::one week earlier::
Spike had seen some pretty gruesome things in his time. Hell, he'd been the cause of many of them. Even so, the sight of the unborn infant tearing its way out of its mother's stomach had to be one of the worst things to sear itself into Spike's soul. It was a good thing he didn't need to sleep, because the image would certainly have kept him up at night, replaying on the insides of his eyelids as clearly as the first time he saw it.
The news stations would not stop repeating it, and the papers couldn't seem to report on it enough. Some Senator had been on a re-election campaign, touring his home state with his wife and three adult children to prove what a wholesome family man he was-so above the DC cesspool and all that. One of his children was a sweet-looking young girl, eight and a half months pregnant. It was clear from the circles under her eyes and the strain in her smile that it had been a difficult pregnancy. Still, no one could possibly have been prepared for the horror that occurred at an elementary school that was the setting of one of the Senator's key televised speeches; his unborn grandchild had been seized by its destiny and Slayer power. In that moment of evolution, she decided she wanted out of mommy's womb now. The baby literally tore her way through her screaming mother's flesh and entered the world. The young mother died before she even reached the hospital. A whole school full of children and teachers, not to mention everyone who had been watching the live broadcast and those who didn't heed the warnings to look away in the many re-broadcasts, were left traumatized for the rest of their lives. Spike didn't know what had happened to the baby Slayer, but he wouldn't have bet it was home in a comfy crib or Daddy's loving arms.
The little girl sitting in front of Angel's desk at Wolfram and Hart could not have been older than thirteen, but she had the look and feel or someone much older. She had seen too much and could never go back to pre-teen sleepovers and magazine quizzes about pop stars. The girl looked down at the newspaper on Angel's desk, with a picture of the dead mother's husband cradling his wife's body in his arms while the Senator stared down in utter shock. "I guess I'm lucky my power didn't hit until I was already born. What do you think they'll do to her?"
"To who?" Angel asked, clearly distracted.
"To the baby, you dumbass," the girl said impatiently. Spike kind of liked this girl.
"I don't know," Angel replied, just a bit snippishly.
"I wonder if they'll kill her," the girl continued. "I wonder if this is what will happen with everyone in the Slayer bloodline conceived from now on."
"I really don't know. Why are you here? What do you want?"
Well, Spike thought, it wasn't as though manners were ever Angel's strongest attribute-even if he was just talking to a child.
"Abbey sent me," the girl said, gazing at Angel intently. "We know your prior relationship to the Primary Slayer, and we know the power you hold here. Abbey wants to know where Wolfram and Hart stands. She would like to have you as an ally, but she knows it's probably not possible."
"Well, Wolfram & Hart won't have anything to do with her little bid to take over the world. If that's all you want, then get the hell out," Angel snapped.
"You know, mate," Spike said from his position of standing behind Angel's chair. "We could try talking to the girl a bit more." 'And find out more about Abigail and her little crusade. It's not like we get this chance every day.'
"Shut up, Spike."
"If that's your answer then," the girl said, her dead eyes still gazing at the photo in the newspaper.
"It is," Angel said, his face the very picture of angry resolve. "Now get out of my office."
"Fair enough." The girl rose to her feet abruptly. Spike was amazed at how tiny this girl was, even standing up. She turned on her heel and walked briskly out of the office.
"Don't say a word, Spike," Angel warned.
"Not a peep, mate," Spike said sarcastically. "Certainly not about how we could have tried to get some more information about Abigail and her missions from the girl."
"I doubt she knew anything. She was just a messenger. I'm surprised they were stupid enough to send her here."
"But we don't know for sure that she knew nothing, now, do we?"
Angel ignored the other vampire, choosing instead to punch a button on his phone. "Blood, Harmony," he ordered, then cut the mike before the perky blonde could even finish saying, "Sure thing, Boss!"
"You realize now that we will probably never get another chance like that again, Angelus."
Angel pulled a folder out of a drawer and started ruffling through it as though the younger vampire had not even spoken.
"She was a little girl, for Christ's sake! I can't believe you were scared to talk to a little girl."
Angel slammed the folder shut and was silent for several long moments. When he finally spoke, his voice was as cold as Spike had ever heard it. "If you want to fraternize with someone who is out to kill Buffy..."
"Watch it, mate," Spike snapped, the ice in his voice an easy match for his grandsire's. "Which of the two of us was the one who died for her, and which of the two of us just took off when The First was rising?"
Angel was out of his expensive leather chair in less than a heartbeat. He slammed the bleached vamp against the wall. "I would have stayed."
"But you didn't." Spike couldn't resist a smirk.
"I would have. She told me to go."
"And you always do as you're told, don't you Angel?"
Angel was about to say something else, but the chirping of his intercom interrupted him. "Not now, Harmony!"
"But Boss," Harmony insisted on the other side of the line. "I think you really should take this visitor."
"Fine." Angel ground the word out through gritted teeth and released Spike. "I don't know why you're hanging around here, but if you ever mention her again, I won't be held responsible for what I do."
"Don't worry, mate," Spike said, readjusting his trench coat. "I don't intend to be here much longer anyway."
"Spike?"
Spike looked up at the sound of his name to see Dawn Summers standing in the doorway. Before he could fully process the situation, she ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him with enough force that he was glad he didn't need to breathe anymore. "Little bit?"
Dawn pulled away just enough to look Spike in the face. It had only been a few months, but she looked as though she had aged years. Of course, that was not too surprising given the life she had probably been living. She was also taller, as though a growth spurt had hit with a vengeance and she was now taller than Spike-though the vampire hoped it was partly due to the heels on her shoes.
"Dawn," Angel said awkwardly. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. I was in town, getting some stuff for Willow, and figured I'd stop by," Dawn answered, sounding distracted. Clearly, her attention was far more focused Spike than on Angel. "How are you here, Spike? I know you died. Buffy said she saw you die. We didn't..." Dawn's eyes widened in horror. "We didn't leave you buried in that rubble alive, did we? Oh, god, Spike, I'm so sorry! If we had known..."
"No, pet," Spike said fondly. Apparently, dying for Buffy had been enough to make Dawn like him again. "We still don't know how I came back. I just sort of...showed up here."
"What? How long ago?"
"A few months back. I was a ghosty for a while. Just got my body back two days ago."
"Months!" Dawn said in disbelief. "Months?" The younger Summers turned to face Angel, the anger on her face an easy match for any anger her sister had ever expressed at her darkest. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Angel looked around the room awkwardly. "Well...you know...it just...it just..."
Dawn put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently.
"It never came up," Angel finished lamely.
"It never came up?" Dawn shouted. "How could it never come up?"
Spike stared at Angel silently. The hate was filling him, and a little bit of hurt as well. He knew his grandsire hated him, but didn't think he hated him so much that he would keep Spike's return a secret. Was Angel that jealous? Spike knew that while Buffy cared for him in her own way, her heart belonged to Angel and she would never truly love Spike. He had always known, even before he watched them kiss the day before he sacrificed himself to the flames. He had told her so as he burned, though not in as many words, and she hadn't denied it. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. After all, if Angel had failed to mention that he had a soul to the rest of the Wolfram and Hart staff, who didn't care about him at all, why would he tell Buffy or the Scoobies-some of whom did care about him-that Spike had returned from the dead?
Dawn was chewing Angel a new one. The little bit was all grown up and had quite a temper. It was kind of funny watching Angel cringe in front of this waif of a girl. It was surprising that Angel's lack of regard for Spike cut him so deeply. Why should he care? He shouldn't care. To hell with Angel.
Spike had never been more happy to have his body back as he felt when Dawn, having finally finished giving Angel a piece of her mind, asked Spike to come with her. He didn't even bother to stop and say goodbye to Fred. He couldn't get out of the law firm quickly enough.
Author's notes:
Cliia-You are still the best beta ever. You help me be a better writer.
Bsktbllchik-Thanks! I promise I will read your stuff too!
Emmy-I swear I had planned on having the baby thing even before your review. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who thought it was stupid to wake up a bunch of slayers all at once. Thanks for the review.
