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"Hello, Rupert," she said seductively, leaning against the door to his house. "It's been a while." Giles dropped his satchel in shock.
"Jenny?" He took a quick step forward and stopped himself. "You're...but..."
"Oh, I died, Rupert," she said, walking up to him with slow, measured steps. "They even buried me. " Jenny leaned in close. "I had to dig myself out." She sighed. "Next time Angel kills the woman you love, Rupert, look for bite marks on places that aren't obvious." She straightened his tie, which had gone askew earlier that night.
"Jenny," stammered Rupert. "I...I'm sorry."
"Do you like the outfit, Rupert?" Jenny smoothed down nonexistent wrinkles in her rather tightly fitting black shirt. "I couldn't seem to find anything in my house," she said, changing the topic rather effectively. "Since you--I'm assuming it was you--cleared it out, I had to go and borrow something."
"Borrow." Rupert was barely able to talk as he reached in his jacket for a cross...that wasn't there.
"Now, now, Rupert," said Jenny, holding the cross, wrapped in a piece of fabric, up to show him. "It's almost like you don't want to see me." She threw it behind her, and Rupert could hear the wood clattering against the street. "I can't imagine why." She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "In answer to your question," she said, chuckling. "It was more on the order of a permanent loan." Jenny touched him lightly on the chest, and his heart started racing even faster, though not for any of the old reasons why her touch made him nervous. "Oh, don't worry. The police shouldn't find her naked corpse for another day or so."
"That was hardly the thing which started me worrying," Giles said, glancing around nervously.
"Oh, do you mean you're worried about this whole vampire thing?" Jenny chuckled, her eyes wide in surprise--genuine or not, Rupert couldn't tell. "Don't worry. You get used to it."
"Used to it?" He would have fled for his house, but Jenny's sudden grip on his wrist held him in place.
"Oh, I don't mean now," said Jenny, her eyes narrowed and striking him suddenly as menacing. "Someday you won't have the Slayer around to protect you." She laughed. "One of these days she'll be dead, Rupert dear, and there'll be no one who can save you." She smiled, a mockery of the grin Jenny used to give him in one of her rare unguarded moments. "She'll be too slow, and you'll be alone. One night after that, when you don't expect me, I'll come for you."
Giles tried to back away, but Jenny pulled him to her and kissed him full on the mouth. When she released him, his face was sad, and she turned away. He hoped, for a moment, that some trace of the woman he loved remained, but then she looked back at him, and all he could see was the demon in her eyes.
"So go ahead and enjoy your pathetic mortal life, Rupert," she said, taking a step back. "Just remember that I'm here. Waiting for you."
Her mocking laughter faded long after she disappeared into the shadows, but precisely when, Giles wasn't sure. He went to his door and opened it, choosing the right key only through sheer luck. When he'd closed and locked the door behind him, he went to his weapons chest, pulled out his sword, and began sharpening it.
He didn't stop until long after the sun rose.
--end--