Once Upon a Midnight Dreary by D.M. Evans

Several days had passed since his friends had died and Connor had never felt more alone. At least he got to see Faith for just a little every day. She still treated it all like it was a business arrangement but Connor had quit pretending that was all it was to him.

He didn't know if he could make her see he wasn't just a bratty, rich and spoiled college kid but he wasn't sure if he should even bother. Connor knew it was just asking for trouble but he didn't care. Tracy had been a nice safe girl. He had grown quickly bored of that. Faith had a hint of danger and he had to admit it aroused him.

He liked that he could talk to her and tell her stuff and she didn't tell him he was crazy, like Tracy had, or his parents. At least, his parents should be home soon. His sister was almost well enough to travel, weather permitting.

Faith liked that he had wanted to go to Russia to study and that he was interested in spelunking and mountain climbing. She thought it was exciting, not insane. She almost seemed to believe him when he told her he thought aliens had abducted him for medical experimentation. They compared growing up in the wilds of urban L.A. to urban Boston, even though Connor had hardly grown up rough. He sensed she had had a hard life, had been poor even though she never said so. He tried to keep to his pampered life not exactly secret but he didn't want to seem like he was bragging.

He was keeping secret, however, his growing nightmares. Connor kept imagining Dru had found him again. He had woken up a few times with mystery bruises on his elbows and wrists but he could discount them as daily trauma. He couldn't keep from thinking, though, that Dru knew where he was and was paying him midnight visits. And he had the feeling that he was being followed but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to tell Faith or Mr. Gunn his suspicions. He didn't know why.

Connor wanted to do something nice for Faith, to thank her for all the time she had put into helping him. He figured she'd buy that and not think he was trying to take her out on a date. He planned everything like it was a date while lying to himself about his intentions. She arrived at his friend's place early afternoon just like he asked.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked.

Connor just looked at her for a moment, drinking her in. She had on her usual leather jacket and black pants that seemed like they might be buttery soft leather that he really wanted to touch. Her shirt was a deep red which made him glad he had by-passed the red shirt he had been planning on. Tracy had always bitched that he was too married to grays and browns and thought he needed a little color. Red and an occasional blue were his concessions to that. He wore blue, the hue Tracy said made his eyes look big and sensual. "I was thinking, you've done so much for me and I wanted to say thank you. If you had time today, I was hoping we could go do something."

Faith smiled. "What've you got in mind, kid?"

Connor tried not to flinch at the word, 'kid.' "It's a surprise...if that's okay with you. I know some girls don't like surprises, especially if it involves going somewhere and not have any idea where it is."

"I trust you, Connor." Faith chucked his shoulder. "Sounds like fun. Let's go."

"Great."

Connor led the way out to his Norton. He already had the saddlebags packed so he helped Faith on, not that she needed it and climbed in front of her. He headed off down the highway, enjoying the feel of her hands around his waist. Somewhere Connor had read that motorcyclists, the good ones, needed to have the quick decision-making and hand-eye coordination of fighter pilots. He knew his abilities were slightly impaired by the nearness of Faith. He felt stirrings that he really didn't want at the moment. It was hard enough to handle a bike in L.A. traffic. The last thing he needed was a boner. Worse, what if Faith noticed?

Connor managed to wrest control away from the little solider and got them to Griffith Park in one piece. It wasn't as pretty as it could be, given that it was winter, but he still liked to hike here. Faith glanced around curiously as she got off the bike.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" she asked.

"Griffith Park has about fifty miles of hiking trails. I thought we could explore oh, just a tiny bit of that." He smiled at her.

"I don't think anyone's ever taken me hiking before."

Connor felt instantly nervous. Had this been a bad idea? He had thought a walk in the woods would be romantic, no, not romantic, just fun, you're doing this for...oh, who are you kidding? "We can skip that if you think it's a bad idea."

"No, I think it'll be fun. Got a favorite trail?" she asked brightly.

He bobbed his head. The sun was warm as he led the way but they both retained their leather jackets. Once they were under the trees, away from the light, it would be cool and he had no room for them in his saddlebags anyhow. Connor told her about park's history and identified trees for her when she asked. They hiked out further than he had planned.

Faith stopped, leaning against a fat oak. "You really like it out here, don't you?"

He stood next to her. "I do. I know it probably sounds silly but I like the solitude. I like being out in the country more than I do the city. Don't get me wrong. I love the city and the things there are to do but I love getting away, too. I like the feel of nature."

