- T h r e e Y e a r s O n -

[Three Years On II]

...Anya had been right, the chip was out. What should she do?.............................

Buffy couldn't move. Her mind swam with different scenarios to each solution she thought of. Her hazel eys remained fixed on Spike and the dying girl he was feeding off. Why wasn't she helping? Then she realised she wasn't helping because it wouldn't fix anything. It wouldn't make Spike's chip work again, it wouldn't do a single thing. Plus the girl was already dead. As Spike let his unfortunate victim fall to the floor, Buffy came up with a plan. One that would let her beat Spike at his own twisted game. "You wanna play?" she thought, moving away swiftly "Lets play."

~~~

Dawn nibbled her finger nails nervously as she awaited her older sister's return. Why was she taking so long?
"Maybe she got lost." Tara suggested lamely. Dawn didn't even bother to reply. Something was up and everyone knew it. She rested her head in her hands and sighed loudly.
"Don't worry," Willow comforted her "She'll be okay. I bet her and Spike are just...catching up."
"Oh please." Dawn groaned "I'm not a kid, so stop treating me like one!" The room fell silent. Xander and Anya had left a few minutes earlier, so the lack of sound was accompanied by a feeling of uncompleteness. Giles cleared his throat as if to say something, but apparently changed his mind. Dawn stood up and stomped her foot impatiently.
"This is pathetic," she moaned, grabbing her coat "I'm going out to look for them."
Then she ran outside before anyone could stop her. "I bet she hasn't even found him yet." she complained to the night air. "I bet she's just wandering around wasting time."

~~~

Spike whilstled the Dawson's Creek theme tune as he headed back to his new crypt. Ever since he'd left Buffy's house he hadn't been able to shake the feeling he was being watched. The feeling had gone after he'd fed, but he was still looking out for spies. The vampire stopped and smiled to himself. "Spies?" he thought, shaking his head "How paranoid am I?!" He eventually decided the feeling was down to the whisky he kept sipping. The door creaked loudly as he entered his crypt, momentarily breaking the silence which had followed him home. Suddenly tired, Spike yawned and thought about retiring to bed. But before he could, the door began to open. He lept behind a corner and poked his head out slightly to try and catch a glimpse of the intruder.
"Sweetie? You home?" a familiar voice cooed. Spike slumped back against the wall. He just had to pick this crypt, didn't he? The one apparently occupied by the dizziest blond imaginable.
"Hey, Harmony." he sighed and stepped out to meet her. She froze and dropped the shopping bags she had been carrying.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed and gave him a suffocating hug. Then she realised that she was supposed to hate him and drew away. "I mean - what are you doing here?" Spike brushed himself off.
"Stuff." he replied "This is now *my* crypt, so bugger off."
Harmony's jaw dropped. How could he do this?! This crypt belonged to her and Cristian. She frowned. Where was Christian anyway?
"Where's - "
"Dead." Spike cut her off. "So get lost." Harmony's bottom lip quivered. He was hardly looking at her. She decided to put her foot down.
"Why don't you stay at the Slayer's? You seem to love her so much." she spat.
"Love her?" he repeated "I don't bloody love the Slayer! I did once, but now all I want to do is get rid of her." Harmony raised an eyebrow quizically.
"Fine. But can't we, y' know, live here..together?" she put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off.
"Let me think," he mused "You're askin' me if I wanna live here with a stupid bint of a vampire, or live here alone with no-one to bother me at all?Well, that's a tough one." he retorted sarcastically.
"Fine!"Harmony cried "Be that way!" she grabbed her bags and fled the crypt in tears. What was his problem? He didn't have to love her, or anything, just be with her for a while. Whatever it was, she wasn't about to let it lie. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

~~~

Buffy hung up the phone and smiled in satisfaction. This would teach Spike. The Slayer stepped out of the phone box and onto the deserted street. The sky rumbled menacingly. She'd better get home before it started to rain. Suddenly she heard someone call her name. She turned and saw her sister marching towards her.
"Ha! I knew it! Wasting time!" she accused as Buffy walked to meet her.
"Dawn, what the hell are you doing wandering about alone?" she demanded.
"Duh, looking for you." Dawn replied matter-of-factly. "You've got everyoneworried to death back home, you know. What've you been doing?"
"Slayer stuff." Buffy told her evasively. Dawn was getting irritated. She hadn't even mentioned Spike's 'condition'. Before Dawn could prod her, Buffy was walking her home. Oh well, she'd find out along with the rest of the gang. If they were still there.

