The black convertible sped along the freeway. Angel and Buffy were in the front and Cordelia and Wesley were in the back, sound asleep. Buffy's head was feeling better after a couple aspirin and some food. She was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open, but whenever she shut them, they just popped open again.

She hadn't said anything yet to Angel about her and Spike, which she knew was so not a good idea. She needed to let him know before they got to Sunnydale. She just wasn't sure how. And it certainly wasn't because she was ashamed of her relationship with Spike. She loved the younger vampire, but at the same time she still cared for Angel and didn't want to hurt him.

Finally gathering her courage up she said, "Angel, there's something else you need to know before we get to Sunnydale."

"What's that, Buffy?" Angel asked gently. He felt terrible about everything the girl he loved had been put through the last few hours. He'd do whatever was necessary to help her.

"Uh, it's about me. And Spike."

Angel frowned. "Spike? What about him? Oh. Did you dust him?" Angel's voice was gentle, understanding. "I'm not happy to hear that, of course. He was a part of my family after all, but I understand, Buffy. You're the Slayer, he was evil, so..."

"Uh, no, Angel," Buffy interrupted. "I haven't dusted him."

"Then what, Buffy?" Angel asked, more than a little confused.

"Spike and I are...together," Buffy said, looking anxiously at the large, dark-haired vampire.

The car swerved across two lanes of roadway almost plowing into the guardrail on the far side of the highway. Cordelia and Wesley slid across the backseat coming awake with grunts and exclamations.

"What do you mean, 'together'?" Angel asked through gritted teeth, getting the car back under
control. "Tell me you don't mean in a romantic sense. Please tell me that."

Buffy swallowed nervously. Man, this was every bit as hard as she had thought it would be.

"Yes, I mean in a romantic sense. Spike and I love each other, Angel."

"What?" two voices from the backseat screeched. "Buffy, you cannot be serious," Cordelia protested. "Spike? You're in love with Spike? Crazy stalker, tried to kill you a dozen times Spike?"

Buffy twisted around to look at her friend. Nodding her head she said, "We've been together since, well since before Thanksgiving last year."

Looking at Angel, she said, "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner to you, Angel, but I wasn't sure exactly what to say."

"Yeah," Cordelia snarked. "Plus you wanted Angel to help you which maybe he wouldn't have done had he known you've been getting all horizontal with Spike."

"That's enough, Cordelia," Angel said coldly. "Who Buffy sleeps with is obviously her own business. We'll just take her to Giles and then head back home. I'm sure Spike is more than man enough to give her any further help she needs. That is if he's not too busy killing and terrorizing the citizens of Sunnydale."

Now Buffy was getting angry. "He doesn't kill or terrorize or feed or any of the other nasty things you're thinking," she snapped. "He's done nothing but help me since he returned to Sunnydale last November."

Angel took his eyes off the road to stare at her. "He's just been back in Sunnydale since November and you were involved with him by Thanksgiving? What took you so long?"

"Angel, road!" Cordelia snapped as the convertible almost drifted into the car in the next lane. Angel returned his attention to his driving, but Buffy could feel his seething anger.

"Angel, please," Buffy said trying to be conciliatory. She knew that he was hurt, and she knew that there was no way he could ever understand. Hell, she and Spike had been together for months now and they still didn't understand. "I didn't tell you to hurt you, please believe that. But I'm not ashamed of my feelings for Spike, everyone knows about us, and I didn't want you to be blindsided by it. I know I should have told you back at your office, and I was a coward not to. Please just try to understand."

Angel was silent for a long time. "I'd like to say that as long as you're happy, I'm happy, Buffy," he said at last, "but I will never be happy for you as long as you're with Spike. He's evil, pure and simple. The biggest favor I could do for you is kill him as soon as I see him."

"Try it, Angel, and you'll be dust before the stake ever gets near him."

Angel looked at her in surprise. He had never heard Buffy speak to him in such a cold, calm voice, not even when he had been Angelus. One glance into her eyes and he realized that she was deadly serious.

"Very well, Buffy. It's your life and the lives of those you love you're putting in jeopardy. When he turns on you, don't say I didn't warn you."

The rest of the trip was made in silence.

***

A loud pounding on his door awakened Giles. Rising from the couch he went to open it aware that Xander and Spike were right behind him. Flinging open the portal, he was surprised to see Angel standing there.

"Angel? What?" Before he could say anything else, Angel stepped aside to reveal Faith standing behind him. "Faith!" he said in astonishment. She started to step into the apartment only to be met by the demon visage of one very brassed off vampire.

"You bitch!" he growled grabbing her roughly. "What've you done to Buffy?"

Angel reacted instinctively, pulling Spike off of Buffy, throwing him against the wall and lifting a stake pulled from his pocket. Before he could even begin to make the downstroke, he found himself being thrown across the living room. Looking up, he saw Buffy standing in front of Spike, a murderous gleam in her eyes. "I warned you, Angel," she ground out.

Spike was staring in astonishment at his grandsire, lying in a tumbled heap in the middle of the living room floor, then turned his attention to the infuriated Slayer standing so protectively in front of him. He took in her stance, the way she held her body, the tilt of her head and said, "Buffy?"

Buffy turned to him, her eyes shining with joy. Spike stepped forward, grabbed her head in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. "Sweetheart, is that you?" Buffy nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face as her lover gathered her to him in a crushing embrace. "God, baby, what did that bitch do to you?" Spike asked tremulously. Pushing her back again and looking closely at her he said, "Are you all right? Did those bastard Watchers hurt you? I'll kill them, love, I swear I will."

Buffy just laughed and cried and hugged him to her again. Spike knew her! Without her having to say anything to him at all, he knew her.

***

Giles had never had so many people in his house before. Cups of tea and coffee were on every available surface. Xander had made a doughnut run and Angel and Spike were drinking mugs of warmed pig's blood. Angel watched stony-faced as Buffy curled up tightly next to Spike, his arm wrapped possessively around her shoulder. Joyce sat on Buffy's other side, clasping her daughter's hand and the two witches sat on the floor in front of her eagerly listening to Buffy's story.

Giles had wanted to place a call to Quentin Travers to let him know that Faith, or at least Faith's body, was in Sunnydale, but Buffy had been adamant that she didn't want him to know anything about her, or Faith's, whereabouts.

"He was going to have Faith killed, Giles. No trial, no hearing, just an execution. I'm not saying that Faith doesn't deserve punishment for the murders she committed, but she deserves a trial first."

"Not only that, Watcher," Spike interjected, "but what's to stop those wankers from sending their murder squad to Sunnydale to take out Faith while she's still in Buffy's body. I'm sure it doesn't matter one whit to them, just as long as they get their new Slayer."

That argument, more than any other, kept him from the phone.

As Buffy finished her tale, Willow looked to Giles and said, "So we were right. A Draconian Katra spell."

"A Drawhoian Catnip spell?" Buffy asked.

"A Draconian Katra spell," Wesley lectured pedantically. "Katra, taken from the ancient Egyptian word 'Ka', meaning spirit or life force, although perhaps in this case personality is closer. The Ka in Egyptian mythology was believed to be able to enter a double, thereby animating it. This spell exchanged the personalities of you and Faith including all memories and mannerisms, everything that makes up a person's individuality. Quite fascinating really. I'd love to study the two of you together once we've caught up with Faith."

Buffy just looked at him without expression and then said to her Watcher, "So, Giles, how do we undo this? No offense to Faith's body, but I prefer my own."

Spike nuzzled into her neck and said, "So do I, pet."

Giles ignored the vampire's by-play and said to the two witches, "Do you feel rested enough to try the conjuration spell?"

Willow and Tara exchanged glances and nodded their agreement.

"Excellent. Let's get started then."