Surviving Hell

by DianneRose2016

Set in L.A, but both side of characters will be included. 19 days after Spike destroys the Hellmouth he comes out of the amulet in Angel's office corporal, but he's far from ok. Turns out he has spent 190 years in a hell dimension and on top of that Wolfram and Hart is calling Spike their property and keeping him here in L.A. Buffy and Angel have to work together to help Spike

1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this is going to be my story for Angel. I've been watching Season 5 all over again and this idea popped into my head. Spike came back through the amulet all ghosty, but what if he came back corporeal? This is going to be my take on how Angel Season 5 could have gone if one thing had changed.

Angel might be a little out of character, because I feel that after over a hundred years that him and Spike would have a connection and have a more brotherly type relationship. They hate each other, but they will always be there for each other type of deal. I've never written an Angel fanfic so bare-with me on this and hopefully it won't be horrible or the characters won't be too out there.

Summary: Spike comes back out of the amulet corporeal, but that isn't his problem. The problem is the Senior Partners have labeled him as their property and they won't let him leave L.A. On top of that the amulet locked him in a hell dimension. Now Angel has to try and help Spike to deal with being in a hell dimension being tortured. Angel calls in resources to help him get Spike back to perfect health both physically and mentally.

Chapter 1

Angel, Gunn, Lorne, Wesley and Fred were all sitting in Angel's office at the end of the first few days. They had just taken over Wolfram and Hart and to say that things had started off interesting was an understatement. They knew it wasn't going to be smooth sailing when they took over the company that represents evil itself, but they were hoping to not have to start off so rocky right out of the gate. Angel was feeling uncharacteristically optimistic about running a law firm full of evil clients. Not to mention that the Senior Partners would love to kill them all. Angel was hopeful that they would be able to change things from inside the law firm. He was hoping that he had made the right decision in this. Angel grabbed the brown envelope that had been delivered to him earlier. He stood there as he spoke he opened the envelope.

"Look, I think everything went well. Whatever comes next we can handle it."

The amulet hit the floor and dust and wind started to blow in a circle. Everyone took a step back all ready for a fight as they watched as a body was placed back together with black dust. No one expected to see Spike standing there once the dust had cleared. Everyone was on edge and ready for anything to happen. What they didn't expect was to see Spike covered in blood, bruises, cuts and dirt. His black t-shirt and black jeans were covered in dirt, blood and had holes all over them. Spike was shaking and he was looking around through squinted eyes. Before anyone could say anything Lorne screamed out in pain and collapsed to the floor. Wesley came over to Lorne and bent down trying to hold Lorne up as he held his head in his hands. The scream caused Spike to startle and he vamped out, but he didn't make any move to attack.

"What the hell is going on?" Gunn asked ready to fight.

"Spike." Angel said slightly unsure of what was going on, if he was even seeing right.

"Lorne are you okay?" Fred asked with concern moving back away from Spike.

"Who's Spike?" Gunn asked at the same time.

"William the Bloody. The most dangerous vampire in history next to Angel. He died nineteen days ago though in Sunnydale." Wesley said.

"Lorne are you okay?" Angel asked without taking his eyes off Spike who had moved further back into the room. Angel could tell that he was weak and in a great deal of pain. Angel could feel it through their mind connection. Something wasn't right.

"The pain, he's in unbearable pain on every level. It's too much Angel. The fear is just radiating off from him." Lorne said through gritted teeth.

"Spike, I need you to relax." Angel said as he held his hands up and slowly took a step closer. This only caused Spike to take a step back and weakly growl at Angel.

"Why aren't we killing him?" Gunn asked.

"Because he died saving the world and he has a soul." Angel said.

"He has a soul? You neglected to mention that before." Wesley said.

"It's not my story to tell." Angel said in a stern voice and they all knew that he wasn't about to share that story now.

They heard the door open and Harmony and Eve walked into the room.

"Blondie Bear?" Harmony asked confused and surprised.

"Oh good it worked." Eve said.

"What worked?" Angel asked with anger.

"The amulet, it worked." Eve said without clarifying what the amulet was supposed to do.

"What was the amulet supposed to do?" Fred asked.

"The Senior Partners wanted Spike, but they knew that unlike Angel Spike would never go for it. They had seen what role he would play in destroying the Hellmouth and saving the world. They just needed a way to get Spike here. So they gave you the amulet knowing you would go and see Buffy and give it to her. She would give it to Spike, her new Champion and he would wear it. The amulet responded to his soul and when he died it trapped him in the amulet. Once the amulet touched Wolfram and Hart property it would release Spike from its hold. Now here he is, though it does seem to have a slight glitch." Eve said as she looked at Spike without a care in the world.

"And what might that be?" Wesley asked annoyance clear in his voice.

"Well the amulet was still a mystery as to what would happen once someone was inside. According to the Senior Partners, while it's only been nineteen days for the rest of us, for Spike it's been a hundred and ninety years. Inside the amulet is a hell dimension, so Spike's been getting tortured for a hundred and ninety years technically." Eve said in an indifferent voice.

"What?" Angel asked with anger dripping from his voice.

"He'll get over it I'm sure. It doesn't really matter, because he's here now and since he is now Wolfram and Hart property he can't leave L.A. Even if he wanted to the Senior Partners will just pop him back here. You should be happy you have another fighter on your team." Eve said with a smile.

"Happy that Spike has been tortured for almost two hundred years? Happy that he is now stuck here, possibly against his will. Get out of here Eve, before I kill you myself." Angel growled.

"Hey I'm just a messenger. You got a problem with the situation you can take it up with the Senior Partners." Eve said as she left Angel's office.

"Harmony, get on the phone and have the jet take off and go to Rome's International Airport." Angel said.

"Um why?" Harmony asked confused.

"Because I said so." Angel said in a harsh tone.

"Okay geez." Harmony said as she left the office.

"Wesley, take Lorne and get him out of here and away from the pain. Once you get Lorne in his office grab some blood and bring it upstairs to my apartment. Fred, call Willow and let her know what is going on and that a jet will be at Rome International Airport in three hours. Anyone who wants to come here is more than welcome to. Gunn, take care of things while I help Spike." Angel said.

"What are you going to do with Spike?" Wesley asked as he helped get Lorne up off the ground.

"I'm going to get him upstairs. His senses are going crazy with all the noise and people. If I can get him upstairs I might be able to get him to calm down." Angel answered.

"Are you sure?" Gunn asked still not certain that he should be leaving Angel alone with Spike.

"It's fine go." Angel said in a no argument tone.

The others all filed out of the room. Gunn helped Wesley get Lorne up off the floor and out of the room. Spike was still in game face, but Angel could see how much pain he was in and how weak he was. Angel kept his hands where Spike could see them so he didn't think he was going to attack him.

"Spike, its' okay I'm not going to hurt you." Angel said calmly as he slowly began to approach Spike.

Spike moved back with each step that Angel took forward, but Angel could work with that. He just needed to get Spike into the elevator and up to his apartment. Angel could see Spike shaking and he was having a hard time standing. Angel knew that he was only wake by pure will power alone. Angel continued to move closer to Spike, but made sure that Spike was only able to back up in the direction of the elevator. Spike looked like he was about to collapse, but he continued to move away from Angel. Angel didn't know if Spike understood that he wasn't in hell anymore or if he still thought he was and that Angel was going to hurt him. Either way Angel knew he had to get Spike upstairs where he could keep it dark and quiet for him. Angel knew from experience how much your senses were overloaded when you come back from hell. Angel wasn't in hell that long especially compared to how long Spike had just spent, but still he understood where he was coming from.

Slowly Angel was able to get Spike closer to the elevator and when Angel was close enough he hit the button making Spike move slightly away from the elevator. After a minute Angel was finally able to get Spike into the small elevator. Spike was in the farthest corner in the elevator with his back against the wall. He was shaking and Angel could see him fading, but he was hanging on out of fear. Angel didn't know what he was going to do to get Spike to relax and lie down, but he knew he needed to. Angel and Spike had always had a rough relationship over the last century and Angel knew it was mostly on his end. When Spike was sired Drusilla was in no shape to be a proper Sire. So it fell onto Angel to teach Spike how to hunt and kill, how to fight and Angel could admit that he was nowhere near nice to Spike. Spike was like a little brother to Angel and as such he was always hard on Spike. Angel knew that Spike was just rebelling against Angel, because of his own pain that he was in. Spike was always a gentle and sensitive soul even after he lost his soul. Angel had to force him to kill and be violent otherwise Spike wouldn't have lived up to their blood line and Angelus couldn't have that. So he would torture Spike any and every chance that he got in more ways than one. He would sleep with Drusilla, the woman Spike loved, when he would be due back from hunting. He wanted to make sure that Spike saw what he was doing. The control he had over the woman that Spike loved. He would make him go a week without blood just because he could. Angel knew he was extra cruel to Spike, because he came during the period that Angel was sick of being the only one as cruel as him, so he forced Spike to be just like him. It worked, because now in history Spike is the second cruelest vampire and demon there has ever been.

Angel knew that he had a lot to make up for. Spike had gone and sought out a soul after all these decades, because he wanted one. Angel was cursed with one and he knew that if he lost it again he wouldn't want it back. That had been proven twice already. Spike was different he wanted a soul and he was even still normal without one. He was still helping to fight the good fight and he could have been all along if it wasn't for Angelus. Angel wasn't going to make the same mistakes twice. This time around he was going to be there for Spike and watch out for him.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened to Angel's apartment. Angel walked over towards Spike forcing Spike to move out of Angel's way and out of the elevator. Once out of the elevator Spike looked around frantically as he moved back as far away from Angel as he could. Angel stepped out of the elevator and made sure his hands were still where Spike could see them. Spike was now all the way back by the windows and he was still in game face, but Angel could see him struggling to keep it.

"It's okay Spike I promise I'm not going to hurt you." Angel said gently.

