AN: Obviously some stuff taken from Chosen and Just Rewards, then maybe some later episodes of Angel S5 as we go along.

~Chapter One~

Sunnydale - Summers House - Basement

It was dark and quiet in the house, and yet Buffy couldn't sleep. She turned over and looked at Spike, tried to snuggle closer hoping it would help. Finally, she got up and wandered around the basement for awhile until she felt ready to go back to sleep on the cot with Spike. Of course, The First had to show its face... or rather, Caleb and her own face... But, in the end she was hit with an idea. She smirked and walked back over to the cot when Spike beckoned to her. This time more at peace now that she realized they were going to win. Good did win over evil, at least this time.

She could sleep now and she could thank The First. Odd.

She woke up early the next morning, and yet again lay there staring at the ceiling. This time for a whole new reason. She glanced over at Spike and sighed. Last night, with him so pissy about the kiss with Angel and hurt... she had given him the necklace to help boost his ego back up as she called him a Champion as well. She hadn't been lying, she truly thought him the type to use his soul for good and all that... and not just because he was cursed with it. That made him even better than Angel in her book, and it was a shame he couldn't see that for himself. But, now, she knew she couldn't make such an important decision on just how it would put a little smile on his face and spring in his step to be reminded he was a champion and could wear the amulet.

She had a soul and she was stronger than a human. They also didn't know what that thing would do to the person who wore it... or at least if Angel knew, he didn't share. She really wouldn't put it past him to have hinted at her giving it to Spike because he knew it would kill him. Really... the way he had acted right afterwards had proved it... and Spike had been no better... She glanced over at the punching bag with the funny caricature of Angel's face still on it.

A small sigh escaped her as she looked at Spike again. No, she had to wear it, not him... and it didn't matter if he gave her the hurt puppy face again. She couldn't give into it and risk so much just for that momentary ego boost for him.

So, her hand slid down his arm to his hand where the amulet was still clasped firmly. She took it and stuck it in her pocket, then got up to go gather the Scoobies. She needed to tell them the idea that had come to her the night before and boost their morale the way it had boosted hers. Also, they would be able to help her work out the logistics of the plan and put it into action. She nodded and headed upstairs after giving Spike a soft kiss.

*****

Los Angeles - Wolfram and Hart - Angel's Office

"We need to be ready for whatever comes our way," Angel told his trusted few before turning towards his desk.

He saw the curious envelope on it and picked it up. No return address. Hmmm. He shook it and held it to his ear in a needless gesture because of his vampire hearing, then held it up to the light. Nope, too dark of envelope. Well, might as well take the risk and open it. He tore off the end and shook it out onto his desk.

Immediately, dust shot out and formed a small skeletal figure. The figure filled out until it became a petite blonde in a horrified pose looking upward. The slayer. Buffy. A scream erupted out of her lungs as soon as they finished forming and became functional. Then she stopped when she noticed there was a roof above her and not the shaft of light coming down through the stairs. She looked around the room slowly at the small crowd of people, somewhat familiar to her as her brain began to jog a bit.

"Buffy," Angel finally gasped as the air stilled again.

Her terrified gaze swung towards him swiftly when she heard his voice. "Wh-what am I doing here?" Her lips trembled and she looked down at herself in her dirty jeans and blouse. She lifted her hands in front of her and then looked at him again. "What happened to me?"

"You... you died... or at least we thought you died," he stepped towards her. "The Hellmouth collapsed in on itself. Sunnydale's completely gone... just a big hole." His hand reached out to touch her tentatively, but it passed right through her. "That can't be good."

"So we won...?" She swallowed and watched his hand pass through her arm. There was a slight tingling, but that was all either of them felt. "I'm... I'm a ghost... oh gawd... this is worse than the last time I died."

"I have all of Wolfram and Hart at my disposal... surely someone will be able to think of something." Angel turned to Fred and Wesley. "You guys take her to the lab and do some tests."

Buffy glanced shyly at them and wondered what sort of tests they would be running. The other two nodded and motioned for her to follow them. Angel walked beside her solemnly. She looked up at him, a little uneasy since the last time she had been there he had told her to take a hike and stay out of LA. Was he going to set her right and then send her on her way again? Where would she go if Sunnydale was gone... where were her friends? Oh gawd, were they even alive?

"Angel... the others... did they make it out okay?" She asked worriedly.

He looked down at her, thinking quickly. They had for the most part made it. Anya had died and so did half the potential slayers that she had been training, but besides that they had made it out okay. That included Spike, who she would surely run to the minute they figured out how to give her a solid form again. Cookie dough be damned, he wasn't going to give up the chance to have her to himself for awhile. So he thought up a lie quickly that he figured would keep her there. Not like she could check it out as a ghost.

"No, they didn't. We found out about the collapse and assumed it happened during your battle since it happened the day after I gave you that amulet. You stopped the first, but apparently didn't have time to get yourselves out of there. I told you to give it to Spike, but for once I'm glad you ignored what I said and wore it yourself or I'd have him here right now," he laughed faintly to lighten the heavy news he had just delivered.

She stopped and crumpled to her knees, clutching her chest at the pain that filled it. She felt like she couldn't breathe, which was funny since she was a ghost. But, all the feelings felt as real as if she were still alive. Her friends were dead... and Dawn... she let out a distraught cry and clawed at the carpet. Angel tried to pull her up to comfort her, forgetting that he couldn't touch her until his hands went right through the weeping figure of his former lover. He almost felt bad for lying to her, but once they got her body back he would be there to comfort her and help her move past this.

Wes pulled him away from Buffy as she sat there crying and looked up at him with a chastising frown. "Why have you lied to her?" He asked in a harsh whisper. "She'll surely find out about it eventually. This is beyond cruel."

"She won't be able to check the story out while as a ghost and I will make damn sure that continues. I want her to stay here, with us. You will make sure the others understand this as well. Once she is back to normal, she'll be able to help us here."

"Oh, and the fact that you can swoop in and comfort her, hopefully rekindling a relationship didn't sway your decision at all." He gave him a withering disappointed look.

"Just make sure everyone else knows not to tell her any different than what I have told her." Angel said firmly and then went to kneel in front of Buffy.

*****

Buffy sat on a stool and watched Fred as the mousy looking woman scanned her with some handheld device. She reached up and brushed her hair out of her face, noticing how limp and grungy it looked. Same as her clothes, dusty as if she had just been in the battle under the school just moments before. It felt like just moments ago... She sighed and wondered if ghosts were allowed long hot showers.

She glanced over at Angel, who was watching as Fred scanned her. She remembered what he had said in the office when she first came back and glanced around the very expensive looking surroundings again. Her brain started to waken and work a bit more, like she had been sleeping deeply. She remembered that feeling from the last time she had died, it took her awhile to come back to herself.

"You said... Wolfram and Hart... that's where we are and... you're in charge? I thought they... you know, were the bad guys." She asked with a slight frown.

"They are, were, but I'm in charge now and that's all going to change." He crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the desk. "It'll give me more resources for the fight against evil. You'd be a great help. I'm hoping you'll stay once we figure out how to get you back."

