His Worth

Xander was waiting for everyone at Buffy’s place when Giles brought Spike and Buffy home from the hospital a few days later. Spike had been released already but refused to leave Buffy’s side and so stayed until she was released.

Hank was in jail awaiting his hearing but they were sure to indict him on multiple counts. The blood on his jacket had matched that of Angel. They had a witness who not only saw the murder but heard Hank converse with Angel about paying him to murder Spike and hurting Buffy by accident. Also, they had Giles statement of Hank’s behavior and leaving the hospital right before he was seen by Xander at Angel’s. With no viable alibi, Hank was in deep water.

Detective Holtz had also been tipped off by Wesley Wyndham Pryce about Hank’s surveillance of Buffy. Pryce, while not a saint, especially in his line of work, did not condone murder and when one of his contacts in the police department let him in on the investigation details he realized Hank Summers had used the information he provided to attempt to kill someone. Angered, he turned over his records to Holtz. It was an open and shut case. Hank Summers would be going to jail for a very long time.

Buffy had been devastated to learn of her father’s betrayal but sadly not surprised. She shuddered to think what she would have done had Hank’s plan been successful and Angel had been able to murder Spike. It would have killed her.

Xander opened the door for and helped Giles carry in Buffy’s things while Spike helped Buffy herself into the apartment and on to the sofa.
“Welcome home you guys” Xander told them both.
“It’s good to be home” Buffy smiled weakly. She was happy that Spike was O.K. and felt that her father should be punished but he was still her father and she couldn’t help but feel emptiness and sadness for all that was lost.
“I’ll make us some tea” Giles spoke up and went to the kitchen.
“Do you need anything, luv? Another pain pill?” Spike questioned her.
“No, my head is feeling better but thanks” Buffy answered him.
Buffy sighed, “I just can’t believe he would do something like that”
Spike looked at Xander over her head and their eyes met. Then and there Spike knew what had actually happened. Spike gave Xander a little nod as if to say, “Let sleeping dogs lie, mate. Hank was ultimately responsible and would have gone to jail for trying to kill me anyway. It doesn’t matter that he wasn’t the one who actually held the knife. He was still mastmastermind”
Xander nodded back. The two of them never spoke of it again.
“Are you hungry, Buffster?” Xander clapped his hands together.
“Yes, actually. Starved. Hospital food is well…hospital food.” She shuddered.
“How bout we order some Chinese? It’ll be just like the first time we met and all had dinner together!” Xander smiled.
“Sure, sounds good” Buffy replied.
“As long as no one makes the announcement that they’re gay, I’m in too” Giles spoke up from where he had just enteredm thm the kitchen.
Everyone chud atd at that and Xander went to make the call.

Halfway through dinner there was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it” Spike got up.
Spike opened the door and there stood Anya Jenkins.
“Hi Spike! Remember me? I’m Hank’s…well I was Hank’s girlfriend but he’s in jail now so I figured Xander would be able to give me many wonderful orgasms now that I am single!” she said cheerily.
Spike shook his head with a smile and turned to holler at Xander.
“Xander, get your ass in here, whelp! Your date is here!”
“By the way, I’m sorry Hank tried to kill you, Spike. If I had known what a bastard he really was, I would have never went out with him. He didn’t give me very good orgasms anyway. He was getting old, after all” Anya smiled brightly again.

In the kitchen, Xander was stuffing his face as he heard Spike holler at him.
“How? What? How?” Xander asked.
“Three excellent questions” Giles said wryly.

Several weeks later Hank was indicted for murdatteattempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder among other lesser charges.

Xander and Anya began dating and were very happy having many orgasms as she often told Spike and Buffy much to their dismay. However they were very happy too that Xander finally found someone to be with. Spike teased him relentlessly after he finally “lost it” to Anyuffyuffy made him stop though threatening to cut him off from his own orgasms and that shut him right up.

Giles and Spike strengthened their father-son bond doing everything they could to try and make up for lost time. Spike enrolled in the Adult Education Program at UCS to get his GED much to Giles delight. They had lunch together almost everyday. It was the happiest time of Giles' life since Jenny had died. Both men finally came to terms with the loss of her and realized they had been dishonoring her memory all these years by warring with each other. Jenny would have been mortified to know her husband and son had sunk so low. They were determined to honor her memory now.

Xander had actually gotten his high school diploma while he had still been in the foster system so he was one step ahead of Spike but after Spike took and passed the test, gaining his certificate, both men enrolled in beginner college level classes.

Money wasn’t an object. Buffy was already very comfortable herself with her income and the separate money she had received from Joyce‘s life insurance at the time of her death but now she had found out through her father’s lawyers that there was a clause in his will that should he become incapacitated or unable to transact his business dealings even though not actually dead, that power of attorney and control of finances would revert to Buffy. There was a bunch of other legal mumbo jumbo that Buffy didn’t quite understand but all she knew is, according to her lawyer, once Hank was convicted and placed in prison, everything he had would belong to Buffy.

Willow and Tara began tutoring Spike and Xander. Both were bright but being out of school so long made you rusty so they just needed that extra bit of help and the girls were more than happy to help.
Buffy had a dream about her mother and Spike’s mother one night and to his surprise came home the next day telling him that she had quit the brokerage firm, telling Mr. Travers where he could stick it and had bought an abandoned building downtown that she planned to remodel and open as an art gallery. Art was her first love, as it had been her mothers but Hank had forced her to take business and finance in college and crushed her dreams. Buffy informed Spike she was naming the Gallery, J&J Art Galleries after both their mothers, Jenny and Joyce. It brought Spike to tears. God he loved this woman.

Xander and Anya moved in together leaving Buffy and Spike on their own. They vowed to each other to never let their disagreements or arguments come between them as badly as they had in the past. And argue they still did but they were getting better. Spike joined AA and stopped drinking. He also started seeing a counselor for anger management and to talk about his years of prostitution, Dru’s betrayal and death, and his rape. He didn’t want to go at first, telling Buffy he wasn’t a Nancy boy but she finally convinced him to go and it really did help, he reluctantly admitted.

Several months later, everyone was in court to hear the verdict for Hank’s trial.
“Has the jury reached a unanimous decision?” the judge asked.
“We have Your Honor. We the Jury in the above titled case, the state of California verses Hank Summers on the charge of murder in the second degree find the defendant, guilty as charged…” the foreperson continued to read each count with a guilty verdict. Hank Summers sat there with an angry mask on his face. True, he really hadn’t killed Angel but he did try to have Spike killed and almost succeeded. He was still a guilty man.

Right before they led him out of the courtroom, Buffy walked up to him.
“Daddy…I can’t forgive you for what you did to Spike. I do love you but you can’t be in my life anymore” she said teary eyed.
“You ungrateful bitch! After all I gave you. I wish Spike HAD died that piece of trash. I can’t believe you let him touch you, you filthy slut!” Hank had obviously gone mad as he kept screaming out obscenities.
“Come on luv, you can’t help him anymore…” Spike gently pulled her away.
“Goodbye, Father” she said evenly and turned towards Spike and walked away hand in hand with him.

A/N: Coming Soon: Epilogue- A Love Like No Other