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Anya groaned as her head throbbed in time with her heartbeat and she blinked lazily before turning her head. Through blurry eyes she saw Xander sit up from the floor and rub his head before he looked over at her and stood.



"Anya, are you okay?" Xander asked before kneeling down at her side and lifting her head. "What the hell happened?"



"I'm not sure," Anya said as she blinked repeatedly trying to clear her vision before she stared up at him. Her eyes went wide when her vision cleared and she saw him before she screamed.



~*~



"You're," Buffy stammered as she stared down at Spike. He was sitting there looking up at her with the most unreadable expression on his face. Lifting her hand slowly, Buffy laid it on his chest over his heart and sat quietly. The small thumps under her hand caused her eyes to widen before she looked up at him. "Your heart is beating," she said quietly.



"I know," Spike said just as softly.



They both sat there silently as they stared at each other and the hand resting on Spike's chest slowly rose to his face. Buffy smiled when she felt the warming flesh under her hand and tears filled her eyes. "Spike, you're alive."





~*~





"Anya! What's wrong?" Xander asked worriedly as Anya stared up at him and screamed. He saw her eyes flutter before she slumped in his arms. "Anya? Anya!" Xander shook her hard as she lay there motionless before he stood up and ran to the kitchen. Grabbing a towel, he wet it under the faucet before wringing it out and rushing back to Anya's side. Sitting beside her, he ran the wet cloth over her face and neck.



He could literally hear a heartbeat pounding in his ears but the sound seemed distant. His fear started to overwhelm him before he gathered Anya up in his arms and stood. He carried her to their room and laid her on the bed before sitting down beside her. He watched her as she slept, not knowing what to do. She looked so peaceful. The soft thumping of heartbeats seemed to ring throughout the room and Xander's eyes strayed from her face to her neck. He could see the veins in her neck pulse with her heartbeat and a small growl broke the silence in the room.



His mouth seemed to go completely dry the longer he stared at the exposed flesh before an overwhelming need to quench his thirst overcame him. Without a second thought, Xander lunged toward her.





~*~





Buffy finally tore her eyes away from Spike and looked back over at the demon they had killed before she looked back at Spike. "Was it the demon?" She asked.



"I don't think so," Spike told her. "When I hit the stone, I felt.I don't know. Kinda, weird."



"Weird how?"



"Hard to explain," Spike told her. "I felt hot and then pain. Lots of pain. Then.my heart was beating."



Buffy watched him stumble through his words with a dazed look on his face. As confused as she felt she could only imagine what he was feeling. "Well, maybe Giles can figure it out," she told him before giving him a little smile.



"Yeah," Spike said quietly before nodding his head. His thoughts were jumbled and he looked back up when Buffy grabbed his arm and tried to pull him from the ground. Once he was standing, he staggered slightly before he felt her arm go around his waist. He smiled down at her before they slowly started making their way out of the graveyard.





~*~





White, hot pain coursed through his entire body and the scream he let out sounded more like an animal's growl as Xander grabbed his head. He jumped from the bed clutching his head and stared wide-eyed at Anya before what he had attempted to do finally registered to him. "Oh God," he mumbled before he staggered back a few steps. Looking around the room frantically he saw the phone before he rushed over to it and quickly dialed Buffy's number. He waited and listened to the ringing before looking around him again. As he heard Dawn's voice on the other end of the line his eyes landed on the mirror above the dresser and the phone was forgotten as he stared at the empty space where his reflection should have been.



"Xander?" Anya said quietly as she sat up and stared at him. He was standing there staring at the dresser and glancing in the direction he was looking at let her know what he saw. Or couldn't see. "I don't know what happened," she told him as she scooted across the bed. Keeping her eyes on him, Anya reached to her side and opened the drawer on the nightstand before fumbling with the contents inside. Sighing as her hand landed on the stake they kept hidden inside it, she pulled it out slowly before standing.



"What did you do?" Xander asked quietly as he stared into the empty mirror. "I have no reflection."



"Yeah, I know," Anya said quietly. "You've also got a major case of bumpies right now too," she stated as she slowly backed away from the bed.



Xander turned yellow eyes in her direction and he could see the fear in her eyes. He could also smell it pouring off her in waves and a part of him savored the scent. A small growl escaped him and his eyes darted from her face to her neck. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest and the sound of it was like music to him. It called to him. The strong thrum of beats that pumped the rich nectar he suddenly craved seemed to pull him from his thoughts and he licked his lips as he stared at the bare flesh of her neck. "Anya," he said as he took a step toward her.



"Xander," Anya warned as she took another step backwards before pulling the stake from behind her back. "I know what you're thinking and please don't make me see if you'll dust."





~*~





Buffy opened the door to her house and helped Spike inside before leading him to the living room. She helped him sit down on the sofa before she stood up straight and looked down at him. He hadn't said a word all the way to her house and that worried her more than his suddenly alive status. A quiet Spike was just.spooky. "Can I get you anything?"



Spike looked up at her and gave her a tiny smile before shaking his head no. He wasn't sure anything would help at the moment. He felt - he didn't know how he felt. He was alive. After a hundred and thirty years, he was alive. He couldn't hear Buffy's heart beating or sense the coming dawn. His fingers were on his wrist and even though he felt the tiny thumps of his pulse, he still couldn't believe it. He was alive. A human. How did this happen?



Buffy had walked out into the hall and picked up the phone. Her fingers had dialed Giles' number without even looking as her eyes were trained on Spike. He looked so lost. She had never seen him look so vulnerable. When the familiar voice broke through her thoughts, she closed her eyes briefly before looking back at Spike. "Hey Giles. I know it's late but I really need your help."



"Buffy, what's wrong?" Giles asked as he picked up his glasses and put them on before sitting up. He could tell by the sound of her voice that something wasn't right.



"It's Spike," Buffy said quietly as she stared at him. "Something's happened to Spike."



"Is he injured?"



"No," Buffy told him. "Can you come over here?"



"Now? It's almost two in the morning."



"Please Giles?" Buffy asked. "I wouldn't have called if it weren't important. I need your help."



Giles sighed heavily before closing his eyes. He didn't know what was wrong, but if Buffy was concerned it must be something worthwhile. "All right, Buffy," Giles said. "Is there anything you need?"



Buffy laughed harshly before shaking her head. "Every book you have might help."



"Books?" Giles asked confused. "What exactly is the problem, Buffy?"



"Spike's alive."



"Well, that rules out theory number one," Giles mumbled.



"He's alive Giles," Buffy said and found herself smiling as she said it. "He's really alive. He has a pulse and body heat and his heart is beating and," Buffy sighed as she stopped her rambling and her smile was in full bloom. Spike was staring at her and for the first time since he had told her about his heartbeat.he was smiling at her.





~*~





"Xander!"



Xander looked up at Anya when she yelled and he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat when he realized what he had been thinking. Twice he had thought of killing her. Twice he had to fight something deep inside him to keep from hurting the one person that meant the most to him. "Anya, what's happening to me?"



Anya felt her eyes tear up when his softly spoken question reached her. The demon features covering his face didn't hide the man inside. She could sense him there through the ridges on his face and the yellow eyes that looked at her. She gave him a tiny smile before lowering the stake in her hand and relaxing her posture. "I'm not sure," she told him. "I guess the spell went kind of wrong."



Xander laughed loudly at that before he felt his temper rise as he stared at her. "You don't say," he spat out hatefully. "And what exactly gave you that impression?"



"You don't have to be so mean," Anya said quietly.



Xander looked at her and saw the glassy appearance of her eyes before he realized what he had done. His temper seemed to be on a short fuse and he closed his eyes for a minute before taking a deep breath and looking back at her. "Sorry, honey," he smiled. "I'm not sure what's wrong with me," he said before taking a few steps to the bed and sitting down.



"It's the demon," Anya told him as she watched him.



"Demon?" Xander asked, surprised.



"Well, yeah," Anya smiled slightly. "Vampire remember? The demon has a mind of its own."



Xander thought for a minute before nodding his head and staring at a spot on the wall. He concentrated on what he was feeling and he could sense it. "We need to call Giles."



"And Buffy."



"Buffy?" Xander asked. "Why?"



"Well, the spell apparently went wrong. If you got all bumpy I'm just wondering what happened to Spike."



Xander chuckled as he thought of the blonde before he stood up. "Maybe he dusted," he said as he looked at Anya. "No! Better yet, let him still be around, that way I can rip his throat out."





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