It was nearly six thirty before Angel finally finished up and headed up to
the penthouse. It was nearly silent and Angel found his son reading his
assignment from Wesley on his bed.
"Hey Connor I was thinking it was a easy mac kinda night. How bout you?"
"Whatever."
Angel ignored the sour tone in Connor's voice and went into the kitchen. It had been over two centuries since he had had to make dinner of anything other than a person but Angel had tried hard to make things for Connor. He'd even gone to one of those 24-hour supermarkets with Fred who helped him pick out things that Connor liked. The fridge seemed to have an endless supply on baloney, cherry coke, and frozen waffles. They were the few things that Connor ate when he left the medical ward and they were desperate to get him to keep some weight on. When the bell on the microwave dang Connor emerged from his room and sat down at the counter across from Angel to eat.
"So what are you reading?"
"Some stupid book Wes picked out. He's making me make a list of the words I don't know so we can look them up together. Who cares what a carousel is anyway?"
Angel laughed to himself. "Remind me to take you to see one sometime. How was the frog?"
"Alright I guess. It didn't bleed or scream or anything. It was already dead when I got it."
Angel cringed slightly at that comment. It had never occurred to him that Connor probably thought he got to kill the poor frog first. "I'm going to be across the way having dinner with Spike. I'll go patrolling from there. If you need me you know the number."
"Can I go watch a movie with Gunn? Oh yeah... sorry I forgot about that whole grounded thing."
"I want you to go to bed when you're done studying. You've had a long day and you need your rest. Don't forget about your medication alright?"
"I won't. Kill something for me when you're out."
Angel grabbed two jars of blood from the fridge and left Connor alone with his book. Spike's room was up a floor and over two doors, across from Lorne's. It was an interesting combination of show tunes and punk rock that flooded Angel's ears as he waited in the hallway for Spike to answer his door. After a few moments Spike showed up to his door.
"Come in. Quit standing out there like you're taking me out on a bloody date."
Angel came in quickly and passed over the jars of blood. He sat down on Spike's couch and drank his silently while he watched Spike microwave his. It was an awkward few seconds before either spoke.
"I'm sorry about junior there. I didn't mean to cause a problem between you two. I don't know what kids can and can't do anymore. It was different with Dawn. She was a girl and more like a little sister than a friend. He talks like you old man. It's easy to forget he's just shy of 18."
"You can't forget Spike. In a lot of ways he's more like 8 than 18. He never had a childhood and he's foreign to this world. He can handle himself in a mugging but I wouldn't trust him to cross the street alone. I'm putting a lot of trust in you Spike when I let him do anything with you. I'm holding you just as accountable to me as he is. Do you understand that? I'm putting a lot of faith into you Spike. I've got to go patrol. We can talk about this tomorrow."
Angel stood up to let himself out when Spike shouted after him. "Hey thank you by the way. For not kicking me out that is."
"Don't thank me just yet."
"Hey Connor I was thinking it was a easy mac kinda night. How bout you?"
"Whatever."
Angel ignored the sour tone in Connor's voice and went into the kitchen. It had been over two centuries since he had had to make dinner of anything other than a person but Angel had tried hard to make things for Connor. He'd even gone to one of those 24-hour supermarkets with Fred who helped him pick out things that Connor liked. The fridge seemed to have an endless supply on baloney, cherry coke, and frozen waffles. They were the few things that Connor ate when he left the medical ward and they were desperate to get him to keep some weight on. When the bell on the microwave dang Connor emerged from his room and sat down at the counter across from Angel to eat.
"So what are you reading?"
"Some stupid book Wes picked out. He's making me make a list of the words I don't know so we can look them up together. Who cares what a carousel is anyway?"
Angel laughed to himself. "Remind me to take you to see one sometime. How was the frog?"
"Alright I guess. It didn't bleed or scream or anything. It was already dead when I got it."
Angel cringed slightly at that comment. It had never occurred to him that Connor probably thought he got to kill the poor frog first. "I'm going to be across the way having dinner with Spike. I'll go patrolling from there. If you need me you know the number."
"Can I go watch a movie with Gunn? Oh yeah... sorry I forgot about that whole grounded thing."
"I want you to go to bed when you're done studying. You've had a long day and you need your rest. Don't forget about your medication alright?"
"I won't. Kill something for me when you're out."
Angel grabbed two jars of blood from the fridge and left Connor alone with his book. Spike's room was up a floor and over two doors, across from Lorne's. It was an interesting combination of show tunes and punk rock that flooded Angel's ears as he waited in the hallway for Spike to answer his door. After a few moments Spike showed up to his door.
"Come in. Quit standing out there like you're taking me out on a bloody date."
Angel came in quickly and passed over the jars of blood. He sat down on Spike's couch and drank his silently while he watched Spike microwave his. It was an awkward few seconds before either spoke.
"I'm sorry about junior there. I didn't mean to cause a problem between you two. I don't know what kids can and can't do anymore. It was different with Dawn. She was a girl and more like a little sister than a friend. He talks like you old man. It's easy to forget he's just shy of 18."
"You can't forget Spike. In a lot of ways he's more like 8 than 18. He never had a childhood and he's foreign to this world. He can handle himself in a mugging but I wouldn't trust him to cross the street alone. I'm putting a lot of trust in you Spike when I let him do anything with you. I'm holding you just as accountable to me as he is. Do you understand that? I'm putting a lot of faith into you Spike. I've got to go patrol. We can talk about this tomorrow."
Angel stood up to let himself out when Spike shouted after him. "Hey thank you by the way. For not kicking me out that is."
"Don't thank me just yet."