When Buffy woke up the next morning she heard noise coming from downstairs. She was nervous and ready for a fight for a split second until she remembered that her mom was coming home today. She jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. She's been through so much since her mom left, and all she wants is a hug from her mom. She won't tell her everything that happened; her mom already worries about her so much and she doesn't want to make it worse but she needs her mother's comfort right now.

"Mom, you're home!" Buffy said and only remembered at the last second to hold back her slayer strength with the hug. She must have still been a little too hard because Joyce let out an 'oof' anyway. "I missed you, how was your trip?"

"Buffy, I missed you too sweetheart. The trip was great but I'm glad to be home," Joyce said, pulling away from the hug. She looked at Buffy and could see something was wrong, her daughter looked worried. "What's wrong?"

Buffy sighed and went over to grab some cereal and milk for breakfast and to give herself a few seconds to decide what and how much to tell her mother about what happened while Joyce was out of town.

"Spike came back to town." She decided to avoid the bad stuff a little longer.

"Oh? That's nice. Maybe he'll come over for some more cocoa. I sure hope he dropped that dreadful girlfriend."

"Well yeah actually, they did break up. But that wasn't until after they got to town. Mom, I got some stuff to tell you and I need you to be really careful at night, more than normal."

"Buffy, you're scaring me."

"Angelus is back. Faith did a spell to take his soul away so now he's roaming the streets. Drusilla, Spike's ex, is there with him too, along with Faith. They're all very strong and Faith doesn't need an invitation to get in here."

"Buffy, what are you going to do? It sounds dangerous, it's three against one."

"Well, Spike's on our side too, and we have a few plans in the works."

"He's going to go against the woman he's loved his whole life?" Joyce asked skeptically. Buffy sighs again, she was going to have to tell her mom something she was hoping she didn't have to. She decided to downplay it so she didn't scare her mother too much.

"Don't worry Mom, I know he's not lying. I was in a dangerous situation and if it wasn't for Spike, Angelus would have me right now. They all know Spike went against them to help me so they're just as mad at him as they are at me." She said but hurried past it so her mom didn't ask any questions about the 'dangerous situation' she was in. "Anyway, we're trying to get Faith to see the error of her ways and hopefully come back to the good guys' side. We're also working on getting Angelus his soul back. We've got it all under control."

Buffy spent the next 20 minutes talking to her mom, walking the line between trying not to scare her and making sure she'd take the situation seriously. Joyce was mollified but still wanted more details. If it wasn't for the fact that Buffy was on the verge of being late to school, Joyce would have kept her talking for a lot longer.

Buffy was glad to have the conversation over though, she wishes she could keep her mom completely out of the Slayer stuff, she doesn't like putting people she loves in danger. Normally, she's able to keep her mom pretty safe but every once in a while a psychopath like Angelus comes along.

When Buffy got to school, she went through her first few classes in a blink of an eye. She had no clue what they were teaching because she was still playing catch up with all the days she's missed. Ugh, slaying and high school are so unmixey. When Buffy finally made it to the library at lunch she was upset, but not surprised to see Wesley there. He looked uncomfortable and unsure of his welcome.

"Wesley, what are you doing here? I thought I made it clear yesterday that I don't want to work with The Council." Buffy said, crossing her arms.

"Buffy, I'm sorry about yesterday, I was scared. When I first came here, I was shocked at how you do things, it goes against everything I was ever taught. I can't deny that you get the job done, I know all you want is to keep people safe and fight against evil. That's what I want too. Would you be willing to give me another chance? I know I can help." Wesley said and when the silence lasted too long he started cleaning his glasses, just to have something to do. Buffy stared him down, trying to read his real intentions. By the time she was done, she gave her head a definitive nod.

"I can, but you have to be willing to do what we talked about yesterday. I'm the boss here, you don't get to 'command' me to do anything."

"Dear lord, did I really say command?" Once everyone nods their head at him, he continues. "You're quite right, I'm sorry about that. I will endeavor to do better."

"Good," Buffy said, then looked to Giles. "Anything new to add, watcher of mine?"

"No, I think Spike was correct about Angelus trying to keep any Orbs of Thesulah away from us though. We had two leads, both of which were either taken or destroyed before we could get them."

"Did Spike find out where they're digging?"

"I'm not sure. I'm sorry to admit I fell asleep before he got home, and it's almost impossible to wake him up during daylight hours. We'll go to my flat after school and talk to him. I'm sure you can get him up, you've been known to be very persuasive." Giles said with a smirk and when no one responded he looked around confused. The teenagers were looking at him with faces ranging from wigged to scandalized. Buffy though, Giles is sure he's never seen Buffy blush so deeply. Wesley looked just as confused as he felt. "What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"G-man were you just telling Buffy to make a move on Captain Peroxide to get him up?"

"What?! Dear lord, no I was not. I was telling Buffy to use some of the skills she's learned as a Slayer to get him up. What the hell is wrong with you man?" They all breathe a sigh of relief although even with Giles' clarification somehow Buffy's blush is even darker.

"Oh, thank god," Xander said.

Much to Buffy's relief, the bell rang so it was time to go back to class. She never thought she'd say that in her life. With her cheeks still red, she ran out the door without saying anything to anyone. She's upset that they brought Spike up at all, she's been working really hard NOT to think about him since that dream. She knows she promised herself she'd think about it, but she's having a great time visiting Egypt. She just wishes that stupid dream never happened. She likes Spike, enjoys his company, and loves fighting with him (or against him honestly).

Even if she hated being around him, for the foreseeable future she has to work side by side with him. She has no choice in the matter, so she can't let her dream get in the way of that. It doesn't matter if she gets butterflies in her stomach every time she thinks about it, or if her heart flutters when she thinks about him. Besides, she already learned of the badness that comes with dating vampires. Vampires and Slayers are unmixey things. She decided she just has to forget the dream ever happened.

The second half of the day went much like the first, she didn't retain anything she was taught because her head was on much more important things. Instead of it being filled with makeup work like the first half of the day, it was filled with thoughts of the dream and Spike no matter how hard she tried to do otherwise.

When the Scoobies walked into Giles' apartment they were surprised to see that Spike was already awake. He was drinking something in a 'Kiss the Librarian' mug. When Spike saw Buffy he couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked in the sun. He has to spend his life in the shadows but to be able to see her like that makes him smile. He then chastised himself because he had already decided that it doesn't matter how he feels about her, she is healing from the emotional and psychological damage that both Angel and Angelus did to her. She doesn't need another vampire buggering up her life. He let out a sigh and looked away from her.

"So, what happened when you went out last night, Spike? Find out any new information?" Giles asked as he sat down on his chair.

"Yeah, I couldn't get too close to them without being caught, but I did find out where they're working. I talked to a few more minions but they still have no clue what they're looking for. They think they're getting close though."

"Where was it?" Buffy asked.

"This old abandoned vineyard. It looks like it's been abandoned for a while, very run down, very dusty. It's about 20 minutes from here."

"What on earth would he want there?" Buffy asked.

"No soddin' clue, like I said, they don't even know."

"Okay, we have to go there and figure it out. You said they're there 24/7 right?" At Spike's nod, she continues. "I assume they work in shifts, we'll just have to take out the group that's there and take whatever's there for ourselves. How many vamps do you think are there at one time?"

"Not sure, like I said, I couldn't get too close. I was there watching from a distance for about an hour. I counted about 10. There's something else too."

"What?"

"I'm not sure really, I could feel a Slayer or something like a Slayer there. It felt powerful and dangerous to my kind, something I should stay away from. It wasn't living though, I think it might be what they're digging for."

"Well, we definitely have to get it then. It might be best to go early in the morning so once we take out the vampires that are there, we'll have ample time to find it." Giles suggested.

"Good idea Giles, we can do it tomorrow." Buffy agreed. "Spike you should probably sit this one out, with it being daylight and all."

"No worries Slayer, daylight won't stop me. As long as I get inside safely I'll be fine. It's covered enough in there." Spike said.
Buffy didn't look happy but she didn't try to fight him either. Spike got up and refilled his mug with more scotch. He made eye contact with Giles, asking him if he wanted any and Giles accepted. When Spike gave Giles the drink he noticed the teenagers were talking amongst themselves so Spike sat near Giles.

"So, Rupert, what's your opinion on the other Slayer? Is there a chance she'll come back to your side or do you think she's just a bad apple?"

"That's a hard question, I feel bad for her honestly. She was like Buffy, she didn't know what a Slayer was until she was called. She wasn't trained beforehand at all. She had a horrible home life and no support system. The first person that really cared about her was her first watcher but she was killed trying to protect Faith from Kakistos. Then she came here. I truly blame myself, I failed her. I wasn't able to give her the same support I've given Buffy. Buffy is my Slayer, my charge. I'm ashamed to say I treated Faith like an add-on or backup. No one welcomed her like we were supposed to. That is, until the Mayor. From what I've heard, he treated her like a daughter. That's why she went to him I think, she finally felt like she had somewhere to belong, even if it was on the side of evil. I don't know how the Mayor died, but I don't think she did it, maybe Angelus did. That being said, I think we might be able to get her back. I don't think that will happen unless Angelus starts treating her badly though. From what you said, that will happen sooner rather than later, correct?"

