The Highlander Factor

It was, Spike reflected as he shook the blood from his eyes, one of the best-matched encounters they'd ever had. With the entire building to use he was able to utilise his greater speed and agility, dodging in to plant a blow only when it was relatively safe to do so. When Angel had finally cornered him on the roof, the older vampire's knowledge of the hotel layout being vastly superior, he had baited his Sire into making mistakes and had managed to escape down the fire escape and back inside at a lower level.

That was not going to be an option much longer, the sun was well up and he'd just been lucky that the shadows had allowed him to use that route. The sewers would soon be the only safe way out, and he was starting to tire, the past week or so catching up with him physically. A fast exit was probably his best option, he could always return at a later date when Angelus...no, Angel, although frankly it was difficult to tell at the moment, had calmed down.

The sewers then, downstairs with enough time to evade the others and get clear. To that end he staged a strategic withdrawal, or to put in other terms, he ran, trusting a sudden burst of speed would put enough distance between them. It was a good plan and would have worked if the pain hadn't hit the moment he reached the balcony, driving him to his knees with its sudden intensity and immediately throwing him into that dream world he had learned to associate with it.

Through his fugue Spike registered the other vampire join him and he tried to crawl away towards the stairs. With a roar Angel was on him, gingging him to his feet and with one punch drove him back through the rails and flying across the lobby to land in a bloody heap against the reception desk.
gel gel followed, eschewing the stairs in favour of the quicker leap to the floor, rolling and regaining his feet immediately. As he went to finish with the killing blow that would send his Childe to hell, he found his way impeded by a Slayer with a stake and a bad attitude.

"Hey, he's out for the count. You wanna do any more damage; you'll have to come through me."

"Actually he's not." Wesley was knelt next to Spike watching as the vampire twitched and mumbled incoherently. "I think he's having one of those flashbacks."

As the anger drained out of him as suddenly as it had risen, Angel's human face returned and he staggered slightly, the after effects of the battle rushing through him. Reassured that no further damage was about to occur, Faith stood aside and allowed him to join Wesley on the floor. He leaned in closer using his superior hearing to pick up what Spike was muttering, something about vampires - a hunting pack, two females and one male. Could he be remembering the times he ran with Darla and Dru? It seemed unlikely, there were no names involved, and it sounded more as if he was trying to warn the victim than encourage the vampires.

"It's not a flashback; it's a vision."

Five sets of eyes swivelled towards the stairs where Cordelia was standing, face reddened from tears and her arms wrapped defensively around her body. She came over, studiously avoiding Angel's eyes and stopped a few paces away staring down at the figure on the floor.

"The visions? How...?" Wesley's gaze flicked between her and the still shaking vampire.

"It would explain everything, well mostly everything. I must have given him the visions when I was trying to remove his soul and now he has both, the visions and his soul."

They all looked stunned by the revelation and Wesley took the opportunity to add to it. "This might be a bad time but..." he took a deep breath, "I called the warlock that sold us the powder, to try and find out why you glowed blue, Cordelia, when it was thrown at Angel. He told me, well there's no easy way of saying this. He said that the whole soul would react, so if two people glowed then somehow they were sharing a soul."

If the previous information stunned them, this wiped them all out completely. As the others gaped, open-mouthed, Angel sat back with a thump against the desk. He was sharing a soul with Cordelia? It didn't feel any different, not really. Well maybe, a little. His hold over Angelus was just as secure, but the demon's thoughts seemed closer to the surface than he remembered, something he had put down to his emotional turmoil. Then there was the whole episode with Spike, would he have done that before, succumbed to the temptation, probably not. He would have been too worried that his soul would have been forfeit, and what did that mean?

A loud groan drew their collective attention back to the vampire that was coming round from his vision, and Wesley helped the now human featured demon to sit up leaning against the desk alongside Angel, his eyes still unfocussed and his face strained.

As his vision cleared, in both senses of the word, Spike could see shocked curious faces surrounding him and he frowned.

"What? Can't a bloke have a splitting headache in private now?" Maybe it was the chip malfunctioning that was causing the effect; nothing else made any sense.

"You had a vision."

"Vision? No. Cordelia's the one who has visions, not me. Someone's yanking your chain, mate."

"It was a vision, Spike. You saw someone in danger, some demon or vampire chasing them; you could feel their fear, hear and smell them as they ran." Cordelia paused as recognition flooded Spike's face. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yeah. Umm...one human, three vampires. Same as I saw the other night. Same s, ds, different human. But there's not much time - they have her trapped."

