Chapter 12 – Going through the Motions

When early afternoon hit, Spike eyes snapped open with the inspiring knowledge that things had changed. He could walk. He could talk. No longer was he held down by the restraint of bonds or injury. No longer was he a prisoner of his own recuperating but damaged body. He could be everything that he expected of himself, and all the things people first thought of when they thought of him. No more helplessness or humiliation. He was Spike once more. He hadn't felt that way in a long time, had only been a shell of what he used to be.

He knew that he wasn't alone when waking up; he could sense Buffy right beside him. He was surprised that she was still there. He knew what hours he kept and he figured that she would be going about her day, whatever day it was that she had in a hotel. It dawned on him how out of the loop he really was. He had been so focused on what he had been through, and the constant pain, that he didn't know much of what was going on around him. His existence had been in the hands of others. A vampire trusting a Slayer with his very existence, to guide him when he couldn't carry on by himself, now there was something that his former self would've called someone crazy for believing in, and he knew it sure wasn't part of the Slayer training. Yet, she had helped him and he had trusted her to do so. Was there any question that it would have been any other way? Now, he needed to get up. He needed to catch up on things. He needed to get back in the game. The time for being cared for was over. He was ready to stand on his own.

Spike sat up and caught the smile that was on Buffy's face. He tilted his head to the side.

"You have bedhead." Buffy smirked, clearly amused.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Don't want to think 'bout my hair right now. Soddin' mess that it is. Not just cause I just woke up either."

"You've had a few other things to deal with besides your hair. You get a free pass." Buffy stood up. "You hungry? I can go get you something?"

"Yeah, but figure I can go with you." Spike started to pull himself out of bed.

The minute he started doing that Buffy was at his side in an instant, gently putting her hand on his shoulders to ease him back down. "Not so fast."

Spike looked up at her incredulously. "You can't be serious. I've been in bed for weeks now. Can walk. Talk. Can get up and move 'bout the hotel. Speakin' of the hotel, can you tell me what we're doin' here exactly?"

Buffy sighed. She was glad that he could talk again. She was. Even if at this second she had to remind herself of that. "There's no rush for you to be up and about, Spike. I think you've earned the right to relax, even if your body is doing better."

Spike shook his head. "Not the lyin' 'round kind. Figure it'd do me more harm than good that way."

Buffy put her hands on her hips. "Oh? How's that?"

"Cause I'll be bored." Spike responded simply.

Spike was stubborn. There was no question about that. She could understand where he was coming from, because she was a stubborn and active person herself. There was no question that she felt that it was in his best interest to take some extra time and rest, but this was the Spike that she had been waiting for, the one who was eager to get into a fight and grab a drink afterwards. Maybe it was better that she didn't question him on this. He knew what he was ready to take on and she was more than ready to have him back on board. She was still going to keep an eye on him. He had been through a lot, but if he was ready to start getting back into things then who was she to get in his way? She'd trust him and honestly things would be better for it. She honestly was a bit relieved to see he was being so stubborn on this matter. Spike was really back.

Buffy grinned. "Alright. If you're sure you're ready then maybe you can start easing back in."

"I'm sure, Buff. Not sayin' I want to run right outside this second and go kill somethin'. Still, need to start movin' forward."

"Plus, if you tried to go and kill something right now you'd burn. Sun's still up." Buffy shrugged.

Spike didn't crack a smile, but simply kept his gaze fixed on her.

Buffy shifted uncomfortably. She hated when he did this. For someone who didn't really crave friendship or social interaction he did have a tendency to talk a lot. It was uneasy when he didn't say anything at all and only stared. In fairness, it would probably make anyone uneasy if they were only being stared at. There was something disturbing about it whether you were normally talkative or not. But he still did have his own way with it. "Like I said, if you're sure then go for it. I just don't want you to take too much on at once. It's been awhile now, so you need to readjust. Knowing you, once you start walking around this place you're going to want to be doing other stuff."

"Like fight evil." Spike smiled pleased with the idea.

"Well, yeah."

"Know me well, Pet. Rusty though. Need a bit of practice before I start goin' after the undead." Spike admitted.

"Well, I guess, when you really feel like you're up to it we could spar." Buffy offered.

