The Vampire, the Seer and the Protecter

Title: The Vampire, the Seer and the Protector
Author: AddictedtoBuffy
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Eventually Angel/Gunn/Doyle
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel the Series. They belong to Joss. I do not make money from the writing of this, it is purely entertainment. I do not mean any disrespect to the actors who have portrayed these characters. This fic contains explicit Male/Male relationships if you are adverse to this or are under the age of eighteen then please do not read. Thankyou to all the online writers who help keep the Buffyverse alive.
Series: This is part of my Belonging series. First was The Watcher and the Wolf, then The Rocky Road to Belonging, DeSoto Sex and a Canadian Interlude.
Summary: What happens in the lives of Angel and co in LA while Spike and group are escaping initiative soldiers and are out of the picture.
Beta: The wonderful Bubbysbub as always has betaed this.
Feedback: Please, please, please. I crave it
Part: 3/8
Distrubution: Ask and you will receive
A/N: Thankyou to LadyVirgo who came up with this name sometime last year. Sorry its taken me so long to write this.

Chapter Three – Introducing Gunn

Doyle’s POV

I sit in Angel’s downstairs apartment waiting for Angel to get back from this latest case. Now its just the two of us we keep closer tabs on each other. Something could happen and if the other found out a day later it would probably be too late. I’m concerned for Angel, too much has happened in too short a time. Losing Cordelia, going back to Sunnydale and finding out about his favoured Childe. His demon has been very close to the surface lately and I feel like I’m the only thing stopping him from losing control. I wish I could take away all his pain, but instead I feel like I’m just burdening him more. He is helping me, not the other way round. When I have a vision, he’s there to catch me. When the debt collectors started circling he offered his couch, which I gladly accepted. Now, I’m almost always around him. It is a pleasure and a curse. I look up as I hear a sound, hoping its not an intruder as I don’t have a weapon at hand. I relax as Angel comes into the room.

“How’d it go?’ I ask neutrally while scanning him with my eyes, making sure he isn’t injured. God, I’m worse than a broody hen. He’s a two hundred and fifty-odd year old vampire, he doesn’t really need me. And that’s the rub in’it cos I find myself needing him, needing to be around him. Needing his praise and his rare smiles. I’m worse than a fifteen year old girl with a crush.

“Fine,” he answers my question. “Found the weasel who had been blackmailing David Nabbit and he’s giving me the photos tomorrow night.”

“That simple?” I ask, an eyebrow shooting up into my hairline. For a really old person, Angel can be naïve sometimes.

“That simple.” He answered and his tone told me that I shouldn’t argue the point. I sigh, knowing that it is never that simple.

*****

Angel’s POV

I run through the streets trying to keep ahead of the truck behind me and cursing these kids who’re hunting me down. It was going so well too until they turned up. Obviously street kids, but they seemed to have some good stuff put together. As I run into a warehouse I trip over wire. A trap, they’ve herded me to right where they wanted me and I didn’t even notice. Someone in the group has brains to come up with this lot. I search for an exit, I don’t want to hurt any of them but I do want to get back to Doyle. He’ll be wondering where I am. I can’t leave him alone in this world. I spin around as they come at me from all sides. My only hope is if I can talk to them. I grab the nearest girl and know that I’ve made the right decision as the leader steps forward.

“Alonna! Don't shoot." He yells out and its my chance to try and reason with them.

"What are you people playing at?" They shouldn’t be doing this, they could get themselves killed. I’ve seen enough deaths lately and they’re deliberately putting themselves in danger.

"We're not playing." Their leader tells me, and I take the chance to look him over. He’s in his early twenties, African American with skin that you automatically want to lick and he’s bald. He stares at me with such hatred that I know I’m not going to get through to him. He’s been driven to this and I don’t think he’ll back down.

"You're gonna get yourselves killed." I try to reason though I know it is useless.

"We're gonna get you killed first!" He retorts and as I suspected its like talking to a brick wall or Spike before he was a pile of dust and I really can’t think about that at the moment. Too many emotions are wrapped around that Childe of mine.

"Let's dust him." One of the other gang members suggests. I decide we are getting absolutely nowhere and I toss Alonna aside. The leader tracks the movement with his crossbow and I watch as it goes off. Without any conscious thought I reach out and intercept the arrow heading straight for Alonna with the palm of my hand. I ignore everyone who is suddenly staring at me as I inspect the damage.

