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: Here is the long awaited update to the story. I'm sorry that it's been so long. I lost my inspiration for awhile there. It's been a slow journey but I'm getting back in the flow of things. I've got the next chapter pretty much completed and the whole story is mapped out until the last chapter. So updates should be quicker. It's pretty much another four chapters after this. So I hope everyone enjoys. I'm also a little surprised that no one seems terribly broken up over Riley and Darla, but only a little, lol. Enjoy.

Pale skin, blackish rings around his eyes, tired, dull, washed out look in normally vibrant blue eyes and the almost permanent frown that was marring his face. Yeah, it was official. Spike looked and more than likely felt like crap. And while it gave him a mild sense of satisfaction knowing that he safely could say he looked better than his best friend for the first time since they met, Xander really didn't like the way his friend seemed to be walking almost as if in a daze. He had barely taken any notice to the hand that was gently holding his elbow and leading him through the packed hallways. A quick check to Spike's other side told him that Fred was also just as concerned.

"I don't know why you just had to go back into that house," Fred muttered, shaking her head. "And look what it's got you. You look like you got even less sleep than normal and now you guys have even more questions than when you went in the first time. And speaking of that, why was I not invited…..again?"

Xander couldn't help the smile. "We tell you that we spent the greater portion of the evening trying to get out of the house and you're upset because you weren't invited. Consider yourself lucky. All of us are probably marked for death now."

"Oh goody, I get to live while all my friends die," Fred said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "It's not fair. I always get left of out stuff."

A hoarse laugh drew their attention to the pale figure between them. "I promise next time we'll bring you, pet."

"Next time? Spike, I know you're more than a little out of it at the moment but you're completely insane if you think that we're going back in there."

"Why not?"

"In case you really have lost all of your mind, you're so out of it I'm practically holding your hand just to keep you moving. So at what point in time did going back into that house seem like it was a possibility."

A ghost of a smirk crossed over his best friend's lips, and Xander felt oddly relieved. For a moment anyway. And then he remembered just why it was better to be the one sharing the smirk instead of the one receiving. "Oh that? Well I figured I'd let you. You've been so lonely since the whole bust up with Anya. Everyone needs a little loving, Xander."

Fred snickered and grinned at her two friends. Xander's jaw dropped slightly but she noticed he still didn't remove his hand. Which was just as well because despite his joking manner, she was pretty sure that Xander's hand was really the only thing keeping Spike up. It seemed he knew that too as he made no further comment about the arm once they reached their destination.

"William?" the trio turned to see their homeroom teacher looking at him with a mild sense of fear. He sighed slightly and pushed Xander away. "Are you sure you should be in school today? You don't look so hot."

"I'm always hot, Ms. Calendar. I've heard it runs in the family."

The computer teacher blushed furiously before nodding her head. "Yes, well, that might be true, but you sure you don't want a pass to the nurse's office?"

"I'm sure. I'm fine. I've got my boyfriend over here. He'll take care of me," Spike jerked a thumb in a beyond annoyed Xander's direction. The brunette walked to his seat muttering about ungrateful jerk best friends. Fred and Spike joined him a minute later. Spike propped his elbows up on the desk and rested his head on his hands. Just as Fred was about to prevail to the common sense she knew was buried under layers of bravado and nonsense, the sound of bickering entered the room.

"I'm just saying that leaving them was a bit harsh, Cordy."

"He was cheating on me! With the walking S.T.D!"

Silence fell over the homeroom as all eyes landed on the newly arrived Cordelia and Buffy. The two girls grinned sheepishly and slid into the desks beside Xander and Spike. "You two sure know how to make an entrance," Spike commented, drolly. He saw Buffy opening her mouth and held up a hand. "And yes, before you ask, I'm quite alright."

"Which in the real world means you haven't slept and you feel like crap, right?" Cordelia asked, arching an eyebrow. He gave her a look before resting his head in the desk. The cheerleader shook her head and paused thoughtfully. "You know I never realized before all this started that we were all in the same homeroom. At least some good has come out of this."

"Queen C likes hanging out with those of a lower social class," Xander put his hand over his heart in mock surprise. "Stop the presses or better yet call a doctor because clearly she's lost her mind."

Cordelia rolled her eyes but still smiled. She turned to Fred. "How do you put up with them?"

"It helps that they're cute," Fred grinned. "Its amazing how much you can put up with when it's coming from the mouths of cute boys."

"Oh Cordy knows all about that," Buffy chimed in "Look at her and Riley."

"Ugh, can we not look at the mistake that was me and Riley? I can't believe I wasted so much time on him."

"I can't believe you went back to that house with him."

