"Buffy, luv, it'll be okay. We'll fix this," Spike said, watching as Buffy continued to pace Angel's office, her arms folded, biting her lip, obviously lost in thought, with a worried frown on her forehead.

"Look, Wes will have the location soon. I'll head straight there and this will all be over before you know it," Angel added.

Spike grimaced as Angel made yet another assumption that he was the Champion spoken about, but brushed off his irritation for Buffy's sake. He knew she wanted to be by Dawn's side right now, but she was adamant she should be here to find out more about the ritual. Just because she wasn't the champion required this time, it didn't mean she could ignore her Slayer side telling her to get involved when lives were at stake, and with her sister one of those lives in danger, Buffy was going to do everything she possibly could to find a way to help.

They all looked up when the door opened to see Fred enter, a small, clear bag in her hands, like an evidence bag. Inside the small, black shards of the amulet lay resting at the bottom. Spike stared at the shattered crystal with distaste. He was hoping he'd seen the last of it when he'd left it behind him on the cold floor of the lab. Now, here it was again, causing more trouble and demanding another sacrifice to put everything right.

"Gunn and Wesley aren't back yet?" Fred asked, as she looked around at their glum faces.

"Not yet," Angel said wearily, resting his hands against his desk as he leaned back on it, his ankles crossed.

Gunn had followed them to the office only to change his mind and mumble something about checking on the cat before disappearing. Buffy had thrown a curious glance at his retreating form but evidently had decided she had too much on her plate right now to be dwelling on why Gunn needed to check on his cat in the middle of their current situation.

"The good news is it's in Los Angeles."

Everyone looked up as Wes entered the room chewing on one end of his glasses, a book in his hand which he was still studying intently.

"There's a church, abandoned, and from what I can tell, partially buried after an earthquake some years ago. Our Lady of Sorrow. It's said to have housed a number of weeping angel sculptures and had a rather unusual layout. No one quite understood the reason behind it, but the prophecy seems to indicate that the purpose lies in its function as a place of restoration and healing. It's designed for this type of ritual." Wesley looked up at last, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

"An old, abandoned, buried church. Great, where exactly is it? Let's get this dealt with," Angel said, rising from his perch on the desk.

Spike scowled at him and stood from where he'd been seated in a far corner, ready to challenge the older vampire when Buffy cut in.

"No. We need to know more. There are two ways of doing this ritual. What are they?" she asked, facing Wesley expectantly.

"Right, well the first—the full cleansing—requires the Champion to bring the amulet to the Church and place it inside a sacred ring made of gold set into the floor. Several other pure healing crystals must be placed around it to channel the pure energies. Candles will be needed, an assortment of white, green, and blue, to be placed around the circle at various points. There is a certain amount of cleansing which must be done in preparation of the ritual, a mixture of herbs and oils must be laid out and scorched, helping to purify the circle. Once that has been done the Champion must tie the amulet to fire, earth, air and water—he will then need to brand himself with the symbols of these same elements," Wes paused.

"What do you mean brand?" Angel asked.

"The symbols of the elements can be located on a set of circular disks hidden in the Church close to the ritual circle. Their marks must be burned into the Champion's flesh, binding him to the amulet and targeting his demon for cleansing also. Once this is done, he must place his hand upon the amulet and speak the incantation that will restore it, cleanse his demon and the immediate vicinity of any and all evil—of course, there's no guaranteeing how far the range of such a cleansing extends…"

"And the other ritual?" Buffy asked, maintaining her poker face.

"Similar to the first. The difference comes with the elements. Instead of branding himself with them, the Champion instead adds his blood to the mix, pouring it over the amulet and tainting it with blood of the impure. This will retain a balance that will restrain the affects of the amulet's cleansing abilities. Light and dark, neither can exist without the other—the Champion utters a slightly different incantation and grabs the amulet as the ritual takes effect. His soul and demon will be eternally bound together—and as far as I can tell the negative affects the amulet has had will wear off, simply fading away."

"And you have the incantations?" Buffy asked.

"I have my team working on them now. They'll be ready in a few minutes. They have to be translated."

"So now we have to decide who does the ritual—I'm kind of assuming we're going with the second one right? The one that doesn't blow up L.A.?" Fred asked nervously.

There was silence in the room again as everyone traded gazes. Buffy sighed and threw her hands up in the air.

