Doppelganger

A/N Thanks to Jenn and Fiona for all their help. You guys rock my world!

Chapter 2

“I know he’s alive!” Buffy screamed at Giles. “Why won’t you just let me go look for him!”

Giles ran a hand through his hair feeling Buffy’s pain. When Jenny had died a few years ago he would have done anything to bring her back from the dead, the same had been true when Buffy had jumped from the tower. There was nothing he could do either time to bring them back, and God knew that Willow should not have brought Buffy back from the dead.

“Please Buffy” Giles said calmly, attempting to make his slayer see reason. “You know there is no way that Spike could have survived. Even if he managed to escape the demons, which eye witnesses say he didn’t, he surely would have been burned to death in the fires that raged through LA. You have better things to do then sitting around worrying about your dead lover.” Giles said the last bit a little more forcefully then he had intended but he knew that he was right. Buffy needed to be training the new slayers. Just because the apocalypse had been adverted, didn’t mean there wasn’t still plenty of work to be done.

Most of Los Angeles had been destroyed when the demons had come. Now many demons were still causing havoc in California and if the new slayers were not trained soon there would be widespread panic. Although most people for the time being attributed the destruction of LA to a fire that spun out of control, it was getting harder everyday to keep a lid on the real cause of the destruction. At the moment Giles had every slayer that had fought in the hellmouth as well as the most powerful witches and warlocks that he knew tracking down the demons. Giles had also heard that Riley Finn and his wife were taking a team through California trying to help where they could. He could only hope that for the moment that was enough.

“Fine! If you won’t help me, I’ll find him myself.” Buffy said in a clipped tone. Turning on her heal and heading for the door.

Giles sighed and pulled his glasses off his nose. “Buffy come back” he shouted just before she reached the door. “Look I’ll have one of the seer’s in the coven look for Spike, alright? You can’t possibly search all the hospitals in the world anyway. But Buffy if he was alive don’t you think he would have called us or… or something by now. The hospital makes no sense either. For God’s sake Buffy; the man doesn’t have a heart beat.”

“I swear these dreams are different Giles! They are too clear. They must be slayer dreams. They have to be.”

“And maybe you just want them to be. Look Buffy we have excellent counselors on staff for the girls now, maybe you should think about seeing one of them.” That earned him a glare from the blond and Giles couldn’t help thinking that if looks could kill he would be dead.

“I don’t need a counselor, I need Spike! Just find him.” With that Buffy stormed out the door leaving Giles standing behind holding his glasses in his right hand.

Giles sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He needed to do something to bring his slayer back, and he needed to do it soon. The problem was that the person he needed to accomplish his plan wasn’t going to like his idea. No, she wasn’t going to like it one little bit.

* * *
“You want me to do what?!” Willow looked at Giles as if he had lost his mind. “You are not seriously telling me that you had me teleport half way around the world, which for the record takes a lot out of a girl, to play with dolls, are you?”

“Well, they aren’t dolls they are talismans, and yes sort of.” Giles answered a little weakly. “The spell will allow you to bring Spike back from dead long enough to accomplish one goal; that is saying goodbye to Buffy.”

“What am I Drucilla now?” Willow grumbled as Giles gathered supplies and handed them to the witch. “Honestly Giles, I don’t think this is a good idea” Willow said speaking louder this time. “Remember what happened last time I played with dead, Buffy came back all not happy like. Maybe Spike is better off dead.”

“This is a different spell Willow. I would never suggest you attempt to raise Spike from the dead permanently, but this will allow Buffy a chance to say goodbye, and then perhaps she will stop entertaining the idea of getting herself killed.”

Willow had heard about the incident while Buffy was patrolling the other night. She also knew that if Giles hadn’t gotten worried about her, there would be one less slayer in the world right now. That was the deciding factor for Willow. She loved Buffy far too much to let the other girl do herself in. “Alright Giles you win show me the spell” Willow said as she grabbed the spell book from his hands.

“Thank you Willow, I think you are doing the right thing.”

“We’ll see how Buffy feels about this when she finds out what we’ve done” Willow muttered as she drew a circle on the floor with sand. “Alright hand me my dolls and I’ll start” She said holding out her hand to Giles.

“They’re talismans,” he grumbled handing the small stick figures to Willow.

