Chapter 11
All of the men were able to pile into one of the vans they had rented. It took them awhile but Connor found the village Inn by using the directions they had obtained from Mr. Jenkins as to the directions to the historic part of the village. Vehicles were allowed to go just so far down the brick lined streets in the historic district. The streets were too narrow after a certain point. Connor parked the van at a nearby store. They had to walk the rest of the way. Connor took them to the alleyway that Angel had told him his mother had turned him into a Vampire. They stood there for awhile. "Where did Drusilla turn you Dad?" "In London, I tried showing your mother where I met Drusilla but the area has been turned into a huge apartment building."
"Let's go to the fun part of our evening." Connor said as he led everyone over to Angel's playground, as Cordelia used to call it. As they approached the Inn they could hear Irish music playing. When they went inside though they found things to be very peaceful and it had the atmosphere of a normal restaurant. Connor looked for the table that had Angels initials carved in it. Fortunately it was empty. He made a beeline for it and told Nicky and Mike to sit at the end with him. The waitress came over and took their orders. Spike had told Nicky, Mike, Eddy and Bill not to order to large of a meal because if they got lucky and were able to get into a fight they wouldn't want to have to stop to vomit their meal. While they waited for their food and drinks Connor told them to look for Angel's initials that he had carved into the table when he was young.
"All I see are the initials LM." Nicky said. "That's it don't forget that Dad's name before he was turned was Liam Martin." Connor said. Nicky and Mike ran their fingers over the carved initials. "It's kind of hard to wrap your mind around that information. I guess we never actually thought about Dad being so old. You know what I mean?" Mike said.
"I know what you mean Mike. I know the number of years that your father was alive but it's kind of like watching TV or the movies. It's kind of surreal. When you know that this piece of wood is almost 300 years old it makes the number of years we associated with your dad as more real." Wesley said. "Come with me Nicky and Mike and I'll show you were dad kept count of his female conquests." They got up and Connor took his brothers over to the post where Liam Martin would put a notch for every woman that he had sex with. When they returned the food had been served. In Ireland the legal drinking age was 18 so Connor had ordered two pitchers of beer for everyone. As they ate their meal the men were beginning to think that it was going to be an uneventful evening until a group of construction workers came in.
Spike elbowed Sean. "I think our entertainment for the evening just came in and it looks like were equally matched." As they finished their meal Sean and Spike started talking rather loudly about who was better in a fight, Americans, Scotsman or the Irish. They didn't get a bite at first so they let the conversation get a little louder at the appropriate times. One of the construction workers had finally had enough and got up and confronted Sean.
All in all it was a grand fight. When the conversation started getting too loud the manager came over and told them to take it outside. Joaquin turned out to be quiet a fighter even though he was shorter than the rest. Wesley and Joaquin were older than the rest but since they both exercised regularly they were able to hold their own. Eddy came to Nicky's aid when the largest of the men came after him. He was almost a foot taller than Nicky so he was having a hard time getting in a good punch to his face. Eddy jumped on the man's back and grabbed his head as the man went to his knees. Nicky could now reach him to land a punch to his chin that succeeded in breaking at least one tooth. After about 30 minutes of fighting they were all exhausted and just sat down on the ground. Most of them were spitting out blood from their mouths as they sat down. One of the Irishmen had a broken hand that Sean tended to since he is the one that had broken it.
One of the construction workers finally stood up and went over to Spike and offered his hand in friendship. They shook hands and the Irishman said "Thanks that was a grand fight." They both smiled as they shook hands. All the rest stood up and shook hands also. They stood around for a few minutes talking then parted and went their own way.
The men were glad that it was late when they returned home because the women would be sleeping and not be able to see the condition they were in. The men decided to sleep in the barn that night. Sean searched for Kathleen's mind and found that she was still awake and waiting for him to come back. He told her that the men were sleeping in the barn so that they wouldn't disturb the women. Kathleen didn't question him further and just said goodnight. When he looked at the house he saw the light in their bedroom go out.
The next morning Kathleen told the women that the men had come in so late that they decided to stay out in the barn so they wouldn't wake them. The men that had Vampire blood in them were either completely healed or almost healed. Wesley, Joaquin and Junior had no such help and Wesley and Joaquin both had black eyes and split lips. Joaquin's right hand had deep cuts in it as a result of hitting his opponent's teeth. Junior was almost as bad since Spike had told everyone not to use any of the martial arts since it wouldn't be fair in fighting these guys. When they were ready and had straightened themselves up as best they could they went into the house.
