Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.
Summary: Post AtS and BtVS, Faith and Xander are approached by a secret government agency. Surprises all around.
Rating: PG-13
Chapter 14: Lesser talks
Giles sat down behind the desk, carefully uncapped the pen, and began writing in his diary.
Spike has brought Angel back from the dead.
He stared at the single sentence, and was struck by how nonsensical and silly it sounded. He carefully scratched it out, and began again.
William the Bloody, recently resouled, was able to battle the minions of hell and recover the soul of his Sire's Sire, Angelus, rescuing him from eternal torment.
It still sounded silly.
Giles put down the pen and rubbed his eyes, wishing very much that things could have stayed as simple as they'd been in the early days. Slayers staked vampires. That had been easier than this.
But now that happy situation only existed in Xander's mind.
Giles moved his fingers to his throat, rubbing there for a moment. The vampire's tale had been convincing, especially since Spike had settled into a little more coherence since returning. Connor had been even more helpful, supplying information that had filled in the gaps.
But Giles still felt uneasy about leaving the two vampires, as well as Spike and Connor, roaming through the halls of the military base. Well, Drusilla wasn't exactly roaming, but she was still there.
And that thought made him shudder as well. He also had to talk to Riley, he realized, and somehow try to gauge the soldier's reactions to all this. And get assurances they'd stop helping demons. And get his Slayers out of here before they became trapped here.
There was a knock at the door, and Giles glanced up, surprised. "Come in," he said uneasily, hoping it wasn't Spike or Angel. Or Connor. Or Riley.
When it turned out to be Faith, he felt his stomach twist. Or Faith, he added to the list silently.
She marched in and sat down heavily in the chair across from him. "I want a new Watcher," she said.
"Oh, um, did you break the last one I gave?" Giles asked, hoping that his feeble attempt at humor would earn at least a smile.
It earned a glare, and he quailed under the force of it, trying to keep a stoic face. "Sorry," he said shortly.
"Look, it was a bad idea to put me and Xander together. Too much history," said Faith shortly. "You leave me with him, and maybe he will get broken, okay? I want somebody else."
"There is nobody else," said Giles slowly.
"Then I don't want a Watcher any more," said Faith dismissively.
Giles sighed, taking his glasses off and beginning to clean them. "Faith, I'm not sure what's brought this on, but I had thought you and Xander were getting on rather well."
"No, we weren't," she said simply. "Looked it, weren't. Okay?"
"I'll…figure something out before we leave here. All right?" asked Giles.
Faith nodded, standing up. Giles sighed, watching her leave. He'd really hoped that they could work out some of their issues. Faith could be a great Slayer, if she'd only learn from Xander. She needed some of the stability Xander represented, some of the heart for the fight.
And Xander could be a great Watcher…if he'd learn from Faith. He was close to suicidal, and Giles had known that Faith would watch out for him. Now he'd have to find somebody else to watch out for him, rather than hoping Faith could convince Xander to start watching out for himself.
But it appeared that it wouldn't work out. He began mentally sketching out new plans, trying to figure out ways to keep them both working.
There was another knock at the door. Giles took a deep breath, wondering who it was this time. "Come in?" he said, hoping his voice wasn't too uncertain.
Angel moved inside the room gracefully, making no noise at all. He glided into a seat, sitting without waiting for permission. He didn't quite make eye contact with Giles, lacing his hands together and examining them. "I was hoping we could talk," he said softly.
Giles slowly relaxed the hand that had clamped down on the stake in his pocket, but kept the hand in the pocket, still wrapped around the stake. "Yes, of course," he said, a little more stiffly than usual.
"Spike and I need to leave, and soon," said Angel. Giles frowned.
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," he managed to get out before Angel cut him off.
"Spike and I have different reasons for wanting to get out of here. This place is driving him even more over the edge, and I… I have some unfinished business."
Giles gazed at the tall vampire. "Unfinished business?" he asked finally.
"Wolfram and Hart still has offices around the world," growled the vampire. "The business we've started has got to be finished." He stopped, hesitating. "Besides that, we don't belong here. Not among your Slayers, not among these soldiers. You know that."
"I…have been uneasy with the arrangement," admitted Giles. He considered the vampire he only half trusted. "But at the same time, despite your explanations, I find it hard to trust you."
Angel grimaced. "I know," he said, looking away. "I don't blame you, when it comes down to it. How about a compromise, then?"
"Compromise?" asked Giles uncertainly, not sure what form the compromise would take and positive no matter what form it came in he wouldn't like it.
"Connor needs to go back to school," said Angel. "Out of the three of us, he's got the most, um, ties to this world. And he's certainly the most trust-worthy of us, being human… and Spike's human too. You should let him go. If you want to keep one of us around until you're certain, it should be me." He thought about that for a minute. "Although there'd be a condition," he added.
