GINGERBREAD INTERLUDE: DARKENING OF THE LIGHT

Author's Notes:

This takes place during and after the season three episode known as "Gingerbread". The first scene takes place before school the morning of the locker raid.

Story Note:

This story assumes that Angel has finally left the mansion and moved back into his apartment. I know that as of "Zeppo" he's still at the mansionbut allow me some creative license, k?

Song Notes:

Music belongs to Four Star Mary, Verve Pipe, Louie Says, the Pretenders, the Eagles and Kim Richey. The title takes itself from the Concrete Blonde CD.."Bloodletting"

Disclaimer:

I do not own the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and that'd be cool. In any case, Joss is da man. I'm just a lowly writer looking for a happy. Feel free to supply it.

"Let the sun fall down all around you
Let the night surround you
In a blanket of starlight"

"This could be heaven or this could be hell"

She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so bad. And she didn't really want to. Thinking about anything, even how to spell her own name hurt. Moving a balled fist up to her eyes, she rubbed tiredly and tried to curl into the pillows.

"You look like crap," Buffy Summers said from the doorway, a hint of amusement in her tone and a bit of a smile lifting her upper lip. She took a step into the room and moved towards the bed. "You caught it didn't you?"

Faith grunted loudly. Turning to glare at her fellow Slayer, she briefly considered flipping her off but then decided that it was too much effort. "This is your fault. I'm gonna kick your ass for this when I'm better."

"I didn't give this to you," Buffy chuckled. "Xand did. So you can kick his ass."

"My pleasure," Faith muttered before sighing and spinning onto her back so that she could look up at Buffy. Settling her head against the oversized pillows, she tried to smile at the blonde but even that looked painfully sickly. "Whadaya want?"

Buffy laughed again. This was certainly new. She doubted that she'd be presented with many opportunities to see her fellow Slayer looking so pathetic. It was more than a little amusing. "I wanted to see how you were. Mom said that when she came by to check on you last night you were doing the hurling thing on an epic scale."

Faith groaned, "And there's a memory I want to savour." Shaking her head dramatically she then decided to change the subject. She hated being sick. She never got sick. "So..how is your mom? She seemed kinda..you know..upset last night."

"Yeah, those kids deaths really threw her for a loop," Buffy replied, sitting down on the bed. She set a bag on the counter. "Chicken soup. You can warm it up later."

"Thanks," Faith said, smiling slightly. "So what are we doing to find the bastards who did this?"

Buffy chuckled but there was a hint of sadness in it. "We're not doing anything. I am. You need to take care of yourself and get better.."

"Faith, I'm serious. I was sick last year and I ended up in the hospital. Sure I had some help along the way.." her voice trailed off as her mind clicked over the mental images that spelled out the dramataic events that had led up to her being rushed to the Emergency Room. "But the long and short..or wide and skinny.." she stopped as if considering her words. Then she shrugged. 'My point.."

"I was hoping you'd get there eventually," Faith said dryly before turning her head to the side and coughing loudly into her fist.

Buffy threw her a dirty look. "My point is that you're only gonna do more harm if you rush this thing. Get better..then kick some ass."

Buffy grinned, "Understatement." Then reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a bottle of red coloured NyQuil and a can of Mountain Dew. "Take this..it'll help you knock out."

Faith snorted derisively, "Either that or drug me to a point where I'll start singing songs from the Wizard of Oz." Buffy lifted her eyebrow curiously. Faith waved her off. "This stuff tastes like dog shit."

Buffy laughed,"I don't wanna know. Really..I don't. In any case..that's what's the Dewage is for. Maximum chase-age."

"I did," Buffy said with a nod as she stood up. "Now I gotta gets to school. Must attempt to do the evil known as book learning."

"Yep," Buffy grinned. Then she shook her head. "Nah..this Slayer is in full research mode.." her eyebrows kniting together, she reconsidered her words. "Or something like that." Faith just chuckled. Moving towards the door, Buffy waved. "Bye, I'll stop by tonight. Do the sleep thing."

