Chapter VII

The next evening, Spike woke up first. A quick glance confirmed that last night had not been a dream; Tori and Angel slept silently beside him. Spike could still taste Angel's blood in his mouth and feel it running through his veins like a drug. Sire's blood was like nothing else. For the first time in almost a century, Spike felt complete. Even without Dru.

Drusilla had never liked Tori. She had seen the young French Noblewoman as a threat to the death grip she tried to keep on 'her' Angelus. She had been furious when Angelus and Spike began leaving her alone for full nights to visit the Devearaux-Le Fay Estate's youngest daughter. Angelus, of course, didn't notice or care, and Spike, when he was not accompanying Angelus, was a poor substitute, this he knew. He had never been enough for Dru, but now, he found he didn't care. Tori loved him and cared for him. She carried his chip within her now as a symbol of that love.

He still couldn't believe he was free of the bloody Initiative. He had spent so long hating his Sire and planning his revenge on the Initiative, the Slayer and the Scooby gang, it was strange to be lying in his Sire's bed now, feeling so completely content. Deep down, he knew he finally had his family back. If necessary, he knew his family would support him in his revenge. Tori's scent was back to normal; passionfruit, rose and spice. There was Angel's claim; his blood running through her veins, it's raw power permeating her skin. With a lazy grin, he noticed that his own scent rose from the sleeping girl too. Fabian's mark was gone as well as the stench of despair which had surrounded her that first night. The familiar scents of the two slumbering vampires beside him comforted his heart though, soothing his demon into a lulling acceptance rather than the bloody, violent return to glory he had been promising. The five humans he had killed last night had been nothing; two for Tori, three for himself. The second human he had brought home for Tori was still downstairs, bound up in front of the now cold fireplace where they'd left him. Spike could hear the man's heartbeat. He grinned. Perhaps their darling girl would like breakfast in bed?

Angel sensed Spike leave the bed and cracked an eye to follow his elder Childe's movements. He watched the blonde smile at the girl in Angel's arms for a moment, then make for the door. Angel eased away from Tori slowly, making sure she could hold the pillow he had used as a temporary substitute for him, then pulled on a pair of pants and followed the blonde out the room.

Spike was almost to the unconscious human when his senses stung sharply. He swore colourfully, then picked up the human and shoved him into the dining room (ironically) and shut the door. He had just enough time to reach the foot of the stairs when Buffy pushed the front doors open and walked in. Spike grinned at her. "Bloody hell Slayer, haven't you heard of knocking?" When she saw the blonde vamp, her eyes widened at his state of undress, then narrowed and Mr Pointy slipped into her hand from some unknown place in her jacket. "Spike, what are you doing here? You wouldn't be skulking now would you? I don't think Angel will appreciate the intrusion. Maybe I'll just stake you and save him the trouble of questioning you, hmm?" Spike snarled, but had the restraint to remember he was still meant to be a chipped vamp and Buffy wasn't supposed to know he wasn't. "Skulking? I'm bloody bare as the day I was born! You going to try something, Slutty? It's none of your business what I'm doing here. Maybe I should ask you what you're doing here? Hasn't the Poof made it pretty clear he doesn't want to see you?" That struck a nerve. Buffy lunged at him, Stake raised, only to stop abruptly when she spotted Angel coming down the stairs wearing only a pair of pants. "Angel, um…Hi! I caught Spike skulking about around here. Do you want to ask him what he wants or should I just stake him?" Angel shared an amused smile with Spike, then turned to Buffy. "Spike is my guest, Buffy. I have given him a place here with me, where he belongs." Buffy's eyes nearly popped out of her head and Spike felt a rush of soppy, unmanly warmth towards his Sire for the acceptance. Pushing it aside, he turned to grin at the shocked slayer. "You heard him, Slayer, get lost. I'm welcome here, unlike some." Buffy's eyes narrowed dangerously, but before she could say anything, Angel sighed. Spike had settled on the couch arm and was smoking, in all his naked glory. Angel had to force himself not to stare at his Childe's beauty. "Buffy, Spike is my Childe and my responsibility. Even when he hated me; my soul, I still loved him, and deep down he loves me; has always loved me. That is the nature of a Sire/Childe bond. His place is with me and there is nothing more to say about it. You don't tell me what to do, Buffy; if I want Spike to live here, he will." Buffy looked frustrated, but nodded. "Okay, but what…"

A muffled scream came from the dining room. A very human scream. Spike cursed and sped for the closed doors, but Buffy got there first. Flinging open the doors, she spotted the man on the floor eyes wide in terror. At that moment, Tori opened the bedroom door and came wandering sleepily down the stairs wearing nothing but a long, very sheer, black robe, left hanging open to expose her naked body. "Mon Chéres? What's going on down here? All this noise so early in the…" She spotted Buffy and hissed menacingly, pulling the open robe closed around her lithe form, as if it made a difference. Buffy immediately whipped out Mr Pointy again and stalked towards the female vampire, mistakenly thinking Tori was the only one of the trio who could "eat" human. Angel quickly barred Buffy's way. "No Slayer, she is mine." Mistaking his claim as him putting dibbs on the dark haired girl, Buffy backed off, looking confused. "Victoria" Angel smiled reassuringly as he ascended the steps to join her and whispered urgently in her ear. "Darling, remember the chip; no hurting the humans. Will and I can deal with this Slayer, you go have a shower and then we'll go find some breakfast, okay?" Tori looked unconvinced, but obediently turned around and headed back up the stairs. Meanwhile, Buffy was staring after her, horrified. "Are you Angel or Angelus? and who the hell is she and why didn't you kill her? Hello, human in dining room here, take out with a heartbeat, any of this ringing a bell?" Angel frowned at her and turned to Spike. "Spike, take the human outside." Buffy, thinking Spike still had the chip, let the blonde pass with the bound man, then turned to Angel.

