DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or the mythology from Buffy: the Vampire Slayer or Angel. I’m just using them temporarily since Joss and company won’t need them for a while…. I’ll give them back whenever he needs them again.

RATING: PG-13 to R …but probably nothing worse than the show.

SPOILERS: The entire fifth season of Angel (particularly the Finale ‘Not Fade Away‘)…so if you haven’t watched it…this probably won’t make much sense. Oh, and the final episode of Buffy: ‘Chosen’

AUTHOR’S NOTES: If you feel as though you have read this before, you’re probably not wrong. I had this up right after Angel ended, but I took it down after I lost the urge to write it…But now…the urge is back. I’ve gone back and reworked it so it’s gonna be a little different than I originally planned.


To Keep Fighting
By Jessyca



Prologue

Los Angeles, California USA


There was blood everywhere. On the ground; on the walls. The entire alley was covered in it. Drenched. This was the scene of a battle. A battle to try and stop the end of the world. But it’s over now. And they made it through.

Barely.

A leather-clad man stepped up to the body of the large dragon amongst the remains of the hundreds of demons; looking over his handiwork. The man was barely able to stand due to his fractured leg and other various injuries, including a large gash in his side. There was also blood running down his face from several large cuts. His exhaustion was evident on the sharp lines of his face. He was saturated with blood. Some his own, some the enemies he had slain. Sighing, Spike reached down and pulled the sword out of the dragon’s neck. Then, using the sword to help support his weight, he surveyed the damage done. How he was able to survive the fight was beyond him.

He wondered if the others made it through the battle. He turned around, looking for another familiar face. He found himself face to face with the Old One. “You’re bleeding,” Illyria said, her blue eyes studying the vampire before her.

Spike looked at her, biting back a sarcastic remark. Now was not the time for that. “So are you,” he replied instead, pointing to the blood making it’s way down her temple; her only open wound, the rest having already healed.

Illyria reached up and touched her wound. Bringing her hand to her line of vision, she noted the blood, and tilted her head. “So it appears.”

Spike began to move around the demons, wanting to find the other two. See if they made it. He and Illyria made their way to the other side of the alleyway, and spotted him. All twisted, torn; eyes staring into space. Spike grimaced at the scene before him and kneeled next to him. Next to Gunn. Sighing, Spike reached up and closed his eyes. “Poor bastard. Didn’t stand a chance,” he said, not in malice, but in respect.

Illyria looked at the vampire, something akin to compassion on her face, but one could never really tell. “He died fighting,” she said. “An honorable death.”

Spike stood next to her. “That it is, love. Still…”

“You claimed not to appreciate him; referring to him by various detestable monikers…and yet you mourn him,” she observed. Spike opened his mouth in protest, then closed it, deciding not to deny it. Illyria tilted her head, as if she was thinking. A confused expression crossed her features. “As do I.”

Spike looked to her, equally confused. Were the memories of Fred affecting her more than they believed them to? Spike decided that they did not have time at the moment to ponder such thoughts and began looking around the alleyway for a sign of the older vampire. Any sign would do.

The sound of rubble being pushed around alerted both Spike and Illyria. They turned and saw a hand make it’s way out of the debris.

Angel.

Spike began to limp over to wear the older vampire was buried. Illyria rushed ahead of him and began to lift the debris off Angel. Once enough of the debris was gone, Illyria reached down and pulled Angel to his feet. He rubbed his head, trying to shake off the headache he now bore. The majority of his injuries were superficial and already stopped bleeding; the only major wound was the large gash that ran from his shoulder to the middle of his back. When he regained some of his composure, he looked to the two in front of him. “…Gunn…?” he asked, not really wanting to hear the words but knowing inside what had happened.

Spike glanced to the ground as did Illyria. Their silence was enough for Angel. “He died a hero,” he finally said.

“They both did,” Spike said, remembering the former watcher.

The three stood in silence, not entirely sure what to do. Eventually, Illyria turned away from the vampires and surveyed the damage before her, a single tear making it’s way down her face. Noticing the odd sensation, she reached up and wiped it away. She looked to the sky idly wondering if it had started raining again. It hadn’t, so she glanced at her hand. Not blood, she thought to herself. What is this? She sniffed it and cocked her head. “Not water,” she whispered quietly.

