Rating: R

Email: cyndyr298@yahoo.com or snow_whte@hotmail.com

Authors: Cyndy and Sara

Pairing: S/C, A/C (eventually)

Spoilers: Season Five through "Crush" for Buffy. Season 2 through "Disharmony". A.U.

Summary: What if Spike had decided to go to L.A. instead of Harmony? What if the Fang Gang decided it might be nice to have a new champion fighting to help the helpless. What if this just made Angel as green as Lorne with envy?

Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. No profit was received from this story.

Note: All of our fanfiction is available at www.fanfiction.net

****************************************************************************************************

Cordelia woke up and groaned as the bright lights of her living room assailed her bloodshot eyes. She blinked several times, trying to focus. When she finally did, she saw Gunn and Spike seated on her couch. Wesley's wheelchair was in front of them and they seemed to be having a very deep discussion. She was lying on the love seat, discreetly covered by her bath towel.

Spike was speaking. "So, I pick up this crowbar and Angelus is all distracted, busy taunting the Slayer. Pratt. I bring it up, like this." He demonstrated. "Then, swung it back down. Nearly broke his back. "

Gunn looked at him with grudging admiration. The good, soul having Angel was a one vamp killing machine. He couldn't imagine taking on the unsoulled evil one.

"And I keep on hitting him. Wham! Wham! He's just lying there like the dead weight he is. He's all talk and no show." Spike grinned at the memory. "Then, Dru goes after me. She tackles me and we go to the floor. I'm trying to--"

"What about Buffy?" Wesley asked, taking mental notes. There was a scant paragraph on her defeat of Acathla and Angelus in the Watcher's Database of Diaries. Unfortunately, Giles was rather tight lipped about Buffy's battles and Wesley couldn't' help but be curious. He'd asked Willow to teach him how to hack into it so he could keep abreast of demon activity in L.A.

"Oh, yeah." Spike said, clearly bored. "She went after him with a sword. Fight to the death and such. Had her cornered as I recall, 'bout to shove that shiny sword through her skull." He shrugged. "Don't know how she got out of that." Then, he returned to his topic of choice. "That's because I was carrying Dru. We went to-"

"Hey! Why are you all here?" Cordy grouched as she stood up. She was feeling more like herself. She tucked the towel more fully around herself. They all stared at her, seemingly fascinated. "Go! You have a girl to save. She's monster bait right now."

Spike rose one eyebrow. "Did you say mastur-"

"MONSTER bait." She fixed her gaze on Spike. Queen C was decidedly unhappy. "You didn't tell them about the vision?"

Gunn and Wesley were all business now. "You had a vision?" The ex-Watcher asked. "What was it about?"

" Hairy, scary demon is gonna have him self a girl-shaped snack if you don't get there and stop it. By Hansen's Deli. "

The two vampire hunters stood up and grabbed their weapons. "You know, we didn't really bring demon equipment. And my ride is only tricked out with vamp stuff too."

"Then, we'll have to improvise." Wesley said firmly. He looked to Cordy for confirmation. "Is there time to get more suitable weapons?" She shook her head. "Then, we're off."

They went to the door and paused to look back at him. "You comin', Spike?" Gunn asked. As a rule, he pretty much hated vampires. But, he welcomed the help. Especially with Angel being AWOL and Wesley being less than himself these days. Besides, he'd managed to deal with Angel's demonic past. He could probably learn to tolerate Spike as well.

"Meet you downstairs." He called. Spike turned to face Cordelia. She was quite fetching in her tiny white towel with her long dark hair spread around her shoulders. Nummy treat, indeed. "I'll be back later, pet." And he got to the chit, she was looking at him like he was a gourmet piece of chocolate. It felt incredibly good, especially after being ignored and abused by the Slayer. Oh, yeah, the Big Bad was back!

