Chapter 25
Disclaimer: I don't own anything everything belongs to the rightful owners
Italics= Spike and Angel conversation through their bound.
AN: Thank you to everyone who has read, review, added to alerts, left kodos, commented, or any combination of the above it means the world to me. The next chapter will be out Saturday.
For the week following the group trip to the Fair it becomes clear to everyone that Spike is doing a lot better than he was, but he hasn't once put on his duster which has remained hanging in his and Angel's wardrobe.
It is early afternoon and Angel has gone to get Connor who has woken up from his nap. When he returns downstairs he gets a shock as he finds Cordelia and Spike sitting on the reception desk, which isn't shocking because all three of them do that often, the shocking part is that Cordelia is painting Spikes nails.
"Cordelia why are you painting William's nails?" Angel says confused.
"Boredom." Cordelia explains as it has been a while since they have had a client. "And so that he doesn't do a bad job of them." Cordelia adds.
"And you care if he does why?" Angel asks completely confused.
"For the same reason I care how you look. If we look bad we give the company a bad name." Cordelia explains.
"Who would pay that much attention to William's nails anyway?" Angel asks confused.
"Stop trying to make sense of it Sire. It's impossible. Trust me I tried and then gave up and accepted it." Spike tells him "I tried to explain to her that I have been painting my nails for decades so I know what to do but she wouldn't listen."
"Where are Gunn and Fred?" Angel asks as he was sure the others were around when he went upstairs.
"They went to collect lunch." Cordelia tells him.
"Are you sure they aren't together?" Spike asks Cordelia as she start to paint his last nail.
"Positive. They're just friends." Cordelia tells Spike "And a package arrived for you when you were upstairs." She informs Angel.
"They're done. Mess them up and I will kick your ass." Cordelia tells Spike.
"I would like to see you try Luv." Spike says jumping down from the desk. "What did you get?" Spike asks Angel interested.
"What you don't think I can take you?" Cordelia asks Spike.
"I know you can't." Spikes says with a grin. "So Sire, what did you get?" Spike asks repeating his question for Angel.
"Here. I'll show you." Angel says giving Cordelia Connor so that he can open the box.
"Mini Hockey sticks?" Cordelia asks looking at what's in the box.
"Yep and this." Angel says pulling out a jersey with Connor on the back "It's cute, don't you think?"
"Yeah it is." Cordelia tells him with a smile. "But I don't get it, why hocky?
"Sire's always had a thing for Hockey." Spike says pulling out one of the sticks.
"Yeah and what's wrong with that?" Angel asks but receives no answer. "But it's not just that. It's a game that is primarily played indoors at night. I can take Connor to games or watch him play in games himself." Angel explains.
"And what about how dangerous it is did you just forget about that?" Cordelia asks interested "You did." She realises when Angel doesn't look at her. "Little league games are safe." Angel tells her.
"You've obviously never been to a little league game." Cordelia tells him.
"Here, catch." Spike says throwing the second stick at Angel as he grabs out the puck, and the pair walk into the open area.
"Connor, watch this moment. Within the next five minutes you are not going to see the reason why you'll never be allowed to play hockey inside." Cordelia says to the young boy knowing that either Spike or Angel are going to end up breaking something the only questions being who and when. Though Cordelia does hope that it's not the large framed picture, behind the reception desk, of them all from the fair that she got blown up. If they do end up breaking that then they are going to have hell to pay.
Angel and Spike hit it back and forth to each other for a couple of minutes until Spike says "Come on Sire. You could make it a little hard." Spike tells him hitting the puck back at Angel.
Angel returns the puck and hits it over Spike's head and hits the back door, it breaks it and almost hits Fred who is coming back inside.
"Sorry." Angel tells her.
"Okay should we look for flying pucks when we enter the hotel now?" Gunn asks surprised and interested.
"No because Hockey will not be played inside anymore." Cordelia says walking out from behind the desk where she stayed out of the hope that it would be safe so that neither she nor Connor would get hurt.
"These aren't regulation size." Angel says as way of excuse.
