Authors Note: You like me you really like me! Or at least the story, so I will continue. But trust me when the reviews stop, so does the writing, so tell your friends, tell your dog (if he can type reviews, and in which case you should get him on TV cos that's amazing), just leave a review, a note to let me know you're reading this. I was not aware that this story is very closely like a story by Mita427, a wonderful story called 'She Will Come' which all of you should go read and worship and feed Mita many reviews, cos if you don't she will in fact starve to death. I appologize for any similarities, cos I honestly didn't know, but as Spike is my witness this story will be different, although I may take to her begging stylings, so I completely credit her for that. I also realized that I wasn't too clear on placement of the story so here it goes: post Entropy, BUT this story still has refrence to 'Seeing Red.' So to clarify, take 'Entropy' add 'Seeing Red' minus the Tara shooting and Spike attack (for instance my story sort of begins after Buffy smashes Warren's orbs ::chuckle::) and that equals the actual placement of my story. I also didn't intend Buffy to come off as mean, she's still all angsty and full of pain and stuff, cos I thought that the ME family tried to clear up Buffy's foulness and depression too tidily, and well I like my Buffy messed up. So here we goes with chapter two, I'm not sure where this path will lead us, but I am pretty sure the journey will be worth it. So stick around will you? PS: This chapter was done 2 days ago, but my computer ate half of it and Fanfiction screwed up the upload, and well, it was a real mess, so I'm sorry this took so long.

What is wrong with me? I burned my hand in the grill because I wasn't paying attention and now my manager wants to send me to the hospital to get it looked at. Something about grease burns being very messy and workman's comp, and I'm not hearing any of it. I didn't even feel it when I burned it. Fire still can't burn me can it? I couldn't concentrate on work anyways. All I see is Warren, Warren of all people doing terrible things to Spike, and it hurts. It hurts me in a way the grill can't, it hurts me down to my core, it hurts my soul. The soul I wasn't sure was still there. I had actually questioned whether or not Willow remembered to put that back in my body after raising me, because the emptiness was so vast I doubted she had done it. Now I know its there. He made me realize it was still there.

Sue dropped me off at the emergency room, but as soon as she pulled away I left. Walking home I tried to figure out what I could do, could I find Spike and rescue him before Warren tortured him? Maybe I should just meet with him, let him get his ya-yas out, playing alpha male, I just don't know what I'd do if Spike was really gone. The thought had dawned on me before, I had actually prayed he would just disappear, so I wouldn't have to deal with him. But now I can't deal without him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" It was Tara, standing on the porch.

"How about a dollar?"

"I thought you were at work."

I raised my bandaged hand, "I burned my hand, they sent me home."

"I'm sorry."

"It's cool, it's my fault anyways."

"Not about your hand, Dawn told me about Spike. She was near hysterical. I made her some tea and sent her to bed, she's really worried about him, and you."

"It's okay, I can take care of it."

"It's not okay Buffy, I can tell." Tara sat down on the step and I joined her. It was so strange that the two people I could trust through all of this were Tara and Spike, the two who had played parents to Dawn when I was gone, now took care of me too.

"I'm scared Tara, scared of so much. What if Warren dusts him? What if I'm too late? Warren's not exactly trustworthy, what if he already dusted Spike? And why do I even care? I mean after everything, the Anya thing, the demon eggs, why do I care?"

"Do you love him? You know I don't care if you do, I've told you before. It's okay to love him."

"I was using him, but when he was gone it was harder to do everything. It's not love, I don't think it's love. When I stopped spending time with him, everything got harder and more confusing and painful." and heavy, everything was so heavy, I wanted to say it, but it sounded stupid.

"Maybe you weren't using him, maybe you need him."

"Or maybe I'm really fucked up and need decades of therapy I will never be able to afford."

"We'll take care of Warren, you know that."

"Did you tell anyone else?"

