"Lovers Walk"

Based on the Episode Written by Dan Vebber

The following story is copyright © 2022 by Mark Moore.

At Sunnydale High School, Amy and Katrina slowly walked together across the lawn toward the walkway to the main entrance. In their hands, they had the results of their SATs. They folded up their score reports as they neared a bench at the side of the walkway. Amy sat down. Katrina sat down next to her. Behind them, Cordelia approached.

"You guys get your scores?" Cordelia asked.

Amy looked back at her. "Yeah. How did you do?"

Cordelia nodded. "Good. Trina?"

Katrina nodded. "Good."

Buffy and Tara walked up the steps from the street, sad looks on their faces, and joined the gang.

Amy stood up. "Buffy! Tara! Hey! Did you get your SAT scores?"

Tara nodded. "I did good."

Buffy gave Amy a weak nod. "They're just test scores, right?" She handed them to Amy. "What do they really mean, anyway?"

Amy unfolded it and read. "1430?! Buffy, you kicked ass!"

Cordelia's eyes went wide with amazement. Amy folded the report and handed it back to Buffy. Buffy handed her scores to Katrina for her to see.

Katrina smiled. "Buff, that's amazing."

"Let me see that." Cordelia yanked it out of Katrina's hand before she could even begin to unfold it and checked it out.

Katrina looked at Buffy. "With scores like that, you can apply pretty much anywhere you want."

Amy nodded. "Buffy, this could, like, change your whole future."

Buffy was unsure what to make of it. "The thought had occurred to me."

"Then why the sour puss?" Amy asked her.

"I don't know. I guess...my future. I never really thought about it. I wasn't even sure I was going to have one."

Tara nodded sadly. The others stopped to consider that. Cordelia handed Buffy back her scores.

In the library, Giles looked over Buffy's SAT score report while she played with a contraption from Giles' huge pile of camping equipment and clothing laid out on the big table.

"Buffy, this is - this is remarkable."

"So is this." Buffy put the thing down. "Where is this retreat thingy, the Yukon?" She reached for something else.

"It's quite nearby, actually."

Buffy found a compass.

"It's, um, it's the clearing at the top of Breaker's Woods."

Buffy opened the compass and saw there was a mirror inside the lid. She quickly checked her hair.

"It's the site of some fascinating druidic rituals."

Buffy closed the compass. "Okay, but you're just going for a few days, right?"

Giles took the compass from her.

"I mean...you're not gonna settle there and grow crops or anything."

Giles was confused. "What? Oh, my gear. No, no, this is - this is basic necessities."

"Giles, you pack like me."

Giles gave her a little smile. "Here." He handed Buffy her scores. "I suspect your mother will want to, uh, put it on the refrigerator."

Buffy put the report away. "Yeah. She saw these scores, and her head spun around and exploded."

Giles was unsure what she meant. "I-I've been on the Hellmouth too long. That was metaphorical, yes?"

"Yes. She was happy."

Giles smiled in relief and went over to the cage.

"She started with all this crazy talk about me going to college, maybe someplace else."

Inside the cage, Giles paused from pulling down a book.

"I know. I know, I said that you were gonna have a goat. Responsibilities and all. I know the drill."

"She may be right." Giles came back out of the cage.

"Yeah, I know, I figured you'd-" Buffy gave Giles a bewildered look. "Okay. Be kind, rewind."

"With scores like these, Buffy, you could have a first-rate education. I'm - I'm not suggesting that you...ignore your calling, but, um...you need to look to your future." Giles went back to the table. "And with Faith here, i-i-it may be that you can...move on. For a-a time, at least." He packed the book.

Buffy was unsure how to react. "Wow. You think Faith's ready to take over?"

"Well, let's, um, let's discuss it when I get back. I-In the meantime, um, I'd like you to continue training while I'm - while I'm gone, and, um, please don't do anything rash."

"I make no promises."

Giles gave her a sharp look. Buffy couldn't hold in her laughter.

