Chapter 18

Angel packed up their belongings and the two vampires began their journey back to LA the next evening. Spike had been quiet all night; Angel began to worry as they approached the City of Angels. He turned to his Childe. "Spike? Is everything okay?" The blond vampire did not answer. He continued to stare out of the window watching the buildings. "Little One?"

Spike sighed as he spoke softly. "They're gonna hate me."

Angel was confused for a moment. "What? Who?" His eyes widened as he understood. "No, Spike. Cordelia knows why you are coming back with me. She said she would talk to the others. And, Will? They saw you. They saw what Lindsey did to you. They won't be mad that I am bringing you back with me."

Spike bowed his head. "My brain was a bit fuzzy when I left with Giles. How many are there?" His nerves caused his voice to be a bit shaky.

"That's alright." Angel turned his head slightly to Spike and smiled. "Charles Gunn is a vampire fighter. He was part of a street gang that fought to keep the streets safe from vampires. Wesley Wyndham-Price is a former Watcher that joined me after Doyle..." Angel trailed off.

"The Irish bloke?" Spike said. "What happened to 'im?"

"He died saving a group of good demons." Angel answered quietly.

"Sorry." Spike replied sincerely.

"Thank you." Angel paused and then continued. "Wesley joined us after Doyle died and then Gunn. You may also meet Lorne. He's an empath demon that runs a club." He paused. "Once they get to know you, they'll love you, Will." He heard Spike snort and saw him roll his eyes. "You made friends in Sunnydale, Spike; despite the fact that at one point you tried to kill all of them."

"Yeah. Gotta love the witches and the Watcher." Spike attempted to cover his emotions by playing off his feelings. But, then he added, "Don't think I could have survived Dru leavin' me and the chip without 'em." He said as he again became somber and looked out the window.

"Gods, Will. I am so sorry I wasn't there for you all these years." Sadness and guilt enveloped the dark vampire. His undead heart fluttered when he felt Spike grasp his hand and squeeze it. They smiled at each other and continued on their journey.

Angel's car pulled up to the Hyperion. He went around the back and parked his Plymouth under the carport. He looked over at a slumbering Spike.

"Will, we're here." He gently shook his Childe.

Spike startled awake and sat up straight. "I was sleepin', ya big Pouf." The blond vampire responded as he rubbed his eyes. Angel chuckled at the cute site.

"Come on, Sleepyhead." Angel opened the car and stepped out. He walked over to the trunk. "Let's get this stuff inside and then you can go back to bed."

As they walked into the lobby, Angel noticed the lights were dim. His friends must be out. Spike did not say anything; he felt relief. He was not ready to face them. They quietly ascended the grand staircase and went into Angel's suite. Spike immediately dropped his bag and crawled into bed fully clothed. Angel growled as he saw Spike's dirty boots over his clean comforter.

"Boots off, Spike." Angel said softly as he perused the room to make sure everything was in order. He went to the windows to ensure the curtains covered them.

Spike huffed, sighed, and forced himself to sit up and remove his Doc Martens. He threw them to the floor and buried himself in the covers.

"Are you hungry, Spike?"

"Yeah." Spike answered drowsily as he reveled in the warmth of the comforter.

"I'll get us some blood." Angel replied and went down to the kitchen and warmed up two mugs. When he returned, he realized Spike was in a deep sleep. He watched his boy slumber. 'So beautiful' he thought. He felt so blessed that Spike was back in his life. He leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. He went to shower before joining him in bed.

The next day, Angel awoke in the early evening. He quickly dressed and wanted to go downstairs to talk with the others before they met Spike. He was relieved that Spike still slept.

As he descended the stairs, Cordelia spotted her friend as she hung up the phone.

"Angel!" She said enthusiastically as she saw him.

"Hey, Cordy." He smiled as he realized how happy he was to be back home and away from Sunnydale.

"Hey, Man." Gunn added as he shook Angel's hand. Wesley looked up from a book and smiled as well.

"It is nice to have you back, Angel." The Englishman said. "The demon that we will fight tonight seems to be a formidable force."

"Hold off with the demon talk for a bit, Wesley." Cordelia said in an annoyed voice. "Is he here?"

