Chapter Title: Chapter 06

A/N: So, longer chapter this time around. I had meant to post it sooner, but real life responsibilities schemed to keep me away from my computer for much of the past week. Sorry about that!

Warnings: I don't think there's much to warn people about at the moment, but you might want to leave a comment if you see a potential pairing that you do/don't want to see.

Disclaimer: Still don't own these lovely characters… oh well.

After returning to the mansion from UC Sunnydale, Spike had stretched out on the hearthrug once again, basking shirtless in the warmth of the wood fire. Angel stared as the dancing flames threw changing patterns of highlights and shadows across his grandchilde's features. The drive home in his convertible had turned the blonde's gelled hair into a disarray of curls, and due to their chemically-induced brightness, they glowed like a golden halo around Spike's head. Angel almost snorted at the obscenity of the image; Spike was no angel.

The thought caused the dark vampire to pause, however, and then take another look at his grandchilde. Spike did appear to be a picture of innocence at the moment, blue eyes hidden behind long-lashed eyelids and lips parted just the slightest crack as his jaw relaxed in sleep. Every so often his chest would rise and fall with an unnecessary breath, and his fingers would twitch as the movement stimulated the chain of muscles and tendons stretching up the arm thrown over his head. Angel's eyes softened at the sight, realizing he had been wrong. This wasn't Spike lying before him but dear, sweet William, the young poet who had been tricked into unlife by Drusilla's poisoned promises.

Silently, Angel rose from his seat on the couch and went to fetch a sketchpad and pencils from his upstairs bedroom. He was far from being a great artist, but as Angelus, he had honed his drawing skills well enough to use them as a means to intimidate and terrorize his victims. Sketching pictures of his prey and their loved ones while they slept before leaving the images on their pillows had become one of his favorite pastimes as a master vampire. Now he desired to leave a similar calling card for Director Walsh, but instead of leaving a sketch of the woman herself or of one of her favored soldiers, Angel would leave her a sketch of his beloved William, hoping to show her a pale reflection of the humanity still clinging stubbornly to his heart and blood.

Several hours had passed when Spike finally cracked open his eyes and glanced in his grandsire's direction. Angel didn't notice, too wrapped up in perfecting the details of his current sketch. Spike smirked.

"Angelus always did take a perverse form of pleasure from drawing his victims," the blonde spoke. Angel's head jerked up in surprise before an amused smile spread across his face.

"So what have you been working on so diligently while I've been asleep? Something for dear, old Maggie?" Spike asked, climbing to his feet and stepping over to the couch.

"It started out as that, but then I got carried away, I think," Angel replied. The two vampires glanced at the two dozen or so sketches littering the cushions around the elder man. Spike picked up one of the drawings and studied it carefully, while Angel went back to his current work in progress.

"Angel? Is this really how you see me or are you just… you know, enhancing certain aspects?" the blonde asked softly, fingers tracing the image of his sleeping face.

"What do you mean?"

Spike growled, embarrassed to verbalize the exact question he wanted to ask but feeling a distinct need to know the answer.

"Do you really see me like this?" The blonde tried again, shoving the drawing he held under Angel's nose. The dark vampire glanced at the image before turning to meet Spike's blue eyes.

"Again, what do you mean?"

"Damnit, Angel, I don't know how to say it!" Spike growled again. "Soft, maybe. Or… not innocent, but…"

"Do I still see you as William, you mean?" Angel asked, reaching out to clasp his grandchilde's forearm. "Sometimes. In the past, that would have been a bad thing, but now, I can't help but be glad about it."

"Angelus always hated it when he saw a spark of my old self, my pre-vampire self." Spike sighed as he gathered up sketches, making room so he could sit down. "But if you're noticing my human traits again now, Peaches, I'm gonna have to be cautious. Can't let this blasted chip turn me into a poofter like you."

Angel gave a soft snort of amusement. "It's not the chip, Spike. And I doubt you'll ever go completely soft. You love a good fight too much."

The elder vampire took the sketches and his drawing supplies and set them aside. He then turned to his grandchilde and pulled him to lean against his chest as he reclined himself. Spike complied easily, kicking his feet up and draping them over the arm of the couch.

"Fights are good," the blonde agreed with a yawn, "but I'm starting to love this as well."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that."

"Yeah, well, never thought Dru would leave me for a chaos demon. You know I don't do well on my own. Can't keep my head straight when I don't have someone ta look after 'sides myself." Spike was starting to drift off to sleep again. "It's nice ta be looked after too, though, ta have someone else keeping my head straight."

"Hmmm." Angel purred when Spike pressed his face against his collarbone. "It's nice to look after you again."

The elder vampire was just starting to doze off too when a gentle knock at the door jerked both men back into full consciousness. They glanced toward the entrance to their courtyard to see Buffy, Willow, and Tara hovering just outside. Angel gave a grimace of disappointment, figuring Spike would pull away in the presence of company, trying to save his Big Bad image, but to the dark vampire's surprise, the bleached blonde turned onto his side and pillowed his head on Angel's lap.

"Heya, birds, what brings you to our humble abode?" Spike asked, nuzzling against his grandsire's thigh.

"Oh, uh, nothing important." Willow grinned like she had a secret. She led the other two girls into the longue and sat down on the couch across from the one that Angel and Spike occupied. "We just thought you might like a report on the results of your little prank from last night."

Angel jerked in surprise. "How do you know what we did last night?"