After school, in the kitchen at Buffy's house, she was making microwave popcorn. Her mother had her hands full of college brochures. Tara was sitting at the island.

"Carnegie Mellon has a wonderful design curriculum. Oh, and Brown University's history program is..." Joyce paused. "You like history, right?"

"Could we talk about this another time?" Buffy got a large bowl. "All day, it's been like 'Congratulations! Go away.'" She took the bowl to the island.

"That's not it. It's just you belong at a-a good old-fashioned college with - with keg parties, not here with Hellmouths and vampires."

The microwave beeped.

"Not really seeing the distinction." Buffy went to get the bag of popcorn.

"Y'know, you're always talking about how you wish you could lead a more normal life. Well, this is your chance!"

"Yeah, it's just not that simple." Buffy took the popcorn to the bowl. "I have responsibilities." She opened the bag.

"I know, I know, but I spoke with Mr. Giles, and he said-"

"-that Faith could be Miss Sunnydale in the Slayer Pageant. I know." Buffy dumped the popcorn into the bowl.

"It's time to think about your future, Buffy, about your whole life. I mean, honestly, is there anything keeping you here?"

Buffy sat down and looked at Tara, then back at her mother.

"Oh."

"W-We talked about it last night, and B-Buffy and I d-decided we're gonna wait and see if we're both accepted to any colleges, and then we'd attend together." Tara grabbed a handful of popcorn and nervously stuffed it into her mouth.

"And if you're not?" Joyce asked.

Buffy and Tara looked at each other worriedly, neither of them having an answer.

Joyce sighed. "Well, I'm sure you two will figure it out. I mean...you're not the only couple that's ever had to make this kind of decision."

In Angel's mansion, he placed another log on the fire. Cordelia was on the couch with a pile of brochures on her lap.

"College, huh?" Angel asked.

"Higher education. Kind of an intense proposition."

"Where do you wanna go?" Angel slowly came over to her.

Cordelia closed her brochure. "I have no idea. My mom was the one that got all these. She's so excited; she can't stop talking about it."

Angel sat across from her.

"I had a really hard time coming up with an alibi, so I could come over here."

"She doesn't know about me."

"Big no. She's having enough trouble dealing with the Potential Slayer issue. I don't think she's ready to process the information that...you and I are friends again. Anyway, I think this college jones is just a reaction to the whole Potential Slayer thing."

"She wants you to get out."

"Someplace a little less Hellmouthy." Cordelia nodded. "She has a point." She drew a breath. "Y'know, but there are reasons to stay, too."

"What are they?"

Cordelia was taken aback. "Um...you know...Buffy and Faith could die at any time. What do you think I should do?"

"As a friend, I..." Angel stood up. "I think that you should leave." He went to the fireplace. "This is a good opportunity for you." He leaned against the cold stone, facing away from her.

Cordelia got up to gather her brochures. "Yeah. It's not like there's any great thing keeping me here." She stuffed them into her bag.

Angel turned around when he heard the papers rustling.

Cordelia zipped her bag closed and pulled it onto her shoulder. "Thanks for the advice. It's another perspective to consider."

"Where are you going? You just got here. It's early."

"Yeah, well, my mom starts worrying a lot earlier these days. I'll stop by soon." Cordelia left without looking back.

Later, in Buffy's backyard, Tara and Katrina were practicing a kata together.

"Thank for taking the time to teach me this, Tara. I think I'm starting to get it."

"Of course."

Suddenly, Spike hopped the fence behind them, ran over, and grabbed Katrina around the neck.

"Trina!" Tara yelled.

Spike started to choke Katrina, who struggled hard but couldn't get free.

"I need to borrow the witchy girl. You don't mind, do you?" Spike asked Katrina.

Katrina kicked out with her legs against the wall and shoved Spike and herself across the yard and into a bench. Spike wasn't fazed and threw Katrina aside to the ground. She tried to get up, but Spike punched her hard. Tara grabbed a stake and ran at Spike with it.

Spike stopped her in mid-thrust. "Threatening me? That's not nice."

