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Chapter 6:

AN: Thanks to Flames and her beta job!!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike slowly walked down the aisle, a glass of water clutched firmly in his hand. He had spent several minutes in the kitchen after getting the water trying to calm himself from the incident with Buffy earlier. He knew he shouldn't be bothered so much about it, but the fact that he had done much more than accidentally grab a hold of her breast was what upset him the most.

’Just don't let it bother you,’ he told himself, as his gaze landed on the girl who was currently consuming his thoughts. ‘Have a job to do. Must remain professional.’

"’ere you go," Spike said, setting the glass in front of Buffy. "Nice cold, glass o’ water for you."

Buffy jumped slightly when she heard Spike’s voice and the glass that was being placed in front of her. She silently thanked him before lifting the glass to her lips and taking a sip. She didn’t look up when he took his seat across from her, instead turned her attention back to the layout of the cabin that Agent Harris was still looking over.

"Which room is mine?" she asked, shifting her weight on the seat to get a better look.

Xander waved his hand over the area of the blueprint. "Pick one."

Buffy blushed, embarrassed by the fact that she didn’t understand exactly what she was looking at. TO her it looked like a bunch of numbers and lines that formed boxes of various sizes.

"Um...I’ll pick this one," she said, pointing to a big box in the center of the layout.

Buffy’s head shot up when she heard the two people sitting on the other side of the table laugh. She narrowed her eyes at Spike before turning a cold gaze to Rose.

"Honey, that’s the kitchen." Rose informed her, still laughing.

Buffy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I know that. I was just joking," she told them, her voice laced with venom. "Can’t the FBI take a joke?"

Spike stopped his laughing at her remark. He hadn’t meant to offend her. He thought it was cute how she had picked out the kitchen as her room. It told him that despite the rebellious air she surrounded herself with; she was still an innocent- a virgin to the real world in every sense of the word. Guarded and protected her whole life by her mother’s love and her father’s wealth. She still had a lot to learn.

"What are you staring at?" Spike heard Rose whisper into his ear.

Spike snapped out of his daze and tore his eyes away from Buffy to look at Rose who was leaning in close. He sighed heavily when he saw the knowing look in her gaze.

"Rose don’t start with me," he gritted out through his clenched teeth. "I ‘ave a lot on my mind right now."

Rose smiled slyly and leaned in closer still. "Oh I don’t doubt that. Judging from the way you were looking at Miss Summers over there, I’d say you have every inch of her embedded in your mind right now."

Before Spike could say anything, Rose had pulled back and went right back to her typing. Knowing that there was no use in arguing with her, he simply shook his head and spent the remainder of the flight helping Xander with the cabin security.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After landing in Washington D.C and transferring to a much smaller jet, -one that seated about ten people, tops- Buffy and her guards were on their way to the cabin, riding in a black 4x4, complete with tinted windows.

”˜Boy, this will really make us look discrete…” Buffy thought to herself, when she first laid eyes on the SUV.

Now as they drove towards the cabin, Buffy leaned back in her seat and watched the trees that seemed to zoom by. It was finally hitting her- the reality of the whole situation. For some reason during the flight from L.A. to D.C. she’d still been able to think of this as some horrible dream. That at any moment she would wake up, and be safe in her warm bed at home. But this wasn’t a dream. If the luggage in the rear of the SUV wasn’t proof, then the appearance of the cabin certainly was.

"Here we are, home sweet home," Xander sang in a not so cheerful voice as he killed the engine and put the car into park. "Let’s unload the luggage so we can eat. I don’t know about you guys but I’m starving."

Spike unbuckled his belt and opened his car door. He walked to Buffy’s door and was just about to open it when it swung open and almost hit him. He stumbled back and stared at the petite girl as she hopped out of the car and made her way towards the cabin.

"Where does she think she’s going?" Spike heard Xander ask beside him.

Spike shook his head. "I don’t know," he answered. "Come on, let’s get this luggage out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy was returning from her exploration of the kitchen when she heard the front door open. She saw Spike and Xander enter, their arms loaded down with bags. When she noticed that none of the bags were her own she frowned.

"Where’s my stuff?"

Xander groaned loudly then mumbled something about women before disappearing, leaving Spike and Buffy alone in the den.

"Listen Buffy." Spike started to speak, letting the bags drop to the floor. "I don’t know how things are run back at Casa de la Summers, but since we’re hundreds of thousands of miles away from Sunnydale, don’t expect t’be waited on. We may be here to guard you, but we are not here to serve you."

"You don’t have to be so rude about it. If you wanted me to get my own stuff, all you had to do was say so." Buffy told him, flipping her hair back and pushing past him to walk out the door.

Before she was even half way past him something scurrying across the floor caught the corner of her eye. Panic soared through her body as she attempted to leap up onto a wooden chair set against a wall. She miscalculated her footing, as well as the distance of the chair, and ended up losing her balance. She let out a startled yelp as she felt herself being caught around the waist by two broad arms. Instinct took over her body as her arms wound themselves around the neck of the man who would protect her from whatever was running loose in the cabin.

"What was that?" Buffy asked, her eyes frantically searching every corner of the room and the area around her feet, her mind oblivious to how closely she was pressing herself against Spike’s side.

Spike groaned deep in his throat. He tightened his grip around her, hoping to still the lithe body that was squirming against him, causing not so good thoughts to make their way to his second brain.

"Probably just a mouse, luv," he answered as causally as he could. "Nothin’ ta fret about."