"Ow!” I complain. “You know, for some reason I'm getting the impression you don't like me too much!” I pull the quarrel out of my hand ignoring the pain as much as possible. “Maybe I'm just over-reacting."

"What? You're gonna pretend that you're different from the rest of them?" He yells back at me, obviously unable to fathom that I actually could be different.

"Yeah. And then I just pretend that I just saved her life. You put a lot of work into this. Some clever stuff really. I'm impressed but I have a few suggestions." At least if I can give them something they might be able to stay alive for a little longer and for some reasons I really don’t want this hostile young man to die.

"I don't think we're interested."

"Yeah. You should be. Who do you think that would have killed?” I ask throwing down the steel arrow. Surely they know that only wood works on vampires. “We are fighting on the same side." I try one last time to convince them but I don’t think it works too well.

"The same side of what?" The only other one of there little gang to have spoken speaks again.

"I didn't come here to kill you." I try to convince them knowing that my life hangs in the balance. And how long would Doyle survive if I was killed. We both have too many enemies who would go after him for revenge if I was out of the picture. The leader lowers his crossbow and steps closer. If I wanted to I could snap his neck before any of his buddies could move.

"It don't matter why you're here, or what you are. If you ever show your face down here again, don't count on any long good-byes." He threatens and its not like I haven’t heard it all before but they leave, and as soon as they’re gone I sink down on top of a barrel, wincing at the pain in my side.

*****

Doyle’s POV

I pace the small space of Angel’s living room worried about the vampire. He should have been back by now. I have no idea where he is. I should have been with him but all the help I would be is getting knocked about and then he’d be distracted trying to look after me. So it is better that I stay here but I don’t like it. I hear a noise coming from the sewers and I grab the crossbow. The next second I drop it in my haste to get across to the manhole. It’s Angel and he’s injured.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” I murmur as I help lift him up into the room.

“Thanks,” he collapses face down on the ground, obviously hurt.

“Jesus H Christ. What the hell happened?” I demand helping him to sit on a couch before going to get the first aid supplies from the kitchen.

“I’ll be fine in a minute,” he protests.

“No, you won’t be and you didn’t answer my question. What happened?” I ask again helping him take his shirt off. I can’t help but look at the perfection of his chest. Well except for the wounds in his shoulder and middle. I shake my head, ignoring the urge to caress all that pale skin and concentrate on getting the bandages out.

“I got the photos but after the meeting a gang of teenagers tried to take me out.”

“A group of kids did this?” I ask astonished, I would have thought it would have taken something more to beat Angel so badly. Then again he has been off his game since we went back to Sunnydale or even before then when Cordelia was… I just hope that it doesn’t get him killed. I don’t think I’d last long without him. More importantly, I don’t think I’d want to. I finish dressing his wounds in silence until I break it again.

"How does it feel?"

"It feels,” he winces as he puts his shirt back on and I hide a sigh of regret of losing the sight of his chest. A chest I was just intimately touching, though I had to keep it professional. “it feels better."

“You should rest. You look like..." I begin but he stops me.

"Like I've been beaten and stabbed?" He says it so sadly that I just want to take him into my arms hold him. Then he changes directions entirely and he’s the self-assured vampire I’ve become accustomed to seeing. "I want to find those kids. I don't think any of them have homes. They're probably living together somewhere."

"How many are there?" I ask.

"I'm not sure. 6, 7, maybe more? A couple of them couldn't have been more than 16." I sigh at the injustice of LA.

"God. 20 minutes ride from billionaires and crab puffs, kids going to war." I used to be a teacher and I find something very wrong with this picture. They should be at school hanging out with their friends and dreaming about their future, not struggling to survive every single day.

"This isn't something they just started doing. I mean, they were ready. They've been pushed to this. The leader was quite prepared and he took charge…” I stare at Angel, the way he’s talking its how he used to talk about a certain blonde slayer. Oh dear, I think we have a problem. Angel finds a new obsession just by the first time he sees them, Darla, Drusilla, Spike, Buffy. He was entranced by them from the first meeting and now it seems the same for this street kid. I feel my heart break knowing that Angel doesn’t feel the same way about me that I will never have a place in Angel’s heart like that. All my feelings are unrequited and always will be. I shake my head trying to change the subject a little.

