World Made New

Author: FemailoftheSpecies

Distro: WLS, Redssoulmates, Mystifying Dreams

Pairing:  S/W, S/A, may be more eventually

Rating: R for now (NC17 later)

Summary:  They beat the First, but it went a bit different.

Thanks to Kat for the fabulous beta.  It would have been a terrible read without her!

A/N:  Okay, I am flipping the script a bit.  The First was defeated.  Faith wore the amulet.  Sunnydale was ruined, but did not cave in (Faith, not being as powerful as Spike, did not take it all out – my theory).  Angel did bring the amulet as before, but he did not take over W&H.  Angel is Spike’s sire.  The rest will be in the story.

This is a prezzie for Jenni who has been there for me since my first fic, by my side, so to speak and I wanted to do something special for her birthday.

Hang on folks. It’s going to be a long one!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 
 
 

~Part: 1~

Willow laid her head against the window, glad to finally be on the road.   The battle went as well as could be expected in light of who the opponent was.  The First spared no expense in beating them into the ground, but the scoobies managed to win.  Again.  The world was saved and the Hellmouth permanently closed.  But at what price?

Dawn, Anya, Xander, Buffy, everyone really.  All dead.  Giles, injured but living, was now resting in the back of the van they had managed to “procure”.   She laughed to herself at what she now defined as saved.

The many of the uber-vamps got out before the amulet Faith wore began its work.  Thousands of other demons were freed into this realm as well and  roamed the continents, intent on killing everything in sight.   Of course the militaries of various countries stepped in, and of course they bombed city after city until there was nothing left but barren, burning buildings and corpses, human and demon alike, littering the streets and countryside.

Anyone with magical powers used them to protect themselves and their own.  And now the majority of those who remained on the blue planet were magically inclined.

Ironically, it only took seven days to destroy most of the humans, with no day of rest.  The animals and livestock were not much better off, although some had been saved and most plant life survived.  Considering the lack of people, it really did not present a huge problem either way.

She glanced over at her companion, his jaw clenched in concentration and worry, wondering how he would feed.   One of the ice chests in the back with Giles was filled with human blood, also procured, from what was left of Sunnydale General.  But that would not last forever.

The road turned sharply and they were on I-5 south, slowing as they merged.  There was no traffic, but movement was impaired by the plethora of abandoned cars.  A few still had headlights on and engines running.  Yet most were eerily silent, metal coffins for their dead inhabitants.

Ever the vampire, Spike stopped the van, reaching behind him for his favorite ax.

“I’m gonna see what we can…acquire.”  There was that smirk again.  “You drive behind me, pet.  Don’t wanna get too far from you.”

In the last week, the redhead had learned to defer to his judgment in these matters.  His heightened senses gave him a definitive edge over most other creatures.  She had never appreciated that before, although, now she was grateful that he was with them and seemingly determined to stay.  She realized that even with her magic, she could not make it alone, with Giles, for long.

She observed the surroundings as best she could, while the vampire checked car after car, sometimes removing something he thought useful, sometimes pulling a face at the stench of old death.

She followed slowly, stopping as he did.  Waiting and watching.

Eventually he tired of his treasure hunt and returned to the van.  Willow moved back to the passenger seat without being asked as he dumped his booty between them on the floor.  Cellphones, CDs, all matter of electronic equipment, jewelry, money, a few books, and it went on while he emptied his duster pockets as well.

“Spike we can’t use the electric stuff for long.”  She sighed.  He was putting a CD in the van’s player and lighting what she assumed was a cigarette.

“Try the phones, see if you can ring him.”  He tossed her a small phonebook.  Giles’.  Was there anything he could not steal?

She began testing the phones for power and signals.

~~~*~~~

The hotel was dark, only a few candles lighting the office.  Angel thought it better this way.  Demons and witches, most not benevolent, were still out there.  Best not to attract unwanted attention.

He heard the heartbeat approaching, slow, strong.  Wesley.

“She’s sleeping again.”  The watcher offered, standing in the doorway.   Angel nodded and motioned for him to join him.

The human watched his friend.  So much could be read into his expressionless face.  The loss of Connor, Gunn, Lorne and Fred were etched into him, like stone carving.  Yet there was something more.

“What’s wrong, Angel?”  Soft.  Wesley’s voice, never abrasive, always soothing, even when the man was riled.

“She’s gone.”

He thought he meant Buffy or perhaps Fred and nodded slowly, sympathy oozing.

“No…Dru.”  His face was tight and there was a flash of the demon’s ridges.  Angel pushed it back, not wishing to scare his friend.

“Oh…I…I’m sorry.”  He met the vampire’s pained gaze and Angel confirmed the truth.  The man was sorry that Angel felt this loss even if he had no use or concern for Drusilla herself.  “What about…”

“No!”  The growl escaped, but he maintained control.  “He’s okay.  I feel him, strong and whole.  He’s coming.”  He stared into nothingness.

“Here?”  The last visit from Angel’s childe, William the Bloody, was just that.  Not that he was here to witness it, having missed the younger vampire’s L.A. debut by a few weeks.  That was nearly four years ago, and neither had encroached upon the other’s territory since then.  The fact that Angel’s childe was deemed harmless to humans set Wesley at ease a bit, but only a bit.

“Soon.”

“Angel, shouldn't we prepare for attack?  He’s never been…pleased to see you.”

The long forgotten and rarely used cell phone rang, ending the conversation for now.  Both men jumped before the souled demon reached for it.

“Hello, who is this?”

“A-Angel?”

“Yeah…Willow?”  Crying, weeping that choked off her words.  “Willow are you all right?  Where are you?”

She sobbed out a yes and he waited while she regained her composure.  A shaky breath in signaled her start.  “I’m okay.  I’m just…happy you made it.  We are.”  She leaned over and popped the blonde when he growled.

“We who?  And where are you?”   He would go crazy if he didn’t get answers now.  He thought she had died too.

“Me, Giles and Spike.  We are coming to LA.  To you.”  She winced, anticipating a lot of shouting about the blonde, but was pleasantly confused when it did not happen.  “Are you there?”

“Yeah, sorry.  Spike... is okay?  Giles?”

“Giles is hurt.  Is there a hospital…open I mean …or, or maybe a doctor…”

“Nothing.”  He cut her off.  “We’ll fix him up.  I have supplies.  How long before you get here?”

“I don’t know.  We left about an hour ago and there are so many…the road is full of abandoned vehicles.  We have to go pretty slow.  And Spike had to move some out of the way.  It’ll be a while.  Maybe three or four more hours?”  She asked Spike, who nodded, dragging on what she now knew to be a joint.

“It’s okay.  We’ll be waiting.  Park in the back, Willow, and wait.  I’ll hear you.”

“Okay.”

“Let me…Can I talk to Spike?”  He asked tentatively, unsure the blonde would agree to speak with him.  He heard the phone being muffled and smiled at the girl’s naïveté.

“What?”  The deep voice of the younger demon was rough and gravelly, smoke-filled.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”  He did not bother asking about Angel.  He already knew.

“Giles.  How is he really?”

“Breathing is shallow, but heart’s okay. Expect he’s got an infection somewhere.  Fever.”

Angel was tempted to smile again.  His boy was still all business when it mattered.

“Okay…What happened to him?”

“Sword, today.  Stopped the bleeding, but it was pretty nasty with demon innards.”

Willow cringed and looked back at the pale, still watcher.

“Get them here, Spike.  Be safe.”

The blonde demon nodded and hung up, tossing the phone back to the witch.  “Should have asked him what our number is, eh?”

She turned it off to conserve power.

~~~*~~~

The rear of the hotel was pitch-black.  The headlights provided a weird and creepy tunnel vision that only served to enhance the surrounding darkness and her fear.

“Settle down, Red.  No one’s going to hurt you.  ‘Sides, Peaches is here too.”  He started for the door handle, stopping when she pulled at his shoulder.

“Angel said to wait for him.”

Spike rolled his eyes, but nodded, knowing that his sire must have a reason.  She went to the back to check on Giles.

“Fever’s down.”  The back of her hand was pressed to his forehead.  Spike already knew this.  The man was cooler and his breathing had settled some.  Underneath it all he still smelled the sickness, an infection, brewing inside the watcher.   She kneeled next to the man who was more a father to her than her own flesh and unbuttoned his shirt, viewing the bandages.

Seconds later, Spike opened the door with Willow protesting until she saw Angel appear from the darkness.  Her blonde vampire stood with the door open next the van, tense and anxious.  He also recalled the bad business of their last meeting and expected some form of punishment.  So he was wary.

Willow was surprised when Angel pulled Spike to him running his hands over the younger vampire, looking for what, she was not sure.

“You’re really okay.”  He mumbled too low for Willow’s ears.

“Yeah, ya ponce, now stop coddling me.”  Spike scowled, pulling away, secretly pleased that Angel was concerned and not beating him, especially in front of the witch.  “Let’s get the watcher inside, yeah?”

He walked around to the side, his sire following, and slid open the van door revealing the small witch and weakened man that she cradled.

“Hey, Willow.”  His greeting was tentative and almost shy.  The last time he saw her she had re-ensouled him, minus the happiness clause.  He was grateful to her and in still awe of her abilities.

“Hi, Angel.”  She smiled and faced Spike.  “Umm…Can you guys move him, you know, without opening the wound?  He stopped bleeding.”

Angel moved to pick him up.  “I’ve got him.”  He picked up the man as if he was a pillow and no effort at all, reminding her of what he was.  She never forgot that Spike was a vampire, even with his soul, but Angel slipped past her defenses over and over again.

But he and his childe we her and Giles’ best chance at surviving this…whatever it was.   The earth was starting over it seemed, and she was one of the pioneers.

“Come in, Spike.”

~~~*~~~

After they brought in the contents of the van, Angel had Wesley put up the ward around the hotel again.  He and Spike patrolled every floor to be certain nothing had gotten in.  Both were satisfied when they returned to the lobby.

Willow helped Wesley with Giles.  The younger watcher had to reopen the wound a bit.  It was red and swollen and when he cut into it with a small scalpel a good amount of clear, yellowish fluid oozed out.   He then cleansed, stitched and bandaged him up again. He then gave him a shot of an antibiotic, hoping the man was not allergic, not having much choice at this point.  He also gave him a dose of codeine.

“How did you learn to do this?  They teach this in …watcher school?”  She was kidding, but still curious.

He smiled indulgently.  “No, unfortunately, the council’s curriculum wasn’t so practical.  I…ah…learned on the fly so to speak, on Angel mostly.”

She nodded her understanding.  “This stuff.  Hospital raid?”

He nodded, and turned away.   That night was unpleasant business.  “He’ll be out for a bit.”  Turning to her again, he smiled and changed the subject.  “Have you eaten?”

“No…And I am soooo starving!”  She grinned back at him.

He led her to the kitchen where there was soup and bread for toast.

~~~*~~~

“So what’s the story with your seer up there?”

Angel tensed, remaining silent.

“No secrets, Sire.  I’m here, despite every bit of me screaming run far from you so… no lies, no secrets.  Not anymore.”

After a moment  a sigh escaped the older vampire. “She was pregnant.  I made her lose it.  I …terminated it.”

“Why...”

“Do you know about Connor?”

“Yeah, slayer…she told me.”

“Well it was his baby.  It wasn’t human.  It was possessing her.  Made her kill Lorne.”

“Lorne?”

“A friend.”

“So where’s the boy?”

“Dead…don’t look at me like that.  It wasn’t me.  It was Wolfram and Hart.”

Spike let that sink in, wanting more details, but realizing it was not the time.  Angel’s wounds were still too raw, same as some of his own.

“How safe is it here, Peaches?”

The dark vampire was gazing off into space, answering his childe without blinking.  “Not very.  The ward will keep out anyone lacking serious magic and the deed was put in Wesley’s name a while back, so no vamps can enter.”  He finally settled his gazed on the blonde, noting his eternally preserved beauty.  “But we can be burned out.”

“What about Willow?  She’s packing goddess-like mojo.”

“And her magical signature will lead every wanna-be-bad-ass right to us trying to take her down.  Wesley is strong enough to do the job.”

“We can’t just stay here waiting for someone to magic their way in.”

“I know.  We’re leaving.  I was waiting.”

“Is that right?  What were you waiting for, then?”  He asked, eyebrow arched.

Angel stood from his seat on the stairs, one step below his childe, so that their eyes were nearly even.  He peered into the blue orbs, eyes full of a soul he had not seen since he turned him, a soul that had never seen his own soul.  The blonde swallowed hard, never looking away.  Angel leaned into him, so very close, moist lips brushing the cool sculptured cheek.

“I was waiting for you.”

~Part: 2~

He was silent, accepting.   He did not know it would be like this. That he would want it to be like this. The connection between him and his sire was something they both worked hard at ignoring.  The fights and betrayals all in hopes of keeping a distance, not going to a place neither could stand to be.

Spike stood still, uncharacteristically patient.  Angel’s demon was so close to the surface and he had no intention of antagonizing Angelus right now.   Nuzzling his neck, Angel took in his  childe’s scent, marveling that he still smelled so enticing, lickable, biteable.  All the while, the blonde remained motionless.

Satisfied, the demon receded, leaving Angel relaxed, able to think more clearly.  His boy was here.  He moved back a few inches.

“Are you done?”  Spike asked quietly.

“Uh…yeah.”  The brunette’s eyes darted around sheepishly.  “Been awhile.”  He shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

“Right.  Can I smoke?”

“Yeah…”  The fact that he asked stunned Angel.  “Let’s go to the basement.”

Angel led him down the stairs to a hallway and another set of stairs.  It dark, but navigating posed no trouble for them.  Spike eyed the large cage suspiciously.

“No games, then?”  He asked stopping halfway down, estimating that he could make it up before Angel caught him if needed.  He lit the cigarette and leaned on the wooden banister, feigning casualness.

“Oh…no…”  Angel was at the bottom, looking up and for a few seconds the blonde thought him to be an innocent little boy.   “Angelus…” he frowned.  “Willow didn’t tell you?”

“Me and the witch really didn’t say much to each other until everyone else…”  He dragged hard on the cigarette and blew the smoke upward with a sigh.  “No, she didn’t tell me so be a good little Daddy and fill a bloke in.”  He was not ready to deal with the recent events and a bit of Angel-drama would cheer him up.

The older vampire rolled his eyes, but began his story despite the blonde’s attitude.  “Angelus got out.  It was a planned thing…”

Spike’s jaw dropped.   Angelus was free and no one had told him.  He vowed to have a chat with a certain little witch soon.

