In the last chapter --
Soon Angel and Buffy were the only ones in the hotel lobby. Buffy insisted on repeating every detail of the events of the movie and Angel pretended to listen. Buffy only stopped when she heard a car outside. She ran over to the window and looked out.
"Angel, someone's here!" she called.
He followed her, hoping it wasn't a client who needed immediate help.
It wasn't. The car parked in front of the hotel was a DeSoto and the driver was Spike.
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Angel met his unwelcome visitor outside. "Spike, go away."
Instead Spike leaned against the hood of his car and smirked. "Now why would you ask me to do that after I've driven all this way?"
"Just get lost. Now."
Spike looked past him. "Who would that happen to be inside your hotel? That small child staring out at us?" Spike raised his hand in a little wave. "That couldn't possibly be Buffy, could it?"
Taken off guard, Angel demanded, "How the hell do you know that?"
"Her little gang isn't so good at keeping secrets. They're always inviting me over so they can pick my brain about the demon of the week and they usually forget I have vampire hearing. I found out about Willow's foul-up with the spell but then the slayer conveniently disappeared. I never thought they'd bring her here, though. Until your phone call to Giles earlier today. Yeah, I happened to be in his apartment at the time delivering information and that tipped me off."
"And that news brings you here why?"
"Would you believe I was concerned about Buffy's well-being?" Off of Angel's glare, Spike went on, "Didn't think so. All right, so it was curiosity. Boredom. Been in Sunnydale too long. I needed a change of scenery."
Angel took a step toward Spike but he realized Buffy was still intently watching. That meant he couldn't do the one thing he most wanted to do -- grab Spike and hurl him away. Buffy had witnessed enough violence lately. He didn't want to traumatize her. He was forced to try to either reason with or threaten the pest into leaving. "Go away, Spike," he repeated through gritted teeth. He didn't really expect the order to work so he was surprised when Spike shrugged and retreated into his car. Of course things couldn't be that easy. Spike wouldn't give up so quickly so he must have some backup plot in mind, and knowing Spike it would be nasty. Not giving him a chance to put it into play, Angel returned to the hotel to check on Buffy.
She was still glued to the window. Angel turned her away and crouched down in front of her for a discussion, placing his hands on her shoulders so she would look him in the eye. "Buffy, remember, you should never talk to strangers. Right?"
"Right," she readily agreed.
"And you're not supposed to go outside unless I'm with you, or Cordelia or Wesley or Gunn is. Right?"
"Right," she said again.
Satisfied that she understood the rules, Angel was about to let her go when Buffy turned back to the window and promptly squealed, "Mr. Gordo!"
Angel looked up. Spike was back outside the hotel and he had brought bait. He was dangling Buffy's stuffed pig in front of the window like a juicy worm before a fish.
"He has Mr. Gordo!" Buffy repeated, trying to wiggle away from Angel.
He retained his grip on her. "Forget about it. I'll buy you another one."
Unable to wriggle free, Buffy settled for kicking him in the shin. "He's the only Mr. Gordo!"
Angel rubbed his leg, sensing the incipient signs of a tantrum of major proportions. He looked back at Spike, who was holding Mr. Gordo poised like he was about to rip him apart. He knew he'd never hear the end of it if he allowed that disaster to occur. Defeated, Angel carried Buffy over to the door, opened it and called, "Spike, come in!"
"Knew you'd see sense in the end." Spike calmly walked inside and handed the pig to Buffy. "Nice place you've got here."
"Buffy, this is Spike. He's a -- " Angel stopped. He couldn't bring himself to apply the word "friend" to Spike, even to reassure Buffy.
She didn't seem to mind the lack of definition of Spike's role. "He's nice. He brought Mr. Gordo back!"
"Well, I figured you missed him and I knew Angel here would never get him for you," Spike said maliciously. "See, Angel doesn't like pigs very much."
