Chapter 10: Under the Surface
“I’m afraid I’ve lost the piece of me/I need the most you see/This puzzle is really all about the need/To be somebody…But you came so close and I assumed/You were looking/For the piece of yourslf that’s lost/It is the hiding place inside everybody/And though we love to numb the pain/We come to learn that it’s in vain/Pain is our mother/She makes us recognize each other…” ~Over the Rhine, “Nobody Number One”
“Where have you been?” Angel asked irritably.
Wesley simply raised an eyebrow. After hearing what Cordelia had to say, he was feeling much less charitable towards Angel. “I’ve been helping Cordelia settle in at the Hyperion,” he replied evenly.
Angel’s frown deepened. “How is she?”
“Cordelia’s fine,” Wesley replied, making a quick decision not to tell Angel about her collapse earlier. “What did you need, Angel?”
The vampire was slightly taken aback by Wesley’s short response. “You haven’t been here all day, Wes,” Angel replied. “Don’t forget, we have a job to do here.”
“What job?” Wesley asked, allowing his irritation to show. “Reading innumerable reports that I can do nothing about? Or are you talking about overseeing a department that seems to run quite well on its own? Or maybe you’re talking about me doing all the things you’d rather not burden yourself with.”
Angel glowered. “What the hell are you talking about, Wes? Look, you signed on to work here. I didn’t force you into anything.”
“No, you didn’t, but you didn’t tell us the whole truth either,” Wesley hissed in reply, lowering his voice. “You made the decision to work at Wolfram and Hart knowing that we would follow you willingly. You made the decision without ever telling us what you were receiving in return.”
Angel went very still. “She told you.”
“She did. I, for one, was rather surprised.” Wesley’s voice held a bitter note. “You could have told us.”
“That’s not the way it worked out,” Angel spit out. “It was my business, not yours.”
Wesley glared at him. “We’re in this together, Angel.”
“Are we?” Angel asked angrily. “You seem to be about to bail on me, Wes.”
Wesley drew himself up. “I would have stayed with you until the very end,” he shot back. “I would have followed you into hell itself. Actually, it’s possible that I did follow you into hell. You were the one who felt it necessary to alter my memories.”
“Connor—”
“Needed help, yes,” Wesley said impatiently. “Cordelia told me. What I’m not sure you understand is what you’ve done. You are now inextricably linked to Wolfram and Hart, and you may have put your soul in jeopardy. Did you think about that, Angel?”
“It was worth it!” Angel exclaimed. “Connor is my son!”
“Not any longer,” Wesley replied coldly. “Of course, if he discovers that he is nearly invulnerable, you may find him on your doorstep.”
The anger on Angel’s face nearly caused Wesley to back up a step. The ex-Watcher hadn’t been this afraid of the vampire since he’d first started working for Angel Investigations. “Get out.”
“Are you firing me?” Wesley asked.
Angel opened his mouth to answer when Fred and a still-bloody Spike entered the office. “What are you doing here, Spike?” Angel barked.
“Getting carved up,” Spike shot back. “What are you doin’ here, Peaches?”
“Don’t, Spike,” Fred warned him. Turning to Angel, she said, “Spike saved my life, Angel.”
Wesley frowned. “What happened?”
“That prat, Knox, had plans for Fred,” Spike said. “Not quite sure what they were, but it wasn’t good.”
Angel shook his head. “What are you talking about, Spike?”
Spike raised his shirt, showing off Fred’s first aid job. “He got upset when I kept her from touchin’ this stone coffin, and then he pulled a knife on me. I’m thinkin’ that’s a pretty good sign the git wasn’t up to anything good.”
“I’d say you were correct,” Wesley agreed. “Do we know anything about Knox or this—coffin?”
Fred shook her head. “I haven’t gotten the chance to investigate yet,” she replied. “I think Lorne did a reading on Knox, though.”
“Wait a minute,” Angel said, holding up a hand. “Aren’t we jumping to conclusions here? I want to pull a knife on Spike on a daily basis. Just because—”
Fred glared at him. “We know what happened, Angel. Knox isn’t what I—we thought he was. I think we should probably do some investigating.”
“There are other things going on,” Angel replied. “I think—”
“If someone tried to harm Fred, I think that ought to be our first priority,” Wesley said, his eyes narrowing. The tension in the room went up several notches.
