Spike slept for most of the two day trip from Cuiaba, Brazil, not far from the Bolivian border - where Drusilla had hidden them - to Rio de Janeiro, where the boat taking them back to the United States was moored.
When he was awake, Spike quietly contemplated his rescuers as he continued to consume the provided blood. He wondered briefly why he had no desire to eat the two humans. Although, killing the little one with the big mouth was quickly becoming a huge temptation.
The older boy came across as mature for his age; as if he'd already lived years longer than was possible. He was a puzzle that Spike had every intention of cracking. Some intuitive part of his psyche told him that the boy may hold the answers to his questions. The boy may be able to tell him the Slayer's plan.
By the end of the boat trip, if it hadn't have been for the knowledge he saw in Xander's eyes, Spike would have written the boy off as a typical teenager with a penchant for joking.
He had already discovered that Clem had been invited along simply because he knew the vampire and, as a demon, would have access to supplies like blood that a mere human may have found problematic. He was exactly what he seemed - a generous, happy-go-lucky sort that just wanted to be helpful to someone he knew and liked.
Andrew Wells was an idiot, and as far as Spike was concerned, it wouldn't matter if the lad held all the answers to the universe, having to spend time actually talking to the little nit was just not worth the battering his sanity would have to take. Spike had made it very clear to Harris that if he wanted the kid to make it back to Sunnydale in the same condition he was when he left, it would be best to keep the boy away from the injured vampire. Spike actually laughed out loud when the older boy had stopped to think that idea through.
It took four days, with Clem and Xander taking turns at driving, for the four of them to make it from Miami to Sunnydale. The entire trip had taken just over a week. And in that time, even with the ample blood supply that Xander and Clem made sure they had, Spike returned to the town of his injuries in the same condition he had left almost three months before - crippled and confused.
After listening to one side of a cryptic phone call that mentioned one eyed pirates, Scooby Do's mates, and strangely enough a pendant belonging to some chit named Anyanka, Spike's level of confusion quadrupled. By the time they got to the unnamed shop next to an art gallery, the vampire was fighting the need to hit something.
The back doors of the van they had retrieved in Miami swung open and Spike was faced with another unknown smiling human. This was turning out to be one bloody surreal rescue.
"Welcome back to Sunnydale, Spike. I'm sure you have many questions." The older man, clearly British - if his accent were any indication - continued after a moment's pause. "I'm Rupert Giles, Buffy's watcher. I must ask that you bear with us a little longer, and I'll give you as much information as I am able. If you will allow Clem to carry you upstairs to my flat, you will find I have already procured a wheelchair for you so that you may enjoy some level of independence while you are healing."
With Spike's cautious nod of acquiescence, Clem lifted the injured vampire and followed Giles through the door of the empty shop once the watcher had formally invited them in. They moved swiftly through to the stairwell, up to second floor landing, and into the large apartment.
Clem set his cargo down on the soft, burgundy velvet couch and quickly said good bye. He'd been away from home for almost a month and wanted to see his family.
Spike warily eyed the watcher as he moved around the room.
Giles grabbed two shot glasses and smiled as he placed a bottle of Aberlour A'Bunadh Old Single Malt Scotch in front of his guest. "As I understand it, this is produced by the same method as was the whiskey of your youth."
"'S a bloody good scotch, mate. If memory serves, A'Bunadh is Gaelic for ‘the origin'?"
Giles inclined his head in agreement before reaching for the bottle and a glass. "Shall we?"
"I've just spent over a week in the company of a git with a Star Wars fetish after more than two and a half months of Hell with my sire. I'd say a drink would be bloody perfect about now, Watcher."
Giles chuckled lightly and poured their drinks - it was going to be a long night.
~*~*~
Joyce shivered when she opened the final crate. The Nigerian mask stared back at her. She lifted the hammer in her hand and brought it down sharply. There was absolutely no way that she was going to shell out for repairs when she didn't have to, and zombies really didn't make good party guests.
~*~*~
"I honestly don't know how much I can tell you, Spike. Buffy was extremely concerned when she discovered you not only missing but, judging by the amount of blood that had been spilled, gravely injured. We attempted to locate you by mystical means, but apparently Drusilla had a spell in place that blocked us. Xander then decided to take matters into his own hands. He contacted Clem, whom I believe you know," Giles paused, waiting for Spike's agreement before continuing. "Clem used his own contacts to locate you, and he, Xander, and Andrew decided to go and get you. You must understand, Spike, that you're important to my slayer. And as she is just as important to the rest of us, you, in turn, become important to us."
"So where is she then, if I'm so bloody important?" Spike asked querulously. He was having a really hard time accepting that anybody could ever care for him, let alone organise a rescue mission to another country, especially after the events of the previous four months.
"She doesn't know that you have arrived yet. Xander refused to alert any of us of his plans. The first I knew that anything had happened was when he called me. But don't worry about Buffy, as soon as Xander informs her of what he has been doing, I dare say she will make this her first destination," Giles responded with a light chuckle.
"Why?" the vampire demanded. The whole situation was confusing the hell out of him.
‘That is, I believe, a subject for Buffy," Giles responded with gentle firmness. "However, there are other matters we must discuss."
"Alright," Spike started thoughtfully. "How ‘bout we discuss why a watcher would be stupid enough to invite a bloody master vampire into his home?" He snarled in irritation.
