Title: Secrets Don't Make Friends (Pt 19- Hey Ma! Looky What I Can Do!)
Author: DivaDelilah (divadelilah@aol.com)
Description: Set in late Season 4, after Faith has body switched and is in prison. Adam isn't in play, Spike is working with the Scoobies reluctantly.
Disclaimer: They're not mine, but at least I treat 'em right. Joss, Mutant Enemy, and Fox own all…I'm just daydreaming.
Distribution: Fanfiction.net, assorted lists, and anything I okay. Just let me know where it's going…
Feedback: Every Diva needs her praise. So Praise me!

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Willow and Cordelia settled at the bar, twin laptops clicking as they hunted down information about vampires and mates. Occasionally, Willow would squeak excitedly then frown as the lead turned out to be a dead end. It seemed that no one had really ever witnessed a claim on a human, and if they had, they hadn't lived to tell the tale.

"Do you really think we'll find anything?" Cordelia whispered. "I'm not used to being on the research end still, especially with you as a partner. Being back here makes me feel like I should be driving people around, you know?"

Willow smiled. In high school, Cordelia had been leery of showing how intelligent she could be; therefore, it wasn't strange that ex-cheerleader felt out of place hacking with the brainiac. "Actually, this is pretty weird for me, too. Normally, I'm the one out there doin the magick thing, but I botched a few big ones lately, so… Guess this is how Watcher's punish their helpers," she replied glumly.

"Nah," said Cordelia. "I heard Giles telling Wesley that your power is too strong for you, and he doesn't want you accessing it unless you have to. He wants to help you learn to control it so you don't hurt yourself or someone else. He's not punishing you. Besides, I'm okay at this computer stuff, but you're the expert here." She smiled at the Witch, who nodded and smiled back.

"Thanks for saying that, Cordy. You know, you've changed a lot since high school."

"You, too. My God, Shelia Rosenberg's daughter… a lesbian? Did she have a heart attack?"

Willow giggled. "It wasn't as bad as when I told her I was going to UC Sunnydale and not MIT. But she wasn't happy, no. What about you and Angel? When did that start?"

"Only recently. Hell, I never thought I'd get him to even notice me; he still has Buffy stars in his eyes. And now with this Spike thing… I don't know. Maybe it's not the right time yet," she said, picking at her manicure.

"Maybe not. By the way he looks at you, though, it may be some day. He just needs to put his past behind him. It took me awhile to do that when Oz left."

"Yeah. Do you think maybe you could look at that curse thing again? I'd hate to finally get my chance and have to dust my honey, you know?"

Willow knew she meant it. If anyone would dust the person they loved because it was necessary, it was Cordelia. She knew where her priorities had to lie, and always had. "I could look into the wording. Maybe it's more flexible than I thought. I could try a translation spell…" Willow clicked open another window and opened a search engine to find some translating spells while she was at it. Although, at this point, if we bind Angel's soul, I have a feeling we're all going to find out even more about Spike and Buffy's private life than we know now.

"Willow?" Cordelia said, looking up. "I know what you're thinking. And if that's what makes him happy, I can't deny it just because it's not what I want. Sometimes if you love things, you have to let them go. I think we've all learned a little of that since Buffy came to town."

Willow nodded, still amazed at how much could change in a few short months. Had they all grown that much since high school? She made a mental note to ask Angel and Giles what they thought about it later. For now, it was back to surfing for answers…
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Across the room, Xander and Angel were sitting on the couch with a notepad, trying to finish the list of people who'd had significant contact with Buffy in the past four years.

"Okay, Deadboy, tell me this. Do evil people count? Like should we list the looney, and other baddies who're still alive? Scary as it is, Drusilla could have gotten this vision, right?"

Angel stared at the spell Giles and the girls had been trying to cast then at the translation Anya thought Willow had botched. "I don't think so. Besides, it's been over a day and half. If Drusilla had gotten the visions, we'd know by now. She'd be here. She was always quick to pounce on the helpless," he muttered.

"And who raised her that way?" Spike shot back, striding into the room with Buffy in tow.

"Stow it, Spike. We're busy," Xander replied, not even looking up from his list.

Buffy plopped down next to him and examined the list he was making. "Ooh, he's dead, remember? And she is too. Another one. That one's dead, too. God this is sad. Half the people I know are dead," she complained.

"And somehow, Mony Mony lives on," Xander mumbled.

