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Xander finished the bacon Buffy had cooked. He was amazed that anyone could make bacon taste so bad. Burnt on the outside, slightly raw in the middle, the bacon had been well and truly Slayed. He smiled at Buffy as she looked at him hopefully.

"Good," he lied cheerfully. "Do you feel up to going for a walk?"

Buffy thought for a second. "Sure, just let me get dressed."

Buffy walked back into the bedroom, pulling her hair into a loose ponytail. She opened the suitcase and looked at the clothes Xander had bought for her. She picked a jeans and shirt combination and moved over to the bed to get dressed. As she did so she caught sight of herself in the mirror and shuddered lightly.

"Actually Xan, I'm going to take a quick shower first," she shouted from the bedroom.

"'k," Xander hollered back.

Buffy walked into the bathroom, frowning at the lack of stamina she had these days. Everything she did seemed to emphasize how much taking drugs had physically affected her. As she washed herself in the shower, running her hands over herself, she could feel the changes Xander had pointed out to her. Even if it hadn't been for the drugs, she could see why he would turn her down if she approached him; She did not feel attractive, let alone beautiful; she vowed to get herself back in to shape as soon as possible, both for herself, and maybe for Xander.

She turned the shower off and carefully stepped out. She dressed and blow-dried her hair. She walked out of the bedroom and found Xander draped carelessly over a chair, reading.

"What'cha reading?"

"Book," came Xander's teasing reply.

"What book?"

"This one."

"Xanddeeerrrrr," Buffy said, a cute pout on her face

"OK, OK," he laughed. "It's Wizard and Glass by Stephen King."

"Never heard of it?" Buffy replied, relieved that the pout still worked.

"Oh, it's the fourth in a series of fantasy books he's written. I read the first three as a kid, the fourth came out a few years ago. I was too busy to read it at the time, so I got it this morning."

"I didn't know you read much."

"Yeah, it's something I did to get away when I needed to. Pure escapism."

"So you want to go for that walk?"

"Of course." Xander stood, carefully placing the book down. With a dramatic flourish and slight waggling of eyebrows, he offered her his arm.

"Shall we, my fair lady."

Feeling a bit more confident about herself, Buffy smiled and took his arm.


Angel Investigations, LA


"Cordy, the sun went down exactly 2 minutes ago. Care to tell me what is so important that I'm singeing my hair just by being here?" Angel asked.

Cordelia eyed the souled vampire carefully. "To start with, the only reason your hair is like that is because you use way too much hair gel. Secondly, the sun went down 10 minutes ago, when I called you. It's taken you till now to get ready. And thirdly, I saw a vision, with your childe, Spike, dying."

At first Angel thought to defend himself, before the latter half of what she had said caught up with him. "What? How?"

Cordelia frowned, "I'm not sure. This was not a standard migraine inducing vision. To start with, I didn't need the industrial strength drugs that I normally do, which I will say was a great relief. I hope all future visions are like this, I can handle it a lot better than I used to."

"Cordy," Angel tried to interrupt; when that failed, he tried again a little louder. "CORDELIA."

"What?" she asked, confused.

Angel sighed. "Spike, dying?"

"Oh, yeah. All I got from the vision is that you need to go to Sunnydale tomorrow. Just you and only tomorrow." Cordelia hoped that repeating the salient parts would forestall any stupid questions.

"Why only me and why tomorrow?" Angel asked.

It was Cordelia's turn to sigh. "I'm just a messenger girl, remember?"

Angel suddenly snapped his glance at her. "If I can't go till tomorrow, why did you get me up so urgently?"

Cordelia smiled sweetly, "We're out of coffee, I need you to go get some from the store."


Buffy and Xander returned to the cabin. They had walked slowly through the beautiful forest, just enjoying the scenery.

"I guess we can go back to Sunnydale tomorrow," Xander said.

"Do we have to?" Buffy whined playfully.

"'fraid so. I need to get back to work and you need to start applying for college."

