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 20
Angel woke up to the sun creeping into his bedroom. It had been habit for so long that when he first awoke, his mind numb from sleep, he forgot he was no longer a vampire and his first instinct was to run and hide in the shadows of his room. When he jumped up to do so, he felt his arm weighted down by something. He turned quickly to see Cordelia lying next to him; his arm had somehow crept around her during the night.
Angel smiled, relaxing as the new reality hit him. He no longer had to cower in the shadows or hold back his love for Cordelia. He could walk in the sun and lay by her side now.
Angel's commotion awoke Cordelia, however, as she opened her eyes and smiled back at him softly. "Hey."
"Hey." Angel smiled back.
Cordelia then stretched out and sighed, curling up closer to Angel. "I'm so tired. Did we sleep at all last night?"
Angel laughed. It had been a long night. They had not gone to bed until long after he had called Spike. They had originally planned on waiting for Connor and Gunn to come back, but somewhere along that plan they must have fallen asleep. Angel's smile faded at the thought.
Cordelia looked up at Angel. "What's wrong?"
"Connor and Gunn." Angel leapt out of bed with his vampire speed, another one of his powers that had come back. "We must have fallen asleep. We don't know if they got back."
"Alright, alright." Cordelia got out of bed as well. "Relax. I am sure they are back. Probably asleep."
"What if they aren't?" Angel asked.
Cordelia rolled her eyes, grabbing Angel's hand and yanking him out of what was now their bedroom. She pulled him toward the balcony, which overlooked the lobby and felt Angel relax once he saw Connor and Gunn, both asleep on opposite couches.
"See? They are fine." Cordelia smiled up at Angel.
Angel nodded, smiling back at her. He knew they had to get to work on the whole balance shifting issue as well as the vampire one and not to mention trying to get everyone's memories back, but Cordelia was too beautiful to just let walk away. He quickly picked her up, silencing her giggles with his lips, and carrying her back into their bedroom, locking the door behind them.
Spike awoke with a sigh. Today was the day he would try to figure out how to get Buffy back. He wasn't sure where to start. He didn't know her desires or passions; at least he was pretty sure he didn't. He had a feeling, that if he was going to get the Slayer back, it would be a long road, and his journey was just beginning.
Spike got out of a bed and jumped in the shower, quickly getting dressed before making his way out into the kitchen of Angel's old mansion. He moved to grab the milk out of the refrigerator when the doorbell rang.
Spike moved to the door, unsure of who was on the other side. He swung the door open to see a familiar blonde standing on the other side.
"Hey." Buffy smiled, holding up a box of donuts. "It's Saturday so I figured donuts would be a good way to start the morning."
Spike smiled, stepping aside. "Come on in."
Buffy nodded, stepping into the mansion, and giving Spike a quick kiss on the cheek, causing the ex-vampire to blush.
"So, what kind did you get?" Spike asked, looking at the box of pastries Buffy had brought.
"Chocolate and jelly." Buffy told him.
Spike nodded, sitting down on the couch in the living room as Buffy took a seat next to him. For some reason, Spike was uncomfortable around the Slayer this morning. Maybe it was before he knew he was going to have to try and figure out how to get her memory back. He just didn't know where to start. He didn't know what meant the most to her.
"You're quiet today." Buffy noticed that Spike seemed uneasy.
Spike nodded. "Yeah, just a long night."
"Worried about Angel and Cordelia?" Buffy asked.
"No. He called actually." Spike told her.
"Angel?"
"Yeah."
"Are they okay?"
"Yeah. They're fine."
"Well, that's good." Buffy took a bite of her donut.
Spike was silent, thinking hard about how he would attempt to get Buffy's memory back. He knew it wouldn't be easy.
"Spike?" Buffy broke his concentration. "What's bothering you?"
Spike went to shake his head that nothing was bothering him, but Buffy beat him to it.
"And don't tell me nothing because I know that's a lie." She gave him a slight smile and for a second he thought he was looking at the old Buffy. The Buffy who remembered who she truly was, the Buffy who had saved the world on so many occasions; but then the look in her eyes faded as quickly as it had come and Spike realized she still had no idea about any of her past.
Spike took a deep breath. If he was going to get the old Buffy back he had to start somewhere. He knew it might come out blunt, but he figured that asking her straight out was easier then trying to trick her into answering him. "Well, Buffy, I need to know something."
"Okay." Buffy nodded. "What?"
"Well…" Spike knew his question would sound funny, but he didn't care. "What means the world to you?"
"What?" Buffy was confused.
"What do you care about the most?" Spike asked.
Buffy thought for a moment and then shrugged. She really didn't have a good answer. Nothing in her life seemed that meaningful or important. "I don't know." She looked up at Spike more surprised by her own answer then he was.
Spike sighed, realizing Buffy was telling the truth. Without her knowledge and heartache and memories of her old life, this Buffy really had nothing. She was hollow, just as Spike had feared all along. He knew it would take a lot of time and energy if he was going to get Buffy's memory back.
Xander, with Faith in the seat next to him, pulled his car up to the police station in Los Angeles that had been the one to track and arrest Angel and bring Cordelia back to Sunnydale. He assumed that they would be able to help him find where Angel and Cordelia were. He moved to get out of the car, when Faith's army grabbed his.
"What?" Xander was annoyed she was holding him up.
"This isn't smart. If you go in there they will know you are in town and then if something happens to Angel or Cordelia, they will blame you." Faith tried to reason with him.
"Something will happen to Angel." Xander told her. "And I don't care. Neither will the police and neither should you."
Before Faith could say another word, Xander was out of his car and making his way up the steps to the police station.
Faith sighed, leaning back into her seat as she watched Xander enter the building. She barely knew Angel, she had never spoken to him for more then a few minutes in school, and yet, now, she felt like she had some kind of connection with him. She couldn't explain it, but she felt for him and she did not want to hurt him, let alone help Xander end Angel's life. She did not know why, but she felt as though she had tried to end Angel's life before, and that feeling made her shiver. Deep in her heart, she knew that Angel had, somewhere along the line, been her savor, her guiding light. She just didn't understand why she had that feeling.
Cordelia rolled over in bed, smiling her famous smile at Angel as she pulled the covers up around their clothe-less bodies. Angel smiled back at her, putting a stray piece of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear before propping himself up on one of his elbows.
"So, how does it finally feel to get me into bed, mister?" Cordelia teased him, and before he could answer added. "And don't even tell me last week counted because I didn't even really remember who you were then."
"Well, it was enough to get you to remember." Angel teased back.
"Yeah, yeah." Cordelia smiled, moving up and stealing a kiss from Angel before gently placing her head back down on her pillow.
Angel traced Cordelia's cheekbone with his finger, unable to truly get his mind around the fact that she was back in his arms. He was lost in the moment. Everything was the way it was supposed to be.
Cordelia broke Angel's thoughts as she sat up in bed, kissing him once more. "We should head downstairs. We've got a lot of work ahead of us between all of this vampire-balance shifting crap and trying to get everyone's memories back."
Angel nodded with a sigh. "Yeah."
Cordelia rolled her eyes at Angel's sigh with a smile. "I'm thinking that we should start with Wesley. Try and get to him first, we've known him the longest."
"I think if we crack Wesley we can crack Fred." Angel told her, recalling how Wesley was when Illyria took Fred over back at Wolfram and Hart. "They definitely have a connection."
"You think?" Cordelia asked.
Angel looked at her as if she was dumb but then remembered she had no idea how Wesley had been when he had lost Fred to Illyria. She had already died at that point. "Yeah. I'm sure."
"Alright." Cordelia kissed him again and then climbed out of bed, gathering all her clothes that Angel had tossed around the room earlier that morning. "Let's get to work."