"Did you recognise where they were?" Gunn was already moving, pulling on his jacket and finding his keys. This he understood. Vision equalled kicking ass, no matter who passed on the information. "Angel? You coming with? Three shouldn't be too hard."

"They're a hunting pack. Angelus...Angel, like we used to be. Don't underestimate them, they're not fledges."

"Where?" The role of champion overrode every other concern and Angel was on his feet, catching his coat as Gunn threw it over and checking the pockets for stakes.

Spike was still a little disorientated and it took him a couple of moments to identify what he'd seen. "Umm...they're in a warehouse, near where I - Marcus..."

"I know it." Angel shot him a tight smile then turned to Gunn. "Let's go, I'll give you directions while you drive."

*~*~*~*~*~*

They'd put him in the off ost ostensibly to sleep off the headache but he suspected, more likely because none of the humans really felt comfortable around him. He could hear them speaking and, if he closed his eyes and concentrated, could make out enough to understand what was being said.

"Would that explain why he attacked you?"

"I believe so. Think about it, Cordelia, he was in the midst of a vision and starving, the two things probably merged in his head. Unable to differentiate between them and driven by bloodlust he attacked. Simple and not all together surprising."

"Is he gonna do it again. I mean, Cordy used to have visions a lot. If he's going to attack us every time he has one, then I'm not sure I want to be around when he does."

"She's right. What do you reckon, Wes? Should we be worried here?"

"No, I don't think we have any cause for concern, he certainly didn't try to attack today. I believe that hunger was the motivating factor behind the attackher her than the vision."

The Watcher was probably right, Spike surmised. He didn't recall the attack in detail, just the vision, and the hunger, and then the blood. God it had tasted good, so hot and sweet in his mouth. He would have to make sure he fed well for the next few days or he would be tempted to have another nibble, Wesley was a surprisingly nummy treat.

"And he's a demon, right. So his head isn't going to explode nythnything?" Fred seemed to be accepting the change in roles fairly well; maybe her fear of him would fade, given enough time.

Spike heard a gentle laugh from Wesley. "No, Fred. His head won't explode, though I don't think he's dealing with them as well as Doyle did. Do you remember, Cordelia?"

"He had headaches, really bad ones, like migraine bad, but they didn't knock him out like they do Spike. He's reacting like I was. Hey, could it be the chip? Maybe his brain's way too fried already."

"It's possible I suppose. From what little I know" Th" There was a sigh. "Anything's possible. I'll just have to research the matter and try to decide from there."

"Anyway, enough about the no-longer-bleached moron. Tell us about Angel? What does the warlock mean that we share a soul now?"

"That's all he said that the entire soul would glow so if two people were glowing then they were sharing it. As to what it means...I couldn't even hazard a guess."

"I bet I could." Fred's typically tremulous tones took on a more definite edge. "A soul is energy right. And Cordy, you were trying to force that energy into Angel's body, to givm thm the soul you thought you had taken from Spike. But that bit didn't work, what you both felt then was the visions not a soul. Anyway, you're pushing like crazy and there's only one soul in you, so your soul got torn apart and spread out between you, like nuclear fission but on a soul-ular level."

There was silence as the group digested Fred's haphazard explanation. It did make perfect sense, in a strange cockeyed way.

"Right. Okay. Angel and I are sharing the same soul, we got that already, but what does it mean?" There was a plaintive note in Cordy's voice.

"I would suggest it means that you are bound to each other in some way. Probably until one of you dies, then the soul will recombine in the survivor. Wouldn't you agree, Fred?"

"Oh, absolutely. The two halves would have an undeniable attraction, they would snap back together in a heartbeat."

"There's already an 'undeniable attraction' guys, but so not going to happen with mister I'm-not-a-eunuch. And what's with that? He can boink his own family without losing his soul, but not me...or Buffy. That's some screwed up incestuous thing he's got going there."

Their voices got slowly quieter and Spike started to drift off to sleep, turning slightly on the couch so he could catch the hints of Angel's scent still clinging to the leather.

In the lobby, the conversation between the three women continued their voices hushed and their heads bent together conspiratorially. Wesley sat lost in his own world, searching back through what had been said. Over the years he had given a great deal of thought to Angel's soul, it seemed to be a sound idea when your day to day survival depended on him retaining it and now he turned the knowledge he had acquired on this new information.

asn\asn't the same soul. Interesting but hardly vital. It seemed to perform the same task, keeping Angelus under wraps where only the truly attentive could spot him. What else? He felt he was missing something critical, something obvious. Think about the way it had happened. From his conversations with Giles, Wesley understood that Willow had returned Angel's soul the last time, using the same curse the gypsies had used. The same curse. The curse. It clicked in to place. This time there was no curse, ergo no happiness clause, nothing to stop Angel and Cordelia being together, in every sense of the word.

