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Copyright July 8-August 29, 2000 by Matthew Haldeman-Time
Rating: NC-17 for graphic male-male sex
Pairings: Angel/Spike, Oz/Wesley, Doyle/Xander, and Giles/Riley
Disclaimer: "Buffy: the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," with their related characters and themes, belong to Joss Whedon and others, not to me. I make no money from this venture.
Dedication: This slashfic is for Ewan McGregor.
Wherein the reader will find mention of dusty demons, rogue demons, and a green-eyed Irish half-demon.
Notice: This slashfic takes place during the 1999-2000 season of "Buffy" and "Angel," meaning that Buffy's a university freshman and Angel's just begun his life in L.A. Oz has gone, Spike's been neutered by the Initiative, Wesley's off being a rogue demon-hunter, and "Hero" hasn't taken place. And won't take place. Ever.
"Giles?" Angel asked, frowning, coming over and taking the phone from her. "This is Angel."
"Giles from Sunnydale?" Doyle asked Cordelia. "Buffy's Watcher?"
"Former Watcher," Cordelia said. "He was fired."
"Buffy fired her Watcher?"
"The Watchers fired him. Don't you pay attention?"
"Could you please be quiet while I'm on the phone?" Angel asked them.
"Sorry," Cordelia said, holding up her hands.
"We'll be there tomorrow," Angel said into the receiver.
"We?" Cordelia asked.
"Where?" Doyle asked.
"Right. I'll bring anything I can," Angel said. "Bye." He hung up the phone. "Pack. We're going to Sunnydale."
"Demon infestation?" Doyle guessed.
"Sunnydale always has a demon infestation," Cordelia said. "And what's this we? I am not going to Sunnydale."
"What's the deal?" Doyle asked Angel. "Wedding? Funeral?"
"There's always a funeral in Sunnydale," Cordelia said.
"Giles needs help with a spell. I need to get my books - - I can tell you more on the way."
"Can I see you for a minute?" Doyle asked.
"You're seeing me right now," Angel said.
"In your office?" Doyle suggested. "Just walk." Angel frowned; they went into his private office. Doyle closed the door. "Is this really something that we all need to go in for?"
"They're going to need our help."
"I got the impression that Buffy has her own little group of helpers already."
"You don't want to go?"
"Cordelia doesn't want to go. Angel, think about it. She was the star there. The queen."
"She was the queen..."
"Bitch," Doyle said. "I got it. I love her, but we've all got our failings. Back in Sunnydale she had money, she had standing. Now she's your secretary. Not really how she wanted to make her big entrance, you get what I'm saying? She doesn't want to go back there without a multi-million-dollar movie deal."
"I don't want to leave her alone here."
"She'd be safer in Sunnydale?"
"We could look out for her there."
"Cordy looks after herself just fine, Angel. We'll tell Kate to check up on her. How long are we going to be gone, anyway?"
"All right. You're coming?"
"Am I invited?"
"We'll need you."
"Now I'm all sunny inside."
They got a van, and Doyle drove through the night. Angel sat in the back, reading various demon tomes. When they reached Sunnydale, the sun was about to rise, so they got a motel room and rested. When the sun set, they drove to Giles' home and knocked.
Giles opened the door. "Angel, come right in. You must be Doyle?"
"You must be Giles," Doyle said.
"Right you are. I believe you've met Buffy. Willow, Anya, Tara, Xander, Riley, and-"
"Spike," Doyle said.
"Spike," Angel said.
"Spike," Spike said with a bored roll of his eyes.
"This is Angel?" Riley asked Xander.
"That's Angel," Xander agreed.
"Not to make a nuisance of myself," Doyle said, "but I drove Angel all this way without actually knowing why we're coming."
"Right," Giles said. "As best I can explain it, something-"
"Why is Spike here?" Angel asked.
"Riley neutered him," Xander said.
"It's a long story," Buffy said. "Spike can't hurt innocent people anymore. He gets his blood from the butcher and occasionally makes himself useful by helping out with slaying."
"And he's right here," Spike added. "Might we get on with it?"
"Sorry, you were saying?" Angel asked Giles.
"Yes," Giles said. "There was a demon in Sunnydale doing the standard terrorizing of the populace. Buffy killed it, for which we're all grateful. However, it does seem that before it died, it had cast a spell. We need to figure out how to break the spell, to neutralize it."
