“Buffy, wait up,” Willow called.

But Buffy kept moving, needing to be outside the oppressively hot building, in order to breathe. The more students that flowed into the hallway the more she felt like she was going to suffocate. She glanced briefly at Willow and waved at her, mouthing that she needed to get out and once outside she moved to the side while gulping in fresh air. After a few deep breaths she began to feel better and leaned against the building to wait for the Wiccan couple. It didn’t take long for Willow to exit the building with Tara close beside her.

“Hey,” Willow asked. “Are you okay? Cause you don’t look so hot?”

The Slayer tried to smile but it was too much of an effort to pretend that everything was wonderful in her life.

“I’m sorry, Will, it’s just that….”

“You didn’t find Spike last night, did you?”

The three girls started to walk as Buffy tried to figure out what to tell her friends. Angel and she had called for a Scooby meeting this afternoon so everyone could be told but it seemed too long to wait until they reached the mansion to say anything. It was the only thing that she could possible think about and with resignation she realized that there was no way she could hold onto the information for that long.

“Yeah, we found him,” Buffy finally said.

“No, he’s not…is he?”

“Oh my God, no, he’s alive or undead or whatever, that’s not it.” She hesitated as she took a deep breath. “He’s working with Adam.”

Buffy hoped that Angel would understand her need to talk to Willow and Tara about it without it being up for group discussion first. Everything important since she had come to Sunnydale had been discussed with Willow, except for that short period before she ran away. And Buffy wanted not only her friend’s advice on how to deal with this but also her support. Even though Willow had looked hurt at Spike’s disappearance she still wasn’t sure if he was accepted or not by the red head but hopefully their friendship would take precedence over any negative feelings toward the blonde vampire.

“Are you sure? Because I don’t believe it.” Willow responded.

“I thought he was adjusting really well to being part of you all,” Tara offered.

“To us,” Buffy corrected. She was glad that she had made the distinction when Tara’s face lit up. It was one thing that the recent turn of events had taught her was that you had to let people know where they stood, especially if they were shy or insecure. “I know it just doesn’t seem right but I can’t deny what I saw with my own eyes.”

“Okay, I know I wasn’t on the ‘Yay, Spike is now a Scooby’, train but he’s changed.” Willow said.

“I’m surprised, Willow, that you are so sure that he’s not a bad guy now. I mean last night you were upset because he moved out and now you’re defending him. What happened?”

Willow laughed and took Tara’s hand. “He gave me the courage to try again. It was the night after Oz left and you and Angel left us alone, we talked, I mean really talked. He told me about losing Drusilla and I told him about the spell I tried to do on Veruca and it clicked, you know. That when he kidnapped me and Xander he was trying to do the same thing that I was, protect what was his and try to hold onto his love. It made me realize that we weren’t all that different. Then he told me about his feelings for you and that he was glad he had given you a chance. So, when I met Tara, I didn’t even hesitate.”

An arm was laid across Willow’s shoulder as Buffy hugged her.

“I’m glad Willow, for you and Tara. And Spike will be happy when he comes home,” Buffy hesitated as she realized what she said but continued anyway. “He needs friends. I don’t think he’s ever really had any.”

“Well, we’ll be there for him.” Willow said. “And today after the meeting I want to talk to Angel some more about the curse. Maybe if he’s willing we can do some research together. Tara wants to help, too.”

“Yeah, that would be good.”

Buffy offered her friend a wan smile as she began to feel a little hope. The small bit of optimism afforded by Willow’s support was good because all the confusion and hurt had been making Buffy wish she hadn’t taken a chance. That she was back in Daytona living with Sheila and working at the Shack. It hadn’t been in anyway an exciting life but at least she didn’t have to force her way through the day and pray she could be lost in sleep that was almost unattainable unless she was in Angel’s arms. But the only times he would allow it was if he was awake and would only hold her for a few hours so she could get some rest. The days of lying tangled together were gone because both were too afraid of the passion that existed within them and the burning need to drown themselves in something carnal, anything to take away the memory of Spike. It was to be denied though as the evidence kept telling them that Spike hadn’t changed. And their former belief that their love and presence would change the very nature of a demon was torn apart by the vision of Spike walking with Adam.

It was disheartening the looks and moods of their small family as they learned of Spike’s desertion. Buffy could feel it in the core of her as Xander looked at her with an almost smug look. She knew she deserved it. She had been the one to beg them to give Spike a chance, her words of ‘he’s changed’ and ‘he’s harmless’ were already echoing through her own head and Xander’s look only confirmed what she already knew. She had been wrong.

“Well, that bloody well rots,” Giles said cursing in his own fashion. The anger on his face was evident as he cleaned his glasses over and over.

“So, what do we do now?” Xander asked.

“It’s fairly safe to say that anything we know is now known by Adam especially our weaknesses. It would be Spike’s way in the door and his bargaining tool.” Buffy said.

“What would Spike want by being with Adam? I mean what can Adam offer Spike to make him turn on us.” Tara asked.

“Revenge,” Angel answered. “To hurt any of you would hurt Buffy which would hurt me. And I’m the one he would want to get back.”

“What if he did it to get the chip out?” Anya offered. “I mean the Initiative is the one that put it in so it would be logical that Adam could arrange for it to be taken out.”

