Endings and Beginnings 16/? (TEAOW&S)
Sorry this took so long! I'm not sure I'm at all happy with it. *sigh*
Also, please remember that my William is quite different from the one on the show. 200 years old, turned in 1798 by Angelus, wealthy, dissolute son of a baron.
TITLE: "Endings and Beginnings" 16/?
SERIES: TEAOW&S
AUTHOR:Laure Alexander
EMAIL: lara@sunflower.com
RATING: NC17overall
SPOILERS: Set eighteen then twenty years in the future of the series. If you've never read any of TEAOW&S, you'll be confused.
SUMMARY: For twenty years, the five way bond between the vampires and humans has been strong, the Family has grown close and loving, everything has been right in a world with the Hellmouth closed...until something happens to threaten everything they've built together.
CONTENT:sex, violence overall; a bit of language and lots of angst in this chapter. There seems to be less and less sex. This is sad...
DISCLAIMER:I don't own Buffy and friends or Buffy the Vampire Slayer; they're owned by Joss Whedon and Fox, I assume. No copyright infringement intended so please don't sue.
"Where am I?" the young man demanded again, and then, realizing he was naked, turned beet red and tried to cover himself.
"Drusilla!" Angel yelled angrily, reaching for his daughter, who twisted away from him, sobbing.
"Spike?" Willow whispered, horrified and happy at the same time. Dropping to her knees, she reached a trembling hand out to him.
He stared at her, fear shadowing his bright blue eyes.
Nicholas whipped a throw off a couch and draped it over William.
Rose stumbled to her feet, then over to fall beside her mother, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Daddy?"
Buffy and Conor stood watching it all happen in less than ten seconds.
Then Angel shuddered and cried out, a wounded, horrible sound as he collapsed in on himself, and Drusilla whimpered and clutched at her head.
"The prophecy," Nicholas murmured, then pushed past his own shock and took charge. "Buffy, get Angel up and someplace safe. Willow..." he began as he moved to Drusilla's side.
"Please...where am I?" William begged the woman kneeling in front of him, as he clutched the blanket over his nudity. "Was I robbed and left here?"
"I...I can't lift him," Buffy gasped, straining to get to her feet with Angel limp and moaning against her, one of his arms over her shoulders.
Conor moved to help her. "I've got him, mom."
Despite the strain, her face was ashen. "My strength's gone. That means..." As they lifted Angel to his feet, his eyes met hers, and she moaned at the agony in them.
"Buffy..."
"So empty." Drusilla clawed at her hair, pulling out strands until Nicholas grabbed her and stopped her. "The visions were all I had to hold onto what little sanity remained, Nicholas. Without them..." Suddenly she clutched at his shoulders, digging her claws into him. "You must lock me away before I hurt someone."
"What is happening here? Please ma'am?"
"What's your name?"
William answered the softly asked question immediately. "William Addington," and his face went cold. "If this is a kidnapping, my father will pay."
"Nick, what do we do?" Rose choked out, her eyes never leaving her father.
"What's happening, Buffy?"
"It's going to be okay, Angel."
"You haven't been kidnapped. This is...impossible to explain." Willow shook her head and dug her fingers into her skirt to keep from touching him.
William rose to his knees, wrapping the blanket around himself, his manner so unfamiliar, and when he spoke again, his voice was haughty, aristocratic. "I cannot discuss this further in your presence, ma'am, in this state of dishabille. Please provide me with some clothing and then some answers."
"I...hurt you." Angel's fingers brushed over Buffy's cheek and she sobbed as she and Conor took him out of the room.
"Rose, go get him some clothes."
"Mom, what's..."
"Not now, Rose, please." She didn't look at her daughter, her eyes only on the man who wasn't quite her husband. Emotion churned through her and her hands trembled and she wanted to scream. As Rose left, Nicholas took her place.
"Mr. Addington, my name is Nicholas St. Clare. Are you hurt at all?"
"I do not think so." Slowly William looked around the room, frowning at what he saw. "You are dressed very strangely, sir." His eyes fell on Drusilla who remained crumpled in a sobbing heap. "Should you not help her?"
"There's nothing I can do for her."
Willow looked over at Drusilla and felt torn, but didn't leave William's side.
"Where is the light coming from?" His eyes had fallen on the electric chandelier and then moved to the table lamps.
"Nick? How did this happen?"
"I don't know." He glanced at Drusilla. "And I think our answers died with her visions."
"Oh god, Dru."
Slowly Drusilla lifted her head, revealing a ravaged face and swollen eyes that lit on William. "William, but not my William. Not your Spike. How can this be?"
"Nicholas? Can he drink from me?" Willow whispered.
Before he could answer, Rose ran back in, carrying a pair of black trousers, a pale blue shirt, and a pair of scuffed black boots which she handed to Nicholas, before helping her mother to her feet. The two women held onto each other and turned their backs as Nicholas helped William dress.
"I have never seen long breeches such as these, sir, nor such strange fastenings."
"I'll try to explain everything but I ask that you keep an open mind."
As she listened to the two men, Willow looked down at Drusilla and watched the vampiress quiet, then pull herself to her feet and shake herself.
"I'm going hunting."
"Dru..."
