Blood of the Heart: The Hunt 2

~ Chapter 7 ~

Cordelia stared at the water. The tide was on its way out, and the sand was wet beneath her feet.

"So, Willow, why'd you drag me out here?"

Willow walked up to a drier spot on the beach.

"Sit down."

Cordelia sat down across from her, both of them sitting Indian style.

"Okay…now what?"

"Do you trust me, Cordelia?"

"Yeah, sure, but…"

"Really…do you trust me?"

"Yes, Willow, I trust you. What's this about?"

"I need to see if I can do something. And I think it'll be a lot easier if you help me."

"Okay…let's do it."

Willow held her hands up to Cordelia's temples. "Close your eyes, Cordy…"

Cordelia did as she was told. Suddenly images began to form, shift. She looked down. There was something in her hands. It was a…

"Ooooh…gross"

"Keep your eyes closed. What do you see?"

"It's a head. I'm holding a head in my hands."

"Look around. Do you see anything else?"

Cordelia tried. "I don't seem to have control of my eyes. I can't look where I want to."

"Just wait."

Shadows crossed Cordelia's vision. There was movement behind her. She watched as a woman came into view.

"Darla."

"Good…good. Now open your eyes."

Cordelia opened her eyes and stared at Willow. Willow's eyes were a solid black.

"Willow, what's with your..?"

Willow blinked and her eyes were back to normal. Maybe Cordelia was seeing things.

"Willow…what was that?"

"That…was Drusilla…"

"Oooh..you put me in Drusilla's head?"

"You're both seers. I could have done it by myself, but it was just easier if you helped me."

"Spooky."

"Yeah…"

Cordelia moved to get up. Willow just sat there.

"Willow?"

"You want to talk about it?"

What was she talking about?

"Talk about what?"

"Talk about him. About Angel." Cordelia was different, but not different enough to hide when something was on her mind.

Cordelia sighed and sat down again. "What about him?"

"What's going on with you two? You just about bit each other's head off back at Caritas…"

"Which he could do literally…I don't know…it's just been hard…"

"Since Buffy died…"

"Yeah…"

"I don't think he blames you…"

"I never said he did."

"I was just in your head, Cordy…"

Cordelia's eyes narrowed. She didn't know if she liked Willow being in her head.

"Okay…but he does."

"Why would he? You weren't even there when she died. I know I was there, and I didn't see you or Angel anywhere. So he shouldn't blame you, or himself. She jumped, Cordelia. Sure she jumped to save the world and all, but she still jumped. There's no one to blame here."

"Angel could have stopped it. I know it."

"So your point is…"

"I was the reason Angel couldn't save her. He was off in Pylea because I got sucked into that stupid portal…"

"He came after you…"

"Yeah…when he should've been here…when he should've been with you guys back in Sunnydale fighting this Glory chick…is it true what Spike said, did she really have a bad perm?"

"Yeah…but listen…Cordelia…it's not your fault. It's not Angel's fault. How long were you guys in that other dimension?"

"A couple of days" mumbled Cordelia

"A couple of days…so two…"

"Yeah…"

"This whole thing with Glory started around that time, Cordelia."

"So…what's your point?"

"Buffy didn't call Angel. She could've. We ran from Sunnydale. We could've come to LA, to you guys. We didn't."

"What are you saying?"

"I really don't think even if you guys weren't in a different dimension that Buffy would've asked for help. And what about your visions?"

"What about them?"

"They're to guide Angel, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And did you see Buffy or Glory? Dawn?"

"No…no…I didn't…yet another thing he can blame me for."

"I think Angel was where he was supposed to be."

"You think?"

"Wesley told me than when you got sucked into that portal that Angel panicked. He wouldn't let up until they went after you."

"Your point?"

"He cares."

"I know."

"I don't think he knows how much." And Cordelia doesn't seem to face it either.

"Well, too much. Buffy died because he wasn't there."

"I don't believe that."

"Well, I do. And I know that Angel does, too…"

"He's wrong."

"Willow?…you've changed…"

"Yeah? I guess so. So have you…"

"Happens when you get head cracking visions…."

"Yeah…"

"So…"

"So…"

"So Dawn said Xander was getting married?"

~ Chapter 8 ~

Spike and Angel stood in the darkened room, waiting. The room was white, and the shadows created by the moonlight through the bars in the windows stood out starkly on the walls.

"So why are we here again? Dawn's going to be asleep by the time we get back…"

"Cordy's vision."

"Her vision?…cheerleader's visions trustworthy or is this just a wild goose-chase?"

A door at the other end of the room slid open. A man in a uniform stood there, beckoning to them.

On closer examination, Spike saw that the man was actually a demon. One that passed for human, but a demon nonetheless.

Angel walked toward the demon, palm extended. Spike suspected it held a hundred-dollar bill.

"Hello, Leroy, how are you doing?"

"Fine…fine…what do you want?"

Angel put his arm around the demon. "You don't like my visits, Leroy?"

Spike recognized this side of Angel from before he had a soul. Angel may not admit it, but he enjoyed intimidating people who deserved it. He was beginning to think the only difference between that Angel and this Angel was more self-control. And the leather pants.

Leroy looked warily at Spike. "You usually come alone."

Spike smiled at the man. " `lo mate. How's tricks?"

"Fine. C'mon, let's go…"

He led them down a dimly lit corridor.

"She's waiting."

Angel turned to Leroy and put hand on both of Leroy's shoulders.

"Leroy, Leroy, Leroy…"

"Yeah…"

"I'm afraid this is going to be my last visit. You see, me and my friend here," he said, indicating Spike…"we're on the parole board."

