Spike had tried. He'd really, really tried…but it was no use. He'd almost made it through the entire night before going to her. He just had to see her again, had to take her in. So here he was, standing at the foot of her bed while she slept. He knew he shouldn't be there, but he couldn't tear himself away. Spike had gotten used to haunting Angel and his team. Didn't it make sense for him to be here with the one person he'd haunted in life?

He studied her carefully. Buffy was curled up on her side, a slight frown on her face as she slept, and not entirely peaceful by the looks of it. She was thin, thinner than he'd ever seen her, and that was saying something. She looked exhausted, even though she was fast asleep. That was to be expected though, wasn't it? She had an army of Slayers to train, had a whole new base to set up since leaving the giant hole in the ground that used to be Sunnydale, care of yours truly.

He moved a little closer. She shifted a bit in her sleep, and he paused, but she didn't wake up. She'd colored her hair again. It had been light blonde the last time he'd seen it, paler than her usual style, but now it was almost platinum and completely straight. He looked at the clothes lying on the floor; black top, dark blue jeans, black boots and a black jacket.

"Sporting my look, luv," he murmured.

"Spike?" her voice replied, and he jumped.

He glanced over at her quickly, but she was still asleep, lying on her back now. Maybe she'd sensed him. Did a Slayer's senses pick up on ghosts? Spike stayed there, watching her, and didn't notice the time passing until the faint sunlight began creeping through the blinds and reached her face, lighting her up. She looked like she was on fire, like she had when...

He left as soundlessly as he'd entered, wandering off in search of Fred. The perky science girl was normally one of the first to arrive if she'd even left the lab at all. He'd barely vanished through the door when Buffy stirred and opened her eyes. She glanced around at her strange surroundings before remembering where she was and why she was here. She rubbed her tired eyes and tried to shake off a half-remembered dream. It was time to get down to business.

"Buffy?" Angel asked, over his morning cup of blood.

She entered his office and sat down in one of the large chairs opposite him, crossing her legs and folding her arms. Angel moved around his desk to lean against the front of it, facing her.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"The usual amount," she answered.

He nodded, unsure of what to say next.

"So what do we do?" she asked suddenly.

He blinked, confused. "What do we...?"

"About Spike," she clarified. "How do we—cure him?"

Angel raised his eyebrows and folded his arms. "Well, I'm not entirely sure. We've never encountered anything like this before, and Fred's doing everything she can."

Buffy nodded and stood up. Angel copied her, even more confused.

"Uh, where are you going?" he asked.

She moved to the door without looking at him. "To the Lab. I want to talk to Fred. She seems to be in charge of the whole 'get Spike's body back' thing."

"Buffy..."

She paused and faced him questioningly. He didn't know how to begin.

"I'm sorry—for not telling you. I didn't think it was worth it with him...the way he is right now. I know he earned your trust, and you—felt something for him...I'm sorry, but I didn't—"

"It's okay, Angel. I know you didn't. Spike...he's here for a reason. He deserves another chance. He did earn my trust, and I do feel for him, but right now—I'm not sure what I'm feeling. Maybe if we can get him back or if we don't and he just—" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second before looking back at Angel. "I think it's worth it."

He watched as she left his office, unsure how he felt. There had been a distance between them lately, but this was the first time he'd truly become aware of how large that gap was. He thought about what she'd said. She feels for him, not felt. He stared at the carpet for a while before finishing his blood, and decided to check in at the Lab himself.

"I really don't know what else I can do. I've gone over everything dozens of times. There's no new information, and I don't know what else I can try. I'm sorry, Spike." Fred said, removing her glasses and looking at her blond shadow apologetically.

Buffy walked in while Fred was speaking. She heard what the brunette had said to the vampire, saw his shoulders slump as he lowered his head, eyes closed. A second later he looked back up, a disarming smile in place.

"S'okay, didn't really expect a solution just yet—or ever. Guess I'll just stick to haunting the poof until I go—" He held up a fist in front of him and opened it suddenly, gesturing to the way he'd just vanish.

Buffy wasn't fooled for a second. Wasn't that just like him since he'd gotten the soul? Hiding his feelings away behind humor? Pretending that everything was okay and that nothing fazed him? Acting like the Big Bad?

"What makes you think you'll vanish?" she asked, making Spike jump.

Fred watched as the Slayer descended the steps into the Lab, and saw Spike staring at Buffy, swallowing before he remembered where he was and looked away.

"Been a side-effect of my current condition, I disappear from time to time," he answered, finding the floor very interesting all of a sudden.

"Where do you go?" Buffy wanted answers.

Spike recognized the determined look on her face. There would be no hiding it from her. That didn't mean he wanted to tell her of course. He couldn't after the way they'd said goodbye before.

"Nowhere good," he said shortly, chancing a glance at her.