Empty eyes turned on Willow. "There's nothing inside me. I must fill myself up." In a flash Drusilla was at Willow's side, one hand wrapped around a slender wrist, squeezing until the human winced in pain. "I don't know if I love you anymore."
And in another flash of movement she was out the French doors into the night.
"Rose, go get Penn and send him after Dru, then bring me Catherine."
As Rose reluctantly obeyed, Willow turned to find William dressed and watching her carefully.
"We have not been introduced. Mr. St. Clare, will you do the honors?"
The rich, aristocratic tones were both beautiful to her ears and grating on her nerves, but Willow clung to her composure and unfolded her arms from around herself.
"This is Willow Addington. She's your wife."
Surprise flashed across his face and his eyes widened. "I...I do not believe so, sir. I believe I would remember marrying."
"William, I am...I..." Helplessly she turned to Nicholas. "How do we explain this?"
Sighing, he gestured to a grouping of four chairs and seated Willow first before both he and William sat.
"I suggest you simply tell me."
"Alright, but please just listen, this isn't a dream or a kidnapping or a mass conspiracy. We can prove what we're saying." Taking a deep breath, Nicholas plunged into the truth. "It's the year 2020 and for the last two hundred and twenty-two years you've been a vampire until about ten days ago when you were killed and tonight brought back human with, I'm guessing, only your human memories."
William stared from one earnest face to the other, then burst out laughing. "Who put you up to this bizarre jest? Huntington? Fitz? Or was it the Smythson-Jones brothers?"
"It's the truth."
"I do not mean to laugh at you, ma'am, but surely the jest is on you as well. I am only twenty-four and have no desire to wed and, if I did, and I apologize for any offense, you are much older than I and would not be my choice."
"That's because we've been married for twenty years." She stuck out her left hand. "Recognize the ring?"
The laughter fled and slowly he took her hand. "'Tis my mother's. I saw it on her finger only yester morn. How did you get this?"
"You gave it to me on our wedding day."
William stared at her for a minute, then frowned and pulled his hand free from hers. "I believe I shall summon the Watch." As he started to rise, Nicholas grabbed his arm and easily held him down. "Let me go, sir!"
"There is no Watch. You're not in London. If you leave this house you'll be completely lost."
"You're insane, both of you. I am not two hundred odd years old. 'Tis impossible! And what is a vampire?"
Frowning, Nicholas showed him, and William jerked away from him, crying out in horror.
"William, please listen to us," Willow said soothingly.
"A monster."
Nicholas resumed his human face and nodded. "Yes."
"There is no such..." He looked at Willow for help and she only shrugged and gave him a sad look. "'Twas not a mask."
"No. William, it's real. Nick is a vampire. A vampire is a demonically animated corpse that drinks blood to survive and doesn't age. You were turned into one in 1798."
"You said...you said I died ten days past."
"Vampires aren't immortal. They can be killed and you were."
"Then why am I here? If this is true, I am myself yet in the far future. None of that is truly possible."
"But, it is. If you accept that vampires are real, you can accept that you were one for over two centuries and that you died. Why you came back is all part of a prophecy and a test and I'm not really sure what all anymore. You were supposed to come back as yourself, not as..." Willow began to break down, tears stinging her eyes, and Nicholas took her hand, rubbing her palm gently with his thumb.
"I do not know what to believe," William finally said numbly.
Rose came in carrying the baby over to her mother and she handed her off before taking the empty chair. "Penn went after Dru. Amelia's locked herself in her room mourning the loss of her mummy." She stared blatantly at William until he flushed beneath her eyes and the baby's cry drew his attention to it.
Shielding herself with the blanket, Willow unbuttoned her shirt and unhooked her maternity bra to let Catherine feed.
"Madam!" He turned even redder and shot his eyes back to Rose who wore a pair of low-slung jeans and a pink camisole, which made him blush even more.
"This is our youngest daughter and she's hungry. A lot has changed in the last two centuries."
"And, you, miss," William stammered, "Are you a vampire as well?"
Rose gave him a startled look, then shook her head. "No, I'm Rose. I'm..."
At her helpless shrug, Nicholas finished, "She's your eldest daughter."
"No daughter of mine would wear such low clothing."
Willow began to laugh with enough hysteria in it to make both Rose and Nicholas turn to her in concern. "Make him believe, Nick. Make him believe because I'm just so tired and I just want to cry myself to sleep."
"Nick..." Rose pointed to the grandfather clock which read twenty past twelve.
"Okay, make him believe..."
*****
Buffy and Conor got Angel's limp and unresponsive body onto the couch in their suite, then Buffy sent her son away with a kiss and a thank you.
"Are you sure you'll be okay, mom?"
"He's not going to hurt me."
He frowned in concern but left the suite, closing the door behind him.
Turning, Buffy found Angel huddled in the corner of the couch, his arms wrapped around his head and his knees drawn up. Fear and grief battled for control inside her, but she held onto the tiny calm part of herself and sat down next to him. "Angel?"
"The memories," he moaned, "The memories are coming back, in waves. Horror and destruction and brutality and murder, rampaging across Europe leaving a trail of bodies..."
"Angel," she tried again softly, "Those are the memories of before. What about those from the last twenty years?"