To their surprise the women just served them breakfast. Those that were staying at the house went up to take a shower and change into clean clothes. Wesley, Tom, Junior and Joaquin all had to wait until they got back to the hotel before they could shower and get clean clothes. After they had breakfast those that were staying at the hotel left to go and take a shower and get clean clothes. They returned that afternoon. The women hadn't said anything about the condition of the men yet and it was driving them crazy. When the women decided to go shopping Sean stood up and said "Alright we want to know why you women haven't started yelling at us for coming back in the condition we came back in."
"We discussed it and Hunter told us that you men needed this outlet for what we have all been going through these past three weeks. She said that it would be good for Spike, Eddy and Bill. Now that you men have had your fun we women are going to go and do what we do which is shop and eat chocolate. You men are on your own for Supper." Fred said. The women all left then and spent the rest of the day shopping. When they stopped for Supper they had Irish stew and Chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream. When they finally returned they were loaded down with packages and dead tired. They found the men in the back of the house sitting around a fire and drinking beer. Spike was the only one missing.
"Where is Spike?" Hunter asked. "He's at the cemetery with Mom." Eddy said. "How has he been today?" "A lot better I think he just went to the back to tell her about our evening last night." Wesley answered this time.
"Come on Sean it's time for us to go to bed." Kathleen said as she went to her husband and pulled him up by his arm. "It's not that late and we slept late this morning." Kathleen just looked at him with a smile and raised her eyebrows a couple of times. "Oh!" Sean cleared his throat and said "Yes I think it's time to go to bed. Goodnight everyone." Before they could go inside Fred called out to Sean "You can't go to bed yet Sean. We're out of blood so you and Spike need to go shopping. Get enough to last until Friday so that we can fill up all of the Thermoses before we leave. All of the things you'll need are in the kitchen and on top of the counter. I cleaned everything this afternoon." Sean just looked at Kathleen. "Momentary delay my dear." "That's okay I'm not going anyplace but to our room." Sean ran into the kitchen and grabbed the supplies and ran out to the cemetery. Eddy, Bill, Nicky and Mike got up and followed him to the back.
One hour later everyone was back with 3 containers of blood. As soon as the blood was put in the refrigerator Sean went upstairs to join his young wife. Everyone else just went back outside to sit around the fire. Spike especially didn't want to go to bed yet, at least not until the newlyweds were done for the evening and sleeping. "Let's go for a walk Spike." Hunter said. Spike got up right away and joined her. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't keep from hearing Sean and Kathleen. As he came running to her Hunter knew she had read his body language correctly. They didn't say anything for a long time.
"Spike, if you should ever feel the need for sex you are welcome in my bed. We are both widowed now but not dead yet." Spike looked at Hunter. "Thanks for the offer Hunter. I'll keep it in mind. I think I'll go and sit with Buffy until the morning." Spike left her side and went to the cemetery. Hunter returned to the house then and took a seat at the couch. She was glad that Jeff had decided to stay with Mrs. Benton. The memories of burying his father were still too fresh in his mind.
When Tom had gone into the house he saw Joyce asleep on the couch. He stared at her for awhile and for some reason his heart started to beat faster. He almost jumped out of his skin when Fred put her hand on his shoulder. "Would you take her upstairs for me Tom and put her in her bed." Tom picked Joyce up and followed Fred upstairs and to the third door at the top. Fred pulled Joyce's shoes off and lifted the covers so Tom could lay Joyce down. She covered her then and they left. They went downstairs and Tom told the ladies "Get in the vans ladies and I'll get the men." Tom went outside and said "The vans will be leaving for the hotel in 5 minutes men so you better load up."
Everyone that was staying at the Hotel in Galway were on their way in 5 minutes. That night as Fred and Wesley lay in bed Fred mentioned how she caught Tom staring at Joyce. "He was just interested in her as the Slayer." Wesley said. "No, I don't think so. I believe God has chosen Joyce's future husband." "We'll since God did the choosing I guess that it will be a perfect match." Wesley said as he pulled Fred into his arms and they went to sleep. Both Fred and Wesley were now in their late forties and the last of the original Angel Investigation team and Fred had not chosen Wesley's or Dr. Martin's replacement yet.
Once again as the sun started to come up over the hills surrounding the valley Buffy said goodbye to Spike and left. He sat there for a few more moments then got up and went back to the house and slept for the rest of the day.