Spike gave a weak pathetic growl and Angel knew he was trying to be brave and strong, but he just couldn't do it right now. Angel took a moment and truly looked at Spike. He was a deathly grey color and he was easily sixty pounds lighter and lost all of his muscles. He was clearly starving and on the edge of death if he didn't get some blood into him soon. He was covered in dirt and blood both skin and clothes and Angel knew the blood would be Spike's. His face was badly beaten and both eyes were just barely open from them being swollen. His right wrist looked broken and Angel knew he would have some broken ribs and internal damage, but he just couldn't tell without having Spike looked at by a doctor or getting him to tell him. The elevator door opened and Spike flinched back against the wall in fear. Wesley came out of the elevator with blood bags in his hand and handed them over to Angel.

"How is he?" Wesley asked with caution.

"He'll be fine. Keep everyone out until the others arrive."

"Very well. Fred was calling Willow while I was on my way up here. The jet will be in Rome within two hours."

"Thanks Wes." Angel said without taking his eyes off Spike who looked terrified.

Wes just gave a nod and headed back down the elevator. Angel couldn't help, but feel a pang of pain in his heart. He couldn't even remember the last time he ever saw Spike have fear in his eyes let alone pure terror. Angle placed the blood bags down on a table. He went over to the bar and took off his jacket and placed it over the back of a chair. Angel picked up a knife that was sitting on the bar top. He turned to face Spike and he could see that seeing the knife had put even more fear into Spike.

"It's okay Spike look."

Angel took the knife and cut down the right side of his neck in a straight line to the top of his collar bone. Angel then put the knife back down and he could see the desperate need for blood in Spike's eyes, but he could also see the fear of it. He was afraid to eat which told Angel that either when he was given blood in hell it was drugged or they tortured him more afterwards.

"I know you can smell my blood, the blood of your family. I'm real Spike. This isn't some sick game that is being played on you. You're here in L.A with me. I'm real Spike." Angel said as he took a few steps closer to Spike.

Angel could see Spike fighting with himself. He was starving and he wanted the blood so badly, but he was terrified of what would happen. Angel knew that Spike had good reason to be afraid. Even if he hadn't been in hell for so long Angelus would never let Spike drink from him. No matter how injured he was he would never let Spike have his blood. So Spike had every reason to be afraid of Angel right now. Angel got closer and Spike didn't step back this time around.

"I've never let you drink my blood before so I understand why you are on guard right now, but Spike there is no trick. I know you are starving and you want my blood. You're so starved that you would drink any kind of blood right now. It's okay you can take my blood Spike." Angel said as he got right in front of Spike.

Spike was hunched over and Angel could tell he was waiting to be hit. Angel was taller though so his neck was at the right height for Spike to take his blood. With Angel being so close Spike could smell his blood even stronger now. Angel could see Spike fighting the urge to just sink his teeth in and drink the much needed blood. Spike was too terrified to though and Angel knew he would need to show Spike that things were going to be different this time around. That he wasn't going to hurt him. Angel gently placed his right hand on the back of Spike's neck and he could feel Spike flinch and tense at the touch. Angel knew that Spike was afraid of him. Angelus had made it very clear in the past how he felt about showing weakness and pain. Spike had every reason to be afraid of him.

"It's okay, drink my childe." Angel said gently as he guided Spike's head down to his neck where the blood was.

The cut wasn't deep just enough to bleed to get Spike's interests. Once Spike tasted the blood Angel knew he would bite down and truly drink. Spike couldn't fight it anymore and he allowed Angel to guide his head down to his neck and Spike took a cautious lick at the blood. Angel didn't say anything he just gently rubbed his thumb on the back of Spike's neck letting him know it was okay. Spike went to bite down on the bleeding flesh, but to Angel's surprise and hurt, Spike wasn't even strong enough to get his fangs into his neck. Spike tried, but after a moment gave up and settled for licking and sucking the blood out of the shallow cut. Angel closed his eyes after he felt Spike try to bite, but he just couldn't get enough strength to break the skin. Spike had always been strong even when he was injured. It hurt Angel a great deal to see Spike this weak and vulnerable.

After only a minute the shallow cut was no longer bleeding and Spike had only gotten a small taste of blood. He let out a whimper and Angel knew that Spike was thinking how Angel did this on purpose. Spike moved his head back and looked down at the ground no longer in game face. Angel knew that he was hurt and upset at himself for falling for a trick. Angel kept his hand on the back of Spike's neck, but it was gentle and not harsh.

"You're too weak to bite me right now. Let's go to my bedroom and sit down on the bed. I'll cut a deep one that you can get some real blood from. I'm sorry I didn't think you wouldn't be able to bite. I'm not trying trick you childe." Angel said gently.

Angel gently led Spike over to his bedroom and down on the bed. Spike followed, but Angel knew it was more out of fear than believing what he said. Angel got Spike to sit down at the head of the bed where the pillows were before Angel went over to the bar to grab the knife again. He went back over to the bed and he could see Spike's shaking pick up and he knew he was in unbearable pain and fear. Angel sat down on the bed and Spike closed his eyes as Angel was so close to him with the knife now.

"It's okay I promise. Look at me childe." Angel said softly.

Spike opened his eyes and he was tense just waiting for the pain to come. Angel took the knife and this time cut in the same spot, but made sure it was deep to bleed enough for Spike to take as much as Angel could give him. Angel put the knife down on the nearby dresser and went back over to the bed. He sat close to Spike right in front of him and again he placed a gentle hand on the back of Spike's neck and brought him down as he spoke.

"Drink as much as you need my childe."

Spike couldn't resist the smell of the blood anymore and he began to lick and suck as fast as he can trying to get as much blood into him as he could. Angel rubbed his thumb along the back of Spike's neck in a comforting way as he spoke.

"That's it, my blood will make you strong again. Take all you need."

Spike desperately licked and sucked at Angel's neck. Spike couldn't understand what was going on. He didn't know if this was real or not. If it was a trick or not, but he was just so hungry he didn't care right now. He was in so much pain and he was exhausted all the time. He just wanted blood and then sleep until the pain no longer existed. Spike didn't know how much longer he could hold on being in that place. He didn't understand what was going on, but even when they had used Angel's form to torture him he could never smell his blood. Spike could smell Angel and his blood for the first time in he didn't know how many years he had been trapped in hell. He knew that the increase in pain and his senses he knew he was back alive, but he couldn't figure out how or why. Right now all he could do was taste the sweet and powerful blood that could only belong to Angel and their blood line.

After a good five minutes of them sitting there in silence Angel could feel Spike falling asleep now that the extreme terror was wearing off. Spike pushed his head back away from Angel's neck and Angel didn't try and push him back to the cut. He knew Spike would only be able to take small amounts every time to build up his stomach once again. Spike barely had his swollen eyes open and Angel knew his body was beyond exhausted. If he hadn't been a vampire he would have died long ago from it. Angel gently guided Spike down to the bed so he would be lying down. He spoke as he did this.

"Good boy. Just lay down and sleep now. I'm not going anywhere I'll be right here to protect you."

Angel pulled the covers over Spike's legs and hips. He knew that Spike was covered in dirt and blood, but for now it would at least keep him warm. Angel knew he was going to have to wash the dirt and blood away and get Spike into some clean clothes, but for right now he would just let him sleep. Angel sat there for ten minutes just watching Spike sleep. He always thought it was funny that Spike had never gotten out of the habit of breathing. Even after over a century of being dead Spike still breathed like he needed to. Angel got up and went into the bathroom he grabbed a cloth and a basin. He filed it up with warm water and put the cloth in before he went back over to the bed with it. he set it down on the side table and picked up the cloth and rung it out. Angel knew he would need to get Spike changed, but for now he could get the blood and dirt off his face, arms and hair. Angel very carefully began to wipe away the blood and dirt from Spike's face. As he did this he was able to see just how deep the bruising was on his face. There was barely any spot on Spike's face that wasn't covered in bruising of different stages of healing. The same went for his arms that Angel was able to see. Once Angel finished getting Spike cleaned up a bit he went and put the cloth and basin back into the bathroom. The cloth was now stained with blood and dirt. Angel went back over to the bed and sat down sitting on the side of the bed facing Spike. Angel knew he should be trying to figure out how to free Spike from Wolfram and Hart, but right now all he could do was look at Spike and feel guilt and pain. It was him that handed Buffy the amulet. He didn't know it would go to Spike, but when he found out that Spike had a soul part of him believed that it would go to Spike. If Angel had never given the amulet to Buffy then Spike wouldn't have used it and have been trapped in its own hell. On the other side of it though if he didn't hand the amulet over then the First could have won and destroyed not only Buffy but Sunnydale. Angel shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. Spike didn't need him to wallow in his own self-pity. Spike needed him to be smart and strong to protect him from what might come next.

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Fred went with Gunn, Wesley and Lorne into Lorne's office. Gunn and Wesley laid Lorne down on his couch as he was still shaky from whatever he got off of Spike.

"Are you okay Lorne?" Fred asked gently.

"I'll be fine Kitten. It's been a long time since I've felt pain and fear like that." Lorne said sadly with a shaky voice.

"I don't like this. We don't know anything about that guy, except that he tried to torture Angel over some ring." Gunn said.

"That was a long time ago and Angel knows how to handle Spike." Wesley said.

"Still don't like it." Gunn said.

"He looked really injured even if he wanted to hurt Angel I don't think it's even possible right now." Fred said.

"Plus Spike has a soul now which changes things dramatically." Wesley said.

"Look I get it. He has a soul and saved the world. He's spent almost two centuries in hell. I feel bad, but still we shouldn't trust him until we know what is really going on. The Senior Partners wanted Spike here and I can't help, but think it's not for a job well done party." Gunn said.

"I agree with you there, but until we know more about this amulet and the Senior Partner's plan all we can do is be there for Angel. Angel is connected to Spike he's not going to let Spike just die no matter how much he doesn't like him." Wesley said.

"I should call Willow and tell her what is going on." Fred said.

