A/N: Welcome back my faithful readers, as well as everyone new! I hope you enjoy...
Previously on The Vampire/Slayer Archives:
Angel, Spike, and Fred joined Buffy and her crew at Slayer Central in Scotland, joining their good fight. Spike's visions then led him, Angel, Fred, and Xander back to the States. Peddleford, New Hamshire, to be precise. There, Fred acted on her own to discover an incubus hiding in plain sight, siring his half-demon children on the unsuspecting female population of Peddleford. After a short fight with the whole gang, the demon was incapacitated and captured. To make sure the curse the incubus placed on him and Spike was indeed lifted, Angel brought the demon back to Slayer Central, locking him up in the dungeon along with the rest of the beasts.
Now, onto our story...
Consequence
Chapter 1 - Sinking
"That's right, Celeste," I praised one of my students, "using the natural log will allow you to solve for x in this equation."
The girl nodded, open mouthed, like she was still thinking about it and would be for the next five minutes, even though she'd gotten the answer right. Sometimes I had difficulties understanding how people didn't get this stuff right away, but then I remembered tutoring Xander through all of High School and I was reminded. Not all friendly-Scooby packages came with a brain for numbers. Or letters. Or common sense of any kind.
But, if any of these girls wanted something for their lives, besides dying young fighting legions of the hellish undead, they'd have to pass algebra. As I continued teaching the class, my third and final math class of the day, I wondered if things would ever slow down again. If any of these girls, any of these slayers, would get a chance to go to college, to have careers outside the good fight. I knew I chose to stay at the old Hellmouth in Sunnydale, I knew I gave up a career to help Buffy fight evil, and I knew that's why I had to finish college through online classes in my limited spare time. Here was hoping any of these girls had something other than their supernatural powers to fall back on, in case that World Peace we've been praying for all these years decided to show up. 'Hey, World Peace! How've you been? Where've you been?'
Not so much.
After class ended and while most of the students were filing from the room, chatting away about this and that, one of the girls approached me. "Hey, Willow?" she asked, her dark eyebrows knit up in confusion above her pretty brown eyes and those high cheekbones, and, 'Hey! Get a grip, Wills!'
"Yeah, Rita?" I replied. "What is it? Do you have a question about today's lecture?"
"No, I-"
"Yesterday's then? Were the homework problems too tough?"
"Well, yeah," she breathed with a smirk. "But I'm just ... Angel wanted me to ask you how many recruits you're aiming for next year. We're trying to work it into the budget..."
"'We're trying'? I thought Angel was in charge of all this stuff?"
Rita smiled, shaking her head, "He hired me to help out."
"You're working with Angel?" I asked her, surprised. "When did this happen?"
Rita waved off the question, muttering, "Oh, just last week. Don't worry, you didn't miss a memo. Angel's just like that."
"I know what he's like. Big broody guy? Unexpectedly happy with Spike guy? Fangs if you get him mad guy? I know the one."
Rita chuckled before raising her eyebrows in expectation.
"Um," I said, trying to remember her question. "I'd like to bring in at least five or six more witches or warlocks. Especially if some of our currents are moving elsewhere as we set up more of these satellite offices. I don't know what I'm gonna do when Bethany leaves."
"Get over it?" Rita suggested with a sarcastic shrug and a laugh. "Thanks, Rosenberg. I'll see you later."
Ooh, boy. That one was pure slayer, through and through. Sometimes she reminded me of Buffy when we were younger, but then, a stream of the most creative curses would spew forth from Rita's mouth and she'd remind me more of Faith.
"'Just get over it,' she says," I mumbled to myself as I packed a stack of papers away in my desk drawers before locking them, both with a key and with a spell. It seemed like I had a lot of things to just 'get over' lately. Kennedy and I were through, for good this time, and I just had to get over it. But how do you get over something when you know it's all your fault? That if I hadn't spent so much time away from home, things between us would have been fine?
Kennedy didn't understand what a risk I was taking when I performed those spells for Angel and Spike. I had this sneaking suspicion that she loved being with the witch who had made all her friends into full-fledged superheroes, and she didn't want me admitting that I couldn't be that 'goddess' all the time. I couldn't be Super-Willow very often and expect not to go crazy from the magic.
