The Hart of L.A.

Cordelia was fuming in the front seat of Xander’s car. He had gone and bought the car after Angel had talked to him about this job. He didn’t blame her for being mad. He was mad at Angel too. He’d been giving Cordelia moon eyes while still telling everyone he loved Buffy. Sure he really did love Buffy, everyone with eyes could see that. It was just why do that to someone who’s supposed to be your friend? It was obvious that Cordy liked Angel, she always had. He looked over at her and she didn’t look pleased.

" Hey, are you alright?" Cordelia turned to face him, her eyes speaking volumes of what she thought about this arrangement.

" No moron, I’m not okay. I can’t believe that Angel would leave me, let alone Connor! I mean I guess it’s like father like son!" At this statement Xander was truly perplexed.

" What does Connor have to do with any of this?" Cordelia opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Xander smiled at her. It wasn’t like Cordelia to not say something on her mind. It had always been the exact opposite.

" Connor happens to be over at Wesley’s apartment, which is where we’re going. He’s there with Angel, Dawn, Wesley, and Lorne." Cordy looked back over to him surprised.

" You mean to tell me, that Angel is over at Wesley’s? I thought you said he was off trying to find Buffy!" Xander rolled his eyes at her.

" I said they were trying to find her. He sent Gunn, Faith, Spike, and Talia." Cordelia was nodding, then looked confused again.

" Spike? I thought he was dead, and who the hell is Talia?"

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It was Spike’s turn to feel restless. They were less than fifteen minutes away from where the locator had put her. He had the really uneasy feeling that something was wrong. He’d know if something happened to Buffy, wouldn’t he? Talia had finally gone to sleep, so now he didn’t have anyone to talk to. He’d tried to talk Faith into letting him drive, but she felt it too. She was as uneasy as he was. When the pulled into the cemetery parking lot, it was deserted. Spike woke Gunn up, who woke Talia up. They stepped outside, and Gunn spoke up.

" I want Talia to go with Spike, and I should go with Faith." This surprised everyone, including Faith. Spike just shook his head. This boy was an idiot. He had a really bad feeling about all of this. Talia obviously didn’t like the idea either.

" What? I thought we were going to stay together." Spike laughed out loud at this. These two were just comical. Gunn was shaking his head.

" I think Spike could keep you safer than I could. If you wanna go with Faith, that’s fine, I just thought this was the best plan of action." Talia nodded her agreement. Spike sighed.

" Okay kiddies, now that we got that part figured out, what do you say we start looking for the girl, huh?" They all nodded and went in different directions.

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Talia was kind of agitated. Gunn thought she needed protecting, did he? Everyone was always doing that! Her parents treated her like she needed to be sheltered from everything, as did her friends. Now, it would seem the guy she’s got an interest in, is doing the same damn thing! It was really starting to get on her nerves. Why had he been so adamant about going with Faith? The more she thought about it, the more angry she was becoming. Spike had been watching her since they’d started walking.

" You okay, luv? You seem a little upset, and if you don’t want to be my looking partner, you should have said something to him." She glanced over at him.

" Spike, I’m not mad that you’re my partner. It just makes me mad when he does that, and he does it quite often." Spike looked at her confused.

" What do you mean? What does he do?" She sighed. Why was it that she felt more comfortable talking to Spike then she did with the person she had slept with?

" Well, ever since I met Gunn, He’s been trying to protect me. It’s getting really annoying. Just because I don’t know karate or something like that, does not mean I can’t take care of myself. I do know how to fight, and I’m thinking, now I have this super power, I’m not defenseless. I just wish that people would stop with their protective routine on me." Spike nodded his understanding.

" Well the boy likes you, you know? He doesn’t want anything to happen to you, which is understandable. You’re a slayer now, which means you’ll be in constant danger. I went through it with Buffy, only I didn’t tell her I was worried about her. She’s a big girl, and so are you. If it bothers you so much, then maybe you should tell him. I’m gathering that the constant frowning you were doing a minute ago, isn’t just because he’s over protective, am I right?" Talia was shocked. How could he read her so well, when he just met her?

