I shuffled out of my bedroom in the late afternoon. Living in a basement has its advantages. You never need black out curtains to help you sleep during the day. This was actually a good thing since I do a lot of my work at weird hours. Luckily, I also knew my way around my home well enough that I didn't need any real light to get to the kitchen. I flicked a look towards my couch. Yup. Still two inter-dimensional travelers under the covers and snuggled on my couch.

I wiped the sleep from my eyes and muttered the words to light the lantern in my kitchen. Mouse padded silently into the alcove behind me. He too spared a glance towards the couch. He whined slightly. My dog really didn't like our vampire guest and he didn't seem to approve of him sleeping with Buffy. Mouse seemed a bit attached to her. I wonder if he was jealous. Either that or he really wanted me to feed him. I dropped some dry food in his monstrous sized bowl and replaced his water. He stopped fussing. Score one for the wizard's skill at interpreting doggy language.

Mister stalked into the room, pushed past Mouse, and ate a couple pieces of the dog food. With his dominance once again established, the cat raised his tail and prowled back out of the room. As I grabbed the last coke from the refrigerator, I heard the large cat jump onto the couch. I couldn't help but snicker at the vampire grumbling in response. My cat must have decided he wanted to make himself comfortable for his afternoon nap on Spike.

Sitting at my table, I rubbed my face. I needed to shower and shave. I also needed to go to the grocery store. Laundromat too. I shook my head. Why was it that my daily living stuff always seemed to be on the back burner. I glanced up at the short blonde who had silently moved into the room and was leaning her shoulder against the wall. Oh yeah. That's why. I normally had more pressing matters to handle.

I grinned. I couldn't help myself. At least this time, my distraction wasn't trying to kill me. Instead, my distraction was rather cutely trying to wake up. She was still wearing my scarecrow shirt but had pulled on a pair of sweatpants that Charity provided her yesterday. All in all, she was a far cry better disruption to my daily life than the normal threats of maiming or death.

Buffy wiped sleep from her eyes before taking a seat across from me. She reached out and snagged my last can of soda and took a drink. I silently lamented that loss of my caffeine but the blissful smile she offered after swallowing more than made up for the theft.

"So what's the what for today?" she asked as she returned the now empty can to the table.

So we were skipping the niceties and getting right to business. Bob might be onto something with this kinship thing. I am all for tackling things head on. Seems Buffy shared that tendency.

"Well, I thought we would make a stab at finding the pendent that magicked you here."

Buffy put her elbows on the table and rested her head on her arms while still watching me.

"Sounds like looking for a needle in like a million haystacks," she muttered.

I chuckled.

"Nah. I got a spell for finding stuff. It'll only be like finding a needle in fifty haystacks."

"Hmm, can you do a permanent one on my house keys? I can never seem to find them."

I shook my head and offered her breakfast instead. The pantry might be mostly empty but I still had the couple cans of Spaghetti-Os I was considering yesterday. Not exactly the breakfast of champions but still preferable to an empty stomach.

Buffy closed her eyes sleepily but accepted my meager food offering.

As I puttered around the tiny kitchen, I noticed how much less lost my house guest seemed today. She still looked tired and badly in need of more food than a can of pasta but there was a level of tension that was gone from her body. The shadow that had haunted her eyes had pushed back just a bit. Despite the weirdness that was their relationship, I suspected that having Spike show up had given her more than just a surprise. He seemed to be a lodestone of a sort for her.

I finally placed a bowl of food in front of the Slayer and dropped a spoon beside it. She opened her eyes and sat up properly. She offered me a quiet thank you before starting to eat. For a moment, I just watched her dig into the food. Gotta love a girl who isn't afraid to eat my cooking. I may be able to mix a mean potion but a gourmet chef I am not.

I noticed Mouse slipping under the table and nudging against her leg. He wasn't begging. Just making sure she knew he was there. If he had been sitting by me, it would have been begging. After her first bite, Buffy reached down and scratched behind the dog's ear. He huffed in contentment and settled in place on the floor. The pet was all he wanted from her. I could relate.

I retook my seat across from the pretty blond and started on my own meal. We were almost finished when Buffy broke the silence.

"So, when are you gonna ask me about Spike?"

"Huh?" I muttered. No one ever accused me of being a brilliant conversationalist.

