Portraits Of An Angel

Author: Marilyn Hart

Parts: 11 - 20

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~Part: 11~

Faith looked on as Will got Liam settled in the wheelchair.  She had seen how ashamed Liam had been that Will had to buy everything for him, including new clothes.  He had nothing to his name, and Faith had a pretty good idea how this must make him feel.  He was starting out in a new relationship to which he could bring nothing.

Faith knew Will well enough to know that it made no difference to him.  She was pretty sure he felt partly responsible for what had happened to Liam, why he had nothing of his own, and would therefore provide his fledgling new partner with everything he needed.

She could hardly wait to see the young artist’s face when they arrived back at the mansion and Will showed him his surprise.

“Comfy, baby?”

Faith found it endlessly amusing how Will, hard-nosed writer of erotic fiction for women, fussed and fretted over Liam.  She knew that he was still in the process of recovering from the operation he had undergone less than a week before, and needed taking care of, but Will was acting like a mother hen over an ailing chick, and she found it difficult to keep from laughing.

“I’m fine, Will.”  Liam reassured him.  “I can walk to the car.”

“Hospital rules.  You get wheeled out to the car, so just sit there and enjoy the ride.”

Liam saw the barely-suppressed grin on Faith’s face, and raised his eyes skywards, exchanging a knowing smile with the stunning brunette.

Will released the brake, pushing the wheelchair with its precious passenger out through the door and along the corridor to the elevators, with Faith trailing behind carrying Liam’s meagre belongings.  He had  pyjamas, a robe, some underwear and a bag of toiletries, all purchased by Will, which Faith now carried in the duffel that Will had also provided, plus the clothes that he was currently dressed in.  Some items of clothing that she and Will had purchased awaited him in the room that they had decided would be his at the mansion, but further shopping would be required as soon as Liam was up to it.

The elevator Will had summoned pinged importantly as it arrived on their floor.  He wheeled Liam into it, followed by Faith, and pushed the appropriate button, waiting for the car to take the short ride down to the first floor.

As Will guided the wheelchair towards the door, Dwight Holliman came toward them, a pleasant smile on his face.

“On your way home then, Liam.”  The physician said amicably.  “I’m sorry to see you go in some ways.  You’ve been a model patient, never questioning my instructions, and always pleasant and considerate of the staff.  Obviously, though, I’m delighted that you’re well enough to be discharged.”

“Thank you, Doctor Holliman.”  Liam smiled back shyly.

“You haven’t forgotten what I said, have you?”

“Uh…no, I haven’t f…forgotten.”

“If you should decide to go ahead, let me know.  I’ll gladly give you all the help I can.”

“Thank you.”

The physician smiled at Will and Faith.  “Take good care of him, won’t you.  You have my instructions in the letter you were given and Liam’s medication, I believe.”

Faith patted the bag she was carrying.  “In here.”

“Good.  Well, goodbye, Liam.  I mean this in the nicest possible way, but I hope not to see you back here again.”

“I hope not too, Doctor Holliman.  And thank you for everything.”

“Okay.  Now take care.”

Will shook the doctor’s hand warmly before wheeling Liam to the main door.
 

*
 

Will fussed around Liam as he pulled himself awkwardly out of the back seat of the car.  He was still a little sore from his surgery, and sudden movement was something he wished fervently to avoid.

Waving Will away, he walked slowly toward the front entrance to the mansion, conscious of the fact that he was taking his first steps into a new life.

“Do you want to lie down, Pet?”  Will asked when they were inside.  “We have your room ready.”

Liam’s brow furrowed slightly.  His room?  That had to mean he wouldn’t be sharing Will’s.  He felt a stab of disappointment at this, but was careful to keep his feelings from Will.

“I think I should, Will.”  He felt quite drained by the car journey and the short walk to the mansion, and wanted nothing more than to have a lie down and a nap.  Doctor Holliman had told him it would take him several days to get over this lassitude, but he should be back to more or less full health in five or six weeks.

“Let’s get you upstairs then.”  Will did not attempt to help Liam, would not do so unless he showed signs of distress, but he still hovered around his new boyfriend anxiously.

Liam slowly negotiated the stairs, allowing Will to lead the way along the corridor of the upper floor to what was to be his new room.  Faith followed behind with his bag of belongings.

“This is it, baby.  See, just across the hall from mine.”  Will indicated a door across and a little further to the right from Liam’s.  “You know where to find me during the night if there’s anything you need.”

“You, Will, only you.”  Liam thought to himself, but said nothing.

Liam opened the door to his new room, so grateful to Will for taking him in, but ashamed that it had been necessary in the first place and a little upset that Will had not asked him to share his bed.

The room was simply furnished, but comfortable, with its own bathroom, and Liam was so thrilled, really he was, but it was all so much to take in and he felt so tired, and tears came unbidden to his eyes and all he wanted to do was lie down and weep into his pillow.  He should have been so happy to finally be with Will, but was he really WITH Will?  Maybe it was the after-effects of his surgery.  And the way that his life had changed so suddenly must have taken its toll.  Whatever it was, Liam felt confused and emotional, and all he wanted was for Will to take him in his arms, reassure him that he loved him and then shag him senseless.

Will wasn’t about to do that.

And Liam couldn’t tell him what he wanted.
 

*
 

“Does he seem all right to you?”

“He seems like he just got out of hospital after a serious operation.”

“I’m not sure it is just that.”

“His life has suddenly been turned upside down, he’s just moved in to his new boyfriend’s home without a cent to his name, and everyone seems to be putting pressure on him to do something about Rupert Giles.  How would you expect him to be?”

Will’s shoulders sagged.  “You’re right, luv.  I just thought that it would all be so easy as soon as Liam was away from that bastard.  It’s not going to be that simple, is it?”

“Don’t want to burst your bubble, boss, but no, I don’t think it is.”

“Maybe he’ll feel better after he’s had some sleep?  I have work to do anyway, so I’ll get on with that.  ‘Diamonds and Lace’ is close to being finished.”

“Anything special you’d like for dinner?”

“Can we wait until Liam wakes up and ask him what he’d like?”

“Sure.”

“I expected today to be so different somehow.  I’ve been so excited about showing him his studio, and now today feels like an anti-climax.”

In a gesture of comfort and reassurance, Faith hugged her boss.  “Give Liam time, Will.  Everything must seem confusing and strange to him right now, so just be patient and go on as if everything were normal.   If everything around him is calm and ordinary, he’ll settle I’m sure of it.”

Will kissed her cheek.  “What would I do without you, Faith?  You always seem to put every crisis life throws at me into perspective.”

“That’s my job, boss.”  Faith grinned.
 

*
 

Liam lay on his bed trying to sleep, but it wouldn’t come.  The tears he had cried into his pillow were drying on his cheeks.  He had so wanted everything to be right when he moved in with Will, but everything seemed wrong.  All he wanted was to make Will happy and by doing that he would make himself happy.  Yet here he was, lost and alone in a room, albeit a very nice room, across the hall from the man he wanted so badly.

Thoughts of what he should do about Rupert went around and around in his head until he felt like screaming.  He understood that his former partner should not be allowed to get away with the things he had done to him, but he was just so terrified that if he pushed Rupert, Rupert would come after him and hurt him again.

On the plus side, at least he had a safe home, and he really liked Faith.  She was kind and caring and treated him normally.

He needed Will to act normally around him too, but Will was treating him with kid-gloves, and it left him feeling as if he were too fragile to even touch.
 

*

The next morning, after Faith had brought Liam his breakfast in bed, Will came to tell him he had something wonderful to show him.

“Once you’re showered and dressed, I’ll show you your surprise, Pet.”

Liam felt excited that Will had a surprise for him, but this was tempered by the feeling that once more Will was doing something for him and Liam wanted so badly to do something for Will.

When he was dressed he went downstairs, taking it slowly out of respect for his still-healing body, and smiled a little at the excitement he saw in Will’s eyes.

“Come on, baby.  Let’s go upstairs.  I have something wonderful to show you.”  Will suddenly realised that he had dragged Liam down the stairs only to have him have to climb them again.  “Oh, sorry, Pet.  Do you want to wait a while?  You must be tired, and I know you have to take things easy for a while.”

“I’m okay, Will.”  Liam hated feeling like an invalid.  It was true he was still recuperating from his operation, but Will was fussing over him too much.

“You’re sure?”

“Will, if Liam says he’s okay, believe him.  I think he’s the best judge of how he feels.”

Liam smiled gratefully at Faith.  At least she understood.

“Okay, come on then, Pet.”

Taking Liam by the hand, Will slowly led him back up the stairs.  They went along the corridor, past their bedrooms, to another door at the far end on the right that Liam hadn’t noticed the day before.  On the other side of it was a staircase.  Before they took the staircase, Will pulled something out of his pocket.  It was a length of soft black cloth.

“I’d say close your eyes, Pet, but I don’t know if I trust you to keep them closed.”  Will grinned.  “Do you mind?”

“No.  Whatever makes you happy, Will.”

“You’ll be safe, baby.  We’ll guide you.”  Will tied the cloth not too tightly around Liam’s eyes.  “Okay?”

Liam nodded.  He felt Will take his left arm and Faith his right, then they were moving him forward slowly.  He lifted his feet when Will told him there was a step, trusting both him and Faith not to let anything happen to him.

When they reached the top of the stairway, Will turned him around then removed the blindfold with a flourish.

Blinking in the bright light, it took Liam a few minutes for his eyes to get used to the brightness after the dark of the blindfold.  What he saw made him gasp.

It was an attic room, with three large windows along one wall that faced south-ish and bathed the room in the most glorious light.

Arranged around the room was everything an artist who took his work seriously would need; a storage cabinet for all his materials, a rack of new canvases, a sink to clean his brushes and a new easel set up in a good place in relation to the light.  Beside this were a high stool and a table.  It seemed Will and Faith had thought of everything.

Liam couldn’t speak.  He couldn’t trust his voice not to break.

“Is everything as you need it, Pet?”  Will asked anxiously.

Liam could only nod because he couldn’t get words out past the lump in his throat.  Will had done a wonderful thing for him.  So why did he feel so wretched?

“If there’s anything else you need just ask.  It’s yours.”

“Thank you, Will.”  Liam finally managed, turning to his boyfriend and giving him a gentle kiss.  “You are too good to me.  I don’t deserve this.”

Will was puzzled by Liam’s words.  “Of coursed you do, Pet.  You deserve this and so much more.”

Faith touched Will’s arm.  “Come on, Will.  Let Liam spend some time here to absorb all this.  I think he’s a little overwhelmed.”

Liam turned to Faith and smiled gratefully.  She could see the unshed tears that glistened in his eyes.

“Okay.”  Will agreed.  “Absorb away, Liam.  Take as long as you need.”

Later that night, Liam cried into his pillow again.  Will was willing to give him everything that money could buy.

But all Liam truly wanted was Will, naked and filling him.
 

*
 

Liam had been with Will almost a week when Will announced that Oz was coming to visit, and how lovely it would be to see him again.

“You met Oz at the party I threw, remember, baby?”  Will told Liam at breakfast that morning.

Liam was well on the mend.  Another week and he could come off his medication, he was no longer feeling sore and the lassitude that he had felt was becoming a distant memory.  The surgical incision in his abdomen was healing well, and he no longer felt like an invalid.

But the news that Oz, Will’s ex, was coming to visit, made him feel a little panicky.
 

*
 

“Oz!  God! You look good.”

“Hey, Will.”

Will threw his arms around the musician, kissing him soundly on the lips.

Liam stood back, feeling like he didn’t belong there.

A hand slid into his, and he looked down to see Faith wink at him.  “They always have this big reunion scene.”  She told Liam softly.  “But their time is long since past.”  Faith could see that Will kissing Oz was upsetting Liam.  She resolved to have a word with her employer.

Liam managed to smile at her, nodding his head as if he was okay with it.

He was about a million miles away from being okay with it.

Seeing Will kiss another man, though Liam had to admit he wasn’t kissing Oz the way he kissed him, it was just a kiss that old friends would share, but it still hurt and it was only adding more fuel to the furnace of his insecurity.  He remembered Oz from the party, but they had not really spoken more than a few words to each other.  He desperately wanted to like Oz.  The diminutive musician had meant a lot to Will in the past, and Liam did not want to spoil that.  But it hurt him to see Will being so affectionate to his ex, with his current boyfriend present.  If he and Will had a full-on sexual relationship, which was what Liam so desperately needed, he could have coped, but he just felt too insecure in his position as Will’s potential lover.

Liam tried all day to suppress the feelings of jealousy that seeing Will and Oz together evoked.  It wasn’t even that Will was ignoring him; he wasn’t.  Will was being his normal affectionate self.  But Liam wanted more.  He wanted what Oz had had in the past, and while he wasn’t getting what he needed from Will, Liam felt second best to an old lover.

Though Liam bade Oz a friendly goodbye as the musician was leaving in the late afternoon to join his band for the gig they were playing in the area, he was secretly relieved to see him go.

After dinner, he excused himself, telling Will, Faith and Gunn, who had joined them for Oz’s visit that he wanted to do some work in his studio.

As usual, Liam sat before his easel with his palette and brushes in his hand, trying to get started on something before the light went entirely, but could not even raise a brush to the canvas.  He had some sort of creative block, and it was both frustrating and upsetting.  Will had done all this for him, and he hadn’t so much as managed a sketch since moving into the mansion.  He felt like crying.
 

*
 

“I understand that you were thrilled to see Oz, boss.  Really I do.  But did it ever occur to you that Liam might find it a little weird?”

“How can it be weird, Faith?  It’s…Oz.  You know, go back a long way, friends for ever…Oz.”

“Liam doesn’t see that.  He sees you kissing another man, even though it’s only with affection, and he sees an old and dear lover with the man that he thought was his lover.  Of course it’s going to upset him.  Or have you forgotten what he went through in his last relationship?  He’s full of insecurities, or hadn’t you noticed?”

Will realised that Faith was right.  He hadn’t meant to hurt Liam, but looking at it from his perspective, he could see that it would be hurtful.

The last thing in the world he wanted to do was to hurt Liam or make him feel bad in any way.  Yet, fool that he was, that was just what he had done.  Faith had seen it.  Why didn’t he?

And Will wanted Liam so badly.  Laying in his bed at night thinking of the gorgeous young artist sleeping in the room across the hall from him had meant that he and his right hand were intimately acquainted too much of the time.  He wanted to make love to his beautiful boyfriend, to be inside him, as one with him.

But Liam had suffered a serious injury that required surgery a matter of weeks ago.  It was too soon to expect him to want sex.  Wasn’t it?  And after the way Liam had been treated by Rupert, the rapes and the beatings, the last thing Will wanted to do was put pressure on him.  He had just assumed that when Liam was ready to take their relationship to the next level, he would let Will know.

But Will suddenly realised he wouldn’t do that.  He was too shy and too insecure.

“You’re right, Faith.  How could I have been so blind?  I’ll go talk to him in his studio.”  Will hugged her.  “You’ve saved me from myself yet again.  I do love you, you know that don’t you?”

“I do, but I’m thinking there’s a very confused, totally gorgeous young man upstairs who needs to hear that more than I do.”

“I’m gone.  Goodnight, luv.  Goodnight Gunn.”

Faith and Gunn bade him goodnight, then as soon as he disappeared from view, Faith leapt on her man, snuggling up to him and attacking his lips passionately.

~Part: 12~

Will quietly opened the door of the attic studio. “Liam?  Can I come up, Pet?”  He called up the stairwell.

“I guess so.”  Came the lacklustre reply.

Will closed the door, taking the stairs two at a time.  When he reached the top he turned to see Liam sitting in the fading light of the room, slumped dejectedly on the stool in front of his easel.  His brushes and palette lay abandoned on the table next to him.

Will could sense the melancholy that hung over his beautiful Angel. This was his fault.  He felt sickened to think that he had been so uncaring of Liam’s feelings.  He knew that because of the way he had been treated by Rupert Giles, Liam was bedevilled by insecurities.  Life had been unkind to him thus far, robbing him of his loving family, forcing him to come to terms with his sexuality without their love and support and then finding himself in the clutches of an abusive, controlling and thoroughly vile older man.  It had all taken a toll.

And Will had thoughtlessly rubbed Liam’s nose in it by flaunting a happy relationship, albeit one that had been over for a long time, right in his face and not even considering for one moment that it might upset him.

Was it any surprise that Liam was so unhappy?

“I’m sorry, baby.”

Liam turned, the look of surprise visible on his face even in the fading light.  “Sorry?  No, Will, how can you…you’ve given me all this.  It’s me who should be sorry.  I…I just can’t find what I need…inside.  It’s all gone.”

“What’s gone?”

“My inspiration.  I can’t reach that place inside.  And you did all this for me.”  He gestured with his hand, indicating the studio that Will had set up for him.  “I’m so sorry, Will.”

Liam looked so incredibly sad; Will couldn’t bear to see him like this, not now when he should be happy and secure in a shiny new relationship with a man who absolutely adored him.  He moved to stand before the artist, reaching out his hand to cup Liam’s cheek affectionately.   “I don’t know why you’re sorry, Pet.  All this is just…stuff.  If you can’t find your inspiration it’s my fault.”

“Don’t say that.  How…”

“I behaved like a complete bastard today.  I was so pleased to see Oz, but it never occurred to me that you would find my affection for him so upsetting.  I’ve been a thoughtless pig.  I’m so sorry, baby.”

Liam looked up at him, a sad little smile on his face.  “I was jealous.  I didn’t want to be, but…I just kept thinking…why not me?  What’s wrong with me?  And all I could…could see was that Oz has felt what I want so badly to feel.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Pet.  You’re gorgeous.  But what do you want to feel?  Tell me.”

“You.  All of you.  In me, filling me.  Making me yours.  That’s all I’ve wanted since I left the hospital.  To be with you, sharing your bed, making you happy.  It’s all I’ve dreamt about since I first saw you, really.  And when you brought me here from the hospital, I sort of expected to be with you, not in a room of my own, fantasising about…us, together and…I…I…”

Will was alarmed to see tears glistening on the dark lashes.  “Oh, my precious Angel.”  He reached for him, pulling him against his chest as Liam remained seated on the stool, running his fingers through the dark hair.  “I’m so sorry.  Ever since you came out of hospital I’ve been half afraid to touch you.  I was worried that it was too soon after your surgery, that you’d be wary of me after Rupert and…all kinds of things. I just didn’t want you to feel under any pressure or obligation.  If I had only known it was what you wanted…needed…”

Liam wept quietly against Will’s chest as the blond gently stroked the dark head, soothing, calming…and then his lips were on Liam’s, his tongue welcomed into the beautiful mouth.  His hands wound through Liam’s hair, gripping his head firmly as he worshipped him and Liam moaned into his mouth, and his hands left the hair and smoothed down Liam’s back, coming to rest on his hips.  Liam rose shakily from the stool and moaned again as Will’s hands cupped his ass, thrusting against him, their erections grinding against each other.

A dam was waiting to burst.

Breaking the kiss, Will took his beautiful boy by the hand and lead him down the stair way and along the corridor to his bedroom.  Pulling him inside, Will quickly unbuttoned Liam’s shirt, pulling it off him as his lips captured the gorgeous mouth once more, his questing tongue exploring every delicious inch.

Will’s hands cupped around Liam’s ass, pulling him against him, desperately rubbing his erection against the hardness in Liam’s jeans.  He reached a hand down and unfastened them.

Liam moaned, his hips thrusting against Will, hot and needy.  With their lips still joined, Will led his willing boy over to the bed, pushing him down onto it gently as he tugged the unfastened jeans down over the slim hips.  He pulled them all the way off, tugging urgently at the boxer shorts, finally freeing Liam’s erection.

Kneeling before the beauty on the bed, Will reached up and ran his thumbs over Liam’s nipples, marvelling at how quickly they responded, hard and erect, echoing the state of the artist’s cock, eliciting a shudder of pleasure from the willing body.

Moving up over the trembling Liam, he took one of the hard little nubs into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it, nipping gently with his teeth as his fingers played teasingly with the other nipple.  Liam moaned, his hands clenching in Will’s peroxide hair.

