A/N: This chapter is marked violence and sexual situations, however that is not a promise of smut, it is what it should be: a warning.

Thanks to my beta Luxferi, I belive the title is yours ; )

* * *




When Spike came back to the factory through the sewer entrance, he could hear the sounds of grunting and moaning before he even came close to the bedroom. His bedroom. His and Drusilla’s. Even through the stench from the sewage, he could smell it. Blood, and that distinct smell that was sex. Spike changed into game face and clenched his fists.

Not again.

* * *

As Buffy came back from her adventure with Spike and walked into the library, the room fell silent. Her friends and Jenny had been discussing something loudly when they saw her and stopped mid-sentence, looking rather ashamed. Buffy examined their faces suspiciously, but asked them in her usual cheery tone:

”What’s the what?”

”How did things with Spike go?” Giles asked her back. He wasn’t really sure that sending his Slayer away with that vampire had been a very a good idea, but at the time, all that bantering had gotten on his nerves. Nor was Giles sure about telling the young blonde about the latest development when it came to Angelus, but he knew it was unavoidable.

”Things? Well, he showered, acted like a pig and took off.”

”Good. I’m afraid we have some news. Jenny?”

”I…”

”About Angel? Was he here?” Buffy became nervous. She had effectively suppressed all thoughts about her ex-boyfriend for the last 20 minutes, but now she wasn’t sure that it had been the best idea. Had something happened to any of her friends?

”No, nothing like that. But it seems Jenny here knew about the curse not being one hundred percent fool-proof.”

”What?”

”She’s some gypsy girl, being all stalker cos her uncle told her to,” Xander explained from his position at the table.

”Huh?” Buffy was still confused.

”I was sent here to watch him. Angel,” Jenny said.

”What? Did you know what was going to happen?!”

”No! I- I only knew that if Angel experienced one moment of true happiness, then he would lose his soul. I was sent to Sunnydale to prevent that from happening.”

”I can’t believe this!” Buffy exclaimed incredulously. She started laughing almost manically. ”What did you do, spy on us?” Buffy didn’t get an answer. ”Who are you?”

”My uncle warned me about the relationship Angel had with you, but it was too late.”

”Too late?!”

”Please calm down, both of you.” Giles stepped in. He wanted most of all to set his Slayer on the woman that he had trusted and become very fond of, but he knew better.

”Calm down?!”

”This leads us nowhere. I can’t say I approve with Jenny’s…um little scheme, but the situation we happen to be in the middle of is far more urgent than what you’re arguing about. She’s on our side, Buffy.”

Buffy murmured something incoherently under her breath, but didn’t object.

”Think about it this way Buff: on the upside it looks like Dead boy really was hit by the Buffinator,” Xander said.

”He really loved you. You know, perfect happiness,” Willow filled in.

”But on the downside:” Xander continued ”Well, I guess he doesn’t anymore and…you’re gonna have to kill him.”

Buffy was silent, clenching her teeth, staring at Jenny.

”Buffy, earlier you mentioned seeing Angel after he lost his soul?” Giles asked carefully. Buffy nodded in response, she relaxed some but didn’t take her eyes off Jenny. ”How was he acting? Was he aggressive? Threatening? Did you fight?”

”No,” she said calmly. ”It was worse. He was just… really mean.”

”That’s worse? I would say getting killed is worse, but hey, we all- ”

”This is a serious situation, Xander.” Giles glanced at the boy disapprovingly, before turning back to Buffy. ”Did you get the feeling that he was going to come after you, like Spike said?”

”I don’t know, Giles.” Buffy sighed, but continued. ”I think Spike knows what he’s talking about. I mean it’s totally wiggy but they’re family and all that.”

”Family? What? Is he like the creepy uncle that comes over every thanksgiving? Or I know! The scary vampire Mafia brother!”

”Angel made Drusilla, she made Spike,” Buffy responded simply, not finding Xander very funny.

At this point, Buffy realized she was holding something in her right hand. A black cotton t-shirt. Spike’s. She didn’t remember it, but he must have left it in the locker room and she had somehow picked it up. Buffy fingered the soft material. She felt an odd need to smell the fabric, but decided not to. It was best not to let her friends think she was crazier than they already did.