"You think I'll be able to get in for the fall semester?"

"Hopefully."

While Buffy had a nap in the living room, Xander cooked dinner. His culinary skills were far superior to hers; one of the few useful skills to come out of his neglected childhood. He had had to fend for himself most nights, his parents usually either unconscious from drinking or getting to that state.

When he had finished cooking, he walked into the living room and woke Buffy. They enjoyed their dinner together, continuing their light conversation from earlier.

That night, they were a little uncomfortable as they prepared for bed. Buffy tried hard to find a way to invite Xander to share the bed. She had slept so deeply and so peacefully while he had held her, that she wanted that comfort again. Xander wasn't looking forward to spending an uncomfortable night on the couch, but he also felt he shouldn't leave Buffy alone, in case she had a relapse.

It was with two different, but similar, sighs that they eventually fell asleep.


"Ready, Buff?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Look, we can always come back if you want. Steve said I could borrow this cabin whenever I want. Next time we can bring Dawn patrol."

Buffy managed a smile. "Good idea," she said, trying to hide her disappointment at the idea of inviting anyone else along. The way she was feeling now, she didn't want to share Xander with anyone. Especially not with her younger sister, who still harbored a huge crush on him.

Xander started the car and they left the now spotless cabin. They had spent the morning tidying, cleaning and emptying the cabin. Buffy had happily announced that she was feeling a lot better. They were both glad that the slayer healing had taken care of the normal symptoms of withdrawal in record time.

The drive back to Sunnydale was a lot more enjoyable for Xander this time around. Buffy being a conscious participant was the most obvious change. They talked, as they had been doing all day and both felt at though they were taking the very first steps to getting their friendship back.

Buffy led the conversation, asking Xander in depth questions about his life and his job. She was determined to find out as much as she could about this new, take-charge, adult, Xander who she had only met a few days before.

He beeped the horn loudly as they pulled into the driveway, where they were met by three curious women.

Buffy got out of the car and walked slowly around the back to meet them. She was feeling nervous; the upcoming explanation and apology she would have to give were weighing heavily on her mind.

It was Dawn who moved first; she had immediately noticed a difference in her sister's walk. Buffy was moving confidently with her shoulders high. She was dressed with care and her makeup was flawless. Best of all, she had a smile on her face. Dawn blinked once, comparing the Buffy she had last seen to the Buffy she was seeing now. Her face erupted into huge smile and she lunged forwards and jumped at Buffy.

"You're back," she almost screamed with delight.

"I've only been gone a few days," Buffy said. Dawn's exuberance was contagious and she was smiling broadly as well.

"No, no, no" Dawn replied, "You're you, again. What happened? Where did you go? What did you do?"

Buffy smiled at her. "I'll explain it to you tonight, to all of you," she said as she looked at Willow and Tara, including them, "But it's all thanks to Xander. And yes, I am back, back for good."

Dawn squirmed out of Buffy's arms. She turned to Xander, who was leaning casually against the car with his legs casually crossed as he looked at them with faint amusement. For the second time in as many minutes, Dawn leaped at someone. This time, taking two or three steps first, she jumped into Xander's arms, kissing his cheek and repeating, "Thank you, thank you," over and over.

Xander smiled and hugged her. "It was my pleasure, Dawnmeister. You know I'd tear down the world for a smile from a pretty Summers’ lady."

Dawn just hugged him again, and then reluctantly released him.

"Your sister's had a bad couple of days, Dawn. Let her have a nap first then she'll tell you what happened."

Dawn nodded and grabbed Buffy's hand, dragging her into the house. They could hear her through the open door as she ordered Buffy upstairs and checked that she had everything she would need.

Willow was the first to break the silence.

"You're not going to tell us what happened?"

"Nope," Xander replied, "This is Buffy's story, I hardly did anything. Listen to her story later with an open mind, she's been through a lot."

"So you said." Willow sighed a little, and then leant in and hugged Xander. "I think you did a lot more than you are saying Xand. I paid all the checks you left, remember?"