"Cordelia? Could I speak with you for a moment?"

An unearthly scream from the lobby wrenched Spike from sleep, and he was about to fly to the rescue of the team when he realised it was Cordy he was hearing. She was obviously tremendously excited about something; maybe there was a new shoe sale on at the mall. He lay back down, only to change his mind as hunger pangs rumbled in his stomach.

The atmosphere in the lobby bubbled with female excitement when he opened the door but it quickly evaporated when he appeared. The three girls went into a brief huddle, shooting odd looks at him, then disappeared up the stairs leaving him alone with Wesley.

"What's with them?"

He jerked his head towards their retreating backs as he went to the fridge, hoping Angel had restocked it while he was away. He had, so Spike helped himself to a couple of bags, emptied them into two clean mugs and started the microwave. There was no answer forthcoming from the Watcher, which was curious, then again maybe he did owe him an apology, lwaylways seemed to owe someone an apology these days. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to brush up on his apology skills.

"Umm. Sorry about the whole biting thing, mate. You know it wasn't personal right."

Wesley looked a little shocked but recovered quickly. "Yes, I err, surmised as much myself. Even so, I would be greatly appreciative if you would refrain from ever doing it again."

"Doesn't have to be like that. The bite I mean. Given different circumstances and."
."

The vampire's words brought the dream back full force, the cool arms, and the slow erotic penetration. Wesley flushed and looked away, but not before he caught a glance of Spike's eyes over his mug, and the cool fire contained within them had the blood rushinom hom his face to other parts of his anatomy that had no business whatsoever being involved. The vampire breathed gently, taking in his heavy scent with a sense of glee and flashed a smile at the Watcher; yeah, soul or no soul, he'd still got it.

"So, what was all the squealing about?"

"Squealing?"

"The ladies. What's going on?"

"Ah. It's about Angel's soul." How on earth was he going to tell Spike this? After everything that had happened, including what he and Angel had been doing this afternoon, with obvious enthusiasm if the reports were anything to go by. The decision was taken out of his hands as Angel and Gunn walked into the lobby with self-satisfied smirks on their faces.

"Successful hunt?"

"Very." Angel hopped onto a stool next to the desk. "Three vampires dusted and one human rescued, reassured and dropped at home. A good day's work, I'd say."

"Watcher here was just about to spill the beans. Lucky you got back when you did; he won't have to tell it twice."

Wesley shot a worried glance around their expectant faces. "Umm. Yes. Angel's soul. Umm." He stood up. "Talk amongst yourselves for a minute or two. Err, nature calls."

Eyebrows raised, Gunn watched his sudden departure before standing up himself. "Fascinating as this is I'm going to find Fred. Tell Wes I'll catch up with him later.

\

"She's upstairs with Faith and Cordelia. You might want to hang on; it looked like they were off for a bit of a girlie chat."

"I'll risk it." He set off up the stairs two at a time, heading for whichever room the vampires had not completely totalleringring their fight.

This, of course, left Spike and Angel alone, not a situation that either of them found terribly comfortable. After a couple of minutes of avoided eye contact and awkward silence, Angel thought of trying for an apology, he felt he owed that much at least for attacking Spike earlier. But where to start? Sorry I punched you halfway around the hotel because I h't 't got the self-control of an infant and screwed you where my girlfriend could hear us and got her mad. It sounded pathetic even as he rehearsed it.

Spike watched him in fascination. His thoughts may as well have been printed on his forehead and as Angel went to open his mouth, he got in first.

"Don't bother."

"What?"

"Don't bother apologising. Not for the fight, anyway. And unless you want another one, don't even try apologising for the shag."

Panic skated across Angel's face, he had forgotten just how perceptive Spike could be when it cao kno knowing what he was thinking. He'd been working with humans too long and it tended to dull his senses.

"Okay. I won't...but I'm sorry anyway. For hitting you."

"Apology accepted. Now, if you don't mind I going to have a fag. There should be enough shadows in the garden by this time to lurk in."

"Go ahead. I'll be sure to call if anything interesting happens."

With a short nod Spike turned on his heel and stalked out leaving Angel sitting alone in the lobby.

And that was where Wesley found him when he got back. He was relieved, in so many ways, he really hadn't wanted to tell Spike about the conclusions he'd reached, at least until he'd had a chance to speak to Angel.

