Never Come Back

Chapter Twenty-One

Willow set the bones out and lit the candles ready to perform the restoration. Once she had set up, she came back into the lobby and asked Buffy and Spike to join her. Spike was the last to follow and shut the office door. He looked up at Willow through his lashes.

"What's the problem Red?"

"No , no problem , nothings wrong." she paused briefly and smiled "I want Wesley to take Cordy out of here and stay at his apartment.Giles can help me with the spell, I just don't want anyone who doesn't need to be here, here and at risk. It's just precautionary."

Buffy agreed. "We're going to make sure that he is bound good and tight, if Angelus knows there's a weak link ,he could make more of an effort to break free and escape, or worse.I'm not leaving you open to attack.You'll be busy doing the spell and you won't be able to help Giles.I'm not risking any body else and we can't be in the room in case the spell calls for Spikes soul again."

"Good thinking, but demon guy and I worked out the kinks and I have a soul ready.Right now it is in the ether waiting, all I need to do is call to it through the restoration spell and wham! Instant Angel again"

Buffy smiled "Even so, Will, Spike and I will feel better being at a safe distance.Just scream if you need us"

Willow nodded and handed Buffy and Spike a protective quartz amulet each. "These will repel the magicks, just in case"

"Cool" Buffy put hers over her head and tucked it under her shirt.Spike raised his brow "Pink? Can I just put it in my pocket ,Red? Pinks not exactly my color"

With a roll of two sets of eyes , Spike relented and put on his amulet.He tucked it away under his shirt and smirked as if to say 'satisfied'.

Willow followed Buffy and Spike back into the foyer of the hotel. Angelus was still as Buffy had left him, with Giles watching him with a keen eye.Once he saw the three of them return , he relaxed a little.

"I assume we are ready to start then?"

Willow gave a nod to affirm that she was and Giles followed her back into the office. Willow got comfortable on the floor and waited until Giles was ready with the herbs and his spell sheet.Once he had looked over the spell for a last check, he lit the herbs and Willow began her quiet chant.

Out in the foyer, Spike held Buffy from behind while they kept vigil over Angelus.

"Do you think his personality will change once he has this new soul?" she looked over her shoulder to watch Spikes reaction.

He looked down and kissed her forehead "I doubt it pet, the soul gives us a conscience and the ability to know right from wrong but it doesn't actually make us who we are, not in the sense of whether Angel will be him or the person who 's soul he has"

Buffy frowned briefly "I guess, I mean you don't seem any different really.Other than the not wanting to kill me now, but then who knows how things would have turned out had Maggie not intervened "

Spike turned her in his arms so that he could look into her eyes. "Buffy, listen to me when I say that this is the best thing to happen to me in a long time love.We went through the wanting to kill each other and yeah o.k, I'm mostly to blame for that, what with my wanting to off as many slayers as I could,but this? Wouldn't change it for the world"

"That was so touching , really"

Both Buffy and Spike spun to see that Angelus was now awake and grinning at them.

"Look who decided to join us, and just in time to get a soul shoved up his ass"

Angelus shrugged. "The flaw in your plan is that the spell is so fragile, one moment of bliss and poof it's gone"

He laughed as Buffy frowned . She took a step towards him but found Spikes hand on her arm, holding her back. She pulled away from him .

"Buffy" he said softly as a warning .Worry marred his face.

"Listen to him Buff..... you wouldn't want to do something you regret or to upset Willy, now would you?"

Spike rolled his eyes at the use of his human name , when would the git get over using that, not like it annoyed him anymore.Years of it's use had worn that aggravation from Spike.

Buffy gritted her teeth and got into Angelus' face. "The only thing I regret is not dusting you the first time you lost your soul. Seems Five hundred years in hell wasn't enough to teach you how to play nice.Maybe you need a reminder"

Buffy reached back and produced a stake and held it to his chest."Don't make me do it "

Spike stepped in, though he couldn't think of a reason why he had. He would like nothing more than to see his elder dust at the hand of his childe, but. He shook his head as his eyes met Buffys.

"You said it yourself, he does good while he has a soul .Listen to me , pleading the case of this git. " He sighed and ran his hands over his gelled locks "If you dust him then he gets off easy, curse him again and he'll live with knowing what he did again."

His hand instinctively went to her cheeks as he saw her tears start to fall.

"I know what he did pet, and I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop him but he will pay, I promise you.Once Red does her bit, I'll make him pay ,but right now isn't the time"

Buffy nodded slowly and looked down at her tormentor. Angelus smirked and ran his tongue over his teeth, causing her to tighten her lips .Her fury burned deep within her chest , both her demon and her slayer were calling for his dust, his blood to spill, for him to suffer as he had made her suffer. Buffy came out of her thoughts when she felt Spike take the stake from her .

