Seas Between Us (Broad Have Roared)

Author: enigmaticblue <enigmaticblue@yahoo.com>

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Do I have to say it? They aren't mine. If they were, I'd be nicer than Joss.

Archive: Anywhere that already has my stuff. Anywhere else just ask.

Summary: Set in an alternate Angel S5, wherein Andrew tells Buffy that Spike's alive after Damage and she does something about it, upsetting the power structure while she's at it.

A/N: This story takes place after Bring Out Your Dead, and may make a little more sense if you read that one first. The thing to notice is that Lindsey does not enter into this story. I didn't want to deal with the boy since I'm mostly ignoring canon. Just so you aren't terribly surprised.

Chapter 9: Shifting Sand

"...I don't mean to laugh out loud/I'm trying to come clean/Trying to shed my doubt/ Maybe I should just keep/My big mouth shut./More often than not/When it comes to you/ You want whatever's not in front of you/Deep down I know this includes me too...Trouble is I'm so exhausted/The plot, you see, I think I've lost it/I need the grace to find what can't be found." ~Over the Rhine, "Long Lost Brother"

Buffy followed Fred into the lobby of the Hyperion. She was weighed down with shopping bags, since it seemed that she and Spike would be staying there, rather than at her hotel. The Slayer, almost in spite of herself, was worried for Cordelia. While they hadn't always gotten along, Buffy had never truly wished her harm.

Okay, that wasn't completely true. There had been several times in high school where Buffy could have quite happily wished her dead.

Things had changed, however. They had changed. Buffy was ready to do whatever she could to help out.

"How is she?" Fred asked Spike breathlessly. The vampire was lounging on the round chair in the center of the lobby, reading a book he'd found.

"Fine," he replied. "She hadn't eaten since breakfast, an' even then it wasn't much. Wes thinks she was just a bit lightheaded from all the activity and such."

Fred breathed out a sigh of relief. "Maybe we should get takeout."

"Already taken care of," Spike replied. "The Watcher called for it a little while ago. Should be here any minute now." He gave the shopping bags a dubious look. "Find anything?"

Buffy smiled at him, the look on her face mischievous. "Just a few things."

Spike's look turned sour. "Buffy—"

"I promised I wouldn't get anything you wouldn't like," she reminded him.

Fred nodded, offering her support. "It's fine, Spike. I think it'll look good on you."

He sighed. "Yeah, alright." Looking over at Fred, he said, "Wesley said to send you upstairs when you arrived. Said you'd know what room he'd put her in."

She nodded and headed up the stairs, leaving Spike and Buffy alone in the lobby. Buffy didn't need any encouragement. She was immediately astride his lap, kissing him. Spike's hands went to her waist, holding her steady as he deepened the kiss.

When Buffy finally broke it off to breathe, she smiled at him. "That was nice."

"Missed you," he murmured.

She smiled, putting a hand on his face, noting that he didn't slick his hair back quite so much. "I missed you too. What did I miss, besides Cordelia fainting?"

Spike frowned slightly. "Sounds a little more serious than we thought, pet. Turns out Angel did a mindwipe on the whole bunch to prevent them from rememberin' his kid."

Buffy's eyebrows went straight up. "Angel has a kid? When did this happen?"

"While back," Spike replied. "It's a much longer, much more complicated story than I can tell you, but it's interesting."

"Do you think Angel's gone evil after all?"

Spike shook his head. "Don't know. Everythin' he's done so far can be chalked up to good intentions, which is somethin' Angelus never had."

Buffy grimaced. "You know what they say about good intentions."

"I think that's what we're all afraid of." Spike sighed. "Wes and Fred have to go back over to the office after we eat. You want to stay here with the Cheerleader or should I?"

"I don't want to go back there," Buffy replied quickly. "I don't know what it is, Spike, but that place—"

"'s not a good place," he agreed. "Right then. I'll go back an' see what I can dig up on that end. Who knows? Maybe somebody will listen to me for a change."

