five.
Ding dong...ding dong ...
"I'll get it!"
Buffy hopped down the stairs to answer the door. She peeked through the window; a wide welcoming smile grew on her face. She opened the door and greeted the guest in an eager fashion, "Anne! Come on in. Willow and I were just thinking of dropping by your place. Things are soo-oo boring today." She whined.
Willow came bounding down the stairs, smiling widely at the sight of Anne.
"Oh, hey! We were just thinking of dropping by..."
Buffy interrupted her, "I already did that, Wills. So..." She turned to the amused Anne. "What do you wanna do this afternoon?" She moved towards the living room, plopping down on the couch.
It's been five days since Anne last saw her two new friends. She spoke hesitantly, "Well, I really came over to ask for your help."
The two friends looked at her in surprise.
"About what?" Willow asked.
"I need to go shopping. The only muggle clothing I have is only good enough for a week. I didn't bother much with these since we wore teaching uniforms back in Hogwarts." Anne explained nervously. "But its okay if you guys have other things to do...maybe I should go." She nervously stepped out.
"Hey, wait! We'll help you." Buffy grabbed Anne's arm before she walked out the front door.
Willow clapped her hands like an excited child, " Oooh! This is going to be so much fun!"
Buffy agreed, chuckling, "Yeah. Do you have a limited budget?"
Anne grinned shyly, "Not really. Exchanging Galleons into muggle money got me a rather tidy sum. Let's just say, we won't be having a problem there."
Their eyes turned wide at this, their minds reeling at the possibilities. " Oh, wow... shopping heaven!" Buffy sighed.
Willow grabbed her coat and ushered the others through the door, "So, what are we waiting for?"
**************************
"Angel?"
Spike entered the old mansion in his usual boisterous fashion. He plopped down on the large brown couch by the living room, giving the musty old room a disdainful look. He shouted again, impatience ringing in his tone, "Angel, you poof! Where the bloody hell are you?"
Angel roared back, his voice coming from the closed bedroom door, "What the fuck do you want? I'm busy!"
Spike replied, irritated, "I need to talk to you. About something."
After a few minutes, his angry sire finally emerged from the bedroom, half-naked and holding a large book he was obviously intent on finishing. Angel scowled darkly at the smirking younger vampire, " What is it? Talk fast."
Spike sighed, his annoyed look melting suddenly, "It's Anne."
"The English witch?" Angel frowned.
Spike nodded, "Yeah. I can't believe I never realized it before... She was always talking about her old home in London. But I didn't know she was also immortal..."
"Spike, you're not making any sense." Angel sat next to the confused vampire.
Spike paused, trying to regroup his wayward thoughts. He spoke again, his voice controlled, "Angel, do you remember the night you changed me? The night of the party?"
Angel's eyes took on a shade of guilt and sorrow, "Of course. I've never forgotten. Why do you ask?"
"Anne was there."
Angel's eyes looked at him blankly at first before comically growing wide as the proverbial saucers. He stammered, "What... why... how—how..."
Spike raked his white-blond hair with trembling hands. He replied in a ragged tone, uncharacteristic of his normally arrogant self, "I still can't believe it m'self. She was my best friend, Angel! We knew each other since we were kids. It all seems so unbelievable to find her alive after all these years..."
Angel saw in his mind's eye a beautiful black-haired nymph dancing gracefully with Spike's pre-vamp self, William. She circled through the crowd, her hand tucked in William's arm, chatting and charming most of the men around the room. A thought came to him, "Was she there when ... I, uh... when we..."
Spike shook his head, "No. She left early that night, right after I told her about my betrothal to Elizabeth. Said she had work to do, with her constant traveling and all." He closed his eyes, "Thank God for that."
Angel fell silent. Spike was obviously feeling confused and weird about the whole thing. He knew he would be if he discovered that a link to his past was still living at present.
Angel placed a comforting hand on his childe's knee, "How do you really feel about this?"
Spike sighed wearily, "I don't know. Truth to tell, I don't think I could bring myself to tell her about this. She was my anchor back then, my bloody sounding board! And I was her's as well. We were soul mates. I don't want to change the memory she has of me once she discovers my true nature. I don't want her to be hurt and disappointed... by me. And I ---I don't want to feel like the monster that I really am before her eyes." He dropped his eyes during his sudden confession.
