A/n: This is pretty much a sequel to Woodstock so reading that would really explain everything that's going on. But I suppose you could survive without reading it, but you'd just be a lot more confused otherwise. I have no idea where I'm going with this, but bear with me. Oh and just so you know, it'll probably have a lot of Spike/OC kind of stuff. Read and enjoy! Reviews would be nice! Hearing from readers is very encouraging! ;D

Let's face it, dying is a drag and spending the rest of her days in heaven- or hell, wherever a Slayer would have gone, didn't appeal to Ayla. When she had woken up to find Hector in her room she had thought she was the victim of a stalker and she had finally thought that someone cared enough about the things she did that they had followed her… to thank her. But no, he was just a bloody rue demon. Oh, they spent hours talking about Woodstock, because that was where her regret lay. Being with Spike had been the biggest blunder of her life and the worst thing was, for Ayla at least, was the fact that he had seen through her and if she had never found out that he was a vampire, he would have caught her heart.

But alas his girlfriend, or whatever she was, just had to show up and ensnare him again. Oh, but the woman was beautiful and the fight, it had enthralled Ayla completely, even as the stake had reached through and caused some serious damage to her lung. Not even her Slayer healing could prevent her from scarring up badly. His touch lingered for weeks and she would dream about their night together every single time she closed her eyes, until Hector showed up and offered to relieve her of her pain. And he did more than that, he took away the pain and allowed her to help others the way he had helped her.

Ironic bit, a Slayer becoming a demon. She was supposed to be the one who slayed the demons and the vampires, ridding the world of evil. Of course, her purpose was all nice and good and all. It wasn't like she was out to destroy the world or cause mayhem. All she did was relieve people of their misery and allow them to step into the next phase of life, or technically, death. And it brought her all over the world. From Iceland to China and from the shores of Spain to Alaska. More than thirty years of nearly perfect teleportation gave you an option to really go out as see the world.

"Hey, lemme just buy that bottle over 'ere," a petite girl with long, wavy red hair slurred, pulling out thirty dollars from her wallet. "Look missy, I don't think you can handle that. You know that that's whiskey and a littl'un like you probably won't handle a bottle well," Willy warned- his voice shaky. She looked normal enough but he had a knack for telling demons apart from humans and there was no doubt in his mind that this girl wasn't human. She slammed her fist into the bar, breaking the wood. "I know what that is, it's peach whiskey. Now, if you don't accept my generous donation, you and me, we're going to have to boogie," she threatened, her eyes filled with anger. Not wanting his bar to be wrecked one more time, Willy shrugged and accepted the money before handing the bottle to the redhead. "I wouldn't recommend drinking it all in one go-"before he said anything else the girl was standing up and walking towards the exit of the bar. "I'm no candyass, man," she said, strutting out of the bar.

Man, Sunnydale was a drag. If she hadn't sensed a very powerful regret, she wouldn't even have bothered to come to this town but she could feel something else tuggin' at her. There was more to this town than regrets and a Hellmouth. There was always something more in a town with a Hellmouth. Last time she had been in one she had wound up spending the night with a human member of the Hellions and managed to make some permanent enemies when she relieved him of his regrets in the morning. That was what she did, relieved pain, physical, emotional… Any sort she could.

"Bring it on, Sunnydale!" she said loudly, shouting into the darkness. She was prepared for anything. She still had the skills she had gained as a Slayer and to top it off she had the extra strength she had gained as a demon. She didn't go around unarmed either, she was always equipped with the dagger she had stabbed Spike with and the wooden oak he had used to pierce her with. Once a Slayer, always a Slayer.

"Oi, a little thing like you shouldn't be running loose on the streets," a rough voice called from the direction that Ayla had just come from. Turning around, she was faced with two very hungry looking vampires that stood only a few feet away. She scowled. "You vampires never learn to keep your distance?" she asked, opening the bottle of peach flavored whiskey, taking a large swig before closing it and putting it down. "And you ladies never learn that you don't stand a chance," the dark haired one said before lounging at her.

"Pigs," Ayla said, drawing out her weapons as she began to fight them off. Oh yes, even though she was drunk she still had those Slayer skills. Still tough enough to stand her ground in a fight against vampires.

