~*~

Willow was coming home. Tara and Xander had gone topick her up from the hospital while Giles, Angel and Buffy put the finishing touches on the small welcome home party they had put together at the last minute.

Willow was especially happy to hear that Tara was moving back in with her as well. They still had issues to work through, but Willow’s near miss had decided the issue. Their problems hadn’t gone away, but they would work through them together.

The last few days had been frustrating. Doc was not an easy demon to track. So far none of the Scoobies had been able to locate him. The hunt for the hard-to-kill demon continued, as did the search for Spike.

Angel had been on the phone to LA and had his team looking into things at their end. He had also had some conversations with his son Connor. Cordy was inclined to think the physical separation between father and son was a good one.

Holtz, not knowing that Angel was out of town, had committed suicide and attempted to make it look like Angel had murdered him. When the AI team had proven to Connor that Angel was in Sunnydale at the time, the boy began to reevaluate his "father" and his vendetta against Angel. All was not yet right, but the situation was far more promising than it had been before Angel left LA.

Buffy spent a lot of time by herself. She was like a woman possessed in search of the demon that had caused her death and was behind the disappearance of her current love. She didn’t talk to the gang any further about the relationship she had had with Spike or the one she was now thinking she very much wanted to have with him.

Buffywent over and over in her mind the details she had avoided for so long. She was beginning to see Spike for who he was instead of the role she had cast him in to keep from making any emotional connection.

What Giles had told her made her realize that there was nothing sick or perverted in loving Spike, vampire or no. Tara’s words she had taken to heart as well.

Spike as a man or vampire had plenty of qualities that would cause a woman to love him. Buffy felt she had arrived at a place of peace within herself that she had not known since Angel had left and she had closed her heart off from hurt.

Buffy hoped that Willow could at least come up with some magic that might help them to locate Doc and more importantly, Spike. Will might not actually perform the magic, but she could use her knowledge and Tara and Giles could take it from there. Tara was a powerful witch, after all, and Giles had dabbled in sorcery in his checkered youth.

"Welcome home!" the group shouted to their pale but happy friend.

"You can’t believe how glad I am to get out of that place. Jello and Willow? Not a good mix anymore. I am so sick of it, I don’t think I’ll ever eat another jiggly cube!", Willow exclaimed.

"Oh, I guess then I should toss the cherry jello surprise I fixed for the welcome party, huh?", Buffy teased. "Okay, not a good bluff since we all know I don’t know how to make jello."

"Cake, we have cake! And pizza, too, all the yummy goodness that doesn’t make it onto hospital trays", added Xander.

"Wow, streamers too. I feel so special. I am so glad to be home. I think I squeed the nurse the other day when she came in and saw me kissing Tara. I think her brain nearly exploded at the idea of gay incestuous sisters. Much better being with people who love me and know me. If you ever see me grab onto another jet-pack-carrying bad guy, you have my permission to hit me! But I can’t take too many hits on the noggin before I start to show some signs of damage, let me tell you".

"You got lucky this time, Willow. You must not take chances like that in the future", said Giles. He looked at the girl in concern. She was a powerful witch, but the magics had begun to overtake her. In her need to be of help to Buffy, she had nearly been killed.

The magic would always be a part of her. Maybe it was time for Willow to learn how to properly use it without allowing it to use her. It seemed unlikely she would cease in her efforts to help with Buffy’s work and magic could be a powerful weapon in the battles that always seemed to come. It would be a shame to lose such a powerful tool.

Giles would need to speak to Willow soon about the plan to have her meet the Devon coven and learn how to use the power that coursed through her. Perhaps both she
and Tara could come over to England for the summer, he thought.

The party had been kept short so as not to overtire the convalescent. Willow swore that she was just fine and up for anything. "I’m tired of sleeping. I want to be Research Girl, at least. Tara told me you aren’t having much luck finding Spike and that you believe he’s in some kind of danger. I should have known something was up with that Sam Finn. No one is that nice and perfect. She was one of these ‘Mary Sue’ girls, like in bad Doogie Howser fanfiction. I think I can find a spell Tara can use to see if we can locate Spike’s life force. I mean he’s a vampire and dead and all, but there is still an energy around him that we should be able to trace".

"Yes, that would help a lot". Buffy’s expression was filled with hope and gratitude. "I want to find that demon Doc, too. And I have to know what Riley has to do with this whole mess. I’m really worried that Spike is in danger. Riley always had such a black and white view of demons, vampires especially, and he hated Spike. I’m afraid we need to find him fast or it will be too late".