"Condition?" asked Giles carefully. He prayed that Angel wouldn't make Buffy's continued presence his condition.
"Don't tell Buffy," said Angel simply. "She'd feel guilty, and might… It's better that she moves on. Finds her normal life…" He shook his head, looking away.
Giles made the intuitive leap instantly. "With Spike, you mean," he said, shocked that he hadn't realized this sooner.
"He's human now," whispered Angel. "Whatever guilt or wrongness stood in their way before, it's gone now."
Giles thought about that for a minute, trying to find some logical reason why it wouldn't work out. Finding none, and remembering all-too-clearly how Buffy had defended Spike before, he sighed and leaned back in his chair, his hand still wrapped tightly around the stake. "Not a lot of room for trust there," he noted.
Angel coughed. "Frankly, Giles, I'm astounded even Spike still trusts me," he said bitterly. "I've made so many mistakes…I got Fred killed first, then Wesley, then Gunn, then Illyria, then Spike…and finally myself. I was the last to fall, you know. I think they did it on purpose, so that when I got to hell I'd know that I'd caused the deaths of everyone around me. There was no hope at all that they'd survived."
"Yet Spike came back from the dead," said Giles.
Angel smiled, a tight, triumphant smile. "That was one I bet he wasn't expecting," he said, gloating. "I just gave him what he wanted—no, he never saw it coming."
Giles eyed him, uncertain of this. "I thought you were friends now?" he asked.
Angel recoiled. "Friends? Me and Spike?" he asked, his voice disbelieving. "What strange world do you live in?"
Giles smiled. "Well, at least some things don't change," he said, relaxing a bit.
--
Spike watched the Slayers spar, sitting in the corner of the training room. He was squeezed tight against the corner, so tightly that it looked as if he was trying to vanish through the wall to avoid being noticed.
Being turned human had been harder on him that getting a soul. Then he had been fighting himself, fighting a bubbling, churning realization within himself, against the very loss of his identity. He'd triumphed against his soul in a way that was impossible to explain, keeping his identity and self-awareness while letting the soul creep into him and assimilate--unlike Angelus, who'd been absolutely unable to come to terms with the soul.
But being turned human had nearly cost him his sanity. The sudden change in mindset had nearly destroyed him. He was no longer a predator, and had lost much of his senses. The change in abilities had nearly killed him.
And the dead silence in his brain where an awareness of his Sire had been had nearly made him cry with happiness. If Angel never got in his head again, it would be too soon.
He heard the bo sticks smashing together, and tried to focus on the violence. But ever since he'd got back, the violence just hadn't been as satisfying as before. Without his full demon nature, he just couldn't seem to fall into that beat, that rhythm, that had ruled his life.
And that bothered him more than anything else.
The two Slayers stopped sparring and started talking, apparently finished. Then they left, leaving him alone with Faith, who was still working on the punching bag.
Spike glanced at her, surprised at the ferocity she was putting into her attack on the innocent bag. Then he shook his head, returning to his reverie.
He almost didn't hear Buffy and Dawn come in.
Almost.
His head snapped back, slamming quietly into the wall. He muffled a yelp, watching as they took up bo sticks and stepped onto the mats. He stayed quiet, hoping they wouldn't notice him.
"So, Spike," said Dawn, tapping Buffy's bo with her own lightly to get them started. "The rumor is that Angel's meeting with Giles."
"Good luck to him!" growled Faith, continuing to pound the bag angrily.
Spike glanced from Dawn to Faith, frowning. He stood up on unsteady legs, closing his eyes and just trying to acclimate for a second. Then he carefully swaggered over to the punching bag, leaning against the wall behind Faith. "Yeah, Angel wants to get on the road again, finish off the lawyers," he said, watching Faith pound the bag.
Buffy watched him, surprised by his sudden interest in Faith. She wondered for a minute just what they'd done in hell together.
Stop it! she scolded herself mentally, blocking Dawn's first attack easily, then countering with a light thrust that Dawn knocked aside. It's none of your business what he does, and with whom. He made that clear last night, when he said he'd moved on.
Faith glanced over her shoulder at the platinum-haired annoyance. "What?" she asked, irritated.
"What'd he say?" asked Spike.
"He said he'd think about assigning me a new Watcher," grunted Faith.
"I meant the whelp," said Spike patiently. "What'd he say."
"Xander?" asked Faith, her voice getting even tighter.
Buffy didn't quite understand what was behind this. As far as she knew Xander had gotten over any underlying resentment towards Faith, although she wouldn't put it past him to mention their 'history' at the most awkward of moments.