"Yes, I do. I'm a huge pig fan," Angel retorted idiotically before he could think about what he was saying.
Buffy, though, wasn't paying attention to him. She was too busy staring at Spike.
"What's wrong?" Angel asked her. She was acting like she remembered Spike.
"He looks like --" she started.
Feeling a sharp stab of jealousy, Angel glanced at Spike. It would be completely unfair if he turned out to be the only person Buffy remembered. All he had done was be a pain in the ass and bring her a stuffed animal. He hadn't done any of the hard stuff.
"He looks like my Furby!" Buffy completed triumphantly.
Everyone looked at the white Furby with blue eyes that stood dormant on top of the Barbie Dreamhouse box. Angel looked back at Spike. Buffy was right. He DID kind of resemble the Furby.
A scowling Furby. Spike obviously didn't appreciate being compared to a fad toy. "IT looks like ME," he corrected. "But my hair isn't that light. Anyone can see that."
"All right, Spike," Angel cut in as he gently set Buffy on the ground. "You brought the pig over. Now we need to talk." He maneuvered Spike to a corner away from Buffy, whose interest in the Furby had been renewed. "You have to leave," Angel informed Spike. "You know you're not welcome here and I won't put up with you. You're so low that you broke into Buffy's house, stole her favorite stuffed animal, and drove all the way over here just so you could trick us into letting you inside so you can torture us."
"Well, yeah," Spike said like his deviousness was the most natural thing in the world.
"It's definitely time for you to leave," Angel repeated.
"Throw me out and I'll make sure Soldier Boy finds out what's up with you and Buffy. How long do you think it'll take him to come charging over here like a bull in a china shop? You know he will."
Angel hesitated. Spike had played his trump card. It looked like it came down to a choice between two unpleasant options. Spike or Riley? Riley or Spike? It wasn't a decision anyone should have to make. The question was, would he rather put up with Spike, the world's most annoying vampire, or Riley, whose position as Buffy's boyfriend made him one of the most annoying humans?
A few factors did play in favor of Spike. For one, he was already in Los Angeles and Buffy had seen him. She even seemed to like him. Also, Spike was chipped and couldn't harm her. If Riley paid an appearance, the potential for violence would be jacked up quite a few notches. Then again, Angel had no guarantee that Spike wouldn't stay to torment him, then go back to Sunnydale and tell Riley the truth anyway. In fact, knowing Spike, it seemed likely.
Having weighed all the options, Angel issued his final verdict. "Out." He pointed at the door.
"I want Spike to stay," a little voice by his side whined.
It was Buffy. For some unfathomable reason, she'd taken a liking to Spike. Angel knelt down next to her. "It's time for Spike to leave. In fact, it's PAST time. And you need to go to bed."
"No!" Buffy cried as she dropped Mr. Gordo and latched onto Spike's leg with both arms in a death grip. "Spike can't go!"
"Buffy, let go of him," Angel ordered.
"No!" she insisted stubbornly.
"You're going to scar her for life if you rip her away," Spike taunted. "These are vital formative years."
Angel hated to admit it but it looked like Spike was right. Short of amputating Buffy's arms, he didn't think it would be easy to pry her away from Spike. She had to be the most stubborn child in the world. All those parenting books Angel had been reading gave him an idea of how to handle things, though. He'd just wait out the situation. Surely Buffy would give up soon if he didn't show any more interest. "Fine. Spike can stay as long as you want him to."
Buffy maintained her clutch hold as Spike moved to the nearest chair and made himself comfortable. "So you like staying with Angel, do you?"
"Yeah!" she agreed enthusiastically. "He plays tea party with me and gives me presents and cookies and ice cream all the time."
"Tea party?" Spike's lips twitched.
Angel tried not to listen as Buffy launched into an imitation of his unicorn voice, but Spike's snickering was impossible to ignore. That wasn't all Buffy said about him. Through a series of seemingly innocent questions, Spike got her to reveal all of his questionable 'parenting' decisions, painting him in the worst possible light.