~~~

The room sat in a shocked silence. They all vividly remembered what Spike was like before the Initiative put the behaviour modification chip in his head. Willow thought the words "Ruthlessly savage" summed it up nicely. Buffy had
refused to let anyone know of her plan, claiming it would put them in danger if she did. Tara was the only one of them who didn't know what to expect from Spike. She had only ever knew him when he was chipped.
"C-couldn't we, erm, just p-pay him to go away?" she stammered quietly.
"Spike won't go away." Buffy replied "This time I'm going to stake him. He hasn't got a prayer. Especially since my little 'distraction' will be arriving in the next few days." The group exchanged worried looks about her choice of words. Giles shook his head. If she had a plan, he should know. It was his duty as Watcher to help her. But how could he when she never told him what she planned to do?
"Buffy," he looked directly at her "If you want to kill Spike, just stake him, don't sink to his level."
"I'm not sinking!" Buffy protested "I'm just giving him a bit of pay-back."
"Sinking." Dawn coughed loudly. The Slayer glared at her but said nothing. What would be the point? The 'distraction' was already on it's way, there was no going back now. She smiled as she thought of her plan. Spike was going to get one hell of a shock.

~~~

Harmony sniffed back another flood of tears and dried her eyes. As she marched towards her destination, she did so with absolute purpose. If she wanted to know why Spike was all "Anti-Harmony", she'd have to go to the route of his problems.
The Slayer.

~~~

Dawn obediently opened the front door and was shocked to find Harmony stood on the doorstep, looking just as surprised to see her as she had been.
"Okay, could you get Buffy for me? I need a talk with her." Harmony greeted, raising an eyebrow in the same fashion as Spike. Dawn was suspicious, but she reckoned that the vampire wouldn't risk coming there unless it was important. She nodded slowly and turned to call for her sister, who appeared almost immediately.
"Harmony," Buffy was shocked "I'm surprised you're still alive."
"Whatever," Harmony dismissed her little comment and pressed on with her business. "What's wrong with Spike?" she demanded, giving her long blond hair a flick. The Slayer blinked. She'd talked to him? Maybe she was conspiring with him. Maybe he'd sent her here to kill her. Maybe...
"Why?" she asked after a moments silence. Harmony paused before answering, finally deciding to tell her the truth, after all, she'd been curteous enough to not stake her so far.
"'Cause he doesn't like me anymore." she admitted quietly "He won't even look at me and he wasn't jealous that I'd had another boyfriend."
Buffy shrugged, amused "Ever thought he might be gay?" she offered. The look on Harmony's face was unreadable. Eventually, without a word of goodbye, she ran off, presumably to confront Spike.
"Well," Dawn sighed after she'd shut the door "That was..strange." Buffy agreed silently. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind - what if Spike actually *was* gay?! That would explain why he didn't love her anymore...

~~~

"Gay?!" Spike exploded incredulously "You have yourself a chat with the Slayer, get all upset, and then decide I'm a bloody poofter?!" Harmony directed her gaze at the floor of her old crypt and reddened with embarrassment. She felt like a pupil being scolded by the headmaster.
"*I* didn't say it first!" she protested, not wanting to anger him further.
"Oh I bet y' didn't." Spike growled "I reckon she's missin' the old me, the one who loved 'er! Thats why she said that and - " he suddenly stopped and gulped "She knows!" he realised
"Knows what?" Harmony asked him curiously.
"That the chip's out!"
"The chip's out?!"
"Thats why she's been avoidin' me! She's afraid she'll get her arse kicked! I don't blame her." Spike was now pacing around the crypt, ignoring Harmony completely. She followed her ex around, waiting for an explanation which he wasn't about to give. He was muttering incoherently to himself now, pondering different solutions to different problems he might have to face.
"Right," he turned to look at Harmony, grateful to be able to tell his plan to someone. However dumb they may be. "So I find the Slayer and tell 'er that she made a mistake, yeah?"
"Yeah." Harmony urged him on.
"Then I smooth things over with the rest of the Scoobies and I'm accepted back into their little group, then I kill 'em all!" he finished, pleased with his simple, but effective plan. "Bust first," he paused.
"Yeah?" Harmony got her hopes up, praying that he really *wasn't* gay.
"I'm goin' to the bar for a drink." Spike finished with a sigh. With that said, she turned and left him. She didn't need him anyway.
"Plus," she thought aloud "He's gay."