"Buffy, it is possible that Spike is no longer an issue. I hate to say this in light of all that you’ve told me, but it’s a very real possibility that it was too late from the start", Giles softly said.

"He has to be alright! It wouldn’t be fair for me to finally realize I’m in love with him and then have him gone forever! I can’t allow myself to believe that. We’ll find Spike and he’ll be fine. I’ll make up for all the crap I dealt him this year and everything will be right".

Buffy stared into the faces of the shocked Scoobies and the smirking face of Angel. "Kind of had that one figured. I had a feeling that Spike had managed to work himself into your heart when you called me for help. I warned you all in the beginning, he just doesn’t give up until he gets what he wants. Doesn’t hurt that he’s got a pretty face either", Angel said.

"Not exactly the future I thought you would have when I said goodbye, though", Angel went on. There’s nothing ‘normal’ about Spike. If I had known you were going to fall for another vampire, especially him, I might have stayed".

Buffy stared at her first love in amazement. "You would have stayed? Why? Is your curse fixed? Could we be together? We broke up for a reason, Angel. Without a soul, you are evil. And when we are happy, you lose that soul. Spike doesn’t have that problem. We can make each other happy without leaving a trail of corpses".

All of the Scoobies held their breath, expecting an argument of gigantic proportions to ensue. To their surprise, Angel began to laugh.

"It will take a bit of a monster to keep up with you, Buffy. Good for Spike. At least I know he’s capable of devotion. He stayed faithful to Dru for over a century. Took good care of her, too. You could do worse. I used to hate it that he was corrupted with human emotions, but now I’m glad of it. Maybe with him around you’ll live to retirement age. He’s a good one in a fight and will do anything for someone he loves. Let’s keep looking and hope for the best".

"See, time for the witch to get crackin’. Book crackin’, that is", quipped Willow.

~~~

Spike was dragged back to his small cell after Riley finished taking out all his pent-up aggression on him. Finn had more than gotten even with the vampire for everything that had happened from their first meeting through Spike having brought him to the floor a few hours before. Spike wasn’t sure that brief moment of victory over his captor was worth the hours of pain he would be experiencing, but it had felt wonderful at the time.

When Spike was chained and left alone the voice began again. "Spike, you can survive this. You have experienced worse. You must stay strong if you are to return to your lady and make certain she lives a long life. You need to accept the blood, even if it is drugged. You have got to heal if you can hope to fight back again".

"Sod off, Virgil, or whoever you are. ‘M too tired to be anything right now. Save the pep talk, just let me sleep and bugger off", Spike muttered.

Riley headed for the clinic to get his hands bandaged. Much as he had enjoyed knocking Spike senseless, his hands were showing the results in a painful way. Breaking bones was harsh business for both parties when using bare hands.

"Ri, what the hell happened to your hands?", asked Sam Walsh as she passed the Colonel in the corridor.

"Just had a little dance with my favorite vampire, Sam. What are you doing here?"

"I came for some aspirin. I’ve got a bit of a headache, nothing serious. Riley, I thought we were going to go after the Slayer, too. Why don’t you just finish up on Spike and we can get back to capturing Buffy for the team to check out. You know I really want that. She’s the one that caused Mother to be killed and her work to be discredited, after all".

"In time, Sam. The guys that used to be with the Watchers Council are pushing for it, too. They want to get rid of both Buffy and Faith so a decent slayer can be called. That’s one of the reasons why they left the Council. If we move too soon, Buffy will be on her guard. We have to play this part carefully or we’ll lose our chance. Buffy’s a smart girl, Sam".

"Is that the reason, or do you still carry a torch for the Slayer, Ri? You seem awful interested in torturing her newest boyfriend and not as interested in finishing the plan, if you ask me. You haven’t slept a whole night in months, you don’t eat enough to keep a small boy alive and you spend most of your time obsessing over that vampire. You should just stake him and be done with it".

"And while you’re here, are you going to get the doctor to look at your leg and find out why you’ve been limping?, Sam continued. Neither of them had been able to think of what injury Finn had incurred that had caused his noticeable limp and Sam was starting to worry.

"No, I don’t want to take the down time for tests right now. When all of this is finished, I’ll have it checked out. I’m fine, Sam, but thanks for caring". Riley gave her a little smile.