I wasn't sure what she wanted me to ask about him. I was betting she didn't expect me to make comments on his abdominal muscles or inferior duster. Other than mentioning his obvious concern for her, there wasn't much I could say. I knew more about my gym socks than I did about the visiting vamp.

The young woman glanced up at me from under her lashes but didn't raise her head from facing her bowl. She sighed.

"Aren't you gonna ask what I'm doing screwing a vampire instead of dusting him?"

I froze with my spoon of Spaghetti-Os waving in the air and my mouth open wide. I must have looked even more like an idiot than normal.

Of all the things for her to say, I hadn't expected that one. It wasn't just the harsh tone and words she voiced either. Something was really off with her question. Why did she think I was going to comment negatively on her choice in lovers? Granted, Mouse didn't seem to like the vamp but I hadn't seen anything dust worthy from Spike yet. He was obviously devoted to the Slayer. Otherwise, he wouldn't have suffered the hellish trip to our dimension to help save her. That was impressive. For an undead bloodsucker, he really didn't seem like a bad sorta guy. Heck, he showed more concern for the Raith's human snacks than they did. I had to respect the restraint and humanity he had shown with them.

I dropped my spoon into my bowl with a clatter. Buffy lifted her head at the unexpected noise. We stared at each other for a moment as my mind clamored for the proper thing to say. Given that it was me, I figured I wasn't going to come up with the right thing anyway but I was always game to try.

"Why would I have a problem with your vampire?" I asked carefully. There. That was pretty diplomatic and sensitive if I do say so myself. What could I say. I hadn't gotten enough sleep and my bizarre scale was a bit tipped out of normal. It was better than asking what the hell her problem was.

Buffy swirled her spoon through her remaining Spaghetti-Os. She took a deep breath and responded to my question.

"You're one of the good guys. Aren't you supposed to be part of the whole get rid of the monsters party?"

"Um, were you here yesterday or did you somehow miss that my brother is a vampire?" I replied with a frown.

My response made her pause for a moment.

"He's alive though. Right? He probably still has his soul."

I frowned. It might be the lack of sleep talking but I really wasn't following the logic.

"What's a soul got to do with anything?"

Buffy shrugged uncomfortably.

"In the Slayer's world, it's all about the bloody soul," Spike answered from over her shoulder as he joined us in the tiny kitchen space. There was a bitterness to the vampire's tone that made it obvious this was a long running issue between the two lovers.

"Souless things are evil. They can't love," Buffy muttered as she stirred her remaining pasta harder. Her spoon made grating ticks as it scrapped the sides of the bowl. I shuddered at both the scratching and her strange tone of voice. She sounded like someone who was reciting the multiplication tables. It was unemotional memorization. Her response actually smacked a bit of brain washing in my book. She wasn't actually thinking about the words; she was just repeating them as if they were irrefutable facts.

Spike sighed and his shoulders slumped. He looked like he wanted to argue but he seemed to accept that it was a battle already lost. I hated seeing anyone that defeated. Even a potentially evil bloodsucker. Okay, maybe I would wish it on an evil bloodsucker but the jury was still out on where exactly this particular vamp fell on the evil scale. Given what I had seen, the even/under was probably a pretty small window to hit.

I frowned. It might not have been my battle to wage but I wasn't about to let the subject drop. It's one of the reasons I see myself as a good guy. I will take on the fights that need fought even if they are uncomfortable.

"Seems to me that the lack of a soul is just that. A lack of soul. Doesn't make it a determination of good or evil. Otherwise, what purpose is sentience? Free will? I also don't see how it eliminates emotions by its absence," I offered with a slight frown. "I have certainly known a number of souless, immortal beings who exhibit the full spectrum of feelings. Heck, some of them have more emotional volatility than most of the humans I know. For that matter, I have known a number of truly evil people with souls who lack any bit of humanity."

Instead of joining us at the table, Spike hopped up on the tiny counter space beside my sink. He raised his eyebrow and gave me a bit of a nod. I think that meant he agreed with me but I somehow doubted Buffy would be as easy a sell. Perhaps a different attack would be better. When all else fails, fall back on logic. It's a wizard's standard.

"So, what exactly is a soul?" I asked the young woman.

