Survival

DISCLAIMER':- None of the characters belong to me which sucks ! Joss and all connected to the Series have been made oodles of cash and I won't make a penny! I do this for fun only!

Note:- This is my third story and it's based after Not Fade Away. Buffy is being ' Haunted' by both the vampires.Please read and review .

Chapter One

"Will you stop stalking me , I know your there, just come out of the shadows and face me" Buffy swung herself round expecting to face the vampire that had been tailing her for days.The tingling sensation faded, she knew it had slunk off to come back and 'haunt' her again .She shrugged and continued on her way back to her house. The night had been a long and arduous one , work , slay , work again. Willow and Xan would pester her to go out and socialise with them of that she was sure. She hung up her coat and threw her bag on the sofa , throwing herself onto the sofa and glancing at the answer machine. " No doubt that's them " she huffed as she dragged her ass off the couch to see that she had recieved six calls today. " Get it over with", she pushed the play button.

"Hey Buff, you actually going to take some time to have fun and chill out with us, it's been a week since we last saw you , Xander's worried about you, we're all worried Buffy. Come out with us tonight . We'll all be at the usual place at about nine, just in case you feel up to it. I gotta go , Andrew's holding a seminar for some of the potential wicca's amungst the slayerettes, and you just know one of them's going to turn him into something" Willow giggled at the thought and then returned to her message " Anyway, I hope to see you later , Bye"

Buffy deleted the message and waited for the rest, two of which were sales reps trying to sell home insurance. Like she could afford that! The machine beeped and then went on to play the next message. It beeped the start of it and then , nothing , silence. Background noise gave nothing away , Buffy shrugged and hovered her finger over the delete button. " So , it was probably a vamp that made the call to intimidate her, like it would? Then she heard it.

"Buffy"

It was weak , tired and in pain. She had heard his voice like that many times.

"Spike?"

No it couldn't be. She knew he was dead. It was his voice though, wasn't it ? She played the message it again... nothing.

"Okay ... much weirdness, must have been my tiredness playing tricks"

She saved the message and then listened to the next one.

"Buffy "

This was getting to weird , even for her, and that's where she lived , in the weirdness.Angel's voice had sounded just as it had the day he had his soul returned to him, just before she sent him to hell. Why is she getting ghostly calls from ghosts? First it was Spike's voice, now it's Angel's. Get a grip, your dreaming , must be, you came home and you fell asleep on the couch. She slapped herself mentally.

Again she replayed the message and nothing . Buffy looked at the machine and saw the zero in the messages window. She flopped back on the sofa " I'll bring it up with Gile's when I call him later.That was the last thing she thought as she slipped into a deep sleep.It didn't take long for her to start dreaming.

It started the same as it always did, Spike in the Hellmouth, in the pillar of sunlight that streamed through the basement from above, the amulet sending rays of said sunlight beaming and dancing it's way through the cavern, killing the ubervamps.Her heart rate and breathing increased, not that she knew that of course. Slight whimpers left her and she shifted on the couch. The dream then continued to show Angel fighting hoards of demons with Spike by his side. Although it didn't come with a time and date , she knew it was after the Hellmouth incident.She saw the fight play out in her mind and saw the two vampires die at the hands of the demons, Angel being decapitated and Spike being staked.The dreams weren't just visual , they came with the whole kit and caboodle, smells and tastes, audio and feeling. This seemed very real to her, but it couldn't be , could it? Spike had 'died' for her, in the pit of hell , Angel had died at the hands of the Black Thorn. The end of the dream always ended the same as well , with both vampires calling her name. Even in her sleep she was torn between them.That's when she would snap out it and wake up, soaked with sweat and breathing heavy, her heart thumping in her chest and feeling like it was about to burst.

Buffy walked into the kitchen of her new house and ran the cold tap. Once it was icy cold she held her hands under it and splashed the cool liquid over her face. She filled a glass up with water and headed into the lounge again. She sat on the couch and picked up the remote and turned on the television, propping her feet on the coffee table. God this is the worst show on tv and yet I'm watching it .Romance is so over rated she thought with a sigh. Buffy glanced at the clock and decided that , seen as it was mid afternoon in London , she would call Giles. She knew he would fluster and probably try and push it aside as some futile need for her vampires.Oh well best to get it over with.

