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Spike woke slowly. He lay still for a few moments, coming to consciousness as the harsh, bright lights above him shone in his eyes. He tried to move his limbs, panicking when he couldn't. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or not when he realized he couldn't move not because anything was missing, but because he was strapped to a table.

"I would say you've rejoined the world of the living, Hostile 17, but seeing as that wasn't your world to begin with…"

Spike bristled. If the scent he was now having the displeasure of catching wasn't enough to let him know who had spoken, that smug tone would've been. "Well, if it isn't Agent Finn," Spike said coolly, refusing to let Riley know how nervous he actually was to be back in the Initiative base. "Resorting to kidnapping in order to keep your woman. What a man you are."

"Say whatever you want. It won't bother me. You're just a monster."

"Buffy seemed to think I was a little more than that when she was writing beneath me. That is, unless of course she likes taking it from a monster."

Riley came out of the shadows then, coming towards Spike angrily. "You shut up! If you say anything like that about Buffy again, I'll…"

Forrest stepped forward them, placing his hand firmly on Riley's shoulder. "Take it easy, man. He's just trying to bait you. Don't let him."

Riley gave Forrest a terse nod, stepping away from Spike again. "Come on," he said to his friend. "Let's just leave the hostile for now."

Forrest nodded back, know that getting Riley away from Hostile 17 was probably the best idea right then anyway. "Yeah. Professor Walsh wanted our report."

Spike heard the door shut and knew he was alone again. He struggled against his bonds, but they were obviously designed to restrain a creature as strong as a vampire. He slumped, fighting against the feeling of defeat that was creeping up on him.

Spike wondered idly if Buffy would save him. He decided she most likely wouldn't, and that thought hurt him deeply. He figured that even if Buffy did discover something had happened to him, she would simply be grateful that he was finally out of her life. After all, she had been dating the soldier boy. For all he knew, Buffy could be all for shoving chips in vampire brains. Made her job a bit easier.

Spike lay still on the table, fighting the urge to fidget since he knew it would just be a waste of energy. He needed to stay alert, bide his time until an opportunity to escape presented itself.

*** *** ***

It had been almost three days since Buffy had last seen Spike, and, as much as she hated to admit it, his absence was bothering her. She's spent extra time the last couple nights patrolling his cemetery, secretly disappointed when she didn't run into him.

Finally, she decided to go to his crypt after her morning classes. Buffy told herself that she was going not because she wanted to see him, but because if Spike was this quiet, then he must be up to no good, and it was her sacred duty as the Slayer to investigate. Yes, she concluded, that seemed like a good excuse, er, reason.

Buffy burst into Spike's crypt, calling his name. When he didn't answer, she called louder. Still nothing. Buffy frowned. She thought she remembered there being a second level to his crypt, but she wasn't sure. Could he be down there?

Buffy wondered if maybe he'd gone out. Sure, it was the middle of the day, but if there ever was a vampire to flaunt his flammability, it was Spike. She could wait for him, talk to him when he got back. About all the evil he was plotting, of course.

Buffy looked down at her watch, her eyes growing wide and the color draining from her face as she saw what time it was. Quickly, she turned and ran from the crypt.

*** *** ***

"Professor Walsh, I'd like to speak to you about Hostile 17."

Maggie Walsh looked up from the files she had been going over before Riley had entered the office. She folded her hands neatly in front of her. "Speak then."

"Why has he not been terminated?"

Maggie sighed. "While it is not your place to question me, I will tell you this—we have not finished out examination of the HST. We would like to have more time to study this breed of hostile in depth."

"Why?" Riley asked. "He's a parasite, feeding off the blood of other creatures. He's no better than a flea."

"The reasons we have for this are none of your concern, Agent Finn. You are dismissed."

"Professor Walsh…"

"You are dismissed!"

Riley's mouth snapped shut before he could say anything else. He gave a terse nod and walked out of the office.

