Chapter 1:

Dawn watched with thinly veiled amusement as Giles tried once again to lift the heavy suitcase. She quickly turned her attention to the contents of her bowl when Buffy took the suitcase from the older man’s hands to show him how to pull out the handle and wheel the case across the floor.

“You could have helped him,” Buffy scolded once Giles was out of earshot on the front porch. She crossed her arms and glared at the teen, her foot tapping in irritation.

The younger Summers couldn’t hold back a giggle. “I was going to. Eventually. You should have seen him, Buff. It was like he was following as set of really bad directions: yank handle, set suitcase down, stare at suitcase, clean glasses, mutter British obscenities, repeat as necessary.”

Buffy grinned and affectionately ruffled her sister’s hair much to the girl’s annoyance. Looking back on what she’d seen from her vantage point in the doorway, Dawn’s observation made perfect sense. “No more laughing at the man who is taking you back to London for a week.” Her heart ached at the thought of her sister being out of town for any length of time. She could count on one hand the number of days she and Dawn had been apart since the horrific nightmare nine months earlier.

Dawn sobered slightly as her thoughts ran along the same lines. She abandoned her soggy cereal to wrap her arms around Buffy’s waist. “Thank you so much for letting me go. You’re the best sister ever,” she murmured sincerely, repeating a sentiment she'd expressed many times in the last three weeks. Once life had settled down, she'd begged and pleaded for the opportunity to check out the universities in London. It had been a relief when her sister finally capitulated on the condition that Dawn be the one to ask the Gileses to escort her around the city. It was a small price to pay, and Spike’s parents had readily agreed.

The girls’ emotional moment was interrupted by Giles clearing his throat before venturing further into the kitchen. “I’ve just heard that due to the inclement weather, all flights have been delayed. Olivia is calling the airline to see what time we are scheduled for take off.”

Buffy carried Dawn’s bowl to the sink and rinsed it out before loading it in the dishwasher. She turned and leaned with her back against the counter staring out the window. Her eyes were fixed on the back porch while her mind drifted back to all the memories the nondescript slab of concrete held. She and Spike had spent many nights sitting on the steps watching the stars. Though no words were spoken, they seemed to understand with perfect clarity what the other was thinking. Having grown tired of hearing her complain about the cold concrete, Spike had hung a porch swing. An impish smile flitted across her face as she recalled the other uses her lover had found for the swing.

“Hello, earth to Buffy,” Dawn waved her hand in front of the blonde’s face, impatiently rolling her eyes when she finally got through. “Giles has only been trying to talk to you for the last five minutes.”

Buffy blushed as tore her eyes from the porch and focused on Giles. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

He smiled sympathetically at the younger woman he viewed as a daughter. She'd grown increasingly absent-minded ever since his son had left for his most recent assignment. “I was merely inquiring as to when you expected William home.”

She shrugged her slim shoulders and pushed away from counter. “He said it was only going to be two weeks at the most but that was nearly a month ago. Should be any day now.” Despite her nonchalant façade, she was concerned for Spike’s safety and dreading the very real possibility that soon she would be without Dawn and Spike at the same time.

Sensing Buffy’s worry, Dawn thoughtfully offered to postpone her trip. It was only the beginning of summer vacation and she could easily reschedule her appointments with the schools. She was also troubled by Spike’s prolonged absence and prayed that no news was indeed good news.

Buffy immediately shook her head, touched by her sister’s selflessness. “Don’t cancel your trip. Go to London, have fun, drink a pint for Spike,” she insisted. After all the girl had endured, she deserved a little happiness. Her brow furrowed as she considered exactly what she'd given Dawn permission to do. “On second thought, forget that last one. Besides, if it gets too lonely around here I’ll just ask Willow and Tara to stay the night.”

The shrill of Giles’ cell phone temporarily halted the conversation as both girls shamelessly eavesdropped on his side of the conversation. After ending the call, he returned the phone to his front shirt pocket. “Olivia says that the plane will be departing at seven o’clock. That leaves us three hours to get to the airport.”