Cordelia wasn't sure what to do. Partially, because it was hard to think when he looked at her like that. Part of her wanted to smack him for his obvious ogling. Part of her wanted to ogle him right back. Come on! He was sex on a stick. And part of her couldn't help but be flattered. It wasn't wine and roses but it was nice to be noticed. However, she hardly knew him and, well, vampire! That was a big drawback. She decided to take the offense. "Go!" He didn't move. "Why are you still here? Girl in trouble! Help the helpless!"

Smirking, he waltzed over to the threshold with a lazy almost leonine grace. Spike paused to toss her a sultry look. "Keep the home fires burning for me, luv." And he wasn't talking about her candles. Spike swaggered the rest of the way out of the room.

Cordelia clutched the back of the loveseat for balance as soon as he was out the door. Was it hot in here or what? She fanned herself. Cordy felt a little drunk and it wasn't just from the medication. "Cordy, you need to get out more. Meet someone who's alive." She grumbled to herself.

She shook her head, mentally dispelling his bizarre hold on her. It probably wasn't even him. She just wasn't used to male attention anymore. Being all superhero-y was hell on the old social life. Lately, her biggest thrill came from flirting with the grocery bagger. "Time for a cold shower." She decided as she went back to the bathroom. "Damn all attractive vampires."

"Well, if it isn't Dark and Dreary."

"You can say that again." Angel stared out at the sky which was full of thunderclouds, grey against the night sky. Rain was lashing the building and flashes of lightning illuminated the sky.

"Actually I was talking about you, Angelcakes." The Host said. "But, yeah, the weather sucks too." The vampire turned around but his face was a mask of indifference. And flawless. He'd been practicing it for years. "Congrats. That's the best impersonation of a door I've ever seen."

"What are you doing here?" He asked tiredly.

"Doing my job. I'm here to try to set you back on your path. That's what us empathic demons do."

"I'm not interested in-"

"Too bad. You'd better get interested. And soon."

Angel stared at him, unmoved. "I don't want to talk about this."

"I don't really care." The Host said coldly. "Do you know what path your headed down? The one says 'to hell in a handbasket'. The path of leather pants and world-sucking demons."

"Maybe I don't care."

"You care." He said, gently. "More than you realize."

"Why should I care? Is there another Apocalypse coming?" Angel asked dryly. The Host didn't bat an eye. He groaned. "I'm sick of those. Can't someone else stop it this time?"

"No, Angelfood, I'm afraid its up to you. " He paused a moment. "Part of it, anyway."

"What if I don't want to stop it? What if I'm tired? Maybe I need a break." Angel said through gritted teeth.

He shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? You don't fight your destiny. You're a champion! That's YOUR job. You fight evil no matter how small."

"But I never get anywhere."

"Yes, you do. You just can't see it now. You have to look at the big picture. Do you think you are the ONLY champion? Newsflash, kiddo, you ain't that special. There are legions of them. Every country. Every city. Every dimension. Do you get my meaning? You're part of something bigger, Angel. One knight in a huge army."

"What should I do?"

"Why are you asking me?" The Host shrugged. "I'm not your Pipeline to The Powers.

"Cordelia is." He said softly.

"Yes, Cordelia. She pretty much hates your guts right now. And who can blame her?" The Host smirked as he walked towards the exit. "You know, you're not irreplaceable to her either."

Spike let himself into Cordelia's apartment with Wesley's spare key. He was covered in some serious demon slime. The battle went well though. Wesley and Gunn were much better fighters than Xander or any of the other Scoobies. It was almost like being a master vampire again. He used to rule at least a dozen other vampires and they used to obey his commands unquestioningly. How the mighty have fallen.

Spike went to the door of Cordy's bedroom and gently eased it open. Unfortunately, she was fast asleep. She had an arm flung over her eyes and she was making this ungodly wheezing noise. Spike chuckled and shook his head. He backed out of the doorway and the door slammed shut, hitting him in the nose. "Bloody Hell!" He rubbed his nose furiously. Spike narrowed his eyes as he looked at the apparently empty hallway. He listened intently but Cordy was still sleeping soundly. So, he felt safe giving Dennis a warning. "You better watch your back, Casper. Keep it up and I'm gonna get myself a little exorcism spell. "

"Man! That was tight!" Gunn said, grinning like a little boy. "You shoulda seen this thing, Cordy. Nasty with a capital NAS!" They were regaling her with their tale of slaying the demon as they sat in the main office of the new Angel Investigations.

