It was dark. She was suffocating in the heat. The smoke burned her throat and lungs as she choked for air. Suddenly the smoke cleared and she could see the fire beyond. It took the shape of a cage. Hands reached between the bars. Reaching for anything to releave the torment. Buffy tried to reach them, but the harder she tried the further it seemed. She heard a scream that tore her heart in two. Then a word. It sounded so quiet in comparison. She listened closely and she heard, "Buffy."

"Angel?"

The fire exploded and consumed everything.

It wasn't until the next evening that Buffy woke. She felt like she'd been kicked in the head by a horse. A very large horse wearing steel horse shoes who was feeling very vengeful toward Buffy. Thankfully, minimal light made it in through the small windows. She rubbed her head and spent a long moment groaning about her predicament.

"Fussing about it doesn't really make the problem go away, love," Spike told her.

"Yeah? What does?" she grumbled. She looked up and spotted him sitting above her on the coffin. He took a long swig on a bottle of something clear. Buffy nearly gagged and silently declared war on alcohol.

"Not much," He grinned. "but I hear a roll in the sack helps."

Buffy rolled her eyes, but a part of her remembered to be glad he was acting more like Spike and less like a soap opera. "Gross, Spike."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it," he countered.

"I think I'd like to die first."

"That can be arranged."

Buffy was very unsteady as she got to her feet. She swayed a bit, but she didn't see the hand the reached unconsciously to catch her. Her stomach seemed to be debating whether or not it wanted to purge its contents or tough it out.

"Did I get hit by a truck?" she grumbled.

"Nope. But you did help me go through two dozen bottles of various liquors in about four hours." Buffy groaned. "Good thing you're super human."

"Not feelin' so super."

Spike patted the coffin beside him, though there wasn't much room. "Come sleep it off." Buffy groaned again. "It's comfier than it looks."

"I'm pretty sure... there's a reason that I'm not... supposed to do that," she said trying to think around the pounding in her head.

"Sleep with me?"

"Sleep beside you," she corrected.

"Well you slept just fine last night."

"I passed out. 'Cause you got me drunk." Her head was starting to clear up and she thanked slayer healing for the pounding in her head steadily receding. "That is not what I came here for."

"Why did you come here?" He took another sip from his bottle. Buffy wondered what could possibly possess him to keep drinking after all that last night.

She rubbed her head wishing the headache would stop but it seemed determined to stick around for a while. "I need help finding a way into the initiative."

"What do you what with that lot? They'd probably run experiments on you too if they found out what you were."

"We think they have something to do with the little boy I found in the woods."

"We found. I was there, too. That was just bloody awful."

"You're a vampire," Buffy reminded him.

"Killing kids was never my cuppa. That was all Dru."

"Whatever. Can you show me how to get inside or not?"

"I can show you where I came out. Seemed like something of back door. Not used often, but you could probably get through unseen there."

"Good. Just show me where and we'll do the rest."

Spike looked outraged. "You mean I don't get to help tear down the buggers that messed up my head?"

"No. There will be no tearing. We're just trying to find out where this monster is so I can stop it."

"Fine." Spike pouted.

"And anyway, you can't go around hitting people. Especially not in front of the gang."

Spike gave her a surprised look. "You didn't tell them I got de-chipped?" Buffy looked at anything but him. "Why? Shouldn't you be warning them to keep out of fangs reach?"

Buffy was quiet for a moment. "If they find out you can kill again... they'll want to know why I haven't staked you."

"Why haven't you?" Spike said softly.

"You're still useful," Buffy said insistently.

Spike nodded, but sensed she wasn't being entirely truthful. "Right. But you don't need me, remember?"

Buffy shook her head. "I don't need you any more than I need e-coli."

Spike glared. "Well, I'll just stick around poisoning the local water supply and sickening people who don't use enough soap."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'll be back when the sun's set." She turned and left without another word.

"Don't expect any help from e-coli over here!" he called after her.

Buffy didn't really have anywhere to be, but she was hungry after skipping breakfast and, if she was right about the time, lunch. So, she made her way to her mother's house and let herself in through the back. Joyce was out. Given that it was just after three o'clock, she would leaving work soon and heading home.

Buffy made herself a sandwich and sat on the counter munching away. She glancing at the clock and trying very hard not to think about Spike. She could feel strange warm feelings attached to strange warm thoughts ebbing up into her head, but she forced them back down. The last thing she needed was emotional confusing toward the evil undead. Spike was off the romance radar one-hundred percent. Wasn't he?

She grabbed a bottle of water and went back out to the cemetery feeling unable to sit still any longer. Eating had gotten rid of her headache, but it hadn't done anything to stop her brain calling up images of Spike sitting beside her when she felt most alone or of Spike walking her home when she was paranoid
Angelus might be lurking in the shadows. She told herself he was just trying to stay on her good side to keep his head on his shoulders.

She made it back to the cemetery as the sun touched the horizon. It was still high enough to give Spike a sun burn if he stepped outside so Buffy waited. She leaned against the door to his crypt and watched the sun go down.

