When they finished their conversation Buffy called her mom. Fortunately, she is away on a buying trip in Europe right now at some convention they're having. There's a piece she really wanted too but Buffy always drifts off when her mom starts talking about art so she doesn't know much more than that. She'll be gone for another two days so Buffy will be healed up by then and won't have to worry her mom.
Buffy got a long lecture about not doing what she promised from her mom when she called because Buffy said she'd call her Mom every night. She took the lecture though because it's better than her mom knowing the truth about what happened to her. Her mom said she talked to Giles and he was the only reason she didn't come home once Buffy didn't call her. Ever since the incident with Angelus last year, Joyce has known the truth about Buffy's calling and worries nonstop about her daughter. Eventually, she was able to get off the phone with a promise to be careful and to call the remaining two days of the trip.
The rest of the day wasn't nearly as hostile or awkward as Buffy thought it would be. Spike and Giles must have come to some sort of agreement when she was still asleep because the men were cordial to each other and Buffy noticed Giles looking at his notebook a few times. It's clear he has some researchy questions he wants to ask Spike but hasn't gotten to it yet, Buffy wonders if Spike will agree. She's also not looking forward to the fight that will break out when Xander finds out Spike is here but she hopes Willow will be able to calm him down because Buffy can not handle any more drama right now. Although with the recent kidnapping thing, she has doubts it will be that easy. Giles said that they'll be here around 4 so that's only about a half hour away.
Buffy made sure not to think about Angel and what happened because she knew she would break down if she did. No, she was going to wait until she was home alone and in bed before she let that happen. So with force, she pushed the thoughts away and went back to talking to Spike who looked just as sad as she did but probably for completely different reasons. Although she's sure that the same person is at fault for his problems.
"Wait, didn't you and Dru break up? Isn't that why you came back to town earlier this year?"
"Yeah, but I did what I said I was gonna do and we got back together again, kinda."
"Kinda?"
"It just wasn't the same. She'd just do whatever she wanted and I'd have to sit there and take it. She said I wasn't with her anymore, that I taste like ashes. Which is a bit concerning, since she's a seer and all. She never bloody forgave me for our truce, said I switched sides. Which, lookin' at where I'm sitting right now and who I'm talkin' to, can see her point."
"Are you gonna try to get her back?"
"No, she went back to Angelus again, I'm done with her this time. Plus, she'll never forgive me for goin' against the family and getting you outta there."
Buffy was going to reply but the front door burst open and Xander, Willow, Oz, and, surprisingly, Cordelia rushed in. Buffy stood up and waited for the hugs to come, she didn't much feel like being touched right now but it was okay. She loved her friends and knew they were worried about her.
"Oh thank god Buffy, you're okay. We were so worried about you!" Willow said as she gave Buffy her version of a bear hug.
"Easy Will, I'm still majorly of the sore." Buffy squeaked, it was weird for her to be the hurt one in this situation.
"I'm sorry, Buffy!" Willow said as she took a step back.
Xander, just hearing what Buffy said, walks up to her slowly and gives her a loose hug. "Buffster, I'm so happy you're back, like she said, we were so worried about you."
"It's okay Xan, I'll be fine. I just need another day and I'll be at the top of my game again,"
"I'm glad you're okay Buffy," Oz said. As he walked closer to her but didn't touch her, he gave her a quirk of his lips.
"Surprisingly, I was worried about you too, Buffy. So much so that I dealt with dealing with Xander to come to see you," Cordelia said.
"Buffy, what is evil dead Jr doing here?"
"Don't be a jerk Xan, if it wasn't for him I'd still be chained up dealing with Angelus and Faith. I'm too tired and in too much pain to get into a fight with you over this. Either way, he's staying, so just get over it."
"What do you mean, Buffy?" Willow asked
"He's the one that got me out of there, and because of that, he can't go back. They know that he freed me, they'll torture him if he goes back."
"And that's a bad thing?" Xander asks innocently.
"Yes, it is! Spike saved my life, Xander! I really don't want to deal with this right now, so please, just accept that he's going to be here for a while."
"How long? You're just going to let him kill people while he's in town then leave and do the same somewhere else?"
"No! First of all, he's on pig's blood while he's here. Second of all, he hasn't been killing people, he's been doing catch and release."
"I'd like to know what you mean by that, Spike," Giles cut in, stopping Xander's continuing tirade if Xander's look was anything to go on.
"Jus' going to a nicely populated area, finding someone, and taking a few sips outta them, not enough to hurt them. Healing their bite marks and sending them on their merry way, gotta do it to three or four different blokes or birds a night, but it gets the job done and no one gets hurt. Yeah, you could survive on pig's blood but you lose a decent amount of your power. Vampires aren't meant to survive on animals, we'll always feel weak and never be truly full."