"I'll go and get some blood then I'll be back here with my books. I want to research this amulet maybe there is a way to remove Spike from the Senior Partner's property." Wesley said.

"I'll go talk to the cat then and see what it has to say." Gunn said.

"I'll stay here until the room stops spinning." Lorne said with an awkward smile.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" Fred asked sympathetically.

"No I'll be fine in a few Kitten, but thanks." Lorne said with a smile.

Wesley and Gunn headed out of the office to take care of their few things. Fred went over to the office phone that was sitting on Lorne's desk and dialed Willow's number. After a few rings Willow's voice came over the line.

"Hello."

"Willow hey it's Fred." Fred said slightly awkward she was never good at talking on the phone.

"Oh hey Fred. What's going on? Everything ok with Angel he's not all soulless killer again?" Willow asked slightly panicked that Fred would be calling her.

"Oh no Angel is fine. It's actually Spike that I'm calling about."

"Spike what about him? Did he send a message or something?" Willow asked slightly confused. They all knew that Spike had died saving the world back in Sunnydale.

"Not quite. Spike is here, he's alive." Fred said with a small smile. She didn't know Spike, but she could tell that the others had cared about him. After the battle they had all came to the hotel to heal and rest up. Fred could see the sorrow in their eyes at their loss of a friend.

"What do you mean he's alive?" Willow asked confused, but Fred could hear the small sound of hope in her voice.

"I'm not really sure what happened or how it happened, I guess I should say. Spike was trapped in the amulet and the amulet was mailed here to Wolfram and Hart. It's a complicated story and I don't really have the whole story or understanding of it, but apparently according to the Senior Partners the amulet held its own hell and Spike has been in that hell for the past nineteen days. Only to him it's been a hundred and ninety years." Fred said sadly and waited a moment to let Willow fully process what she had just told her.

It was a lot to take in. It was one thing to find out that someone you thought was killed was actually now back alive. It was another to find out that they had been in hell getting tortured for almost two centuries. After a moment Willow spoke.

"Are you sure?" Willow asked sadly.

"Um ya we're sure."

"Where is he?"

"Angel has him up in his apartment here at Wolfram and Hart. He's in bad shape. I don't know how bad I only saw him for a minute before Angel had us leave so he could calm Spike down. Angel sent the jet out to pick up anyone that wants to come down here at the Rome International Airport. It'll be there within two hours. Angel wanted me to call you and let you know."

"Um ok wow. Um we'll be there. I just have to call everyone and we'll be there." Willow said slightly rushed as her mind began to process everything she had just heard and everything she needed to do before they could leave.

"Ok well if something happens I can call you, but I think Angel is just going to try and get Spike to eat and then get him to sleep."

"Ya ok we'll be there as soon as we can and I'll bring what I was able to find out about the amulet."

"Oh great. Wesley is going to do some research on it as well, but we didn't get very much the last time we did. We have more resources now though so hopefully we can figure it out."

"Ok I need to let everyone know and then we'll be there in L.A within five hours."

"Alrighty, see you then."

"Don't let him die again please I don't know what that would do to Buffy and Dawn."

"We won't." Fred reassured Willow.

"Good bye."

"Bye."

Fred hung up the phone and looked over at Lorne.

"Well that was awkward. She's going to let everyone know and then they are going to come down." Fred said.

"We just might need all the help we can get. Having a few Slayers wouldn't be a bad thing right now."

"I agree. Willow I guess has research on the amulet she is going to bring it with her. Hopefully we can figure it out and how to release the hold it will have over Spike so he can leave L.A. if he wants."

"We'll figure it out I'm sure Kitten. For now all we can do is wait until Angel lets us help him."

Fred just gave a nod and sat down on the couch beside Lorne with a huff. Everything had been going so well for the first few days they had been here. They never expected for this to be happening that was for sure.

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Willow hung up her phone and headed out of the room that she and Kennedy were sharing. They had all relocated to Rome with Giles' suggestion. He wanted to build a building where they could have the new Slayers come and train their abilities. Watchers everywhere were bringing their new Slayers to them to get them training and themselves training. Giles knew of a facility that just needed some repairs, but it would work for training rooms and dormitories. It had only been fifteen days since they had been in Rome, so they didn't have much done but it was a start. They were all living in little rooms right now while they were getting things set up. Willow knew all too well how the mood had been within the building since they had arrived. Xander was grieving the loss of Anya. Andrew was feeling guilty for her death. Dawn was morning the loss of Spike, her friend and in many ways a big brother to her. Buffy was the worst of it. She had barely left her room and interacted with the others. She had gotten better in the last few days, but she just wasn't herself. It was clear that she had loved Spike and losing him was taking a huge toll on her. Willow knew that Buffy was going to want to go to Spike right away and she was grateful that Angel was already sending a jet.

Willow walked down to the common room where they usually were hanging out. Sure enough she walked in and everyone was there; Giles, Xander, Andrew, Dawn, Kennedy and Buffy. Faith and Wood took a few of the Sunnydale Slayers to go and check out Cleveland where there was another Hellmouth. They figured that now that Sunnydale was closed for good that most of the demon and vampire population would migrate towards that area, so far they weren't wrong.

"Hey Will." Xander said as she walked in.

"Hey." Willow said slightly unsure of how to start this conversation.

"Is everything ok baby?" Kennedy asked with concern picking up on her girlfriend's distress.

"I just got off the phone. Fred called me." Willow started, but Giles interrupted her.

"Yes we were actually just talking about that. Buffy I know you think you know Angel, but I don't think we can trust him or his people right now. They never told us that he was going to be running Wolfram and Hart. They represent evil completely. It's a law firm to allow demons and vampires to act the way that they do. Angel is running evil incorporated."

"He has a soul. He wouldn't just turn his back on all the good that he has done in the past. He must be trying to change it or kill the head guys. I'm telling you he is still trustworthy." Buffy said.

"Um guys." Willow said trying to get their attention back on her.

"What did Fred want?" Kennedy asked calmly as she looked at Willow.

"There's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to say it. Spike is alive he's in L.A right now with Angel at Wolfram and Hart."

Willow didn't say anything else she let that information sink in. Willow looked over at Buffy and saw that her face was completely blank. Xander was the first one to break the silence.

"Are they sure?" He asked with confusion.

"I don't know the whole story. They don't know the whole story. The amulet that Spike wore came to them in the mail and when Angel opened the envelop I guess Spike came out of the amulet. Fred didn't have much information because they don't really know anything about the amulet other than the Senior Partners gave it to Angel and Angel gave it to Buffy and she gave it to Spike."

"Spike's alive?" Dawn asked with hope in her voice.

"He is sweetie."

"But that's great." Xander said with a smile, but he could see the concern on Willow's face. "Isn't it?" Xander said slightly unsure as he looked around the room.

"Fred didn't know much or couldn't comment on much about Spike. Angel told everyone to leave them alone to try and get him to calm down." Willow said cautiously as she looked over at Buffy.

"Calm down?" Buffy finally spoke in a soft voice.

"Buffy, um." Willow didn't know how to tell Buffy this part. She knew that Buffy and Dawn would take this the worst.

"How bad is he? Will, tell me how bad." Buffy said with a strength that they hadn't heard in her voice since before the final battle.

"Apparently the Senior Partners said that the amulet held its own hell dimension in it. It's only been nineteen days for us, but for Spike it's been longer." Willow said gently.

"How long?"

"Buffy" Xander started, but Buffy cut him off.

"How long has he been in a hell dimension Will?" Buffy said as she stood up.

"A hundred and ninety years."

"Oh my god." Dawn said with tears stinging in her eyes.

"Are they sure?" Xander asked.

"I think so. I don't know. Fred didn't have much information. They don't even understand how this is possible or what is even going on. Wesley is going to try and research it."

"How bad is he?" Kennedy asked.

"Fred said it was bad. Angel was going to try and get Spike upstairs to his apartment and get some blood into him and hopefully get him to sleep. Angel kicked them out, because Spike couldn't handle it."

Buffy began to walk towards the door to the room so she could leave and go get her things.

"Buffy, where are you going?" Giles asked.

"What do you mean where am I going? I have to go to L.A. I need to go to him. I need to see him and bring him back here. I'm not leaving him there Giles." Buffy said with anger to her voice.

"Angel already has a jet on the way. It should be here within two hours at the R.I.A. Fred said that Angel said anyone who wants to come down they can." Willow said.

"I'm going." Buffy said.

"Me too." Dawn said.

"You can't just up and leave Buffy. You have responsibilities here. In a few days you can go once we have a plan put in place." Giles said calmly.

"My responsibility is to that man. Or have you forgotten already how because of Spike we are all here. Because of his sacrifice we are able to be alive and live here and not dead or fighting against hell itself on earth. I'm going you don't want to come then you can run things here. I'm not some business person Giles. I'm a Slayer and I'm going. You want to stop me then we can drop you off at the hospital along the way." Buffy said with a deadly tone to her voice. She was still mad at Giles for what he did with Wood trying to kill Spike.

"I'm coming with you. Should we call Faith and let her know?" Xander asked as he stood up.

"We should do that. She should know." Willow said.

"Let's go pack then and we'll hit the road." Kennedy said as she stood up as well.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to. I know you have the new Slayers you've been training with." Willow said in a hurry. She didn't want Kennedy to feel obligated to come.

"I'm coming. I want to be there for you and the guy did save all of our asses. If I can help then I want to." Kennedy said with strength to her voice.

"Okay I just don't want you to feel like you have to." Willow said.

"I know I don't have to. I want to so I'm going." Kennedy said gently as she went over to Willow.

"I'm going to pack." Dawn said as she got up and they could tell she was angry at what Giles had said.

No one said anything they let her leave to get her bag packed.

"Andrew, stay here and help get the girls organized. I'll call with updates when we know something. You've been complaining about not being given responsibilities you just got some. Keep them organized and make sure the new arrivals have rooms." Buffy said.

"Sure thing Boss." Andrew said with a smile, happy that he was finally able to prove himself to the group.