"You got sent home from day care for misbehavior, huh?" Spike summarized after hearing Buffy's version of that incident. He winked at Angel. "I'm sure everyone back home in Sunnydale would love to hear these details, wouldn't they?" By the time Buffy got to the part about saying the "bad word" in front of Mrs. Grey, Spike was nearly in hysterics and Angel had counted to 10 many times over.
Buffy would give up soon, he kept assuring himself.
The torture went on for what seemed like forever but was really only about an hour. At that point Buffy was still clutching Spike's leg but at least Spike had stopped being amused and was becoming bored. He had exhausted Buffy's stockpile of embarrassing Angel stories and was looking pretty impatient. "Right now, that's enough," he informed Buffy. "Let me go."
"Can't go," Buffy objected. "I like you."
Spike attempted to shake her off his leg but the chip quickly reacted, zapping him. Buffy retained her grip. Spike looked pleadingly at Angel.
"Get her off of me."
With this new turn of events, however, Angel had started to enjoy the situation. "Nope. You got yourself into this mess and you can get yourself out of it."
"Look, Buffy," Spike attempted to patiently explain. "You have to let me go. I need to get home."
"Why?"
"Because I need to!" Spike yelled, losing his temper.
"Why?" Buffy repeated.
With a growl, Spike gave up and flopped back in his chair. "This isn't funny," he grumbled.
Angel still thought it was but he was reconsidering his options. He had a golden opportunity to get rid of Spike and he probably shouldn't pass it up. "Buffy," he called. "If you let Spike leave, I'll take you out to the Digimon movie tomorrow night. OK?"
"OK," she chirped, releasing Spike.
He shot to his feet and out the door, not giving Buffy a chance to change her mind. As his car roared off down the road, Angel collected Buffy and Mr. Gordo to go to bed. He didn't think Spike would be hurrying back. He just hoped Riley wouldn't show up next.
Soon Angel and Buffy were the only ones in the hotel lobby. Buffy insisted on repeating every detail of the events of the movie and Angel pretended to listen. Buffy only stopped when she heard a car outside. She ran over to the window and looked out.
"Angel, someone's here!" she called.
He followed her, hoping it wasn't a client who needed immediate help.
It wasn't. The car parked in front of the hotel was a DeSoto and the driver was Spike.
.
.
.
.
.
Angel met his unwelcome visitor outside. "Spike, go away."
Instead Spike leaned against the hood of his car and smirked. "Now why would you ask me to do that after I've driven all this way?"
"Just get lost. Now."
Spike looked past him. "Who would that happen to be inside your hotel? That small child staring out at us?" Spike raised his hand in a little wave. "That couldn't possibly be Buffy, could it?"
Taken off guard, Angel demanded, "How the hell do you know that?"
"Her little gang isn't so good at keeping secrets. They're always inviting me over so they can pick my brain about the demon of the week and they usually forget I have vampire hearing. I found out about Willow's foul-up with the spell but then the slayer conveniently disappeared. I never thought they'd bring her here, though. Until your phone call to Giles earlier today. Yeah, I happened to be in his apartment at the time delivering information and that tipped me off."
"And that news brings you here why?"
"Would you believe I was concerned about Buffy's well-being?" Off of Angel's glare, Spike went on, "Didn't think so. All right, so it was curiosity. Boredom. Been in Sunnydale too long. I needed a change of scenery."
Angel took a step toward Spike but he realized Buffy was still intently watching. That meant he couldn't do the one thing he most wanted to do -- grab Spike and hurl him away. Buffy had witnessed enough violence lately. He didn't want to traumatize her. He was forced to try to either reason with or threaten the pest into leaving. "Go away, Spike," he repeated through gritted teeth. He didn't really expect the order to work so he was surprised when Spike shrugged and retreated into his car. Of course things couldn't be that easy. Spike wouldn't give up so quickly so he must have some backup plot in mind, and knowing Spike it would be nasty. Not giving him a chance to put it into play, Angel returned to the hotel to check on Buffy.
