Disclaimer: I own none of the characters here, I just use them to create worlds of my own. This story belongs to me, Shoshanna, and to my website Fool For Love. If you'd like to archive, please just ask.

Author's Note: This is the second chapter of my series Fortune Favors The Brave. This one is called, Friends Close, Enemies Closer. This is my idea of what I'd love to see as a season five Angel. I've not gotten over Buffy being over for good, so of course many BtVS crossovers are involved. J Including Spike. Spoilers up to Chosen and Home.

Summary: Buffy gives her new life a second chance, but will she be able to live with her decision? Meanwhile, Willow tries to adapt to her newfound role in the Angelverse. But everyone soon finds out that her role isn't exactly what they thought. Lilah is back, and it appears that everything is not as seems inside Wolfram and Hart. Also, a familiar face returns and is none too pleased to be back.

Rating: PG-13

::Fortune Favors The Brave::

Friends Close, Enemies Closer

Buffy walked down the deserted street, hugging her arms tightly to her chest. She soon realized that Oregon autumns were quite a bit colder than California. She was wishing she had the money to buy a thicker coat. She used to have quite the assortment of clothes before everything got destroyed. But the hardest part about starting completely over from scratch, weren't the missing clothes. They were her memories. Pictures, mementos, Joyce's belongings. All of those things were completely irreplaceable.

She didn't even have a single photograph of her mother. That was what cut through her like a knife on a night like this. She was cold and alone in a strange town where nothing was familiar. And the sad truth of it was there was no place like home. And home was gone. She couldn't ever go back. Literally. There was nothing to go back to. She looked up at the stars, knowing that at least they'd be familiar.

As she was lost in her thoughts, she saw a man and a woman struggling in an alley way. Her instincts kicked in immediately. Woman in trouble. Vampire. Kill vampire... Her brain had gone on auto-pilot. Before she could think any further, she launched herself at the man, knocking him to the ground.

The woman screamed loudly, but Buffy had been conditioned to block that out. All that mattered was the kill, and then you could worry about the potential victim left behind. Buffy reached into her pocket expecting to find a stake. It was just habit. Realizing she had none, she merely reacted by punching the man across the face as hard as she could. As her fist connected with his jaw, she suddenly realized that this was not a vampire. It was just a man. A really drunk and terrified looking man.

Horrified, she leapt off of him.

"What is your problem? Are you insane?" The woman shouted at her.

Buffy looked completely confused. She had seen them struggling. She had just assumed...

"I-I'm sorry. Wasn't he hurting you?" Buffy questioned her, bewildered.

"No! Well, unless you count the last 12 years of my life that I'm never getting back."

"What?"

"He's my husband. He was drunk and I told him he couldn't drive. He was trying to take the keys back." The woman explained.

"Oh."

"I think she broke my jaw." The man said as he stumbled to upright himself.

"I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know. I saw the struggle...I just..." Buffy said feeling remorseful for hurting the man.

"What're you? A cop? If you are, I could have your badge for this!" The man said heatedly, regaining his senses. Buffy could smell the alcohol on his breath.

She didn't know what else to say. She felt terrible, and confused and more than a little embarrassed. She looked at the man and shook her head.

"No, I'm not a cop. But maybe next time you'll think better of trying to drink and drive." She said, grabbing the keys out of his hand and handing them to his wife.

Before they could respond to her, she was gone. She quickly left them there and ran down the street out of their sight. She stopped when she was far enough away that they'd not see her, and she caught her breath. What was she doing? She was turning into crazy vigilante girl. Beating up abusive, drunken husbands.

She was reeling from the fact that she could have killed that man easily. Just the way Faith had killed the deputy mayor all those years ago. Back then, she knew that it could have just as easily been her that had done it. And nothing had changed now. She had trained herself to react and not to think. It was the only way to survive as long as she had. But life was different now. This town was different. Every argument in an alley didn't have to mean demonic activity. This wasn't Sunnydale. And she wasn't the Slayer anymore. At least not actively.

She made her way back to her apartment slowly, and went inside. Dawn was watching TV and looked up when she came inside.

"Where'd you go?" She asked only half interested in hearing the answer.

"For a walk. I needed some air."

"Is something wrong?" Dawn asked, picking up on her mood.

Buffy sat down in a chair across from her and put her face in her hands.

"I can't do this Dawn." Buffy said sadly. She could feel tears in her eyes and she tried to hold them back.

"Buffy? Are you okay? What can't you do?"

"This. Any of this. I can't be Buffy. I-I can't just be a regular person. It's not working." Buffy said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Did something happen? Why are you saying this?" Dawn asked with concern.

"I almost killed some guy tonight." Buffy admitted disgusted with herself.

"What?"

"I saw a couple fighting. She was struggling...I just reacted. I thought he was a vampire. I was just so used to seeing that and then stopping it...I wasn't thinking."

Dawn absorbed what she was saying and touched her arm gently.

"It's okay Buffy. He's alright, isn't he? I mean, you didn't kill him?"

"No...No, I didn't. But I could have." Buffy said quietly. "I don't know how to not be the Slayer. I can't even remember what that's like."

"You haven't even given it a chance."

"Yes, I have. And it's just too hard. I-I can't do it."

"One little mistake and you already want to give up? That's pretty cowardly." Dawn said truthfully.

"It's not cowardly." She protested with a hurt look.

"It is so. You're acting like you have nothing to offer this world but killing stuff."

"I don't. That's all I have to offer. That's all I was good at. Really."

"That's a complete load of crap."

"Dawn!"

"What? It's true and you know it. You said you hated being the Slayer. You hated having that burden. That responsibility. So you get a way out. You're free Buffy. And now you're just gonna give up cause living like a regular person isn't interesting enough for you?" Dawn said irritated with the situation.

"This has nothing to do with being interesting. I'm lost, Dawn. I don't know how to do this. And I'm all alone. I have no one. You've at least made friends here. I spend my days trying to sell travel plans to people who would rather have hot pokers jammed into their eye sockets, than speak to me!" Buffy said heatedly. "Then I come home here, and I don't know what to do with myself."

"Are you done yet? Cause now you're sounding kinda pathetic." Dawn pointed out.

"You're really not helping, Dawn. When did you get so insensitive? Oh wait. Maybe that was when you threw me out of my own house a few months ago." Buffy said accusingly.

"Oh yeah. Bring that up. I had no other choice. Everyone wanted you gone. What was I supposed to do?"

"Um, I don't know, how about be on my side?"

"I am on your side. I always was."

"No. You really weren't. The only person that was on my side was Spike." Buffy told her pointedly.

"Well Spike's dead."