"Buffy, I really must protest with this decision. We don't even know if Spike is alive. It could be a trap." Giles said.

"Angel wouldn't do that nor would his people. You don't like it fine, then stay here." Buffy said as she left the room to go and pack a bag.

"Keep an eye on her. I don't trust Wolfram and Hart, they can't be trusted." Giles said as he looked right at the remaining three.

"We'll keep her safe and I'm sure Faith will want to go and see Spike." Willow said.

"You guys go and pack I'll pack and call Faith at the same time." Xander said.

The three of them headed upstairs to their rooms to get ready to go. Once in his room Xander pulled out his cell phone and called Faith down in Ohio. After four rings she answers and Xander knew she had been sleeping. They had spoken a few times over the last fifteen days and Xander knew the new Slayers were draining on Faith.

"Ya" Faith said with exhaustion in her voice.

"Hey Faith, sorry to wake you, but something has come up."

"Don't tell me the world is ending, because I swear I might just start fighting for the other side again. These girls are going to kill me man." Faith said with annoyance to her voice as well as exhaustion.

"Fred just called Willow. Spike is alive. It's a long story and we have barely any information on what happened, but he's alive. He came out of the amulet that Angel got sent to him in L.A. at Wolfram and Hart."

Xander could hear some shuffling and he knew that Faith was sitting up in bed now. Xander could hear Wood's voice in the background asking if everything was okay.

"He's alive? Is he okay? Where is he?" Faith asked now fully awake.

"He's in L.A at Wolfram and Hart. Angel is with him. According to Fred though he's not okay. He's in bad shape. I guess the amulet had its own hell dimension and Spike was trapped in it. With the time change he was trapped in that dimension for a hundred and ninety years and not nineteen days."

"Oh shit."

"Everyone down here just found out. Angel has already sent a jet apparently to get us and bring us down there. We don't know what you want to do, but we wanted to call you and let you know. We know you and Spike got close during those few weeks."

"Ya, um I'm going to come down and see him. I'll have Rona and Vi look after the girls down here while I'm gone. When are you guys gonna get there?"

"Within five hours I guess. It's a two hour trip on a jet I think."

"Ok I'm gonna get ready and then I'll get a plane down there. I'll see you in a little while."

"Be safe."

"Always. Hey wait, how is B taking it?"

"She's been depressed since it happened and today was the first time we saw any fire back in her eyes. Especially when Giles tried to stop her. He doesn't think she should just up and leave these girls to go down there and see Spike. Willow, Dawn and Kennedy are coming as well."

"Alright I'll see you guys soon then."

"See ya."

Xander hung up the phone and turned his attention to getting ready. Once everyone was ready they would be able to leave and head to the airport to wait for the jet to arrive.

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Faith hung up her cell phone as she got up out of bed. She began to head over to the closet to get some clothes on and in a bag. Wood sat up in the bed that they shared as he spoke.

"What's going on?" Wood asked with concern.

"That was Xander. Spike is alive. He's in L.A with Angel and his team right now. I need to go and meet them there at L.A and see how he's doing." Faith said as she was putting on a pair of jeans.

"How is that possible?" Wood asked trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Spike was finally dead and Wood was happy about it. He didn't get to be the one to do it, but still Spike was dead. Now he was back. The world brought him back and not his mother or the millions of other innocent people in the world.

"They don't know something about the amulet. He was trapped in its hell dimension and now he's out. Apparently he had been in hell for a hundred and ninety years. Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Kennedy are coming down to L.A and I am going to meet them."

Wood got up and out of the bed and made his way over to the closet to get his clothes on.

"What are you doing?" Faith asked.

"I'm getting dressed I'll go with you."

"You don't like Spike." Faith said.

"No, but if there is something going on with this amulet I might be able to help. We have no idea just what that amulet can do. Let me come and be there for you and for the others." Wood said calmly.

"Look you come I don't want to hear any crap about Spike. I'm going cause me and him are kinda friends and I want to be there for B. So if you come then you have to play nice." Faith said in a serious voice.

"I will I promise." Wood said calmly.

"Alright. I'm gonna go tell Rona and Vi that they are up for Slayer duty and training. You start to pack I don't know how long we'll be gone for."

"You got it." Wood said as he pulled on a t-shirt.

Faith went out of the room and headed down to the second bedroom in the house that they had all bought. It was currently right now full of new Slayers and Faith couldn't help, but feel like it was Sunnydale all over again. They needed a bigger house or a way to make it so the new Slayers were in different cities with Watchers, something. Faith went into the room and she had to wake Vi and Rona up, once they were awake she told them what the situation was and they both offered to come as well. Faith told them that it was best for them to stay there to keep an eye on the newbies. She also didn't know how Spike was going to be and she didn't think it was a good idea to overcrowd him right now. They both understood and said they would keep an eye on things around here and Faith said she would keep in touch with them and let them know what was going on. Once Faith and Wood had a bag packed they headed for the airport to catch the first flight out to L.A.

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It was just five hours later when Xander got a text on his phone. They were just ten minutes away from landing in L.A.X. and the plane ride over was done in anxious silence. They all just wanted to get to LA to see Spike and see for themselves how bad he is. Xander spoke after he read the text message.

"Faith and Wood just landed in L.A.X. I told them that we would be there in ten minutes that we can all go together."

"Robin is coming? Are we sure that's a good idea?" Willow asked slightly unsure.

"It's a little late now." Kennedy said.

"He's probably just there for Faith. I don't think he would be stupid enough to try something. Spike totally kicked his ass the last time." Dawn said.

"It'll be fine." Buffy said as she continued to look out the window.

They all got ready as they began to descend for their landing. Fifteen minutes later they were all getting off the jet and heading towards the front door with their bags to meet Faith and Wood. They saw them standing there waiting for them and Faith offered them a smile.

"Hey B, you alright?" Faith asked casually, but Buffy could hear the concern in her voice

"I'll be fine. We need a car or a cab something." Buffy said.

"We got us two cars while we were waiting." Faith said.

Wood handed Xander a set of keys for the other car.

"We can divide up and head over there now." Wood said.

"Good let's go." Buffy said.

They all headed outside to where the two cars were waiting. Wood, Faith, Willow and Kennedy went in the one while Buffy, Dawn and Xander went in the second one. They all followed Xander as Buffy knew where Wolfram and Hart was located. After another fifteen minutes they were pulling up to the front of Wolfram and Hart. The building was easily thirty floors up and pure glass covered the outside of the building. It was fitting for the L.A world and it showed power and wealth. They all got out of the cars and they headed inside and up to the top floor where they knew Angel would be. When they arrived on the floor they walked out to see that Harmony was behind a receptionist desk.

"Oh hey you're here." Harmony said cautiously. She didn't know how anyone was going to react. Not that she couldn't defend herself against them. Still she wasn't in the mood to deal with anymore annoyed people today.

"Where's Angel?" Buffy asked.

"He's in his apartment. Just give me a sec to call Wesley up and he'll be able to take you up."

Harmony picked up her office phone and called Wesley who was still in Lorne's office. After a moment she hung it back up and turned back to the others.

"He'll be here in a minute."

"Have you seen him?" Buffy asked with a tightness to her voice.

"Spike? Ya I saw him for a few minutes. He's not looking too good. He was all shaky and scared of well, everything. Angel kicked everyone out pretty quickly and he's been alone with Spike since. He won't let anyone up there right now."

A few minutes later Wesley, Fred, Gunn and Lorne came down the set of stairs off to the side and over to them.

"It's good to see you all again, though I wish it was in better circumstances." Wesley said.

"I need to see him." Buffy said.

"Of course come with me and we can go up to Angel's apartment." Wesley began to walk towards Angel's office with everyone following him. He continued to speak as he did. "I must warn you he wasn't in good shape. He was very much on edge and terrified of everything and everyone. I don't think he understood or realized that he was no longer in hell. When I had saw him last five hours ago Angel still hadn't been able to get Spike remotely close to him."

Once the elevator doors opened they all piled into it. It was a tight fit, but it was also a short trip up. Once the elevator doors opened they walked out and looked for were Angel and Spike would be. Wesley knew that Angel would be in his room most likely with Spike so he started to head there with the others behind him. The door was open and Wesley could see Angel sitting down on the bed looking down at Spike. They all filed into the room and Angel looked over to where Buffy now was standing at his side. Angel had a cool cloth resting on Spike's forehead as he had broken out in a fever an hour ago. Angel could see the hurt all over Buffy's face and he wished with everything in him that he could make her feel better. That he could make Spike feel better.

"Holy shit." Xander said softly, but in the silence of the room his voice echoed.

"Fred, I need you to go and see about some kind of equipment. He's got a fever and he hasn't spoken yet. I need to know how bad the damage is." Angel said.

"Sure I have a scanner that I can check his blood with and scan his internal organs. I'll go grab it. How high is the fever?" Fred asked.

"I don't know it just started an hour ago. He's restless and shaking more from it now." Angel answered.

"I didn't think vampires could get sick." Wood said.

"It takes an extreme amount of damage to get them sick. If Spike is running a fever something is very wrong internally." Wesley answered.

"I'll go and get the equipment and I can see if something is wrong." Fred said as she headed out of the room."

"He's just covered in bruises and burns." Dawn said sadly.

"He'll get better Dawnie. He just needs time that's all." Willow said sympathetically.

"I know, but he's so weak and so injured. How long is it going to take before he's better?" Dawn said sadly.

"He hasn't spoken yet. He doesn't have much strength, but he'll get stronger the more blood he drinks. He'll be fine, Spike doesn't know how to give up." Angel said trying to sound comforting.

"Did we find out anything on this amulet yet?" Xander asked with a slight anger in his voice.

"Not yet I'm still working on it. The problem is I don't even know what its name is exactly. I'm just researching anything that might get me closer to know what it is. Willow, were you able to find anything?" Wesley asked.

"I haven't been able to find much. I have the research with me, but I don't even know if it's the right amulet either. I tried to do it based on pictures of what I think the amulet looked like." Willow said.

