BtVS || Spuffy || BtVS || Spuffy || Keeping Up With the Scoobies || Spuffy || BtVS || Spuffy || BtVS
Title: Keeping Up With the Scoobies – The Long Way Home
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Joss Whedon. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/f, f/f, hurt/comfort, survivor's guilt, fluff, found family
Main Pairing: Spike/Buffy
Side Pairings: Tara/Willow, Xander/Renee, Robin/Faith, Connor/Dawn, Dowling/Dylan, Angel/Cordelia, Oz/Bay, Buffy/Satsu (briefly), Willow/Kennedy (briefly)
Buffy Characters: William 'Spike' Pratt, Buffy Summers, Dawn Summers, Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg, Alexander 'Xander' Harris, Andrew Wells, Tara Maclay, Renee, Faith Lehane, Robin Wood, Robert Dowling, Dylan Turner, Satsu, Kennedy, Daniel 'Oz' Osbourne, Bayarmaa 'Bay'
Angel Characters: Angel, Cordelia Chase, Connor Angel, Harmony Kendall, Winifred 'Fred' Burkle, Wesley Wyndam Pryce, Charles Gunn, Lorne
Summary: Buffy shared her powers with all potential Slayers. But that was only the beginning. Now, she has to deal with all the new Slayers, with the aftermath of LA going to hell – and coming back. The world knows about the supernatural, there's no going back.
Keeping Up With the Scoobies
The Long Way Home
5. Keeping Up With Angel Investigations (2)
Learning that he hadn't been pulled into hell, but that some local house-ghost had been messing with Spike had been a huge relief. That he now could actually touch things? Big improvement. Sure, he had missed his chance to become corporeal again, but he'd done it to save Fred's life and clever as she was, he was confident that she'd find another approach.
"-And then Cordy's ex-boyfriend summoned a demon who made everybody sing and dance, for funsies, because the sodding idiot thought it was getting too dull," Spike grunted.
The others laughed, Lorne tilting his head. "Well, that sounds fun. You don't happen to have said demon's contact info...? Could liven this place up a little too."
"People burst into flames from the dancing," countered Spike. "Stopped being that much fun then. Still disappointed he didn't pull through on the payment. Marrying Harris."
"Good call on the demon's end," stated Cordelia dryly.
"You're telling me," Spike huffed. "I actually lived with the guy."
"The more I hear about Sunnydale, the more surreal it sounds," whispered Fred.
"Agreed," Charles snorted to himself, side-eyeing Spike. "Still unsure how he managed to live with the Watcher and then with Cordelia's ex while he wasn't a good guy yet."
"What can I say. I grow on people once I invade their team," declared Spike with a smirk.
He was sitting sprawled out on the couch, legs propped up on the table. Wesley heaved a deep sigh and started cleaning his reading glasses in a manner that reminded Spike far too much of Giles. Yeah, he had done it once again. Invaded the team and grown on them against their better judgment.
"It's because you refuse to leave," Angel glowered annoyed at Spike.
Spike simply offered his cockiest smirk back at him. "I'm out of here soon as I got a body again. Gotta get to England. Things to do, people to meet. Sure the Slayer could use some help training the kids. We did splendidly co-parenting them in Sunnydale, you know."
He only partially said it to annoy Angel. For another, he... truly liked remembering. It was sad, he knew, but those weeks were probably his happiest memories. Raising the kids, teaching them how to be Slayers. There was some irony for you. Spike, the vampire who had killed two Slayers, teaching the future how to slay vampires. But him and Buffy, the way they had worked together. He missed that. Missed her. Seeing her would be so easy. He knew Cordy was on the phone with her every week, like clock-work – sometimes even more than once, depending on the size of the disaster. Not like this. He could barely move a mug, how pathetic was that? When he met Buffy next, he wanted to be on equal terms with her, to be let down easily.
