Setting: Wolfram & Hart, Spike is corporeal, Cordelia is alive and out of her coma, Fred is still Fred.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the clothes on my back and my imagination (so if I want to pretend those lovely boys belong to me I will, at least for a little while)
Secret Santa
by Lilithangel
"Secret what?" Angel can only look at Lorne in puzzlement.
"Secret Santa." Lorne explains again patiently, "everyone draws a name out of the hat and has to buy a present for that person. We put them under the tree and on Christmas Eve everyone opens their present. Nobody knows who gave them their present but they can try to guess, we set a limit on how much each person can spend..."
"How much?" Angel asks cautiously.
Lorne rolls his eyes expressively. "Angelcakes, you are the CEO of a large law firm, money should not be an object for you." He sighs at Angel's pained expression. "Fifty to a hundred dollars." He answers.
Angel blinks, thinking hard before replying.
"Come on Angel," Lorne coaxes, "we all need a little morale booster and Christmas is the perfect time."
"Alright," Angel agrees slowly. "Who is going to be involved?"
"Everyone," Lorne grins with enthusiasm, "each department will buy for each other, but I have decided that our wee group will stick together."
"Our wee group?" Angel grimaces.
"We have all been through a lot together these last few months; I believe we have all bonded enough to be able to buy the perfect gifts for each other." Lorne is practically bouncing with excitement.
"If you think it is important," Angel sighs.
"It is Angelcakes, it is" Lorne assures him "Everybody else has agreed so I will organise the names today." He rushes out before Angel can say anything.
Gunn stared at the slip of paper in his hand; this was going to be harder than he imagined how was he going to find a present for her of all people?
Gunn looked up at Lorne pleadingly "Can I draw another name please?" he begged.
"On no, one draw only. Don't worry I'm sure you'll do fine." Lorne assures Gunn as he hurries off to his next victim.
Wesley looked pale when he saw the name he had drawn.
"What ever I picked won't be right," he sighed; "at least they won't know it was from me."
Fred squealed when she saw who she had picked. "This is going to be such fun!"
"Bloody hell!" Spike swore. "You did this on purpose!" He looked at Lorne suspiciously.
Cordelia looked at the name again, the wheels already turning in her brain. "Fifty to a hundred, you say? I am sure I am up to the challenge."
"Oh!" was all Harmony could say. "This is going to be hard."
Angel did not say anything to Lorne; he simply took the piece of paper without looking at it and continued on with his work.
"One name left for me!" Lorne hummed as he took the last piece of paper. Reading it he smiled, "this is going to be fun."
All through Wolfram & Hart a buzz of excitement was spreading as everyone anticipated Christmas Eve. People began to surreptitiously try to find out things about each other as the competition to find the perfect gift began to heat up.
On the top floor things were a little less enthusiastic; Lorne had sworn them all to secrecy on pain of his displeasure and they all found themselves staring at each other, worrying about who was buying for whom.
Only Lorne and Fred were truly happy as they flitted around. Lorne was busy organising the Christmas Eve party and Fred really entered into the spirit of the season, decorating her lab with tinsel and garlands.
Cordelia and Wesley appeared to have set about their choosing with military precision, and were both seen wandering around with notebooks for several days before Cordelia ran out returning with a pleased look on her face.
Harmony had appeared worried for several days before returning from lunch grinning from ear to ear, clutching a parcel.
Gunn had taken to hanging around the office corridors, especially near Angel's office when he wasn't down at the typing pool chatting up the secretaries.
Angel did not appear to be bothered by the drama -- at least in public -- but he spent several hours that first night staring at the slip of paper and frowning.
Everyone was so caught up in their own problems that nobody noticed for several days that Spike was missing.
"He's skipped out to avoid the Secret Santa present." Angel stated firmly. "Spike's never been a big one for Christmas."
"Really?" Fred seems surprised. "He told me about Christmas in Sunnydale -- sounded like he really enjoyed it."
"He never mentioned anything to me... In the past he always used to disappear at Christmas..." Angel mused.
"I hope he is alright," Fred added with concern.
"So do I," Angel agreed, much to Fred's apparent surprise. "What, can't I worry?"
"Well, you never seem to want him around, you two are always fighting and saying bad things to each other..." she trails off in embarrassment.
"You're right." Angel shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "We haven't always got on, but I've gotten used to having him around," he confessed. "We'll give him one more day and then I'll get Special Ops onto it," he promised.