From afar, a certain blond vampire was making his way to Willy's bar, only to hear the commotion that was going on. Oh, vamps attacking another victim, out in the streets. "Bloody buffoons," he mumbled as he kept on walking until he actually saw what was going on. Somebody was fighting off two vampires and, knowing Sunnydale, there was only one person who was fully capable of handling herself in that kind of fight. Rushing in, wanting to help Buffy, Spike tackle the vampire that wasn't being kicked by her. Oh, he loved himself some violence. Then he heard the familiar sound of a vamp being dusted. "Slayer, stake!" he called out, not desperate, but wanting to finish the fight off. It flew right at him, without caution or very much precision. "Bloody hell woman," he mumbled as he ducked a punch from the vamp and stuck the stake through his heart.

"How you do always managed to get attack, pet?" he muttered as he surveyed the area. The streets, open place. "These vamps have no shame, trying to attack someone in the middle of the street like this," he said, suddenly stopping dead in his tracks when he noticed a bottle. "Oh, Slayer's starting to loosen up I see," he said, picking up the bottle. "Peach whiskey?" he questioned, turning around to look at the woman he had just assisted. "Oh bloody hell," he shouted in aggravation when he realized that he was standing in front of that… that bloody girl. "Stake?" she demanded, opening her palm. He looked at it and realized that it was the stake he had used to stab her. He threw it to her with little effort.

"I knew I smelt stupidity as soon as I entered this town," Ayla commented, walking over to him and yanking up the bottle of whiskey before chugging down a good amount of sips.. She offered him some, knowing that he had a love of alcohol and free was probably something he preferred. Spike yanked the bottle and drowned himself in whiskey, that is, if he could have drowned. "They summon you already? That was bloody fast work," he asked, finding himself walking with her as she took off in the opposite direction of Willy's.

"Summon me? Who? I've been in Sunnydale for a few days now," Ayla said, trying to resist the temptation of looking at Spike. She could tell that he was a smug bastard from the day she had met him, well, the real him and looking at him could indicate that she… thought he was handsome. Spike raised a brow. "What are you doing in Sunnydale? I mean, you're a demon now, right? Got all sorts of demon-y business all over the bloody world, don't ya?" Spike sputtered as he stole a glance at the redhead. She hadn't changed one bit since the day he had met her, at least not on the exterior.

"Oh, but there's something big going to happen in Sunnydale. There's a regret brewing here and it belongs to a very powerful person… I'm not sure if I should go and talk to her or just let things go their natural course," she said with a grin. Spike's interest was caught. A very powerful person. Well, he and Buffy had recently kissed… But that wasn't powerful enough to summon a rue demon… Was it? "Since when do you let things take their natural course? You jumped a vampire when you were a Slayer, why would you decide to let things be natural this time around?" Spike hissed, realizing all too late that he shouldn't have said that.

"I jumped a vampire?" Ayla asked with heavy emphasis. "You're the one who attacked me with your lips. You're the freak who ruined the natural course of things," she said bitterly. Yeah, it wasn't her fault, like Hector had told her a gazillion times. Spike had been the one to come onto her, not the opposite way around.

"You're the one who closed the door for privacy, we all know what that means, luv," he snarled.

"You pulled my shirt off," she defended herself, as if that was an acceptable defense.

"You let me in, Slayer," Spike was shouting and from the tone of his voice, he was angry.

"You're the one who tried to start it up again the next day!" Ayla shouted back.

And with those words he was reminded how she didn't want to beg for more, even if she clearly wanted it. No, she was the one with the self-control. He had wanted more from her at that time, knowing that she was a Slayer and that he had already had a piece of her. He had wanted more and she had, she had rejected him. "If you hadn't been so stuck-up I could have shown you the time of your life," he said, lowering his voice. Play it cool. He thought to himself. He noticed her roll her eyes. "What? I was bloody brilliant and you know that," he said defensively.

"You were pretty groovy," she said, using that typical 60s slang that had always made him think of bloody Woodstock. "But if I had let you continue, your shackles-" she was referring to Drusilla "would have gone ape. I bet she could smell it, but had she caught us doing anything. You would have been busted," she said with a shrug. Spike felt like he had had a revelation. Of course, Dru wouldn't have busted him, nah, she would have been mad though, hurt. He was hers, had always said he was. She knew what he had done, she could smell it the minute she had seen him, but what she didn't see she didn't care about, not really.