Fred came back into the room with a small portable handheld white scanner that would work to scan Spike's blood and body for any injuries. Fred came over to the side of the bed with Angel and Buffy.

"Okay so this will tell me what is going on with Spike." Fred said as she turned the machine on.

Fred looked over at Angel and for the first time she noticed that he had a huge cut on the side of his neck.

"Oh my God, Angel what happened?"

The others turned their attention to Angel, but only Buffy could see the cut.

"It's nothing Fred don't worry about it." Angel said in a dismissive tone.

"Angel that's not nothing. You have a huge cut down the side of your neck to your collar bone. Did Spike do that?" Fred asked.

"No I did it. Its fine Fred it'll heal by tomorrow. Just focus on Spike."

"Why would you cut yourself?" Kennedy asked.

"I needed to get Spike to trust me and to calm down." Angel said as if that explained everything.

"So you cut yourself?" Kennedy asked still not understanding.

"You gave him your blood." Wesley stated.

"He needed blood." Angel said as he turned to look at Wesley.

"And pig's blood didn't cross your mind?" Gunn said clearly not happy that Angel would let Spike drink from him.

"It wasn't strong enough. He needed my blood. He still needs my blood right now." Angel said with a no argument tone.

"Why does it have to be your blood?" Wood asked not knowing the history between Angel and Spike.

"Because Angel and Spike have the same blood line." Wesley answered for Angel as he could tell he wasn't in the mood to answer more questions about his decision.

"Blood line?" Wood asked confused.

"If you are going to hunt vampires you should know the basic history of them." Angel said clearly annoyed that Wood didn't know anything about the creatures he hunts.

"I know they are nothing more than animals that need to be put down. I don't really care about how they came to be." Wood said.

"When a vampire is sired their blood mixes with the vampire's blood giving them the same blood line. Spike was sired by Drusilla who was sired by Angel, giving them the same bloodline. They are family. By blood Angel is Spike's grandsire. However, Drusilla was unstable and insane so she neglected Spike causing Angel to step up making Angel more of a sire than a grandsire to Spike. Angel taught Spike how to fight and how to kill. To say their relationship is rocky would be an understatement." Wesley explained.

"Then why do you care so much now?" Wood asked Angel.

"Because he is my brother and I will do everything I can to keep him alive. We've never been around each other with both of us having a soul. This is the first time, all the other times we were both evil or he was. Things are different now. I gave him my blood because he needed it and I will do it again and I don't want to hear about it from anyone." Angel growled out.

"Fred, what's wrong with him?" Buffy asked keeping her attention on Spike.

"Oh right." Fred said having been distracted by the conversation.

She moved the scanner to check Spike's blood first. She watched as it ran the quick analyses and after a moment it beeped with results.

"Ok there isn't any infections in his blood, but there is something foreign in it." Fred said as she read through the results.

"What is it?" Faith asked.

"Um hang on a second let me check and see if it's having a reaction within his blood here. I think it's… its holy water. There's holy water in his blood going through his body."

"How did he get holy water in his body?" Lorne asked.

"It can be injected into a vampire's vein. It will go through his whole system until the holy water is diluted with other blood. It would normally have been gone by now, but he's been starved. When you are already dead it's not like you can starve to death." Angel said.

"So he just needs more blood then his body can remove the holy water?" Xander asked.

"Ya. It wouldn't be the cause of the fever." Angel said.

Spike began to move again. He tried to roll over off his back, but he didn't have the strength to move more than his head to the side. He let out a whimper of pain as he tried to move. Angel took the cloth off of Spike's forehead and placed it on the side of his neck trying to cool him off. Spike's shaking picked up and the others knew he was struggling.

"Fred?" Angel asked.

"It's bad Angel. Every single rib is broken in multiple places. They… they operated on him. He only has one lung, his stomach and his heart left in him, everything else is gone. It looks like they poured some kind of chemical to destroy his organs. He still has third degree chemical burns all throughout his body. He only has roughly twenty percent of blood in his body and it's all tainted with the holy water. His right wright and hand is shattered. His fever is all the way up to a hundred and four, most vampires run roughly seventy degrees. That's just what I can see internally and not what are external wounds." Fred lowered the machine before she looked right at Angel. "The burns are giving him the fever. His body has just been through too much trauma. He's fading. I don't think he'll live another twenty hours. He needs blood stronger than yours or some kind of medicine that will work on fixing the injuries. I'm sorry I can go to the lab and try to find something that might work. Maybe you should bring him to the hospital here they might know what to do." Fred said.

"No he doesn't go near the hospital. I don't trust them." Angel said.

"And yet you work here." Faith said.

"I took this job to change this place from the inside. We just started this week and we've been able to already make changes Faith." Angel said.

"You said he needed stronger blood than Angel's right?" Buffy asked Fred.

"Ya, but I don't know what would be stronger than Angel's its family blood it should work." Fred answered.

Buffy looked at Angel and Angel looked right back at her. They were quiet for a moment with their silent conversation. Angel nodded before he spoke.

"Everyone out now." Angel ordered.

"B are you sure? I can do it." Faith asked ignoring what Angel said. She knew what Buffy was going to do.

"No it's fine. It should be me. It needs to be me." Buffy said.

"You're going to kill him?" Kennedy asked confused.

"She's going to get Spike to bite her." Dawn said knowing what her sister was going to do. She had done it once for Angel it would only make sense for her to do it with Spike.

"Buff, the last time you let Angel bite you, you almost died." Xander said

"That was different. I had the strength to bite her and hold on Spike doesn't right now. Buffy if you do this you need to understand that it won't be the same as it was with me. I was just poisoned Spike isn't. He's still going to be weak and in pain. He won't just magically be better like I was." Angel said as he looked right at Buffy.

"Will it keep him alive?" Buffy asked.

"It's the best chance that he has." Angel said.

"Then I'm doing it." Buffy said without any arguments.

"Slayer blood is stronger than Angel's?" Fred asked.

"Yes Slayer blood has amazing healing abilities for themselves and for vampires. It gives their body a boost. If Spike is able to drink enough it should work to cure his fever and give him some strength back." Wesley said.

"Buff, are you sure about this?" Xander asked.

"I am." Buffy said.

"He needs to get out of these clothes and have his wounds cleaned, what wounds you can clean it should help him feel at least a little better." Fred said.

"I'll do that after he gets some blood into him." Angel said.

"We'll go wait out in the living room and we can talk more afterwards. We need to figure out what do about this amulet." Wesley said.

"Please be safe." Dawn said as she looked at Buffy.

"I'll be fine. It's not going to be like last time. Plus Angel is here to stop Spike if he tries to take too much." Buffy said.

"She'll be fine Dawn. Spike doesn't even have the strength to bite into the skin. It's why I made the cut on my neck. He won't be able to take too much only what Buffy gives him." Angel said.

"He's not even strong enough to bite?" Willow said sadly.

"He's extremely weak right now, but with Buffy's blood it will give him a chance at getting stronger." Angel said.

"Alright, let's all go out into the living room and give them some room." Wesley said.

Everyone started to file out of the room. Angel noticed the look of disgust on Wood's face and he knew he would need to keep an eye on him. Ever since he first saw Wood he had a bad feeling about him. Once everyone was gone Angel got up and closed the door before he spoke.

"What's the deal with that Wood guy?" Angel asked with suspicion.

"His mother was the second Slayer that Spike killed. A week before Faith came back with Willow to join in on the fight, Giles and Wood plotted against me to kill Spike. Wood wanted revenge against Spike and Giles felt that Spike was too dangerous to have around the girls. Giles still doesn't like Spike. He actually told me that I had more important responsibilities back in Rome and I could wait a few days before I come down. I'm not sure why Wood is here, other than to be here for Faith, but I wouldn't trust him alone with Spike." Buffy said.

"He tries anything and I'll kill him." Angel said in a deadly tone as he made his way back over to the bed.

"I know. Spike kicked his ass when Wood tried to kill him. I didn't know what they were planning. When I figured it out I went to Wood's place and found Spike leaving. I told Wood that if he tried anything again then Spike would kill him and I would let him. Same goes to you. If he tries anything kill him, I don't care. Angel you know I love him. I know we've already had this conversation before after Sunnydale, but Spike was dead and he's not anymore. I just don't want to start another war again."

"I know you love him. I don't like that you two might be something, but you have and could do worse than Spike. I spent decades hurting him, torturing him in any way I could think of. I don't want to have that relationship with him again. If you want to be with him then I respect that decision."

"Good, because I would hate to have to stake you." Buffy said with a small smirk.

Angel grabbed the knife off the dresser before moving back over to the bed.

"You need to sit down in front of him and just cut your arm. He can't bite you so you need to make sure it's deep enough to bleed enough for him to be able to suck the blood from the cut. You should do a shallow cut first though to get him awake and interested. He won't like it when you have to pull your arm back to do a real cut, but at least he'll be awake and interested in the blood." Angel said as he handed Buffy the knife.

Buffy went and sat down on the bed facing Spike.

"Ok and afterwards we'll clean him up?" Buffy asked.

"He needs to get out of these clothes and I need to look at his wounds. I don't even know what kind of injuries he has." Angel answered as he stood next to Spike. He wanted to be there in case something went wrong.

Buffy brought the knife to her right wrist and made a shallow cut. She placed the knife down beside her and brought her wrist over to Spike's mouth letting the smell of her blood try to wake him up.

"Come on Spike wake up. I know you want my blood." Buffy said softly.

After a moment Spike began to wake up. He didn't open his eyes but he moved his head back in the direction of the blood. Buff put her wrist down against Spike's mouth gently to get the blood on his lips. It worked, because Spike opened his mouth slightly and took a lick at the blood. Spike pressed his chapped lips against Buffy's wrist and tried to suck at the blood, but he could only get a few drops out of it. Spike let out a whimper. Spike was just so tired and in so much pain. He felt horrible, he had never felt like this before and all he wanted was some blood. Something to make him feel better. He didn't even have the strength to open his eyes. He was so cold he just wanted to curl up and sleep until he felt better, but he couldn't even move off from his back he was so weak and just feeling like shit. Buffy moved her wrist back and picked up the knife as she spoke.

