Chapter 1
Spike slammed through both doors of the Hyperion Hotel just before sunrise.
“Angel!” he roared, waking the hotel. “Wesley! Get your bloody asses down
here NOW!”
Both men came rushing down the stairs, along with Cordy, Fred, Gunn, and
Lorne.
“What’s going on?” Angel asked as he buttoned his shirt.
“Buffy’s alive.”
The entire room froze at the admission, the majority thinking that Spike
had finally lost it.
Cordy took a step forward. “Spike,” she said in a soothing tone. “Buffy
died. You know that…you were there.”
“I know I sound crazy, but I’m not. Buffy’s alive.”
“What are you basing this on?” Wesley asked.
“I dusted a vamp that was attacking a girl. Turns out, the girl was Buffy.”
“Stop it, Spike,” Angel said in a warning tone.
“I know what I’m talking about, Peaches. Everything was her- the looks, the
body, the smell…it was her, Angel, I know it. She looked like she did when
I first saw her.”
“Did you follow her?” Gunn asked.
“What do you think?” Spike replied.
“Where’d she go?”
Spike turned to face Angel again as he asked the question. “She went to a
rundown apartment building a few miles from here.”
“Alright,” Angel said with a nod. “Write down the directions. Gunn, you
and Wes go check it out.”
“I’m going,” Cordy spoke up.
“Cordelia-“
“No, Angel. Buffy may not have been my best friend, but I cared about her.
If this girl turns out to be her, I want to know it.”
Angel nodded in agreement as he and Spike both stared outside at the rising
sun.
“And what if it is her?” Spike said quietly.
“Recon first. If it’s her, then we’ll think of something.”
* * * * *
Cordy knocked on yet another door in the large apartment building a few
hours later, glancing at Wes and Gunn standing down the hall. When the door
opened, Cordy put on her brightest smile at the overweight, balding man. He
had a beer in one hand and a dirty magazine in the other. Cordy cringed as
he leered at her through his drunken gaze. “What can I do for you?” he
asked, the implication of his words clear in his voice.
“I’m looking for a blonde girl, a few inches shorter than me. You wouldn’t
happen to know where she is, would you?”
“Why?”
“Oh, I saw her leave the building, and I noticed she dropped an earring. She
was gone before I could get to her.”
The man seemed to consider her lame excuse for a minute before nodding.
“She’s at work right now.”
“Do you mind telling me where that is?”
“You’re going to an awful lot of trouble for an earring.”
“What can I say?” Cordy said with another fake, but winning smile. “I’m a
good Samaritan.”
“She works at a little diner. Called Mabel’s Place or somethin’ like that.”
“Thank you,” Cordy said, turning and heading down the hall.
“Hey, if you ever need anything, you just let me know. The name’s Rob.”
“I’ll do that,” Cordy called back, fighting her gag reflex, making her way
back to the two men. “Okay, she’s at some diner, Mabel’s Place.”
“Good work, CC,” Gunn said with a smile.
“Yeah, no thanks to Rob the Slob.”
Gunn laughed as they made their way out of the dilapidated old building.
“If that place is up to code, I’m the Queen of England,” Cordy said as they
got outside.
* * * * *
Half an hour later, the three walked into the diner, surveying their
surroundings as they sat down at a booth.
Cordelia and Wesley both gasped as the waitress made their way to the table.
Gunn looked up but apparently didn’t see what they saw.
Cordy stared as the young girl stepped up to the table. It could have
easily been Buffy when they were juniors in high school.
“Hi, I’m Liz, can I get your drink order?”
Each placed their order, staring as she walked away.
“It looks like her, Wes.”
“It’s extraordinary,” Wesley replied as his eyes followed her. “But she
said her name was Liz, not Buffy.”
“Wesley, Buffy could be standing right in front of you, and you’re worried
about her name?”
“Yes, well…I think we should head back to the hotel shortly. Tell Angel and
Spike what we’ve come across.”
* * * * *
Spike stood outside the diner later that night. It was getting close to
eleven, and he had been observing the girl inside for close to an hour.
After the group had come back to the hotel, everyone had fallen into
research mode for the remainder of the day. As soon as the sun set, Spike
was out on the street. He took out his frustration on the demon population
for a few hours before making his way to her apartment building.
Her scent had been so faint when he stepped inside that he knew she hadn’t
been there recently. Now, as he stood watching her wipe down the counter,
Spike took a deep, unneeded breath before walking through the door.
He avoided eye contact with her, knowing that she was probably skeptical
about seeing the man who saved her less than twenty four hours ago show up in her workplace.
Taking a seat at the counter, Spike scanned over one of the menu placemats
as he felt her approach.
“Um…can I help you?” she asked timidly.
“Yeah, pet, I’ll just have a coffee,” Spike said, never raising his eyes.
He could tell she was standing there longer than necessary and had to fight
the smirk that he felt.
A few minutes later, a cup of coffee was placed in front of him. “I’m sorry
to bother you.”
Spike finally raised his eyes to hers and felt the emotions course through
him at her youthful appearance. “Yeah, pet?”
“Were you the guy that…”
“That saved you last night?”
“Yeah,” she said with a sheepish smile as she glanced down at the counter.
“That was me.”
“Oh…I’m sorry for running away like that- it’s just not every day that I get
attacked, you know?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Spike replied with a relaxed smile. Before he
could say anything else, his cell phone began its incessant ringing. “I
hate this bloody thing,” he muttered as he reached into his pocket,
extracting the phone that the gang forced him to keep. “Yeah?” he said into
the receiver.
“Spike! Where the hell are you?”
Spike smiled at Angel’s tone of voice. After all these years, he still
loved to get under his skin. “Relax, mate, I’m just out for a cup of
coffee.”
“Spike, you better not be where I think you are.”
“Think whatever you want, Peaches,” Spike said before hanging up the phone
and turning it off.
“Sorry about that, luv. You were saying?”
“I just…thank you,” she said with a grateful smile.
“Need someone to walk you home, luv?”
“I-I don’t know…you seem nice and all, but-“
“I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman,” Spike said with a smile. “Cross my heart.”
She smiled at him. “Okay, but if you try anything, mister...”
“I crossed my heart, didn’t I?” Spike replied with a smirk.
A/N Okay, here’s my dilemma with this story- I couldn’t get a strong opening to it. The idea didn’t come to me with an opening attached, it sort of revolved around many more plot twists that come into the equation later. So, I’m sorry that it’s not the greatest, but I needed to set up the story. Please keep reading, because I promise it will get more interesting- just give me a couple of chapters to work out a few more details! Thanks for reading and trust me when I say, this story will develop into much more. Check back tomorrow afternoon and I’ll have the next chapter ready, more will be explained in it!
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