Chapter 6: Illusions

The training room of the Magic Box...

“My God, he’s alive…” Dawn said in shock. She was taking the news fairly well…however, her sister hadn’t said a word yet, her face terribly pale.

“Buffy? Buffy?!” Giles waved a hand in front of her face.

::Oh she’s quite alright, just in a bit of shock:: Nigel said.

“A BIT? She’s bloody catatonic again!!” Giles shouted, shocking everyone in the room, including Buffy.

“Oh God…” Buffy gasped, “He’s alive?”

::Well, technically no. He’s still a Vampire, but yes, he is still in existence. He’s being held at the Watcher’s headquarters in London. His death was staged.::

“In God’s name, why?” Giles asked.

::Ironic choice of words, Mr. Giles. God is precisely why they are keeping him. The Council has been keeping tabs on a prophecy for quite some time…one that they previously *thought* named Angel, the Vampire with a soul as it’s herald. They have been keeping very close tabs on Buffy and Angel, to make sure that they stayed apart…but they didn’t foresee that they were wrong. Recent events alerted them that Spike was in fact the Vampire the prophecy has been speaking of, so they removed him from your presence.::

“I don’t get it, why is the Council so freaked about this prophecy?” Jonathan asked.

::The fact that the only parts they have been able to translate speak of “changing the future of Slayers for all time” and the “last apocalypse”.::

“How do you know all of this?” Giles asked skeptically.

::Because you are looking at the man…er, well, journal that wrote the prophecy. I am a seer. I have very recently been in contact with another seer, a Ms. Cordelia Chase and I have alerted her and her friends to your circumstances. You’re going to need all the help you can get.::

“I don’t understand… if Spike is going to be the harbinger of these events, why do you want him back?” Giles asked.

::Because Mr. Giles, the prophecy is already in effect. The Vampire Spike isn’t the Harbinger of “the last apocalypse”, it is the Slayer and the Vampire’s child.::

* * *

All Spike knew was darkness. He didn’t know how long he was there….days? Months? His joints ached and his body felt weak. Small wonder at that… they hardly fed him, and it was never enough to keep the demon satisfied. He imagined he looked something like a Holocaust victim by now…except he couldn’t see himself. Even when he vamped out he couldn’t make anything out. Not that he needed to slip into his demon visage anymore… it was constantly on the surface. It was harder to suppress it because he was so hungry. He had a difficult time thinking straight, his mind was all muddled and he had a hard time remembering why he was even here. Half the time he had to think real hard to remember who he was resisting, and why.

They had chained him up, and threw him into the deepest, darkest room they could find. He was in some kind of dungeon below the Council headquarters, that much he knew. Every few days someone would come in, set a shallow bowl of blood in front of his face, and made him eat it like a dog. Half the time he was too hungry to complain, even in his head.

His sleeping hours were filled with dreams…horrible twisted dreams. He could feel the demon surging within him…The evil inside was screaming to break free. His anchors were thousands of miles away from him, so there was no one but himself to turn to. Buffy wouldn’t come to his rescue, she thought he was dead... Ashes.

The times when Spike could remember, he only remembered the bad times.

Most of all he remembered the night he was taken from her…

Spike was awakened by someone’s terrified scream outside. He got up quickly and as silently as he could so as not to disturb Buffy’s peaceful slumber. He went to the window and peered out.
Down the lamp lighted street he could just make out a teenage girl running from a Vampire. Spike swore under his breath.

“Be right back, luv.” He whispered to Buffy’s sleeping form as he pulled on his pants and boots and left silently. No need to wake Buffy after all, it was still dark out and he had about an hour until sunrise.

He ran down the empty street where he last saw the girl and the vampire, following the scent of fear like a ship’s wake. Funny how the smell of fear from a human now prompted him to think of helping the human instead of eating it.

He saw that the Vampire had trapped the frightened girl against a wall, and he rushed in to save her.

He ran in with fists flying, knocking the vampire off of the girl. He made short work of the Vampire, a punch to the nose, sweep kick to the knees and a stake to the heart as soon as the Vamp was down.

Stupid fledgling, Spike thought, Didn’t even have enough sense in his head to know that the sun is gonna rise in 45 minutes. Hunting hour is over, you wanker. He glared at the pile of dust at his feet.

He quickly pocketed his stake and turned to the girl hiding in the darkened corner.

“Erm, hello?” Spike said, vamping out to see better in the dark. He thought he heard a distant ‘clicking’ noise, but ignored it.

He heard a human girl whimper in fright.

“Hey…” He walked slowly over to her. The girl looked up and saw his demon visage, shrieked and scrambled away. “Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you!” Spike ambled after the girl so as not to frighten her. He though he heard the ‘clicking’ noise again, and paused to throw a suspicious look over his shoulder. Something didn’t smell right to him. He heard the girl whimpering again and continued to follow after her. Suddenly he was pounced on from behind by several bodies, all of them trying to restrain him.

“BLOODY HELL!!” Spike swore in surprise as he struggled to shake them off. He was too busy to hear the ‘clicking’ noise this time. He succeeded in throwing them off and he did a double take when he got a good look at them.

“I’m being attacked by Watchers?” Spike started laughing.

It could have been the glasses, or the tweed suits, but mostly it was the firm ‘I’ve got a stick shoved up my ass’ look on their faces that tipped him off.

