Summary: Spike returns to Sunnydale after a long absence, very uncertain about what he will find there, or the reception he will get - especially since he himself has changed on a fundamental level.

Disclaimer & Notes: See Chapter One.

Chapter Two

Spike staggered off the plane in LA with a hangover on top of the jet lag, which did nothing to quell the nausea in his stomach. He was also suddenly glad his had his duster to keep out the cold - something he hadn't thought would affect him after the tropical summer he'd just had in Africa. He'd taken to living in shorts and tee-shirts, and when he and Jake had spent some time taking in the sights down in Cape Town, he'd even discarded the tee-shirt and gone barefoot like the locals. His impossibly pale skin had immediately suffered the effects of the high UV content in the sunlight, but his pain had been soothed by the friendly Capetonians who marked him as foreign by his sunburn and bought him free drinks. Now, the blistering redness had faded into a pale brown and Spike was back in his usual gear - dark button-fly Levi's, black, long-sleeved shirt, army boots and the eye-catching leather coat.

Jake, still wearing sunglasses and feeling almost as bad as the vampire from overindulgence, caught up with Spike as they went in search of their luggage.

"What now, bro? I could use a few days of uninterrupted sleep," the South African said.

Spike nodded in agreement. He wanted to conserve what energy he had left and words would have been a waste. He felt like every single one of his years was catching up to him. Jake seemed far too cheerful.

"So, this is LA? Wow. Can't believe I'm actually here," Jake said.

"No, this is the airport," Spike muttered.

"Yeah, how cool is that?"

Shaking his head, Spike tried to navigate through the crowds around the luggage stand. He managed to snag his duffel bag as it came past on the conveyer belt and slung it over his shoulder and then waited for Jake to return with his bags.

An hour later, Spike and a fuming Jake stood at the arrivals gate waiting for Lorne to come and pick them up.

"Eish! I can't believe they lost my luggage. Fucking morons sent it to Helsinki. Where the fuck is that?"

Spike was trying not to laugh at Jake's expense. He'd had to restrain the boy from attacking the airport staff when he discovered his stuff was missing - fortunately Jake had not been able to bring any firearms with him, airport security in the northern hemisphere being a lot tighter nowadays.

"I gave them Lorne's address. They'll send it on to him."

"But what will I wear until they do? I can't live in this." Jake plucked at the light cotton shirt he was wearing with the black tee underneath. It was the beginning of December in California, and although not as cold as winter in the north would be, Jake would still freeze in his outfit.

Spike shrugged. He wasn't about to give the boy his coat. "Maybe Lorne'll have something for you. Speaking of which - there he is now." He pointed to someone with the worst fashion sense Jake had ever seen.

The newcomer spotted them and walked over to where they were standing while Jake couldn't help but stare. He even had to take off his sunglasses and his eyes bulged at the creature.

"It's a green demon. In a baseball cap and a scarf. And a red suit," Jake said in strangled whisper.

"He's trying to be incognito," Spike pointed out.

Jake looked around at the assortment of people milling around the arrivals gate. "You're right. He does blend in quite well."

Lorne minced over to them and beamed. "Well! Aren't you looking healthy these days, William."

Spike grinned. He still didn't know if he wanted to hug the big green queen or throttle him. He didn't have a chance to make up his mind as Lorne stepped forward with wide open arms.

"Come here, ya big lug!" The demon crushed the embarrassed vampire into a hug while Jake looked on not bothering to hide his chuckle at the sight.

Spike awkwardly returned the embrace then leaped back out of Lorne's reach. "Bloody hell," he muttered.

Still grinning, Lorne said, "Let me be the first one to congratulate you. Now, introduce me to your friend, will you?"

"Lorne, meet Jake - Jake's a small-time gangster from the township of Soweto in Johannesburg. He's a double-crossing arsehole, but he tried to save my life once, so that's okay. Jake drives worse than anyone I know without getting killed and he likes guns and women, not necessarily at the same time." Spike turned to Jake and pointed at Lorne. "This is Lorne - he's the owner of a poncy Karaoke club for demons. He sometimes works for that bigger ponce, Angel, but he's forgiven for that since he helped me out when I came to LA in August. Lorne is an empath who can tell you your future if you sing and I'm pretty sure he likes men and women, but not guns."

