Banner by Selene
Banner
by Selene
Chapter 15
Spike watched as Buffy
slept peacefully by his side. She’d drifted off not long ago, worn out from
their lovemaking, snuggled close to his side. He still felt a pang inside his
chest every time she allowed him to hold her, something he never got tired of
and doubted he ever would. If he didn’t have things to do, he could have
cheerful held her throughout the rest of the night.
But he had phone calls to
make. He needed to know what kind of progress Giles and Angel’s humans were
making. Placing a tender kiss to Buffy’s temple, he eased out of bed and donned
his jeans.
His first call was to Giles. He wanted to check up on
how the watcher was coming along with interpreting the translation.
The phone was picked up
before the second ring had a chance to finish. An annoyed, “’ello!” sounded in
his ear.
“Rupert. How go things?”
“Spike! What the bloody hell—?”
Then, in a much more dignified voice added, “Do you have any idea as to the
lateness of the hour?”
“Vampire, hello?
It’s only eleven there. Don’t tell me you’re in bed already, old man?” Spike
chuckled softly. It was nice to be able to yank the watcher’s chain a bit. But,
the seriousness of the call quickly sobered him.
“No, not at all.” Papers shifted in the background. “I’m
just going back over some of my translations. I wasn’t expecting the phone to
ring. Was there a particular reason for you ringing me so late?”
“I just remembered something about Buffy’s attacker from—”
“Buffy’s attacker?” Giles interrupted, clearly
alarmed. “Dear God! Is she alright?”
‘Whoops...’ “Uh yeah, Rupes. She’s fine. She didn’t tell ya?”
“I should say not!” Giles blustered. “What happened?”
“We got ambushed by some bloke. He got in a lucky
blow to the Slayer’s stomach. We were worried a minute ‘cuz her injuries weren’t
healin’ as fast as usual. But, everything’s alright now.”
“Not healin? Spike, what’s going on? Never mind that,
I’m coming there. I’ll book a flight out for first thing in the morning.”
Spike could hear the
nervous energy on the other end of the line.
“Watcher, she’s fine. If you come here now, she’s
gonna know I told ya. Then I’ll have one brassed-off slayer to deal with. I’ll
pass, if it’s all the same to you. Besides, I need you there to work on that
translation.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re
right. But, like I told Buffy this morning, I don’t think it applies to your
situation.”
“Well, that’s a spot of good
news,” Spike replied, relieved. Getting back on track, Spike told Giles why he
was calling. He gave a brief described of the guy that had hurt Buffy and
mentioned the markings the man had on his face. When asked to describe them, he
was at a loss.
“I’m no artist. I’ll call
Angel and see if he can whip up something. He was always good with his pencil.
Whatever I’m able to get, I’ll pass on to you.”
“Very well. I’ll wait to
hear from you.... or them.”
Spike hesitated before
ringing off, reluctant as to whether or not he should convey his concerns to the
man.
“Giles?” he asked, after a long pause.
“Yes?”
“I don’t like this. This guy was
too focused on the Slayer. Obsessively so.”
“Well, there’s no sense
borrowing trouble before it’s due. We’ll figure it out, Spike. It’ll just take
some time.”
“That’s the problem, watcher. I’m not sure time is with
us on this one.”
Shaking away his gloomy
thoughts, Spike hung up with Giles and placed his second call. Before, asking
his grandsire for anything always left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he
really needed Angel’s help and had no problem abasing himself for Buffy’s sake.
In the past, Angel had really been a pain in his arse, but since he’d emerged
from the amulet, grudging acceptance had been evident in the older vampire’s
demeanor. It was time to test it. The blood bond was there, now to see if his
grandsire would acknowledge it.
“Wolfram
& Hart, how may I direct your call?” a female voice enquired.
“Get me Angel.”
Soon Harmony’s voice came over the phone. “Harmony, I need to speak with Angel.”
A little elevator hold music, then Angel’s voice sounded over the line.
“This is Angel.”
Spike took a deep, calming breath then said, “Sire, I
need your help.”
Angel almost dropped the
phone. If he could have gotten any paler, he would have. Spike rarely, if ever,
acknowledged their bond. For him to reduce himself to this state, something
grave must be occurring. Gripping the phone tightly, he replied, “You have but
to ask, Childe.”
Spike closed his eyes for
a moment, relieved that no smart remarks were forthcoming from Angel. Slowly, he
related all the events of the past few days: the battle, the Slayer subsequently
getting hurt, her slow healing, and their combined yet unspoken fear.
Angel listened without
interrupting, but his demon surged to the forefront, anger at this unforeseen
enemy hurting Buffy. He tamped it down when he heard Spike’s request.
“Can you draw what I’m describing? Maybe by figuring
out what those marks on his face were, we can find out who’s behind this.”
“Hang on while I grab my tablet and a pencil.”
Spike let out a sigh as
he heard the phone placed gently on the table. ‘That wasn’t as hard as I
thought it was going to be.’ After a few moments, Angel came back on the
line.
“Tell me what you saw,” Angel requested quietly.
Spike complied, and for
the next half-hour he described the various symbols he had seen as well as the
man’s face.
When Angel was finished
drawing, he asked Spike for his fax number, then sent over what he had done.
They both waited on the line while the fax machine whirred to life and spat out
a piece of paper, then Spike walked over and grabbed it.
Staring back at him was
the guy that had hurt his slayer.
“Damn, Angel. It’s him. It’s bloody him!”
“I’ll give it to Wes to see if he can come up with
anything.”
“Thanks. I’m going to forward
this on to Giles. He said that he translated that text but he didn’t think that
it had anything to do with Buffy. He’s gonna keep diggin’, though. Maybe this
will help. Angel?” A pause. “Thank you, Sire,” he said simply, once more
acknowledging their connection.
“Anytime.
I’m here when you need me, Childe.”
Quietly, Angel
disconnected their call. Closing his eyes, he leaned back in his office chair.
Anguish, combined with hope, played across his face. He had thought that when he
had given up Conner, he would once more be alone in the world. Sure, he had his
friends that came with him to Wolfram & Hart. But, they were mortal. Their time
on Earth limited. Once they were gone, his lonely life would stretch out
endlessly before him. Spike could, at times – make that
most of the times – be a pain in the
ass, but he was still family.
And as head of the
Aurelius clan, it was his duty to see to the wellbeing of the others in his
care. Snagging the paper off his desk, he left his office and went on the search
for Wesley.
~*~*~*~*~
Halfway
around the world, Spike slowly replaced the phone in its cradle, a slight smile
forming on his lips. His Sire. Bond stated, bond claimed. He hadn’t been sure
how Angel was going to react. A weight lifted when he realized that Angel had
acknowledged their tie as if it was a given. Spike was no longer alone.
He stared down at the picture Angel had faxed over.
Blue eyes flashed briefly to yellow as his demon threatened to take hold. It
took another moment before he calmed enough to fax the paper to Giles. When it
was sent, Spike folded the paper up and tucked it away in his pocket and went to
rejoin Buffy.