"Shanshuing is a big deal—I get that, but if the price is an entire city—maybe even more than just the city, it's too high. And the people here—the ones affected by the amulet—what's going to happen to them if this full cleansing takes place? Even if we took them out of the city, who's to say what would happen? They might be killed by the cleansing for having evil in them or they might stay that way. I can't—I won't risk that," she finished, stony-faced as she met Angel's eye.

"I know, Buffy. You won't have to. It's too risky, it could just make everything worse," Angel agreed sadly.

"Let's not make it worse. We don't want worse," Gunn said, walking in and loosening his tie.

"Gunn? What is it, you don't look well," Fred said, walking over to take her friend's arm and lead him to a chair.

"I went to check on the cat and see what it knew about this ritual thing—cat's gone. There's no white room anymore. Elevator opens up into a howling abyss—terrible sound by the way. I'm gonna be having nightmares about that for weeks."

"The cat's gone? That means we have no link to the Senior Partners anymore. Why would they—they must have taken off," Angel said, looking pissed.

"What?" Wesley asked, frowning. "Why would they—?"

"The cleansing. They don't want to take the chance of being erased by the amulet if it happens. They won't take the risk."

"But we aren't doing the cleansing, right? They should know we won't let that happen with people we care about under the affects of the amulet," Spike put in, watching Angel carefully.

His grandsire met Spike's gaze and Spike wasn't sure he'd ever seen quite so much hate and contempt there before, which was really saying something since it was the typical look he got from the git.

"They don't take chances," Angel repeated slowly. He turned and pressed a button on his phone. "Harmony, get me some blood," he threw a glance back over his shoulder, "and a mug for Spike too, I guess." He waited but got no response. "Harmony!"

"Uh, she won't be answering," Buffy said, blushing a little, "I sort of had to—knock her out."

Angel gave her an incredulous look and she shrugged.

"She went all psycho vamp on me. What else was I supposed to do, let her bite me?"

"No, of course not. Uh—you," Angel said, pointing out the open door at a woman scurrying past with a pile of folders in her hand. She paused when she saw Angel approach her.

"Me?" she squeaked nervously.

"Yeah," Angel peered at the name tag pinned to her shirt, "Beverly. You work for me right?"

"Well, yes, sir. I, um—" Beverly stuttered.

"Good. Would you do me a favor and get me and the idiot over there some blood?"

"Oh!" Beverly looked surprised and she peered over Angel's shoulder at a glowering Spike before retreating a few paces, smiling anxiously. "Yes, yes of course. I'll be right back."

Beverly hurried away and Angel turned back to his team.

"All right, we're on our own for this. We'll take a look at those incantations even though it's decided the second one is our best option—less risks involved. Everything but the herbs, crystals and candles will be in the Church, right?"

"Yes, this was the purpose in its design," Wesley confirmed.

"Okay, so give me the location, pack up what I need, and I'll get right on it."

"Again, what makes you so sure it's you that has to do this ritual?" Spike spoke up, losing patience again. "There are two Champion vampires with souls in the running and if you ask me, I'm the more likely candidate here."

"And why exactly is that?" Angel asked, sneering. "You just want to play the big hero for Buffy again, don't you? Save the day, fix Dawn—you never change, do you?"

"Oh, that's bloody rich coming from you! Out of the two of us, who exactly is it who's made the least amount of changes, gramps?"

"Will you two cut it out already? Can't we just have one adult discussion without you two turning into five year olds?" Buffy tried to intervene. "This isn't the time for this. Rational discussion is what we need."

"Tell that to your attack dog," Angel said with a growl.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not her attack dog."

"Could have fooled me," Angel said with a sneer.

"That does it, you egotistical—" Spike began, starting to advance on Angel.

"Um, excuse me?" a tentative voice came from behind them.

The group turned to see Beverly standing there with two mugs in her hands, chewing on her lip.

"Thanks, you can go now," Angel said, snatching the mugs from her and turning away.

Beverly scurried away quickly with one last glance over her shoulder. Angel walked over and thrust the second mug into Spike's hand, making the blood inside slosh about a bit and then stalked off, sipping at his own beverage. Spike glared at Angel's back and took large gulps of his blood, draining the mug in seconds and slamming it down onto a side table, folding his arms and waiting for their previous conversation to continue.

