Title: A Perfect Fit. Chapter 6 of 19
Genre: General, Romance, Humor, bit of action
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel: the Series
Pairing: Spike/Other, Buffy/Angel
Rating: R for sexual situations and language.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Buffy and Angel. Candy is my own original character and I do own her. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I'm not making any money off this.
Summary: Begins three months after the final battle in the alley in Angel, Not Fade Away. What's left of Angel's crew has moved back to The Hyperion, including a restless Spike. Someone interesting comes to LA, when Faith suggests that only Angel can help her. Many characters from both shows will make appearances. Angel, Harmony, Gunn, Illyria, Lorne, Buffy, Giles, Dawn, Angelus, Willow and others.
(Previous Chapters Here)
Many thanks to my wonderful, hardworking betas![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
raynedanser and leiadiana
Chapter Six ~ Sons & Gaston
They had fallen asleep together in exhaustion on their sides. He felt it when Candy woke up and raised her head just enough to see the clock. It was a little past nine. She sank back into her pillow and let out a contented sigh.
He lay there quietly for some time. Her hair was tickling his nose now, but he didn’t dare move. Spike couldn’t believe that she was in his bed and that she was letting him practically smother her with his embrace. This is what he needed. Someone who would let him shower attention on her. Someone to love.
Spike was in love with her! He was shocked by that thought. He was first enthralled by Drusilla and then infatuated with her. Over the years he came to feel love for her, and at times he felt she returned the feeling as much as she was capable. With Buffy, there were feelings of intense hatred mixed with lust in the beginning. It was only after a few years that it dawned on him that he was in love with her. He had been horrified and terrified by that revelation and with good reason. In that case, his love was never fully returned. He’d only known Candy a couple of days and yet he knew it was love, at least on his part.
He wasn’t going to let this one go that was for sure. He’d mess it up somehow; he always did. That didn’t mean she was getting away from him. As if she had read his mind, she moved to untangle herself from him.
“Where do you think your going?” he asked and held on tighter.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were awake,” she turned to face him and draped her arm around his waist. “Good evening.” Her lazy smile faded when she saw the serious look on his face. “Is everything okay?”
He smiled at her then. “Every thing’s fine. Just didn’t want you to get up yet.”
“We have to get up some time, you know. I’m going to have to go back to my room and get changed.”
“Don’t wanna,” he pouted. “Beside, I like what you’re wearing right now,” he said in his cute little voice, but it wasn’t working.
She indulged him with a smile, but pulled the covers up and looked down. “I can’t go traipsing about the hotel with just my birthday suit on.”
“Oh, but you can traipse about in my suite like that anytime you want, pet.”
She playfully slapped his backside.
“Ooh,” Spike exclaimed. “Baby likes it rough, does she?”
“I thought you figured that out last night.” Spike was suddenly on top of her and he was tickling and pinching her and all she could do was laugh and squeal.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Candy slipped out of his rooms around ten thirty. She was wearing her jeans and one of his black t-shirts. She quickly made her way to her room. Candy was walking kind of funny and she knew it. Muscles she didn’t know she had were sore. Also, she was without underwear. She had looked all over Spike’s room and couldn’t find them, so she had to go without.
She promised Spike that she’d meet him in the kitchen in twenty minutes, which didn’t give her much time. She had to shower, change, and make herself presentable. There wouldn’t be enough time to use her hot rollers, so she plugged the curling iron in before hopping in the shower. She dressed in a long flowing black skirt and an aqua marine shirt with big black buttons and a deep V neckline. She put a few curls in her hair then swept it up with pins. She finished her look with black eyeliner, mascara and a light coat of deep pink lip gloss. She found her black, strappy heels and put them on.
It was past twenty minutes when she finally made her way to the kitchen. There was no one in there, so she poured herself some blood and sat at the huge table to wait for Spike. She was taking her first sip when the doors swung open. She looked up expecting to see her vampire, but a tall, lanky young man with a strong heartbeat was there instead.
