41

You Made Me Love You

Harmony stared at Rose's back as she walked into Angel's office. She hadn't even said hello or asked if Angel was busy, and that wasn't like her at all. Oh well, thought Harmony, maybe she was just worried about Drusilla being in town.

Angel didn't lift his head from his paperwork when someone entered his office unannounced, and Rose took a moment just to study him. She'd never before realized that he was a very attractive man. She gave herself a mental shake and approached the desk.

"Here is the department's target report that you wanted, Angel," she said, handing him the papers.

Angel took the report, and his hand brushed against hers, and he found himself lingering over the slight contact. What the hell was wrong with him? It wasn't like Rose looked on him as anything other than a friend. Or that he would want to break up her relationship with Spike. But she did look extraordinarily pretty today. He wondered that he'd never noticed how pretty she was. Or how good she smelled. He looked and saw that the report was being crumpled up, and that he was still holding her hand. How had that happened?

Rose flushed, and pulled her hand away, but not quickly. Almost reluctantly, as if she was as loathe to break the contact as he was.

"How are the kids?" he asked, making small talk just to keep her in his office a few more minutes.

"The what?" Rose seemed to be a million miles away. "Oh, the children. They're fine." She smiled at him, but it was different, somehow. Less the friendly expression he usually got from her. More like the way she smiled at Spike.

"And you're adjusting to being back at work okay?" He couldn't explain it, but he felt a pang at the thought of her leaving his office.

"Yes, it's almost like I was never gone." Rose found herself gazing into his eyes, and for no reason that she could fathom, she suddenly wondered what it would be like to kiss him.

And Angel, looking into her eyes was wondering the same thing.

&&&&&&

"You have got to be kidding me," Spike said in disgust. He was checking out the new arrivals. "How long has it been since you were turned?"

"Sometime in the 60's or 70's," Val said. "I think. I'm not sure. I was pretty stoned most of the time."

"About the same time," Den replied. "I think it was at Woodstock."

"Don't remember seeing you there," Spike remarked. "Come to that, I don't remember too much after I bit that flower person. Except watching my hand move." He gave himself a quick mental dressing down for allowing himself to be dragged down memory lane. Time to get back to business. "So in thirty or forty years give or take, you haven't learned jack shit about fighting?"

"Didn't really seem to need it," Val muttered. "Seeing how much stronger we are than humans."

"If you'd come up against one that really knew how to fight," Spike snapped. "You'd probably be dust. A Slayer wouldn't even have to work up a sweat to stake your sorry asses."

"We get by," Den grumbled. "We're still here, aren't we?"

"Well getting by isn't going to cut it anymore," Spike told them. "You two have got a lot to learn." He nodded to one of his men. "Rogers. Show this stupid git how it's done."

"You're going to have me fight a human?" Den asked in disbelief. "I'll mop the floor with him."

"I'm not wasting my time on you," Spike declared. "Go on, take a shot at him."

Den took a swing at Rogers, who had been patiently standing by. And abruptly found himself staring at the ceiling.

"See what I mean about knowing what you're doing?" Spike asked. "Now the two of you are going to start listening to some humans, because these guys are going to train you. And if you get out of line just once, I'll dust you myself."

Den and Val looked at each other. This certainly wasn't anything like they'd expected. They hoped that whatever Drusilla wanted them here for, it wouldn't last long. How did they get caught up in this mess anyway?

&&&&&

"Five more minutes, Oz, please?" Ariel batted her eyelashes at him, and gave him her sweetest baby smile.

"Yeah, Oz, can we?" Alaric smiled too, exuding childlike innocence.

But Oz noticed the pink tinges their faces were taking on despite the shade and the heavy-duty sunblock. "No dice, guys," he replied. "Sorry, but you're starting to show the sun. If I let you get burned, your folks are going to be ticked."

"But we wanted to swing some more." Both twins were pouting.

"Some other time," Oz said firmly. "You've been out enough for one day." He started herding them to the car.

"Look there," Ariel squealed, pointing.

Oz looked in the direction she was indicating, but couldn't figure out what she was trying to draw his attention to. While his concentration was elsewhere, the twins made a break for it and headed back towards the swings.

Oz didn't have very long legs, but they were still a lot longer than Alaric and Ariel's, and he caught them easily. This time, he picked them up and carried the protesting children back to the car.

&&&&&

Rose drifted back into her office, lost in a world of her own. Angel had told her that she looked pretty before, but never quite in the same tones he had in his office just now. After that remark, the silence had hung, heavy and awkward for a while, until Harmony informed him that he had an important phone call.

"Where have you been, Rose?" Wesley looked like he'd been pacing the floors of her office, which indeed he had been doing. "You've been gone over twenty minutes."

"Sorry," Rose apologized absently. "I had to take a report to Angel's office." She didn't elaborate, she didn't think Wes would require an explanation. She was wrong.

"That shouldn't have taken twenty minutes," Wesley commented. "And that's only twenty minutes that I know about, that I've been here in your office waiting for you."

"We just got to talking," Rose mumbled. "About the children and things. I guess that we didn't notice the time. I won't let it happen again."

The Watcher eyed her curiously. This was extremely atypical behavior for Rose. But he couldn't really see that there was anything he could do about it. He'd seldom seen her so preoccupied. Maybe the whole business with Drusilla was weighing on her mind more than she cared to admit. "I just came in to tell you that I checked to see if you'd left your pen in my office when you were in there yesterday," he said mildly. "But I didn't come across it. Then, I got a little worried when you were gone so long."

"I really am sorry, Wesley." This time, the apology sounded sincere. "Would you like me to let you know when I leave the office?"

"I don't believe that will be necessary," he replied. "But do try not to be gone for so long at a time again, Rose."

