Chapter Summary: Buffy, Angel and Spike know for sure that Glory and Ben are the same now. The injection worked to confuse and incapacitate Glory in her hellgod form. The groups are unsure as to how long the injection lasts. Travers informed Buffy, Spike, Giles, Angel and Wesley that Glory is a goddess. Some of the group is a bit beat up, but overall they survived the encounter with Glory. Lydia gave Buffy and Spike a packet of information, and she wants to help them against the Council wherever she can. The groups are working together to make more of the potion used on Glory. Joyce has been having more headaches as well lately.

Author's Note: I did some research to be sure that I had the definition of an aneurysm correct. According to healthcentersonline.com one of the definitions of an aneurysm is as follows: An aneurysm is a bulging out of part of the wall of a blood vessel. It forms where the wall has weakened. Left untreated, aneurysms may tear or burst (a ruptured aneurysm). Ruptures are very painful events that cause massive internal bleeding and may result in permanent disability or death, depending on where the aneurysm is located. If an aneurysm bursts in the brain, it could cause a hemorrhagic stroke.

(Disclaimer and Distribution notes are listed in the Prologue of this story. Thank you ahead of time for reading and accepting or abiding by them.)

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

Giles and Wesley passed tomes and grimoires between the two of them. When either of them found a particular note of interest they would hand off the research to Cordelia, Willow and Tara for their interpretation, confirmation, and notation. All five of them worked in adjacent and overlapping shifts 16 hours a day for the last week.

The Scooby and Fang Gang went over all the materials and resources. This included: the toxicology report, spell traces, Buffy and Spike's source in the Council, Angel's demon contacts and research into Giles' and Wesley's archives. The groups wanted to be sure they were able to reproduce the liquid needed to incapacitate Glory.

The group's first attempts to recreate the destabilizing drug had proved a disaster. Even though the toxicology report broke the ingredients down, they couldn't be sure of the exact amounts needed. The percentages in the report weren't enough to get the right blend. That led them back into research to seek out relative information and potions.

Glory hadn't been seen or heard from since her confrontation with the Council. Ben also hadn't appeared for any of his shifts at the hospital. Buffy, Spike and Angel tried to explain to everyone about Glory and Ben obviously sharing the same body. Even though Willow, Tara, and Giles knew this information already, they'd forgotten it by the time the wounded group made it back to the Magic Box. It seemed that whatever effect was used to keep humans who saw the switch from remembering it, also worked fairly well to erase a human's memory of being told about it too.

Willow and Giles finally found a spell to enhance memory to perform on the humans in the groups. They added a ward against demon influence for a double boost. That seemed to take care of the memory loss. Angel was grateful for that. He was getting tired of explaining the whole Glory/Ben thing every half hour. If anyone forgot who Glory was again, he simply had to say "Fishy, fishy," and they would remember again. He swore Willow was leaving a hint with that phrase.

After some research and deliberation, Giles decided that Buffy and Dawn were able to sense the difference in Ben as well because they shared their blood with Spike. So there was a little "demon" in both of them. It seemed to be enough to throw off Glory's forgetting influence.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy and Dawn watched "Zorro" at home with Joyce. Dawn's teachers had an in-service afternoon. So, she was free for the rest of the day to spend with her family. Buffy's class schedule was open for the day. So, she was on Mom patrol while Spike slept. On the days that Buffy had classes, Spike napped a little bit at night and stayed up during the day to watch over Joyce.

Joyce, who fought a headache all morning, laid out on the couch. Buffy and Dawn sat on the floor in front of it. The girls took turns holding the popcorn bowl for all of them.

"You can't tell me that if you didn't have Spike, you wouldn't want Antonio," Dawn argued with her sister.

Buffy playfully teased Dawn throughout the movie about how Spike was so much hotter than Zorro. "I can't even think about the what ifs without Spike. He has been fulfilling ALL of my dreams."

Dawn scrunched up her face and yelled out a TMI proclamation.

Joyce, trying to will the pain away, didn't even correct Buffy on her behavior or comment. She rubbed her temples instead.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ahn, I don't think I can do this." Xander stopped on the sidewalk that led up to Buffy's porch. His arm was still in a sling, but he looked all right on the outside.

"You need to do this, Xander." Anya offered her boyfriend her full support. "You promised yourself this." By the time Xander was released from the hospital 2 days ago, she was happy to hear him promise to apologize to Buffy and Spike. "I know you are strong enough."

"I don't want to screw this up." Xander lamented over how he should or should approach Buffy and Spike with an apology for the last week. Ever since Anya's visit and speech after the Council debacle, he'd reflected on a lot of his past and present choices. "I doubt I'll get another shot at trying, if I stick my foot in my mouth now."

Anya squeezed the hand of Xander's she was holding. "You are one of her oldest friends. Your narrow minded ways almost destroyed that, but I know we can fix it." She gazed tenderly into Xander's eyes. "The first step is the hardest one to make. Once that link is forged, the next one will be easier."

"Thanks, Ahn." Xander smiled at the woman he loved with his whole heart. "You've really been there for me the last few days to teach me a lot more about demons that I never wanted to hear about before."

"Prejudice, like you had, is common against my kind." To keep their conversations on a personal level, Anya always referred to herself as being a demon or like a demon. She needed to keep Xander's focus on the point that not all demons were evil or still evil. "Your actions towards Spike will matter even more than your words."

Xander took in a deep breath. He walked up the steps. He glanced one more time at Anya, who stood by his side, before he raised his hand to knock on the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why are we still researching when we have the necessary ingredients and verified portions thanks to the toxicology report and the journals of Phillipe Robeart." Angel pressed the palms of his hands against the table, and he leaned his weight onto his arms.

"The journals we found this morning were indeed helpful," Wesley began the explanation. Even though they agreed to help each other, a considerable level of tension remained between Giles and Angel. "They verified the proportions we already suspected from the reports."

"Exactly," Angel nodded with satisfaction over what he took as Wesley's agreement that they had enough information to try to make the potions again. "So why haven't we broken out the chemistry set to make the liquid? Why are our noses still pressed into books?" He motioned to everyone still seated at the table.

"We noticed minute magical traces were detected in the larger sample we had originally found after out first attempts failed," Wesley continued on as if he wasn't interrupted. "Such evidence suggests to us that a spell or spells are also required on some of the ingredients or the completed potion. The liquid might remain completely ineffective without it." He removed his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. They were all tired and frustrated, himself included.

"Damn it!" Angel pushed off the table roughly. His movements dislodged several books from their stack. "So you're telling me that even with everything we have, and the knowledge it works when done right, it's as if we have nothing!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy answered the knock at the door. After several days of talking and whining on Dawn's part, the little brunette finally relented that it was safer for Buffy to answer the door. Glory wouldn't need an invitation, and it was likely that her minions didn't either. No one wanted to take a chance at them grabbing Dawn when she answered the door.

Buffy opened the door. The door would have shut again right away if Anya's reflexes were slower.

Anya planted her foot over the threshold. She pushed her hand against the door to keep it open. "Please hear us out, Buffy. I promise you that he isn't here to harm anyone."

Buffy glared at her one time best friend. Every day she grew closer to Spike. She wasn't going to allow anyone to interfere in her relationship with him. She switched her gaze to Anya. There was a pleading in Anya's gaze that made Buffy waiver. "All right, but if you so much as point a pencil at Spike I'll throw you out."

Xander gulped and nodded. He walked into the Summers' entryway. He slowly peeked around the corner into the living room.

Dawn stood up quickly at the sight of Xander. She moved over to the stairs and stood there with her arms crossed. "What do you want?" Her voice held no hint of the Dawn Summers who had memories of a crush on Xander Harris. Right now he was the enemy just as much as Glory was. She wouldn't let Xander get close enough to Spike to hurt him.

