Escape
Chapter Fourteen: Something You Can't Shake
"… Glad to see you could all attend," Angel said, smiling rather too widely at those gathered before him.
They were in one of the conference rooms, the heads of departments watching Angel nervously. The A.I. gang, with the additions of Buffy and Gwen were watching with amused smiles from behind Angel.
"There's something I want to tell you," Angel continued. He paused, smirking, savouring the moment. "You're all fired."
"Is it me, or was that weirdly familiar?" Gunn muttered to Wes who arched an eyebrow at Angel's back.
There was a moment, while the news sank in, then there was outcry, as they leapt from their chairs.
"You can't do this!" one bleached blonde spluttered.
"Who'll run the departments?" a short balding man cried.
"Oh, no one," Wes replied. "In fact, you might want to pass on the 'you're fired' message to those working in your departments."
"You're dismissing everyone that works here?" the blonde gasped, sinking back into her chair.
"We'll sue!" someone cried. "We'll take you for everything you've got! You can't do this for no good reason."
"Every person working in this building will get a tidy amount in a severance payment, that should soften the blow," Angel said.
"And there's a branch of Wolfram and Hart in practically every state," Fred reminded them. "I'm sure you'll all find jobs."
"Now, if you don't mind, we've got things to do. I'd be grateful if you pass on the message," Angel waved them away, watching them go with satisfaction. He grinned at Buffy. "That felt better than I thought it would."
"Yep," Fred agreed heartily. "Now, how about we get down to sorting out those files, huh?"
The others nodded, slightly less enthusiastically than Fred and Wes, leaving Angel and Buffy alone in the large conference room. He sank into a chair, leaned back and smiled, drumming his fingers.
"Calm down," Buffy said softly. "Willow will come through. Any minute now, in fact."
"I don't get why I couldn't be there though," he said, lacing his fingers to stop them fidgeting.
"Because you'd distract her," Buffy replied, glancing at the clock on the wall. She noted the time with a slight tightening of her fingers on the back of his chair. "Angel…"
He gasped suddenly, back arching up suddenly, fingers clawing at the leather arms of the chair. Buffy let go of the back of the chair, skirting round it to grab his upper arms, squeezing as she looked down into his face. She watched his eyes flame suddenly and he went lax in her grip.
He felt suffocated and struggled for breath that he did not need, back arching again in his desperation. His skin itched and flamed, the heat making white spots dance in front of his eyes. Hollow silence weighed down almost painfully in his ears before screams echoed quietly, but gained in strength.
"No, please, no…"
"Stop! I'll do anything, just stop, don't hurt her…"
"Just kill me, please. Don't hurt me anymore… Just kill me…"
He squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed hold of his ears, trying to force the sound away, along with the images which began to rear up before his minds eye.
A man, cowering in the doorway of his home as Angelus and Darla bore down on him, teeth bloodied from the blood of the man's children. He gazed up at them from where he was slumped on his knees. His eyes flickered to Drusilla, hovering over Angelus's shoulder, cradling a dead child in her arms…
A younger man, tall, thin, washed pale with fear. Face tear stained, eyes filled with a horror they would never lose even if he lived to see daylight. A young woman shivered in Angelus's arms, murmuring the name of her lover. With a joyous smirk, Angelus pulled her close and buried his fangs in her neck, revelling in the heart broken cries of her lover as he turned his face away from the scene…
A woman, hands twined over her head, clothes shredded and bloodied. Her body slumped forward, no longer trying to press her knees together. Dried blood ran to her elbows, more trailing down her thighs. Her chest heaved as Angelus ran a blade across it. Her voice was raspy and dry as she begged, but it was music to Angelus's ears.
"Angel?" Buffy whispered, voice hesitant, a distant terror reminding her of the worst possible scenario. She gritted her teeth against that idea, tightened her grip on his arms and gave him a gentle shake, as she repeated in a stronger, firmer voice. "Angel."
At her voice, the visions faded, the screams along with them. He tried to focus on her, but new memories and voices filled his head.
"You saved my life! Who are you?"
"Do you make a habit of this, saving damsels in distress? Wait, is that blood…?"
"That – that thing was trying to kill me! You saved us! Thank you!"
