Title: Sun and Shadow
Section: Sunnydale II
Part: 11/Mission Impossible
Author: Arsahi
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Angel the Series belongs to Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, and Mutant Enemy. "Save Me" belongs to Aimee Mann, and I go it from the Magnolia soundtrack.
Distribution: Eh...gonna be stingy this time and say ask first. You can find my email address on my author profile.
Dedication: The normal people, you know who you are.
Rated: PG-13
Pairings: Angel/Cordelia, Fred/Gunn, Wesley/Take a Stab At It, Spike/Buffy, Willow/Tara, Xander/Anya, Riley/Harmony
Notes: This is my first crossover, folks. Be warned.
Timeframe: Post-Gone for BtVS and post-Dad for Angel.

~*~ Mission Impossible ~*~

Spike felt comfortable for the first time in a couple of days. Buffy had actually come to take care of him instead of pushing the job onto Angel. Of course, she had heard about Angel being unable to rescue Cordelia from Warren and Andrew's hold, and had also found out that Jonathan had been admitted into the hospital with a very bad shoulder wound. Buffy's gash had healed except for a fine line where a scar would probably stay, so she had time to focus on making Spike heal. Not that she wanted him to or anything.
"Buffy, love, be a sweetheart and turn to the Passions channel, will you?" Spike asked.
"You and that Passions," Buffy muttered. But she flipped it on anyway. "I'm not even going to ask what's going on right now."
"Your mum used to watch Passions," Spike said reverently. "She used to talk about it with me."
Buffy smiled at the fond memory Spike held of her mother. Justly, if her mother found Spike decent enough to converse with, and so did Dawn, why shouldn't she and everyone else talk to him? "Yeah, my mom used to watch a lot of stuff."
"D'you know if she watched Dawson's Creek? Bloody pansies on that show, you know. Addictive, granted, but bloody pansies, I'm telling you," Spike shook his head and hissed when he moved his back doing so. "Speaking of pansies..."
"Spike, you aren't a pansy, you have a couple of broken ribs," Buffy sighed. She busied herself doing something or other. "Which is reason enough to hiss when you moved your back and ribs the wrong way."
"Glad you think I'm not a pansy, love," he smiled.
She shook her head but smiled at him. "You know, you aren't so bad once you get used to the brash way you talk."
He studied her for a moment. "Pet, can I ask you somethin'?"
"Hm?" Buffy looked up from her magazine.
"Do you still love Angel?"
Her face registered a shocked expression, then softened into a smile. "As a friend or a brother."
"He loves Cordelia, you know," he said.
Buffy smiled sadly. "I figured."
"Sorry, love, but I figured you should know. Peaches isn't gonna tell you anytime soon," he rolled one of his shoulders stiffly, wincing when his torso moved along with it.
"How do you know? Last time I checked you and Angel weren't exactly the best of friends," Buffy said darkly.
"A lot changes in a twenty-two days, pet," he answered, fixing his eyes to the television screen.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "I knew it was Interrogation Day. I knew it. I knew there was going to be a day where you would ask me a whole bunch of questions to get to my deep dark secrets."
"It's only fair," he scoffed. "You know all of mine."
"Okay, fine. Get on with it. Ask away," she folded her magazine. Spike looked longingly at the television, then back at Buffy, and back at the television. Passions versus Buffy, the Spikebrain said.
"Love, turn off the telly."
Buffy rose and flipped the dial to the off position. "Okay, Spike. Let's go."
"Well, now I don't know if I want to do this," he folded his arms, staving off a grimace.
"You're impossible," Buffy informed him, sitting down on the floor of the crypt and looking up at his sarccophagus.
"I'm impossible? Love, I'm not the one shagging a vampire in the closet just 'cause he makes me feel alive," he snapped before thinking. He realized what came out of his mouth and closed his eyes. Here would come the righteous indignation, followed by threats of staking, and the angrily hurt stomping off.
She glared at him, trying her hardest not to look hurt. "That's cruel. You are a disgusting thing, and we are not 'shagging'. Not anymore."
"That's not what you said last time," Spike told her, digging himself a deeper hole.
"Last time was the last time. I don't even know why I'm here. You're an ungrateful, soulless, animal, Spike. I made a mistake," Buffy collected her magazines and puts them in her bag. "You don't know what the hell compassion is, what love means. You don't love me--"
"You bloody well know I do!" Spike interrupted, raising his voice.
"You wouldn't yell at me like that if you did! You wouldn't say those cruel things! And you sure as hell wouldn't go running to my soulmate--"
Spike barked out a harsh laugh. "Soulmate? You think Angel's your soulmate?! Newsflash, Buffy, but look at how much Soul Boy worships Cordelia!"
"It's infatuation. Like I was with Riley," Buffy growled.
Spike stared at her, disbelief written on his face. He shook it off and smirked at her, "Oh, love, you're in for a big shocker when you find out what Peaches has been doing under the covers."
"Shut up! Shut up, Spike!" Buffy glared at him. "Okay, I love Angel like a brother--I know he loves Cordelia--but he's still my soulmate."
"That's just it though, pet, you're not his soulmate. Cordelia is," Spike swung his feet off the edge of the sarccophagus and stood. "How can I make you understand?"
"Understand what? That you, you make up all these lies? You say you love me, and then you throw this in my face, this...this lie, this thing we do?" Buffy stared at him incredulously.
"Buffy...love, please," Spike made his way over to her and had just about placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't touch me," she said icily. She threw her bag over her shoulder and stormed past him.
"You bloody tease!" he shouted after her, scrambling away from the sun let in by the open door. He edged around it slowly and made his way to the heavy door, using his entire body to push it closed and finally sitting down in his chair in front of the television. "Damn Slayer," he muttered.