Giles just smirked as he easily twirled the stake that had instantly appeared in his hand then set about explaining why he wasn't stupid. "I am offering you a deal, Spike. In return for a safe place to stay while you heal and the provision of whatever blood and human food that you would like, including a limited amount of alcohol, I expect you to give me your word that you will do nothing to harm any humans while you are in town, unless otherwise agreed upon by the Slayer. I will not, of course, expect you to include Buffy in that group. I realise that as a master vampire, you have a certain reputation to maintain. I'm sure that you and my slayer can come to your own understanding."
Spike's features remained bland. "Why would you accept the word of a monster, Rupert?"
"I was once told something along the lines of - ‘if Spike tells you he'll do something, he'll kill everything in his path until he gets it done'."
Spike grinned. "Got yourself a deal, watcher."
The two men lifted their glasses and drank.
~*~*~
"Hey Buffster, got a hug for an ex-one-eyed man who comes bearing gifts and isn't Greek?" Xander quipped with a cheeky grin.
"Gift's are good," she replied smartly before launching herself into his waiting arms.
Xander held his friend as she cried her tears of happiness.
Regardless of all the damage he had done to her, Buffy loved him like a brother and had missed their relationship. She sniffed as she wiped away the last remanents of her tears and smiled hesitantly, unsure if she should broach the subject that still lay between them like a gaping chasm.
Xander beat her to the punch.
"You're my sister, my family, and that's how I love you. Sorry isn't a strong enough word to convey how I feel about the crap I pulled on you last time. I don't know why I merited a second chance, but you can bet your Scooby membership that I won't be screwing it up."
"So you won't be all judgey-Xander over my Spike lovin'?" she asked cautiously.
Xander smiled smugly. "No judging from the Xan-man. In fact, I'll even go so far as play cupid for you two crazy kids."
Buffy's face fell, her eyes filling with tears. "That'd be easier if we could find him, Xan."
"I'd try Giles', but you better hurry. After spending over a week with Andrew, he's probably well on his way to being pickled Spike," Xander joked, belying his expression of innocence.
"Huh?" Buffy stood frozen, not sure that she had understood correctly.
"I've been back for a month, Buffy," Xander informed her gently. "Andrew, too. We grabbed Clem and the three of us went to Brazil for a little Scooby rescue mission and brought back our Buffy gift."
Tears tracked silently down her cheeks. "Spike's back?" Buffy whispered, hardly daring to hope.
Xander grinned with joy. He'd done this. He'd given his friend the one thing she'd been in danger of losing. Hope.
He gave her an eager nod and watched as she darted out of the house. "Guess that meeting where we tell every one about Andrew is just gonna have to wait," he said happily as he watched her rush away.
"Oh, Xander. I am so proud of you," Willow smiled through her tears as she descended the stairs, Cordelia by her side.
As Willow hugged her friend, Cordelia couldn't keep her thoughts to herself. "It's about time you got here, Harris. I was totally getting ready to beat the living crap out of stalker you."
Xander smiled at the statuesque brunette before giving a slightly apologetic shrug.
"And who's this Andrew person?"
~*~*~
"I have a question for you," Giles focused his relaxed gaze on the vampire lying down on his living room couch.
"What's that then?"
"I've read many accounts of your past, written by supposed experts, but one accusation that has been attributed to you time and time again I find absolutely and without doubt ludicrous. I am hoping that you will confirm my belief."
Spike pulled himself into a sitting position, intrigued despite himself.
"Were you Jack the Ripper?"
Spike opened his eyes wide in astonishment before bursting into amused laughter. "You're bloody kiddin' me? Some nong actually accused me of that?"
"I believe that would be approximately eighteen, er, ‘nong's'. Quentin Travers - the present head of the Watcher's Council - actually based most of his doctorial thesis on that supposition."
Spike
continued to chuckle lightly in amusement. "Stupid wanker! Anybody not
completely daft knows that ‘Jack' was really a ‘Jill'."
"So you believe that Mary Pearcey was the killer then?" Giles leaned
forward eagerly.
"Nah, mate," Spike grinned cheekily. "It was bloody Darla!"
"Darla was responsible for the Whitechapel Murders?" Giles asked in astonishment. He had certainly not expected that.
"The silly bint was pissed at Angelus for some reason and wanted to leave London, but he'd been refusin'. She figured the public outcry would make him move his egocentric arse. Worked, too. Two days after the last bint was offed, we were on our way to Europe."
"You seem to carry a great deal of anger towards Angelus, may I ask why?"
"The way I feel about Angelus doesn't even begin to compare to the contempt I have for the souled version." Spike responded darkly.
"Contempt?" Giles queried.
"Bloke's supposed to be a white hat, right?" Spike challenged.
"Well he certainly believes that."
"Then explain to me, Watcher. Why, after I was lulled into the false belief that your slayer wanted to heal me, I ended up being tortured for over two months in Brazil?" Spike snarled in fury.
"I don't understand. Buffy was trying to heal you. Good Lord, man, she was giving you her own blood! How can you possibly believe that she had something to do with Drusilla's kidnap of you?"
"Why else did she bring him along with her then?" Spike was genuinely confused.
"We all felt that Angel would be able to keep Drusilla occupied so that Buffy could concentrate on you," Giles responded honestly, completely at loss with the unfounded accusation against his slayer.
"And that's all it was?" Spike pierced the watcher with his all too intuitive gaze. "She didn't tell him how to keep her busy, just to do it?"
Truly bewildered now, Giles shook his head. "I don't think it occurred to her to ask."
"How did he keep her occupied?" Buffy demanded suspiciously from the doorway. So engrossed in their conversation, neither had noticed her approach.
"He's the one that convinced her to take me out of Sunnydale."
"Spike, I'm going to kiss you first then I'm going to go and dust Angel."