Conversations
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Want to though.
Summary: More revelations and conversations.
Reviews: Well, Yeah. All you guys are so great. You feed my muse and make me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Readers rock but REVIEWERS RULE!!!!
A/N: In order to avoid a bunch of confusion, I have to tell all of you that Jake and Will are not in the same time frame as Susan and the rest. Susan's part of the story is taking place the next day. The next chapter I'll be putting everyone back on the same time track.
kristendotcom: Sorry the chapters are short. These people get to a certain point and then just stop. No matter what I say or how much I threaten they just won't go any farther.
Raiining: Evil is coming, never fear. (insert wicked laughter)
Everyone: Please go read WayWard Childe's review for chapter 8. It's so funny! He's very talented. He's posted some totally awesome stories. When you're done reading and reviewing this chapter, go check out some of his work. You won't regret it.
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While Susan was in the ladies room freshening up, Wesley used his cell phone to call Angel and tell him what was going on. When they entered the Hyperion a little while later, Angel and Gunn had left to follow a lead given by one of Cordelia's visions. Fred was upstairs with Cordy as she recovered from the headache the vision had given her. Buffy and Dawn were in the lobby gazing at the portraits trying to absorb every detail of the vampire they both longed for. The girls sat on the sofa huddled together; hands clasped together, blue and green eyes trained on the canvases.
Susan noted the haunted expressions on their faces. She saw the sadness and love that shone with each unshed tear that sparkled in their eyes as they studied the images of Will.
'So, someone does care about Will.' She thought. 'Maybe he'll get his memory back if we get them together. But how are we going to get him here?' She turned her attention back to Wesley as he began making introductions.
"Susan Wilson, I'd like you to meet Buffy and Dawn Summers. They're the ones who want to find Spike." Wesley steered the brunette over toward the sofa as he spoke.
Susan nodded to the sisters. "Pleased to meet you." She said before looking at the former Watcher in confusion. "Who's Spike?" She asked.
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Jake shook Will awake. He'd watched and listened to the nightmare until it appeared to seriously upset the young vampire. He had gotten just a few more words and phrases down in his notebook and hoped they could make some sense of it soon. Jake was almost afraid to attempt discussing the notations with Will. He didn't want to set off another migraine.
"Bloody Hell, Watcher, just give me a sec, will you? A vamp needs his sleep you know." Will's voice reflected a new accent. Jake wasn't sure but his friend sounded rather Cockney. His speech pattern wasn't as refined as the young man was used to hearing.
"What?" Jake asked, confused. "Who or what is a 'Watcher'? Will, are you okay?"
Will started. He blinked his eyes open and trained his deep blue gaze on Jake. "I'm fine. What happened?" His voice returned to the cultured tones Jake was accustomed to hearing.
'Whoa.' Jake thought. 'This is new.'
"What do you remember?" He asked Will quietly.
The vampire thought for a moment. "The phone rang. You were shouting. They sold your paintings. One of the people was a vampire. There was a memory. It hurt. A lot. Then you were shaking me." He shook his head. "I don't remember anything else. What was that you were asking? 'What's a Watcher?' I don't know. It feels as if I should but I don't really want to try to remember anything else right now." He sat up on the sofa. Jake moved back as Will swung his legs around to sit straight.
"That about sums it up." Jake told him. "I gave you some blood that I'd put some painkiller into. You've been asleep for several hours. You had another nightmare. Do you recall any of it?"
Will shook his head again. "Same as usual, Mate. Not a damn thing. Just that voice, that girl. It's as if there's a big heavy door that slams shut as soon as I wake up." Frustration shone in his sapphire eyes.
Jake yawned suddenly. He was startled to realize it was the middle of the night. "If you're okay, I'm going to bed now. It's been a long night."
Will nodded. "I'm fine. Did the satellite dish ever clear up?"
Jake smiled. "I went out and cleaned it off several hours ago."
The vampire grabbed the remote with unconcealed glee. "Sleep tight then. Don't let any vampires bite."
Jake rolled his eyes, a motion that caused a strange pang to run through Will. It had been the same nighttime ritual ever since they'd discovered that Will was a vampire but oddly had no desire to bite Jake or any other human. The first time Susan had come to visit and Will had been hesitant to meet her. He'd been afraid that his reluctance to bite had been restricted to Jake. They had all been astounded when it was discerned he didn't want to bite anyone. He was quite content to feed on the animal blood Jake bought from the butcher. Recently, Jake's eye rolling had started to make Will feel a little sad, as if he was missing a part of himself. He shook off the feeling and waved the remote at his housemate.