Angel had called Xander, who had stayed at Buffy's house for the past two days, and Willow, who had moved in with Tara at the dorms on Sunnydale University's campus, and asked them both to come over to his hotel room. Angel had carefully calculated a plan that only involved the two Scoobies that he knew the best out of the group he'd started out with. Though Angel felt bad about breaking his promise to Spike, as soon as he got Cordelia back he was going back to Los Angeles. He needed to get back to Connor, before the child forgot who his father was. He also needed to take care of the simmering Holtz.
So Willow and Xander were scheduled to show up at his hotel door any second now.
There. A knock at his door, followed by Willow calling, "Angel, you there?"
Angel rose and opened the door, allowing Willow and Xander access to the room. "Thanks for coming on such short notice, you two. I really appreciate it, and you know I wouldn't ask unless I really needed your help."
"It's no problem Angel, I don't mind," Willow offered him a smile. "So...what's the deal?"
Xander looked around for some place to sit and found a chair. The hotel room wasn't large but fairly sized, with a king-sized bed for Cordelia and Angel to share, a television and a chair, along with a bathroom. A small bar with a set of shelves and a mirror sat off to one side, and across from it was a window and a standing wardrobe.
"I can't find Cordelia. I haven't heard from her in two and a half days, and I think I'm going crazy," Angel began to pace, his boots landing heavily on the floor. "I mean, I'm a vampire, right? I should be able to find her! But I'm only one person. So I need your help. Both of you."
"In finding Cordelia?" Xander raised an eyebrow. Willow sat on the edge of Angel's bed, and Angel sat next to her.
"Yeah, and getting her back. The plans I come up with all involve more than one person, unless I just bust in on them all rogue superhero-like and beat the two nerds to a bloody pulp," Angel looked at them helplessly. "I can't exactly ask any of my team back up here, and they all left Sunnydale for a reason. I'm remembering why I left, and why I stopped coming back. This place is a Hellmouth. More than that, my girlfriend has been abducted by two humans. I'm going back to Los Angeles as soon as I get her back."
Xander and Willow exchanged looks. Xander nodded, "We'll help you. Are you taking Spike with you?"
"Depends if he wants to come. He's welcome to," Angel shrugged. "But that's beside the point. What I really need to do is find Cordelia."
"Well," Willow said, "I'm in."
"I guess I am too," Xander sighed.
"Thanks," Angel nodded. "I know neither of you are that fond of her, but you two are the only ones I actually know here. I don't want to bother Buffy because she's been busy, I don't know your girlfriends, and Dawn's too young to help."
"I don't mind, Angel, really," Willow smiled. "Just lead us, Leader."
"Okay. So, this is what I'm thinking. After we find Cordelia's location, we send Xander in as sort of a decoy."
"That's me, Decoy Man," Xander muttered darkly. He was still in a bad mood about Anya kicking him to the curb, though he was better than he was the day before.
"Well, not really a decoy in the literal sense. More of a...double agent," Angel nodded, satisfied with his word choice. Xander seemed to like the idea of being a double agent better. "So Xander goes in and pretends like he wants to fill in for Jonathan. Once he's in, he'll give Willow a call on my cell phone, and Willow will do a spell to make Andrew and Warren stop moving while I go in and rescue Cordelia."
"Sounds good to me," Willow said cheerily. "I'm not quite sure what kind of spell would make them just freeze there..."
"You're a powerful enough witch to come up with something if you had to. I'll bet if you said 'stop' in Latin it would make them stop moving," Angel nodded, convincing himself. "Now. Xander. You'll have to make up some reason to join...but we still have to find her first."
"I can think of a couple places they might be," Willow said thoughtfully. "I mean, Xander could check the obvious places since he has a car, and then I'll check some geek hangouts."
"I'll check some demon bars after sunset," Angel nodded. "Though I've checked almost all of them..."
"Sounds good," Willow grinned. "Okay. But I really have to get going now, Angel. I have a class at Sunnydale U in about..." she checked her watch. "A half hour, and I still haven't eaten yet."
"And I have to get down to the construction site. Being a foreman isn't exactly a luxury job," Xander sighed. "I'll swing by here as soon as we let off for the day, and then I'll start out searching."
"Thanks, Xander," Angel nodded. He opened the door and held it for Willow, closing it after Xander had left.
Xander walked next to Willow, silent, until they reached the elevator. "What do you think you're doing, Will?"
"...Waiting for the elevator?" Willow asked innocently. He had really caught her off guard with that question.
"No. I mean, agreeing with Angel's plan. You're not supposed to do magic, Will, for good, or evil, or selfishness or whatever. Remember? That's why you broke up with Tara?" Xander reminded her.
"Well...I'll...uh...oh...Tara," Willow looked stumped. She was obviously toying with the two ideas of telling Tara or keeping the spell a secret. "What to do about Tara..."
The elevator dinged twice at them as the doors slid open. Willow stepped on and leaned against the back corner while Xander pushed the lobby button. "You shouldn't do the spell, Will."
"Why not? It's to help Cordelia, and Angel. There'll be no personal gain, and it's not like I'm going to have to keep using magic. I've already proved to myself I don't need it. So I'll just do a tiny spell! No big," Willow answered flippantly.
Xander shook his head. "The world's done a complete 180 on Xander Harris."
"I'm sorry, Xander," Willow gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Anya trusts him," he heaved a heavy sigh.
"Trusts who?" Willow asked as the elevator stopped on the lobby floor.
"Spike."
"Oh. I do too. Angel trusts him. I think that really says something."
"You've all lost your minds."
"Angel did some pretty bad things too, Xander."
"No, Angelus did. Angel has a soul. Spike does not. Spike has a chip."
"Same difference."
"You've all lost your minds."
"Oh Xander..."

