CHAPTER SIXTEEN: TOUCHED
Angel and Connor drove in silence, both of them worried about Buffy. She hadn't been answering her cell phone, and when they pulled into Sunnydale, they were surprised to see it completely blacked out.
"This looks bad," Connor said quietly.
Angel couldn't help but agree. He hadn't realised how bad it was getting in Sunnydale. He and Buffy had spoken on the phone a few days ago, but she hadn't mentioned anything about there being no people, no lights and barely any sound. Unless this was a new thing.
Angel sighed and began driving the familiar path to Buffy's house. Three blocks away, he saw a very familiar figure walking with their arms around themselves, either for comfort or warmth, and seeing as how it wasn't all that cold, Angel figured it was the former. He stopped beside Buffy, who didn't even notice his presence.
"Hey there stranger," he greeted, hopping out of the car and walking to the sidewalk.
Buffy's head snapped up at the familiar sound of Angel's voice. She launched herself at him, never more grateful to see him as she was in that moment. After the last hour of her life, she was fairly certain that Angel had never had better timing.
Connor got out of the car and joined his parents in their embrace. Buffy wiggled away from Angel to hug Connor fully.
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you guys," Buffy said.
Connor reached his hand up and touched Buffy's cheek, wiping away tears that had fallen.
"You're crying."
Buffy hastily wiped her eyes and breathed in deeply. "It's no biggie. Just some stuff back home. It's kinda…not too great back there at the moment," she said.
Angel could see that Buffy was downplaying whatever had happened there. He couldn't even begin to imagine what had happened, and he knew Buffy well enough to see that she didn't want to talk about it at that moment.
"Where are you headed to?" he asked.
Buffy shrugged. "I dunno," she replied honestly. "I was just looking for a place to crash. I was thinking of heading down to your old apartment or something."
"Why can't you just go home?" Connor asked innocently.
Buffy's shoulders tensed and both Angel and Connor noticed it. "I don't want to be there right now," she replied vaguely.
The two men shared a glance and Angel put an arm around Buffy's shoulders, directing her towards the car. "C'mon, I'll take you over to the mansion. It'd be too dark in my old apartment."
Buffy nodded and got into the car, Connor jumping over the door and clambering into the backseat, leaving Buffy beside Angel in the front. She closed her eyes tiredly, wondering how long it had been since she'd slept properly. She hadn't been able to sleep too well ever since her visit to LA. She could only hope that with Angel close by she'd be able to sleep properly for the first time in several weeks.
She didn't even notice when they'd pulled up in front of the darkened mansion, and she let Angel carry her inside. There was still furniture from the last time Angel had lived there, and seeing as he still owned the building, he wasn't surprised.
Angel settled Buffy into the large double bed in his old room, smiling as he watched her curl up into a small ball. Connor came to stand beside him.
"What do you think was so bad at home that she couldn't go back?" he asked softly, not wanting to wake her.
Angel shook his head. "It was bad whatever it was. Buffy doesn't just take time outs during apocalypses. Especially not ones these bad."
Connor sighed and ran a hand through his already messy hair.
"I guess we'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happened."
Angel nodded and quietly left the room with Connor. Together, they quickly put sheets on one of the couches for Connor to sleep on, and lit a fire in the fireplace to warm the cold building as well as give it some light. After a few more minutes of conversation, Angel retired to his old room, watching Buffy sleep once more.
He kicked off his boots and shrugged out of his jacket, crawling carefully up the bed to lay beside Buffy. He was hesitant to pull her into an embrace, not entirely certain that she would appreciate it. His decision was made for him when Buffy shifted closer to him, burrowing her head into his chest and draping an arm across his stomach. He smiled and kissed her forehead, and allowed himself the luxury of sleep.
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Buffy and Angel were awoken half an hour later by loud stomping boots coming into their room.
"Shoulda known you'd come here Slayer," a familiar British voice said.
Angel tensed, but Buffy made no reaction. She opened her eyes and saw Spike standing in the doorway. He stepped closer and did a quick double take when he saw that Buffy was not alone.
