Spike doubled over and looked around him. He was starting to panic at all the unfamiliar faces. "What…. what…."

"What the hell are you doing here, Spike?" Harmony snapped.

"Harmony, please." Wesley said.

"This is Spike?" Gunn asked. "The Spike?"

"Wait a minute." Fred said. "Who's…."

"Easy, slim." Lorne soothed. "Easy. No one's gonna hurt you."

"Speak for yourself, green jeans." Gunn said.

"Ok, would somebody please tell me who…." Fred started.

"William the Bloody. He's a vampire. One of the worst recorded." Wesley said. "Second only to…."

"Me." Angel said, causing Spike to turn on him. "But you're dead."

"Well, yeah. Who here isn't?" Harmony said.

Buffy ignored her as she moved towards Spike. "Spike?"
Spike turned to her and he moved to hug her tightly. Instead, he went right through her. Buffy turned to see Spike standing inside her and Angel's large desk. "Bugger. What? What's happened to me?"

"Well, I'm no doctor, but I think you're a ghost." Harmony said.

"I'm no…. I'm no bloody ghost."

"Hey, you're the one sticking out of a desk, pal. And you can't talk to me like that. We're not going out anymore."

"Where'd he come from?" Gunn asked.

Wesley picked up the amulet from the floor. "From this."

"What is it?" Fred asked.

"Something I gave to Buffy before our big battle in Sunnydale." Angel said.

"Sunnydale!" Spike turned to Buffy. "We won?"

"We won." Buffy confirmed.

"You're all right?"

"Yeah." She took Angel's hand. "We're all right."

"Good. What the hell is my ex doing here?"

"Me or Harmony?"

"Oh my God!" Harmony cried. "You and the Slayer actually…. I mean, I know you had that twisted obsession with her, but ugh! That's just…. Ugh!" She looked at Buffy. "Sorry, boss." She made a hasty retreat out of the office.

"Why did she call you boss?" Spike asked. "Where am I?"

"LA." Angel said.

"So Spike and Buffy…." Fred started.

"He was, um, an ally of hers for some time." Wesley said. "That's all I know." Buffy looked away and blushed and Angel squeezed her hand.

"So he's a good-guy vampire like Angel?" Gunn asked.

"He's nothing like me." Angel said.

"Got that right." Spike agreed. "What have you done to me? What is this place? Who are you people? What the bloody hell is happening?!"

"Would you calm down?" Buffy snapped. "We'll figure this out, ok? Just…. Step out of the desk." She turned to Fred. "Do you have anything in your lab that might figure out what's happening with him?"

"Maybe." Fred shrugged. "There's a lot down there I haven't gotten to play with yet."

"Let's start there, then. Wesley, can you research the amulet and find out more about? It came from here, so they've got to have some answers to our questions."

"Of course." Wesley said.

An hour later, they were convened in Fred's lab. She was scanning Spike with a weird looking device that almost resembled a Geiger counter. Wesley was looking at the amulet through a microscope across the room. Buffy, Connor, and Angel stood near Spike with Gunn right behind them. They were looking at one of the books Wesley had brought down

"Honey of a story." Lorne said to Wesley.

"Story?" Wesley asked, not looking up from his microscope.

"Yeah, the Vampire Slayer both men loved, but only one could have. Hell of a triangle! Oh, I could sell that to any studio in a heartbeat. I see Depp and Bloom. But then I see them a lot."

Buffy's ears perked up and she leaned around Angel. "Who do you see playing me?"

"Scarlett Johannson."

"No idea who that is."

"Hot up and coming actress with real chops. She's about your age." Wesley shot a glare at Lorne. "Sorry. Hazard of running the entertainment division. Gotta get out more."

"So what are you then?" Spike asked Fred. "Scanner girl?"

"I'm Fred." She said. "I head up Wolfram & Hart's Science Department."

"Wolfram & Hart. Heard of that. Thought it was a law firm."

"It is…. Among other things."

"Also heard they represent the worst evil in the universe." Spike said pointedly at Buffy and Angel.

"It did, among other things, but now Buffy and I are in charge." Angel said.

