Chapter 25

'Spike!" Angel dove forward and was on his knees beside Spike before Willow could even struggle into a sitting position.

Spike writhed on the pavement a blazing hot fire was licking through his veins, boiling his blood. It felt as though his very muscles and bones were melting. He hissed through his fangs and cried out, unable to do anything other than submit to the pain.

Faith moved swiftly taking up her fighting stance over Willow, her body acting as a shield as she looked around for the witch hunter, but he was nowhere in sight, the street was deserted. Faith frowned and looked again, it didn't make sense to her that the witch hunter would make one attempt at taking out Willow, accidentally hit a vampire instead and then disappear. Still, he was not in the street, and Faith could only presume therefore that he had gone.

She didn't have much time to contemplate it Willow was shoving her out of the way and crawling on her hands and knees to Spike's squirming form. "Spike," Willow leant over him, her hands touching, grasping, shaking him uselessly. "Spike!" Tears coloured her voice and Willow fought hard not to give into the hysteria that was threatening to consume her as pain was quite evidently consuming Spike.

"We have to get him out of the street," Faith said looking around desperately for some kind of inspiration as to how they were going to do that; he was thrashing about too much for her and Angel to carry him.

Angel dug about in his pocket and produced his cell phone. "Call someone,' he tossed the phone to her, his hands fluttering over Spike just as uselessly as Willow's were. He was at a loss as to what to do to ease Spike's pain.

Faith dialled the house and shifted from foot to foot as she waited for someone to answer. Luckily for her it was Anya who picked up and Faith's words tripped over themselves as she explained what had happened. "We need someone to come and get us, we need to get Spike home."

"Leave it to me," Anya said. "Just try and keep him still."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know what he's been hit with, but it's a general rule that poison moves through the body much quicker if the person is screaming and moving around a lot. I heard from Xander that there are some poisons that can kill a vampire."

Faith glanced at Angel and flushed guiltily, she remembered infecting Angel with the poison that had almost killed him. "Yeah, there are." She looked at Spike and winced when he screamed again and bucked off the sidewalk. "For God's sake Angel, keep him still!"

Angel was surprised by the sharp tone but automatically carried out her instructions, placing his hands on Spike's shoulders and pushing down hard.

"Spike? Can you hear me, Spike?" Willow leant close to his face, smoothing his bumpy forehead gently, silently urging him to open his eyes and look at her, to know that she was going to help him, do everything in her power to stop the agony that racked his body. "It's ok," she whispered against his ear. "It's going to be ok, baby."

Angel's eyebrows drew together in a small frown as he watched Willow with Spike, her heart was on her face for anyone to see and it unsettled and worried him. The last thing he wanted was for Willow to fall apart because of Spike and his silver tongued lies.

"Anya's on her way," Faith said ending the call and scrolling through the phone book with clumsy thumbs.

Willow simply nodded, she didn't take her eyes off Spike and it didn't occur to her that Anya didn't have a licence and Xander couldn't drive with a broken arm.

"What are you doing now?" Angel couldn't give her his complete attention when Spike was straining wildly against his hands. "I could do with some help over here."

"I am helping. I'm calling Wes."

Angel nodded his agreement and grit his teeth as he shoved harder at Spike's shoulders. If anyone would know what to do it would be Wes.

"Angel Investigations we help the helpless," Cordelia trilled down the phone.

"Wes, I need Wes!" Faith didn't think to say who was calling but Cordelia recognised her voice straight away.

"Wes! Faith's on the phone! So, what's the problem?"

"Wes," Faith said again. "I need Wes."

Cordelia frowned worriedly as she handed the phone straight to Wesley when he came out of the kitchen in answer to her shout. "Faith?"

"I need your help, Wes, something's happened to Spike."

"Calm down and speak slowly, Faith." Wesley listened carefully as Faith recounted the evening's events. She forced herself to remain calm which was difficult when Spike's cries grated on her nerves and set her teeth on edge.

"Well?" Faith prompted. "Any ideas? Anya seemed to think it might be some sort of poison that affects vampires."

"Could be," Wesley agreed slowly. "But I doubt it, the witch hunter wasn't aiming for Spike it wasn't a vampire he was trying to take down, it was a witch."

"So you don't think he's dying?"

Willow sucked in a sharp breath and shook her head violently. "No! No he's not dying!"

Faith stared at Willow, her green eyes were dark with worry and her face was strained. "We don't know what's happening to him," she pointed out calmly.

"He's not dying!" Willow's voice was bordering on hysterical but she still managed to contain it. "Don't you think I'd know if he were dying, don't you think I'd feel it?" She turned away from Faith and returned to making soothing sounds to Spike and stroking his hair.