“The idea of a vampire in a white hat probably seems a little ‘give me a break’?"

"They're in over their heads. They're going to get themselves killed. If they're hunting vampires there has to be a nest in the area. Doyle, I want you to find out where those kids live."

"Consider it done." I reply knowing that if I’m looking for them he won’t see the street kid again. If he keeps his distance for a while maybe he will forget about it. Yeah right. If it’s an obsession, time is not going to stop it.

"I'm gonna find that nest before they do. It'll have to be close probably in a 10 block area,” I watch him wince in pain as he pulls on his coat and its all I can do to not go running to him. “And it'll have to be a building with sewer access.” I watch him step into the elevator still clearly hurting. I sigh, wishing there was something I could do, something more.

*****

Gunn’s POV

I think on what Alonna said before about maybe that vampire being useful. I can’t get him out of my mind and not for the reason the rest of the gang thinks. He stood there, hurt but exuding so much power and I just wanted to give everything over to him. I’ve been made leader but I don’t actually want to be what I am. This is out of necessity, nothing more, and sometimes I wish I could hand it all over to someone else. I couldn’t help but notice how he looked, that dark hair, intense eyes, pale skin. Another part of myself that I have to hide to do this job. I still don’t get what he was doing here. Why would anyone want to come here? I turn and notice Alonna, my sister walking up to me.

"Hey. I got some food."

"I'm not hungry." I reply and its true. My conflicting thoughts have been churning up my stomach until I cannot think anymore.

"Not hungry? When's the last time you ate?"

"Oh, seems like just yesterday." I joke, sometimes she can seem like such a mother hen yet I’m the elder one and so it should be me looking after her.

"Well, Poe went to the market."

"Alone?" I ask, immediately on alert.

"No, Jason had his back. They got away clean."

"Oh, yeah, like last time?" I ask sarcasm dripping in my voice. Last time we were lucky that we all weren’t thrown in jail.

"No, no cops this time, no chase. Come on, you eat this.” She offers me some bread but I shake my head, really not feeling like eating at the moment. My thoughts are still all caught up with thinking about a sexy vampire that I shouldn’t think is sexy. “Well, they got some other stuff. They got ah, hamburger, and some apples and lots of other stuff.” A noise catches my attention and I stop, turning, Alonna keeps talking. “Looks like we're gonna have a home cooked meal tonight. What?" She asks and I don’t turn back to her as I give the order.

"Get everybody out."

"What is it?" She asks instead of doing as I said, we don’t have time for this.

"Just do it! Now!" I yell at her relieved when she yells at the others to get going. I pick up a sword just as a smoke grenade comes flying through a narrow window just under the ceiling.

"Get everybody outside into the daylight. Do it." I yell looking around for the threat.

"They are coming in? Don’t they have to be invited?" Michael yells panicked but I ignore him.

"Chain!" I yell needing my second in command. He quickly runs up to stand beside me.

"Cops?"

"I don't know." I answer hating that I don’t have all the answers.

"Are they in? Where are they? I don't see nothing. There is nothing." That’s when it hits me. The smoke bombs are only there to get us outside. They’re waiting for everyone outside.

"Oh god. Alonna!" I yell in terror running up the stairs after the others hoping that I can get there in time.

"Alonna!" I yell, looking for her. I spot her dropping over the railing to the alley on the other side. She doesn’t see the van pulling up but I do and I try to run faster. I watch, unable to do anything as a heavily swaddled guy wearing a gas mask jumps out of the van and grabs her. A vampire protected by the sun because of his layers.

"Alonna!" I scream, getting closer, but too slowly.

"No! Help! Help! No. Gunn!" I hear her calling for me. She is dragged into the back of the van. I keep running and get there just as the doors slam shut. As it starts to drive off I jump onto the back bumper unable to give up. I look in to see my worst nightmare. Two vampires are snacking on my sister. She’s crying blue murder as they attack her neck. Oh god. One of the vampires looks up and sees me. Before I can do anything he puts his fist through the back window knocking me off the van. I lay there on the ground not moving. They have my sister. Goddamn vampires took my sister and all I want to do is kill every blood sucker in sight, even the different one we met last night. I don’t care. They have my sister. All those mother fuckers have to die.