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 THREE

Angel's head snapped up as a desperate, eerie cry echoed through the big mansion. Before the others could even move, he was flying up the stairs and down the hall to the room where he'd left his Childe. He flung the door open -

- only to find an empty bed.

The silk sheets he'd laid over his sleeping Childe were tangled and trailing off the bed, the edges disappearing under the frame. Remembering some of William's actions when Drusilla had first brought the young vampire home made him fairly certain of where his Childe was. He moved forward slowly, eased down to sit with his back against the mattress. "What's wrong, William?" he asked, his voice carefully low. Angelus would have just dragged his fledgling out and demanded answers, but he wasn't Angelus anymore and he damn well wasn't going to act like it!

There was no reply.

"Childe..." Angel's tone was warning. He wasn't going to hurt Spike, but with a fledge this young, just the withdrawal of a Sire's affections was close to torture.

"No wheelchair." The words came from under the bed, hoarse and laced with fear.

Angel frowned, puzzled. "No, you won't need a wheelchair. With Sire's blood, you should be healed in two or three days."

A tousled blond head appeared from the shadows, blue eyes wary. "Yeah?"

"Yes. Now come out from under there, Childe, I don't want to know how dirty the floor must be."

His newborn gave a tired snigger and an admittedly dusty hand grabbed the bedframe. Spike winced slightly as he pulled himself out, using only his good arm; Angel quickly stood and grasped him under both arms, sliding him the rest of the way out, then lifting him and tucking him back into the bed, shaking his head over the fact that he was heavily coated with dust.

"Another bath for you, Childe - but not until the sun is completely down. Sleep, you need your strength. You shouldn't be awake yet."

"You weren't here," Spike explained.

"Oh. I see. I was downstairs, with the others."

Spike blinked at him, looking puzzled.

"My humans, and your humans."

"I have humans?"

"The humans you work with," Angel clarified. When his Childe still looked confused, he added, "Giles, Xander, Willow, Tara, Dawn... Buffy."

Blue eyes blinked at him again.

"Never mind. Are you hurting?" He changed the subject.

Spike shook his head, his expression changing from puzzled to miffed. "You said when I woke up..."

"Ah, but you're awake early, aren't you?" Angel teased him, reaching out to trace the damaged cheekbone. The break had nearly healed, but it still looked bruised and slightly swollen. "Are you sure you're not in any pain?"

"Ache a little," Spike admitted, "but don't hurt."

Angel nodded. He understood the difference. "Then sleep, Childe, and I'll be here when the sun goes down."

"And then?" Those blue, blue eyes widened into innocent sapphire pools.

Angel grinned. "Then, we'll see."

He laughed aloud at the scowl that got him.

*

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Buffy demanded, drawing everyone's attention. "I mean, we can't leave Spike with Angel! He's still soulless, you know, no matter what fancy spell Drusilla did! It'll cause all kinds of trouble if he's Angel's Childe!"

"She could be right," Wesley said slowly, hardly believing the words that were coming out of his mouth. The Slayer, right about something - it boggled the mind.

"I don't think Angel'll like it very much if we try and take him away," Willow said, frowning. "He's awfully protective."

"That's also true," Wesley mused. "Well - since we have a few days before Angel will try to move Spike - to take him back to LA or send him off to his crypt, whichever - I say we watch carefully, and make contingency plans somewhere else, where Angel won't overhear us."

"Maybe we should just ask him if it's gonna cause problems," Dawn piped up, but they ignored her.

"Hope he leaves him here. Makes patrolling a lot easier with him helping," Xander said, earning a scowl from Buffy.

"Are you saying he's a better fighter than me?!" she demanded.

"No, no!" Xander said quickly, "just that more's better, right? Gives you more time for fun stuff, right? when you don't have to go all over town by yourself?"

"Oh... I didn't think of that."

"I'm not surprised," Wesley muttered, making Fred giggle.

They were distracted from further argument when Angel returned, settling into the same chair with much the same expression.

"Everything ...er, all right?" Giles finally asked.

Angel nodded without speaking.

"Is Spike awake now? Can you bring him down?" Dawn's voice was eager.

Angel gave her a half-hearted smile. He knew the girl didn't mean Spike any harm, but the demon inside him was wary of the eagerness these humans were displaying, wanting to see his newborn. Fledgling Childer were easily confused, and his was hurt and therefore fragile. He was in no hurry to expose him to any humans, let alone two Watchers, two witches, a vampire hunter and a Slayer! Even the 'leftover' humans - Dawn, Xander, Cordelia, and Fred - knew how to turn his Childe into a pile of ash without really trying, and he couldn't get that unsettling thought out of his head.

Still, he was going to have to let them see Spike soon, or they were going to start thinking something was wrong. He could already see a few 'Angelus!' thoughts whirling in through their heads. Their body language was just that little bit tense, that little bit wary, to tell him what they were thinking about.

"Not yet," he replied, answering Dawn's question. "He needs to sleep longer; the sun isn't down yet."

"Maybe you should sleep more, too, Angel," Gunn commented, "you look like shit."

"Thanks," Angel muttered, smiling slightly at the man's honesty. "I think I will." He turned his gaze on Buffy and the others. "I'll be up by the time you're done patrolling."

"And Spike? 'Cause Buffy can bring me back!" Dawn's young voice was eager.

"I'll try to have Spike up by then," Angel promised, "but it would be better if no one were here when I bring him down. Perhaps..." his gaze flicked from Cordy to Gunn, and on to Wesley and Fred. "Perhaps you'd like to patrol with them? Or you could go to Giles' place and do more research on that demon we saw last week. Maybe his books have more information."