"You mean…"

Spike got where this was going and joined in. "Yeah, Leroy…I'm sure no one will even miss her, will they, Leroy?" Spike shifted into game face.

"No…no, they won't…I'm sure they won't…"

"Good…now lead on…"

Spike's face returned to normal as they walked down the corridor to their destination.

Spike and Angel stared through the bars.

She looked back at them, twiddling her thumbs. Spike had spoken to her once, but never seen her in the flesh. She looked like Buffy had described her. Chaos with cleavage.

"Hello boys."

Angel grinned.

"Hello, Faith."

~ Chapter 9 ~

Wesley had been totally unsuccessful in getting Dawn to go to bed. He had even been forced to sit through an episode of that horrid soap opera that she liked so much.

"Now that that's done, Dawn, you really need to be getting along to bed."

"Not until Spike gets back."

"He and Angel could be some time."

"Well, then I'll be up for some time."

Wesley walked down the hall. He heard Willow and Cordelia laughing. He peeked in Willow's room to see them looking at some pictures. Probably the ones Cordelia had taken of Angel on his birthday when she had made him wear the pink shirt.

He turned to find Dawn behind him.

"I thought I told you to go to bed, young lady."

"I need to talk to Willow."

"All right…but only for a few minutes."

They knocked quietly on the door, and Dawn proceeded to plop on the bed between Cordelia and Willow. Wesley looked on uncomfortably from the doorway.

"Willow?"

"Yeah, Dawn?"

"Xander called. He wants to know when we're coming back to Sunnydale."

"He doesn't like patrolling with the Buffybot, does he?"

"No, it still gives him the creeps."

Wesley had to ask. "Buffybot?"

Willow grinned. "Ask Spike."

Cordelia laughed. "I don't even want to know…"

Willow turned back to Dawn, "I don't know Dawn. Since Drusilla and Darla are here, I don't think we should stay. But I think Spike needs to be here to help Angel get the pearls."

Dawn looked up…"I'll be okay here, won't I?"

"Darla has an invitation here," cautioned Wesley.

Willow quickly dismissed that. "I took care of that."

"When, I didn't see you perform the ritual."

"I didn't need it."

"You didn't need it?"

"Nope…"

Wesley didn't understand, but he accepted it.

"Nevertheless, it would be better if you were back in Sunnydale. Besides, doesn't school start soon?"

"Not for another two weeks."

Cordelia suddenly brightened. "Dawnie, I'll tell you what. How about I go back with you and we'll go school shopping?"

"Okay…I guess…"

"Dawn does have a point, however," said Wesley. "Willow is going to be much too busy preparing the spell to protect Dawn. And with Spike and Angel busy here…"

"We've taken care of that," said Angel, appearing in the doorway.

"Really?"

"Yeah…we have. Spike and I are going to stay here. Willow, you, Dawn, and Cordelia will go to Sunnydale tomorrow."

As soon as he said it, Angel knew Cordelia wasn't going to like it.

"So you're ordering me…"

"Didn't I hear you offer to go anyway?"

"Damn vampire hearing…"

He thought she would be used to it after all this time.

"Besides, you know Darla will see you as a target."

"I hate that bitch."

"I'm sure she feels the same. That's why you're going."

Wesley cleared his throat. "That still doesn't protect Dawn."

"No mate, it doesn't." Spike said as he entered the room, walking over to Dawn. He kneeled in front of her.

"Nibblet?" he asked calmly…

"Yeah…?"

"You trust Angel and I, don't you?"

"You know I do."

"Okay then, trust us now…", he said. He got up and leaned his head out the door. "You can come in."

Willow gasped as Faith stepped in the room.

"Hey Dawnster. Long time no see."

Willow thought she saw something in Faith's eyes. A combination of hope and fear, an expression of a little girl that seemed out of place.

"Angel," whispered Cordelia…"I'm not sure this is what the vision meant…"

"You saw Faith fighting something, right? And Dawn was there?"

"Yeah…well, it's kind of hard for Faith to protect Dawn while in jail."

Willow stood and approached Faith, staring her down.

Faith hesitated. "Hi, Red…listen…I …Angel told me about Buffy…actually I kind of felt it when it happened…but…I'm sorry…"

Willow cocked her head. "Are you?"

"Yeah…I know you don't believe me, but B meant a lot to me."

"Uh huh…"

Willow almost thought she sounded sincere.

Dawn took Faith's hand. "I believe you, Faith."

Faith looked down at her. "Thanks, Dawnster. That means a lot. How you holdin' up?"

"Good, I guess. So you really going to help us?"

"Yeah," said Faith, turning back to meet Willow's eyes. "yeah, I think I am."

"Fine," said Willow. "Faith…can I talk to you out in the hall…"

"Sure…"

Willow stood waiting for her, staring at the floor.

"Listen, Red, I really am here to help. I don't know what Buffy told you about…"

"She told me enough…" said Willow.

"Okay, so you know I got a lot to make up for. But listen…Angel is willing to trust me…and all I'm asking for is a chance…"

Willow nodded her head. "I'll give you a chance. Buffy would've. Look at Spike. But I'm only going to say this once, Faith…"

"So say it…"

Willow raised her head. Her eyes were a glowing crimson, with what Faith thought was lightning shooting across them.

"If you hurt Dawn…if you hurt any of us…you'll have to answer to me…and I don't play as nice as I used to…"

"aahh…I understand…" Jesus, thought Faith. What's she turned into?

"Good."

"Good." Willow's eyes shifted back to normal. "So…how was prison? Did you have cable?"

~ Chapter 10 ~

Spike and Angel stood watching as Willow sat across from Cordelia and held her hands to her temples.

Angel leaned in and whispered to Spike. "What's she doing…"

"You know what we talked about last night about how to approach Dru and Darla?"

