TITLE: Body and Soul Trilogy - Reborn - Chapter
AUTHOR: Lysia
EMAIL: cricket818uk@wadnitt.fsnet.co.uk
FEEDBACK: Is essential. I can't write without knowing I'm getting it
right and constructive criticism is noted and used.
RATING: 15, for violence and very mild sexual situations (because
that's what people seem to want!)
WARNING: Angst, violence. Light S/A comfort-type romance.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of them, but I'll give them back to Joss
when I've finished with them.
SPOILERS: Set sometime after 'Forever'.
ARCHIVING: Here. Anywhere else, just ask.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Final part in the trilogy. Spike, now called Will by
Angel, has recovered from the restoration of his soul and prepares
for a second attack on the vampires who cursed him.

Chapter 3

Angel awoke when the sun set after only a few hours' sleep. When he
had gotten his bearings and his sight had adjusted to the darkness,
his heightened vampire senses kicking in and allowing him to see
around the pitch black room relatively clearly, he turned to see if
Will had awoken too. Instinct tended to make vampires more energetic
at night.

Will was still asleep, only not safely tucked away on his side of the
bed where Angel had left him, determined they should keep separate to
avoid any temptations. The blonde was now curled against Angel's
chest, nestled cosily in the crook of his arm.

This was not how Angel had wanted to spend the night. He had hoped
they could prove their willpower and get through the night without
any physical contact, but subconscious desires had pushed them closer
together and once again they had ended up in each others' arms. It
was as though it was meant to be.

Angel was about to try and slip out of Will's embrace when his Childe
whimpered softly and hugged him tighter, his hands balling into fists
and clutching the front of Angel's satin pyjama shirt.

"Will?" Angel asked softly, removing a tensed hand from his shirt and
giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Are you okay?"

Will's response was to start thrashing in his sleep, sobbing quietly
between mumbled sentences. "No... not my fault... sorry... oh God stop..."

Realising the intensity of Will's nightmare, Angel quickly shook him
awake. Will was brought crashing back to reality with a yell of
horror, sitting upright and smashing his forehead against Angel's
nose.

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

Both vampires sat nursing their injuries for a moment and Will
regained his breath, leaning against his Sire and trying to push the
memories of his nightmare from his mind. Angel put his arms around
him, deciding to desert his plan of resisting temptation lest things
go too far. Worrying about their souls could wait - his Childe was
distressed and taking care of him was more important than his
paranoia.

"Alright now?" Angel asked Will once he had calmed down.

Will nodded a little shakily. "Yeah. Hungry now though. Gonna get
meself some... um..."

With that, he left. Angel watched as he walked away, a tad wobbly on
his feet. A moment later he returned with a cup of blood, once more
making Angel proud that he was fighting his disgust at vampire eating
habits and trying to maintain a healthy diet. But somehow Angel
suspected he was going to need a lot more than just pig's blood to
strengthen himself enough for tomorrow's battle...

"Want to talk about it?" he asked as Will placed his cup on the
bedside table.

Will didn't even look up. "No."

Angel rolled his eyes. "It'll help, you know. Come on, we're going to
talk about it. And bring the blood."

Curious, Will picked up his cup and crossed the room to perch on
Angel's side of the bed, putting his cup down again and looking at
his Sire with a puzzled expression. "What do you want to know?"

"What was your dream?" Angel asked, his voice serious. "Your
nightmares were getting better. Why the sudden setback? What was
happening?"

Will twisted his hands awkwardly and stared at his feet. "I dreamt
about what might happen tomorrow," he mumbled. "We were in some big
place, museum or somethin', I dunno - someplace big and scary - and
we couldn't fight them off. Everyone was in trouble and I had to save
them, and I couldn't and they all... they all died and Skull made me
watch." He closed his eyes and shuddered, calming a little when he
felt Angel's hand on his shoulder. "It... it was horrible. And now I'm
scared."

