Disclaimer: All characters and things from ANGEL and BUFFY belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. If they aren't on the show they belong to me.
Summary: Angel and Spike get a chance to get back the people that meant the most to them after the battle against Wolfram and Hart. But can they keep the real past a secret from the only people they want to share it with? A/C S/B
CHAPTER 12
Angel led Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn down into Caritas and was relieved when he saw the place swarming with demons. He knew Lorne must have existed because the club would not be a sanctuary for demons if he did not.
Angel went to take another step into the club but felt Cordelia pull his hand back. He turned to see that Cordelia, Gunn, and Wesley were all visibly shocked by the place he had brought them to. Angel had forgotten that none of them had ever seen a demon before in this reality. No wonder they seemed frightened.
"Relax." Angel smiled, giving Cordelia's hand a reassuring squeeze. "This place is alright."
"It's crawling with demons." Wesley said.
"True." Angel nodded in agreement. Demons were everywhere. "But this place is a sanctuary. None of them will hurt you."
"Are you sure?" Gunn raised an eyebrow at Angel.
To Angel's surprise, Cordelia was the one who took the next step into the club.
"This place is awkwardly comfortable." Cordelia told the three men with her, and then looked at Angel. "Like I've been here before."
Angel could tell. Some parts of Cordelia's memory were breaking through. She was remembering little, obscure things, and not enough for her to think that she was experiencing anything other then some sort of deja vu. But still, she was remembering something.
"It's alright in here, trust me." Angel allowed Cordelia to lead them to a table.
Cordelia sat them in the middle of the club and then looked around before looking back at Angel. "Your friend owns this place?"
Angel nodded slightly. "Yeah. He probably doesn't remember me anymore but…"
"So your friend's a demon?" Gunn asked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.
Angel nodded again. "Yeah."
"Well…" Wesley took a deep breath, looking around. "Where is your friend?"
Angel searched the club; looking for the green-skinned demon he considered family. He found Lorne behind the bar, mixing some drinks. "He's over there." Angel pointed.
"Well?" Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to go talk to him?"
Angel checked his watch, seeing it was close to two in the morning. "Not yet. This place is going to close soon, I'll speak to him when there are less people around."
"You mean less demons." Gunn went to correct Angel.
"Just because they are demon doesn't mean they don't have human characteristics. Some are more human then human beings themselves." Angel explained. He could sense that Gunn's instincts about demons in this reality were the same as they had been when Angel had first met Gunn in the old reality. Gunn didn't understand demons; therefore he wasn't fond for them.
"Since when did you become the demon expert?" Gunn asked.
Angel did not like were Gunn was taking the conversation and was clearly done with it. "Just order some drinks for now, okay?" Before anyone could argue he motioned over the waitress. He knew he only had to wait a little longer to talk to Lorne.
Spike and Buffy walked the dark streets of Sunnydale that led to the graveyard. Buffy had been skeptical of walking in a graveyard at night but Spike had finally persuaded her. After all, if they were going to find any vampires the graveyard seemed like the best place to start. Spike also wanted to see the crypt he had called home for a few years.
"I don't see any vampires." Buffy looked around the gravestones quickly. "Can we get out of here?"
Spike grinned at her. She was scared. He could tell. "No need to be so scared, love."
"I'm not." Buffy got defensive immediately, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Yes, you are." Spike teased her. "I can tell."
"Since when are you the expert on people anyway?" Buffy shot back. "Up until two weeks ago you wouldn't even look me in the eye."
"Maybe I was intimated." Spike suggested. He wasn't sure why he had been like that two weeks earlier. He wasn't there; the truth was that two weeks prior he had been battling along side Angel, Illyria, and Gunn before falling victim to Wolfram and Hart's army.
"Maybe." Buffy grinned.
Spike smiled back at her, but then his smile faded as he heard something. Buffy could tell something wasn't right.
"What is it?" Buffy asked.
"Sh…" Spike silenced her, listening again. He heard the crunching of leaves, and the sound of footsteps, but no breathing. He knew immediately what was coming toward them. "VAMPIRE!" He yelled as he pulled Buffy to the ground and a vampire flipped over both of them, landing on its feet, and turning to face them.