“Well, they kept him…me in here.”  He had stepped closer to his former prison, pulling on the reinforced bars.  “Remember how I said Cordy was possessed by the baby inside her?”  Spike nodded, but Angel could not see him.  “Lorne was not the first person she killed.  We just weren’t aware of it until Lorne.  We trusted her as always.  She stole my soul from the safe where we locked it up.  No one suspected her.  Angelus was fooled too.  Until she let him out of here and even then he didn’t know much.”  He swung around and faced his childe.

“I did some damage, but not as much as I could have; someone was pulling my strings.  Didn’t know it was her.”  His eyes drifted up as if he could see her through the floors.

He chuckled, but it lacked humor.  “It was Fred…she called Willow.  I think when I told her I was going to rape her to death…kinda freaked her out.”  The vampire shrugged.

“So she slammed it back down your throat and Angel’s all better.”

“First, Wesley broke Faith out of prison and she kinda kicked my ass…well until I nearly drained her.  But then there were drugs and dreaming…And me back in here.”  He glanced at the steel bars again.  “Then Willow did her thing.”

“Well good. Everyone’s happy.”  He dropped the butt, smashing it with his boot, and started up the stairs.

“He was coming for you.”

Spike halted, looking at the door.  “And?”

“He misses you too.”

The blonde adjusted his shoulders and continued his upward trek.  “I’m not sure what that means anymore, Angel.”

~~~*~~~

“So everyone else…what happened?”

Giles was resting comfortably on the mattress Spike brought down earlier.  Willow sat on the end, talking to Wesley.  It was cool in the lobby because of all the tiling and the high ceiling so Wesley wrapped a blanket around the redhead before doing the same to himself.

“Cordy is the only one besides me.  And…Angel is sick with guilt and grief about them all so…”

“I won’t bring it up.  But he has to talk about it…eventually, ya know.  It’s not healthy.”

The ex-watcher’s manner was gentle and set Willow at ease.  She never really liked Wesley Wyndam Price when he was Buffy’s, then Faith’s watcher.  They were all angry over how the council treated Giles and never even bothered to give the new guy a chance.  Some part of her regretted that now.  She could see the inner strength the younger watcher possessed.  It had been there then as well, hidden underneath his own pomposity just as she was blinded to it by her own prejudice.

“Willow, you must remember, Angel has lived a total of 274 years, very little of that time as a human.  And for him to grieve for a few years is but a few months to us.  Please don’t try to push him anytime soon.”

The door to the basement opened, producing a blonde vampire.  He stalked up to the redhead, pulling her gently, a habit formed during his chipped years, but firmly to her feet.  “We need to talk.”  He said in explanation as he dragged her into the kitchen.

“Okay, Jeez…”  She fussed, irritated about being manhandled.

There was a gas stove and he could smell the pilot light burning.  He took a pot and filled it with water, setting it on the stove to boil and removed four blood bags from the chest.

Willow watched him and waited, knowing he would talk when ready. She did not have to wait long.

“You knew and you didn’t fucking tell me.”  His voice was tight and controlled.  She realized she was in some sort of trouble with the vampire, but did not know why.

“I knew what?”  The direct approach was the best approach.  He could be as cryptic as Angel at times.

“Angelus…He was loose!”  Spike was angrier than she had seen him in a long time.

“I …I did the spell, Spike.  Everything was okay.”

The low growl punctuated his words.  “If it didn’t work…”  He clenched his jaw and grimaced.  “When you left that day…I was in chains, Willow.  Soddin’ chains.  I’m on his list, Willow, and when you left I was sitting in chains.”

Oh.  Unspoken, but so very…oh.   “I didn’t think…”

“No, none of your lot ever did when it came to me.  I was the thing to put between you and the nasties.  Your demonic shield.  When not needed, not thought about.”

“That’s not true!”

“No?  Tell me, Red.  When did you ever seek my company?  Try to start a conversation with me that didn’t involve something you wanted from me?”  His voice was nasally with stress.

“I…I…You tried to kill me…I was afraid of you!”

“Bullocks.  I can smell fear, remember.  Nothing like that from you in years, pet.”

She glared at him, enraged that he could call her out like this when she had no defense.  She did use him, like the rest, took for granted that he would take the brunt of the battles.  And carelessly discarded him, until he was next needed.

“It just never crossed your mind that I would be in danger, right?  We only pretend to HATE each other!  But no danger there.”  He laughed, self-deprecatingly, and dropped the bags into the boiling water.

Willow was silent for a moment, thinking.  The word pretended had not escaped her notice, but that would be explored later.  She searched the cupboards until she found the one with mugs and took out one for the vampire.

“Need two.”

She handed him another.  Fingers touched as he took it from her and she gazed up into tortured blue eyes.  “I’m sorry, Spike.”  Another hand crept up to cradle his pale cheek.  He tried to turned away, but she nudged him to stay with her and their eyes met again.   “It’s not like that anymore.  It was, I know, but not now.  I…I’m sorry that I was a bad friend.”

The blonde snorted, rolling his eyes, but giving in a bit as he finished pouring the blood.  “You’ll just have to make it up to me then.”

She giggled a little, happy that she could make it better, happy that he was trying not to smile back, and failing.

~~~*~~~

Spike found Angel on the second floor sitting outside of a room and offered him a mug.

“Why are you lurking about?”

“She’s still asleep.  Doesn’t even know you guys are here yet.”

“Is she sick?”  He could not pick up on anything off about the girl that would indicate illness, although she had a different scent, not purely cheerleader anymore.

“No,  just… tired.  The abortion, it was a D&C, late in her pregnancy and the experience was…traumatic for her.  On top of losing her friends and killing one of them…Wesley’s keeping her on sedatives for a few more days.  She just gets up to eat, shower, you know…”

“Hmmm. A regular Marcus Welby, he is.” He gulped a mouthful of blood.   There was nothing else to say.

“I need to tell you something.  You won’t like it…not even a little.”

“Alright, give it to me quick, doc.  I can take it.”  He joked, frowning his confused puppy frown when he sensed Angel’s anguish.

“Come on.”   He started walking down the hallway and up more stairs, the blonde staying a step behind until they reached the roof access.

“Still dark out, let’s go up for a while.”

On the roof were patio chairs and a table that Cordelia insisted Angel buy.  They both sat down in the ones that recline and, ironically, stared up at the stars.

“I’m ready anytime, Peaches.”

Deep breath.  “Dru’s gone.”

Silence.  And then the sound of stoneware breaking.  Blood bathed the blacktop.

Tears flowed from the crystal blue eyes and Angel wanted to wrap Spike up and do the impossible, protect his boy from the pain.  But he cried alone, neither asking for nor accepting any solace.

Angel waited patiently, brushing his own tears away, mindlessly.  Eventually the blonde was spent and rejoined the world.

“When?”  he whispered.

“Early yesterday morning…I think she greeted the sun.”

The blonde sniffed hard and rubbed a tired hand down his face.  “Yeah, well she was always looking at her bloody stars.  Guess she decided she wanted the biggest brightest one of all.”

~~~*~~~

Willow and Wesley were asleep on the round settee.  They had agreed that in the morning they would go out and scout for a camper or RV and bring it back if they could.  The demons were scarce during the day and the magic between them was formidable.  No one with survival instincts would try anything.

So the vampires stood watch, talked and avoided all matter of topics that were too painful to examine.  Angel had a plan of sorts so that was a safe enough discussion to fill the hours until dawn.

“We take the watcher’s motorcycle too.  That way we don’t have to haul a house everywhere.”  The blonde suggested.

“We are not separating, Spike.”

“We’ll need it.  Strap it on top and forget about it until then, eh?”

Angel sighed and nodded, too tired to argue about it.

“We get supplies in the stores, enough for them to eat for at least a month.”  The brunette looked up at his pacing childe.  “How much do they need anyway?”

“Willow can sort that out.”

“Okay…Clothes…and there’s a generator in the basement.  We take it.”

“I don’t feature a gas-powered, combustible machine inside the roving house, Peaches.”  The scowl on his face screamed ‘Wee todd it.  You are sofa king wee todd it.’

“What?”  He snapped.

“A pick-up truck.  At one of those dealerships.  We can take our bloody pick.  IT will carry the generator, the bike, and some gas cans since we won’t know where the next station that has a working pump will be.”

They continued to debate details and make lists until the others awoke.  Giles was first to come to, totally unaware of his surroundings.  Spike approached him cautiously.

“Spike!  Where’s Willow?”  He grunted through the pain.

“Here.  Sleeping right over there.  We’re in Hell A.  Angel’s place.”

He looked around, squinting.  Spike hopped up and grabbed the redhead’s bag, returning with a pair of glasses.

“Oh, thank heavens…Bless you.”  Spike stepped back like he’d been burned.  “Sorry.” Giles cleaned and donned them quickly, taking in his new environment, wincing when he twisted too far and pulled at his stitches.

“Be careful, Rupert.”

The human relaxed into the mattress again.  “Angel…Good to see you again… and I never thought I would say that and mean it.”

They all chuckled at that.  The circumstances that brought them together today united them in a way nothing ever had before.

“I suppose Spike and Willow have filled you in on everything since the phones went out.”  Angel nodded.  “How did your team fair?”

“The poncy ex-watcher, who fixed you up, and the seer made it.”  Spike answered for him, munching on candybar he found in a desk.

“I’m sorry, Angel,” he offered the vampire.

“Yeah, me too… about everyone I mean.”  He stammered.

“I know.”

They filled Giles in on what had happened with Cordelia.  He agreed to try to speak with her when she came down to eat.  And the plan, such as it was, took on new form as the watcher added his ideas.

Spike was gaining confidence in what they would attempt and dared to hope.  He broke into a grin when he noticed the change in Willow’s heartbeat and breathing, signaling that she was nearly awake.   He went and sat by her, anticipating that sparkling green and was not disappointed.  She smiled upon seeing him and thought she could grow accustomed to him being the first thing she saw when she woke.

“Hey.”  She stretched, everything aching from her cramped position.

“Morning, luv.  Giles is up and much better.”

She gasped and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.  “Thank the Goddess.”  He let his arms slip around her tiny form, enjoying her warmth.  Slowly she pulled away and looked at him, resolve face apparent.  “And thanks to you.”  She placed a kiss on his cheek and let him go so that she could check on Giles.

~Part: 3~

Cordelia sat up slowly, watching with vague interest as the deep red stain spread across the white sheets.   Tentatively she touched it, her fingers coming back wet and sticky.    Blood.  She wondered whose it was for a moment before letting her thoughts drift to her baby.

Monstrous.

The fact that it was beautiful did not matter, she knew it was hideous and wretched even as she tried to keep that fact a secret.  Even as she killed to protect its ugly truth.

She hoped it was her blood pooling beneath her.  It would cleanse her of the multitude of sins committed in the name of maternal love.

Somewhere in her mind, she realized that it was not love, at least not the human definition of love, not even the demonic type that she knew Angel once had for his vampire children, but a twisted variation meant to subjugate with its misuse.

She had been used and misused by the parasitical being that grew inside her.  And although she wanted to stop, part of her would not allow it, and in the end she did what she had to do.

But he knew.  As soon as she came down the stairs humming that little tune, the green demon knew.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on where you stood in the scheme of things, he told Angel what he read before she got to the Host. But it still did not save him.

And now she suffered with the knowledge that she had killed her friend.  A friend who escaped his own hellish existence in a demon dimension only to return to help her.  A friend who guided them all with a caring firmness.

And Angel took his revenge.  Not that he would admit to it being that.  To him he was protecting the clan, his clan of human minions, pets and a child that betrayed him just as well as his demonic creations, his beloved Drusilla and Spike.    He protected them all from what she would bring into the world.

She felt her head, swimming, swimming, swimming. Growing lighter, so much so that it tingled in her scalp.  She raised a hand to scratch it, but her arm would not cooperate, too heavy.

For a second she was panicked to find that it truly was her blood.  A soft giggle escaped her dry lips as blackness began its cruel decent.  There was a rush, a flurry a movement, cool hands and leather.  And then there was blessedly nothing.

~~~*~~~

Spike paced the floor, the duster billowing out behind as he turned hastily when he ran out of room.  The harsh, brilliant daylight prevented him for going out to kill and the confinement made him stir crazy.   Angel also forbade it as too dangerous outside, even for the walking obliteration that was his favorite childe.

So he stayed and he paced, so disturbed by the conflicting emotions bombarding him that he did not trust himself around the humans.  The cheerleader was dying, bleeding out.  He smelled the blood on his way to find a room to bunk down in for the day and barged in, saving her.

It appalled him.

He did not even know her.  Not really.   A death threat here, cross bow there, nothing too intimate, and yet he saved her.    The resident doctor by default injected her with a coagulant, assisting her blood in clotting again and bringing the bleeding to a halt before he pumped two pints of O positive into her via the IV he set up for her.  Spike and Angel brought down a bed from the room next door in which she now lay.

She would be fine.  The blonde could tell.  Her heartbeat was strong, if a little rapid, but there was no infection in her and a day or two of rest would have her up and around.  And he was pleased.

It enraged him.

No decent demon went around saving humans.  Not ones that they did not have an up-close and personal relationship with.    Her scent, the blood and a heady mixture of anguish and despair, lingered so that he caught whiffs of it in the room he chose.  Her blood, sitting, waiting, wasted on the blinding purity of those damned sheets.  And he did not taste a drop.

It disappointed him.

A knock at the door pulled him from his musings and the appearance of his sire promised to set him off again.  He flicked the long stem of ashes from his forgotten cigarette.

“Are you all right?”  The older vampire peeked in at his childe, genuine concern etched in his features.  That put the blonde off guard.

“Yeah…No!  No.”  He threw his hands up, giving up, and flopped bonelessly onto the bed.  “I don’t know.  I’m twisted up, Angel.  I should have drained the girl, finished her.  This soul…it’s not a do-the-right-thing guide.  It just makes me feel bad…in here when I do what I want instead.   I hate it.”  His hand clenched his black tee over his dead heart.

“I know…everyday,” He sat next to the younger vampire on the sheetless mattress and continued. “I hear them, see the way their blood pulses in that sweet vein…” He touched his childe’s neck, caressing where the ghost of a pulse would be.  “Right here.”

Spike shivered, rolling away from him.  “Don’t, Angel.”  He was on his belly looking at the mattress as he spoke.  “Too much going on already.  Those humans down there cannot begin to handle the complication that is…us.”    His voice was steady enough, belied only by the trembling of the pale hand as it brought the smoke to his lips for a last drag.

Angel watched him closely as he smashed the cigarette into the ashtray, noticing the signs of an exhausted and emotionally drained Spike.  The boy would have to let it out soon, slowly and controlled, or he would explode, wild and destructive.  The brunette wanted to avoid the latter at all costs.