Buffy grinned. "Yeah, when hell freezes over."

~~~~~

"How are you feeling?" Fred asked solicitously, Wesley hovering in the doorway.

Cordy sighed. "I feel like a complete wuss, passing out like that on you guys."

"Don't worry about it," Wesley said quickly. "We pushed you too hard."

"No, you didn't," Cordelia said. "I pushed myself."

"Well, we'll get you something to eat and then you'll feel better." Fred gave the other woman a smile and a hug. "It's really good to have you back."

Cordelia returned the embrace gratefully. "It's good to be back."

"We have to go," Wesley said apologetically from the doorway. "After we eat, of course, but Fred and I should get back to the office."

Cordy tried for a smile. "Of course."

"Someone will stay here, though," Fred quickly promised. "Spike or Buffy."

She tried not to wince. There had been a day when she had been the glue that held the group together, and now what was she? Cordelia wondered if she even belonged here anymore, because it sure didn't feel like it. "I'll be fine," she said. "Even if no one can stay."

"We're not leaving you by yourself," Wesley said firmly. "Just in case this is something more serious, we want to be sure you're alright."

"Do you want to eat downstairs?" Fred asked. "We could bring something up to you if—"

"No," Cordelia said, suddenly unable to take another minute in her room. "No, I think I'll come downstairs."

~~~~~

Buffy and Cordelia stared at one another, neither speaking. With Spike and Fred present, there had been no want of conversation. The Slayer had been amazed to find that Spike got along quite well with both Wesley and Fred; she was the one who didn't belong.

Except that Buffy got the feeling that Cordelia didn't quite fit anymore.

"How's the vision thing?" Buffy finally asked.

Cordelia shrugged. "It's okay. I'm part demon now."

"Yeah, I'd heard."

There was another long pause.

"My body got hijacked last year and I tried to end the world." With that off her chest, Cordelia felt a little better. She and Buffy had never been friends, but there was a lot of history between the two of them.

Buffy nodded. "That sucks. I was in heaven, until my friends ripped me out, and then last year I had to watch my boyfriend die."

"Spike?"

"Yeah."

"When did that happen?"

They were in full girl-talk mode now. It wasn't something they had previously indulged in, but there wasn't really anyone else who could understand their lives. "A while ago," Buffy admitted.

Cordelia's look turned sly. "How is it?"

Buffy grinned. "It's amazing! What about you?" At Cordelia's expression, her eyes widened. "No! Angel?"

Cordelia shook her head. "Not anymore. At least, I don't know. I mean, before..." She trailed off, unsure of how to explain the changes that a year had wrought. Changes that had seemed to put them on opposite sides of the battle lines.

The Slayer reached out and squeezed Cordelia's hand. The fact that she had a steady boyfriend, plus being totally over Angel, allowed her to offer what comfort she could.

High school was a very long time ago.

"I get that."

Cordelia flashed her a grateful smile, then started lookng around the lobby. "We had some really good times here, you know?"

"You still could," Buffy said. "It might be different, but that doesn't mean it won't be good."

Their eyes met, and a shared look of understanding passed between the two of them. Cordelia smiled. "Do you want a tour of the place? I think I remember where everything is."

"That would be good," Buffy replied. "Especially since it sounds like Spike and I are going to be staying here for a while."

Cordelia's eyebrows went up. "You seriously aren't going back to Rome?"

The Slayer shrugged. "I'm not the only Slayer in the world now," she replied. "I can go wherever I want."

"That must be really nice," Cordy said.