~~~

The mood at the Summers home was somber and quiet. Since Buffy had announced to the room that she’d given her heart to yet another vampire, her friends were at a loss as to what they could say that wouldn’t end in an ugly scene.

True, Xander had taken Willow’s words to heart and was not saying the many negative things that crossed his mind. Nonetheless, it was obvious that he was thinking
them and everyone was just waiting for him to let loose with his anticipated list of reasons why Spike was not now, nor ever, to be considered worthy of Buffy’s consideration, let alone love.

Willow leaned towards her lover and said, "Wanna make a bet which one will snap first? My money’s on Giles, ‘cause Xander would have by now if he was going to be the first."

Tara couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. She surprised Willow with her reply. "I don’t know. I think Mr. Giles has been expecting Buffy to admit the way she feels. I don’t think it’s a surprise at all. I’m surprised at Angel, though. Everything you’ve said about him made me think he’d really pop a cork."

"I think Angel may have moved on, too. I’d never have thought it would be to Cordy, but it looks like", Willow said.

"I never met Cordy, of course, but she sounds like she’s at least a little like Buffy, so maybe it was that part of her that attracted Angel at first", Tara said.

Angel glanced over at the girls and gave them a glower. They hadn’t remembered his enhanced vampire hearing until they saw the way he disapproved of them speculating on his love interests. Both girls blushed.

Research was going slowly. Finding a spell that could zero in on the "life force" that was part of a being not technically alive was not the easiest task.

Most of the books Giles had on vampires dealt with methods of killing them and little else.

Angel had tried to tune in to Spike, hoping the myth of vampires from the same line sensing one another might have some truth to it. He was not too surprised, however,
to find he wasn’t able to sense a thing. After all, he hadn’t sensed Darla or Dru when they had come to LA and he’d been taken by surprise by Spike and Dru when they first arrived in Sunnydale years ago.

Their best hope seemed to be in locating Doc and getting the information out of him, preferably after a vigorous beating. The hard-to-kill demon had found a safe hiding place it would seem, because none of the usual informants had any information to give.

Finally, Willow looked up in excitement from the book she had been studying. It was an old grimore she had taken from the Magic Box during the battle against Glory the previous year. "Hey, this might help. It won’t tell us where Spike is, but it should tell us IF he is"

At Buffy’s stricken look, Willow hastened to make it sound a bit better. "I mean, we’ll know more about HOW he is, Buffy. I’m sure he’s still around. Like you said, you’d know if he was dust."

Tara began to gather the ingredients for the spell as Willow explained how it would work to the rest of the group. Giles and Tara would perform the spell. Giles hadn’t done much magic since his Ripper days, but he had the power in him still.

Giles and Tara joined hands and recited the appropriate Latin-y sounding phrases, candles were lit, herbs set to boil, and then the spell was cast. The Scoobies waited anxiously for the pair to tell what they had learned in their psychic exploration. Giles finally spoke, "Well, Spike is still among us it would seem".

Buffy jumped up from her place on the sofa and beamed in joy. "I knew it! He’s okay, now we just have to find him and bring him home." She felt as if she could finally breathe again.

"I didn’t say he was okay, Buffy", Giles cautioned. "Actually, the impression I received is that he is in a very grave state indeed. Wherever he is, time really is of the essence if we are going to be able to save him at all. We couldn’t tell much", Giles looked at Tara for affirmation, "but I believe he has lost a good deal of blood. It felt as though he were being held captive, rather than just badly injured somewhere and unable to return home."

"Giles is right. That’s what I got, too. Spike’s not in good shape, Buffy, but he can make it if we find him in time. He’s not able to do much himself right now.

I really don’t think he’d be able to escape without our help", Tara confirmed.

"Time to turn Sunnydale upside down for this Doc character then", said Angel. "I’m not so sure that someone doesn’t know something but isn’t talking. Demon or not, Doc has to eat. Maybe we should identify just exactly what kind of demon he is and we’ll have a clue what he likes to chow down on. That might narrow our search."

"I’ll tell you everything I remember from when Spike and I killed him the first time. I remember that tongue for sure", Xander offered.

Willow was sent to bed so that her small reserve of strength wouldn’t be depleted. She had only just returned from the hospital, after all. "Besides, Will, you’ve already done so much by finding that spell", said Buffy. She hugged her friend and sent her upstairs to rest.