A teenage boy, pushing lank green hair out of his eyes as he touched his bloodied mouth, checking the stud was still in place beneath his lip, staring at Angel with a mystified, awestruck gaze…
A woman, eyeing him up at down, tongue flickering out to moisten her lips seductively, as she dusted vampire dust from her shirt and wiped blood from her neck, before her eyes fluttered and she fell into his arms in a dead faint…
A couple, the woman clutching her boyfriend in white faced, white knuckled terror. The man stared at Angel, a mixture of suspicion and gratitude on his face. But it was the woman who expressed her thanks, reaching out with a trembling hand to touch Angel's arm and give it a thankful squeeze…
"Buffy," he said in a soft voice, reaching out to grab hold of her arms. He blinked as he straightened up slightly, a smile stretching across his face. "I think I might be cured!"
"Really?" Buffy asked, then gave him a seductive smirk. "Wanna test it?"
It was late evening when Lorne was strode down the hall, straight past Fred and Wes who were standing either side of one of the many doors on the Hyperion's first floor. He continued past them, hands in his pockets, whistling. Then he stopped, glanced back and turned with a sigh.
"Any reason you're listening at a door that isn't yours?" he asked.
"Sssh!" Fred hissed, spinning round to face him, waving her hands, attempting to communicate with him through gestures, though her lips remained pursed.
"Is that recognised sign language, pumpkin?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
Wes opened his mouth to explain when the door swung open and Giles appeared, bag in one hand. He stopped when he noted the three of them at his door and looked at Wesley with a questioning frown.
"Packing, Rupert?" Wes asked, attempting to look innocent. "What a surprise."
"Yes, well," Giles answered, shrugging. "There's not much to pack, only what I've acquired since being in LA."
"Why are you packing?" Fred asked.
"Ants in his pants, am I right?" Lorne guessed shrewdly.
"Something like that," Giles admitted. "But, uh, I think this is something I should say to everyone at once."
"Well, they're down there now," Lorne told him, thumbing over his shoulder towards the lobby. "Angel's telling 'em all about what happened at Wolfram and Hart. Oh, and then there's the little cure that's got him bobbing on his feet. Though I think our Miss Summers has got something to do with the glint in his eye."
"Yes," Giles answered slowly, looking embarrassed as he made his way to the lobby.
Dawn was the first to notice them on the stairs. She smiled at them, gave them a wave and turned back to listen to Angel. Then she looked back at them, eyes riveted on Giles's bag.
"A bag?" she asked, voice bordering on a shriek that drew everyone's attention to Giles, who hesitated on the stairs. "Why have you got a bag, Giles?"
"Giles?" Buffy said, pulling away from Angel to stare at him.
"Well, I had to go to Cleveland sometime," he said ruefully. "Someone's got to keep an eye on the Hellmouth. I think LA's in more than good hands."
"I've been thinking," Willow said softly. Buffy closed her eyes for a second, knowing instinctively what she was going to hear. She opened her eyes as Willow added. "And I think I should go too."
"Will!" Buffy cried, spinning to face Willow incredulously.
"Buffy, it's a Hellmouth," Willow said gently, but firmly, biting her trembling lip as she stood to take Buffy's hands. "Giles is gonna need a witch."
"Then I'm going too," Kennedy said, giving Willow a pointed look. "Whether you like it or not."
"Don't forget to count me in."
The group turned their stunned gaze away from Giles, Willow and Kennedy to see Spike staring in the doorway, carrying a holdall and smirking around a cigarette.
"Had a feeling tonight might be the night for the mass exodus," he continued. "So I packed up what I could carry from the apartment, hope you don't mind, Fred."
"Take what you like," Fred shrugged, then indicated the vast tottering piles of files stacked in one corner of the lobby. "We did."
"Anyway, thought I'd drop by and catch a ride," Spike grinned at Giles, stepped down into the lobby and swung an arm around his shoulders. "Next stop Cleveland, eh, Giles?"
"Oh, God help me," Giles muttered, closing his eyes as he pulled off his glasses to clean them.
"I guess we're staying, huh, Buffy?" Dawn asked.
Angel glanced at her, trying to suppress the hopeful expression he had the feeling made him look like a schoolboy. Buffy reached out, as though in a dream to take his hand and pull him to his feet, sliding an arm around his waist.
"Yeah," Buffy answered, voice sounding dazed. "Yeah, I guess we are."
Angel suppressed the whoop of glee and settled for lowering his head and grinning like a loon.
"Can I stay too?" Andrew asked, raising a hand, voice quiet and hesitant, almost sure he was going to be disappointed.
Buffy turned a blank gaze on him, too wrong footed by the sudden announcements of her friends to think much about his request.
But Dawn had rebounded quickly from her shock because she had been preparing herself. Unlike Buffy; she had no romantic entanglements to occupy her mind. Andrew's request had startled her, she had been sure that Andrew would go to Cleveland with the others to play Hero on the Hellmouth.
Now she shot him a quizzical look as Willow and Kennedy stood to pack their things.
Dawn leaned against the wall, flicking through a comic book of Andrew's that he had bought the previous day. He was bouncing around the room, eyeing up walls and attempting to shift the bed into another position.
"I think I might redecorate," he said. "Maybe paint it blue. Or green. Hey, or maybe silver, that would be so cool. And I'll need some posters. I might get a camera and take some pictures to put up, y'know, make the place more homey. And a TV and a DVD player so I can watch movies 'til dawn. And then I have to buy some more clothes and -"
"Why did you wanna stay?" Dawn asked suddenly, closing the comic and putting it back on the sideboard.
She crossed the room, hopping on the bed as she watched Andrew pause. He had reached the window and was clutching the old, moth eaten orange curtains. He gave them a sharp tug, coughed as he inhaled a cloud of dust. He turned away and staggered across the room, slumping onto the bed. Dawn rolled her eyes at him and thumped his back.
"Well?" she pressed, as he wiped his eyes and heaved one last gentle cough.
He rubbed his chest, avoiding her eyes and shrugged.
"No reason," he replied evasively.
"So why choose LA over Cleveland?" Dawn asked, pulling her legs up onto the bed, crossing them and leaning her elbow on her thigh, her chin propped in her hand.
Andrew continued to avoid her eyes, twisting the worn fabric of the bed sheet between his fingers.
"You," he mumbled.
"Me?" Dawn asked, straightening up in surprised, staring at him in shock.
"Yeah," he said defiantly, finally meeting her eyes with a challenging stare. He had finally admitted his feelings and he was suddenly fearless. "There's no Dawn in Cleveland. I wanted to stay with you."
"Why?" Dawn asked, still stunned, unable to voice anything beyond one word.
Andrew shrugged, blushing, his courage evaporating as suddenly as it had appeared.
"No reason," he muttered once more.
"Andrew?" Dawn asked, voice slightly stronger than before.
He glanced up, noted the odd expression on her face and frowned.
"Wha -"
On a sudden impulse, she leant forward, grasped his chin firmly in her hand and pressed her lips against his.
It was past midnight when they crowded once more in the lobby to say goodbye. Giles, Spike, Kennedy and the few Potentials who were going with them waited by the doors as Willow said her goodbyes.
"I need a friend," Buffy said quietly, glancing at Willow's small bag, set firmly on the lobby floor. "Won't you stay, Will?"
"Oh, Buffy," Willow replied, attempting a grin. "Cleveland's not so far."
"I'll stay."
The two women looked over at Xander, who shot them a lopsided smile.
"I'll stay in LA. If Will thinks she needs to go, she should go. But I'll stay. Buffy's gonna need at least one Scoob around."
Buffy almost gasped in relief that while she was losing one friend, one was remaining with her, as steadfast as ever. She grabbed hold of his hand.
"You mean that?" she asked. "I know how close you and Willow are..."
"We are close," Xander said, taking Willow's hand. "And I think Willow knows I need to stay here and keep an eye on you, while she keeps an eye on Giles. Anyway, what's not to stay for? Free room, good works," he shrugged, allowing himself to be pulled into Buffy's arms. "Hugs on tap. What more could a guy ask for?"
"You," Buffy said, kissing Xander's cheek. "Are the best. And you, Willow," she reached out, pulling Willow into the hug, sniffing away tears. "You go to Cleveland. You take care of Giles," she ignored Giles snort at that. "But you make sure you keep in touch. I want daily phone calls. I want you visiting. Got it? I'm not losing one of the best friends I've ever had to some dumb Hellmouth, not anymore, ok?"