Wesley and Gunn sat glumly at a table in the staff cafeteria.
"Not having any luck with your secret Santa gift?" Wesley finally asked.
"No." Gunn sighed. "Look, Wes, I know Lorne made us promise not to tell but I am at my wits' end. I don't have you and I really need help picking a present for Harmony. There, I said it -- now you have to help me!" Gunn begged.
"Only if you help me with Cordelia," Wesley bargained.
Gunn's eyes widened. "Man, I thought I had it bad -- how do you buy for the woman who has everything?"
"I know, I have racked my brains, but everything I have thought of so far has been a no go." Wesley moaned.
"Tell you what, we'll head into town after lunch and see if two heads are better than one on this," Gunn suggests.
"Done." Wesley agrees and they both return to their lunch with renewed vigour.
Spike returned for the next morning meeting, looking tired but intact. He brushed off Fred's eager questions with a quiet grin and proceeded to pick a fight with Angel.
Angel, who had intended to quiz Spike about Christmas, let himself be baited, and soon the bickering chased the rest of the gang out of the office.
Later that night, Angel returned to his brooding about Christmas and Spike. It annoyed him that he knew so little about Spike; he had assumed that he knew his grandchilde inside and out. The idea that Spike had managed to hide things from him for all this time was... disturbing.
The following morning made it two days before Christmas. At the morning briefing Fred, Cordelia, Lorne and Harmony were smugly aware they had bought their presents and had them wrapped up under the tree already.
Gunn and Wesley were beginning to look trapped and haunted, a fact Spike noticed and gleefully pointed out.
Tapping his fingers on the meeting table Spike began to slyly sing the Twelve Days of Christmas song. Everyone laughed; the girls and Lorne began to sing along with him, even Angel found himself tapping a foot along with the rhythm.
Gunn and Wesley glowered at the cheerful group but could not keep a glum face, and soon were belting the song out with the others. They all dissolved into peals of laughter as Spike put on a falsetto at the last chorus, mimicking an opera soprano.
Wiping his eyes, Angel brought the meeting to a close as the perfect present finally presented itself in his mind. He wasn't sure if it would fit the price limit, but decided that he did not care.
Spike escorted Wesley and Gunn through the teeming masses at the mall, chuckling at their bewilderment.
"Isn't it supposed to be the vampire that hasn't adapted to modern life?" he asked jovially. "You two look like time travellers."
"This has to be the most terrifying place in the whole world," Wesley muttered, with Gunn in full agreement. "I would imagine the apocalypse to look something like this."
Spike laughed out loud at that. "Nah, there wouldn't be Christmas carols for a start..." he paused, "maybe there would be, can't think of a worse torture than piped in Christmas carols for all eternity."
The other two joined him in laughter as the vision of tortured souls forced to listen to 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire' came to them all.
Angel pulled back when he saw Spike, Wesley and Gunn walking together and laughing. His brow furrowed at the relaxed scene, realising that it was not often that he saw any of them laugh any more.
Spike knew that Angel was somewhere in the mall and his smile grew bigger at the thought of Angel trying to cope with Christmas shoppers. Deciding to leave Angel to suffer, Spike dragged Wesley and Gunn to a place he had spotted for Harmony.
"In here?" Gunn's face paled to grey as he faced the window display adorned with women's lingerie.
"That's right, mate, I happen to know that there is a lovely nightgown set that will suit Harmony a treat. It's at the top end of the budget but she will love it." Spike grinned at Gunn's discomfort.
"Okay, I can do this!" Gunn straightened his shoulders, then stopped in horror. "What size do I buy?" he squeaked.
"Don't worry, I'll show you," Spike smothered a laugh.
"What about Cordelia -- is there something here for her too?" Wesley's voice cannot decide between fear of buying women's undergarments and relief that he might have a present sorted out quickly.
Spike shook his head with another grin. "Saw something at another shop that the cheerleader will love, we'll go there next."
The three men came out of the lingerie shop with Wesley shaking with mirth this time.
"Your faces when the assistant thought Gunn was buying things for Spike was priceless!" he chortled.
Gunn's face was red with embarrassment and he could not look at either man.
Spike was spluttering with outrage. "Imagine her suggesting I was a large, me! I've never been more than a medium ever!" He snorted in disgust.
Wesley lost it totally at the comment, grabbing hold of Gunn for support as the tears began to fall.