“Where to now?” Spike asked, breaking the silence that was threatening to deafen them.

Angel sighed, shrugging. “England.” Spike looked to him, silently asking him why. “We need to tell Giles and…Wes’s father. He needs to know how his son died.”

Spike nodded, agreeing with Angel’s choice. “Back to the Mother Country it is then.”


End Prologue

Chapter one should be up later tonight…I already have it written for the most part… Please review…I think that may be the only way to get me to write….: )

Yum….James in black slacks, dark purple shirt with a few buttons undone…yum yum YUM! Gotta say that was my favorite outfit in Cool Money. :) He’s one of the few guys I know of that can actually wear purple and look damn good in it.

Thanks to those that reviewed the prologue :) And here, as promised, the next chapter :)

Chapter One: Thought You Should Know

The Watcher’s Council
London, England
Three Days Later


The hallways of the normally quite Council headquarters was full of the hustle and bustle of slayers and watchers. They had received word of an apocalypse arriving and made their way to their designated stations where they would receive their orders. This would be their first major battle since the recreation of the Council. None had ever fought in an apocalypse and were now faced with the real possibility of not returning home.

At the end of the hall stood Rupert Giles. He watched the young and eager slayers and newly-appointed watchers before turning and entering the door that was just behind him. The room held the most experienced of the Council; the ones who had fought alongside the Slayer for eight years. Giles had sent for them as soon as he heard about the impending doom and now they congregated the meeting room, the first time they had all been together in the last year. He just wished it was under better circumstances.

Giles made his way to the head of the meeting table. Buffy sat in the seat next to his; Dawn next to her sister and across from her sat Willow and Xander.

“I wish I didn’t have to call you together under these circumstances but,” Giles sighed. “It was necessary.”

“It’s okay,” Buffy reassured her watcher. “It’s just like old times.”

“Yeah,” Willow piped up. “With all the research, and the late nights…”

“And the donuts,” Xander finished.

Giles allowed a small smile to appear on his face before turning his attention back to the task at hand. “We need to start preparing ourselves for the worst when we arrive.”

“I just can’t believe this could happen,” Buffy said, letting her grief at the situation show on her face. “It’s not like him, I mean, this is the same guy…” She didn’t finish her thought, just shook her head and looked to the ground.

“It’s the power,” Willow said quietly; knowingly.

“What do you mean?” Dawn asked, a questioning look on her face.

“All that power,” Will tried to explain. “It does things to you. You do things you never would have done in the first place. Believe me,” she whispered, “I know.”

“We can’t let our personal feelings get in the way of the mission here,” Giles said, taking over the conversation. “Whatever has gotten into Angel, we mustn’t let it cloud our judgment. And if he gets in the way, we deal with it anyway we can. We have to stop the coming apocalypse.”

“Actually, we already stopped it,” a voice came from the back of the room. All eyes turned to see Angel. Most of his injuries were already healed, leaving only faint scars to mark their existence. Next to him stood Spike and Illyria. Spike slightly stood with his weight mostly on his left leg. His wounds were still apparent, not having healed as much as they should have.

“Well, more like pushed it back,” Angel corrected his former statement, but it was unheard.

“It’s the First!” Xander exclaimed, jumping out of his seat to grab the closest weapon around to aim it at Spike.

“Xander, stop,” Buffy spoke calmly, standing to pull the weapon out of hand. “It’s not the First. It’s really him.”

Spike and Angel looked at each other, confusion written all over their face. How did Buffy know? They returned their questioning looks toward Buffy to find that everyone else in the room did the same.

Buffy noticed the room staring at her and shrugged. “Andrew told me,” she said as explanation.

Spike took a deep breath, anger beginning to boil inside him. “Gonna hurt that poncy git,” he muttered to himself before returning his gaze back at the group of confused Scoobies. “Right, so I’m back.” He locked his eyes with Buffy trying to gauge her expression before speaking. “It’s a long story, one that I’ll be happy to share with you as soon as possible, but right now, we got more pressing matters.”

The group seemed to realize the solemn tone Spike’s voice took and snapped out of their stupor and actually realized the extent of the injuries the vampires, particularly Spike. Giles gave them a silent cue to take a seat at the end of the meeting table. Spike chose to take Giles on his offer and slowly taking a seat, as to not jostle his injuries further than they already had.

Buffy kept her eyes on the blond vampire, noticing how he slowly inhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes as though he was trying to block out the pain of his injuries.

Angel chose to stand, feeling the need to pace while telling the story. Illyria looked from one Scooby to another, studying their faces. She looked to the red-headed witch and tilted her head. Willow noticed her studying her and then it clicked as to why she looked so familiar.

“Fred?” Willow asked, confusion on her face.

Angel and Spike looked over at Illyria. “That’s not Fred,” Angel told her.

“But…how? It looks like her…right…?” Willow’s puzzlement clear to everyone around her. She looked to Spike, silently asking him to explain.

“Fred’s dead, Red,” Spike whispered, his grief over her death still evident in his voice. “That’s Illyria.”

“An Old One?” Giles asked, surprise in his voice.

Illyria turned her attention to Giles. “You have heard of me?”

“Yes, I have, but I thought all Ancient Ones were dead, kept in the Deeper Well for all eternity?”

“It’s a long story,” Angel said. “A long painful story.”

Illyria had meanwhile reverted her attention to the witch. “You are Willow.” Illyria said matter-of-factly, cocking her head slightly. “I can feel your power. It’s strong, intense, and…intoxicating. Worthy enough to take on my strength,” she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

“Uh…yeah…okay…thanks?” Willow nervously said, her eye on the blue demon before her.

“Wait,” Dawn spoke up. “How does she know who Willow is?”

Illyria snapped out of her daze and looked at the teen. “I have gained the memories of the…person whose body I have inhabited: this shell...Winifred Burkle. And her emotions. They are becoming…increasingly difficult to ignore,” she said, becoming slightly agitated.

“Um…what exactly happened?” Giles asked Angel and Spike, bringing the conversation back on track.

“We killed them all,” Angel said simply. At the group’s lost look, he elaborated. “The Circle of the Black Thorn. They ran Wolfram and Hart, the wheels behind the apocalypse; taking their orders from the Senior Partners. It started two months ago. It was then that Cordy alerted me to their presence. It was the last thing she ever did for me,” Angel paused in his story to regain his composure. Cordelia’s death was still hard to talk about.

“Last thing?” Buffy asked, tearing her eyes from Spike to rest them on Angel.

“She was the first soldier down,” Spike spoke what Angel couldn’t bring himself to say.

“Cordy’s dead?” Xander asked, the shock obvious in his voice.

“Yeah,” Angel confirmed. The group inhaled a deep breath, taking in this news. “It was then that I went under cover, so to speak. Trying to find out everything I could about them.”

“Yeah, the lot of us thought he had finally gone round the bend,” Spike said.

“That’s what I needed Them to believe. They had to think that I had changed; that my people didn’t trust me anymore. And then…Fred,” Angel whispered.

“What happened?” Dawn asked, curiosity catching her.

“Her curiosity got the best of her. She got infected. We tried everything we could think to do, even made a trip to the Deeper Well. Got nowhere. She was gone by then anyway,” Spike said, frowning at the memory of her death. “Hollowed out to make room for Illyria.”

“I had to make the Circle think that I had a hand in Illyria’s resurrection. I needed them to believe that I killed Fred so that they would accept me. I needed to be a part of the Circle,” Angel said as he paced around the room.

“Um, pardon me for interrupting, but what exactly is this Circle of the Black Thorn?” Giles intervened.

“They do the dirty work of the senior partners. The give the orders, and the Circle see that they go through,” Angel paused. “The partners think they own us. We had to show them that they don’t. And to do that we had to start by killing every single member of the Circle. That’s part of why I needed in; to get to know them; know their faces.”

“That last night,” Spike took over, feeling the need to impart some of the story. “We set them up and knocked them down. We all had a hand in getting’ rid of th’ bastards. We’re all that’s left.”