She didn't understand the insane-drowning-clawing-blissful-choking of getting lost in it. She didn't understand that I needed help to get through the entire mess. She didn't understand that in the wake of all that magic, I almost tumbled along with it, losing Willow in a rushing tide of power. She didn't understand that the only beings that could help me anymore weren't technically in our dimension. She didn't realize I kept leaving so I could stay me, so I could stay with her.
And still, it's all my fault.
Tummy all rumbly, I made my way to the dining hall just in time for supper. Since it was still early, there weren't too many people there, and I sat my tray down at Buffy's usual table, hoping she would show up soon. She didn't, but Spike did.
"Oi, Red," he greeted me, flopping down on the bench across the table from me, a big mug of piping-hot blood in his hand, "how's the witching business these days?"
"Difficult," I blurted out. At Spike's one raised eyebrow, I felt my eyes go wide as I tried to take it back, "I mean, fine. It's fine, really. I'm fine. Fine. Fine. Fine."
"So …" he nodded, an amused smirk on his face as he took a sip of blood, "you're fine, then?"
"Yep," I nodded, watching as a chunk of potato slipped from my fork and plopped back down onto my plate. At least we had good food here. Diane saw to that, and I was grateful to her for it, because I didn't know anything about feeding hundreds of people besides having memorized the number for the nearest pizza place. Which wasn't all that great in this remote area of Scotland. "Right as rain. Right as right rain. None of this left-rain business, because that would just be silly."
"Mmm," Spike agreed, "silly, indeed." Peering at me again over his mug of blood and then licking the red stuff from his lips as he lowered it, Spike told me, "You know, pet, one might observe that you Scoobies tend to babble."
"It's a living," I replied with a shrug, chewing through another bite of food and trying to avoid eye-contact with the vampire.
"And that said babble only really occurs when you're feeling arse over teakettle, yeah?"
"Arse over…" I repeated, scrunching up my eyebrows in confusion.
"Put out? Discombobulated? Upset?"
"Upset?" I cried, shaking my head. "No one's upset here, Spike. Unless it's you? How are you? Because that's really a better topic than arses and teakettles and … How are you, Spike?"
"Quite alright, thanks ever so," he replied, the words tumbling from his mouth in that lazy British accent of his, so unlike Giles'. Speaking of Giles, I'd heard he was making his way back here soon, a fact for which I was glad. The magic always felt a little easier to control when he was around.
"Glad to hear it," I told Spike. "Just having a good day, or did something else happen?"
"Oh, mighty good day," he said, grinning. "Got laid this morning," Spike shot me a lecherous grin and I pretended to be disgusted for him, "had me a good tussle with one of the new slayers, haven't had a vision in almost four days. And, might get laid again tonight if the old man is up for it."
"All good reasons to be 'alright'," I agreed, taking another bite of food, not really tasting it as I chewed, only noticing that it was nice and warm. I wanted to feel happy for Spike, I really did. After all that he'd done to help us, he deserved a little happiness. But my mind was still stuck on Kennedy. Sure, it had been almost three months since we broke up, but I kept having to hear about how much better she was doing now. About how she and some other slayer were seeing each other out there in South America.
Spike gave me an assessing glance that said he knew I wasn't 'fine' in the slightest, but mercifully, he kept his mouth shut, giving me a moment of silence before Buffy finally joined us.
"Hi guys," she greeted us cheerily, sitting down next to Spike with her tray. God, was everyone happy today but me? Oh, man, I was turning into one of those 'emo' people, wasn't I? 'Life is so hard'. 'No one loves me'. 'Everyone else is happy'. I had to find a way to get out of this funk, because seriously? Arse-over-teakettle Willow is no good for anyone if they like the world undestroyed. And I think they do.
"Slayer," Spike nodded, one arm snaking possessively around Buffy's waist, pulling her closer to him in a way that made Buffy smile her goofy 'I'm in love' smile. It would have been completely inappropriate for me to make barfing noises, wouldn't it? Where's Xander when you need him?
