I'll Be Looking at the Moon

"Rose, this is your lucky day, so to speak." Wesley came into her office unannounced. Most people did. "You can put the administrative work aside, for the moment. I need all available hands on research."

Rose blinked, trying to process the information. Truth to tell, she hadn't been really working. They'd been to a carnival over the weekend (at night, of course) and the fun they'd all had. Including that big stuffed tiger that now occupied her and Spike's bedroom. The twins who were usually all too willing to share everything, had broken out into an argument over whose it was, and Spike (who had won the thing) had decreed that since they couldn't be nice about it, he was going to give it to Rose. "Beg pardon?" she said, trying to gather her wits about her. "Did I just hear you say that I'm off the routine paperwork?"

"For the time being," Wesley replied. "I want you to start searching for the sort of spell that requires the blood of a vampire that is pure of heart."

Rose paled a bit at that announcement.

"It's Angel," Wes hastened to assure her, although he realized that it would be of little comfort. Rose and Angel were almost like brother and sister. "There was also some mention of a blue moon."

"It might help," Rose suggested. "If I knew what a blue moon was. I mean, I've heard the expression, once in a blue moon, but other than that it means a long time, I don't know what it is."

"A blue moon is when there are two full moons in a month," Wesley explained. "Like this one, unfortunately. And they only occur about once every three years."

"I see." Rose understood why the phrase had come into being, but she still didn't understand why it would be called a blue moon. Humans had some strange notions sometimes. But now was obviously not the time to go into it. Angel was in danger. "How are you dividing things up?"

"I'm putting you and myself on the demon languages," Wes informed her. "The rest are all doing various human languages. But you and I are the only people in the department with any true proficiency in demon languages."

"How are we going to split it up?" Rose asked. "Alphabetically?"

Wes paused to consider. Things weren't really evenly weighted when gone at that way. "Tell you what," he replied. "I'll start at the beginning of the alphabet, you start at the end, and I'll meet you in the middle. Unless, of course, someone finds the spell before then."

"If it's this serious," Rose commented. "Then maybe I'd better ask Oz if he can come on full time. At least until the current crisis is solved. You aren't going to want me just dropping everything in the middle of the week."

Wesley breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't quite had the nerve, or the heart, to ask, especially in light of how Rose had been behaving the week before. But obviously she'd worked things out, and he couldn't deny that she'd be useful. "If Oz accepts it would be most useful," he answered. "Would you mind ringing him up right now?"

&&&&&&&

Oz was a little startled to hear the phone ring. It hadn't once since he'd been here, they must have an unlisted number, or something even better. There hadn't even been calls from telemarketers with their random dialing. He looked at the twins. "Can you tell who it is?" he asked.

Ariel shook her head.

"We don't know where the person is," Alaric explained. "So we can't tell."

Oz shrugged and picked up the phone. "Hello? Yeah, we're cool here. Full time? I don't have a problem with it." There was a long pause. Evidently Rose was explaining the situation to him. "We'll be fine, Rose. Don't worry about us." He hung up, and turned to the kids. "Looks like I'm going to be here every day for a while," he informed him.

"Yippee!" said Ariel. "Will you play your guitar for us, Oz?"

&&&&&&&&

Angel had taken to spending lunch hours working out, sparring with Spike. It wasn't as if lunch took that long, for them. Today, it was bare hands, which tended to create a lot of bruises, but it helped them both work a lot of things out, even if neither one of them would admit it.

"So that's what the readings were all about," Spike remarked, making a flying tackle, and missing, and rolling out of the way just in time to miss being kicked in the ribs.

"It started with Rose," Angel replied, making the mistake of trying the same thing twice. He tried kicking again before Spike could get up, but Spike caught his foot and gave it a twist, sending him to the mat. "She had a mandatory screening because she'd just returned to work."

Spike let Angel get up. True, kicking someone when they were down was often effective, but he'd just proven that it wasn't, much, when the person was expecting it. "So what exactly did Lorne see?"

"That someone close to, but not immediately related to Rose was in danger," Angel explained. He ducked just in time to keep Spike from landing one on him.

"So that's what started it." Spike aimed a kick at Angel's head, but Angel jerked it aside just in time. "But it isn't exactly news that you're in danger. Dangerous line of work, innit?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Angel replied. He swung his foot around and caught Spike in the stomach, which had to hurt, but didn't really slow him down much. It would have at least winded a human. "Someone wants my blood, presumably for some sort of spell. And there was something to do with a blue moon."

"Would have thought that blue moons were more of wolf-boy's concern," Spike remarked, landing one on Angel's jaw. "'Course some spells have special times they have to be performed. I suppose that the Watcher has Rose looking for the spell?"

"He said he was going to put his entire department on it," Angel answered. He winced as Spike came around from behind and kicked him in the small of the back. "So I would assume that means Rose, as well."

"I would say that being off the routine stuff would probably put her in a bit better mood, she hates the bureaucratic muck that Percy stuck her with," Spike mused. "'Cept for the fact that you're in danger. Can't see what she sees in you, ya big ponce."

"Join the club," Angel shot back. He feinted a punch, and when Spike moved to block it, came up with his other fist and caught Spike on the ear. "No one knows what she sees in you, either."

Spike rubbed his ear ostentatiously. "Damn thing's going to be ringing the rest of the day, you bloody git," he complained. Angel took advantage of his preoccupation and caught him in the ribs with a foot.