Joyce Summers looked up from the couch because of all the commotion. "Oh, Buffy," She sighed and closed her eyes again. "I don't think I can handle an argument right now with this headache."

Xander cautiously moved into the living room, avoiding Dawn's position at the stairs. "I haven't come to argue, Mrs. Summers." He hung his head down some. "I just wanted a chance to apologize."

"Apologize?" Buffy gasped in shock. Although an apology wouldn't make up for everything that happened, she knew how hard it was for Xander to apologize for anything.

"I know that I can't take back the pain I caused," Xander kept his gaze roaming between the three Summers' women, "I am sorry that I didn't listen to you about Spike."

"I'm not trying to force anyone into a Spike fan club." Buffy stepped closer to her friend. "What I do want is for people to give him a chance. He's already changed a lot if you take the time to see it."

"Anya told me about how he's been taking care of Dawn, you and Mrs. Summers." Xander unconsciously shivered. "The family bond freaked me a bit until Anya explained the significance and importance of it. I was pretty shocked. He could have faced some serious repercussions from his other clan members."

Joyce, who remained silent for the last 15 minutes, felt she needed to speak up at this point of the conversation, "Spike is a kind and caring man who loves my little girls like his own sister and wife."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Upstairs, in Buffy's bedroom, Spike tossed and turned. His usually deep and restful slumber was being disturbed by a nagging sensation that something was wrong.

A particular scent drifted up the stairs, down the hall, and finally into Buffy's bedroom. The scent enticed and repulsed Spike's demon at the same time. The tantalizing aroma of fresh human blood brought Spike's demon face to the surface.

"Joyce!" The realization of whose blood the demon picked up on jolted Spike from his slumber. He jumped out of bed, threw open the door, and raced down the stairs to the living room. He tossed Dawn, who was still guarding the bottom of the stairs, into Buffy's arms.

"Spike!" Buffy screamed at her stark naked boyfriend. She covered Dawn's eyes. "What the hell are you ..."

Spike lunged for Joyce as her eyes closed and she fell off the couch. Demon in control, Spike slashed two deep slits near Joyce's surgical area. Before anyone could stop him, he wrapped his lips around the wound and sucked hard.

Xander stood frozen in place in a state of complete and utter shock. He tried to move, but his feet refused to follow the orders his brain gave out.

Anya was unsure about what Spike was doing. She hastily reasoned that if Spike wanted to kill Mrs. Summers he would have gone for the neck not the temple. Although facial wounds tended to bleed a lot, they weren't an effective method of feeding for vampires.

Buffy ran towards Spike. "Spike ... Stop!" She slapped him hard on the shoulder to try to get his attention.

Spike looked up at Buffy long enough to growl, "Ambulance! Now!" He went back to his task of sucking at the wounds on Joyce's temple.

Dawn had the phone in her hand before Buffy was able to reach it. She dialed 911. While she waited a few seconds for the operator, she gazed at her unconscious mother.

"911 emergency," A warm sounding female voice answered the call. "How may I help you?"

"I need an ambulance to 1630 Revello Drive immediately. My mom had brain surgery a short time ago, and she just passed out." Dawn answered a couple other questions for the operator. She hung up the phone with a shaky hand. "Sp ... Spike ..."

Spike looked up when he heard Dawn's scared voice. He panted needlessly, and his lips were covered in Joyce's blood. The demon and man within Spike were upset that they had to attack Joyce like that. They both felt protective of the woman they cared about.

Buffy cried next to her unconscious mother. Blood ran down the side of Joyce's face. Spike pushed Buffy's hand away when she tried to staunch the flow with a cloth.

"It has to stay open," Spike, still uncaring about his lack of clothing, shifted Joyce to be propped up against the arm of the couch. His human mask asserted itself forward, and he slipped off the couch to stand next to it.

"Why?" Buffy's hands shook from the shock of the last 20 minutes. She pulled Spike's duster from the closet and handed it to him. She noticed Anya's eyes wandering over Spike's naked body. Although she knew it would be hard to not look at such a gorgeous man, she wanted to be the only one to see Spike naked.

"One of the meds that doctor bloke prescribed was to prevent clotting which could weaken the already weakened blood vessels in Joyce's brain to prevent an aneurysm." Spike ran a shaky hand through his head full of tousled curls. He eased his arms into the duster. He finally realized that he hadn't given clothing a thought when he ran downstairs. If he could blush, he would have for showing off his manly bits to the Nibblet.

"What is that?" Buffy asked.

Surprisingly Xander provided the answer, "It is when the walls of particular blood vessels, veins or arteries are weakened to the point that the blood doesn't flow through them right. Instead the blood pools in the weakened area and bulges out until it causes a leak." Xander inhaled deeply. The pain of his grandmother's death still ached within from his childhood. "Most often the person dies from the clots being thrown through the system or from the vessel rupturing to release a larger amount of blood into the body. It is especially more deadly in the brain."

Everyone stared at Xander in amazement. Dawn slipped out the front door because she thought she heard the sirens. Anya hugged Xander in support.

Buffy and Spike shared a look with each other. "Why would you want her blood flowing if the bleeding could kill her?" Buffy trusted Spike, but she was afraid of losing her mother.

"The artery hadn't burst yet," Spike explained. "I'm assuming it started leaking through the internal sutures because the scent of her blood woke me up." He moved over to Buffy to hug her. "I knew what the doctor told us, and all of me knew we had to relieve the pressure before it burst."

Paramedics burst through the front door with Dawn right behind them. Even though lamps lit the room, the EMT's threw open the living room curtains to get more light. They hovered over Joyce and started hooking her up to several machines.

Spike jumped over to the back of the room to avoid the sunlight.

The EMT's looked at the head wound, "Did she cut herself when she fell?" He continued to work on Joyce until he had an IV started.

"No, she she'd been complaining about headaches." Spike remembered getting Joyce some pain medication before he went to bed. "I know a little bit about medicine. When she passed out, I feared she had an aneurysm. So, I did what I could to relieve the pressure at the surgical site."

The EMT's mouth dropped open. He took in the stunned faces surrounding the woman. He also realized how quickly the blonde man jumped back when the curtains were opened. He lived in Sunnydale for the last 10 years, and he served as an EMT for 5 of those years. He heard and saw a lot of strange things during that time, and his gut instincts were telling him that more was going on here than met the eye. "How long has she been having the headaches?"

"She had one or two for the last couple days," Buffy answered. "Today she seemed to have one all day. I know it was getting worse because she asked me to close the curtains an hour ago."

"This has all the signs of a rupture." The second EMT confirmed to the first. "She's ready. We need to load her up and in, stat. Heartbeat sounds weak, but it is constant." He checked a couple other monitors. "Blood loss is minimal, and there is no pressure build up now. Whatever he did, probably saved her life."

"We need to take her to the hospital. She might need surgery to repair the damage and reseal the wound," The first EMT said seriously. "Who is riding with her?"

Buffy clutched Spike's hand tightly. She probably would have broken a human's hand.

"Go on pet," Spike answered Buffy's unspoken question. "The Nibblet and I will find a way there." The EMT's were already out the door.

Buffy nodded to Spike. Xander piped up with an unexpected offer. "I can drive everyone else to the hospital. I have an SUV with tinted windows. Spike will still need a blanket, but it will fit all of us."

Spike blinked in surprise. Anya beamed with pride. Buffy and Dawn both smiled before they enveloped Xander in a big hug.

"Thank you, Xander." Buffy rushed out the door to follow the EMT's.

"That's mighty big of you to offer, Whelp." Spike rocked back on his heels.

Xander cringed at the nickname he hated. "I came here to apologize to you and Buffy, but we need to get some things straight first, Dead Boy Jr."