"Ready, Buff. All healed up. Nothin' holdin' me back now." Spike reassured her before standing up once again.

This time Buffy allowed him to do so. "Well, first, let's get you something to eat. You can meet the team after."

"Goodie." Spike stated unenthusiastically as he made his way towards the door.

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"As you remember, this is Fred. She helps out with the research and from what I've heard she can be a bit inventive when it comes to weaponry" Buffy stood at the bottom of the stairs as Angel's team gathered around.

"I once made an axe from a toaster." Fred smiled enthusiastically. "Nice to see you up and well, Spike."

They had been informed that Spike would be coming down now, so they thought it would be best that he met them all at the same time, so once thrown into the mix there would no confusion. They had started to find some kind of a flow with the addition of Buffy's people, so with introductions out of the way Spike was sure to find his place. After all, they were down one souled vampire now, and though they could never replace Angel, and they would never look to do so, Angel's team did know very well what use it had to have a vampire fighting on their side. Plus, they would have the advantage of that combination with two slayers, along with everyone else's special skills, surely resulting in evil needing to step up their game.

"Over here we have Charles Gunn. He takes on a lot of the fighting, providing needed back up." Buffy stated, continuing with her introductions.

"S'up?" Gunn simply stated.

"This is Lorne. He's an empath demon and also has various connections that can prove to be useful." Buffy pointed towards the empath demon.

"Nice to meet you, Cupcake." Lorne gave a small wave.

"And last, Wesley Wyndam Pryce. he does research as well." Buffy paused. "Oh and he's my former watcher." Buffy stated with emphasis.

Wesley took a step forward looking at Spike almost as though he were some kind of scientific specimen. "It's most intriguing."

"Never seen a vampire with a soul before?" Spike spoke sharply, eyeing him in annoyance.

"No. It's not that. Though, I must admit, that was quite intriguing in and of itself a few years back. Though this time it's all different. Not even a curse. A vampire gone against everything that they are. Everything that a vampire should be about." He walked up to Spike, and looked like he was on the verge to start poking at him.

"What are you getting at, Wesley?" Buffy asked, finding his behavior a little intrusive herself.

Wesley looked Spike in the face. "Not even being cursed. How would that work exactly? What were the rituals to anchor it? How exactly is it anchored?" Wesley gave Spike a penetrating once-over, like he wished he had X-ray vision, reached out his hand slightly almost as if he wanted to reach out and grab Spike's very soul, but then regained control over his actions.

Spike glared at the man. Watchers, he didn't like them. They poked and prodded. He didn't need to be someone's science experience. He stepped forward, and put his head right up in the annoying science nerd's face, staring him down. "Well, I'm sure you can find some book about it somewhere." Spike stated snidely, before pushing past him, bumping into his shoulder while doing so, almost knocking him down. He wanted to do more than knock him down.

Wesley backed down with almost a pout on his face. "Oh."

"Getting a little personal there, Wes." Gunn pointed out in amusement. It was just like Wesley. He had gotten a bit quieter since he had first met him. One might say that he socialized better than he had before, but here and there that overly eager enthusiasm reared its ugly head and sometimes at the most inappropriate of times.

Wesley simply nodded his head. "Right. I'll just be…I'll be over there." He walked back over to the counter and picked up one of his books and pretended to look through it, ignoring the fact that everyone knew there was nothing in need of researching at the moment.

Fred gave Spike a soft smile. She had only seen him a few times since first meeting him, as she understood that he needed his space to heal. Given what he had gone through it was hard to say what kind of condition he'd be in emotionally, but his being down here was a good sign. She knew how hard it was to take that first step out of your room once you get comfortable in it, once you're finally safe again. To her, anything else had seemed like a risk, the fear of more portals, or just the simple fear of being back in the world again, a world she wasn't sure she knew how to be in anymore. It had been the fear talking. The world wasn't so scary, even with the demons, if one could believe that. It was the threat of other worlds that got to her now. Well, that and the death of loved ones. She was still dealing with that aftermath. They all were.

Her experience was different from Spike's. She didn't exactly know what his was and the details were being kept pretty quiet for his privacy. She understood that. Whatever it was that he had gone through he had a right to keep that between him and anyone that he chose. Either way, people dealt with their trauma differently, but she was pleased to see him trying to deal with it, moving forward, sometimes that was the best thing you could do, take that first step. "So, Spike, are you going to be heading out with the others later and go out on a patrol?