"Willow knows, I think she told Xander. He hasn't left the apartment in 3 days, she's worried about him."

"Great. Xander's probably on the phone with Warren asking if he can assist in any way."

"No he isn't. He's hurting, but he's not insane."

We got quiet for a minute. Tara put her arm around me. Sitting on this porch, feeling this way, it was so familiar. Then it struck me, the last time I felt like this was when I found out mom was sick. I was so confused, terrified, lost, and he made it all better, he made it quieter, Spike. Tears started to creep to my eyes. I tried so hard to hold them back, but I couldn't they had been ocming for a long time.

"Tara? It hurts so much. I thought it would get better, after some time, that I would feel better about being here, but I don't. It's all so hard, and I don't know how I did it before. And I feel bad, cos I can't talk to Willow or Xander or even Giles. I feel so guilty."

"You let us help, that's how you did it."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, or Spike. I need both of you, you take care of me, cos I'm in pieces and when you're around it's easier to hold it together."

"Shh.. It's okay, I'm not going anywhere, and we'll get Spike back, don't worry about it." Tara held me, and rocked me back and forth. I had 48 hours to figure out how to get him back, or to risk my luck with Warren. What ever happened to the good old days?

If the wanker probes me one more time with his stupid shock stick, I may have to summon something to eat him. That is if I can remember how to summon some of my demon friends. Yeah, that's it I have demon friends!

"You know boy, even if the Slayer doesn't show, I have some very good demon friends who will be looking for me, and they'll find me, and you. They'd be more than happy to eat a sadist." He's got the stick again, "Hey, easy there! You've shocked me enough today. Lay off!"

"Why would they bother coming after a demon killer, or are you talking about the demons you owe kittens to? I've got my ear to the underground Spike, I know more than you could imagine. A demon killer, that's what you are now, what you've been reduced to. You're a pathetic excuse for evil. You were the big bad, and now you're just the Slayer's boy toy. What would you're sire have to say about this?"

"She'd sing a nice round of 'I told you so' I reckon." Dru! Dru would save me, where are you Dru? Can you feel the sire-childe bond? Do you know I'm in trouble? Do you know your own sodding name!?! Of course, as luck would have it, I was sired by the craziest bitch in the northern hemisphere!

Warren was pacing around, it started to make me uncomfortable. "You know Buffy is going to find a way to get me out of here. I'm sure the wicked witch of the east and Glinda are doing a locator spell right now. Any minute now the slayer's gonna come barrelin' through the door. You might want to just let me go and save yourself the trouble."

"Sorry Spike, but I really can't do that, see if I don't have you I might have to go after the little sister, and I know you would hate for me to pick so sweet a flower."

Of course, he knows I would rather let him kill me than have him lay a hand on the platelet. I'll figure something out, he has to leave or sleep some time. I can come up with a plan. Then again I'm not really one for the planning, prefer to fly by the seat of pants in the decision making arena. Well, there's a first time for everything.

"Besides my lair is mystically protected, all the locator spells in the world can't break through."

"You don't know how powerful they are, even apart those two girls are something, but put them together, and they could blow the roof off this town. Might not want to mess with them, I have a hankering that any day now, Red's gonna lose her marbles and you might not want to be around when she does."

"They don't scare me, nothing scares me, I'm invincible, nothing can hurt me or stop me, this is just the way things are. And all the slayers and all their meddling little dyke friends in the world won't change that."

Warren got up to leave, thank god, if I have to listen to any more of his prattling, I might just stake myself. Thinkin' he's the high and mighty. Just wait! I'll show the bugger who's still the big bad around here! Now let me think about how I'm gonna get out of here...

"And just so you don't go sitting around all day thinking up ways to escape, here's a little gift from your old friends at the inititive, funny, but they left behind some really amazing stuff, including files on a certain Hostile 17 who was AWOL." Warren has a syringe, and OW! he stuck it in my arm, and oh no things are getting... sleepy so sleepy...