"I'll think about it," she shrugged and looked back at Fred as the brunette finished scanning her.

Fred walked over to the computer to analyze the data she collected. "Okay then, that's weird." She blinked and tapped a few keys, but got the same result. She looked over at Buffy. "I'm getting electromagnetic readings which is normal around spiritual entities, but there's no ectoplasmic matrix. Very odd..."

"Okay, now in stupid people terms for the college dropout here..."

She rolled her eyes and pushed her glasses back up her nose. "Ectoplasm's what makes ghosts visible. If you're a ghost, we shouldn't be able to see you." She looked at Angel over her shoulder and pointed at the computer screen. "And I picked up brainwave activity of all things... very very odd..."

"At least we know it works." Buffy made a face.

"Anything else?" Wesley came up behind her to look over her shoulder. "You're getting a body temperature reading? But don't ghosts normally... I mean..."

"Yes," Fred nodded vigorously and motioned at Buffy. "That's another thing! Just like in ghost stories and stuff like that, there's talk of cold spots where the spirits are. That's because they absorb heat energy to keep them going since its not like they can eat. They also sometimes absorb light energy which is why sometimes they create a slight shadowy area or refract it to make orbs. But it's much the opposite with her! She gives off a body heat signature!"

"So, its like she's there, just not?" Angel looked confused and glanced past them at Buffy. "Is that good or bad news for the goal of making her solid again?"

"I won't know until I do some research on making beings like her corporeal again. We'll see what it says about making ghosts corporeal and then see what that might mean for her. We might still be able to treat her like a ghost in that respect, even if she is a very odd ghost."

"I always was special," the petite blonde rolled her eyes and slid off the stool.

Wesley was holding up the amulet and studying it. "I would say she's connected with the amulet, since it seems its been storing her essence since she wore it back at the Hellmouth. Destroying it might release her completely, but we do not know if it would do that or simply destroy her completely. I wouldn't want to do something so rash, so for now I will find a place down here to keep it safe." He walked off to find a storage unit to lock it in.

"Okay, so how did it go from being buried in the rubble deep inside the Hellmouth to being on my desk in an envelope?" Angel asked, looking over at Fred.

She shrugged. "The Powers... they think she still has work to do here... a destiny to fulfill?"

"I'm used to the whole not resting in peace by now..." Her fingers worried the end of her blouse. "Don't suppose a grubby ghost could take a shower? And how do I still have clothes... do my clothes have spirits too?" She lifted her hands in a spooky gesture and spoke in a eerie voice, "I am the ghost of the dress you wore last Tuuuuesdaaaaaay."

Fred giggled and straightened her glasses.

"I mean really, if its just because of some weird image thing... you think I would get CLEAN clothes and have ME be clean. Don't they usually appear with the whole ethereal light and long flowing white robe deal?"

"Actually, most entities appear the same way they were at the time of death... if they're tied to this plain. Usually with their death wound at times. It's very gruesome." Fred shook her head.

"Then shouldn't I be standing here with burnt crispy skin?"

"Is that how you... you know..." the brunette wrinkled her nose and waved a hand uncomfortably.

"There was this light that suddenly came down the shaft onto me... and the amulet reflected it out to kill all the uuber vamps that were crawling out. They just kept coming and coming... but the light and they started dusting, and the others started retreating when the place started shaking. Spike wanted to stay... but I... not like it mattered I guess..." She turned away to wipe away the tears that had started to fall. "The light burned... was so intense and eventually it felt like I was on fire... then I think I was... that's all I remember..."

Angel started to head towards her. "Buffy..."

"No, please-" she was cut off when she faded from view.

"Buffy!" He spun around, looking around for any sign of her. Then he looked to Fred again as Wesley came rushing back in after hearing Angel's yelling. "Fred, what happened... is she still here... are you getting any readings at all??"

"Let me just have a look see..." She picked up the scanner again, but froze same as the other two when Buffy appeared across the room from where she disappeared.

"I can't..." she trailed off when she noticed she had moved. She looked at them and her brows went up. "What with the huh?"

"Our thoughts, exactly." Wesley stated and looked over Fred's shoulder at the scanner to see if she had picked up anything when Buffy had reappeared. "I hope that's just a side effect of being a ghost... but we can't be too sure. Rest assured, we'll hurry our research along just in case that's a really bad sign of something."

The slayer swallowed and looked between the three. "Well I really hope it's not..." She looked down and wrinkled her nose at her appearance again. "So, whatever Fred said earlier about my appearance... does that mean I'm stuck looking like something that cat drug in?"

"Maybe if you work on concentrating? I mean, ghosts do little tricks all the time such as changing their appearance and sometimes if they're powerful they can take possession of people." Fred nodded, giving her a small hopeful smile. "But, for now, we'll be down here working on this little problem and Angel can show you around." She looked over at the silently brooding vampire and nodded.

"Oh, yeah... sure." He straightened and motioned for Buffy to follow him. "I can also have someone make you up one of the suites upstairs for your use."

"Thanks." Buffy offered them each a small smiled and then followed Angel out of the lab.

*****

Angel knocked on the suite door softly before sticking his head inside. "Buffy?"

She came out of the bathroom and offered him a small smile. "I think I got the hang of that concentrating thing. Took me twenty-two years, but I got it." She chuckled and motioned to her now clean jeans and shirt. "Next, I'll work on my face and my hair."

"I think you look pretty even covered in dirt." He walked closer. "God Buffy, I wish I could touch you. This is torture."

"Oh yeah, and its peachy for me. I'm the one who's dead," Then she blinked as she realized who she said that to. "-er... deader... you know what I mean." She rolled her eyes.

"I know. I didn't mean to imply... I just meant," he swallowed and tried to collect what he wanted to say, his little practiced speech out the window now and forgotten. "You're in pain... hurting... and I want to comfort you... but I can't. It's hard... because I care for you so much and it's killing me to see you like that."

She offered a small, wavering smile. "I'm tough, I'll get on with it eventually. I just need some time... and no offense, but preferably alone."

"Oh, no problem." He glanced away to hide the disappointment. "But, I'll be here. I'm always here and you know where to find me if you need anything. I always got time for you." He looked at her again and gave her a small smile before leaving the suite again.

With him gone, she finally deflated and sat on the end of the bed. She put her face in her hands again and heaved a big sigh. She finally realized that she loved Spike, only to lose him and be stuck with the guy she had blown off. Was this some sort of cosmic joke? Were The Powers just resorting to cruel jokes now? She growled and grabbed a vase off the table, chucking it at the wall angrily. The crash brought her back to herself and she blinked at the broken shards. She had just touched something. Fred had mentioned concentrating... but wanting it bad enough must be a factor too... having a strong will for it to happen and the energy to do it. She smiled and momentarily felt a bit better as she figured out something for herself, meaning she could finish with the whole changing her appearance project and she headed into the bathroom to put her new knowledge to use.

She finally got the dirt off and she looked all shower fresh without the trouble of showering. Her hair looked better and she tilted her head. Maybe she should change her look up a bit then, if she could do more than just get herself clean. It would help the moving on process if she didn't have to constantly see herself as she looked that day.