Spike shook his head. "Not right away. Soon though. Need to dust off the cobwebs first."

Buffy nodded in agreement. "I'll do a bit of sparring with him when he's ready. One thing at a time."

Fred smiled understandingly; however, the look she saw on Spike's face clearly told her that he had something else in mind.

"Ready now, remember?" Spike spoke up.

Buffy paused hesitantly. "Are you sure about that? You're only starting to get back into a normal routine. There's no need to overwhelm yourself."

"Get that. But, figure it's better to do it at my pace. My pace happens to be a bit faster. Don't see what the big deal is. Up. Better. No point in wastin' any more time." Spike shrugged.

Buffy found that she was actually smiling at his words. It was a relief to see that he was moving right along. She had been a bit worried this morning, but he really seemed to be adjusting easily. That was Spike. He did have a way of bouncing back when most would hardly be able to get up. Maybe it was because he had been alive for so long, seen so much. His perspective was probably different than a regular human's would be. She couldn't figure it out personally, knowing that she herself would need more time than this, but here he was, ready to go. He was out and about. He was his old self and she was so relieved. She hadn't known how she was going to be able to do this, care for him with everything that was going on, but she had done it anyway. Now, he was ready. It was earlier than she thought and she would have taken all the time that he needed, but here he was. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her and more than that, it made her smile to see him well again. It had been unsettling with Spike being, so, well, not Spike. She hated to see him in pain; it broke her heart.

"Alright. We can get into it. But, I'm warning you, I'm not holding back." Buffy teased.

"Oh. As if I needed you to." Spike spat out. "Wipe the floor with you."

"If you're going to talk trash you better make sure you have the moves to back it up." Buffy gave Spike a playful shrug.

"I love it when people underestimate me. Makes the victory that much more delicious." Spike's predatory eyes landed on her.

"Cause you've beaten me so many times before." Buffy pointed out.

"And you beat me? Funny, I don't feel like I'm a big pile of dust." Spike felt himself with his hands to double check.

"Let's go then!" Buffy bounced in front of him, worked up, ready to fight then and now.

"Perhaps you'd be more comfortable in the basement where we set up the training area." Wesley suggested somewhat annoyed.

"Fine, Buzz Kill." Buffy retorted.

With that, Buffy took Spike's hand and led him down to the basement.

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It hadn't taken them long to get into it. Spike found that he was still surprisingly sharp given all the time that had passed since he had last done this, not to mention the fact that his body wasn't used to being moved in such a strenuous manner. Clearly, all the time he had spent in his room, testing his muscles and working out while his lungs were still coming into place were paying off. He doubted that if he were human any of this would have been possible. Of course, if he were human, even in the best shape of his life he'd hardly be able to keep up with a Slayer. Now, he was holding his own, he had even managed to knock Buffy down a time or two. She seemed pleased. Only so strange that he wasn't. Really.

Buffy and he were competitive. There was no question of that. That's where the fun normally came in, but this time around the sparring had gone a bit differently. There was no question that when he got a hit in, knocked her down, or dodged one of her best blows, he should have gotten off on it. Had the usual thrill. But while he kept expecting those feelings to come, they never really did. Only the expectant shadow of them, hollow as it was.

There was relief when he was able to do this; it was a sign that he was much better off than she had anticipated. He figured that she probably had expected somewhat of a disaster of a sparring session. Messy footwork, bad balance, quite possibly tripping over himself, but he swore that he caught the hint of a smile the first time he had gotten her down on the ground. He didn't blame her for not expecting him to be on top of his game, and he hadn't been exactly that, he needed work despite how well he was doing, but it stood to reason that he should be worse off than he truly was. It was him though. If there was one thing he had always been good at it was fighting. Well, that and a few other activities that Buffy had come to learn as well…

He had expected to be proud of this. And to feel the usual fun of sparring with her. Only thing was, he didn't. The moves kept coming. Arms and legs moved like they always had. He was a master of this dance, and knew all the steps perfectly. But it was all technical. The joy and excitement of it just didn't show up for some reason. He kept searching for it. Kept pushing forth the enthusiasm that he knew he'd normally feel right now, but it just wouldn't come. He tried picking up the speed of the dance, landed kicks and blows at a steadily quicker rate, hoping that the rush of it would soon reach his cotton-filled brain. Made himself grin broadly, and nod challengingly at her, in hope of finally managing to provoke his old passions into coming out.

