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 be a Spuffy story eventually, just fair warning to all those that aren't Spuffy fans.

Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who read and to those of you that reviewed. Nothing much to say this time around. Sorry for any weird typos, I didn't get a chance to go through this one as carefully as others. So sorry in advance.

Wanted Dead or Alive

William Giles was a dead man. He knew it just as he knew the sky was blue, the sun would rise and that he was a colossal idiot. Because of all the idiotic moves he had pulled in his life, walking into the house that for reasons unknown wanted you had to be the dumbest. And of course this led him right back to the fact that he was a dead man. If the house didn't get him first, then Tara definitely would, and he hated to see what would happen if Xander got his hands on him.

"I am so dead," he muttered, moving his flashlight around the room he was standing in, chasing away the darkness. It didn't take much rationale to figure out that he wasn't where he was when the lights went off. The first obvious hint was that he was alone. The next was that he was apparently standing in a nursery.

He found himself drawn to the small wooden crib on the far side of the room. The wood was still intact oddly enough and showed none of the decay something that old should have. It looked like it was made just the day before. His fingers traced the intricate wooden patterns. As his fingers moved over the wood, he felt the love that went into the creation of the crib. This child was obviously wanted and loved. Out the corner of his eye he saw an inscription on the headboard of the crib. He moved one of the tiny pillows to the side.

"What the…" he trailed off as he read the words there once again. 'William 1926'.

Spike swallowed backing away from the crib slowly. It had to be a coincidence because it couldn't be true. Could it? Was he somehow really part of the Crawford family? Maybe his father had missed something in his research. But he was pretty sure that he hadn't been born that long ago, so there had to be something else they were missing. Maybe it's just because he resembled this William that they had targeted him. But then what about his mother? He frowned, shaking his head. He decided it would be best to leave theories to Willow and Wesley. They were the smart ones after all.

"I have to get out of here before I go totally insane," he said aloud. In the back of his mind, Spike couldn't help but laugh at his incessant need to talk to himself. His father always said that he talked only to hear the sound of his own voice and at the moment that was exactly what he was doing. "Dad would love to hear me tell him he's right."

The thought of his father gave him enough motivation to move away from the crib altogether and towards what he hoped was the door out of the room. He was halfway to the door when he heard the lullaby again. He stopped in his tracks as the familiar ache formed in his chest. A tear slipped down his cheek but this time there was no Tara to comfort him. He was alone. "Suck it up, Will. It's just the house messing with you. It's not her."

"Oh but it is."

Despite the soothing tones of the song, Spike felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end at the sound of the oddly familiar voice. He turned around slowly to find himself face to face with a dead woman. She looked every bit as young and beautiful as she had in his dream. But that didn't change the fact that Elizabeth Crawford was supposed to be dead and last he checked the dead did not walk the earth. Then again this was Sunnydale and if zombies and the whole supernatural like were to exist it would definitely be there. He shook the distracting thoughts away as he continued his staring match with Elizabeth.

"Well aren't you going to say hello?" she said finally, breaking the tense silence in the room.

"What… what do you want?"

"To bring you home," she replied with a wide smile. It was a familiar smile. "I just want to bring you where you belong, William."

"And where is that?"

"Here with your family, silly," she leaned against the crib, still smiling. Her eyes were locked on him and he felt paralyzed by the intensity of her gaze. "We want you to come home to where you belong, to your real family."

"I am with my family," he snapped.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and stood up straight. "Do you really think that man is your real family? He is nothing more than a means to an end. You belong here with us and you will be here with us. This was decided years before you were born."

"Look, I think you have the wrong person here. I'm not your William."

"No, not exactly, but you are the missing piece to the puzzle, so to speak. Admit it, you feel drawn to this place. You find yourself thinking of it constantly. You were drawn here. That's the house calling you home, William. Why do you refuse to see that?"

"Because it's a bloody house! It's not real. None of this is real. It can't be."

Elizabeth tensed noticeably and the air around them grew chilly. "You really are quite stubborn. I didn't think it would be this hard. Why are you fighting it? Admit it, you feel better now that you're here don't you?"