"That's a…a…" Buffy stared at the creature in front of her.
"Vampire!" Spike finished her sentence as he pulled his stake out. He could see Buffy was scared and he couldn't blame her. In this reality she had never seen a vampire before.
The vampire got to his feet, laughing at Spike and Buffy with their stakes drawn. "Don't hurt yourself with those things."
"Well, we were actually just going to use them to hurt you." Spike shrugged.
"You're a brave one, aren't you?" The vampire grinned at Spike, bearing his teeth.
"And you're a bloody stupid one, aren't you?" Spike mimicked the vampire.
Buffy threw Spike an elbow to the gut, causing the ex-vampire to do something he hadn't done in years, gasp for air.
"What are you doing?" Buffy whispered at Spike. "Don't piss him off."
The vampire heard Buffy and grinned even wider at Spike. "Yeah, buddy. Why don't you listen to her or I'll eat you right in front of your girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend." Spike said instantly. As much as he had wanted her to be, Buffy had never claimed to be his girlfriend and he had never asked her.
Buffy snorted at Spike when she said this, and then turned back to the vampire. "Yes, I am his girlfriend." Buffy said to both her own surprise and Spike's. "And no one is eating anyone." And with that she leapt at the vampire before the creature had time to register anything, and staked it, watching it turn to dust in front of her.
Spike stood in shock at both Buffy's actions and words. "Wow."
Buffy turned back to him with a smile on her face. "That felt pretty natural."
And it had looked it. Buffy had looked so comfortable staking the vampire, it reminded Spike of the Buffy he used to know, the slayer he had fallen in love with.
"And so does this." Buffy added as she walked up to Spike and kissed him square on the lips.
Spike was surprised by the kiss, but not at all disappointed. This kiss was just like the kisses he remembered, and for a second, he thought he was holding the Buffy he had known in the old reality in his arms, but when they broke apart and looked into her eyes, he knew he wasn't and probably never would again.
Caritas was already clearing out as Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn got their first round of drinks. Angel could see out of the corner of his eye that Lorne had spotted the four friends at the table and was watching the group carefully. As the number of demons and people in the club dwindled out even more, Lorne approached the table.
"Hey there." Lorne pulled a chair up to the table Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn had claimed as their own. "The club is closing soon, but is there anything I can do for you four?" Lorne searched the group, his eye catching Angel. "You're sending off major vibes, Mr. Broody." Lorne joked with Angel, not knowing exactly who Angel was, but easily telling what kind of a personality Angel had.
"Can I talk to you?" Angel asked Lorne.
"Sure, pumpkin." Lorne told Angel. "But I don't talk much."
"I know, you sing." Angel told Lorne.
Lorne nodded, and Gunn nudged Cordelia.
"I thought Angel said he knew this guy." Gunn whispered to Cordelia.
"Me too." Cordelia whispered back. "But it doesn't seem like he does."
Gunn nodded in agreement and leaned back in his chair.
"Well, are you ready to sing, big fella?" Lorne asked Angel.
"Wait." Wesley butted in. "Why must he sing?"
"I can only read him if he does." Lorne said. "It's part of my deal."
"You're empathic?" Wesley seemed presently surprised and intrigued.
Lorne nodded. "Yep." He then turned back to Angel. "So hit some high notes for me."
Angel cleared his throat, hoping his plan would work. He thought that if he could get Lorne to read him and see all he's done and known then maybe Lorne would remember the past as well. Angel knew it was a long shot but he had to try.
Angel sang an old Irish lullaby but hadn't even made it too the second verse before he saw Lorne's eyes grow wide.
"That's…that's enough." Lorne silenced Angel before standing and making his way around the table toward the ex-vampire.
"What is it?" Cordelia asked Lorne, worried something was going to happen to Angel. "What did you see?"
Lorne did not answer Cordelia; instead he stared at Angel in shock. Angel stood, not sure what Lorne had seen.
"Well knock me in the head and tell me I'm dreaming." Lorne grinned at Angel.
Angel knew it, in that one instant, Lorne remembered. Lorne had to have. "Lorne?" Angel asked, skeptically.
