Summary: Very AU. Everyone is human. Every town has a house with a story, with a past. Sunnydale was no different. But Crawford Manor was much more than just a house. It's alive and events that were set in motion over a decade ago are finally come to ahead. And it's all because of one platinum blonde bad boy, William Giles.

Spoilers: None.

Pairings: Buffy/Angel, Willow/Tara, Wes/Fred, Cordelia/Riley with hints of past Darla/Angel, and future Buffy/Spike. It will possibly be a Spuffy story eventually, just fair warning to all those that aren't Spuffy fans.

Author's Notes: Sorry about the delay. My laptop was dead for the last couple of weeks. Everything appears to be in working order no, so hopefully no more delays in chapters. Thanks for reading, reviewing and sticking with the story. It means a lot.

Disappearing Acts

Spike was annoyed. It was a little difficult to avoid this particular emotion given the circumstances he found himself in at the moment. Not only was he completely uneasy about walking around in a house that was literally haunting his dreams and every waking moment, but he was walking around said house with what had to be the five most annoying people on the face of the earth. For some reason Cordelia had latched herself onto his arm and refused to let go. Every single sound they heard caused the cheerleader to clutch tighter until he no longer had feeling in his right arm. Not to mention this was causing the petite blonde she called her best friend to pout and sulk in the back of the group.

And those two were but minor annoyances given that Willow and Tara felt the need to flirt non stop since they crossed the threshold and Xander was singing very loudly and very off key. Not to mention the shadow puppets he insisted in making in the flashlight's beam. So it was no small surprise that Spike was annoyed. And feeling a bit homicidal at the moment. Although there were no sign of any ghosts or manifestations so perhaps things weren't so bad. And that's when Xander hit a high note. Suddenly his resolve broke and he was really going to attempt beating his best friend to death with the cheerleader on his arm.

"Oi, that's it whelp! If you don't shut the…"

"Wait, do you hear that?"

"Yeah, I hear the whelp's really bad singing!"

"No, that sound."

"My singing isn't so bad! It's not like yours is so much better!"

"Actually I've heard him, he isn't so bad," Tara supported.

"You're just saying that because you're related to him."

"Really, am I the only one that hears this?"

"Hey, I'm related to him but that doesn't mean I like everything about him. Like his hair. I've hated it ever since he was thirteen and decided to get that stupid hair color."

"Hey! I like my hair thank you very much."

"Guys!" Willow cut through their conversations. "I said do any of you hear that?"

"Hear what, Red?"

"Listen," she put her finger on her lips and motioned around the room. The six teenagers all paused and listened carefully. Just as Spike was about to open his mouth to complain about the phantom sound he heard it. It was a soft murmuring noise at first but became louder and clearer with every passing moment. The melody was soothing and calmed the frayed nerves of the group.

"It's a lullaby," Buffy said in a hushed tone. She turned to Spike who was murmuring the words to the song. Tara's eyes filled with recognition at the song and her cousin's apparent knowledge of the song. And slowly her face melted into one of sympathy and mutual understanding. Her hand reached out and found Spike's. She squeezed it tightly.

"You guys know the song?" Xander asked, feeling stupid for stating the obvious but unsure of whether either of them would answer him. Tara nodded, never taking her eyes off Spike.

"It's a song that Aunt Rebecca used to sing to us before we went to sleep," she said, tears pricking her eyes. "Every single night… until she…."

Spike shook his head. "Yeah," he took a few deep breaths getting his racing thoughts and emotions under control. "It's just the house trying to mess with me again. It wants me to believe it's really my mom." He took only another minute and shook his head. "Stupid spooks."

"Maybe we should go," Cordelia suggested, hesitantly. "Something is very wrong here." The feeling of unease that had settled upon her as soon as she walked through the door was starting to grow. Something was going to happen. She knew it. She didn't know how she knew, and really didn't want to either. She just knew that she wanted to be somewhere else when it happened. But instead of agreeing with her and trying to find the exit, the group merely flashed her confused looks and walked further into the house. She stomped her foot and huffily followed the others.

"Right I say, 'let's go' and that's code for let's go further into our doom!"

"Glad you're working the code out, princess," Spike called over his shoulder. She rolled her eyes but still couldn't be mad at him for some reason. She was starting to see what Buffy saw in him after all. She glanced at her best friend who had taken advantage of Cordelia's distraction and claimed the spot by Spike's side. And even though it meant she had to walk by Xander Harris, Cordelia let her have it. Who was she to stomp on her best friend's obvious crush?

They continued on in a tense silence everyone more alert now for signs of anything supernatural. Cordelia wrapped her arms around her chest and shuffled along besides Xander. "Thanks," his voice broke through her thoughts and she turned to look at him. She arched an eyebrow indicating he should elaborate. "For not making fun of him back there."

