AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue

E-MAIL: tisatko@msn.com

DISCLAIMER: Joss owns all the characters you know from TV.

RATING: R-ish, for this part; NC-17 for the entire fic.

PAIRINGS: W/A; S/Amy, eventually.

DISTRIBUTION: if I've told you yes, then have at it.

FEEDBACK: is kinda the point.

DEDIS: to Jeannette, of course, and to those who like this one and asked for more. Thanks!!!

NOTES: this story began at the end of the season finale for S2:A, when they walk into the hotel, and find Willow there. *  *= emphasis.

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

Part 25

Charles Gunn's eyes were wide as he scanned the decrypted data before him, mostly because he was sure he remembered copying more than seven coded files. Hell, he was *sure* of it, and yet... the others were nowhere to be found on the disk. His eyes traveled swiftly around the lobby, finding Cordelia and Wesley, and... "Where's the rest of it?" he demanded.

Any excuse to be near him was acceptable to Cordy at that moment, because she hadn't truly understood just how much the tall, handsome black man meant to her until she'd realized that he could have died in the 'service' of Wolfram & Hart, and she never would have known. He would have just... disappeared, and she'd have spent the rest of her life wondering. Well, no more, she promised herself. She'd denied her attraction for far too long already; she'd be damned if she was going to allow her own fears to keep her from even the *possibility* of happiness. She crossed the lobby swiftly, stopping just behind him, her hands on his shoulders as she peered at the screen. "That's all we've got," she finally said confusedly.

Wesley was having a good bit of trouble keeping himself from laughing at the brunette Seer's actions. He'd always suspected that there was something between the vampire hunter and Cordelia, but apparently he'd been wrong. That wasn't to say that there wouldn't *be* something, and soon, if the way Cordy was acting was any indication. Still, "Are you saying there's something missing?" he prodded, brow furrowing slightly as he approached the desk.

Gunn nodded sharply. "A whole *lot* of something, English. There were at least *twice* this number of files when I made this disk. They were all about Angel and Willow, too." He held one deep breath as Cordelia leaned even closer, and closed his eyes for a moment when he felt the curve of her breast brush the back of his head. What was the girl *doing*? Whatever it was, he hoped she stopped soon, because... He'd been interested in her almost since day one, and... if she kept acting like she might finally be returning that interest, he might just have to find out. It wouldn't be pretty if she *was* just 'acting'. "So, uh... who's had access to this uh... 'puter?"

Cordelia shook her head slightly. "No one we don't know, Gunn," she said, his name coming out almost like a caress. "Just us. Willow, Angel, Fred, Wes, and me."

The Englishman nodded his agreement with the Seer's statement. Still, Gunn wasn't the sort to comment on things he wasn't certain about, so... "Do you know what's missing? File names, anything like that?"
 
 

Fred watched them from the door, not sure of exactly how much she should tell them. That they had a right to know wasn't even in question, but... she wasn't entirely clear on what they might *do* with the knowledge in those missing files. There was a chance that they might tell Angel and the Willow, and every single instinct within her was screaming out that that would be a *bad* thing. The Mated pair shouldn't know everything; not yet, anyway. Still, did she have the right to keep that information to herself? It was a quandary. She watched them for a while longer, finally coming to a decision.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Spike sighed softly, flipping swiftly through the channels available on the television in his room-- all six of them. "Why the bloody wanker can't get cable, I'll never know," he muttered disgustedly.

The problem was that without something on the tele to distract him, he couldn't help thinking about the sight of Willow and Angelus up on the roof. It wasn't an especially pleasing memory, seeing as it was just one more reminder of just how alone he was. He had to get back to Sunnydale soon, he told himself. At least *there*, there were things to distract him. Like the l'il bit, for one.

Dawn was far from happy that he'd been in Los Angeles for so long, and he supposed he couldn't blame her. He'd left for what was intended to be a few days, at most, and here it had been nearly a month. The vampire had no doubt that Giles was driving the girl crazy.

If they could just figure out what the rat-girl had done, and could somehow manage to make her human again, then he wouldn't feel so badly about running back to the Hellmouth. Angel and his people had been doing a good job of making him feel useful, but still... they didn't really need yet another vampire; especially one without even the slight soul-y-ness of his Sire.

Amy was the key, he knew, to getting the hell out of sodding Angel's sodding town. He stared at the small gray rat in the cage on his table, and sighed again as he stood. "Wish I knew how to help you, luv," he said to her, ignoring the fact that talking to a rodent made him feel like a stunningly pathetic git. "Wish I knew what it was you did to make this happen, y'know?"

He froze for a moment, mentally reviewing everything Willow had told him and the others about how the girl's rat-state had come to pass, and... "Well, I'll be a buggering wanker... She never said if it was just a spell... or if you called on some other power!" He paced in a small circle, thinking more deeply about it before stopping again and crouching down before the cage. His eyes met and held the surprisingly blue ones of the rat, and he spoke slowly and clearly to her. "You did, didn't you?" he demanded, hoping the creature could understand him. "You called on some demon or god or something, and they helped you escape the flames, but... now you can't call on them to release you, right?"

He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought the rat nodded, and he wished he were better at interpreting the facial expressions of vermin, because... was that a hopeful, excited look on the Amy-rat's furry little face? He stood quickly, and started for his door.

"Right," he said, more to himself than to her, "So I pump Red for some more information, and... Maybe this'll be over sooner than I thought!"

The rat stared after the blond vampire, her whiskers twitching wildly. She couldn't quite let herself believe that he understood; not after being disappointed for so many years. Still, a small glimmer of hope began shining deep within her tiny heart, and she promised herself that if she ever *did* recover her natural form, she'd thank the blond for trying. There was just... something about him that made her want to see him smile.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Angel smiled softly, his heart swelling unbelievably in his chest as his woman climbed reluctantly from their bed. His eyes followed her small, pale shape as she crossed the room, and his smile grew even wider when she passed from view and he heard the shower starting. He lay back against the mattress, sheets bunched over his waist, and put his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

Her soul was bound to him; had been since that day she'd died and come back to him, and... he didn't quite know how to tell her, but he was starting to think there were more effects on him than just being able to withstand the sunlight.

He'd been noticing a certain warmth to his skin lately that couldn't be accounted for. It wasn't a constant thing, of course, but... it also wasn't dependent on whether he'd been out in the day recently. It came and went as it chose to, and while it was a somewhat disturbing sensation, he didn't think there was anything dangerous about it.

He'd also been feeling more at peace than just his soul could account for, and he wondered if maybe that might be because of *her* soul. It was entirely possible that her soul was becoming more and more entwined with him, and he couldn't help wondering what exactly that would mean. His own soul was completely blended with his demonic side, after all, and...

"I'm way too satisfied for someone with no idea of what's going on," he finally allowed. Maybe it was time to pay a visit to the Oracles.

Of course, that was when he realized that his sweet, perfect Mate was humming softly in the shower, and... "Oracles later," he decided, getting up from the bed, "Willow now." Nothing within him could find any cause to argue with that choice.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Wesley had no idea of why Fred had dragged him away from the others, but he swiftly found out when she pulled a disk identical to the one Gunn and Cordelia had from her pocket. His eyes narrowed slightly when she inserted it into the A drive of the computer on the desk. "What is this, Fred?" he demanded.

"Shush!" she ordered frantically, glancing towards the open door with a panic-stricken expression, "Just... just look at this Wes."

He waited impatiently while she opened file after file, only sitting down when she moved back. He started to read, his eyes growing wider and wider as he went on. "You took Gunn's disk. Because of..."

"Because of what it says about what's going to happen with Angel and the Willow. They... they can't know, Wes... they just *can't*!" Her own eyes were just as wide as the Englishman's, and she glanced quickly at him before looking away. "If they know, then..."

"It will effect everything they do. Yes." He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that *Fred* had done this. He hadn't known the girl was quite so aware of circumstances, although he'd known she was brilliant. But she obviously had more on the ball than he'd ever suspected. "You were right to bring this to me instead of the others," he admitted softly.

Fred nodded. "I don't think.... they couldn't know this and not tell, could they? And even if they tried, I think Angel would know that they were hiding something."

Wesley nodded again, almost ashamed of the fact that it would be so easy for him to lie to his friends. Still, it wasn't something he'd prefer to do, but... it was necessary. Besides, "We'll tell them all of it, when it's time."