"Don't blame the stick, Sire. You choose to hit it as hard as you did." Spike tells Angel.
"You bated me." Angel argues.
"Guys, the food is getting cold." Fred tells the pair
"What did you get anyway?" Spike ask interested.
"Burgers." Gunn says pulling them out the bag "Here." He says throwing one at Spike. Who catches it then sits back down on the desk and starts to eat it.
"Did Lorne come back when I was upstairs?" Angel asks interested as he collects Connor off Cordelia so she can eat.
"Not yet." Fred tells him. "What are we going to do about the door?" she asks Angel.
"I'll get it fixed later." Angel answers. "Why did you get them to get you're a burger?" Angel asks Spike.
"Seriously, how long have you known me? And you still ask that question?" Spike asks Angel "I like food. Plus this burger place is good."
"You are an odd little vampire." Cordelia tells him.
"Who are you calling little?" Spike asks insulted. "I'm taller than you."
"Not by much." Cordelia argues sitting down next to Spike on the desk.
"I may not be tall but I certainly make up for it in other ways." Spike tells Cordelia.
"Dude, I'm eating here." Gunn says looking disgusted.
"There was nothing bad about what I said Charlie Boy if you choose to take it that way then that is your problem." Spike tells him.
"We all know what you were thinking." Gunn tells Spike.
"Enough." Angel says ending the conversation "There will be no dirty talk around my son."
"That's going to be hard with Blondie around isn't it?" Cordelia jokes and "And don't even think about it." She says looking at Spike.
"Wasn't going to." Spike tells her.
"Yeah right." Gunn says disbelieving.
"It was too easy. I have higher standards." Spike tells him.
"Then why are you with Angel?" Gunn jokes and Spike, Fred and Cordelia laugh.
"Nice one Charlie Boy." Spike tells him once he finishes laughing.
"I could fire you all. You do realises that." Angel says not finding Gunn's joke funny.
"Not me." Spike tells him and Angel walks over and whispers something in Spike's ear so quietly that no one except Spike could hear it.
"That would be worse." Spike says out loud. "But I don't think you would do it."
"Haven't you learnt not to test me Boy?" Angel asks.
"Another question I would have thought you would know the answer to by now." Spike says with a grin.
"I guess we'll see then." Angel responds then walks over to Cordelia's desk where he sits down.
"I'm just going to pretend that that whole exchange never happened because I really don't want to know what it meant." Gunn comments.
"I second that." Fred says.
"Third." Cordelia adds.
"No fun the lot of you." Spike says before suddenly grabbing his head in pain.
"Spike?" Cordelia asks concerned as Angel races over to him.
"It's nothing, I'm fine." Spike tells Cordelia and Angel "You two worry too much."
"What happened?" Angel asks concerned.
"My chip it fire-ahhhhhh." Spike says grabbing his head once more in pain. "Okay I think it's stoped." Spike tells Angel.
"What happened?" Cordelia asks concerned grabbing onto his arm because he doesn't look that steady and she doesn't want him to fall of the desk.
"The chip it just suddenly fired." Spike tells her looking confused.
"Why?" Angel asks.
"I don't bloody know." Spike answers. "But its fine now." Spike tells Angel.
"You sure?"
"Yeah I'm sure, but you might want to ask Vision that question." Spike tells Angel because he sees out of the corner of his eye Cordelia tense and he feels her tighten the hold she has on his arm.
"What did you see?" Angel asks.
"Vampires. Tonight, not long after sunset. An Alley downtown." Cordelia tells him.
"We've still got a couple of hours then." Angel says "Gunn you going to come?"
"You don't even have to ask." Gunn tells him.
"So am I Sire." Spike tells him.
"No." Angel tells him. "You're not coming."
"Why the bloody hell not?" Spike asks angrily.
"Because your chip has just fired twice for no reason. What if that happened during a fight?" Angel asks "Then what would happen? You're going to stay here until we figure out what is going on." Angel informs Spike.
"You know what do whatever you want, you always do anyway. Just don't expect me to like it." Spike says angrily heading down to the basement.
"What no comment about being overprotective?" Angel asks Cordelia as he expected her to.
