Chapter Three – Human Again
At 12 noon the next day Spike woke up with a start, his heart racing. But the nightmare he left was tamer than the one he woke up to.
He could hear his heart beating, thumping in his chest, inexplicably pumping blood to all his vital organs as if it had never stopped.
He leapt out of bed, not knowing what to do. He couldn't escape the menacing thudding coming from his breast. He tried to shift into game face. No luck. On a whim he ran to the bathroom to check for his old friend, and there he was, staring back from the other side of the mirror. He frowned, realising he'd miraculously lost his bleached locks, and his natural hair colour was complimented by what could only be referred to as a tan!
Trembling, Spike made his way back to the bed, that's when he noticed them on the floor; piles of forms, documents and letters. On closer inspection he found all legal identity documents, including passport and green card; all bearing his name and his age, minus 100 years. There were also insurance documents for a Ferrari in a garage across town, a tenancy agreement for an apartment in the same block as Xander and Anya's, and a job offer from an accountant in the city centre.
Spike felt numb as he sat back down on his bed, and as it finally dawned on him that he was no longer the powerful, immortal being he had been for the majority of his existence, a single tear ran down his cheek. He thought briefly about numbing the pain with whisky, but the tears were already flowing too fast and too heavy for him to control. It was all he could do to smother himself in his duvet to hide the huge, ranking sobs that were tearing him up from the inside.
The phone rang and Willow picked it up.
"Hello, this is the Summers, Rosenburg and MacClay residence, Willow speaking."
"Is Tara there, please?"
"No, she's not, I'm afraid she has a late class, she doesn't get out til 6. Can I take a message?"
"No, no message." –Click-
Willow frowned, that voice had seemed so familiar, yet she couldn't place it. And who would be ringing for Tara? Didn't she know all her friends? Probably a class mate, she decided.
Spike hung up the phone quickly, hoping the accent he'd put on had fooled Willow. It was definitely better that Tara was still in class, it meant he could find her, get her to come back to the crypt and sort all this out without him having to go anywhere near Revello Drive in his present state.
He reached for his duster, but changed his mind and picked up an old suit jacket that was lying around. Dusting it off, he slipped it on and made his way to the college.
"Tara!"
She turned, confused, to the pillar that had just hissed her name.
"Come here!"
She followed the urgent whisper round the pillar.
"Spike." Confusion instantly set in. Why was Spike picking her up from class? "You changed your hair."
"That's not all that's changed, that's the problem." With that he stepped out into the sunlight. Tara gasped as realisation hit her.
"How..? I mean… how?"
"That's why I need your help. Please come back to the crypt with me. Please help me sort this out." Spike couldn't hide the pleading in his voice, and Tara agreed, phoning Willow quickly to tell her she needed to go to the library before she came home.