Chapter 6

Buffy stood there, mouth opened and William couldn't help but smile. He took Buffy by the arm and dragged her away from living room. She was still in utter shock. He couldn't blame her. She had just seen her sister and ex boyfriend making out on the couch in her house with a five year old sleeping up stairs.

"I can't believe this," Buffy said harshly.  William sat down at the island. He watched her pace back and forth.

"Buffy, calm down," William said easily. "You told me that they were thinking about dating. You said you wanted it to happen. Well it's happened so just be happy about it."

"How can I be happy about it?" Buffy asked harshly.

William took the sign of frustration. He got up and led her outside of the house. He closed the door and sat on the bench.

"Buffy, take a deep breath," William suggested. "You're sister is old enough to make her own decisions, isn't she?"

"Yeah, I know" Buffy answered with a sigh.

She sat down next to William and looked at him. He seemed so content. He didn't seem bothered by her pacing or by her frustration about her sister.

"Why are you so calm?" Buffy asked. William raised an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't I be calm?" William asked.

"Don't answer my question with another question," Buffy demanded. William smirked.

"All right," William agreed. He just sat there smiling at her, it was infuriating, but soon, Buffy found herself smiling along with him. She slapped him lightly on the arm.

"What?" William asked. She gave him a small smile.

"Stop being so amused," Buffy demanded playfully. William shrugged and turned his attention to the yard.

"Fine, I'll just be amused at the boring yard," William said, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

Before Buffy could get in another word, Dawn opened the back door. Both of them looked over at her. William eyed her and a smile crept onto his face.

"Darn, the heavy lip session must be over," William teased. Dawn stared at William, wide-eyed.

"Excuse me?" Dawn asked. Angel walked out onto the porch.

"Well now we have our Romeo and Juliet out here, ready to give us a visual of how to kiss," William continued to tease. Angel stared at him as Buffy rubbed the bridge of her nose.

She sat forward and hit William in the arm. He looked over at her surprised and rubbed it.

"Hey watch it slayer," William said, still rubbing his arm franticly. Buffy stared at him. Slayer? Buffy thought. Can it...No. He was just being annoying.

But Dawn wasn't going to let it go. The way he'd said 'Slayer', it was all too evident and yet she watched her sister tell William to stop the teasing and let her talk.

"Buffy, can't you see it?" Dawn asked pointing to William. William looked at her confused. Angel grabbed her by the hand and dragged her off into the kitchen.

"Don't even say anything," Angel whispered. "Buffy will find out in good time. Let some of these things go. Ok?"

"Buffy claims that she loved Spike," Dawn whispered. "If she did truly then why is she just letting these signs go?"

"Because Dawn…" Angel hesitated. "She doesn't want to make a mistake. You know that. She's been having a hard time dealing with Spike's death. She is barely even hanging on now. Dating William is a big step for her."

"How do you know these things?" Dawn asked.

Angel looked out the door and on the porch. William and Buffy were laughing. They looked so happy. He turned his attention back to Dawn.

"I know this because your sister use to cry to me in the middle of the night about Spike," Angel answered. "Now she comes down and asks me if she is doing the right thing with William.  Just let her take her time."

William walked into kitchen with Buffy in tow. He turned to face her, slowly bent forward, and laid a light kiss on her hand.

"I will come back tomorrow," William whispered, looking Buffy in the eyes. "I will come back for my lovely ladies." He kissed her on the lips this time and left.

"Can you say charmer much?" Dawn said with her arms crossed.  Buffy tried not to glare at her sister.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

William walked up the steps the following day, holding flowers. He ran up to the door and knocked. Dawn opened the door panting heavily.

"Hey," Dawn said out of breath. She moved out of the way and motioned him to come in.

"Hey," William greeted. "Angel and you doing the heavy make-out again?" Dawn rolled her eyes.

"No," Dawn answered. "We were doing a training session. Buffy's out buying groceries and Amber is up stairs taking her nap." Dawn looked at her watch.

"Actually, I should go get her up now." She started for the stairs, but William stopped her.