He scanned the room with his eyes and they went wide when he noticed her. He studied her a moment and gave her a charming smile. “Have you seen Angel?” he asked her.
She opened her mouth to answer when Spike blew in almost knocking the kid off his feet.
“Watch it, Super Boy,” Spike said and he moved past him. Then to Candy, he said, “Sorry I’m late; I went to check on Charlie.”
“No problem,” she said. “How is he?”
“He’s sore and he’ll need that sling a little longer that we thought now, but he’s alive.”
“Uncle Spike, have you seen my dad?” the young man asked impatiently.
“I told you Super Boy, don’t call me that,” Spike practically growled.
“When you stop calling me Super Boy, I’ll stop calling you Uncle, Uncle.”
“That’s just stupid. Really I should call you Uncle Super Boy since you are my grand sire’s kid.”
Candy was looking at them back and forth trying to follow the conversation. “He’s your Uncle? Or you’re his Uncle? How’s that possible?” She didn’t know a whole lot, but vampires did not have uncles or nephews and all of Spike’s human relatives would be dead by now.
“Candy, this is Connor, Angel’s son. We are family, but it’s rather confusing and a bit weird when you tie in vampire and human family trees.”
“Angel's son?” She couldn’t see how it would be possible for an undead vampire to create human life.
“It’s a long story and I’ll tell it to you sometime. Super Boy here is an advance human with the strength and some of the powers of a vampire.”
“I’m pretty normal actually. It’s nice to meet you.” Connor held out his hand and she stood to shake it. “I was supposed to meet Angel tonight, but he’s not in his office.”
“Sorry, I haven’t seen him.” She pulled her hand out of his grasp and put it behind her as she took a slight step back from the boy.
Spike remembered Charlie saying that the boy had a thing for older women. “I think I heard the TV going in his room when I walked by a few minutes ago. You should go on up.”
As Connor left, Spike turned his full attention on Candy. His eyes drank her in and his jean got a little bit tighter. Down boy down.
He cleared his throat, “You look smashing in that outfit, luv. I‘m gonna have to take you out tonight.”
“Thanks. Where are you taking me then?” She looked at him over her mug. He was looking pretty good himself. His shock of platinum blond hair was slicked back. He was wearing his Doc Martens and his usual black jeans, but his dark blue, silk shirt was different. He’d left the top two buttons undone and the collar was slightly turned up.
“I was thinking we could see what’s playing at the cinema. After that we could go get a drink. I‘m thinking by the time we get back, Angel will be free and we can see if he‘s made any progress on your case.”
“I like that idea, but before we go I think I’m going to need some more blood.” She got up to refill her cup.
Spike grinned and blinked slowly. “Yeah, me too. I had trouble just getting down the stairs. I feel like I ran a bloody marathon.” She refilled his cup.
“You are definitely a marathon man,” she told him in a breathy voice and leaned down to give him a quick kiss. He had other ideas though. He took the carafe from her, placed it on the table, pulled her onto his lap and proceeded to give her a marathon kiss.
Harmony was nowhere to be found, so they left a note on Angel’s desk. They let him know they were going out, and gave him instructions to call them on Candy’s phone if they were needed. They walked out arm in arm. Spike couldn’t believe he was doing something as normal as going on a real date and with another vampire.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Angel was in the lobby talking with Harmony when they came back. “Oh good you’re back. How long was that movie, anyway?” he asked while looking at his watch. It was two thirty in the morning.
“We stopped and had something to drink,” Candy said. “Do you have new information for me?”
“Yes, a definite lead. Let’s go into my office and I’ll tell you about it. Harmony, finish up that invoice and then you can go.”
Angel held the door for Candy, but cut Spike off and tried to close the door on him. Spike rolled his eyes and pushed his way in. He sat next to Candy and put his arm around her shoulder. They waited while Angel got settled in his chair.