"It won't be like that in real life," Angel promised him, giving his
shoulder a squeeze. "You're getting stronger. You're stronger than
you were last time, and your mind's recovered from the curse a little
as well. All you need to do is get plenty of nutrition and everything
will be fine."

Will looked at his Sire. Angel could be so convincing
sometimes. "Right," he muttered with a tired sigh. "More nutrition -
gotcha."

He reached for the cup of blood, but, to his surprise, Angel stole it
and drained it himself.

"Oi - that was mine."

Angel shook his head and threw the empty cup into the bin in the
corner. "No - that was for me. You're going to get something better."
Angel sat up and pulled Will closer to him. "Come here."

Will moved a little closer and found himself being dragged onto
Angel's lap. "Thought this was the sort of thing you were trying to
avoid," he quipped, unable to stop his voice wavering a bit.

Angel gave Will a stern look as the younger vampire rearranged
himself so he was sitting astride Angel's legs, facing him. "This
isn't what you think it is," he warned his Childe. Perhaps it wasn't
such a good idea to get himself into such an uncompromising situation...

Will just shrugged. "Yeah, I know. But a bloke can dream, can't he?"
Perhaps playing along with his fantasy, he swooped down and dragged
Angel into a slow sensual kiss, cupping his face in one hand and
letting the other trail gently down his Sire's chest, his fingers
just curling under the collar of his satin pyjama shirt.

Angel broke this kiss and pushed Will's hand away, regretting he had
to stop such a blissful experience.

"Stop it," he muttered, only saying it because he was afraid of the
consequences. "This is important."

A pained expression flashed across Will's face, but was then replaced
by begrudging understanding. He knew the dangers, blah blah blah.
Bugger that happiness clause. "Well you start making me sit on you,
what do you bleedin' expect?" he grumbled sulkily.

Angel almost blushed, but being a vampire his circulation wasn't good
enough. "This is special, Will," he explained. "I wanted to do it
properly. You understand what I'm about to share with you here isn't
something I take lightly?"

Will grinned and shrugged. "You know, you are the most confusing man
in the whole world," he declared, utterly baffled.

But Angel's next words banished any trace of doubt from his mind.

"Drop your fangs."

Will's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and fear. "Oh no. Angel, I
don't like... the memories. Please..."

Angel sighed and began rubbing Will's shoulders in what he hoped was
a soothing way. Will had been avoiding showing his vampire face ever
since he had regained his soul. Whenever emotions did get the better
of him and he vamped out, usually in a fit of anger, he felt ashamed
afterwards, embarrassed by the demon within him. "It's what you are,
Will," Angel told his Childe. "Come on - drop your fangs. You need
more nutrition to give you strength for tomorrow."

Trembling slightly, Will complied and Angel slowly urged him to bring
his head down to his neck. He heard Will whimper softly. He knew this
couldn't be easy for the younger vampire. Will found feeding bad
enough, but actually lowering his fangs and piercing flesh to drink
the blood beneath was very close to the sort of memories that plagued
a souled vampire.

"Drink," he urged his Childe softly, massaging the back of Will's
neck. "You won't hurt me. I'm doing this for you."

Will took a deep and unneeded breath. He knew the offering of a
Sire's blood was a rare honour and a blessed gift, and the call of
the powerful blood in Angel's veins was so deliciously seductive Will
couldn't slip his human mask back, even though he wanted desperately
to do so - to hide behind his human guise and deny that he was a
demon.

But he couldn't.

Hesitantly, he moved closer to Angel's neck and licked his lips.
Locating the jugular vein with practised ease, he planted a kiss on
Angel's skin before sinking his fangs in. Blood flowed into his mouth
from the small punctures. Although it still had the same taste as the
cold pigs' blood he was used to drinking, the power in that crimson
liquid made Will dizzy. It was like a drug-induced high - something
Will was familiar with - and he couldn't get enough of it.

His soul and demon battling furiously in his head, he continued to
drink, but refused to bite deeper to increase the flow.

