Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
"Oh, wow," Buffy muttered dismally as Spike guided her into the lobby. "Everyone is here." Her eyes settled on Lindsey and darkened, ripples of distaste manifest. She tensed, her grip on her lover's hand tightening even if she didn't realize it. "And I do mean everyone."
McDonald nodded with a wry smile, rolling his eyes. "Great. I'm feelin' the love."
Cordelia shrugged unsympathetically. "Well," she drawled, "in all fairness, you were the spokesperson for the evil organization that brought her here in the first place, so you can't blame the girl for not greeting you with a kiss."
"That," Spike agreed, "an' I'd rip his tongue out 'f he tried."
"It's nothing personal," Buffy explained, tone softening. Her sire tossed her an arched look. "Well, the kissing thing is, but...no. Not going there."
"I think you're the only one here who can say that," Wright observed.
"You wanna mack on Lindsey?" the Seer demanded.
"What? No! I meant about it not being personal, and you damn well know it."
Wesley held up a hand, face severe and wrought with limited patience. "By all means, the bickering can continue after we have reached conclusion. In the meantime...Buffy, I believe you had something you wanted to share."
Spike's snicker sliced through the air, the protective ambiance he excelled around her unmatched by any force. "Oh, look. Mary Poppins 's gonna moderate."
"I beg your pardon."
Gunn's eyes narrowed. "Wow. You got grouchy real quick. Should we postpone the meeting until you get another happy?"
A low growl of warning rumbled through the platinum vampire. "Watch it."
Cordelia's brows arched appraisingly. "Well, ten minutes ago, you were cheerful enough that I thought all hope for my friend was lost. Now, I'm not so sure."
He leered at her. "Trust me, luv. 'm happy with her decision...whatever the bloody hell you all say." His chin jutted at Lindsey. "'E's the one that turned my smile right-side-up again. No offense, mate. The lady's jus' not partial to you."
The lawyer shrugged easily. "None taken."
Buffy smiled softly. "It's not that—"
"I understand, Ms. Summers. Believe me. After what you went through, I'm the last person I'd want to see right now, too."
"This is fascinatin', it really is," Gunn intervened wryly. "But wasn't there some announcement you wanted to make?"
She nodded. "I think it's safe to say that I've come up with something that will appease everyone." Her eyes softened as she considered Wright's discouraging countenance. "Well...maybe everyone."
Lindsey blinked, lost. "I don't get it," he offered when no one betrayed what was being discussed. "An announcement? What's going on?"
Zack quirked a brow. "Oh, you haven't heard?" he asked skeptically, nodding at Tara. "Buffy's friends sent some back up. They came up with a brilliant strategy. Namely shoving a soul down Angel's throat and calling it even."
"Now wait—"
The lawyer's eyes widened and he pivoted heatedly to Spike. "What is this? I believe we had a deal, and in no way was a soul involved."
The crew on the Angel Investigations payroll glanced at the elder vampire with growing astonishment. "A deal?" they echoed together.
"Doesn' matter," came the easy retort. "'S null an' void now."
"No, I really don't think so."
"What is this deal?" Cordelia demanded. "And why haven't we heard of it?"
Wright stepped forward. "More importantly..." He leaned into his friend and whispered speculatively. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It doesn' matter," Spike repeated softly. "'S over now."
"Like hell it is," Lindsey snarled.
"Just tell us," Buffy returned with a shrug. "Now I'm curious."
The platinum vampire favored her with a weary glance, turning his eyes to his associates with undisguised annoyance. "Fine," he conceded. "Bloody fine. Jus' no one jump overboard without a bloody lifesaver, all right? Back when Peaches was still pullin' the torture game, Lindsey offered to help get you out by callin' his friend the Locksmith."
"Gregori," the lawyer agreed, nodding.
"Whatever. 'E was gonna help get you out...an' in turn, I was gonna knock off Angel. No bloody questions asked."
A still beat of supposition flooded the room.
"Wait for it..." the Cockney muttered under his nonexistent breath.
And in turn, they didn't disappoint. "SPIKE!" several—way too many to follow—voices hissed in opposition.
"There it is."