"Does Mr. Levenson reside here?" the police officer asked of the nurse standing outside of Jonathan's room.
The nurse nodded. "If you're looking for Jonathan Levenson, he's in there. But he's asleep right now. Perhaps you could come back later?"
"We've been trying since he was wounded to question him, ma'am, so if you don't mind, we'd like to just get in there, ask him a few questions, and let him be," the police officer's partner informed the nurse.
She sighed. "Let me wake him. I'll call you in when he's alert enough to answer your questions," she entered the room. A couple minutes later, the nurse called the officers in and left the room.
"Mr. Levenson," the first police officer nodded. He held out a hand to Jonathan's uninjured side. "I'm Officer Powell, and this is my partner, Officer Smythe." He shooked Jonathan's hand. "We're here to ask you a few questions about your incident."
"Like what?" Jonathan frowned, his still sleep-addled mind going in a million directions.
"First of all," Officer Smythe started, "explain to us, in your own words, what happened."
"Well," Jonathan edged up so he was sitting a little more. "Warren Meers and Andrew...Tucker's brother? The one who tried to destroy Sunnydale High School?" the two officers nodded. "Well, they had kidnapped Cordelia Chase. They might still have her too...but anyway. Warren pulled a gun on her after I untied her and tried to get her out, and Warren dropped the gun, and the next thing I know I'm bleeding from my shoulder," Jonathan nodded to it, "and can't feel it. So Cordelia helped me out to the street, and the next thing I remember is waking up here the day before yesterday."
Officer Smythe and Office Powell exchanged looks. Officer Powell nodded, "A fellow with the last name of Meers but called himself Andrew filled out the papers. It's the strangest thing, because according to Mr. Meers, you were injured in a drive-by shooting."
Jonathan groaned. "Well it wasn't. The last place they were was at Tucker's house."
"They've moved?" Officer Powell asked. "How do you know this?"
"Well, Cordelia escaped, and she had a phone. I think she might've called someone, her boyfriend maybe, and told him where they were. So they've probably moved," Jonathan shrugged with his good shoulder.
"I see," Officer Powell nodded.
"All right," Officer Smythe finished writing. "And your name is Jonathan Levenson?"
"Yes. L-e-v-e-n-s-o-n," Jonathan answered. He sucked in a deep breath through his teeth and slowly let it out.
"Would you like to press charges against Mr. Meers and his accomplice?" Officer Smythe asked.
"Do I have to decide now?" Jonathan asked. "I can't really think straight right now, and my shoulder is hurting really bad...where's Alicia?" Jonathan fumbled for his remote control and pressed the nurse button a couple of times. "Is there anything else you need, Officers?"
"You don't have to decide now. When you're discharged from the hospital, drop by the police station if you would like to press charges. We need you to sign this statement," Officer Smythe said.
"Bring it over here if you would," Jonathan instructed.
The intercom behind him lit up. :Yes, Jonathan?: the nurse operating the intercom asked.
"Get Alicia please," Jonathan pleaded. He took the pen Officer Smythe offered him and scribbled his signature on the line. Officer Smythe signed off on the witness spot. Alicia walked in the door that moment.
"What do you need, Jonathan?" Alicia gave him a kind smile.
Jonathan returned it as best he couuld. "Alicia, I think my medicine's running low...my shoulder hurts..."
Alicia looked to the officers and said, "Maybe you should let Jonathan have his rest." The officers nodded to her, then to Jonathan, and left the room. "Just sit tight. I'll be back with your medicine in just five minutes."
Jonathan smiled again. "Thanks."
Alicia smiled back and left to go get Jonathan's pain killers.

