His Worth

Buffy awoke and moved her stiff limbs. She ached all over from Spike’s brutal taking of her last night. She got up and donned a robe, tying the sash at the waist.
She padded out to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. She opened the side door to go out and retrieve the morning paper she had set up to have delivered and with an “oomph” tripped and fell over a solid mass laying in the middle of her porch.
“Bloody ‘ell, woman. Do you live to try and kill me?” Spike bellowed after being awoken.
“Spike? What the hell are you doing sleeping on the porch? I thought you left. You said you didn’t want the apartment but you’d rather sleep on the porch than the bed inside? That makes a lot of sense.” Buffy could ramble on forever if one let her.
“Too far of a walk to go back to my place, pet. Figured, I’d crash here the night til’ you could drive me back over” Spike lied.
“You could have come back inside, you know?” Buffy sighed.
“Come on then, I just put some coffee on, unless you want tea since you’re British.”
“Bloody Americans” Spike shook his head.
“What was that?” Buffy turned around.
“Nothing, coffee is fine, pet.” Spike followed her into the kitchen.

Willow drove up to Buffy’s new place. She was surprising her with a home warming gift. She had found a delightful painting that she knew Buffy would love and it would look perfect on the one living room wall.
Willow parked next to Buffy’s jeep and got out and walked up to the front door carrying the painting.
She knocked softly and tried the knob. It was open. Spike had not locked it when he left last night. Willow had lived with Buffy for years in college she didn’t even think twice about just walking into her new apartment. She carried the painting inside and propped it against the wall.
She smelled coffee and figured Buffy was in the kitchen.
“Buffy, it’s me Willow” she called out as she swung open the kitchen door. Her eyes went wide as she took in the scene before her. Buffy was sitting on the countertop, legs spread with some strange man in all black and leather wedged between them and they were kissing profusely.
“Willow!” Buffy gasped as she heard her friend. She pushed Spike away and closed her gaping robe and jumped down from the countertop.
“Willow, what are you doing here?”
“I…I…I came to give you a housewarming gift. Surprise” She gave a weak little smile.
“I was just leaving” Spike looked at Buffy, “apparently” he sneered.
“Buffy, who is this?” Willow questioned.
“Umm…him? Oh he umm. He does maintenance for the house? My sink was clogged and he came to unplug it.” Buffy stammered out her brilliant cover-up.
“Was he unclogging your tonsils too, Buffy?” Willow narrowed her eyes, knowing she was being lied to.
“Right then. I’m gone. Nice to meet ya, Red” Spike directed towards Willow.
“Buffy?” Willow again questioned.
Spike walked over to Buffy, pissed at her shoving him away like he was scum, and leaned down and whispered in her ear, “next time you need your itch scratched, you know where to find me and how much I cost. Later Goldilocks” and with that Spike turned and was out the door. He ended up having to walk all the way home after all.

Buffy’s head was reeling. How could she be so stupid to think that someone wouldn’t eventually find out about them?
“Buffy, are you...are you having sex with that guy?” Willow blushed as she asked.
“What? No…Umm...well...OK...maybe…Yes, OK...Yes, I had sex with him Willow. I’m a grown woman. I can do that. Right?” Buffy groaned.
“Isn’t he kind of trashy? I mean. I don’t usually judge people but, I mean, look at him Buffy.” Willow squeaked along.
“It doesn’t matter. It won’t happen again. I slipped. Please don’t tell anyone Willow. If my father found out…” Buffy pleaded.
“I won’t Buffy. I promise. Hey, wanna see what I brought you? Come on!” Willow began walking towards the living room.
Buffy meekly followed her, plastering on her fake smile on receiving the gift from Willow, silently cursing her for showing up resulting in Buffy driving off Spike yet again.