"Why don't you go sit over there for a bit ,love.I'll watch over the poof"

Buffy walked over to where Spike had gestured and watched as Spike pulled his duster around him and sat beside the bound Angelus and flung his arm over the elder vamps shoulders.Spike leaned in to his ear and smiled.

"See what I just did there Gramps? Saved you from getting the staking of your life." Spike hissed through his teeth before he continued " Now, question you should be asking yourself ,is why? Did I do it because your family? No, I did it cos you owe that girl, I did it so that once this is over, I'll finally show you exactly how I feel about you and what you did to my girl."

Angelus growled and turned to face Spike "You suddenly grow a pair Spike? You could never best me before, what makes you think you can now?"

Calmly and without warning , Spike raised his fist and swung his fist into Angelus; face, catching his nose and mouth. Angelus shook his head and licked at the pooled blood on his lip.

"For one thing mate, I haven't been your whipping boy for near on seventy years and have made a name for myself.Didn't survive all this time by being that idiot you tried to mold me into ,now did I. I'm a master in my own right, you on the other hand ,went soft. Oh a few months of being without the soul may have happened, but your still the same soft prick you always were.Red and the demon bloke in there, they're working up a nice curse for you.Only difference is, no get out clause this time. You'll be able to be positively giddy with happiness and you'll still have your bloody soul"

Angelus roared and tried to free himself , so that he could rip Spike limb from limb. Spike moved away and stood laughing at the display.

Buffy shot of the couch she had sat on whilst Spike had his man to man with Angelus , but was now beside him. As Angelus heaved at the chains ,they heard the chant coming from the office.Three sets of eyes froze on the office door.Spike and Buffy looked back down at the struggling elder.He froze , his body arching off the couch and straining against the chains. His face was frozen in fear.

A cry of 'Acum', and a light shone brightly around Angelus and filled his cold dead eyes. His mouth gaped in a silent cry, his chest heaved as his body was invaded once more ,by a soul that would tame his beast.

Buffy watched as Angelus slumped ,the chains now so taut that they cut into his flesh. She stepped forward and pushed Angelus back onto the seat. His eyes flickered back and forth rapidly, his chest heaved in shallow breaths as he a war raged within his body. The soul and demon battled against each other , both screaming for dominance within the vampires mind.

Spike walked away from Angelus and left Buffy to stand guard. As he walked towards the office, Giles emerged, looking tired and physically drained. Willow was laying on the leather couch in the office.The demon waved his hands over Angel's unconscious form and nodded.

"It is done"

Giles smiled and rubbed his forehead with his handkerchief.
"She's resting, she'll be fine after an hour or two's sleep, I assure you"

Giles glanced at the now cursed vampire. "And how were things out here while I was aiding Willow?"

Spike and Buffy shared a look before Spike answered "Fine"

Angelus gasped and licked his lips as he started to become more aware of his surroundings. He looked up at Buffy with tears streaked cheeks and looked away as their eyes met.He muttered to himself , barely audible to Giles but Buffy and Spike could hear.

"What did I do, no , no , he did it, not me, me, I hurt her did those things , tore and defiled, Oh god help me ,all the blood, dead, I killed them."

Buffy flashed back to the Acathla incident, seeing him stood before the stone demon as the portal opened.His eyes full of soul, crying at what he had done. She remembered how she felt just before she had run the sword through him, and grimaced. She had loved him then but now she felt numb. She could look in his soulful brown eyes and feel nothing but pity. Her anger still resided within but she had no intention of venting it now. Spike had been right when he had said that he would be tortured enough by his own thoughts and by the soul. It was there in his eyes and in his words.

Giles sat down on a stool that rested against the lobbies front desk. He looked tired and drained. The past few weeks had taken all of his strength and resolve.With Angelus taken care of ,he was keen to return to Sunnydale and deal with the back lash of the Initiative disaster. After rubbing at his exhausted eyes , they fell upon the phone and he picked it up .He held the phone to his ear and dialed Wesley's number.

Spike lit up a cigarette and watched as Angel slumped back on the couch.He could sense the disharmony within Angel and he didn't envy him one bit. Spike rounded his shoulders and looked over at Buffy ,who was now talking to Giles. He caught the last of the conversation as they discussed when they would be leaving. He knew he would have to talk with Buffy regarding Angel and what she had done,and it would have to be before they left L.A.He joined them and took her hand in his before leading her out into the garden.

Willow and Giles uncuffed Angel and took him up to his room.Once there, Angel settled on the bed, an emotional mess ,still muttering to himself as the guilt for everything he had done invading his being. Willow stood close to Giles and watched Angel as he shook his head and pounded his chest and head .