On the other side of the door stood Spike. He pressed one hand against the wood, waiting impatiently for the sun to disappear, or as he found himself thinking, piss the hell off. As he did, he felt a sort of warmth on the other side. A warmth that felt of human flesh accompanied by a scent that smelled of Buffy. He felt a gnawing hunger inside that had nothing to do with blood and everything to do with flesh. He indulged it for a minute allowing Buffy to fill his head with warmth. He realized his mistake minutes after it was too late. He let her into his head and now she wouldn't leave. She stay there, warm and golden, making him feel alive. He understood suddenly why Angelus hated her so much. The feeling of her presence was overwhelming and intoxicating. The demon within him raged wanting to tear the flesh from her bones until nothing warm or golden remained of her. But he had always been too in control of his demon for his own good. So he stood with both hands pressed to the door listening to the beat of the heart on the other side.

Willow wasn't where she expected to be when she woke up. There was sunlight on her face. Strange, she always closed the curtains snug before she went to bed. There was an arm around her. A person was laying beside her. Tara, she realized. She smiled and slowly opened her eyes.

Tara was asleep facing her. Her blonde hair fell over part of her face. Her arm was thrown across Willow's waist and a small smile was on her lips.

Willow watched those lips. They were soft and pink. She thought they were a very pretty shape. She might like to create a flower with such delicate curves. She could call it Tara's Kiss and give it to her as a present. Willow knew how she would smile and blush and struggle to get out a thank you. Maybe Willow could kiss her to save her from being embarrassed about her stutter. She wondered when she started to think about Tara like that. She thought maybe Tara thought about her that way too and maybe she never noticed. She was always busy worrying about her friends or magic or school. With Tara things were just about Willow. It was a nice change. Sometimes she wished things were more about Tara, but Tara never really talked about her life. Had she been a bad friend not to ask?

Tara's eyes fluttered open and she smiled at Willow. "Good morning," Willow told her.

"Morning," Tara replied sleepily. As she woke, she noticed her arm wrapped around Willow. "Oh," she said pulling her arm away abruptly. "Sorry."

Willow shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's nice."

Tara blushed and nodded, unable to add any words to the gesture. They were quiet for a while as they simply laid together.

"Guess I should call Giles," Willow finally said. Tara nodded understanding. "That spell we found... I'll need your help."

"You know I'm happy to help."

"Good, I'm glad."

"You don't look very glad," Tara commented.

"Well... it's not that I don't want you to meet my other friends its just... when we're all together everything's about the slaying and Buffy but... but with you it's just us and I- I kind like having something that's just mine... Do you get it at all?" Willow said feeling sort of awkward.

Tara nodded. "Yeah, I get it."

Willow smiled. "Good. So, you'll help?"

"I'll help."

"Good. I'll just uh... call Giles." Willow grabbed the phone and told Giles about the spell and that she was bringing a friend along to help her out. Giles seemed hesitant to include another party, but Willow assured him it was safe to involve Tara.

Willow packed her things and went to her dorm to change. She met Tara in the front of the school and walked together to Giles's house.

Giles wasn't happy that Buffy hadn't come back last night. Luckily for Willow, he had no idea that she'd even found the spell last night and she was careful not to give away that she'd found it and then decided to snuggle up with Tara instead of reporting straight back. Willow suggested that maybe Buffy hadn't been able to find Spike last night or that maybe he had trouble finding the way back to the Initiative. He wasn't any more pleased by those ideas.

The girls get everything set up and went over the incantation. Giles paced across the foyer like that would bring them answers or better yet, Buffy herself. He called Joyce and found that Buffy had been home at some point before Joyce got back, but had left again. She also told him that Buffy hadn't been in at all last night and only came back after she had left for work. Giles thanked her and asked to call if Buffy arrived. Giles called Buffy's dorm and left a message for Buffy to call him back. Next, he called Xander who insisted he'd seen no blondes aside from Anya (who wasn't sure whether or not blonde was really "her") in a few days. Starting to worry, he went back to pacing the floor occasionally muttering "where is she" to himself. Willow and Tara exchanged concerned looks.

The sun finally set and Buffy stepped away from the door with a sigh. Spike counted to ten before stepping outside to meet her. She gestured that he should take the lead and did without a word. Buffy stared confused at his back as he walk with strange quiet through the cemetery and led the way to Sunnydale U.

"So, where is this entrance exactly?" Buffy asked.

"Little way into the woods there." They went back to silence and Buffy went back to being confused.

Spike led the way through the trees. They didn't go far before Spike led the way into a small cave that from the front looked like a big rock. About two yards from the entrance was a key pad with a lit up red light on the left and green light on the right.

"This is it."

"Great, any idea how to open it?"

"Nope."

"Great."

"Good, you got what you wanted then. So, that's that." Spike turned away to leave.

Buffy caught his arm. "What is your deal?"

Spike sighed. "Nothing. Just a bit hung over. Like to get back and sleep it off."

"No you're not! I know what hung over looks like. This is... passive aggressive."

Spike scoffed. "Pu-lease! Me? Passive aggressive. I don't know the meaning of the phrase."

"Then what is your problem?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry your pretty head about it." He tried to walk away again and again Buffy caught his arm.

"Well I don't think it's-"

Spike whipped around and suddenly Buffy was pressed between Spike and wall. He brought his right hand up and Buffy tensed to catch his fist, but he was gentle as he reached up and stroked her cheek, just barely, with his knuckles. His voice was a cross between a growl and a whisper as he said, "I told you not to worry about it."

He turned and was gone in a flash.