"Hang on Spike. I just needed you awake first. I got what you need to help you feel better."

Buffy cut her wrist as deep as she could without causing damage to her tendons. She then put her right wrist back against Spike's mouth and he instantly smelt the strong blood and he attached his mouth to her wrist and started to drink. She could feel just how weak he was and she was hoping her blood would help give him some strength back. If nothing else it would get rid of that fever. After five minutes Angel stepped in and spoke.

"Ok you can't do anymore. If you lose any more blood you'll be too tired to fight if something happens. You can't afford to lose too much blood."

"Will it be enough for him?" Buffy asked as she slowly started to pull her wrist away.

"After I get him cleaned up I'll give him some more of my blood to help boost yours."

Buffy got her wrist back and Spike tried to bite on to it as it pulled away from his mouth. When he wasn't able to get it another whimper escaped his mouth.

"He's going to wish we had killed him when he finds out he whimpered." Buffy tried to joke.

"I don't think he's even aware right now. I'd be surprised if he remembers any of this." Angel said as he grabbed the first aid kit and opened it.

Buffy moved off of the bed as Angel came over to her with some gauze. He looked down at Spike to see him trying to fall asleep again. He was still hungry, but he was too weak to stay awake. Angel knew this next part was going to be painful for Spike, but it needed to be done. Once Angel finished wrapping Buffy's wrist he went over into the bathroom to grab a basin and filled it with warm water and grabbed a new clean cloth. He brought them both out into the bedroom and placed the basin and cloth down on the side table beside his bed.

"How are we going to do this?" Buffy asked.

"You don't have to Buffy. I can handle this."

"I'm staying so I might as well be helpful. How do you want to do this?" Buffy asked.

"I think we should get him out of those pants first and then we can work on his torso. I have some sweats that will fit him, they are older ones so they are too small for me they should fit him."

"Ok so let's do this he needs more blood and rest."

Angel moved over to the bed after taking out the old pair of black sweat pants that they could change Spike into. He also took out an older black muscle shirt so it wouldn't hurt Spike too much, but it would at least give some protection against the bedding. Angel moved the sheet off from Spike before he went to undo Spike's belt and pants. The second Angel's hands touched Spike's belt Spike reacted. Spike tried to move away from the touch and his shaking picked up. He tried to curl into himself and he let out a few more whimper that they knew were from fear. Angel moved his hands back away from the belt, but Spike's shaking didn't calm down. Buffy and Angel both looked at each other and could tell that Spike was terrified of just someone touching his belt.

"Ok maybe we shouldn't be touching his pants while he's like this. The fever is making him slightly delusional. He probably still thinks he's still trapped there. We don't know what they could have done to him." Buffy said.

"Your right. His torso is what matters right now. Once he's more aware he can get changed out of his pants. Pass me the knife and I'll cut the front of his shirt, we can wash the front then do the back."

Buffy passed the knife over to Angel and Angel covered the bottom half of Spike who was still restless and terrified. Angel very carefully cut the front of Spike's shirt and Spike whimpered again. Angel knew that if Spike needed to breathe he would be hyperventilating by now. Angel put the knife down once he was finished cutting Spike's shirt he spoke as he did.

"It's okay Spike. I just need to clean your wounds. I'm not going to hurt you. Just relax I'm going to take care of you." Angel's voice was soft and gentle, but it didn't help to ease Spike's fears.

Angel and Buffy both could see the level of damage done to Spike's front now that his shirt was no longer blocking the view. He had a long cut from the bottom of his neck all the way down to just before his belt. The cut had been so deep that it would have been from when his organs were burned into nothing. They operated on him and Angel knew that Spike would have been conscious for it. In hell you only pass out if they let you otherwise you are awake for everything. On top of that cut he was covered in blood, dirt, bruises, cuts, whip markings and more chemical burns. The whip markings were down to the bone and had dirt all in them. A normal human would have had an infection from it, but Spike wasn't human so he didn't have to worry about it. Angel grabbed the warm cloth and rung it out before he gently began to wipe the blood and dirt off from Spike. Spike flinched at the touch but Buffy was quick on the draw.

"It's ok Spike. Angel's just getting the dirt and blood off. It'll help you feel better. I know you are just so exhausted and you wish we would just let you sleep. I'm sure you're confused right now and don't understand what is going on or where you are, but it's no trick. You can smell me, I know you can. You can feel my blood going through you helping you heal and get strong. I'm real and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Angel's not going to let anyone hurt you. Just relax we got you."

Buffy put her hand against Spike's left cheek. Spike could smell Buffy from the moment she walked into the room, but he thought it was a trick. He thought all of this was just some game, but he could feel Buffy's blood going through him. She had let him drink from her and it made him feel a little bit better. He didn't feel as cold as he did before she came. If he focused he could also smell the others over in the other room. They were never there in hell so Spike was hopeful that this wasn't hell anymore. Angel seemed to be different than he was in hell. He wasn't mean to him and he hadn't tortured him yet. He called him his childe and that never happens. He always said he didn't want him and wanted to disown him for not being strong enough. For showing weakness. Yet now when he is injured and can't do anything, not even open his eyes from the weakness in his body Angel is here letting him drink his blood. Cleaning his injuries for him and getting the blood and dirt off. Spike didn't understand what was going on, but for right now he was just glad no one was torturing him. Spike moved his head in the direction of Buffy's hand. Buffy moved her hand so it was closer to Spike's nose. She remembered how he always loved the smell of her and she was hoping the smell would help comfort him. Help to let him know he was safe right now. Spike like out a hiss as the cloth touched one of the whip markings.

"It's okay I'm just cleaning it. Hang on it'll be over soon." Angel said.

After ten minutes Angel had finished cleaning the front of Spike and now they needed to do his back. Angel put the cloth down in the water before he looked over at Buffy.

"How do you want to do this?" Buffy asked

"I'll get him to sit and lean into me while you clean his back. If he gets to restless I can always feed him to help distract him." Angel answered.

"Ok" Buffy said as she let out a breath.

Angel gently grabbed Spike under his shoulders and lifted him up. Spike was half asleep before they moved him and now he was awake again, but still couldn't open his eyes. Spike tried to move out of Angel's touch as moving around right now was painful. Spike let out a weak groan at being moved but Angel just leaned Spike into him, placing Spike's head on his right shoulder. Buffy moved the rest of Spike's shirt off and she had to fight with herself not to cry over what she saw. They knew Spike was thin and injured, but they had no idea it was this bad. You could see his ribs and see how they were broken. His back was just covered in whip markings that went all the way down to the bone. It was going to take a long time before he was fully healed.

Buffy picked up the cloth and sat down behind Spike. She began to gently wipe around the wounds before she would clean the actual wounds on his back. Spike was fine until Buffy had to begin to clean his wounds. He began to move around trying to get away from the pain and was letting out hisses at the pain. After getting half of them clean Spike was in too much pain so Buffy stopped to give him some time to calm down. Spike was still against Angel's shoulder and Angel felt Spike move over to the cut trying to get something from it. Even in Spike's state his body knew that blood would help with the pain. Spike's mind was gone and all that was left was an abused demon, it's why his behaviour was so different. Once Spike's mind was able to start to function again he wouldn't be like this anymore.

"It's okay I'll give you some blood. I just have to reopen the cut first." Angel said in a gentle tone.

Buffy reached over and grabbed the knife and handed it over to Angel. Angel was able to make the cut and Spike waited before Angel said it would be okay.

"Its' okay childe take what you need."

Spike put his mouth over the cut and started to drink the blood that was flowing from it. Angel moved his hand to the back of Spike's neck again and began to rub his thumb along the back of his neck. After a few moments Angel nodded at Buffy to continue while Spike was drinking. Buffy started to clean the wounds on Spike's back as quickly as she could. Spike was still drinking, but the whimpers didn't go unnoticed. After a very painful ten minutes Spike had stopped drinking from Angel and Buffy had finally finished cleaning his back. Spike had his head against Angel's shoulder and his body was still shaking, but at least they were done. Angel continued to rub his thumb against the back of Spike's neck to try and calm him down.

"That seems to be comforting to him." Buffy said.

"Right now the demon is overpowering the man in him. The back of a vampire's neck is always a comfort spot. It's normally only touched by Sires and lovers. Other vampires don't tend to seek comfort from anyone else. Once his mind has had the chance to heal the demon will let the man come through and then he'll be different. I don't know how he's going to handle this."

"We'll figure it out. I'm not leaving without him."

"Then you might be here a while."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked confused.

"I'll explain after with everyone else. Let's get a shirt on him so he can sleep."

Buffy picked up the black muscle shirt and put it over his head first. With the help of Angel they were able to get the shirt on Spike. Once the shirt was on Spike Angel laid him back down. Once he was laying down Angel felt Spike's forehead and was relieved to feel that his fever was going down. Angel covered Spike up to his hips before he got up.

"Lets go out there and we can all talk about this. He needs rest." Angel said.

"Is it safe to leave him alone?" Buffy asked with concern.

"I'll leave the door open. If something is wrong then I'll know." Angel said in a comforting voice.

Angel went over to Buffy and pulled her into a hug. Buffy hugged him back as she spoke.

"I wish I knew what to do to make him feel better. I wish I had gone back for the amulet and got Willow to do something to get him out."

"We didn't know this was going to happen Buffy. If I could I would take his place, but I can't. I wish I had never given you that amulet, but wishing for a change in the past isn't going to help him. All we can do is try and get him better and protect him. He's not going to be able to fight for a long time. He might never be the same."

"I know. I know, but I don't care if he's never the same man that I knew back in Sunnydale. I still love him." Buffy said as she pulled out of the embrace. She took a shaky breath trying to calm herself down.

"We'll get him through this together. Come on the others are waiting."

