Disclaimer:  I own nothing.  Everything belongs to Joss Whedon, etc.

Summary:  Xander recruits Angel to dust Spike.  Things don't go as planned. 

Pairings:  This is a W/S story, but the next couple of chapters have a hint of S/A, and W/A friendship

Author's Note:  I wrote this on the basis that Angel is Spike's sire, not Dru.  This wasn't exactly where I had planned on going with the story, but this is where my mind ended up taking me.  I hope you enjoy it.  Feedback is always welcome…good or bad. 

Chapter 5

            While the girls were having a good time discussing men and relationships, Xander was heading down Interstate 5 towards LA.  He was boiling over with anger and there was only one person he knew who could rid them of Spike once and for all, and that was the person who hated the Bleached Wonder more than he did…Angel.

            It only took two hours for him to get to Angel's hotel.  He stared at the Hyperion for several moments, unable to believe that the whole place belonged to Deadboy.  Getting out of his car, he walked across the street and up the steps, into the lobby.

            "Welcome to Angel Investigations.  We help the hopeless," Cordelia chanted, repeating every word of the slogan.

            "Well, I never thought I'd see the day where Cordelia Chase is a receptionist," Xander said sarcastically. 

            Cordelia frowned looking up with a big question mark on her face.  "Xander."

            "Cordy.  How are you?"

            She tried to speak but it took her a moment.  "Good.  I'm good."

            "Good."  He looked around.  "Where's Deadbo…Angel?"

            "He's…."

            "Right here.  Xander, what brings you here?  Is everything all right?  Is it Buffy?"

            Xander rolled his eyes.  Of course he'd ask if it was Buffy.  "No, this time it's not Buffy.  But we do have a problem that we need your help with."

            Angel looked at the boy suspiciously.  Something was wrong with this picture.  Giles would have called if it was something dire.  He never would have sent Xander all the way to LA.  "What is it?"

            "It's Willow."

            Cordelia spoke up.  "Hey, I heard that she's changed a lot.  Harmony was here last week…and before you say anything, yes I know she's a vampire.  Anyway, she saw Willow dancing at this club.  Apparently she didn't even recognize her at first.  And she was there with some wickedly hot guy."

            "Yeah, well that wickedly hot guy was none other than Spike."  Silence filled the air.  "Hello, anyone home.  I just said that Willow is involved with Spike."

            Angel stiffened at the mention of his favorite childe's name.  "Willow is dating Spike?"

            "That's what I just said."

            "But Willow would never…"Cordelia said, trying to rationalize what he was saying to herself.

            "You haven't seen her lately.  She cut her hair and highlighted it.  She got her bellybutton pierced.  All of her old clothes are gone and she's wearing things like leather shorts that zip up the front and tube tops.  She doesn't come to Scooby meetings anymore, and worst of all is her attitude.  She's started talking back to people and not listening to people who are trying to give her sound advice."

            "Sounds like Willow got a life," Cordelia muttered, ignoring the glare it earned her from Xander.

            Angel was a little more perceptive.  There had to be a reason Buffy wasn't dealing with it herself.  "Why doesn't Buffy just kill him?"

            Xander stood his ground, knowing that this question would come up.  "She thinks as long as he doesn't feed, he's fine.  All of them seem to think that the fact Willow is sleeping with him isn't a big deal."

            Cordelia spoke up before Angel could respond.  "So let me get this straight.  You want Angel to come up to Sunnydale and dust Spike because you think it would make Willow be the way she was before she started dating him?"  She just looked at him with a straight face and said, "What delusion are you living in?  All that would do is make her angry and upset.  Plus she'd never speak to you again.  It wouldn't change her back to the way she was.  If anything it might make her even more rebellious.  Your logic is a little backwards, Xander.  Everyone else is obviously dealing with and liking the new Willow.  You should try to deal with it too.  She's been your best friend forever.  Don't you think she deserves it?"  With that she turned and walked out of the office.

            Cordelia's words made sense to Angel, but he knew he had to see for himself that his wayward childe was behaving himself.  "I'll be up there tonight.  I'll take care of Spike.  On my own," he emphasized.