"Yeah," Faith murmured, her eyes locked on the door until it shut. Then with a reluctant if not resigned sigh, she turned towards the NyQuil. Pouring a cap full, she popped the tab on the Mountain Dew. After taking a deep breath, she knocked back the plastic shot cup of red fluid and then quickly chased it with the soda. Still, it only helped a little and she fought back the urge to gag. "Oh this blows," Faith muttered, dropping her head into her pillows. "That little bastard is so going to die."

"Sheep's blood," Willy announced as he set the cooler down on the counter. He glanced back at the dark haired vampire and waited for word that the product was acceptable. "Fresh," he threw in.

"I bet," Angel muttered dryly, opening the blue and white cooler and glancing in. Finally he nodded, "Good enough." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small handful of bills and began to count them off. "So..hear anything interesting in regards to the Slayer?"

"Which Slayer?" Willy asked nervously, quickly grabbing at the bills. Whereas he and the Slayer had built something of a grudging work relationship, Angel still hadn't forgiven him for her earlier betrayal.

"Buffy," Angel growled, moving closer to Willy. "Heard anything that could affect Buffy.."

"You mean like Giles losing all of his reference books?" a voice from behind Angel said. The vampire spun quickly and blinked. Standing in front of him were two of the self-named Slayerettes, Xander Harris and the werewolf known as Oz.

"Wicked weird raid at the school," Oz said calmly, his eyes lazily glancing around the bar.

"Yeah, they went into everyone's lockers and then they took all of Giles' books. Apparently they didn't realize that we're all on the FUBAR side of the oreo without them," Xander explained as he anxiously shifted from foot to foot.

"Which is why you're here," Willy murmured, suddenly wishing that he'd decided to take the night off.

"He's good," Oz said, his voice still calm and relaxed. And yet his eyes had now taken on a decidely piercing quality to them.

"I bet," Angel replied dryly. "I'll get back to you in a minute." Turning to Xander and Oz, he asked softly, "What's up?"

"Two kids got killed over by the park two nights ago. Little kids. Buffy's mom found them. She joined Buffy on patrol one night," Xander said, his eyes locked on Angel's.

"Oh no.." Angel whispered. He could only imagine how hard Joyce was taking this. She'd just recently been allowed into Buffy's more than slightly confusing and dangerous life.

"It gets worse. Last night there was a vigil down at City Hall. Mrs. Summers was..and I wasn't there but Buff called me last night and told me about it..sounded like a lot of non-fun, you know?"

"Hang a heartbeat Dead Boy," Xander snapped back. Then he sighed. "She started yammering on about witches and Slayers and stuff like that."

"That must have made Giles ecstatic," Angel muttered before dropping onto the stool. "This isn't good. How's Buffy taking all of this?"

Angel whistled silently. Ouch. Taking out and killing a demon bad guy was one thing. They were unnatural. Creatures of the dark that were supposed to stay under the bed and in the closet. But a human killer..someone who had a soul and feelings..that was a different kind of darkness altogether and not one that Buffy was very good at dealing with. Despite the fact that she was a trained warrior, she was still only a young girl going through life and discovering the utter unfairness of it.

"That's a start," Angel said with a small smirk. Turning to Xander and Oz he said, "I trust you can take care of that."

"I trust you're right," Xander replied dryly. Glancing over at Oz, he made a motion towards the door. Oz nodded and followed, tipping his head in thanks to Angel. As soon as they were gone, Angel turned back to Willy.

He moved through his apartment swiftly, stopping only to grab up small glass bottles from the counter and plastic bags from the pantry. Glancing behind him, he saw the disgusted look that Cordelia Chase was giving him. Right now it hardly mattered. Buffy was in terrible danger and time was very much of the essense. Pulling her by the arm, he led her out the door and to the car. Just moments after he's pulled out of his driveway, he hit himself in the forehead. Then with a shake of his head, he turned to his partner in crime.

"I thought that was a credit card?" Giles murmured. Then he shook his head, "Nevermind, let me have it."