"What spell?" Angel asked.
"An Alkazanian raiding spell," Giles said.
"What's the deadline?" Angel asked.
"We're still working on that," Giles said.
"What's an Alkazanian raiding spell?" Doyle asked.
"So not glad you asked," Xander said. "I don't want to hear it again. I'm still having flashbacks from the first time."
"Could you not make it sound poetic this time?" Willow asked Giles. "That might help to abate the terror."
"This doesn't sound good, but I still don't know what it is," Doyle said.
"You don't want to," Angel said. "My books are in the van. We'll help however we can."
"Big of you," Xander said, "considering what'll happen if-"
"You really don't like him, do you?" Anya asked.
"I really don't," Xander said.
"He's very good-looking."
"Now I like him less," Xander said.
"Maybe Buffy has a taste for tall, broad-shouldered men," Anya suggested. "The large-"
"Now I'm getting ready to like you less," Xander said.
"Then you can't have sex with me," Anya said.
"She used to be a demon," Angel told Doyle.
"Xander has rather unique taste in women," Doyle said.
"You don't know the half of it," Angel said.
"Oh, there was the praying mantis lady," Willow said.
"The Inca mummy girl," Buffy added.
"And wait until you hear about Faith," Angel told Doyle.
"How is Cordelia?" Giles asked.
"Are you asking to be polite or do you actually care?" Buffy asked.
"She's fine," Angel said.
"You do know that you can't judge the size of a man's penis by his overall frame," Anya said.
"Yes, thank you, we'll keep that in mind," Buffy said.
Anya rolled her eyes. "I'm only saying that Xander shouldn't take offense at my comment. One can't assume that just because Angel is tall and broad-shouldered that his penis is-"
"Someone make her stop," Tara begged, laughing into Willow's shoulder.
"-larger than, say, Doyle's. In fact," Anya continued.
"Why don't we work on some research?" Riley suggested.
"Let's," Buffy agreed.
"I want to hear what she has to say," Spike said.
"I think that I do, too," Doyle said.
"Let's get the books from the van," Angel said.
The ten of them sat around Giles' living room with books of demons and spells. They moved slowly, reading carefully, eager for any mention of the Alkazanian raiding spell. However, they found nothing. They worked mostly in silence, except for sounds of frustration. They had individual breaks for food and the bathroom. Giles discreetly let Angel know that there was a store of blood in the refrigerator.
"It's almost time for sunrise," Angel finally said. "I'd better get going."
"I have class in a few hours," Willow said.
"Class?" Buffy asked. "You're right!"
"I'm teaching class in a few hours," Riley said.
"We'll reconvene as soon as possible," Giles said.
"Look, I don't mean to be the nag guy," Xander said, "but it's it sort of important that we figure out this thing ASAP?"
"Yeah," Buffy agreed.
"So those of us who don't have commitments could stay here and keep working," Xander said.
"Aside from the irony of who's saying it, I'm inclined to agree," Giles said.
"I can stay," Xander said. "Giles can stay."
"It's my home," Giles said.
"Willow, Tara, Riley, Anya and I have class," Buffy said. "We can come back here when we're finished. Doyle?"
"This town's more fun than I expected," Doyle said. "Why not spend my day reading dusty demon books?"
"Dusty demons," Willow said. "I like that."
"As long as we close the curtains, I can stay," Angel said.
"Excellent," Giles said. "So the four of us - - Spike?"
"You don't expect me to spend my every last second here with the lot of you," Spike said.
"It's not my first choice, either," Giles said, "but the alternative is for the spell to work."
"Oh, well, when you put it that way, how could I possibly resist?" Spike asked.
"Good," Buffy said. "We'll come back here as soon as we can. You all keep looking."
Around noon, Angel and Spike were in the far corners of the room, engrossed in their reading. Giles was having tea in the kitchen with a book of his own. Doyle and Xander were reading on the sofa.
"You got a piece of paper?" Doyle asked.
Xander looked around, reached over, snagged one from the table. "You found something?"
"Pen?"
"Sure." Xander handed it to him.
"Thanks." Doyle closed his book and started to write. Xander glanced over, watching. Xander frowned and leaned closer.
"What is that?"
"I don't know." Doyle was writing single letters at various points on the paper. He filled in letter after letter until random words began to form. It evolved from letters to words and then to phrases, sentences. Now the others were coming closer.