Buffy looked like she'd been hit with a ton of bricks. It wasn't that she didn't know he was dead, but she'd never uttered the words. She had never come right out and said "Spike's dead". Not once since it happened. She almost felt as if she never said it, it wouldn't really be true. Hearing Dawn spit the words at her so venomously cut her deep. And Dawn knew it. She instantly felt remorseful for it.

"I'm sorry Buffy." She said softly.

Buffy wiped her eyes and shook her head.

"Don't be sorry. It's true. He is...dead. And now I'm alone."

Dawn went over to her and pulled her close.

"You're not alone, Buffy. You have me. And I'm sorry I said all those things. I didn't mean it." Dawn said sincerely.

"No, you did mean it. You think I'm being selfish and whiny, don't you?" Buffy asked through her tears.

Dawn pulled away and looked at her seriously.

"A little. But you're entitled. I was the one who was out of line." Dawn admitted. "It's just, I want you to be happy Buffy. I want us to be happy. You said this was what you wanted, and I just didn't want you to give up so easily."

"I know I said this was what I wanted, but sometimes the grass is greener on the other side, you know?" Buffy said wistfully. Then she groaned. "My god...I'm spouting clichés all over the place, and earlier tonight I went totally 'public service announcement' on that poor drunk guy I beat up."

Dawn laughed, "Its okay. Sometimes clichés are true. You thought this was what you wanted, but somehow it didn't quite live up to all the fantasies."

"Exactly."

"Well then you've got two choices. You can stick it out a bit longer and see if it gets better. Or you could quit your job, pull me out of school. Again. And we can go move to Cleveland to fight the good fight. It's your choice."

Buffy knew she had to think very carefully about this decision. It couldn't just be made on a whim because she was feeling weepy and homesick. Things may not seem any better in Cleveland. It wasn't Sunnydale, and it was most definitely not home. But Willow was there. And Kennedy. Not that Buffy was a big Kennedy fan. But Willow seemed to like her. Maybe Buffy could learn to like her too?

But she didn't want to uproot Dawn again. Especially not to take her to another dangerous city. It wouldn't be fair to her. Buffy knew that.

"You don't have to decide now. But the Homecoming dance is coming up in two weeks. Josh Ryan is supposedly gonna ask me. So let me know before I buy a non-returnable party dress, okay?" Dawn said attempting to lighten the mood.

Buffy thought about her Homecoming dance. The one she and Cordelia fought over about who should be Queen. They'd almost died that night but made it just in time to hear their names not be called. Buffy smiled at the memory. That was a terrible night, yet wonderful at the same time. She wanted Dawn to have memories like that. Only she didn't want Dawn having to arrive in a torn dress with mud all over her, because some hit squad had tried to kill her.

She looked at Dawn, "If Josh asks, say yes. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time."

"So tell me what you learned." Angel said abruptly as Gunn entered his office.

"I didn't learn much. Seems that everyone is pretty tight lipped up there about what happened." He said shaking his head.

"Did they know this was going to happen?"

Gunn shook his head, "No, seems like Cordy pulled a fast one on all of them. I spoke with the Gatekeeper. He's supposedly in charge of all mystical contacts between the spirit world and the living. He said Cordy slipped past him."

"Slipped past him? How is that?" Angel asked, growing concerned that with all these resources, no one was helping.

Gunn shrugged, "He didn't know. Apparently spirits have a guiding system. Like they know where they're supposed to go and when. Cordy didn't follow that. Which isn't surprising, cause lets face it, we are talking about Cordelia here." Gunn laughed slightly.

"Well where is Cordelia now?"

"He doesn't know. Look Angel, I'm telling you, they aren't giving me anything up there." Gunn explained again. "The only thing they knew was that it was Cordy who did this. But the question still is, why?"

"Did they say if there was a way to get the visions out of Willow?"

"He said I'd have to talk to someone else about that. Then he disappeared. So basically, we're at square one."

"Take me up there Gunn. I need to see this guy myself."

"Alright...if you say so."

Gunn and Angel went up in the elevator together to the white room. It was a place where you could speak to anyone and anything, regardless of what dimension they were living in. It had been used as a link to the senior partners, but now it was merely a link to all other worlds.

Gunn called up the Gatekeeper once more.

"It is you again? I have told you all I can." He said annoyed with the intrusion.

"I think you're still holding back." Angel said stepping forward.

"Ah...It's the bossman. Enjoying your new position?" The Gatekeeper chuckled.

"That's right. I am the boss now, and I say you're holding back. So spill it. What else do we need to know?" Angel asked impatiently.

"That's amusing. You really do think you're in charge here, don't you?"

"Will you just cut the mind games? I need answers, and I'm betting you've got them." Angel said dismissing his attempt at riling him up.

The Gatekeeper sighed, "I already told your man here, what I knew. Cordelia didn't have our permission to contact anyone, much less transfer any type of powers to them. Whatever she did, she did it without our knowledge."

"But you have knowledge of it now."

"True, I do. But beyond knowing she has made contacts with living beings, I don't know the nature of those contacts."

"Beings? Plural? She's contacted someone else?" Gunn asked curiously.

"Oops. I guess there was something I forgot to tell you." The Gatekeeper laughed amused with himself.

"Who else has she contacted?" Angel wanted to know.

The Gatekeeper smiled at him, "I seem to have forgotten who that was. And apparently so has everyone else."

Angel felt his stomach drop into his knees.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gunn asked confused by the riddles.

"Drop it, Gunn. We're done here. He can't help us get the visions out of Willow. We're wasting our time."

Angel just wanted to get out of there. He knew exactly who the Gatekeeper was alluding to, and he only hoped it wasn't true. If Cordelia had somehow contacted Connor, it could be all over. Everything he had sacrificed for him could be for nothing if she had somehow spoken with him and told him anything.

"What was that all about?" Gunn asked as they got back into the elevator.

"Nothing. He was just playing games, but I'm not in the mood to play. I'll just have to look elsewhere for help."

"Where else are you gonna look? I mean, we've got it all here, and no one is talking." Gunn pointed out.

"Exactly. No one is talking. And why is that? Unless there's something that someone doesn't want us to know. And I intend to find that out."

"How?"

"I don't know yet."

"Wow...This place is amazing." Willow said, as Fred gave her a tour of the science lab where she spent most of her days.

"It is. We're doing some really cutting edge things. Mixing medicine and mysticism." Fred explained eagerly. "Oh, look at this. This is what we've been working on the last two months." Fred pointed at a microscope and motioned for Willow to take a look.

"Is this what I think it is?" Willow asked astonished.