She scowled at him, briefly considering reminding him how expensive airtime was. Then she shrugged and reached into her purse. She fished it out quickly and handed it to him. He gave it back.

She nodded and hit the keys, each giving a soft squeal as it was depressed. She pressed her ear to it and listened for seven rings and then she shook her head. "Nada. She's out partying. Lucky her."

"Quite. Call Angel's apartment." Cordelia quickly complied and was about to lift the phone to her ear when she saw the look Giles was throwing at her. "What? Okay, so he's Buffy's and a demon..he's also an uber-hottie. I saw his number in Buffy's book..I remembered."

"Ah," Giles replied, looking away quickly and shaking his head. Of all of the people to have saved his life. Ah well..never look a gift horse in the mouth. "Well?"

"Give it to me," Giles said quickly, maybe a tad harsher than he needed to. But it got the job done. Without another word, she handed the cell to him. "Angel, it's Giles."

"Yes, I know." Angel replied quietly, more than a little confused. He was very much aware of the fact that Buffy's Watcher wanted nothing to do with him. And rightfully so.

"There's a lot of trouble down at City Hall. I can't explain it all right now but Buffy is in extreme danger..I think we have that under reasonable control. I need you to help Faith."

"Help Faith?" Angel repeated. It was no secret that he and the dark haired Slayer had gotten off to a less than friendly start.

"She's been quite ill for the last couple of days. My fear is that if the lynch mob that went after Buffy goes after her..well.."

"She won't be able to handle it,"Angel finished for him. He wanted to question why Giles would trust him with something as important as the Slayer but now was not the time or place. "Okay..where do I go?"

"A motel on 5th and Carson. I think it's 1120 or something like that. Large neon signs but you'll know when you see it if I'm right. They'll be a large crowd there armed with torches and other weapons. They'll be humans."

"Right. And Angel, they used chloroform on Buffy.." he'd barely gotten the words out of his mouth before he thought he heard a soft growl from the other side of the line. Clearing his throat, he continued, "They might try to do the same to her. Bring some smelling salts if you have any about."

"Good." There was a pause and then a grudging, "Thank you." And with that he hung up the phone. Taking a moment to compose himself, he turned towards Cordelia and pointed to the bags and bottles of herbs in her hands. "I need you to mix something for me. It's very important. In fact Buffy's life may depend on it."

The first thing he saw as he ran around the corner, his overcoat flapping in the softly drifting air was the fire in the air. Only it wasn't soaring to the heavens. It was in the hands of an angry mob and that was so much worst. Pulling up short of the walkway to the motel, he watched as several young men pushed their ways into the room. There was a series of screams, the sound of glass shattering and one of the men came spinning out through the door. She was fighting back. Good for her.

And then it went silent. Which he took as his cue. Very much aware of the fact that fire could and would kill him, he pushed his way through the mob, grabbing one of the torches as he moved. Slamming it to the ground, he distinguished it and then turned and hit it against the stomach of one of the older men that was coming at him. Using it as a club, he forced his way into the hotel room.

"Faith?" he called out, lifting a boy who looked about seventeen into the air. He hurled him through the doorway and into about three other people who were standing closely around the door. Looking around desperately, his eyes finally fell across a huddle of people by the bed. He could see a pair of flannel clad legs emerging from within the tightly packed group of people.

"Is she out?" one of them asked, lifting his hand away. Angel saw a white cloth in his hand. Clenching his teeth, he growled. They had done this to Buffy. Reaching forward, he grabbed the back of the shirt of the man with the cloth. Pulling him up, he barred his teeth and then threw the man into the wall. The others around him scattered to regroup.

"Faith?" he queried, leaning over the dark haired Slayer. Her eyes were still slightly open but she looked completely dazed and very close to unconsiousness. As her eyelids began to dropp downwards, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass vial of smelling salts. Breaking open the top, he waved them beneath her nose. "Come on," he urged. "Wake up. Could really use your help saving your life."

Looking up, he growled at the group that was starting to move towards them. "Now would be nice."

