46

Mounting Tension

Spike was having what seemed to be becoming his habitual chat with Oz, before he had his turn at the kids.

"Would you believe that they actually suckered me with the 'look over there' gag?" Oz shook his head. "It's hard to pin them down. One minute they're acting their age..,"

"And the next, they're acting yours," Spike finished. He looked over his offspring critically. "Took a bit of sun, did they?"

"That was what the whole thing was about," Oz explained. "They were having a good time and didn't want to stop."

Spike grinned at the thought of the kids putting one over on Oz, at least, this time, when it was fairly innocuous. "Told Rose they were gonna be smart," he said, then his expression sobered. "Didn't realize how much more work smart kids would be."

"True," Oz agreed. "But on the other hand, there's never a dull moment." He saw that Rose was wrapping things up with the kids, and that was his cue. "See you tomorrow."

Spike noticed a certain hesitation when the twins rushed him, but they waited till they had him pinned to the floor before letting him in on things.

"What's wrong with mummy?" Alaric hissed, eyes darting from his father to the kitchen entrance.

"Nothing that I'm aware of," Spike replied with a puzzled frown. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Her head is..," Ariel groped a bit, trying to find a way to put it. "It's like it's full of clouds."

"We can't see what she's thinking," his son clarified it for him.

"The last time Lorne couldn't read her," Spike mused, sitting up. "Was when she was pregnant with you two. You don't suppose..,"

"There's no one else in there, daddy," Ariel said solemnly around the finger she had stuck in her mouth. Spike gently pulled it out.

"It's just mummy in there," Alaric added. "But we can't find her."

"It's like she's lost in there," Ariel agreed. "Fix it, daddy?"

Spike was floored by that one. Fixing a broken toy was one thing. But it amazed him that they had so much faith in him that they thought he could fix something of this magnitude. "She seems all right to me," Spike murmured. "She isn't acting strange."

"No," Alaric conceded. "She's not acting strange. But we can't see her in there."

"Please, daddy?" Ariel fixed pleading eyes on him. "Bring mummy back."

&&&&&&&

"Don't you ever leave the office at quitting time?" Wesley asked, as he bumped into Gunn on his way out.

"Look who's talking," Gunn remarked with a grin. "Seems to me that you're usually about the last to leave. Except maybe for Angel." He saw a sudden frown cross the researcher's face. "Something wrong?"

"I don't know as I'd say wrong, yet," Wes admitted. "But it's strange. Gunn, have you ever known Rose to tell a lie?"

Gunn's eyes widened. "Not since we found out who, or what, she is," he said reflectively. "Come to that, she didn't even exactly lie about that. She just didn't tell us."

"And yet I got two similar, but different stories from her and Angel about the same thing today," Wesley informed him. "Which leads me to believe that one or both of them is lying. And about a relatively inconsequential matter too. I'm not quite sure what to make of it."

"What happened?" Gunn was positively consumed with curiosity now.

"I found Rose taking Angel a copy of a report that she'd already given him," Wes began the tale. "And she took a considerable amount of time getting it to him in the first place. When I asked her why he needed another copy, she told me that Harmony had spilled Angel's coffee on it. Since I had an appointment to meet with him, I took it with me. When I asked Angel about it, he said he'd spilled blood on it."

"So maybe the story got garbled," Gunn commented. "Are you sure that you're not making a mountain out of a molehill, Wes?"

"I wish I thought so," the Watcher replied. "But what made it even more strange is that when I went into Angel's office, he seemed.., oh, I don't know, disappointed, let down. As if he were expecting someone else."

"Someone else as in Rose?" Gunn suggested. "That can't be right. You've got to be imagining it, because there is no way that the two of them would..,"

"I didn't say that they had," Wesley interrupted. "But I just can't shake the feeling that something is very wrong here."

"Rose looking at anybody other than Blondie Bear for starters," Gunn said. "But I hate to think what would happen if Spike found out that she's been giving Angel the eye."

Wesley stopped and rubbed his eyes, as though by clearing his vision he could clear his thoughts. "I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself, Gunn," he requested. "We really don't know anything for sure. Who knows? Maybe the long hours have got my imagination working overtime."

"I hope you won't take it the wrong way when I say I would like it to be your imagination," Gunn said.

"So would I, Gunn," Wesley replied quietly. "So would I."

&&&&&&

"Come out with me to find a bite to eat?" Drusilla batted her eyes at Val and Den.

"We can't," Den grumbled. "Not as long as we're working at Wolfram and Hart."

"Yeah," Val added. "They check your blood on a regular, and surprise basis to make sure that you're not feeding on humans."

"They're cutting us a little slack since we just started," Den informed her. "But after we've been there a couple of weeks, if we're there that long, if they find out we've been drinking from humans, we're fired."

Val looked at him. "I heard that it was worse than that," he commented. "I heard that if they catch you with human blood in your system, Angel stakes you."

"That sucks," Den remarked. "What in the hell are we supposed to do for dinner then?"

"The city is full of things to eat," Drusilla replied, twirling around and watching her skirt swirl around her ankles. "Dogs and cats and rats. All sorts of things."

"I am not eating rats," Val muttered. "You gotta draw the line somewhere."

&&&&&&&

"You feeling all right, babe?" Spike asked as he snuggled down into bed beside Rose. "You've been awful quiet tonight."

"Why shouldn't I be all right?" Rose returned question for question. "I guess I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."