"Yes, Spike is here." He paused to gage the reaction from his colleagues. "I hope you don't mind, guys, but..." Angel dropped his head for a moment.

"Listen," Gunn said, "we weren't sure at first. But, he can't hurt anyone, right? And if we get a little demon fightin' help? I'm in."

Angel looked towards Wesley. The Ex-Watcher stood and cleared his throat. "After what happened with Darla, Angel, you know how wary we are to welcome any member of the Aurelius clan into our midsts again..."

Angel interjected. "But?"

"We know what occurred to him at the hands of Wolfram and Hart was not his fault." Angel hung his head a bit. "With his behavior modification chip preventing him from causing harm, we are willing to trust you when it comes to Spike." Wesley smiled. "I must say that as a former Watcher, I am quite intrigued to formally meet William the Bloody."

Cordelia playfully slapped Wesley's arm. "You're such a dork, Wes!" She chuckled as she turned back to Angel. "Where is he?"

"He's sleeping. He's recovering well, but still needs a lot of rest." Angel slapped his hands together and rubbed them enthusiastically. "So, tell me about this demon."

Spike's eyes fluttered open. For a moment, he wasn't sure where he was. But soon, the scent of his Sire flooded his nares. He sat up as his stomach growled. He walked over to the counter and grimaced as he saw a mug full of congealed blood. He was disappointed to see no blood in the mini-fridge. He stood for a moment as he watched the door. He knew he should go find Angel, but part of him wanted to stay in the sanctuary of the suite. 'They're just bloody humans...' Spike thought to himself as he forced his legs to begin the journey downstairs. He knew they had seen him after he was rescued from Lindsey; this made him extremely uncomfortable. As he reached the bottom of the steps, he looked around at the vast lobby. "Ponce always liked his space." He said quietly as he shook his head and chuckled. He could not sense his Sire's presence as he stood there. His eyes traversed the area looking for the most logical door leading into the kitchen. He started towards it, but took a step back as Cordelia exited from it.

"Oh, Spike!" She said with a surprised tone as she noticed the blond vampire standing in front of her. He certainly looked different. The last time she had truly seen him was when he tortured Angel the year before. He was thinner and his hair was not gelled. That made his features less harsh and more innocent appearing.

"Uh, yeah..." Spike said a bit nervously. He was having a hard time looking at her directly. He tried to smile but started backing up to go back to the stairs.

Cordelia noticed the timid tone Spike had. He actually seemed nervous to talk to her. This is not the Spike she knew. "Angel, Wes, and Gunn went to work on a case. Angel will be back soon." She smiled.

"Thanks..." He trailed off as he turned to go back upstairs.

"Are you hungry? There's plenty of blood. Some of it might be human." She offered.

Spike turned around. His stomach was betraying him. He nodded and followed Cordelia into the kitchen. She motioned for him to sit down. She warmed up the mug and placed it in front of Spike. He stared at it.

"What? Too hot?" Cordelia appeared puzzled as Spike looked up with a blank expression on his face. "Boy, you vampires are soooo picky." She reached down to pick it up, but felt Spike gently remove her hand from the mug. "Then what's wrong with it?" She asked in a confused tone.

"T-There's nothin'...I mean..." Spike couldn't form any words. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "Ta." He said quietly as he tilted his head to look up at her. "Why are you bein' so nice?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Last time I saw you, pet, I tortured Angel for the Gem. As I recall, I scared you and the Irish bloke a bit."

"Yeah." She shrugged her shoulders. "But, you did compliment my hair."

Spike smiled. "I meant it. It did make you look older and more sophisticated." The two shared a laugh and that broke the remaining tension. "Anyways, sorry 'bout that."

Cordelia stood amazed that William the Bloody, soulless vampire, had just apologized. He really had changed. "Apology accepted." Cordelia sighed and sat down. "Look, Spike, we all saw what happened to you." She watched as Spike gazed down at his mug for a time. "It wasn't your fault. And besides, it sounds like you've been doing real good in Sunnydale. And if you're that close to Giles and Willow, then they must have seen you change too. We'll give you a chance. Plus, it is so obvious that Angel cares about you and is glad you are here." Spike smiled. "So, hey, if Captain Broody Pants is less broody? Bonus for all of us." She slyly grinned.