“Please.” Spike scoffed at their fighting stance. He never even saw the Watcher behind him until it was too late. He was zapped with a cattle prod until he couldn’t move. He couldn’t open his mouth to swear or to call for help; his entire body was wrought with tension as it reacted to the electricity coursing through him. He was dimly aware of one of the watchers injecting into his arm something in a syringe, while the others bound him up in thick steel cables-the kind that could stand a thousand tons of pressure easily. He tried to struggle, but his body refused to cooperate. He was gagged, and the last thing he saw as he was blindfolded, was one watcher taking a picture of where Spike was standing last, while another threw a box full of dust in the air.

They were staging his death.

* * *

The Angel-mobile...

“I’m just saying, I think they would appreciate a call instead of us bursting in uninvited.” Cordelia said with her arms crossed over her chest. She was sitting in the passenger seat of the Angel-mobile, with Connor in the back seat. Gunn, Wesley and Fred were following behind them in Gunn’s truck. They had been driving for nearly two hours, and Cordelia and Angel had argued the entire way. To say the least, Connor had a headache.

“Why break with tradition?” Angel shrugged indifferently as he changed lanes and took the Sunnydale exit on the Freeway.

“Ugghh!! Fine!” Cordelia threw up her hands in frustration. “At least you won’t be hounding me to pay long distance charges for your phone call.” Cordelia added under her breath.

“I heard that.” Angel said.

“Good!” Cordelia snapped. Angel gave her an incredulous look.

“Is there something wrong? You’ve been picking fights with me ever since we left!” Angel gritted his teeth.

“No, I’m just peachy!” Cordelia shouted. Angel sighed, pulled over in a department store parking lot and parked the car. Gunn pulled up beside him and gave him an inquisitive look, but Angel just signaled for them to wait.

“Cordy, if there is something you need to say, say it.” Angel said in annoyance.

“It’s nothing, alright?!” She stubbornly refused to look at him.

“I thought this was what you wanted, to help! Why are you acting like this?”

“I *do* want to help, but why do we always have to come racing back to Sunnydale the minute Buffy is in danger?! A simple phone call would do.”

“That’s what this is about, isn’t it? It’s about Buffy.”

“Yes!! I mean, no! I mean….ughh! I’m riding with Gunn!” Cordelia suddenly flung her door open and hopped out of the car into the sunlight.

“Cordy!!” Angel called after her, but she only slammed the door shut. Through the tinted glass Angel watched Cordy walk over to the passenger side of Gunn’s truck, say something to them, and climbed in when Fred relinquished her seat. Angel sighed as Fred walked over to the passenger side of his car and got in.

“Hey guys…I guess I’m riding with you now.” Fred smiled nervously as she buckled her seat belt. Angel flashed her an apologetic smile, started the car and headed back on their course to the Magic Box, his mind still rehashing the fight with Cordelia.

* * *

The training room of the Magic Box...

“I said NO! I’m not doing this again!!” Buffy shrieked.

::You really don’t have any choice in the matter, it has already begun.::

“Stop it!” Buffy shouted desperately at the journal. “Nothing has begun! This is all just a big mistake. You have it all wrong!”

::I really don’t see any other Slayers impregnated by Vampires around, do you?::

“No!! You’re wrong! I’m not going to be Prophecy-girl, not again!”

::Buffy, this isn’t as bad as it all sounds. You haven’t even given me the chance to show you the prophecy.::

“I don’t care about your prophecy. All I want is for Spike to come home and to have my family. No prophecy stuff involved!”

“Wait until you hear it.” Cordelia’s voice from the doorway made everyone turn. Cordelia stood in the entrance to the training room, with a frown on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.

::Ah, Ms. Chase, thank God you’ve arrived.:: Nigel sighed exasperated.

Cordy started at the voice in her head and looked around confused. “Who said that?”

Everyone sighed and pointed to the leather bound Journal propped up on the table. Cordelia’s eyebrows practically hit her hairline. “YOU! You were in my vision! Ok, major weird… it’s a talking book.”

::Pleased to meet you, and the term is *telepathic*:: Nigel said dryly. ::Ms. Chase, would you please tell ms. Summers that the prophecy isn’t as bad as it sounds.::

“Look buster,” Cordelia stalked over to the Journal, pointing a finger at it, but then realized it couldn’t see her, so she quickly put it down, “I don’t know who you think you are, putting a vision in my head! We’ve been tricked before by false prophecies, so I’m not telling anyone anything.” She finished stubbornly.

Everyone could hear the Journal mentally sigh in frustration. ::You people are more difficult than I imagined...:: Nigel huffed. ::Look, all I’m asking is that you all read the prophecy.::

The book suddenly opened and flipped to the first blank page. Everyone found themselves walking closer to the book as they saw the writing appear as if a Ghost hand were writing it. First it flashed gold as it was written, and then turned to black as it settled. When the writing had finished, Giles was the first one to pick up the book and begin reading.

“Ahmshe’ir Prophecy, or ‘The Savior’ Prophecy…” Giles adjusted his glasses as he read out loud:

“And so forth from the shadows and the light within the Valley of the Sun, there shall come unto us a new hope. The Ahmshe'ir shall be brought forth, born of the Dead With Heart and the Gift of Death, the Ahmshe'ir shall have the life gifted to it from both sides. And though innocent born, through it's actions, all of the lines of fate shall be shifted forever more.
But as with all lines drawn into the sands of time, the changes wrought by the Ahmshe'ir shall be fragile and all too easily erased. With the drawing of these new lines, shall the old ones be erased, and new enemies and friends both be made. Even as those who before would attack the righteous shall now lie down in peace with their enemies, and those who have only watched before shall now rise up to attack. Only by the efforts of all those trapped within the Valley of the Sun in it's days before it's setting, shall all be saved once more. Guided by the Gift of Death and the Dead With Heart this new Hope shall bring forth the new era in time to see the Sun rise upon it's Valley once more. Led by the Ahmshe'ir shall the good once more emerge from the ashes after the fires of fate sweep through.”

