TITLE: "Average Joe" Part 3
AUTHOR: Elise D.
FEEDBACK: Gimme gimme. Just be gentle.
SUMMARY: Season Seven, Spike heads to L.A. to visit some old friends.
SPOILERS: Spoiler free, do I get a cookie?
RATING: PG-13.
DISCLAIMER: Nobody buys me good presents, so I steal other peoples.
NOTES: Thanks for all the lovely feedback, everyone. You keep me encouraged :)

---

Spike and Wesley had gone into the office over an hour ago, and Angel was starting to get ticked. There was a big battle brewing in Sunnydale, couldn't they compare notes on the way? He was itching to hit the road.

Cordy just sat in the lobby, watching her friend pace, and occasionally shoot angry glares at the office door. God, she was bored.

Both of them jumped at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and turned to see Connor approaching.

"Just once, could ya try using the door?" asked Angel wryly, which Connor pointedly ignored, instead making his way over to Cordelia.

"What's going on?" he asked, nodding towards the bags piled at the entrance.

"Big evil going down in Sunnydale, one of your relatives came down to break the news, so we're heading out to lend a hand," she replied with a shrug.

Connor's brow furrowed at the news.

"Am I needed? And what relative? How can I have family when my parents are dead?"

Angel sighed. This was going to be an absolute picnic, wasn't it? Thank you Cordelia.

"His name is Spike, and before you ask, he's a vampire. I made Drusilla, who made him. Don't listen to Cordy, he's not family…just an eternal pain in my ass."

"A vampire? Here?" asked Connor, his whole body tensing at the prospect of battle.

"Oh relax. Vampire with a soul, one of the good guys. He's talking to Wes right now, so don't go freaking out," said Cordy, as she stretched her legs. "They're going to be in there for hours, aren't they? I may as well go back upstairs and pack the things I actually consider important."

---

"Never been one for prophecies myself, always seem to get screwed up somewhere in the translation…but I guess you've learnt that lesson now," said Spike as he poured himself another drink.

"Yes, quite right," replied Wes, scratching at the scarred reminder of his actions. "I suppose I have. Anyways, I don't have any clippings that would indicate any obvious signs of the First attempting anything here, so in a way I'd say that was a good sign, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, just peachy," said Spike, "if it wasn't for the implied confirmation that it's concentrating on the Slayer and good ole Sunny D. That does nothing to ease my fears over it, especially when it's got "plans" for me."

"Hmm, that does pose somewhat of a problem, I'll admit, but I'm sure if we pool our resources, we could come up with some form of protection for you. After all, there will be a wealth of knowledge available, what more could we need?"

"Well, that's the thing," said Spike, leaning forward in his chair. "I've got this idea, but I thought maybe you'd be a little more receptive than Angelus…" Spike trailed off, causing Wesley's eyebrow to quirk in interest.

---

"Finally!" cried Angel, raising his hands to the sky. "I thought you two were never coming out! We've got to go, it's going to be hard enough traveling during the day, and I think we've wasted enough time."

"Actually, Spike and I have another matter to attend to. It shouldn't take long, a couple of hours at the most. By then the sun will be setting, and we can transport the both of you in complete safety," said Wesley, shrugging on his jacket and joining Spike by the hotel's entrance.

"But…"

"Oh now, grandpa, there'll be plenty of time for buts later, but we've got to head out," interrupted spike with a smirk.

"MY father has voiced an objection, you shouldn't ignore it," said Connor standing in front of the blonde vampire.

"Oh my! What do we have here?" asked Spike as he looked the teenager over. "Self-righteous attitude, permanent sneer, slightly over-sized forehead…this has got to be the infamous Connor then, hasn't it." Connor simply glared, causing Spike to shake his head in amusement. "And he's got his mother's patience I see." He laughed.

Any anger on the boy's face was quickly replaced with a look of sorrow, and then a cold mask of indifference.

"You knew my mother," he stated, although it came out more as a question.

"Happens I did," said Spike softly. Wesley had filled him in, so he knew what it might mean to the kid. "Maybe we can sit down some time, and I'll tell you all about her, eh?" he asked.

"I don't think…" began Connor, only to be interrupted by Spike.

"The thing is, I don't know if I've got any stories that don't make your old man out to be a completely useless tosser…so you'll have to make do with those details, I'm afraid."

Connor raised his chin and nodded. That was good. He might be able to get through to the kid easier, being an outsider and all. Make things a little easier around the home front. God, this goodness and light routine was really starting to irritate the hell out of him. Helping Angel bond with his son. What next? Giving Xander tips on making up with Anya? Bloody hell.

"Right. Well Spike, we better be heading out," Wesley noted, looking at his watch. Spike nodded, and was halfway out the door when he heard Angel speak.

"Where are you going, anyway?"

"Gonna see a screw about a slayer," Spike said with a grin, before the door shut behind him.

---

Spike shifted in his seat under the scrutiny, while Wesley rubbed at his tired eyes.

"Faith, please," the watcher said to the woman on the other side of the glass, "just listen to us for a minute?"

"Listen to what? A member of the watcher's council who have done hell of a lot to make me not trust them, and a vampire? God Wes, I can't believe you brought him here!" Faith scoffed into the telephone.

"Spike isn't any threat, he has a…"

"Chip in his head, yeah, I know," Faith interrupted with a dismissing wave of her hand.

"Oi!" said the surprised Spike, sitting up, "How the hell do you know about my chip? Which I no longer have, by the way."

Faith gestured at Spike's mention of the chip, to Wesley, who simply shook his head in confusion.

"I was going to say he had a soul, Faith. But I must admit, I am curious as to how you know about Spike's chip."

Faith laughed, grinning directly at the vampire, causing him to shrink back. The chick was scaring him, and not in the good way.

"Oh, me and Spike here go way back," she said with a smirk, as if it explained everything.

"No love, I'm pretty sure I'd remember you, and I don't. So start talking."

"Okay," said the Slayer with a shrug of her shoulders. "I was in Sunnydale a couple of years ago, messing with Buffy?" At Spike's nod, she continued. "Met up with you at The Bronze. Only, I wasn't wearing prison orange, as much as I was wearing…well, Buffy really." When she saw the puzzled look on Spike's face, she only laughed harder.

"Okay babe, how about I simple this up for you? I coulda rode you at a gallop…I've got muscles you've never dreamed of…I coulda squeezed you like…"

"Warm champagne," supplied Spike, wearing a mixture of shock and horror on his face.

"Got it in one, Billy," said Faith, scrunching up her nose. "Okay, yanno what? Between the kicked puppy look that he's wearing, and the fact you look like shit, Wes, I'm gonna hear you out. So make it quick. Visiting hours are up in a sec, and I just gotta know how I ended up with you two as a couple."

---

By the time Wesley and Spike had finished explaining the current events to Faith, she was so close to the glass, her breath was starting to fog up the partition.

"Wow," was all she managed to get out.

"Yeah, wow pretty much sums it up. So I'm thinking an extra Slayer might be sort of handy, if only to keep the potentials in line. You're needed Faith, this is it. The big battle, and I know you're the kind of girl who wouldn't want to turn down a fight like that," said Spike, confident that she'd jump at the chance to join them.

"Yeah, well, that was the old me. The new me is paying for her crimes, and just can't skip out on her sentence. Plus, Buffy? You haven't filled her in on this part of your plan, have you?" At the shake of Spike's head, Faith snorted. "Well, trust me on this one, she won't want my help. So go on, take your watcher and go save the world. Let me sit out the rest of my time."

Spike studied the girl in front of him, noticing her body language and the way she was chewing on her lip.

"You're scared. That's it, innit?" he asked.

"Hey! No! I'm not scared, trust me. I just know my place, and it sure as hell ain't with Buffy."

"Really? You don't think that a battle that could very well be the end of days might not need you? That your entire future may rest on fighting alongside your sister Slayers?" Wesley asked. There was no malice in his voice, just simple interest in her quick attitude change.

"She needs you," Spike pointed out gently. "They all need you. You have a chance to do real good here, not just a little time to make yourself feel better. Buffy needs you, all the Scoobies need you, and Angel needs you. You're a Slayer, and you know that means something. She'll die if she doesn't have everyone fighting with her, she'll die." He trailed off, his brow furrowing in pain, as he looked away.

"Oh my God, another one? What is it with B and vampires with souls? Is it like a genetic defect with her or something? I can' t believe there's two of you out there, and your both mooning over her," Faith exclaimed, before slouching back in her seat.

"Oh, look at Miss Folds-Her-Arms over there! Now I get all this history between you, you're jealous sick of her, aren't you?" Spike scoffed. "You called her a tight-ass with no sense of fun, and it kills you, doesn't it? You're jealous of what she's got, and what? You're willing to see the world end, just so her life does? Oh, I know her life seems like a bloody cakewalk from the outside, I've been there. But I've also seen inside. The girl lost her mum, lost her life, lost everything that mattered, and she still fights. She fights for people like you; you included seeing as how you're a target. She'll die to protect you, and you still won't give an inch, will you?" said the infuriated vampire, pushing his chair away from the glass. He was mad. He needed to get the troops gathered and back to his girl, and this young thing was having a pout. Slayers! It must be ingrained to be this damn stubborn.

"That's not true," came the quiet response from Faith. Spike looked up, to see her hair falling down in front of her bowed head.

"No? Then why don't you tell me what is, yeah," asked Spike quietly.

"I love her. She and Angel were the only one's who believed in me. She trusted me, relied on me, and I let her down again and again. She can't afford to have me let her down. She can't afford to have me there, screwing things up."

"She can't afford not to have you there, Faith. She needs you," Spike said, causing Faith to jerk her head up.

Faith took a deep breath, calming herself before she made the biggest decision of her life.

"Step away from the glass"