151

Doing Things Right

Spike had joined Rose on the sofa, and was just holding her, stroking her hair and trying to be a comfort to her. She was shaken from her conversation with Angelus, added to which, she was still in a weakened state from the blood loss. He took her right hand in his and saw her wince slightly, and then it suddenly dawned on him that she wasn't wearing the brace. Closer inspection showed that her hand was still swollen and sore looking.

"What happened to your brace, luv?" He couldn't recall seeing it since the first night she'd had it. But he'd been so preoccupied with other things that it had slipped his notice.

"I took it off," Rose admitted in a small voice. She was surprised that he was bringing it up now. She'd thought that if he hadn't taken note of it right away, he wouldn't. "It was awkward and uncomfortable and..,"

"You're going to tell me where it is so I can put it back on you," Spike interrupted. "You don't heal as fast as I do, babe. If you don't wear that, it could heal so badly that your hand would never be right again. Is that what you want?"

"No," Rose answered, feeling the guilt creep up over her once again. Couldn't she do anything right? "I'm sorry, love."

"If it was anyone else, you'd be tearing a strip out of them for not taking care of themselves," Spike pointed out. It didn't stop him from cuddling her close, however. "I just don't understand how you can't see it when you're the one that needs taking care of."

Rose wasn't sure of the answer to that one herself. Maybe it had to do with what she had been. She was still relatively new to having a body that needed to be attended to. While she'd adapted to the more routine aspects of that, the out of the ordinary seemed to be more than she could or would deal with. "It's in my nightstand," she said meekly. "I'll go get it."

Spike followed her, and it was just as well that he did, because it was so complex that it took both of them to figure out how to get it back on. "Don't know why they didn't just put a proper cast on it," Spike remarked. "And that, you wouldn't be able to take off, pet."

"It's supposed to be better than a cast," Rose replied. Much though she hated to admit it, the clumsy thing did seem to make her hand feel a little better, a little less painful. "I think it's experimental."

"And they decided to use you as a lab rat?" Spike's voice was beginning to get a little heated. "Did they even ask your permission? Or did they just go ahead and do as they pleased?"

"They asked," Rose mumbled, starting to flush. "I thought this would be easier to deal with. I'm sorry I took it off, darling. It won't happen again."

"It better not," Spike replied, feeling his anger ebb away. He took her in his arms. "You know I wouldn't get so frustrated with you if I didn't care about you, don't you sweetheart?"

"I know," Rose answered, snuggling into him. Having Spike irritated with her was better than not having him at all. She couldn't imagine life without him. After all, he was the whole reason she had a life.

"And the next time Angelus calls," Spike went on. "You hang up directly, got that? I don't want you even having to listen to him. You may think it's just words, pet, but it was just words that turned Dru into the basket case she is."

"But I know what he is and what he can do," Rose pointed out. "Drusilla didn't have that, didn't know to be on her guard, or what a liar he is. I thought that if I talked to him, I might find something out. Something we could use to get his soul back."

"Did you?" Spike was curious despite himself.

Rose shook her head. "All I know is that he's got his soul locked away somewhere," she replied. "And knowing that he already had possession of it, it wouldn't have taken that much effort to work that out. So I guess I really didn't find out anything."

"But you tried," Spike consoled her. He gave her a kiss. "Have I told you that you are the most amazing woman I've ever met?"

&&&&&&&

Angelus was surprised to hear a knock on the door. He couldn't imagine who would be coming for a visit. He was a little taken aback to see Eve.

"If you want to pump me for information for the senior partners," he warned her. "It's the weekend, and I'm not working."

"I'm not working either," Eve replied. "May I come in?" She was acting like the scene of the other day had never happened.

"So what does bring you here?" Angelus asked suspiciously. "Surely you're not here to apologize."

Eve shook her head. "Apologizing isn't my style," she replied. "Besides, I don't think you're exactly the forgiving type."

Angelus grinned. "I'll leave that to soul boy," he commented. He gave Eve another quizzical look. "It would seem that the field is narrowing down considerably. You're not here for the senior partners, you're not here to apologize, I really doubt that you're here for a game of chess, so it must be for sex."

"I'm bored," Eve drawled. She pushed past him and undulated by, giving him the full show. "And since your new toy is currently unavailable, I thought that maybe we could be bored together."

