Spike was speechless. He didn't even know what to think as he sit on the floor, an unconscious Xander in his lap. He'd been prepared for a lot of things from this conversation, Xander's intense anger and desperation was one he'd thought of. He'd seen a lot of things in his long un-life, but he'd NEVER seen anything like what he'd just seen. He didn't know what was going on, or what they were going to do, but he did know that he wanted some answers and he wanted them fast, despite the fact that he also knew it wasn't going to happen like that.
Out of the corner of his eye, Spike could see Giles, still sitting where Xander had pushed him, eyes wide with shock and his mouthing hanging open in a totally un-British way. He really didn't blame the man. Had he not had to have hurry to catch Xander, Spike was sure he'd be in the exact same position.
While Spike tried to get his thoughts to form some semblance of order, he glanced around the make-shift library. The dim lights conjured the illusion of secrecy, while at the same time, making the dingy basement of their 'safe house' appear warm and comforting. Or it may have had to do with the familiarity of the old books and dusty artifacts. Spike wasn't sure which.
The tapestries that they'd been able to find and hang in the room, took away the echo and covered the stone walls, making the room less standoffish and more welcoming. It also took care of some of the draftiness. This had become home to him, and to everyone else that lived in the building. For comfort they come here. For a sense of familiarity, they come here. For peace after a battle, they all came here.
Spike glanced back down at the boy in his arms. Xander had come home finally, so the family was as complete as it was going to be. For that he was thankful. If he had nothing else to be thankful for, it was that one ray of hope they had been given. The only damper to that was laying by the boy's side.
The hand that he'd used to punch the wall was still oozing a greenish fluid along with blood. He didn't know what the fluid was, but it didn't smell like anything he'd ever encountered. And as Spike watched, the green fluid did something he'd never seen before.
The liquid that now covered Xander's hand pulled into itself, covering the wounds that had been made on the wall. Even as Spike watched, it covered every cut and abrasion on the skin before it solidified, changed color to that of the rest of Xander's body, and completely blended in.
Amazed and confused, Spike reached out a hand to touch the spot where he'd seen the last of the liquid solidify. It was completely solid and flexible, warm to the touch. Xander had created a new skin on his hand and healed his injuries. Spike couldn't believe what he'd even seen with his own eyes. It left him even more baffled than he was before.
"Giles?" Spike called, wanting reassurance that he wasn't hallucinating.
"Uh…y-yes, Spike?" Giles asked, forcing his voice out through shock.
"You might want to see this." Spike told him, turning his own stunned eyes to the recovering older man.
Giles gathered himself and levered up off the floor. Walking toward the two, Giles knelt down next to Xander's prone body. "What?" He asked, looking at Spike.
"Look at his hand. It's all healed. That green ooze stuff, just kind of gathered itself together and made new skin."
Giles picked up Xander's hand, examining it thoroughly before meeting Spike's gaze again. "Spike, I think they did more than feed Xander demon blood."
~*~
Willow pushed herself back from her computer, trying desperately to keep a hold on her temper. She'd been working for hours and hours, trying to decode the encryption on some disks she'd found at the Initiative base, but had yet to come up with anything. She hadn't even told Giles that she had them. She didn't want to get everyone's hopes up.
Willow snatched the pencil out of her hair and broke it in half. Every turn she took, she ran into a dead end. She was beginning to think that there was nothing on the disk to begin with. Just some decoy junk that no one cares about, like how much laundry detergent the base used.
Willow really wanted to go check on Xander. She hadn't seen him since she'd come back from the recon mission. She was anxious to see how he was doing, but she was also determined to find out what was on these disks first. And with that thought, she braced herself and went back to work.
~*~
Giles glanced around the room. They'd moved Xander up to Spike's room, so he'd be more comfortable, and Spike could keep a closer eye on him. The room was pretty bare. Only a small cot and trunk took up one wall of the small room. Which was just as well, seeing as the room was nothing more than a medium sized storage closet to begin with.
He glanced at the cot, occupied now but the still unconscious Xander and a very anxious vampire. Spike hadn't left Xander's side since the boy had been brought back. Giles wasn't even sure Spike had slept since Xander had come back. A few years ago, he'd have been shocked by the vampire's behavior. Now though, it was something they had all come to expect.
Xander lay peacefully on the cot against the wall. The boy's last three years were going to be a horrible puzzle to try to piece together. Spike had told Giles about Xander's lack of memory concerning the time between his capture and rescue. Giles knew that it would be difficult on Xander, but they had to find out what had happened to him, especially in light of these new developments. Giles had a plan, but the details sill needed to worked out.
Giles came back to the here and now as Xander shifted, the woke up on the cot. Kneeling down next to Xander, Giles put a comforting hand on the boys forehead.
Xander looked at Giles, his eyes brimming with tears. "It's all true, isn't it? Everything Spike said is true?"
Giles had to swallow past the large lump forming in is throat before he could answer the heartbroken boy. "Yes, Xander. It's all true, I'm sad to say. You know we would never lie to you about something like this. Though sometimes I wish it were all a large lie."
Xander closed his eyes, tears sliding down his face and nodded his head sadly. After a few deep breaths, Xander regained his composure and reopened his eyes. Glancing first at Spike, then Giles, Xander nodded his head once, quickly, as if coming to a decision. Eyes hardened and face set into a determined expression, Xander sat up, with Spike and Giles help.