~~~

Spike stumbled drunkenly up the path to Buffy's large house, re-thinking his plan for the 100th time. At the bar, he'd decided to summon up a little 'Dutch-courage', and ended up with a bit too much. He rang the doorbell and waited patiently for it to be answered. Dawn's head poked round the curtain next to the door. She gasped and froze.
"Hi, Niblet!" Spike slurred, waving slightly. Dawn gulped, if he was drunk then at least she'd have more of a chance. Plus, it was Spike. He liked her. He wouldn't hurt her...Would he? She eventually opened the door cautiously and waited for him to explain himself.
"I," he hiccupped, stumbling past her "Have a little somethin' to clear up with you and your lot." Dawn found herself to be trembling. She called for Buffy, causing Spike to clutch his aching head in pain.
"Ow!" he moaned "God, can't y' just pretend it's a library in here, or somethin'?" Buffy stood before him and glared.
"Get out." she ordered bluntly. Spike blinked and chose to play dumb.
"What? Why?" he asked innocently.
"You know damn well 'why'." she spat "I know the chip's out."
"The chip's what?!" Spike exclaimed in disbelief. Despite his drunken state, he was still a very convincing actor.
"Don't play stupid, Spike. I saw you kill a girl." Buffy disclosed her incriminating information.
*Gulp* "But I can't!" he continued with his facade, despite the evidence that had just been given. "Look, I swear to y', the chip's still in." That, he realised, was actually true. The chip was in, it just wasn't working.
"Spike," Buffy tried again, her tone dangerously calm "Get out now and I'll fight you when you're sober." He finally packed it in. His face shifted to it's true form, that of a vampire.
"Yeah you'll fight me," he growled "And you'll lose." With that he turned and ran from the house.

~~~

He couldn't believe it. His plan hadn't worked. It was Harmony's fault, if she hadn't told him to go ahead with it, he'd have more time to plot. Spike huffed angrily and fumbled with his lighter as he pulled out a cigarette from a new packet. He finally gave up and began to stumble his way home. He got all the way inside his old crypt before remembering he'd moved.
"Bloody hell." he groused and thumped a wall. Suddenly he became aware of a second presence in the dilapadated mausoleum. Spike tried to focus, but his vision was blurred. "God damn it!" he muttered and watched as the figure revealed itself.
"Hello, my sweet." Drusilla purred and flashed her old lover a nostalgic smile. Spike frowned. Was this happening? Was she real? He touched the side of her face and gulped, yep, she was real.
"Dru." he whispered. She took his hand in her own and settled him into a chair. "What do y' want?" Spike asked bluntly, suddenly suspicious.
"To bring you back to what you used to be." Drusilla answered in a sing-song voice. Spike closed his eyes as the vampire began to comb her hands through his hair. "I heard what happened and I want to help you." Spike's eyes re-opened and he raised an eyebrow.
"What happened?" he slurred, feeling himself fall to sleep in her arms "Help me with what?"
"Sshh." she cooed "Sleep. We'll talk more when the sun's up and we can have some tea..." Spike relaxed and was sound asleep in minutes.

