A lot of things happened at once when his errant childe silently wandered into his lobby and offered to turn William. Gunn made a beeline for the weapons cabinet and in approximately two human blinks, had tossed a crossbow to Wes, a sword to Connor and Fred, and grabbed an ax for himself. In two more human blinks, William had turned to face Dru, allowing him to get to his feet, and the others had formed a protective semi-circle around William, and each held their arms at the ready.

It really was a sight to behold and made him more than a little proud of the ragtag bunch of misfits that made up his crew. Except, they were really misfits anymore, were they? They were right where they belonged, and it showed.

He slowly made his way around the group to stand in front of them and face Dru. She was still his childe and despite the problems with his soul, she'd never stopped acting as such. Of course, she could be just as stubborn as any other vampire, but she was always one who knew her place.

"Not gonna let that happen, Dru."

"Bad daddy!" She hissed at him then. Literally... she said the words and then hissed. "That nasty soul has blinded your eyes," She insisted. "My sweet prince calls to me." Her eyes went distant and unfocused. "Tells me he has things he must do… needs to feel again. Be again." Her attention suddenly snapped into sharp focus as she looked menacingly at him. No, she was looking through him, and straight at William. "Can't do that without a body," She smiles wickedly. "Missing the other part stolen from him, he is."

He can tell that Dru's words have shaken up Wes, who slightly lowers his crossbow, but the others are still standing at ready.

"Don't drop your guard, Wes," I tell him. Without me standing here, Dru would have already been on him the moment he hesitated.

He raises the crossbow back up, recognizing the warning for what it was.

"Angel, is it…" Wes begins.

"No," I cut him off. Best not to even let him start down that line of thought. Dru's visions are one thing, her madness and imagined voices are a whole other thing.

"Dru," I get her attention back on me. "You hear lots of voices telling you lots of things. This one's no different. It's not any more real than your dolls."

"Oh, but they are real," She half whispers. "Lost and forgotten souls, clinging to bits of porcelain and satin. Whispering their thoughts…" She makes little nonsense whispering sounds. "Best not to speak ill of the dead… catches their tempers, it does."

"Yeah, well, they're dead. They'll get over it." I shrug.

"Not all of them." An enigmatic smile curves across her face. Were I a younger vampire, or not her sire, it would send chills running through me.

"What say you, my sweet Willy? Shall I give him back to you?" She cocks her head to the side, looking around me and straight at William with a knowing smile.

"I told you…"

Before I recognize her intent, she screams and throws herself forward at me, landing a set of seep scratches across my left cheek before darting backward again. It takes almost all of my patience and fortitude to not give in to her taunt.

"Not your decision, now, is it daddy?" The challenge is quite clear in her eyes and her face.

"No, it's mine." I hear William say, with an impressive amount of determination in his voice, as he steps forward and tries to break through the protective barricade of bodies, and folds his hands behind him, in a tight but confident stance.

A cacophony of voices follows his movement, but no one moves to stop him, except for Wes.

"William, think about what you're doing," He urges him.

"Wes, let him go," I order him. I don't have to look to know that Wes has probably dropped his guard again and is holding William by the arm to stop him.

After a second's pause, William takes a couple of steps forward to stand to my left side.

"Angel, you can't be seriously…" Wes starts to chide me.

I simply hold a hand up, silencing him. I don't want him putting second thoughts into William's head.

For long moments, he and Dru simply stare at eat other as I wonder if my suspicions are correct.

"Miss Drusilla," William begins, bringing a short tinkling laugh from Dru. "Drusilla," He corrects himself. "I appreciate the offer. And up until a few hours ago, I might have taken it." He raises his chin a little higher, setting his jaw in determination. "But I have decided that I will face this world as a man, not a monster."

"No…, no, no, no, no, no…" Drusilla sways back and forth as she shakes her head. "You mustn't let the sunshine sell you false promises nor accept her dirty tricks! You'll burn to ashes either way!" She pleads with him.

"Then I'll return to the dust from whence I came. With my soul and as a man. As is meant to be." He answers her without wavering.

"No!" She stomps her foot like an enraged child. "Mummy will not allow naughty boys to worship the sun or stir it to life inside!" She stomps her foot again for good measure.

"Drusilla," His voice takes on a painfully familiar sound as he tries to calm her ranting. "I must thank you, you know?"

His words clearly caught her off guard, and her look of confusion is almost amusing enough to make me laugh, but I can't. It would disturb this new assurance building inside William.

"You gave me a new life all those years ago. Allowed me to devote myself to you for a hundred years. Brought me here, to this day, to see this amazing future that even in my wildest imaginings, I couldn't have even dreamed of before… But I am no longer yours."

"But I've just found you. You were so lost, and now…" She pleads with him.

"And now I've found myself." He finishes her assertion with his own. "I'll not trade that for what you are offering." He pauses a moment and then gives a resigned sigh. "You may kill me here and now, and I haven't the ability to stop you. But I will not let you turn me into a monster again, even if I must die by my own hand… or theirs... to prevent it."

"Your heart is too full to dash it upon the rocks, sweet William! You'll not deny me!" She asserts as she sways back and forth, slowly moving towards us.

Suddenly, she freezes midstep, as William has produced a dagger and is holding it over his heart with his right hand while brandishing a stake in his left.

"I'm afraid I must insist," He says in warning.

I note Connor's hands falling back to his side and retrieving another stake from his waist. How did William know he'd have those on him? How the hell did Connor know to give them to him? I briefly marvel at the resourcefulness of these two and how they instinctively seem to connect. It almost makes me a little jealous, in fact. But I can't think about that now.

Dru's shocked expression fades, and I can see her recalculating her plans. And then I myself am shocked as she takes on a look of… pride?

"So… the naughty kitty wants to become a lion?" She smiles at him, and once again it takes on a knowing look, tinged with… sadness?. "But the silly lion has no teeth or claws… not yet." She starts backing away towards the doors. "Soon he will my sweets… soon."

Before anyone can blink again, she's out the doors. Gunn and Connor start to give chase, but I stop them with a simple, "No!"

"Angel, my man, we got to stake her before she comes back!" Gunn argues.

"She won't be back," I tell him. "Not tonight."

"How do you know?" Wes asks.

"I know." I give him the simple answer. And I do. I don't know why, or how. But I do. What I'm worried about is what she meant by that last part.

"What do you think she meant by that last part?" Fred asked no one in particular, echoing my own thoughts.

Meanwhile, I'm still watching William trying to figure out what's going through his mind. After a few seconds, he finally drops both hands and lets out the breath he'd been holding. I smile and clap him on the shoulder, feeling him almost give out under the weight of it. "Get some sleep. She won't be back tonight." I tell him.

He nods mutely for a moment as Connor comes and takes the dagger and stake back from him. Connor gives him a look that says William has just elevated himself a little more in Connor's eyes.

"I'll walk you up," Connor offers and William nods in agreement. They set off in companionable silence. I'm once again struck by how those two seem to be resonating with each other. Maybe all Connor needed was someone he could really relate to. Someone who seemed as lost, confused, and conflicted as he probably feels. Maybe.

Or maybe the powers just want to torture me by having my own son bonding better with the guy who was once the biggest pain in my ass. The only one who ever had the guts to challenge me. And did so over and over and over. If Drusilla knew her place, William never did. He insisted on creating his own instead. I probably should have staked him dozens of times over, but I just couldn't do it no matter how much of a pain he was.

"Angel, you sure about letting her go? What if she's out there chowing down on some lost kid or something?" Gunn asks.

"She won't," I tell him. "She'll go back to where ever she's hiding and have her newest toy bring her something to eat."

"And how's that any better?" He rightfully asks.

"It isn't," I answer honestly. "But she's not my problem right now." I turn and start walking toward my office, with a not so small self-satisfied smirk. William won't be anyone's problem for much longer either.