At 5 p.m. Joyce knocked on her father's bedroom door. "Daddy, are you awake?" She didn't receive an answer so she opened the door a little to see if he was still in bed. "Are you looking for me?" Spike said real loud. Joyce let out a little scream and turned. "You scared me." "Keep your senses sharp at all times little girl you never know when their might be danger right behind you." He grabbed her and made like he was going to bite her neck. Joyce broke his hold on her and flipped him over her shoulder. "Never underestimate your victim. Everyone is ready to leave and we are waiting on you." Spike jumped up and grabbed for his daughter but she was already on her way downstairs and laughing all the way.
Just 20 minutes later Spike was dressed and downstairs. As soon as he appeared downstairs everyone started to go outside. Joyce handed a mug of blood to her father and they all loaded up in the van. Kathleen carried two large thermoses full of blood for Sean and Joyce carried two for her father. Lou had two for Hunter. Fr. Maxwell had told Wesley that he would meet them at the airport with his own supply of blood. He had been staying at one of the Jesuit houses in Dublin since after the services at the grave site.
It was Friday night when they left Ireland and they arrived back in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Everyone was tired and went right to bed.
The next morning everyone but Spike was up and dressed for church at 11. "Kathleen, can you tell if Spike is up yet?" Wesley asked. "He's up and I think he's on his way down now."
"Yes I'm up Mrs. McConnell. Just because I put up with your father getting into my mind whenever he wanted to doesn't mean that I'll put up with you doing it. Is that understood?" "I asked her to do it Spike." Wesley said. "All you had to do was knock on my door. Even your father would call out to me first." "I apologize Uncle Spike I promise to knock first." "Apology accepted. Let's go or Father will be staring at us as we walk in late."
Everyone loaded up then with nothing more being said of the incident. Later that evening at the supper table Spike finally spoke to his daughter about their upcoming match. "Well my little girl do you think you're ready to take on your old man?" "Just waiting for you to name the time and place." Joyce said with a grin.
"What's this match about?" Tom asked. "My daughter told me that if I should try committing suicide that she would kick my butt. So I told her that when you came home with us that we would see how good she was so that I could put her in her place and also give you a chance to see what you were going to be working with." "I know your record Spike so please don't hurt her. I don't want to lose her just as I found her." Spike took a second look at Tom but decided to let it go.
"I checked with the hospital today and they don't want me to come in until Tuesday so we can see how good you are tomorrow. Have a light breakfast tomorrow morning because I don't want you to say 'I lost because I was weak from hunger'." Spike said with a wicked little grin that Wesley hadn't seen on him in a long time.
Spike got up then and looked at Sean "Sean and Hunter could I speak to you in private for a moment?" Sean and Hunter just got up and followed Spike into the Gym. Spike sat down at the furthest end of the pool and took a seat at one of the benches.
Sean and Hunter sat down on either side of Spike. They waited for him to say something.
"I have a favor to ask of you Sean that is going to be very personal and very private. If you agree to do what I am going to ask you to do I don't want you talking to anyone but Hunter about it, okay?" "I understand. What is it you want me to do?"
"I've seen how you talk to Daniel and Gabby. You're very understanding and you seem to have an immense amount of patience. I've even heard the nurses at the hospital say that if you're working in the emergency room they often call on you to handle any difficult children." "All of my brothers and sisters were younger than me and I usually had to take care of them while my parents were working late at night."
"Well I have another child for you to speak to late at night. His name is Billy and he's my demon. Angel and I believe that my demon was a child that was taken when he was very young and unknowingly agreed to be a demon. Of course he didn't understand what he was doing but that never stopped Satan from getting a new soul to work for him. Angelus used to talk to Billy all of the time and teach him things but Billy, being a child and understanding things as a child does, had to have things repeated to him over and over again. Angelus would soon become irritated with him and would let Angel come through so he could deal with Billy. Billy liked talking to Angel and they would often have long conversations. After I married Buffy Billy asked me to ask Angel if he would come and talk to him again at night. He made Angel promise that he would bring the same books that he read to Kathleen that night and read them to him. Angel and I even went to New Hampshire to ask the Sisters at Dr. Martin's old religious order to pray for Billy that God would take him to heaven when I died.
When Angel died Buffy took over the job of talking to him at night and reading him stories. Billy liked Buffy reading to him but he never really opened up to her like he did Angel. I think it's because he needs another man to talk to. Hunter and Wesley are the only other people that know about Billy. Hunter tried talking to him when Buffy died but he didn't respond to her very well either and Wesley doesn't know how to talk to a child on the child's level. I am telling you all of this because I would like for you to take over Angel's job." "Why doesn't he talk to you?" "I guess he sees me like a big brother that bullies him around all of the time. When I was first turned Billy gave me all of my Vampire powers but I am the one that told him how to kill and why it was fun to rape women before we took their blood. All the evil that I displayed during those early years was all my doing. The penance that Fr. Maxwell gave you is kids stuff compared to mine. I didn't change my attitude until I fell in love with Buffy. She was rejecting me so much at first that I went to see a powerful group of people that I heard could help me stop loving Buffy. They put me through a lot of tests and torture to see if that was really what I wanted but I guess they were able to read my heart's desire better than I could because they ended up giving me my soul back. If it wasn't for Buffy I would have still been known as the Terror of Europe."