Angel finally seemed to remember that his friends should be his first responsibility. “Fine. Do what you need to do to take care of it.”
Something close to regret flitted over Wesley’s face. “Angel—”
“I’m not going to discuss this with you, Wes,” Angel said. “It was my decision.”
Wesley’s hands flexed, and Spike wondered if the ex-Watcher was going to go after his grandsire. “Better see to our leads, mate,” Spike said softly.
Wesley nodded tightly. “We aren’t done with this, Angel.”
Angel didn’t reply, going back to his paperwork. He waited until the door closed behind them to put his head in his hands. This was getting out of control. He had no idea how to fix this mess, and now it seemed that just being at Wolfram and Hart was going to place his friends in danger.
Even though they had grown apart, Angel still felt responsible for their well-being. Of course, he was also certain of the rightness of his actions. He would stay at the law firm, because he had made a commitment, and he had put his immortal soul on the line.
It wasn’t the first time that he had wondered if he had done the right thing.
~~~~~
The shipping and receiving information didn’t give them many clues as to the artifact’s purpose or origins. What they did discover was that it had been held up in Customs for quite a while until Gunn had signed a piece of paper.
Wesley had wanted to find Gunn and ask him about it immediately, but he wasn’t in the office, and Spike and Fred had managed to convince him to wait until they knew more. “It might be completely innocent, Wesley,” Fred said.
Wesley wasn’t so sure. Neither was Spike for that matter, but the vampire was inclined to want as much information about the sarcophagus as possible. That way, they would know how badly to hurt Gunn when they did confront him.
They had barely scratched the surface, and Spike knew they were in for a long night of going through dusty old books. He was starting to think about heading back to the Hyperion since he didn’t think he could be of much use.
A secretary, one of the many at Wolfram and Hart, knocked hesitantly on Wesley’s door. “Sir?”
“What is it, Audra?” he asked, not bothering to hide the impatience in his tone.
She flinched. “There’s a problem. One of the employees was just taken ill. It has something to do with the new arrival in the technology lab.”
Wesley was out of his seat in a moment. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Audra said, shaking her head. “We just got the call. Since Miss Burkle was here, I thought you might want to know…”
“You did the right thing,” Wesley replied, composing himself. He turned to Fred and Spike. “I think we ought to check this out.”
Fred was looking guilty. “Wes, I didn’t even think about leaving that thing in the lab. I should have warned people, or put a sign on it, or something.”
“It’s done now,” Spike said, sounding grim. “An’ it’s not your fault, ducks. We had plenty on our minds.”
Wesley hesitated. “Spike, I think you ought to head back to the hotel. Fred and I will meet you there a little later.”
The vampire shook his head. “Wes—”
Wesley shook his head, cutting off Spike’s protests. “You’re still hurt,” he pointed out. “There’s no sense in placing yourself in more danger. Let Buffy and Cordelia know what’s been going on here. We’ll fill you in once we’ve found out what’s happened.”
Spike didn’t look happy, but he nodded. “Right. See you later then.”
~~~~~
There wasn’t a lot to do once Cordy had given the Slayer a tour. The two women could only find so much to talk about, so many stories to share, before an uncomfortable silence fell. With no TV or anything else at the Hyperion, it seemed that they could look forward to a very boring afternoon and evening.
“Are you hungry?” Buffy asked after a while.
Cordelia shook her head. “Not really.” She sighed. “I wonder where my computer got to. If we had internet, we could do—something.”
Buffy sighed. “Do you want to get out of here for a while? We could go shopping.”
Cordy hesitated, and then she shook her head. “That sounds nice, but what if somebody calls?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Another silence fell, even more uncomfortable than the last. They might have sat like that forever, or at least until Buffy went to the basement to use some of the training equipment she’d seen down there, except that Cordelia suddenly straightened. “We’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?” Buffy tried not to sound too hopeful. She really wanted out of there.
“Vision,” Cordelia replied, holding a hand up for silence. “Big demon, horns, trying to sacrifice a girl for some reason.”
Buffy tried to squelch her excitement, but with little success. This was more like it. “Do you know where?”
“Yeah,” Cordelia replied. “I can drive us if you’ve got a car.”
“I don’t,” Buffy replied, then she smiled. “Although, I think Spike rode back to the office with Wesley. His car should still be here.”
Cordelia stood. “I’ll drive.”