"Damn, that sucks," Zack mused. "We came so close."
Spike shook his head. "Like I said, things change. We all know it din't go down like that. So...movin' on."
"No," Cordelia objected heatedly. "Not moving on. Where do you get off making deals like that without running it by us first? Without even telling us? This is not how we do business."
He offered a lazy shrug. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."
"And I'm failing to see where it stopped being a good idea," Wright muttered.
Lindsey nodded. "As am I."
"Because the Slayer doesn' want it to go down like that."
He might as well have announced that he was pregnant with kittens. With stunning rapidity, the room swirled to a standstill. All eyes fell on them with more observation than any could attest to claiming.
"Buffy..." Wesley said slowly.
"You don't?" Cordelia demanded.
Wright sighed and bristled. "And here we go..."
Buffy shook her head slowly, grip tightening on Spike's hand. He returned with a reassuring squeeze. "There were several reasons supporting my decision," she began. "Mainly...and believe me, I know how petty this is of me, but hey—being tortured for weeks on end can do that to a person...killing him would deny me the satisfaction of letting him feel his well-deserved guilt. And then he'll get over it, but not really, and you'll have him back...and things will be honky dory." She sighed and glanced down. "It's...it's hard, you guys. Despite everything that happened between me and Angel, I don't want to make him suffer...but another part of me really, really does. He made me bleed and cry, and he took pleasure in every minute of it. And really...you know what? I don't care if it is petty. Killing him lets him off easy, and even though I'm more than glad he didn't try, he didn't even consider giving me the option." She glanced up, meeting Tara's shocked gaze. "I want you to do the curse."
Another still beat settled through the lobby, and all stared at her with blunt astonishment.
Wright nudged Spike subtly. "And this is all right with you?"
The vampire shrugged easily. "Hell, from where I'm standin', she raises a good point. You don' know Peaches, mate. The man's gonna torture himself over what 'e's done. Cheatin' me outta watchin' that...well, 's jus' not right." His hand clutched the Slayer's even tighter, and he smiled weakly. "Buffy's too noble to come out an' say she's out for blood without apologizin' for herself. I'm not. He hurt my girl. I wanna see him hurt in turn."
"I'm still not over the 'you offered to kill Angel without telling us' thing," Cordelia growled, eyes darkening. "We've done nothing but help you since you get here, Spike. Honestly..."
"Look, it was wrong of me, all right? I was gonna tell you when it came down to it." He shrugged once more. "It din't. The deal fell through when this wanker let Peaches close enough to kill her."
Lindsey's eyes flared indignantly. "That wasn't my fault."
"Even so, the deal was your man gets her out, I'll do in Angel. You din't deliver."
"Lilah came at me with a stun gun."
"An' I respect her for it. Really. That must've taken balls." His gaze brightened with unguarded aversion. "What'd she do? Steal yours?"
"Look, there's no point arguin' over this," Gunn intervened sharply. "Buff came to a decision that doesn't result with Angel bein' dead. Everyone happy? Good. I say we go for it."
"I'm not happy," Lindsey objected.
Wright rolled his eyes. "And a show of hands of people who care..."
"I'm not, either." Cordelia's eyes implored the platinum vampire's, ripples of hurt quaking her body. To her credit, she hid the notion very well, but it was easy to tell that her resentment went well beyond being out of the loop. She was genuinely affronted that he wouldn't have trusted her with such information. That he would have kept her—out of all people—uninformed.
And it was that knowledge that lent the vampire ultimate pause. His eyes softened and a long, tempered sigh wrangled itself from his lips. "Look, pet," he said gently. "'m sorry I din't tell you. I really am. 'S jus', at the time, I din't think there was a stone's throw we'd get Buffy outta there without...I jus' din't think it possible. I was willin' to make any deal. An' all things considered, the wanker din't ask much."
"No," Lindsey agreed. "I didn't." He paused for a confused minute. "I am the wanker, right?"
"You better bloody well believe it." He smirked and turned his attention back to the brunette. "It was unfair of me, an' I admit that. But I wasn' about to let Peaches get away with what he was hankerin' to get away with. Understand? I couldn't jus' let him...'f that's what it took, that's what I was gonna do."
It was a continuous game of catch; the same that maintained the bulk of attention as the players threw the ball back and forth. For long, seemingly endless seconds, Cordelia held her ground: firm and resolute. The picture of conviction. It was only when Wright clamped his hand on Spike's shoulder in tacit semblance of moral support that she jarred herself to answer, realizing belatedly that everyone was looking at her with the same expectation.
"All right," she murmured. "Did I not say all right? Really, Spike, that I get. I just don't understand why you didn't tell us to begin with."
He had nothing to offer outside a sheepish shrug. "I din't know how you'd react," he explained. "I jus' wanted her out, an' that plan was bullets better than yours."
There was no sense in arguing with that. She merely smiled.
"After she was sired," Spike concluded, "it din't seem to matter. So I dropped it...an' that's why you're only hearin' about it now."
"Well, you shouldn't have," Lindsey intervened. "Dropped it. We had a deal."
The platinum vampire rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, you ninny. You're a bloody lawyer. These are the type of loopholes your kind look for. You din't deliver, an' sod the reasonin', in my an' everyone else's book, that means I don' owe you squat."
McDonald conceded a sigh and glanced down, caressing the bridge of his nose with his forefingers. "Then why do I feel like I just got screwed with my pants on?"
"'Cause you did," Cordelia explained. "It's called us getting our own back."
"And we're back to the Lilah chick having all the balls," Wright sneered.
Lindsey shot him a particularly nasty glare. "You have something to say?"
"As a matter of fact—"
"Just lay off, the both of you," the Seer barked. "There was no way we could have made everyone happy with this decision, so deal."
Gunn grinned wryly. "Notice how she says this after she gets the answer she was waiting for."
The former Watcher stepped forward, gaze intent on the Slayer. The look on his face betrayed the patience of one whom had had more than enough experience ignoring his colleagues when they went on erratic tangents. Somehow in the mix of everything, he had found himself named the unofficial instigator, and with that came a certain measure of responsibility. "Buffy," he said softly. "This is what you want. Are you certain?"
"Yes."
Spike squeezed her hand again.
"He put you through a great deal—"
"Yeah," she retorted with a nod. "And I intend to give it right back. I want him to feel it." There was a heavy silence before she exhaled the breath she had been holding subconsciously, tossing a wane smile to her sire. "Angel...it's complicated. Well, not nearly as complicated as it should be. I know he and Angelus aren't one in the same. I know. Believe me, I took Soul Searching For The Undead 101 and passed with flying colors. But...his face...his...those were his hands that touched me." A palpable shudder coursed through her, and she took an intuitive step toward the platinum Cockney in turn. "It was Angelus, but there was enough Angel there for me to never, ever forget." She drew a tight breath for composure. "I'm the Slayer. I'm used to dealing with otherworldly things. What he did to me was not otherworldly."
Lindsey nodded, his eyes growing distant with shades of remembrance. "He wasn't a vampire with you," he said. "He was just a...maniac. I saw that. I'm just...I'm sorry I didn't do more when I should have."
A tight air seized the Slayer—brief but effective. Her gaze foretold that she acknowledged the fault in his countenance was palpable but existed only within the range of what her colleagues would like to claim. Despite what anyone said, the lawyer had done his best within reason to help her, and she knew that such came with great personal risk. The same he had taken at his own expense for her welfare. "I know," she replied. "And...thanks. But you're right. He wasn't a vampire. He was..."
"Shades of Buffalo Bill, from what I heard," Cordelia agreed when the Slayer didn't find her voice. "Girl, no one blames you for being out for blood. I just don't think that Angel should be held accountable for something he didn't technically do. He's our friend. Beneath everything nasty, he's our friend."
She nodded. "He was mine, too. I just...I don't want to be anywhere near him for a long, long time. I don't want him to tell me he's sorry. I don't want to see him in pain. I don't want to know what he's thinking or feeling or even that he's feeling at all. Maybe in a couple hundred years, I'll be over it. But not now."
"I assure you," Wesley said softly. "As long as you are here, Angel will not be welcome."
"Thank you."
Spike's breath caught in his throat, but the move was too subtle for even her to notice. It struck him as odd when she referred to the long-term future so flippantly, and while such incidents were few and far between, he couldn't help but wonder if she knew exactly how long two hundred years was. Hell, he hadn't even been around for a hundred fifty. And yes, while seeing that far ahead did not merit a check in the impossible column, she had no way of knowing how slowly time moved for those who knew how to keep track. As the Slayer, she had known her own time to be precious and limited. Now she had forever.
Forever.
He had given her forever.
From one extreme to the other. There was never any fucking middle ground.
"Do you at least want to be with him?" Tara intervened softly. "When I...wh-when I d-do the spell, I mean. He's...Willow told me—"
"No," Buffy answered shortly. "Again with the petty, but hey, score one for apathy from the tortured girl. Angel might deserve better, but not from me." She turned her eyes to Cordelia. "Ergo, I will not begrudge anyone who decides to...you know...hold his hand."
Wright cleared his throat. Sharply.
The Seer flashed him a smile. "Oh, I dunno. It is mightily tempting."
Spike swore he saw red flash behind the demon hunter's eyes, but he knew Cordelia well enough to attest her behavior to cruel albeit humorous jest. While she might campaign her heart out in support for Angel's return, she wasn't ready to step up to the plate yet, either.
In all honesty, he was trying hard to smother the giddy part that screamed its congratulations to his friend in finding someone to love again. When they had become so in tune to each other, he didn't know. Wright was the first male friend he could claim in...ever. Not a minion, not an accomplice—though he on occasion had filled those shoes as well—and, most importantly, not an opponent in the testosterone combative fields for a woman's affections.
It was the little things that brought his gratitude to Zangy to earth.
"Okay," Gunn said, rubbing his hands together as though trying to generate fire. "So that settles Angel. We bring him back, he broods, ya'll leave, he moves back in, broods some more, and some time in the year 2015, we get back to work. Thank you, next please. Let's talk Darla and Dru."
The demon hunter's eyes flared. "Darla's mine."
"Funny, you keep sayin' that."
"Yeah. If you haven't noticed, I've had a spot of bad luck in finding the bitch. I want her dead, and I wanna do it."
Lindsey tensed slightly, but no one was paying attention. And he did not offer objection.
"So, here's the hypothetical," Cordelia said, backing up to hoist herself onto the counter. "You find Darla. You kill her. You take immense, orgasmic pleasure in the aforementioned killing of her. That's over with. And the next words in your vocab reach somewhere along the lines of, 'What now?' Is that it?"
Wright frowned at her. "I don't...what are you saying?"
Gunn rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna bail on us, man? You know, the entire: 'I hate to bust in, stay, stay a little longer, stake and run'?"
A blank look overwhelmed the hunter's features. He had not thought that far.
He had not allowed himself to think that far in a long time.
"I...I..."
"You know," Buffy began coyly, nudging Spike forward so that he moved with her. "Just to drop my point two, you got a helluva cute kid in that office, most likely enduring the sloppiest version of the birds and the bees, from what I've seen of Nikki."
He grinned and tilted his head in acknowledgment.
"And she deserves a nice, solid home."
There was nothing for a minute. Then the Slayer elbowed her companion, who belatedly realized his cue.
"Oh, erm, right." The peroxide vampire nodded emphatically. "The Bit's a good girl, an' 'f you don' want her to turn into...well...you."
Wright grinned wryly. "Thanks."
He earned a shrug in turn. "'S only love I feel, Zangy."
"Yeah, I can tell."
Gunn grinned tightly to himself. "Well," he began, nodding at Wesley. "We've been talkin', and we think we got the 'what now?' thing covered. Provided your cool with it and everything."
"Yeah," Cordelia concurred, smacking her lips together, eyes twinkling devilishly. "This only works, by the by, if you're gonna be able to contain yourself in the handling of Angel."
"We're not gonna let him back in as Boss Man."
"That's totally Wes's territory now."
"I want everyone to know," the former Watcher intervened, holding up a hand, "that I had absolutely nothing to do with that part. Rather, Gunn and Cordelia forcibly assumed that I would revel in maintaining a leadership position."
The Seer smirked. "Oh, whatev. You're doing an inner happy dance, and you know it." She turned back to Wright. "And, seeing as you were our bookman's inspiration and all...we think it should be a partnership."
The entire lobby drew to an unbelievable standstill.
Zack blinked stupidly. "I'm...I...could you...what?"
A wicked smile crossed her face and she hopped back down, crossing the foyer slowly. "You really think I'm gonna let you scamper away? Ahem—hell no. And don't look twice, but Spike here'd go through withdrawal if you were to up and disappear. But he's way too manly to admit it."
"Way," Buffy agreed.
The vampire in question scowled at her. She merely smiled unrepentantly.
"You...you want me...to..." The befuddled look on his face was truly priceless. "I...you two have been here so much longer than...and I'm not even on your payroll, and..." He glanced to Gunn and Wesley with growing skepticism. "Have you thought this through?"
The former nodded. "It was English's idea. He says you're the best of the best, bro, and so far, he hasn't spoken a lie."
"So those cracks about Darla earlier were—"
Gunn shrugged. "I was humoring myself."
Wright glanced back to the whole of them. If incredulity were a tangibility, he would have been floored with it. "You really want me to...you want to work for me?"
"Well, the ideal word is 'with'. Technically, you and Wes would fill the big shoes, but we're more like a family thing. But there would be money." Cordelia tilted her head. "And if we thought we'd be remotely successful, we'd try to recruit Spike, too, but he's so totally going wherever Buffy goes."
"Yeh," the vampire agreed. "Totally."
"It sounds like a really great idea," Tara said with a weak smile before glancing down. "S-sorry, I d-don't even know you."
Wright was still staring at the Seer in disbelief. "You really wanna keep me here?"
That was all it took. A wave of defense flashed over her without warning, and she bristled. "You? Nah. It's not about you. But if you even try to take that child of yours away from me, I'll hire Wolfram and Hart to find some assuredly illegal—not to mention implanted—way to give me custody. Then you'd have to stay. For Rosie and all."
He domed a brow. "For Rosie."
"Rosie, Nikki, the Barbies. Everything."
He paused, making a face. "Maybe not Nikki. She really should go back to school."
"Agreed."
"Preferably somewhere very far away."
Lindsey cleared his throat suddenly, drawing the focus back without much competition. "This is riveting, it is. But I have a sick police officer to take care of, so I'm going to be on my way." He glanced to Wesley. "You'll call me when this is over?"
"You can be assured," he replied. "And you keep in touch...should any sources leak information to you about...anything."
McDonald snorted sardonically. "That's not happening. It's a nice thought, but it's not happening."
"Nevertheless..."
"Nevertheless, I'll keep in touch." He turned his attention briefly to the display in the center of the lobby and gestured broadly. "Good luck sorting everything out."
There was nothing for a long minute following his departure. Fortunately, Wright had enough self-control to refrain from commenting until he knew the other man was well outside earshot. With a cocky grin, he turned back to Cordelia, nodding absently at the door. "If I stay, will I have to put up with that asshole?"
"Lindsey's not too bad...once you get to know him." She made a face. "Unfortunately, I haven't reached that second stage yet."
Spike raised his hand with a dry smile. "Ummm, I got a quick quibble. 'F Zangy stays, an' really—all for that—what 'appens when Peaches comes off his soddin' guilt trip an' wants his job back."
Gunn shrugged. "He gets it."
"Just a very degraded version of 'it'," Cordelia acknowledged. "As in, not in charge."
"Never gonna be in charge."
Wesley nodded dismally, removing his glasses in a manner that was much too Gilesy for anyone who knew the elder Watcher remotely well. "Had we captured the pattern of his destructive behavior in the first place," he said softly, "this entire mess could have been averted."
Buffy's brows arched at that. "What? You could've made Wolfram and Hart leave his soul in there because he'd had a better day than planned?"
"She's right," the platinum vampire agreed. "What 'appened can be blamed on a lot of people. No one in this room qualifies." He lent himself strange pause at that, a long hiss whistling through his teeth. "'Cept those that don' count as human, of course."
The Slayer's eyes narrowed. "Spike..."
He shrugged. "'m jus' sayin'—"
"It wasn't your fault. I might be a dense fake-blonde, but I do remember the bargy-inness that was you the night that Darla did the snatch thing." She smiled softly, resting her chin at his shoulder. "We gave you the blow off, and you did what anyone would've. Stop. Blaming. Yourself."
"Y-you really did," Tara spoke up, ducking down again when she drew everyone's attention. "I-I remember. Really. A-and then with the coming in after she was gone. Y-you've done everything you c-could, Spike."
A small smile tickled his face. "Comin' from you, Glinda, that means a lot."
Buffy scowled and punched his shoulder.
"Ow! Watch it there, pet. It wasn' as though your jabs din't hurt before."
"So," she continued, ignoring him completely, "it means a lot coming from her? Hello! I've been telling you that ever since I woke up, all Night of the Living Buffy."
His smile widened, despite the innate sadness that coincided with any such reminder. "Trust me, luv. You have the power to break me with every breath. Everythin' you do an' say means more to me than you can imagine." He leaned inward, nibbling lightly on her lips before breaking away in remembrance that the crowd likely wasn't one to appreciate public displays of affection. Yet.
Of course, Wright, Cordelia, and Gunn had gotten quite a show the day before, if memory served.
And evidently, they weren't looking for a repeat.
Cordelia snickered, effectively breaking their spell. "You two can make with the lovey-dovey later. Behind closed doors. Right now, I want an answer." She arched a brow at Zack. "Well?"
"Come on, man," Gunn said encouragingly. "Stay. You gotta admit, you're one of us now."
The demon hunter grinned his amusement. Though his answer was written plainly in his eyes, everyone seemed to need verbal verification before breaking open any champagne. "I don't know..." he mused. "Can we rename it Wright Investigations?"
Spike laughed aloud. "Oh, that's bloody rich. I can already see the new slogans. 'Where everythin' is done the Wright way.'"
Buffy grinned and jumped aboard. "'We'll do the job Wright, or your money back.'"
"'The Wright people working for the Wright cause,'" Tara added. She blushed and looked down when her comment earned several chuckles. "Again...s-sorry. I r-really, don't know you."
The demon hunter shrugged good-naturedly. "Ah, don't worry about it. You know, any friend of...yadda yadda yadda."
"And God said, 'Let there be Wright.'" The amusement died as a sea of blank stares found their way once again to Wesley's regard. He glanced down with false indignation. "Are we not doing this anymore? ...I thought it was funny."
"That's because you're a Dork—the kind with a capital 'D'." The Seer pivoted back to Zack imploringly. "And, no, not with the renaming. You have any idea how long it took Angel Investigations to establish a clientele basis? So not going there again."
"You drive a hard bargain."
She shrugged. "I try."
"'F I may..." Spike said, waving a little. "An' this is to be in no way taken as a sign that I like you." That comment earned several snickers—no such proof was required. "But really, 'f you need any more persuasion than the bubbly girl in front of you, you're even denser than I thought."
The brunette beamed at him. "Thanks!"
"Don' mention it, luv."
A warm smile crept over his rugged, unshaven face. "All right, all right. You win. Where do I sign?"
"Hurrah!" Tara cheered uncertainly, giving a small wave of approval. The movement earned a glowing smile from those returning with her to Sunnydale. The girl was so shy and the situation so awkward, but she was making the best out of it.
Cordelia, however, was otherwise preoccupied. She squealed and threw her arms around the demon hunter, swaying with him in light of her merriment. "I promise you won't regret this."
"She'll probably give you a good reason not to," Gunn added with a wink.
Wright shrugged, tightening his arms around her. "Hey, this is the first PDA I've gotten in two days. I'll take it."
"Very good, then," Wesley said with a definitive nod. "All is set." He turned his attention to the Witch and offered a kind smile. "If there is nothing else, it would be best we should get to the first item of business. And, unless I am off schedule, I believe we have a curse to cast."
To be continued in Chapter Forty-Four: The House's Fall...