/break\
One package, a flash of light and suddenly, Spike had his body again. Though he liked to dismiss it as not mattering, it mattered very much. Someone had done this to him for a reason and now they kept playing with him. There was no leaving Los Angeles until he had this figured out. Whoever had done this to him clearly had control over him. They could do whatever they wanted to him.
So Spike stuck around. Waiting for others to figure out what was going on. He was keeping an eye on Eve, he didn't trust the senior partners' lap-dog. Besides, he was kind of getting along with people here. Sure, Angel was a giant pain in the ass and things with Harm were a bit awkward (more awkward after their hook-up when Spike had freshly gotten his body back), but Fred was a sweetheart, Cordy was a blast to be around and he got along rather well with Charles.
Things got more interesting when Spike learned about the Shanshu Prophecy. Vampire with a soul, earning himself his humanity by saving the world. Sounded like Spike, didn't it? Shouldn't that be where all of this was leading? Dead, ghost, ghost who could touch, corporeal again, then human.
And so he had another reason not to see Buffy. Not yet. Just imagining it, him, rewarded with his humanity, being able to offer Buffy so much more. Maybe he'd stand a chance then. Just maybe.
It wasn't even all about Buffy. It was about him. His humanity. The thought of feeling the sun again – not just through the magic glasses at Wolfram & Hart, but standing in the real warmth of daylight. A heartbeat, no more blood drinking. Growing old. Perhaps having children, then grandkids. Things that were impossible for a vampire, things he hadn't thought of in... too many years to count.
/break\
"Mh, you are so much more gorgeous than Buffy made you out to be."
Robin Wood looked flustered as he tried to look away from her. "Thank you? Miss Chase."
"No, thank you, for the excuse to get out of LA for a bit," Cordelia sighed pleased.
"You didn't have to come here though," argued Robin as he lifted a box out of the car.
"Yes, but... It's San Francisco. It's so pretty. And it's not Los Angeles," argued Cordelia, trailing after Robin, decidedly without carrying a box. "I'll tell you, Robin, it's gotten so much worse since Spike moved there. I mean, not because of him, he's surprisingly charming, but him and Angel."
Robin glared and bit his tongue as he continued on. At least Cordelia's companions had the decency to pick up boxes and follow along after. Wolfram & Hart was paying the bills on the buildings that the Slayer squads were using for training and rooming. They had multiple locations all over the world and between the Scoobies and associates, they didn't exactly have the means to foot the bills. It came in handy to have contacts like this, though Robin found them to be dubious. Cordelia Chase had personally set them up with their new California location, now that Sunnydale was blown up. Even with that, they felt like someone should keep an eye on the Hellmouth. Robin had taken that task upon himself. Today was moving day. He just wasn't entirely sure why Cordelia had brought her two friends with her. Robin and his squad would have been capable of moving in here alone.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Wood. I'm Fred. Winifred Burkle. We're terribly sorry to intrude like this, but over the past months, we've been picking up on a lot of new Slayers in and around Los Angeles and Cordelia suggested we could bring them to you, personally, but Harmony overheard and she was screaming 'road-trip' before Angel had a say in it."
Well, that at least explained their being here. So the majority of them were new Slayers.
"Anything to get out of there for a few days," Cordelia heaved a sigh. "A century worth of tension between these two. Imagine if your girlfriend's ex dropped by, moved in with you and the two very much still have angry-sex-vibes because they never cleared the tension between them."
"I don't... have a girlfriend," muttered Robin, eyebrows dropping. "And when I thought I had one, we were very much living with her... sort-of-ex. As well as the woman she had... angry-sex-vibes and strong tension with. So I think I can relate to that."
It didn't take Cordelia five seconds to put that together. "Oh. So you and Faith, huh? Say, did she and Buffy ever, you know," Cordelia paused and formed two V with her fingers before entangling them. "Because I remember that. They were so bad about it."
Robin cleared his throat. "They did... not. Not to my knowledge, at least."
"Wait, did you just suggest that Angel and Spike-?" Fred gasped softly.
"That... actually explains so much," whispered Harmony wide-eyed.
