Coming Home
 
Author: Lilithangel
 
Email: abchainey@xtra.co.nz
 
Website: www.livejournal.com/users/lilithbint
 
Fandom: AtS
 
Characters: Spike, William, Angel
 
Genre: romance?
 
Warnings/Rating: PG13 for character death.
 
Summary: an ending of sorts for my Guardian Angel series.  William brings Spike home.
 
* * * * *
 
"What happened? Oh..." He looked down into an alleyway where a dark shape crouched huddled over the dusty ground surrounded by the bodies of demons.  "Guess I didn't dodge fast enough this time."
 
"It's time to come home Spike," William said to the shade beside him.
 
"Will he be alright?" Spike looked down at the grieving Angel.
 
"He doesn't know it yet but this is where he gets his humanity."
 
"Why now?"
 
"Because he learnt to be human thanks to you."
 
"But will he be alright?"
 
"He will have his years to walk in the sunshine, see his son marry and bounce a grandchild on his knee.  Then you can be there to bring him home."
 
In the years after Wolfram & Hart they had continued the fight grimly determined that their friends sacrifice would be honoured.
 
It had hurt to say goodbye.  It had hurt to stay in the shadows and watch their past age and die.
 
Angel had vanished for several years after Buffy died leaving Spike to work through his grief in silent rage.  Spike had felt the presence of something with him in the pain and fought on waiting for Angel's return.
 
William watched as Spike fought and fucked his way through his grief.  Taking out the bad guys because it was the right thing to do.  The angel worked things so that someone from Spike's past turned up to help share the burden.  Both had been shocked to see the other but ended up restoring the tentative friendship from so long ago granting the other peace from old wounds.  Spike said goodbye after a year, encouraging the now much older man settle down with the nice woman he had met and have the normal life he had never imagined he would have.
 
William had wanted then to tell Spike how proud he was of the vampire and was grateful to Xander for saying it for him.
 
The older vampire had come back with some of the darkness gone from his eyes and had lifted away some from Spike's.  They didn't talk about things but the silences between them were peaceful.
 
William watched as new humans joined with them.  Spike welcomed them while Angel tolerated them until he let himself like them thanks to Spike, and they mourned them together when the inevitable happened.
 
Slowly though Angel stopped retreating from life and let Spike show him the light in the darkness.
 
Their partnership became friendship and settled into more without either of them realising it.  They were startled when they did realise and things were awkward until the slayer that reminded them both of Cordelia banged their heads together and made them realised what everyone else had already guessed.
 
It was never going to be an easy courtship for either vampire, bit after a week of dreams with whispers of encouragement they sat down with a bottle of whiskey and talked.  It wasn't an outpouring of feelings, neither was comfortable with that, but they did both force out the truth before they passed out.
 
They woke up in a tangle of limbs and never slept alone again.
 
All through it William watched and guided where he could feeling nothing but pride for how far his charge had come.  By default he became Angel's guardian as well since both vampires were never far apart and William came to love the dark vampire too.  For once Angel gave his heart to Spike he tossed aside the hatred if not the irritation and watched over Spike's physical form the way William could not.
 
 
The angel wrapped the shade in his wings feeling solidity return as Spike adjusted to his new state.
 
They waited until the others came for Angel and the dark vampire let them lead him away and give him comfort. They watched the first moments of shock when Angel felt his heart beating again and Spike cried at the joy in his eyes.
 
They stayed long enough to watch Angel walk in the light with his son and stand by Connor's side at his wedding.
 
Then William showed Spike eternity.
 
 
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