Xander didn't exactly agree with Angel's plan. He didn't want Willow to fall back on a bad habit, an addiction, she'd just begun to break. So he tried to come up with something himself while he checked the obvious places--Warren's mother's house, Jonathan's mother's house, and Andrew's mother's house. Then he went to Tucker's old hellhound house. He found the same thing Angel did, plus a smashed up monitor control pannel. He did what Angel hadn't bothered to do though, he searched for clues with his Scooby training.
"Okay, Geek Troika, let's see if you left any clues as to where you would go in case someone found this little lair," he muttered to himself, poking around. He found a dry erase board with ridiculous goals written on it, some action figures, and a large chemistry set. Xander bent down and looked through some scattered papers on the ground, finding a paper labeled, "Emergency Backup File Numbers". Shrugging, Xander pocketed that paper and searched for others. Ones written in foreign languages he collected, knowing Willow could decode them if she set her mind to it. He found a stack of papers sitting near the monitors and snatched at those, not bothering to look at them just yet. Once Xander cleared the floor of loose papers and books, he scanned the room for anymore books or papers that could come in handy, and grabbed a remote control box with a large red button on it, not knowing what it controlled, but knowing it would piss Andrew and Warren off if they came back and found it wasn't there.
Xander hopped into his car and drove off to the Bronze. He parked in the parking lot beneath a street light and turned his light on inside the car. He discarded papers in foreign languages and read over ones in English. Soon enough, he came across a paper labelled, "Emergency Locations".
Xander was in business.
However, the locations on the paper were simply addresses, not a large place. So, Xander would have to check each and every address. Maybe he could call Willow and share some of the addresses with her, but then he wouldn't be hailed as a hero. And for once, Xander wanted to be hailed as a hero. Well, not a hero, but as if he actually mattered and could do something besides stress about the wedding, which didn't look like it would be taking place anytime soon. So off Xander went to the first location: 1635 Revello Drive. Five addresses away from Buffy's house. The perfect hiding place, if Xander did say so himself. To be so close to the Slayer while they were looking far and abroad for them? Perfect.
Xander pulled into Buffy's driveway and got out of the car, walking down the sidewalk. Luckily, he wore a jacket with a hood, his subconcience having realized he may need to shield his face. So he walked down the street until he stood in front of 1634 Revello Drive, flipping up his hood and jamming his hands into his pockets. He casually crossed the street and looked down at the basement windows. Light shone through the square pane of glass and Xander smirked. Oh, today was his lucky day. The aptitude test in high school should have told him he should have been a spy. CIA. FBI. He would blow them all out of the water. Well, if he could lie successfully. Oh well, he would have been a method actor.
So Xander cut across the lawn and took a casual, curious glance at the window. Andrew stood with his back towards Xander, and Cordelia was tied to a chair in front of him. Cordelia caught sight of Xander and her eyes widened slightly, panicking. She didn't want Xander to get caught spying on them! Xander flashed her a smile and the "A-OK" sign, getting up and walking away, back to Buffy's house. Well then. Looked like Angel would be leaving sometime tonight. Perhaps Spike would go with him.

