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Spike paced in his hotel room. Why didn't Buffy believe him? She was the Slayer, she was supposed to always be on the lookout for things like this. If anything, she should expect them. Seemed like nothing in her life came without a demon or two.

Spike sat on the edge of the bed, trying to piece together what was happening. It had to be some sort of spell, something that was making her accept what was around her without question. He needed to get her out of this town, away from whatever was affecting her like this. Then she'd be able to see things clearly again. Spike made up his mind. As soon as the sun set he was taking Buffy away no matter how much she fought him over it. It was for her own good, after all.

He frowned, trying to decide exactly how he was going to accomplish that task. All things considered, Buffy was still the Slayer. She was going to put up a fight. Spike knew one thing for sure, he was going to have to separate her from Clint. She'd be hard enough to deal with without adding her redneck demon husband to the mix.

Suddenly, Spike froze. He heard something rustling outside his door. He sniffed the air and frowned. Whatever it was, it wasn't human. He stood up, ready to fight. He heard a key click in the door, and the handle turned. The door flew open, and Spike jumped back to avoid the column of sunlight that came into the room.

Spike glared at the brunette woman who walked into the room, slamming the door behind her. "What do you want?"

"It's time for check out," she replied with a cruel smile.

"I'm not going anywhere without Buffy."

"The Slayer is not leaving with you."

"Is that a fact?" Spike came towards the brunette, reading for a punch. She grabbed his fist with inhuman speed, wrenching his arm behind his back. Spike yelled in pain and surprise, struggling to get free.

"As I said, the Slayer is not going anywhere with you," the brunette repeated, pushing Spike down to his knees. She changed suddenly, her appearance now like that of Clint's the night before. "You, however, are coming with me."

"I don't think so," Spike said through gritted teeth.

"I didn't ask you," the demon growled, hauling him to his feet. She drug Spike over to the bed, pushing it aside with one hand. Below it was a staircase leading down into darkness.

"Funny I didn't notice that…" Spike said.

The demon snarled at him. "Down."

"Um, how about no?" Spike struggled to get free, hitting the demon as hard as he could.

The blow barely registered. "You are a stupid creature, vampire." The demon grabbed Spike, throwing him hard against the wall. Spike slumped down, unconscious. The demon picked him up, threw him over her shoulder, and brought him down the stairs.

Another demon stood at the bottom. "You didn't kill the vampire?"

"No. We can use him. Keeping the Slayer here has drained too much of our power. He can strengthen us again." She threw Spike to the other demon. "Restrain him. We will perform the ritual at sunset."

"Yes, my mistress," the second demon said, carrying Spike away.

The first demon changed again into the brunette human woman, then walked back up the stairs.

xxx xxx xxx

Buffy woke up, looking over at the clock. 4:43. Buffy frowned. She'd slept a lot later than she normally did. She got out of bed, stretching her arms and yawning. She walked around the bed, heading for the bathroom when she stopped short, noticing something on the floor. She bent down, touching it lightly. It had dried, but there was no mistaking what it was. Blood.

Buffy felt a sudden wave of panic. Something was wrong here. Her Slayer instincts began screaming. Clint had told her that Spike had been there the night before. Had there been a fight? Was that what this blood was from? Buffy stood, dressing quickly. She had to figure out what had happened.

Clint was at the front desk. Buffy stood in front of it, her arms crossed. "Where's Spike?"

Clint looked up at her. "He left. He didn't tell you?"

Buffy looked up, the sun still bright in the sky. "He left? Now?"

"A couple of hours ago." Clint shrugged. "I guess he figured he couldn't compete with the love we have."

"Clint, Spike wouldn't leave now."

Clint looked up, locking his eyes with Buffy. "He left. He doesn't care about you at all."

"Spike left. He doesn't…" Buffy stopped, shaking her head. "Spike does care about me, Clint."

Clint got up, leaning closer to Buffy. "He does not care about you."

Buffy pulled back. "I have to go." Buffy ran out of the office.

"Buffy!" Clint called. When she didn't turn around, Clint picked up the phone, dialing a number quickly. "We have a situation. It's the Slayer."

xxx xxx xxx

Spike groaned, coming to slowly. He blinked, taking in his surroundings. It was dark, the only light coming from torches attached to the wall. There was a group of demons kneeling in one part of the room, chanting and bowing to the center of a circle.

