Buffy was sitting in the shelter of Angel’s arms as she watched Giles hand diskettes to Willow.

“These are supposed to give us the layout of the Initiative, Buffy should be able to confirm if they are correct. There should also be more elaborate details of the Initiative’s plans. Spike copied the information from a computer in Adam’s lab.”

“I’ll get started on these as soon as we are done here,” Willow said.

“We are planning on going in day after tomorrow.” Angel said. “We can’t keep every body under wraps anymore. I didn’t even want Spike to go back in but he needs to get us the information on where they are going to turn these demons loose to get the body parts.”

“That is just really gross.” Xander jumped in. “I mean, like Riley and them are human and they are just going to collect body parts to make more Adams. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Yeah, it does because if they can control these freaks than they are virtually unstoppable in hand to hand.” Buffy said. “Send them into war zones or urban riots and not only are they more likely to control the situation but they are expendable too.”

“Is that why the put the chip in Spike?” Anya asked. “To see if they can use vampires for their plan.”

“Yeah, but the vampires weren’t cooperating too much from what Spike has said.” Giles said.

“Are we going to be able to stop Adam?” Willow asked. “Buffy, you said that he was stronger than you?”

“That’s the only thing I’m worried about. The demons we should be able to handle. I’m not enjoying the thought of having to go one on one with the big guy.”

“According to Spike,” Giles said. “There is a uranium core embedded somewhere in his chest and this is his power source. If we can remove this, then I would assume it would either kill him or immobilize him.”

”Oh, that’s just great.” Buffy sighed. “All I’d need to do is get close enough to him and then ask him if we can do exploratory surgery on him.”

The others chuckled but turned pensive as they tried to brainstorm on how to incapacitate him.

“What about magic?” Willow piped up. “Some kind of, I don’t know…uranium extracting spell.” As everyone turned to her in disbelief, she shrugged her shoulders. “Well, come on, I know I’m reaching, people but I don’t hear any other suggestions.”

Giles stood and made his way to the book shelf, his hand hovering as he searched for a particular text. “Perhaps a paralyzing spell.” He found the book and pulled it out, turning the pages until he found the spell he was looking for. “Only I can’t perform the incantation for this.”

“Right,” Willow said. “Don’t you have to speak it in Sumerian or something?”

“I do speak Sumerian.” Giles said, returning to sit on the end of the couch. “It’s not that. Only a…an experienced witch can incant it, and you’d have to be within striking distance of this object.”

“See what you get for taking French instead of Sumerian?” Xander joked, looking at Buffy who laughed and rolled her eyes.

“What was I thinking?”

“See no problem,” Xander continued, obviously enjoying being the center of attention and the comic relief. “All we need is a combo Buffy, her with Slayer strength, Giles’ multi-lingual know how, and Willow’s witchy power.”

“Well, I feel needed,” Angel said, looking at the others. Buffy patted his leg and smiled up at him.

“You the muscle guard guy,” Buffy told him.

The others ignored their exchange as an excited expression spread over Giles’ face. “Xander, you may just be onto something.”

“And what would that be?” Anya asked, “Because if Xander saved the day, I want to know about it.”

Giles removed his glasses, wiping at them while the others could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

“If we do an adjoining spell, we might be able to do exactly that, giving Buffy the strength she would need to defeat Adam.”

“All right, Xander,” Buffy said. “You’ve saved the day.”

Everyone began to throw questions at the Watcher then answered each other as the plan began to solidify. All they needed was the information from Spike to complete everything. As they were about to call it quits, Willow leaned forward, excitement evident in her expression.

“I’ve got some good news. About the curse, we found…”

“A very good lead on the Kalderash Clan, a Miss Jenny Calendar,” Giles interrupted the red head with a stern expression. “Willow has attempted to make contact with her and hopefully we’ll hear something soon.”

Buffy looked from her friend to the older man knowing that there was more going on then what they were telling. “So, she hasn’t responded yet?”

Willow was flustered for a few seconds, her fingers wringing together before she returned Buffy’s inquisitive stare.

“No, she hasn’t yet but as soon as she does, I’ll let you know. But isn’t it good news that we even found her.”

“Yeah, it’s good. Isn’t it, Angel.”

The Slayer turned to look at the noticeably quiet vampire whose expression was as usual not giving any major clues to what he was thinking.

“Great, Buffy. Thanks Willow for trying.”

Noting Angel’s obvious reluctance to discuss the matter, Buffy dropped the subject as she made a mental note to bring it up again when they were alone. Soon everyone’s conversations turned to general catching up among the friends. Giles asked Buffy to accompany him into the kitchen saying that he would round up some drinks and snacks for everyone. After leaving Angel with a quick kiss on the cheek, Buffy followed Giles into the other room.

“So, what’s on the menu for us?” Buffy asked.

Giles didn’t answer, leaning against the counter, his glasses dangling from his fingers as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I know this may be none of my business,” the Watcher finally said, putting his glasses back on and looking at his young charge sternly. “But last night…did the three of you do the claiming ritual?”

“Is there a ritual for that?” Buffy answered, and headed for the pantry to find snacks.

“Don’t be flippant, Buffy. If you’ve, actually joined with them or with one of them as blood mates then your loyalties will be divided and I think I should know.”

Buffy turned to look at him in surprise, not comprehending why he was concerned. The three of them had been living together for several months and Giles had never been concerned about loyalties before.

“I don’t understand. It’s just bringing the three of us closer together.”

“Then you did bond with them?”

“Giles, we weren’t going to say anything until Spike was back, but yes, we did. It’s a good thing; it’s going to make us stronger. And if we’re stronger then the whole fighting evil thing will be more powerful.”

Giles looked away for a moment and snorted mirthlessly. When he turned his eyes back to her, Buffy felt like a four-year-old caught stealing from the cookie jar, the accusation in his eyes rendering her guilty before she even understood why she would be.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve vowed to do?”

“Wait, there wasn’t any vowing.” Buffy fumbled out. “It was all about loving and being loved and the…the drinking of blood but there wasn’t any vowing. Giles, what did I do that is making you so upset?”

“Buffy, for vampires, the claiming and the bond, is a life long thing. It means that you put that relationship above all others and will choose them over anything else including your own needs and desires.”

“It sounds like marriage to me. And that’s not bad. Besides it can’t be a total life thing because what about Darla and Drusilla?”

“Angel and Darla would never have mated. She sired him and even if it appeared differently she would always have the ultimate power and Spike would have been foolish to mate with a vampire who was mad as Drusilla is. It would have destroyed him.”

Buffy sighed, unable to see what the problem was. It sounded romantic and positive to her. It meant that the two vampires and she were in a loving committed relationship. Although Spike had talked to her a lot about the vampire way of life, he had never really been clear on the mated relationships.

“Giles, it still doesn’t sound bad to me. Besides Angel and Spike aren’t typical vampires and I’m human.”

Buffy could feel the frustration in her Watcher as he ran a hand through his hair.

“It means life and death. It means that you would kill for them and die for them. It means that no other being would ever come between the three of you. Buffy, it means they would kill you before they would ever let you leave them. And if you would try to leave, even if the reason was them, it means that you have consented to be punished any way they see fit. And although, I do agree they are unique as far as demons go, they’re still demons.”

“Oh,” Buffy replied. She glanced out into the living room at Angel, her arms crossed in an effort to try to ward off the sudden chill she felt. As if he knew that she was looking at him, the vampire returned her gaze. His eyes were open and loving and with a certain conviction in her heart, she knew she had made the right decision in making them her mates. She had already turned herself over to Angel and the drinking of the blood only made that promise even stronger. With a smile she turned back to Giles. “I understand your concerns but I have no reservations about what I did. It’ll be all right.”

The pain traveled through his body in rapid currents, but all Spike could do was moan. Even the lights hurt him as it reflected off the white walls but he refused to give into them and to the pain. Rolling to ease himself away from the boot that had been kicking and stomping on him, he laughed because after the night before there was no way he was going to betray his family. Riley and his merry army of goons were too late.

“Last time, demon, what are the Slayer and her friends planning,” Riley snarled.

Laughing, Spike closed his eyes, “Told ya I didn’t know, so why do you keep asking?”
Note to self, rolling not a good idea, just offer up your bloody kidney for them, he thought as Riley kicked him in his lower back. Spike scooted across the tiled floor, unable to use his hands to help him since the left one had been smashed by said boot almost an hour ago. His face had been pummeled first and Riley and his two cohorts seemed to be working their way down his body. Spike knew that several of his ribs were broken and he hoped for Buffy’s sake that they wouldn’t decide to castrate him as they moved further south.

As he collapsed onto his back again, he found himself looking up at Riley as he squatted next to him.

“If you don’t decide to start talking then you know what, there isn’t going to be much use for us keeping you around.”

Spike’s eyes widened at the site of the stake that was now aimed at his heart and wished that he had listened to his mates last night and had kept his ass at home.

The usual crush of the Lowell House and their groupies wandered through the fraternity. The music blared from the stereo and Buffy sighed from the boredom of it all. At least after tomorrow she wouldn’t have to bother anymore because they would be bringing down these losers and their plans for building an army of hybrids. She took another sip of her drink and plastered on a happy smile as Riley returned.

“Hey, there,” Buffy grinned up at him, using her charms to try get some more information out of him so she could go home.

“Hi, yourself,” Riley smiled and tugged on a loose tendril of her hair. “Drink up and we’ll go get you a refill and find something to eat.

Buffy gulped down her drink so they could get to the part where they would be alone. Looking around, she spotted Willow speaking to Graham and she wondered what had happened to Xander and Anya. They were supposed to be additional backup but so far had been a no show. Her thoughts on the two lovers were halted when she was suddenly overcome by dizziness and she shook her head to clear it to no avail. The room continued to spin.

The cup was removed from her hand as arms encircled her and Riley turned her toward the staircase.

