"How can you drive like this?" Cordelia complained. She rubbed at the painted over-windshield, as Spike steered his car through the Sunnydale streets. "Your insurance premiums must be murder."
"Yeah, insurance, right," Spike growled. He pulled his car up to the curb by the Watcher's apartment building.
"Not that this car would be worth fixing," she continued. "Ouch -- Let go of me! If you'd just ask!"
"If you'd just shut the bloody fuck up." Spike shoved his door open and dragged her out of the car after him. "Com'on, ducks. I need you along in case I need an invite."
"For such a nasty person you sure worry a lot about the social niceties," she said. Spike gave up on trying to hurry her along by force, and picked her up to carry her bodily up the sidewalk.
"Okay see?" she said, twisting back at an awkward angle to see where they were going. "The light's off. Nobody is at home. Now put me down!"
Spike dropped her to her feet, morphed, and shoved her up against the wall of the building. "Where the fuck are they?"
"How should I know? Do I keep Giles' social calendar? -- not that that wouldn't be a brain-dead job." She clawed at his hands on her throat. "You're bruising. Boy you've got the Jekyll and Hyde routine down flat. Have you ever thought about moving to Toronto and becoming a cop? You can be Good Cop and Bad Cop at the same time."
Spike glared at her, then started to laugh. "Right little spitfire you are, pet. Bet one of your grandmums had a backseat rumble with a demon somewhere along the line."
"Take that back!" Cordelia tried to knee him.
Spike shoved her flat against the building so she couldn't get her leg up and bent to nip gently at her neck. "How would you fancy keeping these good looks for an eternity?" he growled in her ear.
"You really want a pissed-off Me-Demon out to kick your butt?" she answered breathlessly.
"Temptress." Spike grinned. "And wouldn't you and Dru just mix?"
She shoved ineffectually at him. "Do you want your girlfriend back or not?"
Spike grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her back up the sidewalk.
"What now?" she said in exasperation. There was only the finest edge of fear in her voice -- but Spike was very good at discerning fear beneath bravado. Bloody shame -- he liked her actually. A waste, if he had to kill her. However he didn't fancy having her in tow for eternity -- not that Drusilla would tolerate it in any case.
"They're not at the school, not at his apartment," Spike declared, and tossed her back into his car. "Third time's the charm, luv. Back to the mansion. And she'd better be in one piece when we get there."
"What happened?" Drusilla sat on the floor of the mansion, looking around her frantically. Her eyes fixed on Giles and widened. "Rupert?"
"It's all right." He reached down to help her to her feet. "Willow and I are here."
She looked over at the girl. "Willow? What's happening? I can't remember."
"Don't try." He tilted her face up and kissed her gently on the lips. "We need to get out of here. Let me do what I need to do."
"I --"
"Please, Jenny."
She blinked rapidly, then nodded. "Yes."
"Good girl." He turned to Willow.
She was staring at Drusilla. "Ms. Calendar?" she said hesitantly, then turned her gaze to Giles. "How --?"
"Later," Giles said. He pulled his penknife from his pocket again and bent to saw at the ropes around Willow's ankles. "When we're someplace safe."
Drusilla hastened to his side. "Where are we? Willow, are you okay?"
"Fine," Willow said shakily.
After a painfully quiet minute of work, he managed to get through the rope. He broke through the last few strands with a harsh pull that drew a yelp from Willow. He ran a soothing hand down the rope burns on her skin, then grabbed her under one arm and pulled her to her feet.
Drusilla reached for her other arm, but Willow shrank back. They stared at each other for a moment, Dru looking hurt and bewildered. Willow swallowed audibly then and leaned in to accept the other woman's help.
Together Giles and Drusilla half-carried her to the door. Dru held her doll clutched to her chest in her free arm, as if it had become a forgotten but tangible part of her. Not that it mattered now -- its work had already been done.
They moved through the hall of the mansion towards the front door. None of them spoke, keeping a conspiracy between them of silence of the awful questions that would have to eventually be asked and answered.
Giles felt cold and distanced from what was happening, aloof from Willow and from Drusilla. As if everything that had passed, was to come, was simply part and parcel of still another prophecy, and he that prophecy's tool of becoming. He'd had to steel himself to ignore the horrors of his past experiences here to enter the mansion. In order to leave now he had to quash his fears of the future stemming from his actions.
