A/N2 : I finally got this chapter figured out! I kind of confused myself with the whole Faith and Buffy body-swap thing, plus my inspiration for this fic when walk-about the other day and I ended up writing something completely differnt (if you wanna see it, look on my profile page - it's called 'Untitled' since I had no idea what to call it!) Anyway, thanx to kori hime, SweetBitter, BuffyandDracoLover, rubi-elektra, cocktailpk, Bunny, kransp, Freezyboncoolipants, Moluvsnumber17, Spuffyfan4eva, MaidenRo, Rachel, CraZy4SpikE09, SSWBA, Moonlight-is-Innocence, for all the reviews. I think this chapter will answer some of your questions...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9

Spike had been watching Willow and Tara conjure and incant and such for the past two hours or more. On the outside he figured he must be looking pretty calm, but inside he was screaming with frustration. The sun was high in the sky, just gone midday he reckoned, meaning he hadn't seen Buffy, the real article, in over twelve hours. He was beginning to admit, to himself at least, that she did mean something to him, that he did care just a little. There was just no other explanation for what he was feeling. This pain in his chest and the lead weight in his stomach that was making him want to heave, despite the fact he hadn't eaten anything for hours. He'd heated himself some blood about an hour ago when his demon started to complain but he'd had trouble swallowing it down, he felt so bad inside. He was going stir-crazy and God help him he was gonna rip this joint apart if something didn't change soon.

"Are we almost done with the herbs and prayers, ladies?" he snapped at the witches "Clock ticking y'know" he reminded them, agitatedly.

Willow smiled as she held up a small box. Inside was a ball of pure green light, that didn't look as if it should've taken two hours of hard graft to create! Still the witches were grinning, Red most especially.

"We did it" she exclaimed "I wasn't' sure if we could but, look" she thrust the box further under the vampires nose and he backed up a little.

"Great" Spike frowned slightly "it's a green energy thingy, but will it work" he asked the blonde girl who nodded slowly.

"I-I'm n-ninety percent certain" she forced out and he gave her half a smile, glad he had the ability to still scare someone at least!

"Well, I guess that'll have to do" he agreed, "What next?" he asked and the phone rang in response. He grabbed at it, something inside him shifting as he thought it could be good news or something awful.

"Yeah?" he said as he put the receiver to his ear, "Giles? Did you find the Slayer?" the girls stood watching, holding each others hand, trying to analyse Spike's expression and decipher the meaning on the conversation from only his words "Oh bloody hell!" he exclaimed, before sighing "We got the reversal spell but...here, talk to Red" he decided that was the best option since he couldn't explain all that mojo rot.

He shared a look with Tara as Willow and Giles talked about the spell and presumably Faith and Buffy before she hung up the phone.

"Everything okay, sweetie?" Tara asked worriedly, going to her girlfriends side.

"The Watcher guys took Buffy" she frowned deeply "cos obviously they think she's Faith. The real Faith, beat up Giles at the hospital and then took off" she told them "On the upside he's pretty sure he knows where to find the Watcher guys" Spike paced the room as he took in the news. The Slayer, his Slayer, was in as much danger from the Wankers Council as she was from Faith, but chances our dear old Rupes could talk them round. Right now they needed the other girl so they could reverse the trick she'd pulled.

"And the bitch-Slayer from hell?" he stopped in front of Willow.

"That's the bad news" she shrugged "no clue"

Spike thought for a second before grinning somewhat evilly.

"That's not a problem pet...Vampire remember?" he tapped his nose with his forefinger "I know Buffy's scent well enough I can track it" he glanced towards the window before picking up the throw from the back of the sofa and pulling it over his head "s'not gonna be easy with the sun up and all, but s'not impossible"

"But how can you make her come back?" Willow called behind him as he made for the door "It's not like you can hit her or anything"

"Don't fret about that, luv" he shook his head in the negative before gesturing for Tara to get the door for him which she dutifully did "Spike always delivers" he promised right before he left "I'll be back"

- - - - - - - -

When Buffy finally managed to open her eyes again the bright light was gone, replaced by harsh darkness even worse with her eyes open than closed. As she awoke and looked down at her shackled hands and feet, she remembered everything. The body swap with Faith, waking up from unconsciousness at the hospital and being injected by some English guy. 'By order of the Watcher's council..' that's what he'd' said. Faith was in trouble and her body was to be shipped off to the mother country for punishment it seemed, regardless of who she was on the inside.