Buffy had noticed how his health condition had changed and she was glad for it. She knew that she couldn't have held back on him when they had first started the fight. He would have been able to tell if she was doing so. He was perceptive that way. He was also used to fighting with her. He would have picked up on it in an instant if even a hair of the fight seemed off, so she had used her strength, speed, and skill the way she always had. It had only taken him a minute to really get his head into it and fall back into their usual ways more or less. It had been a little sloppy at first, but he had remembered quickly enough; he had been able to get his body to bend and move at the speed and accuracy that it needed to. He was still a little unpolished, but this was very promising. If he was already doing this well after one spar she was sure that soon he would be able to go out on patrol with them. She found that she was happier about the idea than she was nervous. And why shouldn't she? He could hold his own. He wanted to hold his own. Things were falling back into place. They were settled, getting into a routine, Spike was healed, these were happy things.

With one quick motion, Buffy had Spike flat on his back, looming over him; however, as she was just about to pretend stake him, Spike bucked her off him before jumping up at once, as Buffy picked herself up off the ground with a scowl on her face.

"What's that then?" Spike smirked. "We bein' a sore loser?"

"I've hardly lost." Buffy stated as she and Spike began circling each other.

"Losin' if the vampire is still 'alive'." Spike grinned.

Buffy glared.

Getting under her skin like this was another thing that had always been fun. Getting a rise out of her, knowing that he'd gotten in a good verbal punch, he simply loved it. Or, at least he had used to. What was going on now? This was fun. It had to be fun. It had always been. Even back when he was just getting to know her, or when Dru had accused him of caring more about the Slayer than about her, and dumped him, the one thing that could get him out of pain and heartache was a proper spot of violence next to her. A fight with Buffy was a universal cure of all gloom. And Buffy, well, she sure was providing him with that right now. He had to spice it up just a bit more. If only he could think of another way of doing that. One that would actually allow him to start feeling the rush of it again.

Spike made the first move. It was smarter to make the first move in their next round. You wanted to be the one who got the first hit in. He had been fighting for a long time now, long enough to take notice of a few minor details that slipped past most in a fight and one of the things that he noticed, was that the person who often got the first blow in usually won the fight. It wasn't to say that you couldn't win a fight if you were struck first, but statistically he had noticed that it wasn't as likely.

Buffy ducked the blow that came her way. One thing that was important as a Slayer was being able to predict your opponent's next move. There was a familiarity to Spike, so in a way that helped, of course she was as familiar to him as he was to her, so no advantage there. She knew the way he thought, but he also knew the way that she thought. He was right in the past. It was like they were dancing. In a weird way it had always felt right. The feeling behind their fights had certainly changed over the years, but their movements had a rhythm of which she couldn't remember not having existed. She made a move, he blocked it, he made a move, she ducked it. If he tried to kick, she'd grab his leg, slamming him down to the ground, only for him to knock her own legs out from underneath her, bringing her to the ground too, landing right on top of him, tangled together. She'd jump up, he'd do a kip, and they'd start again.

That's exactly what happened.

Now facing each other Buffy cracked a smile.

Spike looked at her curiously. "What?"

Buffy shook her head. "It's nothing. Forget it. Let's go."

The curiosity didn't fall from Spike's face. "Tell me."

She should have known he wouldn't drop it. She didn't usually get smiley during fights. She was competitive. She wanted to beat him. Badly.

She wanted for once to be able to get the stake to his chest and deem him dead. It was the same for him, she knew it. He wanted to pretend to bite her, so that he could hold the victory. If she wanted to be really snarky about the whole thing she could claim she had beaten him already, and hadn't she? The only reason he hadn't been killed before was because he had been able to escape, like with The Gem of Amara, she remembered taking that thing right off his finger. Oh, yeah, she had owned him that day. Still, death seemed to be what determined the winner with him, or as close to it as they reasonably could come, so she'd play it his way. She didn't mind beating him on every level if that's what it took to prove it to him, all the sweeter the victory would be then. But, right now, she was smiling and that wasn't the nature of their fighting. He knew it and she knew it.