"Are you now?"

"Don't start." Buffy warned.

"Weird. I'm getting electromagnetic readings consistent with spiritual entities, but there's no ectoplasmic matrix."

"What does that mean?" Connor asked.

"Ectoplasm's what makes ghosts visible to the human eye. If he's a ghost, technically we shouldn't be able to see him. And I'm detecting brainwave activity."

"On Spike?" Angel laughed. "That is weird." Buffy pinched his arm and he winced, shooting her an apologetic look.

"Also, ghosts generally absorb light and heat energy making the area around them a few degrees cooler. Spike's radiating heat."

"Think I'm hot, do you?" Spike quipped.

"Mm…. Lukewarm. Just above room temperature."

"Well, what the hell am I then?"

"Whatever he is, it's clearly tied to this amulet." Wesley said. "Spike's essence, for lack of a better term, must have been held within it. Do you have any memory of a strange sensation when it released its energy?"

"What? You mean my skin and muscle burning away from the bone? Organs exploding in my chest? Eyeballs melting in their sockets? No. No memory at all. Thanks for asking."

"Ok, he's connected to the amulet." Connor said. "When we last saw it, it was being buried deep inside the Hellmouth with Spike's ashes. How did it end up here?"

"Maybe he's here for a reason." Fred said. "You know, some higher purpose or something he's destined for. Sent to us by the powers that be to help us or…."

"Who gave them the bloody right to do that? Can't a man die in peace without some high almighty deciding it's not his time." Buffy lifted at eyebrow at him. "Guess you know what I mean."

"Well, it wasn't so much some high almighty as Willow, but yeah…. I know what you mean." Buffy said.

"You think that saving the sodding world would be enough to earn me a rest. You'd think…." Spike started to fade away.

"Spike?" Fred asked.

"Hmm?" He looked down at his body and managed to say, "Oh, balls" before completely disappearing.
Fred rushed over to scan where Spike had been standing. "Now what?" Gunn asked.

"I don't know." Fred said. "He just…. Disappeared."

Spike suddenly appeared across the room behind them. "Hmm? What? What?"

"Took the 'what's' right out of our mouths." Lorne said.

"Where'd you go?" Buffy asked. Spike shook his head in confusion. "You don't know?"

"I'm…. I was…." Spike pointed angrily at Angel. "You! This is your fault."

"Mine?" Angel said.

"You brought that bloody amulet to Sunnydale. You would have been the one to use it, until you chickened out."

"Chickened out!? You volunteered!"

"You weren't planning on wearing it!"

"Yes I was! Buffy wouldn't let me, though. Then you showed up and offered yourself up. This was your choice!"

"This was not my choice!" Spike gestured at himself. "I'm not you. I don't give a piss about atonement or destiny. Just because I got me a soul doesn't mean I'm gonna let myself be led around by…."

"Excuse me?" Fred asked.

"Did…. did you just say…." Wesley turned to Buffy and Angel. "Spike has a soul?"

"Didn't seem worth mentioning, you know." Angel said.

"No one asked." Buffy added.

"Captain Forehead was feeling a little less special." Spike said. "Didn't like me crashing his exclusive club. Another vampire with a soul in the world that Buffy fell in love with."

"You're not in the world, Casper." Angel said, turning and walking out the door. "And Buffy doesn't love you!" The door slammed behind him.

Everyone turned to look at Buffy as Spike walked out after Angel. "If Spike's back, you're going to have to get used to the bickering." She said. "They do that a lot."

"You loved Spike?" Connor asked.

Buffy's eyes widened and she ran out after Angel. "I'm not responsible for what happened to you." Angel growled at Spike as Buffy caught up to them. Angel turned to look at her. "You told him you love him!?"

"I…. He was dying!" Buffy defended. She rounded on Spike. "Why would you tell him that?"

"Why would you say it to him if you didn't mean it?"

"Because I do care about him and I didn't want him to die without ever hearing me tell him, but he was right. I don't love him. I love you."

"Buffy, it's almost three o'clock." Harmony said. Buffy realized she was the closest one to Harmony's desk. "You have a meeting scheduled…."