"Spike."
"Oh bloody hell, Peaches. I was sleepin'."
"Look, I know your hurt, but dammit--I need your help in finding Cordelia."
"Find another bloke to help you. I can't move a thing without wincing. Pansy, thy name is Spike."
"Suck it up and take it like a man, Spike."
"Piss off."
"Don't make me drag you up."
"Piss off!"
"Fine. I'll make a note to tell Buffy what a wimp you really are."
"You'll do no such thing, Soul Boy."
"Then prove me wrong."
"By going into pain more excrutiating than the stuff my soddin' chip used to give me? No thanks."
"Angel, leave him alone."
Angel turned and faced Buffy. She gave him her iciest glare and Angel left, his tail between his legs. That was when his cell phone rang, and he came running back. "Would one of you mind answering this?"
Buffy accepted the call for him and handed the cell phone back to him.
"Angel here," he said, leaving the security of Spike's crypt.
:Hey, Dead Boy.:
"Xander! Did you find her?" he asked anxiously.
:That I did.:
"Where is she?" he frowned.
:1635 Revello Drive, in the basement. I'm with Willow right now, outside Buffy's house. On the porch.:
"No kidding? That close to Buffy's house?"
:Unfortunately. Or fortunately, depending on how you look at it.:
"I'll be right over. Then we can look for a spell for Willow to use."
:...Yeah. We'll be here.:
"Bye."
:Bye.:
Xander hung up on Angel. Angel stared at his cell phone, fiddling with the controls until the "Call Ended at 11:34 P.M." message flashed at him. He nodded in satisfaction, and left Spike's cemetery for Buffy's house.