"Yeah…"

"I talked to Will about it when we got home last night. She said she and the cheerleader had already been working on it."

"I don't understand."

"She's going to use Cordelia to send Dru a message."

"I still don't get it."

"Aren't you Mr. Wizard these days? She's going to give Dru a vision. One we want her to see."

"She can't do that. There's no way to get in a vampire's head. Even telepaths can't read vampires."

"Will can."

"You're serious."

"She's done it before. Talking in my damn head, even."

"She's gotten that powerful…"

Spike turned to his grand-sire. "Boyo, after what I've seen if she said she could walk on water, I'd believe her. Hell, that'd be lightweight for her. Shestood toe to toe with a hellgod, and from what Buffy told me, she was giving as good as she got for a while."

"Really…"

"Yeah…"

"Who's training her?"

"That's just it. No one. This isn't learned magic as far as I can tell. Of course you always went more for the magic mumbo-jumbo that I did. But from what I've seen, it's just pure power mojo. She wants to do something, she does it."

"That could be a problem."

"I think you meant to say, `Good thing she's on our side', didn't you, mate?"

"Yeah..I did," said Angel. But he meant what he had said. He had never met a witch as powerful as Willow had become. He'd never even heard of one that could do what Spike was saying she could do. "It won't hurt Cordy, will it?"

"I don't think so."

"So what do you think Dru's seeing?"

Spike grunted… "You in leather pants."

Angel smiled. This could work.

"Hey," said Dawn, tapping Spike on the shoulder. "Are they about ready?"

"Yeah, I think so. Willow?"

Willow held up her hand for a moment, then smiled and looked at Spike. "All done."

Cordelia got up and walked toward the bathroom.

Angel followed…"What's wrong…"

"I'm going to throw up."

"It hurt that much?"

"No…I was in her head…and it was …horrible…"

"I know…"

"She's screwed up even for a vampire…"

"I know. I made her that way…"

Cordelia realized the guilt behind the statement. Great. That's all Angel needs. More guilt. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"You didn't. You're right. It's horrible."

Cordelia flinched as Faith walked into the room. She still had to get used to the idea that both Faith and Spike were on their side.

"We ready to go? I think I got the car all loaded. Dawnster, you want to drive?"

"Can I?"

"No," said Angel. "Cordy's driving."

Faith turned her head toward Angel, a sly grin on her face. "Oh, so that's how it is, is it?"

"Knock it off, Faith. Willow, did she see what we wanted her to see?"

"As far as Drusilla's concerned, we're all dead, and you and Spike killed us."

"Perfect. I still can't believe you could do that."

"Sometimes I don't either. But I need to give you some details so you can keep the story straight."

"Okay, let's go out in the hall. Spike, you think you can manage to get the rest of them ready to go?"

"Yeah. C'mon, wagon trains ho and all that."

He and Willow stepped out in the hall and began to walk toward Willow's room.

"So tell me…"

"Okay, so Spike told you the basics…"

"I'm Angelus, me and Spike evil, yeah, got that…"

"Well, some things I didn't tell Spike."

"Like what?"

"Drusilla knows Buffy's dead. And she knows that Spike loved her."

"Yeah…"

"So she wouldn't believe that he would be around Angelus if Buffy had been the one to give you the Big Happy…"

"You think she'd assume he'd kill me."

"I don't know about that. But she knows Spike wouldn't like it."

"Okay, I'll buy that."

"So instead I made her think you slept with Cordelia."

"I DID WHAT?"

Willow smiled to herself. Angel wasn't shocked. He was embarrassed.

"You slept with Cordelia, then killed her. That's what Drusilla thinks happened."

"All right. But Dru knows I loved Buffy…"

"Darla will believe it though, won't she?"

"Maybe…" No maybe about it, thought Angel. The whole reason he had fired his staff was to keep Cordy away from Darla. And away from himself.

"Angel, given what Drusilla knows about Spike's feelings for Buffy, it had to be someone else. And Cordelia's the closest thing you have to a girlfriend."

"Huh…I don't know, Willow.." He'd liked to hear Cordy's reaction to that statement.

"You jumped blind through a dimensional portal to save her, Angel."

"You've been talking to Gunn."

"And Wesley…and Cordelia…"

"Willow…"

"It's all right, Angel. One thing you should know, though. Cordelia blames herself for Buffy's death."

"What?" It made sense when he thought about it. Cordelia had been holding more and more in since they got back from Pylea.

"She thinks if you hadn't run off to save her, you'd have been helping Buffy. And you would have saved her…."

Angel stared at the wall…

"Don't you go thinking that, too, Angel…"

Angel quickly stared up at her. "Spike was right. You can read minds."

"That one wasn't hard. Listen…what do you feel guilty about? Saving Cordelia or not being there for Buffy?"

"You know I don't feel guilty about saving Cordy…"

" Then don't feel guilty about not being there for Buffy. You were where you were supposed to be. Who knows? Maybe this is all for the best. I mean look at this. Faith, Spike, all of us…together… Buffy would've liked it."

"Yeah, she would have."

~ Chapter 11 ~

Dawn was actually looking forward to the trip back to Sunnydale. She had always liked Faith. Whenever Faith was around, Buffy had acted differently. She had been more fun. And Faith had never treated Dawn like a stupid kid. She always talked to her like an equal, and Dawn liked that.

Faith sat in the back with Dawn, while Willow rode up front with Cordelia. They were headed up Hwy. 5, the top up on the Plymouth.

"So, Cordelia…"

"Yes, Faith?"

"Dawn tells me Xander's getting married…"

"So I heard…"

"Who is this chick?"