Angel glared at him. Spike just had a way of getting under his skin sitting there in that relaxed, devil-may-care way with his legs wide open and his arm around the girl's shoulder. What did she see in him anyway? She was beautiful and carried herself with class and dignity, yet she looked at Spike like he hung the moon. Well, once she really got to know him, she’d see what an idiot he was.
Shaking off his mood, he began. “I talked again with Giles earlier in the day and we both think the guy you mentioned seeing at that bar in Anzio was mostly likely someone Spike and I both know.”
Spike sat up straighter. “Who?”
“Think about it Spike. A dandy who doesn’t take no for an answer in Italy with an ego as big as China?”
“The Immortal!” Spike shouted and Candy jumped. Spike calmed down a bit, but shared a knowing look with Angel. They both were thinking about the last time they saw the pillock, dancing with Buffy.
“Does it matter who he was?” Candy asked. “I mean, I know he’s not my sire.”
“Well,” Angel began. “He thinks he’s God’s gift to women and truth be told, it’s the rare female who can resist his charms. If you were not affected by his charms and you made a fool of him in front of others, he’d want revenge.”
“So you and the Watcher think that’s what happened?” Spike asked. “He gets his minion, Evans, to turn her and leave her to fend for herself?” He clasped his hand in hers.
“Yes, that is the going theory at the moment. We don’t know for sure if Evans was one of his minions. We’ve done research including a thorough search of the Watcher Council records and can find no mention of a Vampire named Evans.”
“Wait. How can Rupert go through Council records? That place was blown up a couple of years ago.”
“They had all their files and even all their books and watcher diaries scanned into an electronic library system and had back up copies stored in another location. They’ve lost nothing but a building and a few personnel,” explained Angel.
“So the first order of business,” he went on, “is to confirm with Candy that it was indeed the Immortal.”
“How can I do that?” she asked.
“Think back to what he looked like.” Angel leaned forward. “If you need to, you can close your eyes and relax. Spike and I can describe The Immortal to you and we can see if our description matches your guy at the bar.”
She leaned back and put her hands in her lap. “Okay.” She closed her eyes thinking back so many years ago.
“He’s tall, about six feet with thick black hair and wide blue eyes,” Angel started and looked to Spike expectantly.
“He speaks English with a very thick Italian accent. Let’s see…well manicured nails. Dresses like a dandy. Had a cleft in his chin and he had a big broad chest,” Spike added. “Think Gaston from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.”
She giggled and opened her eyes. “That’s him.” That’s all she could get out before she laughed uncontrollably. “G..G..Gaston,” she spat out.
Her laughter was contagious and they couldn’t help but join in. Spike had a point. He was like that over blown cartoon character.
“I’m pretty sure my jerk in the bar is your Immortal guy,” Candy said after she was able to talk again. “But I’m not sure that helps me find out how I rose with a soul.”
“Well, it’s the first piece of the puzzle. Now we can match it with others and get a whole picture.”
“Tells us again about the night you met him,” Spike said to her.
She remembered being tired that night...Her feet were aching. She couldn't think of a good reason why she agreed to go out. She stopped and gazed at the moon. What she needed was a good eight hours of sleep. Silvia was full of boundless energy, even after a thirteen hour shift. The redhead was walking swiftly ahead of her, ready to mingle with the men. Candice followed her in to the converted bar and was assaulted by the smoky, stale air. She had a mind to turn around and retreat to her tent and bedroll.
"Oh no you don't." Silvia grabbed her arm and pulled her to a table. "Sit, smile and look pretty. I'll get us a drink."
She folded her hands under her chin and leaned her elbows on the table. There were a few soldiers playing cards in the back corner. A soldier at the next table over was fiddling with the dial on a radio. There was static, but it wasn't going to come in any better. He turned the volume up and Louis Jordan singing "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" blared out into the room. Her toes started tapping on their own. She adjusted her cap and got a cigarette out of her case. A soldier was quickly at her side and lit it for her. "Thanks." The young man smiled and went back to his teasing friends. Another soldier across the room waved and she waved back. Glenn Miller's "In The Mood" came on and she continued to tap her toes.