Willow had teleported a time freezing spell for Andrew and Warren on a scroll rather than look it up the old fashioned way. So when Angel arrived, revved to do research, he had to rapidly shift gears into Mr. Stealthy Pants mode. Xander prepped himself to convince the geek trio that he wanted to join their group. He had actually worked himself into a frame of mind where he believed, to an extent, that he wanted to join their trio--er, duo--because Anya had spurned him. He still was angry with Anya, and this didn't help much.
"All right!" Willow stood happily. "Are we all ready to go?"
"Yeah," Xander said darkly. Willow actually flinched.
Angel nodded. "I'm ready. Let's go."
Xander left Buffy's porch and went around to the front driveway, walking down it slowly, his hands hidden in his pockets, and a rather pissed off expression on his face. He hurried over to 1635 and walked around the house until he found the basement entrance. It was locked from the inside, so instead of ripping it off of its hinges, Xander stomped on it with one foot until he heard someone coming to unlock it. He stood back as the door was thrown open.
Andrew blinked at him. "Y-you..."
"Out of the way," Xander said, his voice saturated in dark authority. Andrew scrambled out of the way and slammed the door closed behind him. "Leave it unlocked."
"Andrew, what did you--" Warren started to say, turning around to face Xander, "--let into the basement?"
"Aner!" Cordelia cried through the masking tape over her mouth. Relief flooded her face until he looked up at her, then she shrank back in her chair. She had no idea someone could don that kind of face with such a gentle spirit. Had he really changed that much since she left Sunnydale? What happened to the Xander she had fallen for?
"I'm going to join your group now," Xander informed them, sitting down at the new set of monitors they had set up. He looked at the sixteen monitors they had up and shook his head. "Don't you know it's illegal to do that?"
"Hey, Xander, you can't just...walk in here, and expect to take over the troika!" Andrew piped up.
"Oh? And who's gonna stop me?" Xander looked at Andrew. Then he laughed incredulously, "You?"
"No. But my gun will," Warren held it up.
Xander deftly took it from Warren's hand and took out the empty clip, tossing the hand gun back at him. "It was empty, moron. Might want to fill it up next time you try to threaten someone with it." He turned back to the monitors and turned each one off. "First, let's get rid of these stupid cameras."
"Hey you can't..." Warren tried to tell him.
"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do," Xander snarled. "Now give me your phone. I need to tell Buffy I won't be coming back tonight."
Warren tilted his head to Andrew. "Get him the phone, Andrew."
"That's better," Xander snatched the cell phone away from Andrew and headed to a secluded corner of the basement. He dialed Angel's cell phone's phone number and waited for Willow to answer it.
:Hello.:
"Buffy, hi. It's Xander."
:You ready for us?:
"I'll be late...what's that? Oh, yeah."
:Great. We'll send in the reinforcements in a minute. Stall while I cast the spell.:
"If you say so. G'bye." Xander hung up and tosses the phone back to Andrew. "Well now..."
Willow threw the doors open and stood at the top of the stairs. Her pupils had enlarged, and generally gave off a whole creepy effect. "Desino olim mano, Warren, Andrew!"
Andrew and Warren froze. Xander quickly helped Angel untie Cordelia when he ran down and looked up at Willow. She smiled at Xander. "What's wrong with your eyes, Will?"
"Just for show. You'll see when you come back. Now get out, I'm gonna cast a forget spell on them so they don't remember from you coming in on," Willow answered. "Alieno!"
A bright flash of light burst from Andrew and Warren. Xander ducked out of the basement just as Warren and Andrew became reanimated. "Let's go," Willow took hold of Xander's hand and ran to his car with him. She was panting and out of breath when she sat down in the passenger seat with him. She grinned, and her pupils shrank back to normal size. "See? No harm done. That was so fun."
Xander smiled at her. "I don't wanna go in just yet."
"All right. You're my ride anyway, so I'm ready to go anytime you are. I promised Tara I'd be home when she got there," Willow shrugged. She actually looked like she was enjoying herself.
"Yeah. Did you tell Tara what happened?" Xander wondered, not taking his eyes from her.
Willow shook her head. "Not yet. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I should. I mean, will she break up with me again? Or...or, will she, you know, just not care, 'cause it wasn't for personal gain? But, hey, what's up with you and Anya? Is there anything there on the wedding front?"
"No," Xander sighed. "I don't know if I want there to be. I mean, if she's going to get so angry at me over not wanting to invite Spike to our wedding, then are we really meant to be together? You know, you look at Cordelia and Angel, and...you just know they're meant to be together," he motioned at the couple standing in between the doorway and the window, lip locked and whispering to each other. "You look at how they fit in each other's arms. You look at the way they just fit perfectly together." Xander looked at Willow. "I mean, am I ever going to have that with someone? Have the woman I feel like I've known my entire life, so comfortable with, and she fits in my arms just perfect, and..."
Willow looked at him sympathetically. "One who will always come back to you? No matter what?"
"Yeah."
"You didn't figure this out in the tenth grade?"
Xander laughed lightly. "You think you know someone, you think you love someone...and they tell you not to come home because you don't agree on one of the wedding guests."
"I'd tell you to spend the night, but I don't think Tara would appreciate it much," Willow chuckled. "Goodness, it's stuffy in here!" she opened the door and stood out in the night air, leaning against Xander's car. "Man, tonight was great."
Xander got out with her and leaned over the top of his car, watching her. She turned around, folded her arms on the top of the car, and gave him the I'm-Having-Fun-and-Really-Enjoying-Myself grin. Her eyes sparkled like the stars, mischief dancing in her expression. "You know what, Xand?"
"What?" he asked.
"I say we be rebels and go get ice cream."
"I think you're on."
They both ducked back in the car and drove off, Cordelia and Angel watching curiously.