Cordelia made a face into the rear-view mirror. "Anya. I don't know if you met her."

"Oh, yeah…the demon chick. Xan-man always was a little kinky."

Willow stared back at her. "Faith…"

"Hey…Dawn knows about this stuff, don't you, Dawnster?"

"Uh…yeah…"

Willow was not pleased. Dawn could tell. She had that tone in her voice she always got when she really meant something.

"Just lay off, Faith."

"Hey, I was just asking. I like Xander. Always have."

Cordelia chuckled in disbelief. "Yeah, I'm sure that's the impression he got when you were choking him to death."

"Hey…I don't care what he told you. I think he was having fun."

Willow shook his head. "I'm sure, Faith. Just do me a favor, and show Xander and Anya some respect. You've got a chance here, and only because Angel said so. I won't be as generous, and neither will Spike."

"I get it, Red, I do. So tell me…what's the deal with Spike?"

Willow stared out at the road sign. 170 miles to Sunnydale. She couldn't wait.

"He's Spike. What else you want to know?"

"I know he's Spike. I mean, I know what B told me about him, but that's it."

Dawn turned to her. "Buffy told you about Spike?"

"Yeah…well, she wrote me about him…". She dug into a bag that was lying in the floorboard and carefully removed a stack of letters held together with a number of rubber bands. Dawn thought she looked worried that they would fly out the window of the Plymouth if she wasn't careful.

Willow turned, curious. "I didn't know Buffy wrote you…"

"Once a week for the last year. She actually came and visited a couple of times."

Dawn carefully took the stack of letters from Faith. "I didn't know."

"Yeah, well, I'm not surprised. I don't know why she did it….I'm glad she did, though."

Willow could see Faith was sincere. "So…what'd she tell you about Spike?"

"Mainly about how crazy he drove her. At first. Then, I don't know…"

"What?" said Dawn, interested.

"Then she just seemed to talk about him like…like I don't know…like he was one of the Scoobies…but different. She didn't joke about him anymore. Anytime she mentioned him it was real serious…"

Willow smiled. "That's accurate."

"So what's the deal."

Willow looked into Faith's eyes. She really wanted to know.

"What do you think the deal is?"

"I don't know. I mean he's a vampire…why's he want Buffy back so bad?"

Dawn laughed. "Oh…that's easy."

"I don't get it," Faith said. "I mean he's not like Angel, is he?"

Cordelia chuckled. "He's nothing like Angel."

"So what's the deal? He playing a double agent game or what?"

"Like you did?" snapped Willow.

Faith took in a breath. "Harsh, Red. But I deserved that. But why?"

"He loved her," said Dawn.

"Really?" said Faith. "Huh…that explains a lot about how B talked about him."

"How do you mean?" asked Willow.

"The last time she came to visit was when you guys came down to LA with your dad when your mom died. I'm sorry about Joyce, by the way. I liked her." Faith thought of the Christmas she had spent with Joyce. It had been the closest she had ever had to a "normal" Christmas.

"She liked you, too," said Dawn.

"Thanks…anyway, I asked her about Spike, thought she'd go on one of those patented Buffy rambles about how nuts he was, and how she was going to stake him or something, and she just got real quiet then changed the subject. It was like she didn't want to talk about him."

Dawn looked out the window. "She probably didn't. Spike and Buffy…well…after a while it was a little tense."

"She didn't know what to do," said Willow. "It's not like Spike is the easiest guy to figure out."

"What's to figure out," said Faith, "he's a vampire."

"And you're a slayer."

"What's your point, Red?"

"Is that all you are?"

"I don't know what you mean…"

"You want us to think there's more to you than just killing, don't you?"

Faith lowered her head before responding. "Yeah, I guess I do…"

"Well, there's more to Spike than just being a vampire."

"Huh…"

"Yeah, took us a while to believe it, too."

"Hmm…I guess I'll get the dirt later."

Cordelia looked back at her, exasperated. "And you really think Spike will tell you? He doesn't even know you."

"No…" laughed Faith, "but we're getting B back, aren't we?"

Willow smiled. "Yeah…yeah we are."

~ Chapter 12 ~

"Are you guys are cool about doing it this way?" asked Angel.

"Yeah," said Gunn. "It makes sense. Besides, we both know Cordy would kill both of you if you screwed it up."

"OOOh…" mocked Spike, "nothing scarier than a brassed-off cheerleader."

Wesley chuckled as he fit a bolt into his crossbow. "You obviously don't know Cordelia that well."

"No, can't say I do."

"In any case," said Wesley, "It's perhaps the only viable plan. And you're sure of the location?"

Angel nodded. "Confirmed this morning. And it only makes sense."

"Blondie just better make sure he minds his manners," said Gunn.

Angel was ready. "Let's do it."

Spike and Angel got into the black Aston-Martin that Wesley hadn't even known Angel had. Wesley and Gunn followed in Gunn's truck. It wasn't long until they arrived at their destination.

Gunn looked the building up and down. "Isn't this the place where…"

"Where I let them have the lawyers…yeah…"

Spike chuckled. "Dru told me about that."

Angel glanced at him. "Did Buffy know?"

Spike turned, a serious expression on his face. "No mate, she had enough on her plate at the time. I saw no need."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, well, enough of that. Let's to business, then."

Angel broke the door down to find Drusilla lounging on a long black divan. Darla paced the room. She looked up at him and smiled.

"So, it's true…"

Angel tossed Wesley's body to the ground in the hall, stepping over where Gunn already lay on the floor. He licked the blood off of his hand as Spike lit up a cigarette.

"Yeah baby…we're back."

~ Chapter 13 ~

Lorne and Fred dragged Gunn and Wesley's bodies back to the truck.

