The Gift

AUTHOR: Little Mouse (elf_night@hotmail.com)

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Joss'. Lucky man.

WARNINGS: Language (duh, it's a Spike fic!) Violence (see former 'duh') explicit M/M slashy stuff! Whee!

ARCHIVE: Please ask first.

PAIRING(S): Angel/Spike; with mentions of Angel/Buffy, Spike/Drusilla, Angelus/Drusilla

SUMMARY: Drusilla gives her Daddy a present.

CHAPTER TWO

"What's taking so long?" Buffy whined, pacing around the front room of Angel's Sunnydale mansion. "It's nearly dawn - they'll both be dust if Angel doesn't get his rear here soon!"

"I'm sure he knows what he's doing," Giles replied absently. He'd already contacted the Watcher's Council, and like he'd suspected, no one there had ever heard or read anything about a Childe switching Sires. Or Sires giving up their Childer, either. Staking them, abandoning them, throwing them out, letting them establish their own households - yes. Giving them to another master vampire - no. Now he and Wesley were hunched over Fred's laptop, watching while the shy woman searched the Internet for any further information. Willow had helped her for a while; now she and Xander were napping on the couch. Gunn was slumped in a chair, his eyes closed, though Giles had his doubts about wether the man was actually sleeping. Cordelia was curled up on the loveseat, while Buffy, of course, was wearing a path in the carpet.

The door slamming open startled them all; Cordelia even shrieked as she bolted upright.

Angel ignored their wide eyes, stalking through the room like they weren't even there. He had a bundle of ratty blanket in his arms, his new 'Childe' completely hidden from their view - except for half of a bare - dirt and blood-covered - foot that peeked from one end. Angel was still in game face, and he growled viciously when Buffy and Wesley came toward him. He didn't speak, just ran up the stairs. They heard another door slam, then silence.

"Well - that was interesting," Xander said sarcastically, "wake me for the next episode." He and Willow lay back down. After a moment, Cordy and Gunn followed their example. The three who had been at the computer turned back to it, leaving Buffy to blink rapidly.

"Aren't you going to do something?" she asked plaintively, gazing at Giles with puppy eyes.

"What would you have me do, Buffy?" he asked, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. "Knock on his door and get my head bitten off?"

"Well, no, but..." she looked at the ceiling as the sound of running water started above them. "Is he taking a bath?"

"He's cleaning his Childe," Wesley said, his voice indicating he was at the end of his patience. Really, the Slayer ought to know this sort of thing! "If he's following tradition, or instinct, he will have dug him out or waited until he dug his own way out, then fed him. Now he's cleaning him. Vampires are like... like big cats, when it comes to their Childer. Birth, then feeding, then cleaning. He ought to be snapping out of it once he puts his Childe to bed."

"Good," Buffy said happily, "then we can stake him!"

"You want to stake Angel?" Giles stared at her.

"No! I meant Spike!"

"Buffy... even I know Angel won't let you stake Spike," Xander spoke from the couch without opening his eyes. "Didn't all that 'grr' sink in?"

"But - once he 'snaps out of it', he'll realize it's the right thing to do," Buffy said confidently. "He'll probably do it himself."

"Yeah, like he staked Drusilla, 'cause it was the 'right thing', and like he staked Spike a long time ago," Xander groused.

Buffy frowned. "He will do it, 'cause it's different now."

"Oh, it's different, all right," Angel's tired voice answered her. He stood at the top of the stairs, gazing solemnly at them. "Wesley, would you bring me the First Aid kit? and the human blood."

"Of course," the man replied, hurrying toward the kitchen.

"Human blood?! What are you doing with human blood?" Buffy demanded.

"It's a backup supply, in case of injury. Vampires don't heal as well on animal blood," Angel replied, not quite looking at her. "Don't get upset; it's outdated blood from a blood bank."

Wesley returned before she could respond; he handed Angel the kit and a small cooler. "Do you need help?" he asked eagerly.

Angel smiled at him. "No, Wesley, you may not see my Childe yet. I'm keeping down the game face by sheer force of will."

Wesley had the decency to blush. "Was I that obvious?"

"Just a bit." Angel took the supplies from the man and went back to the bathroom.

*

Spike woke up underwater, this time.

He supposed it was better than under dirt.

He still wasn't entirely sure what Drusilla had done to him, and he couldn't concentrate enough yet to figure it out. He just knew that he wanted his Sire - the odd fact that the title meant Angel now, instead of Dru, hadn't really registered. He reached for the side of the bathtub to pull himself up and pain shot down his arm, across his chest. Wrapped itself around his ribs and dug in with vicious claws. He gasped, water rushing into his mouth, and thrashed in a sudden panic.

Strong arms slid under him, lifting him out of the hot, soapy water. Angel's brown eyes shone down at him, and Angel's deep voice was crooning.

"It's all right, Childe, it's all right. I've got you. Spike - William - calm down. It's all right."

"Sire," he whispered, after coughing the water out of his lungs.

"Yes, Sire." Angel looked inordinately pleased, and Spike felt the strangest feeling of happiness that he'd made his Sire happy. Damn, he hadn't felt like this since he was a bloody fledge!

And he didn't care.

"Let's get you clean, so you can rest," Angel said softly. Spike felt a cloth moving over his skin, easing carefully over the wounds he knew had to be there. He closed his eyes - they were both opening now, thanks to the Sire's blood - and purred in contentment.

Angel laughed. "No wonder Drusilla was so enamored of you, Childe." The big hands shifted to Spike's hair, washing away dirt and blood. Fingers lingered on a gash in his scalp. "Who hurt you, Spike?"

"Dunno. Dun... 'member..." he slurred. "Sorry, Sire."

"Don't worry about it," Angel said softly, "if it doesn't come back to you, then I'll just figure it out myself."

"Not ...m'portant," Spike didn't want his Sire to waste valuable time on some stupid injuries. He lifted the arm that didn't hurt and managed to get his hand on the back of his Sire's neck, tugging his head down toward his own. "Sire..."

Angel let his lips brush briefly against the smaller vampire's before he lifted his head again. "Not yet, Childe. You're too weak. I won't hurt you."

Spike pouted, even though it made his lip sting.

Angel laughed, and dropped another kiss on the least-bruised side of his forehead. "Soon, Childe, soon enough. I'll feed you again, and you sleep. Then we'll see how well you feel."

"Hmm..." Spike hummed happily back at him. More Sire's blood - that was good. He could still taste his last meal, thick and rich on his tongue. Dru's blood had never tasted so good. Yeah, he could definitely go for another dose of that.

Angel finished his gentle washing and spread a thick, fluffy towel on the floor. He drained the tub, then rinsed his Childe with handfuls of warm water. He lifted Spike from the tub and laid him on the towel, patting him dry with another. Spike continued to purr in complete contentment, even when the drying hurt or made half-healed wounds start bleeding again despite Angel's care. His Sire washed away the blood and the pain with gentle licks of his tongue.

That just made Spike's purr louder.

He lay still through bandages and ointments, just enjoying the sensation of his Sire's hands on his body. He didn't quite remember being picked up or carried into a bedroom, but suddenly he was laying half on a bed and half in Angel's lap, the scent of human blood making his mouth water. He glanced up to see his Sire draining a bag - ugh, cold! - and then opening that same vein on his chest, lifting Spike's head so he could feed easily. He was quick to take advantage of the offer - human blood might smell nice, but it had nothing on Sire's blood - and heard the rustle of the plastic bags as his Sire fed to replace the blood he was giving his Childe.

He fell asleep, still feeding, and his purr never faltered.

*

It was late afternoon before Angel appeared downstairs again, looking drawn and tired. Xander and Willow had been home and returned; so had Giles. They had brought Tara and Dawn with them. Buffy had never left, but Gunn and Wesley had managed to keep her from going upstairs and pounding on Angel's door.

"Wesley," Angel said, ignoring the chatter of questions everyone started asking, just dropping into a chair, "can you see about getting me some more human blood?"

"Already done," the ex-Watcher was proud to announce. "We should be getting a delivery soon. How's your - er, Childe?"

"Asleep."

"Will he be awake soon? Coming down?"

Angel leaned his head back and sighed. "Spike won't be doing much of anything for a few days, I'm afraid."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Because," Angel set his jaw to hold down the growl, "both of his legs are broken."

"Oh." Wesley had no immediate reply.

Xander did. "Man, that sucks! I mean, sure, Spike's a pain most of the time, but that sucks. Who did it? or what did it?"

Angel shook his head, not noticing how still Buffy had gone. "He doesn't remember."

'Did I break Spike's legs?' Buffy's thoughts were desperate. 'I was so mad - I know I broke some ribs, I think I remember stomping one leg... oh well, it's not like he won't heal in a few days. And he doesn't remember, so it's all good!'

