Reality Hits


Definitely some psychics around BSV of late...

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She was only four hours into her fourteen hour flight from Rome to LA, and she was already getting edgy. She didn’t really know what she was doing. It felt like someone else had been controlling her body as she had arrived at the airport this morning and booked herself on the first available flight. Only Dawn knew that she was leaving the country at all - and didn’t know why. As far as anyone else knew, she was AWOL right now. But she just didn’t care.

She had to see and the only way to see was to go to LA. Maybe Claudio had been wrong or maybe she hadn’t been listening properly, but she needed to know, because the possibility that Spike could be alive and walking around and… She forced herself to stop going down that train of thought because if he wasn’t there and this had all been a mistake, an illusion… she didn’t know how she’d go back to Rome and carry on with her life.

She was just numbly counting down the hours until she could be in LA. Angel would know what was going on, whatever the matter. She sighed and rested her head against the seat back, hoping to get some rest during the flight, despite her racing thoughts. She was just going to visit LA, that was all. And maybe she’d drop in on the Slayer HQ at San Francisco, see how things were holding up. After all, Willow was there and she hadn’t seen her best friend in at least a month. So, she was really going to visit Willow. And if she did happen to find a vampire miraculously back from the dead – or back from the dust – then she would deal with that when she got to it.



When the plane finally touched down in LAX, she gave a sigh of relief, glad that it was over. She was the first off the plane and out of the airport, with no luggage to claim – everything she had was in a small carry-on. She got into a cab just outside the airport and soon enough, they were caught up in LA’s traffic. By now, her heart was hammering, her palms were sweating and she was fidgeting nervously, drumming her fingers against her knees. She just wanted to be there already. She had never been good at waiting but this was agony.

Just knowing that he might be there… And what if he was, she asked herself pointedly. What was she going to do? Just pretend that the last six months hadn’t happened? She didn’t even know what he had been through. Maybe he had been trapped in hell and had been brought back. Would he still know her? She didn’t even know how long he had been back. And just like that, a thought steeled into her mind that almost had her halting the cab. He hadn’t told her he was back. Maybe he didn’t even want her to know.

A cold icy hand encircled her heart but she shook it away angrily. If he didn’t want her to know, then he shouldn’t have come to Rome. If it even was him. If this wasn’t all some sort of horrible nightmare. And once again, her thoughts were going in circles and her head was beginning to hurt from it all. She was going to go crazy before she reached Wolfram & Hart at this rate.



Finally, they pulled up in front of the large building and somewhat hesitantly, she got out and looked up at the huge glass building in front of her. Wow, Angel really had gone up in the world. Literally, she mused, as she remembered his little basement flat in the hotel. Taking a deep breath, she strode down the main path and walked into the building. A vague ominous feeling settled around her as she stepped into the building but she shook it off and made for the reception desk.

A blonde woman – correction, vampire – was shuffling around in a low drawer but as she got to the desk, she righted herself and gave Buffy a wide smile. And just as quickly, her expression turned to one of shock as the two women recognised each other.

“Slayer!”

“Harmony!”

She stood there staring at the vampiress for a long moment of silence. Looked like Angel wasn’t the only one who’d gone up in the world.

“You can’t stake me!” Harmony got out, “I work for Angel.”

“I’m not going to stake you,” she answered numbly, shifting her bag between her hands awkwardly, “I’m here to see Angel.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll buzz up and ask him-“

“No,” she interrupted quickly on some unknown impulse, “Maybe you could just direct me?”

Harmony narrowed her eyes at her, one hand on the phone.

“I want it to be a surprise,” Buffy added with a smile and finally, Harmony moved her hand from the phone and nodded.

“Okay, well just go up to the twelfth floor. He should be in his office. It’s the big one at the end.”

“Right, thanks.”



She turned to move towards the elevators but paused for a moment, putting on a casual look of curiosity as she turned back to Harmony.

“Oh and Harmony… Is Spike in?”

Without even looking up from the file in front of her, Harmony nodded.

“He should be. He’s probably in Angel’s office too. They’ll probably be playing that stupid Z-Box thingy,” she added with a huff, “It’s all they ever seem to do.”

Her heart had stopped beating, she was sure. She turned away stiffly, forcing one foot in front of the other. She was half-tempted to pump Harmony for more information but now she knew he was really here… in the same building. She had to stop for a moment, leaning up against a wall and breathing heavily. He was really here. He was alive and playing some stupid game with Angel…

It hit her all of a sudden and she had to put all of her weight on the wall as the reality of it hit her. Spike, who had burned up on the Hellmouth, was back. The vampire she had declared her love to while everything was falling apart around them was alive – well, undead – and just a few floors above her head… And he hadn’t wanted her to know.