"Let me," William offered. "Put these in a vase for Buffy." William handed Dawn the dozen red roses and headed up stairs. Dawn stared at the roses and shook her head.

"Always was the romantic," Dawn whispered then headed off into the kitchen.

William crept towards Amber's room. Through the door he could hear voices. He opened it a crack. Inside he saw Amber, sitting on the floor with her back towards him. He opened it wider and crept up on her. He ran over and picked her up. Amber screamed at first then starting laughing.

"Willie," Amber said turned towards him. He stared at the child for a moment. He sat down on her bed and put her on his knee. Amber was in her game face. He ran his finger gently over the bumps. Amber shoved the count doll she was holding under his nose.

"Do you like Dracula, Willie?" Amber asked holding up the count doll.

"Yes, I do," William said, smiling at the small child. He was still stunned to find Amber in her vampire face.

"He's all 'Grr' and his teeth are sharp," Amber said excitedly. Her normal visage shifted back and her green eyes shimmered in the light.

"Amber!" Buffy called. Amber smiled and jumped off William's knee. She went running down the stairs.

"MOMMY!" Amber cried. Buffy smiled and Amber leaped into her arms.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Buffy asked.

"I got up all on my own," Amber said proudly. Buffy kissed Amber on the head then put her down. 

"Hey," William said walking down the stairs. Buffy turned and looked at him concerned. He looked a little pale.

"Are you feeling all right?" Buffy asked placing her hand on his forehead. Amber tugged on Buffy's shirt.

"Mommy, William saw me in my 'grr' face," Amber said excitedly. Buffy stared at Amber wide-eyed.

"Were you playing in your count face again?" Buffy asked sternly getting to her daughter's eye level. Amber nodded.

"I was playing with Dracula," Amber said softly.

"Didn't Mommy and Uncle Angel tell you not to play in your count face?" Buffy asked.

"Yes," Amber said softly. "I wasn't playing around anybody. You said it was all right if I played by myself."

"It was my fault, I snuck up on her," William explained. Buffy stood up straight and sighed. She ran her fingers through her daughter's long blonde curls.

"Sweetie, go watch some television," Buffy said softly. Amber turned and ran into the living room. She looked at William.

"I guess you didn't know my daughter inherited her father's game face," Buffy said. William nodded.

William was about to say something but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Buffy ran the rest of the way down the stairs and pulled open the door only to reveal a girl. She looked to be in her early twenties, with long wavy brown hair and deep hazel eyes that showed fear.

"Can I help you?" Buffy asked. The girl took in a breath. She looked incredibly nervous and uncomfortable.

"Is William here?" the girl asked.

"May I ask who you are?" Buffy asked. She glanced down to see the girl rubbing her hands together. She never seen a girl this nervous before.

"I'm Ella Wood," The girl answered. "I was a friend of his when he was living in Washington. I need to speak to him, if I may."

"Ella?" William asked walking over to the door. Ella's eyes lit up and she bolted straight for William. He wrapped his arms around her.

"William, I was afraid I'd never find you," Ella whispered. "Something horrible has happened."  William pulled back and looked at Ella. Tears were now streaming down her face.

"What happened, Ella?" William asked soothingly.

"Mom and pop were killed three weeks ago," Ella said sadly. William's eyes filled with pain.

"How?" William asked. Ella broke into tears.  He pulled the girl back into his arms and held her tightly.

"The police said their necks had some weird neck trauma," Ella muttered. She pulled back and wiped away her tears.

"How so?" Buffy asked.

"It looked like they were poked in the neck with those barbeque forks," Ella answered. "They said it was like all their blood was sucked out of them."

"Oh god," Buffy whispered. She looked at the girl and decided tea would be best.

"Ella, how about I make you some nice tea?" Buffy offered. "It can calm you down."  The girl nodded and followed Buffy into the kitchen.

*   *   *

Angel walked out of the Basement door and saw Buffy talking to a girl. She seemed to be pretty upset.  He walked in and took a seat next to her.

"What's going on?" Angel asked. Buffy handed him a water bottle.

"This is one of William's friends," Buffy said, pointing to the girl. "She came to give William some bad news. I was just about to go talk to him."