“Good Lord, I didn’t even think of that.” Giles said. “That would mean we would have William the Bloody on the loose again.”

“Whoa,” Buffy stood with her hands out. “Hold on just a minute. Okay, Spike has been a pain in the ass before but nothing we couldn’t handle. I’m not saying he’s harmless at the moment especially if he is selling us out but...”

“If he is?” Xander interrupted. “I think it’s pretty clear what his intentions are. Why else would he be talking with Adam?”

“I just think something else is up,” Willow spoke up. “Maybe he is offering to be buddy buddy with the green guy to get information to bring back to us.”

“See, a good idea,” Buffy exclaimed.

“Buffy, I could only hope so but,” Giles said. “Until we know for sure we can only assume that he is the enemy and needs to be treated accordingly.”

Outside in the garden a lone figure in black crouched in the shadows listening to the Scoobies meeting and he winced when he heard Willow’s comment. A smile twisted his lips as he listened to the girl defend him but it was too late for such matters. They had to know he meant business, he decided, as he pulled the blanket over his head and ran for the sewer entrance just half a block away. To have them sympathize with him in anyway wouldn’t do at this point in the game at all.

Angel walked into the bathroom, the slump in his shoulders returned with the absence of their guests, taking a seat on the closed lid of the commode. For a few moments he watched her as she prepared to go patrolling with Riley again and a small flutter of fear ran through him.

“Don’t go,” he asked. If he lost her too then he knew that he would return willingly to the alleys and rats for an existence. Without either of the blondes in his life, he wouldn’t want to go on, and then a sigh shuddered through him because he would go on, forever. The choice was his as to whether he wanted to merely exist or remain true to the calling he had found with Buffy if he would ever find himself alone again.

Buffy pulled her hair through the pony tail holder and smiled at him through the mirror. He watched as she wiped a small smear of lipstick off the corner of her mouth before she responded to him.

”Why?” She answered. “It’s the only way that we’ll find anything out.”

“And if he knows everything then he could hurt you.”

Angel knew he sounded like the Nancy Boy that Spike always called him but he wasn’t above begging at this point. When she came to sit on his lap he leaned back to give her access then wrapped his arms around with his head cradled to her breasts. Her fingers ran through his hair and he allowed himself to feel a small allotment of the pleasure he found in her arms. Angel sighed when Buffy pressed a chaste on the top of his head.

“As if you won’t be following to protect me like you do every night.”

“I just feel something is wrong tonight.”

“It’s only the fact that we had to bring it out into the open and it made it more real.”

She slipped off Angel’s lap to head back into the bedroom and like the lovesick puppy he was, he followed. As was their routine she would leave and head to the fraternity house to meet Riley while he took a more circular route to the same destination. He would then follow them while they patrolled, trying to stay out of their line of radar as he tried to protect what he had left.

The vampire headed directly toward Buffy and she bent and threw him over her shoulder before turning and staking him quickly. Standing again she checked to see how Riley and Forrest were doing. Forrest was struggling a bit more with his vampire and she ran over to stake the demon in the back. By the time they were done, Riley had dusted the vamp he was fighting and after a look around to make sure they were done, they started their patrol of the cemetery again.

“So, you and this Spike guy broke up?” Riley asked.

“Yeah, I told you that. He took off and I haven’t seen him since.” She shrugged her shoulders as she felt a trace of the same fear that Angel had felt go through her. It wasn’t something she could identify exactly. Maybe it was the questions from Riley that had been more probing tonight. Even though she kept trying to avoid answering he kept at it until it was grating on her nerves and she knew that her concentration was shot and could only hope that nothing serious would happen.

“What’s the big project that Maggie was briefing everybody on?” She asked trying to divert the conversation away from her personal life.

“Something that’s coming up. It’s still classified other wise we’d tell you,” Forrest provided.

“Oh, because if something big is going down in Sunnydale, I want to be included.”

She didn’t miss the looks they exchanged over her head. Both wore small smiles at her statement as if they were amused at her enthusiasm but the shudder that ran through her was more telling of a devious plot they had that concerned her.

“You will be, Buffy,” Riley said. “Were you living with this guy?”

“Riley, its over, he’s gone, I’m single, if you want to ask then ask.”

He chuckled at her response, “Soon, okay? I’m just trying to find out if I’m just going to be the rebound guy.”

Buffy smiled up at him, “Well, then back off and quit bringing him up so I can forget.”

After a moment of gazing one another they turned and with an amused Forrest following they continued with patrolling. Buffy was so lost in her thoughts of how to balance everything she didn’t realize that they were at the edge of the cemetery where it ran into the woods. A noise jarred her from her thoughts as three demons exploded from the trees. They were running straight at them and she could only react as the fight began.

It took her a few minutes before she snapped the neck on her demon and when she looked around she felt the fear overwhelm her as it moved through her bowels. Riley and Forrest were both gone and she was alone. At first she tried to tell herself that they had only gone off to fight the other demons but she knew. Somewhere inside something was screaming that she had been set up and as Adam and Spike stepped from the forest that something told her to run.

It was too late as Adam grabbed her arm and turned her back to face him. Her eyes looked to Spike wondering why he wasn’t helping her. He had said he loved her. He had said that he would always have her back.