“You know, that doesn’t get any less creepy when someone else is saying it.” Gunn said as he walked through the door like he owned the place, Fred, Connor, Wesley and Angel behind him.
“Tell me about it.” Cordelia muttered.

“Uh, who are you?” Buffy asked Gunn and Fred.

“This is Charles Gunn, Fred and you know Wesley. They stayed back in L.A. the last time we saved the world.” Angel introduced them, “Guys, this is Buffy, Dawn, Giles and…what are you doing here?” Angel furrowed his brows at Jonathan.

“Uh…” Jonathan stammered.

“He’s on our side now Angel.” Buffy filled in for him.

Angel glanced at Buffy with a raised eyebrow in question. “Last time I saw him he was trying to open the Hellmouth.”

“A lot has changed since then Angel.” Buffy said morosely as she turned her back from the group so they wouldn’t see her eyes water with tears.

::Now that we’ve got the introductions out of the way…:: Nigel said impatiently, reminding them of his presence. Gunn, Fred, Wesley, Connor and Angel all practically jumped out of their skins in surprise.

“What the-?” Angel said in shock.

“Nigel, one of these days you’re going to frighten someone off a roof if you keep doing that!” Dawn said in exasperation.

::Terribly sorry.:: Nigel replied, sounding not in the least bit sorry.

“What’s going on here?” Angel asked.

“It’s a long story.” Buffy snapped in annoyance.

“The book can talk.” Cordelia said.

“Oh.” Angel said in acceptance.

“Apparently not that long.” Giles muttered and adjusted his glasses.

“GUYS!!” Buffy suddenly shouted in frustration. She still had her back turned to them, her shoulders were tensed; her entire posture indicated that she was emotionally and physically exhausted.

“Buffy… are you okay?” Dawn approached her sister carefully. Dawn was standing at an angle where if she glanced at the mirror on the wall she could see Buffy’s face. Her eyes were wet with tears, and her face was scrunched up in an unsuccessful attempt to keep from crying.

These past few months had been hell on Buffy. Everything just keeps building and building, and now she finds out all this time that she thought he was dead…Spike was being held prisoner by the Council, because of some prophecy! A prophecy that claims their child would be the harbinger of an apocalypse! It was just too much.

“I can’t deal with this right now.” Buffy bit back a sob and fled from the Magic Box.

“Is she going to be alright?” Wesley asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“She has a lot to deal with right now,” Giles wearily rubbed his eyes and turned to the group. “As do we all.”

* * *

Below the Council's Headquarters...

“No, no, no, no….It’s too dark.” Spike muttered. “Can’t… Can’t see. Don’t you think I’ve been TRYING??” He shouted, his words echoing off the stone walls. “Lost….all lost. Everything. The girl, the bit, the friends…all of it gone. Ashes…like me. Deep down in the dirt and grime. Beneath them. Always beneath them. IS THAT ALL I AM?!?!” Spike struggled in his chains, but only succeeded in making them rattle. His thoughts were all jumbled and his body was weak. He didn’t know how long they kept him down there, starving him of blood and light. Here his mind ran around in circles, coming out in rants and jumbled thoughts, spilling from his lips unheeded.

“Beneath who?” A voice asked in the darkness.

“HER….them. Cecily…she killed me that night. THAT BITCH!!” Spike shouted and struggled against the chains again, but then settled down, chuckling. “Should thank her, really. Made me who I am…If she wasn’t such a bitch it never would have happened…and then I would have never met…” Spike trailed off, lost in muddled memories.

“Who?” The voice asked.

Spike chuckled maniacally. “Did you know I once called her Slutty the Vampire Layer?” Then his tone softened. “Didn’t know her then…couldn’t have known…”

“The Slayer?” The voice asked.

“She has it you know…the spark…all that passion and grace…it consumes me, makes me different…makes me more a man. Donno how she does it. Just does. Who would have thought such a little thing has so much strength? So much power. She glows. No one else sees it. Not even herself. She hides it away…until she’s kicking your ass.” Spike chuckled.

“Tell me more about Cecily.” The voice said.

“THAT BINT?!? Not even worth mentioning…She…she was the reason I was turned. I was such a little prat…desperate for her affections, and she THREW THEM IN MY FACE!!” Spike roared in anger but then whimpered, “It hurts…still hurts. One hundred and Twenty-eight years, and you’d think I’d get over it. Always a fool for love… my Da always said so. The stupid git was right. Didn’t want to see that then…I was always going on about love…words, all WORDS! Didn’t know what love was…just knew I wanted it…ALL I ever wanted was to be loved. Instead I got pain…and death….and destruction. Even when I had love…I was torn away from it. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Spike glared hatefully in the direction of the voice.

Sitting in a room far above Spike’s dungeon, Quentin sat in front of a computer console and TV screen displaying Spike’s cell in night vision. Quentin pushed a button and spoke into the microphone.

“Tell me about your life in Sunnydale.”

* * *

The Magic Box...

The ‘closed’ sign hung in the front window of the Shop because it was a Sunday. But the lights were on, and yet again the Scoobies and the Fang-gang were gathered together researching and planning. Willow, Xander and Anya had been called in and were told what was going on.