"What are his other... er, injuries?" Giles inquired.

Angel frowned. "He had a lot of superficial cuts and bruises, but they've mostly healed. His right arm is broken; so are most of his ribs. His skull was fractured, but I think that's healed, too. His cheekbone is broken, and it made his right eye swell shut, but the swelling's gone down. His speech is slurred and he seems disoriented, but I think that's more Drusilla's doing than whoever beat him up."

"Yes, about Drusilla's doings..."

"It's called a Second Turning," Angel knew he'd be nagged by both Watchers until he gave them some information. "It's very rare. Most Sires won't give up their Childer, and it can't be done without the original Sire's participation. I've never seen it before, but I've heard about it."

"What did she do?"

"I won't tell you that. It's a spell that only a vampire can perform, so the information is basically useless to humans. Besides, I'd probably be hunted down if I shared any of the ritual with you. She drained him, fed him my blood, chanted a bit, and buried him. That's all you need to know."

Giles and Wesley looked unhappy, but knew not to press their luck.

"I guess Spike'll be different, now?" Willow asked. "Or not?"

"He'll be different," Angel nodded. "It's not often a Master Vampire is turned into a fledge again. He'll have a lot more control; a normal, uninjured fledgling Childe would be down here trying to eat the humans, unable to control their game face. Spike will have no trouble with that, and he'll remember all the rules. He'll still know how to fight and protect himself. What will be different will be how he interacts with all of you, and most important to him, with me."

"What do you mean?" Willow was all ears, her eyes huge with curiosity. The rest of them weren't much better.

"I'm his Sire now; to a fledgling Childe, a Sire is the center of the universe. It's difficult to explain, but you'll understand easily once I bring him down. As to how he acts with you, it will depend on how well he remembers you."

"Remembers us? You mean he's got, like, amnesia?" Xander looked puzzled.

"Not exactly. More like holes in his memory, like what happened before is faded and dim. It will come back to him, eventually, but it sometimes takes new Childer years to remember their previous life. Like I said, I've never seen a Second Turning, but I know they're traumatic, so I don't know how long it will be before Spike remembers everything."

Dawn sniffled suddenly, drawing their attention. "Sorry," she said, looking embarrassed, "it's just - I don't want Spike to forget me! He's... he's my friend!"

Angel looked uncomfortable. Dealing with crying teenage girls wasn't exactly in his usual job description. Luckily, Willow stepped in.

"Oh, honey, don't cry! Angel said it wouldn't be forever! Anyway, he might remember all about you! We'll just have to wait and see."

Dawn sniffled again and gave the witch a watery smile.

Then Buffy had to put her foot in it. "Besides, Dawn, it's just Spike - evil murdering vampire, remember? He's not really your friend - he's just trying to stay on our good side so we'll feed him."

"He is too my friend!" Dawn said hotly, tears temporarily forgotten. "He hangs out with me when all of you guys are too busy! He tells me weird stories and helps me with my homework! He's teaching me to cheat at poker!"

That made Xander and Gunn snicker - a suspiciously giggle-like sound even echoed from behind Fred's laptop.

"Cheat at poker?!" Buffy shrieked, "he shouldn't be teaching you stuff like that! When I get my hands on him..."

"You won't do anything," Angel said quietly, but they all heard him.

"Huh?" Buffy looked puzzled.

Angel sighed, wishing he had more patience. "I'm not going to let you hurt my Childe, Buffy." He wondered just how long it was going to take to get that idea through her head.

*

Spike woke up in vastly improved conditions. Soft bed beneath him, warm blankets over him, scent of Angel everywhere.

Just one little problem.

No Sire.

He peered vaguely around the room, half-expecting to see Angel's looming figure hidden in a shadowy corner.

Nothing.

He could sense his Sire quite strongly, so he knew the older vampire wasn't too far away. He felt like pouting, wondering why he was alone. He shifted, and realized that his whole body ached in a dull, distant way. He lifted the blankets and peered under them.

Blue eyes widened in horror. There were splints on his legs, bandages wrapped around his torso, another splint on one arm. Memories of being trapped in that damn wheelchair flooded over him, of Angelus' sneer as he told him he 'wasn't much of a vampire'. Dru's blank face as she took her Sire's hand and they left him alone, weak and hungry, while they went out to enjoy the hunt. He clearly remembered the sharp ache of abandonment.

Now he was crippled again.

His Sire was going to leave him again.

Spike howled.