Buffy stopped stirring her food and looked up. She frowned as she considered my question.

"Um, I guess it's that bit of moral and emotional stuff that makes up a human. A spiritual or moral force?" she offered in response.

I nodded.

"Sounds very dictionary," I accepted with a grin.

Buffy shrugged again. She still seemed disconnected from the entire train of thought. I wondered if I stood any chance of getting her boxcar coupled onto my express line.

"Ever seen a soul? Held one? Felt its presence?" I asked. Personally, I have seen a number of souls. They were something that you never forgot. Some were glorious. Others were just shy of gouge your eyeballs out hideous. Most were in a mid-ground.

Buffy bit her lip before finally nodding. She no longer looked disconnected. The lost look was back on her face. Although it was more than just lost. In an easy word, she appeared truly haunted. I almost wished the dispassionate disinterest was still in place. A stab of guilt prodded me in the gut. I might feel the need to put in a good word on behalf to the disheartened vamp but I didn't mean to hurt the Slayer at the same time. It figured. I always stepped in it when I tried to do the right thing with conversation instead of a well placed fire spell.

Buffy filled the silence and her words didn't make any of us feel any better. If the APA wanted a spokeswoman for depression, Buffy's voice would nail the position. Hands down.

"When I died, there was nothing but soul. No pain. No loss. No physical wants or needs. Just peace. Peace and quiet and being complete in an utterly perfect way."

"Celestial," I muttered as a verbal kick in my pants. If she had been in Heaven, and I mean the Heaven with a capital H that Micheal was always talking about, then I guessed that she might have a pretty good grasp of what a soul was. On the other hand, I wasn't convinced she understood what it wasn't.

I was already skittering out on the cracked ice of the conversation. I figured it couldn't hurt to shuffle a bit further along to my point. Hopefully, I wouldn't fall through. I was pretty sure a pissed off Buffy could be just as dangerous to my health as a trip through the ice on Lake Michigan would be.

"So, if these souls you held and touched and communed with where all about human morality, do cats have souls?"

Buffy scrunched her nose.

"Um, no?"

"So does that make them evil?"

Spike snorted.

Okay, granted cats might not have been as good an example as say dogs for good versus evil but self-centered doesn't necessarily mean big evil in my book. It was also best not to mention the dog point since my dog might send the whole soulless thing into question. He was a special case and I didn't want to muddy the waters.

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Cats are animals. They are neither evil nor good. They lack the thinky-thoughts to make those choices. They are pretty much instinct driven, right? Or maybe instinct combined with simple learned responses?"

"So they are not sentient beings?"

"Guess not."

I cringed as I used the Slayer's mutated word but forged on anyway "So it's actually the lack of thinky-thoughts, that allows them to fall into the not evil or good categories?"

"Um, yes?"

I noticed Spike start to smirk. I was guessing he had rationalized where I was going with this. So happy at least one of my two guests was following my thought locomotive. Guess that means I hadn't totally jumped the track.

"So wouldn't it mean that something that is sentient, thus having your so called thinky-thoughts, would be presented the decision of evil versus good? It isn't based on souls at all. It's personal choice."

"But..." she started.

"Yes or no?" I prodded.

"But the soul..."

I shook my head. Seriously, Buffy seemed to have a mental block with the logic. Guess that was a knock against Bob's theory of kinship. How could someone mirroring my life essence be so resistive to accepting the logical. It also made me wonder what deep rooted conflict was lodged in her psyche that made her resist the thought process so vehemently. Well, since I was never one to back down from a challenge, I pressed the point and decided to run rough shod all over her delicate sensibilities.

"Yes or no," I interrupted. "Does the having of thoughts lead to conscious decisions of ones actions?"

Buffy cringed but nodded. It looked painful for her to agree but she couldn't seem to find any rational argument to voice.

"So wouldn't that mean that evil and good are choices determined by the individuals thoughts?"

Buffy huffed.

"But the soul is a moral compass. It tells them what is right or wrong," Buffy almost whined. "It helps keep them from being evil."

"So no souled humans are ever truly evil? Just misunderstood?"

Buffy wasn't sure how to answer that one and hold her position. I could tell that she didn't want to admit that humans could be evil but at the same time she didn't want to lie. Finally, she sighed and admitted that there were evil humans.