Katrina got back up.

"We're all gonna be very best friends." Spike yanked the stake from Tara's grip and swung it around into Katrina's temple.

Katrina went down, out cold.

"Trina!" Tara cried.

In Spike's factory, Katrina was laid out on a ruined bed. Tara nervously sat on the edge, fidgeting with her hands.

Spike dumped a box full of supplies on the bed next to Katrina. "A spell. For me. You're gonna do a spell for me."

"Uh, what kind of spell?" Tara asked.

"A love spell! Are you brain dead?" Spike went to the dresser. "I'm gonna get what's mine." He grabbed a bottle. "What's mine." He uncorked it. "Teach her to walk out on me." He took several good swallows, then looked over at Tara. "What are you staring at?"

Tara averted her eyes. "Nothing."

"You can do it, right? You can make Dru love me again? Make her crawl!"

"I-I can try."

Spike grabbed her neck. "What are you talking about, trying? You'll do it!"

"Yes, I'll do it!" Tara cried.

Spike let go of her and broke his bottle against a bedpost. He grabbed her again and threatened her with the sharp edges. "You lie to me, and I'll shove this through your face! You want that?"

Tara was terrified. "No..."

"Right through to your brain!"

"No, please, no..."

Spike shoved her aside and leaned against the bedpost, calming down. "She wouldn't even kill me." He dropped the broken bottle, walked around Tara, and sat down next to her. "She just left. She didn't even care enough to cut off my head or set me on fire." He sniffed. "I mean...is that too much to ask? You know? Some little sign that she cared?" He paused for a moment to inhale and exhale deeply. "It was that truce with Buffy that did it. Dru said I'd gone soft. Wasn't demon enough for the likes of her. And I told her it didn't mean anything, I was thinking of her the whole time, but she didn't care. So...we got to Brazil, and she was...she was just different. I gave her everything: beautiful jewels, beautiful dresses with beautiful girls in them, but nothing made her happy. And she would fliiirt!" He sniffed. "I caught her on a park bench, making out with a chaos demon! Have you ever seen a chaos demon? They're all slime and antlers. They're disgusting." He looked at Tara's pretty young face and stroked her silky blonde hair. "She only did it to hurt me." He took his hand off her. "So I said 'I'm not putting up with this anymore.' And she said 'Fine!' And I said 'Yeah, I've got an unlife, you know!' And then she said...she said we could still be friends." He leaned over and sobbed on Tara's shoulder. "God, I'm so unhappy!"

Tara tentatively patted his knee. "There, there."

"I mean...friends! How could she be so cruel?" Spike raised his head and looked at her neck. "Mmm. That smell..." He paused. "Your neck..." He leaned in to take a better whiff and then leaned back, baring his fangs. "I haven't had a woman in weeks."

Tara looked at him and jumped up in fright. "Whoa! No! Hold it!"

"Well, unless you count that shopkeeper." Spike stood up.

Tara was panting with fright. "Now, now, hold on! I-I'll do your spell for you, and - and - and I'll get you Drusilla back, but - but there will be no bottle-in-face, and there will be no 'having' of any kind with me. All right?"

Spike grabbed her by the neck and bent her over but made no move to bite her. "All right." He pushed her away. "Get started."

Tara stepped around the bed to where Spike dumped the box of supplies. "Now, I'm not a powerful witch, you know. I-I don't know if this is gonna work right away."

"Well, if at first you don't succeed, I'll kill her, and you try again."

Tara looked through the supplies. "This isn't enough."

"What?" Spike came toward her.

Tara was nervous. "Well, there are other ingredients, a-and a-a-a book. I need a-a spell book. This isn't it."

"You've got one, though, at home?"

"No, but I know where you can get one."

Spike got in her face. "Where?"

Buffy was skipping rope in her bedroom while listening to "Carry On" by Sailor Moon on her boombox. Suddenly, Amy and Cordelia stormed in. Buffy dropped her rope, turned off her boombox, and went to meet them.

