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Author's Chapter Notes:
Please review. I'll do the snoopy dance for you, if you do. :) The movie referred to is "It's a Wonderful Life."
Buffy shivered. She drew her knees up next to her chest, trying to stay warm. I must have left the window open, she thought, and opened her eyes. To almost total darkness; and, she wasn't lying on a bed, she was lying on the floor, of a crypt.

Oh, shit, she thought, I must have passed out after...she tried to get her bearings, "Spike?" she asked, scrambling up from her hands and knees.

"Right here, Love," he croaked. Then, inside her head, Buffy heard, Bloody Hell, remind me not to do that again. It feels like I swallowed a liter of holy water!

But, Buffy hadn't heard the quip. She was still focused on the first three words, "Spike," she whispered, in awe, "You spoke! With actual words, with syllables and everything," she was grinning ear-to-ear, "It's so good to hear your voice!"

"Shut...Up...Spike," he rasped, his voice barely audible in the silent vault.

Buffy strode up near the end of the bier that his head rested on, positioned herself so that she could stare down into his burned, yet strangely beautiful face, and said, "When have you ever listened to what I said, Spike," she smirked, and then added, "And why the 'Bloody Hell' would you start now?"

"Watch...your...mouth."

"Not right now," she grinned, "Too busy watching yours."

Something that sounded suspiciously like a growl came from his throat. Buffy would have sworn, at that moment, that today was Christmas, the Fourth of July, and her birthday, all rolled up in one. She pumped the air with her fist, bouncing on her toes, she hissed, "Yes! Was that a growl? It was, wasn't it," Buffy was so excited she could barely hold herself down, "Oh my God, I've died and gone to heaven!"

In her head she heard, Take it easy, Love. If I had known you were this easy to please, I would have grumbled a long time ago.

"Don't stop on my account," she said, she waved her hands toward the roof, "Shout the roof down, if you want to," she looked up at the ceiling and winced, "On second thought, better to not do that just now. Wait until I tell everyone! Dawn will flip!"

Everyone? Bit's here? When did that happen?

"While you were sleeping," she said quickly, as she left to spread the news, "It's a whole, big thing. I'll explain later, I promise. Back in a flash," she breathed, and then yelled, "I love you, Spike!"
****************

TWO MONTHS EARLIER

"That's right, Giles. I need all the info you've got on the Dufarn'k. I think they have some sort of paralyzing venom. I also need you to see what you can dig up on the Yarnesh," she listened for a moment, "No, those are the ones that got in a few swipes at him with their talons. I told you, most of his clothes were either burned off of him, or they're in his skin right now, do you really want me to dig more holes in him just so you'll have something to test? I'm not going to hurt him," she sniffled and sighed, "Not anymore," Buffy held the receiver away from her mouth and asked Angel, "Any others?"

"The Sulvolte."

"Right. Giles, I think Riley knows something about the Sulvolte," she grimaced at he memory of Riley tossing a grenade down into Spike's bedchamber, and blowing it to bits, "Thanks, Giles. Tell Dawn a plane ticket is waiting for her at the airport. Bye," Buffy said, as she hung up the phone.

"Riley actually agreed to help?" Angel asked.

She nodded curtly, "He did. After I told him that helping Spike would piss you off? He was all for it. He hates you more than Xander does."

"Ouch," Angel grumbled.

"Yeah," Buffy said, "well, payback's a bitch."

Buffy sagged down into the desk chair that was in the small hotel room she had rented. Sitting in an underground crypt, imagining all the pain Spike must be going through, was not helping her problem solving skills. Illyria was on watch over Spike until Buffy could call in the cavalry to help locate Drusilla.

Buffy had resisted calling any of them, at first. After all, she hadn't really worked, or played, with any of them, for so long, she was afraid they might say no. She was even afraid that Dawn would think she'd gone bonkers when she told her that Spike was "alive" again, and that he needed her help. Instead, Dawn just broke down into tears, begged Buffy to tell Spike she was sorry, and that she loved him, and asked for a ticket on the first flight out.

After some initial shock, which rendered Xander, temporarily, speechless, he'd said to Buffy, "Anybody who'll go to the mat, for me, like he did, I can watch his back when it needs watchin'."

Willow said that she would offer to do a locator spell to help find Drusilla, but she knew that Spike didn't trust magic all that much, so she would only do the spell as a last resort.