"Here." Silvia handed her a glass. "I'm not sure what it is, but I know it's watered down." Silvia took a sip of her own drink before sitting down across from her. Her whole body bounced to the music.
"How can you have so much energy?"
Silvia stopped bouncing and gawked past her shoulder. "Take a look at that guy." She pointed towards the entrance. "I bet he's loaded."
She turned around and smiled when she saw the man in the finely tailored suit. It was Silvia's goal in life to meet a rich man and make him fall in love with her. Even from a distance in the dimly lit room, she could see that he was movie star handsome. He locked eyes with hers and gave her a confident smile. She turned around quickly. She hoped he wouldn't come over their way. She liked her men in uniform, a little rough around the edges and good humored. In one glance she sized this guy up as a self absorbed dandy.
"He's coming over here." Silvia wiggled in her seat and fluffed her hair.
"Hello ladies. If all the nurses looked as good as you two, I'd join the American troops myself." His thick Italian accent got on her nerves. "Do you mind if I sit down?"
"Pull up a chair. Are you from around here?" Silvia asked.
"I have homes all over Italy." Silvia's eyes were shining and glazed over. The girl was in love already. Candice looked back at the doors. Maybe she could slip out and leave Silvia with her Casanova. The Italian was getting glares all around the room from the men in uniform.
The music changed to the slow tune, "You'll Never Know." She got up to leave but Mr. Dandy got up with her. "Ah, she wishes to dance." He bowed and held out his hand.
She shook her head to refuse, but she caught the glare from Silvia. The redhead got up and pushed her towards the man. "Go on with you. Have some fun for a change. I'll get us some new drinks."
Candy shook her head and looked at Spike who was listening to her intently. "So we danced, but soon his hands were getting a little personal with my back side. I was already very annoyed with him and suddenly my senses kicked in and said, ‘DANGER,' so I hauled back and slapped him as hard as I could.”
“That’s my girl,” Spike injected proudly. He definitely had a thing for girls with spunk.
“Next thing I know, he’s flying though the air across the room and crash landing into a table.” She shrugged. “I grabbed my purse and ran back to my tent.”
Spike watched Angel stare at her for a moment and then it was like a light bulb going on. “What are you thinking, Angel?” he asked.
“It’s probably nothing and I don’t want to say anything until I talk with Giles again.” Angel picked up the phone, but put it down before he dialed. “I think you should know, Spike, that he talked about coming out here to meet with Candy. You know how he is about research. He’d like to interview her.”
“Let him. I’m surprised they don’t know about me already. Andrew already knows. It seems he hasn’t told the others, but it's going to get around sometime that I am here and not dead.” Spike sounded casual, but Angel knew him enough to know that he was uncomfortable. “Just do me a favor. Don’t say anything about me, yeah? Maybe he won’t come out. If he does, he’ll get a bit of a shock, but it will all blow over and he’ll go back to London.”
“Okay. Well I’m going to call him now.” Angel picked up the phone and began dialing.
“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Spike told Candy.
They were in the lobby kissing when Angel came out of his office, which only upped his frustration level a notch higher. He cleared his throat, but they just kept at it.
“Get a room,” Harmony squawked as she came down the stairs. That got their attention.
“Best idea I’ve heard today,” Spike said and Candy covered a smile with her hand.
“Before you do, I just wanted to let you know that I couldn’t get a hold of Giles. He’s not at his office or his flat.”
“The git will surface eventually,” Spike said without taking his eyes off of Candy. “We're going to my suite and we’re not coming out for days. You know where to find us if you need us.” Spike grabbed the carafe of blood that he’d taken from the fridge a few minutes before and Angel watched them disappear up the stairs.