"I would thank you for that, had you done that on purpose," he said with a shrug. He watched as she gulped down some whiskey. She was taking far larger sips than she had back at Woodstock. She was downing that whiskey like a vamp would. "Developed a taste for alcohol?" Spike asked, accepting the bottle and taking a swig. "Always had a taste for it. Began to love it after Woodstock."

"Why after Woodstock?" he asked, rather surprised. If anything, he would have thought she would hate it.

"It freed me more than anything."

A small gust blew and he watched as she wrapped herself up with… His shirt! "Oi, that's my shirt!" he exclaimed as they turned down a street. She looked down before shrugging. "You left it with me; I look at it as a parting gift. I didn't think you'd want it anyways, with the hole and the blood in it," she said, showing him the side he had stabbed her in. There was a small hole surrounding with blood and it looked very… Painful. "I couldn't just leave you there naked," he excused himself, pretending that he actually meant that. But she knew better, and she gave him a knowing look, without even looking at him.

That was odd, he thought, realizing that she hadn't looked at him since they first bumped into each other. Was she afraid to look at him? He smirked, feeling rather victorious. He still was the Big Bad, especially now that he remembered that she didn't know he was chipped. Oh wait, she's a demon. He thought in anger. Oh well.

"My stop." Her words were distantly, cold and simple. She wanted to get away from this man before… before something bad happened. "Hey, Ayla," he said, rejecting the idea of calling her Slayer since she really wasn't one. "I honestly feel bad I wasn't able to satisfy you more. I saw it on your face, when I left with Dru, that that fight had been… unsatisfactory," he said, hoping that those words would reel her in. And they did. Before he knew it, she was looking at him, penetrating his eyes with her gray eyes, making him feel as if it had all been a terrible misunderstanding.

It just happened, just like that.

It wasn't clear who had done it but their lips locked and they were desperately clinging onto each other, fiercly attacking each other's faces as they walked to the hotel room she had been staying in. "Just a second," she mumbled as she pulled out her card and ran it through as quickly as possible. "No waiting," he mumbled as he picked her up, ran in, slammed the door and dropped her on to the bed.

"Still so harsh," Ayla mumbled as she pulled his shirt off of him, revealing his body. She stopped a moment to admire the way his body seemed to be chiseled by one of the masters. He had the body that most girls would kill to spend the night with. The body that tried to kill her. She pushed him and got on top, playing the aggressively role which she had gotten so used to over the course of the years. "You don't look so bad from up here," she said as he tore his shirt off of her. Now it was his turn to stop, but this time, it was to reminiscence. Her breasts were still just the right shape and her freckles were spread all over her body-

"Like a map," he said, catching her attention.

"What?" she said, stopping to look at where he was looking.

"Nothing," he said, dismissing the thought. He rolled over, now being on top. He liked the fact that she tried to take control but he was the one in control. Always. He leaned down and suckled on her nipples until they were so stiff that it looked painful to him.

Suddenly, their session, hardly having begun, was interrupted with a loud bang. "Fuck, seriously?" Ayla said, pushing Spike off of her violently and grabbed the shirt she had been wearing and wrapped it around herself quickly. "Perfect time for a summoning, don't you think?" she asked, looking at Spike with a grin. He didn't seem to respond and without a warning she was gone. Spike sighed, not sure if he was annoyed or relieved. How had they wound up wrapped in each other's arms? He had spent the second half of the 20th century hating her existence and he had just finally began to let it all go when she bloody well pops up when he needs something to hold. Because Buffy bloody well won't do it. He thought bitter before gathering his shirt and duster.

He was going to head to the Magic Box, to see what kind of show the Scoobies were going to put on.

Ayla appeared in the middle of what looked like a magic shop, her shirt (formerly Spike's) wrapped around her awkwardly, making it obvious that she had been in the middle of something when they summoned her. She faced a group consisting of a small blonde, old man, a red-head, a dark haired man and… "Anyanka!" she cried out in happiness, relieved to see someone she knew. "Ayla! It's good to see you! Were we interrupting your passionate night?" she asked frankly, receiving a nudge of the elbow from Xander. Ayla looked at the shirt and blushed before turning away from the people so she could button up.

