Chapter 16 – The Waiting Game can actually be Lost
Spike and Wes made it back to the Hyperion with little incident. What they found on entering could only be described as barely contained chaos. In the centre of the lobby was a make shift bed, a mattress had been pulled from a near bedroom and there were soft sheets and a pillow dumped unceremoniously on top of it. The reception counter and the floor in front of it was covered in magical paraphernalia. Most important was the Orb of Thessulah that sat upon a red velvet cushion, doing a magnificent impression of an oasis of calm. Books covered every available surface. On the sofa were more blankets – looked like some one was staying down here tonight. The TV and DVD player had been pulled into the lobby. Pizza and Chinese take out perched precariously on the bottom of the stair balustrade, underneath was bags of soft drinks and various sugary snacks.
Spike carefully laid his precious cargo upon the makeshift bed and began to pull off the bloody shirt that Angel was still wearing. Spying Xander hovering Spike called over to him, "Oi! Whelp! I need you to go up to Angel's room and find him another top. Get rid of this one while you're at it."
Xander glared at Spike, not wanting to take orders from the Evil Dead he contemplated refusing. A low growl swiftly changed his mind. Without a further word or even look at the blonde demon he scooted up the stairs and away from that penetrating blue gaze. As Spike turned his attention away from the boy and back to his childe he caught Riley's eye.
Within a few seconds he had identified that this boy would be the greatest threat to the new fledgling and knew that chip or not, if soldier boy so much as looked at his Childe in the wrong way, Spike would rip him apart. Slayer be damned. He felt a presence at his shoulder and whirled ready for the next threat to his Angel. It was just Cordelia. She had a bowl of warm soapy water that smelled of lavender. The scent began to work on him and he found himself relaxing. Only to tense up again when the Cheerleader moved to clean Angel. Snatching the cloth from her hands and giving her a flash of fangs he made it clear that he was the one, the only one that would be caring for Angel. As the wary girl backed off he began to clean his Angel, running the wet cloth slowly over the creamy white skin.
Wes watched Spike with avid interest and quickly surmised what he believed to be wrong with the vampire. When he had turned and focused all of his attentions on cleaning Angel and making him comfortable on the bed Wes called the others over to him. Everyone looked exhausted. Cordelia looked worse than she had when Vocah had opened her up to all the visions. Giles, a man he saw as something of a mentor seemed suddenly old. Buffy looked like a little girl and not the world's mainline of defence. Everyone in the room was battle hardened but for the first time they looked defeated. He beckoned them in closer and lowered his voice.
"I think that you should all be very aware of Spike. He has just turned a Childe – not a minion. He has created for himself a companion to keep for as long as he desires and a pupil to train. As such he is going to be incredibly possessive around Angel, especially in the hours before Angel rises. He should calm down when Angel is up and can defend himself. This is, I believe a normal reaction. Just bear with him and tolerate this, it cannot be helped. Just as our grief can't. Do you agree Giles?"
Giles removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Remembering Spike's reaction to the proposed trip, Darla, the fact that Angel was human and the news that Angel was missing he had a horrible feeling that Sire protectiveness was only a small part of Spike's problem. However, keeping a calm house was perhaps the most important thing for the moment. There was little evidence to the rising of a Childe but Giles was sure that nothing good would come should Angel rise to find his Sire dust. Clearing his throat, he nodded and voiced his opinion.
"Wesley is right. The best thing we can do is leave Spike to deal with Angel. Offer him help by all means but don't try to do anything without his consent. Do not start Buffy. I am well aware of your feelings for Angel, we all are, and I know that you don't trust Spike fully but here we have no choice. We need Spike, I dread to think of Angel's reaction should Spike be dust when he rises. They may not normally get on but they were both Master vampires. Now Angel is a fledgling Childe and he will need his Sire and Spike may be the only one who can control Angel. There are too many unknowns here. No one has ever witnessed a Childe rising and as far as I know Angel is the first person to be turned for a second time. We need to tread very carefully."
Giles' soft but firm words struck a chord within each person and they all nodded their agreement. Xander however raised the issue that Giles was dreading when he mock saluted both Englishmen, "Don't worry Watchermen we'll use extreme caution. I never thought that I'd say this but I can't wait for Deadboy to rise, at least then someone will put the Bleached Blunder in his place."