&&&&&&&&

The twins were down for their nap, and Oz was taking a well-deserved breather. They'd sung for hours, and the twins had chattered quite a bit about their trip to the carnival. Oz liked talking to them, though. They had a vocabulary way beyond their years, which made it easier for him to appreciate their fresh outlook on life. Though there'd been a couple of times already when they'd started sharing viewpoints that he didn't want to know about, and was pretty sure that their parents would be happier if they didn't know about. He was also wondering about the threat to Angel. He wondered if Rose would fill him in on the rest of it when she got home, then decided that it was highly unlikely. She wouldn't want to upset the kids, which they certainly would be if they knew their adored 'uncle' was in danger. He sorta wished he could do something to help, then realized that in a way, he was. Just by staying with the kids and thereby freeing up Rose to do her part.

And now, since it was the first time since he'd arrived that he had time to really look around, he noticed the new pictures on the wall. Having nothing better to do, and being curious, he walked over to inspect them. He had to admit that they were a good-looking family. The one he paused at though, was the one of Spike and Rose. Spike with his arms around her, looking down at her, Rose looking up at him and obviously very much in love. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to distract himself from his own thoughts, of Willow, and how it had been, and how it could have been. He sighed. With the blue moon coming this weekend, screwing with his internal wolf, as it were, he'd better hit the meditation.

&&&&&&&

"By the way, Peaches," Spike said, as they were leaving the practice room. "I'll be up to your office later to pay you for those pictures."

Angel looked a little uncomfortable. He should have known that Rose would tell Spike. Especially after the heated discussion they'd had about it. "Just give me a couple of pictures of the kids and we'll call it even."

"Sod that," Spike growled. "You're gonna get the pictures anyway, not my decision. But you're also going to take the bloody money, or I'll shove it down your throat. I can look after my own family, thank you very much."

Angel sighed. "Early Christmas present?" he suggested.

"Christmas is a long way off," Spike pointed out. "And I don't seem to recall you ever givin' me a present anyway. So you'll bloody well take the money and like it." He unbent enough to give Angel a conspiratorial look. "Listen, you stupid wanker, it's not just me. I'm under orders here, and I have to live with her."

"Lie to her?" Angel didn't think that suggestion would take, and he was right.

"I haven't lied to Rose yet," Spike snapped. "Leastways not over anything important. And while I consider you far from important, I'm not starting a trend here."

Angel gave up. "All right, I'll let you pay me back," he sighed. "Did they turn out good?"

&&&&&&&

Nathan started going through his own stores of spell components. He had most of the requisite items, except the vampire, of course. But since he was playing at being as innocent as his fellow coven members, he could hardly admit to having them all. But he'd bring them along the night of the spell casting, just in case. If this missed, there wouldn't be a second chance. A Faznair demon the size of a small house was nothing to quibble with, and if the spell didn't go right, he wouldn't be able to control it. And since he would be the one casting the spell, he would probably be the demon's first victim. Not only was he in no hurry to die, but if he was going to the trouble to raise the demon, he wanted to be around to enjoy the ensuing chaos. It had been a while since he'd been able to be up to this sort of mischief. He wouldn't be able to still, if the Initiative hadn't been thrown into chaos, by what he wasn't sure, and didn't really care. But there had been just enough turmoil ensuing that the right paperwork had gotten screwed at the right time and voila, free as a bird. He'd homed in on Sunnydale at first, just to see what Rupert was up to and was somewhat surprised to see that there was no Sunnydale. He'd drifted to L.A. to see if any of the Slayer's gang were there to annoy in his one time friends stead, and lo and behold, the vampire with a soul. An evil smile crossed his face. If this worked out, it would all be worth it, even to working under an assumed name. He sniggered and checked the spell components again.

&&&&&&&

"So, who all besides your friend Angel gets pictures?" Spike asked that night as they were tucking the twins into bed.

"All the godparents, I should think," Rose replied. "Will you be able to take them around, darling? I'm awfully busy right now." As Oz had suspected, Rose refused to bring up the subject of impending danger to Angel in front of the children, and hoped, probably futilely that they wouldn't use other means to acquire the information. How was she supposed to protect her children from things like that when they could pick it right out of her mind?

"I guess I could do," Spike admitted. "You want to add Oz to the list? In a way, he is family. Least as much as any of them are."

Rose hadn't even considered it. "Why if he'd like," she replied. "I didn't even think of that. And to think that I thought you were getting carried away again ordering all those copies."

"Mummy looked pretty," Ariel said. The twins were fighting against sleep gamely. And they felt that they'd been left out of the conversation long enough.

"So did you, darling girl," Spike replied. If Rose had ever been a child, Ariel is what she would have looked like.

"I didn't look pretty," Alaric stated flatly. "Pretty's for girls."

"It certainly is," his father agreed, recalling a time when he'd protested at Rose calling him pretty. He kissed his daughter.

"You were very handsome." Rose bent to kiss a downy soft baby cheek. "Just like your father."

They switched places and swapped kisses again, and then turned out the lights and slipped out.

&&&&&&&

"I'm down to the c's and still nothing," Wesley said the next day. "How are things going at your end of the alphabet, Rose?"

"I'm already up to the u's," she replied. "Not as many down at this end. Not that it matters, I haven't had any more luck than you have, Wesley."

"Well, we'll just have to keep at it then," he sighed. "The rest of the department isn't finding anything either." He let his attention slip away from business for a brief moment. "There's a rumor going around that you have new pictures of the children to pass around, Rose. So, where are mine?"

"Right here." Rose reached into her desk. "Which would you like, the whole family, or just the children?"