"No because I agree with you." Cordelia tells him "There must be a reason for his chip to just suddenly fire and until we know why we should be cautions." She tells him.
"What do we even know about it?" Gunn asks interested.
"Just what Willow told us." Angel tells him "It's a chip that delivers a shock to him if he actually or thinks about causing harm to a human." Angel explains.
"That's not much." Fred comments.
"No it's not. Which is why I need you to see if you can find out anything more." Angel tells Fred.
"On a secret government vampire controlling chip? I can try but I don't know if I will find anything." She tells him.
"Just try please Fred." Angel requests.
"Of course." Fred says before heading to her computer and starting to research.
Several hours later the sun is just setting and Spike hasn't left the basement since he went down there. Fred has been researching the chip ever since Angel asked her to but so far she has had no luck.
"You should get going. It won't be long until the Vamps attack." Cordelia tells Angel.
"She's right. Let's go." Gunn says.
"Look after Connor and check up on him." Angel requests.
"Of course." Cordelia tells him as Angel gives Connor who Cordelia is holding a kiss on the head before leaving.
Once Angel and Gunn leaves Cordelia makes her way into the office where Fred is still researching on the computer.
"How's it going? Cordelia asks interested.
"Horrible." Fred tells her "I can't find anything that sounds like Spike's chip."
"Guess the government likes to keep those kind of things secret." Cordelia comments. "Can you watch Connor? I'm going to go have a conversation with moppy vampire number two."
"Sure." Fred answers "And good luck." She adds.
"Thanks. I think I'm going to need it." Cordelia says handing Connor over to Fred before exiting the office.
"Hey Sugar where is everyone?" Lorne asks entering the hotel "And what happened to the door?" He asks noticing the missing pane of glass which has been cleaned off the floor since its breaking earlier.
"Hey Lorne. Spike and Angel happened to the door and about the rest Fred's in the office she'll fill you in. I've got a moody vampire to deal with." Cordelia tells him heading down to the basement.
When Cordelia enters the basement she finds Spike attacking a plank off wood with one of Angel's good swords "What are you doing?" She asks "Besides ruining a sword." She adds.
"I'm not ruining it." Spike tells her "It will be fine. It will just need some sharpening." Spike tells her.
"That doesn't answer my question. Why are you attacking a piece of wood with a sword?" Cordelia asks confused.
"I felt like it." Spike answers.
"At least he answered." Cordelia thinks to herself "You know he just worries about you." Cordelia says sitting down on the stairs.
"I know." Spike admits walking towards her "But I don't need to be treated like an invalid especially by him." Spike explains.
"Sit down Spike." Cordelia instructs.
"Why?" Spike asks.
"Don't question just sit." She orders.
Spike is confused but he sits down next Cordelia anyway.
"Drusilla, Buffy, whatever you and Angelus had in the past and what you have with Angel now have been your only actual relationships right?" Cordelia asks.
"And Harmony." Spike adds wanting to make himself seem less pathetic.
"Right I forgot you had a thing with Harmony. Why would you do that to yourself?" Cordelia asks curious as while Harmony is her friend she knows how difficult she is to be around.
"I was lonely, desperate, and wanted company." Spike explains. "She gave it to me."
"Sorry about that." Cordelia tells him "My point is none of them except what you have now with Angel couldn't exactly be considered healthy, could it?" Cordelia asks his friend.
"No. Not really." Spike admits.
"Well welcome to a good, loving relationship. You're meant to worry about each other and protect each other especially when it's called for." Cordelia explains. "He loves you Spike. I know you don't like him being so overprotective and he's trying not to be, but you've got to realise that he is acting how he is because of the right reasons." Cordelia tells him. "So you should give him a break."
"I'll try." Spike says quietly after several minutes of hesitation.
"Good." Cordelia tells him. The pair sit on the stairs in silent for a while until suddenly Spike yells in pain.
"SPIKE." Cordelia says worried as he slides down the last four steps onto the ground.