"So, we just what? Forget about her?" Gunn asks.

"I'm afraid Gunn has a point," Wes agrees. "What will happen next time William encounters her?"

"He'll step up and do the right thing. He'll either defend himself any way he can, or he'll die trying. Either way, he won't get turned." I shrug.

"You played him," Wes and Fred speak simultaneously. Both apparently finally connecting all the dots

"What can I say? He was always hard-headed. Only way to teach him anything was to force him to learn it himself." I smile a few, a very few, fond memories replay in my mind. "Was always easier if he thought it was his idea to begin with."

"So you goaded him into hitting you, so he would learn he was capable?" Wes's question was just as much of a statement as it was an actual question.

"Did you really mean what you said?" Fred asks curiously. "About him having more passion that all of ya'll put together?"

"What do you think made him jump at the chance to be a vampire in the first place?"

"Passion?" Fred asks, sounding rather doubtful.

"He was a poet. An artist. Loved writing and drawing, and continued them after he was turned. Even after he was turned, he still worried about his mother. He never acted on anything, except with passion. A lot of people would give up everything they have for that. But it's just part of who he is."

"So you tried to draw that out of him? Get him to realize that he's more than just some lost soul?" Wes observes.

"He's never been a lost soul. Confused, maybe. But once he set his mind… he never looks back." I tell him.

"So, Spike and William really are the same person?" Fred asks. "I thought vampires were just, like, some demon that took over your body. You know, they aren't really the person they were, they just look like they are."

I let out a deep and cleansing sigh. How do I go about explaining the intricacies of becoming a vampire to them? It isn't exactly something easily understood if you haven't experienced it.

"The demon is what animates you, yes. But your mind? The memories? The feelings? Those are all yours. They don't go away. Darla once said that who we were, informs what we become. She's right. Who you are, plays a big part in the kind of vampire you become."

"So, no offense, but if Angelus is as bad as you say he is, you must have been one serious prick as human." Gunn offers a teasing smirk.

"You have no idea!" I answer him, laughing.

"Do you think it worked?" Fred asks, tentatively. "Getting him to fight you to break him out of his shell?"

"Worked with you, didn't it?" I smile. "It's the shy, smart, creative types that always surprise you the most."

"Yeah, baby," Gunn gives her a playful punch to her shoulder. "I'm bettin' given enough time to plan, and you'd wipe the floor with all of us!"

"Oh, no," She demures. "I-I'm not like that. You guys are the real heroes!"

"You are, Fred," Wes contends, his look stern and absolute. "Don't ever doubt that."

She nods shyly, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear while covering a not so small yawn.

"You guys go get some sleep. I'll keep an eye on things," I tell them.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Gunn replies with enthusiasm, as he collects the weapons he'd previously distributed and puts them back in the weapons cabinet.

"I think I can already hear my bed calling my name," Fred begins walking towards the stairs.

"I should be getting back to my apartment," Wes excuses himself. "Unless you need me here, that is?"

"I think we're good for now. Go home… get some sleep. You've all earned it."

I stand there watching as my crew begins to scatter and it fills me with peace. Their easy camaraderie, their willingness to sacrifice everything for each other, the way they come together as a team. I don't deserve them. But I'm really glad they're here. I may have gone it alone in Sunnydale, living on the periphery and afraid to let myself be part of the group, afraid it would make me weaker in some way. But these people are a whole other story. I'm stronger because of them. We are all stronger together.

And hopefully, William will continue to realize he's stronger than he thinks. That he doesn't need to be what anyone else thinks he should be because he's already got everything he needs to put us all to shame.

The next few days will certainly be interesting. He'll either fully actualize, or give in to his self-doubt. I've got just over 24 hours to get him there before Buffy returns. Time isn't on my side. But I don't really have to get him fully there, do I? I just have to get him far enough that he finishes the rest of the journey on his own.

It's going to be a long 24 hours.