~~~

The Slayer grinned. She had heard through a local snitch that her distraction had arrived. She congratulated herself silently on picking such a brilliant story to get Drusilla here. Dawn had long since gone to bed and this left Buffy alone to think things over. What should she do now? How long should she wait before striking? *How* should she strike? The Slayer groaned inwardly as she realised that if she'd told Giles, the old Watcher could have answered all these questions within a minute. Oh well, she'd call him and the rest of the gang tomorrow and arrange what to do. Meanwhile, there was a film showing on Sky Premier which craved her attention. She ambled into the kitchen, preparing to make some movie-popcorn when suddenly someone knocked politely on the back door. Buffy's hand trembled as she opened the door slowly.
"Angel." she breathed and he sighed with relief. He'd prefer a shocked silence to a loud argument anyday.
"Hi Buffy." he stepped forward into the house "How are you?"
"What the hell are you doing here?!" The Slayer demanded, but decided not let him answer "You've not bothered to see me for 3 years and now you come in my house and start the conversation off with 'Hi Buffy, how are you'?! I-"
"Buffy," Angel's tone silenced her. "Cordy had a vision, you're in danger, and so is Dawn." She looked up at him and her eyes brimmed with tears. This was too much. First Spike, then Angel and now Angel telling her Dawn was in danger *because* of Spike...She bent her head and allowed herself to be enveloped in a hug from Angel. She'd missed him so much. It looked like she now had her own distraction.

~~~

Drusilla hummed as she watched Spike sleep. She remembered back to the night she'd turned him. Remembered how she'd found him tearing up countless poems about Cecily. And then she smiled as she remembered how she'd watched him kill her. The vampire stopped humming and placed a cold hand upon his unmoving chest. Suddenly she drew away and cradled her hand as if it had been burned. "Your heart!" she cried, waking him. "Your heart!" Spike rubbed his throbbing head as the effects of his drinking binge set in.
"What?!" he moaned, struggling to sit up.
"Your heart!" Dru repeated in a high voice. Spike frowned.
"Jesus, Dru! If you're gonna scream about my bloody heart can't y' do it quietly?" he snapped.
"You've given it away to the men with wands and they'll never give it back to you!" she breathed, giving his ears a rest. For a moment, Spike forgot what had happened back in London two years back. How he'd payed the Sorcerors who had removed the chip...

~~~

**Two Years Earlier**

The cold air was charged with the electricity of a coming storm as Spike strolled through London. He took a final drag of his cigarette before stubbing it out on a near by lamp-post. He looked at his watch. It was just past 1am, he'd better be getting back to his temporary flat soon. After all, if he wanted to be on the road early, he'd need a half decent sleep. It had been three months since the Sorcerors had granted his request and he'd heard nothing from them after, so he'd given up hope. As if on cue, the vampire was surrounded by a white light. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt his feet leave the ground. Moments later, he looked around and found himself to be in the same, vast darkened room that he'd occupied three months before.
"William the Bloody," a circle of Sorcerors appeared around him "We, The Members of Sohork have assembled to remove the chip from your brain."
"About bloody time too." Spike told them arrogantly.
"The time is right," the head man continued "Brothers, let us begin." Then pursued a long chanting session which resulted in Spike feeling more than a bit peeved. If he'd wanted to, he could have chanted at home.Suddenly, the mechanic voices of the Sorcerors ceased.
"Right, now if y' don't mind-"
"William the Bloody," the head interrupted him "The chip has been de-activated. As payment we have taken away your ability to feel true love."
Spike shrugged. It worked for him. A minute later, he was back on his way home. Testing out his chiplessness out on anyone who dared pass him by...

~~~

**Present**

With sad eyes, Spike looked up into Drusilla's alarmed face. "Sorry, love, but I had to." They remained silent for what seemed like forever. In that silence, he realised that Dru hadn't just appeared by chance. That she'd been sent. Sent by the Slayer. God, she was gonna pay for this......