New Order

A/N: Sorry for the long wait between updates. Darn real life and it's interference. Please review and let me know what you think!





Spike returned from his questioning of Joseph still wiping blood from his hands. He had to admit, Lorca did well questioning the other vampire. But Spike was better. Unfortunately they hadn’t been able to get much out of him. Lucian was smart; Spike would give him that. He sent someone to observe who didn’t know much. The other vampire must have known that they would catch him.



Angel was alone in his office and Spike’s eyes were immediately drawn to the new hole in the wall. Spike realized that his Sire must have thrown a bit of a fit. Since the office door was open, he dropped to his knee in front of the desk and waited for Angel’s acknowledgement.



Angel let him stay there for a moment. He was still angry with his childe for fighting with Oz in front of Xander’s room. And from the look on Spike’s face, Angel knew he hadn’t gotten any useful information from Lucian’s flunky.



“Rise. Shut the door.” Spike closed the door, then sat in one of the chairs facing Angel’s desk. When he was settled, he told Angel what he learned. “Sire, he didn’t know anything useful. Lucian sent him to look for Lorca, the other master, and the missing minions. He was supposed to observe you and find out if the others were here.”



Angel put his elbows on the desk and laced his fingers together. “So, we don’t know anything.” His tone was grim. Spike knew that he wasn’t in his Sire’s good graces at the moment.



“No. I didn’t dust him though. Thought you may be able to use him somehow.” Spike hoped this was the right choice. He wasn’t keen to kill the vampire; the last time they killed the only sources of information hadn’t turned out so well.



“Good. We will meet with Lorca first thing tomorrow night to get more information about his former master. For now, you and I have some business to take care of.” Angel rose and walked to the door, his anger radiating off of him in waves.



“Yes, Sire.” Spike followed. Angel went directly to the basement and Spike realized he was going to be truly punished for his earlier actions. He knew better than to argue though, especially when Angel was in this mood, so he followed behind, silent.



They entered the basement and Angel immediately grabbed Spike and shoved him face first against the wall. Before he could blink, one arm was manacled to the wall and the other wasn’t far behind.



Yep, Sire was pissed alright.



Angel ripped Spike’s shirt from his body and pulled his jeans down around his ankles. He stepped up behind his childe and pressed their bodies together.



“Do I need to tell you why you’re being punished?”



“No, Sire. I jeopardized our relationship with Xander by fighting with his friend.”



Angel waited for him to continue. “Is that all?”



Spike thought for a moment, knowing he must be missing something for Angel to be so pissed. “That’s all I know of, Sire.”



He heard the swoosh of the crop before it slapped against his ass. He held in his gasp of pain and waited for the next to come.



“That’s not all, Spike. Think about it. I’ll just keep this up until you figure it out.” Angel slapped the crop against his ass again. And again. The stinging pain was making it hard for Spike to focus.



“I’m sorry, Sire.” Angel didn’t respond, but continued strike the crop against Spike’s flesh. Spike tried desperately to think of what had set Angel off but he couldn’t think of anything worse than his actions threatening their relationship with Xander.



The blows were getting harder, faster, and quickly drew blood. “Still haven’t figured it out, Spike?” Spike heard the crop drop to the floor and Angel moving to get another tool. He needed to think fast and the burning on his ass was encouraging him to do so.



Angel was positioned behind him again, when Spike finally realized what Angel meant. “Sire, I made us look weak in front of the minions by fighting with someone close to us.” He knew he had the right answer when Angel didn’t continue with his punishment.



“Exactly. I’ve told you how important it is for us to present a united front. I’ve explained this to you over and over again. Yet you fought Oz like you were a schoolboy, rolling around in the floor.”



Spike was embarrassed. He hated it when Angel was right. He hadn’t stopped to think of the minions or other demons who would witness his outburst.



“I’m sorry, Sire.” Spike pressed his forehead into the wall and yelped when he felt another whack, this time across his back. Angel was using the cane now.



The hits continued for several minutes, until Spike’s back was screaming in pain. Finally Angel stopped and walked to the door. His teeth were clenched together, his anger still not abated. “Don’t let it happen again, Spike.”



Then Angel turned and left the room, leaving Spike hanging on the wall.



Angel returned upstairs and headed for Xander’s room. He’d left his claimed alone for most of the day but needed to see him now, just to reassure himself that Xander was still okay. He entered the room to find Xander eating a small meal with Oz sitting on the bed talking to him. They were laughing about something and Xander’s eyes were sparkling.



Then he saw Angel and his smile faded. Angel felt like he’d been punched. The pain of Xander’s rejection of him hit him harder now than before. He remembered when Xander’s eyes would light up when he entered the room and he would jump into his arms and kiss him until Xander had to pull himself away to breathe.



Angel hadn’t really realized how much Xander had changed or just how many walls he erected around himself for protection. It wasn’t going to be easy to rebuild that trust. Of course, Angel was lucky. He had lots of time.