Buffy opened her mouth to respond but was cut off when Dawn jumped up and grabbed the ringing house phone. “Devereaux-Summers-Giles house can I help you?” She listened to the caller for several minutes and passed the receiver to her sister. “It’s Jack,” she mouthed.

The blonde frowned as she accepted the phone. While the promotion had come with a lot of addtional work, her boss almost never called on Sundays. “What’s up Jack?” A few seconds later, she leaned heavily on the counter for support as her knees weakened. “When? How? No!” The phone slipped from her lax grasp and fell to the floor with a crash. Buffy slid down the counter and ended up on her knees.

The room’s other occupants could hear Jack calling for Buffy, but their attention was focused on the distressed blonde kneeling on the cool tile floor. Without having to be told, Dawn instantly knew the call was about her surrogate brother. She flew across the room to join her sister.

Giles picked up the phone and numbly listened to what the FBI agent had to say. Dazed, he returned the receiver to its cradle and closed his eyes. The rational part of his mind knew that he needed to inform his wife, but he couldn’t force himself to move.

Buffy rocked her sobbing sister back and forth, feeling frozen and dead inside. It took her a few seconds to realize that the agonized, mournful wailing was not coming from Dawn or Giles, but from herself.

A/N: Yes, short chapter. I apologize.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters. Joss and Co. own all.

“She’s not going to be happy that you’re here.”

Angel glanced over at the sullen teen curled up on the front steps. He knew she was right. He was probably the last person in the world Buffy wanted to see. As much as he hated the thought of confronting his partner’s – correction, ex-partner’s – girlfriend, it was something that had to be done. She needed to know as much as he was allowed to disclose.

He awkwardly patted Dawn on her head and knocked once before entering the house. As soon as he turned around, he found himself on the ground with one royally pissed off blonde standing over him.

“Get up,” she hissed, hazel eyes flashing with anger and pain.

Angel obligingly scrambled to his feet only to be the recipient of another jaw-cracking blow. He raised his hands in supplication, deciding it was wise to stay on the floor.

Buffy looked as if she were ready to kick him in the ribs when Giles put a restraining hand on her shoulder. “I understand how you feel, dear, but beating Mr. Brennan senseless accomplishes nothing.” Looking away from the livid woman, he shot Angel a look that was pure hatred. “Besides, it wouldn’t be fair if you didn’t let me have a go.”

The CIA operative gulped. His eyes darted between his ex-fiancé and his former partner’s father, trying to decide which was the least lethal. Taking a deep breath and hoping he’d made the right choice, he turned to Buffy with wide, appealing eyes and said the only thing that could possibly save him. “Spike may not be dead.”

The petite blonde, with Giles’ help, yanked Angel to his feet. “You have exactly two minutes to explain. If I don’t like what you have to say, I won’t be held accountable for my actions.”

Angel shuddered, wondering when she’d become so frightening. He moved into the living room and waited until the others were seated before speaking. Due to the classified nature of the assignment, there was a limit on what he could tell them. Their mission was to infiltrate a militaristic anarchist radical group and find out who was funding the organization. Not always CIA jurisdiction, but the group was working with several terrorist cells. He paused for a moment, trying to find the courage to tell them the next part.

“Spike agreed to be part of an experimental project. Before we joined the group, he underwent hypnosis to suppress his memories,” he spoke quickly, getting the words out in one breath.

Buffy sprang to her feet angrily. Surely Spike wouldn’t volunteer for something so risky without telling her first, security clearances be damned. Knowing how much she worried about him, why would he do anything to add to that? “He what? I don’t believe it. You’re lying. He would never...”

Intrigued by this information, Giles turned to Angel. “What exactly is the purpose of this hypnosis?”

Pleased that at least one of them was willing to hear him out, Angel quickly explained that by suppressing Spike’s real memories, it would be easier for him to work undercover by minimizing the risk of falling out of his ‘role.’ In the event that he was ever interrogated, he could not reveal any incriminating information.

Buffy stopped her pacing and ran a shaking hand through her hair. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it was exactly the sort of thing her daring lover would do. “Let’s say that Spike did agree to this hypnosis,” she spat the last word. “What does this have to do with what happened?”