She was still glued to the window. Angel turned her away and crouched down in front of her for a discussion, placing his hands on her shoulders so she would look him in the eye. "Buffy, remember, you should never talk to strangers. Right?"
"Right," she readily agreed.
"And you're not supposed to go outside unless I'm with you, or Cordelia or Wesley or Gunn is. Right?"
"Right," she said again.
Satisfied that she understood the rules, Angel was about to let her go when Buffy turned back to the window and promptly squealed, "Mr. Gordo!"
Angel looked up. Spike was back outside the hotel and he had brought bait. He was dangling Buffy's stuffed pig in front of the window like a juicy worm before a fish.
"He has Mr. Gordo!" Buffy repeated, trying to wiggle away from Angel.
He retained his grip on her. "Forget about it. I'll buy you another one."
Unable to wriggle free, Buffy settled for kicking him in the shin. "He's the only Mr. Gordo!"
Angel rubbed his leg, sensing the incipient signs of a tantrum of major proportions. He looked back at Spike, who was holding Mr. Gordo poised like he was about to rip him apart. He knew he'd never hear the end of it if he allowed that disaster to occur. Defeated, Angel carried Buffy over to the door, opened it and called, "Spike, come in!"
"Knew you'd see sense in the end." Spike calmly walked inside and handed the pig to Buffy. "Nice place you've got here."
"Buffy, this is Spike. He's a -- " Angel stopped. He couldn't bring himself to apply the word "friend" to Spike, even to reassure Buffy.
She didn't seem to mind the lack of definition of Spike's role. "He's nice. He brought Mr. Gordo back!"
"Well, I figured you missed him and I knew Angel here would never get him for you," Spike said maliciously. "See, Angel doesn't like pigs very much."
"Yes, I do. I'm a huge pig fan," Angel retorted idiotically before he could think about what he was saying.
Buffy, though, wasn't paying attention to him. She was too busy staring at Spike.
"What's wrong?" Angel asked her. She was acting like she remembered Spike.
"He looks like --" she started.
Feeling a sharp stab of jealousy, Angel glanced at Spike. It would be completely unfair if he turned out to be the only person Buffy remembered. All he had done was be a pain in the ass and bring her a stuffed animal. He hadn't done any of the hard stuff.
"He looks like my Furby!" Buffy completed triumphantly.
Everyone looked at the white Furby with blue eyes that stood dormant on top of the Barbie Dreamhouse box. Angel looked back at Spike. Buffy was right. He DID kind of resemble the Furby.
A scowling Furby. Spike obviously didn't appreciate being compared to a fad toy. "IT looks like ME," he corrected. "But my hair isn't that light. Anyone can see that."
"All right, Spike," Angel cut in as he gently set Buffy on the ground. "You brought the pig over. Now we need to talk." He maneuvered Spike to a corner away from Buffy, whose interest in the Furby had been renewed. "You have to leave," Angel informed Spike. "You know you're not welcome here and I won't put up with you. You're so low that you broke into Buffy's house, stole her favorite stuffed animal, and drove all the way over here just so you could trick us into letting you inside so you can torture us."
"Well, yeah," Spike said like his deviousness was the most natural thing in the world.
"It's definitely time for you to leave," Angel repeated.
"Throw me out and I'll make sure Soldier Boy finds out what's up with you and Buffy. How long do you think it'll take him to come charging over here like a bull in a china shop? You know he will."
Angel hesitated. Spike had played his trump card. It looked like it came down to a choice between two unpleasant options. Spike or Riley? Riley or Spike? It wasn't a decision anyone should have to make. The question was, would he rather put up with Spike, the world's most annoying vampire, or Riley, whose position as Buffy's boyfriend made him one of the most annoying humans?
