Loving His Child 2

"And who might you be?" Angel's gaze flew to Jack when he spoke again. "Another one of Spike's little fuck-toys?" The brunette's gaze bore into Spike's eyes. "In that case I should warn you; he has a tendency to leave his lovers behind."

There was something about the way Jack was looking at Spike - something about the way he was speaking of Spike - that caused Angelus to stir inside of Angel, and the dark-haired vampire suddenly had an enormous urge to beat the newcomer to a bloody pulp.

All questions could be dealt with later. They weren't important right now. His eyes darkened and he met Jack's gaze dead on, daring him to make a move.

"Name's Angelus," he stated such in a cold voice that Spike's eyes widened with surprise. "And I was never William's little fuck-toy. In fact, I'd rather say he was mine."

"Ah, the famous Angelus - the Scourge of Europe, right? Spike's Sire and Grandchilde of The Master himself? Gotta say, I noticed you were talking about your boy in past tense, there," Jack said, pacing slightly back and forth. "What happened? Couldn't he satisfy you? Too weak? Too loose ass? Too much of a coward?"

"A girl got between us," Angel replied in the same, icy cold voice, ignoring the guilt that stirred inside of him over killing that gypsy girl that fatal night. "What do you want with us?"

Jack stopped pacing then, and slowly turned to face the two again, his eyes now nothing more than thin slits. "I wanna fight you."

Both the dark-haired vampires turned their heads to look at Spike when he spoke, the short and clipped word holding more determination than Angel thought even *Spike* possessed.

"You're not fightin' him," Spike said with determination, gesturing to Angel, "This is between you an' me, and it will stay between you and me. The pillock has nada to do with it!"

An evil smile crept slowly across Jack's face and Angel had to bite his tongue not to shudder. "I'm glad you seem to be sharing my opinion for once," Jack said coolly.

Launching himself directly at the peroxide-blonde vampire, his boot connected with Spike's skull with a sickening crack before they both tumbled backwards and away from Angel, their long coats waving around them.

When the coats finally settled down on the ground, Angel saw Spike's head being pushed down onto the pavement by Jack's strong arms. The blonde's teeth were gritted together and his eyes were squeezed shut tightly as he obviously was in great pain. Prepared to throw himself into the fight, Angel stopped surprised and shocked when he heard his Childe's strained voice.

The older vampire blinked owlishly at Spike's words, but the blonde opened his eyes and gave his Sire a deadly look. "Stay out of this, Angelus!"

Before Angel had the time to blink a second time, the peroxide-blonde vampire had kicked the brunette off him and jumped to his feet.

Both vampires letting their supernatural powers come to the surface, they stormed towards each other, coats billowing out behind them. Only Angel's own supernatural vision allowed him to see anything of what was going on in the fight, but it wasn't always easy to tell who had the upper hand, not even for him.

The coats kept getting in the way, and he mostly just saw a hand here and a boot there, in between Spike's very visible peroxide-bleached hair. Growls and snarls filled London's night air, and Angel's nostrils flared as the scent of blood penetrated the air.

A second later, the two shadows separated and one of them tumbled down the alley in a mix of snarls and curses. A different scent of blood joined Spike's and Angel watched the man standing in front of him, looking at the other vampire laying on the ground near the end of the alley.

Getting to his feet, Jack sent both Spike and Angel yet another deadly look, and this time Angel wasn't able to hold back the shudder that involuntarily crept down his spine. "This isn't finished," the brunette snarled, before he turned around and was gone in a second.

The two vampires remained standing in silence for a long while, just watching the end of the alley where Jack had disappeared. Finally, Angel walked forward to place a hand carefully on Spike's shoulder.

The younger vampire's head snapped around and he glared stakes at his Sire. "Not now," he said briefly, before he turned back and headed down the alley, wiping away the blood on his face as he went.

Angel sighed deeply, silently asking Spike what his history with Jack was, before he followed the blonde, knowing they had to find a hotel where they could stay for the day, since dawn was only a few hours away.

"Spike," Angel sighed. "You're going to have to tell me about this sooner or later. Now, what's going on between you and Jack?"

Spike bit his lip, his mind racing. He didn't want to tell Angel about his history with Jack, but at the same time he had an urge to share his feelings with somebody. Cursing himself mentally for being a wanker, Spike closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to decide what to do.