Chapter Seven: The Secrets Out
Genre: General, Romance, Humor, bit of action
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel: the Series
Pairing: Spike/Other, Buffy/Angel
Rating: R for sexual situations and language.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Buffy and Angel. Candy is my own original character and I do own her. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I'm not making any money off this.
Summary: Begins three months after the final battle in the alley in Angel, Not Fade Away. What's left of Angel's crew has moved back to The Hyperion, including a restless Spike. Someone interesting comes to LA, when Faith suggests that only Angel can help her. Many characters from both shows will make appearances. Angel, Harmony, Gunn, Illyria, Lorne, Buffy, Giles, Dawn, Angelus, Willow and others.
(Previous Chapters Here)
Many thanks to my wonderful, hardworking betas
raynedanser and leiadiana Chapter Six ~ Sons & Gaston
They had fallen asleep together in exhaustion on their sides. He felt it when Candy woke up and raised her head just enough to see the clock. It was a little past nine. She sank back into her pillow and let out a contented sigh.
He lay there quietly for some time. Her hair was tickling his nose now, but he didn’t dare move. Spike couldn’t believe that she was in his bed and that she was letting him practically smother her with his embrace. This is what he needed. Someone who would let him shower attention on her. Someone to love.
Spike was in love with her! He was shocked by that thought. He was first enthralled by Drusilla and then infatuated with her. Over the years he came to feel love for her, and at times he felt she returned the feeling as much as she was capable. With Buffy, there were feelings of intense hatred mixed with lust in the beginning. It was only after a few years that it dawned on him that he was in love with her. He had been horrified and terrified by that revelation and with good reason. In that case, his love was never fully returned. He’d only known Candy a couple of days and yet he knew it was love, at least on his part.
He wasn’t going to let this one go that was for sure. He’d mess it up somehow; he always did. That didn’t mean she was getting away from him. As if she had read his mind, she moved to untangle herself from him.
“Where do you think your going?” he asked and held on tighter.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were awake,” she turned to face him and draped her arm around his waist. “Good evening.” Her lazy smile faded when she saw the serious look on his face. “Is everything okay?”
He smiled at her then. “Every thing’s fine. Just didn’t want you to get up yet.”
“We have to get up some time, you know. I’m going to have to go back to my room and get changed.”
“Don’t wanna,” he pouted. “Beside, I like what you’re wearing right now,” he said in his cute little voice, but it wasn’t working.
She indulged him with a smile, but pulled the covers up and looked down. “I can’t go traipsing about the hotel with just my birthday suit on.”
“Oh, but you can traipse about in my suite like that anytime you want, pet.”
She playfully slapped his backside.
“Ooh,” Spike exclaimed. “Baby likes it rough, does she?”
“I thought you figured that out last night.” Spike was suddenly on top of her and he was tickling and pinching her and all she could do was laugh and squeal.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Candy slipped out of his rooms around ten thirty. She was wearing her jeans and one of his black t-shirts. She quickly made her way to her room. Candy was walking kind of funny and she knew it. Muscles she didn’t know she had were sore. Also, she was without underwear. She had looked all over Spike’s room and couldn’t find them, so she had to go without.
She promised Spike that she’d meet him in the kitchen in twenty minutes, which didn’t give her much time. She had to shower, change, and make herself presentable. There wouldn’t be enough time to use her hot rollers, so she plugged the curling iron in before hopping in the shower. She dressed in a long flowing black skirt and an aqua marine shirt with big black buttons and a deep V neckline. She put a few curls in her hair then swept it up with pins. She finished her look with black eyeliner, mascara and a light coat of deep pink lip gloss. She found her black, strappy heels and put them on.
It was past twenty minutes when she finally made her way to the kitchen. There was no one in there, so she poured herself some blood and sat at the huge table to wait for Spike. She was taking her first sip when the doors swung open. She looked up expecting to see her vampire, but a tall, lanky young man with a strong heartbeat was there instead.