Anya, worried that Xander was losing his temper, held his hand in hers. She rubbed the back of his hand in slow circular motions.

Dawn stepped next to Spike defensively. She wanted everyone to get along, but she would protect Spike first.

"I am not a whelp or your son. I am also not a dough boy no matter how many donuts I retrieve for this group." Xander stood firm a couple feet from Spike.

"If you want respect, you are going to need to give it as well." Spike lifted his hand. He bent one finger towards his palm for every name he mentioned, "My name is Spike to you. Do not call me Evil Dead, Dead Boy Jr., Bleached Wonder, Bleached Menace or any of those other little names you have floating around in your head. Got it?"

Dawn and Anya watched the two males face off. Both of them wondered who would crack first or throw the first punch.

Xander eyed Spike critically. After several minutes of silence he nodded slowly. "Agreed." He extended his hand out to Spike.

Spike smiled softly, only a touch of his patented smirk on the corner of his lips. "Agreed." He shook Xander's hand firmly. "And apology accepted, but if you hurt one of my girls again all bets are off."

Xander nodded his agreement. "I love them too, Spike. I was only misguided as to who I had to protect them from."

Dawn and Anya sighed in relief. Both of them relaxed next to the men they cared for.

"I'll go get dressed real quick like." Spike turned to Dawn. "You need to call the Watcher, Nibblet. I know he is going to want to meet us at the hospital."

"Oh no! Giles is going to have a break down." Dawn rushed into the kitchen to call the Magic Box while Spike headed upstairs to get dressed.

Xander looked over at Anya. "I take it that is something else I missed during my cold shoulder time?"

Anya nodded. "Yep. I'd say Giles and Joyce are an item."

Xander sighed. "That will take some getting used to."

Anya chuckled and patted Xander's shoulder. "If you can get over Spike and Buffy, I'm sure you can handle Joyce and Giles."

"We'll see about that."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Previous Chapter Summary: Joyce collapsed and Spike saved her from having the aneurysm kill her. Xander, Spike and Buffy have a bit of a truce, and Xander has offered to take Dawn and Spike to the hospital where the ambulance with Joyce is headed.

Chapter Summary: Wesley, Tara, Willow and Angel are still working at the Magic Box on the injection. What happens when Angel and Giles have a difference of opinion about Giles leaving for the hospital? Will they finally figure out everything they need to do to make the injection work again? What happens when Ben shows up in the waiting room at the hospital? How is Joyce doing?

(Disclaimer and Distribution notes are listed in the Prologue of this story. Thank you ahead of time for reading and accepting or abiding by them.)

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

Giles ran into the emergency room. The moment he received the call about Joyce he dropped everything to get to the hospital. He hadn't even waited to hear what happened. He'd dropped the phone as soon as he heard the words Joyce, ambulance and hospital.

Giles searched the emergency room for any trace of Buffy, Dawn or Spike. He knew that one or all of them would be there with Joyce. He was surprised to see Dawn, Spike, Xander and Anya sitting in the waiting room facing him. He was amazed that no one in there was trying to kill the other.

'Sometimes it takes a bit of tragedy to get everyone to get along.' Giles hoped that the tragedy wasn't going to be Joyce's death. He wasn't sure if he was prepared to handle the death of another woman he loved, and he doubted that Buffy and Dawn would handle it very well either. 'When is anyone really prepared for the death of someone they love?'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A half hour earlier at the Magic Box ...

"What's wrong?" Wesley stared at the white-faced and frantic ex-Watcher. "Did Glory reappear?" He never saw anything affect Rupert Giles like whatever was told to him on the phone had.

"Joyce ..." Giles stuttered while he tried to find his keys. "I have to get to the hospital."

Willow and Tara both lifted their heads at the same time. "What happened?" They asked in unison.

"I don't know, but they took her to the hospital." Giles snatched his keys off the top of a bookcase. He nearly knocked two cases over in his haste. He did knock several of the books off the table when he brushed by.

"I think one of us should come with you," Wesley stated to Giles who was on his way to the front door. He was worried about Giles' state of mind. It wasn't wise to drive when a person was upset.

"And I think we need every possible mind working on our Hellgod problem," Angel interjected. He pointed at the dangling phone against the counter. "Dawn said there was nothing to do right now but wait."

Giles pivoted on his right foot and turned back around. For a moment Angel thought he got through to Giles. When Giles walked past the research table muttering something about parking out back, Angel stood in front of Giles and shook him by the shoulders. "We need you here more than they need you there, Giles."

Giles' attention snapped back to everyone in the room. His fearful gaze morphed into one of anger as he realized who was stopping him from getting to Joyce. "Do NOT get in my way." Giles pushed against Angel. "I will not be kept from the woman I love because of you again, Angel." He pulled a stake from his leather jacket pocket.

Angel backed away from Giles more from shock and regret than fear. "Giles, I can never make up for what Angelus did but ..."

Giles interrupted Angel, "Don't pretend that you and Angelus are all that different." He advanced on Angel. "I've believed that farce for too long as it is. Spike doesn't have a soul, and he still chooses to do what is right now and not wrong."

"He'd be murdering all of you if his little leash was gone. You can't trust him," Angel argued back. "Once the chip is gone, his demon will reassert itself, and it will be a blood bath."

"Spike's chip has been gone for at least a week." Giles took great pride in the revelation to Angel. "He still loves Buffy, Joyce and Dawn. He's protecting them just as forcefully as he was before. Can you say the same when you lose your soul?"

A dumbfounded Angel sat down and glowered. He still hated that Buffy believed Spike actually cared for her. Although Spike cared for Drusilla for close to 100 years, Angel was unable to fathom how or why Spike would profess to love Buffy. 'Spike kills Slayers. He doesn't love them.'

"If Spike is as duplicitous as you are without your soul, shouldn't he be tearing Sunnydale apart right now?"

"William always was too sentimental for his own good," Angel muttered. "The demon is always there, but it is my soul that keeps the demon's true motives at bay."

"Then I think we all should be glad that Buffy chose Spike over you Angel," Giles sneered. "We don't have to worry about him murdering us in our sleep because his "conscience" went on walkabout."

"I hate to admit it, but he is more of a what you see is what you get vampire. Well, except for his pathetic human side, which you have nothing to fear from." Angel rolled his eyes at the thought of what William was like when he was first turned.

"I suggest you stop trying to warn us about Spike, Angel," Wesley, who had watched the two men go head to head, spoke up. "Things are as they are. Let it rest."

Cordelia stood up. "I'll head to the hospital with you, Giles." She turned to Giles after she retrieved her coat from the back of the chair. "If that is all right with you?"

"Fine." Giles headed through the training room to the back entrance of the Magic Box.

"Call us, Giles!" Willow shouted out before Giles and Cordelia completely disappeared. She looked back at the book in front of her. She noticed Angel brooding out of the corner of her eye. "You brought it on yourself, Angel."

"Let's just figure this out. The sooner we find what we need, the sooner I can get away from this delusional world you're all living in."

Tara covered her mouth to muffle the giggle that wanted to escape past her lips. She smiled at Willow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cordelia slipped into the waiting room behind Giles. She looked from one person to the next. "So what's the what?" The whole room felt like a thundercloud was hovering over it.

"It would appear that Spike saved Joyce Summers' life." Dr. Kriegel found the young man's name to be a bit unorthodox. Then again Joyce's daughter was named Buffy. "Though his methods were a bit crude, it got the job done."

"Used what we had on hand, doc." Spike sat up straighter. A sense of pride and relief washed over him with the doctor's arrival and praise.

"How is she doing?" Xander asked in a concerned and subdued voice.

Giles' worry for Joyce made his fuse short, and he snapped, "Will someone please tell me what is going on?" He'd lost all patience at being in the dark.

