Disclaimer- None of this belongs to me. Well…nothing except the special surprise at the end of the chapter…

Note- Yay this is finished! It's probably a little rush job but I promise the next episode will be better. The next episode was the basis for me writing this season! Enjoy…

Beginning

Chapter 4

Buffy and Spike spent most of the walk to the backstreets of L.A in silence. Neither really knew what to say to each other. Finally, after walking near the docking area, Spike broke the silence. "So, how have you been?"

Buffy stared at him and smirked, "How have I been? That's the best opening line you can come up with?" Spike groaned, "What do you want me to say?"

"How about an explanation. Why didn't you tell me you were alive?" Buffy asked. "Well, that was due to a slight case of being a ghost unable to leave Wolfram and Hart." Spike replied sarcastically. "Oh, so a phone call when you became corporeal was such a difficult thing to do?" Buffy replied, sticking a stake in her belt violently.

"I was going to go see you. I even had a boat ticket, but…" Spike drifted off. "But what?" Buffy asked.

Spike hung his head. "You can't make a grand exit like that and come back 3 weeks later and pretend everything's back to normal."

Buffy shook her head. "You are just as bad as Angel."

"Don't compare me to him!" Spike said angrily. Buffy looked at him. "So what. I had to hear from Andrew of all people, that you were alive and to top things off, were storming around Italy with Angel trying to break me and the immortal up?"

Spike looked at her, "Speaking of which, where is Andrew?"

"Ciao, friends!"

Xander and Dawn looked up to see Andrew at the door, in a full grey suit. "Oh, joy." Xander said sarcastically. "Give the guy a break. It's funny watching him trying to be like Giles." Dawn said, whacking Xander's arm.

"So, whatsup? What new and mysterious evil is stalking the streets of L.A?" Andrew asked Xander and Dawn, dumping his bags on the floor and walking over to where they were sitting. "Apocalypse came, Apocalypse went and now we research." Xander replied, not looking up from his book. Andrew looked confused as Giles and Wesley walked into the lobby from the office.

"Mr Giles! Xander was just filling me in." Andrew said to Giles.

Giles looked up, "Ah, Andrew. You can help Xander and Dawn with the research."

Andrew nodded and sat next to Xander.

"So where's the rest of the ol' gang?" Andrew asked, grabbing a book. "Ok, first off, Angel and Spike were never nor will be part of the 'gang', they just hung around cause they both had the hots for Buff, and Secondly, we will not be talking about that because we are in research mode." Xander said impatiently. "Got it brother, but what exactly am I researching for?" Andrew replied.

Xander placed the book on the table as Wesley And Giles walked back into the lobby. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's right Giles. What exactly are we looking for? If nothing like this has happened before, it wouldn't be recorded." Xander said, standing up.

"I agree with him. I've spent the last 2 hours looking through these books and there is nothing relevant to what happened or to the situation." Dawn said, looking up.

"I know, but there's got to be an explanation for this." Giles said, placing the books on the table. "Yes there is, but sitting around here with books about…" Xander looked at the cover of the book in front of him, "'Demons from South America', isn't doing us much good."

Giles sighed. He knew Xander was right. They were getting nowhere sitting here with books about foreign demons.

"Yes, well hopefully Angel has gotten somewhere at Wolfram and Hart." Wesley said, sitting down at the counter.

Angel stood, staring at the building he had once called his own. It looked quite stable, a few smashed windows in the lobby, but nothing too drastic. He walked into the lobby and assessed the damage. The pillars had smashed into the floor, the sign falling off its hinges. The place was dark. No one was around and as Angel looked to the floor he noticed something that made him unnerved. The spot in which Hamilton had landed, dead, now only contained some debris from the ceiling.

"Great." Angel muttered, stepping over a fallen pilar and into Wesley's office. He stepped behind his table and grabbed all the books that were scattered all over it and in the bookcase. Angel took as many as he could and loaded them into his arms.