"Things like this are never good," Spike mumbled, trying to move. He realized then that he was chained to the wall with bonds strong enough to keep him in place. "Bloody hell. Why does this always happen to me?"

"I see you've awakened, vampire."

Spike glared at the brunette woman in front of him. "Sod off."

She smiled sadistically. "Is that anyway to talk to someone who has your pathetic little unlife in the palm of her hand?"

"Seeing as your not holding any sharp, pointy pieces of wood, I'm not really all that afraid of you," Spike replied.

The woman laughed. "I'd take that as insolence if you weren't so foolish." She walked up to Spike, running her finger down his cheek. "Soon it will be more than a stake through the heart that can kill you. Too bad we won't be able to explore all the ways…"

Spike turned away from her touch. "Where's Buffy?"

"The Slayer is not your concern."

"She's always my concern."

"How…touching." The woman stepped back. "I hope you've seen all you planned to of this earth. You won't be on it for much longer."

Spike just glared at her as she walked away.

xxx xxx xxx

Buffy opened the door to Spike's room. She glanced around, almost immediately spying something black hanging over one of the chairs. "His coat," Buffy said out loud. Her mouth set in a grim line. Now she knew for sure he wasn't gone.

Buffy started to go back and demand Clint tell her what was really going on when she noticed something else. The bed was pulled slightly away from the wall and was at an angle. She pushed it aside, gasping when she saw the staircase below it. She took a deep breath and started towards it.

"Where are you goin', babydoll?"

Startled, Buffy turned around to face Clint. "What's going on here?"

"Nothin'. Now how about you just put the bed back, and we forget this whole thing?"

Buffy's mouth set in grim determination. "Where is Spike?"

"I told you he left. There ain't nothing else you need to know."

"You're lying. Tell me right now what's going on."

Clint went to Buffy, grabbing her by the arms and staring into her eyes. "There's nothing going on, Buffy. Let's just go back to our home."

Buffy shook her head. "What are you trying to do to me?"

"Nothing. There's nothing going on at all. Let's go…"

Buffy pushed him away. "Where. Is. Spike?" she asked, carefully enunciating every word.

"Buffy…" Clint went for her again, but she reacted faster, punching him hard enough to knock him on his back. She straddled his waist, pulling him up roughly by the collar.

"Where is he, Clint. Tell me…now."

"I…he…um…"

"Why don't we just show her?"

Buffy turned around, blinking at the brunette woman now standing in front of the staircase. "Rebecca?"

"Not quite," she replied, assuming her demon form once again.

Buffy got to her feet, staring in horror. "Spike…he was telling the truth."

Clint stood, quickly reverting to his true self again. "Yes, he was."

Buffy glared. "What have you done with him?"

Rebecca walked slowly over to Buffy. "Nothing yet, Slayer. But soon, he will bring us strength enough to have you under our power again."

"If you hurt him, so help me, I will…"

"What will you do?" Clint asked, sneering at Buffy. "You gonna kill me, babydoll?"

Buffy looked at the creature she'd thought was her husband for almost a year with revulsion. "Don't think I won't."

"Grab her," Rebecca ordered. "Take her downstairs. We can make her one of us again."

Clint lunged for Buffy. She tried to evade him, but he grabbed her anyway, pinning her arms to her sides. "Don't worry," he whispered in her ear. "Soon everything will be fine, and you will be my happy wife again."

"I am not your wife."

Clint snarled as he started carrying Buffy down the stairs. "You will always be mine."

Buffy struggled futilely as Clint brought her down into the dark. Her eyes widened when she noticed one of the walls. "Spike!"

Spike looked up sharply. "Buffy!" He fought against his bonds, snarling at Clint. "You get your bloody hands off of her!"

Clint smirked. "Jealous, vampire?"

Spike's face changed as he growled, trying desperately to break free. Clint merely laughed as he brought Buffy over to a cage, locking her inside. "Don't worry, babydoll. Soon we'll have more power, and we can make you feel like you belong again."

Buffy pulled at the bars of the cage. "Let me out of here so I can kill you," she said sweetly.

"Sedate her," Rebecca ordered. "I don't want to have to hear her rambling before it's time to place her under our control again."

Another demon approached Buffy, grabbing her arm through the bars and injecting a blue liquid into her with syringe. Buffy tried to struggle, but she felt the effects almost immediately, slumping into the corner of the cage.

