100

Departures

Spike decided to drop by research just to let Rose know that her demon friend was safe. He expected to see what he'd seen before, the Watcher with a book, and Rose at the computer. But when he entered the office, not only did he see that they'd switched jobs, but he immediately noticed the sling and brace arrangement on Rose.

"What did you do to yourself, luv?" He was beside her, examining every detail as if he were a doctor.

Before Rose could reply, and quite possibly gloss things over, Wesley answered for her. "Apparently she hit Angelus hard enough to cause some hairline fractures in some of the more delicate bones of her hand. It's also quite badly bruised."

Spike didn't like that thought of Rose being hurt, really he didn't, but it also did his soul good to hear that she'd laid into the ponce with such force. "That's my girl," he said approvingly, stroking her cheek. "Bet you loosened a few of the stupid git's teeth."

"You're proud of me?" Rose looked up at him as if it were a completely foreign concept to her. Which it shouldn't be, Spike thought. He was always proud of her.

"Of course I'm proud of you, you silly, little nit," he replied fondly. "Haven't I told you that you're the most amazing woman I've ever met?"

&&&&&&&

Angelus was prowling the building. He'd had his fill of research for the moment, and he needed a release for the pent-up energy. Dru, he had placed aboard one of Wolfram and Hart's private jets, and given the pilot orders to take her wherever she wanted to go. Eve, he had sent away with a flea in her ear, telling her not to come to his office again unless sent for. And his soul was packed back in its protective box and locked in the bottom drawer of his desk.

Now, though, he was looking for something to do, some way to amuse himself, someone to irritate.

The glances he'd sneaked into various places, i.e. the offices of Angel's personal little clique, the trusted few, showed that pretty much everyone was doubling up with someone else. He considered the possibilities presented by Fred. She had to be one of the more vulnerable members of the crew, having only Val as her body guard.

But he'd given Fred a pass. He had no doubt that she could and possibly already had whipped up some very nasty surprises for him in that high-tech lab of hers.

Gunn and Lorne didn't particularly interest him either.

Honesty, something he generally avoided like the plague, compelled him to admit that what would really suit his whims at the moment, was tormenting Rose. But there were downsides to that, too. He'd really been looking forward to the horrified expression she'd have when he threw the Q'xlzr's ears on the desk in front of her. Thanks to Spike, he wouldn't have that particular pleasure. And he wasn't quite ready for the all out confrontation that would ensue when he was ready to spirit Rose off to turn her. Oh yes, he still fully intended to do that. He'd put considerable thought into the matter, and had decided that both she and Spike ought to survive it. After a fashion. And the thought of what it would do to Spike to have his live-in turned into an evil vampire was enough to send him off in a fit of laughter. The thought of what he would do to her while he was turning her just brought an evil smile to his face.

He was just entering the research department when he saw Spike emerging from Wesley's office. The office where Rose happened to be as well. Here at least, was the chance to get a few shots in.

"Hey, Spike." He waited until Spike had turned around to face him. "The company isn't paying you to have a nooner with your piece of ass."

Instead of the explosion he expected, Spike laughed at him. "Don't much fancy it with the Watcher.., watching," he drawled. "And best you remember that she is my piece of ass."

Angelus shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Whatever happened to you, Spike?" he asked sadly. "Has getting housebroken taken away your balls?"

"Nice try," Spike remarked. "Maybe having responsibilities has given me a bit of perspective. Like realizing that anything a git like you has to say isn't worth getting worked up over."

"You really believe that don't you?" Angelus shook his head again. "She's got you totally pussy-whipped, hasn't she? Whatever happened to the Big Bad?"

"You'll find out soon enough if you don't back off from her," Spike warned. Then, a grin split his face. "Not that she didn't do all right herself, this morning." The grin was replaced by a frown. "Broke a couple of bones in her hand on your hard head, she did."

"She what?" Angelus hadn't noticed anything when he'd gone in to deliver his ultimatum. Except for Wesley holding Rose's hand.., ah ha, that explained that.

"You heard me," Spike replied. "Got her arm in a sling and everything. For your sake, you better not be planning on going in there to harass her some more. Else you'n me are going to have words, and then a bit."

"I don't have anything to say to your main squeeze right now," Angelus lied. "But as of tomorrow, our sparring sessions are reinstated."

"The hell they are," Spike argued. "That was on me own time, and only because you were the only person in the place that could come close to giving me a run for my money. But I'll be buggered if I'm going to help you sharpen your pathetic little fighting skills."

"Look at it this way, Spike," Angelus said. "If I'm in the practice room, kicking the crap out of you, then I won't be 'harassing' Rose. Your call."

Spike mulled it over for a few moments. At least, it would be one part of the day when they knew where Angelus was and what he was up to. "All right," he growled, grudgingly. "Tomorrow, then."

&&&&&&

Rose was silent on the way to Oz'. Spike let it be, for a while. He knew she was dreading saying good-bye to the kids, come to that, so was he. But it wouldn't be much of a leave taking if she was going to be as broody as.., if she was going to be all broody.

"You okay, babe?" A rhetorical question, really. He knew she wasn't okay. But he did want to get her talking.

"How can you be so calm?" It was said quietly, without the slightest hint of accusation. More like she wanted his secret, some magic word that would enable her to accept it too.

"I'm crying on the inside, luv, just like you are," Spike confessed. "But if an hour or two is all we're going to have with them for who knows how long, then we're just going to have to put that aside. You don't want to be upsetting them too, do you?"