            Xander nodded, pleased that Cordelia's words hadn't swayed Angel.  He turned and walked back out to his car without another word certain that by tomorrow Spike would be dust.

            When Xander left, Angel went down to the training room where Cordelia was stretching out on the floor mats.  She used the area to dance.  "So are you going to kill him?"  She said, sliding down into the splits.

            "I didn't tell Xander that I was going to kill Spike, just that I'd be up there tonight.  All I'm going to do is watch him for a while and make sure that he isn't hurting her or anyone else.  But I have to assume since Buffy and Giles haven't done anything that he's behaving himself.  Even so, I'll have a little chat with him."

            Cordelia smiled and did a pirouette over to him.  "Have a little chat with him?  Come on Angel, we both know where that mind of yours is wandering.  You just want to see your favorite childe again."  He gave her a look that told her she was treading on thin ice with the topic but she just ignored it.  "Don't think I don't know why you never killed him.  You made him for yourself."

            "Cordy, that's enough," he growled, even as he admitted that it was true.  No matter how much he and Spike hurt each other, he could never kill his childe.  He was made purely for Angelus' pleasure.  "I'm going to change and then go.  I'll be back tomorrow or the next day.  Let Doyle know."

            He turned his back and made his way to the bedroom, trying to ignore the feeling of nervousness he had about seeing his boy again.

            Spike stared at the clock on the wall.  'I wish the bloody sun would just set already,' he thought.  They were out of blood and he needed to go to the butchers to get some.  Feeding off pig's blood wasn't the most disgusting thing he'd ever done, but it came close.  It was worth it, though, if it meant that he kept Willow in his life.

            Ten minutes later the sun finally dipped below the horizon and Spike began walking toward Main Street.  The night was actually quiet for once but he was cautious anyways, after all, it was Sunnydale.  No telling what bad things were lurking in the dark.

            It took him twenty minutes to get to the butchers and another ten to get the blood.  He thought about heading over to Willy's for a pint but decided against it.  Willow was going to be home soon.  After their little gossip, movie, and ice cream session that morning, the girls did each other's hair and makeup while he retreated to the bedroom for some sleep.  At around five o'clock they got all gussied up and went to dinner with plans to go to the Bronze afterwards.  He'd been relieved when they left so he could have some time to himself.

            He was only a block from Willow's when he realized he was being followed.  He stopped, not moving a muscle.  He thought he was going crazy but he recognized the scent of his sire in the air.  No one could mistake the scent of hair gel and Calvin Klein cologne.  "You may as well come out, Peaches.  I know you're there."  Spike turned just as Angel stepped out from behind a tree.  "For a private investigator you sure need to work on being more subtle when tracking people."  Angel didn't say a word, just stood there.  "Let me guess why you're here.  I'm willing to bet that the whelp came down to LA with stories of how I was corrupting Willow and changing her.  Probably said that if you got rid of me she'd go back to being the Willow she was before.  The one that constantly got taken advantage of by people that were supposed to be her friends."

            "Yeah, I think it was something like that.  But he also told me Buffy and Giles weren't worried, because you weren't hunting.  I found it odd that William the Bloody wasn't feeding on innocents just because a girl, not even an exceptionally beautiful one at that, asked him to."

            The bag full of blood packets hit the ground at the same time Spike's hand wrapped around Angel's throat.  "Don't you ever speak about Red like that.  She's the most beautiful woman I've ever known," he growled, slipping into his demon visage without a second thought.

            Angel removed Spike's hand from his throat, unable to believe that this was the same person that tortured him for the Gem of Amara.  But then, Spike always took love seriously.  And he did love Willow.  That much Angel could tell without even asking him.  "I just had to see if Buffy and Giles were right in letting you live.  I meant no offense.  And I would have to agree with you about Willow.  She is beautiful.  Especially now that she's cut her hair." 

            Angel wasn't looking at him, but over his shoulder.  Spike turned and there was Willow, watching them with wide eyed fascination. 

            "Hey baby," he said, with a smile, letting his human visage slide back into place. 