Spike had seen some pretty gruesome things in his time. Hell, he'd been the cause of many of them. Even so, the sight of the unborn infant tearing its way out of its mother's stomach had to be one of the worst things to sear itself into Spike's soul. It was a good thing he didn't need to sleep, because the image would certainly have kept him up at night, replaying on the insides of his eyelids as clearly as the first time he saw it.
The news stations would not stop repeating it, and the papers couldn't seem to report on it enough. Some Senator had been on a re-election campaign, touring his home state with his wife and three adult children to prove what a wholesome family man he was-so above the DC cesspool and all that. One of his children was a sweet-looking young girl, eight and a half months pregnant. It was clear from the circles under her eyes and the strain in her smile that it had been a difficult pregnancy. Still, no one could possibly have been prepared for the horror that occurred at an elementary school that was the setting of one of the Senator's key televised speeches; his unborn grandchild had been seized by its destiny and Slayer power. In that moment of evolution, she decided she wanted out of mommy's womb now. The baby literally tore her way through her screaming mother's flesh and entered the world. The young mother died before she even reached the hospital. A whole school full of children and teachers, not to mention everyone who had been watching the live broadcast and those who didn't heed the warnings to look away in the many re-broadcasts, were left traumatized for the rest of their lives. Spike didn't know what had happened to the baby Slayer, but he wouldn't have bet it was home in a comfy crib or Daddy's loving arms.
The little girl sitting in front of Angel's desk at Wolfram and Hart could not have been older than thirteen, but she had the look and feel or someone much older. She had seen too much and could never go back to pre-teen sleepovers and magazine quizzes about pop stars. The girl looked down at the newspaper on Angel's desk, with a picture of the dead mother's husband cradling his wife's body in his arms while the Senator stared down in utter shock. "I guess I'm lucky my power didn't hit until I was already born. What do you think they'll do to her?"
"To who?" Angel asked, clearly distracted.
"To the baby, you dumbass," the girl said impatiently. Spike kind of liked this girl.
"I don't know," Angel replied, just a bit snippishly.
"I wonder if they'll kill her," the girl continued. "I wonder if this is what will happen with everyone in the Slayer bloodline conceived from now on."
"I really don't know. Why are you here? What do you want?"
Well, Spike thought, it wasn't as though manners were ever Angel's strongest attribute-even if he was just talking to a child.
"Abbey sent me," the girl said, gazing at Angel intently. "We know your prior relationship to the Primary Slayer, and we know the power you hold here. Abbey wants to know where Wolfram and Hart stands. She would like to have you as an ally, but she knows it's probably not possible."
"Well, Wolfram & Hart won't have anything to do with her little bid to take over the world. If that's all you want, then get the hell out," Angel snapped.
"You know, mate," Spike said from his position of standing behind Angel's chair. "We could try talking to the girl a bit more." 'And find out more about Abigail and her little crusade. It's not like we get this chance every day.'
"Shut up, Spike."
"If that's your answer then," the girl said, her dead eyes still gazing at the photo in the newspaper.
"It is," Angel said, his face the very picture of angry resolve. "Now get out of my office."
"Fair enough." The girl rose to her feet abruptly. Spike was amazed at how tiny this girl was, even standing up. She turned on her heel and walked briskly out of the office.
"Don't say a word, Spike," Angel warned.
"Not a peep, mate," Spike said sarcastically. "Certainly not about how we could have tried to get some more information about Abigail and her missions from the girl."
"I doubt she knew anything. She was just a messenger. I'm surprised they were stupid enough to send her here."
"But we don't know for sure that she knew nothing, now, do we?"
Angel ignored the other vampire, choosing instead to punch a button on his phone. "Blood, Harmony," he ordered, then cut the mike before the perky blonde could even finish saying, "Sure thing, Boss!"
"You realize now that we will probably never get another chance like that again, Angelus."
Angel pulled a folder out of a drawer and started ruffling through it as though the younger vampire had not even spoken.
"She was a little girl, for Christ's sake! I can't believe you were scared to talk to a little girl."
