*******
Angel stood on the tarmac watching Faith's breathing fog the air as they waited.
"You're son couldn't have gotten attacked during a heatwave?"
He ignored her joke; all of Angel's attention was being focused on the ensuing battle he was going to have with Spike. The elder vampire knew there was no way Spike would give up his soul if Angel simply asked for a favour.
"Yo, big guy, you alive in there--ok, stupid question."
Faith twirled her scarf around her wrist and Angel could tell she was nervous. They still hadn't found Connor and Faith had grown close to him; he should have known the ex-con would have been just as desperate to help sort out this mess as he was.
"Lilah really shook you up." Her head was leaning against his shoulder and when he moved to look at her expression he was oddly comforted by the look of realisation in her eyes. Nobody ever looked at him like that, like they'd figured him out, as though they understood his pain. But, Faith had travelled through the recesses of his mind, it was to be expected that she'd have picked some things up.
"Without Spike, Wolfram and Hart gets my son and some how I really don't see Spike caring."
"He protected Dawn when he didn't have a soul."
"Because he was in love with Buffy," Angel countered, "He's got nothing like that tying him to me."
"Excluding the family bondage."
His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to retaliate but firmly closed it, Angelus had been her tour guide and god only knew what she'd found out from him.
"Hey." Faith pointed up and Angel followed her gloved hand with his eyes, "Guess we'll get your answer soon enough."
"Nice set up you got here."
"The benefits of being the CEO of an evil law firm."
Angel pulled a bag of blood out of the bar fridge and emptied it into a glass, topping it off with bourbon. He slid it down the bar counter and Spike reached out and caught it quickly downing half its contents.
"So what do you want?"
Angel's eyes narrowed as Spike lit a cigarette and began smoking. He was purposefully riling him up but Angel wasn't prepared to give in so he took a cigarette and Spike's lighter and sat down.
"It's a long story."
"So give me the preview."
Angel took a drag on the cigarette and slowly let it out; he knew how Spike worked and for a long time he'd known how to play him, now it was just a matter of adapting to his soul.
"Darla and I had a son, he was raised in a hell dimension by Holtz. I joined Wolfram and Hart so he could have a normal life. Nobody remembers him, he doesn't either and, as far as he's concerned, he's just a normal Harvard student."
"Harvard? Bloody hell, spare no expense."
"That's what surprises you." Angel raised an eyebrow; he'd expected a bigger reaction from the vampire, not acceptance of the fact that two vampires had actually created a child.
"Dawn's at university," he shrugged, "She's the one that deserves to be at Harvard."
He nodded and grabbed another blood bag pouring it into an empty cup and sculling it down. "I need you to help me give Connor a normal life."
"I thought Wolfram and Hart had already given him one of those."
"They did, but now they're taking it away from him. They're destroying his life and he's done nothing to deserve it."
"And you need my help why? You're the CEO of the firm you figure it out."
"I've tried, the only way this is going to stop is with your help."
Spike leant back in his chair and Angel cringed at the smug look that crossed the vampire's face, Spike had found his bargaining chip and Angel knew he wouldn't get away easily.
"So what's in it for me?"
"Whatever you want."
"Too easy," he paused and put his cigarette down, "What do I have to do?"
He'd been hoping he could get Spike to agree without actually saying something, that he'd give the ok when he heard he could have anything. In his rush, Angel had failed to counter in the fact that Spike had grown wiser since the last time he'd seen the vampire.
"We have to sign our souls over to Wolfram and Hart."
"I only just got mine, I'm not giving it up for some kid of yours that I've never even heard of." For all I know he could've been a mass murderer and that's why you wiped all our memories." Angel looked down at the floor and Spike's eyes widened, "Oh my god, he was--that's why you don't want everything to unravel, you're scared he's going to kill again."
"He wasn't a mass murderer Spike."
"Sure and I'm Ghandi."
"I stopped him before he could kill anyone, he was confused." He glared at the younger vampire and ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "You haven't changed at all, you're still the same selfish bastard you always were."
"I have changed, I'm just not stupid enough to sell my soul to Wolfram and Hart."
"So you're not going to help? You're going to let my son suffer?"
"Sounds like he deserves it, maybe if you hadn't wiped my mind it'd be a different story." Spike took out another cigarette and shrugged as he got up to leave, "I hope you find another way but I'm not giving up my soul, I got it back fair and square."
Angel continued to stare at the closed door and willed the vampire to come back in, when it began to open his eyes lit up but it was only Faith checking to see how everything had gone. When the Slayer saw his face, she was immediately at his side.
"We'll think of something big guy, we always do."
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