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Chapter 12: The wind picking up The group left Sunnydale right after sundown and after they dropped Cordelia to her apartment, they went back to the Hyperion where Wesley made a straight line to his books. Reluctantly Buffy grabbed a book and started going through the possible demons from Cordelia's vision. They had taken a head start in Sunnydale but not managing to find the specific demon. After two hours of reading a book after book of endless stream of demons, she was tired. With a sigh she slammed the book closed and got up from the table to get another book. She made her way to the office where Wesley was surrounded by books. “I love my books”, he stated to himself and a smirk rose to Buffy's lips, he wasn't aware of her presence in the room. “We all know that all ready”, Buffy said from the door and Wesley jumped in surprise. “Umm... I just meant that my books are much more helpful than those in Sunnydale”, Wesley explained somewhat embarrassed and received a amused 'we believe you'-look. “Well, I have narrowed our suspects to two species, a Grezzler-demon and Na'an-Xurr. Neither option is preferable”, Wesley informed her going back to business. “So what's the what with these things? Why is neither of them preferable?” she asked and walked behind him, peering over his shoulder to look at the books spread on the desk. Wesley removed his glasses and started cleaning them with his handkerchief, a gesture that reminded her of Giles. After a while he put them back on and spoke. “Well, the Grezzler demon is very powerful but it's all brawn, no brain. They are usually just tools used by more clever demons, they are quite rare but hard to kill because they cause tremendous rage in anyone who possesses a soul.” “And that's bad”, Buffy stated with a frown. “I would certainly say so. But Na'an-Xurr is very much a thinker, they have been recorded to accomplice very complex strategies to cause destruction. But the good news is that they don't have much muscle power, and the bad news is that they use strong minions to do their dirty work. They are quite dangerous.” “So which ever it is, it's bad. We can't fight the grizzly things with a soul and the anaconda has minions, which considering our luck, could be one of those grizzlies.” “Quite right. And it is Grezzler demon, not grizzly. But now that we have determined what kind of a demon might be in question, all we have to do is to find out which one is it and what is the connection with Wolfram & Hart”, Wesley said and again pulled his glasses off and started polishing them. “Piece of cake. We'll just stroll into the law firm and ask them nicely if they have any evil plans involving grizzly or anaconda demon. I'm sure they'll tell us right away so we can stop them”, Buffy said with sarcasm dripping from her voice and Wesley sent her a exasperated look. “There is no need to be biting”, Wesley chastised. “Well, I say we pay Lilah and Lindsey a visit and ask nicely”, Angel said from the door, making them spin around to look at him. “And they're gonna just tell us?” Buffy asked with a raised eyebrow. “I can be very persuasive”, he answered with a smirk. “I bet you can be. But I'm coming with”, Buffy said and Angel turned serious. “No you're not”, he protested. “This argument is getting old. I'm coming. I'll wear my baggier clothes to conceal the pregnancy. I'm coming with you and that's it.” She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him, challenging him with her eyes. Angel opened his mouth to protest but closed it as Buffy raised a silencing hand at him. “You're not going to win an argument against a pregnant slayer”, she stated and he didn't look happy. “You are one stubborn woman”, he griped. “And you're a pigheaded man”, she shot back with a smirk. With few steps she was in front of him, she reached up and ran her hand over his forehead. “But I like your big head”, she said with a small smile. He placed his hand over hers and drew it to his lips, placing a soft kiss to her knuckles. “I just don't want you to get hurt.” “I'm not going to get hurt. There is nothing more dangerous than a pregnant slayer, there is no way I'm letting anything happen to our baby. And if I get tired of fighting, I'll just sit on them”, she assured him, adding the last part with a smirk. He shook his head and glanced heavenwards before directing his eyes back to hers. “Your not that heavy”, he stated and bend his head to kiss her. But he stopped as Wesley cleared his throat loudly. The couple turned to look at their friend who was directing his gaze away from them, clearly embarrassed. “Sorry Wes, we'll try to behave”, Buffy said with a amused smile. “Please do”, Wesley requested and once again started to clean his glasses. Buffy moaned as Angel gently massaged her lower back, she had mentioned her back ached and only seconds later he was relieving the pain. “That feels so good”, she breathed out and closed her eyes. “Does it still hurt?” he asked against her ear, his cool breath sending shivers running through her. “That's a definite no”, she answered with a small smile playing on her lips, but she still didn't open her eyes. Finally she pried her eyes open and they landed on the clock. “Angel, I have to start to get ready, I'm meeting Christian in half an hour”, she said reluctantly but he showed no signs of stopping. “Angel, I'm serious”, she tried to protest but lost herself in the sensation he was creating. His lips descended on her neck, gently nipping at his mark and causing her moan softly. His