This story is dedicated to Imzadi, my muse. This is for her. Imzadi, your wish came true. Sorry for giving you a hard time about it. It took a while, but I see the light now. (There is also a corresponding MUSIC VIDEO that goes along with this story. It's called "The Reason". It's really a good video, you all must watch it. I'm making it required. It's located at Music Videos Page 2. Hope that you like it.
Summary: Spike is having tons of fun. (NOT) Also Crossover with Tru Calling. (As usual)
Please Read Author's Note below.
Rated: PG 13
This Year
By: Sensue
Prologue (Tru Davies' POV)
San Francisco
City Morgue
Midnight
I can't believe what a boring night this is. The only thing more interesting than the current nightly infomercial is Davis' selection in aftershave. Davis definitely needs to get out more, especially if he thinks that the aftershave he picked would attract women.
The radio sparked to life, explaining that a body was found in an alley. It was being brought in for an autopsy. I hit my forehead with my palm. Damn. I jinxed myself by saying that I was bored.
At least, I haven't had a 'repeat day' in about two weeks. They were getting to be too much for me to handle, having to rescue people along with trying to help my sister, Meredith and brother, Harrison battle their addictions. I was so relieved when my half sister Faith agreed to help me with them. She helped Meredith get over her overdose and with-drawl. Now Meredith is trying to find a "non-stressful" job. Harrison is living with Faith and her family now. I call him every week to check on him. He tells me that he hasn't even thought about gambling while he's been in L.A. I'm so glad that he's made a friend his age. It's funny; every other word out of his mouth is "Connor and I did this…" or "said that" or "He taught me…"
The sound of the body being wheeled in from the hall distracted me from my thoughts. The body was being situated on the exam table when Davis walked in. He came over with the post-mortem exam kit and the paperwork. We chatted together as we pulled on the gloves.
I took a breath, and then unzipped the bag from his face. This was definitely someone who had died before his time, as I stared at the handsome young face. Looking at him brought my thoughts back to Harrison. I thanked the gods that he was away; safe in L.A. instead of getting beat up in alleyways. It would've only taken time for him to end up dead probably by pissing off the wrong bookie or dealer that he owed money to.
Davis was starting to catalog the injuries: the main one being the ugly wounds on his neck. Two puncture holes on his neck, along with massive blood loss was now listed as the cause of death. Davis scratched his head at that one, trying to figure out how that could've happened. There was no ID on the body and no identifying marks except for a tattoo of a snake on his upper arm. Davis was now checking under the young man's nails for signs of a struggle, when the man's head turned towards me.
Damn it, I thought, I guess this is a repeat day after all. The eyes opened to reveal the strangest colored eyes that I'd ever seen. I was expecting the customary "help me" that usually followed.
It didn't.
Davis gasped, his eyes wide and full of fear. "Tru, What the HELL!?" His words were cut off as the hand reached up and grabbed his neck, choking him. Davis didn't even have enough air to scream as the dead man bit him; his neck starting to bleed down his white shirt.
For a moment, blind panic froze me. I couldn't think as I watched Davis' body fall to the floor. It—it was no longer a man—seemed to fly at me. I jerked away, fear springing me into action. The exam tray was besides me, so I threw the scalpels, scissors, and anything else that I could get my hands on. The scalpels penetrated his chest. He howled; his face and teeth pulling back inside, no longer a monster anymore. He growled once more at me and then ran out the door into the night.
I stood there trembling, weakly leaning against the table. My body shaking hard. I heard Davis moan softly. He's still alive! My relief so sudden that it caused me to sink to the floor besides him. I held him in my arms, my hands now soaked with blood as I tried to stop the bleeding. I screamed for an ambulance.
I heard running from the hall, the cleaning crew was still here. She acknowledged me and ran into the office to call 911. As I waited for the ambulance, my thoughts revolved around one thing. The last thing Davis had said.
"What the hell was that thing?"
Chapter Eight: May (Spike's POV)
Author's NOTE: Okay, you can probably figure this out from Spike's dialogue, but I'll explain anyway just to make sure we're all on the same page. Tru called Faith for help, telling her that she'd been attacked by a 'monster'. Faith tells Angel, who in turn, tells everyone about the vamp trouble in San Francisco. Everyone decides to go there to clean-up the area, or to at least, let all the demon population know that the area is protected by Angel Investigations. Faith, Robin, Angel, Cordy, Fred, Gunn, and Wesley all leave L.A. to go to San Fran for the weekend only. (Saturday, and Sunday) Lorne, obviously, has a club to run over the weekend, so he doesn't go either. Connor and Harrison don't want to go. Lindsey and Spike have to stay in L.A. to hold down the fort and to babysit Cathy and Nicky. Faith has also finally decided to tell her sister the truth about herself: that she is a slayer and that vampires, demons, etc, really do exist.
"Bloody hell."
I must've said it a thousand times today. Why the bloody hell did everyone think it was a good idea to leave me here with the bits? They weren't thinking, that's why!