"LORNE, FRED. GET DOWN HERE." Cordelia yells as she races down the rest of the stairs to Spike where he is lying on the ground crumbled in pain as his nose begins to bleed.
"Spike, what's going on?" Cordelia asks.
"Chip." Spike manages to say between cries of pain.
"It will be okay Spike." Cordelia assures him "LORNE, FRED WE NEED YOU." Cordelia yells as loud as possible.
"You'll be okay." Cordelia tells him as he continues to cry in pain.
"Cordelia." Fred and Lorne say arriving at the top of the stairs, Fred with Connor in her arms.
"Get down here." Cordelia requests.
"What happened?" Lorne asks confused and concerned.
"His chip just started firing randomly." Cordelia tells him.
"It's stoped." Spike says sitting up with Cordelia's help "I'm not sure if it's going to fire again but it's stoped." He explains.
"Lorne help me get him up to his room." Cordelia requests "Fred call Angel."
"Vision, I'm alright. I can get up on my own." Spike says and he attempts to stand but instead he sways almost falls only not doing so because Cordelia catches him.
"Yeah you really look like it." Cordelia says sarcastically "Lorne grab the stubborn vampires other arm." Cordelia says as her and Lorne helps Spike upstairs and Fred walks behind them. With Cordelia's and Lorne's help Spike manages to get up the stairs and across the lobby okay when his chip starts to fire again and it's only with Cordelia's and Lorne's help that he remains standing.
"Come on let's get him upstairs." Cordelia says worried "Spike you with us?" Cordelia asks concerned.
"Yeah." Spike manages to say through shocks of pain.
"Fred get Angel." Cordelia instructs.
"Already on it." Fred says racing into the office while Lorne and Cordelia start to help Spike upstairs.
Across town in an alley Angel and Gunn are fighting four vampires. Angel uses his double wrist stakes to stake two at the same time while Gunn beheads another with his hubcap axe before staking the last one.
"Nice work." Angel tells Gunn.
"You too." Gunn responds as Angel's phone rings.
"Fred, what's wrong?" Angel ask and the second that Angel asks Gunn sees his face becoming even paler than normal and concern becoming all too clear "We'll be right there." Angel tells her before hanging up the phone.
"What's going on?" Gunn asks concerned.
"Spike. His chip is firing again but it's worse this time." Angel says racing to his car.
With difficulty Lorne and Cordelia manages to get Spike upstairs and up to his and Angel's bed. "Go see if Fred's found something please." Cordelia asks Lorne because she can see him winch in pain every time Spike does.
Lorne nods and heads back down stairs.
"Hey Spike. How you doing?" Cordelia asks sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"Just peachy." Spike says sarcastically. "Having your brain repeatedly shocked with electricity is great. I'd really recommend it." Spike tells her.
"Well find a way to stop it." Cordelia tells her friend.
"What if you can't?" Spike asks her.
"You know Angel. He won't stop until he does." Cordelia tells him.
"He might not have a choice this time." Spike tells her.
"He won't accept that, and neither will I." Cordelia tells him "You will be okay. No matter what it takes. I'll make sure of that." Cordelia says as she refuses to let anything happen to her friend.
"Thanks Vision."
For more than ten minutes Spike and Cordelia sit in silence until Spike starts thrashing and moaning in pain. Cordelia just watches him having no idea what else she can do.
"It will be okay Spike, Angel will be here soon and he'll know what to do." Cordelia tells her friend a tear coming to her eye.
"I don't know if have that long." Spike admits.
"Where is he?" Angel asks Fred as he races into the hotel twenty minutes after he and Gunn left the alley.
"Up stairs. Your room. Cordelia's with him." Fred explains as Angel races upstairs.
When Angel enters his and Spikes room he finds Spike moaning and thrashing in pain with Cordelia holding his hand, clearly distressed about what is happening to her friend.
"Hey William." Angel says walking over to the bed and grabbing Spike's other hand.
"Hey Sire." Spike tells him sounding week.
"It will be okay William. We will find a way to help you I promise." Angel tells his Childe.
"Don't make a promise you can't keep." Spike tells his Sire.
