All characters belong to Joss Whedon, The WB Network, and 20th Century Fox. I am just a fan.

Morning came before she knew it. She felt the warm rays of the sun dance across her face, forcing her to open her eyes. Wait a minute... sun, vampire. Spike! Buffy immediately leaned over the side of the bed, but Spike was no where to be found. She began to panic. Jumping out of bed, she got on her hands and knees, expecting to find ashes scattered across the floor. But, there were no trace of them.

"Oh, God, the vent. His ashes got sucked down the vent!" she said outloud.

"Who's ashes?"

Buffy whipped around to find a dressed and ready to go Spike looking down at her.

"Lose something, love?"

Emarrassed she was caught worried about him, she stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"I thought you turned to dust," she told him.

"Oh, nah. Sun only hits the bed. No worries."

"Right," Buffy said, and stalked past him to see if her clothes were dry. They weren't.

"So, uh, what's the plan for today?" Spike asked her, as she searched her other suitcase for more clothes.

"I say we start with the elevator."

He nodded.

Buffy continued to search her suitcase. That was the one she kept most of her weapons in, but it also contained a bathing suit and her makeup supplies. The only trace of suitable clothes was a tight black tank top that she usually wore under her shirts and a pair of her favorite boxer shorts, that she only wore to bed.

"These'll have to do," she said, and headed towards the bathroom to shower and change.

She was ready approximately a half an hour later, and found Spike sitting on the small refrigerator, drinking a bag of blood.

"Gross," she commented, walking past him to stock up on weapons.

"Fella's gotta eat," he replied.

Spike couldn't help but check her out as she breezed by him. Her tank top defined each curve and muscle in her perfect body and she smelled of lavendar and lemons. Her inhaled her scent and stood up to toss out the empty blood bag.

"Ready?" he asked, approaching the door.

"All set," she said, hiding a knife in her sock and a stuffing a small gun in the back elastic of her shorts.

The vampire and Slayer headed out into the hallway and made their way down the long corridor.

"Where do you s'pose this elevator is?"

Buffy glanced at each door as they walked by them.

"I dunno. We should head down to the lower level though and check it out there."

And so they did. Not wanting to make thier presence known, they snuck by the front desk. They didn't recognize the person there, for it was neither the happy woman nor the guy that serviced them yesterday. They hid behind the wall and began surveying the lobby for any suspicious looking doors or rooms. They spotted a back room directly behind the front desk with a small sign that said "Private".

"We need a distraction," Spike whispered to her.

The boy at the front desk was terribly young, most likely in his teens, and seemed less than threatening.

"Okay," Buffy told him. "You stay here and wait for my signal."

"What are you --"

Before he could finish the sentence, the Slayer was already walking out into the lobby. She had no clue as to what she was going to say, but decided to play it by ear.

"Can I help you?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, um... " she raked her mind rapidly for a good idea. "The vibrating bed in our room doesn't work."

Could she have possibly said anything more stupid? The boy gave her a skeptical look.

"Are you positive? Everything in our hotel is thuroughly checked to make sure it all works efficiently."

"I'm sure. I tried turning it on last night and it didn't work."

He finally gave her a trademark smile.

"Well, we'll just have to fix that now won't we?" he asked. "Follow me."

Buffy followed the boy towards the staircase. As she did so, she gestured for Spike to make a break for the door. Spike nodded and when they were effectively out of sight, he jogged over to the door and jiggled the doorknob.

Locked.

Well, that wasn't surprising. He sighed in frustration and began to search the desk for a key. There were at least 500 keys all lined up, each for a different room. How the hell was he supposed to find the right one? He began taking a key at a time and trying to fit it into the lock. After about ten keys, he realized that he was never going to find it in time. Bloody hotel. Just as he was about to give up, he heard a series of voices echoing down the hall towards him. He quickly ducked under the desk. Looking through a small crack, he watched as four feet approached.

"Is the elevator working?" a woman asked.

"Yes, your Heiness. My men worked on the finishing touches a few nights back," a young man answered.

"Excellent. Mind if I take a look?"

The man nodded and pulled a key from out of his pocket. Jackpot.

"Thank you, George. Now go run along. I'll call you if anything needs assisting."

With that, the man slightly bowed his head and took off in the opposite direction. Spike then focused his attention on the woman with the key. She stepped towards the door that said "Private" across it, insterted the small key and opened the door. A useless key still in his own hand, Spike thought fast and just as the door was about to close shut, he slid the key between the crack, catching it.