Releasing the pert nipples, Will moved down Liam’s body, licking, kissing and worshipping, his tongue and lips feeling the scar left by the operation Liam had so recently undergone, moving further down to the fine dark hair that started just below the navel and led down to the dark nest of hair between Liam’s legs.

Liam’s erection bobbed expectantly as Will’s lips kissed the tip of his cock.

Liam arched off the bed when Will licked pre-cum from the slit at the head of the throbbing shaft, running his tongue down the length of the underside, moving a hand to cup his balls, kneading them gently as his mouth engulfed the twitching cock that bobbed against his face, loving that Liam arched off the bed again as he let out a whimper of searing need.

Will took Liam’s cock as far into his mouth as he could, loved that his boy was so aroused, his breaths coming in short gasps, his body so responsive to Will’s every touch.

The hand that had cupped Liam’s sac closed around the base of Liam’s erection, the only part that Will was unable to take into his mouth, as the other hand reached between Liam’s wantonly parted legs and pushed delicately at his anus.

Liam thrust wildly then, his mouth open soundlessly, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.  Will looked up, watching the beautiful artist as he sucked at the throbbing shaft in his mouth, loving the wanton posture, the shameless abandon as he drove him to new heights.

Will tugged at his own erection, coating one finger with his pre-cum and sliding it into his lover’s hole, pushing it in and out, dragging a high-pitched unintelligible sound from Liam.

“Will!”  He gasped.  “I need you in me!  I want…to come with you…fucking me!  Please, Will!”

Will’s mouth reluctantly released his lover’s cock, turning a compliant Liam over onto his front.  “Okay, baby.  Whatever you want.  I’m your Will now.  Only yours.”

Will pulled the boxer shorts that were still around Liam’s knees off him and swiftly stripped out of his own clothes, looking down at the feverishly aroused beauty lying seductively on the bed, waiting desperately for Will to take him. He looked so hot and alluring; Will could hardly wait to enter that gorgeous body, burying himself to the hilt.  He pulled two pillows toward them, lifting Liam’s hips and pushing them under him so that he would be comfortable.  Opening a drawer of the nightstand, Will pulled a tub of lube out, opening it quickly and dipping his fingers in, using it to coat his own cock before he pushed one slick finger into Liam’s inviting hole.

Liam thrust himself back on the digit shamelessly, whining for more.

Will took his time preparing his beautiful lover, not wanting to hurt him as he had been hurt before, and as Liam’s channel stretched to accommodate his finger, he pushed in two, the hand resting on Liam’s lower back feeling the quiver of desperate need shudder through the gorgeous body.

A third finger joined the first two, pushing past the tight ring of muscle, and Liam’s body went into another spasm around the digits.

“Please…fuck me…Will…need you…in me!”

Lifting the pale buttocks a little higher, Will carefully positioned himself at Liam’s entrance before thrusting gently into the inviting body, running a hand down Liam’s back and ass cheeks to soothe him as he gasped at the pleasurable invasion.  As soon as Liam seemed accustomed to the sensation of being filled so completely, Will gently pulled back a little before thrusting again.  He heard Liam take a shuddering breath.

“Okay, baby?”

Liam nodded, pushing himself back onto Will, impaling himself even further to show his lover just how okay he was.  “Fuck me…Wi…Will!  Fuck me!”

Will pushed in and out of Liam again, speeding up the rhythm of his thrusts as his beautiful, sexy Angel pushed back onto him as if he just couldn’t be filled enough.

His breath coming in short sharp gasps, Will tried to angle his thrusts to hit against Liam’s prostate as he shuddered and writhed beneath him, whimpering and moaning from the pleasure of having his blond lover filling him so completely.

Will could feel his climax approaching, the tight walls of Liam’s delectable hole clenching deliciously around him.  Reaching in front of Liam, he grasped the needy shaft in his still-slick fingers, his hand fisting Liam in time with his thrusts as the heated sounds of his lover’s moans and whimpers pushed him ever closer to completion.  When he felt Liam shudder and spill his seed over both Will’s hand and his own belly, his head thrown back and crying his lover’s name as he came, Will thrust one last time, filling Liam’s body with his semen, his mouth open in a soundless scream.

As his cock softened inside Liam, Will was overcome with emotion.

He leaned over Liam’s back, stoking the dark head, kissing the pale shoulders.  “I love you, baby.  Love you so much.”

Liam lay under Will, sleepy, satisfied and reassured that Will meant it.  “Love you, too, Will.  Always.”
 

*
 

Will rested comfortably against the pillows, his beautiful lover resting his dark head in the crook of his neck, safe and drowsy in the warm circle of his arms.  Will kissed the top of Liam’s head, stroking his back soothingly.

“That was so good, baby.”  Will said, kissing the dark head again.  “So beautiful.  I love you.”

“Love you.”  Liam murmured sleepily.

Will could see the scar from Liam’s operation in the light of the single lamp that he was unwilling to turn off; he just wanted to admire the gorgeous man who lay sleepily in his arms.  It looked to be healing nicely, and Will also hoped that Liam was healing inside.  Not his body, but his mind. There had been too much trauma in the artist’s life.  Will wanted so badly to make him feel safe and loved.  “Sleep, my beautiful Angel..  You’re safe with me.”

Will held Liam until he heard his breathing slowing, indicating that he slept and soon after Will joined him in dreamless slumber.
 

*
 

Morning light filtered in around the edges of the drapes.  Will had been awake for a while, gazing down at the sleeping face of his lover.  Liam looked serene and angelic in the half-light, and Will felt his cock stir at the sight.

Liam was the most wonderful thing to ever happen to Will.  He was so lovely to look at, but it was more than just being pretty.  He had surrendered his body, mind and soul to Will, and maybe, most precious of all, his heart.

He felt Liam stir against him, almost purring with contentment, like a cat stretching out in the sunshine.  Will kissed the top of the dark head, rubbing his hand softly over Liam’s back.

His reward came eventually.  A pair of dark eyes fluttered open to gaze lovingly into his, a smile of utter contentment gracing the pretty lips.

“Morning, baby.”  Will sighed, kissing the delightful mouth.

“Morning, Will.  Love you.”  Liam snuggled up to him sleepily.

“You look like an angel when you’re sleeping, Pet.”  Will smiled; the hand that had been rubbing Liam’s back crept down to his buttocks.  A finger pushed gently into Liam’s hole, making his eyes fly open, suddenly wide awake.

“When you’re awake, it’s a different story.”  Will grinned.  He propped himself up on one elbow, leaning down to kiss Liam, his tongue gaining admittance immediately.

Will’s hand crept down Liam’s body until it cupped his awakening cock, making him thrust into Will’s hand shamelessly, so Will wrapped his fingers around the hardening shaft. Liam whimpered against his mouth.

Will couldn’t believe how unbelievably submissive Liam was.  He didn’t want to force his lover to do anything, but Liam seemed to love that Will dominated him.   But Will’s domination was tempered with love and respect, and he was sure he would know if he did something that Liam did not want.

Liam thrust himself into Will’s hand, making lovely sounds of contentment as Will continued to dominate his mouth.  When they finally broke the kiss to come up for air, Will rested on his elbow, looking down at his lover.  Liam’s eyes were dark with arousal.

“Do you want me, baby?”

Liam looked up at him, his eyes half closed.  Will caught his breath; the way Liam gazed at him through long dark lashes was incredibly sexy, cranking up his arousal another notch.

“I want you, Will.”

“How do you want me, baby?”

“I want you in me, Will.  Filling me.  I want to be full with you.”

Will leaned down, brushed the pretty mouth with his own.  “You’re so beautiful, Pet.  So fucking sexy.”

Liam closed his eyes and sighed and Will felt the exhaled breath feather against his chest.  He kissed Liam again, long and hard, reaching down with one hand to scratch against Liam’s opening with his finger nail.  Liam sighed into his mouth, moaning in need.

“Turn over, baby.”

Liam did as he was bid, turning over onto his front, his hips thrusting involuntarily as his throbbing cock found friction against the bed sheets.

Will smiled.  “My baby’s so needy, isn’t he?”  He pulled the pillows under Liam’s hips again, mindful of the fact that his gorgeous lover was still recovering from surgery and Olympic Gymnastic-style sex was probably not a good idea at this point.

“Need you, Will.  Need you so bad.”

Will grabbed the lube from the night stand where he had left it after their love-making the night before.  Quickly coating his cock, he prepared Liam, thrusting fingers into him until four of them disappeared into the clenching hole.

“Will!”  Liam wailed.  “Fuck me!  I need...”

Will grinned as his lover swallowed up the four fingers, his voice trailing off in heated desire.

Liam gasped as Will’s shaft pushed into him.  Liam felt a slight burning pain as his lover pushed past the tight ring of muscle.  Then the tight channel was clenching around Will’s cock deliciously.

“So tight, baby.”  Will thrust again as Liam wriggled back to try to swallow more, making Will hiss.  “You want it so badly, don’t you, Pet?”

“Harder, Will.  Fuck me harder.”

Will pushed further into Liam, smiling as his lover gasped.  He kept thrusting, aiming for Liam’s prostate, hitting it again and again as Liam moaned, lost in a haze of ecstasy as his lover fucked him harder.

Will felt the body beneath him shudder as Liam experienced a dry orgasm, his body going into a spasm of exquisite ecstasy as his anus clenched around Will’s cock, squeezing him almost painfully.  “Ahhhhhhh!  So good, baby.”  He gasped.

Knowing that his own climax was near, Will reached around to grasp Liam’s weeping cock, rubbing pre-cum over the slit with his thumb, and Liam shuddered again.

“Will!”  He moaned.

Heeding the plea in his beautiful lover’s voice, Will began to stroke the length of his cock, timing the strokes to his own thrusts, until he felt himself tipped over the edge and his climax hit him like a tidal wave, pumping the gorgeous body around him full of his cum.  He had enough wits left to keep stroking Liam’s cock until he felt semen coat his fingers, and heard Liam utter a series of animalistic cries that signalled his intense release.

Liam lay beneath Will, exhausted and sleepy, his mouth open, his breathing ragged.

Feeling drained and happy, Will kissed his shoulder.  “Love you so much, Angel.”
 

*
 

Curled up against Will’s body with the reassuringly safe Will-smell filling his nostrils, Liam sighed with contentment.  A hand stroked his dark head lovingly, murmuring endearments in his ear.

Liam finally felt safe, loved, cherished.  So good after the years of brutality and humiliation at Rupert’s hands.

 “Want to take a shower, baby?”

Liam grinned shyly.  He loved that Will dominated him so gently.  It was exactly what he needed.  Liam had always had a tendency to allow others to make decisions for him, which had been a terrible mistake with Rupert.  But with Will it was completely different.  He was perfectly happy to allow Will to take control of all aspects of his life if that was what his lover wanted.  He was happy to belong to him mind, body and soul.  Will had taken care of his needs before his own when they had made love the previous evening, and he had made sure that Liam was satisfied this morning.  Satisfied?  Not even close to how he had felt.  It was an exquisite feeling.

A feeling he had never known before.

Will jumped out of bed, taking his sleepy Angel by the hand and leading him into the bathroom.  Climbing into the shower, he pulled Liam in with him, closing the door and turning on the water.  Grabbing the shower gel, he squirted a generous amount into his hand, rubbed it into a soapy lather then started to wash Liam.

Giggling, Liam did the same, and the lovers washed each other’s bodies sensuously.

Too exhausted from their love-making both last night and this morning, the lovers were content to just wash each other.  Liam loved it when Will squirted shampoo into his hands and washed Liam’s hair.  It was utter contentment.

Drying each other off after their shower, Will looked at the scar on Liam’s abdomen.  “It looks like it’s healing well, Pet.”

Liam looked down at his scar.  “It is.  And I feel fine.  Really good.”

Tears suddenly sprung up in his eyes, startling Will.  He took Liam into his arms, rubbing the towel he held soothingly over Liam’s back.  “What’s wrong, baby?”

“I…I’m just s…s…so happy, Will.  I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Pet, and I’ll take care of you as long as you need me.”
 

*
 

Will and Liam went down to breakfast with Faith.  She could see by their affectionate gestures and loving glances that they had finally taken the next step in their relationship.

She was so happy for them.

Will spent the day closeted in his study, finishing the last chapter of his erotic novel.  He felt inspired.

While Will was in his study, Liam shut himself away in his studio, working feverishly until lunchtime when Will came up to remind him to eat.

Liam was sat on his stool, brushes and palette in hand; a smear of paint down his cheek, looking so incredibly adorable that Will thought his heart would burst with love.

“I found it, Will.  I reached inside and there it was.”

Will went to him and kissed him affectionately.  “I’m so glad, baby.  Is this ‘Angel’s Salvation’?”

“It will be.  And it’s for you.”

“This calls for a celebration tonight.  I’ve just finished ‘Diamonds and Lace,’ and you’ve recaptured your inspiration.  Everything is as it should be.”

“All the time I was with Rupert, this was sort of how I dreamed my life could be.  I can’t believe how good it is now, and if it wasn’t for you…”  Liam trailed off, a sudden lump in his throat, the sting of tears behind his eyes.

Will wiped at the smear of paint on Liam’s cheek with his thumb.  “All that’s behind us now, Pet.  We have a future to look forward to.”

~Part: 13~

Liam was excited.  It was Will’s birthday the following Sunday, and he wanted to do something special for his lover.  He had no money of his own, but Will had arranged for him to have his own credit card, and if there was anything else he wanted, he had only to ask.  Liam felt a little embarrassed that he had to do that, but Will assured him that once he had enough paintings, Will would organise an exhibition for him, and then he would have his own money coming in. Given Liam’s outstanding talent, Will was sure he would have little difficulty selling his work.

It felt weird to Liam that he had to buy Will’s birthday presents with Will’s own money, but he had no other option.

He was unaware that Will was half afraid to mention the fact that Rupert Giles probably had a lot of money that actually belonged to Liam.  He got upset every time his former partner was mentioned.  Which, given what had happened, was not so surprising.

On the Saturday night, Liam went to bed full of excitement for the following day.  Will knew he had something planned, but he had no idea what.

He knew one thing.  Liam was at his most gorgeous when he was flushed with excitement and was almost child-like in his enthusiastic anticipation.  Will’s heart swelled with love, as did his cock, but Liam said he didn’t want to make love.  He wanted to wait for the morning.

“Arghhh!  Look at me, baby.  So hard for you.”

Liam leaned in to kiss him shyly.  “I can take care of that, Will.”

To Will’s utter bliss, Liam bent and kissed down the flat belly, wiggling his tongue in Will’s navel and feathering kisses down to his groin before licking the head of Will’s throbbing cock.  Then he took it into his mouth so far that Will felt the head touch the back of Liam’ throat.   He grabbed the dark head, tangling his fingers in the soft hair while his gorgeous lover sucked and licked his shaft teasingly as one hand gently played with his sac, looking up at Will to see what effect his mouth was having on him.

Will looked at the wanton expression in Liam’s eyes, and thrust involuntarily into the gorgeous mouth.  Liam grinned around his mouthful of Will before returning in earnest to giving his sexy lover the blow job of his life.

Will’s hips thrashed as Liam engulfed his cock, pulling back and licking the slit at the head then engulfing all of him once more.

It wasn’t long before Will felt his climax approaching.  “Gonna come, baby!”

Liam did not stop.  As Will’s semen shot down Liam’s willing throat he swallowed it happily, looking not unlike the cat that got the cream.

Relaxing into the torpor of intense gratification Will pulled Liam up to drape across his sated body, kissing the lips that tasted of himself, lovingly petting the dark head.  “You’re so beautiful, Pet.  So good to me.”

Liam settled comfortably within the loving embrace, snuggling up against Will as they both relaxed into sleep.

*

Sunday morning dawned with the sun creeping into the room through chinks in the drapes, falling across Will as he lay alone in the big bed.

In the bathroom, Liam put the finishing touches to his surprise for Will, grinning as he looked down at himself.  He knew Will would laugh, but since that was the idea, he didn’t mind.  The real surprises were less visible.

Will felt the bed dip as a body slid in beside him.  “Liam?”

“Happy birthday, Will.”  Liam leaned down to kiss him quickly on the lips before settling down beside him.

Will could sense Liam’s excitement.  He knew his beautiful boy was up to something.

Liam had pulled the covers up to his waist, trying desperately not to giggle.  He looked at Will, big chocolatey eyes bright with expectation, unaware of how arousing his lover found that look, and looked away, trying to pretend that nothing was going on.

Will knew better.  “What’s going on, Pet?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re up to something.”

“Me?  Nope, nothing going on here.”

Will pretended to look stern as he played his part in Liam’s little game.  “I don’t believe you.  What have you done?”

“Nothing, Will.”

The expression of innocence on Liam’s face dragged a moan of need from Will.  He looked down at the sheet that covered Liam’s body up to the waist, grinning at the way the sheet was tented.  Will sensed that Liam wasn’t ready to end the game just yet.

“What’s that?”

“What’s what?”

“What’s that you’ve got under the sheet?  Is it my present?”

Liam gave him such a look of wanton seduction that Will moaned again, his cock throbbing with heated desire.  “Unwrap it and see.”

Smiling wolfishly, Will took hold of the sheet and slowly pulled it down his lover’s body.  When he saw the present Liam had prepared for him, he laughed, long and loud.

Liam grinned.  His little surprise had had the desired effect.

Will finally managed to stop giggling.  He cupped Liam’s cheek affectionately.  “Loving it, baby.  All gift-wrapped for Will.”  He kissed the pretty mouth, his tongue slipping inside as Liam moaned with need.

Liam had crept out of the bed as Will slept, preparing himself for Will’s Birthday Surprise.  After the first part of his surprise was ready, he had swiftly stroked himself to hardness, slipping on the thick chrome cock ring then tying the scarlet ribbon around it.  The ribbon hid the cock ring, so that when Will pulled the bow it would be revealed.

Will’s hand strayed down Liam’s chest and he teased the nipples until they hardened, thrilled by the needy little moaning sounds he made.  He broke the kiss then, looking down at his gorgeous Liam, his eyes smouldering with desire.  “Thank you, baby.”  He took Liam’s shaft in his hand, dragging a breathy moan from him as he fisted the length.  “This is lovely. Can I take the ribbon off?”

Liam nodded.

Will pulled at one end of the ribbon and the bow fell away.  “Fuck!”

Will’s eyes went wide as he saw what the ribbon hid.  There, all shiny and thick, tight around the base of Liam’s stiff member, was a cock ring.

Liam loved the effect it had on Will.  “There’s an inscription.”

Will glanced at Liam’s face; saw the love shining in his eyes then looked closer at the ring.

It simply read ‘Will’s’

“Oh Liam!”  Will was so touched he could barely speak.  His gorgeous Angel had marked himself as his.

“There’s another surprise, Will.”  Liam smiled shyly.

“Where?”

“You’ll have to look for it.”

“Mmmmm.  Wonder where you’d hide a surprise?”

Liam grinned up at him.  “Not too many places to hide anything, Will.  Not when I’m naked.”

In the unlikely event that he needed a clue, Will decided this was it.  His other surprise was secreted on Liam’s person.  “I thought I’d checked it once, but open your mouth, Pet.”

Liam did as Will bid, moaning softly as the inquisitive tongue swept around his mouth.  “Nope, not in there.  Only one other place I can think of.  Turn over, baby.”

Liam obeyed, failing to stifle a sigh of anticipation.

Will gasped.  Liam had prepared himself for Will in a very special way.  Filling Liam’s anus was a decorative butt plug; the flat base that stuck out of his ass was prettily painted with a ring in the centre of it.  Will knew he must have lubricated the plug in order to insert it, which meant he was ready for Will.  He looked closer, and saw the painted lettering around the edge of the flat end.  ‘Will’s.’

“Oh fuck!”  Will could hardly believe his beautiful Liam had done something this thoughtful for his birthday.  Liam wanted to be his in every way; he almost felt like weeping.  He touched the end of the plug, pushing it in slightly and making Liam squirm pleasantly. “Thank you, my Angel.  I love my presents.  I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“It’s your birthday, Will, so you get me like this all day.”  Liam sounded more than a little choked at Will’s reaction to his state of preparedness.

“All day?  Whenever I want you?”

 Liam nodded.  “Whenever you want me.”

Gently easing Liam over onto his back again, Will cupped his cheek tenderly.  “Pet, you are  the most gorgeous fucking thing I have ever seen.  I get to fuck you any time I feel like it today.  It’s a wonderful birthday present.  Thank you.”

Giggling a little, Liam allowed Will to push his legs up so his knees where touching his shoulders, revealing the plugged ass in all it’s glory.  Will practically licked his lips as he put his index finger into the ring at the base and pulled.  There was some delicious resistance as the bulbous part of the plug stretched the tight ring of muscle before the plug came free with a soft pop.

Grinning lasciviously down at his willing lover as he lifted the wantonly opened legs over his shoulders, Will pushed at the hole, sliding in gratifyingly smoothly, thanks to the lubrication that still coated Liam’s channel, dragging a gasp of pain/pleasure from him.

“Oh fuck!”  Will moaned, insanely turned on by the expression of bliss on his boy’s face.  He thrust hard, drawing a shuddering moan from Liam.  “You love this, don’t you, baby?”

Liam nodded, his eyes smouldering, his pretty lips parted as he panted rapidly at the pleasurable intrusion.

Will thrust into him again, hitting that sweet spot, and Liam closed his eyes in ecstasy, throwing his head back in such a gesture of wantonness that Will began to thrust into him harder.  Between their bodies, Liam’s ringed cock bobbed, needy and weeping, so Will bent his head to kiss the tip lightly.  Liam yelped, his hand involuntarily fisting around his constrained member.

Liam’s face as he shuddered beneath him, his knees hitting against his shoulders with every thrust of Will’s cock.

Will screamed his lover’s name as he filled the hot channel with his seed.

Thoroughly sated, Will was reluctant to break the intimate contact with his Angel.  But there was the small matter of Liam’s needy cock to be taken care of.

Liam lay against the pillows, a smile on his face, happy that Will had so loved his birthday presents.  There was another waiting for him later, but for now he hoped that his lover would grant him release.

Will moved from between Liam’s legs, looking down at his throbbing erection.  He wrapped his hand around it making Liam groan with need.  “Do you want to come, baby?”

“Yes, Will.”

Will leaned down to kiss those adorable lips, slowly, sensuously, stroking Liam’s cock languidly as he did so.  Liam moaned into his mouth, his hips bucking as he thrust up into Will’s hand.

Grinning, Will reached for the butt plug and slid it back into Liam’s still-slick hole, pushing it in all the way.   Liam bucked uncontrollably at the sweet invasion, whimpering in need.  Taking pity Will deftly slid the cock ring off his frustrated lover.  “Come for me, baby.”  He whispered into Liam’s ear.

Liam’s eyes widened as Will shoved the plug all the way in once more and he came, coating Will’s hand with his cum.

He looked up into Will’s eyes, saw the love in them and knew that he belonged to Will completely.

*

Liam and Will showered together.  When they had finished, Will took great delight in replacing Liam’s cock ring and butt plug.  It was so erotic and such a turn on to know that his beautiful Angel was happy to remain this way for the remainder of his birthday.  He planned to avail himself of his present at least once more before his birthday was over.

Breakfast was a light-hearted affair that morning.

Even the affectionate card with kisses sent by Oz didn’t affect Liam.  He knew now that Will’s relationship with Oz was firmly in the past, felt confident that Will loved him and him alone.  His insecurity about his place in Will’s life was a distant memory, and he basked in the glow of belonging that being with Will in every way gave him.

Faith came down to breakfast with Gunn in tow.  She kissed Will affectionately, handing him his birthday card, which was from both of them.

“Happy birthday, boss.  Guess from the smile on your face, it’s started well.”

Liam blushed furiously, which Faith noticed, so she went over to him and kissed him too.  “You are so good for him, Liam.  He was a grumpy old sourpuss on his last birthday.”

Liam smiled; the thought of what had taken place when he and Will had woken up that morning still warm and fuzzy in his brain.  “He wasn’t a grumpy old sourpuss this morning, Faith.”

Faith laughed and hugged the still blushing artist.

“I don’t see why I should be a happy bunny every time I get a year older.”  Will scowled.  Truth was, he had never felt less like a grumpy sourpuss in his life.  Waking up to find Liam with a red ribbon tied around his cock was enough to brighten up the rest of his day.  To pull the ribbon and find Liam’s cock encircled with a cock ring bearing his name was enough to make him deliriously happy all week. And if all that was not enough, to look at his lover’s gorgeous ass and see him filled with a butt plug, also bearing his name, and know that Liam would spend the day permanently prepared for him meant that if he died right now, he would die a happy man.

They prepared breakfast between them, feeling like a family.  Even Gunn, straight, lawyer, black, felt he belonged and counted himself lucky that he had met Faith that night at the gallery that had been so significant for them all.

Gunn was relaxed about everything.  His colour did not give him a chip on his shoulder; he was proud of his origins, of his heritage, and this attitude had seen him through a rough childhood and adolescence, and meant that his sharp intelligence had given him a great career, money and the means to help his less fortunate fellows, be they white, black, Hispanic, Jewish, gay; it did not matter.

Homosexuality was not an issue for him at all.  It warmed his heart to see two men, so comfortable in their sexuality, enjoy a loving and rewarding relationship, particularly as one of them had suffered physical and sexual abuse with another partner.

The bottom line was that they were very much in love, and Gunn was pleased for them.

With breakfast over, Faith announced that Will’s present from herself and Gunn was in the garden.

“You got me a present?”  Will was touched.  “Last year you said I was impossible to buy for.”

“That was last year, boss.  This year we have found the perfect present.”  Faith grabbed him by the hand and dragged him through the atrium and into the walled garden at the rear of the mansion.

It was basically just a courtyard, with potted plants spread around the flagstones and an old ornate fountain in the centre.

Against one wall, there was a new plant.  It was a rose bush in a terracotta planter

It was the most gorgeous rose Will had ever seen.  It was, for the most part, pure white, but at the edge of each petal there was a peach blush.

“It’s a new hybrid, boss.  It’s called ‘Blushing Angel.’”

Will turned to her, his face a picture of bliss.  “It’s beautiful, Faith.  Thank you both so much.”

He hugged his PA, shook Gunn’s hand warmly then turned to Liam.

“See that, baby?  The most beautiful rose I’ve ever seen was named after you.”

Liam blushed prettily.  He was enjoying his lover’s birthday so much.  He had been in Heaven when he and Will had woken up earlier in the day.  Will had loved the little surprises he had prepared, and Liam had reaped the benefit.  He so loved being Will’s, handing over control to someone he loved and trusted.

It also meant that his cock was in a permanent state of arousal, which had necessitated loose sweats this morning so that his state wasn’t instantly apparent, and his ass was filled with the butt plug bearing Will’s name, which turned him on immensely.  Every time he sat down, the plug would be pushed further into him, and it was all he could do not to writhe and pant and fist his throbbing member. He felt as if he wanted Will constantly, and hoped that at least once during the day, Will would want to remove the plug and replace it with his cock.  The thought made Liam feel sexy and desirable, and it was all because of Will.

And there was still his last surprise to come.

*

Faith and Gunn decided to go to a movie after lunch.

Will was overjoyed.

Liam was grateful.  He was in a state of constant arousal and some relief would be most welcome.  He was saving Will’s last surprise for the evening, and if he had to wait until then, he would have to take care of his problem himself.

As soon as Faith and Gunn left, Will pinned Liam up against the front door.

“So, my pretty, all alone with you at last!”

Liam giggled at Will’s over-the-top melodramatic villain’s voice, somewhat ruining his lover’s performance.

Will reached a hand down to Liam’s ass cheeks, deliberately prodding the base of the butt plug through his sweats.  “I’ll teach you to laugh, me proud beauty!”  He twirled the ends of an imaginary moustache, which just made Liam giggle even more.

He yelped softly as the plug was prodded again and Will silenced him by covering the lovely lips with his own.

“I’m going to have you, me pretty.”  Will whispered against Liam’s mouth, delighting in the moan he dragged out of Liam.  “I’m going to fill that pretty little ass of yours with me huge todger!”

Will grabbed Liam by the hand and pulled him up the stairs to their bedroom.  He threw him on the bed before twirling the ends of his non-existent facial hair again, as his intended victim tried to stifle more giggles.

Joining him on the bed, Will’s hand cupped the erection that Liam had endured all morning through the sweats.  “You’re still hard for me, Pet.  Maybe I could take care of that for you.  Eventually.”

Liam eyes were sultry with passion.  He loved that Will was so in control.  He would do anything to please him, as long as Will loved and cherished him.

Will pushed inside the waistband of the sweats, his hand wrapping around Liam’s heated cock, making him buck frantically into the cool flesh.  “Oh, my pretty is so hot for me!”

Will’s pretty whined as the hand left his throbbing cock and crept down between his legs, pushing the base of the butt plug into Liam’s anus, making him moan with need as he tried to thrust down onto the plug and fuck himself on it.  He gasped as Will pushed a hand up under his sweater, pinching a nipple teasingly.  “Haha!  Got you right where I want ye, me proud beauty!”  He pulled the sweater over Liam’s head and bent to lick and suckle at the hardened nipple, smiling as his beautiful Angel writhed and moaned heatedly.  “Ye look so innocent, me pretty, but ye want me, don’t ye, hussy?”

Liam looked up at Will’s mischievous blue eyes, his own dark with heated desire.  He fluttered his eyelids prettily. “Yes, yes I really want you.”

“Where do ye want me, pretty?”

“In me.  Filling me.  Fucking me.”

Will smoothed damp hair back from Liam’s face.  “So beautiful, Pet.”  He breathed then bent to kiss Liam, thrusting his tongue into the welcoming mouth as his hand pushed the plug in and out of Liam’s clenching ass.

Unable to bear it any longer, Will pulled Liam’s sweats off him, flipped him over onto all fours and swiftly removed the plug before replacing it with his cock.  Liam moaned in pleasure as Will filled him completely, trying to push back on the invading flesh to fuck himself harder.

“That’s it, me beauty.”  Will whispered into his lover’s ear.

Will thrust against Liam’s prostate and Liam panted heavily as his body shuddered and trembled in exquisite need.  Keeping up a steady rhythm, Will leaned forward over Liam’s back and teased his nipples again.  He marvelled at how sensitive they were before all thought was driven from his mind and he emptied himself into the willing body beneath him.

His spent cock slipped out of Liam and he fell to the side, pulling his precious boy with him.  Leaning into the pillows, Will gathered him to his chest, fisting the weeping cock and making soothing noises in Liam’s ear.

“You want to come, me pretty?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the magic word, pretty?”

“Yes please?”

Will deftly slipped off the cock ring, fisting Liam’s needy cock again.  “Come, baby.”

Will was delighted that Liam was able to come at his request, leaning over and kissing his neck as Liam sprayed cum over his belly and Will’s hand.

“Love you, baby.  Love you so much.”

*

Liam spent some time up in his studio preparing for Will’s biggest surprise.  He looked around to check that everything was right then went downstairs to take a shower.  He was sorely tempted to jerk off in the shower since Will had replaced the cock ring and butt plug, but he resisted.  He wanted to come with Will, not fisting his own erection alone.

Once he was done, he towelled himself off and replaced the cock ring and lubricated the plug before sliding it with a groan of need into his ass.  Deciding to forget underwear, he dressed in comfy jeans, which did nothing to conceal his erection, but since Faith and Gunn had said they were going to make an evening of it, it didn’t matter.  As he was deciding which shirt to wear, he heard the phone ring.  He hoped it was nothing that was likely to disturb the evening he had planned for Will and eventually decided on a midnight blue silk shirt that he knew Will loved him in.  Not that he planned to be in it for very long, of course.

When he finally went downstairs, he found Will lying on the sofa, a beer in his hand, and a lewd smile on his face.

“Those jeans looked gorgeous on you, Pet.”  He smirked, his eyes unable to leave the bulge at his lover’s groin.  “And I love you in that shirt.  Cum ‘ere, baby.”

Liam smiled shyly.  He joined Will on the sofa, accepted a passionate kiss then took the beer from Will’s hand and placed it on the end table.  “Can you come up to the studio, Will?  There’s another surprise for you.”

Will took the hand that was offered to him, pushing himself up off the soft cushions.  “Another surprise?  Oh, Pet, you have already made this a special day for me.  I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a birthday this much.”  He kissed Liam again.  “But this is my first birthday with you, so that’s pretty much a given.”

“I’ve enjoyed today, too, Will.  And it’s not over yet.”

Will couldn’t resist fondling his boy’s denim-clad erection.  Liam moaned softly.

“You’ve enjoyed yourself even with a permanent hard-on?”  Spike kissed him.  “You are such a hussy.”

“Only with you, Will.  I’d do anything for you.”

“You’re so hot it makes me hot, baby.  Now did you say something about a surprise before I became distracted?”

Liam smiled as he led Will by the hand upstairs to the door to his studio.  There he pulled out a length of white cloth which he used to blindfold an intrigued Will.  Leading him carefully up the stairs, he turned him so that he was facing into the room.

“Now, wait.”

Will heard sounds that he couldn’t quite make out, but he knew Liam was up to something.  He waited impatiently until he felt Liam’s hand reach up to the back of his head to untie the cloth.

“Ready, Will?”

“Ready, Pet.”

Liam pulled the blindfold off.

Will gasped in wonder.

~Part: 14~

“Liam!  It’s finished!  God, Pet, it’s so beautiful!”

“It’s yours, Will.  Your birthday present.  To show you how much everything you’ve done for me is appreciated.   And because I love you.”

Will gazed in wonder at the painting.  He recognised it from Liam’s sketch, the one he had done while he was in the hospital.  But this was no brilliantly charcoaled sketch; this was the real thing.

‘Angel’s Salvation.’

He remembered that Angel had been working on this painting when he had first visited him at the apartment, and realised that he had probably never finished it.  It struck Will as incredible that Liam had been able to begin it all over again.  He must truly be inspired.

Gone was the blood that stained the buttocks of the angel in the first two paintings.  And the magnificent wings were pristine white and lay gracefully against the angel’s back.   Where the first portrait depicted the angel as forlorn and full of misery, and the second hopeful yet still wretched, this one had an overwhelming sense of deliverance and healing.

The artist surely had a God-given talent.

Speechless, Will turned to Liam for the first time.  He drew in a ragged breath.

Liam had removed his clothes before he had removed Will’s blindfold.

Will stared in wonder at his stunning lover, drank in the pale flesh, the lithe muscles, the ringed cock, standing hard and proud, bobbing against the flat stomach.  Even the scar in the middle of his abdomen that remained bright pink and still not completely healed did nothing to detract from his incredible beauty.  He was like something Heaven had lost.  A beautiful Angel.

And he was Will’s.

For the first time Will noticed that there as a futon laid out on the floor, filched from one of the guest bedrooms along with pillows and a quilt that Liam had obviously brought up to the attic studio earlier in the day.  The lighting had been turned down low and the soft illumination from a single lamp and a dozen candles bathed the beautiful artist in an almost ethereal light.

Will groaned.  He had made love to Liam twice today, yet such was the power of his appeal, he was ready to do it again.  The thought that his gorgeous lover still had his ass plugged and lubricated ready for him made his already hardening cock spring into eager arousal.

Liam was slightly perplexed by Will’s silence.  He chewed at his lower lip, the Liamsim that Will loved, and wondered what he had done wrong.

“Is…is something wrong, W…Will?”  He stammered.

Will shook his head, his blue eyes shaded darker by the heated passion that coursed through his blood like a drug.  “Nothing’s wrong, baby.  In fact, everything is perfect.”

Liam smiled shyly, and Will almost fell back in awe at the sight.  His beautiful Angel was naked, hard and ready for him, but that shy smile that drew the corners of his pretty mouth delicately upwards was a complete paradox.  Will was hit by the sudden revelation that this apparent contradiction, this contrast between wantonness and innocence, was at the very heart of Liam’s appeal.  It had been that which Will had seen in him the first time he had ever laid eyes on the gorgeous young artist.  Sexy leather trousers and a smile like an immaculate virgin.

Will stumbled towards him like a moth irresistibly drawn to a flame.  He stood before the Angel that Heaven had lost, gazing into the depths of his soul through the breathtaking dark eyes and groaned again.  He leaned in, his face close to Liam’s and gently kissed the coy lips, not even attempting to dominate the mouth for fear that he might break the spell his Angel had cast. His arms went around the beautiful body in a loving embrace, caressing the heavenly flesh as Liam returned his embrace.

They kissed that way for a long time.  Loving, tender, adoring.

They were so very much in love.

The bleached blonde and the angel.

*

Sleepy and relaxed in the affectionate embrace of the man he loved, Liam thought he had never felt as happy as he was here, now, safe and loved in Will’s arms.

Will kissed the top of the dark head as his sated lover lay in the circle of his arms, enjoying the feel of his flesh against his own as they lay together naked on the futon, shielded from the cool night air by the soft quilt.

Life had dealt Liam some crushing blows; he had been adrift on a tempestuous sea, buffeted by the waves and dragged under by a maelstrom of fear and uncertainty, but now he had found the safe haven of Will’s loving arms and tender heart, and knew that his suffering had made him appreciate what he now had so much more.

He felt emotionally stronger, as if Will’s love was a life jacket thrown to him as he was drowning in the pitiless waters of his blighted life.

Will had saved him.

Will was Angel’s Salvation.

*

The lovers woke the next morning still entwined in each other’s arms.

Will awoke first, watching the sleeping face of his Angel in the soft light that crept through the drapes, marvelling at how relaxed and at peace he looked.  So different from the day that Will had raced around to the apartment Rupert and Liam had lived in and found the abused artist hurt, frightened and in pain.  That had been the lowest point for Liam; now when Will looked into the future, all he saw was love, contentment and growing old with his lover.

The future he saw mirrored the one he had created for Liam and himself on his lap top.  For the first time, Will could see it all coming true.

The man nestled against his chest stirred sleepily.

“Morning, sleepy head.”

“Mmmmmm.  Will.”  Tender lips feathered against Will’s chest.  “Love you.”

Will’s hand reached up to pet the face of his beautiful boy.  “I love you, baby.  Thank you for my birthday.  It was so special, the best birthday I can ever remember.”

“I wanted to do something special, different.”  Liam raised his eyes to gaze adoringly at Will.  “You saved me, Will.  I was lost in the dark and you found me and brought me home.  I love you so much.”

Will captured the sweet mouth in a tender kiss, deepening it as he felt himself grow half hard, searching for entry into his lover’s delectable mouth, which Liam granted.  A hand strayed down to the ass, and Will gasped into Liam’s mouth.

When had Liam replaced the butt plug?  Will had woken first, so it must have been before they had fallen asleep or some time during the night.  Which meant that Liam had slept with his anus ready and waiting for Will.  The thought made Will’s cock swell to full hardness.  Liam had turned him into a sex-crazed Liam-junky!  He almost ached with the desire to be inside his beautiful lover again.

“Oh God!  Liam!”  Will groaned, pushing the plug gently.

Liam smiled at the lust in Will’s voice.  He loved that Will just couldn’t seem to get enough of him.  He desperately wanted Will to remove the plug and replace it with his cock.

Will smiled wickedly.  He pushed the plug again, dragging a groan from his lover.  He continued to fuck him with the toy, his mouth covering Liam’s in a devouring kiss, until Liam began to pant with need.

“Please.”  He moaned into Will’s mouth.  “Want…you…”

Will pulled back from the kiss.  “Want me where, baby?”

Liam looked at him, his eyes almost black with feverish arousal.  “In me, Will.  Fuck me, please.  Need you…”

“You’re always so hot for me, baby.”  Will groaned as Liam pleaded for him to fill him. He pushed the plug once more before deciding the lust in Liam’s voice was too much and he had to remove the butt plug, flip Liam over onto his front and breach him swiftly.  He felt his boy shudder under him, loving the sweet invasion, and he drove in and out of the clenching hole, spurred on by the moans and whimpers his lover made as he thrust against his prostate.

As he filled his boy again and again, Will reached around and wrapped his fingers around the throbbing cock, fisting the length sensuously as Liam trembled beneath him.  Just as Will felt his balls tighten, Liam splattered his hand with his spend, crying his lover’s name in ecstasy.

Will filled Liam’s welcoming channel as he too reached a shuddering climax.

Panting for breath, Will reluctantly pulled his now flaccid cock from Liam, wrapping himself around him, kissing his shoulder and his cheek.  He saw Liam’s relaxed face, his smile of rapture, and turned him over to kiss his lips tenderly.

“I can never get enough of you, Pet.”

*

The following Wednesday, Will had an appointment to see Gunn professionally.  The P.I. that he had recommended to Will had unearthed the information that he needed to make a case against Rupert Giles.  He felt a terrible twinge of guilt that he had not mentioned this to Liam, but he hated it when Liam was upset, and he knew that if he raised the subject, that’s what would happen.  So he kept his council, and went up to see Liam in his studio before he left.

“Gotta go see my lawyer, baby.  Will you be okay?”

Liam kissed him fondly.  “I’ll be fine, Will.  I just want to finish this preliminary sketch.  I’ll see you when you get back.  You won’t be long, will you?”

Will returned the kiss.  “Shouldn’t be.  Can’t wait to see what this painting is going to be like.”

“Well, you’ll have to.”  Liam grinned.

“Okay, see you in a couple of hours.”

Liam kissed the air as Will turned at the door to give his lover a lingering look of admiration before almost skipping down the stairs.

*

“So there is enough evidence against Rupert Giles?”  Will asked.

He now understood what Gunn had said when he had told him that this P.I., Lindsey McDonald, was a little weird.  He had an easy Texas drawl, an image that screamed urban cowboy, and longish unkempt hair.  But it was the eyes that made Will feel slightly uncomfortable.  They were predatory and calculating, and made Will feel a bit like he was the prey.

But he had come through for Will, presenting him with a thick file of paperwork and several statements from possible witnesses.

“More than enough, Will.”  Gunn confirmed.  “But in my opinion, there would be more chance of winning a civil case than a criminal one.  I take it you just want to get back what belongs to Liam?”

“I’d like to see Rupert Giles pay for what he did to Liam, which would involve a long prison sentence and forced to be Little Tony’s bitch, but since you’re the lawyer here…”

“I’m gettin’ that, Will. But remember that Liam suffered a lot at Rupert Giles’ hands, and if we took this to the police, it would result in a long drawn out trial, with no guarantee of a conviction.  And Liam would be the main witness for the prosecution.  He’d be a prime target for the defence lawyers, and they would go to great lengths to discredit him.  I can’t honestly see Liam coping with that.  Can you?”

Will scowled.   “Honestly?  No, I can’t.  So what happens if we go with the civil case?”

“It would just be a question of Liam giving evidence about his accident and the compensation that was paid to him.  There would be no character assassination going on, no play on his emotions, no bullying him on the witness stand.”  Gunn shrugged.  “It would deal only with the facts, and judging from what Lindsey has uncovered, there are plenty of those.”

Will sighed.  “I really don’t want to see Liam upset.  How soon can you get this going?”

“I’ll file the paperwork today.”  Gunn decided.  “Then the wheels will be set in motion.  Can’t say when the case is likely to come up, though.  Bureaucracy takes time to get it’s ass in gear.”

“Okay, get it started.”  Will prayed he was making the right decision.  “And thank you, Mr McDonald, for everything you’ve done.  I understand Gunn has been paying your expenses and your daily rate from the funds I transferred.”

“He sure has.”  Lindsey drawled, his piercing eyes boring right into Will.  “And to you, it’s Lindsey.”

“Thank you…Lindsey.  As a token of my appreciation, there will be a bonus payment in the post to you.”

“Great working for you, Will.”   Lindsey smirked.  “Anytime you need a P.I., here’s my card.”

Will accepted it, thinking that if he needed some detective work done, Lindsey McDonald would be the last person he’d call.  He may be good at the job, but he gave Will the creeps.

The meeting ended, with Gunn promising to join them at the mansion for dinner on Saturday night.  Will told him he had a new painting by Liam, and he wanted to show it off.

“Look forward to that, Will.  That boy’s sure got talent.”  Gunn grinned amicably.

“Saturday then.”

*

On Friday night, Faith had a date with Gunn, so Will suggested they find a place to hang ‘Angel’s Salvation’ then maybe they could settle down with a bottle of wine and watch a movie.  Liam loved to watch old movies; he almost always got tearful when the story was sad.  Will loved that he needed to comfort him.

Will wasn’t sure where he wanted to hang the picture, so Liam suggested Will have a think about it while he took a shower.

Half an hour later, Liam descended the stairs wearing sweats and a black wife-beater.  Will gave him a wolf-whistle, admiring his manly torso which the wife-beater displayed to perfection.  He truly was a perfect specimen of male beauty, and he beamed at Will, thrilled by the attention.

“Have you made up your mind, Will?”

“I thought I would like it in my study.”  Will told him.  “The painting inspires me, which is just what I need when I write.  What do you think, Liam?”

“Great idea.  I’ll go fetch it from the studio if you get the toolbox.”  Liam sprinted athletically up the staircase, to another appreciative wolf-whistle.

*

With the portrait hung, Will stepped back to admire their handiwork.  The painting was on the wall facing Will’s desk, so he could look at it to his hearts content as he was writing.  It looked perfect.

“Are we going to celebrate, Will?”  Liam looked at him shyly; his head bowed a little as he peered at his lover from under his pretty eyelashes.

Will loved that look; it always got him hot. “Well, I thought we were going to open a bottle of wine and watch a movie.  You know how much you love those old movies, the ones that make you cry.”

Liam looked slightly disappointed.  “I do, Will, but I thought we could celebrate in here…with…you know…”

Will knew exactly what Liam meant, but he wanted to hear it from his boy’s own mouth.  He feigned a perplexed expression.  “With what, Pet?”

Liam squirmed a little.  “I…while I was upstairs I…made some preparations…I thought…”

“Preparations?”

Too shy to tell Will what he had in mind, Liam showed him instead.  He pulled his sweats down.

“Oh, those preparations!”  Will smiled broadly.  “I can’t think of any better way to celebrate the official hanging of my new birthday present, Pet.  My only regret is that I don’t own ‘Angel On His Knees.  Then I’d have the complete set.”

Liam had not forgotten his second angel portrait, but had thought it lost to him.  He would love for Will to have that painting too, and wondered if he could recreate it again.

“At least I have the original right here with me.”  Will smiled happily, his gaze wandering over his gorgeous lover standing before him with his sweats pooled around his ankles.  He looked totally shaggable and completely hot.

Will moved close to Liam, raising his hands to the cotton-clad torso, rubbing his thumbs over the sensitive nipples through the soft material of the wife-beater.  Liam moaned softly as the little nubs hardened, his eyes smouldering with desire.  Will lowered his head and ran his tongue over one as he pinched the other, suckling harshly through the cotton.  Liam’s eyes closed in ecstasy.

“You love that, don’t you, baby?”  Will captured the divine lips with his, gently probing until Liam’s mouth opened to admit the questing tongue.  His hand reached up to tangle in Liam’s hair as he gently dominated the mouth.  The other hand moved down to fondle the rigid flesh of his constrained cock.

Liam moaned into his mouth, thrusting his cock wantonly into the hand.

Liam was wearing the cock ring he had worn all day of Will’s birthday, and Will was almost sure that when he reached around to touch his ass, the butt plug would be in place too.  It really turned him on that Liam loved Will to have complete control over him sexually.

“God, Liam, you’re always so hot for me.”  He grinned.  “You’re a shameless hussy!”

Liam grinned.  “I never get tired of you fucking me, Will.  I love it when you fill me up completely with your huge cock.  Do you want to be in me?”

Will swept some clutter off his desk, looking at his lover with heat in his eyes.  “Yes, baby.  I want to be in you.  Bend over the desk.”

Liam trembled with delighted anticipation as he did as Will instructed, shuffling over to the desk with his sweats around his ankles, looking divinely sluttish as he bent over the desk and presented his ass to his inflamed lover.

“Oh, baby!”  Will sighed as the plug filling Liam’s prepared hole was presented to him.  He pushed against it with the flat of his palm, loving the blissful moan it drew from Liam.  Still fully clothed, he leaned along his back, reaching in front of Liam to take his shaft in his hand, fisting it vigorously.

Liam moaned again, a long shuddering whine that made his whole body shudder.

Will pushed his confined erection against Liam’s ass, pushing the plug in again.  He continued to thrust as he fucked his lover with the plug and stopped stroking Liam’s cock, which made Liam push into his hand seeking the friction he craved as his needy member sought release.

“That’s it, baby, fuck my hand.”  Will cooed, still pushing on the butt plug.

Will enjoyed the game, knowing that Liam loved the teasing; it only made his climax even more intense when he was allowed to come.

“Will…”  Liam finally gasped.

“What is it, baby?”

“Need…”  Liam could barely speak between gasping breaths, needing to feel Will filling him with his hot rigid flesh.  “…f…fuck…me…Will…please?”

“Love to, Pet.”  Will stripped off his clothes quickly, sighing with relief as he freed his throbbing erection.  He grasped the ring at the base of the butt plug that still filled Liam’s ass and pulled it, delighting in the soft pop as it came free of his clenching hole.

“Will…please…fuck me!  Now!”  Liam cried, feverishly aroused.

Will sank his cock into the welcoming ass, gasping as he felt the muscles in Liam’s anal passage clench around him as if it were trying to milk him dry.  He drove into the gorgeous hole, Liam shuddering beneath him as he thrust in and out at a punishing pace.

“Harder…W…W…”  Liam whimpered, made incoherent by the sensations his body just couldn’t get enough of as Will fucked him, his own hand fisting his frantic cock as he sought relief which would come only when Will removed the cock ring and told him he could come.  He was incredibly turned on by the thought that Will could control his orgasms.  He wanted Will to have that control; he welcomed it.  He wanted to belong to Will in every way.

Will thrust harder as Liam continued to pump his own cock until their highly erotic coupling became too much and Will thrust one last time before emptying himself into Liam’s welcoming body.

He lay along Liam’s back as he tried to catch his breath, feeling his lover’s body also gasping for much-needed breath.  The hips continued to thrust, seeking release that wouldn’t come, so Will deftly released the cock ring, stroking his boy to climax as his spend splattered down the side of Will’s desk.

“God, Pet, you get me so hot for you.”  Will kissed his shoulder as Liam smiled sleepily beneath him.

*

On the Tuesday of the following week, Will had to drive to LA for a meeting with Wesley.  ‘Diamonds and Lace’ was completed, proof-read and accepted, so the next step was choosing the artwork for the dust jacket.  He would be gone for two days, staying with Wesley and Fred on Tuesday night, and he would have loved to have taken Liam with him.

Unfortunately, Liam had an early appointment at the hospital on the Wednesday morning for what would hopefully be his final check-up following his surgery weeks before, so it was decided that Will would go alone to LA while Faith accompanied Liam to the hospital.

“I’ll miss you so much, Will.”  Liam looked distraught.

“I’ll miss you, too, Pet.”  Will kissed him softly.  “But it’s only one night.  I’ll shag you until you scream for mercy when I come home.”

Liam laughed.  “Can’t wait.”

“Oh, you hussy!”

Liam waved as Will drove away, a little tearful that Will would be away from him that night.  But he had been busy in his studio, trying to recreate ‘Angel On His Knees’ for his lover, willing to do almost anything to please the man that he loved so much.

At least he had something worthwhile to do while Will was away.

~Part: 15~

It just wasn’t working.  Liam laid his brush and palette on the table, frustrated and annoyed with himself.

He just couldn’t seem to capture the mood of the painting, and he so desperately wanted to give Will ‘Angel On His Knees.’  It was something he’d said he’d like, and Liam wanted so much to give Will everything he desired.

His problem seemed to be the place he was at now.  When he had painted the original, he was deeply depressed and living in fear.  Now that depression and fear was gone, he was happy and safe and he just couldn’t touch that place inside where the original had planted its seed and grown.

With ‘Angel’s Salvation’ it was different.  He had never completed the original, and the theme of the portrait was hope, which he could now fully grasp at this point in his life.

He ran a hand through his hair.  If he wanted to give Will what he wanted, he would have to think of something else.

A thought niggled at the back of his mind, but he was too scared to dwell too deeply.

Feeling exasperated, Liam went downstairs to find some lunch.  When he entered the kitchen, he found Faith there making pancakes.

“Hi, Liam.  Thought you might be hungry, so I was just rustling up something to bring up to you.  Will left with strict instructions to make sure you ate.  He said you would get too carried away with your work and neglect yourself.  Like he can talk!”

Liam smiled, knowing Will was more than capable of forgetting what time it was and carry on working until someone disturbed him.

“That’s what I came down for.  Felt hungry.”

“Hope you love pancakes then.  Even at lunchtime.”

“I love pancakes, Faith.  Especially at lunchtime.”

Liam set about fetching plates, cutlery and glasses and laying them out on the pine table.  Then he sat down to watch as Faith deftly tossed the pancakes.

“Will taught me to toss them.”  She informed Liam.  “Apparently, in England it’s a big tradition.  They have races while tossing pancakes.  How sad is that?  How did the English ever get to have an empire?  And to make it really authentic, we have to squeeze lemon juice on them.”

Liam laughed.  He adored Faith and felt comfortable with her, but it still felt strange that Will wasn’t in the house.  Even when he was painting in his studio and Will was working in his study, there was still a feeling that his man was close by, that he could descend to the study if he needed a kiss, a hug or just comfort.  He missed him.

Faith chatted amicably as she made their lunch, making him laugh with her sardonic wit, until she turned the pancakes onto a large plate, folded them and brought them to the table.  She placed a jug of warm maple syrup on the table and a halved lemon while Liam fetched milk from the fridge.

They tucked into their meal, Liam making a muffled sound of appreciation around the mouthful of pancake, his smiling eyes warming Faith’s heart.

Despite her tough outward persona, Faith really had a very kind heart.  She had been very wary to begin with when Will had become a little obsessed with this troubled man who sat with her enjoying the pancakes.  But she had supported Will in his fledgling relationship after Liam had recovered from Rupert Giles’ vicious assault and welcomed him to the home she shared with her boss.  His presence had made Will a very happy man, and she loved Liam for that.

Now she had seen him grow from a frightened little boy into a more confident and much happier man, though because of his shyness, he still reminded her sometimes of a confused teenager.

“You are happy here, aren’t you, Liam?”  She asked out of the blue.

Liam paused as he was about to put a forkful of pancake into his mouth.   “Of course Faith.  Why?”

“Not sure.  I guess…life hasn’t been kind to you, has it?  And after what you’ve been through, is it possible ever to find true happiness?”

Liam chewed on his food, contemplating her question.  Eventually he grinned.  “I’m not sure about true happiness.  Maybe that’s something that we’ll all find in the afterlife.  I was born and raised Catholic, so I have to believe in Heaven.  And Hell I know all about.  I lived in Hell for five years with Rupert.  But here, now, will utter contentment do?  That’s what I feel about my life now, with Will, with you and Gunn, feeling like family.  It’s everything I need, everything I want.”  He smiled a little sheepishly, slightly embarrassed that he had said so much.  He took another mouthful of pancake, looking shyly down at his plate.

Faith reached out a hand to cover his as it rested on the table.  She had never heard him say so much at once.  “Family.  Yep, guess that’s what we are.  Looking out for each other.  And in the years that I’ve been working for Will, I have never seen him this happy.  That’s because of you, because he loves you and he enjoys looking after you…”

Liam laughed softly at this last.  “Guess I don’t do a good job of taking care of myself, do I?  I have difficulty with making decisions, and in the past when I’ve had to make them, I’ve made the wrong ones.  I let Will make all the decisions in this relationship because I can’t trust myself to make the right ones.  But that’s okay.  I love that Will takes care of me.  He’s my lover and my best friend, and I count myself blessed that he found me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Liam.  Some people are just emotionally stronger than others.”  Faith patted his hand affectionately.  “But I’ve seen a difference in you since you came to live here with us.  You are a lot more confident now, and maybe you could try being a little more assertive.  I’m sure you have it in you.  I know you’re shy, but you’re sweet and lovable, and it’s hard for people not to like you.”

“Really?  People like me?”

“What’s not to like?  You have such a sweet nature, and you haven’t a nasty bone in you.  And Gunn, he likes you a lot, says you feel kinda like his little brother and he has to look out for you.”

Liam blushed.  He was about to make a stuttering reply when the phone rang.

Faith was closest so she picked it up.  “Hello.  Will, yeah, everything’s fine.  Yeah, we’re sitting in the kitchen eating pancakes.  You need them today?  Okay, I’ll get that done as soon as we’ve eaten.  Yeah, done that.  No, it wasn’t a problem.  I’m thinking you want a word with your honey.  Okay, yeah, we won’t forget Liam’s hospital appointment tomorrow.  Stop worrying.  Okay, I’ll put him on.  Take care.  Right.  I will.  Bye.”

Faith handed the handset to Liam, who beamed delightedly.

“Hi, Will.  More than you know.  Yes, Faith is looking after me.”  He grinned as Faith rolled her eyes.  “Working on something in the studio.  I will.  Yes, tomorrow morning, as if I could forget.  Will you be back tomorrow?  Not till the evening.  Okay.  I miss you.  I will.  No, I won’t.  See you tomorrow then.  I know.  I won’t.  Love you, Will.  Me too.  Bye, Will.  Bye.”  He looked a little downcast as the connection was broken.  He missed Will so much.

“Let me guess.  Don’t forget your hospital appointment.  Make sure you’re eating.  Take care of yourself.  Don’t forget to eat.  Make sure Faith looks after you.  Hospital appointment.”  Faith rolled her eyes again.  “He thinks we can’t do anything without him here.”

Liam laughed.  Faith’s perception of their conversation had been just about on the nail.  He guessed that their conversation had had a similar theme.

“He worries.”

“He sure as Hell does.  I have to do a couple of things for him after lunch.  Will you be all right while I’m gone?”

“I’ll be fine.  I can take care of myself, really I can.”

“I know that, you know that.  Will, apparently, doesn’t.  But we love him anyway, don’t we?”

Liam grinned.  “We do.”
 

*
 

Liam had put the dishes into the dishwasher when Faith had left then went back upstairs to his studio.  He tried again to summon the inspiration for the painting he so wanted Will to have, but gave up.  He just couldn’t do it.  That feeling, the way he had felt when he had painted the original, was missing and he just couldn’t reach that place inside.

Sighing, he cleaned out his brushes, washed the paint smears off his hands and went back downstairs to the living room.  Flicking on the T.V. he channel-hopped for a while.

The doorbell rang.

His stomach actually did that little flip-flop thing that stomachs do when you’re suddenly nervous.  Who could that be?  What if it was Rupert?  Why would it be?  How would he know that he was alone in the house?  He chided himself that it was silly to get that way.  He was a grown man and it was only the doorbell ringing for Heaven’s sake.  So he went to answer it.

The man that stood at the door was a complete stranger to Liam.

He smiled, a vulpine smile that un-nerved Liam a little.

“Hi.  I’m looking for Will.  Will Fitzgerald.  The name’s Lindsey McDonald.  Maybe Will’s mentioned me.”

Liam felt distinctly uncomfortable as the man’s eyes roamed up and down his body.

“Um…n…no, no I don’t believe he has.”

“Ah.”  Lindsey said in a way that suggested he might have just put his foot in it.  “I just wanted to see him to say thanks.”

Liam just looked at him, an expression of confusion on his face.

“I…did something for him, is all.  Just wanted to say thanks for…what he did for me.”

“Oh.”  Liam was still not understanding.  He didn’t like this at all.

“I take it he’s not at home then.”

“Um…no.  H…he’s in LA.  Until tom…tomorrow.”

“Ah.  LA.  Right.”

“I can g…give him a mess…message.”

“You’ll be his boyfriend then.  Liam.”

Liam swallowed.  “Y…yes.”

“He told me about you.”

“He d…did?”

“Yep.  Didn’t tell me how gorgeous you were.”

Liam felt his stomach lurch.  He couldn’t even speak for the fear that gripped him.  Illogical fear, perhaps, but he hated the predatory eyes that seemed to be undressing him, burrowing into him, making him feel dirty and disgusting.

