DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this fic except the plot. The characters and such belong to Joss Whedon (aka God), so if you've got a problem, take it up with him, okay?

RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: Buffy/Spike fanfic set after 'Chosen'. After defeating the First, Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang are Cleveland-bound and ready to start a new chapter in their lives, and they're not the only ones…

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow! Thanks for all the feedback! It just made me want to update sooner! That's a hint, ya know. Scooby moment in this chapter! Love those!

CHAPTER TWO: Questions, Answers, and More Questions

It was somewhere around midnight when Buffy awoke to find she wasn't in her bed. Rising up on her elbows, it took her a few seconds to realize she was in that hotel where Angel and his friends lived in Los Angeles. It took her another couple of seconds to remember why she was here in the first place. Shaking her head, she tossed the covers off of her and dangled her feet over the edge of the bed. She wasn't in the least bit tired. In fact, it felt like she had just woken up from a long nap.

Glancing at the clock conveniently located on the wall, then comparing the time of 11:56 PM to when she had finally gotten to sleep, she concluded that she had had quite a while to sleep. She'd slept longer than she had in ages. Only it was almost midnight, which meant back to bed for her.

She wondered for a brief moment if going back to bed would do her any good, it wasn't like she was getting back to sleep now anyway, and she certainly wasn't too keen on tossing and turning until seven.

Sighing, Buffy carefully placed each of her feet on the floor, not wanting to wake anyone, and crept up to the door. She twisted the knob carefully and cautiously, slowly opening it. She stepped out of the room and into the hallway, relieved to see Willow, Xander, and Giles sitting in the main room after she looked over the railing.

Buffy walked downstairs with a little more haste and a little less caring if she was going to wake anyone up, since the prospect of having a late night chat with her closest friends sounded pretty good.

Giles was the first to see her, acknowledging her with a nod and a smile. A grin played at her features as she sat down next to Willow. "Hey guys. Couldn't sleep either?" she asked in a whispered tone. "Oh, no, it's just we sensed that you'd be out of your room at this exact time and we wanted to be the first to greet you. Plus, hey, who could not sleep after that?" Xander said. Buffy looked down for a moment, a sudden wave of sadness passing over the four.

After a few moments, Giles decided to say something. "Have I yet to mention that you all did a fine job earlier?" he asked. "Yeah, especially Will. She was all one with the magick," Xander said. Looking up, Willow noticed her friends looking at her with questioning glances, and knew that was her cue to give them a detailed description of what happened when she cast the spell.

She took a deep breath. "It was… intense. I mean, really intense. It was like, for a moment, the only thing that existed was me and the magick. It just felt so… I dunno, different?" Pausing, Willow tried to find words to further explain it. "Different from the last time I did a big spell, I mean. It didn't feel… dark. It felt pure, ya know? Kennedy said my hair was white, so I figure, hey, opposite of black is white. And black equals dark and white equals pure meaning dark is the opposite of pure and… you guys are lost." Willow was getting better at recognizing her rambling, and she knew she was having a major ramble-fest. Or was it babble-fest? Didn't those mean the same thing?

"No, Will. I think we get it. Well, me and Giles at least," Buffy said. Xander furrowed his brows. "Hey, I resent that!" he said, feigning anger. "It must have been… refreshing," Giles said, searching for the right term, and finding it. Willow nodded. "It really was." Silence lingered for a few seconds, and then Giles's northern English accent cut through it.

"Buffy, I… I cannot help but ask…" he began, flustered. Buffy knew what he was about to attempt to ask her. She also knew Xander and Willow probably had the same question on the tips of their tongues. After all, the three had been above ground when the whole amulet thing had happened.

"The amulet that Angel brought, the one I told you guys about… it had some sort of powers. I think whatever it was supposed to do, it did it. He was… Spike was wearing it, and then all of a sudden it was like, bam, pretty lights and lots of dusted Ubervamps," she said. She didn't say anything after that, and Xander, Willow, and Giles got the idea she didn't really want to talk about it yet.

