Spike was getting restless, nights of smelling Eris' clothes and watching her sleep were not enough for him now, he wanted more – no - he needed more. He needed her badly, mind, body and soul yet he could never tell if she returned the feelings. Then again, it was hard to tell if she was truly interested in anything. She had once many months ago admitted she could have feelings for him, that them having sex caused her to grow attached, but was that still how she felt now? They hadn't slept together for a while, and his mind would not stop overthinking and telling him that she had become bored of him or moved on. Sure, she was friendly and kind and still gave him some form of affection, but was that one of friendship or did she feel obligated due to all the times he helped her and her family.

Then there was Buffy, the bloody Slayer who always came along and ruined everything. It seemed that everyone knew about him being in love with Eris, everyone but said woman. He hated when the Slayer would tell him he was way out of Eris' league, she didn't believe that his love for her cousin was real, that vampires without souls could never grow such feelings.

As his thoughts spiralled out of control he stepped into his crypt in a dampened mood, especially after hearing Buffy accuse him of being disgusting and inadequate. Slamming the door closed he went to rub his eyes until he felt a presence hiding in the shadows, "whose there?" he asked warily, eyes scanning the dark crypt.

"A happy memory, pretty Spike," came the sweet, soft reply. Then, out of the shadows stepped his beloved Drusilla, returned to him once more, "look whose come to make everything right again?"

"Why are you here?"

"I found our darling Mummy again, back from the dead. I made her a vampire again and now she wants Daddy back in her arms."

"You mean Angel?"

"Angelus…back to the nasty boy he once was...I am helping Mummy make it happen."

"Wait, let me get this straight, Darla got mojo'd back from the beyond, you vamped her and now she and you are working on turning Angel into his own bad self again?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Sounds fun."

"It is, like lollypops at the circus," she said in her dreamy voice, "although, didn't care for Angelus setting us on fire," she touched her scars gently.

"And this had got you what, all nostalgic now has it?"

Drusilla glided towards him, like she was walking on air. It had always drew him in how elegant and ethereal she was, "I want us to be a family again my William," she pressed her lips to his ear and whispered seductively, "come back with me."

"To Los Angeles? I've done the whole LA scene Dru, didn't agree with me," he stepped away from ther wanting to create distance from the enchanting woman who could lure him in with just one look, "besides, I've got a sweet little set up here in Sunny-D, decent digs, not to mention, all the tasty townies I can each."

"Naughty, shh, you needn't make up stories, I already know why you're not coming," she reached her hands up to her head, acting as if she felt the pain he would endure when hitting an innocent, "poor boy, tin soldiers put funny little nit knacks in your brain, can't hurt, can't hunt, can't kill, you've got a chip."

Spike once again stepped away from Dru when she tried to touch him, "right, so you've heard, poor Spikes become a…a cautionary tale for vampires, right? You better be good kiddies or they might, wire you up someday," he kicked a broken fence in anger and shame, he never wanted Drusilla to see the lesser man he had become. The weakened vampire who followed a human like a lost little dog hoping for a mere drop of affection from her.

"I don't believe in science, all those bits and molecules no one's ever seen, I trust hearts and eyes alone," she swayed up to him, seductively, slowly, with the intent of trying to bring him back into her embrace, "and you know what mines singing out right now?" she placed Spike's hand on her chest, right over her heart, "You're a killa, born to slash, and bash, and bleed like beautiful poetry, no little tinker toy could ever stop you from flowing."

"Yeah," the feeling that Dru always inspired in him came flooding back. The Blood lust, the thrill of the hunt, the want for the beautiful death of a human. But then, his mind raced back to his chip, reminding him of how he could never achieve that again, "but the pain, love, you don't understand it's, it's searing, it's blinding."

Drusilla reached up and touched the top of his head, "all in your head, I can see it, little bit of, plastic, spider webbing out nasty blue shocks, and every one is a lie. Electricity lies Spike, it tells you you're not a bad dog but you are."

"What the heck is this!?" a screeching woman's voice broke their intimate atmopshere, ending it as quickly as it started.

"Oh bloody hell," Spike turned around to see an enraged Harmony glaring at the both of them.

"Who is-" she stopped as she got a good look at the woman standing behind her boyfriend, "oh wait, I get it, our little sex game is just the beginning, now you've gone and picked up some cheap queen of the damned to dress up like your precious Drudzilla."

"Harm-"

"-You better not be thinking what I think you're thinking cause my answer is the same as always, no threesomes unless its boy, boy, girl, or Charlize Theron."

"Harm, you moron, this is Drusilla."

