Angel drove as quickly as he could to Sunnydale. He didn't know what to expect when he arrived there. Willow's phone call had been brief. The panic he had heard in her voice had been enough to convince him. His childe was in trouble. No matter how much time had past, or what Spike had done, he still loved him. That would never change. He knew that Spike probably wouldn't be pleased to see him. He couldn't blame him for that. Despite the fact that it was Spike who had him tortured not too long ago, Angel knew that that was minor compared to the pain he had inflicted on his favorite childe during his reign as Angelus. Spike had still felt betrayed over him leaving all those years ago.

He hoped that Willow was over reacting to the danger his childe was in, although he knew that Willow wasn't one to over react. Angel sped the car up, anxious to get to Sunnydale and find out what was wrong.

Willow paced around the room nervously. She felt a little better knowing that Angel was coming, but not much. She still didn't know what was causing Spike's illness, or how they were going to fix it. He was a vampire. He wasn't supposed to get sick. He was supposed to live forever. He was supposed to feed off of humans, and relish in their pain and suffering, not lay weak and unconscious in a bed sweaty with his own blood.

As each minute ticked by, Willow grew more and more afraid. She watched his still form as beads of perspiration slid down his body. He face was contorted in a grimace. He had been shaking for the last hour. His body convulsing from unknown dreams. She lay her head down on the pillow next to his unnaturally warm body, and succumbed to sleep.

Giles watched Willow from the doorway. She had finally fallen asleep. The exhaustion had finally overtaken her body. He hoped that Angel would arrive soon. He wasn't completely comfortable around the vampire, but he had come to realize that what happened to Jenny wasn't his fault. Yes, he had killed her, but he had had no control over the actions of his demon. It was Willow who had helped him to realize that. The girl had an endless capacity for compassion. Her relationship with Spike was just a small example of that. Buffy and Xander taunted the blond vampire over his inability to bite, but Willow had shown him nothing but friendship.

Thinking about Buffy made Giles remember the lie he had told his slayer. He hoped she would understand, but he doubted that she would. She didn't understand Willow's relationship with Spike, and she would no doubt have the same difficulty understanding her concern over his illness. And Angel coming back to Sunnydale only complicated matters. Buffy's involvement with the people who were most likely responsible for Spike's condition would make for a tense situation all the way around.

A knock at the front door brought the watcher out of his thoughts. He hurried downstairs and opened the door, and was relieved to see Angel on the other side.

"Rupert."

"Angel. Come in."

Angel walked into the house and took a look around. He smiled slightly as he recognized his childe's taste in the furniture selection, interspersed with flashes of color here and there, which he attributed to Willow's influence.

"Where's Willow?" Angel asked, angel to speak with her.

"Upstairs."

"Angel?" Giles called out, halting the vampire's ascent up the steps.

Angel turned around, and waited for the watcher to continue.

"He doesn't look good." Giles' words were softly spoken, surprising Angel with the emotion he heard.

Angel walked back down the steps towards the Giles. "Why do you care?"

Giles thought about the question before he answered. "Because she does."

Angel nodded his understanding and headed back up the stairs.

Cordelia sat in her apartment, drinking a cup of coffee and playing a game of cards with Dennis. Suddenly her head was bombarded with images. There were fragmented, and didn't make any sense. Almost as soon as they vision had started, it had stopped. She tried to remember everything that she had seen while her breathing slowed.

Once she had calmed down, she hurried to get dressed and ran out of the house, with one thought on her mind. Get to Sunnydale to help Angel before it was too late.

Willow opened her eyes to find herself in a room she didn't recognize. It was cold, and bright. She seemed to be in some kind of hospital or laboratory. As she looked around her, she realized that she was in some kind of dream. Guessing that this was probably the Initiative, she wondered if this was her dream or Spike's.

Spike tried to open his eyes, but the pain was too great. Every dead muscle in his body ached. He heard familiar sounds beyond him. The watcher, and his sire. He didn't know where they were, or why he couldn't move. He tried to open his eyes again, this time forcing the pain down.

Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness, Spike realized he was back in the lab, but something was different. It didn't quite feel right. There was something surreal about it. He realized he was dreaming. Just as he was about to close his eyes, and surrender tot he pain, he felt something. A presence. After a moment he realized it was the witch. Somehow she had been pulled into his dream.