"It's ectoplasmic slime. We've discovered that when you mix that with the virus that causes the common cold, it completely wipes it out."

"Amazing...You're saying you've found a cure for the common cold?"

"Yeah." Fred said proudly. Then she looked at her feet, "Well it wasn't just me."

"But this is huge, Fred. My god...working here must be incredible." Willow said in awe.

"It is! Gosh, you don't know how exciting it is to have someone else who thinks this is cool." Fred said excitedly.

"Who wouldn't?" Willow said as she continued to look around her. "What's that over there?" She asked pointing to an empty room.

"Oh, that's where the surgical teams perform experimental surgeries. They've been testing new technology that replaces limbs, reverses brain damage, and restores sight to people who've gone blind. Things like that."

"And it's been successful?"

"So far. I-I think there may have been a few missteps here and there. But overall the success rate is very high." Fred explained nervously.

"That's great. I have a friend who lost an eye a few months ago. The doctors said there was nothing they could do. It's too bad you guys don't have some way to like create a whole new eyeball."

"Actually, we can do that." Fred said quickly.

"You can? But how? I was just kidding when I said that." Willow said disbelieving.

"Well, I'm not exactly up to speed on the surgical techniques. I-I stay mostly on the research side of things," Fred said, leading Willow through a doorway marked 'Authorized Personnel Only', "but this is the surgical lab."

Willow saw countless shelves with various body parts floating in some kind of green solution. Fingers, hands, hearts...It would have been a gruesome sight if Willow hadn't been so intrigued.

"What is this?"

"Well, I know it all looks kinda spooky, and really gross, but this is the lab where all the transplant organs and vital tissues are kept." Fred explained.

"Eww. I-Is there someone in charge of, um, gathering these parts? I mean, this is kinda wrong, isn't it?" Willow was a little spooked by this.

"No, it's not wrong. And it's not what you're thinking. These parts weren't donated or stolen, they were created. From scratch."

"Created?"

"Yeah. We take tissue and DNA samples from a person who is say, missing an eye. Just like your friend. And from there, we're able to actually replicate the missing eye and then surgically replace it." Fred explained.

"But how? Magically?" Willow wanted to know.

"Well, it's part magic, part science." Fred looked at the jars. "Apparently they had experimented in the past with donor limbs being used, and then magically re-attaching them. But there were some problems with that method."

"What kind of problems?"

"Well, this was way before my time, but apparently some guy lost his hand in a fight, and they gave him a new one. Only it turned out to be an evil hand with a mind of its own. I was told it was a big mess. So they kinda had to rethink that idea." Fred said twirling her hair nervously. She didn't really know the whole story, and she knew she probably didn't want to know either.

Just then, the door to the surgical lab opened, startling an already on edge Willow.

"It's okay Willow. It's just Knox." Fred smiled at her co-worker. "We work together."

"Oh, hey." Willow said giving him a little wave and a smile.

Knox just smiled pleasantly at Willow, and then looked at Fred.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" He asked her.

"Sure."

Knox pulled Fred to the side, and Willow figured it was a private work related talk, so she began looking closer at the jars on the shelves.

"What's up?" Fred asked with a smile.

"We aren't supposed to allow outsiders in the lab, Fred." He whispered to her.

"She's not an outsider. She's Willow. A-a friend of Angels." Fred explained timidly.

"It doesn't matter. She's not supposed to be in here. I let it slide when I saw you showing her around the main work station, but the private labs are for personnel only."

"But Angel—"

"I don't care. If they find out I let you bring her in there, I'm in big trouble." Knox said seriously.

Fred looked at him curiously, "Who's 'they'? Angel is in charge here and he knew about it."

Knox looked away from Fred uneasily. It was clear to Fred that he was not comfortable with this conversation.

"Just get her out of here. Please." Knox pleaded with her.

Fred gave him a suspicious look, and saw the fear that was in his eyes. He was afraid of someone or something and she knew it wasn't Angel.

"Alright." Fred relented. She looked over at Willow, "Why don't we go back upstairs. I'll show you the break room."

Willow nodded her head. She walked past Knox and gave him a small smile. She could see he was on edge about something, but she didn't know him well enough to wonder what it was.

"It was nice meeting you, Willow." Knox said trying to appear friendly.

"Same here."

Willow and Fred walked out of the private lab and turned to head to an elevator. Once they were alone inside, Willow glanced at Fred.

"That Knox guy...he seems nice." She said, making small talk.

"Yeah, he is. He seemed a little jittery today though." Fred commented, still perplexed by his insistence that they leave.

"I picked up on that. I-I hope I didn't get you into any trouble."

"It's okay. Angel knew I was taking you down here. But..."

"But what?"

"I don't know. Knox said if they found out I brought you here, he'd be in big trouble. But he wouldn't say who they were." Fred was disturbed.

"I thought Angel was in charge of this place now?" Willow asked.

"He is." Fred said quickly, and then added, "I think..."

"You said you'd take care of this, and now she's getting the grand tour of our secret lab facilities?" Holland Manners had been irritated by what he'd witnessed on the security cameras.

"I am taking care of this. This wasn't something that we foresaw happening." Lilah reassured him.

"The next thing I know, that witch will be getting the guided tour straight to my office." He said angrily.

"That isn't going to happen. No one knows that you're back, I can assure you. As far as Angel knows, you've been dead and gone and off the radar for years."

"We finally have Angel exactly where we wanted him, and this witch is going to ruin it all. She's got the visions, Lilah. I thought we took care of that when we made it appear that Cordelia Chase was un-savable. We were rid of her for good, and with no way to transfer her visions on; we had successfully severed any and all ties Angel had with the Powers." Holland told her upset.

"I can assure you that I'm looking in to how that happened. Believe me. But there isn't any need to panic just yet. The witch is human, and we all know humans can't sustain the visions for long." Lilah explained.

"Well, she certainly can sustain them long enough to be a thorn in my side. Get rid of her and do it quickly."

"Of course. I'll take care of it."

"You'd better. If you don't, you know what that means." He said calmly.

She lowered her head and nodded, "Yes."

"Then do it, Lilah. Make this go away."

Lilah nodded her head, and exited the room. She knew better than to stick around longer than she was needed. Like her, Holland had signed a contract which bound him to Wolfram and Hart for eternity. Death didn't alter that agreement in any way. Her soul was bound to serve the Senior Partners for all of time. And for several years, Lilah had no qualms about that agreement. She had everything she could possibly want for.

But she wasn't the same person she had been ten years ago when she made that deal. For starters she had actually been alive back then. But most of all, she had been young. She was getting ready to graduate from law school, and she had no money to pay her student loans. At the same time, her mother had begun to suffer from Dementia. Lilah had only been able to work part time as a legal assistant while she had been in school. She didn't foresee a way to pay for the right kind of care her mother needed.