"I can see why Billy wants someone else to talk to. I'll be glad to do it Spike. When do you want me to come over and how do we go about it?" "You can come over after midnight tonight and all you have to do is sit by my bed and call out to Billy. He'll come through, be careful though because he'll get you to talk to him all night if you let him and if Billy doesn't get his sleep, even though I am sleeping, that means that I don't get the rest I need."
Sean got up then and said "I promise to come over tonight after midnight. I'm going to have to tell Kathleen though or else she will suspect me of visiting someone else's bed." "I understand just make sure that she understands that I don't want her talking to anyone else about him." Sean and Hunter got up and left then. Spike went into the showers where he kept some swimming trunks in a locker. He quickly changed and did a dozen laps in the pool.
That night Sean kept his promise and met Billy for the first time. From then on he would come and visit with Billy at least once each week. Like Angel Sean brought one of the children's books with him to read to Billy.
On the back patio Tom and Joyce were sitting at the table, having a coke and coffee and just talking. "Are you going to further your education like the rest?" "I've been taking a vacation from school but Aunt Fred has told me that I need to go on to college to be a teacher so that eventually I'll take over from her and Uncle Wesley in teaching the children in our group until we feel safe in letting them go to public school." "What about your duties as The Slayer?" "I don't think it will be a problem my mother said it wasn't a problem for her and she did a couple of years in college." Tom hesitated before he asked the next question. "What about friends?" "All of my friends are right here or over with Gunn's Kids." Tom's hands were starting to get sweaty. "What, what about boyfriends? Do you have one?" "Not yet but I have high hopes for a certain person I just recently met again after not seeing him for a long time." Tom started stuttering. "Is hhhhe your age?" "No, he's older than me but like Kathleen it isn't a big deal with me." Joyce leaned forward and supported her chin with her right hand and looked straight at Tom. Joyce was as cool as a cucumber and she was quiet well aware of the affect she was having on him. She ran her tongue over her lips and flipped her hair back over her shoulders then continued to lean her chin on her hand. By now Tom had to cross his legs in order to hide his current condition.
"Don't forget that God has been choosing our spouses for us. It took him awhile to get Momma and Daddy together but Momma finally gave into Daddy's charms. He paired up Uncle Angel and Aunt Cordelia, Connor and your sister and Kathleen and Sean and I am one hundred percent sure that he has found someone for me. Like Kathleen I don't care about the age difference and if anyone has to say anything about it I'll just tell them that if they have a problem they can talk to God about his choice for me." Joyce didn't say anything for awhile. She saw Tom's leg jumping up and down and she knew she had better end the torture session.
"Tom D'Chambeau if you don't come over here and kiss me I think you'll have a heart attack." Tom jumped up and picked Joyce up into his arms and kissed her. She responded with as much passion as Tom gave.
On the balcony above the patio Kathleen, Fred and Lou were listening to what was going on. When Tom jumped up and grabbed Joyce you could hear Lou and Fred say "Bingo, the next slayer is now in the works." When Tom finally pulled his head away from her Joyce said real loud "I know you're up there ladies and that you've been listening." The women went running back into the bedroom and away from the balcony where they could laugh without being heard so easily. They were embarrassed that they had been caught listening in on a very private conversation. For the next two hours Joyce and Tom stayed on the balcony just talking. Joyce finally got up and said "I better go to bed Tom since I have that match with my father. I want to be well rested." She bent over and gave him a long kiss. When she left Tom let out a loud howl like a wolf.
The next morning was the big match and everyone was present in the gym. Joyce had a pair of shorts on along with a sleeveless T-shirt. Spike wore his usual jeans and a plain black T-shirt. Neither one wore shoes of any kind. Spike walked around Joyce and saying things that were chosen to get her mad enough to attack first. But she kept her cool and just stood in the middle of the exercise mat. As Spike walked behind her he threw himself at her in an attempt to knock her off of her feet. Joyce fell forward but recovered quickly by rolling over and then flipping over and landing on her feet. She grabbed at her father's arm as he tried to get a strangle hold on her. All the time they were fighting Eddy and Bill were cheering their sister on. Tom just sat quietly on the side and watched Joyce carefully.
