Lindsey´s Angels 1
Three months after the incident in The Magic Box
The smashing of glass followed Angel as he strode swiftly from the front lobby and into the kitchen.
"You shouldn´t insist on doing everything for him Angel. I know you want to but you need to just learn to give him his space."
"I know Joyce, but it´s just so hard. I´m terrified of losing him."
Joyce pushed back her long hair as she rose from the kitchen bench and crossed over to the sink. Dish cloth wet under the running water, she squeezed out the excess, handing the wet rag to the brunette vampire. She smiled dryly as she watched Angel dab at the white liquid that threatened to mar his shirtfront. Poor Wesley. Even after the surgeons had managed to re–attach most of his tongue, the ex–watcher had been left with virtually no taste sensations except the sweet/sour taste buds that ran along the sides of the tongue. He was unable to identify different flavours or if anything was spicy or bland. The man no longer found any joy in eating. Everyone, especially Angel was worried that he was now looking way too thin.
Giving Angel´s lower arm a pat, Joyce stood on tiptoes to give the much taller man a peck on the cheek. A faint smile from the usually solemn face and she could tell that he was almost in tears. Ever since the tragedy at The Magic Box, in which everyone had lost loved ones and friends, all had been walking an emotional tightrope. Everyone was displaying the stress and loss in different ways.
Angel was often found crying after visiting Wesley. He usually just sat in the hotel and sobbed until he was dry, sometimes it was in one of the numerous corridors, a few times he had sat in the middle of the lobby, forcing everyone to walk around him. The whole ordeal of losing his ex–lover and his best friends as well as witnessing the mutilation of his present lover had hit him hard. The ever–present guilt was overwhelming at times, leading to the tears. Joyce thought that they were all lucky the vampire hadn´t walked into the sun as of yet. What had really tipped the older male into his pit of misery was when his lover Wesley had moved out of their shared bedroom once he had been released from hospital. The slight possibility of Wesley coming back to the relationship was what was holding the vampire back from committing suicide.
Wesley had gone from being the kind, shy and gentle man they all knew and into an abusive vile tempered man. Everyone was at a loss at how to deal with him. He hid himself away most of the time, refusing to eat with the others and locking himself in his room for day´s on end. Angel had been forced to smash down the door to his room on no less than four occasions after pleading with him to come out hadn´t worked. Whenever he did come down to the hotel´s lobby, he sneered and threw things at anyone who tried to engage him in conversation, rude hand gestures at every opportunity. Angel had started to take high protein hospital drinks to the man in the hopes that if he didn´t eat, at least he would get some of his essential vitamins and minerals by consuming the beverage. Unfortunately, Wesley continued to take the drink, swallow a few sips and then throw the remainder over a vampire who was just about at breaking point. The glass smashing into the wall as soon as Angel left his spartan quarters. Something that was happening on a daily basis.
Angel rinsed the rag at the sink and finished wiping off the liquid Ensure. He knew that Joyce was right but he just didn´t know what to do. The vampire was desperately in love with Wesley and wanted to protect him from the world that had hurt him so badly, but he was frightened for Wes´ state of mind. On one of the few times he had tried to manhandle Wes into eating, Angel had almost lost a finger after the ex–watcher had bitten him, latching on and grinding his back teeth as hard as possible. Wes had only let go after Angel had sunk to the ground in tears, the thin man spitting the vampire´s blood back at him. It had taken a few weeks for the finger to heal back to normal, the bone had been cracked and chipped, the tendons severed.
Shaking the memory out of his foremost thoughts, the brunette vampire grimaced as he heard Riley rifling through the liquor cabinet. It was always Riley. The ex–soldier wasn´t even drinking the alcohol he poured, just filling a glass full of scotch and staring at it until he either poured it back into the bottle or Graham did it for him. It was the blonde´s way of coping with his loss. Joyce had been almost inconsolable after finding out that Riley had planned to propose to Buffy after Cordelia and Doyle´s wedding. The revelation had brought the two closer together in an almost mother/son bond, the two leaning on each other.
Cloth thrown back into the sink, Angel jumped as he heard the sounds of breaking furniture coming from Wes´ quarters. He didn´t even want to know what the formally timid man was destroying now. All the most valuable things had been locked down in the boiler room, along with every book on spell casting that Joyce and the two ex–soldiers had been able to rescue after Wes had started ripping into them. Angel had had to restrain the smaller man, cringing at the furious grunts that his lover had been making. Only Angel had the key to the boiler room now.