He scanned the room with his eyes and they went wide when he noticed her. He studied her a moment and gave her a charming smile. “Have you seen Angel?” he asked her.
She opened her mouth to answer when Spike blew in almost knocking the kid off his feet.
“Watch it, Super Boy,” Spike said and he moved past him. Then to Candy, he said, “Sorry I’m late; I went to check on Charlie.”
“No problem,” she said. “How is he?”
“He’s sore and he’ll need that sling a little longer that we thought now, but he’s alive.”
“Uncle Spike, have you seen my dad?” the young man asked impatiently.
“I told you Super Boy, don’t call me that,” Spike practically growled.
“When you stop calling me Super Boy, I’ll stop calling you Uncle, Uncle.”
“That’s just stupid. Really I should call you Uncle Super Boy since you are my grand sire’s kid.”
Candy was looking at them back and forth trying to follow the conversation. “He’s your Uncle? Or you’re his Uncle? How’s that possible?” She didn’t know a whole lot, but vampires did not have uncles or nephews and all of Spike’s human relatives would be dead by now.
“Candy, this is Connor, Angel’s son. We are family, but it’s rather confusing and a bit weird when you tie in vampire and human family trees.”
“Angel's son?” She couldn’t see how it would be possible for an undead vampire to create human life.
“It’s a long story and I’ll tell it to you sometime. Super Boy here is an advance human with the strength and some of the powers of a vampire.”
“I’m pretty normal actually. It’s nice to meet you.” Connor held out his hand and she stood to shake it. “I was supposed to meet Angel tonight, but he’s not in his office.”
“Sorry, I haven’t seen him.” She pulled her hand out of his grasp and put it behind her as she took a slight step back from the boy.
Spike remembered Charlie saying that the boy had a thing for older women. “I think I heard the TV going in his room when I walked by a few minutes ago. You should go on up.”
As Connor left, Spike turned his full attention on Candy. His eyes drank her in and his jean got a little bit tighter. Down boy down.
He cleared his throat, “You look smashing in that outfit, luv. I‘m gonna have to take you out tonight.”
“Thanks. Where are you taking me then?” She looked at him over her mug. He was looking pretty good himself. His shock of platinum blond hair was slicked back. He was wearing his Doc Martens and his usual black jeans, but his dark blue, silk shirt was different. He’d left the top two buttons undone and the collar was slightly turned up.
“I was thinking we could see what’s playing at the cinema. After that we could go get a drink. I‘m thinking by the time we get back, Angel will be free and we can see if he‘s made any progress on your case.”
“I like that idea, but before we go I think I’m going to need some more blood.” She got up to refill her cup.
Spike grinned and blinked slowly. “Yeah, me too. I had trouble just getting down the stairs. I feel like I ran a bloody marathon.” She refilled his cup.
“You are definitely a marathon man,” she told him in a breathy voice and leaned down to give him a quick kiss. He had other ideas though. He took the carafe from her, placed it on the table, pulled her onto his lap and proceeded to give her a marathon kiss.
Harmony was nowhere to be found, so they left a note on Angel’s desk. They let him know they were going out, and gave him instructions to call them on Candy’s phone if they were needed. They walked out arm in arm. Spike couldn’t believe he was doing something as normal as going on a real date and with another vampire.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Angel was in the lobby talking with Harmony when they came back. “Oh good you’re back. How long was that movie, anyway?” he asked while looking at his watch. It was two thirty in the morning.
“We stopped and had something to drink,” Candy said. “Do you have new information for me?”
“Yes, a definite lead. Let’s go into my office and I’ll tell you about it. Harmony, finish up that invoice and then you can go.”
Angel held the door for Candy, but cut Spike off and tried to close the door on him. Spike rolled his eyes and pushed his way in. He sat next to Candy and put his arm around her shoulder. They waited while Angel got settled in his chair.