Buffy just gave a nod and they headed out of the room. Angel made sure he left it open so he could hear Spike. He didn't need to have the door open to be able to hear Spike, but it would make Buffy feel better so he was more than happy to do it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyone went out into the living room of Angel's apartment. The atmosphere was tense as they waited for Angel and Buffy to come back out of the room. Dawn was worried about Buffy giving Spike her blood, but she knew that Angel would keep her safe and stop Spike from drinking too much. Wood was pissed off and disgusted that Buffy would let Spike drink from her or any vampire. It went against everything that a Slayer represented. Buffy seems to be forgetting that vampires, soul or no soul, were the enemies. They couldn't be trusted.

"Are we really going to let Buffy let Spike feed off of her?" Wood asked not bothering to hide his anger over the subject.

"Buffy knows what she is doing. If giving Spike some of her blood is going to keep him alive then she will." Xander said.

"And you support this insane decision?" Wood asked.

"It's not insane if it keeps Spike alive." Dawn said with attitude.

"You said you wouldn't start anything." Faith said with a warning tone to her voice.

"I'm not, but you must see that this goes against what a Slayer is about. You're not supposed to save demons and vampires. She should never let a vampire feed off of her, soul or not."

"If B wasn't going to do it, I would have. The dude saved our asses. If the price to repay him for it is some blood then there is no question about it." Faith said.

"Buffy is an experienced Slayer she knows what she is doing." Wesley said calmly.

"How did this even happen?" Kennedy asked.

"It's a little bit of a confusing story. It's kinda like you know the beginning of the story and the end, but everything in the middle is in some foreign language that you know nothing about. We still don't know what is really happening or what happened. We're still working on that part." Fred said.

"But what happened to make Spike come out of the amulet?" Willow asked.

"We can explain once Buffy and Angel come back out here. That way we will all be on the same page." Wesley said.

"I still don't like this. It doesn't change what Spike has done in the past. He's still a killer." Wood said.

"Look I get it. I didn't like vampires either and I still don't, but I trust Angel. If he says Spike is cool then I'm gonna trust him. Plus the dude can't even open his eyes he's so weak. I'm not about to kill him when he can't even defend himself." Gunn said.

"Maybe it would be better for him if we did kill him." Wood said.

"How would that be better?" Dawn asked angry.

"Think about it. He's never going to be the same again. He could be a shell of himself for the rest of his un-life. It would be better for him to not suffer through it and just be dead. Show him some mercy." Wood said.

"He dies he goes to hell again. How would that be better for him? How is that mercy?" Kennedy asked with attitude.

"Living a life for a fighter that probably will never be able to fight again. Who will never be the same just some empty shell. That's no way to live." Wood explained.

"It's better than living in hell for all eternity being tortured. Spike will overcome this. It'll take him a while but he can do it. He overcame getting a soul he can do the same again." Xander said.

"Besides Angel was upset when he found out Spike was dead. I mean he hid it well, but you could tell he was mourning the loss. What would Angel be like if Spike was killed all over again?" Fred asked slightly worried.

"He wouldn't be able to handle it very well. We don't know how strong their connection in. With Spike drinking Angel's blood it could make the connection stronger." Wesley said.

"I used to know this pack of vampires that all shared their blood with each other. Their connection was so strong that they could actually communicate through their minds." Lorne said.

"You think it might be possible for them to communicate telepathically?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know Snookums I'm just saying that some can do it. I don't know if they are able to. It would depend on how strong their connection is." Lorne answered.

"Angel has never spoken much about his past or about Spike. I believe now there are a few questions that need to be asked, but I'm not sure if Angel will answer them." Wesley said.

"Oh ya cause Angel is really good about answering questions." Gunn said sarcastically.

"He does sometimes." Fred said with a small smile.

"Some things never change." Xander said.

"He's not as bad as he used to be actually." Wesley said.

"He's been worse?" Gunn asked slightly shocked.

Wesley just gave a nod. Lorne let out a groan and grabbed his head.

"Are you alright Big Green?" Faith asked.

"Yeah there is just a lot of fear coming off of him right now. For so much fear to be radiating off a Master Vampire it's depressing and overwhelming. Whatever happened to him down there has completely changed him." Lorne said sadly.

"But he'll be ok again. It'll take time, but he'll be ok he'll go back to normal." Dawn said with hopefulness.

"I don't know what will happen with Spike. He could bounce back from this or he might not. You need to be prepared for either outcome." Wesley said.

Everyone was silent after that, each person lost in their own thoughts. They wanted Spike to be ok and back to who he used to be, but the reality of that never happening was starting to sink in. It was another fifteen minutes before the door opened and Angel and Buffy walked out. Fred, Gunn, Lorne and Wesley could tell that Angel was angry over something and they figured that it had to do with the conversation they had. It wouldn't have been hard for Angel to overhear them with his hearing after all. They walked over to them and Angel spoke before anyone else had the chance to. He looked right at Wood as he spoke.

"If you have a problem with my childe then you can get back on a plane and go back to wherever the hell it is you're from. If you stay then shut your mouth about him, because if you give him any problems I will kill you and you know she won't stop me. So decide how you want to live, because I could kill you with a spoon before any of them even move to stop me Wood." Angel said in a deadly tone.

"I was merely voicing an opinion. Vampire Slayers are not supposed to let vampires feed off of them. Soul or not it's still wrong." Wood said back without any fear.

Angel went to take a step forward, but Faith put a gentle hand against his chest.

"Ok Big A, no killing my boyfriend. He's gonna behave and if a fight is coming he's gonna be useful so chill out. No one is going to hurt your boy in there."

Angel looked away from Wood and over to Lorne who still holding his head in his hands.

"Lorne, you okay?" Angel asked with a mild concern voice.

"His demon is in so much pain and fear. I don't know what they did to him Baby Cakes, but they did something to him to make a demon as strong and powerful as his is to completely retreat into itself. To make the man part of him hide behind his traumatized demon. The fear reached an all new high when you were in there with him at one point. I know you want him to be ok, but I don't think he'll ever be. I think that demon in there is retired." Lorne said sympathetically.

"Retired?" Dawn asked confused.

"It can happen to demons and vampires that are really old. They have been through too much and seen too much that they change. Their demon loses interest in the fight and they just go from day to day waiting to die. They barely talk and some barely eat. They just exist." Angel explained.

"But Spike's a fighter that's what he does. He's a warrior he wouldn't just give up. What would he do?" Dawn said.

"We won't let that happen Dawnie. Spike will be fine it's just going to take some time." Willow said in a comforting way.

"Spike is one of us, even if he never fights again he's still a part of this family. We denied him that for so long even after all of the times he has fought beside us and saved our lives. We're not going to keep doing that." Buffy said.

"We're on your side in this Buff, we really are." Xander said.

"You said the man part of him is hiding behind his demon. What happens if the man part never stops hiding?" Kennedy asked.

"I don't think we need to worry about that just yet. We need to give Spike the time to come around. He's exhausted and starved in a few days the man part of him should surface again." Angel said.

"And if not?" Fred asked.

"Angel could go into Spike's mind and drag him out, but it's risky because there is no telling what Angel will see in Spike's mind." Wesley said.

"We don't need to worry about that yet. We need to just give him time to come around on his own. He's not even strong enough to open his eyes right now. He just needs time." Angel said.

"Right so what do we know?" Xander asked.

"What even happened?" Willow asked.

"The amulet was sent in the mail. I opened it and the amulet fell out and hit the floor. Once that happened Spike came out of it. He was in game face and wouldn't let anyone near him. Eve, our Senior Partner liaison, came into my office and said that it worked. Apparently the Senior Partners wanted Spike and by giving me the amulet they knew that I would give it to Buffy and she would give it to Spike. Once he used it, it trapped him in the amulet, but they didn't know there was a hell dimension within the amulet. Eve said that he was in that dimension for almost two centuries. That's all I know. What did any of you guys find out?" Angel asked his team.

"Like I said I don't have any certain information on the amulet. I'm still researching and trying to see what the amulet is even called." Wesley said.

"I can help with research. I brought mine and we might be able to figure it out." Willow said.

"I can help to. I'm good at research feels like I've been doing it my whole life really." Dawn said with a small smile.

"I spoke with the cat." Gunn started, but Xander cut him off.

"I'm sorry what? Cat like a metaphor or cat like an actually meowing cat?" Xander asked confused.

"Both actually." Gunn said.

"The Senior Partners never appear they are more like an entity that run all of Wolfram and Hart around the world. They have different levels of liaisons, Eve is our liaison to the Senior Partners and the Cat is another form of a liaison to the Senior Partners, but it tends to know more about the plan than Eve does." Wesley said.

"So you actually talk to a cat." Kennedy said still not truly believing this.

"It's a black panther actually and it talks through a psychic ability." Gunn said.

"What did the cat say?" Buffy asked getting tired of this conversation.

"A lot actually. I didn't expect to get what I did from it, but I guess the Senior Partners figured that I would be going to question the cat and allowed it to tell us everything that the Senior Partners want us to believe. They've had their eye on Spike for decades now just waiting for the right time. They said that Spike was destined to seek out his soul that it was foretold. The problem is there is only so long two vampires with a soul can exist on the same plane, because of that Shanshui prophecy." Gunn started.

"What prophecy?" Buffy asked.

"This BS prophecy how the vampire with a soul gets to have a second chance at a human life. It's completely crap though." Angel said in a dismissive tone.

"How long have you known about this prophecy?" Buffy asked slightly angry.

"A few years, but it's completely bullshit Buffy. A vampire with a soul saves the world and as payment that vampire gets a human life again. It's one of the prophecies that just never come true because they are just bullshit. I didn't see the point in telling you something that isn't true." Angel said.

"There really is no chance of it happening?" Dawn asked.

"There's about a one percent chance of it being a legitimate prophecy." Wesley said.

"What else did the cat say?" Faith asked.