“You should get some sleep.”

Spike heard the caring tone, and cursed himself for looking up, meeting the deep brown eyes with his piercing blue ones.   Mistake, he knew it.  Maybe coming to LA was a mistake.  He was not sure.  Giles was getting better and Willow was happy, although he could not say why that gave him pleasure.  But it was definitely a mistake to gaze into his sire’s eyes as they pleaded with him to open up to the older demon and let him inside the carefully constructed walls of hatred and denial.  Angel wanted more from him than Spike believed he had to give.

Loving Buffy took everything.

Yet he failed to pull away as Angel leaned down, slowly, giving him time to escape the inevitable, and placed a gentle kiss on the vampire’s soft, yielding lips.  Fleetingly, they explored each other’s mouths, becoming reacquainted, never allowing the promise of more to enter the equation.  It was an unspoken agreement that nothing else touched.  The kiss was more intimate and possessive than either had expected it to be.

Angel finally withdrew when he thought his control was slipping.  He wanted his boy again, in every sense.  Scaring him off now would only delay having him back at his side, his chosen companion throughout eternity as it was deemed well over a century ago.

Spike remained silent, stunned and not a little pissed that his sire could still affect him.  The bed shifted as Angel rose.

“Sleep.  We have a lot to do when Willow and Wes get back.  I’ll go back down and keep eye on our patients.”  He smiled and Spike grinned back despite himself.

“Ask the chit if I can get a sample since I am her knight in black armor.”

~~~*~~~

It was surprisingly easy to steal a motor home.  The Cruise America lot was littered with a few dead salesmen and the stench was horrible yet periodic.

Wesley had a row of keys that he found on a wall of an interior sales office.  They went three vehicles before finding one that seemed appropriate.

Upon entering to the right were the captain and navigator’s seats.  Between them was a spacious storage console and above that a 13 inch screen monitor hung from the low ceiling.  Above that was a bed, full size it seemed, in a four-foot high loft area, directly over the cockpit.  There were no windows up there which made it perfect for their sun-afflicted companions.  Straight ahead was a sitting area with a semi circle sofa and a coffee table secured to the floor.  They turned to the left and proceeded further into the home on wheels, oooh-ing and ahh-ing over unique features and expounding their potential uses.

The kitchen area followed.  It had a picnic-style table with bench seating on either long side and one large window, as well as an oven, microwave, sink, a smaller-than-normal-but-not-quite-mini refrigerator and a two-eyes gas stove.   The counter space was small, but there were 8 cabinets on the left side of the aisle for storage which Willow was already filling mentally.

Ending the kitchen was a room divider, an accordion type door, for privacy.  On the other side the aisle continued.  To the left was a small bathroom, with a toilet, sink and shower of nearly normal size.  To the right was another sitting area, which converted to a bed.  The entertainment center’s controls were also located in an alcove above the sofa.  Last there was another room to the very rear spanning the width of the home.  Inside it was a queen size bed, and a wall unit with a dresser and television.  There were a few cabinets over the bed and the rear window was nearly was wide as the vehicle, but only about 2 feet high.

She walked back to the front, speaking with Wesley about making a list of things they would need while the ex-watcher started the engine and leafed through the owner’s manual.

“There’s a rack on the back for bicycles and such.  I’m going to fetch my motorcycle and try to secure it there.  Will you be all right?”

"Pfft...I don't know.  Those ten feet to the bike are looking mighty dangerous. Go on."

He let her shove him out the door  with a final instruction from the redhead to bring paper and a pen from the sales office.

~~~*~~~

Despite the man’s best efforts he could not lift the motorcycle.  So it was Willow and a little magic that saved the day.

They decided to stop at a Walmart that they passed on the way to the dealership.

They walked in the double doors which slipped open with electrical ease.

“Wow, they still have power.”  The witch looked around in awe of the humming silence.

“Be on guard, Willow.  This could be a lair of some sort.”  He warned.

She nodded and let her senses expand.  Feeling nothing and no one she nabbed a shopping cart for each of them and led the tall Brit into the fray.

Everything was a mess, not emptied, but just disorganized.  She wanted to send him to gather clothes, shoes and outerwear for everyone, but Wesley would not hear of them separating in a place so large.  There were too many places where something could be hidden and they not be able to see each other.  If something happened to her while with him, he knew the blonde vampire would see to his death.

It took over an hour, but they managed to gather clothes for Spike, Giles, and Willow.  Angel, Cordy and Wes had clothes in the hotel and only needed a few additional items, like coats and work boots.

Wesley’s basket was still empty as they headed for the Audio/Video section.  The redhead proceeded to fill that with DVDs, CDs, and a Playstation 2 console and several violent fighting games that she thought would entertain the hyperactive vampire.  She also grabbed a few programs for her laptop, since her old ones were in what was left of her home in Sunnydale.   Two portable radios and all the batteries that were left topped off the second basket.

They dumped the items  in large plastic bins that could be used for storage later and pushed the overloaded carts to the motor home, Wes unloading as Willow used the cell phone they took with them to call Angel.  The Walmart stop put them behind schedule and she did not want him to fret.

The vampire answered on the first ring.

“Hello.  Willow?”

She chuckled at his anxiety.  “Yep, it’s me.”

“It’s noon.  Did you find a camper?  You said you two would be back by noon.  Is something wrong?  Where’s Wesley?  Is he okay?  Are you okay?”

“Stop!  Goddess…yes we found it and its a motorhome Angel.  Jeez, what century were you born in anyway?"  She frowned for a second.  "Anyway...we’re fine.  Just stopped at Walmart to take advantage of the five finger discount they’re offering this week.  Are you always such a worry-wart?”  She asked, brow furrowed.

He grinned sheepishly.  “Yeah.  Bugs the heck out of Cordy.”

“Well stop.  You’ll worry yourself bald.”

“Can’t…vampire.”

“Oh, shut up.  Look…We got clothes, shoes, coats, movies, radios, just stuff.  I want to go back in and get the food they have, but it’ll take another hour or so.  Then we need to find a gas station and fill this puppy up.  Do you want anything?”

“No, whatever you don’t get we can get later.  Just hurry back.”

~~~*~~~

“Okay, I think that’s it.”

They had three more baskets.   Bulk of black velour and a sewing kit took up most of one.  There was also a set of plastic dishes.  The colors were bright and cheery, she could just imagine the look of utter disgust on Spike’s face when he saw them.  They were perfect.  They had matching forks, knives, spoons and cups.  She got enough for eight, adding a bunch of other kitchen wear.

The second basket had towels, four bed-in-a-bags, a few blankets and pillows.   Wesley added a tool kit, nails and screws.  He also tossed on light bulbs and small lamps.  In the sporting goods section, he got a dart board, soccer ball, flashlights, lanterns and propane cylinders.  As an after thought he tossed a couple of fishing poles and a bunch of tackle across the top of the heap.

He remembered Angel specifying that they get gas cans, but could only find two 2.5 gallons plastic cans.  He grabbed motor oil and anti freeze.

Willow ensured that the last basket contained food stuff, cereals, crackers, cookies, popcorn and chips.  The shelves were also lined with canned meats, which she loathed, but the tuna was not bad.  She piled them all in the cart along with chili, beans, and vegetables.  Water and juices were stacked on the bottom.  The next things she added were a stock pot, 2 smaller pots and two frying pans.

Wesley stood to the side, trying to look anywhere else, as she picked out feminine products and toiletries.  Toilet paper and cleaning products were the last items added before loading the goods into more bins, some small, a few huge, and leaving.

They piled the treasures into their soon-to-be new home and took off, tired but feeling good about their efforts, in search of gasoline.

~~~*~~~

The cell phone rang its shrill ring again.  It was plugged in and charging.  Angel allowed minimal use of power during the day so Giles was in the kitchen, cooking dinner for everyone.  Once it was dark use of the generator was prohibited.

He would not relax until Willow and Wesley were back within the relative safety of the ward.

“Willow?”

“No, Ang, it’s Meschop.”   It was not Willow or Wes, but a half demon that proved to be trustworthy over the past few months and if this guy was calling, then something was up.

“Hey…How are your people?

“We’re good.  I don’t think I’ll say more over the airwaves, but fine for now.”

“Good…what can I do for you?”  The vampire inquired.

“It’s you that needs the favor.”  Angel’s ears perked up.  “My shaman felt a quick flash of power a few hours ago not very far from your hotel.  There was nothing, then a huge pulse of magic, maybe ten seconds long, long enough for his nose to bleed.”

“Crap…”

“Exactly.  It’s like they have up shields because it stopped just as quickly as it started.  Every magical being within a ten mile radius felt it.  I’m just calling because…your ward…won’t hold up to that for more than a minute.”

Angel was already thinking of how to get everyone away safely as the demon went on.

“Leave soon.  Maybe no one shows up, but maybe they do.”

“Got it… Thanks Meschop.”

He hung up and dialed Wesley and Willow, wondering what was taking so long.

~Part: 4~

The cell phone chirped as Wesley was filling the last gas can.  He stopped the pump and stepped up into the passenger side, snatching it from Willow’s seat.

“Hello Angel.”  The ex-watcher sounded tired.

“Wes…is everything…”

“We’re fine, Angel.”  He spoke loudly so that Willow would hear him from the back where she was putting away the kitchen items.

“Look, everything may not be fine.  Got a call from Meschop.”

“Oh…”  Wesley gave Angel is full attention, while sealing the can shut.

“Exactly…seems someone’s  near.  Lots of power and shielded.  They let it slip about two hours ago and his shaman got a major case of magical nosebleed.”

“Well, I’ve felt nothing.”

“That’s weird, Wes…he said folks felt it for miles.  How far did you guys go?”

“We are only three, maybe four, miles from the hotel.  Just a moment...”

He picked up the can and went inside toward the redhead.  “Willow… it’s Angel.”

“Big surprise.”  She rolled her eyes.

“Yes, well he actually does have a reason for calling…” He retorted before getting to the subject.  “Have you felt any magical presence since we’ve been out?”

She shook her head frowning and feeling her way into the past for anything she might have missed.  “Nope.  Nothing. Why?”

“Someone’s in LA.  We’d better get back.”  Then he was talking to Angel again.  “We are on our way.”

~~~*~~~

Cordelia scooted up in the bed with Giles at her side.   He had made chili, rice and corn-on-the-cob for dinner and brought a bowl to the weakened seer.

“How is it?”

She swallowed.  “Good. Thanks…I haven’t been eating well lately.” She added almost shyly, which broke the watcher’s heart.  This girl never had a shy bone in her body.

“Well, you’re eating now.” He smiled warmly as she wolfed down another spoonful.

The spoon clanked as she dropped it on the tray, embarrassed that she had been scarfing down her food.   “Did Angel tell you?”  She peeked at him through long black bangs.  “What I did?”

Giles leaned back and relaxed into the chair he had pulled up to her bed.  “Yes, Wesley and Angel filled me in.”

Suddenly he seized her hand, demanding her attention.  “You do know that this was not your fault, don’t you?”  His grey eyes sought to penetrate hers and impart a wisdom that her guilt would not conceive.

Tears flowed down her pallid cheeks as she shook her head, heart-twisting sobs torn from her frame.  Giles removed the bed tray and sat next to her.

“Cordelia, to be used…possessed…by demonic power is traumatic to say the least.  By its very definition you are meant to suffer.  Suffer the inability to control your actions, even though you are aware of them.  Suffer the guilt as things occur against your will, suffer the loneliness of being trapped inside with no one to share your fears.  And you suffer the anguish of facing those you believe you’ve harmed.”

“I did those things Giles…ME!”

“No…the ultimate cruelty in this is that you live believing that.  That is where the demon gloats the most because long after it’s gone, you continue its job and torture yourself.”

The seer continued to cry, but it was with less intensity and the urgency to purge herself of poisonous emotions was over, for now.

“Willow will be back soon and she knows a lot about living with guilt.  Unlike you, it was really she who did the killing.”  He rose.  “Finish your food.  We have a lot to do in a short time and you’ll need your strength.”

He started toward the office where he knew the vampire awaited him.

“Giles?”

“Yes,” He faced her patiently.

“I was dying, right?”

He nodded and looked down as if that would change what almost came to pass.

“Who saved me?  I just wanna say, you know…thanks.”

The watcher smiled.  “Now that will make an interesting conversation.  Please do make certain I am privy to it.”

~~~*~~~

Angel heard it coming a mile away.  Well not literally, but definitely a few blocks away.  He and Giles were waiting out back, Angel under the protection of the portico, Giles in the sunshine of the garden itself, when they pulled up behind the ivy covered fencing.   The two scavenger hunters had returned with their spoils.

“Hey, guys!”  Willow greeted as she came through the open gate and saw them watching.  Wesley followed soon struggling with a car battery.

“A little help!”  he grunted.  Still injured, Giles looked to Angel who just shrugged and motioned to the sunlight.  The tall brunette set his face grimly and continued on into the house.

“What’s that for?”  Angel asked, but was ignored as Willow spied Cordelia in the lobby and began to mother-hen her.  The others sat near the office.

“What happened?”  Wesley asked

“She was hemorrhaging.  Spike saved her.”  The older vampire replied flatly.  There was too much to be emotional over right now.  He intended to keep cool until he could get his childe to open up.

Wesley raised an eyebrow and spoke in his oh-so-non-sarcastic way.  “I suppose it is the end of the world after all.”

“Willow has been where she is.  She can help her.”

Angel nodded as Willow walked over from the other end of the lobby.

“So what’s up with the big mojo?”

Angel explained about what Meschop told him.  Willow listened, looking as if her mind were elsewhere.  Angel shivered.  It reminded him of Dru.  When he mentioned shields she interrupted.

“Hold it…what time did he call?”

The vampire grabbed the cell phone and handed it to Willow who checked the time of the incoming call.  “1:39…and he said it happened a few hours before that?”  He nodded, frowning.

“Wes, what time did we leave Cruise America?”

“Ahhh….It was about 10:30.  We THOUGHT we could make it in and out of Walmart and be back by noon.”

The redhead began to giggle, softly at first, but it turned into belly laughs eventually.

“What the bloody hell is going on with Red?”

The vampire brat childe was up and apparently none too happy since it was just after two o’clock.  Willow gazed up at him admiring his form.  She rarely saw him out of that duster and resolved to burn it one day.  Or perhaps just hide it for a while.

“Hiiii Spiiiike,” she giggled more, trying to catch her breath.  Wesley briefly considered a mild sedative, but cast the thought aside in lieu of waiting for her to explain her little fit.

“Hello, pet.  You mind keeping it down?  A vampire needs his beauty rest.”

