__Unexpected Guest__
By Greyangel
'Well that was a bloody bright idea,' Giles exclaimed, examining his now grey-fur covered car seats.
He looked down at his small companion with an annoyed expression, which soon gave way to a smile he struggled to restrain.
The little dog gave him a truly innocent look, wiggling her tail slightly. He sighed, lifting the box of donuts from the passenger's seat and closing the door.
Giles made his way inside, the small, fluffy animal close at his heels, staring so intently up at the donut box that it tripped and stumbled at least twice. He had noticed the second stumble, and tried not to laugh out loud. The dog seemed to get even more excited when he laughed, and an over-excited Muffin usually meant Giles would lose most of his donuts to cute expressions and whining.
Once inside he set his keys down on his counter along with the box of donuts. Muffin decided to sit below the counter, looking repeatedly from the box to Giles, then back to the box. He'd noticed, but was trying not to show it - and so moved into the kitchen and set the kettle boiling.
Finally, he brought his tea back and looked down at her as she licked her lips and shuffled closer as he moved to pick up the box. He lifted his brow, and she cocked her head slightly before lifting herself onto her back legs with her front paws bent before her.
'Don't give me that sweet look. If you were a Great Dane there'd be an empty box on the floor by now.' He insisted, leaning against the wall.
His argument had no effect on Muffin, who still half-stood, patiently, waiting for the inevitable.
'Oh, all bloody right,' he growled, taking the box and moving over to the couch.
Once seated, he glanced down at his companion. 'No, you can't come up on the couch. No!'
She leapt up onto his lap, almost on top of the donut box.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. 'No, you're right, I didn't specify lap. Thank you for making that clear.'
After a few moments his arms grew tired and hot, and he managed to nudge the dog to the other couch cushion. 'Fine. On the couch, but no closer than that.'
He opened the box and picked up a jelly-filled donut, taking a bite and savoring the flavor for a moment. He felt something on his leg, and looked down to see her resting her small black face on the edge of his thigh, her eyes rolled up to look at him with a pleading expression.
'Bloody manipulative creature,' he cursed, lowering his donut so she could eat.
The door behind them slowly opened, and she stepped through, seeing her Watcher and his small grey companion on the couch. She smiled, watching him talk to the dog as if it were a small child. She enjoyed watching the two of them together - Giles was different when he was with the Todd's family dog.
He'd found her on one of his morning jogs, hurt and alone. He'd taken care of her, called a vet, and watched over her until the Todd family returned to claim her. Her name was Kasha, although Giles and the others had stuck by 'Muffin', a nickname Willow had come up with when trying to find an English name for her. She'd belonged to a little girl named Lisa, and often returned to Giles' house while the family went on holidays or were out of town.
This weekend must have been one of those, Buffy assumed, and smiled when the dog put her paw on the donut box. Giles started to tell her off before he noticed a flicker behind him and turned to see Buffy.
She smiled. 'Hey.'
Muffin's head shot up at the voice, and Buffy walked around the back of the couch, a smile on her face. The two of them looked truly adorable on the couch with their box of donuts, the little dog sitting eagerly at Giles' side. Buffy folded her arms.
'Shouldn't you two be mowing a meadow somewhere?'
The joke was lost on Giles, who simply shot her a look and tried to shift Muffin, as she had one paw on his leg, and was putting most of her weight on it. Despite her size, she was a heavy little dog. Finally he gave up and removed his glasses, looking over at his slayer. 'Buffy. Good morning.'
She nodded in response, 'Doggy sitting?'
'No, it's a bloody cat,' he joked, pushing Muffin off him, sick of the boring pain in his leg. 'A very heavy cat.'
'Ah. Can you make it go 'meow'?' she asked.
He glared. 'Now we're asking a bit much.'
Muffin stared, totally oblivious to the conversation.
Giles lifted himself from the couch, remembering the kettle he had reset. 'Was there something you were after specifically?'
She nodded, following him. 'Actually, yeah…patrol last night. I came across a few big nasties.'
He looked sideways at her. 'How big?'
'Not "we're gonna need a bigger boat" big - but big, like "incredible hulk" big.'
'Translate?'
'It was big.'
'I think I got that part.' He poured the tea into a small cup for himself, looking at her briefly to see if she was interested.
She shook her head before continuing: 'Yeah, it was about eight or nine feet - and really wide and bulky. Demon of some kind. Antlers, too.'
Giles considered. 'Possibly a Maska demon - they're known for their size... and, er, antlers.'
'Maybe. Anyways, I came because I figured you're demon-research-guy, so I'd better let you know.'
'I was actually hoping you came because I'm now Watcher-guy again.' He lifted his brow slightly at her, sipping his tea.