Angel looked dumbstruck. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Not from Spike. The soulless demon. He isn't supposed to feel an honest emotion, ever. He almost sounded ... human.
As Buffy would say, this was way too wiggy.
But didn't you see how he was with Drusilla? An inner voice argued. He put up with that psycho for close to a century! Why?
Because he loved her.
Spike was different. That, Angel knew for a long time. Even during the time when he was his former homicidal self, spreading chaos and ruin throughout Europe.
He saw how Spike was still able to feel and control his emotions, sans soul. This fact went against everything he knew about the vampiric nature, yet he had a feeling this was not a complete impossibility. Maybe Spike was another special case, just like Anne Sinclair was.
"So, what are you going to do?" Angel spoke softly, leaning back on the couch.
Spike glanced sideways at him and shrugged, "I have no idea."
*******************
"So how long have you and Anya known each other?" Buffy began in a conversational tone as they each searched through the long racks of clothing at the local department store.
Anne paused thoughtfully, a yellow sundress on her hand, " Well, we met during the late 1920's. That was the year I met Dracula... brrr.." She shuddered.
Willow chuckled, "Way creepy, huh?"
"Uh-huh. I bumped into Anyanka at an Italian restaurant. Actually, she bumped into me while I was trying to escape that fanged pillock. She helped me out, then we just sort of ...clicked." She shrugged, grabbing a hot pink/electric blue/sunny yellow/striking orange-colored halter top.
Buffy shook her head empathically, "Not that. Definitely a no-no. Even I wouldn't wear that!"
Willow nodded, "Not unless you want to be a vampire menu's everyday special."
They headed towards a long rack of jeans, skirts and shorts. Buffy suddenly asked as she perused their choices, "How about Giles? You guys seem pretty close."
"That we are. "Anne smiled fondly. "Martha and Frank, Ripper's parents, were old friends of mine. I met them the summer I returned back to my old hometown for a vacation. Ripper and I were good chums back then, before he got lured into the Watchers Council. We practically lost contact after he went off. And with the strained relationship between me and the COW, we rarely crossed each other's path."
"I never really cared much for the Council myself. A bunch of stuck- up assholes." Buffy huffed.
"Hey, hey! This would look so great on you!" Willow exclaimed, holding a red jumpsuit with a revealing neckline.
Buffy agreed, her eyes inspecting the piece of clothing with practiced ease. "Oh, yeah... this would really help you catch a particular someone's attention..." She remarked in a sly tone.
Anne saw the knowing glance that passed between the two friends, eyeing them warily, "What are you talking about?"
Willow held the jumpsuit in front of the confused witch, "What Buffy means is this could make a certain bleached-blonde's eyes pop out, his nostrils start smoking, and his jaw dropping AWOOGA-style."
Anne eyes widened, " Bleached-blonde? You mean, Spike? Why'd you think that?"
Buffy snorted, "Come off it, Sinclair. I saw the way he looked at you the night of the big dinner party. He looked so..."
"Turned on?" Willow supplied absently as she continued her search through the racks.
Buffy grimaced, " Thank you, kind madam, for that delicate description. Our dear Spike aka William the Bloody looked really hot under the collar that night."
Anne frowned at the moniker, "William? Spike's real name was William?"
Willow nodded, "Yeah. I think it was William Thornton, if the records could be trusted. You know how those old dusty books are..."
William Thornton.
William Thornton?
My William?
Was it possible...?
"What year was he turned?" Anne asked faintly, her vision blurring alarmingly.
"Are you okay? You look a little pale." Buffy asked, concerned.
Willow frowned in concentration, " They said it was around late nineteenth century in North London. Probably early 1800's, I think. It was during his engagement party, or so the chronicles said."
Oh... my ... god...
Before Buffy or Willow could do anything, Anne's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell in an unconscious slump on the cold unyielding floor.
********************
"Wait. Back up a bit. So, you're saying that you're ashamed of being a vampire? After all this time?" Angel asked in a skeptical tone.