"Yeah, why don't we just hop a train to San Fran? Faith's sister is barney with a couple of vamps; we should take the whole crew over there to help her! Oh, and we should probably tell her everything about us while we're at it. She should know that her sister's a slayer. Yeah, Tru, sis, guess what!? I'm a slayer! And you know how you thought that Harrison was perfectly safe with us, well, he's been dusting vampires and demons this entire time. Gambling, you say, NO that's not dangerous at all. Fighting with demons who can spit acid at you, now that can get you killed. Oh, don't worry. We'll just stake those vampires who bit your boss, but just so you know, there are thousands more where they came from. Just carry a stake in your purse. We all do! Bullocks!" I jerk in the chair once more, my voice becoming more and more sarcastic as I struggled.
"Spike, we'll only be gone over the weekend. Just keep an eye on the kids for us while we're away. We're sure that Connor and Harrison will watch the little ones for you, but just make sure they're not pigging out on junk food or throwing wild parties. Oh, and the bloak, Lindsey'll be here with you too, just in case if you need to get something or if the kids have to go out during the day. In case! Bloody hell! Where's he now when I need him? Oh, yeah. He's off 'helping the helpless' at a runaway shelter. 'Hey, man, you still looking to do some good out here? Well, I know a lady [Anne] who's always looking for help at a shelter on Crenshaw. She'd be grateful, ya know and you'd be getting in good with the PTBs.' Yeah, right, Baldy! He's going over there to 'help', not just to chat up the pretty little lady. God! That woman, I swear I've seen her before. URGG." [Obviously, Spike has seen her before: as Chantrelle.]
I jerk in the chair again, trying to free myself of the rope tying me down. I can hear Cathy and Nicky running around the house laughing and having a merry good ol' time. And where the hell are Harrison and Connor? I knew I should talked Angel into taking them with them. But no, "We're too cool to go with our parents. We'll just stay here and help Uncle Spike. We promise we'll be good." I'm going to kill them. They disappeared the minute everyone left. Sure they call, but they don't let me get a word in edgewise before they hang up. They're probably out hunting demons or something, or whatever they feel like at the moment. They need girlfriends. Other than my little bit, Dawnie. I don't like the way Angel, Jr. looked at her and I definitely don't like the way he kissed her. She's just a little girl, much too young for the likes of him.
Why'd I agree to play 'Cowboys and Indians' with the bits? Why'd I let them tie me up with enchanted rope? I can't break free out of it. I sigh, "Bloody hell! Cathy! Nicky! Can you please untie Uncle Spike now? I promise that I'll play whatever game that you want." Nothing…no response. "And I'll let you order pizza tonight!" Nope. "And, we'll get some ice cream too."
The pounding of running footsteps entered the kitchen. I guess the ice cream bribe worked. A stained face and feathered rumpled ponytails jumped in my lap, followed by ripped shorts and dirty hands. I was greeted by smiles, laughter lighting their eyes. I sighed again; there was no way I could yell at them. I smiled back. "Could one of you please untie me? I surrender. You both win." They laughed as they untied me as quickly as they could; in this case it took them twenty minutes. I had to fight to keep myself from struggling against them, waiting patiently as I could for them to finish.
Finally, I stood up, stretching myself, I'm free after four hours of being tied up. Wriggling around some more, I picked the two "Indians" up to get them cleaned up. Climbing up the stairs with my two burdens kicking and screaming to the bathroom wasn't my idea of a Saturday evening fun. I got them to the bathroom with a couple of bruises on my shins that I didn't have before. I shut the door behind me before I put them down to prevent their escape. I put down Nicky first, he'd be less likely to throw a fit than Cathy. They knew what was coming. With one hand, I turned the faucets on testing the water and plugging the tub.
Cathy kept struggling in my arms, so I had to put her down before the tub had filled. She tried to make a run for it but I caught her. "No, no bath!" She kept yelling.
"Yes. Yes, bath! You both have to get clean. How'd you get so filthy?" I picked her up again and threw her in the tub, clothes and all. She cried for a moment, before she adjusted to the situation and started playing with the bubbles I'd poured in right after her. Well, I had a hell of a time getting her out of the wet clothes. Tossing them in a pile, I grabbed the baby shampoo and started cleaning her feather filled hair. God, they must've destroyed Fred's down pillow. After I had gotten her clean, I wrapped her tightly in a towel and made her sit on the toilet until I had helped Nicky wash as well. Doing the same for him, I quickly dried them off and put them in their PJs.
"Uncle Spike, we don't want to sleep. We want ice cream, please." Oh, they started begging me, giving me the lip. I did promise them ice cream, so I agreed to let them have one spoon each of vanilla ice cream before bedtime, if they promised to brush their teeth and go to sleep right after. They both shook their head yes, so I took them into the kitchen and started scooping out ice cream into a bowl. I tied napkins around their necks to keep the ice cream off their PJs.
