AN: I don't agree with Xander's opinions on Angel expressed here. Direct any criticism at Xander not me. His opinion on Spike however….
FIC: Cleveland Calling (8?)
Xander skidded to a stop as he entered the kitchen, eyes widening as he saw the man cradled in Faith's arms, the Slayer knelt on the ground, beside him. "A…Angel," he stuttered. "How in the hell? Where in the hell?"
Hearing the sound of the other Slayers crashing through the door behind him, obviously drawn by the commotion, he gathered himself and spoke, his tone carefully neutral. "Faith, move away from the naked vampire."
"Vamp-."
"Shut up, Penda," he ordered, his voice terse. "Faith."
"It ain't a vampire," Faith looked up at him, eyes dazed over, "it's Angel."
Who also happened to be one of the dimension's most dangerous demons. Why was it that only he got that? Resisting the temptation to headbutt something, he spoke again, his tone firming further. "Faith-."
"Dad!"
Oh crap. "Dana! Hold him back!" He winced at the sound of something, probably Connor, slamming into the wall behind him before turning his attention back to Faith. "Listen Faith, we don't know just where he's been for the past few weeks. If that is Angel or Angelus. Just come here."
"But he's scared."
Xander counted to ten. Not as scared as he was right at this moment, only the laundry man would ever know just how scared he was. Why was he the one who always ended up the bad guy? "Faith," he growled. "Just for once, do as I ask."
"Oh wow." Xander groaned as Andrew entered the room. Great, a complicated situation made worse. "A naked man on the kitchen floor. As he just teleported in? Or were he and Faith-," the de facto housekeeper gulped at Faith's volcanic glare. "Never mind."
Grabbing the table cloth off the table, he threw it to Faith. "Cover him with that and come here." Xander scowled when Faith pulled the sheet over the trembling man but stayed where she was. "Damn it, Faith," he pleaded. "You're part of my team, work with me, please."
Faith looked at him, eyes suspicious. "I won't let you hurt him."
"Let's just work out who he is exactly before coming to any decisions, okay?" After a second, the Slayer nodded reluctantly before standing and stalking over to his side. Xander let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "Thank you. Amy," not shifting his eyes from the man laid on the floor, he continued, "can you sense if he has a soul?"
"Give me a minute, I'll have to cast a spell." There was a pause. "Xander, if he doesn't, I haven't the power to put one in him. That takes a coven or a major player, it's out of my league."
Xander winced. There were some days he wondered why he bothered to get out of bed. Had he kicked a dozen black cats or something? "Okay."
For several minutes there was a strained silence. "He's got one."
Again, Xander let out a long rattling breath. "Right," even as he took a second to collect his thoughts, Faith rushed back over to the vampire, kneeling back down beside him. "Dana, stay with Connor. Bree, you and the rest of the Slayers take Deadboy up to my room, get him a shirt and some jeans. But stay together and be careful. Then, bring him to my office. Amy, can you do a truth spell?"
"I can do one that tells if someone's lying but not one to compel them to tell the truth."
"Good enough," Xander nodded. "Set one up in my office. What's everyone waiting for? Get this show on the move."
"X, I can take him on my ow-."
"Just do it!" he snarled before glaring at the suddenly paling Bostonian. "You and Buff might instantly drop to your knees and worship at the altar of Angel, but I want proof before I let him roam around here unescorted! I've got others other than just you and Connor to think of!"
Faith stared at him, eyes dazed. "Uh, sure X."
Faith couldn't stop from staring at her mentor as she guided him down the corridor leading to X's room, her stomach churning, a veritable maelstrom of conflicting emotions. She'd only just begun to come to terms with Angel's death, and here he was, back again. But her glee was tempered by two very important questions. How? Why?
And then there was Xander.
X was great with the younger Slayers; he really was. Patient, kind, encouraging, kinda reminding her of Alice. Ignoring the tightening in her chest at the thought of her Watcher, Faith shoved Xan's door open. "In here, big guy," she softly coaxed as she herded her mentor into Xander's room.
But with her, it was a different story. He didn't treat her bad or anything, he was polite, respectful, but she wasn't one of 'X's girls' like the others, and she surprised herself by wanting to be. She hoped the different treatment was because of her greater experience or status as senior Slayer, but maybe it was because of the past.
Still, he'd taken her in when he didn't have to, and that meant something. Over the past few months she'd grown to like the guy, a hell of a lot actually, and it just tore at her to see his suspicion of Angel. The two could be friends if only they'd give one another a chance.
"Faith?"
Surprised, she glanced down at the man sat on the edge of the bed, relieved to see some coherence returning to her hero's eyes. "That's right, Angel," she agreed. Ignoring the thousand questions bubbling up inside of her, she turned to the others. "Get some stuff out of the wardrobe why don't you?" She comforted herself with the thought she'd have some answers soon.
She just hoped she'd like them.
"We're ready."
