Chapter Four

Connor didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Gunn's statement. He felt a surge of gratitude, yet also a bit of sorrow; and for the life of him he didn't know why. He just knew at this moment, he too physically and emotionally exhausted to form any sort of rational thought. He gave his parents another squeeze, and, after disentangling himself from them, he walked over to Gunn and shook his hand. To many in the room it looked like some sort of pact had been formed; a bond created. Then, after nodding gratefully to the group, he trudged up the stairs to bed.

Colleen wiped her eyes, and looked at the group. They were an extraordinary bunch. The young man who had stayed with them looked like he had seen better days. When she had asked him what he had done at Wolfram and Hart, he muttered something about being a lawyer. To be honest, she would never have guessed that. He looked way too young, but upon closer inspection she could see that something had aged him more internally. He looked twenty going on forty.

Then, there was the lady with the blue streaked hair. Illyria? Yes, that was her name. She looked young on the outside as well (not as young as Gunn, but young), but when she spoke ...it was like something ...well, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was like she was not comfortable in her own skin. She compared her to the other woman who had appeared in the middle of their living room out of thin air. She looked in her mid- twenties, but had a wisdom that was not akin to her outward appearance. Colleen averted her eyes, when she noticed Layla was looking right at her. No, that wasn't right. She was looking into her. It was a bit unnerving, but comforting at the same time; like she wasn't wasting time with the coating but going for the soft chewy center. Layla gave her a small smile, and went outside. Probably looking for the other man, Spike, she thought.

Now there was another odd character. She remembered him briefly from their LA visit. He had been rather ...what was the word...childish? No, that wasn't right. He had burst in on their meeting with Angel, yelling about blue birds and clipboards. Then had just as quickly left in a huff. Now he was different. She still sensed a bit of turbulence under the surface, but tighter controlled. It was like something made him grow up fast, and forced him into a role he did not want but had no choice in. She sighed. "It's getting rather late, can I offer anyone a place to stay for the night?"

Gunn had already fallen asleep on the couch. Illyria went over, and covered him with a blanket that had been laid on the back of it. She looked back at Colleen.

"That would be acceptable."

Laurence nodded, and looked at his wife. "Well, we have a guest room, and our daughters are out for the night, so their rooms are free too. But since your friend is comfortable on the couch..." He stopped as Illyria reached down, and lifted Gunn off the sofa as if he was nothing.

"Show me this guest room," she stated.

Laurence gulped, but Colleen had seen enough strange things tonight and took no outward notice. She pointed to the stairs. "Follow me," she said, and walked up the stairs. Illyria followed, carefully carrying Gunn. Laurence shook his head in awe, but decided not to try and analyze it. He went to the door to let the other two know what was going on, but saw they were deep into an argument. So he left them a note on the table, and went to bed.

Spike didn't turn when he heard footsteps behind him. He knew who it was, and really at this moment it was the last person he wanted to talk to. He leaned against the truck, and concentrated on his cigarette.

Layla just looked at him for what seemed an eternity. 'Just go away!' he thought to himself. 'Why aren't you going away!?'

"You're angry with me," was all she said. That did it. His head snapped up, and glared at her.

"Of course I am bloody well angry at you! You...You..."

"Put you to sleep?"

"Yes! You messed with...you messed with my head! You bloody well had no right!"

Layla just regarded him coolly. "You had lost control over your emotions. Your anger was not helping anyone, least of all yourself. You needed to take a break, and calm down."

"Well didn't work did it? Do I look bloody well calmed down?"

She didn't say anything, but he could tell she was getting irritated.

"I'll tell you what I am. I'm fucking furious! I get angry, Layla. People get angry. They deal with it. I deal with it mostly by hitting things. But it's my right to deal with it as I choose. You can't put people to sleep because it starts to bother you."

She stiffened, and he knew he had struck a nerve. Realization hit him rather blindingly.

"It bothered you didn't it. It bothered you to see anger."

She turned, and started to walk off. 'She angry,' he thought to himself. He could see it in every part of her body; her back and muscles were tensed, her head held up just a bit too high. He ran up to her, grabbed her arm, and spun her around. Her eyes glared at him; they looked grey in the moonlight. He decided to press his advantage, even though every instinct was telling him to back off.

"You said before, there is no passion up there," he motioned with his head to the sky. "You saw me angry, and couldn't handle it. So you decided to make it go away. You're angry now, and it's eating you up." That did it. She shoved him off, and he went flying across the driveway. She stalked over to him, and lifted him off the ground.

"Temper, temper," he admonished breathlessly. She tensed, blinked, and dropped him to the ground. She stalked off, but halfway to the house she turned and came back.

"Why are you doing this?" it came out somewhere between a growl and a sob. "What is it about you that makes me feel this...furious!" she gasped, grasping on his former choice of word. Spike looked up at her from the driveway. The smirk that was on his face, disappeared when he saw the tears roll down her cheeks. "Your words are like arrows. They make me feel..." she shook her head not finishing her thought. "I don't like this feeling. It's too strong. It hurts." She wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Spike stood up. He suddenly didn't know what to say, all the anger directed at her melted away. He took her hands, and looked at her sympathetically. "It'll fade, pet. Funny thing with emotions, they can tear you up inside one minute, but make you feel on top of the world the next."

Layla looked at him like she didn't believe him, but she didn't complain when he put his arm around her, and started to lead her back to the house. "Are you still angry with me?" she asked timidly.

"Nah," he said. "This was what you call an argument, which you should get used to by the way if you are going to be sticking around me. Now it's over." He stopped, and looked down at her. "Are you still angry?" She noticed he sounded a bit nervous.

"No....but I feel odd...drained." She leaned more into his arm.

Spike grinned. "So you do get tired! Come on, let see if we can scare up a bed for you." He led her into the house.

Author's note: I would just like to say a quick thank you to everyone for your kind reviews. I cherish each and every one. :)

Also on a related note...we now have a theme song for this series: Awakening by Damning Well. I recommend it heartily and imagine opening credits rolling with it. :)