Angel nodded as he watched her make her way into his bathroom. He relaxed in bed for a moment. He couldn't believe he finally had his Cordelia back, completely, and she was his. From now until the end of days, she would always be his. He then stood, gathering his own clothing. He knew that he, Cordelia, and Lorne had a long day ahead of them if they were going to get everyone's memories back, and then he knew the next few weeks would be long, trying to figure out the cause of the shift in balance and what would come from such a movement.
Buffy and Spike silently made their way toward Giles' house. Buffy was still somewhat shaken from their conversation earlier and had said little since then, except that she preferred to walk to Giles' instead of taking Spike's motorcycle, because the weather was so nice. Spike had agreed and so they began their walk toward the Watcher's house.
As they turned a corner they bumped into a familiar redhead and her boyfriend.
"Buffy! Spike!" Willow smiled. "We haven't seen you two in forever! You haven't been at school. What's been going on?"
"A lot." Buffy laughed uneasily.
"We heard about Cordelia." Oz said.
"What about her?" Buffy asked, knowing she and Spike would not give much information out about Cordelia or Angel, not even to Oz or Willow.
"That she left, again." Oz said.
"We heard Angel did too." Willow said. "Well, that he was in jail first and then he left with her."
"How did you hear all that?" Buffy asked. "It only happened like ysterday ago."
"Word travels fast." Spike said.
"And we went by Xander's today. His parents said he packed up some things and left." Willow said.
"He what?" Spike's eye grew wide. If Xander had left he knew there was a good chance he had gone after Cordelia and Angel.
"He left. No one knows where." Willow shrugged. "But everyone thinks Faith left with him. She has been M.I.A. the past few days."
Buffy and Spike looked at each other, both knowing that if Xander and Faith had left then Angel and Cordelia were in danger.
"We've got to go." Buffy said to Willow and took Spike's hand, both of them taking off down the street.
Spike and Buffy made their way up Giles' driveway, still sprinting, when suddenly, Buffy stopped short, her eyes wide.
"Buf?" Spike asked, gasping for air. He hadn't needed to worry about his breathing when he ran for over a century, now he did and he wasn't used to it. "Come on, what are you doing?"
"Spike…" Buffy's voice trailed off. "Angel is in trouble."
"Might be." Spike reminded her. "He might be in trouble. We don't know yet."
Buffy shook her head, looking up at Spike with the slight shimmer of a tear in her eye. "I can feel it. He's in trouble."
Spike nodded, a little confused by Buffy's reaction. "Okay. Well we will fix it."
"No." Buffy gasped, putting her arms out to gain balance, her eyes wider then ever.
"No…?" Spike took a step toward Buffy, but she countered him. "Buffy?"
"You're dead." Buffy said suddenly, looking up at Spike.
"What?" Spike was beyond confused at that point.
"You died." Buffy seemed to correct herself as she felt the weight of her own words. "You died saving the world."
Spike suddenly realized what Buffy was talking about. Her memory, it was coming back. Spike's mind raced, trying to see what had pinpointed the return of her memory. ANGEL. The simple fact that he might be in great danger had been enough to put the Slayer over the edge. He had been right all along. Angel was the only thing that would make Buffy's memory come back, but he didn't care, as long as she was back. "Buffy…"
"Spike?" Buffy stepped toward him, taking his hand in her own. "What the hell happened? The last time I saw you, you were bursting into flames."
Spike looked Buffy in the eye to see the flame he had missed dancing around in them. He couldn't help but smile. "Come on. I'll explain everything."
"Giles…" Buffy started.
"Doesn't remember." Spike said. "We'll have to go back to the mansion and talk. You need to bloody understand it all."
"Damn right, I do." Buffy smiled slyly at him before taking his hand and pulling him back in the direction of Angel's old mansion. She wasn't sure what was going on or how she had gotten back to Sunnydale, but she was sure Spike had the all of the answers she needed, and she needed to hear them, but mostly, she needed to hear his voice. Regardless of what anyone had thought, or what she had said, some part of her heart had belonged to the blonde vampire. Only, she had realized that when it was too late, when he was already gone. But now, for some reason, he was back, and she needed to know why.
