The Longest Distance Betweeen Two Points Chapter 7

Spike pushed Angel backwards onto the bed and slid seductively on top of him, rubbing his hands in glee over Angel's bleeding, naked chest.

Angel encouraged Spike to lick and play with his wounds for a few moments before taking a very human breath and saying quietly, 'Spike.'

Spike sat up glaring at him. 'Don't, Angel. Don't say you have to go and do something. Don't find one singe excuse to leave this bed!'

Angel glared at him. 'I'm sorry, Spike. What I said to you as I left Sunnydale was not true; I can and do love totally. I do love you…I think. But I do have responsibilities. It's just how I am, Spike. I can't help it. I can't stay here in this bed until I know Cordelia is okay and safely home, until I know the place is locked up securely and until I know Lestat is in his basket. So, if that makes me an object of your derision, then I'm sorry.'

Spike just looked at him. Then he tilted his head slightly on one side and gave the smallest of nods. It was such a mature, human look that it took Angel completely by surprise and he had to reassess the creature he had in front of him. He'd never seen Spike react like that to anything before.

'Come on then, poof. I'll look for killer, you go lock up and shit!'

As a reward for this new, thoughtful behaviour, Angel kissed the end of Spike's nose and with a 'you don't get off that lightly', look from his Childe, they separated, Spike warily to the bedrooms and Angel downstairs.

'Don't frighten him, Spike. Be slow and gentle, then he'll come to you.'

Spike stomped off muttering to himself about grandmothers and egg sucking. Angel only smiled and ran down the stairs.

He could not believe how quickly his mood had swung from the worry and despair he had taken into the bathroom with him, to the lightheaded happiness he now felt. Lightheaded happiness was quite unusual for Angel, he couldn't really remember ever having felt like this before, except once, a long time ago. Spike's blood had been the pathway for him to that long lost night when he had nearly claimed his Childe. He could not believe Spike had come to him and that Spike had confessed he loved him. But most of all he could not really believe that Spike was upstairs, in his bed and that there was nothing, nothing to stop them exploring every inch of each other's bodies that night.

He was brought up abruptly and his thoughts torn painfully from dwelling on Spike's body when instead of Cordelia on the couch, he saw Darla, flicking idly through a fashion magazine.

'Hello, darling boy. Miss me? It's been such a long week without you.'

'What are you doing here, and where is Cordelia?' Angel felt as if he was a character in a murder mystery, suddenly reciting old hackneyed lines. In the deflation of his previous happy mood that Darla's presence had caused, he could think of nothing witty or original to say.

'Oh, Drucilla and I came for coffee as we promised, but do you know, Angelus, you were all out! So she's gone with Drucilla to see if we have any.'

Angel was about to reply when he heard Spike coming down the stairs. 'Couldn't find him, mate.'

'William?'

'Darla?'

'Is that actually you?'

'In the cold flesh!'

'Your hair!'

'Like it?'

'I do…I do.' Darla got up and came towards Spike. Angel stood in amazement watching this bizarre and totally unexpected reunion.

'Heard you'd been staked. Heard you were back. Hey! You're my niece now!'

'William, I will always be your mistress, whatever.'

'You, luv, can be my mistress anytime.' Spike held out his hand and Darla took it, pulling him into a light kiss, running her hands over his hair and laughing.

'So, how do I look?'

Spike stood back and assessed her. He could hardly recognize her from the GrandSire he'd last seen a hundred years before. She was dressed in modern street clothes, had designer hair and seemed incredibly vital.

'Absolutely, fucking gorgeous, luv.'

Darla simpered a bit, clearly pleased.

'STOP!' Angel suddenly roared and stepped between them. 'What is this? Last time you two were together you loathed the sight of each other and you…' he pointed to Darla, '…would have staked him…' he pointed at Spike, '…if I'd given you half an excuse.'

'Now, now, my darling, calm down. And you are quite mistaken. That's the last time you saw us together maybe. Remember, William and I had a little while all on our lonesome when you so rudely deserted us both.'

'So, I get a soul and you two fall into each other's arms?' Angel's outrage was almost making him shake. Perhaps he'd liked being the center of both their obsessions a little too much all these years.

Spike laid a hand on his arm soothingly. 'It's not like that, Angel. When we lost you, I…we…we both went a little crazy and we both sort of needed each other. We just found we had stuff in common. And there was Dru of course; we had to be there for her. But we never shagged, honest!'