Buffy nodded, pursing her lips. She took in her surroundings. The Lab was hi-tech. The Initiative labs didn't even have some of the stuff she saw here. She moved about the room, aware of the eyes watching her, but she ignored them while she considered her options. Fred said she was out of ideas, which meant nothing scientific would help—at least not until they knew more about Spike's—condition. She decided her best bet now would be to check in with Wesley for anything mystical that could give them a clue or even help point the Watcher's Council in the right direction to figuring this out.

Angel walked in to find Fred and Spike standing side by side watching Buffy explore the Lab. Everyone was being unusually quiet and it unsettled him. He knew that Buffy was thinking, he recognized the signs. She paused for a minute in front of some test tubes before striding back to the group, clearly having made a decision.

"Where's Wes' office?"

"Oh, um, I'll show you. He couldn't find anything either. This entire situation is—unusual," Fred answered.

Buffy nodded seriously, but continued to stand there waiting.

"Um, right this way," Fred said, leading the group out of the Lab and passing by Angel.

Spike lagged behind. He was confused. On one hand, he was happy that Buffy seemed eager to help him, but then again she hadn't spoken to him much, hadn't even looked at him more than was necessary since she'd arrived yesterday. He also knew that none of what she was doing would help.

Angel stayed near the back of the little group, just in front of Spike. The Brit was doing a good impersonation of him right now, brooding. Buffy was being the Slayer to everyone. There was no banter, no cheerful smiles, or off-topic babbling. Maybe all the years of Slaying were finally taking their toll on the young woman? She looked different too.

Gunn approached with Dawn and Andrew in tow and they melded into the Slayer's little troop. Dawn stuck to her sister's side while Andrew walked beside Spike, casting glances in the oblivious vamp's direction, a dreamy faraway look in his eyes. They reached Wes' office and Fred knocked, only for Buffy to open the door and walk right in. Wes stood from where he'd been absorbed in a book and raised his eyebrows at the large group entering his office. Surprisingly, Lorne was there, probably discussing a demon ritual for some party he was throwing, so the whole gang was now gathered together.

"May I help you?" Wes asked.

"Did you find anything that could point to why Spike's in his current state? Something to do with the amulet maybe? Anything at all? Maybe something the Watchers could help with or Giles or Willow?" Buffy was straight to the point, searching for anything that could provide a clue.

"Well, I'm afraid not. I tried, but there isn't really a lot to go on. We didn't have that much information on the amulet to begin with, and it doesn't seem to hold any power now. I really don't know what else I can do or where else to look. You could perhaps get Willow to try something, but I don't think she'll fare any better with nowhere to start." He shrugged and waited to see what the Slayer would do.

Buffy stared back at him then turned to Dawn.

"I guess we call Willow then. No one here knows anything. Maybe she can try something different." Dawn nodded as Buffy spoke to her, agreeing.

"Buffy, we have some of the best mystics around, and we've dealt with some of the most powerful witches. There was nothing they could do either. I don't see how Willow's going to be able to help," Angel said, exasperated and a little offended.

The Slayer crossed her arms and looked him straight in the eye. Her mood and tone of voice were unchanged, remaining neutral.

"Willow performed one hell of a spell in Sunnydale. Something no one had ever tried before or even thought would work. She pulled it off. She's the most powerful witch I know. I think it's worth a shot." She moved to step past him, but he didn't budge.

"Buffy, I really think you—"

"Angel, I'm trying to be patient here. We both know you aren't Spike's biggest fan, so I can see why you would be willing to give up quickly and don't understand why this is important, but I'm telling you it is. Now, since Spike is trapped here, I'm going to stay here until I figure this out. I don't have time to make small talk or relax."

The group watched the interaction and felt the tension in the room begin to rise.

"Buffy, what is this? Spike's even given up, why can't you? Is this because he saved the world? Do you feel you owe him or something? He told me himself he wants this to end. It's no kind of existence. This is exactly why I didn't want to drag you into this."

"He did save the world and he does deserve another chance at life. God knows I got enough of them, heck you even got one. This isn't an existence for him, so we should be trying to help. Not because we owe him, and I do mean we owe him since he did save the world, but because if he's going to be trapped here he deserves to actually be here," she argued, her voice rising a little.

Dawn saw the signs of a fight brewing and stepped back a little. Andrew wisely did the same. The others were glued to the argument. Spike was getting fidgety, staring at the ground, clenching his fists, a muscle in his jaw ticking.

"Buffy, Fred and Wes told you there's nothing we can do. Spike's accepted it!" Angel said, his own voice rising.

"He's accepted slipping into Hell? Would you?" she shouted.

Dawn gasped. She hadn't thought that Spike would be headed for Hell. It made sense, but it was just hard to imagine. Spike—in Hell.

"Spike is—" Angel began, but was interrupted by a loud growl.

"SPIKE IS RIGHT BLOODY HERE!" Spike shouted, finally losing control of his temper.

They all turned to gawk at him. He growled again and started pacing.

