Title:   A Past Not Forgotten

Author:   angelspike69 & anamcara420

Rating:   NC17

Pairing:   Angel/Spike

Summary:   It's been 25 years since the events in the alley.  Who survived?

Spoilers:   There will be some slight spoilers from Not Fade Away, and then it goes totally AU as the screen went black.

Warnings:   M/M sex – if this isn't your cup of tea, then don't read.

Disclaimer:   Joss created the characters.  We're just playing with boys, and having lots of fun.

Distribution:   My Perfect Rhyme.  If you'd like to archive it, please ask.

Authors' Note #1:   Thanks to Elisabeth (dragonydreams) for answering our request for a beta.  You are fabulous..

Feedback:   AngelSpike69 (marinersgal69@msn.com) & Anamcara420 (ldelrossi@excite.com)

 

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Chapter 7

William ran down the subway steps and flew into the car just as the door whooshed shut and rumbled away from the station.  Panting, he fell into the first empty seat.  He smirked and his blue eyes twinkled as he stared out into the blackness of the tunnel.  He knew Angel was going to follow him as he left the classroom.  The snow made even the crowded city a little quiet, but he heard his muffled footsteps.  Even the cars' motors and tires seemed less noisy.  He felt the vampire's eyes on his back and he grinned.  Angel.  Intelligent.  Curious.  Controlling.  Cautious.  Ever the protector.  And obviously not as stealthy as he had been long ago!

William had known that Angel would be unnerved by his appearance.  He could sense the older man's hesitancy and confusion.  Apparently, Angel did not hide his feelings or thoughts as well as Angelus.  William shivered as a flash of memory raced through his thoughts.  Angelus, his long dark hair flowing over the collar of his black suit, his face passively interested in the prattle of the festively dressed young women vying for the handsome man's attention.  As he pretended to listen, the vampire was choosing the one he would take out into the garden to kill.

He stood quickly as the train pulled into the next station.  He hopped off and crossed the platform to enter a car that would take him back to where he boarded the train.  He had taken the train to get away from Angel but now he had to get back to his car.

William sighed as he walked through the heavier flakes.  Carrying his boxes and suitcases up to his new apartment would not be pleasant tonight.  He found his car and maneuvered out of the rather tight parking space.  It took him a few minutes and the driver who waited for his spot kept flicking his lights impatiently.  Finally, he extricated the car and drove the two blocks to his new building.  Using his card he entered and waved to the guard as he drove to his assigned space.  The man nodded and dutifully stepped out to check his license plate. Fortunately, his rent included a space in a secure underground parking garage and he had made a point of buying donuts for each shift to insure that they would be a little more vigilant regarding his car.  He carried a few necessary boxes and suitcases up to his apartment; the rest he would get tomorrow while he waited for the movers.

William unpacked his clothes and hung them in the large walk-in closet.  He arranged his towels and toiletries in the bathroom.  He shook out his sleeping bag from one of the remaining boxes and found the six pack of beer, still cold from the car.  He took one bottle with him and walked over to the large sliding glass door at one side of his apartment.  He opened it and stepped out onto the small balcony.  William retrieved the telescope that was next to the patio door, set it up, and bent over so he could look through it.  When he focused it, he could see Angel sitting in a poofy red chair, drinking copious amounts of Jamesons and staring out of his large window.  Another flash slipped into his thoughts.  Poof!  He called Angel poof!  Used to piss the ponce off – a lot!  Ponce!

The young man shuddered at the jumbled memories flickering in his mind.  He had seen images for as long as he could remember, the first coming when he was quite young, maybe about five or six years old.  He remembered that dream – a man with long brown hair, and funny clothes.  To his young eyes, the man was scary and didn't have a nice face.  He remembered waking up and running to his parents' room crying about a bad dream.  They asked him about it, consoling him and telling him it was nothing but a nightmare and that he was safe.  He had them periodically over the years, but they were nothing more than snippets. Sometimes they were not nightmares.  Sometimes he seemed to be part of a group of teenagers who hung out with a man that resembled Mr. Giles!  It was his face but he had bleached hair and wore a dark leather coat and smoked a lot! He always told his parents about them, but they never seemed worried and told him they were nothing more than his over-active imagination.  But, when he turned thirteen, they came more often and became more violent.  He thought he might be losing his mind; becoming schizophrenic like his Uncle John.  He didn't want to worry his parents and as he grew older, he felt less close to them.  They were often away for months at a time and left him with nannies and frequently with their friend, Mr. Giles.

