TITLE: Which Brit Is Which?
AUTHOR: Ragna (WritingGoddess@aol.com)
RATING: FRT
CLASSIFICATION: Buffy/William (Spike), Willow/Tara, Xander/Anya. AU fic.
SUMMARY: Sunnydale's overrun with British people suddenly. But who's there to help and who's there to hinder?
SPOILERS: A very AU fic. Angel never existed, so things that happened to Angel in the regular Buffyverse happened to Spike instead. And then, after what would have been "Helpless" Buffy didn't quit the council and Giles wasn't fired.
DISTRIBUTION: Any sites with my fic up; you all have unspoken permission. I write it, you can post it. Everyone else just keep my name on it and let me know.
DISCLAIMER: If you don't recognize it, chances are it's my own creation. If you do, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kazui Sandollar, FOX and the WB own it or them. Various friends of mine are holding characters hostage. You may see them by appointment only.
FEEDBACK: Sorry I'm not home right now I'm walking in the spiderwebs so leave a message and I'll call you back...in other words, I want it. Don't care if it's onlist or not, but I prefer offlist since I have quite a few lists on No Mail.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, I combined two challenges at YGTS? (Numbers 90 & 91) to do this challenge. One called for an alternate universe where Buffy was still a dutiful Slayer and Angel never was vamped. So, for reference because it will come up later, Darla vamped Drusilla before driving her insane, and Dru vamped Spike, and Spike had the visit to the Romany tribe and got cursed with a soul sans true moment of happiness clause.

***

The man stepped off the bus, looked around him at his new surroundings. Sunnydale, California...El Boca de Inferno...the Hellmouth.

He could make himself at home here.

"Must sort out housing and such," he muttered to himself, glancing a look at his reflection on the shiny side of the bus. Hair perfectly combed, smart suit with starched white shirt, cuff links and polished shoes...best to meet the enemy with a good appearance.

He headed off towards a cluster of cabs, getting his surroundings in check. Yes, he really could make himself at home here.

***

Buffy smiled to herself. Another morning, another night of kick ass slaying. She was, in two words, the shit. And she hoped today was a bright, shiny day to match her bright, shiny mood.

But the window remained closed as she glanced at her sleeping boyfriend, William. The other vampires called him Spike, because before he was souled, he used railroad spikes as his key form of torture. That was before the incident with the Romany tribe, something he didn't like to talk about. He never brooded; he was as cocky a man as they came. But there were some things he rarely talked about.

She accepted it. It wasn't like he wore all black and sat in a corner of a room reading depressing poetry or anything like that.

"Will...wake up," she said, crawling back into bed next to him. Their entire apartment was dark, so she flipped on the small bedside reading lamp they had. Neither of them read much, however, so it was only used as a cruel form of torture to wake the other up.

"'Off the light," Will muttered, pulling the pillow out from under his head and placing it over his head. Buffy grinned wickedly and sat down on his chest. "No tickling, Buffy. It's too early."

"Never too early to make you squirm," she said, tickling him right below his ribcage. Will sat up with a start, a devious smile on his face.

"I'll get you back for that, Slayer."

"I'd love to see you try, Spike," she retorted, jumping off the bed.

"Oh, I'll spike you all right," he muttered, giving chase.

***

Giles had realized when the high school had been blown up that there was much more he could do with his life than sit in a library and banter with teenagers.

For example, he could simply sit in a magic shop and banter with college students.

Buying the magic shop had been suggested by Buffy. William had a supply of money from his many years of experience and became the not-always silent partner in the store. Giles managed to maintain the store with the help of Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara, as well as the Watcher's Council.

It was surprising that they would allow a relationship between a Slayer and a vampire, but considering Buffy defeated Kralik on her own sans Slayer abilities, the Council was inclined to let this Slayer consort with whomever she pleased, as long as she got the job done. It was an arrangement all could live with.

Giles looked at his watch. After the experience with Wesley and Faith, which had ended rather badly and resulted in Wesley leaving the Council, he felt reluctant to allow another Watcher to come to Sunnydale if they had not had any real experience. The Council had assured him that not only did this Watcher have some experience against actual demons, but he had also run a magic shop in London and was a bit more worldly than most other Watchers on the Council.

And he was, as of the moment Giles looked at his watch, twenty minutes late.

Giles sighed. He'd needed help, Buffy had needed help and the council had provided a solution that benefited all three. The Council would send a younger Watcher to Giles that he could train. This Watcher would also help in a similar capacity as the Scoobies, researching and casting spells. He would also gain employment at the college which the Scoobies attended as a teaching assistant.

Maybe this way, there were more eyes open looking for answers to their problem.