&&&&&&

Josh looked Val right in the eye and socked him in the gut. The vampire didn't even flinch.

"Little man," Val said. "You are going to get hurt."

"Give it your best shot then," Josh taunted him. A couple of years of dealing with Spike, and he wasn't too afraid of any vampires anymore. Except Spike. He still had the occasional nightmare.

"You asked for it." Val took his time, making a show of doubling up his fist. And was shocked beyond reacting when Josh grabbed his hand and flipped him.

"What'd you do that for?" Val whined. This wasn't any fun at all. Drusilla had better make it worth their while. Then he thought about Harmony and saw something else that might make it worth while. She was a ditz, but she was hot.

"I can move faster than that," Josh scoffed. "You can't take all day. The idea is to surprise the other guy before he can figure out what to do."

Val got to his feet. "You been here long?" he asked curiously.

"Couple years or so," Josh replied. "Ever since I tried to snatch the boss' girlfriend."

Val's mouth fell open. "You did what?" Maybe there was more to this human than met the eye. He'd sure never try to put the grab on Rose. Not at the risk of pissing Spike off.

Josh shrugged. "Paid job. Except the bitch never did pay me." He rubbed his chin. "Angel gave me a choice of working here, or pushing up daisies. I figured that here was the better gig." He glanced towards the office, whither Spike had gone. "I still have nightmares sometimes," he confessed. "I'll never forget what Spike looked like when he wondered what my blood would taste like."

"I'm surprised he didn't bleed you on the spot," Val remarked.

Josh looked at the office door again. "Seeing how crazy he is about Rose," he remarked. "So am I."

&&&&&&&

Angel was sitting at his desk, not really doing anything, although the paperwork beckoned insistently. His mind wandered, and when he really looked down at what he was doing, he realized that he doodled a thumbnail sketch of Rose on the report that she'd given him. And he would have to have been holding a pen, rather than a pencil. It wasn't going to come off. He couldn't very well have it around like that. Well, it was kind of crumpled up too. Best to replace it. He picked up the phone.

&&&&&&

"Harm's two little friends started working here today," Spike announced as Angel walked in for their daily sparring bout.

"You hired them?" Angel was shocked. Somehow the idea of Spike hiring the help just didn't sit right.

"On a trial basis," Spike elaborated. "Couldn't very well give them the go ahead without them singing for Lorne." He whipped his t-shirt over his head. "You ready to get your ass kicked?"

Angel shucked his shirt as well. "Bare hands today?" he asked. "And don't bet on it being me who gets his ass kicked."

"I still owe you for that slobbering poet remark," Spike replied. "And in front of Rose, too, you big, dumb git. I'm going to kick you into next week."

Angel's mind started wandering at the mention of Rose, and it didn't come back home where it belonged until Spike planted a roundhouse in his gut.

"You're off your game today," Spike commented. "Or is it just the fear you naturally ought to feel, knowing that the Big Bad is going to have you for lunch?"

The blow had brought Angel back to reality. "We'll see who has whom for lunch," he said with a grin. "Time to take your medicine, Spike."

Spike grinned back. "See if you can make me."

&&&&&&

"How did you enjoy working with Spike, my lads?" Drusilla asked as Val and Den dragged into the lair.

They flopped down on their respective resting places.

"I think I've got a couple of cracked ribs," Val moaned.

"I am covered with bruises," Den added. "How long do you think we're going to have to do this, Drusilla?"

"Not long," Dru replied vaguely. "But I need you to keep a sharp eye on Spike. You'll know when something starts going wrong. When the relationship starts falling apart, Spike will start falling apart." Delusional though she was, Drusilla was also quite perceptive.

"Can't be too soon for me," Den said with a groan. "I don't know how long I can take this kind of punishment."

"Poor babies," Drusilla cooed. "Maybe a little company will make you feel all better."

Den and Val's eyes opened wide. Was Drusilla saying what they thought she was saying? They hadn't even thought they had a chance with her. But their ardor cooled considerably when she tucked a dolly into bed with each of them.

"There," Drusilla said with satisfaction. "They'll take good care of my boys, won't you my darlings?"

&&&&&&

Wesley saw Rose emerging from her office with some papers in her hands.

"Where are you off to now, Rose?" he asked.

"Oh." Rose took a step back, startled. "The target report for Angel. I have to take him a new copy." She thought of a plausible excuse. "Something got spilled on it." For some reason, she decided to elaborate on the lie. "I think he said something about Harmony spilling his coffee all over it."

"I see." Wesley didn't recall ever seeing Rose so jumpy, even when she'd been pregnant and had heaven only knew how many demons after her to prevent the birth of her children. "I'm headed that way myself," he remarked. "Why don't I just take it to Angel myself and save you the trip?"

"I don't mind, really." Rose felt a brief surge of panic. Was he going to try to stop her from seeing Angel? Why would he do that?

"Well, there's no sense in both of us making the trip," Wes pointed out sensibly. "And since I have to go that way anyway, I'll take it."

Rose handed him the report without further protest, and went back into her office, feeling strangely bereft.

&&&&&&

This time, when he heard the door to his office open, Angel's head popped up from the report he was looking at without seeing. "Hi.., Wesley." In two words, he went from eager anticipation to weak disappointment.

"We did have an appointment," Wes pointed out. "Here's your new copy of the report that got ruined. What exactly got spilled on it?"

"Um.., blood," Angel lied. "I knocked it over, made a mess of everything."

Wesley shuffled the rest of the papers in his hands, totally perplexed. Angel didn't lie over such trivial matters, and he simply couldn't imagine Rose lying at all. But one or both of them were lying to him now, and he couldn't think of a good reason why. Or indeed any reason at all.