Still Ensouled 4

The Adventures of Captain Peroxide and Deadboy

The Angel/Spike Zone of the BtVS Writer's Guild

Chapter IV - The Evening After

Just before sunset Angel and Spike had gathered a few pints of blood, a new shirt Buffy had bought Angel during the day, and waited for the last rays of fatal light to fade into the hills of Sunnydale.

"You’ll be all right?" Buffy asked as Spike opened the door to leave.

"Yeah. Getting away from the Hellmouth’ll do me some good. Hopin’ my sidekicks will decide to stay here." He cocked his head to the side and smiled at the Slayer. "Gonna miss me that much, eh?"

"I think we’ll manage. Be safe." She said, taking a small step forward, then stopping before she reached out to hug him.

"We’re going. Now." Angel said as he walked out the door.

"Bye to you too, Angel." Buffy said.

"Keep calling LA. Let me know if you reach them." Angel said without turning around.

"Keep trying." Spike said.

"Wait!" Dawn screeched, running down the stairs. She handed a small package to Spike. "Here."

"Didn’t realize we were exchanging parting gifts. I'd have baked a cake."

"It's not a gift. It's a weapon."

"Gotcha." He shrugged at her and placed the package in his coat pocket. He followed Angel down the walkway, turning around from the yard. "I'll see you soon, yeah."

"Soon." Buffy answered and shut the door.

"Angel, they are fine."

"They’re fine. Happy?"

"No. Not happy. They probably had their cell phones smashed during the fight. Lines of communication are down. That can happen during an apocalypse." As if on cue the package in Spike's pocket rang out the theme to Bonanza. "Dammit." Spike ripped open the package as the phone rang again. He stared at the small buttons, locating one that said talk. "Hello?" He said into the phone.

"Who else would it be? You gave it to me, remember, little bit?"

"Don’t call me that. Willow just wanted me to let you know that she still hasn't reached anybody."

"Okay, call me back if..." The phone went dead. "Hello?"

"It won’t work." Angel said.

"Because we’re home." Spike looked out of the windshield to see the rain of fire, which continued to pour down on Los Angeles. Buildings were burning all over town and the cries of sirens filled the air.

"Couldn’t have said it better myself." Angel turned off the freeway and continued until the hotel was in view.

Inside the hotel, Wesley, Lorne and Gunn had just returned, Fred was apparently trying to keep the cavalry from charging and the phone was ringing.

"Oh my gosh, Angel." Fred squealed. "And Spike. You're back."

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" Spike said, giving her a quick hug.

"Angel." Wesley started. "Do you have a plan?"

"No." He gave a nod to Spike and walked upstairs.

"I do." Lorne said to the vanishing vampire." Of course, it involves hiding, with cowering in my room as a major theme."

"We are not hiding." Angel said from the top of the staircase. "We are regrouping." He then moved out of the group’s sight.

"He's had a long day." Spike said before taking to the stairs himself.

"Did he see Connor or Cordelia? We need to know if they're okay." Wesley said.

"Um, they're fine. Just do me a favor." Spike said turning to the group. "Don’t say either of those names in Angel's presence, or you will answer to me." With that he left the room.

"What the heck is that about?" Gunn asked.

"Jealous boyfriend thing." Wesley said with an arched eyebrow aimed at Gunn. "You of all people should recognize that."

"Don’t start with me, English."

Wesley turned his back on Gunn and left the hotel.

Cordelia felt a hand resting on her hip and opened her eyes to see Connor smiling in his sleep.

"Oh my god." She whispered, quickly rolling onto her other side and pulling the tattered blanket close to her chest. Her movements awoke the sleeping teenager that had shared her bed the night before. No. More than her bed. She and he had... "Oh god." She said again.

Connor leaned up on one elbow and began to nuzzle her neck. He massaged her hip briefly then reached his arm around to cup her stomach. "Good morning."

"Yeah, well good in that the world didn't end, I guess." Or maybe it did and I'm in hell, she thought.

"Hey Peaches, what are we doing up here when the help is downstairs?"

Angel had lain down on the bed and was staring at the ceiling. "Nothing. We are doing nothing."

"Is this nothing going to involve kissing?" Spike said as he sat down on the bed.