The two vampires had successfully found a hotel where they had rented a room for the day. All the while, Spike had been silent - he had only spoken once, to protest when Angel at first had ordered separate rooms. That one had made Angel wonder, but he didn't bring it up at the time, firmly believing he would get the whole story sooner or later.

The two vampires had been laying on their beds for close to an hour, and Angel had yet to get one word out of Spike. He knew the younger vampire was awake, but he had absolutely no idea why the blonde wouldn't talk to him.

Spike didn't understand his need to share that particular chapter of his life with his Sire, and he didn't like it. Not one bit. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make it go away.

Despite the years and the fights that had come between the two vampires, they were still Sire and Childe, and Spike still got a weird sense of security when Angel was around. And right now he needed that security a lot more than he would ever admit to anybody, least of all himself.

The story about him and Jack was long and painful and it needed to be shared. But it was also history, and Spike wasn't at all sure if he wanted to open a book that he had already closed.

When he heard Angel's concerned voice behind him once more, Spike finally sat up and turned around to face Angel. Reaching over to the night table he grabbed the ashtray he'd placed there along with his cigarettes, and quickly lit one up before meeting Angel's gaze.

"Because I care," Angel replied honestly. "I don't know what's the deal with you and this Jack, but whatever it is, it's gotta be big because he looked like he was out after revenge." He paused and stared intensely into Spike's eyes for a few seconds. "What does he want revenge for?" he finally asked.

Spike sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds, while he took a deep pull of his cigarette. The nicotine made its way through his dead body and it soothed him slightly. Not enough, but it helped.

"Darla?" Spike asked as he entered the house he, Darla, Drusilla and Angelus currently called home. "Angelus?" When he received no answer, he just shrugged and started to take off his coat. "They're probably just out picking up a meal or went somewhere for their anniversary."

"Left?" Spike frowned and showed more worry than he usually would have. "Left? What do you mean 'they left'? They're probably just out, like I said."

"They're not coming back," Drusilla said, dancing gracefully around Spike to the fireplace. "They're both gone. Gone, gone, gone," she cooed, winking seductively at Spike.

Reluctantly, Spike had to admit that Drusilla was probably right. Angelus and Darla had specifically ordered the two younger vampires out of the house for Angelus' birthday - their anniversary - and not return until dawn three nights afterwards.

Closing his eyes for a second, Spike shook his head and stopped himself. What was he thinking? Darla and Angelus leaving him and Drusilla? No, that couldn't be. There was no way! No way...

"Yes," Drusilla sang again, dancing around in front of the fireplace. "They're not coming back to us, my sweet," she told Spike, moving gracefully to him and placing her arms around his neck. "The walls are speaking to me. They say something happened." Her voice dropped to a delicate whisper that tingled Spike's ear. "Something nasty..."

Worry flooded Spike's mind and he immediately frowned and gripped Drusilla's arms. "Nasty? What nasty?" When the dark-haired vampiress only laughed coyly, Spike shook her slightly, something which caused more laugh to bubble forth. "Drusilla!" he demanded. "What. Happened?"

"They won't say, but they're sure our Mommy and Daddy will never return," she whispered, before snapping playfully at Spike's neck. "We're a family, Spike. Just the two of us."

The blonde vampire had let go of Drusilla even before she had finished her sentence. "You're lying!" he said angrily and desperate. "You're wrong! You're *wrong,* Dru! You're wrong!"

Running to the door, Spike threw it open and peered out into the growing light. The sun hadn't risen yet, but he knew it would within a few minutes, so it wasn't safe for him to go out.

His eyes darting desperate across the street and the buildings he could see from where he was standing as the blonde desperately tried to spot Angelus or Darla, or at least catch their scent on the faint breeze.

They couldn't have left him, they couldn't *possibly* have left him and Dru to themselves. They would never! And still, there was no trace of them anywhere. Spike knew they weren't dead, because if they were, he would have sensed it immediately - so where were they, then?

Blinking away the tears that filled his eyes, Spike turned and made his way back to Drusilla, his jaw clenched tightly in anger. If he ever saw his Sire again, he would make him bleed for leaving him like this.

"I thought you were a terrible Sire," Spike said with a hollow chuckle, lighting another cigarette with the butt of his previous one before stabbing it out in the ashtray. "Leaving me an' Dru behind like that... I was angry with Darla, too, but I didn't really have any relationship with her at all, outside of the foursomes we had in bed. Besides, she was your Sire, so..."