Slowly he looked up, and Buffy nearly flinched from the anguish on his face and the tears in his eyes. "Twenty years? Has it been that long? I...we...we were together. It was beautiful. Perfect." He frowned and unfolded his legs, clenching his hands into fists on his knees. "I remember being souled, a hundred years of mostly misery, and then...you. Loving you." Taking a breath, he stared down at his fists, then slowly looked over at her. "You're still so beautiful. The memories, the pain I caused you, the horrors I...How can you still look so beautiful?"
"You need time to sort through the memories, to see the truth."
"The demon kept you alive," was his numb reply. "To torment."
"For a couple of months, yeah. Look deeper."
"I raped you," Angel ground out. "Over and over, and beat you, and made you cry, and laughed at your tears. How can you be here? Why are you alive?"
"Look deeper."
Their eyes met, both so full of sorrow and pain, and then Angel nodded and a slight gasp broke from him. "He loved you? How...?"
"We love each other."
"That's disgusting!"
*****
As Nicholas explained the truth to William--showing him a newspaper with the day's date, turning on a television, again revealing his true face--Rose watched her mother finish feeding the baby, burp her, and redress herself.
"You look so tired, mom. Let Nick and me deal with him. You go to bed."
"We have to resolve one thing tonight." Willow glanced at her the clock and shook her head. "Nearly three hours since the point of no return."
Rose paled at the implication. "But, how can he drink from you?"
"Humans can ingest blood in small amounts. He doesn't need to take much, he doesn't need to bite me. It's his saliva that causes the enzyme to release, not his fangs."
"Is his saliva the same, though?"
"I guess we'll find out," was her mirthless reply, "If Nick convinces him to do it."
A raised protest came from the far corner of the room, then a moment of silence, before William shook off Nicholas' hand and walked towards the two women. He nodded at Rose, then bowed slightly to Willow before holding out his hand. "Do you have chambers here, madam?" At her nod, he continued, "Let me escort you to them. We have much to discuss."
Willow didn't want to touch him, but she was also so tired and weak that she wasn't sure she could stand on her own, so she took his hand and let him lift her to her feet. Cradling Catherine in one arm, she wrapped her other around his and let him guide her out of the room.
Nicholas joined Rose before she could think of what to do next. He had a pensive look on his face and he sighed softly as he shook his head. "I think he believes me, but he's having a hard time with being in the future. That seems to bother him more than having been a vampire. The vampire he can just wave off. He's not one now and doesn't remember being one. But the future is real. The wife and children are real."
"I wanted daddy back so much but...but that's not him. He barely even looks the same."
"You'll have to get to know him again, show him the daughter he loved for eighteen years. It may take awhile..."
Rose interrupted him, "Just in time for him to lose me."
At her bitterness, he sighed again and ran tired hands over his face. "It would be easier if it was now, wouldn't it."
She nodded and wrapped her arms around her slender body. "I'm going to...to try to focus on the baby and not think about anything past each day until..."
"We do need to talk about it, though, Rose," Nicholas said compassionately.
"I know, just not tonight, please."
He nodded. "I need to call Giles anyway. Sunnydale's Slayer is gone."
*****
"Let me just put Catherine down, and then we can talk." Gesturing to the couch in the sitting room, Willow walked past William into the bedroom to lay down the sleeping baby. When she returned he was still standing, waiting for her to sit before joining her, and keeping a respectful distance between them.
"I am still having difficulty believing all of this, although the proof--such things as electricity, these strange clothes and furnishings, Nicholas' ability to change his features--is overwhelming."
"I know. I understand, I really do. I didn't expect this either. When Drusilla said you'd come back, having you, William, take Spike's place wasn't something any of us could have guessed."
He made a moue of disgust. "Where did I get such an unsavory name?"
"It's a long story. You're not him. I don't think I'll have any trouble remembering that."
Nodding slowly, he breathed deeply and rested his hands on his knees. "Nicholas explained that we are all a family. The vampires are related through blood ties, and the humans are as well. He also spoke of the blood bond between you and my counterpart, and the danger to you if it is not renewed monthly. While I find the thought of drinking blood distasteful, there is no risk to me and all to you, and I will help you as it is the right thing to do, and because at some point, in a rather twisted way, you will become my wife."
Willow absorbed that for a moment, then murmured a quiet, "Thank you. We don't know if this will work but thank you for being willing to try. We should know by morning if the insanity is setting in, but I think if my reaction is normal, we should take it as having worked."
"How shall we accomplish this?"
"I think a simple cut to my inner elbow will work. Did Nicholas...did he explain what will happen to me?" When William turned bright red, Willow joined him. "I guess he did. We originally assumed it was the bite that triggered it, but research has shown it's your saliva mixing with my blood."
"It all seems very strange. Is it common?"
"Just the opposite. It's extremely rare and it happened purely by accident."
"Is that why you stayed with him?"
A sad smile crossed her face. "I stayed with him because I loved him with all my heart." Rising to her feet, she headed for a small weapons' chest to get a knife.
*****
As Angel's words reverberated within her, Buffy went cold and her back went up. "You think our love is disgusting?"
"I didn't mean...I...No, Buffy, I just...The demon never loved."
"That's debatable, since his love for Spike didn't emerge out of nothing twenty years ago," she snapped, "But none of that really matters because he did love me, completely, passionately, with his whole heart. Maybe it's because of the prophecy, maybe it's because the demon was insane, maybe it's because it was me, but he loved me."