Still, she hadn't thought there was any problem there. They didn't seem to argue that much, and that had seemed like a good thing…at the time. Now it was seeming a little suspicious, from two people who loved to argue as much as those two.
Spike scowled. "This isn't about…this is my fault, isn't it?" Buffy was surprised by the guilt in his voice when he said it. She still wasn't used to him acting guilty about anything, soul or no soul.
"Because you broke down my final mental barriers and put me on the path of trying to seduce him?" asked Faith sarcastically.
Buffy and Dawn stopped sparring, staring at her.
Spike barked a laugh. "Yeah, sounds like something I'd do, doesn't it?" he asked. "Turned you down, did he?"
Faith swung a fist back at his face over her shoulder, a smooth sweeping blow. He blocked it with the palm of his hand, catching the blow.
"Yes," said Faith darkly, spinning and kicking at Spike.
Buffy started forward, remembering with a sudden ferocious worry that Spike was human. But Spike rocked back with the blow, grinning.
"Make you feel better?" he taunted Faith. "Get to take out some of that aggression on someone you can hit?"
"Stop it!" said Dawn suddenly, stepping forward.
Spike and Faith both turned to her in surprise. Dawn kept going, keeping her momentum. "In case you two hadn't noticed, we're in enemy territory here," hissed Dawn. "This is not our home, or our base. And those cameras in the corners are not here for our benefit! The last thing we need is to give them something they can use against us. You want to fight, go outside where they can't watch you, and thenfight."
Spike face twitched, registering shock briefly. "Course, nibblet," he said, shaking his head. He glanced at Faith. "I don't know what you were thinking," he needled her.
Buffy shook her head. "Don't you ever learn?" she asked, amused despite herself. It almost felt like old times, with Spike needling those stronger than himself with no hint whatsoever of common sense.
Spike glanced at her. "Never!" he vowed, grinning recklessly.
Then the grin slid off his face, replaced by a scowl. He jammed his hands in his pockets and stomped away, leaving Buffy more than a little confused.
Faith followed him, glaring at Dawn.
"So this is what being the adult feels like?" asked Dawn. "Well, that sucks." She repositioned her bo, aiming it at Buffy. "Again?" she asked.
Buffy shook her head. "That was…confusing. On a lot of levels."
Dawn moved forward, ignoring the head shake. She tapped her staff against the one in Buffy's hands lightly. Buffy's head jerked back at the sound of the quiet impact. "He's confused, and confusing, isn't he?" asked Dawn.
"You seem to be adjusting to this pretty well," growled Buffy.
Dawn shrugged. "I'm trying," she said simply. "You want to go after Faith, or should I?"
Buffy shivered. "Maybe you should. Faith and I have never really got on well."
"Go figure," said Dawn. They began sparring, Buffy holding back and just going through the motions, careful not to hurt Dawn. In the midst of the quick clack-clack of combat, Dawn spoke again. "You know, I never expected Spike to come back to life. Maybe I should have. You did, after all."
Buffy shook her head. "Yeah, but…"
--
Connor was packing his stuff up when Riley found him. Riley glared at the teen, watching him pack all his belongings into a tiny suitcase.
"Hi, Riley," said Connor.
"It's like a yo-yo," lamented Riley. "One minute he's good, the next, oops! Bad again!"
"Welcome to my life," snorted Connor. "Oops, I'm evil! Oops, my dad is evil! Oops, no, it's the woman we both love! Oops, no, it's my daughter!" He continued silently packing.
Riley nodded, rubbing his chin. "Sorry I didn't trust you," he offered.
"It's cool," said Connor. "I'm just amazed you didn't turn on us sooner."
Riley shrugged. "Well, hard as it was to trust Spike, you didn't really strike me as evil."
"Yeah, not so much since I turned from the dark side," said Connor. "I guess I'm more Darth Vader than Angelus was, that way." He smiled, zipping closed his duffel bag. "It's been cool working with you."
Riley smiled. "Yeah…you do realize I've been ordered by my superiors to detain you until further notice, right?"
"That's why Spike and I came to you," said Connor, smiling.
"You thought I'd do the right thing and let you both go?" asked Riley, bemused.
"Well, me, at any rate," said Connor. "And that's the important one."
"Why's that?" asked Riley.
"If I don't get at least a B in math, I'm gonna lose my scholarships," said Connor. "Then it's back to sunny California."
"You like your college?" asked Riley.
Connor shrugged. "Boston's nice," he said finally. "Can I get a ride back out there?"
"Buffy said that someone you called your sister was involved with this," said Riley sternly. "You didn't have Sarah helping you, did you?"
Connor rolled his eyes. "I had her out of there well before the fighting started!" he protested.
Riley sighed. "I'll get one of the jets to fly you out to Boston. What about Drusilla?"
"Keep her?" asked Connor.
