1 Title: The Walking Wounded

2 Author: Spike 'n Cordy

Summary: When Angel's soul becomes permanent but he neglects to tell the group and they hear it from Spike. How will they react?

Rating: PG13

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Authors notes: Enjoy and please review.

Timeline: Set after Reunion and Crush



3 Chapter Thirteen: Futures Decided

Caritas

Lorne was snapping his fingers to the beat of a very enthusiastic Ophan demon's version of "All Shook Up". He started towards the stage when he noticed Angel and company enter.

"Hey gorgeous," he smiled and held out his hand.

Angel took it, "Lorne we need some help."

"What can I do you for? No really how much?" he laughed at his own joke.

"That's cute Lorne," Cordelia stepped out from behind the group.

"Beautiful!" Lorne practically screamed, "Give me some sugar girl."

She kissed Lorne on both cheeks, "Hey baby. So I got a vision."

"Oh yes, that was scheduled for today. Come sit down." He leaded them to the largest table in the bar, "Anything to drink?"

Lorne gave the bartender their order and sat back down. "Before you bite my head off, I have to tell you that Keldo and Melina are expecting their first eight children in a few weeks."

"Keldo and Melina? But she's so beautiful and he's so."

"Repulsive, nasty, revolting, hideous, I could go on and on," Spike supplied a few of the choice insults he had used for Keldo in the other dimension.

"How can they be having eight children? She's human," Cordelia asked confused.

"Wait. Some woman is having sex with a demon and is going to give birth to its children?" Buffy looked disgusted.

Lorne smirked at her, "Technically you're sleeping with a demon, Miss. Summers, and she won't be giving birth. We're all afraid that the babies' horns might leave permanent damage on their way out. She's such a sweet girl." He quickly twisted towards Spike, "Spike, dear, Melina decided to be honest with Keldo."

Spike stared at him blankly, "Well.Good for her."

"No I mean she's told him everything," he gestured with his head towards Spike's lap. When he still looked blank, Lorne came right out and said it, "She told him that the two of you slept together and now he wants to kill you. Considering how much he hated you before, if I were you and I ever saw him, I'd run as far and as fast as I could."

Cordelia started laughing, she wrapped an arm around Spike's neck, "The past comes back to haunt you."

"I'm not afraid of him," Spike stated.

"No you're not," Lorne read him, "but that could be your biggest mistake."

"Fine, I'll run. We're here for a reason, Cordelia," he prompted.

"Right," she sat back on her chair, "I had a vision, but it was more like a painful memory. It was of you talking about the prophecy. We need to know when it will take place."

"No you don't, you just want to."

Angel leaned forward, "That's right, we want to know, so tell us."

"I'm sorry Angel. I can't do that."

"Yes you can," his voice was low and menacing.

Cordelia looked pointedly and Angel, "You do not threaten the PTB, Angel. That's just bad manners. Lorne why can't you tell us?"

"Because it's not clear when it will happen. Angel might not live to redemption, he might go evil."

"My soul's permanent, I can't go evil."

"Didn't stop you last time," Wesley stated.

"I didn't go evil. I went dark." He mumbled and leaned back in his chair, "There's a difference."

"A lot of things can happen to postpone it. Lots of things could happen to stop it from happening all together. But one thing's certain. When the time does come, neither of you will be able to stop it. Nothing will get in the way of your mating. Not Buffy, not Spike, no emotion, no rational thought, just unquenchable lust."

Cordelia glanced at Angel, who was staring at her with such intensity she got chills. She quickly turned her head.

Buffy noticed the exchange, but decided to ignore it. "Will they have to have sex more then once like most couples trying to conceive or will it be a one time thing?"

Lorne noticed Buffy's apprehension, "It's a one time deal. That's all it's going to take." Buffy's relief was evident, "But Buffy, this is not going to happen for a long time. If Angel does nothing wrong for the rest of his vampire life, it will still take at least a hundred years for him to reach redemption. You won't be alive to see it happen. He did a lot of bad things when he was Angelus. You saw that first hand."

Angel lowered his head, ashamed about his past. "A least a hundred years? That seems like an eternity. When I was Angelus that wouldn't be long enough but now I can't get there fast enough." Buffy held his hand in an attempt to comfort him. He stood up and pulled Buffy with him, "We need to talk."

She looked worried as she followed him out of Caritas.

3.1 Angel led Buffy into an alley near Caritas. He stopped and faced her. His eyes were full of tears. "This isn't working out, is it?"

"No don't say that," her own eyes growing moist, "We can work this out."

"I want to Buffy, I really do, but you are getting so upset because of this prophecy. I don't want to cause you more pain."

"Are you saying this because you want to be with Cordy now, and I'm just in the way?"

"No. No, I'm doing this because you seem so unhappy. We're both unhappy." He pulled her to him, "I love you so much but maybe it's not enough."

"Of course it's enough. We've been through tougher times and got passed them. You went evil and we still made up."

"I can't lie to you. I've been not," Angel stumbled over his words. "I don't like you. That came out wrong. I love you Buffy, God I love you so much but I don't like you. I don't think I could ever consider you a friend." He ran a hand through his hair and kicked the alley's brick wall.

"Angel," Buffy tentatively reached for his back, "Is this about Cordelia and Spike?"

"No. This has nothing to do with them. This is about us. If we were never involved, physically, could we have stayed friends."

"Of course we could," Buffy tried to persuade him.

"No Buffy, we can't. We tried that back in Sunnydale, and I had to move."

"So what are you saying? That we have nothing in common? We fight together, we have great sex-"

"But that's all we have. We don't have laughter. We aren't intimate."

"We are always intimate."

"Not that kind of intimate. We don't share secrets and fears and dreams. You don't want to hear about my time as Angelus, which I understand, but he's a part of me. Without him I'd have died two hundred years ago in a drunken tavern brawl."

"So you want to break up because I don't want to hear about all the people you've killed? Oh gee, I feel selfish," Buffy said sarcastically turning her back to Angel.

"Sometimes I feel the need to talk about someone or some event that happened when I was evil and you shut down. You don't want to hear about it. You only want sunshine and rainbows in your world," Angel was pacing, getting extremely frustrated. "Sometimes I think you forget that I'm a vampire. You make believe that we're a normal everyday couple going about our normal everyday lives, when we really kill demons for a living. That's what puts food on the table and blood in the fridge."

Buffy spun around to face him, tears flowing down her cheeks, "So what? I pretend. You can't tell me that you have never pretended that we're normal. That you're human and I'm just a regular girl. You can't deny that you've thought about it."

"I pretend Buffy, but you live in a pretend world. You don't do it every once in a while, you constantly live in that world. You're on the pill for Christ's sake."

"I don't think you're going to knock me up. You have to save your sperm for Cordelia. For the day you'll be a father and I'll be dead. I just want to be the mother of your children. I just want to be a mother. I don't want to live my life with any regrets. I want to have some part of me live on after I'm gone, but that will never happen. You could never give me what I need most."

"You want a child?" Angel asked her softly.

"I want three children. Two boys and a girl. I thought I could give that up. I thought that being with you was more important then children. I was wrong."

Angel hugged her as they both cried, "I'm so sorry Buffy"

"I can't believe it's over. Again," they both gave a small smile through their tears. "I do love you Angel."

"I love you too," he gave her a slow, sweet kiss. A kiss goodbye.