Xander nodded at Faith's soft declaration, watching as the senior Slayer led the vampire to the chair at the opposite side of the desk before retreating to join the others stood against his office's walls. At any other time, the sight of Angel dressed in khaki trousers and an ill-fitting Hawaiian shirt would have been funny, but right now Xander was struggling to find the humour in the moment. But at least Angel looked more with it than before. "Angel."
The vampire stared at him for a taut second before replying. "Xander."
"We'd heard news you were deceased," Xander stopped for a second, realising how ridiculous it was to talk about a deceased vampire, "well deader than you were before anyhow?"
Angel smiled slightly at his clumsy phrasing. "What exactly do you know?"
It was Connor who spoke. "That you, Illyria, Wes, Gunn, and Spike were going to take on the Circle of the Black Thorn."
"Wes," pain flickered in the vampire's eyes, "died before we got to the last battle. He took one of their major players with him though. The other four of us met up with the Black Thorn. We beat them off, but everyone bar me and Spike died. Then he staked me."
"Say what!" Faith exploded. "I thought he was supposed to be good?"
Despite the gravity of the situation, Xander couldn't resist a chuckle. "Good?" he shook his head. "Treachery is Spike's stock in trade."
Andrew sniffed. "Spike would never betray anyone."
"Get your head out from up his ass, Andy," Xander retorted. "Once, when he was working with Angelus, he betrayed him to Buffy-."
"I remember B telling me that he did that to save the world," Faith objected.
"Nah, he said he was doing that to get Buff's help. But think about this," Xander glanced at Faith, surprised at how intently she appeared to be listening, "a few months earlier he'd tried to resurrect the Judge, a demon that would have caused Armageddon. He was more than willing to wipe out mankind when it suited him."
"So why did he help?" Andrew's demand came out as a squeak.
Xander looked towards Angel. "Because of him. With alpha vampire back, he wasn't getting any from Drusilla. He knew Angelus was his superior and couldn't take him down himself, so he figured he'd get Buff to do the job for him, and grab Dru at the same time."
"Buffy didn't think so."
Xander raised an eyebrow at Andrew's comment. "Buffy was too trusting. And it was far from the only time he betrayed us. Even after we'd taken his chipped ass in, he betrayed us to a demonic cyborg." He glanced at Andrew. "Which was another end of the world, apparently they're cool as long as he's not helping Deadboy."
"Ach," Breena commented, "you had the weirdest adolescence."
"You wanted to try living it," Xander commented dryly before glancing towards Angel. "For a staked vampire you're looking pale, but surprisingly whole."
"I get by," Angel retorted before continuing. "I exploded into dust. Then reformed behind my grand-childe," Angel's smile reminded Xander of a cold Sunnydale hospital corridor, "and chopped his head off."
"Spike would never act so dishonourably!"
"Andrew," Xander felt the beginnings of a headache. "Stop being a rampant fan-boy and either shut up or get out." He was gratified when the cook's mouth clamped shut. He decided he'd have to have a long talk with Andrew, it was either a shut up and smell the coffee situation or get his ass out of here, his Spike worship was a bad influence on a bunch of impressionable young girls. Returning his attention to the vampire, he continued. "I am kinda of interested as to why he did it though?"
"Apparently he'd signed a pre-contract with W&H. He got rid of me, he got his humanity back."
"Ah, self-interest. Always the same with good old Spike," Xander nodded.
"I don't know X," Faith's tone was nervous, either his put-downs of Andrew or the gravity of the situation getting to the usually unflappable Slayer. "B told me about the time Spike let that Glory torture him rather than give up Dawn."
"How did she sound?"
"Wicked impress-," understanding flickered in Faith's eyes. "Fuck, even by the standards of most the guys I've know," Faith shook her head. "What a piece of work."
"Amen to that," Xander nodded. "If he'd have given up Dawn, either Glory would have killed him anyway or Buff would have done the need. His only option was hold on and hope Buff rescued him. And it gave him leverage with her."
"Why didn't you say anything to her?" Faith pressed.
Xander shrugged. "It worked so well when I pointed out the holes in her relationship with Deadboy-."
"Hey!" Angel protested. "Still here."
Yeah, Xander silently mused, he had been trying to forget that. "So, how did you find out all this? And how did you come back from being staked? I heard that usually sticks for vampires."
"Yeah," Angel looked faintly bemused. "Once I'd beheaded Spike I was hit by a flashing light and I was with the Powers That Be-."
"Oh crap," Xander muttered. Shaking his head, he raised his voice. "Oh I just bet this is a doozy, go on."
"They told me about Spike and said I had a choice. I could either take my chance with judgement or I could have another chance to achieve my Sanshu-."
"Sorry, Sanshu?" Xander queried, the faint call of recollection tugging at his consciousness. "I've heard the word somewhere?"
"My first year in LA., I stole Prophecies of Aberjian from the W&H offices-."
"If you'd just waited a few years you wouldn't have needed to," Xander muttered.
Angel's eyes narrowed but otherwise he gave no hint of hearing Xander's dig at him. "Wes translated them, and they said that one day the vampire with a soul would gain redemption and with it his humanity-."
