Xander stared at Spike from across the table. "So, Spike, you, uh, came back to life?"

"Well, technically I was never really dead. My soul, really it was in-"

"The thing! The amulet thing, right?!" Anya eagerly answered.

Xander shook his head. "What is this, a game show?"

"I've already told your girl here the story." Spike explained.

Anya shot him a glare. "I'm not his girl."

"Right. Sorry, guess I hit a nerve there." Spike apologized almost sarcastically.

"So, Spike, what brings you to Dayton?" Xander questioned with an eyebrow raised, sipping his cup of iced tea.

"Just got here a couple weeks ago, actually. Angel said something about a bunch of demonic activity here recently."

"Seems to follow me." Xander muttered, "I just came here because my cousins live on the other side of town. Didn't know it was a Hellmouth."

"It's not a Hellmouth." Spike insisted.

"Small joke, vampire, I didn't literally mean a Hellmouth."

"I'm not a vampire." Spike revealed

"Yeah, you are." Xander insisted.

"No, I'm not. I'm human now. Aging along just like the two of you." Spike said, almost in defeat.

There was a long, drawn out silence while Xander and Anya took this information in.

At that moment, Anya's looked at Spike enthusiastically. "Well, at least now you can go out in the day time!"

It was two hours later and Anya had long since gone to bed.

"Lovely chatting with you, but I think I'll go back to my apartment now." Spike announced, clearing his throat and heading towards the door. "Now we've got to hang out more, revive some of the old gang, no?" He opened the door, preparing to step out into the night.

"Hey, Spike?" Xander called, hesitant.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Can I ask you about something?"

The two were once again sitting at the table.

"Anya, she- she'll just have these... nightmares, I guess..." Xander scratched his head, struggling to explain it to Spike.

"So why are you sharing this with me?" Spike shook his head.

"Because it's not right, Spike. It's not normal. She'll wake up screaming, just thoroughly terrified. I-I'll go into her room and she'll just be sitting up in her bed, screaming."

Spike shook his head. "Sounds like some horrid nightmares."

"But it gets scary. I'll go into her room and the minute she sees me- she'll, she'll turn to me and stop. Stop screaming. But her eyes, they get, they get black.. l-like Willow's when she was all big-baddy..." Xander paused.

"And then what? That's it?" Spike asked.

"No. Sometimes she'll say things. Things that don't make sense. Like 'make the baby stop crying' or 'make them stop'. Sometimes she'll say things that do make sense."

"Like?" Spike questioned, waiting for the answer.

Xander swallowed. "Like, um, 'don't leave me again' or, uh... listen, Spike, it doesn't matter what she's saying. It's how she says it. She'll say it in this voice... this voice that isn't hers. I mean, it's hers, but it's so weak. It's this weak, vulnerable voice that I've never heard from her before. And it'll happen two, three, even four times a week. And I don't think it's normal."

Spike nodded. "Do you think she's possessed?

Xander shook his head. "I don't know, Spike. I just don't know."

"Well, you know-"

A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the house, interrupting Spike.

"Speak of the devil!" Xander exclaimed.

Xander and Spike burst into Anya's bedroom, where she was sitting up on the bed, screaming at the direction of the wall. As the door creaked, Anya's head whipped to stare at them and her screaming ceased. Her eyes were big, dark.

"He wants me back." She released a deadly whisper. "I was taken from him and he wants me back." Anya stood up, slowly, and took two steps towards the two. But she paused, her hand outstretched, and collapsed to the floor.

Xander let out a deep breath that he had been holding for quite some time. He walked over to Anya and picked her up, putting her back in the bed. He led Spike out of the room, closing the door behind him. They stopped outside in the hallway.

"Now, tell me, was that normal?"

"No, it definitely wasn't." Spike agreed, shaking his head. "But I've no idea what it could be, so I'll let you figure it out and I can go back to my apartment and catch some z's."

"You're not going to help me?"

Spike walked towards the door, throwing his hands up in the air. "It's 3 in the morning and her little episode's over. We can work this out another day." Spike threw the door open as the cool night air rushed into the house. "Good catching up." Spike slammed the door after him.

Xander waved as a delayed reaction. "Yeah, real nice!"