The green demon smirked at Spike. "Why thank you - remind me to put you down to speak at my funeral." He stuck his hand out for Jake and was caught up in a complicated ritual of a handshake by the black man which included butting fists and slapping palms.

"A pleasure, bro," Jake said, flashing his teeth. "Any friend of Spike's, your enemy's mine and all that shit."

"Thanks. I think," Lorne said looking at his just mauled hand with wide eyes. He turned back to Spike. "Are you ready to go? I brought your wheels so if you could drop me off at the Hyperion before you make a dash for Sunnydale, I'd be eternally grateful." He glanced down at the floor and then at Spike's duffel bag. "Where's the rest of your luggage?"

Jake's face instantly turned into a scowl and Spike grabbed Lorne's arm and dragged him in the direction of the exit. "Don't ask," he laughed under his breath and left the irritated Jake to catch up with them.

They reached the car park and Spike looked around for his De Soto. Truth be told, he'd missed the car almost as much as his Slayer.

Lorne saw the feral look in Spike's eyes and his body language became defensive. "Er-- I hope you don't mind, buddy, but I took the liberty and, um..." His words petered off as Spike glared at him.

"Lorne," he growled warningly, allowing his eyes to glint yellow. "What have you done with my car?"

"It was just that she was in such bad shape. It was a truly pitiful sight and I-- I couldn't stand to see her look all depressed. It made me sad. There were actual vibes coming from her and so..." They rounded the corner and Lorne stopped.

Spike saw her parked in the moonlight and his jaw dropped. Her tail fins gleamed and she'd been re-sprayed, although still black, she shone like a sleek cat. Most of her dents had been hammered out and the scratches repaired - he'd never seen her in such good condition.

Grinning at the look on Spike's face, Lorne said gently, "Think of it as a welcome back present."

"It's-- I don't know what to say." Spike was struck with a strange emotion akin to what he'd felt when he'd seen Jake try to haul his dead carcass out of the oncoming sunlight.

Lorne clapped him on the shoulder. "You can thank me later. Besides, it really was making me physically ill to look at her."

Jake took in the sight of the De Soto appreciatively and whistled. "Cool, man. Can I drive?"

***

Spike once again comfortable behind the wheel of his old car, which felt brand new, breathed in deeply as he felt the cool night air whip by. Lorne sat next to him, his arm resting out the window, oblivious to the chill wind while Jake sulked in the back, reluctantly wearing Lorne's red jacket. Spike said he wouldn't let him near the wheel considering that Jake would probably end up driving on the wrong side as well as breaking the speed limit because everything was in miles.

Not that Spike gave a damn about things like the speed limit, but it was the principle.

He had noticed one thing as soon as he'd seen his revamped car - all the windows had had the black paint scraped off and were now as clear as crystal. He could see the entire vista of the sprawling city lights around him as he drove and he decided to call Lorne on it.

"You knew, didn't you?" He said as he fumbled single handed for a fag.

"Knew what, sweet cheeks?" Lorne asked innocently and stole a glance at the vampire.

"That I'd come back ... Different." He hauled out his lighter and ignited the end of his camel while he sucked in the nicotine.

Lorne reached out and plucked the offensive object from Spike's lips, then threw it out the window in one smooth motion.

"Oy!" Spike called out but Lorne shrugged.

"Those things cause cancer. You want to start looking after the whole package now."

"He's right, man," Jake piped up from the back seat. "I keep telling him it's a dirty habit and chicks don't like guys who smoke. Says kissing them is like licking and ashtray. Yuck."

Lorne gave Spike a look that said 'it's two against one'.

"Bugger it, you only live once," Spike said as he pulled out another cigarette, then added, "or in my case, twice." He grinned.

"There's no respect for death these days." Lorne gave an exaggerated sigh. "So it really happened, huh?" His eyes glowed with a touch of awe as he took in the breathing vampire with a heartbeat.

"I guess it did. And it's a pain in the arse!" It really was, Spike thought - he was mortal. He could die from inhaling the toxins in the bloody fag he was smoking or get mangled in a car crash on the highway if he didn't drive carefully enough. He had to make sure he ate properly and slept enough and used the loo when his bladder told him to and put on warm clothes in winter. There were so many little annoyances he'd forgotten about having a body that needed care to keep it in its alive state. "But it does have its benefits."

"Like driving with the top down in daylight?"

Spike gave a chuckle that rumbled in his chest. "Yeah."