“Don’t fight it; it’s just a little drug to incapacitate you until we need you,” Riley whispered in her ear.

Buffy tried to get away from him but found Forrest on her other side as they steered her to the second level. The dizziness had given way to a feeling of general weakness and her legs gave out on her. Riley picked her up at this point and took her into a bedroom to lay her on the bed.

“Handle it from here?” Forrest sneered as he looked down at her.

“Yeah, man, we are going to be just fine.” Riley answered.

“Just make sure that she can still fight when we need it,” Forrest laughed. “Don’t know what you see in that skinny blonde but hey, everybody has their own thing.”

Buffy couldn’t get up, her body absolutely refused to listen to her. Panic surged through her as she watched Riley sit on the bed next to her. His hand smoothed her hair away from her face and wiped a tear from her cheek. This was a thousand times worse than what Giles had done to her and she could only think of Angel and Spike, wishing they were there to help her.

“It’s not so bad. It’ll wear off in a few hours but gee, until then, wonder what we’ll be up to,” he whispered as his hand drifted lower and cupped her breast. His fingers kneaded it for a moment before continuing to drift lower, his hand stroking her belly, cupping her ass, to travel down her leg, across to the other leg so his hand was traveling upwards between her thighs.

“No, please don’t,” her mouth tried to work but it came up as squeaks and moans even though her mind was screaming for him stop touching her but he didn’t. She kept hoping it was a nightmare as he undid the button on her pants.

“I really liked you, Buffy; we could have had something special. It’s too bad that you turned out to be a demon whore. My men saw you last night fucking that thing. I thought you were such a nice girl…”

“She is a nice girl,” Willow said as she brought a trophy down across the back of Riley’s head.

When Riley collapsed across her, Buffy saw her friend smiling down at her.

“Hey, for a soldier type, he sure doesn’t pay attention to what’s going on around him.” Willow said as she pulled Riley off of her and they watched as he fell to the floor. “Didn’t even lock the door behind him. Guess that’s what you get when you think you’re perfect.”

Buffy tried to say thank you but couldn’t. All she could do was watch as Willow locked the door before returning to sit next to her. The red head pulled the cell phone out of Buffy’s pocket and dialed it. Willow grasped her hand and held onto it, trying to soothe her as she waited for whoever she was calling to answer.

“Angel, its Willow.” A pause, “yeah, she’s okay now but we need help. We’re upstairs at the Lowell House, second door from the staircase. Hurry.” Willow clicked the phone off and smiled down at her. “He’s around the corner, so we can get you out of here quick.”

Closing her eyes, Buffy wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere. Angel would never understand, she had been careless and it was her fault this had happened. She had let someone else touch what was his and Spike’s and she wondered if they would think she was as dirty as she felt. Her eyes flew open as she felt hands on her again but it was Willow straightening her clothes before Angel could get there. Tears flowed across her cheeks as she realized what Riley intended to do and would have if Willow hadn’t been there to protect her.

Angel laid Buffy on his bed, helpless as she refused to open her eyes and look at him. Ever since he had gotten the two girls out of the fraternity, Buffy had closed in on herself. She wouldn’t even look at Willow.

“Buffy, open your eyes, I need to know that you’re okay,” he whispered and held onto her hand.

Finally she peeked out at him from behind your lashes and rage filled him at the pain that was in those green depths. He squeezed her hand.

“I love you. He’ll be taken care of, I promise you.” He reassured her. His first thought had been getting Buffy and Willow out of Lowell house and to safety and it was stronger at the time than killing the pathetic bastard that had touched what was his. Seeing her helpless and in such emotional pain tore at him. It was worse than what had happened on her eighteenth birthday. At least then she was still able to use her body, even weakened, along with her mind to defeat her foe. To take away the use of her body entirely was beyond cruel.

New found sympathy for Spike tickled at the corner of his heart as he realized that those humans had hurt both of his mates and he couldn’t wait until he could make them pay. And pay they would.

“Angel,” Buffy whispered. “Spike?”

“Hey, you’re coming out of it.” Angel returned his gaze to her face as she blinked at him. “No, I haven’t heard from him yet. Can I get you something? Willow is still here. Do you want me to send her in?”

“Please.”

Angel moved out into the living room to where Buffy’s friend was pacing the floor.

“Is she okay?”

“The drug is wearing off. She’d like to see you.”

As Willow moved into the bedroom, his cell phone began to ring and with relief he realized that it was Spike.

“Spike, where are you?”

“It’s not Spike,” Riley’s voice came through the small instrument. “It’s too bad that things got interrupted earlier, because Buffy was really getting into what we were doing. Think she might be over her little demon crushes and be ready for a real man.”

“You son of a bitch, I’m so going to enjoy killing you.” Angel snarled. “Where the hell is Spike?”

“Oh, maybe you should have asked that before you threatened me.” Riley chuckled. “But you know what it doesn’t really matter now anyway. Now, I know there is a song that is appropriate for this moment. Let me think for a minute.”

“WHERE IS SPIKE?” Angel repeated.