“I can drive!” Buffy protested.
Cordy fixed the Slayer with a look. “Buffy, I remember how you drive. I was the one with the wheels in high school, remember?”
“A lot has changed since then,” Buffy said petulantly. “I can drive.”
“I’ll drive,” Cordy insisted. “A lot has changed, but I know I can drive. I don’t know anything about your driving talents.”
Still bickering, they headed out to take care of the demon.
~~~~~
Spike walked into the empty hotel with a feeling of concern. “Slayer?” he called. “Buffy? Cordelia? H’lo?”
He was still trying to remember whether or not Buffy had given him her cell phone number when the two women walked into the hotel, arguing good-naturedly over who had managed to kill the demon. Buffy had been impressed with Cordelia’s slaying abilities, almost in spite of herself. Cordelia had come a long way since leaving Sunnydale.
“Where were you two?” he asked, sounding irritated.
They exchanged looks. “Out slaying,” Buffy replied off-handedly. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you,” Spike replied. “We had a situation at Wolfram and Hart.”
Cordelia’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
Spike quickly explained. “Fred and Wesley should be back here soon. Dunno what they were goin’ to do about the person who got sick,” he finished.
Cordelia appeared grim. “I told Angel that place was no good.”
“We don’t know why this happened,” Buffy reminded the seer. “It might be something completely unrelated to being at Wolfram and Hart.” She grimaced. “Although, it’s unlikely, I’ll grant you.” The Slayer looked at Spike. “I want to see that knife wound, and then you need to get cleaned up. I can go check out of my hotel and then come back.”
Spike winced. “The bastard completely ruined my shirt.”
“Good thing I got you some new clothes then, isn’t it?” Buffy asked smugly.
He sighed. “Just so you don’t make me look like a complete git.”
“Why would I do that?” Buffy teased him.
“Let’s see it, Slayer.” Spike followed her up the stairs to the room she’d marked as their own.
Cordelia couldn’t help but feel envious, watching them go. She remembered when she and Angel had that sort of easy camaraderie. She missed him, missed the man she’d fallen in love with. The Angel she’d seen reminded her of the time he’d gone so dark, when he had allowed Darla and Drusilla to kill all those lawyers.
She was afraid for him.
~~~~~
Spike stared at the t-shirt that Buffy had thrown in the trash can as she inspected the laceration in his side. “This isn’t looking too bad,” she commented. “You could get cleaned up, and I’ll bandage it for you after you get out of the shower.”
“You want me to go back to the hotel with you?” he asked.
Buffy shook her head. “Someone should be here with Cordelia.”
“Where were you two really?”
“She had a vision, and we left to take care of the demon.” Buffy smiled. “She’s actually not too bad with a sword. I was impressed.”
Spike smiled in response, but the expression didn’t quite reach his eyes. “That’s good.”
Buffy stared at him thoughtfully, and then she leaned in and kissed him, slowly, sweetly, deeply. “I love you,” she murmured.
“What was that for?” Spike asked, sounding a little dazed.
She pressed her lips to his forehead. “You looked like you needed it.” Buffy rummaged through the shopping bags for something for him to wear. “Now, go get cleaned up.”
Spike let the hot water from the shower rush over him, not quite able to believe what was happening. A few days ago, he’d had nothing, nothing except for his soul really, and maybe Wesley’s friendship. Today, it seemed that he had a purpose, a place to stay, and Buffy.
He kept waiting to wake up.
When he had gotten out of the shower and towelled off, Spike took a look at the clothing Buffy had purchased for him. It wasn’t too bad, really. Better than he’d thought. Dark blue jeans, black t-shirt, red button-down that was reminiscent of a shirt he’d had years ago. He pulled the jeans on, but left his chest bare so Buffy could re-bandage the wound. It was healing nicely, but he’d need to put something on it for at least another day.
Buffy fussed over him when he came back out, her hands gentle. “This is a little weird,” he murmured.
“I know,” she replied, not meeting his eyes. “It feels like no time has passed, and like we’ve lived whole lifetimes.”
Spike suddenly realized that the Slayer might be having just as difficult a time of things as he was. They both had their insecurities, and hers had probably been triggered by his long silence after being brought back. Putting a finger under her chin, tilting her head up so she met his eyes, Spike said, “I love you.”
“I know.” Buffy smiled. “I love you too.”
They would let that be all that mattered.