"I'm set. Got my remote, five hundred and seventy-five channels and snacks in the kitchen, what more could I want?" Will grinned.
Jake grinned in return. 'Maybe your memory and your life back?' He thought a little sadly. With that, he retired for the rest of the night.
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Three pairs of eyes looked at Susan in unconcealed horror. "What do you mean, who's Spike?" Wesley pointed at the paintings. "That's Spike." He stated.
Susan shook her head. "Jake has never mentioned anyone named 'Spike'." She told them flatly. She held her hands up as they all began bombarding her with questions.
"Calm down. I can tell you really miss the guy in the portraits. It's obvious. We need to sit down and discuss all this before I call Jake." She raised her voice to override the audio assault. She sat down in a chair close to the sofa and waited.
Dawn began to cry. Her hopes had been dashed. Now she would never get Spike back. If this lady didn't know who he was then obviously it wasn't him in the paintings. But, if it wasn't him then what about the duster and the amulet? It had to be him. There was no other explanation. Tears slid silently down her face as she gazed at the profile of her best friend.
Buffy slid her arms around her weeping sister. It was all she could do not to dissolve into heartbroken tears herself. To get so close… She refused to finish the thought. She wasn't going to give up yet. There had to be a reason this woman didn't know who Spike was.
Wesley sank down into a chair, deep in thought. 'She's not lying.' He thought to himself. 'I wonder…' He looked over at Susan. "He used to go by 'William the Bloody'. Has Jake mentioned anyone named William?" He asked.
Susan shook her head, chestnut hair swinging softly. "No." She said quietly. She wasn't sure why but she didn't feel inclined to elaborate and tell them she knew him as 'Will'.
Angel came into the hotel followed closely by Gunn. He'd heard Wesley's question and her answer. Gunn moved over to the weapons cabinet to put away their gear before disappearing upstairs to give them some privacy. The vampire's chocolate brown gaze took in the scene. Buffy and Dawn were sitting on the sofa clinging to each other. Wes was sitting in a chair gazing inquiringly at a lovely young woman. She had long straight chestnut hair and large gray eyes. She was clad in a designer dress that would have made Cordelia incoherent with envy and expensive shoes Cordy would kill for. He approached her and held out his hand.
"I'm Angel." He stated.
"Hello, I'm Susan Wilson." She answered shaking his hand. He was surprised that she didn't flinch at the coolness of his grasp until he remembered Wes telling him that she knew he was a vampire. "I work at the gallery and the artist of these pieces is my cousin." She continued. She stood up and walked over to the paintings. She couldn't conceal the affection in her gaze as she looked at the portraits.
Angel noticed. "You know him." It wasn't a question.
She nodded.
Dawn leaped up. "But you said you didn't." She accused hotly.
Buffy stood up next to her sister. "Dawnie." She warned softly.
Angel glanced at the sisters. "You said you didn't know him?" He asked Susan.
Susan sent him an amused look. "I said Jake never mentioned Spike or William. I didn't say I didn't know the guy in the paintings." She caught the looks of hostility she was receiving. She sighed. "Look, it's been hard, okay? We had to make sure you didn't mean him any harm. I mean, no one has looked for him for four months. Although I can't say I was surprised by that considering…" She trailed off once more gazing at Will's image.
Buffy gasped. "He's been back four months? Why hasn't he tried to find us?" Tears spilled from her green eyes. "Oh God! He doesn't love me any more. He didn't believe me. He doesn't want to come back, does he?" She sobbed, sinking down onto the sofa with her face in her hands.
Angel clasped a large hand around Susan's arm. "Are you always this cruel or is today special?"
Susan raised her free hand, hooked a finger in the chain around her neck and pulled out a gold cross. She held it towards Angel forcing him to back up and release her arm. As soon as she was free she dropped the pendant but didn't return it to its hiding place.
"I'm not trying to be cruel. I'm trying to determine what's best for my cousin and his friend." She tried to explain.
Wesley cleared his throat. "Does Jake's friend have a name?" He inquired.
Susan nodded. "Will. He thinks his name is Will." She answered.
Angel dropped into a chair as he heard the name he used to call his Childe.
Wes tilted his head. "He thinks his name is Will? Doesn't he know?"
Susan's serious gray eyes surveyed each one in turn and slowly shook her head. "No, he doesn't know. He doesn't remember anything that happened before he burst out of that amulet in a cloud of ash."