“Wesley died during the battle,” Angel said, hanging his head, grief evident in his voice.

“Oh, Goddess,” Willow’s voice emanated the shock and sorrow the rest of the Scoobies felt. They were never close with Wesley; hell, they never really liked him, but they still couldn’t imagine him gone.

“He bled to death. His life slipped away as I held in my arms,” Illyria spoke, quietly. “I…I wanted to help, but there was nothing I could do. I was too late.” She turned and looked at Spike, tilting her head, a questioning look on her face. “What is it that I am feeling? All these…sensations are new to me. I cannot tell if they are my own or…Fred’s.”

Spike looked at the puzzled demon and sadly shook his head. “I don’t know, blue,” he told her. “We’ll figure it out.” Illyria seemed to accept this and returned to her corner.

“After we picked off the Circle,” Angel picked up the story yet again. “Lorne took off, who knows where he went. We met up with Gunn in an alleyway. But by then, Gunn was too far gone. He died during the big battle.”

“Big battle?” Buffy asked.

Angel nodded. “The Circle was the easy part. After that, we had literally hundreds of demons after us. Apparently the Senior Partners were still able to open a gate to hell or something like that and sent them after us. How the hell we survived is anyone’s guess. But the Partners won’t give up. They’ll come after us and make our life a living hell until either we’re dead or worse.” He left the ‘worse’ to their imaginations.

The room fell silent. A deafening silence. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Spike and Buffy locked eyes and never looked away. Angel leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his shoulder. Illyria stood against the wall, still as a statue. Xander had his head in his hands, still unable to get past the fact that Cordy was gone. Dawn tried not to let the shock of the entire situation get to her by focusing all her attention to a single dust particle. Willow was attempting to keep her tears at bay. Giles stood at the head of the table, busily trying to remove a fingerprint that wasn’t there from his glasses, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts; one in particular.

“So, you came here. Leading these Senior Partners directly to the Watcher’s Council location.” His voice was accusing as his eyes bore into Angel.

“We weren’t planning on staying, Rupes,” Spike tore his eyes away from Buffy’s to look at Giles. “We’ll leave as soon as possible. We just thought that you lot should know seein’ as how you lot got the idea that Peaches and his gang had fallen off the bandwagon.”

“Since when did you join the Dead Boy Fan Club?” Xander asked. “Last I knew, you hated his guts…more so than me..”

“Don’t get me wrong, I still hate his guts,” Spike cast a look towards a glaring Angel. “But…I’ve seen things. I know enough to know for a fact that he hasn’t swayed from the good path.”

The Scoobies cast their eyes downward, suddenly ashamed that they had even let the thought cross their minds. Angel knew all along what he was doing and they turned their backs on him; on them.

“Where will you go?” Buffy asked, looking to Spike, her eyes passive, making Spike unsure of what she really wanted.

He shrugged. “Dunno, love. Wherever we can. Gotta keep movin’. Keep ‘em off our tails.”

Angel pushed himself away from the wall and made his way towards the door. Illyria followed suit. Spike took a deep breath and slowly rose out of the chair.

“Wait,” Giles said. The three of them turned toward the watcher. “Stay. At least until you know where you’re going to go.”

Angel nodded his thanks. Spike leaned heavily against the wall, grateful that he didn’t have to move much further. Illyria looked at Spike, her eyes scanning his body. “You’re bleeding,” she stated, simply.

Spike looked down at the blood that was now soaking his shirt, wondering why he didn’t notice it earlier. Breathing heavily, he looked up at Illyria. “Guess that’d explain why there’s two of ya.” He slumped forward, falling into Illyria‘s arms, unconsciousness taking over.

A/N: Hmmm….Buffy knows? Well…after re-watching “The Girl in Question” something about how Andrew said “She loves both of you” made me feel that maybe she does know he’s back. The way Andrew acted just gave made me feel that. Who knows…Andrew might’ve let it slip. We may never really know…so I’m just going to try and pursue this.

Chapter Two: Reunions and Reasons

“How is he?” Giles asked Buffy when he saw her exit the bedroom and make her way to him and Angel.

