He Didn't Mean To - March 2009
Chapter Twenty-Five
Spike finally got it together enough to wrap the raw claw marks on his forearms and chest. The demon was pissed at William's weakness. But even though the girl wasn't dead he had a pretty good snack and he was sure that the girl was going to run and tell the rest the gang about what good old Spike was up to. Fine with him. He felt even more powerful after tasting the key's blood. He lightly whistled to himself while he put his 'Spike' clothes on. Docs, black jeans, black T-shirt, red buttoned down shirt, and duster. He felt so at home in this ensemble. He had always felt like he was at a masquerade ball in his other clothes. That whole life was just a lame play the demon thought to itself.
Spike gathered a few more items into a duffel bag. Mostly stuff he could pawn. He grabbed his check book and noticed that the poofter had over ten grand in his savings account. Spike had no problem with knicking what he needed, but it was also nice to have a cushion like this. He should have no problems setting up shop. He'll just have to go to the bank and withdraw the money before the rest of them could find it. He threw the few blood bags he had left from when Angel stopped by in the bag as well. He needed to hurry, and while Dawn had been a nice snack, he wasn't sure if he would have a chance to feed again before the night was over.
Once he had gathered his belongs, he went under the sink and found a big can of lighter fluid. He started in Julia's room and drenched every inch of the apartment with it. As he walked out the door he lit a match and tossed it into the apartment. *Good bye William the Sappy and hello Big Bad* Spike thought evilly as he left the apartment complex.
****************************
Angel and Wesley pulled up to Spike's building and noticed that half of it was aflame. There were fire trucks and ambulances surrounding the building. At least two dozen tenants stood around in their pajamas, completely dazed. Angel and Wes hopped out of the convertible and headed toward the scene. They found an elderly woman holding an orange striped cat. Angel recognized her has being the woman that lived next door to Spike.
"Mrs. Reed, it's Angel, William's friend."
"Oh, Angel dear. I hope you aren't here to see William. He's nowhere to be found. There were some strange things going on right before the fire."
"Like what?" Angel pressed.
"Well, you know his girlfriend. What's her name? Sweet thing. Very pretty, brings his daughter up to see him on the weekends. What is her name?" Mrs. Reed began to carefully think about the girl's name.
"Dawn." Angel supplied, attempting to be as patient as possible.
"Yes, that's it. Such a pretty name. Well, I could hear her and William fighting about something, which is strange, because I don't think I have ever even heard William raise his voice, let alone scream at someone. I wasn't eavesdropping; they were just being very loud. Well I opened the door a crack, because I was going to go over there to see what the problem was. Well, just as I opened the door, Dawn comes running out with his daughter, what is his little girl's name. It's a pretty name." Mrs. Reed began to space off again.
"Julia." Angel provided once more, gritting his teeth.
"Yes. Well, I figure they just got into a lover's quarrel. You know how passionate young folks are. Well, I was sitting there watching my stories. Do you ever watch The West Wing. I just love that show. Martin Sheen is such a handsome young man."
"Can't say I've ever seen it." Angel replied trying to keep his temper in check and push the interrogation along.
"Well, I was watching my stories and then my fire alarm started to go off. I opened the door and saw the hallway was starting to fill with smoke. I then saw a young man with bleached hair and a long black leather coat running down the hallway. I would have sworn he was laughing. I certainly don't think there is anything funny about a fire. I just hope William is OK. He's such a sweet boy. He took me to the grocery store and the library every Wednesday, and he was always bringing me flowers. Such a nice boy, I do hope they find him."
Angel patted the old woman on the shoulder to comfort her before he turned towards Wesley.
"This is bad Wes."
"Well, in the words of Xander and Willow - 'Duh.'" Wesley responded.
"Looks like Spike is back. Back with a big hard on for some good old fashioned vengeance at that."
"At least Dawn got out of there safe. And she has Julia. I am not looking forward to telling Buffy. What are we going to do Angel?"
"We gotta stop Spike before he actually hurts or kills someone. Then we kick the shit out of him until we beat some sense into him."
"Or we could talk to Dawn and find out what we're dealing with."
"Why do you always have to do that, smarty pants?" Angel demanded.
"What?" Wesley asked innocently.
"Make sense." Angel responded in jest.
The two made it back to the car and headed back toward the hotel.
*********************************
Dawn came bursting through the doors of the hotel and dropped Julia before she collapsed on the ground. Willow and Fred came rushing over to help her up. Fred screamed for everyone to come down to the lobby. Willow helped Dawn to the couch while Fred attempted to console the bloodied infant. Fred was in a panic because she wasn't sure if the blood was from Dawn or from the child. She ran toward the kitchen to grab some soap, water, rags, bandages, and disinfectant.
Buffy was the first to come down the stairs and let out a shallow scream when all of her worse fears were confirmed. She saw Dawn laying on the couch, that was now covered in her blood, she then looked over at Julia, when she saw all the blood she just dropped to her knees. She honestly wasn't sure how much more she could take.