"Did you have a vision?" Angel asked.
"Vision?" Xander asked. "You're psychic?"
Doyle dropped the pen. Giles took the paper. "It's a spell."
"A spell for what? An anti-Alkazanian raiding spell, I hope," Spike said.
"Good lord this is complex," Giles said, removing his glasses. "Doyle, where did you see this?"
"What's it say?" Doyle asked.
"You wrote it," Spike said.
"I don't know what it says or where it came from, it just came out of my head," Doyle said.
"It's not in English," Xander said.
"It says, I believe," Giles said, "that what we need to do to end the spell is to unite...bond...seal...the wanderers. Those who seek themselves... Those who left their lives and all that they know..."
"This isn't too specific yet," Xander said.
"Can't we just mix together some eye of newt and be done with it?" Spike asked.
"They must be...sought...in two parties," Giles said. "Two people, two men, in each party. In one party, the ones who are friends and not friends, allies and enemies, lovers and fighters, father and son yet not father and not son."
"This is beginning to sound like the Athanasian Creed," Doyle said.
"They are good and evil, together and each in himself. They are one yet two, always together yet separated."
"Got any names?" Xander asked.
"The other party, the other two, they are...assistants, helpers...one a seer, a gifted one; the other a normal man with the gift of humanity. They are troubled, humbled, they do not know themselves."
"So we have two parties of two men each going out to find the wanderers," Angel said. "Who are these wanderers?"
"Let's go pick up some hitchhikers," Xander suggested.
"They are two men," Giles said.
"What's with two men, two men, two men?" Xander asked.
"So they're sexist," Spike said. "Be quiet."
"They seek themselves, etc., etc.," Giles muttered. "I'm not quite...this one is some sort of animal."
"Animal?" Doyle asked.
"The one who has been marked by the...wolf, wolf," Giles said.
"Wolf," Angel said.
"Werewolf," Spike said.
"Like Oz?" Xander asked.
"Oz," Giles murmured. "Yes, he left to find himself, didn't he?"
"I was wondering where he was," Doyle said.
"Where did he go?" Angel asked.
"We haven't a clue," Giles said. "There was an...unfortunate episode, and he felt it necessary to leave. Apparently he wanted to go somewhere that he could escape other people and center himself. A spiritual pilgrimage of sorts."
"Oz is one of the most centered people I've ever met," Angel said.
"So you can guess that he'd be pretty upset at being rattled," Xander said.
Angel nodded. "Okay. Let's find him."
"Who's this other bloke?" Spike asked Giles.
"Yes." Giles kept reading. "The one who was called to duty and failed but did not fail, who doubts himself, who seeks to find what he never had and has not lost, the man who...I'm afraid I have no idea what this says."
"What language is it?" Doyle asked.
"Quite frankly," Giles said, "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Angel asked.
"You're using Roman letters," Giles said. "But I'm afraid that I have no idea what any of this truly is. Somehow I understand parts of it."
"So you could just be insane and making up all of it," Xander said.
"You made up something out of your head and he's reading what he can't read," Spike said. "And now we're off to send four men off to find two men, only we don't know who any of them are."
"Let's try to figure it out, then," Doyle said. "Why don't we write down, in English this time, what we think that we might know."
The others began to arrive, and food was brought, and Xander went out for blood. The ten of them settled around the floor in a circle to brainstorm with pizza and Chinese food: Giles, Riley, Buffy, Willow, Tara, Anya, Xander, Doyle, Angel, Spike, and Giles again.
"Let's try to figure out just a little part of it," Buffy said. "Like the father and son. They're father and son, but not father and son, too."
"Stepfather," Tara said.
"God and Jesus," Doyle said.
"Maybe it's like...the father of democracy, the father of a literary movement, something like that," Willow said.
"Angel," Riley said. "Angel's Spike's sire, right? But he's not really Spike's father. But he is."
"As soon as I get back to normal, I'm eating you first," Spike said.
"What's the rest of that part?" Buffy asked Giles.
"Friends and not friends, allies and enemies, lovers and fighters," Giles said.
"It fits," Anya said.