Nigel had gleefully scared the daylights out of them when he first spoke to them, so now Anya wouldn’t go anywhere near the “possessed book”, complaining loudly that as a Vengeance Demon she had “Run into enough possessed books, thank you very much.”

They had an invaluable source of information about the Prophecy because of Nigel, but they still had to form a plan to rescue Spike from the Watcher’s Headquarters.

They had been researching and planning for hours, the only one not involved in the research party was Buffy. The gang was worried about her, but Nigel insisted that she was fine. Darkness had fallen during her absence, so Giles and Dawn had agreed to go out and find Buffy while the others researched.

* * *

Buffy was busy relinquishing unresolved tension.

To say the least, she was kicking some Vamp’s ass all over the graveyard. She backhanded the fledgling, turned and kicked it in the stomach while it was still reeling from the blow. It fell on it’s back and she quickly staked it.

“Eighteen.” Buffy counted, with a feral look in her eyes.

Like a predator out on the hunt, she turned and searched for her next kill.

* * *

“She’s gotta be around here somewhere. Look at all the dust on the ground.” Dawn observed as they walked through the Graveyard.

“There!” Giles pointed ahead of them. They spotted Buffy taking on three vamps off in the distance and started running after her.

Buffy had just staked Vamp #1 and turned to stake Vamp #2 when Giles and Dawn ran in, staking the remaining two vampires for her.

“HEY!!” Buffy cried out in dismay. “They were mine!”

“Buffy!! For Christ’s sake, what the bloody hell do you think you are doing!?” Giles said furiously.

“My job Giles.”

“You’re putting yourself and your child in danger!” He snapped back.

Buffy seemed to snap out of her ‘hunter’ persona. “What?”

“You didn’t even think about that?!” Giles asked her.

“No…I…Giles…I don’t know what came over me.” Buffy looked at the stake in her hand with a sudden disgust. “I just…was so confused and angry…I didn’t even think about it... I just did what came naturally.”

“Buffy, you can’t….” Giles started to lecture her, but then decided on a different tactic, “You have your child to think of now. I know we haven’t discussed this yet, but I think it best that you refrain from Slaying until the Baby is born.”

Buffy gave him a hurt look as if he had just drop kicked her puppy.

“I assure you, it’s for your health and the Baby’s. One kick to the stomach..” Giles trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

“Fine. But I get to keep training.” Buffy pouted. Giles gave her an apprehensive glance but agreed.

“Why does this stuff happen to me, Giles?” Buffy asked forlornly.

“Luck?” Giles suggested lightheartedly. Buffy prodded him in the side none-too gently.

They were all silent for a long stretch of time.

“Buffy, please, let’s go home? Jonathan and the others can patrol tonight.” Dawn said. Buffy nodded and pocketed the stake.

“I know this is difficult Buffy,” Giles said as they walked. “And it will probably get worse before it gets better. We’re already working on a plan to rescue Spike. With any luck we’ll have him home before the baby comes.”

“You think it’ll be that long?” Buffy asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

“I honestly don’t know. There are a lot of factors to consider…we need to find out where he’s being kept…we need a map of the Council headquarters, and most importantly, we need to find away to get him out of there undetected.” Giles sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

“You could have just said: “I haven’t a bloody clue”.” Buffy half teased.

“I have so…! It’s just ...complicated.” Giles said lamely, but then gave her an abashed grin.

* * *

CBelow the Council's Headquarters...

“What the bloody hell do you want from me?” Spike asked into the darkness. He was even more bone-weary now. The questions never stopped. Somewhere in the back of his mind something was nagging at him….trying to remind him of something. But he couldn’t remember what it was.

“Answers.” The voice said.

“Already told you, I ain’t got ‘em” Spike replied wearily.

“What happened the last night you were with Buffy?” The voice asked.

“Not telling.” Spike muttered in a childish manner.

“How long have you had sexual relations with Ms. Summers?”

That nagging in the back of his head went into full alert. Something was wrong…he couldn’t remember what it was though. Something about all of this was very off. Why did the voice keep asking questions about Buffy?

Buffy…Spike felt a pang go through him. He missed her so much…her and the Nibblet. But there was something else he couldn’t remember…something that made him mad at the Slayer. His feverish mind couldn’t recall what it was though. He was so hungry, and his body was so weak. Maybe they were all just illusions…maybe he had always been trapped here in the darkness and his mind had made up everything in desperate hope. Maybe *this* was the illusion…maybe he was going crazy…the world was rapidly spinning out of focus, he didn’t know what was real and what was fake.

“Piss off.” Spike managed to drawl out before exhaustion took it’s toll on him, and he passed out.

* * *

Several feet above him, Quentin Travers slammed his fists on the mahogany desk in frustration. He had almost had the answers he wanted.

Chapter 7: Plans

Pleasant Glade Cemetary, Sunnydale...

“So let me get this straight…” Gunn said as he walked through the graveyard. “Spike is Angel’s Grandchilde…Angel and Buffy used to be an item…but now Buffy and Spike are going out…and now Buffy is pregnant with Spike’s child…Spike who is a vampire.”

“Well….yes.” Giles said as they continued walking.

Back at the Magic Box they had decided to pit the girls against the boys, and take turns patrolling and researching. Tonight it was the boy’s turn to patrol. So Giles, Wesley, Jonathan, Xander, Angel, Connor and Gunn were all patrolling the graveyards together.

“How the hell did that happen?” Gunn asked.

Xander was grinning like a fool. He put a brotherly arm around Gunn’s shoulder as they walked, “Gunn, my man, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much-“ Xander was cut off when Gunn shoved him away good-naturedly.

“Man, get off. You *know* that’s not what I meant.” Gunn glared at the boy.

“Yes Xander, do shut up.” Giles sighed in exasperation. Jonathan was sniggering.

“It was the prophecy?” Wesley said, more of a statement than a question.

“Well, yes….and no,” Giles replied, “Willow and Tara gave Spike the Amulet of Bytanor…it’s a magical talisman for vampires. It allowed him to walk in the sunlight and he was able to see his reflection. But it seems there was another feature we were…um, unaware of.”

“Interesting,” Wesley said, “The prophecy never mentioned the Amulet.”

“Yes, because every prophecy we’ve ever read gives specifics.” Xander rolled his eyes, “Usually they say something vague like ‘Ultimate cosmic happiness, and then death’.”

Suddenly they heard a vampire snarl and jump out from behind a tomb, lunging at Connor.

“Speaking of death.” Connor grinned and started to fight the vampire with vigor.

Angel leaned back against a mausoleum to watch and grinned proudly. “That’s my boy.”

* * *

Council Headquaters, Quentin Trevor's office...

“Professor Broody, I am growing impatient with all these excuses.” Quentin practically growled at the balding white-haired professor.

Professor Broody adjusted his thick glasses nervously and shuffled the aged texts in his hands. “All of our Witches and Wizards on the Council so far haven’t been able to crack the magic encryption. It’s far too strong. Not only was Nigel Hawthorne a great Seer, he was an adept Wizard as well, a fact that he had hid from the council.” Professor Broody said with a hint of admiration in his voice.

Quentin however, looked less than pleased. “I don’t care what it takes, JUST TRANSLATE THE BLOODY PROPHECY!!”

* * *

Summers residence...

Buffy sat in her room, silently fingering Spike’s Amulet of Bytanor.

Dawn stood in the hallway and softly knocked on Buffy’s door. “Can I come in?”

“Of course Dawnie.” Buffy replied quietly. Dawn came in and sat on the bed next to her sister.

“You gonna be okay?” Dawn asked.

“I don’t know.” Buffy sighed and glanced at her sister. “Don’t you have homework or something?”

“Geez, rude much? You could have just said ‘Go away’.” Dawn teased.

There was a moment of silence, and Dawn looked down at the floor. “We’re going to get him back….right?” Dawn asked hopefully.

Buffy glanced down at the amulet and started to finger it again. “They’re working on it.”

* * *

Back at the Magic Box...

Tonight’s ‘Research group’ consisted of Willow, Tara, Anya, Fred and Cordelia. They were busy scouring the books while the ‘Patrol group’ was out patrolling. So when the bell above the door jingled announcing visitors, the girls all glanced up from their’ texts to see Giles walk in first, Jonathan next, Xander, Connor, Wesley, Gunn and then Angel.

“Oh Goddess, Giles, what happened to your head?” Willow gasped when she saw the Watcher had a gash on his forehead. Anya calmly went to the back room and fetched the first aid kit, passing it off to Tara.

“Was it a Vampire?” Tara asked as she pulled out the alcohol pads and motioning Giles to sit in the chair next to Willow.

“No,” Giles said, casting Jonathan a sour look as he sat down, “Jonathan decided to ask me more inane questions about Vampires…I decided it would be less painful to bash my head against the wall repetitively.” Giles winced as Tara dabbed the cut with the pad.

“I just wanted to know why their clothes turn to dust when they are killed. The clothes aren’t evil, so why do they turn to dust along with the demon? I tried to ask Mr. Tall-dark-and-broody over there, but after awhile he just started to growl at me.” Jonathan said, but everyone rolled there eyes and ignored him. Angel glared at the boy and Connor only looked slightly amused.

“How did patrol go?” Cordelia asked the group.

“Staked three, sliced and diced five.” Gunn replied.

“And in English that would mean…?” Willow prompted.

“Three vamps and five demons.” Gunn gave her a ‘duh’ look.

“Oh, right. Gotcha.” Willow replied while silently sniggering at Giles and Wesley simultaneously picking up their Watcher’s journals and recording the night’s events. They even took off their glasses and pinched their noses at the same time. It was cute really…in a Watcher-y kind of way.

“So any luck with research then?” Giles asked as he finished up his notes.

Willow instantly perked up and motioned to her laptop. “I’ve been hacker-girl,” She replied with an overzealous grin, “Hacked myself right into the Watcher’s database.”

“Really?” Wesley asked interestedly, adjusting his glasses.

“No way!” Jonathan exclaimed and walked over to look for himself.

“They have a database?” Giles furrowed his eyebrows and squinted at the screen.

“Way to go Wills!” Xander acted as her own personal cheering section.

“I’m impressed.” Gunn said.

“Neat.” Angel shrugged.

“What’s a database?” Connor asked. Everyone turned to him with raised eyebrows. “What? I grew up in a hell dimension.” Connor shrugged.

“Um, guys? The point.” Willow directed their attention back to her

“Oh, yes, did you find anything useful?” Giles asked.

“Boy did I ever.” Willow grinned as she held up the blue-prints for the Council Headquarters.

“Good lord Willow! How on earth did you get that?” Giles nearly fell out of his chair in shock.

“Well, actually, it wasn’t all me... See I hacked into the database to find out what construction company built the place. I couldn’t access the records from the computer or anything, but that’s where Nigel came in. Once we knew where to find it…”

::A simple summoning spell and it came right to us.:: Nigel chimed in proudly.

