A/N….This chapter has NOT been beted yet. I'm leaving for DragonCon in the morning but wanted to make sure I got this chapter out to you. I'll fix all the mistakes when I get back.

~*~Zarrah~*~

A Glimpse of Heaven

Chapter 26

Willow chewed on her fingernails as she, Xander and Jesse all stared over at Angel and his friends. She had filled the two boys in on what was going on and they had all seen Spike follow Buffy down the hall and knew that any minute things could get ugly.

"There's no doubt in my mind that they were the ones who beat up Spike," Xander said, breaking the silence around them. "I know Spike has denied it, but come on…"

"I'm with you man," Jesse chimed in. "Those jerks aren't nearly as smooth as they think they are."

"Come on guys," Willow said, rolling her eyes. "This isn't about them. It's about Buffy and Spike. We're here for support only."

"Yeah, but what happens when support isn't enough?" Xander asked, turning his head to look at her. "If those guys start something what are we suppose to do? Apologize and run off with our tails tucked between our legs?"

"Well no, we try to talk to them and run if we have to."

Xander and Jesse both looked at her with wide eyes before they busted out laughing. Willow stared at them both before shaking her head and sighing heavily. "Spike, whatever you're doing, make it fast." she thought before closing her eyes and saying a silent prayer.

Spike pulled back from Buffy with a gasp, sucking in large amounts of air as Buffy continued to attack his lips. He had her pinned against the wall and his lips felt three sizes bigger than they should be. Iit took everything in him not to get lost in her.

As much as he wanted to continued their little snog fest, he knew something was wrong. Buffy would never be so aggressive, especially given their past differences and the more she pulled on him and her moans became louder the more concerned he became. Reaching up, he grabbed her arms from around his neck and took a step back from her.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked after opening her eyes when she lost contact with him.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Spike told her, panting hard for breath as he held her at arms length. "Something's not right here Buffy."

"Are you scared?" Buffy grinned. "Poor little Spikey is scared of little ole' me?"

Spike watched her laugh almost hysterically and knew something was definitely wrong with her. Reaching up, he grabbed her chin, lifting her head and looked at her face. He sighed heavily before closing his eyes briefly as his anger set in. "Buffy, have you been drinking?"

Buffy finally got her laughter under control but her smile was still huge as she nodded her head. "I had a coke," she said with more enthusiasm than needed. "But it was only diet. The real stuff makes my ass wide!"

"I see," Spike said before looking into her eyes. "Have you had anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Drugs?" Spike asked point blank and could tell by the shocked look on her face what she was going to say.

"NO!" Buffy practically screamed. "Drugs are bad."

"Yes, they are," Spike said before he looked down the hall, watching the throng of people dancing on the crowded dance floor before looking back at Buffy. She was already dancing again and her eyes were glazed over and distant. She may not have knowingly taken drugs, but he assumed that was what had happened. Grabbing her by the arm, he turned them and started leading her down the hall.

"Are we going to dance?" Buffy asked as she saw the dance floor and it took all the strength Spike had to turn her and head her in the direction of Willow and the guys. "No, afraid not pet."

"But I want to dance," Buffy whined as Spike led her away.

"You can dance later." Spike was greeted by Xander, Jesse and Willow as he made his way to the pool tables with Buffy and the questioning looks on their faces were laced with the same concerns he now had.

"What's going on?" Willow asked concerned as she saw the hardened lines on Spike face and the way Buffy was acting.

"I think you need to take her home," Spike said, pushing Buffy ahead of him slightly and into Willow grasp. "Take her to your house though. She can't go home like this."

"What's wrong with her?" Willow asked, more concerned now as Buffy began dancing again and not really paying any attention to what was going on around her.

"I think she's been drugged," Spike told them before looking over toward Angel's table.

"Well that explains a lot," Xander said, following Spike's line of sight and looking at Angel and his buddies. "What are we going to do?"

Willow looked at the guys and glanced briefly over at Angel before she reached out and took Buffy's arm. "Come on Buffy, we need to go," she told her before looking back at Spike. "You're not going to do something stupid, are you?"

"No, not at all red," Spike answered her as he kept his eyes trained on Angel.

Willow wasn't stupid, and not that she blamed him, but she knew Buffy wouldn't want this. No matter what, Buffy wouldn't want any of her friends getting hurt, especially over her. "Spike, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, you might want to think about what Buffy's going to think when she's herself again."