Buffy looked at her watcher and former lover. They both looked at her, and she could have sworn that she actually saw concern in both their faces, but that couldn’t be right. They both hated him last she checked. She shrugged. “He’s still unconscious. Willow’s tending to the worst of his injuries.”

“Good, good,” Giles replied. Angel nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and looking to the ground.

Buffy turned her gaze to Angel. “How?” It was a simple question but the answer was no where near that simple.

Angel crinkled his eyebrows, confused by her question. “I…thought you knew.”

Buffy sighed. “I only know what Andrew told me and that wasn’t much. Just that Spike was back and he was helping you.”

“Yes, well, why did you never tell anyone about this, Buffy?” Giles said, pulling his glasses from his face.

Buffy looked down. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it when Andrew told me that Spike didn’t want him to tell me he was back. I guess a part of me didn’t want to believe that he wouldn’t come to me, so I just let it go.”

Giles seemed to accept this answer and let it drop…for now anyway and turned his attention back to Angel. “How exactly did Andrew find out anyway?”

“When you sent him to LA to pick up the slayer,” Angel answered. “Spike was there then. But for the details on the how, I…don’t think that I should be the one to tell you,” he said. “’Cause, honestly, I really don’t know where to start.”

“Can you at least tell me when he came back? Andrew was a little less than forthcoming with that.” Buffy asked, wanting to know something, anything.

“Probably…about,” Angel thought for a second. “A few weeks after you guys…Spike…closed the Hellmouth.”

Buffy’s eyes widened. “That long? You mean to tell me, that he‘s been back from the dead for almost a year? And he didn‘t tell me?” The hurt in her voice was apparent to both Giles and Angel.

“I’m sure he had a good reason not to, Buffy,” Giles tried to reassure her. If he was being honest with himself, he, too, was surprised at the length of time and lack of communication.

“He did,” Angel said, somewhat surprising himself (and Buffy and Giles) by defending Spike. “There were lots of factors involved, and I’d tell you myself, but he should be the one to.”

“He damn well better. Stupid vampire,” Buffy muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

Giles looked at the souled vampire. “Well, I best return to the rest of the slayers and make sure they know not to stake you or Spike.”

Buffy and Angel watched Giles leave in silence. When he was gone, Buffy turned to the vampire. “So you and Spike hung out for a year and managed not to kill each other? I’m impressed. Thought you two hated each other.”

“And we do,” Angel said, letting her know his hated of the blond vampire was still present. “We just tolerate each other now. But…I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…Spike has actually proved helpful.”

They fell silent. A minute passed before Angel suddenly found himself with an armful of Buffy. She had jumped on him and now had him in a hug. He awkwardly returned it, confused.

“I’m so sorry we ever doubted you,” Buffy told him. “Can’t believe that I ever thought that you would slip away.”

“Hey,” Angel pulled her away. “It’s okay,” he reassured her. “I doubted myself at times, as well. Let’s just put this behind us.”

“Okay,” Buffy said with a smile. She tip-toed and gave Angel a chaste kiss on the cheek. “All put behind.” She bounced back and looked at him with curious eyes. “So what happened the last year…asides from the apocalypse.”

Angel allowed himself a smile. “I met a girl.”


*******************************


Nina sat at the vanity in the dressing room of the hotel suite, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She didn’t like who stared back; a heartbroken girl. It wasn’t her. Slowly, she reached up and put one earring on. She, her sister and niece were going out to play tourist in one of the most gorgeous cities in the world.

“Hey, Nina,” her sister poked her head in the bedroom. “What’s taking so long? London’s not going to wait for us. Amanda’s getting impatient.”

Nina turned to face Jill. “Sorry, it’s just…”

Jill entered the room and took a seat on the bed. She looked at her sister, sympathy on her face. “You’re thinking about him, aren’t you? The guy you‘ve secretly been dating? This…Angel.”

“Wha-? No, no,” Nina said, refusing to admit it.

