DISCLAIMER: All BTVS characters belong to Joss, I'm just borrowing them. Couple of OC's in there that are mine.

A/N: ginar369, cavemenftw and Embers and Flame, thank you so much for your support

I-E-H

The cafeteria was bustling with life as Buffy walked through the door. She held the lunch tray securely in her hands, smiling at her gaze landed on the two people seated at the table across the room. She pushed her way through the crowds and occupied the fifth and final seat, squinting against the sunlight coming in through the open window beside them. A quick shuffle and she was able to see her fellow lunchers clearly.

The red head smiled brightly at her and the brunette shoved an entire twinkie in his mouth whilst giving her a goofy grin. God, it felt like years since she'd seen them.

'Hey Buffy. Long time no see.' Willow chirped up brightly.

Memories hit Buffy like a train. This wasn't where she was a few minutes before. There were trees and grass, silence over the city – and now she was sitting in a long destroyed building with long dead friends.

'W-willow? Xander?' Buffy felt herself wilt, felt years of hidden grieving surge to the surface.

Xander smiled, swallowing the twinkie and briefly glancing to Willow.

'Hey Buffster. Guess you weren't expecting to see us huh?'

Buffy's eyes were watery and large as she twisted her gaze between the two ghosts. 'A-are you real?' She whispered, her voice cracking on the last word. Willow reached over and took her hand in support and Buffy jumped a little, not expecting the warm contact.

'We're as real as we can be anymore.'

Xander's smile became sad. 'You can't blame yourself, Buffy. We knew what we were getting into. Everytime we fought with you, we knew the possible outcome. We accepted it. But everything we did, it made life worthwhile.'

'And too short.' Buffy said, bitterly.

'Maybe.' Willow said. 'In another life, maybe it would have gone differently. Can't change the past. But it wasn't your fault. It was Adam's. And we're here to help now. You really think the Slayerettes would sit this one out?' The witch grinned.

'Can't say I'm happy about the methods employed to get us this far.' Xander made a face. 'Dead Boy Junior, Buffy? I thought Angel was bad.'

'Is this what this is? An afterlife intervention?' Buffy briefly wondered if Spike had slipped up and taken too much. What if she was dead too?

'You're not.' Xander said. 'It was a risk, you hooking up with the Bleached Menace…but it was a necessary one.' He shifted his seat closer to her, into the dwindling patch of sunlight. Someone walked past him and hit him with a bag and he scowled, rubbing the back of his head. Buffy suddenly wondered why there were so many other apparitions in the room with them.

'We can make them leave if you like?' Willow asked, looking around.

'No. Wouldn't mind if you'd both stop doing that though. My thoughts are kinda private.' The Slayer smiled weakly at her friends.

'Sorry, Buff.' The boy smiled, taking her other hand, mimicking Willow's action. 'Look. I've been shown a lot. I've learnt not to be so….closed minded. Don't get me wrong, I'm never gonna be on the "Good Vamp Cheering Squad". But I know now that you and Spike? Pretty much an invincible team there. Dynamic duo type stuff. So I'm not gonna berate you for making the wise choice.'

'And besides, Angel is a big broody pants.' Willow interjected. Xander smiled.

'The point is, Spike was the other piece of you. In another life, he was a champion and he's always going to be yours. That's what we've been told by the higher whoosamawhatsits anyways.' The goofy grin returned to his face. 'And we'll always be with you too. More so in the next couple of days.'

'We're doing the spell again Buffy. Except this time, it'll be more. More power. More Frankenstein-butt-kickyness.' Willow looked excited.

Buffy looked between both of them. 'How? I'm not exactly in a prime butt-kicking position right now.'

'When the time is right. We've been following you the whole time, Buffy. We may not be with you in physical presence, but we'll always be with you in memory and spirit.' Her best friends both smiled.

'We're always the Scoobies. Death and beyond.' Xander squeezed her hand.

'I really miss you guys.' The Slayer whispered, her physical strength unable to protect her from the sadness that the loss of her friends always produced inside her.

'We miss you too. But we're in a warm, happy place.' The witch looked at her male counterpart, who nodded emphatically.