"Good, we don't need you at full strength! Easier to dust you that way." Xander said snidely.
"That's not rightly true now, is it whelp? We gotta go against two master vampires and a dark slayer, plus all the minions. Seems to me we need all the power we can get."
"Why do you even want to help? Shouldn't you be living it up right now?"
Before Spike answers, his eyes move to Buffy for a second, Xander didn't notice, but Giles, and Willow did.
"I got my reasons, plus I like the world jus' the way it is, don't I? From what we saw last time, Angelus' demon can't handle being locked up and went off the deep end and straight into ending the world."
"Yeah, that brings up another point against you, you were fine letting the world end last year. You didn't do anything to stop it, why would you try to help now?
"That's actually not strictly true Xander. I found out Spike and Buffy had a truce last year, so he did help us."
"How did he do that, Giles?" Willow asked.
"He helped get me out alive and attacked Angelus when he had the upper hand in his and Buffy's fight."
"What? I'm the one that got you out of there!" Xander yelled.
"Yes, but I would have been dead by the time you got there if it wasn't for Spike. I just didn't know why he did what he did at the time."
"Oh… But he did kidnap us just a few months ago. He's still evil, and can't be trusted. He tried to kill all of us!"
"Firstly, I never tried to kill any of you, I'm a master vampire, if I wanted you dead, you would be. The only one I did try to fight is Buffy, she's the best of the best, it's why I like fighting slayers in the first place innit? But Red, Whelp, I was wrong 'bout that whole mess. I was sloshed out of my gourd and just wanted Dru back. I hate magic anyway, the consequences are usually not worth the magic. Don't rightly know what I was thinking when I tried that." Willow at least looked appeased, but Xander was still very mad.
"Xander, I told you he's staying. You're not going to talk me out of this, so stop trying." Buffy said, having enough. Did he even listen to her? She already told him she was too tired to fight about this. She's the slayer, she makes the final decisions in situations like these.
With a huff, Xander finally sat down and didn't say anything else, but kept giving Spike death stares. The rest of the afternoon went off without any hitches other than the obvious hatred Xander had for Spike. Spike pretty much ignored it other than the odd snarky remark when Xander's death stares became too annoying for him. When the group was getting ready to leave, Buffy stopped Willow.
"Wills, do what you have to, to get another orb of whatever."
"You're really going to re-ensoul him again? After what he did to you?" Xander asked incredulously.
"It's not really like I have another choice! The Powers just bring him back anyway, so what's the point?" No one had a response to that so Willow nodded her head and they left.
When they went on patrol that night, it was a little awkward. Buffy had so many questions she wanted to ask him and she needed the answers. The problem was that she didn't have the mental bandwidth to handle it right now. She needed the night to be over so she could go home, crawl into bed, and try to accept what's been done to her by the man she loves. No, loved, even though she is going to get Angel his soul back, she'll never be able to look at him the same way again.
'No Buffy, you can't think about that right now or you might just break down. Wait until you're home in your bed alone and then let it out.' Buffy thought.
Spike, on the other hand, didn't know how to act around the bird. He knows what she went through and wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy, which he guessed she used to be. He wasn't quite sure when that changed, probably the truce. She doesn't need to be out here right now, she needs to go home and heal. The problem is, it's not his place to tell her something like that, plus she's a stubborn bint. She wouldn't do anything just 'cause he told her to, she'd probably pop him on the nose and just keep doing whatever she wanted anyway.
By the second cemetery, they still hadn't seen any vampires. Buffy was just about to call it quits and leave it up to Spike when they saw three vampires dragging two girls into the cemetery, it was clear what their plans were. Spike and Buffy looked at each other and Spike could tell that Buffy wanted to get in on the fight.
"Slayer, let me handle this one. Heal a little first."
Buffy gave Spike a fierce glare but after a few seconds of thinking about it, she reluctantly nodded her head. She did promise Giles after all. With a whoop, Spike ran into the fight with jubilance. Spike threw his stake through the one that was about to take a bite before he even knew he was being attacked. The second one tried to put up a fight but didn't stand a chance. The third was older than the first two, Spike was pretty sure the vamp was younger by a few decades so he took this one seriously.
This fight lasted almost ten minutes and Spike was a little banged up after but he finally got the upper hand when he kicked the vampire back onto a gravestone and he fell over it. Spike took the opportunity and jumped over the gravestone onto the vamp and staked him. He had a smile on his face when he stood back up and looked at Buffy, she didn't look too happy though.
Buffy was a little jealous, to be honest, she's always the leader and the one that goes into the fight and it sucks right now that she can't. After a second though, she takes a deep breath and realizes it's only temporary, she's already feeling much better than she did yesterday. There's no reason to risk further injuries by rushing into a battle when it's not necessary. So she clears her face of anger and smiles at Spike.
"That was a right good time, I love a little rough and tumble with someone who actually knows how to fight."