Meanwhile, Buffy lead the young boy to the room next door to her own. She had left her weapons suitcase opened on the floor and if he were to check their room... well, that would be bad. Buffy pretended to search her pockets for her room key, as the boy waited pateintly beside her.

"Oh... darn. My - my husband has the key. I'll be right back. You, uh, wait here while I go get it. From my husband."

The boy smiled and nodded his head.

"Smooth, Buffy, real smooth," she said to herself as she made her way back to the winding staircase. When she was back in the lobby, she silently searched for the vampire, peeking around corners and looking through doors.

"Spike?" she whispered harshly. She moved towards the desk and looked underneath it. As her back was turned towards the door, she suddenly felt a presence behind her. Before she could attack, a cold hand covered her mouth and pulled her into the small room behind her.

"Shh, love. It's just me."

Spike shut the door, as blackness enveloped the room. Buffy turned around to face him.

"Shit. Don't do that."

"Sorry, but there's wankers all over this sodding building. Almost got caught myself."

She sighed and manuevered herself around him. She couldn't see a thing.

"Isn't there a light or something?" she asked.

"Don't know, but there are rooms. Saw some bint waltz on in 'ere and I took it upon myself to follow. Can't see much, but I figure she went through one of the doors."

"Then we should too."

"Which one?"

Before Buffy could answer, footstetps interrupted them.

"Someone's coming," she whispered.

They listened for a moment as the footsteps and jumbled voices grew closer. The doorknob moved.

"Crap."

Without thinking, she grabbed Spike by the front of the shirt, threw open a door, all the while praying it was some sort of escape route, and pulled him into the room with her. He shut the door behind them.

Buffy tried to move backwards, but her back immediately came in contact with a wall. They were in a closet. A tiny pitch black closet with no room to breathe, let alone move. She was sandwiched between Spike and the wall and her hands were still resting on his chest. She tried to slither free, but there was absolutely no space.

"Figures," she mumbled under her breath.

Spike had both hands against the wall behind them, to prop himself up. His body was plastered against hers and if he moved in any further, they're faces would be touching.

Outside, the shuffling of feet grew closer and the voices became more clear. A light was clicked on and the glow made it's way beneath the closet door. Buffy could finally make out Spike's face and he was staring at her intently.

Suddenly, the voices were right outside their door. Buffy held her breath, afraid that the slightest noise would give away their presence. Spike, not needing to breathe, kept perfectly still.

"The elevator is right this way, sir," a man's voice said. "It'll lead you straight to the basement with the others."

Buffy frowned.

"Others?" she asked outloud.

Spike silenced her by placing a finger over her lips.

"Shh," he told her softly.

Buffy swallowed, all too aware of his nearness. She shifted beneath his hard frame and stared up at his shadowy face, unable to take her eyes from his.

When the light was finally switched off and the voices and feet made their way back down the hall, Buffy breathed.

"Do - Do you think they're gone?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded his head, still maintaining eye contact. Buffy, realizing that her hands were still gently holding onto the front of his shirt, slid them down slowly. Spike watched as she did so.

"We should go," she told him in a breathy tone.

He tilted his head to one side.

"We should. But you don't want to."

She frowned.

"Why would you say that?"

" 'Cause you'd already be gone."

She let out an exasperrated sigh and shoved him off of her. Only, she shoved a little too hard and he crashed backwards into the door, making it fly open and sending the two tumbling to the ground. When they hit, their mouths banged together and Spike's teeth accidentally cut open her lower lip. It took all of her willpower not to scream out in pain.

"Shit, shit, shit," she whispered harshly, wiping the small droplet of blood from off her lip with the back of her hand.

Spike grazed his tongue arcross his teeth, tasting the smallest amount of Slayer blood. He smiled approvingly.

Buffy finally stood up and smoothed out her hair with her fingers. As she did so, her hand caught on some sort of string and she glanced upward. Unable to see anything but darkness, she pulled the string. The hallway lit up.

"Good work, Slayer," Spike told her, now standing as well.

Buffy ignored him and began searching for the elevator door.

"Come on," she said. Spike followed.

The hallway was small and there were only a few doors... and one elevator. Only seeing a "down" button, Buffy pressed it. A few seconds later, the two doors slid apart. Buffy and Spike exchanged a hesitant glance and proceeded to step inside.