Wesley nodded reluctantly. "That's a good idea. We do need to know if it's dangerous or not."

"I'm going patrolling," Gunn replied, getting up and retrieving his weapons. "Start when the sun goes down?"

"Yeah," Xander was quick to accept any extra help. "We'll go by the library to get our weapons; by then it'll be dark. Wanna come with?"

Gunn nodded, and the two men left, followed by the witches and the reluctant Summers girls. Cordelia and Fred seemed more inclined to go with Wesley and Giles. Fred, because she was still shy of the others and there were more people that she knew in this group; Cordelia, because she'd just had a manicure and no way was she trying to stake vamps with new French Tips on her nails, she informed them haughtily.

Angel waited until they were all gone, then he raced back up the stairs to where he was longing to be.

*

Spike woke up in even more improved conditions this time.

He was laying on his Sire, strong arms around him, a hard chest beneath his cheek.

"Awake at last, sleepy head?" The rumbling voice teased him. "It's half an hour after sunset."

Spike tilted his head back so he could see his Sire's face. "Now?" he asked, only one thought in his head.

Angel smiled, running his fingers through the tousled platinum locks. He much preferred his Childe's hair when it wasn't plastered down by all that gel. "How do you feel?"

"Fine."

"Childe..." Angel's tone was warning again.

Spike obediently concentrated on his body, shifting his muscles minutely. "Legs ache. Arm's okay. Face hurts a little."

Angel slid his thumb carefully along the still-puffy cheekbone. "These fragile bones always take longer to heal. You need to drink from me, Childe."

Spike didn't protest. He was hungry, and he had never turned down an offer of Sire's blood - and feeding would also get him closer to what he wanted. He watched avidly as Angel opened a cut on his chest; almost before his Sire had finished, Spike had darted forward and sealed his mouth over it.

"Greedy brat," Angel chuckled, stroking the back of his head as he suckled. Spike made a humming sound of agreement; the vibrations went straight to Angel's groin and he moaned. He felt his Childe smirk against his skin at the sound. "Such a brat..."

Spike snickered, and wriggled a bit until his pelvis was pressed tight against Angel's thigh. Feeding almost always aroused a vampire, unless it was that disgusting bagged blood; and sometimes even that, if it was fresh enough. Feeding from a Sire - or having a Childe feed from you - went beyond simply arousing to mind-numbingly erotic. Angel could feel Spike's erection, already hard and throbbing against his leg. He groaned again, shifting his own hips as his cock woke up and took an interest. His Childe snickered yet again, and shifted until he was laying atop his Sire, never once losing his place, lips and tongue and blunt human teeth worrying at the shallow cut.

"I should have known you'd get your way," he grumbled, pretending to be displeased.

*

Spike wasn't fooled.

He needed this, and he knew his Sire needed it just as much. He continued to feed, slipping his hands down the strong body beneath him until he hooked his fingers in the waistband of the loose silk pajama pants Angel was wearing.

His Sire didn't even try to stop him, only lifted his hips and allowed Spike to slide the silk down. Big hands went to his own waist, stripping away the flimsy boxers that were the only things he had been wearing.

Skin on skin, now, and Spike began to thrust gently, pressing himself close to his Sire. They were both still mostly dry, skin catching slightly and it felt oddly good. He drew another mouthful of blood, feeling his body growing ever stronger, almost sure he could hear the shattered bones of his legs knitting themselves back together. Probably be tomorrow, with the Sire's blood, before they would be completely healed. Nice, though - without Angel feeding him, he'd be crippled for a week, maybe longer.

Another mouthful, rich power flowing down his throat, and his thrusts sped up a bit. They were sliding wetly against each other now, Angel moaning and gasping as he arched his back and pressed closer, those giant hands stroking and kneading his back, sliding down to cup his arse. He smiled, pulling back and lapping at the cut until it closed. He could feel his orgasm drawing close, months of nothing but his good right hand making certain that this was going to be brief. He wriggled closer to his Sire, arching his neck, offering.

Angel went still for a moment, and the horrible thought that his Sire was going to refuse him shot through his mind and made his stomach flip over.

Then he heard a growl, and there was a motion so quick even his vampire eyes couldn't follow it. Sharp, exquisite pain in his throat as his Sire sank his fangs in, covering and obliterating the old mark Drusilla had made when she first turned him, branding the claim of his new Sire into his skin for anyone to see.

That thought, and the sudden draw of blood from his veins, ripped his orgasm out of him like Angel had reached into his nervous system and yanked it out. He may have, for all Spike knew - he heaved a sigh of absolute contentment and dropped like a stone back into sleep.

*

Angel chuckled softly, shifting the dead - ha! - weight of his Childe off of him so he could get something to clean them up with. One sip of his newborn's powerful blood had been enough to push him over the edge, painting his stomach and Spike's with the coolness of his come. He'd nearly followed Spike back into slumber, but he knew the humans would be back later and he didn't need another argument with them.

Let them see his Childe; see the new innocence in Spike's beautiful blue eyes. Probably wouldn't last, but for now it should settle most of their fears. Maybe he could ask Willow and her little shy friend about fixing Spike's soul to him - with no damn happiness clause - now while he wouldn't suffer the guilt of all those deaths. His memories would return a little at a time, and it would make it so much easier on him that way.

He needed to get Spike a soul - because there was no way he was giving him up.

Right now, he needed to get him dressed and take him downstairs. Wake him up a bit, so he would be semi-alert in case that stupid Slayer tried something. Not that he would let her anywhere near his William, but there was no sense in taking chances.

Besides, he had made a promise to Dawn, and he intended to keep it.

It would be interesting, too, seeing if Spike did remember how to cheat at poker.