That's when she had met with Wolfram and Hart. A scout had approached her right before her graduation. They offered her a deal of a lifetime. A job with a very powerful, very prestigious law firm. She was to start at the bottom, but was assured that hard work, discretion and loyalty to the firm, would advance her position rapidly. They hadn't been lying. She knew what she was agreeing to, but when you were only twenty-five, broke and alone to care for a dying mother, you couldn't afford to think of the future or the consequences it'd bring. But she was certainly thinking of them now.

She had spent several years enjoying the game of cat and mouse with Angel. It gave her a rush. She had pushed every button of his and loved every minute of it. But then something had happened along the way. She had met Wesley. At first, he was a project. A way in. Another pawn in the game of Angel. She never meant to actually like the man. Or love him...

Love...what do I know about love? Nothing. She thought cynically to herself. It didn't matter anymore anyway. She was dead. And more than that, she was going to have to betray him again. Even in death she couldn't stop playing the game. She could never stop playing...

Willow tossed and turned, trying to ease into sleep. She was feeling tense and uneasy, as they had gotten no further in finding her a way out of the visions. Part of her was okay with that. She had only had one more vision since the first night, but she knew it was likely only a matter of time before she got another.

She had spoken to Kennedy before she had gone to bed, and it hadn't gone very well. Willow had tried to explain to her that she needed to stay in LA at least until they worked out the visions. But she also made Kennedy aware that she may decide to stay here permanently. Especially if there was no way to transfer them out of her. Kennedy had been very disappointed to hear that. Willow couldn't blame her. They had just started their new life in Cleveland, and already Willow had left.

Kennedy had suggested that even if Willow had the visions, she could just call Angel when she had one. But Willow knew that wouldn't be a workable solution. Besides the fact she still felt she had unfinished business here. It wasn't something she could put her finger on, but somehow just showing up in LA wasn't enough. She was here for a reason, and she hadn't figured it out entirely. It felt more important than just helping Angel solve cases. Something felt off about the entire situation here.

She had definitely gotten a very weird vibe from that Knox fellow at the lab. Actually everything about Wolfram and Hart had seemed very strange. She really hadn't been clear on exactly how or why Angel had acquired control of the law firm in the first place. But when she asked Angel about it, he merely said he'd made a deal and wouldn't elaborate. She had of course been in awe of the science lab, but she couldn't help but feel it had a very Initiative-like feel to it. Only this time, it seemed that it weren't demons being experimented on, it was humans.

But she liked and trusted Fred, and she seemed so excited about the place. Willow figured her strange vibes were probably nothing, but she hadn't quite convinced herself of that yet. Either way, she may have trusted Fred and Angel, but she didn't fully trust Wolfram and Hart. She had a good intuition and it was telling her something was not right.

She tried to forget all about that as she finally drifted off to sleep. She slept fitfully and began to dream.

She was walking down a long corridor, following a whisper that seemed to echo in her head. She turned and saw a door. She opened it slowly and cautiously, apprehensive about what she would find there. She moved into the room and looked around. On the wall was a picture of a man she'd never seen before. Older, in his fifties, graying hair. He was wearing a business suit and a smile. Underneath the picture there was a plaque that read "Wolfram and Hart". Willow was somehow drawn to the picture and the man depicted, but she didn't understand why. It wasn't a friendly feeling, more like having the knowledge that this man was important somehow.

"Finally!" Willow heard someone say behind her.

Startled, she whirled around to face the person. It was Cordelia.

"Oh my god..." Willow said in shock.

"You're a really hard person to get through to, you know?" Cordelia said, irritated.

"You've been trying to get through to me?"

"Well duh. Look, I don't have much time before they find me. There's something you need to know." Cordy said quickly.

"Before who finds you?"

Cordelia didn't respond to her question and only glanced over at the picture of the man on the wall. Willow noticed this.

"Who is that guy?" She asked curiously.

Cordelia shook her head, "I don't have enough time. Willow, just listen to me. I gave you the visions, and—"

"Yeah, thanks, by the way, for giving me deadly brain frying visions." Willow interjected sarcastically.

"Well, you're welcome. But they weren't meant for you." Cordy said, not acknowledging Willow's sarcasm.

"They weren't? Then why did I get them?"

"I had to get rid of them, quickly. Angel and everyone, they were doing the spell. If I didn't get rid of them before I died, they'd be gone forever. I had to do something." Cordy explained.

"Okay, but why me?"

"The right person wasn't exactly available at the time. And I knew you could do this. You're the only one who can bring him back."

"Bring who back? Who's the right person?" Willow was completely confused.

"Spike."

"Spike? Cordelia, Spike is dead. Dusted. Gone."

"Hence, the him not being available."

"Well, I-I can't just bring him back."

"Yes you can."

"How?"

Cordelia just stared at her, and then she seemed to react to a noise or something Willow didn't hear.

"I have to go. I can't stay here any longer." Cordy said sadly.

"Wait, don't go!" Willow said frantically, but Cordelia was gone.

Willow looked at wall again, but the picture that had been there, had disappeared. Willow woke with a start, and just lay in her bed breathing heavily. That wasn't a dream. That had been real. It had felt incredibly real. And this time Willow hadn't forced herself to wake up in the middle of it. Spike was the key to all of this. The visions were for him. She just didn't understand why or how on earth she'd be able to bring him back.

He had been killed by mystical energies, just as Buffy had been, but he was a vampire. Just because she had been able to resurrect Buffy, didn't mean she could bring back anyone or anything. Besides the fact that she had used and ruined the last known Urn of Osiris, which was key to the spell. Without that, she didn't know of any way to perform the ritual.

Even if she was able to do it, she wasn't sure she should. Spike had died a noble death. He had saved them all. And he had a soul at the time. What if, despite the fact he was a vampire, his soul had gone to Heaven, just as Buffy's had? Would Willow be willing to risk tearing Spike out of Heaven too? The last thing they needed was a miserable Spike, brought back to life, only to bear excruciating visions. For Angel, of all people. Someone Spike didn't exactly get along with.

She just didn't know what to do with this information. It might be easier and better for everyone if she just accepted her fate, and continued to carry the visions.

Lilah was pacing back and forth in her office. The shaman sitting before her was calm and didn't even seem aware of Lilah's agitation.

"Are you saying it can't be done without killing her?" Lilah asked him.

"That is what I'm saying. I can remove the visions and destroy them, but not without killing the girl."

"Damn." Lilah muttered under her breath.