"Not now, Harmony."

"What are you doing here? What has he done to you to make you sell out?" Spike asked.

"Little tip, Spike," Angel said. "Try not to talk about things you don't understand."

"I'm not the prat here. I know you, Angel. What do you think you're doing? Made some devil's bargain to take over this company. Thought you'd use it to fight the evil of the world from inside the belly of the beast. Drug the love of your life into it. Trouble is you're too busy fighting to see you and yours are getting digested."

"Not gonna happen."

"Oh, you think you're in control here? Guess again, mate. You're no more in control than I am. Except I'm not gonna bloody stand for it, while you're just a blind…." Spike looked over Angel's shoulder where the elevator had just opened. "Grox'lar Beast."

"What?" Angel turned to see the Grox'lar Beast stepping out of the elevators and striding purposefully towards him. Out if instinct, he kicked out before throwing numerous punched at the demon.

"No!" Buffy yelled just before the demon punched Angel back, knocking him down.

Spike threw a punch at the back of the demon's head, but his fist went right through without making an impact. "Oh, brilliant."

The demon moved towards Angel again and Buffy ran over to stop him. Angel jumped back up and overpowered the demon, throwing him against a wall and knocking him out. "Somebody want to tell me how a Grox'lar Beast got past security? I don't have time for this." Angel rounded on Buffy. "And where the hell were you?"

"That was our three o'clock." Buffy said, crossing her arms.

"That…. We're meeting with Grox'lars?! They eat babies!"

"We were supposed to open negotiations with his clan."

"Negotiations for what?"

"Getting them to stop eating baby heads." She walked over to make sure the demon wasn't dead. "Don't you pay attention to your calendar? I've been here, like, a day and I'm already ahead of you."

"Well, that's why there's two of us. So that's good that they want to stop eating baby heads." Angel looked down at the unconscious demon. "This is bad."

"No, actually." Gunn said, walking into the lobby. "The Grox'lar clan respects someone who takes a strong opening position. Wolfram & Hart didn't just jack me up here with the human laws, also demon laws from every dimension. Probably should have been briefed you about the Grox'lar, but we got a little…." He looked over at Spike. "Sidetracked. Plus I've been implementing our reforms. Mostly staff overhaul. I've fired 40 employees in the past 2 days."

"How's that going?" Buffy asked, walking with Gunn into his office.

"As expected. Anger, tears, venomous death threats."

"Fun!"

"Caught an associate we laid off trying to smuggle this out of the voodoo division." Gunn held up a voodoo doll that had dark skin and was wearing a suit just like Gunn's.

"Nice likeness." Angel said, holding the doll up to compare it with Gunn.

"This place just goes on and on, doesn't it?" Spike said, wandering in. "Like a ruddy theme park attraction."

"We're in a meeting, Spike."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't care."

"Look, we're ruffling a lot of dangerous feathers out there." Gunn said. "There's gonna be a backlash. Count on it."

Buffy shrugged. "We'll just have to ride out the ripples."

"I'm sensing a ripple on its way now." Gunn's eyes drifted to a man wearing a bright blue dress shirt and a bright yellow tie striding into the room.

"Yes, uh…. Novac, sir, ma'am. Uh, what's this about you shutting down the Internment Acquisitions Division?"

"Internment Acqui…." Angel looked at Gunn.

"Grave-robbing." Buffy said. Angel looked down at her in surprise. "What? I couldn't figure out the phone system, but I've got a handle on our schedule and which divisions are completely unnecessary."

"Listen, I know you guys are in charge now, and you're doing a bang-up job. I'm with you 110%, but that department isn't unnecessary. It brings in mucho revenue to this company." Novac argued. "I.A.D. is under contract to provide fresh bodies to Magnus Hainsley. You know who he is, right?"

"Not sure I care."

"He's one of our oldest clients. Big potatoes. We stop delivering, and he is not gonna be thrilled."

"Sounds like he's not gonna be thrilled when you advise him that he's no longer our client."

"Me?"

"Make sure he knows that Wolfram & Hart is under new management and out of the grave-robbing business."

