Things That Go Bump in the Night

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Chapter Eight
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"Do you think Adam will be okay with those two?" Xander asked. "They've been gone an awfully long time."

"Angel's with them," Buffy replied automatically, at the same time as Doyle and Cordelia's, "Angel will take care of him."

Giles looked up from his continued breakdown of Willow's altered spell. The first half had been easy to get through. It had been relatively unchanged from the original gypsy curse. Willow's tinkering in the second half made it more slow going. He had to admit, however, that what Willow had done was quite ingenious. Actually binding the soul directly to the demon was novel.

Not that he was going to tell her that, not at this time anyway. In fact, he wasn't going to say anything, until he knew why it hadn't worked. So far, as far as he could tell, it should have. Some of her wording was a little too flowery. Though it shouldn't have interfered, he would have to speak to her about that tendency.

Ignoring Buffy's response, Xander looked incredulously at Cordelia. "You're saying you *trust* Angel, Cordy?"

Giles frowned, wondering if he should interfere in what could turn into a rather nasty argument. The problem was, he didn't really know which side of the argument he'd end up on. He did not trust Angel, he probably never would completely.

"Yes, Xander, I do. He's saved my life," Cordelia responded tartly, straightening in her seat and turning her full attention on her ex-boyfriend, then suddenly dropped her gaze before continuing softly. "In more ways than one."

Giles cleared his throat. He'd heard a sadness in Cordelia's voice that he hadn't ever expected to hear there, and wanted to get everyone's attention off of the girl before anyone one of them, good intentions aside, could pry into what had put it there. He suspected Cordelia's time in LA, before running into Angel hadn't gone like she'd expected it to.

"Willow, according to this, it should have worked. O-Of course, I still need to check it more thoroughly, to s-see if there's anything I missed, but . . . " He sighed, letting his voice trail off, he *hated* it when he stuttered. "Are you absolutely certain this is exactly what you said and did?"

Willow nodded enthusiastically, and when the two of them glanced toward Tara, she confirmed it with a quick wordless nod.

"So something else had to have interfered," Giles continued thoughtfully. "Where was Spike, and what was he doing at the time you cast the spell?"

"I-I don't know," Willow replied. "Well, he was in the crypt, at least he was when I got there afterward--they both were. I have no idea what they were doing, though."

That was apparently the only variable, but it could be a big one. He just hoped . . . "Where in the crypt were they when you got there, Willow?"

She frowned at him. "They were below it, actually."

Giles groaned, reluctantly dropping his gaze from Willow's. If what he suspected was right, tonight was about to get a lot more . . . interesting, and he *really* didn't want to get into this stuff. "Well, we're at an impasse. We're going to have to wait until they get back to go any further."

Everyone turned to look at him, and waited expectantly--except Buffy.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because, Buffy, Willow's spell should have worked, exactly the way she wanted it to," he replied reluctantly, mentally groaning again when Willow smiled broadly.

"Really?" she asked, then interrupted herself. "Well, of course it should have. We went over it several times ourselves before we cast it."

Giles nodded once. "The only variable we haven't ascertained is what Spike and/or Adam were doing just previous to and during your spell casting. It's the only thing I can think of, barring a second spell casting, that might have interfered." He thought he'd actually prefer that. Even not knowing what the spell was would be preferable to the other scenario. Unfortunately, Willow shot him down. She shook her head.

"No, I felt no secondary magics interfering with the casting. Not like what happened when Ethan turned you into a Fyarl demon."

"You were a Fyarl demon?" Doyle asked in surprise.

"Yes," Giles replied uncomfortably. "That, however, is a tad off subject at the moment."

"It should have worked," Willow whispered gleefully, whirling toward Tara, and effectively drawing the attention away from himself. Giles was quite relieved. "I did it!"

Tara nodded, a shy smile gracing her face.

"Willow," Giles admonished firmly.

The young witch's enthusiasm dimmed instantly, but she could quite wipe the smile completely off her face.

Xander frowned over at him, and Giles could practically hear the wheels turning in the young man's mind. "I'm the first to admit that I don't know squat about magic, but if it *should* have worked," he asked, "why didn't it? Or was this what you were actually trying for?"

"Xander!" Willow exclaimed hotly. "Of course it wasn't!"

"Sorry, Wills," Xander apologized, "but he said it was written right."

"Um, yeah," Buffy put in tentatively, "that's got me stumped too."

Giles cast a glance around the room. Everyone looked confused, that is, except for the LA contingent. They both wore smirks as they looked at him to continue. **Oh, heaven forbid, one of them actually explain this,** he thought drily.

Straightening, and refusing to actually look at anyone, Giles pulled his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Willow and Tara were not the only participants in the spell," he explained patiently. "Spike and Adam could also have affect the spell's outcome, depending on what they were doing at the time. There are a couple of things they could have been doing that might have adversely affected the spell."


Willow frowned. "But how?" she asked, confused. "Unless they were . . . oh!" Willow blushed, and ducked her head quickly.

Xander made a mewling sound of disgust, and Doyle and Cordelia laughed.

Giles simply felt relieved. He wouldn't have to explain it.

"Unless they were what?" Buffy asked.

Giles snapped his gaze toward his slayer. Surely she could truly be in the dark? Looking at her confused expression, one that was growing impatient, Giles sighed. She could be. How she'd gotten to be this age and still be this naive was beyond his understanding. "Th-there are actually t-two different c-circumstances I can think of, off hand, that would precipitate an alteration of the spell. If the two of them introduced b-blood into the mix, for one."

Buffy waved airily. "Well that's out," she said. "Spike can't bite. What's the other?"

Everyone stared at her.

"Buffy," Doyle said, "from what I understand of the way the chip functions, and I admit my understanding is limited, it is possible that there are . . . loopholes."

Buffy's nose wrinkled up. "You mean like, if Adam voluntarily cut himself or something?"

"That is one possibility," Giles confirmed, almost laughing at Buffy's comical expression that vividly portrayed the words this group used so frequently . . . "Ewww".

"On that rather disturbing not," Buffy said, jumping up from her seat, "I think I'm going out to patrol. Giles, do you want me to come back here after?"

"No," Giles shook his head, "It's already one o'clock. Go ahead and take a short patrol and get some sleep."

Buffy nodded. "Okay, see you tomorrow then."

They all watched her leave, no one saying anything until long after the front door had closed behind her.

"Giles," Willow asked softly. "If you're right . . . about either one, how much trouble is that going to be?"

Giles turned to face the budding witch, reluctantly replacing his glasses. Hopefully, he could get through this discussion without blushing. *That* he could do without having to live down. "If we are indeed talking about blood magic, or s-sex magic, this mess is definitely far more sticky than otherwise,--"

A groan sounded from Xander.

Giles frowned, half turning toward the boy, but he finished speaking as if he hadn't been interrupted. "--Both are very powerful magics. In fact, I can say unequivocally, that if either are involved, it's going to be very difficult to reverse, *if* it's possible at all."

Willow whimpered. "They're *not* going to like that."

Cordelia and Doyle shared a glance, but it was Cordelia who spoke. " *That's putting it mildly," she said softly.

"Yes, quite," Giles replied, reaching foe spe spell. "Now, if it were simply Spike's blood that had bspilspilled, the only affect I could see would be to make the spell more, or less, effective. Since that's not what happened, I believe we can eliminate that from our list of problems, at least as a solo event."

Willow nodded, quietly agreeing.

"I can see why it would make it more powerful," Doyle stated, rising to join them at the table. "What I don't understand is how the addition of blood letting would weaken the spell."

"Well," Giles replied, "since it would be blood stolen by the demon, it could strengthen the demon's hold on the body, and thereby lessening the soul's hold. Now if it were Adam's blood, whether via Spike's bite or other means, there's no telling what affect it might have."

Silence followed while the spell was once again the focus of their attention.

"I've got it," Willow exclaimed. "Well, maybe," she amended. "If the blood exchange happened during the binding of the soul, it's possible that Adam's soul being 'closer', was the one bound to Spike's demon, instead of Spike's called soul."

"Yes, it's possible," Giles acknowledged.

"But then, what happened to Spike's soul?" Xander asked.

"Adam," came the response from both witches and Giles.

"Oh, right," Xander replied sheepishly, "of course."

"What about sex," Cordelia asked bluntly.

Everyone turned to look at her expectantly.

"What about it?" Giles asked.

"Oh, please!" Cordelia protested. "Surely it's obvious. Adam wasn't there because he didn't have anywhere else to stay. And if his blood was the only thing Spike wanted, he wouldn't have taken Adam down to his private area." Cordelia shrugged. "I doubt he would even have taken him back to the crypt."

"Well, princess, I have to agree with you on the second half of that," Doyle said leaning forward, t I t I don't follow why you say the first. It's very possible he didn't have any other place to stay."

Cordelia shook her head.

"Leave it to Cordy to know who does and doesn't have money," Xander said, his grin taking any sting out of his comment.

"Of course," Cordelia replied instantly, flashing him a broad smile, "it's a Chase survival trait."

"So explain it to the rest of us peons," Doyle encouraged.

"It's the way he was dressed, well, and the way he held himself."

"Go on," Giles urged, curiosity making hake ake his turn at encouragement.

"He may not have been wearing Armani," Cordelia informed them, "In fact, as you all could tell, he was dressed quite casually. But the clothes, no matter how casual, were of excellent quality. The sweater, was older . . . comfortable, but the shirt poking out from beneath it was not. The jeans he wore were nearly new, just old enough to be broken in."

"That doesn't exclude the possibility that he had a recent reversal of fortune," Xander cut in. "It can happen to anyone."

"Of course it can," Cordelia responded. "That's where we look at how he holds himself," she continued blithely. "I'm sure you all noticed how he . . . kinda slumped, and looking relaxed? Well, aside from the whole fear and anger issues he's got going right now."

Several nods greeted her question.

"Well, that's when he knows people are watching. A couple of times I saw that slip away. The way he held himself then, there was a casual, comfortable arrogance that says, 'I know who I am'." There is *way* more to that man than meets the eye."

Giles looked at her skeptically.

"It was only flashes, mind you. It was as if he kept catching himself doing it. In fact, I'd be willing to bet the facade *never* slips when he's had a less 'rock my world' day. That man is rich, very rich. He just doesn't want people to know it."

Doyle's rowsrows raised. "She's right," he said suddenly, ducking a little when he suddenly had everyone's attention. "Do you know *anyone* who could be as relaxed as he *appears* to be after the day he's had?"

"So," Cordelia concluded, convinced she had proven her point, "either they had sex or were going to have sex."

Giles frowned thoughtfully. "We can hope they were interrupted."

"No," Doyle disagreed. "Neither one of them was sexually frustrated."

"Well," Xander interrupted with a look of distaste, "that was just too much information."

"Unfortunately, I have to disagree," Giles said, grimacing. "It's needed information. However much we may wish we didn't need to know it."


TBC