The clock read 7:00 pm. It was the bits bedtime. Lindsey was due to come back at 8:00pm, while the boys usually came in later. Nicky and Cathy had slowly eaten their ice cream, their eyes getting sleepy as they swallowed their treat. With a washcloth, I cleaned them off and pushed them upstairs to brush their teeth. They came out a few minutes later, ready for bed. The three of us walked into Cathy's room, where a mat and sleeping bag had been set up for Nicky. They liked to share a room while their parents were away. My room was just down the hall, and my vampire hearing was better than Cordy's baby monitor. I can hear anything that happens in the entire hotel.
I was about to kiss them goodnight, but they begged for a story. So I sat down besides them, snuggling, whispering stories that my mum had used to tell me at bedtime. They had fallen asleep half way through. I turned the lamp off, tucked them in tightly, then shut the door.
I walked down to the lobby again, cleaning up the mess we'd made earlier. Damn feathers got in everything. Pulling out the vacuum, I sucked up all of them that I could get. I'd wager that we'll be finding feathers for weeks. Fred's going have to get herself a new pillow or at least make her new fiancé get it for her. Wesley'd go to the moon for her if she'd ask.
Taking an unneeded breath, I sat down on the couch turning on the telly. Oh, look it's "Nick and Jessica's Variety Hour." I'll just watch that. Love that woman, especially in that getup. The door to the hotel opened, Lindsey walking in smiling.
"Hey, Spike. Wonderful evening, isn't it?" He practically bounced in. Oh, yeah…helping the helpless. Right.
My jaw clenched, "Oh, yeah. So wonderful, in fact. Thank you for all of your help with the bits, by the way. I hope they weren't too much trouble."
He grinned at me, I wanted to punch him, "The kids giving you a hard time?"
"Yeah, you could say that. Help any helpless?" I asked him, thinking that he probably flirted with the blond the entire time.
He sat down next to me, "Actually, yes. I did." He leaned back, relaxing, he turned his face towards me, "Angel tell you my story?" I nodded. "Well, this is the first time that I've ever realized that there are people out there, kids in fact, in worse shape than I'd ever been in. I mean, as a child, I practically lived on the streets, my parents trying to get food for me and my siblings, it never being enough for all of us. But there are kids out there, right now, that can't even think food. They're trying not to get killed. I met a teenaged boy today. He, I swear, he couldn't be thirteen. He's got vampires feeding off of him on a daily basis. They give him food if 'he's good'. Damn. I never realized that it was this bad. Anne, she runs the place, she told me that he's not the only one. She told me that sometimes the parents SELL their kids to demons or vampires as slaves. There's got to be a way to stop this. Anne, she's trying her best, but she can't do it by herself. I told her that I'd be back tomorrow to help out. She's got a leak in the ceiling that she can't afford to pay for right now, so I volunteered to fix it for her."
I looked at him, "How the bloody hell can you fix a roof?"
He gave me that annoying grin again, "I used to do some odd jobs around town to get into Law School. I know how to fix a roof. I know how to build a house actually…I used to work construction for four years. You learn a lot of things doing that. I also met Anne's adopted son, Ryan today. He's a great kid. Reminds me of Cathy, you know, full of life and mischief." He went back to smiling.
The telly got louder for a commercial break, so I got up to get us some beer. I came back a few minutes later, both of us watching as Jessica fought with her husband and nearly popped out of her dress. We watched in a daze as she jiggled as she sang.
The phone rang, forcing me to turn my head away. I repeated halfheartedly, "Angel Investigations, we help the helpless." All thoughts of Jessica flew from my brains as the words the caller said started to make sense.
"Bloody hell. What do you mean, do we know a Connor Angel and Harrison Davies? Of course, I'm their uncle. Their parents are out of town. I'm watching after them. Where are they? In JAIL? What for? Those idiots!!! No. I'm coming. Be right there." I slammed down the phone, grunting.
"I'm going to bloody well kill them! What were they thinking? Damn it!" I paced around, running my hands through my bleached hair. "Angel's going to kill me. Argg."
Lindsey turned off the telly to stand up next to me, he looked at me questioningly.
"Yeah. Harrison and Connor got themselves thrown in jail. We've got to go downtown to post their bail."
"Do you know what they did?" He asked.
"Yeah, trespassing. Don't know where." I hit the end table with my fist. "Alright. I've got to go get them. You watch the kids?"
Lindsey put a hand out to stop me from leaving, "Wait. Listen, I was a lawyer. I can help you, help them. I'll go with you."
"You can't go with me. Who's gonna watch the bits?" I looked at him as he looked at me. I sighed again, "Yeah, I go get them up."
An hour later, the four of us drove to the police station to get the dumb asses out of jail. Cathy and Nicky looked at me bleary eyed from the back seat, wondering where we were going. I told them not to worry, we just had to go pick up Connor and Harrison. I pulled into the police station parking lot, then turned off the engine. I hit my head on the steering wheel before I unbuckled myself and helped Lindsey pull the kids out of their safety booster seats.
This was not going to be easy. I carried the bits, watching as Lindsey pulled himself up into 'lawyer mode.' He was no longer a lawyer though…Wolfram and Hart had taken everything from him, including his law degree. But that didn't mean that he'd forgotten everything that he'd learned.
