Title: Deliberate Mistakes
Author: Frazi
Posted: 08-11-2002
Rating: PG
Email:
Content: A/C and Spike/Other, special appearance from Willow Rosenburg.
Summary: Set in the future. One mistake and the fang gang's finally peaceful lives take an unexpected spin.
Spoilers:
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made. Don't own any of the character except for Julianne. She's mine and if you borrow just let me know.
Distribution: By all means just tell me where?
Notes:
Feedback: Like breathing air.
Prologue
She was old. Aged faster due to the nature of her profession. Her fingers ran tiredly over the ancient book in her lap. The warm fire burned softly beside her as the cat sat at her feet slumbering in its old age too. The woman smiled at the picture she must have presented to the man. The withered old witch. The only thing she was missing was a broom, she mused amusedly.
"You look well."
His eyes flickered with the flames in her fireplace and then lowered as if afraid to hold her gaze. "Not much different."
"How long has it been?" The woman smiled softly closing the book and setting it gently on the table next to her chair.
"Too long."
"I believe so. After all it has been a while since we've had baddies come for us anymore. Not that important I suppose." Raising an eyebrow the woman pushed a graying hair behind her ears and motioned for him to come in. A silent invitation was all he needed.
The taller man bent down and stepped into the room and the warm glow of the old woman smiling at him with sparkling green eyes. "How are you Willow?"
The old witch chuckled. "Getting older every day I'm afraid." Her eyes tinged with affection. "Not like you though."
The man bent down, his cold lips brushing her brow in a gentle kiss. He met her eyes briefly before settling down at her feet his hand tangling around her bony fingers. He didn't speak first. Always the silent type, Willow smiled shaking her head softly. "How are the others?"
"They're okay." The voice held no conviction. "They send their love."
The green eyes flickered with worry. "What is it?"
He was silent and Willow's old heart skipped a beat with the foreboding intensity of his gaze.
"I need a favor Willow." It was a whispered plea, one Willow had never heard from this man. Not in years.
Her eyes narrowed with confusion then blinked. "What?"
"I need a soul."
Willow's eyes widened slightly a startled breath escaping her as her hand jerked out of his hands. The dread seeped through her brittle bones like fire until it settled in her belly. The frail old woman stared into the chocolate brown eyes, not believing what her mind was telling her. "Oh goddess."
Seeing the emotion take over the woman so quickly, he grabbed her trembling hands gently. "No Willow." The man let out an un-needed breath. "Not for me."
The blind panic instantly melted into relief and then curiosity. "Who then?"
He turned towards the open door and Willow frowned before following his eyes. For a second she thought she was seeing double. She blinked as if to clear her vision then her breath left her in a silent prayer. The first vision was determined, her warm brown eyes sad. Almost broken. The second vision returned fear into Willow's old heart and she lifted a trembling hand to her lips. It couldn't be.
Feral yellow eyes met green, the snarl still angered, the prominent bones of the face half shrouded in a cascade of flowing chestnut hair.
"Cordelia..."
Part 1
Angel sat in the now empty chair.
The cat watched him. Untrusting.
Flashes of memories licked the flames as the vampire's eyes began to burn.
Warm brown eyes smiling into hazel ones.
A small baby boy sleeping.
A little girl running through the old hotel.
The mop of brown curls popping out from behind the couch as she latches onto dark pants of a vampire, a father; squealing with glee.
Hide and seek.
Truth or dare.
A kiss. A careess. Heightened skin against silken bedding.
A tear in time.
Moist hazel eyes; sad. A son; lost.
A little girl sitting in her window watching her brother walking out of the house one last time.
Twister.
Crashing waves. Small boxes. Dark sands.
Fingers slipping away. Cold skin. Vacant eyes.
Blood. Bone. Ecstacy.
Failure.
"Angel?"
The dark vampire looked up shaken from his memories as the old woman entered the room once again a small brown book in her hand. He watched the regret in her eyes and ignored the reigned anger in her delicate face.
"Where is she?"
"Your daughter is sleeping."
When Angel didn't speak further Willow sighed. "She is chained in the cellar."
Brief pain flickered in his eyes and he looked away the muscle in his jaw twitching with an effort to control his instinct.
Save her. Protect her.
He knew she had questions. Willow always had questions. She reminded him of Fred.
His eyes closed.
Forgiveness.
His hands shook when he remembered the betrayal in Fred's eyes; the anger in Gunn's and the pain in Wesley's eyes. The list went on. Faith had looked murderous.
Julianne.
Angel took a ragged breath his body rejected.
A daughter.
A hand came and gently settled on his shoulder. "She looks so young." The woman couldn't hold her smile missing her own youth. The very magic that had been her gift had also taken a piece of her youth each time she used it. Seeing Cordelia, vamped or otherwise, so young, with her flawless skin was enough to bring back memories for the old witch.
"Perks of borrowed blood." The bitterness was palpable.
"Angel you know I don't…"
"I know Willow, but I have no where else to go." The witch had given it up. No casting. Her power had been uncontainable.
No casting.
"Will you?"
No casting.
Not since Buffy's death.
"BUFFY!!! Behind you!" Willow screamed as the master sank his fangs into the slayer from behind, his hand gripping her chin and twisting until her eyes became wide and her neck snapped.
Xander froze in his spot, the gun pointed.
Anya took a sharp breath her sword freezing in mid air.
Giles lost his grip on his crossbow as it cluttered to the floor.
Tara stopped mid spell, the two vampires suspended in the air falling with a sickening thud.
Time stopped for an instant.
Stopped until Spike roared towards the falling slayer his fangs out and ripped anything that came in his way.
And Willow's eyes slammed shut as her control shattered.
Waves upon waves of magic burst free from her finger tips engulfing the warehouse, turning all the vampires to cinders, blowing the walls of the warehouse miles across the dock, throwing her friends off their feet and screamed without constraint. With loss. With agony. With fury. With love.
"Willow! No!" Tara cried out desperately, imploringly and the storm ceased as quickly as it had started.
The witch slid down next to her best friend. The Scooby gang stood in the crater while Willow sat clutching the slayer to her chest, her gray streaked hair falling across the slayer's throat, the red of the bite mark matching the red streaks left in her hair, her tears freezing in her green eyes and the only surviving vampire standing over her silently.
And it was over.
"Willow?"
The witch startled out of her daze and took a sharp breath, her green eyes flickering to conceal the hidden tears she'd never shed.