*****

The next night, Buffy wandered down to Spike's office after a day of exploring Wolfram and Hart. She even tried leaving the building a bit to take a look around outside, but the further she got from the law firm the more the uneasy feeling in her gut grew. So she didn't stay outside long and came back inside for more exploring.

She was bored and the day before Angel had mentioned briefly something about helping his people here. She figured she would see if there was anything up that she could lend her two cents to as that was about all she could do at the moment until they finally returned her to normal.

At Angel's office door she paused as Harmony motioned a couple men into the office who were carrying buckets of some viscous red fluid. Her mind refused to believe what it was at first and absurdly wondered why they were taking red pain into Angel's office, but the bucket with the yellow tie coming out of it hammered it home for her. Her stomach rolled and she felt like she was going to throw up, even if she wasn't sure it was possible she could anymore.

Harmony was watching her when she lifted her face, getting a grip on the nausea. The blonde vampire wrinkled her nose at the slayer. "They said you were back... also word was you and Spike were knocking boots. That is so... just so ew..." She turned to walk back towards her desk. "Just ew... that he would even touch you... slayer loving freak... I mean, that whole sick obsession was one thing... ugh..."

Buffy growled softly and nearly went to yell at her to shut up about Spike. That was the love of her life... who had died saving the world... and Harmony was bad talking them both as if she were better than them. She just shook her head instead, deciding to just ignore it... not like she could really give the brat the throttling she deserved anyways. Maybe concentrate enough to get one good hit in, but if Buffy did that she would only want to continue and work out her stress.

She stepped into Angel's office and avoided looking at the buckets on his desk. "Trouble in paradise?" She asked and leaned her hip against the wall.

He was looking at the file Gunn had handed him. "Been enacting reforms to this place to change it to my liking as best as I can. I shut down the Grave Robbing department that was supplying some local necromancer with bodies. I sent one of my employees to tell him that he was no longer represented by us... apparently he never heard that you shouldn't shoot the messenger... or eviscerate him..."

"Yuck much..." she wrinkled her nose.

"You changed you hair," he commented as he finally looked up again. "It's pretty."

She reached up to touch her shoulder length waves. "I kinda liked it about this length when I cut it short a year or so ago. Lot easier for the fighting and upkeep... and not so much weight for my head to lug around." She shrugged. "Wonder if when you guys turn me back... if you do... that I will take the form of however I am when you do your thing or I'll be like I was when I first came out of the amulet."

"I don't know. You can ask Fred that later, but for now, I have to go pay a visit to this necromancer guy." He looked over at Gunn. "Make sure he got the message loud and clear that we won't put up with this. His behavior proves he wasn't up to any good with the dead bodies he was receiving and I should go make sure whatever he's doing stops."

"Um, hello... am I the only one with brainwaves in the room?" She waved a hand at them. "Necromancer... guy with control over the dead... you're dead... that would only be dumber if you were taking me in as backup or Harmony. How about you think before you act for once and take some living back up at least. So they WON'T be a friggin' target for the necromancer guy!" She rolled her eyes at him and turned to leave the office.

Angel sighed and looked at Gunn. "Fine. You and Wes are coming with me." He turned and motioned them to follow him to the elevators.

Buffy headed for the lab to check on Fred's progress. Not like she had anything else to do but remind the girl what she was working towards and be there to answer any questions. Maybe she could help. It was a big maybe, but hey. She walked into the lab and headed over to the desk the mousy brunette was working at.

"Got anything good so far?" She asked.

Fred jerked. "Oh my! Please don't scare me like that again." She turned around in her seat and frowned, glancing around confused. Buffy wasn't there.

~Chapter Two~

AN: No! There will be no Bangel! Blech! *runs off to puke* Oh, and some bits from Life of the Party this time. Don't worry, she'll probably become corporeal in the next chapter and Spike will arrive soon after.

AN2: I'm sorry for the delay, but my fifteen year old cocker spaniel, Sebastien, died. As I'm only 22, you can imagine I have had this dog most of my young life. He passed away in his sleep after going to the dish to get a drink of water and my brother who had been watching him while my parents were out of town found him when he woke up. My mother came home and buried him with his favourite blanket out in her flower garden. This a very bad week as it is my brothers birthday on Saturday and the day before his birthday is the anniversary of a very bad car wreck I had. So just know, if any of you know me, I'm probably going to be in a very bad mood this week.

The whole crew was sitting around a park bench after dark in a park across town from the Wolfram and Hart offices. They had to wait for dark so that Angel could leave the offices and across town because, as they explained to Buffy, they weren't so naive to think that just because Angel was in charge of the evil law firm didn't mean things were going to be sunshine and rainbows. They wanted to meet where they could talk without fear of being spied on. So, they used the excuse for a small friendly picnic now and then. They snuck out in ones and twos, were careful to make sure they weren't followed, and Fred usually scanned them for any tracking or spying devices. Buffy watched them pass around the Chinese take-out and nibbled her lower lip, wishing she could eat one of her favourite foods with them.

Being a ghost these many weeks had been so dreary and boring. All she was able to do was wander about the building and watch the others doing things that she couldn't anymore. Not to mention, their camaraderie made her hurt at times as she missed that with her friends. She shoved the memories aside as she usually did, trying to avoid the pain she hadn't wanted to deal with since Angel first told her that everyone had given their lives to stop the first back in Sunnydale. It's not like they weren't all aware of the possibility going into the battle... but apparently part of her had thought someone would have gotten out alive... she sighed and glanced away with a frown. She wasn't going to turn into a bigger brooding freak than Angel...

She reached out and concentrated, grabbing a noodle from Fred's chopsticks and surprising the girl. She floated it along back towards her perch at the end of the bench, but almost there she suddenly disappeared again and the noodle dropped onto Angel's hair. He looked up, thinking she had done it on purpose but noticed she wasn't there.

"She disappeared again hasn't she?" he asked the others, who nodded and he heaved a deep sigh. "She's been doing that a lot lately... more and more and for longer periods. This can't be a good sign." He looked at Fred while picking the noodle out of his hair. "Have you found ANYTHING yet?"

Fred handed him a napkin and shrugged, "I think I've got some good leads... and I'm working very hard... which isn't making her corporeal, I know... but I'm doing my best, I really am."

Wes leaned forward and looked up at Angel with stern eyes. "I'm not caring for the lies you told her. For all we know, that's why she's fading away! Haven't you ever heard of people dying of a broken heart... letting themselves fade away after the death of loved ones? And even if she's fading for some other reason, she most likely won't want to fight it very hard if she thinks that she'd be joining her friends if she passed on finally."

"I understand... which is why we must give her a reason to stay her. Make her understand how much we want her to stay here. How much we could use her help," Angel told him and wiped the duck sauce off his forehead.

"Or we could just tell her the truth. Its been what... a couple months since she showed up... that's better than her finding out a year or more down the road!" Wes started to get up, tossing down his chopsticks.

