“Spike?” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
Matt furrowed his eyebrows, staring at the blonde woman as though she had two heads. “What...?”
“Spike!” Dawn screeched, running towards the vampire and launching herself into his arms. “You came back! I thought you were dead! Where did you go? Are you back for good? This is so great! Buffy, isn't this incredible?”
Buffy remained silent, watching the scene unfold. She had dreamed of this moment, over and over again. Lots of different scenarios. But this was reality, and she couldn't move or speak. She could only watch in awe as the one thing she had been hoping for stood awkwardly in the middle of the hotel lobby.
Matt pushed the girl off of him, keeping her at arm’s length. “Why are you hugging me? And why is everyone calling me Spike?”
“You... you don't know who I am?” Dawn asked, taking a step back. “Buffy!” Dawn hollered. “Something's wrong with Spike!”
Buffy jumped as Wesley's door was wrenched open, revealing a shocked Angel. “What the hell is all the screaming about? Is everyone okay?”
“Angel! It's Spike! He's back!” Dawn watched as Angel's face darkened.
“Spike,” he said, his voice menacing. “What are you doing here?”
“I don't rightly know, now do I?” Matt said, becoming angry with the situation. There was a girl standing in shock by the counter, another girl screaming and hugging him, and now this man trying to make him feel threatened. He had definitely not been expecting this. “And why is everyone calling me Spike? My name’s Matt!”
Suddenly, a vamped out Angel was on him, pinning him to the door with an arm across his throat. “You have one second to get out of here, Spike. Otherwise, it's gonna get a little dusty.”
Buffy gasped, forcing herself out of her stupor, running towards the vampires. She grabbed Angel by the back of his shirt, before pulling him off Spike. She kicked him in the chest, sending him through the air, only for him to crash into the floor and slide into the base of the counter.
“Stay. Away. From. Him.” She ground out, before wrapping her hand around Spike's wrist, all but pulling him out of the hotel.
Buffy continued to pull him down the road, thinking of where she could take Spike to talk to him and keep him away from Angel. Thoughts of Dawn crossed her mind for a second, but she knew her sister would be okay. No matter how pissed off Angel was, he wouldn't harm Dawn. Right now, her priorities were with Spike.
“Do you have a place we can go to talk?” Buffy asked, never losing contact with him.
“Why should I tell you?” Matt asked, pulling his wrist out of her grasp. He was still overwhelmed and angry about what had just happened.
Buffy stopped and turned towards him, hurt shining in her eyes. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, sorry for not trusting you. I mean I was just attacked by someone you're associated with. That doesn't exactly make me want to invite you into my house.”
“Okay, you don't trust the person who attacked you. I saved you from him, so I feel that should earn me some trust.”
“Hey! You didn't save anyone! I had the situation under control. I would have dusted the bloody poofter faster than you can flip your hair, Goldilocks.”
Buffy scoffed, trying to ignore the flutter in her belly when he said one of her old nicknames. “Yeah, you sure looked like you were in control. Just tell me where you live, before Angel comes looking for us. I want to know why you don't remember anything.”
“Why was he like that anyway? I didn't do anything wrong.” Matt grumbled, walking past Buffy. “Follow me.”
“He wants you dead, Spike,” she replied, trailing behind him. She wanted nothing more than to reach her hand out and entwine her fingers with his, but she knew he wouldn't be too accepting of that gesture. He didn't know who she was. How was she going to fix this? She didn't know how or why Spike had lost his memories, and it pained her to know he didn't remember her. Everything that they had been through, the good and the bad, had never happened, as far as he was concerned. She didn't know what to do.
“Why? I don't even know the bloody wanker.”
“Some prophecy. He wants to keep us away from each other,” she told him, wrapping her arms around her suddenly cold body.
They walked in silence for a bit, neither knowing what to say. Matt had questions. Lots of questions. How did they know who he was? Were they from his past? Why were they calling him Spike, like that voice in his dreams always did? Why did he feel like he could trust this woman, despite what had happened? And what was this prophecy business all about? He wanted to ask her a thousand questions, but didn't know where to start.
He looked back at her, noticing her shivering and rubbing her arms with her hands, trying to keep warm in the cold night air. “Here,” he said, shrugging out of his duster. “You're cold.”
Buffy looked at the duster, then back up to his eyes. She smiled softly and took the jacket, slipping it on. “Thanks, Spike.” She took a deep breath through her nose, taking in the smell of the leather. 'God, I missed him.'
He stopped walking and spun around to face her. “Why do you keep calling me that? Do you really know me, from before? Was that my name?”
“Yes, your name was and still is Spike. Well, it's actually William, but you always prefered Spike.”
“So, how do you know me, then? Were we lovers?” he asked, arching his eyebrows and tucking his tongue behind his teeth. He had to admit, this woman was bloody gorgeous.
“You could say that, I guess. Are we almost at your place?” she said, trying to change the subject until they were behind closed doors. She didn't want to keep anything secret, she just felt that the conversation concerning their personal past required more privacy.
“Yeah, just around the corner,” he told her, picking up his pace to get there quicker. “When we get there, I'm going to ask you some questions, and I expect an answer for all of them, all right?”
“Yeah, I'll tell you everything you want to know.”
“Why did you do that?” Dawn asked, watching the disgruntled vampire push himself off the floor.
“It's none of your business, Dawn.” he growled, going to the weapons closet. He needed to take care of this. Now.
“Excuse me? That was Spike. And you just went all grrrrr on him for no reason. He came to us for help, even though he doesn't know who we are. You had no right to just--”
“Go do your homework, or something. I'm not in the mood for this.” Angel said, putting his crossbow down for a second to slip on his jacket.
“You're an ass, Angel. The second Buffy decides she doesn't want to wallow in despair because you left her, you go crazy. It’s like—you can't have her, but you want to control her. You just can't let her be happy, can you?” Dawn said as she picked up the papers off the floor. “I hope Spike kills you. Or maybe Buffy. That would be so much better.”
Angel watched in shock as she walked up the stairs. She had never said anything like that to him before. He’d always known that Dawn had a chip on her shoulder when it came to him, but he didn't realize just how much she hated him. He knew he couldn't change that.
What he could change, though, was whether or not Spike lived to see the next day.
He left the Hyperion, taking a deep breath and shaking his shoulders. Extending his vampire senses, he started to look for Spike and Buffy.
TBC