The Road to Nowhere Leads to Me

Chp.4

Holding on to Hope

The blonde, ghost-like vampire appears part by part as he walks through the door of Angels office. First a swinging hand, then his head, and the rest of his body. He is immediately followed by the rest of the Fang Gang.

Angel watches morosely as the people gather about the room, taking places on the couches, and chairs. Spike comes to hover over Wes and Gunn as they sit on opposite ends of the couch, situated on the far side of the room. Fred and Lorne are just entering the office, and they look over at the grieving vampire in questioning silence.

Upon seeing Angel so upset, Fred rushes over to him as she sees the redness in his eyes.

Spike looks over at the other vamp, smirking, he takes the opportunity of the silence to take a jab at his Grandesire. "What is it, Peaches?" He squints his eyes in thought, "Your hamster die?" He takes a truly unneeded breath, and walks through the back of the couch he seemed to be leaning against, making his way over to the desk Angel sits behind. Leaning in as close as he possibly can, he looks the other vamp in the eye, "no, wait! You probably ate him, didn't you?" He says sarcastically.

He watches as Angel takes a deep, sighing breath, and lets it out. "Spike you don't have any idea how close you are."

His head hangs, as he prepares to tell everyone the bad news. Granted some of them had never met the girl, they'd all heard the stories that Angel and Spike had told of the greatest slayer ever known. His eyes come up to meet the blue ones leaning in on him. "But, it wasn't a hamster that met it's demise." He takes his eyes out of Spikes. "I think you'd better sit down," he whispers, his fingers finding a paper on the desk, and folding the corner up in a dog ear. "Before I tell you what I have to say."

Spike wants to make a comeback, but seeing the stricken features of the poof, he promptly takes the seat behind him, and nods his ascension.

Taking another deep, and unsatisfying breath, Angel looks into the eyes of everyone assembled. His brown eyes fall into the blue ones of Spike. He slowly lets the breath out. "A couple of nights ago." He tries to hold back his grief, he swallows hard, hardly believing that he has to be the one to break the news. "There was an accident, I didn't have any idea of it, until this morning around 9:30 but..." His eyes drill into Spikes, trying to make him believe everything he's about to say. "Buffy."

Spike sits up straighter in his seat, his eyes growing wide. "Buffy," he sighs, "Is she alright, was the bit with her?" His questions come rapid fire. God not Buffy.

Angel shuts him up with a stern look. "There was a car accident, she was by herself." Tears form in his eyes. "She didn't make it, Spike." He watches Spikes reaction, the tears finally spilling down his face. He turns to Wes, when he can't take the heart broken look on the other vampires face.

"My god, Angel. Why didn't you tell us sooner? How did it happen.What?" Wesley stummbles over his words. "Have you spoken to anyone that was with her? It may be a mistake." He can't believe that his ex-charge is dead, again.

Spike quickly jumps up from his seat, his fists tightly clenched, he tries to pound them on the desk in front of him, but they just pass right through. "She's not dead." He burst out with denial. There's been some sodding mistake, Angelus. There's just... She can't be... I'd know if she... Damn, it I'd know it," he shouts, covering his face with his hands, as he starts to sob uncontrollably. "I'd have known, I'd have felt it." His sobbing slurs the last few words.

Fred makes her way around the desk, not able to choose which vampire to console, she stands in indecision between the two. She has tears running down her face, at the misery of her friends. As she glances over to Spike she sees him hit his knees with a inconsolable, keening wail. Her tears come even more profusely, as she watches the blonde man crumple in despair before her eyes.

Angel can't stand the death wail that Spike is emitting, the high pitched cry hurting his ears, he quickly gets up from his seat and makes his way to his grandechildes side. "Spike?"

Spike looks over his shoulder at Angel, his face had changed to that of his demon. Angel leans back as he sees the golden eyes. Okay, the demon is mourning her, just as much as the soul. He doesn't want to tackle that little anomaly just yet, but he was curious. Why would the demon mourn? It shouldn't even be able to feel anything, except for hatred, and loathing. His own demon seemed to be doing an Irish Jig, because of it.

He can see the devestation in Spike's eyes, he begins to speak to him in a hushed whisper. "Dawn was the one to call me, she was in hysterics. I couldn't make out a lot of what she was saying. But I could tell it was something about Buffy, and a car accident. I asked to speak with someone who wasn't so stricken.She put Giles on the phone, he wasn't much better off, but he was coherent enough to tell me the basics." New tears form and fall across his cheeks. "She didn't suffer, she didn't even feel any pain. He told me she'd died on impact. There wasn't anything that anyone could do for her when she was found."

Spike growls lowly. "What happened?" His golden eyes look seriously into the brown ones of Angel.

"From what I could get out of Giles, she was headed out to retrieve a new slayer. She was caught in a freak snowstorm while going up the mountain, and skidded off of the road, hitting a tree, as the car she was driving rolled."

"What in bloody hell was she doing on a mountain?" The blue eyes of the man come back to the fore. "I thought she was in Italy."

"Giles had asked her to go retrieve the slayer that was located in the Swiss Alps, and she'd complied." Angel sighs, "That's all I know,Spike. After I asked all of my questions, Giles broke down, and I just thought it best that we hang up."

Spike's wailing starts up again, he can't believe that he didn't feel his loves death. He should've felt it, he should've known. Now all wants to do is tear this place apart in his fury. He should've been with her, instead of being here all ghostly.