We walked up to the desk, asking to see Harrison Davies and Connor Angel. The desk clerk looked as tired as we were. He was slow as he typed in the names to find out the situation. I was going to jump in and start yelling, when surprisingly Lindsey started talking funny. Didn't understand a word. Something about legalities and rights. Don't know exactly what it was, but the clerk got up and called over his boss.
Lindsey told me that he'd take care of the problem, as he walked away still arguing with the officers. Cathy was still sleeping against my shoulder. Nicky wasn't sleeping yet, but was definitely not aware of what was going on around him. A woman officer at the desk next to the clerk's took pity on my and let me sit at her desk, the kids on my lap. She smiled at me, told me that my children were so adorable. I smiled at her, thanking her for the chair. Her chair rocked and twisted, so I could rock the bits to sleep. I hummed the song my mum had hummed to me a hundred years ago.
I looked at the bits. Sometimes, I do wish they were mine; that I was their father. Feeling their heartbeats against my unbeating chest, feeling their breaths against my neck, and their little hands holding mine, I did wish it. I'd never have this. Can't have children, no matter how hard I wished. It wasn't possible. Angel's the one with the miracle children, not me. Hell, if it would've happened, it would've happened already. I'd slept with Buffy enough times. We weren't going to have any children, so I take comfort in Angel, Cordy, Robin, and Faith's children. Hell, give it a couple of months, Faith'll have 'nother one soon. Fred's bound to have some too. I'm glad that I'm an uncle and that I have a hand in raising them.
Then again, as I look around the police station…maybe I don't want them. Look what they grow up to be. Annoying, disrespectful, know-it-all, punk teenagers.
Looking at the clock, it's now midnight. The bits are sleeping uncomfortably. I don't know where Lindsey and that officer disappeared off to. Certainly, it doesn't take this long to get someone out of jail. I could've broken them out by now.
Still rocking the bits in the chair, I sat staring at the clock. Watching it as it moved from 12:30 am to 2:00 am, then to 4:30 am. Finally, the metal barred door opened to reveal Connor and Harrison in handcuffs coming out of the cells. Lindsey was following after them, telling the officers to remove the cuffs. The cuffs were removed as they were taken into another room filled with windows. I was motioned in, so I stood, being careful not to wake the bits. I walked in, Lindsey shutting the door behind me. Connor reached over to gently take his sister from me, while Harrison held Nicky.
Keeping in mind the sleeping bits, to keep from yelling as loud as I could at them, I calmly asked them, "What the bloody hell did you two do?"
They looked down, then at each other trying to decide who was going to talk first. Connor went first, explaining that they had been patrolling the nicer parts of L.A., they had heard a woman scream, so the climbed up a fenced area to rescue the woman. How were they to know that they were taping a horror movie? There wasn't a sign or anything. The director was so mad at them for interrupting the 'most crucial' part of the movie, that he called the police to arrest them for trespassing.
I hit my head on the table in front of me. Only them. Lindsey hid a smile behind his hand as he scrubbed his face. He told them that he had gotten the charges dropped and that they needed to fill out some paperwork before they could go home. 'Some paperwork' had turned out to be almost a book. It took them another couple hours to fill out. We walked out of the room, the bits being carried by the boys.
As we walked by, we ran into that blond cop that gave the Princess a hard time. Unfortunately, we couldn't slip by without her noticing us. She stopped us, then bored us to tears with her ranting. "Why am I not surprised that Angel's family is in jail? Could it be that you all think that you're above the law? Murder any innocent people lately? You know it's only a matter of time before you all end up where you belong; in jail, behind bars for the rest of your lives. A lovely sun-lit cell." Her voice rose as she continued speaking. She turned towards Connor, Cathy, Nicky, and Harrison. I put myself in front of them to protect them. "Look at what you're doing to those children. Do you really think that they deserve to live like this? You're corrupting their innocence. They're going to live their lives in fear of real monsters. They deserve a real family…a human family. Not your freak house." She stuck up her nose at me. Other officers had turned to look at her commotion.
I didn't care that I was in a police station. I turned towards the boys and told them to wait by the car with the bits. Lindsey stood behind me and slightly to the side, covering my back. Waiting until I knew the bits were safe, I grabbed her shirt and pulled her up to my face, and as quick as possible whispered in her ear, "Funny you should say that, considering that your father never gave a damn about you. The bits are happy with us, were you ever happy with your family? Also, why do they need a human family, if they aren't purely human? You stupid bint." I shoved her away, leaving the memory of her shocked face in my mind as I stalked out into the front lobby.
Right before I left, I took a look at the clock above, it read 6:00 am. Great. The sun's up. I gave Lindsey the keys to the car, nodding at the clock. He got it.
Everyone got into the car, then pulled up to the still dark back alley for me to ride in the trunk. Minutes later we piled out of the car, we mutually decided that we would talk in the morning—well, afternoon, and tucked the little ones back into bed, completely undisturbed and unaware of their little trip. Connor and Harrison wished us goodnight, then went to their rooms to sleep.
