Dawn

-Angel's Office-

Three large, scaly and scary demons stand in the entrance to Angel's office, Buffy, Spike and Angel stand up prepared for a fight, as do Wes and Fred, while Harmony just stands off to the side annoyed at the entire situation.

"Where is our crystal?" The leader of the demons asks in a low coarse voice.

"You're not getting it back," Angel replies.

"We will kill you for it."

"Right… now, let's think about this big guy…you're in Wolfram and Hart, you really think that you'll be able to best the likes of us here?" Spike interjects.

"It is our mission to retrieve what is ours, you cannot stop us."

"Yea, sure."

"The crystal was yours for protection in return; we no longer need your protection, so now we must take back our crystal."

"Sorry, but it's not gonna go that way," Angel says charging the first large demon fighting it for a while; soon Buffy and Spike join in fighting the other two demons.

Punches and kicks are thrown and landed by all three of them. Buffy manages to kill one of the demons with a knife from the display case behind Angel's desk, at that same time Angel is thrown across the room hitting his desk and knocking all of the papers off of it. Buffy and Spike are fighting completely in sync with each other as they take out the remaining two demons. Angel then gets up from his position on the floor about to charge back into the fight when he realizes that Buffy and Spike seem to have the situation under control, the two of them move and fight as if they knew what the other was planning on doing, dodging punches and kicks just as the other takes over, they go back and forth for a short while until Buffy Kills one of the remaining two demons and then Spike finishes off the last one. All three stand still for a moment taking a minuet to think over their recent fight.

"Well that was a rush," Spike says.

"Yea… it's been a while since I've had a real fight like that; I've been… taking a bit of a break lately," Buffy replies.

"That's too bad Summers cause there's nothing like fighting alongside you, and fighting against you, now that really is something."

At that moment a team arrives to remove the bodies from the office, Buffy, Spike and Angel move farther into the room so they are out of their way. Fred and Wes hang around, however Gunn leaves talking with one of the troopers about the demons. Harmony again realizes that Buffy is there and regains her spitefulness towards the slayer. Straitening her shoulders and flipping her blonde hair Harmony turns toward Buffy intending on giving her a piece of her mind.

"What are you doing here Buffy, don't think that you can walk right in here, beat up some demons and steal my blondie bear back, because let me tell you something…"

"Harm… Just go!"

Buffy and Spike roll their eyes at Harmony's display, and after she is shut down by Spike looks somewhat hurt and upset.

"Oh sure, you can't take the time out of your day to say hello to me, but the second she walks in you're all over her… You know you'd think that after all this time of being alive and not telling her that someone might think that you were trying to get over her…And then you were sending me signals, or have you forgotten that afternoon in what-his-face's office?"

Buffy gives Spike a look as Harmony just glares at him with anger. Angel now standing off to the side of the room feeling rather amused at the situation, a small smile creeps across his face watching the drama before him. Fred and Wesley are still in the room watching the interactions between the three blondes however they don't seem to be taking as much of an interest in what's being said as Angel is.

"Harmony, you. Silly. Bint. There is no you and I, we are not together… that day in the office meant nothing, and as for Buffy not knowing that I was alive, well she knows now doesn't she."

"Well fine, if that's the way you want it, I can take a hint… he's all yours, but trust me, he's not worth it."

Harmony turns with a flick of her hair and exits the room, Spike lets out a sigh of relief that she's finally gone and then turns to face Buffy's scrutinizing glare, he looks slightly ashamed as if he had betrayed her somehow.

"You and Harmony… again?"

"Buffy, luv… it was nothing…"

Buffy's face turns into a huge smile as she watches Spike struggle with his words, she realizes how much she had missed the way that he got all flustered when he was trying to explain himself, or the way he always knew what punch she was going to throw when they fought, or how he used to raise his eyebrow turning the most innocent statement into some kind of innuendo. She had missed him, and she hadn't been the only one, her sister had missed the vampire's presence as well.

"Spike… it's ok, I get it, really."

Spike smiles back at her. The only thing that Buffy can't understand is why he hadn't told her that he's back. Even though he had given her an explanation the night before she still didn't completely understand. She could tell that he still cared about her, wouldn't that mean that he would want to be with her, or at least call and see how she was, how Dawn was.