Angel was staring at Willow too, he was officially worried about her and her attachment to Spike. When Spike was better, he was going to kill him! And what did it say about him that he was hoping against hope that it wasn't poison Spike was battling, the kind that could only be combated with slayer blood; Angel really didn't like the idea of Spike drinking from Faith, tasting the blood that haunted his dreams and taunted his demon.

Faith was so stunned at Willow's outburst that she missed what Wesley was saying. "What? Say that again, Wes."

Wesley sighed heavily down the phone. "Pay attention, Faith. I asked if he was hot."

"I don't know. Is he hot?" she asked Angel.

"Yeah, boiling."

Faith confirmed Angel's answer to Wesley, a knot of anxiety tightening in the pit of her stomach. Spike may be a vampire, he may still be evil and only help the good guys because of the chip, but she didn't want anything to happen to him, he had been her ally since she had driven back from L.A. with him and she felt a strange sort of kinship with him. They had both put the Scooby gang through hell in their time, they had both been outsiders and they were both trying to find their place within Sunnydale.

"Ah," Wesley spoke slowly. "Keep him still and keep him cool. "

"Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"Possibly. I want to do a little research first."

"Call us as soon as you can." Faith hung up just as a car screeched to a halt beside them with Anya behind the wheel. She got out and stood on the curb observing Spike with a critical air.

"It doesn't look good."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Never mind that, help us get him in the car."

"Angel's place is closer, it's probably best to take him there," Anya said as she opened the back door. "We need to secure him as soon as possible for his own sake."

"Secure him?" Willow echoed, holding Spike's head gently in her hands as Faith and Angel lifted him up.

"Tie him down and stop him from moving. It's best to keep him as still as possible until we know exactly what's happening."

"Don't you have any ideas, Anya?" It was inconceivable to Willow that neither Angel or Anya could even hazard a guess as to what was happening to Spike, they'd been around for years and years. She conveniently forgot that whenever anything happened in Sunnydale either Angel or Anya automatically knew what it was, there was always research to be done. But now she didn't want to research she just wanted an answer and a solution so she could make Spike better.

"I need to do some research first, I don't want to make the wrong assumption and make things worse."

Spike's screams had not subsided, he just made a continuous sound of agony that tore at Willow and made her heart ache. "Worse?" she exclaimed staring stupidly at Anya. "How can it be worse?"

"Trying to cure the wrong thing could kill him," Anya said simply. "That would make it worse."

Willow had no response to that and climbed into the passenger side turning onto her knees on the seat so that she could watch Spike and hold his hand.

"Good God," Faith grunted as she heaved Spike into the back of the car. "He's like a worm on a hook."

"A worm on a hook having a seizure," Anya added as she slid back into the driver's seat. "All aboard?"

"Let's get going." Angel wrapped an arm around Spike's neck, fitting the crook of his elbow into Spike's throat to keep a firm hold on him.

Anya touched the steering wheel with both hands and in a clear voice she gave Angel's address and the car started to move. "Faster!" She shouted irritably and the car lurched forward the engine gunning and picking up speed.

"Anya?" Faith raised a concerned eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Well Xander's the only one who can drive and he's got a broken arm, so Tara did a spell that would let me control the car while it drove itself. It was the only way to get here. I tell it where I want to go and it goes there. Good huh?"

"Yeah," Faith looked impressed and pressed down on Spike's legs with her arms. "I think I should have sat on him; that might have been easier."

Willow grasped Spike's hand in both of hers and squeezed his fingers gently. "Just hold on Spike, Wesley is going to find a way to make you better. You won't be in pain much longer I promise."

Anya turned to look at Willow but Willow took no notice of her, she took no notice of Angel or Faith either, she only had eyes for Spike. Anya managed to catch Faith's eye and gave her a questioning look but Faith dropped her eyes to Spike and chose to ignore it. So far as Anya was concerned, that said it all.

They arrived in Crawford Street in record time with Anya continually demanding that the car go faster. Angel took charge as soon as they stopped outside the mansion. "Anya, go to the basement, there are some chains down there we can use to secure him. Willow, get the door, Faith, help me with him."

"Be careful, be gentle with him!" Willow instructed as she ran up the driveway. She fumbled with Angel's keys, her hands shaking so badly that she dropped them on the floor. She blinked in surprise when Anya's hands, cool and steady curled around hers and took the keys from her.

"I'll do it, we need to get inside sometime this year."