He'd been heading toward this point of immediacy most of his adult life. As a Watcher to an active Slayer he knew that he might eventually reach it. He no longer had a future or a past, no self beyond what present necessity required, only the awful moment of now. The best Watchers, he'd been told, came to this point sooner or later. He'd hoped to never reach this level of competency. The personal price had always seemed too terrible, even to somebody who'd already dedicated his life to the Sacred Duty.
Giles halted at the threshold to the mansion's front door. Several figures stood outside.
"Well, it's a real party, isn't it?" Spike said from the doorway. He held Cordelia loosely by the throat against his chest. Xander stood uneasily a short distance back, the crossbow ready but pointed at the ground. "Guess you got your crowd, Dru."
She edged closer to Giles. "Rupert --"
"Let me handle this," Giles said expressionlessly. He turned to Spike. "You've found what you came for. Let the girl go, and we'll all be on our way."
Spike shifted his grip on Cordelia's throat to pull a cigarette from his pocket. He put it in his mouth and lit it with one hand. "Dunno, mate. I've taken a fancy to this little tart here. Maybe we'll take her along for the ride."
Giles smiled. "Not likely. She's all you have to bargain with at the moment."
Spike blew out a cloud of smoke. "Right. She's a bit on the expensive side anyway. Truce then? Get this wanker to put the pointy down and we'll deal." He looked expectantly at Drusilla, then frowned. "Baby, are you okay?"
She backed away and looked at Giles. "Rupert, what's he talking about?"
"Truce," said Giles.
Spike was still staring at Drusilla, his frown deepening. "Dru, are you okay?"
She looked at him with immense, frightened eyes.
Spike stared at her with a preternatural stillness, then abruptly morphed into snarling game face. Cordelia gave a small scream as his fingers bit into her throat.
"Xander!" Giles called out.
Xander aimed the crossbow at Spike, realized that a bolt would get both vampire and his girlfriend, and swung it to point at Drusilla.
"No!" Willow shrieked, and tried to run towards Xander.
Giles threw his arm out and grabbed her, pulling her against his side. "Keep it pointed there, Xander."
Drusilla turned to look at him with a stunned expression. "Rupert?"
"Even trade, Spike," Giles said, refusing to look at her. "Each woman, as is."
Spike shifted his yellowed eyes between his lover and the mortal man. "All right, Watcher," he said lowly. "Even trade. But when I find out what you've done to her, I'm coming back to pull your ribs out your throat."
Giles turned to Drusilla and spoke to her quietly. "You've got to go with him. It's the only way we can save Cordelia. He won't harm you. Trust me on that."
She blinked and wavered, panic and confusion warring with other deeper emotions in her eyes.
"Tell her, Spike," Giles said. "Tell her that she'll be safe with you."
Spike gave a low growl, and Drusilla shrank back. That seemed to bring him back to his senses, and with a look of fierce concentration he morphed back to human face. "Baby," he said to her. "You know I wouldn't hurt you. Not unless you asked me to."
Willow stood like a statue in Giles' embrace. He eased her off to one side, moved to Dru and took her hands. "I'm sorry," he said to her in a low voice that none of the others could hear. "Jenny, you're under a spell. Spike thinks that you're Drusilla. Do you understand?"
She nodded.
"He loves her. He won't hurt you. Go with him, humor him. You can walk away from him later."
She nodded again slowly, entranced.
Giles bent to kiss her. "Stay here until I call you." He turned and walked to Spike and Cordelia.
"She hasn't been injured," Giles told Spike. "I cast a spell on her to keep her from harming Willow and myself. It can be broken, but I won't tell you how until the others have walked clear from here."
Spike glared at him, shifting his grip on Cordelia's throat as he ran possibilities through his head. "The redhead and the wanker walk," he finally said. "This girly stays until Dru's herself again."
"And then you both take the two of us apart?" Giles said. "I think not."
Spike laughed harshly. "Tell the crossbow to sod off."
Giles walked to Xander and pushed the readied crossbow down. "Get Willow clear, Xander."
Xander looked at him anxiously. "But --"
"It's an armistice," Giles said. "We have to withdraw some of our troops."
Xander swallowed and moved to take Willow's arm. She looked at him as if she might refuse, then looked at Giles. Wordlessly, she moved with Xander back towards the street.