"It was rather grotesque." Wesley admitted.

"And Spike went all kamikaze on the thing." Gunn laughed. "He just went running at it and knocked it down!"

"Then, Wesley fired a couple of crossbow arrows in it, to pin it to the ground." Spike explained. He couldn't help but preen under their praise. The Scoobies were never grateful for his help.

"Then I lopped its head off." Gunn said proudly.

"We were quite the team." Wesley said, a touch of sadness in his voice. It made him miss Angel.

"Sounds like you boys had a nice time." Cordelia wrinkled her nose. Why didn't they know that killing the disgusting demon stories were not her favorite topic of conversation? "Speaking of team. Don't you think we should rename our office? I get sick of saying HIS name."

"What about the Wyndham Price Agency?"

"I don't think so. Gunn Investigations."

"That's sounds scary and NRA -ish. How about The Chase Group? Get it, private investigators CHASE suspects. Get it?"

"Yes, we get it, Cor. We just don't want it." Gunn snarked.

"How about Spike Investigations?" Spike offered.

"No." Everybody answered.

"Why don't we table this discussion, hmm?" Wesley said wisely.

"Fine." Gunn stood up and looked down at Spike. "You need to show me that move of yours. The one with the axe where you did that thing." He gestured, almost mimicking the move.

"Alright. I just need a little lunch first."

"Oh, it's in the fridge." Cordelia answered. "I went to the butcher's this morning." She'd routinely performed that task for Angel.

"Thanks, luv." He snuck a look at Wesley. "Don't suppose you have some Wheatabix, do you?"

"There's some in the cupboard, left hand shelf." Wesley answered. "You like Wheatabix, too?"

"In my blood." He said sheepishly.

Gunn made a face.

Wesley found himself smiling. "Least you know what they are." He pointed to Cordy and Gunn. "These two don't even know what bangers and mash are."

"Sacrilege." Spike said with mock horror.

"So, what are we going to do tonight, pet?"

"Well, I'M going to rehearse some lines for a soap opera I'm auditioning for. What are YOU going to do?"

"Help you rehearse." Spike answered. They were walking towards her apartment. It was decided that Spike would stay with her until he could find his own place. Frankly, he was in no hurry. "And what are we having for supper?"

"You're having blood. I thought I'd order some Chinese FOR ME." She paused. "I'm thinking Mu Shu something."

"Good idea, pet. I love Chinese."

"I thought vampires only ate blood." Cordelia commented, confused. "Not blood and crackers or Mu Gu Gai Pan."

"Sure, I like O Neg as well as the next vamp but I also love a good pizza."

"You are like the anti-Angel." She beamed at him.

"And you think that's a good thing, right?"

"You bet your fangs."

"Never, luv." Spike said, clearly delighted. "You expect me to gum my food?"

"Might as well." Cordy teased. "God knows, you're old enough."

"I'll have you know that I'm only a hundred and twenty something."

"Fine, fine. You don't look a day over twenty-six."

"That's better." Spike said smugly.

Cordelia frowned. "Strangely enough, Angel seems to be aging." She lowered her voice a tad. "Just between you and me? I think the pig blood's making him gain weight."

"That's why I stick to cow's blood. Less fattening. That and I don't lie about all day like the Grand Poofbah. I'm out kickin' demon ass." He flexed his arm. "See? Nothing but rippling muscle."

Although, it was obscured by the leather jacket. Damn. "Angel kicks ass. He's a champion." She said defensively, almost before she could help herself. He rolled his eyes as if to say 'whatever'. She dropped it. Why the hell was she defending him anyway? "You know, Angel used to get pissed at me if I so much as spiced his blood." Cordy said. "I mean, what's so wrong with cinnamon?"