Spike was pissed. Not mad pissed. Though he was that too but no he was pissed drunk. He had been at Willy’s for hours drowning in his sorrows. Willy tried to cut him off but Spike became violent so Willy backed off and gave him another bottle. It wasn’t HIS liver after all.
Spike was babbling incoherent ramblings about bloody bitches always using him and he should just keep to his male johns. No mess. No fuss. No sodding feelings.
Fucking maintenance man. Errand boy. Piece of shit beneath my feet. That’s what she thought of him.
“Spike, man...can you cut the verbalizing out. You’re starting to make the other patrons uncomfortable” Willy whispered to him.
Spike dropped his blurry head to the bar countertop. That was how Xander found him.
“Hey bleached wonder. What’s with the gloom and doom?” Xander slapped him on the back.
“shey shwelp...” Spike slurred.
“Damn, Spike. You spell like a freaking liquor store.” Xander commented.
“Let’s get you out of here and home to bed, OK man?” Xander helped Spike to his feet and supported him to the door. Willy gave Xander a silent nod of thanks.
It took some effort but Xander was able to get Spike the couple blocks to his place.
He got him through the door and over to the bed as Spike collapsed in a dead weight.
“shaint sworking n’more, Xan...” Spike slurred.
“What’s not working anymore, Spike?” Xander fluently translated Drunk Spike Speak. He had done this many times before.
“Swisky. Schtill ‘urts” Spike answered.
“What still hurts, man? You talking about Dru?” Xander asked.
“Don’t shay shat sodding shname!” Spike shouted. “Buffy ‘urts Schpike” Spike sighed.
“Who is Buffy?” Xander looked up from removing Spike’s boots at the end of the bed. “Is she that little blonde girl you talked to at Willy’s the other day? She is, isn’t she? I knew something was going on! What did she do to you man?”
“She ‘urt me ‘ere” Spike pointed to his chest.
It was rare for Spike to show emotions like this and he was always drunk when he did but in the past it had always been about, well the past. Xander knew Spike’s story. He had been there throughout the whole awful mess and he knew it fucked him up pretty bad. This was the first time he ever heard Spike talk about any other girl besides Dru. That blonde must’ve really gotten under his skin.
“Can we rest now? Xander, can we rest?” Spike breathed out half asleep.
“Yeah, buddy. You do that. Get some rest. Xander went and plopped down in the chair and turned on the little black and white TV. with the sound low. He didn’t want to leave Spike in the state he was in. Spike had saved his ass many a times. The least he could do was watch out for him.

Willow left Buffy’s apartment several hours after first arriving. They had hung the painting, then went out to get some brunch, came back and Buffy gave her the grand tour now that everything was decorated.
It was a Saturday but Willow decided to stop by the campus and get some books from the library for some research she had been working on. She could work on it at home and get more done that way.
Rupert Giles, the head librarian/media specialist, kept the library open on the weekends for the regular weekday hours. He insisted students needed access to it just as much then as during the week. He was often there himself on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and today was no exception.
Willow greeted him brightly and told him what she was looking for. He said some new books had come in recently that were back in his private office and asked if she would like to look at those as well. She accepted and followed him back behind the main counter to the little room set off to the side that served as hi office.
Rupert was an attractive middle-aged completely British man, tweed suit and all.
His desk was overflowing with books and paperwork.
“It’s that stack, there” Mr. Giles pointed to the end of his desk. Willow walked over and began to rummage through the stack trying to find one she may be interested She She accidentally shoved several books off the stack and they fell into a picture frame on the corner of the desk causing it to fall to the ground.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so clumsy” Willow apologized to Mr. Giles as she retrieved the frame without looking at it and handed it back to Giles. He laid it face down on the bookshelf behind him.
“That’s alright, Ms. Rosenberg. It wasn’t anything important”
She found a book she wanted and thanked him. He escorted her out into the main part of the library and helped her find her other books.
Willow left the library to return home, never knowing that had she looked at the picture frame that she dropped, she would’ve seen the name William Giles underneath a face she had just met not 5 hours ago.