Angel watched and listened with fascination as the blonde shrugged and stared empty out in nothing before continuing his story. "I wanted the world to know I was just as good as, or even better, than you. I tried to keep our minions in order, but I was young. I hadn't even been around for a century. They didn't show me much respect as soon as it became clear that I acted out of my own will rather than yours, and that you had left for good."

Blowing a cloud of smoke into Angel's face, Spike turned to lay back on the bed, his upper body resting against the headboard. "Fuck, you have no idea how stupid I was, Angelus," Spike said, shaking his head.

"I was clueless. Young. I didn't know that to rule a vampire clan, you have to be yourself, because while minions are stupid as hell, they do see straight through you and know instantly if you're fake or for real. And I wasn't me. I was trying to be like you. I couldn't control them, and soon they started to rebel against me. I decided that I was going to be just as good as you, no matter what, so I went out and I made me a Childe."

Angel noticed how Spike's body tensed as he mentioned Jack for the first time in his story, and he cringed inwardly. He felt sorry for his Childe, instinctively knowing that this other man, this other vampire, was a bigger part in the blonde's life than he had admitted at first.

"Jack was perfect as a vampire. An insane murderer who was wanted in three countries already. I made him immortal much in the same way you made me," Spike told Angel with another hollow chuckle. "Pulled him off the street after watching him for some weeks, raped him and turned him in an alley."

"He had so much potential, Angel. So bloody much potential. And I immediately knew that if I could guide him and teach 'im and be a better Sire for him than you were for me, he would be the new Master sometime in the future."

When Spike stopped and didn't go on, his eyes sort of glazing over and staring out in space again, Angel looked down for a split second before shaking his head, barely visible.

"Not a chance," Spike replied. "It wasn't Jack, mind you. The bugger was stubborn and intolerant, but he was no worse than I was around you. Still, it was too much for me. You know me, Angel. Never one for responsibility and shit like that. Like you told me earlier tonight. And I couldn't stand having to be there for Jack around the clock - I couldn't stand being a fucking babysitter. This was totally different from Drusilla, and I 'ated it with my entire being."

"I disappeared," Spike confirmed. "I took Dru one night, and just left. Nobody ever saw us leaving and nobody ever followed us. I was fine with it - it was how I wanted it. I didn't want to stay around so everybody could look at me and say 'There goes Spike who tried to be like his famous Sire, but couldn't.' I couldn't deal with that shame."

"And Jack didn't deal with things well, I guess," Angel said, finally piecing together the last pieces of the puzzle. "Considering how you dealt with my sudden disappearance, I suppose Jack was no different."

"You got that right," Spike sighed. "I guess he went nuts. I met up with him back in 1967. Killed the hell out of 'im."

"What?" Spike asked, confused. He didn't know if he was annoyed or relieved that the quiet atmosphere that had settled over the room as he told his story, was gone. "What are you talking about?"

"Jack," Angel said, meeting Spike's eyes dead on as the blonde vampire sat up and stubbed out his cigarette. "You can't fight him. Stay indoors. Let me handle everything. Let *me* find a magic shop and buy the needed stuff, and I'll come back here, we'll do the spell and get outta here."

"Why?" Spike asked, confused and somewhat annoyed with the older vampire. "I know you're my Sire, but you're not my father. It's not like you can ground me, or anything."

"Spike, don't you get it?" Angel asked, a worried tone in his voice. When the peroxide-blonde still looked confused, he sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

"Spike, if you killed Jack in '67, and you fight him now, in 1924, he will win! He *must* win to live on to be killed in '67, while *you* can die because there's two of you here. One who belongs in 1924 and is hiding out somewhere with Dru, and who will meet Jack in 1967 and kill him. And then there's one who can die now because it won't change history a bit!"

When Spike just blinked at him, Angel leaned forward and looked his Childe intensely into his eyes. "Spike, are you listening to me? If you fight Jack here, you're going to die!"

It hadn't taken the dark-haired vampire long to find a magic store, but he was a bit nervous that he had been followed. Both he and Spike knew that Jack would search for the two vampires and do anything to get revenge over the blonde. And although Angel didn't know Spike's Childe, there was something about Jack that just made a shiver go down his spine.

"Blessed be," the store owner greeted him, her gray dress waving elegantly around her as she walked around the counter. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

Angel couldn't hold back a smile as he watched her tuck and untuck her red hair behind her ear, reminding him so much of Willow. "I need..."