"Hmm. Cinnamon. Can't say that I've tried that, pet." Spike gave her a toothy smile. "My personal favorite's a bloody Bloody Mary."

"Ewwwww"

"And cinnamon in blood is what? Tasty?"

"I was trying for a mulled cider thing." Cordy explained.

"Maybe I'll have to try that."

Spike and Cordelia had called and ordered an obscene amount of Chinese food because they were both starving. She offered to make him a mug of her special cinnamon blood while they waited.

She handed him a large mug of warmed blood with the herb swirled into it. "Angel didn't even try his so I'd really like your honest opinion.

Spike took a big swallow of his spiced blood. "Dear God that's... delicious." He pasted on a cheesy smile. This stuff was bad and wrong. It could be used to torture vampires with. And... she was smiling at him so sweetly. "I've never tasted anything like it."

"So, you really think its good?" She asked.

"Mmm. It's very good. Thank you."

"Then, drink up, mister!"

Spike took another gulp and managed to quash his disgusted look. The doorbell rang and Cordy went to pay for their takeout. Spike gratefully poured the blood into the Fica plant next to his chair. When she turned around he lifted his mug aloft. "It was so good I had to chug the rest of it down, luv."

"Do you want me to make you more?" Cordelia offered, very pleased that he had enjoyed her 'cooking.'

"NO!" She widened her eyes. "I mean, no. We're having Chinese. Blood and egg rolls don't mix, luv."

"I guess you're right about that." She deftly unloaded the contents of the bag and handed Spike a carton of bourbon chicken and a pair of chopsticks.

They ate in companionable silence until Spike noticed that Cordy was having trouble eating her fried rice. "Something wrong with your chopsticks?"

"No," She looked embarrassed. "I just never really got the hang out of it." She stood up. " I should probably just go get a fork."

"No, come here. I used to live in China so I'm a chopstick expert." He omitted the fact that he was there to kill a Slayer and have fun during a rebellion and the accompanying bloodshed. Spike patted the arm of his chair and Cordy sat down on it. She draped her legs over the side, away from his. "Turn around, face me." She did so and he placed her legs on his lap. "That' s right."

He brought the steaming container of seasoned chicken between them. Spike let go of his chopsticks and then placed her hand on them. He moved her fingers over the wood until they were in the right position. "There, hold them like that." His touch was cool, but not cold, almost soothing. His other hand slid over to touch her knee. "Now, gently pick up a piece of chicken. Easy." Spike made the most of the opportunity to touch her by tracing a lazy circle on her the inside of her knee. She just about jumped out of her skin.

She plucked at the chicken, trying to ignore how dry her mouth had went. She managed to pick up one and hoisted it from the container. Spike squeezed her knee. "That's it." She started to bring it to her own mouth but the vampire intercepted it. "I think I deserve a bite for helping you, pet." He brought it to his own mouth and looked her in the eye as he seized the chicken between his teeth and it disappeared behind those red and perfectly kissable lips of his. His scarred eyebrow raised and he rimmed his lips with his tongue. "Delicious."

"I'm not hungry anymore!" Cordy announced, apropos of nothing. She hopped off his lap and nearly knocked over the coffee table getting away from him.

"Was it something I said?" Spike asked with faux innocence.

"Of course not. Don't be silly." She laughed, sounding a little hysterical. Cordy turned away from him and couldn't help but berate herself in a low tone. "Fabulous Getting turned on by Chinese food. Way to go, Cor."

"Actually, I thought it was me."

Cordelia turned around to gape at him, open mouthed. "You heard that?"

"Vampire hearing. No secrets from me, I'm afraid."

"I hate you." She announced. But there was no venom in it. In fact, her lips twitched a little. It was impossible to be upset with this vampire.

"They all say that, luv." Spike said saucily. He bit the end off an egg roll and then waved it at her. "Wanna bite?" He waggled his eyebrows.