I grabbed Lindsey's arm before he could leave, "Lindsey, just wanted to say, thanks. I'd probably ended up in a cell with them, cause I don't have the patience to do what you did. You're okay, for a lawyer." He smirked at me, wished me a good night then went to bed himself.
I went into my room, undressed, then stretched out before I crawled under the covers.
An hour an a half later (7:30 am)
Uff. "Ahh." I screamed, something was pressing on my chest. It took a minute, but the giggling clued me in. I pulled the covers down from over my head. Cathy and Nicky were sitting on me laughing. "'Morning Uncle Spike." The both told me, while trying to start a tickle fight. They started it, I won. They could barely breathe by the time I was finished with them, laughing in between. After they stopped laughing, Cathy crawled off the bed and ran into the other room. I listened as she ran into the kitchen, pulled on something metal and then slowly walked back up the stairs.
She came back in carrying a tray; filled with blood covered food: the blood spilling off the bowls and into the tray. I helped her lift the tray onto my bed. She looked at me with such hope that I couldn't spoil it by laughing. I kissed her cheek and thanked her, telling her that it looked wonderful. Especially the cereal. It was ingenious to use blood instead of milk. I ate the cereal first, reminding myself not to grimace while swallowing it. I used to put wheat germ in my blood to give it texture, but this was the first time I had eaten Fruit Loops and blood. The next meal was toast covered blood. At least I could swallow that without making a face. And of course, it isn't breakfast until you've had orange juice and blood; mixed together. "Well, that was just a nummy treat." My face hurts now from smiling fake.
There was a knock on the door, and then the door was cracked open. Lindsey poked his head in, I waved him in. The bits smiled gently at him. Cathy and Nicky were still shy and unsure of Lindsey, but they were getting used to him. He wore a dusty pair of jeans and a pale green T-shirt that had definitely seen better days. He smiled back at them. "Good Morning Cathy, Nicky, Spike. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to Anne's to fix her roof. I'll be gone all day, so if you need anything just call me there. One of the kids will give me your message. Well, Bye. I'll see you all tonight. Oh, and Connor and Harrison are up. They're in the kitchen making Pop Tarts." He gave the bits a small wave, then shut the door behind him.
I picked the bits up and carried them to the bathroom again, making them brush their teeth. While they did that, I did my best to pick out some clothes for them. I set the jeans and t-shirts on their beds and let them get dressed. Going down the stairs, I did indeed find Harrison and Connor making pop tarts. Apparently, they thought it best to stuff the entire thing in their mouths then chew, so no conversation could be held until they could breathe. I shook my head at their stupidity.
After they had finished their idea of breakfast, they sat down, eyes down staring at the table waiting for me to start my lecture. I just stared at them, my arms crossed over my chest. Hell, I even put my feet up on the table; the princess wasn't here to stop me, was she? They looked up at me, puzzled at why I wasn't yelling at them.
I pulled out a cigarette from my pocket, put it in my mouth and lit it. I took it in, letting it relax me. "No. I'm not going to lecture you. You're both idiots and you know it. Why bother wasting my breath? You won't do that again, now will you? You'll look before you leap and all that crap?" The nodded. "Alright, then." I stood up and turned to go back upstairs.
Connor's voice halted my motion, "You're not going to yell?"
"No."
Harrison asked, "You going to tell Mr. A?""Nope. You are."
They both groaned, Connor whispering, "I knew there was a catch." I heard him, obviously.
"Yeah, there's a catch. There's also a punishment. Guess what it is?" I smirked at them.
Harrison rolled his eyes at me, "What is it?"
"You both are going to that halfway house on Crenshaw. Lindsey's there and I believe that he mentioned that their roof was leaking. Maybe you both can help fix it, yes? As a thank you for him helping bail you out last night? Considering he's your friend and all."
They huffed, but they did as I asked. Harrison grabbed their jackets while Connor changed into more appropriate clothing. They both left, running out the door, after a hurried "Bye."
I looked at my watch for the millionth time. They should be back by 6:00 pm. Only ten and a half hours, five minutes, and forty eight seconds to go. [We all know that Spike's good at keeping track of time because he knew exactly how long Buffy had been dead. Sensue]Fours Hours Later. Hyperion Hotel. (11:30)
I can't believe this. I'm bigger, faster, a vampire! I know all about being undead. That's what I am! All I am! Nicky was laughing at me as Cathy killed me again. Her giggles turned into laughter as I threw the control pad to the floor and started pacing. "Bloody hell. The game is obviously rigged. 'Night of the Living Dead', my as—bottom. They don't look dead. The dead don't have things hanging off of them. Except for Clem, no one I've ever met looks like that. And Clem doesn't act like that. Yeah, right, I don't think the dead can walk through walls. And how do you both know how to play this game? Your mum would never let you play this game." I looked at them, wanting an answer.
"Daddy lets us play it, Uncle Spike." Cathy said, her little hands covering her mouth as giggles escaped. "He plays this game all the time. Daddy yells at Uncle Gunn when he dies too. He says it's not fair. Sometimes they let us play but most of the time we just watch."