Maggie turned back to her work.

*** *** ***

"Something terrible has happened to Spike! We have to get the group together and look for him right now!"

Giles walked from the kitchen into the living room as Buffy burst into his apartment, yelling frantically. "Buffy, what on earth are you going on about?"

"Spike! I went to his crypt, and he's gone! Something horrible has to have happened!"

"Now there's no point in jumping to conclusions. If Spike is not in his crypt, then I'm sure he has simply found some other place to attempt to wreak havoc."

"But look at the time, Giles!"

"The time? What does the time have to do with anything?"

"Passions is on! Spike wouldn't leave his crypt during Passions. He doesn't have a VCR!"

"Perhaps he's joined a vampire soap opera fan club, and is watching with them."

"That was sarcasm! I can't believe you're being so flippant about this!"

"And I can't believe you're taking it all so seriously. Honestly, Buffy, I'm not even convinced Spike is in need of any sort of help. For all we know, he could have finally decided to leave us and Sunnydale alone. And even if he is in trouble, I don't see how it's any concern of ours. We've already helped Spike more than we ever should have."

"How can you say that? Spike helped you when you were a Fyarl demon. He needs us now."

"Buffy…"

"No! Look, I know Spike's in trouble. I can feel it, Giles. We have to find him before it's too late."

"You can 'feel' it? Buffy, whatever do you mean by that?"

"Spike and I…" Buffy held her head up, suddenly sick of the denials. "Spike and I slept together."

Giles shifted. "Buffy, I know, the Mauruk demon…"

"No, Giles, since then. Several times, actually."

Giles tore his glasses from his face. "Oh, good lord."

"Please don't get all freaked out on me."

"Freaked out? Dammit, Buffy, I thought you would've learned your lesson on sleeping with vampires."

Buffy tried not to show how much his words hurt. It wasn't the time for that. "Look, either you help me, or I go search for Spike myself. He's in trouble, Giles. I haven't seen him in three days. Spike wouldn't just disappear like that."

Giles wanted to protest more, but he knew his Slayer well enough to know she wasn't going to let this go. "Call the others," he said, his tone not hiding his dislike of the idea.

Buffy went straight to the phone, calling both Xander and Willow.

*** *** ***

Riley knew the last place he needed to be was Professor Walsh's office—especially since Walsh wasn't there. But something about their conversation earlier had left him unsettled. What good could possibly come from keeping a hostile around like that, especially one that had already escaped once? Riley had never been one to question the higher ups, but in this case, he felt the compelling need to make an exception. Professor Walks had seemed to be hiding something, and that scared him more than the thought of a court martial.

The files Walsh had been reading were still on her desk in a manila folder. They were marked "classified," and Riley bristled at the professor's lack of protocol. Why would she leave important papers like this out in the open? Riley was surprised at the answer his own mind provided for him: arrogance.

Riley stood still for a moment, listening carefully to make sure no one was coming. When he was sure it was safe to do so, he opened the folder. He skimmed the top of the papers inside, words jumping out at him. Hostiles. Behavior modification. Microchip.

Then, he read something that made him grow pale. Riley knew then that something had to be done about Spike—and fast.

*** *** ***

"So you're telling me the reason you called us over here is to save Spike because he missed Passions?"

"See, Xander, this is why I didn't tell you the details over the phone," Buffy said. "We don't have time to discuss this."

Xander paced Giles's living room. "No, Buffy, we have to discuss this because I'm not quite clear on everything. This Spike is bleach blond, leather clad, blood-sucking fiend Spike, correct?"

"Yes. And you might want to add 'Buffy's boyfriend' to that list," Buffy replied.

Xander stopped pacing, and the way his eyes bugged out would have struck Buffy as comical at any other time. After a moment of sputtering, Xander managed to respond with a very articulate, "Huh?"

Buffy waved her hand dismissively. "Look, we have more important matters right now, but yeah, Spike and I slept together."

"I was here for the Mauruk demon, Buffy. You don't have to remind me of that."

Buffy rolled her eyes. As much as Giles complained about Xander, they could be dense in the exact same way sometimes. "No, after that. But…" Buffy tried to steer the conversation away from her recent sexual escapades and back to the fact that her partner in said escapades was missing, but Xander had apparently moved past his initial shock and on to anger.

"You've been doing that with the evil undead, and you didn't feel the need to tell any of us about it?"

Willow raised her hand meekly from where she was seated on the couch. "Um, I knew."

Xander looked at Willow, hurt in his eyes. "You've been keeping this a secret? God, Will, what if he'd hurt Buffy? I mean, given her track record, I guess it's not that surprising that she'd do this, but I thought you were smarter than that."

At Xander's last statement, Giles went for his scotch. The day's events were quickly becoming more than he cared to handle sober.

"Excuse me?" Buffy yelled. "My track record?" She stalked towards Xander, the look in her eyes pinning him to the spot. "Let's talk about yours, shall we? Bug lady. Inca mummy girl. Cordelia. Your choice in dates hasn't exactly been stellar either."

"Yeah, well, those can all be chalked up to my stupidity!" Xander said in lame self defense. He frowned for a second as he realized what he'd just said, then continued. "But you! You knew Angel and Spike were vampires, and you still had sex with them. I've heard of loving your work, Buff, but this…"

Buffy opened her mouth to retort, but Willow jumped between them. "Enough! We're not here to discuss Buffy's love life; we're here to help Spike. And yes, before either of the men in this room says anything, I think that is something we should be doing. Yeah, Spike's a vampire, but he's also someone we know. And it's ridiculous for you, Xander, to compare Spike to Angelus, because from what I've seen, they're two very different people. Spike wouldn't hurt Buffy. Not now."

"Willow, that's just because of the chip."

"No, Xander," Willow snapped. "I've been watching Spike ever since he got the chip—hell, even before, and I've seen there's more to him than just a monster. The way he cried over Drusilla for one thing. Yes, he had a broken bottle in my face, but he also didn't torture me with it—the way Angelus probably would have. I'm not saying that Spike's exactly good, but he loves Buffy, and if she'd quit being so stubborn about the whole thing, she'd realize she's in love with him, too. So, now we're all going to settle down, find Spike, and save him. Is everyone clear on that?"

Giles and Xander nodded numbly, taken aback by the sudden wrath of Willow.

Buffy looked at Willow in confusion. "I'm in love with Spike?"

Willow cocked an eyebrow at her friend. "Well, duh."

Buffy thought about that for a moment, trying to reconcile the words "love" and "Spike" in her mind. She still wasn't certain about it, but it didn't seem as incongruous as she would've thought. But it wasn't the time for her to sort that out. Once she had Spike back, they could work things out together. She slipped back into her "Slayer mode."

"Okay, now that all that's settled, we're gonna look for Spike. I figure we should start by checking out the places where he likes to hang out, asking around to see if anyone's seen him recently. Anyone have any arguments with that?" When her friends were silent at her last question, Buffy added, "All right then, let's do this."

*** *** ***

Spike sat in the corner of a tiny, dark cell—what he figured was probably the Initiative's version of solitary confinement. He'd been shaking for a while now, but he'd reached a point where he didn't notice it. All he could think about was the hunger.

They hadn't let him feed since they'd brought him in. Not even the drugged blood from before. He hoped they knew enough about vampires not to think starvation would kill him. He'd rather be staked than have to suffer like this indefinitely. Although he'd heard that eventually, there would be hallucinations. Maybe that would allow him some sort of comfort.

Perhaps they didn't know what happened to vampires when they were kept away from blood, and that's why they were doing this to him. Could he be an experiment? Scientists could've been monitoring him, scribbling down any outward signs of his agony.

