Spike closed the handbook and placed it gently on the nightstand so he wouldn’t wake the passed out Slayer sleeping soundly next to him. He stared at the red light glowing from the clock next to them. 3:30 AM. They’d been reading all night.
Bugger. Not used to this sleep cycle…still a nocturnal creature, even if I can go into the bloody sun.

Laying down for a moment, Spike couldn’t find a comfortable position. When his stomach growled in frustration, he realized why, and quietly stalked out of the room in search of sustenance, never noticing the erratic movements Buffy was making in her sleep, nor hearing the words she mumbled out as she had a conversation with her dream-visitor. Spike easily found his way to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator, and was pleased to find a veritable stockpile of human blood.

Of course Peaches would have the best…bloody Poofter probably pays for it and everything. Git.

Tossing a bag of O negative into the microwave, Spike took to snooping around the kitchen drawers. A rustling noise behind him made him jump, and he turned, in full game face, to a groggy Xander.

“Geez, Dead Boy Jr., quick to the bitey, much? There are other people in this area, too, and we’re hungry.”

“We, Harris?”

Xander looked around himself and shrugged.

“Metaphorical ‘we.’”

“Right.”

“Yeah,” Xander said, crossing the kitchen and grabbing an apple from the counter. “Anyway…how was purgatory?”

Spike raised an eyebrow at him, then shrugged.

“Slayer and I had a pretty nice set-up. Just the two of us in her mum’s house.”

“What? Why there?”

“Dunno Guess the Powers thought it’d be comforting. We go back there when we die.”

“All of us?”

Xander rolled his eye at the blank stare he received.

“Stupid question, sorry. Just used to going there for so long with everyone….”

“I know, Whelp. Not a big deal,” Spike sighed, grabbing the warmed blood from the microwave and pouring it into a mug.

“So, they couldn’t have made you human while you were in purgatory?”

“Don’t want to be human.”

“What’s wrong with being human? Buffy’s human.”

“Buffy’s the Slayer.”

“Still human.”

“Part demon.”

“Not true.”

“Is so.”

“Is not!”

Willow cleared her throat as she entered the kitchen, raising her eyebrows and smiling, however meekly, at the bickering duo.

“I just came down for a sandwich….”

A brief moment of silence fell upon the trio, until laughter filled the kitchen. Spike shook his head and patted Xander on the back.

“Just like old times, eh, Whelp?”

Xander nodded.

“Oh yeah, we’re fighting, I have one eye, you’re uber-powerful and dating Buffy, who’s totally in love with you, and Sunnydale’s in a crater…so, nope, nothing’s changed.”

“Well, regardless, ‘s nice to be back.”

“Awww,” Xander said with a laugh, “Widdle Spikey missed us, Will!”

Willow suppressed her laugh, taking a bite of her egg salad sandwich.

“Mmmhmm.”

“So, how’s life in LA been for the lot of you? Can’t imagine living with the Poofter is much better than it was a hundred years ago. Bloke likes things just so.”

“Oh I know,” Willow said, her eyes bulging out slightly, “I think he has a seriously strange relationship with the Buddha.”

A rolling laugh echoed through Spike’s chest.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Red! Peaches still has it for the little fat bloke? God, I thought he stopped that years ago. Dru hated all the figures he carried with him. Always had a little gold statue in his pocket. Complained she wanted to be the only one in his pocket or some rot.”

Willow nodded.

“He dropped one about a month or so ago and flipped when I went to pick it up.”

“Yeah,” Xander offered, “he freaked when I moved one off of his desk.”

A small, female voice spoke from behind the group.

“And here I thought it was just me.”

The group turned to face Fred, Willow and Xander smiling at her. She nervously stuck her hand out at Spike.

“Um, hi, I’m Fred…we…we haven’t been properly introduced yet.”

Spike took her outstretched hand with a raise of his eyebrow.

“Fred?”

“Short for Winifred…it…it just seemed easier to say…oh, look,” she said, taking her hand back and moving towards Xander, “Apples!”

“Speaking of fruits,” Spike said, “Has anyone seen Peaches lately?”

--

Licking his lips, Angelus walked into Buffy and Spike’s room after listening to her slow breathing. Knowing she was asleep and hearing Spike’s voice downstairs, he walked, fearless, into the room. Caught up in his own smug joy, Angelus failed to notice Buffy grab the handbook off of the side table. He did, however, notice her accelerated heart rate.

“Good morning, lover. What’s got you so excited?”

Buffy stood, gripping the handbook tightly behind her, and inched her way closer to the drawn curtains covering the window.

“Nothing special…I always get this excited when the sun rises,” she said, pulling the curtains back.

Angelus yelled and ran for a blanket, allowing Buffy to sprint by him and out of the door. When he realized a moment later that no sunlight was pouring into the room, he chuckled, then took off after her.

“Nice try, bitch! I’ll make your end a little longer just for that!”

Still gripping the handbook close to her chest, Buffy ran towards the sounds of Spike’s voice. Focusing her energy and mind on contacting him, Buffy screamed to Spike.

“Spike! Angelus is back…get everyone out of here!”

“Bloody hell, pet, what’d you do?”

“Me? Nothing! Why is it always about me?”

“Well the last time he lost his bloody soul it was your sodding fault.”

“My fault? Excuse me? I was 18 and I didn’t know doing that would make him lose his soul.”

“Shouldn’t have shagged him in the first place.”

“Oh, yeah, so I should’ve waited for you? Need I remind you that you were shagging your ho-bag girlfriend while Angel and I were together? And that you were trying to kill me?”

“Never mind, love, where are you?”

“Look behind you.”

“Ha, bloody, ha, Slayer,” Spike said, turning around and facing the breathless Buffy.

“Where are they?”

“Dawn took them somewhere.”

An indignant look crossed Buffy’s face.

“She drove? You let her drive?”

“No…Red said that she and the Bit have been working on using her powers…they went to some safe realm…like a panic room or something, I wasn’t really listening, I had a bloody headache from someone yelling at me.”

“Shut up, he’ll be here any second.”

“So how are we going to do this, love, fisticuffs? Because I don’t see any weapons lying around the kitchen, unless you’re planning on basting the Poofter.”

Buffy held up the handbook and thrust it at Spike.

“I had a dream…check chapter five, it should give us answers on what to do with him.”

“Stake him?”

“Shut up and look!”

Angelus sauntered into the room, focusing his attention on Buffy’s heaving chest.

“Well, the last time I saw you that out of breath you were underneath me, lover.”

“Shut your gob,” Spike yelled, before turning his attention back to the book.

“Well, little Willy-boy has an opinion! Honestly, Buff, I don’t get what you see in him. He was a pathetic human, an even worse vampire, and now,” he chuckled, “Now that you’re both ‘ethereal’ beings…he’s reading a book instead of kicking my ass. You really know how to pick them.”

Buffy raised an eyebrow at Angelus, who was still focused on Spike. Grabbing the first utensil she could find, she heaved it at Angelus’ chest.

--