"Me?" Novac repeated.

"Do you see any other garishly dressed lawyers complaining about the loss of the grave robbing department in this office?" Novac shook his head. "Go."

Novac walked toward the door, eyes wide and visibly shuddering. "You don't have to take that from her, mate." Spike said.

"Stay out of this, Spike." Angel said. "You don't work here."

"Damn right I don't. Look at you two. This is what you do now? Delegate the dirty work to spineless, low-level flunkies." Spike glanced at Novac. "No offense." He turned back to Buffy and Angel. "The mighty heroes reduced to bloody bureaucrats."

"Get out of here, Spike."

"Gladly. Cruel enough punishment being stuck here as a spook while you play chairmen of the boring. But hell if I'm gonna spend my afterlife in your stinking city. Get stuffed."

Buffy and Angel watched Spike walk away from them. Angel shook his head. "Good riddance."

"Angel…." Buffy started.

"I know!" He threw up his hands and walked out of Gunn's office.

Buffy walked into her and Angel's and found him darkened cityscape. He'd left the negotiations with the Grox'lar clan up to her and Gunn. She knew he was brooding over the Spike situation and the fact that he had intended to wear that amulet. Walking over to him, she snuggled under his arm, forcing him to wrap it around her, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You don't think he's really gone, do you?" Angel asked.

"No. No one gets rid of Spike that easily." Buffy said.

Angel was quiet for a long moment. "Could have been me, Buffy. It was supposed to be me."

"But it wasn't."

"Wolfram & Hart gave me the amulet. They must have expected me to use it. And they had to have known it would've done to me what it did to Spike, so…."

"Why bother handing you the keys to the kingdom?"

"It doesn't make sense. What are the senior partners playing at?"

"They're the bad guys, so it's probably something evil. But they ended up with Spike." She paused and let go of Angel, moving in front of him. "Or maybe they got exactly what they were after."

"Spike?"

"All of us." She noticed movement in the doorway and looked over to see Spike standing there. "I knew we couldn't get rid of you that easily."

"I thought you left town."

"Don't think I didn't bleeding try." Spike grumbled. "Every time I got as far as the city limits I kept popping back here like my insides are getting yanked."

"The amulet is probably bound to Wolfram and Hart." Buffy said. "Since you're connected to it…."
"Hey! I'm nobody's bloody property, pet. So what? I'm just stuck here forever?" Spike glared at Angel. "I bet you're loving this, aren't you?"

"Knowing you'll be haunting me till the end of time?" Angel asked. "Hmm. It's a dream come true."

"Right." Buffy said. "I'm going to love listening to you two bicker for the rest of my life."
Harmony knocked on the open door. "Uh, Buffy? That Novac lawyer you sent over to dump the client? Well, he's back."

"Ok, send him in."

"Mmm…. Ok."

Buffy was about to ask what was with Harmony's tone, but two men in suits walked in carrying three buckets full of a sloppy red liquid. One of the buckets had the bright yellow tie hanging over the edge. "Oh god…."

"Ol' buckets here was right." Spike said. "You guys are doing a bang-up job."

Buffy shot Spike a withering glare. He looked away and she looked back at the buckets. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"You didn't know." Angel said soothingly, rubbing her arm. "Let's figure out what we can do about Hainsley." He walked over and picked up the phone to call Wesley and Gunn in.

Buffy walked over to Harmony's desk. "Harmony, can you get me Novac's contact list? His close relations or next of kin or something. We need to let them know about…."

"Bucket-o-lawyer?" Harmony finished.

Buffy groaned. "Just get me the list, Harmony. And I know it's never been your strong suit, but try to be discreet about this."

Gunn stepped off the elevator and walked over to Buffy. "Hey, Angel called. Said you guys wanted the file on Magnus Hainsley?" She nodded and took the file. "Dig this. He's a sorcerer, big time. Rich with old money and older mojo. Owns a respectable block of shares in Wolfram & Hart and he's connected up the wazoo. Carries influence with power players in the entertainment industry, politics…."

"Necromancer? That means he has power over the dead, right?"