Cordelia panted. "Thank God you are here."

"What's up?" Buffy asked her.

Amy was worried. "I haven't been able to get a hold of Trina."

"She's in the backyard with Tara."

The three of them went downstairs and outside. They looked at the mess.

Cordelia shook her head. "I don't know what could have happened."

Buffy looked around. "Whatever happened, there was obviously a fight."

Amy studied the scene. "I don't see any blood."

Buffy thought. "Yeah, either they were taken, or they ran, or maybe-"

Cordelia pointed. "You're having too many ors! Pick one!"

"I don't know. I need you guys to find Giles, okay? I'm gonna look for them. Maybe they didn't get too far."

"Where is Giles?" Cordelia asked.

"Uh, he's at a retreat in the clearing in Breaker's Woods."

Amy nodded. "Yeah, I know the spot, but it's like a forty-five-minute drive."

"So motor!" Buffy told her.

Amy frowned.

Buffy softened a bit and put a hand on Amy's arm. "I'll find them."

Amy nodded. They all went on their respective missions. Cordelia and Amy headed for Amy's car. Buffy went back into her house.

Joyce was having some tea. "Hi, Buffy. You still working out?"

"Uh, no, Mom, actually-"

"I was hoping that we could have a college talk. I admit I...overreacted before. You don't have to go all the way across the country." Joyce sat at the island. "I, um, picked up some brochures from some nearby schools, okay?"

"That's great, but now's really not a good time-"

"Hello, ladies."

Buffy's eyes widened with recognition; her expression turned to horror when she realized it was Spike. She turned around. Joyce stood up. Spike ran into the kitchen.

Buffy grabbed Spike, spun him around, knocked him onto his back on the island, and kept him pinned there by the throat.

"Oh! Oh, no!" Joyce cried.

"You shouldn't have come back, Spike."

"I do what I please."

"Okay, I-I'm confused again."

Spike made a grab for Buffy's arm. Buffy took Spike's arm and pinned it to the island. Buffy grabbed a wooden stirring spoon and made a move to stake him.

"Tara!" Spike yelled.

Buffy stayed her thrust. "You took Tara."

"You do me now, you'll never find the little witch."

"And Katrina?" Buffy asked.

"Her, too."

"What, Katrina's a witch?" Joyce asked, confused. "I-"

Buffy grabbed Spike by the coat and lifted him off the island. "Where are they?"

Spike shoved Buffy off. "Doesn't work like that, peaches. Your friend's gonna work a little magic for me. She does my spell, I let them both go."

"You're not famous for keeping your promises, Spike."

"Well, you wanna tag along, that's fine. But you get in my way, and you kill your friends."

Amy sped along the road to Breaker's Woods in her car, a white 1992 Mercury Topaz sedan.

"What if they were kidnapped by Colombian drug lords?" Cordelia asked. "They could be cutting off their ears right now! Or other parts."

Amy ignored her, concentrated, and stopped the car.

"Hello?" Cordelia asked.

Amy rolled down her window and felt the air. "It's Tara. She's nearby."

"What? You can sense her?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah. She's afraid." Amy put the car in reverse and backed up a bit.

"Oh, my God. Is this some witch thing? This is very disturbing."

Amy put the car in drive and turned down a side street.

Buffy knocked on Jenny's apartment door. Soon, it opened. Faith was standing there.

"Hey, B, what's up?" Faith asked.

"Tara and Trina have been kidnapped. I figured I might need some help on this one."

"Count me in." Faith got her jacket and then walked out of the apartment, locking and closing the door behind her.

The two girls walked to Buffy's van, opened the doors, and got in. Spike was sitting in the back seat.

Faith closed and locked the passenger-side door and fastened her seatbelt. "Who's the Billy Idol wannabe?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Oh, please! That wanker stole his look from me!"

Buffy closed and locked the driver-side door, fastened her seatbelt, and started the engine. "Okay, so this is gonna take a bit of explaining."