Angel smiled grimly. If she didn’t hate him yet, she would definitely want to kill him when he finished telling her exactly what had transpired. “Something went wrong with the hypnosis. Some of his old memories started to break through and were mixing with false ones. Unfortunately the memories were jumbled and fragmented. One night while we were doing a patrol of the outer perimeter, he accused me of being a government agent yet couldn’t remember why he was there. I used the trigger word, but it had no effect. We had a … uh…confrontation, and I thought he fell over the cliff. I didn’t know who he’d told about me so I had to get out of there. I was going to go back for him once I knew it was safe. Buff…”

Buffy’s hands clenched tightly, her knuckles turning white. It was one thing to learn that your lover died during a top-secret assignment but another to find out that your ex was responsible for his death. A small part of her wondered just how “accidental” everything was. The only thing preventing her from ripping out Angel’s heart was his claim that Spike was still alive. “What else?”

“We’ve kept the group under surveillance. Two days ago Spike came back up on our radar. We don’t know what he remembers or what he’s said. My bosses have ordered another team to go in there in two weeks,” Angel responded, slightly relieved when Buffy’s hands relaxed.

“What are you not telling me?” She couldn’t believe that this would all be over soon and Spike would be back in her arms. Rule number one, she’d learned early on, if it seemed too good to be, true it probably was. That went double when dealing with government agencies.

Giles’ sharp eyes bored into Angel’s for a moment, making the other man even more uncomfortable. “They’re not going in to bring him home, Buffy,” he informed her gravely. Angel’s slight fidgeting was a dead giveaway.

Buffy’s shocked gasp echoed through the silent room. She started towards Angel, murder written all over her body. Sensing that it was time for a strategic retreat, Angel leapt off the couch and ran for the door. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” he called out before racing out of the house.

Giles put a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a long hug. Hot tears soaked through his shirt but he paid them no heed. She’d been given hope and then had it cruelly snatched away in a matter of minutes. He pressed a fatherly kiss to the top of her head.

She pulled back and sniffled loudly. “I’m sorry Giles. I shouldn’t use you as my personal Kleenex. Besides, tweed’s kinda rough on the nose.”

Smiling gently he wiped the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. He couldn’t help being proud of his surrogate daughter. Despite all the anguish she’d been through in the past year she refused to let it break her. He was, however, surprised when she moved away and reached for the phone. “What are you doing, dear?”

The look on Buffy’s tear-stained face was determination mixed with desperation. While she’d been crying on Giles’ shoulder, she’d come to the realization that if she wanted Spike home with her, she would have to do it herself. “I’m calling Willow. We need to research. I’ve got two weeks to get him out of there.”

Chapter 3:

By the time Giles returned from picking Olivia up from the airport, four FBI agents and Buffy were gathered around the dining room table. Olivia greeted them warmly then bustled into the kitchen to start a late dinner. She wasn’t hungry in the least, but the activity would keep her mind off her fear for her son.

Giles sat in the empty chair next to Buffy and asked for an update on the situation. Unfortunately, there was no new information. Despite two hours of research, they weren’t any closer to finding out what organization Spike had infiltrated. He could feel the frustration rolling off Buffy in waves. With a two-week limit, they didn’t have time to waste just sitting around, idly planning.

“I still don’t see why you can’t just call Angel and ask him for the name of the group,” Xander grumbled. It had been a long day at the office and all he really wanted to do was to go home and relax in front of the television. He’d never enjoyed the research part of any investigation and Buffy’s bitchiness was only serving to frustrate him more.

Buffy growled in irritation and fought to control her temper. Xander had been asking this since he walked through the door and each time she gave him the same answer. “Because he’s CIA and would more than likely mislead or try to stop us.” She slammed her hand down on the table and stood up abruptly, sending her chair flying into the wall. “We’re never going to get anywhere this way!”

“Well, what do you suggest we do?” Anya asked, not bothering to look up from her laptop. “The CIA isn’t going to tell us, Spike’s obviously in no position to divulge any information, and there are literally dozens of groups that fit the description we have. We’re looking for a needle in a very large haystack - blindfolded.”