Angel worried his lower lip with his teeth. His neck was painful, but
Will was being careful not to hurt him more than necessary. He had
wanted to do this since Will had come back: sacrifice his blood to
help his Childe heal, but it was a case of waiting until the time was
right. This was a very personal event between vampires - many never
shared such an experience - and he wanted to do this properly, not
just opening a vein with a knife, despite Will's evident distress at
biting him.

Eventually, Will's over-active conscience got the better of him and
he let go of Angel's neck. Angel immediately grabbed him and pulled
him into a tight hug.

"Did that help?" Angel asked, knowing the answer already.

Will managed a smile, the pleasant feeling of power from the blood in
his veins calming him down a little after the stress of having to
bite someone.

"Yeah. I feel better now. That was... scary though. I hated having to
actually bite through skin." He shuddered at that memory and a dozen
other similar ones that were now floating around in his head.

Angel nodded in understanding and stroked Will's cheek, once more
admiring the beautiful planes and sharp angles of his Childe's
face. "You needed a strong pick-me-up."

"Didn't hurt you, did I?" Will asked plaintively, concern showing in
his eyes.

"Not too much," Angel replied with a smile, pleased that his Childe
had managed to avoid sinking all his teeth in, despite the temptation
of such powerful blood. The pain from the two tiny marks on his neck
was minimal.

A little less worried now, Will managed a weak smile and licked the
wound on Angel's neck before dotting his neck and shoulder with
kisses. Despite his inner turmoil, he was proud that his Sire had
graced him with the offer of his own blood. He felt not only stronger
and healthier but accepted and honoured.

Silently, he thanked Angel by moving to face him and kissing him. It
was gentle and slow, but in that all-too-brief meeting and caressing
of lips and tongues Angel tasted his own blood in Will's mouth. The
thought of it thrilled him, and he quickly focussed on the pain in
his neck until Will pulled away.

"Why'd you want to do that?" Will inquired curiously as Angel laid
him down on his side of the bed once more.

"Because you're my Childe and I'm your Sire," Angel replied matter-of-
factly. "And don't you feel that bond so much clearer now?"

Will nodded, a dreamy smile on his face as his romantic side emerged.

"That's why," Angel explained with a grin. "I wanted to remind you of
how much you mean to me, and I wanted to help you get strong again,
my Childe." He kissed Will's forehead and watched as his eyes
flickered closed. "My dear, sweet boy."

Angel stayed awake for a few minutes until Will drifted back to
sleep. His possessive feelings were even stronger now. The sharing of
blood had reinforced the bond between them and as his own blood
flowed sluggishly through Will's veins he could feel it calling to
him, making him want to stay by Will's side forever.

It had been an intense experience: sharing something so precious,
suffering the sharp pain of Will's fangs in his neck. That had hurt
more than he had confessed, and he sensed Will didn't enjoy the
flashbacks that he always experienced when feeding, but all their
suffering had allowed them to become closer.

Angel lay back, flinching as his neck made contact with the pillow.
Will instinctively curled around him and Angel wrapped an arm around
him, feeling even closer to his beloved Childe. He had sacrificed his
blood for Will, and now they fell asleep together in each other's
embrace, and memories stirred in Angel's subconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~

London, 1880

Spike and Drusilla arrived back at the house barely minutes before
sunset, both giggling madly. To celebrate William's renaming, they
had danced on the platform of the train station and made love in the
pools of the blood that had been shed by Spike's victims. Then they
had stolen a few bottles of whiskey from a nearby shop and proceeded
to get well and truly pissed.

Now they were hyper, scruffy and bloodstained, not to mention a
little disappointed that the sunrise had dictated that they halt
their celebrations.

Angelus watched from the doorway of his room as the giggling duo made
their way rather unsteadily up the stairs. He sniffed the air and
found that his Childer stank of blood, sex and alcohol.

Drusilla and Spike staggered to a halt at Angelus's door, their Sire
eying them distastefully.

"Ooh, I think Daddy's cross," Drusilla whispered, more excited than
scared.