"It's nothing really. I was just thinking about how many times we've done this." Buffy confessed.

"Yeah…"

"I guess I got lost in thought about it. How much we've done it, how many different ways-"

"You sure you're talkin' 'bout fightin' there, Slayer?" Spike gave her a devilish smile.

"Pig." Buffy responded. "Our fighting has always, sort of, meshed. I don't know how to word it right."

"We dance." Spike grinned at her.

Buffy eyed him. "All we've ever done is dance?"

"How would you put it?" Spike questioned her.

"We're meshy?" Buffy sighed. "Okay, again, I don't have the words."

"Good thing I do." Spike took a step closer.

"We dance. It makes sense. Even when I couldn't stand you. We danced. What does that mean?" Buffy asked out loud, surprised that she asked it out loud. Normally, she ignored questions like that, ran away from them as fast as she could.

Now, she was asking these kind of questions? Oh, she was so not ready for that. "You know, we've been down here for a while. I should probably take a shower before I go out patrolling." Buffy said as she quickly made her way up out of the basement leaving Spike.

Spike's gaze fell onto the spot that Buffy had been in once before. Okay, so she was still running away, but she had spoken more of her feelings than she had ever done before. She had smiled in memory of them. There had been a point where he never could have imagined she would look back on any time of them in fondness, but she had just now. Through all the confusing feelings he had of her he recognized that there had been progress between them made once more. Right now, that was at least something.

He was still able to please her. Still able to bring back nice memories for her. Be the man she remembered. Even though he felt completely empty inside.

It had taken some getting used to, figuring out how best to merge their two teams together, coming up with a system based off what each person brought to the table, but things were coming together. Now that the system was up and running it was time to really get to know what evil was like here in L.A. On the outside, it looked the same. They patrolled and Buffy killed vampires and demons that roamed the street, but it was known full well that they had their own personal thorn in their side, Wolfram & Hart. That playing field had just gotten a bit more interesting, with the new offer their arch enemy had recently laid on the table for them, on taking over their local branch. Angel Investigations had been handed over some serious fire power against the firm with the addition of Buffy and her friends, so they might no longer need the extra arsenal WR&H was offering them? And now that Angel was dust, the evil law firm might no longer be interested in the deal anyway? This needed figuring out, and that's what this particular meeting was for. But in order for the new gang to be of any use in that debate, and the alternate futures following it, they needed to first know the enemy inside and out. So, it was class time.

Everyone had assembled in the main lobby once again. Dawn pointed out that it was much more comfortable having this many people in a hotel than all crammed into their own house. No one could argue with that. Though, speaking of home, deep down Buffy missed it, even if for the last few months there had been no elbow room. This place really didn't feel like home to her yet. Buffy didn't know how a hotel really could. Hotels weren't normally permanent living arrangements.

"How much do you know about Wolfram and Hart?" Wesley asked while leaning against the counter.

Buffy couldn't help but feel like she was back in a classroom again being educated by one of her teachers. It was logical, Willow and Xander were often in her classes and her teacher was normally someone she didn't care to pay attention to. There were enough people here to fill a classroom. "It's a law firm. Right? They're known for getting off some of the more serious criminals. I take it with your involvement there's a demonic connection."

"Indeed. Demons, I'm certain, make up the majority of their client list. When Angel moved into town it didn't take long for him to become a bit of a problem for them. Then the rest of us once we began working alongside him." Wesley explained.

"The thing is Angel…well… is no longer here now. They have no further interest in us-" Wesley began.

"Great. I can see why you gathered us all together then." Xander interrupted.

"The problem is I'm here, right?" Buffy spoke up seeing where this was going.

"Not that they've said or done anything, but yeah. It's bound to become a problem." Gunn stated.

"That was not quite what I was going at. Let me get another shot at explaining, there was special interest in Angel." Wesley took the floor once more. "They wanted him on their side. There were those who wouldn't have minded seeing him dust, but the rules from the Senior Partners were for him to be stopped in his antics, but not killed."

"We were expendable, of course." Gunn rolled his eyes.

"I guess cause of his cranky Angelus side they figured they could corrupt him and get him working for them." Fred added.

"Still, they're not going to like a Slayer poking around and screwing up everything up they've got going on." Gunn finished up.

"I'm going to need to know everything about them. I mean everything you guys have faced." Buffy knew Wolfram & Hart was nasty business. She had only heard Giles talk about it once or twice and then from Angel as well here and there. She wasn't going to play around. If she was going to be stationed in L.A., she was going to get every piece of information on the biggest enemy this place had.

"Now, as I was saying" Wesley continued crisply, eying them all in annoyance over the frequent interruptions. "probably on this basis, of hoping to better control and corrupt Angel, WR&H made us an offer recently, that we have been considering quite carefully, to take over and run the whole L.A. branch of the law firm. We have discussed the matter, and thought we should do it. As the status quo stands now, they're stronger, mightier and richer than us, but we have the strongest beliefs, strongest moral character, and most motivating cause. In a pure battle of wills, we'd win. And if we can take over their machinery and their resources to do it, then double bad on them." He gave the room a confident gaze. "The problem is, their offer was to Angel - the souled vampire. Now that he's dust, it might not stand anymore."

"What about Spike?" Dawn spoke up.

Everyone's eyes fell on Dawn. Well everyone besides Spike's that was, which Buffy noticed. She knew that he had a tendency to zone out here and there during meetings, but usually he perked right up when his name was mentioned. She shrugged, Wesley had been doing most of the talking; she couldn't blame him for being that far gone. "What about him?"

"He has a soul. Couldn't Wolfram and Hart be interested in him too?" Dawn inquired, albeit rather somewhat concerned than showing any kind of support for Wesley's proposed project. She had just gotten him back after all. They had just become friends again. The idea there was a possibility that they'd claim him, or change him, didn't sit too well with her.

"Spike's soul is permanent. It isn't cursed." Willow answered reassuringly.

"Yes, I do believe that Spike could peak their interest in this situation." Wesley looked at him with renewed interest. "We dont know, he's not Angel, but, if he is picking up that mantel..."

Buffy's eyes fell on Spike. "What do you think?"

Spike's mind hadn't been on the meeting for very long before it had wandered off to other places. He hadn't realized it, not while he was doing it, causing him to almost miss Buffy addressing him, but her eyes wouldn't lift from him. He could sense the room staring at him. He snapped out of his thoughts. "Ah…" They were waiting for him to answer something. Somehow he had a feeling that he couldn't give them a satisfying response by simply stating yes or no.

"What? Could hardly keep focus what with Watcher Boy dronin' on."

Buffy smirked. It seemed that he had been convincing enough. It was true, listening to Wesley of all people talk was about the last thing that he wanted to do. Even so, he should be able to keep focus for one lousy meeting. It wasn't just the normal meetings that he had gotten used to Buffy giving in the months leading up to war, well, the ones he had been present during anyway. Those had been all about rousing the room and inspiring all the girls out there to go out there and be the best wannabe slayers that they could be. It was safe for him to drift as far away as he wanted to then. He knew when to pay attention and right now he knew very well that he needed to, and yet his mind ran off the first second that it could. He practically growled at himself, but doing so would only raise questions. He took in a deep breath. He could do this. He could listen. That's all it was, it was listening, and he was better at that than most. He'd just have to lock into the discussion. Lock in and stay put. He could do that.

"We were talking about an offer from Wolfram and Hart that originally was for Angel and their possible interest in you." Wesley explained, somewhat annoyed.

He snorted. "What? I'm suddenly goin' to be their lil replacement?"

"Something like that." Gunn shrugged.

"Well, hate to break it to 'em, but I'm nothing like Angel. Not for jumpin' through hoops they deliberately set up for me. Don't stand up on the top of buildin's and overlook the city, pattin' myself on the back quietly while I look down at all the lives I'm 'bout to save with the wind blowin' through my poncy hair." Spike rolled his eyes.

Buffy elbowed him.