"Yea, I know you do…" Spike says.

"Spike?"

"Yea?"

"I want you to call Dawn… tell her that you're back."

Buffy watches as Spike's facial features change into a look of fear that is quickly covered up by confusion, his head tilts slightly and he stared at her unsure of how to respond to her request.

"Pet, I don't think that's…"

"Don't tell me that you don't think it's such a good idea… she deserves to know that your back."

"I know…I just don't think that she really wants to hear from me is all."

"What? Spike, she's missed you of course she wants to hear from you and know that you're alive."

"Luv, her and I didn't exactly part on the best terms; she did threaten to set me on fire as I slept if I remember correctly."

Spike knows that he should call Dawn and tell her the truth, but he's afraid that she was still be mad at him. He had let her down and he had hurt her, he promised her once that he'd never hurt her, or leave her and he had managed to do both to her and her sister in one night, and then he had come back and did it all over again. In all honesty Spike is scared to call her.

"Wouldn't she know anyway by now, you know because of Andrew?" Fred questions.

Buffy and Spike's heads turn towards Fred who was still standing near Wes. Buffy and Spike had forgotten about their audience for a moment and then realize again that they aren't alone in the room.

"Uh, no… Andrew has orders not to tell… I don't want the council finding out that Spike's back just yet, and it's not something for Andrew to tell, it's for me to tell," Buffy explains.

"Good then, because she doesn't need to know," Spike says.

"Spike, Dawn loves you… she was mad at you yes, you left and went to Africa for months."

"I think that she's slightly more upset with me for the reason why I left for Africa."

"Spike… what happened between you and I… Dawn was angry, she felt betrayed, but not because it happened, because you didn't explain to her… you just left, you didn't say anything, and then she had Xander filling her head with things and… just trust me when I say that she's forgiven you and that it's been hurting her knowing that she never got the chance to tell you that."

Buffy watches as Spike's resolve fades. He melts before her and he lets out an unneeded breath, he isn't willing to call her yet, but Buffy knows exactly what to say to push him to the point where he is.

"Please, William."

"…bleeding Summers women always know what to say, bloody whipped I am…Alright, I'll talk to her, but you owe me Slayer."

Buffy smiles gleefully, pulls out her cell phone and begins to dial, Wes and Fred at this time realize that they have things that they need to get done and start gathering their things to leave.

"Well I must be off now that this problem with the crystal has been taken care of," Wesley says.

"Yes, we'll leave you all alone to talk now," Fred says following Wes out giving Spike a friendly smile as she does.

Angel watches as his friends leave and then re-focuses his attention on the vampire and slayer before him, it's starting to occur to Angel that Spike really had been a big part of Buffy's life, he had never really let himself believe that he had been there for her. Now, however, watching the way his ex and his chilid interacted with each other and it was obvious that they had had something. Spike looks nervous as Buffy dials the number into her cell phone, he hid his nervousness well but it still showed through his façade. Both vampires can hear the ringing of the phone with their advanced vampire hearing. Then they both hear as the phone is answered.

"Hello?" A voice answers on the other line.

"Dawnie," Buffy says.

"Hey Buffy, how's everything in LA?"

To Spike she sounds the same, though he can hear a more grown up tone in her voice. Spike thinks to himself that it's wonderful to hear her voice again, even if he wasn't talking to her. He knows then that even though he's scared he needs to talk with Dawn, she had been a true friend and he couldn't leave their relationship hang as it had been.

"Things are good here… actually I have some news," Buffy says causing Spike's nervousness to sky rocket.

"Is everything ok? Did something happen?"

"No, no everything's fine… there's just something that you should know."

"Buffy just tell me what's going on."

Buffy and Spike simultaneously take a deep breath, one that doesn't go unnoticed by Angel. This is it, Dawn would know, and once she found out what would she say, what would she think of him? Thoughts flood Spike's mind making it hard for him to think of anything but the life that he once had in Sunnydale, back when he and Dawn had been close, when he had looked after her, and she looked up at him.

"A short while ago someone sent Angel an amulet in the mail, it was the same amulet that…"

"Spike… it was the same amulet that Spike was wearing wasn't it? Buffy what happened?"

"Dawn, Spike's back… he's alive."