“Summoning Spell?” Giles actually *did* fall out of his chair.

::I may be an inanimate object, but I assure you, I’m quite capable of these things. Just took a bit out of me is all.:: Nigel admitted. Giles glanced at all the girl’s faces as if to confirm this was actually true.

“Well….um….good. Good.” Giles stammered and straightened his glasses. “Right then, good show everybody. We’ll erm…pick this up tomorrow, say noon?” Everyone made various sounds of agreement. “Angel I trust you remember the sewer route?”

“Yeah, I’ll be here.” Angel said, “We made arrangements to stay in the same hotel as last time, so you know where to find us if you need us.”

“Well then. I say we call it a night.” Giles said and everyone gathered up their items and headed for the door. Anya locked up the shop behind them just as the sun began to tint the sky pink.

* * *

The next day Giles was quite tardy for the Scooby meeting, which was entirely unlike him. The large group was waiting in the training room because Anya had thrown a fit that the group’s presence in the shop would scare customers away.

So they sat making small talk as they waited for the designated Watcher of the group to arrive.

Xander was having a grand ol’ time taunting Angel with some juicy tidbits of information Spike had told him, while Jonathan listened in with great interest.

Surprisingly enough Wesley and Tara found something to talk about and were conversing on the fringes of the group.

Gunn and Fred were discretely necking.

Willow was happily informing Buffy of her and Nigel’s triumph in thieving the blue-prints of the Watcher’s Headquarters, and Nigel was unusually silent, only penning his comments when he had something to say. Willow suspected it was because he used up a great deal of energy on the summoning spell.

Cordelia was studiously avoiding Angel for reasons that no one but Angel knew. And despite his attempts to talk to her, she’d hiss at him “Now’s NOT the time!” before stomping off in a huff to avoid him some more.

Connor was standing around looking bored while Angel attempted to talk to him to get Xander to go away…but Xander wouldn’t take the hint and kept asking him “Is it true you tried on Druscilla’s dresses once?”, which interestingly enough peeked Connor’s interests, while Jonathan would snigger some more. So instead of taunting Angel, Xander gleefully started sharing the annoyingly embarrassing stories with Connor.

Angel was going to kill his Grandchilde when he got home.

At last Giles came into the training room looking a bit breathless, but cheery nonetheless. “Ah, good, I see everyone has arrived.”

“Yeah…on time.” Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and gave Giles a pointed look.

Giles grinned despite himself. He was glad that Buffy seemed to be doing better today than yesterday.

“Yeah G-man, some of us gotta get back to work.” Xander said, then quickly amended, “Not that I miss it or anything.”

“Sorry for keeping all of you, but I have good news.” Giles grinned, choosing to ignore Xander’s nickname for him, although he did cast the boy a weary glance. “I didn’t want to say anything yesterday because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull it off, but I just got off the phone a short while ago…” Giles paused as he took off his glasses, squinted at them and started polishing them with his handkerchief, “it turns out-“

“GOD, is the long winded speech thing part of the Watcher training? Get to the punch line already!” Cordelia said impatiently. Wesley raised an eyebrow and nervously fiddled with his own glasses.

“Er…yes, well…” Giles stammered as he put his glasses back on, “Right then, the uh, point is, I called in a favor from an old friend at the Council. She’s a Watcher…but I assure you we can trust her. She is going to help us find out where Spike is.”

“She?” Willow said teasingly.

Giles rolled his eyes, “Yes Willow, she happens to be a female.”

“Who?” Buffy asked.

“Well I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. She’s doing this for me at a very high personal risk. I don’t know what she’ll find…perhaps nothing at all. But I just wanted you all to know where we stand.” Giles turned to Buffy and spoke softly to her, “It will probably be awhile before I hear back from her, so don’t get your hopes up just yet. These things take time…and delicacy. We must be overcautious so that the Council doesn’t get wind of what we are doing.”

“No running in, guns a-blazing. Check.” Buffy weakly joked. Giles cracked a grin despite himself.

“I don’t think you’d be very intimidating in the state you are in anyhow.”

Buffy quickly glanced down at her slightly swollen stomach and sighed. “Well at least there’s nothing scarier than a hormonal pissed off pregnant Slayer.”

* * *

Later in the day...

“YOU STARTED THE MEETING WITHOUT ME?!?!?” Dawn shrieked in outrage as she slammed her backpack on the research table.

“You were at school!” Buffy defended herself.

“You guys couldn’t have waited like, three hours? Great.” Dawn replied peevishly as she yanked open her school bag, pulled out her books and slammed them on the table, sending a box of supplies crashing to the floor.

“Oh perfect!!” Dawn shouted in frustration at her clumsiness.

“HEY!! Watch the merchandise!!” Anya left a potential customer in the dust as she ran over to the box of fallen goods. “You better hope nothing broke missy! This was a new shipment of ancient magical artifacts! Do you know how much a Luctian Tryacite crystal costs?! Or, or a Novaskocian fertility statue?” Anya ranted as she dug through the box, checking for any nicks, scratches, gouges or broken pieces. Dawn winced as she thought about paying off Anya for the rest of her life, so she helped remove the items from the thankfully well-padded box. She lifted out a very heavy wooden statue, squinting at its ugly face.

“What is this?” Dawn asked as she examined it for damage.

“Oh that’s the Novaskocian fertility statue. Isn’t it cute?” Anya glanced at it as she continued checking the box’s contents.

