Subject: [SpikesSalvation] Phoenix Dreams- Chapter 6 Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 14:58:43 -0800 (PST) From: Jerusha Hancock Reply-To: SpikesSalvation@yahoogroups.com To: SpikesSalvation@yahoogroups.com Chapter 6 The knock on the door came right on time. "Can I get it, Dad?" Ty asked. William had yet to figure out why he liked answering the phone and the door so much, but he did. And because his son had already had a rough night, he nodded indulgently. Ty swung the door open wide and squealed as he saw who was standing there. "Uncle Angel!" The normally-serious vampire broke out into a wide grin as he swung the boy up on his back easily, Ty clinging like a monkey. "How's it going, Ty?" he asked. "Okay," he replied, sobering for a minute as he remembered the earlier events of the evening, but then brightening again. "Will you play Dark Warrior with me tonight?" William rolled his eyes at the pair. Like any 5-year-old, Ty was completely hooked on video games, and Angel was no better. Even if he was sworn to secrecy about the vampire's dirty little habit. "Maybe later. Your dad and I need to talk about a few things." The little boy sobered, and his grip on Angel's neck tightened just a little. The vampire shared a significant look with William and stepped further into the living room. "You want a beer?" William offered. "That would be good." Angel caught the beer tossed his way casually, coming over to sit down at the table. He settled Ty in his lap and watched as the other man took a seat across from him. "All right. What's up?" William's jaw tightened. "Ty had a vision tonight." He looked over at the boy apologetically. "You think you can tell Uncle Angel what you saw?" Ty looked at his father unhappily. "Do I hafta?" he asked, his voice dangerously close to a whine. "No, but I'd like you to if you can," he replied quietly. Ty wriggled down from Angel's lap and came to his father's. No one but his dad would do if he had to talk about the monsters. His voice trembled a little as he spoke. "There was a big monster an' he was gonna kill people. He had big teeth and little red eyes and yellow skin. And horns. It was really dark where he was and I was scared." William gave his son a reassuring hug. "Why don't you go play your game?" he suggested. "We'll be along in a bit." Ty looked over at Angel as his father set him on the ground. "I did okay?" Angel smiled. "You did great, Ty." He looked over at William. "This hasn't happened before?" He shook his head. "No, this is the first time he's had a vision. Erin told me her family had the Sight to a certain extent, but she said it had faded over time. There hadn't been a true seer in her family for generations, and Ty's great-grandfather was the last to have it in any measure at all." Angel looked grim. "He's going to have to be protected, Will. If anyone finds out about that gift of his, he could easily become a target." William took a swig of beer, a bitter look on his face. "You mean even more than he is already?" He laughed, but it held no humor. "Bad enough that his father and favorite uncle have more enemies than there are stars in the sky, but now he's seeing monsters. This isn't what I wanted for him." Angel didn't blame him for his anger. He'd be just as pissed off about the entire thing if it were his son, and it wasn't hard to figure out that the boy's gift made him that much more of a target. If someone wanted to go after Angel, as the head of Wolfram & Hart, it wouldn't be hard to figure out that Ty was his greatest weakness. He thought the world of the boy. "You're not alone in this, Will. You've got all the resources of the company behind you. And you've got me." He laid a cautious hand on the other man's arm. They weren't friends, even after five months of working together. Angel knew they were probably more similar than they ever had been in the past, but their differences were still vast. William was lean and lithe, Angel taller and bulky. The vampire still had the tendency to brood, William was generally cheerful, and about the closest he got to brooding was thoughtful. Angel's idea of relaxation was meditating, or reading philosophy. William enjoyed a good soccer match or taking Ty to the park. If training, William could generally be found sparring with someone else, Angel preferred his solitary exercises for the most part. Angel was more of a loner, William more of an extrovert. Generally speaking, they had nothing in common. But they agreed on three things: there was a lot of satisfaction to be had out of a good fight, evil was to be destroyed, and Ty was to be protected at all costs. And on those days when they were close to blows over some disagreement, it was Ty that held them both back. Because the boy adored his father and his "uncle" both. William threw Angel a grateful look and managed a small smile. "Thanks, mate. It would've been harder if it were just me." He looked at his son, who was now engrossed in a video game, and the look in his eyes was close to adoration. When he looked back at Angel, the vampire was also staring at Ty, but the look in his eyes was closer to naked longing, and William suddenly understood. "What happened to him?" he asked. "Who?" Angel replied, not comprehending. "Your son." The vampire stared at him. "I don't know what you're talking about." "I'm not stupid, Angel," William said, torn between exasperation and amusement. When the other man stayed silent, he went on. "The day Erin and I left the hospital with Ty, I passed a man in the hallway of the maternity ward. Seen him come in the day before, and I knew he'd lost his son. Still birth. When I passed him with my son in my arms, healthy and alive, he looked at me with such longing. Same look you have in your eyes when you look at Ty." Angel was quiet. No one knew about Connor, and he hadn't told anyone about the deal he'd made to take Wolfram & Hart. No one was supposed to know, but for some reason he found himself wanting to tell this man. Maybe because William hadn't been around when it was going on, maybe because he had known when no one else had. Maybe because he just wanted to tell someone so another person would know of Connor's existence. And so, haltingly, he told his story. "I'm sorry," William said when it was all over. "Don't think I could have done what you did. 'm too selfish." Angel shook his head. "You could do it. You love him." "He's partly yours, you know." William looked over at him, the emotion in his eyes saying what he couldn't. "Don't ask me why, but he loves you." "Thanks." They both looked over at Ty, who had fallen asleep on the couch in the middle of a cartoon. And they both silently vowed not to fail him. "But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed." 2 Cor 4:7-9 ---------------------------------