The door opened and Giles looked up. Blond hair, his eyes were light but Giles couldn't tell whether they were blue or green, lean build...he kept getting drawn back to those eyes. There was something about them.

"'Allo! You're Rupert Giles, right?" The man flashed a dazzling smile, set all his belongings down except a cat carrier and bounded towards the Watcher. "Name's Andrew Hodgkiss." A plaintive cat's meow came from the carrier. "This is Havoc."

Giles grinned despite himself. The man couldn't be more than twenty-five, maybe a bit older. But he had a charming smile, and those eyes... "Yes, I'm Rupert Giles. You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. Did you get lost?"

He shook his head. "I've never been to this side of the States before. I was enjoying the warmth and all." He set the cat carrier down. "I almost didn't get off the bus...fell asleep and almost didn't wake up."

"It is a boring ride, or so I've heard." Giles sat down as the door opened again and Anya walked in with a box of donuts, followed by Xander who was carrying a large, awkward package.

"Giles! I finally got the package!" Anya set the box on the table. "Here it is, those books I ordered for the shop."

"Why didn't you have them shipped here?"

"Because the person I ordered them from wouldn't have shipped them to me if he knew I was going to sell them," she said.

Xander set the package down and turned to Andrew. "Hi, I'm Xander, and you are...?"

"Andrew Hodgkiss. Just got here from England."

"You're the new Watcher? The girls here don't have a chance." He pointed to Anya, who was still talking to Giles about the books. "That's Anya Emerson, my girlfriend. She's Giles' main employee around here."

"She seems to know what she's talking about."

"She should. She used to be a demon." He opened the box of donuts and took a chocolate covered eclair. "You used to the unexpected?"

"A bit."

"It happens more here than we'd like." He opened the package and pulled out a book titled Ember Irn ol Meg Moz Bubu. "You know what language this is?"

Andrew took the book out of Xander's hand and opened it. "Hungarian, I think. At least, I'm pretty sure. But it might be an older dialect."

Xander nodded. "Let's hope someone around here can read it, or it might be sitting on the shelves for a while."

Andrew smiled, continuing to leaf through the book. "It would be better with pictures, I suppose."

Xander grinned himself. "I think you'll fit in just fine around here."

***

The first week of Andrew living there went quickly. He slipped into the group very quickly, his warm smile and almost hypnotic eyes captivating everyone.

Everyone, that was, except Buffy and William.

"There seems something a bit...off about him," William said, shaking his head. He'd joined all the Scoobies for coffee at Starbucks, sitting on a chair with Buffy on his lap and her double espresso with a shot of chocolate in her hand.

"You think so too?" she said, looking at the table where Andrew and her friends sat. It was almost as though Andrew had their undivided attention and they barely noticed anyone else. "He's just weird, I think."

"Maybe. But weird around these parts usually means dangerous, love, and you know that." He shifted her slightly. He watched her watching her friends.

"Whoo!" Xander said after taking a sip of his mocha, causing everyone at the table to laugh hysterically.

Buffy shook her head. "Something's up..."

***

The next morning, Willow picked up one of the pens by the cash register. "Hold on a second..." She scribbled the pen on a piece of paper but it left no mark. She pulled her bookbag up onto the counter and pulled out her fuzzy pens. She tried the red one and the black one before getting to her blue one which worked.

"You want Ember Irn ol Meg Moz Bubu?" she asked, nodding as she wrote down the strange title. "We might have it in stock. Could I have a name and number to reach you at?" She nodded again as she wrote Anthony Kovah, 760-914-7298 under the book title.

She hung up the phone, looking at the piece of paper when the door opened. "Buffy!"

"Hey, Will," Buffy said, yawning slightly.

"Long night?"

"William and I were the only ones patrolling," she said. "I thought you guys were going to help. We were at the Starbucks at seven."

"Really? I didn't see you at all. Andrew was telling us about how he got his cat."

"What's so important about that cat?" Buffy asked, going behind the counter to join Willow.

"It's his familiar. They have a...bond, I guess." Willow grinned. "Andrew is so cool. If I wasn't with Tara..."

Buffy looked at her friend and shook her head. "Anything you need me to do?"

"Just see if we have this book, and set it aside. The customer said he'd wait until this evening before looking elsewhere."

Buffy nodded, taking the slip of paper. "Oh, I know we have this book. It was with the weird ones Anya ordered." She looked at the paper, walking absently towards the locked case where the special books were held. Giles only locked a few of the books they carried in the case, and usually he let Buffy do it since she could carry more of them at once. "It's a book about changing from human to animals."

"Sort of like the Animagus in Harry Potter?" Willow said.

"Yeah, except these are spells to cast on others. Giles was telling me about it when I saw the pictures." She pulled her car keys out of her pocket and found the key to the case. It was hidden under a Finnish flag, as Giles had told her. "I think we need to tell Giles somebody wants it."