Xander closed his eyes again against the nausea, then took a deep breath and looked at the two again. " I want to know everything you know about what's been happening , the demons, our little resistance band here, what happened to me. I want to know everything. But first, I really want food and a bath, preferably in that order, but I'm easy." Xander gave them a small smile which Giles and Spike happily returned.
~*~
Willow rubbed furiously at her eyes. She'd been sitting in front of her computer for so long, everything on the screen was becoming fuzzy. She was so frustrated she was bout ready to scream. She had yet to find a way into the encrypted files, and was very close to giving up.
She had received word a few hours ago that Xander was awake, but she hadn't wanted to stop then. She had insisted on working on the encryption, hoping something would give a little. But the only thing that seemed to be giving was her.
With a sigh, Willow rested her head on the keyboard, pressing a few keys in the process. Instead of the incessant beep that she had expected to hear, her computer beeped once, then she could hear the processor and hard drive grinding.
Willow quickly picked her head up and looked at the screen. Sequences of numbers, letters and symbols ran across the screen in rapid succession. In order, each column filled with a number, letter, or symbol. When it finished, the screen went blank before displaying a message.
"Medical Files - Welcome, Dr. Neamer."
~*~
The next hour found Xander freshly showered and sipping a mug of hot chocolate. He'd eaten the best the resistance had to offer, then had the most relaxing bath he could ever remember having. Now he sat in the library as several members of the resistance reported what they had found out on the previous nights patrol.
Nothing alarming seemed to have occurred as far as Xander could read from Spike and Giles faces. Several vampire nests had been cleaned out of various mausoleums and abandoned buildings. A demon of indeterminate origin was dispatched near the north park. Numerous random fledges dusted as the patrols moved through the cemeteries.
To Xander, it sounded as if nothing had changed. Everyone still patrolled, though there were more people to patrol than what was there when he had been patrolling. Demons of unknown origin were still getting slayed, though no slayer was doing the slaying, and wasn't that hard to swallow? The only real difference was there were more 'Scoobies' than before, which was good seeing as there were more demons than before.
"No sign of Temelene, there?" Giles asked, seeming distressed by the negative answer he received. "Very well. Go get some food and rest. I'll do a briefing before patrol tomorrow." And with that the troops were dismissed.
Xander wasn't sure who this Tremelene was, but they were either a very bad person or a dearly missed comrade. Xander didn't think too much on it now. He knew he'd get those answers soon. He was more interested in other things at the moment, like his missing Willow.
As the patrols filed out of the room, Spike moved across the room to sit beside Xander. He'd smelled the boy's frustration and anxiety from across the room. He wasn't sure which part of the many things going on, were bothering Xander, but the vampire knew that Xander would tell him if he wanted Spike to know.
"Can I ask you something, Spike?" Xander's voice was tentative, as if he wasn't sure he even wanted to ask his question.
"Sure, ya can, Pet. You can ask me anythin' ya want." Spike told him as honestly as his demon knew how.
"Do you have your soul now?" Xander looked straight into Spike's eyes as he asked his question.
Spike took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what to tell Xander. There was the strictest truth, and then there was what Spike believed. In all the years fighting against humans, Spike had never voiced his thoughts on the matter. Since fighting the good fight, Spike hadn't said anything for fear he would be wrong.
"Xander, that's a complicated question for me to answer." Spike stated, looking at his hands for a minute before looking back at Xander. "If you're asking me if they did the soul restoration spell on me, then the answer is no. They've never given my soul back to me. If you're asking if I have a soul, then I believe the answer is yes. I think I've always had a soul, just not the guilt to care. You of all people know I'm not a typical demon." Spike chuckled. "Demons aren't supposed to love, or feel loyalty for anyone but their families. I love, as twisted as a demon and as purely as a human. I have loyalties, not to my Sire and Company. Couldn't care if the whole bloody lot of them fried in the sun. But I have loyalty to my family. This family. You, Rupert, Red, the whole bloody factory full of walking happy meals. I'm loyal to them and love them. The amazing thing is, they love me and are loyal to me as well."
Xander didn't know what to say to this. He'd never heard Spike talk so passionately about anything before. Xander had a feeling that the person he was talking to was less "William the Bloody" and more "William the Bloody Awful Poet."
Xander reached a hand over and laid it on the vampire's shoulder. "I believe you have a soul. It may ot be pure, and it may not be normal. It may be twisted by your demon, and cultured by who you used to be, but I have no doubt that you have a soul. You loved Buffy so passionately and completely. You cherished Dawn, and were a friend to Anya. You were the only male friend I've had since your bitch of a grand-Sire took Jesse from me. I saw your soul a few times. Tiny flickers here and there. But I really, truly saw it in all it's wonderful glory, for the first time, the night I was kidnapped. You risked your un-life for me. I saw you. You would have jumped into a fight with four humans and a microchip for me. I will never forget that. Although I am glad you never got the chance to do it. You might be dust now if you had." Xander squeezed Spike's shoulder tightly before releasing it and dropping his hand, a shy smile tugging at his lips.
Giles cleared his throat as he walked over to the whispering pair. When he had both of their attention, Giles smiled slightly before taking a seat in the chair across from them. "So, shall we fill you in on the last three years?"
"Yeah, but I have one question before we get started. Where is Willow?"