After finishing buttoning up she turned back around again. "Yeah, sorry. You guys caught me at a bad time," she said with a sheepish smile on her face. She looks so friendly. Buffy couldn't help but think, comparing the girl to other demons they had dealt with. Giles had convinced her that this one didn't need killing- they needed her on their team and they needed to learn from her. Well, at least she didn't look like a demon of the "hey-scary-demon-let's-kill-it" variety.

"I didn't know that demons... you know, got it on," Xander commented with slight cough.

"That's very naïve Xander. Demons like sex, just as much as you do!" Anya said, feeling offended.

"Yeah. If anything, demons get it on more than humans," Ayla said with a raised brow.

The conversation of "getting it on" was interrupted by Giles "clearing his throat." "We're not here to talk about the mating habits of demons, we're here to discuss to you, Ayla, about being a Slayer," Giles said with a serious expression on his face. Ayla tittered; intrigued by the fact that they knew that she had been a Slayer. She tilted her head to the side before taking a seat at the table everyone had been sitting at.

"First off, I wasn't "mating," it's sex. Besides, can't really mate with the one I was with," she mumbled. "Second of all, how do you know about me being a Slayer, back then? It's not like I've ever told anyone," she said with a betrayed expression on her face.

"Well, you see, Buffy here is the current Slayer," Giles said, motioning towards the short blonde. Ayla nodded in recognition which Buffy returned. "I'm her Watcher, Giles. Earlier tonight I and Anya heard from a, uhm, former acquaintance of yours about an encounter you two had and that he had met the demon that killed you. Figuring that you were a demon, we decided to summon you and see… what you were like," Giles explained, hoping that his explanation was vague enough.

"Are you yankin' my chain? I can't believe this, just absolutely typical," Ayla said, crossing her arms in a fit of fury. "You know, I was alive and that ditz vampire has to ruin everything and then I'm dead, finally free of him and he just keeps on bothering me," she said with exasperation. Oh and he had to get her into bed while he was at it, hadn't he? Oh, he knew how to hurt a girl's pride.

"Spike's always annoying," Buffy commented. She had a feeling that, despite being a demon, she would get along with Ayla. "Tell me about it. I've met him twice in my life and nothing ever goes right, really."

"Oh, you," she said, suddenly looking at Willow intently. "You're the reason why I came to Sunnydale," she said, her heart beating hard and fast. She always got worked up in a gig. For a split second her skin turned scaly and blue as she peered into the regret, the prelude and the consequence. "Hey! That's r-rude, and yeah, I summoned you. Someone had to do it," Willow replied, putting up a tough face. Rue demons were very intuitive and they almost always were able to sense what their subjects were feeling and right now, Willow seemed scared.

"Oh, no, not the summoning. I have been in Sunnydale for dayyyyyys," Ayla said before letting out a giggle. The alcohol was still bubbling in her body and she felt like the whole situation was rather silly, really.

"Days?" Buffy inquired.

"Oh yeah, been hanging out at the hotel and at Willy's. I wasn't sure whether I should dive in or let things unfold. Both will turn out rather interesting, really," she commented with a shrug. Willow was going to ask what was going to happen but Giles interrupted purposely, not wanting to make Willow worry more about the whole Tara situation.

"We can discuss that later. Now we want to discuss… Well, you being a Slayer and then a demon. It must have been a drastic change for you," Giles said with furrowed brows. It was funny to see how puzzled he was- it didn't happen often.

Before Ayla was able to speak another word, someone burst into the Magic Box. Everybody knew him on sight. "Did I miss the party?" he said, casually walking towards the group. "What are you doing here Spike?" Buffy asked with a tired tone, as if she had seen him far too often. Ayla stood up and stomped towards him, catching everyone by surprise

"I would punch you so hard that you would wake up in a different continent," she threatened, her gray eyes turning to a slight silver color. "But I don't want to ruin this nifty shop. But you… Telling them about me. It's private you ditz. I try not to advertise that I used to be a Slayer," she said before turning around and stomping back into her seat. Spike looked surprised by her outburst but then he smiled smugly. "I think you just want another piece of my, Darrow. Why else would you be wearing my shirt?" he challenged.

