Hello, All,
Try not to faint. I managed to get another one out on time, even with company all weekend. Go me! :::does happy dance:::
The action has started anew and the angst is sure to pick up soon. But we'll get there soon enough.
Enjoy, and remember, feedback fuels the Muse.
Cheery Vibes Nimue "We're not nerds. We're... passionate hobbyists." - Tom Lenk
www.livejournal (dot) com/users/nimuetucker/ AlwaysEveryday (at) yahoogroups.com HowtoMakeaVampireSundae (at) yahoogroups.com
Title: Someone to Watch Over Me(Chapter Thirty-four - Meant to Be)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Spike/Buffy (Most major characters included)
Feedback: Yes, please NimueofAvalon71 (at) yahoo.com
Disclaimer: All characters belong to someone other than me; they belong to Mutant Enemy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series, Fox, UPN, WB, their affiliates, lawyers and all sorts of other folks that aren't me. :::sigh::::
Summary: Spike makes it back to find his trip to the unknown has been pushed up a tick. Buffy's impatience comes to a head. Cordelia goes on a rescue mission
Someone to Watch Over Me
Spike hopped up the front steps of the house in one long stride, banging open the door without slowing.
Buffy was here. Buffy needed him.
Even before all this, he'd been at the mercy of that particular siren song.
Knowing that Spike would be in no mood to wait for the wards to drop, Willow had sent out a little magic ball of sight (a variation on her light ball), to track his progress. When he reached the corner of Revello, she had dropped the wards and unlocked the door.
With a snap of her fingers, they shot back into place.
"Where is she?" Spike asked the redhead as he strode into the living room. "If anything's happened to her..."
"She's okay, Spike," Willow answered, always a little nervous when the Vampire got into one of his uber-protective modes. All of them knew he'd never hurt a one of them, but it didn't stop the little hairs on the backs of their necks from standing on end when he was in a mood.
"S'not. She called..."Spike snapped, continuing his mad pacing into the kitchen.
A small, soft hand touched the small of his back and he stopped dead, instantly calming. One of his. He could sense it long before he saw her.
"She's upstairs daddy," Emma said quietly as he turned to face her. "Waiting for us."
Spike dropped down to a crouch and looked the child in the eye. "What're you doing up, Mite? S'late and we've a lot of work to do tomorrow."
Emma smiled softly. "We have to do it now instead," the girl answered simply. "Aunt Anya came back and the bad men are going to do something to mum's baby if we don't go now. " The child sensed the sudden panic in her father and wrapped her arms around Spike's neck. "We'll win. We just have to go sooner."
Spike nodded, standing and lifting the girl with him, allowing her to wrap herself around him like a child instead of an ancient prophesy. "Better go find her then, Mite."
As he walked through the doorway, a nagging thought entered his overworked brain. Much as he and his grandsire didn't see eye to eye, Angel was proud, and indebted. It was likely he'd do something positively chuckleheaded in order to even that debt.
"Red?" Spike asked, stopping. "Angel's bird still around?"
"She should be in Will's room, settling in," Willow answered, furrowing her brow.
"Tell her to unsettle. Grab Watcher, Jr., the big muscly bloke and one of ours. Harris. Angel's got one of the Master's Childer with him and he's not stopping till he finds the git. Don't want to live with the wrath of the prom queen if he goes it alone and comes back in an ashtray."
Willow nodded, smiling softly. A barb about Spike giving a damn bounced on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it and replaced it with a grin. "I'll tell her. Where are they?"
"Left before Angel got a location. He's at Willie's with the Childe. You stay here though. Need you to keep the wards on this place while Emma and me..." Spike continued.
Willow nodded her response. "Good luck."
With a quick bounce of his head, Spike wrapped his arms tighter around his daughter and headed for the stairs.
Buffy paced around the bedroom, twisting her long hair between nervous fingers. Tugging on the strands. Biting her lip.
Maybe he didn't hear. Maybe Willow should find him. Something. We have to do something.
Her hand fell to her belly and pressed tight. This was it, she felt. The last chance. Not that they could really handle any more. They may be superheroes, but they weren't clinically insane. Most of the time.
