Portraits Of An Angel

Author: Marilyn Hart

Rating:  Not too sure, but PG13 should cover it

Disclaimer:  Sadly the Boys do not belong to me, they are the property of Joss and Co.

Warning:  none

Description: A talented young artist is in an abusive relationship with an older man…

A/N:  This is without the safety net of a beta.  If there are any glaring mistakes, it’s all my fault!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~    

~Part: 1~

The words on the screen began to blur as Will felt the hot sting of tears in his eyes. His throat hitched, and he turned from the laptop, no longer able to control the terrible fear that gripped his heart with a cold hand.

He had spent the last hour reading through his latest work. It was a fantasy. Or was it? Will had written the story of how his life should be unfolding in a perfect world. But it wasn’t a perfect world, and now his greatest fear was that all his hopes and dreams would be snatched away from him.

He wept for a long time until finally he had no more tears in him.

Until the next time his emotions overwhelmed him.

Swiping angrily at his tear-stained cheeks, Will shut down his laptop and decided he needed a quick shower before he returned to his vigil at the hospital.

Ten months previously

“Boss?” Faith frowned at the faraway look in Will’s eyes as she attempted to bring him back from wherever he had drifted off to. “Will? You with me?”

Will blinked his eyes for several seconds before he realised where he was and who he was with. “Uh…sorry luv. Think I drifted off for a moment there. It was the portrait.”

Faith joined him from the other side of the gallery and for the first time looked up at the portrait Will spoke of, and understood instantly why Will had become so captivated.

Will saw the look that crossed her features as she gazed up at the last painting on display. “Incredible, isn’t it?” He breathed.

The portrait, entitled ‘Caged Angel’, was subtly erotic in its content, and a little disturbing, but the image the artist had so poignantly captured on canvas was so beautifully detailed with the most amazing use of light Will had ever seen that it came close to genius in his opinion.

The painting depicted an angel with huge white downy wings, though if one looked closer, faint smears of grime and blood could be seen marring the splendour of the beautiful appendages. The body of the angel was lithely muscled, the very essence of male beauty, but he cowered in a corner of a cell as if threatened by the man-shaped shadow that fell across him. The same shadow hid the face of the heavenly creature, whose hands were cupped over his genitals suggesting a feeling of vulnerability, and a trickle of blood could be seen smearing the angel’s buttocks.

It was a haunting image, and Will would have given a lot to see the face of the beautiful creature.

“Fuck!” Faith expelled a soft whistle through pursed lips. “Never seen anything like it, that’s for sure.” Faith, too, was in awe. “Never thought of using the word beautiful to describe a man, but shit…it fits.”

“Isn’t he? Beautiful, yet vulnerable. And tormented. It’s haunting.” Will turned to Faith, a determined look in his eyes. “I want this one. It puts all the other ones we’ve looked at in the shade.”

“You’ve seen the asking price?” Faith cocked an eyebrow.

“I have. For a painting this gorgeous, it’s cheap.” Will assured him.

Faith shrugged slightly. “Whatever you say, Will. You’re the boss.”

Leaving his personal assistant to deal with the financial aspects, Will turned back to the painting. “Who are you, you magnificent creature?” He said in an awed whisper.

*

Faith had secured the painting for Will, and as he joined her in the small office, the woman dealing with the transaction looked up and smiled at him.

“I think you have made a very wise purchase, Mr Fitzgerald. ‘Caged Angel’ is by a young upcoming artist, who I’m sure will be very famous one day. You have made a sound investment.”

“That’s not really the reason I bought it…” Will read the name on her badge. “…Mrs Summers. Could you tell me a little about the artist? I see the initials L.M. on the painting.”

“The only information I can give you is the artist is the gallery owner, Mr Giles’, partner, of whom he is fiercely protective.” Joyce replied.

“With a talent like this, I can’t say I’m surprised.” Will wondered if the “partner” was male or female. Will guessed male, given the subject matter of the portrait. He suddenly felt a strong desire to meet the artist, male or female, though if Mr Giles was so protective of his partner and protégé, this could prove difficult. But Will was determined to find a way.

*

“To your new home.” Faith lifted her bottle of beer, waving it around as if toasting the entire mansion. “May you be deliriously happy here!”

Spike grinned, clinking his own bottle against his PA’s. “And to my beautiful Fallen Angel!” He raised his drink towards his latest acquisition of artwork. There were many paintings scattered around the old mansion that had now become his home, but none gave him as much pleasure as the one he had purchased from Sunnydale’s only art gallery. He had given it pride of place over the mantel in the great hall, using discreet spotlights to draw the eye straight to the beautiful piece. It was his pride and joy, and though it had cost him a small fortune, he felt he had never spent money so wisely.

Since he had moved to Sunnydale from LA he had rented a house until he could find the perfect place to put down roots. Once he had found the old mansion on Crawford Street, he had set about finding the right furniture and artwork to make it feel like home, and with Faith’s help he had succeeded. Faith came across as brash and irreverent, but he had to admit she had great taste, and Will had relied on her a great deal as far as the interiors were concerned. His only real contribution was the portrait that now took pride of place above the mantel in his living room.

Will would set up his desktop in the grand hall and work on his erotic fiction, which curiously, given his sexuality, he wrote specifically for women. He was well-known in the field for his novels, and his success afforded him a good living.

Faith was employed on a full-time basis to leave him free to write. She was his sounding board when it came to writing the hot sex scenes in his novels, giving him an invaluable insight from a woman’s perspective. She also took care of all his everyday finances, she cooked for him sometimes when he was deeply engrossed in his work, and above all she was his best friend. Relocating to Sunnydale from LA had not fazed her in the slightest, and she was happy to share the mansion with Will. There was so much space that privacy should either of them need it, was not a problem.

Will had a feeling that life in this pretty little Californian town was going to be good.

*

Faith had thrown herself into organising Will’s house-warming with her usual enthusiasm. She had compiled the guest list herself, which included all of Will’s friends from LA, including an ex-boyfriend who Will was on good terms with and his publisher and agent. Will made one late request; the owner of the gallery where he had found his Fallen Angel. Will was keen to find out some information about the artist, and since the owner had not been present on the day that he had first seen the painting, he thought the ambience of a social gathering the best way to find out more about the artist. With more hope than certainty, he suggested Faith include “& guest” on the invitation, hoping desperately the Mr Giles would bring his partner.

Oz, Will’s former lover, was one of the first to arrive. He and Will had been an item for a little over a year, but Oz’s life as a touring musician had kept them apart for weeks on end, which had eventually led to their parting. It had not been an acrimonious split, and the two had stayed friends, with Oz dropping in to visit Will any time he was touring around LA. They still retained a close friendship, and apart from Faith, Oz was the one person that Will felt comfortable confiding in.

Faith ushered the talented guitarist into her boss’s new home, after giving him a fond hug and a kiss in the lobby. “So how’s the career going, Oz?”

“Good. In the area, so here I am.”

Faith grinned, taking his hand and leading the diminutive redhead into the living room. “You always did have too much to say, Oz.”

Oz shrugged, unaffected by the gently chiding. He was laconic, and he knew it, but his friends knew that though Oz said very little, when he did speak it was usually worth listening to.

“Oz!” Will threw his arms wide in greeting as his ex entered the living room.

The guitarist fell into Will’s warm embrace, kissing him affectionately on the lips. “Hey.”

Will hugged him. “You’re looking good, Oz. Still with the unpredictable hair I see. Last time I saw you it was purple.”

“Keeps life interesting, Will. Still going with the peroxide blonde look, I see?”

“Looks kinda sexy on the dust jacket photo. And before you ask still writing for the ladies.”

“How about your personal life? Anything I should know?”

“Same old, mostly.” Will put his arm around the younger man’s shoulders. “Although I have to admit I’ve fallen in love.”

“Good. Is he coming to the party?” Oz was genuinely pleased to hear that Will had found someone special.

“He’s here.” Will made a wide sweeping gesture with his arm and waited expectantly for a reaction.

A frown creased the musician’s face. “Where?”

“The painting.”

Oz looked up at the portrait that Will was so taken with, moving towards the fire-nook. He gazed up at the painting in awe and gasped. “God, he’s gorgeous.”

“I fell in love with him while we were looking for something that would make this place feel like home.” Will looked adoringly up at his favourite painting. “He’s such a haunting creature. I just wish I could see his face.”

“Mmmm.” Oz tilted his head, examining the picture from a different angle. “Could be the mystery that makes him so appealing.”

“I get that.” Will acknowledged. “But I’d still really like to see his face. His body is so beautiful; I can only imagine he has the face of an angel.”

Faith joined them then, with more of Will’s guests in tow.

Will beamed widely when he saw who had arrived. “Wesley! Glad you could come.” He hugged his publisher warmly. Wesley Wyndham-Pryce was more than just a publisher; he was a dear friend and mentor. His wife peeked out from around his shoulder. “And Fred! You look more ravishing every time I see you, luv.”

Fred, a slender little thing, whose fragile appearance belied one of the keenest scientific minds in LA, smiled shyly at Will. “Y’all say that every time, Will.” She drawled in her charming Texan accent.

Will kissed her, an affectionate peck on her sweet little mouth. “It’s the truth, Fred. If Wesley here wasn’t such a handsome devil, I might have been in with a chance with you. If I swung that way, obviously!” he deadpanned as an afterthought.

Fred giggled. Then her eyes lit on the painting above the mantelshelf. “Oh my! Will, where did you get that?”

Will looked fondly up at his new artwork. “A small gallery here in Sunnydale. I fell in love with it as soon as I set eyes on it.”

“He’s beautiful.” Fred breathed. “Isn’t he beautiful, Wes?”

“Um, yes.” Wesley agreed. “If I swung that way.”

This made Fred giggle even more.

“Who’s the artist, Will?” Wesley peered more closely at the painting; saw the initials in the bottom corner. “L.M. No, not familiar.”

“I don’t know what his name is.” Will admitted. “Well, I’m guessing it’s a he. Could be a her. The gallery owner should be joining us tonight, and his invitation included a guest, so he may bring the artist, since it’s his partner who painted this beauty. Even if he comes alone, I might still have the chance to ask him some more about his protégé.”

“Will has the hots for his Angel.” Faith informed the guests. “I think he’s hoping it’s a self portrait. ‘Cos look at that body! Hello, salty goodness!”

They were interrupted by more guests arriving, one of them being the owner of the art gallery. Will greeted his friends and associates warmly, leaving Faith to distribute the Champagne.

Will shook the hand of the owner of the gallery where he had bought his Fallen Angel, as he had now come to think of his…what? Obsession? Yes, he supposed it was.

“I’m delighted you could come, Mr Giles.” Will told the man sincerely. He was a scholarly-looking man in his early to mid forties, slightly greying and bespectacled.

“Thank you for inviting me, Mr Fitzgerald. I must say, I have often looked at this place, and it always looked rather intimidating. You have done wonders with the inside, though.” The man smiled warmly.

“Please, it’s Will. Mr Fitzgerald makes me sound too old. Good to meet a fellow Brit in this lovely little backwater.”

“In that case, as one ex-pat to another, you must call me Rupert. Will, may I introduce you to my partner?”

Rupert stepped aside. Only then did Will see the man that stood behind the gallery owner.

*

Chocolate brown eyes gazed back at him from a classically handsome face. The nose was straight; the cheekbones well-defined, the brow prominent, which hooded the expressive eyes, making them appear even darker than they were. He was dressed in form-hugging black leather trousers, which stretched deliciously across his groin, and a soft black long-sleeved shirt.

For several moments, Will couldn’t breathe.

“This is Liam McKenna, my boyfriend.” Rupert introduced, subtly emphasising the my. “Mr Fitzgerald is the owner of your ‘Caged Angel’.”

Will stretched out his hand, and felt something go through him as it was gripped by the cool hand of the beautiful man who had painted the portrait that had so captured Will’s imagination. “I’m delighted to meet you, Liam. I love your ‘Caged Angel’ so much, and I’m so glad you could come tonight.”

Liam broke eye contact with Will, casting his eyes down to contemplate the floor. “Thank you, I’m pleased you liked it enough to buy it.”

Rupert put a possessive arm around his lover’s waist. “Liam is always a little shy at parties.” He told Will. “Isn’t that so, poppet?”

Liam nodded dutifully. He knew that Rupert had picked up on whatever had passed between him and Will. He had felt the same response as their host, and knew that Rupert would be angry. Rupert’s anger meant a night of misery when they returned home.

“No need to be shy, Liam. The people here are very friendly, and I’m sure they will be pleased to see you.” Will tried to put the shy young artist at ease, but he could tell it was going to be an ordeal for him.

Rupert guided Liam into the great hall allowing Will to introduce them to the assembled guests, amid much praise for the painting that hung over the mantelshelf, but Liam remained withdrawn and timid, barely able to look the other guests in the eye. This distressed Will; he had so hoped to get to make the talented creator of his favourite portrait feel welcome, but with Rupert hovering around him all the time, he had no chance to have even a short conversation with him.

It was almost a relief when Rupert decided they should both leave, and under his lover’s watchful gaze, Will said goodbye to Liam, shaking his hand again and assuring him that he would like to be informed when Liam next showed any work at Rupert’s gallery.

For long moments, Will stood looking at the closed door after the pair had left. Faith joined him, laying a hand on her boss’s arm. “You like him, don’t you?”

Will laid his hand over hers. “You know me so well, Faithy. Yes, I like him. But something’s not right. He is way too dependent on his lover. Who I didn’t like much by the way. He pulls Liam’s strings, and Liam twitches like a puppet.”

“Not hard to see who’s Dom and who’s sub.” Faith agreed.

“Liam doesn’t seem a willing sub; though, does he?”

Faith squeezed Will’s hand, a gesture of comfort. “No, he seems deeply unhappy. So what are you going to do about it?”

“What can I do?” Will looked sad. “Rupert has him afraid of his own shadow.”

“Why do I have this vision of you in shining armour on a white stallion?” Faith grinned.

Will kissed the top of her head fondly. “I only wish I could live up to your vision, luv. First chance I get though I’ll be going back to the gallery to see if there are any more of Liam’s paintings available.”

*

Rupert Giles turned from locking the door, his face stern. The drive home to their apartment had been an uncomfortably silent one. “I wish you wouldn’t flirt with every man you come in contact with.”

“I don’t, Rupert.” Liam replied quietly. “You know you are the only man in my life. You take care of me, so why would I look at another man when I have you?”

Rupert slammed his keys down on the hall table. “You were making puppy eyes at that fucking writer, you little slut!”

Liam felt sick. He knew where this was going, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop his lover from abusing him, but he tried anyway. “He bought a painting, Rupert. I had to be nice to him.”

“What I saw wasn’t being ‘nice’. You were giving him the come-on, so don’t try to play the innocent.” Rupert grabbed his frightened lover by the hair, pulling him towards him and smashing his lips against Liam’s softly yielding mouth. He forced his tongue between Liam’s unresisting lips, making his young lover whimper, not with arousal or need, but with fear.

Pulling back, Rupert grabbed Liam by the throat, pushing him roughly up against the wall. “You’re mine, get it? Now get in that bedroom and get your fucking clothes off!”

Liam’s heart sank. Rupert-anger invariably led to Rupert-violence, and he was powerless to prevent it. The fight had left him a long time ago, as his confidence had been slowly leached away by his partner’s mental, physical and emotional abuse. Now it was all Liam could do to get up from bed each morning to face another day of walking on eggshells and trying to deflect Rupert’s anger. Taking his own life seemed infinitely more appealing to Liam, but having been raised an Irish Catholic, suicide was a mortal sin, and even though he was no longer a practising Catholic, the lessons learned in childhood and early adolescence were too deeply ingrained to violate. His only pleasure in life was his art, and even that had become dark and joyless.

A hand caught him a nasty backhanded blow across his face, the ring that Rupert wore on his right hand tearing a gash in Liam’s lip.

“I said get in there and get your fucking clothes off!”

Liam blanched at the fury directed at him, and ran hurriedly into the bedroom he and Rupert shared, taking his clothes off as he went. By the time Rupert entered the bedroom Liam was cowering in the bed, naked and feeling terribly vulnerable.