She had been trying to work out a way to get rid of the visions completely, without harming Willow. She knew that Angel was looking for a way to do the same exact thing. And Holland was insistent that they rid the girl of the visions, preferably by killing her. But Lilah knew he'd be happy just having the visions obliterated. And if Lilah could do that without harming the girl, she could actually pretend to Angel and Wesley that she had been helping them all along. It would be like killing two birds with stone, actually. She stayed in the good graces of the Senior Partners, as well as Angel and his team.

It was getting tiring playing double agent all the time. Especially when things didn't work out the way she wanted them to.

"Would you like me to kill the girl?" The shaman asked, interrupting Lilah's internal struggle.

"No. I don't."

"Perhaps you'd like me to render her incapable of articulating the visions to anyone?" He offered.

"What do you mean?"

"I could easily make her visions so painful she'd quietly slip into a coma. It would merely make it look like the visions took their negative affect much sooner."

"No, that won't work. We already had one coma vision girl, and that didn't exactly end up well. Besides, I've already used the whole 'attack her with fake debilitating visions' before. Angel's too smart. He'd figure it out." Lilah dismissed that idea.

"This could all be very easily solved if you'd just allow me to take care of her." He said calmly.

"I don't want her dead." Lilah said firmly. "Just get out of my office. We're done here."

The shaman smiled and bowed his head to her.

"Good luck, Ms. Morgan. Let me know if you change your mind."

"I won't."

He shut the door behind him and Lilah let out a frustrated sigh. This wasn't easy anymore. A few years ago, she had no issue with having someone killed. She certainly wasn't the squeamish type. One stupid girl, that she didn't even know, shouldn't matter to her. But somehow she knew that if she had Willow killed, Angel would figure it out. He would figure out that she was behind this, and tell Wesley. And not only would that upset her, the whole game might be blown in a single instant. She had to make this appear that she was trying to help Angel and the girl, while serving Holland's wishes at the same time. Only this time, she wasn't sure whose side she was really on.

Willow was sitting in Angel's old office at the Hyperion. She had a stack of magic books that she had managed to pull together from Wesley's mini-library. Angel paced in front of her, as Wes stared at her, rooted to his spot.

"Spike? Are you sure she said Spike?" Angel asked, perplexed.

"I'm positive. She said the visions were for Spike, and I was the only one who could get him back." Willow explained.

"But why Spike?" Angel was not grasping this.

"I don't know. She said she couldn't stay long. That was the other strange thing...She seemed afraid, or to be hiding from someone, but she didn't say who."

"I think I know who. Gunn and I spoke to someone called the Gatekeeper. He said that Cordy was basically a rogue spirit. He said she veered off the ordinary path and he couldn't find her."

"The Gatekeeper?" Willow asked.

"He's in charge of ushering newly deceased spirits into the Afterlife." Wes explained it to her.

"He said Cordy had made contacts with living beings, which is apparently against the rules. So it makes sense she was hiding. If he finds her, he'll send her spirit onward. And apparently she still has some unfinished business." Angel told them.

"Well, if in fact this Spike person is the key—" Wes began.

"Spike isn't a person, he's a vampire. A dead one at that." Angel interrupted.

"Well, he had a soul, just as you do." Wes reminded him.

"A soul doesn't make someone a person. Believe me, I know. And there has to be some other way. Spike can't be the key to anything. He's not worthy of getting a second chance." Angel said bitterly.

"Spike did save the world." Willow pointed out honestly.

"That's true, he did." Wes agreed. "I'd say that makes him worthy enough."

Angel realized they had a point, but it was hard for him to imagine Spike in any other way but an evil murderer. The last time Angel and Spike crossed paths, Spike was having Angel tortured for the Ring of Amara. There certainly hadn't been anything worthy or heroic about him then. Even if he did get a soul, that didn't mean he'd suddenly turned all noble. Angel certainly didn't. It'd taken him a hundred years to get into that mindset. Maybe that was what was bothering him? Spike went and got a soul and did a better job with it than Angel had.

"I know what you're thinking Angel, and he really did change. Spike was different. We all saw it." Willow reassured him. She then added softly, "Buffy saw it."

Angel knew she spoke the truth. Buffy herself had informed him that Spike was her boyfriend and she loved him. Okay, well, she didn't actually say that, but she said he was in her heart. Same difference. Angel wasn't a fool. He could read between the lines. He knew how much Buffy had cared for Spike when he saw the way she talked about him. Angel loved Buffy, and therefore, trusted her judgment. If she thought Spike was worthy of her heart, then maybe he really had changed?

Angel sighed, "How can we get him back? Can it even be done?" He wondered.

"I'm sure it can be. Wolfram and Hart were able to bring Darla back." Wes said.

"Yeah, but they brought Darla back human. Spike can't be human if he's going to carry the visions." Angel reminded him.

"Well, perhaps they've got other ways? I'll begin researching and asking around."

"Wait a minute." Willow said quickly.

"What is it?" Wes asked.

"Well, even if we get Spike back, which I'm not sure can be done...Then what? H-how do we get the visions out of me and into him? Do I just kiss him? It can't be that easy, or else I could just kiss Angel."

"She has a point, Wes. None of our sources seem to know a way to get the visions out of her." Angel agreed.

"Well both instances where the visions have been transferred, the host was near death..." Wes said tentatively.

"So you're suggesting we kill Willow?" Angel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hello? Standing right here. We aren't killing Willow. I-I mean me." She said nervously. "There has to be another way."

"I wasn't suggesting we kill you, I was merely suggesting that it may be possible to mimic death, or something of the sort." He clarified.

"Astral Projection." Willow said quickly.

"Yes, indeed. That could work." Wes nodded his head.

"Astral Projection? How exactly is that done?" Angel asked.

"Well, it's not something to take lightly. But if I can get myself into a deep enough trance, it's possible for me to actually separate my spirit from my body. This would leave my body as kind of an empty shell."

"Just like Cordy was." Angel whispered.

"Exactly. And in that state, she was able to give the visions to me. This can work." Willow said excitedly.

"But what if you can't get back into your body? This could be really risky." Angel told her.

"It is risky. The longer a person's spirit is detached, the harder it is to get back." Willow explained. "I think Cordy was just away too long and couldn't get back. But I can do this. I'll just have to move quickly."

"Well then why don't we just go for it now? Give the visions to me and we'll skip over the whole resurrecting Spike idea." Angel said to them.

"I don't know, Angel. Cordy was pretty specific in saying it was meant to be Spike." Wes told him.

"Well, what difference does it make? Spike and I are both vampires with souls. The only difference is, he's dust and I'm not. I'd say it makes me the more logical choice."