After 30 minutes of the match, with both of them standing as equals, Spike pulled all the plugs out and made one last move. He had been watching his daughter carefully throughout the match and he saw her repeatedly make the same gesture before she would kick his legs out from under him. The next time she ran her hand over her forehead and wiped her nose he was ready. This time when she kicked out at his legs he flipped over her head and grabbed her neck from behind and made a gesture as though he was breaking her neck. Spike let go of his daughter and let her slide down to the floor. They both lay down on the mat for awhile to catch their breath. Fred and Lou gave them each a towel. Everyone gathered around them.
When she was able to Joyce sat up and looked at her father. "How did you know I was going to try and kick your legs out from under you? Your back was toward me when I did it." Spike sat up also. "Do you know how I did it Tom?" "Every time you make certain moves Joyce you announce what you are going to do by doing certain things." "What did I do?" "When you are going to kick at your opponent's legs you always wipe your forehead and then run your finger under your nose." "Do I do other things to announce other moves?" "Yes but now that you know that you do it we'll work on you correcting those." Tom said as he gave her his hand to help her up.
Spike stood up and said "You did an excellent job Joyce. Don't feel bad about losing to your old man. Don't forget that I killed two Slayers and I almost killed your mother one time but she was pulling on my heart strings so tightly that I almost couldn't think. Later after I was given my soul back and we were sitting at the back of her mother's house she asked me how I was able to kill two Slayers and almost end her life. I told her the same thing that I am going to tell you. I won because I fight with my mind as well as my body. I watched how each of those Slayers fought me and I would always find those certain gestures they made before they made certain moves. The next time they made the gestures I was ready and I killed them in the same way that I could have killed you. Once I told your mother what she was doing she made sure that she erased every repetitive movement when she fought."
"I guess you've proven to your little girl that it will be awhile before I can kick my old man's behind." Spike went over to his daughter and put his arm around her neck. "It won't be long baby, it won't be long. Like Angel God is making me human again in very tiny increments. I almost didn't win because I could hardly breathe at the end. I'm sure that as you work with Tom, that is when you don't have your hands all over each other, he'll teach you how to correct yourself and improve your technique."
Joyce stopped and looked at her father. "How did you know Tom and I had been together?" "When I came to your room to say goodnight I could smell him on you." "You don't have any objections since there is such a big difference in our age?" "If there is one thing that I have learned after all of these years of working with Angel Investigations it is you don't argue with the Man upstairs and if two old farts like Angel and I can get two young girls to fall in love with us I am sure that you two will do just fine." Joyce reached up and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Daddy I was worried that you might not approve."
As they left to go up to their own rooms everyone else was still standing in the gym. Eddy and Bill were still standing with their mouths open. "He won, he actually won. I didn't think that he could do it." Eddy said. "There is more to your old man than you thought, huh?" Wesley asked. Everyone that had bet on Joyce were paying those that bet on Spike before they left.
At 1 o'clock everyone was sitting at the dining room table for lunch. Kathleen and Sean were the only ones missing. She had started working at the hospital today and Sean had been called in to help in Surgery. These days he didn't work at the hospital on a regular basis but only worked when they needed him. Tomorrow Spike would start his residency in surgery. Before today he had just been working there on a rotation basis but the other surgeons had asked for his assistance so much that the Director of Residents started him in his Surgical residency early.
As they all sat at the table eating, the dogs started barking. "I don't hear or sense anything outside." Spike said. "They're afraid." Connor said. Within the next second they could see the drinks on the table starting to show vibration then moving across the table. Then they felt the building shaking. Connor and Lou grabbed Daniel and Gabby and pulled them under the table. Fred and Joyce dove under the table also. Connie quickly turned the stove off and joined Joaquin under the kitchen table. The quake lasted a good 15 seconds. Everyone slowly came out from under the tables.
"Wow! That was a powerful one. Let's turn on the TV and see what happened." Connor looked at Wesley and crossed his fingers as he turned the big screen TV on. The news quickly came on and reported on the quake. They showed what happened in the news room as the quake hit. The quake was reported as being 6.5 on the Richter scale. They watched every second of the news to see if they reported the Wolfram & Hart building going down but nothing was said. They were disappointed but were still hopeful that one of the aftershocks would be powerful enough to do the job. Spike got on the phone and called Xander to see if anything happened to Sunnydale but he reported that nothing had happened that he could see easily.