Spike broke their staring game to glance down at the ground. It was true. The minute he had walked through the doors of Crawford Manor he felt at peace. He supposed that should have been his first sign to turn around and never come back, but no one ever accused him of being logical. No, they said he was impulsive and hot headed. Someone logical would have known the idea of entering that house was wrong and should never be acted upon. An impulsive person just wanted to make the longing stop.

"This is your home, William. I know you feel scared and lonely. But I can change that. You can come back to where you belong."

He lifted his eyes to meet hers once again. "I…." he trailed off as he heard the sounds of footsteps in the hallway.

"Spike! Spike, are you up here?"

"Will?"

A smile made its way onto his face as he recognized the owner's of those voices, Buffy and Xander. "William Randall Giles, if you don't get your sorry ass out here right now, I swear to goddess I'm going to kill you."

"Tara," he smiled a little wider. His not so friendly ghost went forgotten as he rushed to the door. "I'm in here." He pulled on the doorknob only to find that it was locked. "Guys! I'm in here!"

"Spike? Is that you?"

"No, whelp, it's someone else who sounds like me and has my name!" he snapped irritably. "It's me. Now get me out of here."

"And the reason you can't get out yourself is?"

Spike rolled his eyes. Some days he really questioned his friendship with Xander. "Because the door is locked or something. Listen, just hurry up and get me out of here, alright?"

"Will, sweetheart, are you alright?"

Spike closed his eyes leaning against the door partially. "Yeah, Glenda, I'm alright."

"Good because as soon as we get you out of here, I'm so going to kick your ass."

"Don't do this, William."

Spike froze. He had forgotten all about Elizabeth but now she had his full attention again. "Spike, who was that?"

"William, this is where you belong, not with them."

"Yeah, well, I think I'll pass. Thanks for the offer and all."

Elizabeth frowned for a fleeting second before the same smug smile formed on her lips again. "What about your mother?"

He narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "That is not my mother. I know it's just you and this place trying to mess with my head."

"You saw her in your dream, William. That wasn't me. I don't have that kind of power. She is here because this is where you belong. Are you really willing to give up a chance to be with your mother once again? I thought you would do anything to be with her. You were willing to die to be with her. So what's changed? If you just take my hand, I can take you to her again and no one will ever be able to take her away."

"Will? What's going on in there?"

"Spike, whoever is in there with you is not someone you should be listening to."

He heard them pounding on the door, but he just couldn't respond. He remembered the image of his mother in his dream vividly. There was no doubt in his mind that she was his mother. She looked exactly as she had before she died. It was her and Elizabeth was offering him a chance to see her again. He stared at her outstretched hand. All he had to do was take her hand. It's not like he was selling his soul to the house or something. He was just tired and all he wanted was his mother. What was so wrong with that?

Spike walked away from the door towards Elizabeth almost as if in a daze. Everything else went forgotten as he stared at the pale hand being extended his way. He just wanted all his pain and loneliness to end. It all would if he just took her hand. Just as he was mere inches away from his goal, the pounding on the door ceased. Before either he or Elizabeth could register the fact, the door was flying off its hinges towards the wall behind them both.

"….the hell?"

"Spike, what the hell were you about to do?"

"I…."

"Were you about to take the dead creepy chick's hand?" Xander asked, accusingly. For some reason hearing his friend adopt that tone made him feel a little ashamed. He shrugged and ducked his head.

"Uh, guys, how about we have this conversation later," Buffy suggested. "Later as in not right here, right now."

"That's a great idea. Come on, Will. We're going home," Tara latched onto her cousin's wrist and started pulling him towards the doorway. She turned around just in time to see Elizabeth standing before her. "Oh crap."

"He doesn't belong with you. He belongs here. He belongs with us."

"I'm sorry but I think his father might have a problem with that," Tara replied. "And if he doesn't, then I do. Now get out of the way."

"Or you'll what?"

Tara blinked, licking her lips for a second. "I'll do something. Just give a girl a minute to think."