But this baby... they'd wanted her so much.
Maybe Willow should find him.
With determined strides, Buffy made her way to the bedroom door just as it swung open. Spike stopped, looking at her panicked face, raising one hand to her cheek. "S'alright, Pet. "
Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "We're running out of time."
"We'll make it," Spike answered, sparing a glance out of the window. Noticing the moon sinking toward the horizon. "Got a bit of time yet."
Buffy nodded. "How?"
"Mite'll have to show us," Spike answered, feeling Emma shift and lift her head from his shoulder.
"I know the way," the little girl whispered warily. "But daddy and I have to go alone."
Buffy's eyes opened wide. "Not both of us? Why, Emma? I need to... I need..." Her words trailed off in desperation and despair.
Emma turned her head to look softly at her mum. "You won't be able to make the choice," the girl answered firmly, yet sweetly. "You won't be able to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?" Buffy asked. "I don't want to lose..."
"There will be loss," Emma answered, a frown marring her pretty, young face. "There will be more. There is always a loss."
Spike closed his eyes, allowing himself to think of Dru. About loss. About love. About things that are gone for good.
"I can handle that," Buffy commented, unconvincingly.
Emma smiled, leaning over to kiss her mother's cheek. "You can, mum. But you shouldn't. Daddy will have to go."
Buffy looked at Spike, part of her angry that she was again being pushed away from the battle. Part of her wondering if Spike could handle any more loss at all at the moment. All of her wanting to be with them, even through hell.
But Spike nodded his agreement with his daughter. "Love, s'best we listen to the tot, all right? Not a lot of time left and this is her arena. We don't know what'll be there. "
Buffy opened her mouth in protest, but shut it again when Spike closed his eyes and began to speak. "Don't want to take any more chances, Pet. Not with you. Can't lose you."
"You can stay with us, mum," Emma whispered, pointing toward the bed. "Make sure the bad men don't come to take this part while we're gone." The girl poked her skin and her father's cheek. "So we can come home."
With a sigh, Buffy agreed, walking over to the bed with her husband and child. "Nothing will happen to you while you're gone, baby," Buffy whispered, kissing the top of the girl's head as she lay down in the middle of the bed. "I'll make sure."
Emma nodded, settling her head onto the pillows and watching her parents. Spike leaned over, pressing his lips softly to Buffy's. "I'll watch out for her, Pet."
Buffy nodded, eyes filling again. "And I'll watch over you."
He smiled, caressing her cheek with his palm, his thumb tracing her cheekbone. "I know you will, Love."
"Make it okay?" Buffy pleaded, her hand pressing to her belly, her eyes growing wet again. "Please."
Spike leaned down and kissed her hand, then rose again, pressing his lips to hers. "Won't lose a one of you, all right? I promise. Won't let them take what's ours."
Buffy nodded, knowing Spike didn't make promises lightly. "Better go."
Another kiss and Spike stretched back onto the bed, taking his daughter's hand. The little girl nestled into her father, resting her head on the crook of his shoulder and reaching out for her mother. Buffy stretched out on the opposite side, raising her broken arm above her on the pillow and stretching her good one over them both. "I'll keep watch."
Emma smiled, her eyes drifting closed. Spike took one last, long look at her, and his blue eyes disappeared into darkness.
A soft knock on the door roused Cordelia from her moisturizing ritual. "What?" She whined, shifting in her satin boy-shorts and swinging her head to the door.
Willow gathered her courage and entered. "Hey, Cordy."
"Hi," Cordelia answered, returning to her nightly ritual. "What's up?"
"Um... Spike's back and..."
"Did Angel come with him?" The dark haired beauty asked, stopping everything and facing the little witch.
Willow shook her head. "He came back alone. He's with Emma now going to the soul place..."
"Where's Angel?" Cordy asked, sensing something about to go horribly wrong.
"Spike told me to get you and tell you that he was at Willie's. They caught one of the Master's ... children?"
"Childer," Cordelia corrected, finding jeans in her oversized suitcase. "Sorry, been around Vampires too long."