Spike raked his hands through his perfectly combed hair, "No! I mean ... yeah. Uh... not really... oh hell!" He ground out. "I'm living a different kind of life now. This is what I bloody am; I can't do anything about it. I've learned to accept it, live it, and even love it. I just don't want to ruin Anne's image of what I was once... what William was once. I don't want to see her look at me with disgust, or horror, or..."
"Spike, "Angel began, "Anne is a half-vampire and half-slayer. It's a little bit on the late side for you to shield her from the dark side, such as our kind."
"Yeah, but still..." Spike half-protested.
"No buts. You know, you've been acting like a first-class idiot lately. I don't know why we put up with you at all. But then again, that's nothing new." Angel attempted to get a rise out of the dejected vampire. " But from what I can see, the two of you were given this one chance to gain back what you once had. Few get to have this rare opportunity. So I want you to take your sorry ass back to Anne's and tell her the truth. Now."
Spike fell silent. He seemed lost in a world of his own, his mind set on rewind, replaying every wonderful scene of his past with his raven-haired bestfriend. It seemed like an eternity before Angel interrupted the other's reverie.
"Don't you think you should give her the benefit of the doubt here? I'm sure she'll be really glad to know you're ... you."
Spike heaved a big sigh. The poofter was right, as always.
"I guess I've been acting strange, is all. Probably inherited your brooding nature, old man." Spike grimaced, bouncing back to his old irritating self.
Angel sighed wearily, rubbing a hand through his eyes, "Spike..."
"Thanks for the help, mate. I knew there was some use we could find for your poofy ways..." Spike jumped to his feet, casually walking towards the door while grabbing his trusty anti-sun blanket along the way.
"Spike..." A threatening note in the growl.
Spike snorted, "The way you were yapping about back there, you sounded like a bloody nancyboy wanker! Wait, You are a bloody nancyboy wanker."
Angel roared, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"
"My pleasure, Oh Poofy Master." With a loud laugh, Spike walked out the door with a happy bounce to his step.
Angel half-groaned, half-sighed. Trust Spike to turn a simple "Thank you" into an insult-fest.
Idiot.
Ding dong...ding dong ...
"I'll get it!"
Buffy hopped down the stairs to answer the door. She peeked through the window; a wide welcoming smile grew on her face. She opened the door and greeted the guest in an eager fashion, "Anne! Come on in. Willow and I were just thinking of dropping by your place. Things are soo-oo boring today." She whined.
Willow came bounding down the stairs, smiling widely at the sight of Anne.
"Oh, hey! We were just thinking of dropping by..."
Buffy interrupted her, "I already did that, Wills. So..." She turned to the amused Anne. "What do you wanna do this afternoon?" She moved towards the living room, plopping down on the couch.
It's been five days since Anne last saw her two new friends. She spoke hesitantly, "Well, I really came over to ask for your help."
The two friends looked at her in surprise.
"About what?" Willow asked.
"I need to go shopping. The only muggle clothing I have is only good enough for a week. I didn't bother much with these since we wore teaching uniforms back in Hogwarts." Anne explained nervously. "But its okay if you guys have other things to do...maybe I should go." She nervously stepped out.
"Hey, wait! We'll help you." Buffy grabbed Anne's arm before she walked out the front door.
Willow clapped her hands like an excited child, " Oooh! This is going to be so much fun!"
Buffy agreed, chuckling, "Yeah. Do you have a limited budget?"
Anne grinned shyly, "Not really. Exchanging Galleons into muggle money got me a rather tidy sum. Let's just say, we won't be having a problem there."
Their eyes turned wide at this, their minds reeling at the possibilities. " Oh, wow... shopping heaven!" Buffy sighed.
Willow grabbed her coat and ushered the others through the door, "So, what are we waiting for?"
**************************
"Angel?"
Spike entered the old mansion in his usual boisterous fashion. He plopped down on the large brown couch by the living room, giving the musty old room a disdainful look. He shouted again, impatience ringing in his tone, "Angel, you poof! Where the bloody hell are you?"
Angel roared back, his voice coming from the closed bedroom door, "What the fuck do you want? I'm busy!"
Spike replied, irritated, "I need to talk to you. About something."
