Chapter Three
 
“Okay. So what do we need to know, who do we need to beat up or slay, and what the hell was that dragon doing?”  Buffy stared at Angel, who sighed and stood up straighter.
 
“Buffy… about Spike—” 
 
She held up her hand. “No personal stuff. Not till we’ve accomplished our mission. Then we will have that conversation – trust me.” She let her disappointment and anger show just long enough to make him nod and lower his head, then she continued, “But right now I want to know the whole situation.”
 
“Pretty simple, really. The Senior Partners – which are sort of the evil version of the Powers That Be – were pretty pissed of at us for taking down the Circle of Black Thorn. Thanks to Ilyria, Spike and I somehow survived the demon army they threw at us, but when she opened a portal and took most of the army with her to… who the hell knows… we still had a lot of demons left behind. Somebody, probably the Senior Partners, but we don’t know for sure, slammed a glamor on the city and cut it off from the rest of the world.  The demons left behind are still squabbling with the ones already living here, the vampires are mad because the demons are running things, and the humans have to worry about being swept up by demon slavers.
 
“We’ve been saving as many as we can get to – with help from the dragon - but we’re outnumbered. So without Cordy’s help—”
 
“Cordelia Chase is a dragon?” 
 
Angel gave Buffy a sad glare that showed her how much they were no longer in each other’s lives.
 
“Cordy is dead,” he said flatly. “The dragon seems to have some of her… essence… and it helps us when it can.”
 
Sam nudged the girl next to her. “Does anybody else feel like we’ve stepped into somebody else’s soap opera?”
 
Matching glares from Buffy and Angel had her stepping behind her companion and drawing an imaginary zipper across her mouth.
 
“You’ll get used to it, Sam,” Faith said as she re-entered the room. When Buffy raised a questioning eyebrow, she continued, “Your honey is watching for the portal to reopen so Julie doesn’t have to worry about what might be waiting for her when she comes back.”  Faith smiled at Angel.  “I take it not all the vamps know you keep the door locked.”
 
He shrugged. “The demons have mostly learned they can’t get in, but the vampires know we have people in here, so every once in a while one thinks he’s going to get in and help himself and we have to teach him a lesson.”
 
“And who usually hands out that lesson?”
 
“Spike does. He likes that kind of stuff.” Angel shrugged. “I’d just as soon pick them off with a crossbow and be done with it, but—”
 
“But he’s more a hands-on kinda guy. Yeah. I guess I should have remembered that from Sunnydale.” She rubbed her jaw. “Packs a mean wallop when he’s pissed off.”
 
“You fought with Spike?”  Angel looked back and forth between Faith and Buffy. “Why? I thought you were all together against the First.”
 
“There was a… misunderstanding… about B here, and he was defending her honor, or something.” Faith looked uncomfortable for a few seconds, but Buffy said nothing about having been kicked out of her own home and the moment passed.  “It was no big deal. Everybody kissed and made up, and Blondie used that gaudy jewelry to close the hellmouth and be a hero. Win – win.”
 
“That’s why he came out of the amulet,” Angel mused. “We wondered.”
 
“He didn’t tell you? That he wore it and burned up closing the hellmouth?” Buffy stared at Angel in shock.
 
“He said he died a hero, and on fire. I didn’t know you’d given him that amulet to wear, and he never mentioned it, so I didn’t make the connection.  I figured he was just exaggerating what happened to him. I’m surprised Wes or Fred didn’t pick up on it though….”
 
“He was my champion,” Buffy said softly, ignoring the way Angel visibly flinched at that quiet declaration. “And then he… died… and I didn’t know—” She shook herself, noticing that Angel had flinched again but opting not to pursue it in front of the girls.  “So, where are these people we need to get back into the real world?”
 
“They’re downstairs in the basement. It’s safer down there if anything gets in and goes looking for them. They’ve got weapons and they can defend themselves when there’s only one way in.”
 
“Okay, well, somebody needs to tell them we’re here and that they can leave as soon as we know when the portal will be available.”
 
“I’ll go give them a heads-up,” Angel said, seeming relieved to have a reason to get out of the room.
 
 
XXXXXXXXX
 
 
The slayers had wandered off to explore the hotel and its rooms, promising to keep an eye on their communicators in case they were needed. Faith shrugged and asked Buffy, “You want to take this break to go settle things with William-the-in-deep-shit-Bloody? I can stay here till Angel gets back.”
 