Willow smiled softly, watching the girl rummage, her hands working a mile a minute. "Spike wanted me to tell you that he's likely to do something really dumb if..."
"Yeah, this is Angel. Hero with no brain," Cordy chided, throwing on a low v-neck t-shirt and grabbing some stakes from the front pocket of the suitcase.
A chuckle from Willow. "This Master guy is a new breed, from all accounts. Not what we're used to. And Angel was pretty ticked that another Master..."
"Came into Spike's territory, yada yada, insult to the Order, yada yada. Got it. Anyone else available?"
"Spike said to..." Willow began again.
"Do you all listen to Spike?" Cordy snapped, heading towards the door, Willow racing after her.
"Well, except Buffy. He's usually right. Scary as that thought is," the redhead answered, still chasing Cordelia down the corridor.
A flash of light burst from beneath the door of Buffy's room and Cordy stopped, slamming back against the wall and out of the way. Once the pulse faded, Cordelia looked back at Willow with stunned eyes. "Spike came back to have sex? Is it always a light show?"
Willow rolled her eyes. "I'm betting that was the portal to the land of souls opening. Which means we should probably stay away and that Spike, Buffy and Emma are out of the picture for the rest of the night."
"Got it," Cordy said, still slack-jawed at the faint glow coming from under the door. "Never knew having prophetic kids was such a... Fourth of July parade."
"Fun never stops," Willow shot back.
Cordy bounded towards the staircase again. "Who do we have available?"
"I called over to Xander's. Wesley, Charles and Xander should be here any minute," Willow answered, going through her mental checklist.
"Magical. Need the magick," Cordelia continued. "Wes's good, but we need power. He's more of... a finesse kinda guy."
"I've got to stay here," Willow countered. "I promised Spike that..."
An eye roll from the dark haired girl. "Spike this, Spike that..."
"He saved our lives, Cordelia," Willow snapped, interrupting the girl. "I promised to make sure nothing happened to the people in the house while he and Buffy were gone."
Cordelia stopped and looked at the redhead for a long moment before delivering a brief nod. "I get that."
"Anya has a lot of power, although it's raw," Willow said after a moment.
"She looked like she'd been to hell and back," Cordy answered, gathering some more supplies into a bag. "Maybe because she had."
"She'd go," the Witch answered quietly. "She always does."
Cordelia shook her head. "As totally squicky as this sounds, she deserves some downtime with Giles."
A deep breath and the gathering of courage, "I can ask Tara?" Recognizing that it was a tough choice to send people that you love into the breech, but knowing they'd need back-up, Cordelia nodded respectfully. "We'll keep her protected."
"You'd better," Willow said simply, turning towards the basement and running down to talk to her mate.
"Gah! I hate all this drama," Cordy whined, waiting for the rest to arrive.
Angel strode up the street, anger bubbling in his veins. A sick kind of amusement as well. He should have thought of this, really. I mean, it was kind of strangely ironic, like the whole of Angel's existence, that the new Master would take up residence where the old Master of the city had called home.
Didn't really need to pummel the insolent Childe into hamburger meat. But it had been fun. Angel may be souled, but he was still a Vampire and more like his grandchilde than he'd admit.
After toying with the Childe, breaking down his emotional defenses and turning him into a whimpering heap, Angel started with the fun. Spike wouldn't have agreed to all the taunting, though. The blond was always more fists and fangs and 'sod all else'. But there was something so... exhilarating... about making a creature of the night cry like a child.
Okay, so Cordy and Buffy had mastered that without any conventional torture, but still...
The actual thrashing hadn't taken long. The Childe wasn't made of much at this stage of his existence. Angel had been more than kind and stopped the beating as soon as the location of the Master had been gained. He left the young one in the cage at Willie's in case he'd been lying or if they needed more information.
Likely, Spike would have just had done with him. But Spike was never one to think about the big picture.
Angel turned the familiar corner and started up Crawford St., taking long, deliberate strides. He needed time to think. Time to make a plan. If he was going to do this alone, he needed to be sure that...