In turn, Angel was pleased to be alone with Wesley. He'd been doing some thinking on the way to and back from their run in with the vampire pack, there was precious little else to do when you're hiding under a tarpaulin on the back seat. And he'd come to the conclusion thatneedneeded to explain some things to Cordelia. About him...and Spike, and vampires, and...well, really there was a whole lot of explaining to do and he wanted Wesley's advice on how to tell his girlfriend that he couldn't sleep with, that he may occasionally have sex with his Childe, because he could.

Would she understand? Cordy was a broad-minded woman wasn't she? Finding out Willow had a girlfriend hadn't bothered her and it wasn't as if he was gay. And hadn't she being saying that about him for years, so what was her problem anyway.

"Angel?" He focussed on Wesley who had obviously said his name more than once.

"Sorry. Just thinking."

Wesley sat down and gave him a soft smile. "I may have some information that will make those thoughts a little happier."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fred was sat cross-legged on Cordy's bed, the other two arranged around her. "Are you going to forgive him?"

"Well, duh. A hottie that I can now get into my bed without him waking up wanting eat me. What do you think?" She grinned excitedly at her friends who were smiling indulgently at her.

"You go for it girl. I mean, that guy can kiss. Believe me, I've been there and he's definitely good." Faith flushed as she realised she'd said too much. "There wasn't anything else and it was ages ago, it didn't mean anyg."g." She smiled apologetically.

There was a knock at the door and Gunn's voice called. "Fred? You in there?"

"Come on in, Charles."

The door opened and Gunn poked his head round, smiling when he saw Fred. "Hi, babe. Spike said you were all up here, but I just wanted to let yoow wow we were back safe and sound."

"Angel too?" Cordelia hopped off the bed and started putting on her shoes. When Gunn nodded she made shooing gestures to drive the others towards the door.

"Out, out. Go downstairs and stay there. I'll be down in a few." As they left she called after them, "And don't say anything to Angel, I want it to be my surprise."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The garden was quiet and peaceful, granted the air was hardly fresh, this was LA after all, but it was pleasant. In another fifteen minutes or so the sun would be set and Spike had no desire to be sociable. During the past few years with his chip he'd become accustomed to spending much of his time alone and he found that the humans' continuous chatter grated after a while. And there was certainly a lot of chattering going on, it sounded as though everyone was downstairs and, as the volume steadily rose, it occurred to him that there might be something important going on.

Unwilling to go back inside completely, he lurked in the doorway, watching as the whole gang gathered around Angel and Cordelia. Something about the way they were all acting made his insides lurch uneasily and, as the group fractured and Cordelia led Angel away by the hand, he made to step inside, stopping when he saw the look on his Sire's face. Bemused but perfect happiness suffused Angel's features as he followed Cordelia up the stairs and at that moment Spike knew that the curse had been lifted. There was no more happiness clause and Angel was free to be with the woman he loved.

His world should have crashed down around his ears. He should have felt the urge to go and get blindingly drunk. Yet strangely he didn't, instead he slid down the wall, lit another cigarette and thought about it rationally as he smoked.

Okay, Angel was with Cordelia and that was a major negative.

But on his side, he had an undeniable place on the team, as the Seer they couldn't chuck him out on a whim, so he had a home, a regular supply of blood and Angel's company. Plus he had a sneaky feeling that Angelus was not as quiet as he used to be, so there was probably a good chance of a regular session with the old man when Cordy wasn't around. If he could find a way past Angel's martyr complex and the urge to confess his every sin.

Finally, and in Spike's mind, most importantly, Cordelia was human. Which meant she would age and die like any other human. He'd waited for Angel for over a hundred years already, another human life span was not so long, the bint would only last another forty or fifty if he was lucky, plus as she got older he would be there to keep his Sire company when he was needed.

He leaned his head back against the wall and looked up into the darkening sky, watching as the infant stars were strangled at birth by the city lights, feeling strangely at peace with the world and within himself. After taking one last drag he threw down his cigarette and ground the butt out under his boot heel.

Yeah, all this meant was that he had more time to put his plan in to action.

And in the meantime? Well, there was a Watcher in there with his nam. If. If he set off now he could reach Wesley's apartment before him and be waiting when he got home. Then they could have a nice...chat.

Back in the hotel, Angel and Cordelia disappeared from view and Fred turned to Gunn, smiling beatifically.

"Kye-rumption," she said with a happy sigh...and none of them heard the side gate close with a quiet clang.