Robin opted not to think about that part. "Will you three be staying here then?"
"No offense, but old stuffy mansions are not my style," Cordelia looked around in a judgmental way and wiped her finger over the window-sill. "Also you and the junior Slayers will have to do some major cleaning before this place is... livable. No, no, I booked a spa-weekend for us. We just came here to drop off the children for Slayer school and then we'll be on our way."
"If you come into contact with any other new Slayers, you know where to send them."
"Of course. Though still can't believe Buffy of all people turned into some... head mistress of a school chain for Slayers," Cordelia raised her eyebrows. "Good for her, I guess. I just wish her and Spike would get their act together and sit down to talk things-"
"I would prefer not to talk about... him," interrupted Robin with gritted teeth. "I'm sure you have to be on your way to check into your spa or something."
One of the things he was grateful for about moving back to the US was that he got away from Buffy and her mourning Spike. Now the bastard was alive again. And in the same state as Robin too. Truly, that man could not be killed. And though Robin had conflicting thoughts on the fact that Spike had sacrificed himself to save the world, that was still the vampire who had killed his mother and Robin was never going to say 'thank you' to his face.
"Well then," Cordelia side-eyed him curiously. "If you need any back-up, LA is just a short trip from here. Shorter than Buffy all the way over in England, at least."
"Thank you for the offer," Robin nodded briefly.
/break\
Spike was not a hugger and yet he had let Andrew Wells hug him. Honestly, mostly because he was surprised and overwhelmed. Maybe just a little because he was touched that he had actually been missed. A big part of why Spike had not returned was because he didn't know what welcome to expect. Going out with Andrew to hunt down the mentally unstable, loose Slayer reminded Spike of how it used to be in Sunnydale. Who'd have thought Spike would ever miss Sunnydale. Not just Buffy. But the way things used to be back then.
"I had a visit from Angel couple minutes ago, you know," noted Spike.
He was in the hospital, after said mentally unstable Slayer had cut off both of his arms. How things had unfolded after, Spike had heard from Angel. Andrew had double-crossed them, taken the Slayer with himself... and his tiny army of Slayers. Retrospectively, that made sense. Why would Andrew come all on his lonesome to collect a potentially dangerous Slayer? When they had a literal army of Slayers at their disposal, physically much more qualified to capture her.
"Yeah, well..." Andrew approached the bed. "Felt wrong to leave without saying goodbye. Also wanted to make sure you're still in one piece. Or... in one piece again. Buffy would not be pleased with me if word got back to her that you lost both hands while I was here."
"Yeah? Think she'd care that much?" Spike huffed softly.
"You do know she cares a great deal about you, right? You have to know that. Of course does she care!" Andrew threw his hands up. "You two are starcrossed lovers! Meant to be. Slow-burn enemies to lovers. And just as it was getting juicy, the universe threw you another obstacle-"
"Andrew. Nerd talk. Cease it," interrupted Spike with an eye-roll.
Andrew chuckled, looking at Spike with a much more grown-up expression than Spike was used to. "I'm rooting for you, is what I'm saying. Some voices are still vocal about how her and Angel are 'meant to be' but that is just so last season, isn't it? And I think Cordelia is quite lovely, now that I met the woman. Nothing like what I remember from high school. Not that... she remembers me."
"Right. Why play along if you had a squad of Slayers at your beck and call to begin with?"
"No more small-talk then?" Andrew looked like a sad puppy. "Well. Getting the Slayer was only part of my mission. I was also supposed to check up on you guys. As I told Angel, he's lost our trust. All of our trust. And I was supposed to see just how far gone he is."
"Considering you snatched up the Slayer and vanished into the night, I gather he failed the test," Spike concluded before frowning. "Then why are you here? Right here, right now?"