Lorne nodded, hugging Angel. "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on? Because my head is spinning in a million different directions and I can't help but feel that you had something to do with it, champ."
Angel nodded. "I'll explain it all." He looked down at Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn who were sitting silently, and then back at Lorne. "But I can't now."
Lorne followed Angel's eyes to the table of his friends, the friend he finally remembered. "They don't remember."
Angel shook his head. "No."
"Remember what?" Cordelia stood, her hands on her hips.
Lorne laughed, unable to believe that Cordelia was standing in front of him, unable to believe that his whole world had been turned upside down in the matter of seconds. "Boy, didn't think I'd ever hear that tone of voice again."
"Tone? What tone?" Cordelia seemed to be getting annoyed with the green demon.
"Nothing, doll face." Lorne smiled at her again, and then looked back at Angel. "Why don't you and I go take a walk and you can explain this all to me?"
Angel nodded; glad to have at least one friend back. Glad someone else remembered everything besides himself and Spike.
"Good." Lorne looked back at Wesley, Gunn, and Cordelia. "I'll send you kids over another round of drinks. On the house." He motioned the waiter over and then he and Angel made their way into the back room of Caritas.
Spike and Buffy walked toward Giles' house with their hands tightly secured in one another's. They walked in silence, but it was a comfortable kind of quiet. Spike hadn't asked Buffy about what she had said to the vampire earlier about being his girlfriend. He couldn't. He found it awkward, and truth was, he was afraid. What if she hadn't really meant it?
"What are you thinking about?" Buffy asked, breaking Spike's train of thought.
Spike looked back at the slayer by his side. He realized just how much he missed the Buffy he had known. The one who had stolen his heart, the one whom he had gotten his soul back for. She was gone, and although the woman next to him looked like her, talked like her, smelled like her, and was, overall, her with a different memory, Spike felt he would never get back the real Buffy. He shook his head at her, smiling. "Nothing."
"You're thinking about something." Buffy told him.
"Just you." Spike told her as they stopped in front of Giles' front door.
"What about me."
"What you mean to me."
"Which is?"
Spike was silent for a moment, and then smiled at her. "More then you could know."
Buffy smiled at him, kissing him. When she pulled away she studied his face. "I feel like I've known you for so long."
"What do you mean?" Spike asked.
"I feel like I've done this before with you." Buffy sounded surprised.
"Done what before?" Spike was confused.
"Killed vampires, and then kissed you." Buffy said, and then seemed to stare off thinking about something else. "Or more then kiss you."
Spike was a little shocked. Was Buffy remembering her past? "Really?"
Buffy nodded. "Yeah." She shook her thoughts away. "Anyway, come on." She pulled Spike toward the door. "We need to tell Giles' about the vampire."
Spike nodded and opened the door to Giles' house. He and Buffy entered and found the British Watcher over some books at his kitchen table.
"You're back." Giles looked up, clearly relieved to see Buffy and Spike.
"Yeah." Spike nodded. "And so are the bloody vampires."
"What?" Giles fixed his glasses.
"Yeah." Buffy said. "We ran into one in the graveyard. I killed it."
"You?" Giles seemed surprised.
"She did." Spike told him. "Shouldn't be surprised though. She is the Slayer."
"That is true…" Giles nodded. "I should call the Watcher's Council."
"What about Cordelia and Angel?" Buffy asked. "If there are vampires here wouldn't that mean there are more in L.A.?"
"Possibly." Giles said. "But like I said earlier. Give the Council sometime to get things under control. If not, you'll go to Angel and Cordelia." He checked his watch. "You two should get home, it's late and there is school tomorrow."
"Right." Spike nodded. "Come on, Buffy. I'll get you home." He took Buffy's hand and led her out of Giles' house, leaving the watcher to his duties of calling the Council and trying to figure out what was going on.
Angel sat in the backroom of Caritas silently while Lorne paced feverishly in front of the brooding ex-vampire. The demon was trying to piece everything together and Angel was not about to interrupt him. It was a lot to take in.
Finally Lorne spoke. "So sugar, you've got a lot of explaining to do."
Angel nodded. "I know."
Lorne pulled a chair up, sitting across from Angel. "What the hell is going on, Angelcakes?"