All summer and this far into fall, Buffy had been getting cozy with both her vampire exes, and I wasn't quite sure what to think about that. I mean, I wanted to see her happy, but I didn't want her getting between the two of them, you know? I'd never seen Spike this 'quite alright' and I'm sure being with Angel had everything to do with it. Then you add Buffy into the mix? Who knows what comes out?
"Hey, Wills?" Buffy asked me, her voice concerned. "Are you okay?"
Suddenly, something heavy settled in my gut, squirming and twisting away, and I don't think it was the yummy pot roast I'd eaten. It felt like there was something wrong with my magic, like something else was trying to pull it away. Crap! Was Nelson trying another one of the spells he found in that book? Damn it, I had to go find out.
When I stood up, Buffy did too, waving her hand in front of my face, "Willow? What's up?"
"Oh," I blinked, smiling at her. "Just one of my students getting out of hand. I'll take care of it."
"You're sure?" she asked, poised to follow me into trouble if I gave the word. God, that's one of the things I loved about Buffy. She was always so brave.
But, the bravery was wasted, because I didn't need her at the moment. "I'm sure. Eat your dinner, Buff. I'll let you know later how it turns out."
"Okaaay," she drawled with a slow smile as she sat back down next to Spike. "I'll talk to you in a bit."
"In a bit," I agreed, waving goodbye to Spike and rushing from the dining hall as the uneasiness in my stomach grew.
When I joined Angel in our TV room, he was reading something that looked old and poncey. Though I'd been planning on watching something on the telly before navigating him toward the bedroom, he looked so peaceful that I decided not to disturb him too much. So instead, I went to the bookshelf in the main room and grabbed a book of poems that Willow had leant me, shucking off my coat and boots as I joined Angel, sitting on the floor between his legs, my back against his chair.
"Mmm, hi, hon," he greeted me, scratching his fingers at the nape of my neck.
Murmuring a greeting in return, "'lo, luv," I arched practically my whole body into his touch, glad just to be this close to him. We'd been living together six months now, save those three weeks we had to stay apart, and I still got a thrill whenever we were together again like this, almost happy. Today Angel's tone suggested nothing was wrong, but I could feel the emotion radiating from him that said otherwise. So, turning to face him, I asked, "How was your day, then?"
"Awful," he replied, eyes all sad as he closed his book and set it down on the table beside him.
Abandoning my book and nodding, I stood, carefully straddling him in the chair and folding Angel in my arms. "What happened? Are you still upset about what Fred did in New Hampshire?"
"No," he assured me right away, shaking his head and running his hands up and down my back. "I just got some news from LA today."
"News?" I asked, suddenly understanding why today was a bad day, why the air around him felt so stormy.
"Yeah," he nodded, pressing his big forehead to my shoulder. "This woman I knew there, a detective..." he sighed, brooding fully established at this point. "I found out today that she was killed during the battle."
"Oh, bugger," I sighed, running my hands all over Angel in the most comforting ways I could think of.
"I should have told her to leave," he insisted. "I hadn't talked to Kate in years. Not since she left the police force. I didn't even think... God! I thought to get Nina out of town, but not her?"
Jealousy welling up under my heart, I asked him, "You sent the werewolf lass out of LA before the big bruhaha?"
"Don't be mad, Spike," he ordered, his voice compassionate, asking for forgiveness. "I just didn't want her getting killed because of something I brought down on the city. I told her all about you," Angel assured me, squeezing me in a hug.
"What did you tell her?" I asked, curious and playing with him a little now that I had him on the guilt hook.
"I told her," Angel mumbled, kissing me, "that I'd found who I was meant to be with. That I'd found you."
Nodding and kissing him again, letting my lips linger on his lightly before I pulled back, I asked, "Is there somethin' I can do to make you feel better, luv?"
Smirking, Angel replied, "You know all the ways to make me feel better, cor."
Sitting back a bit so I could focus on his face, I told him, "You've been saying that one a lot. I doubt you're calling me God. You know, 'Cor blimey' and all that. Is it Irish?"