Angel glared at him. Spike just had a way of getting under his skin sitting there in that relaxed, devil-may-care way with his legs wide open and his arm around the girl's shoulder. What did she see in him anyway? She was beautiful and carried herself with class and dignity, yet she looked at Spike like he hung the moon. Well, once she really got to know him, she’d see what an idiot he was.
Shaking off his mood, he began. “I talked again with Giles earlier in the day and we both think the guy you mentioned seeing at that bar in Anzio was mostly likely someone Spike and I both know.”
Spike sat up straighter. “Who?”
“Think about it Spike. A dandy who doesn’t take no for an answer in Italy with an ego as big as China?”
“The Immortal!” Spike shouted and Candy jumped. Spike calmed down a bit, but shared a knowing look with Angel. They both were thinking about the last time they saw the pillock, dancing with Buffy.
“Does it matter who he was?” Candy asked. “I mean, I know he’s not my sire.”
“Well,” Angel began. “He thinks he’s God’s gift to women and truth be told, it’s the rare female who can resist his charms. If you were not affected by his charms and you made a fool of him in front of others, he’d want revenge.”
“So you and the Watcher think that’s what happened?” Spike asked. “He gets his minion, Evans, to turn her and leave her to fend for herself?” He clasped his hand in hers.
“Yes, that is the going theory at the moment. We don’t know for sure if Evans was one of his minions. We’ve done research including a thorough search of the Watcher Council records and can find no mention of a Vampire named Evans.”
“Wait. How can Rupert go through Council records? That place was blown up a couple of years ago.”
“They had all their files and even all their books and watcher diaries scanned into an electronic library system and had back up copies stored in another location. They’ve lost nothing but a building and a few personnel,” explained Angel.
“So the first order of business,” he went on, “is to confirm with Candy that it was indeed the Immortal.”
“How can I do that?” she asked.
“Think back to what he looked like.” Angel leaned forward. “If you need to, you can close your eyes and relax. Spike and I can describe The Immortal to you and we can see if our description matches your guy at the bar.”
She leaned back and put her hands in her lap. “Okay.” She closed her eyes thinking back so many years ago.
“He’s tall, about six feet with thick black hair and wide blue eyes,” Angel started and looked to Spike expectantly.
“He speaks English with a very thick Italian accent. Let’s see…well manicured nails. Dresses like a dandy. Had a cleft in his chin and he had a big broad chest,” Spike added. “Think Gaston from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.”
She giggled and opened her eyes. “That’s him.” That’s all she could get out before she laughed uncontrollably. “G..G..Gaston,” she spat out.
Her laughter was contagious and they couldn’t help but join in. Spike had a point. He was like that over blown cartoon character.
“I’m pretty sure my jerk in the bar is your Immortal guy,” Candy said after she was able to talk again. “But I’m not sure that helps me find out how I rose with a soul.”
“Well, it’s the first piece of the puzzle. Now we can match it with others and get a whole picture.”
“Tells us again about the night you met him,” Spike said to her.
She remembered being tired that night...Her feet were aching. She couldn't think of a good reason why she agreed to go out. She stopped and gazed at the moon. What she needed was a good eight hours of sleep. Silvia was full of boundless energy, even after a thirteen hour shift. The redhead was walking swiftly ahead of her, ready to mingle with the men. Candice followed her in to the converted bar and was assaulted by the smoky, stale air. She had a mind to turn around and retreat to her tent and bedroll.
"Oh no you don't." Silvia grabbed her arm and pulled her to a table. "Sit, smile and look pretty. I'll get us a drink."
She folded her hands under her chin and leaned her elbows on the table. There were a few soldiers playing cards in the back corner. A soldier at the next table over was fiddling with the dial on a radio. There was static, but it wasn't going to come in any better. He turned the volume up and Louis Jordan singing "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" blared out into the room. Her toes started tapping on their own. She adjusted her cap and got a cigarette out of her case. A soldier was quickly at her side and lit it for her. "Thanks." The young man smiled and went back to his teasing friends. Another soldier across the room waved and she waved back. Glenn Miller's "In The Mood" came on and she continued to tap her toes.