“Yeah…cute.” Dawn made a ‘yuk’ face as she examined it.

“You might want to put that down, it *is* a fertility statue after all.” Anya said offhandedly as she picked up a tangle of amulets.

Dawn yelped and put it down quickly.

“Here, check these for damage.” Anya said as she passed Dawn the tangled talismans. “I’ve got to get back to the people willing to buy things.” Anya quickly returned to the customers.

“So, have a bad day at school?” Buffy asked as she sat down and helped Dawn sort out the talismans.

“No, not really.” Dawn muttered as she untangled the chains of five amulets.

“So what’s with the bad and moody?” Buffy queried.

“It’s nothing.” Dawn said a little too quickly.

“Come on Dawn, you never talk to me anymore. I always had to get my information from Spike.”

Dawn sighed and set down the tangle of chains. “So you’re gonna play the guilt card on me hu?”

“Works, doesn’t it?”

Dawn gave her sister a weak smile. “Fine. It’s nothing really, you’re gonna think I’m stupid.”

“Try me.” Buffy reassured her as she sat back to listen.

“Hey! I don’t see enough damage control over there.” Anya shook a finger in their direction as she rang up a sale for a customer.

Buffy and Dawn rolled their eyes and took up their tasks again. They were silent for a few minutes.

“So you were saying?” Buffy prompted.

“Not letting me out of this, are you?” Dawn sighed.

“Nope. Confess.”

Dawn sighed heavily and muttered, “Connorhasn'taskedmeoutyet.”

“Hu?” Buffy said, trying to figure out Dawn’s run-on sentence in her head. “I know I heard Connor’s name somewhere in there, but that’s about it.”

“He hasn’t asked me out on a date yet.” Dawn said miserably.

“Oh.” Buffy said kinda dazed, but then the real problem hit her, “Ohh!!”

“I mean, we’ve talked a lot…which is really a feat in its self ‘cause he doesn’t really talk all that much, but now that he’s here he hasn’t asked me out or anything.” Dawn pouted.

“Have you dropped any hints?” Buffy asked.

“I’ve dropped Anvils!” Dawn yanked a little too hard on one of the chains, almost breaking it. She grimaced and started taking more care, not knowing the monetary value of these things.

“Well…he *did* grow up in a hell dimension…I kinda doubt they had anything like dating there. Maybe he’s like Spike in that department. He doesn’t really know about that kind of stuff.”

“You think?” Dawn replied hopefully.

“I’ll talk to Angel about it, see if he can give Connor a few pointers.” Then Buffy grimaced, “On second thought, I’ll ask Cordelia.”

* * *

Sunnydale Inn, room 108...

“No, no, and NO!!” Cordelia shouted as she slammed the now empty hotel dresser drawers and threw her clothes into her bag.

“Cordy!” Angel exclaimed in frustration.

“Angel, if you want to stick around and play Buffy’s hero, that’s fine, but I’m going back to L.A. to run Angel Investigations!” She snapped at him as she zipped up her suitcase.

“That’s not how it is Cordelia and you know it.”

“Do I?” She glared at him as she made her way into the bathroom to steal the free toiletries, leaving him speechless. When she stomped back into the room with her hands full of the little soaps and lotions she glared at Angel. “You’re still here?”

“Yes, and I will be until you talk to me.” Angel said stubbornly.

“I’ve already said everything I want to say to you.” Cordelia said just as stubbornly as she dumped the toiletries in her second bag and zipped it up, heaving one bag on her shoulder and the other in her hand.

“No, I don’t think you have.” Angel stood in front of the door when she moved to go through it.

“Move Angel!”

“No.” Angel crossed his arms over his chest.

“Move before I kick your sorry ass away from the door!” Cordelia hissed as she set down her bags.

“Right, like you c-Ow!!“ Angel was cut off by her stomping on his foot, punching him in the nose and throwing him bodily across the room, leaving the doorway open.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Angel growled at her as he stood up.

“YOU! You are what’s wrong with me you big oaf!!” Cordelia stalked over to him angrily, getting in his face, “Just when I figure out I love you, you go and decide to run back to Sunnydale to save Buffy! Well I’m sick of playing second fiddle to her! First Xander and now you!! I’ve had it!!” Cordelia shouted at the top of her lungs and turned to stomp out of the room, but Angel suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him, smashing his lips on hers. Cordelia struggled at first because she was angry, but then she slowly started kissing him back. After making out for nearly five minutes, Cordelia pulled back and glared at him.

“You just had to ruin my dramatic exit.” Cordelia said breathlessly.

“Sorry, the fact that you said you loved me kinda caught my attention.”

“Oh damn, I did say that, didn’t I?”

“Yeah.” Angel said and they frantically started kissing again.

* * *

Beneath the Watcher's Headquarters...

“Hey…” Someone was gently prodding Spike in the side. “Are you ok?” The female voice asked.

Spike reluctantly swam back to consciousness and wearily cracked open his eyes. Didn’t help though, it was still too dark to see.

“W-what?” Spike croaked out. His mouth was horribly parched.

“Here.” The female said as he felt a bowl of blood being pressed to his lips. He drank quickly, learning here that eating fast meant gaining every drop. But surprisingly there was more blood in the bowl than normal. Lots more in fact.

“Drink it slowly, you don’t want to choke.” The girl said.

Spike realized as he drank the blood that it didn’t have any drugs in it either. When he finished the last drops he asked, “Who are you?”

“A friend. I don’t have much time, so listen carefully. I can help you escape.”