"He failed. You passed," replied Andrew, sitting down on the foot-end of the bed. "He's gone too deep in with Wolfram & Hart. Really has deluded himself into thinking he's doing good, turning it upside down. Raises all my red flags. Cordelia seems to be the only one on that team who still sees this firm for what it is? But she's outvoted. Now you on the other hand, you got out as soon as you physically could! Going on patrol to save the innocent from the evils of the night. Just like Angel used to. Just like Buffy used to. Just like I am training my Slayers to do."
"Yeah, I keep telling Captain Forehead that he's heading straight for the iceberg, but he keeps claiming the iceberg is his friend and he can manage it," Spike snorted, shaking his head.
"Exactly!" Andrew pointed at him excitedly. "You're still on the right path. Angel has been seduced by the Dark Side. That's what I'm going to report back to Buffy and Mister Giles."
Charming as Spike found the idea of him having one up on Angel, especially in front of Buffy, there was just one detail he was stuck on. "Ain't Wolfram & Hart footing your bills too?"
"Very, very necessary evil," Andrew winced. "Gotta pay for it all somehow. And we had Willow and some magic lawyers go over it. We only took the money. The buildings are bought and in our name. For Wolfram & Hart, they're charity donations. Housing for underprivileged girls, is what we call it officially. We're not linked to Wolfram & Hart, we're not working for or with them. We just accepted their money and I gather that's better spent on us than their evil schemes."
Still seemed a tad bit hypocritical to Spike, but he supposed Andrew had a point and what Buffy was building there was going to require much more funding than the spare-change in Giles' couch-cushions. A necessary evil. Not the choice and commitment Angel had made.
"I'll tell Buffy that you're good," said Andrew as he got up to head out. "See you around, Spike."
/break\
"I just... How do I make him notice that I like him?" asked Fred frustrated.
"We are so not passing the Bechdel test right now," stated Spike. "Also why am I here?"
"You heard 'free drinks' and invited yourself along to our girls night," replied Cordelia.
"Right, that," Spike grinned and lifted his beer up to his lips. "So the former Watcher is too emotionally constipated to figure out the brilliant pretty lady likes him. Shocker that one."
"You're not helping, Spike," chided Harmony. "I say, just kiss him. That usually works."
Fred flushed brightly, but Harmony simply nodded certainly. Honestly, she wasn't far off. Spike thought action would work better than words, specially with the emotionally constipated ones. He exchanged a look with Cordelia, who simply rolled her eyes. Apparently, this had been a will they won't they love triangle situation for years now. Woman like Fred, didn't come around that often.
It had been a normal night out, as they had so many. No one expected what would follow only a few days later, when a sarcophagus was delivered to Wolfram & Hart, infecting Fred with something. Not her, was all that was on Spike's mind. He hadn't met someone so... innocent and purely good in years. She couldn't die. Not like that. And while Spike and the others split up and followed leads, using resources from Wolfram & Hart and good old grunt work, Cordelia got her phone out.
"Willow," the name still rolled off her tongue hard, even after all these years. "I need your help."
"Cordelia? Did Angel lose his soul again? No, wait, is this about Spike?" asked Willow.
"Spike's corporeal again. Did no one tell you? No. This is about Fred. Something's... eating her from the inside. Something ancient and powerful. You're powerful. Do something. Help her."
"Where is she? What happened?" asked Willow as she materialized in front of Cordelia.
Cordelia was sitting at Fred's bedside and Willow quickly joined her, hovering her hands above Fred's unconscious body to scan her. "A sarcophagus. She must have triggered something in it. You can check it out, but first you need to contain whatever it is so it doesn't spread."
"I'm already on it, Cordy," assured Willow, her eyes closed and her body glowing.
Willow still wasn't Cordelia's favorite person. They'd been civil last year, when they had needed her to reinstall Angel's soul, but the betrayal, though an old wound, was still something that kept Cordy wary. But this wasn't about Cordelia, this was about Fred.
"Whatever this is, it is powerful and very, very old. But for now, it's contained. Show me the source. I'll send pictures to Giles, fairly sure he can help too," stated Willow as she stopped glowing.