* * *


“Buffy, I’m going out.” Dawn called as she pulled her jacket on. She cast a worried glance at her sister who had yet to move from the couch that afternoon. “Maybe you could try and umm move while I’m gone?”

There was no reply from Buffy and Dawn just sighed as she opened the door. She didn’t want to leave Buffy alone, but there was no food left in the hotel, and she was going to starve soon. For Buffy’s part it didn’t seem like she cared about food one way or the other.

Buffy heard the door as it closed behind Dawn. She knew that she should be the one to go and get the groceries, but she had no desire to move at the moment. She continued to stare blankly at the television, trying to remember exactly what she was watching. She couldn’t remember. Eventually she gave up and flicked the TV off. It was no use watching something when you couldn’t remember what it was you were watching. Buffy couldn’t even remember what she was supposed to be doing at that moment. Likely patrolling or something of that nature she thought, but she didn’t care anymore.

Just then a noise startled Buffy into sitting upright. Grabbing the stake she had tucked into the couch cushions, she turned to face the noise behind her. Homes may be safe from vampires, but hotel rooms were considered open territory. There was no one behind her however.

“Must have been a mouse.” Buffy thought as she looked around the room. But as Buffy turned around the stake clattered to the floor. “Spike?” Buffy choked out.

“In the flesh, love.” Spike answered. “You might want that stake though; you never know what nasty things might be entering your house. Now how about a little play time?” At those words Buffy watched stupefied as his face changed from human to demon.

* * *
Willow stood up from her seat in the center of the circle, her facial expression displaying her worry.

“What’s the matter Willow?” Giles asked “Did the spell work?”

“I don’t know Giles, something’s wrong, very wrong…I…I can feel it in the spell.”

“Break the talismans” Giles said reaching for the figures in the center on the circle. He and Willow quickly snapped all the magical objects, but Willow could still feel the spell at work.
“We have to go find Buffy, Giles! This isn’t working, I think something is wrong with the spell!”

* * *

“What’s the matter Pet? Don’t want to fight back? You know it really isn’t any fun when you don’t play the game.” Spike sneered as he stood over Buffy, who was already battered and bruised from being knocked around by the vampire. Spike bared his fangs. Picking her up he stroked her hair before pulling her head back to reveal her neck. He leaned in a smelled it. “Mmm, it’s been too long slayer.” He said as nuzzled the place where her neck joined her shoulder. “I’m really going to enjoy this you know.”

Buffy came to her senses at that moment and pushed Spike away from her. “Why are you doing this, Spike? Why do you want to hurt me?”

“That’s what I do Slayer. Vampire remember? Now be a good girl and hold still so I can suck you dry. Say Goodbye Buffy.”

“No.” Buffy said shaking her head, unable to comprehend that Spike wanted to kill her again. He had been fighting by her side for years now.

She didn’t have time to think much through however because Spike raised a fist and knocked her into the wall. Normally this would not have been enough to knock Buffy out, but with the stress she had been under and the fact that she hadn’t eaten in days, when she hit the wall head first she was out cold.

Spike shrugged, “That was easy. Oh well love, I’m still going to eat you.” With that he lifted the unconscious slayer into his arms and brushed the hair away from her neck. Sinking his fangs in, he reveled at the taste of her blood. It was so strong.

The door burst open and Willow rushing came in, casting a spell that knocked the slayer out of Spike’s arms. Giles followed, close at her heel, managing to look worried and angry at the same time.

“Buffy!” Willow screamed when she noticed her friend unconscious and bleeding on the floor. She brushed past Spike leaving him with room to run towards the door. Giles made to grab the vampire but Spike twisted out of his grip and escaped into the night.

“Giles!” Willow screamed as she bent over her friend. “It looks bad, Giles! We are going to need to take her to the hospital.”

“Yes, I’ll go get the car” Giles said heading for the door. “You see what you can do to get the bleeding to stop.” With that, Giles headed out the door leaving a very worried looking witch with the unconscious slayer.

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A/N So that’s it for now, I'll try to update by Wednesday but I have no idea what will happen since I'm supposed to actually have a life outside of fanfiction (at least that’s what my friends keep telling me). Oh Yes and review...please...they make me feel special so I write more! If you like it let me hear it, actually if you hated it let me hear it, maybe you can improve my writing. Constructive criticism though please....