Before doing anything else they checked the hotel out from top to bottom. Everything was okay and Wesley said "I thank God that we had Xander update the hotel or else we may have been standing in the basement right now." Everyone laughed about it but they knew they had been very lucky. The improvements and replacement of all of the gas pipes and plumbing had been brought up to all of the current, at the time, building codes for Los Angeles. The building codes were strict and were basically that way because of the earth quakes that California is known for.
When Sean and Kathleen came home that evening they drove by the Wolfram & Hart building to see if it was still standing. Since it was clear that it was still standing they just continued on home.
Kathleen was tired after her first full day at the hospital. She had worked 12 hours today and she had two more days of the same thing. Sean had been in surgery all day so he was both hungry for blood and his feet were hurting from standing in one place all day. Next month she would start working on becoming an Anesthetist on days that she wasn't scheduled for duty on the floor.
As they walked in through the back doors they said hello to everyone and went right to the sideboards where the food was set out. Connie brought over a large mug of blood for Sean. He drank it down within just a few gulps. Kathleen was feeling very tired but she knew that it was because it had been too long since she had last ate. She wanted to just sleep but instead she forced herself to eat. The more she ate the better she felt. Halfway through she finally felt like talking. "How did it go over here with the earthquake?" "Nothing damaged. We were disappointed that the Wolfram & Hart building didn't go down yet." Connor answered.
"Where was it centered?" Kathleen asked. "They said in Sunnydale." Wesley said. "You mean Sunnydale is still there even with that powerful an earthquake." "Yes but the Army Core of Engineers isn't letting anyone go into the town. They said the ground is too unstable because of all of the caverns underneath the town." Wesley said. "Well I'm sure Daddy is going to tell us to stay away from the town because all it will take is one good aftershock and it will go down forever and the hell mouth will be sealed shut forever. Where is Cylindia?" "She called to say she was on her way home and she should be here soon." Connie said.
In a few minutes Cylindia came in and said hello to everyone. She went to Kathleen and asked her "How are you doing this evening Nurse McConnell? I bet your feet are killing you." "Yes they are Nurse Gunn." They laughed at each other. "How do you do it Cylindia?" "Do what?" "I am so tired and my feet are killing me." "You'll get used to it Kathleen, by this time next month you'll feel like exercising again." "Now that you said that it reminded me about the match today. How did it go Joyce?" "Daddy cleaned my clock and showed me who was able to kick whose butt." Everyone laughed at her admittance to her inability to best her father.
"Well Dr. Summers are you looking forward to your first day as a Resident in Surgery?" Sean asked. "Yes and I can honestly say that I can hardly wait but I think that eventually I'll become an OB/GYN. I miss being able to help bring new life into the world instead of taking it out of the world." "Well I think that I will go and soak my poor body in the tub for awhile and then go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow. Connor, can I borrow your van tomorrow if Sean has to go in again?" "Yes, I'll leave the keys on my desk." "You'll go in with me Uncle Spike?" "Yes indeed, Hunter can enjoy sleeping late again." Sean got up and fixed another glass of blood for himself then said goodnight to everyone and went upstairs also.
As Kathleen lay against Sean in the whirlpool bath she spaced out for a minute. Sean, from experience, knew she was having a vision. When it was over Kathleen got out of the tub. "We have to go also Sean; it's a big group attacking a group of women over at the warehouse district by the airport." As soon as Kathleen dried off she called Connor and told him she had just had a vision, where it was and that they would all be needed.
By the time Sean and Kathleen were dressed and on their way downstairs they saw everyone else downstairs and heading for the back also. When they arrived at the location they found the four women that her vision had showed her, being attacked by three vampires and five human males. As usual Kathleen stayed in the background while the others took care of the gang of humans and vampires. The humans quickly ran off when they saw the rest killing the Vampires. They weren't so brave once their vampires were killed. Just as they started to help the women up and check them out two important things occurred. The first one was when one of the women was questioned as to whether she was alright or not. Kathleen recognized her as Mrs. Winters who was the supervisor of nurses in the emergency room at the hospital where Kathleen, Sean and Spike worked. She recognized Spike as Dr. Summers and when she looked towards the vehicles she recognized Kathleen. The second incident occurred at the same time Mrs. Winters recognized everyone and called out to Kathleen, a strong aftershock took place. The ground started to shake then after a few seconds there was a sharp movement as though things were settling back into place. It was such a sharp movement that everyone standing fell down.
After everyone was able to stand again they gathered the women up. "Kathleen, Dr. Summers and Dr. McConnell what are you doing out here. What were those men their eyes were a deep red when they looked at us? Did someone call 911 yet?" "What were you women doing out here all alone?" Spike asked her. "We weren't here, they brought us here. We were just coming out of a late show when we were jumped by those things. They threw us in the back of a van and brought us over here. How did you kill them and why did they turn to ashes when you killed them?" All of the women were crying and telling them what had happened at the same time. It was clear that the women were in shock.