***


"Look, love," Spike said. Buffy looked at him with innocent puppy dog eyes. He placed a hand over hers as they stood by his sarccophagus, both leaning on it a little. "I need to ask you a question."

You look like the perfect fit
For a girl in need of a tourniquet


Buffy arched an eyebrow and looked at their hands. "What?"
"Do you love me?"
She froze.

But can you save me
Come on and save me
If you could save me
From the ranks of the freaks
Who suspect they could never love anyone


He looked down and removed his hand. "I thought as much. If you don't, I'll jus' head on back to L.A. Hell, none of you Scoobies like me. I'll just go back, say goodbye to your sis this time..."
Buffy tilted her head. "Spike...I...I do have feelings for you...but..."
Spike literally growled at her. "Don't do that. You have to stop saying that. It's bloody torturous. Would you have put up with it if my poncy grand-sire had told you," he cleared his throat and pitched his voice femininely, "'Well, I have feelings for you, but, you know, I don't really love you...'. Would you have put up with it, Slayer? Would you?"

'Cause I can tell
You know what it's like
The long farewell of the hunger strike


Buffy looked down, tears forming in her eyes. "Would I have put up with as much shit as you have? Well, newsflash, Spike, I've put up with more things that you'll ever know."

But can you save me
Come on and save me
If you could save me
From the ranks of the freaks
Who suspect they could never love anyone


"Oh, really Slayer?" Spike asked her. He turned away from her. He was glad he hadn't unpacked all the way. He would be leaving with Angel and Cordelia as soon as they were ready to leave. "I wasn't aware you lived longer than my 127 years. I didn't know you lived longer than me. I didn't know you loved someone you were so bloody close to having, only to have them snatched away. To have them pull back, just when you're so close you can taste it. To be unable to touch. To be unable to convince them. To stay with one person for a century, only to have them go crawling back to their ex. To go sniveling back to my grand-sire. You know what it feels like, Slayer? You know what it feels like to be told you're beneath someone? To be the dirt they turn their nose up at? To, to pour your heart into every little thing that concerns them, to have them take one of your comments the wrong way?" Buffy stared at him, horrified. "Yeah. That's what I thought, Slayer. But listen," he bent his knees and scooped up his bag, starting to put things into it. "I'll get out of your hair. Like I said. None of you like me anyway. Might as well go where I'm at least appreciated, even if I'm a baby-sitter."

You struck me dumb like radium
Like Peter Pan or Superman


"Baby-sitter?" Buffy whispered.
"Yeah. I baby-sit Angel's son, Connor, in exchange for having a room at Angel Investigations," Spike answered, lifting his bag with his knees. "Bloody hell. Miss the li'l tyke, actually."
"Angel...has a son? How?" Buffy frowned.
"Bugger if I know," Spike shrugged. "He's Darla's. Or, was. Darla's dead now."

You will come to save me
C'mon and save me
If you could save me
From the ranks of the freaks
Who suspect they could never love anyone


"But...Angel dusted her, I saw it," Buffy told him, trying to rationalize the situation.
"Well, some blokes ressurected her, she came back, got laid by Angel, and voila. Baby."
"But vampires can't...?" she trailed off, panicking for the moment.
"Prophecy, Summers," he grunted, picking up a book and sliding it into his duffel bag.

'Cept the freaks
Who suspect they could never love anyone
But the freaks
Who suspect they could never love anyone

"You're actually going to leave, aren't you?" Buffy frowned. "You're going to leave me. Again."
"Well, got nothin' to stay for. Have a bird who doesn't love me, a little girl who thinks she loves me, a bloke who hates me, and two witches who ignore the piss out of me. So, I'd say, yes, I'm going to leave," he told her pessimistically.
"But you said you wouldn't leave me, Spike," she murmured.
"That was then. This is now. Catch up with the times, Slayer," he informed her. "Oh bloody hell..." he gripped at his ribs. "Shouldn't have come back...should have known you would do this..."