"No," Rose admitted. "But I've never been apart from them. Not like this. And now, they're going to be so far away."

"And we'll phone them every week and write in between," Spike promised. "Not to mention which, we're going to bust ass to get my poncey grandsire back to his broody, soul-filled self so we can bring them back home."

"When you put it like that, it doesn't sound so bad," Rose remarked. "But it's going to be awful, isn't it."

Spike sighed. He'd tried, but he really couldn't argue with it. It was going to be absolutely bloody awful.

&&&&&&&

"How did your day go, darling?" Wesley asked, as he and Fred headed for home.

Fred shrugged. "Aside from the boss being evil," she said. "About the same as always. Angelus did stick his head in the door once. He didn't say anything though. Almost like he was just checking up on us. Making sure that we were still there."

"Pity he couldn't have confined himself to that in my department," Wesley remarked. "I'd really like to know what it was that he said to Rose."

"Oh?" Fred prompted. Without actually saying anything, he'd managed to pique her curiosity.

"All I know, is that he said he was going to kill the Q'xlzr demon unless Rose agreed to something," Wesley replied. "The rest he whispered in her ear. But whatever it was, it was enough to make Rose slap him hard enough to break a couple of bones in her hand."

"Good for her," Fred approved. Then, she qualified it. "Well, except the part with the broken bones. But does that mean he killed the Q'xlzr?"

Wesley shook his head. "Spike went and headed the Q'xlzr off before it met with Angelus," he informed her. "Angelus never even saw it."

"Has research found anything that will put his soul back?" Fred asked. "Because I'm rolling snake eyes in R&D."

"We've found a couple of possible spells," Wes admitted. "But we'd have to have his soul first. And we haven't the faintest clue where to start looking for it."

&&&&&&&

The car wove in an out of traffic, but at a fairly sedate pace. Spike's driving style had toned down considerably in the past six plus years. Oz was riding shotgun, and Rose was in the back, sandwiched between the kids with an arm around each. The twins were chattering up a blue streak, but they were doing it while cuddled up against their mother. Rose was putting a brave face on, although he was sure that it wasn't fooling the twins for a minute. But they were all determined to make what they could of their brief time together.

"What happened to Rose's hand?" Oz asked quietly.

"Put a bright, red handmark on Angelus' face," Spike replied, just as quietly, for form's sake more than anything. The twins had probably pulled the whole thing out of their minds the minute they saw Rose. "Couple of hairline fractures." He glanced in the rearview mirror, not at the traffic behind them, but at the occupants of the back seat. He stopped himself just before pointing out to Rose that her hand was supposed to be in that sling. Time enough for that later. God only knew when she'd get a chance to cuddle on the kids again.

&&&&&&&

Angelus was prowling around the building again, hours later, when Spike and Rose returned. He wondered what was going on. He couldn't see them having a fun night out during the week. Especially when everything in the office was turned topsy-turvy, thanks to him. They must have been visiting the rug-rats. But the kids weren't with them. Now that he was no longer in the closet, as it were, it might be the right time to go on a little fishing expedition and see if he could find out where the little knee-biters were. He didn't have to steer clear of them now, since everyone knew he was Angelus. A pair of baby vamps. There were possibilities there, too. Like teaching them how to use those little fangs. He almost laughed out loud. A vampire mentor? That was rich.

"Well, if it isn't the lovebirds," he said, stepping out of the shadows. "Where've ya been, kids? Checking up on the brats? Now that you've got me uninvited to your place, I'm surprised you didn't bring them back with you."

"We don't want you anywhere near them," Spike said flatly. "Bad enough they already looked into your diseased mind. By the way, how's Dru? And where is she?"

"Dru is fine, hot as ever." Angelus threw the barb in, but he really didn't expect Spike to react to it. At least, not in front of Rose. "As to where she is, I couldn't tell you. She ran an errand for me, then I had the jet take her wherever she wanted to go. I didn't ask where."

"Surprised you let her go," Spike remarked. "Easy as Dru is, that's probably your only chance of getting any."

"I'm doing okay on that score," Angelus remarked with a smirk. "Pun intended. I plan on doing even better." He gave Rose a thorough going over with his eyes. When he reached her eyes, however, he received something of a shock. He expected fear, and instead, he saw anger. No, anger fell way short of the mark. It was more like rage.

She must have made some small movement, or perhaps Spike felt the tension radiating off her. Whichever it was, he reigned her in before she made a mistake.

"Steady on, pet," he warned gently. "Don't let him get under your skin and make you do something stupid." This was more than a little incongruous. Him warning Rose not to do something stupid. Usually it was the other way around. He just hoped that his beloved was a better listener than he was.

Rose was still staring at Angelus with the unblinking stare of a cat. "You are going to get your soul back, Angelus," she hissed. "I'll make sure you get it back if I have to shove it down your lying throat. I might even enjoy it."

Angelus laughed out loud, but there was an uncertain edge to it. With a soul or without, he'd never seen Rose like this. "When did you get so big and brave, Rosie girl?" he asked.

"Since you got between her and the kids," Spike answered for her. "One of the things they tell you is the most dangerous kind of animal. A mother protecting her young." He put his arm around Rose. "If you're quite through wasting our time, we'll be calling it a night."

And Angelus just let them go, watched them walk away. He hadn't made any progress in finding out where the twins were. Time to fight on another front. He wondered how far Rose would go to protect her identity from the senior partners? He'd have to try that one on her tomorrow.