Xander closed his eyes and thought hard about all that had been said to him. For the first time in a long time he was able to step back and think about the reason he hated so deeply. It all came back to two things; Jesse and Angel. When he focused on them, he made another startling discovery.

"You're right," he nodded to Gunn. "I was blaming all vamps for Jesse, and that's not right. But being a vampire has nothing to do with my hatred for Deadboy. I hate him for a whole bunch of other reasons and it's only the fact that he's a vampire that gives me the idea that I can dust him. I couldn't do that to any human that I hated as much and for the same reasons. But if you promise to keep the bastard away from me, I'll promise not to try and dust him."

"Try would be right," Angel snapped back defensively. He had no idea why the boy hated him so much, but he had a strong suspicion it had something to do with Buffy.

"Be very happy that it is not me, then, Angel. I would not just try," the disdainful watcher promised, leaving no doubt that if he tried he would succeed.

‘Why am I here again?' Angel thought bitterly. ‘Oh, that's right!' "Where's Buffy?"

Giles said nothing as he moved to call Buffy's cell phone. The less time he had to spend with the much hated vampire, the happier he would be.

"She's at Wesley's," Giles announced after finishing his call. While he kept his expression bland, he was internally jumping with joy. He was very sure that the vampire would not be happy with that piece of information.

"Great, just great," the brooding vampire sulked. This was going from bad to worse. Just once he wished he could get a break.

~*~*~

Riley reached forward to lift the window higher but was enraged to discover his entry was barred. Quickly considering his options his mind focused on a comment Willow had made weeks before. Barrier spells only worked on specifics. You could keep out demons, vamps, and humans if you wanted, but inanimate objects couldn't be stopped unless they were actively named.

With an evil grin, the ex-commando agilely slipped back down the tree and made his way back to his car and his bag of goodies.

~*~*~

Buffy stood at the door watching the sleeping vampire. She wondered idly just when it was that Spike had stopped setting off her internal vamp alarm.

As she watched him, she thought about everything she'd learned over the last few days. She'd forced herself to face truths that she'd kept hidden, to some extent even from herself.

Willow's spell.

She's been happy. Deliriously happy. His soft touches; the way he'd read her distress as she'd mentioned her fears about Drusilla. All in all, he'd been the perfect boyfriend. And for a few hours he'd been all hers.

Was that what a relationship with Spike held?

Buffy thought hard about the last year, little forgotten episodes flashing through her mind. Spike telling her she had stupid hair was one of his lamer insults, but it reminded her of Jimmy Moroni from grade school. He had also said something like that, and it hadn't been until they were almost in junior high that she'd found out he'd had a crush on her and at the time, he still thought girls were yucky, so he'd used insults to try and fight the attraction.

Was it possible? Did Spike LIKE like her?

She smiled softly, thinking that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he did.

Buffy had had doubts about the lack of fire in her relationship with Riley right from the start. She'd even talked them through with Willow. If she was really honest with herself, she'd have to admit that she'd settled for Riley because she was afraid of the fire. It had already burnt her once with Angel. She had absolutely no doubts where Spike was concerned, though. Oh, no. With Spike, there would be fire aplenty. They already had that between them as it was. But maybe...maybe they could explore the fire differently? Maybe they didn't have to resort to verbal sparing and nasty comments? Maybe they could learn the lesson Jimmy Moroni had taught her? Maybe they could stop fighting the fire and embrace it?

If Spike was really going to be one of the good guys, then did she really have any reason to deny her attraction to him any more?

Buffy contemplated the man on the bed in front of her and thought maybe it wouldn't hurt to try.

~*~*~

Riley cocked the bolt into place and aimed. As his finger tightened around the trigger the blond opened his eyes but Riley wasn't able to see what he was looking at. A slight rustle at the window brought the piercing blue orbs to the window and locked with those of the vengeful soldier. Before Riley allowed himself to wonder about the compassion and forgiveness he saw in the other's gaze, he let the bolt go.