"Apparently the world will only work for so long with two souled vampires within it. The Senior Partners wanted Spike to fight for them, but they knew that his personality wouldn't allow it. Spike doesn't tend to work for anyone I guess. If they left it alone and Spike had lived through fighting the First one of you would have had to of been killed in order to restore balance in the world. They decided to do something about it. They didn't tell me what the amulet was called just that they made sure the amulet went to Angel so he could give it to Buffy who would give it to Spike. The amulet would then trap Spike within itself after he used it. The amulet was then retrieved by a worker at Wolfram and Hart and mailed to you. Once the amulet was back on Wolfram and Hart property the amulet would release Spike sealing the deal, because then Spike would be property of Wolfram and Hart and as such he wouldn't be able to leave L.A." Gunn said.

"Spike isn't anyone's property." Buffy said with anger.

"How do we know he can't leave?" Dawn asked.

"We don't know. They just said if Spike tries to leave L.A he'll just pop back here. There's some kind of magical voodoo working on him I guess from the amulet. The Senior Partners swear they didn't know he would be in a hell dimension until it was too late, but they also said it worked." Gunn said.

"What worked?" Angel asked.

"They fixed the problem with having two souled vampires here on this plane. Spike is now a souled daywalker." Gunn said.

"What the hell is that?" Buffy asked.

"It's a very rare breed. A daywalker is a vampire that can go outside in the sun without any problems. They are also immortal once they are healthy. Once Spike is healthy again he will be immortal making it perfect for Wolfram and Hart if Spike is forever trapped here in L.A. In theory he will fight the good fight and be stuck working for Wolfram and Hart forever until they no longer exist. Even though Spike is a vampire still he is of a different breed, making it so that both Angel and Spike can both have souls. That's assuming there even would have been a problem. Spike had lived with his soul for almost a year without any problems in the balance why it would start out of nowhere I have no idea." Wesley explained.

"It seems like they just wanted Spike and they are making excuses for their actions to get him." Faith said.

"The cat did say the Senior Partners wanted Spike to be their day-time warrior and Angel could be the night-time warrior. I don't think they truly cared about Spike until Angel agreed to run this place. I could be wrong though, they could have given you the amulet and then Spike would be the one running everything if you had said no." Gunn said.

"That's just great." Angel said and they could hear the anger in his voice.

"It's actually kinda interesting really. Daywalkers are rare, one of the rarest demons in this world. I've heard about them from working in the bars all over the world in my hay day. Not only are they immortal, but when they fall in love and if it is destiny the woman or man that they marry then becomes immortal as well and will never age a day. Not only that, but if there is someone they view as a child or someone equally as close to their heart that person becomes an immortal as well. That child then passes it on to their soul mate and their children and it keeps going on for eternity. If one is turned by a vampire they become a daywalker." Lorne said.

"Then how are they so rare if they can keep passing it on?" Fred asked.

"Because they are still vampires and it's rare for a vampire to find true love and be loved in return. They have to find their soul mate and ninety-five percent of vampires never have a soul mate they usually just stay with their sire. The ones that do find their soul mate might lose them because they only become immortal through marriage. Until then their soul mate can still die and be killed." Lorne answered.

"Well that's cool, but he had to get tortured for almost two centuries to get it." Xander said.

"What do we do? You said he can't leave L.A until you figure out what's keeping him here. How long is that going to take?" Dawn asked.

"Do you still have the amulet?" Willow asked.

"We do it's in my office." Wesley answered.

"I could look at it. Maybe I could get something off from it if there is some kind of magic holding Spike here." Willow offered.

"It has to be magic that is keeping Spike here. It's not like he is in any condition to leave right now even if he could. He's not going to be in any condition to leave for a few months assuming he heals as quickly as he normally would. We have some time to figure it out. I do not like the Senior Partners claiming Spike as their property." Angel said.

"I'll stay and help as long as I can. If something big goes down in Cleveland I'll have to go back." Faith said.

"What do you want to do Buffy? We'll stay as long as you want." Xander said.

"I'm not leaving until Spike can. You guys can go back when you want, but I'm staying." Buffy said.

"Me to." Dawn said.

"Giles isn't going to like that very much. You're the number one Slayer. He wants you training the newbies and being there for patrol." Kennedy said.

"I don't care what Giles likes. He has a hundred other Slayers at his disposable he'll be fine." Buffy said.

"I'll stay and help with the magics, but I might have to travel back and forth if something comes up." Willow said.

"I'll stay here with you until we can get Spike on a plane and get out of here. Giles doesn't really need me in Rome." Xander said.

"Thanks guy. Dawn you are supposed to be starting school next week remember?" Buffy said as she looked at Dawn.

"I know, but I don't want to leave Spike. What if he's stuck here for months even after he's healed? I want to be here with you and him." Dawn said.

"Fine, but we are figuring out where you can go to high school. You know Spike will be pissed if you skip a year because of him." Buffy said.

"I know he's always on me about doing my homework even when the world was ending. I can go to high school here in L.A. You did it, how hard could it be?" Dawn said with a smile.

"We can help you guys get set up if you are going to be staying here for a few months. It's going to take at least four months before Spike can travel without any pain. There are some houses that Wolfram and Hart own that you guys can stay in." Angel said.

"Are they safe to stay in?" Kennedy asked.

"We swept all of Wolfram and Hart properties there isn't anything wrong with them natural or unnatural. They're safe." Angel said.

"I'm living in an apartment that the company owns, same as Wesley and Gunn." Fred said.

"Not you Big Green?" Faith asked with a smirk.

"No way. I love my house and the best part is I don't have to listen to anyone or their emotions. I can just sleep and relax." Lorne said with a smile.

"You staying around Wood?" Angel asked with attitude.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Wood said with a smirk.

"Willow, why don't you come with me then and we can research the amulet and see what we can get off of it." Wesley suggested.

"Sure. Buffy are you okay up here?" Willow asked.

"I'm fine." Buffy said with a small smile.

"I'll take the Dawnster then and go see if we can find you a school to start next week." Xander said.

"But I want to stay with Spike." Dawn said.

"You can after. You need to get that setup." Buffy said.

"Alright fine, but then I'm coming right back up." Dawn said in a non-argument voice.

"I just said you could." Buffy said back in an annoyed big sister voice.

"I know but I'm just saying I'm not going to take being given the run around." Dawn said.

"I promise you can come back up." Buffy said.

"Gunn, why don't you go with Xander and get them a place to live and see about a school." Angel suggested.

"Sure thing boss." Gunn said.

"I'll go help with research." Fred said.

"Lorne, go home and get a few hours sleep. You look like crap." Angel said.

"I'll be ok once I get some distance from Spike." Lorne said.

"Big Green man go home get some rest and recharge. You look like shit man." Faith said.

"Always the sweet talker Faith." Lorne said with a smile.

"Go home Lorne. Come back in the morning." Angel said calmly.

"Alright I'm going, but only because I feel like my head might just explode."

"If you don't need us, we'll go out and patrol the streets. I don't know about any of you, but I have a strong need to kill somethin'." Faith said.

"I'll come with you." Wood said.

"You staying here I'm assuming B." Faith said.

"Ya I'm gonna stay here with Spike."

"Alright beauties lets get a move on." Lorne said.

Everyone began to file out of the room except for Buffy and Angel. Once everyone was gone they both headed back into the bedroom to sit with Spike and watch him sleep.

Wood and Faith headed downstairs, but before they left Wood went into the washroom. He closed and locked the door and then pulled out his cell phone and called Giles. After the third ring he answered.

"Hello."

"Giles, it's Wood."

"Hello Robin, what can I do for you?"

"I'm here with Faith and everyone in L.A. I just got finished seeing Spike."

"Oh. I'm surprised you went with Faith there."

"I figured it was better to come and see what was going on for myself then wait around for information to come to me."

"I suppose. How is Spike?"

"He's in bad shape they weren't lying about that. Seems like he's going to recover and have a few perks from it all."

"What do you mean?" Giles asked with confusion and interest.

"First, Spike was dying, but Buffy gave him some of her blood to keep him going. Apparently she's done that before with Angel." Wood said with disgust to his voice.

"She has once in the past yes. I don't approve of it. It's not how it's supposed to go, but she is stubborn and will do what she feels is best." Giles said slightly annoyed.

"Yes well now Spike will live forever. The amulet that Wolfram and Hart gave to Angel had a perk. It turned Spike into a daywalker."

"A daywalker? Are you sure?" Giles asked surprised.

"That's what the Senior Partners said. Do you know of them?"

"I do, they are very rare and if Spike is indeed one of them then he has come out of this with the biggest perk of anyone. He would be able to travel in the sunlight and would be immortal. Why would the Senior Partners want to award Spike with that gift?"

"It's not really a reward. They wanted Spike to be working for them. Spike is trapped in L.A until Willow can figure out what is binding him here. For all we know Spike could be a pawn for the Senior Partners to control like the First did. He's already proven to be easily manipulated."

"Yes I would agree that the Senior Partners are playing some kind of game here. First they get Angel and now they have Spike. They are clearly up to something and we need to be very careful what we do. We could be playing into their hands."

"I'll keep an eye on things down here, but Buffy isn't going to be returning until Spike is able to leave. She's prepared to stay here for as long as it might take."

"I understand she feels obligated to Spike, but she has other obligations and responsibilities here with these girls. We can't afford to have her away for long. Angel can handle Spike and we can keep a Watcher there to keep us informed. She has to return."

"I agree, but she's not going to. You might have to come down here or call here and deal with it."

"I'll give her a few days and do some research before I speak with her. Hopefully by then she will have come to her senses."

"You and I both know that isn't likely to happen. I'll keep you updated as things progress here."

"I appreciate it."

"I have to go Faith is waiting for me. We are going to go do a little patrol. I'll let you know what happens."

"Be safe and I'll speak with you in a few days."

"Bye"

Wood hung up his cell phone and headed out of the bathroom and over to the lobby where Faith was waiting for him. She gave him a smile and together they headed out into the night to go hunting for some vampires.