"WHAT! WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL ME!"
Xander winced at Faith's screech. Angel swallowed. "It didn't seem fair, talking about getting a second chance. What with you-."
"Getting old and wrinkly in prison," Faith nodded, "I guess." Xander glanced at Faith giving her a thorough inspection. Nope, no wrinkles that he could see. Although he'd have to give her a closer -. "You finishing perving X?"
Xander blinked, realising that Faith was smirking at him. "I was just thinking your anti-wrinkle cream does wonders." Deciding waiting for Faith to work out if his remark was an insult or compliment was the height of stupidity, he turned back to Angel. "And you decided you had unfinished business?"
Angel glanced towards Connor. "There were people I didn't want to leave behind."
"Uh, uh," Xander glanced to Amy. "Well?" The witch nodded. Xander groaned, so a simple staking was out of the question. "Everyone out, me and Deadboy have some things to talk about."
A long minute passed after Connor, Faith, and the others left, closing the door behind them. Finally Xander spoke. "I'm not Giles."
Angel blinked, confused by Harris' oblique comment. "The lack of tweed sort of gave that away," he joked in a feeble attempt to hide his puzzlement.
Xander didn't crack a grin or even a half-smile, instead just continuing to stare through him with an intensity a laser would have been proud of. Just as he was about to speak again, the young Watcher spoke. "How old were you when you were turned?"
Again, Angel was confused. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Just answer the question," came the stoic reply.
"Twenty-six." From being uncomfortable under the younger man's stare, he began to grow irritated.
"Twenty-six, Buffy was fifteen." Angel shifted uncomfortably as he realised where this conversation going. "The way I see it, there's a paper-width's of difference between you and Spike. You were both predators stalking a vulnerable girl, the only difference is at least you didn't try and rape her."
"Now hold on!" Angel growled, his temper
It was as if he hadn't spoken. "I don't know why Giles let it happen. Maybe it was because he didn't think it was his place to interfere. Maybe he didn't want to strain relationships between himself and his Slayer. Maybe he thought you were an useful ally. I don't know. The Watcher Journals that Wes sent to the Council before his death said you'd changed, I don't know if that's true either. I just know that you even look at one of the younger girls, and I'll have so many Slayers swarming on you, you'll wish you were back in hell."
Angel's temper erupted. "What the hell!"
It was as if he hadn't spoken. "You want to make a run at Faith, Amy, Kate, they're all over 18, that's their lookout and your business, but I won't make Giles' mistake, stay away from the underage girls."
"Saving them for yourself?"
The instantly regretted cheap shot did get a reaction, just a slight one, Xander's left cheek twitching. "Don't judge everyone on your standards. The only reason you're here is because my senior Slayer thinks the sun shines out of your ass. But get this, you're part of a team, not some Dark Avenger-."
"You're still jealous that I got Buffy and you didn't?"
Xander chuckled and shook his head. "Hell no. I've given up on that horse years ago, Buffy likes her men like you, Spike, and the Immortal. I've no intention of becoming anything like you, not even for her. I love her, but I'm no longer in love with her. That died the day I found out she'd been hiding you after your return from hell. No," the younger man shook his head again. "I try and keep my distance from Buffy these days. She doesn't want my help and I can't stand to see her debase herself any more. I won't let you hurt any of my girls the way you hurt her, now get out."
"Xander," Angel tried for a conciliatory tone. "I realise I made mistakes -."
"Then don't make them again," suddenly the young man looked weary beyond measure, "just go Angel."
"Now where did I put that bottle of wine?" Solomon Emory shifted through his drawers, searching for the drink his wife had requested he bring home with him.
"Sir!"
Solomon Emory looked up, irritated that his search had been interrupted. "Yes, Lois?"
His secretary paled at his icy tone. Or perhaps she'd been pale before he spoke, he wasn't sure, he never paid much attention to the menials. "W…we've h..had a c..call f..from-."
"Oh spit it out woman!" he thundered.
"Surveillance has spotted the vampire Angel at the Cleveland Watchers' residence!"
"Um," Solomon bit his bottom lip, gnawing anxiously on it. This was a most worrying and unexpected development. After a moment collecting his thoughts, he turned to his pale-faced personal assistant. "Get me everything Records has on Angel," the office worker turned and headed for the door, "oh, and ring my wife, tell her I'll be late home tonight."
"Yes, sir."
Gellert smiled as he sensed one of his children approaching. Rising, he walked to the entrance to his underground cavern and waited. Sophos rushed around the corner, his childe walk looking somehow unhurried despite the speeds he was reaching, his boots rapping against the stone underfoot. "It's arrived Mi'Lord!" the former Greek nobleman exclaimed.
"How much?"
"$ 75,000 for 100 ml!" his childe said.
Gellert nodded. "That's what, 10 normal doses?"
"Yes mi'lord."
His smile broadened. "Most satisfactory," he muttered. The Slayer bitch would pay horribly for daring to slay his favoured childe. An eternity of screaming hell was most satisfactory indeed.