"What the HELL do you think you're doing?" A familiar voice, full of venom, hissed from behind him.
Angel stopped, feeling much like he had when he was a child and his drunkard father was about to give him what for. Except this would be worse. "I..."
"Don't I me, mister," Cordelia snapped, heels clicking against the sidewalk as she approached. "Spike warned us what you might do. I wanted to think, 'no, Angel's not that dumb' but I knew better."
"I..."
"Did I say you could talk?" Cordy asked, venom still dripping from her lips. The rest of the posse stood still behind her, torn between laughing hysterically and running in fear. "And sure enough, here you are, about to go to some big boy Vamp's lair to get your ass kicked and leave me with the mess of Angel Investigations. Do you know how much back rent we owe?"
"Cordy, I..."
A look shut Angel up as simply as a word.
"This guy almost got the better of Spike and Buffy together. I know you're all big and bad and hero-like, but let's not be a complete moron. The least you could have done is thought it out. Let us know. We work together, Angel, not..."
"How did you know to come here, Cordy?" Angel asked, a brow lifting as he considered it.
Cordelia furrowed her brow, chuckling. "Well, duh. Where else would a Master Vampire set up than the house of the last broody Master Vampire in town? Since Spike's living that whole alternative lifestyle and all..."
God, Angel thought, that girl could make him feel dumb.
But he loved her anyway. She was here because he needed her. She was always there when he needed her. And, despite all the times he'd tried to get her to leave because he'd never be what she needed, she stuck by him like a stylish little ankle nipper and ruled his world.
And his heart.
"So, unlike you, oh heroic-yet-brainless-do-gooder, I brought in some back up," the prom queen stated, gesturing behind her. She watched Angel smile at her and had to return it. "So, we going to kick some Master's ass or what?"
"I'm with the ass-kicking," Gunn commented.
"Not that watching Cordelia publicly humiliate you hasn't been fun," Xander chimed in.
"We'd better go," Wesley commented, hiding a smile.
"Dumb ass," Cordelia mumbled, taking Angel's hand and heading up the street, their family in tow.
To be contd.
Try not to faint. I managed to get another one out on time, even with company all weekend. Go me! :::does happy dance:::
The action has started anew and the angst is sure to pick up soon. But we'll get there soon enough.
Enjoy, and remember, feedback fuels the Muse.
Cheery Vibes Nimue "We're not nerds. We're... passionate hobbyists." - Tom Lenk
www.livejournal (dot) com/users/nimuetucker/ AlwaysEveryday (at) yahoogroups.com HowtoMakeaVampireSundae (at) yahoogroups.com
Title: Someone to Watch Over Me(Chapter Thirty-four - Meant to Be)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Spike/Buffy (Most major characters included)
Feedback: Yes, please NimueofAvalon71 (at) yahoo.com
Disclaimer: All characters belong to someone other than me; they belong to Mutant Enemy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series, Fox, UPN, WB, their affiliates, lawyers and all sorts of other folks that aren't me. :::sigh::::
Summary: Spike makes it back to find his trip to the unknown has been pushed up a tick. Buffy's impatience comes to a head. Cordelia goes on a rescue mission
Someone to Watch Over Me
Spike hopped up the front steps of the house in one long stride, banging open the door without slowing.
Buffy was here. Buffy needed him.
Even before all this, he'd been at the mercy of that particular siren song.
Knowing that Spike would be in no mood to wait for the wards to drop, Willow had sent out a little magic ball of sight (a variation on her light ball), to track his progress. When he reached the corner of Revello, she had dropped the wards and unlocked the door.
With a snap of her fingers, they shot back into place.
"Where is she?" Spike asked the redhead as he strode into the living room. "If anything's happened to her..."
"She's okay, Spike," Willow answered, always a little nervous when the Vampire got into one of his uber-protective modes. All of them knew he'd never hurt a one of them, but it didn't stop the little hairs on the backs of their necks from standing on end when he was in a mood.
"S'not. She called..."Spike snapped, continuing his mad pacing into the kitchen.
A small, soft hand touched the small of his back and he stopped dead, instantly calming. One of his. He could sense it long before he saw her.