Fred and Xander both sat up noticeably. "You went back to the house? After we spent pretty much all night trying to get out. You guys really went back in?"

"And again no one called me!"

Cordelia ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Look, alright, it was stupid. I know. I tried to talk them out of it. But on the bright side, I learned a few things last night."

"Oh really. Please tell me what you possibly could have learned," Buffy said, sarcastically. Her best friend pointed a finger in her direction but continued on.

"Well, I learned that Midwestern people, especially from Iowa, suck. Darla is a dirty skank. And, oh yeah, Rebecca Crawford did have another child."

A stunned silence fell over the gathered teens. "Huh?"

"That's all I get? A huh? I have girl talk with a ghost and all I get huh."

"What? You talked with a ghost? Somehow I get the feeling that I only got the Cliff Note's version of last night."

"You did," Cordelia grinned. "And here is the even more abridged version. Riley and Darla wanted to snoop around the house. I didn't. Stuck around outside and got a friendly visit from Rebecca Crawford herself. She went on about having two names and having to protect them, whatever that meant. She then told me to find the journal and give it to Mr. Giles."

"A journal?"

Cordelia nodded and pulled the book out of her bag. She handed it to Fred, who was immediately drawn to the pictures inside. "Is this her? Is this Rebecca?"

"Yeah. That's was her. Of course she looks a lot more alive in that picture." Buffy swatted her on the head. "What? She was!"

Grinning, Fred passed the picture of the youngest Crawford child with his siblings to Xander. The brunette stared first at the child and then flipped it over to read in words written on the back. "William… 1926." He paused, turning to regard his far too silent best friend. "Wasn't that the year that Rebecca died?"

"Yeah," Spike whispered, suddenly finding the wood grain on the table to be fascinating. "Yeah, it was.

"She was beautiful," Fred said, lifting a picture of Rebecca. There was a murmur of agreement as the picture exchanged hands.

Finally it landed on Spike's desk. He closed his eyes and drew the picture nearer. He had a feeling that when he opened his eyes everything was going to change. One part of the mystery would be solved but he didn't know if it would be worth it just to know. He both dreaded and longed for the answer to the question. He knew without looking that the others were watching him, so he took a deep breath, and opened his eyes. A strangled gasp escaped his throat as he recognized the woman.

"Spike, what's wrong?" he heard Xander calling to him but it sounded like he was miles away. But that was impossible seeing as how his friend hadn't moved more than ten inches from his side all morning. Spike lifted his gaze from the picture but instead of his friends he found the woman from the picture standing in front of him.

"It can't be… "

Rebecca held her hands to him but he was too far away to touch her and he felt like he was pinned to his seat. The simple white nightgown she wore was torn and bloodied. Her features were twisted into a grimace of pain and remorse. Her hair was loose and blowing in the inexplicable breeze. He looked around and found that instead of the classroom, he was standing in front of Crawford Manor. He shuddered and looked back to the thus far silent woman.

"Who are you?"

Even from the distance, he could make out the tear that tracked down her face. "I am so sorry, my darling boy."

"I don't understand," he yelled. "What the hell is going on?"

"Its funny you should mention hell." He whirled around and once again the scenery changed, although he much preferred his last location to this. It seemed like he was in some sort of cavern. Monstrous creatures surrounded him, yet stayed away out of some sort of awed respect. It was dark, yet hot. Heat attributed to the pool of lava that seemed to surround the rocky ground he stood on. His eyes sought out the source of the voice and his found that he was standing before Elizabeth Crawford for the second time in way too short a time frame for him to be comfortable.

The woman smiled as his eyes flickered from their surroundings to her face. "Welcome home, William."

His eyes widened. "No, this is not my home."

"Oh but it is," Elizabeth cooed. "This is what I have waited almost a century for. This is what you were born for. Welcome to your destiny, William. Welcome to the Hellmouth."

"No," he whispered, though he felt like screaming. "No… my father…"

"Is only a means to an end," she smiled calmly. "He is unimportant in the bigger picture, dearest little one. You'll get it eventually. And your 'father' is going to be first one down."

Spike felt the panic and nausea growing in him as images passed through his mind. Images of death and horror with his friends and family in the starring roles. Tears leaked out the corners of his eyes as saw the fate awaiting each of his friends once the Hellmouth was opened. He didn't need her to explain it, he knew it instinctually. "Please," he whispered hoarsely. "Don't do this."

Elizabeth stepped closer to him and he found that he couldn't work up the energy to move away. She put a finger under his chin forcing him to meet her eyes. "It's already been done, William. The second you stepped foot in this town, the Hellmouth woke up. And soon the pull you'll feel will bring you home where you belong and it will be opened once and for all."

He pulled away from her, shaking his head. "Shut up! Just shut up! It's not true. Just shut up!" he fell to the ground and drew his legs up to his chest. He rested his head on his upraised knees and rocked back and forth, muttering quietly to himself. He clamped his eyes shut not wanting to see anything more. "No, not true. Not true." And that's when the voices came back.

"Spike!"

"Come on, Spike, time to wake up."

"Will, stop being such a damn drama queen!"

The third voice was closer. Almost close enough to reach and so he did. He was surprised when he felt a warm hand grasp his. His eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring into a trio of concerned faces. Feeling suddenly crowded by the faces of people he had seen being mutilated and tortured only seconds before, he tried to back away from them. However, his escape route was blocked by the wall behind him. His eyes darted around the room frantically. He was sitting on the floor, with Buffy, Cordelia and Xander kneeling before him. A bewildered look crossed his face and he looked to Xander, whose hand he was still attached to. His friend seemed to pick up the silent question.

"You freaked out," he finally replied after several moments of hesitation. "You fell out of your seat and kind of scrambled back here. We've been trying to snap you out of it for the past few minutes."

"Only a few minutes?" Spike mumbled, releasing Xander's hand and running it through his hair nervously. That wasn't right. It felt like hours. He shuddered, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he noticed the distinct lack of a fourth person. "Where is Fred?"

"She went to get your dad," Buffy answered, putting a hand on his leg. She smiled slightly as he calmed down at bit at the gentle touch.

"Where is he?"

The gathered teens all turned to the front of the now empty classroom to see Ms. Calendar pointing a very flushed Giles towards them. Without needing the hint, Xander and the two girls moved to the side allowing Giles to pull his son close to him. It worried them all when Spike didn't fight it or even make his requisite comments. He instead rested his head on his father's shoulder and shuddered again.

"What happened?" Giles looked up at the others once he sensed Spike had calmed down enough. He still didn't release him, instead finding a more comfortable position for the two of them.

"Last night I found this," Cordelia handed him the journal. "It belonged to Elizabeth Crawford and inside it had pictures of her mother, Rebecca. Spike saw the picture of pregnant with her fifth child, because yes, there was a fifth, and then this happened."

Giles raised an eyebrow and one handedly opened the book, lifting the picture out carefully. "Bloody hell," he whispered. He tightened his hold on Spike and sighed. He could sense the kids looking at him for further explanation.

"Giles, what's going on?" Xander asked, kneeling in front of father and son.

"Do you know who this woman is?"

"Yeah, Rebecca Crawford."

The older Giles laughed humorlessly. "She's also Spike's mother."

"The resemblance is uncanny!"

Tara rolled her eyes and snatched the two pictures away from Wesley. "They're not just uncanny Wesley, they're exact. This is technically speaking impossible. Aunt Rebecca doesn't just look like this woman. She practically is Rebecca Crawford, right down to the name and the son."

Both teens jerked upright from their hunched over positions at the dining room table to see Giles storming out of his office. Wesley arched an eyebrow and looked at Tara. "I take it his conversation with your mother went well."

"When doesn't it?" she grinned. "Mom swears he's the reason I'm a lesbian. How that one works is beyond me, but no one said my mom was playing with a full deck."

"Too true," Wesley muttered, before Tara smacked him upside the head. He took a brief moment to pout and then followed the Wiccan on her search for Giles. It wasn't too hard to find him as he had headed straight for his son's room. Spike was practically comatose on the bed in the first dreamless sleep he had had in weeks. And it was all thanks to his unwavering trust in Tara and the miracle that was Tylenol PM.

"What did mom say?"

"Well aside from her usual spouting on about how I'm insane and the sole corruptor of both you and her nephew, she told me everything she knew about Rebecca's birth family. It seems that Rebecca's family was named the Collins. I'll give you two guesses as to what Rebecca Crawford's maiden name was. And the second one doesn't count."

Tara sat down on the bed beside her sleeping cousin. "I don't understand."

"I messed up in my research," Giles rested his head on his hand wearily. "I was so hung up on his connection to the Crawford children that I completely forgot about the mother. She died in childbirth and they had the child sent back to Rebecca's family. Spike and his mother are descendants of the Crawford family. And I'm pretty sure it's not a stretch to say that they are the reincarnation of Rebecca and William."

"What do they want from him?"

"That I don't know. But I'm hoping that the others will be able to get something from that journal that can tell us."

"Willow called and said that they would be over here as soon as they got out of school," Tara replied, placing a hand on her tired uncle. "We're going to fix this, Uncle G. You know that right?"

