A/N: Thanks for the reviews and the glorious, glorious praise!
Spike sat in the corridor of Angel's office on Harmony's desk. The female vampire was not at work today for some reason or another and Dawn Summers sat in her chair spinning slowly around and fiddling with the unicorns on her desk. Spike was looking at the doors to Angel's office and wishing his vampire hearing extended to closed doors that were that far away. In-between straining to hear anything he was glancing at the younger Summers woman out of the corner of his eye. Christ, she had changed.
He had seen in his last year in Sunnydale that Dawn was starting to develop a self-assuredness that reminded him of Buffy and now she had it well and truly down. For a girl of...eighteen, she must be by now, she was a lot more confident then most. She had a certain poise, a way of sitting and of walking now that showed him she had well and truly shaken off the awkward teenage stance. Besides she practically didn't have a scratch on her from the fight – Dawn could definitely take care of herself now. She was also dressing a lot more like a woman now then a girl. She had her sister's classy dress sense and with her added height and slender figure Spike imagined she had all the blokes in Rome following her about begging for her time.
Then again so does Buffy, probably...Spike's eyes darkened as he thought of all the grubby paws of those Italians grabbing at his Slayer. His Slayer? Spike snorted to himself. Buffy hadn't been his anything for a long time never had been really. She had always been just out of his reach. Unattainable to coin her own phrase.
"You are such an idiot" Dawn said suddenly as she sat there with her arms folded over her chest, reminding him of her elder sister.
Spike craned his head around to look at her "Beg your pardon, Niblet?"
"I said you are such an idiot" She answered evenly looking him in the eyes unflinching "And my name is Dawn"
Spike turned around and propped his leg up on the desk so he could see her better "Don't trouble yourself with things you know nothing about, Dawn"
"I know a lot more than you seem to think, Spike" She arched an eyebrow "Buffy and I talked a lot after your supposed death. We talked all night. So, really, I know more about how she felt about you than you did"
"That so?" He looked at her and she nodded, he shrugged and lit a cigarette "Doesn't matter. Not anymore. Like you said – you know how she felt about me. Not what she feels about me. It's inconsequential, really. Far as she's concerned I don't exist anymore"
Dawn snorted reminding him a little of the old Niblet "Yeah right. Incase you don't remember, Spike, Buffy isn't exactly the most changeable person when it comes to emotions. You think she just, what, got over you in a couple of days?"
"Well, why don't you tell me what really happened then?" He asked taking a deep hit of the Marlboro.
She laughed "I don't think so. You really think I'm gonna spill my sister's guts out to you?"
"You did before"
"That was a long time ago" Dawn replied "Also before you faked your own death"
Spike looked outraged "I did not fake my own death! I burnt up into dust!"
"Still, you don't write, you don't call..."
Spike was about to reply when the doors to Angel's office opened and the big boss vampire strolled out with a dark look on his eyes and a creasing in his forehead that meant bad news. Buffy followed him out with the same look on her face. Spike hopped down from the desk and then grasped him stomach as a zigzag of pain ran up and down his torso. Dawn stood and came around the desk to stand next to him. Spike noticed with dismay that she was now as tall as he was.
"We done here?" The Slayer's little sister asked.
"Damn right we are" Buffy said all business-like "Let's go"
Angel looked at her as her and her sister started to leave "What happened to sharing?"
"We'll be back tomorrow. Got some jetlag and...other things to deal with" Buffy glanced at Spike pointedly then looked back at the other vampire "Besides, I thought you might need some time to get your troops together"
"I can get a whole unit on it in ten minutes" Angel said.
"Of course you can" Buffy sighed and carried on going.
Angel called after her "You don't have to stay in a hotel. We have plenty of guest houses and apartments you could use"
"No thanks," The Slayer said without turning back as she reached the elevator and pressed the button with Dawn standing next to her "The less time I spend in this place the less my skin feels like it wants to crawl off my body and slither down into the sewers"
With that the two women stepped into the elevators and turned around to face the two vampires as the doors slid closed. Spike looked at Buffy as she looked back at him with dead eyes. Then the doors closed and he let out a pent up breath he didn't even have to expel.
"Bloody hell" Spike muttered taking a long, trembling puff of his cigarette "She knows how to make an entrance that's for bloody sure"
"And an exit" Angel added.
The two men nodded.
"So, what did she come here to tell you anyway?" Spike asked trying to forget what it felt like seeing the Slayer again.
"Some demons getting themselves high on some new wonder drug" Angel replied as they walked down the corridor to catch the same elevator "Seems the whole demon world is using them practically but there's one group who may actually have a plan to use these drugs for something big. Instead of just for fun"
"Yeah? What for then?" Spike asked as they stepped in the elevator.
"World domination. What else?" Angel sighed as the doors closed "But it looks like they're gonna start with L.A"
Spike snorted "'Course they are! You know, for once I wish these demons would try and take over...Hungary first or...Czechoslo-bloody-vakia. Why has it always gotta be L.A?"
"'Cos it's the City of Angel's. That really gets up demon's noses" Angel said frankly.
"More like the City of Angel" He grinned "You got a personal vendetta goin' with these guys?"
Angel frowned "The Kraal's? Honestly? I don't remember. I've got so many vendettas going on I just can't keep track of them"
"So, what's the plan?"
"Get Wesley to find out as much as he can about the Kraal's - their history, their strengths, weaknesses, whether they have any person vendettas against me. The usual. Oh, and if he knows anything about these 'Speed Beads'" Angel said as the doors opened and they stepped out onto the ground floor.
Spike followed, taking a hit of his cigarette "'Speed Beads'? Christ, you think they'd give the things a decent name. Like...Super Invincibility Balls or...maybe not..." He trailed off as Angel gave him a look.
They walked towards Wesley's door and entered to find the former-Watcher sitting behind his desk reading a big dusty book as per usual. His glasses were perched on his nose as he read. Wesley had taken to wearing the glasses again about a year ago and he also dressed a little smarter again. His hair was shaven close to his head and it had started to go gray at the temples. Spike would have hated to have gray hair at Wesley's age – he was only around about thirty-seven, thirty-eight. Wesley didn't seem to mind though. Over the past year he had softened considerably. He was still an excellent fighter and went dark when he needed to but on the whole he was a lot more content, rested.
"Wes," Angel said stirring the man out of his reading "We got trouble"
Wesley smiled slightly as he closed the dusty tome "Isn't that what we've always got?"
"Buffy has brought us some information on a new drug some dangerous demons have got their claws on. Could be a potential bloodshed for L.A" He said crossing his arms and looking grave.
"Buffy? She called?"
"No" Angel shook his head, cleared his throat "She was, uh, here"
Wesley looked surprised "Here, really? And now...?"
"Now she's gone" Spike answered him "Be back tomorrow, or so she said"
The man looked at him "Ah, I take it she found out about you then?"
"Yep, about...ten minutes ago" Spike replied "It wasn't pretty"
Wesley nodded "I can see" He motioned to Spike's battered appearance and the large whole in his stomach "She did that?"
"No" Spike said.
"The horde of demons did that" Angel told him "Buffy just threw Spike down a flight of stairs"
The platinum haired vampire looked at him "Oi! You said you couldn't hear anything"
"I'd say you got off easy then," Wesley smiled looking at Spike "If I was her I would have done something...much more painful to you"
"Oh, charming!" Spike threw his hands up in the air "All get on her side why don't you"
Angel turned to Wesley "The demons are called Kraal's and they've got some new wonder drug called Speed Beads. It looks like these things can make them formidable enemies"
Wesley frowned "Speed Beads? Oh, dear, they really weren't trying to win medals for ingenuity were they?"
"I don't think that was on their to do list" Spike smirked.
"Call me if you find anything" Angel said to the ex-Watcher.
Wesley nodded and picked up another book and started researching. Angel motioned that they should go because when Wesley was in research mode they were just in the way. Spike nodded and followed the dark-haired vampire out of the office and into the foyer. Spike pulled a cigarette out and lit it up taking a long, relieving hit of it.
Angel spoke looking straight ahead as they walked "She's pretty mad at you"
"Me? What about you!" Spike pointed at him "Didn't seem too fond of you at the moment, either. Oh, well, I suppose that doesn't matter to you. You've got dog girl"
"Her name is Nina" Angel said through gritted teeth.
Spike nodded "Yeah. Nina. You know you seem tense. What's up, dog girl not giving it up?"
"Shut up, Spike"
He chuckled "Haven't had some for quite a while, have you mate?"
"Oh, like you have I suppose?" Angel shook his head "No. I didn't think so"
Spike looked at him "I thought you and Nina had been seeing each other for a while now. Is it you? You having performance anxiety? Worrying you're a little rusty. I can give you some tips" He smirked.
Angel looked at him with narrowed eyes then turned away as they walked up the steps "I like Nina. I mean I really like her"
The platinum-haired vampire took a hit of the cigarette "So what's the problem? Do her doggy style and make her howl at the moon already"
"You don't get it, Spike" He sighed "I like her. So, the curse..."
"Oh. Moment of true happiness. Right" Spike nodded "So glad my soul didn't come with any hidden disclaimers like that"
Angel glared at him "No. It just made you even more of a jerk"
Spike shrugged and they turned a corner as they reached the top of the stairs. The two vampires walked side by side with similar concerned facial expressions on their faces. Spike taking an occasional drag from his Marlboro and Angel searching the corridor for danger out of sheer habit. A lot had changed this day. Spike was still dealing with it, although probably not in a rational, responsible way. It was Angel who spoke first.
"She looked good, didn't she?"
Spike glanced at him "Good doesn't cover it. Like a goddess, mate, like a goddess"
Angel nodded "I thought so"
The two vampires paused at the end of a corridor both looking straight ahead and then sighed in unison. Angel turned right and Spike turned left.
A/N: This was a LONG chapter that was even longer but I spared you the eye ache. I'm nice like that.