With that she broke into a new fit of giggles.  “ohhhh, you’re p-p-plenty pretty aaaalreadyyyy.”

The blonde just rolled his eyes and ignored her, descending the staircase.  “What’s her problem?”  He asked the others, who looked back at him blankly.  Angel smirked at her calling his childe pretty and shrugged.

“Okay…Okay,” she took in a deep breath.  “It was me.”

“It was you what?”  Giles asked.

“Me…the shields?!”

“You?  I was with you…”

“The bike, Wesley.”  She told him, expectantly, smiling at his ah-ha.  Everyone else still looked confused.

“Okay, while we were at the dealership, Wesley decided that we could put the motorcycle on the rack on the back on the house, but of course it was too heavy for him to lift high enough, I mean come on… well not that you’re wimpy or anything, cuz I bet you’re just as muscled and testosterone-filled as the next guy, but it was just too humanly heavy and I got tired of waiting and hearing you grunt around so I gave you a little help.  Dropped my shields for a few seconds and must have had a power surge.  That’s what they felt.”

Cordelia had fallen back asleep during the laughing.  The others looked overwhelmed at her ability to talk without air.

“So I was grunting about like a Neanderthal and you have given us considerable food for thought regarding your relation to the hyena.”

Her smile faded as she bit her bottom lip.  “I didn’t mean…”

“It’s all right, Willow.”  Angel offered frowning at his friend for being callous. “The good thing is now we don’t have to rush out of here.”

“We still need to go, Angel.”  It was Spike, sounding abnormally serious.   “Her magic…it’ll draw the wrong types.  And soon.”

~~~*~~~

Wesley insisted that Angel go get some sleep while he, Spike and Willow began the task of packing up books and resources.  The dark vampire ventured upstairs after Spike assured him that he would stay alert.

“Where do these go?”  The blonde asked of several boxes already stacked in a corner and filled with files.

“Those are old case files.  I don’t expect we’ll need them.  Anything of relevance was put on disk in that bin over there.  We’ll take that, the computer and the most valuable and useful texts.  There’s only so much room for storage in that monstrosity.”

“We still have the van.”  Willow offered.

They debated for a while and settled on keeping the van instead of looking for a truck.  Later if they came across something they could switch then.

It was dark before everything of use that they had space for was ready to be loaded.   Spike carried most of the heavy stuff alone since it was easier and faster for him.  Willow took the few perishables from the hotel refrigerator, including the vampire’s blood supply and carried them to the motor home.

“It says here to fill up the water tanks…here,” he pointed to an opening and glanced around the darkened garden, not seeing what he wanted.  “We’ll need a hose.”

Spike pulled one from behind some bushes and turned on the faucet.  Wesley gave him a grateful smile and dragged it to the opening, shoving it in the hole.

“Willow!”  It was Angel, yelling from inside.  She came jogging up the patio.

“Yeah…”

“It’s after dark.  You shouldn’t be outside.”  He scolded, frowning at Spike who should have known better.  The blonde just rolled his eyes as he carted the last box to the van, grinning internally for what was to come.

“Excuse me?”  Her hands were firmly planted on slender hips.

Angel took a step back, suddenly unsure of himself. “Uh…It’s dangerous when the sun goes down.”

“Angel, I’m dangerous twenty-four/seven.  Don’t make me prove it.”  The redhead spun on her heels and left him standing alone, looking well-chastised.

~~~*~~~

Angel carried Cordelia to the back bedroom of the RV.  She was still very weak despite her insisting that she could have walked.

“Save your strength.  It could take a long time to get to the Council safe-house.”

“It’s in Montana, right?  Which is only a couple of days if we drive non-stop.”

She was smiling which pleased Angel more than he could say.  Willow spent a lot of time explaining what she did after Tara was killed and how everyone understood and accepted her back into the fold.  She compared it to the seer’s actions and let the brunette know that in her case she was the victim as much as those she killed when the demon was inside her body.

“That’s a very optimistic estimate.”

“Well that’s me.  Sunshine girl.”

“Ah ha…but really… it took Spike nearly five hours to get here from Sunnydale because of all the abandoned cars on the roads.  We have maps and this thing has an on-star system and I hear that’s good.”

Willow had just stepped into the doorway with a portable radio and a small bag.

“It’s very good.  Satellites are working, therefore so is the guidance system.  For now at least.”  She added with a sigh.  “Here’s a CD player and some CDs.  Whatever you don’t like just give back.  Giles or Wesley might.”

“Thanks.  Did you get my clothes from upstairs?”

“Yeppers.”  The witch replied with a firm nod.   “You comfy?”

Cordy wiggled into the pillows, nodding.  “Thanks… you know…I was mean to you…a lot and I know we got past that and you did a little bit of getting me back with the whole boyfriend stealing thing,”  She held up her hand when the redhead started to protest.  “I just wanted to say, you’re a good person, Willow Rosenberg.  I knew it then, but I was trying to hide my own…inner ugliness to feel better.  You were great then and even better now.”

The once shy hacker blinked back her tears, leaning over to hug her former nemesis.  They stayed that way for a minute, while Angel sat trapped near the head of the bed.  Cordy gave a final squeeze and they parted, eyes glistening.

“And you have no idea how glad I am I didn’t kill you when you came to curse Angelus…oh and I’m really glad it’s you here and not Buffy.  Can you imagine the King of Brood over here?”

~~~*~~~

Giles accompanied Wesley in the van, while Angel took the first driving shift of the RV.   The two watchers spent the first few hours after finding a gas station to fill up the van and generator theorizing about the remaining life on the planet.

Wesley assumed that more humans were alive, just in hiding, therefore repopulation would not be slow.  With nothing to do now that most forms of entertainment were not available the reproduction rate would increase rapidly.

The older watcher thought that there were more magically inclined beings left, hence a more magically inclined society would be emerging.

The two argued over it heatedly, loving the camaraderie that flowered.

While Angel drove, Spike was in charge of removing obstacles from the path.  At first it was arduous, but as they traveled further north on Highway 5 it became less needed and the blonde was able to get two hours of sleep in a stretch.

Willow was busy at first as well.  She took in the task of putting everything in its place, making a list of said items and their whereabouts and then posting that list in the kitchen area.  She hoped this would reduce the amount of questions that were bound to be thrown her way.

She also set up Angel’s computer putting the monitor on the coffee table.   “Angel?”

“Yeah…”  He looked at her in the rearview mirror, which she found disturbing because she could not see him, yet felt his stare.

“Um…If you see a Fry’s or Best Buy, head there okay?  I need some stuff.  I have an idea about getting wireless access to the internet.  In the meantime, I can use one of the cells with my laptop if I can get the right adapter.  Funny…everyone has free minutes now.”

“Is there even an internet anymore?”  He asked, turning the wheel and slowing to avoid a fallen tree.

“I’m not sure, but if there is I’m sure anyone with a little bit of computer skills will find a way to get on.  That’s how we find out what’s happening in the rest of the world.”

“What are you doing now?”  He heard the mouse clicking incessantly.

“I’m scheming to take over the world with a rousing game of solitaire.”

~~~*~~~

“Coalinga…This is where they had that huge earthquake… killed a lot of people.  It was terrible.”  Willow leaned on the RV while Spike filled the gas tank.   It was a hot, clear night in the California’s central valley.   The stars seemed to be more evident in their dark sky now, but it was just the lack of lighting, even for these outlying areas.

“Sounds like a party, luv.”  The blonde smirked, about to light a cigarette before the young woman snatched it from his lips.

“SPI-IKE!”   She stomped her foot, pulling her long tresses up from her neck to wipe at the sweat there.

“Just kidding…”  When she frowned disbelievingly he added, “I’m not bloody stupid, Red.”  He pushed his bottom lip out, sulking ineffectively, distracted by the pale column of flesh exposed to his view

“Hey,” Giles called from the mini-mart.  “They have ice cream!”  He waved a Dove bar around enthusiastically to demonstrate what was available for the taking.  Willow’s stomach cramped at the mention of cool creamy chocolaty treats as she sprinted to get her share.

“Oi! Red…Bring an Its-It for the help here!”  Spike yelled after Willow.

Thirty minutes later they were back on the road, munching happily.  Willow managed to procure eggs, cheese, milk, butter, bread and frozen burritos as well as ice cream.   She was excited about the prospect of grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast.

Spike got beer.

Giles was feeling well enough to drive the van.  Sunrise was in about 3 hours so Wesley slept until it would be his turn to drive the motor home.  They hoped to be in Patterson by then, where they planned to park and rest for the day.

Earlier, in preparation for the vampires’ needs, the crafty redhead nailed the black velour over the windows.  She made sure not to secure the bottoms, but put tacks there for daytime use.   She also made a curtain of fabric that went across the driver’s area.  It split down the middle halfway up with sashes attached to the open edges to tie them together.  This allowed it the versatility to be opened at night and closed for Spike and Angel during the day.

The result was an exhausted witch that did not feel up to driving without a few hours sleep.

~~~*~~~

The tired bunch drove into the town of Patterson and immediately headed for the outskirts, away from the highway.  Angel said it would be safer there.  They found a secluded spot in a wooded area and made camp, parking the van next to the RV on the passenger side.

Angel turned to Spike.  “Quickly.”

The blond nodded in understanding as they hopped out of the vehicle.

“Where are you going?”  Willow grabbed Spike’s arm, desperation tainting her scent.

Spike smiled and looked at her levelly. “Hunting, and a quick patrol of the area. Make sure we’re alone.”  He caressed her arms soothingly before hugging her.  “We’ll be back and won’t go far."

Angel had not stopped when Willow spoke.  Instead he went to the van and greeted Wesley and Giles as they got out and stretched.  Giles winced more than stretched.

“Get ready to up a ward…around both.  We’re taking a look around.”

Spike joined his sire as Wesley nodded.

“Sun’s up in 30, Angelus.  Let’s get going.”

The vampires, two of the most feared in history, walked off, playing rock-paper-scissors.  The two wide-eyed watchers…watched.

~Part: 5~

Rock beat scissors so Spike was delegated to the trees where he watched over the area while Angel patrolled around their chosen resting spot.  The blonde scanned the area using all his senses to pick up on any presence, demonic or otherwise.

Nothing.

He could hear the humans, chatting inside the RV and quickly tucked that noise away in favor of a heartbeat, or two, south of him.   He could see his sire in the diminishing darkness that nearly enveloped him as he made his way to the enticing sound of a living source of blood.  They were both past the fact that it was not human.  To have the hot fluid rush into you as the heart practically forced it into you from fear and desperation was enough.  It would satisfy the demon.  For now.

Spike descended from his perch, assured that no dangers awaited them.  His agile limbs and catlike grace made it look easy, if there had been someone to see.  As it was the vampires were alone in the woods with their prey and the blonde silently joined Angel, hoping to get a little stalking in as well.

The older vampire chastised himself for not hearing or feeling his childe’s approach.  The arrogant demon was upon him, smirking at his side before he realized he had left the trees.

“There are two.”  He spoke quietly, just enough so the other could hear, but not enough for the sensitive ears of the cows to pick up.

“Good.  Hungry enough to drain the whole thing.  That lazy crew of yours had me carrying all the heavy stuff.”

Angel glared at him, but it was wasted as his childe did not tear his gaze from his dinner.  “Let’s do it.”

With a nod, they both took off in a flurry of movement, each wrestling a thousand pounds of bucking fury, tearing into impossibly thick throats with razor-like precision, ripping primitive vocal cords, and finding that sweet vein.

Angel could hear the blonde moan as he fell into his own feeding trance, and then there was nothing, but the sounds of blood as it passed hungry lips and slipped over greedy tongues.  The cows were too large to drain unto death, try as they might.  Spike fell away first, undulating on the ground as he stared up into the now grayish sky.

Panting, his eyes rolled up in his head, his body tingling and warm.  Angel pulled away from his meal to watch his boy, lost in the ecstasy of the bloodlust.  He knew it well, felt it too, managing to control it by a hair.  But seeing his childe so caught up…

He released his grip on the animal, and on hands and knees, crawled over the leaf-littered earth to Spike and up his thin body.

“God, but you’re a sight.”  He whispered, amused when blue eyes flashed open, wide and round.

“Fuck, Angelus.”  He griped, scowling as he lifted a pale hand to wipe at a tickle of blood on his ear.

Its progress was stopped by a larger, stronger hand.

“Let me…”  And the sire leaned in, licking the splatters from an extraordinarily messy feed.  The childe moaned despite himself, hardening from Angel’s touch, quickly and effortlessly, as if a hundred years had not passed.

When his boy was clean and presentable to the humans, he pulled away, penetrating him with gold-flaked brown eyes.  Hovering, he waited, insecurities making him indecisive.  Fortunately, Spike took that away by craning his neck and meeting his sire’s mouth with his own.

They stayed locked, in a feverish embrace of lips, tongue and teeth, while hands roamed, caressing and squeezing.  Apparently the promise of more was now possible.

The vague burning along Spike’s spine cautioned him that the sun would rise within minutes.  Angel felt it as well.  They both pulled away from the kiss and stood, brushing dirt and leaves from the other.  Spike searched his pockets until he found his smokes and lit up.  He eyed his sire, waiting for the inevitable rebuff.

It never came.

What happened instead shocked him more than anything that had happened thus far.   The brunette clamped his large, incredibly powerful hand behind Spike’s neck, nearly snatching him from where he stood and devoured the blonde’s mouth in a possessive kiss.  The younger vampire was reluctantly helpless as his sire explored him, much like he did when the blonde was a fledgling.  Angel released his childe slowly, biting and nipping at the lips he found so succulent all those years ago.

He stared at the younger demon for a few seconds more, the ‘MINE’ implied, but simply said.  “Let’s go back.”
~~~*~~~

Everyone was getting ready for much needed sleep when the vampires returned.  Wesley had the ingredients for the ward spell set up and completed the incantation soon after Spike and Angel came in.

“I’ll take the first watch, Angel.”  Wesley volunteered while putting away the herbs he used.  He had had a nap for several hours while Giles drove and could wait for the others to get some sleep first.  When done with the magic supplies he reached for his half eaten grilled cheese sandwich.  “This is really quite good, Willow.”

The redhead just smiled at him and then turned her attention to the blonde. He was dusty as if he had rolled in the dry dirt outside, which was possible, considering.  And he was unusually quiet, having walked in without so much as a greeting to her.

“Spike….Spike?”

He turned to her slowly, distracted as he took off his duster.   “Hmmm, luv?”

Her soft warm hand on his arm broke his musings and his eyes drifted to hers, the clouds clearing right before her.  “Are you okay?”

