Buffy could hear the voices of some of her roommates as they neared the top of the staircase. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone so she slipped into her apartment and shut the door before any of them saw her. Once she was safe in the comfort of her own place she went to her bedroom, slipped into pajamas and climbed into bed where she cried herself to sleep. The things Spike had said to her running through her mind.

"Mind if I come in for a visit?" Spike heard some one ask from the open door into his apartment.

He glanced over the back of the sofa to see Faith standing in the doorway. "Not in much of a mood for company." He stated as he turned around to face the wall in front of him.

Faith seemed to disregard his statement as she walked into his living room anyway. She walked over to the sofa and fell down into the spot where Buffy had just been sitting a few minutes before. She waited a minute to see if he would object and tell her to get out, but when he didn't she started to talk. "Man, you still upset about what happened with B today at the shop? I'm tellin' ya, you should just go and talk to her."

"No need for that." Spike said not looking at her.

"Why? Did something happen while we were out?"

"She came to me. She apologized for what happened."

"And?"

"And nothing."

"Nothing? You mean to tell me she came to you and all you did was let her apologize. You didn't try to talk to her?"

"I didn't have to."

"Meaning?"

"Just as it sounds."

"So you two worked things out?"

"Why are you here asking me this stuff? Shouldn't you be asking your friend instead?"

"Well, originally I would have, but when I got to her room the door was shut so I figured she didn't want to be bothered."

"You couldn't wait until she was free to ask her?"

Faith smiled at Spike's question. She could tell she was annoying him, maybe even pissing him off a little, but she didn't care. "Sorry. I kind of lack in the patience category. So did you work things out or not?"

Spike shook his head in disbelief. This woman certainly had to know everything. "Not really. She said that she needed time."

"Oh. Well I suppose you don't really have a choice in the matter then. If time is what she needs..."

"You know, I think I am ready to call it a night. Maybe we can talk about this later." Spike said cutting her off. He didn't mind talking to Faith, he just wasn't in the mood to discuss Buffy.

"Fine, I get the message. You don't want to talk." Faith said as she stood up and walked towards the door. "Okay, so I just have to ask this one last thing." She stated before she left the room. Spike looked at her, the fact that he was irritated clearly showing on his face, Faith pretended not to notice. "What was in that letter you gave to Buffy? I kept asking her and she refused to tell me. She said that she read it, but she wouldn't give up the details while we were at work." Faith watched as Spike's facial expression changed from irritated to confused. "She didn't tell you she read it, did she?" Faith could tell the answer was no. "Oh, boy, did I just really goof up." She muttered and then made a quick exit before he could respond.

Spike sat alone in his empty apartment as questions began to fill his mind. 'She read the letter, why didn't she say anything? She said that she needs time. Time for what and how much? I don't want to wait around here for ever to find out that she doesn't feel the same for me that I do for her. How do I feel? I loved her when we lived in Sunnydale, but it's been so long, could I still feel the same? Am I just holding on to the past? No, I don't think that's what it is. It's been too long, if that were the case, I would have let her go. Maybe I have to prove that to her. Maybe that's what she needs time for. But, can I prove it? I don't want to push her, but I have to know that I'm not wasting my time.'

Buffy's sleep was restless. Her dreams were filled with pain and sorrow and regret. She was haunted by the memories of her friends and family and what she had done to them when she had decided to run away. There were dreams of the day William told her that he was moving and what she had gone through after he left. Slowly her eyes opened. The new day was just beginning to dawn. Her bedroom was dimly lit, but as she looked around the room she could see the outline of another person sitting in the chair across from her bed. She didn't panic like her half sleeping mind told her she should. Instead, she listened to what her heart was telling her. "William?" She called out to him in a whisper, not even realizing she had used his given name.

Spike heard her whisper his name, his real name. It was the first time that she had used it since he had shown up in Los Angeles, and it made his heart jump. " 'Lizabeth?" He whispered back as he stood from the chair he was sitting in and walked over to her bed. When he was there he knelt down so he could be eye level with her.

She watched him as he walked towards her and came to rest on his knees at her bedside. She met and locked eyes with him. His blue eyes were intense even in the early morning light. Buffy was shocked when he reached out to brush a lock of hair away from her face, the touch of his fingertips across her temple sending shivers through her. He clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them. 'He almost looks as though he is praying.' She thought to herself just before he began to talk to her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Sorry? For what?" Buffy whispered back.

"For everything. Leaving. Being gone so long. Not coming back soon enough. The way I treated you when I got here. For not telling you. For what happened at work yesterday." He paused for a moment as he gave her a half smile. "For being here uninvited, watching you as you slept."

"How? How long have you been here?"

"A few hours. I couldn't sleep."

"But, why would you...?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you."

"You couldn't wait?"

"If I had waited it would have had to wait until tonight after work. I didn't want to wait." Spike admitted hoping that she wasn't mad at him for being there.

"Oh."

Silence filled the room for a few minutes.

"I am sorry." Spike told her again.

"You don't have to be. Some of it wasn't your fault and the rest was done for either a good reason or because of something that I started in the first place."

"I'm still sorry. I hurt you, I never wanted to do that."

"It doesn't matter any more."

"Why not?"

Before Buffy had a chance to answer him the loud beeping of her alram clock started. She pushed the button to off and looked back at Spike. "It just doesn't" She told him throwing the covers off of her and sitting up on the bed. "You should get out of here Spike, before some one is up and wandering the hall."

"Bugger them!" Spike exclaimed standing up. He didn't care about what the others thought. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to know why the fact that he hurt her didn't matter anymore. "Let your soddin' friends think what they want. Tell me, Elizabeth, tell me why it doesn't matter any more."

"Please!" Buffy yelled as first then sighed and quieted her voice down, she hadn't meant to yell at him. "Please, Spike, don't call me that. That girl isn't alive any more. She died after you left her."

"But I'm here now."

"It doesn't matter. It's too late. I could never be her again. I'm not the person you remember me to be. It's been a long time, Spike, time changes people." Before the tears she was trying so desperately to hold back fell from her eyes Buffy ran into her bathroom and slammed the door shut. She could hear Spike muttering a variety of curse words as he left her apartment and she fell to her knees on the bathroom floor and cried.