"Planning on going somewhere with those?"

Angel froze and groaned. He turned around to see Hamilton standing in the doorframe, his face bloody, but very much alive. "God, don't you people stay dead?" Angel said as he continued to pick up books from the desk. "No Angel, that's what comes with being immortal. But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Hamilton replied, still standing in the doorway. "Yeah, but at least if you jabbed me with a stake I'd be dust." Angel said, turning around to face him.

Hamilton chose to ignore that comment as he stepped into the room, straightening out his suit. "So you killed the black thorn. Good method, I must say. Yet, I don't see the world ending. It's a bit disappointing isn't it?"

Angel stared at him, "Either tell me what you know, or get out of my way. I've had enough of you screwing me around."

Hamilton shrugged, "My, we are testy tonight aren't we? Maybe it's because after everything, you still lost." He said, looking smug.

"Lost? I didn't die, so in my opinion, that's winning." Angel replied. "To each his own. Anyway, I'm here to make sure you don't leave this building alive, so we best get onto it." Hamilton replied, pulling out a stake from his jacket. Angel placed the books in a pile on the desk. "Can we make it short, I'm kinda in a hurry." He said.

Hamilton nodded before advancing onto Angel, stake raised.

When Angel ducked and fled behind him, Angel threw his hands up in the air, "Are you trying at all?"

"I'm still a little stiff from when you killed me." Hamilton replied, swinging towards Angel's head and clocking him right on the jaw.

Angel shook his head and swung back, punching him in the stomach. Hamilton recoiled, then swung his leg around and knocked Angel to the floor. Angel bounced back up; punching Hamilton in the chest, while doing the same action Hamilton had just performed. When Hamilton was knocked to the ground, Angel stood above him. "This feels very familiar." He said, punching him in squarely in the jaw, knocking him out.

Not looking behind him, Angel grabbed the books off the table and walked out into the lobby, then out the main entrance.

Back at the Hyperion, Xander brought Dawn and him 2 cups of coffee and placed them on the table. Dawn had resorted to going on the Internet and researching there. It had a lot more information than what they had in the books.

Wesley continued to look through some texts, which he had found in his desk drawer. They probably weren't relevant but he had to do something to distract him otherwise he may just fire more nasty comments to Giles. Wesley didn't know what angered him more, the fact that he wouldn't help save his girlfriend, or that he thought he was evil. But what really got to him was Giles casual way of talking to him. Like nothing was wrong. But everything is wrong. The whole part of Fred not being here was wrong.

Wesley sighed, and rubbed his eyes. He looked at his watch; it was 4am. 9 hours ago, he had been prepared to die. Yet he was still here, looking at books.

Wesley heard a cough at the door and he looked up, it was Giles.

"Found anything?" Wesley asked, trying to stir up conversation about the topic at hand. Giles shook his head and sat down in the chair opposite Wesley. "Dawn and Xander are now looking on the internet for anything that seems relevant."

"Ah." Wesley replied, looking back at the scrolls.

"Uh, Wesley…" Giles began, looking down at his lap. "Don't. Don't say you're sorry." Wesley replied softly. "You miss her, I understand…" Giles said. Wesley looked up, "You understand? You understand how it feels to watch the love of your life be ripped away from you and then see her form everyday in the body of a demon. Oh, I'm sure you understand how I feel." He replied, his voice low.

Giles looked at him, "I didn't know."

"You didn't want to know." Wesley replied, reverting his eyes back to the scrolls. "What was I supposed to think? You joined Wolfram and Hart." Giles said. "That makes no difference. A innocent person died because of your little grudge against Angel." Wesley replied. "Well, for the record, I am sorry. Even if you don't accept my apology, that's fine, but don't tell me the reason I didn't help you was because of Angel. We don't work for the same sides anymore." Giles stated, standing up.

"That's your opinion." Wesley replied, not looking up from his desk.