"Buffy!" Spike yelled, trying again to break loose.

Rebecca laughed. "You have much more to worry about than the Slayer, vampire. Soon it will be sunset, and you will be no more."

"Whatever you do to me, it doesn't matter. Buffy will kill you. And she'll make it hurt."

Clint sneered, approaching Spike and leaning into his face. "Not if she loves me."

Spike spit, hitting Clint squarely in the eye. Clint roared, hitting Spike hard enough to throw him back against the wall he was chained to.

"Now, now," Rebecca said, placing her hand on Clint's shoulder. "It is not the time for playing. We need all his strength."

Clint stepped back, wiping his eye. He glared at Spike one more time before he and Rebecca went back up the stairs.

Spike slumped in his chains, searching his mind desperately for a way out of this mess.

xxx xxx xxx

"The sun has set, vampire."

Spike glared at the demon beside him. "I think you got things a bit backwards there. For us vampires, the sun setting is a good thing."

The demon grinned. "Not for you. Not tonight."

Another demon, wearing a long cloak approached Spike, brandishing a large knife. "Hey, put that away," Spike said nervously, fighting desperately to break his chains.

The demon said nothing, simply taking the knife and slashing Spike across the chest, letting the vampire's blood drip onto the blade. Spike hissed in pain. The demon then went to the circle where another group was still chanting, holding the knife in the air and letting the drops of blood fall down to the ground. He chanted in a language Spike didn't recognize, then finished with one sentence he did:

"Let that which powers him now power us."

A dark cloud flew from the circle to Spike and engulfed him.

xxx xxx xxx

Buffy woke to the sound of inhuman screams of pain.

Any bit of grogginess she was feeling went away the moment she realized the screams were coming from Spike.

Buffy snapped to attention, watching for a moment in horror as some thing seemed to be pulling at Spike, bringing with it what appeared to be a light coming from inside him. Quickly she reached outside the cage, snapping off the lock and then kicking the door open. The demons didn't notice her, all of them too distracted with whatever it was they were doing to Spike. Buffy saw that the force that was hurting Spike was coming from a circle in the middle of the room. She wished she had Willow there to tell her what sort of magicks were in use, but she figured she'd just have to wing it. Spike didn't look like he had much left in him.

Buffy ran to the circle, knocking over the demon that stood in the center. He fell into two of the demons forming the circle, the knife slipping from his grip. As the circle broke, Spike let out one last yell, and the force assaulting him faded into nothingness. Buffy started to go to him but was stopped by a demon that stepped in front of her. The demon suddenly changed, and Buffy found herself face to face with Clint.

"Where ya goin', babydoll?"

"Get away from me," Buffy said.

"What's the hurry?" Clint smiled at her, looking down into her eyes. "None of this is real, baby. You're just dreamin'."

"The only thing not real here is the life I've been living for the past year. Get away from me before I kill you."

Clint stroked her cheek. "You don't want to kill me. You love me."

"I do not love you. I'm taking Spike, and we're leaving."

"Buffy, please…you love me, babydoll."

"You disgust me."

Clint sneered. "If that's the way you feel about it…" He turned back to his demon form, lunging at Buffy.

Buffy jumped out of the way. She saw the knife that had cut Spike earlier laying on the ground and rolled for it. When Clint came at her again, she thrust, plunging it deep in his stomach. He looked at her in surprise, returning to his human form for one last gasp of breath. Buffy pulled the knife out, and Clint slumped dead to the ground, a demon again. Buffy stared at his lifeless body for a moment, swallowing hard.

The demons who had earlier been in the circle rushed Buffy then, and she lashed out, fighting with a blind fury against those that had taken away a year of her life. She hated them all for tricking her, for making her believe she'd found what she'd been searching for for so long. Obviously not the members of the group that usually engaged in combat, they fought weakly, but Buffy showed them no mercy. She didn't stop until they were all dead.

"Very good, Buffy. I guess the stories I've heard of the greatest of Slayers weren't false after all."

Buffy turned to see Rebecca standing beside Spike, her long brown hair falling around her shoulders. Spike stirred, groaning slightly. "Let him go."

Rebecca pouted. "But Buffy, you didn't let us finish…"

Buffy pointed the knife at Rebecca. "And I'm not planning to. Unchain him now, and I might consider letting you live."

