A/N Thank you for reviews, it is much appreciated :)

Chapter 17

"No!" I gasped.

"We'll find them, Clare." Angel marginally beat David to my side.

"How do we know where they are?" The tears were welling up in my eyes. Again as if by magic Kate's phone told her there was a message waiting for her. It was Liam. 'Tell Angel to meet us in the abandoned mission at the end of the road heading towards Santa Monica. He will know where this is.'

Angel was heading towards the door as Kate finished the message.

"I'm coming with you, no negotiation." I stated. He didn't even argue.

"I know," he replied, "come on." He knew we would all go.

Beth drove, with David next to her and Kate, Angel and I in the back. Angel was giving directions to Beth.

"Who is it, Angel, who has my boys?"

He turned to me, "I know exactly who it is; it's Drusilla. When we get to the mission, do exactly what I say and everything will be alright. I know what I'm doing – trust me."

"Who's Drusilla?" asked Kate.

"If you want the truth'; she was an innocent whom I drove insane and then turned."

"When you were Angelus, a long time ago?" I wanted to make sure this was nothing to do with the man I was sitting next to, and the one to whom had become very attached, but the monster he was turned into.

"Yes, it was a long time ago; in1860 in fact. I spent time with her and Darla, and then Dru sired Spike. They were together for a while but now seem to have gone their separate ways."

"What does Dru want with the boys?" Beth asked the question that I had wanted to ask, but did not really want the answer to.

"She will want to see my new family. She will have heard about you and the fact that Liam and Finn look like me, and she will be curious. Clare, she cannot harm them. The spell will not allow it."

I suddenly remembered, the spell, the wonderful spell.

"Are you really sure, Angel?"

"Clare, it is very, very powerful magic that is surrounding your family. A spell by a seer, foretold by the Powers that Be, and by Willow a witch, who has immeasurable command of the world of magic. They are safe, maybe scared, but they are safe."

I burst into tears. Tears of relief.

"Thank God." It was David's turn to sound relieved.

The next few minutes were still tense, and when Angel told Beth to turn into a side road, I jumped. I hadn't really noticed but the area we were in appeared to be a relic of Victorian times with dilapidated tenement blocks and abandoned shops and warehouses. We parked up outside the old mission hall.

"Stay behind me," instructed Angel.

"No worries, I'm going to be like a limpet," I agreed.

"David, Beth and Kate, follow on. Do you have the stakes?"

"Yes," they all affirmed.

'To eat?' I thought, 'what a stupid time to think of food,' then I remembered where I was, stakes not steaks. I would never get used to this different world.

We entered through the front door which was open. It smelled of stale food and lavender. I was so close to Angel, following in his footsteps that I didn't really see any of the corridor. We walked through another couple of doors. I was terrified. Behind me I could hear David, breathing hard, anticipating trouble. I couldn't hear the girls but didn't want to call out as I thought it would be the wrong thing to do. David would have said something if there was a problem with them.

Suddenly there was a movement. David pulled me back as someone had jumped in front of Angel.

There was a scuffle and then a sound like something collapsing and then nothing. We continued and I noticed a pile of dust,

I turned to David, "Is that a…" He nodded and turned me to face the direction that Angel was going. I closed the gap and stayed behind him once again.

He opened another door and, "Angel! Mum, Dad!" It was Liam.

I looked out from behind Angel.

Liam was sitting on a chair, by the look of it he was tied to it. I wanted to go to him but Angel held onto my hand. He squeezed it. I knew that meant do nothing and leave it up to him. Liam looked unharmed, just rather disheveled and scared. He looked like a frightened little boy. But where was Finn? My eyes travelled across the room. Finn was sitting down on a sofa next to a very striking woman. His hair looked very ruffled, almost standing up, and subconsciously I noticed she had a comb in her hands. The young woman was very pale and had long dark hair. She looked so delicate. So this was Drusilla. She was holding onto Finn's hand. He, too, looked as scared as his brother.

"Mum!" He started to rise, but was firmly pushed down by her hand. Not so delicate then.

"Stay there, little Angel. Have some manners." She smiled at Angel, "Hello Daddy, are you well? Look who I found. Aren't they just so pretty? Just like you!"

"Hello, Drusilla."

"Oh you called me by my long name! Are you cross with me, Daddy, I just wanted to see the family. I wanted to be one big family together. But the little Angels weren't much fun; they were very quiet and didn't want to play." She looked very disappointed. I didn't want to know what her definition of 'play' was.

"Drusilla, you shouldn't have taken Liam and Finn. They were expected back at the hotel and you have made everyone worried."

She got up, turned round to Finn, pointed the comb at him and said, "Stay, little Angel, I will be back," she put the comb on the sofa and walked over to us. She was very slight and glided as though she had had lessons on deportment. I had mixed feelings, I was incredibly angry with her for kidnapping my sons, but a little bit of me felt a real pang of sorrow for her. She looked so small, vulnerable and alone, but I knew that as a vampire she had great strength and was a soulless demon of pure evil.

"So, here is your new family." She came to me, "Mummy, you have beautiful little Angels." She touched my hand with her icy fingers. She went to David, "And another Daddy, a protector." She looked at Beth, "A warrior, one who is pure of heart," finally she looked at Kate, "and a Slayer!" She spun round to Angel, "What a strange new family you have got, Daddy, I don't want to be part of it!"

'There's a coincidence,' I thought, 'I have no intention of inviting you to join us!'

"You should go now, Dru, and let me take the boys with me. You have met them, and you know that they can never be turned. They are protected as all the Kerrigans are." Angel was speaking in a voice with obvious authority, but it also had a touch of kindness in it.

Drusilla actually pouted. "You are no fun, Daddy; think how lovely it would be to have the little Angels with us. I could have loved them and looked after them and played with them."

"Go, Drusilla, and be thankful I'm letting you leave."

"Is Daddy angry with me?"

"Just go, Dru."

She walked back to Finn and kissed him on the head, "Goodbye, little Angel." She blew a kiss to Liam, "and to you little Angel number two."

"Come on." She called, and from nowhere several people joined her and followed her out.

When the room was empty, Angel let go of my hand. I went to Liam and David went to Finn.

"Are you alright, my darling?" Liam nodded as I undid the ropes tying him to the chair. He flung his arms around me and held on tight.

"I am now." His muffled voice came from my front.

"We have to go," announced Angel, "you never quite know how Dru will react to a new situation."

"But you said…" I stopped – "that was to make me feel better, wasn't it?"

Angel smiled.

After a quick hug of Finn, we all left, again, with Angel in front and the girls at the back.

It was a rather squashed ride back, but no-one minded.

"What happened?" asked Kate.

Liam began, "We were just walking home, as Dad had told us to be back in three hours, we passed an alley way which was quite dark. As we were passing, we were both grabbed from the back and pushed into a car by some scary looking people who had really wrinkled up faces and foreheads."

Finn took up the story, "When we got to the mission place we were pushed inside and we met Drusilla. She grabbed me and told Liam to make the call. As he was talking she pulled me up and tried to bite my neck and Liam dropped the phone and came over to us. He tried to get her off, and then he was held by a couple of the men. She couldn't bite me, she tried and tried but there was like an invisible barrier that she could not cross. Drusilla was very angry at me and at Liam, and so she made him text to Kate to finish off the message. And then, she, she…"

"What, what did she do?" I asked; my heart in my mouth.

"She had a tea party with us and some of her china dolls."

"What!"

"We had to sit at a table with her dolls and we had tea, biscuits and some little cakes. She had china cups and saucers and she told us stories. Then she said Liam had to be punished because he didn't do what she said about the message and she had her men tie him up and I had to sit on the sofa with her and she started to comb my hair."

We were all silent, not sure what to say. I could feel myself pulling my cheeks to stop a smile, but didn't want to be the one that laughed first.

"Trust you two," started Angel, "caught by a vampire and given tea and cakes."

"And a new hairstyle," added Kate, again trying not to laugh.

Liam looked at Finn, "Brother, you look so gay!"

That did it, we all burst out laughing, even Finn, who began to use his fingers to pull and push his hair back to normality.

"Let's just go home," continued Angel, "and see what the rest of your final day may bring."

"No more surprises I hope!" I added.

Now where would the fun in that be!