"And you loved him back," Angel returned sadly.
"Completely, passionately, and with my whole heart." Calming down in the face of his heartbreak, she sighed and slumped against the back of the couch. "This is so fucked up."
"The memories are all a jumble," he sighed, burying his face in his hands. "It's going to take a while to sort them all out, but there's joy there. Joy at causing pain. The demon didn't fall in love with you overnight, Buffy."
"...No." She looked away from him. "I think me telling you all about it isn't what you need. You need to process the memories and deal with the emotions, and I need...I need to just not be here." As she spoke, she rose to her feet and headed into the bedroom to grab a few things. "I need to go talk to Giles, anyway. I'll just stay there tonight."
He trailed behind her. "Buffy, you don't need to leave. This is your home."
"This is your Family with a capitol F, Angel. This is where you belong, and it's all sun-proof. Just...stay. I'll be back tomorrow. I..." Grabbing a duffel bag she stuffed some clothes in it, then sat down on the bed to pull on her boots. "I'm leaving Conor here." She looked up at him and saw slow comprehension cross his face. "Your son. I mean, obviously not biologically, but yours."
Horror joined the comprehension. "I felt...I felt such perverted things..."
"That was the demon, the real darkness, and just recently. Try to remember how much you've loved him for the last sixteen years."
Slowly a smile wiped away the horror. "I...held him after he was born. So tiny and yet, loud, like you."
Buffy almost smiled at that, but rose and grabbed her bag. "I'll be at Giles'. The number's the same. I'll tell Conor I'm leaving."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah. I just...I need you to integrate all the memories or we're just going to get frustrated. I need you to see the love, and not just see it, but feel it."
"It's still hard for me to comprehend that you could love such a creature."
"Talk to Willow. She showed me the way."
"Willow...and Spike?"
Nodding, Buffy reached out and touched his cheek, then swiftly left the room, afraid if she stayed much longer she'd burst into tears.
*****
Dropping the still-warm corpse of a female jogger, Drusilla wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand, then licked it clean. Penn stood a few feet away, watching her carefully. He hadn't tried to stop her from killing and wasn't planning on getting in her way at all. There was something very, very dark about her.
"I'm still empty." Her voice echoed that emptiness as she turned to look at her companion from blank eyes. "I didn't realize...I always had them, you know, the visions. I never knew anything else. But I wasn't mad, no, not until him. Now all that I am is mad...and lost...and empty." She started to drift down the path through the heart of the park and Penn followed. "We love, but I don't know if I love anymore. Everything is just so...empty."
Suddenly she turned and ran towards him, making him stumble back in surprise. She drove him to the ground, knees holding down his arms, and a feral smile replaced the frown on her face. "I'm empty. Fill me!" As she rocked her hips against him, he felt himself harden and silently cursed, then growled as she tore his shirt open and buried her fangs in his throat.
*****
William swallowed convulsively several times, then took a large gulp of whisky. Curled in the corner of the couch, Willow trembled from her orgasm, and looked everywhere but at the disturbed young man standing across the room.
He had done it and it had worked, but she'd never felt so empty or alone, not even during that horrible period of time right after discovering the truth about the bond, when she and Spike had been so hateful to each other.
William poured more whisky into the glass.
*****
Nicholas had told her that he'd called Giles but still Buffy hesitated on his doorstep. Would he understand why she'd made this choice? Why they all had? Would he be disappointed in her? She felt like a schoolgirl again, waiting to be chastised by her Watcher for screwing something up.
The Hellmouth might be sealed, but Sunnydale was still a dangerous place, and she'd just removed the Slayer from the equation.
He wouldn't be happy about that.
*****
Sitting in the library, Nicholas went over his notes again, trying to figure out what was the next step. Drusilla's visions had been vague on that and now they were gone, leaving them with too many questions and no firm answers.
He was worried about Willow, if William drinking from her would be enough to save her. He was concerned about the shifting dynamics of the Family.
And then there was Rose and the fact that he was suddenly seeing her as a woman and not the child he'd known her entire life.
It would be easier if he could simply take her now. The next nine months were going to be hell.
*****
Worried about his mother, angry at the dark unclear future, afraid his father would no longer love him, Conor held Rose as she cried herself to sleep, and tried not to think about her skin going cold and her heart ceasing to beat.
*****
Angel sat in the dark, eyes closed, letting the memories wash over him. Dark and evil actions mingling with odd gentleness and caring. He saw the Aurelian whip in his hand as it lashed across Willow's back. He felt Buffy in his arms crying for joy as he admitted he loved her. He watched Spike pledge himself to Willow and felt pride in his childe. He shivered in dark pleasure as he forced Buffy down onto her stomach and raped her over and over. He heard Drusilla laughing in pleasure as she hunted at his side, their prey left alive as the hunt itself was what brought her happiness. He watched as blood leaked from six wounds in Spike's heart and he held back on saving him until he got what he wanted from Willow.
He bounced Conor on his knee proclaiming to all that this was his beloved son and the boy laughed along with him.
So many memories. So much confusion. Ruling the Clan and Sunnydale. Playing with his son. Sharing blood with Spike. Going to the opera. Hosting parties.
Snapping necks. Beating Buffy. Raping Willow.