Buffy hated the fact she felt tears on her cheeks. She was the Slayer. She shouldn't be afraid or worried, but she truly was. It wasn't being shipped out of the country that bothered her, or even the prospect that they would harm her, though she'd prefer not to be hurt or worse dead. Still, the thing that bothered her most was that she was currently away from her child. Her unborn baby was inside a body that Faith inhabited, probably drinking and smoking and fighting - anything could go wrong. even if they did manage to swap back, would it be too late to reverse the damage, to save the child?

"Buffy?" a voice shattered the dark and silent panic inside the back of the truck where she was being held. Another English voice but one she recognised, and this one wasn't calling her Faith or bitch or scum or...

"Buffy?" the voice called again.

"Giles?" she dared to hope and soon the doors were open and he was in there with her, using a key to undo the bonds that held her captive. Relief flowed through her borrowed body as he helped her out of the truck and across the warehouse she hadn't even known she was in. She was still pretty out of it from the drugs and the beating she'd taken when Faith cast the spell, but she knew it shouldn't have been so easy to escape.

"There were three guys, Giles" she told him as they finally made it out of the building and into the harsh mid-afternoon sun, "How did you....?" her question was left unfinished as he uninterrupted.

"It's not important" he told her, "I did what must be done"

Buffy knew better than to push him on the subject. She was free now and half the battle was won. Her friends cared so much about her, she had no doubt they'd all be working on a way to help her get her body back, and although they didn't know it, her baby too.

- - - - - - - -

It had taken a while. Dodging in and out of sewer tunnels and the like, whilst trying to keep a hold on the Slayer's scent hadn't been easy and the sun had caught him in a couple of places, causing nasty burns. Still he'd suffer the pain of his scalding flesh and any other injury he might sustain if it meant he could re-unite a soon to be mother and her unborn child. He didn't understand why he felt these things for the Slayer lately, all he knew was that he did. It wasn't love, at least not yet, it almost scared him to think it might be, if of course the Big Bad was the 'get scared' type, which he wasn't. Still it was something and that something was a thing he wanted to investigate, not something he could do if he didn't find the silly bint that had screwed everything up! No sooner had he thought it than he spotted her. He come up from the tunnels in the basement of the airport. It seemed like a plausible place for the girl to go and he'd managed to track her most of the way there before.

As soon as he got near the departures lounge he knew he was right, and there she was. The beautiful body of his Slayer with the rotting essence of the bitch inside.

"Hello pet" he smiled insincerely, grabbing her arm and yanking her from the seat before striding towards a more secluded area. To her credit she didn't struggle, clearly not wanting to make a scene and attract unwanted attention. When they were far enough away from any onlookers or eavesdroppers, he let her go.

"Spike, and here was me thinking you'd be out of my shampoo commercial hair by now" she scowled, folding her arm over her chest.

"You're an idiot, Faith" he rolled his eyes in annoyance at how dumb a child she really was.

"No, that would be you" she snapped back, pointing her finger at him "I know you can't hurt me with that chip in your head"

"Maybe not" he shrugged his shoulders, folding his own arms and leaning back against the wall "Sure, you could dust me here and now" he told her easily "but I know how to get your own body back and you'll never find out if I get dusty"

"Why would I want that body back?" she grinned "Got a brand new one" she spread her arms and turned around, letting him see the glorious new skin she was walking around in, "and hey, I heard blondes have more fun, so..."

"What about mothers?" he cut her off, making the smile drop from her face in a second "They have fun, do they?"

"What're you talking about BleachBrain?" she asked with as severe frown. Spike pretended to be surprised, though in truth he'd expected a dim little idiot like her not to realise.

"Oh, you didn't notice?" he said with a repressed smirk "That body you're wearing isn't all you got in this deal, you got a baby out of it too"

Realisation dawned on the Slayer's face and her eyes widen as she glance down at her borrowed stomach. She had felt a little weird on and off but she assumed that was just after effects of forcing her essence in where it didn't belong. She looked back up at the vampire's face and he nodded in answer to her unasked question - was it true?

"Damn!"

- - - - - - - -

Buffy was pleased to be back at Giles' place thought less pleased to still be inside Faith's skin. It gave her the wiggins to just look at herself and since she'd been semi-conscious before she was happy to keep her eyes closed even though she was fully awake now. The drugs those guys from the Watchers Council had used on her were having no more effect and all she wanted was for Spike to arrive back with Faith so their bodies could be switched back.

Initially Buffy had to admit she hadn't be a hundred percent sure she wanted the baby she carried, but having it be taken away from her and put in danger, confirmed that she needed to protect it, that on some levels she loved it already.