"Buffy, darling, I can see the lie in your eyes. But still, if you want him down that badly…" Rebecca pulled a key from her pocket and released Spike from his manacles. He slumped to the ground, hitting the stone floor hard. Rebecca smirked, kicking him hard in the side.

"Stop it," Buffy ordered.

"Oh, but it's fun. He's so…fragile now."

Buffy lunged at Rebecca, pinning her to the wall with the knife at her throat. "What have you been doing here? What did you do to me?"

"What did I do to you? You were the one who ruined everything, you stupid little bitch," Rebecca snapped. All we wanted to was to live a calm life here, and you had to show up with your petty desires to destroy all the demons."

Buffy blinked, the real reason behind her original arrival in Texas coming back to her. "You were performing ritual human sacrifices."

Rebecca shrugged as best she could in her current position. "It's what we do."

"Not anymore." Buffy brought the blade down then stepped back as the now-decapitated demon fell to the ground. She stepped over the body and ran to Spike, shaking him gently. "Spike?"

Spike groaned. "Buffy…I feel…not right…"

"They did something to you," Buffy said, smoothing his hair back. "But I stopped it. You'll be okay."

Spike gave her a weak smile. "Thanks, pet."

"Can you stand at all?"

"I…I think so… You're gonna have to help me walk."

"I can do that," Buffy said, guiding Spike to and up the stairs.

As they got back into the hotel room, Spike started shaking. Buffy frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…I'm cold…" Spike managed.

"Cold?" Buffy asked in surprise.

Spike nodded. Buffy frowned again, wondering what exactly they had done to him. She grabbed his duster and helped him put it on. "That better?"

Spike pulled it closed around him. "Yeah…"

"Come on, let's get to my car. We have to get out of here."

Spike looked at her askew. "You can drive?"

Buffy chuckled. "Yeah. I learned a couple of years ago."

"Wonders never cease."

Buffy smirked, leading him to the car. She opened the door to the backseat, helping Spike in. He lay down, wincing a little. "Are you going to be okay?" Buffy asked.

Spike nodded, closing his eyes. "I just need to rest a bit. Get us out of here, pet. I'll be fine."

Buffy closed the door and got in on the driver's side. She started the engine and drove away as quickly as she could.

xxx xxx xxx

When it started nearing daylight, Buffy looked for a place to stop. She didn't have anything to cover her car windows with, and she didn't want to have a pile of Spike ashes in her backseat.

She got off the highway at the next exit then pulled into the parking lot of the first motel she saw. Spike opened his eyes. "Where are we?"

"New Mexico, I think. I've just been driving, haven't been paying much attention. I'm going to go in here and get us a room before the sun comes up."

"Good idea."

Buffy got out of the car. "Be right back," she said before closing the door.

True to her word, Buffy was back a few minutes later. She helped Spike out of the car and to his feet. "Come on. Let's get going before that sun decides to rise." Spike nodded, letting Buffy help him to the room she'd rented. She brought him inside. "The bed's over here. You still need to rest."

Spike didn't move. His body was rigid, and he stared ahead of him. "Buffy, look…" he said, pointing.

Buffy looked across the hotel room to the sink area on the other side. "What, I…" Buffy stopped, her mouth dropping. "Spike, it's…it's your reflection."

Spike stepped away from Buffy, walking slowly over to the mirror. He touched it tentatively, as if checking to see if it was real or if it would fade away in front of him. Buffy came up behind him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Spike, what's going on?"

"I don't know…I…" Spike reached up, placing his hand over his chest. His eyes grew wide, and he grabbed Buffy's hand, putting it where his had been a moment before. Buffy's face gained the same look of incredulity that Spike's had.

"You're heart…it's beating," Buffy said softly.

"I know."

"Are you…alive?"

Spike stared forward at his reflection. "I don't know." He stumbled a little, bracing himself on the sink. "I don't feel right, Buffy. I need sleep."

Buffy felt tears forming in her eyes. "But Spike, if you're alive, then…"

Spike cut her off by walking away. "I just want to sleep." He went to one of the two double beds in the room, lying down on his back. Buffy went over to him, but he rolled away, facing the wall.

Buffy switched off the light and silently got in the other bed.

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What do you think? Let me know what you thought of that little plot twist…





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