Angel looked up at her with a frown. "Willow?"
She swallowed. "I will."
Angel turned back to the flames. "Thank you."
Part 2
Willow had been silent for a while, both watching the flickering flames, each trying to settle in each other's presence. Her hand stayed on his shoulder like a dead weight. Both not knowing if she kept it there for comfort or awkward obligation.
"Was it you?" The question was soft, as if afraid to be answered.
A shudder went through the vampire and he looked up with liquid brown eyes etched with remorse. The tightening in his throat hardly let him form words. "I had to. I couldn't…"
Willow felt the tears well in her eyes, her bony fingers tightening on his shoulder as her delicate frame was overwhelmed with emotions she couldn't understand. Anger. Regret. Pain. Confusion. Understanding. "Oh Angel, she would have not wanted it this way."
Suddenly the vampire was on his feet, reminding the witch the demon still lurked under his skin even with the eternal soul. "I know that! Don't you think I know that?" He stood by the fire his hands gripping the mantle piece, the marble creaking under his strength. "She was going to die," he voiced achingly. Almost desperately.
"We are all going to die Angel." Willow's confession was a whisper had it not been for his vampire hearing.
He turned to meet her eyes, the fire giving way to only weakness. "I had no choice." He straightened. "And I had no regrets."
"But this isn't her."
"It will be." He looked away. "As soon as you give her the soul. She's new. She has nothing to atone for."
"And that's how you justify it?" Willow couldn't hold the steel in her voice. "When you thought you couldn't do it alone you turned her? Is that how you wanted her? A demon!"
His eyes flashed with wry anger. "We're all demons Willow! The distinction isn't there anymore! You of all people should know being a demon isn't enough!"
The witch felt slapped. "Don't throw my weakness in my face Angel." No one had understood her motives. No one hand understood why she had separated herself from them and stayed back in Sunnydale after Buffy died. She hadn't wanted to leave. Soon everyone left to get away from the memories. Everyone but one. Someone who had been nothing but a shadow, a presence, and now her demon.
"Then don't throw mine in my face." The vampire ran a tired hand through his hair. "I don't care if I'm alone in this Willow. I'm not letting something like death get in the way." He looked up. "A mistake won't take her away from me."
Willow sighed and sat down in the chair. "Has she fed?"
"Yes." He couldn't meet her eyes.
She took a shaky breath. That was that then. The distinction was already made. "I spoke to Julianne before she fell asleep."
"What did she say?"
"Between accusations?" The father looked at her with a silent warning and Willow relented with a deep sigh. "She said it was an accident."
"It was by accident that I found her in LA and I realized nothing is without reason, but this wasn't an accident; this was a test."
She blinked up in surprise. "A test?"
Angel looked down at her, anger clouding his handsome features. "My test and I chose to fail this one."
The woman's eyes flickered with understanding. "From the powers?"
The vampire paced in front of her unable to keep the anxiety from showing. "They decided to make me human." His voice wavered with resentment, but he didn't stop. "Then they decided one last time to see if they could push me over the edge a little. I'm tired of being their pawn. I'm tired of proving myself to them. I'm tired of not being able to control my own life! I'm sick of them telling me I'm not good enough yet! It's been more than twenty years Willow. More than two decades of fighting evil and the only way they can repay me, is by taking her away from me as a TEST! So yes," his eyes blazed, "I failed this one on purpose! I quit."
"Angel, you don't quit being a champion for the powers that be."
"Watch me." He growled. "Cordelia was more than my wife," he snapped. "She was my soul!"
The resolve was unending in the vampire's face and Willow took a defeated breath. He'd already won. He'd won when he'd walked in through her door. Although, a part of her was speaking of survival, another part of her saw more of it as loss. Cordelia had been more than Angel's wife, his seer or his mate. She had been a friend; family. And Willow felt as if an integral part of all of them had just been torn away. Turned. Again.
And it hurt.
It hurt almost as much as losing Buffy had hurt.
"She won't be like before Angel."
His eyes darkened. "It'll have to be enough."
She nodded finally, standing to meet his eyes. "Alright. I'll redo the spell." When the vampire moved forward to wrap his arm around her she held up her hand to stop him. "Don't thank me yet." The pain of rejection couldn't be hidden from his smooth features and Willow took pity on him and smiled, her hand touching his cold cheek. "It's been years since I've done any magic. I might have lost my touch. Besides, if you remember I never got much done without botching it up someway ya know."
Angel smiled slightly after what seemed like ages, remembering some of the antics the young witch had caused. "Thank you."
"If she's anything like your other surviving childe Angel, I doubt you'd like to thank me any time soon."
"Why the venom Red? I swear I tidied my room this morning."
Angel looked up sharply as the peroxide blonde stepped into the room cocky as ever and yet, somehow different. The platinum hair was ever present, but the black leather was gone. In its place the vampire wore green cargos, a gray colored sweater, but what really threw Angel off were the groceries.
The younger vampire smirked as he put the two big brown paper bags on the table. "`Ello peaches. Wot brings you to my `umble abode?"
Part 3
The clanking of chains was the only sound in the cellar.
She stood at the top of the stairs watching the vampire struggle and let out a frustrated grunt. Then she looked up into the shadows of the staircase and her mouth spread into a grin. "I charge by the hour you know. Even for watching." When the figure remained hidden and silent the vampire snarled. "If you're not here to open these fucking chains you clingy little brat then take those sad kitty eyes and leave me to try on my own!"
The jibe was like a punch in the girl's gut and she took the few steps down to reveal herself to the vampire glaring up at her with fiery yellow eyes.
She was beautiful. Like something out of a dream. Or a memory. She remembered her without the fangs and the demon eyes. Without the torn jeans and slashed shirt. Without the hate and animosity. She remembered her mother when she rocked her to sleep, read to her before bedtime and sang to her when she was afraid.
This was nothing like her.
"Hmph. What the fuck are you staring at?"
"A bad dream."
The vampire's mouth turned up in a wicked smile. "Oh Princess, don't be that way."
The way Cordelia spoke the tender name made Julianne's skin crawl. "Don't call me that."
"But that's what I always call you Princess." The vampire laughed. "Now be a good little girl and come give your mother another kiss."
The girl's hand instantly went to the healing bite marks on her throat and she suppressed the shudder. "I think I've given enough for one lifetime Mom."
