Ensouled Part Five - Up and Down

Summary: Spike comes to LA looking for Angel, together they try and figure out what it means to be Ensouled.

Disclaimer: Joss created my darling boys, I just let them run around in my head until they must come out.

Distribution: Please ask, although why you would want to house a 41,674 word long story is beyond me.

It had only taken Spike a couple of minutes to get Angel dressed, but it had taken him nearly ten to get him down the hall to the stairs.

"Did have one, until Holtz came and I had to blow it up, funny story really, I'll have to tell you sometime when I'm not coughing up blood." Angel leaned more of his weight onto Spike's shoulder and let the smaller man help him to the stair railing. "I can take it from here."

Spike let go of Angel's arm for just a moment, then grabbed it again as he began to slip. "Sure you can. Don’t be such a ponce, it's okay to ask for a bit of help." The dark haired vampire let out a small laugh thinking about the irony of Spike helping him.

"Not beating around the bushes are we, Pet? No, why would you." Spike gave a little half smile. "I'm going to tell you, I want to tell you everything. But this isn’t the place, for one thing, you’ll be wanting a seat, and for another, I think we better find out who your mate Gunn is yelling at in the lobby."

Angel had been so worried about making it down the stairwell intact he hadn’t even noticed the yelling match that was going on downstairs until he heard Fred scream. Spike ran down the stairs two at a time while his sire crept along the railing. When they reached the bottom Fred started jumping up and down then ran to hug Angel.

"You're here! You're alive! Angel!" She nearly knocked the gaunt vampire over when she attached herself to his waist. Meanwhile Spike had turned his attention to Gunn and the teenage boy he had by the neck.

Angel slowly removed Fred’s arms from his waist and took a few steps towards Gunn and Connor. Gunn turned his head to follow his boss’s progress and loosened his grip on Connor’s neck.

Angel walked past Gunn ignoring, ignoring the question. He removed the large hand from his son’s neck and replaced it with his own. In one motion Angel had Connor pinned against the lobby’s hard tile floor and had pressed his knee into his small chest.

"I don't know, I swear I don't. I didn't do anything to Cordelia. I told you, I like Cordelia." Connor shifted under his father’s weight looking for an opportunity to escape his firm grasp, but Angel was not relenting.

"I don't believe you. You knew where we were going, obviously. Where’s Justine? Did she hurt Cordelia?" He shook the small form beneath him as he spoke. Angel could feel the fury growing in his chest. He had thought of Cordelia constantly while in his watery prison, wanting nothing more than to be with her. Now he was home, back at the hotel, and she was not here. The pain was overwhelming, and he was determined to take it out on the person responsible, even if it was his son..

"I haven't seen Justine in weeks. She just took off. We went to some little town in Nevada, then she just left. She left. She just left." Connor repeated the words quietly to himself over and over.

"Nothing! We never even talked about her. I didn't care about her, it wasn't about Cordelia. I just wanted to make you pay for killing my father! Justine said that if I loved him I would kill you, but I didn't. I didn't want to kill you. Killing was too good, too easy. You don't deserve to die, Angelus." Connor hissed the words in Angel's face.

"You're right, dying would be easy. Too easy. And I do deserve to be punished for a million things I did as Angelus, but I did not kill Holtz. He was alive and kicking when I left that hotel room. He gave me the letter, you read it yourself, you know he wrote it. He said he would leave. He said I had a second chance with you." Angel was shaking now, both from the emotion and the physical exertion of holding down the still struggling body beneath him. The other three people in the room looked on, not knowing what to do.

He looked up at Spike and slowly removed his hand from Connor’s neck. The fair headed vampire grabbed him softly by the arm and helped him to his feet.

"Angel, I don't think he knows what happened to Cordelia." Spike looked at the boy on the floor. "I don't think he even knows what happened to himself."

"Spike, where is she?" Angel was no longer fighting the tears. He rested his head on his childe’s shoulder. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know, Peaches. But someone will, we are going to find her." He placed a thin hand on the older vampire's head and stroked his coarse brown hair. "It's what we do right? Helping the helpless, we’re going to find her. I promise."

After a few moments of awkward silence, Spike stood up. "I'm going to take Angel back up to his room." He announced. "Gunn will you give me a hand?"

"You," Spike pointed at Connor, "don't even think about moving." Spike let his demon face briefly flash to emphasize his point and smiled when it had a satisfactory effect on the boy. The two men then half carried Angel back up the stairs and got him settled into his bed again. Gunn made a fast exit and headed down to guard Fred.

"Just for a second, Pet. Have a few questions to ask little brother, then I promise I'll be right back up." Spike planted a faint kiss on his sire’s brow and made for the door.