“Did I tell you to get into bed?” Rupert shouted, and before Liam had the chance to reply, harsh fingers were tangled in his hair and he was dragged onto the floor. A fist caught him hard on the side of his head, and he felt the world around him tilt crazily as blackness swirled at the edge of his vision and as he lay prone a booted foot caught him a sickeningly painful blow in his ribs.

Rupert angrily took his clothes off, scowling at the cowering man lying at his feet. Turning to the dresser, he pulled open the top drawer and withdrew a tube, squirting a small amount into his hand.

Dazed, Liam lay helpless on the bedroom floor, his arm curled around his body, blood seeping from his cut lip, when he felt rough hands lift him up so that he was on all fours. Slick fingers pushed into his anus, roughly preparing him and making him moan in pain. Without preamble, he felt Rupert thrust his cock brutally into his under-prepared channel, making Liam cry out in anguish as his lover raped him.

Panting, Rupert finally filled his young lover’s body with his cum, leaving Liam feeling used and degraded. His own cock had shown no interest at all at Rupert’s uncaring treatment, and lay flaccid and limp as semen and blood leaked from his violated hole.

Without a word, Rupert left Liam where he had collapsed onto the bedroom carpet, went into the en-suite bathroom and shut the door.

~Part: 2~

“Good morning, Mr Fitzgerald.”  Mrs Summers greeted Will pleasantly.  “How can I help you today?”  Mrs Summers was busily organising invitations to a forthcoming exhibition, but was happy to interrupt her work to attend to a customer who had already bought an expensive painting.

“Hello, Mrs Summers.  Good to see you again.”  Will smiled warmly.  “I was wondering if there was any more of Liam McKenna’s work available.  I was so taken with his ‘Caged Angel’ I would love to have more of his paintings for the mansion.”

“Your timing is perfect, Mr Fitzgerald.”  Mrs Summers smiled happily.

“Please, call me Will.”  He pleaded.  “I have a feeling that I will be a regular visitor here, so can we make it less formal?”

“Of course, Will.  In which case, it’s Joyce.”  Mrs Summers picked up a pile of invitations that were already printed.  “It just so happens that we have a new painting of Liam’s to be shown as part of an upcoming exhibition.  I believe it is entitled ‘Angel On His Knees.’

For some reason Will couldn’t fathom, this title dismayed him.  Could there be a connection between Liam, who appeared trapped in an unhappy relationship and the angel in his paintings?  Or was it just a subject he had chosen to express an abstract emotion?  After all, Will decided, artists did that sort of thing, didn’t they?  But could there also be a subliminal message in what Liam was trying to portray?

Or was Will letting his imagination run riot because he apparently had the hots for Liam McKenna?

“…on the guest list.”

Will realised his mind had wondered.  He tried to put thoughts of Liam and his relationship out of his mind.  “Sorry, you were saying…?”

“I am in the process of organising invitations and your name is on the guest list, Will.”  Joyce repeated.

Will was pleasantly surprised at this news.  “Oh…um… that’s…”  He was interrupted by the old-fashioned bell above the entrance that jingled importantly, announcing the arrival of a customer.  He turned disinterestedly to see who the new arrival might be and drew in a sharp breath.

Liam McKenna himself had just walked through the door.

“Hello, Mrs Summers, I just wanted t…”  He stopped when he saw that she was dealing with a customer, and who that customer was.  He bit his lower lip, casting his gaze to the ground as if he were a shy young virgin suddenly confronted by the object of her teenage crush.  Realising that he might appear rude, which was the last thing he wanted to do in Will’s presence, he cleared his throat nervously.  “H…hello again, Mr…um…Fitzgerald.”

“Please, it’s Will.”  Will told him gently, inordinately pleased and surprised to see the gorgeous young artist who had made such an impression on him at his house-warming.  He looked, Will thought, like a timid wild animal ready to turn and run at the slightest hint of danger.  “It’s lovely to see you again, Liam.”  Will’s gaze took in the healing cut on Liam’s lower lip and the slowly fading bruise on his temple that had also blackened his eye.  He held his arm across his body as though he were in pain.

Will’s blood ran cold when he thought about how Liam might have come by those injuries.

Suddenly self-conscious of his face, Liam became even more flustered.  “G…good to see you t…too, um…Will.”

He regarded Will with his deep chocolate eyes, the lashes long and pretty.  Will thought he had never seen anything so alluring in his life.

 Liam broke the eye-contact abruptly, leaving Will feeling bereft.  “Um…is Rupert in, Mrs S...Summers?  He told m…me to stop by when I fin…finished up in the studio.”

“Yes, Liam, he’s in his office.”   Joyce told the shy young artist.  “Go straight up.”

“Thanks.”  Liam started up the steps that led up to Rupert Giles private office, conscious of Will’s eyes on him.  He turned back, a little grimace of pain briefly crossing his face.  “Good…goodbye, Will.”

“Goodbye, Liam.”  Will said, his voice tinged with sadness as he watched the object of his burgeoning fascination disappear up the stairs to the office.  When Liam had gone from his sight, Will turned back to Joyce.  “Has he had an accident?  I mean his face…?”  Will waved a hand vaguely at his own face.

“Apparently, yes.  Mr Giles said he walked into the bedroom door in the dark…let me see, that would have been four or five days ago.”  Joyce’s tone suggested that she thought this wasn’t the truth, but her face was blank, not indicating one way or the other if she believed the story or not.

“Oh.”  Will cast his mind back to the night of the house-warming at the mansion.  That had been five nights before.  Did Liam really walk into a door?  Or was there something more sinister to explain his bruises?  Will tried to drag his mind back to what they had been talking about before Liam’s appearance.  “So I’m on the guest list?  Thank you, Joyce, that’s fantastic.”  A thought suddenly occurred to him.  “Was that Rupert Giles’ idea?”

Joyce checked her list.  “No, it’s not a personal invitation from him.  You were included on the computer print-out because you are an existing client.”

Will wasn’t sure why he had suddenly thought of that, but he somehow had the feeling that Rupert Giles was wary of him, even though they barely knew each other.  Perhaps he perceived Will as a threat to his relationship with Liam.

Was he a threat?  Will couldn’t come up with an answer to that question.

“I’ll have my PA check my diary, but unless there is something that I really can’t put off, I will be delighted to attend.  Could you let her have the details and I’ll have her call you to confirm it?”

“No problem, Will.  I’ll have the invitations in the post first thing in the morning.”  Joyce assured him.

“Great.  Well, glad I dropped by.”  Will’s gaze strayed up towards the office at the top of the stairway.  He was certainly glad to have seen Liam again, though that pleasure was tinged with some anxiety over the artist’s injuries.  “Right, I’ll leave you to get on then.”  He turned to go.

“Will?”

Turning back, he saw Joyce look somewhat nervously up the stairs towards her employer’s office.  “Yes?”

“Liam?  He’s a very vulnerable young man.  Please don’t make waves for him.”

Joyce’s expression was serious.  She plainly felt concern for Liam.

Will was surprised at her frankness, and the plea on Liam’s behalf.  “I won’t, Joyce.”

Will left the gallery deep in thought and worried about Liam McKenna.

*

To accompany Will to the exhibition, Faith had forgone her usual funky outfits in favour of something more formal.  The sight of her in a figure-hugging strapless black dress amused Will.  She generally only wore something this glamorous for Will’s book-launch parties.

“Damn, luv, you look hot!”

Faith grinned, slapping his arm affectionately.  “Not a compliment coming from a man who thinks men are hot!”

Will sighed, looking a little sheepish.  “Only one man these days, luv.  I can’t seem to get Liam out of my head.”

“I do get that you admire his art, Boss…”  Faith began a little apprehensively.  “…but you barely even know him.   Isn’t it a bit early to start thinking of him as the only man in the world for you?”

Will turned away, picked up a clothes brush and began brushing imaginary lint from his already pristine tuxedo.  “It is and I am.  I’m smitten, Faith.  The thought that he may be in a loveless relationship…”

“You don’t know that.  You can’t be sure.”  Faith began fiddling with his bow-tie, adjusting it slightly until she was satisfied that it was perfectly straight.

“I told you about his face, didn’t I?  That day I went into the gallery.”  Will shook his head.  “If he walked into a door in the dark then I am Priscilla, Queen of the Desert!”

“Doesn’t take a big leap of the imagination to picture that.”  Faith regretted her words as soon as they were out of her mouth.  “Sorry, Boss.  I don’t mean to make light of your feelings.”

“It’s okay, luv.”  Will gave in to a sudden urge to hug her.  “You are the one person who will listen to me and not judge, and you do mostly give me good advice.  What should I do?”

Faith gave him an affectionate kiss on his cheek, taking his jacket from him and holding it as he slid his arms into the sleeves.  She turned him around.  “What the Hell, Boss.  Liam is chocolate to your cream.  You seem to be total opposites, like you’re all confident and outgoing and Liam’s…not.  So maybe…”  Faith grinned, the look on her face suggesting that a light had suddenly come on.  “Oh shit, what I’m trying to say is follow your heart, see where it leads.  Right, let’s have a good look at you.  Wouldn’t want you to look anything less than gorgeous for your beautiful angel.”

*

As Will drove to the gallery, he felt ridiculously nervous.  What was he, a spotty teenager on his way to pick up his first date?  And for the life of him he could not believe that he felt this way about a man he hardly knew.  All he could think about was the way he had felt the first time he had seen Liam McKenna.  The man was gorgeous, there was no denying that, but it wasn’t just lust.  There had been an instant attraction, a connection, and maybe part of that was because Will had fallen in love with the beautiful painting that now hung in his home.  The soul that had created such haunting beauty deserved to be adored; worshipped; loved.  As soon as his hand had touched that of the shy young artist, Will had felt something.  It had no taste; no smell; and it was invisible, but he had felt it.  And he was pretty sure that Liam had felt it to

But Liam was not his, he was in a relationship with another man, and though Will was almost certain that Liam was not happy in that relationship, he had no right to come between them.

That thought did nothing to stop him wanting Liam, or worrying that something awful might happen to him.  Will shivered deep in his soul at that thought.  He had seen for himself the injuries Liam had suffered, and the story that he had walked into a door in the dark seemed as believable as a kindly old man dressed in a red suit scrambling down chimneys on December 24th.

“Here we are.”  Faith announced as they approached the gallery aware that Will had not slowed down and was likely to drive right past.  She looked at his profile, her brow creased in a small frown.  “You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”

Will slowed down as he passed the gallery, indicating that he was turning into the narrow driveway that gave access to the rear of the building were there was a parking lot.  “Caught me red-handed, luv.”  He grinned self-consciously.

“Just try to keep your hands off him, ‘kay?”  Faith instructed.  “Remember what you told me about his bruises.  If Rupert Giles did do that to him, you don’t want to give him reason to do it again, do you?”

Will scowled.  “God no!  Faith, it really pisses me off that Liam could let that bastard do that to him!”  Will drove the car into a parking space, and killed the engine.

“You don’t know that for sure.”  Faith shook her head.  “He probably doesn’t ‘let’ himself be abused, unless he’s got some sort of victim…thing…complex going on, which I don’t think is the case, somehow.”

“I’m sure it’s not that.  He looks too frightened and vulnerable.  But why doesn’t he fight back?”  Will opened his door before scooting around to help Faith out of the car in her figure-hugging dress.

“I can’t answer that.”  Faith looked up at Will and even in the fading twilight he could see that her expression was sad.  “But you have no right to judge him when you don’t know his story.  You don’t know anything of his background, the sort of life he’s had.  I’m sure if his partner is doing that sort of stuff to him that he doesn’t ‘let’ him.  For whatever reason, he can’t stop him.  Am I making sense?”

Will took her hand and tucked it around his arm.  “Perfect sense, Faith.  But you always do.”

“We could be wrong about all this, though.”  Faith chewed her lip thoughtfully.  “Maybe he isn’t being abused.  Maybe he did walk into a door.”

Will gave her a disbelieving look.

Faith sighed.  “Probably didn’t, huh?”

“Unlikely.”  Will drew in a deep breath, squared his shoulders and looked down at his glamorously-garbed PA.  “Right, are we ready for this?”

“Remember what I said.  Try to keep your hands off him.”  Faith reminded Will.

“Scout’s honour!”  Will grinned.

“You, a scout?  Scary thought!”  Faith chuckled as Will escorted her around the building to the front entrance.

Oh My God!  I’m going to see Liam again!  He thought as he opened the door for Faith.

~Part: 3~

The front entrance of the gallery gave access to the small sales area and the stairway that lead up to the owner's private office.  But an archway off to the side led into the large, well lit room where all the paintings were displayed.  The walls were painted a glossy white, and the floor was laid with highly polished hardwood tiles.  Now, against the darkness outside, the room was not harshly lit, though there were strategically placed spotlights to highlight the paintings on exhibit.  Several other guests milled around in this area, most clutching elegant flutes of Champagne and talking desultorily in small groups.

"Glad you could both come."  Rupert Giles stepped forward to greet them, thrusting a catalogue into each of their hands, looking very suave and dapper in a dark suit and lilac tie with a matching handkerchief perfectly folded in his breast pocket.  His eyes, blue and cold behind his spectacles, seemed to contradict his welcoming words; they looked calculating and frosty.

As soon as he had walked through into the exhibit area with Faith, Will had unconsciously been searching the crowd for Liam, but there had been no sign of him as glasses of Champagne had been offered to them by one of the specially employed caterers.

Trying to quell his disappointment, Will smiled back at Rupert, the smile never quite reaching his eyes as the thought of what he had probably done to his shy young lover slid into place in his mind. And he was sure, gazing into the icy depths of the man's eyes, that the gallery owner's words were not sincere either.  "Kind of you to invite us."

Faith greeted Rupert with a slightly frosty smile herself.  "Been looking forward to it."  She forced out.

"You look devastatingly lovely, my dear."  Rupert told her smoothly.

"Thank you."  Faith lifted the corners of her mouth a fraction higher.

"Well, feel free to wander around the exhibits."  Rupert urged them.  "The paintings and sculptures are all by young artists, some of them exhibiting for the first time.  I hope you both enjoy what you see, and support the talent on offer."

"We will thank you."  Will heroically fought the urge to just demand where Liam's new painting was, and where the artist himself was.  He was determined not to cause any more friction between Liam and Rupert, since it was apparently bad for Liam's health.

Taking Faith by the elbow, Will wandered around the artworks on display, taking very little interest in anything as he was concerned only with one painting.   Consulting his catalogue, he saw `Angel On His Knees' listed near the bottom, and was keen to rush through the rest of the collection to get to it.

"Oof!"

Will stopped, suddenly feeling guilty because he had been propelling Faith towards the last few exhibits without realising what he was doing, and he had caused her to collide with another guest.

"Sorry!"  Will bit out, irritated by the delay.  He looked down at Faith and saw her gazing up into the face of the man she had jostled.

"I'm so sorry."  Faith said, genuinely contrite.

"No problem."  The jostled man assured her.  "It was partly my own fault for not looking where I was going."  He was a tall man, his skin a deep coffee colour, his eyes dark and inviting and gazing straight at Faith.  "Let's start again.  My name's Charles, though my friends call me Gunn, it being my last name."

"Great name, Gunn."  Faith grinned.  "I'm Faith.  My friends call me Faith."

As his eyes flicked between the two of them Will felt as if he were watching a tennis match.  He could almost feel the lust coming off both of them in waves, so decided to leave them to flirt while he went off in search of his own quarry.  "Um, I'll leave you two to get acquainted then."  He patted his PA on the arm, smiled when she threw him a fleeting `get lost' glance, and continued his quest for `Angel On His Knees.'

As he neared the last few spotlighted exhibits, a strange feeling suddenly made him turn around.  With a stifled gasp, Will observed the object of his devotion entering the large gallery, his breath stolen from him in an instant as he drank in the exquisite appearance of the beautiful artist.  The way the snug leather trousers stretched across Liam's groin made Will's cock stir in his boxers, as the sudden tightening of the material dragged a moan from between his lips.