The phone rang for a few minutes before Andrew finally answered. He was trying to mimick an English accent and failing miserably. Still , he did bring a smile to Buffy's face .

"Hey Andrew, still trying to perfect the James Bond thing then?More like Johnny English she thought.

" Hello Buffy , vampyr slayer extraordinaire, what may I do to service your needs at this time"

Buffy's eyes rolled as she shook her head

"Is Giles there, I need to talk to him, and before you ask , it's personal"

"I'll put you through to his extention, just hold Buffy"

"Thanks Andrew" She was hoping Giles would pick up straight away , as Andrew was obviously still on the line as well , and would only want more of a conversation.Luckily Giles was at his desk and picked up immediately.

"How good to hear from you my dear, How's things?"

"There Okay , could be better , you know how thing's tend to work out for me. But not much with the complaining. I rang as I seem to be suffering from major hauntings of the Spike and Angel kind. "

" I doubt they are 'hauntings' Buffy, as you well know , once a vampire has been dusted, they don't rise again, they have no regenerative powers"

"Spike did"

"Ah yes well , that was a very rare and unpresidented case, fuelled by the mystical , on behalf of Wolfram and Hart"

"Which both of the were working for at the time of their deaths"

She could tell Giles had now left his seat behind his desk and that he was now pacing, also, thinking how he could clean his glasses while juggling the phone.

"Tell me , I need more detail"

Buffy told him that she could sense them and felt as if she was being stalked and about the phone messages

" Do you still have the message on your answer machine?"

"Yes , like I was going to erase them. Puh-lease I know how anal you are when it comes to the weird and wacky. But that's just the thing , when I played the message back , they weren't there anymore, as in no longer vocal."

"Send me the recordings via e-mail and I will go over them and report back to you by tonight Buffy. As for the stalking, I am more than sure it's probably just another vampire ."

"No, it definately feels like Spike, and it was his M.O"

"Well if it is his essence then it's not going to be corporeal , so he can't hurt you"

"I doubt he would try it even if he could, I don't get those vibes from it, him, it just , well it gives the wiggins"

"As I doubt it is them I shouldn't worry yourself too much Buffy"

" Yeah , cos it's not like those two come back from the dead much is it? Hell didn't even keep Angel from returning and Spike had his share of Hellmouthy fireball death and he came back and worked for previously kicked out of hell vamp"

"Well I won't be able to assertain whether it is Angel and Spike, until you have provided me with the recordings and I suggest for your own piece of mind , you do that as soon as possible Buffy"

"Okay, I will go and do that now. Just let me know what you find out soon as"

"Goodnight Buffy"

"Night"

She hung up and removed the tape from the machine. I am so not in the mood for this she thought. Typical of those two crazy assed vamps to cause me even more angst, It's not enough that they're dead, ooooh no they got to haunt me.

Buffy yawned and headed upstairs to load the messages onto her laptop . Once she had copied the recording, she mailed it to Giles. She thought back to Angel's death and his return, and then to Spike's pillar of fire death. What was it with the vampires that were part of the Order of Aurelius? Why do they always end up revived after their deaths? Angel had told her about Darla being raised by Wolfram and Hart. Was it possible for Wolfram and Hart to have some kind of link to the actual blood line of the vampires? "Okay I am so not going to get any sleep now , brains working overtime and for me , that's not leading anywhere good."

Buffy decided to have a shower before she retired to bed.'Let's hope this chills the inner turmoil enough to get me to snoozeville'. The shower eased her tired aching muscles and the scent of her lavender helped her mind relax a little.She climbed into bed and sighed. It wasn't long before she had drifted off to sleep.

She could smell the ashes , hear his laughter as he died. A brilliant bright flash of light and he was there, walking out in the sunlight. It wasn't a place she recognised, but who cared? Spike was alive here.She was sat on a cliff top , a forest behind her , the sun high up in the sky , she bathed in the warmth of it. She sensed him approach her. She stood up , still looking out over the cliff . His arms wrapped around her waist , his body pressed against her back, his chin resting on her shoulder.