"I keep telling you not to call me that," he smiled softly.

"How about Uncle Ripper?" Wesley suggested innocently. Giles turned a surprised glare on the older boy. He shrugged. "What can I say? I hang out with these two… willingly."

There was a soft laugh and all eyes flickered down to Spike. Despite the fact that he had yet to open his eyes, they all noticed the smile that was spreading across his face. Giles shook his head as his son finally managed to crack his eyes open to look up at his father. "Welcome to the world of the living."

"Hey," he whispered. His brow furrowed as he looked around his room in confusion. "When did we get home?"

"Uh, you really don't want to know the answer to that one, little cousin," Tara patted him on the stomach. Of course that just meant that Spike wanted to know even more. She shrugged. "Fine, since you insist. Well we didn't want to risk you freaking out on us once again, so I took the liberty of drugging your water. And while Uncle Giles was busy talking Snyder and Ms. Calendar out of calling the hospital, Angel had to carry your unconscious body out of the school."

Spike's face melted into a look of abject horror, which was apparently just what Tara was aiming for as a devious smirk crossed her lips. "Oh yeah, it was pretty bad. Angel was carrying you bridal style."

"She's lying right, Wes?"

The older boy buried his face in his hands to keep from laughing. Spike turned his imploring gaze on his father, who in turn stared at the ceiling in order to hide his amusement from his horrified child. "Oh but its true, Spike. I have pictures to prove it."

"You're evil, you know that, right?"

"But of course," Tara grinned. "I mean we're cousins. What else could I be?"

But instead of bringing a smile to his face as the comment normally did, his face darkened and his eyes lost the small amount of light they had gained. "What's wrong?"

"I really am evil," he replied in a small voice, sitting up and giving Wesley some room to sit on the bed. He leaned against the older boy and sighed. "It's my destiny to open something called the hellmouth."

"What's a hellmouth?" Giles asked, sitting close to his son.

"I don't know but let's just say that's it not pretty and involves a lot of death and intestines hanging out of people," Spike grimaced as the images flashed through his head once more. Instinctively he scooted closer to Giles.

His father sighed, wrapping an arm around his son. He was spared finding some reason to send the other two out the room by the doorbell ringing quite offensively downstairs. Of course, Xander was here. Tara saw the annoyed expression on his face and excused herself and Wesley in order to greet the others.

"You know no offense, kiddo but you haven't been this clingy since your mother died," Giles whispered.

"Haven't been this scared since then," Spike muttered, burying his face on his father's shoulder. "Besides you're the dad here. You're supposed to make all of this go away."

Giles chuckled. "Yeah, I'm supposed to, aren't I? I guess I'm not perfect after all."

Spike pulled away. "Well I already knew that much, Ripper."

"Tell me again why I put up with you and Tara together?"

"Lack of options?"

This brought a genuine smile to Giles' face. His smile faded slightly as he held his son's face in his hands. "I need you to know something, so listen carefully and get this through your stubborn head. No matter what anyone tells you, you are not evil. And you're meant for so much more than even you know. The only person in control of your destiny is you, William. The Crawford's may think they're in control but they're not. You are. And don't let them make you think otherwise."

"I know," Spike mumbled. "But it feels…"

"Yeah, I know," Giles nodded. "Will, I need you to know that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't regret anything in my life because it all led up to you being born. And no matter how many times you call me Ripper or break into haunted houses, I will never regret you. Nothing you can do can ever make me think you're evil. You're a good person."

He was rewarded with a nod and a brief smile. "Now that chick flick moment number ten thousand is out of the way, care to see what trouble your friends are causing downstairs. I swear if Xander has touched any of those artifacts again, I'll break his hands."

Spike laughed dryly and pulled away from his father. "I smell pizza." He climbed to his feet and sighed wearily. "If the whelp didn't get pepperoni I might be persuaded to help you break his hands."

Giles laughed as he watched Spike shuffle out the room. He could already hear the girls fawning over him loudly, and to a lesser extent Wesley, Xander and Angel. He closed his eyes in thought for the briefest moment. They were going to stop this. They had to stop it. Because there was no way he was going to lose his son. Not to a house and not to a messed up past that none of them had control over. But first things first, he was going to grab a slice of pizza before the human garbage disposals known as teenage boys and Fred inhaled it like they normally did. And then he was going to get back to work and figure out how to break the house's hold on Spike before it drove him insane or killed him.

Suddenly there was a loud crash followed a loud exclamation of "Oh no!" the older man sighed, shaking his head. He was seriously going to kill that kid one of these days.