"You think he has resources that Wolfram & Hart doesn't have?" asked Cordelia doubtfully.
She got up and led the way down to the labs. "Yes, of course. He leads the Watcher's council, he has all the books that have been exclusive to the council for years. Books your law firm doesn't have."
"And you think he's going to help us? Andrew suggested that you don't trust us."
"This isn't about trust. This is about helping the innocent," replied Willow. "I met Fred. I like Fred. I regularly text with Fred. She's... I'm helping you save her, so will Giles."
After taking pictures of the sarcophagus, Willow used her magic to scan it. Cordelia went to inform the others that the threat was, for now, magically contained. And that they had backup.
/break\
"So you have the power to banish Old Gods now. Bit terrifying, that one."
Willow smiled softly to herself as she turned to look at Spike. "Hello. Started to think I'd never see you again, what with you hiding out here from Buffy."
Before the vampire could protest, Willow pulled him into a tight hug. Reluctantly did he return it. He had missed the redhead. He liked her. Didn't think he'd see her again under these circumstances.
"Not hiding. Just got... stuff... to figure out, red," argued Spike. "Thank you. For saving her."
"Wouldn't have succeeded if you and Angel hadn't gone to the Deeper Well," countered Willow. "And who would have thought you two, of all people, teaming up?"
"Yeah, well. Few things the big ponce and I agree on. Fred's one of them. And even so, us going there would have been useless if you hadn't contained Illyria's essence. Let's call it teamwork."
"We make a good team," agreed Willow. "Spike... Don't waste too much more time."
Spike quirked his lips. For now, he was going to stay for Fred. She'd been betrayed by one of the few friends she had made at Wolfram & Hart, someone who had dared to go out with her too. Play the nice little puppy trailing her. She was resting for now, with Wesley curled around her, holding her. Main reason they had left, to give the still young couple some privacy. But Spike was staying.
/break\
So the big ponce had gone and infiltrated a secret demon society. Spike still couldn't believe he'd pulled that of. One last stint. He'd agreed on that with Angel, after Fred had nearly died. The both of them could feel a pending apocalypse in their bones and after it had nearly taken Fred, Spike couldn't just go and play house with the Slayer, pretend this wasn't his problem. It was, he was a part of them, as unwilling as he had been when he had come here. So he stayed. Waited. Hadn't expected for Angel to play an undercover agent, really. Always so dramatic.
They stood together, all of them – Angel, Spike, Lorne, Gunn, Wesley, Fred, Cordelia, even Harmony, who'd let herself be dragged into this deeper than she had meant either. Friends, what an annoyance it was to feel tied to them, the need to protect them.
The plan was good. Not that Spike would ever admit that to Angel aloud, but the plan had been solid. They fought, but their enemy were the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart. Higher demons, with armies at their disposal. The group gathered up in an alley, all bloodied and injured but alive. More or less, their humans were struggling pretty badly. When the dragon flew overhead and everything went to literal hell, all Spike could think about was what a fool he'd been to spend his last night on Earth reading poetry instead of having the balls to at least call Buffy. Tell her, one last time.
Author's note: Honestly one of my favorite moments of AtS s5 was when Harmony and Fred went out for drinks, but it also made me infinitely mad, because that was THE ONLY actual interaction just the two of them had and they were literally the only regular female characters in this season. So. Female friendships! Let Harmony and Cordy rekindle their friendship, have the girls go on more or less willing spa-days. And, you know, neither kill Cordelia nor Fred because wow fuck that. Nope, no "Willow is on another plane of existence also we don't trust you", I hated the implication that Giles would let an innocent die AND AN OLD ONE COME INTO OUR WORLD because he doesn't trust Angel and the team anymore, I mean holy shit. Also the Willow-Spike friendship can be something so personal. To me. So I'm happy I finally get to write it.
Next chapter is going to be me cherry-picking what few good things season 8 had; it's not a lot, really. And Buffy is going to learn that Los Angeles has gone to hell