After a particularly terrifying dream of a vicious battle with the dark haired man who haunted his dreams, he sought out Giles, a former watcher, and one of his parents' oldest friends.  Giles had been horrified and had taken him to the coven of witches who had found him as a baby.  One witch, Claire, had seen a baby in a vision and they found him in an abandoned house sleeping peacefully.  They knew that he was a special child although they didn't know exactly how special.  The witches contacted Giles and he brought the baby to his friends, Sebastian and Vanessa Tate who were childless.  His parents weren't watchers, but they did research for the new Council on demons and their habitats around the world.

William found out about his true beginnings when he approached Giles with his troublesome visions.  He stayed for several weeks submitting to spells; spending hours talking over and over about what he had seen.  Finally, after he had demanded an answer, Giles relented and told him who he really was.

William was stunned.  He had been a vampire!  He had fallen in love with a slayer and fought for his soul.  He died saving the world and arrived at Angel's new offices at Wolfram and Hart as a ghost.  He mysteriously became corporeal and had died, again, fighting against evil with Angel in Los Angeles.  He had shanshued – became a human being; a newborn baby!

Once he learned about his past, he had badgered his parents and Giles about his vampire persona, Spike, but they were not overly forthcoming.  Every time his parents went away, William would search for information and eventually found journals secreted in a tiny hidden office off the library.  He knew who he had been and he was determined to find this Angel who made him a vampire.  In some ways, he hated this creature that destroyed his life but there was always a deeper feeling of belonging and devotion hovering at the edges of his consciousness, a feeling he didn't quite understand.  How could he feel this, yet not remember?

He went to University like a dutiful son but he was determined to find Angel; learn more about his years as Spike from the vampire who truly knew who he had been.  When his parents were asked to go to China for the Watcher's Council, William had his opportunity.  He used his charm and played on the deep maternal feelings that Claire, the youngest of the coven's witches had for him, and learned that Angel was now in New York and he was Liam McDonagh, a professor at a university.  He found out everything he could and told his parents he wanted to try living on his own in the United States while they were away.  Cambridge agreed to the transfer and his parents acquiesced.  They didn't know that Angel was living in New York, but Giles did.  The elderly man was not happy about William's decision, and tried to talk him out of it, to no avail.  He reluctantly relented as long as Will promised to stay in close contact with him via email and phone.  Giles, who always had a deep connection with William, promised not to tell his parents.

William had made the arrangements with NYU and had arrived a few weeks before.  Professor McDonagh was listed in the school directory.  William learned what classes he was teaching and managed to get a place in the Art History class.  He found out where Angel lived and through a contact provided by Claire, he managed to rent his new apartment.  The apartment overlooked Angel's loft.  He felt a bit guilty at his voyeurism but his desire to know the truth about who he had been as Spike dismissed propriety.

He continued to watch Angel as he sat there looking out his window. He saw the vampire drink glass after glass as he stared at the dark and snowy sky.  William could see Angel's face through the telescope and the vampire's loneliness saddened him.

He watched Angel as he got up out of the chair and got his briefcase off the table.  He turned to the chair, sat down, and started pulling papers out.  When he was done, William watched as Angel laid his head on the back of the chair and saw the tumbler slip from his fingers.  William knew that the vampire had fallen asleep.  He had expected Angel to stay up all night and sleep during the day.  William wondered if seeing him in class had led Angel to drink enough to fall asleep.  He stood shivering on the balcony, peering into his telescope for several hours but the vampire did not stir.  Finally, William grew sleepy, and very cold, and left the balcony for his warm bed.

He awoke abruptly from a nightmare.  Angel was sitting in front of a window!  When the sun rose, he would burn to ashes.  The frightened young man hurried to the balcony and with shaking hands tried to focus the telescope.  Angel was still sprawled in the chair in front of the window, obviously still asleep and as alive as a vampire could be.  William glanced nervously at the morning sky.  It was cloudy but glints of sunshine pierced the gloomy grey. 

William didn't want to take any chances.  He hurried inside for his cell phone and located Angel's number in his small leather phone book.  He had found the vampire's home telephone number on the Internet shortly after he arrived in New York.  He had initially been surprised at the amount of personal information available but apparently once you had a credit card and made purchases online, you could not count on anonymity.  He had wondered what a vampire would purchase via the Internet.

William raced back outside and placed the call.  It rang several times before Angel stirred and Will worried it would go to voice mail.  The vampire stood up shakily and walked away from the window.  William hung up before the vampire picked up the phone.  He had saved Angel!

TBC