Rescue

-The Basement-

Spike is still chained up and armless in the basement bleeding from his sawed off appendages, he finally realizes the severity of his situation and begins to really understand that his limbs are missing. He has no way to defend himself from an insane slayer and finds himself growing weak from blood loss.

"Oh, God…can't feel…m-my…"

Dana hits Spike hard across the face.

"No! No more daddy… no more mommy… no more hands… can't touch me ever again."

"I never touched you."

"Shh."

"Stop. Stop. You got it wrong. Your brain's all jumbled. I never hurt you. It wasn't me. I've done my share of bad, but you're not one of 'em. It's someone else... You've got me confused with someone else."

Dana looks like she's remembering something and twitches slightly.

"Visions...are mixing... with your real memories... all right? Got 'em stuffed in your head… other slayers, other places… New York... China..."

Dana starts to speak in Chinese, which slightly frightens Spike but he doesn't let it show.

"Yeah. That's what you're remembering…other slayers."

"You killed her."

"Yes…but…"

"You killed them both."

"That and worse. But I was never here."

"Doesn't matter! Head and heart… keep cutting till you see dust."

Dana hits Spike again and then takes the bone saw and hovers over him planning on continuing her work. Before she can cut him again however she is thrown across the room by someone. Spike looks up to see Angel, and Buffy standing behind him, Buffy's eyes are filled with relief and then sadness as she sees what has been done to him. Quickly she rushes over to him as Angel tries to reason with Dana. When the reasoning doesn't work Angel and Dana start to fight. Eventually he grabs her from behind and holds her still.

"Now," Angel calls out.

Wesley steps out then and shoots Dana three times with a tranquilizer gun; she falls soundlessly to the ground. Wesley moves to Angel's side just as the guards start to move in to take Dana away. Angel then notices Spike's arms lying on a workbench, he looks over at the bleached vamp who now has been unchained and is currently resting his head on Buffy.

"Get the med team in here now!" Angel calls out.

-The Dock-

Fred is talking to someone on her cell phone as the med team wheels Spike off into an ambulance with Buffy right beside him. The ambulance lights are flashing and relief fills everyone around, the presence of Buffy and Fred makes Spike feel safe.

"Get it prepped. Put surgical on standby… We'll be there in 10 minutes. Oh, for God's sake! Tell the shaman no cadavers…We've got his hands," Fred yells into her phone.

Then Fred gets into the ambulance after Spike and Buffy and the three of them drive off. Angel, Wesley and a group of armed guards escort Dana who is currently passed out on a gurney, and then they're stopped as Andrew steps out from the shadows.

-Ambulance-

The ambulance rolls down the street towards Wolfram and Hart, the fast movement causes the vehicle to sway making those inside wobble back and forth slightly. Buffy sits right by Spike's side as he lies on a gurney in the middle of the ambulance; Fred is off to the side watching the interactions between the two of them. Spike notices the intense look of concern on Buffy's face and tries to comfort her with a reassuring smile.

"It's alright pet, 'm gonna be fine."

"Spike, she chopped off your arms…how do we even know that they can…can the surgeons or whatever even…"

"Oh, don't worry the medical staff at Wolfram and Hart is quite good…they'll be able to re-attach his arms no problem, just as long as they use his actual arms, this one time they re-attached this guys hand, well it wasn't his hand it was the hand of a serial murderer and…well lets just say that it's a long story and I'll stop babbling right now," Fred says.

"Don't fret bout' it Fred, you entertaining to listen to."

Fred just smiles back, a notion that Buffy doesn't miss. She can tell that Spike likes this girl, exactly how much she doesn't know but she figures that it's a good thing that he has someone here in LA that he…likes, as a friend. Buffy's thoughts are disrupted as the ambulance goes over a bump in the road causing Spike to flinch slightly from the pain caused by the sudden movement.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asks.

"Buffy, luv, don't fuss yourself bout me 'm fine…right as rain really."

Buffy just gives him a look that tells him that she knows that he's in more pain then he's saying.