Angel and Cordelia descended the stairs of the Hyperion Hotel to find Fred and Wesley both at the counter looking at the newspaper and Gunn, Connor, and Lorne sitting on the couches eating sandwiches.
"Nice to see you two finally awake." Lorne said, winking at Cordelia and Angel.
Cordelia blushed, knowing Lorne knew what they had been doing upstairs.
"We were tired." Angel tried to cover.
"Sure you were." Lorne tipped his sea breeze in Angel and Cordelia's direction.
Angel looked at Cordelia awkwardly and then quickly changed the subject. "So, any news on anything?"
"Well…" Wesley put down the paper he had Fred had been looking out. "There appears to have been some killings within the past two nights."
"What kind of killings?" Angel asked.
"Looks like it could have been vampires." Fred said. "The papers said animal attacks but…"
"Vampires." Cordelia nodded in agreement. "There are no animals big enough to kill people like that in L.A."
"That's what we figured." Gunn said.
"I was going to head over to the police station. See if I could get some information." Connor said, standing.
Angel nodded at his son, knowing the boy did not remember his real father. "Good idea."
Connor nodded, and shuffled out of the hotel quickly.
"What about everyone else?" Angel turned to the rest of the group.
"I figured I'd go check out the crime scenes." Gunn said. "If I ran into a vampire I know I could handle it. Me and Connor did alright last night."
"You killed some vampires last night?" Cordelia questioned.
Gunn nodded. "It was tight. Connor and me battled it out. Connor, man, he was a natural."
"Really?" Angel couldn't help but smile when he heard of his son's fighting skills.
"Yeah." Gunn said. "Not to mention, it was weird, but Connor knew the vampires were in the building. He like sensed them or something. I don't know."
"He sensed them?" Cordelia raised an eyebrow, and then shot a look at Angel. She could tell he was thinking the same thing she was. Connor was getting his demon strengths back just like Angel, Cordelia, and Spike had.
"Yeah." Gunn said, standing. "Weird huh?"
"Very." Lorne covered for a clearly shocked Cordelia and Angel. "Why don't you head out Gunn?"
"Yeah." Angel snapped out of it, agreeing with Lorne. "You should go check out those crime scenes."
"Alright. Later." Gunn gave a wave, and then exited the hotel.
Angel then quickly made his way over to Lorne, whispering in the demons ear. "We are going to start with Wesley and Fred, try and get their memories back. We figured they would be the easiest, and they are probably connected in some way as far as their desires and passions go."
Lorne nodded in agreement with Angel and then looked over at Cordelia, also nodding at her that he agreed with her and Angel's plan. The green demon just hoped they would be able to crack the code to their friends' memories. He truly missed Wesley, Fred, Gunn, and even Connor, and really wanted them all to remember their pasts together, especially if the new reality was changing as rapidly as it seemed to be.
Faith sat in the Xander's car, silently waiting for him to return. Her mind had been racing since Xander had gone into the Los Angeles Police station. She knew it was wrong to go after Angel, but she couldn't help the feeling she kept getting every time she thought about it. She felt like she had gone after him before.
Xander broke her train of thought when he got back into the car. He turned to Faith, a smile on his face.
"So?" Faith asked.
"It's amazing what fifty bucks can do when you need a little information from the front desk." Xander grinned.
"You bribed them into telling you where Angel and Cordelia are?" Faith asked, a little shocked.
"Oh yeah." Xander started the car. "And they took it with glee."
"So, where are Angel and Cordelia?" Faith asked.
"A hotel…" Xander searched his pockets. "I have the name on a piece of paper. Hyper something."
"The Hyperion." Faith said to both her and Xander's surprise.
"Yeah." Xander studied the paper in his hand and looked back up at Faith. "How did you know that?"
"I'm not sure." Faith said, searching his mind frantically for how she could have known the name of the hotel Cordelia and Angel were at, or how she could have known the name of any hotel in Los Angeles, after all, she had only been to the city once before in her entire life and that was when she was four, or that's what her memory told her anyway. But for some reason, unknown to Faith, she felt like her memory was slowly betraying her.