Too much.
Just too much.
End Chapter 16
Also, please remember that my William is quite different from the one on the show. 200 years old, turned in 1798 by Angelus, wealthy, dissolute son of a baron.
TITLE: "Endings and Beginnings" 16/?
SERIES: TEAOW&S
AUTHOR:Laure Alexander
EMAIL: lara@sunflower.com
RATING: NC17overall
SPOILERS: Set eighteen then twenty years in the future of the series. If you've never read any of TEAOW&S, you'll be confused.
SUMMARY: For twenty years, the five way bond between the vampires and humans has been strong, the Family has grown close and loving, everything has been right in a world with the Hellmouth closed...until something happens to threaten everything they've built together.
CONTENT:sex, violence overall; a bit of language and lots of angst in this chapter. There seems to be less and less sex. This is sad...
DISCLAIMER:I don't own Buffy and friends or Buffy the Vampire Slayer; they're owned by Joss Whedon and Fox, I assume. No copyright infringement intended so please don't sue.
"Where am I?" the young man demanded again, and then, realizing he was naked, turned beet red and tried to cover himself.
"Drusilla!" Angel yelled angrily, reaching for his daughter, who twisted away from him, sobbing.
"Spike?" Willow whispered, horrified and happy at the same time. Dropping to her knees, she reached a trembling hand out to him.
He stared at her, fear shadowing his bright blue eyes.
Nicholas whipped a throw off a couch and draped it over William.
Rose stumbled to her feet, then over to fall beside her mother, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Daddy?"
Buffy and Conor stood watching it all happen in less than ten seconds.
Then Angel shuddered and cried out, a wounded, horrible sound as he collapsed in on himself, and Drusilla whimpered and clutched at her head.
"The prophecy," Nicholas murmured, then pushed past his own shock and took charge. "Buffy, get Angel up and someplace safe. Willow..." he began as he moved to Drusilla's side.
"Please...where am I?" William begged the woman kneeling in front of him, as he clutched the blanket over his nudity. "Was I robbed and left here?"
"I...I can't lift him," Buffy gasped, straining to get to her feet with Angel limp and moaning against her, one of his arms over her shoulders.
Conor moved to help her. "I've got him, mom."
Despite the strain, her face was ashen. "My strength's gone. That means..." As they lifted Angel to his feet, his eyes met hers, and she moaned at the agony in them.
"Buffy..."
"So empty." Drusilla clawed at her hair, pulling out strands until Nicholas grabbed her and stopped her. "The visions were all I had to hold onto what little sanity remained, Nicholas. Without them..." Suddenly she clutched at his shoulders, digging her claws into him. "You must lock me away before I hurt someone."
"What is happening here? Please ma'am?"
"What's your name?"
William answered the softly asked question immediately. "William Addington," and his face went cold. "If this is a kidnapping, my father will pay."
"Nick, what do we do?" Rose choked out, her eyes never leaving her father.
"What's happening, Buffy?"
"It's going to be okay, Angel."
"You haven't been kidnapped. This is...impossible to explain." Willow shook her head and dug her fingers into her skirt to keep from touching him.
William rose to his knees, wrapping the blanket around himself, his manner so unfamiliar, and when he spoke again, his voice was haughty, aristocratic. "I cannot discuss this further in your presence, ma'am, in this state of dishabille. Please provide me with some clothing and then some answers."
"I...hurt you." Angel's fingers brushed over Buffy's cheek and she sobbed as she and Conor took him out of the room.
"Rose, go get him some clothes."
"Mom, what's..."
"Not now, Rose, please." She didn't look at her daughter, her eyes only on the man who wasn't quite her husband. Emotion churned through her and her hands trembled and she wanted to scream. As Rose left, Nicholas took her place.
"Mr. Addington, my name is Nicholas St. Clare. Are you hurt at all?"
"I do not think so." Slowly William looked around the room, frowning at what he saw. "You are dressed very strangely, sir." His eyes fell on Drusilla who remained crumpled in a sobbing heap. "Should you not help her?"
"There's nothing I can do for her."
Willow looked over at Drusilla and felt torn, but didn't leave William's side.
"Where is the light coming from?" His eyes had fallen on the electric chandelier and then moved to the table lamps.
"Nick? How did this happen?"
"I don't know." He glanced at Drusilla. "And I think our answers died with her visions."
"Oh god, Dru."
Slowly Drusilla lifted her head, revealing a ravaged face and swollen eyes that lit on William. "William, but not my William. Not your Spike. How can this be?"
"Nicholas? Can he drink from me?" Willow whispered.
Before he could answer, Rose ran back in, carrying a pair of black trousers, a pale blue shirt, and a pair of scuffed black boots which she handed to Nicholas, before helping her mother to her feet. The two women held onto each other and turned their backs as Nicholas helped William dress.
"I have never seen long breeches such as these, sir, nor such strange fastenings."
"I'll try to explain everything but I ask that you keep an open mind."
As she listened to the two men, Willow looked down at Drusilla and watched the vampiress quiet, then pull herself to her feet and shake herself.
"I'm going hunting."
"Dru..."
Empty eyes turned on Willow. "There's nothing inside me. I must fill myself up." In a flash Drusilla was at Willow's side, one hand wrapped around a slender wrist, squeezing until the human winced in pain. "I don't know if I love you anymore."