Directing Anya to the basement Willow scurried up the stairs switching the lights on to help guide Faith and Angel up to her room, she wet a cloth in the bathroom and fluffed up the pillows as Faith and Angel brought Spike through the door. Willow clenched her teeth together her eyes shutting tightly, he sounded like a dying animal and she couldn't stand it.

Once Spike was deposited on the bed Willow went to work unlacing his boots with thick, clumsy fingers that trembled and removing his duster to try and make him a little more comfortable.

"What about his top?" Faith suggested. "If Wes said to keep him cool maybe it's best to take that off too?"

Willow struggled with Spike's flailing arms and squirming body but she managed to get his top off him and placed the wet cloth over his chest. She frowned down at him and placed her palm flat to his chest. "He's cool."

"Is he?" Angel stepped up to the bed. "But his shoulders were burning a minute ago."

When Anya arrived in the room with the chains it was to see Willow, Faith and Angel patting Spike all over and making confused exclamations of hot or cool. "What are you doing?"

"His back and his shoulders and his one arm are burning but the rest of him is normal vampire temperature," Faith explained puzzled. "I'd better call Wes and tell him."

Angel took the chains from Anya and clamped them around Spike's wrists and ankles. He proceeded to fasten them to the head board and around the legs at the bottom of the bed being sure to leave enough give that Spike was comfortable but not so much that he could move around. Spike hissed and growled and made an unidentified pain-filled noise as he tugged and strained against his bonds.

"Oh!" Willow cried out horrified, the smooth skin of Spike's shoulder was beginning to blister. Gently she tilted his body as much as she could to see his back. It was blistering as well and it looked as painful as it sounded.

'What the hell!" Angel exclaimed as he and Anya came to stand by the bed and examine Spike's back.

"Turn him over!" Willow begged tearfully. "He can't lie on his back it'll hurt him. Turn him over, Angel quickly!"

Anya pushed Willow out of the way to assist Angel in rolling Spike onto his stomach. Fat lot of good Willow was turning out to be, Anya thought crossly. Spike needed those around him to stay calm, to keep their heads to be able to help him not turn into crying, gibbering wrecks like Willow was.

Willow wiped at the tears that stained her cheeks and quickly took up residence again at Spike's side, her hand clasping his, brushing her lips over his knuckles. Then again, Anya couldn't say that she wouldn't behave in the exact same way if it was Xander lying on the bed in total agony. You never could say exactly what your reaction would be to seeing someone you love in so much pain.

"Wes, we've got an update for you," Faith said as soon as Wesley's voice sounded on the other end of the phone.

"Oh good," Wesley sat up further in his chair. "What's happened now?"

"Only part of him is burning hot, Wes. His back, and shoulders and his one arm and his skin is blistering the rest of his body is normal. That's good right? It means that he's getting better, right? "

"No," Wesley said with a heavy sigh. "That's not what it means, but the good news is that we still have time."

"Time?" Faith echoed dully. "Not getting better? What's going on, Wes? What is it?"

"I believe that he's been hit with a controlled fire ball…."

"What's a controlled fire ball?"

Wesley pursed his lips crossly, he had never understood everyone's need to interrupt him during is explanation's, if they just kept quiet he would answer all of their questions at once. "It's a ball of fire that releases its flames slowly. That's why he's screaming, the flames are detaching themselves from the ball a bit at a time and moving slowly through his blood stream. That's why only part of him is hot and blistering it's an indication as to where the flames are in his body; he's burning, Faith, from the inside."

Faith paled and her fingers clutched tighter to the phone. Glancing at Willow who was stroking Spike's shoulder with the damp cloth she tip toed out of the room into the hallway, whatever Wes was going to say wasn't something that Willow needed to hear right now.

"I thought fire killed vamps?" she whispered moving down to the stair well away from Willow.

"It does," Wesley agreed. "Providing it hits the heart." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair with agitation. "Faith, the fire in Spike's veins will eventually reach his heart and that will kill him."

"How do we stop it?" Faith's shoulders squared ready for battle, ready to do what had to be done to save Spike.

"I don't know," Wesley admitted.

"Well you'd better get researching. I'll get the others on to it here too, we need to find the cure to this thing and fast."

"I'll call as soon as I know anything," Wesley promised and hung up.

Sighing heavily Faith turned round to go back to the bedroom, startled to find both Angel and Anya standing there staring at her.

"It's not good, is it?" Anya asked, although she already suspected she knew the answer to that.

"We need to get researching," Faith said firmly, "Spike's on borrowed time."

Angel's heart dropped. He had fought with Spike before, they had tried to kill each other in the past; but now being face to face with the possibility that something could actually happen to Spike, Angel found that he didn't like it, not one little bit.