Los Angeles Livin'
Disclaimer-Anything that you recognize isn't mine.
Summary-Sequel to California Trippin'. Crossover with Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Spike was dusted during the battle with the First. Still grieving over him, Max joined Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Andrew, Faith, and Alec in going to live in Europe. But when they receive news of a slayer in desperate need of help and send Max and Andrew to check it out in LA, they encounter someone they thought they'd never see again.
Pairings-Max/Spike, Faith/Alec, Fred/Wesley, Buffy/Angel. There will probably be more pairings as the story goes on.
Chapter Three
Spike stared warily at Max's angry posture, suddenly wishing more than ever that he wasn't sitting in a hospital with his arms bandaged and temporarily useless.
"So...what's up, luv?" he tried to be light, but all he got in return was Max's gaze blaze up a notch. "Okay...right to the point, eh?" Max stared at him, tongue in cheek, and nodded. Spike sighed. "Well...um..."
"Let's start with how you're a lying, sneaky, son of a bitch?" Max supplied with a sarcastic smile. Spike winced.
"I was hoping we could skip over that part..." he muttered. Max held her arms out in a disbelieving gesture and smirked.
"Now why on earth would you wanna do that, I wonder?" she replied, glibly. "Could it have to do with shame?" She shook her head as she started to pace around the room. "Nah, that's not it. Could it be that it just... 'slipped' your retarded little mind? No...it's probably just that you're a complete asshole that doesn't know up from down and gets his yah yahs from wrenching the still beating heart of the woman he claims to love. Am I getting warm?"
"Hey, stop! That isn't..." Spike began angrily. Max narrowed her eyes at him.
"What? Are you gonna tell me that's not true?" she growled fiercely. She didn't wait for him to answer before she continued. "Well, you'll get your turn with the mike once I've rightfully had mine. So shut...your mouth." Spike glared at her.
"We've had this talk before," he said, his voice sounding quiet and dangerous. "You don't get to order me around and tell me what I can and cannot do."
"And we both know how that turned out, don't we? House won," Max retaliated in the same tone.
"I'm not one of your little transgenic-following-flunkies."
"Shut up."
"No. I just got my arms chopped off and sewed back on, and you want to have a chat about our relationship? You don't understand..."
"No you don't understand!" Max screamed. Spike shut his mouth in shock. "You died, Spike! You left me! I cried over you for months! But apparently you came back after only 19 days, good as new! And you didn't even bother to call me!"
"I wasn't 'good as new'," Spike replied. "I was a bloody ghost. I couldn't even pick up a soddin' phone! How the hell could I have called you?" Max's glare could've ignited a fire and Spike found himself futilely trying to get away. But when Max spoke, her voice was deathly calm.
"What about when you became corporeal?"
"What?"
"How long did it take?" Spike shifted in his bed uncomfortably. "How. Long. Did. It. Take?"
"That's really beside..."
"Answer me!"
"3 months!" Spike blurted out. An immediate feeling of guilt overwhelmed his body when he saw the look of hurt on Max's face, before she quickly covered it.
"Well...that means you've been solid for 2 months..."
"More like 1 and a half..." Spike tried to interrupt her.
"And not a single five minutes could've been taken out of your 'busy' schedule to pick up a fuckin phone?" she asked in a monotone,not paying attention tohis comment. Spike sighed.
"Max...I died to save the world..." he began.
"I'm all too aware of that fact," Max snapped.
"An exit like that..." Spike continued, ignoring her. "I couldn't just call you on the phone and act as if everything was all right and dandy." Max slowly shook her head.
"You still don't get it," she replied softly, looking him in the eyes. "I wouldn't have cared if you had come back missing both arms or a leg...or not even completely sane. I just missed you. I wanted to see you. You were the man I loved. You were already living-dead when I met you. You honestly thought I would care if you didn't burn up like I thought? That I'd be disappointed because you're back to how you were when we met? I think...that you...of all people should know me better than that." Spike swallowed as she took one last look at him before turning away. "Guess I was wrong..." She walked towards the door.
"Max, wait!" Spike cried out. Max stopped but didn't turn around. "Please...you can't just..."
"No. Spike. Don't..." She trailed off, giving her head a slight shake before walking away. Spike watched her go, his ability to call out somehow disappearing as he bit his lip, trying to keep the tears from falling.