'Not that you didn't want to William, I'm thinking!'

'It's Spike now and don't flatter yourself.'

Darla heard the change in Spike's tone and realised she had gone too far. She also suddenly realised that the old game had begun once more…the game to win Angelus. She also realised that by siding so quickly with Angel, Spike was already a step ahead of her. But she covered her anger well, as only a very old demon can and smiled to herself. After all, she had an advantage over Spike.

She had Cordelia.

She played her trump card subtly by walking over to the counter and wiping her hand on it, as if to check for dust.

'Tut, tut, Angel. No coffee and bad at dusting. I'll be doing you a favour. Oh, William, how will you like having a new Aunty? Or will she be your second cousin? Oh, how provincial of me to worry about such things!'

'What does she mean, Angel?'

Spike knew exactly what Darla was doing; it was the how he was not so clear on. It was obvious to him that, yet again, she was competing with him for Angel. But for once in his unlife, Spike felt he was going to enjoy this. He too felt he had a trump card. He couldn't wait to see Darla's face when he told her just what Angel had been thinking every time he'd been in her old pussy.

He stood closer to Angel and put his hand on Angel's arm. It felt good to be able to claim his Sire like that.

'Angel, why is she grinning at you like she's just won a fucking award?'

'She's got Cordelia.'

'You bloody Bitch!'

Spike was incandescent with rage and must be given the benefit of the doubt that this was due to concern for Cordelia, or at least concern for Angel's feelings and not because he instantly realised that there would still be no shagging until this little fiasco was sorted out.

Spike vaguely remembered Giles once trying to lecture to the Scoobys about things that motivate people. Well Spike wanted to rewrite that fucking lecture and add his number one motivator, because one thing was for sure, it wasn't self-bleeding-actualisation. Getting a shag with Angel was at the top of his soddin' list. So Spike was very motivated to sort this problem with Darla.

'So, pet, what do you want from us, for you to give her back?'

'Spike. No! I won't bargain with her.'

'Why not! Don't be an ass, Angel. It's the law of supply and demand. She's got something we want, we just have to offer her something she'll trade it for.'

'Oh William, aren't you a forceful, manly demon these days. And Angelus, just for the record, how come William is here all cosy, but you won't accept Drucilla and me?'

If it was on the tip of Angel's tongue to mention the chip and the subsequent change in Spike's behaviour he was stopped short by a sharp dig of Spike's nails on his arm. Unfortunately, Spike's tightening grip was not lost on Darla. She filed away the extremely interesting knowledge that Spike and Angel had something to hide and immediately determined to find it out and use it for her advantage.

'So, come on Darla, what do you want?'

'Oh, I don't know William, what does any girl want? The moon? The stars? Fun? Games? Angelus?'

'Angelus?'

'Yes. That's what I want.'

Angel suddenly seemed to reanimate from the silent stance he'd adopted. He shook off Spike's hand and walked angrily to the kitchen. He noticed there was a full pot of coffee simmering and it only made him angrier.

'You can't have that, Darla. Angelus is gone!'

'Rubbish!' Darla had followed him and snapped back the reply, angrily. 'Angelus is here now. I know that and William knows that. You can fool all the humans, but don’t, don't ever try to fool us!' Darla was deliberately including Spike in her accusations. She saw no harm in trying to make him side with her again. 'Angelus has escaped you more than once. Well, I want him set free, permanently.'

Spike looked thoughtfully at Darla. He'd never thought about Angel and his soul like that before. He'd sort of thought more in terms of the soul making Angelus 'change into' Angel, like a child growing up…the adult may occasionally display childish traits, but basically it's not going to revert. He'd never thought of his beloved Sire, Angelus, being somewhere in that body, imprisoned…maybe calling to him for help. Fuck. Angelus hated even being entangled in the sheets let alone imprisoned in there! Spike had only loved Angel for a very short time compared to how long he'd loved Angelus.

Darla saw with satisfaction Spike's indecision and pressed her advantage. 'I know you can have that soul revoked or whatever, Angel. I know you could do it yourself if you allowed yourself one moment of true happiness. Well, that's my price. I’ll let your, Cordelia, go free and you come back to me.'