Angel chuckled and everyone looked at him. "It was funny! Billy Idol…Mony Mony?" When they just stared, he threw his hands up in exasperation. "I give up! Why does everyone gape at me like bullfrogs when I laugh?"

"Cause the only time you ever laughed was when you were the prick," Spike filled in.

Angel's eyes got as round as saucers. "Ohhhh. So that's why you all freeze like deer in the headlights when I laugh. Makes sense I guess," he said, mulling it over in his mind.

"Now that we've strolled down Unpleasant Memory Lane, how about we submit this list to you guys, and we can see if we missed anyone. Or if they're dead," Xander added, rolling his eyes at Buffy.

"We only included humans," Angel threw in.

Buffy picked up the list and started reading aloud. "Joyce Summers, Hank Summers, Jonathon, Harmony…no, I think she died at graduation, Larry, Olivia, Maggie Walsh, Riley Finn…oh my god I haven't talked to him yet, Graham, Forrest, Amy (pre rat), Owen, Oz, Billy Palmer, Marcie Ross…Doesn't the FBI have her?, Devon, Ethan Rayne...hoo boy, hope it's not him, Willy, Michael, and….guys, you have Faith on here," Buffy said, surprised.

"Buffy-" Angel began.

"What? I was surprised. Don't'cha think if she'd received some sort of visions of my death, she'd've at least tried to make contact somehow?"

"She is in jail, Buffy," Xander reminded her.

"They have phones there. I'm sure she could have claimed an emergency and called her lawyer or something. Doesn't she have your number, Angel?"

Angel looked at Cordelia, who shrugged. Buffy was taking the subject of Faith much better than they'd anticipated. "Yeah, she has my cell number. She'd probably let me know if something disturbing about you came to her. She's really doing much-"

"Better. Yeah, I could tell," Buffy said absently, looking away wistfully.

Spike watched Buffy, his face unreadable. Inside, he was concentrating hard on extracting Buffy's thoughts about Faith, trying to ascertain whether she was a good thing or a bad thing. Another Slayer…interesting. She went bad and tried to take the Poof's soul...then…an ascension? Buffy stopped an ascension? Bloody hell, my girl is tough, he thought to himself. Nevermind that she almost killed Faith over my Sire; that's old hat for the women I know. But to stop an ascension… that's something special. He looked up to find Angel and Xander staring at him. "What? What are you gits staring at?" he growled.

Xander opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He tried again, but when he failed, he simply pointed a finger at his forehead then motioned to Spike's.

"Yeah, my bumpies came out. What of it?" He looked at Angel, who appeared transfixed. "What is going on?"

Xander made a noise that sounded like something out of the three Stooges and shook a finger at Buffy.

"There's nothing wrong with-" his voice dwindled to nothing as he looked at his mate, her forehead ridged like his, the light catching off a razor sharp fang as she muttered to herself. "Well, I'll be a limey sonuvabitch. She's got 'em, too!" He bounded out of the chair and grabbed Buffy, spinning her to face him.

When she gazed at him in confusion, he asked, "What were you thinking about just a minute ago?"

"I could hear you thinking. By the way, I know you were pilfering my memories, you creep. And you were talking about how strong I was and special… that's all. I was being sentimental. Why?"

"You can't feel that?"

"Feel what? And why are you all 'game face'?"

He took a deep breath and raised her hands to her face, guiding her fingers to the ridges and fangs. At her shuddering gasp, he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

'What did you do to me, Spike? I trusted you!' she shouted in her head.

'I did nothing wrong! You got them when we connected on a base level. I went 'grr' because of how upset you were at Faith, and you responded physically to my emotions. You're not a vampire, Buffy. But you can draw on all of our strengths, of which having a weapon you always carry, i.e. your fangs, is most definitely a perk.'

'I don't know, Spike. This is weird. I feel ugly.' She whined.

"Well now you've gone and hurt my feelings, luv," he said out loud, smirking. "Gonna tell me I'm fat, too?"

Buffy giggled, and the ridges faded immediately. "Whoa. Now that is a wiggy sensation. How do you deal with that all the time?" she asked, grinning at him.

"I dunno. How do you deal with bleeding off a pint of blood every month? Just get used to it, is all."

"Can I say 'ew'?" Xander finally said, regaining his ability to speak. "No one wants to know about you and your fetishes, Spike."