Angel's hand shot out and grabbed his shirt, tugging him back down. "Listen to this, I'm in charge here and what I say goes. If you don't like it, then you can leave... leave your posh apartment and the big bucks you're making with us. Your nice office with all its resources and your company car. Not to mention, leaving would mean that you wouldn't be able to continue helping Fred with getting Buffy back to normal." He hissed and leaned in close.

"Boys boys..." Lorne laid a hand on Angel's arm. "Let's play nicely. We need to be united to keep the evil baddies at bay." He looked at Wes, "Just do your best with Fred to get Buffy back to normal as soon as possible and once she's solid again we can see about getting Angel to fess up."

"Fine," Wes tugged his shirt free and got up, motioning to Fred to come with him. "But I'm still worried it won't do much good if she's letting herself fade away because of the lie he told." He turned and walked back towards the law firm with Fred hurrying to catch up.

Angel's eyes went to Gunn. "Keep an eye on him when you can. Make sure he doesn't try anything."

*****

Buffy was doing her usual wandering around the offices, trying to alleviate her usual boredom and avoid the bad maudlin thoughts that plagued her when she was alone and her brain was idle. She found herself in Lorne's office with him bent over something scribbling furiously. He was kind of nice and she liked him somewhat. So she bent to glance over his shoulder curiously.

"What're you up to there?" she asked.

"Oh, honeybuff, you need to stop startling a poor demon." He chuckled as he looked up.

"Well, you would've noticed me if you weren't so preoccupied with whatever you've got there. What's so interesting?" She sat on the corner of his desk and smoothed her skirt over her knees. "Something to keep a poor ghosty from being bored?"

"Oh, of course! I'm in charge of planning the annual Halloween Party here this year. It's going to be spectacular! I hope you'll attend. You can lift your spirits for a bit..." he paused and chuckled. "Sorry, figure of speech there... but I guess I'm hoping to lift one spirit." He reached up and made a motion to chuck her chin, pretending he could touch her.

"I don' know. Though, Halloween always was like my big day off cause all the monsters took the night off as well." She shrugged and then chuckled lightly, "No offense about the monster comment. But yeah, and when I did go out on Halloween it usually ended badly. I think I might just huddle in some dark corner somewhere and hope nothing bad happens..." She looked down at the floor.

"Sweetycakes... you should come! You'll even be my special guest for the night!" He smiled and dipped his head to get into her line of vision. "You just need to forget about everything for at least one night and let go, have fun!"

She smiled faintly. "I'll try. Best I can give you."

"That's good enough for me. But if you're not there, I'm coming after you." He laughed and motioned for her to go. "Now let me finish with all this last minute stuff and get all dolled up for tonight with your concentrating thing."

*****

Lorne looked around the party with a frown. No one was dancing... except for Harmony... He went through the crowd, trying to get people to dance. He briefly ran into Wes and Fred, disappointed with the two wallflowers huddling in the corner and commented that they needed to get some alcohol in them to loosen them up a bit. He turned from them and bumped into the ever-brooding leader, this time over some advances that Eve seemed to be trying to make. Honestly, was Lorne the only one who was able to see sense. He gave tall-dark-and-brooding a pep talk then went to go find Buffy. She hadn't shown yet and he had threatened just this. He paused as he was leaving, smelling some rank by the champagne fountain.

He found Buffy wondering down the hall with a confused look, dressed like a faerie princess. She had gauzy, glittery faerie wings and a flowing pearly ball gown with little glass slippers that peeked out as she walked. Her hair was very long again and glittery, topped with a tiara. She had glitter across her face and cleavage. She froze when she spotted Lorne and let out a frightened squeak.

"Yeah, I know," he looked down at himself, misinterpreting the squeak. "Been so busy with planning the party and seeing that everything went smoothly that I wasn't able to get myself a killer costume." He looked up at her and smiled widely, holding out his arms, "But you! Buffykins, you look amazing!"

When he "advanced" on her, she turned and ran down the hall squealing in fright.

Lorne was left there blinking confused. "I don't look THAT bad..." He straightened his jacket and turned to head back to the party, hoping she'd come back in a little while or to send one of the others after her. But, when he got in there he caught the others acting just as odd or odder, so he gathered them up in hopes of figuring out what was going on. He needed to go find Angel.

*****

Buffy kept running down the hall as fast as her feet could take her away from that green thing. He had seemed to know her, though... which was more than she could say for herself at the moment. She had no idea where she was, who all these people were, or who the hell she was. He had called her Buffykins... that so better not be her name. She glanced behind her to see if he was following and then looked ahead again, squealing when she saw she was about to run into a wall and bracing for impact. The next thing she knew, though, she was inside the room on the other side. She frowned and patted herself in confusion.

Okay, things were just getting weirder and weirder around here...

She heard some grunting and moaning coming from the other side of the room and her brows drew together. She got curious and crept over to that corner of the room. It was coming from behind the couch and she silently crawl onto the couch, and bracing her hands on the back peeked over to see what was going on.

Eve was the first to see the blonde peering at them with a confused expression and screamed, causing Buffy to scream. This brought Angel's head up with a jerk and he started yelling in surprise as well. Eventually all the screaming had the others running into the office to see why Angel was screaming, worried since they were slowly seeing there was something up at the office.

"What's all the screaming about?" Lorne asked and then saw Buffy. "Buffykins, there you are. Why did you run off like that?"

"Do I know you?" she blinked at him.

"Ew, Angel... you and Eve were..." Fred wrinkled her nose, swaying on her feet slightly so she leaned against Wes.

"Erm, that's none of your business... anyways... why is Buffy asking if she knows Lorne?" He searched around for his pants and pulled them on before stepping around the couch. "And are you two drunk?" he motioned to Fred and Wes.

"It appears so," Wes smirked and Fred started giggling again. "And I don't recall ever having a drink. Do you?" Fred shook her head.

"Oh good, my name's Buffy? I almost thought it was Buffykins and was worried... well Buffy isn't the best name either. I sound like either a stripper or something..." She rolled her eyes and then paused. "I'm not like... a stripper hired for the party am I?" She tugged at her skirt to see if it was tear away, but it stayed and she was slightly relieved.

"Okay then, when did you both start feeling drunk then?" Angel asked, trying to keep a straight face while Eve was nibbling on his ear.

"It was some time ago... but a little bit after we spoke with Lorne." Wes said thoughtfully.

Fred giggled. "He got onto us for being wallflowers and told us we should drink something to loosen up. Guess that was lucky."

"Wait... you're right... he did tell us we should be drunk and then we were..." Wes shook his head slowly, trying to clear it as he put two and two together. He glanced over and spotted Gunn urinating on the corner of Angel's desk. "So it's been you who's been pissing all over the office all night!"

"Yeah... sorry..." Gunn turned away and shoved himself back inside his pants quickly.

"Ewww...." Buffy pinched her nose and started gagging.

"Did Lorne tell you to piss all over the place?" Angel asked him with irritation, making a mental note to get a new desk.

"God, I sure hope so..." Gunn looked down at his feet.

"Look, this all just has to be coincidence... I haven't been going around do this stuff to you guys. I wouldn't even know how to." Lorne held out his hands pleadingly.

