Tears fell freely like rain drops down window panes. Beautiful emerald eyes looked like glass under water spilling and streaking down her pale skin, landing on her hands which sat shaking in her lap. As much as she tried she could not will the treacherous tears from falling. If he could see her now, well, he'd be ashamed; say she was stronger than this, that the tears that threatened to drown her showed weakness and surrender. She was ashamed of herself. Hadn't she been through so much? Hadn't she learned that showing weakness was giving into it? Of course things were different now; he was gone for a start. Her anchor, the only thing that tied her to this strained and heart numbing existence. Those beautiful blue eyes that communicated what words alone could not. Those arms that held her and told her everything would be alright. Her rock. Her world. And then he was gone.

Of course, she hadn't always thought like this. There was a time when his death would've just been another day's work, and the pile of ash that he left on this earth would be just that. Ash. But since then things had changed, lines got blurry and she'd been to place far beyond anyone's comprehension. Left in the dark all alone, with no real connection to humanity in her heart, he was her shining beacon of hope. Thinking of those times and her memories of him just made the tears fall heavier and faster. Maybe- Maybe if she'd seen the good in him earlier let him in sooner she'd have had more time with him. Maybe he wouldn't have died at all. But it didn't matter now did it? He was gone, and nothing would change that.

"B-Buffy?"

The voice shook her from her thoughts and brought her back to the now. The yellow bus had came to stop, she vaguely recognised her surroundings as somewhere in LA, outside an old styled hotel with the name 'Hyperion' just barely legible on the sign. The place looked abandoned.

Seeing Willow standing over her with a concerned look on her face, made her remember her tear stained state. She stood up quickly, hastily wiping away the tears.

She glanced back at the hotel again. "You're sure this is where Angel is?

"Completely" She nodded, "We better hope he's home, a lot of the slayers need serious medical attention, not to mention Robin."

Looking around, Buffy remembered all the hurt slayers, most just had cuts and scrapes that would heal quickly thanks to slayer healing but other had pretty deep cuts that needed bandages and supplies they just didn't have. Robin Wood was doing worst of all, with no super powers for help his gut wound was causing him to fade fast.

"Let's the get them inside, quick."

It was strange, seeing the hotel so empty. In fact it hadn't been this bare since they'd first moved in. Despite all mayhem and destruction the Hyperion had seen, to Angel and his team it was home, and it'd always felt like it. The front desk had been swept clean, the business cards etc in a box. Fred and Wesley were working hard behind the desk trying to sort out all their old case files and what they were going to do with them while Gunn covered the furniture. Cordelia, still reeling from her mystical coma was upstairs keeping busy with packing everyone's rooms- protesting that she'd been asleep long enough for anyone. Angel simply sat on the stairs, watching it all. He was still putting off getting together his possessions to take to Wolfram and Hart the next day. Wolfram and Hart… Since he'd returned from Sunny Dale a couple of hours ago all he could think about was whether he was making the right choice or not, taking on the hub of corporate hell was no mean feat. Was he doing the right, the best thing for him and his team? Or would they be better off staying –

The vampire's train of thought was broken off by the sound of the front doors banging open. A small blonde woman stood there looking around. Her greens eyes searched the faces in the room, all stunned by her entrance, until they landed on his. Her mouth twisted into a half-smile.

"How's that second front coming?"

"Buffy?" He choked out her name.

"That's Buffy? Damn I-"

Gunn was cut off by a rush of voices bursting through the doors. Faith and Xander were supporting a tall, dark man with a bleeding wound in his stomach. Willow walked swiftly behind him, a concerned look on her face.

"Buffy!" Said Xander urgently, "He's fading. Fast."

The atmosphere in the room changed drastically from surprise and curiosity as everyone leaped into action- seeing the crisis.

Gunn ran up to help Faith and Xander lay the injured guy on the sofa, which had not yet been covered, Fred ran upstairs to gather the first aid kits while Angel and Wesley went quickly over to Buffy and Willow to find what exactly was going on.

"How many are injured?" Asked Angel quickly, hoping they had enough supplies for all the injured.

"Most aren't too bad. Maybe four of five slayers are in the red."

"Slayers?"

The blonde gave him a sharp look.

"There's time for explanations later. Now is nobody-dies-time."

Soon enough, everyone was looking better. The slayers and scoobies had all found rooms. With a bit of healing magic none had died.

Buffy, Willow, Giles; Angel and Wesley were in Angel's office. No one sat down and shifted slightly as they discussed what to do next.

"So Sunny Dale's gone?" asked Wesley.

"Gone, as in one huge Sunny Dale shaped crater." Explained Buffy from her leaning position beside Angel's desk.

And- and all those girls out there," he nodded towards the window, "They're slayers?"

They nodded.

"Because of a spell Willow did with an ancient scythe no one's ever heard of. Correct?"

Again, they nodded.

Angel, who'd been standing silently by the doorway sinking in all the new information, spoke abruptly directing his question to Buffy but not looking up from the floor.

"So where's your champion?" He put heavy emphasis on the word champion.

Buffy felt the breath catch in her throat. With all the running about, looking after the injured she hadn't had time to think about Spike, in fact, she wondered how they'd made it through the re-telling of Sunny Dale's last apocalypse without mentioning his name. Her eyes were burning just thinking about those last minutes and suddenly it all played back in her head.

"I Love you."

"No you don't love, but thanks for saying it."

Did he really believe that? Or was he just trying to get her to leave? These were just the fore-front of all the questions she'd never get to ask, that she'd never get an answer to. Maybe- Maybe it was true what she'd told Angel down in the cemetery that night, that she wasn't done 'baking' and she probably wouldn't be for a while. But it didn't mean she didn't want him around, by her side. He'd been her strength for so, so long. I'm not ready for you to not be here.

Willow's hand on her shoulder shook her out of her own world and into Angel's office where concerned faces were all looking at her.

She pushed back the tears quickly. "Spike died." She said shortly.

"He's been dead for a long time," Ventured Wes, "Over 150 years."

She took a deep breath. "Dead, dead I mean. Ash in the wind."

Again, tear pricked at her eyes. The words were confident and emotionless but her face portrayed it all, her eyes told the whole story.

"He died to save the world."

"He wore the amulet," Angel said it like a question, Buffy nodded her agreement. "That's what destroyed Sunnydale?"

"I don't quite understand." Said Wesley looking from Angel to Buffy.

"I must admit, this amulet is as much as mystery to me as Spike's new soul."

"Soul?" asked Wesley, disbelief written all over his face, "Since when did William the Bloody have a soul?"

"September-ish." She said shortly

"Let me get this straight," he said shaking his said, as if to try and get the jumbled thoughts in order, "Spike has a soul."

They all nodded.

"And using an amulet, which Angel brought, he saved the world destroying Sunnydale in the process."

Again, they all nodded.

"He completely cleared out the hell mouth," Willow spoke up, "But he kind of took the rest of Sunnydale with him…"

"So," said Angel with a prominent frown on his face, "If I had worn that amulet…I would've died?"

"No." Buffy said shortly, fierceness a ghost in her voice.

"No?" Asked Willow, the concept of Spike living completely foreign to her.

"He could've survived." She said her voice shaking slightly. No one knew what'd happened in those last few minutes down in the hell mouth. She didn't want to share his real last words with anyone. In fact, she wished she hadn't heard them. "I guess- I guess he wanted to die a hero… A champion."

"I hate that word." Muttered Angel.