---
Back in the gas station, Spike was trying to make sense of his new discovery.
"Vampires don't have bloody reflections, and they certainly don't just grow them. So what, a spell then? Somebody put a spell on me to give me a reflection? That doesn't make any sense," Spike was talking to himself. "This is ridiculous. The watcher will know; or the witch."
He picked up the phone and started to dial the Magic Box, but stopped when he remembered that not many hours ago he had climbed out of the hole that was Sunnyhell. There was nothing left, and he was certain that anyone who had still been in town hadn't survived what happened either. Well, except him. He didn't know if any of them were still alive. He'd seen them all run up to the school, sure, but he had no idea if they'd made it out of town in time. All of a sudden he felt sick at the thought of his love, his Buffy, along with the bit and Red and even the Boy, lying dead in that hole.
Well, I'll go back and look as soon as the sun's down and make sure, he thought with resolve. Then another voice entered his head, 'Don't be a stupid git. You barely managed to get out of there before. You're not going back in.' 'But what if they're all trapped down there, dying?' 'And what if you get your self trapped or killed down there?'
"Alright, fine. So what then; what do I do now? Well, now I have to find them. Think Spike, if they did make it out of town where would they go?" He was pacing the room and trying to come up with some answers. "Angel! She would go see Angel," he concluded (a bit resentfully) and set about making plans to get himself to LA.
---
That night, when the sun had set, Spike set out down the road towards LA. Even he could admit that his plan wasn't the best. It basically consisted of him walking down the road and hoping someone would come along, pick him up, and give him a ride. And seeing as how the nearest town had just collapsed, it didn't look very promising. As he walked all he could think of was Buffy. He thought of all of the memories they shared, happy and sad and all the other times, and it helped to pass the time.
Then he remembered that she told him she loved him. For years all he wanted to hear her say were those words, and now she had. He knew she didn't mean it of course, but it still meant a lot to him. In fact, it was the best moment of his entire existence.
Spike's thoughts were interrupted by headlights flashing through the dark. He stuck out his thumb and the car slowed down and stopped beside him. He opened the door and looked in – to find a little old lady wearing a black dress and a white cloth over her head. 'Perfect,' he thought, shook his head, and laughed up towards the sky at the Powers That Be. After a brief discussion with the driver he climbed into the passenger seat and they headed off to LA.
Before long they pulled up in front of the Hyperion Hotel. Spike thanked the nun and got out of the car. He took a moment to stare at the building. 'What if they're not here? What if they didn't make it?' ''Course they're here. Buffy's a survivor. If you couldn't kill her nothing will. Now stop being such a ponce and get in there and see for yourself.'
He put on his resolve face and walked up to the front door. He wondered for a moment whether he should knock or just go in. He decided on the latter; it was a hotel after all. When he entered he found the lobby dark and empty, and the entire hotel was eerily silent.
"Hello?" he called in a semi-quiet voice. "Anybody home?"
There was no answer so he walked farther into the lobby. His hope of finding Buffy was quickly fading. There was a noise somewhere to his right so he followed it through a set of double doors into the kitchen. There he found someone rummaging through the fridge.
"Where's Angel?" he called out to the person, startling him. He jumped and spun to face Spike.
"Jesus," he said, "you could give a demon a heart attack sneaking around like that!"
"Who're you?" Spike asked suspiciously.
"I'm just a guy trying to eat." He replied. "You want Angel? Try Wolfram & Hart." He could see that Spike looked confused so he elaborated. "Big evil law firm downtown. You can't miss it."
"Uh, thanks," he replied and left the hotel. Out front he waved down a cab and told the driver to take him to Wolfram & Hart.
---
They pulled up in front of a glass building that towered up into the sky. The sign out front let him know he was in the right place so he got out of the cab and started walking towards the front door. The cab driver yelled after him, but he just ignored it.
He entered the lobby and wandered up to the front desk. What would peaches be doing in a place like this? He tentatively spoke to the secretary.
"Uh, hi love. I'm here to see Angel." It was almost more of a question than a statement. She typed on her computer for a few seconds and then looked up at him, smiling.