“Oh… yeah, pet. ‘M fine.”  He grabbed his cigarettes from a pocket before hanging the coat in the small closet.  Willow had warned him earlier not to throw his belongings about since the living quarters were so small.  Her _expression, determined and ready-to-be-angry, delighted him so much that he could not help but agree to comply.

She lowered her voice to a mere whisper.  “Did you guys find…uh…something to, you know, eat?”

He smiled, finally.  Willow thought it warm, but then a knowing, predatory gleam entered his eyes and although it made her shiver, she could not look away.

“Yes and now I’m full as well as knackered.  Who’s in the shower?”

“Giles. I was gonna go next, but you can since you did move all the stuff from the road and carried mostly everything and probably had to wrestle a bear or something just to, um have dinner so you’re dirtier than me…”

He frowned, protesting. “Not dirty, luv, just well used.”  He did have the decency to look sheepish when she pulled a leaf and some small twigs from the mussed curls in his hair.

“What were you guys doing out there?  Jeez!”  She roughed brushed at his head, stopping when too much dirt fell.  “Just go first.  Please,” she insisted as Giles stepped out of the small room, swirls of steam following.

“Right.  Towels?”  he responded, now anxious to be clean.

She pointed to a storage cabinet opposite the kitchen.  “Yours is the red one.”  When he smiled she added.  “I thought you’d like that.  Plus blood can’t stain it.  Got black for Angel.”

He barked his laughter as he went to the plastic two drawer dresser he claimed for his belonging and grabbed fresh sweats.
~~~*~~~

Angel was the last to shower after Spike and Willow.  Cordy was still asleep and the redhead joined her in the large bed in the back.  Giles took the couch in the area just beyond the accordion wall.  Spike was bunked up in the loft above the drivers so that left the curved sofa for the large demon.

Wesley listened as the bulked creature tried to get settled; it was too short where it was straightest and too curved where it was longest.  A small smile on the ex-watcher’s face was the only indication that he was not totally engrossed in the book in front of him.

“Stop laughing.”

The human looked up, removing his glasses.  “I beg your pardon.”

Angel leaned up to see the man.  He looked uncomfortable and borderline cranky.  “Inside…you’re laughing.  And this….thing is a medieval torture device.  I ought to know, Darla had one just like it.”  He look up longingly to where Spike was, his thin pale hand peeking out over the edge, hanging limply as he slept the sleep of the dead, stretched out in near total darkness.

It wasn’t bad in the motor home.  Willow had done a fine job of making the lighting as sun free as possible.  The best touch was the make-shift drapery that protected him and Spike from the sunlight that could come in from the windshield.  Overall it was dark and cool.  He new the cool would give way to heat soon, waking the humans, thus waking him, but for now everything was blessedly tomblike, except for the L-shaped sitting area.

Angel chanced another glance at the blonde, before his eyes darted back to Wesley.  He was reading again, apparently uninterested in his dilemma.

The vampire really wanted to join his childe up in the dark confines of the loft.  He peeked at Wesley again and thought, to hell with them all, before rising, stretching and climbing.

The tall human looked up when the vampire headed for the loft and ascended shoving the blonde vampire over roughly.  Wesley waited for the blow-up, but was only rewarded with a few muffled curses as they both settled in, the blonde relaxing against his sire with a sigh.
~~~*~~~

Cordy was up and feeling better.  She told Wesley she would keep watch while he showered and got some sleep.   It was a little after noon and she was starved.  Since nothing was left from breakfast she munched on an apple while starting coffee.

When Wesley emerged she offered him a cup of the steaming black liquid, which he turned down, thankful for the excuse of needing to get to sleep.

“Hey Wes…how long have we been here?”  She asked peeking out of a window.

He looked up from the pallet he was making on the floor in front of the curved sofa.  “Just before dawn.  They,” he motioned to the vampires, “really should sleep all day.  Make sure of it?”

“Two sleeping vampires, coming up.” She smiled brightly before going for the kill.  “So you wanna tell me why his broodship is snuggled up with the bleached menace?”

He was, once again, amazed at her never-failing ability to get to the point.  “I really have no idea.  I think Angel found this,” he pointed to the offending sofa, “too hard, short, or something or the other.”  He shrugged, pulling a light blanket over himself.

“But it’s Spike!  I mean, he’s like evil, even with his soul.”

“Yes, so evil that he saved you.  Pity that.”  And he turned over, going to sleep as she stared, mouth agape.
~~~*~~~

He was certain that he was sleeping next to the cow when he initially woke.  That was disproved easily when a power arm tightened around him as soon as he moved.   He tried to free himself again only to receive a low growl from the sleeping vampire.

He relented for a moment, remembering a time when Angelus would retire spooned around him.  It was mostly to keep his childe from getting up to all sorts of trouble while the household slept.  After a few attempts at escape, Spike, then William, learned the difficult way to stay still until his sire rose.  Angelus was not beyond draining the fledgling until he was too weak to go far on his own.

And by the way Angel’s mouth settled around the flesh of Spike’s neck, near his mark of turning, the blonde was well aware of what the brunette was prepared to do, even in his sleep.   Just shifting from the human mask to the demon would send those fangs into the younger vampire, no effort required.

Spike sighed, weighing his options.  The feel of his sire’s tongue on his skin decided for him.  Before Angel could react, Spike pushed back against him.

Willow let out a yelp as a large hunk of vampiric flesh fell in front of her.   Cordy just raised an eyebrow.

“SPIKE!”  he bellowed.

The blonde peeked over the edge, a sleepy look on his youthful features.  The smirk was barely visible and Willow was impressed, but not fooled.

“Hmm, Angel?”  He rubbed the heel of a hand into his eye, feigning a yawn.  Cordelia nodded.   (Oh…He’s good.)

Angel got up slowly and stepped around an apparently comatose Wesley to flop heavily on the sofa and glare up at his menace of a childe.  “You did that on purpose!”

His wide-eyed mockery of innocence was his only answer to Angel’s accusation.

“Don’t give me that look…”

“Did what?! I was asleep, minding me own like a good little demon when you started your barking!”

“Hey!”  Willow yelled then lowered her voice quickly.  “You’re gonna wake Wesley…Spike, tell Angel you’re sorry.”

“Me?!  I’ll apologize when Satan wears a pink tutu and takes it up the arse!”

“That made no sense, whatsoever.”  Giles muttered from his seat at the kitchen table.

“Apologize!”  She growled.

“Whatever.”

“We need to maybe plan what to next instead of arguing like two year olds.”

The oldest amongst the group were appropriately embarrassed, stifling the issue for the moment.
~~~*~~~

“There’s a place. East of San Francisco.  It belonged to a friend.”

“Do you think it’s still there?”  Giles asked Spike.

“Even if the building is gone…there’s an underground part only a few knew about.  That should still be intact.”

“So we can stay there?”  Willow asked.

“I doubt that.  We hit it. Get the weapons and keep going.  The safe house is still our best bet.”

Spike highlighted the maps showing the way to San Leandro and Trader’s, a gun dealer in the small bay area town.   When he was done, he sought the company of Willow.

“I’m not speaking to you.”

“Oh…and who is childish now?”  He asked, raising that scarred brow.

“Why do you do it?  Antagonize him?”

“Red, it’s just so bloody easy.”  He lied effectively.  How could he explain his true feelings for his sire without looking like a big ponce?  Most of the time he did not know what his true feelings were, they fluctuated so frequently.

“Well it’s not nice and yes I know…vampire, but still.  He could have been hurt.”

“Are you daft?”

“You know what I mean. And he’s not little.  Any of us would have been squished.  Just stop for a while, all right?  You’re much more than that.”

He frowned.  “Than what, luv?”

“You’re so much more than the demon that took over.  It never beat the man.”

“You didn’t know me, Red.  None of you ever met William the Bloody.”  He corrected her while preparing a bowl of cereal.

“So who was that who came to Parent’s Night?”  Her lips curled into a tiny smile.  The blonde just shook his head, grinning.

“That…was a bloody shadow.  I was divided.  Dru was very ill and I wanted her better.  Needed her to be better.  Vampires don’t get sick so I was concentrating on finding a cure for her and killing the slayer.  I wasn’t very focused.  Once I found out Angelus was on the other team…”

Willow waited while he drifted into himself, hoping he would say more.

“I thought I was trying harder, but I never really wanted to kill him.  I just wanted her.”

It was none of her business, yet… “Do you still want Drusilla?”

He sat next to her at the kitchen table, shoveling cereal in his mouth.

“I will always want her.  I don’t need her anymore.  Don’t crave her.  Don’t worship her.  She hasn’t been my Black Goddess for a while now.”

The young witch pondered this as the vampire attacked the cereal in a way that only a male can.

Spike hoped she was done.  He was wrong.

“Did you still love Drusilla when you loved Buffy?”

It wasn’t the question he had expected.  He could not fathom what went on in the girl’s head, but the twists ands turns of her thoughts usually proved interesting.  And she was talking to him.

“I did…Dru was my past.  My demonic glory.”  He faced Willow, his blue gazed fixed on her and again she felt prey-ish.  She wondered what it would be like to be the focus of his intensity for more than a few minutes.  “We did so much together.  Went everywhere.  Killed everything along the way.  And yes she was crazy, but not so much after she got used to Angelus being gone.”

“And then Angelus, that chip and the slayer ended all that.  But it let me slow down….enough to see humans, feel you all.  And it was…interesting.”

Willow shifted in her seat.

“And suddenly I wasn’t so bored.”  Finally he released her from his gaze.

She breathed again.

“And I saw her.  I couldn’t kill her, possess her that way.  Angelus told me before that the way to kill Buffy was to love her.  It started that way. But it became real, for me.  Fell into my own trap, I did.”  He chuckled, wishing he could smoke inside.

Sensing he was finished with the subject Willow did not push her luck.  “What do you think we’ll find at the safe house?”

Rising to clean his bowl, he shrugged.  In nothing but a pair of navy blue sweatpants Willow noticed again how compact and sinewy he was.  He was a very nice male specimen.

“Like what you see, witch?”  Spike teased, happily amused by the deep red blush spreading over her upper body.

“Huh?  What?  I…Um… No.. I mean…yes, nice, you know, parts and stuff…for a boy…uh man?  But…hello?  Gay here!”

She jumped up, running outside, into the sun, to find Cordelia.

~Part: 6~

After much arguing and a barely averted fist fight, Angel reluctantly agreed to let Spike drive the motor home, while he moved the debris from their path when needed.  Currently he was outside clearing a cluster of cars.  Willow and Wesley followed closely in the van as they made their way to San Leandro.  According to the blonde it was about 120 miles from were they camped for the day and with any luck they would be there, in and out, before midnight.

“Willow.”

The girl screeched, as the dark-haired vampire materialized at her window.  He apologized, but wore a suspicious smirk as well.

“Damn it!  What is it with you two?  What?”  She asked, annoyed at having her heart dragged into her throat yet again by one of the undead.  With all her power she had hoped to become a bit less jumpy about this type of thing, but apparently it was not in the cards.

“I see a Best Buy, over there past that…Costco,” He frowned reading the signs only he and Spike would be able to see in this total blackness.   Willow felt a bit cheated since she could not see past Angel’s pale features into the swirling darkness.  “What’s a Costco?”

“Oh, it’s this huge wholesale place and they have a bit of everything, and you have to buy like a gazillion of them, but it’s worth it if you have a big family or are having a party… and we aren’t so I guess we don’t need to go there, but they have food… Lots of it.  Didn’t Cordelia sign up Angel Investigations?”

He looked at her strangely, still wondering what a Costco was.  “I’ll just tell the others.”

He left them and knocked on the RV as it cruised along, slowly weaving it’s way through the mess.  Spike stopped to let him in.

“Tired already, old man?”  He teased.

Angel just stared at him until the blonde looked away which took a few minutes, angering the demon inside at his childe’s constant insolence.  “We’re getting off the freeway next exit.”

“What the bloody hell for Angelus?  We’ve got maybe 50 miles to go.”   His sire was not familiar with this part of the state and there were a few spots in the area the younger demon wanted to check out, somewhere that would be safe for them to stop for a few days and get their collective acts together before hitting this council safe house.  He was not particularly confident that it would be safe at all.

“Willow needs some stuff for the computer.  She thinks she can get internet access.”

Spike growled softly.  “That girl’s always thinking of something.   How long?”

“We’ll tell her to make it quick.  Thirty minutes and back on the road.”

He relented and took the next exit.  They worked their way to the store, pulling up in front of the entrance.   Willow and Wesley locked the van and joined the others in the RV.

Angel leaned over his childe and spoke in a low tone.  “I’ll go in with Willow.  Spike, keep them safe.”

The blonde nodded and lit a cigarette.  He faced the group his sire entrusted to him as Angel and Willow closed the door behind them, a cell phone in her hand.  “Keep all the lights off and no noise.”

“Hey, who died and left you in charge?”  The seer whined from her seat in the kitchen; she was reading one of the magazines that Willow had picked up for her.

“Look, bint, don’t make me regret saving your pitiful life more than I already do!  It’s bloody well embarrassing.  I should have turned you.  You were ripe for it.”

“Eww.  Giles tell the resident evil one to keep his fangs away from me!”  She tossed her orange peel at the blonde.

“Just imagine…a childe of William the Bloody.  You’d be glorious, strikingly beautiful.”

“Spike, keep your fangs to yourself.”  Giles chimed in distractedly, never looking up from his reading.

“No need to imagine, Blondie.  I’m already strikingly beautiful.  It’s the dust, makes me look pasty.  Nothing a good facial wouldn’t fix.”