~*~*~

Buffy smiled at the sight of Spike blinking his eyes sleepily. When he focused on her, she felt her knees go weak. ‘Whoa! That was quick!' she thought in shock as the blond turned his head to gaze at the window.

The Slayer heard the crossbow being released and automatically threw herself in the direction of the bed, relieved when she managed to pluck the bolt out of the air a fraction of an inch from its target.

Slowly, she turned her furious gaze to the window.

Riley took one look at her expression and slid backward in fear. He hastened to get out of the tree before she could catch him.

He wasn't fast enough.

Buffy flew out the window and tackled the fleeing ex-commando to the ground. "YOU BASTARD," she screamed. "YOU MISERABLE, COWARDLY BASTARD!"

Giles, Xander, Angel, Cordelia, and Gunn stood frozen in shock. With the exception of Gunn, these people knew Buffy and not one of them could remember her ever losing it to the extent she was now.

Giles hesitated to step forward, but eventually did so cautiously. The rest of the group had no intention of getting any closer to the irate girl.

"Buffy?" Giles gently called to his slayer.

"Stay right where you are, Riley. You really don't want to piss me off any more," Buffy hissed at the fallen man before attempting to reign in her temper and face her watcher. She knew she was worrying him, but she was so damn angry that she was having a hard time reeling it in.

"What's happened, dear," Giles asked calmly.

His voice was soothing her warring emotions. She faced him and silently pleaded that he continue.

"It's alright, Buffy. Whatever it is, we can work through it. Just take a deep breath, dear, and tell me what's happened."

Buffy closed her eyes and followed his advice; his presence calming her as much as his words.

"Riley thought it would be a good idea to try and finish what he started with the plastic stake," the Slayer growled angrily.

A gasp from behind her indicated the arrival of the group that had been inside the house.

Tara's stony glare at the non-repentant soldier had him cringing once again.

Without a word the blonde Wiccan spun on her heel and rushed back to the house, intent on checking her ‘brother'.

"He's fine," Buffy called after her retreating form.

Tara ignored the words and continued on; she needed to see for herself.

"How did he get past the barrier spell?" Willow demanded.

"I don't know." Buffy shook her head in confusion. "I didn't' notice him outside the window. We were just lucky that I heard the bolt being released and my reflexes were good enough to stop it."

"So he was still outside, then." Willow felt relief that her faith in magic had not been shaken, but was angry that Riley had managed to get around the loophole.

Wesley noticed the other visitors to his property for the first time. He had been so focused on Buffy and the cowardly soldier that he had failed to notice them before. He didn't want them here. It still hurt to look at Cordelia and Gunn. They had been a team, but it had clearly meant less to them than it had to him, given the fact that they had seemed to have no compunction in replacing him with the not so noble vampire that, at this point, Wesley could only look at with distaste. Even without his soul, to Wesley at least, Spike appeared to be the better vampire.

Before Wesley had a chance to confront his newest visitors, Joyce did.

Joyce glared at the brunette vampire. "What are you doing here?" The emphasis she placed on the word ‘you' left no one in doubt as to her dislike of Angel. They had enough to deal with, they really didn't need the added drama that the Summers matriarch was convinced that the brooding vampire would bring.

"I needed to talk to Buffy," he snapped. He was starting to get really pissed off with all the animosity he was receiving.

"Speak to my mom like that again and it will be the last thing you do," Dawn threatened angrily.

"Tell me again why you had to come here, dude? ‘Cause these people hate you," Gunn muttered uncomfortably, knowing full well that the vampire would hear him.

"It's getting dark, can we take this inside?" Cordelia asked, attempting to bring the emotional levels down a notch or two by focusing on the present.

"My home is protected, Cordelia, and I have no intention of lowering that protection by inviting in individuals that I would not welcome at any other time." Wesley addressed his former colleagues for the first time. With an air of dismissal, he turned from the L.A. group and focused on the downed ex-commando. "Mr. Finn, that you would attempt an attack on a guest in my home just enforces the already low opinion I have of you. Be assured I will rectify your ability to gain such close access again. You should be very thankful that I do not approve of physical violence against humans."