Buffy parked her van on the street that Spike indicated, and she, Faith, and Spike got out and started walking.

"Look, I just need a few supplies, and then I'll take you to..." Spike stopped and grabbed his head. "Oh, God."

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked. "Not that I care."

"Oh..." Spike groaned. "My head. I think I'm sobering up. It's horrible." He bent over. "Oh, God. I wish I was dead."

Faith pulled out a stake. "Well, if you close your eyes and wish really hard..."

Spike straightened up. "Hey! Back off!"

Buffy got between them. "Faith, we still need him to find the others."

Faith lowered her stake. "Need him? He's probably just got them locked up in the factory."

"Well, hey, how thick do you think I am?" Spike asked her.

"Fine. Can we just get this over with?" Faith started down the road.

Buffy and Spike followed close behind.

"Oh, God."

"Now what?" Buffy asked.

"We killed a homeless man on this bench. Me and Dru. Those were good times." Spike stepped over to the bench and sat on it. He chuckled. "You know, he begged for mercy, and, you know, that only made her bite harder."

He looked to Buffy and Faith for a reaction, but they just stared back blankly.

"I guess you had to be there." Buffy continued on her way.

They soon arrived at the magic shop. Buffy kicked the door open, and they walked in.

There was yellow police tape stretched across the room, separating the counter and the shelves of merchandise from the entry area.

"Your work?" Buffy yanked down the police tape and tossed it aside.

"Here's your list." Spike handed it to Buffy.

Buffy read it. "'Essence of violet', 'cloves'..." She looked at Faith. "Faith?"

"Right." Faith started to look.

"'Set of runic tablets'. Spike can get the rat's eyes."

Buffy and Spike also started looking for ingredients.

"I used to bring her rats. With the morning paper."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Great. More moping. That's gonna get her back."

"The spell's gonna get her back."

Faith briefly looked at him. "Lot of trouble for somebody who doesn't even give a fuck about you."

"Shut your gob!" Spike yelled at her.

Faith shrugged. "She really is just kind of fickle."

"Shut up!" Spike ran at Faith, turned her around, and punched her in the face.

Faith grabbed his arm in mid-swing before he could do it again. Buffy grabbed him from behind, and, between her and Faith, Spike got thrown back, though he managed to keep his footing.

"What do you know? It's your fault! She belongs with me." Spike sobbed. "I'm nothing without her."

Buffy stared at him. "That, I'll have to agree with. You're pathetic, you know that? You're not even a loser anymore; you're a shell of a loser."

"Yeah. You're one to talk." Spike went back to looking for stuff.

"Meaning?" Buffy asked him.

Spike faced her. "For all your talk about human superiority and souls, you're no better than me. You're a murderer."

Buffy froze.

Spike gave her a tiny smile. "Oh, touched a nerve, did I? We're a lot more alike than you care to admit."

Buffy stared at him for a moment, then looked away and went back to searching. "Fuck you. At least, I can learn from my mistakes and better myself."

"Hmm!" Spike grabbed a bottle. "Eye of rat."

In the basement of Spike's factory, Tara was pounding against the door with her shoulder, letting out a good grunt each time. After several hits, she heard Katrina moan below. She walked down to the bed to check on her. The side of her head was covered in dried blood.

"Trina?" Tara sat on the bed. "Are you okay?"

Katrina tried to sit up. "Dizzy." She winced. "Kind of nauseous, too. Do I remember having a fight with Spike?"

"You do."

Katrina felt the caked blood on the side of her face. "I won, right? Kicked his ass?"

"No on both counts, but you were really brave. Do you need to barf?" Tara asked.

"No, I'll be okay." Katrina looked around. "Where are we?"

"The factory. We're locked in the basement."

"That burnt-out place in the middle of nowhere? Why didn't he just kill us?" Katrina asked her.

"He - He wants me to do a love spell."

"What?"

"Drusilla broke up with him. He's out of control."

Katrina tried again to sit up. "So what are our options?" She winced.

"Well, I figure either...I refuse to do the spell, and he kills us, or I do the spell, and he kills us."

"Give me a third option."

"He's so drunk that he forgets about us, and we starve to death."

"Tara, we're not gonna die."

Katrina tried to get up. Tara helped.

"If he's so drunk, he'll get sloppy, and then we'll make our move."

They collapsed back onto the bed.

"Trina, he killed two Slayers. Even though he's drunk, he's still dangerous. If I see an opening, I'll fly us out of here."

The door opened. Amy and Cordelia walked down the stairs.

"Guys!" Cordelia called.

"Shhh!" Amy cautioned. "We might not be alone."

Tara looked at them. "Thank Goddess! One of you give me a hand. Trina's hurt."

Amy rushed over, and she and Tara helped Katrina to her feet and supported her.

Katrina smiled at Amy. "Hey, babe."

Amy kissed Katrina on the lips. "Hey. We got you. C'mon."

Spike, Buffy, and Faith walked out of the magic shop, each holding a bag of love spell ingredients.

"Okay, Spike, we got the shit. Where are they?" Buffy demanded.

"What's your hurry?" Spike asked her.

Buffy stared at him. "My hurry is my intense desire to get you the fuck out of my life. You tend to cause trouble."

"I'll be out of your life in a few short hours. No trouble at all."

"Hello, Spike."

Without any warning, they found themselves confronted by one of Spike's former men. They looked around at the gang of vampires surrounding them.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "No trouble at all."

Buffy, Faith, and Spike faced off with the gang.

"Lenny. How have you been?" Spike asked.

"Better since you left. You should have stayed gone."

"Is that right?" Spike tossed his bag aside.

"You know, he was just leaving." Buffy looked at Spike. "Don't you start anything."

"This pissant used to work for me."

Buffy looked at Faith. "The guys are in trouble. We can't risk this."

"Look, I don't think we have a choice."

Lenny looked at the girls. "You other two can walk away from this."

Spike looked at Buffy. "I die, your chums die."

Buffy looked at Lenny. "Sorry. We're staying."

"Not for long!" Lenny yelled.

Buffy moved first off to her left. Faith reacted instantly and moved off to her right. Buffy threw her shopping bag at one vampire, catching him off guard, and did a front snap kick to his gut. He fell immediately. Another vampire rushed her, and she did a full spinning wheel kick to his face.

A vampire swung at Faith, but she ducked it and punched him in the gut. Faith turned around and backhand-punched another vampire in the face, followed up with an elbow to his gut.

A vampire front-snap-kicked Spike in the chest, sending him flying onto the hood of a car and landing hard on his back. Another vampire entered the fray, wielding a length of pipe. He swung it down at Spike, but Spike rolled out of the way and onto his hands and feet and hopped up onto the roof of the car.

A vampire got a firm hold of Faith's sleeve and twisted it around, forcing her to do a log roll to the ground. She used her momentum to roll back up to a standing position. Another vampire lunged at Faith, but she grabbed him and lifted him into the air, sending him head first into a nearby garbage can. Another vampire ran at Faith from behind, but she crouched down and sweep-kicked him in the legs, making him trip and flip over into a diving shoulder roll.

Another vampire joined Spike on the roof of the car, but Spike just punched him dead in the face, and he flew backward onto the hood and windshield of the car. A second vampire jumped onto the car and tried to get at Spike.

A vampire tried to slam Buffy into a low wall, but she used her momentum and his leverage to jump sideways over the wall, into the outdoor table area of the Espresso Pump. She landed on a table on her back, rolled off, and came up in a standing position. A vampire inside the café rushed her, and she did a full spinning hook kick, which connected with his stomach.

A vampire swung at Spike, who was still on top of the car, but missed as Spike redirected the hit, pushed down on his shoulder, and kicked him in the ass, causing him to fall onto the trunk of the car and slide off the back. Buffy side-kicked a vampire in the neck, and he flew backwards into some chairs. A vampire came straight for Spike. He sidestepped him and stuck his arm straight out, which the vampire ran right into, causing him to flip underneath the arm, land on the hood of the car, and roll off.