arms circled around her as he kept suckling on the sensitive skin and he let out a sound of protest as she turned around in his arms. “You're evil”, she accused him and gave him a halfhearted glare. “But you love me anyway”, he smirked. She rolled her eyes before grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him into a passionate kiss. “I'm gonna be late”, she mumbled as the last coherent thought. “He can wait”, he said and deepened the kiss. He pulled her body tightly against his and gently laid her down to the bed while his lips traveled down to his mark, making her forget all about Christian and everything else except him. They made their way through the tunnels to the law firm and sneaked inside, although Angel knew his presence was already known because of the vampire detectors. When the elevator door opened, they were faced by three guards armed with night sticks. Before they could move, Buffy kicked one of them across the hallway and attacked another while Angel hit the other. In seconds, all three guards were laying unconscious on the floor. “A welcoming committee, that's nice of them”, Buffy stated looking at the men. “They're very considerate here.” They started walking towards Lindsey's office and just as they were ready to step in, Angel heard several voices and footsteps closing to the door. He glanced at Buffy and pulled her into hiding as Lilah opened the door and turned to address to the people still in the room. “Take care of it, Lindsey”, she said coolly and closed the door before he could respond. She started walking down the hallway and the couple discreetly followed her. “I'm gonna follow her and you're gonna talk to the guy with a girls name”, Buffy said and gestured at the lawyer. “Buffy...” he started to protest, he didn't like the idea of her going after Lilah alone and especially while expecting his child. “Angel, where she is going, you can't follow”, she said pointedly and Angel turned to look, seeing Lilah step into the ladies room. He turned back to Buffy who gave him a amused smile and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before starting to move towards the bathroom. “Go talk to the guy, we don't got all day”, she said and turned to walk into the room. Angel sighed, she could be so stubborn sometimes. He turned around and walked into Lindsey's office, slamming the door into a security guard as he opened it. He grabbed the other two and knocked them against each other, letting the two unconscious men fall to the floor before turning to Lindsey. “Hello, Lindsey. You guys really should consider hiring better guards”, he said looking at the three unconscious bodies. “Thanks for the advise”, Lindsey answered dryly. “But really, as fun as this is, this isn't a social call”, Angel said and started approaching the lawyer. “Rumor has it that you...” he started but noticed something that shouldn't have been in the room. He felt rage bubbling inside of him and a angry growl escaped him. Before he even noticed it, he had jumped across the room and had Lindsey pinned against the wall. “You've been near Buffy”, he ground out and tightened his hold on his throat, reminding Lindsey all too much of Angelus. He tried to gasp for air but the crazed vampire was squeezing his throat so hard that he feared it would snap at any moment. “I warned you to stay away from her, boy”, Angel growled and saw the terror flash in Lindsey's eyes. Lindsey wasn't so sure anymore if this was Angel or Angelus, he remembered the night Angelus had told him to stay away from Buffy and he still didn't understand why Angelus let him live but looking into the vampire's eyes he was sure he wouldn't be as lucky this time. His last thought was that if Lilah got the promotion, he was going to come back and haunt her. Angel's head started to clear as he watched Lindsey's body drop to the ground, for a while he just stood there listening till he got confirmation that Lindsey was still alive, although barely breathing. Quickly Angel strode off the office and made his way to the bathroom. As he stepped through the door, his eyes landed on Buffy who was keeping Lilah pinned down against a cracked mirror. “Buffy”, he whispered, he could feel the rage bubbling inside of him but he tried to fight against it. “Hi honey, Lilah and I were just having a friendly chat”, Buffy said with a sardonic smile. Angel's eyes shifted to Lilah who was bloody but angry, she elbowed Buffy to the stomach and Buffy staggered back. Angel let out a angry growl and with two long strides he was in front of Lilah and he threw her across the room to the wall. With the last straw of reason, he grabbed Buffy and lifted her into his arms before fleeing the room. Buffy was struggling the whole time, trying to free herself from his arms and go after Lilah but as they got farther away, her protests settled down. “Angel”, she whispered and looked at him with clear eyes. Angel smiled softly and put her down to the ground. “Are you alright?” he asked, his hands drifting to her stomach and his ears concentrating on listening the heartbeats of his lover and their child. To his great relief both were beating steadily. “I'm fine, we're fine. But if you hadn't come there, I could have killed that bitch”, Buffy said first calmingly and then growing frantic as she thought of the possibility that she could have killed a human. “Sweetheart, it's alright, you didn't kill her”, he assured her and pulled her into his arms before pressing a soft kiss to her head. “At least now we know which demon it is”, Buffy grumbled not happy about it.