"No, it's Latin," Angel replied, his smirk fading into a soft smile. "It means 'heart'."
"Right," I nodded, remembering my long-off school days. "I knew that at some point in my life. Never heard it as a term of endearment before, is all."
"My grandda was a deacon," he whispered, his fingers tracing the edges of my face. "Loved Latin. He loved speaking it and reading it and writing it. And he used to call my grandmum 'cor' more than anything else. I guess I just thought it fit."
"Aye," I agreed, rubbing my face into his palm. "It does. Much better than 'blondie bear' or 'snookums'."
Angel laughed, a mischievous expression on his face that made me clamp a hand down over his mouth before he could say anything. "If you ever call me either of those," I warned him, sticking a finger from my free hand right between his eyes, "I will punch you in the mouth so hard …"
Nodding so I would let him go, Angel licked his lips quickly and asked, "Why do you always call me 'Peaches'?"
"Well," I told him, my hands roaming his body again now that the threat of hearing those god-awful nicknames was over, "your arse has always reminded me of two ripe peaches. Yeah?"
"Been hung up on my ass all these years, huh?"
"Definitely," I smirked, nipping at his bottom lip, pressing kisses that became more and more urgent to his mouth. "Mmm, you always taste exactly right, Ange."
"Are you thirsty?" he asked me, tilting his neck to give me better access.
"Not after this morning, luv," I told him, shivering a little at the memory of waking up together that day. "You?"
"No," he answered, smiling again as he pulled me down for another tender kiss. After a few moments of increasingly urgent kisses, he asked in a whisper, "Would you take me? Would you make love to me, Will?"
"Anything you want, Angel." I replied, the need in his voice and rolling from his skin clutching at my chest. "Always."
"Sometimes," he whispered, letting me unbutton and take his shirt, "when I'm with you, 'Angel' doesn't seem to fit."
"Well it is an ironic name, given what you are."
"But that's what I'm saying," he insisted. "When I'm with you, like this, I feel almost human, and it doesn't sound right anymore."
"So, what would you call yourself?" I asked him, tilting my head and watching his face.
"I used to be called Liam," he replied.
"Liam," I tasted the name. "But if you call me Will all the time, and I call you Liam..." Angel laughed, hugging me closer as I continued, "You're really trying to turn us into the same person, aren't you?"
"I'm not," he insisted. "It was a common name when I was alive."
"Mine still is," I told him. "'Tis part of the reason I changed it."
"You always wanted to be unique," he murmured, kissing my neck and biting lightly, just enough to tease.
"Haven't gotten the chance yet," I replied. "You always bloody well get there first."
Angel blew air from his nose shakily, almost a laugh, which tickled my skin as it passed. "You're the only man I've ever loved," he told me, running the tips of his fingers through my hair. "That's unique."
"Oh, thank you," I said, a snide tone in my voice. "I feel ever so much better now."
"You'll feel better after fucking me," he whispered, rolling his hips under me.
Hissing in pleasure, I complained, "And people think I'm the one, always starts these things."
"People?" he asked softly, scratching at one of the white scars under my collarbone, trying to open the skin back up.
"Buffy," I replied, trying not to wriggle too much under the pain of his nail. "She thinks all those put-upon sighs you give me aren't just an act."
"They aren't?" he asked me, a twinkle in one dark eye.
"Oh, no, Liam," I smirked, sucking on his bottom lip for a moment. "You forget – I know how you think, and most of the time I can tell what you're feeling."
"Damn you," he said with a little chuckle, breathing in as he kissed me again, taking in my scent. Then, as his lips parted from mine, an alarm blared through the castle, urging us to action. "Christ!" Angel swore, glaring past me out into our main room. Then, catching my eyes before letting me go, he asked, "Can you tell what I'm feeling now?"
"Frustration, primarily," I replied, standing and giving him a hand up onto his feet. "Let's go kill whatever's interrupted us, yeah, pet?"
Growling as he found his shirt, his shoes and a weapon, Angel muttered, "Yeah. Something's gonna bleed for this."