“Yeah well, still, turn off that light and shut your yapping hole.  I need to be able to see and hear what’s out there.  And we don’t need to be a soddin’ beacon.”

~~~*~~~

“Uh…Willow, how much stuff do you need?”

“Well, these are batteries for the cell phone.  We need to keep as many charged as we can.  And this is an adapter.  I can use this to hook the cell phone to my laptop and get onto the internet.  And this is the stuff for wireless access.  If I can hack into their system, I can get service on their satellite and we can have access just about everywhere without using the cells at all.  But I need the cells to hack in.  Then these are video games for Spike and more controllers and a hub so more than two players can play at once and memory cards…”

“All right…”  He held up a hand, realizing that she would explain every item, which was not needed.  The question had been rhetorical.  “So what’s going on with you and Spike?”

She froze for a fraction of a second.  Not something a mortal would have noticed, but the vampire did and filed it away for later scrutiny.

“Nothing’s going on…we’re just friends.”

“Since when?  You never even thought enough of him to tell him when my soul was gone.  And I know that you could have removed his chip ages ago.”

“What?!”  She spun to face him, her unsuccessful attempt at feigning indifference to the conversation exposed.  “Like I should have removed it?  He was soulless and would have killed us all, Angel.  You know that!”

Angel was convinced that his childe had buried some feelings for this girl.  The long abandoned bond told him that much but not much more.  It was apparent in how many times his demon went after the redhead and the fact that he was going to turn her meant that the blonde found her intriguing.  Gazing at her now, he saw what his childe must see, the darkness that threatened to bubble over, yet was always simmering under the surface, the naiveté that the world was black and white, the resolve to accept the gray.   She was mutable and changeable, yet fixed and determined, so like what he remembered William to be.

“No…He would never have killed them all.  He actually liked you guys in his own way.  You have to know that.  And even when he stayed and took care of you all after Buffy...after Glory…You still thought he would kill you?  And after he came back with a soul?”

Willow stepped away from him, directing her interest, once again, to the items they would need.  The vampire was convinced that she was not going to answer when she finally spoke.  “It was me…Buffy died, Giles left.  I thought that if I fixed him, he would leave us too and I would be the only thing there to protect the gang and the Hellmouth.   I needed him stay, Angel.  No one ever stays.  You didn’t.”

He felt his anger swelling and tamped it down until it was something he could manage before replying.  “I am not responsible for your abandonment issues, Willow.  Unless you wanted to see me without my soul again, I had to leave.  Buffy and I didn’t have that much control.  And Spike never left anyone in his life or unlife.  He wouldn’t.  He’s been left behind.  Despite how perfect he was, I left him.”

Willow’s demeanor softened at his admission.  “It was Angelus who left him.”

The vampire chuckled, smirking at the small redhead.  “I am Angelus.  I will always be Angelus.  I just have a soul that provides me with a moral compass by which I weigh and judge my actions.  I’m still capable of all the things that I did without my soul, but now I choose not to follow my instincts.”

“Your instincts.”   She mimicked, expressionlessly.

“Yes…Everything that Spike has ever said to you…like when you kept him chained in the bathtub,” he held up his hand, stilling her defensive comments.  “That he hated you all, wanted to kill you and planned to.  That is true of me as well.  My demon, my instincts, scream at me right now to take you, sink my fangs in and drain you dry.  Or better yet, turn you and keep you with us forever.  I could definitely stand to have you all around for a few hundred years…well maybe not Giles…” He thought it over a moment longer before confirming, “No, not Giles…I think he’s still angry at me about Jenny and the whole torture thing.”

“Angel…”  Willow’s brow was creased with worry and confusion.  “Are you joking?”  He could not be serious.  He did not want to kill them all and turn them into his own demonic version of the Brady Bunch, did he?

“A little.”  He smiled to put her at ease.  “Let’s finish before Spike comes storming in after us.”

~~~*~~~

On the way back to the freeway they found a station with a working pump and filled up.  They also filled the water tanks, taking an extra hour, but it had to be done, so even the blonde demon did not complain.

Spike drove the rest of the way, the road clear enough that Angel did not need to move anything once they passed through the town of Tracy.    Willow wanted to stay in the RV to work on her laptop so Giles joined Wesley in the van.

An hour later, they pulled up in front of a burned out shop, the red “Trader’s” sign partially melted.  The street was quiet and, with the exception of a pack of now wild dogs, devoid of life.

The first time Spike had been in this town, over twenty years ago, he had saved the owner, a Drakiate demon, from a band of Mistaltens, hell bent on killing him and his children and using their highly coveted skin for a power stealing ritual.  The Mistaltens had numbers, but not nearly enough power to defeat the vampire or his minions and the fight was quick and blood-drenched.  He remembered it as a satisfying day.  He left a few of his newer minions with his friend, and the demon pledged his allegiance to the childe of Aurelius.  They remained on good terms, the blonde sometimes leaving Sunnydale to visit for a weekend.

It was with a bit of sadness that he sensed no life in the blackened building.  With a sigh he turned to his sire, amused that it would take the world nearly ending for him to think of the older vampire that way again.

“This is it.  We need to go in together.  Have your watcher put up that ward and Willow is here in case something goes down.  She’s strong.”

“Spike, what’s up?  Do you expect trouble?”

The blonde grinned at him, sticking an unlit cigarette between his lips.  “Come on, Daddy…I always expect trouble.”

~Part: 7~

The only sound to be heard was the slightest crunching of the charred remains of glass, goods, and perhaps people as they stepped carefully and as close to silently as possible.  Angel felt his demon kick into high gear.

Something was here.  Something was wrong.

Without a word Spike looked to him and nodded, slipping into gameface with silent understanding.  His senses were also being assaulted by a feeling of doom that impends.  He smiled through pointed fangs at the Xanderesque thought, not sure when he had come to miss the whelp.   In fact missed them all, each in a different way, but their presence would be welcome in this world that had become too quiet.

He shoved those feelings away in favor of the task at hand.  Angel stopped, stiff and tense.   With his vampiric eyes he surveyed his surroundings.  The long plexi-glass encasement that ran along to the right of the entrance was smashed completely.  It was where the demon kept his legal products, nothing of interest would be found here.

Axe ready, the blonde motioned for his sire to follow him, although it was needless as the brunette had no intention of separating from his childe.   Together they moved to the back of what remained of the shop, Spike studying the floor, Angel watching their backs.  The older vampire turned away from his vigil to see what Spike was up to just as his childe dug into his pocket.  He produced a test tube like container and sprinkled its contents over a spot on the rubbish-covered surface.

He grinned up at his sire as the flooring separated to reveal a dark cavern, cement stairs curving in a spiral descent into nothingness.  He shrugged and took the lead, Angel close behind.

Once both were through, the floor turned ceiling, slid closed above them, increasing the darkness so that they both strained to see from the lack of light.   The brunette gripped his sword tighter aware that anything could be waiting in the shadows.  His only comfort was that the blonde was not as anxious as he was upstairs which lead him to conclude that he knew what he was doing or at least what or who to expect.

They reached the bottom stair and Spike sniffed the air, turning to head to left, which took them back toward the front of the store.

~~~*~~~

“How long did he say wait before calling on the cell?”  Cordy asked.  The still lifelessness of what had once been a vibrant small town community had disturbed her.  She was letting guilt get a foothold as well.  It was her opinion that if Angel and the others had not been busy fighting her, then they could have helped Buffy and perhaps averted more of this catastrophe.

“Fifteen minutes and they will call us.”  Wesley’s reply was rather deadpanned.  He wanted to be somewhere, anywhere, for a few days; stop moving and get their bearings.  At present he felt out of his skin and unreal.  It was annoying and distracting, but he thought it would not go away until he was able to just be.  So far they had not come across another human being and he was disappointed.  He had been sure that people were just hiding, yet seeing so much food left behind everywhere they had stopped, he accepted that it was not promising.  They were to do this alone, whatever this was.

Willow did what she did best under stress; she buried herself in work.  This time it took the form of installing software for wireless access.  While that was loading, she rummaged through the bin of items she had ‘borrowed’ from Best Buy, squealing happily when she found the adapter.   When they were driving she did not bother trying to get access. It would be unstable while in motion and they were traversing the Altamont pass, full of windmills and notoriously for bad cellular reception.   Now that they were stationary and in the heart of the Bay Area reception would be a given.

“What ya doing?”  The seer was bored.  Willow could see some definite similarities between her old high school almost friend and Spike.

“I am…”  She hooked the adapter into the correct port, “getting us on the internet…hopefully.  If there is one…”  She frowned, not wanting to think about that.

“So what then?  Play games?  Shop online? Oh now there’s an idea.”

The redhead rolled her eyes, deciding that her friend was joking and not stupid.

“We figure out who’s left.  And maybe try to find them.”

Cordelia sat back in her seat, glancing out of the window that faced the street.  That they were the only people left had crossed her mind, but it seemed impossible.  Somewhere there were others and Angel would find them.

~~~*~~~

Spike was halted by a firm hand on his arm pulling him back flush against the older vampire just as several items passed in front of them, projectiles racing with deadly intent.  Most were stuck in the opposite wall.

Knives.

They both relaxed.  At least it was designed to deter humans and vampires.  But now they proceeded more cautiously, looking for triggers.

After an agonizingly slow trek down a path of no more than forty feet, the pair reached a steel door with a circular symbol in the middle.  Otherwise it was bare, no knob, or handle.

The blonde seemed unimpressed as he bit into his wrist, flinging his blood and some of the dust onto the symbol.  He smiled again when this door slid to the left, moving forward into this new unknown.  His surprise when Angel took his bleeding wrist to his mouth, licking the wound until closed, was only surpassed by the shock of seeing his Drakiatian friend, laying dead on the dusty floor a few feet away.

“Fuck Angelus, stop.”  He whispered coldly and for his sire’s ears only.  Angel craned his neck to follow the blonde’s line of sight, mentally flinching from the sudden surge of emotion coming from the rarely used bond.

The demon appeared to have been trying to flee when he was somehow assailed.  Spike crept and leaned over the body, using his heightened senses to surmise the obvious cause of death.  He could see no wounds nor smell any blood.

Magic.

The room was only about fifteen foot squared and devoid of any other beings living or dead, but before moving any further Angel came to the same conclusion and dialed the number for the cell left with the others.

He held it out to Spike, lips pursed.  The blonde rolled his eyes at the busy signal.

“Who the bloody hell can they be calling?  There’s not a soddin’ person left on the planet, eh?”

“I’ll bet she’s trying to get that internet up.”  He sighed, about to lean against the wall then standing straight up, thinking better of it.

“Right…so now what?”  Spike stared into the room, taking a mental inventory of the items he thought they could use.   There were two Vetwox swords, made of silver and good for killing a variety of demons, including werewolves.   Also he hoped that the 9mm Parebellum cartridges he saw down here before were still locked away.  Marty created designer bullets for the Luger, and the vamp was interested in those containing holy water.  It may not kill but it will stop an attacking vampire’s progress.  The humans needed something, in case he or Angel were not around.

“We go back or wait for them to get off the phone and call us?”

Since neither wanted to make the trip back just yet, they waited.

~~~*~~~

“Okay now it’s been 30 minutes Willow.  Don’t you think they should have called by now?”

The witch had already installed all the hardware and was waiting for the auto-install program to finish downloading from the site.  Because it was cellular access the connection was slow.

Giles approached, offering bowls of Spaghettios.  “Willow, on what phone are they to call?”

“This one…OH!  Shit!  I mean, oops!”  Smiling sheepishly, she quickly, but reluctantly disconnected from the computer and dialed Angel.

“Hey….”

“Willow, we’ve been trying to call…”

“I know. I’m sorry.  I forgot and started… Nevermind.  Did you find anything?”

“Yeah, Spike’s friend.  But he’s a little on the dead side.”

“Oh…”

“Looks like magic, but we can’t be sure.  Can you tell if there are any spells in place?”

“Yeah, sure I guess.”

“Do you have to come down here?  I’d rather you didn’t but…”

“No… I can do it here.  But if anyone is around, they’ll feel it.  Me.”

“I know, but it’s an emergency and then we’ll get out of here.”

“Okay, give me a few and I’ll call you back?”

“Sure.”

She hung up and found herself the under scrutiny of two watchers and a seer.

“What??”  She cried, annoyed by the attention, then gasped.  “Oh… They found his friend, dead, and think it was magic, but can’t be sure and don’t wanna end up like him so they want me to case the place for any mojo bugs.  It’ll be easy.  Oh and then we’re gonna hightail it outta here before the baddies come a calling.”  She added with a firm nod.

~~~*~~~

Half Moon Bay sat like a crescent along the choppy Pacific.  Even in June the weather here was cold, the California sunshine unable to penetrate the consistent fog regularly.

Tiny crabs made their way along the sand unbothered; the demons had no interest in something so much like them.   They instinctively avoided the caves now, somehow able to comprehend the hidden dangers there.

Inside on cave set back from the ocean, a fire burned, keeping its occupants warm while simultaneously cooking a few of the unlucky crabs.   The group spoke in hushed tones.  They were eager to remain concealed from those that hunted their kind.

The blonde witch sat alone.  It was she who protected them when the demons, vile and horrific, came to kill them. And so they stayed with her, provided food and shelter and followed her because without her, without her magic, no normal humans could survive.

A child toddled to her, arms outstretched, and the witch enfolded him in her embrace.  He cooed quietly and she smiled wishing she could do more for them.

It was the sudden shift in wind that alerted her to a presence.  She released the boy and stood, padding to the end of the cave.  With her magically enhanced senses she could see the crackling in the air.  Someone was calling on the power of the earth.  Closing her eyes she sent out her feelers, wanting to gauge intent.

The force knocked her backwards, hitting her head as she collided with the rocky flooring.  The others were beside her instantly, helping her up as she rubbed her head, one incredulous thought finding the way to her mouth.

“It’s her…”

~Part: 8~

Willow was able to detect several spells in place, protecting the small room from intruders.  With a little help from the earth she was able to hold the spells in suspense while Spike and Angel took what they deemed necessary and exited the building.   She could also sense that her presence did not go unnoticed by more unsavory types so they were quick to be on the move again.

Now they were in Oakland, the next biggest city in the area, San Francisco being the most heavily populated.  It was as deserted as the small city they just left, a depressing fact even as Willow tried to put on a happy face.

“So where to now?”  She stuffed microwave popcorn in her mouth.  Dinner.

Spike was driving the RV, the smoke from his cigarette escaping through the half opened window.  He stole a kernel periodically.

“Angel wants to keep going.  But…”

“But what?”  The entire trip, since they left Patterson, the blonde was on edge, which unnerved Willow.  Hopefully, he would open up to her.  If he thought something bad was going to happen, she was inclined to believe him.  In her opinion, Drusilla was not the only childe of Angelus with psychic abilities.  Spike just never had to exercise them much with his dark princess at his side.  Over time, the redhead learned that the vampire possessed an uncanny talent for deciphering motives and hidden agendas.

Or maybe it was just the whole being able to tell when someone was lying to him by the changes in heartbeat and the scent of fear.  Either way, he was a good judge of character.  Buffy told her that Spike met Parker once and picked up on his I’m-so-vunerable-don’t-you-wanna-jump-my-bones? act within seconds.  Of course she did not pay attention as she was busy trying to kill the blonde duo that was Spike and Harmony.  But later when the vampire tossed her indiscretion in Buffy’s face the slayer remembered that he’d seen right through the womanizing creep, instantly liking him for his deceptive qualities.  Spike’s rich, soothing voice brought the redhead back to the present.

“I don’t know…and that’s what bothers me.  I feel like we’re heading for a trap and I’d like to be a little less road weary for a while.  I need time to think.  We all do.”

He tossed the butt out the window and ran a frustrated hand through his hair, sighing.  The bluest eyes turned to her for a few seconds, the slight wrinkling in their corners as he smiled warmly suddenly charming.

“Whatever happens, I’ll protect you, Red.  Promise.”

Knowing what a promise meant to Spike, Willow nodded, unable to speak without her voice breaking.  They drove along enjoying a comfortable silence.  She was still incapable of seeing past the whitish beams of the headlights.  It was as if there was no world beyond the meager illumination they supplied.

“What’s out there?  You can see, right?”

He frowned, his perfect features marred by the act, as he considered creating a more comforting truth.  The light of day would have him found out soon enough so he refrained.

“Death…nothing but death.”

“Demons?”

“Nothing that I can sense.  Not even a dog.  The First did a right fine job of buggering up the place.”  His jaw clenched.

Her eyes caught sight of the coolers containing blood.  There was enough to last the two vampires maybe two weeks.  They would have to find a supply wherever they went.  She turned in the swiveling seat, looking past research-mode Giles for Cordelia, but the missing seer must have gone to sleep.  She was healing well, but still tired easily.

“Gonna check on Cordy.  You need anything?”  Her tiny hand rested on his shoulder as she asked, the restrained power she sensed surprising her again.

“Did you nick any hot chocolate with the little marshmallows?”
~~~*~~~
 

“I think everyone would want to, Angel.”

“But everyone is not saying anything.  Only you.”  He followed behind Spike, growing agitated by Wesley’s badgering.

“Ask them.  It’s not a dictatorship.  We’ve all done our share to get us where we are.”  His chin was firm and that bottom lip of his poked out in that unignorably cute way that infuriated Angel.

“Fine.  Next stop, I’ll ask.  We’ll vote.”  The discussion had been going on for the last 30 minutes and he was too exhausted to continue.  And he truthfully believed that everyone else would want to press on to the safehouse and recuperate there.  So this was just to appease Wesley and not a real concession on the vampire’s part.

The watcher nodded and went back to looking out the window, eyes struggling to see what his nose declined to acknowledge.
~~~*~~~
 

Willow slid the accordion door shut behind her and sat on the bed next to the brunette who was watching a DVD, or perhaps it was watching her.  The witch turned the volume up a bit to drown out her next words and keep them from being overheard.

Cordelia observed the operation with a raised brow, wondering what her friend wanted to tell her.  She didn’t have to wonder long.

“We’re going to have to feed them.”

She got to the meat of the matter instantly and the seer smiled at how so unlike Willow Rosenberg this powerful creature really was.  She looked like Willow and sounded like Willow, had her mannerisms and quirks, but she wasn’t Willow.  Not really.  The magic inside her, the black magic that she took in, altered her beyond return.

They were alike in that respect.

Cordelia knew she would never be the same, self-centered, but caring, bold girl she once was; the demon that possessed her saw to that.  And her half demon status only anchored her belief in her transformations more firmly.

She realized she had been sitting, cross-legged and slack-jawed, while Willow waited for her to respond.

“As in feed feed?”

“No, as in toss bread crumbs and watch them peck and squawk.”

The imagery was amusing if unlikely.

“Okay…let me add sarcastic Willow to the ever-growing list of surprises.”  She popped a sunflower seed in her mouth, offering the bag to the redhead.

Willow poured a few into her hand and began the seed-eating ritual, known to all people born after 1965.  In between the popping, sucking, cracking, nibbling, and spitting, they talked.

“So…why the sudden concern?  They have blood.  There are animals.  And we’re bound to find a blood bank or hospital.”

“And if we don’t?  Do we let the two strongest fighters, not to mention our friends, starve while we have plenty of food flowing through our veins?”

“No.  Of course not, but… Geez Wills it’s a lot to ask, ya know?”

“No, I don’t.  It was a lot to ask when Spike saved your ass.  He wanted to finish it, drain you, maybe turn you, who knows.  He’s a demon.  Soul or no soul, it’s kinda what he does.  But he didn’t.  Because you matter to Angel and therefore you matter to him.”

“He and Angel hate each other.”  She retorted smugly.

“Noooo...He and Angel hate that they made some bad decisions and each one has been too stubborn to give in.  Come on, Cordy!  Do you really think that Angel couldn’t have killed Spike back in Sunnydale when we first started with the whole Scoobie thing.  Hell Spike could have killed Angel too.”

“Your point?”  Her arms were crossed as if she could dismiss the reasoning.

“Neither did because they didn’t want to.  Spike and Angelus killed everyone else he wanted to kill, and almost killed Buffy, really, a few times.  She got lucky.”

“They could kill us…feeding from us I mean.”

“We can draw the blood for them…Look just consider it, please.  If either gets hurt, human blood is best for healing quickly.  And we need them strong.”

“Angel gets really Angelusy when he drinks human blood.”

Willow thought about what Spike said, about the dangers they may be walking into and eyed her friend levelly, black bleeding into the green orbs.

“Good.”

~~~*~~~

Vacaville was a cow town, literally, and there were numerous bovine still running free.   Spike inhaled deeply off his cigarette while Giles and Angel pumped gas.  Wesley kept looking to the dark vampire, waiting for him to bring up the subject of their discussion, noticing how the demon averted his eyes.  A clearing of the mortal’s throat which sounded more like a threat set the broody one in reluctant motion.

“Hey guys?”  He called, not loud enough for all to hear and shrugged when Wesley rolled his eyes.

The younger watcher took the decision away from the vampire, quickly losing his patience.

“Everyone…we need to talk.  Willow, Spike… Giles…where is Cordelia?”  The seer poked her head out of the mini-mart, a hand basket filled with what limited goods she deemed worthy of her thievery. “Ah…so all present and accounted for.  Angel has something he would like to ask.”

All eyes fell on him expectantly and he suddenly knew how the butterfly felt, wings pinned to the corkboard.

“Yeah…Wesley thought it would be a good idea to stop for a few days and, you know, plan something.  But I told him we all wanted to keep driving.  The sooner we get there the better, right?”  He clapped two large hands together, grinning.  It was scary.

“Sod that...”

“See Wes, I told you…”

“No, Peaches, sod the bloody drive.  I vote for a rest.”

Willow didn’t hesitate.  “Me too.  For a few days.  I’m sure I can get a connection if we’re stable in an area that was well populated.  We need a plan.”  She winked at Wesley, whose grateful smile warmed her.

Giles chimed in stating that he was more than willing to wait a few days in order to insure everyone’s safety.

This was not how he imagined the talk would go.  Angel scowled, glowering at Wesley who only grinned back triumphantly.

“So where do we stop.  Sun’ll be up in a few hours.”

“UC Davis is only a few miles away.”  Willow suggested.  “I came up here for a tour when I was deciding where to go.”

They all nodded in agreement that it seemed ideal and began boarding the vehicles.  The blonde stepped off into the darkness.

“Where are you going?”  Angel was at his side, placing a restraining hand on his muscled arm.

“Lotta food out there.  Not letting it go to waste, am I?”

~Part: 9~

They settled on what had been an off-campus housing complex, apparently where the well-to-do sent their offspring to cohabitate together.  None of that mixing with the commoners for them, even in college.  It was well appointed and sported a good amount of creature comforts the poor peasants in the dorms could only envy.

The Castillian.

The subtle sign let onlookers know that the school's royalty could be found there.  Ironic that a former vampire king and his brat prince would be making this their temporary home, their loyal subjects a merry band of four.

Before deciding, Spike and Willow did a little reconnaissance on campus.  Both could sense a recent demonic presence, and although it was gone now, neither wanted to chance settling near its former lair only to have it return, pissed at having its homestead usurped.

There were two sides to the complex, each three stories with about 60 individual living units, all abandoned.  One side consisted of two bedroom apartments, while the other was composed of three bedroom suites, without benefit of kitchen facilities.  Between the housing units was a large multi-sectioned building.  Inside was a dining commons, a covered patio area and a large lounge with a huge television and pool table.  It was through this room that the exhausted group first entered.

Off to the left, when coming through the main doors, was a smaller room, housing video games and what appeared to be a small store.

They finished exploring the place and decided to take over two neighboring second-story apartment units that sided with the parking lot.  Spike and Wesley moved the RV and van from the street to the lot, one directly below each unit.

Spike jumped out of the motorhome, lighting the obligatory smoke.  The vampire was beginning to understand why his sire kept this human close to him.  His mind was sharp, and even if he seemed a bit distracted at times, Spike knew a cover when he saw it.  The man fostered and encouraged others to overlook his considerable abilities.

“Oi, Wesley, leave it there, mate!”  He shouted, stopping the ex-watcher from backing up any further.

A head of dark, relaxed curls poked through the window.  “I thought we could have it under the bedroom window since that one is easier to fit through.”

The blonde shrugged quickly, again noticing the man’s multi-level thought process.   “Do it then and let’s get ‘em locked up.”

They finished the assignment and returned to the others.

~~~*~~~

Since a lot of things were left behind by those who either fled or died or eventually both, they did not unpack the RV, leaving everything but basic toiletries in case the need to depart quickly arose.

Willow had also unpacked ingredients for a protection and demon uninvite spell.  She sat in her circle, chanting, her own energy crackling around her.

When done, she collapsed, sleepy from the effort.  The blonde was instantly at her side.

“Red? You all right, then?”  He pulled her upright, gently cradling her trembling body.  He looked up at Angel, a concerned frown on his face.

“Mmmm…just tired, Spike.  Gonna sleep, okay?”  Her eyes slipped closed, not waiting for a reply as the vampires heard her heartbeat, which was fast and erratic, begin a slower, stronger rhythm.

Spike picked her up and draped her on the dull brown sofa, the fraternal twin of an equally dull blue sofa in the next unit.

“Giles, why is she so tired?  I’ve seen her work much more powerful mojo and then go Bronzing.”

The older watcher covered their resident witch with a blanket he found in the hall closet.  “She’s using her power only, which she has been draining little by little on the wards.  If she pulls power from the earth she can be detected.  She knows that.”  His tone indicated that Willow made these decisions without consulting him or anyone else.

He knew better than to try and dissuade her, but Spike did not like it.    She was helpless like this, unable to defend herself, unaware of everything around her.

<Fuck!>

Four sets of eyes were locked onto him and realized he had spoken out loud.  The floor strained from the pressure of his worn boots as he stomped from the living room  through the first open door he encountered, slamming it behind him.

He wanted to hit the walls, tear through them, crumbling the plaster and wood until they were nothing but a powdery dust.  How could she trust him?  It enraged his demon, but the man in him grinned happily at the fact.  The girl was surrounded by two master vampires, sleeping like the proverbial baby, not concerned for her safety.  She was so certain that they would care for her.  It chilled and warmed him equally.

Spike sat on the vanity, the mirror behind him vacant of his image, as he mulled these disturbing things over in his mind.  If he were totally honest, his demon was not all that angry that Willow trusted him.  It was, in fact, still obsessed with making her his.  He would always harbor a desire to turn his redhead and keep her for eternity.  It was the knowledge that he could not, well he could, but his sire would not allow it, that rubbed him wrong.  Everything was just fucked up.

It was dark in the tiny room, but he took in his surroundings just fine.  He tried the lever, grinning at the whooshing sound of the flush.  The girls would be happy to have working indoor plumbing for a while.

~~~*~~~

“We should stay together.”

The older vampire felt it was safer to stay in one apartment.

“Angel, come one.  Will you stop with the worrying for one minute?  Willow did the spell.  No one can get close without us knowing and then they can’t get in if they are a demon.  Break a hole in the wall here,” Cordelia  patted her hand over the smooth wall dividing the units.  “And stop trying to control everything.”

She stepped to the side with her arms crossed, waiting.

Angel’s eyes widened comically.  “Really?  You mean a real hole?”

“No, I mean a fictional hole that we can all pretend to walk and talk through.  Cuz I’ve been wishing for one of those.”

He rolled his eyes, getting the undisguised sarcasm.  He approached the wall, startled by the Sponge Bob Square Pants oven mitt shoved in his face by a smiling Wesley.

“So we don’t have to patch up your bleeding hand after.”

The vampire grunted a thanks, slipping the horrific object on his hand and shaking his head.  At some point the psyche of young Americans had taken a sad downward turn.

The pounding and cracking of plaster brought the blonde out of his retreat, gameface fading as he saw that it was only his sire.

“Got something you wanna share with the rest of us, Peaches?”

Angel only growled, hitting the wall harder. Shrugging, Spike found the mate to the mitt and joined the other vampire.  Destruction of property was always a favorite pastime, especially during his chipped era.

~~~*~~~

The witch looked around one last time, wondering if she was doing the right thing.  Everything was packed and everyone lingered about, waiting for her to say it was time to go.  They would follow her anywhere.  She knew that.  She was their protector and instinct dictated that they should stay close.  And with all her power, she felt imprisoned.

Captured.

She would perform for them when needed, conjuring up magics to fight off the demons that would kill any of these fragile creatures that she considered her own.  But she knew the truth.  She belonged to them.

“Are you ready?”

Kyle.  Her warrior.  Ever the impatient one.  He was bold in all things, challenging her where the others were too afraid or in awe of her to voice an opinion.  She smiled benevolently at him as he lifted her small, but heavy holdall easily, still trying to get her to move along.

“Yeah.  Is the bus gassed up?”

“Yep, now come on.  The other one could be anywhere by now.  How do you expect to find her anyway?”  His green eyes were cold, not like the welcoming warmth she always found in Willow’s, whether she deserved it or not.