The vampire rolled her eyes and sat back against the dusty wall one leg propped up and her arm resting there languidly. "Pfft. Oh, get over it. I'm a vampire. Your father is a vampire. You're the only odd one out." She glared. "Not that you ever weren't. Confused little sparrow; that mask is like so old. You should try another one. How does heartless daughter sound?"
"I'd rather be heartless then be drained by the likes of you." Julianne tried her best to be stern.
"Don't you want to please mommy?" The vampire smirked. "Always worried about letting daddy down. Tsk.
Tsk. And falling off the mark by a smidgen each time, only to have him let you down in the end. How tragic. I could cry."
Julianne wondered why she talked to her anymore. For the past three days. Right from her awakening to the ride in the car, Julianne hadn't seen a spec of her mother in this vampire. How could it be that easy to lose so much in such little time?
Julianne didn't believe a word the vampire had spoken, but it tugged at her to hear her fears spoken so blatantly in her mother's voice. Even at twenty two, she wished she could just crawl into her mother's lap and wish it all away. Her eyes flickered.
But Julianne never made the same mistake twice.
"Help me. Please."
The whimpers. The pleading.
"Princess?"
"Please."
So much anguish.
"Help me Princess."
Doubt. Conviction. Denial.
And she was going to her. Being held in cold arms, fingers stroking her hair gently. Eyes closing. Trying to forget before the fangs sank into her neck. Pain. Screams. Betrayal and her father's strong arms.
Her mother was gone.
Never.
"He did what he had to do."
"Oh please! Do you honestly believe that?" Cordelia glared. "Not like I'm complaining here; hello! But how can you justify this?" She gestured to herself her arms still clamped down in shackles. "Don't you have a lick of loyalty in you?"
Julianne almost laughed. "You're correlating me giving my self to my newly undead mother like a sacrificial lamb, to me being disloyal? I thought you were delusional mom, not stupid."
"If you think you can get her back." The vampire chuckled mockingly. "You are sad." The chuckle exploded into a laugh. "She's gone little girl. You little mommy, just got a new gig." She flashed her fangs. "Get used to it."
"The new ones are always a little cocky, but don't let her get to you."
Julianne spun around her eyes flashing with surprise, her body instantly guarded for an attack. Then her fists loosened and she glared. "Let me guess. You must be William the bloody. Daddy's little boy."
Spike's eyebrow shot up before he smirked and bent down in a gallant bow. "You've heard about me."
"The impotent one. Yeah. Who hasn't?"
"Hey! That's a lie!"
Behind them Cordelia let out a disgusted snort. "I'm only three days old. I knew."
Spike growled low in his chest.
"Drop it Spike." Angel stepped into the cellar, his eyes going directly to the female vampire sitting calmly on the dusty floor, her hazel eyes indifferent and devoid of all emotion. Devoid of sunshine.
Devoid of humanity.
He ran a hand through his hair and turned to his daughter. "Willow needs supplies."
The daughter didn't meet his eyes. "You have a list?"
The father held out a slip of paper.
"Have a car?"
"Take Spike's."
"Hey! NO bloody way!"
Angel let out an irritated breath. "Spike…"
The blonde vampire growled low in his throat as he stepped up to his sire. "No arrogant, half breed, cynical, little brat is driving my Desoto."
Angel didn't even flinch as he met his childe's snarling gaze.
"Spike?"
The vampire looked up to see Willow coming down the stairs the black book in hand. "Take her with you to the shop. She knows what I need."
"But Red…"
"Spike." Willow met his eyes evenly. "Please?"
Spike grit his teeth and growled at the young girl then turned and marched up the stairs.
Julianne looked at her father as if warning him of the consequences and Angel nodded. "He won't hurt you."
"Do you need a bloody invitation little girl." Spike called from the top of the stairs.
Julianne scowled before stuffing the small paper in her pocket. "Yeah well I don't make any promises." She marched up after the steaming vampire.
Angel rubbed his temples and Willow smiled. "I can see where she gets it."
"Not my doing I assure you." Angel walked over to the vampire sitting on the floor. He held out a mug of warm pig's blood.
The young vampire took a snip and wrinkled her nose. "Can I change my order from a pig-positive to an O-positive brooder? Hmmm?" Her left eyebrow arched and her mouth turned up in an extra bright smile that couldn't be anything but sarcastic.
And he wondered again; how much of her was still in this empty shell?
"Drink it." When she opened her mouth to protest his eyes darkened with firm command. "Drink it."
The childe fell silent as the mug was raised to her lips and the thick red liquid slid down her throat without another complaint.
Her compliance only made his soul ache harder. He had never wanted this. Never.
He just hoped the soul would fix it. He hoped it would bring some of her back to him.
When she finished she coughed and wiped her mouth with a groan. "Eyow! Yuck!"
Willow saw Angel's soft smile as he reached for the soulless vampire, seeing too much of his wife in her already.
She hoped it would be enough.
Cordelia shivered slightly when he touched her brow; unable to stop the reaction, her head tilting into her sire's hand. "Angel," she whispered softly.
His un-beating heart tightened at the sound of her voice as he slid his thumb across her cheekbone in a loving gesture he couldn't prevent. She could never be anything but beautiful to him. "We'll make this right Cordy."
Cordelia opened her eyes and looked up at him with untold devotion. "Promise?"
With a thick swallow he gathered her in his arms and held her. "I promise."
Part 4
Julianne was barely inside the car before Spike gunned the engine and the car screeched off the curb. The girl glared at the platinum blonde with all the vemon of the past three days in her eyes. "You know, you might be immortal, but I still have a heartbeat."
"Are you always this unsociable or am I special?"
"You're special." She grunted and crossed her arms.
What's with the rivalry, she frowned at her behavior. Julianne had heard stories about this notorious childe, but she'd never met him. Sneaking a glance at him she tried to figure this one out. Her father was the only vampire she'd known who worked for the good side. This one wasn't famous for any deeds, but he had his own similarities to her father. He fell in love with a slayer. The same one. The dreaded B-word. It was a name that wasn't mentioned very often in her mother's presence. When a little girl had asked why her mother always ended up glaring when it was mentioned a father sat down and told him a story. A real story of two people who came together then went their own ways. He told her if he'd never met the slayer, he'd have never met her mother and that was enough to satisfy the little girl's curiosity. Everyone had their place in life. Now she wondered how this vampire, that dressed like a college kid and had hair like an overrated rock star, was an element of their life.
