Forever Together by ETBat18

Buffy had been living somewhat peacefully in Rome for months now. Sure she had had a fling with the Immortal, but her heart just wasn't in it. They had fun, but she was painfully aware that she was missing someone. A very blond, leather wearing, undead someone. She had dreams of that last day on the Hellmouth every night. When She awoke in the mornings she was always reminded of what Spike told her when she came back from the dead.

"I want you to know I did save you. Not when it counted, of course, but ... after that. Every night after that. I'd see it all again ... do something different. Faster or more clever, you know? Dozens of times, lots of different ways ... Every night I save you."

She hadn't understood it at the time, but she had lived it now and she knew exactly what he had meant then. The dreams don't stop. They keep coming and you have to keep reliving what you did wrong and the way you could have changed it. For months that's all she had dreamt about, what she should have done differently. She should have found a way to get him to leave the Hellmouth with her. Sometimes she thought of something clever or witty to say to convince him and they walked away together and sometimes she wouldn’t.

Tonight’s dream was different from the others. It started out the same, they were in the Hellmouth and the cavern was collapsing around them and she told him she loved him. Her heart was broken again like in all the other dreams when he told her “No you don't. But thanks for sayin' it.” But where she usually ended up standing on the edge of the giant crater that used to be Sunnydale thinking how she would never see him again, she was suddenly at the Hyperion Hotel and Spike was hurt. He looked like he had after Glory had tortured him but worse. He was delirious, and he was calling out her name. It was barely a whisper but she knew it was her name. That's when she had jolted awake. She knew it was a prophetic dream. She was sure of it. The feeling in her gut told her she was needed in LA and that Spike was the reason why. She didn’t even stop to wonder how that could be since Spike was dead.

Getting out of her bed Buffy glanced at her bedside clock. It was just now 5:30 in the morning in Rome, that meant it was 4:30 London time. Picking up the phone she dialed Giles’ number. Oh, Giles was so going to think she was crazy! Waiting for him to pick up on the other end seemed like the longest wait of her life. After what seemed like the thousandth ring a sleepy Giles finally picked up.

“Hello” came Giles’ groggy voice.

“Giles, did I wake you?” Buffy asked.

“Buffy? Do you know what time it is?”

Buffy paid no attention to the annoyed tone of Giles’ voice and started to explain her dream to him. When she was done talking Giles knew there was no way she wasn’t going back to The States. He told her to pack while he found out a few things and called her back.

Buffy had packed, gotten a quit shower and was about to pick up the phone to call Giles back when it started to ring. It was Giles and the news he had to share was definitely not good. There had been a battle, one that had taken out Angel's whole crew. The only survivors had been Angel, Spike and some sort of God King named Illyria. Buffy was definitely going to need an update on that one. But for now she was just happy to hear that she had a flight to LA. Giles had gotten her the first flight out of Rome and it left at 9:00. That gave her right at two hours to get things settled in Rome, get a hotel booked, and get to the airport.

After Dealing with Dawn and convincing her that she did not need to come with her to LA, Buffy hugged her sister and made her way to the airport. When she was on the plane and well on he way back to California Buffy let he mind wander.

Why didn’t angel call her? There was an entire Slayer Army that could have come to help him. The more she thought about it the more she swore she was going to stake them both when she saw them, but the closer she got to home the more she couldn't picture doing anything but running into Spike's arms. She also knew that wouldn't happen. They had never been that type of couple, if she could even call them a couple. They had more of a want, take, have, type of relationship. She knew that was her fault too. She had many chances in the past to make things right with him, to give him a real shot, yet she continued to treat him like dirt. She had always known that he wasn't just a monster but her own unwillingness to admit that had ruined the chances she had to show him. Now she had another chance and there was no way she was going to let her own pigheadedness stand in the way. She was going to do things the way she should have a long time ago.

After two lengthy layovers, one in New York and one in Dallas, the plane finally landed at LAX. As she was walking out of the airport Buffy wasn't sure where to go first. Since she had heard about the battle with Wolfram & Hart and how Angel and Spike had barely survived. She figured they were probably still at the Hyperion Hotel, but she needed time to get herself together before she saw either of them. She knew that dealing with the two vamps wasn’t going to be easy so she figured she might as well check into her hotel and get settled before going to look for them.

Before she left Rome she booked a room at The Beverly Hilton. Sure it was a little expensive but the new Council of Watchers was paying her enough money to basically do what she wanted. Her thinking was 'Hey, I have all this money, why not treat myself right?' After arriving at the hotel and checking in She took a shower and reapplied her make-up. All day on a plane and in airports did major damage on her appearance. She should probably wait till the next day to seek out her boys but there was no way she would make it. She had to see HIM. Slipping into a pair of black leather pants, a red halter top, and some high heeled boots she grabbed her jacket and purse and headed out to get a cab to the Hyperion.

When the cab pulled up at the old hotel the cabbie looked at her with a look of concern on his face. "Um... are you sure this is the right place? Its not really the best place for a little girl like you to be at this time of night." Buffy just looked at him and assured him she would be fine. Getting out of the cab she braced herself and walked up to the front door.

When she walked inside, the lobby was empty. After the battle that she had been told about she had expected to find the place in shambles, but it actually appeared to be in perfect order. Maybe that was one of the perks of working for the Powers That Be, Maybe it came with a maid service?

Taking a brief look around the front of the old hotel Buffy didn’t see or hear anyone. She could feel them though. One thing she had never forgotten was the signature tinglies these two vamps gave her. She would know Spikes signature anywhere. Deciding not to just roam through the huge hotel she just called out in the hopes that they would hear her. They had vamp hearing after all, right?

"Spike!... Angel! Is anyone here!?!?"