Kathleen came over to Mrs. Winters and calmly questioned her as to where they went to the theater. "We went to the Cinerama Dome." "Where are your purses did you drop them or bring them with you?" I think we left them in their van." Eddy was the closest one to the van so he opened it and found the purses on the floor. He brought it over to the group and each woman grabbed their own purses.
"Since everyone is alright why don't we take them back to the theater so they can pick up their car?" Wesley asked. "I think that's a good idea. Why don't you take these two ladies and well take the other two?" Kathleen said as she helped two of the women to get into Wesley's van. When their seat belts were fastened Kathleen made them forget everything they had seen and put them into a light sleep. She then went to the other van and did the same thing to the other women. She quickly got in and they all left for the Cinerama Dome where they deposited the ladies in the parking lot. Kathleen, Sean and Spike got out while Wesley parked his van and just sat in it quietly.
As the women began to wake up Sean, Kathleen and Spike kneeled down by them and acted as though they had just found them. "Mrs. Winters, are you alright?" The woman sat up and asked "What happened? I remember coming out of the theater and heading for my car and that's all." "We had a powerful aftershock and a lot of people fell when the earth seemed to slip back into place. You ladies must have fallen pretty hard and bumped your heads on the pavement or something. Let's get you to the hospital so you can be checked out." Sean said. "I think I'm alright. I couldn't have been out for more than a minute or two. I think I'll just go home and put an ice pack on my head. What are you doing here?" "We came to see the movie also and found you as we came out to the parking lot." Kathleen answered. Sean went to two of the other women while Spike assisted another. When they had put the women down on the pavement they more or less dropped them down so that they would have the injuries that would result from a fall. None of the women wanted to go to the hospital so Sean, Spike and Kathleen showed the expected concern.
When they got back into Wesley's van Wesley asked "Do they remember anything about the attack?" "I wiped their memory of the incident when I put them to sleep. When they woke up again I searched their minds and they couldn't remember anything. Let's go home Uncle Wesley, I'm very tired."
As they drove back home Kathleen fell asleep against Sean. "My poor girl, she is going to be even more tired tomorrow." Sean said as he held her under his arm. "Don't worry about her Sean, if she can make it through four years of collage in just two years she'll be fine. It's like her mother, Cordelia used to tell us all of the time 'The women of Angel Investigation are tougher than we think'."
As Wesley pulled into the back parking lot of the hotel Kathleen woke up. She quickly went inside, practically tore her clothes off and crawled into bed, it was now 12:30 and she had to be up by at least 6 so she could get ready to go in to the hospital.
The next morning as Kathleen came downstairs she found Spike and Connie at the kitchen table. Connie had an egg and bacon sandwich along with a cup of coffee in a travel mug ready for her. "Let's go Uncle Spike; Sean doesn't have to go in today so we'll go in my car. Thank you Connie." Kathleen said as she picked up her sandwich and coffee and was out the door in a small whirlwind that picked up Spike along with it and took him out the door. Spike just waved at Connie and picked up his large thermos of blood and was out the door with his coat over his head.
The phone rang shortly after 7 a.m. in Connor's room. "Angel Investigations". "Connor this is Xander, have you seen the news yet?" "No, we had one of Kathleen's missions to go on last night and we were out late." "Well turn your TV on and you'll hear the best news of your life." Xander hung up then and Connor went to the couch and turned the TV on. When he saw what was on the TV he called Wesley up. "Wesley here." "Turn your TV on. It finally happened." Connor hung up and called out to Lou who was in the bathroom. "Lou, get out here as soon as you can." "What's wrong?" Lou asked as she came to the couch with her robe on. Connor just pointed to the TV.
Reporter: Last night just before midnight an aftershock took place that showed as a 6 on the Richter scale. The original earthquake was a 6.5. The epicenter of the earthquake took place in the same place as the first one, Sunnydale. (The news team showed the big hole in the earth that used to be Sunnydale California.) As you can see Sunnydale has almost completely sunk into the earth. The Army Core of Engineers stated last week that no one would be allowed back into Sunnydale because of the suspicion that this is exactly what would happen because of all of the caves that were under the town. They reported that it appears to have started at what used to be the High School and rapidly expanded outward until it almost reached the Pacific Ocean. There is only one mile that separates what is being called a sink hole and the ocean.