"I know I'm bloody striking luv, stop with the staring already."
She blinked startled out of her thoughts and glared. "I was only trying to figure out how much bleach soaks into your brain to make you that daft."
"Good comeback luv."
"I aim to please."
Spike couldn't suppress the smile as he turned a corner towards the magic shop. "So you're the poofster's little dame."
Julianne sighed. "Why didn't I just swipe my father's car and spared myself from you making casual conversation? Stake me now."
"The stake works for you too?" Spike grinned.
"I don't know. I haven't died recently."
"You have your mum's tongue."
"I wish you'd gotten your sire's silence."
"He still broods, eh?"
Julianne looked out the window. "Mom never liked it when he brooded."
Spike snuck a look at her. "Your mum had him on a leash."
"She still does."
Spike contemplated the young girl sitting proudly beside him. "So wot happened anyway? It's not like peaches to go around siring vampires. He still regrets siring me."
"The reason he turned her is nothing like why he turned you."
"I sure hope not, unless the cheerleader picked his pocket too."
Julianne looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Bullshit."
Spike burst out laughing. "No joke."
"I stand corrected. My father is bad at picking who to sire."
Spike snickered. "I second that. You still haven't answered my question brat."
Julianne sighed. What the hell was she supposed to tell him? She had been too far away? Her father hadn't been able to stop the demon? Her mother hadn't stayed in the car? Whatever the reason, they hadn't been able to keep the demon from slicing her mother's stomach open. "It was a demon."
"Bad?"
"Ugliest. Claws like knives. Not to mention he smelled gross." Julianne could still smell the stench. She could still see her mother falling to her knees, her hand gripping her stomach, her eyes wide with shock. "She got in the way."
"Peaches panicked?"
"No. Not then. We made it to the hospital on time, but she'd lost too much blood."
"She died in the hospital?"
"Yes. They told us she wasn't going to make it, we thought it was going to be fine. After all, she was half demon." Julianne's eyes turned misty. "He was the one she'd asked for.
He was with her in the room; I was outside with the others."
The feeling in her stomach wouldn't go away. Pushing her mother's hospital door open she stepped in and her blood drained from her face. "Oh god!"
She'd been in time.
In time to see her father morph into the demon and pull the limp woman up into his arms. Before she'd been able to cry out he'd leaned down and sank his fangs into her neck. The soft cry was all her body could manage as her father sucked the last of what life her mother had. Her tears mirrored his as she watched the veins in his neck pump with fresh blood. She didn't protest until she saw him cut open his wrist and put it to her mother's lips. "Oh please no!"
But she didn't move.
Before she could take a step she met his eyes.
Desperations, helplessness, weakness, vulnerability, regret and hope chased each other across his features and she turned, unable to deny him.
Everything faded into a cascade of colors, her vision blurring. She did what she had to do. She pushed the hospital room door closed as the doctor tried to come inside. The nurses screamed outside, her family asking, imploring and she couldn't form words. She turned the lock, letting her eyes fall shut and the tears spilled freely.
Then she held the window open as her father picked up the woman in his arms and carried her home.
"In a way, he saved her life."
"Is that wot you think luv?" Spike looked at her cautiously.
Is it? She watched the blinking neon sign of the magic shop approach. "I'm half human. A part of me is repulsed. Another part of me is assured that as long as she's still with me, it's all going to be fine."
Spike parked the car. "Wot do you think will happen?"
She turned to meet his clear blue eyes. "Do I look psychic?" Before she was even done speaking the words, pain like razor's edge sliced through her body and the gasp was torn from her lips, her body arching like a cat.
"Julianne!?!" Spike grabbed the girl against him as her eyes stared blankly up at the stars, her mouth open in a muted cry before collapsing back against him with a whimper of pain. "Julia?" He held her helplessly as she took a ragged breath and opened her chocolate eyes, etched with confusion and something that made Spike take an un-needed breath. "Bloody hell."
Fear.
"Oh god he's going to kill them," she whispered, her fingers curled into his sweater.
Part 5
"You got the bloody visions." Spike couldn't believe it. Angel was going to have a cow.
Julianne couldn't shake the image out of her head. The fear and the blood. She could almost taste it. The pain had come as quickly as it had gone, but the dull ache in her head remained. She pushed herself out of his arms. "You know it's just like them to not leave me a post-it about that." The girl touched her throbbing forehead. "A vampire. He's got two kids cornered in the alley two blocks down."
Spike frowned. "Oh."
She blinked at him. "What do you mean 'oh'?"
"That's bad."
"Hello! Did you not hear me? Two very cute kids about to become vampire snack."
Spike blinked in confusion. "So?"
She looked up and frowned. "So get out of the car so we can help them."
The blonde snorted. "Don't even. This little scene is your dig. Not mine. I don't do the atonement bitch."
She couldn't believe it. He wasn't going to help her. "You know I'm going to get out of this car, march two blocks down and kick some vampire arse, and if you don't want to get off yours that's fine. You can explain it to Dad." Without another thought she kicked the door opened and stalked out of the little alley.
Angel was going to have a bigger cow if Julianne got hurt.
Damn these women, why did they always treat him like a puppy?
Spike only sat a second longer, his teeth grit in frustrated anger before he kicked his own door open a stream of profanities following as he ran after her.
* * *
Angel was helping Willow set up the incense and the candles. With the bowl in the middle of the circle he sat back on his heels to watch the set up. "Tell me again Willow."
The old witch smiled softly, her green eyes sparking with mirth and sympathy. "What's the point, you won't listen to me?"
The vampire sat up and dusted his hands. "Lie if you have to."
She couldn't help laugh as she got up and walked over to him, her arms wrapping around him slightly. "Oh Angel, if she'd anything like you, the soul will bring her back to you."
"She's nothing like me." He sighed and held the witch for a gentle squeeze before pulling away and running a hand over his face. "She's stronger and has more good in her than anyone else I know."
The witch smiled. "Then what are you so worried about?"
He looked up to meet her eyes and she almost melted at the darkness there. "Because I suck the goodness out of anything I touch."
She glared. "Oh that's a very good approach Angel."
He turned away. "I'm too jaded for this Willow. I thought normality was something I could have in my life and the powers proved me long even before I'd taken one step into it."
Willow sighed. "You make it sound like they have it out for you."
"What do you think?"
Willow looked up with a raised eyebrow. "I think you're finally understanding life Angel."