“Oh…She’ll use again.  She can’t help it.”

~~~*~~~

Cordy took the bedroom with an adjoining bath.  She was enjoying the steaming hot water of her first real shower in nearly two weeks.  The five-minute-shower rule was tossed to the back of her mind as she let the water wash away the filth of her more recent sins.  Lorne’s face flashed before her eyes, trusting and loyal.   She closed them tightly, willing the unwanted image away.

“It was the demon.  It was the demon.”  She whispered repeatedly as her hand hit the tiled wall.

“I’m sorry, sorry, sorry.”  Her tears fell unnoticed.  “Please…I didn’t mean to…couldn’t stop…”  She sobbed loudly and sunk to the floor.

The door opened, but she did not hear, her own body now caught up in the violent unproductive retching, disgust at what she had done making her physically sick.

Spike lingered on the other side of the plastic Sponge Bob shower curtain.  Giles, Wesley and his sire had gone to the dining commons in search of food and left him to watch over the witch and the seer.  Now that he had discovered the latter, in the midst of a nervous breakdown apparently, he was not sure what to do with her.

When he saved her from bleeding to death, it was impulsive.  He had not thought about it much, he had just acted.  But now she was awake, wailing like a banshee and naked.  Considering her temperament, his interference would not be well tolerated.  Yet she seemed so lost and his stupid cock-up of a soul screamed at him to help her.

“Cordelia…”

He could sense her stiffening, a little fear, but more curiosity, pouring from her.  “What do you want?”  She managed between sniffles.

“Hot water for one thing.  So stop wasting it all and turn off the bloody shower.”

<There.  That ought to get her riled up.>

“Fuck you, Spike.”

<Bingo.>

“Is that an offer?”

His eyes bugged at the sound of her breaking into a new fit of hysterical tears.  This was a far cry from what he had planned.

“Shit, pet.  I’m sorry.  I was just messing with ya, is all.  Please stop crying.”  The sound was driving him batty and he needed to kill…something.  It reminded him of Drusilla on a bad day.

Dru.

He could hear her as she shuffled awkwardly to her feet, the curtain rings tense under the pressure of her using the plastic as an aid.   He waited patiently for it to fall.  He got his soul, but did not lose even one testicle in the process.  Therefore he was not going to pass up a glimpse at the voluptuous brunette sans clothing.  Dripping.  Tortured.

Suddenly, his jeans were too tight.

“Can you hand me a towel?”  She asked meekly.

“Sure…here.”

“Thanks.”

He left the room, his job done.

For a few seconds she could not move.  It puzzled her that he would help her, that he would even be bothered to try so she dress quickly and found him a few minutes later going through the previous resident’s horrifically limited DVD collection.  He held up two boxes with one hand, running the pale fingers of the other through the sleeping witch’s soft red tresses.

“What do you wanna watch first?  Van Wilder or Corky Romano?”

~Part: 10~

Ethan Rayne had always managed to play for the wrong team.  No matter the situation or scenario, if there was a bad guy, he was on the sidelines, cheering him on and passing him weapons.

It was an addiction.  The power.  The chaos.  And working for the white hats just did not satisfy the need that pulled at him incessantly.

So, it was with mixed feelings and a confused mind that he found himself sifting through rubble in what remained of his oldest and surprisingly most trusted friend’s home.  Some would have laughed at that admission, thinking him a sad, sorry creature for suggesting that Rupert Giles would ever consider the mage a friend, but Ethan knew differently.  Once upon a time the two were inseparable; mind, body and spirit merging as one through the use of the high magics they practiced.  That kind of bond did not die or diminish, and theirs was no exception. That Ripper denied the depth of their relationship was just a front for his young, opinionated charges and Ethan understood it was Rupert’s justified anger that guided him in their most recent encounters.  The sorcerer had a tendency to push too far in his attempts to regain the watcher’s attention and the latest games backfired amusingly.

It was this strong tie that brought him to the dormant mouth of Hell seeking his old companion as the earth lay in ruin.  Once close to the small city he knew that Rupert was gone, not dead, but on the move.  Unfortunately, the mess in the flat offered no clue as to his whereabouts and Ethan was reluctant to use magic to find him; to do so was comparable to sending up a flare for all demons in the area.   Hence he had to rely on his intuition which was now urging him to go north, the swirling tendrils flowing through him tugged in that direction, nearly knocking him over whenever he closed his eyes and thought of the other man.

He envied Rupert’s ability to resist this pull so effectively.  He could sense that the watcher felt it as much as he did, only his stubborn mind keeping him from searching for Ethan himself.

With a sigh he shuffled through the mess toward the cracked door, picking up a few sweaters and a book, “The Magic of Condescor”, which he knew was a favorite of his friend and headed back to his ‘borrowed’ Nissan.  Climbing into the driver’s seat he looked up into the clear blue sky.

“Where are you, Ripper?”
~~~*~~~
 

To the trio’s surprise, there was not much food left in the dining common’s kitchen.  The students and staff had raided the storage room before fleeing, leaving slim pickings.  Inside the motor home was enough food to last the humans a month. Even longer if Spike stopped eating. Angel scrounged up two large boxes of instant mashed potatoes and a case of instant milk while Giles found some cartons that he mistook for milk, but were actually powdered eggs.

They examined the room skeptically and found nothing more.  Angel ran a hand through ungelled hair with a sigh.

“We’re gonna have to find more food or start in on the stuff in the RV.”

Wesley nodded. “Find more where?  This is a small college town.  I’d be surprised to find more than a few grocery stores.  I’m sure they are picked clean as well.”  When it looked like the vampire was going to argue, the brunette continued, holding up a deceptively gentle hand to stay his comments.  “They had time, Angel.  Los Angeles was hit within two hours, but these people had warning and tried to prepare for a fight or they ran.  Either way, they got supplies.  I think we shall be very hard pressed to find food soon.”

Giles considered what his comrade said, reluctantly seeing the all too probable truth.  “We’ll start rations.  Nothing drastic, but just no unneeded snacking.  And that includes Spike.”  He eyed Angel pointedly.

“Don’t look at me.  I’m not telling him.”

“Yes, well, where you may fail to….”

Giles faltered, stumbling and suddenly confused.  Angel moved to catch the older man before he hit the hard, cement flooring.

“Rupert?”  Wesley placed a hand on the small of his back, steadying him.  “What’s happening?”  His clinical detachment was something Angel always admired about the ex-watcher.  It made him an asset in a crisis where some others became liabilities.

“I’m fine…”  He stood straight, taking his own weight off of the vampire and pushing his glasses up on his nose with a slightly trembling finger.

“That’s not what I’d call fine, Giles.  What’s wrong?”  Angel heard the hammering in the man’s chest.

“Nothing…well I hope it’s nothing.”

“Bloody Hell man, tell us what the devil has got you falling on your face!”

Both Angel and Giles stared at Wesley, who glared back, lips pushed together in a silly pout.

“Sometime today, if you don’t mind.  I have tea at 4.”

The watcher’s eyes darted around the room, finally settling on a large wooden crate that was already turned upside down.  He went to it and sat, his large hand rubbing his tired face as he marveled at the amount of stubble there.

Wes took a seat on the floor, peeking up at Angel until the vampire did the same, sitting around the older man as if they were preschoolers and it was storytelling time.

“Before I became a watcher, I did my share of rebelling.  You’ve seen and heard of the personae I’d adapted.”  His audience nodded.  “And I know you remember Ethan.”  Another chorus of nods and Giles continued.  “Well Ethan and I were…are mages.”

“I know that in order to be an active watcher with a slayer you have to have some degree of magical ability.  But would they allow a mage in their ranks?”  Angel interrupted.

“No…It wasn’t something I advertised when my father finally convinced me to come back to the family business so to speak.”  He laughed. Family business indeed.  To be technical he was practicing his mother’s family business.  The power he inherited lay decidedly to that side of the gene pool.  His father had always known that his son was not only gifted with a magical inclination, but saturated with power.  It was a fact that he kept from his colleagues and acquaintances, fearing the repercussions for the boy’s future as a watcher.  The Council shunned those wielding true power, considering them unpredictable and reckless.   It was a euphemism for uncontrollable, which was unacceptable.

“So I gave up that life… Ripper… and became the Rupert Giles you know today.  But I could never really give it up and it definitely did not want to let me go.”

“I don’t…what would not let you go?”  Wesley asked.

“All of it…the magic, so deeply imbedded in me that for years it seeped from my pores.  The power.  I was strong…so much like Willow was before she took in all that dark magic.  And then there was him…Ethan.”

The others shifted as Giles’ eyes, clouded with memories, painful and sweet, became unfocused.

“The spells we did together…”  He whispered.  “Bent reality, crossed dimensions, created and destroyed parallel worlds because we could.”

He came back to them suddenly, regarding them with cold empty eyes.  “I was not a nice man, not someone you wanted to know.  And our power was…is entwined.  I can still feel him when he wants me to.  And apparently he wants me to.”

He dropped his head, chin to chest and heaved a great sigh.  Revealing that little bit took so much, he did not want to tell them any more.

“Look…Giles, if this is too personal, you don’t have…”

“No, no…You need to be aware of what you might be forced to deal with.”

“It’s your choice what you share and don’t share, okay?”

He nodded gratefully and stood, the injury to his side still paining him some.  Their gazes followed him as he paced the room, his steps uncertain and stiff.

“Ethan Rayne is out there somewhere, trying to make contact with me.  My only guess is that he wants to meet with me for some reason.  And now that all the world is a demon’s playground I’m sure that he is finally in his element.  He can accomplish a lot alone, but I hold half the power that he needs to do great things.”

“Maybe he’s just looking for you.  Because he is alone now, perhaps.”

“Possibly.  We were best mates, partners in everything…”

“Even in bed.”  Angel finished for him, meeting his gaze.  The vampire knew exactly what was happening to Rupert Giles.  His other half, dark and menacing, loved and beloved, desired and possessed, was coming for him, threatening to take all he had become and destroy it.   He felt it when heard Spike was in town gunning for his third slayer.  It shattered him when he lied to his boy in the school that evening so long ago for the humans, only a blink in time to them.  And it haunted him when he was hanging in chains.  No one knew of his deep seeded desire to drop everything and join Spike the moment he saw him, blonde hair shimmering in the sparse beams of moonlight, his demonic eyes full of the need to belong to his sire again.  So he understood what awaited the watcher, what the small mage full of mischief and mayhem could do to affect the man.

“Yes…That was a lifetime ago.”

Wesley decided to approach this as unemotionally as possible.  “So when he tries to make contact, you have a physical reaction?”

“It’s more like my mind is being stretched and pulled away from me toward him, and my body follows.”

“Hmmm.  That should be rather disconcerting.  I wonder if Willow can put something around you to block it and if it would keep him from finding you altogether?”

Giles perked up at that, hoping for anything to keep his former…everything at a distance.  He wanted to see the man which was why he was sure he should not.  “She would have to use her own power and not draw on the earth.”

Wesley, although not as powerful, had exceptional abilities with magic and through diligence and research his success rate was admirably high.  His continued practice of the craft had given him an edge over someone like Giles,who deliberately limited his own use to the more mundane aspects.  “I think we can work something out.”
~~~*~~~
 

Wesley opened the door, holding it for the vampire as he carried their meager findings into the apartment.   Giles followed and locked the door.

Not seeing Spike, but sensing he was close, Angel followed his instincts and the loud sounds of a television blaring through the hole in the living room wall.   With blankets over the windows it was dark save the screen, where a weird young man was sitting on a small wastebasket, pants around his ankles….crapping??

He averted his eyes, spotting his childe and his seer, wrapped around each other on the small sofa.  The blonde’s back was pressed against the sofa as he spooned the brunette.  Her hand clutched one of his underneath her chin, while he draped an arm loosely over her full hip.  It would have been cute and cuddly if it was not Spike and he was not his.

A small growl slipped out before Angel could stop it.  Blue eyes popped open, blinking several times before he turned his head slightly and glared at the older vampire.

“Stop it, you nonce.  She was crying, is all.”

“What?  I haven’t said anything.”

“Oh yeah, cuz you always growl when you’re happy, which, by the way, is never, misery boy.”  The blonde carefully extracted himself from Cordelia’s warm body while whispering with his jealous sire.

He decided to give Spike that one.  “So…why was she crying?”

“I think she sees dead people.”

Angel rolled his eyes and glared simultaneously, which was an amazing feat.

“Not literally…do you practice being a prat?”

Angel just stared at his mouth, not getting much of what Spike said most of the time, but enjoying the visual.

“She’s seeing Lorne?”

“Yeah, think so.  Found her in the shower screaming about how she didn’t want to do it and such.  She’s pretty fucked up in the head.  She could stand watching.”

He was serious, all the playful quips gone now that he was in his area of expertise:  Insanity.

“And this is just you helping the damsel?  Your  upperclass Victorian sensibilities at work?”  Angel glared as she reached out for Spike in her sleep, grabbing and caressing what was his.

“Something like that.”  He replied, eyes narrowed and cautious. He stood slowly and backed away from the girl to appease the demon posturing before him.  “I’m not after the girl, Angel.  She’s yours all right?”  He held up his hands in submission, punctuating his disinterest.  They didn’t have enough blood for healing on hand to be beating each other senseless either.  The chuckle that erupted from his sire unnerved Spike.

“You all right, Angel?”

He stalked Spike as the blonde retreated until his childe was trapped between a wall and a hard place, or hard vampire to be exact.   He inhaled the boy’s scent, fear, longing, arrogance and pride.  He was a heady mixture.

“I’m fine now.”  He took Spike’s hands in his and lifted them to the wall, one on each side of his head.    Spike remained immobile, unsure of whether Angel was angry or horny.  Cool lips descending upon his decided for him.  The blonde vampire let his sire in easily, succumbing to the lazy kiss.  It was as delicious in its tenderness as it was unexpected.

Angel finally pulled back and stared into lust ridden blue orbs, delighted he could still effect Spike in this way.  “You are mine, William.  If I decide to share you, it won’t be with Cordelia.  Understand?”

Spike nodded and swallowed hard as he turned to bare his neck to the only being fit to dominate him.

“Ohh…such a treasure you are to me.  I can’t stand to think of the time I’ve wasted without you.”  His breath, cool and dry, tickled Spike’s ear, making him shudder.  He closed his eyes, resolved to let it happen, whatever it was, whatever Angel wanted.

The tongue on his throat enticed another shudder which transformed into soft tremors that he was want to control.  Fangs descending, Angel leaned in closer and bit, deep, claiming, tasting what was his for the first time in forever.  The onslaught of power overwhelmed him in its intensity and he cried out, giddy and delirious, rapidly becoming drunk on his boy.  He barely managed to slip his demonic teeth from the blonde without tearing his flesh before sinking to his knees, arms wrapped around Spike's thin hips as he nuzzled his crotch.

“Fuck Angelus.”  He brought a shaky hand to his neck, feeling the blood that continued to leak, but he could not muster up any real anger.  He was claimed again and it felt good to really belong.

“I…know… jeez Spike…what’s up with your blood...”  As he panted more of Spike’s aroused scent permeated his being and he felt his own cock twitch.  He wanted to bury himself to the hilt in this small blonde god of his making, but that would have to wait for more private surroundings.

“Nothing, mate.  It’s just blood.  I am a master now or have you forgotten?”

“No I’ve haven’t forgotten, Spike, but you will always be my childe.”

“Yeah, but now you know a fraction of how I feel when I drink from you.”

Angel frowned, remembering how many times he denied his childer the privilege of his blood.  He could easily get addicted to this childe of his from this one taste.  How did they ever survive without him?

Sensing an incoming brood Spike popped the brunette in the back of his head.  “Now get up here and clean up the mess ya made of my neck!”

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