"She's upstairs daddy," Emma said quietly as he turned to face her. "Waiting for us."
Spike dropped down to a crouch and looked the child in the eye. "What're you doing up, Mite? S'late and we've a lot of work to do tomorrow."
Emma smiled softly. "We have to do it now instead," the girl answered simply. "Aunt Anya came back and the bad men are going to do something to mum's baby if we don't go now. " The child sensed the sudden panic in her father and wrapped her arms around Spike's neck. "We'll win. We just have to go sooner."
Spike nodded, standing and lifting the girl with him, allowing her to wrap herself around him like a child instead of an ancient prophesy. "Better go find her then, Mite."
As he walked through the doorway, a nagging thought entered his overworked brain. Much as he and his grandsire didn't see eye to eye, Angel was proud, and indebted. It was likely he'd do something positively chuckleheaded in order to even that debt.
"Red?" Spike asked, stopping. "Angel's bird still around?"
"She should be in Will's room, settling in," Willow answered, furrowing her brow.
"Tell her to unsettle. Grab Watcher, Jr., the big muscly bloke and one of ours. Harris. Angel's got one of the Master's Childer with him and he's not stopping till he finds the git. Don't want to live with the wrath of the prom queen if he goes it alone and comes back in an ashtray."
Willow nodded, smiling softly. A barb about Spike giving a damn bounced on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it and replaced it with a grin. "I'll tell her. Where are they?"
"Left before Angel got a location. He's at Willie's with the Childe. You stay here though. Need you to keep the wards on this place while Emma and me..." Spike continued.
Willow nodded her response. "Good luck."
With a quick bounce of his head, Spike wrapped his arms tighter around his daughter and headed for the stairs.
Buffy paced around the bedroom, twisting her long hair between nervous fingers. Tugging on the strands. Biting her lip.
Maybe he didn't hear. Maybe Willow should find him. Something. We have to do something.
Her hand fell to her belly and pressed tight. This was it, she felt. The last chance. Not that they could really handle any more. They may be superheroes, but they weren't clinically insane. Most of the time.
But this baby... they'd wanted her so much.
Maybe Willow should find him.
With determined strides, Buffy made her way to the bedroom door just as it swung open. Spike stopped, looking at her panicked face, raising one hand to her cheek. "S'alright, Pet. "
Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "We're running out of time."
"We'll make it," Spike answered, sparing a glance out of the window. Noticing the moon sinking toward the horizon. "Got a bit of time yet."
Buffy nodded. "How?"
"Mite'll have to show us," Spike answered, feeling Emma shift and lift her head from his shoulder.
"I know the way," the little girl whispered warily. "But daddy and I have to go alone."
Buffy's eyes opened wide. "Not both of us? Why, Emma? I need to... I need..." Her words trailed off in desperation and despair.
Emma turned her head to look softly at her mum. "You won't be able to make the choice," the girl answered firmly, yet sweetly. "You won't be able to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?" Buffy asked. "I don't want to lose..."
"There will be loss," Emma answered, a frown marring her pretty, young face. "There will be more. There is always a loss."
Spike closed his eyes, allowing himself to think of Dru. About loss. About love. About things that are gone for good.
"I can handle that," Buffy commented, unconvincingly.
Emma smiled, leaning over to kiss her mother's cheek. "You can, mum. But you shouldn't. Daddy will have to go."
Buffy looked at Spike, part of her angry that she was again being pushed away from the battle. Part of her wondering if Spike could handle any more loss at all at the moment. All of her wanting to be with them, even through hell.
But Spike nodded his agreement with his daughter. "Love, s'best we listen to the tot, all right? Not a lot of time left and this is her arena. We don't know what'll be there. "
Buffy opened her mouth in protest, but shut it again when Spike closed his eyes and began to speak. "Don't want to take any more chances, Pet. Not with you. Can't lose you."
"You can stay with us, mum," Emma whispered, pointing toward the bed. "Make sure the bad men don't come to take this part while we're gone." The girl poked her skin and her father's cheek. "So we can come home."