"I don't plan to. When have I ever?" Angel asks as even when he was evil he knows he didn't break promises to Spike.
"Cardiff." Spike answers and when he does Cordelia sees a flash of guilt appears on Angel's face making him look even guiltier than usual. As well as the guilt on Angel's face shame also appears as well.
"This time I won't." Angel tells him "I will not let this be like Cardiff. I'll keep my promise this time." Angel tells Spike using both hands to grab Spike's one.
"Go see what Fred's found." Angel requests of Cordelia but not looking away from Spike.
"Sure." She tells him "I'll be right back Spike." Cordelia says to Spike letting go of his hand and heading back downstairs.
Spike and Angel stay how they are sitting for several minutes until they both hear the sounds of the others walking up the stairs.
"Angel." Cordelia says from the doorway.
"I'll be right back." Angel tells Spike letting go of his hand to walk over to his friends.
"What did you find?" Angel asks.
"Nothing." Fred answers.
"Nothing, how do you have nothing?" Angel asks angrily.
"When a government agency puts a behaviour modifying chip in a vampire's brain it doesn't look like they leave records of it and I've looked everywhere I can think of." Fred explains.
"So we've got nothing." Angel says running his hand through his hair "Is there anything we can do?"
"Maybe." Fred answers.
"What are you thinking? I'll try anything." Angel tells her.
"Well the first thing is that we need to know where in his brain the chip is and what it is doing to him." Fred tells him.
"Okay. How do you prose we do that?" Angel asks.
"A CT scan, or some kind of medical imagining equipment." Fred tells him. "I was going to suggest a MRI but we don't know what material the chip is made from so it won't be a good idea."
"How do you think we are going to do that? It's not like we can take him to a hospital." Angel tells her.
"We might not have to." Fred answers.
"What are you thinking?" Cordelia asks.
"I have a friend who fixes and tinkers with portable medical imaging equipment and I think I may be able to get him to let me borrow one." Fred tells her.
"Good, do it." Angel tells her.
"It might not be enough." Fred reveals hating that she has to give him more bad news after giving him some hope.
"What do you mean?" Angel asks.
"I can't be sure but I think there may be a combination of both mystical and scientific things behind that chip and that might be the key to getting it top stop hurting Spike." Fred explains "I can handle the scientific no problem but the mystical I'm not sure about. It's not my area."
"Figure it out." Angel tells her.
"I won't be able to. Not in time." Fred tells him "I don't want to say this but we might not have another option. I think we need Wesley."
"No." Angel says leaving no room for argument.
"Angel I think…" Fred begins to say but Angel cuts her off "No. We'll find another way."
"What about Buffy?" Gunn says and everyone turns to him "She dated one of those Solider Boys right?" he says remembering that it was mentioned the night that they spent at the bronze with the Scoobies. "She might know a way to contact them and maybe they know how to help Spike."
"No." Angel says "Her connection is Riley and he hates William. He would never help and he's the one who did this to William in the first place I don't want him near him."
"I don't know what else we can do then." Fred tells him. "I'll go get the machine at least then we'll know what we're looking at then we can figure out what to do next."
"Go." Angel says "Gunn go with her."
Gunn nods and the pair start to head back down stairs but Angel stops them "Where's Connor?"
"Down with Lorne. Spike's pain was really hurting him." Gunn explains and Angel nods.
"You need to get over yourself." Cordelia says once Fred and Gunn are out of hearing range.
"Excuse me?" Angel asks surprised.
"Spike is dying in there and you won't put aside your problems with either Wesley or Riley to help him, even though you said you'll do anything." Cordelia says angrily and Angel attempts to respond but Cordelia stops him "I know what Wesley did and I haven't forgiven him and I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying that we have to put aside our feelings on what he's done to help Spike. If you can't do that then swallow your pride and call Buffy. You've got to decide whether your anger and pride is worth loosing Spike because if you don't make a decision soon that is exactly what is going to happen. You're going to lose him knowing that you could have helped." Cordelia says walking into the room to check on Spike leaving Angel alone in the hallway pondering what his friend told him.
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AN: Five chapters to go