"You're very amusing, Cheerleader." Spike said as he gulped down his blood.

Cordelia laughed as she stood. "You want to go watch TV? Angel put a big screen in one of the rooms upstairs."

"Peaches actually watches the telly?"

"No, but I complained enough until he got one!" The two laughed as they started the journey upstairs.

As he grasped his shoulder, Angel limped towards his room after the fight. He needed a long hot shower to relieve the tension in his muscles. He heard the TV on and stopped by the room. He peeked in to see Spike and Cordelia, both asleep, on opposite sides of the couch. He smiled as he walked over to his childe. He whispered in his ear and the blonds' eyes fluttered open. He stood up next to his Sire and they both looked down upon Cordelia. Angel smiled as he watched Spike take the blanket from the chair and place it over her. The blond vampire looked at Angel, shrugged his shoulders, and grinned as he walked out of the room.

Two weeks later

"Watch it, Charlie boy!" Spike yelled as he ran towards the human and chopped the head off the demon about to bite into Gunn's arm.

"Thanks, Blondie." Gunn replied as he looked down to see the decapitated head of the Minoure demon.

"Yeah, saved your arse again." Spike laughed as the group came together.

"Quite a fierce foe." Wesley said as he surveyed the carnage.

"I think we got them all." Angel said as he came up behind Spike. He sniffed the air. "You're bleeding, Will." He slightly growled as he surveyed his Boy's body.

"It's just a flesh wound, Sire." He said as he rolled his eyes at the over protective nature of the dark vampire. "The bloody thing scraped me." He said as he looked down at his right arm. "Bloody hell! The git tore my coat!"

"We'll fix it, Spike." Angel said as the group began walking back to the car.

Gunn spoke. "Hey, let's call Cordy and head to Caritas. I need a good drink after that fight, man."

"I agree. A pint would be a perfect way to wind down for the evening." The Ex-Watcher added.

"Right there with you, Percy. Angel?" Spike said with pleading eyes. He knew that Angel usually wanted to head home after a fight. But, the dark vampire could not resist the look in his Childe's eyes: the perfect mix of innocence and mischief. He was so happy that the group gelled with Spike so easily. And his boy had flourished in LA. How could he refuse?

"Sure. Sounds like fun." Angel answered.

"Shotgun!" Spike announced as they reached the car.

"So, Blondie." Gunn spoke as he climbed into the back. "You ever hear Angel sing?"

"Not for a 'undred years. But, let me tell you, a bloke won't ever forget pain like that." The group laughed and Angel growled as he drove into the night.

The Offices of Wolfram and Hart

"Come in." The lawyer said as he heard a knock on the door.

" I was passing by to see how you're adjusting to being back." The female lawyer asked.

"I'm fine, Lilah." Lindsey nearly growled as he forced himself to look up at the tall brunette.

"Good. Good." Lilah said as she surveyed Lindsey's new, smaller office. "No hard feelings, huh?" She smirked evilly. "You knew that your self imposed sabbatical would cause some consequences to your position here."

"Do you have a point? I'm a little busy." Before he had a chance to react, Lilah picked up the paper he was reading.

"I see you got the memo from intelligence." She continued after Lindsey nodded. "As you can see, after a small absence, intel has shown that the Dark Avenger is back on the streets keeping it safe from the likes of us. And now, besides his Merry Men and one woman, he seems to have a new peroxide blond side kick."

Lindsey stood and snatched his paper back. "I'll take care of it." He said in a menacing voice.

"Actually, you won't. Right now, the resources of our department will be shifted towards passing the 75 year review. That is our priority. We'll get back to Angel when we pass the review." She smirked as she saw Lindsey clench his teeth. "And as the sole 'Executive Vice President of Special Projects', what I say goes. You don't want to disappoint me, Lindsey. Do you?" She paused. "The conference begins in five minutes. Don't be late." Lilah turned and sashayed from the office.

Lindsey's face turned red as his anger built. His hand gingerly touched the bite marks on his neck. He vowed to take revenge upon Angel.

TBC...