Chapter 3- Out of Line

The urgent phone call from L.A. to Italy

It is the same night as the accident in Wolfram and Hart.

It is the third day- since the Scoobies have moved into their home in Italy.

Italy-Mid-afternoon (Just estimating)

Don't ask me about time zones! (That can get confusing)

Angel was sitting in Wesley's office while listening to the phone echo loudly throughout the room. On the outside Angel appeared to have a calm stance, but inside he felt nervous and just about to loose it.

"Buffy pick up!" The ring tones answered him and were echoing into his head like a hammer stabbing nails into a wall. He started to worry. Buffy never left the phone ringing for more than a minute!

"Come on someone please answer the phone! Anyone!" Angel said to himself after the fourth ring. Finally he heard the receiver pick up and he released a sigh of relief. Someone was home and that was at least a bit reassuring, Angel thought with hope.

"Hello…Buffy?" A snicker came from the other end.

"Well I'll be damned…again if it isn't the dark and brooding puppy Angel," the voice taunted.

Oh no not Spike. Anyone, but Spike! This night couldn't get any worse. Why me? Of all people in that house this blockhead picks up! That was just what I needed a pitiful distraction to set my nerves on fire, Angel thought sarcastically as he heaved a groan and rolled his eyes glancing up at the ceiling as if it had the answers to help him take away his misery.

"So have you called to beg for Buffy back because you know it's a bit too late for that mate," Spike said, lifting his eyebrow and enjoying every moment of torturing Angel as he hid in a shady corner of the living room away from the Scooby's commotion of unpacking and organizing.

"What the hell are you doing in Italy with Buffy, Spike?" Angel asked, trying to shrug off his anger. If he was going to get a chance to talk to Buffy he had to remain calm. Soul or not, Spike was still his enemy and he had to be patient or Spike would cut him off. Calmly, Angel willed himself to be tolerant by steadying himself and taking inward breaths of fresh air. This was going to be a long night.

"Wouldn't you like to know! Actually we are quite busy right now," Spike said with a laugh, making a false groan of pleasure without bothering to cover the phone.

Angel's hands wound tightly against the phone with anger. Realization and jealousy helped him uncover a pent up emotion that secretly found its way back into his dead heart. He suddenly experienced an overwhelming feeling of loss and regret for leaving and for giving up on Buffy and especially himself, but that didn't matter right now. That was not the reason he was calling. He could still hear Spike's boisterous laughter and he wished he could just reach into the phone and punch Spike or better yet stake him. Spike always seemed to have the upper hand whether being evil or having a soul. Angel took another deep breath to calm himself and to control his mixed emotions.

"Spike, I need to talk to Buffy now! This is not a personal call. Something strange has just came up and I need to talk to her about it please," Angel said in a firm tone, feeling his pride melt away along with his patience. So much for coming out on the top for a change, Angel thought as he started pacing around the office nervously waiting for Spike's response.

"What if I say sod off and hang up on you?" Spike asked with a grin, enjoying the power he temporarily had over Angel. Spike started pushing buttons on the phone just to taunt Angel with the possibility of hanging up.

"Spike!" Angel said, roaring into the phone momentarily giving up his cool.

"Tsk-tsk, I believe your time is up mate!" Spike said, greedily then hid the phone behind his back when he spotted Buffy coming around the corner to deposit a box full of fragile antiques on the round coffee table.

"Spike, what are you doing in the corner of the living room and what's behind your back?" Buffy asked, catching a glimpse of what he had behind his back.

"Absolutely nothing pet! I am just prank calling all the nice people in Italy," Spike replied quickly showing his dimpled trademark grin.

"Who's on the phone, Spike? You can't be prank calling people if you have the power button still on!" Buffy said impatiently, with her arms folded as she waited for another one of Spike's pathetic excuses.

"Good point luv. It's the wrong number. I was just telling the lad to sod off and that we don't want any salesmen calling now, but he kept going on and on like the bloody energizer battery," Spike said shrugging his shoulders as he started to casually walk away from her.

"Whatever Spike, give me the phone," Buffy said, with disbelief in her voice and fire in her eyes as she shoved him back against the wall violently to get to the phone.

"Uh, uh…You have not said the magic word yet pet!" Spike said, playing with her as he raised the phone above his head and stroked the tender spot of her neck. Buffy had a gut feeling that Spike's intentions were to keep her mind off the phone so she pretended to gasp with pleasure while catching him off guard and kicking him in the groin forcefully. Spike went flying head over heels into a pile of boxes as Buffy rushed to dive for the cordless phone effortlessly.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Buffy asked breathlessly, keeping her anger at bay.

"Buffy, it's Angel."

"Angel? What's wrong? You sound like something is bothering you," Buffy asked him, brushing a hand through her hair to fix it while giving Spike a glare to let him know he should get the hell out of the room.

"I can tell you're busy and have your hands full, so I'll make this quick."

"No, I'm fine! We're just organizing and unpacking. Everything is honky dory!" Buffy lied, hoping she sounded convincing.

"Well except for the fact that Xander is sleeping in the same room with Spike because it's the only room we have left to accommodate them both. I think Xander's upset because he won't talk to me, but there's nothing I can do about it. We are all living in extremely tight quarters," Buffy said, letting out a loud exhale of breath. She felt self-conscious about her living situation and her own blabbering. She was becoming a chatty-Cathy! That was not cool at all. There was a long pause.