Riley shook his head. "I guess I'll talk to Giles and Buffy, see what the Slayers want to do with her," he said skeptically. "I'd really rather give her to them."
Connor smiled, his eyes lighting up. "That's quite a Christmas present," he said cheerfully. "And an insane vampire in a straitjacket," he hummed
Riley shrugged, moving out of the doorway so Connor could exit. "So I guess this is it, huh? The big quest is over."
Connor shook his head. "Not really," he admitted. "We still have a big problem that we don't even know how to deal with."
"What?" said Riley, confused. "I thought you'd dealt with the bad guys."
"We dealt with the Senior Partners," replied Connor. "But that wasn't the biggest problem we were facing, not by a long shot. Spike and Angel had already crippled them. No, our real problems were coming from right here on earth."
"Real problems?" asked Riley, frowning.
"It wasn't the Senior Partners who stole Cordelia," said Connor. "It wasn't the Senior Partners who arranged for my daughter to be an ancient evil that could have consumed this world."
Riley's right eye twitched. "Someday you're going to have to explain it all to me," he said with a sigh.
They stopped in front of the lab, and Connor shifted uncomfortably. "I don't even understand it," he admitted. "Angel thinks it was Jasmine who orchestrated it all, but I'm not so sure."
"So you think there are other bad guys out there," said Riley, nodding.
"Not to mention the fact that there's still at least one branch of Wolfram and Hart fully functional," grimaced Connor. "I have a lot of unanswered questions."
"But you're going back to school," noted Riley.
Connor grinned, knocking on the lab door. "Yeah, isn't it grand?"
--
Drusilla sullenly eyed the soldiers around her, waiting for the moment she knew would inevitably come.
She knew that her Dark Knight was coming to save her, even if she wasn't altogether sure anymore if she even wanted him to save her. He'd done it so many times in the past, but this time would be different.
He didn't love her any more, not like he had before. Now it was all ashes and nobility, things she'd never seen from him at all. Not in her wildest visions had she even imagined him becoming a Champion.
Like the Angel-beast, he had become a hero. A thing of goodness. Her stomach turned at the very thought.
There was a knock at the door, and Spike came in. She felt her stomach flutter at the familiar sight of him, and she swallowed unnecessarily.
"You lot, bugger off," said Spike roughly. The soldiers did so, confused, and Spike approached Drusilla. His eyes gleamed.
"I won't be a butterfly forever," pouted Drusilla.
"I'm not asking you to be, Dru," said Spike patiently. He put his hands on her shoulders, giving her comfort in a small way. She tried to pull away, not wanting to accept the comfort from the monster he'd become, but he held her tight. With the drugs in her, she wasn't strong enough to pull away. "I got you something," he added quietly.
She stared at him, her mind's eye opening wide. "I won't take it," she whispered.
"Oh, come on!" said Spike.
Faith entered the room behind him. "Spike?" she said. There was an edge to her voice, anger at having to seek him out. "Can we talk?"
"I'm a little busy," said Spike, leaning closer to Drusilla. "Dru… it's the only way I can let you come with me."
"I'll not be like you!" she hissed.
"Are you offering her a soul?" asked Faith, moving closer.
Spike sighed, closing his eyes and lowering his head to Drusilla's shoulder. "It's not a good time, Faith," he said.
"What makes you think she'll take it?" asked Faith.
"She's already mad; I don't see how it could be any worse for her than it was for Angel, or for me," said Spike. Drusilla's face shifted, her demonic visage coming forward.
"Spike!" said Faith, jumping forward.
Spike didn't move, and Drusilla's fangs descended on his throat before Faith could even cover half the distance between them.
--
Xander began scratching his notes in his official Watcher's diary.
Spike's alive. Angel's not evil, I guess. And Faith kissed me.
He stared down at the paragraph, wondering if maybe there was some way to get in a time machine and get Faith out of Boston before meeting Spike. If so, then all of this would make better sense.
In the morning he'd been sure that Faith was going to sleep with Spike. Then she'd practically jumped him, confusing him to no end.
He heard the door up and looked up, half-panicked. He slammed the diary closed.
It was Giles at the door. Xander let out a long sigh of relief.
"Who were you afraid it would be?" asked Giles, amused.
"Spike. Angel. Faith," replied Xander. "And possibly Drusilla. Although she's definitely last on the list. What's up?"
"Faith has asked to be assigned a new Watcher," said Giles carefully. He glanced around the sparse room, noting there was nowhere to sit except beside Xander on the bed. He elected to remain standing.
"Really? Great!" said Xander. As Giles reacted he smiled sheepishly. "Or, not great?"
"I don't have another Watcher for her," said Giles. "What brought this on?"
Xander shrugged. "Bad day?" he offered sheepishly.