After a few minutes, his angry sire finally emerged from the bedroom, half-naked and holding a large book he was obviously intent on finishing. Angel scowled darkly at the smirking younger vampire, " What is it? Talk fast."
Spike sighed, his annoyed look melting suddenly, "It's Anne."
"The English witch?" Angel frowned.
Spike nodded, "Yeah. I can't believe I never realized it before... She was always talking about her old home in London. But I didn't know she was also immortal..."
"Spike, you're not making any sense." Angel sat next to the confused vampire.
Spike paused, trying to regroup his wayward thoughts. He spoke again, his voice controlled, "Angel, do you remember the night you changed me? The night of the party?"
Angel's eyes took on a shade of guilt and sorrow, "Of course. I've never forgotten. Why do you ask?"
"Anne was there."
Angel's eyes looked at him blankly at first before comically growing wide as the proverbial saucers. He stammered, "What... why... how—how..."
Spike raked his white-blond hair with trembling hands. He replied in a ragged tone, uncharacteristic of his normally arrogant self, "I still can't believe it m'self. She was my best friend, Angel! We knew each other since we were kids. It all seems so unbelievable to find her alive after all these years..."
Angel saw in his mind's eye a beautiful black-haired nymph dancing gracefully with Spike's pre-vamp self, William. She circled through the crowd, her hand tucked in William's arm, chatting and charming most of the men around the room. A thought came to him, "Was she there when ... I, uh... when we..."
Spike shook his head, "No. She left early that night, right after I told her about my betrothal to Elizabeth. Said she had work to do, with her constant traveling and all." He closed his eyes, "Thank God for that."
Angel fell silent. Spike was obviously feeling confused and weird about the whole thing. He knew he would be if he discovered that a link to his past was still living at present.
Angel placed a comforting hand on his childe's knee, "How do you really feel about this?"
Spike sighed wearily, "I don't know. Truth to tell, I don't think I could bring myself to tell her about this. She was my anchor back then, my bloody sounding board! And I was her's as well. We were soul mates. I don't want to change the memory she has of me once she discovers my true nature. I don't want her to be hurt and disappointed... by me. And I ---I don't want to feel like the monster that I really am before her eyes." He dropped his eyes during his sudden confession.
Angel looked dumbstruck. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Not from Spike. The soulless demon. He isn't supposed to feel an honest emotion, ever. He almost sounded ... human.
As Buffy would say, this was way too wiggy.
But didn't you see how he was with Drusilla? An inner voice argued. He put up with that psycho for close to a century! Why?
Because he loved her.
Spike was different. That, Angel knew for a long time. Even during the time when he was his former homicidal self, spreading chaos and ruin throughout Europe.
He saw how Spike was still able to feel and control his emotions, sans soul. This fact went against everything he knew about the vampiric nature, yet he had a feeling this was not a complete impossibility. Maybe Spike was another special case, just like Anne Sinclair was.
"So, what are you going to do?" Angel spoke softly, leaning back on the couch.
Spike glanced sideways at him and shrugged, "I have no idea."
*******************
"So how long have you and Anya known each other?" Buffy began in a conversational tone as they each searched through the long racks of clothing at the local department store.
Anne paused thoughtfully, a yellow sundress on her hand, " Well, we met during the late 1920's. That was the year I met Dracula... brrr.." She shuddered.
Willow chuckled, "Way creepy, huh?"
"Uh-huh. I bumped into Anyanka at an Italian restaurant. Actually, she bumped into me while I was trying to escape that fanged pillock. She helped me out, then we just sort of ...clicked." She shrugged, grabbing a hot pink/electric blue/sunny yellow/striking orange-colored halter top.
Buffy shook her head empathically, "Not that. Definitely a no-no. Even I wouldn't wear that!"
Willow nodded, "Not unless you want to be a vampire menu's everyday special."
They headed towards a long rack of jeans, skirts and shorts. Buffy suddenly asked as she perused their choices, "How about Giles? You guys seem pretty close."
"That we are. "Anne smiled fondly. "Martha and Frank, Ripper's parents, were old friends of mine. I met them the summer I returned back to my old hometown for a vacation. Ripper and I were good chums back then, before he got lured into the Watchers Council. We practically lost contact after he went off. And with the strained relationship between me and the COW, we rarely crossed each other's path."