Liam wore a soft silk shirt of deep burgundy, a shade that was perfectly suited to his dark colouring and pale features, and Will was relieved to see that there was no sign of the injuries that had so worried him all those weeks ago.  The artist had healed, and there were no new signs of abuse.

As he stared, Liam flicked his gaze towards the writer, and Will was sure that a smile had fleetingly ghosted across his pretty mouth.  No sooner seen than gone, Will watched in envy as Liam turned away and approached his lover.

Rupert turned to Liam, his expression disapproving.  He had seen the look he and Will had exchanged, and his possessiveness towards what he considered his property was writ plain on his stern face.

Will saw some words exchanged, but he could not catch what was said. Liam's gaze returned to the ground, which was a habit that distressed Will.  He almost looked ashamed, and Will hated that he could be made to feel so belittled.  Will had always been the dominant half in his relationships, but he would never make a lover of his feel so worthless.

Especially not one as beautiful and beguiling as Liam.

Turning from the pair, Will grimaced at the discomfort in his pants, and walked past the paintings he had yet to see.

And there it was.

Will's heart almost forgot to beat as he regarded the newest of Liam's works.

The beautiful angel was most certainly on his knees, his stunning body with the gorgeous though imperfect wings turned away from the viewer enough to hide the face, but in this one his arms were outstretched in supplication.  What should have been perfect flesh was marred by small bruises and bleeding abrasions, and blood still oozed from the angel's anus.  The shadow that had cast the angel's face in relative darkness in the first painting still fell menacingly over the vulnerable figure, but it was not towards this shadow that the outstretched arms were appealing.  This time there were no bars, but the angel still appeared to be held captive in a cell, and the arms were outstretched towards a small window where a tiny shaft of light lanced into the chamber.

Will was both awed and distressed by the painting.  He was certain now that the painting was meant to depict the artist himself and it practically screamed visual metaphor for the unhappy life in which Liam seemed to be trapped.  Will felt tears prick his eyes, struggling to stop them flowing down his face.

"Will?  Are you okay?"  Faith's voice seemed briefly to come from a distance.  Will became aware that she was standing at his shoulder and gazing in wonder at the haunting portrait before them both.  "Oh my God!  Will, it's.it's him, isn't it?"

Will nodded mutely.

"Who?"  Another voice, male this time, broke through Will's fogged brain.

It was Gunn, who had plainly accompanied Faith as she had gone in search of her boss

"Long story, Gunn."  Faith breathed, still reverently staring at the portrait.  "Cliff-notes version?  It's a painting of the artist by the artist."

"Come again?"  Gunn looked at both Faith and Will in confusion.

"It's a self-portrait."  Will turn to Gunn.  "Haunting, isn't it?"

"Gotta say I agree."  Gunn nodded slowly.  "That dude looks in some serious grief."

Will nodded absently, his eyes returning to the painting once more.

A hand on his shoulder made him turn around.  He smiled warmly when he saw it was Joyce, deftly balancing a flute of Champagne and a plate of food from the finger buffet.  "What do you think, Will?"

"I think it's one of the most beautiful and disturbing images I have ever seen."  Will breathed.  "It is him, isn't it?"

Joyce gave a small shrug of her shoulders.  "I think so."

*

The rest of the evening seemed to pass in a blur for Will.  He had glanced over at Liam on one occasion where he stood submissively beside his partner as Rupert conversed with a well-dressed, well- rounded, well-heeled man who looked well into his sixties.  With his lover's back towards Will, it gave Liam the opportunity to turn and smile shyly at the writer, a smile Will returned warmly.  Other than that, he had no further contact with the gorgeous artist, and instead stood by as Faith and Gunn flirted outrageously.  He was pleased for Faith, as she seemed to have made a conquest.  Gunn was an associate with a long-established family law firm in Sunnydale, and had obviously taken a shine to Will's lovely PA.

People gradually drifted away to make their way home until finally the only people remaining were himself, Faith, Gunn, Joyce and the gallery owner and his lover.

Faith was in the process of giving Gunn her cell number when Rupert approached them with Liam in tow.

"I trust you enjoyed the exhibition, Will."  One side of Rupert's mouth lifted sardonically.

"Very much, thank you Rupert."  Will could feel hatred welling up in his heart for this man, yet he forced himself not to react for Liam's sake.  "I particularly liked the dolphin sculpture.  I thought it captured the grace of the creature superbly."

"Yes, a good piece."  Rupert agreed.  "Anything else catch your eye?"

"Mmmm, `Angel On His Knees' is a very exciting painting."  Will drawled.  "But you know I already own `Caged Angel' so it was always a certainty that I would love Liam's new work.  It's exquisite."

Liam did not look up but spoke shyly.  "Thank you, Will."

"Yes, it is a beautiful portrait.  Total fantasy, of course, isn't it, poppet?"  Rupert reached up and caressed the back of his lover's head gently.

"Yes, Rupert."  Liam said softly.

Without warning, Rupert twisted his fingers in Liam's hair, pulling the startled man towards him and crushing his mouth against his own. Liam whimpered as his mouth was forced open by his lover's tongue and flinched as the dominant mouth plundered his.  To those looking on, it was not a whimper of desire; it was a sound of fear.

Will had a sudden vision of himself dragging Rupert from Liam and punching him over and over until he lay bleeding on the ground, but he manfully restrained himself, silently clenching his fists against his thighs.

Everyone else present tried to look elsewhere, embarrassed for Liam. The show of dominance by his partner left him deeply humiliated, and they all sensed it.

When the kiss was finally broken, a blushing Liam looked down at the floor, plainly very uncomfortable that Rupert had done that to him with people - Will - present.

"Come, come, Liam.  Why the embarrassment?"  Rupert smiled chillingly.  "Everyone here knows what a little slut you are."  He roughly fondled his boyfriend's ass, plainly enjoying Liam's discomfort.  "I can't wait to have your sweet ass when we get home. And don't pretend you don't enjoy it.  You will wear those "come fuck me" leather trousers so it's obvious to everyone here you love to take it up the ass every chance you get."

Joyce drew in a sharp breath.  She looked horrified as her employer seemed to delight in humiliating Liam in front of others.  "Please, Rupert."

Will's jaw muscles twitched with the effort of restraining himself. He could see that, though his eyes were downcast, Liam looked on the verge of tears.

It was Gunn who finally had to intervene.  "I think you may have had a little too much Champagne, Mr Giles.  We didn't come here to be witnesses to your humiliation of such a talented artist."

Rupert appeared to think this over.  He must have realised that his behaviour towards his young lover was not good for business.  "Yes, yes I think you're right.  I have had a little too much bubbly.  Do forgive me, please."

"I think its Liam you should be asking for forgiveness."  Faith said valiantly.

Rupert pursed his lips, his expression indicating that this was the last thing he wanted to do.  Finally he took Liam's hand, squeezing it a little too hard.  "Forgive me, poppet.  I know I shouldn't drink Champagne, it always goes to my head, but I am so happy that your beautiful painting was so well received."

"Of course I forgive you, Rupert."  Liam replied softly.

Rupert leaned towards him and planted a chaste kiss on his lips.  "Thank you, my darling."

Will wasn't fooled, and he didn't think anyone else present was either.  He was sure Liam wasn't, but Will felt completely helpless to do anything to help him.  He had a bad feeling about what might happen when Rupert had Liam alone.  And he, Will, had tried his hardest not to do anything to upset the apple cart and leave Liam vulnerable to his lover's anger again.

With a sinking heart, Will said goodbye to the couple as he, Faith and Gunn left the gallery.  He was in a state of extreme agitation, but couldn't do anything to help Liam, except perhaps grab the dolphin sculpture and beat Rupert's head to a bloody pulp.

Faith said goodbye to Gunn, instructing him to call her soon, a request he readily agreed to.

A heavy silence hung over Will and Faith all the way home.

*

Liam fell heavily against the bedroom door, reeling from the punch to his abdomen.  Before he had a chance to recover, he felt his hair being grabbed and his head was slammed painfully against the wall.

"You fucking slut!"  Rupert roared his anger white hot as he shoved Liam to his knees, pushing his head down until his forehead touched the thick carpet.

He was already naked, having been forced to strip as soon as the pair had arrived home from the gallery, and Liam whimpered as his furious lover grasped his hips and thrust his cock into his dry hole.

He screamed as Rupert pounded fiercely into him, his tears mingling with the blood.

~Part: 4~

Sometime during the night Liam had managed to drag himself to the bathroom and tried to clean himself up.  A moan of agony escaped his clenched lips as he washed away the blood and semen that had leaked from his anus and become dried and crusted down his buttocks.  He knew from previous experience that he would be in severe pain for several days.

Just as problematical was the cut that had opened up beside his left eye.  He held a wad of toilet tissue against it in an effort to stop the blood seeping down his face, but he was fighting a losing battle.  Sitting painfully on the side of the bath, he wept, wondering how his life had come to be like this.  In adolescence, he remembered being full of hope for the future, despite realising that he was probably gay.  It hadn't mattered then.  He had a real gift for art and a whole wonderful life awaiting him.

That had been before everything had gone so horribly wrong.

He was dragged from his reverie when the bathroom door opened.  Liam cringed when Rupert entered, shying away from the man who so tormented him.

"Oh, poppet!  See what you make me do when you make me angry?" Rupert reached out to touch his face, but Liam flinched away.  "Come on, my sweet boy.  Let Daddy have a look."

Wordlessly, Liam lowered the blood-sodden wad of tissue from his eye.

"Oooh, that looks painful.  I think you need paper stitches for that."  Rupert turned to the medicine cabinet, which was well stocked.  It needed to be; Liam was always making him angry.  He took out the supplies he needed and turned back to Liam, silently cleaning the cut with peroxide, which made Liam hiss as it stung his open wound.

When Rupert was satisfied that he had cleaned it thoroughly, he pulled out a strip of paper stitches and patiently stuck them over the cut by Liam's eye.  He then turned his attention to the small wound in his lover's lip where he had bitten through it.

"You are such a careless boy, aren't you?"  He cooed as he bathed the cut.

Liam remained silent, flinching a little as his tormentor became the concerned lover and took care of the injuries that he himself had created.

"There, poppet.  Isn't that better?"

Liam nodded, hating this apparently sensitive side of Rupert almost as much as he hated his angry side.  It just served to make it all the more horrifying when Rupert did become angry and abusive.

"Now come to bed.  You can clean up the blood on the carpet in the morning before you get started in the studio."

Limping painfully, Liam trailed slowly after his partner and crawled silently into bed, his back to Rupert, his eyes leaking tears of pain and despair.

*

Will spent the following day, a Saturday, feeling guilty and helpless.  He had done nothing deliberate to provoke Rupert Giles, yet the bloody man had still managed to humiliate Liam.

Will was also in a state of deep anxiety, convinced that Liam had suffered further the previous night.  He could already see a pattern emerging here.  Rupert became angry, humiliated Liam, and then in all probability, beat him when they were alone.

"Shit!"  Will cursed as he deleted yet more of his current manuscript.  It just wasn't working; his mind just wasn't capable of concentrating on something that now seemed so trivial to him.  He was generally a very organised and disciplined writer, but he could not get in touch with his muse at all.

On a whim, he opened a new document, called it "The Story of an Angel" and began to type Liam's story as he knew it.  Surprisingly, it came to him easily, and the text flowed richly from his brain to his computer screen.

*

Sunday came, and Will still felt on edge and anxious.  He sat down in the great hall of the mansion on the sofa before the fire nook, where if he glanced up he could see his beautiful, haunting Angel in his cage, and settling down with his lap top began to type more of the story.  The difference was that now it had become fantasy, not fact, as the story of his love for Liam, who reciprocated that love without fear of anger or violence, unfolded before him.

It was cathartic for Will.  The anxiety he felt receded until it was a dull throb in his brain, not the sharp all-pervading tension that it had been before, and with clarity of thought came the first small seed of a plan.

He had to see Liam, and he was going to enlist the help of Joyce Summers.

*

On Monday morning, Will stood outside the gallery, peering through the window to see if there were any sign of Rupert Giles.  He only saw Joyce Summers in the small front reception area, so he took a deep breath and slipped inside.

"Will!"  Joyce seemed surprised.  "What brings you here?  And before you ask, `Angel On His Knees' won't be coming up for sale."

"Oh."  Was all Will could say.  He felt a twinge of disappointment, but pushed it away; he had other things on his mind.  "Listen, Joyce, is Rupert in?"

"Yes, he's in his office.  Did you want to see him?"  Joyce lifted the phone off the wall, ready to tell her boss he had a visitor.

"No!"  Will hadn't meant the word to come out so harshly.  "No, no I don't want to see him.  What I want is to see Liam."

Joyce looked shocked.  "That's not a good idea, Will."

"It is, Joyce."  Will's voice took on a pleading tone, which he hated, but was powerless to prevent.  "You saw what happened between Rupert and Liam on Friday night.  And I know you know that Rupert abuses Liam physically.  And frankly I'm worried.  What I need is the address of their apartment, and a promise that you'll call me on my cell as soon as Rupert leaves here."

Joyce looked horrified.  "No, no, I'm sorry Will, but I can't do that.  As much as I worry about Liam, you going to the apartment. well, it's the last thing he needs.  If Rupert ever found out."  She left the prospect of consequences unsaid.  She didn't need to convince Will.

Will still had another card to play.  "Fine, I can find out the address if I really want to and still go to see him.  That's not a big deal, but having you warn me that Rupert is possibly on his way home, now that's a huge deal.  Don't you see that if we want to check on how Liam is, it would be safer for him if I have a tip-off that I should leave?  That way, your bully of a boss need never know that I was there."

Joyce stared at Will, amazed that she was actually considering helping him.  "You promise me that as soon as I call, you'll leave?"

"You have my solemn word, Joyce."  Will said gravely.  "I have no desire to cause Liam any further harm from Rupert.  All I'm interested in is his well-being."

In answer, Joyce quickly scribbled an address on the notepad she took from a drawer in the desk.  She handed it to him, her face strained.  "Don't you dare break your promise, Will."

"Cross my heart, Joyce."  He replied, making a sign of a cross diagonally over his torso.  Taking the pad from her he jotted down his cell phone number.

*

Despite his urgent need to see Liam, Will couldn't help but admire the apartment that was home to the couple.  It was in a good neighbourhood, the second story in a block of two, overlooking a beautifully landscaped garden that appeared to be jointly owned by all the residents in the L-shaped block.

Nervous, half expecting there to be no answer as he rang the doorbell, imagining Liam lying dead or dying in a pool of blood, Will was relieved when he saw a single eye behind the glass in the little spy hole in the solid redwood door.

Trying to look reassuring, Will waited patiently for the door to open.  When it didn't, after a reasonable time had past, he pounded on the door with his fist.  "Liam?  It's Will!  Please let me in! Please."  The last plea came out almost sounding like a sob.  Will didn't care.  He only wanted to see Liam, reassure himself that the beautiful artist he was falling in love with was okay.

As Will raised his fist to the door for a second time, prepared to try all day if he had to, there came the sound of a lock being turned on the other side of the door, and as it swung open a fraction, he saw one eye peering timidly through the gap.

"Liam."  Will was at least relieved to see that Liam was not lying in a pool of blood, but he couldn't see enough of the artist to assure himself that he was okay.  "Can.can I come in?  Please?"

The eye blinked several times then Will heard a sigh as Liam swung the door open further.

"Oh God!"  Will almost sobbed as he saw the state of Liam's face.

The bruised and beaten artist stood back and allowed Will to enter the lobby of the apartment.  He remained silent, his gaze cast down as it seemed almost habitually to be.

Now that he was face to face with Liam Will was unsure of what to say.  The two stood in silence for long moments.

Surprisingly, it was Liam who broke the silence.

"What do you want, Will?  If Rupert ever finds out that."

"It's okay, Liam, I have that covered.  Joyce is going to phone me on my cell the moment he leaves the gallery, so don't be frightened.  As for what I want.well, I've been worried about you, and now.seeing your face.I was right to worry wasn't I?"