"What about me?" Ella asked insecurely.

"You'll be fine with him," Buffy said pointing to Angel. "Need a shoulder to cry on. He's your man." She walked around the island and walked into the living room. The room was darker then she remembered. She noticed the storm clouds rolling in. William was standing at the window staring out it.

Oh God, Spike thought staring at Buffy's limp body. She's dead.  Glory got to her and killed her. It's all my fault.

William felt his heart wrench. The image of Buffy lying on top of the rubble. It was just too much. She had died and yet she was kissing him last night. It didn't make any sense.

"Hey," Buffy said softly. William looked over at her and gave a small smile. She wrapped her arm around his and leaned on it.

"It must be so hard for you right now." She kissed his arm and looked out the window.

"What is hard, pet?" William asked softly. Buffy looked up at him with big eyes.

"Did you just call me pet?" Buffy asked.

"Yes," William answered. He saw tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was offensive, its just something I used to call some of the girls back home. It's from my mysterious background."

"It's not that," Buffy said cutting in. "My husband use to call me pet. I haven't heard it in real life since two days before he died."

"I'm sorry," William whispered.

Buffy caressed his arm and laid her head against it.

Dawn stood in the doorway towards the kitchen and smiled. She watched as William put his arm over her. They looked so cute and content together.

"Angel," Dawn whispered over her shoulder.

"What?" Angel asked getting up from his chair at the island and walked over to the doorway. Dawn pointed to the couple in the corner, staring out the window.

"Aren't they cute?" Dawn asked. Angel caught a hint of sadness in her voice.

"They are cute," Angel answered. He looked at Dawn and pushed some hair behind her ear.

"I miss Spike," Dawn whispered. "He was always good with hard situations. He knew how to handle Buffy and he was good with keeping people under control. Angel, Spike missed Amber growing up. He's missing it as we speak. Think of how he is going to react when he gets his memory back and realizes his baby girl is not a baby anymore."

Tears were falling slowly down her cheek as she spoke.

Angel couldn't stand watching any woman cry, especially Dawn. He pulled her into his arms as she softly wept. He placed his chin on her head and whispered that everything was going to be all right.

"Maybe I should go," Ella said feeling uncomfortable. "Tell William that I'm staying at the Sunnydale Inn." Ella grabbed her purse and walked out the back door. Angel watched the poor girl leave.

"We have to talk to him tonight," Dawn said pushing back from Angel. She wiped her face.

"I think he should come to us," Angel suggested. "I don't think we should force him to remember everything."

"I mean we should tell him some of the things that he and Buffy went through," Dawn explained. Angel shook his head.

"Again, I say he should come to us," Angel repeated. "We would be forcing him to remember things he can't right now. We just have to be patient."

*  *  *

"I have to say, I always wanted to take you down in a fight," Spike gushed before kicking Riley, with a hardhigh kick.

Angel backed off. He sensed something was wrong in the house. He looked at Spike, who seemed like he was having the time of his life, beating Riley.

"What are you thinking about?" Buffy asked. William didn't respond. His thoughts were stuck in his new memory.

Spike opened his eyes and saw Riley get into the white van. He thought Angel had scared him off, until he heard a familiar baby cry. It was Amber crying. By the time everything registered. The van was speeding off down the street.

"William?" Buffy asked concerned placing her hand on his chest. Knocked out of his daze, her looked down at her.

"Yeah?" William said distantly.

"Are you all right?" Buffy asked concerned. "You seem to be so far away."

"Oh, I'm just thinking," William reassured her, softly caressing her arm. Buffy looked at her watch.

"I was going to take Amber out for dinner," Buffy said looking at William. "Do you want to come?"

"No, that's ok," William declined. "I think that you and Amber need time to spend together without me." Buffy nodded and kissed him on the cheek.  She picked up Amber from the couch and grabbed her purse. She waved goodbye to William then walked out.

William turned and saw Dawn and Angel standing in the doorway talking about something obviously intense. He walked over to them.

"Can I talk to you guys?" William asked sheepishly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So you just all of a sudden remembered those things?" Dawn asked skeptically. William had told them about the memory he had had while looking out the window,

"I don't know what brought them up," William answered, staring into his cup. Angel looked at William with sympathy.