'So, how will I know when to do this spell?' Buffy asked. 'Do I need to tell Giles?'

'No.' Willow shook her head. 'The army are going to start their attack tomorrow afternoon. You won't feel any different until you face Adam. When we invoke the powers, you'll know it.'

'Boy will you. Superfuelled Buffy. Wish I could be there.' Xander grinned wistfully.

'I wish you were here too Xan.' She smiled and squeezed his hand in a return of his earlier gesture.

'But for now, we'd better send you back to your vamp. And don't forget, if he hurts you, I'll kill him like a chicken.' Willow smiled. Buffy saw them begin to fade from her vision and she fought against it.

'No! Don't go…please…' Buffy shouted.

The room had disappeared and she was back in the clearing with Spike. He was looking at her in confusion and somehow she felt it.

'They left me again.' She whispered and then collapsed into tears.

I-E-H

Spike wasn't entirely sure what had happened. He'd felt intense joy at their union, felt the claim lock into place and then…it seemed like Buffy wasn't in residence anymore. She might have passed out, but shaking her didn't seem to rouse her. And then she shouted.

'No! Don't go…please…'

And she was awake, tears in her eyes. He didn't know what to do. Then she'd started crying and he'd gathered her into his arms, wrapping his coat around them both as he rocked her through her grief. He could feel it in his bones and it was so strong he wanted to cry too.

Except he wouldn't. He had no clue what had upset her so but he wasn't going to waver in his support.

It took a full ten minutes for her to calm down. The full on tears dwindled into sobs and then sniffles as she clutched him, and then moaned against his bare chest.

'Sorry.' She sniffed and looked up at him with red and puffy eyes. 'That wasn't very romantic.'

'Wanna tell me what happened there, pet?' His eyes were full of nothing but concern.

'I saw…Willow…and Xander. I talked to them.' She said quietly, looking down at her hands. 'They told me not to blame myself, that they knew what they were getting into. Then they said that I can defeat Adam and I'll know how when the time comes.' She felt reluctant to explain the details. Spike had never been a fan of magic, only resorting to it when drunk.

'Oh, Buffy. I'm sorry, love. I know you miss them.' He kissed the top of her head. He knew she wasn't telling him the full story but it was up to her and he wouldn't push. 'But they're right. It wasn't your fault. They knew the risks.'

'Willow said if you hurt me, she'll kill you like a chicken.' She said, looking at him seriously.

He smirked. 'Well that isn't going to happen so she can keep her incorporeal threats to herself.' He looked around. 'We should probably head back. It's late and we need to get some rest.'

'They're going to attack tomorrow. During daylight.'

'How do you know….' He trailed off. 'Ghost messages. Right.'

She shrugged. Now wasn't the time for complicated conversations and Spike always seemed to understand that.

'We should head back.' He said, passing her her discarded clothing. They both dressed quickly and headed for the gap in the trees. Before they exited, Buffy pulled Spike to her and kissed him hard.

'I'll be relieved when this is all done and we can spend some quality time recuperating.' Buffy whispered, holding him close as he bent his head for another kiss. 'I'm tired of fighting.'

'I'm sure we'll have-' He cut off suddenly, looking up in alarm. 'Shit. Hybrids.'

A mechanical noise reached Buffy's ears and her eyes went wide. They crouched back into the trees, looking through the gap as a patrol of ten marched past. Buffy gasped as she saw the leader, the moonlight clearly highlighting his face. Spike's eyes narrowed and he bit back a growl.

Riley. Buffy thought, too worried about attracting their attention to speak out loud. He's still alive. An evil cyborg, but still alive. She felt Spike tense behind her and she pushed back into him, seeking his hand in reassurance. She knew there was no saving Riley from this fate – he looked more demon than the man she'd once had feelings for. If there was any Riley left in there, he would likely not help Spike either.

The patrol passed on and the vampire and slayer hidden in the trees waited for a few minutes before emerging. Spike vamped out and checked the road for the hybrids, and then pulled Buffy with him. They didn't say a word as they made their way back to base, making sure they were not followed. Wouldn't do to lose this late in the game.