"You're not keeping things from me again, are you, luv?" Spike tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. It wasn't strictly necessary, he just liked playing with her hair.

"Why would I be keeping anything from you?" Rose cuddled up closer, hoping that he'd forget about playing twenty questions.

"I don't know," Spike replied. "But I would like to know why you've answered all my questions with questions. You haven't told me anything."

"Did it occur to you that maybe it's because there's nothing to tell?" Rose queried. "Oh, that's another question, isn't it?"

Spike sighed, and just held her close. He was beginning to think the kids were on to something, but he couldn't for the unlife of him figure out what. But he had to admit that it did seem more than somewhat odd that the children couldn't read the mind of the one person whom they'd been connected to since they'd been conceived.

&&&&&&

"Good morning, Rose."

Rose started. He'd entered her office so quietly that she hadn't realized that anyone was there until he'd spoken. "Oh, hello, Angel," she stammered. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to thank you for that extra copy of that report yesterday," he replied.

Rose blushed. "That isn't necessary. It is part of my job."

Angel put one hand on her desk and leaned down towards her. "But you're going to accept my thank you anyway, aren't you, Rose?" he said softly. "If you don't, you'll hurt my feelings." His other hand came from around his back and set a bud vase with a single red rose in it on her desk.

Rose found herself incredibly touched by the gesture. "Thank you, Liam," she almost whispered. "It's lovely. But you really didn't have to..,"

"I wanted to," he answered. "I like doing things for you, Rose." He paused for a moment, just to look into her clear, gray eyes. "I like it when you call me Liam. It makes me feel closer to you."

Without conscious thought on her part, Rose's head tilted back, till it was at the same angle as his, leaning towards her. Her eyes were fixed on his, and she seemed to be having a problem with breathing regularly.

Angel moved in even closer. This was wrong, he thought. He shouldn't do this, shouldn't even be thinking of doing this. But somehow, he just couldn't help himself. He bent to kiss her.

When their lips were but a bare whisper away from contact, he abruptly pulled away and stood up. "Someone's coming," he announced.

Rose didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved. She should be glad that it hadn't happened, that she hadn't betrayed Spike like that. But still, she wondered what it would have been like, kissing Angel.

Angel left, and Wesley entered. He noticed the new decoration immediately. He noticed everything.

"Did Angel give you that?" he asked. His brow wrinkled at the effort it took not to out and out frown at her.

Rose nodded. "He said it was to thank me for making him another copy of that report yesterday," she explained. "Did you need something, Wesley?"

"Employee evaluation time again," he replied, putting a stack of papers on her desk. "Sorry, Rose, but I really am busy."

Rose bit back a groan. She remembered what had happened the last time she had done the employee evaluations for the department, and she had no desire to go through that again. But Wesley was still her department head, so unless she was prepared to quit, she had to take whatever he dished out for her. The thought crossed her mind that Angel wouldn't unload the things he didn't want to do on her like this.

"Rose?" Wes snapped his fingers in front of her face, making her jump. "Where did you go off to just now?"

"Wasn't I right here?" Rose asked. She knew what he meant, but he might believe that she'd missed the metaphor. She often did.

The Watcher gave her a calculating look, but forbore further comment. "I'll need those evaluations by the end of next week, Rose," he instructed, and turned for the door.

&&&&&&

The twins were doing it to him again, Oz thought. Sharing their own private conversations and shutting him out. And while they could often be quite serious, given their ages, he thought that he'd never seen them look so.., troubled, before.

He knelt beside them where they were plucking out snatches of tunes on their keyboard in a desultory manner. Definitely a switch from two little people who tackled everything head on.

"Is something wrong?" he asked gently. He had an ever-growing fondness for the precocious pair, and didn't like seeing them so listless.

"Nothing," said Ariel, obviously lying. She kept her eyes riveted on the keyboard.

"We're okay," Alaric added almost tonelessly. He plunked his finger down on a random key.

Oz already knew the futility of trying to pry anything out of them they didn't want to divulge. He found himself wishing that he could make right whatever was wrong with them.

"Thank you, Oz," Ariel murmured. "But if daddy can't fix it, we don't think you can."

"What about your mother?" Oz asked, then nearly kicked himself as the pieces fell into place.

The twins looked up at him, with identical helpless, hopeless looks on their faces.

Then, they began to cry.

&&&&&

"What is the matter with you, you candy-assed git?" Spike growled, as his staff hit the back of Angel's knees and toppled him on his backside. "Last coupla days you've been nothing. I might as well work out with a human."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Spike," Angel shot back tersely. "I have a lot of responsibilities, a lot on my mind. I'm sorry, but you don't happen to be the center of the universe."

"You're sorry all right," Spike agreed. "But you've had things on your mind, such as it is, before. Didn't stop you from making me work to kick your ass."

"You mean it didn't stop me from kicking your ass," Angel corrected. He rushed Spike, staff whirling, but his grandchilde neatly parried every move he made.

"See?" Spike said. "Right now, I reckon that the kids could take you on and mop the floor with you." He toppled Angel off his feet again, then threw his staff aside in disgust. "I've got better things to do with my time."

Something inside Angel seemed to snap. The irritation that Spike almost invariably seemed to incite in him. The myriad times that he'd embarrassed Rose. The fact that Rose had to put up with the supercilious little jerk. It all came to the fore, and with Angelus howling in his head, he rushed at Spike's unprotected back.