“Yes, you are. Don’t try to deny it,” Jill said, trying to cajole Nina into telling her something…anything. There were too many secrets between the two of them, she knew. It took months for Nina to finally admit what she had become. Jill didn’t believe for herself until one night, on a full moon, Nina told her that if she wanted proof, she should come with her to Wolfram and Hart. There she met Angel and noticed the looks, the familiarity that passed between the two of them as he led them to the cage that Nina spent the three nights of the month. Jill watched from the safety of Angel’s office as a video camera recorded the transformation as it took place. It was then that Jill learned that things were not always as they seemed.

Nina looked at her sister, her fear on her face. “He sent us here…to protect us. From something big.”

Jill looked at her, confusion on her face. “Did he say what?”

Nina shook her head. “I just hope he’s okay.” She took a deep breath. “I just wish he’d come to me.”


*******************************


Buffy re-entered the room they had Spike in. The good thing about moving the Council to a huge mansion, you didn’t have to stay in hotels on long visits. There were plenty of rooms throughout for all of the Scoobies and then some. Willow looked up when she heard the door open.

“Hey,” she greeted, giving Buffy a smile, noticing the grin on her face. “What’s up?”

“Angel,” Buffy said. “He met someone. And she made him a vase,” she said, humor in her voice. “He sounded like a love-struck teenager talking about her. It was quite cute, actually. Oh…and get this. She‘s a werewolf.”

“Wow…that’s…well, that’s good,” Willow said, pleased and surprised at the same time. “It’s about time he decided to move on.” She turned to the sleeping vampire. “Now, if we could just work on this one,” she whispered.

If Buffy heard Willow, she decided to ignore her, instead turning her attention wholly to Spike. “How is he?”

“His body still requires rest to completely rehabilitate,” Illyria spoke up from her spot in the dark corner of the room.

Buffy looked at the blue demon, seemingly surprised that she was there. Willow registered this and said, “She refuses to leave his side.”

Buffy looked at the demon in the dark, staring out the window through the gap in the curtain as though she had never seen the sun; as though everything to her was new. Buffy figured in a way it probably was. She decided to let her be and turned to Spike.

It was odd to see him there. After a year, she almost got used to him not being there. Almost. Sure, at first she terribly missed his presence at her side; she missed his eyes, his accent, his humor, everything, but mostly his eyes. But…after a while, she decided that she couldn’t dwell on it forever. He wasn’t coming back and he would want her to move on.

But he did come back. Apparently had been for almost a year. She had known that. Been told as much anyway. Whether or not she believed it wasn’t a part of the equation now, was it? It was true. And it was laying on the bed in front of her. She couldn’t help the questions running through her head. Why didn’t he tell her himself? Did he not want to see her again? No, Andrew made it clear that Spike did want to see her. But why didn’t he? Had he moved on since Andrew last saw him? Why didn’t she go to LA to see him when she found out?

“Buffy, are you okay?” Willow broke Buffy’s reverie, concern in her voice.

Buffy looked at her friend. “Yeah, just weird seeing him after all this time. I forgot his eyes were that blue.”

Willow looked at her friend and then at the still sleeping vampire. “Buffy, his eyes are closed.”

“Huh?” she snapped her attention to Willow, a questioning look on her face.

“Never mind,” she replied, shaking her head.

The two stood in silence watching the unmoving Spike. Buffy cast a glance towards her friend, and for the first time, realized that someone was missing. “So, uh, Will, where’s Kennedy?”

Willow snapped her attention back to Buffy. She shrugged. “Back in Brazil. We decided that she needed to stay behind and watch the other slayers…Actually, we kinda broke up.”

“Oh,” Buffy said, somewhat surprised that Kennedy would pass up a big battle to babysit and that they broke up. “Are you okay?”

Willow nodded. “Yeah, we just kinda drifted apart. We’re still friends, though, just not in the dating sense.”

Buffy nodded and the two once more fell into silence.

“Hey, B,” Faith’s voice broke through the room as she entered. “Sorry, I’m late. Couldn’t get Andrew to hurry his ass up and winded up at the airport late.” Faith looked towards Buffy’s direction and her eyes widened. “And I’m guessing we missed the fireworks.”

Buffy gave the other slayer a small smile. “Just a bit.”

Faith took a step closer to the bed. “I thought he went out like a Roman candle.”