"What makes you think I'd be interested?" Admittedly, it was something, or someone, to do, but he wasn't going to be easy.

"Does it always have to be a game with you?" Eve snapped. "And you had the nerve to call me a tease." She started back the way she had come, but he blocked her path.

"If you didn't know that, then you haven't done your homework," Angelus replied. "Playing games is what I do. What game are you playing, Eve?" He hooked his index finger in the collar of her dress and pulled her closer. "What kind of game do you want to play?"

"Whatever kind of game it takes to get in on your plans for them." She hated the breathless way it came out.

He bent down and kissed her. At first, it was almost, sweet, gentle. Then, he sank his teeth into her bottom lip.

Eve let out a yelp of pain and raised her hand to her mouth. "You bit me, you bastard." When he just stood there, with that mocking, half-smile on his face, she took her hand away and realized that there was blood on it. Now, she could taste the blood in her mouth, and she started to smile, and it was not a pretty sight. "Kiss me now," she suggested.

&&&&&&

The ambulance's flashing lights faded into the distance. All had been chaos for a while. Oz hadn't fully realized it, but as he had run to Giles' quarters, he'd been shouting out the news to whoever was there to listen. Help had been summoned immediately and had arrived apace. By the time he'd gotten to the fallen Watcher, he'd been joined by others, one of whom immediately began performing CPR on him.

The kids had been completely silent the whole time, both audibly and mentally. At first, no one had really noticed, because their full attention had been focused on Giles. But now that Giles was on his way to the hospital, Oz had the leisure to pay attention to them, and to his astonishment, he could swear that they looked guilty. He decided that it was a subject that should be pursued, but not in a semi-public place. Wordlessly, he held out his hands, and the twins took them, and he led them back to their rooms.

"You want to tell me what happened?" It probably could have been put a little better, but his brain was half-drowned from the adrenalin rush.

"We were just playing," Alaric said defensively. But he still had a haunted look in his clear, blue eyes. "He yelled at us."

"I called him a mean, old man," Ariel said, her eyes filling up with tears. "And he fell down."

Now Oz could see the full picture. "Do you think you made it happen?" he asked softly. "He's not a young man, and these things just happen sometimes. It might have happened even if you weren't there."

"Is he going to die?" Despite his best efforts, Alaric's lip was beginning to quiver. Giles hadn't yet made it to the top of their hit parade, but they didn't actively wish him ill.

Oz wished he could tell them what they wanted to hear, which was that Giles would be okay, but he couldn't lie to them. And even if he could, he couldn't make it stick. "I don't know," he admitted. "I hope not." He tried to think of some way to cheer them up, even just the smallest bit. "You guys did absolutely the right thing, though," he said. "You called for help as soon as you knew that something was wrong."

"You're not just saying that, are you?" Ariel asked, desperately wanting to believe it. She sniffled, then wiped her nose on her sleeve.

Oz fought back a smile at that one. Sometimes even he tended to forget they were just kids. They had a very advanced vocabulary, and they were extremely intelligent, but when it came right down to it, they were still kids. He sat down, and patted his lap. "Come here, guys," he directed. The twins climbed up onto his lap, and he put his arms around them. "Have I ever, ever lied to you? Or even tried to?"

"No," Alaric muttered. His tough guy act was starting to erode, and he let his head rest on Oz' shoulder.

"Then you'll believe me when I say that I'm very proud of both of you," Oz declared quietly. "You called for help right away, and stayed out of everyone's way while they did what they had to. There are a lot of adults that wouldn't do that good. And that's the god's honest truth." He looked down at them and realized that he'd never loved anyone quite the way he did these two. Then, he stopped just looking and started noticing. "Ariel, please don't wipe your nose on my shirt."

&&&&&&&

First thing Monday morning, Travers entered Stenslow's office with a bulky file in his hands.

"What's that?" Stenslow barked. He hoped it was good news. He could use some. He still didn't have the faintest notion as to whether or not his talk with Angelus had been in any way productive. All he could do was hope.

"The dossier you requested on Ms. Power's vampire lover," Travers replied. He started to set the folder on Stenslow's desk.

"I haven't got time to read all that crap," Stenslow snapped. "Give me the short version."

"He currently goes by the pseudonym of Spike," Travers began. "But he was once known as William the Bloody. He was turned circa 1880 by Drusilla."