A small part of her hurt that he would think she would make fun of someone in pain. But then again when had she ever given anyone the idea that she wouldn't. After all that's what Queen C did. She sighed. "My mom died when I was four. I barely knew her. Ever since then I've had an array of stepmothers in and out of my life. I don't even bother learning their names anymore. I have them down to numbers. Hurts less when they walk out the door and never call again." She smiled wanly. "So I know how it feels."

Xander looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Instead he gave her a smile of his own and went back to making his shadow puppets. Suddenly the light flickered in his flashlight. He smacked it and frowned as it continued to flicker. He looked to Tara to see if she was having similar problems with hers and found that the girl's flashlight had died completely. As had the one that Spike was carrying. They all looked helplessly to Xander who shrugged just as his light died as well leaving them in the darkness.

"Well this sucks."

"Everyone just stay calm."

"Whose hand is on my ass? Xander!"

"It's not me. I'm not anywhere near you."

"Well if it's not you then who is it?"

"He he, sorry, about that Cordelia. I thought you were Tara."

"I feel so cheap."

"Guys, focus. Are we all here?"

"What you want us to do a role call or something, Buff?"

"Since you suggested it, yeah smart ass. I'm here."

"Well I know little Ms. Cop-a-feel is over there, and I'm here. I'm hoping to god that is Xander's arm I'm holding right now."

"Yes, and by the way, I can no longer feel the left side of my body. Tara? You with us?"

"Yeah. Where's Spike?"

As soon as Tara had asked the question, the lights returned illuminating the group. The first thing they noticed was that there were only two flashlights. Tara's eyes widened as she stared at the empty spot she had last seen her cousin standing. Xander pointed to the spot with wide eyes.

"Spike? This isn't funny, man."

"I didn't hear him walk away," Cordelia added. "We would have heard him if he walked away. And we really would hear him if something dragged him away. But it's like he just disappeared into thin air."

Willow frowned. "People don't just disappear into thin air."

"Tell that to Spike," Tara muttered. "If anyone could learn how to disappear into thin air, it would be Will. He lives to be different."

"Call his cell phone," Buffy suggested, suddenly. "If he's still in here, we'll hear the ringer or at the very least he'll pick up and tell us where he is."

"That's not going to work," Tara shook her head.

"Well if you have any ideas, I'm sure we're all dying to hear them," Buffy snapped defensively.

The older girl smiled in her direction. "No, it's not going to work because I have his phone. Will is not exactly the most responsible guy around. He forgets his phone everywhere he goes. So to make sure that we had some outside contact, I took it."

"Oh," the younger blonde replied. "Alright then, what's next?"

"This," Cordelia said, before taking a deep breath. "Spike! If you're not ghost chow you better speak up now or else!"

Silence was their only answer. "There is no way that he didn't hear that. I'm sure people in the next county heard that."

"Go away. You can't have him. He belongs to us."

"Did anyone else hear that?" Willow asked, her eyes darting around the room nervously. The others nodded slowly and moved closer to one another. "Good, I'm not going crazy."

Xander shook his head. "I heard that voice before. Before he went into the house the first time. There was that same creepy voice telling us to go away." He paused. "But it wasn't talking to us, it was talking to me. It wanted me to go away. Oh, man I must be crazy for saying this but, I think the house took Spike."

He expected the four girls to mock him mercilessly, but instead they each sighed heavily. "You don't think I'm crazy?"

"Nope," Willow replied, with a slight frown. "Not unless we all are too. I say we find Spike, one way or another, and get the hell out of here before this house tries to eat us."

"See why I said we should have just left before," Cordelia couldn't help but add snidely as they marched through the house calling the name of their missing friend.

Meanwhile on the other side of the house, Angel wasn't having a much better time. Between the overall creepiness of being inside the house that probably killed his sister that was trying to kill one of his new friends, and Riley and Darla's constant complaining, he was about ready to kill them all himself. But he restrained himself and instead chose to walk slightly ahead of the two blondes with Drusilla, the only member of the small group that wasn't pissing him off.

"Why are we here again, anyway?"

Angel took a deep breath and glanced over his shoulder at Darla. "For the fiftieth time, it's because this house clearly wants Spike back. I want to know why. If we figure out what it is about Spike that makes the house go crazy, maybe we can figure out what the deal is with this place."

"It's a house," Riley said. "There is nothing going on here, Angel. You're letting your imagination go wild. Dude, it's just a house."

"If it's just a house, then explain what happened last night. You were there. You heard what we all heard and saw what we all saw. So how can you even begin to say that it's just a house? Something is going on here, and you know it."

"No, what I do know is that you just sent our girlfriends off with the biggest bunch of losers in school in order to chase down some crazed figment of your imagination. Angel, this is stupid and you know it."

Angel stopped short and glared at his soon to be former best friend. "Riley, I'm just going to pretend that you didn't just say that. You know what happened to Faith in this house. And you know what that did to my family. So I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself about this place or I will do more than just break your nose."

Riley met his friend's steely gaze and nodded tersely. Any further conversation was prevented by Drusilla's low moan. She swayed on her feet for a moment before leaning against the wall behind her. "Dru? What's wrong with you now?" Darla asked her annoyance with her cousin's antics evident in her tone.