"Right," Willow said. "Because you used to be...and then Angel was good and Spike wasn't, and then Angel was Angelus, and then he was Angel again, and now Spike's not really evil anymore, so you've pretty much been on every possible side of the allies and enemies thing, for good and bad, all over the place. And you used to be friends, right? Back in the beginning? So that works. And you're fighters in the sense that you've fought for good, you've fought for evil, you've fought each other. And there's the...other part...which is none of my business don't hurt me."
"Are we talking 'lovers' in the sense of world harmony or in the sense of...the other sense?" Xander asked.
"Aren't we sort of jumping to conclusions here?" Buffy asked.
"Do we know of anyone else who fights the spell?" Tara asked.
"It is rather an eerie but convenient fit," Giles said. "Perhaps we should be wary of assuming that those of our immediate circle meet the prescribed-"
"Like she says, do we know of anyone else?" Anya asked. "Move on. What about the other two guys?"
"They are assistants," Giles said. "They help the powerful. One has been... gifted, touched...he sees what others cannot, he knows what others do not. The other has been gifted with nothing more than...well, here it goes into a bit of a Hamlet-style soliloquy on the nature of man. Which makes me suppose that what is meant is an ordinary person, an average man. Someone who proves simply by being himself that man is noble, courageous, and grand in himself."
"Joe Ordinary," Buffy said.
"Sounds like you," Anya told Xander.
"Thanks a lot," Xander said.
"Well, it's sort of... I mean," Willow said, "Slayer, Watcher, two vampires, two witches, former demon, Riley's big military guy running the Initiative, you're just a person, Xander."
"What about Doyle?" Xander asked. "Oh, right, he's psychic."
"You're psychic?" Tara asked.
"Wait," Xander said. "Wait wait. Giles, you said someone who's been gifted, someone who sees, right?"
"Hey, no," Doyle said. "I'm just Joe Ordinary myself."
Angel snorted.
"Except for, you know, I'm not," Doyle said. "But I'm not whatever you said about being touched in the head."
"I hardly meant it in that way," Giles said. "I only meant that this man has been granted special abilities beyond the normal human range. And you do get visions, do you not? The Powers That Be have allowed you-"
"The Powers?" Anya asked.
"All I do is see who's in trouble so Angel can run off and save pretty blondes," Doyle said. "It's not a big deal. Comes with a killer headache, let me tell you. Not all it's cracked up to be. I'm not anything close to whatever you're talking about with the one who knows what other people don't."
"Sounds like it to me," Buffy said.
"Wait, so Angel and Spike are the first two and Doyle and Xander are the second?" Willow asked.
"I am not Joe Ordinary," Xander said. "I'm part of the Scooby Gang, I'm a key Slayerette."
"That would be the part about helping the powerful," Riley said. "Doyle helps Angel, you help Buffy."
"I'm the powerful?" Buffy asked. "Cool."
"And...the wanderers, the two guys...one's Oz?" Willow asked. "We're going to go find Oz?"
"The four of them are going to go find Oz," Giles said. "The rest of us will stay here and work on the rest of this spell."
"What's left?" Buffy asked.
"The part about the other guy," Riley said.
"And the part about sealing them," Anya said. "Like in a tomb?"
"Bonding them, perhaps, or uniting them," Giles said.
"Bringing them together," Xander said. "Introducing them."
"So who do we know who fits the description?" Buffy asked. "Everybody else is from our little circle of acquaintance, right? So who's left?"
"The one who was called to duty and failed but did not fail, who doubts himself, who seeks to find what he never had and has not lost," Giles read. "After that, I don't understand a word of this gibberish."
"Gibberish," Doyle said. "Thanks a lot."
"I'm sure that I'll figure it out in time," Giles said. "Unfortunately, we don't have too much time."
"Called to duty and failed," Riley said. "But didn't fail."
"Doubts himself," Anya said. "So he has low self-esteem."
"Seeks to find what he didn't have in the first place and hasn't lost," Willow said.
"That doesn't make sense," Buffy said. "Giles, are you reading this right?"
"I have no idea," Giles said. "You're welcome to try to make sense of it yourself."
"It could be in code," Riley said.
"All right," Giles said. "Here is what I propose. We'll work on trying to find Oz and deciphering the rest of this gibberish. Angel and Spike, you will go out first to track down Oz. Xander and Doyle, once we figure out who this second man is, you'll go out and bring him back here."
"So we'll all stay here, try to decode that, do some looking for Oz from here, and keep the Sunnydale madness at bay," Buffy said.