'The man I loved'...Spike remembered her words as he leaned his head against his pillow. "Key word... 'loved'," he muttered aloud.
Next Day (Nighttime)...
Angel knocked loudly on the door.
"So no one's home?" Fred asked. Angel gave her a look before breaking down the door. It made a loud rattling noise as it hit the floor. "But that's still not a problem for us..." She followed him, Wesley, and Gunn into a dark room that was lit only by red and white candles arranged on a table in a circle. Fred held up a glowing red handheld device and read from its display screen. "He's been here. I'm picking up loads of trace signatures." She walked forward without looking up from the device.
"Fred," Wesley said, shining his flashlight on the floor. Fred continued moving around without looking up.
"Hair follicles, enzymes, and something...blood...but it's not his, it's..." She finally looked up and saw several bloody nuns on the floor with their throats slit. "Oh, God..."
"I think God is out at the moment," Wesley stated dryly. Gunn frowned at the sight.
"Why would Greenway do this?" he questioned. "It was just a stupid racketeering charge. I told him we'd get him off with probation, so long as he shut down operations." Wesley shined his flashlight around the room, inspecting the scene.
"He's a Wolfram & Hart client. Our client. Oh, and he's evil. What are the odds?" Angel said sarcastically.
"What do we do now?' Fred asked.
"Now? I find Greenway, and I kill every inch of him," Angel answered simply. Wesley walked forward to inspect an altar.
"You won't," he stated. "Five holy women. This wasn't random. It's ritual. He's jumped dimensions."
"What?"
"Also, not shockingly, our client practices the black arts," Wesley continued. "He's escaped through a pan-dimensional doorway, disappeared into any one of infinite universes."
"Fred?"
"My equipments not calibrated to track anything out of this dimension. Even if such a thing is possible, it would take months or even years..." Fred began. Angel rolled his eyes and threw his hands up.
"That's it," he interrupted.
"But probably months, or maybe weeks if I really push..." Angel ignored her and walked back towards the door.
"I can't do this anymore..." he stated.
"Do what?" Gunn asked, already knowing the answer.
"Any of this. Running Wolfram & Hart," he threw his hands up. "I quit." He exited, leaving the others to stare at each other, dumbfounded.
"There's nothing more to discuss," Angel stated as he sat on the edge of his desk, talking to Fred, Gunn, Wesley, and Lorne.
"Gee, it sounds like a ripe topic of conversation to me," Lorne retorted.
"What happened last night was tragic, it's a terrible setback, but..." Wesley began.
"Setback, Wes?" Angel asked incredulously as he walked around to his desk chair. "It's status quo. Evil wins, 'cause instead of just wiping it out, we negotiate with it. Or worse...for it."
"Angel, we're doing the best we can," Fred argued.
"It's not that you guys aren't doing your jobs. It's these jobs that you shouldn't be doing...or I shouldn't..."
"We've all had our bellyful," Gunn replied. "But do you have any idea what would happen to us if we decided to just call it quits? You think the senior partners are gonna just let us walk out that door?"
"You're saying we're trapped here?" Fred asked, disbelieving. Gunn shook his head.
"I'm saying we knew what we were getting into when we signed up for this gig. Let's not pretend this is some lease with an option to buy." Angel looked at him.
"Gunn, do you really think they won't let us go, or do you just not want to leave?" Gunn glanced to his side, then back at Angel, raising his eyebrows.
"Okay, maybe I don't. But it's only 'cause I believe in what we're doing. We made the right call."
"And I'm sure that legal brain upgrade they gave you has nothing to do with this..."
"We all got something out of this." Before Angel could retort, the telephone rang.
"Yeah. It's Angel," he said. He suddenly sat forward in his chair. "What?"
"What is it?" Wesley asked, concerned. Angel tilted the phone away from his mouth to answer him.
"It's Cordelia."
Max looked around her hotel room. Everything was packed, but she couldn't bring herself to leave.
"Gee, I wonder why," she muttered to herself. Just then, the phone rang. Max rushed to answer it. "Hello?"
"Max? It's Buffy." Max tried not to let her disappointment show.
"Oh, hi. What's up?"
"I'm just a little confused right now...Andrew came back with Dana and the other slayers, but surprise, surprise, you weren't on the jet. And Andrew's been telling me that Spike's alive? As this is Andrew and I can't exactly take his word for it...I needed to hear it from you. What's going on?" Max drew in a shaky breath.
