Chance Encounters

Part 2

By Kali

"I know how you feel. Really, I do," Spike said as he approached a brooding Wesley.

"I came out here, because I wanted to be alone."

"Yeah, well, trust me, that tends to turn out not so well."

"Meaning?"

"Brooding can have unforeseen consequences, at times."

"Spike…"

"And at other times…."

"Get to the point, please?"

"My mother."

"Your mother?"

"I told you before that I killed her."

"Yes, yes you did. And I'm sorry, but, I'm not particularly interested…"

"But, I didn't get a chance to tell you why."

"That's okay. I'm fine with that. The not knowing, that is."

"I know I'm a bit… put offish at times."

"That's putting it mildly."

"But, this is important. So listen to me for a bit, okay?"

"Very well."

"My mum was very ill. So, I thought that turning her into to a vamp would be the perfect solution. Her and me, together for eternity. Only, it made matters worse. Much worse.

"Uh huh."

"She became someone else."

"Well, being bitten by a vampire tends to do that."

"She wasn't my mum anymore. She was this lecherous thing… and she made a move on me."

"Yeah, so you told me. And I'm still trying to get that picture out of my mind."

"And because of that thing, I thought that my mum had never really loved me. That, and having to kill her. It changed me."

"And how exactly does this relate to me?"

"Illyria looks like Fred. But she isn't her."

"I know that!"

"Do you? Look, this could all be a moot point, in a bit. He's going to ask her."

"He is?"

"Yeah, any minute now."

"I… The things I've seen. The things I've done. I don't know what or who I believe in, anymore. Hope seems like a rare commodity these days. But, I hope to God that she says yes."

"So," Angel said, attempting to sound casual..

"So," Willow responded.

"Thanks again for re-souling me."

"No prob."

"Have you seen Buffy?"

"Yeah, she just wanted some time alone to think."

"Yeah, I can imagine. Seeing your re-ensouled vampire ex "die", only to have him return from that, would be a bit "heavy" to deal with. And she has had that happen to her twice. Only, the first time, she "killed" me. But semantics aside…"

"Angel, why don't you just come out and say it?"

"What?"

"Oh come on! It's what you want, it's what your crew wants as well. You want me to try and save Fred, don't you?"

"That was the general idea, yeah."

"I don't know if I can."

"Yeah, I know that it's a difficult spell. That it might not work.."

"No, it's because of Buffy."

"Buffy?"

"She… came back different. I thought that I had rescued her from some horrific hell dimension."

"But?"

"Where she was, she didn't want to be "rescued" from. And the same might be true for Fred."

"So, you're saying no?"

"I'm saying that I would have to ask Fred's permission first."

"Uh, sorry guys. Me… no singing…. Period."

"But, Willow, if you do this, Lorne will be able to tell how…" Angel pleaded

"I know, and I'm sorry, but…"

"Sugar, you don't have to do it in front of anyone else but me."

"I… I…"

"Can't someone else sing? Wouldn't that work?" Xander asked.

Willow brightened at his suggestion. "Yeah! Like Giles. He has a good voice. Or Spike."

"Spike can sing? When did this happen?" Angel asked, shocked.

Giles watched as a solemn Wesley paced back and forth.

"Wesley, I think I need to clarify something to you. I'm not against you, per se, or Angel, or… I just find the concept of your group's alliance with Wolfram and Hart… highly questionable."

"A few years ago, I'd probably would have felt the same way. But, we did know what we were getting into when we allied ourselves with them. We did this with our eyes wide open."

"I hope so. And I hope that we ALL don't end up regretting that decision."

"Yeah, well… I just had a very odd conversation with Spike."

"Really? That happened to me… quite often, actually."

"He mentioned his mother."

"Ah. Is he still having mother issues?" Giles asked.

"No. He seems to have come to terms with it. But that, in itself, is part of the conundrum."

"How so?"

"How is it that a vampire can feel so deeply about his mother and her death? When "A" he's essentially a demon inhabiting someone else's dead body, and "B" he had no soul back then. At least not one in the typical, human sense."

"I know, it does tend to fly in the face of what we were taught."

"Spike seems to have kept much of who he was, before he was vamped. While Angelus is practically the opposite of Angel."

"Spike did aide us a bit. At the time, I thought it was because of the chip, and him being bored. But, when Buffy died, Spike was devastated. Almost as if…"

"Harmony said something rather… compassionate to me, the other day.

"That is odd. Especially, for her."

"Yeah, I know, theoretically, it shouldn't be possible. Not for a vampire. And then there is Darla. She was brought back human. With a soul, and her memories of her vampire life. She wanted to be turned back into a vampire. If the human soul truly ceases to exist on this plane and moves on to limbo, when their body is turned into a vampire, then…"

"It leaves us with a lot of uncomfortable questions."

"It sort of intrigues me, actually. A mystery to be solved. Something to keep my mind off of…"

"Fred!"

"Hi, Cordy!"

Disclaimer: All Buffy/Angel -verse characters belong to Joss Whedon and co… This fan fic is meant as pure, harmless fun, and as such, no profit is being made from it.