Angel and I headed from our suite towards the first floor, weapons in hand. Though alarms blared all around us, no one we passed seemed to know what to do. Then, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, so I pulled it out and checked it as we ran.
"South gate," I told Angel, reading the message Xander had sent. "Demon attack."
As we left the building through the main front doors, magic crackled through the just-dark sky in all sorts of colors, and it looked like some of it was ours, but a whole soddin' mess of it wasn't. "Bollocks," I whispered, just before Angel and I caught up to Buffy, who was speaking into the com unit attached to her ear.
The crashing sounds of battle from up ahead sang to me, and I could feel Angel itching for a fight beside me as well. And then Buffy waved us forward and we followed her as she moved up, toward the battle.
"Spike," Buffy said, turning to me quickly amidst the chaos, "we've got a major attack on our hands, and I'm calling in most of the students. I need you to give orders here at the front gate." Without preamble, she ripped the gizmo from her ear and handed it to me, turning to my partner. "Angel," she ordered him, "you're with me."
The ponce nodded, kissing me quickly before we parted and giving me a look that said I'd better survive this. I nodded and returned the look, setting the earpiece in place and turning toward the battle.
"Oi," I said out loud, rushing forward, "anyone there?"
"Spike," Xander's voice sounded tinny over the connection. "We need to hold the line at the gate while the magicians figure these guys out."
"Right," I said, approaching the gate and said scuffle. Big, nasty looking demons, unarmed except for horns and teeth, as far as I could tell, swarmed at the gate, held back by about thirty of our best slayers. And ten of my greenest students. And they were losing. "Bloody hell!"
Joining the fight near the gaggle of teenage girls, I bellowed, "Form a line!" suddenly grateful that Buffy had made us learn useful battlefield techniques. Quickly, girls lined up in just two rows, the more experienced girls in the front and the others in the back. Unable to keep myself from the fight, I pushed myself into the front row, hacking at the first demon I could reach.
"Nothing gets through," I ordered, trying my best to let my voice rise over the chaos as another demon came at me, dodging the first swing of my sword, but not the next one.
To the right of me, a girl screamed, bitten by one of the demons and I wanted to go to her, but I had to deal with the tosser in front of me first, so I bellowed, "Right side, girls! Plug the hole." As I twisted to draw my blade through another demon, I noticed two of my students save their injured compatriot, one pulling her back from the fight and the other filling her place in line. Good girls.
Warcries screamed and weapons clashed all around me, noxious demon blood everywhere, and I could smell some slayer blood below that, dangerously exciting. Overhead, magic crackled furiously, and I wondered where Angel and Buffy had gone, praying they were still alright. But then, the slayer on my left finished off her demon with a raging yell, grinning at me with joyful fury and I had a realization, I did. In all the worrying about the others, I'd forgotten that it had been ages since I'd had a good tussle. Well, one that wasn't practice with the little slayers or with Angel - and those with him counted as foreplay, really.
Returning the girl's grin, I howled at the demons, practically begging them to attack and letting my true face slip forward. If these demons wanted a fight, fuck, we'd give them a fight!
It took a while, but when the magic above us began to calm down, the girls and I managed to run the demons out. I sent a posse of ten slayers to hunt them and make sure they didn't come back, while the rest of us guarded the gate. "Harris?" I said into my earpiece.
"Yeah, Spike?"
"We've got the South Gate fairly well laced up. What now?"
"Things are winding down," he replied. "Just stay there until we know it's over."
"Alright," I sighed, frustrated. I wanted to go find Angel, see how he was, maybe pick up where we left off before this interruption. But knowing the Scoobies, I had to expect there to be a lengthy debriefing, and then brainstorming and hand-wringing and brooding and all that rot. Lovely.
A/N: Hey! Don't forget to review and let me know what you thought of this first chapter.
Also, this is the third episode of my 'Vampire/Slayer Archives' season, set after my AU rewrite of Angel Season 5. See those stories if you'd like the complete background for this one. I would especially recommend 'When the Last One Falls', as it explains most of what's going on here.
Thanks again for reading!