Angel paled, and cleared his throat. "Um, Buffy, you do know you, uh, you…"

"Went 'grr'? Yup. No big."

"I should say it is a rather big…big," Wesley cut in, carrying a bag full of supplies from the magick shop. He sat them on the counter and picked up a heavy volume to start searching through. "Developing fangs is certainly not on the list of skills a slayer should hone."

"I told you people I never got a copy of that damned handbook!" Buffy shot back, sticking her tongue out. "I wouldn't know what's on the skills list." She flopped down in the chair, pouting.

Angel's brow furrowed for a moment as he considered the events of the past few minutes. "Wait a minute. Buffy, did you say Faith 'seemed better'? When on Earth did you go see Faith?"

"Yeah Buff. Did you get the bleached psycho to take you to LA to see…well, the other psycho?" Xander asked reproachfully.

"No. I- When I left here, upset, the other night…before you guys came barging in the first time… I fell asleep on the bed at Angel's. I woke up and saw Spike pacing, talking to himself, and I didn't tell him I was awake. All of the sudden, Faith was in my head, talking to me. She told me she'd had a daydream about me and Spike and what was going on with us. She advised me not to be afraid of what I felt because I'd gotten hurt before. When she was talking I could feel how sorry she was for before, and how hard she was trying to make up for it. I told her-I told I'd come visit," Buffy replied, staring off into space.

"Obviously that's it," Wesley interrupted. "Faith received the visions. It must have happened because a vampire feeding on a Slayer usually leads to something a bit more grim than…a marriage…of sorts." He shut the book he was rifling through and smiled. "I'm glad to hear you two found some closure, Buffy. It's important to talk out your-"

"Oh, can it, Wesley," Cordelia snapped from the bar. "Buffy and Faith had their moment. No need to get all sentimental about it. I'm sure she's dealing with other things right now. Hello? I'm still stuck on the fangs…" she muttered, starting another search string.

Angel looked up at Buffy, who smiled at him tenderly. "I'm glad you and Faith… Wait, what exactly did she say?" he asked suspiciously, catching the mischievous glint in Buffy's eyes.

"You so don't want to know. There are things even I'm not dumb enough to repeat. Besides, I don't feel like peeling a bloody, sweaty, snarling pile of you and Spike apart if I did," she remarked wryly. Suddenly, a flood of thoughts invaded her mind, flashing pictures of her and Spike and Angel, sweaty, sticky, and bloody, crawling all over each other in a field. She breathed in a hitched gasp, her eyes sliding shut as the images played in her mind. Her head fell back, and purring filled the room as Buffy and her vampires indulged in a secret moment.

Spike opened one eye and watched Buffy, the scent of her arousal attacking his nose. He let out a low growl, frustrated with their confinement due to the sun. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself inside her until relief washed over them both. Angelus always had a creative mind when it came to indoor sports, he thought, licking his lower lip. He had to go screwing around with gypsies… damn curse!

Angel just stared off into space, unable to focus on anything but the fantasy he was living out in his head. The last time he'd felt like this was the Doximall incident. Although this time he wasn't going 'all evil twin' as Cordy called it, but… Oh, hell. Cordy. The thought of Cordy shook him out of his trance, and he glanced over to the bar where she was still working, oblivious. Xander was sitting on the couch next to Wesley, studiously ignoring the three people lost in thoughts.

Spike paced back and forth frenetically. Without thinking, he stepped closer to the window, and let out a half howl when he felt the warmth of the sun, expecting his skin to sizzle. When it didn't, he stared at his arm in amazement. "Holy bloody Christ; look at this people!" He opened the curtain a crack more and stood in the sunlight, bathed in a light he hadn't seen for more than a century.

The room turned and gasped. Spike's hair was gleaming in the sun, and he was grinning like a madman. Willow and Xander were making twin Shemp noises, and Wesley looked like he might faint. Angel's jaw hit the ground; Cordelia shrugged and went back to typing. Buffy's mouth went dry while another part of her flooded with wetness as she stared at her handsome lover in the daylight.

"This is just neat!" he said, sweeping Buffy into his arms and spinning her about.

"How-how-how…" Willow babbled.

"Like I'm going to look a gift horse in the mouth!" he replied, still grinning.