"Aren't you just an empath demon?" Eve finally looked up from Angel's neck to blink at him. "So, how could he be telling people what to do?"

"You had your sleep removed," Gunn pointed at Lorne. "I remember you telling me that and unless you remember anything else out of the ordinary happening to you lately, I'd bet that's got something to do with it."

"Maybe I had my memory removed...." Buffy blinked in confusion. "Though, I must not really like you guys if I did that... or maybe I saw them doing that before and didn't want to remember seeing his pasty ass waving around like that." She made her blegh face.

"An empath with his sleep removed... you're right, that's not good," Wes shook his head. "I'll take Fred and we'll get his sleep back." He started for the door and Fred wobbled after him, so he just tossed her over his shoulder before disappearing out the door.

"Territory! You told me to mark my territory! That's it!" Gunn looked relieved that Lorne was behind his urinating all over.

"And he did say something to me about the sexual tension between me and Eve..." Angel tried to move away from Eve so he could think more clearly. "So what did you say to Buffy to make her like this?"

Lorne searched his thoughts since he knew Buffy didn't remember. "Oh lord, I think I do remember. I told her to forget about everything for one night when I was trying to get her to come to the party." He looked at her. "I'm sorry, Buffykins." He then looked at the others, "But someone needs to go make sure the party continues smoothly."

"Not you. You need to stay put and try not to say anything that could lead to more mayhem." Angel turned and motioned Gunn. "You go, and try to not piss on anything." Gunn left he turned to Eve, resuming making out with her and leaning over so they both toppled over the back of the couch.

Buffy made the blegh face again and turned to Lorne. "Is he always that gross?"

After some time, Wes and Fred came stumbling into the office in a panic. Fred was fumbling with a gun it seemed and Buffy blinked. That seemed a bit extreme, shooting Lorne. He seemed very nice. Angel and Eve popped up again like prairie dogs at the sound of people entering again.

"We've found it and also found out something alarming. The projecting is just the beginning. His subconscious will manifest if this continues," Wes told them and turned to help Fred with the gun.

Gunn rushed in right behind them at that moment, bumping into Wes who in turn bumped into Fred and caused the gun to go flying across the room. Wes helped Fred straighten and turned to glare at the other man.

"Sorry, but bad news... this thing... it looks like uuber Lorne and its rampaging in the party. It killed a couple people and I did my best to lure it away before it killed anyone else," he panted.

"Lured it? You mean it's following-" Buffy was cut off as she screamed in fright when Gunn went flying because a meaty green fist swatted him like a fly.

"See, that's what I was warning you about," Wes said and tried to close the doors on the thing, but it was a loosing battle.

Fred was across the room, trying to reach the gun with Lorne's sleep in it. It was wedged behind the weapons case just out of reach, then it hit her and she turned around to shout, "Buffy! I need you're ghosty help over here!"

Buffy turned and ran over to kneel beside her.

"Just reach through that wall there. You told me if you can concentrate and really want something you can grab it. So grab it and move it out from behind the wall for me, please," Fred pleaded.

Buffy nodded and stuck her hand through the wall. She glanced over her shoulder at the other struggling with the thing that looked eerily like the Hulk and knew this was important. Gunn had said this thing had killed people and it could kill the people that were obviously her friends if she didn't do this. So yeah, the wanting was there and she just needed to concentrate really good. She closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose as she concentrated, after a moment feeling the gun. She smiled and grabbed it, moving it to where Fred could reach it.

"Got it!" Fred said excitedly and sat back.

"Well shoot him! Now!" Angel called as he struggled with the hulking thing.

Fred nodded nervously and stood, aiming the gun with a wobbly hand. Buffy made an impatient sound and grabbed it, aiming it quickly because she wasn't sure how long she could do the solid thing. She shot Lorne in the neck as he was turning to look at her. He swayed for a moment and then passed out. The hulking version of him disappeared in a puff of smoke and Angel, who had been on its back, flailed in mid-air for a moment before landing face first on the floor.

*****

Buffy came back into Angel's office after a little while, going off to mope somewhere for a little while after the memories came rushing back and along with them all the bad emotions they evoked. But, now she was composed again and ready to help with the aftermath. She saw they had tucked Lorne in on the couch with a big comfy blanket to get some Zs. Wes and Gunn were sort of debriefing Angel like normal. Eve was nowhere to be seen, which was just fine with her. There was something about the other women she never really cared for. And now, she would forever be scarred with the sight of that woman naked and boinking Angel.

She so wasn't jealous. At all. She knew now that the one for her had been right in front of her all that time, with his snarky comments and his eagerness to do right by her, even if she made it damn hard for him. She sighed, which brought attention to her and she winced.

"Buffy... are you okay?" Angel asked with concern.

"Oh well, as okay as I was before all this," she forced a chuckle and lifted a shoulder.

Fred came in and stood beside Buffy. "I'll get you corporeal again. I'm sure of it, don't worry." She gave the blonde a soft smile. "And thanks for your help before."

"It was nothing. I wouldn't have wanted anything to happen to Lorne or any of you," Buffy bit her bottom lip and let the added like my other friends go unsaid. She looked down and scuffed her shoe on the carpet instead.

"Well, I didn't get a chance to tell you how lovely you looked tonight in your costume," Angel said, trying to cheer her up a bit in vain.

Fred looked over at her and nodded, as did the others.

"At least I didn't disappear at the wrong-"

Angel growled lowly as ironically she did disappear at that moment. He looked at Fred and Wes, "You too better be VERY close to finding something to do about her. I would hate to have a second chance with her fall right into my lap only to have it slip away because my staff was incompetent!"

Fred flinched and Wes's face tightened. He still didn't like this scheme of Angel's one bit and was even angrier that he had just snapped at Fred. Wes could take it by now, but Fred was a little too tender hearted for such treatment. He fought the urge to growl right back, knowing that would just make the situation worse. So instead he turned to drag Fred out of there.

Angel glared after them and turned to go sit behind his desk. Gunn smirked and left as well just before there was a cry of outrage from Angel's office.

tbc...

~Chapter Three~

AN:  Ooo ooo, we're almost to the appearance of Spike, hehe.

Buffy sat in the lab watching Fred as she did most days when she wasn't holed up in her suite moping. She liked the mousy brunette the most of those she had met here. The other woman was kind to her and reminded her somewhat of the younger Willow. The way Willow had been when Buffy had first moved to Sunnydale. Her heart constricted at the memories of the friend she thought dead. She pushed the bad thoughts aside and resumed watching Fred.

She never really could completely follow half the things the woman and the others did here, but that was okay. She was hoping some of the brain cells would rub off on her eventually. Plus, even as a ghost, it probably wasn't good for her to mope so much... she needed to eventually get on with her life... or unlife as the case seemed to be at the moment.

It also meant she was around in case Fred had a question to ask while researching ways of making Buffy corporeal again. As well as if she came up with a theory and wanted to run it by the slayer. Buffy was mildly surprised that Fred was running ideas and such by her instead of Angel. He seemed like he would want to be kept up to date on all of this, but maybe Fred kept him informed through memos or something. Or told him later after Buffy left to wonder about or return to her suite for her nightly mopings.