He frowned. "Did I miss something?"
"Yeah. Because real life is not a cake or a pastry or the sweetness with only more sweetness as you go deeper. It's about loss and losing and learning to gain a little out of the loss ya know. Like Christmas morning and finding out you didn't get the Choo-Choo you asked for. Or like in your case, stalking prey for weeks and finding out its tainted. That's life Angel. The stalking is life. Just because your prey is tainted doesn't mean it's not edible."
Angel blinked at her. "I have no idea what you just said."
The witch blinked. "Hmmm, must be time for my medicine. Well I can't be coherent all the time." She chuckled. "Just think positive."
The vampire would have laughed had the front door not been slapped open unceremoniously. He blinked at the sight that greeted them. His daughter stood seething with anger, a brown paper bag in her hand and her shirt slashed half way off her shoulder and one vampire supported on her left arm. Angel had a feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "What was that you said about being positive?"
"Strive for it Angel." Willow chuckled before facing her own vampire. "What did you do now Spike?"
The bleeding vampire looked up with wide blue eyes. "Oh I don't bloody believe this. I didn't do a bleeding thing. It was G-I-Jane here. Went all gung ho in the middle of our pick up mission."
"How the hell was I supposed to know the two little kids were demons."
"Wot, the long claws not clue enough for you brat?"
"Hey I'm still new at this."
"Will someone tell this goodie two shoes that life isn't just about putting your fist through someone's bladder. Some of us still have tact."
"Why don't you tell the oversexed cadaver that some people accept responsibility and want to help. Some of us can think with something other than our sexual desires."
"OVERSEXED? Listen here you frigid little priss, I am not oversexed. Just because you can't get any doesn't mean you have to condemn all of us fortunate people."
Angel and Willow looked at each other silently before looking back at the two, seeming unaware of their state.
"Tackling me to the ground in the middle of a fight just to look down my shirt is not very suave Spike."
"I gave you a choice! It was me or the vampire."
"Benign variety of options Blondie, your stinking cadaver over his. Oh dear me, how ever could I chose?"
"You know, maybe you missed it brat, but I saved your little tush just now."
"My tush wouldn't have needed saving if it wasn't for you."
"I risked my hide to keep you safe you deprived little chit. The least you can do is be bloody grateful."
"Why should I be grateful to an oversexed corpse with shit for brains, when he's the one who get me into this the first place!?"
"If you get over your Ice Princess complex, you'd see that you LIKED getting rescued. Don't make me laugh little girl. You bloody get off on acting the damsel in distress part."
"Excuse me!?!?" Her brown eyes flashed with fury. "You have some nerve!"
"ALRIGHT!" The room fell silent as Angel glared at the two of them. "I think I've heard just about enough from the two of you."
Julianne looked up at her father, her eyes hardening slightly before she slipped out from under Spike and the vampire promptly collapsed onto the floor with a surprised yelp. Looking down she only smirked. "Oops?" Then without another glance she walked out of the living room., but not without slapping the brown bag on the little table harshly.
Willow put her hand on her mouth to muffle the laugh as Spike struggled to his feet holding his slashed abdomen. "A barrel of laughs this one poofer. I can see why she's such a sour puss."
Angel took the bag of ingredients they brought with a sigh and handed them to Willow. "Start it up, I'll bring her."
Willow patted Spike gently on the shoulder. "The bandages are in the bottom drawer. I got a fresh stock. See if you can cajole her to let you dress her."
"Oh come on Red. She wouldn't respond to cajoling even if I knew how to bloody do it!"
"Try Spike." Angel glared. "You could take the slayer's mood swings, you out to be able to hold my daughter for a while."
The childe growled at the sire before marching out of the living room muttering curses in every possible language he knew.
Angel sighed wryly. "I'm getting too old for this."
"Don't insult me Angel." The witch set out the ingredients, her fingers trembling slightly.
The vampire only turned and walked away and down into the cellar.
Cordelia looked up as her sire stepped into the light. Something inside her couldn't be quelled. She didn't know what a soul was for, but she didn't like the sound of it. Something insider her didn't like it at all. When the older vampire drew closer Cordelia pressed back, her chains dragging against the floor as she tried to draw away. The panic welled in her belly and the fledgling didn't understand it. Didn't want to understand it.
"It's okay Cordelia. It's going to be fine." Her sire gently put out his hand. "Come here."
She shook her head holding her shackles behind her back, this time not so sure she wanted to leave the musty cellar. "I don't want the soul."
"Cordelia, don't fight me on this one." Angel met her eyes evenly, but the only thing he saw there was fear.
The vampire jerked away from him, her eyes gold and the ridges in her forehead rippling with confusion. "Don't want it."
"Yes you do. You want it Cordy, because until you get your soul back you won't know who you are."
"I'm a demon."
Angel sighed as he caught her wrist before she could pull away. The fledgling stiffened at his grip, but he drew her slowly into his arms, his hands gently sliding down her hair. "You are so much more. You're my wife."
"Your mate." She mumbled into his shirt.
He closed his eyes trying to inhale her scent, but she didn't smell the same. Not alive and vibrant and bright from within. "No Cordy. My wife. Someone I could love and depend on. My daughter's mother. You're so much more than a demon Cordy."
The vampire lifted her head to look into his eyes. "But I'm all demon now Angel."
His hand gently ran down her cheek. "Let me give you the soul. Then you won't be."
She flinched and his grip on her tightened, one hand pulling away to unshackle her. "I like this."
He looked up startled. "You like being this empty."
"I'm not empty!" She glared and jerked out of his arms. "I've never felt more alive. More powerful."
"I'm not giving you the benefit of an option Cordelia," Angel growled out losing the soft cool.
"Oh, like you did last time? Poor little Cordelia's dying, lets drain her. What's the matter Angelus, killing me once wasn't enough?"
"I'm trying to make this better Cordy."
"Pfft! Since when have you been an authority on that brood boy?" She snapped, her vampire face receding to the soft planes of her human mask for the first time in three days. "You wouldn't save a soul if you knew tomorrow you'd get your humanity for sure!"
The truth hit him so hard the vampire let out a soft whisper of a curse.
Part 6
Cordelia watched her sire. It looked as if he looked honestly stumped. "What's the matter? I didn't confess to Kennedy's assassination Angel." She crossed her arms and regarded him without humor.
Angel took a shuddering, but un-needed breath. "What did you say?"