Angel took a deep breath. "This was our second chance."
"What?" Lorne was confused. "Whose second chance?"
"All of ours." Angel told him. "We lost the battle with Wolfram and Hart, and evidently the whole world was destroyed hours after that. The Powers decided to give us all a second chance. They said things did not go according to their plans the first time around so they wanted to start over, or put us in a different reality. They said this one could have existed if certain things in the other hadn't happened."
"And we were all just put here?" Lorne asked. "With no memories of our old life?"
"No memories. No one remembers anything except you, me, and Spike. Part of Spike's punishment and mine as well. We have to remember it all." Angel told the green demon.
"Spike?" Lorne asked. "Spike's here too?"
"Back in Sunnydale." Angel said. "He and I are both human now."
"I can see that much." Lorne smiled. "And congrats on that. You deserved it. And Cordelia is back." Lorne smiled even wider.
"Yeah." Angel sighed. "Except she doesn't remember anything."
"And that bothers you?" Lorne looked at his friend.
Angel nodded. "I have her. She cares about me and I can be with her now, but she still seems so far out of my grasp. I love her, but it isn't the same. Something's missing."
"How about the fact that she can't remember the history you two had together and you can?" Lorne seemed to know the ex-vampire so well. "It hurts to have her with you but not have her remember the reasons why she cares about you so much?"
Angel nodded, leaning back in his chair and sighing as he ran his hand through his spiky hair. "That about sums it up. But she does remember, sometimes. Little things, she doesn't know she knows them, but she does. She just can't piece it together yet."
"What about the rest of them? Wesley and Gunn?" Lorne asked.
"They don't remember either." Angel said.
"But they found you." Lorne told him. "Some how, Wesley and Gunn found you, even in this reality."
"Yeah." Angel nodded.
"And Fred?" Lorne asked.
"She and Connor are over at the college. I went over there to check on them. I haven't seen Connor yet, but Fred was doing okay." Angel explained. "She didn't remember either."
"Well, maybe there is a way to get them all back." Lorne suggested. "You figured out how to get me to remember."
"Only because I thought if you read me it would help." Angel told him.
"Well, there has to be some way." Lorne said.
"I don't know." Angel said truthfully. "All I know is that this world is totally screwed up. I mean, vampires didn't exist, and now they do."
"What?" Lorne asked.
"Yeah. They weren't around in this world, and now they are. It doesn't make sense." Angel said. "Gunn's sister was turned and before I staked her she said something about a balance being thrown off."
Lorne nodded. "Its possible."
"How though?" Angel asked.
"Well, don't you find it weird that Wesley and Gunn still found you? And Cordelia?" Lorne asked.
"Cordelia followed me here from Sunnydale." Angel told him.
"Still, she came. Her place has always been beside you. All of ours have." Lorne said.
"So?" Angel wasn't following.
"So maybe, somehow subconsciously, everyone remembers their past. Maybe the two worlds are connecting, and that's why the vampires are back." Lorne suggested. "Maybe you and Spike threw everything off when you arrived in this reality."
"You think?" Angel asked.
Lorne shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's a possibility though. A strong one."
"What do you think we should do?" Angel asked.
"I think we need to dig a little deeper with all of this." Lorne said. "Something is not right, and if the vampires are back then the Powers That Be need their champion, and their seer, and maybe even the rest of us."
Before Angel could say anything, Cordelia came into the room.
"Angel?" Cordelia asked.
"Yeah?" Angel asked.
"Are you ready to go?" Cordelia asked. "We're all really tired."
"One second." Angel stood. "Come here, Cordy."
Cordelia moved to Angel's side and he wrapped his arm around her waist.
"I want you to meet someone." Angel told her as he turned to look at Lorne. "Cordelia, this is Lorne."
"Nice to officially meet you, Lorne." Cordelia smiled warmly at the demon.
"You too." Lorne smiled back at the girl he already knew.
"And Lorne, this is Cordelia Chase." Angel was choking on his own words. It was slowly killing Angel to have to reintroduce Cordelia to the people she had once called her family. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair, Cordelia should have remembered everyone and everything. They all should have remembered.