“You know who I am, don’t you? What I am?” Spike said even as his brain was screaming Shut up you bloody fool!

He just had to know why though.

“Yes, William. I know what you are. The question is, do you?” The girl asked, but before he could answer she continued. “I am here to help. Do you want it or not?”

Spike nodded, but then realized it was too dark for her to see. “Yeah.”

“Good. Now you must listen closely, timing is everything…”

* * *

Sunnydale Inn, room 108...

Buffy knocked on Cordelia’s hotel room. “Cordelia?”

There was no answer, but Buffy thought she heard something breaking in the room. She knocked louder. “Cordelia?” This time she heard Cordelia’s muffled yelp and more banging around inside. Buffy tried the doorknob and found it was unlocked, so she pushed the door open and walked in, “Cordelia wh-OH MY GOD!”

“Buffy!” Cordelia yelped and quickly covered herself with the closest pillow while a very naked Angel hid behind her.

“Angel?” Buffy asked while trying not to look at them, “What’s going on?”

“Well…um…you see….uh…” Angel stammered and the two girls simultaneously rolled their eyes.

“Never mind, don’t answer that.” Buffy started to giggle.

“I’m glad you find this amusing.” Cordelia muttered, obviously embarrassed as she adjusted her pillow self-consciously.

“Oh, no really…this is just…the last thing I thought I’d see…” Buffy gasped out in between hysterical laughter.

“Did you come here for a reason, or just to laugh at us?” Cordelia asked tight-lipped.

“Oh, no. I had a favor I wanted to ask you…but you’re um… a bit occupied I see.” Buffy tried to contain her giggles, but then her face went deathly serious. “Hey wait a minute! Angel what the HELL do you think you’re doing?!” Buffy shrieked at him.

“Hu?” Angel replied stupidly.

“Buffy, get over it.” Cordelia told her, “You two broke up years ago, besides, you and Spike, remember?!” Cordelia gestured to Buffy’s swollen stomach.

“Uh, hello! I know that. I am way over Angel, trust me!” Buffy rolled her eyes.

“Hey! Still in the room here!” Angel raised his hand.

“No offense.” Buffy flashed Angel a tight-lipped smile, and then turned back to Cordelia, “That’s not what I’m talking about. If you two could cool down your hormones for two seconds and think about this, you’ll remember that doing this is a very bad idea! I am *so* not wanting to deal with Angelus right now.”

That turned Cordelia pale. “Crap. She’s right.” Cordy muttered to Angel.

“Oh God…I didn’t even think.” Angel admitted.

“You know what, I’ll be outside while you guys… get dressed.” Buffy turned tail and fled out of the hotel room, closing the door behind her. Several minutes later Cordelia opened the door and invited Buffy back in.

“So, um, you wanted to ask a favor?” Cordelia asked a bit uncomfortably as she sat on the bed and Buffy sat in a chair. Angel was in the bathroom, doing only God knows what.

“Uh, yeah. Dawn was all upset today because Connor hasn’t asked her out. I told her, you know, that Connor grew up in a hell dimension and probably doesn’t even know what a date is, so-“

“You were wondering if I’d talk to him?” Cordelia surmised.

“Well, yeah. Tell him about all that girl-boy stuff.”

“Hey, I could do that.” Angel said as he came out of the bathroom.

“No!” Both Cordelia and Buffy yelped. Angel frowned.

“Er, this is more of a girl thing, Angel. You know, I can give him some pointers on what girls like and stuff.” Cordelia rushed to re-assure him.

“Oh…well, ok. You want me to go get him?” Angel asked.

“Please.” Cordelia smiled a little too brightly at him, but Angel didn’t seem to notice as he turned and left Cordelia’s Hotel room.

“Damn that Vampire hearing.” Cordelia muttered.

“I heard that!” Angel called out from the other end of the hallway.

* * *

Later in the day at the Summer's Residence...

“They were doing what?!” Dawn’s jaw hit the floor.

“Shhh!!” Buffy warned her sister

“Oh my God, did you see him? I mean like all of him?”

“Okay, eww, and I am *so* not having this conversation with you.”

“Oh come on Buffy, loosen up. I have to learn about these things some how. Besides, if you’re not gonna tell me I just might have to find out for myself.” Dawn replied casually.

“WHAT?! You wouldn’t dare!” Buffy nearly fainted in exasperation.

“You’re right, I wouldn’t. But it was funny to see your face go all red like that.” Dawn giggled.

“Oh you are *so* grounded.” Buffy glared at her sister.

“Oh come on, it was funny. I would so never do that.” Dawn wrinkled up her nose in disgust.

Just then the phone rang and Dawn picked it up. “Hello? …Oh hi Connor. Yeah….uh hu…Really? Yes, I’d love to! That’d be great. Sure. Ok, see you then. Bye!” Dawn hung up and turned to Buffy. “HE ASKED ME OUT!”

“When?”

“Tomorrow night. We’re gonna go see a movie and get some ice-cream.” Dawn squealed in excitement.

“Not if you’re grounded.” Buffy reminded her.

“Oh God, no, Buffy please. You can’t be serious! I was just kidding! I’d never do that!” Dawn pleaded.

“I know, I’m kidding. It was just way too funny to see your face get all red like that.” Buffy giggled at her turn-about.

“Oh you are so dead!” Dawn laughed and pounced on her sister, tickling her mercilessly.

“No!! No!! Not the ribs!!” Buffy squealed as she tickled Dawn back, and soon they were in a vicious tickle-to-the-death battle.

* * *

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