Chapter 28

"Oh, God, Slayer…move to the left…the other left…oh…yeah…like that…faster…"

Spike was so long in the moment, so focused on the way her hot mouth felt around him and the things her tongue was doing, that he didn't hear the door open or hear the other vampire approach.

"Christ, Buffy," he hissed. "Just a little bit faster…close…"

"You better move faster," Angel said dryly. "They're waiting for you."

Both of them jumped, the mood killed instantly. Buffy looked up at Angel and wiped her mouth. Spikes expected her to blush or act humiliated or push him away. Instead she smiled calmly. "We'll be there in a minute." Angel didn't move immediately, too transfixed with shock and horror…and something else…to make himself look away.

"Could you go away, Peaches? We were in the middle of something."

Angel's eyes narrowed, but he turned on his heel without saying anything else. As soon as the door shut, Spike started chuckling. "Did you see the look on his face?"

"Did you see the look on yours?"

"Pleased?"


"Terrified."

Spike blinked. "I was not terrified. Why would I be terrified?"

"I don't know Spike, why would you be."

Spike glared at her. "Are you going to finish at least?"

"No, we're going to be late for the meeting. Come on you, get up."

"I am up," he muttered, shooting another glare at her. She only laughed at him as she buckled his pants. "You are a cold, heartless bitch."

"I am," she agreed. "Come on, I'll make it up to you later."

"I don't want it later, I want it now."

"Are you going to pout now?"

Spike sighed as he stood up, then pulled his pants on. "I don't pout. What's this bleeding thing about anyway?"

"You."

"Tired of being the center of attention."

"Tends to happen when you come back from the dead…twice. I heard that Wes has some new information."

"And it couldn't wait five more minutes?"

"Yeah, believe it or not, the whole world doesn't revolve around you."

"Right, I forgot, it revolves around you."

"You know it." She opened Wes's office door and shooed Spike in.

"Spike, Buffy," Wes greeted from behind his desk. Angel was standing in the corner, pointedly not looking at them, Giles was seated on the couch surrounded by books and papers. "How was your sparring?"

"Good," Spike said. "Nice workout." He sprawled out on a leather chair, his hand rested casually between his legs. "Well?" He drawled.

Buffy sat down on the other chair. "What have you got?"

"There is still one problem we needed to solve once the body has healed—the question of the soul. After all, we can't just send Spike away again. He needs the soul to be whole," Wes explained.

"We also had to take into consideration the prophecies of what William needs to survive. It was very troubling…" Giles continued.

"So, did you figure it out?" Spike asked.

"We think so. I don't know what you have decided…"

"I'm going," Spike said plainly.

"Ok, in order to do that, we need to perform a certain spell. You cannot return to heaven without your soul. If you truly want William to return, we'll have to perform a binding spell, that will keep all three aspects of your…essence…together."

"How will that work?" Buffy asked.

"Spike will be bound to the soul, which will keep him out of hell. Unfortunately, it will also keep him out of heaven for the duration of William's life. He'll remain in limbo," Giles answered.

"That black place? I bloody hated that. It was boring."

Wes nodded. "Yes, that place. This technically fulfills the requirements for William to remain on Earth. He needs your strength, your life, and your death."

"The first part of the requirement is already fulfilled," Angel supplied.

"Yes, thank you," Spike said dryly. "I never would have figured that one out."

"So, Spike is just going to hang out in limbo until William dies?" Buffy asked. "Then what happens?"

"Then the demon is reunited with the soul and they return to Heaven."

"How do you know?" Buffy demanded.

"Well…we don't know for sure," Giles admitted. "We can't know for sure if this will work, but we're fairly confident that it will work."

"But I definitely won't be pulled into Hell?"

"No. This spell will insure that you won't go anywhere without the soul. You'll be stuck, it's true, but it's better than the alternative," Wes explained.

"Could I still…Could I talk to him like I did before?" Buffy asked.

Giles nodded. "It's possible. That type of magic is very consuming, however, so it cannot be done often. But it's not harmful."

"I think we need to go home and think about this," Buffy said. "Spike?"

"Yeah, sounds good." Spike stood up and nodded at the other men. "Thanks."

"Did Spike just thank us?" Giles asked as soon as they left the room.

"Dying again must have mellowed him."

~*~

"Tell me about him, Slayer."

"Who?"

"William. Tell me what his life is like here."

Buffy turned over and rested her head on his chest. "He likes to watch TV a lot. When we're not home, he spends his time in front of the television. He has an odd fascination with the court shows. I think Judge Judy is his favorite. But usually he's watching the Discovery Channel or the History Channel. He loves the History Channel."

"Sounds boring."

"He makes it interesting. He reads a lot too. He reads to me…we're working on Jules Verne now. A chapter a night. He enjoys it more than I do, but I like the books too. He writes all of the time. He won't share his poems with me, and I've never looked at his notebook so I don't how good he is…"

"Bloody awful."

"The poems mean a lot to him. He's very protective of them."

"He has reason to be."

"I don't think he just writes poetry though. Like I said, I've never looked at his notebook, but I suspect he's writing something else. He's already been through 2 of Dawn's school notebooks. I need to teach him how to use the computer."

"It wouldn't be the same," Spike said softly. "It's not the same at all."

"Well, he might want to have a back up of his work."

"So is that all he does? Just waste his time watching TV and writing crap?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Like you have room to talk. But no, that's not all he does. He has a strange fascination with my kitchen. He's very…orderly."

"The kitchen was always a safe place."

"What?"

"I'd go there…he'd go there…the cook would give him food, scraps of meat or pie or whatever. Warmest room in the house. Comfortable."

"Well, my kitchen isn't that nice. He likes to cook though. He's getting good at it. Dawn is showing him how. When he's angry—which doesn't happen often—he reorganizes the cabinets."

"That's just weird, Buffy."

"I know."

"Does he ever get out of the house?"

"Not much. I have to work a lot, and Dawn enjoys spending time with him, but she has her own life. He doesn't like going out anyway. Crowds make him nervous."

"Muggers and tuberculosis. He wouldn't want to risk it."

"Well, he braved the mall more than once, and we had a good time."

"So what do you think? He'd come back and keep up this breakneck pace?"

"He was sick, Spike. Really sick. We pretended he was getting better, but we both knew better. He wasn't strong enough to do much…I think he would love to do more. He has a lot of dreams, Spike."

"I know."

"I do want to help him. It's kind of a second chance, you know?"

"I know."

"You said earlier that he was there…"

"He is. Quiet, now."

Buffy sighed. "They said I could still talk to you."

"It might be easier if you don't."

"You'd get lonely."

"What are you going to do with him?"

"Keep him…I'm not going to try to replace you, Spike. He could never do that. I would never want him to."

"Have you slept with him?"

"No, Spike. I have not."

"Just asking…Would you?"

"I don't know Spike. That's not what our relationship is about."

"Yet."

Buffy didn't answer.