Reaching up into one of the highest cupboards above the double fridge, Angel grappled until his fingers found the odd shaped tin he was after. After checking that no–one was around, listening for nearby heartbeats, the vampire opened the tin of chocolate flavoured milk colouring. Another check that no–one was around, he gently tipped the tin up so that the fine powder slowly revealed a few foil wrapped bundles. Grabbing one out, Angel quickly unwrapped it and picked out two of the grainy grey and white tablets. Popping the pills in his mouth, the vampire chewed down on the acrid large round circles as he managed to put the tin back in the cupboard without gagging. He had a headache and the tablets helped. The brunette chose to ignore the fact that they were horse tranquillisers. He knew that he shouldn´t be taking them but he felt so relaxed and calm after one or two of them. It was the only time that he felt untouched by the worries of the world. He knew that no one else would understand, that was why he hid them away.
Graham and Riley looked up at the vampire striding through the lobby and up the main stairs. They just nodded when Angel said that he was going to bed. Both men noting the vampires overly shiny eyes. Graham hoped that they would be able to wake the brunette if they got a phone call. On a few occasions, both men had had to shake the vampire awake, slapping him hard eventually throwing water over him until he was fully awake. Neither he or Riley knew if it was some weird type of hibernation thing vampires did in times of stress or something more. Graham wanted to ask someone but with Giles dead and Wesley so aggressive and unco–operative, they had no–one to ask and they didn´t want to upset Angel more than was possible. Riley had even gone through some of the ex–watchers books to find out but neither of them had really understood what was written in the texts. Both men were slightly embarrassed to admit that even the English based ones were well beyond them. Angel had been slipping into more frequent intense sleeps over the past few months, Graham just starting to pinpoint whenever the vampire was going to go into one by the brunette´s eyes gleaming unusually.
The former second in command, shuffled the cards once more before dealing them out to both himself and the blonde opposite him. Canasta, a card game that Joyce had taught them one day while she tried to go a few hours without crying. It had worked too, she hadn´t started crying for four hours. Graham was still coming to terms with the murders and kidnappings himself. Out of them all, he knew that he was the least affected. He hadn´t really been friends with any of them apart from Buffy, the Initiative soldier was a loner by choice outside working hours. The native Californian had to admit that he had liked everyone that had been killed and taken by the soldiers, but he acknowledged that it was the fact he hadn´t been good friends with them that was giving him the advantage at the moment. He had never really been one for making friends, Riley had persisted until he had found out it was easier to just go along with the tall blonde than it was to come up with numerous excuses for being alone.
The things that were stressing him out the most though was the bad dreams of seeing Wesley´s tongue getting cut out and the fact that the re–attachment of his finger had been unsuccessful. Actually that was untrue, the re–attachement of his finger along with Riley´s had been successful. It was the whole process of discharging from hospital early and then constantly banging and smacking the protective bandages while moving to L.A. that had caused more damage. Eventually both fingers had been rejected by their natural bodies, leading to them being amputated once again. This time under sedation. One small mercy that Graham was thankful for. The person he really felt sorry for the most besides Riley, was Joyce. He had acquired a soft spot for the older woman since they had all been ordered to L.A. The woman had lost her only child, someone that fate had marked for a short enough life anyway. She had also been introduced into the world of murder, bloodshed and kidnappings.
Graham found himself often trying to get a laugh out of her by telling her some little joke he had heard around during his time at boot camp. Admittedly they were pretty crude at times but he was thankful for each little staged gasp of horror at the foul language. He admired the way she was holding up with the demands on her. She had sold her art gallery and her house in Sunnydale after finding out she was to accompany the men back to the Hyperion. Why she had been included in the equation was something that was still puzzling them all. No–one knew what Wes´ opinion on the matter was, he refused to communicate with anyone except through obscene hand gestures, and after being spat on a few times Graham was more than happy to leave him alone. He really didn´t know how Angel was coping with it all. Neither he or Riley were attempting to entertain the idea that the situation might drive Angel back into Angelus again.
Cards dealt, Graham knew what was really stressing everybody out was the fact that Cordelia, Doyle, Willow, Spike, Xander and the twins had just vanished into thin air. Things were now no longer about only the former prostitutes but other people as well. Originally, they had all hoped that the women and children would be delivered back to them or at least dropped off somewhere for Angel to pick up, but so far nothing had been heard of them since.