Luckily no one commented about how wrong his assumption was and everyone moved back to what they were doing. Giles did note though that Wesley's demeanour seemed much more withdrawn and the look he gave Giles suggested that Wesley shared his fears, although he had hidden it well. Only time would tell as to whether his fears were founded. He hoped for all involved they weren't. If it was true, if Spike did have feelings for Angel that transcended the Sire-Childe bond there could be a lot of trouble… an awful lot of trouble. Spike would own Angel. There was nothing more to be said than that. He was very glad that he had never let Buffy read some of the more… delicate volumes concerning Vampire Society. He had never thought it truly necessary for her slaying to understand that Childer belonged to their Sires in every way imaginable and, although he had questioned this decision a thousand times, he was very glad that he had made it. Especially as he watched the blonde Slayers watch the two vampires through narrowed eyes. She'd kill Spike if she knew that he was entitled to love Angel in a way that she couldn't.
It had been five hours since Angel had died. Five long tortuous hours where people had not known whether to mourn or just move on. Five hours later and Willow was finally ready to perform the ritual. She'd decided that the best way to ensure that the spell went without a hitch was to cleanse the area around which it would be done. Problem was that the hotel had a history of bad karma and over 50 years of Thesulac infestation, the cleansing ritual had taken more time and energy than expected. Now, however, she was ready to begin. Wesley, Giles and Tara completed the circle. The herbs were lit, the bones cast and now she was ready to give a swift prayer to the Goddess.
Spike had watched the preparations carefully. He knew that although he didn't trust these humans himself, they did care for Angel and there was no way that Willow or Wesley would allow any harm to come from this spell. Yet knowing that didn't make Spike any easier. His mind was conjuring all sorts of scenarios that left him chilled to the bone but there were two that refused to go away and scared him more than anything. He could see it all happening – Angel waking up all soulful and hating Spike more than he had ever done before. From his time spent with Angel over the past couple of weeks, he had learned that Angel had never hated him… Angel had feared Spike hating him and his soul had made it unbearable for him to acknowledge the fact that he actually cared about the obnoxious demon. His other fear was slightly more destructive – for everyone concerned. He feared that they would be unable to perform the curse and Buffy would have to stake his Childe. Spike could live with Angel hating him. It would be hard – especially after everything that they had been through recently, but he could manage it. But, there was no way that he would be able live if Angel didn't. he could already feel the fledgling Childe-Sire bond flaring to life and burning within him. He knew that it wouldn't last though. Angel would open his eyes and feel from Spike, utterly revolted at what he had done. This was the only outcome that he could perceive from this situation. Angel was not going to be grateful. He'd hate him. He'd hate him no matter what the outcome, and Spike wasn't sure that he'd be able to cope. He snapped back to the situation at hand just in time to hear Red finish her prayer to the Goddess.
"…this offering. Blessed be." Willow glanced at her fellow casters and then at the other occupants of the lobby. Her eyes lingered on the inert form in Spike's arms and she swallowed a big gulp of apprehension. She knew this spell inside out, and there was definitely enough power between the four of them, yet she had the most horrible feeling that something wasn't right. Shaking it off she smiled at Buffy and Cordy who were sat together. Who would have guessed that it would be Angel of all people that would have brought them to almost talking? She calmed herself and began the ritual that she knew so well. Wesley started the chant.
"Quod perditum est, invenietur."
Tara started to move the herb stick back and forth, creating a sweet smelling smoke screen for Willow to chant into. She laced her hand with that of her girlfriend and Wesley and began her chant.
"Nici mort, nici al finitei, te invoc spirit al trecerii. Te implor, Doamne, nu ignora aceasta rugaminte. Lasa orbita safie vasul care-i va transporta, sufletul a el…"
"Stop… the … vision… ANGEL! ... road…"
Cordelia came back from her vision to find herself on the floor being cradled by Buffy off all people. Wesley was kneeling in front of her and watching her closely.
"What did you see Cordelia?"
Wesley laid a soft and remarkably cool hand on her forehead, trying to help ease the pain that lingered after the vision. Cordelia moaned at the soft touch and gratefully took the aspirin and water that were being held out to her by Anya. She offered her new friend a weak smile and downed the pill and water. With a groan she eased herself off the floor and sat herself back on the sofa. She could feel them all hovering, waiting for what she had to say. She could practically feel Spike's eyes as she buried her head in her hands and began to cry. Upon seeing Cordy's break down, Buffy's iron tight grip on her emotions snapped and she smashed her fist down on to the counter in frustration.
"We don't have time for this! We need to do the ritual now before Angel rises!"
Wesley turned a cool eye on the ranting Slayer and glanced back at his sobbing friend and then at his dead friend before letting out a weary sigh. He was tired of the hoops that they were being made to jump through and his nerves were feeling frayed as it was. In one night he had lost a friend to Wolfram and Hart and had watched as Angel had had his Shansu stolen from him. He wasn't prepared to deal with an emotionally fraught slayer as well.
"I appreciate the need for us to complete the ritual Buffy, but the Powers don't send visions for the fun of it!"
"They don't want us to do the ritual." Cordelia's voice was so quiet that they would have all missed her words had they not been waiting for them.
"What did you see?"
Cordelia rubbed her hands over her face and wiped away her tears. She tried valiantly to school her features into some kind of calm but the tears fell regardless. Her words, when they came, were soft and unsure and her voice was trembling.
"It was unlike any vision I have ever had. I saw Angel, and he was stood in the middle of a road. There were four different exits that he could take and… he has to choose his path. There was someone with him and he was happy to see them. He has to make the choice; we can't do it for him. The vision was so clear on that. If we make the choice – things will go horribly wrong."
"Cordelia, I am not following you. The Powers don't want their Champion back? I find that highly unlikely." Wes had squatted down in front of her so that he could see her eyes as she tried to answer his question. The eyes that he saw were cold, hardened by grief and disbelief at what was going on around them.
"Believe it Wesley. Angel has been offered a choice in what way his life will progress. We can't do anything."
As they both spoke their voices became all the more soft and unsure. By their next words, they were talking barely above a whisper and the silence that came before Cordelia's final words was as oppressive as a funeral knell.
"So, he might not come back to us?"
"No, he might not."
Spike had lost his child before he had even risen. He pulled Angel closer to his chest in the vain hope that Angel could feel him and would come back to him. He tuned the others out. Their grief was inconsequential. Compared to his, it was nothing. It wasn't even grief. They may have only lost a friend that they had had for a short time. He may lose a part of his life. When Angel turned human it wasn't so bad, at least Spike knew that he was still in the world and he could still see him if he needed to. Now, he may never see Angel again. This was too much to cope with. He buried his face in Angel's neck and he did something that he hadn't done in many years. He cried. He gripped Angel's hair fiercely, buried himself into the death chilled skin and let go of all his feelings.
Buffy, watched with mounting fury as Spike clung to the man that she loved with all her heart. She felt cheated of everything. She had been cheated out of the chance to love Angel the man, Angel the vampire and now she was being cheated out of the chance of holding him one last time. Consumed in her own grief, whirled on the distraught Seer.
"Are you sure Cordelia? Because if this is a game…"
A tear streaked, reddened face glared up at her and Buffy was faced with the tearful yet angry Cordelia Chase.
"Its not! Oh God! How can you even ask me that? After Spike, I am the next person that needs Angel back! He is my best friend and I am not used to having one and there is no way in hell that I am willing to let him go. But this isn't my choice, it's his."
Not wanting to further anger the suffering of Cordy, or of the group as a whole, Tara voiced her dark thought quietly and softly. She had to say it, but, with all her heart she didn't want to.
"Are you sure that the Powers sent this vision and not that Wolfram and Hart? They seem to have a yen to hurt Angel and you said yourselves that they want Angelus. This would guarantee his return."
"I have an answer to that one Crumpet. Princess, give those pipes a little workout for us. How about a little Aretha?"
"Lorne, that's genius!"
"Well I have had a good idea or two in my time Muffin."
Wes blushed at his inadvertent slight on Lorne's intelligence, but his bumbling apology was cut of by Cordy's rushed and less than dulcet tones breaking the silence of the lobby.
"I must confess, that my loneliness
Is killing me now,"
"Ok, reading you loud and clear gorgeous! That vision was one hundred per cent bona fide PTB. No question about it."
There was a long pause before Gunn dared to speak.
"So we have to wait…"
"And hope that Angelcakes wants to come back to us."
All eyes turned to look at the dead man in Spike's arms.