With a sigh, Buffy agreed, walking over to the bed with her husband and child. "Nothing will happen to you while you're gone, baby," Buffy whispered, kissing the top of the girl's head as she lay down in the middle of the bed. "I'll make sure."
Emma nodded, settling her head onto the pillows and watching her parents. Spike leaned over, pressing his lips softly to Buffy's. "I'll watch out for her, Pet."
Buffy nodded, eyes filling again. "And I'll watch over you."
He smiled, caressing her cheek with his palm, his thumb tracing her cheekbone. "I know you will, Love."
"Make it okay?" Buffy pleaded, her hand pressing to her belly, her eyes growing wet again. "Please."
Spike leaned down and kissed her hand, then rose again, pressing his lips to hers. "Won't lose a one of you, all right? I promise. Won't let them take what's ours."
Buffy nodded, knowing Spike didn't make promises lightly. "Better go."
Another kiss and Spike stretched back onto the bed, taking his daughter's hand. The little girl nestled into her father, resting her head on the crook of his shoulder and reaching out for her mother. Buffy stretched out on the opposite side, raising her broken arm above her on the pillow and stretching her good one over them both. "I'll keep watch."
Emma smiled, her eyes drifting closed. Spike took one last, long look at her, and his blue eyes disappeared into darkness.
A soft knock on the door roused Cordelia from her moisturizing ritual. "What?" She whined, shifting in her satin boy-shorts and swinging her head to the door.
Willow gathered her courage and entered. "Hey, Cordy."
"Hi," Cordelia answered, returning to her nightly ritual. "What's up?"
"Um... Spike's back and..."
"Did Angel come with him?" The dark haired beauty asked, stopping everything and facing the little witch.
Willow shook her head. "He came back alone. He's with Emma now going to the soul place..."
"Where's Angel?" Cordy asked, sensing something about to go horribly wrong.
"Spike told me to get you and tell you that he was at Willie's. They caught one of the Master's ... children?"
"Childer," Cordelia corrected, finding jeans in her oversized suitcase. "Sorry, been around Vampires too long."
Willow smiled softly, watching the girl rummage, her hands working a mile a minute. "Spike wanted me to tell you that he's likely to do something really dumb if..."
"Yeah, this is Angel. Hero with no brain," Cordy chided, throwing on a low v-neck t-shirt and grabbing some stakes from the front pocket of the suitcase.
A chuckle from Willow. "This Master guy is a new breed, from all accounts. Not what we're used to. And Angel was pretty ticked that another Master..."
"Came into Spike's territory, yada yada, insult to the Order, yada yada. Got it. Anyone else available?"
"Spike said to..." Willow began again.
"Do you all listen to Spike?" Cordy snapped, heading towards the door, Willow racing after her.
"Well, except Buffy. He's usually right. Scary as that thought is," the redhead answered, still chasing Cordelia down the corridor.
A flash of light burst from beneath the door of Buffy's room and Cordy stopped, slamming back against the wall and out of the way. Once the pulse faded, Cordelia looked back at Willow with stunned eyes. "Spike came back to have sex? Is it always a light show?"
Willow rolled her eyes. "I'm betting that was the portal to the land of souls opening. Which means we should probably stay away and that Spike, Buffy and Emma are out of the picture for the rest of the night."
"Got it," Cordy said, still slack-jawed at the faint glow coming from under the door. "Never knew having prophetic kids was such a... Fourth of July parade."
"Fun never stops," Willow shot back.
Cordy bounded towards the staircase again. "Who do we have available?"
"I called over to Xander's. Wesley, Charles and Xander should be here any minute," Willow answered, going through her mental checklist.
"Magical. Need the magick," Cordelia continued. "Wes's good, but we need power. He's more of... a finesse kinda guy."
"I've got to stay here," Willow countered. "I promised Spike that..."
An eye roll from the dark haired girl. "Spike this, Spike that..."
"He saved our lives, Cordelia," Willow snapped, interrupting the girl. "I promised to make sure nothing happened to the people in the house while he and Buffy were gone."
Cordelia stopped and looked at the redhead for a long moment before delivering a brief nod. "I get that."