The remaining group listened to every detail Xander could remember and set to work on the research. Angel decided to pay a visit to Doc’s former home in the hope of finding some clues to where or what the demon was. Xander had remembered the small house quite well and Angel only hoped the demon had not moved after being pushed from the tower and presumed dead.

They all worked with a renewed sense of purpose. If the spell was correct, speed was crucial if Buffy was not to be left broken-hearted once again. Xander and Giles might not have had a deep affection for the missing vampire, but they both had a sincere love for Buffy.

"Well, if Buffy has to wind up with a vampire, I’m just glad it’s not Broody Boy", stated Xander. Giles didn’t say it, but he could not have agreed more with the boy.

~~~

"You know, Spikey, I can’t decide if I want to dust you myself when I’m through playing around, or if I want to make sure Buffy finds out the chip is gone and let her do it. She will, you know. The only reason Buffy let you live this long is pity.

Yeah, she told me that plenty of times. Even after the egg thing, I offered to stake you and she said you weren’t worth it. Not really a vampire, I guess, with the chip. Now, without it you wouldn’t even get a chance to plead your case and you know it. Yup, I’m going to have to really think that one through. There’s a certain pleasure either way. I want to be sure I get the most bang for my buck, as they say.", Riley said.

He had made a habit of dropping by Spike’s cell each night to drive home the idea that Buffy knew of his intention to dust the vampire and had no objection.

"Buffy wouldn’t act the way you describe. She’s good, full of kindness. She would want to be sure I had to be dusted before she’d stake me. Worked too close together for her not to hesitate that much. I know her, the person she is. She’s not like you. She does her duty but doesn’t get any sick pleasure out of it, doesn’t get her jollies torturin’ some demon. Bugger off, soldier boy. You were never good enough for her, that’s your problem". Spike might be down, but he was definitely not out. He might privately wonder if Buffy would value his efforts of the last few years enough to take a chance, but he knew her to be fair at least.

Riley answered with a few kicks in the direction of Spike’s remaining intact ribs. "Yeah? And YOU are? You’re filth, Spike, a killer. You’re so soaked in blood, she could never see YOU.

Buffy felt sorry for you and then she punished herself by sleeping with you. You were punishment for her, the worst thing she could think of to do to herself. At least with me…she wanted to love me. She was on the way to feeling it, too, until you butted in. Maybe you’re right and Buffy would hesitate. I guess then I’ll just have to be the one to do it. Won’t use plastic this time either", he spat.

Long after Riley left his cell, Spike heard Riley’s words ring in his head mixed with similar words that Buffy had said in that alley an eternity ago. Spike didn’t fool himself that Buffy saw him as anything but the unclean, unsouled monster that she had called him more than once. He wasn’t about to let Captain Cardboard know that, though. He was certain that Buffy was not a part of what happened to him in any way, but she was not likely to be sorry that he was gone either. That thought made him sob with an inner pain worse than any physical pain he already felt.

~~~

Riley was angry. Somehow even taking out his anger issues on Spike wasn’t enough. He felt angry all the time now. He was afraid that if he didn’t dust the vampire soon, others in his organization might begin to wonder about his obsession with Spike and take the matter out of his hands. After all, the medical division had all they wanted from Spike and were merely indulging Finn’s desire to be executioner because he had been so useful to them. Eventually they would begin to wonder why he was taking so long and that would end any chance he would be the one to finally put an end Spike. He needed to make final plans.

As for the other part of the project, capturing Buffy for the purpose of study and elimination, well, he hadn’t exactly agreed to that part, even if Sam felt sure he had. The former Council members would have to do that bit of dirty work themselves. Finding out that Buffy had tried to stop his leaving but had arrived too late had done much to soften the hatred Riley had built up at the end of their affair.