Nicky spoke up, "Don't worry, Uncle Spike. I'll let you win." He looked so sincere that I forgot what I was gonna say.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Someone pounded on the door. I stood up off the floor and told the little bits to sit still until I got back. I looked at the clock. Damn it. The sun's still up.
I stood at the back of the door and opened it from behind, making sure that when the light entered; I wasn't in front of it. A delivery guy stood at the other side. I waved him inside, and then shut the door. The light dissipating in the room.
He was a bleached blond young guy. "Hey, man. I'm looking for a William Spike? He here 'cause this is the last delivery of the day, and then I'm off to meet the hottest woman on the planet for a little rendezvous, if you know what I mean." I looked at him. He's the type that gives blonds a bad name.
I rolled my eyes at the guy. "Yeah. That's me. William Spike. What'd you want?"
He practically bounced on his plastic sandals. "I got a package for you." He held it out a clip board, "Oh, and you have to sign this first." He passed his pen over to me, pointing at the blue arrow for me to sign.
I hesitated before I signed it. "What is it?"
The guy just ran his hands across his hair, "Hey, man. I don't have a clue. Just sign it, and then you can find out. I can't keep the lady waiting. She might lose the mood or something."
I signed the slip and took the envelope that he handed to me. He took the board back, then walked to the door. I was still staring at the envelope that I didn't notice that he'd opened the door until I got burned. Immediately, I threw myself out of the light, sliding across the lobby floor. I stifled a scream as he shut the door behind him.
Bloody Hell! The back of my head and neck was burned now. Damn it, that hurt. Cathy and Nicky came out into the lobby to see where I was.
Nicky had a pained look on his face. I'm such a wanker. I forgot that Nicky could feel emotions. He felt my pain. Closing my eyes, I focused on the pain, willing it all away. Willing it away from myself and from Nicky. Nicky hugged me in thanks as the pain disappeared. I rubbed his back until I felt him pull away, a smile now on his face.
Sometimes, I forget that he's a very observant child. He pointed to the envelope, "Uncle Spike, What's that?" I picked up the envelope that I had dropped in the rush to escape bursting into flames.
"Well, Nicky, I don't know. Let's find out, huh?" They both crawled into my lap, excited. I slowly pulled the envelope open and slipped the papers out of it. There was a letter addressed to me. I let Nicky read it.
"Dear Mr. Spike.
First of all we want to thank you for your interest in our company and thank you for your wonderful suggestions. We are writing you because we are very impressed by your recommendations and have decided to put your wonderful poetry into use. Our company is willing to reproduce your work in a very special and unique way.
American Greetings will introduce your ideas with a new greeting card section that we would love to call 'Spiked'. Your ideas have a wonderful blend of sarcasm and love that will make anyone smile, even the grumpy. Any loving family will instantly agree, your words enter the heart and fill it will warmth and laughter. This section will include all of your poetry for all occasions, including: Mother's Day, Father's Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Births, Thank You, Invitations, and much more. We especially loved the romantic poems, which we will introduce for Valentines Day next year.
Enclosed in this envelope is a check for five hundred thousand dollars for the poetry that you sent to us. We hope that this is acceptable to you. We are willing to negotiate with you if you are not happy. If you are willing, we would love to employ you in our company. Please call us at your earliest convenience at 1-800-555-2253.
Again, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You have touched us in a way that many writers/poets could not. Your work will live on forever in the hearts of Americans.
Sincerely,
Thomas Percy
CEO
American Greeting Company."
My hands were slightly shaking now. I felt like I was dreaming. This sort of thing never happens to me. It only happens to Angel. He's the real champion. I'm just a dumb bloak who said the wrong thing at the demon trials. No one but me knows it. Hell, I wished for Buffy to get what she deserved. I never wanted a soul. I just wanted to take back what I'd done. I've been playing everyone, even myself. Fooling myself into thinking that I deserved anything: especially the Shanshu prophecy. And now, for once in my undead life, I had earned something for myself. I didn't steal it from Angel. Someone besides Angel actually liked my poetry.
I looked at the blue printed sheet of paper. Staring at the numbers, they danced before my eyes. Five hundred thousand. $500, 000. Cathy started her nervous giggling. Unfortunately, that set me off too. I couldn't stop laughing. Hell, I had tears running down my face. I jumped up off the floor and threw the bits in the air, swinging them in my arms and jumping up and down. They laughed just as happily, not quite understanding the significance of this letter.
"I'm rich. I'm rich!!!!" I couldn't stop laughing and dancing. Hell, if anyone had seen me they'd of thought that I was wonkers.
As I danced around excitedly, I found myself looking at the hotel. Our home. It could now be our home. Angel and Cordy wouldn't have to worry about paying off the mortgage, it would now be ours. I thought of Buffy. Hell, I could build a Slayer Academy here, in L.A. or something. Millions of ideas flooded my mind. Everyone of them brought a happy ending.
