The way it should be

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon. Me just borrowing.
A/N: There ought to be some spoilers for season 5 Buffy and season 1 Angel in there somewhere.


Doc raised his knife at Spike, ready to stab him, but Spike ducked at the last moment and sent the creepy old, err... 'man', screaming, off the tower.

He hurried to Dawn's side and untied her. But it was too late. The blood had already been spilled and opened the doors to doom. Only Dawn could close them now.

Dawn's blood.

The thought echoed in his mind, forming a plan, he acted quickly. He grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her towards him, determined he said: "Now, this is gonna hurt a lil' bit, but I promise it won't compare to the pain I'm about to experience."

"Wait! Spike, what are you doing?"

Spike hesitated for a moment before morphing into gameface and sinking his teeth into her neck. She gasped in pain and grabbed a hold on his duster. Clawing at the leather.

The pain was unbearable. He could feel the faint coming and a swarm of dizziness washed over him, his eyes rolled back into his scull and he moaned. Dawn whimpered in his deadly embrace and he hugged her closer drinking hungrily.

Down on the ground Buffy rushed towards the tower and flew up the stairs. All her instincts screamed at her and she just knew something bad was happening. "Dawn." She muttered and, if possible, quickened her pace.

Spike withdrew his fangs and released Dawn. She fell down on her knees and groaned, grabbing her neck where he had bit her. He had taken as much as he could without risking her life. She was only light-headed.

Now, with her blood coursing through his veins, he staggered towards the edge and looked down at the still growing portal. A dragonlike creature flew out of it startling Spike. He swallowed and took a few steps backwards, nearly tripping because of throbbing headache the chip caused him.

Just then Buffy reached the top. She stopped and looked at the scene before her.

Dawn on her knees clutching her neck, Spike standing near the edge of the tower looking down...

Wait a minute.

Buffy's eyes widened as realisation hit her. Panicked she yelled out,

"Spike! Don't!"

But it was too late. He looked back at her, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Summers' blood.

Then he stepped forward again and let him self fall off.

Everything seemed slow motion that moment.

Spike slowly falling off the plank. Dawn screaming. Buffy running towards them, hand outstretched.

It was too late.

***

Spike sat up screaming.

He breathed rapidly, even though he didn't need it, and ran a hand through his sweat streaked hair. pausing, he then sighed heavily, rubbed his eyes tiredly and took notice to his surroundings. It was pitch black in there but, thanks to his vampire visage, he could make out some lines as his eyes got used to the dark.

He was in a single bed, the covers had fallen off on the floor. Didn't matter, hadn't even noticed it. Lack of body temperature and all that.

His naked form rose from the bed. Stretching lazily, he slipped into some pants that he discerned on the floor.

He was blinded by the surprisingly bright light as he stepped into the hallway and inched along towards the sweet smell of coffee and... wellafex? He blinked and entered the even brighter kitchen.

"Good morning Spike,"

There was someone sitting by the table, reading a newspaper.

"Strange to see you up so early in the morning, you're just full of surprises.

Spike scowled and made his way towards the sink retrieving a mug from it, then poured himself some coffee.

The figure lowered the paper. It was Angel.

"So, sleep well?" he said smirking. And for a second you might've thought that it was Angelus sitting there instead of Angel. Spike sat himself opposite him and replied,

"Are we in a mocking mood today then, peaches?"

"I don't mock."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Lack of facial expressions, makes it kinda hard, ne?"

Now it was Angel's time to scowl. But he kept his calm,

"I heard a screaming. And I assumed it was you. And the reason you're up so early..."

"--Yeah, I had a bad dream. A nightmare I think."

"Well, spill already." Said Angel, uninterested from behind the headlines.

"I'm... not sure I remember... But I think I dreamt some demon thingies were forcing me to eat your brain in order to make me the most stupid creature that ever walked the face of earth."

Once again Angel lowered the paper and with a pouty look on his face, placed one hand dramatically where his heart supposedly was and stated: "Ouch."

Spike leaned back in the chair, his muscles flexing as he did so. (A/N: May I remind you that Spike is bare chested there. *drool*)

"Nah, I don't remember what it was." Spike admitted. "I just know it was something horrible and absobloodylutely impossible. But I still get that feeling..."

He paused. Catching Angel's interest, who placed the paper on the table and leaned forward, arms crossed. After a while Angel asked rather anxious.

"Well?"

There was a distant look in Spike's eyes that Angel had never seen before. Well, at least not when his childer wasn't on some kind of drugs.

"...That," Spike continued, "I ought to be somewhere else."

"Huh?"

"That somewhere in the past perhaps, I took the wrong turn. Wrong decision. That later would change the course of things."

"So... you had the feeling that you were important in some way."

Spike narrowed his eyes at him. "Well," he said, the annoyance rather obvious in his voice, "yes."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he contemplated, "Well, maybe not the WRONG decision, just not the one I was destined to choose. You ever had that feeling?" He asked shifting slightly in his chair and looked at Angel.

"Well," the darker man said still in the same position, "I sometimes get the feeling that I should have died a hundreds of years ago..."

Spike rolled his eyes.

The two vampires sat like that for some while, silent and motionless, before Spike said out of nowhere:

"So how's Cordelia?"

Angel's head shot up. "Hmm?"

"Cordelia. She gonna keep that, haunted place?"

Angel sat still for a second as if contemplating the answer but then he nodded,

"Yeah. Yeah, she's, um, getting used to 'Phantom Dennis'..."

"Ah." Spike said nodding.

"Yeah." Angel said swiftly, his lips forming a thin line.

A minute passed.

"Know what." Spike broke the silence once again as he stood up, "I think I'm just gonna go back to bed." He made his way back to his roon Leaving Angel alone in the kitchen.

Angel picked up his paper again and muttered a "Yeah, ok." as he took a sip of his coffee that had been left untouched for a while.

Those 10 minutes were over. And everything was back the way it should be.

The way it should be?

END


A/N: This story takes places in Angel 1st season. Spike is dreaming about the 5th season finale. Confused? Well, let's just pretend Spike never returned to Sunnydale after 'In the dark' shall we?