The main theories were that Willow and Cordelia might end up as demon consorts due to the fact that they, like Xander, had been born in Sunnydale and were well aware of demons. Xander was probably well underway into working his second tenure as a prostitute, something that made them all sick at the thought of. Angel had thrown around an idea of Doyle being valued for his Seeing abilities and his link to the PTB but since the visions had only helped the brunette vampire in his work for the PTB, they couldn´t see how Doyle would be a value for someone else. Spike had been a puzzle as well, especially as he had been separated from Xander, until they had discovered just why he had been taken.
Angel had indicated that the blonde vampire would be taking the enforced separation very hard, that was if the chip hadn´t totally fried his brain after attacking the imposed threat to Xander. For the first time since the chip had been implanted, Graham and Riley had regretted not doing something to remove it. They both knew that if the chip had been removed, things would have gone a lot differently and could have even helped prevent Anya and Gunn´s deaths. Everyone was hoping the twins hadn´t ended up as a demon entree or in some sick kiddie porn ring.
Graham snapped out of his contemplation as he heard the phone ring, Joyce answering it with a barely chirpy ´Hello, Angel Investigations. We help the helpless´. Ironic that there was no one to help them now when they all needed it. He listened as Joyce took down the details being relayed to her over the phone by their mysterious employer. No one knew who it was but after a show of power, they no longer resisted doing what was demanded of them.
Angel had refused point blank at first to do what the caller was asking him to do and the phone hadn´t rung for a week afterwards. The ex–soldiers had been scouring the streets and numerous demon bars for any information on demon clientele based brothels, pretending to ask on Angel´s behalf. They had figured if they managed to find Xander again, they would be well on their way to finding the others. Joyce had kept busy by cooking for them all and obsessively cleaning the hotel from the top floor downwards. Angel had also been trying to keep the business afloat as well as cope with a body snatched Wesley.
The phone had rung again and once again Angel had refused the demands, screaming abuse down the phone and hanging up. A few minutes later, five slim boxes, beautifully gift wrapped, had appeared out of thin air on the lobby desk, startling everybody. Angel had hesitantly opened one, only to let it drop from his hands and onto the floor. They had been aghast to find that each box contained a slim white digit. Four fingers and one thumb.
The brunette vampire had burst into tears in public for the first time since the murders at the Magic Box, scaring everyone intensely. After being asked why he was so upset, he had remained silent for a few minutes before telling everybody in a soft voice that they were Spike´s fingers and from the smell of them, they were only minutes fresh. Angel had answered the phone on the first ring and had agreed to the demands without hesitation. That had been almost two and a half months ago and they had complied with each phone call since. They all understood what would happen if they didn´t.
"Riley, looks like its action time. You want help with waking Angel?"
Seeing his friend´s shake of the head, Graham looked at the address of where they were to go this time. Great, right into the heart of demon China town. Angel was definitely needed, he was the only one who spoke a few Chinese dialects and the local demons wouldn´t deal with anyone who didn´t speak to them in their own language. This was where Wesley was sorely missed. A huge crashing sound from Wes´ room and Graham just wanted to get the job over and done with.
***WARNING REFERENCES TO CHILD SEX***
You have been warned!!!
Xander/Scott Around four months after the Magic Box
Lick and suck.
Nibble and a swirl of the tongue.
Roll the creatures ball sac in one hand while lightly stroking the inner thighs with the other.
Easy enough to do. Provided the client actually has balls. Nothing suprises Scott anymore. Not even when a client is classed as male even though it has no testicles. Still flooded him with enough cum to fill an olympic swimming pool. He had been horrified at first to find that there was a trend among demons. The smaller they were, the more cum they shot down his throat or up his arse.
Moan and pant.
Thrust backwards or forwards depending on the position.
Enjoy the feeling of a cock slamming into his prostate providing he wasn´t bleeding too much or almost passed out from whatever injuries had been inflicted on him in the name of foreplay. Let the client thrust as many fingers/tenticles/sheathed claws as it can up his back passage until it´s almost classed as fisting. Still an action that´s on the No–No List. Doesn´t stop them from trying to push the envelope at every opportunity though.
Thank the client for the new tears in his delicate anus lining.
Smile as Randall gives him a new book for being so good.
Keep his mind focused on what the client is demanding as he thrusts into Todd, one of the others or heaven forbid, Christopher. Writhe on the floor or bed as if getting beaten with the wide leather belt is his biggest wet dream. Turn his groans of agony into passable whimpers of delight as his limbs are borderline wrenched from their sockets while being fastened to one of the numerous iron rings in the cellar below.