"Come on now, really 'm fine… sides, it's not as bad as that time you had to hall my sorry arse back down into the initiative caves so the government could remove that bloody mind zapping chip from my head now is it."

"That wasn't that bad…well you know, except for the whole part where you were dieing."

"Yea, what was I thinking, that was just a walk in the park compared to the stuff were used to."

That brings a grin to Buffy's face; he always knew how to make her feel better. She realizes it then just exactly how much she's missed him; these past months she'd been trying to convince herself that he had been right when they were down in the Hellmouth, that she hadn't ever loved him, but now there was no doubt in her mind that she does. She's staring straight into his eyes now and she finally understands that this is their second chance, they have time now to make up for all the time they've missed out on. She brushes her fingers through his hair and then hears the ambulance start to slow, finally it comes to a complete stop and she hears people getting out, she glances at him one final time just before the back doors fly open and they pulled him from the ambulance.

-Waiting Room-

Buffy sits in one of the waiting room chairs, the room is bright as most of the science department in Wolfram and Hart are. Spike's still in the operating room and Buffy's getting anxious. She was…nervous, she needed to talk to him, there were so many things that she had to say, and she needed to know how he felt. Did he still love her; somewhere in her heart she knew that at least a part of her was still in love with him, he'd always be in her heart.

Buffy hears doors open from the side of her and turns to see Angel walk in; he has a slightly sour look on his face which fades somewhat when he sees her. Buffy knows that she's partially responsible for his not so perfect mood, which she feels bad about but there isn't much else she could do. Andrew, with the help of the slayers in training, had taken Dana and Angel was obviously upset that Buffy would come to his town and interfere with his business; the truth of it was though that Dana was her business, all the slayers were her business and Angel would just have to deal with that. She stands as he walks closer and soon they are standing face to face.

"So...I take it that Andrew intervened, you have that betrayed look."

"I don't feel betrayed; I just wish that you would've told me from the start that the reason you were here was to take her…"

"Angel, Dana is a slayer, she's the council's responsibility, she's my responsibility, not yours; and you know that."

"Yea…so, why are you still here then? Are you staying for Spike?"

His question caught her off guard, but then again he did always pry a little too much into her personal life. Buffy thinks for a moment how to answer his question, she felt her response needed to be said with some care, after all Angel would always be special to her.

"I fly back is tomorrow…the plan was that Andrew take Dana back to the council as soon as possible so they could start treatment, and then I was going to stay here and report back tomorrow on just how evil this place is…but yea, I am here because of Spike… what are you doing here, in the infirmary I mean."

"Same as you I'm guessing…I wanted to talk to Spike, is he still in the operating room?"

"Yea, but the doctor was out here a little while ago…he said that they were almost done and that they would be moving him into recovery soon, so they should be about done by now."

"Good."

An uncomfortable silence fills the space between Buffy and Angel; neither really knew what to say to each other. There were just too many things between them now, they each had their own lives and somewhere in the process of obtaining their own lives they had drifted apart. Before the silence became too deafening the doctor walks out with a clipboard in his hand and both Buffy and Angel turned to greet him with eager eyes.

"Mrs. Summers, I see your still here…well it appears that the surgery was a complete success, he may not be able to move his hands for a short while but his feeling should return to him within a day or so," the doctor reports.

"Can I see him now?" Buffy asks.

"I don't see why not, he might still be somewhat sleepy but the drugs should be wearing off."

"Thanks."

Buffy takes a step forward to follow the doctor who was about to lead her to Spike's room when Angel steps forward and grabs her arm. Buffy stops and turns to face him.

"Buffy, wait," Angel says.

"What, Angel. You can't keep me from seeing him."

"Buffy that's not… You can make your own decisions; I just thought maybe I could talk to him first, It's just that I have a meeting in 15 minuets and…"

"Oh, no, no that's fine… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of running my life, I just… this is all kinda unexpected for me."

"Its fine, I understand why… do you mind if I go in first?"

"No, that's fine; I can wait a little longer."

Angel smiles at her slightly then follows the doctor to Spike's room. Buffy simply watches as he disappears around the corner wondering when things had gotten so distant between them.