She moaned softly, her hand quickly going to her temple. Groaning, she tried to sit up but was immediately hit by a wave of nausea."I think I'm gonna hurl," she whimpered, closing her eyes against the intensity of the pounding of her head. One of the unpleasant after-affects of Chloroform. Add that to the fact that he could tell just by her physical appearence that she was sick as a dog..and well..this Slayer was not loving life.

"Just make sure you do it that way," Angel instructed, pointing at the angry mob that was getting closer. "Do you think you can run?"

She looked at him with doubt in her eyes and then something sparked and she arrogantly replied, "Of course. Totally five by five." Then she paused. "Uh, help me up."

He chuckled low in his throat and then reached out and hauled her to her feet. "Window," he snapped, moving them both towards it. On the way there, Faith grabbed a laundry basket full of dirty clothes and hurled it at the front men of the mob. She heard Angel smash his fist through the window and then he yelled for her to hurry up. She never hesistated even though her stomach was rolling.

They jumped through the window quickly, he landing on his feet and she in a roll. She stayed huddled on the ground for a moment longer than was neccesary. She heard Angel yell her name and then he pulled her up and holding er elbow began to run down the alley. All she could think was that this was terribly familiar. She'd done this not long ago with Buffy.

Spinning out of his hold, sweat pouring down her cheeks, as much from exhaustion as from her sickness, she turned to glare at the angry mob that was moving towards them. They were humans. That meant that she could kick their asses but they had to survive. Well okay; as long as the rules were established up front.

Angel watched as the Slayer that was not much bigger than the girl he loved pushed herself to her full height. Eyes narrowing dangerously, Faith stared down the seventeen year old boy standing at the front of the mob. "Scott," she growled, advancing slowly. "I was hoping I'd get a chance to really kick your ass."

The boy who had dated Buffy for a brief spell earlier in the year smirked. His eyes looked crazed as he began to move towards them. "Everyone knows that you consort with the devil."

Faith turned to Angel whose strong body was coiled tightly, tensed for a fight. "Tell me he's not for real."

"He is," Angel replied tersely. "A bunch of these guys have Buffy. I don't know exactly what's going on but they're not thinking straight."

"That's new," he observed wryly, not at all amused. She just shrugged. "Look, Giles is working on something.."

"Don't imagine you know what or when.." Faith asked, rubbing her hands together. He shook his head. "Didn't think so." She sighed dramatically and then coughed. "So what..we just play house with the mean bad men with sticks until Tweed Boy stops the madness. Sounds like a killer time." Then she tossed a dry look at him. "No pun intended."

Faith shook her head in disbelief. "I'm a bad girl now? Oh this blows.." Reaching back, she swung her arm into the solid guy of one of the oncoming males. He was an older man, probably a banker or something like that. Now he was down on the ground. He'd probably have indigestion for awhile but he'd be fine. Eventually.

"She must be burned," Scott ordered, his voice low and calm. He seemed so calculated, so cold. She already knew that the guy was a sleaze for what he'd done to Buffy but this was just massive weirdness. "Those who converse with the Dark One must be purged by the fire."

"Oh fuck off," Faith grunted as she kicked away a young looking guy in a football jersey. Probably a student at the high school. Reaching back, she delivered a brutal hit to the kids' jaw and sent him spinning to the ground. A glance over her shoulder showed that Angel was faring about the same. Moving closer to him, she put her back up against his. "Um, aside from allowing me to vent some rage..do we have a plan?"

He threw her a dirty look. "You have a better idea..besides massive violence." She thought about it for a moment and then shrugged.

"So this is ironic..me and you playing Street Fighter together after I whooped your ass like a punk in the school yard.."

"And thank you so much for reminding me." he muttered as he threw a man into the air.

"The bad girl must die like the others. By the fire," Scott yelled. Someone behind him repeated the part about the fire and then they all started chanting it.

"Okay, now I'm wicked weirded. Can we bail please?" Faith queried, looking around nervously. There was a time to fight and a time to get the hell away. They wanted to burn her and they would go through Angel if they had to. And well that would be a bad thing even if she wasn't exactly fond of the vampire. Add to that the fact that hurlage was imminent and well..it was not shaping up to be a great day.

"That is probably a really good idea," Angel said with a growl as he began to back away from the torches that were coming closer. "Now would be nice."

Faith nodded her consent and then said, "Wait a sec..just a personal thing..if you understood who this is..you'd want a piece of him too.." Moving across the cement quickly, she reached for the front of Scott's shirt, lifted the howling boy into the air and then slammed him against the wall. He sagged to the ground in a heap, stunned but otherwise alright. Leaning down she whispered, "I'm not terribly fond of being called bad. Especially from a stupid needle-dick fuck like you. Kinda pisses me off." Then moving back to her feet, she smiled at Angel. "Let's get gone."

"Yeah," Angel replied hurriedly. He grabbed her arm and yanked her down the alley, the two of them moving at speeds that were unthinkable. "My apartment," Angel gasped, indicating a stone stairway.

She rolled her eyes,"There's a new pick-up line." He tossed her a dirty look which she was quick to ignore. Once they were inside the structure, he slammed the door behind them and then moved towards his actual apartment. She just stayed in the hallway, hands on her knees, gasping for breath and begging for her stomach to stop rolling.

Angel emerged from his apartment a few minutes later with a glass of water, "Drink this." He handed it to her and then moved over to the window and lifting the blinds, he glanced out into the street. "They're moving past. As soon as they do, we need to find a way to get to City Hall. Quickly. Buffy's in trouble."

He didn't even reply, just took the glass from her when she was done and placed it next to the door. "Are you alright?"

"Five by five," she muttered. And then her eyes rolled back and she swayed back, nearly losing her balance. Angel moved quickly and placed a hand flat on her back to steady her.

"Oh God.." she whimpered, a hand going to her gut just before she doubled over. A moment later she looked up at him with a pained expression on her face. "Sorry about the shoes."

Frowning he glanced down at his leather boots that were now ruined,"That's okay. No problem,didn't really like these anyways."

She could feel the fire licking against her skin, searing it away from her bone. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, suffocating her. She began to gasp for air desperately, panic overtaking her. It was then that she realized that this was how she was going to die. The people that she had given up any chance of a normal life to protect were now going to kill her for it.

And this time Giles and Cordelia wouldn't be coming to the rescue. Because that was the dream and this was reality. It must have been a delusion brought on by the smoke that was now winding it's way through her system, slowing killing her.

A glance over at Willow sent tremors of horror rushing through her. The red- haired girl, her best friend was already gone. Head bent and body slack, Willow Rosenberg was dead. "Will?" Buffy cried out, tears rushing down her face. She looked up at the crowd and into the blank stares of the adults surrounding her. "Mom, please.." she begged. It was useless. Joyce Summers just shook her head.

"The fire will cleanse you." Joyce whispered as she took a step towards her daughter, a torch in her hands.

"Mom..." Buffy cried, the tears turning into a flood as the heat intensified. So this was it. This was how it was going to end. No goodbyes to the people she loved. No soft kisses to guide her through the darkness. No more jokes from the Xand-man to make the pain seem less.

"Mom, please.." she begged again, trying to reach her hand up. Even she knew that it was a futile motion. She was going to die.

She began to thrash violently as the fire crept along her spine. Her vision blurred with tears, she attempted to create the mental image of the one person she needed to see before she died.

"I'm right here, honey." A soft voice replied. It was then accompanied by a rough shake. Eyes ripping open, she looked up and into the worried visage of her ex-boyfriend once lover.

"Yeah," he smiled, his voice soft and compassionate. He rested a hand against her cheek and began to gently stroke the soft skin with the tips of his fingers. "Hey..hey..it's okay..it was just a dream. You're okay.."

"I..I..was bur..burning," Buffy stammered as she rubbed her fist against her eyes, attempting to forecefully remove the tears that were still leaking out.

"No," he assured her, "You weren't. You're alright. Everyone is alright. No one was hurt permanently."

I talked to Giles about an hour ago..they released Willow from the hospital..there was no permanent smoke damage. She's fine."

"Also fine. She's at home sleeping." Angel replied, reaching out to brush a lock of blonde hair away from her sweaty forehead. "Here, sit up."

Nodding slightly, she allowed him to move her into a sitting position so that she was leaning against his cotton clad chest. Glancing down at him, she frowned slightly when she noticed the shoes he was wearing. Leather loafers hardly went with black jeans. "Where are your boots?"

"Casualty of war," he muttered dryly as her pulled her back against him and began to very gently rub her back. He shook his head. "You feeling any better?"

"A little," she replied. "I'm awake." Then she sighed deeply. "God, Angel..if I'm having dreams like this..I can only imagine what mom is going through.."

"It'll be okay honey..your mom is a tough woman. She's no pushover. And with your help she can handle this. Just help her realize that it wasn't her fault."

"I know," he replied gently as he rested his chin on her head. Silence swept around them, filling the air and calming it. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to breathe in her soft scent. He wanted more but for right now, this was enough. More than he deserved.

He blinked and then very gently turned the blonde Slayer so that she was facing him. "Let me help."

She looked down at her hands and for a moment, she couldn't find the words. It wasn't until he reached out and took her hands in his and made her look at him that she finally found the strength to murmur,"I never realized that they could die too."

"Willow, Xander, Giles, Oz..even Cordelia. Faith is a Slayer like me..she can handle this but the others? They've all put their lives on the line for me countless times. God, Angel..I keep taking them for granted.."

"Yes!" Buffy replied forcefully. "Willow almost died tonight. And if I had never come into her life..she wouldn't have." She held up a hand to stop his words of protest. "Three years ago, she was a different person. The worst trouble she would have gotten into was something to do with hacking. She didn't even know that witches were real. Now she is one. Because of me. Because I brought that into her life."

Reaching across he grabbed her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him, "But she didn't die tonight. And they all made their own choices, Buffy. You never forced her down that path and you can't hold yourself responsible."

"No buts..Buffy..life happens. It takes turns and it does things no one can predict. Not you. Not me. Not even Giles. And you can always look back and say what if but that doesn't matter anymore..all you can do is go on...fight on." Leaning forward he brushed a kiss lightly against her forehead. "You gave me the strength to do that. They give you the strength to do that.."

"I know," Angel replied with a soft smile. "But honey..just like they give you the strength..you give them it. They need you. You can't forget that.."

"That's Buffy logic," Angel muttered. Then he sighed. "Fine, believe that but you know what..they do know you and you've got to accept that they are as much a part of your life as you are of theirs. You're a team. They made the decision to be part of your world and it's not really your right to tell them they are wrong for that decision, okay?"

She blinked at looked up at the tall dark haired vampire. She loved this man. More than was right. More than was fair. And all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and let him protect her from the horrible darkness that always seemed to surround her. But the thing about Angel was..sometimes she didn't even need his arms to be comforted by him. Such was the case now. As much as she wanted to fight his words, she knew he was right. "Okay," she whispered, leaning against him, a tear tracing down her cheek.

He gently brushed it away. "Okay." He smiled lightly and then proceeded to drop her back to her mattress. Leaning over her, he kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep, alright. You've had a helluva day. You're worn down."

"Yeah," she replied, accepting his words as truth even though the dark shadows of doubt continued to swirl. And probably always would.

"Goodnight," he murmured before smiling adoringly at her. He glanced at her one final time and then stepped out the window and into the night. She watched the window for a moment and then dropped her head back to her pillow. Sighing deeply, she curled herself into a semi-ball and gazed off over at the wall. Sleep would come soon enough and the dreams would follow. They always did. They would be full of horror and heartache. Failure and pain. But in the end all they were were dreams. They couldn't hurt her if she didn't let them.

And for tonight at the very least, the Slayer had no intention of allowing them to.