And in another flash of movement she was out the French doors into the night.
"Rose, go get Penn and send him after Dru, then bring me Catherine."
As Rose reluctantly obeyed, Willow turned to find William dressed and watching her carefully.
"We have not been introduced. Mr. St. Clare, will you do the honors?"
The rich, aristocratic tones were both beautiful to her ears and grating on her nerves, but Willow clung to her composure and unfolded her arms from around herself.
"This is Willow Addington. She's your wife."
Surprise flashed across his face and his eyes widened. "I...I do not believe so, sir. I believe I would remember marrying."
"William, I am...I..." Helplessly she turned to Nicholas. "How do we explain this?"
Sighing, he gestured to a grouping of four chairs and seated Willow first before both he and William sat.
"I suggest you simply tell me."
"Alright, but please just listen, this isn't a dream or a kidnapping or a mass conspiracy. We can prove what we're saying." Taking a deep breath, Nicholas plunged into the truth. "It's the year 2020 and for the last two hundred and twenty-two years you've been a vampire until about ten days ago when you were killed and tonight brought back human with, I'm guessing, only your human memories."
William stared from one earnest face to the other, then burst out laughing. "Who put you up to this bizarre jest? Huntington? Fitz? Or was it the Smythson-Jones brothers?"
"It's the truth."
"I do not mean to laugh at you, ma'am, but surely the jest is on you as well. I am only twenty-four and have no desire to wed and, if I did, and I apologize for any offense, you are much older than I and would not be my choice."
"That's because we've been married for twenty years." She stuck out her left hand. "Recognize the ring?"
The laughter fled and slowly he took her hand. "'Tis my mother's. I saw it on her finger only yester morn. How did you get this?"
"You gave it to me on our wedding day."
William stared at her for a minute, then frowned and pulled his hand free from hers. "I believe I shall summon the Watch." As he started to rise, Nicholas grabbed his arm and easily held him down. "Let me go, sir!"
"There is no Watch. You're not in London. If you leave this house you'll be completely lost."
"You're insane, both of you. I am not two hundred odd years old. 'Tis impossible! And what is a vampire?"
Frowning, Nicholas showed him, and William jerked away from him, crying out in horror.
"William, please listen to us," Willow said soothingly.
"A monster."
Nicholas resumed his human face and nodded. "Yes."
"There is no such..." He looked at Willow for help and she only shrugged and gave him a sad look. "'Twas not a mask."
"No. William, it's real. Nick is a vampire. A vampire is a demonically animated corpse that drinks blood to survive and doesn't age. You were turned into one in 1798."
"You said...you said I died ten days past."
"Vampires aren't immortal. They can be killed and you were."
"Then why am I here? If this is true, I am myself yet in the far future. None of that is truly possible."
"But, it is. If you accept that vampires are real, you can accept that you were one for over two centuries and that you died. Why you came back is all part of a prophecy and a test and I'm not really sure what all anymore. You were supposed to come back as yourself, not as..." Willow began to break down, tears stinging her eyes, and Nicholas took her hand, rubbing her palm gently with his thumb.
"I do not know what to believe," William finally said numbly.
Rose came in carrying the baby over to her mother and she handed her off before taking the empty chair. "Penn went after Dru. Amelia's locked herself in her room mourning the loss of her mummy." She stared blatantly at William until he flushed beneath her eyes and the baby's cry drew his attention to it.
Shielding herself with the blanket, Willow unbuttoned her shirt and unhooked her maternity bra to let Catherine feed.
"Madam!" He turned even redder and shot his eyes back to Rose who wore a pair of low-slung jeans and a pink camisole, which made him blush even more.
"This is our youngest daughter and she's hungry. A lot has changed in the last two centuries."
"And, you, miss," William stammered, "Are you a vampire as well?"
Rose gave him a startled look, then shook her head. "No, I'm Rose. I'm..."
At her helpless shrug, Nicholas finished, "She's your eldest daughter."
"No daughter of mine would wear such low clothing."
Willow began to laugh with enough hysteria in it to make both Rose and Nicholas turn to her in concern. "Make him believe, Nick. Make him believe because I'm just so tired and I just want to cry myself to sleep."
"Nick..." Rose pointed to the grandfather clock which read twenty past twelve.
"Okay, make him believe..."
*****
Buffy and Conor got Angel's limp and unresponsive body onto the couch in their suite, then Buffy sent her son away with a kiss and a thank you.
"Are you sure you'll be okay, mom?"
"He's not going to hurt me."
He frowned in concern but left the suite, closing the door behind him.
Turning, Buffy found Angel huddled in the corner of the couch, his arms wrapped around his head and his knees drawn up. Fear and grief battled for control inside her, but she held onto the tiny calm part of herself and sat down next to him. "Angel?"
"The memories," he moaned, "The memories are coming back, in waves. Horror and destruction and brutality and murder, rampaging across Europe leaving a trail of bodies..."
"Angel," she tried again softly, "Those are the memories of before. What about those from the last twenty years?"