”Drusilla? Interesting. I think I read something about her in the chronicles…” Giles turned around to look for the books, and returned with five small ones all bound in brown leather. ”Something about her having a taste for nuns…”

”She’s Spike’s girlfriend or whatever.” Buffy tried to sound casual, but in her own mind she sounded like a jealous schoolgirl with a crush. No one seemed to notice or think the same, and Buffy ignored the feeling. *It’s just because you got a glimpse of his ass today...Okay don’t think about that. Bad Buffy.*

”He’s got a girlfriend? But…” Willow looked at her confused. Buffy didn’t really want to respond to that, and luckily Giles saved her from having to do so.

”Have you by any chance met her too?”

”No. But I think she’s in Sunnydale.”

”She’s here? Oh dear lord.” Giles grew slightly pale. He closed the book he was reading. ”Are you saying that there are three master vampires in Sunnydale at the same time?”

”The Master is dead Giles, remember?”

”Yes, I was only referring to-”

”There has to be a way to get Angel back? Right? To curse him again or whatever?” Buffy said impatiently.

”The spell..it’s not complete. I have picked up pieces here and there. But the language, it needs to be translated…It’s not…” Jenny answered nervously. Buffy turned to her again, and became instantly angry.

"I don't care... just... fix it, okay? Before everything else deteriorates!"

Buffy walked out of library. Her friends were yet again shocked by her behavior.

* * *

Spike ran into the bedroom, in full game face, roaring. He wouldn’t allow this. He hadn’t a hundred years ago and he wouldn’t now.

The scene before him was sickening; his dear old Angelus on the bed thrusting violently into his princess who was lying underneath. They were screaming. Not the bad kind of screaming, the result of too much pain, but the screaming of a man and a woman enjoying themselves. The large piece of furniture was rocking underneath their movements with a creaking sound and the black silk dress that Drusilla had been wearing, the one that Spike had stolen for her in Prague, was lying in shreds on the bedroom floor. Their grunting made Spike nauseous.

When he had left them not even an hour ago, Angelus had been walking around the factory like he owned the place and Drusilla had been clinging to his side or dancing before him, humming softly to herself. Angelus had watched her hungrily but Spike had thought that maybe, just maybe, Drusilla would for once appreciate that he was the one who had taken care of her for the last century, not Angelus. He couldn’t be more wrong.

Spike grabbed his grandsire by the shoulders and threw him across the room and into the shelf where Drusilla’s dolls were carefully placed in rows. Drusilla howled in disappointment of being torn away from her daddy, but soon saw her dolls breaking and hurried to save her babies.

”Get the hell away from her!”

Angelus rose to his feet slowly, wiped the blood that was pouring from his nose with the sleeve of his shirt and started laughing.

”Away? Why would I wanna do that…Willy?”

Spike roared again, and jumped him, sending the two of them crashing onto the floor into one big mess of fists and fangs.

”You stay away from her! Got me?!” Spike managed to get on top, and was sending fist after fist into Angelus’ face, in blinding rage. He kept punching, the blood was flowing down over his grandsire’s chest, and dripping off Spike’s closed fists, but Angelus kept laughing.

”Who are we” Another punch. ”Talking about” Another. ”William?” Angelus bit out. He was not fighting back anymore, but he was leering and laughing all the same.

”She’s mine,” Spike said dangerously through gritted teeth. He got up and looked down at the mess on the floor beneath him. His grandsire was naked except for an open shirt and a pair of black socks, but his upper half was covered in blood, and the rest in sweat.

Spike had no idea why the older vampire hadn’t defended himself. He was as strong as Spike, maybe stronger, and didn’t usually take beatings from younger vampires, but today, he looked tired…drained. Spike should have felt great, he had finally got the chance to give the old man a taste of his own medicine. How many times had he been beaten by the bastard as a fledging? How many times had Angelus taken Drusilla from him, when he was still new to this world? When Spike couldn’t put up any resistance? But that look in his grandsire’s eyes, that glint, that wanted to tell him he knew all there was to know about him. That confident smirk. Spike kicked him in the stomach.

”Did you hear me? She’s mine.”