"Seems like you got the hang of things, I might just head home and heal."
"Sounds good slayer, I'll walk you home then hit the next cemetery you told me about."
He starts walking away not giving her time to protest, which he's sure she would. The slayer never wants to look weak, and he knows she's not, she's just not at the top of her game right now. He also knows he has to bring up Angelus and how they're going to take him down but he'll give her one more night before he brings that up with her. He'll bring it up to the watcher when he goes in for the night. The walk back to Revello Drive is quiet, Buffy is deep in thought, and Spike doesn't want to interrupt her.
When they are only about two blocks from the house Spike hears Drusilla's laughter and singing and knows they are close. He doubts the other Slayer is with them because they are probably out feeding right now. He doesn't doubt that Angelus is with her though.
"Hurry up Slayer and stay quiet. I just heard Dru, which probably means Angelus isn't that far either. I'd rather not have a run-in with them till you're at the top of your game again."
Buffy ducks down a little bit and looks around but doesn't see anything. "Where did you hear them?" She whispers.
"Can't really tell, but know it's her voice. A block over maybe? There's probably only one reason they're in this part of town, maybe you should stay at the watcher's house tonight."
"No, Giles did the uninvite spells while I was still captured by them. I'll be safe once I get inside and Mom isn't here till the day after tomorrow so at least she's safe."
"Alright, if you're sure." They almost make it to the house when Dru comes dancing out of the shadows, laughing until she makes eye contact with Spike. Then her eyes turn sad and mournful and she stops right in front of them.
"Oh, my sweet prince, what has she done to you? There's no turning around for you now, is there? You're set on your path and it's gone away from Mommy. You're my Spike no longer, you'll be William again before she's turned you to ash."
"She's right Willie, you chose the wrong side in this, what ever happened to family first?" Angelus said from behind them. They realized with dread that they were surrounded because two other vampires came out at each side of them, they weren't masters, but they weren't fledges either. This wasn't a good situation to be in, even if Buffy wasn't still injured.
"Yeah well, you know me, I always like to bet against the odds."
"This is your last chance Spike, come back where you belong. Come home, Dru misses her prince and I'll forgive your little mishap here, I'm not done playing with her anyway. Sometimes torture from afar is much more sweet."
Out of the corner of his eye, Spike sees Buffy shiver, and he's sure the others did as well but she doesn't let that throw her off her game for long. Spike does notice though, that she doesn't look nervous that he'll defect and go back to the other side, and Spike's insides grow warm. He didn't think that was possible, being a vampire and all, but it happened all the same.
"Not goin' anywhere gramps, so why don't you just trot off so we can get back to our night."
"Oh, did I interrupt date night? Dru said this was coming, but I just thought it was one of her crazy ramblings."
Buffy and Spike move back to back just in case they attack although it only looks like they're here to taunt tonight. Spike noticed Dru's bottom lip sticking out in a pout at what Angelus said, but he also knows she has already forgiven her 'Daddy'. Spike decides to ignore the comment about this being a date because it's not the first time Dru said something of the sort. Buffy decides to do the same and maybe think on it later after a long trip to Egypt.
"Whatever Angelus, fight if you want to fight. Or talk if you wanna talk, just bloody do what you came here for 'cause I got better places to be"
"Yeah Angelus, for real. If this was meant to be menacing then I'd give it a major failing grade." She emphasized this by fake yawning. "If you wanna fight well, we're right here." She ends, using her Slayer's voice.
She pulls a stake out for good measure. Spike stared at her amazed, he knew how much pain she was in but still, she had no trouble pulling the valley girl or the slayer out when need be. Angelus, on the other hand, was pissed and let his game face out while Drusilla and their minions followed suit. He takes a step forward ready to attack but stops himself and shakes his head. Spike wouldn't admit it, or let his show but he was relieved when Angelus stopped.
"No, tonight is just to let you know that we know you've left us Spike, and we wanted to give you one chance to come back into the fold. But you stupidly didn't take it, so we'll leave you now. Just know that you're our enemy now too." Angelus said and gave Spike a hard stare.
"Don't wanna be in your soddin' club anyway. Don't see how you're treating me much worse now than you did when I was with you. It's the same to you either bloody way. So I'll just sooner stay where I am."
"You'll regret that Willie."
"Just get out of here Angelus, we're going to beat you, just like we beat you last time."
Everyone could tell it hit a nerve with Angelus because his eyes flashed yellow. He didn't say anything else though, he just backed away and faded into the shadows. Drusilla gave Spike one last sad look and did the same, with the minions following. That look almost broke his heart all over again. Once Buffy and Spike were sure they were gone, they finished the walk to the house without saying anything. Buffy gave him a nod of the head and went inside while Spike made the trek back to the watcher's house and got ready to tell him what happened.
