Spoiled & Rotten Spoiled & Rotten Chapter Six Angel hovered in the doorway of Rupert Giles' residence. No matter how many times he came here, he could never rid himself of the sense that he was trespassing. That he had no right to be in that apartment after what he'd done inside those walls. As he gathered his courage to enter, a firm hand pressed into the small of his back and shoved him forward.

Angel practically fell into Giles' living room. He hastened to straighten himself and then turned to glare at the owner of that hand.

Xander's eyes were steely with resolve, but strangely enough to Angel, not unkind. "Don't think about it. That's not why we're here."

Here. Back in Sunnydale. Again.

Giles' tone when he called earlier had been frantic. The Watcher's Council had dispatched a special operations unit to Sunnydale. Giles needed Angel's help. A few short hours and a very tense ride in his car had brought them here.

Xander had protested them traveling together. He didn't want to leave his car in Los Angeles. Angel let him know, in no uncertain terms, that whenever the crisis in Sunnydale had passed, Xander would be returning with him so they could straighten things out.

Even if he had to tie Xander to the hood of his car.

After moving past the mental image that hadn't been entirely disturbing to either of them, they had silently packed up and headed north. They hadn't spoken again until now.

Giles rushed downstairs to greet them. "I'm glad you're both here. We need to get Buffy out of the hospital."

Xander and Angel shared a concerned look. "Giles, Buffy's in a coma." Xander ventured uncertainly.

Giles tone was harsh; the strain of the past few hours was evident. "Yes, I am aware of that. But the Council has sent men here and I believe they mean to kill her."

"What? But she's the Slayer!" Angel protested.

"And she's in a coma. As is Faith. Two Slayers, both incapacitated, is most definitely unprecedented. The doctors don't know if either of them will ever regain consciousness or what their condition will be when they do. They could linger in a vegetative state for decades."

"And there's no Slayer." Xander finished softly.

Giles sagged visibly and leaned on the back of a chair for support. "Exactly. No one to fight. No one to avert whatever the next apocalyptic prophecy will be. The Council won't risk it. If Faith and Buffy are out of the picture, they can be certain that at least one new Slayer will be activated."

Angel couldn't believe it. This was murder they were talking about. Human beings were plotting the deaths of two young women. "How do you know?"

"I don't have very many friends left within the Council but there are a few people who are unwilling to be a party to the execution of these girls."

Xander felt sick. Despite the rift that had formed between he and Buffy, she was still one of his best friends and he loved her. He'd be damned if he were going to let them take her without a fight. "What do we do? How do we stop them?"

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, frustrated. "I'm not sure. For now, I thought we could get them out of the hospital and hide them. It's not a long term solution but it should buy us some time until we can formulate a plan on how to stop the Council."

"What about their condition? Medical equipment?" Angel asked.

"There's not a lot actually. Neither of them are on any sort of life support system or ventilator. Just IVs really. They're hooked up to monitors but those are only to record their heart rate and brain—" Giles broke off, choking on the coldness of his words. He was speaking of them as if they were strangers. But they weren't. Not Faith. Certainly not Buffy.

Xander could see that Giles was near his breaking point and stepped in. "So where do we hide them? We need some place deserted where people won't notice odd comings and goings." He thought for a minute. "The mansion?"

Angel shook his head. "No. The Council knows about the mansion. We need someplace thatthey won't think of right away."

"Spike!"

Giles and Angel looked at Xander in question.

"Spike is squatting in one of the big mausoleums. I'm pretty sure a cemetery is the last place they'd think to look. If Blondie can do it, why can't we?"

Angel's expression darkened at the mention of his errant offspring. He tried to brush aside the distracting thoughts as he turned back to Giles. "Xander and I will scout out a location. I need you to go to the hospital. Look around. See if anything strikes you as odd. But most importantly, watch over them. Once we've found a place, we'll come get you."

"Uh...how are we going to get them out of the hospital without anyone noticing?" Xander inquired.

Angel already had a plan forming. "We cut the power."

"What? Are you insane? There are innocent people in that building!" Giles protested.

"All hospitals have backup generators for just such emergencies. When the power is cut, the generators will kick in. The lights will be out but no one is in any real danger. Plus the medical personnel will all leave their posts to check on the critical patients and ensure that that their equipment is still functioning properly."

Xander just looked at him with equal parts admiration and horror. "I don't even want to know how you know that."

"Let's go. Giles, we'll meet you at the hospital. Be ready to move when the lights go out." Angel headed for the door but paused as Giles' quietly called after him.

"Angel, you never even asked who did this to her."

Angel shook off the mild rebuke. "I can't think about that now. Once I know they're safe, then we can deal with who's responsible."

Angel turned and walked outside into the night as Xander struggled to catch up.