"There are consequences to performing this ritual. Having the soul and demon bound together forever—well it makes the prospect of eternal suffering in Hell more likely when one dies—if the vampire would even die at all. What exactly did it mean by life eternal?" Angel turned questioning eyes to Wesley.

"It doesn't specify. I just don't know. The vampire could become truly immortal, unaffected by his usual weaknesses or it may just mean that he will have no chance for redemption. His demon and soul will be forever entwined and where one goes, the other must follow." Wesley shrugged helplessly.

"Why are you so eager to be the one that binds his soul and demon then, Peaches?" Spike asked seriously. "It's the big reward you've been fighting for all this time isn't it? It's why you took over Wolfram and bloody Hart. You want to get your redemption. If you accept the demon as a part of you for eternity—you're out of the running."

Angel's team looked to their leader, sympathetic, confused, and anxious.

"Spike's right, Angel. You do this, you give up everything you've been trying so hard to achieve," Gunn added.

"Yeah, well, not too enthralled with hunting a wild goose chase anyway, Gunn," Angel responded.

"Angel, what—" Wes began.

"Besides," Angel interrupted, "this is more important, and if it works—well I won't have to worry about Angelus making another appearance and killing everyone I care about. Pretty sure I'm on a one track road to Hell when it all ends anyway. Might as well make sure I don't do any more evil before I get there."

"Angel," Buffy said tiredly, but he raised a hand and cut her off.

"No, Buffy. I've made my peace with this. My building, my town, my responsibility. I'll take care of it."

"I can do it, you know," Spike said. "Not for glory or to impress Buffy or anyone. I'll do it because it will help Dawn and the others, and it's my fault this started to begin with."

"Spike," Buffy said, turning to him this time, "It is not your fault."

"Buffy, we should have known better than to jump right into releasing me like that without knowing what could happen. It was risky to begin with. We knew the amulet was volatile, and using it in Wolfram and Hart—we should have looked into it more."

"Well then I'm as much to blame as you are," Buffy said stubbornly. "More so even, for not listening when you said to wait."

"Well then I'm at fault too for going ahead with it," Fred piped up. "It's my job to deal with this stuff. I'm supposed to take every possible outcome into consideration."

"Well, last I checked neither of you were champion vampires with souls, so regardless of how shared the responsibility is, it isn't up to you to fix it," Spike said, placing his hands on his hips and waiting for them to see sense.

"Spike, you're not going," Angel said firmly. "Like I said, it's my town and my responsibility. Just take care of Buffy and Dawn and—whatever his name is that came with them."

"You don't trust me do you?" Spike asked, stalking over until he was in Angel's face again. "Think I'm just trying to steal something from you, well I have news for you, Angel. I don't give a toss about becoming human, and I would never put them in danger. Maybe I just don't trust you, you ever think of that? Maybe I don't believe that when it comes down to it, when you have to relinquish that hope you've been clinging to all this time, that you'll have the guts to go through with it. Maybe I think you'll cave."

Angel dropped his empty mug on his desk and fisted Spike's shirt in his hands, pulling him close so he could stare down at him with absolute loathing and—was that—pain?

"I know you don't trust me, Spike. That's your problem."

Angel seemed to notice the puzzlement on Spike's face as he stared back at Angel, seeing the conflicted emotions written in the older vamp's eyes. Angel jerked his head back and violently tossed Spike backwards, making him stagger and wave his arms to maintain balance. Buffy reached out a hand and placed it on Spike's arm when he recovered and gave him a concerned look. Spike knew she didn't want a fight breaking out right now, but there was worry there too—for him. Spike looked back at Angel and saw his grandsire stiffen and turn away.

"I don't have a lot of trust in you either, but I know enough to know you'd never risk them. That's precisely why you can't go." Angel turned back around and glared at Spike. "Like I said, this choice has consequences. You played your part in Sunnydale. You've gone through enough with that amulet. I'm the one that brought it to Sunnydale. It's only right I deal with it now."

"You uptight, arrogant, sod," Spike argued. "Do you ever cut the 'woe is me' crap and all this self righteous sacrifice in the line of duty? You're giving up your grand prize just like that, even when you don't have to? Who's the one looking for glory again? I don't care if I get redemption."

"But they do!" Angel said sharply.

Everyone was taken aback by the outburst. They all stared at Angel, stupefied, but he was only interested in Spike now. Angel was breathing deeply to keep control, something he rarely did.