"Do you think he knows who's soul we gave him and that's why he's acting this way?"

"I have no idea Willow.If he does ,it would explain why he is acting this way, he didn't when we cursed him after Acathla"

"Well he might have, we have no way of knowing, not really .After he got his soul back, Buffy had to kill him and he went to hell"

Giles went to say something but changed his mind , just nodding instead.


Outside ,Buffy sat on the side of the fountain.She waited for Spike to talk to her , knowing that he was going to bring up the bite that she had inflicted on Angelus.

"Just spit it out,Spike"

He looked up from the ground where he had been focusing on nothing at all.Buffy met his gaze and smiled.

"I know you want to say something and I think I know what it is, so just say it.Tell me I was an idiot, tell me I was wrong but just don't sit there"

"Look pet, it's not easy to say this.What you did was bloody stupid ,you have no idea how all this biting stuff works.You're lucky that all you did was dominate him. If you had claimed him ,I wouldn't have been responsible for my sodding actions"

"But I didn't. And I didn't know what I was doing! It was the demon, it wanted to do it.It was angry .... and ... and it just took control and did it"

"I know pet, and I understand.As a fledge I let my demon get the better of me and I tried to prove to Angelus that I wasn't his bloody whipping boy.Didn't do any good though.He always managed to knock me on my ass.Or worse, but not going into that with you . You made him accept your dominance over him love, which is great for now, but should he lose his soul again, he'll be coming for you. Angelus is too proud, always was a stuck up bog trotter"

Buffy sniggered and Spike raised his brows.

"There's two ways we can stop that from happening love, and I doubt you'll like either."

"Tell me" Buffy watched as Spike stood and walked away, lighting a cigarette before he turned back to her.

"Alright,, first thing you could do ,is to let him bite you,put his own mark on you to cancel out your dominance on him.I would have to place a bite over his to stop his connection with you as he's the elder. Or, I bite him over yours and take the dominance claim from you.But, it means I'll have to fight him if he refuses to let me do that."

"But he has always hated you, he's not likely to let that happen, is he?"

Spike stood before her and gently stroked up and down her arms soothing Buffy.He placed a kiss on her forehead .

"Let me worry about that pet"

He looked over her shoulder and saw Giles ,the demon and Willow stand by the desk in the foyer.

"I think we best go back inside and see what the watcher and Red say first.Could be the poof won't be able to through with it today"

Buffy nodded and took his hand as they walked back into the foyer.They all stood at the desk and talked over Angels state of mind and just as Spike had said, he was in no fit state to have Spike dominate him.

"You think that it is for the best?" Giles asked "Because I suggest returning to Sunnydale and leaving Angel to Cordelia and Wesleys care. Should they need you or should Angel need Buffy, we can come back"

Giles watched Spikes face harden but continued

" I believe that you would use this as a chance to exact some sort of revenge for all the times he dominated you in your younger years, and not to protect Buffy as you would have us believe. What Willow has managed to do is to anchor the soul ,there will be no chance of Angelus getting free of the curse.We have used the soul of the Kalderash gypsy that originally cursed Angelus"

Spike narrowed his eyes "All sorted then? We just leave it to his little posse to do the clean up? "

"More or less. Whilst I understand that you would have doubts Spike, I can assure you that Cordelia and more importantly, Wesley, have the ability to see Angel through this.Buffy and indeed, your presence here will only hinder his progress. Any actions you take to change things now will make it that much harder on him and on his friends."

Buffy took Spikes hand and pulled him over to the couch and sat him down.Giles and Willow went and collected the last of their belongings.

"Let's just go home and get back to our normal lives.Angel will be fine and from what I understand, without me here to enforce it, the dominance claim will fade. Am I right?"

Spike looked down at the floor and toyed with his lighter "Yes"

"So there is no need for you to do what you where suggesting , is there?"

Buffy paced before him " What? You couldn't stand the thought that there would be a connection between him and me or was it as Giles said? That you wanted to get one over on him and prove that you had the bigger bumpies? Seriously Spike, you are going to have to accept Angel is part of my past ,and yes I screwed up by biting him.But you need to get over it and understand that he is in my past now.My futures with you."

"I know" he whispered "I can't help it,it's in my blood to want to protect you now.I've always been impulsive and jealous when it comes to people I love.Just can't stop myself from being a git"

Buffy softened and placed her hand on his shoulder and brought it up to his cheek.

"I guess I can forgive you this once, just don't go getting all macho on me again.I can take care of myself."