“You are certain it was Grezzler demon”, Wesley asked for the second time. “Yes, we are sure”, Buffy sighed tiredly. “I couldn't control myself, I felt this rage inside me that I couldn't stop. When I smelled Buffy's scent on Lindsey, I completely lost it, I'm lucky I didn't kill him”, Angel said looking away in shame. “You smelled my scent on him? But I've never met the guy.” She tried to think where she could have been so close to a evil lawyer that her scent would stay on him but she hadn't met anyone except Christian. “A person doesn't need to be in contact with the subject for his or hers scent to catch on the clothes, it is possible he was somewhere near where you were, sitting next to you perhaps”, Wesley stated and Buffy tried to rake her brain to remember where she could have seen him, but nothing came. “I think we should worry about Lindsey after we deal with this Grezzler thing. Lilah was nice enough that she sang like a bird after I pummeled her a little. The plan is to set riots, all over the city”, Buffy said. “But how do we kill it? When I was in that office, I felt the demon near me, I couldn't control myself and I nearly killed Lindsey. If I go after it, I might hurt someone else besides the demon.” “Same with me, first I was just exchanging insults with Lilah and suddenly I just wanted to kill her.” “The nearer you are to the demon, the more affect his power has on you. I don't know how either one of you could fight the thing because in hand to hand combat, I don't believe you would have much clear judgment”, Wesley stated and tiredly removed his glasses before starting to clean them. “Who do we know that doesn't have a soul but would be able to help?” Wesley asked thoughtfully and put his glasses back on. Both Buffy's and Angel's faces crumbled and they turned to look at each other, their looks telling that they had the same thought. “Spike”, Angel said and grimaced. “Spike? Are you sure he would help, and more importantly, can we trust him?” Wesley asked like it was the most ridiculous idea he had ever heard. “Now that he's chipped, he vents the lack of hunting into meaningless violence”, Buffy explained but Wesley didn't look too convinced. “In this situation, what options do we have?” Angel said pointedly, he didn't like the idea of asking Spike for help or being anywhere near his grandchilde, but their options were limited. “I'll call Faith”, Buffy sighed and went to the phone. She dialed the number and waited for an answered but there was none. She glanced outside the window, the sun had just set. “I guess she's gone to Bronze or patrolling. I'll call her again later”, Buffy stated.
Buffy woke up as Angel sneaked back into their room, she was still dressed in her day clothes and held the phone in her hand. “Faith!” she exclaimed and quickly dialed the number without remembering to look at the clock. “Hello”, came the sleepy response from the other end. “Sorry, did I wake you?” Buffy asked grimacing as she turned to look at the clock. “You did, but I was about to get up anyway. What's the occasion?” Faith said and rose to sit against the headboard. “We need help, Spike's to be exact. There's this demon that makes you all loony and violent except if you don't have a soul. It's planning on causing riots all over L.A and me or Angel can't kill it without getting all raging loony... So Spike is the only one we know that likes the unnecessary violence for fun, plus knowing him we have to pay him...” Buffy explained and quieted as she realized she was babbling. “Okay, so could you tell him to drag his undead ass here”, Buffy went straight to the point and earned a questioning look from Angel who had just stepped into the room wearing just a towel loosely hanging around his hips. “Sure, I'll look him up and tell him to go there. When do you need him?” Faith asked on the other end but Buffy was having hard time concentrating on her words as her eyes raked over Angel's still moist body. “Umm... yeah, as soon as possible”, Buffy said to the phone realizing that Faith had asked her a question. Faith chuckled. “What's going on in there?” she asked with a crooked smile. “Umm... It's just my sleepy head, I'm a little scatterbrain when I wake up in the middle of the night... morning... whatever”, Buffy clumsily explained forcing herself to look at something else than the beautiful man in the same room with her. Her eyes found his face and she shot him a halfhearted glare as he seemed to be smirking at her. She threw a pillow at him but he dodged it easily. He shook his head like a dog and with few long strides he was by the bed. He leaned over her placing his hands on both sides of her head and he nuzzled against the crook of her neck. “Faith, I gotta go. There's