Xander reached out with one hand and grabbed an unsuspecting Tara, pulling her into the hug.

"You two are two of the four most important people in the world to me. I probably don't say this enough, but Wills, I love you, have all my life, you know that. Tara, you make my Wills happy, I couldn't think of a better partner for her." He kissed them both on the cheek, then released them, jumping into his SUV. "I've gotta fly, I'll hopefully see you both later." With that, he drove off.

Willow looked at Tara, a little shocked. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know. It was almost as if he was saying goodbye."

Willow looked at the departing car. "Nah, He was just being weird."

It had been dark for a couple of hours when Buffy arrived downstairs. Pausing for a second, she smiled widely as she looked at her family.

Dawn was sprawled over a couch in a manner that only a teenager could find comfortable. Tara and Willow were sitting at opposite ends of the couch, their legs running along side each other's. Miss Kitty Fantastico lay between them, curled up. They were watching an old episode of the Simpsons, and there was an open pizza box on the table.

Buffy walked in, grabbed a slice of pizza and curled up comfortably in the free chair.

Feeling the curious gaze of the others on her, Buffy took a deep, nervous breath, and was about to begin her story, when the doorbell rang. She jumped up, momentarily thankful for the interruption. She hoped that it was Xander. There was a tall, dark man at the door, but as far as she was concerned, it was the wrong one.

"Angel?"

"Hi," the souled vampire said.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked; her tone curious.

"Cordelia had a vision. Can I come in?"

Buffy looked at him appraisingly, and then nodded stepped back. "Yeah, come in Angel," she invited, allowing the vampire access to her home.

A quick rearrangement of the seating meant that Dawn ended up perched on the couch next to Willow and Tara. They all looked at Angel, waiting for him to explain why he was here. Bitter experience had taught them that he only turned up when something major was going to happen.

Buffy's explanation of her absence for the past few days would have to wait.

"So, what's the bad news?" Willow finally asked.

"Cordy had a vision of Spike dying, and that I had to be here this evening."

There reactions to Angel’s statement varied wildly, from Willow's almost total indifference to Dawn's look of shock and fear.

"We have to stop it," Dawn shouted, immediately jumping to her feet.

"Dawn, sit down." Buffy said loudly, a tone of command in her voice.

The others, who had been getting to their feet sat back down.

Buffy took a deep breath. "Before you go rescuing Spike, there's something you all need to know. I need you all to listen to me while I go through this, and then ask questions at the end."


Buffy normally opened the door to Spike's crypt with violence. Her slayer strength allowed her to slam open the heavy entrance with a bang. Xander, not having Slayer strength, had to resort to science. A pound of dynamite, detonated against the stone door, left only a smoking hole. Xander stepped through the dust cloud, and carefully placed a large crucifix in the doorway, then walked in and yelled "Spike!"

"Bloody 'ell, droopy." Spike stood in front of him, blood dripping down the front of his black t-shirt. "You made me spill my drink. What the hell are you doing?"

Before Spike finished, Xander moved fast and punched him in the face. Spike stumbled backwards and growled. His face vamped out instantly and he put all his body weight behind a punch aimed at Xander's nose. Xander stood still, a slightly mocking grin on his face. As Spike's fist got close, the vampire suddenly reeled back, his hands going to his head; he had forgotten about the behavior modifying chip that the Initiative had surgically implanted in his brain. Recognizing certain signals in Spike's electrical impulses, the chip determined that the vampire was trying to cause a human pain. It sent an electrical pulse directly to Spike's pain receptors, causing the vampire to double up in agony.

Xander laughed - a harsh sound with no humor in it. He jumped forwards and kicked Spike in the stomach as hard as he could, following it up immediately by grabbing the back of Spike's head and pulling it down hard, as he raised his knee at the same time. There was a loud crunching sound as Spike's nose splattered.

"What the fuckin' 'ell are you doing?" Spike repeated, backing away.