Fortunately, all of the town people had been evacuated of the last few residents. Sunnydale had been experiencing mild earth quakes for the last several years and people were afraid to continue living here. A major portion of the population had slowly left the town because of the caverns that they knew were under their beloved town. What will be done with the sink hole is unknown at this time. We'll continue to keep you updated as more information comes in.
Here in Los Angeles very little damage took place.
As soon as the news was over you could hear a lot of shouting going on in the hotel. Everyone came out to the lobby and were cheering and laughing. After a few minutes of this Eddy, Bill, Nicky, Mike and Joyce all went to their rooms to finish getting dressed. They were all currently enrolled at UCLA.
When Kathleen saw the news on the television in the emergency waiting room she went looking for Spike to give him the news. He was just coming out of Surgery where he had assisted in a kidney transplant. Kathleen stuck her head in the room where they cleaned up.
"Dr. Summers, can I speak to you for a few minutes?" "I'll be there in a few minutes." Spike said as he finished cleaning himself up. "What's up?" He asked her as he came out. "Sunnydale was reported on the morning news as having sunk into the caverns under the town as a result of the earthquake this morning and last week. Xander and Anya are okay because he was the one that called Connor to tell him to watch the news." "Thank you for the news." Spike said then just turned and left. Kathleen looked at him as he walked away. She could sense his sadness at the news. She decided to let it go and not bother him any further on the subject.
That evening as they returned home in time for Supper they found everyone at the table was talking about the demise of Sunnydale. Spike just filled up a plate with food and poured himself a large mug of blood. Everyone noticed how quiet he was. They left him to his meal before asking anything.
"What's wrong Daddy? I thought you would be just as happy as the rest of us that the Hell Mouth is finally closed permanently." Joyce asked when she saw that her father was done eating. He didn't answer her for awhile.
"I know that you're all happy about the Hell Mouth being closed but what I am thinking about is our home that was destroyed and that we'll never see again. I am remembering the first time that your mother let me sit and talk with her at her mother's house. I am remembering the house where your mother and I made love so often and as a result of that love we brought 3 babies home to grow up in. I am remembering all of the nights when my children would patrol Sunnydale and your mother and I were bursting with pride at how well you did and you would come home and tell us all about your fights and how many vampires you killed." Spike couldn't help the blood red tears that fell down his cheeks. He wiped them away with the back of his hands then got up to leave.
Later when everyone else had gone to bed Kathleen took a shoe box over to Spikes room and knocked on the door. "Come in Kathleen." She opened the door and stuck her head in. "Can I talked to you for a few minutes Uncle Spike." "Sure Kathleen come in and have a seat." Spike was sitting at the couch and watching TV to try to get his mind off of the house in Sunnydale. Kathleen came over and sat next to him and placed the shoe box on the coffee table.
"What's this?" "It's a present I made for you, open it." Spike took the lid off of the box and put it to the side. He looked inside and thought that she had made a model of a house. "Hold onto the box while I take it out." Spike did as she said and she pulled out the model and placed it on the coffee table. Spike looked at it carefully. As he looked at it he suddenly realized what the home was. "How did you make this?" "I didn't make it Uncle Spike. This is your home in Sunnydale. After the first earthquake Aunt Buffy asked me to take your house and miniaturize it so that you can always have your memories together with you at all times." Kathleen put her hand over the house and it slowly increased in size so that it was as large as the coffee table. Spike stared at it. He touched the grass and found that it felt real. Even the leaves on the trees moved. With his vampire hearing Spike could even hear the same branch that Buffy used to climb up to, to get to her former bedroom rubbing against the porch roof. Spike held onto Kathleen's hand and squeezed it lightly.
"Thank you Kathleen. I don't think that I've ever had a better present." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Kathleen handed him a slip of paper. "These are the words that you will need to make it shrink down again and on the other side these words will make it larger but it won't grow any larger than it is now. I have to tell you though that you will have to leave it out in the daylight or else the plants will die. They will never grow but they will die and have to be watered and fed regularly." She gave him a kiss goodnight and stood up to leave. "Kathleen, can you make the lights work?" "No but you can talk to Joaquin to see if there is a way that you can hook it up to the house current so that it will light up each evening." She pointed to an electrical box that was in the corner of the front of the yard. "Did you notice this little box in the corner?" "Yes but I don't remember this being in our front yard." "It wasn't, I put it there so you could connect it to electricity and be able to have the lights turn on. The main cable that provides electricity to the house runs under ground and into this box." She left then and Spike said the words to shrink the house again. He took it out onto the balcony and laid it on the floor where it could get the sun it needed. Tomorrow he would get a table to place out here where he could sit and look at it.
TBC…………………..