"Only you, Spike -- only you could be offended by her size insinuation rather than her assumption of your's and Gunn's relationship!" Wesley howled.
Spike huffed but Gunn's lips twitched as the humour of the situation began to strike him.
Wesley wiped his eyes dry taking deep breaths to calm down, his face took on a considering look "I've just noticed Spike, where is your duster?"
"Didn't fancy wearing it tonight," Spike answered.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen you wearing it for several days, going for a new image?" Wesley pressed.
"Something like that," Spike hedged. "Come on, time's wasting, jewellery store is this way." He changed the subject.
"Jewellery?" Wesley choked. "Is that appropriate?"
"As appropriate as a nightgown," Spike smirked. "Don't worry," he added at the expression on Gunn's face, "you're a secret Santa remember, they won't know it was from you. 'Sides, it's a purse I know that Cordy will like, not jewellery. Unless you want to get her jewellery, that is?" he questioned slyly.
"No, no -- a handbag sounds perfectly acceptable," Wesley sputtered.
Angel waited until they were in the shop before moving away and heading for his own destination, wanting this ordeal to be over as soon as possible.
He pondered the mystery of Spike's duster knowing full well that it was Spike's security blanket, something he would never willingly leave behind.
Angel arrived at the shop he had been advised to go to and smiled, he had not thought he would have ever come up with the perfect present, but he had.
Christmas Eve dawned at Wolfram & Hart, it looked as if everyone had arrived early to gasp and admire the beautiful trees Lorne had arranged for each floor. All the trees were surrounded by secret Santa gifts and nobody could keep their eyes off them.
Angel sighed at everyone's distraction, knowing that there would be very little work done that day. He snagged Lorne in passing and pulled him aside.
"You have a party organised?" Angel asked Lorne.
"Sure have, for later this afternoon, Angelcakes," Lorne confirmed.
"Bring it forward to lunch, would you?" Angel requested. "Nobody is going to be doing any work anyway."
Lorne stared at Angel in surprise then nodded, beaming with excitement.
"It shouldn't take much to do, leave it with me." Lorne bustled away humming.
Angel retreated to his office glad of some peace and quiet before things went crazy. He pulled his secret Santa gift out from under the desk with a smile, he had not wanted to put it under the tree too soon as its distinctive shape could not be disguised.
He pulled out the second gift he had bought, the smile fading as he considered what its appearance at the shop meant. It had shocked him to see it there, and made him feel guilty at the implication.
The interoffice memo sped through the building, inviting everyone to a Christmas lunch before the opening of secret Santa gifts.
Everyone headed down dead on twelve o'clock, excited and chatting ready to enjoy themselves.
Angel waited till everyone was gone before placing his gift at the back of the tree where it would not be noticed right away. He paused when he saw a gift with his name on it. The box was wrapped with exquisite care, jauntily adorned with a golden bow. Angel resisted the urge to shake the box and went to join the others.
After the luncheon, chosen with perfection by Lorne, and several slightly tipsy toasts by the heads of departments, everyone headed back to their own floors, the excitement building.
Angel smiled at Lorne as they headed up in the lift.
"This was an inspired idea, Lorne, thank you. I have never felt such a good feeling in this building -- even the ghosts seem quieter."
"I'm glad you approve, Angel, it feels good to make people happy." Lorne smiled.
"Yeah, it does," Angel agrees.
Everyone gathered in the meeting room where Lorne had set up their tree. Fred and Harmony could barely hide their excitement, staring at the presents with their names on.
Wesley and Gunn kept sneaking glances at the presents they had bought, still not sure if Spike had been playing some sort of joke on them.
Lorne rubbed his hands together. "Now, who should be Santa?"
"Angel." Spike grinned. "He's the boss, after all."
"Oh no!" Angel shook his head. "This was Lorne's idea, he can be Santa."
Lorne chuckled and pulled out a Santa hat placing it on his head, "I thought you would never ask."
Moving over to the tree, he looked over the gifts carefully.
"Hurry up!" Fred squealed with excitement.
"Alright, Kitten -- now, let me see, who first..." Teasingly, Lorne picked up a package and looked at the nametag before putting it down and picking up another.
"Ladies first, I think... Cordelia, this one is for you." Lorne gave her the package.
Cordelia squeaked and quickly tore open the paper; she gasped as she pulled out the purse. "This is perfect!"