"I hafta admit, I wasn't expecting him to be here," Spike said.
"What are you doing here?" Angel asked angrily.
Spike ignored him and looked to Buffy. "I heard. I was over there. That bitch. She's all about smiles and reformation when you're on your feet…moment you're down, she's all about the kicking, isn't that right?"
Angel looked at his grand-childe with confusion.
"Spike, what the hell are you talking about? And, again, why are you here?"
Buffy sighed. She'd forgotten that Spike hadn't been there for the mutiny.
"It wasn't just Faith," she said, her voice monotone and devoid of emotion. "It was all of them. And it's not like they were wrong."
Angel wisely stayed silent. He didn't know what had happened, but Spike obviously did. He'd heard from Buffy about Faith being back with the Scoobies, and while he'd been worried about Buffy trying to kill her, he'd been pleasantly surprised to hear that she'd let Faith stay in her already overcrowded house.
"Well, this'll change your tune. I came here cos I got something to tell you. You were right. Caleb is trying to protect something from you. And I think you were spot on all the way; I think it's at the vineyard. So? You were right," Spike said, looking at her expectantly.
"I don't feel very right."
"You're not fooling me."
"What do you even mean?" Buffy asked.
'Well, you're not a quitter."
"Watch me."
"You were their leader. You still are," Spike said, unable to believe that he strongest woman he'd ever met was going to take the Scoobies betrayal lying down. "This isn't something you gave up, it's something they took."
Angel was beginning to piece it together. Something had happened, and Buffy had been asked to leave. His brows furrowed angrily. He couldn't understand what would be so bad that the Scoobies would choose Faith, of all people, over Buffy. And whilst Angel knew that Faith was well on the road to redemption, Buffy was the person that had led the Scooies for seven years, and had very rarely been wrong about anything when it came to anything Slayer related. And Spike sounded incredibly sure that Buffy had been right about whatever it was.
"And the difference is?" Buffy asked, her voice still flat, tired and passionless. Angel had never heard her this way, and it was painful to listen to.
"We can take it back."
"Take what back?" a new voice asked from the doorway. Spike spun around and looked at the newcomer with narrowed eyes.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
Connor looked back at the man –vampire, his senses told him- and raised an eyebrow. "Connor. Who are you?"
"Spike."
Connor's eyes flew to Angel's. "As in…"
Angel nodded. He had told Connor all about Spike, and the rest of his history after they had finally reconciled their relationship. After Buffy's visit, things had never been better between Angel and Connor. They were actually getting along instead of fighting one another, and when Connor had asked to hear his father's life story, Angel had obliged.
"Who is this bloke?" Spike asked, looking at Buffy and Angel.
Buffy couldn't help but smile, as she produced the answer. "Our son," she said softly. "Angel's and mine."
Spike looked between them, wondering whether Buffy had taken a hard hit to the head in the last twenty-four hours.
"Uh, Buffy…he's eighteen bloody years old. Not to mention that Slayers can't have kids," Spike said.
Buffy rolled her eyes and finally sat up. "I know that. It's a long story, but the gist of it is, he's got my blood, part of my soul, and the bond between Angel and I, which makes him mine."
Spike looked at her sceptically, then stepped towards Connor. He inhaled the boy's scent and his eyes opened in shock. "Bloody hell! You weren't joking."
Buffy grinned for the first time in a long while. "Nope. He's definitely ours."
"Well…congratulations Slayer. It's a boy," Spike said.
Buffy laughed and shook her head. Her friendship with Spike had been growing ever since she'd rescued him from the Turokhan. She'd explained what had happened between herself and Angel in LA (even though he'd told her he could smell Angel all over her anyway) and he'd respected the fact that they could never be more than friends. He'd found that being her friend was easy enough, and he'd been more than happy to fall into that position.
"Now that we've all meeted and greeted," Connor began. "What are we taking back?"
"Oh…the bloody Scoobies kicked the Slayer out and voted for Miss Psycho as their new leader," Spike explained.
