Chapter 22 – Sprouting Wings
Angel knelt
at the feet of his lovers, placing the sketch he’d drawn of them on the corner
of the pallet they slept on. The two
blondes were curled together. Buffy’s arm flung across Spike’s stomach while
his face was turned toward hers. The perfect portrait of fated beings reaching
out to each other even in slumber and the artist in him couldn’t ignore the
chance to capture their beauty.
His mind
shifted to the night before to the hug that had felt like a new beginning. On
tentative emotions they hadn’t spoken of anything unpleasant instead they had
worked together to get the makeshift bed made up. In the morning light Buffy
and he had both made love to Spike; pouring the emotions they couldn’t speak of
for each other onto the mate they both adored. His Childe: the connection that
held them together. Angel smiled at his new awareness of the love he had for
Spike. It was one of the few things he and Angelus agreed upon.
Angel’s
eyes flickered to the woman-child who was his mate. The only woman he had ever
chosen to stand beside him. Unable to resist her allure he edged closer to her side.
His hand splayed across her lower back, pushing the sheet lower on her bottom
even as he kissed the sensitive area between her shoulder blades. Buffy stirred
in her sleep but he brushed her hair away from her face and whispered to her,
“Don’t wake up; sleep and dream of happier times.”
“I love
you,” Buffy mumbled, never opening her eyes.
“I love you
too,” Angel whispered before kissing the corner of her mouth even as his fingers
traced the edge of Spike’s cheekbone. Satisfied that his mates were for the
moment well he stood.
They had
taught him what love was. They had shown him how to express it and they made
him feel safe enough to lose himself in its power. They were lessons that had
humbled him in its glory and struck terror in the heart of his demon. Now in
his struggle to maintain the good within him he wanted to be certain his mates
were strong enough to be independent of him. It was the greatest gift that he
could give to them. He could only hope that the love between would find a way
to prevail and they would still be together at the end of this trial.
Buffy was
already changing. He had seen it in her last night when she had stood up to
him. An action that he’d both cheered and mourned. His little girl was growing
up. He knew it was for the best if she was to survive what was to come. It
would be the only way she would be able to destroy him if Angelus ever became
the dominant force within him.
Angel could
never tell her that he allowed his darker side almost free reign around her. It
hurt him to watch her suffer but she needed to learn. In the end when it was all lying in tattered
ruins the only thing Buffy would have to rely on would be herself. She needed
to find that strength that lay within her very essence before it became
necessary. It was just that the demon and the man had different avenues to
getting her there. Discipline and obedience were two things she needed to learn
but they wanted it in different degrees for different reasons.
Angelus
wanted Buffy to be submissive to him. He was working against what Angel wanted
by wanting to force the Slayer to her knees before him. It was the only way the
demon could accept a Slayer into his life. For her to be broken to his every
whim and Angel would never allow that. He would rather lay down his own life
before Buffy was nothing more than another Drusilla.
Angel was
fighting to make Buffy more powerful than she had ever been. The discipline
that would make her able to react beyond her emotions even in a fight that was
personal. He knew that even against Glory her hunger for victory had to be
stronger than her need to protect Dawn. His desire for her to be obedient was
so that she would remember his voice telling her how to react. He drove her
harder than she ever had been before so that the moves would be ingrained in
her. There could be no room for weakness.
And now
that Buffy was on her way it was time to free Spike.
The office
door was closed softly behind him as Angel stepped into the hallway. He was
supposed to meet a doctor that he’d been told could remove Spike’s chip. It
would give his Childe the choices to truly be what he wanted. He wouldn’t have
to fear the very humans that should quake in his presence. Spike would never again
feel that he had to stay with Buffy and his Sire because he couldn’t protect
himself. Finally he would know he was truly loved when neither of his mates
rejected him because he didn’t have a leash anymore. True power would be
Spike’s again restoring him to the status he once held.
All of
Angel’s plans were falling into place giving him a sense of peace. If his worst
fears came true and he was unable to stay with his mates he would know that
they were able to survive without him. They would be stronger than they had
ever been and most importantly they would be loved.
His fingers
ran across the glass of his office before he left. It was getting harder
everyday to stay in control of the evil that threatened him. He laughed at the
thought that it would be his own black heart that would destroy his life. Once
he would have relished the yearning for blood and mayhem. Now it was nothing
but a nightmare he couldn’t wake from.
“Angel?”