Spike didn't care. All he could think of was blood. Any blood. Human, pig, rat, he didn't care.

Occasionally, thoughts of Buffy drifted into his mind, and he fought to push them away. He couldn't seem to focus on good things—the sound of her laugh, the feel of her lips when she let him kiss her. Instead, all he could see was the anger in her eyes when she turned him away. He needed her to save him, to drag him out of this hell, and he ached with the belief that that would never happen.

Spike stared forward, his body trembling.

*** *** ***

Buffy sat with Willow at the table outside Giles's apartment. They'd been searching for Spike for hours, and they'd had no luck. Surprisingly, Xander had agreed to wait at Spike's crypt and let them know if he showed up, although Buffy had no hope that Spike would. Only one place had not been searched, and Buffy had a sinking feeling that that was exactly where Spike was.

The Initiative base.

The thought of Spike being locked in some military instillation having who knows what happen to him made Buffy feel cold inside. She wanted to cry, but she knew that would only be a waste of energy now. She'd left a message on Riley's pager, but she doubted he'd call back. Even if Spike was with the Initiative, why would Riley help them? Buffy knew that in all honesty, Riley had most likely had something to do with it.

Buffy looked over at Willow. The young witch was watching Buffy, a look of concern on her face. She had tried to help Buffy find Spike without question, even defending their relationship to Giles and Xander earlier. Buffy couldn't express how grateful she was for Willow's support, but she still wondered what made her so willing to stand up for whatever is was Buffy had with Spike.

"Willow, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Buffy. What is it?"

"Why?"

Willow blinked. "Why what?"

"Why are you so okay with this?"

"Buffy, you're going to have to stop with the cryptic, 'cause I'm sort of a confused Willow right now."

"Why did you stand up for me and Spike earlier?"

Willow looked down at her hands for a moment before answering. "Because I know what it's like to be in a relationship with someone that other people may not approve of."

"You mean Oz?"

A pause. "No."

"Okay, now I'm the confused one."

Willow sat up straight again. "You haven't met her, but I've talked about her a few times—Tara, from my Wicca group."

"Yeah, I remember you mentioning her, why…" Buffy stopped as realization set in. "Oh. Wow."

"Yeah. You're…you're not freaked, are you?"

"No. Surprised, yeah, but not freaked. When did this happen?"

"I don't know. It just did. It's all sorta new—that's why I didn't say anything before. But I…I think I'm falling in love with her, Buffy."

Buffy gave Willow a genuine smile. "I'm happy for you then. I was worried about you when Oz left, but I'm glad to see you've found someone who makes you happy." Buffy gave her a mock-stern look. "But I do want to meet this young woman, make sure she's good enough for my Willow."

Willow chuckled. "I'll introduce you. I was just…well, afraid of how you all would look at me if I told you."

"Believe me, I can relate. But I'm your friend no matter what, Willow." She reached across the table, giving Willow's hand a small squeeze.

"And I'm yours no matter what, too, Buffy. If you want to get involved with another vampire, well, I trust you. I may hide any goldfish I happen to buy, but…"

Buffy laughed. "I promise your goldfish are safe. And thank you, for being so understanding."

"You, too. Now if I can just work up the courage to tell Xander…"

"He'll still love you, too, Will. He may ask if he can watch, but he'll still love you."

Willow laughed, then sobered. "I'm sorry we still haven't found Spike, but we will. I can possibly try another locator spell. I know the last one didn't turn out so well, but…"

"No, that's okay. I think I know where he is anyway. The only problem is going to be finding some way to get to him."

"Buffy?"

Willow and Buffy both jerked around, staring at the man who now stood in front of them. Buffy's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Riley."

*** *** ***

Sorry that took so long. I had writer's block, tests and papers, then a bit of financial trouble, and then a big mess with some other stuff. Ugh. Anyway, I know where I'm going with this story now, so hopefully I'll have the next chapter up a whole lot sooner.

Please review!





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