Spike found that oddly enough he didn't get satisfaction out of putting Angel down like he normally did. It was strange, insulting him was usually always the right pick me up for him or at least it helped him out somewhat. Not this time. Angel was just dust. He was stuck in the bottom of a crater where Sunnydale used to be. He was gone. Off to an eternity filled with who knows what. Probably hellish torture. Spike had to figure it. Wasn't that what was waiting for him when he finally dusted one day? Hell. Wood could certainly give them a few pointers down there.

"Hello? Spike." Buffy snapped her fingers in his face.

Again? He had zoned out again! "What?"

"I don't know. Could you pay attention for five seconds?" Buffy looked at him in annoyance.

"Sorry, wasn't in the mood for history lesson is all." Ok. The talk had clearly continued, and he hadn't even known it. No, Buff. Can't pay attention for more than five seconds. Becomin' a bit of a problem! A problem it was. Maybe it was just the day. Everyone had days where they couldn't focus. That had to be all it was. It had to be…

"It's quite alright. I don't think there's anything left to discuss for the moment. Wolfram and Hart's interest, or lack thereof, will reveal itself on its own. Until then, all we can do is wait and watch, and lay plans both for a future of corrupting them from the inside, and alternately continuing fighting them from the outside.

"Ok", Buffy said. "Before you go on, I have just one more question: Are you guys absolutely stupid?" She gave the whole AI team a look to reinforce her statement. "You know these lawyers are smart, resourceful, and putting huge effort into corrupting Angel. Then they give him an offer that screams 'honey trap' all the way, and you fall for it? You are what you do, and who you socialize with. How long do you think you'd be able to work in their circles and take part in their world without it influencing you? Like you said, we're talking massive power here. Power that's only partially yours to control. You may believe you're strong enough to wield it, but you'd never know, until you're there." At this point she stopped, and shared a long and poignant look with Willow. "I'd say don't take it. Or it will very easily control you."

Spike watched as the debate back and forth continued. He tried desperately to find some way to let their words penetrate the thick fog that filled his head. It was all but impossible. He wanted out. There wasn't much left for him to do right now anyway. Normally, during these times in the past he'd go flip the television on and catch whatever was being aired, but right now he wasn't in the mood for that either. His mind was running with thoughts that never congealed into something solid. He needed to get his head on straight. It was easy enough to readjust, he was sure that it was, so he simply just had to get it together. He was better than this. He sat there on the couch and stared off. Soon, he was floating off to somewhere else once more.

***************************************************

Though much may be unsettled between them, the Buffy and Angel team full heartedly agreed on one thing. Going on patrol was of the good. Spike had insisted on going with them, hoping that fresh night air and a real round of demon killing might do what sparring and endless discussions could not, in clearing up and kickstarting his mind. In order to be able to reach out to and help as many of the helpless as possible, they agreed to split up into two teams, with one slayer on each. Buffy had no idea how Gun, Wes and Kennedy was fairing, but it hadn't taken long after they split up before she, Spike and Willow had run up against a right little pack of nasties.

She had gotten the pleasure of staking the first one, with Willow hot on her heel, taking down another. She looked up at Spike, and was proud to see that he too, though noticeably rusty, was still holding his own against one after another. But then, suddenly, he weren't.

The stake went flying from Spike's hand as he stumbled backwards before catching himself. "Bloody hell." This thing had surprising stamina! He had gotten by just as expected, taken down the others, but this bugger just kept sticking around! And now he had to reclaim that stupid stake. He threw a punch towards the vampire, trying to get back into the game. The one thing he knew for certain was he needed that stake if he were going to get the kill. Though that was easier said than done. It felt like he was punching empty air. His adversary always seemed to have a way of dodging his blows, and an uncanny knack for getting in his own. Dammit! There was no other vampire that could outdo him this way! He clearly wasn't in the game the way he needed to be.

The vampire lunged at him, full force, jumping in the air, doing a roundhouse kick. It was only at the last second Spike picked up on what he was doing, just barely dodging the act. He took in a breath. That was close. Not that he couldn't have recovered-

Another punch knocked him in the face. Focus! He wanted this fight to be over and done with. The sooner he got his head into it the faster that would happen. He threw his own set of punches, aiming for areas he knew would work well enough, getting one right in the gut before lifting his left up and kneeing the vampire in the groan. He had done this a thousand times before. Punch and kick and stake. He'd just had to get the stake.

The vampire could read his intentions perfectly well. He was not going to be taken down that easily. "What?" he taunted. "The great William the Bloody gone weak?" Not packing the punch that we've heard so much about any more?" "Ah, so you've heard of me?" Spike shot back, and gave the top of the other vampire's head a mocking stare. "Should've known you were a fan, with that hairdo" The other guy cringed in embarrassment. He had indeed the exact same color and style as Spike did. And it was true he had known of him for a long time. This wasn't a Spike he recognized though. He was waiting for that passion, that drive, that he was rumored to have, but instead the great vampire seemed almost out of steam. He charged once more letting Spike know exactly what he was going to find coming into these parts of the land.

Spike dodged the first couple of hits, remembering the rhythm of the fight, following the steps the way he had learned them, but after one, two, three moves, he miscalculated, being kicked down onto the ground. He rolled his eyes. It was never ending it seemed. He then gazed up at the vampire that was now looming over him, who grabbed him, holding him to the ground, his fangs out as he leaned down and bit into his neck.

Spike's eyes practically popped out of his head. Surely, this vampire knew that he was already dead. It was dominance. He was letting Spike know who was stronger before he dusted him. He could feel the other guy grabbing hold, ready to twist his neck around at any moment.

Buffy kicked an oncoming vampire square in the chest, a remarkably stinky one, who desperately needed a bath, in the off chance that he should survive this fight, and as he went backwards her focus stayed on Spike, as she could see him on the ground with a pair of fangs at his neck. Hell no! She quickly pushed aside and ran away from the vampire that she was fighting before she made her way over to him, diving into his fight, and tossing Blondie on top of him away. That would've worked great, if it wasn't for how old Stinky naturally caught up with them and pushed Spike right down again, just as he was making a move to rise. Dammit!

She didn't know what she would've done if Willow hadn't shown up right then, within striking distance, picked up the stake Spike had dropped, and tossed it to her, enabling her aim clearly, and throw it straight into Stinky's heart, while still having her old stake to oppose Blondie with. She deftly circled around him, grabbed him from behind while he was focusing on Spike, and ended up holding him by the collar of his shirt, checking that Spike was focusing on her, and tossing him the stake underhand, to finish the thing off.

Spike rose, his hand touching his neck, feeling the blood on it before catching the stake that Buffy tossed his way. She held out the vampire for him, he looked down at the stake in his hand for a moment before looking at the vampire that she was holding out for him. He took in a breath before he slammed the stake into the vampire's heart, causing him to explode into a pile of dust.

As the dust settled, Buffy cautiously walked up to Spike, and reached out a hand to touch the scratch at his neck, where the other vampire had bitten him. "I could have lost you. Again. Only this time for good."

Spike felt himself put his arms around her, hugging her close, resting his head on his shoulder as he did so. "Right here, Buff. Right here."

After staying that way for a few long moments, Buffy broke the hug and looked at him. "We need to get you back to the hotel. Sun will be up in not too long." Buffy commented as Willow made her way over.

Spike rolled his eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Willow asked.

"It's fine. He just got knocked down. ." Buffy responded nonchalantly.

"Yeah." Willow looked at Spike sympathetically. "That's alright. There were a lot of them. Almost got knocked down myself."

Spike snorted. "Don't need your pity, Red." He then looked at Buffy. "Don't need coddlin' either. Fine."

"Stop being a jerk, Spike." Buffy looked at him seriously. "We're trying to help you."

"Don't need it. Not some helpless ponce anymore." Spike commented.

"No, you're just a ponce. Is that better?" Buffy put her hands on her hips.

Spike sighed. "I'm fine is all. It's not worse than any other fight I've been in before. Can take it."

"Look, let's just go back to the hotel. It's been a long night." Buffy eased up on her tone, letting their little spat go.

Spike nodded in agreement and with that the three of them took off back towards the hotel.

***************************************************

Spike had gone straight up to bed once he had come home. No one had questioned his disappearing. It wasn't unlike him to go off on his own. He just felt so worn out. He needed his room. He needed a bed. He needed sleep. He collapsed on the bed once alone, not bothering to undo the bed sheets or get out of his clothes. And waited for sleep to come.