"There was an accident, I."

"Rupert did it, didn't he?"

"No, it wasn't.I fell."

"You didn't fall.  Stop trying to cover for him, Liam.  It's obvious to everyone what's going on here.  Why do you let him do it to you?"

Liam looked up at Will as if he had physically struck him.  "I don't let him do it to me!  God, do you think I want this?"  He indicated his face with a gesture of his hand.

"Then why?"

"Because he can.  Because I'm weak and useless.  Because.I'm.I'm."

"Beautiful."  Will broke in.  "You are beautiful and talented, and you deserve to be cherished and loved and taken care of!"

"Beautiful?"  Liam whispered.

"Desirable.  Gorgeous.  Sexy.  You are all of these things, Liam.  To me anyway.  And probably to any man with a pulse.  Just not Rupert. Why do you stay with him?"

"Without him, I would be nothing."  A single lonely tear spilled from Liam's eye and slid down his cheek.

Will wanted nothing more than to take Liam in his arms and kiss his tears away.  But he was afraid he would scare him if he came on too strong, and that was the last thing Liam needed right now.  "Did he tell you that?"

Liam nodded as more tears coursed down his cheeks and his breath hitched in his chest.  Turning away from Will he limped painfully towards one of the doors that led off the lobby.  Will noticed this, and instantly guessed the reason.

He followed Liam into what turned out to be the lounge.  It was gorgeously decorated in rich reds and browns, the leather sofa and chairs looked incredibly expensive, it was tasteful and welcoming. But Will wasn't interested in the décor.  He was concerned that Liam had been raped.

"Does he rape you every time he gets angry?"  He asked Liam, not meaning to sound harsh, but his anger would not be suppressed.

Sitting down on the luxuriously upholstered sofa, Liam winced noticeably.  "He never really does anything else even when he's not angry.  I used to get myself off to get some relief, but I don't even need to do that now.  I haven't had an erection for a long time."

Spike moved slowly towards the sofa, half afraid that Liam would back off from him.  When he didn't, Will sat gently beside him.  "Oh my poor baby."

Liam looked up at Will with something approaching trust in his eyes.

Will couldn't help himself; he lifted his hand and brushed his thumb gently across Liam's trembling lips, wiping residual tears from the lovely mouth.  "So beautiful!"  Will gasped, his voice filled with reverence.

Liam couldn't speak.  He seemed mesmerised, the tear-tracks drying on his cheeks, his tongue flicking shyly out from between his lips prettily.

Will groaned in pained arousal, lost in the gorgeous depths of the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.  Despite his discomfort, he would not even attempt to seduce the other man.  He wanted Liam to trust him, and seduction when he was so vulnerable was not the way to earn trust.

"Can I ask you something Liam?"

The artist nodded slightly, nervously chewing his lip.

"The portraits?  `Caged Angel' and `Angel on his `Knees?'  You're the angel, aren't you?"

A small sad smile crossed Liam's face.  "My little sister Kathy and my Mom always called me Angel.  That's my middle name.  Well, it's Angelus really, but they shortened it.  They always said I had the face of an angel."

"They weren't wrong."  Will breathed.  He realised then that Liam had referred to his Mother and Sister in the past tense.   "What happened to them?"

"I was sixteen.  There was a car-crash."  Liam looked off into the distance as if he was looking back to the time his world had collapsed around him.  "Me, my Mom and Sister and my Da' were on our way to LA because my Da' had the offer of a new job.  We never got there.  A drunk driver side-swiped us and the car turned over.  I was the only one to survive."

Will felt tears well up in his own eyes now.  He reached out and laid his hand over Liam's, feeling that strange something pass between them, just as it had the first time they had met.  "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Liam blinked back his tears.  "Thank you, Will."

"What happened to you then?"

"I came to Sunnydale to live with my Da's Mother.  She was a lovely woman.  But within two years she was killed by ovarian cancer.  I still miss them all so much."

Will remained silent, reluctant to intrude on Liam's still very raw grief.  He waited patiently for him to continue.

"I was in art college by then, but my Grandmother's medical bills swallowed my entire inheritance.  There was already a big hole in it, because after the accident, I was in hospital for a month.  I had nothing, even the house had to be sold.  And then I met Rupert.  He was an art-lover, had already opened the gallery, though it was a lot smaller back then.  He had seen some of my paintings in a college- sponsored exhibition, and offered to pay for me to finish my studies and let me stay with him while I did."  Liam fiddled absent-mindedly with the rip in the knee of his faded old jeans.  "He was so kind back then.  There was nothing between us, not really, until I turned twenty one.  I knew by then that I was gay, so it seemed natural to share his bed.  It wasn't too bad in the early days.  He was a good lover, rough, but at least he cared that I was satisfied too.  And he always looked after me, you know, dealt with the everyday things that I had no idea about."  Liam stopped abruptly, a frown on his face. He looked up at Will, straight into his eyes.  "I whored myself, didn't I?  To get myself through art school, I whored myself!"  His face twisted with self-loathing.  "I deserve this!  I deserve to be punished!  Rupert's right when he says I'm just a slut!"  Tears poured down his cheeks again as he realised what he thought he had become.

"No, Liam."  Will tried to dissuade him from going down that road.

"I am!  I'm just a disgusting whore!"  He tried to rise, to put distance between himself and Will so that the writer would not be tainted by his depravity, but he felt sharp pain from his healing anus, and stopped.

Before he could move again, arms were wrapped around him, pulling him close, gentle hands smoothing his hair and a kind voice softly reassuring him.

"You're not a whore, Liam.  You're an angel.  I want you to be my Angel."  Will kissed the top of the dark head that rested against his chest, felt the dampness of tears wet his shirt as Liam cried out the grief that had festered in him for years.

Will continued to soothe him as best he could until Liam quieted; his tears spent.  "Your Angel?"  He asked in wonder, his voice muffled by Will's shirt.

"My Angel, Pet."  Will whispered.  "Leave Rupert, come to the mansion and be my Angel."  He giggled a little insanely.  "I think I'm in love with you."

Will felt Liam tense in his arms.  "No.no.I can't.  I.can't"

"Why?"  Will heard a whine in his voice, but ignored it.  "Why, Liam?"

"Rupert!  He.he said if I ever left him he would kill me.  Then he told me some.something worse, that he'd break my fingers so that I couldn't paint again.  If I can't paint.!"

"I won't let him hurt you, Liam.  Trust me, I'll protect you."

"I can't, Will."

"Liam, please, Pet.you don't ha."

Will's cell phone rang at the most inappropriate moment.  Cursing, he fumbled in his jacket pocket for it, punched the answer call button hard and raised it to his ear.  "Will."

Will listened, his arm still holding Liam close to his chest as he carried out an apparently one-sided conversation with the caller.  "How long?   Okay, I'll be gone before he's back.  Thanks Joyce.  Yeah, he's okay, cut and bruised, and.stuff, but okay.  I owe you one.  Bye."

"Rupert?"  Liam's voice had a nervous edge to it.

"Yeah, he's on his way home.  I have to go.  But please, Liam, think about what I've said."  He gently lifted Liam's face up with his finger under his chin so that their lips were centimetres apart.  "So beautiful."  He whispered, lowering his lips gently to Liam's.  He kissed him tenderly, running his tongue along the sweet lips of his Angel, and gasped in wonder as the lips parted to admit his tongue. Will gently explored the lovely mouth, delighting in the trusting submission Liam had granted him, and felt his beautiful Angel moan into his mouth.  When he gently pulled away, he ran his fingers tenderly down Liam's cheek.  "I love you, my Angel."

~Part: 5~

.then I kissed him.  And told him I love him."

"You did what?"

"I kissed him and told him I love him."

"Um.so that's good, right?"

"Good?  No, nowhere near.  Great, super, fantastic, unbelievable, sexy as hell.nope, even that doesn't cover it.  I'm hopelessly in love with him, Faith."

Faith grinned delightedly at her boss, but her face clouded over as a thought occurred to her.  "I am pleased, really I am.but what's changed?  He's still with Rupert Giles, isn't he?  He's still vulnerable?"

"True, but at least I hope I've thrown him a lifeline.  I gave him my cell number, made him memorise it so that that fucker Rupert doesn't find it, and made him promise to call me at any time if he's in trouble or he needs anything."

"Well, that is good.  Maybe he'll realise eventually that living with Rupert is just plain dangerous for him.  Didn't I tell you that there was a reason he couldn't fight back?  It sounds to me as if that son of a bitch has made Liam so dependant on him that he just can't think for himself anymore.  And can we say traumatic life?  Maybe that's why he needs someone to take care of him.  Someone who doesn't treat him like property."

Will stared down into the cup of tea Faith had brought to him in his study.  "I felt so sad for him.  He's had it so tough, poor baby."

Faith reached out and put her hand over Will's affectionately.  "Maybe this will be the turning point for Liam, huh?"  She grinned.  "I have a couple days off, and all this happens."

"Speaking of which, luv, how did your date with your hot-shot lawyer go?"  Will felt a little guilty for only thinking of his news and forgetting to ask until now how Faith's weekend had gone.

"Hot is right!  And do you know he sometimes represents people who can't afford a hot-shot lawyer for free?  Think of that; giving up his time to help people.  Pretty heroic in my book."

"Oh, luv, some men will tell a bint anything to get into her knickers."  Will mock tut-tutted.

"Relax, boss.  He told me after."

Will's eyebrows climbed somewhere up near his hairline.  "Oh."

"It's okay, I know what I'm doing.  I really like the guy.  I mean really like!"  Faith laughed.  "And the good thing is I think he really likes me."

Will pushed his chair back, lifting his legs, crossing them so that they were resting on a corner of his mahogany desk.  "Could it be that things are on the up for both of us?  Relationship-wise, is what I'm saying."

"I'd like to think so."

*

Will was aching to see Liam again, and he couldn't believe his luck when he had a call out of the blue from him a few days later..

"H.hello, Will."

God! That voice did things to Will that should not be legal.  "Hello, baby.  Is anything wrong?"

"No, n,,,nothing's wrong, it's."

"It's what, Pet?"

"It's.um..Rupert.  He'll be a.away on business next week."

"Oh.  OH!  You'll be on your own?"

"Yes."

"Do you.would it be okay if.could you use some company?"

"That's what I.I was hoping you'd say."

"You were?  Okay, I'm in.  What day?"

"Thursday.  He'll be back on Saturday."

"I have a meeting with my publisher all day Thursday in LA. But I'm free on Friday.  What if I come over in the morning?  We could spend the day together."

"I'd like that."

"See you then, gorgeous."

"Can't wait."

"Me neither."

*

The remainder of that week dragged, and the three days of the following week, until Thursday came when Will and Faith drove to LA to see Wesley.

During the two hour journey, Faith regaled Will with tales of her new boyfriend, making him laugh out loud so by the time they arrived in LA, he felt more relaxed  than he had since the call from Liam.  The closer he got to Friday, the more excited he was becoming.

It had been great to see Wesley again, and he said Fred had insisted that they join the two of them for dinner that night.

*

"So your `Caged Angel' is actually a self-portrait of that gorgeous man we met at your house-warming?"  Fred was wide-eyed and giggly at the romance in that idea.

"As it turns out, yes."  Will scooped some more of Fred's home-made apple pie into his mouth.  "Mmmm!  This really is delicious, Fred. Seems you can take the girl out of Texas, but not Texas out of the girl."

"Thank you, Will.  It's a recipe my Mom gave me that was passed down to her from her Mom."  Fred grinned hugely, delighting in the praise.

"For a scientist, you are a wonderful cook, my dear."  Wesley smiled indulgently at his wife.

"Thank you, Wesley.  My mom and I always spent time at weekends baking.  I loved it.  More?"

"I was hoping you'd ask."  Wesley grinned as he held his dish out for another helping.

Fred filled Will's dish again too, pouring a generous amount of cream over the succulent apple-pie.  Faith declined another portion, claiming that she had to watch her figure now that she and Gunn were `an item.'

When the meal was finished, they sat around for a while with coffee, talking in a desultory way, until it was time for Faith and Will to leave.

"Sorry, Fred."  Will apologised.  "Big day tomorrow.  Date with an angel.  Well, sort of a date."

Fred kissed him fondly.  "I understand.  Ooh, Will, I hope you get the man of your dreams one day."

"I do, too, luv.  I do, too."

*

Friday came, and Will rose early, showered and shaved, and spent a long time picking out something to wear.  As he rifled through his closet, his cell phone rang.

"Will."

"He's gone, Will.  Are you. still coming over?"

"Of course.  Why wouldn't I?"

"I just.I guess.I thought.maybe you had.had changed your mind."

"Have you?"

"About you coming over?  No.  No, of course not."

"That's good, because I'll be there within the hour.  Is that okay?"

"Can't come quick enough.  See.see you then."

"You will.  Bye, baby."

Will pulled out his leather trousers.  He loved the feel of them, and they fit him like a second skin and now he was feeling like a teenager on a first date and did his hair look good and oh God! was that a spot on his nose and for goodness sake Will you wanker pull yourself together!

Finally settling on a black shirt, Will looked at himself in the mirror, checking for flaws.  There were many; he was too wiry for his height, his face was angular and, to him, bony, and there was a scar through his eyebrow from a long-ago boyhood prank.  If he stood next to Liam, nobody would give him a second glance.

But Will did not lack confidence and had no hang-ups about his appearance or his sexuality.  He had always had a cocky arrogance, giving the finger to anyone who looked down their noses at him.  Who were they to judge him?  What made them so special?  It was a philosophy that had served him well.

"Okay."  Will nodded at himself in the mirror then grabbed his wallet and keys from the top of his chest of drawers.

He felt butterflies doing a flamenco in his belly as he unlocked the car.

*

Liam opened the door to Will, a nervous look on his face.

"Hi, baby."  Will wanted to grab Liam and kiss him passionately, but he restrained himself, conscious of the fact that he needed to let Liam set the pace or risk scaring him.  He was too vulnerable, too lacking in confidence to give himself completely to Will at this early stage in .what?  Their courtship?  Will hoped so.  "You look gorgeous."

"Th.thanks, Will.  Come on in."

Will stepped over the threshold, marvelling at the sight of Liam in faded, though not ripped jeans this time, and a white long-sleeved tee-shirt.  Liam was not a girly man at all, which surprised Will given that he was so submissive.  He was tall, athletically built and every inch a man, yet he still managed to look.cute and adorable and. hot!  Unable to resist, Will leaned forward and gently kissed the pretty lips.  "So beautiful."  He whispered against Liam's gorgeous mouth.

As Will pulled back, Liam smiled shyly.

"What do you want to do today, Pet?"  Will asked the man of his dreams.

"I.I thought we could order pizza or something for lunch."  Liam cast his eyes down, as was his habit.  "I daren't go ou.out in case Rup. Rupert calls to check that I'm home."

Will's heart ached at that thought.  Rupert going away and leaving his young lover alone at home and afraid to go out in case Rupert got angry with him.  He was sickened.

Placing a gentle hand under Liam's chin, he gently lifted his face so that he was looking at Will.  "I know this is hard for you, baby, but keep your head up.  There's no need to be shy or frightened with me. I'd never hurt you."

"S.s.sorry."

"And you don't have to apologise, either.  Haven't you got a cell phone?"

"No.  Rupert won't let me have one.  He says there is no need, since whenever I go out I'm with him, unless I have to stop by the gallery to pick him up in the car when he has been entertaining clients and has had too much to drink."

Was there no end to the control that fucking wanker had over Liam? Will thought, but said nothing.  "Oh.  So!  Pizza it is for lunch then.  Maybe we can just spend the day talking and chilling."

Liam nodded.  "As long as it won't be boring for you."

Will leaned into him again, planting a quick chaste kiss on Liam's mouth.  "Being with you could never be boring, Pet."

Liam smiled, a genuine smile that lit up his eyes radiantly.

"And you should do that more often.  Smile."  He added when Liam looked at him in confusion.  A thought came into his head then, something that might make Liam smile even more.  "I'd really love to see your studio, Liam.  Would you show it to me?"

"You really want to see it?"  Liam's eyebrows climbed, and his eyes lit up with pleasure.

"I really do.  Would you mind?"

Liam clenched his bottom lip between his teeth, a gesture that made Will groan inwardly.  Liam was so fucking sexy without even having to try!   Will foresaw another night of jerking off just to get some relief.

 "I'd really like that."  Liam said solemnly.  He shyly took Will's hand and led him through the apartment to a small flight of steps. These led up to a kind of mezzanine, which consisted of one large room with bare floorboards underfoot and a huge window at one end facing the morning sun.

Will had no idea that the apartments on the second story were this luxurious.  He thought briefly that it must have cost a fortune for this place before turning his attention back to a beaming Liam.

Even if this room were not the place in which Liam had created his `angel' portraits, Will still felt in awe.  It seemed to be the one thing in his life that had Liam stamped all over it.  There was an easel on one side of the room, catching the best of the sunlight, which had a covered canvas perched on it.  To the right of the easel, there was a large cabinet with open doors that contained a variety of art supplies, from brushes to pastels, charcoals to oil-paints.

In the far corner there was a wash basin, and to the left of the large window stood a small storage unit on which there stood a micro hi-fi system and a stack of compact discs.  Next to this was a rack filled with canvasses, some looking as if they were new, some were obviously Liam's completed works.

Will thought he caught a whiff of Essence of Liam, that indefinable scent that Will supposed was part oil-paint, part soap and a big part Liam pheromones.  It was an intoxicating aroma, making Will feel almost giddy.

Liam waited expectantly for Will's reaction, and Will did not disappoint him.

"It's perfect, baby."  Will enthused.  "It's you.  It even smells like you."

"Really?"

"Mmmm.  All artist-y and.sexy!"

Liam tilted his head slightly, wondering if Will was kidding.

"I'm serious, Liam."

"Sexy?"

"Very!"

Liam actually giggled then, and Will couldn't help but laugh with him.  A relaxed Liam was a joy, and Will felt intoxicated.

Will nodded towards the canvas.  "Is that your current work?"

Liam nodded.

"Can I see it?"

"When it's finished."

"When will that be?"

"I can't tell.  I.I should have been working on it this morning, but."

".but I'm here.  Stopping you from working."

"Yes, b.but I don't mind."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."  Liam's gaze had been held by Will's piercing blue eyes through all this, until Liam grimaced a little.  He lowered his eyes once more to look at the floor at his feet.

"What is it, baby?"

"Noth.nothing."  Liam wriggled his hips slightly, as if in discomfort.

"If I can't see what you're working on right now, can I at least see some of your other work?"  Will pleaded.  "You know how much I love what you do."

Liam looked a little uncertain, but nodded, grimacing again.  Will frowned slightly, wondering what was wrong with him, but figured he was just a little uncomfortable with showing Will his paintings.

"You don't mind, baby?"  Will probed.

"No, I don't mind."  Liam favoured him with a small smile.  "Help yourself."

Reassured that Liam did not find the prospect too disturbing, Will crossed to the rack of canvasses.  He began pulling them out, gasping at some of the work, especially the ones that depicted beautiful sunsets and landscapes.  The colours had been beautifully captured, and Will almost felt as if he were actually watching the scene in the painting.

Then the work began to become darker, some almost nightmarish, and there was a pattern to the paintings.  A shadow fell constantly over the scenes, and one in particular caught Will's imagination.  A naked male figure slept in a huge bed, but the room was painted too dark to see the figure clearly.  But the shadow lay across him, malevolent and threatening.  Will sighed.  It was beautiful, yet disturbing.  He glanced across at Liam, whose eyes were cast down to the floor again.

Another self-portrait, Will decided.

Will then pulled a canvas from the rack that was unlike any other. It was a stunning portrait of a beautiful young girl in the first flush of womanhood, fresh and smiling and so pretty.  Will thought the delicate, feminine mouth familiar, and the eyes that stared back at him from that smiling face were a mirror of Liam's beautiful brown orbs.  Will audibly gasped.

"Who is this beauty, Liam?  She's lovely."

"My sister, Kathy."  Liam sounded sad, and Will understood the reason.  Kathy was dead.  "I painted that just weeks before the car crash."

Will gently replaced the portrait in the rack, feeling guilty for having stirred up Liam's memories.  He crossed the studio to Liam, tilting his face up with his forefinger under his chin.  "I'm sorry, baby.  I can see it still hurts.  She was a very beautiful girl; you must have loved her very much."

Liam nodded, his sad smile speaking volumes.  He turned to leave the studio, as if he no longer felt at ease there.

Feeling the sadness that radiated from the young artist, Will followed him down over the steps and into the long hallway.

"Shall I put some music on?"  Liam asked, trying valiantly to shake off his sudden depression.  "What do you like?"

"The Sex Pistols, but not everyone's taste, so you choose."

Leading the way into the living room, Liam crossed over to the expensive-looking home entertainment system and selected a disc from the custom-fitted shelves next to it.  He put the disc into the CD player, and the beautiful strains of `Pachelbel's Canon' filled the room.

"I love this.  It's my favourite."  Liam said reverently as he turned back to Will.

"Great choice.  It's one of my favourites too."  Will sat down on the leather sofa.  "It's a beautiful room.  Must have cost a fortune."

"I guess.  Rupert deals with all that.  We used to live in a small apartment above a drugstore, but the gallery is booming, so Rupert can afford this place now."

"Surely you have some independent means.  I mean, your paintings must be much sought after, and that must give you money of your own."

Liam's face creased in a frown.  "I.I guess.  Rupert takes care of all that.  I'm not.not good with practical things."

Something was stirring in Will's head.  He wasn't sure what it was yet, but something nagged away in the back of his mind.

"What toppings do you like on your pizza?"  Liam asked him, pulling Will back from his thoughts.

"Pinneapple.  Gotta have pineapple.  And peppers, and ham, or maybe chicken.mmm, let me think."

Liam grinned.  "I'll go get the menu."

Liam left the room and on a whim Will got up and followed him out to the kitchen.

It was immaculate and quite large, with oak units and a marble work- top.  The sink was black granite, heavy, tough and hard-wearing.

Liam rummaged in a drawer by the breakfast bar until he found the pizza menu.  He turned around to find Will in the room with him.  "Oh!"  He made a little moue of surprise.

"Sorry, baby."  Will apologised for surprising him, but found the cute face Liam pulled a turn-on.  In fact, everything Liam did made Will feel horny.

Liam shrugged. "S'okay."

"I can't believe how badly I want to kiss you."  Will breathed, hoping that he wasn't pushing Liam into something he didn't want.

"Ki.kiss me?"

"You are so beautiful, I can't think straight."  Will shrugged.  "Sorry, getting carried away here."

Liam moved a little towards him.  "I.I'd like you to.to kiss me, Will."

Will took a deep breath.  "You would?"

"Yes. I loved it wh.when you kissed m.me last time."

Will smiled, a gentle smile of reassurance.  "I did too, baby. C'mere."

Liam moved hesitantly within the circle formed by Will's outstretched arms.  Folding the shy artist in his embrace, Will hugged him, running his hands gently up and down his back, trying to convey that he could be trusted, that he was no Rupert and would never hurt him.

Will put one of his hands behind Liam's head, and as he felt him tense, he gently ran his hand through the soft silkiness.  "Shhh, baby, it's okay.  We did this before, and you liked it.  It's okay."

Liam relaxed, so Will gently covered the pretty mouth with his own, slowly, tenderly, until he felt Liam begin to respond.

Will's hand continued to stroke Liam's hair as he kissed him, lulling, soothing and reassuring.  When they both came up for air, Liam's mouth was all kiss-swollen and sexy.  Will leaned his forehead against Liam's.  "I love you, Liam.  My Angel."

"I love you, too, Will."  Liam breathed softly.

Will's heart did a cartwheel in his chest.  "You do?"

Liam looked into Will's eyes, his own brown orbs liquid with tears.  "Yes."

Unable to resist the look in those amazing eyes, Will captured Liam's lips in another passionate kiss.  Sensing that Liam was willing to submit, Will thrust his tongue into the pliant mouth, probing, exploring, filling, and was rewarded with a moan of sheer pleasure. His hands rubbed Liam's back, slowly sliding down to his ass and squeezing the firm butt-cheeks as he dragged another moan of rapture from Liam.

Will wanted so desperately to be inside that gorgeous body, already feeling the stiffness growing in his boxers, but he was determined not to push Liam too far too soon.  Amazing himself with his own sensitivity, he realised that for a long time Liam had equated sex with violence, nothing to do with loving or caring.  If he and Liam were ever going to have a loving and permanent relationship it had to start with companionship.  He deliberately broke the kiss, smiling as Liam made a small noise of protest.

"I'm not here to make you do something you might not want to do, Pet."  Will smoothed the artist's cheek gently with his thumb.  "Not that I don't want you, God! I do, so much.  But I want you healed properly and one hundred percent sure that it's what you want."

Liam nodded, his brown eyes gazing into Will's blue orbs lovingly.  "I understand, Will."  He grimaced again, squirming slightly.

"What is it?"  Will saw an expression of discomfort creep over Liam's face.  "What's wrong, baby?"

Liam swallowed hard.  He looked embarrassed and uncomfortable.  "It's nothing."

"You have something face."  Will persisted.  "Tell me."

Liam turned away as if he were hiding something shameful.  "I.It's. too embarrassing.  I can't."

"Has Rupert been hurting you again?  Are you in pain?"  Will hated to see Liam distressed, which he plainly was.

"No, no, it's not that."

Will moved towards Liam, hating that Liam backed away.

"You're not afraid of me, are you, baby?"  Will pleaded.

"No, Will.  Never afraid of you."  Liam turned back to him, his eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Then what is it?  What's bothering you?  Maybe I can help."  Will wanted to take Liam in his arms and kiss away his tears, but knew he was anxious about something.

Averting his eyes from Will deliberately, Liam fumbled at his button fly, clumsily unfastening all the buttons before pulling down his jeans until they were half way down his thighs.  It was Will's turn to be confused; he didn't understand what Liam was doing.

As soon as Liam lowered his cotton boxers, Will understood.  He felt sick.

~Part: 6~

Determined to keep his plaything chaste in his absence, Rupert had fitted Liam with a chastity device.  The thing was made of some sort of transparent material with vents, presumably with hygiene in mind. It consisted of a cuff-ring which also separated Liam's testicles and a cage for his cock, the two pieces fastened together and locked with a small metal padlock.  Naturally, Rupert would have taken the key with him.

"Oh God!"  Will shook his head.  How much more humiliation could Rupert inflict on Liam?

Liam mistook Will's reaction for disgust, and tears sprang up in his eyes.  "I'm sorry, Will."

Will moved to Liam, gathering the distraught artist into his arms. One hand reached up to pet his silky head, the other rested on the small of his back.  "No, Pet, don't be sorry.  You haven't done anything to be sorry for."  Will had seen devices such as these before, had even used one for Oz when they had been together.  But that was entirely different; that had been a gesture of trust on Oz's part, and both of them had found Oz's voluntary chastity to be highly erotic.

But what Rupert had done to Liam was horrible.  Enforced chastity did nothing for the partner that had chastity forced upon him, which was obviously what had happened to Liam.  Looking back, Will could understand why Liam had been looking discomfited almost since his arrival.

"When did he do this, Liam?"  Will asked gently.

"Last night."  Liam's tears had finally eased, though his breath hitched in his chest still.

"Has he ever done this before?"

Liam shook his head slightly.

"Is it uncomfortable?"

"A.a bit.  I have to sit down to p.pee."

Will groaned inwardly.  Having to sit down to urinate must leave Liam feeling totally emasculated since he was not a willing party to this.

"I don't suppose Rupert left a spare key?"

Liam shook his head against Will's shoulder.

"Didn't think he would somehow.  Look, I can't get it off for you, unless we call in a locksmith."

Will was not surprised when Liam shook his head vigorously.  He was ashamed enough that Will had to witness his situation; the thought of anyone else seeing what Rupert had done to him was unbearable.

"Chastity devices are not meant to humiliate, Liam."  Will explained.  "Chastity is something that should be freely given with both parties happily agreeing to it. Leaving you like this with no access to a spare key is vile.  You need to leave him, Liam.  I'm serious."

Liam shook his head vigorously.  "I can't.he won't let me!"

"Locking you into a device like that while he's away is cruel and mean."  Will patiently tried to explain to Liam.  "He seems to take great delight in humiliating you, as well as abusing you physically, though sometimes mental torture is worse."  Will pulled back, grasping Liam's arms and looking him straight in the eyes.  "It's not going to get better, baby.  You have to leave him, for your sake, not mine."

Liam began to panic a little.  His breathing became agitated.  "No, no.  He.he'll s.smash my f.fingers.  He will.  I.I know he w.ill!"

Will easily understood why that threat was so appalling to Liam.  If his fingers were damaged badly enough, he would be unable to hold a brush or a pencil so the one thing in his life that was good would be taken away from him.  How would he go on after that?

In truth, Will was completely at a loss about what to do to help Liam.  He felt like shouting at him to try to make him see sense, but that would not have helped in the slightest.  Liam would feel that Will was turning against him, and if there was one thing he did not need it was anger from someone he was beginning to trust.  Will understood that Liam had probably been dependant on someone all his life.  He had lost his whole family at a time when he was on the threshold of manhood, and from what Will knew of Liam, he was plainly a very sensitive soul.  Which explained why he was so heavily reliant on Rupert Giles.  He had probably seen him as a father-figure rather than a lover, and he had allowed the man to leach away his confidence, his self-worth and any independence he might have had.

It was a mess.

Will felt helpless in the face of Liam's refusal to leave Rupert. There seemed to be nothing he could do to get him away from his abuser, except perhaps kidnapping Liam and spiriting him away somewhere where Rupert could not touch him.

A tempting idea, but not feasible.

All Will could do for now was be there if Liam should call him, and hope that Rupert Giles did not go too far.

*

Will drove home that night with a heavy heart.  He and Liam had spent the day together, but it had been a strange day.

Liam had been subdued as Will pulled his boxers and jeans back up and looked on sadly as the artist had refastened his buttons.  He was grateful that he could no longer see the chastity device that Liam was locked into, but that didn't mean he wasn't still seeing it in his mind's eye.

Liam, at twenty five, was only a couple of years younger than he, but he was almost child-like in his reliance on Will, and the writer felt the need to support and protect him, given that he was emotionally the stronger of the two.  Liam's life since his teenage years had robbed him of any emotional stability.

Will had phoned through their order for pizza, and they had sat at the kitchen breakfast bar to eat when they arrived.  Then they had settled down in the lounge with music playing softly in the background and just stayed close.  Will held Liam close to him and kissed him chastely from time to time, running his fingers through Liam's soft spiky hair as the shy artist had cuddled up close against his chest.  They shared a couple of beers companionably, and Will could almost believe that their friendship was proceeding along normal lines.

Almost.

But Liam's plight meant that their relationship, whatever it was, was nowhere near normal.  His well-being was on the line, perhaps even his life, a thought which made Will shudder, and the fear that kept him so submissive to Rupert was not going to dissipate overnight.

Will had to think of something.

~Part: 7~

Will spent the rest of the weekend catching up on his writing. His latest erotic novel was almost complete, so for a break he turned his attention to his Liam story.

It was unfolding wonderfully, unlike reality, and Will wished with all his heart that his and Liam's lives would turn out just as they were in his fantasy.

But life wasn't always fair.

*

Will heard nothing from Liam that week. He sort of hoped that no news was good news, but he still felt uneasy about the situation.

Faith and Gunn were seeing each other regularly, and on the evening that Gunn came to pick up his PA for a formal evening his employers had organised, Will had an idea.

"Have a great evening, both of you." Will smiled at the happiness in Faith's eyes.

"We will. Don't wait up, boss."

"I won't. And Gunn, there's something I'd like to talk to you about when you have the time."

"If you are planning on telling him about the birds and bees, don't bother. We've got that covered." Faith grinned.

Will and Gunn laughed.

"Wouldn't dream of it, luv." Will assured her. "No, it's a legal thing."

"How about one evening next week? I could come over." Gunn asked.

"Great. It'll give you a good excuse to see Faith, too." Will smirked.

"He doesn't need an excuse, boss." Faith pouted.

"Kidding. Have a great time, kids."

Gunn offered Faith his arm, and the two of them swept grandly out of the mansion, leaving Will to his own devices.

Grabbing a beer from the fridge, Will wandered out of the kitchen and into the lounge, settling himself on the sofa with his feet up and used the remote to turn on the TV. After flicking through a number of channels and finding complete dross on all of them, he turned it off again and instead contemplated Liam's situation.

His thoughts turned to what Liam had told him about financial arrangements. It suddenly became clear to Will that Rupert Giles was not only abusing his young lover, but also robbing him blind. Will was willing to accept that the gallery did well, but the luxury that he and Liam lived in seemed far too grand for the profits from a small gallery to pay for. Okay, Rupert could well be rich in his own right, but Liam had said they lived in a small apartment before they had moved into their current home, so why hadn't Rupert bought something better before?

Liam did not have an inheritance; that had gone in medical bills for both him and his grandmother. But Will was willing to bet that Liam had received compensation for the accident. After all, he had lost all three of his closest family members and received serious enough injuries to keep him in hospital for a month. He should have received a substantial settlement.

So where was that money?

Will would have wagered that Liam did not even have a bank account of his own, so it seemed likely that all Liam's compensation payment would have gone into Rupert's account, and in Will's opinion, the chances of the couple having a joint account? Virtually nil.

Will swigged from his beer, anger festering inside as he thought of how Liam was being abused, terrorised and probably robbed by that evil wanker .

On Monday morning, he was going to enlist Joyce Summer's help again.

As things turned out, fate took a hand before he had the chance.

*

Warm lips brushed his and he smiled against them.

A hand, soft as a feather, ghosted down over his chest, the fingers coaxing his nipple to a hard nub and down over his stomach, lingering teasingly at the line of fine dark hair before stopping between his legs. He felt his cock spring to joyful life as the hand gently took it, stroked it lovingly, and a tender voice whispered `I love you, baby' in his ear, the breath tickling sweetly.

"Will?"

Rupert had been out for the evening, meeting with a rich acquaintance he knew through the gallery. Liam knew it was something about an investment in real estate and was relieved when his lover told him he didn't need to go. Liam did not understand financial matters and consequently found them utterly boring.

He had gone to bed early, conjuring up a beautiful fantasy as he hovered between sleep and wakefulness before descending into contented slumber.

The hand that twisted in his hair was not Will's

Neither was the voice that bellowed in his ear as he woke from his slumber, his mind still sleep-fogged.

"You fucking slut!"

Not Will. He had been dreaming of Will, spoken his name in his sleep, and…shit! He had spoken Will's name, and now Rupert was dragging him from the bed, and the pathetic whimpering in his ears was his own.

Liam's head snapped back as Rupert slapped his cheek hard, tears of pain and fear welling up in his eyes.

"You're nothing but a cheap little whore!" Rupert cursed as Liam tried to squirm away from the hand that held his right wrist as the other dragged him by the hair to the bedroom door.

It was a heavy mahogany door, and as Rupert slammed his right hand against the wooden frame, holding the door open with his body, Liam screamed.

"I could let this door go now and your fucking fingers will be crushed." Rupert spat out, his anger white-hot and terrifying. "Do you want that, slut?"

Liam shook his head vigorously, his cheeks wet with tears.

"Answer me, you little fuck! Do you want that?"

"N…no! No! Please Rupert, no!"

"Then get that fucking wanker out of you head! You belong to me! Got that? I'll kill you before I let anyone else fuck that ass of yours! Understand, whore?"

Liam nodded, his fear a live thing in his chest, growing, swelling, almost choking him.

Air exploded from Liam's lungs as he felt an agonising blow in his midriff. Rupert had pushed him down just as he brought his knee up, the combined motion making the impact brutal. He tried to double over against the pain, but he was pushed roughly down onto his knees, felt hands grab his head roughly, heard the sound of a zipper being opened and then Rupert's erection was pushing at his mouth, thrusting between his lips. He felt the head hit the back of his throat, making him gag.

Struggling to breathe through his nose, almost choking on the raging member, he tried to endure the humiliating act, all the while feeling pain radiate outwards from his abdomen.

Rupert kept thrusting into his mouth as tears ran down Liam's cheeks and it seemed that it went on forever.

With a final grunt, Rupert grasped Liam's head in a painful grip as he shot his seed into the abused mouth and held on as his young lover was forced to swallow it.

Turning away, Rupert left Liam to collapse back onto the bedroom floor, curling into a foetal position and feeling abject humiliation as the remnants of Rupert's cum trickled thickly from his mouth and his breath came in harsh gasps as he struggled not to pass out.

*

Will had just left the shower when his cell-phone rang. It was Monday morning, and he was going to phone Joyce at the gallery after breakfast.

"Will."

"Will? I need…help."

"Liam? What's wrong?"

"Pain…bad, Will."

"I'm on my way, baby. Don't hang up." Will did not break the connection as he hurriedly finished getting dressed and grabbed his car keys. He lifted the phone to his ear again, barely able to hear for the pounding of his heart, petrified that something terrible had happened to Liam. "You still there, baby?"

"Y…yes. It hurts, Will, hurts so bad."

"I'm coming, Pet, just don't hang up."

How Will managed to get to the apartment without being pulled over for speeding he would never know. When he got there he flew out of the car and up to the second story apartment, banging urgently on the door and ringing the bell for good measure.

"It's me, Liam." Will spoke into his phone, hoping that Liam still had the phone to his ear.

Minutes later, though it seemed to Will more like hours, the door was opened and he was shocked to see Liam standing there in just sweat- pants, looking very pale and clammy.

"Will…thank…"

Will stepped swiftly forward to support Liam as he slowly collapsed.

"Oh baby, what has he done?"

Gently, Will lowered him to the floor of the hallway and keyed 911 into his cell, gently running his fingers through Liam's damp hair as if in reassurance, feeling sick and frightened.

~Part: 8~

Will paced the waiting area outside the ER at Sunnydale General.

The urgent ride in the back of the ambulance with Liam frightened and in pain had scared the hell out of Will. He had seldom felt so helpless, trying to stay out of the way of the paramedics as they had tried to make Liam more comfortable, yet wanting to take Liam in his arms and soothe away his pain and fear.

When they arrived at the hospital, one of the ER physicians had asked him some questions.

"Liam McKenna. That's Mc not Mac?"

"Pretty sure it's Mc. He's Irish."

"Next of Kin?"

"As far as I know, he has no family."

Will provided the doctor with other details, though he was unable to provide him with Liam's date of birth or any allergies he may have.

Then came the question that Will knew was coming.

"What happened to Liam?"

Will felt anger trying to bubble to the surface. "I don't know for sure, but I think I can guess. His boyfriend abuses him. Liam called me on my cell phone at around eight thirty this morning, saying he needed help, he was in pain. I drove around to the apartment he shares with his partner and he sort of collapsed as he opened the door. I called 911 immediately."

"So you're a friend?"

"I suppose I am. I care for Liam very much, and I've tried to persuade him to leave his boyfriend before he ends up dead, but he's too frightened. Rupert Giles has threatened to smash his fingers, which terrifies him. He's an artist. A damn good one."

"Mmmm." The doctor mulled this information over. "We can involve the police, if that's what Liam wants. He would have our full backing medically, of course. But that will have to wait until we figure out what the problem is and treat him."

*

Will had thought about the doctor's words, decided it was what Rupert Giles deserved but seriously doubted that Liam would go along with it.

Liam had asked for Will, and he had been in to see him as he lay in the ER, saying he felt nauseous, and his shoulder and abdomen hurt. Some preliminary tests were carried out, and Liam's pain seemed to be getting worse. Will heard the doctor order morphine.

At that point, it was suggested that Will wait in the relative's room. The doctor in charge of Liam's case told him that further more thorough tests would be required before they could safely make a diagnosis.

*

Thus began a long wait for Will. He paced the relative's room, praying to a he God he hadn't known he believed in, begging that Liam would be all right, that he wouldn't die. That he would finally leave Rupert. That he would be safe.

Will could hardly believe how important Liam had become to him in such a short space of time. A few short months ago, he had never heard of the artist Liam McKenna and his life had been simple and uncomplicated. Then he had seen `Caged Angel' for the first time and this had been the catalyst. He had been so besotted by the beautiful angel in the haunting portrait that as soon as he had set eyes on the artist his heart was no longer his own.

Looking back, Will realised that the portrait had given him a glimpse of Liam's soul; a beautiful soul, but damaged, fragile. Once he had gotten to know him a little and heard about his tragic past, Will had felt the urge to protect Liam, shield him from a world too harsh for his sensitive soul.

He had wanted to love him and have Liam love him too. And sex. Yes, he wanted to make love to Liam, show him that Rupert was not the norm, that he could have a loving sexual relationship without living in fear of rape or a beating.

Will had wanted to put Liam's shattered life back together.

But now, maybe because of him, that same life was possibly in danger.

Will wanted to tell himself that he was only trying to help, but he could not dispel the feeling of guilt that gnawed away at his very core.

He tried to tell himself that Liam had been abused by Rupert Giles long before Will came on the scene, but he had an awful feeling that the abuse had become much worse once he was.

Will had always been aware that the `Caged Angel' portrait had been a reflection of Liam's utter misery, not so much a cry for help as a plea for release. By that same token, `Angel on his Knees' seemed a far more optimistic portrait. Will well recalled the light that had glimmered in the cell in which the angel was incarcerated, and with a sudden insight, became almost certain that that light was him. The caged angel had been reaching out to the light, as if Liam had somehow sensed that Will could rescue him from the shadow of Rupert Giles.

Now that he thought about it, he felt the weight of responsibility, not because he didn't want to rescue Liam rather that he had already let him down by allowing the abuse to continue.

He scrubbed tiredly at his eyes with the heels of his hands. The waiting for news was wearing him down, and his guilty thoughts added to his burden.

It suddenly occurred to him that he should let Faith know where he was. She had spent the weekend at Gunn's place, and when she arrived back at the mansion, she would undoubtedly be worried, especially as she couldn't contact him. He had turned his cell phone off at the request of one of the paramedics before he was allowed to accompany Liam into the ambulance.

He went over to the telephone in the corner of the relative's room, fumbling in his pocket for change. Dialling his own number, Faith eventually picked up after several rings.

"Faith?"

"Yeah, boss. Where the hell are you? I've been woried…"

"At Sunnydale General. It's…"

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Not me, Faith. Liam."

"Oh God! What happened to him?"

"Rupert happened to him. He called me, collapsed when I got there so I called 911. He's in the ER now, and I don't know what's happening or what's wrong with him and…Faith, I'm frightened."

"Hang on, Will, I'm coming over. Sounds like you could use some company."

"Thanks, luv." Will's shoulders sagged with relief. Faith's moral support was exactly what he needed before he went mad with anxiety and fear.

*

"Faith! Thank God! I've been slowly going mad." Will drew his PA into a hug, resting his cheek against her dark head.

Faith rubbed her hands up and down his back in a comforting gesture, feeling the tension that made his body rigid. "Any news?"

"Nothing yet."

Wordlessly, the pair sat down in the comfortably soft chairs that furnished the room. There was a drinks dispenser in the room too, but Will had had too much coffee and the caffeine had made him even more strung out.

Faith wanted to speak words of comfort to the man who was not just her employer but her dear friend. But there were no words she could find to help. She was as much in the dark about Liam's condition as he was. She just hoped that her presence gave him some comfort.

*

After the longest wait of his life, Will froze when a doctor clad in green scrubs emerged from the ER. This was it. Liam had died. Or maybe Liam was dying. He hardly dared to hope that it was good news. Beside him, Faith slipped her hand into his.

"Mr Fitzgerald?"

"Yeah…how is he?"

"I'm Mike Donahue, I'm the ER resident. Liam's stable. He's had a scan and we're prepping him for surgery…"

"Surgery? Why…what's wrong with him?"

"Internal bleeding. It looks like his spleen is damaged."

"His spleen? Is that dangerous?"

The Doctor pulled a maybe sort of face. "If we have to remove it, it's not directly life-threatening. He would be more prone to infections, would have to be more careful about coming into contact with sources of infection and take prophylactic meds. But that's the worse case scenario. We can't be sure what the situation is until we go in."

Will felt a little better knowing that a diagnosis had been made.

"Can I see him?"

"Just for a minute or two, before we take him up to the OR."

Will kissed Faith, making a crossed fingers gesture then followed the doctor back into the ER.

Liam was so glad to see him. Surrounded by medical equipment with wires and tubes stuck into or onto various parts of his anatomy, he looked lost and frightened. His eyes looked a little dazed; Will guessed it was the morphine.

"Will." Liam smiled, his speech slightly slurred.

Uncaring of the eyes that watched them, Will leaned down and planted a chaste kiss on Liam's mouth. "You okay, Pet?"

"Better now I've seen you, Will." Liam smiled sleepily.

"I hear you're going to have an operation."

Liam nodded, clenching his lower lip between his teeth nervously. It was a little Liamism that Will adored.

"You'll be fine, Pet. The doctors will take good care of you, right Doctor Donahue?"

"We sure will, Liam. Nothing to be frightened about."

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

Will looked at the doctor inquiringly.

"No reason why your…friend can't be here, if he wants to be."

"Then I'll be here, okay?" He took Liam's hand, stroked it soothingly. "I love you, Liam. You know that, don't you?"

"Love you, Will." Liam's eyelids began to droop sleepily.

"Okay, Mr Fitzgerald, we need to get him upstairs now."

"Thanks, Doctor Donahue."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be fine." The doctor laid a hand on Will's shoulder in a gesture of reassurance.

Will watched as Liam was wheeled out of the ER.

*

After several hours, another physician, dressed in OR greens, appeared in the relative's room.

Will was on his feet instantly, closely followed by Faith.

"Mr Fitzgerald? Dwight Holliman. I'm the surgeon who operated on your…friend?" At Will's nod, he continued. "Liam is out of surgery and in recovery. He's doing well."

"So…did you remove his spleen?"

The surgeon smiled. "Not exactly. We removed what is known as an accessory spleen. It's a congenital ectopic splenic tissue arising during the embryologic stage of development."

At the looks of complete bafflement that crossed Faith and Will's faces, he grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, habit, I guess. Simplified, it's like a spare spleen, only a lot smaller, that acts just like the larger version. As far as we are aware, it's found in only 10 to 30 % of the population. It's difficult to put an exact figure on it, since it's generally only found during abdominal surgery, such as Liam's. It was this that was ruptured, we've removed it and Liam should be fine. He's one lucky young man."

Will almost fainted with relief. At last something had gone Liam's way. A somewhat rare medical anomaly meant that his life and health were not in danger. Will closed his eyes, drained by the tension of the last several hours. When he opened them, he clasped the surgeon's hand, smiling broadly. "Thank you, doctor. I can't begin to tell you how relieved I am. Thank you."

Doctor Holliman smiled back. "There will be a fairly long period of recuperation from the surgery, but the prognosis is excellent. Glad we could help. You can see him as soon as he is transferred to the HDU."

With a parting smile, the surgeon left Will and Faith to digest the good news.

"Wow, that is good news." Faith hugged Will, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.

Will nodded, his face lit up in a beaming smile.

Faith's expression darkened a little as a thought occurred to her. "Does Rupert Giles know what's happened?"

Will frowned then shook his head. "It never occurred to me to tell him. Maybe the staff here have already informed him, though I told them that it was Rupert that had done this to Liam."

"If they haven't, do you think you should?"

"Do you think Liam would want him here?"

"Probably not."

Will hated the idea of Rupert arriving while Liam was probably still groggy from his surgery. Waking up to find the man who had put him there by his bedside was likely to terrify him.

Before he did anything, Will decided to leave the decision to Liam.

*

Will looked down at Liam as he slept. He looked peaceful and carefree in sleep, even with the tubes and wires he was still attached to, and so bloody beautiful it took Will's breath away. How could anyone hurt such a gorgeous creature? He looked so innocent and sweet, so trusting, that Will felt his heart melt all over again.

Taking one of Liam's hands in his, Will gently stroked the sleeping face. He was rewarded with a flutter of long dark lashes before Liam opened his eyes sleepily.

"Hello, baby."

"Will. You're here."

"Told you I would be, didn't I?"

Liam nodded, smiling drowsily.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy."

"Okay, better let you get some more rest. The doc said I could see you for a few minutes." Will leaned down and kissed Liam, lingering a little, savouring the taste and feel of his gorgeous mouth.

It was heaven.

"Baby, I hate to ask you this but do you want me to inform Rupert that you're here?" Will hated broaching the subject, but he felt he had to ask.

Liam's previously peaceful face crumpled as if he were going to burst into tears. "No! No, please don't let him near me! Please!"

Will stroked Liam's forehead soothingly. "Okay, don't get upset, baby. I'll tell the staff not to let him in to see you if he comes to visit. Don't worry." Will leaned down to kiss his forehead gently. "Now get some rest."

Comforted, Liam gave Will another sleepy smile as he closed his eyes.

Will turned to leave, already making plans to have Liam move into the mansion when he left the hospital.

~Part: 9~

"A studio!  He'll need a studio."

"Will, there are plenty of rooms in this mansion.  I'm sure we can set one aside as a studio."  Faith assured her boss.

"Light!  Light's important to an artist, isn't it?  What if they're all too dark?"

"Will you stop behaving like an expectant mom!"  Faith laughed.

Ever since they had returned from the hospital earlier in the evening, Will had been making plans for Liam to move into the mansion.  He was by turns anxious and excited, not knowing for sure that Liam would want to come to live with him, but needing desperately to be prepared in case he did.

Will stopped dead.  "I'm not!"  He was most indignant.

"Are, too!  Now just calm down."  Faith patted his arm affectionately.  "Firstly, Liam might not want to live here, though I have to admit his options are limited.  It's here or Rupert's, and from what you've told me about his reaction when you suggested he should be contacted, I'm guessing Liam is more likely to pick here. Even if it's only temporary.  And the doctor did say that he would be a while recuperating from his surgery."

"We can look after him, can't we, Faith?"  Will turned pleading puppy- dog eyes to her.

"'Course we can, boss."  Faith smiled.  "Don't give me that look. It's your home.  You invite who you want here."

"I know, but you more or less run the place.  I don't want to put any more on your shoulders."  Will still gazed at her with pleading eyes.

"If it makes you happy, and keeps Liam safe it's fine with me." Faith grunted as Will folded her in a bear hug.

"You're the best, you know that?"  Will kissed the top of her head.  "Now, he'll need a room of his own.  The last thing I want to do is make him feel under any pressure.  I'd love him to share my room, but it's not a good idea at this stage, is it?"

"No.  But maybe, given time.you know."

"Yeah, maybe he'll want me like I want him, huh?"

"Given time, yeah, I'm sure he will."

"Now, which room do you think he'd like?"

*

"Dammit!  He's my partner!  We love each other!  I have to see him! If you won't let me see him, why did you contact me, for chrissake?"

The senior nurse on duty tried not to get annoyed with the obnoxious man, but it was difficult.  "I'm following instructions, Mr Giles. His physician expressly forbade you from seeing him.  I'm sorry."

Rupert Giles scowled at her.  "He had no right to do that!  Now let me pass, you overbearing bitch!"

He pushed her aside and made his way down the short corridor of the HDU.  He heard the nurse pick up the phone behind him, calling for security, but ignored it.  When he reached the room with a printed sign outside reading `McKenna, Liam" he thrust open the door.

Liam slumbered on, unaware, as his abusive partner stood over his bed.

"Liam!  Liam!  Wake up!"  Rupert shook Liam's left shoulder, dragging a moan of pain from him.

He stirred sleepily.  "Will?"

When the hand on his shoulder squeezed his flesh painfully, Liam's eyes flew open in shock and fear.  "Rupert!"  He gasped.  "No!  No, you shouldn't be here.  Leave me alone!"  Struggling to rise, Liam grunted in pain, still trying to shake off the hand of the man who terrified him so much now.   Tears welled up in his eyes, and as he looked up into the cold blue eyes behind the spectacles, he suddenly froze in terror.  They were filled with hate.

"Mr Giles!  Please, you must leave."  A voice behind him, full of authority, and he turned to look at the speaker.

"And you are?"

"I'm Dwight Holliman, Mr McKenna's surgeon.  I was on my way to look in on him, and I do not take kindly to my patients being upset, especially when they have so recently undergone surgery.  I'd very much appreciate it if you left."

"What if I refuse?"

Two uniformed men edged their way into the room as the nurse who had tried to stop Rupert went to Liam and attempted to calm him down.  He had just had a serious operation, and his agitation was doing him no good at all.

"Then these gentlemen will be requested to escort you from the premises."

"Very well, I'll leave.  But don't be surprised when you hear from my lawyer and find yourself in court for keeping me from comforting the man I love."

The surgeon raised his eyebrows, not at all convinced that love was involved. "That is your prerogative, Mr Giles.  Now, if you'd like to leave, I have a patient to take care of."

Without another word, Rupert left the room, withdrawing with as much dignity as he could muster.

As soon as he was gone, Liam lay back on his pillows in relief, pale and trembling.

Doctor Holliman checked the bank of monitors that Liam was still attached to then sat down in the chair beside his patient's bed.  "I assume that was the guy who did this to you?"

Liam nodded.

"I'm sorry he got in here.  I'll make damn sure it won't happen again, okay?"

"Thank you."  Liam whispered, closing his eyes thankfully.

"Now, let's give you the once over to make sure you haven't done any damage."

*

Will was angry when he went to the hospital the following day to see Liam and found out about the visit from Rupert Giles.  "Somebody contacted him then?" He asked the nurse on duty at the nurses' station.

"They did.  I believe it was one of the young interns in ER.  He thought he was doing the right thing, but the situation has been explained to him and he has expressed his sincere apologies."

"I don't care if he's sorry or not, all I'm interested in is Liam. He is all right, isn't he?"  Will was understandably anxious.

"He's fine.  He had a good night after the doctor gave him meds to help him sleep."  The nurse reassured him.   "You can go on in to see him.  He's still a little groggy, but I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you."

Will made his way along the corridor to Liam's room.  He was still sleeping, and looked utterly gorgeous despite his rough time, making Will smile.

Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, Will took one of Liam's hands in both of his, stroking it gently.

Eventually, Liam stirred, looking up at him sleepily.

"Hi, baby."  Will smiled at him.  "You doing okay?"

"Yes, Will.  But.I had a.no, I didn't.he was here.  Rupert."

"I know.  I heard.  It won't happen again.  The staff here have been instructed to call security the moment he sets foot on this ward.  No need to worry, my sweet Angel."

"Thank you, Will.  I knew you'd protect me."

"I won't let anything hurt you ever again, baby."

"Kiss me?"

"Love to."

Will leaned over to capture Liam's lips in a tender kiss.

When it was over, Liam looked up at Will adoringly.  "I love you, Will."

"I love you too, Pet."  Will tenderly ran the backs of his fingers down one pale cheek.  "I know you probably don't want to think about this now, but as soon as you're ready to come home, we can have a room ready for you at the mansion.  And we can create a studio there for you so you can still paint.  Best let you choose which room you'd like.  I mean, it's not like I know much about the best light to paint."

Liam's hand on his arm stopped him.  "You mean I can be with you?"

"If you want to be, yes.  Do you want that?"

"More than anything, Will."

*

Faith handed Will her glass, which he dutifully filled with the Australian Shiraz.

"I like this."  Faith grinned.  "I like the Californian Merlot better."

"Wine snob."  Will filled his own glass.  "Though you're all bloody colonials.  Anyhow.what was I saying?   Bugger, can't remember. Right then, a toast, luv.  To Liam and Will!"

Faith giggled, touching her glass to Will's.  "To Liam and Will. Shit, I think we're gonna have a mother of a hang-over tomorrow!"

"'S'kay, Liam won't be home for four or five days yet.  We can sleep in.  I only have a coupla chapters to do on "Diamonds and Lace."  And I'm feelin' so inspired cuz my Angel is gonna be livin' `ere.  Ain't life grand, luv?"

"Life's grand, luv!"  Faith did a fair approximation of Will's English accent.  Her brow creased a little in a frown.  "Not all that grand.  That bastard is still breathin' boss."

"What bastard?"

"Rupert Giles."

"Yeah.  Bummer."

"Can't we arrange a nasty accident for him?"

"Love to.  Suggestions?"

Faith gulped down some more wine, her expression thoughtful.  "Send him a voodoo doll with pins in it.  Or maybe we could invite him to tea and poison his green jello!"

"Too subtle, luv.  I was thinkin' more of batterin' the old git with a.with.with somethin' `ard that's good for batterin'.with.  And anyway, in Britain, you uncouth colonial, we have tea when you have dinner."  Will's speech suddenly became very proper Queen's English.  "Our dinner is midday, we have morning coffee and afternoon tea, which is, you know, tea.  We drink it.  You bloody colonials dump it over the side of a boat.  Then around tea time.late afternoon, early evening, we have our tea.  Then if we're still hungry, we have our supper before we retire to our beds.  We only have jelly, as we call it, when we have children's tea-parties.  It gives the little darlings something to fling at the walls.  And we have jam in our sandwiches and on our scones.  Not jelly.  And if that doesn't come across as totally affected and snobbish."

Faith started giggling helplessly.  Feeling decidedly inebriated Will couldn't help joining her.

When they finally managed to control their mirth, Will wiped at the tears in his eyes.

"Can I ask you something, luv?"

"'Course, luv."

"Why green jello?"

"Why not?"

They both collapsed with hysterical laughter again.

~Part: 9~

"A studio!  He'll need a studio."

"Will, there are plenty of rooms in this mansion.  I'm sure we can set one aside as a studio."  Faith assured her boss.

"Light!  Light's important to an artist, isn't it?  What if they're all too dark?"

"Will you stop behaving like an expectant mom!"  Faith laughed.

Ever since they had returned from the hospital earlier in the evening, Will had been making plans for Liam to move into the mansion.  He was by turns anxious and excited, not knowing for sure that Liam would want to come to live with him, but needing desperately to be prepared in case he did.

Will stopped dead.  "I'm not!"  He was most indignant.

"Are, too!  Now just calm down."  Faith patted his arm affectionately.  "Firstly, Liam might not want to live here, though I have to admit his options are limited.  It's here or Rupert's, and from what you've told me about his reaction when you suggested he should be contacted, I'm guessing Liam is more likely to pick here. Even if it's only temporary.  And the doctor did say that he would be a while recuperating from his surgery."

"We can look after him, can't we, Faith?"  Will turned pleading puppy- dog eyes to her.

"'Course we can, boss."  Faith smiled.  "Don't give me that look. It's your home.  You invite who you want here."

"I know, but you more or less run the place.  I don't want to put any more on your shoulders."  Will still gazed at her with pleading eyes.

"If it makes you happy, and keeps Liam safe it's fine with me." Faith grunted as Will folded her in a bear hug.

"You're the best, you know that?"  Will kissed the top of her head.  "Now, he'll need a room of his own.  The last thing I want to do is make him feel under any pressure.  I'd love him to share my room, but it's not a good idea at this stage, is it?"

"No.  But maybe, given time.you know."

"Yeah, maybe he'll want me like I want him, huh?"

"Given time, yeah, I'm sure he will."

"Now, which room do you think he'd like?"

*

"Dammit!  He's my partner!  We love each other!  I have to see him! If you won't let me see him, why did you contact me, for chrissake?"

The senior nurse on duty tried not to get annoyed with the obnoxious man, but it was difficult.  "I'm following instructions, Mr Giles. His physician expressly forbade you from seeing him.  I'm sorry."

Rupert Giles scowled at her.  "He had no right to do that!  Now let me pass, you overbearing bitch!"

He pushed her aside and made his way down the short corridor of the HDU.  He heard the nurse pick up the phone behind him, calling for security, but ignored it.  When he reached the room with a printed sign outside reading `McKenna, Liam" he thrust open the door.

Liam slumbered on, unaware, as his abusive partner stood over his bed.

"Liam!  Liam!  Wake up!"  Rupert shook Liam's left shoulder, dragging a moan of pain from him.

He stirred sleepily.  "Will?"

When the hand on his shoulder squeezed his flesh painfully, Liam's eyes flew open in shock and fear.  "Rupert!"  He gasped.  "No!  No, you shouldn't be here.  Leave me alone!"  Struggling to rise, Liam grunted in pain, still trying to shake off the hand of the man who terrified him so much now.   Tears welled up in his eyes, and as he looked up into the cold blue eyes behind the spectacles, he suddenly froze in terror.  They were filled with hate.

"Mr Giles!  Please, you must leave."  A voice behind him, full of authority, and he turned to look at the speaker.

"And you are?"

"I'm Dwight Holliman, Mr McKenna's surgeon.  I was on my way to look in on him, and I do not take kindly to my patients being upset, especially when they have so recently undergone surgery.  I'd very much appreciate it if you left."

"What if I refuse?"

Two uniformed men edged their way into the room as the nurse who had tried to stop Rupert went to Liam and attempted to calm him down.  He had just had a serious operation, and his agitation was doing him no good at all.

"Then these gentlemen will be requested to escort you from the premises."

"Very well, I'll leave.  But don't be surprised when you hear from my lawyer and find yourself in court for keeping me from comforting the man I love."

The surgeon raised his eyebrows, not at all convinced that love was involved. "That is your prerogative, Mr Giles.  Now, if you'd like to leave, I have a patient to take care of."

Without another word, Rupert left the room, withdrawing with as much dignity as he could muster.

As soon as he was gone, Liam lay back on his pillows in relief, pale and trembling.

Doctor Holliman checked the bank of monitors that Liam was still attached to then sat down in the chair beside his patient's bed.  "I assume that was the guy who did this to you?"

Liam nodded.

"I'm sorry he got in here.  I'll make damn sure it won't happen again, okay?"

"Thank you."  Liam whispered, closing his eyes thankfully.

"Now, let's give you the once over to make sure you haven't done any damage."

*

Will was angry when he went to the hospital the following day to see Liam and found out about the visit from Rupert Giles.  "Somebody contacted him then?" He asked the nurse on duty at the nurses' station.

"They did.  I believe it was one of the young interns in ER.  He thought he was doing the right thing, but the situation has been explained to him and he has expressed his sincere apologies."

"I don't care if he's sorry or not, all I'm interested in is Liam. He is all right, isn't he?"  Will was understandably anxious.

"He's fine.  He had a good night after the doctor gave him meds to help him sleep."  The nurse reassured him.   "You can go on in to see him.  He's still a little groggy, but I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you."

Will made his way along the corridor to Liam's room.  He was still sleeping, and looked utterly gorgeous despite his rough time, making Will smile.

Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, Will took one of Liam's hands in both of his, stroking it gently.

Eventually, Liam stirred, looking up at him sleepily.

"Hi, baby."  Will smiled at him.  "You doing okay?"

"Yes, Will.  But.I had a.no, I didn't.he was here.  Rupert."

"I know.  I heard.  It won't happen again.  The staff here have been instructed to call security the moment he sets foot on this ward.  No need to worry, my sweet Angel."

"Thank you, Will.  I knew you'd protect me."

"I won't let anything hurt you ever again, baby."

"Kiss me?"

"Love to."

Will leaned over to capture Liam's lips in a tender kiss.

When it was over, Liam looked up at Will adoringly.  "I love you, Will."

"I love you too, Pet."  Will tenderly ran the backs of his fingers down one pale cheek.  "I know you probably don't want to think about this now, but as soon as you're ready to come home, we can have a room ready for you at the mansion.  And we can create a studio there for you so you can still paint.  Best let you choose which room you'd like.  I mean, it's not like I know much about the best light to paint."

Liam's hand on his arm stopped him.  "You mean I can be with you?"