Spike glared at Angelus, not liking the look he was getting from the
older vampire. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded.

Angelus's eyes narrowed at his minion's disrespectful tone and the
stench of whiskey that assailed his nostrils. He didn't want to pick
a fight with the fledgling anyway. "Nothing. I want to talk to you.
In my room."

Spike frowned and Drusilla bounced up and down in excitement. "My
angel has a special surprise for you, my love," she purred at Spike,
grinning wickedly.

Spike just sneered. "Oh yeah - and what would that be?"

Angelus looked angry and his insolence, but Spike was determined not
to care. He wasn't going to let himself get bossed around any more.

Drusilla hushed him, pressing a finger to his lips. "Shush. Go with
Angelus. I'll see you soon, my darling."

Spike watched wistfully as Drusilla skipped down the corridor, still
light-headed from their drinking binge. Reluctantly, he turned and
faced his Sire. Angelus beckoned to him to enter the room and he did,
rather begrudgingly.

"So," he announced, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "What's all
this about?"

Angelus eyed him curiously and a little distastefully. What had
happened to the polite and upper-class William he had sired for
Drusilla? His new minion's expensive clothes were torn and grubby,
his neatly combed hair messed up, and his speech had degenerated into
some fake cockney accent. And the stench of alcohol was sickening.

Still, he was entitled to a little celebration after his first solo
kill, and if he wanted to celebrate by getting sloshed then that was
fine, if a little unseemly in the social circles Angelus liked to
move in.

"I'm going to give you something very special," Angelus explained to
the slightly drunk minion standing before him, scowling. "It's a rite
of passage and it means you will be stronger, faster and a more
important member of our family."

Spike shrugged. "Oh yeah? What do I have to do?"

"Nothing difficult, I assure you," Angelus explained with an amused
smile. William was in a strange mood tonight. "First of all, just sit
yourself down on the bed and get comfortable."

Spike did as he was told, but sneered at Angelus on his way
past. "Bloody poof," he muttered.

"Rather rude words for a poet, William," Angelus commented, surprised
to hear his usually quiet and shy minion swearing.

"I'm not a poet," Spike snapped angrily, collapsing onto the bed with
his arms folded. "And my name's not William. It's Spike."

Angelus raised his eyebrows in further surprise as he sat beside
Spike, wondering what had happened to cause this sudden bad mood and
change of identity. "Well, many vampires change their names," he
replied, "but tell me - why give up your poetry?"

"Because I can't write for toffee," Spike muttered. "I never could,
and I never will. I won't write another lousy word ever again."

Angelus shook his head. This must be drink-induced, he decided.
William... Spike would never give up his poetry. It was the most
important thing in his life, both as a mortal and a vampire. Angelus
couldn't remember the number of times he had to practically drag his
minion away from his desk to teach him. It appeared that he would
rather write than learn the ways of his species.

No, he didn't mean any of these things. The changed name would
probably be dropped by the morning and the flowery verse would
continue. He just had to wait for William to sober up. In the
meantime, the fledgling was due for a promotion.

"Alright then, Spike," Angelus announced, the name sounding
awkward. "We'll discuss this sudden change of image tomorrow. In the
meantime, I have something to give you."

Spike sighed. Angelus was so sentimental sometimes. He'd probably get
a watch or something. A family heirloom from a vampire. Well, it was
more than what he got from his mortal family.

"Fine, whatever," he mumbled, eager to get back to Drusilla. "What's
this ritual thing then?"

Angelus smiled. He knew this would wipe that scowl off his boy's
face. "You have to feed from me."

Spike's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. He couldn't have heard that
right! For blood to be shared between vampires was an occasional
occurrence if one was ill or weak, but for a younger vampire to drink
the blood of a Sire was something Spike had never heard of.

"You're joking, right?" he spluttered, wondering if this was some
sort of test and Angelus would rip his heart out if he actually tried
to bite him.

Angelus shook his head firmly. "No. I'm being deadly serious. Of
course, if you don't feel worthy of such a blessing then..."

Spike didn't need telling any more. He vamped out and lunged for the
offered throat, tearing a wide gash with his fangs and gulping down
the blood that flowed forth, relishing the power of it.

Angelus growled in pain and immediately grabbed Spike's hair, pulling
him away. "Not so hard, you idiot!" he hissed, giving the locks of
hair in his hand a painful tug. Spike whined and batted his hand
away, massaging his scalp as he mumbled an apology. Then he returned
to his feeding, not biting any more, just drinking from the gaping
wound.

The power of this blood was incredible, the taste still very much
human but the strength it gave him was so much greater. He felt
giddy, hyper, and tired all at the same time, his drunkenness
increasing tenfold.

When the wound closed he let go, flopping back onto the bed like a
ragdoll, his mind racing but his body unmoving, too busy absorbing
energy from the blood to worry with such trivialities like muscles
and limbs. He was vaguely aware of Angelus collapsing beside him,
weakened from blood loss. Now Spike understood why he had been asked
to sit down.

"Did I take too much or something?" he mumbled, managing to pluck up
the energy for a sideways glance at his Sire.

Angelus nodded. "More than is custom," he replied, his speech
slurring a little. "But t'is no worry, William. I can feed." He
looked at his Childe and tried to choose between leaving the lad to
fetch a meal or staying with him. Spike won, and Angelus just lay
there.

"Am I a proper member of the family now?" Spike asked, not quite sure
why he really cared.

Angelus nodded. "Aye. You're a true Childe of the Order of Aurelius.
Be proud of yourself, my boy. I know I am."

Spike tried to ignore the little glow of pride he felt at that. He
didn't even like Angelus. The bossy git kept ordering him around and
beating him when he did something wrong. Why should he feel flattered
by his Sire's compliments?

But he couldn't be bothered to think about it. With potent blood
flowing in his veins and a comfortable light-headed feeling, he
drifted off to sleep, and Angelus followed soon after.

~~~~~~~~~~

Spike awoke feeling revitalised, if a little hung over. When he sat
up his head seemed to be spinning, and he pressed his hands to it
tentatively. "Oh dear lord," he groaned. Then he thought that sounded
a little too upper-class and poncy for his new identity, so he
changed it to "Bleedin' 'ell!"

He felt someone rubbing his temples and leaned back a little. Trust
Drusilla to always know how to sooth his pains. His eyes fluttered
open and, to his shock, he found himself staring at Angelus.

With a startled scream, Spike leapt to his feet. Why had he been in
Angelus's bed? He didn't like this setup at all. He'd heard of this
sort of thing happening in vampire groups, and to be honest he'd
always had his suspicions about Angelus, not to mention the fact that
he had practically no memory of what had happened since he had
returned home.

"What's going on?!" he demanded, undeterred by Angelus's look of
confusion.

"Relax, William," Angelus sighed, irritated by his Childe's
panic. "Nothing happened, I promise you."

Spike looked around like a frightened rabbit, as if he were searching
for somewhere to bolt to. "I... I was drunk... I don't remember... Please,
what happened?" He heard his own shaky words and quickly steeled
himself. "And don't call me William."

"You drank my blood," Angelus explained. "The power of it made you
giddy and you fell asleep. Now for heaven's sake, calm down. It's a
great honour and you need not be afraid."

Spike frowned. Angelus had let him drink his blood? Highly unlikely.
That sort of thing just didn't happen. "You think I'm going to
believe that?!" he spat angrily. "You'd never let me, and even if you
offered I wouldn't. I hate you."

Angelus's neutral expression became one of fury. "How dare you
address your Sire like that!" he snarled, rising to his feet and
advancing across the room towards the younger vampire. He smacked him
across the face for his insolence and waited for him to apologise. It
never did take long to make this one behave.

What he hadn't expected was for Spike to hit him back. The punch
wasn't particularly hard, but he was so surprised it sent him
staggering back across the room.

"Don't hit me," Spike snapped at him. "You have no right, and I won't
let you treat me like a servant any more."

Angelus's glare hardened and his face shifted to his vampire
image. "Are ye forgetting' who I am, my boy?" he demanded, his voice
low and threatening, his Irish accent stronger as his rage grew. "Do
I have t' remind ye?"

Spike knew he was in for a beating for showing such disrespect, but
he was determined to fight back. Angelus was not going to get away
with looking down on him, and he certainly didn't like waking up in
bed with the bastard. Something must have happened, and Angelus had
always treated him like some sort of slave, clearly thinking nothing
of him. How had he not thought that this might happen? Things had to
change.

Spike braced himself for the fight as Angelus flew at him, but the
larger vampire was stopped dead in his tracks as a flaming arrow
sailed through the window, crossing Angelus's path and striking the
door. Angelus halted and stared over to the window. He grabbed a
small table to shield himself and moved closer to see what was
happening.

"A mob," he snarled, glaring back at Spike. "William - there's a mob
outside our home!"

Spike froze, the fight forgotten in a sudden panic.

Angelus seemed less afraid, and simply raised his shield a little
higher and slipped his human mask back on. "What do you think you're
doing?"

The leader of the mob glared up at him while the rest of them waved
their rifles, torches and other weaponry.

"Four dying men and women were taken to the hospital today claiming
that they were attacked by a friend of yours: William Healey. We know
he's in there, and we know you're responsible for the recent murders.
You're going to pay for this!"

Angelus slammed the shutters as another rally of flaming arrows were
fired at the house.

"This is barbaric!" Spike gasped, his mortal self resurfacing in his
horror. "Don't we even get a trial?"

"They must know we're vampires," Angelus muttered, backing away from
the shutters as they began to burn. "Someone's told them. William,
did you kill and hide those victims of yours last night, or did you
just leave them half-dead on the platform for anyone to find?"

Spike looked at him pitifully and Angelus groaned wearily as he began
packing up a few belongings. "William, you're a fool. Do you have any
idea what you've done?"

Darla and Drusilla arrived at the doorway, looking in horror at the
fire spreading around the room.

"What's happened?" Darla demanded. "There are men outside with fire
and stakes."

"William's victims survived," Angelus spat, still furious even in the
panic. "We have to go."

"I'll fetch Miss Edith," Drusilla informed them calmly, as if she had
been told "We're going for a little trip to the seaside."

Angelus threw a few of his belongings into his travelling case and
dumped one of Darla's dresses on top. There was no time to get
anything else as the fire was spreading. Spike just stood there
gobsmacked, unable to believe that he had caused this. He was trying
so hard to be cold and cocky about this situation, but part of him
felt horribly disappointed in himself that his carelessness had made
his Sire hate him so much.

"I can't believe you let this stupid brat feed from you," Darla
grumbled as Angelus grabbed their bag and stormed out, grabbing
Spike's arm to drag his dazed Childe after him.