Buffy’s eyes grew at the sound of the word mouse. Just when she really thought things couldn’t get any worse, she finds out she might be living with a furry, little rodent! A rodent that would most likely crawl all over her while she slept or maybe pay her a visit while she was in the shower, all naked and her skin vulnerable to the diseases it may carry.

"Nothing to fret about? How can you say that? It’s…it’s a mouse!"

"Buffy, there is nothing to worry about. For all we know, you probably scared th’ little critter away," Spike told her. "Now will you let go of my neck. You’re startin’ ta choke me!"

Buffy shook her head violently. "No, I can’t move. That thing might still be around."

"Buffy," Spike said while pulling her arms from around his neck. He gripped her upper arms and held her away from him. Maybe she didn’t need the distance, but he sure as hell did. If her body stayed pressed against his for any longer, he didn’t know what he would’ve done. But, it wouldn’t have been pretty. "Go outside an’ get your bags. I’ll see if I can find th’ mouse and get rid o’ it," he told her, leading her towards the door and opening it for her. "I’ll call you when it’s gone, okay?"

"Alright."

When the door was closed and Buffy was gone, Spike sighed in relief. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since he first laid eyes on her and already she was affecting him. Sure some of the time her attitude could be down right irritating, but other times she made his blood boil...in a most pleasant way.

Shaking himself free of his thoughts Spike turned his attention to the floor. He had a mouse to find. A mouse that caused his current situation with Miss Elizabeth Summers to get even stickier than it already was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy had forgone the idea of retrieving her bags, and instead decided to explore the area around the cabin and along the lake. To her surprise when she had rounded the corner of the house, she had discovered a very posh looking patio complete with a Jacuzzi in one corner. It seemed very unusual for a cabin to have a Jacuzzi, but maybe the ex-tenants preferred a nice warm water hole instead of the cold, mucky one behind their house. Maybe they used it while entertaining house guests or maybe it was used during patio parties. She didn’t really care one way or the other. It was there and now she was going to be the one to enjoy it.

Connected to the patio was a set of stairs that lead down to the lake and a pier that was void of a boat. A brief frown set across her lips before she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and proceeded down the steps one at a time. When she reached the bottom of the steps she sat down and started to take her shoes off. Shoes off and dangling in her hands she jumped off the pier onto the sandy shore of the lake. The shore surrounding the lake wasn’t big, maybe several feet before it turned into rocks and grass.

Buffy slowly walked along the shore, her head hanging down to look at the sand beneath her feet. Occasionally something would catch her eye and she would stop and bend down to see what it was. Usually it turned out to be a penny or some broken glass. After discovering the broken glass Buffy decided that wearing her shoes might be a good idea.

While sitting on log she found -probably used during a campfire- Buffy noticed the faintest sound of a motor in the distance. She glanced up from her task of pulling on her shoes to search for the source of the noise. To say she was shocked by what she saw would be an understatement. Thrilled would be a better word to describe how her feelings as a boat sped across the lake. It was too far away for her to make out any living forms on the craft, but she knew that in order for a boat to be moving, a person had to be driving it. And that meant the so called lake the FBI claimed was secluded actually wasn’t.

Buffy hurriedly put her shoes on and rose to her feet. She glanced behind her towards the cabin Spike and Xander were in. She knew she shouldn’t be walking off like she was, but there was a person out there. A person waiting to be talked to. A person that wasn't part of the FBI, which right now, really appealed to her. Glancing back towards the boat she saw it start to slow and glide smoothly through the water like it was coming to a stop.

‘No, don’t stop,’ Buffy’s brain cried out. ‘Pull up to shore. Bring the boat to shore so I can meet you.’

Buffy exhaled softly when the boat slowly made its way closer to shore. She looked up to the heavens and silently thanked whatever higher being was looking down on her to bring her such luck.

When she was able to pinpoint how far the boat might be and gauge a location, she started off on a light jog down the shore towards it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After jogging for what seemed like a really long time, Buffy finally saw the boat from the lake floating next to a dock. She quickly became disappointed when she saw no one on the boat. Had she missed them? Where could they have gone? Maybe there was a cabin nearby- surely the boat belonged to someone who lived on the lake. Her gaze moved along the dock until it disappeared into the trees. She continued to walk until she was able to see up through the trees and discovered a cabin buried deep within. Because it was hidden so well, she hadn’t been able to see it from her side of the lake.

Her gaze snapped back towards the boat when she heard a male voice. A male figure had emerged from below and was now hopping off the boat onto the dock, a rope held in his hand. His back was turned to her as he tied the boat to the dock. He still hadn’t noticed Buffy as he rose to his feet and jumped back onto the boat.

Buffy silently made her way to the edge of the dock. She stepped up onto the wooden boards and cringed when they creaked beneath her weight.

"Who’s there?" the male on the boat asked, his head snapping up to look around. His eyes feel on Buffy, who stood frozen in her spot on the dock. "Hello there."

Buffy suddenly became very aware of how vulnerable a position she had put herself in by being here alone with a man she didn’t even know. God, she could be really stupid sometimes.

"Can you talk?" The male voice asked, bringing Buffy out of her fear induced trance.

"Um," Buffy managed to get out before silence hit her again.

"How about I make this easier for you," the male suggested, moving around the boat until he stood by the side closest to the dock.

Buffy tensed up as he pulled himself out of the boat to stand on the dock. He must have seen her body tighten because instead of moving towards her, he stayed where he was.

"I just want to introduce myself," the man said before making his way a little closer. When he was close enough to reach out and touch her, and she hadn’t made a move to back away, he held out his hand towards her.

"Name's Riley Finn."

TBC............





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