"Okay, I'll call him."

***

"Interesting," Giles said. "And you said he had an English accent?"

Willow nodded. "Why?"

"Could you see about hacking into the phone database for northern San Diego County and finding out about this phone number? I want to know exactly who is interested in that book. It is very, very dangerous in the wrong hands."

Willow nodded, moving from the register to the laptop.

"Why on earth did Anya order that book?" Giles muttered, taking off his glasses and absently rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Didn't you give her a list?"

"Yes, but that book wasn't on that list."

"Well, then shouldn't we ask her?"

Giles looked at Buffy. "I see William's cockiness is starting to rub off on you."

"Starting to?" Buffy said with a grin.

"Perhaps it's a bit late for that..."

***

The man looked at the door to the magic shop. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door. "'Allo? Anyone here?"

Willow looked up from her laptop. "Can I help you?"

"The name's Aaron Soahc. I was wondering if I could speak to the owner of the store."

"That'd be Giles...I mean, Rupert Giles. He's a bit busy, though." She looked around and, not finding her pens, picked up an orange crayon lying near the register. Buffy must have left it out after completing her art class project, Willow assumed. "Can I get your number?"

Aaron shook his blond hair. "No, that's quite all right. I'll just dash in later this afternoon." He smiled at her and Willow vaguely noticed he had cat's eye pupils. "Or if not then, I'll ring him up tomorrow."

"Okay," she said, setting down the crayon. She had thought he had cat eyes, but now that she looked closer, his eyes looked normal.

"Thank you, miss," he said, turning and walking out.

Willow shook her head. "What's with the sudden influx of British people?" she muttered to herself.

***

"I am mad but north-northwest; when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw."

Buffy looked at William. "And that means what?"

William grinned, looking at her sideways, the pale light of the room lighting up his paler chest. "I'm not exactly sure, but I like it."

Buffy swatted at his bare chest. "You're strange."

"And you love me."

"Yes, I do." She leaned over and kissed him lightly, a kiss that got deeper as he entwined his hand through her hair gently, holding her mouth to his ever so gently.

When she pulled away, she stared into his ice blue eyes for a very long moment. "William...tell me about your past."

Usually William flinched, maybe not physically but he always managed to turn the conversation to something else. But tonight, something seemed different. He seemed more relaxed, more open.

"All right." He sat up, letting Buffy lie down with her head in his lap. "It's not a nice bedtime story, though, love. Just want to warn you."

She nodded as best she could. "I still want to know."

He sighed, something he rarely did. "Just wanted to warn you. Okay." He took a breath, something else he rarely did. "My sire, Drusilla, was sired by Darla. You remember her, right?"

"The blonde in the Catholic girl get-up?"

William nodded. "That was her, but in the old days, it was noblewoman's clothes, except when we were in Japan, and it was kimonos." He smiled slightly, but the smile was gone almost immediately after it touched his lips. "She was very smart, for a woman. And Dru...Drusilla was her favorite childe. She had a gift."

"What type of gift?" Buffy asked, turning so she looked up at Spike, who had absently began stroking her hair.

"She could see things. She could see the future, the past..." He paused in the stroking and speaking, then began both again after a moment. "Darla drove her insane. She was to have been a nun, the day Darla turned her after killing all her family. Dru, she never looked back."

"And you?"

"Dru wanted a playmate. There were certain things Darla just couldn't do for her. And she saw me, after I had gotten rejected by this woman I was infatuated with. I didn't care if I lived or died, at that point. I lost my will. I lost it to Dru."

Buffy remained silent, waiting for him to continue. "We were in Prague, and Darla and Dru persuaded me to eat a Romany girl. I didn't want to. I was...full. But I did it because they both had control over me as my sire and grandsire. Little did they knew she was the favorite of her clan."

"And that's why you have a soul?"

"Almost. I was remorseful when I took the body back to the clan. They felt I deserved punishment of some sort, so I regained my soul. However, because I had shown remorse, all they did was restore my soul. No tricks, no clause for me to lose my soul if I experienced true happiness."

"Why are you nicknamed Spike?" Buffy asked, and William smiled faintly.

"Darla and Dru loved torture. They loved to draw it out, make it methodical and make it hurt, mentally and physically. I, on the other hand, hated it. A railroad spike to the chest was torture enough in my opinion. When I started doing it all the time, Darla named me Spike as a way to taunt me."

"You really must not like her."

"I dusted her, didn't I?"

"True." Buffy yawned, stretching slightly. "Thank you, for telling me."

"Not a problem, love." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep. You have a long day ahead of you, trying to figure out things about that book."