"If you want to be, yes.  Do you want that?"

"More than anything, Will."

*

Faith handed Will her glass, which he dutifully filled with the Australian Shiraz.

"I like this."  Faith grinned.  "I like the Californian Merlot better."

"Wine snob."  Will filled his own glass.  "Though you're all bloody colonials.  Anyhow.what was I saying?   Bugger, can't remember. Right then, a toast, luv.  To Liam and Will!"

Faith giggled, touching her glass to Will's.  "To Liam and Will. Shit, I think we're gonna have a mother of a hang-over tomorrow!"

"'S'kay, Liam won't be home for four or five days yet.  We can sleep in.  I only have a coupla chapters to do on "Diamonds and Lace."  And I'm feelin' so inspired cuz my Angel is gonna be livin' `ere.  Ain't life grand, luv?"

"Life's grand, luv!"  Faith did a fair approximation of Will's English accent.  Her brow creased a little in a frown.  "Not all that grand.  That bastard is still breathin' boss."

"What bastard?"

"Rupert Giles."

"Yeah.  Bummer."

"Can't we arrange a nasty accident for him?"

"Love to.  Suggestions?"

Faith gulped down some more wine, her expression thoughtful.  "Send him a voodoo doll with pins in it.  Or maybe we could invite him to tea and poison his green jello!"

"Too subtle, luv.  I was thinkin' more of batterin' the old git with a.with.with somethin' `ard that's good for batterin'.with.  And anyway, in Britain, you uncouth colonial, we have tea when you have dinner."  Will's speech suddenly became very proper Queen's English.  "Our dinner is midday, we have morning coffee and afternoon tea, which is, you know, tea.  We drink it.  You bloody colonials dump it over the side of a boat.  Then around tea time.late afternoon, early evening, we have our tea.  Then if we're still hungry, we have our supper before we retire to our beds.  We only have jelly, as we call it, when we have children's tea-parties.  It gives the little darlings something to fling at the walls.  And we have jam in our sandwiches and on our scones.  Not jelly.  And if that doesn't come across as totally affected and snobbish."

Faith started giggling helplessly.  Feeling decidedly inebriated Will couldn't help joining her.

When they finally managed to control their mirth, Will wiped at the tears in his eyes.

"Can I ask you something, luv?"

"'Course, luv."

"Why green jello?"

"Why not?"

They both collapsed with hysterical laughter again.

~Part: 10~

Liam sat in the chair beside his bed, sketching languidly.  Will had visited the previous evening, bringing with him a good quality sketchbook and an extensive collection of pencils, paints and charcoals.

Liam had become quite emotional at such a thoughtful gift.  He loved to draw when he couldn't paint since for so long his art had become the only thing in his life that made it remotely bearable.

He thought that just might have changed; Will was now one of the most important parts of his life and Liam may not have survived without him.  If he had not been able to call Will the day after Rupert had hurt him so badly that he had been bleeding internally, Liam might have just curled up and let whatever was going to happen to him happen.  If he was going to die from the bleeding he would have done so right there in the apartment, curled up in a foetal posture against the pain, uncaring that the life he endured might end.  It wasn't suicide.  He couldn't be damned for all eternity for just giving up when he was in so much pain from an injury caused by an abusive partner.

But Will had given him something to cling to, something to make survival important, so he had called him and asked for help.  Will had come and he had comforted him and summoned the paramedics.  He had stayed at the hospital while Liam had been in surgery and he had been there when Liam woke up.

Will had also been angry that Rupert had been able to get into Liam's room and terrify him, and now he was offering Liam a home when he had nowhere else to go and nothing, not even a change of clothing, that was his.

Will had also promised he would visit everyday while Liam was in the hospital.

Liam had not felt so loved since he was sixteen and still had his family around him.  Will was everything he ever dreamed of in a man; gentle, caring, sexy and gorgeous, and it was beyond Liam's wildest dreams that Will actually loved him.

He didn't deserve that love.  He was nothing but a slut who had whored himself to a man much older than himself in what he thought was an attempt to achieve his ambition.  It had never occurred to him that he had been at his most vulnerable, and Rupert had preyed upon that vulnerability for his own ends.  How could Will look at him and see someone beautiful?  He felt ugly inside and out, and Will deserved so much better.

But Will had offered him a home, friendship and maybe so much more. He owed the blond writer his life, and if Will could find it in his heart to love someone as damaged and repulsive as he was then Will Fitzgerald was truly a saint.

He so wanted to make Will happy.  If he had to keep himself lubricated and plugged all the time so that he would be ready for Will whenever he wanted him, he would do it.  This was not about whoring himself to another man to fulfil his own desires; this was about giving the man he loved his body to do with as he desired as well as giving him his heart, mind and soul.  Liam was unsure how it had happened, but he loved Will desperately.  He was the shining star around which Liam's life now revolved, he was all he could think about, all he could ever want.

But one thought made Liam sad.  His painting of his sister, Kathy, the one he had painted just before the tragic crash that had killed her and his mum and da, was lost to him.  It was at Rupert's apartment, with all his other paintings, including `Angel's Salvation' and therefore out of his reach.  He knew he could never return to that apartment.  Rupert would kill him, of that he had no doubt.  The look in Rupert's eyes when he had awakened in his hospital bed and found his lover, or more correctly, his rapist, bending over him had chilled him to the very marrow.

He wondered if he could ever recreate his paintings, or was the inspiration available to him just once.  Maybe some day, when he had a studio to work in, he might try.  If he was with Will maybe that would give him the inspiration he needed.

Thinking of being with Will seemed to make something click in his brain.  Turning the page of his pad, he began sketching frantically, the tip of his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on putting the picture in his mind on paper.

He completely lost track of time at some point and was so focused on his work that he did not hear the door to his room open.

"Liam?"

Startled out of his intense concentration, Liam looked up to see his surgeon, Doctor Holliman, standing by the door.

"May I come in?"

"Sure."  Liam smiled at the doctor.  He liked him because the man had been very kind to him, and had even banished Rupert from his room, which had been quite an achievement considering his former partner's domineering personality.

"Just came by to check on how you're feeling."  Doctor Holliman smiled at him.  "I hear you were out of bed and walking around a little today."

"I was."  Liam replied.  "But it was exhausting."

"Perfectly normal.  You should find you can do a little more each day, but you must be careful.  No lifting anything remotely heavy for at least three weeks and no vigorous exercise for a month or more. Okay?"

Liam nodded.  "I guess so.  When can I leave hospital?"

"Three, four days maximum I should think.  Though it obviously depends on how you're healing.  Am I right in saying that you will be going to stay with your friend Will?"

"Yes.  He's offered to take me in since I have nowhere else."  Liam's voice threatened to betray him, as a lump filled his throat.  "No. nowhere else to go."

"So you're not going back to the apartment you shared with your partner?"

Liam shuddered at the thought.  "No.  If I.I went back, he.he'd kill me."

"He nearly did that this time.  If you had not received treatment when you did it could have been a different story."

"I know, Doctor."  Liam toyed nervously with the pencil he had been sketching with.  "I have Will and yourself to thank for that."

"I see you've been sketching, Liam.  May I see?"

Liam shifted in his chair a little nervously.  "Uh.sure."  He handed the sketch pad to the doctor shyly.

"Liam, this is stunning!"  Doctor Holliman breathed.  "Where did you get the inspiration for this?"

As usual, Liam was rendered shy by the praise.  He licked suddenly dry lips.  "I.there's a painting.  One of mine.  It's a.at the apartment where I lived with R.Rupert.  I'll never see it again, so I just w.wanted to try to re.recreate it as a rough sketch."

"It's the most amazing rough sketch I've ever seen."  Doctor Holliman handed back the pad, impressed by Liam's undoubted talent.  "I would love to see the actual painting.   Which reminds me, you should be able to get your belongings from the apartment.  The man that did this to you has no right to keep what belongs to you.  Your paintings are your intellectual property.  You can't let him get away with that."

Liam looked up at him as if he had suggested stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre.

Doctor Holliman sat on the bed opposite Liam's chair.  "There's something else I wanted to talk to you about."

Liam looked apprehensively at the physician.  "What?"

The doctor hesitated for a few moments.  "Well, Rupert Giles should be reported to the police for what he's done to you.  He shouldn't be allowed to get off scot-free after almost killing you.  And your friend Will tells me he's beaten you several times before this."

Liam looked frightened half to death.  "N.n.no.  No, I.he'd kill m. me."

"Not if he were behind bars."  Doctor Holliman watched the expression of terror cross his patient's features, and relented.  He felt bad for trying to push him into something that terrified him at the very notion.  "Okay, Liam, I can see the thought of trying to get him arrested and face trial is too frightening for you right now.  But think about it, okay?  The hospital would be only too willing to back you if you decided to go ahead and file a complaint against him, and I would personally be prepared to be called as a witness for you if it were necessary.  Promise me that you'll give it some thought?"

Liam nodded, his dark eyes wide with fear at the thought.  "I pr. promise."

"Good.  Now I'll let you get back to your sketching."  He stood, rested a hand on Liam's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze of comfort and left.

"Liam leaned back in his chair, his sketch temporarily forgotten. Have Rupert arrested?  The very notion almost made him physically sick.    

*  

Liam dozed fitfully in his chair, his sketch book resting on his lap.

A gentle hand cupped his cheek and he leaned into it, whimpering a little in his sleep.

"Liam?"

The voice was soft, saying his name with something approaching reverence, and he smiled.  He was having a beautiful dream.

"Liam!"

A little more urgent this time.  Sweet lips brushed his own.  A tongue ran lovingly along his lower lip.

"Mmmm?"

Lips pressed to his again, a questing tongue begging entrance.  He parted his lips eagerly, admitting the tongue which gently explored his mouth.

A hand cupped his cheek again, and he moaned into the mouth that was kissing him so passionately.

He whimpered again as the mouth left his, and he heard a soft chuckle.

"Wake up, my sleeping beauty."

Liam blinked, squinting his eyes against the bright afternoon sun.  "Will?"

Will was kneeling beside his chair, gazing up at him with longing in his blue eyes.  "How are you feeling, Pet?"

"Pretty good.  Better now that you're here.  Kiss me again?"  Liam couldn't get enough Will-kisses.

Will said nothing.  He laid both his hands on Liam's cheeks and covered his lips with his own again.  The tongue that had so recently left the gorgeous mouth was granted admittance once more, and Will delighted at his ability to make Liam moan so sexily into his mouth. Even pale and tired, Liam was still so beautiful.

Will reluctantly pulled away, one hand lingering against Liam's cheek.  He noticed he had a little more colour than he had the day previously.  "You're looking better today, Pet."

"Seeing you always makes me feel better, Will."

Will picked up the sketch pad that had fallen to the floor face down as he had kissed Liam.  "You've been busy I see."  Will turned the pad over and gasped.  "Oh, Liam!  This is amazing!"

The sketch that Liam had been working on was another angel portrait. In this one, a man stood naked outside a cell.  His face was not visible for the halo of light that surrounded his head, and on his knees before him, discreetly covering the man's genitals, was the angel, whose face was pressed to the man's abdomen in a posture of reverence and worship.

"It's called `Angel's Salvation'."  Liam said shyly.  "It's a rough sketch of the painting I was working on the day you came to see me."

"There's nothing rough about this sketch, Liam.  It's beautiful in its own right."

"It's you, Will."

"Me?"

"You're Angel's Salvation."

Will felt tears prick behind his eyes as he gazed down at the drawing.  He was the naked man the angel kneeled before.  The thought made his heart soar briefly; it was closely followed by the thought that the angel, his Angel, should not be on his knees in such a submissive posture.  It made him sad that his Angel saw himself that way.

He looked at Liam who was gazing up at him with those big chocolatey eyes full of love.  Will leaned down and kissed him again, briefly this time, and chastely.  "Oh Pet!  You are so beautiful."  Will wanted to tell Liam that he didn't want the angel to be portrayed so submissively, but he reasoned that it was his portrait and it was from his very soul, and Will did not have the right to dictate what the artist painted.

"I'm going to try to paint the portrait again when I can."  Liam told him.

"Why can't you get the original back?  It's your property after all, and Rupert has no right to deny you your own property."

A look of horror crossed Liam's face.  "No, Will.  I.I can't ever go back there.  He'd kill me.  Doctor Holliman suggested the.the same thing; he even t.told me that I should go to the police and.and make a complaint."

"The doctor's right, Liam."  Will took Liam's hand in a gesture of comfort, knowing this was an upsetting subject for him.  "He should be punished for what he did to you.  This time you could have died."

Liam shook his head vehemently.  "No.  No, I can't do it.  I can't, Will."  He was trembling with emotion, his eyes looking at Will pleadingly.  "Please, don't make me."

"I won't make you do anything you don't want to, Liam.  Not ever."  

*  

"Hi, Will."  Gunn entered the lounge behind Faith, smiling broadly.

"Gunn.  Good to see you.  Are you here to take Faith out?"

"Yeah, but I said I'd call sometime this week. You said you wanted a word."

Will looked a little blank for a moment before he remembered that he had indeed asked Gunn if he could have a chat with him.  There had been too much going on in the last few days, and he had been distracted by what had happened to Liam.

And his impending arrival to live with him at the mansion.

"'Course.  Sorry, it had slipped my mind."

"Faith tells me you have been kind of busy.  How is Liam?"

"On the mend.  Did Faith tell you he is coming to live with us?"

"She did.  Good move for him, I'd say.   His life with that Rupert dude must have been wretched."

"I guess it was.  Actually, it was Liam I wanted a word with you about."

"I'm listenin'"

Will sat down on the sofa and indicated that Gunn should join him.

"Coffee, sweetie?"  Faith asked, resigned to being ignored and maybe not making it to the movie they had planned.

"Love one, Faith."

"Tea for you, Will?"

"Please."

Grumbling a little to herself, Faith headed off for the kitchen.

"Were you aware that Liam's family were killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver?"

"Yeah, Faith told me.  It must have been real shitty for him."

Will nodded, his expression bleak.  "He was also hospitalised for a month with the injuries he received. Now I may be wrong about this, but wouldn't he have received substantial compensation for the accident and his loss?  And I know it takes years to settle these things, but we're talking like nine years ago."

"Most cases are settled long before then. And being the innocent party, Liam would almost certainly receive a hefty settlement."

"Then I'm wondering why Liam has nothing; no bank account, no money to call his own, nothing to show for his tragic loss.  And I'm thinking would it be possible for a man like Rupert to cheat Liam out of his compensation?"

"You mean have the settlement check paid into his bank account if Liam didn't have one?  That would require the payee to give full permission to the account holder."

"That's exactly what I mean.  Liam seems far too trusting, and knowing a little about his life with Rupert, I can certainly see Liam agreeing to have his compensation check paid into Rupert's account. And Liam told me they used to live in a small apartment before they moved to the current place.  I've seen it, and believe me Gunn, it was expensive.  And there was no expense spared on the interior, either."

Faith returned, bearing a tray of tea and coffee.  She set it down on the coffee table, looking curiously at the faces of her boyfriend and her employer.  "This is something serious, isn't it?  Do you want me to leave you two alone?"

Will reached out and took his mug of tea from the tray.  "Thanks, luv.  No, stay.  You know I have no secrets from you.  It's about Liam and the compensation he should have received after the accident."

"You think Rupert stole it from him?"  Faith's face clouded as she lifted her steaming coffee to her lips, sipping it slowly.

"Cheated him out of it seems a better way to put it."  Will grimaced.  "It amounts to the same thing though."

"Liam is a very trusting soul."  Faith shook her head.  "To a bastard like Rupert Giles it would be like taking candy from a baby.  I can totally see that happening.  Poor Liam."

"If he left a paper trail, it shouldn't be difficult to trace.  I can have a P.I. the firm uses to get onto it for you, if that's what you want to do.  He's a bit weird, but he gets the job done.  And his rates are pretty reasonable."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to make some enquiries.  Even if Liam never wants to pursue it, it can't hurt at this stage."

"Okay, I'll get this guy on the case.  Leave it with me."

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