"Yes," Giles said. "You two will be all right working together?"
"We don't have a choice," Angel said.
"Spike?" Giles prompted. "You've been alarmingly quiet."
"Did they stick him with you because you're both Irish?" Spike asked.
"What?" Angel asked.
"You're Irish, The Powers sent you someone who's Irish," Spike said.
"I love your accent," Tara told Doyle.
"Thanks," he said. "People say that American women flip for men with accents, but usually it's only the French and Italian ones."
"I like yours," Willow said. "And English accents are way cool," Willow said. "Some of them are really hard to understand, but the London ones just sound cultured. Like Giles."
Spike coughed.
"Or Wesley," Willow added.
"Wesley?" Riley asked.
"Before your time," Buffy said. "He took off after graduation."
"Where'd he go, anyway?" Xander asked.
"I don't know," Giles said. "The Council fired him, I heard, for negligence in his duty."
"So he failed to do his duty," Doyle said.
"Oh no," Willow said.
"And he's wandered off somewhere," Anya said. "Sounds like it fits to me."
"We're supposed to introduce Oz and Wesley?" Buffy asked. "They've met."
"Maybe just reunite them," Willow said.
"Or bring them home," Riley said. "Lost sheep wandering from the fold, that sort of thing."
"Going on the assumption, then, which makes me feel doomed already," Giles said, "Angel and Spike will go to look for Oz while Doyle and Xander look for Wesley. The six of us will remain here as a home base."
"I'm all ready to go looking for Wesley," Xander said, "except where do we look?"
"We might start with tracking down acquaintances," Giles said. "Ask Devon and Oz's other friends about Oz, check with the Watcher Council on Wesley. The Watchers wouldn't let one of their own run off without keeping track of him, fired or not."
"They're watching you?" Buffy asked.
"Or are you just paranoid?" Anya asked.
"Or both," Xander said, shrugging.
"How did he fail?" Riley asked.
"Well, the Watchers fired Giles and sent in Wesley," Buffy explained. "To keep me on the straight and narrow black and white little path that the Watchers prefer. Completely ignoring the fact that I'm only human and evil isn't exactly always where we think it is. Wesley had two Slayers on his hands, me and Faith. But I already had Giles, and I didn't need another snooty Englishman telling me what to do. So I didn't listen to Wesley."
"Nobody listened to Wesley," Xander said.
"He was supposed to be our watcher but he couldn't control us," Buffy said. "I quit, I..."
"Turned renegade," Giles supplied.
"Right," Buffy said. "And Faith turned evil, worked as right-hand girl bodyguard for the big bad evil. Wesley was a complete failure."
"So in what way, to meet the spell, didn't he fail?" Riley asked.
"Anybody?" Xander asked.
"It all worked," Spike said. "Faith's gone, the mayor's gone, Angel didn't die, Buffy's still the Slayer."
"Oh," Buffy said. "Right."
"But Wesley had nothing to do with that," Willow said.
"But if he'd done what the Council wanted him to do, if Giles had backed off and everyone had listened attentively to Wesley, what would have happened?" Spike asked.
"I don't know," Giles said, thoughtful. "He wasn't a bad man, only inexperienced. And we can be a tough crowd. Wesley's failure wasn't entirely his fault."
"It was entirely the Council's fault," Buffy said.
"We didn't give him a chance," Willow said.
"So when Xander and Doyle bring Wesley back here, we'll apologize," Anya said. "Let's get moving. Time's wasting."
"Quite right," Giles said. "Now, I'm sure that your pursuit of Oz will be limited by necessity, as you can't travel well during daylight hours," he said to Angel and Spike.
"We'll make do," Angel said.
"We'll all start off tomorrow, bright and early," Xander said. "You'll call all of the nice Watcher people to find out where Wesley might be? Is he in England? Because I've heard that their food is lacking in...goodness."
"I'll place a few calls and check," Giles said. "The four of you might want to get some rest."
"Maybe," Xander said. "Considering we've been up since forever now."
"You're leaving," Anya said. "You're leaving and you'll be gone and I won't get sex."
"So much for getting rest," Xander said. "Come on," he said to Anya, "time to head home."