Wesley said, from the open doorway of the office he’d stayed in. “Are you all
right?”
“I’m fine,”
Angel replied, turning toward the Watcher. He approached the other man eyeing
him with curiosity. “So, you want to work for me?”
“It wasn’t
exactly my intention when I came to
“You don’t
work for the Council anymore?”
There was a
faltering in Wesley’s stance as the question hit a sensitive spot but Angel
only waited patiently for the answer. After the fiasco of the fight against the
Mayor and Faith it would be ludicrous for the Council to retain such a poor
excuse of a Watcher. Yet Wesley was right. He did have the training and
expertise that they needed here in
“No,”
Wesley responded. His eyes lingered on the ground but somehow he found his
backbone as he straightened and met Angel’s gaze. “Actually they fired me for
my inability to control my charges and for failing to destroy you.”
“Giles
couldn’t control Buffy and he stopped trying after her eighteenth birthday,”
Angel said. “And I don’t think any human
could control Faith.”
“Yes, I
suspect you are quite right,” Wesley said, chuckling. “As much as they proclaim
their differences they are similar in many ways. They are both determined to do
things their way.” He paused as if he had finally realized the meaning of
Angel’s words. “Any human? Buffy said that Faith was here but that she was
turning herself in.”
“She will
but we are going to arrange for her to get out,” Angel said. “She will be
working with us. There will be a ritual performed to tie her to me…”
“Theagenenes
Binding?” Wesley asked. “Faith has agreed to such a thing?”
“It was
either be bound to me by blood or going to prison. She chose the lesser of her
two evils.”
“And you,
Angel?” Wesley asked, stepping back. “Have you chosen wisely? Are you going to
be able to resist the temptation of having her under your control? Will
Angelus?”
The Watcher
had changed in his absence after all. A small degree of respect began to grow
for Wesley having the courage to question him. It was unfortunate that he
questioned Angel on a subject that only riled his anger. Faith was a temptation
to him. With her by his side he could quickly control the demonic world again.
The darkness in her would rival even Darla and she would be a prize for any
vampire to claim as a mate. The thought of her unbridled passion given to him
willingly sent a bolt of sexual thrill through him that Angel quickly denied.
“She isn’t
a temptation,” Angel replied, following Wesley. “I can handle it. Are you going
to be able to handle working with her and with Spike?”
“Changing
the subject isn’t going to make your attraction for the girl go away,” Wesley said,
refusing to back down. “She isn’t going to let it go. Faith has always pushed
the boundaries set upon her. She will undoubtedly push you to give in as long
as she can sense your weakness for her.”
“Soon there
will be no weakness,” Angel said.
“How is
Buffy dealing with having to work with Faith?” Wesley asked.
“She
doesn’t know yet.”
“Buffy
isn’t going to just accept this. She was quite upset last night talking about
finding the two of you together.”
“It will be
fine,” Angel answered. He started down the hallway gesturing the other man to
follow him. He needed to hurry to his meeting but he didn’t want to leave this
conversation unfinished. “Faith understands that she is to answer to Buffy.”
Wesley
laughed. “Do you really think that just because you say something that both
Slayers will listen to you? Neither is just going to accept this. Not after
their past. They will have to establish their own boundaries.”
“The
boundaries have been set,” Angel answered, leading the way into the tunnels.
“Buffy put Faith in a coma. It’s been established who is the stronger of the
two.”
“You sound
awfully arrogant,” Wesley said. “If Faith is still Faith then she will feel the
need to challenge that win. You know that.”
“Why would
she? If she beat Buffy then she would still have to contend with me and Spike
as challengers.”
“You and
Spike?” Wesley said, chuckling as they sloshed through the water that covered
the bottom of the sewer. “You want her and Spike is unable to fight against
her.”
“Not for
long,” Angel said, turning to watch the expression on Wesley’s face when he
heard the news. “That’s where we’re going now. There’s a doctor that can remove
Spike’s chip.”
If he
wasn’t so protective of his mate Angel would have enjoyed the surprise and fear
that flooded the Wesley’s face. He would have no one in their ranks that
wouldn’t cooperate with or work for Spike in his
“Buffy
trusts him and so far her instincts have proven correct,” Wesley said
quietly. “If he is truly mated to the
two of you then I see no reason not to trust him also.”
“Good,”
Angel said, nodding approval at Wesley before turning and continuing to their
destination. “I’m glad that you are seeing it our way.”
It was only
a matter of time before everything was set.