Giles stared at him, then walked out into the lobby.

"Xander, I got nothing." Dawn said, running her hands through her hair and yawning. "Yeah, me too. Not that I'm not glad that sleeping beauty here isn't bothering me." Xander replied, gesturing to a snoring Andrew next to him.

"I take it you two are having no luck either?" Giles asked them, sipping his tea and sitting opposite Dawn.

"Nope. What's Wesley got?" She replied. Giles shifted uncomfortably. "Were not really on speaking terms."

Xander shrugged and yawned when Buffy and Spike appeared through the door.

"Thank God you guys are here, I'm boring myself sitting around." Xander said to them, as Buffy put down her bag.

"Did you see any strange behaviour?" Giles asked them. "Just a couple of vampires. I swear you'd think no one knew the world almost ended." Buffy replied, sitting down. "Is Angel back?"

Dawn shook her head as Willow appeared from upstairs. "I just called the coven. It's strange. They get like major psychic signals when there is an apocalypse and now…its just vanished. They can't sense anything." She said, stopping next to Spike.

The door creaked open and Angel walked in, his arms full of books. "Your back." Buffy said, standing up and walking towards him. Angel dumped the books on the couch as Buffy looked at him closely. "You ok?" She asked, touching his face where he had a rather nasty cut. Angel winced as Spike was seen scowling in the corner. "I'll be fine. Hey, Wes?" He called out when Wesley appeared from the office, followed by Gunn who was cleaned up from the cuts he had received during the fight. "Guess who's not dead?"

"Hamilton?" Wesley asked, looking confused. Angel nodded and gestured to the books on the couch. "I grabbed as many as I could before Mr Immortal appeared and clobbered me. That was after he threw some aggravating quips at me. He knows what's going on, but I knocked him out before he staked me."

Wesley looked grateful as he walked over to his books and began looking through them.

"Well, I think that's our cue to leave." Buffy said, grabbing her bag next to the couch. Angel looked up at her, "You have to go?"

"I don't think we are doing much good here. I mean there's really no solid information to go on and nothing drastic has happened since the incident so I'm guessing its up to you guys. "Buffy replied. Angel nodded and Buffy hugged him, "Take care, ok?" She whispered in his ear.

Willow walked up to hug Wesley and Angel when Buffy walked over to Spike. They just stared at each other for a while before she spoke. "I still don't forgive you. Not yet. But I will. Just give me time." She said softly before hugging him tightly.

When they broke apart, they walked over to where everyone else stood. Xander shoved Andrew until he stirred at looked up at everyone in the room sleepily. "Its time to go, watcher junior." He said, pulling him up by the arm.

They group had reached the door when Buffy turned back around. She smiled at Angel as Giles opened the door. He was quite shocked to see Illyria standing there eyeing him. He opened the door wider and she stepped inside, her eyes still on him.

When they had exited the Hyperion, Illyria walked to where Wesley was standing. "Where have you been?" He asked her. "Out. This place contained more people than necessary. They all stared at me strangely. I wished to get away." She replied. "Fair enough."

"So," Angel began, "What do we do now?" Gunn collapsed onto the couch, "I don't know about you but if it's not too much trouble I'm gonna sleep for a week." Angel shrugged as Wesley gathered the books up and placed them on the counter, sitting on the chair. "Hamilton is clearly back in business." Wesley said, opening a book. "Clearly, so are we." Angel replied.

"We are going to have to be extra careful. Wolfram and Hart are probably still out for revenge. I think the first step we take is to…" Angel began when there was a flash of light and a girl appeared in the centre of the lobby.

The girl looked around the hotel, confused then looked at Wesley.

"Oh crap."

Yay! That episode is finished! I'm sorry if the ending of the Scooby gang leaving was a little silly but all I wanted to do was write the end! Hmm…who's the girl? Can she be trusted? Find out in the next episode…Out of Place.