A/N: A short chapter just to bridge the gap. Still review because I am swamped with work and it makes me feel better.

When Spike awoke he immediately knew that he was chained due to the fact that his arms wouldn't move. Sitting up abruptly he groaned as a pain shot down his back and his side. He was in Buffy's bedroom in the guesthouse. It was dark and he was alone. There was a breeze. He looked at the window and saw it was broken, frigid English air drifting through and making his dead skin seem colder.

The window.

Dawn.

Spike let out a long, terrible sounding whimper. He had tried to...to...to Dawn! God, why? Why did this kind of thing keep happening to him? Spike grabbed his head and began to rock back and forth. Never would he hurt Dawn, never...but he done. He had tried to do worse.

The rope around his wrists bit into his skin but still he strained against them. He had to get out here. Had to get away from Dawn and Buffy and Willow and everyone so that he wouldn't get the chance to hurt them. Already he could feel the change in himself. He could see the change. His skin was starting to develop a bluish tint. Soon he would be more water-feral than Spike. He had to get out now.

The other ends of the ropes were tied to the bedstead. The vampire shook his head. Buffy should have known better than that...unless she was being easy on him because of their history. In which case he definitely had to get out of there otherwise she might hesitate to kill him if she had to.

Spike braced his feet against the bed and yanked on his wrists. The bedpost splintered far too easily. Spike stood, still with his hands bound by rope but free to walk about. The pain was no just a dull ache.

He heard a sound from downstairs. Voices. Buffy and Willow.

Hadn't they learnt their lesson? He was dangerous!

Spike looked around. The window was the only way. The vampire did a run up and then jumped out it into the night. This time he braced himself for the landing and hit the ground in a roll, gravel spraying up around him.

The pain was rehashed and he let out a small, sharp cry.

He heard Buffy shouting inside the cottage. Looked up and saw her staring out of the window. They shared a moment, looking into each other's eyes. Then Buffy disappeared. She was coming after him. Spike scrabbled up and ran as fast as he could arms still bound in front of him.

He crashed through the foliage into a wide-open field. Spike didn't hesitate he ran full pelt across the length of the field and looked back as he entered the heavy clump of trees on the other side. Buffy entered the field and stopped. She looked around and the vampire slid into the shadows.

The Slayer turned on her heel and ran in the opposite direction. Spike let out a useless pent up breath.

He trudged through the muddy ground and then a scent caught his attention. He cocked his head and drew in the delectable smell.

Suddenly Spike knew where he belonged.

Buffy sat on the corner of the couch with her head in her hands. So much had passed in such few hours. She was still reeling from Spike's attack on Dawn and now this? Did Spike have no consideration for how this would hurt her? How all of it would hurt her? Or was the water-feral completely driving him now? She just didn't know.

"Buffy," Willow sat down next to her, put an arm around her "You'll find him"

Giles cleared his throat "If it weren't for the possibility Spike might attack some innocent woman I would have to say perhaps it's best we let him go"

The Slayer froze. Her back muscles tensed and she was sure Willow felt it.

Buffy looked up into the eyes of her Watcher "Giles? Do me a favour and stop being a useless, thoughtless prick! Spike is out there scared and alone, changing into some demon and you're telling me that, if he weren't dangerous, we should just let him go?!"

"Buffy, I just mean –"

She stood suddenly to her full height "I don't want to hear it. If you're not going to help me I don't want you involved"

"This is my house" Giles said.

"Then I'll leave," Buffy grabbed her jacket "I have to find Spike before he does something stupid...er"

Dawn stood in the doorway suddenly, she looked bruised but okay "Where will you go? Spike doesn't know this place. He could be anywhere"

Giles moved towards her "Dawn you should go back to bed you need to rest"

"I want to help"

"Help with what?"

It was Xander. Fresh in from a day at work. Buffy pulled her jacket on. She didn't want to have to deal with Xander and Giles. They had made their skepticism of Spike clear a long time ago. Besides every minute she spent in the house was another minute Spike got further away.

"I have to go now. He...his skin was turning blue" The Slayer said "I have to find him now"

Xander frowned "What's going on?"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't look for Spike..." Willow started.

Buffy looked at her wide-eyed "Willow, I have to find him. I –"

"No! No! I don't mean don't go find him" Willow quickly corrected "I mean I don't think you should be thinking of him as Spike. The demon will be partly driving him now. Think about where the demon would go"

Dawn perked up "A water-feral demon is gonna need some water"

"The lake?" Buffy asked.

"Not likely," Giles replied "They do, as a rule, prefer larger bodies of water. I was very surprised that the demon was in the lake. Spike's instincts will draw him to a river or a reservoir or –"

"The sea" Buffy finished.

There was a beach about twenty minutes from Giles' house. Suddenly Buffy just knew that was where he had gone. The Slayer ran towards the door.

Giles called after her "Buffy, you should take weapons! We should come with you for back-up"

"No. I can't risk you guys," She turned to them as she opened the door "Willow, Giles keep working on the reversal poison. Xander I'm gonna need to take your car. Dawn get back to bed and rest"

Xander pulled his keys out, handed them to her "I'd still like to know what's going on..."

"Willow will fill you in"

Buffy took the key and then turned running out of the door into the night. She sprinted to Xander's car and got in, turned the ignition on. She thanked the stars that she had learned to drive that last year in Sunnydale. Even if she hadn't learnt to drive well. It was more difficult on the English roads because everything was in reverse but Buffy couldn't worry about that. She had a vampire to rescue. That sounded familiar. It seemed to the Slayer she was always rescuing vampires. Sometimes she thought she did it more then killing them.

Buffy peeled out of Giles' premises spraying gravel as she went. She was going over the speed limit but the police were rarely seen around here. The car bumped and joggled her all the way down the small country lanes. The Slayer barely noticed. Her mind was fixed on the mission – secure certain vampire and then kill him for running away.

She shook her head, gritted her teeth. She was so mad at Spike. Not mad for attacking Dawn because she knew it wasn't his fault. She was mad at him for leaving. For not thinking she could handle the changes he was going through. For obviously thinking so little of her as to run away and hide from her.

Buffy shook her head again and tried to clear her thoughts and emotions. She needed to concentrate on the road otherwise she was likely to drive into a bush or something.

The Slayer took a sharp turn into a dirt road that she knew would take her to the beach. She would be there in five minutes...maybe less with the speed she was going. Then she was finally going to sort this thing between her and Spike out once and for all.

A/N: Review, my dears, REVIEW!