"Yeah. Andrew's telling the truth. Spike is alive. Well, as alive as he was before the big fiery 'death' in the hellmouth."
"So you're staying there to kick his ass for all of us because he didn't tell us that he was back," Buffy stated matter of factly.
"Yeah...sort of," Max replied uncomfortably.
"What?"
"Dana kinda beat me to it," Max explained.
"How...exactly?"
"She chopped his hands off from mid-forearm."
"Jesus...is he okay?"
"No doubt in my mind," Max replied grumpily.
"You talked to him, though, right?"
"More like yelled, cried, fell apart in front of him."
"Ouch."
"So do you need me back now, or something?"
"Not at the moment, no. You should stay there and relax, as much as you can. Get reacquainted with Spike. You guys definitelyneed to. And that's putting it mildly..."
"Aren't you gonna ask about Angel?" Max asked coyly. She was met with silence. Buffy was obviously debating whether to play along or just hang up.
"You know me too well," she finally said. Max grinned. "So how is he?"
"Well, I only saw him for a little bit, didn't really get to talk. But he seemed hurt that you had ordered Andrew to bring Dana back without telling him first. Emotionally hurt. Not hurt like when I accidentally pushed him across the room into the wall. I'll tell him you said hi. Are you gonna come visit any time soon?" She was met with another long silence. "Buffy?"
"Yeah, I'll bring Alec and Faith along, too."
"Great. When you gonna come?"
"Soon as I can...Giles can easily take over. Dawn will probably want to give Spike a piece of her mind as well..." Max's grin faltered slightly.
"Guess I'll see you when you get here..."
"Sounds like a plan...oh wait, Alec wants to talk to you." Max's smile immediately strengthened.
"Then put the dumbass on," she said playfully. Buffy laughed and Max heard her pass the phone to Alec.
"I heard that..." he said, feigning hurt.
"I knew you would. How ya been these past few days?"
"Missing you of course," he said sincerely.
"But you'll be seeing me soon, won't you?" Max replied, knowing he had been eavesdropping.
"You betcha," he answered. Max could tell through his voice that he was smiling.
"How's Faith?"
"Hotter than ever," he joked. Max laughed. "She wanted to talk to you but had to go on an errand with some slayers-in-training. I'll tell her you said hi."
"Thanks." A beat of silence passed.
"What are you still doing on the phone? Go mend your relationship with Spike," Alec ushered. Max bit her lip.
"I don't know how..." she said softly.
"Go to Wolfram & Hart," Alec advised. "Talk to Angel and the others...be annoying and get his address or something. You've got to mend things with him...You love him, right?" Max hesitated. "Max?"
"Yeah...I do..."
Max stepped offthe elevator and examined her surroundings. Wolfram & Hart. She hadn't really taken the time to look it over the first time she was here. Being too busy getting Angel to save Spike. She took a deep breath and started to head for his office when she overheard him talking to a woman.
"Cordelia, that's-ha-nothing," he was saying nervously as he stood between her and some pale, skinny creature attached to a leather...leash, it looked like. "Hey, wanna see my office?" The woman, Cordelia, still looked shocked at the sight, but nodded. Angel smiled, relieved and began to lead her away, but he stopped dead when he saw Max. "Uh, hi." Max gave him a little finger wave. Cordelia glanced at him.
"Who's that?" she asked. Max stepped forward, smiling warmly, with her hand outstretched.
"I'm Max," she greeted. "And you're...Cordelia, is it?" Cordelia nodded and looked at her suspiciously, but shook her hand.
"How did you know?" she questioned. Max shrugged and pointed to one of her ears with a glove-covered hand.
"Excellent hearing," she stated simply, before turning to Angel. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Angel fidgeted with his hands. "If now's not a good time, I could wait." Angel smiled thankfully at her.
"Good, why don't you come into my office?" Max nodded her agreement and led the way, opening both doors at the same time, to Angel's obvious discomfort and Cordelia's amusement.
Lorne, Fred, and Gunn were waiting.
"Lorne!" Cordelia cried out, rushing to give him a hug. "It is so good to see..." She looked over his shoulder and saw Gunn. "Oh my God. Gunn? You have hair?"
"Oh-ha-yeah," Gunn ran his hand over his head. "What did you think? I was prematurely bald?" Cordelia didn't say anything. Max laughed softly. "I wasn't." He gave Cordelia a hug. Fred tapped him on the shoulder. He stepped back so she could hug Cordelia also.
"So, where's Conner?" Cordelia asked, still smiling. Max felt Angel stiffen beside her. She gave him a questioning look.
"Who?" Gunn questioned casually.
"What do you mean, who? Conner. Isn't he..." she paused and turned to Angel. "Angel, where's your s..." Harmony interrupted with a teenage girl's shriek.
"Aah! Oh my God!" she ran up to Cordelia and hugged her tightly around the neck. "I can't believe you're here!" Cordelia looked immensely annoyed.
"Likewise," she grunted, detaching Harmony off of her. "Especially since the last time I saw you, you tried to kill me." Max found herself growling softly at Harmony. Angel cleared his throat and he nudged Max, silencing her.
"Uh...Harmony is...she's my...uh, secretary," he explained lamely before shooting Max a look.
"Well, things just keep getting better and better..." Cordelia commented sarcastically. Harmony grinned widely.
"I know," she said. "You and me together again. So, how was the coma?" Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"Uh...Harmony, I think Cordelia's had enough excitement for the day. Why don't you...why doesn't everyone just get back to work?"
"I'm staying though, you know that right?" Max asked Angel. He just nodded. The others waved and said goodbye before leaving. Lorne hovered at the door.
"How come the raven-haired transgenic one gets to stay?" he asked. Angel gave him a look. "Kidding, kidding." He turned back to Cordelia. "Hey, listen, crumbcake, when you're ready to splash back into that acting pool, just say the word. I'll have you lunching with Colin Farrell like that." He exited. Cordelia turned to Max and Angel with a confused expression on her face.
"Who's Colin Farrell?" she asked. Both Angel and Max exchanged looks before shrugging. Cordelia sighed. "Can I talk to Angel in private?" Max held up her hands.
"I just need a few numbers and letters before I leave you two," she explained. Angel looked at her. She rolled her eyes. "An address, big guy. I need Spike's address." Cordelia immediately narrowed her eyes and Angel looked nervous once again.
"Spike? You want to contact Spike?" she asked heatedly. Max nodded slowly, not getting it. "Are you a good or evil client?"
"Neither...actually. Just a girlfriend," she replied. Cordelia's eyes widened.
"Isn't he supposed to be in love with Buffy? Isn't he evil?"
"Not of late, no," Max said simply. Cordelia stared at her, dumbfounded.
"Uh...why don't I get that address for you, Max. Cordelia, I'll explain everything in a second..." Angel said hurriedly. Cordelia folded her arms across her chest.
"You better..." she stated.
Spike was sitting on his couch playing a video game in the dark.
"You made the biggest mistake of your life, and I'm gonna make you pay. Oh, yeah." He punched a few video game control buttons. "Feel my wrath, gorilla throwing barrels." His game made a losing sound. "Bloody hell..." He sighed and continued pressing buttons. "Really should knock on a bloke's door...especially one that's got no qualms against kill..." A familiar scent suddenly reached his nose and he slowly looked towards the doorway. Max stood with one arm crossed across her chest. She was fidgeting with her jacket sleeve.
"Hey..." she greeted shyly. Spike swallowed and quickly stood up, dropping his controller.
"Uh...hi," he replied, silently berating himself for the lame response. "What are you doing here?" Max stepped closer to him, only a few feet away. She sighed and looked into his eyes.
"We need to talk...again."
A/N-Hope you liked it...Lindsey/ 'Doyle' will be coming in the next chapter. And just because Cordelia's back for the moment, doesn't mean this story is becoming CA. It'll still be Buffy/Angel.
Lozz422-Thanks ;o) As you probably got from this chapter, Buffy will be coming to LA. I hope this chapter had more Max-like characteristics. I couldn't have her beat him to a bloody pulp, though, he had already had his arms chopped off.
Angel Of Darkness231-Thanks, that really means a lot since that's what I'd actually like to do when I grow up ;o) There'll be lots of action in the next chapter. Flunked French, huh? I wish I could help, but I'm taking Spanish...
Cora-Thanks a lot ;o) I'll try to update sooner, but I'm also writing another fic...
Sky Angel-I agree. And you're welcome, as always ;o)
RavynJensen-Alec wasn't physically in this chapter but he was still in it ;o) He'll physically be in the next chapter ;o) I have thought about bringing Zack in...but I haven't decided yet.