"Right."

"I guess that explains the bodies Wolfram & Hart was giving him. Doesn't explain what he's been doing with them." They walked into her and Angel's office to find Connor looking into the buckets sitting on the desk.

"What's in the buckets?" He was asking Angel.

"Some lawyer named Novac Buffy sent over to get rid of a client." Spike said from Angel's desk chair. "Guess he's been…. What do you call it? Downsized."

"You're not helping. And get out of my chair!" Angel growled at him.

"It's a message from a necromancer named Magnus Hainsley." Buffy explained to Connor. "I'm angry enough about it that I'm going to reply to it personally."

"You can't take Hainsley on yourself." Angel said.

"I'm not risking him turning somebody else into chowder. Also, I'm not currently dead, so he doesn't have any power over me."

"You have a multi-billion dollar company at your disposal with armed and trained personnel." Gunn said.

"I don't need them."

"Buffy…. At least take Connor with you?" Angel asked.

She sighed. "We agreed to let him be a normal kid. Taking him on a field trip to beat up a necromancer is not normal."

"I don't mind." Connor said with a shrug. "I don't really know what being a normal kid means."

"It means binging on Hot Pockets and pizza rolls and Twinkies and playing video games non-stop."

"That's Xander's version of being a kid. And a grown up." Angel mumbled.

"Well, that all sounds like fun for a few days, but I'd rather go help you out." Connor said, ignoring Angel and grinning at Buffy's annoyed glare at his father.

Buffy sighed in defeat. "Ok. Let's go beat up a necromancer."

"Buffy!" Gunn said just as the elevator doors opened. "I have an idea. It should keep you and the kid safe from chowder status and it'll hurt Hainsley. Bad."

"Whatever you got, I'm game."

"Give me ten minutes?"

"You're on the clock." Buffy stepped away from the elevator and sat down on the couch as Gunn rushed out of the room.

Angel walked over and sat down next to her. "Buffy, this wasn't your fault."

"Yes it is. I sent him over there to dump this guy."

"You didn't know he would do that. None of us knew."

"Novac knew. Did you see how scared he was? I completely ignored it and sent him on his way to become chum buckets for Jaws."

"But you negotiated an entire clan of Grox'lar Beasts to stop eating baby heads. That's a huge deal!"

"Doesn't make up for me getting someone killed."

"Buffy, this is not your fault. There's no way you could've known that," Angel gestured at the buckets. "Would happen. You were just doing your job." Buffy started to protest, but Angel cut her off. "Nope. No guilt. You didn't know."

Gunn walked back in just then and they all looked up at him.

Buffy, Connor, and Spike stood at the front door of Hainsley's expansive mansion. Spike had tagged along with them out of boredom. Buffy and Angel had argued with him about going to confront a necromancer since he was dead, but his pig-headed self wouldn't hear any of it. He and Connor had bickered the whole way in the car, much to Buffy's annoyance.

The butler finally opened the door and Buffy led Connor and Spike inside. "Do you have an appointment with Mr. Hainsley?" The man asked.

"Let's just say he sent us an invitation." Spike said.

"We're, uh…. I'm from Wolfram & Hart." Buffy said, shooting a glare at Spike.

"Mr. Hainsley is with a customer at the moment." The butler said. "I'm afraid he does not suffer interruption lightly."
"Go ahead and interrupt. I don't mind if he suffers."

"As you wish. Please wait here." The butler turned and walked out.

"Oh, life among the power elite." Spike said. "It's all so civilized. Hainsley grinds up one of your people into chum, and you drop by for tea."

"I would like to avoid any more of a body count than has already been wracked up." Buffy said.

"Looks like this this guy already keeps a body count on hand." Connor said from a nearby room.

Buffy and Spike followed him into the parlor. The room was decorated like a Victorian parlor with a few dozen corpses all standing around. They had been dressed and posed like they were features in a wax museum.

"Man likes to play with dollies." Spike quipped.

"This isn't for him. It's a showroom." Buffy growled.

"I don't know. Maybe the geezer's just lonely. Throws himself a surprise party every night. Picks out one of these painted pigeons and shows her a good time, if you know what I mean."