Mention of Dru's name was enough to make Stenslow go a little pale. While he was hoping for things, he hoped that Angelus hadn't been lying to him when he'd said that Drusilla was no longer in the country. "The same Drusilla that was here?" he inquired. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer to that one.

"Indeed, sir," Travers replied calmly. Nothing ever seemed to really ruffle his feathers. "Apparently Drusilla and Spike were lovers for something around one hundred years. There is a footnote that states that Drusilla was turned by Angelus."

"Why am I not surprised?" Stenslow asked rhetorically. "How dangerous is this Spike?"

"Apparently he acquired the name of Spike from his habit of torturing his victims with railroad spikes," Travers remarked. He could have been commenting on the weather for all the emotion that was in his voice. "But for the last several years, he's been working for Wolfram and Hart under Angel. There is another footnote that suggests that even though they have spent considerable time together, there is a certain amount of rivalry between the two."

"I still can't see a vampire settling down with a human girl and raising a family," Stenslow mused. "Even supposing that he could get her pregnant in the first place." Time enough to sort that out later. Then, a shaft of light penetrated the gloom of some of his confusion. "Rivalry, of course, that's why Angelus is panting after Ms. Powers."

"Sir?" Travers had been standing patiently by, waiting to see if Stenslow required further information. He hadn't really been listening to him thinking out loud.

"Tell our operative that getting our hands on Rose Powers has become top priority," Stenslow ordered. "Here's our break, Travers. Angelus should cooperate with us in hopes of getting his hands on the lady. And the others will be afraid to touch us for fear of what we can do to her." He smiled in self-congratulation. For the first time in several days, he felt positively vampire-proof.

&&&&&&&

"I don't want you going to work, luv," Spike protested as Rose began getting dressed Monday morning. "You're still weak, you have that brace to deal with, and it's just not bloody safe."

"And I'm supposed to cower in here while everyone else puts themselves in harm's way?" Rose demanded. "Spike, darling, I know you worry about me because you love me, and I love you for it. But I need to do this."

Spike sighed. He'd pretty much seen this coming, but he still had to give it a try. "You wearing your cross?" he asked. If she was going to insist on this, and she obviously was, then he was damn well going to make sure that she was a safe as he possibly could.

Rose was wearing a shirt with a cowled top. It hid most of the hideous scar on her neck. "It's under my shirt," she replied. "I just thought..,"

"No," Spike interrupted. "You didn't. You wear that on the outside of your clothes. It's no bloody protection at all if it isn't out there where the ponce can see it."

With a bit of a struggle, Rose managed to fish the cross out and let it dangle on the folds of material. It was rather conspicuous that way. But that was how Spike wanted it. "You got your trank gun?" She'd fallen down twice on that score now. Spike suspected it was some kind of mental block stemming from the only other time she'd fired a gun.

"Where am I going to put it?" Rose asked. She hadn't thought to dress for toting a gun around.

Spike looked her over speculatively. The skirt was full enough, but lacked pockets. The recently purchased briefcase wouldn't do, because she wouldn't be able to get to it in time. And aside from the voluminous collar, the blouse fit her like a second skin. If the situation weren't so serious, he'd probably have stood there for quite some time, just looking at her. He liked looking at her. "Doesn't that skirt have a little jacket that goes with it?" he inquired. He seemed to recall that it did. And the jacket had pockets.

"Yes," Rose answered. "I'm planning on wearing it, too. It will hide the bruises on my arm." Half of her arm was black and blue. If Angelus had another go at her, she was going to have to learn to do everything left-handed.

"Put the gun in the jacket pocket," Spike ordered. "And don't take it off for anything. I don't care if you spill your whole lunch on it, you keep it on and keep that gun with you."

As it turned out, that particular directive wasn't even necessary. The sleeves of the jacket were snug, and he had to help her into it to get it over the brace on her hand. She'd never be able to take it off on her own unless she removed the brace first. And she'd promised not to do that.

&&&&&&

Havoc's operative watched Spike escort Rose to Wesley's office. He'd been keeping a good eye on it. And one thing that he had noticed was that even though from what information he could pick up, none of the Angel I. team were ever supposed to be left alone, there were gaps. Their problem rose from the fact that they were different genders, but both subject to the calls of nature. Sooner or later, one or the other would have to answer that call, and then Rose Powers would be alone. It likely wouldn't be more than a few minutes, but that was all he needed.