“Well, Liam…”Lindsey said his name in a really creepy kind of way.   “…sorry to have disturbed you.  No need to tell Will that I called.  I’ll be in touch with him soon enough anyway.”

“O…okay.”

“Bye now.”  Lindsey’s eyes lingered on him as he turned away.

Liam couldn’t reply; he felt too freaked-out.  He shut the door, leaning against it, his heart thundering in his chest.  What had that been all about?  The man had made him feel uncomfortable.  No, more than uncomfortable.  He had felt like a specimen in a jar.

But there was more, something worse.

What had he done for Will?  And what had Will done for him?  He could hardly bring himself to think about what it might have been, but could there…?

No.  Absolutely not.  Will wouldn’t do that to him.

Was Will…stop it!  He told himself.

Liam moved away from the door, running a hand nervously through his hair.  He went back into the living room, sitting down tiredly on the sofa, his mind in a terrible quandary.

Will wouldn’t…not with someone else.

He let the thought play out in his mind.  Was Will seeing someone else?  Lindsey…whatever his name was?  No.  Not possible.  Not his Will.

What if he was?  A voice, his own whining voice, asked him.  What if he’s tired of you already?  Don’t tell me you’re surprised!

Oh God!  What if Will was seeing Lindsey.  The horrible man who had just made him feel like something under a microscope.  He put his head in his hands, not willing to believe the voice that was telling him his Will was seeing someone else.

He, Liam, wasn’t enough for him.  He tried to think what he had done wrong, or was there something he hadn’t done?  He’d given Will all that he could, all that he had, but was it still not enough?  What did he have to do to keep Will happy?

Faith had said that Will was happy.  Maybe it was this other man that was making him happy.  Did he just allow Liam to stay at the mansion because he felt pity for him, because he had nowhere else to go and no-one else who cared about him?

Which raised the thought that he was damaged, inadequate.  Why would someone like Will fall in love with someone like him?  He was too dependent on other people, he had difficulty making decisions, and he just wasn’t a man.  He was a sorry excuse for one, leaning on others because he was too weak to even think for himself.

Only someone like Rupert could love him.  He had been Rupert’s doormat and punching bag, and it was all he had ever deserved.  Was it a surprise that Rupert had beaten him, raped him?  Maybe he had let him.  He had let him because maybe, deep inside, he needed that punishment for what he had done.  He had survived the car crash that had killed his family, yet weren’t they more worthy than him?  What had he ever done that he deserved to live and his parents and sister did not?

If Liam’s new found contentment had been less fragile and he had been thinking clearly, he might have asked himself when, exactly, did Will get to see this scary Lindsey person?  He and Will were seldom apart, even if they were both working in different rooms, they were still in the same house.

But the little voices that fuelled Liam’s insecurities were not bothered with logic or reason.  They simply fed off his low self-esteem.  Though he was so much happier since he and Will had been together, he was still fragile from everything that had happened to him since he was sixteen, and it only took a simple thing like this visit from Lindsay, who may or may not be Will’s new lover, to pull away the buttress that held his life together.  His love for Will.  Or more specifically, Will’s love for him.  It was that which had given him back a life worth living, and if that was gone, how could he go on?

He needed to do something drastic.  It he could give Will the painting he so wanted, would that prove to him that Liam’s love was enough, that he didn’t need another man?

The original was still in the hands of Rupert Giles.

~Part: 16~

Liam had spent a restless night.

When Faith had returned she had noticed that Liam seemed quite.  Not that he was constantly talking, but certainly quieter than usual.

“Are you all right, Liam?”

“Fine.  I’m fine.  Why?”

“You just seem a little withdrawn.  Did anything happen while I was gone?”

Liam stiffened slightly.  Faith had come remarkably close to the mark.  “N…no. Nothing happened.  It’s just…I’ve been having some…trouble with a painting.  Can’t seem to concentrate.”

“You’re missing Will.”

If Liam did not have his back to her, she might have seen the look of pain that flitted across his face when his lover’s name was mentioned.  “Y…yes.  I miss him so much.”  He had to fight to keep the tears from spilling down his cheeks.

Faith moved to stand beside him, squeezing his arm gently in a gesture of comfort.  “He’ll be back tomorrow.  It’ll soon come.  Trust me.”

Liam turned to her, his eyes full of pain. “I know, Faith.”

“You really are missing him, aren’t you?”

And he was.  Missing him even more because he was afraid he had already lost Will to Lindsey whatever-his-name was.

That night the bed felt too big, too cold, and too empty without the warm body of Will snuggled up at his back, spooning his body, holding him close.  The thought of that made tears well up in Liam’s eyes.  He needed Will so much.

Get the painting for him then.  You know he wants the painting.  The voice began again, making him put his hands to his head and squeeze his eyes shut to try to block it out.  Why was his subconscious mind so fixated on that one thing?  You want to lose him?

Liam shook his head in denial as the tears flowed down his cheeks.

Get the painting then.  See Rupert.  What are you?  A man?  Then act like one.

Liam could not get that niggling voice out of his head, and its constant whining and nagging denied him the blessed escape into sleep.  It was only as dawn approached when he was exhausted by his restless brain that he managed to doze fitfully for an hour or two so by the time he got out of bed he felt worn out and miserable.

He showered and shaved, hoping that this would wake him up some, but the cobwebs left by his restless night couldn’t be shaken.  His soul was sick; sick with the terrible feeling that Will no longer wanted him.   He went down to breakfast with a heavy heart and eyes sore and itchy from too little sleep.

Faith was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.  “Hi, Liam.  How do you like your eggs?”

“What?  Um…sorry, Faith.  Morning.”

“You look like shit.  Bad night?”

Liam nodded, rubbing one eye with his knuckles.  “Yeah.”

“Worried about the hospital today?”

Liam had clean forgotten about his appointment, but it was better to admit to being worried about that than tell Faith what was really worrying him.  “I guess so.”

“No need.  This should be your last visit.  That’s gotta be good.  Now, again, how do you like your eggs?”

“Just toast, thanks.”  Liam was sure he would struggle to eat the toast and keep that down.  Eggs, the way he felt, were beyond him.

“You need a good breakfast, Liam.  As Will always tells me, it’s the most important meal of the day.”

“Sorry, Faith, but honestly I don’t think I can face anything more than toast and coffee.”

Faith was reluctant to push him.  He looked too tired and miserable.  “Have it your way, big guy.  Toast it is then.  Coffee’s made.”

Liam poured two cups of coffee, left his black and added cream to Faiths.  He sat morosely at the table.  He knew he should try to be more sociable, but his heavy heart and his tired mind made that an almost impossible task.  But he did try, smiling warmly at Faith when she placed his toast in front of him.  “Thanks, Faith.”

“You really have had a bad night, haven’t you?”  She smoothed a sympathetic hand over his pale cheek.

“Yeah, but I’ll be fine.”  Liam wanted to tell her, to confide in his lover’s friend the fear that he felt that Will might have found someone else, but to give voice to his suspicions was to give them weight, substance, and he couldn’t do it.  Nor could he tell her where he planned to go after his hospital appointment.  So he just tried to put on a brave face, forcing a smile while all the time his heart felt as if it was going to shatter into a billion fragments.  With enormous effort he managed to paste a brave smile on his face. “I’ll sleep better tonight when Will’s home.”

Faith smiled warmly.  “Good.  As long as there’s nothing else worrying you…”

Liam shook his head and forced another smile.  “No, nothing.”

“Okay.  We’d better get down to the hospital right after breakfast.  Your appointment is for 9.30.”

*

“So that’s it then, no more visits, you got the all-clear?”

Liam nodded.  “No more visits.”

“Right.  Let’s get you back home.  I have a mountain of mail to answer for Will.”

Liam swallowed nervously.  He hated lying to Faith.  “Why don’t you go on home and get started, Faith?  I want to have a look around the shops, you know, maybe get something special for Will.”  Okay, not that much of a lie; he did want to get something special for Will.

‘Angel On His Knees.’

“I could go get a coffee and wait for you, Liam.”

“No.”  He realised that had come out too quickly.  It was the deception he was about to embark on that made him so touchy.  It did not sit well with him, and he hated himself for having to do it.  But it was for the best of reasons.  Wasn’t it?  He tried for more casual.  “It’s okay, you have work to do.  I can get a cab home.  I want to take my time, you know, enjoy the fresh air.”   He knew he was digging himself in deeper, but Faith had no reason to suspect a lie.  What had he to lie about?  He was sure she thought his behaviour odd, but not that he had something sinister to hide.

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.  And thank you, Faith.”

“For what?”   She regarded him with a puzzled frown.

“For everything.  Everything that you’ve done for me.”

She was about to pass it off as nothing when she realised that to Liam any kindness was a big deal after the stuff he had endured for several years.  She stood on her tiptoes and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek.  “You’re welcome, Liam.”

Touched by the gesture, Liam couldn’t help but give her a warm hug.  He felt a sudden rush of affection for his lover’s brash, confidant yet compassionate PA.  He wondered if she knew about Will’s ‘other man.’  He suspected not; she was too straightforward to lie to him.

“I’ll see you when I get back then.”

Faith stepped out of the circle of Liam’s arms, giving him a cheery smile.  “Okay.  If you don’t want to get a cab, ring me.  Got it?”

“I will.  Bye.”  He turned to go, walking off in the direction of the mall, leaving a thoughtful looking Faith in his wake.

She had the feeling that something was not quite right with her boss’s lover, but she had no idea what this ‘wrongness’ was.

Maybe it was just as he said, that he was missing Will.

She turned away and made her way to the car in the Sunnydale General parking lot.

*

Rupert Giles was an angry man.

He was also well on the way to being drunk at 10.30 in the morning.

 He gulped down the rest of his single malt.  He was going to be late arriving at the gallery; like it mattered.  The fucking place was going down the toilet anyway.  Like everything else in his life now.  Ever since that little fuck Liam fucking McKenna had run off to his true love to live happily ever after.  Little shit.  Who the fuck did he think he was?  Okay, the little Irish spud-eater had talent, but it was he, Rupert Giles, art connoisseur, who had made it all happen for him.  And what thanks did he get?  A frigid fucking submissive who never showed any gratitude for everything he had done for him.

And that was when things had started to go wrong for him.  Rupert had been investing Liam’s money in one outrageous scheme after another over the years, looking to make a big killing.  Every one had turned out to be like throwing good money after bad, leaving him red-faced and angry; and less solvent each time.

He had the art gallery heavily mortgaged to cover the money he was losing on ill-advised, ill-conceived and downright dodgy investments, and the bank was breathing heavily down his neck to repay his huge overdraft.

And to think, he had done all this, risked everything, for that flirty little whore who had run off as soon as a younger man had crooked a finger in his direction.

Hadn’t he bought a beautiful apartment for them to live in?  So it was the little whore’s compensation money that had paid for it.  It wasn’t as if he didn’t have every intention of paying it all back as soon as he made his first million bucks.  Now the slutty little fucker was suing him in a civil court to get the fucking lot back.  Well, tough shit, whore, it’s fucking gone.

There was one way to recoup his losses; an artist’s work was always worth so much more when the artist was dead, especially if he died tragically young.  Being gay would also add to the iconoclastic impact, as would being in a gay relationship with a well-known writer of saucy literature.  The painting could end up being worth a fortune to the person in possession of it.

Had he somehow had a premonition that Liam McKenna would die tragically young?  Perhaps he did, and maybe that was the reason he had refused to sell ‘Angel On His Knees.’  Especially to that fucking writer who had lured his Liam away from him.  Not that the little fuck took much luring.  One accidental injury and it was all like ‘you abused Liam, you put him in the hospital, and he has to leave you before you end up killing him!’

 Hysterical drama queens, the pair of them.

Well, he would find some way to make sure the cheating bastard died young.  Then all his money problems would be over, cleared with the proceeds from the sale of the late fuck’s paintings since he still had several others at the apartment.

He slammed his whisky glass down on the kitchen table, gathered up his coat and car-keys and left to go to the gallery.

*

Liam’s heart thudded painfully in his chest as he walked apprehensively in the direction of the gallery owned by his ex-partner.  He was nervous, very nervous, but if he wanted that painting for Will he would have to confront the man in order to get it.  What else was he to do?  Break in and steal it back?  He could no more do that than sprout wings and fly.

He rounded the corner across the street from the gallery, stopping and staring across at the building where he hoped he’d find ‘Angel On His Knees.’  The voice began in his head again.  Go on then, you wimp.  What are you waiting for?  About time you grew a pair, buddy.

Closing his eyes in annoyance, he thrust the voice of his subconscious mind back where it belonged; in his subconscious mind.  Taking a deep breath, he started to cross the road.

The traffic was not heavy since the rush hour was over by mid-morning, so he looked in both directions, saw his way was clear and stepped off the sidewalk.

*

Rupert Giles was certain that he drove better, smoother, when he had had a drink.  He didn’t get so annoyed with other road-users for one thing.

The music of Elgar filled the car as he drove through the streets of Sunnydale towards the gallery, his mind filled with thoughts of revenge against Liam fucking McKenna.

As he approached the intersection, he scowled when he saw the familiar figure of his ex-boyfriend, now Will Fitzgerald’s live-in whore, about to cross the street.

All the anger suddenly rose violently to the surface.  All the injustice, all the selfishness of the slutty little bastard to have treated his lover and mentor that way, filled his head with incandescent rage.

Suddenly, his periphery vision blurred, diminished, until all he could see was the gorgeous face and body of the man he had once loved, but loved no longer since his spiteful treachery.

*

The roar of an engine being revved up seemed unnaturally loud in his ears.

He half-turned to see where the sound was coming from.

The car was heading straight for him.

For one clear slow-motion instant he saw the face of the driver; saw the vicious expression on the man’s face and started to leap clear.

*

Rupert drove straight at the fucking whore as he strode provocatively along the sidewalk.  The catalyst for all his troubles, he wanted the little fuck dead.

*

The car was on him before he could fling himself clear.  He felt pain flair in his side as metal scraped against flesh as the impact and the momentum of his avoiding leap flung him onto the sidewalk, his head striking the hard surface painfully.

He found himself lying in the gutter, the taste of blood in his mouth.

The bright morning sky darkened above him, the edges of his vision dimming to black.

Until the only light left was a pin prick.

Then that too became black.

~Part: 17~

Will looked at his watch for about the tenth time in as many minutes.  He was missing Liam so much, and was anxious to find out how his beloved’s hospital appointment had gone.  With luck, it should be his last visit.  He was certainly back to full health if the hot sex they had enjoyed a few nights ago was any indication.

God!  How he loved to feel his cock tightly encased in that gorgeous body as Liam pushed back ont…

Stop it!  Will felt a little stirring in his pants, and tried to put the thought of his beautiful wanton lover from his mind.

Pulling his mind back to the presentation of the artwork for his newest novel, he could hardly wait for the break that was coming shortly so that he could call Liam and ask how he had fared at the hospital.

Wesley looked over at him, saw the distant look in his eyes and smiled.  He was almost certain that Will was thinking about his honey.

Will felt someone’s gaze on him and looked over at Wesley.  The publisher gave him a wink and mouthed ‘two minutes’, indicating that the presentation was close to an interval.

When they finally broke for coffee, Will would have been hard pressed to come up with half of what he had just heard and seen.  All he wanted to do was hear Liam’s gentle voice on the end of the phone.

He went over to the table where coffee and pastries awaited the assembled group and poured himself a cup of tea that had been specially brewed for him and Wesley, being the only tea drinkers in the group.  Picking up his cup, he took it over to his seat and pulled his cell phone from his jacket pocket.  Flipping it open, he rapidly called up Liam’s cell number, waiting expectantly.  After several rings there was still no answer, and though Will was disappointed, he realised that Liam’s cell would most likely be switched off if he was still within the hospital building.  He left a brief message for his lover to call as soon as he got this message.  Had he not been surrounded by executives and other employees of the publishing house, he would have added ‘I love you, baby’ but he didn’t want anyone listening in to his very personal affairs.

“No luck, Will?”  Wesley knew that Liam would be attending Sunnydale Memorial for what should be his last check-up appointment, and he understood that Will would be anxious to hear what the doctor had to say.

“Nah, must be at the hospital still.  I’ll try again later.”

They talked desultorily for the twenty minutes or so of the scheduled break, mingling with the go-getters and indulging in vapid small talk.  It bored Will half to death when all he could think about was making love to Liam that night to show him how much he had missed him.

The break ended and everyone made their way back to their seats.  As Will and Wesley went over to the refreshment table to pour themselves another cup of tea to sustain them through another mind-numbingly tedious hour, Will shivered, despite the comfortable temperature of the room.

Wesley noticed this and frowned.  “Cold?”

“No, just a goose walking over my grave, I think.”
 

*

Faith was just about to start on answering some of Will’s fan-mail when the telephone rang.

“You have rea…”

“Faith?  Is that you?”

“Yeah, who’s this?”

“Joyce.   Joyce Summers.  From the gallery.  There’s been…”

“Oh, hi Joyce.  What can I do for you?”

“Faith, I’m call…calling from the gall…gallery.  There’s been a terrible accident.  It’s Liam.  He’s…he’s…”  There was a hitch in her voice as if she were trying to hold back tears.

“Liam?  What’s wrong?  What’s happened to him?”  Faith felt her stomach lurch.

“There was a hit and run…well, not so much…he was hit by a car…and then…”

Faith tried to stifle her growing panic.  “Is he…all right, Joyce?”

“No…yes, he’s alive, anyway.  The p…paramedics are try…trying to stabilise him so…so that…they’re taking him to Sunnydale Memorial.  I…I could go with him, if…if that’s okay?”

“Okay. Yeah, thank you, Joyce.  I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.  Are you okay?”

“Not…really, there’s…something el…I’ll tell you when I s…see you.”

“Okay.  See you at the hospital.”

Faith punched the end call button, losing her cool demeanour and briefly allowing panic and fear to take over.  Liam was alive, but obviously in a serious condition, and she would have to tell Will and she couldn’t tell him on the telephone because she knew he would drive back from LA like a lunatic and risk having an accident himself and she would have to go fetch him and tell him the news and bring him back herself and Oh God! how was he going to feel and he would blame her because she was supposed to be keeping an eye on Liam and now he was…

Taking deep breaths, she tried to push the panic down; that would be no help in this situation and she needed to be clear-headed so she could deal with this crisis.

First off she had to get to the hospital.  Grabbing a jacket from the hall stand, she grabbed her car keys off the hook beside it and left to go straight to Sunnydale Memorial.

*

Joyce had heard the squealing of brakes and what sounded like metal hitting flesh as she attended to a customer in the gallery.  She had come rushing out onto the street, just as several other people had, and seen the limp body of a young man lying in the gutter.

As she had stood there, sure that there was something familiar about the man even though she could not see his face, she flinched at the sound of another crash, this one purely metallic, and turned to see the car that had hit the young man slewed sideways with the rear end embedded into the side of a parked truck.

Gasping, she realised that the car, even though it was crumpled and torn by the impact, belonged to her soon-to-be ex-employer, Rupert Giles.

The car rested against the truck, slightly tilted with one wheel still spinning, and fluid oozed from something that had plainly ruptured.  The man behind the wheel appeared to be conscious, and later witnesses would testify to that fact.  A wound above his eye oozed blood down his cheek as he looked around himself in a daze.  He tried to open the door, but the buckling of the metal had jammed it.  The passenger door was mangled against the underside of the truck, making escape that way impossible.

Leaving him helpless as gasoline gushed menacingly from the ruptured fuel tank.

Trapping him as a spark from the still-running engine sizzled into the pooling gasoline.

Dooming him as the fuel burst into flames with a malevolent ‘whoooomf!’

Terrified as the flames lapped hungrily around the car.

 Pleading unheard with the people who tried to approach the car to free him.

Hammering in horrifying fear at the flame-scorched window, his mouth open in a primal scream as his flesh began to blacken from the heat of the inferno surrounding him.

The flames were too hot, the flammable liquid too widespread, and the horrified witnesses later told how they had been forced to turn away as the poor man trapped in the wrecked car had burned alive.

By the time fire-fighters had arrived there was only his blackened corpse sitting behind the wheel of the fiercely burning car.