"Gross." Connor said.

"What? I'm sure they don't mind."

"I mind." Buffy said.

"Why? They're the lucky ones, aren't they? It's over for them. They've shuffled off, cleanly, the one time. Nobody's shoving them back into the stinking world against their will."

Buffy didn't have anything to say to that. She hated to admit that she almost agreed with him on it. Luckily the butler came back just then. "Mr. Hainsley has asked that I send you back to Wolfram & Hart." The man pulled out a couple of butcher knives from behind his back. "In a manner of speaking." He started to twirl the knives around menacingly while Buffy and Connor looked on in amusement.

"Uh-oh." Spike said. "Looks like it's buckets for you two."

Connor grabbed a tiny teaspoon from a posed woman's teacup near him. He threw the spoon at the butler and buried it in the man's forehead. The butler screamed as Spike started to make fun of Connor's weapon choice. "A spoon?! That's just…." The butler reached up and pulled the spoon out of his forward, turning toward Connor angrily. "Well, ok, that's more…." Buffy and Connor dropped into defensive crouches, but the butler collapsed to the ground. "Disappointing, really."

"Spike, I realize that you can't actually help us being a ghost and all, but could you maybe not root for the other team?" Buffy said.

"Hey, I'm not rooting for the other team."

"Sure sounds like it." Connor said.

"I'm not rooting for the other team. I don't even really have a team. I saved the world, threw myself onto the proverbial hand grenade for love, honor, and all the right reasons, and what do I get? Bloody well toasted and ghosted is what I get, isn't it? It's not fair." Buffy turned to shut Spike up, but he was fading out. "Are you getting blurry or is it…." He disappeared.

"Finally!" Connor said.

"Quit letting him bait you." Buffy said as they headed down the hallway to find Hainsley. "I know he's really good at plucking nerves, but you need to learn to ignore it."

"Dad doesn't."
"Your dad is 276 years old. It takes him a while to accept change." They made it down into the basement and found a pair of French doors. Buffy walked over and kicked them off their hinges, sending them skidding into the room beyond.
Hainsley was rinsing his hands in a bowl of water. "Come in. It's open."

"Hainsley."

"Didn't know it was the head cheese's girlfriend. I thought for sure you were another lackey. You should show more respect."
"She's not just the head cheese's girlfriend." Connor said. "As of last night, she's the co-head cheese. You should show some respect."

A woman lying on the table in the middle of the room sat up and climbed down off the table. "Oh, uh, I can see you guys have a thing going on. Don't wanna get in your way. I'll let myself out."

Buffy grabbed the woman's arm as she tried to edge by her. Her eyes glowed red and she snarled at Buffy. The blonde just rolled her eyes and knocked the demon out. She finally figured out what Hainsley was doing with the bodies. "How much do you charge to install your average Joe demon into a human body? I know a lot of them would just die to be able to pass as a human being."

"Believe me, friend, the average Joe demon can't afford it." Hainsley said.

"Whoa!" Spike said, suddenly appearing behind them.

"Welcome back." Buffy said.

"What did I miss?"

"You haven't missed the big show." Buffy reached into her pocket and dialed Gunn's number. As soon as the line connected, she said, "Gunn, do it."
"Done." Gunn confirmed.

"And what was that?" Hainsley taunted. "Just call in an air strike?"

"I don't need an air strike." Buffy said, sticking her phone back in her pocket. "I just froze all of your bank accounts, terminated your paper assets, and turned your books over to a very motivated contact we have at the I.R.S. Five minutes from now, you'll have nothing but this house. Ten minutes from now, that'll go into foreclosure."

"You can't do that."

"Just did. We'll let ourselves out." Buffy turned and ushered Connor back towards the door.

"It's not legal. You think you can get away with that? I'll sue you to hell."

"Good luck with that. We're your lawyers."

"This isn't over!"

"That's what they all say." Buffy, Connor, and Spike headed up the stairs.

"So, that's how you're fighting the forces of evil now?" Spike asked. "Call the I.R.S.?"