"Neither do I," Willow added her support to Wesley, her voice hard, her features resolved. "But then I don't consider turning you into a rat physically violent."

"I won't tell you again, Riley. Leave. Leave the town. Leave the state. Leave the country. I seriously don't care, just as long as you leave," Buffy ordered harshly, her tone brooking no argument.

The disgraced former commando pulled himself to his feet. His anger warred with his grief. He grimaced at the looks of condemnation he was seeing on the faces of those he knew. The really sad thing was that he still didn't understand what it was exactly that he had done that was so wrong. With a sigh of defeat he nodded his compliance and slowly moved in the direction of his car. He had a helicopter to meet.

Angel took the lull in conversation as the Sunnydale group watched the soldier leave to try and grab Buffy's attention. Placing a hand on her arm, he waited for her to turn to him. "Can we talk...privately?"

Buffy sighed tiredly. She felt like she was being pulled in a thousand different directions. "What's to talk about, Angel? I get it. I really do. I understand why you did what you did. I know you were grieving, but I don't approve of what you did. Nothing you could say will make me ever approve that you basically gave Darla and Dru permission to kill a group of humans you didn't like. If you came here looking for acceptance, then okay, I accept that you did it and I won't dust you because you were acting under the influence of grief, but if you're looking for forgiveness you came to the wrong person. I can't forgive you, can't give you absolution, those are things that only the Powers or your victims can give you. I won't condone what you did either. It was wrong. As far as I'm concerned, you are just as guilty as Darla and Dru. You had the chance to stop them and you didn't. I can't look at it any other way. I still hold myself responsible for your actions when you were Angelus. I blame myself for Jenny's death. I forgave you for your part in that, but I've never been able to forgive myself." She looked at him sadly. "To tell the truth Angel, because I let you remain undusty, on some level, I have to also bear the burden of those humans you let die. How can I forgive you for giving me more guilt? I'm supposed to protect them, and now I have to live with their deaths. This was your last chance, Angel. You screw up again and I'll have no choice. I'm the Slayer, I can't live with anymore of your mistakes."

Angel just stared at her, lost. He didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected her calm acceptance and well thought out judgement. The Buffy he knew would have forgiven him anything. He had honestly believed that that would never change. He felt the stark pang of loss, and for the first time realised that they were really over.

Xander and Giles moved closer to their usual companions and the two groups faced each other, wondering silently at the wide chasm that seemed to metaphorically separate them.

The door to the house opened and all eyes automatically moved in that direction.

Within the glow of the hall light, the image was intensified by the darkness that had surrounded the group on the front lawn. Tara and Spike stood close together. The beautific innocence of the picture they made was disrupted by an anguished cry in the night.

All parties spun towards the sound.

Drusilla stood frozen under the glow of the street light, her eyes locked on the blond in the doorway. Her features crumpled in despair. She was too late. Miss Edith had lied.

"Oh, my poor, brave prince! I warned you. Mummy told you that the sunshine would gobble you all up. Nasty, greedy sunshine. She takes my daddy and now my knight. Leaving Princess all alone in the cold, cold, oh so cold. Mummy can't fix this, my Willam. Nasty bits of wire and plastic are all gone and we could have been together again, but not now, not ever again. A shiny angel hurts my eyes." Drusilla stomped her foot in childish pique. "No cake and tea for you."

Spike glided effortlessly down the stairs to the dark vampiress. "I could not have come this far, were it not for you, beauty. I will always love my rescuer. And now I can return the favour and give you the peace you crave."

With a gentle smile he lifted a hand to her face.

Drusilla's face cleared and sanity returned to her eyes. "You never needed to look for it, William. You were effulgent."

With her last word, the vampire known as Drusilla the Mad, of the clan Aurelius, disintegrated with a happy sigh.

"For that you die," Angel shifted into gameface and snarled out in fury, his demon raging over the death of his most beloved childe.

Spike turned to face the enraged brunette, smiling benignly as his wings unfurled and his body was cast in a heavenly glow.

"Do you wish for me to give you peace also?" he asked with innocent curiosity.