"This is all very helpful by the way. I'm glad I've become such a bloody attraction for you all. Spike's a ghost now. Ooh let's find out what's wrong with him. Turns out he's not a ghost. What is he then? Dunno, have to run some tests, check the books. Oh well, nothing, don't know what we can do. We can't make him corporeal? Nope. Oh, what a shame. Oh well, he'll get used to it. He seems fine. Yeah, he knew where he was going, let's just leave it. No big deal." He finished his rant and turned to face the other vampire and the Slayer beside him.

"You," he said, pointing to Angel, "are bloody thick. Of course I haven't sodding accepted it you git. You want to holiday in Hell for eternity? Sure, it would be nice if it was all over, but hey, I thought it was when I fried in the Hellmouth. I don't fancy coming back to—this," he gestured to himself, "just so's I can die again. And you," he pointed to Buffy, "just because I saved the world doesn't mean you owe me. It's a selfless gig, and you of all people know that. Don't turn me into some pet project just because you don't want any guilt over me dying."

Buffy gasped and stared at him open-mouthed. Everyone took a few steps back. Spike had surprised them, and they could all see the explosion set to come from the ticking time bomb of a Slayer, everyone except Spike who was still high on his rant, nostrils flaring and teeth grinding. Angel looked from Spike to Buffy and moved back as well. If only Spike were solid, she could kick his irritating ass all over the place. Angel didn't want to be used as the replacement vampire because she couldn't hit Spike. As it was, he was sure the inevitable outburst would be enjoyable.

Buffy made as if to speak several times before just closing her mouth and shaking her head. Eventually she found her tongue again. She glared at the thick-headed vampire across from her. There was so much stored up inside her since that day in the Hellmouth. She had so much to release and didn't know where to begin, not to mention dealing with their current situation and finding out he was back and living with Angel. She stepped closer to him, leveled him with a hard gaze which he met, glittering green into icy blue.

"You stupid, insufferable jerk," she started, getting ready to lay it all out for him. "You know what you are?"

Spike glared back at her, waiting for whatever new insult she had lined up for him. There weren't a lot he hadn't heard in their time together.

"You're a dope," she said.

He opened his mouth to retort before her words sank in. He blinked. So did everyone else. That was not what they were expecting. That was the best she could do? The words held meaning for Spike though. He was transported to a different time, in her house, as he was about to leave—the night after the best night of his life.

"I'm a what?" he replied softly, replaying the conversation they'd once had.

She smiled and bit her lip. He thought it was bloody adorable.

"A dope, and a bonehead, and you're shirty. Spike, I'm not here because I'm guilty, although yeah, major guilt, but nothing I haven't felt since the day you died. I came here because I found out you were back, before I even knew about any of this. Do you have any idea how hard that was for me? My strongest ally, my support, my strength, my friend was back, and he didn't even tell me. I thought...I don't know what I thought—that you'd finally given up on me. But now I know why. I want to help you Spike, but not because I think you deserve it, which you do. I want you back because I'm extremely selfish."

He could feel the old feelings. How did she always make it feel as if his heart was beating when he knew it was impossible?

"That's not a word I'd associate with you, Slayer."

She smiled again and he felt intense joy at the sight. The happiest he'd been since coming back. She raised her left hand in the air in front of him, the hand she'd used to hold his as the Hellmouth collapsed around them, the hand that had caught fire in his. He raised his own to meet it and they hovered, millimeters apart, almost touching. Miming that day, the day he burned.

"Oh, but I am. I'm selfish. I want you back, Spike. I want you back." Her eyes were sparkling as they stood close together, smiling at each other, as close as they'd been in those last days again.

Angel shifted uncomfortably. They were far too intense for his liking. Buffy shared moments like those with him, not Spike. Spike was just—Spike. It was definitely not what he'd been expecting. Wes and Gunn noted Angel's reaction and observed Spike and the Slayer curiously. Fred and Lorne smiled at the interaction. Obviously Angel had been unwilling to admit the closeness those two shared as well. He'd even denied that they had a relationship. It was obvious to everyone that the two had a strong bond. Dawn was grinning like the cat that got the cream, and Andrew sighed happily. It was just like one of his fantasies. He had to update the others on everything that was happening the minute he got near a computer.

Spike was so focused on Buffy's eyes he didn't notice he was leaning closer to her. His head lowered as if to let his forehead touch hers. Both were unaware of the decrease in space between them. Suddenly, they touched. Spike's hand met Buffy's and stayed there. His head touched hers without going through. Their eyes widened. They gasped. For a second she could feel his cool skin, and he could feel the warmth of hers. Everyone looked on in amazement and paid closer attention to the couple. Spike leaned back and stared at their hands. Buffy did the same. He opened his mouth to say something when suddenly his hand went through hers and they both shuddered at the sensation.

"What the hell?" Slayer and vampire asked in unison.

Everyone stared, their jaws dropping. Buffy and Spike tried touching again, but he just passed straight through her. Spike growled.

"What is going on here?" Buffy demanded, frustrated.