"Having a conversation with you, old boy," Xander mocked, mimicking an upper crust English accent. He crouched and spun, sweeping Spike's legs from under him. "Can't you feel how well we're communicating here?

"I thought we'd have a nice little talk about our mutual interest, the Slayer."

"What do you want?"

Xander looked thoughtful, and then punched Spike again, grabbing him before he could fall. Spike tried to kick Xander back. His instinctive reaction to the pain Xander was inflicting was to lash out himself.

Again, he forgot about the chip and doubled up in agony.

"First, Spike, you can tell me what you meant when you told Willow that the Slayer would need you," Xander stated.

Spike looked a little confused, despite the fact that his vampiric healing was taking care of the injuries Xander had inflicted.

"When I get this damn chip out, I'll skin you alive, you wanker," he snarled.

Xander almost smiled and let loose another punch, followed by letting the vampire drop to the floor. Spike gasped in pain, trying to roll away from Xander, who kicked Spike in the stomach as hard as he could, his steel-toed work boots snapping several of Spike's ribs; the cracking sound they made was audible throughout the crypt.

"I asked you a question," Xander said calmly.

"She needs me for companionship; I'm the only one who understands what she's been going through."

Xander pulled a small crucifix from his pocket and pressed it against Spike's cheek. The sound of sizzling flesh lasted a second before Spike's enraged scream drowned it out.

"I'm sorry, William, I was looking for honest answers only."

"Buffy will kill you when she finds out what you've done to me," Spike gasped.

"Maybe," Xander said, unconcerned. "But at the moment, she's at home with Dawn, Willow and Tara and I'm here. So let's try again. Why would the slayer need you?"

"Because I get her drugs," Spike spat.

Xander nodded. "I know. Have you wondered where she's been the last few days, Spikey?"

Spike looked up at him, his eyes full of rage and hate.

"She's been with me, going cold turkey. You see, she doesn't need drugs anymore. This left me with a problem: What to do with the fucking bastard who got her onto drugs in the first place."

"Wait a bloody second," Spike interrupted, only for Xander to press the cross down again.

After Spike finished screaming, Xander said, "It's not very nice to interrupt Spike. As I was saying, Buffy's been telling me about everything she's done with you. How you gave her some softer drugs first, and then forced her into using heroin. How you blackmailed her into fucking you to feed her addiction."

Spike noticed the almost hidden emphasis Xander had put on the 'fucking part' and suddenly realized he had a way out of this. If he could get away now he could get some of his friends to kill Xander before anyone realized. The slayer would need him even more once Xander was gone; she

would turn back to Spike for comfort.

"She told you it all did she?" Spike fixed his eyes on Xander, waiting for his chance. "Did she tell you about that time you came in here, when she was invisible? When I was doing naked push ups?"

Xander frowned at him, unsure where this was going.

"Naked push ups my arse. I was fucking her; she was writhing under me, getting off on me doing her in front of you. She was so up for it; I could feel how much wetter she got when you came in."

Xander rocked back a little, shocked, and Spike took his chance. He pushed against Xander, not hard enough to hurt him and set off the behavior chip, but hard enough to make him lose his balance. As Xander fell backwards, Spike jumped up and ran for the door, laughing.

Xander stood quickly, grabbing a baseball bat.

Spike's laughter came to an abrupt stop as he came within an inch of the large cross blocking his doorway.

"Oh shit."

Before Spike could turn around, Xander caught up with him and swung the bat as hard as he could, stepping forward and putting his body into the motion, just as he would when swinging at a thrown ball. The bat caught Spike just below the ear - the blow would have killed a mortal; it just rendered Spike unconscious.

Xander grinned and picked up the vampire. Throwing Spike in to the back of his SUV, he drove as fast as he could to the top of the cemetery. Getting out, he unceremoniously dumped the blond vampire onto the ground. Almost absently, he hit Spike again, ensuring the vampire would not awaken before he was ready for him.