As the word 'me', slipped out, she realized her mistake. Spike snapped his head up. He'd realised it too. Oh yeah, Angelus! The Angelus who had been obsessed with Darla, the Angelus who had made him listen to them fucking, the Angelus who had tortured…Spike didn’t even go through his usual litany in his head. He took one look at Angel's sad, confused, hesitant face and felt a jolt of love so deep pierce through him, with a shock that was so great, he thought his heart had come back to life for a moment.

Spike flew at Darla and pressed her back onto the table. He saw Angel moving out of the corner of his eye. 'Don't interfere, Angel, or I'll stake her now!'

He dragged her out to the office and rummaged in the drawers. Cordelia worked here: Cordelia with the cross in her skirt. Cordelia, he was sure, would have a stake too. He was right. A substantial stake was half-concealed in the top drawer. Dragging a much smaller and weaker Darla than he remembered into the lobby he sat her down on the couch and pressed the stake lightly against her heart.

'You've made one fatal error tonight, pet.'

'What's that, boy?'

'Oh, don't even try that tone with me, Darla. You are only…what? Two months old? Girl!'

Darla was clearly furious at this, but as she still had the grace and poise of her former self, she held her tongue and only smiled sweetly.

'Sorry, William. Now, tell me…what mistake have I made?' She was trying to distract him because she was watching Angel approaching out of the corner of her eye. Whatever Spike thought, she knew that in the end Angel would choose her. It's just how it was. Blood was all and they were blood.

'You didn't calculate on me being here, that's what.'

She nodded, agreeing that this had indeed been a miscalculation.

'And there's one very important thing about me, Darla.'

'What's that, William?'

'I don't give a shit about Cordelia Chase.'

Darla's face froze. She immediately saw what Spike was saying and like the master chess player she was, she realigned her pieces and went seamlessly from attack to defence. 'So, what do you want, William?'

'I want you to take me to them.'

Darla felt the game shifting her way again. Oh, how she loved all these machinations. It kept one alive; it kept one vital. William, no Spike, she gave him the due of his new persona; Spike clearly felt the rush you got from plotting. Neither Angelus nor Angel had ever felt it. With them, what you saw was what you got, she did not think either one had a devious bone in their body. She licked her lips slowly and seductively at Spike.

'You know, Spike? Perhaps I did remember wrongly. Do you know, I think it was me who wanted you! Alright then, I'll take you, but only you.'

'No!'

Angel had stood back and let Spike deal with Darla. But Darla fatally underestimated Angel. Maybe Angelus had lacked the Machiavellian touch, but Angel had it in spades. Like most demons, Darla assumed Angel's soul merely made him good. She entirely missed the point that a soul gave him free will to choose between good and evil. Angel had powerful, ancient evil warring with the desire to do right, in his head…all the time. And she thought he wasn’t devious?

But Angel's intelligent calculation of the situation made him quickly realise that Spike was his best chance of getting Cordelia back. Giving up his soul, even if he could, was not an option even to save Cordelia. Angel knew exactly who Angelus would want to rape, torture and feed off first. He could feel Angelus harden inside him at the thought of Cordelia's soft, warm body bleeding out to his insane power. And after Cordelia? Then he'd take Wesley. Oh yes, Angelus wanted Wesley's ass split and bleeding and giving him pleasure. Then? Oh, then he'd probably work his way slowly to Sunnydale to taste Slayer blood again.

So Angel knew he had only one option and that was to rely on Spike.

So, strangely and with no credit to them, the Scoobys’ plan sort of fell into place. True, Angel wasn't dead, but Spike was in LA and Spike was dealing with Darla. Or Angel hoped he was. Angel closed his eyes and recaptured in his mind the expression Spike had worn as he agreed to delay their coupling once more. He pictured that slight quizzical tilt of his head and that, oh so human nod of respect and acceptance and picturing it, knew he trusted Spike. Spike might fail, he might not be strong enough, or devious enough, or just plain evil enough to defeat Darla, but he could be trusted to do his best. Angel, of course, had a pretty good idea of Spike's motivation and couldn't help a faint smile to himself at the thought of Spike doing all this, just so they could return to more interesting activities in bed.

Having fetched his duster, Spike was now impatient to leave. Angel watched them walk out together, Spike throwing him a last look over his shoulder. As Angel held Spike's gaze, he had one very distinct thought.

"At least she doesn't suspect anything about the chip. At least she can't use that against him."



