The lobby of Wolfram and Hart took Buffy’s breath away. It had wood floors, a lot of windows, and a sleek contemporary design. It was also full of people, some of them were human and the others were clearly not. Each person was dressed in fancy clothing: evening gowns, suits and ties.

“Great. A ball gown was the one thing I didn’t pack in my suitcase…”

“Excuse me, may I see your invitation? This is a black-tie, invitation-only event.”

“Look…” Buffy trailed off, deciding the man that towered above her looked more like a member of the secret service than your typical building security guard. “I’m not here for any event. I’d like to see Angel.”

“If you have no invitation, I’m sorry, but I must ask you to leave. Call Mr. Angel’s secretary and make an appointment during business hours.”

“He has a secretary?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “Follow me to the front desk. I can give you Miss Kendall’s card.”

“Kendall? As in Harmony?”

“That’s correct. Miss Kendall is the CEO’s secretary.”

“What kind of place is this? Angel’s Island of Sunnydale’s Misfit Toys?”

“Wolfram and Hart is the oldest and largest law firm in existence,” the man answered. “It is both international and interdimensional, with departments in every facet of the law. You’re welcome to take an informational brochure for our Los Angeles branch.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Buffy said with a short laugh. “Harmony the secretary? Informational brochures?”

She quickly skimmed over the shiny paper. Then she saw the photograph on the back. Pictured were the people she knew from Angel Investigations. And Spike. He looked exactly as she remembered him, down to his black leather duster.

“I need to see Angel or Spike,” she continued, folding the brochure up so it’d fit in the back pocket of her jeans. “Hell, I’ll even settle for Wesley. If you need a name for the guest book, put down: Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer aka the ex girlfriend of Wolfram and Hart’s CEO.”

“Buffy Summers? You’re Buffy Summers?”

“You’ve heard of me?”

“I must apologize. I’m sorry, Miss Summers, I should’ve asked for your name earlier. I don’t know what I was thinking. Please except my apologies.”

“Does this mean you’ll help me?” she asked with her brows raised.

“We have strict orders to inform Mr. Angel immediately if you ever call or arrive. I could lose my job over this. He’ll kill me.”

“Hey, if you take me wherever he is and answer a few questions, I’ll vouch for you. I won’t let him fire you and I’ll definitely stop him from killing you.”

The man didn’t take long to consider Buffy’s offer. “We’ll try his office first. Mr. Angel hosts these events but he rarely makes more than a quick appearance. If he isn’t in his office, he’ll be in his penthouse. Please follow me, Miss Summers.”

“He has a penthouse?”

“All Wolfram and Hart’s upper management have penthouse apartments onsite,” he explained, guiding Buffy into the elevator. He hit one of the buttons to one of the highest floors in the building.

“Does Spike have a place here too?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Does that mean he’s upper management?”

“Uh, no,” the man laughed. “No one seems to know what his position is, or if he even has one. He works with the CEO mostly.”

“How long has he been here?”

“It’s hard to know for sure. In the first few weeks he kept, you know, flickering in and out.”

“No, I don’t know. He flickered? What does that mean?”

“When he was a ghost, he’d fade away and then pop back up somewhere else. Winifred Burkle had him in the labs a lot until he became corporal. Nowadays, I usually see him with Mr. Angel, but they don’t seem to like each other very much. If you’re interested in gossip, I heard Spike hooked up with his secretary--.”

“What?”

“I’ve said too much. I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t tell Angel.”

“He slept with Harmony.” The elevator stopped but Buffy didn’t move. “He was a ghost and he slept with Harmony.”

“Only after he got his body back from what I understand. Harm—uh, Miss Kendall said it was a one time thing.”

“What else did Harmony tell you?”

“He was, uh, just making sure all his parts were still in working order?”

“Well, clearly his brain is not working. It’s stupid. He’s stupid.”

“Miss Summers, please, we’re tying up the elevator.”

“I can go the rest of the way on my own. Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.” She stepped off the elevator and sighed when the man followed her. “Let me guess, you’re following me because of another rule from your employee handbook?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Angel will probably need your protection once I get my hands on him anyway. And Spike, you won’t be able to help him. I’m going to kill him again.”

“You can’t be serious--.”

“Try me.”

“Do you have weapons?”

“Of course, I’m the Slayer. I have a stake hidden in my slouchy boot.”

The man mumbled a curse under his breath. “Please try to restrain yourself. I beg you. I should’ve checked you for weapons in the lobby. I should’ve confiscated them.”

“So I’m not the exception to every rule around here?”

“Miss Summers, if you hurt anyone under my watch…” Buffy had to fight back a laugh although the man looked sick to his stomach. “I’m usually much better at my job.”

“Don’t worry about Mr. Angel and his reign of terror. I think you’re a great guy. Heck, if I knew your name, I’d demand that he give you a raise.”

“Thank you.”

“Wait, you really don’t want me to know your name, do you?”

“If I live past this evening, come to the front desk and I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“Won’t Angel know who you are without me telling him? Isn’t he your boss?”

“Wolfram and Hart has hundreds of employees at this branch alone.”

“You’re at the front desk. Doesn’t he walk by you daily?”

“He’s a busy man.”

“He sounds like a jerk. The least he could do is give you guys some nametags. From the look of this place, he could totally fit them into the budget. I’ll talk to him about it.”

“Thank you,” he said again. “But that isn’t necessary. Mr. Angel’s office is right here, Miss Summers.”

Buffy saw a light shinning from underneath the door. She heard two voices, and one was distinctly British. Before the man could knock and announce her arrival, Buffy pushed the door open.

Angel saw her first. He stood up from behind his desk. Spike had his back to her. He turned toward her slowly.

“So, it’s true,” she whispered. “You’ve been here all along.”