"Ok," Willow nodded, smiling, blinking away tears.
She buried her face in Willow's neck and felt Xander's hand stroke her hair as he kissed Willow's forehead. Buffy and Xander clutched Willow tightly, unwilling, yet knowing they had to let her go.
"Gonna miss you, Willow," Dawn said, hurrying down the stairs, dragging a wildly grinning Andrew behind her.
Willow caught her up in her arms and hugged the girl tightly, rocking her as she and Tara had done so many times before. With a happy sigh, Dawn leaned her head on Willow's shoulder, smoothing her hand over the soft cotton shirt Willow wore.
"Miss you too, Dawnie," Willow whispered.
While Dawn said her goodbyes to Willow, Xander and Buffy turned to Giles.
Xander extended his hand to the ex-Watcher.
"See ya, G-Man," he said.
"Goodbye, Xander," he took Xander's hand and surprised himself when he pulled him into a brief hug, just long enough for him to whisper, "Well done, my boy, well done."
"Yeah," Xander pulled back, squeezing Giles' hand in gratitude. "Thanks, Giles. You, uh, you take good care of Willow for me, ok? You too, Kennedy. Keep her safe, make her happy."
"I will," Kennedy nodded.
"We'll do our best," Giles said.
"Spike," Xander nodded in Spike's direction. "Good luck."
"You too, Harris," Spike replied carefully. "Keep an eye on Bit. I think Andrew's got designs on her."
Xander nodded and walked away to give Willow a final hug.
"Gonna miss you," Buffy said softly, almost shyly to Giles.
"I'll miss you too, Buffy," Giles said and chuckled as she grabbed him in a tight hug.
"I love you, Giles," she mumbled, slightly embarrassed, but determined to say it nonetheless. Because she meant it, she had always meant it and she always would.
"Same here, Buffy," he replied gently as she pulled back.
He felt tears prick in his eyes and blinked them away, coughing slightly to cover his awkwardness. Buffy smiled and rolled her eyes at his overt Englishness.
"You'll visit?" Dawn asked, having pulled away from Willow.
She looked a little lost as she stared up at Giles, a little uncertain of what to say or do.
"Of course," he nodded, giving the girl a hug. "Take care of your sister."
"I will," Dawn said, giving Giles a pointed look as she glanced back at Buffy, then Angel. He nodded and raised his eyes at that, making Dawn laugh at his somewhat exasperated expression.
Buffy missed the look exchanged between her ex-Watcher and younger sister; she had stepped aside and found herself standing before Spike.
"Slayer," Spike said in a measured tone.
"Spike," Buffy said, she extended her hand and shook his hand firmly. "Thank you," she said firmly. "For everything. You did good, Champ."
"Ditto," he said, glancing over her shoulder at Angel. He gritted his teeth as he did so and ground out, "Best man won. Remember that, you'll never hear it again."
"Goodbye, Spike," Angel said carefully, watching Buffy squeeze his shoulder and pull away as Dawn stepped in to give Spike a tight hug.
"Ahem."
The general hug-fests broke apart and they all turned to stare in disbelief at a casually entwined Faith and Wood, standing in the main door.
"We're not interrupting anything are we?" Robin asked.
"You guys busy?" Faith asked. "'Cause we could go out and come back in again."
"Faith, you're just in time for goodbyes. I, um, guess you're going to Cleveland too?" Buffy asked, strangely worried by that thought.
"No way, B. Me and Robin are settling in the good old City of Angels. As good a place as any."
"For what?" Buffy asked, playfully pushing Angel back as he nuzzled her neck.
Faith pulled Robin even closer, if that were possible, and planted a kiss on his cheek. It was only when she placed her free hand in the middle of his chest that everyone's attention was drawn to her hand.
There were gasps from Willow, Dawn and Fred and stunned stares from the others as it dawned on them. Buffy blinked, Angel's teasing fingers suddenly lax on her hips, amazement plummeted into her stomach and she swayed. In a stunned gasp, somewhere between disapproval and amusement she voiced what everyone in the lobby was thinking:
"Faith, is that a ring on your finger…?... Faith!"
If you feel like leaving
Well, I'm not gonna
Beg you to stay
Soon you'll be finding
You can run
You can hide
But you can't escape my love
- Escape, Enrique Iglesias
The End.