In the morning, Xander and Doyle went to see Devon. From there, they went from person to person, club to club, hangout to hangout, guitar store to guitar store, in pursuit of a clue. Several leads pointed to Los Angeles, but Xander remembered Willow saying that Oz wanted to be away from people. One person mentioned Kansas. Xander remembered hearing of Kansas as flat and having large areas lacking people. Because the Kansas tip was unlikely, it had an odd ring of truth to it. So Xander and Doyle hunched over a Kansas map in the grass outside of the AAA building. "Anything strike you?" Doyle asked.
"You're not getting any psychic vibrations?" Xander asked.
"It doesn't work that way," Doyle said.
"You've met Oz. He's sort of his own person. What do you think would appeal to him?"
"He's going off to be alone, right?" Doyle asked. "Away from people, finding himself. He wouldn't go into one of the cities. He'd go out to the middle of nowhere."
"Kansas is the middle of nowhere," Xander said. "You can't get much more nowhere than Kansas. And they were right, your accent is really cool."
"Actually, I've lost quite a bit my of brogue," Doyle said. "And I'm only half Irish."
"What's the other half?"
"Something else."
"Ah." Xander returned his attention to the map. "So Topeka's out, I'm guessing. And Kansas City, and Wichita."
"Liberal sounds good," Doyle said.
"Wait. If we're looking for a place that he'd go to escape people, it wouldn't be on the map."
Doyle frowned. Thought. "I see what you're saying. He'd be someplace that's not on the map."
"Right!"
"Like in all this bare area here, in the upper left," Doyle said.
"Exactly."
"It's too bad. Ogalalla sounded like a fun place," Doyle said.
"Now what?"
"Now we tell Angel and Spike to go to Kansas, Toto."
"His name is Oz and we're going to Kansas to find him. This is insane."
"I think that Oz would appreciate the irony," Doyle said.
"He'd love it. He'd be so tickled he might even smile," Xander said. "So, what, they just run off to Kansas?"
"Taking an airplane might help."
"Who's paying for it?"
"Shouldn't there be some sort of fund? We are saving the world, aren't we?"
"We don't even get medcal insurance. And boy could we use it."
Angel and Spike managed to get cheap night tickets and a rental car. They promised to check in regularly with the Sunnydale group. Angel called Cordelia, said good-bye to Doyle, and left with Spike.
While Giles was waiting to hear from England again, Xander told Doyle what he knew about Oz, which turned out to be mostly about Oz and Willow.
"So when they bring him back, she'll be counting on a reunion?" Doyle asked.
"She's hoping for one," Xander said. "But I don't think that she's counting on anything. She probably just wants to see him again."
"It's hard, being in love with somebody, knowing that person's out there living a whole life that has nothing to do with you."
"I'm guessing this is about you now?"
"I was married."
"Oh. You're old enough to be divorced?"
"I wasn't old enough to get married," Doyle said. "One of those young and in love things."
"You still love her?"
"Not in the grand romantic sense. In the sense that I'll always care what happens to her."
"What did happen?"
"Something happened to me. I changed. I couldn't handle it."
"You couldn't handle it?"
"She could. Turns out she was a lot more mature than I was."
"Oz went through some changes, turned into a werewolf. He was remarkably good about it. And Willow just took the whole thing in stride. Can I ask you something else?"
"Shoot."
"How's Cordelia?"
Doyle smiled.
Across the room, Riley and Giles were talking. "I just think that, as strange as it may sound, maybe it's easier for two strangers with something in common to work together than two people with a very strong history."
"Yes," Giles said. "I must admit that Angel and Spike's twisted past raises many obstacles and points of concern. They're both extremely powerful, whether good or evil. Not to mention that they're both terribly difficult to deal with when they choose to be. Angel is noticeably more mature than Spike, but I don't imagine that it'll be easy for him to work with Spike, considering all that's happened between them. I don't even want to consider what would happen should Drusilla make an appearance. Although I'm sure that her association is so strong that, physically present or not, she's still at issue."
"Drusilla. The one who killed Kendra, the Slayer before Faith."
"Yes. Angel drove her quite insane before he turned her. When he was cursed and granted his soul, she became Spike's companion."
"Spike came first?"
"I believe so, yes."
"So Angel and Spike were together, and then..."
"Then Angel became obsessed with Drusilla."
"Why wouldn't Spike hate Drusilla, then?"
