An- Hey everyone, sorry for the lateness!!! Thanks for all being such good sports and continuing to read! The reviews are mucho appreciated :)

Hani xXx

Chappie 10

Spike awoke an hour later. Angel was still sitting by him, although his eyes were on the TV. He stared blankly at the screen, not really paying any attention to it. Spike gave a sigh, and it hurt his throat, causing him to choke a little. Angel turned at the noise, and moved over swiftly, to check on Spike.

"Lie still." he said darkly, holding the younger vampire down, "Spike." he warned as the younger vampire tried to move.

Spike stopped moving and blinked up at Angel. He tired to speak, but it hurt too much. He began to wish he'd not been so liberal with the slicing.

"You idiot. What have you done to yourself?" Angel said, lifting a glass of cool blood and holding it to Spike's mouth, "Stupid boy."

Spike frowned and turned his head away from the glass.

"Oh no," Angel said, forcing Spike to face him, "You will drink this. And you will tell me what the hell you were thinking cutting yourself up like that." Angel watched Spike's face carefully, watched all the expressions of rage and anger wash over his thin features. And he knew, with some relief, that it was Spike in there; there was no damage... No mental damage, anyway.

There was no alternative. Spike did not really want to gulp down a glass of cold, thickening pig blood, but if it was that or get squashed by Angel, he'd take the blood. He just wasn't in the mood to get thrashed, right now. He took a sip and it was like swallowing broken glass. He grimaced, his head jerking back a little. Angel pushed the glass to his lips again, spilling some blood onto Spike's bare chest. It ran down his too pale skin, leaving a red trail down his too visible rib-cage.

Spike suddenly became aware that he had no clothes on, other than the strategically placed towel. "Where are my clothes?" he thought, but his train of thought was interuppted by more blood getting forced into his mouth. He took large painful gulps, finishing the glass. His throat was on fire, he lifted a hand to it and came away with blood. Cold blood. It was the blood he'd just drank.

"You cut yourself pretty deep." Angel said, watching Spike stare at his hand, "You've barely healed at all."

Spike inspected his wrists. The cuts looked angry and fresh. He'd been unconscious for some time, surely the air should have dried up the blood?

Angel grabbed one of Spike's wrists and held it firmly, "Why did you do this?"

Spike just glared at him, how could he answer?

Angel scowled, standing up,still clutching Spike's bleeding wrist.

"You have no idea how lucky you are, do you?" Angel demanded.

Spike rolled his eyes, why is it, when you can't speak, people keep asking you bloody questions?

Angel glared at him; insolent Childe. He grabbed Spike by the shoulder, dropping his wrist, and began shaking him violently.

"What the hell did you do?" he growled.

Spike couldn't stop him. Everything hurt with every shake,the world began to darken.

"Angel! What are you doing?" Buffy demanded, walking in to the scene. She pulled her ex-lover off of the other vampire, "Why are you assaulting him?"

Angel stood, stooping slightly, turning away from Buffy and Spike.

"I lost my temper." he mumbled, walking for the door.

Buffy looked down at Spike who was clutching his ripped throat, his eyes closed tight in pain. The Slayer shook her head, taking a look at Spike's slit wrists and torso.

"Spike."

Spike looked up, one hand still on his throat.

"He's just worried," the slayer said, not really knowing what to say.

Spike gave her a smirk; a shadow of the usual one.

Buffy nodded, walking away. She so did not want to deal with this right now.

Spike had began to heal. His throat was still scarred, but he could speak, now. Angel had avoided him since the little shaking incident, and Spike told himself to be glad about it... But some small, awful part of him, kept wondering if Angel would comeback through the door. Spike shrugged that annoying little part away, but it didn't want to seem to budge.

Giles entered the room with two mugs.

"I brought you some blood." he said, handing Spike a mug and sitting himself down opposite him.

"How unusual and new." Spike said darkly, taking a sip regardless. He was stronger now, able to sit up. It had been a relief to not have to be helped anymore. He'd even managed to get his jeans on.

Giles took a sip from his own mug, which contained tea.

"You don't have anything stronger?"Spike asked, resting the mug on his knee.