"That depends, Rupes, on how useful she is to him, how compliant she is, and what kind of mood he's in that day. On the other hand, he usually doesn't like Slayers, he thinks they're more trouble than they're worth. He might work hard to keep himself on her good side."

"We should probably go out to look for her again, Spike," Buffy said as she broke away from her conversation to walk over to theirs. She put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Right," Spike says, standing up, "I'm ready when you are."

"Wait Buffy, there's something I must show you first, unfortunately," Giles says wearily.

"What's the what, Giles?"

"It would seem that Angelus is up to his old tricks," Giles says.

He opened today's newspaper and got up to show Buffy. On the front page, there was a story of three teens who were killed by what looked like animal attacks. It had school pictures of the three, they were all young, pretty, blondes, who looked a lot like Buffy. Buffy felt herself getting nauseous, it was by pure strength of will that she didn't get sick.

"We have to end this Giles, it's my fault these women are dead."

"Bollox, how do you think it's your fault, Slayer? That makes no bleeding sense, it's not like you set Angelus free, or made him become obsessed with you. It's his fault and no one else's. Well maybe the dark Slayer, because she's the one that helped break the curse." Spike growled.

"He's quite right Buffy, none of this is your fault."

"Let's agree to disagree," Buffy said and got up, by the time she was standing she was no longer Buffy the 18-year-old high school senior, she was the Slayer. "Spike, let's go, we have a rogue Slayer to catch."

"Right," Spike said and nodded his farewell to Giles as he followed Buffy out of the apartment.

They decided to go through the two cemeteries on the way to the mansion instead of just taking the street, which would have been faster. They were both wound tight, so they were hoping to unwind by killing some baddies. In the second cemetery, they came across six vampires who looked like they were waiting for a new fledge to come out of the ground. They both looked at each other and gave a little smile before they jumped in head first.

The vampires weren't too old, the oldest was about Spike's age so they weren't too difficult to beat. They played around a little bit and enjoyed the fight. When they were down to one opponent each they laughed and snarked with each other. Spike decided that he was bored and he'd rather watch his girl fighting so he dusted his last vampire with no fanfare.

When he looked at Buffy to watch her in her element, he saw a seventh vamp that must have been hiding or late to the party. He knew there wasn't enough time to warn her because the vampire was behind her and he had an ax and was about to take off Buffy's head. If he yelled his warning she wouldn't have enough time to move out of the way. So he acted on instinct and pushed Buffy out of the way. He heard her yell indignantly but didn't have time to comprehend what she said before he felt the blinding pain of an ax being embedded in his chest. He was just glad it was metal and not wood because he was sure it went through his rib cage and hit his heart. After the pain became too much, he lost consciousness.

"What the hell, Spike?" Buffy yelled as she was falling.

She turned around to yell at him some more and what she saw made her heart stop for a second. 'Oh god, Spike!' Is all Buffy can think, he's just laying there on the ground with an ax sticking out of his chest. She was frozen for a second until she sees the vamp put a foot on Spike's chest to keep him still while he tries to free the ax to use again. She bursts into action and stakes him so fast that he doesn't even have time to be surprised.

Buffy goes down to her knees to get a better look at Spike. She ripped open his shirt to see the damage. She panicked for a second when she realized that Spike wasn't breathing, then shook her head at her own stupidity. He's a vampire, he doesn't have to breathe. She puts her hand on the ax to try to take it out but realizes it's really stuck in there. She takes a deep breath and forces herself to take it out, she obviously can't move him gently with it still in.

"Spike?" She asks once it's out. "Not dust, not dust, not dust." She keeps mumbling to remind herself that he'll be fine eventually.

She puts her hand on his cheeks to try to get his attention but it's no use, he's out cold. After checking him over she decided the best thing to do is to get him back to Giles' apartment, he'll be able to help get Spike well again. She tries to move Spike so she can get him into the fireman's hold but as soon as she moves him even a little, he lets out a loud, pained, growl.

"Fuck," is all she can think to say.

She doesn't want to hurt him more than he already is, he's only in this situation because he took the hit that was meant for her, meant to kill her.

'There has to be a way to help him even a little so I can get him back to the apartment.'

She has one idea, but she doesn't know if it's a good one. She knows her watcher would hate the idea. The problem is, no matter how much she tries to stop herself, she cares about Spike and doesn't want to see him in pain. She nodded her head once she made her decision and got to work.