Xander moved over to his SUV and got his work bag out; he opened it and got a small sphere and a piece of paper. Reading the paper carefully, Xander chanted aloud the words. As he finished the chant for the second time, he smashed the crystal sphere on the ground. There was a flash of light and a quiet bang, followed by an absolute silence.

Xander smiled and wandered over to his equipment again. He pulled out a bag of blood he had purchased from a butcher earlier and opened it carefully. With a slight sigh, he poured it over Spike's face. The warm blood woke the vampire, who desperately tried to get every drop. His face changed into its demonic form and focused on Xander. Spike realized he was free and jumped up, snarling. Deciding instantly that discretion was the better part of valor, Spike ran as fast as he could away from Xander. He had reached full speed when he ran straight into a solid, but invisible, barrier. The effect was as unforgiving as if Spike had run into a steel wall. He bounced backwards, unconscious before he hit the ground.

Xander walked down to the prone vampire. Picking him up by the heels, he dragged Spike back to the top of the hill, being careful to drag him over every rock he could find. Using some thick rope, he bound Spike's wrists to a large wooden crossbeam, forcing his arms far apart.

That done, he moved down and tightly tied Spike's legs both together and to another beam, at right angles to the first. The shape of the giant crucifix started to burn the vampire, but Xander ignored the slightly gross frying sound and smell as he doubled the amount of ropes holding the vampire down. Spike would not be able to escape, no matter how hard he tried.

"What the hell are you doing?" Spike demanded as he awoke again, arching his back to try and get away from the pain.

"I think you asked me that before," Xander said.

"Let me go, you cock sucking bastard."

"No," Xander said simply. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's a bad idea to insult your captor?"

"It never stopped you bloody lot."

"True, but we were only dealing with stupid vampires. You're dealing with your executioner. There is a big difference. Well, actually," Xander thought for a second, "it's not going to make a difference, you're going to die either way."

Xander picked up something from the floor. "Recognize this?" he asked.

Spike looked at the item and felt fear for the first time in many years. He looked at Xander's face; it was expressionless, not that of someone who was insane; it held a look that was much more terrifying: that of someone doing what they thought they must, regardless of the cost.

"Come, on Spikey, where's the big bad we all know and love?"

"It's a railroad spike," Spike said, struggling futilely against the wooden beams to which he was tied.

"Give the vampire a prize. To be precise, it's a special railway spike. Do you know why it's special?" Not waiting for a reply, Xander continued, "it's been blessed by a priest." He rubbed it gently against Spike's hand and the vampire hissed in pain.

Xander picked up a large hammer. He placed the sharp tip of the spike against Spike's left palm, and brought the hammer down hard. He ignored the agonizing scream of the vampire as he set to work. Xander started the same rhythm he used at work, hammering as quickly and effortlessly as he did when building wall frames on his job. With only 6 inches of the spike left hanging out, Xander bent the end of the spike over, ensuring that Spike would not be able to pull his hand off, even if he got out of the ropes.

Spike was frothing at the mouth with the pain he was undergoing, muttering under his breath. His words had no form and function; they could have been promises, threats or attempts at bargaining. Xander didn't care; he simply picked up the next spike and repeated the process with Spike's other hand.

Ten minutes later Xander finished pounding the last metal spike into Spike's left foot. He walked behind the delirious vampire and, using the pulley system he had erected earlier, pulled the large crucifix upright. A little out of breath, he looked up at the vampire, and shook his head.

There were small flames dancing around the spikes in Spike's body. The flames slowly burnt out one by one as the surrounding flesh died.

"Sunrise is in 6 hours. Enjoy your last night on earth Spike. I'll be here to watch you burn."


"So, I owe Xander everything," Buffy finished. She had explained everything that had happened, not just over the past few days, but since she had returned from the dead. She had taken the opportunity and unloaded everything she had been thinking and feeling. The effect was cathartic for her; she felt truly at peace for the first time since her return.