At one point they had come across something including the sacrificing of a virgin, but Buffy had quickly shot that down. She was pretty sure Fred didn't want to do that anyways and was only telling Buffy so she would know it was an option. They both agreed to leave that in the last ditch, if there was an apocalypse or something pile.

Another, oddly enough, was for her to bleed on it to separate the entity from the amulet. Her, as in the original slayer, which was mondo weird, because how was she going to bleed on it when she was a ghosty? It made them think of several possibilities. That maybe it was meant for after she turned corporeal... that she would still be linked to the amulet and so would have to do that. Or, much scarier to Buffy, was that maybe the amulet had been meant for someone else. She shoved that aside. No, she made the right decision. She wouldn't have wished this existence on anyone else. So even if she messed up some grand scheme, she wasn't going to regret her decision.

Fred stood and stretched, then looked over at Buffy. "Well, I say we call it a night for now. Please don't lose hope, though. I'm sure we'll find something besides that sacrificing a virgin thing. No one wants to do that, but if its the only way we'll just have to find a loophole." She nodded and pushed her glasses up her nose.

Buffy nodded as well. "But if that's our only option and there's no loophole, then you might as well just let me fade away. I'm not afraid. I've died twice before... and I'll get to be with my friends, I'm sure." She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans and followed Fred out of the lab.

Another young lab tech came over to talk to Fred. She thought she remembered his name being Knox or something, she remembered because of course the mind immediately went to Ft. Knox. Did he have hidden gold? She giggled and earned a funny look. She blushed and headed out of the room ahead of them, giving them some semi-privacy. She had noticed the oh-so-obvious glance footsy they had been doing. Knox obviously had a thing for Fred, even if she probably had big glance footsy contests with Wes. Knox was a bit persistent anyways.

She was passing by Harmony's desk on her way to Angel's office to check in when the annoying blonde stopped her. Well, the best she could when the person you were stopping was intangible.

"Um, Buffy... Buffy!" Harmony waved her arm.

Buffy finally turned around and did her best to not wince at the bright pinkness that was the blonde vampire. How Spike could have ever... she gave a mental shudder. But then, he had spent a century with a raving loon. Throw her in the mix and it was obvious he liked crazy women.

"Yeah? What is it, Harmony?"

"You got a package," she held it out and her brows wrinkled slightly. "Though, really not sure who would be sending a ghost a package. There's no return address, so don't know. Is it your birthday?" She really didn't care if it was the slayer freak's birthday, but she was curious as to what was in the package. She had shook it, but there was no clunking noises.

"Not for a couple months, actually." Buffy said and walked back over to the desk, expression of deep curiousity. The only people she knew, who were still alive or at least walking around, were here in Los Angeles. And, in the same building. No need to send her a package. "You think it could be some sort of booby trapped thing?"

"I don't hear ticking," Harmony shrugged and held out the package. The slayer arched a meaningful brow. "Oh, oh yeah. Let me... at least it can't kill me if it is booby trapped. But, just in case, going to open it at arms length. You can also see it that way."

Harmony set the box at the top of the desk and pushed it towards Buffy, running a letter opener along the tape that held the flaps together. She looked up at Buffy for a second, waiting for a sign she was ready and receiving a nod. So she opened the flaps and jerked away instinctively from the bright light. After a moment, she poked her head out from under the desk, relieved that she hadn't burnt to dust.

Buffy lowered her hands and blinked back the stars that danced in front of her eyes. "Well then... what the hell was that all about?" She frowned, this was not a very funny idea for a joke gift. Especially after the way she had died... both this time and the time she had jumped off the tower. Both seemed to involve a very bright, burning light. Anyways...

"What the freak was THAT?" Harmony stood and brushed herself off indignantly.

Everyone else had seemed to come to a screeching halt and were staring at the two blondes.

"Uh, I'm going to go tell Angel what just happened..." Buffy pointed towards the office and turned to do just that.

The blonde vampiress's nose twitched and her head cocked. Her brows crinkled again and she lifted a hand. "Uh... Buffy?"

It was too late as the slayer walked straight into the office door and bounced off with a loud smack. She landed on her butt and blinked up at the door with wide eyes, then slowly reached up to rub her throbbing nose. She had hit the door. She would have thought she had concentrated to solidify herself on accident except there was pain. Ghosts didn't feel pain.

"I tried to warn you..." Harmony rolled her eyes from behind her desk.

Before Buffy could respond, Angel jerked open the door after hearing something bang into it. "What the hell was that?" He noticed the slayer on the ground and cocked his head. "Buffy?"

"That was me, apparently running into your door." She still looked majorly shocked and confused as she continued to rub her nose. "I... don't know how... I was coming to tell you about the strange package and then POW!"

He extended his hand and helped her to her feet. "It seems you really are solid again."

"Guess we don't have to sacrifice that virgin." She rolled her eyes and touched her nose gingerly. It was already starting to feel better. Yay for slayer healing. She was still in too much shock to start realizing what all this was going to entail besides the fact that she couldn't go through things and she could feel pain.

"You mentioned a strange package?" He glanced over to Harmony then back at the petite blonde in front of him.

"Yeah, I mean, who would send a ghost a package?" Harmony rolled her eyes and held up the empty box. "Maybe the thing inside was a ghost, too." She muttered sarcastically.

Buffy shot her an annoyed look and then looked back at Angel. "She opened it for me and there was a bright flash of light. When it cleared, I was going to come straight to your office to tell you and well... you know the rest there." She pointed at her sore nose. "Think it was the wiggy light? I mean, that seems to be the most likely since I was still a ghosty when I left the lab."

"Lab... we need to call Fred back to check you out," Angel said quickly and hurried off down the hall, pulling her along with him gently.

*****

Angel caught Fred before she left and filled her in, then went about gathering the rest of the team in the lab while the brunette started studying the now non-ghosty Buffy. Buffy sat on her stool with her hands in her lap, watching the same device Fred had used when she first got there being used again. It was better than watching the others stare at her.

She looked herself over, glad that she hadn't reverted back to the way she looked when she first popped out of the amulet. She had always feared she might... if she ever got her body back that was. But, no. She still had the wavy shoulder length hair she had been sporting recently and her clothes weren't burnt and dusty. In fact, the black jeans and red long-sleeved shirt looked brand spanking new. Not even any scuff marks on her boots. If she had known, she would have thought herself in lots of jewels or something. Maybe even tried giving herself slightly bigger breasts.

She sighed and watched Fred as she tapped keys over at the computer, studying the data she had collected. "So... did I come back wrong or something?" She tried to break the silence and the ice.

"It seems as far as I can tell, you came back normal. Well, I suppose normal for a slayer." Fred shrugged. "I would still like to keep an eye on you for awhile, just to make sure. You never know what can crop up after such odd events. That shouldn't be a problem, since I'm assuming you'll be sticking around for awhile?" She peered at Buffy through her glasses.

"Uh, I suppose for now," Buffy shrugged. "Until I get things together and decide what I want to do with my yet again renewed life."