Buffy sighed. “I guess we need to talk. At least enough to be sure we aren’t going to screw up something important by getting into a fight at the wrong time.”  She smiled at Faith. “Thanks.”
 
“Hey, it’s in everybody’s best interest to have you two working together and not walking on eggshells around each other. No biggie.”
 
“Your version of self-defense, huh?” Buffy snorted.
 
“You got it. If you get mad at each other, at least maybe you’ll be able to take it out on something evil.”
 
“Relationship advice from you,” Buffy said, shaking her head but giving Faith a grateful smile. “We really are in an alternate dimension.”
 
“Up yours, B. Just self-preservation.”
 
Buffy lifted her hand in a wave and walked toward the loading dock.
 
 
XXXXXXXXXX
 
 
She squared her shoulders when she got to the door, taking a deep breath and reaching for the handle.  “I can do this,” she muttered to herself. “We can have a conversation without yelling.”
 
“You sure about that, Slayer?”
 
She jumped when she heard Spike’s voice, having forgotten about his keen hearing.  He was leaning against the wall of the building, smoking a cigarette and seemingly relaxed. But she could see the tension in his shoulders and she forced herself to remain calm. 
 
“Well, I know why I want to yell at you… or maybe beat you to a bloody pulp,” she said, taking an equally casual stance against the opposite wall. “But I don’t know why you should yell at me. I’m not the one who left somebody who loved me to grieve for over a year because she thought I was dead!” 
 
In spite of her resolve, Buffy’s voice had risen as she spoke. By the time she finished speaking, she was standing up straight and glaring at him with damp eyes. She blinked rapidly to hold back the tears that had caught her by surprise, and slumped back against the wall, keeping her glare on Spike’s face as his expression went back and forth between anguish and anger. It settled on anger.
 
“I already said I’m sorry about that, Slayer,” he said, his voice low and controlled. “I figured Andrew would have told you, or someone from the Council of Wankers would have heard about it. And when you didn’t show up… and then wouldn’t help us when we asked—”
 
“When you asked? When did you ask us for help? And it’s the Council of Slayers and Wank—Watchers, thank you very much.  “You didn’t even try to tell us about this!” Buffy waved her hand around to indicate the situation. “We had to learn about it from rumors.”
 
Spike straightened up and growled. “You wouldn’t trust us to take care of Dana – sent a squad of slayers with the idiot to pick her up.  You wouldn’t let Red help out when sweet little Fred was being kicked out of her own body so an Old One could set up housekeeping in there…. Even if we’d been able to contact anybody outside, why would we expect you to help us? You didn’t trust us before, why would you now?”
 
“We didn’t trustAngel!  I didn’t even know you were here until last week.” She lowered her voice, which had started to rise again. “Why didn’t I know, Spike? Even if you didn’t love me anymore, you could have at least let me know you were alive.”
 
Before he could respond, she continued, her voice firmer, “And anyway, I’ll tell you the same thing I told Giles when he said you and Angel might both be dead by now – this city is full of innocent human beings who are trapped here because of something you and Angel did. Even if you were both dust, I’d want to save the city I was born in.  We’re slayers. It’s what we do.”
 
She faced him, chin high and gaze firm, watching as he shut his eyes as if in pain.
 
“Buf—“ He sighed and flicked his cigarette into the alley. Standing up straight again, he walked toward her, never taking his eyes off her proud gaze. Ignoring her flinch, he put his hands on her shoulders and rested his forehead against hers. “Thought we’d already said what needed saying. I still love you. How could you doubt it? Was brassed off to think you weren’t willing to help us, but just thought I’d had my time with you and you’d moved on. If I’d had any idea you were grieving, or even missing me….” He raised his head and shook it slowly. “I love you, and it sounds like you—like you still care about me. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all that matters. Can grovel some more, if it would help, but I can’t change anything. All I can do is whatever I can to help fix this mess.”
 
“I don’t want to fight,” she said. “I mean, I want to kick your ass for being such an idiot, but not right now. Right now, I just want to be happy you’re alive, and here.”
 
“I am here, love. Never doubt it.”  He lowered his head again to brush his lips over hers. “And I’ll be happy to prove it to you as soon as we are someplace private.”
 
Buffy’s giggle broke off as a sound behind them brought them both whirling to face the now-open portal and a smirking Julie.
 