They snuck back into the army compound, making sure they didn't get caught by their own side as they returned to their quarters. Once there, they felt safe to speak again.

'Do you think they were looking for us? Not us specifically, but…this place? I didn't think they had any patrols over this side of the river. Thought they'd blown all the bridges up?'

'Problem is, if we mention it to anyone, we'll get reprimanded for leaving against orders.' Spike scratched his chin. 'But they need to be warned. We'll go to Giles first. Maybe he'll understand why we left.' The Slayer nodded in agreement with him. 'Right then. I'll go speak to him. You get some sleep. You're gonna need it.'

He bent down and kissed her on the forehead, then turned on his heel and left. Buffy watched him leave and then snuggled under the blanket, feeling suddenly bereft without him there.

I-E-H

'We got a problem, Rupert.' Spike grouched from the doorway of the librarian's quarters. The aged Brit looked up, startled by the vampire's appearance. His eyes were drawn to the large mark on Spike's neck.

'You claimed her then?' An affirming nod from the vamp. 'And it was reciprocated?' Another nod. Giles felt his inner Watcher getting angry that his Slayer had been bitten by yet another vampire. But she was in no danger from this one. Not lately anyway. 'What's the problem?'

'We snuck out. Wanted a bit of privacy like. Only we saw something a bit worrying. Demon patrol. Headed up by Finn himself. Buffy saw him.'

'Is she okay?'

'She's fine. A little tired. She didn't seem to shook up by seeing him. She was more bothered by the vision of her dead friends telling her how to kill Mr. Bits.'

Giles' mouth set into a thin line. This would push things forward a bit. Which was good. The army had spent far too much time analysing this problem and not enough time killing it. Adam was their responsibility in the end, built by a crazed government employee. They should have done something more to prevent all this in the first place. But at least now they had some answers as to how to kill the abomination.

'She saw Willow and Xander? That must have been emotional. She misses them terribly.'

'She blames herself. And she knows she shouldn't but Slayers tend to be a bit glutton for punishment.' The vampire sat down on Giles' bunk, fiddling with the lighter he'd pulled from his pocket. Giles watched for a second and then reached into a pack next to him, pulling out a packet of cigarettes. He threw them to Spike who caught them deftly, with a look of surprise on his face.

'I dare say we could both use one.' The vampire smiled and lit one up, chucking the pack back to Giles. 'I assume you left her sleeping,' The watcher asked, lighting up a cigarette and inhaling deeply.

'Yeah. Doubt she'll get much without me there. I feel a bit odd without her beside me now. Prolly a side effect of the claim.' Giles pulled out a notebook and Spike rolled his eyes. 'Ere now, I'm not a science experiment.'

'Do you know just how rare what you have done is? It's rare enough for a slayer to get involved with one vampire, let alone two and then claim one for her own. I must keep a record of this, if not for my own academic interest but for the watcher's diaries….if we ever locate them again.' His enthusiasm dwindled as quickly as it had lit up. 'I suppose…it can wait until after.'

Spike finished the cigarette and stubbed it out in a surprisingly full ashtray next to the bunk. 'I should get back to her. Get some rest. I'll let you pass the message on. They were on 15th Street Northwest last I saw. We got out of there pretty quick, made sure we weren't followed.' He went to leave and then hesitated. 'Her mates…said the fight would start tomorrow. She said she knows how to beat Adam, I know it has something to do with them but I don't know exactly what. Reckon she'll be keeping it to herself too. As long as I'm there to back her up and she lives through this, I don't rightly care what she does to kill him. All I care about, Watcher. Getting her out in one piece. She's earned the right to live after all this.' He didn't wait for an answer and disappeared out of the door.

Giles sat in silence for a few moments. He gathered his thoughts, pushed aside his concerns and stood up, intent on putting the proverbial fire under the military's arse. It was time to take this fight to a head.

I-E-H

A/N: I know there wasn't much action in this chapter. But I'm hoping to bring you a few shocks next time, it may be a while coming, unless I can get it out before Friday, as my laptop is in desperate need of some medical attention, so it'll be paying a visit to PCWorld for a checkup and I don't know if I'll get it back.