"So, we going to Cleveland or what?" Xander asked, changing the subject. "Well, there's the prospect of Slayer searching. Hey, we could make a reality show out of it! It could be like star search, only without the singing and… yeah, Cleveland sounds like a good plan," Willow said. "Protecting the Hellmouth. Again. Sounds like fun," Buffy muttered. She looked up, eyes widening a little at the wan glances she got. "Not that I'm not up to it, I mean, Hellmouth, my specialty." Willow, Xander, and Buffy turned to Giles, who sighed, removed his glasses, polished them with his shirt, and put them on again.

"Well, Cleveland is the most… sensible destination. There may be Slayers all over the world, but most of them aren't in the least bit trained and won't have an idea of where all the vampire-demon… hot spots, as you would say, are," he said. A question suddenly popped into Buffy's head, and for a second she contemplated whether or not to ask it.

"Are you going back to England?" Buffy asked, looking down at her bare feet and waiting for his answer. Giles smiled. "No. I believe I'm needed here." Willow's eyes lit up. "Great! I bet they're in need of a librarian in Cleveland, and, oh! I bet they have lots of libraries, which means… lots of librarians… which means lots and lots of friends for Giles!" she said happily. "Where is Cleveland, anyhow? I mean… I've never actually been there. The farthest I've ever been from Sunnydale is not that far, I barely made it to the border after high school," Xander said.

"I believe Cleveland is in Ohio, Xander, and… it… it…" Giles began, trailing off. "Cleveland has that wall of fame thing, and lots and lots of music clubs. And you know, museums, parks, wineries, and, ooh, I'll bet they have a zoo, too. Minus the evil hyenas," Buffy said. "I think," she added. "Sounds like fun. So, lemme raise the question, who are we bringing with us?" Xander asked.

**********

The following morning, Buffy called a meeting. The Slayer-ares formally known as Slayer-bes had moaned and groaned, but of course piled into one of the many rooms in the hotel to listen.

Buffy told them they could either follow her to Cleveland, or go slay back where they came from. All of them, except Kennedy, had decided home sounded pretty good. Wood decided to make his way to New York when Faith announced she was heading back to jail, and Andrew decided he wanted to be a Scooby, or as close to one as he could be. So, it was settled.

Buffy, Giles, Xander, Dawn, Willow, Kennedy, and Andrew were going to Cleveland.

After the meeting, Buffy explained to Angel what would be going down. "Sounds good. I'll make sure I get Faith back to jail safely," Angel said. Buffy smiled and nodded. "I have a feeling I'm going to be flippin' burgers for a while. Thank god Giles is staying, I don't know what I'd do if he went back to England," she told him. They were sitting together on the patio, Angel keeping to the shadows. "When are you leaving?" Buffy shrugged. "Soon. Maybe later on tonight. Everyone got a good night's sleep last night so I think we're up for a road trip." Angel nodded, then opened his mouth to speak, shut it, opened it, shut it, then opened it again. "Buffy… did you by any chance… recover the amulet?" he asked. Buffy shook her head slowly. "I don't think so. Speaking of which, maybe I should get Giles to do some research on it." Angel sighed. He should tell her something he knew she deserved to know. "Hey Buffy… have I ever told you about this Shanshu prophecy?"

**********

Spike was tired. It had taken him a while to get out of the crater that was once Sunnyhell, and when he had finally gotten out of it and onto solid ground, it was night. He had sat close to the edge, contemplating what had happened to him. He swore he had died. Yet here he was, alive, and alive in the actual having to breathe sense. He noticed he was still wearing the amulet around his neck, that pretty much being it. He was a little cold and really hungry, but not for blood. Strangely, he had a strong craving for soda or onion wings or… something not blood. Then a loud sound above him had caught his attention, and he looked up to see a helicopter hovering ten feet above him. There was movement and then a bright light that he figured was someone pointing a flashlight at him, and then more movement, and then the helicopter had landed and the people who had been in there had taken him to the hospital because after all that climbing, he looked pretty bloodied up.