She frowned. "I said I didn't confess to…"
"No before that."
"What's the matter…"
"No Cordelia. You really think I won't save a soul if I knew tomorrow I'd get my humanity?" He watched her ardently as if hoping she'd give him the answer that suited him, but Cordelia never said anything besides the truth.
"Yes. I do."
He rubbed his temples, his eyes closing. She was right. If he knew he was going to shanshu, he would be too busy celebrating. It had been so easy to slip into normal life. As normal as they could. As close to normal as they could get. So easy to pretend there wasn't eminent danger hanging over their heads all the time, forgot his house didn't have a picket fence. Everything became pseudo-normal. A farce. They didn't have normal lives. Not when they had so many depend on them.
Cordelia watched the emotions on his face and frowned. "Angel?" When he didn't immediately speak, she raised her hand and touched his jaw gently.
The touch of her hand on his face brought Angel's eyes to focus on his childe. He raised his hand to hold hers against his skin. "I'm so sorry." He missed the warmth there. The warmth in her touch, in her eyes and in her smile.
The young vampire blinked in surprise. "What for?"
His eyes flickered with regret. "For doing this to you. I'm so sorry I forgot Cordelia. I'm so sorry I forgot I wasn't human. It cost me your humanity to realize that. I'm so sorry."
The ache in Cordelia's chest tightened at the sound of her sire's voice. The pain. The need to make him feel better battled the will to agree with him. To tell him this was his fault. He was the one who brought this upon them all, but she couldn't say it to him. She couldn't hate him for anything. "I won't argue with you there, but the soul won't give me the warmth you want from me Angel."
He stepped away slightly. "It'll give you emotion Cordy. Something besides hunger and lust and possession. I'll give you love."
She looked away. "I already love Angel. I just don't like it when I do. It makes me soft."
"Softness becomes a woman Cordy." He smiled sliding his thumb over he chin and raising it so he could look into her eyes. "That was what I loved about you. Your feminine softness.' He leaned down and brushed his lips over her brow. "God Cordy, I miss the way you used to look at me, with tenderness and not obedient reverence. I miss the way you loved me because I was your soulmate, not your sire."
She shivered. "Gota have a soul to be a soulmate Angel."
"Technically."
The two looked up to see Spike walk into the light of the basement taking a drag on his cigarette. Angel frowned at his intrusion, but didn't throw him out like he wanted to. If he couldn't convice the fledgling to accept the soul willingly, maybe Spike could.
Cordelia blinked up at the new comer. "What do you mean?"
"Wot I mean Vix, is that it's only a technicality. The soul is only half the soulmate. I don't have a soul and I manage fine. The kicker is, it takes you a step closer."
"To what?"
"Humanity Vix." Spike shrugged. "It takes the animal out of you." He grinned. "Or you could pick the power of the microchip; that works too. Keeps your from killing."
Cordelia swallowed, her throat itching for some fresh blood. Talking only made her hungrier. The demon was already screaming. She didn't want to stand around talking anymore. She wanted to feed and she wanted to be free. "I like this power."
"Intoxicating isn't it?" Spike took another drag on his cigarette then looked at her. "But do you think the poofer is any less powerful because he has a soul or I'm dangerous because I've lost my bite? What you are, you never forget luv. It's a part of you. Every little hunger pang, but that's not all we are Vix."
Angel raised an eyebrow at Spike. Willow had rubbed off on him.
The young vampire looked into her sire's eyes. "I don't want to."
Angel pulled her into his arms and held her against him. "I know. But if you don't get the soul Cordy, you'll kill." He looked down into her wide hazel eyes and hoped his voice didn't waver. "And I'll have to dust you, if you do."
She jerked out of his arms, her eyes slightly betrayed. "You're my sire! You can't…"
"We have a family and I won't let you hurt them. You would do the same."
She watched his eyes and all she found was conviction. Looking away she spoke softly, "You could make me."
"I can, but I don't want to." Angel watched her with firm eyes. "I could never force you to do anything Cordy, not to even stop spiking my blood with cinnamon."
She was silent for only a second an inevitable smile curving her human lips. "Okay." When Angel reached for her she stepped back a finger poking into his chest. "No. I'll do it. But I won't like it."
Angel only held back a smile. "I can live with that."
* * *
Julianne was standing in Willow's bathroom, her back to the mirror, her shirt slung on the bathtub as she tried to look at the cut that still dripped blood onto her gray sports bra. She sighed. It was deep and she had a feeling it she had been any more human, she would have needed stitches but seeing how she was half vampire, the cut was only slightly bleeding, but hurt like hell. Stretching her right arm back she cried out softly as the muscles in her side stretched and screamed. With a grunt of pain she pulled her arm back and moaned softly. "Fuck."
"Oh I like the direct approach."
She looked up startled in the mirror to meet her own startled eyes. If she hadn't been who she was, she'd have thought she was hearing voiced. With a sigh she turned back to see the blonde vampire leaning against the bathroom door, a cigarette dangling casually between his lips. "Then sent you to deal with me. Get out." She glared.
"They didn't. Need help?"
"Don't you knock?" She tried to grab the slashed shirt, but he stepped in the way, his blue eyes running over her with a chuckle. "What?" She looked up into his eyes, slightly guardedly.
"Nothing, I haven't seen Luv." He leaned closer and put out the cigarette in the sink behind her intentionally invading her personal space and the girl only watched him with narrow calculating eyes. "Let us have a peek." His cold hands brushed her shoulder and she jerked away. "You obviously can't bend that way Luv. You need help."
"I don't need your help! Get out Spike."
"Look brat, nothing would suit me better than to leave you here, but you're staining Red's nice clean floor and she'll have my head. So be a good little girl and let me fix it for you." He remembered another girl who gave him such a hard time. Why did he always had to pick the hardheads?
She didn't like the way he got so personal so suddenly. Julianne liked her distance, but this vampire had a way of getting too close. "I'm not little and I'm not a girl." She rubbed her sore side and didn't meet his blue eyes. They were too blue for her taste. "I'll wait for dad."
"Your father's a little busy with a certain vampire vixen with hazel eyes." He raised a scarred eyebrow and rolled up the sleeves of his ice blue sweater that he'd changed into. The damn thing brought out the blue in his eyes even more and she shrank away when he tried to touch her shoulder again. "Bloody hell!" He glared. "Wot are you so scared about?"
"I don't want your grubby hands on me!"
"Afraid you'd like them pet?" He grabbed her elbow and Julianne's eyes widened slightly as he spun her around effortlessly and pinned her stomach first into the bathroom counter, but his hands were gentle. "Hold still."
"OOF! Hey!"
"Julianne. HOLD still!" He growled softly and held the back of her neck firmly with one hand and picked up a wet towel with another. "Cor…you independent women have a real problem with showing your soft side. Your father had the same conversation with your new born mum about that only a moment ago. She's as stubborn as you are, but the chit is jello in Peaches' arms. I never knew how he could do it so well. Calm them so bloody well especially since he specializes in driving them crazy."
She didn't struggle as she felt the cool towel sooth the burning skin and took a steadying breath. "You have trouble with the ladies."
"You wouldn't call it trouble Luv." Spike chuckled as he set the towel down and picked up the disinfectant, dabbing some on a swab of cotton.
"Don't start on the conquests again Spike. I don't want to know." Julianne wished she could see him working in the mirror. It was unnerving standing with her back to a vampire she hadn't even seen until today. The same vampire that was called 'William the Bloody' on the streets. Although, the hand on her neck seemed anything but harsh and for a minute she wondered why he was treating her with such…well…care. "Did she agree?"
"Surprisingly. I helped."
"What did you do? Read poetry."
Spike growled softly and put the soaked gauze on her cut.
She jerked, the pain zinging thought her body, her fingers digging into the counter. "Oh god." She whispered as he pulled it away.
"Oh sorry Luv. Did that hurt?" He grinned into her face as she looked up her brown eyes wide with surprise, her breath coming in small gasps.
"Yeah. Don't insult the poetry. Got it." She winced.
Spike chuckled slightly as he picked up a gauze. "They're down in the living room. We should get you packed up right quick to see the fireworks."
"I'd rather get there after they're finished thank you."
Spike raised an eyebrow his fingers holding the gauze in place as he picking up the bandage roll. "You don't strike me as a coward brat. You sure you're the same chit that just battled two vampires and two baby Kilrah demons?"
She sighed. "I'm cautious Spike. I don't invite heartache."
His eyes softened slightly as he turned her around with the pressure of his hand on her lower neck. He wrapped the bandage under and around her shoulder holding the gauze in place . "She's still your mother Julia."
The girl wondered at the ease with which the nick name rolled off his tongue and looked at him, as he worked on her bandage. "She's never going to be herself and don't call me 'Julia'."
"For someone whose been living with a vampire, you don't know a lot about them," he secured the bandage and looked up before continuing, "and the name suits you."
The tone of his voice was surprisingly gentle for the callous vampire that he was. "I'm half vampire myself, I know enough."
"Horse shit." Spike snorted and stepped back to met her eyes. "The bloody soul will not fix anything. It'll just give her something to regret. Something to feel sad about. The only good thing I see coming out of this spell is that she won't kill for pleasure. Besides that, the cheerleader is the same. Before the poofer's deliberate mistake or after the damned spell. The vampire curse is not as clichéd as you want it to be. The whole soul issue is dramatized to make it seem like a punishment and in a way it is. Real power comes without regret or guilt and when you take that out of the equation there is no distinction. We are all good and bad Julia. You can't separate the bloody soul and the demon. Most people forget and the only reason she's still refusing is because she always took the package deal; even with your father. The damned poof's been trying so hard to be human, he's forgot what he is. The fangs don't make us vampires Julia; the bloodlust does and even the soul can't take that away. Otherwise we're just blokes in a freak costume."
She hadn't spoke through his entire tirade. "It can't be that easy."
"Facts usually are luv." He shrugged. "We complicate them with explanations."
"You have all the answers don't you?"
The blonde vampire smirked. "I still don't know what came first: the chicken or the egg."
The girl groaned and shook her head. "And I can't believe I was listening to you." She grabbed his sleeve.
"Come on. We've got fireworks to go to."
"Um…luv."
"No I get it. No more lecture. Let's just get this over with."
"Julianne…"
"Spike! Come on they might have started."
"Julia!!!"
"What?"
"Shouldn't you put on a shirt first?"
"Oh."
Part 7
The words were soft. Whispered. The vampire huddled in the middle of the circle watched the witch wearily. Every fiber of her being told her to run, to stop the violation, but when she was his eyes, she stayed. If she was only demon, why did his eyes and her daughter's resolve keep her there? She shivered. Her daughter hadn't even understood and Cordelia had felt so helpless when she couldn't explain her needs to her daughter. She'd thought the half vampire would understand and then Angel had been so determined to give her a soul, she'd felt betrayed.
The Witch chanted, the wind swept up the words and carried them around the small group. Cordelia took a sharp breath, the stale air knocked out of her lungs when the wind curled around her, searing her skin, catching her hair and pulling her until she couldn't keep her eyes open.
Willow watched the shivering girl in the circle and closed her eyes. Please let this work. With a final whisper she pointed her palm towards her friend and the vampire jerked, a soft cry escaping her before the winds went wild and the candles went out.
Then all sound stopped.
Julianne stood in the darkness, stumbling slightly. A cold hand gripped her elbow gently. Her heart beat furiously. She couldn't hear anything. "Mom?"
"Aowie."
A candle flickered and came on. Then another, until the circle around the vampire was lit.
Angel watched the woman sit up rubbing her temples gently and grimacing at them. "That hurt almost as much as my visions used to."
"Cordy?"
"No. Cordelius." She glared. "Is it over?"
Angel didn't know whether to laugh or break her neck. He knew Spike was right. The soul would change very little, but it still soothed him enough to think she wasn't going to kill anyone he loved. Including herself. He just hoped the rest of his family would survive getting used to the beautiful vampire parading around their home.
Willow held her smile and looked at Angel, as if offering him silent reassurance . "Yes Cordelia, it's over."
"Good." She stood and stretched. "I'd like some food please. Fresh and warm if possible."
Angel watched her carefully. "Do you feel different?"
The female vampire looked up with a wide grin. "I feel hungry." Then she took pity on her husband and chuckled. "Yes, I have the soul Angel. Yes, I feel bad for biting my own daughter, although she was delicious, and no, " she met his eyes with a raised eyebrow, "I don't feel different. A little less homicidal, I agree, but not much different. Still fanged."
Angel hid a smile as he stepped closer. "I think the fanged part we can't change."
