitch," I heard a male voice say. "You're a filthy little bitch and you don't deserve to live." A red haze filled my field of vision and my demon took over. I ripped off the doorknob and swung the door open. A man had Tara slammed up against the wall. His hands were wrapped tightly around her neck, choking her. Her eyes were closed and her head lolled back. I grabbed him by the jacket and threw him across the room. The chip kicked in, but I welcomed the pain. It just pissed me off even more. He slammed into the wall face first and fell to the ground. I advanced on him, kicking the bastard over and over until he stopped moving. "Spike?" said a small voice behind me. I rushed to Tara's side. Her lip was split and I wiped the blood gently with my thumb. She winced and pulled away. "Are you okay, baby?" I looked her over and saw that her skirt was ripped, her blouse torn. I could smell him on her, smell the stink of his sweat. She stared at me, her eyes wide and lips trembling. "What did he do to you?" She pulled me to her and pressed her face into my shoulder. She didn't cry, just let me rock her back and forth. I heard a groan behind me and turned to see the man rolling over and trying to get up. I unwrapped Tara's arms from my neck. "I'm going to kill him," I said firmly. She grabbed my hand. "You can't," she said. Her eyes pleaded at me. "Why the hell not?" "He's my brother," she said. "It's Donnie." I looked over at the moaning pile of crap, and I recognized him, vaguely, as the jerk who had shown up on her birthday, telling everyone she was going to become a demon. "Why did he do this to you?" I asked, confused. "It's been going on for years," she whispered. "It's just never been this bad before." "He's been beating you for years?" "Since we were kids." "And your parents? They didn't know?" "My father knew," she said bitterly. "But he never did anything about it. And my mother pretended not to notice. She had enough trouble on her hands with my father."

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