"You're sure they're not dead? They don't look good…no they don't look too good at all."

"No, they're not dead, honeykins. Just a little anemic. We get them back to the hotel, put a little orange juice in them, a little transfusion they're good as new."

"I hope so…I hope Angel knows what he's doing."

"I do, too, honey, I do, too."

~*~*~*~*~

The car impressed Darla. "Nice…"

"Glad you like it…now get in," said Angel sternly. He could see Spike was getting impatient. They had spent the previous night thinking of creative ways to entertain the girls without actually killing anyone. They settled on getting drunk. He had to admire Spike's self-control. Usually when he was drunk he spilled whatever was on his mind. Not this time. Angel could tell that Spike was dead set on their goal. But Spike was easily frustrated. Having Dru around didn't help the situation much. He watched as Drusilla got into the back seat. Spike moved to get in next to her, when Angel caught his arm and whispered so quietly that not even Darla's vampire ears could hear him. "I just figured it out."

"What? We don't have time for this, mate. It's now or never."

"Dosie-Do, Spike."

"What?"

"Swing your partners, Dosie-Do…"

Spike grinned knowingly. Angel handed him the keys, and got in next to Drusilla.

Darla was confused. "What's going on?"

Spike smiled coyly to her. "Seems, pet, that Angelus has of late developed a fetish for the raven-tressed. And me," he said, licking his lips…"I'm just getting a taste for blondes."

Darla smiled and shook her head. "Spike you know I've always been too much for you…"

"Pet, you've been dead for a few years. I've learned a few things while you were off the mortal coil."

"Dru told me you were in love with the Slayer…"

"Oh, that. We all have our phases…she's in her dead phase these days I believe."

"Yes, she is…" Darla laughed and got into the car.

As Spike walked around the car to the driver's side, he laughed to himself. "And it's only a phase, if I have anything to say about it."

~ Chapter 14 ~

The Plymouth pulled to a stop in front of the magic shop. Willow and Dawn knocked on the door, and Cordelia could see a girl she recognized as Anya peek through the curtain.

"Hey, can I get a little help here?"

Cordelia looked back to see Faith lugging the stack of books that Willow had borrowed from Wesley for the spell.

"Yeah, sure. Hold on."

Faith still ended up carrying a stack of books so tall it covered her face. Cordelia thought Faith could handle it. What else was slayer strength for?

They walked in to see Xander hugging Dawn. Willow motioned them over.

Xander looked up and saw Cordelia. A mixture of elation and panic crossed his face.

"Oh hey, look, honey, look who they brought…it's the floosie…."

Faith dropped her stack of books on the table. She might as well have dropped a nuclear bomb in Xander's pants.

"…and the killer. It's Faith…look, Willow, it's Faith. Do you not see Faith there?"

"She's with us, Xander."

"Why would you..how…?"

"Angel and Spike insisted."

"So we're taking orders from vampires now…"

Faith smiled, and slyly stepped toward Xander. She ran a finger down his chest, and leaned in and kissed him on the nose. "I missed you too, Xan-man." As she did it, she realized it was true.

"Excuse me?!"

Faith looked over to see Anya staring at her. Cuter than she thought she'd be. Xander had done okay.

"Who is this trollope with her hands draped inappropriately on Xander?"

"Uh…honey…" This was not a situation Xander ever thought he'd be faced with. He never thought he'd see Faith again. And for the first time, he was unsure of how he'd felt about that.

"She better get her hands off you or I shall remove them. I know 413 ways to remove hands, you know. I've had a lot of practice…"

"Anya, honey…this is Faith…you remember me telling you about Faith, don't you?"

"Faith…the Slayer Faith? The evil one who tried to choke you?"

Willow stepped forward. "She's trying to put that whole evil part behind her…aren't you, Faith?"

"Sure, Red…."

Dawn was following the conversation like it was a tennis match. This was better than Passions.

Anya wasn't about to let up. "But didn't you…and her…you…"

Faith laughed. She ran her pinky around her lips, seductively sucking on the tip. Xander was captivated. At least until Anya slapped him.

"Xander! Are you listening to me…?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah…that was a long time ago, wasn't it Faith? And it was only the once, so that really doesn't even count, does it?" He was trying to convince Anya. He didn't know how much of it he believed himself. "Right, Faith?"

Faith straightened and tried to look innocent. "Yeah…it was a long time ago…"

Anya calmed. "Good…now that that's settled, Dawn come back here and help me order the pizzas. I can never remember if Willow likes the little horrible tasting fishies or not."

As Anya and Dawn walked back into Giles' office, Xander turned toward Willow, only to see that she had walked back out to the car with Cordelia. He looked around. He was alone. With Faith.

"So Faith…"

"Xander…"

"Been a while…"

"Yeah..it's been a long time…"

Okay, that was enough of that, Xander thought. "I'm just going to go…"

"Sure was tasty, though," said Faith.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Faith, I think we're way past the…"

"You think about it. I know you do. I know I do."

"Faith…what do you want me to say…?"

"You don't have to say anything…I can feel it…"

"No…no you don't…"

She stepped closer to him. He smelled the scent in her hair, something he remembered from a dream.

That thought was interrupted by Faith's hand between his legs.

"Don't I?"

Oh, God, Xander thought. I'm dead.

"Did I tell you my fiancee used to be a vengeance demon?"

Dawn cleared her throat. "Excuse me?"

Faith backed off. "Yeah, Dawnster?"

"It's been a while. I can't remember what you like on your pizza."

Faith smiled at Xander and winked. "I like it all."

Dawn nodded her head slowly. For some reason she didn't think Faith was just talking about pizza.

"Oh, and Xander…Anya wants to know if you want sauerkraut and pineapple or `that boring pepperoni'."

"Huh…what…sauerkraut and pineapple?…Excuse me ladies, I think we have a culinary emergency on our hands."

Willow's voice came from behind her.

"Having fun, Faith?"

Faith turned to see Willow and Cordelia standing at the door with their bags.

"I thought you were going to respect Xander and Anya."

Faith nodded her head, acting for all the world like the kid caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Willow shook her head in disapproval as she walked past Faith to the back.

Faith looked up and exchanged glances with Cordelia and Dawn.

"For what it's worth," said Cordelia, "I thought it was funny."

~ Chapter 15 ~

"Tell me again what she's doing here? Or Cordelia? And where's Spike?"

Xander hit Buffy's training bag that still hung there. Willow sat on the couch, watching Xander punch at it. He'd been doing that a lot in the last two months.

"He went with Angel to kill Drusilla and Darla…"

"Oh well at least that's a good thing…wait, didn't Angel kill Darla already?"

"That was the first time…"

"Oh…What?"

"Cordelia will explain. She knows the story better than I do. Anyway, Spike insisted on protection for Dawn while he was in LA, and I'm going to be too busy to really protect her."

"What's Dawn need protecting against? I mean Glory's dead."

"Yeah…well, I don't think Spike cares. Spike talks like there's somebody still out there that wants to hurt Dawn. And he believes it."

"I know it…I know he does…but why Faith? I mean why not that Rifle guy?"

"Gunn. He was helping Angel. Besides, I think they wanted someone with a little more `oomph' if you know what I mean."

"I know all about Faith's `oomph', too much, if you ask me. I don't trust her."

"You didn't trust Spike, at first. Or Angel…give her a chance."

"Why should I?"

"Buffy would've wanted you to."

That stopped Xander cold. She was right.

"Well, I didn't always agree with Buffy."

"Xander…"

"All right…" he said, as he went over and took a seat next to Willow on the couch. "She asked me about it, you know…"

"What?"

"Buffy asked me about Faith. Actually she asked me to write her in prison."

"When was this?"

"Right after Buffy's mom died. I told her I'd think about it."

"You didn't do it…"

"No…I couldn't…I couldn't figure out why Buffy would even want me to…"

"I think…that was just Buffy being Buffy."

"Yeah…hey Willow…you trust Faith on this?"

"Yeah…yeah I do. Angel told me something about Faith…"

"What?"

"She called him from prison the night Buffy died. They were off in another dimension, so she left a message on the machine. She was crying, Xander. She dreamed Buffy's death. She had all the details. She even knew what Buffy said to Dawn before she jumped. She was begging Angel to make sure it was just a dream."

"Whoa.."

"He had to go tell her it was true. She didn't take it well."

"Nobody did."

"Nope…but that's why we're doing this, isn't it?"

"Yeah…Willow…you ever think we're being selfish?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…Buffy had a rough life. Now she's at peace. If we bring her back, are we just going to take that from her?"

"I don't know, Xander. I mean, can anybody really know?"

"I guess not."

"So maybe we're selfish. But I think it's the best kind of selfish."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

~ Chapter 16 ~

"Oh, Angel…I love it…it's so…depressing."

Drusilla stared up at the hotel, and leaned her head into Angel's chest.

Spike and Darla were curled up in the back seat. Angel could see that Spike couldn't last much longer. He saw something in Spike's eyes he thought he'd never see. Disgust.

As they walked up the steps to the lobby, Angel saw that Gunn had been busy. All the exits had been blocked except for the lobby door. Dru and Darla were going to walk in, but they would have to get through Spike and Angel to get out.

"C'mon, luv, let's go" muttered Spike, dragging Darla up the stairs.

Darla giggled. "Spike…"

"Yes, luv…"

"Angel said I wasn't any good. Do you believe that?"

"When was this, luv?"

"Back when he had a soul. Before that little secretary of his…I don't believe that…"

"Believe what, pet?"

"That that little…girl…could do what I couldn't…I mean I know I've got skills in that arena…"

"You sure got her beat on the time put in, I'll give you that, pet…"

"Damn right…"

Spike was watching Angel, curious to see his reaction to Darla's little tirade. He knew Angel had a soft spot for the cheerleader. Well, he'd see soon enough.

Angel rolled his eyes as Drusilla twirled around him.

"Go on in, Dru. I think I left a couple of snacks in the upstairs bedroom."

Drusilla stopped twirling.

"Are they still warm…"

"Oh yes…and young. A little present Spike brought me."

"Has Spike been naughty…"

Spike grinned. "Just the Slayer's kid sis and the Harris boy."…

Darla stopped. "They're not dead? I thought you killed them. Why aren't they dead?"

"They still trust me, pet. I figured why let it rot before I'm ready to eat? Besides, I thought we could kill them together…"

Darla gave him a light slap on the chest. "Well, why didn't you say so."

Angel and Spike nodded to each other. "Let's go in," Angel said. "We've got some killing to do."

They walked into the lobby, and stopped as Drusilla began another mad twirl around them, looking at the ceiling.

"It's loverly, Angel."

"I'm glad you like it, Dru. Spike?"

"Yeah…."

"You ready?"

Spike closed the doors behind them and slammed the bolt shut. He pulled Darla into an embrace, and began to nuzzle her neck.

"Anytime, mate."

Darla looked up into Spike's eyes. "What are you two boys up to?" She sounded like a seventeen year old on prom night.

"We're getting someone a present."

"Ohhh…is it for me?"

Angel looked up to the balcony and shouted "NOW!"

"Not bloody likely, pet…"

Spike gripped Darla by that shoulders and turned her away from him, Wesley's crossbow bolt piercing her heart. As she exploded into dust, Drusilla screamed.

She looked up into Angel's eyes. "I don't understand. What's going on?"

Spike walked up to her, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Her…I can still smell her on you…you reek of her…"

"I probably do, pet. Angel…"

"Say night-night, Dru," said Angel as he twisted her head in his hands, making a loud cracking sound. Spike bent down and ripped the pearls from her neck.

Wesley and Gunn hustled down the stairs.

Angel nodded to them. "Nice shot, Wes."

"Well, it's not often I've got a stationary target like that."

Gunn was looking down at Drusilla. "Why isn't she dust?"

"We didn't know if the pearls were powerful enough to survive a dusting. So we just snapped her neck."

"So she's not dead."

Spike stroked her forehead. "No…she'll heal eventually."

"So vamps can walk away from a broken neck."

Spike nodded. "Oh yeah. Buffy broke my back once."

"She did…"

"Oh yeah. It was a real nice dust-up."

"And now you're trying to bring her back from the dead?"

"Yeah. Funny, inn't it?"

Angel slung Drusilla over his shoulder and the four men walked toward the stairs.

Angel stopped and looked back at the lobby.

"Hey Spike…"

"Yeah…"

"You think this place is depressing…?"

Spike looked around. "Naw, mate. I'm finding it right cheerful."

~ Chapter 17 ~

Dawn was in the kitchen making waffles when the nine-foot snake burst through the front door. It had her pinned against the refrigerator and had started to squeeze when she suddenly felt something wet on her face. She opened her eyes to find it was the snake's brains.

Faith wrestled the snake away from her and kept stabbing. Dawn reached out to her.

"Faith…Faith…."

Faith's face was contorted into a wide smile. She just kept stabbing it.

"Faith…it's dead…"

The Slayer stopped, finally hearing Dawn's voice. She looked around. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Thank you…"

Faith didn't know how to react. Nobody ever thanked her for much.

"Hey, yeah, no problem. That's what I'm here for, right?"

Willow and Tara ran through the door.

"What was that? We saw the door…OH…"

Faith smiled, twirling the knife in her hand. It was one of Buffy's that she had found in the weapon chest in the living room. Dawn had tried to get her to sleep in Buffy's room, but Faith couldn't. She just couldn't. Instead, she slept in Joyce's room. Besides it had the bigger bed.

"Dawn, are you okay?" asked Willow.

Dawn held her hands in front of her, obviously trying to keep from touching herself.

"Yeah…Five by five, right, Faith?"

"Yeah, Dawnster, five by five…"

Tara stared at Faith. Willow had described her as a "cleavagey slutbomb". But she had also asked her to be nice to her. Now here she was. She could tell she was a slayer, but she was different from Buffy. More visceral.

"Hi…I'm Tara…" she said, extending her hand…

Faith wiped the blood from her blade against the snake's skin. She reached to shake Tara's hand, but had to switch the knife to her other hand.

"Glad to meet you…again."

"Uh…yeah…"

"First time I wasn't exactly myself."

It dawned on Tara that she had forgotten that Faith had been in Buffy's body. She wasn't sure of the etiquette for the situation.

Dawn fidgeted against the refrigerator, not knowing what to do with herself. "Ooooh…this is so gross."

Willow glanced nervously at Tara. "Listen, Faith, why don't you go get dressed, get Dawn cleaned up and I'll take care of this...mess."

Faith looked at herself. Her Tool t-shirt was covered in blood. "Damn, this was my favorite shirt."

Tara watched as Faith and Dawn went upstairs. She glanced back down at the snake.

"Good thing Faith was here."

"Yeah…I'm thinking maybe we should've stayed over here."

"You didn't get back from the shop until 3, Willow. This could have happened last night, too, and you wouldn't have been there. And isn't this why Faith is here?"

"Yeah…I just don't like it. I mean…where'd it come from."

"I don't know…how are we going to get this out of here?" She didn't want to worry Tara with her suspicions. But she had suspicions. Suspicions she was sure Spike would share.

"How to clean up a dead nine-foot snake carcass…hmm….Like this!"

Willow extended her palm in front of her and slowly closed her hand into a fist. Tara was shocked to see the snake suddenly turn into ash.

Willow smiled. "Tara…"

"Yeah…"

"I think the broom is in the hall closet…"

~ Chapter 18 ~

Wesley was looking through the massive stack of papers on the two tables in the back of the magic shop. He, Angel, Spike and Gunn had arrived in Spike's DeSoto just before daylight. They had stuffed Drusilla in the trunk. What he had feared would be a trip full of smart remarks and loud punk music had instead turned into a very interesting conversation about the English countryside, Dadaist literature, and Angel's inability to bowl. Gunn had fallen asleep.

It was hard to believe that Willow and Spike had done all this research without direction from Giles. The Council was doubtful of Willow's plan. Giles suspected, and Wesley agreed that their hesitance to help stemmed partially from Spike and Angel's involvement and partially from the Council's wariness of Willow's growing power. The Council would eventually help, Wesley was sure. They needed Buffy back. They needed a Slayer. Wesley had been careful, and he though somewhat clever in his communications to Giles, indicating Faith's involvement by saying that everything was "five by five". He could hear the surprise in Giles' voice. Giles accepted the necessity of Faith's presence, and the wisdom in keeping it from the Council.

Wesley stared down at the stack of papers. There was a stack in Giles' studied hand, a stack in Willow's feminine scrawl, and a final stack in a florid hand that Wesley guessed could only be Spike's. Spike had apparently been researching the vagaries of soul containment and revivification. Wesley would have been more surprised at Spike's apparent erudition if he had not spent three hours in a car with the vampire the previous night. He was still surprised when he ran across the poem.

"A Summers' Elegy". Wesley sat and read, the sun setting outside the office window. The more he read, the more he wept. Though it never said so, Wesley could tell that Spike had written it about Joyce and Buffy. It was haunting and lyrical, and very well written. It had reminded him of a poem he had been read long ago in a graduate seminar at Cambridge. Then he realized why it was so familiar.

He looked up to see the sun drop below the horizon. His suspicion would be easy to confirm. He walked over to the bookshelf that housed some of Buffy's textbooks from her last semester at UC-Sunnydale. Yes, there it was. The pages were even marked. He smiled when he saw what was written in the margins.

Spike, Angel, and Dawn were sitting in the Summers living room when Wesley arrived. He could hear Faith and Gunn's laughter from the kitchen. She would not allow anyone else in, saying it would ruin the surprise. That Faith could cook at all was a surprise to Wesley.

"Hey Wes," said Angel. "How'd the research go?"

"Good, good…I did find something Spike might want to see."

"What's that, mate?"

"Well, Mr. Sumner, someone wrote a review of your work," said Wesley, placing an open book on Spike's lap.

Dawn scrunched up her nose. "Mr. Sumner?"

Wesley smiled. "You are the poet William Sumner, aren't you, Spike?"

"Well, that's my name, and I do write an occasional ditty, but no one ever thought enough of it to call me a poet."

"Yes. Someone did. Look."

Spike looked down at the pages in front of him. The poem was "Her Beauty Effulgent". He had written it about Cecily right before he had met Drusilla. Turning to see the cover, he saw he was holding a copy of The Norton Anthology of English Poetry.

"Damn, what do you know. I'm published."

"You have been for years. Your poems were published posthumously by your great-nephew. They're a staple of Victorian literature in colleges everywhere. I would have thought you knew."

"Why would I read anything about Victorian literature? I read it when it first came out. Besides, I wasn't any good. Bloody awful, in fact."

"Well, it appears Buffy didn't think so."

"What do you mean?"

"That is her book from the English Poetry class she took during her last term. She wrote in the margins."

Spike was eerily quiet. "I knew she had the class. We had a long argument about Byron once, I just…"

"Spike," said Angel. "Tell us what she wrote."

Spike took in a deep breath, and read the bright purple scribbles that ran alongside the poems. There were four of his poems in the book, and Buffy had analyzed them all carefully, the corners of the pages turned down to mark the spot.

There were arrows pointing to a passage, where she had written the word "Familiar." Another with the note "I've heard this before." Yet another marked with the description "beautiful". He saw where she had underlined the words "heat" and "desire". In the margin next to the line were the words "It's him."

What was written next caused him to laugh. By what he thought was a very overwrought and self-indulgent description of the light reflecting off of Cecily's hair was written the comment, "And I had to settle for `you have stupid hair'?!"

Finally, he came to the ending stanza of the poem:

"I am content to drown in my love, for it is a death worth dying."

Buffy had circled it four times. Underneath were written the words, "He's telling me the truth."

Spike put his hands over his eyes, and tried to hold in tears. Dawn reached carefully over and put her arm around him.

"Spike…can Angel and I see?"

"Sure, Niblet…sure, why not?"

Dawn took the book and handed it back to Angel. Angel looked down, and laughed.

Spike looked up, annoyed. "I'm glad you find it so bleedin' funny, mate…"

"Spike," he said calmly…"She finished the biographical sketch of you. It's pretty funny."

Spike chuckled between his tears. "What's she say?"

"Well, it mentions your disappearance at the age of 26 from a public reading. Buffy goes on…'And this is when he met a crazy lady with pale skin who sucked the life out of him. He then got a bad dye job, and went on to a career in the rail transportation industry. He did this for a long time until he met a very beautiful young lady who was very smart, had very good hair, and kicked his ass a lot. From then on he was a very kind loving man who stood by the young lady when she needed him.'"

"That's about right…" Spike laughed.

Angel furrowed his brow.

"What's wrong, Angel?" asked Wesley.

Angel smiled. "She doesn't mention me anywhere in here."

Dawn threw a pillow at him, he dodged and the pillow hit Gunn as he emerged from the kitchen.

"Whoa…what's that all about…"

Dawn giggled. "Sorry. Angel was just teasing Spike."

"Well, you guys better get ready for dinner. Faith cooked up some ribs, and the girl can do barbecue. I never tasted sauce this good before…"

Spike raised his hand…"Uh…waiter…is there any blood on the menu?"

Faith walked in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a paper towel. She walked up to Gunn, put the end of the towel in her mouth and proceeded to wipe sauce off of him like she was a mother cleaning her child's face. Gunn didn't know whether to be scared or turned on.

"I saved you guys some…" she said, "but I thought Dawn said you liked barbecue."

"Well, I like hot wings."

"Then you'll like this. Trust me. Now come on…your blood is getting cold. Wes, you want to help Gunn set the table?"

Wes was astonished at Faith's new-found domesticity. "Of course." Looking at Spike, he was glad he had shown him the book. He considered telling him how moved he had been by the "Elegy", but thought better of it. It may be something too private to speak about.

Gunn, Faith and Wesley walked into the kitchen.

Angel handed the book back to Spike. "I'm going to go get Cordy. And Spike…"

"Yeah…"

"We're going to do it."

"I know we will, mate."

As Angel walked upstairs to wake Cordelia from her nap, Dawn nestled up next to Spike. She looked up into his eyes. He still was almost about to cry.

"Hey, Spike…"

"Yeah…"

"I remember where I saw the cup…"

"I know, platelet…I do too…"

"Doc?…"

"Doc."

Time to face my failure, Spike thought.