a wet vampire dripping water all over me”, she said to the phone, trying to keep her voice steady. p> Faith chuckled and shook her head in amusement. “Don't do anything I wouldn't do”, she said to the phone before hanging up. She turned to her side and poked Spike to the ribs before kicking him under the sheet. He let out a very human like growl and turned to look at her annoyance clear on his face. “Wha?!” “Get your ass back to your crypt before the sun comes up and fries your ass. And after it's playtime, head to LA. Buffy called that they need your help”, she said. “And what makes you think I'm just gonna jump in to my car and race to the slayers rescue? I'm not her lapdog, you know”, he griped while getting off the bed and pulling his pants on. “Don't kid yourself. We both know when B tells you to jump, you make a sarcastic quip and ask how high”, Faith smirked and got a insulted look from Spike which made her even more amused. “Hey! I'm nobody's flunky!” he protested and Faith rolled her eyes. “Keep telling yourself that. But you're just as whipped as Angel.” “Don't compare me to that ponce.” Faith rolled her eyes again, men were so fragile. She got up from the bed, not even bothering to cover herself as she started picking up her clothes from the floor. Spike's eyes roamed all over her body, turning his eyes darker from lust. “Hey, my eyes are up here and we don't have time for another round, the sun is coming up soon and this building doesn't have a tunnel access, that's why B picked it”, Faith reminded him, men were so easy. “Are you coming to LA too? You know, you could keep me company during the long day hours”, Spike suggested raising a scarred eyebrow at her. “No, I'm not. I'm being a good little slayer and looking after the Hellmouth till B comes from the mommy leave. Hey, why didn't you wake up when she called, are you so confident in slayers presence that you can sleep through anything? Man, I must be loosing my touch.” “I beg to differ, luv”, Spike cooed and took a step closer to the younger slayer. “Run along now, I'll see you when you get back from LA”, Faith shot him down and gently pushed him away towards the door.
“Shouldn't Spike be here already?” Angel griped looking at the clock again. “Maybe that lump of metal car broke down”, Buffy suggested. “Oi, no mocking my car!” came Spike's voice from the door. “Took you long enough”, was Angel's answer. “What do you think I am, your dog that can be just told to jump?” “Come here, Lassie”, Buffy said mockingly and Spike shot her a glare. “Watch your step, girly. It is you who needs me, not the other way around”, Spike told her trying to sound like the old Spike, the one without the damn chip in his head. “Come on, we pay you couple hundred bucks and you get some brutal violence without your skull cracking from pain, what are you complaining about?” Buffy shot back and Spike seemed to brighten immediately as the money was mentioned. “Okay, we found the place where the demon is hiding. Remember, the thing is strong so don't get stupid”, Angel said knowing full well that Spike's style was to go head first and think later. He handed Spike the piece of paper where the driving instructions were and the younger vampire just glanced at it before stuffing it to his pocket. “I want my money now”, Spike demanded. “Half now, half later”, Buffy stated in a tone that told there was no negotiation. She handed the money to Spike who mumbling something counted them before stomping away without saying anything to the couple. “What's his problem?” Buffy asked as she watched the blond disappear through the front door. “I don't want to know”, Angel answered. “So, wanna go patrolling?” Buffy asked with a smile. “Buffy, are you sure you should?” Angel asked doing his best not to sound condescending. “I promise I'll be careful. Besides soon I'll be too big to hunt so that will make you happy”, Buffy answered and a smile rose to Angel's lips as he thought of the child growing inside her. “Oh, I can't wait”, he said and placed his hand on her bump. “You'll be eating those words. And growing bigger is not something I'm looking forward to”, Buffy said and placed her hand over his. “What if we skip the patrol tonight? I'll make you a nice warm bath and volunteer to wash you back”, Angel suggested with a raised eyebrow. A smile rose to Buffy's lips but she shook her head sadly. “As tempting as that sounds, the slayer in me is going to bouncing off the walls soon. But I'll take up on your offer after we get back”, she answered and he seemed satisfied with her answer. “We better make it a quick sweep”, he said against her ear and pulled her into a kiss that was full of promises and left her breathless. “Oh boy”, she whispered.