"Joyce almost died from an aneurysm near the surgical site," Dr. Kriegel explained. "Spike found a way to relieve the pressure of the blood building up until the EMT's arrived."

"When may I see her?" The pain in Giles' eyes was palpable.

"You can see her now, Giles." Buffy walked around the doctor to stand by Spike. "She will want to see you when she wakes up."

Giles looked up at the doctor for confirmation that Joyce being unconscious was a good thing.

"We repaired the damage, but we're going to need to be even more diligent about her care. She'll be weaker than before." Dr. Kriegel explained several precautionary measures to be taken when Joyce went home in a couple days.

"Well take care of her, doc. If she bleeds at all, I'll know about it." Spike squeezed Buffy's hand. "We'll be careful."

Dr. Kriegel's pager went off. He looked down at the number. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my rounds." He stood up. "You may visit the room one or two at a time until she wakes up. Don't stay too long once she wakes up, or it will tire her out further."

"Yes, doctor," Buffy spoke with tears in her eyes. "Thank you." She squeezed Spike's hand harder. "What would we have done if you weren't there?" She threw herself into the arms of the man she loved. "I don't know if I could have handled it if she died."

Dawn stood up. Spike opened his arms for her to join Buffy. He rocked them both in a slow motion back and forth. "She's all right now. The world needs all the Summers' women it can get." He ran his hands down the back of each of their heads and whispered soothing words of comfort to both of them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Giles followed the doctor out of the waiting room. He checked the nurse's station for Joyce's room number. With that knowledge at hand, he quickly located her room and slipped in.

Giles shivered at the sight that greeted him. Joyce was hooked up to more machines and IV tubes than her first foray into the hospital. His knees were weak, and he nearly fell to his knees on the floor next to her bed. He grabbed a nearby chair in time to fall into it instead.

"Oh Joyce." Giles picked up Joyce's hand and kissed the back of it. "You have to stop scaring us like this. "I don't think any of our hearts could mend if you were torn from our lives."

Giles rubbed the back of her hand against his cheek. "Come back to us, my love." He laid his head on the bed near her shoulder with his cheek pressed against the mattress. He never let go of her hand while he softly wept, both for the joy of her still being alive and the worry that he might lose the woman he loved.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wesley picked up the book he'd been reading. He walked over to another bookcase. He removed two books from the collection and opened them on the table. After he scanned several pages, he stood back up to gather some ingredients.

Tara tapped Willow on the shoulder. She pointed to Wesley who moved around the Magic Box in a meticulous fashion to locate what he needed.

"Are you onto something, Wesley?" Willow asked. She craned her neck to read from the two new books he opened.

"I might have the right spell to help us identify which spell or spells were performed on the ingredients or the potion itself."

"That's great news!" Angel slapped his book closed. "I'm all for giving anything a try at this point."

Willow rolled her eyes at Angel. 'And they say Spike is the impatient one,' she thought. "I'm sure Spike and Buffy will be happy if we can put this Hellgod to bed once and for all."

"Indeed." Wesley continued his search for everything he needed to perform the spell. He placed everything on the research table in a circle.

"We should write down what we take," Tara spoke softly. "You know Anya will be furious if we don't."

"I doubt Giles is going to charge us for this one, Tara." Willow smiled warmly at Tara. "But if Anya's inventory is off by the least bit, she does have a conniption." She chuckled, picked up her pen, and wrote everything down.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What was Giles so grumpy about?" Anya queried. "He nearly bit all our heads off. I knew he'd be upset about Joyce, but he was acting crazy like."

"Angel tried to stop him from leaving the Magic Box," Cordy answered.

"Peaches is getting dumber in his old age." Spike shook his head back and forth. "You'd think the wanker would know by know not to get in-between a man and the woman he loves." He looked at Buffy. "Okay so he hasn't learned that one yet."

Buffy playfully slapped Spike's shoulder. "He better learn it soon because if he tries to get between us again, he and Mister Pointy are going to have a talk."

"He should know it now." Cordy smirked. "Giles had a few choice words for Angel. He pulled out a stake to emphasize his point quite clearly."

"I would have enjoyed seeing that," Xander chimed in. "What?" He looked at the faces around him. "Don't tell me I have to be all accepting of him too? Even Spike doesn't like him."

Spike laughed and slapped Xander on the back in a manly display of solidarity. "You won't hear me say you have to."

Anya swatted Spike's hand. "Don't you go putting a wrench into my hard work, Spike."

Spike continued to laugh until Buffy swatted his shoulder. "Oy, what's that for?"

"If Xander can make the effort, you can too." Buffy wanted Angel gone as much as Spike did. Until Glory was defeated she needed all the help she could get. "You don't have to kiss and make-up, but don't antagonize Angel either."

Spike rolled his eyes in disgust. "There is no way I'm kissing anything on him every again though."

Buffy's eyes widened. "Again?"

"Vampire, luv," Spike offered in explanation. "Things are a little bit different where sex is concerned." He sighed. "Trust me when I say you don't want to know how sadistic that bastard really was back in the day."

Anya and Buffy both cringed. Buffy hated the thought of what life must have been like being a part of the Scourge of Europe. "Spike ..." Spike told her about what he was truly like as a human. The transformation he went through from that time until the present told the tale of what vampire life was like for him as a fledgling.

Anya knew some of the things a Sire and other clan elders expected of the younger vampires. If Spike's hatred for Angelus was anything to go by, Angelus must have delighted in abusing the younger vampire.

"Leave it, Buffy." Spike hugged Buffy. "None of it ..." His voice trailed off to a steady low growl when another male entered the waiting room.

"The family for Cald ..." Ben blinked in shock to see the Summers daughters and Spike. He tried to back out of the room, but he wasn't fast enough.

Spike blocked off Ben's exit, and Buffy stood in front of Ben. Dawn was quickly moved between Xander and Anya with Cordelia standing guard in front of Dawn. Although Anya and Xander weren't aware of Dawn's key status, they still wanted to protect Buffy's sister.

Spike growled louder. "Why are you still here, mate?"

Buffy glared at Ben. "You are stupid to still be here, Ben." She crossed her arms over her chest, but she was ready to jump at a moments notice.

"Um ... what are you talking about?" Ben tried to act innocent and naïve.

Spike spun Ben around to face him. He slipped into his game face. "Don't try to play us, mate. We know exactly who you are and who else you are."

Ben shrieked in surprise before he could reign in his wits about him. He tried to squirm his way out of Spike's arms, but Spike wouldn't let go.

Spike slipped back into his human face, and Buffy spun Ben around to face her. "You will get out of town. Take your skanky ho, and her little scabby ones with you." Her eyes narrowed, and her gaze darkened. "This is your last warning. We know how to get rid of you both permanently, and we will if you don't disappear."

"But ... how ..." Ben stuttered.

"It doesn't matter how. It only matters that we know how." Buffy pushed Ben into Spike's arms. She wasn't going to tell Ben that they knew of something that worked, but they weren't sure how to make more of it.

Spike turned Ben to face him. "If you value your life at all, you'll vanish."

Glory was still weak from the last confrontation with these people. Ben had a nagging headache from Glory's attempts to assert herself without enough power to come forth. He ran out into the hall when Spike stepped to the side. He vowed to get away from Sunnydale. He just hoped Glory would be kept at bay long enough for him to escape.

Spike and Buffy walked over to Cordy, Anya, Xander, and Dawn.

Dawn launched herself into Buffy's arms. "Do you think he'll go?"

Buffy looked over Dawn's head at Spike. "He'll try, but we can't expect Glory to just let him. We have to be ready." She caressed her hand down the back of Dawn's head in soothing motions.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Eureka!" Wesley shouted out with euphoric glee. He waved his hand in front of the bowl to keep the smoke from his face. He watched the spell take effect.