He reached into his pocket and looked at the list Spike had scribbled down to him, to read the ingredients for the spell out loud to the woman.

"Five tails of newt, essence of violet, ten white candles - thick, not thin... uh, raven feathers, flint stone... jasmine, sage and bile."

Not saying anything further, the woman quickly collected the requested items from various shelves around the store, before she took the items to the counter and put them in a bag, smiling politely at Angel as he found the correct amount of money among the crumpled bills Spike had given him. Once he'd paid, he scurried out of the shop and started to make his way back to the hotel, making sure he wasn't followed.

When the door closed behind him, however, he didn't see the woman's smile fade or the back door open.

"An excellent performance," Jack said with a light clapping of his hands. "Looks like I was right about the two wonder-Sires. They're up to something."

The store owner looked at the vampire in silent fear as he turned to her and morphed. "Let me show you my gratitude for your help, my dear."

Then he sank his fangs into her neck, ignoring her yelp of pain and her screams as she realized she was dying. Once he had drained her completely, the raven-haired vampire allowed the body to fall to the floor, before he licked his lips delicately and unhurriedly walked out the door after Angel.

"It's me," Angel said through the door to the hotel room he and Spike had gotten. There was the sound of three locks being opened, before the door opened and the peroxide-blonde's face appeared.

"I got the goods," Angel said as he entered the room. Closing the door and locking it, Spike turned to Angel and the bag he had put down on one of the beds. Then he stopped and looked around the hotel room. "This isn't enough space, though. We need a bigger surface to perform the spell on."

"Okay," Spike said with a sigh. "So we go out and find somewhere safe to do the spell, then?"

"Not yet," Angel replied, turning to his Childe. "If I was seen tonight, I won't risk being seen again. If anybody spotted me, I probably shook them off, but they'll be looking. Tomorrow night, okay?"

Angel didn't reply, not wanting to start another verbal or possible physical fight with the younger vampire. Instead, he just moved the bag with the magic ingredients off his bed and then pulled off his coat. Kicking off his boots, he lay down on top of the covers and pulled out a paperback copy of Filth by Irvine Welsh, that he'd had in the pocket of his coat.

When Spike discovered Angel had settled down with a book, he threw his arms up in the air and sighed noisily. "Figures!" he complained to himself, before he settled down on his own bed, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling.

It didn't take one minute, even, before the blonde reached for his cigarettes, needing something to do. Once he had one of the Lucky Strikes lit, he watched the smoke curl towards the ceiling, before he turned his head to look at his Sire.

"M-hm?" the older vampire replied, not moving his eyes from the book. He was awaiting either a snide remark from Spike, or a comment about how boring things were, so the question that came from his Childe threw him completely off track.

Angel was completely silent for a long moment, his eyes locked on the book in front of him. He didn't really register the words written on the pages, though. Finally, he lowered the book and turned his head towards Spike, wondering if the younger vampire was serious about his question.

Meeting the peroxide-blonde's ice blue eyes, Angel searched them for some sign that Spike wasn't serious, but didn't find any.

Finally, Angel placed the book back in his coat on the floor, before turning so he was laying on his side, facing the other bed and Spike.

"I don't get it," Spike said quietly, taking a long pull of his cigarette. "You raised both me and Drusilla and Penn and Jake and Lara and..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I can't even remember everybody."

"Penn, Jake, Lara, Ezra, William, Lysette, Drusilla, George, Charlotte and Kym," Angel said, his gaze moving to blank space as memories assaulted him. "In that order. Penn was the oldest. Kym the youngest."

"I don't get it," Spike said with a small shake of his head as he stubbed out his cigarette. "How is it possible to raise that many, and to care just as much for all of them?"

"I didn't care as much for everybody," Angel admitted quietly. "You, Drusilla, Penn and Kym were my favorites. I saw potential in Penn's arrogance, your love for violence, Drusilla's visions and Kym's wickedness. You were my darlings."

"But still you raised the others perfectly. Even when you raised George and Charlotte at the same time!" Spike said, a slightly sad frown on his face.

"I always wanted to be like you, Angelus. I always wanted to know how to control things the way you did. I wanted to be as mean as you when you stalked your prey, I wanted to be as charming as you when you attended a party with one of us by your side, I wanted to be able to make love the way you did, yet dominate your lovers so utterly and completely that they didn't even know they were being dominated."

"Angelus, you were my Mentor, my master, my Sire and my everything!" Spike told the older vampire as he sat up in bed and looked at Angel intensely. "I looked up to you more than to anybody else! Didn't you feel the same way with Darla?"

"No," the dark-haired vampire told him honestly. "Yes, I looked up to her, but not on the same level. What made you...adore me as much as you did?" he wondered.

"The way you handled things," the blonde replied quietly. "You never seemed to have a problem with *anything,* for fuck's sake. I sired Jack to prove that I could do it too."

"Only I couldn't," Spike agreed, sighing. "I had no idea what it meant to be a Sire. Besides, even if I had known, I've never been one for caring and taking care of an stuff, anyway. Non-responsibility, right?"

"Spike it's not about just taking care of someone," Angel said, sitting up as well. "It's not about teaching them and training them and caring for them."

Several moments of complete silence passed between the two vampires, and Spike swallowed heavily. He could feel his blood rushing through his veins, and his tongue darted out to quickly wet his suddenly too dry lips.

"So did you..." he started to ask, before he trailed off and looked down. Swallowing hard again, he started to pick at his jeans.

"No," Angel replied immediately, and a sharp pain immediately chased through Spike's body, before settling in his heart. Trying to hide it, he kept his head bowed as he nodded barely visible once.

"I *love* you," Angel said firmly, one corner of his mouth tilting up when his Childe's head snapped up and blue eyes were filled with surprise and hopefulness and happiness. "You are my Childe, Spike. Soul or no soul, I created you and trained you and taught you, and I love you more than I really like."

Spike just stared at Angel for a long moment, his gaze locked with the older vampire's. Then he was kissing Angel and they were falling back on Angel's bed, pale arms coming up to embrace each other.

As Spike's cool tongue entered Angel's mouth, the older vampire nudged it with his own, teasing and stroking as his hands roamed over Spike's t-shirt, desperately wanting and needing to feel skin against bare skin, and not the feel of t-shirts and suddenly-too-tight jeans.

Pulling at his Childe's black t-shirt, Angel broke off their kiss long enough to get rid of the annoying piece of clothing, before he quickly pulled his own long-sleeved, dark gray shirt over his head.

Letting his lips descend on Spike's again, the dark-haired vampire rolled them over, then straddled the blonde before starting to lick and kiss his way around Spike's jawline to his neck.

When he reached the base of Spike's neck, Angel pressed his tongue hard against the artery, feeling the blood rush and throb just below the surface of the skin. Growling in lust and arousal, the souled vampire's hands wandered to Spike's jeans and tore hastily at the belt and button fly.

There was a fire burning inside Angel, and something indescribable wormed its way around his body before it snaked in circles around his heart and squeezed, leaving a far from unpleasant throbbing in his chest.

It was the perfect imitation of a beating heart, and love and lust and want and need practically shone from his body and his eyes.

Underneath Angel's legs, Spike managed to move enough to kick his boots off and to the floor, before he raised his hips to let Angel pull his jeans and boxer-briefs off him. Standing briefly, Angel quickly got rid of his own jeans and boxers, before he once again joined Spike on the bed, their erections now freed and exposed.

"Angel," Spike moaned as Angel's lips landed on his chest, a cool tongue circling a delicate nipple. Moving up the lean body underneath him, Angel found Spike's mouth again and they shared a deep, passionate kiss as the older man's hand found the blonde's erection.

A purr escaped his throat, but it quickly turned into a loud groan when a pale finger tripped coyly over his ass cheeks and found the tight ring of muscles hidden there.

"God, Spike..." Angel panted, his hand gripping his Childe's erection just a little bit harder as the finger in his ass pressed in, just enough for the tip to enter.

Thrusting backwards, wanting more, the souled vampire groaned again in frustration when the finger withdrew for a second. "Teaser," he mumbled against Spike's lips, and he felt the blonde's grin against his mouth.

Then one of them turned them again - Angel wasn't sure which of them - and now Spike was on top and his lips had left Angel. Instead, he was kneeling by Angel's ass and holding his Sire's legs up in the air with one hand, while the other was probing the older vampire's tight asshole.

Squirming, Angel took a hold of his own legs and drew them up to his chest. Immediately the finger in his tight entrance was joined by a second one, and they both probed deeper, searching for *that* spot.