"You're always welcome to stay here. I can offer you a job and a place to stay. Anything you want." Angel interjected, coming forward. He needed to squelch any talk that might lead to his plans being ruined.

"That's very nice of you. I'll think about your offer." She nodded and stifled a yawn with the back of her hand.

"It is late. Why don't you head up to your suite and get some rest. Like Fred said, we'll just have to see if this has any long term affects. Also, think about my offer. We could use the help of a slayer around here," he smiled.

"I said I would... and sleep would be very nice. Haven't slept in many months and I think its catching up with me." She nodded as she headed for the door.

Fred wrinkled her nose. "Uh... you haven't?"

"Ghosts don't sleep," Buffy shrugged.

She nodded, making obvious mental note of this new tidbit. "So..." She looked a little reluctant to ask, clearly curious.

"I believe Fred isn't blunt enough to ask you and pry into what may be private. But, what do you do all night then... while everyone is gone and/or sleeping?" Wes stepped forward and tilted his head slightly.

"Oh, no biggy. I mostly just wander about... and even leave the building on occasion. You wouldn't believe the things that go on at night. Well... I guess you guys would, but yeah," she looked up in thought and then back to them, raising her hands. "Oh yeah! I was getting better at concentrating to touch things, yeah. So now and then I'd be able to turn on the TV to watch. Though, I couldn't flip channels a lot, so I had to be lucky about finding something good on."

Fred giggled and pushed her glasses back up. "And I can't imagine there being a lot of choices late at night."

"Yeah," the blonde agreed with a friendly smile. "Well off to get real sleep finally. I'll probably see you in a week." She turned and left finally, going up to her suite and collapsing on the bed without even getting undressed or pulling back the covers.

*****

"Even if she stays she's bound to find out that her friends are still alive," Wes flung out a hand.

"Then we make sure that doesn't happen," Angel said pointedly and leaned in close. "And don't think I won't be keeping a very close eye on everything, so you better not try anything. Not if you like your cushy job here."

"I'm beginning to think the job isn't worth it." The former watcher shot back. "We thought working for some evil law firm, that we'd be the ones changing it to use the resources for good. But, it seems that this place has been changing us. Some more than others. And maybe that's just what they wanted when they extended you their offer. You know the saying, 'If you can't beat them, join them.' Well, seems they decided to do their own twisted version of that, except when they couldn't defeat you they recruited you. And, you went right along with it, didn't you? Gave up the good fight for some money, fancy cars, and a big corner office!"

Angel's fist connected with Wes's face, causing the man's head to snap back and him to hit the wall behind him then slump to the ground. Fred gave an alarmed cry and went to kneel beside him. She touched his face and then felt his neck worriedly, giving a slightly relieved sigh when she found that he wasn't dead from the blow. She looked up at Angel, horrified at his behavior, but too scared to say anything. She wasn't so sure anymore that he wouldn't hit her as well.

Gunn stepped forward to stand between them. "Let's just all go sleep it off. I'm sure he'll be sorry for what he said in the morning." Anything to get Angel to lay off for now. Wes probably would be sorry he ripped Angel a new one in the morning, knowing better than to piss off a master vampire.

"I'm sure he will. I'm giving him extra chances here because he's a friend, but there's only so much of his insubordination I'm willing to take. Especially considering his history for selling out the team," the vampire spat and turned to leave the lab.

Gunn sighed and bent to help Fred lift Wes to his feet. Once they had Wes to his quarters and resting on his bed, Gunn looked over at Fred with sad eyes. "I think Wes was right for the most part. Not for taking on the boss man and getting himself decked. He could have gotten killed even. But, what he said. Angel's changed. I'd almost be worried that we were dealing with Angelus, but Angelus never did care of laying low and wouldn't be taking things slowly like this."

With a nod, Fred sat on the corner of the bed. "I like Buffy and this just isn't right. Wouldn't be right to do to anyone. I'm not sure if there's a way we can tell her what's going on with Angel keeping a close eye on her. Even if we got her out of the building to some place remote, I'm sure he's got other people tagging her for him. I mean, he obviously isn't trusting us much anymore to help him with his plans, just threatens us to keep quiet like hostages."

He nodded and sat down beside her. "There has to be other ways... of revealing his lies..."

"If only her friends weren't all the way on another continent... then there would actually be risk of her hearing about them or running into them. It wouldn't be so easy for him to keep her cut off."

His eyes lit up slightly. "I've got a plan, I think. I'll have to think on it more. We'll have to find a safe place to talk about it it, but I'll get to you and Wes when I've got it figured out. Then we can meet up somewhere to discuss how to get it rolling."

She smiled a small relieved smile. "Okay." She glanced back at Wes. "I'm going to sit here with him until he wakes up, just to make sure. You get some rest."

He nodded and squeezed her shoulder before slipping out of the room.

*****

Willow sat down at the table in the large kitchen with a sandwich and a soda. She pushed her long auburn hair over her shoulder and started munching on her sandwich. She looked out of the window thoughtfully. They had stopped in Cleveland to regroup as Giles had suggested, but there was already those there who were fighting the good fight. Xander stayed there along with some of the young slayers to lend some help.

The rest of them had continued on to England where Giles took control of the council again, setting up a system immediately for going about gathering all the newly awakened slayers. It also led to them realizing they needed to step up their efforts to recruit more watchers to help with the sudden explosion of new slayers. Faith and Kennedy had started taking over training of the new slayers as they came in. They didn't think Spike should help, what with the whole slayer hormones making them look at him the same way he would look at someone's jugular. Also, with them being so inexperienced, the chances that they might actually accidentally stake him during sparring was very good. Not that he looked up for much fighting since the battle. Been all mopy ever since, and nothing they did helped so they just left him to it. At least he had stopped stumbling around shitfaced... it scared the younger girls. Well, it scared the rest of them, too, since they weren't sure what he would do while drunk.

Willow had taken over the job of surrogate mother to Dawn, making sure she continued school over here in England. She had come a long way from the shy awkward nerd that she had been when Buffy first came to Sunnydale. That girl would have quaked at the idea of laying down the law to a rambunctious teenager. But, she figured that whenever the unsure girl in her started to waver when she had to be all stern with Dawn, she just thought to herself of what Buffy would do. She wanted to make her friend proud by continuing to take care of her little sister and raise her right. Make Joyce proud as well.

Her head came back around as someone entered the kitchen. She blinked in surprise. It was the mopy vampire.

"Hey there," she said softly and got up to toss her plate. She leaned her hip against the island and sipped at her soda, watching him worriedly.

"Hi, Red," he peered into the fridge, just staring at the contents blankly.

"I got more blood from the butchers last night. So its all fresh and tasty." She tried to sound chipper, but she didn't know why she tried anymore.

"Thanks, luv," he closed the door again without taking anything out. He finally looked at her, "Oh yeah, Rupert needed t' speak with you. Somethin' 'bout business back in LA."

She nodded. "Come with me. Sure you could help and you really need something to do to keep your mind occupied. It helps. Some." She bit her lip and glanced away, remembering how hard it had been for her to lose someone she loved. At least Spike hadn't tried to destroy the world, just got drunk and wandered the halls naked. "Just come and try to keep busy a bit."

