Xander kept the ring held tightly in his fist, hand inside his pocket, all the way back to the hotel. He was trying to decide whether or not to give Spike the ring - or at least whether or not to give it to him yet. This wasn't his Spike, after all; this one had been through a hell that he couldn't even imagine. Maybe this would make up for some of his mistreatment, maybe it wouldn't. One thing was certain, if he did give him the ring they couldn't stay at the hotel with Angel.

"Hey, Spike? How would you feel about going back to Sunnydale?"

Xander cringed under the look that Spike turned on him. He tried to remember that for Spike, Sunnydale was like Acathla's dimension to him. He took a calming breath and laid his hand on Spike's shoulder.

"This isn't your world, things won't be like that. If it makes you feel any better, we won't see any of them. I just want to be in Sunnydale when we finally get to my world, otherwise I might not recognise it. Okay?"

Spike reminded himself that this man had not only taken him away from Riley, but he had taken him from his own reality. Riley could never touch him again. He trusted Xander. If he said things would be okay, they would be.

"Alright, we'll go. But how the hell are we gonna get there?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead. Any ideas?"

Spike grinned and pointed to a motorbike parked a ways down the street. Xander followed his finger and when he saw the bike he shook his head.

"No. We are not stealing a bike. I'm not going to jail just for a ride to Sunnydale."

"You got a better idea? I'm all ears."

The truth was, Xander didn't have any better ideas. He rolled his eyes and then nodded at Spike.

"Fine, but you realise that we'll probably shift out halfway there and end up a smudge on the highway in the next world."

Spike chuckled.

"Not if you dab a bit of that oil on the bike. Never know when you might need to make a quick getaway."

Xander hated to admit it, but Spike was right. He definitely could have used a getaway vehicle in Acathla's world. He let Spike steal the bike and waited for him the next block over. Once Spike pulled up to the curb, Xander quickly drizzled a small amount of oil onto the bike and then climbed on.

After a very brief stop at the hotel to say goodbye - and for Spike to get some blood, they were on their way to Sunnydale. Xander held on tightly to Spike as the blonde sped down the highway. The way Spike drove, Xander wondered if he'd live long enough to get home.

It was almost dawn when they sped past the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. Xander knew they had to find a place to crash so they headed for the cemetery; hopefully they could find an empty crypt to hole up in for the day.

"You know, I really need to get some money for emergency hotel rooms or something. The last time I hid in a crypt I got dragged off by demons and put in a cell."

Xander shuddered at the memory and Spike frowned. He had a few bad memories of his own with regards to crypts and Sunnydale. Finn had once left him tied up naked and bleeding in a crypt for days. Every once in a while, he or one of the other soldiers would come by and whip him or cut him open ... or worse. The Sunnydale Motor Lodge was starting to sound like the Ritz-Carlton right about now.

"I hear ya, but seeing as we're broke and I'm at serious risk of spontaneous combustion, I think we'd better pick a crypt and get inside."

"Okay, you're the graveyard-dwelling demon here, you pick."

Spike looked around quickly and pointed. Xander chuckled and shook his head.

"Figures. Back home that's Spike's crypt. How did I know you'd pick that one?"

"Well I better pick another then, cause we don't know if there is a me in the Sunnyhell of this world."

Spike pointed at a smaller crypt further back in the cemetery and they headed for it quickly. They yanked the door open and pushed the bike inside. Spike went in to check the place out while Xander waited outside. Spike popped back out briefly to give him the all clear and Xander followed him in.

Blue eyes blinked in shock and surprise a few feet away. If Spike was right, he had just seen himself go into that crypt with a human and a motor bike. He was absolutely going to check this out at sundown. Spike turned back toward his own crypt and slipped inside.

Inside, Xander and Spike were trying to get comfortable on the hard floor of the crypt. Xander was using his bag for a pillow and Spike had pulled his duster off and was using it for a blanket. They lay side by side in the farthest corner of the crypt, Xander between Spike and the door. He didn't want the vampire to get hit by any stray sunlight if someone happened to open the door.

Of course, he could have just given him the ring, but he was still unsure. He wanted to be positive he was doing the right thing before he handed it over. In the wrong hands, that ring was dangerous. Eventually exhaustion won out and they both fell asleep.

As soon as the sun set, Spike slipped out of his crypt and made his way quickly across the cemetery. He slowly and quietly opened the door to the crypt he had seen himself go into this morning. He looked around and found the two sleeping men curled up together in the corner of the crypt.

Even if he was blind he would know that was himself lying in the corner with a human man sprawled across his chest. He could smell it. He wondered what the hell was going on - the only thing he could think of was Red was working mojo again and screwed up. He wanted an explanation before he ran off and accused her; her wolf was quite protective of her, and still human enough that his chip would go off if he tried to hit him.

Spike screamed and sat up abruptly, knocking Xander off his chest and waking him in the process. Xander sat up and saw that the vampire was still asleep and just reacting to something in his dream. He wrapped his arms around him and began talking to him in a low soothing voice, just as Spike had done for him the other night.

Spike stood back in the shadows and watched as the human comforted his double. He knew that scream; he had suffered nightmares himself after escaping the Initiative. If the Watcher and the wolf hadn't taken him in he'd have likely starved to his final death. He was intrigued by the behaviour of the human. He couldn't see the man very well, but he was familiar somehow.

Spike woke up and felt the warm hands on his skin. He froze in absolute terror. Eventually the voice broke through his fear-fogged mind and he sobbed in relief. Xander just held him and let him cry; turnabout was fair play after all, and he figured Spike had a hell of a lot more to cry about than he did.

He had made one decision; tonight he would give Spike the ring. If it gave him any small measure of happiness it was worth it. He'd never seen Spike like this. It was heart wrenching.

Eventually, Spike calmed down and pulled away from Xander in embarrassment. He couldn't believe he had broken down like that. It had been a long time since he'd had a nightmare that bad and even longer since he'd allowed himself to cry.

"Hey, don't be ashamed because of that. I don't think any less of you - like you said, everyone needs comfort sometimes."

Spike nodded but remained silent and rigid. Xander sighed in frustration. He knew this wouldn't be easy for Spike. He'd never met a prouder more stubborn person - demon, whatever in his life.

"Come here. Please?"

Spike allowed Xander to pull him close again. He relaxed into the warm embrace and just enjoyed the comfort being given to him. It was a strange, yet nice feeling.

"You don't have to tell me what that was all about, but if you ever want to talk, I'll listen. No pressure. Okay?"

Spike nodded again and they remained sitting together in silence for sometime. The Spike who stood watching from the darkness was shocked. He could clearly see the man’s face now. It was that boy he had kidnapped with the witch a few years back. Last he'd heard he was shacked up with some warlock in L.A.

Eventually, Spike and Xander got up and walked to the door. They both needed to eat, and in order to do that, they needed money. Xander couldn't believe he was going to let Spike scare people into giving them their wallets. Spike had been with him a matter of days and he was turning into a criminal. He hated to see what he'd be like after a few months of his company.

Spike followed them from a safe distance as they headed toward the Bronze. He watched with some amusement as his double went into game face and scared a couple teenagers out of their cash. Of course when he saw the vamp smile at his human, he almost threw up. No fangs. That just wasn't right. Who the hell would do that to him? Spike decided it was time for answers.

"'Ello pets, are you having fun?"

Xander and Spike spun around to see Spike watching them curiously. Simultaneously they both replied.

"Shit!"