By the time Spike got to the front door with Darla, he had come to the end of his plan. All he wanted was Darla away from Angel. He could sense Angel's continuing confusion about her. He had not been at all sure, that if push came to shove, Angel would defend himself from her. And in his blackest thoughts he wasn't too sure that Angel would stake Darla to save him. So he had wanted to remove Angel from the equation and get Darla away by herself. As he left he cast a last look over his shoulder at Angel, tried to manage a confident grin and hoped it didn’t come over as a smile of death.

'Car?'

'Alright, why not?'

Darla was clearly not impressed with the state of Spike's car. She picked gingerly at the rubbish over his passenger seat and tried to brush a clean space, seemingly worried about her clothes.

Spike decided to play the gentleman and humour her as much as possible, so shrugged off his coat and laid it over the mess.

'Get in, luv. I've an important reunion to attend.'

'I'd forgotten William…sorry, Spike…when did you last see our sweet Drucilla then?'

'Left 'er in Brazil with her new bit of fluff.'

'Oh. She hasn't told me about that little indiscretion. Naughty girl. Maybe we should discipline her together, Spike?'

Spike annoyingly felt his balls tighten and his cock harden at her words. She could have no idea of the effect of that thought. She was not to know how long it had been since he'd allowed himself to indulge in a little vampire recreational torture. He remembered so well the time he had had the two females to himself and the blitz of blood and pain and sex they had indulged in to stop them thinking about Angelus and missing Angelus and needing Angelus. That little blood fest had been one of the reasons he'd coped with Angelus' 'death'.

Although he had told Angel the truth, he had never shagged Darla, they'd done practically everything else and he was remembering it now, in the car. Darla kept up a light chatter. She was at her best: beautiful, captivating and sexy as hell. Spike couldn’t help his enjoyment of her company…for a while anyway. He'd stake her in an instant if Angel's life was threatened, but he was nothing if not pragmatic and he always tried to go with the flow. Darla directed him through the downtown traffic and after a time they arrived at a luxurious looking hotel complex. Spike was suitably impressed. 'Still got excellent taste I see, luv.'

'Excellent taste and friends in high places, darling.'

They made their way together through the lobby and up to Darla's suite; Spike wished he'd remembered to bring his coat from the car. He always felt taller and meaner when he wore it.

Spike was amused on entry to find Cordelia tied up and gagged by a silk scarf. She looked terrified. He berated himself for finding this amusing, but not very hard. He didn't have time to think much about Cordelia, because she was there, his dark princess, at a table pulling flowers to pieces and making a pattern with their petals.

'My Spike! My Spike has come back to me!' She flew into his arms. 'Look love, I brought Grandmummy back to us, isn't she beautiful?' She stroked Darla's face coyly.

Spike closed his eyes briefly and took in her scent. Over a hundred years of memories flooded his mind, making him hard. This had been his family; this had kept him alive and this had enabled him to survive the thought of losing Angelus. He put his other arm out and pulled Darla into his embrace too. She resisted at first, perhaps remembering her status in this family, but she relented and allowed him to include her in the embrace.

Spike couldn't resist giving Cordelia a wicked grin over Darla's shoulder. Let her sweat for a minute or two. Do her good. Character building. Serve her right for threatening his precious cock with a cross!

Darla broke away first and indicated towards the balcony. 'I need a cigarette.' Spike accompanied her, checking any avenues of escape. He didn't want her slipping out to shag Angel whilst he was distracted here. They were on the fourth floor, he peered over the edge cautiously; he didn't like heights particularly. No way to get down, so he nodded at her and went back to Dru. It briefly crossed his mind to wonder why she hadn't smoked in the car, given he'd chain smoked the whole way over, but the sight of Drucilla distracted him and he gave it no more thought.

Drucilla was as changed and different as Darla had been. It was the first time he'd seen her out of her usual eighteenth century clothing. She was dressed in modern, street clothes; bright, colours he'd never seen her wear before like pinks and lilacs. He swept her into his embrace again and mock danced her around the room. She threw back her head and stretched her neck to him. It was an invitation he'd not thought to have ever again. The smell of her potent blood called to him. He was desperate to sink his fangs through her soft, cold skin. He felt his demon face form and paused, his lips over her neck. As he hesitated, he looked over at Cordelia. Did he once claim he had a conscience? So that's what that stab of…what was it…pain..…in his head must be. Cordelia had seen his vampire face and large tears of fear were cascading down her cheeks, staining the silk scarf over her mouth.

He slipped back into human face and lightly pushed Drucilla away from him.

He walked over to Cordelia and crouched down in front of her. She was tied securely with her hands behind her back and her ankles bound together, but interestingly, she was not actually tied to the chair. Spike filed this knowledge away for future use. He looked her straight in the eyes. He could feel waves of panic coming from her. Suddenly he knew what she was thinking…she thought he'd staked Angel and that he had rejoined his vampire family.

'Angel sent me, pet. I'm here to get you back. Don't worry.'

This seemed to send her over the edge from panic to hysteria. She was having difficulty breathing against the gag, her chest heaving and falling with the effort to breathe. She didn't believe him and Spike could hardly blame her. After all, his history with Angel was not good. As she struggled, her skirt rode slightly up her thighs. Spike suddenly smelt the very clear scent of blood and sex drifting off her. It was her blood, but not a human sex smell. Spike immediately recognised the scent: Darla. Darla had apparently had some fun with her hostage. Given that Darla had only had Cordelia for less than an hour, perhaps Spike should have been warned by this proof of her increasing lack of control. Why should Cordelia's abuse anger him? He was a demon, just like Darla. He would do the same with this human female if he could. Wouldn't he? He didn't even bother to analyse why finding her like this upset him. He'd think about it later. Now he concentrated on calming her down enough for her to be of some use to him.

He had no other way to reassure her. He needed her to believe him.

'Why is she gagged, Dru? I'm going to take it off.'

'Grandmummy was playing with her and didn't want her talking to the flowers. But I've killed them all now.' She looked sadly over at the table she'd been recently decorating.

Spike leant into Cordelia and started to release the gag. She flinched away at first, but Spike took the opportunity of Drucilla looking at her petals to lean even closer and whisper in her ear, 'be ready, whatever happens. Stay alert and we'll both stay alive. I think Angel wants us both back safely tonight. I plan to shag him into the mattress and if you are really good now, I'll let you watch.'

Her eyes flew open in outrage, but it had worked, she'd broken through her fear and pain and snapped back into the sassy bitch that Spike admired. He looked quizzically at her and she gave a tiny nod, licking her lips trying to find voice to speak. 'You get this wrong, Blondie and I use that cross on you in a dark place.'

Spike wiggled his scared eyebrow suggestively. 'Promises, promises.'

She gave him a tiny smile. 'Spike…don't tell Angel.'

Spike knew what she meant and admired her for this display of grit. He nodded briefly and thus the more distressing parts of her ordeal became a secret between them.

As one hand released the gag, Spike slipped his other hand down and loosened the bindings on her ankles and wrists. Cordelia glanced nervously over at Drucilla, but she was oblivious to them both. Perhaps it had never occurred to her that Spike was now working for the other side.

Spike instantly stopped, however, as Darla came back into the room.

It was unfortunate that Spike had been so intent on freeing Cordelia, that he had not kept a closer eye on Darla's activities.

Perhaps like many demons that had been around for over a century, he had never really come to terms with modern technology. He was better than Angel, of course, but not as good as Darla. Because Darla had gone onto the balcony to use her cell phone. With her back to the room, appearing to smoke, she'd first found the number for Willy's bar in Sunnydale. She called, told Willy she was back and within two minutes she knew more about Spike's chip and its affect on him than Angel probably did. She rang off and stared out into the LA night. So that was the great secret Spike had not wanted Angel to tell her. Not surprising really. He was totally defenseless from even a four-year-old child, and obviously, therefore, from an adult. Especially an adult lawyer. So she then called Wolfram and Hart and explained what she wanted. Ten minutes they promised her.

She felt almost sad. She turned and watched William as he crouched in front of the human. He was so beautiful. Such a waste. They'd had fun together. But she had only one hobby, only one motivation and that was Angelus. She wanted her lover of many lifetimes back. She wanted Angelus and she was willing to destroy anything that stood in her way.

She went back into the room and offered Spike a drink. Ten minutes. Not long to keep him distracted.

'OK, Darla, how is this going to work? You are not going to get Angelus back, you know that. And after my last experience with him, I don't think you'd want him anyway, hey Dru?'

Drucilla nodded sadly at Darla. 'Daddy glowed with the Slayer. He didn't like us anymore.'

'Rubbish!' Darla snapped a little too sharply at Dru. She had crossed that thin line between a hobby and an obsession.

Spike shrugged and accepted the drink. He was at a bit of an impasse. He couldn't take Darla and Dru on by himself. He almost regretted not letting Angel come, but he knew that would have been disastrous.

Engrossed in these worrying thoughts, he was caught off guard to hear a key in the lock and turned to find a human man standing in the doorway. The thought, 'oh fuck', crossed his mind.

'What is this shit, Darla?'

'This, Spike, is you going, 'bye, bye'.'

'Oh! My Spike, is he going to bed? Can I go with 'im?'

'Bye, bye, Drucilla…as in 'goodbye'!'

'Oh. I don't want to go there then.'

'Stake him, Lindsay.'

The human pulled a stake from his pocket and moved towards Spike. Not everyone could plunge a stake into something's heart, especially something as human looking as Spike, but Spike had no doubt that this man could. He had cold, unreadable eyes.

Spike reckoned he had about five seconds to think of a plan that would save himself and Cordelia and thus enable him to shag Angel later on that night.

He did the only thing he could think of. It was a shit plan. It later gave him more pain that he'd ever experienced in his life, but it worked. In a fashion.

He ran to Cordelia, swept her up in his arms and ran out of the room to the balcony.

Then he just leapt over the wall into empty space.

They dropped together, four stories. Spike took the entire brunt of the impact himself, cradling Cordelia in his arms. Even so, she suffered a broken arm because, injured beyond recognition, Spike was forced to let her drop from his strong embrace at the very last moment. The impact with the ground had smashed his ankles and his legs, compacted his knees, dislodged his pelvic bones, compressed his spine and split open his rib cage through his sternum, snapped a few vertebrae in his neck and smashed open the back of his skull as that had connected with the hard concrete of the car park. Incredibly, he was still conscious and managed to say, 'keys, for the car over there, in my pocket. Take them and run like fuck. NOW!'

Cordelia, crying, in shock and pain and desperately trying to free herself from the last remaining bindings, assessed the situation. She couldn't carry him, but one thing she knew for sure, no way was she leaving him. She'd had the misfortune now to be jumped from great heights twice by vampires, both in efforts to escape other more 'grrr' vampires. She could be forgiven, therefore, for mixing Spike up in her mind with Angel.

Perhaps Spike had now gone up a bit in her estimation in reverse proportion to the amount he had gone down into the unforgiving concrete of the car park.

She glanced up at the balcony they'd just jumped off. No sign of anyone yet. She dragged Spike into the shelter of the building. She was frantic now, she had only just been able to move him that distance with her good arm, no way could she get him as far as the car which was parked over the road about one hundred feet away. She looked around desperately and spotted something. Could she? Would he? 'Spike, Spike! Please Spike; you've got to help me. I'm going to put you in the dumpster over there.' She dragged him over to the large dumpster at the bottom of the fire escape. She lifted the lid with her good arm and peered in. They were in luck; it was filled with shredded paper. She could hide Spike in relative comfort.

Only trouble was, she couldn't lift him in.

Spike was by now deeply unconscious, blood trickling alarmingly from his ears and mouth. She tried again and again to wake him up. She knew she only had a few moments. Suddenly and bizarrely she remembered something from school. She wasn’t sure which surprised her more: that she remembered anything, or that anything she remembered was actually useful! For some strange reason she remembered her lifesaving skills, she remembered the best way to get an unconscious body out of the water. She pulled Spike up, holding him under the arms. Her arm screamed its pain at her and she felt her eyes watering again. She told herself this was the best movie part she had ever been offered, that all eyes were on her and she would win the Oscar if only she could get through without showing any pain. This had absolutely no effect at all so she just swore under her breath and gritted her teeth. When she had him in position, she braced him against the side of the dumpster and scrambled in herself. Then, with the advantage of the increased height and leverage, she heaved Spike inch by inch into safety.

She covered him in the paper, got his keys and jumped out.

'One hour, Spike, he'll be here in one hour. Hold on, please.'

Taking a careful and circuitous route she made her way to Spike's car and drove slowly and painfully back to Angel Investigations.

There was nothing she felt less like doing than going into that hotel and telling Angel what had happened to the Childe who had come to rescue her.