A vampire swung at Faith with a pipe but missed. On the next swing, Faith grabbed hold of the pipe and twisted it around, wresting it from the vampire's grip and knocking him out cold. Faith spun halfway around and slammed the end of the pipe into another vampire's balls. The force of the blow lifted him from the ground. Faith dropped the pipe and punched the vampire in the face, sending him spinning to the pavement.

A vampire jumped over a chain into the café. Buffy saw him coming, grabbed a round metal table, and swung it at him, smacking him hard in the face and knocking him to the floor. Buffy looked around for a weapon and spied a mop by the wall. She stomped on the base, breaking the mop head off and leaving her with a long wooden pole. As a vampire attacked again, she swung the pole at his stomach, and he fell to the floor. As the other one tried to get up again, Buffy slammed the pole down onto his face, sending him back to the floor also.

Spike had a vampire by both arms and twisted him around, making him fall in a spin onto the roof of the car and then roll off onto the sidewalk. Behind him, another vampire jumped up onto the hood of the car with a length of pipe. Buffy swung her pole at a vampire and got him in the stomach. Spinning around to face another one, she slammed the pole into his head and roundhouse-kicked him in the side, sending him stumbling into a wall. A third vampire jumped in and tried to front-snap-kick her. His kick was too weak, and she was able to block it with her pole. Then she thrust it up into his neck and threw him to the wall as well. He landed against the other vampire, and Buffy shoved her makeshift stake through both of them. She let go of the pole and ran out of the café.

Faith had a firm grip on a vampire's collar and punched him hard in the face, sending him spinning wildly to the ground. They all noticed they were temporarily without opponents and so regrouped in front of the magic shop, but it didn't take long for several members of the gang to surround them. Buffy made a break for the shop's door while Faith and Spike slowly backed in that direction as well. At the last instant, they also ran into the shop and slammed the door closed as the gang of vampires gave chase.

Once inside, Buffy headed behind the counter to see what she could find for a weapon. Faith and Spike grabbed one of the bookcases and slid it over against the front window.

Behind the counter, Buffy smashed the shopkeeper's chair and picked up the legs to use as stakes. She walked back out from behind the counter. "Go!"

She handed them each a chair leg, and the three of them made their stand, just waiting for the already teetering bookcase to give and the gang to storm into the shop.

Spike smiled. "This should be a kick."

Buffy side-eyed him. "I violently dislike you."

Suddenly, the back door was kicked in, and a vampire came in. Faith turned and attacked. The vampire lunged at her, but Faith ducked and got underneath him, lifting him and sending him flying over her head and onto a table arrayed with books and candles. Two more vampires rushed in and made their way toward Buffy. Faith slammed the back door closed and leaned against it. Buffy push-kicked the rolling ladder used to reach the upper shelves, and it smashed into the two vampires coming at her, knocking them to the floor.

The first vampire was off the table and tackled Spike into a wall of shelves filled with jars. Several of them broke, and Spike and the jars went crashing to the floor. Faith struggled to keep the door closed. One of the vampires who came after Buffy swung at her, but he missed as she stepped behind the sliding ladder. He punched again, this time through the rungs, but she sidestepped it.

Buffy grabbed the arm that the vampire punched through the rungs of the ladder and held onto it as she swung her stake home. She pulled it back out and let go, and he fell to the floor, dead. She then turned her attention to her other attacker and roundhouse-kicked him in the face as he was trying to get up. She grabbed him by the shirt and shoved his head into a display case, breaking the glass, then yanked him up through the glass top as well. She pulled the dazed vampire around and shoved his head between the rungs of the ladder and push-kicked it away. The back door was beginning to give, and so was the bookcase at the front window.

Buffy looked at Faith. "We need to get out of here!"

"Can we get to the roof?" Faith asked.

