Title: Hatred is the Strongest Poison
Chapter 20 – New Beginnings

A/N: Wow to be honest when I first started this story I didn't expect it would be this liked or get this far. But a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone of you that took the time to read and especially review each chapter! Sooo appreciated! And it's what kept me going. So I hope you enjoy the ending and thanks so much!

"So I think Winnie got used to you there as her secretary," Greg smiles as he and Spike sit in a small booth at a nearby Tim Horton's eating their lunch.

"Think I can add office administrator to my resume?" Spike retorts with a playful smirk.

"Just don't think of trading in the cool pants for a pair of dockers," Greg teases.

"Trust me I'd go postal in a day," Spike nods in assurance. "But at least it kept my mind busy."

"Spike that will take a bit of time, you can't rush that away."

"Ever?"

"You can make it so that you can endure it easier but being human it will take some time."

"Days?"

"Days…weeks…"

"Years?" Spike asks softly.

"It won't be that way for you."

"And you?"

"I've carried Monty for ten years Spike," Greg confesses with a small frown as he looks back down into the swirling darkness of his coffee. "Part of me holds onto him as a reminder of what not to do and to keep trying harder."

"But he lied to you all those years."

"And I think my anger at him will help it subside sooner than last time. I held onto it because of guilt up until…until he died."

"And the part about you not being able to help him?"

"He was right and I hafta live with that…come to terms with it," Greg offers with a shrug. "I have to or I know it'll eat away at me until I allow my resentment to push everyone I care about and everything I love in life away; just like he did."

"How's Marina with all this?"

"I think it's helped her to work past her own troubles because she's too busy helping me get past this," Greg explains with a warm smile. "She's great."

"I'm happy for you."

"Spike you're gonna be just fine. You'll get past this and be able to concentrate on…"

"Life?"

"On life," Greg agrees with a nod. "You ready to go back and get that filing done?"

"Filing," Spike huffs as they stand up. "If I never see another paperclip it'll be too soon," he states, drawing a small laugh from Greg as they leave the restaurant.

As soon as they enter the SRU building again, Spike heads for the locker room to put a few things away, his mind actually feeling more and more settled. But it's not work he knows he has a problem with, it's when he's at home with nothing but his parents verbal angst to distract him that the nightmares are the worst. But Greg's little pep talk had helped to comfort his mind so that when he was going home, Spike's anxiety wasn't as high as it had been the past few nights.

"Hey ma," Spike greets his mother with a warm smile. Much to his delight, she comes up to him gives him a hug and then gestures for him to sit down at the table. After asking his father a few times, Spike's mother doesn't ask again but about five later his father come and sits quietly at the other end of the table and the three of them eat dinner and then each retire to their own respective places.

'You'll never be free of me,' Monty's voice laughs in Spike's head as Spike tries to get some sleep.

"Ahhh," Spike groans as he flips on the small bedside lamp and looks at a picture of the team that was taken at the last annual picnic and feels his lips curl upward into a smile and Monty's voice instantly fade. So not caring that it might seem a bit childish, Spike holds the small frame in his hands until he falls asleep, the light still on. The object in his hands was a reminder of happier time and the loving team that was almost closer than family to him that kept Monty's voice at bay.

"And how did he do today?" Marina asks Greg later that night.

"He did okay. I understand him not wanting to stay home though, I gotta tell ya…today was hard."

"Hard to concentrate?"

"I was bored," Greg confesses and Marina offers a small laugh. "It's true."

"Even superman took a day off," Marina smiles as she gives Greg's hand a small squeeze as they linger on the couch together. "I'm sure he was just happy to be there and doing something. You know I could use a hand to get some filing done."

"He's already threatened to update his resume," Greg smirks. "Thankfully that'll only last a day. Trust me he'll be itching to get into the field tomorrow."

"How many days off do you have to take?"

"I think the more time we are away the worse it becomes."

"But you'll rest more, how can that hurt?" Marina wonders.

"It makes you sit back and dwell on all the things that have brought you up to that point and that is usually the bad stuff. And the more you dwell on that…"

"The longer it takes you to return?" Marina concludes.

"Coming back too soon….or taking too long to return…neither way is beneficial," Greg answers with a small sigh. "I always tell my team to go with how they feel and they know they have to give me one hundred percent in the field. But if I feel they are pushing themselves then I'll call them on it. But with Spike…Marina I can't just force him to stay home. Today…yeah it was menial work but he was happy and I…I can't take that from him. I wish he had a happy family to go home to but until then the team is all he has and I can't deny him being around them."

"Well I know you'll keep an eye on him…so I guess that means I get to keep an eye on you."

Greg looks over and kisses her on the cheek and smiles. "I do like the sound of that."

XXXXXXXX

The next morning Spike awakens a bit more refreshed than the day before, and greets the team who all look at him in surprise.

"Spike you okay?" Ed asks in immediate concern.

"I'm okay and ready to get going?"

"In the field? What did the boss say?"

"He said it's up to him," Greg's voice is heard as he nears the gathering team that breaks apart from giving Spike some welcoming hugs. "So much for taking time off," Greg looks at Ed for an explanation.

"You're not," Ed playfully retorts.

"Eddie?"

"Hey what can I say? You taught us well," Ed retorts with a small smile before his face turns serious. "What about going into the field today?"

"Spike and I will stay in the truck unless absolutely necessary," Greg looks at Spike and nods.

"So nothing's changed then?" Sam lightly jokes, drawing smiles from Jules and Raf as well.

"Well Spike's just a little more wiser now," Greg pats him on the back. "Right buddy?"

"Right boss," Spike nods in agreement as well. They all turn and head into the meeting room, Ed touching Greg on the shoulder and gesturing for him to stay back.

"You sure he's okay?" Ed asks in concern.

"He'll be fine. He's not physically up to par yet but I can't force him to stay home or stay behind and file. I spoke with Holleran this morning and told him that Spike will work with me in the truck and if the situation gets really tense we'll call in team three. We'll make this work."

"Okay fine. And how are you?"

"Day at a time right?" Greg replies with a small frown. "I still think I coulda helped him Eddie but that's my cross to bear."

"But you know you don't have to bear it alone right?"

"I know and you know what the best part is?" Greg pats Ed on the back as he turns to see the rest of the team waiting for them. "You won't let me."

"Never," Ed holds out his hand to which Greg takes it and two fists are connected.

"Let's go keep the peace."

"Copy that."

XXXXXXXX

The day was fairly routine but by the end of it, Spike was more exhausted than he had expected. Despite the fact that he was mostly in the truck with Greg, there was a small stint where he was needed in the field and even just the small bouts of physical activity had made his chest start to heave and head pound. But he pushed through that, telling himself that if he showed weakness he'd be sent home and that would just cause another argument with his parents – something he wanted to avoid at any cost.

"How was today?" Greg asks in concern as he and Spike head for the exit doors about to call it a day.

"I'm tired and sorer than I thought I would be."

"Chest?"

"Yeah. Kinda got a dull thud going on inside you know?"

"Okay so I want you to just go home and rest up. One more day before the weekend and Spike I want you to promise me…"

"Trust me boss I actually wanna rest this weekend," Spike replies in truth.

"But don't be alone."

"You got plans boss?"

"Actually I do, starting with a play tomorrow night."

"A play? You?"

"Yeah just don't tell anyone," Greg smirks as he looks at Spike. "You know you can call whenever you need to right? No matter the time or where I am?"

"I'll be okay," Spike tries to tell him.

"But it's okay to not be okay. I know we have to come across as always in charge and not showing any signs of weakness, but I know what kind of man Monty was; Spike he was one of the worst. You don't just forget all that overnight. So you call me when you need me. I know a bit of what you are going through; not all of it, but I did know him."

"Okay," Spike agrees with a small smile. "See you tomorrow."

Spike watches Greg leave and then turns and heads for his own car; stopping a few feet just as he hears his name called out.

"Hey Spike wait up a sec," Sam calls after him.

"I'm okay to drive really."

"No just talked to Raf and he's playing at the club again this weekend and we're going he told me to tell you. Might be kinda fun to get the team together and just have an easy night out."

"Sam about Natalie…"

"Hey that's between you two…"

"We're just friends," Spike tries to assure him. "We talked and…yeah just friends."

"You can still bring a friend if you want; none of us will be mad."

"Okay sounds good. What time?"

Spike gets a few more details before he says goodnight to Sam and then gets into his car and heads for home. Tonight it was his turn to go into zombie-like mode as soon as he got home, not wanting to talk much, just eat his dinner have a shower and get to bed. Much as he had suspected, as soon as he hit the pillow and his eyes closed, he was fast asleep.

The nightmares weren't as harsh as the night before and the time between being woken up by them had lessened, giving him a few more solid hours in-between wake-ups. But when he wakes up in the morning, his face displays a frown as his body reminds him what happened when he over did it the day before.

But not about to be dissuaded by his own physical fatigue, Spike forces himself to get up, reminding himself that he'd be able to sleep in on the weekend as they weren't on call or working a shift. On the way to the SRU, he calls Natalie and mentions the club and going to see Raf play – but just as friends. She had taken the news better than expected and that also put his mind at ease.

"Hey Spike," Ed greets him with a warm smile as he enters the locker room.

"Morning."

"How you feelin' today?"

"Rarin' to go," Spike replies with a broad smile.

He slowly changes and then heads into the small workout area, opting for the bike and telling himself he'd try the weights next week. He looks at Greg as he enters and offers a small nod and smile as a non-verbal good morning. He was happy that Greg had found someone that made him happy and to make a new start in life with, it was something he wants for himself. He then looks at Ed, Raf, Sam, Jules – his family. They were the ones that on a daily basis gave him strength, confidence and courage to keep going despite the negative comments from his fleshly family.

It would still take a few more days before he'd be back to being close to one hundred percent physically fit but a restful weekend ahead promised that healing time to quicken. The nightmares from Monty Glennon would still take some time to fade completely and Spike wonders what other triggers he might face in the field and away from work that would bring them back; the anniversary a year from now was something he was already dreading.

But Monty was gone and he had survived; that was already half the battle won. He would now have a bit more insight into the mental suffering of anyone kidnapped and held hostage by someone with a mental illness and would forever share a bond with his friend and supervisor. This too had drawn him and Greg closer, a man he views as his father; someone he looks up to and turns to in his time of need.

Both Monty and Greg had told him that Hatred is the strongest poison of which there is no antidote, but this trying ordeal had proved to both him and Greg that love was stronger; that was the antidote; it helped pull them back from the brink, keep them free of the darkness and ensured in the end they would succeed.

"Alright Spike, time to go," Ed calls out as Greg summons them all into the team one meeting room to get their day officially started. It was a new beginning indeed but one to be embraced with open arms.

THE END!

A/N: So we have reached the ending to this story and I do hope you like how it was all resolved. We all know that mental trauma can take longer for some to overcome so wanted to show Spike would win the battle in the long run but is human also. So please do leave me one final review before you to (lets me know my hard work to write for you all was appreciated) and hope you want more stories in the future. Thanks again!

PS: Watch for a new FP adventure coming next week!