Wesley exchanged a quick relieved glance with Spike and Gunn before Cordelia looked up, her eyes shining.
"Who knew? This is perfect for the dress I just bought; I can't believe it, thank you!" Cordelia managed to sound pleased and surprised at the same time, and nobody could hide their smiles.
"Now one for the boys..." Lorne interrupted before Cordelia could start interrogating everyone to find out who bought her gift.
With a flourish he presented the next gift to Gunn, who took it like he expected it to explode.
There was general puzzlement when Gunn unwrapped a jade tiger with a strange look on his face.
"Wow..." was all he could manage.
"There's a card" Fred exclaimed. "Read what it says," she commanded.
Gunn opened the card and read out loud, "she charged me a hundred dollars and a phone number, hope you like it, Santa."
Everyone grinned at how flustered Gunn looked, causing him to blush and grin like a schoolboy.
"Now, who should be next?" Lorne mused. "Harmony?"
Harmony clapped her hands and bounced in her seat. "Ooh, gimme!" she giggled.
For once Harmony was at a loss for words when she opened her present to reveal the beautiful rose pink silk nightgown set. The girls all gasped in delight and Harmony could not stop herself from caressing the fabric.
"This is the most beautiful thing I have ever been given," she managed.
"Wesley, your turn, cupcake." Lorne broke the moment before everyone got too uncomfortable. He pulled out a large sized box and hefted it into Wesley's lap.
Wesley pulled off the wrapping paper to reveal a crate stamped with the word 'Harrods'. Wesley's eyes widened as he opened the lid and pulled out the packing paper.
Inside was a cornucopia of English goodies. "Oh my, real Earl Grey tea, shortbread, truffles!" Wesley laughed in delight. "Brighton Rock --- I haven't had rock candy since I was a boy!" His eyes welled up and he sniffed as he continued to rummage through the box. "Stilton and Blue," he salivated over the foodstuffs inside.
Spike had moved over and was peering over Wesley's shoulder with interest. "Beeno! Wow, I haven't seen a copy of that in years."
"Hands off," Wesley laughed, "you've got your own present. You can read it after me." Wesley relented at Spike's longing gaze.
"You next, Lorne!" Cordelia clapped her hands together.
"Santa is supposed to wait till last," Lorne demurred.
"We don't care, open yours." She commanded.
Lorne relented and opened the gaily wrapped package with his name on it. Out fell an eye mask and bottles of lotions and creams; Lorne looked confused.
"Open the envelope," Fred advised.
Lorne opened it to find a voucher for a weekend at one of the most exclusive spas in L.A.
"We know it is more than the agreed limit, but this is from all of us," Fred explained excitedly. "We all wanted to thank you for organising everything and making our lives that much easier."
Lorne blinked back tears as he stared at his friends who were all smiling and nodding with Fred.
"Oh, you guys!" he choked out, "I don't know what to say...."
"Try 'thank you'," Spike answered dryly.
Everyone laughed, Lorne the loudest of all as he stammered out his thanks to them all.
"You're welcome," said Cordelia, rushing over for a hug, quickly followed by the other girls.
"Okay, okay," Lorne wiped his eyes. "Still more gifts to give. Freddikins, your turn now." He turned back to the tree to compose himself before grabbing Fred's gift.
Fred gleefully ripped open her present without care for the paper. With a gasp of pleasure she pulled out a silk blouse.
"It is the colour of the ocean," she gasped in awe, staring at the fantastic blend of greens, blues and subtle pinks.
"Abalone," Angel piped up and everyone looked at him in surprise. "The colours from inside the shell, New Zealanders call them Paua."
"That's right," Harmony agreed, "I saw an article in one of my fashion magazines, it's the latest craze in New York."
"Jeez, Angel, you are such a poof sometimes -- only you would have known that." Spike could not resist a dig.
Before Angel could respond Wesley jumped in. "And who was it that got all upset over being a large?" he teased.
Everyone laughed at the identical looks of affront on the two vampires' faces.
"Two more to go," Lorne interrupted before permanent pouts became etched on Spike and Angel's faces. "I am going to give them both out together since one of them is pretty obvious."
Both Angel and Spike managed calm expressions as Lorne returned to the tree one more time.
Spike could not hide his shock and pleasure when Lorne pulled out a guitar case and presented it to him. With shaking hands he opened the case and pulled out an acoustic guitar, slightly battered but the wood was a rich golden brown, and it had a deep mellow tone when Spike ran a reverent hand along the strings.