“Did I interrupt something?” she asked, trying to appear innocent.  She paid no attention to Spike’s growl, waving the supplies she’d brought back with her. “Got a dry erase board and markers so we can leave messages. And if they have something complicated to tell us, they’ll make a small portal and just shove a note through it.” She looked dubious for a second. “I guess that means somebody’s going to have to be here all the time so a message doesn’t just blow away—”
 
“Or get picked up by the wrong person or thing,” Spike added. “This alley stays pretty clear, but it’s not demon or vamp proof.”
 
“All right, we’ll work that out.  What did they say about getting the rescued people out?”
 
“Jeannie said they can do it.  She said to give them about a hour to get set up, and then have the people ready to go as soon as the portal opens.”
 
“Okay. That’s it, then. Let’s start lining them up so we can hustle them out as soon as it opens.  Julie, just leave the board and markers here inside the barrier and come with me to help me explain.”  Buffy turned to go back inside, pausing when Spike put a hand on her arm.
 
“Are we good, then?”
 
Buffy shrugged and put a hand on his cheek. “As could as we can be right now. We’ll be better.”
 
He leaned into her hand, turning his head to kiss her palm. “Lookin’ forward to it, love.”  He followed the two girls into the hotel, stopping to replace the bar when the door was safely closed.
 
Faith looked up with quirked eyebrow when she saw them. “So, you went for kiss him first and then kill him?”
 
Buffy flushed and Spike laughed. “So, that was the decision to make? Kiss me or kill me?”
 
“More or less,” Buffy muttered. “Just keep in mind, I haven’t done either one yet, so my options are still open.”
 
“Duly noted, pet,” he said, his grin showing how unconcerned he was.
 
Behind Buffy’s back, Faith gave him a thumbs up, earning herself a growl from Angel as he entered the kitchen.  
 
“I know you didn’t just growl at me, asshole,” Faith said, narrowing her eyes at him.  “Just so you know, B and I divided up the vampire ass-kicking duties, and I got you. Neither one of us is forgetting that you could have hollered for help and maybe prevented this mess.”
 
“The only time we asked for help, your boss turned us down,” Angel said with a snarl. “He said you didn’t trust us.” He turned he glare on Buffy.
 
“I’ve already had this conversation with Spike. I didn’t trust you,” Buffy said. “I would have trusted Spike if he called. But I never turned down a request for help.  I don’t know who you talked to, but it wasn’t me, it wasn’t Faith, and it wasn’t Willow, and we don’t have a ‘boss’.”
 
“Well, Giles seems to think he’s still running things,” Angel said. “Wes called him and begged for Willow or somebody with magic skills to come help us save Fred. He got turned down flat. Giles made it sound as if they were your orders.”
 
Buffy and Faith exchanged identical furious looks. Faith smacked one hand into the other. “That wasn’t his decision to make. Just like not sending us here to help you fight the Senior Partners wasn’t his decision to make.” She smacked her hands together again. “I hope he wasn’t planning to live to a ripe old age. I don’t think he’s got that in his future…”
 
There was a long silence in the room as Buffy, Faith, Angel, and Spike dealt with knowledge that things could have gone so differently for everyone.  The other slayers stared at them, shocked to hear Faith threaten the life of the man who as far as they knew, was the head of the Watcher side of the Council.
 
Finally, after several minutes of reflection, Angel sighed. “Much as I would like to see Giles suffer, I think we all have to take some responsibility here. I could have told you Spike was here,” he said to Buffy, before turning to Faith. “And I could have told you both what I was doing at Wolfram and Hart, and that it could go wrong in so many ways.” He shifted his gaze to Spike. “And you, you coward, you could have ignored me and just gone to her as soon as you could leave LA. Or at least called her and told her you were here and what was going down.”
 
Spike nodded, not meeting Buffy’s eyes.
 
Buffy started to speak, but Angel cut her off. “And you could have kept in touch. You could have told me…. I wouldn’t have tried to keep him here if I’d known you were hurting. I really thought you’d moved on and….” He shook his head.
 
“So, am I the only one who hasn’t done something to apologize for? Hey, that’s a first. I’m the good girl.” Faith looked very pleased with herself. “If everybody’s through taking the blame here, can we get started fixing it?”
 
“Right.” Spike spoke first. “We need to get our guests upstairs and ready to dive through when that portal opens. Then we can talk about Big Bads and how to get to them.”