            Angel couldn't help but watch Willow.  She was completely different from the young girl that he'd known just a year ago.  She walked up to Spike and, without any hesitation, kissed him passionately.

            For several minutes they were lost in each other, until Angel finally had to clear his throat to get their attention.  Willow looked up at him with a smile on her face, her eyes twinkling with mischief.  He didn't like the glint he saw there.  "You know," she said, practically purring, "I wouldn't mind if you wanted to…." She let her words trail off and just looked at him, her eyes full of knowledge.

            Angel didn't bother to question how she knew.  He didn't even think about what he was going to do.  He just jumped at the chance to feel Spike in his arms again.  Before he could move or say a word Spike was pulled roughly against his sire.  "I'm going to kiss you, boy," Angel whispered, holding tightly to Spike's shirt, knowing his childe would object.

            "Oh no you bloody well ar…" he said, only to be cut off by Angel's mouth.

            Spike struggled for several seconds, eyes wide open and trying to get away, until Angel's tongue slipped into his mouth and then he was in heaven.  Angel's kisses were always like a glimpse of some heavenly delight.

            His eyes slid closed when Angel's hand slipped up to cup the back of his head and he held on to his sire's hips with a death grip.  He moaned as everything that they once shared came flooding back, making them desperate with desire.  They completely forgot that Willow was there.

            She smiled.  "If you guys want we can take this inside."  She watched as they broke apart slowly with a series of small kisses.  Spike's eyes were still closed when Angel stepped away from him.  It was only Willow's soft touch on his arm that brought him back to the present.  With a growl he brushed her hand off of him.  "You had no bloody right to do that," he snapped at her.  "And where do you get off kissing me after all this time, you wanker?  I don't ever want you to touch me again!"  He grabbed the blood off the ground and stalked away.  They watched him jog down the block and listened until they heard the front door of Willow's house slam behind him.

            She looked at Angel and was immediately sorry for even suggesting the idea.  "I'm so sorry, Angel."

            He smiled, a slow, sad smile.  "It's not your fault Willow.  I should have known better.  There's a lot of bad blood between us.  Too much.  I should have thought about that before I kissed him."

            "You have to bury the hatchet sometime.  I know that it may not seem like it but he needs you.  I love him and I know that he loves me, probably more than he ever thought possible.  But there's a place in him that I can't touch, because even if he won't admit it, he belongs to you."

            "How do you even know about all of this?"

            "He told me some of it.  Not all, but enough."  She giggled at the surprise on Angel's face.  "We don't keep secrets from each other.  There are some things I know he'll never tell me, but other than that I know everything I need to about him.  I also know why you're here.  Cordelia called me on my cell phone to tell me that you had a visit from Xander."

              Angel nodded.  "I never actually planned to let you know I was here unless I saw that he was hurting you."

            "He'd never hurt me."

            "I know that now.  He loves you, more than I think he's ever loved anyone.  Even me."  It came out as such an anguished whisper it was all Willow could do not to cry.

            "I don't think of love in terms of more.  I think of it as different.  More implies seniority and I don't think that love is something that can be given a rank.  He loves me a lot, just in a different way than he loves you.  He'll never admit it.  He'll probably deny it until the day he turns to dust, but part of his heart will always belong to you."

            "When did you grow up, Willow Rosenberg?" he asked, smiling down at her.

            "When no one was looking."

            "Spike was."

            "Yeah, he was."  She smiled.  "I'm fine, Angel.  We both are, despite what Xander said.  I'll make sure he stays safe."

            Relief washed across Angel's features.  "I always loved him, you know.  He was it for me.  No one else ever came close.  Not even Buffy.  But I never told him.  That's my biggest regret."

            "I know."  She always had.  She and Giles were the only ones that ever noticed Angel's face when his childe was brought up in conversation.

            "I've got to be going.  I told Cordy I'd be back as soon as possible."

            "Okay.  I'm glad I got to see you.  And who knows, maybe one day, he'll come around."

            "I doubt it but it's a nice thought."

            "Have a good drive back," she said, turning to look at him, but he was already gone.  "I hate it when he does that."  Sighing, she walked toward her house thinking about the angry vampire inside, certain that it was going to be a long night.