"Once more in English," Connor said, completely confused.
"He means that Buffy's friends told her to leave, and chose Faith, the other Slayer, to act as their new leader," Angel translated.
"Oh. Why?" Connor asked.
"Good question," Angel replied. He looked to Buffy who had tears in her eyes. "Beloved?"
She sniffled and buried her face in his shirt. "They're dead cos of me."
Angel looked to Spike for the answer, knowing that Buffy was in no state to coherently give a full account of what had happened.
"There's a new big bad in town, goes by the name of Caleb. He's the First's right hand man. Strong bloke. Nearly knocked the Slayer unconscious after one hit. We organised an ambush on his lair at the vineyard, and…two of the Potentials got killed. Few of 'em got hurt. Harris lost an eye."
Angel's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that. He could understand now why Buffy was so upset. And then to be told to leave was as good as being blamed for what had happened. The problem was that accidents happened. Death happened, especially during the apocalypse. And whilst it sounded harsh, it was the brutal and honest truth.
"So, what's this Caleb guy protecting?" Connor asked.
Spike shrugged and shook his head. "I dunno. Whatever it is, I'm damn sure it's at the vineyard. I'm guessing that Buffy suggested going back in, eh, luv?"
Buffy nodded miserably, her face still buried against Angel. The dark haired vampire just rubbed soothing circles on her back. He knew what it was like to be right about something and not have anyone believe you. None of his friends had believed that he'd seen Darla when she'd first been brought back. They'd been proven wrong.
"I checked out the mission that Giles told us about," Spike continued. "Spoke to a priest there. He showed me an engraving. It said 'It is not for thee. It is for her alone to wield'. With the way that this Caleb bloke's protecting it, I'd say it's a weapon of some kind."
Buffy finally rolled away from Angel. She rubbed her eyes and sat up on the bed.
"Then I say we mount up," Connor said eagerly. "We go in and get it."
"No!" Buffy cried. Connor looked taken aback by the force of Buffy's protest. "No. We've tried that. It didn't work. And besides that, I haven't slept in days, and there is no way that I'm trying to take him out on no sleep."
"So, tomorrow night we go in," Angel said. "We'll plan, we'll research, have plans A through H. We'll be prepared."
Buffy sighed and knew that she wouldn't be able to win the fight against two determined vampires and her equally determined son.
"Alright, fine. Tomorrow night. After the sun goes down," she agreed. "But for now, I have major plans to stay in this bed."
Spike smirked and Connor lifted his hand to his mouth to cover his grin. Buffy rolled her eyes and sank back into the covers.
"You're both as bad as each other, you do realise this?" she complained, closing her eyes tiredly.
Spike just shrugged. "I'll leave you guys to it. I'll check back in at sundown. Oh, and here's your cell phone back, luv. Peaches there tried calling a few times, but there was no way in hell that I was gonna chit-chat with him." He threw the phone to her, which she caught, not even bothering to open her eyes as she caught it. She tucked it into her pocket, hoping that she wouldn't roll onto it during the night.
Angel could tell by the tone in Spike's voice that he didn't want to leave. He knew from Buffy that they were friends and that she'd forgiven him for the previous year and everything that had happened. And Angel knew better than anyone the difference between the demon and the soul. He couldn't hate Spike for something that had happened pre-soul. Not giving Spike another chance was plain hypocritical, and even though he still disliked Spike intensely, he had to admit that Spike had been a tremendous help to Buffy.
"Maybe you should just stay," Angel said. "It'd be easier."
Spike looked at his grand-sire, completely shocked by the offer. He accepted it, however, and was led by Connor to another couch, forgoing sheets and just pulling his jacket over the top of his, his boots on the floor next to him.
Meanwhile, Buffy and Angel had curled up next to each other, the Slayer and the Vampire fast asleep, safe in each other's arms.
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Ooo, two chapters. Only cos I'm going away for the weekend, so I can't update. Hope you enjoyed them both!
Toodles.