Clem got Spike inside, and into a bedroom. Spike spent the night feverish, mumbling and moving in and out of consciousness. Visions still continually haunted him.
In the morning, right before dawn, his fever broke. He was still very sick, but his mind began to clear some. He fell into a deeply exhausted sleep. Clem eventually woke him up, explaining that Spike needed to eat something. Spike sat up slowly and groggily. Clem carried in a tray with a bowl of soup on it.
"Where am I?" Spike asked, his voice raw, as he looked around the dimly lit room.
"You're home. I couldn't think of anywhere else to hide you. We're in London, and were only a few blocks from the house." Clem shrugged. "The soup is not made by me, so it's safe."
Spike nodded, wincing at the thought of being in his childhood home. He started eating, his body needing the nourishment, though he didn't want to eat particularly. Memories of his mother felt alive as he looked around the room again. The house had changed pretty drastically in the time that he had been gone. And yet, it was still somehow familiar.
The soup wasn't bad, and by the time he had finished it, he had to admit he felt better. But he was still so exhausted. He slumped back against the pillows and closed his eyes. He was asleep before Clem came back in to take the tray away again.
:~:~:~:
I pace the halls of the hotel. I can't wait to see if the spell will actually work or if Willow will even be able to do it. When my phone rings, I'm so nervous I nearly drop it. It's Dawn's number, and I haven't spoken to her since we left, so I hurriedly answer it.
"Hey, Dawny."
"Buffy? Is everything okay? You never called last night." I smile slightly at the hint of worry in her voice.
"Sorry Dawny. I'm fine. Everything here is...fine." She catches my brief pause, and understands more than I intended her too.
"Uh huh. Sure. What's up, Buff?"
I groan. I have no idea how to tell her. I know, better than just about anyone, how much Spike meant to her and how much she's missed him. But the thought keeps creeping into my mind: what if it fails? Somehow, that would be even more devastating than her not knowing. So I choose my words carefully.
"It's just that there's a lot of destruction here. And we went to the place where Angel had kept a sort of headquarters and lived for awhile. There was a lot of signs of him there. It was kinda hard." I sigh. It's funny that it's actually not that hard to fake the emotion in my voice, even though I've put the Angel chapter of my life far behind me. After I fell in love with Spike, or more accurately realized I had fallen in love with him, things made more sense. Which I guess explains why I feel so lost without him. Who would have thought the biggest pain in my side would one day become so important to me?
"Buffy? Are you still there?" I realize I had gotten so wrapped up in my inner monologue, that I have spaced out on my conversation with Dawn.
"Sorry Dawn. Look, it's been a really long day. I'm sorry I forgot to call. Hopefully, we'll be home in a few days. I promise we'll do something as soon as I get back and I'll call tomorrow evening, okay?" Dawn sighed loudly but eventually agreed.
"Yeah, that'll be fine. Be safe please." Without letting me answer, Dawn hangs up. Now, it's my turn to sigh. One of the girls is passing me in the hall as I do and gives me a worried look. I shake my head and walk back to my room.
:~:~:~:
Spike wakes up several hours later, freezing. There is a small fireplace in the room, and Spike stumbles to it. He still feels wrong. It isn't just the humanity, either. His body feels almost foreign. He kneels down and stacks some firewood into the center of the fireplace and lights it.
He stands up and is turning to head back to the bed when the bedroom door bursts open. Clem and a woman Spike has never seen before enter. The woman is tall, with long black hair. Most of her face ss covered with a scarf, but her eyes are visible.
"Spike. You're up!" Clem shouts, inciting a wince from Spike as the sound causes a twinge of pain from Spike's head.
"Bloody hell, Clem. There's no need to shout." Spike stumbles back to the bed, and slumps down onto it, out of breath. Clem moves to sit beside him.
"No offense Spike, but you look worse then death." Spike glares up at Clem. "This is Makoto. She's a friend. Or at least, she's not planning on killing you anytime in the near future." Clem gestures to the woman.
"Look, nothin' against you. I'm sure you are a lovely woman. But I'm not exactly feeling very trustful at the moment." Clem shakes his head.
"Spike, if it wasn't for Makoto, I wouldn't have found you. She's been trying to heal you. But she can't quite figure out what's wrong." Spike sighed and laid back against the pillows.
"I don't know what to tell you, mate. Before I woke up in a literal Hell, I can't remember anything of the last two weeks. Or at least, the Poof and Blue said it had been two weeks." Clem looks at Spike worriedly.
"Who was blue?" The look on Clem's face tells Spike that Clem is doubting his state of mind. Spike rolls his eyes.
"Illyria. Bloody hell, Clem. I'm human, not insane. Or at least, I'm not any more crazy than usual." Clem looks away quickly, but Spike catches sight of the doubt in his eyes. Spike rolls his own eyes, and closes them.
Clem gets up and moves away, allowing Makoto to come forward. She leans over Spike, a heady perfume overwhelms his still-sensitive senses. Spike opens his eyes and finds the strange woman leaning over him. Spike glares at her for a moment. Makoto reaches up and places a hand on his forehead.
"You're feverish." She speaks with a hint of an accent. Spike fought the urge to roll his eyes at her.
"I am aware of that. What I'm not aware of is who exactly you are and why you are touching me." Makoto glares at him.
"Be quiet. Let me help you." She passes a hand over his face. Spike closes his eyes again, as a new sensation overwhelms him. His limbs grow heavy, and his head falls back against the pillow. He struggles to stay awake and not fall asleep, but eventually he loses the fight.