When she finished speaking, a deep silence enveloped the room. Angel was sitting completely still, in shock, unable to process what Buffy had just told them. Dawn, Willow and Tara all had visible tear tracks running down their cheeks. Dawn looked the worst, the shock that someone she cared so much about had not just lied to her, but had committed so much evil against her own sister, was physically hurting her.

Willow moved first, dislodging Ms. Kitty. She fell to her knees next to Buffy and grabbed her in a tight hug, crying. She whispered repeatedly, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Tara and Dawn quickly joined them, also tearfully murmuring their apologies, as they held each other. They stayed there for several minutes, simply enjoying the sense of family they were feeling, before finally breaking apart. There were soft smiles on each of their faces as they looked at each other, understanding that this was their chance for a new relationship.

Angel spoke first. With a voice full of sadness, he said, "I know why I am here: to kill Spike."

For the first time, none of the present members of the Scooby gang protested against Spike's death.

"So, where is Xander tonight?" asked Dawn, realizing that Angel had been here for several hours and had not yet been insulted.

"He said he had some things to do." Buffy explained.

"Oh Goddess" whispered Willow. She looked at Tara desperately. "Tell me he's not..."

Tara looked at Willow, confused; suddenly, her face dropped. "Oh , no," she half whispered, realization dawning across her face.

"What?" Buffy and Dawn asked in unison.

"Before he left earlier, Xander said goodbye to us, after telling us he loved us both. It was as if he was saying goodbye permanently. We thought he was just being weird."

The others all came to the same conclusion. "He's gone after Spike."

Minutes later, they were all jammed in to Angel's car, heading for Spike's crypt.

"We have to find him. We can't let Spike kill him," Buffy said, sounding incredibly worried. Dawn just hugged her sister reassuringly.

"Spike can't hurt Xander, Buffy. He's chipped, remember?"

Buffy smiled and nodded in agreement, relieved.

Moments later they pulled to a stop outside of the crypt. They all jumped out and ran towards the shattered remnants of the crypt door. Angel was the fastest, but he had to stop so quickly that Buffy barreled into the back of him, almost knocking him over.

"What?" she snapped.

Angel just moved out the way and pointed at the large object blocking the doorway. "Xander must have put this here to try and make sure Spike couldn't follow him," Angel stated.

Buffy pulled it out of the way, vowing to kill Spike very slowly if he had managed to harm a hair on Xander's head.

Once inside the crypt, they found Spike's lair completely empty, and quickly returned to the car.

"What now?" Angel asked.

"We try and find them," Buffy announced firmly.

Deep in discussion about there next move, they drove off, completely missing the tire tracks that led to the top of the cemetery.


"Just let me go Xander, and I'll leave, never come back to Sunnydale in my life. You know I can't hurt any humans."

"No, Spike, you may not be able to physically hurt humans, but you will find a way to cause pain, it's all you know. And I don't want to take the risk of you having the chip removed."

Spike withdrew again into his pain. They had had similar conversations all night, Spike trying to get Xander to reconsider while Xander steadfastly refused to budge.

Xander moved and relaxed against a tree trunk, his watch alarm set to wake him before dawn.


It was only two hours before sunrise when the exhausted Scoobies arrived back at Spike's crypt. This time, however, they noticed the tire tracks and walked up the hill together. As they rounded a corner of the trail, they all came to an abrupt halt as they encountered a barrier.

They could see Xander resting against a tree, and Spike crucified in the middle of a clearing.

"This is weird," Angel announced, "I can't go any closer."

Willow nodded, "It's one of my spells. I gave it to Xander last year for his birthday. I'm surprised he is using it; it takes six months to prepare and uses a really rare crystal. I could only do the spell once. It forms a protective bubble that keeps all uninvited people out, as well as vampires and demons. It would take a powerful, and motivated, witch several hours to break through it."

Willow looked up at the crucified vampire, "I'm really not feeling that motivated to try."

The others nodded, distracted by the morbidly fascinating sight in front of them.

On the hill, Spike opened his eyes and saw them standing there.