Just accept that his afterhours sleeping cubicle has padded walls and that some early evenings his head aches as he wakes up.
Stop asking for a nightlight as he should know that he won´t be getting one and to keep asking will only result in a private meeting with Adam.
Try not to scream each morning when the light goes off in the sleeping dormitory, enveloping him in total darkness. Muffle the ones that do escape his chattering teeth just in case one of the Keepers hears him and someone is randomly picked for punishment because he broke one of the rules.
Tell each client that they are his favourite ones.
Only throw up when infront of the tiolet and if he doesn´t make it, clean up as fast as possible.
Ignore the times when his body is too battered and bruised for him to move in the way the client has specifically ordered. Likewise, accept the fact that sometimes, he will find it hard to get into a comfortable position in bed once off duty due to that nights injuries.
Don´t cry.
Remember, just because someone came for him once, doesn´t mean they are going to come again.
So, stop praying. Better to save his breathe for when he really needs it. Let the Keepers bend him over in a dark corner when they want because it´s not worth telling Randall and Adam, he will only find his water has an odd taste and he´s thirstier for the next day than he has ever been. Accept that although they are not meant to, they will fuck him.
Cleanliness is next to Randall.
Adam never turns a blind eye and he will always remember everything.
Yes, it is quite possible that he is going mad. If it feels good, embrace it. Remember a happy client is less likely to twist his nuts until they turn black and blue. If he bends in a particular way, a punch to the kidneys wont result in him peeing blood. Eat what he is given for each meal straight away even if he hates it, and then he won´t find himself scooping it from the floor. The dirt tastes horrible as does the floorboard wax.
Remeber to ask for a drink of water, not just help himself.
Take heed of the Keepers. Until Adam or Randall open the club each night, the Keepers rule all. Their whim is his wish.
Stop worrying that one day his cock will be ripped off by a demon who is inexperienced with humans. Be proud that he is popular with the regulars at the bar. Be flattered that some demons specifically request him and will only accept him, even if another whore is glamoured into his image.
Do try and remember to let go of the demons who show him a little kindness. If they wanted to keep him, they would offer to buy him.
Be lucky that he has permission to talk even if not spoken to first. Apparantly his humour is valued as a conversation topic.
Get over his revulsion to having sex with Christopher. If the others can do it, then there is no reason why he should have a problem with it. If the boy/man is having fears over an encounter with a demon, then fix it and fast. If Christopher is refusing to co–operate, it´s Scotts fault. Christopher is a man not a child, stop the protests and just accept it.
Most of all,
Smile.
December 2, 2004
5.23 pm
Joyce was uncomfortable. She felt like she wasn´t alone in the hotel. It was creepy. Normally she didn´t have a problem being alone on one of the unoccupied floors. But today, something just wasn´t quite right. Shivering, she felt a chill race down her spine, maybe Wesley was wandering around the hotel?
With a shake of her head, she knew that it was highly unlikely. The young man rarely ventured out of the two rooms he had claimed for himself after moving out of Angels bedroom. He was well on his way to being classed as an anorexic recluse. The mans boyfriend was down at the hospital´s out patient clinic at this very moment in an effort to get Wesley some help. Riley had caught the ex–watcher wandering around the first floor by chance and had been horrified to see how much the other man had let himself slip after locking himself away for a few days. Joyce hadn´t seen Wes for herself but she too had been aghast to learn that Angel had made an appointment to see someone who dealt with eating disorders after witnessing Wesley´s condition himself. Apparantly Angel was worried that his lover may end up having to be hospitalised. A noise behind her snapped her back to the present.
"Riley, Graham? Are you there?"
"Heellooo?"
A moments pause, another shake of the head and Joyce gathered up her bucket of cleaning products. Tiolet duck replaced in the cupboard underneath the bathroom sink, the older woman suddenly gasped as she felt someone walk over her grave. Chastising herself, she reasoned that she was too old to give herself the willies about being alone in the hotel. Nevertheless, she took a look at her handiwork. Graham´s bathroom looked nice and clean. Not that it hadn´t been before hand. Both ex–soldiers were exceptionally clean and really didn´t need Joyce to clean their bathrooms but they had relented when they had seen that it helped Joyce keep occupied.
"Look, is that you Wesley? If you would like to have a cup of coffee or tea, I would welcome the break as well?"
Her head whirled around to look behind her as she heard a door slamming only a few rooms down the corridor. Might be Riley back already. Maybe he would like a coffee? While Angel was at the hospital, Riley was out doing the grocery shopping for the next week. Where Graham was, Joyce wasn´t too sure, probably at the nearby gym. Actually, it was a little early for the tall blond to be back. There had been a huge list to get, Riley and Graham both ate like draft horses.