“Buffy.” It was Angel who said her name. “Let’s get this straight, I didn’t want him here, and I still don’t, but I can’t shake the guy. The amulet was mailed to me. It resurrected him somehow. He haunted me for weeks. Then another package came in the mail and it made him solid again. Now, he continues to annoy me by choice.”

“If I would’ve known, if someone would’ve told me…” Her eyes locked with Spike’s. She felt that uncomfortable, but familiar pang in her chest again. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“Slayer, I wanted to.”

At the sound of Spike’s voice, her body swayed a little. A strong arm propped her up. It didn’t belong to Spike or Angel.

“Buffy, who’s your friend?” Angel asked curtly.

“He’s my new boyfriend. We’re running away together.”

Angel frowned. It caused Spike to shake his head and roll his eyes. “Oh, piss off. She’s messing with you,” he said. “That’s Carl, you nit.”

“Who’s Carl?”

“The bloke from the front desk? Of your fucking lobby? He probably escorted her up here because of one your bloody rules and security measures.”

“Oh,” Angel said, crossing his arms. “That’ll be all, Carl. We’ll take care things from here. Thanks.”

Feeling him hesitate, Buffy patted Carl’s arm. “It’s okay. I need you to do me a favor, if you don’t mind. I have some very important things in my car. Two people-shaped things, can you check on them please? Tell them to stay where they are for a little longer.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a nod.

“Thank you so much, Carl.”

Once Carl left the room, Angel closed the door behind him. “Take seat, Buffy. I know you have a lot of questions. I’ll do my best to answer them.”

“Please. Cut the CEO bullshit,” Spike grumbled, walking pass Angel. “You have no one to impress here.”

“How are you?” The tone of his voice changed as he spoke to Buffy. “Are you alright? Come here, sit.”

He led her to one of Angel’s leather chairs. Then he crouched in front of her. “We’ve got some catching up to do, don’t we, love? We’ll do that in private, once we get things settled with the big buffoon. We’ll talk. You and me. Until then, know how hard it’s been for me to be away from you.”

“Why did you stay away? Why was it decided between you two that I shouldn’t know you were alive? Were you hiding from me?”

“No, not at all. That isn’t it in the slightest.”

“Can you really say that?” Angel leaned against the corner of his desk with his arms still crossed. “Tell her the whole truth, lover boy. He came back initially as a ghost, but Casper was fixed two weeks ago. Once he was all fleshy again, he could’ve left this place. He could’ve called you, but instead he banged my secretary on her lunch break.”

Suddenly, Spike vamped and lunged at Angel. Buffy watched them punch and toss each other around for a minute before standing with her hands balled into fists.

“You both are idiots!” she yelled. “Stop it! Get away from each other right now!”

With her own snarl, Buffy grabbed onto each vampire. She forced them to separate with a shove. “Angel, you have no right to be smug! I’m mad at you more than anyone for not calling me!”

“Take that,” Spike laughed, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “Let him have it, Slayer.”

“And you,” Buffy said to Spike. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”

Spike’s smile vanished. “Buffy—pet, please don’t--.”

The door to Angel’s office swinging open interrupted him. “I can’t believe you wanted us to wait in the car!” Dawn shrieked. “That is so not cool, Buffy!”

“And I’m a bigger idiot than both of you,” Buffy mumbled, watching her sister and Mrs. Pratt enter the room with her new friend Carl on their heels.

“Who’s this, your boyfriend’s mother?”

Ignoring Angel’s question, Buffy looked at Spike. “I had to bring her here. It was the right thing to do.”

“William? Is that you?” Mrs. Pratt asked, her voice cracking as she spoke. “It feels as if it’s been ages since I last saw you!”

Spike glanced down at his mother as she hugged him, and then he stared at Buffy in shock. “What is this? How is this possible?”

“She was conjured up,” Dawn answered before Buffy could reply. “We brought her here from Vegas.”

“Vegas? As in Nevada?”

“We live there now. Buffy and me, and Willow, Xander, Faith, Robin, Andrew. The gang’s all there, but not Giles. He’s the one in Europe right now, he’ll be back soon.”

“No, that can’t be right. Angel told me…”

From the look on his face, Buffy knew Spike was going to attack Angel again. He was already trying to squirm out of Mrs. Pratt’s grasp.

“Don’t even think about fighting him. Not in front of your mom,” she warned. “I mean it, Spike.”

“He’s a lying bastard! You know he didn’t even tell the lot here about me? He didn’t want them knowing about my soul, about us, or how I fought by your side! He told me you were in Europe, not four sodding hours from here!”

“I’ll deal with Angel,” Buffy said. “You need to calm down. You’re scaring Anne.”

“It can’t be. My mother is--.”

“Standing right there. She’s human and she loves you very much.”

Spike looked at Anne, completely stunned. “Who…who conjured her?”

“A demon,” Buffy lied. “It was a big ugly demon. I had to kill him before I could find out why he did it. But now she’s here, and she will be for a few days.”

“Until what?”

“Until the weekend is over.”

“A demon from Nevada brought my mother back to life…for a quick two-day holiday?”

“It makes sense,” Angel spoke up. “You make enemies wherever you go, Spike. Why would Vegas be any different? You royally pissed someone off. I bet they were going to use her against you. Like as bait or--.”

“I don’t see why we’re talking about this,” Buffy interrupted. “The demon failed so who cares what his master plan was? Mrs. Pratt is here. She’s a sweet lady who wants to see her son. Where’s the harm in that? After the weekend, she’ll go back from where she came from. End of story.”

“Buffy, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she snapped. She wasn’t sure who had asked the question. “I’m just excessively annoyed right now…and a little lightheaded. God, I feel like I might--.”

Before Buffy could finish her sentence, she fainted.
***





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