"Help!" he cried, his voice full of pain.

He met Dawn's eyes first; with his enhanced senses, he could see a tear drop well up in her eyes.

"Nibblet?" he asked hopefully. She just shook her head slowly, the tear dropping from her eyelash and running down her cheek. She turned around and started to walk back to the car. Willow and Tara followed her.

"Well, fuck you, too," he snarled at their retreating backs.

Spike turned his gaze to Buffy. There were no tears in her eyes this time, just contempt and a little sadness. She, too, turned away without another look, this chapter of her life finally closed.

That just left Spike with Angel. Sire - Childe relationships fostered a bond no one who hadn't been through it could understand. It was through this bond that Spike felt Angel's reaction, and Angel felt Spike's acceptance of defeat.

Angel turned and followed the others back to the car. Silently they all climbed and drove back to Buffy's place. Once there, Angel turned to Buffy.

"You mind if I crash on the couch?"

"Go ahead," Buffy whispered, "I'm going to bed."

In silence, the others followed her, each weighed down with their own thoughts.


An annoying beeping sound woke Xander. He stretched and checked his watch. It was thirty minutes before dawn.

A single tear had dripped down Spike's face; he knew he was alone, without friends and was about to die. His head was hanging low, the strain of keeping it straight too much for him, even with his vampiric super strength. If he had been human, he might have died of asphyxiation. The pain caused by the cross had receded into his memory; the constant agony was no longer having the same effect.

"How can you send me to hell?" Spike croaked, barely able to talk through the pain. Spike cursed his rapid healing for the first time. It meant that the flesh surrounding the holy spikes was constantly healing, only to touch the blessed metal again. The flesh would then burn, causing Spike to scream under his breath, before dying once more and causing the cycle to begin again.

Xander looked at Spike, tilting his head to one side.

"Pretty easily," he admitted. "I sent Angel to hell with his soul; what makes you think that I would have a problem sending a vampire without a soul there?

"I believe that, as far as the afterlife is concerned, your destination is fixed after judgment is made over how you lived your life. You've ensured yourself a trip to hell. I'm just making it happen now."

"What about Dawn? She'll be heartbroken that I've gone. She'll hate you," Spike lied, throwing everything he could think off at Xander, in a desperate attempt to save himself.

"Possibly," Xander admitted. "But it's worth it, to ensure that you don't corrupt her as well."

Before Spike could continue, Xander changed the subject. "Anything you're curious about, before you die?"

"Where did you find a priest who would bless your spikes?"

Xander laughed and reached into his bag and pulled out a certificate. He held it up for Spike to read.

Spike read it slowly, then re-read it. He laughed with grudging respect.

"You took a correspondence course to become a priest of the Church of Elvis?"

Xander smiled and nodded. "I blessed the stakes myself."

Xander titled his head and looked up at Spike. "I wonder what would happen if I were to bless you?"

Spike looked worried; he was sure that the answer would mean more pain for him.

Xander looked around; the ambient light was signaling the fast approaching dawn. "Any last words, Spike?"

"Let me go?" Spike asked.

"'fraid not."

"Well, tell Dawn I'm sorry then."

"You actually care for her?" Xander asked, curious.

"Yeah, I guess," Spike replied, before falling silent.

"Spike," Xander said, a few minutes later. "Tell Angelus I said 'hi' when you see him."

Spike snarled, and spat at Xander. Xander just laughed at him, moving directly in front of the vampire.

The sun finally became visible, bright rays appearing over the hilltop. Spike started to smoke as he felt every particle in his body catch fire, but he refused to scream out loud. As the sun bore down on him fully, Spike opened his mouth in a soundless curse, and then exploded into dust.

Behind him, the cross was almost unaffected, only a few burn marks marring the smooth surface.

In neatly chiseled words, across the horizontal beam Spike had been covering, was the simple inscription:

"Rot In Hell."

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Author Notes:

Thanks to Randy and John, my brilliant beta readers.