"Oh, well," she marched over to the female master vampire, creating an air of superiority to hide the jealousy she felt towards the dark haired woman, "you've got some nerve showing up here like this, after all this time, after breaking my sweet boo boos heart," Drusilla looked at Spike in amusement and mouthed the words 'boo boo', oh how far her lover had fallen, "Do you have any idea how hard it's been to break down the walls he put up after you left? I mean serious trust issues."

"Harm-"

"So its no use you crawling back to him cause Spikey don't play that game anymore Morticia," as Harmony went to focus on Spike and tell him to kick his ex out, Spike had other plans. He brought his arm out with lightening speed and wrapped his hand around her throat, tightening it just enough to let her know he would snap it if she tried anything.

"It's been fun while it lasted Harm, but it think it'd be best now if you hit the road," he threw her into the wall behind him.

"Why?" she asked whilst clutching her throat, "because she's back?"

"No, because I am," he pulled Drusilla against him, ready to give her the biggest kiss she had ever received.

"And here you are, my darling, deadly boy."

Eris walked into Spikes crypt when he didn't open the door for her like he usually would around this time of night, "Spike?" she called out into the empty still air, but she received no answer. Thinking that maybe he was in his secret underground area that he used when the sun was up, she climbed down the ladder and used a torch on the wall to look around.

She was never allowed down there, Spike as expressly forbade her from doing so. But if he was hurt then she had to make sure, "are you down here Spike?" she asked again, only to be met with more silence. She continued to walk around the place, looking at the random items he had placed inside until she spotted a beige tarp covering what looked human shaped. With curiosity getting the better of her, she pulled it off to see a mannequin that had the same-coloured hair as her and wearing some of the clothing that she noticed had gone missing a few weeks ago. It even had what looked like blood smeared over its eyes, like it was trying to mimic hers. Even creepier was the wall behind it that was littered with photos and drawings of her, like a shrine.

This felt wrong, and too much for her to handle. Why did he have all of this in his crypt, was he planning to kill her? That couldn't be true, she thought he had come to care from her. But maybe she was wrong, maybe this was all a game to him so he could eventually get her blood like he wanted to do when they first met.

Fear overcame her and without another thought she turned away from the shrine and bolted back up the ladder, however the current occupant of the crypt had other plans. " See anything interesting?"

She looked up to see Spike staring down at her. He seemed different, the expression of kindness and familiarity were gone. He looked at her like prey, like he used to do when they first met. This only further solidified in her mind that he was going to kill her.

"Spike…I…uh, what happened?" she asked finally when she noticed blood dribbling from his lips, and she hoped to God that it was from a blood bag and not something fresh.

"Me," a voice behind her made her whip around and see a beautiful woman with a taser. She barely had time to react as the taser was shoved into her stomach and electricity shot through her body until she fell to the ground.

"You've never seen my ex, have you, Eris?" Spike asked tauntingly as he stalked around her to stand by the mysterious woman, "come back, she did. Couldn't live without me."

Eris gave the vampiric woman a harsh glare as she felt jealousy well up inside her. This was Drusilla, the woman who Spike loved with all his undead heart. She was gorgeous, an ethereal beauty, even more so than Eris though she was loathed to admit it, "my boy's been feeding again. I know what he really wants to eat," she watched helplessly as Drusilla used the taser again, only this time she held it in place long enough for Eris to be stunned into unconsciousness, "shall we tie her up? Play with her a teensy bit first."

Spike stared intently at Eris' form, a slight twinge of guilt creeping in through his blood lust haze. He enjoyed the fun, the killing and the way fresh blood tasted on his tongue. Dru made him feel alive again, like the killer he was made to be. But as he continued to look at Eris he knew it was not the same, not what he wanted, it was time to change the plan, "I'm through playing."

Drusilla was unaware of the thoughts going through her lovers head, her excitement on killing the woman who had taken her Spike from her was all she thought of, "oooh! I like it when you're all dour and straight-to-business-like."

Like it, she said, not love. She never used to say like with him, it was always love. That deep connection between them was gone, and he knew she was only there to manipulate him into helping her with Angel. Not this time, he would not let another woman treat him like a plaything.

He gently grabbed the taser off Drusilla, making her think he would use it against Eris. No, that was not the plan. Instead, he quickly jabbed it into his ex's chest, sending enough volts of electricity to knock her out, "Bloody well through playing."

Eris groaned as she came to, she had no idea where she was and the only thing she could register was the pain she was feeling in her skull, "there she is," she heard the soothing voice of Spike and opened her eyes to take in her new surroundings. She was standing and chained by the wrist to two pillars in the secret area below the crypt, "I was beginning to think you'd sleep the night away."