	The Adventures of Captain Peroxide and Deadboy The Angel/Spike Zone of the BtVS Writer's Guild Home Updates Stories Resources Extras News Music Forum Contact Guestbook Links Full Version Fiction by: Title Author Pairing Rating Ensouled Part V - Up and Down Author: Tania Summary: Spike comes to LA looking for Angel, together they try and figure out what it means to be Ensouled. Rating: Mainly R/NC-17 Pairings: Angel/Spike, Angelus/William, Lilah/Wesley, Buffy/Spike implied, Angel(us)/Darla Implied Timeline: Runs the gamut Disclaimer: Joss created my darling boys, I just let them run around in my head until they must come out. Distribution: Please ask, although why you would want to house a 41,674 word long story is beyond me. Feedback: Please, by all means, Email Tania It had only taken Spike a couple of minutes to get Angel dressed, but it had taken him nearly ten to get him down the hall to the stairs. "Sure you want to try this Angel?" Spike asked. "Don’t you have a lift in the lobby?" "Did have one, until Holtz came and I had to blow it up, funny story really, I'll have to tell you sometime when I'm not coughing up blood." Angel leaned more of his weight onto Spike's shoulder and let the smaller man help him to the stair railing. "I can take it from here." Spike let go of Angel's arm for just a moment, then grabbed it again as he began to slip. "Sure you can. Don’t be such a ponce, it's okay to ask for a bit of help." The dark haired vampire let out a small laugh thinking about the irony of Spike helping him. "Wait Spike, why are you here?" "Not beating around the bushes are we, Pet? No, why would you." Spike gave a little half smile. "I'm going to tell you, I want to tell you everything. But this isn’t the place, for one thing, you’ll be wanting a seat, and for another, I think we better find out who your mate Gunn is yelling at in the lobby." Angel had been so worried about making it down the stairwell intact he hadn’t even noticed the yelling match that was going on downstairs until he heard Fred scream. Spike ran down the stairs two at a time while his sire crept along the railing. When they reached the bottom Fred started jumping up and down then ran to hug Angel. "You're here! You're alive! Angel!" She nearly knocked the gaunt vampire over when she attached herself to his waist. Meanwhile Spike had turned his attention to Gunn and the teenage boy he had by the neck. "Um, Angel," Spike asked, "should I jump in here?" Angel slowly removed Fred’s arms from his waist and took a few steps towards Gunn and Connor. Gunn turned his head to follow his boss’s progress and loosened his grip on Connor’s neck. "Hey man, am I glad to see you. Where’s Cordy?" Angel walked past Gunn ignoring, ignoring the question. He removed the large hand from his son’s neck and replaced it with his own. In one motion Angel had Connor pinned against the lobby’s hard tile floor and had pressed his knee into his small chest. "Where is Cordelia?" Angel released his grip just enough to let Connor take a shallow breath. "I don't know, I swear I don't. I didn't do anything to Cordelia. I told you, I like Cordelia." Connor shifted under his father’s weight looking for an opportunity to escape his firm grasp, but Angel was not relenting. "I don't believe you. You knew where we were going, obviously. Where’s Justine? Did she hurt Cordelia?" He shook the small form beneath him as he spoke. Angel could feel the fury growing in his chest. He had thought of Cordelia constantly while in his watery prison, wanting nothing more than to be with her. Now he was home, back at the hotel, and she was not here. The pain was overwhelming, and he was determined to take it out on the person responsible, even if it was his son.. "I haven't seen Justine in weeks. She just took off. We went to some little town in Nevada, then she just left. She left. She just left." Connor repeated the words quietly to himself over and over. "And what did she say about Cordelia?" "Nothing! We never even talked about her. I didn't care about her, it wasn't about Cordelia. I just wanted to make you pay for killing my father! Justine said that if I loved him I would kill you, but I didn't. I didn't want to kill you. Killing was too good, too easy. You don't deserve to die, Angelus." Connor hissed the words in Angel's face. "You're right, dying would be easy. Too easy. And I do deserve to be punished for a million things I did as Angelus, but I did not kill Holtz. He was alive and kicking when I left that hotel room. He gave me the letter, you read it yourself, you know he wrote it. He said he would leave. He said I had a second chance with you." Angel was shaking now, both from the emotion and the physical exertion of holding down the still struggling body beneath him. The other three people in the room looked on, not knowing what to do. "Angel." He looked up at Spike and slowly removed his hand from Connor’s neck. The fair headed vampire grabbed him softly by the arm and helped him to his feet. "Angel, I don't think he knows what happened to Cordelia." Spike looked at the boy on the floor. "I don't think he even knows what happened to himself." Spike led his sire to the small round sofa in the middle of the lobby and eased him onto it. "Spike, where is she?" Angel was no longer fighting the tears. He rested his head on his childe’s shoulder. "Where did she go?" "I don't know, Peaches. But someone will, we are going to find her." He placed a thin hand on the older vampire's head and stroked his coarse brown hair. "It's what we do right? Helping the helpless, we’re going to find her. I promise." **** After a few moments of awkward silence, Spike stood up. "I'm going to take Angel back up to his room." He announced. "Gunn will you give me a hand?" "Sure thing." "You," Spike pointed at Connor, "don't even think about moving." Spike let his demon face briefly flash to emphasize his point and smiled when it had a satisfactory effect on the boy. The two men then half carried Angel back up the stairs and got him settled into his bed again. Gunn made a fast exit and headed down to guard Fred. "Don’t go." The larger vampire begged. "Just for a second, Pet. Have a few questions to ask little brother, then I promise I'll be right back up." Spike planted a faint kiss on his sire’s brow and made for the door. "Don’t hurt him." "Yes, Sire." ** Part Six Have wondered how it would all end.** Copyright 2002 - Tania Violators will be beaten to death with a shovel (A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend)