Here it is, my oneshot turned story maybe? I wrote this as a oneshot, which is still up but I wanted to make it more then that. I just wanted to write a believable/good story about how Buffy and Spike reunite. Tell me what you think. I'd love some feedback. Thanks for reading. By the way I added an extra scene for those of you have read the old version, its a little updated. Well hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire slayer or Angel or any of the characters in the shows. Although I'd love to have spike all to myself. It all belongs to Joss Whedon.

Her Champion

Chapter One: Gone

The bus came to a screeching halt barely ten yards from the gaping hole that had once been Sunnydale. Buffy hurdled over the bus's edge and landed swiftly on her feet. Dawn emerged from the emergency exit pulling her sister into a tight hug. Giles, followed by the able slayers, filed out after her.

"What did this?" Giles asked astounded.

"Spike." she replied simply, smiling despite herself. She was proud of him. He had sacrificed himself for her, for dawn, for everyone. He was her champion. Human or not, Soul or no soul, he was the best man she'd ever known. Tears filled her eyes and a strange thickness crept into her throat preventing her from saying more. Her toes touched the edge as her friends tended to the wounded and exchanged their eye witness accounts of their loved ones demise. She quickly shoved his name out of her thoughts, desperate to avoid his face.

"Yeah. What are we going to do now, Buffy?" Dawn asked suddenly. She wasn't sure what would come next. She had always been used to the everyday demon routine. But now that was over. What happens now? She thought. She watched her sisters face, as the agony beneath her mask became evident. Spike. He was gone.

Dawn took a deep breath to calm herself. Spike had gone out of his way to protect her, to protect Buffy. He loved her and it was clear she loved him. But now he was gone. He would never be there when she wanted someone to talk to. Never there when Buffy would need him. He had been like the brother she never had and she couldn't stop the crystal tear that made tread marks down her cheek.

What were they going to do now? What was she going to do? Buffy questioned herself.

She wasn't sure about herself, but she knew she still had a job to do. A responsibility. She had to take care of the remaining survivors and get everyone to safety. There was only one person she trusted enough to help. So she choked back the tears and turned to her friends.

"We're going to L.A."

"I suppose that is a good idea. You're thinking Angel will help." Giles mused.

"Yeah. I am. He said he'd have a second front ready so hopefully he'll be able to help."

"You're right. He owes me one anyway." Faith replied smiling. "But we need someone to get us there. Because Robin isn't really up to it." Faith told them, with muted concern in her eyes.

"No problem. Giles?" Buffy hinted.

"Of course." he nodded before him along with everyone else filed back onto the bus. Buffy took one last look before she turned her back on the disaster site she once called home.

The ride wasn't long, but the entire time Buffy, Xander and Willow stretched across the back seats and consoled one another, while the others shared the front.

After arriving in L.A. Buffy asked around for Angel. Who she found to be working at an evil law firm, which had her a bit surprised.

"I knew it! I told you he was no good!" Xander had told her.

But she just couldn't believe it.

Buffy got everyone settled in, in the lobby and she made her way to the receptionist, who happened to be a familiar face.

"Harmony?" Buffy asked in shock.

"Oh Buffy!" she replied panic-stricken. "Please don't kill me! I'm working for Angel now. Haven't fed on a human in months. I swear."

Harmony stuck her hands up in surrender as she stared into the eyes of the slayer.

"I'm not going to kill you, I'm actually looking for Angel. Did you say you work for him now?" she asked.

"Oh thank god. Um yes I do. Okay let me get him." she said quickly before dialing what Buffy assumed was his office.

Buffy perched on Harmony's desk as she waited for angel. She was stunned. She couldn't believe Angel was working for the other side. According to the local people, this place was the big bad of Los Angeles. How come she'd never heard of it? She wanted to know when this happened and why he failed to mention this when he came to sunnydale.

A few moments later Angel appeared with an expression of relief.

"Buffy!" he said smiling before pulling her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yeah, Um me too. Just curious but since when did you start working for the bad guys?" she asked pulling away from his embrace. A look of suspicion on her face.

"I'll explain everything later but first we better get you're injured attended to." he said gesturing toward the string of girls moaning in pain in the lobby.

Angel pulled out his cell phone and insisted people get on it immediately and within seconds the wounded were being cared for.

Wesley and a small girl named Fred came by and said hello.

"Hi, its nice to finally meet you, Buffy." Fred said smiling.

"Ditto." she replied.

"Nice to see you Buffy. Always a pleasure." Wesley added.

"You too, Wesley." she replied. "Hm, you've been working out!" she said laughing.

"I have indeed. I am truly sorry about Spike." he said gently.

"Thank you." she replied before he nodded and walked off to help out.

Buffy watched Wes and Fred exchange glances from across the room, every now and then, and she knew that they had something. She couldnt help but smile, she was glad Wesley had found someone for himself. He really deserved it.

"Let's talk in my office." he said quickly before pulling her away from the group.

"Nice place." she said with sarcasm leaking into her voice.

"Yeah. Comes with the Job." He paused and preceded cautiously. "So? Any casualties?"

Buffy's expression changed from light amusement to sorrow.

"We lost some of the slayers, Anya…Spike." she replied turning away from him in an attempt to hide her pain. Even with Angel with her it was hard to keep her emotions under wraps.

"I'm sorry. I know you said he was in your heart-"

"It was more then that." she said dryly. "Much more."

"You-You loved him?" he asked in disbelief.

"I do love him." she replied wiping at the tear that slipped down her face.

"When I came you said he wasn't- Why?" Angel asked, before he could stop himself. He knew he shouldn't have asked but he was desperate to understand. He wanted to know how Spike had worked his way into her heart.

"He was a good man."

Her explanation was simple, but it said so much. Angel couldn't help but be stung by her words. Jealousy washed through him. How could Buffy see Spike as a man? He killed hundreds. Two slayers, no less. Of course he had killed people too but he was making amends for it. And yeah, maybe Spike saved the world once. But he did loads of times. He was the one who started the whole soul thing in the first place. And what, Spikes better then him because he went looking for it? He loves Buffy just as much as Spike did.

Angel was brooding for a while before something Buffy had said drew his attention.

"You said you lost slayers? There are only two, you and Faith. I don't understand."

"Willow performed a spell using that mystical scythe of mine. Now every potential slayer is a slayer. All of them." she told him in awe. She was still amazed that Willow pulled it off.

"Wow." he said. "Impressive."

"Yeah."

"Willow better get out of here as soon as she can." he told her warningly.

Buffy got defensive. "Why?"

"It's just, the senior partners are always looking for powerful witches to use for their own personal needs, and I prefer she wasn't recruited. They're already strong as it is."

"Oh, right." she said feeling silly, before she remembered something. "Which brings us back to you." she told him pointedly.

"Yes." he replied before poking his head out of the door and shutting it behind her. "I'm taking them down form the inside." he said smiling, while gesturing to the walls around him.

"Is that right?" she asked, her suspicion wavering. It seemed like a great idea.

"I figure what better way to take them down then to get inside their head?" he replied surprised by her lack of enthusiasm. He quirked an eyebrow curious as to her attitude. "What is it?"

"Its- I'll admit this is a brilliant plan but do you really think its going to work?"

"Of course." he replied a little flustered. "I thought you would agree with me."

"I do, but, Angel I've dealt with evil before. What if- Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yes." he insisted. "Trust me?"

"Fine. I'll trust you." she replied quickly, taking his word. Though she made sure she noted to keep an eye on things just in case.

He smiled at her and she returned the smile with one of her own. There was a stretch of silence before either of them broke it.

"Lets go check on the others." he told her opening the door and leading the way back to her friends.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Buffster." Xander replied.

"How you holding up?" Willow asked her brow wrinkled in concern. She noticed her best friend hadn't talked much on the way to L.A. and she could see the pain she was wrestling with. Anyone with eyes could see it.

"I'm doing-" she stopped and sighed, unsure of how to finish. Xander noticed her distress and pulled her into a hug, which Willow joined in on.

"How about you, Xan?" Buffy asked pulling away to measure his expression.

"Pretty much the same." he said looking away.

"I'm sorry about Anya." Angel told him nodding his head.

"Thanks." Was his reply before he stifled back a sob.

Xander had been so sure that after the battle him and Anya would make up and start fresh. He hadn't even imagined life without her, it never even struck him as possible.

Giles got up from the couch he was positioned on and put a hand on Xander's back to soothe him. He sympathized with Xander because he too knew what it felt like to lose a loved one to the hands of evil. And those hands were not even three feet away.

"So, do any of you have an idea what your next move is?" Angel asked quietly.

Giles stared up at Angel with a look one can only define as suspicion, for lack of a better word. Giles couldn't seem to shake the feeling of mistrust. After all, he was working for the enemy it was pivotal that they didn't release any important information that could hurt them in the distant future.

"I think Robin and I are going to go to the hell mouth in Cleveland. I think B deserves a break, and the hell mouth needs an experienced slayer, so I think I'll deal with that." Faith told them, before exchanging a smile with Buffy.

"How about you Buffy?" Willow asked. "Got any idea where we go from here?"

"Well I think I'm going somewhere to find a place where we can train the slayers." She told them nodding. She hadn't really had time to think about it but after hearing the idea, she knew that was exactly what she wanted to do. Find somewhere and settle down while helping the other slayers understand their powers.

"Well then maybe Andrew and I can go out and find the other slayers. I might be able to use a spell to locate them." Willow replied, excitement bubbling in her voice. Xander couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm, it was like she was back in high school all over again.

"And I'll stick with Buffy and help with the training. I mean, who's going to warn the girls to stay away from crazy, eye poking, women hating priests?" Xander chuckled. Buffy just shook her head and smiled. Leave it to Xander to make jokes about the man who almost cost him his sight.

"And I'll stay with you also, Buffy. I'll do whatever I can to help." Giles added. "I heard there is a large estate in Scotland in which a watcher left for any watcher willing to take it. I think it will be a superb place to train the girls."

"Sounds like a plan." she smiled. Looking at the faces of her friends made her feel like there was still hope. Like maybe she would get through this, eventually. They were on their way to the next chapter of their lives. And she was going to do her best to live her life right.

After Angel made arrangements at the Hyperion Hotel, within a day or two the girls were almost fully healed and everyone was ready to head out. Giles had arranged the estate and everyone was ready to fulfill the mission they set for themselves.

It was the night before Buffy would leave and she was explaining to the girls, what would happen next in one of her famous speeches. (Which Andrew was recording)

"Congratulations. You made it through your first apocalypse." she started speaking to all the slayers. Many of them started to murmur excitedly but Buffy put a hand up to silence them. "But that was nothing. I promise you there will be more. THere's always more. So this is where you decide to take the next step. To come with us and learn more. To become part of something bigger. To save the world…again and again and again. Most of you will come with me and there will be a few of you that go with Faith. She's going to be stationed at the hell mouth in Cleveland and some extra muscle would be nice. So we'll need about three or four. Anyone interested?"

A few girls volunteered and after everything was settled the rest of the girls clustered into groups awaiting Buffy's instructions.

"Now get some rest and be ready to leave in the morning." she told them before the girls got up and started filing into their rooms.

"Buffy?"

Buffy turned around to find the girls still waiting at the end of the stairs.

"Yeah? What is it?" she replied.

Angel stood against the back wall, watching the exchange.

"It's just- I wanted to apologize. We all wanted to apologize." Kennedy said sheepishly.

Willow, Xander, Giles, Faith, Robin and all the girls exchanged guilty looks before buffy responded.

"What for?" Buffy asked puzzled, studying each of their faces, curious as to the reason behind their apology. Had they done something she didn't known about?

"For the night we voted you out. We were just so afraid and we didn't know how to handle it. So we decided to take it out on you." Rona explained.

"I- You're all forgiven." she told them smiling. "It was hard on all of us. I know. Now you guys better get to bed, early start tomorrow."

The girls exchanged their goodnights along with Faith and Robin, leaving Willow, Giles, Xander and Buffy alone, with Angel hanging in the shadows.

"God Buffy. How can we even begin to-?" Xander began to ask, looking away shamefully. "And we blamed you. I am so sorry Buff."

Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. That night had been something all in itself. Because it had not only been the worst night of her life but also the best. She'd been betrayed by her friends and thrown out of her own house by her only sister. She had felt so alone and hopeless, no where to turn, completely empty. Until Spike showed up. She had been ready to give up. He had given her the strength she needed. He had been there for her when no one else was, he showed her his heart and he welcomed her with open arms. It had been the first time she'd ever let anyone in.

Tears began to sting her eyes and she beat them back. "It's not your fault. I wasn't seeing clearly." she insisted, trying to save her friends the guilt.

"But you were right! And we didn't listen. If it wasn't for you we would have lost our war on account of our stupidity." Willow cried.

"I'm afraid she's right." Giles concluded.

"Please say you forgive us Buff." Xander pleaded. Willow and Giles nodded in agreement.

"Of course I forgive you." she replied before grabbing them all into a group hug.

Buffy started to climb the stairs after they broke their hug and her friends had exited the lobby. She was trying to make a quick getaway because she knew Angel had been watching her and she was trying to avoid the conversation she knew was coming. She just couldn't deal with Angel and their situation right now. She didn't want to have to explain the whole conversation he'd just heard either.

But Buffy had to admit that without Angel they wouldn't have had anywhere to go. He had been such a big help for the past few days and for that she was grateful.

"You know you've become quite the speaker." Angel told her sincerely. "You're a great leader."

"I try." she replied looking anywhere but his face.

"Look, I-" he stopped in mid sentence, noticing she was uncomfortable. He was afraid to ask the question for fear of the answer so he left the statement unfinished. He would wait. He would let her mourn Spike, then talk to her about them. She deserved that. And she was obviously in no mood to talk about what her and the scoobies just discussed so he'd leave all of that for another day. What she needed was sleep.

"I hope you have a good trip and I'm here if you need me." he told her smiling.

"I know." she replied as she let out a sigh of relief. She pecked him on the cheek and fled up the stairs before he change his mind.

Buffy threw her self on the bed and squeezed her eyes shut to prevent the tears from leaking over. Everyone was safe and comfortable, she couldn't avoid him forever. His face flooded her mind, His blue eyes so full of fire, his arms wrapped around her, his words of comfort. Small sobs began to rock her frame. She twisted over and buried her face in the pillow as her tears soaked the fabric. There was an emptiness that seemed to radiate through her chest. She would never see those eyes again, never feel those arms, never hear those words. None of it. He was gone. And she couldn't stand it. Angel stayed near her window the entire night and listened to her cries of pain. It broke his heart to hear such sounds from any living being, much less Buffy. After a few hours she slowly faded to silence, and he left to freshen up before they parted ways.

With a few hours of sleep in comfortable beds, everyone was up by dawn and prepared to leave. All of the girls, Andrew, Xander, Giles, Willow, and Dawn. They were all bustling around gathering the few of their belongings and saying goodbye to those who were leaving. Which reminded Buffy she still had two people she needed to say her goodbyes to.

"Will?" she called as she noticed her best friend passing by.

"Yeah Buff?" she asked concerned.

"I never got a chance to say thank you. For doing what you did. I know it was hard for you because you thought you might lose control. You were great out there and I'll never forget it."

"Thanks." she smiled shyly. "Thank you for believing in me. Even after-" she trailed off as both their thoughts drifted to that fateful night.

"Long since past. Remember?" she smiled. "Besides I wanted to say goodbye and that I'll see you soon. You better call while you're on your wild adventure with Andrew." she said, pulling her into a tight hug.

Silent tears fell from their eyes.

"I promise, I will." Willow replied before gathering the rest of her stuff.

Her and Andrew were the first to leave but not before Andrew, stopped and whispered something in Buffy's ear.

"He really did love you."

"I know." she replied, tears welling in her eyes.

He simply nodded and left with Willow trailing behind.

Then it was her turn. Buffy, Dawn, Giles, and Xander, along with the slayers, made their way to the Bus.

Angel stood in the shadows and waved to Buffy as she got in.

It was that moment that Buffy realized she was completely over him. Although he'd always have a place in her heart, she had moved on. She would always care for Angel and be there when he needed her but they were done. Thinking back to the night before the battle she laughed. It was ironic how Angel's and Spike's rolls had reversed. She couldn't help but hope wherever Spike was he could hear her. And even though she didn't want to say it she considered Spike a better man then Angel, or as he would call him, Peaches. She knew he'd love to hear that. She laughed quietly to herself and drifted into sleep to make up for the hours she laid awake.