"Aahhhh!"
At the giggle behind her, Joyce dropped the bucket and ran from the room, into the corridor. Her heart beating a military tattoo, she was immediatley on edge when she could see no–one else in Graham´s room. She had heard someone behind her, she wasn´t going crazy. Taking a deep breathe, Joyce slowly let a moan escape. Ok, she was now officially a little scared.
All the doors to the hotels rooms in this corridor were closed and when she had gone into clean her friends room, all doors had been open. On shaky legs, she walked as fast as possible to the main stairs. She didn´t care about the cleaning products, Graham would bring them down later. All that mattered now was getting somewhere else, her whole body was tingling and it felt like someone or something was stroking the back of her neck.
"Hello Mummy!"
Oh my god! Joyce froze just as she put her foot down on the first step to the staircase. Standing as still as she could, the older woman was torn between flinging herself down the stairs and turning around to see what was making the rustling noises behind her.
"Poor Mummy, her world is confused"
"W.who are you?"
Uttering a small scream as she felt cool hands slide onto her shoulders, she screwed her eyes shut. Not wanting to see who was behind her, Joyce kept squeaking as she was turned around.
"I´ve come to talk with you and Daddy and the nasty Slayers boy and the one who grinds the bread. The other one doesn´t want to talk with me. He doesn´t want to have tea with anyone. Poor boy, Daddy´s so sad. He needs lots of cake"
Heart beating almost out of control, Joyce knew full well who had her in a firm cool grip. It could only be one person, well vampire actually. Drusilla. The very vampire Spike had worshipped for so long. A well known insane and dangerous vampire. Joyce wasn´t ashamed to admit that was just about to piss herself. What she did next, shocked herself to her very core. Eyes snapped open, she looked straight into the beautiful pale face and poked Drusilla hard in the chest with a pointed finger.
"My daughter was *not* nasty. As far as you should be concerned, she was a worthy opponent and should be respected as such"
A second later, Joyce covered her mouth and wondered if she screamed, would Wesley even come to see why? She couldn´t believe that she had just done such a stupid thing. Stupid but no–one had the right to talk about Buffy that way. Of course what she had just done could very be the last stupid thing she ever did. She had heard more than enough stories about Drusilla to know that the vampire was unpredictable and that even her Sire Angel was barely able to keep up with her. During one of Spikes more lucid but drunken ramblings over a hot chocolate, she had ventured to ask more about vampire relations and had been throughly confused about them but she did know that Angel had made both Drusilla and Spike as well as one other.
"The Prince is happy but the beans are tasty. The tree is without its leaves and is all alone, eternal winter is abounding"
"What?"
"The red, white and blue is no longer a colour green and earths clumps of clay are with their mother. Do you have cake for Miss Edith and my friends?"
Speechless, Joyce had no idea of what had just been said but she nodded at the vampire who was now in the middle of the corridor. Drusilla had wandered off after her last confusing sentence and was currently spinning around with arms out stretched as fast as she could. Spike had told her one time that the trick to handling Drusilla was to just treat everything like either a game or a tea party. The idea of the continually rude bleached blond sitting down to Earl Grey while pretending to have a tea party made her giggle a little.
"Careful, you´ll hurt yourself!"
Unable to help herself, the older human rushed to help Drusilla as she was finally dizzy enough to tumble to the floor. Catching the vampire just as she hit the red carpet, Joyce hoped that her action wouldn´t tempt Drusilla to bite.
"Mummy! You saved me from the flowing river. Pretty like like the Chosen Ones hair"
With one arm wrapped around the vampires waist, she suspected that whatever Drusilla had said was meant as a compliment to Buffy and probably the only one Joyce would ever hear. Once the dark haired woman was steady again on her feet, the human woman hesitated for only a moment before leading the vampire down the main stairs. What was the harm in taking her to the kitchen for a cup of tea? If Drusilla was going to kill her, she would be able to do it in a few seconds anyway. They might as well have a coffee or tea until that happened.
"Drusilla, why are you calling me Mummy?"
"The stars went away and for a long time I was sad. The birds all flew away and the earth was shrivelled up"
"Right"
She was confused. No wonder Angels jaw clenched whenever her name was mentioned. Actually that wasn´t fair, his jaw clenched at Spikes name as well. There was only one thing to do, call everybody back to the hotel.