Spike looked up and met her eyes ,he stood and took her in his arms and placed a soft kiss on her lips.It was then that Cordelia and Wesley returned and they stood at the entrance to the lobby.

Wesley cleared his throat and looked around to see if anyone else was around.Cordelia walked down and placed her bag down on the desk with a dramatic sigh.

"So I take it tall ,dark and fangy has been cured ?"

She sat on the stool and crossed her legs "Please tell me everything worked out okay and you didn't have to dust his ass."

Buffy smiled "Nope, he's upstairs recuperating , Giles and Wills are just getting the last of their things together before we ship out and leave you guys to it"

Wesley looked perplexed "You're all leaving so soon after the spell has been cast?"

Don't worry, Willow and Giles have assured me that it all went okay and that the souls permanent now.No more grrr in your boss"

Cordelia smirked "Pffft... like there's a cure. As long as he doesn't stare at my neck ,we'll get on great. At least we don't have to worry about bleach boy here now either.Although it was his fault we ended up with Angel going all psycho again"

"Hey!"

"Well it was"

Buffy shook her head in Spikes direction, warning him not to get into a pissing contest with Cordy. Nothing good ever came from it and she knew that they were leaving at any moment.Cordelia would have her hands full and be cursing them enough soon.

Giles appeared at the top of the stairs and made his way back down.He put the small case down and beckoned Wesley into the office.Cordelia watched as the door closed.

"What's going on ?" she asked ,keeping her gaze on the door .

"Giles is just going over a few things with him, you know watchery stuff. Spike? Can you put this stuff in the car for me"

Spike grabbed up the bags and begrudgingly took them out to the car. While he was gone, Buffy took the time to explain things to Cordelia. At first Cordelia seemed fine, until Buffy explained the dominance claim and how it would affect Angel.

"That's so typical of you" she yelled "Can't you just leave him alone? This is so all your fault! You and that peroxide pest of yours.You don't want him but you can't leave him alone!"

"Excuse me?"
"You heard me! It's not enough that you cause him to loose his soul, no , you come back here and screw with his life more. You give him this new soul, one that is probably torturing him more and then you just waltz off into the sunset or whatever with your new vamp and leave us to do the clean up. Well this is the last time Buffy."

"Just who do you think you are " Buffy replied through gritted fangs.

Cordelia didn't back down at the sight of Buffy's game face, instead she carried on undeterred.

"I'm the one that was here to help him get over you when he first got to L.A. I was the one that was here when he needed someone and Wes and I have been the ones fighting by his side to keep him on the right path"

"St Cordy, like you ever do anything for nothing? Tell me, who's idea was it that you charge his clients?"

Cordelia frowned "Mine, but that's so not the point"

"Never is with you. Fact is Cordy, Angel was meant to repent for his past ,seek redemption.Do you think that includes getting rich off the misfortune of those that suffer at the hands of people like Angelus ? No. He doesn't need to, Angel has more than enough money put by.He refuses to use it as it wasn't rightfully his"

Cordy stood with her mouth gaped.

"Close your mouth Cordy, so not a good look on you" Buffy turned from her and apologized to Wesley before she walked out to the car,Spike following her out.Giles ,the demon and Willow said their goodbyes and joined Buffy and Spike in the car.

Wesley stood beside Cordy as the car pulled out into the night time traffic .

"They left a number that they can be contacted on should we need them.Also, Spike gave me the telephone number of Angels broker"

Cordelia snatched the cards from Wesley and tucked them into her jean pocket. She frowned at Wesleys raised brow.

"What? Well you don't think I can afford my apartment on fresh air do you?"

"Then move in with Angel, here at the hotel, there's more than enough room"

"Yeah, right, would that be a room that hasn't seen daylight in ooo a millenia or one of the rooms that are rat infested?"

"Move in with me then?"

They walked back into the hotel, bickering ,but both making their way up to Angels room.

The Desoto passed the welcome to Sunnydale sign, Spike grinned wickedly as he approached it but left it standing after Buffy shook her head.

They pulled up outside the watchers apartment and woke them gently, letting them know they were finally home. Giles stepped out of the car and stretched.The demon got out and followed Giles in. Willow and Xander were dropped off at his parents house. Finally alone, Buffy curled into Spike side as he drove them towards Restfield and his crypt.Once there, they dropped down into the lower level.

They were both tired and drained, emotionally and physically ,from the weeks events and they were looking forward to the first good nights sleep they had had in a while.Buffy was the first to slip into the huge bed,pulling the plush duvet up around herself. Spike finally came to bed, spooning up behind his girl. He kissed her neck and breathed in her scent.

"Night kitten"

His only answer was the soft purr like snore as Buffy slept in his arms.