"Nope." Cordy feverishly replied. Great. Now, she imagining a dozen places she'd like to bite him, not the egg roll. She turned away and walked away on shaky legs to her bedroom. "I'm just going to practice for my soap opera audition."

Spike walked in. "Thought I'd give you a hand, pet." He held out his hand for the copies of the script that she had made earlier today.

"You know how to act?"

"Don't look so surprised, luv. I wasn't always a vampire." Spike snatched the copied pages from her. "I was in a bloody boring production of Hamlet."

"I'm impressed. Shakespeare and all." Cordelia looked up at him. "Hate to point this out to you but this is a soap. Strictly cheese."

"That's alright." He blushed again. "I watch Passions."

"YOU watch Passions?" Cordelia snickered. "The Big Bad?"

"Ha bloody ha ha." Spike said dryly. He secretly enjoyed seeing her laugh even if it was at his expense. She had this adorable wrinkle in her nose when she did. "From the top, luv?"

"Huh?" She'd been checking out those deliciously sharp cheekbones of his. "Oh, yeah. The lines. Why don't you start with Brock's intro?"

Spike held the script up and squared his shoulders. "Well, if it isn't Melody Blake."

"Brock." Cordy tried to appear coy as it said in the stage directions. It was hard to be coy with a one word line.

"I'd heard that you were back in town." Spike raised an eyebrow at her.

"You heard right, Brock." Cordelia walked towards him in her most seductive Queen C way. It had knocked 'em dead at the prom.

"Settling in alright?" Spike gave one of those toothpasty smiles those soap blokes seemed to always have pasted on. Damned if he knew why the chits liked it. He thought he looked like he was constipated. "Is there anything I can do to... help you?" He put a lot of innuendo into it.

"Now, that you mention it... I could think of something." She winked at him.

"You do know that I'm a married man, don't you, Melody?" Spike held out his left hand with an imaginary ring on it as if it were a shield.

Following the directions, Cordelia grasped his hand and brought it to the side of her face. "I moved back here for you, Brock. For you!" She kissed the palm of his hand. Okay, so that was ad libbed but she couldn't resist. "I'll take you any way I can get you."

"Oh, Melody!"

"Oh, Brock!"

Following the stage instructions, he grabbed her up and pressed their hips together. "We shouldn't."

"It would be wrong!" Cordy dramatically tossed back her hair. "But if this is wrong... I don't want to be right!"

Spike moved his mouth over hers, flaring his nostrils. He felt like bloody Ferdinand the bloody useless bull. "It's always been you. I've been in love with you for ages."

"Even when you married that schizophrenic but beautiful heiress?"

"Even then."

"Even when you slept with Cassandra, the wily transgendered redhead?"

"Even then."

"Even when you were in that coma for two months?"

"Even then."

"I love you too, Brock. Take me!" Cordelia went limp in his arms.

Spike gently met her lips with his own, taking his time. That's when two unseen hands gripped him from behind and flung him out of the room. He landed on his arse on the area rug and the door slammed shut.

"Dennis! If you weren't already dead, I would kill you!" Cordelia shouted.

The next evening, the Angels Investigations crew were sitting around the office. Cordelia was busy not sneaking looks at Spike. The blond vampire was sorting through some of Wesley's books on magick. She tried not to blush. His kiss had been amazing, what little of it she'd had. Basically, the press of his lips against hers was very nice. But phantom Dennis decided to keep her in the room all night. No amount of pleas, threats, or talking would dissuade him. They had wearily decided to just go to bed.

"Do you have an exorcism spell in one of these?" Spike asked, sotto voice, to Wesley.

"Why? Have you found a spirit we need to vanquish?" Wesley asked.

"You could say that." The vampire confirmed. Phantom Dennis' reign of tyranny must be stopped.

"I might have something at home that would do the trick. Need any help?"

"No, I can handle it. Thanks for the offer, though."

Gunn stood up. "Since, we're kinda slow here, feel like another training session?"