"Oh, you know, we were th-there when you threatened W-Walsh, and then you m-m-mentioned taking care of s-some business when you left with Spike." Despite her shyness, Tara's grin matched Willow's in mischievousness as she settled next to the redhead.

Buffy remained standing behind the two girls, arms crossed in front of her chest and looking decidedly grumpy. Angel wasn't sure how to interpret her posture. His ex was either mad about him and Spike declaring war on her new boyfriend and his friends, or she was mad simply about him and Spike. Regardless of the reason for Buffy's mood, Angel suddenly realized that for a vampire slayer, she knew precious little about vampire families and matters of honor and retaliation. He decided he would need to have a talk with Giles about this lack of knowledge.

"Well, if you know what we did, would you mind telling us how dear Director Walsh reacted?" Angel asked, shifting his attention away from his former girlfriend. "You did just offer us a report on the subject, Willow."

The redheaded witch nodded and sat up straighter in excitement. "She totally wigged out, Angel. Called in campus security and the administration and everything. She even skipped her classes this morning, which she never does. Doesn't trust her teacher's aides to lecture competently, not even Riley. Oh! And Riley said she went off on this giant rant about how useless security is if they don't notice a building is occupied in the middle of the night when it shouldn't be."

"Last time I checked, pet, UC Sunnydale was active at all hours of the night, 'specially right before midterms and finals when all those students are stressing over grades," Spike smirked. "Used to love hunting there around those times of the semester. All that stress gives the blood a bit of a tangy flavor, like citrus, kinda sweet and sour at the same time but in a good way."

"Spike! That's disgusting!" Buffy scolded, glaring at the blonde.

"Vampire here, luv. Thought you'd be used to it by now, what with you being the Slayer and all." Spike shot the other blonde a smug look before rolling onto his back and staring up at Angel. "So what's our next step gonna be, Peaches? We've got her mad as a hornet sounds like."

"Patience, childe. We'll let her stew for a bit while we work on the Adam problem." Angel ran his fingers through Spike's bleached curls, a gesture he had noticed his grandchilde enjoyed despite his frequent protests. "Slow and steady, remember?"

"Yeah, slow and steady," Spike replied before glancing at the girls again. "Is that all you birds wanted to talk about or was there more?"

"Well, since our Introduction to Psychology class was cancelled thanks to your little games," Willow started, "Tara and I had time to work on that ingredients list Angel requested."

The redheaded witch dug into her shoulder bag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, handing it to the elder vampire. She waited patiently while Angel read over the neatly-written list.

"I can work with this." The dark vampire nodded. "Thanks, Willow, Tara. I think we'll definitely make some important progress at tonight's meeting."

"Good. We'll see you tonight then." Willow smiled as she stood from the couch. Tara joined her and waved her own farewell to the two vampires before following the other witch out the door.

Buffy hesitated.

"Are both of you coming tonight?" the blonde girl asked, sounding cross.

"Yes," Angel replied, placing a restraining arm around Spike's chest when his grandchilde began to quip back at the Slayer. "What's your problem today, Buffy?"

"Oh, nothing, just that my ex has been getting all cuddly and protective of the vampire who tortured him hardly more than a month ago and is now threatening my current boyfriend on said vampire's behalf." Buffy huffed.

"Hey, as long as Riley stays away from Spike, I'll have no further problems with him. However, last I heard, you weren't any fonder of Director Walsh than I am. Not sure where the problem lies in that," Angel snarled. "As for Spike, he's family. If you don't understand what that means to us, then apparently you don't know as much about vampires as you think. A little torture isn't enough to come between the blood we share."

"'Sides, I didn't do the actual torturin' myself," Spike growled. "Now, if you're through with your little glare-fest, Peaches and I could use some sleep, bein' nocturnal creatures and all."

Buffy looked like she wanted to say something else, but she shook her head and turned to leave. Just as she reached the door, Angel called out to her.

"Buffy, I still love you, but right now Spike takes priority. I'm sorry if you don't understand that, but know that it's not just him that I'm fighting for. The Initiative is bad news for everyone, and I do include you in that assessment."

"She tried to kill me, Angel," Buffy replied. "I want Maggie to pay for that, but as a human, she's beyond my jurisdiction. Try to keep that in mind while you're getting your revenge or whatever you want to call it."

With that said, the Slayer left, disappearing into the sunlit courtyard and beyond.

"Never thought I'd see the day when a Slayer would be jealous of me," Spike commented, glancing up at his grandsire again.

"That makes two of us," the elder vampire agreed. "However, right now the only thing I really want to ponder is my pillow."

"Right, bed it is then." Spike stood up, stretched, and headed for the stairway.

Angel watched him go before gathering up his papers and sketching supplies. He paused, though, when one of the drawings caught his attention, the one that Spike had shoved under his nose earlier. The image truly did look like a modern version of his grandchilde's human self: soft, naïve, innocent William. It was the exact image that Angel wanted to rub in Director Walsh's face, but sentimental fool that he was, he didn't know if he could stand to give up the sketch.

His mind occupied with this pathetic excuse for a dilemma, Angel slowly made his way upstairs, following after Spike.

"So much for pondering only my pillow," the dark vampire muttered to himself.

End A/N: So endeth the chapter. Comments, reviews, and feedback are always appreciated and much desired! And don't forget to leave a note about pairings if there's something you really do or don't want to see develop in this story…

- Stony Knight