“Yeah, so did I,” Willow replied, casting a glance toward Buffy. Faith picked up on it and looked to Buffy curiously.

“You knew he was back, B?” Faith asked confused.

“Yeah, Andrew told me, but he said that I wasn’t supposed to know and that if Spike found out, he’d kill him, you know how dramatic Andrew can be,” Buffy said once more. She really was getting tired of the questions. Maybe she should’ve just stayed silent. “But we won’t get the whole story ‘til he wakes up. Angel won’t tell us anything.”

Faith’s face brightened up. “Angel’s here?”

“I’ll take you to him, and we can all explain what you missed,” Willow said, noticing the girl’s eagerness to see the souled vampire.

“Sure,” she replied, then turned to Buffy. “I want details after he wakes up,” she said, indicating that she wanted the tale of the great return as well.

Buffy nodded. “You got it.” She smiled as she watched the witch and brunette slayer leave. If anyone ever told her that she would eventually consider Faith a friend she would have laughed at the mere thought, but apocalypses tended to change things.

“Buffy?” she heard a familiar British accent ask.

She looked down at the vampire on the bed and smiled. “Hey. Nice nap?”

He groaned. “I feel like hell.”

“Well, that’s to be understood. You were practically gutted. Willow had to do a little magic to start it healing again. She couldn’t do much though. Magic barrier.” Spike nodded. “You want some blood? I could get Xander or someone to go get some.”

Spike shook his head. “No, thanks, love. Don’t think I could keep it down at the moment.”

“Have you even had some since…this?” she asked, indicating the large wound in his abdomen.

Spike reached up to rub his head. “Couldn’t keep anything down. I’ll try later.”

Buffy nodded, letting it go. “Okay.”

“How long have you known I was back among the undead?” Spike asked, peering up at her through hooded eyelashes.

Buffy shrugged. “A couple of months. Andrew ‘accidentally’ mentioned you one night and when I drilled him he spilled. He didn‘t give me a lot of details, just mainly that you were back.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I didn’t want the details. I didn’t want to believe it.”

Spike sucked in a breath. “Right,” he said, averting his eyes from her, stung. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“No, no, Spike,” she quickly replied. “I didn’t mean it that way. God, I’m so horrible with words. I just meant that I didn’t want to believe that you didn’t want me to know.”

Spike slowly returned his eyes back to hers, reading her expression and saw that she really didn’t mean it. The sting from her earlier comment faded as a small smirk formed on his face. “I bet you want the whole explanation, huh, pet?”

Buffy nodded, and looked at the vampire. “Only if you’re up to it.”

“It’s a bit of a story, actually. Ghost story, really.”

“Ghost? There were ghosts involved?” Buffy asked.

Spike smirked. “Actually, one. Me. The amulet you gave me…well, somehow, I got caught in it; my essence, as Percy put it, was sucked in.”

“Percy? Oh…Wesley,” Buffy picked up on the nickname for the late Watcher. “So, you what, reappeared?”

“Yeah, all ghost-like. Quite an odd experience. Anyway, I tried to go to you then, but, uh, couldn’t. Apparently I was tied to Wolfram and Hart. Long story short, I got recorporealized and spent the last several months helping Angel and his,” Spike cut the story short, suddenly not wanting to go into details.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re leaving a lot out?” Buffy asked, eyeing him.

Spike shrugged. “Maybe cause I am. Don’t really know how explain things right now. I’ll tell you the rest later.”

“Can you at least tell me why you never bothered to tell me yourself?” She asked, trying to keep a neutral voice but falling short of her goal. Instead, she let her hurt color her voice.

Spike let his eyes wander around the room, trying to avoid her penetrating gaze. “Oh, love, I wanted to, honestly, I did. But…how exactly could I explain it? Just showing up at your door didn’t seem right. I just…I was scared,” he quietly confessed.

Buffy eyes softened as she gazed intensively at him. “Why?”

Spike sighed and brought himself to look into her eyes. “I went out in a blaze of glory, to save you and your friends and whole bloody world. Then, the next thing I know, I’m back in the world, less than what I was. And I don’t know why. Why the bloody hell they couldn’t leave me alone. I wasn’t sure how you would take me barging back into your life. I just wanted you to live.”