Buffy scanned the ceiling for a possible way out. Just then, the back door finally gave. Faith was knocked to the floor, and the heavy door fell on top of her. Lenny stepped on top of it, scanned the room quickly, and headed straight for Spike. Behind him, another vampire ran in, and Buffy rushed to engage him. She roundhouse-kicked him in the face and tried to follow up with a backhand punch. He blocked the hit and wrapped his arm around hers and yanked her arm downward. She yanked back up and pulled her arm free and punched him twice in the face. Faith lay dazed under the door. Lenny reached Spike and immediately punched him hard in the face, making him jerk aside but not fall.

"Yeah. I heard you'd gone soft. Sad to see it, man."

Spike was incredulous. "Soft?"

"Yeah, like baby food."

Behind Spike, the vampire that he'd been fighting got up.

Spike smiled. "Well, then, let's give baby a taste."

He did a back kick, hitting the vampire behind him in the groin. Lenny tried to punch, but Spike ducked and punched him instead. Spike spun around and backhand-punched the vampire behind him in the face, who fell immediately. He ducked another punch from Lenny, grabbed onto his jacket, pulled him around roughly, and smashed his face into the table. Buffy punched her vampire in the gut and high-punched him in the face. While he was stunned, she grabbed onto his head and yanked it around and down to her left side, flipping him over onto his back. She ran over to Faith, pushed the heavy door off her, and helped her up.

"I'm all right." Faith saw the bookcase at the front window shake violently. "That window's about to go." She spied what might be the answer. "B."

On a shelf, they saw several dozen small bottles of holy water.

Spike repeatedly smashed Lenny's head onto the table. "Baby like his supper? Baby like his supper?" He lifted Lenny and flipped him over onto the table on his back. "Why doesn't baby have a nap?"

He raised his stake high and plunged it violently into Lenny's chest. Lenny looked stunned as he died. Spike smiled with the thrill of the kill.

"Spike! Get down!" Buffy warned.

He ducked to the floor as the bookcase at the front finally gave way and fell with a crash, along with plenty of broken window glass. Spike looked up to see the vampires storm the shop. They quickly realized their peril as Buffy and Faith began throwing the bottles of holy water at them like grenades. They broke when they hit, spraying the vampires and burning them. Spike caught some wayward drops and quickly pulled his coat over his face and stayed down. The burning holy water soon had the attacking vampires making a hasty, screaming retreat.

Spike stood back up and watched them run, letting out a breath of satisfaction. "Now, that was fun."

He faced Buffy and Faith only to get disbelieving looks.

Spike smiled. "Oh, don't tell me that wasn't fun." He chuckled. "Oh, God! It's been so long since I had a decent spot of violence." He stopped and considered. "Really puts things in perspective."

"Could we just do the damn spell now?" Buffy asked him impatiently.

"Oh, sod the spell." Spike waved it off. "Your friends are at the factory."

Buffy and Faith couldn't believe their gullibility.

Spike smiled. "I'm really glad I came here, you know? I've been all wrongheaded about this. Weeping, crawling, blaming everybody else. I want Dru back, I've just gotta be the man I was, the man she loved. I'm gonna do what I shoulda done in the first place: I'll find her, wherever she is, tie her up, torture her until she likes me again." He walked past them toward the back door. Just before he went out, he turned back and smiled thoughtfully. "Love's a funny thing." He headed out the back.

Cordelia stepped through the makeshift door and stopped just inside the atrium of Angel's mansion.

Angel was sitting there. "Hey." He stood up. "I was wondering when you were coming."

"I've had quite a day." Cordelia paused. "I'm not coming back."

Angel just looked at her.

"We're not friends. We never were. And I can fool Giles, but I can't fool myself." Cordelia shook her head. "What I want from you, I can never have. You don't need me to take care of you anymore. So I'm gonna go."

"I don't accept that."

"You have to."

"How can..."

He took a step toward her, and she backed away.

"There's gotta be some way we can still see each other."

"There is: tell me that you don't love me."

Angel said nothing. After a long moment, Cordelia turned and went back into the mansion and left.