"I don't think Cordelia would tell Willow it had to be Spike, if there was a way to substitute him for you. Perhaps this was his destiny somehow? Perhaps he was never meant to die?" Wes pondered.

Angel thought about that a moment, and then shook his head.

"The amulet. I was supposed to wear the amulet. I was going to, but Buffy said she needed me to be here in case something went wrong. Maybe it was me that was supposed to die in that Hellmouth, not Spike."

"I don't know. If you were meant to die Angel, then who would the visions serve?" Wes reminded him.

"That's a point... But maybe if I was the one who was meant to wear it, it wouldn't have killed me? Maybe Spike only died because it was never his to wear in the first place?"

"That very well could be it." Wes acknowledged. "And perhaps Cordy is trying to make things right somehow. That would make sense."

Angel nodded his head, and realized suddenly that in trying to make things right, Cordelia may have contacted Connor. Maybe she perceived what Angel had done as wrong, and was trying to fix it? He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and tried to concentrate on the matter at hand. It wouldn't do him any good to worry about that now. It was out of his hands.

"If this was the way it was meant to be, then I think we should at least try." Wes said.

"Yeah, I think we should try." Willow agreed.

Angel sighed and looked at them, "Fine. But if he gets back, and he's pissed? I'm blaming you two."

Lilah had heard the buzz around the office. Angel and his team were looking into resurrecting a certain vampire to carry the visions. Which must have meant at least one thing; they knew how to extract the visions out of the girl. That was a feat she had been told was impossible to accomplish. Of course she hadn't been looking to transfer the visions; she merely wanted to destroy them altogether. But if she was somehow able to intercept the transfer, then maybe she could still win this thing.

But in order to get enough information to complete this task, she'd have to show herself again. She had told them all that she had only come back long enough to close this deal, then she was back to being dead again. It hadn't been entirely true. Her very existence depended on closing that deal. She had been given a second chance, and the only way for her to live again, was to bring the AI team on board.

That had been Lilah's goal for the last few years. Only now it was a much more pressing matter. She had moved slowly and very calculated. She knew something this important would take time. But she didn't have the luxury of time anymore. Every attempt she had made in the past to lure Angel onto their side had failed. When Wolfram and Hart had been attacked, Lilah knew that the game as she knew it was over. She'd have to come up with something completely new and original. And then she was killed. That had certainly thrown a wrench into her plans. But not for long. She had come up with something so genius, she had no doubts that it would work. It had to work. Because if it didn't, she'd lose her second chance at life, and this time there would be no coming back.

Wes was sitting in the library at Wolfram and Hart, perusing one of the rare volumes of text. He had been specifically looking for resurrection spells that may help to bring Spike back. So far he had not seen anything that applied to the resurrection of vampires. He was deep in thought and didn't hear the door open.

"Hello Wes." Lilah said with a smile.

He looked up from his book, startled to see her. "Lilah? To what do I owe this honor?"

"Being dead is kind of boring. I thought I'd see what you were up to." She gave him an innocent look.

"Right. You just figured you'd pop in from Hell to see what I was up to?"

"Okay, so that wasn't a very good lie. I'm a little rusty, what with the being dead and all." As she played with the scarf around her neck, she looked at him, "You know once you've been decapitated, you tend to lose your quick wit and charm."

"I wouldn't know."

"No, you wouldn't. But that's okay. As you might have guessed, I'm not here to discuss the pros and cons of losing your head. Literally. I have far more pressing matters."

"Such as?"

"I hear that you're looking to resurrect a vampire to carry those pesky visions." She said as she walked around the desk and sat on top of Wesley's book. "I can help you with that."

"You can? Well, do tell. I'm listening."

"First of all, you're looking in the wrong books. You need a spell to bring back a fallen warrior, not a vampire." She crossed her legs and leaned back onto her hands, giving Wes a sneak peek at what was under her skirt. She saw his eyes dart downward and quickly back up to her face. She smiled at him. "You won't find it in there." She teased him.

Wes cleared his throat and looked deep into her eyes. He was trying very hard to keep his feelings out of this. Lilah was not part of this world anymore. It wouldn't do him any good to get attached to her. Again.

"Well, since you aren't hiding the spell in your panties, would you care to tell me where I might find it?" He asked with a smirk.

"Try looking in the Shadow Book, Volume 3, page 27." She handed him a book that had materialized behind her.

"Fallen warriors...Are you certain this will work on a vampire?" He asked curiously.

"It should. Of course, only if the vampire died as a warrior, which I do believe this one did."

Wes nodded his head as he skimmed over the spell.

"So...since we're all about the sharing of information here, I take it you've found a way to get the visions out of the girl?" She asked casually.

"We have. At least we think we have."

"Care to let me in on that little secret?" She prodded.

He looked at her and tried very hard to remember exactly who she was. She wasn't his girlfriend or his lover or whatever you'd call it, anymore. And she wasn't even his friend. She never had been. He had let his guard down with her several times, letting his heart get in the way of his mind and his better judgment. He cared for her deeply, but he still didn't trust her.

"I'd really rather not share." He said coolly.

"Oh come on, Wes. We're all on the same side here now, remember?"

"I remember."

"So why not tell me? I'm only curious. What do you think I'm going to do? I'm dead, remember?"

"No need to remind me of that." He said reminded of the night he had to finish her off. "If you must know, we believe that if we use Astral Projection, Willow will be able to mimic death long enough to pass the visions on." He finally relented.

Astral Projection...damn, why didn't I think of that? Lilah scolded herself.

She smiled at Wes, "That's a good idea. Think it will work?"

Wes looked at her uncertain, "We'll find out. But first we need the vampire back."

"Right. Well, good luck with that." She hopped off the desk and headed for the door.

"Lilah, wait." Wes stood and walked over towards her.

"What?"

He paused a moment and stared at her. She looked so alive, and so beautiful. So what if she was dead and he didn't trust her? Did any of that really matter? He shook his head slightly, to dispel the thoughts he was having, and then he looked at her.

"It was good to see you again." He said sincerely.

"Likewise." She smiled at him and shut the door behind her.

She stood just on the other side and leaned back against the cool wooden door. She didn't know what she was doing. Every time she thought she could do this, and go back to being the old conniving Lilah, Wes would do or say something so sincere. And then she'd feel guilty for betraying his trust. Maybe she should have just gone straight to Angel? But she had wanted to see Wes again. To talk to him, feel him...God, she wanted to feel him right now. She wanted to feel his lips on hers, his strong arms holding her close to him. As she was sitting before him on the desk, she was so hoping he'd grab her and take her right there on the table.

