A/N Wow, has it really been over a year? So sorry about that. I'm back for a while though, and I've just recently found the motivation to work on this again. I've missed the Buffyverse so much and I'm glad to be back for a bit. So here's the next chapter and I'll be working on another one very soon, if anyone is still interested!

"Oy Watcher, how goes it?"

For a moment Giles forgot how to speak. He might have thought it was a prank, but he knew that voice, would have no trouble discerning it's owner even if it had been fifty years since he'd heard it. Still, his reply came out in the form of a question.

"Spike?"

"In the flesh, how may other badass British vamps you know?"

"None"

"Exactly, one of a kind mate."

"But…..but…. How? Are you alive?"

"Alive? Now that's a tricky question. Let's just say I'm undead, yet again."

"Buffy saw you in flames, Spike. There was a crater. As resourceful as you are, even you couldn't have survived that."

"Some mojo in the amulet, can we just go with the condensed version?"

"I'd rather have a full account of everything that occurred, Spike."

"I promise that you'll get to fill your diaries with the epic tale of the vamp who just wouldn't stay dead, but for now, let's just say I spent some time haunting the halls of Wolfram and Hart before becoming a real boy again. Now that things here are under control, I'm looking for employment. I'd also like to see the Bit, possibly even talk to Andrew again, and if he's around, I'd even consider sparring with Droopy. Only because it's been a while since I've been able to beat him really good."

Giles was itching for the full story, but he knew he'd be hard pressed to drag it out of Spike over the phone. He was reluctant to ask Spike to come see him, he didn't know how Buffy would react, and it was obvious that Spike had left her name out purposely. The vampire was probably hoping to awe her with his reappearance. He could just see Spike using the fallen hero bit to worm his way back into the poor girl's heart.

"Spike, Buffy needs to know you're back, but I won't allow you to just pop back into her life without warning. It took a great deal of time on her part to get over your death. I can't imagine that seeing you without warning would be easy for her."

"Who said anything about me seeing Buffy?"

"Oh come off it, Spike. I'm aware of your infatuation, and while I was against it at first, you have certainly proven yourself. I'm not saying you can't see her, just that it would be easier if someone else broke the news to her first."

"Rupert, was a time that I loved her very much. Suppose I still love her, just not like I used to think I did. Actually I was hoping for someone else to talk to her. Thought you or Red might do that for me."

"Oh, poor Willow. I can't believe I'd forgotten."

"What about her?"

"Willow found it rather difficult to deal with your death as well. She tried so hard to hide it, and honestly if it hadn't been for the late night calls from Kennedy, I would've never known. She used to have horrible nightmares about you. It was so hard on her losing Tara, then we lost so many in that last battle… We knew going in that not all of us would survive, but losing you… Well, we just never expected that you would be one we'd leave behind."

The first call Giles got from Kennedy had upset him greatly. Kennedy had been hysterical. She'd been certain that there had been more than reluctant friendship between her lover and the vampire. Apparently Willow had been muttering some rather questionable nonsense before screaming for Spike. He'd reasoned with himself and the young girl, explaining the losses the poor witch had suffered over the years, the bonds that had been formed over midnight research, vampire dust, and demon gore. He'd explained how one cannot control the nature of one's dreams, and how dreams are often abstract views on one's life and relationships. Willow had cared for Spike, truly they all had in one way or another, but there had been nothing but tentative friendship between them. He still wasn't sure Kennedy had been convinced.

"The Slayer did. I could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice, feel it every time she touched me after handing me that godforsaken pendant. She knew I wasn't coming out, so did I, I guess. I can't fault her for that, did what we had to, and that's ok. I don't want to make life harder on her. She's a good woman and if I could get by with never telling her, I would, but considering the circumstances, I just don't think that's a viable option."

"What circumstances, Spike? I wouldn't be opposed to placing you within employment of the Council and doing it in a discrete manner. I hate to keep things from her, but maybe this would be best kept between us."

"Don't think that's going to cut it, mate."

Giles started to ask Spike to explain, yet again, when the line was suddenly muffled. He could hear voices, but not make out words, one of those voices was Spike, the other was decidedly female. The conversation lasted only a few moments before he heard rustling indicative of the phone being passed to someone else.

"Hey, Giles. How are you?"

He couldn't believe it. He'd expected… Well, anyone aside from her really.

"Willow."

"Hey, Giles. Surprise?" Indeed it was.

"What are you doing with Spike, Willow?" He couldn't help but think that her answer had better be good and confirm none of the suspicions he was starting to have.

"Staying here with him to help out with Angel?" She was nervous, she always answered in questions when she was.

"Are you testing that answer for credibility? Or, are you informing me that Angel and Spike required your assistance?"

"Ok, look, Giles, I thought Spike and Angel needed my help. Andrew said there was some big, bad mojo going on in L.A., mojo that you wouldn't help them with. So, as soon as I knew I was needed and that Spike was alive, I beamed here as quick as I could. Turns out it was all over and pretty much everyone is dead. You could have stopped that, by the way. Or I could have if you'd just told me about it. Anyway, Angel was quite distraught over losing his friends and Spike needed help taking care of him, so here I am. Well, there's more to it than that, of course, but you'll have to wait to get the full story, I don't want to tell you before everyone else. I figure everyone will want to see Spike, so I thought we could arrange a Scooby reunion, how long has it been since we were all together?"

She really did have a knack for babbling. Giles got caught up in her story but was nicely redirected and diverted at the end.

"Well, I suppose it has been a while since any of us have taken a sabbatical…"

"Yeah, and even longer since we all took one together. Why don't we round everybody up for a trip to L.A.?"

"I think we could do that, but I'll need a promise from each of you for full disclosure once I'm there. Can you promise me that?"

"Absolutely, Giles. You get in touch with everyone but Buffy. Let me call her, ok?" He didn't have any qualms about agreeing to that.

"Most certainly. I'll talk to you in a couple days," He knew it was coming, he still had difficulty saying it first, but since Sunnydale, he never passed up an opportunity to respond.

"I love you, Giles."

"I love you too, Willow. Take care of yourself."

"You too."

He gently cradled the phone and allowed himself a moment to imagine having all his children surrounding him again. Yes, a vacation sounded perfect.