"Well, that's more thinking than I feel up to at the moment," Spike told her, finally turning his head to look at her. "Look, just take Buffy back to your house. Xander, go with them and make sure they make it okay. I'm just going to go have a little chat with Angel and his boys."

"I don't think so Spike," Xander told him, coming to stand beside him. "We all know what happened to you last week was the result of Angel and there's no way I'm letting you walk back into that again alone."

"Me either," Jesse said, smiling and offering his support.

"Alright, the male posturing thing is just childish. Buffy wouldn't want any of this," Willow told them, glaring at the three boys with daggers in her eyes. "What she would want, is for all three of you to help her home and let it go. Especially you Spike."

Spike turned to face her and caught Buffy's eye. He almost felt his blood boil just from looking at her knowing full and well what Angel had done and more importantly why. There was no way he could just let that go, could he? Sighing heavily, he closed the distance between Buffy and himself and smiled as she looked up at him. "Buffy, we're going to take you to Willow's, okay?"

"Why?"

"So you can get some sleep," Spike told her, smiling slightly as she started to pout.

"Oh! A pajama party?" Buffy squealed delighted as her mood shifted instantly.

"Something like that, yeah," Spike grinned at her enthusiasm.

"Oh, we're going to have so much fun!" Buffy laughed. "We can paint our toenails and talk about boy stuff."

Spike couldn't help but laugh at her as she began to bounce on her feet and started rambling off to Willow all the things they needed. He didn't like the idea of just letting Angel go and not making him pay for what he had done, but knew Willow was right. Buffy wouldn't want any of them getting hurt. Her reaction to his last beating was enough to show she cared and she didn't even know the circumstances around that particular incidence. If they were to get into it now, hard telling what she'd do.

Spike watched Willow guide Buffy to the door before he followed them and couldn't help chuckling at the things Buffy was saying. Although the drugs in her system were bad, the things coming out of her mouth were almost too funny not to laugh at. As he caught Xander's eye, he noticed the big grin on his friends face and knew he was having the same problem.

"Going somewhere?"

Spike stopped and turned at his voice and almost danced for joy when he saw Angel. No way would Buffy be mad if Angel started it. "Home," he answered him, smiling slightly.

"Well, you do look a little worse for wear Spike. It's probably a good idea. Although, I don't believe you'll be leaving with my girl," Angel grinned. "Come on Buffy, nights still young."

"Angel!" Buffy shrieked when she turned and saw him. "We're having a party. You wanna come?"

"That was the plan," one of Angel's friends mumbled before the rest of the group laughed.

Spike clenched his jaw when he heard him and turned his head toward Willow and motioned for her to keep going. When he saw Willow trying to pull Buffy away, he turned back to face Angel. "You know peaches, I figured you for the type of guy who could get it from just about anyone. I guess now we know the rumors are true. Only way you get any action is by force."

Angel grinned, staring at Spike before taking a few steps toward him. "I really thought our last talk would be enough for you," he said before glancing over his shoulder at his friends. "I guess I'll just have to make myself clearer this time."

"Well, at least this time, it'll be a more fair fight."

Spike looked over to his left when Xander spoke up and was surprised to see him staring at Angel and twirling a cue stick in his hand. He lifted one scared brow at him before looking over at Jesse and saw him ready for the action as well. With a shrug of his shoulders, he grinned and turned back to Angel.

Willow had stopped at the door and her heart was racing in her chest. She had both hands gripping Buffy's arms and her eyes were huge as she watched what she knew was going to turn into an ugly fight play out in front of her. Holding Buffy still, she took a deep breath before turning to the door. As much as she wanted to stay and make sure the guys were okay, she couldn't watch it. She couldn't watch them get hurt. "Come on Buffy, we need to get out of here, like now."

"But what about the party?" Buffy asked as Willow started leading her away. "I thought the guys were going to go too?"

"Not this time, come on," Willow said, practically dragging her away. Buffy's resistance made Willow look back and she wish she hadn't. At that moment, she saw Angel and his buddies burst into laughter seconds before Spike threw the first punch, landing a hard left against the side of Angel's head. As everyone's laughter abruptly died down, angry shouts echoed over the music in the club and the punches flew.

To Be Continued……