Slowly he looked up, and Buffy nearly flinched from the anguish on his face and the tears in his eyes. "Twenty years? Has it been that long? I...we...we were together. It was beautiful. Perfect." He frowned and unfolded his legs, clenching his hands into fists on his knees. "I remember being souled, a hundred years of mostly misery, and then...you. Loving you." Taking a breath, he stared down at his fists, then slowly looked over at her. "You're still so beautiful. The memories, the pain I caused you, the horrors I...How can you still look so beautiful?"
"You need time to sort through the memories, to see the truth."
"The demon kept you alive," was his numb reply. "To torment."
"For a couple of months, yeah. Look deeper."
"I raped you," Angel ground out. "Over and over, and beat you, and made you cry, and laughed at your tears. How can you be here? Why are you alive?"
"Look deeper."
Their eyes met, both so full of sorrow and pain, and then Angel nodded and a slight gasp broke from him. "He loved you? How...?"
"We love each other."
"That's disgusting!"
*****
As Nicholas explained the truth to William--showing him a newspaper with the day's date, turning on a television, again revealing his true face--Rose watched her mother finish feeding the baby, burp her, and redress herself.
"You look so tired, mom. Let Nick and me deal with him. You go to bed."
"We have to resolve one thing tonight." Willow glanced at her the clock and shook her head. "Nearly three hours since the point of no return."
Rose paled at the implication. "But, how can he drink from you?"
"Humans can ingest blood in small amounts. He doesn't need to take much, he doesn't need to bite me. It's his saliva that causes the enzyme to release, not his fangs."
"Is his saliva the same, though?"
"I guess we'll find out," was her mirthless reply, "If Nick convinces him to do it."
A raised protest came from the far corner of the room, then a moment of silence, before William shook off Nicholas' hand and walked towards the two women. He nodded at Rose, then bowed slightly to Willow before holding out his hand. "Do you have chambers here, madam?" At her nod, he continued, "Let me escort you to them. We have much to discuss."
Willow didn't want to touch him, but she was also so tired and weak that she wasn't sure she could stand on her own, so she took his hand and let him lift her to her feet. Cradling Catherine in one arm, she wrapped her other around his and let him guide her out of the room.
Nicholas joined Rose before she could think of what to do next. He had a pensive look on his face and he sighed softly as he shook his head. "I think he believes me, but he's having a hard time with being in the future. That seems to bother him more than having been a vampire. The vampire he can just wave off. He's not one now and doesn't remember being one. But the future is real. The wife and children are real."
"I wanted daddy back so much but...but that's not him. He barely even looks the same."
"You'll have to get to know him again, show him the daughter he loved for eighteen years. It may take awhile..."
Rose interrupted him, "Just in time for him to lose me."
At her bitterness, he sighed again and ran tired hands over his face. "It would be easier if it was now, wouldn't it."
She nodded and wrapped her arms around her slender body. "I'm going to...to try to focus on the baby and not think about anything past each day until..."
"We do need to talk about it, though, Rose," Nicholas said compassionately.
"I know, just not tonight, please."
He nodded. "I need to call Giles anyway. Sunnydale's Slayer is gone."
*****
"Let me just put Catherine down, and then we can talk." Gesturing to the couch in the sitting room, Willow walked past William into the bedroom to lay down the sleeping baby. When she returned he was still standing, waiting for her to sit before joining her, and keeping a respectful distance between them.
"I am still having difficulty believing all of this, although the proof--such things as electricity, these strange clothes and furnishings, Nicholas' ability to change his features--is overwhelming."
"I know. I understand, I really do. I didn't expect this either. When Drusilla said you'd come back, having you, William, take Spike's place wasn't something any of us could have guessed."
He made a moue of disgust. "Where did I get such an unsavory name?"
"It's a long story. You're not him. I don't think I'll have any trouble remembering that."
Nodding slowly, he breathed deeply and rested his hands on his knees. "Nicholas explained that we are all a family. The vampires are related through blood ties, and the humans are as well. He also spoke of the blood bond between you and my counterpart, and the danger to you if it is not renewed monthly. While I find the thought of drinking blood distasteful, there is no risk to me and all to you, and I will help you as it is the right thing to do, and because at some point, in a rather twisted way, you will become my wife."
Willow absorbed that for a moment, then murmured a quiet, "Thank you. We don't know if this will work but thank you for being willing to try. We should know by morning if the insanity is setting in, but I think if my reaction is normal, we should take it as having worked."
"How shall we accomplish this?"
"I think a simple cut to my inner elbow will work. Did Nicholas...did he explain what will happen to me?" When William turned bright red, Willow joined him. "I guess he did. We originally assumed it was the bite that triggered it, but research has shown it's your saliva mixing with my blood."
"It all seems very strange. Is it common?"
"Just the opposite. It's extremely rare and it happened purely by accident."
"Is that why you stayed with him?"
A sad smile crossed her face. "I stayed with him because I loved him with all my heart." Rising to her feet, she headed for a small weapons' chest to get a knife.
*****
As Angel's words reverberated within her, Buffy went cold and her back went up. "You think our love is disgusting?"
"I didn't mean...I...No, Buffy, I just...The demon never loved."
"That's debatable, since his love for Spike didn't emerge out of nothing twenty years ago," she snapped, "But none of that really matters because he did love me, completely, passionately, with his whole heart. Maybe it's because of the prophecy, maybe it's because the demon was insane, maybe it's because it was me, but he loved me."
"And you loved him back," Angel returned sadly.
"Completely, passionately, and with my whole heart." Calming down in the face of his heartbreak, she sighed and slumped against the back of the couch. "This is so fucked up."
"The memories are all a jumble," he sighed, burying his face in his hands. "It's going to take a while to sort them all out, but there's joy there. Joy at causing pain. The demon didn't fall in love with you overnight, Buffy."
"...No." She looked away from him. "I think me telling you all about it isn't what you need. You need to process the memories and deal with the emotions, and I need...I need to just not be here." As she spoke, she rose to her feet and headed into the bedroom to grab a few things. "I need to go talk to Giles, anyway. I'll just stay there tonight."
He trailed behind her. "Buffy, you don't need to leave. This is your home."
"This is your Family with a capitol F, Angel. This is where you belong, and it's all sun-proof. Just...stay. I'll be back tomorrow. I..." Grabbing a duffel bag she stuffed some clothes in it, then sat down on the bed to pull on her boots. "I'm leaving Conor here." She looked up at him and saw slow comprehension cross his face. "Your son. I mean, obviously not biologically, but yours."
Horror joined the comprehension. "I felt...I felt such perverted things..."
"That was the demon, the real darkness, and just recently. Try to remember how much you've loved him for the last sixteen years."
Slowly a smile wiped away the horror. "I...held him after he was born. So tiny and yet, loud, like you."
Buffy almost smiled at that, but rose and grabbed her bag. "I'll be at Giles'. The number's the same. I'll tell Conor I'm leaving."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah. I just...I need you to integrate all the memories or we're just going to get frustrated. I need you to see the love, and not just see it, but feel it."
"It's still hard for me to comprehend that you could love such a creature."
"Talk to Willow. She showed me the way."
"Willow...and Spike?"
Nodding, Buffy reached out and touched his cheek, then swiftly left the room, afraid if she stayed much longer she'd burst into tears.
*****
Dropping the still-warm corpse of a female jogger, Drusilla wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand, then licked it clean. Penn stood a few feet away, watching her carefully. He hadn't tried to stop her from killing and wasn't planning on getting in her way at all. There was something very, very dark about her.
"I'm still empty." Her voice echoed that emptiness as she turned to look at her companion from blank eyes. "I didn't realize...I always had them, you know, the visions. I never knew anything else. But I wasn't mad, no, not until him. Now all that I am is mad...and lost...and empty." She started to drift down the path through the heart of the park and Penn followed. "We love, but I don't know if I love anymore. Everything is just so...empty."
Suddenly she turned and ran towards him, making him stumble back in surprise. She drove him to the ground, knees holding down his arms, and a feral smile replaced the frown on her face. "I'm empty. Fill me!" As she rocked her hips against him, he felt himself harden and silently cursed, then growled as she tore his shirt open and buried her fangs in his throat.
*****
William swallowed convulsively several times, then took a large gulp of whisky. Curled in the corner of the couch, Willow trembled from her orgasm, and looked everywhere but at the disturbed young man standing across the room.
He had done it and it had worked, but she'd never felt so empty or alone, not even during that horrible period of time right after discovering the truth about the bond, when she and Spike had been so hateful to each other.
William poured more whisky into the glass.
*****
Nicholas had told her that he'd called Giles but still Buffy hesitated on his doorstep. Would he understand why she'd made this choice? Why they all had? Would he be disappointed in her? She felt like a schoolgirl again, waiting to be chastised by her Watcher for screwing something up.
The Hellmouth might be sealed, but Sunnydale was still a dangerous place, and she'd just removed the Slayer from the equation.
He wouldn't be happy about that.
*****
Sitting in the library, Nicholas went over his notes again, trying to figure out what was the next step. Drusilla's visions had been vague on that and now they were gone, leaving them with too many questions and no firm answers.
He was worried about Willow, if William drinking from her would be enough to save her. He was concerned about the shifting dynamics of the Family.
And then there was Rose and the fact that he was suddenly seeing her as a woman and not the child he'd known her entire life.
It would be easier if he could simply take her now. The next nine months were going to be hell.
*****
Worried about his mother, angry at the dark unclear future, afraid his father would no longer love him, Conor held Rose as she cried herself to sleep, and tried not to think about her skin going cold and her heart ceasing to beat.
*****
Angel sat in the dark, eyes closed, letting the memories wash over him. Dark and evil actions mingling with odd gentleness and caring. He saw the Aurelian whip in his hand as it lashed across Willow's back. He felt Buffy in his arms crying for joy as he admitted he loved her. He watched Spike pledge himself to Willow and felt pride in his childe. He shivered in dark pleasure as he forced Buffy down onto her stomach and raped her over and over. He heard Drusilla laughing in pleasure as she hunted at his side, their prey left alive as the hunt itself was what brought her happiness. He watched as blood leaked from six wounds in Spike's heart and he held back on saving him until he got what he wanted from Willow.
He bounced Conor on his knee proclaiming to all that this was his beloved son and the boy laughed along with him.
So many memories. So much confusion. Ruling the Clan and Sunnydale. Playing with his son. Sharing blood with Spike. Going to the opera. Hosting parties.
Snapping necks. Beating Buffy. Raping Willow.
Too much.
Just too much.
End Chapter 16