' I missed you' his breath was hot against her ear

' Where are we? '

' Don't rightly know pet, can't seem to care neither' He trailed kisses down her neck

' You died '

' Yeah, kinda knew that , miss state the obvious'

'So why are we here? Why do I still feel you? '

'Can't just enjoy the dreams can ya slayer '

A breeze whisked around the pair , making her hair whip up and her skirt wrap around her legs. Spike lifted his nose to it and breathed in deeply.

' You still smell delicious '

' I need to find you '

' I'm righ' here waitin'

' If your here, then where is Angel '

His hold on her slipped

' Dunno and don' care '

Buffy turned to face him

The scenery blinked around them and they were stood in a dark pit, something caught her eye and she walked over to it. She bent down to pick it up. Half buried , it was the amulet. As she reached for it a hand shot up through rubble, grasping her wrist.Spike pulled her back , pulling the arm through the soil . They stood watching as a second hand came out through the loose soil, followed by a head and a body.

Angel

'I'm ... ALIVE!'

' Okay now consider me stunned! '

' What are you doin' ere ' Spike shot off

' Same thing you are dumbass' Angel sneered

' Great, just what I need , even in my dreams you two bicker like little old ladies'

'Buffy' Angel held her in his arms.

'Oi !'

' So , any idea why we're here Angel?'

'Buffy backed out of his embrace.

' I guess it has something to do with the Shanshu '

' I thought you signed it over and I thought it would make one of us a real boy, not like this though '

' You never were a great thinker Spike '

' Shanshu? What's with that? ' Buffy was curious now.

' Prophecy luv, vampire with a soul gets his redemption by becoming human again. Only the wanker 'ere thought it meant him and signed it over to the lawyers. Means that it should be me, so why the bloody hell he's 'ere beats me'

Buffy pauses to look at Angel for confirmation

' It's true , only not the part where it's Spike's '

' I got meself a shiny soul and hello , vampire , think that makes me qualify , although not vampire now 'course'

' Could you two just shut up and help me work this out before I wake up. So Shanshu, human, but why in my dreams? '

'You must be our link to the mortal world ' Angel offered up

' And the Shanshu was supposed to be for one , not both , so how come your both human here? '

' Saved the world ...again' Spike said as he approached Buffy again , snaking his arm around her waist.

Angel rolled his eyes

' I'll get Gile's straight on it when I wake up'

The same blinking around them and then they were in the alley

' Still not getting used to this ' Buffy snipped ' Where the hell are we now? '

' This would be the place we died again , the alley in L.A.' Spike said

' Tell me to never book a tour with your guides again, the sightseeing sucks'

Both Angel and Spike shook their heads and smiled

' Anything seem like a clue to you both? '

' Nothin' 'ere, 'cept demon goo' Spike was bent down running it through his fingers

Angel had wandered through the carcusses of the various demons

' Over here ' he called to therm

'What's that?' Buffy asked , pointing at the demon

' It's a Morah, specifically designed to regenorate itself and anyone that comes into contact with it's blood'

' I fought one o' them , had a nasty gash in me side at the time' Spike said

' I think we now know why both of us are human here , it regenorated you Spike" Angel nudged the demon with his boot " I came across them before. It was supposed to bring about the end of days"

"Erm big huge apocolypse, been there done that and I think I can say that this was the one it was yappin' 'bout, seen as it's ere an all"

"Spike's right for once" Angel conceded

"Okay, still doesn't tell me how I get you both back does it" the slayer sighed.

Both Angel and Spike went to her side. Both of them rolled their eyes at the other.

"For god sake will you both stop with the love sick puppy act."

"But you with the cookie dough and and the baking and the some day and I get to eat the cookie dough" Angel blurted out, not caring that it made him sound like a ten year old.

Spike laughed until he had tears in his eyes.

"Shut it Spike" Angel's anger evident

"Can both of you please cut it out. " Buffy inspected the demon " So, Angel , how did you kill this demon?"

"Smash the jewel on it's head. But the one I encountered before said for one that falls , more will rise"

"One thing we haven't really taken into consideration, Wolfram and bloody Hart" Spike said

It was at that point Buffy woke up.