*

The presentation had finally finished, leaving Will to circulate around the room talking blandly to some of the people who mattered in the publishing world.

At the earliest opportunity he tried to call Liam again, only to reach his voice mail again.  Frustrated, he tried to call the mansion, but his only reward was his own voice announcing that he could not come to the phone.  Leaving a message after the tone, requesting Liam or Faith to call him as soon as they got the message, he felt slight unease.  Worrying needlessly, he decided, then tried to call Faith on her cell.  No joy there either.

He decided they were probably running behind at the hospital.  He would be leaving LA in the afternoon anyway.  He could wait until he got home in the early evening at the very latest to find out what the doctor had had to say about Liam’s health.

He wanted him so much.  Wanted to kiss him so desperately, feel himself slide into that willing body, watch his face as he fucked him, so pretty in his abandoned wantonness.

Will put those thoughts out of his head again.  It was still a long wait until he got home to his beloved Liam.

*

Faith hurried through the automatic doors of the annex that was the ER at Sunnydale Memorial.  She hurried over to the reception desk before she spotted Joyce sitting in the waiting area, a half-empty cup of tea clenched in her nervous hands.  As soon as she saw Faith she stood up, going to the younger woman and throwing her arms around her.

“Oh, God, Faith!  It was awful.  Oh God!”

While she felt bad for Joyce and what she was obviously going through, her main concern was Liam and how badly he was injured.  “Okay, Joyce, I understand that, but please, any news on Liam’s condition?”

“N…nothing…not…y…yet.”  She pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped her eyes; it looked like she had been doing a lot of that recently.

“Okay.  Let’s just ask at the desk.”  Faith made her way back to the receptionist.  “Liam McKenna?  Any news on his condition?”

The receptionist consulted her computer.  “Are you a relative?”

“No, I’m a very good friend.  We live in the same house.”

“Right.  Well, Mr McKenna was unconscious upon admission.  He is currently being assessed.  I’m sorry, that is all I have for you at the moment.  If you would like to take a seat, I will have a doctor speak with you as soon as there is something to tell you.”

Trying to quell the impatience she felt, Faith nodded.  “Okay.  Thanks.”  She turned back to Joyce, who was plainly holding it together by just a thread.  “Can you tell me what happened, Joyce?”

The poor woman was on the verge of tears again.  Faith took her by the elbow and led her over to the seating area.

Dabbing at her eyes again, Joyce Summers took a deep breath.  “It was Rupert.  It h…had to be hi…him.  He must have l…lost control of…of the car when he…hit Liam.  Faith, he just lay…not moving…he looked…I thought…Rupert had k…killed him.  Then the c…car hit a parked tr…truck…and…fuel…exploded and Rup…Rupert…was trapped…and…he’s dead…”  She could no longer continue so Faith just put her arms around her and let her cry.

Faith could guess what had happened after the fuel tank had erupted; Rupert Giles had burned to death.  A part of her was glad that the beastly man had died, but the compassion in her recoiled in horror at the thought that he had died that way.  But right now her thoughts were for Liam’s health and how she was going to tell Will that his honey was in the ER, possibly seriously injured…or worse.  She had to let him know, but telling him over the telephone was a bad idea.  She didn’t want him driving back to Sunnydale like a maniac.

Faith resolved to call Gunn.  Maybe he could help.  She fished in her purse for change then went over to the bank of telephones by the door.  Dialling the number from memory, she was relieved to hear her lover’s calm voice as he answered his cell phone.

Gunn could tell from her hurried ‘Hi, hun,’ that something was wrong.  “What’s wrong, baby?  Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but there’s been an accident, Gunn.  It’s Liam.”

“Oh God!  What happened? Is he okay?”

“Not sure at this point, big man, but I’m guessing since he hasn’t come around since it happened, it’s not good.  He was hit by a car near the art gallery, you know THAT  art gallery.”

“Oh.  Coincidence?”

“Highly unlikely.  I need to let Will know, but I can’t do it by telephone.  He’ll put his foot to the metal to get back here, and I don’t want another casualty on my hands.”

“That’s a problem.  The police could contact their counterparts in LA and have them tell Will.”  There was a short pause at his end.  “But I’m guessing you’d be happier if the news was broken to him by someone he knows, not a stranger in a cop’s uniform, no matter how sympathetic they might be.  Okay, baby, leave it with me.  I’ll drive down there just as soon as I can.”

“Aw, Gunn, you’re busy.”

“Nothing I can’t postpone, Faith.  Just leave it to me and I’ll get Will back safe.  Okay?”

“You’re one damn good man, Gunn.  You know that?  I love you.”  Faith was startled to hear those words come out of her mouth, but grinned when she realised it was true.

There was a short silence on the other end of the connection before she heard a chuckle.  “Love you, too, baby.  Hot damn!  Now, where do I find him in LA?”

Faith quickly gave him the addresses of the publishing house and Wesley and Fred’s home address.  She was almost sure he would be at one or the other.

“Okay, got that.  Keep your chin up, girl.  I’ll be back with Will as soon as I can.”

“I really do love you.  You know that, right?”

“I know that, baby, and I meant it too.”

“See ya, big man!”

Feeling elated on the one hand that she and Gunn had finally both admitted their feelings, on the other she felt frightened for Liam; and Will.  How would he take the news that Rupert Giles had hurt his beloved Liam yet again?

Returning to the seating area, she tried her best to comfort Joyce, understanding that it must have been traumatic for her.

“Have the police spoken to you?”  She asked the woman when she had calmed down some.

Joyce nodded.  “Yes, they’ve taken a statement.  They asked if I could go to the precinct some time soon to go over it more thoroughly, but they understood that someone should go with Liam in the ambulance.”   Her face crumpled again as she thought of him.  “Poor boy, he looked so ill.  He didn’t wake up at all, not even in the ambulance on the way here.  I think it’s bad, Faith, I really do.”

Faith patted her hand.  “We just have to wait and hope, Joyce.  Maybe it’s not as bad as you think.”

Joyce gave her a brave smile and nodded slightly, but Faith had the distinct feeling that she didn’t really believe that.

Gods!  What a mess?

*

Gunn tried the publishing house first, only to learn that he had just missed Mr Fitzgerald.  He was returning with Mr Wyndham-Pryce to their home before he left for Sunnydale.

Thanking the fates that he had missed the worst of the traffic on the freeway, Gunn drove around to the other address that Faith had given him.  He felt elated in some ways that he and Faith had finally admitted their feeling for each other, but his happiness was dampened by the news that Liam, gentle, shy Liam, was in the hospital again, possibly fighting for his life.  That put everything into perspective.

Parking the car on the driveway behind Will’s car, he walked quickly up to the entrance to the pretty house.  Jabbing at the doorbell he felt a moment of panic; how was he actually going to break the news to Will.  What words did he use?

It was Fred who opened the door to him, pretty and slender, and smiling happily at him; they had met once before at a launch party for one of Will’s books.

“Gunn!  What a lovely surprise!  Come on in.  Will’s here, too.  Isn’t that a coincidence.”

“Hi, Fred.  Actually, it’s Will I’ve come to see.”

“Oh.”  She suddenly realised that Gunn wore a very serious expression on his face.  “He’s in the lounge.  Actually he’s just calling Liam…”  Fred stopped abruptly, some innate sixth sense telling her that he wasn’t speaking to Liam at that precise moment.  “Oh no.  It’s Liam, isn’t it?  Something’s happened.”

Gunn nodded.  He looked around, startled for a moment, as he sensed someone standing behind him.

Will.

“What’s wrong with Liam?”  Will’s face, pale at the best of times, had gone a shade paler.  He had had a feeling all day that something was wrong, but he had just put it down to missing the man he loved.

“I’m sorry, Will.   There’s been an accident.”  Gunn could almost smell the man’s fear and anxiety.  “He was hit by a car.  I don’t have too many details, but he is not good.”

Will looked like he was going to forget to breathe.  He looked badly shocked.  “Where is he?  I gotta get back to Sunnydale.  Oh God!”

“That’s why I’m here, Will.  To take you back.  He’s at Sunnydale Memorial.”

“No, it’s okay, I can drive myself back.  I gotta go.  Sorry, Fred, Wes, but you know I gotta go.”

“There is no way on this earth that you are going to drive yourself back, man.”  Gunn stood in front of the door, determined not to let Will pass.  “Faith would have my ass if I let you drive back in a state of shock.  That’s why I came to tell you personally and drive you back.  We’ll get there as fast as the speed limit and traffic will allow, I can guarantee that, but you are not driving yourself.”

Wes had stood back listening to all of this.  Now he stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder.  “Gunn’s right, Will.  If you drive yourself you are unlikely to get back to Sunnydale in one piece.  The car will be fine here, at least until one of us can bring it back for you.  You need to get home to Liam.  Safely.”

Will nodded, persuaded to do the sensible thing by the calmness in his good friend’s voice.

Fred threw her arms around him in a show of support and sympathy.  “I’ll pack your bags for you, Will, and return them when we return the car.  Now go to your honey’s side.  He needs you, I’m thinkin’.”

Will hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.  “Thank you, luv.  I’m sorry I’ve got to rush off.”

Fred swatted at his arm.  “Don’t fret over that, Will.  Wes an’ me understand.  We’ll be prayin’ for Liam.”

Wes stepped forward to hug Will too, and though he said nothing, Will could see in his eyes how he felt.

He and Gunn rushed out to the car.

*

A doctor emerged from the corridor that led to the emergency suites.  He was dressed in green scrubs and wore a sombre expression.  “Mrs Summers?”

Joyce stood up, Faith too, and looked anxiously towards the physician.

“I’m the one who came in the ambulance with Liam.”  Joyce said, her voice subdued.  “This is Faith Brooks, Liam’s partner’s PA.”

“Bobby Kerrigan.”  The doctor briefly shook Faith’s hand.

“How is he, Doc?”  Faith could hardly contain herself after waiting so long for news.

“Okay, Liam is currently listed as critical but stable.  He has a couple of cracked ribs, a simple fracture of his left wrist and several lacerations and contusions.  All relatively minor, but it’s the head injury that is causing us most concern.  He has a subdural haematoma, which is causing pressure on his brain.  We need to operate to relieve that pressure, and we need a signature as soon as possible.”

“Can I sign?”

“Yes, if there is no next of kin.”

“There isn’t.  What would happen if you didn’t do this surgery?”

“I’ll be blunt, Ms Brooks.  Liam would suffer catastrophic brain damage and probably die.”

“Right, I’ll sign.”

“If you would like to see the receptionist, she has the paper work.  This partner you mentioned, is he coming to the hospital?”

“He’s on his way, doctor.  He should be here soon.”

“Right.  I’ll get back to you as soon as there is any news.  If it’s any comfort, Liam really is in good hands.  And you can wait in the relatives’ room.  It’s just along the corridor there on your right.”

“Thank you.”  Faith watched as the doctor walked back to the ER, exchanging glances with Joyce.  God, how she hoped the doctor was right.

*

Joyce was still waiting with Faith in the relatives’ room when Will burst in, his face creased with worry.

“Oh God, Faith.”  Will went straight to his PA , flinging himself into her waiting arms.  He buried his face against her neck as she glanced at Gunn who had followed him into the room.  “Any news?”

“He’s in surgery.  He has a…I think the doctor called it a subdural haematoma.  It’s causing pressure on his brain.”

“How long before we know how he is?  How long has he been in surgery?”

“It’s been…”  Faith’s eyes flicked up to the clock on the wall, mentally calculating how long she and Joyce had been waiting in the relatives’ room. “…a little over three hours. There could be a long wait, Will.”

“What happened to him, Faith?”

Gunn had filled Will in on the little he knew during the drive back from LA, but he just knew the bare facts.

Faith exchanged a glance with Joyce as Will pulled back from the embrace.

“It was Rupert Giles, Will.  I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m surmising that he ran Liam over deliberately.”

Will’s face reddened with anger.  “That fucking…I’ll kill the bastard!  He’s a dead man!”

“Actually, he is.  A dead man, I mean.”  Faith hadn’t meant for her words to come out so flippantly, but it was the truth.  “He lost control of the car and it crashed into a truck.  The fuel tank ruptured and there was a fire…”

Will’s mouth twisted up in a cruel grin.  It was uncharacteristic of him, but understandable under the circumstances.  “Serves the bastard right!”

Joyce came over to him then, patting his arm in a gesture of sympathy.  “I’m so sorry, Will.  Rupert was a very angry man.  He had the gallery heavily mortgaged to try to cover the debts he had.”

“Debts?  But he bled Liam dry.  How could he have such big debts?”

“Unwise investments.”  Joyce replied.  “And he had been drinking far too much of late.  It was becoming so bad that I had given in my notice.  Then a couple of days ago he said something about a summons to a civil court and that really made him angry.  I’m not sure what it was about though.”

Will put his head in his hands.  He knew what it was about.  He had been responsible for this.  Why couldn’t he have just left it alone?

Now Liam was fighting for his life and it was all his fault.

~Part: 18~

“Oh God!  This is all my fault!”  Will ran his hands through his hair in anguish.

“What is?”  Faith looked at him, perplexed.

“Liam.  All my fault.”  Will looked as miserable as Faith could ever remember seeing him.

“How can it be your fault?  That’s ridiculous.”  Faith was dismayed by Will’s reaction to the news about Rupert Giles and the fact that he was so angry he had attempted to kill Liam.  “He was angry at being issued with a summons for a civil action.  How is that your fault?”

Gunn knew what the civil court case was all about and he understood why Will felt he was responsible for Liam’s condition.

“Because we filed it.”  Gunn said quietly.

“Oh.”  Faith really couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“I never told Liam about it.  He always got really upset whenever I mentioned that bloody man.  So I said nothing, got a private detective to find a paper trail, and once we had proof that he had ripped Liam off we filed the writ.”  Will spoke quietly, but he felt anger boiling up inside; anger aimed at himself for being so bloody stupid and concealing this from Liam.

“So looks like he took his anger out on Liam then.”  Faith shook her head.  It suddenly struck her that it was bad enough that Liam had been so seriously hurt; it was nothing short of a miracle that only two other people had received injuries, and those had thankfully been minor.  But she said nothing; Will didn’t need to hear that thought right now.

“What was he doing near the gallery, anyway?”  Gunn asked.  “I would have thought it was the last place he’d want to go anywhere near.”

“I don’t know.  When we left the hospital, Liam said he wanted to go to the mall and buy you something special, Will.  I should never have let him go.  I’m to blame, too.”  Faith, too, felt pangs of guilt over what had happened to Liam.

“Excuse me for butting in…”  Joyce spoke for the first time.  “…but Rupert was an angry man long before the summons arrived.  I think that might have been the last straw, but he was on a downward spiral way before Liam left him for you, Will.  He had been losing money hand over fist long before then.  He kept hoping that one of his investments would turn out to be the one that made him a billionaire, but his choices were really bad ones and he always lost the money he had invested.”

Gunn looked at Will, who leaned tiredly against the wall, his face a picture of misery.  He turned back to Joyce.  “As it turns out, the money he was losing was the compensation that Liam had been awarded after the accident when he lost his family.  It was a substantial sum, which Rupert somehow persuaded Liam to have paid into his account.”

Joyce looked briefly shocked then smiled grimly as something seemed to click into place.  “I had wondered where he got the money to buy the apartment.  I knew he didn’t come from a privileged background and the gallery did okay, but nothing extraordinary.  Gods, Will, you can’t blame yourself!  In my experience, and forgive me for coming across as superior, but I have lived a lot longer than you, it’s not one act or one event that causes tragedies.  It’s a series of small things that set off a chain of events that lead to something terrible happening.  Just because you filed this writ against Rupert it certainly does not mean that you are to blame for what’s happened.”

Will gave Joyce a look of anguish.  “I am, Joyce.”

“Then I will have to take my share of the blame, too.”  Joyce set her mouth in a stubborn line.  “I knew a long time ago that Rupert was abusing Liam.  And I did precisely nothing to stop it.  I didn’t want to involve myself in their relationship since I believed it was none of my business.  But it was.  How could I stand by and look at Liam when he would come to the gallery sometimes with bruises and cuts on his face and think it was nothing to do with me?  How could I just stand by and watch a fellow human being suffer violence and humiliation and do nothing?  Oh yes, I had seen Rupert humiliate Liam plenty of times, and I kept my mouth shut about that, too.  Maybe if I had intervened…somehow persuaded Liam to seek help, go to the police or whatever, he probably wouldn’t be fighting for his life now.”

Will’s lips trembled; that was the stark truth of the situation.  Liam was fighting for his life, and if he lost that fight, what was he, Will, to do?  How could he go on, knowing that he was responsible for the death of the man he loved with all his heart and soul?

Faith smiled gently at Joyce, then stepped forward and reached up a hand to cup Will’s cheek.  “Joyce is right, Will.  We can all point to things we’ve done and ask ourselves if we had not done this or done something different, maybe we could change the future.  But hindsight is not something we are blessed with at the time, and we all have to muddle through the best we can with what we’re given.  I guess in some way we all had a part to play in the chain of events that were set in motion, but how could any of us know where our action or lack of action would lead?”

Will worried at a loose thread on the hem of his sleeve.  He thought about what Joyce and Faith had said, wanting to believe he was not responsible for Liam’s plight.  He still felt he was, but maybe not entirely so.  The action they had taken in getting a case filed against Rupert Giles was just the latest in a long line of events that had befallen his beautiful Liam, and taken on its own would probably not have lead to the attempt on Liam’s life.  But he still felt so bad about it.  If he could have…

His introspection was interrupted; the door to the room opened and a doctor, the same one that had spoken to Faith and Joyce earlier, put his head around the door.

Will turned to him, his breathe suddenly stilling in his chest.

The doctor entered the room as all eyes watched him anxiously.  “Which one of you gentlemen is Liam’s partner?”

“I am.”  Will said softly, convinced somehow that it would be bad news.

“Hi, Bobby Kerrigan.”  He held his hand out.

Will wanted to scream at him to tell him how Liam was, but he kept himself under control and shook the doctor’s hand.  “Will Fitzgerald.  H…how is he?”

“Out of surgery and in recovery.  He’ll be moved to ICU shortly.  The surgery went well, but Liam is presently in a coma.  I can’t tell you any more than that at the moment.  All we can do is wait.”

“Wait for what?”

“Wait for Liam to come out of the coma.  When he does, we can assess the extent of any brain damage he may have suffered, but for now his condition is serious but stable.”

“Brain damage?”  Will’s blood chilled in his veins.

“That’s always a possibility with a serious head injury.  But it doesn’t always follow.  Now, I’m guessing you’d like to see him.  Let’s just get him settled and then one of you may visit with him.  I assume you would like to be first, Mr Fitzgerald?”

Will nodded.  He was desperate to see his lover.

“Okay.  One of the staff will come to fetch you as soon as he is settled.  I should warn you though that Liam is unable to breathe for himself at present so he is being ventilated.  That and other stuff looks pretty scary, but isn’t, so don’t be too alarmed.  Okay?”

Will’s insides seemed to freeze up at this.  Liam couldn’t breathe himself and had to have a machine do it for him.  Oh God! Liam, what have I done to you?  “Okay.  Thank you, doctor.”

Doctor Kerrigan left the room, leaving behind three distraught people and one very distraught person.

“Brain damage.”  Will could hardly believe that his Liam, his beautiful, talented Liam, might not be the same man he had kissed goodbye only thirty or so hours before.

“He didn’t say for sure, Will.”  Faith put her arms around him.

“No, he didn’t.”  Will agreed, hugging Faith back, but he had a bad feeling about it just the same.

They sat in near silence as they waited for someone to fetch Will.  None of them felt like starting up a conversation again.

Joyce excused herself at one point, saying it had been a traumatic day and she really felt that she should go home.  She intended going to the police to go over her statement the following morning.

“Thanks for being with him, Joyce.”  Will hugged her, doing his best to keep from crying.

“Not a problem, Will.  I really am quite fond of Liam, and I didn’t want him to have to come here all alone.  Promise me you’ll let me know how he is.”

“Of course.”

“And don’t blame yourself for that awful man’s anger.”

“No.”  But of course Will would.