"Well then, count me in. We'll let LA burn while we shag and pick through the ruins later." Spike made a move toward Angel, but only met his shoulder as Angel sat up.

"This thing is going to kill us." Angel said softly. Spike kissed his sire on the neck and wrapped his arm around his waist.

"It might, but hey, getting killed without the morpho-vision isn’t such a downside to me."

"No visions since we left Sunnydale?" Angel asked.

"Good." Angel said in response to both Spike's answer and nuzzling. He turned to take his childe’s mouth into a soft kiss, letting his lips linger a moment before standing up.

"Research mode?" Spike said, following Angel's lead towards the door.

"I guess. More along the lines of shuffling paper to look busy, but either way." He said shrugging his shoulders.

When Cordelia entered the hotel Angel was in his office looking at a mound of paperwork. Spike and Fred were reading in the back office. In the lobby Gunn and Lorne manned the phones, playing tag-team with a notepad. Lorne put a caller on hold just long enough to point Cordy towards Angel's door.

"Right, blood on the walls. Didn’t you call yesterday?" He said back into the receiver.

"Angel?" Cordelia said poking her head through the door of his office.

Angel looked up and made a small "Ugh" sound. "What do you want?"

"I was worried about you."

"Sure." He continued moving papers from file to file.

"And Connor." Angel walked out of the office. Cordelia followed him, then placed a hand on his arm to stop him. Angel flinched and turned back to her.

"Could we please not do this right now. I'm busy." He went back into the office and tried to shut the door. Cordelia placed a foot in the way to stop the door and followed him in.

"Angel, look at me." Angel looked up but avoided her stare. She began to say something else, but looking through the large window in the office where she saw Spike sitting with Fred. "Is that Spike?"

"I see that, dumb ass. What is he doing here?"

Spike looked up just as Cordelia was looking at him. "What the Hell is she doing here?" He asked Fred.

"Well, she does work here, kind of. I mean I guess she does. Why wouldn't she be here? This is the command post."

"She should not be here." Spike said standing up.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Angel said again.

"I already told you, attention span. I wanted to talk to you about Connor."

"I already know." Angel said, not trying to mask the anger he felt.

"You do?" Cordelia asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I do. And I really don't want to talk about it."

"This Demon sprang up from the exact spot where your son was born, and you don't want to talk about it?"

"You just said you knew."

"Of course I do." Angel paused. "You think it's his fault, well it's not. I'll figure it out."

"Look, maybe you don't believe it, but Connor does, and now he's disappeared, and I don't know where he is."

"He’ll turn up." Angel exited the office once more.

"Angel." Cordelia followed him but was stopped in mid-stride by Spike.

"Enough." Spike said. "You need to back off. Now."

"Look, Spike, I don't know why you're here again, but you had better back off." She tried to side step the vampire but failed. Spike pushed her back into the office and shut the door. He held the knob so she could not turn it and smiled at Angel.

"Nope, don't think so. Go find little brother and I'll deal with Mrs. Robinson."

"That’s not funny."

"Admit it," Spike said, struggling to keep the door shut. "it's a little funny. Go, please, find him."

"I think I can help with that." The two vampires pivoted to see Wesley enter the lobby. "He's at Wolfram and Hart, he's trapped there."

"And I'm guessing our new friend is there too." Spike interjected.

"Yes, the beast is there."

"Gunn, Lorne, Mount up." Angel shouted across the lobby as he grabbed a broadsword from the weapons cabinet. "Fred, get a move on."

"I'll take care of the princess." Spike leaned forward to give Angel a kiss. "Bring him home safe, okay."

Spike waited for the group to leave before opening the door. Cordelia flew at him in a rage. "What are you doing letting him go without me?" She reached out to punch him, but Spike easily caught her fist and pressed her down into a chair. He leaned on the counter as she fumed in her seat.

"So, Cordelia." Spike drawled. "You look positively flushed. Rough night?" Her eyes widened. "Oh, catching on are we?"

"Good. Then we can skip the pleasantries." He jumped on top of the desk, letting his legs dangle over the side of the counter. "I'm thinking I might drain you and put my sire out of his misery. Thoughts, concerns?"

People were so Happy Angel remembered how to drive .

Violators will be beaten to death with a shovel

(A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend)