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Chapter 34

Giles started hesitantly. He told them all about Angel’s curse, and then he explained to Buffy what it was that she had seen.

Jenny explained her part in the curse and the real reason they had done the spell of Clear Sight. She also explained about the new disinvite spell that she had done.

Buffy almost wept in relief.

Wolfie told the group about the Powers That Be and which of the factions that Whistler worked for. He also explained why Angel had never been considered an option by the Powers for Good.

Giles took up the tale again and informed them what purpose Angel was given for his involvement in all their lives. Buffy’s in particular.

The growl that came from the direction of the fireplace started low and escalated as Angel’s perfidy became obvious.

Spike was in trouble.

He tried desperately to hold on to his self-control, but his demon was enraged beyond comprehension. The thought that this child had been sacrificed because his supposedly soul having grandsire didn’t have the balls to take out old Batface was enough to have both his demon and his humanity up in arms. His eyes flashed between gold and blue. Gold eyes locked onto the neck of the golden goddess seated on the couch. His inner demon screamed ‘MINE’ as his growl reverberated through the room.

William acted on instinct, reaching his younger self in seconds. He grabbed his younger self, wincing as the back of his t-shirt shredded under the pressure of his emerging wings. Dragging the shaking vampire into his embrace, William held on to him with both arms and wings.

Buffy, Willow and Xander stood in awe as they saw the pure vampire’s wings for the first time. Each wing stood as tall as the vampire who wore them. They were thickly feathered and a colour so pure and snowy pale that it just seemed wrong to call them white. They sparkled with an iridescent light, each feather shimmering with a luminous glow that left those that were watching him struck mute at their beauty. They looked exactly as Buffy had always imagined an angel’s wings should, but they were much more flexible, curling and undulating gently as they closed protectively around the irate vampire.

The emotions that emanated from the pure vampire were peaceful and calming. A low-pitched hum that sounded suspiciously like a purr was echoed by the soft growls of the younger distressed vampire.

“So what’s with the grr-fest?” Xander asked with the innocence of an oblivious child.

“Spike’s just a bit brassed at the poof, give us a minute and we’ll have it sorted,” William calmly informed the anxious group.

His calm demeanour didn’t hold however. “Bollocks!” he spat angrily. “Slayer, need a hand, pet,”

Joan’s head shot up. “Crap!” She rushed to Williams’s side and helped him coax the feral vampire towards the basement. Turning her head to lock eyes with her younger self, Joan ground out her order, “Deal with him.”

~*~*~

He knew there were people in the house, but he couldn’t hear or smell anything. His senses didn’t seem to penetrate the building for some reason. Angel looked around in confusion. He could smell the residual scents of a couple of strangers, Buffy, her family, her friends, the watcher, and one more that seemed vaguely familiar, but it was one he couldn’t quite place. If there were that many people in there, why couldn’t he hear them?

Moving towards ‘the tree’, Angel stopped. The chafing from his pants had him mindful of the last time he had visited. Maybe the front door would be the best option this time. It was time to get some answers. Changing directions the brunette vampire headed towards the front door.

Angel was surprised when the door opened before he even had the chance to knock. His beautiful, glorious Buffy stood framed to perfection, the backlighting from the living room giving her an ethereal glow. Her perfection was not at all marred by the masculine clothes that she wore. He really would have to talk to her about her wardrobe choices.

“Buffy,” he breathed out her name huskily.

“Baby cream might help you with that chafing, Angel,” she deadpanned. She was seriously pissed at everything this vampire had forced her to go through. She wasn’t about to get into it with him now. She had a feral vampire that needed her and there was no way she was going to stand here wasting time with the creepy vampire when she could be downstairs keeping the crusty version of herself away from the really yummy stud muffin that was damage-bound in her basement. “What are you doing here, Angel?”

“You said that there was no meeting in the library this evening,” he replied quietly, his voice laced with accusation. Big brown eyes stared sadly at the slayer, clearly sending the message that Angel was very disappointed in the small blond.

Rolling her eyes in irritation that she had no problem in sharing with the brooding vampire, Buffy sarcastically made her observation. “You do know that this isn’t the library, right?”

He wondered briefly if she was deliberately trying to annoy him. “I know that, Buffy. You forgot to tell me that the meeting would be held here instead.”

“No I didn’t,” Buffy said, looking at him as if he was crazy.

“Yes you did, Buffy. You didn’t tell me about this meeting. The only reason I even know about it is because I came by to see if you were patrolling,” he told her earnestly.

“I didn’t forget to tell you about this meeting, Angel, because you were never invited to it in the first place,” Buffy impatiently corrected him. “I have to go, I’ll let you know if we need you for anything,” she told the flummoxed vampire as she closed the door in his face.

Angel stood there in shock. What the hell did she mean he hadn’t been invited to the meeting? He was the Champion for the Powers. He should be running the damn meeting, not standing on the outside looking in. Not being told that he’d be contacted if he was needed. He was Angel, the only ensouled vampire in the world. There was no way he was putting up with this. The little lady apparently needed to learn a lesson as to who was the one in charge and he was just the vampire to teach her. Curling his hand in a fist, he pounded on the front door.

Dawn threw the door open. “Rude much?” she glared at the furious vampire. Dawn had dealt with the mood swings of a grieving vampire; Angel didn’t worry her in the least. “Buffy told you we were busy. Is English your second language?”

“I want to talk to Buffy,” Angel demanded as he went to push past the smirking teenager.

The barrier held firm and kept him out, though. Angel was stunned. They had done a disinvite spell? When had this happened? “Buffy will just invite me in again.”

“And I’ll have you charged with stalking,” Joyce calmly announced as she joined her youngest at the door. Giving the vampire a hard look, Joyce made her position clear. “You are not welcome in my home or on my property. If you return here, I will have no option but to protect my children. I’m told that fire works just as well as stakes.”

“Joyce, I was chosen to protect Buffy by the Powers That Be,” Angel tried to explain to the insane woman.

“My daughter died, which means you failed. You don’t honestly think that you would ever be trusted to protect her again, do you?” Joyce asked in disbelief.

Angel didn’t know what to tell her. He needed some time to come up with the right response. He needed some time to think, to pace and to work out what the hell was going on here.

He left without a word.

~*~*~

Buffy carefully walked down the stairs to the basement. The closer she got the quieter the growling sounded. As soon as her feet touched the basement floor her eyes sought out Spike. His growling was now at a minimum, but the Slayer could still see he was clearly agitated. She walked slowly across the floor; totally ignoring the other two until she was standing in front of the vampire she felt in her soul was hers. Raising a careful hand, worried that any sudden movements might upset him, she laid her hand on his bumpy forehead, caressing his face while humming a soothing tune.

William stepped back from the oblivious couple. Reaching for Joan’s hand he pulled her to him, never taking his eyes off the bizarre vision of young Buffy soothing the beast within Spike.





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