*

Less than an hour later Will stood silently outside the room where Liam lay hooked up to all sorts of machines and stuck with all kinds of tubes. The nurse that had accompanied him up to the ICU could see in his face that Will was upset by what he saw.

“Let’s go in, shall we?”  He suggested to Will, his manner sympathetic.  “I know it’s all very scary, but everything has a purpose.”

Will rubbed a hand tiredly over his face.  “Yeah, it is scary.  That’s my Liam, the man I love, and it scares me shitless to see him like this.”

“No different from anyone else who has to witness a loved one in a coma.  It’s perfectly understandable.”  The nurse laid a hand on Will’s shoulder, squeezing it gently in a gesture of support.  “Look, I’m Stefan.  And you’re Will, yeah?  I’ve worked in ICU for several years and I see this kind of thing all the time.  Come on in and if you have any questions, I can help you out.  Deal?”

Will looked at the nurse in relief.  The truth was, he was terrified of going into the room since everything was so strange, so alien.  Someone to support him, answer any questions he had, was exactly what he needed right now.  “Deal.”

The two men entered the room, Will’s heart in his mouth as he absorbed the sight of his beautiful Liam being kept alive by machines.

“You okay?”  Stefan asked, noticing Will’s expression of apprehension.

He nodded.  “Think so.”  He stood looking at Liam, taking in the paleness of his flesh, the shaven head, the tubes, everything.  One thing in particular really upset him; the fact that Liam’s wrists were restrained.

Stefan caught the look of shock on Will’s face as his eyes took this in.  “Looks bad, doesn’t it?  But there is a perfectly good reason why coma patients are restrained. The intubation tube is irritating, and it’s kept in place by an inflatable balloon-like collar.  As soon as Liam was to reach a certain level of consciousness, his first reaction would probably be to try to pull the tube out.  That is not what you’d want to happen, believe me; hence the restraints.”

“Right.  Okay, that I can deal with.”  Will felt a little better knowing there was a perfectly good reason for the restraints now.

Stefan answered all the questions Will had, until he felt that the man was less afraid to approach the man in the bed.  “Take a seat, Will.  Touch him.  He’s still Liam, and he might feel your touch even if he shows no reaction.  And talk to him; he might be able to hear you.”

“What should I talk to him about?”

“Anything.  It’s just the sound of your voice that may get through, something familiar, and something he loves.  I know you probably feel a little self-conscious right now, but keep trying.  It won’t do Liam any harm and it might just help.”

Will took a seat next to the bed.  He tentatively reached out a hand to touch Liam’s arm.  Strangely, he had expected him to feel cold, but his flesh was as warm as he remembered from every time they had made love.  Squeezing the arm gently, he felt some measure of comfort that he could make some sort of connection to his beautiful Liam, however small.  He moved his hand down the pale arm, resting it lightly on Liam’s motionless hand.

Stefan smiled as Will looked up at him.  “See?  Not so bad, is it?”

“No.”  Will looked back at Liam’s sleeping face, half hidden by tubes.  “It feels like my Liam.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it.  There will be staff in and out a lot of the time doing stuff you might not understand.  Just ask them.  I’m sure they will be happy to explain anything.”

Will smiled warmly at the nurse.  “Thank you, Stefan.  You’ve been so much help.”

“Pleasure, Will.  I’ll be going off duty soon, but I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”

Will nodded goodbye, turning back to Liam’s still form as Stefan left.

*

Will had been sitting with Liam for quite a while, listening to the mechanical sounds of the ventilator as it pushed and oxygen in and out of Liam’s lungs.  There were so many things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t push them out past the lump in his throat.  It ached with the effort of not giving into the tears that itched behind his eyes.

The door opened and a staff member entered.  It was a slightly plump middle-aged woman, dressed in a nurse’s uniform and looking every inch the kind-hearted motherly type.

“Hi, sweetheart.”  She beamed.

“He…hello.”  Will surprisingly felt a little lost.

“My name’s Bridget and I’ve been assigned to this patient on this shift.”  She picked up Liam’s chart and studied it briefly.  “So this is Liam.  Are you a relative or a friend, sweetie?”

“Um…I’m his lover.”  Will had never had any problem with admitting his sexual orientation, and despite the overwhelming feeling of strangeness all this gave him, he wasn’t going to change that now.

“He’s a lucky boy then.”  Bridget never batted an eyelid.  She moved closer to the bed, looking down at Liam appraisingly.  “He is a pretty one, though, isn’t he?”

Will couldn’t help but smile.  Despite the state he was in, Liam was always pretty in Will’s eyes.  “He is, even if he isn’t at his best at the moment.”

“Can’t wait to see him when he is.”

Will felt a sudden warmth for this woman.  She had brightened up the room as soon as she had entered, and he suddenly felt less hopeless.

“Now, sweetie, I expect I’ll be seeing a lot of you over the next few days, so a name would be lovely.”

“Will.”

“Lovely to meet you, Will.  Now there are going to be quite a few strange things going on so don’t be afraid to ask questions about anything you don’t understand.  Okay?”

Will nodded.  “Okay, Bridget.”

“Good.  Now I’m going to disconnect the vent for a few seconds so that I can get rid of the excretions in Liam’s ET tube.  Nothing to worry about, sweetie.”

Will watched as Bridget carried out the task smoothly and efficiently, feeling relieved when it was done.  The thought of Liam’s breathing tube being disconnected frightened him a little.

“There.  All done.”  She picked up Liam’s chart again, wrote something on it, and turned back to Will.  She looked at him appraisingly, thinking he looked tired and edgy.  “Call me an interfering old busybody…you wouldn’t be the first, anyway…but you need to take care of yourself, too, sweetie.”

Will looked up at her in incomprehension.  “Take care of myself?”

“Yes, Will, take care of yourself.   I understand that you feel should spend every waking hour with your honey here.”  Bridget smiled sympathetically at Will.  “But you wouldn’t be doing yourself or your young man any favours.  When he wakes up you’re going to need all your stamina and resolve to help him recover.  You need to get enough sleep, you need to eat properly and you need to set a little time aside for yourself.  By helping yourself, you’ll be helping Liam.  He’s going to need you strong; there will be a long road of rehabilitation ahead for him, and if you are worn out by not taking good care of yourself now you won’t have the mental strength or the energy to help him when the time comes.”

Will thought about what she was telling him.  It was certainly true that he wanted to spend every waking hour with Liam while he was so sick, but he hadn’t even considered what would happen if…when he woke up.  He just hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.  “But what if he wakes up when I’m not here?”

“He isn’t going to be lucid as soon as he wakes up, Will.”  Bridget told him.  “He’ll be confused and disorientated, and he probably won’t even know if you’re here or not in the early stages.   Someone will call to let you know if you’re not here when he starts to come out of his coma and you’ll have plenty of time to get here before he’s aware enough to know if you’re here or not.  Believe me, sweetie, I’ve seen plenty of patients come out of a coma and not have a clue what was going on around them.”

Will nodded.  Bridget was talking sense and he understood what was needed from him.

“So I think you should start as you mean to go on.”  Bridget smiled, not wanting to come over as too stern. “Stay with your boy for a while, if that’s what you need right now, but go home at a reasonable hour, freshen up and eat and have a good eight hours sleep if you can manage it.  Liam will be taken good care of while you’re gone then you can come back tomorrow morning all fresh and rested to sit with him again for a while if he hasn’t come out of it.”

Will steeled himself to ask the question that had been in his mind since he learned that Liam was in a coma.  “Do you think he’ll come out of it, Bridget?  Honestly?”

“Honestly?”  Bridget shrugged slightly.  “Can’t be absolutely certain, Will.  Nobody can when it comes to traumatic brain injury.  But I’ve seen my share of cases that have looked pretty hopeless and the patient has recovered.  Most go on to lead almost normal lives; some not so normal.  And still others have shown very little sign that they have even suffered a TBI.  Every case is different, and in Liam’s case I prefer to feel optimistic.  He’s young and healthy; he had the problem dealt with swiftly, so let’s maintain a positive mental attitude here, shall we?”

Will let her words sink in; she was right.  He had to believe that Liam would recover, and even if he wasn’t quite the Liam he had kissed goodbye a day and a half ago, it wouldn’t matter.  He would still be Liam and Will would love him regardless.  “Thank you, Bridget.”  Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Will rose from his seat and hugged her.

Bridget returned the hug.  “That’s better, Will.  Let’s give out the positive mental vibes here, okay?”

Will nodded.  Whatever happened, he would never desert Liam, would never stop loving him.  He had to believe Liam would come out of his coma, and however he was when he did, Will would do everything in his power to take care of him.

His lover; his friend; his Angel.

~Part: 19~

Faith looked at Will in exasperation.  She had risen early to cook a full English breakfast for him so that at least he would have a good start to the day before he returned to the hospital to sit with Liam.

He had returned to the relatives’ room when he left Liam the night before to update Faith and Gunn on the situation before they returned home, Gunn to his own apartment and Faith and her distraught boss to the mansion.

Faith had made Will take a long soak in the bath to try to relax him before packing him off to bed for hopefully a good night’s sleep.

Will had slept, but his dreams had been troubled; full of visions of Liam.  In one he was cowering in a corner of a hospital room, his eyes empty of recognition, and his cheeks tear-stained.  At one stage Liam had actually started to bang his head against the wall, yelling something that sounded like ‘I don’t know you!  I don’t know you!’

Will had woken up at that point, his own cheeks wet with tears.  He had dozed fitfully for several more hours until daylight began to leak through the drapes.  Dragging himself from his sweat-damp bed, he had taken a long hot shower, trying to wash the visions in his dreams away as he washed the dried sweat from his body.

Now Faith stood in the kitchen, her arms folded stubbornly, glaring pointedly at the bacon, eggs, mushrooms and a fried slice on the table; Will’s favourite breakfast.

“Faith, I appreciate your effort, but I’m just not hungry, luv,” Will could hear the whine in his voice and cringed inwardly.

“Eat,” She insisted.  “You can’t go to the hospital and spend the day with Liam on an empty stomach, Will.”

In spite of his protestations, Will capitulated.  Faith could be more obdurate than any person he knew, and he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was prepared to argue until she wore him down and he gave in anyway.  He did not have the emotional strength to resist her unyielding stance; and he also realised that she was right.  He recalled Bridget’s words of the previous night.  If…when…he had to get used to the more positive thought, Liam woke up, he had to be in a fit state to help him through any problems he might have.  Eating regularly was an important part of that.

So Will sat down, picked up his knife and fork and forced the food down, even though his stomach protested.  He was doing it for Liam.

Faith joined him with her own breakfast of bacon and eggs, smiling not in triumph but in relief.  “Maybe there’ll be some better news when you get to the hospital, boss.”

“Hope so, luv,” Will shoved a forkful of breakfast into his mouth, concentrating on chewing, even though the food tasted like ashes in his tongue.

*

There was no change in Liam’s condition, so Will took up his position at his lover’s bedside, his hand straying to cover Liam’s.

A few minutes later, Will happened to look up at Liam’s face and was astonished to see his eyes were open.  “Liam!”

There was no response.  Will laid a hand on Liam’s shoulder and shook him gently.  “Liam!”

Unsure what to do Will rushed out into the main room of ICU and caught a startled nurse by the hand, pulling her towards Liam’s room.  “He’s awake!  His eyes are open!”

The nurse’s eyebrows rose as she followed Will more willingly to Liam’s bedside.  She looked at the face partly obscured by the tube that supported the patient’s breathing, and saw that his eyes were indeed open.

“See?  He’s awake!”  Will’s heart was fluttering madly in his chest.

The nurse was a little more circumspect.  She turned to Will, a sympathetic smile on her face.  “I think it’s just a waking/sleeping cycle, Mr Fitzgerald.  Liam’s body is responding to daylight hours.  I don’t think he is actually awake.  But I’ll get a doctor to look at him, just to be sure.”

Will looked as if he had been struck.  “But his eyes…his eyes are open.”

“Unfortunately, that is not necessarily an indication of consciousness.  It’s just an ingrained reaction to years of programming.”

Will looked again at Liam’s open eyes.  He realised that the nurse must be right.  Liam’s eyes never moved, never flickered, just gazed emptily from a too-pale face, like the eyes of a dead person.  Will shivered.  If the eyes were the window to the soul, Liam’s eyes indicated that there was no soul in residence.  He pushed that thought away even as his horrified mind gave it substance.

Ten minutes after the doctor’s arrival, he turned to Will who had been waiting quietly in the background as the doctor, Bobby Kerrigan who he had first met the day before, examined Liam.  “Sorry, Will.  There is actually no change in Liam’s level of consciousness.  It’s just his body’s response to the fact that it’s day.  We’ve had to tape his eyes closed to prevent them drying up, so please don’t be distressed by that.  If it’s any consolation his condition is still stable; he’s no worse than he was yesterday, which we should take as a good sign,”

“Oh,” Will’s shoulders sagged.  “I really thought that…just for a moment there…”

“Understandable,” Doctor Kerrigan smiled sympathetically.  “But it’s very early days, Will.  I know this is a terrible time for you, but don’t give up hope.”

Will nodded.  “Trying to keep positive,”

“Good man.  I’ll be around all morning so if there is anything you need or want to know don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Thanks,” Will settled back down in his chair, watching as the nurse deftly disconnected the tube supplying Liam’s lungs with air so she could clear the secretions.  This no longer worried Will; he knew it was a routine thing and he no longer felt anxious.

He spent the rest of the morning sitting at Liam’s bedside, a bit unnerved every time he looked at the sleeping face of his lover and saw the eyes that were so expressive and captivating when the sleeper was awake taped closed.  If he was honest with himself, he was secretly glad; the sight of those beautiful orbs looking so flat and empty had freaked him out as soon as he had really looked into them.  And close behind that thought was a feeling of guilt.

The routine of the hospital carried on around him and sometime during the morning two staff members came in to turn Liam to help prevent pressure sores.  They also checked all the monitors and cleared out Liam’s intubation tube again.  It gave Will a little comfort to stay whenever Liam needed something done for him by the staff; at least he was not kept in the dark about what Liam was going through.

At one point during the morning Will left the room while Liam was given his first session of physiotherapy.  It was something he would receive twice a day while he was still in the coma to keep some sort of muscle tone and to help his circulation.

Thirty minutes later Will resumed his seat at Liam’s bedside.

Faith arrived just past noon to give him a break for lunch as they had arranged that morning.  She was distressed at the sight of Liam and all the medical paraphernalia.  “Oh, Will,” She wailed, her mouth turning down in distress.

“It’s okay, luv.  I know it all looks scary, but it really isn’t,” Will tried to reassure her.  He understood perfectly what it was like to see Liam surrounded by all this paraphernalia for the first time.  “Everything has a purpose, and when you realise that it’s not so bad,”

Faith turned to Will for a hug.  Will gladly obliged, feeling comforted by the proximity of another too.  “I guess,” Faith’s words were a little muffled against Will’s shirt.  “It’s just…he looks so ill.”

“Guess he is, but there’s always hope, Faith.”

Faith nodded against his chest.  She seemed to make a conscious effort to pull herself together.  She pulled back and looked up at him.  “Right, get yourself down to the cafeteria and eat, Will.  Even if it’s just a sandwich.  I don’t want to see you for at least an hour.  You hear?”

“Will you be okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”  Faith looked at the motionless man in the bed surrounded by tubes, wires and machines.  “It’s just Liam, after all.  Nothing to be afraid of, huh?”

Will was aware that Faith sought reassurance.  All this was as alien to her as it had been to him yesterday.  “Just Liam.  No need to be afraid, luv.”

“Okay.  Go already,” She patted him on the chest then turned to take up the vigil in Will’s place.

He place a comforting hand on Faith’s shoulder briefly then left Faith alone with the man who meant everything to him.

*

Will had eaten in the hospital cafeteria, taken a walk around the small but pretty grounds where he had sat on one of the benches and watched a determined dark haired girl of around ten making her way around the gardens with the aid of crutches.  The adults who accompanied her had the same dark hair and were obviously her parents, and every time she appeared to struggle they moved to help her.  Each time she waved them away.

Will wondered what her story was.

Checking his watch for maybe the fiftieth time, he decided that the hour was almost up and he could safely return to his beloved’s bedside without incurring the wrath of Faith.  As he approached Liam’s room he stopped just outside the door at the sound of Faith’s voice.

“…loves you, you know that, right?  If he could change places with you, he would.  You probably know that, though, huh?  It hurts him so much to see you this way, Liam.  Please come back to him.  And to me.  I love you too; you’re such a sweet gentle guy, kinda like a brother that I never had.  Come back and make us all happy, ‘specially Will.  Did I mention that he loves you?”

Will swallowed.  Faith’s words touched him deeply.  He was the one that had fallen in love with Liam, but it gave him a warm feeling to think that his dearest friend, the woman that took care of so many things for him, had grown fond of the gentle soul that was Liam.  He sniffed, wiped a tear or two from his cheek and returned to the room.

Faith looked up as he walked in, glancing quickly at her watch.  “Mmm, only just made the hour, boss,”

Will smiled.  “Not too early then?”

“No,” Faith grinned self-consciously.   “Just having a chat with Liam.  Sort of hoping he can hear me,”

Will bent to kiss the top of her head.  “He just might.  Wish I could do that,”

“What?”

“Talk to Liam.  I keep opening my mouth but nothing comes out.  I just can’t find the right thing to say.”

“Guess it isn’t easy.  I just opened my mouth and poured out what was in my heart.”

“I heard.  It was so comforting, luv.  Thank you,”

Faith blushed a little, startling Will.  He couldn’t remember a time when Faith had actually felt embarrassed.  She cleared her throat, embarrassed to be caught being embarrassed.  “It’s true, boss.  I do love Liam.  What’s not to love?”

Will leaned down and hugged her, kissing her crown once more.  “You wanna go get some lunch now?”

“Guess I should,” Faith rose from her seat.  “Gotta practise what I preach, huh?”

Will nodded.

“I’ll be back to give you a break though, give you a chance to stretch your legs.  And before you ask, all the correspondence is up to date and any non-urgent dates in your diary are cancelled.  You can devote at least the next five days to sitting with your honey.  Maybe he’ll wake up before then, huh?”

“Hope so, Faith.  So much.”

Faith hugged him, leaving him alone then with his beloved Liam.

*

During the afternoon, Liam was scheduled for more physical therapy and his physician had also scheduled a series of scans and other tests, so Will had taken the opportunity to return home for a few hours to freshen up and have a bite to eat.

There was still no change in Liam’s condition and Will was dismayed as a feeling of hopelessness welled up again.  Going into his study, he booted up his computer.

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.

That night his sleep was again disturbed by haunting visions of Liam.  In the only one he could remember clearly and the one that woke him up, Liam lay unmoving on what looked to Will to be a mortuary slab.  As Will approached him his eyes flew open and his hands reached out to Will.  But Liam’s eyes were as they had been earlier that day when Will had thought he had woken up; vacant and lifeless. Liam opened his mouth, seeming to form unintelligible words, though Will thought it sounded like he was begging for Will to help him.  From nowhere Rupert Giles appeared and bent to kiss Liam, but as their mouths met, Rupert’s flesh seemed to curl back off his face leaving a hideous mask of incinerated flesh.

Liam’s screams as the gruesome mouth covered his dragged Will out of the dream, gasping and sweating profusely.

Trembling, he reached out for the bottle of water he kept on his nightstand.  His throat felt dry and raw and he gulped down the liquid gratefully.  He realised he must have been crying out or screaming in his sleep.

As he lay awake trying to throw off the residual horror of the dream an idea came to him. Before he left for the hospital the next morning he would print out the story he had so lovingly created and read it aloud to Liam in the hope that the sound of his voice would reach Liam somehow.

*

‘…his arms around Liam as his exhausted lover sleepy pillowed his head on Will’s chest.  After giving Will the gift of his chastity by giving him the key to the device he wore, Liam had never experienced an orgasm as powerful as his first in nearly three weeks.  He felt safe and loved knowing that Will made even this decision for him.  It was what he had wanted; needed for so long.  Someone to take care of all aspects of his life, leaving him free of worry and the necessity of making decisions; if he didn’t need to make decisions, he had no worries about making the wrong ones.

Will understood this and…’

A head appeared around the door of Liam’s room.