"Fifth floor," she replied, pointing to the elevators behind her. "There'll be a secretary up there that will help you."
He thanked her and got into the elevator. Next to him were a blue demon wearing a business suit and a small, thin demon pushing a mail cart. They nodded at him. Shortly the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor. Spike slid out and walked into a large lobby. There were all sorts of people and demons walking around. To his left was a staircase, in front of him a row of doors, and to the right was a desk which he figured to be the secretary's he was supposed to see. Unfortunately there was no one at the desk at the moment.
"Angel," his ears perked up as a thin woman breezed past him. "You've got to see this." She walked through one of the doors along the front wall so he followed. Inside he found a very large office with very large windows. Also, Angel, two men, a green demon, and the thin woman were standing around talking. When he entered the room went silent.
"Spike?" Wes said softly.
"Spike." Angel was clearly not pleased with his arrival. Harmony, who had caught sight of a bleached blonde head on her way back to her desk, stuck her head in the door.
"Blondie Bear?" She put her hands on her hips. "What the hell are you doing here Spike?"
Gunn sneered, "This is Spike? The Spike?"
"But you're dead," Angel told him matter-of-factly.
"Well, yeah," Harm gestured widely. "Who here isn't? Besides him, and him and her, and what are you again?" referring to Wes, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne.
"What are you doing here, Spike? And how did you even get past the vampire security…" as the words came out of his mouth he realized something wasn't right. He could clearly hear five heartbeats in the room. Five. That meant…
"How did you… I mean, what… what happened? What did you do?" Angel was mumbling in shock and Spike was confused. He couldn't possibly tell he had a reflection yet. There weren't even any mirrors around.
"What do you mean?" he asked uncertainly. "They told you…? Is Buffy here?"
"What do I mean?!" Angel replied. "I mean you're beating, you've got a heartbeat." He was so stunned that he could hardly form logical sentences. Spike laughed.
"No… I do have a reflection, though."
"You have a reflection?" Spike nodded. "And a heartbeat."
"Yeah, and you're soddin' Elvis Presley."
"I'm serious. You can't hear it?" Angel responded, his eyes narrowing. The thought of Spike having a heartbeat didn't sit to well with him.
"No, I can't hear it, 'cause its not there." Spike snapped. He was getting a bit annoyed. "I think I would know if I had a heartbeat or not. I can hear a bloody heartbeat from a mile away; I would certainly be able to hear my own!" Who did Angel think he was…?
"Oh my god," Harmony said from behind him. "He's right. You're… human." She looked repulsed and backed out of the office.
"Oh, will you stop with that?" Spike turned back to his grandsire. "I do not have a sodding heartbeat; I would hear it!" Angel sighed and grabbed Spike's hand, placing it on his throat. "Vampires don't have heartbeats," Spike protested as he felt his throat, just below his jaw. Just like they don't have reflections, the voice asked him rhetorically. "See? No… bloody hell." His eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open. He indeed, felt a steady 'lub-dub, lub-dub' under his fingers.
"Well, I, uh," Wes was dumbfounded. "I, I suppose we should run some tests, before we jump to any conclusions. Find out what's causing this, how long it will last, that sort of thing."
"Look, before you start pokin' and prodin' me, I did come here for a reason," Spike replied.
"Buffy," Angel stated.
"Yeah. She's here right? She made it out?"
"What?" Gunn was confused.
"Uh, yeah. She made it out," Angel told him. "But she's not here."
"Well, where is she then?"
"She's in Pine Grove. It's a little town north of here."
"Pine Grove? What the bloody hell is she doing there?"
"Well, that's where Summerland Academy is. You know, the new Council-Slayer school thing? She kinda runs it." Fred told him.
"What new Council-Slayer thing? What are you people talking about? The Council was destroyed a few weeks ago. We just bloody collapsed the hellmouth yesterday!" There were a few awkward looks in the room.
"Uh, Spike? The fight with the First was over three months ago." Angel told him cautiously. Spike looked surprised, to say the least.
---