Spike agreed. "Sure. Let's have a go at blades this time. Pick your sword."

They both chose a weapon and did some large sword drills, mostly working on accuracy.

Wesley and Cordy watched them together. "He seems to be fitting in quite nicely." The ex-Watcher offered.

"I think so too." Cordy took a sip of her coffee. "For a demon, he's pretty nice." She marveled at the weirdness of that. "And, let's face it, much less grumpy than Angel."

"He was never a morning person." Wesley agreed.

"Or a night person."

"I still miss him."

"But he doesn't need us anymore, Wes. He more less doesn't care whether we live or die. All he cares about is his precious Darla."

"We were-" Just then, the shop door swung open and hit the opposite wall hard. It was Angel. And he looked pretty pissed off in general. "Good Lord."

"Angel!" Cordy cried. She was surprised and a little scared.

But he didn't even acknowledge them, just went straight for the books. That's when he noticed Spike and Gunn sparring. "Spike!"

Spike stopped trying to attack Gunn and turned around. "Well, if it isn't-"

He didn't have the chance to finish. Angel was on him in a second. He squeezed his throat and backed him into a corner. "You shouldn't have come here, Spike."

"Stop it!" Cordy shouted. She pushed herself in between them and shoved at Angel's chest. "Let him go!" Spike didn't appear to be in pain, merely trapped. He actually looked amused.

Angel pinned her with a cold look. "This doesn't concern you, Cordelia."

"The hell it doesn't! He's helping us, Angel." Then, she said the next part very smugly. "He's our new champion."

"He's evil."

"He's chipped." Cordy grabbed a bottle of holy water from Spike's coat pocket. "Now back off before I burn you."

"You wouldn't." She uncorked the bottle and he stepped back.

"Not what I came here for anyway." He moved to the books which were kept behind the desk.

"That area's for employees only." Wesley admonished.

"You took all the books." Angel said calmly. He found the title he wanted and extracted it from the shelf. Cordy pushed herself in between him and the bookshelf and yanked it out of his hands. "You can't have that one. I'm in the middle of it!"

She shoved another title, the Yellow Pages, into his hands. "Here. Take this one."

"Don't make me move you."

Angel stared down at her and suddenly she didn't know him anymore. This wasn't HER Angel. Angel didn't live there anymore. And for the first time since his Angelus happy pill episode she was really scared of him. She thought he might really do her harm. Irrationally, she didn't care if he hurt her. She wasn't going to give up this book even if it meant her death. For some reason, it mattered more to bother him. To shake him out of his 'Dark Avenger' funk.

"For God's sake, Cordelia, let him have the damn thing!" Wes shouted. He tried to get out of his chair but Gunn stopped him by pushing down on his shoulders. He would rip his incision open if he did. "So he can get the hell out of here. We don't want him here anyway."

"I don't even know who you are anymore." Cordy whispered.

"I'm a vampire. Look it up." He grabbed the book and blew past her.

Spike stepped in his way. "Don't come here again, Angelus. As you can see, you're no longer needed."

He pushed past him and then Gunn stepped in his way. "Don't come back here again. Oh, and don't let the door hit ya, where Good Lord split ya!" Gunn said sarcastically.

A muscled twitched in Angel's jaw and he threw open the door of the shop. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Cordelia throwing her arms around Spike. He cast his eyes down. Angel told himself he really didn't give a damn.

It hurt almost more than he could imagine. He hadn't felt anything in months and now this. This clinging pain. He kept replaying their words in his mind. "He's our new champion. We don't want him here anyway. You're no longer needed. Don't come here again." It hurt like hell. And the sight of Cordelia clutching Spike...

Angel walked into the door of his suite. He took off his coat and tossed it in the corner. There stood his sire in the doorway. Bloodied and beaten. Her clothes ragged. "What are you doing here, Darla?" Suddenly, he was so tired of it all. The struggle of it. What he really wanted was oblivion. He met her eyes. And he had found a pleasant way to achieve it.