Three hours later Buffy and Angel were sitting in the office, both sharpening their weapons in perfect synchronization, mirroring each others moves. Their attention went to the lobby as they heard the door open and close followed by almost soundless footsteps. They both grabbed their weapons and made their way to the door. “Nice evenin', isn't it”, Spike said and slammed the demons head on the reception desk. Buffy grimaced and turned to glare at Spike. “That's disgusting.” “What? It's just a head. It's not like you haven't done some chopping in your time. I'm planning on putting this baby on the wall, I'm still decorating my crypt”, Spike said and lifted the head by the few black hairs it had. “So where's the money?” he demanded and Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes. “Here”, Angel said and thrust the bills into Spike's free hand. He did quick counting and glanced at the clock. “As fun as it's been, I'm heading off, don't fancy frying in the sun.” “If it's cutting close, you could stay in one of the rooms till the evening”, Buffy without believing she had just suggested Spike of all people could stay with them a whole day. What was happening to her? She just decided to blame the hormones. Spike quirked a scarred eyebrow and let out a amused chuckle. “Tired of the poof already?” Buffy sent him a full glare. “You're disgusting.” “Well, as much as you want me to stay, I have a date I plan on keeping.” “You? Have a date?” Buffy asked skeptically. “What? I'm a healthy man in my prime”, Spike said somewhere between bragging and being defensive. “Spike, you're dead and you're over hundred years old, I wouldn't call that young and healthy.” “Says a girl who was knocked up by a 240+ years old walking dead”, Spike shot back. “You leave Angel and our baby out of this”, Buffy said ready to attack and Spike was starting to think it was not wise getting into a argument with a pregnant slayer. “Hold your hormones, blondie. I'm going before your mood swings tell you to stake me”, Spike said raising his hands in surrender, the head still tangling in his other hand. Buffy grimaced as a big splotch of something gray dropped to the floor from the head. “You better start going before I wipe the floor with your peroxide dipped head”, Buffy threatened. “Alright, alright. Have a nice day too, bitch”, Spike answered and fled the hotel. “That's really disgusting”, Buffy stated looking at the green goo on the floor. “Yeah, it is”, Angel conceded and glanced at the clock. “But I'll clean it tomorrow. It's late, you should be in bed.” “Only if you're there with me.” “You talked me over”, Angel said with a crooked smile and bent down in to a quick kiss. He took a hold of her hand and led her to their bedroom where he slowly removed her clothes before taking off his. They went to bed and he pulled her close against his body, he nuzzled against her neck and pressed a soft kiss to the crook of her neck before closing his eyes. “The whole Lindsey smelling thing still bothers me”, Buffy said quietly, her eyes were closed and she was content in his embrace but she couldn't sleep. “It bothers me too, I don't like him being anywhere near you”, he confessed and tightened his hold around her. ”I haven't even ever met the guy”, Buffy stated. “You have.” “When?” she asked truly puzzled and turned around in his arms to face him. “When I was Angelus, you were in Caritas. Lindsey tried to hit on you but you shot him down. Angelus had a run in with him after that”, Angel answered feeling uncomfortable reminding of the time but Buffy was more concentrated in trying to remember a guy that had tried to feed her lines, she could barely remember it happening. “Why didn't Angelus kill him?” Buffy asked, another question that puzzled her. “He was going to but...” Angel started to answer but didn't know how to continue, he truly didn't like talking about the time, any of them, when he was Angelus. “But?” Buffy encouraged. “But you were his priority. He was going to mentally torture him, later literally but at the moment he wasn't important, you were”, he answered and closed his eyes in shame. He felt Buffy cup his cheek and he opened his eyes. “Angel, don't blame yourself of the things he did. I don't feel any less for you just because of the things your demon did, you had no control over it. I love you no matter what, don't you ever forget it”, she assured him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I love you too, forever”, he promised smoothing her hair back. She smiled at him but then the smile disappeared and her eyes widened as the memory hit her, she could remember the guy in Caritas. “Oh God”, she whispered.
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