Buffy was silent as she racked her brain trying to come up with a viable plan. All her years of FBI training seemed worthless when faced with the task of trying to rescue her boyfriend. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, forcing herself to be objective. “Xander, I want you and Anya to follow Angel. Bug his house and car if you can. Put a tap on his phone, too.”

Xander opened his mouth to protest the illegal wire-tapping but the death-glare from Buffy made him change tactics. Instead he reminded her of his current caseload and the fact that, unlike her, he wasn’t on leave. Felons weren’t going to stop committing crimes just because Spike was in trouble.

“I’ll have everyone’s cases reassigned. Right now we need to focus on this situation,” Buffy assured him. When neither Xander nor Anya made any move to start their surveillance, her eyes narrowed. “What are you waiting for? I said I’d take care of it!”

Grateful to be given a chance to escape, the two agents quickly gathered their belongings and rushed out of the house. Until now, Buffy’s position as their boss hadn’t really affected their friendships, or the way she treated them in the office, for that matter. It worried Xander that she was willing to use her power for personal matters. Then again, he mused, if it meant saving Spike, she’d do anything to get him back, even if it meant risking her job.

Hearing Xander’s truck back out of the driveway, Buffy picked up the phone and dialed her boss’ home number. “Jack, it’s Buffy. I need Harris, Jenkins, Rosenberg, and Maclay for a few days. How many of their cases need reassigned? Yes, sir. Thank you. I’ll keep you updated.” She hung up the phone and turned to the two remaining agents. “Your cases will be taken care of. Jack’s agreed to let me ‘borrow’ you for three days. I want this figured out in two.”

Willow inwardly sighed at the seemingly impossible task. With little to no info on the infiltrated group or Spike’s assignment, they really had no clue what they were looking for. Buffy’s attitude wasn’t helping the situation, either. She sympathized with her friend, but was growing tired of her bossiness.

“I-I have an idea,” Tara spoke up timidly. She’d been peacefully tapping away at her keyboard, afraid of facing the wrath of Buffy. “It would be easier if Willow worked on finding the group while I did some research on hypnosis. You’re going to need to know how to bring Spike out.” She was relieved when Buffy readily agreed to her plan.

Giles, wearing a thoughtful expression, quietly left the room and walked into the kitchen to tell his wife that he would be leaving for a few hours. The look in his eye told her exactly what he was going to do. She nodded in agreement and promised to let the girls know that he’d return soon. “Tell Rhian I said hello,” was her parting comment.

Her friend working on their assigned tasks, Buffy excused herself and trudged up the stairs to Dawn’s room. The teen had grown increasingly withdrawn since the announcement that Olivia was flying in. Buffy couldn’t understand her sister’s behavior. Dawn spoke with Olivia regularly and seemed to genuinely like her. She pushed open the door without knocking. Dawn was lying on the bed on her back, her eyes closed.

Buffy softly padded into the room and gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. She reached out and brushed a strand of soft hair off Dawn’s face. The teen twitched and wrinkled her nose. Immediately knowing that the girl was awake, Buffy grinned and used one slim finger to poke her in the ribs. Dawn giggled and squirmed to get away, prompting Buffy to redouble her onslaught, tickling her sister mercilessly.

Dawn, now fully awake, struggled out of Buffy’s grasp and slid off the bed, gasping for breath. “What are you, twelve?”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders and gestured for Dawn to join her on the bed. She frowned when the teen just shook her head. “Wanna tell me why you refused to go with Giles to the airport? I thought you liked Olivia.”

Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and adopted a defensive pose. “She’s here to take me back to England, isn’t she?” She didn’t want to admit that she’d overheard Buffy and Giles talking about it the other night.

“Yes, she is. You were going to go anyway. What’s the big deal?” Buffy reasoned, hoping that Dawn wouldn’t put up a big fuss. On top of everything else, she didn’t need to deal with another of her teenage tantrums.

Dawn threw her hands up in the air and scowled at her sister. “The big deal is that whenever anything goes wrong you always send me away. Poor little Dawnie, she can’t handle anything serious. Let’s lock her away in the tower. Heaven forbid she actually sees what goes on in the real world!”