"That smells nasty," Angel choked. He would have turned green if it was possible. He was eternally grateful that he didn't have to breathe.

Willow and Tara watched the smoke hover over several ingredients on the table. Before mixing what was needed to locate the magical influences, they'd placed all the necessary ingredients for the injection onto the table. They also mixed up a small amount of the ingredients for a completed injection in case the spell needed to be on the finished product. The empty glass vial was in the middle of the table.

Different colors hovered over different items on the table. A glowing silver nimbus hovered over the final injection as well. The empty vial twinkled between various colors of the rainbow with a metallic sparkle added in.

Everyone gaped in amazement at the complexity of what was needed. Willow spoke first, "We never would have figured that out individually." All around the table books magically opened to the correct pages needed for each spell.

Tara nodded her head in agreement. "There are at least 5 different spells working on the ingredients alone."

Wesley picked up the vial of liquid injection. He turned it from side to side. "I haven't heard of this spell being used in a couple centuries." He watched the silver halo around the vial sparkle.

"How could one person know all of this when put together would do what it did?" Tara looked at Willow in confusion. "Wasn't Drusilla insane?"

Angel answered instead of Willow, "She was insane, but she wasn't stupid. She was a bit of a seer before I turned her, and it only got stronger when she became a vampire." He rubbed his face with his hands. "She was even more dangerous when she had her bouts of sanity."

"I know she was your Childe, Angel, but I am glad that we don't have to deal with her anymore." Willow motioned to everything on the table. "If she was getting smart enough and strong enough to come up with all of this, she could have destroyed us all."

Angel nodded somberly. He sighed. "Let's get what we need for these spells." He picked up a couple pads of paper. "Write down lists of what you need that we don't have in the Magic Box or at Giles' place."

"Maybe we can have some good news for the group when they return from the hospital," Wesley offered as encouragement. "I'm sure they could use some good news right now."

Everyone in the Magic Box nodded in agreement and got to work on their lists.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Previous Chapter Summary: Wesley, Tara, Willow and Angel determined what magical force(s) were at work on the ingredients and the whole liquid result. Joyce is patched up at the hospital after some surgery to repair the damage caused. Giles and Cordy joined the group at the hospital. Buffy and Spike warned Ben to pack up and get out of town because they knew how to take him and Glory down. Ben left in a hurry.

Chapter Summary: Joyce awakens, and she's filled in on what's been happening. The group at the Magic Box works to get the potion and spells done. Will they be able to get all the necessary ingredients in time? What will happen when everyone goes home for a bit of rest? Will everyone get the rest they need or will other activities ensue instead?

NOTES: Just a little note about the continuity between this story and Angel's season 2. As I did not really watch Angel much (still working on getting a hold of the DVD's to watch it from the beginning), you can pretty much figure that nothing happened in L.A. beyond Doyle's death and Wesley joining Angel Investigations. Cordy has her visions, and I am going to accelerate storylines to show that there is the attraction between Cordy and Angel sooner than the show Angel showed. Just assume that Angel Investigations has been working on random cases instead of what actually happened in the show's seasons. Oh, and I did include in an earlier chapter that Darla was resurrected, but I didn't give any details about how far that storyline was. I hope this doesn't upset Angel fans too greatly. Thank you.

**WARNING** Sexual situations and bloodplay in this chapter at the end.

(Disclaimer and Distribution notes are listed in the Prologue of this story. Thank you ahead of time for reading and accepting or abiding by them.)

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

By the end of the day everyone at the hospital was bone tired. Likewise everyone at the Magic Box wanted to call it a night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At the hospital everyone had been in to see or sit with Joyce for a while since she awoke in the latter part of the evening.

They all took turns keeping an eye out for Ben and Glory as well. Giles refused to leave Joyce's side. Spike brought Giles coffee and a bite to eat after no one was able to persuade him to go to the cafeteria.

Joyce awoke for 10-15 minutes at a time. Giles practically timed each person to 10 each. He was worried about tiring Joyce out too much. He stood near the door while each person or group visited.

The moments between Buffy, Dawn and Joyce the first time were the most emotional. After many tears were shed between the Summers' females, Buffy and Dawn let the others come in for their time too. When the time to leave for the night neared, everyone came in at once while Buffy and Dawn shared the story of Joyce's rescue.

"You should have seen him, Mom." Buffy giggled. "He came streaking down the stairs all fangy and grrrrr."

Dawn laughed so hard she held her stomach. She had been very frightened at the time. When she looked back on the incident, she realized just how amusing it was. "One minute I'm blocking the stairs to make sure Xander doesn't try something. The next minute I ended up in Buffy's arms with a naked vampire sucking on my Mom's head."

Giles cringed. He removed his glasses and rubbed both of the lenses vigorously. "Horrifying," he muttered under his breath. He was glad that he wasn't at the house when it happened.

"I went into shock," Buffy continued. "I think Xander nearly had a heart attack." All of the tension from the day withered away amongst the lighthearted recollection of the scary event.

"Anya made a puddle in the entryway with all the drooling she was doing." Dawn doubled over. "I'll have to clean that up when we get home." She teased.

Spike puffed out his chest in a sense of manly pride. He coughed and laughed at the punch he received to his gut from Buffy. "What? I can't help it that I'm just so bloody handsome."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Okay that much testosterone we don't need." He held onto Anya with one arm from behind. "Especially when we're talking about my girlfriend."

"No worried, mate," Spike grinned while he spoke. "I'm a one woman vampire."

"Oh, you'd better be." Buffy stood at the foot of the bed with her hands on her hips. "If not, I'll find those chains Giles used on you before to keep you from going anywhere without me."

Spike curled his tongue behind his two front teeth. With the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he made a popping sound. He looped his fingers into his belt loops and arched his hips towards Buffy. "With a threat like that, I might be inclined to misbehave on purpose, luv."

Xander and Anya's eyes both glossed over with thoughts of their previous bondage encounters. Anya slowly rocked in Xander's arms. Xander whimpered a little in Anya's ear.

Anya stepped out of Xander's arms with a jolt. "I hope you are feeling better soon, Joyce." She quickly hugged the woman on the bed. "Xander and I need to get home right now to have sex."

Xander nodded his agreement quickly. "Yes, home." He gently hugged Joyce. "I hope you are home again soon." Before Xander was able to finish his goodbyes, Anya drug him out of the hospital room.

Cordelia huffed, shifted her weight to one foot, and placed her hand on the opposite hip of her weight displacement. "That is one strange woman." She looked at Buffy. "I've only known her a few hours, but I'd say she has a one track mind."

"Actually she has two tracks," Spike teased. "Sex and then money. Though I'm not sure which is higher on the list for her."

"You get used to her. She has good, albeit blunt at times, intentions." Giles offered his support of Anya's quirkiness.

Dawn nodded in agreement with Giles. "If it wasn't for her, I don't think we would be having any conversations with Xander. She had to say something to get through to him about Spike."

"Speaking of Xander," Giles interrupted, "I assume some sort of agreement has been reached since he was here?"

"He was in the middle of apologizing to me when Spike did his streaking act." Buffy rested her head against Spike's arm. She entwined her fingers with his. "How did things go when I left?"

"Harris and I came to an understanding," Spike reassured Buffy. "We'll see where that leads."

"No bloodshed?" Buffy questioned.

"Nope, no bloodshed, Buffy." Dawn supplied the answer to her sister instead of Spike. "I was quite proud of both of them." She teased.

Spike ruffled Dawn's air in a playful big brother way. "Glad you approve, Nibblet."

Cordy watched all the interactions in the room. She was able to see what Wesley had meant when he told her that she'd have to see it to believe it. She never would have believed that the Spike in the hospital room was the same Spike who tortured Angel in L.A. for the Gem of Amara. She felt touched to witness the camaraderie being shared amongst them.