" I guess the Faith thing kind of bugs me, yes. It is the first time in front of me that he’s shown an interest in her, so I think I’m overreacting." Spike didn’t say anything, in fact Spike had stopped walking. He had his face turned to the side, as if he were listening to something. He jerked his head toward her, with a scared look on his face..or maybe it was resentment.

" I need you to run back to the car, or better yet, go and find Faith. Don’t ask questions, just do it!" Before she could turn around, though, Drusilla grabbed Talia by the throat.

" Oh now, Spikey, that’s a bit rude. Aren’t you going to introduce us? After all if she is a slayer, like you said, then we should meet." Spike didn’t say anything, he just tackled her. When he did this, it made Drusilla release her hold on Talia. He looked back at her.

" Go! Don’t turn around, just go and get Faith!" Talia wasn’t about to be told a third time, she just got to her feet, and started running.

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Faith was just as confused as Talia was. Why had the boy wanted to go with her? He could have kept Talia safe, but she had a feeling she didn’t need to be coddled. After all she was a big girl. Faith was not one to hold things in, so she looked over at him.

" Do you wanna tell me what the hell that was all about?" Gunn just glanced at her.

" What are you talking about?" Faith grinned at him.

" You know what I’m talking about. You acted like you couldn’t wait to get away from her, and I wanna know why. The way you were treating her back there, probably won’t win her over." Gunn looked at her again, with a look of confusion.

" I wasn’t treating her bad, I was just saying what everyone else was thinking. Spike can keep her safe, he’s stronger than I am." Faith stopped walking, and grabbed his arm.

" You’re not telling me something, and I don’t understand it. I thought you liked her. I mean you kept her locked up in your apartment, and it’s obvious you’ve slept with her." Gunn turned to face her, and instead of saying anything, he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. Without giving Faith any time to react, he dipped his head and captured her mouth. Neither of them noticed when Talia walked up behind them. Faith pushed Gunn off of her, and glared at him. She couldn’t say anything, because Talia finished walking up to them pretending she hadn’t seen anything.

" There you are, I’m so glad I found you! Spike sent me to get you. We were walking, and then I guess he noticed something, cause he told me to run and find you. Only I got stopped by a vampire, who talks like Spike, and she had me by the throat, and I realize I’m rambling, but that was a freaking vampire!" Faith realized that she was only talking to her, and not to Gunn, but then again she wasn’t being hostile. It looked as if she hadn’t seen anything, which Faith was very great full for. She put her hand on Talia’s shoulder.

" It’s okay, you’ve got to calm down. You were attacked by a vampire?" Talia was nodding.

" Yes, she had an accent like Spike, and she called him Spikey." Faith rolled her eyes. This was all they needed, one of Spike’s little vampire sluts.

" Well, okay then, let’s get a move on." With that they started running in the direction that Talia had come from. Talia was in the lead, because she knew where to go. Gunn had tried to go up to her, but she was acting as if she was still mad about the partner thing.

When they got to where Spike was, he was in an all out brawl with the other vampire. She looked over at the three of them and smiled.

" Oh goody, more visitors." Talia wasn’t paying any attention to her, though. She saw a figure laying on the groung off to the side.

" Buffy?" Talia ran over to her old friend, and knelt down beside her. Buffy groaned, and looked up at her.

"Tay? Is it really you, or am I hallucinating?" Talia grinned at her, and helped her stand up.

" It’s me, and guess what. I think we have something in common." Buffy looked at her funny. It was then she noticed that Spike was fighting Drusilla, and Faith and Gunn were watching.

" You came with them?" Talia nodded.

" It’s sort of a long story." She didn’t get to finish her story, because she was flung out of the way by Drusilla. She’d managed to knock Spike unconscious, by throwing him at Gunn and Faith.

" Now, now, you shouldn’t be standing. I told you I was gonna make you pay, and you will." She back handed Buffy so hard she went flying. She landed on a tombstone, that broke in half on impact. Drusilla walked over to Buffy. Buffy couldn’t move, she was in a lot of pain. When she saw Dru morph into her Vamp face, she was actually scared. She closed her eyes, because she knew what was going to come, only it never did. She looked up in time to see Spike stake Drusilla. She turned around to face him, and said.." Spike?" then faded into dust.