"Guess we're going down," she said.

The doors closed, but nothing happened. They looked around the small cubicle for some sort of button, but all there was, was a keyhole.

"We need the sodding key to work this bloody machine," Spike informed her.

"Yeah, sort of just noticed that."

"So what now? We stay in 'ere 'til someone finds us?"

"No, we pry apart the doors with the combination of our Slayer and vampire strength."

The tried. They failed. They tried twenty more times. It wouldn't budge.

"Damn!" she cursed.

"Don't fret. We'll find a way out."

She growled out in frustration and started pacing the elevator.

"Don't fret? Oh, I'll fret if I want to fret. I'm stuck in an elevator! With YOU of all... creatures!"

"Don't fancy bein' in 'ere myself, but we don't have much of a choice, do we now?"

"Just shut up. You're giving me a headache."

"Make me."

"Immature much?"

"Immature much?" he mocked.

"I hate you."

"Hate you more."

"God, I said shut up!"

"A hundred bottles of blood on the wall, a hundred bottles of blood! Take one down, pass it 'round, ninety nine bottles of blood on the wall. Ninety nine bottles of blood on the wall --"

"SHUT UP!"

"-- ninety nine bottles of blood! Take one down, pass it 'round, ninety eight bottles of blood on the wall..."

Buffy slid down the elevator wall, her hands covering her ears. She hated him. And if she had a stake on her, she'd be sitting in a pile of ashes at that moment. Oh, how she wanted her stake.

Spike stopped singing and sat down right next her. She moved away. He moved closer.

"Screw you," she said.

"Love to, pet. Right 'ere? In the elevator? Or do we wait 'til we get back to our honeymoon suite... ?"

"You're disgusting."

He shrugged. A few moments of silence passed and Spike leaned his head back against the wall. He glanced upwards and noticed the elevator hatch.

"Slayer, the hatch."

She looked up as well.

"It's too high."

"I'll lift you."

"I don't think so."

"Oh, bloody hell. Grow up, will you? If you plan on gettin' out of this hell hole, then I got to lift you up there."

She sighed and reluctantly stood up.

"Turn around," he said.

"What? Why?"

"Jus' do as I say."

She made a face and turned around.

Suddenly, she felt his hands encircle her around the waist and she was lifted swiftly off the ground and placed on his shoulder. She wrapped her legs around his neck and placed her hands on the top of his head as he brought her to the elevator hatch.

"Man, this feels weird."

"Feels alright to me," he replied.

She kicked him in the chest with the heel of her foot. Bad move. He stumbled and Buffy practically toppled off of him. She instinctively grabbed handfuls of his hair to steady herself.

"Bloody hell, woman!" he cried out in pain.

She almost fell backwards again, but Spike quickly reached up and held her around the waist.

"Now prop yourself up there and grab hold of the bloody thing. And don't worry, I got you."

"Gee, that's comforting."

She rolled her eyes and stretched her body upwards. When she finally came in contact of the little door handle, she tugged on it and it slid open.

"Lift me higher," she called down to Spike.

He took her feet and pushed her up, so she was standing on his hands. Buffy pulled herself onto the top of the elevator and began looking around.

"See anythin'?" Spike asked her.

"Nothing but cables and wires. I guess we could climb up."

"Or we could wait 'ere 'til someone comes and tell 'em we got lost or somethin'. I'm not climbin' on any wires."

"Spike, we have no choice. I'm really not in the 'getting caught' mood right now."

Buffy pulled herself all the way up, stepping on Spike's head in the process, and was now sitting on top of the elevator.

"Ow! Watch it! You've done enough damage for one century as it is."

All of a sudden, more voices were audible behind the elevator doors.

"Oh, God. We've got company," Buffy whispered. "Hurry, grab my hands."

Spike glanced up and took Buffy's outstretched hands. She pulled him up by the arms, using all her strength possible, until he was able to bring himself up the rest of the way. She slid the trap door closed, just as the elevator doors flew open. Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"That was close," she said softly.

"Yeah, and now we're stuck on top of a sodding elevator. Bloody marvellous."

"Like I'm sure you had a better idea. Besides, this thing only goes down. It's not like there's a chance of us going up and get smushed to death between the elevator and the ceiling."

Just as she said that, the elevator began to rise. Spike glared at her.

"Damn."

Beyond Surrender: Part VIII
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