Giles held Joyce's hand. He rubbed the back of it with his thumb. Joyce and Giles shared a knowing smile, content to be in each other's presence. He broke the joking with seriously voiced concern, "We're going to have to keep an even closer eye on you now, Joyce."

Spike stopped rubbing the top of Dawn's head with his knuckles and released the headlock he had on her. "Rupert is right." He sat down on the edge of the bed at the end. "Doc patched you up, but it could happen again."

"I don't know what we can do that we weren't already doing," Joyce spoke weakly and softly. She wasn't as tired as when she first woke up, but she still felt drained of her energy. "I was taking all the medications he told me to, and you all know that I wasn't being allowed to push myself. You watched everything I did."

Spike looked up at Buffy who joined him to sit next to him. Buffy squeezed his hand in support. "Buffy and I talked about some things in the waiting room, and we think we have a solution."

"We can't catch everything, but with Spike and hopefully Angel's help we can catch almost everything." Buffy looked back to Spike to see how he was doing. Neither one of them wanted Angel around for any longer than necessary, but it seemed that his assistance was more necessary now.

"The internal bleeding alerted the demon in me and woke me up," Spike explained. "If it hadn't, we would have lost you."

"The only solution Spike and I could think of was that a vampire needs to be with Mom, or in her area, at all times." Buffy looked from her mother to her Watcher both for their support and their approval. "We only know two vampires that we can trust, and hopefully we can convince Angel to help with this."

"I would volunteer 24/7, but there are two problems with that." Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy. "First, we take a chance that I miss something if I get too tired."

Buffy offered up the other reason, "Secondly, that leaves us more open to attack because one of our allies would be completely drained, even if needed against Glory."

Giles nodded. "I don't like the idea of Angel being around much longer, but Joyce's health is more important to me than my thoughts about Angel. If each vampire takes a half day shift, both of you would still have time to rest and replenish."

"Exactly, Rupes, and if needed the poofter and I would both be available for an attack against Glory." Spike rested his chin on Buffy's shoulder.

"Unfortunately we won't be able to do anything about the time needed for battle." Buffy sighed softly in partial defeat. "This would increase our odds a lot to catch any problems though."

"I think it is a good idea, dear." Joyce reached out her free hand to cover Buffy and Spike's joined hands. "Just promise me that you won't blame yourselves if something happens. Some things are beyond anyone's control."

"I'll try, Mommy." Buffy wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes.

Dawn sat down in Buffy's lap. "We don't want to lose you."

"We'll do our best, Mum." Spike drew Dawn into the embrace he shared with Buffy. "Who would I have to share that nice cuppa with if you were gone? Sharing one with Rupes just wouldn't be the same." He teased.

Joyce laughed. Then she started to cough. When she stopped, she was breathing heavily.

Giles frowned. "Laughter is not the best medicine in this case," He half joked. "I think it is time for Joyce to get some more sleep."

Everyone in the room nodded. One by one each person said his or her goodbyes to Joyce.

Joyce kissed each of her daughter's on the forehead and hugged them. She looked up at Spike when it was his turn to wish her well. "Take care of my girls, William."

"With my life, Mum. Rather unlife as the case might be."

Giles waited outside for everyone to exit. "I'm staying here tonight, but I'm sure you gathered that."

"Yeah, kind of figured that one out on our own, Rupes." Spike taunted Giles in jest.

"Really Spike, must you give me a nickname too?" Giles rubbed his temples.

"It's better than a lot of other things I could call you." Spike smirked.

Giles rolled his eyes in mock disgust. "If you must."

"Think we could catch a ride home with you, Cordy?" Buffy asked. "I'd like to stop by the Magic Box on the way, if we can."

"Sure, I can do that."

"Call if anything changes, Giles." Buffy leaned up and kissed Giles on the cheek. "I know I can count on you more than I could my own dad."

Giles grinned in pride. Buffy was the daughter that he never thought he'd have. It made him happy to know that she thought of him as a father figure. "See you tomorrow, Buffy."

Cordy, Spike, Buffy and Dawn walked down the hallway to the elevator. Giles returned to Joyce's room after a stop at the nurse's station to request a pillow for him to use to sleep with.

Joyce opened her eyes. "Staying with me tonight, Rupert?"

"Of course, Joyce." Giles sat down in the chair with his pillow. "If I could, I would always be by your side."

Joyce smiled and closed her eyes to rest some more. The world was all right as long as Giles was there with her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cordelia, Spike, Buffy and Dawn walked into the Magic Box. Angel, the only one not involved in the spell being worked through, looked up at the group who entered. He visibly frowned at the sight of Spike with one arm around Dawn and the other around Buffy.

Cordelia walked over to Wesley who was reading something out of a tome to Willow and Tara. "We get some good news while I was gone?"

Wesley nodded, but his voice never faltered in his reading. He held up one finger to let Cordy know that she wasn't being ignored if she could just wait a moment for him to finish.

Willow finished mixing the items in her bowl. Tara sprinkled a powder over one of the ingredients needed to make the completed liquid. Willow raised her bowl over the flower like ingredient. Her chanting joined with Wesley's. Then she tipped the bowl over quickly. As soon as all of the items hit each other there was a loud BOOM, and a large granite looking item was left in its place when the smoke cleared.

Dawn and Buffy coughed. Both waved their hands in front of their faces to clear the smoke from around them.

Spike muttered low, "Bloody magic."

Angel glared at Spike. He heard the low mutterings, and he wasn't too happy about being stuck at the Magic Box all day or with seeing Spike and Buffy together. He decided to take those frustrations and angers out on Spike. "Magic is the only reason we are going to have a means to fight Glory." He snipped at the younger vampire.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it Angelus." Spike returned Angel's glare.

Angel ground his teeth together. "The name is Angel now, Willie." He knew how much the nickname bothered Spike.

"Maybe if you'd start acting more like your souled front, and less like the evil vindictive bastard I know you are, I might not keep forgetting that act." Spike dropped his arms from around Dawn and Buffy. He moved to get closer to Angel, ready to fight.

"Boys," Buffy ran interference between Angel and Spike. Her back against Spike's chest, she pushed Angel away from Spike with her hands. The action caused Spike to also move farther away from Angel.

"He started it." Angel pointed at Spike.

"What? Are you, twelve?" Buffy huffed at Angel.

Spike chuckled behind Buffy.

Buffy twirled around to face Spike. "Stop provoking him."

Angel gloated. Anything that got Spike in trouble with Buffy made him happy.

Cordy rolled her eyes at both of the vampires. "You have good news for us, Wes?" She was tired of the male vampire ego battles.

"Mostly good, but we have a little bad news," Wes answered.

Dawn hugged both Willow and Tara to say hello. She filled them in on what happened at the hospital while the others talked about their news.

"Shoot it to us straight up." Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy's midsection after they moved away from Angel to the other side of the table.

"We were able to locate the right spell to tell us what spells were on what items, including the liquid as a whole."

"That's great news!" Buffy beamed. "Is that what you guys were working on when we got here?"

"Yes," Wes continued. "We are unable to perform some of the spells until we can acquire several ingredients though."

Angel held up a sheet of paper. "I have a list of what we need." He put the sheet back on the table. "I was waiting for them to complete a couple of the spells to be sure we didn't need more belladonna. All of the spells seem to require it because of its sedative properties."

Wesley looked at the large supply on the table. "Add it to the list just to be sure. Pick up another pound to be on the safe side. It crushes down to a lot less."

"All right." Angel added a pound of belladonna to his list. "I'm on my way then. Delia would you like to come with me?"

Cordy's smile brightened. She jumped at the chance to spend more time with Angel, as long as he wasn't acting like a jerk. "Sure. Where are we headed?"