"You're wearing his shirt?" Xander asked with a surprised look.

"Eww," Buffy commented.

"It was the first thing I grabbed before I had to fight him off fighting for his shackles. I keep on wearing it because it makes a good sob story for when I'm dealing with regrets," she said, motioning towards the hole where he had stabbed her. "I am definitely not wearing it because I want to sleep with you," she hissed.

"Back to what you were saying, Giles?" Ayla said, turning to him. He looked at Spike who for once shut his mouth instead of constantly challenging someone before smiling towards Ayla.

"I was wondering… Did becoming a demon change anything? I mean, Slayer abilities."

"Not a thing. I gained the rue-demon strength, so I'm even stronger now than I was-"

"Not that you were really strong back then."

"Shut up, bleachball. And I gained new abilities, looking into minds, turning all icky when doing it, but I still fight as well and have the same old Slayer abilities," she said with a shrug.

"So you get all the benefits of Slayer, plus demon abilities? Man, that is cool," Xander commented.

"Yes- very," Giles muttered as he wrote down notes in a book.

"Did you actually die?" Willow piped up. Ayla looked at her with a raised brow. "I mean, did you, go somewhere? Did you feel pain or anything? Anything… die-like?" she clarified. "Not really. According to Hector I just blacked out for a moment, got an option to become a rue demon and then just woke up. Nothing more to it," she said simply.

"Why did he come to you?"

"Spike, I'm not here to answer your questions," Ayla said with a roll of her eyes.

"I sort of want to know too!" Xander said and Ayla sighed heavily.

"I'm sure all of you know what happened at Woodstock-"

"Not really, I mean. Me, Willow and Xander just came in for the summoning," Buffy explained. Ayla scowled. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to say anything about it.

"Well, long story short. I tried to save bleach ball here from getting bit by a vampire, not knowing that he was one. After he sobered up from the drugs, we drank, we talked, had sex and next day his shackles came by and there was a fight and he stabbed me," Ayla said speaking so quickly that everything seemed to run into one sentence.

"Sex?" Buffy exclaimed loudly.

"Shackles?" Giles questioned.

"Talk?" Xander asked with a doubtful look on his face.

"Yes, sex. Drusilla. As much as he can talk," Ayla answered all of their questions quickly. An awkward silence fell over the room as some inevitably envisioned a rather awkward web of tangled bodies. "It's getting late, I suppose we should retire for today," Giles said, breaking the silence. Everybody except for Ayla and Spike nodded in agreement. "Oh, thanks for calling me in. Nice meeting you lot and all," Ayla said, getting ready to head out of the shop.

"Wait a minute Ayla," Giles said, making her stop dead in her tracks.

"Yes?" she asked, obviously wanting to go back to… doing something else.

"Well… We think you could be a valuable asset to us."

"Oh." Ayla wasn't sure of how to feel.

"And I mean, Slayer to Slayer, I think it would be fun. Not that hanging out with the last Slayer was fun but I mean… I think you could help out. Maybe do some patrolling, you know, like you did back in the day!" Buffy said with enthusiasm. Ayla smiled, feeling genuinely happy that somebody wanted to keep her around. There weren't many people she had met in the past years that would be around long enough for her to hang out with.

"Sure… It's not like I have anything better to do unless I'm, you know, killing people," Ayla said with a shrug. "How uhm… Will you guys contact me? I mean, you can't keep summoning me, one time and I'm clanked."

Everybody looked at each other in silence. "You could stay with us. I'm sure Dawn won't mind… Willow?" Buffy asked and Willow nodded in silence. Ayla looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed at being offered to stay at a strangers house. "That sounds good. I mean, I will have to pick up my stuff from the hotel tomorrow. But I would love to, I mean. Not that I need company or anything but it could be… interesting," she said with a smile.

"That's settled. See you tomorrow Giles!" Buffy said, standing up along with Willow and heading out the door. Ayla followed but right before she stepped out she turned to glance at Spike one more time, envisioning his near-perfect upper body. "You're shirt's on inside out," she said as she stepped out of the, leaving Spike looking down at his shirt rather flustered and receiving odd glances from the remaining members of the Scoobies. "Sod this," he mumbled, getting out of the Magic Box as quick as he could.