"Anya has a lot of power, although it's raw," Willow said after a moment.
"She looked like she'd been to hell and back," Cordy answered, gathering some more supplies into a bag. "Maybe because she had."
"She'd go," the Witch answered quietly. "She always does."
Cordelia shook her head. "As totally squicky as this sounds, she deserves some downtime with Giles."
A deep breath and the gathering of courage, "I can ask Tara?" Recognizing that it was a tough choice to send people that you love into the breech, but knowing they'd need back-up, Cordelia nodded respectfully. "We'll keep her protected."
"You'd better," Willow said simply, turning towards the basement and running down to talk to her mate.
"Gah! I hate all this drama," Cordy whined, waiting for the rest to arrive.
Angel strode up the street, anger bubbling in his veins. A sick kind of amusement as well. He should have thought of this, really. I mean, it was kind of strangely ironic, like the whole of Angel's existence, that the new Master would take up residence where the old Master of the city had called home.
Didn't really need to pummel the insolent Childe into hamburger meat. But it had been fun. Angel may be souled, but he was still a Vampire and more like his grandchilde than he'd admit.
After toying with the Childe, breaking down his emotional defenses and turning him into a whimpering heap, Angel started with the fun. Spike wouldn't have agreed to all the taunting, though. The blond was always more fists and fangs and 'sod all else'. But there was something so... exhilarating... about making a creature of the night cry like a child.
Okay, so Cordy and Buffy had mastered that without any conventional torture, but still...
The actual thrashing hadn't taken long. The Childe wasn't made of much at this stage of his existence. Angel had been more than kind and stopped the beating as soon as the location of the Master had been gained. He left the young one in the cage at Willie's in case he'd been lying or if they needed more information.
Likely, Spike would have just had done with him. But Spike was never one to think about the big picture.
Angel turned the familiar corner and started up Crawford St., taking long, deliberate strides. He needed time to think. Time to make a plan. If he was going to do this alone, he needed to be sure that...
"What the HELL do you think you're doing?" A familiar voice, full of venom, hissed from behind him.
Angel stopped, feeling much like he had when he was a child and his drunkard father was about to give him what for. Except this would be worse. "I..."
"Don't I me, mister," Cordelia snapped, heels clicking against the sidewalk as she approached. "Spike warned us what you might do. I wanted to think, 'no, Angel's not that dumb' but I knew better."
"I..."
"Did I say you could talk?" Cordy asked, venom still dripping from her lips. The rest of the posse stood still behind her, torn between laughing hysterically and running in fear. "And sure enough, here you are, about to go to some big boy Vamp's lair to get your ass kicked and leave me with the mess of Angel Investigations. Do you know how much back rent we owe?"
"Cordy, I..."
A look shut Angel up as simply as a word.
"This guy almost got the better of Spike and Buffy together. I know you're all big and bad and hero-like, but let's not be a complete moron. The least you could have done is thought it out. Let us know. We work together, Angel, not..."
"How did you know to come here, Cordy?" Angel asked, a brow lifting as he considered it.
Cordelia furrowed her brow, chuckling. "Well, duh. Where else would a Master Vampire set up than the house of the last broody Master Vampire in town? Since Spike's living that whole alternative lifestyle and all..."
God, Angel thought, that girl could make him feel dumb.
But he loved her anyway. She was here because he needed her. She was always there when he needed her. And, despite all the times he'd tried to get her to leave because he'd never be what she needed, she stuck by him like a stylish little ankle nipper and ruled his world.
And his heart.
"So, unlike you, oh heroic-yet-brainless-do-gooder, I brought in some back up," the prom queen stated, gesturing behind her. She watched Angel smile at her and had to return it. "So, we going to kick some Master's ass or what?"
"I'm with the ass-kicking," Gunn commented.
"Not that watching Cordelia publicly humiliate you hasn't been fun," Xander chimed in.
"We'd better go," Wesley commented, hiding a smile.
"Dumb ass," Cordelia mumbled, taking Angel's hand and heading up the street, their family in tow.
To be contd.