"I never really cared much for the Council myself. A bunch of stuck- up assholes." Buffy huffed.
"Hey, hey! This would look so great on you!" Willow exclaimed, holding a red jumpsuit with a revealing neckline.
Buffy agreed, her eyes inspecting the piece of clothing with practiced ease. "Oh, yeah... this would really help you catch a particular someone's attention..." She remarked in a sly tone.
Anne saw the knowing glance that passed between the two friends, eyeing them warily, "What are you talking about?"
Willow held the jumpsuit in front of the confused witch, "What Buffy means is this could make a certain bleached-blonde's eyes pop out, his nostrils start smoking, and his jaw dropping AWOOGA-style."
Anne eyes widened, " Bleached-blonde? You mean, Spike? Why'd you think that?"
Buffy snorted, "Come off it, Sinclair. I saw the way he looked at you the night of the big dinner party. He looked so..."
"Turned on?" Willow supplied absently as she continued her search through the racks.
Buffy grimaced, " Thank you, kind madam, for that delicate description. Our dear Spike aka William the Bloody looked really hot under the collar that night."
Anne frowned at the moniker, "William? Spike's real name was William?"
Willow nodded, "Yeah. I think it was William Thornton, if the records could be trusted. You know how those old dusty books are..."
William Thornton.
William Thornton?
My William?
Was it possible...?
"What year was he turned?" Anne asked faintly, her vision blurring alarmingly.
"Are you okay? You look a little pale." Buffy asked, concerned.
Willow frowned in concentration, " They said it was around late nineteenth century in North London. Probably early 1800's, I think. It was during his engagement party, or so the chronicles said."
Oh... my ... god...
Before Buffy or Willow could do anything, Anne's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell in an unconscious slump on the cold unyielding floor.
********************
"Wait. Back up a bit. So, you're saying that you're ashamed of being a vampire? After all this time?" Angel asked in a skeptical tone.
Spike raked his hands through his perfectly combed hair, "No! I mean ... yeah. Uh... not really... oh hell!" He ground out. "I'm living a different kind of life now. This is what I bloody am; I can't do anything about it. I've learned to accept it, live it, and even love it. I just don't want to ruin Anne's image of what I was once... what William was once. I don't want to see her look at me with disgust, or horror, or..."
"Spike, "Angel began, "Anne is a half-vampire and half-slayer. It's a little bit on the late side for you to shield her from the dark side, such as our kind."
"Yeah, but still..." Spike half-protested.
"No buts. You know, you've been acting like a first-class idiot lately. I don't know why we put up with you at all. But then again, that's nothing new." Angel attempted to get a rise out of the dejected vampire. " But from what I can see, the two of you were given this one chance to gain back what you once had. Few get to have this rare opportunity. So I want you to take your sorry ass back to Anne's and tell her the truth. Now."
Spike fell silent. He seemed lost in a world of his own, his mind set on rewind, replaying every wonderful scene of his past with his raven-haired bestfriend. It seemed like an eternity before Angel interrupted the other's reverie.
"Don't you think you should give her the benefit of the doubt here? I'm sure she'll be really glad to know you're ... you."
Spike heaved a big sigh. The poofter was right, as always.
"I guess I've been acting strange, is all. Probably inherited your brooding nature, old man." Spike grimaced, bouncing back to his old irritating self.
Angel sighed wearily, rubbing a hand through his eyes, "Spike..."
"Thanks for the help, mate. I knew there was some use we could find for your poofy ways..." Spike jumped to his feet, casually walking towards the door while grabbing his trusty anti-sun blanket along the way.
"Spike..." A threatening note in the growl.
Spike snorted, "The way you were yapping about back there, you sounded like a bloody nancyboy wanker! Wait, You are a bloody nancyboy wanker."
Angel roared, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"
"My pleasure, Oh Poofy Master." With a loud laugh, Spike walked out the door with a happy bounce to his step.
Angel half-groaned, half-sighed. Trust Spike to turn a simple "Thank you" into an insult-fest.
Idiot.