When she and Giles had arrived, Willow and Tara were there with the reversal spell all ready and they'd called Xander over for back-up. He'd brought along Anya, who'd driven everyone crazy with her unhelpful comments until Giles had come to the end of his tether and sternly told her to shut up if she had nothing of use to say. Now the witches were talking quietly about their magicks and Xander had his arm around Anya, whispering to her as she sulked. Giles had opened the bottle of scotch from the cabinet, hoping to calm his nerves so he said. Buffy couldn't help but wonder what exactly he'd done to get her free and if that was why he needed a 'stiff drink'.

A loud knocking on the locked door caught everyone's attention.

"Who's there?" Giles called warily, getting up from his seat.

"One smouldering vamp and one not-so-friendly resident psycho" came back the fairly angry reply.

"It's Spike!" Willow exclaimed, jumping up from her seat with Tara at her side.

"Thank heaven" Giles sighed as he opened the door and Spike came inside with Faith "now perhaps we can perform this spell"

"Hey B" the blonde girl with the bitch inside spoke to her sister Slayer.

"Faith" she nodded coolly. She really wanted to smack her stupid face, but that stupid face was currently attached to herself and the girl she was looking at was her!

Giles took the girl in Buffy's body to one side and sat her down, always very wary of where her dangerous fists and feet were.

"You okay, luv?" Spike asked Buffy quietly, frowning slightly at the face that looked back at him. It was Faith on the outside but somehow it was obvious from the way she smiled slightly at his concern that it was definitely his Slayer on the inside.

"I'll be better when I get my own body back" she nodded, the look in the wrong colour eyes telling him that the word body could be exchanged for baby, since she was just as eager to get the child back.

The vampire walked back across the room, sitting himself up on the counter and staring at Faith in Buffy's body. They'd made a deal. She'd come back, let the bodies get swapped back without complain and then piss off for bloody ever with any luck.

"How did you get her here?" Giles said from beside him, it was barely a whisper, he clearly did not want anyone else to here.

"Doesn't matter, does it?" Spike shrugged, voice equally as low "Point is she's here"

There was a moment before he asked his own question.

"How'd you get Buffy away from those Watcher types anyway?"

Giles looked at him and then back at the remains of his scotch. Downing it in one he smiled slightly.

"Doesn't matter does it? The point is, she's here"

Spike smirked as the ex-Watcher walked back across the room where Willow and Tara were preparing their spell. Could it be that a certain alter-ego had surfaced when it came to getting the Slayer away from those ponces from the Council of Wankers? There was a definite look of Ripper in his eyes just then, Spike was sure of it.

"Okay, we're ready" Willow announced, breaking the train of thought. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as Faith and Buffy sat opposite each other with one witch behind each of them. The ball of green energy was magically lifted from the box on the table and brought between the Slayers. They were instructed to raise their right hands and in a flash of light they connected with the Katra and each other.

The Scoobies all blinked and squinted against the harsh light until it finally subsided and they saw both Slayers breathing deeply.

"Buffy?" the red-headed witch asked the body that looked like her friend. The blonde nodded.

"It's me Will, and I'm okay" she said, gripping the sides of the chair and trying to get her breath back. Finally she felt whole again, her body and her baby were back where they should be.

"Faith?" Giles turned to her and she nodded.

"I'm five by five"

"I wasn't enquiring about your health" Giles rolled his eyes "merely that your essence was where it was supposed to be"

The dark Slayer jumped up from the chair and looked towards the door.

"Hey, rather have this body back than carry her kid around" she tilted her head at Buffy, then shot an evil look at Spike that the evil himself would've been proud of. She'd sworn not to let that slip, it was part of the deal! The vampire leapt down from the counter top and glared at her as the Scoobies began gabbling a hundred questions at once at Buffy, who looked crushed.

"Oh no" she closed her eyes and put her face in her hands as Faith made for the door and Spike went after her.

"You bitch!" he yelled as he grabbed her by the hair, spinning her round and punching her square across the face. He screamed like a wounded animal as the chip fired making his whole head feel like it might explode. Still, he wanted this bint to pay. She opened the door and ran out, as he desperately tried to fight the pain enough to grab his blanket and go after her. The sun had almost set but it'd be another few minutes before he'd be completely safe.

"Let her go, Spike, it's not worth it" Buffy begged, surprising herself. She didn't know until he screamed like that, that his pain bothered her, but it did.

"Buffy" Giles got the Slayer's attention back as he and the rest of the Scooby gang stood around her "is there something we should be told?"

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : So, what do you think? I'm getting worried about this fic. It was mostly the developing feelings between Buffy and Spike to start with and then suddenly it was all about the plot with Faith and everything...I hope I haven't taken the wrong route with this and I really hope you guys still like it. Review and let me know please! Thanks :-)