"Why - - oh, I see what you're saying. If, as this spell suggests, Angel and Spike were physically intimate, and Angel left Spike for Drusilla...ah. Yes."
"Were they? Lovers?"
"I have no idea. The thought never crossed my mind until just the other day when this spell raised the point. How naive of me."
"I don't think that anyone thought of it, not even Buffy."
"I really do think that one of them would have said something," Giles said. "We mustn't make assumptions. There are alternate meanings to the word 'lover,' as we discussed."
"I'm sorry, does this make you uncomfortable?"
"Despite what Americans may think of the English, I am capable of mentioning sex without needing to loosen my stays."
Riley smiled. "I guess if you deal with vampires and werewolves and witches on a regular basis, gays don't bother you."
"I wouldn't go quite that far. The Watchers are notoriously homophobic. Not to mention racist, sexist, classist..."
"A Good Old Boys' club?" Riley guessed.
"The Watchers are one of the last bastions of the exclusively male upper-class WASP, yes."
"There's a lot of prejudice and discrimination in the Marines," Riley said. "And people say there's no classism in this country, but that's ridiculous."
"It used to be that in England as soon as someone opened his mouth one knew his home, his class background, where he'd been schooled, everything. We still check for those things."
"What do you know about Wesley?"
"Not much, I'm sorry to say. The more I look back on it, the more I regret my behavior. He came here to do his job, a job that I'd once approached with a similar attitude. He lacked experience, yes, but we could have worked with him. And we are a tightly knit group; we've gone through a great deal in a few years. We shut him out, we didn't give him a chance, we went right over his head. I know next to nothing about his background. I'm hoping that some of my associates will be informative on that front." Giles ran his eyes over the "gibberish" again, out of habit. He frowned and read again. "Soulmate of the soulless one."
"Who?" Riley asked.
"It's in the section...I assume that this means that Angel is Spike's soulmate. That is disturbing."
"Soulmate of the soulless," Riley repeated. "Doyle's writing is poetic, if a bit melodramatic."
"Angel and Spike soulmates," Giles said. "That doesn't sit well with me. Spike lacks a conscience, lacks human feeling. He's very intelligent, yes, but extremely dangerous. He has all of the traits of a sociopath."
"You think that Angel's in danger?"
"The Initiative seems to have neutered Spike quite effectively, but I hate to rest easy on that front. Angel can take care of himself, but in the long term, if he is Spike's soulmate as this would seem to suggest, then... Well, then I wonder at all of his intentions with Buffy, for a start."
"It's easy to get drawn in by Buffy," Riley said. "Surely you can understand that."
"Smart, capable, talented, beautiful young women do tend to attract men," Giles said.
"Did you notice that Angel seemed more agitated at Spike's presence than mine?" Riley asked.
"I must admit that I'd worried about his reaction to you without considering Spike, and when he came in and had the opposite reaction, I was taken aback," Giles said. "So you believe that he's accepted the end of his relationship with her?"
"Has she?"
"Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but she's seeing you."
"We're not in love."
"You're not? You seem rather cavalier about it."
"We're still dating, but we've stopped...sleeping together." Riley blushed. It was both startling and attractive.
"You've set back your relationship?"
"We realized that it's not a forever thing. We enjoy each other's company, we like each other, we have similar ideals, we get along well, but we aren't going to spend the rest of our lives together. So we don't want to make more out of than is there. There's no use in pretending."
"That's remarkably mature."
"I thought so," Riley said, smiling.
The phone rang. "Excuse me," Giles said, rising, catching the receiver. "Hello, this is Giles. Ethan!"
"Ethan?" Xander asked, standing. "Ethan Raynes Ethan?"
"Who's Ethan Raynes?" Riley asked.
"One of Giles' old friends from the days when he was a juvenile delinquent. Ethan's a, I don't know, a warlock or something now, or a demon worshipper, something like that. He was involved in the bad candy deal, he turned everybody into our Halloween costumes and Spike almost killed Buffy, he got Jenny Calendar possessed by a demon that we got rid of by giving it to Angel."
"Never a dull moment for you people," Riley said.
"You're one of us people now," Xander said. "Get used to it."
"I think it's we people," Doyle said.
"The wee people? What is it with you Irish people and leprechauns?" Xander asked.
Giles hung up the phone. "Wesley is in the United States of America. Somewhere."
"What, only fifty states, it'll take us a couple of days," Xander said. "No problem."