"It really, really is," Buffy replied. "So, the hotel?"

~~~~~

Wesley got grabbed as soon as he walked into the building. Harmony, looking very important, said that Angel wanted to see him as soon as he got in. "I have to go," Wesley said. "Spike—"

"I'll meet up with you later," Spike replied. "'m not sure I want to have another battle to the death with Peaches."

Wesley frowned. "Why—"

"He's goin' to smell Buffy all over me," Spike said wryly. "An' then he's goin' to want to kill me. I can take him, but I'd rather not. Buffy has plans for later."

The ex-Watcher shook his head. "Alright, Spike. Will I see you later?"

"Here or at the hotel," Spike said. He watched, amused, as Fred and Wesley shared a look that managed to be both full of promise and anxiety.

"I'll see you later, Wes," Fred said, suddenly shy, as she headed off towards the lab, Spike on her heels. Now that he and Wesley weren't going to be able to corner Gunn for a while, he really didn't have much to do. While he probably could have gone back to the hotel—and Buffy—it didn't make sense to do so yet.

Besides, Spike still couldn't quite believe this was all real.

"Have you snogged him yet?"

Fred whirled to meet Spike's mischievous grin. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said primly.

He rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me Percy hadn't kissed you senseless yet. Do I need to have a talk with him?"

"No!" Fred said, blushing bright red. "It's none of your business, Spike."

"'course it's my business," he replied, loving to get her wound up. They were both so focused on their current conversation that neither noticed the large sarcophagus sitting in the middle of the lab. Nor did they pay much attention to Knox, who was seemingly busy scribbling notes. "You're my friend, Wesley's a friend, you like each other..."

"I don't like Wesley," Fred replied, inadvertantly putting the emphasis on "like."

"You're in love with him, then."

"I'm not—" Fred broke off and then glared at him. "How do you do that?"

"Told the Cheerleader," Spike said easily. "'ve been hauntin' these halls for months, pet. Not hard to see things that way, especially when no one expects you to think about things."

Fred smiled at him. "You don't do anything but think about things, Spike."

"That's not precisely true," Spike corrected her, looking pleased nonetheless. "I've gotten into plenty of trouble for not thinkin'."

She shrugged. "That doesn't mean you don't think." Fred noticed the new arrival for the first time. "When did this come in?" she asked Knox.

The lab tech shrugged. "I'm not sure. It was here when I got here this morning."

Fred frowned. "Did it come with any kind of paperwork?"

"On the desk over there," Knox replied casually.

Fred glanced at the paperwork cursorily. "That's strange," she murmured, noticing that some of the important documentation was missing. "I'll have to look at this later," she said, putting the sheaf of papers back on the desk, glancing back over at the sarcophagus. "I'll have to do a proper inspection later with full gear."

Fred spoke the words, and she meant them, but she couldn't resist moving closer to the large stone coffin. She'd always been the curious sort.

Several things happened at once. Spike, who had been inspecting a piece of equipment he didn't recognize, heard Knox's heartbeat jump just as Fred reached out to touch the jewel-like stone embedded in the top of the object. Later, the vampire couldn't have said why he acted as he did, but he was in between Fred and the sarcophagus in a flash, shielding her body with his own.

There was a sound of rushing air, and Knox's cry of disappointment. "What have you done?"

Spike kept Fred behind him. "What are you on about?"

"You've ruined it," Knox cried. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way. This has been planned for millennia, and you ruined it!"

Spike snarled. "I've been known to bollocks things up, but if you don't tell me what's goin' on, 'm goin' to—"

The expression on Knox's face was one of anguish. "You ruined it," he moaned. "Everything was set."

"Knox, what are you talking about?" Fred asked, coming out from behind Spike.

The young man shook his head. "You were supposed to be the perfect vessel. Everything was aligned, and now—" He dodged as Spike leapt for him.

It was chaos for a moment as Spike grappled with Knox, who pulled a wicked looking knife out of somewhere. The vampire gasped as the knife slipped between his ribs, and then Knox was gone, dashing out of the lab, holding tightly to the blade that was still dripping blood.

Fred was immediately at his side. "Spike?"

"I'll be fine," he managed. "Hurts like a bitch, though."

She watched as the blood seeped from between his fingers, giving him a sympathetic look. "This really hasn't been your week, has it?"

Spike managed a faint chuckle. "S'pose not."

"Let's get you cleaned up," Fred said. "Then we should probably find Wesley and the others and try to figure out what it was that Knox was planning to do."

"Whatever it was, wasn't anythin' good," Spike said, watching as Fred eased his t-shirt up, his brow furrowed in concern. "An' it was meant for you, pet."

Their eyes met, and then Fred smiled bravely. "We're always in danger, Spike. Besides, whatever it was, I'm sure we would have beat it."

Spike wasn't quite so optimistic. He had a bad feeling about that sarcophagus.