"I..."

She rolled her eyes and took his arm, leading him out of the kitchen and down the hall to Giles' office. The watcher looked up and blinked a bit at the sight of them with linked arms, then quickly discarded the short lived alarm. Spike wouldn't and Willow wouldn't. End of story. He stood and removed his glass to clean them.

"Good of you to remember to deliver my message to her. I wasn't sure if I would have to go looking for her myself shortly," Giles said and motioned for them to sit down.

"I nearly did forget... sorry, Rupes." He shrugged and sat himself down, reclining and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Jus' happened that I got a bit peckish an' went int' the kitchen where Red was."

"Well, it worked out either way." The elder man waved it away. He looked to Willow, "I have got news of another slayer in the Los Angeles area. As you know, we are stretched a bit thin here and while I understand that you have taken Dawn as your charge, I need you to go since you are the only one I can spare at the moment. I can watch over Dawn while you are away. You may take one of the other slayers with you if you think you might need assistance."

"Oh well, I guess if I'm the only one who can go and Dawn'll be taken care of... then I suppose I'll be taking a sunny LA vacation." Willow gave a small smile and a shrug. "And, I'll go ask for volunteers, see who actually wants to go rather than forcing one and having them be in a foul mood the whole trip."

"No need, I'll go with you." Spike spoke up nonchalantly and both of them stared at him. "What? A nice paid vacation t' Los Angeles an' who better t' back her up?"

"Oh, and I'm sure the fact that your Grandsire is there, too, has nothing to do with it?" Willow smirked at him. "I'll be glad to have you as my travel partner. I'm not sharing a hotel bed with you, though." She grinned even wider.

"Ew, wouldn' be caught dead in the same bed as a human. The cooties." He shot back with a ghost of his old smirk.

"Will you two cut it out... about as bad as-" he caught himself and started cleaning his glassed yet again. "Fine, go. If only to get you out of my hair for awhile and maybe you'll decide you like it in the states then stay there... then we won't have to worry about your lily white ass roaming the halls at night."

Willow put her hand over her mouth as she snickered.

"Oy! Most of the girls enjoy seein' my ass." He was in full out smirk for the first time in months.

Giles rolled his eyes. "Oh shut your gob before I decide to stake you, you prat." He looked at Willow again. "The people who tipped me off to this slayer have pledged their help in bringing her in. She is... a bit wild. And what with her new slayer abilities, that makes her very dangerous. They have arranged lodging there and will pick you up at the airport."

"Who are these people? Initiative?" The redhead cocked her head slightly.

"Well... it seems they are affiliated with Wolfram and Hart, which last I had heard was a law firm who worked with demons and the other dregs of society. They also claim to work for someone we all know," he eyed Spike warily, "they're associates of Angel. You met them, Willow, I believe." He looked over at the witch. "The other thing I find odd is that it wasn't Angel himself who contacted me."

"He was too busy being a magnificent poofter." The bleached vampire muttered and Willow swatted at him.

"I... sorta agree. Maybe he was busy. If he's working at a law firm, then he must have lots to do." Willow nodded. "And there must be a good reason for him to be working at supposedly evil law firm."

"He's joined up for all the shaggin' he can get an' no worries 'bout losin' his soul."

"Spike, please do shut up." Giles snapped. He clenched his jaw and looked back at Willow, "No, he seems to have taken it over. Maybe he's trying to change it from the inside out or some such nonsense. None of our business either way. The only thing that concerns us is that they have found another slayer for us and are going to help us bring her in."

"I'll go get us tickets for a the soonest flight I can get out of here. You can call them back and tell them I'm on my way, but don't tell them I'm bringing Spike with me. They're not going to like that; Angel might throw a fit." Willow got up and yanked Spike out of the office after her before he could irritate that irate watcher anymore.

*****

Willow stretched her arms over her head as she stepped off the plane, trying to restore circulation after such a long flight. She tossed her long ponytail back over her shoulder and moved through the crowd, trusting Spike to follow her and not get lost as she searched for the familiar faces that were supposed to be there waiting for her. She spotted Wes and hurried along.

"Hey," she said a bit out of breath after dashing through the crowd, dodging around people to get to him and Fred. "Glad to see you again, even if its always under bad circumstances."

He wasn't looking at her, but past her as he saw Spike. He was trying to decide if this was a good or bad thing. He would hope for good...

"Hello," Fred smiled at Willow and then looked at Spike, smiling at him as well. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Winifred Burkle, but everyone calls me Fred."

"Uh... William, but I prefer Spike." He shook her hand awkwardly.

"Oh! So you're... so this is..." She pointed at Spike and looked between him and Wes.

"Yes," Wes gave her a look that reminded her they weren't supposed to say anything about their recent ghost problem. Just lead them back to the office and let things unravel from there. Then they can't be blamed and Angel's lies will be revealed. Seeing Spike might make Angel's temper even worse, but at the same time he was probably the only one strong enough to take on the vampire if he went into some sort of rage.

"Yes, the great Spike is here." He smirked and hooked his thumbs in his jeans. "Now lets get our bags an' then get me over t' your offices where I'm sure a place like that's got somethin' for a famished vampire t' drink. The airline didn' exactly cater t' blokes like me." He thumbed over his shoulder.

"Uh, yes, we've got a stock of animal blood. Angel doesn't allow the employees to drink human blood and in fact has these random tests, kind of like how sports teams do drug testing. It's complicated and probably more than you wanted to know. But yes, we have something to hold you over." Fred smiled nervously and led them to the luggage carousel.

*****

The group walked off the elevator and Wes started to lead them towards Angel's office. They didn't get far, though, when Harmony spotted Spike and let out a shriek somewhere between excitement and fright.

"BLONDIE BEAR?!" She came around her desk and started to rush him.

"Oy!" He held out his hands to ward her off and started backing away. "Now, luv... we've got a bit of business... really important..."

She put her hands on her hips. "You went off and got all freaky with the slayer freak? That is so gross! I can't believe I ever kissed the same mouth. I mean, how could you even put up with her? She's so annoying! I mean really!!"

He started to growl. How dare she talk about Buffy like that? The love of his unlife who died saving the world. Harmony wasn't even worthy to speak her name. His eyes flashed gold and he took a step forward with deadly intent in his eyes. Willow grabbed his arm and pushed him back a couple steps, then turned to usher Harmony back behind her desk.

"I suggest you just get back to your job and not try to stir up trouble." Willow said firmly. She came back around to stand in front of Spike, looking up at him and laying her hands on his arms. "Just ignore her. She's always been a pain in the ass and always will be. Not even worth getting worked up about."

Spike opened his mouth to thank her for taking care of him these last few months, but the door to Angel's office was jerked open. Angel looked around to see what had caused Harmony's latest shrieking and his eyes fells on Spike. His face darkened and he began to growl as well.

"Spike," he ground out.

"Spike," came a gasp and all eyes went to the stairs. Buffy stood there with her hand on her chest, "My god... and Willow? They said..." She took a shuddering breath and then fainted, tumbling down the last couple stairs before Spike overcame his stupor and rushed over to her.

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