Buffy smiled, and shook her head, sighing, "What a difference a year makes. I think we all finally realized, we're not in high school anymore."

Three days later, the gang was all assembled. Willow had even come, complete with laptop and direct satellite linkup, ready for hacker action. Giles had access to the new Council's resources, which was a given, considering he was the head of the entire operation. And Dawn was in charge of the scientific parts of the investigation. That honor would have gone to Miss Blue Bonnet, but it seemed, sadly, that there was not enough of Winifred Burkle left in her, to allow her to operate a microscope safely. So, Dawn got that job.

Dawn's first assignment was to find out why two months of a steady diet of Slayer's blood still left Spike looking like a toasted marshmallow. It wasn't that the blood wasn't working, it just wasn't working fast enough to suit the Summers girls.

Dawn had snuck down, under the church, to see him once. That gave her all the motivation she needed. She wanted to make him better so she could tell Spike, to his face, how sorry she was, especially now, about threatening to set him on fire. She loved him so much, and hoped, that, maybe, one day he would forgive her.

Angel caught Dawn, while she was on her way back up to the church sanctuary and asked her, "Why did you all rally around Spike so quickly? I asked for help, when Fred got sick, and not one of you came to help. Why now?"

Dawn tried to decide if he was actually serious before she answered his question, "Do you really want to know?" she asked.

"Yes."

Dawn tilted her head to the side, in thought, "I don't know, Angel, maybe it's because, once he thought of us as his friends, he never tried to eat any of us," she paused, and then added, "with or without a soul," Dawn left Angel in the middle of the dark passageway, and went up into the sanctuary to light a candle for Spike.
*******

As Buffy walked back into the burial chamber, she said, over her shoulder, to her friends waiting outside, "Now remember, only one at a time. I'll see if he's ready for visitors, first. Also, he's not ready for big words yet..."

Xander interrupted, "Then, if he's not yapping constantly, how will we know it's really him?"

Buffy continued, "I can sort of hear him, in my head. I can relay any message, if he's feeling really talkative. As long as it's not too...private," Buffy said, blushing.

"What do you mean, private?" Xander asked.

Buffy just rolled her eyes at him.

Xander took the hint, "Shutting up now."

Buffy walked the rest of the way into the chamber, while the others lingered near the archway, waiting to be called in, "Are you ready for visitors, Spike? There're a bunch of people who want to see you."

"Yes," Spike choked.

"Anyone, in particular, you want to talk to first?" Buffy asked.

The answer came loud and clear in her head, I want to see Nibblet, first.

Buffy smiled, "Thought so. Dawn, could you come in here, please?"

Dawn shuffled, slowly into the room. She was suddenly nervous. She hadn't seen him in a year, what would she say to him? How would she apologize? She stopped twenty feet from Buffy and Spike, frozen with fear, or maybe it was hope.

Buffy smiled, knowing exactly how her sister was feeling, "You have to get up really close to be able to hear him. His voice is just a whisper right now, but he can hear you and he understands what you say."

Dawn inched closer, until her sneakers just touched the stone support he was lying on, "Hi, Spike," she whispered, starting to cry, "I missed you, so much," she bit back a sob as she waited to hear him.

It was slow in coming, but Dawn heard her friend and protector tell her, "Miss... You...Too," a raspy breath, and for a second Dawn thought she'd hurt him, until he finished with, "Not... Cry."

"Okay," she sniffed, "I won't," and slowly walked out of the room.

Xander was next, "So, dead man, hear you're telling tales. Isn't that against the rules?"

"Bug... Off...Bite...You..."

Xander grinned, smugly, "I know. I'm very bitable."

In Buffy's head came the retort, Oh, yeah, you're a nummy treat.

Buffy smiled, "He called you a 'Nummy treat.'"

Xander nodded, "That's Spike, all right!"

Willow came next, "Hi, Spike."

"Lo...R..red."

Buffy was just about to call Giles in when Spike stopped her. He sounded a little out of breath, if he needed to breathe, Love, can we stop now, just for a bit?

"Sure, Spike." Buffy said, waving Giles away, "Are you tired?"

No. Just starting to feel a little like George Bailey.

She had no frame of reference for that name, she turned to the others, "He says he feels like George Bailey," she watched the others smile, "Who's George Bailey?" she asked.
************





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