Just as Fred emerged from that kitchen carrying supplies Wesley came busting through the front door of the lobby, leaving a very irritated Angel at the door. Wes screamed at Fred to invite him in. Fred did and Angel came running in to meet the little girl who was still screaming for her mother or her father. Angel lifted the little girl and consoled her. Soon her whales died down and he set her down in the seat at the front desk, he didn't detect any wounds on the girl, she was just frightened.
Anya, Gunn, Cordelia, Lorne, Xander, and Connor all came rushing down the stairs. Anya let out a silent gasp as she laid her eyes on Dawn's bloodied body. Cordelia calmly walked over to the girl and kneeled next to her, taking one of Dawn's bloodied hands into her own.
"Spike - he didn't mean to." Was all Dawn managed to get out before she passed out.
Everyone gave one another cryptic glances before Cordelia told everyone to back off. Cordelia took Dawn into her arms and held her close. A bright green light began to emancipate from her body. It filled the entire room, and for the first time in over forty-eight hours there was complete calm throughout the room. A few tears slid down Cordelia's face as she held the former key. The light eventually died down, and when Cordelia laid Dawn back on the couch the puncture wounds were completely healed. Dawn was still caked in blood, but she would live. Cordelia felt light headed and Angel helped her over to the couch.
"That was amazing, what did you do?" Was all Xander could spit out.
"I just advanced the healing process by a few weeks. She'll be fine. She'll probably be out for the night though. She's been through a lot."
"You went through everything she did, didn't you?" Buffy asked somberly.
"Yes, but it's not my place to say anything. I know she had a rough night, but we should leave it to her to tell us the tale. I don't want to misinterpret anything, or reveal anything that she didn't want revealed. It's been a long night for all of us. I think we should all go back to bed and pick up on this in the morning."
"Good idea. Cordy, could you help us out with something first?" Willow asked.
"Sure."
"Well, I was thinking that Dawn and Jules would like to get all the bloody stickiness off of them before they go to sleep. Could you help Fred clean up Julia? I don't think Buff's in the moving kind of mood right now. Anya and I will get Dawn up to the shower. Actually, Xan - you think you could carry Dawn upstairs to the bathroom? We can handle it from there." Willow said. She liked being assertive about something, even if it was such a small thing as a bath. It made her feel good, it made her feel like her.
Xander helped take Dawn upstairs while Fred and Cordelia cleaned up Julia and put her in one of Angel's old shirts to sleep in. Angel carried a hysterical Buffy up to her room and laid her down. He gently set her in the bed, kissing her forehead, swearing that everything would work out. Cordelia and Angel decided that it would be best if Julia stayed with them that night. The little girl had a big enough scare, she needed a calming presence. And few people were more calming than Cordelia.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Spike finally got it together enough to wrap the raw claw marks on his forearms and chest. The demon was pissed at William's weakness. But even though the girl wasn't dead he had a pretty good snack and he was sure that the girl was going to run and tell the rest the gang about what good old Spike was up to. Fine with him. He felt even more powerful after tasting the key's blood. He lightly whistled to himself while he put his 'Spike' clothes on. Docs, black jeans, black T-shirt, red buttoned down shirt, and duster. He felt so at home in this ensemble. He had always felt like he was at a masquerade ball in his other clothes. That whole life was just a lame play the demon thought to itself.
Spike gathered a few more items into a duffel bag. Mostly stuff he could pawn. He grabbed his check book and noticed that the poofter had over ten grand in his savings account. Spike had no problem with knicking what he needed, but it was also nice to have a cushion like this. He should have no problems setting up shop. He'll just have to go to the bank and withdraw the money before the rest of them could find it. He threw the few blood bags he had left from when Angel stopped by in the bag as well. He needed to hurry, and while Dawn had been a nice snack, he wasn't sure if he would have a chance to feed again before the night was over.
Once he had gathered his belongs, he went under the sink and found a big can of lighter fluid. He started in Julia's room and drenched every inch of the apartment with it. As he walked out the door he lit a match and tossed it into the apartment. *Good bye William the Sappy and hello Big Bad* Spike thought evilly as he left the apartment complex.
****************************
Angel and Wesley pulled up to Spike's building and noticed that half of it was aflame. There were fire trucks and ambulances surrounding the building. At least two dozen tenants stood around in their pajamas, completely dazed. Angel and Wes hopped out of the convertible and headed toward the scene. They found an elderly woman holding an orange striped cat. Angel recognized her has being the woman that lived next door to Spike.
"Mrs. Reed, it's Angel, William's friend."
"Oh, Angel dear. I hope you aren't here to see William. He's nowhere to be found. There were some strange things going on right before the fire."
"Like what?" Angel pressed.
"Well, you know his girlfriend. What's her name? Sweet thing. Very pretty, brings his daughter up to see him on the weekends. What is her name?" Mrs. Reed began to carefully think about the girl's name.
"Dawn." Angel supplied, attempting to be as patient as possible.
"Yes, that's it. Such a pretty name. Well, I could hear her and William fighting about something, which is strange, because I don't think I have ever even heard William raise his voice, let alone scream at someone. I wasn't eavesdropping; they were just being very loud. Well I opened the door a crack, because I was going to go over there to see what the problem was. Well, just as I opened the door, Dawn comes running out with his daughter, what is his little girl's name. It's a pretty name." Mrs. Reed began to space off again.