The dark haired vamp sighed again, then sat down on the couch. "Buffy, when I said Victoria was mine, I meant it literally. She is my Childe. My youngest. Angelus turned her a week before I got my soul. Actually, I got my soul because she was stolen away by a vampire called Fabian three days after her Rebirth and Angelus went mad with grief and killed a lot of people, including the gypsy-girl. Angelus thought Fabian killed her, but he actually Re-Sired her." Buffy looked puzzled, so Angel explained. "The Watcher Diaries might have something about it, but essentially, Re-Sire is when a vampire takes a newly-made Childe and drains them of their blood while feeding them their own. Grand-Sires or elder Childer from the same bloodline sometimes do it when a Childe's Sire is killed before he or she can teach them all they need to know. It means the Childe has another chance at having a Sire bond. If they're willing that is, otherwise the bond will always be weak and the only effect will be the Childe's reluctance but not the inability, to disobey their new Sire. It's almost unheard of to do it while the original Sire still exists and Angelus was too young then to understand what it meant when the link went silent, so he thought she was dead. Fabian did it because of Angelus' reputation, and that of the Aurelia Family. To have the treasured youngest Childe of one of the Scourges of Europe at his beck and command was no doubt enough to get him hard. After Angelus tortured Fabian and staked him to a tree to meet the sun, he killed a lot of people and was unlucky enough that one of them was the gypsy." Buffy was looking as if she was beginning to get it, but was very unhappy about it. "Tori has been Fabian's slave ever since, and he has taken delight in inflicting cruelty and violence on her at every opportunity, but recently, she gathered the strength to leave. You saw her, she's half starved and weak. A few weeks in the cargo hold of a boat living on nothing but rats will do that to a vampire. She tracked me down with the remains of the link we shared and turned up on my doorstep two nights ago. I can honestly say I didn't know there was a human in the dining room, but I can understand why." Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but Angel cut her off. "She's a vampire, Buffy. Spike and I may have limitations, but it's unreasonable to expect for her to exercise self restraint so early into her freedom. Give her time." Buffy was shaking her head in denial. "She's killing humans Angel. That makes her just like all the other vamps I stake every night." Angel snarled at the implied threat. "Buffy, I just got Tori back. You will not take her away from me."

The object of their discussion came down the stairs dressed in a red silk Versace halter top and a pair of tailored black pants teamed with red heels. Angel smiled and rose to meet her, but was surprised by Buffy, who flew to her feet and sped towards the auburn haired girl. Angel's quick reflexes snapped into action and he managed to stop the stake just as the point sank into the red silk covering Tori's heart. Tori's panicked scream brought Spike flying through the front doors, vamped and snarling. When he spotted Buffy in the act of staking his sister, he howled in fury and ran towards the three of them. Angel wrenched the stake out of the Slayer's grasp and shoved her away from his youngest Childe. Spike caught her and sent her spinning violently into the wall next to the fireplace. There was a crack as Buffy's head hit and the Slayer fell to the floor, out cold.

In seconds, Tori was surrounded by two vamped, possessive vampires determined to check her over for wounds. The tiny girl squirmed in their grasp, only to have Angel growl and graze his fangs lightly across her neck in warning. Tori sighed, shivered deliciously and went still in submission as Angel and Spike finished their inspection. Satisfied she was unhurt, Spike strode over to Buffy and kicked her viciously. "Stupid bit, trying to hurt our Tori. I could kill you right now, Slutty." Angel nearly let him, but managed to get a hold of himself. "Spike, we both know that's a bad idea. Let's get her over to the library. Giles should be there. He'll understand, even if Buffy doesn't. Maybe he can talk some sense into her. Tori snuck over cautiously, sniffing the air delicately. "A real Slayer. She wasn't very nice, Sire. Are you sure we can't just kill her, Angelus?" Angel smiled. "How would you like to meet her Watcher? He's not mean like the Slayer. You might even get along with him. He has books." Ever addicted to the consumption of knowledge, Tori's face lit up and she promptly forgot all about the unconscious slayer. Angel smiled at the reminder of the long Parisian nights he'd spent patiently teaching Tori to read in the secrecy of her private library when she was human, away from the disapproving gaze of her domineering, chauvinist, nobleman father. The trio traipsed upstairs and Tori watched as Angel and Spike got dressed. Downstairs again, Angel grabbed Buffy and slung her over his shoulder carelessly, having not forgiven her for her attack on Tori. They left the mansion, passing the drained body of the dining room man as they went.

Spike grabbed a man off the street and snapped his neck for Tori, who smiled gratefully at the blonde, then sank her dainty fangs into the businessman's neck. Angel nearly passed up the chance to hunt until he found a sick old man in the back of an alley who was dying and gently sped up the human's painfully slow end. His soul shifted uncomfortably, but Angel decided he was doing the old guy a favour. Spike snagged himself another business man, then they set off for the Sunnydale School Library. On the way, Spike decided to play kiss chasey and Tori giggled as she fled from him. She broke one of her heels as she darted out of his grasp. As she attempted to rid herself of the mangled shoe, Spike grabbed her and spun her into a shop front. Putting a hand on either side of her head, he leered lustfully at her. "Well luv, I've caught ya; guess that means I win myself a snog." He proceeded to do just that as Angel smiled at his Childer. Buffy stirred and Angel grimaced. "Will, let's go, Buffy wants to join the land of the wakeful." Spike pulled away with a snarl of frustration, leaving Tori looking dazed and well snogged. A quick glance at the Slayer and he cursed colourfully, making Tori giggle throatily. Spike swept her into his arms and the two vamps bore their feminine loads to the school; Angel's burden still & limp, Spike's wriggling playfully, dainty bare feet swinging.