"Hell of a lot easier than fighting for my life night after night."

"You're going to miss that, though." Spike suddenly disappeared.

"That's going to get annoying." Connor said.

"I think that's always going to be fun. It's the popping back up that's going to get annoying." Buffy said. "Come on. Let's get back and tell your dad everything."

Gunn walked with Buffy and Connor into her and Angel's office. Angel was waiting in the doorway for them. "Wiped out every asset we could find on Hainsley." Gunn was saying. "Wasn't easy. Man's got his fingers in a lot of dirty pies."

"Yeah, well, I think pies are gonna be off his menu for a while." Angel said. "Hi. Welcome back." He leaned down and kissed Buffy before they headed into the office hand in hand.

"Yeah, well, it's gotta hurt." Gunn was saying to Connor. "I mean, damn, who doesn't love pie?"

Fred and Wesley walked into the office. "You're back." Fred said to Buffy and Connor.

"Hainsley out of business?" Wesley asked.

"For the time being." Buffy said.

"So he's not going away?" Fred asked.

"Pretty sure 'this isn't over' means no."

"Where's Spike?"

"He popped out on us as we were leaving Hainsley's place." Buffy sighed. "Is there anything we can do about him?"

"I've had my entire department doing thorough research on the amulet." Wesley said. "There's not much. Not in the way of releasing Spike from it, anyway. At least not in the conventional sense."

"What's the unconventional sense?"

"Something he asked for. Eternal rest."

Buffy sighed and looked at Angel. "This is an unusual situation, but I think it's our only choice." He said to her.

"It's what we'd do in any case of a haunting, isn't it?" Wesley asked. "An exorcism of sorts."

"Wait…." Buffy shook her head. "Are we talking about killing him?"

"He's already dead."

"But he'd be dead-dead. Forever dead. It doesn't feel right to do that."

"I agree, but neither is leaving him here, trapped between realms, with no control over his fate, not able to touch anything, affect anything. Unable to fight."

"Letting him cross over seems the most merciful thing." Angel said.

Buffy sighed. "How?"

"Well, he wouldn't be stuck…."

"I mean how would we release him?"

"The amulet's protected, invulnerable to anything, but the magic that's protecting it doesn't work on hallowed ground." Wesley said.

"Hallowed." Connor repeated. "Like a church?"

"Or cemetery, yes. It has to be taken there and destroyed."

"Destroyed how?" Fred asked.

"I think a sharp blow would probably do the trick."

"Buffy," Angel slipped his hand into hers. "What do you think?"

She looked at him for a long moment, unsure what to do. "I think…. I want to sleep on it."

"Ok. We'll sleep on it." He squeezed her hand. "Guys…."

"We'll see you in themorning." Fred said.

Angel sat on the bed and watched Buffy brush her hair out in bathroom mirror. While he loved the fact that they were settling into a normal routine of two people living together for the first time and one of his new favorite things was to watch her go through her nightly routine, he was more concerned with the fact that she was upset at the moment. Her mind was going ninety miles an hour and it wasn't going to stop any time soon. She'd been extra quiet as they'd gotten undressed and ready for bed. Usually brushing out her hair didn't take this long, but she was distracted.

"Buffy." She looked over at him and set the brush down. "This isn't all on you."

"Isn't it?" She sighed and rubbed her face. "I'm the only one that seems to be on his side. I'm the only one that cares about him."

"You're not the only one. I care about him." Buffy snorted and turned the light off in the bathroom. "I do, Buffy." He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her as she planted her knees between his legs on the edge of the bed to steady herself. "Not only is he my grandchilde, he also means something to you. Yes, he gets on my nerves and we bicker, but he stepped up and fought by your side time and time again. He's saved you and he's saved the world. I do actually care about him."

Buffy moved away from Angel and sat down on the bed next to him. "When I told him I loved him down in the Hellmouth, I wasn't entirely lying to him. I really do care a lot about him because he was there for me. Even though things between us got…. Physically and emotionally abusive…. He was still on my side when no one else seemed to be. He…. Understood me. I can't just…. Kill him. We can't take that choice from him. We need to ask him what he wants."