"They came all the way here for you. They stayed to bring you back. You have people who care about you—and it's not too late. You might not care about what happens to you, but they do. Don't let them down. You're a selfish idiot in my eyes, Spike, I'll never understand how you could earn their trust the way you have—but you're loyal. Even I know that. They want you around for some reason. Don't prove me right that you're nothing but a disappointment."

Spike had nothing to say to that. He was absolutely flabbergasted by Angel's admission. That he saw that Buffy cared for Spike, and faced up to the fact, was beyond the blond's comprehension. Angel had turned away again, placing both hands down on the desk in front of him. Spike stared at his grandsire's hunched back, at the tight grip he had on the desk. He looked so—defeated.

Spike felt Buffy's hand on his arm give him a little squeeze and he turned to her. She too was staring at Angel's back, her eyes misty. She faced Spike and gave him a small smile and tugged a little on his arm.

"I'd like to check on Dawn," she said quietly.

Spike tilted his head, gazing at her for a while before silently nodding. She released his arm, entwining her hand with his instead. Spike glanced back at Angel before turning, ready to follow Buffy out. Wesley's beeper went off and he grabbed it quickly, breaking the stillness that had fallen over Angel's team.

"The address of the church and the incantations are ready. I'll go and fetch them," he said, hurrying out of the room.

Buffy and Spike exchanged small smiles of acknowledgment with Fred as they walked out. Gunn ignored them, staring at his boss. The decision had been made. Spike walked alongside Buffy as they made their way silently through the corridors of Wolfram and Hart. His mind was racing with everything Angel had said and done. He still couldn't quite believe it. Something was tugging at him though, nagging him, something he couldn't pin down.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked and Spike started.

He glanced down at her and sighed, shaking his head.

"Just shocked, I s'pose. Never expected that from the Poof. Still not sure I heard right."

"Yeah," she agreed. "It got tense there for a while. You both had me worried you know."

"We did?" Spike asked, surprised.

Buffy shrugged and cast another glance at him.

"Well yeah. I mean you were ready to start brawling one minute the way you always are around each other then all of a sudden it was like some competition of who mattered less. It was like you were both ready to just sacrifice yourselves for the cause without really caring about the consequences, you know? Like the consequences were just something inevitable, to be dealt with as part of the everyday vamp with a soul routine."

Spike blinked and considered that.

"Didn't mean it like that, pet. Just don't see why he's so willing to give up everything that's made him—him is all. This quest for forgiveness has defined him ever since he got the sodding soul."

"So why are you so willing to give yourself up?" Buffy asked, drawing to a halt suddenly and releasing her grip on him.

"Spike stopped and turned to face her, frowning.

"What?"

"Spike, Angel made a lot of sense in there. Sense that still has my head spinning because it came from his mouth, but—Spike, you have people who want you around. I thought I'd shown you already that I need you. I missed you. So did Dawn and Andrew for that matter. Back there, it was like you'd forgotten that. As if we just pulled you out of that amulet and you were willing to dive right back in if that's what it took to stop this."

Spike lifted a hand and caressed Buffy's cheek. Her eyes were getting watery and she tried to turn away but he gripped her chin and stopped her.

"I'm sorry, Buffy. I didn't mean—" He sighed and raised his eyes to the ceiling before looking down at her again. "I'm such a git sometimes. I won't leave you, luv. Not again. I never meant for you to think that."

"Better not," she said, giving him a light thump on the shoulder with her fist. "I don't want you to go to Hell, Spike. You deserve more than that."

Spike bit his lip and pulled her in for a hug. He stroked her hair while her arms wrapped around him and he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation. Despite what she might think, he knew what he deserved. One good act doesn't erase a history of evil and bloodshed. Unlike Angel, he'd never seen a bright shiny light at the end of the tunnel. But if it meant that much to her, he'd let her have that fantasy, and he'd even pretend to believe in it too.

"Let's go check on the Nibblet, yeah? Andrew too, I guess."

She nodded against his shirt and pulled away slowly.

"Okay," she agreed, sniffling a little and rubbing at her eyes with her sleeve.

She tossed her head and beamed up at him then, optimistic mask fully in place once more. Spike grinned at her and took her hand again. She said she needed him, so he'd be there for her, and right now she wanted to pretend everything would be okay, because there was a solution to this crisis and she just had to wait for it to play out. Spike really hoped she wouldn't be disappointed. The nagging feeling in his gut was telling him otherwise.