C'mon and save me
Why don't you save me
If you could save me
From the ranks of the freaks
Who suspect they could never love anyone


"You don't really love me, do you, Spike?" Buffy asked, dazed.
"Of course I love you! I love more than I can bloody tell you but you won't believe me!" he slowly rose to his feet, lifting his bag with him. It was too soon for anyone--advanced vampire healing or no--to be up and around, carrying heavy duffel bags, with at least four broken ribs.
"If you really loved me--"
"Stop it, Buffy! This is exactly why I'm leaving again. I can't...I can't go another round with you. You win, all right?! You win! I quit! I'm done. I'm going to Los Angeles. This time for good."
She stared at him some more. "You're lying. You'll always come back to Sunnydale. You don't just stop loving someone, Spike. Love is forever."
"Try telling that to yourself, Summers. Or to Drusilla. Or Captain Cardboard. Or any of these other blokes that break up with each other."

Except the freaks
Who suspect they could never love anyone
Except the freaks who could never love anyone


"I'm sorry."
"But, we aren't really breaking up, now, are we? Because that would sort of take two people who love one another to do that. It would take two of us dating to break up. Shagging...shagging was fun while it lasted. The only thing better than killing a Slayer is shagging one, love. You'd do well to remember that, next time you shack up with a vampire."
"You heartless bastard."
And she slapped him.
He knocked her hand away just after it made contact, and he snarled at her. "Add this to the reasons of why I'm leaving Sunnydale. I'm going to go say goodbye to your little sister, and then I'm going to go sleep at the Motel Six until Angel and Cordelia come to give me my wake up call. Don't you dare follow me either. I want to be able to make a clean break this time."
She stood in the center of the crypt as he dragged himself out, holding his ribcage as he got into his DeSoto.

Spike pulled up to 1630 Revello Drive and climbed out the car, staring at the house he'd spent the most of the previous summer in. It was now almost March, and spring had begun to show itself. Of course, Spike never saw any of that, unless it was from the safety of underneath a ratty old blanket. So Spike now marched, or tried to march, up to the front door of the Summers' house and rang the doorbell.
"I've got it!" Dawn called from inside. "It's probably Buffy!" she pulled open the door and blinked at Spike. "...Spike? What are you doing here? Why didn't you come in the ba--" she stopped when Spike hugged her fiercely. "Okay, verging on creepiness here. Spike? What's up?"
"I'm leaving Sunnydale again," he said softly.
"What?" she demanded incredulously. "Why?"
"I don't belong here, Bit," he hugged her again and finally let go. "I belong in Los Angeles, where more than one person gives a bloody damn whether I walk or not."
Dawn frowned. Then she crossed her arms over her chest. "Something happened with Buffy again. Is that what you do everytime you have a tiff with her? Run to Angel?"
"Pet, it's not like that," Spike grimanced and held his ribs again. "It's...more complicated than that, and I barely understand it myself, I just know I can't stay here with your big sis tellin' me she cares about me and then doin' nothing about it."
Dawn sighed. "At least you aren't lying to me," she conceded. "Angel and Cordelia are inside. They wanted to talk to Buffy, but I guess they can do that over the phone if you wanted to leave with them."
Spike stepped inside the house and walked into the living room. Angel and Cordelia looked up at him. "Spike?" Angel stood. "You shouldn't be up and--where's Buffy?"
"That bitch is mulling over what I told her in my former residence. I'm ready to go back to Los Angeles now, if you please," he answered.
"Me too," Cordelia stood quickly. "In fact, I think we can tell Buffy what we have to say in oh, a letter, or, you know, maybe even over the phone? Or an email."
Angel raised his eyebrows. "O-okay. Let's drop by our room, and we'll be on our way. It's only about a half-hour after midnight, so we still have five hours till sunrise. So let's get going."
"Finally. Someone who wants to do things my way," Spike said, relieved.