"Julia." Angel provided once more, gritting his teeth.
"Yes. Well, I figure they just got into a lover's quarrel. You know how passionate young folks are. Well, I was sitting there watching my stories. Do you ever watch The West Wing. I just love that show. Martin Sheen is such a handsome young man."
"Can't say I've ever seen it." Angel replied trying to keep his temper in check and push the interrogation along.
"Well, I was watching my stories and then my fire alarm started to go off. I opened the door and saw the hallway was starting to fill with smoke. I then saw a young man with bleached hair and a long black leather coat running down the hallway. I would have sworn he was laughing. I certainly don't think there is anything funny about a fire. I just hope William is OK. He's such a sweet boy. He took me to the grocery store and the library every Wednesday, and he was always bringing me flowers. Such a nice boy, I do hope they find him."
Angel patted the old woman on the shoulder to comfort her before he turned towards Wesley.
"This is bad Wes."
"Well, in the words of Xander and Willow - 'Duh.'" Wesley responded.
"Looks like Spike is back. Back with a big hard on for some good old fashioned vengeance at that."
"At least Dawn got out of there safe. And she has Julia. I am not looking forward to telling Buffy. What are we going to do Angel?"
"We gotta stop Spike before he actually hurts or kills someone. Then we kick the shit out of him until we beat some sense into him."
"Or we could talk to Dawn and find out what we're dealing with."
"Why do you always have to do that, smarty pants?" Angel demanded.
"What?" Wesley asked innocently.
"Make sense." Angel responded in jest.
The two made it back to the car and headed back toward the hotel.
*********************************
Dawn came bursting through the doors of the hotel and dropped Julia before she collapsed on the ground. Willow and Fred came rushing over to help her up. Fred screamed for everyone to come down to the lobby. Willow helped Dawn to the couch while Fred attempted to console the bloodied infant. Fred was in a panic because she wasn't sure if the blood was from Dawn or from the child. She ran toward the kitchen to grab some soap, water, rags, bandages, and disinfectant.
Buffy was the first to come down the stairs and let out a shallow scream when all of her worse fears were confirmed. She saw Dawn laying on the couch, that was now covered in her blood, she then looked over at Julia, when she saw all the blood she just dropped to her knees. She honestly wasn't sure how much more she could take.
Just as Fred emerged from that kitchen carrying supplies Wesley came busting through the front door of the lobby, leaving a very irritated Angel at the door. Wes screamed at Fred to invite him in. Fred did and Angel came running in to meet the little girl who was still screaming for her mother or her father. Angel lifted the little girl and consoled her. Soon her whales died down and he set her down in the seat at the front desk, he didn't detect any wounds on the girl, she was just frightened.
Anya, Gunn, Cordelia, Lorne, Xander, and Connor all came rushing down the stairs. Anya let out a silent gasp as she laid her eyes on Dawn's bloodied body. Cordelia calmly walked over to the girl and kneeled next to her, taking one of Dawn's bloodied hands into her own.
"Spike - he didn't mean to." Was all Dawn managed to get out before she passed out.
Everyone gave one another cryptic glances before Cordelia told everyone to back off. Cordelia took Dawn into her arms and held her close. A bright green light began to emancipate from her body. It filled the entire room, and for the first time in over forty-eight hours there was complete calm throughout the room. A few tears slid down Cordelia's face as she held the former key. The light eventually died down, and when Cordelia laid Dawn back on the couch the puncture wounds were completely healed. Dawn was still caked in blood, but she would live. Cordelia felt light headed and Angel helped her over to the couch.
"That was amazing, what did you do?" Was all Xander could spit out.
"I just advanced the healing process by a few weeks. She'll be fine. She'll probably be out for the night though. She's been through a lot."
"You went through everything she did, didn't you?" Buffy asked somberly.
"Yes, but it's not my place to say anything. I know she had a rough night, but we should leave it to her to tell us the tale. I don't want to misinterpret anything, or reveal anything that she didn't want revealed. It's been a long night for all of us. I think we should all go back to bed and pick up on this in the morning."
"Good idea. Cordy, could you help us out with something first?" Willow asked.
"Sure."
"Well, I was thinking that Dawn and Jules would like to get all the bloody stickiness off of them before they go to sleep. Could you help Fred clean up Julia? I don't think Buff's in the moving kind of mood right now. Anya and I will get Dawn up to the shower. Actually, Xan - you think you could carry Dawn upstairs to the bathroom? We can handle it from there." Willow said. She liked being assertive about something, even if it was such a small thing as a bath. It made her feel good, it made her feel like her.
Xander helped take Dawn upstairs while Fred and Cordelia cleaned up Julia and put her in one of Angel's old shirts to sleep in. Angel carried a hysterical Buffy up to her room and laid her down. He gently set her in the bed, kissing her forehead, swearing that everything would work out. Cordelia and Angel decided that it would be best if Julia stayed with them that night. The little girl had a big enough scare, she needed a calming presence. And few people were more calming than Cordelia.