"You mean that was the truth?!" Spike exclaimed, still in shock.

"Yes," Angelus hissed, pausing on the balcony as Darla dashed into
Drusilla's room to make her hurry up.

"You didn't... take advantage of me?" Spike's words were stuttered and
quiet.

Angelus rolled his eyes. "William, I would never take advantage of
you. I have far better taste than that. I fed you my blood and made
you a true Childe, and believe me, I regret it more than I thought
was possible. You're not worthy to be my Childe. I'm ashamed of you."

Those words hurt, and Spike was speechless for a moment. For his Sire
to reject him was the worst of every rejection in his miserable life.
A whole host of family, friends and potential wives had dismissed
him, but for his Sire, the one who had taken his life and replaced it
with one so much better, to do so was like someone had torn his heart
from his chest.

Darla was now hauling Drusilla after them, clutching a few meagre
belongings.

"Angelus, I'm sorry!" Spike heard himself say, the words sounding
more like William's than his own, and he was not William any more.

"You will be!" Angelus threatened him, cuffing him upside the head as
he led the group down the stairs.

The lower floor was already burning, the windows smashed and the
front door shaking as it was battered from the outside.

"Where are we planning on going?" Darla yelled above the din of the
shouting hoards in the street.

"The cellar," Angelus replied. "We can take the tunnels to the sewers
and hide somewhere until nightfall. Then we'll get on the next train
out of this city."

They tugged the trapdoor to the cellar open and jumped down onto the
gravel floor.

"I liked it here, you know," Darla grumbled as Angelus struggled with
the iron cover that led to the sewer. "The parties, the people. I do
not want to be leaving so early. When you're finished beating William
to a pulp I want a turn."

Drusilla cooed softly at Spike and cuddled him. "Oh, my Spike. Daddy
and Grandmother will hurt you. I promise to kiss it better."

"Thanks, Dru," Spike replied flatly, following the older vampires
into the sewer with Drusilla still at his side. "I'll be fine. Pain
builds strength and stamina. Besides, I don't care what the old git
thinks of me from now on."

Angelus heard the words as they set off through the filthy sewers of
London and he pretended he wasn't upset.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sunnydale, 2001

Angel watched his beloved Childe sleep as he ran over those historic
events in his head. He tried not to dwell on his Childe's contempt,
his horror at finding them in bed together, or the way Angelus had
punished him for his impudence. Angel was hideously ashamed of the
number of times he had taken a belt to his boy's back. Will deserved
to be cuddled and kissed, protected from any harm or discomfort, not
thrashed for making stupid mistakes.

But it was that mistake that Angel kept coming back to. Wil... Spike
had killed those four people. They had been found and had told the
police where their attacker lived. Then they had died and risen again
as vampires. Something didn't quite add up. How did they know where
he lived? How did they survive their injuries for so long?

Suddenly Angelus realised what the snotty crowd had done. He sat bolt
upright, his hands clenching into fists. He was seething, shaking
with rage, but a cool hand on his back calmed him.

"Tense much, Peaches?" Will asked, the use of an American expression
a rarity for him.

Angel calmed down a little. "I just... remembered something," he
explained flatly. "How long is it until sunrise?"

Will looked at the clock. "Hmm, 'bout two hours, bit less?"

Angel nodded and got up, scooping his clothes off the chair in the
corner. "I need to see someone," he informed. "I can't tell you who
because you'll worry about me, but I promise I'll be fine."

"You're going to see Skull," Will deduced immediately.

Angel looked up halfway through putting his socks on. "You're smarter
than you look."

"Why?"

Angel sighed and quickly changed his shirt. "Listen," he told Will
wearily. "There's just a few things I need clearing up, and while I'm
there I think I know how to get information about tomorr... today's
attack. Thing is, a one-man operation will be more stealthy than all
of us running in, so I'm being the one man."

Will nodded slowly, understanding the logic but not liking the risk.

"I just need to know one thing," Angel added. "When you left that
train station was Skull dead?"

Will shuddered and disguised it as a shrug. "He... he looked it. He had
a railway spike in his head."

Angel nodded. That's what he needed to know.

"You've been thinking about that night, haven't you?" Will announced
with a self-assured nod. "I know you've been watching me sleep and
brooding about what happened the first night I drank from you. That's
what this is mainly about. You've realised something and you want to
settle a score with Skull."

Angel held up his hands innocently. "I can't lie to you can I?"

"I have your blood in my veins," Will almost purred, clearly pleased
by the fact. He smiled and sidled closer. "I can practically read
your mind, I feel so close to you. Bit different this time, wasn't
it?" he whispered.

"That is was, my boy," Angel agreed, allowing Will to haul him down
for a kiss. Oh yes, this time was so much better, he thought. He let
Will plunder his mouth with his tongue, tasting him, teasing him. The
taste of blood was still there, but fainter.

When they drew apart, both breathing now, despite requiring no
oxygen, Angel picked up the rest of his clothes.

"I promise I'll be back by sunup," he told Will before heading off to
get dressed in the bathroom instead.

~TBC~