Spike glanced up and met Elizabeth's steady gaze. The woman seemed to be searching for something in his eyes and he couldn't tear his gaze away. Finally, she found whatever it was that she was looking for and a smile touched her lips. She then stepped to the side allowing the four teens to leave the room.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Tara and Xander dragged their dazed friend out the room. It was only because Buffy lingered behind a second longer that Elizabeth's comment was even heard. The woman melted into the shadows but not before confirming what she had already suspected: sooner or later, Spike would go back into Crawford and none of them would be strong enough to pull him out. The words sent chills down her spine and she rushed out the room to catch up with the others.

She caught sight of them further down the corridor she had entered, leaning against a wall breathlessly. She jogged over to them and put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "Are you alright?" he nodded. "Good. What the hell were you thinking?"

Spike shrugged. "I really don't know anymore." He saw the looks being exchanged by the trio and sighed. He stood up straight and stretched. "By the way, thanks for the very dramatic rescue. But did you really need to kick the door in, whelp?"

"Wasn't me. That was all Buffy right there."

The girl in question blushed slightly and shot Xander a dirty look. Spike's false smirk turned genuine as he looked at the cheerleader. "You killed a door for me?"

"Yeah, well it was an ugly door anyway," she said, trying in vain to hide the red that was blossoming across her face.

"Buffy, the door slayer," Xander quipped. "Has a nice ring to it. You should look into this as a lifetime career choice. You could kill every unfashionable door in Sunnydale."

Buffy cocked her head to the side. "Has anyone ever told you that you're annoying?" she asked, teasingly.

"I do, everyday, but he never listens."

Tara snorted softly, running a hand through her hair. "Look who's talking. You're the king of annoying. How Wes and I put up with you is beyond my level of understanding."

"It's the eyes," Xander and Buffy replied in unison, earning twin looks of confusion from the two cousins.

"Right, so anyone else in favor of getting the hell out of here?"

Before any of them could reply they heard footsteps behind them. The teens whirled around ready for another confrontation, only to find the Fang Gang and Willow standing there. At the sight of their no longer missing friend, Willow visibly relaxed and walked over to join them.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, Red. I'm fine. I….. Ouch! What the hell did you do that for?"

"The next time you decide you want to disappear in a haunted house, don't!" she hissed, smacking him on the head once more. "Now, anyone know which way the exit is?"

Xander arched an eyebrow. "I know you've been hanging with the Fangs for a bit, but I didn't think it would affect your IQ this fast. Willow, the exit is in the same direction we came in from."

Willow narrowed her eyes and was about to say something more when Spike stepped between them. "Ignore him."

"We tried going that way and it didn't work," Cordelia replied. "The house, everything is different. It's like its changing."

"Its keeping him here like a little bird."

"And let's hear from the Freak Gallery now," Darla muttered, glaring in Drusilla's direction.

Angel gave her a dark look before switching his attention to the psychic. "What do you mean? Who's keeping who?"

"The house. It's keeping him here where he belongs. But he's not ready yet, so they're letting him go."

"Once more in English," Riley snapped.

"It means we can go," Spike answered quietly. "Its letting me go for now."

His friends exchanged looks but decided to put it off for now. It was getting late and by now it would glaringly obvious to their parents that they were doing something wrong. By now even Giles would be suspicious. The group set off in search of the exit. It didn't take long as the house seemed almost to be leading them there. For some reason this didn't serve to ease anyone's mind. By the time they reached the front door, they were even more on edge than before.

"I can't wait to get home," Xander sighed as they stepped onto the steps outside the door. "I don't know how much more I can take tonight."

"Care to take a guess?"

The forward motion of most of the teens was halted at the sound of the voice. Willow, Tara, Spike and Xander exchanged hesitant glances. "You heard that, right?"

"Sounded a lot like Wesley."

"That would be because it was Wesley and he's not alone."

"Oh, we are," Xander started as they turned around.

"So screwed," Spike finished, forcing what he hoped was a sincere and innocent smile onto his face. "Hey dad."

Giles crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. Spike dropped the smile. "I'm a dead man."