Riley went into the gym to workout. Lately he seemed to have far more energy than he was able to use in the course of a day. Even having his little visits with Spike weren’t tiring him as they should. He longed to sleep more than a couple of hours but just couldn’t seem to relax. He wasn’t taking in enough food to fuel that sort of energy, but he had yet to lose any weight. Maybe when this whole project was finished he’d arrange for a full check up. That would also get him out of any mission to capture the Slayer. He’d sign on for the final stage, to take out Faith, but he’d like to pass on hurting Buffy, if possible.

~~~

Angel hit pay dirt. It seemed that Doc had felt perfectly safe to return to his home by the Sunnydale docks. The little demon didn’t realize anyone knew he was still alive. The soldier and his group had left him for dead, just as everyone else did. Spike and the human boy had made that mistake the first time and the entire group had done so again at the base of the tower. No reason to expect the soldiers to come looking for him, even if they did know where he lived.

"Well, well, well, if it isn’t The Doctor", said Angel.

"Who are you, vampire? I haven’t time for social niceties. I have journals to complete. If you’ve come for a spell or ritual, you’ll have to come by at a more convenient time", Doc said.

"No, I think it’s pretty convenient right now, actually. This is about someone I think we both know. A couple of someones --one a vampire like me and the other a human soldier who looks like the poster boy for Marine recruiting", Angel said.

Doc’s eyes opened wide in panic and he darted for the open doorway.

The fight was quick. Angel had been warned of the tricks the demon was capable. For once, Xander had proved to be surprisingly helpful.

"You won’t be a match for them. There’re too many. They are well armed and equipped, too. Besides, your friend Spike is probably ash by now. That soldier wanted to do him in badly", Doc taunted.

"I think that’s my business, don’t you? You’re going to tell me everything you know. Everything you THINK you know. Then, I’m going to decide if you should die slowly or if I should just make it quick. Believe me, you’re no match for me", Angel promised.

"I think we’ll do this at the Slayer’s", Angel decided. "She has even more reason than I do to see you take a permanent trip to some hell dimension. I’m sure your friend Glory will be more than happy to see you again when you get there". Angel could always channel his inner Angelus when he wished to.

~~~

The door hitting the wall startled the Scoobies from their reading, as Angel thrust the clearly frightened Doc into the room. "Look who I found. I’m thinking we might need a truth spell to make sure that long tongue of his isn’t forked, but we’ll get some answers before we figure out how to make him stay dead this time", said Angel.

It did take a truth spell to get all the information the little demon had to tell. In the end they discovered all Doc had overheard as well as been told concerning the operation. The set up was confirmed, how Spike’s desire to get money to help Buffy had made him vulnerable to the whole egg scam and how his preoccupation with losing Buffy made it easy to subdue and capture the vampire.

Buffy felt guilty that her denial of real feelings for Spike had led to such a mess. "Great, now I don’t just drive away the guys I love, I get them kidnapped and who knows what else", she groaned.

"I believe the plan was for some scientific study and then a bit of torture before dusting", smirked Doc.

Doc didn’t know the name of the group the soldiers were a part of, only that they were well funded and unattached to any formal government. Giles was appalled to hear that there were former members of the Watchers Council involved.

"Yeah, they gave Wes a hard time when they came after Faith", Angel said. "Didn’t like the way certain vampires were kept like sacred cows. I think there’s more of that thinking than you’d want to know, Giles. The only good demon is a dead demon, according to most of your buddies. Souls don’t matter, harmlessness doesn’t matter, not even doing good like Spike. Nice group of friends you have there, Giles".

"You know perfectly well I don’t share that attitude. If I did, you would have been staked upon first meeting and Spike wouldn’t have ever darkened my door, much less lived in my apartment", Giles replied.

"Tell the nice Watcher the part of the plan you overheard that involves Buffy, Doc", Angel urged.

Doc told of the plan to come back and capture Buffy. He recounted how the member of the team with a British accent had laughed that soon the troublesome slayers would be
gone and replaced with a girl who would know her duty and do it.

The medical doctors in the group had wanted the chance to examine Buffy to see if the source of her power could be discovered. The Scoobies got chills as Doc described how the group had decided that a capture, rather than a kill, would be the best plan.

"Faith will have to be warned and protected", Angel said. He headed for the phone in the hallway to place a call to Gunn to get the wheels moving on that front.

"I think we may need to involve the Council, also", Giles put in. "If this group has the sort of funding this creature says, we’ll need Council resources to shut them down. I don’t think we dare leave the group intact. Finding and rescuing Spike is only one of our aims now".

The Scoobies gathered all the information the demon had on the group and its plans and goals. Tara’s truth spell had shown that Doc didn’t know anything further.

What he had told them would have to be enough. They had a fairly good idea of the area where the group was headquartered and Tara was sure that they could find a way to track Spike once they were closer to his location.

Finally, it was time to deal with Doc, once and for all. Buffy did her duty quickly enough to please the most critical of the Watchers. This time Doc was going to stay dead.

Giles and Xander took the body and burned the remains. Tara later scattered the ash in various dimensional portals to prevent Doc from ever being a blight on their lives again.

Then it was time to plan their assault on the enemy.