Chapter 2: Couples
The sun had been up for quite a while, and still they were on the roof of the hospital, talking as they had done for most of the night. Even if he had watched every single one since he had been turned human, sunrises would always be very special to Angel, and he doubted he would ever get tired of seeing them. But feeling the growing warmth on his skin wasn’t what was making him feel good this time. Having Cordelia by his side, talking to her about everything that had happened since she had disappeared three years before, that was the truly miraculous thing. He had missed her, missed her friendship, her humor, her way of giving frank, if sometimes unsolicited, advice. And now, he owed even more to her, since she had made him human again.
“Well, that’s one way to see it”, she said with a soft smile as he voiced the thought. “But you would have been human again eventually, you know. It was just a question of time. I just hurried the process a little.”
“And I can never thank you enough for it”, he insisted. “You have no idea what it means to me.”
She leaned against the safety rail, cocking her head ever so slightly as she watched him.
“I have a pretty good idea,” she murmured softly.
She had admitted earlier that during the time she wasn’t allowed to talk to her friends she had kept an eye on them anyway, present even if invisible and silent. And he could guess from a few comments she had made that she had access to his thoughts, there was just no other way she could know some things. He didn’t mind that much, though. He trusted her not to abuse whatever powers she had.
“You have to know, however, that you’re not a ‘normal’ human,” she added after a few seconds of comfortable silence.
“How so?”
“You still have your strength and rapid healing,” she explained slowly. “And somewhat of a sixth sense to pinpoint at demons and unnatural things.”
“Like Buffy’s Slayer sense?” he proposed.
She nodded. “Exactly like it, actually,” she confirmed. “For all purposes, you’re basically a male Slayer. As is Steven, though he was born with it all. As Spike would have been, too.”
For a brief instant, she frowned, and Angel couldn’t help wondering again about how well, or rather how little, he knew his Childe. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Spike had been ready to die for someone he loved, but he wouldn’t have believed him capable of it for someone he barely knew. Another cause of surprise was that he still thought of him as of his Childe, and he probably always would. He could only hope Spike wouldn’t shun him now that they were on opposite sides of life.
“I wonder how Buffy took it,” he commented out loud, having this sense that she would be rather shocked by Spike’s return to being undead.
“Not so bad considering what was at stake,” Cordelia replied with a secretive smile.
He stared at her for a moment. She hadn’t left him all night, how could she know? She laughed quietly at his surprised look.
“When I zoned out earlier,” she explained, “I was with her. Little dream chat.”
He nodded slowly. The question was burning his lips as to what they had talked about, but he didn’t ask. It was none of his business.
“You should go home and rest a little,” Cordy said gently as he tried to stifle a yawn. “There will be a Scooby meeting at the end of the afternoon at the Magic Box. And after that, you should go back to LA; your help will be needed there.”
Again, questions were crowding his mind, but he kept them to himself. He realized if she had wanted to tell him more, she would have done so already. They said their goodbyes, and she promised to come to the Magic Box later instead of simply fading away. He made his way to the mansion, his step light despite his fatigue.
*****
Giles and Andrea had remained by Manon’s side for the greatest part of the night, but when morning came, the hospital personnel gently but firmly sent them out. The girl’s life wasn’t considered in danger anymore, she had been moved from intensive care to a resting room, and her supposed parents could go home to rest and come back during normal visiting hours. They took a taxi to the motel where Andrea and Manon lived. Giles followed Andrea in, continuing their conversations about being Watchers and caring for their Slayers more than they were supposed to. Over cups of strong tea, they discussed for a couple of hours about all the things that were wrong with the Council, starting with the top and Quentin Travers. Giles easily agreed to accompany Andrea to London, with the quiet and delightful certitude that they would be shaking the Council to its roots before they were done. Finally exhausted, Giles was preparing to make his way back to Revello when Andrea suggested that he could sleep in Manon’s room, which he accepted gratefully. He was grateful also, though immensely puzzled, for the soft kiss she placed on his cheek before retreating to her room.
*****
By Spike’s internal clock, it was already mid-afternoon, and yet there still weren’t any noises in the house. Not that he minded. Staying in bed was just fine with him, and if everybody else was still resting, that meant his Slayer didn’t feel like she needed to get up to check on them. Just perfect.
He still felt humbled by the choice she had made for him. His own choice had been pretty easy. He hadn’t wanted to be human to begin with, and his soul had been an almost constant torture. The only thing that had made him hesitate had been the thought of his fiancée, who obviously had enjoyed so much having a pulse again. But even if that was what she wanted, even if her own soul was no problem, she had joined him back in the world of the night. And this time, deliberately.
They were now lying on their sides, chest to chest, resting after their last round of naughty games. Stamina did have limits…though thankfully temporary ones. Her head was tucked under his chin, their arms and legs tangled, her thumb drawing lazy circles in the small of his back. Awake, but quiet, both of them, for too long, and Spike was wondering what she was thinking about. He finally broke the silence to ask her.
“Just random things,” she replied, her words a soft tickle on his skin. “Like, I got rid of all the blood. Not sure how the Scoobies will react. Wondering if you’ll still write poetry. And if you still want to marry me.”
The hold of his arms around her tightened for a second.
“Don’t you dare doubt it,” he rumbled.
She rubbed her face against his chest.
“OK, I won’t doubt again that you’re a poet.”
He frowned and pulled away just a little, until she tilted her face up.
“I was talking about marrying you,” he said. “Not about bloody…”
He saw that little glint in her eyes, and realized she was just teasing him. Growling softly, he captured her mouth in a voracious kiss. When he let go of her lips, she returned to her place against his chest.
“Wedding still on, check,” she mumbled, a bit breathless. “Poetry?”
“Very doubtful.”
“It would be too bad if you stopped,” she protested. “I liked the ones you let me read. I think they were good.”
He couldn’t help laughing quietly at that. There had been a time when this had been a very touchy subject, and he would have taken her words as mockery or insults. Things changed.
“We will see,” he said noncommittally, though he knew his writing days were behind him. She could say what she wanted, he knew she was just trying to be nice, and his compositions were still bloody awful.
“Blood, we can get as soon as the sun sets,” he suggested, returning to her list of thoughts. “As for the Scoobies, I doubt they will cheer at your return to being undead.”
“Our return”, she corrected gently.
He pressed his lips to the top of her head, her golden tresses like silk on his skin. He had the feeling that if the gang expressed any feeling about his change, it would be relief that he wouldn’t be acting like a pitiful wanker answering to the name of William anymore. And if he could, he would erase that image from their collective memories. And his as well.
With a sigh, she rolled out of his embrace, and he protested wordlessly.
“I’ll call everyone,” she explained. “Tell them to meet us at the shop by sunset, so we can announce it to all of them.”
He nodded and just settled there, cheek resting against his closed fist, watching her as she made one call after the other, not saying much except for checking that her chums were alright and assuring them that the meeting wasn’t about anything dire falling on them all again. As soon as she put down the phone, he pounced on her.