Breaking away

Gunn just shrugged and shook his head, muttering something about crazy vampires as he left. Fred just went up to her room, leaving a stunned Cordelia and Wesley with an amused Angel. Fortunately Angel's quiet snickering drew the two out of their stunned silence. "He has to be joking? Right? Angel? Please tell me he was joking. There is no way captain peroxide, the bleached menace is that clever and... and..." Angel just chuckled. "Sneaky? It is nice to see that William is not as dead as I thought he was. William was never vicious, Cordelia. He liked a good fight as much as the next demon. He could be merciless when he wanted to be but he was never vicious or cruel like Angelus was."

Wesley frowned. "Torturing people with a railroad spike wasn't vicious?" Angel shook his head. "They died quickly enough. I believe that was the man that once said that he would rather be stabbed in the head with a railroad spike then listen to Williams poetry. He was quite a sensitive lad. Quite shy. A lot like you actually when you first came to sunnydale. Only he was less assertive and more naive. He only did that though because Angelus felt he had to prove himself. He left his family alone if I remember right. Even distracted us from going after some of the others. Not all mind you, but some. He had remarkably little bloodlust as a fledge."

"Spike... A poet. You're kidding me." Cordelia gaped at him. "Yes, a poet. He really has the biggest romantic streak I have ever seen. Even as a demon. He was faithful to Drusilla for a century. He not only stayed with her but he stayed monogamous. Angelus used to mock him for his humanity, but truthfully, he feels deeper then most humans do. Let alone demons. When he loves someone he loves selflessly and completely. He will stick by them no matter how much they have hurt him. Do you know how much it would take for him to be even capable of thinking of leaving?"

Cordelia looked at the stairs with wide eyes. "I never..." Wesley looked thoughtful. "The chronicles. They had noted Spike's unusual loyalty to his Sire but..." Angel nodded. "I know. However that is why Angelus is so pissed off at Buffy at the moment. Spike loves her. Not to mention that he has appointed himself as Dawn's Guardian which means he would take that much more before he left. The fact that Buffy hurt him enough to make him leave. Wounded him enough to make him desperate enough to..." He trailed of. Cordelia picked up on it though. "Desperate enough to what." Angel just sighed and shook his head.

"He needed money to get out of here so he... he sold himself. That's how I found him. In the nightclub. You saw how starved he was. You have to realize that despite being a demon his body has always been valuable for him. He never shared himself with anyone but family before. Me, Darla and Dru. Before Buffy he would have rather taken a walk in the sun rather then let some stranger take him. But now... I don't know what Buffy did to him but it can't have been pretty." He looked to the stairs himself. "That is the reason why Angelus is rattling in his cage. William has always been his favourite and to see him hurting this much. He won't stand for anyone harming him again. And frankly neither will I."

He stared at them and they nodded. "I understand. I'm not saying I am ready to be friends with him... but... I'll give him a chance." Cordelia smiled at him. Angel nodded in return. "I'm glad. He needs friends, especially since he doesn't trust me or my motives yet. Don't repeat any of what I told you to anyone. Not even to him or each other. He doesn't need to know that you know what happened to him." Wesley nodded. "We won't." He stood up and put his plate in the sink along with his cup. "I still have that text I need to work on." He nodded to them both and went to his office.

"I still can't believe he played us like that." She gave a wry smile while Angel just chuckled. "I know. William always was a clever lad, even though he pretended not to be. Drove Darla up the walls on most days. Listen Cordelia, could you do me a favour." He fished in his wallet for his credit card. "Could you go out and get some more clothes and stuff for him. Maybe also a T.V. and a game computer and some games to keep him entertained. And some music he'll like. He's gonna be driving us up the walls soon if we don't find a way to keep him preoccupied." Cordelia took a the credit card and smiled. "Any price range I should keep in mind." Angel just shook his head. "Spend as much as you need to." Cordelia practically skipped out of the building. Angel just smiled and went up to his room. He crawled into bed next to his sleeping Childe, determined to watch over him while he slept, just like he used to.