"What are you doing? Where is Drusilla?" she asked softly in fear. Spike smirked and moved to the side to show Drusilla bound against a thick pipe.

"Not nice to change the game in mid play, Spike," Dru said with a pout, "you've taken my chair and the music hasn't stopped."

"Sorry pet, my house, my rules."

"I think I should be very cross with you when I'm free again."

"What's going on?" Eris demanded, confusion, fear and anger was slowly taking over the ache in her skull.

"Simple. I'm gonna prove something," he stepped back in front of Eris, forcing her to look into his intense, icy blue eyes, "I love you."

"What, no you do-"

He grabbed her chin when she went to look away, forcing her to look back at him, "hey, no, look at me, I love you, you're all I bloody think about, dream about, you're in my gut, my throat, I'm drowning in you Vanzetti I'm drowning in you," Drusilla started cackling madly at his confession, making Spike sigh in irritation, "could do without the laugh track, Dru."

"But it's so funny, I knew, before you did, I knew you loved the shadow, the pixies in my head whispered it to me."

He decided to ignore her insane ramblings, he needed to focus on Eris, "you can't tell me there isn't anything there between you and me, I know you feel something."

"And this is how you ask me?" Eris asked in disbelief, "this is insane, you're insane."

"You still don't believe, don't think I mean it, you want proof? How's this," he turned and grabbed a stake from his Eris shine, and with confident strides he moved to Drusilla, placing the stake right above her heart, "I'm gonna kill Drusilla for you," Dru cackled once more, thought she hoped he would not go through with it.

"Killing your ex doesn't prove anything," Eris shot back.

"Don't mock this, this is Drusilla girl! You have the slightest idea of what she means to me? It's the face of my salvation, she delivered me from mediocrity. For over a century we, we cut a swath through continents, 100 years she never stopped surprising me," he stroked her pale, silken skin and gazed into her eyes lovingly which made jealousy rise up in Eris. Even when she was in a terrifying situation where she could die her feelings for Spike weren't disappearing, "never stopped taking me to new depts. I was a lucky bloke, just to touch such a black beauty," he brought the stake back up, "so you see, it means something."

"You loved her that much that you are willing to kill her? What's stopping you from doing that to me?" Spike looked to the human woman that held his affection and stalked back over to her.

"You know very well I wouldn't do that to you. Just, give me something, a crumb, a barest smidgen, tell me, maybe, someday, there's a chance," he was now standing within touching distance of her, staring into her eyes with hope.

"Spike…this is not love, what you're doing to me is wrong…I can't…" She didn't know what to say, there was a part of her that really wanted to be with him, to give herself over to him, but the pain in her wrists from being tied up in his basement gave her pause. If he loved her liked he claimed, then why was he doing this to her?

As she struggled with a decision, Spike's expression turned dark at her words. He roared in anger and threw the stake against the wall, letting it shatter in to pieces, "WHAT THE BLEEDING HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU BLOODY WOMEN! WHAT THE HELL DOES IT TAKE, WHY DO YOU BITCHES TORTURE ME!"

Eris flinched in fear at his sudden explosion of anger and tried to back up, scared that he would hurt her even with the chip still in his brain. He had noticed the reaction and stopped screaming as loudly, even if he was angry with her, he didn't want to hurt her. He had thoughts of letting Drusilla free to eat Eris if she denied him, but he couldn't do that to the women he claimed to love, "I-I'm at the end of my bleeding tether, you know, I-I don't know why I even bother, you know, it's your fault," he said as he pointed at Dru, "you're the one to blame for all this you know."

"Am I?" she replied dryly

"BLOODY RIGHT YOU ARE! IF YOU HADN'T LEFT ME FOR THAT CHAOS DEMON I NEVER WOULD HAVE COME BACK HERE! NEVER WOULD HAVE HAD THIS SODDING CHIP IN MY SKULL!" he turned to Eris, "And you, wouldn't be able to touch me because this, with you is wrong, I know it, not a complete idiot. You think I like having you in here, destroying everything that was me till all that's left is you in a dead shell, and I can't figure out if you even feel the same, you fuck me then leave me to go flirt with some other human," he began pacing the space between the two women, his mind running in overdrive as he tried to simmer his rage, "you know, Dru, I should kill you for what you've caused. Burn you, cut you up into little bits so there won't be any more shit for Spike to de-" he was cut off by an arrow stabbing into his back and making him fall to the ground in pain.

"Spike!" Eris gasped in surprise, worried that it managed to pierce his heart. She quickly looked behind him to see Harmony holding a crossbow.

"What about me Spike? You forget about me again? The actual girlfriend."

"You're dating Harmony?" Eris felt a bad taste in her mouth. Did he cheat on Harmony with her? She didn't really care to much about that but the thought of him being with another women didn't feel nice. They never agreed to be exclusive, but now she wished she did.

"I gave you, some of the best bunch of months in my life," Harmony walked up and smashed Spike in the face with the crossbow.

"That's right little girl" said Drusilla, "teach our naughty boy a lesson."

"Leave him alone!" Eris shouted, not wanting to join in on the Spike attack.

"Oh so my exs are ganging up on me…" They heard Spike muttered into the dirt.

"So i'm an ex now huh? I thought I could change you Spike," Harmony continued, "I thought maybe if I gave and I gave and gave and gave maybe you'd come around, maybe be a little nicer, stop treating me like your dog," she notched another arrow and aimed it at him, ready to end his existence, "but now I see it's you, you're the dog who needs to be put-" whilst she monologued, Spike rushed up and tackled her before she could fire. He punched her in the face and quickly threw the crossbow away so they would fight just with their fists.

Whilst they were in a fight, Eris used the distraction to try yanking on the chains, hoping the pillars were brittle enough that she could yank the chains off them. Unfortunately it seems that Drusilla thought of the same idea as she managed to get untied faster than Eris did. When the vampire was free, she raced over to the chained woman and started to attack her. Eris did her best to block and hit the woman back but with her limited movement it was a struggle. Drusilla eventually grabbed her by the throat which made Spike stop his attack on Harmony and run to her aid before his ex could kill her. He threw Dru away and quickly grabbed the key out of his pocket to unlock Eris' chains.

Drusilla now saw where his loyalty lied, and she was truly saddened by his betrayal, "poor Spike, so lost, even I can't help you now," she looked like she was about to cry as she turned and walked into the shadows, disappearing from view. It would be the last time he would see Drusilla, she would never return to the town where chaos would one day be free.

"Oh Spikey," said Harm as she pointed to her ass, making Eris roll her eyes, "and you can say goodbye to this, because you're not gonna see it anymore…unless you run into me somewhere and it's me walking away from you…but even then, I'll probably just…you know, back away," she did just that and left the room.

"My ass is better," Eris muttered to herself with a roll of her eyes. After she had dusted off her clothes, she turned to Spike and punched him in the face before leaving the crypt.

"Ow! What the hell!" he clutched his nose in pain for a few moments before realising Eris had left after attacking him and instead quickly chased after her, "Eris come back!"

"No! Leave me alone!" she shouted in response and kept moving, she didn't want to be anywhere near him or the crypt.

"Eris please!" he hurried up to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop and holding her in place as she tried to get away.

"Let go!"

"No! We need to talk!" He kept a strong hold on her until she stopped thrashing around, she was not leaving him, he wouldn't let her, not until he got her to understand.

She didn't know what to do, he was too strong for her to escape but that annoying part of her that wanted to hear him out eventually made her calm down, "fine…talk."

"We have something, Eris. It's not pretty, but it's real and there's nothing either one of us can do about it."

"Spike, you teamed up with Drusilla to knock me out and tie me up! How am I meant to feel!"

"I know that was wrong, and I can't take that back. Drusilla brings out the worst in me, but she's gone now!"

"Can you truly say you love me? After you did something like that to me?...You scared me in there, I thought you were going to hurt me…"

He saw the sadness on her face and was consumed in guilt, he took it too far, as he always did. She wasn't a vampire who would find those action exciting, she's human, and he hurt her, "Eris…I love you, I do, I don't know how else to say it, please…"

"I really did start to grow feelings for you, more than the infatuation I told you about all those months ago. I'm not at the stage where I love you, but I could have seen myself growing to but…after that, I don't know if I can."

Hs heart bloomed with hope, there was a chance, if he could make her see that they could be together then she could one day love him like he loved her, "you still can, you can still grow to love me, I would spend every day trying to get you to love me, just give me a chance."

"I want to, I do, but I…give me some time, I need to think and calm down. I was so scared and helpless in there and I don't think its smart of me to make a decision."

He felt the hope die a little, but he still had a chance, he just needed to be careful, he couldn't scare her away by pushing too much. Some time, yes, he would give her some time, "I can give space, sure, as long as you actually think about it."

"I will, I promise."

"Can I at least walk you home?"

"Yea, you can do that."