Cordelia lifted her eyes and met the brown eyes of her daughter. The girl stood there watching her with mixed emotions on her face and Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Boo?"
Julianne started slightly and rolled her eyes as Spike snorted with controlled laughter. "Very funny mom."
The female vampire snickered. "Sorry. Just checking."
Spike finally managed a smile. "I'll get you a snack. I got a new lot this evening." He motioned to Willow pointedly. "Care to help me luv?"
Willow nodded and made her way around the vampires. "Yes. I think I know where it's kept." She looped her arm through Spike's and was gently led out of the room, leaving the unusual family behind in the flickering candle light.
Cordelia watched the two figures standing beside each other outside her ring of light. Angel stood with his hands shoved in his pants, his brown eyes fixed on his feet and she stood her arms crossed, her eyes anywhere else but the two of them. Cordelia sighed. This would take some getting used to. "This had better not make you a brooder Princess, or I'll make you wear your father's colors too."
"Hey! Black looks good on me."
"Black looks good on anybody Angel."
Julianne looked up at her mother. If Spike was right then the soul really hadn't changed a lot, which mean that the woman standing before her was still a vampire. There was still the air of volatile energy around the woman and the soft cinnamon smell of her mother was gone.
Cordelia watched her daughter's eyes carefully. "It's not about me sliding back into my role Princess;" Julianne looked slightly surprised at the blatant words, "it's about you accepting me back into my role."
The thin film of moisture in those brown eyes blurred her vision, but the tainted blood in her veins allowed her accurate enough movement to step over the burning candles and into her mother's arms. The broken words were whispered into the shredded fabric of her mother's shirt and the tears didn't burn vampire skin this time.
Cordelia held the shaking warm woman in her arms and the fierce possessiveness returned. The same inane need to draw the woman inside herself where nothing could harm her invaded the vampire's sense, but this time, she didn't stake her claim. She didn't bite her daughter to tell the world she was hers. She just held her tightly, inhaling her scent to remind herself what to keep near. What to hold dear. She let the previous days of mistrust that her daughter had kept between them melt away in the sheer abandon of her daughter's embrace and returned it. "Shhh Princess. Don't cry." Her hands slid down her soft hair, mimicking the same caresses that had previously been wary of. The ardent betrayal of a daughter not understanding her mother seemed to fade away with the trust that didn't waver, even with the vampire's cold touch on the younger girl's nape and she met his eyes with a smile.
Angel smiled back. The emotions flickering across his wife's features were so raw, so potent. Things he couldn't explain to his daughter or the actions her mother couldn't have controlled, didn't seem significant now. He had been afraid that out of all the people who wouldn't accept Cordelia, Julianne would be the first and he knew what it was like to have a child that didn't understand or accept who they were. He'd been so afraid that he'd lose another child and even more scared to think Cordelia would lose Julianne. Stepping over the flickering candles he wrapped his arms around the two most important women in his undead life and held them. His lips brushed over his daughter's hair before meeting cold counterparts.
When her father pressed into her from behind, holding her and her mother and she laughed. "Stop the smooching. I'm still here."
Cordelia held the urge to keep her daughter close, but she figured the girl would only freak if she found out her mother wouldn't mind having her always nearby. At least not yet. She pulled away slightly to allow her daughter room enough to scoot out before she was wrapped into two strong arms, his lips sliding firmly across hers.
When Julianne moved away with a small laugh and a shake of her head, Cordelia could feel the stiffening in her muscles, but Angel held her tightly, his mouth lifting and their eyes meet. "She's not going far."
"I don't think I could explain this to her Angel."
He slid a gentle hand down her cheek before smiling the smile that was only reserved for her before. "I don't think she'd listen right now, but eventually."
Cordelia sighed. "Angel, just because I have the soul."
A firm finger was planted across her mouth silencing her words and she looked up. "I know. I may forget about me, but you Cordy, I've never had doubt about."
Her mouth curved up and then Angel lost what little breath he had when the sun came out in her smile. "So that means I'm not going to be tied up anymore?"
Angel laughed and gave her a squeeze. "No. Unless you try and get away from me. Then I might reconsider it."
"Angel?"
"Mmmm?"
"Make a trip to the celler. I'm getting away in Spike's bedroom." Then with a soft purr and a wink she stepped out of the circle.
Angel was about to follow her when Julianne screamed.
Cordelia was the first into the kitchen where Spike was holding the young girl in his arms. He looked up when Cordelia growled. "Oh for, VISION! It wasn't me!"
Cordelia's game face melted away and she raised an eyebrow, Angel coming to stand beside him.
Julianne rubbed her temples and whined softly. "Oh God, I thought the quota wasn't more than one per day."
Angel grit this teeth. The PTB had given his daughter the visions. "I'm going to kill them."
Cordelia patted his shoulder. "You don't kill higher beings Angel. I should know." She sighed and touched her daughter's hair gently. "Where's Willow?"
"Tired." Spike raised the glass of water he'd grabbed from the counter before he caught Julianne against him and raised it to her lips. "Drink this brat."
"Yeah but why her!" Angel proceeded to pace.
Cordelia rolled her eyes and looked up at her husband. "Who else Angel? When you got all fang happy on me, they had to compensate."
"She's my daughter! I don't want her involved in their stupid conquests!"
"Your stupid conquests Angel. You are the champion."
"Excuse me!" Julianne glared. "Can we get back to me? I'm still reeling from vision aftermath."
Cordelia planted a kiss on her forehead. "What did you see Princess?"
The young girl sighed heavily. "Big green demon." She shuddered slightly and Spike's arms instinctively tightened around the girl and she didn't even notice she was still cradled against him. "Pink scales. I mean what kind of color combination is that? Anyway, there's a couple making out in the park. They can't see it."
Angel's eyes narrowed at his daughter.
Cordelia nodded. "Well I need to work off a little tension anyway. Come on brood boy, lets go kick some demon ass."
Angel's brown furrowed. "He's coveting my daughter."
"ANGEL!"
"DAD!" Julianne rubbed her throbbing forehead.
Spike only glared back at his sire.
Cordelia grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out of the kitchen. "Come on Angel."
"Cordy wait.look.SPIKE GET YOU HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER!"
Julianne sighed and stood, one of Spike's hands supporting her elbow as she steadied herself. She looked up into his blue eyes. "You like pushing your luck don't you?"
He smirked before squeezing her elbow and kissing the rim of her ear. "Just deliberate mistakes Luv."
End.