The looks all around when they entered the kitchen together were priceless. It was the kind of open-mouthed gape that the old Spike would have really gone in for. It was the kind of shock that meant no one expected this. It was the showstopper.
As William expected, everyone fell quiet when they came into the room.
Giles, who sat with Angel at the breakfast table, merely sipped from his mug. Xander, beating the hasty I-don’t-want-to-see-your-face exit, came to Buffy, squeezed her hand and fled through the front door. Xander never was keen to the subtle.
Andrew came in from the dining room. “Ah, Spike,” he said. “Just the man I need to see.” He tapped his notepad with a pencil. He also had a pencil tucked behind his ear like some rookie reporter. “I would like to go over your shiny warriors story again, but this time I’ll make a sketch and take down detailed descriptions to aid in our search.”
“Sure thing, Squarepants,” William said. He looked not at all delighted, but assented to follow Andrew back to the dining room to work.
Connor manned the skillet. He took the big risk in breaking the kitchen tension between Buffy and Angel.
“I made breakfast,” he said. “Bachelor eggs. Xander loved them.”
Buffy peered into the skillet. She crinkled her nose. “Those have potatoes in them,” she said.
“Hence with the bachelor. You just take what’s left in the fridge. Trick I learned in college,” Connor said.
“Connor attends Stanford,” Angel said, proudly. “He’ll be returning there as early as next week.”
Connor smiled. “Like I’m going back to college if the world is gonna end.” He turned the eggs as they set.
“World’s not gonna end,” Angel said.
Giles sipped. “It might,” he said.
“No, it’s not,” Buffy said. “Listen to your father. Dropping out of college is a bad idea. Even when it seems necessary.”
Angel gave what passed as a smile to Buffy.
She looked away. She said, “No thanks on the eggs. Sugary carbs for breakfast gives me energy aplenty for training with the Slayers.”
Connor spooned the eggs onto his plate and Giles’. Buffy went to the pantry for her cereal. From the other room, they heard William say, rather loudly, “I already told you that bit. Move on.”
Giles shook his head. He said, “You sure it’s wise, going to the school today?”
“Really should,” Buffy said, not really looking at him. “School was closed yesterday, and I missed earlier in the week.” She flicked a brief glance Angel-ward. “Plus, Uber-Bads and earthquakes. It’s best we’re well-prepared. Not to mention, Kennedy will give me hell...”
Connor said, “She gave lots of that this morning.”
“Apparently she and Willow had a disagreement in Paris,” Angel said.
“Well, aren’t you all gossipy hen types,” Buffy said. “Will said something about sniping Lesbians. I thought it was just pre-coffee Kennedy. Anything serious?”
“She’s a spitfire, Buffy,” Angel said. “Teeth and claws. Good qualities for a Slayer to have.”
“Not if she’s scratching and biting at us,” Buffy said.
Angel said, “Willow might not always mind.”
Everyone looked at him like he just said the most unbefitting thing ever.
“What?” he said.
Giles got up. He said, “Thank you for the eggs, Connor. Angel. Buffy.” He tipped a nod to everyone as he left out.
Buffy looked down her cereal. She decided to pass on eating breakfast altogether.
“I’d better go, too. I probably should have a word with Kennedy before we start class. So.” She turned to Angel.
“So,” he said.
You know that feeling when you’re standing on a narrow board in a high up place and you misstep and almost fall? That was how Buffy felt at that moment, looking at Angel in her kitchen. It was too much.
He said, “Till this evening?”
“Okay,” Buffy said. She went into the hall. In the dining room, William was looking over Andrew’s sketch.
“Not like that,” William said. “He looks like Princess Jasmine.”
“You said Middle Eastern,” Andrew complained.
“We couldn’t see their faces, lack-brain. They wore scarves,” he said.
“Yeah, well, Princess Jasmine is hot,” Andrew said.
William looked on the verge of pounding Andrew. Buffy stepped in. “Will,” she said. “I’m going. Be good, okay?”
William deflated, but recovered his cool facade in seconds. “Course,” he said.
“Have a nice day at work,” Andrew called after her.
Buffy took her bag from the hall closet and left.
“Shut up,” William said.
“What?” Andrew said.
Giles came back downstairs, with Lorne in tow. Lorne was going on about the Halloween party he’d thrown for Wolfram & Hart, in which he’d been the surprise guest because he’d had his sleep removed, which caused his psyche to fragment, and oh what a hit that had been...
Giles interrupted by saying, in his distracted way, “Andrew, are you quite ready?”
Andrew snapped to vibrate-with-excitement mode. “I’m going to the Watcher Council today,” he told William.
“We done then?”
Andrew made quick work of scraping together his notebook, pens and sketches. “Oh yeah. Thanks, Spike. It will be very helpful. And with all the collected Watcher archives, I’m sure I’ll find something useful to aid our cause.”
William left the dining room behind Andrew. He fetched his coat from the rack in the hall.
“Where are you going?” Giles asked, sounding confounded.
“If you think I’m staying housebound all day with King of the Damned here, you’re bent,” William said.
Giles shrugged. “Fine. I don’t care what you do. Go.”
Lorne stepped in. “Come on, Spike. Keep a fugitive demon company.”
“The demons who attacked you are still out there,” Giles added. “They may not be able to kill you, but it’s possible they can repeatedly crush your bones.”
William pursed his lips. “Knew there was a downside to speedy recovery,” he said.
“Well then,” Giles said. “I’ve left numbers where we all may be reached in case of emergency. But don’t call me. I’ve got enough on my hands than to baby sit the lot of you. Andrew?”
“Si, capitan,” Andrew said. He didn’t actually salute, but they could see that he really wanted to.
“Stop that,” Giles said. He picked up his satchel and they left the house.
Connor came into the hallway. “So,” he said. “What’ll it be? Poker, or Grand Theft Auto?”
“Vice City or San Andreas,” William said.
Lorne said, “San Andreas is two player.”
“We can all switch off,” Connor suggested.
“I go first,” William said.
“I’m down with that,” Connor said. He went past Lorne and William into the back TV room where Andrew stored his numerous game consoles. And toys. And D&D modules.
Lorne sighed heavily. “I’m going for wine.”
William hung up his coat and joined Connor in the TV room.
Lorne found Angel in the kitchen, hanging in the shadows and looking a little more than slightly punchy.
“Hey Anj,” Lorne said in a pseudo-bright tone, “Wanna join the All Day GTA Tourney?”
“What are we doing here?” Angel said. “Don’t we have more important things to do? You know: Fight evil. Save the world. Beat up Spike.”
“We don’t clock daylight hours, Muchacho. Besides, you qualify for down time. Red says you won’t be full speed till later this evening,” he said.
Lorne located a bottle of red wine in the pantry. He took it out, then hunted up some nice crystal wine flutes.
Angel read the bottle’s label. “That’s for cooking,” he said.
“I’m not saying it’ll go down pleasant, Big Guy, but we gotta have something to take the edge off,” Lorne said.
Angel sat forward. “Is he playing?”
“Not to add low to the lowdown, Angel Cakes, but he is presently man of the house,” Lorne said.
Angel sank back in his chair.
“Maybe you should just rest and contemplate,” Lorne suggested.
“No. No, I’ll play,” Angel said. He got slowly to his shaky feet.
Lorne clapped him lightly on the shoulder. “That’s a man. Still in the game.”
As they walked into the hall, Angel said, “But I get to be first.”
They arrived in the TV room to find William and Connor already manning the controls.
Angel made a derisive sound through his teeth. Lorne poured a glass of wine and passed it to him.
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