But of course that didn't happen. He had ended their affair long before she had died. He made it seem that she meant absolutely nothing to him. But she knew that wasn't true. He had tried to burn her contract with Wolfram and Hart. He tried to save her, at least in his eyes. It had been one of those moments when he had done something so amazing, that it made her betrayals to him that much harder to stomach.

I still have to do this...She thought to herself. I just have to take care of this, and then I'm done. I'll be alive again, and then I can start over.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Angel asked Wes skeptically.

"I see no reason why it wouldn't. Spike willingly sacrificed himself to save humanity. I'd say that constitutes a warrior."

"Wes is right. I-I think I can do this." Willow told them.

"Are you sure?" Angel asked.

Willow desperately reached for her confidence. She had performed a spell like this before, not to mention re-ensouling Angel, and activating all the Slayers of the world. She could do this. She had to believe she could do it.

"I can do it. Just get me everything I need, and we'll get started. I see no reason to wait." She said confidently.

Three hours later, the entire gang had assembled in the lobby of the Hyperion. Willow had insisted it be done away from the Wolfram and Hart offices. She had a feeling in her gut that something was amiss there. She didn't share that feeling with anyone, but merely stated she felt more comfortable at the hotel. They didn't question it.

Fred was busy preparing the circle to cast the spell. She had been excited to help Willow again, just like the last time she had been there. Fred knew a fair amount about magic since she'd starting working with Angel, but she was eager to learn more. Willow seemed so confident and to know so much. It intrigued her. And Fred had a tendency to idolize people who she perceived as cooler than her.

Willow caught Fred staring at her and smiling. Fred looked away nervously, and Willow had to wonder if Fred still had a crush on her. Willow had inquired about Fred to Wesley again. This time he had told her that Fred and Gunn had dated for quite some time. That probably meant Fred was not gay, although dating a guy for a long while hadn't meant that in Willow's case. Still, Willow decided it was best to ignore it. Fred could have just been really excited about magic. And even if Fred did have a crush, Willow was already involved with Kennedy.

Kennedy...damn, she had forgotten to call her again. Willow had just been so consumed with everything that was going on, she'd completely spaced out on Kennedy. She then realized she hadn't even so much as given Kennedy a passing thought the last four days. That didn't bode very well, Willow thought to herself.

But even now, she couldn't take the time to think about her. She had a job to do. She had a very important and difficult spell to perform. She couldn't take time out worrying about Kennedy, or wondering if Fred had a crush on her. The whole thing would have to wait.

"Are you ready?" Wes asked Willow.

"I think so. We have everything set up. All the ingredients are here, candles are lit...I'd say I'm as ready as I'll ever be." She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to calm her nerves.

"Then let's do this thing." Angel said not entirely certain that this was a good idea.

The last person he wanted to see again was Spike. But he tried to put away his petty jealousies and the bad blood between them. This was for a good reason. If Angel had been the one who was meant to wear the amulet and not Spike, he supposed he owed it to him to give Spike a second chance. But Angel was having a difficult time grasping a need to owe Spike anything. But he'd have to let that thought go, at least for now.

Everyone gathered in a circle, and held hands tightly. Willow took a deep breath and began to call on the gods.

"God of thunder and of war, hear my pleas. Release this warrior unto us." She chanted powerfully.

"God of lightning and of death, release him." Fred chanted.

"Release his spirit and his soul and deliver him so he may fight again." Wes said his part.

"Deliver him." Angel added.

"Release him." Gunn spoke.

"Return him to the earth so that he may right the wrongs." Willow shouted to the heavens.

The ground beneath them started quaking, and rumbling. A lamp tipped over and shattered. Willow ignored it completely, and kept chanting.

"God of valiance I beseech thee! Return, restore, release!" Willow commanded.

The candles began to flicker, and a red light engulfed Willow. She cried out in pain as the energy swirled around her. Fred began to get nervous, and wondered if they should stop. But Willow was prepared for this. She knew it would not be easy. The red energy dissipated and a bright white light shone from Willow's eyes. It filled the circle with a thick fog. It swirled around, creating a whirlwind inside the lobby. The candles blew out completely, plunging the room into darkness.

All at once the wind stopped howling, and fog began to dissipate. Willow wasn't able to see anything in the darkness, so she fumbled around behind her for a candle. She relit it, and it cast a faint glow in the room.

"Everyone okay?" She asked, glancing at their solemn faces.

"Did it work?" Fred asked anxiously.

Willow directed the candlelight to the center of the circle. It was empty. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She had felt like it worked. She didn't understand what went wrong.

"Maybe we should try again?" Wes offered quietly.

"It's too dangerous. We're not putting Willow at anymore risk. We'll just have to switch to plan B." Angel said seriously.

"Plan B?" Gunn asked.

"Yeah, Willow will just give the visions to me. I don't care if it's not my destiny. We'll make it my destiny. We don't have any other choice."

Fred got up from the circle to find a light switch. One lamp had been broken, but there was another in the far corner of the room. She made her way over slowly trying to rely on the faint glow of Willow's candle, and her familiarity of the room.

"I can try the spell again. I just need a day to recharge. It took a lot out of me." Willow said, refusing to give up hope.

"Exactly. It took a lot out of you, and I don't see any reason to do it again." Angel insisted.

Just then they heard a loud thud coming from Fred's direction.

"Are you okay, Fred?" Angel asked concerned.

"Um, guys? I-I think you should see this." Fred called out to them.

Everyone stood and Willow guided them over to Fred with the light of her candle. They saw Fred sitting on the floor next to something. Willow held the candle down lower and saw that it wasn't a something, it was a someone. It was Spike and he was naked and unconscious.

"Oh my god!" Willow exclaimed surprised but elated. She had felt like a failure, but now she saw that her spell did in fact work. Albeit he didn't end up in the circle as she intended, but there was no reason to be nit-picky.

"That's Spike?" Gunn asked disbelieving.

"That's Spike." Angel said flatly.

Gunn shrugged, "Hmm. I guess I thought he'd be bigger or something."

"He is rather frail looking." Wes agreed.

"But he has a really nice body. I mean, really nice." Fred muttered just a little too enthusiastically. She then appeared flustered, "I said that out loud didn't I?"

Willow registered Fred's interest in Spike's naked body, and figured that answered her question about which way Fred swung. Willow was surprised to feel deflated and disappointed knowing Fred was just nice, and wasn't actually after her romantically. The thought disappeared when Angel broke the silence.

"Can we please stop critiquing Spike's physique? Just because he's small, and sexy," He looked deliberately at Fred, who blushed and looked away. "That doesn't mean he isn't dangerous." Angel assured them.

Everyone nodded their heads but continued to just stand there staring at the unconscious vampire lying at their feet. Suddenly it dawned on Willow that Spike was still naked, and she grabbed a blanket off a chair and covered him with it. Then she walked over and switched on the lamp that Fred had been after. Everyone took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the harsh light.

"So, uh, what next? Is he okay? I mean, he's just laying there." Gunn said, gently poking Spike with his boot.

"He looks dead." Fred agreed.

"He is dead. He's a vampire." Angel reminded her.

"I-I know. But he looks dead, dead. I guess it's just because he's not breathing." She said awkwardly.

"How are we gonna wake him up?" Gunn asked.

"We could try slapping him really hard." Angel offered with a small smirk. He saw everyone look at him, and he shrugged innocently, "What? That's what they do in the movies."

"Right, and you'd get no pleasure out of that at all." Willow said rolling her eyes.

Angel just grinned at her and said nothing.

"We could throw cold water on him. That might work." Fred offered hopefully.

All at once Spike began coughing and sputtering. Everyone took a step back. Spike groaned and curled up into the fetal position.

"Is he okay?" Fred whispered.

"Should we tie him up? What if he's pissed off and tries to kill us all?" Gunn wondered, as he reached over and picked up a stake that had been lying on the table.

"Good point." Wes agreed taking another step back from Spike.

Angel just sighed and walked over closer to where Spike was lying. He bent over and shook him hard.

"Spike? Wake up." He said simply.

All it took was hearing Angel's voice, and Spike sprang up, panting for air he didn't even need. He looked around at everyone with confusion. His vision was blurred and he wasn't able to make out any faces, or his surroundings.

"Where the hell am I?" He asked momentarily frightened.

Angel stepped in front of him and smiled, "Welcome back Spike." Oh, he was going to enjoy this...Angel thought to himself.

"Welcome back?" Spike tried to clear his mind and figure out how he had gotten to this strange place. And why was Angel here? He'd recognize that hulking mass and grating voice anywhere. Surely this must be hell, he thought.

"Spike, are you okay?" Willow asked cautiously.

He turned his head quickly as he recognized Willow's voice.

"Willow?"

"It's me." Willow smiled, trying to be comforting. She bent over and touched his shoulder. Spike shrugged her off and quickly stood to his feet. "Don't touch me. This isn't real. This can't be real."

When he'd stood up, the blanket fell away from him and he stood naked before them. Fred tried to look away, and the men turned their backs, refusing to look at him.

"Aww, man, I really didn't need to see that." Gunn said making a face.

Spike realized suddenly that something seemed off. He glanced down at his naked form and quickly looked up again.

"Okay, help me out here since my eyesight is a little blurry at the moment...but I'm naked, aren't I?"

"As a newborn." Gunn said, with his back still turned.

"Bloody hell." Spike groaned as he fumbled at his feet for the blanket.

Willow saw him struggling to see it, and she quickly reached down and handed it to him. Spike snatched it out of her hands and wrapped it around his waist.

"Why am I here? And where exactly is here?" Spike asked agitatedly.

"You're in LA. And you're here to help me." Angel informed him.

"Bollocks! I'm not helping you do anything." Spike said bitterly. He then looked at Willow, "Did you do this? I was dead wasn't I? Can't you just leave well enough alone, Red?"

"Spike I had to do this, you don't understand." Willow tried to explain.

"You're bloody well right I don't understand. Now put me back where I came from." He demanded.

"Is he always this big of a pain in the ass?" Gunn asked Angel.

"Always. I tried to warn you guys...but no one ever listens to me." Angel sighed.

"No one ever listens to you Angel, because you're a big hulking mass of moron and hair gel." Spike said snidely.

"Oh, like you don't use hair gel." Angel shot back childishly. "At least I don't own stock in Miss Clairol. Looks like you could use a touchup, Spike. Your roots are showing." Angel smirked.

"Oh my god...can we stop with the playground banter? You guys are hundreds of years old, not twelve." Willow grumbled.

"You have no room to complain. This is your fault. You should have just let me be." Spike pointed his finger at her, effectively shutting her up for the time being.

"I tried to tell them that, but I was outnumbered." Angel kept true to his word about not taking the blame for this.

Spike looked at him curiously, "And I suppose you didn't want me back because you cared so much about my feelings, eh?" Spike asked sarcastically.

"Hell no. I just didn't wanna see you again."

Spike just closed his eyes and shook his head. He didn't remember much about what had happened to him, or where he'd been, but he knew it was a better place than this. Any place was better than this.

"If you aren't going to send me back, would someone at least like to explain to me why I'm here?" He said rubbing his eyes.

"It's kind of a long story." Willow said quietly.

"Well, apparently I've got time."

Spike was confused and tired and pissed off. He had died for good this time, or so he'd thought. Now he was back again and didn't know why. He was surrounded by enemies and strangers and nothing seemed to make sense. Suddenly Spike grasped exactly what Buffy had felt when she had come back. It was a lonely, empty, horrid, feeling.

Oh god...Buffy...He thought to himself. Where was she? Did she survive? He looked up at them.

"Where's Buffy?"

"She's not here." Angel said quickly.

"Is she alright? Did she survive?" Spike needed to know.

"Buffy's fine." Angel didn't want to elaborate. He was still entirely uncomfortable knowing that Spike and Buffy had something together.

Spike was relieved to hear she was okay, but he wanted to see for himself.

"Where is she? I wanna see her."

"You can't see her. She's not here." Angel said firmly.

"Well where is she?"

"She's gone. I-I mean not gone, gone. But she's resting. She's trying to have a normal life, Spike. She's safe and she's happy." Willow reassured him.

Spike smiled a little with the knowledge that Buffy was alive and happy. She'd always wanted to be a normal girl, and now she had gotten her wish. He wasn't sure how Buffy could ever live like that, pretending that she didn't know about the darkness all around her. But he knew this was what she strived for and she achieved it. She had been so tired at the end that she had nearly given up all hope. She needed this, and Spike was pleased with the knowledge she had gotten what she wished for.

"Does she know that you were bringing me back?" He asked.

Willow shook her head, "No."

"Good. Don't tell her. I want her to be happy." Spike said with a somber smile.

Angel looked at Spike and couldn't help but see his expression of love for Buffy. And to not want to rush off and find her, meant a great deal. Spike was putting Buffy's happiness above his. He could have told them all to piss off and he could go running to find her and pick up wherever it was they left off. But he had thought better of it. He knew she was happy, and he didn't want to upset that. Maybe Spike really had changed? Angel wasn't sure, but the Spike he knew never would have done something like that. This Spike was going to take a lot of getting used to.