"What were you going to say Angel?" Buffy asked, sitting on the carpet to anticipate the bad news.

"Something strange happened beyond the usual threats in Wolfram and Hart today. My office just recently started shaking and objects started to swirl and fly around with out much notice as if they were caught in a tornado and an earthquake. The disaster apparently only happened in my office, but I felt no sign of ghosts or anything that would clue in to be from a different dimension. I couldn't pick up on anything with scent or sight. It was weird. Would you know what it could possibly be?" Angel asked, leaning up against Wesley's desk nervously tapping it.

"I have no clue. Have you asked Cordy? Maybe she could pick up something on her radar," Buffy joked, twirling her hair around her finger.

"Cordy's in a comma and I don't think she will be waking up from wherever she is anytime soon. It's a long story! Don't ask!" Angel said, picking up a bottle of pig's blood that Harmony generously left on Wesley's desk and chugging it in two gulps.

"Sorry, Angel," Buffy replied awkwardly.

"That's okay Buffy, you didn't know," Angel murmured softly as he rubbed his nape to massage his tense muscles at his neck.

"Maybe there is something going on with the Senior Partners at Wolfram and Hart?" Buffy asked, biting her nails as she thought it over.

"No, I don't think so. They are usually less obvious and more secretive with their threats of mass destruction. I have an odd sensation that it is something even beyond them. Although I called with Wesley's cell phone just in case something was up and someone was screening my calls," Angel said wearily as he buzzed the main office for more blood.

"Smooth move. Can never be too careful when lawyers or demons are in the mix. Do you have any witches as clients, Angel?"

"No, as far as I know we just have demons. So are you into coming down here for some Nancy Drew work?" Angel asked, swinging around the leather chair and accepted the new bottle of fresh pigs' blood spiking it with tequila from his duster to give it an extra kick.

"No can do here. I would love to, but this place is a mess and things would definitely go wonky and wild if I left Spike and Xander alone for too long," Buffy said uneasily. She yearned to get out of the chaos of unpacking, but she was in charge and everything needed to be spic and span. Yikes! She was sounding like Willow. She was making excuses to organize and clean? Since when did that ever happen? Buffy thought, shaking her head from the unusual idea.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were out of shape," Angel said with a hint of teasing in his low, sexy voice.

"Nice try, but no cigar Bucko! I'm hanging up my stakes and taking a vacation from the fighting scenario. I am chillaxing," Buffy said with a nervous laugh.

In the background Angel could hear a scream.

"What the hell was that?" Angel asked, tilting his head away from the shrill screaming that was vibrating from the phone.

"Buffy, come quick into the kitchen before Spike and Xander snap each others heads off!" Willow exclaimed in a panic as she, and Dawn rushed into the living room waving her to come into the next room.

"Listen Angel, I've got to go. Duty calls. The kids are fighting again. I'll talk to Willow about the weather habits in your office and I'll let you know if I have found anything on it okay?" Buffy replied quickly.

"Alright thanks and I'll call you to give you updates," Angel concluded as they both said their goodbyes and hung up.

Angel felt even more tense when he hung up the phone. Something didn't seem right here.

Buffy never backed down from a challenge to fight whether it be an apocalypse or whatever. Something must be bugging her beyond the Scooby move and conflicts, but what could it be? He knew it and could feel her pain, but for now he had to focus on figuring out what caused the stormy front in his office.

Charmed – San Francisco, Cole's Apartment

Late Afternoon (Day after Angel's office disaster)

The Charmed Ones – Halliwell sisters started picking up the remains of Cole Turner's modern, expensive looking black and marble colored apartment. "It's going to be okay Pheebs, you did the right thing," Paige said, patting her older sister's shoulder in comfort. Phoebe felt mixed emotions of sadness, relief, loss, utter confusion, and a hint of joy after vanquishing her husband in a time and reality warped dimension. After all the suffering he has put her and her family through she actually felt sorry for him. He had lived so long as a half human and half demon with no one to necessarily turn to for love or even help. The evil side of Cole must have been like a drug that he unfortunately could not live without. Evil was like a magnet that in the end dragged Cole to his fateful end. It was me or evil and he couldn't choose. I made him choose and he lived his short, fully human existence feeling like he was powerless and worthless to do anything. Cole took the potion to become fully human because he loved me. He became evil again by the Seer because he craved the power that even I could not give him with love alone. He never made me choose between my powers and him when he was Balthazar. I did this to him. It was not all his fault. Part of it was my fault too because I made him suffer with me, Phoebe thought sulkily as she glanced at the broken picture frame that held a picture of both of them together in the precious past. Two pearl shaped tears fell on the picture as she laid it in the box. Two tears fell for their differences, their tainted love, and their suffering together and apart from each other. Life was not fair and neither was death. Those are my last tears of self-pity. It is time to start a new life, Phoebe thought with determination as she held her breath shaking to keep away the flood of tears that she forced to stay caged inside her heart.

"You did the right thing Phoebe. He was going to kill us and change you into the queen of the underworld against your will. You were right to kill him. In time you will heal," Piper said, kissing her baby sister on the forehead and giving her a supportive hug as they took the rest of Cole's things and stuffed it into a cardboard box and threw it into a garbage dumpster outside Cole's room.

"Then why do I feel so bizarrely hollow inside about all this?" Phoebe asked with a sigh. She switched off the lights and shut the door behind them, leaving Cole's empty room, which began to carry a mysterious, eerie glow in the iridescent moonlight.