Drusilla had been sitting on the bed watching them. She was giggling like mad with the dolls she’d been able to save on her lap. She was bouncing up and down in excitement and started to purr like a cat.

”Aww… You boys… mommy’s little princes, fighting over me...”

”Didn’t I tell you once, Willy?” Angelus rose to his feet, but with great difficulty. ”She’s not yours to have. I was doing you a favor, really. I can tell when she’s not satisfied.”

”Shut up! She’s weak! She shouldn’t strain herself, you prick!”

”She’s weak, now? Oh I don’t know about that, she was acting kind of wild with me, you know how she wants to take control, you should see the marks on my back…”

”Shut your gob!” Spike pushed Angelus against the brick wall, and held a splinter he’d managed to pick up from the broken furniture, against his chest. Angelus was still laughing at him. ”Shut. Your. Gob.”

”But Daddy cured princess. Made her well with rivers and heat. Gave her nice things…white little lilies covered in blood…”

”Dru?” Spike loosened his grip on Angelus, throwing a confused look over at Drusilla. What was she going on about?

Angelus picked up the pants that was lying on the floor and pulled them on, grimacing in pain.

”I’m surprised you couldn’t cure her, but I guess you were too busy going after that slayerwhore, what’s her name again?”

Spike closed his fists again. Usually, Spike would kill somebody for even insinuating something like what the older vampire had just said, but this time, he decided that taunting Angelus about Buffy might just be even more fun.

”Buffy. The girl you spent months chasing after, and I do mean in the typical frat boy way. The one that told me you were a mistake. Yeah I met her.”

”Then why didn’t you kill her Spike? It used to be your thing.”

”Nah. I’ll let you have the honour. You must really have it in for her after she humiliated you like that. Making you wait on her with the big puppy eyes.”

”Don’t worry, I’ll kill her.”

Drusilla looked from her sire to her childe. She didn’t like them talking about this Slayer. That girl had too much influence on them both. Drusilla might not show it, but she knew. She decided to turn their attention back to where it belonged.

”Mummy’s okay again, Spike. She can dance, and play and water the flowers in the garden. Will you buy me a pony now?”

”Should listen to her, Spike. I mean - all it took was a bite.”

Spike looked at his sire. She was a vampire, therefore pale, but she looked more alive than she had been in months. Her hair was shiny, her eyes were clear; she looked truly powerful.

”But she’ll probably need more in the next few days, sire’s blood, always does the trick doesn’t it? But then you wouldn’t know. You’re not going to stop me from curing my girl are you Willy?”

”Daddy’s home. We can be a family now.”

Family? They hadn’t been a family in almost a century. And that was when Darla had been alive and steered Angelus’ attention from Drusilla to her own bed. Drusilla was his only family now. This pillock wasn’t going to change that.

Spike grabbed Drusilla by the arm and dragged her past Angelus and out of the bedroom. As they walked out the door, Spike could hear Angelus say the same words he had said himself a couple of nights ago:

”She’s not your girl, mate.”

* * *

Buffy was tired. The gang had been going from house to house, everywhere they thought that Angel might have an invitation that they needed to call back. Willow had been in seventh heaven around all the spell ingredients and Giles had after much nagging, let her help him with getting it together. They had never done a de-invite spell before, probably because they hadn’t invited very many vampires, and Giles hadn’t even been sure that the spell was going to work. But Buffy had made up her mind: a wonky spell was better than no spell at all. Hopefully.

It was dark outside when she followed Willow home later that night. The others; Giles, Xander, Jenny and even Cordelia had all been at her house, the last one to get the de-invite spell, about an hour ago. They had been working on a science project, or at least that was what they were telling her mother, when she questioned about the strange mixture they were making. It was getting harder to lie to her, but Buffy couldn’t see any other way.

”And then how it turned green, that was so cool, though I’m not sure it should do that, and the smoke? Did you see the smoke, cos there was lots of smoke-”

”Huh? What are we talking about?” Buffy snapped out of her thoughts and interrupted the redhead’s rant.

”The spell!”

”Oh! Right! I knew that.”

Willow smiled kindly. ”Other things on your mind, huh?”

”Yeah.”

”Is this about Xander? Did he open his mouth again? Cos if he did I’m going to step on his toes. Hard. I know he’s not exactly Angel-friendly but he means well, Buffy. Most of the time.”