And that was exactly what she'd been hoping to hear. "Yes, Wes. When it's time."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He waited a good five minutes after the moaning and grunting ended, then waited five minutes more before finally knocking on his Sire's door. He didn't want to interrupt them, after all; especially since Angelus would probably have killed him for doing so. Spike knocked again, rolling his eyes at the sounds of hasty dressing coming through the wooden slab. "Angelus! Red!" he finally called out, "I need to ask you something!" He couldn't quite keep himself from jumping slightly when that door was flung open, and his Sire growled softly at him. "Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, Pouf," he smirked, trying to ignore the fact that this new Angelus could actually scare him a bit, even after nearly a month, "I want to ask your witch something about the rat."

Willow giggled softly from her spot in Angel's chair. "Come in, Spike," she called out.

The blond's nose wrinkled slightly, and he leaned past his Sire's large frame, shaking his head. "Why don't you come out, luv? It smells a bit... sexual in there." His smirk became entirely genuine when the little redhead blushed. "Might want to think about opening a window, Broody," he said, glancing at Angelus from the corner of his eye.

Fortunately for his childe, the older vampire found his Mate's crimson cheeks too charming for him to be truly angry; still, "Watch your mouth, boy," he growled softly. "I made you. I can end you, too." It was a fact, of course, but he didn't really mean it. The world was a much more interesting place with his favoured childe in it, chipped or not. The boy had a point, though. It really *did* smell of rampant need and arousal. Of course, he *liked* it that way. His arm stretched out, catching his blushing Mate as she moved to the doorway, and he pulled her tight against his side. "We'll meet you in your room, then," he stated. "I don't think the smell of sex will be a problem *there*."

And there was the Angelus he knew. Kicking him while he was down, reminding him that he was truly alone. He tried to keep the sadness and pain from his eyes, only to have them come out in his voice. "You're right," he said simply. "My room doesn't smell of anything but smokes and rat." And with that, he turned on his heel and stalked to the stairs. They knew where he was staying; let them bloody well take their time about getting there.

He truly didn't know what he'd said that had made his childe run off like that. He had no idea of what could have hurt the boy until Willow explained it, and then...? The soul wrapped throughout him did its damnedest to give him a sound mental thrashing. He'd fucked up, and... "Oh, hell," he sighed, leaning his cheek against his woman's red hair, "I guess I'd better apologize, huh?"

Willow shook her head slowly. "Let me do it. He'll think you're being facetious."

Angelus sighed again, wondering if there was any way he could make things right with Spike. Not just what he'd said this time, but... The things he'd done, the things he'd driven the lad to in their earlier days, and... the way he'd treated him after the curse had been broken. He didn't know for certain, but he was going to have to try. Now that he was more like himself than he'd been in far too long, he'd *have* to *try*. It wasn't right for his most treasured creation to distrust him, to expect him to mistreat him and cause him pain. "Oh, boy," he whispered softly, even as he and Willow made their way to Spike's room, "This isn't gonna be easy..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I don't know!" Willow said again, almost shouting the words. "It was a stressful night! I was about to be burned at the stake!"

Spike's eyes flashed golden at the girl, even as he stalked towards her. "Well, try harder, Red!" he demanded. "You're the only one who was there, other than poor Amy! Well, except for the wolfling and Scrappy Doo, and neither of *them* is *here*!" He growled slightly, a large part of him amazed that his Sire was just sitting there, letting him harass the redhead. "All right," he continued, forcing himself to at least *sound* calm, "Let's just... sit, and think about this." He took a chair beside the table holding the rat cage and stared at the girl until she sat down beside her Mate. "Close your eyes, Will," he instructed, "And just... think. You were tied to a stake, books piled around your feet. Now, where was Amy?"

His voice was soothing, almost hypnotic, and she did her best to picture it in her mind. "Amy... Amy was on my left..." It was amazing to her, just how much she really *did* remember, and it was obviously more than she'd thought, because as Spike's questions went on, she found herself answering each one, until finally... "Hecate!" Her eyes flew open, wide and green, and she grinned wildly. "She called on Hecate, although she called her the Goddess of Beasts, Great and Small, and that's not really... Or was that me?" Willow laughed, cutting herself off. "It doesn't matter. She called on Hecate, and she turned into a rat."

And now that they knew *that*, Spike told himself, they were halfway there.

next