Buffy collected herself, willing herself to think and not just stand there, lusting after Spike. It must be the claim, she thought. But how? Then she remembered the poem Spike had recited: ' From the mating, Strengths shall be twofold, Weaknesses shall be eliminated, And love will rule, For the eternity that is their bond.' That's it!! His natural vampire weaknesses are gone, which must mean my natural Slayer weaknesses are gone, too. But the only thing that make me weak is…that I can die. Oh my god. that's what the eternity part means. Bloody fucking hell…

Angel raised his head and looked at Buffy as if waiting for her to explain what was going on. His eyes begged her to tell him the truth.

So she did. "It's part of the claiming ritual. I thought it was some dumb chant thing, especially since Spike didn't really say it when he was supposed to. But he was supposed to say it during the ritual. It's something like-"

"Is that what that part means? 'Cause I confess, Slayer, I didn't have a sodding clue. You know ancient chants, tend to be a bit on the boring side. I usually skip ahead to the fun parts," he leered.

"What in the world are we talking about?" Giles asked, walking into the packed living room. "And why is the curtain open so far, Angel and Spike will…fry?" He stared at the blond vampire basking the small rays of sun filtering in, and took off his glasses to clean them. "Oh, dear."

"Look at me, Watcher. Think I'll look good with a tan?"

Giles rubbed his temples. When he looked up, he noticed Angel doing the same thing. Their eyes met, and they shared a half hearted smile. Two grown-ups amongst a roomful of teenagers, even if one of them was 125 years old, made them an overwhelming minority. "Yes, well, Spike, for whatever reason you can…withstand the sun, I don't know if it's rays will effect you like they would a human…"

"No. I like you pale and sexy. No tan," Buffy pouted.

"Got a thing for Goth guys, eh, Slayer?" he preened.

"Will you two put a sock in it?" Willow said, turning around. "The rest of us would like to know what Buffy is talking about. It might help Cordelia and I search out information." Giving them a stern look, she turned back to her screen, listening for Buffy's explanation.

"The poem thingy said something like strength will be double and weaknesses will go away for all eternity like their love. That a pretty good synopsis, blondie?" Buffy said, contemplating stealing away to go the beach and watch Spike frolic about like a kid. And why wouldn't he? He's spent five times my life span in the dark.

"Yeah, that's close enough to the second part, pet," he replied absently, still looking out the window wistfully.

"Yes, that's very helpful," Giles said, mulling it over. "Perhaps Wesley and our group will go outside and try again with this new information. "Buffy, have you noticed any distinct changes yet?"

"Other than the pointies? Nope. But I'm willing to bet you could a run a sword through me and the hole would just close up like nothing happened. I think Spike made me the Highlander," she said, biting back a laugh as Giles stuttered his response.

"Well, that would be a strength I suppose… right. Carry on with your investigations in here. I think I might go lie down upstairs for a few minutes," he muttered, heading up the stairs.

Buffy jumped into Spike's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and holding onto his neck. "I think we gave Giles an aneurysm, baby."

"He'll get over it. Meanwhile, we should…patrol. Right? Patrol outside… in the sun…around…," he said longingly.

"I can't see the harm in it. Obviously, the light's no problem anymore. Shall we?" He set her down quickly and practically dragged her out the door.

As the door shut, Willow stared at her computer in amazement. She'd found it. All these years, it had been sitting right here on the Net, and she'd never bothered to look. The cure to Angel's curse was bookmarked on the laptop she'd inherited from Miss Calendar under a link called 'Chicken Soup for the Pagan Soul'. She must have known no one would bother looking at this, and therefore, it would never get used or erased. If I hadn't clicked the wrong window because I was distracted, I might never have seen this… Willow considered how their lives might have differed if this had come to light earlier, and decided she liked things the way they were now, even if Buffy was now the proud owner of bumpies and fangs. But what do I do about this? Should I go against Giles' wishes and 'fix' Angel's curse, so to speak?

Cordelia, who had been reading over the witch's shoulder, squealed softly. "Oh my god, Willow, you did it! You can curse Angel in a way that won't hamper his sex life! Thank GOD!" She wrapped her arms around the redhead spontaneously, and Willow groaned inside. She was never going to hear the end of this if it went wrong…she'd have to get Anya and Tara to help, maybe even Cordelia as well. As she began planning how to escape to a place where she and the others could work, her mind traveled to Buffy and Spike, wondering how they'd react when Angel no longer had to worry about losing his soul. Something told her everyone else might want to be far, far away….
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On to Chapter 20

No. Take Me back to Series

Email deli and feed her addiction.