”No, Xander didn’t… I’m just…confused, you know? Everybody’s freaking out cos Angel’s... well… soulless, and me too! But they haven’t even met him yet, and everybody’s talking about de-inviting and resouling and killing, and…he didn’t kill me, Willow. What if…what if he’s like Spike?”

”Buffy…there is a reason why he was cursed in the first place. You read Giles’ books, didn’t you?” Willow saw the embarrassed look on her friend’s face and went on.”Okay so you didn’t, but I did. He’s bad news, believe me.”

”I know...it’s just…Spike doesn’t have a soul either and he’s…I know he’s a killer, and evil and all that, but around me he’s like a….a dog. He can look scary, you know with the teeth and the growling and stuff, and he can be very irritating, but he’s really soft if you pat him and…okay bad analogy…but do you get what I’m saying?”

”I…think so.”

”Good.”

”So does he really have a girlfriend?”

”Yup.”

”Hmm. But what about you guys?”

Buffy stopped and looked at her friend. ”What about what?”

”He was really sweet today in the library. And you know, scary. But only when he talked about Angel. And when he shouted.”

”He does that a lot, huh?”

Willow whimpered a ’yes’ but smiled at her friend.

”There is no Spike and I, okay? My boyfriend, or whatever he was, Angel happens to be a little more evil than usual, but that doesn’t mean that-”

”Sorry!”

”Apology accepted.”

”But Buffy, you didn’t even tell me that you were…you know?”

”What?”

”You know…You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”

”What, Will?” That innocent look on Buffy’s face really annoyed the redhead, especially since it was real and told her Buffy had no idea what she was talking about. Willow took a deep breath.

”That you were…you know-” Willow leaned in closer and whispered: ”Doing it?”

”We weren’t…! Okay once. But it wasn’t really planned. It just happened.”

”Happened?” Willow repeated. She didn’t believe that things just ’happened’. It was a big deal, and Buffy seemed too casual about it. Willow knew that her friend took sex seriously, it wasn’t just something that happened with the first guy that showed an interest in her.

”Happened.” Buffy repeated and continued walking.

”But how was it?”

”How was it?” Buffy exclaimed incredulously. Willow wanted to know about her having sex? Sometimes the shy redhead really surprised her. ”What, do you want details?”

”No! Sorry, that’s private, I just…”

”Weird. It was weird.” Willow frowned, and Buffy continued. ”Somehow I’d just expected more, like in the movies with the soft music and the candlelight, and everything would just be… beautiful. And that’s just silly, believe me, I know, especially since I was the one who started it, really started it. I was… all slutty. It was going way too fast. And now it feels like… this is what I get, you know? With Angelus. My fault.”

”Buffy, no…this is not…No!”

”Well, yeah. One big cosmic joke for Buffy. Someone up there is trying to punish me, really!”

Willow smiled softly at her friend.

”Do you regret it? If it wasn’t what made Angel go all…I mean, we don’t know if it’d triggered it, but…”

”No.” Buffy said with a stern expression, but she soon became unsure and looked down at the ground. ”Yes. A little bit? I don’t know.” She sighed. ”Things are just so messed up.”

Willow stopped, and Buffy realized they had reached the Rosenberg residence.

”It will work out, Buffy.”

”Yeah, I hope so.”

Buffy said goodbye to Willow and made sure that she got into her house safely. Buffy didn’t want to take any unnecessary chances, what with all the evil creatures around. She slowly made her way back towards her own house on Revello Drive.

Buffy half expected to see Angelus leaping out of the nearest bush and attacking her, but everything was still, only a stray cat ran across the road. But Buffy had her favorite stake in a firm grip in her hand, just in case.

As she reached her home she could see a figure leaning against a tree in her front yard. It was dark, but Buffy didn’t need lights to tell her who it was. She felt her body freeze and her heart beat faster. So this was it. She let out a shaky breath. She hadn’t expected to see him again so soon. Well, it didn’t matter. She could do this, she was the slayer. And he? He was…

Angelus.




A/N: I'm a bit nrevous about this one. Is it good? Am I getting sloppy? Please let me know. ~Nina