"L.A. has several magic and herbal shops that should have the rest of what we need. The harder items we called ahead on to be sure." Angel noticed the bounce in Cordy's step. He hated having her mad at him. In so many ways he felt worse about Cordelia being mad at him, over when Buffy was mad at him.

Cordy tucked her arm in the crook of Angel's. The pair disappeared out the front door of the Magic Box. Several pairs of eyes followed their exit.

Buffy shared a grin with Spike for a minute. "Seems like there might be something that we aren't being told about?"

Wesley looked up from the next spell he was preparing. He gave Spike and Buffy a confused look.

"Angel and Cordelia?" Buffy asked.

"Ah, well I wouldn't know about that." Wesley quickly turned his head back around to separating and measuring the necessary ingredients.

"I see." Buffy decided to let the matter drop. She could tell that Wesley was a little uncomfortable with the questioning. "When do you think we can be ready?"

"If Angel brings the rest of what we need by morning, we should be set by tomorrow evening." Wes looked over everything on the table. "Some of the spells are time sensitive, and they must be prepared no earlier than mid-afternoon."

"Good because we ran into Ben at the hospital. I'd like to check out his place tomorrow night, if we're ready," Buffy explained. "I want to make sure that he's really gone.

"We'll do our best, Buffy," Willow and Tara chimed in.

"Are there any other spells that absolutely need to be taken care of tonight?" Spike noticed how tired everyone looked. He was worried about them all being too exhausted to function properly.

Willow, Tara, and Wesley shook their heads back and forth.

"Why don't you hit the sack then," Spike suggested. "We should all be rested, if we're going to take Glory on tomorrow."

"Hopefully it won't be necessary." Buffy squeezed Spike arm. "But it's good to be prepared. We can meet back here in the morning to strategize and finish what we can."

Willow and Tara nodded their heads eagerly. "That would be really nice." Willow stretched out her hands in front of her. "I could really use a nice hot bubble bath." She traced little circles on Tara's arm with her fingertips.

Tara blushed. She knew her girlfriend was thinking about a bath for two.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." Buffy grinned at Spike.

Spike quirked a curious brow. "Oh really, Slayer?"

"Yes, really."

Dawn rolled her eyes at her sister and Spike. "Don't you two need to patrol first?"

"Actually, Angel patrolled earlier this evening." Wesley gathered a book and some notes together into a pile. "Sending him out on patrol was better than keeping him here. He wouldn't stop pacing."

"Is that a family trait or a vampire trait, honey?" Buffy teased.

Spike growled and playfully nipped the air in front of Buffy's face. "Come on Nibblet. Let's go home."

"We'll lock up then head home too." Willow held up the keys to the Magic Box.

Spike, Buffy and Dawn waved bye to everyone. They walked back to Revello Drive together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Good night you two." Dawn headed for the stairs as soon as they reached the Summers' house. "Oh, and I'll have my headphones up loudly tonight. So feel free to make noise," She teased. Before anyone was able to catch her, she darted up the rest of the stairs to her room and closed the door.

Buffy blushed. "My sister should not be giving us that kind of advice."

"I don't know. Sounded like good advice to me." Spike laughed. He tickled Buffy's waist. "Advice that we should take to heart."

Buffy squealed, ran up the stairs ahead of Spike, and dashed the last few feet to her bedroom. She tried to kick the door closed, but Spike's vampiric speed beat her to it.

Spike made it into Buffy's bedroom just before the door shut. He leaned his back against the door and locked it. With the look of a predator, he stalked Buffy across the room to her bed.

Buffy backed up across the room until her knees hit the side of her bed. The look in Spike's eyes said it all, and she wanted all of him. She held up one hand in a stop motion.

Spike tilted his head to the side. He was curious why she wanted him to stop. 'What does the little vixen have in mind?'

Buffy ran her hand down her chest to her waist. She gripped the lower edge of her top and slowly raised it. She began a seductive dance starting with the sway of her hips in side circles. She turned around a little bit more with each sway until her back was facing Spike.

Spike licked his lips. His cock hardened to near aching proportions in his pants. He rubbed the front of his jeans to relieve some of the pressure that went all the way to his balls.

Buffy tossed the top over her shoulder. She peeked over her shoulder. "Oops." She giggled at the sight of Spike's face covered with her top.

Spike snarled, ripped the top off his face, and started moving closer to Buffy again.

"Ah, ah, ah." Buffy waggled a finger at him. "Stay put or no goodies for the Big Bad." She purred out the phrase big bad, reached up about mid back, and unclasped her bra strap. She tossed it to the side, ran her hands down her hips and unsnapped her pants. The sound of a zipper being lowered filtered through the air, along with the sound of Spike's low rumbling growl.

Spike groaned in need. He fought every instinct to keep from tackling Buffy to the bed and ravage her. He wanted her so bad. "Buffy ... Please ..."

Buffy delighted in the begging sound of her lover's voice. She bent over, hooked her fingers at her waistband, and lowered her pants to the ground. She kicked the pants away from her.

"Luv ..." Spike ached to bite the delicious looking ass in front of him. He longed to lick up her calves and sample her sweet core.

Buffy covered her breasts with her hands, and turned around to face Spike in only her crimson satin panties. "You want me?" She asked in a low seductive drawl.

"You can't tell, pet?" Spike cupped the bulging package restrained by his clothing. "I want you so bad it hurts."

"Aww, poor Spikey." Buffy crooked one finger in a come hither motion. She stopped him once he was only a couple inches from her. She closed the last bit of distance between them.

Spike sighed when Buffy dropped her hands. He inhaled deeply on instinct when his shirt was lifted out of his jeans and over his head. Her arousal filled his senses to an intoxicating level. "You are so beautiful." He caressed his hands up Buffy's sides.

Buffy pressed her hardened nipples against Spike's cool flesh. They hardened even tighter into little pebbles. She placed her hands over Spike's. "Promise me something, Spike."

"Anything, pet." Spike leaned down against Buffy's neck. He nibbled lightly with his blunt teeth.

"Promise to make me yours tonight, completely."

Spike jerked to a stop and pulled back. He gazed into Buffy's eyes. "Pet?"

"We read the files Lydia gave us," Buffy coaxed Spike with her voice and her reasoning. "There are only pluses to this for us if we make it mutual."

"Except that your life force will be tied with mine and vice versa." Spike wanted to claim Buffy with all that he was, vampire and man, but he was worried that she couldn't realize the severity of her decision.

"We won't lose each other so quickly." Buffy caressed Spike's cheek with her hand. "I don't see this as a bad thing unless you only wanted to claim me because you figured I wouldn't live very long." Her hand fell back to her side.

"I never want to lose you, Buffy." Spike quickly picked up Buffy's hand and kissed the palm. "If those files are right, you might not ever die."

"I understand that, Spike." Buffy's brow furrowed. "We'd always be together."

"You could outlive your family and friends, if I didn't die. Everyone you love would leave you." Spike frowned. He'd watched many things change over the century plus years that he'd been alive and undead. One of the reasons he stuck with his vampiric family was because he knew that anyone else he befriended would die or be killed long before he was dust.

"You wouldn't leave me." Buffy smiled warmly. She pressed her cheek against Spike's. "It will be hard without them, but I'll always have you, won't I?"

"I'd always be by your side, Buffy." Spike ran his fingers through Buffy's hair. "I'd be there, even if you weren't immortal, until the day you died and not a day more."

Buffy grinned. "All I need is you, Spike, but I want to give you more." She whispered her next words into his ear. "Make me yours forever, William. Make our love immortal."

Spike closed his eyes. Buffy's word struck his unbeating heart, and he swore that it started to beat again. "You'll know everything, Buffy." He held her tightly against his chest. "I won't be able to hide any of my past from you, and I don't want to hurt you."

"No secrets," Buffy spoke softly. She continued to speak as she pulled away from him just enough to look him in the eyes. "I know what life you led before, and I know who you are now."

"Who am I now?" Spike gulped and waited for her answer.

"The man I love with all of my heart. You're man and demon that will protect and love me for all eternity." Buffy kissed the right side of Spike's lips. "You're only one I can not bear to live without any more." She kissed the left side of his lips. "Mine." She kissed him full on the lips, and a passionate tangle of lips and tongues ensued.

Spike released the breath he was holding as soon as Buffy's lips connected fully with his. He walked back to the bed and lowered Buffy onto the top of it. He cradled her head in his arms and on the pillows and deepened the kiss.

Buffy worked between their bodies to unbutton and undo the zipper on Spike's jeans. She lowered them as far as she could with her hands without losing the touch of Spike's lips on hers. She used her feet to push Spike's jeans the rest of the way down and off of him.

Spike kicked the last of his jeans off his foot to the floor. His lips trailed a path down Buffy's neck. He nibbled and licked the path of her jugular, worrying the vein with the tips of his blunt teeth. The demon within growled and fought to be free.

Buffy felt the power of Spike's demon radiate from within him. Her own inner Slayer demon connected and craved that power. It fought for dominance over her human desires. The Slayer wanted to tear into the demon and make him hers first.

Both lovers wrestled passionately around on the bed. Buffy's panties were ripped from her body somewhere amidst their play. Hands pinched, caressed and fervently groped each other while they rolled back and forth. Positions switched frequently, legs locked around each other, and Spike's cock plunged deeply into Buffy's channel, burying himself deeply in her tight pussy.

With a roar, Spike's face morphed fully into his demon. Golden eyes stared down at his lover with lust in them. His mouth lunged to her chest, and his fangs buried themselves in the tender flesh around the soft globe.

Buffy's back arched, and a scream of pleasure ripped from her lips because of the pleasure from the dual penetration. She never thought she would get tired of feeling his fangs and cock in her body at the same time. Nothing would come close to how she felt during those times they were joined like that.

Spike snarled in pleasure at the feel of Buffy's nails scoring his shoulder blades and back in her ecstasy. He lifted his hips and buried his cock to the hilt time and time again in rapid strokes of building passion. Even with his fangs embedded in Buffy's flesh he only supped small mouthfuls of her blood at once.

'NOW!' Buffy's inner Slayer screamed at her. She was so near to reaching her climax. She needed that last connection with him to bring her over. She craved being a part of his entire being. She tucked her legs behind his kneecaps and flipped Spike onto his back.

Spike lost his grip on Buffy's breast when she flipped them over. The skin tore a bit more when his fangs were torn out of her skin. Blood dripped down her breast to her nipple where Spike's tongue waited to lap up each drop.

Buffy watched Spike's eyes cross when she lifted herself high enough to hold only the head of his cock at the entrance of her pussy. She locked eyes with him before she used all her weight to plummet back to the bed, effectively burying Spike so high into her pussy that he pierced her womb in one hard stroke.

"Buffy!" Spike yelled out in a feral growl. His fingers dug into her hips so hard that he would have broken a normal human woman's bones with his grip.

Buffy dove for Spike's neck. Her aim was true, right for the same spot that Spike was bitten in his original turning. Her blunt teeth worked to tear at the pale flesh to reach the precious gift she needed to make him hers. As the first droplet of blood hit her tongue, her blunt teeth became much sharper ones that pierced deep into the vein holding the borrowed blood that came mainly to her.

Spike roared out his orgasm. He was unprepared and shocked to feel fang like incisors in his neck. He felt Buffy suckling his blood into her mouth, and it made the orgasm even more powerful. His cock shot pulse after pulse of his cold seed deep into Buffy's womb. His whole body trembled under the onslaught of his own emotions and desires that were being heightened and fulfilled at once.

Buffy's inner muscles contracted and tightened around the pulsing member in her. She ground her pelvic bone against Spike's body to keep a teasing pressure on her clit. She came in several smaller but stronger bursts from the shock of his seed, the fullness and pressure of his cock, the grinding of her clit against him, and the wonderful taste of his blood in her mouth. She ripped her mouth away from Spike's throat. Her body was in a frenzy of movement and pleasure. She called out one word at the height of it all with a near vampiric like growl. "Mine!"

"Yours!" Spikes eyes rolled into the back of his head in orgasmic bliss. "All yours." He gripped Buffy's waist and flipped them both around without missing a stroke or losing their connection. With Buffy on her back, his own demon took control. He fangs struck deep into Buffy's jugular with unerring accuracy.

"YES!" Buffy screamed out as another orgasm ripped through her already highly strung body in the throes pleasure.

Spike shook his head back and forth. His fangs sliced a jagged tear, in part to help eradicate the other scar marks on Buffy's neck and partly to open the wound to flow more. His roughened vampire tongue lapped at any drops that tried to get past his sucking lips.

Stronger jets of Spike's now slightly warmed cum burst from his cock. He slapped his hips against hers, flesh against flesh. With a roar Spike pulled his fangs from Buffy's neck. "Mine!" His demon's gaze dared her to refute his claim upon her heart, body and soul.

"Yes, Spike! I'm yours." Buffy latched her lips to Spike's dripping neck wound. Her tiny fangs embedded themselves in his skin at the same moment that Spike's fangs reentered hers. The both continually shared a blood bond, taking some from each other and recycling it into the other.

A large gold burst of light engulfed the entire room. A halo of energy materialized around the joined lovers. Both of them passed out into a very deep sleep, still joined as a man and woman as well as demons and mates. A tendril of emerald light shot through the walls of the Summer's home from Dawn' room to join the golden nimbus.

The halo of golden and emerald light lingered and pulsed around the two supernatural creatures for half the night as well as the human form of the Key in the room down the hall.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"NO!!!!" Angel slammed on the brakes. The car spun around in a 360 twice before it stopped in the gravel on the side of the road.

Cordelia screamed in fright. "What the Hell is your problem?" She clutched the dash so hard it left marks from her fingernails.

"I'll kill him." Angel growled in his vampiric visage. "He's dust." He tried to throw the car back into drive, but Cordelia stopped his hand with both of hers.

"We're not going anywhere until you tell me what the Hell is going on." Cordelia was pissed off. She was scared that Angel was going to lose any control he might have over Angelus with how angry he was, but she was ticked that he nearly got her killed over whatever was bothering him.

"He claimed her." Angel bashed the side of his fist against the steering wheel. "That son of a bitch claimed her."

Cordelia's anger snapped. "You nearly got me killed because of Spike and Buffy?" She slapped Angel hard across the cheek. "Wake up, Angel! She doesn't want you!"

A peeved vampire snarled at Cordelia and pinned her against the passenger door. "She was mine!"

"You aren't the only one to lose someone you loved." Cordelia spat out. "Besides you have a funny way of showing your love, leaving town like that after graduation."

"You don't understand!" Angel gripped Cordy's wrists tighter.

"I understand perfectly." Cordelia kicked her leg out and raised her knee up to Angel's groin to knock him off balance and surprise him. She pushed him against the driver side door. She grabbed his face with her hands and kissed him soundly on the lips.

Angel laid back against the door in shock. He wasn't able to retaliate for a minute until he regained his wits about him.

Cordy pushed away from Angel back to her side of the car. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with the short breaths she took to get herself to calm down. "You aren't the only one to know what it is like to have the person you want not love you in return."

Angel sat up slowly. "Delia ..."

"Just drive Angel." Cordelia refused to look at Angel. 'What he must think of me now?' She mentally groaned. She felt embarrassed enough for one night. "We have to finish that list and get back to Sunnydale."

Angel sighed. He put the car into drive. He drove silently to their next destination with his eyes glued to the road and his thoughts in a confused jumble.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Next