“Hi, Faith,”

“Hey, boss.  Time to take a break,” Faith entered the room fully, with Gunn close behind her.

Will stood up and stretched stiffly, shuffling the pages he had printed out that morning together.

“Hi, Will. Jesus!” Gunn looked at Liam and couldn’t conceal his shock at seeing him for the first time since the accident.

“You’ll get used to it, Charlie,” Will commented, understanding how shocking it was to see Liam this way for the first time.

“Sorry, Will,” Gunn felt a little guilty; he hadn’t wanted to upset Will.

“Don’t worry about it.  I felt the same at first.  Right, Faith, I know what my instructions are.  Get some lunch, go for a walk, and do not return for at least an hour.”

“You got it, boss.”

Will left Gunn and Faith to sit with Liam while he took a break.  He had enjoyed reading the story about the two of them and their great love for each other aloud to Liam.  There were several chapters still to read and Will would resume after he had had a break.  He purchased a sandwich and a carton of milk to go from the cafeteria and took it out into the garden.  As he sat there he saw the little girl he had seen the day before, struggling along on her crutches, determined and single-minded.  He found himself admiring her courage and tenacity, and thought there was something about her that reminded him of someone else, but try as he might he couldn’t put his finger on it.

*

For three days Will went through the same routine. He would eat breakfast and go to the hospital leaving Faith to take care of any correspondence or calls.  She would then relieve him at the hospital so he could take a break for lunch, going home to the mansion when he returned to take up his vigil at Liam’s bedside.  He also took a break for tea while Liam was undergoing his therapy; once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

 There was one bit of good news by the fourth day; Liam was slowly being weaned off the ventilator as he began to show signs of struggling to breathe for himself.  It was a small gain, but the doctors believed a significant one.

 Will was still half afraid to hope for too much.

On the fifth day after the accident, and after another night of weird and upsetting dreams, Will received a telephone call from the hospital.  His heart was in his mouth as he took the call.

Liam had started to come out of his coma.

Faith didn’t bother with breakfast; she was as eager as Will to get to the hospital, but she insisted on driving there.  Wrapping the car around the lamppost was not something she had on her to do list for the day, which would have been a distinct possibility if she allowed Will to drive.

When they got there, the doctor took them both aside before they entered Liam’s room.  Will was impatient to get in to see his beloved, but tried to listen patiently to what the doctor had to say.

“Liam isn’t awake in the proper sense of the word, Will, but he is not as deeply unconscious as he has been.  There is brain activity, quite a lot of it, and we did try to take him off the ventilator. We took some blood gases and unfortunately he can’t breathe sufficiently well on his own yet, so we have had to heavily sedate him to keep him on the ventilator.”

Will and Faith both looked upset at this news.

Bobby Kerrigan smiled.  “Don’t look so glum.  The good news is that he is showing signs of continued improvement, so it will probably be only a matter of time before we can take him off the ventilator completely.”

“So that’s good, right?”

“Yes, Will, it’s good.  We are hoping to see the improvement gather pace over the next hours.  Don’t want to raise your hopes falsely, but Liam’s condition is improving all the time,”

Will felt tears prick his eyes.  “Thank you, Doctor.  Thank you so much,”

“Okay.  Guess you want to see him now, huh?”

Will nodded and entered Liam’s room.  Nothing much seemed to have changed; Liam still looked as if he was deeply unconscious, but the monitors that had so fascinated Will over the days since Liam had been injured were testament t the fact that Liam was beginning to stir.

*

By the time Will returned to the hospital the following morning, Liam was off the ventilator and off the sedation. Delighted, Will bent to kiss his lover’s pale lips, not at all phased by his appearance.  His hair would grow back, Will knew.  All he cared about was his beloved Liam coming back to him.

~Something tickled his lips.  He tried to respond but his body felt heavy and numb.  He wanted to open his eyes but his lids felt glued together.  He tried to open his mouth but the effort was too much.  Everything seemed to drift away again…~
 

Will went through the familiar routine of the previous days.  Liam had his physio, Faith came and sent him off for lunch, and he’d return and resume his vigil.

~Someone was touching his hand.  He heard the sound of a voice.  He couldn’t make out the words.  The voice was vaguely familiar.  He drifted…~

Will continued to read the remaining chapters of the love story he had lovingly written about their lives together in a perfect world.  The routine he had become so accustomed to continued around him.

Bridget was again on duty that day, and she was full of optimism that Liam would be awake, if not fully aware of much, some time soon.

Will hoped and prayed that she was right.

~He was moving.  Or someone was moving him; he couldn’t tell which.  Now the lights seemed too bright, the sounds too loud and he wanted to tell someone but he couldn’t speak.  He lay still again, feeling exhausted as he drifted…~

“Liam?” Will had glanced up and was shocked to see Liam’s eyes were open.

Will recalled the previous occasion when he thought that Liam was awake just because his eyes were open.  He knew not to raise his hopes this time.

~A name.  His name?  And the voice.  Familiar.  Too bright.  Too loud.  So tired.  Will.  Was Will here with him?  Wherever this was.  Too tired to think.  Drifting again…~

As Will watched, Liam’s eyes slid closed again.  But before that happened Will was sure he had seen something.  They didn’t look lifeless or blank as they had before.  There had been a glimmer of life in them, Will was sure.

He resumed his patient vigil.

~Part: 20~

That night Will slept soundly for the first time in over a week, his slumbers untroubled by disturbing visions of Liam.

He awoke the next morning feeling better than he had since Rupert Giles had tried to kill Liam.  He didn’t exactly feel elated, but the weight on his shoulders seemed less, and this did not go unnoticed by Faith at breakfast.

“You actually look rested this morning, boss,” She said as they tucked into their usual breakfast before Will returned to the hospital.

“No bad dreams,” Will replied as he forked bacon into his mouth, actually relishing the food for a change.

“Could that be the improvement in Liam’s condition?”

“Has to be, Faith.”

“That’s good to hear. But I can still sense some anxiety.”

Will chewed thoughtfully on his bacon.  “Well, I’m obviously pleased that Liam is getting better, but now…now I’m so scared that he’ll be brain damaged in some way.”

“Well, at least once he wakes you’ll know one way or the other,” Faith laid down her fork as a thought came into her head.  “Would that make any difference?  If he’s brain damaged I mean.”

“No.  Why should it?”

“No reason that I can think of,” Faith resumed eating.  “It’s not just physical, is it, Will?  Loving Liam, I mean.  It’s a for better or worse kinda thing, isn’t it?”

Will thought about it for several seconds before he nodded.  “It is.  We haven’t taken vows or shit like that, but yeah, it’s not just that I lust after Liam.  I love him; his talent, his sweetness, his gentle soul.  Okay, sounding like a writer of slushy fiction now.”

Faith laughed heartily.  “I’m convinced.  Not long after you met Liam I could tell that he was more than just a pretty face to you.  Oh, that didn’t hurt; let’s face it, he is gorgeous, but he came with a lot of emotional baggage yet you were still prepared to take him into…not just your bed, but your life.  It’s kinda beautiful, really.  And even if it turns out he is…not the Liam we know…”

“I will still love him and care for him.  He’s my soul-mate, Faith.  The other half of me.  He’s the man I’ve been waiting most of my adult life for, and if he isn’t quite perfect after this…he’ll still be perfect to me.”

Faith dropped her fork and laid her hand on Will’s.  She said nothing; she had no need.  The look in her eyes told Will everything he needed to know.
 

*
 

The news, when Will got to the hospital, was good.  Liam was actually awake.

He was no longer in ICU; he had been moved to HDU, since his condition was no longer life-threatening, but he still required constant care.  He was still being turned at frequent intervals to preserve skin integrity since he was unable to turn himself, and the physical therapy sessions continued daily.

Will happened to see Stefan, the nurse who had been so helpful that first day when Will had been so frightened to see Liam.

Stefan gave him a warm smile.  “Hey, Will. I hear Liam’s awake.  That’s great news.”

“The best,” Will beamed at the nurse who had been so kind to him. “Not sure what the future holds, but it’s a start.”

“Positive thinking is always a good way to go.”  Stefan assured him.  “I’ve seen a positive attitude work wonders.”

Will nodded in agreement. “I’m doing my best to think that way.  I’m guessing I’m going to have to be the positive one somehow, but I’ll try to make that rub off on Liam.”

“That’s the best way to try to help him,” Stefan agreed.  “I’ll still see you around the place for a couple of weeks at least, I guess.  Liam is going to need a lot of rehab, I’m thinking.”

“I can live with that,” Will shrugged.  “And Stefan?  Thanks for being so understanding when I most needed it.  I was terrified that first time.”

“Happens a lot, Will,” He took the hand that Will offered and shook it warmly.  “Go on, I can see you’re itching to see Liam.”

Will smiled sheepishly before nodding his thanks and turning towards the room the nurse at the HDU nurses’ station had informed him was Liam’s.

Will entered the room and found Bridget was with Liam.  She turned to Will and smiled warmly.  “Hey, Will.  Your honey’s awake.  I just came by to visit with him during my break.  He’s drifting in and out a lot and when he is with it he’s confused.  But he’s getting there.”

Will stepped up to the bed, looking down at his beloved Liam.  His eyes were closed but Will felt comfortable with the knowledge that he slept normally.  Not comatose, nor drug-induced, but normal, restorative sleep.  He still looked really sick, but not nearly as bad as he had that first day.  He bent to kiss Liam’s sweet lips as if he could awaken his sleeping beauty.  Liam stirred a little but remained asleep.

“I’ll leave you to sit with him, Will,” Bridget patted him on the shoulder.  “I’m sure he’ll wake again soon.”

Will felt a surge of affection for Bridget; she had offered comforting words on several occasions over the past week when Will had been spending so many hours sitting at Liam’s bedside, praying for him to come out of his coma, and now she had taken time out of her break to pop in to see him.  He hugged her affectionately.  “Thank you, Bridget.  You’ve been so good to me.”

Bridget hugged him back.  “It’s sort of part of my job, Will.  But I kind of took you and Liam to my heart too.  I’ll stop by again when I get the chance, if that’s okay.”

“More than okay, Bridget.”  He kissed her fondly on the cheek, leaving the comfort of her motherly embrace reluctantly.

“Great.  Now sit with your boy and hold his hand.”  Bridget smiled fondly as Will did exactly that.  She could see that, though one of the lovers was still very sick, the love that they seemed to share would hopefully see them both through the difficult times ahead.
 

*
 

A half an hour or so went by as Liam slumbered on.

Eventually, he stirred sleepily, his eyes opening.  They looked more than a little dazed and confused and Will could see there was no spark of recognition in them.

“Hi, baby,” Will whispered, one of Liam’s hands held in both of his.

Liam blinked sleepily.

“Guess you’re not quite with it yet, Pet.  It’s Will.  You remember Will?”

Liam continued to stare for several moments until he seemed to recognise the name.  He nodded weakly.  He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he seemed unable to find either the voice or the words.

“Don’t try to talk, Pet.  Save your strength.  It’s enough that you remember me for now,” He smiled lovingly at his Angel, content for now that Liam was at least aware that he knew him.  “I love you, baby.”

Liam’s mouth turned up in a slight smile before he drifted off again.

Will lifted the hand that he held and kissed the long artistic fingers affectionately.
 

*
 

That night, having sat with Liam for most of the day, smiling at him with love in his eyes each time he woke, Will called Joyce Summers.  He had kept her informed of Liam’s progress during the past week and was happy to tell her that Liam was slowly coming out of it.

Joyce expressed her delight at the news and asked if it would be all right to visit with him sometime during the next couple of days.

“Of course it is, Joyce.  I’m not sure if he’ll remember you quite yet, he’s still confused, but a visit would be a good thing.  Have you started your new job yet?”

“No, I start next Monday.  That’s why I thought it would be a good time to visit Liam now.”

“Have the police told you the inquest into Rupert Giles’ death is to be held next week?”

“Yes, and I have cleared it with my new boss to attend.  Not that I had much choice, but it was the polite thing to do.”

“I suppose it was.  How have you been?”

“I’ve been better.  I’ve been having some nightmares about…you know, how he died.  But it’s getting better.”

“I guess it was a terrible thing to witness, and I know he deserved to be punished for what he did to Liam, but that…”

“No one deserves to die like that.  But I guess that at least Liam is free of him for good now.”

“Yeah,” Will wondered if Liam would ever be free of the legacy Rupert Giles had left him, since the doctors at the hospital already knew he had been brain damage, but not the extent or the effect it would have on him.  “Maybe I’ll see you at the hospital in the next day or two then.  I’m there most of the time.”

“Okay, Will.  And take care.”

“I will.  Bye Joyce.”
 

*
 

The following day Liam was scheduled for a scan and an extensive series of other tests to assess what his prognosis might be and when the physician arrived later that day with the results he found an anxious Will sitting at his lover’s side.

Liam was still not fully aware of much, but he remembered Will and clutched his hand tightly as the doctor sat down at his bedside.

“The news is mixed, Liam,” Bobby Kerrigan primarily addressed his patient, but Will too since he was not certain how much Liam would be able to take in at present.  “The area of your brain damaged by your injury has not affected your intellectual capabilities.  That’s good.  You should have no problems with your memory or skills.”

Liam looked perplexed.  Will saw this and squeezed his hand comfortingly.

“So what problems will Liam be likely to have?”  Will asked on his behalf.

“Your motor functions are impaired, Liam.  You seem to have what is popularly known as quasi-paraplegia.  There is every indication that you have full feeling in your extremities, but not the capacity for movement.  It’s your legs that are affected, and this will also mean you won’t have control of your bladder and bowel functions.”

Liam looked horrified.  “No!”  He gasped hoarsely, his throat still raw from the endotracheal tube that had been removed only a couple of days ago.

“So that’s it?”  Will could hardly believe the news.  “Liam won’t be able to walk or control his bodily functions?  Ever?”

“Not necessarily,” Doctor Kerrigan replied.  “The damaged area of the brain will never recover, but there have been very many cases where the patient, through a lot of hard work and intensive therapy, has regained the use of their limbs and control of functions.  It’s not hopeless, not by a long way.  But it won’t be easy, Liam.  And it won’t happen overnight.  But if you’re prepared to give it everything, I can promise you there will be a great deal of improvement.”

“You mean a full recovery?”  Will asked.

Doctor Kerrigan shrugged, unwilling to commit himself too much. “I can’t make any promises, Will.  It’s not beyond the realms of possibility, but there are so many factors to be taken into account.  The worst I can envisage is Liam managing to walk with the aid of a walker and having some control over bodily functions.  The best is for him to be walking normally with full control.  My guess is that he is likely to fall somewhere between those two extremes, but I’ve seen some patients make a complete recovery.  Though they have largely been children or teenagers. Having said that, Liam’s relative youth is a plus”

Will turned to Liam.  “Did you understand that, Pet?”

Liam looked devastated, but he nodded slowly.

“I’m sorry it’s not better news, Liam.  But don’t give up.  As soon as you are up and about we’ll get you started on some gentle exercises and as soon as you are fit enough you can step up to more intense therapy.  We’ll be here to help you every step of the way, and once you are home, you will be given therapy as a day patient.  You do understand the importance of working hard, don’t you?”

“Yes.”  Liam managed to whisper.

“Okay.”  He rose from his chair, reaching out to give Liam’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he did so.  “I’ll leave you guys to absorb the news.  If you have any questions, anything at all, let me know.  Okay?”

“Thank you for being so honest, Doctor,” Will said, grateful that the man had not tried to give Liam false hope.

“It’s foolish to be anything else,” Doctor Kerrigan replied.  “I’m sure, with you to help him, Liam will make good progress, but I just can’t promise a complete recovery.  Take care of him.”

When the Doctor had left, Will turned back to Liam to find his eyes brimming with tears.  He went to him, leaning over to gently kiss his forehead.  “It’ll be okay, baby.  I’ll be here to help you.”

“Sorry, Will,” Liam whispered painfully.

“Oh, baby, there’s nothing to be sorry for!” Will cupped his cheek with his hand, brushing at a tear that had started to run down Liam’s cheek.

“I didn’t get it.”

“Didn’t get what?”

Liam’s brow furrowed as if he was trying to remember something.  When the memory didn’t come he sighed in exasperation.  “I went to get it.  I did, Will.”

“Whatever it was you went to get, it’s not important now, Liam.  All that matters to me is that you’re all right and you’re going to get better.  Don’t fret, baby.”

Still tearful, Liam nodded miserably.
 

*
 

The following day, Liam was out of bed and sitting in a chair for the first time.

Will was thrilled when he heard the news that Liam was finally up if not exactly about, but when he went into Liam’s room he found his lover cranky and mostly unresponsive.

“Hello, Pet,” Will leaned in to kiss Liam on the mouth, and was hurt when he turned away, leaving Will’s lips to brush his cheek.  He said nothing; instead he tried to tamp down the feeling of rejection and act as if nothing had happened.  “How are you feeling today?”

“Tired.”

“Bad night, baby?”

“The nurses have to come and turn me every couple of hours because I’m too fucking useless to move myself.  They always wake me up and I can’t get back to fucking sleep again.”

Will winced at the profanities; it was totally out of character for Liam to use bad language.  Will realised he must be very tired.  “Poor baby.”  Will reached out to smooth the pad of his thumb over Liam’s cheek.

Liam did not react to this gesture of comfort and affection.  Instead he just stared down at his hands as they lay listlessly in his lap.

“I hear that your first therapy session is scheduled for tomorrow morning,” Will found it unnerving that he had to struggle to find something to say to Liam in his current mood.

Liam merely nodded.

“So how do you feel about that?”

Liam looked up, straight into Will’s worried blue eyes.  “What’s the point?  It’s never going to make any difference.  I’ll still be stuck in a wheelchair, with a catheter stuck in my cock and wearing an oversized diaper because I have no fucking control over my functions.”

The anger and frustration in Liam’s voice almost made Will reel back in shock.

“Okay, Pet.  You’re tired and upset.  It’s understandable and perfectly normal.  But how do you know if you’ll be stuck in a wheelchair if you don’t even try to do something about it? “

Liam pulled angrily at the blanket that covered his knees.  “Look, Will.  Look.”  He pulled at the drawstring that held the tops of his pyjama bottoms closed, exposing the incontinence garment he was forced to wear.  “And as if that’s not bad enough, look.”  He pulled up one leg of his pyjama bottoms, revealing the tight white hose that he wore during the day to prevent blood clots and keep the valves in his legs functioning.  At night he wore night sleeves for the same purpose and received shots to thin his blood as a further preventative.

Will could see that Liam was close to tears.  “Okay, Pet, I can see it’s not easy for you right now, but you heard what the doctor said.  It’ll take time and hard work, but things will improve if you’re determined enough.”

“There’s no fucking point.  How can you love me when I’m like this?  How could you want to fuck me, seeing me like this?  And why would you want to when you have Lindsey?  I tried to get it, I really did, but I failed.  Why would you love me?  Why?”  Liam turned away, his voice made useless by the lump in his throat and the tears that flowed down his cheeks.

Will was stunned.  Lindsey?  Who was Lindsey?  And get what?  What had Liam tried to get?  It was the confusion, that’s what it had to be.  Liam was still confused, even though it had been two days since he had woken properly from the coma.

“Please, baby, don’t cry.  I don’t know what you mean when you say you tried to get it.  And who’s Lindsey?  Please don’t get upset.  I want to help you, but I don’t understand what you mean,” Will reached out to take Liam into his arms, but Liam actually pushed his hands away.

“Ju…just leave m…me alone!”  Liam sobbed.  “Just…go.  You…ca…can’t love…love me, n…not now!”

Will felt hot tears sting his own eyes.  “I do love you, baby.  How can you think otherwise?” He tried again to comfort Liam, but he just turned angry tear-filled eyes on Will.

“Get out!  Just l…leave me al…one.”

Devastated by Liam’s reaction, Will couldn’t do anything other than comply with his tearful request.  “Okay, Liam, I’ll go.  But I’ll be back later when you’re feeling better and we can talk about this.”

Liam shook his head, turning away from Will again.  “No.  I don’t…don’t  want y…you here!”

Will stared at Liam in utter desperation before he turned and stumbled from the room.

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