Angel slammed the folder shut and was silent for several long moments. When he finally spoke, his voice was as cold as Spike had ever heard it. "If you want to fraternize with someone who is out to kill Buffy..."
"Watch it, mate," Spike snapped, the ice in his voice an easy match for his grandsire's. "Which of the two of us was the one who died for her, and which of the two of us just took off when The First was rising?"
Angel was out of his expensive leather chair in less than a heartbeat. He slammed the bleached vamp against the wall. "I would have stayed."
"But you didn't." Spike couldn't resist a smirk.
"I would have. She told me to go."
"And you always do as you're told, don't you Angel?"
Angel was about to say something else, but the chirping of his intercom interrupted him. "Not now, Harmony!"
"But Boss," Harmony insisted on the other side of the line. "I think you really should take this visitor."
"Fine." Angel ground the word out through gritted teeth and released Spike. "I don't know why you're hanging around here, but if you ever mention her again, I won't be held responsible for what I do."
"Don't worry, mate," Spike said, readjusting his trench coat. "I don't intend to be here much longer anyway."
"Spike?"
Spike looked up at the sound of his name to see Dawn Summers standing in the doorway. Before he could fully process the situation, she ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him with enough force that he was glad he didn't need to breathe anymore. "Little bit?"
Dawn pulled away just enough to look Spike in the face. It had only been a few months, but she looked as though she had aged years. Of course, that was not too surprising given the life she had probably been living. She was also taller, as though a growth spurt had hit with a vengeance and she was now taller than Spike-though the vampire hoped it was partly due to the heels on her shoes.
"Dawn," Angel said awkwardly. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. I was in town, getting some stuff for Willow, and figured I'd stop by," Dawn answered, sounding distracted. Clearly, her attention was far more focused Spike than on Angel. "How are you here, Spike? I know you died. Buffy said she saw you die. We didn't..." Dawn's eyes widened in horror. "We didn't leave you buried in that rubble alive, did we? Oh, god, Spike, I'm so sorry! If we had known..."
"No, pet," Spike said fondly. Apparently, dying for Buffy had been enough to make Dawn like him again. "We still don't know how I came back. I just sort of...showed up here."
"What? How long ago?"
"A few months back. I was a ghosty for a while. Just got my body back two days ago."
"Months!" Dawn said in disbelief. "Months?" The younger Summers turned to face Angel, the anger on her face an easy match for any anger her sister had ever expressed at her darkest. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Angel looked around the room awkwardly. "Well...you know...it just...it just..."
Dawn put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently.
"It never came up," Angel finished lamely.
"It never came up?" Dawn shouted. "How could it never come up?"
Spike stared at Angel silently. The hate was filling him, and a little bit of hurt as well. He knew his grandsire hated him, but didn't think he hated him so much that he would keep Spike's return a secret. Was Angel that jealous? Spike knew that while Buffy cared for him in her own way, her heart belonged to Angel and she would never truly love Spike. He had always known, even before he watched them kiss the day before he sacrificed himself to the flames. He had told her so as he burned, though not in as many words, and she hadn't denied it. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. After all, if Angel had failed to mention that he had a soul to the rest of the Wolfram and Hart staff, who didn't care about him at all, why would he tell Buffy or the Scoobies-some of whom did care about him-that Spike had returned from the dead?
Dawn was chewing Angel a new one. The little bit was all grown up and had quite a temper. It was kind of funny watching Angel cringe in front of this waif of a girl. It was surprising that Angel's lack of regard for Spike cut him so deeply. Why should he care? He shouldn't care. To hell with Angel.
Spike had never been more happy to have his body back as he felt when Dawn, having finally finished giving Angel a piece of her mind, asked Spike to come with her. He didn't even bother to stop and say goodbye to Fred. He couldn't get out of the law firm quickly enough.
Author's notes:
Cliia-You are still the best beta ever. You help me be a better writer.
Bsktbllchik-Thanks! I promise I will read your stuff too!
Emmy-I swear I had planned on having the baby thing even before your review. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who thought it was stupid to wake up a bunch of slayers all at once. Thanks for the review.