Angel said nothing as he stared down at the contents of his gift, suspicious moisture glistening in his eyes.
Cordelia peered over Angel's shoulder. "Brushes and paints, nice."
"More than nice..." Angel finally spoke. "These are the best, I used to use them a long time ago, before..." he trailed off without finishing.
"Right then -- who's for eggnog?" Lorne broke through the awkwardness.
Everyone agreed and headed for the door, chatting excitedly about their presents, trying to tease each other into admitting who bought what.
Spike hung back briefly with Angel as the others trooped out. "Thanks, mate," he said without meeting Angel's eyes, "I can't believe you remembered."
"Neither can I, Spike, it... it brought back some pleasant memories of the past for me, things I had forgotten... thank you." Angel replied without looking at Spike.
"Right, let's go join the others then, I have a craving for eggnog and I want to see if we can scare the others by getting you drunk and smiling." Spike grinned wickedly.
"Spike..." Angel called him to a halt. "Where did you use to go at Christmas?" he finally asked.
Spike looked down with embarrassment, toeing the carpet with his boot before replying, "used to go and stare through windows and watch the families... now I just go and get stinking drunk," he finally confessed.
Angel could not say anything for a moment. "Stay with me this time?" he asked quietly. "Christmas is for family."
"Is that what we are, Angel?"
"Yeah, we are."
"What should I call you then -- Grandpa?" Spike's cheek broke Angel out of his nervousness.
"Not so old that I couldn't turn you over my knee and tan your hide, mister," he retorted with a smile.
"Like to see you try!" Spike challenged.
"Shut up, Spike, and go drink your eggnog," Angel replied with a snort as they left the room.
Later that night Spike and Angel sat together drinking the last of the eggnog in companionable silence, watching the lights of the city twinkling like Christmas tree lights.
"Spike..." Angel broke the silence. "I have another gift for you -- I found it when I was shopping for the secret Santa, and I hope you like it," he said hesitantly.
Spike jumped with surprise and looked at Angel. "Actually I have something else for you too," he confessed.
"Wait right here," Spike ordered, leaping out of his chair and running out of the office.
Angel went to his desk and pulled out a wrapped present from a drawer. He returned to his seat before Spike came back through the door, clutching a present tightly to his chest.
Suddenly unsure Spike stopped and hung back. "It isn't much... I just found it when I was poking about in your room at the old hotel and, you seemed so happy..." Embarrassed, he quickly handed the gift over.
Angel opened it slowly; it was a framed photograph of Angel holding a baby in his arms, smiling tenderly down at the small hand grasping his finger.
"Thank you, Spike... I thought I had lost this. You did this for me?" His voice was thick with wonderment.
"Yeah, figured it must be important to you."
"It is, I will tell you the whole story one day, but not tonight. Here..." Angel reached down and handed Spike a soft parcel.
Spike's nostrils flared as he recognised a familiar scent, and he tore into the parcel to reveal his duster.
"I was in the store and recognised your coat. I realised you must have sold it to be able to buy a secret Santa gift. It shamed me to think I had allowed you -- one of my family -- to exist without support." Angel would not let Spike get in a word, he was determined to have his moment of guilt.
"I never even considered how you were surviving all those years, even when you returned here. You should not have had to sell anything, let alone your duster."
"S'all right, mate, never asked for your help. The fact is, you doing this for me means more than you can imagine. I would do anything for you right now." Spike could not hide how important his duster was to him, as he quickly pulled it back on.
"Anything, you say?" Angel had a wicked gleam in his eyes.
Epilogue
"Stop fidgeting, Spike."
"I can't -- this is bloody uncomfortable ,and I'm cold!" Spike complained.
"You said you would do anything," Angel reminded him.
"Didn't think you would pick this, now did I, ya bastard? Hurry up and get it over with."
"Patience, Spike -- these things take time and preparation, just hold still for a bit longer and I will let you stretch for a while," Angel promised.
"'Bout bloody time, teach me to drink so much eggnog, won't it..."
Angel laughed and looked back down at his sketch book where he was marking out the beginnings of the first watercolour he had wanted to paint in over one hundred years.
Spike stretched out on the sofa in his best Spike pose wearing nothing
but his beloved duster draped seductively about his perfect body.
THE END
Merry Christmasto All and to All a Good Night.