"But that doesn't mean that demons aren't inherently evil," she countered.

She had a point since I was kinda comparing apples and oranges. All fruit but only one is a citrus. I tried the argument from another angle.

"Pretty sweeping statement you got there," I chastised. "You have more than one species of demon in your world, yes?"

Both of my guests nodded.

"Well, are all those species all exactly alike?"

This time they both shook their heads.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Well, if they are not exactly the same, then why would you lump them all together in one sweeping statement. I mean, Mister is a cat and so are lions but I wouldn't want to invite Simba into my house to sleep on my bed. Different species. Different traits."

"But vampires are all grr argh and wanting to eat people. I have to dust them all the time because they can't keep their fangy species traits to themselves."

"Yeah, well starving humans would cannibalize their neighbors too if they were their only food source," Spike muttered.

"But they're not the only food source!" Buffy exclaimed as she stood and whirled around to face Spike. "You aren't eating your neighbors or my neighbors. Just butcher blood."

"So, like the wizard said. I am making that choice," Spike responded as he hopped down from the counter to face Buffy. Looked like he was finally going to wade into the muddy waters.

"Not by your choice," the Slayer muttered.

Spike shook his head before taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a moment. I think he was trying to find some hidden bit of patience. I hoped he found it. My kitchen didn't need a repeat of the Slayer-Vampire knock down, drag out from last night.

"Look, every day, Thomas has to make a choice," I interjected in hopes of avoiding round two. "He chooses whether to be monstrous or whether to fight his demonic nature. I think you need to give Spike credit for the same battle. And I mean real credit. Not the, oh, Spike drank pigs blood today now what am I watching on television this evening. You need to admit that your vampire refrained from killing your next door neighbor, turning her kid into a little vampire, and kicking her dog into busy traffic."

For a moment, Buffy looked horrified at my mental image but then she frowned. She glanced back at Spike.

"You didn't do any of those things today."

Spike shook his head.

"No, Luv, I am pet kicking free so far today."

He glanced at Mouse who was giving him the doggy equivalent of a disdainful glare from his position under the table.

"Although the day is still young," he acknowledged as he glared back at my dog.

Now it was my turn to shake my head. Better not to call the two of them on their mutual animosity. It would just take us even further off track. Instead, I tried to keep the discussion on target.

"Now the big thing you need to acknowledge is that he did that without your human-morality-nudging soul poking him and guilting or coercing him into doing it. He chose it."

Buffy turned back to Spike with a confused expression skirting her eyes and wrinkling her forehead.

"But the chip nudges you. You can't eat my neighbor or turn her kid."

"Could still kick the dog, Slayer. Pretty sure I could set the house on fire. Or toss a couple crates of orange marmalade on the walls and watch a pack of Shire'letac demons devour the entire building, neighbor and kid included."

"Ew. Don't ever do that."

"Kinda the point, Pet. Not gonna do it. Like the wizard said. I'm making the choices. Captain of my own bloody Fate."

He tapped the side of his head with his pointer finger. "Chip or no chip," he stated before tapping his chest over his heart with his entire hand. "I've got the best reason to at least try to make the right decision."

I watched as my guests competed in a staring contest. I could tell neither side seemed willing to bend. Mouse whined and I sighed. Although both blonds were silent, the tension building between them was almost a tangible monster of a thing. I really hoped the monster didn't escape its cage since neither my staff nor my blasting rod were easily accessible. They were both in the living room. Big no-no for me. I hated evoking magic without a focus. Great way to fry my brain like a dippy egg. All mushy on the inside and singed on the outside.

Buffy's lower lip began to tremble. I wasn't able to see her full expression but something in it must have triggered a reaction in the Brit's feelings. His eyes softened and the tension monster dissolved. The vampire reached out and trailed his fingers along her cheek. Gently, Spike brushed her bedhead hair behind her ear.

"Not all the same, Slayer. The wizard nailed the instinctual traits, but different vamps, different personality. Just like the Whelp and Red don't always react the same way to everything, we're not carbon copies of each other. Not all humans are the same and neither are all vamps."

"But he..."

"He's all about himself. With or without. That is the point you need to remember. His guilt. His anger. His hatred. His twisted need for control. It's all about him."