"It was right here," she whispered. Her eyes snapped up to meet Angel's. "It was right here where it happened. She screamed while the others ran. But the house didn't want them. They weren't special like Faith. The house kept her. Kept her so you would bring him back to his family. Back where he belongs."

"Alright, I give, what the hell are you talking about this time?" Darla snapped.

"Faith," Angel said in a quiet tone. "She's talking about Faith." He knew his sister was somehow still alive but yet at the same time not alive. She was part of the house for whatever reason and he wanted nothing more than to set her free. He took a deep breath and finally turned around ready to move on, both from Dru's words and the corridor they were standing in. It was then that he finally noticed the figure lurking in the shadows. "Whose there?"

Dru whimpered and pressed herself up against the wall. Angel took a protective step in front of her, while Riley and Darla moved to stand against the wall as well. The person who was watching them laughed somewhat and walked out of the shadows to stand before them. Angel's breath caught in his throat as he looked at person who had been missing for two years. Nothing about her had changed in that time. She looked the way she always did, although instead of the usual warm smile she wore, her face was a blank mask.

"I'm hurt, little brother. You really don't remember me?" Faith asked, a slight smirk forming on her lips. He almost wished she would go back to the blank mask.

"How is this possible?" Riley hissed. "Dude, I thought your sister was dead!"

"Oh, I am, Farm Boy," she grinned. "I'm dead, but I'm not. I've been waiting for you for a long time, Liam. Didn't dad ever teach you that it's not nice to keep a girl waiting?"

At the sound of his name, Angel shook off the initial shock of seeing his not so dead stepsister standing before him. "Faith, what happened to you? How can I get you out of here?"

"Who says I want to leave? It's nice here. The Crawford's take really good care of me. They're not so bad."

"Not so bad? This house kills! It killed your friends. How can you say it's not so bad?"

The cold look entered her eyes again. "They only want to complete their family, Liam. You know that feels. All these years that you've been missing me. What wouldn't you give to have me home again with you and dad and your mom? Just like before."

Angel's hand trembled slightly as he listened to her talk. "And what have you given already? You're willing to sacrifice someone just to find out what happened to little old me. I'm touched." Her grin grew wider. "But he's not ready yet. I can tell. They're not happy with him now. But they will be soon and then they'll be a family again. Just like you and me. We could be a family too and live here forever." She moved closer to him. "All you have to do is take my hand."

Despite himself, Angel felt himself reaching for her outstretched hand. It would be so easy to just go with her. He had missed his sister so badly. Their parents' marriage was falling apart more and more everyday since she had been gone. But if he went with Faith now, he wouldn't have to be alone anymore. And obviously, the house wasn't all bad as Faith looked the same as she always had.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," another voice broke him away from the almost trance like state he was in. He looked up to see Cordelia and Willow approaching them. Faith sneered in Willow's direction as the redheaded Wicca got closer. "Trust me, Angel. Whatever she is, that is definitely not your sister anymore."

Faith's eyes narrowed as she took in the two girls and then move her contemptuous glare to all of them. "You think you're saving him? You're only delaying the inevitable. Soon he'll want to come home to his real family and there is nothing you can do to stop it." She turned on her heels and disappeared into the shadows she had come from. Angel's hand fell limply to the side as he stared in the direction she disappeared in.

"Hey, earth to Angel? You okay?" Cordelia asked him, softly. She rested her hand on his shoulder. "You with us, big guy?"

"Yeah," he smiled wanly. "Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks for the save."

"Oh don't thank me, thank Willow," she replied, grinning at him. It was then that Angel noticed there were a few missing people missing from the group. "Uh, would you believe that we, uh, lost Spike?"

"You lost him? How do you loose a teenager?" Riley asked, skeptically. "You sure he didn't just bail on you."

Willow narrowed her eyes. "That's not his way. He would never leave Tara, Xander or me in this place willingly. I doubt he'd leave even you behind. So when we say lost him, we mean lost him."

Angel ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, so you lost Spike, why are Buffy, Tara and Xander missing?"

"They went looking for him. Our job was to find you guys. He could be in here anywhere. Willow thought it would be better for us to cover more ground if we had more people."

"Yeah and Cordy wouldn't go looking for you guys alone," Willow cracked a smile. Cordelia glared at her playfully. "Yeah, yeah, I know. If we had just listened to you the first place we'd be sipping lattes at Starbucks right now."

"Damn skippy, missy! Next time we go into a haunted house, I bet you'll listen to me."

"Cordy," Angel interrupted. "If we can all get out of this alive, trust that we're never going into another haunted house again."

"If you're going to keep associating with Spike, I'm not entirely sure that danger is an unavoidable thing. Trust me, I've known him for half of year and this is the least of his transgressions."

"I'm definitely rethinking this Spike as a friend idea," Angel muttered as they started walking again.

"Oh now, he thinks about it!"

Hope you enjoyed. See you all next week.