Cocking his head to the side, Lorne scrutinised Spike. "So what about the other drawbacks? When do we get to see you in brood mode like your Granddaddy Angel?"

Spike slammed his fist against the wheel, suddenly angry and caused the car to swerve.

"What the fuck?" Jake's head shot up in the back as he recovered from his tumble. Lorne merely held on more tightly.

"Just because I got a life doesn't mean I'm all Percy Sledge now," Spike snapped. "I haven't lost my fangs. Spike's still got a bit of bite in him and no conscience to rule his wicked ways. I may not be the evil undead anymore, but I'm still evil, damn it!"

"I see," Lorne said noncommittally.

Jake was chortling in the back.

"What's so bleeding funny? I'm telling you, I might have had a body transplant, but I'm still the same demon I was before. Nothing's changed. But for a few minor details, I could still pull over and bleed you both dry. Okay, possibly not you, Lorne, because green blood - gah - but I could do it if I wanted to. Look --" Spike vamped out to show Lorne he was still an evil bloodsucking monster. He bared his fangs. "Grrrr."

"So you still crave blood?" Lorne asked without batting an eye at Spike's act of terrorism.
Spike changed back to human face and sighed. "Well, not exactly. I don't really need it anymore to survive but... It has other connotations to me now. Just call it a strange fetish."

"Your demon's probably confused as hell," Lorne supplied. "It doesn't know how to behave in a body that's alive and has other less mystical needs." He wiggled his fingers as if to indicate mystical needs.

"Bollocks," Spike retorted.

"You're going through a process of discovery right now - it's only natural that you would have issues to work through."

Spike rolled his eyes.

Jake added, "The only discovery process he's going through right now is how much alcohol he can drink before his insides rebel."

"And that's an important thing to know," Lorne said. "Do you want to talk about it? Your quest, I mean. I had a very general idea about what the end results would be, but the route itself was murky."

A haunted look passed over the vampire's face but he covered up his reaction and shook his head. "Nothing to tell, really." He remained closed-mouth. Apart from coming face to face, tooth to nail with the original Slayer and then the bit about being brought back to life, there were a couple of things about his hokey vision that really disturbed him. Tara and Buffy. And now he had been away from Sunnydale for so long that he was scared, truly scared for the first time since he'd failed to protect Dawn on that tower, about what had happened while he was gone. And before that, he couldn't remember if he'd ever been scared.

No, he didn't want to talk about the vision.

Lorne must have sensed his reluctance, or heard it in his voice, because he did not press further and then Jake broke the spell of heavy atmosphere by shouting, "Look! It's Hollywood! I can't believe it, man." He had his nose pressed up against the glass like a kid as he took in the sight of the famous sign.

Spike navigated his way easily through the streets.

"I hope you'll stop in for a bit?" Lorne said casually as they neared the hotel where Angel ran his investigations business from.

"Like bloody hell, I will," Spike barked a laugh. "Some other time, maybe. You make sure to send Peaches my love, though."

Lorne shook his head ruefully. "You're going to have to face him one of these days."

Maybe, Spike thought, maybe not. He didn't really care at the moment. With half a smile at Lorne, he said, "Will we see you in Sunnydale?"

He wondered what Lorne was thinking as the demon said, "You never know."

Lorne patted his finger on his nose and gave a mysterious smile which turned to a laugh at Spike's frown. "Even I need a vacation every once in a while and though I was thinking of Hawaii, Sunnydale was next on my list - if only for the entertainment value it would provide. Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Lorne said again as they pulled up to the Hyperion. The sun was just starting to rise.

A vindictive though pulled at Spike - and he wanted nothing more than to gloat in front of Angel about his new found existence. But something held him back. It was not that he wouldn't relish the look on the other vamp's face as he walked into the sunlight and remained dust free, but suddenly life had a greater urgency. He didn't have eternity to accomplish everything he wanted to do, anymore and with each pounding of his heart, he could feel precious time slipping away. Spike doubted if he could ever exercise patience again. He needed to get back to Sunnydale - should have been there yesterday already.

"I can't. You understand," he said by way of explanation.

Lorne nodded and said his goodbyes to the boy and to the vampire that continued to astound him.

Leaving Lorne to stand in front of the hotel, Spike swung the car around as Jake clambered into the front seat. With the rising sun on his left, Spike headed for home.

TBC...