"He's a rogue demon hunter," Giles added with a doomed sigh.
"What's a rogue demon?" Xander asked.
"He hunts demons?" Doyle asked. "Great."
"Good thing Angel and Spike are looking for Oz and not Wesley," Xander said. "Why is Ethan calling?"
"One of the people I called called him," Giles said. "I hadn't planned to hear from him, believe me."
"At least we've narrowed it down some," Riley said. "We know he's in this country. And if he's hunting demons, he's probably been spotted in demon-intensive areas. So just go to one of the demon hot spots and ask around."
"Like I'm going to walk up to some demon and ask him if he's seen a former Watcher," Xander said. "That'll go over real well."
"We'll take care of it," Doyle said. "Giles, you mind if I use your phone long-distance?"
"Go ahead," Giles said. "You can't make my phone bill much worse."
"Thanks. All in the name of saving the world. By the way, what does Wesley look like? Any significant traits?"
"He's English," Xander said.
"He was always taller than I remembered," Giles said. "When we knew him, he always dressed in dark suits and wore glasses. Short dark hair."
"He was one of those starched and buttoned guys," Xander said.
"Does he have a last name?" Doyle asked.
"Two," Xander said. "Wesley Wyndam-Price."
"Thanks."
Doyle made a few phone calls from the privacy of Giles' bedroom. Buffy and Willow came by, then Anya.
"So, no big leads?" Buffy asked.
"Wesley is in the US of A," Xander said.
"Well, that's a big help," Willow said. "Although I thought that if he might be in England or something then you could go there and it would be a good experience."
"Despite the food," Giles said dryly.
Doyle emerged. "Who feels like going to D.C.?"
"I do," Xander said brightly.
"Then let's call the airport and book a flight," Doyle said. "I assume that we should leave as soon as possible. The sooner we get started, the sooner we track him down, the sooner we save the world."
"Saving the world, my favorite daily activity, right between brushing my teeth and finding matching shoes," Buffy said.
"Hey, Wesley gets to save the world, that should help his self esteem," Willow said.
"I didn't notice that it was too low to begin with," Buffy said. "Seemed right up there to me. Or is that the thing where people with huge egos actually feel awful about themselves?"
"I think it's that thing," Riley said.
"I have to go home and pack," Xander said.
"We'll take you both to the airport and give you fond farewells," Willow suggested.
"You're leaving," Anya said. "I'll be all alone."
"You have us," Willow said. "Not that it's a big consolation to anyone."
"How long will you be gone?" Anya asked.
"A day or two. Weeks. Hard to say," Doyle said.
"Xander," Anya said, "I want you to feel free to see other people while we're separated."
"What?" Xander asked.
"I think that, as mature adults, we should realize that during times of separation, people naturally grow apart. There will be others available to both of us, and I want you to feel able to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities-"
"You're going to date other guys while I'm in D.C. for two days?" Xander demanded.
"Maybe," Anya said.
"And who might these guys be, maybe?"
"Jonathan. Maybe."
"Jonathan? Who's Jonathan?"
"Short guy, tried to kill himself in the belltower," Buffy said.
"He's short!" Xander exclaimed.
"What's wrong with short boys?" Willow asked.
"Nothing, when they have other traits to make up for it. But he's Jonathan!"
"I feel that the monogamous aspect of our relationship stifles my free expression as a woman," Anya said.
"I don't believe this," Xander said. "I have the worst luck with women."
"You could try abstinence," Willow suggested.
"Or guys," Buffy suggested.
"Since when are you the champion of the gay man?" Xander asked.
"Since apparently I'm attracted to tall, broad-shouldered, bisexual men."
"Angel?" Doyle asked.
"Riley?" Willow squeaked.
"This is one of those secret things," Riley said. "You can keep a secret, can't you?" he asked Anya.
"Of course," she said. "Well, you two should be going now, so have a nice trip." She left.
"You're bisexual?" Willow asked Riley.
"Yes," he said.
"And Angel?"
"Apparently," Buffy said. "When he comes back I may have to ask him about it. You'd think he could've told me. Unless he's not. Can you tell?" she asked Riley.
"Not at all," he said. "Sorry."
"I'm going to go now," Xander said. "Away from all of you. To nurse my broken heart and pack my suitcase."
"I'll drive," Willow said.