"Why didn't you tell Buffy you were back?"
"That's a long story, don't you have to get back to the compound or something?"
"It's 9 at night, they all think I've gone home. Don't change the subject."
Spike sighed.
"I didn't want it to all be for nothing."
"What you did in the Hellmouth?"
He nodded.
"Why are you vampires so thick! Do you possibly think she would think you're your sacrifice for us would mean nothing, just because you came back?"
Spike shrugged.
"If you had seen Buffy since Sunnydale you would think differently, she's different and not the she'll grow out of this phase different. Did Angel talk you out of going to see her?"
Willow's expression softened even though she knew he couldn't see her. She took her hand in his hopping he would understand that she wasn't trying to make him feel bad. And since he couldn't see her this was all she could think of.
"He might have played a part in the decision making. But at first I couldn't have done anything even if I had wanted to, pet."
"What do you mean?"
"When I can back, I, my essence, came out of the amulet and I was for lack of a better word, a ghost. I couldn't touch anything so even though I wanted to I couldn't call Buffy to let her know."
"How long were you a ghost?"
"About three months."
"Wow, so why didn't you say anything after you became corporeal? And how did you?"
"I got a package in the mail that made me corporeal again. And because I did a new crisis arose. Because I sacrificed myself to save the world and what not, it created a problem."
"And the problem was the Shanshu, right?"
"Bingo, because that meant there were two candidates for it. And that wasn't allowed."
"How'd you fix it?"
"Went to an opera house and hit Angel a bunch of times. Could of dusted him but didn't."
"Why not, you two hate each other don't you?"
"More than that. I'd rather not get into old details on that. Let just say I'd rather not have to tell Buffy that I killed her ex because I could get a reward out of it cause that wasn't why."
Willow noticed something had changed in Spike's facial features.
"Are you alright?"
"Fine, throat hurts a bit, might have damaged that too somehow."
"We can finish this conversation later if you want to get some rest."
"No, it's fine. Never been one to let pain stop me."
"Well let me know, can't have you injuring yourself more."
Spike nodded.
"So after you didn't turn Angel to dust what happened?"
"Didn't you read all this for Wes' journals?
"Most of it but it's easier to believe from a firsthand account, wait, Andrew went to L.A. to help with a slayer who was slightly insane, from what I remember from Wesley's journal's you were there, right?"
"That I was. The nerd really kept his word, I'm impressed."
"All he said was someone was hurt, he never gave a name."
"Yeah, that was one of the more unpleasant experiences. She had though I killed her family. And I couldn't complain because hers was one that I hadn't offed."
"What'd she do?"
Unconsciously Spike's hand found its way to his other wrist and Willow looked down to see a faint white line around his forearm. She picked up his arm and he let the other arm fall into his lap.
"I can't say I didn't deserve it at one point or another with all the thing I did."
"I doubt you ever did. Spike what she did was horrible."
Willow ran her fingers over the scar.
"Both arms?"
He nodded.
"The man, she thought I was had killed her family and then kidnapped her. He pumped drugs into her system which she then used on me in order to incapacitate me enough to cut them off."
"Ok now I know I don't like her. And Andrew brought her to the compound. She could have killed us all in our sleep."
"She wouldn't have because none of you were the ones she had a problem with."
"Did you just defend her?"
Spike held his hands up in a surrender.
"Just stating facts, Red. And besides I bet there were a few time you all wished you could do the same."
"Not that I would admit."
"I was evil for a while, remember."
Willow nodded and then remember he couldn't see her.
"Yeah, I remember."
"Enough reminiscing, where did you say Wes' journals left off."
"The last entry was you and the other going to attack the Order of the Blackthorn."
"Right, we seceded in that, I saved the kid, Angel defeated Hamilton, the liaison for the Powers That Be, and the others defeated their mark. Except Wesley was killed and Gun was severely injured. The Power that be retaliated by sending a bunch of demon and a dragon after us, then everything goes black."
"Could the dragon have burned you?"
"'Suppose so."
"Might be more than that."
"What do you mean?"
Spike had had been feeling off since he woke up and now that he was thinking about the possibility of the dragon burning him, he was also thinking about the possibility that something else had happened.
"Might have to add poison to that list."
"That might explain why you can't see; given that I know vampires can't get cataracts the poison might be doing it."
Spike nodded. Willow stood up and took the first kit off the bed.
"Get some rest, we can figure it out tomorrow."
Spike decided it was better to listen given that things were probably only going to get worse and he really was beginning to feel tired. He laid down and fell asleep soon after. Willow headed downstairs and started doing research on her computer, at some point internet must have been hooked up at the house because Willow was able to use it. She searched for a few hours before realizing she wasn't going to find anything and she would have to resort to looking in the books that were at the compound. The only thing she knew for sure was it wasn't any poison they had encountered before. Willow decided to go make sure Spike was still asleep, seeing that he was she headed to one of the other bedrooms and decided to get some sleep.