And now here he sat, in a hospital bed, bewildered beyond belief and wondering if he was dreaming. He breathed in and out, not only because he had to, but because it felt really… strange, in a good way. Also because he kept forgetting to breathe and was constantly turning blue, and sometimes purple.

The doctors thought he was in shock, and in a way, he was. His brain was trying to take in everything at once, but it wasn't. The door into the hospital room opened suddenly, and a nurse came in. "Hello Mister… uhh…" she said, looking at him, hoping he would supply her with a name. He blinked and looked as if he had forgotten it, and then said, "Spike." The woman raised her eyebrow but didn't say anything. 'Probably thinks I'm crazy,' he thought. "Yes, well, Mr. Spike someone is here to see you." Spike sat up, curious as to know who would be visiting him. Certainly not one of the Scoobies, since he figured them along with Buffy had all gotten out of Sunnydale, and they most likely thought he was dead. But maybe they hadn't gotten out. A tremor went down his body at the thought of Buffy lying dead in the bottom of the crater, buried in rubble and dirt. He shook it off, and focused on the person who had come to visit him. He had the strangest feeling whomever was about to step through that door knew what had happened to him.

A woman with blondish hair walked in. She had a semi-small frame and the strangest looking cut across her neck, which was one of the first things he noticed because he was pretty much used to looking at peoples necks first anyway. The woman looked at the nurse who was still in the room, glaring at her. The nurse took the hint and left. Then the woman turned to Spike and smiled. "You must be Spike. I work for a place called Wolfram and Hart. I'm Lilah."

Spike eyed her wearily. "What do you want?" he asked. His voice cracked a little. She smiled even wider. "Well, first of all, I should tell you that you're human, which you've probably noticed because you're sitting in the sun right now." He stared at her, and she went on. "You fulfilled your destiny." Spike raised his eyebrow. Lilah sighed. She hated this job. "You were a vampire with a soul. You fulfilled your destiny, which was to save the world. You Shanshued, became human." Spike blinked, squinted, looked down at his hands and said, "Well, that sure explains a lot."

"I'm going to need you to come with us. We're going to get you back to our headquarters." She stopped herself suddenly. "Angel's headquarters, excuse me," she corrected. Spike's head shot up. "I'm in Los Angeles?" he asked. "And Angel's here?" Lilah nodded twice. Spike smirked. "Take me to the bugger. Can't wait to see 'is face when he finds out I'm human." He laughed lightly, and Lilah just shook her head.

**********

"Bye everyone! Thanks for handling.. er… having us!" Buffy called from the bus. She and the rest of the gang decided renting a Suburban would be too much, so they were going to Ohio in the old school bus they had arrived in Los Angeles in. The sun had just set, and Angel and his friends waved to Buffy and all her friends as they drove off. Angel looked on and knew he wasn't going to see her for a while, a sad smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Angel, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, and Wesley went back inside just as the phone rang. Fred picked it up, nodded and turned to Angel. "That was Lilah," she said, noticing the way Wesley's eye twitched when she spoke the name. "She wants us over to the old Wolfram and Hart place now. She says it's urgent."

**********

The second they had arrived, Angel, Lorne Fred, Wesley, and Gunn had rushed into the building they now technically owned and were directed to the third floor. They walked into a large white room, and saw Lilah standing in the middle of it. "Hello Angel, Wesley," she said. "And Gunn and Fred," she added. They nodded towards her, and she grinned. "Well, I'm sure you're all wondering what I've asked you over here for." They nodded again, and she went on. "Angel, how do you feel about meeting an old… friend?" Angel raised his eyebrow. "Who?" "Let's just say you're related to him in a bizarre vampire way." Then, raising her voice a little, she said, "You can come out now."

A door on the left side opened, and the six people in the room turned to it. Gunn, Fred, and Lorne had no idea who the man was who stepped out of the door at that moment. Wesley had a good idea of who it might be, and looked at Angel's face for reassurance. The look of shock, frustration, and utter disbelief that plastered the vampire's face told him everything. "Angel," the man said in a slightly lilting English accent. Angel squinted and shook his head as if he didn't believe who he was seeing. Then he said simply, "Spike."