A few factors did play in favor of Spike. For one, he was already in Los Angeles and Buffy had seen him. She even seemed to like him. Also, Spike was chipped and couldn't harm her. If Riley paid an appearance, the potential for violence would be jacked up quite a few notches. Then again, Angel had no guarantee that Spike wouldn't stay to torment him, then go back to Sunnydale and tell Riley the truth anyway. In fact, knowing Spike, it seemed likely.
Having weighed all the options, Angel issued his final verdict. "Out." He pointed at the door.
"I want Spike to stay," a little voice by his side whined.
It was Buffy. For some unfathomable reason, she'd taken a liking to Spike. Angel knelt down next to her. "It's time for Spike to leave. In fact, it's PAST time. And you need to go to bed."
"No!" Buffy cried as she dropped Mr. Gordo and latched onto Spike's leg with both arms in a death grip. "Spike can't go!"
"Buffy, let go of him," Angel ordered.
"No!" she insisted stubbornly.
"You're going to scar her for life if you rip her away," Spike taunted. "These are vital formative years."
Angel hated to admit it but it looked like Spike was right. Short of amputating Buffy's arms, he didn't think it would be easy to pry her away from Spike. She had to be the most stubborn child in the world. All those parenting books Angel had been reading gave him an idea of how to handle things, though. He'd just wait out the situation. Surely Buffy would give up soon if he didn't show any more interest. "Fine. Spike can stay as long as you want him to."
Buffy maintained her clutch hold as Spike moved to the nearest chair and made himself comfortable. "So you like staying with Angel, do you?"
"Yeah!" she agreed enthusiastically. "He plays tea party with me and gives me presents and cookies and ice cream all the time."
"Tea party?" Spike's lips twitched.
Angel tried not to listen as Buffy launched into an imitation of his unicorn voice, but Spike's snickering was impossible to ignore. That wasn't all Buffy said about him. Through a series of seemingly innocent questions, Spike got her to reveal all of his questionable 'parenting' decisions, painting him in the worst possible light.
"You got sent home from day care for misbehavior, huh?" Spike summarized after hearing Buffy's version of that incident. He winked at Angel. "I'm sure everyone back home in Sunnydale would love to hear these details, wouldn't they?" By the time Buffy got to the part about saying the "bad word" in front of Mrs. Grey, Spike was nearly in hysterics and Angel had counted to 10 many times over.
Buffy would give up soon, he kept assuring himself.
The torture went on for what seemed like forever but was really only about an hour. At that point Buffy was still clutching Spike's leg but at least Spike had stopped being amused and was becoming bored. He had exhausted Buffy's stockpile of embarrassing Angel stories and was looking pretty impatient. "Right now, that's enough," he informed Buffy. "Let me go."
"Can't go," Buffy objected. "I like you."
Spike attempted to shake her off his leg but the chip quickly reacted, zapping him. Buffy retained her grip. Spike looked pleadingly at Angel.
"Get her off of me."
With this new turn of events, however, Angel had started to enjoy the situation. "Nope. You got yourself into this mess and you can get yourself out of it."
"Look, Buffy," Spike attempted to patiently explain. "You have to let me go. I need to get home."
"Why?"
"Because I need to!" Spike yelled, losing his temper.
"Why?" Buffy repeated.
With a growl, Spike gave up and flopped back in his chair. "This isn't funny," he grumbled.
Angel still thought it was but he was reconsidering his options. He had a golden opportunity to get rid of Spike and he probably shouldn't pass it up. "Buffy," he called. "If you let Spike leave, I'll take you out to the Digimon movie tomorrow night. OK?"
"OK," she chirped, releasing Spike.
He shot to his feet and out the door, not giving Buffy a chance to change her mind. As his car roared off down the road, Angel collected Buffy and Mr. Gordo to go to bed. He didn't think Spike would be hurrying back. He just hoped Riley wouldn't show up next.