I came from that big high pretty quickly, disappointment setting in. I'm a vampire. Buffy is a slayer. The same reasons that kept us apart can't be solved with money. Hell, money doesn't solve any of my problems. But at least, Buffy won't have to worry about Dawn's schooling. I'll make sure that the school gives her a 'full-scholarship' or something.
Cathy looked at me, the happy smile fading into worry. "Are you okay? Why are you sad? You were happy two seconds ago."
I patted her cheek. "I'm not sad, little bit. I'm just thinking." I brighted, I had just the thing! I looked at both bits, "Who wants to see what the boys are doing?"
The shouts, "ME! ME!" nearly deafened me. "Alright. Alright. Already. Let's go. But first, I have to go to the bank, alright?" The plan is beginning to form.
Anne's Halfway House on Crenshaw (2:00 pm)
Thank god for Lorne. That demon knows just about every Demon Bank in the city. What? Like you never heard of a demon bank. It's like a human bank, except it deals in money, kittens, souls, blood, and just about anything else demons are willing to accept as currency. The bank is hidden from the light so both day dwelling demons and night dwellers, such as vampires can go there without prejudice. It's sort of an unwritten rule that no violence is conducted there. Of course, there is the occasional beheading from a loan shark.
It took forever for those damn bankers to give me my money. I was 'bout ready to kill them if I heard one more poetry joke. Finally, they gave me the money. A fourth in cash, a half in a separate account, and the other fourth—well, it'll be easy for Anne use to fix the place up. I can't believe what a ninny I am. I'm giving away hard earned cash to a halfway house, just because I feel guilty. I mean, all those kids need is a job. Not like they're handicapped or something. So they live in boxes…I lived in a crypt for years.
Angel told me once that Anne's had a sewer access so that he could come and visit if there were any problems. This is the first time that I'm using it. The bits couldn't get enough of it; splashing in the sewer water. Hell, I stopped trying to stop them. They're already filthy and going to need another bath.
We crawled up about fifteen minutes later, entering the basement. It was filled with boxes of clothes, toys, pillows, and other stuff. Cathy heard Connor's voice coming from the first floor. Hand in hand with Nicky they ran up the moldy stair case to find him. I followed behind them more slowly, thinking. Where am I going to hide the money so that they could find it? Deep in thought, I didn't even notice when a little boy Nicky's age ran into me and fell right onto his butt.
I knelt down, asking him if he was okay. He nodded, then smiled. "Hi, I'm Ryan. Who are you?" Ryan held out his
hand.
I took it in mine and shook it. Feisty little fella'.
"Hi. Name's Spike. Nice to meet ya'." I was about to ask him where his parents were, when no one other than Anne herself came running over to us.
She looked panicked. "Ryan, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" She picked the child up and hid him in her arms. Anne turned to me, "Your kind isn't welcome here. This is a haven for children. You're not going to feed off of them anymore."
"Uh. Listen. I didn't hurt the bit. He ran into me. Ryan's alright. I'd never hurt a child." Looking at her, I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew her from somewhere. "And how'd you know that I'm a vampire?"
Her head came up sharply, "I know what you are. I know who you are."
Curious. "Really? From where? 'Cause I feel like I know you from somewhere. Are you one of Buffy's friends from school?"
The expression on her face became guarded, "You know Buffy?"
I shook my head at her, "Yeah. I know Buffy. Who doesn't?"
She didn't seem convinced, "Listen. I don't know what you want, but I want you to leave! You're not welcome."
"Well, actually. The door says 'Welcome all who seek shelter.' Technically, I'm seeking shelter from the sun, so I am welcome here. You should take down the sign if you don't mean it."
Anne huffed at me, yelling loudly, "Then I will! Leave!"
Lindsey, Harrison, Connor, and the bits choose that moment to show up. Lindsey took her aside and explained to her that I had a soul and that I was a 'good vampire'. It didn't look like she cared, because she still threw me out.
Why the hell do I bother? I looked at the money I wanted to give her, for a moment, reconsidering giving it to them. I looked into her eyes, searching them. At that moment, I knew. Chantrelle. That's was her name. That pale mousey little vampire wannabe who wanted Dru and me to turn her into a 'lonely one.' It seems someone helped her out of that phase. The twinges of guilt made me question myself. My doubts completely vanished as I looked back at the little boy who hid across Anne's shoulder. He looked so thin. Not at all healthy and vibrant like other children. NO! I had to give it to them. They deserved better than this.
Taking Cathy and Nicky back with me; I taped the envelope to the back of the basement door, writing her name "For Anne" on the front of it. We all walked back to the Hyperion, splashing in the disgusting water the entire time, just to make the bits happy.
Hyperion Hotel (4:30 pm)
The bits are temporarily clean for now. I wonder how long it's going to take for them to get dirty again. Their parents should be here in a couple of hours and I want them to look nice.
After the bath, we sat down to color in coloring books for a little while as we waited for the pizza delivery man to come with our dinner. Hey, I've had a busy day. I don't have time to cook. Hell, I don't like cooking, I'm not a pansy like Angel, so there.