"No, I'm afraid not." Giles said, "Spike, I really must insist that you tell me why."

"Why what?" Spike asked, putting on his best 'blissfully ignorant' face.

Giles put the mug down onto the small table and leaned forward on his knees, "You know very well 'what'," he said, "tell me why you thought it necessary to go slicing yourself up."

Spike pursed his lips, then decided to answer, "Yeah, ok, I'll tell you." he said, also putting his mug onto the table, "If you agree to let me go."

Giles frowned, "Let you go? Spike, you're not a prisoner."

"No, I'm an inpatient, and I don't really want to be, so let me go."

"We plan to," Giles informed him, "when you're ready."

"Well, I'm bloody ready." Spike said, meeting the Watcher's gaze steadily.

"Spike, you're clearly not ready to be on your own." Giles said.

Spike raised an eyebrow, "And what makes you say that?"

Giles shook his head in despair, "My dear boy, we just found you slicing yourself up in the bathroom!"

"Well, I had to, didn't I?" Spike said, getting exasperated.

Giles blinked, intrigued once again. "Why?"
Spike sighed and lifted the blood, taking a sip. "I needed to do it, so I would heal."

Giles frowned, "You needed to bleed yourself, so that you would heal?"

Spike nodded, "Yeah." He ran a had over his jean pockets, searching for cigarettes, "Where are my smokes?" he asked, a frown creasing his features.

Giles shrugged, "I belive they took away most of the contents of your coat in the Initiative."

The vampire groaned, "Bloody typical."

The watcher looked at him, willing him to continue his explanation. Spike caught his gaze, "Oh, right, yeah... I... there was stuff-"

"Stuff?" The older Englishman asked, frowning.

"Drugs, toxins and the likes, still there... in me." Spike shrugged, "They were stopping me healing."

"That's why you were so weak." Angel said, entering the room slowly.

Spike looked up at him and nodded, "Needed to get it all out, so's I could heal up,right?"

"But why didn't you say anything?" Giles asked.

Spike frowned, "'Excuse me, Slayer, would you loan me a knife so I can go get rid of some poison?' Yeah, that would work."

Giles shook his head. "He really is unbearable, isn't he?" he said, over Spike's head to Angel. Angel nodded,

"Yes, it's a talent."

Spike scowled, "Now, that we've established that I'm not suicidal, can I go now?"

"No." Angel said, "Not yet."

Spike glared at him, "Why the hell not? You planning on trying some surgery yourself?"

"Because you're still sick, Spike. You can't look after yourself."

"I'm not sick. This isn't some bloody flu." he stood up, shaking off the fuzzy feeling that came over him, "They left me. Left me in that bloody torture chamber!" he said, pointing at Giles.

Angel stepped forward and pushed the younger vampire back onto the sofa, "No one left you." he assured him, trying to calm him down.

Spike pulled back away form Angel's fussing, "Sod off." he said. Angel frowned and stepped back.

"Buffy didn't leave you there, Spike. The arrangement was three days."

"Three days." Spike scoffed, folding his arms, "Felt like three bloody weeks."

"Yes, well, we didn't exaclty know what we were signing up for-"

Spike sat up angrily, "You didn't sign up for anything, Rupert. No, I was the one who was signed up; I was the one getting cut up. Me! Taking out things that they have no right to. Putting in things..."

"If we hadn't taken you back in there, Buffy would have had to stake you." Giles pointed out, giving Angel a worried glance at Spike's obvious hysteria.

Spike made to say something, then changed his mind, and pushed himself onto his feet, "Out of my way." he said.

"Where are you going?" Angel demanded.

Spike took a breath and faced the other men, "My crypt." he said, "Get away from you and yours." he lifted his duster and walked carefully for the door. He could pass out at home, passing out now would not be good.

Maggie Walsh nodded to the guards as she entered the holding bay. Show courtesy to your troops, that was her moto... Except for drugging them and using them for her own means...

She opened the door to the human section, a private set of cells for those found in cahoots with subterrestials.

"Monika, Monika." the professor said, shaking her head, "You are a disappointment."

Monika stood up from the cell bunk, blinking back her tears and faced her jailor.