"Well this means your memory is coming back faster then any of us expected," Angel said upbeat. "Which is a good thing in my book. The sooner Buffy has Spike back in her life, the better we will all be."

"I need answers though," William said looking up from his cup. "It didn't make sense. Why was Buffy dead? Who was Riley? Why did Amber get taken? All my memories do is spring up more questions than answers."

"Which is why we're here," Dawn piped in. "I'll answer why Buffy was dead. You see, I'm a mystical key. My blood was used to open a portal to some kind of hell dimension. It opened. Spike tried to stop it before it happened, but a creepy guy threw him off and well, he cut me. My blood opened the portal and it so happened that it was only my blood that could close the portal. The monk made me out of Buffy, so Buffy, being the slayer and all, jumped into the portal and closed it for good. It ended up killing her."

"Why is she alive then?" William asked.

"Willow, Tara, Xander, and Anya brought her back," Dawn answered. "They pulled her out of heaven and for a year she was lost. Spike was the only one who reached her. They had a steamy relationship and then she ended it. Well that only lasted about two weeks and then they got back together…well the rest is history." William was still confused by everything.

"Riley was Buffy's ex-boyfriend," Angel answered the next questions. "He used to work…"

"For the initiative," William whispered. "They put a chip in my head." Angel nodded and Dawn stared wide-eyed at William.

"Do you remember anything else?" Dawn asked hoping beyond hope that he did remember more.

"Joyce," William whispered. "We used to use the bloody Buffybot to go patrolling after Buffy died."

"Why did Riley want Amber and Buffy?" Angel asked.

"How the bloody hell should I know?" William asked frustrated. Dawn's face lit up.

"What's your nick name for me?" Dawn asked touching William's hand.

"I had a few," William answered. "I usually called you nibblet." Dawn flew out of her chair and wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh My God! Spike," Dawn cried. "I've missed you so much." William warmly returned her embrace.

"When did you die?" Angel asked. William looked at Angel and scowled.

"Shut up, Peaches," William scuffed. "I'm trying to have a nice moment with lil bit here." Angel sat back and crossed his arms.

"It's nice to have you back, Spike," Angel said with a smile. "We've missed you."

"One more question," Dawn said pulling back. "You and my sister were in love for a long time. What did you two do to show us your love was forever?"

"That's an easy one," William scuffed. "Our hands lit on fire. Giles cleaned his glasses and kept saying good lord." Dawn laughed and threw her arms around him.

There was a knock at the door that made William and Dawn leap apart. They both looked at the door. Dawn started to get up to answer it, but William grabbed her arm.

"Let me get it," William offered. He went to the door and opened it. The entire Scooby Gang was standing there. William's face lit up and a huge smile began to form.

"Well if it isn't the crack team who used to foil my every plan," William teased. They all stared at him for a moment. William sighed. He thought for a moment and looked at Xander.

"The boy needs to go beyond his demon," William said pointing to Xander and Anya. Xander and Anya looked at each other.

"Oh bloody hell," William said throwing up his hands. "Get into the bloody house before we send Peaches into ashes."

They all walked into the house. Every last one of them looked at William and then entered the living room. He followed them and sat down on the chair.

The whole room was filled with silence. Everyone sharing glances then looking back at William. He felt like a bug trapped underneath a magnifying glass with the sun bearing down on him.

"Spike?" Xander asked breaking the uneasy silence. William looked over at Xander.

"It looks like Harris isn't as dumb as he seems," William said with a smirk. Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them. William tried not to laugh at it.

"Some things will never change," William said pointing to Giles's glasses. Giles sighed.

"How do we really know it's you?" Giles asked, looking sternly at William.

"Don't give me that bloody look," William scowled. "I was chained up in your bloody tub, drinking pig's blood out of a novelty mug after I got that bloody chip implanted in my sodding brain from those initiative buggers." Giles looked over at Angel and Dawn.

"Did you tell him any of this?" Giles asked. Dawn and Angel shook their heads.