Buffy jumped to her feet and grabbed the girl by the shoulders. “It’s for your own good, Dawn. This is my job, not yours. I don’t want you dragged into all this mess.”

“Spike’s like my big brother, Buff. I’m already way involved. Why won’t you let me help?” Dawn inquired, her tone going from angry to slightly pleading.

Buffy pulled her sister in for a hug and stroked the back of her head. “I’m sorry if it seems that I’m shutting you out. I just worry about you, that’s all.”

Dawn pushed away from Buffy and glared. “And I’m not supposed to worry about you? Well, newsflash, I do. Sending me across the Atlantic isn’t going to stop that.”

Pressing an affectionate kiss to the top of Dawn’s head, Buffy reluctantly released her hold on the girl. “What’s today?”

“Wednesday the 8th,” Dawn responded, not following her sister’s train of thought.

Buffy nodded and headed for the door. “Go with Olivia. Figure out what schools you want to see and set up appointments for the 22nd and later. Spike and I will be there - I promise.”

A wide grin broke out across Dawn’s face. She bounded across the room and wrapped her arms around her sister’s slim waist. Like Spike, Buffy never broke her promises. If she said she’d be in London on the 22nd, she’d be in London on the 22nd with Spike in tow.

By the time Giles returned from picking Olivia up from the airport, four FBI agents and Buffy were gathered around the dining room table. Olivia greeted them warmly then bustled into the kitchen to start a late dinner. She wasn’t hungry in the least, but the activity would keep her mind off her fear for her son.

Giles sat in the empty chair next to Buffy and asked for an update on the situation. Unfortunately, there was no new information. Despite two hours of research, they weren’t any closer to finding out what organization Spike had infiltrated. He could feel the frustration rolling off Buffy in waves. With a two-week limit, they didn’t have time to waste just sitting around, idly planning.

“I still don’t see why you can’t just call Angel and ask him for the name of the group,” Xander grumbled. It had been a long day at the office and all he really wanted to do was to go home and relax in front of the television. He’d never enjoyed the research part of any investigation and Buffy’s bitchiness was only serving to frustrate him more.

Buffy growled in irritation and fought to control her temper. Xander had been asking this since he walked through the door and each time she gave him the same answer. “Because he’s CIA and would more than likely mislead or try to stop us.” She slammed her hand down on the table and stood up abruptly, sending her chair flying into the wall. “We’re never going to get anywhere this way!”

“Well, what do you suggest we do?” Anya asked, not bothering to look up from her laptop. “The CIA isn’t going to tell us, Spike’s obviously in no position to divulge any information, and there are literally dozens of groups that fit the description we have. We’re looking for a needle in a very large haystack – blindfolded.”

Buffy was silent as she racked her brain trying to come up with a viable plan. All her years of FBI training seemed worthless when faced with the task of trying to rescue her boyfriend. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, forcing herself to be objective. “Xander, I want you and Anya to follow Angel. Bug his house and car if you can. Put a tap on his phone, too.”

Xander opened his mouth to protest the illegal wire-tapping but the death-glare from Buffy made him change tactics. Instead he reminded her of his current caseload and the fact that, unlike her, he wasn’t on leave. Felons weren’t going to stop committing crimes just because Spike was in trouble.

“I’ll have everyone’s cases reassigned. Right now we need to focus on this situation,” Buffy assured him. When neither Xander nor Anya made any move to start their surveillance, her eyes narrowed. “What are you waiting for? I said I’d take care of it!”

Grateful to be given a chance to escape, the two agents quickly gathered their belongings and rushed out of the house. Until now, Buffy’s position as their boss hadn’t really affected their friendships, or the way she treated them in the office, for that matter. It worried Xander that she was willing to use her power for personal matters. Then again, he mused, if it meant saving Spike, she’d do anything to get him back, even if it meant risking her job.

Hearing Xander’s truck back out of the driveway, Buffy picked up the phone and dialed her boss’ home number. “Jack, it’s Buffy. I need Harris, Jenkins, Rosenberg, and Maclay for a few days. How many of their cases need reassigned? Yes, sir. Thank you. I’ll keep you updated.” She hung up the phone and turned to the two remaining agents. “Your cases will be taken care of. Jack’s agreed to let me ‘borrow’ you for three days. I want this figured out in two.”

Willow inwardly sighed at the seemingly impossible task. With little to no info on the infiltrated group or Spike’s assignment, they really had no clue what they were looking for. Buffy’s attitude wasn’t helping the situation, either. She sympathized with her friend, but was growing tired of her bossiness.

“I-I have an idea,” Tara spoke up timidly. She’d been peacefully tapping away at her keyboard, afraid of facing the wrath of Buffy. “It would be easier if Willow worked on finding the group while I did some research on hypnosis. You’re going to need to know how to bring Spike out.” She was relieved when Buffy readily agreed to her plan.

Giles, wearing a thoughtful expression, quietly left the room and walked into the kitchen to tell his wife that he would be leaving for a few hours. The look in his eye told her exactly what he was going to do. She nodded in agreement and promised to let the girls know that he’d return soon. “Tell Rhian I said hello,” was her parting comment.

Her friend working on their assigned tasks, Buffy excused herself and trudged up the stairs to Dawn’s room. The teen had grown increasingly withdrawn since the announcement that Olivia was flying in. Buffy couldn’t understand her sister’s behavior. Dawn spoke with Olivia regularly and seemed to genuinely like her. She pushed open the door without knocking. Dawn was lying on the bed on her back, her eyes closed.

Buffy softly padded into the room and gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. She reached out and brushed a strand of soft hair off Dawn’s face. The teen twitched and wrinkled her nose. Immediately knowing that the girl was awake, Buffy grinned and used one slim finger to poke her in the ribs. Dawn giggled and squirmed to get away, prompting Buffy to redouble her onslaught, tickling her sister mercilessly.

Dawn, now fully awake, struggled out of Buffy’s grasp and slid off the bed, gasping for breath. “What are you, twelve?”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders and gestured for Dawn to join her on the bed. She frowned when the teen just shook her head. “Wanna tell me why you refused to go with Giles to the airport? I thought you liked Olivia.”

Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and adopted a defensive pose. “She’s here to take me back to England, isn’t she?” She didn’t want to admit that she’d overheard Buffy and Giles talking about it the other night.

“Yes, she is. You were going to go anyway. What’s the big deal?” Buffy reasoned, hoping that Dawn wouldn’t put up a big fuss. On top of everything else, she didn’t need to deal with another of her teenage tantrums.

Dawn threw her hands up in the air and scowled at her sister. “The big deal is that whenever anything goes wrong you always send me away. Poor little Dawnie, she can’t handle anything serious. Let’s lock her away in the tower. Heaven forbid she actually sees what goes on in the real world!”

Buffy jumped to her feet and grabbed the girl by the shoulders. “It’s for your own good, Dawn. This is my job, not yours. I don’t want you dragged into all this mess.”

“Spike’s like my big brother, Buff. I’m already way involved. Why won’t you let me help?” Dawn inquired, her tone going from angry to slightly pleading.

Buffy pulled her sister in for a hug and stroked the back of her head. “I’m sorry if it seems that I’m shutting you out. I just worry about you, that’s all.”

Dawn pushed away from Buffy and glared. “And I’m not supposed to worry about you? Well, newsflash, I do. Sending me across the Atlantic isn’t going to stop that.”

Pressing an affectionate kiss to the top of Dawn’s head, Buffy reluctantly released her hold on the girl. “What’s today?”

“Wednesday the 8th,” Dawn responded, not following her sister’s train of thought.

Buffy nodded and headed for the door. “Go with Olivia. Figure out what schools you want to see and set up appointments for the 22nd and later. Spike and I will be there – I promise.”

A wide grin broke out across Dawn’s face. She bounded across the room and wrapped her arms around her sister’s slim waist. Like Spike, Buffy never broke her promises. If she said she’d be in London on the 22nd, she’d be in London on the 22nd with Spike in tow.