Giles walked back to where Spike stood with Cordelia still in a strangle-hold.
"The girl now," he told Spike.
Spike looked at Dru, then back at Giles.
"If you kill Cordelia, I'll bloody well tell you nothing," Giles said.
"And you think I couldn't get it out of you?" the vampire said.
"Perhaps. On the other hand, Angelus already had a good go at that game. How much time do you want to take? One way or another, you still have me to deal with. You have my word if you release her."
"I could start in on her." Spike eased his grip and stroked Cordelia's cheek with two fingers. She shut her eyes and bit at her lip.
Giles stared stonily back.
"Angelus said that you're a bloody laughable man of your word," Spike said finally. "All right, mate. This bitch walks." He released Cordelia and stepped back.
She stumbled away and rubbed at her throat. "Giles, he's just going to kill you after you tell him what he wants," she said defiantly.
"Spike's a man of his word too," Giles said. "Go on, Cordelia. Tell Xander and Willow that I'll join you momentarily."
"You're taking a lot on faith there, Watcher," Spike said as she walked away.
Giles shrugged. "I do have your word?"
"You and your pubescent Mod Squad will get the usual head start from me. If I catch any of you later in a dark alley --"
"Fair enough." Giles looked over at Drusilla, who was standing by herself looking very alone. "I cast an illusions spell on her doll and gave it to her. She's triggered the spell. It will break when she stops believing in it."
"What bloody illusions spell?" Spike said, looking at her again. "If you're trying to put another ringer over on me --"
"The spell put a veil over her own mind," Giles said patiently. "To us she is who she appears to be. In her mind, she is someone else. All you need to do is create some small doubt in her mind as to that sense of identity."
Spike gazed at his paramour. "Drusilla, luv. Don't let this wanker play games with your head. Remember Rio -- you bloody well do remember Rio, don't you pet?"
"Of course I do -- Spike," she said, still looking to Giles.
Spike grabbed Giles hard by the arm and shoved the Watcher at her. "Then finish this pouftah off!"
"No!" She threw herself between them. "Leave him alone! I-I'll go with you, but don't hurt him."
From behind her, Giles smiled coldly at Spike.
Spike stood in silence for a moment, his expression shifting between murderous rage and dismay. "Oh, you're quite the clever one, aren't you Watcher?" he finally said. "I did humanity a big favor by not letting Dru put the bite on you -- you're a right enough bastard without having benefit of a demon."
"Just take her and leave," Giles said.
Spike gave him a look of pure murder, but took Drusilla's arm. She shrank away from his touch, but didn't resist as he pulled her away.
"Spike," Giles said, just low enough for the vampire's ears only. "Fair warning. I'd watch her during the day if I were you. She might take it in her head to go for a walk."
"If she does," Spike said lowly. "You'll be bloody well sorry you ever saw the insides of your mum's womb."
Giles turned his back on them and walked towards the van.
Xander was sitting behind the wheel. He leaned across the seat to open the passenger side door, and Giles got in. Cordelia and Willow were in the back, working at the ropes on Willow's wrists. Giles took the penknife from his pocket and crawled back to help them. "Willow, are you all right?"
"Fine," Willow said tersely, refusing to meet his eyes. "Just fine."
Cordelia sat back to regard them both. "So you went and left her with him," she finally said.
"We're going back to get her," Willow insisted.
"No," he said. He felt Willow's astonished gaze on him then, and it was his turn to refuse to look up. "She's still Drusilla. Not Jenny." He finally managed to wedge the knife blade into the knot and sawed at it.
"Oh." Cordelia considered this. "But she thought she was Jenny. How did you do that?"
"She was already obsessing about Jenny -- a side effect of her reading my mind." The rope broke and Giles tugged at the freed ends of the knot. "I had her doll and Jenny's quartz amulet. I put together a recursive version of the same illusions spell I cast for you."
"Is that why my spell broke all of a sudden? You used the doll for a second spell -- Hey, I was with Spike. You could have gotten me killed!" Cordelia said.
Giles pushed the ropes from Willow's hands and took her wrists to rub some circulation into them.
"Don't." Willow pulled her hands from his. "I can do it myself," she said, and turned towards the door. Away from him.
Giles studied her for a moment, then turned around to climb back to the front seat. "Let's get out of here, Xander," he said with a weary detachment.