"Nope," Dawn answered. "Everything came back to him when we were talking. It shocked me into tears."

"I have to say I kind of enjoyed William," Angel teased. "He was less aggressive."

"Stuff it, Peaches," William hissed. "Or I'll show you how less aggressive I can really get." Everyone laughed. He looked at the room.

"I've got to say I missed you buddy," Xander said with a smile. William shook his head.

"I hope you improved on your pool game," William teased. "Cause I got to say if you are still bad after five years it'll just be sad." William walked over to Giles and pulled him into a hug. Giles was stunned for a moment then hugged him back.

"It's good to have you back son," Giles whispered. They pulled back and William looked at everyone.

"All right," William said going into commando mode. "No one tells Buffy about this. I want to tell her myself."

It was at that particular moment, that Buffy walked into the room, holding Amber in her arms.

"Tell me what?" Buffy asked, putting Amber down. William stared at Amber for a moment. His eyes welled with tears. His baby girl wasn't a baby anymore. She was growing up into a big cutie. Her hair was up in wavy pigtails.  Amber ran straight towards him and he swept her up and hugged her close.

"Buffy, can I talk to you for a moment?" William asked putting Amber back down on the floor. He took Amber's small hand into his big one. He led them through the kitchen and outside.

Buffy sat down on the bench and looked at William. He was acting differently. Something about him was strange, yet somehow familiar. His vibe was harder and stronger. He seemed tougher and solid. He seemed sure of whom he was. He didn't seem lost or confused.

"What's wrong, William?"  Buffy asked concerned. William sat Amber down next to Buffy and smiled. These were his girls.

"I don't know how to say this," William started. "So I guess I will just say it. It's me, love." Buffy stared at him blankly.

"Yes, William," Buffy said nodding slowly. "It's you. It's me and it's Amber. What's your point?"

"It's Spike," William tried. "Spike is me. I am Spike." Buffy stared at William for a moment and shook her head.

"No," Buffy said standing up. She looked down at Amber.

"Sweetie, would you go inside for a moment?" Buffy asked sweetly. Amber jumped off the bench and nodded.

"Yes, mommy," Amber said softly. William stopped the child and kissed her on the head.

"Be very careful kitten," William whispered. "I think Uncle Angel has some treats in his pocket." Amber smiled and ran inside.

"How can you do this?" Buffy asked, clearly upset. Her eyes were wide and full of tears.

"I'm not lying, love," William said soothingly. Buffy put up her hand.

"William, stop," Buffy said in an emotional voice. "You can't be Spike. Spike died in the explosion."

"Pet, if I was dead," William said evenly. "Then why are you alive? Remember; when one of us dies then both of us die. I wasn't killed in the explosion. Farm Boy died when I shot him in the head, not me."

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Buffy hissed. "You are not my husband. I really don't want to see you right now." She turned and walked inside and slammed the door. William stood there staring after her.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"You did what you could, Ella," Joyce said putting her hand on Ella's shoulder. Ella looked over at Joyce.

"I'm going to have to have a talk with Buffy," Ella said. Joyce shook her head.

"My daughter is stubborn," Joyce said with a smile. "I think her beloved has other plans. Let them work this one out by themselves." Ella nodded and watched as William walked inside the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What are you going to do?" Angel asked later on that evening.

He had come by to check on Spike. He knew he wouldn't handle Buffy's rejection well. It wasn't like Buffy was handling things very well either. She went straight down to the training room and beat on the punching bag. She was still punching when he left.

Spike walked out in his classic outfit, with his hair bleached. He looked the same except a few years older and a little worn out.

"I'm going to show her that William the Bloody is back," Spike said striding across the room. His duster waving in the air. They got up and went back to Buffy's house.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Angel asked as he opened the door to the house. Spike nodded and pointed for him to go in.

He walked into the house as Angel called Buffy downstairs. Spike stood at the bottom when Buffy emerged. She stood at the top, staring down at Spike. He looked up at her, with a grim face.

"Spike?" Buffy asked faintly as she moved swiftly down the stairs. She ran straight into his arms and wrapped her arms around him.  She pulled back and looked at him before she passed out.