We ate the pizza in front of the television. We watched "Beauty and the Beast" for the millionth consecutive time. It's the only movie that Cathy wants to watch anymore. I watched it again, hiding my corner tears when the beast is stabbed by Gaston. Damn that Bastard. Why'd he have to kill the beast? The beast never did anything to hurt anyone. He was just crabby.
Shortly after Belle and the Beast lived happily ever after, the boys came home from their hard day's work and inhaled the rest of the left over pizza. After their meal, Connor and Harrison raced to the showers, hoping that if they looked clean, they'd look innocent when they told Angel about their day in jail.
Cathy and Nicky found a game to play together and started to play it on the end table. Shoots and Ladders. Another game in which I will ultimately lose. Damn Ladders. I choose not to play it.
An hour later, Lindsey walked in, looking at me suspiciously. "Hi Spike. Cathy, Nicky. How's the game going?"
Cathy responded excitedly, talking a mile a minute, describing each move and how she beat Nicky this time. Lindsey nodded encouragingly, as he waited for her to finish her story.
"Hey," I responded, as I take a sip of blood from my warm mug. I don't pay attention to him. Charmed was on. It was a rerun, but who really cares. Alyssa Milano, enough said.
Lindsey sat down next to me, "Something weird happened today after you left."
My eyebrow lifted, "Yeah? Like what?"
He sat forward, "Like someone donating an extremely large amount of money to charity."
I took another sip of blood, "Isn't that what you're supposed to do for a charity?"
"It's not usually that much money."
I sat for a moment trying to come up with something plausible to say. For once, I was happy to be interrupted by the opening of the door. A man, disheveled, and panting walked through.
I patted Lindsey's shoulder, "Looks like a client. Why don't you go see what they want? I don't want to miss this episode. Piper's gonna wear that leather number and dance on the bar." I took another sip of my blood.
Now usually, I'd get up and help with the client, but there isn't really anything that I could do until the sun sets. Might as well let the newbie handle it and get his fins wet.
Lindsey took down a detailed history of the problems the man was having. He told him 'not to worry' and that 'Angel Investigations was on the case' as the man left. He searched for the possible demon suspects, and wrote everything up in a file folder which Cordy would file later in her own way. Connor and Harrison came down, now clean and ready for the next case. The three left me with the bits again as they went to hunt down the demons who were holding the client's puppy hostage.
Puppies. Bloody hell. At least, they weren't kittens.
Cathy and Nicky got tired of Shoots and Ladders. They wanted to play Cowboys and Indians again.
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. We're not playing that again. You tied me up last time and wouldn't let me go." I refused to look at them. No, the pouty lip wasn't going to make me change my mind. Nope. I've got a stronger will than that.
"Please, Uncle Spike." Cathy's voice shook. Damn it, I looked. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. Her lip was quivering. "We promise we'll be good."
Then Nicky joined in and I knew I was a goner. "Alright. But you're not going to tie me up."
Hyperion Hotel. Dining Area (6:00pm)
"Bloody Hell! Let me out of this." I shook the chair again. "This is not funny. You kids better untie me or you'll never eat ice cream again. I'm serious." The only response was their giggling.
I twisted and turned as I struggled to get out of the chains. How do I get myself in these situations?
Cathy came up to me. "Uncle Spike. Let's play Beauty Parlor."
"Cathy. NO. I don't want to play with you. Untie me! Right Now!" I spoke sternly.
Her eyes flashed. Her father got like that. If you told him what to do, it'll piss him off even more. "No. I wanna play Beauty Parlor. I'm a princess."
She climbed up on my lap, pulling her mother's dressy makeup kit up with her. She pulled out a lipstick. "You'll look beautiful in this, Uncle Spike."
I shook my head, moving it around, trying to prevent the horror. It didn't work.
Soon lip gloss, blush, and eye shadow joined the lipstick on my face.
Nicky sat on the chair besides me, looking like a clown, having also been forced to play "Beauty Parlor." The only thing that I'm grateful for right now is the fact that everyone is late. Maybe they won't show up until later. No one will ever know about this.
"HI. HONEY. I'M HOME!!!" Cordy's voice rang out through the whole hotel. The children jumped up to run to the lobby. Damn it. Untie me first.
The sounds of joy reached me in the dining room. I heard hugs and kisses being shared. Laughter as they wiped at Nicky's face. I wanted to be apart of it. But no, I'm tied up like a clown.
The door to the dining room opened. Angel walked through it.
His mouth dropped open. Angel tried to make a sound, but it didn't work. I just glared at him, silently daring him to say something. It seemed like he was having trouble forming words. His mouth kept opening and closing, but no sounds came out. He ran his hands through his hair as he tried to say something for the final time. It didn't work.
Angel walked back out the dining room door in which he came from. The door swinging shut behind him.
Even the shut door couldn't stop me from listening as Angel laughed. I don't think I've ever heard him laugh so hard. The others poked their heads in the dining room to see what the joke was. They left as quickly as Angel had. I heard as they fell over laughing along with Angel.
My head lowered to my chest wanting to be invisible.
Bloody Hell!
The END
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Next Chapter: June