Spike reached out once again and gently trailed his fingertips along her cheek until he reached her chin and could tip her head up and to meet his gaze.

"You know me though. It's not about me. It's always all about the women I love."

I didn't understand who the other person Spike was mentioning but I couldn't find a reason to disbelieve his sincerity. For a moment, Buffy closed her eyes. She trembled slightly before taking a deep breath. She opened her eyes and met Spike's gaze for only a moment more then pulled free of his touch to turn to me.

"So how do we get with the magicking so we can find my pendant?" she asked in a blatant change of subject.

"And she's off and running," Spike muttered under his breath with a roll of his eyes and tiny sigh. "Even when she stays in the room."

Buffy flinched slightly at the comment but her expression never changed and she didn't hurl any type of scathing comment in return. She just looked at me expectantly.

I sighed. I may not be the best with conversation skills but even I could pick up her blatant yet unspoken order to drop it. With an apologetic shrug towards Spike, I let it drop. Instead, I grabbed the dishes and shoved them in the sink on my way into the living room.

Guess it was time to get to the real work and earn my Wizard's laurels.

"Um, guys, do you think this is a good idea?" Jonathan questioned nervously as the three would be super-villains approached the Magic Shop from the alley off the main street.

Warren grunted in annoyance before whipping around to his short cohort.

"Who is going to stop us? The Slayer is gone. The Old British dude who owns the place is out of the country. And the air-headed shop keeper? She's at home with her clueless loser boyfriend. If she isn't packing his lunch and watching reality television then she is probably with the rest of those goody-two shoes in a panic over their missing heroine."

Warren turned back towards the better lit area in front of the shop. Under his breath, he muttered "Grow a pair, you pansy."

The robotics nerd flipped his black backpack off his shoulder. Metal clicked as he dug inside the bad. Pulling free what he needed, Warren freed a shiny blue gun that looked like it came from the set of the original Star Trek show. He aimed and pulled the trigger. The streetlight overhead flickered once then went off. With the shop door now plunged into shadow, the Trio approached the store unseen.

Andrew moved to the door. He pulled a tiny box from his pocket. He held it near the lock and flipped off the lid. He tilted the box towards the keyhole and a tiny tentacle about the size of a pin slid from the box. It slithered into the lock. More of the tiny demon's appendage flowed into the tight space and wiggled against the tumblers. It took only a few seconds for the demon skeleton key to unlock the door. Andrew dropped a single chocolate chip reward into the box and the tentacle retracted so he could close the lid. After returning his little demon to his pocket, the flamboyant geek opened the door with a flourish.

"After you, Oh Great Leader," he invited Warren with a grandiose wave of his arm.

Warren stalked into the Magic Box as if he owned it. Andrew followed closely behind him. Nervously, Jonathan glanced up and down the street before sighing and tailing his companions into the darkened store.

The thieves made it less than five paces into the room before a flash of white light snapped across the room like a directed bit of lightning. The light hit the three intruders. There were four gentle pops as the light passed harmlessly through each person as well as the tiny demon. The three humans collapsed to the floor in limp heaps. Ensnared in Anya's protection spell, the intruders fell instantly asleep. While they slept, their skin slowly began to turn green.

They were discovered in the morning by Anya who rudely prodded the spelled males with her foot while calling them idiots. She promptly called the police. She then rescued the captive demon key and flushed it down the toilet so that it could find its own way home through the sewers. When the Sunnydale police arrived, she proudly had the three thieves arrested for breaking and entering. After all three were handcuffed, the former demon muttered the counter-curse for the sleep spell and smirked smugly as she watched the three struggling criminals roughly loaded into the police cruiser.

Once the supposed master criminals were locked in the vehicle, Anya also suggested that the trio were most likely responsible for the other break ins earlier in the week. Thrilled to be facing mundane menaces for once, the officers jumped on her suggestion. After a thorough search and discovery in the Trio's basement lair, additional charges were filed. The arresting officers received the accolades for catching the criminals but Anya enjoyed the last laugh. She opened the store and flitted through the day knowing that no amount of Benadryl would ever clear up the supposed strange allergic reaction that had permanently tinted Warren, Andrew and Jonathan the same shade as Kermit the Frog. That would teach them to try to steal her profits.