Angel stared into the darkness of the bathroom for a long moment, processing the information that Buffy had just dropped on him. He hadn't known the extent of Buffy and Spike's relationship beyond the fact that they had slept together and he was in love with her. She had just given him a glimpse into how dark her world had gotten after being brought back from the dead and that Spike was the person who helped her face that darkness.

"Ok." He finally said, looking over at her and taking her hand. "When he pops back up here, we'll ask him."

She squeezed his hand. "Thank you."
"What was…."

"What?"

"What was his response when you told him?"

Buffy smiled. "When I said the words to him, he said to me, 'No, you don't. You love him more than life itself and he's up there waiting for you.'"

"He just keeps surprising me." Angel chuckled. "Ok, let's get some sleep." The two of them crawled into bed and he pulled her back to him, nuzzling her neck.

"Well, look at you two." Spike said from the nearby windows.

"Aw, no. No. No, no!" Angel groaned.
"Sitting in luxury's ample lap. Top of the world. Looking down on…. Well, everyone. It's good to be the king and queen, isn't it?"

Buffy sat up and glared at Spike as Angel growled, "Ground rules. Haunt us all you want during business hours, but this space is off limits."

"Relax, beefcake. I didn't come for a fight."

"Really?"

"Not that I could, right? Can't touch, can't affect anything…. Yeah, I overheard your little group powwow about me."
"How much?" Buffy asked.

"Enough of enough."

"Spike…."

"Necromancer tried to make a deal with me."

"What?"

"Said he could bring me back, body and soul, if I used our close personal relationship to double-cross you two."

"Tempting." Angel said, crossing his arms. "So what'd you say?"

"You see, right there, that's the problem. You having to ask me that. I don't play for that side anymore, or haven't you heard? Besides…. Even if Mr. Death could do what he promised, I trust him about as much as you trust me."

"What was the deal?" Buffy asked.

Spike looked at Buffy. "I bring Angel to a cemetery, Hainsley uses his mojo, and installs me in Captain Forehead's body."
"Ew."

"Yeah. I don't fancy traipsing around in that…."

"Hey!" Angel protested.

"So, I'm telling you so we can get rid of this guy."

"You've got a plan?" Buffy asked.

"Don't I always? Kinda relies on the witchiest of witches, though."

"Willow?"

"The one and only. Figure if anyone can take this guy out, she's got the best shot at doing it permanently without a body count."

Buffy looked over at the clock. "She's probably asleep, but I'll make the call."

Angel walked with Wesley through the lobby of Wolfram and Hart. Willow had met Buffy, Angel, and Spike at the graveyard and magically stripped Hainsley of his powers. They had left the man sobbing in the cemetery and placed a call to the authorities that they had caught him robbing graves. The parlor of his house had been enough proof to put him away for a very long time.

"So, Spike came to you with this plan?" Wesley asked.

"More or less." Angel said, taking the files that Harmony offered him.

"Good work calling Willow in to strip Hainsley of his necromancy. I'm happy she came to your aid."

"Honestly, I think she's feeling really guilty for kicking Buffy out of her own house."

"Most likely." Wesley sighed. "Well, if Spike's going to be sticking around, it'd be prudent of him to share his plans with the rest of us in future."

"Yeah, well, sharing's not something Spike does very well."

"Preaching to the horse's mouth." Harmony muttered.

The elevator dinged and Buffy stepped out. "Hey." She walked over to the two men and wrapped her arm around Angel's waist.

"Did you have a nice breakfast with Fred?" Angel asked.

"Yeah." Buffy said. "It was really nice of her to invite me out. We had fun."

"We want you to feel welcome, Buffy." Wesley said. "The last time you worked with us wasn't an entirely pleasant experience."

The blonde Slayer shrugged. "All in a day's work for a Slayer, I guess. Has anyone seen Spike this morning?"

"No, but I'm sure he'll show up eventually today." Angel said.

Buffy nodded. "Probably." She looked at her watch. "We've got a meeting to get to."

"Then let's get going." Angel and Buffy headed for their office while Wesley moved off towards his.