Lost Is Found

Disclaimer: It's all been said before, not owning any of them, just possessing a big toothache and a swollen jaw. (again!)

Summary: He who was lost is now found, at least by one person who was looking.

Reviews: Yes, please. Love the warm fuzzy feelings. Readers Rock but Reviewers RULE!

A/N: I know it's short but I'll try to make it up to you with the next one. See some new names on the review list. YAY! Thank you SO much!

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The Magic Box…

Giles frowned as he thought about Spike's apparent disappearance. He had hoped to talk to the vampire as soon as the sun had set but Faith's announcement had frustrated his plan. He retreated to his alcove under the guise of seeking a quieter area to read a difficult book but was in fact going through the packet of information Mr. Whitestone had left with him. There was a bulky manila envelope that had accompanied the packet but it was addressed to 'The descendent of Lord William Wordsworth'. The detective had asked to be present when Spike received the envelope but Giles had wanted to talk to the young vampire first. The Watcher had been bemused by the thought that Spike's distant relative had done such thorough research but upon remembering Spike's degrees and his carefully concealed intelligence, maybe it wasn't so surprising.

With a shrug, he slid everything back into the folder. He could hear Xander and Anya greet Buffy as she returned from patrol. He locked the drawer just as his charge joined him in the small office space.

"Did you see Spike while you were out?" He asked, almost hoping she had.

Buffy looked at him oddly, the tone of the question taking her by surprise. "No. Why? Faith misplace him?"

Giles sighed and removed his glasses. "It seems he overheard you girls discussing him and no one has seen him since he left here."

Buffy gazed at the floor. "That sucks. Dawn hoped he hadn't. That's one of the reasons that Willow and Tara decided to stay in with her tonight. Do you think someone dusted him?"

He shook his head. "No. Faith doesn't seem to think that's the case. I fear that she believes that he's grown tired of her or has decided they're moving too fast and has left her."

The blonde slayer was shaking her head before the speculative statement was finished. "If there's one thing I've learned about Spike, it's that he's loyal. If he's given his affection to Faith and she's returned it, nothing short of staking will make him leave her."

Rupert smiled, a quick spurt of pride catching his breath. His girl was finally growing up. "Buffy, I think that's the most mature thing I've heard you say. I agree. Certain statements he's made to me lead me to believe you're correct. Faith is out looking for him now, I hope she finds him."

Angel's mansion….

Faith searched the mansion with single-minded determination. Her slayer sense was screaming at her and the tingle she was feeling was the one she was beginning to recognize as the one she got whenever she was close to Spike. He was there somewhere, she knew it. Stopping for a moment, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the tingle. She'd only covered half the second floor and had stopped near the stairs. She opened her eyes and gazed up the carpeted steps. Following her instincts, she slowly climbed. Still concentrating, she silently walked along the wall, trailing her fingers on the old wallpaper. A glance told her all the doors were closed but Angel had left small lamps on timers scattered throughout the building to give the place an aura of occupancy. She'd checked the phone on the first floor and had been surprised to find that it worked. She wondered if Spike knew that. It would be just like the blond vampire to assume they didn't and never bother to check.

Her fingers brushed a door and her tingle increased immediately. She grasped the knob but hesitated to open it, fearing what she would find.

"Get hold of yourself, Faith. He's just a vamp. So what if he decided to hide out here instead of coming back to his own home to be with you. You've been rejected before. Just open the door and confront him, get it over with so you can go back to LA and agree with Angel about what a bastard his kid is." Faith ended her pep talk with a determined twist of the antique crystal knob.

The room was dark so she slid her hand along the door frame searching for a light switch. A small lamp lit when the switch flicked on. A small tousled bed was along one wall. A nearby chair held Spike's beloved duster. An empty whiskey bottle sat on the table next to the lamp and another was on the floor near the open window. Faith gasped at the sight of Spike on the floor, unconscious. Several badly wilted honeysuckle blossoms were next to his body. Her horrified eyes roamed over the vampire's unmoving form. Slowly, she moved over to crouch next to him.

"God, Spike, what did you do?" She whispered. Scanning for damage, she was alarmed to see the swelling of his right hand and arm. Ever so gently, she picked up the affected hand. She could see the bee stingers in the skin. She dug in her pocket and pulled out the plastic card that had replaced traditional motel keys. Blessing the invention of the previously cursed card, she scraped the stingers out of her vampire's skin. Soon the four poisonous barbs were on the floor and she was wondering what to do next. Shifting around so she could sit on the floor with his head in her lap, she ran her trembling fingers down his lean face, pulling in a sharp breath as she noticed how dehydrated he was. His lips were chapped and dark circles were beginning to appear beneath the blue eyes she loved. His cheekbones were more pronounced than ever and she knew he needed to feed soon or the damage would be irreversible.

Spike fought his way to consciousness. He could feel Faith running her fingers down his face. He turned his head, seeking the warmth of her skin.

"Spike." He heard her whisper his name urgently. He forced his eyes open and tried to focus on her face.

Faith sighed in relief when she saw his dark lashes flutter and lift so his dazed sapphire eyes were looking up at her.

"Faith." Her name wasn't much more than a sigh but she heard it.

"When was the last time you fed?" Faith's question brought a frown to her vampire's paler than normal features.

"Don't remember." His voice was still nothing more than a mere wisp of sound.

"Stupid vampire." The tender tone belied her words. She reached into her pocket to drag out her knife. She flipped the blade out and made a quick shallow cut on her wrist. She pressed the bleeding wound to his parched lips and waited for him to feed. A small moan escaped before he weakly turned his head away.

"No." His feeble protest brought a frown to her lovely face.

"Yes." She grasped his chin and brought him back around and jammed the cut back up to his mouth. She pressed down and wiggled her arm onto his lips, forcing them open. The potent fluid hit his tongue and his face morphed into his demon visage.

He felt strength returning after a couple of swallows and pulled his face away again, reverting back to his human appearance.

"Enough." His voice was only a little bit stronger.

"You need more." Faith tried to push the wrist back up to his face. With a major expenditure of his meager strength, he raised his hand and pushed her arm away.

"No. Won't risk it. Won't risk you." Spike was weakly adamant. He tried to sit up to make his point but gave up when the action caused his vision to gray.

"Shhhh. Easy, Baby, not so fast. We need to get you some blood." Faith ran her fingers through his tousled curls while he panted needlessly from the effort. She eased out from under his head and knelt down to pick him up. Trying not to show her alarm over how light he was, she easily swung him around and gently placed him on the bed. She covered him up with the blanket draped over the footboard.

Spike gazed up at her with a weary spark of humor shining in his sleepy blue eyes. "Swept me off my feet there, Luv."

Faith sat next to him and smiled. "Seeing as you were already on the floor, it wasn't that hard. Now, I need to go get you some blood. Don't do anything stupid like dust on me, get it?"

The dozy vampire caught her hand and brought it up to place a kiss on her fingertips. "Don't plan on leaving you now, Pet. Too much I wanna do with you." He murmured.

Faith smiled and turned the tables on him by bringing his hand up to her mouth, nibbling his fingers. "Not done with you either, Blondie." She stood up. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Reluctantly letting her fingers slide from his, he nodded. "Go find Clem. Have him go see Willy." A shiver wracked his too-thin frame. A whisper of sound stopped her halfway out of the door. "Faith."

She looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"Hurry." That breath of a word chased her as she nearly flew down the stairs to the first floor.