Buffy tore her eyes away from his and looked to the ground, suddenly not wanting to talk about it anymore. Spike watched her through hooded eyes, trying to gauge the feelings running through her. Maybe it was best they stop the conversation. She wasn’t ready to go into detail and he could understand that. It had to be a shock to her, to actually see him again. It was to him as well. He hadn’t realized he missed her so much. He tried to think of some way to switch topics but she beat him to it.

“Does she ever move?”

Spike followed her gaze to the dark corner. Illyria was still there, standing as still as a statue, staring out the window. He allowed a small smile cross his lips. “You should see her talk to plants,” he said, a teasing tone in his voice.

Illyria snapped her head in Spike direction. “I do not.” She sounded a little slighted at the statement.

Spike raised his eyebrows. “I seem to remember a time when you did,” he continued his teasing. Illyria narrowed her eyes. “I’m just teasing you, blue,” Spike explained.

Illyria tilted her head, and opened her mouth as though she was trying to come up with something to say but nothing came. She looked at the Slayer and vampire and then turned to leave the bedroom. Buffy looked to Spike, a questioning look on her face. “She does that sometimes,” he explained. Buffy nodded, understanding.

Spike looked at Buffy. “So…you and the Immortal, huh?”

“Andrew told you, didn’t he?” She asked.

“He didn’t really have to.” She gave him a perplexed look. “Love, you’re the Slayer, word spreads fast when it comes to you,” he answered.

“That and you two came to Rome,” she said, not accusingly.

“We were worried about you…that, and we had a head to obtain.” Buffy scrunched up her eyebrows in disgust. “Long, painful story, love. Still, you could do better. He doesn’t strike me as your type.”

“What do you mean he’s not my type?” Buffy asked. “He’s dangerous with a gentle side, gorgeous, and, oh, immortal,” she replied, grinning. “Definitely my type.”

Spike returned the smile, glad to see her happy, even if he wasn’t exactly the cause. “Well, I didn’t see Mr. Immortal around…”

“Marco’s flying in later,” Buffy explained. Spike snickered and she looked at him. “What?”

“’Marco?’ His name is Marco?” Spike kept chuckling. Buffy glared at him and he quickly sobered. “Sorry…it’s just…Marco. Never would’ve pegged him for a Marco,” he finished and began to chuckle again and soon Buffy joined in, finding his laughter contagious.


*******************************


Illyria studied the room she found herself in. It was full of books of all kinds. Old musty books. She walked over to the bookshelves and ran her hand over them, examining the worn binds and frayed edges.

“What are these books of?” She asked the room’s occupants, Dawn and Xander. They were in the library studying various demons at Giles’s request, and much against their wishes.

“Some are on demons, actually most of them are,” Dawn replied, looking up from her book.

“And the others?” Illyria continued glancing over the shelves.

“Prophecies, lots and lots of prophecies. Oh, how I hate them,” Xander told her.

Illyria nodded and reached out to pull one of the books off the shelf. “Wesley would’ve liked to have seen these,” she whispered, remembering his fondness of books.


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When the sun set, Nina decided to go out for a night on the town. She felt like she needed some time for herself. She needed to go over some things and it was difficult to do with her sister hanging over her head.

So, she found herself in a park that was fairly close to the hotel. She didn’t want to wander too far for fear that she wouldn’t be able to find her way back. Nina found a bench and sat down.

She took a deep breath and looked around the park. A twig snapped behind her and she jumped. She quickly turned around.

“Sorry,” a familiar voice spoke. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Nina squinted her eyes to get a better look at the man in the dark. “Angel?”

“Yeah it‘s me,” Angel replied and stepped where she could see him.

She looked at him, almost as though she was in disbelief that he was there. “You came…”

“Yeah, Nina, I came,” he told her, a smile on his face. She let the breath she was holding and returned the smile.

“I’m glad,” Nina said, making her way toward him.

Angel looked down at her. “So am I.”

A/N: Thanks so much to those of you who have reviewed…They make me happy. :)