"Here." Silvia handed her a glass. "I'm not sure what it is, but I know it's watered down." Silvia took a sip of her own drink before sitting down across from her. Her whole body bounced to the music.
"How can you have so much energy?"
Silvia stopped bouncing and gawked past her shoulder. "Take a look at that guy." She pointed towards the entrance. "I bet he's loaded."
She turned around and smiled when she saw the man in the finely tailored suit. It was Silvia's goal in life to meet a rich man and make him fall in love with her. Even from a distance in the dimly lit room, she could see that he was movie star handsome. He locked eyes with hers and gave her a confident smile. She turned around quickly. She hoped he wouldn't come over their way. She liked her men in uniform, a little rough around the edges and good humored. In one glance she sized this guy up as a self absorbed dandy.
"He's coming over here." Silvia wiggled in her seat and fluffed her hair.
"Hello ladies. If all the nurses looked as good as you two, I'd join the American troops myself." His thick Italian accent got on her nerves. "Do you mind if I sit down?"
"Pull up a chair. Are you from around here?" Silvia asked.
"I have homes all over Italy." Silvia's eyes were shining and glazed over. The girl was in love already. Candice looked back at the doors. Maybe she could slip out and leave Silvia with her Casanova. The Italian was getting glares all around the room from the men in uniform.
The music changed to the slow tune, "You'll Never Know." She got up to leave but Mr. Dandy got up with her. "Ah, she wishes to dance." He bowed and held out his hand.
She shook her head to refuse, but she caught the glare from Silvia. The redhead got up and pushed her towards the man. "Go on with you. Have some fun for a change. I'll get us some new drinks."
Candy shook her head and looked at Spike who was listening to her intently. "So we danced, but soon his hands were getting a little personal with my back side. I was already very annoyed with him and suddenly my senses kicked in and said, ‘DANGER,' so I hauled back and slapped him as hard as I could.”
“That’s my girl,” Spike injected proudly. He definitely had a thing for girls with spunk.
“Next thing I know, he’s flying though the air across the room and crash landing into a table.” She shrugged. “I grabbed my purse and ran back to my tent.”
Spike watched Angel stare at her for a moment and then it was like a light bulb going on. “What are you thinking, Angel?” he asked.
“It’s probably nothing and I don’t want to say anything until I talk with Giles again.” Angel picked up the phone, but put it down before he dialed. “I think you should know, Spike, that he talked about coming out here to meet with Candy. You know how he is about research. He’d like to interview her.”
“Let him. I’m surprised they don’t know about me already. Andrew already knows. It seems he hasn’t told the others, but it's going to get around sometime that I am here and not dead.” Spike sounded casual, but Angel knew him enough to know that he was uncomfortable. “Just do me a favor. Don’t say anything about me, yeah? Maybe he won’t come out. If he does, he’ll get a bit of a shock, but it will all blow over and he’ll go back to London.”
“Okay. Well I’m going to call him now.” Angel picked up the phone and began dialing.
“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Spike told Candy.
They were in the lobby kissing when Angel came out of his office, which only upped his frustration level a notch higher. He cleared his throat, but they just kept at it.
“Get a room,” Harmony squawked as she came down the stairs. That got their attention.
“Best idea I’ve heard today,” Spike said and Candy covered a smile with her hand.
“Before you do, I just wanted to let you know that I couldn’t get a hold of Giles. He’s not at his office or his flat.”
“The git will surface eventually,” Spike said without taking his eyes off of Candy. “We're going to my suite and we’re not coming out for days. You know where to find us if you need us.” Spike grabbed the carafe of blood that he’d taken from the fridge a few minutes before and Angel watched them disappear up the stairs.
Chapter Seven: The Secrets Out
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