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Chapter 16 – When I Find Her...

Slowly walking into the Hyperion Hotel, Spike was suddenly wishing that he would have waited a little longer to tell Angel about Buffy.

‘Right,’ he thought with a scoff. ‘And then he finds out through one of his sources and wants to hunt you down…I don’t think so.’

“Spike?”

Turning toward the counter, he tried to offer the brunette a small smile.

“Cordelia,” he said, wanting to get on her good side since she might be the only level-headed one in the room after he delivered his news. “You look smashing. Love the hair.”

“Thanks,” she said, giving it a fluff as she walked around the counter. “I’m guessing you’re looking for Angel.”

“What gave it away?” he asked with a smile.

“The fact that you’re…oh my God, is it Buffy?” she asked, suddenly turning into a mother hen at the drop of a hat.

“Something like that,” he muttered, feeling his blood run cold when he heard the voice behind him.

“What about Buffy?”

Turning to face the other man, Spike took a deep breath.

‘Prepare for anything,’ he told himself.

“She, uh…she decided to take a little trip,” he said, hoping to mask the blow just a little bit. Ordinarily he would have loved to have seen his grandsire blow up, but when he was in firing range and when the news was this big, Spike wasn’t going to risk the chance of Angelus briefly emerging to fuel the rage.

“A trip?” Angel asked, raising an eyebrow as he walked down the remaining steps to stand in the lobby.

“Uh…yeah,” Spike offered weakly.

“Oh, for crying out loud!” Cordelia cried, throwing her hands into the air. “You’re telling us that Buffy ran away, aren’t you?”

“She what!?” Angel yelled, advancing on Spike only to be intercepted by Cordelia.

“Honestly, Angel, read between the lines,” Cordy said, rolling her eyes and looking at Spike. “He wouldn’t have made the trip here to tell you that she went on some little trip. He could do that by phone.”

“Where is she?” Angel growled, trying to get around Cordy to get to the blonde.

“Now, if I knew that, do you honestly think I would be here, staring at your ugly face?” Spike retaliated, his brows knit together as he restrained the urge to roll his eyes. He sure as hell wasn’t about to take his gaze off the man in front of him.

“What happened?” Cordy asked, keeping one hand firmly on Angel’s chest as she turned around to face Spike.

Unconsciously feeling Buffy’s note in the pocket of his duster, Spike wasn’t about to give it to him. Angel might be her father, but this was the last link that he had to his girl. Not to mention that he could still smell the slight trace of lotion that had been on her hands, making him want to find her even more and take her in his arms, never letting go.

“She went to go ‘find herself’, whatever that means,” he said with a sigh.

“Where do you think she is?” Angel asked, his eyes darkening as he watched the man in front of him, feeling Cordelia putting a subtle yet restraining hand on his arm.

Spike fought the urge to take a step away. Angelus was lurking too close to the surface for his taste. The soul was obviously doing little to restrain him, but he hoped that Cordelia’s presence would serve its purpose.

“I don’t know,” he said softly, taking a moderate amount of pity on Angel. The man couldn’t even see his daughter, even if that’s what he wanted. Now he didn’t even know where she was or if she was safe. Spike could feel the sorrow that Angel was feeling since it almost equaled his own. “Somewhere crowded,” he continued. “She said she wouldn’t be found until she was ready and she’d call Willow…someday.”

“Someday?”

“I’m just repeating what I know,” Spike replied, growing more frustrated by the moment. He wanted to find Buffy more than anyone and the tone of voice that Angel had, implying that Spike didn’t even care, was grating on his nerves. “If I knew more, if I knew how to get her back, I would.”

“A locator spell,” Cordy said with a smile, looking between both men. “We get Wes and Fred to work up a little bit of mojo, find her, make sure she’s safe and-”

“We’ve thought of that,” Spike interrupted, moderately surprised when Angel continued his thought.

“Willow taught Buffy how to counteract it. It was the safest plan in case anyone was ever trying to track her…I never thought that I would be the one who needed to track her,” he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“We’ll figure something out,” Spike said in a quiet tone, looking outside as he desperately wished for Buffy to walk into the hotel.

‘And when I find her…’

* * * * *

Walking through the streets of Las Vegas, Buffy looked at the neon lights that seemed to be everywhere, causing an explosion of colors to decorate the night sky. After hitchhiking to Los Angeles, which wasn’t the smartest move, but she knew she was strong enough to take care of herself, she had gone to the bus station and bought a ticket for Vegas. She didn’t even want to be in her father’s city, but the idea of hitchhiking to another city wasn’t appealing.

A baseball cap had covered her long blonde hair, and she was fairly confident that she hadn’t been seen.

Buffy didn’t even want to be in Las Vegas- it was too close to California for her liking- but if she was going to be able to live off her money for a long time, she didn’t have the luxury of going wherever she wanted at the drop of a hat.

She’d found a small, cheap studio apartment. It was already furnished, but after she found a job tonight, she was hoping to start saving for a new bed. The apartment was fairly clean, but she shuddered to think what that mattress could be infested with.

Feeling paranoid, Buffy continued to look over her shoulder as she watched the people in the street. She knew that she couldn’t be ‘Buffy Summers’ anymore, and it could draw more attention than she wanted if she went back to ‘Elizabeth Angel’. She hated to think of the demons that could still be after her, even after all these years. Knowing that everyone would be searching for her, using one of the two names, Elizabeth Giles had been born. Buffy was close to Giles, but she knew that no one would ever assume she would take his name. It was time to grow up and start living for who she wanted to be.

It was time to start a new life.



Thanks so much to: Kar, Ariel Dawn, Caitie, bleh, Cordykitten, spufette, Caatje, Lala, Kimber, beasleysmom, Adriana, starhawk, stace, gypsy_jin, Revello_1620, Sevvy_O, Cynthia, blondiebear, daisy, Jessica, Tasha, Reciprocity, pj, Amanda, BuffyandSpikeForever, Spikes Sweety, willowmouse, Rana, shelly, dreamgirl4eva, BuffyRat, Laine, Brunettepet, Jessiesaly & Jade2099 for reviewing!








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