Then Spike crooked the two digits, and Angel howled and arched off the bed in pleasure, his hard cock dancing against his abdomen.

Angel let go of one of his legs, then instead gripped his erection, jerking himself off as Spike's fingers continued to move within him. He was burning from the inside and outwards, and the world around him felt liquid as he moaned and thrashed on the bed. The pleasure seemed to reach unbearable heights, and when a second hand joined his own on his cock, a thumb swiping delicately over the weeping tip, Angel couldn't hold back anymore.

Howling, the dark-haired vampire felt his semen spurt from his cock and land on his stomach and chest, and the orgasm just went on and on...

Spots danced in front of his eyes, his fingertips tingled, his toes tingled and his breathing was coming out in short gasps and loud moans. Even as he came down from the great waves of bliss that had washed through his body, the cool fingers did not stop moving inside him.

As Angel's vision started to return to normal and the tingling sensation settled a little throughout his body, he slowly became aware that Spike had removed his fingers and was now looking at him from where he was kneeling on the bed.

Meeting Spike's eyes, the older vampire immediately understood, and he nodded mutely, not only letting Spike know he approved, but that he *needed* this.

Only mere seconds later, the fingers returned to his ass, this time coated with saliva. As they squirmed inside him they nudged his prostate and every time they did so, Angel felt small sparks flow through him. He was still basking in the post-orgasmic glow, but he was already working up another erection.

Behind him, he heard Spike spit once, twice, and then the fingers were removed and replaced with something else. Something bigger, something softer yet harder, something thicker and longer. As the head of Spike's cock pressed past the tight ring of muscles, Angel gritted his teeth and panted hard.

Concentrating on the thought of how good he knew it would feel eventually, Angel didn't even realize Spike was all the way inside him before he felt the peroxide-blonde's balls press up against his ass cheeks. The younger vampire rested there for a little while, feeling his Sire's muscles clench and unclench around him.

Then he started moving. Slowly at first, but quickly building the tempo, thrusting into Angel in hard jerks. His cock nudged the older vampire's prostate, and the tight channel fit so snugly around him that Spike had to bite his cheek repeatedly not to come immediately.

"G-god...damnit...Angel..." Spike moaned with his thrusts, his hands gripping Angel's hips hard enough to leave bruises even on vampire skin. "I...love...you..."

Leaning forward, the blonde reached around his Sire to grasp the once again fully erect cock and slide his hand up and down the stiff shaft in time with his thrusts. Angel mewled and groaned and thrashed beneath Spike, bucking back to meet each of his thrusts and moving forward to press himself into the younger vampire's palm.

Finally, the dark-haired vampire shuddered all over as white-hot flames seemed to engulf his body, and he climaxed a second time, his seed shooting out over Spike's hand. The walls of his channel clamped down hard on the blonde's cock, and the tight ring of muscles quivered in a fast rhythm.

Then Spike came, coating Angel's inner walls with his dead semen, and he growled and snarled loudly in pleasure. When the last of the orgasmic spasms finally drifted away, Spike went limp over Angel's back, and the two fell down onto the bed, exhausted and deeply satisfied.

Slowly pulling out of Angel with a wet slurp, Spike moved to embrace his Sire. Then he used one hand to pull the blanket halfway around them both, before he closed his eyes, wanting to sleep.

Angel's body slowly calmed down as he snuggled up against his leaner Childe. It had been a long while since he had felt this... content. But for some reason, he wasn't afraid that his soul would wander off, because there had been a pain to their lovemaking...

A deep, hidden pain for all the years lost and for the things that had come between them and for everything they both knew could never be.

Angel couldn't describe it - not really - and he couldn't explain it. But it didn't really matter.

All that mattered to him right now, was that he was here, with Spike, they had made love, and that he didn't have to worry about his soul taking a vacation. Closing his eyes, the dark-haired vampire sighed deeply in contentment and a slight smile played over his lips.

Opening his eyes into thin, sleepy slits, Spike looked down at his Sire. "Yeah?" he replied in the same quiet voice.

His eyes opening slowly, the voices Spike heard became clearer and he heard exactly what they said instead of just a word here and there with every fourth sentence. "...my kill. Hey, watch it, he's awake! Take it quietly, I don't wanna wake the other one!"

The voice sounded so very familiar to Spike, but by the time the blonde vampire had recognized the figure standing next to his bed with several vampire minions, it was too late. He didn't even have time to blink before something hit his head and everything went black.