'Oh,' she said gently. 'Th-that too.'
There was a sudden creak, and Giles paused. He looked up for a moment, then around, and noticed the door was open. Then he remembered his little companion. He sat the tea down quickly on the desk, ignoring the fact that had spilled nearly half the cup, and rushed over to the couch, finding it empty.
Buffy followed him, and looked down, realizing what was going on.
Giles glanced to the open door before looking to his slayer.
'Oh dear.'
* * *
Muffin wrestled with the small, white and orange cat she'd scampered after, playfully, dragging it back and forth by the scruff of its neck. She let go and yapped playfully, but the cat gave her a look that seemed to indicate he was rather unimpressed.
She leaned back on her haunches and pounced on the feline, which didn't do much to ward off the playful onslaught, again. He seemed indifferent to the matter, letting the silly dog pull on his ears. After several minutes of continued play, he finally grew tired, let out a shrill cry and slapped the dog across her little face, but used no claws.
She stumbled, but was soon steady and ready to play again, when she realised the cat had already vanished...
The small dog sat, confused. She had seen the white flicker of the cat passing outside the door, from the warm spot where Giles had left her, and had chased after it.
Their play had continued for quite a while, and now she found herself a long way away, in territory that smelled quite unfamiliar. Finally, after several moments, she lifted herself and set off once again.
* * *
Giles stormed inside, almost slamming the door behind him. 'Nothing!' he cried.
'Giles, calm down. I've never seen you this angry,' Buffy said gently.
He paused, then the tension released from his face. He looked very tired. 'I'm sorry, Buffy. It's just I-I... the Todds put her in my care. I should have...'
'I'm the one who left the door open,' Buffy said gently. 'We'll find her. She can't have gone too far.'
Giles nodded warily and glanced over to the box of donuts regretfully. He removed his glasses and pressed the back of his hand to his forehead briefly, looking down. He just hoped they would find her before nightfall.
*******
Night had fallen just over an hour earlier, and as soon as it had he'd been out on the street to find some dinner. The butcher's was the usual option, but while he usually returned with a nice large pot of blood, today he returned with a brown paper bag and an angry expression.
He mumbled to himself as he trudged through the scrub on the way to his crypt. 'Fella doesn't ask for much ... couple pints of blood every once in a bloody while'd be nice... but no, sodding steak he tells me... nice and full of blood. Like to see you have to wring your dinner out sometime, mate!'
Pushing the door to his crypt open he slumped inside and threw himself into the nearest chair, switching his television on and ripping the paper bag open. He flicked channels for a few moments before tearing the plastic bag inside with his teeth and draining the blood from the bottom of it.
He watched the unfolding drama on the television, oblivious to a soft whining noise coming from outside. After a few moments the program broke for a commercial, and in a moment of silence something caught his attention. He hit the mute control and listened. A few more moments of silence were finally punctuated by a low whine.
He blinked, waiting for the whine to sound again. When it did, he thought for a moment then switched the mute button off. After several minutes of his show he heard the whining again, and tried to ignore it. Several more minutes of whining passed, and he finally hit the mute button again.
'Whatever the hell you are, hurry up and die. Warm blood would be nice for a change.'
The whining continued. Cursing, he pulled himself out of his chair, dropping his half-eaten steak onto the seat. He found himself the nearest weapon and poked his head out the door, looking around cautiously.
Finally, sure that it wasn't a trap, he stepped into the hot night. The heat had been more noticeable of late, and he moved around in the humidity until the whines finally started to get louder.
He stopped near some bushes and leaned over the top of them, looking down. The keening stopped as the little animal looked up at the newcomer curiously. She blinked, alarmed, before giving him an innocent look and whining softly.
Stepping around the bushes, he lowered his crossbow and looked at the little animal. 'Hurt? Injured? Possibly dinner?'
The dog seemed unworried at his approach, only watching him move. She stared at him.
Spike sighed. 'Well. You're not hurt. Which means no free food.' He turned to return to his crypt, but the creature let out a low, lonely whimper.
He turned and looked down at it. 'What? I'm a vampire, I eat things.'
She got up onto her legs and shuffled forward, slightly shaky.
Spike cocked his head. 'Well now. A little sick after all. I bet it's the weather - you in that great bloody coat of yours. Me, I'm fine. Nothing like being dead to beat the heat.'
The dog sniffed his leg before she sat, and looked up at him.
Seeing her expression, he shrugged. 'Well, what do you want me to do? Go on, shoo. Get lost.'
He turned and made his way back to his crypt, throwing his crossbow onto a side chair before retrieving his meal and sitting back down. He switched the mute off once again and went to take a bite, but froze when he heard a bark. He rolled his head sideways and glanced to his doorway, where the dog stood, her ears pricked, curled tail wagging slightly.
Without him saying a word, she made her way inside and came over to his feet, sitting herself down.
'Make yourself welcome.' He almost laughed in disbelief.
The dog ignored him.
Doing her the same favor, he turned back to the television and went to bite into his steak again. This time it was a paw on his leg that stopped him. He closed his eyes a moment before looking down at the dog, which was now sitting up in a begging position.
He half-laughed, lowering the steak from his mouth. 'Oh, no. Cutesy doesn't work with vampires. For a vampire, cutesy is a common trait of an appetizer.'
She pawed at his leg again, and he looked at the meat in his hand. After a moment of consideration, he inwardly kicked himself. 'No, don't be bloody stupid. It's a dog. What's worse, it's a cute dog.'
Muffin paused for a moment, lowering herself to the ground again and listening. In a few seconds she was over by the door, barking and growling.
Spike turned around, alarmed, and dropped his steak. He leapt to his feet and made his way to the door, reaching into the darkness and pulling a demon into his crypt.
'Come on in,' he suggested, kicking the demon at his feet.
'Wick. Good to see you again,' he drawled sarcastically as the demon got to it's feet.
The demon growled. 'You cheated me!'
'No, you lost, you daft ponce.' He delivered a few blows and after a few moments Spike had a crossbow bolt firmly lodged in the demon's chest, shattering the small plate it held just under the skin. The demon disintegrated, falling to small, coin sized pieces. Spike kicked the dust and pieces out the door with several sweeps of his feet.
He threw the crossbow aside and brushed his hands together, indicating a job well done. 'Nice knowing you Wick.'
The dog sat patiently, and Spike's eyes fell on her as he turned around. He paused, then nodded. 'Good job.'
Happy with his response, she made his way back over to his chair behind him, sitting once again. He picked up what was left of his dinner and, after a moment, threw it to his new companion. 'So, what'll we call you? Killer? Growler?'
The dog dug into the meat with enthusiasm and soon there was nothing left. She licked the floor and what was left of the meat juices. Spike smiled. 'Dog after my own heart.'
After examining him to see if he had any more food, she settled down and lay on her side.
'Mauler...' Spike continued. 'How about...?' he looked down at the half-asleep dog on the ground. 'Fluffy grey puppy-dog: wonderful companion for a scary vampire, truly. Perhaps you could lick Giles to death for me. He's already asked for it once.'
The dog didn't respond, and Spike realised in a moment that he was expecting it to. He sat back and blinked.
After a moment, he switched his television off. Nights had become boring. He jumped into his make-shift bed and lay flat on his stomach. Settling down, he closed his eyes to dream dreams of a blonde slayer, when suddenly a large weight on his back caused him to jolt. 'What the bloody--?'
He didn't get the chance to move before she'd settled and was lying sprawled across his back. He sighed and growled below his breath. 'Yes, of course, what better on a hot night than your own personal ice block?'
After a few moments he shifted a little, making the best of their strange sleeping arrangement and, before he knew it, was asleep. He slept undisturbed for the first time since the incident with the Initiative's doctor.
He was only awakened, eventually, by a sudden burning sensation on his head. He shifted quickly, feeling the weight on his back slide down beside him, but he had escaped the ray of light just in time to save himself more burning. He glared up and saw the blonde image of many of his dreams standing in the doorway, an amused expression on her face.
'You know, this is really intimidating,' she insisted.
He was confused for a moment before he looked down to the fluffy grey dog on the bed beside him. 'What? Oh...'
After a moment his face was being covered in a big, sloppy pink tongue and he stuttered and growled from behind the onslaught. Buffy suppressed a laugh as she moved forward and claimed the dog, grunting as she lifted Muffin and placed her on the floor. 'What's she doing here, anyway? Did you hurt her?'
'Did I hurt her? No, what do you think I am?' He asked.
She lifted her brow.'A vampire.'
'Oh, right.'
'She belongs to a friend of Giles'. He was taking care of her, and she ran away.'
'Why did you come here?' Spike asked, dodging the sunbeam and sitting up.
She shrugged. 'I followed her. She left little messages around the place.'
He looked confused. 'Little messa-?' His face straightened. 'Don't worry, I got it.'
She paused a moment, before nodding. 'Thanks.'
He blinked. 'Excuse me?'
Turning, she led Muffin out with her. 'I'm not saying it twice.'
Spike thought for a moment before he lay back and smiled.
'Score.'
After several minutes passed, he thought about the little dog who had graced his company for the night and laughed.
'Keep 'em in line, Mauler,' he said aloud, then continued his previous train of thought. 'Little...fluffy…grey...'
'Oh, I'm never gonna live this one down...'
* * *