"I've never been one for the country," she said honestly and it felt like a punch. He was failing miserably on this date. "Maybe it's because I never had the chance to get out much in it. I was on a job in England before I came here and saw some country then. I liked it. Maybe I just need to give it a try. This is nice."

"I'm glad you like it. I was afraid I might be boring you to death or something," he said.

"I'm having a really good time," she assured him, her fingers brushing his cheek.

Connor leaned into her touch. "Good. We'd better head back or it'll be too dark for dinner."

"Too dark?" Faith grinned, pinching his side. "Did someone plan a picnic?"

Connor danced away, blushing. "Maybe."

"Sly little devil."

"That's me." He grinned and started back. "I've always wanted to go to England."

"It was fun. I have a few English friends." Faith reached out and took his hand. Connor was shocked but lost no time in interlocking his fingers with hers. "I never even thought about traveling, you know. Never had the means. But that job took me all over Europe and throughout Britain. It was one of those life changing things, made lots of things look possible when I never would have thought they could be."

"Good. I can't imagine living life not thinking things were possible," Connor said, passion illuminating his eyes. "Things are too grim for me now."

"I know you've been pretty scared. I don't blame you, of course. Probably your first taste at thinking things might not be possible," Faith said.

Connor shook his head. "Not the first. I mean, high school probably seems impossible to every kid every so often but this is the worst. I don't know what I would have done without you there. You made me less scared, so thank you."

She squeezed his hand. "You're welcome."

Connor fell into a moody silence as they walked back. He shouldn't have brought up the bad stuff. It was cool that Faith understood and was supportive but it gave him too much to think about. He tried to concentrate on the fact a very pretty girl was holding his hand. It didn't feel much like a boyfriend-girlfriend kind of handhold, more like the helping hand of a friend but he was happy just to have that.

If Faith noticed his silence as unusual, she didn't try to break it. Maybe she was just content to be walking with him, the oaks dappling the sun down on them. The woody scents rising off the wild sage and manzanita relaxed him a little. Usually he found the somewhat gnarled, torturous form of the manzanita shrubs to be intriguing but today they were a little creepy.

"What did you have planned for dinner?" Faith asked as the bike came into view.

"Something light, actually. Not a lot of room in the saddle bags to carry much," he said. "I'm so used to making things for my ex that I think I'm stuck in that mind set. She was a vegan so I didn't even think of making anything with meat or cheese or flavor...."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Faith ruffled his hair. "But for the record, I like meat."

Connor sighed. "Thank God. I got so sick of munching grass."

"I thought you liked smoking it." Faith flashed him a wicked grin.

Connor flushed. "That's a different story and I happen to make a fantastic hemp seed pesto but that's not something I drag along on picnics." He grabbed the saddlebags off his bike and carried them to the spot he knew he wanted to dine at. He set them down and took out a carefully folded and rolled blanket, handing it off to Faith.

While she unfurled it, he took out the soft-sided coolers from the bags. She stretched out and looked up at him. He handed her plates and utensils along with two bottles of water. "I couldn't bring along any wine. I figure I'm in enough trouble with the cops as it is."

"Understood."

Connor took out a container holding white, nearly see-thru rolls wrapped around something deep green and a smaller container with a greenish sauce. "Help yourself. They're avocado spring rolls with tamarind dipping sauce."

Faith stared at the offering, surprised, expecting something more prosaic. "Tamarind?"

"It's tangy-sour. I hope you like it. And in here there's almond-mushroom pate," Connor said, taking out another container along with a bag of fluffy hunks of bread to scoop it up with. "And lastly walnutapple salad with raspberry vinaigrette."

"You made all this?" she said doubtfully, still not attempting to eat any of the food.

"I'm a good cook," he assured her.

"I'm more of a hamburger and hot dog kinda girl," she said, and his heart fell. She took a tentative taste of the spring roll. Faith's eyes lit up as she chewed. "Oooo, that's good."

"Glad you like it." He sounded relieved. Between them they made short work of the meal. Connor went into the saddlebag for one last thing. "I hope you like this. It's a little mushy and I forgot bowls but I'm not opposed to eating out of the container."

"What is it?" Faith asked, rubbing her belly.

"Homemade mango ice cream." Connor handed her a spoon.

Her nostrils flared. "You made your own ice cream?"

Connor shrugged. "It's easy."

Faith dug in. "Ummm. You're over eighteen, right?"

"Yeah" His lips twitched up. "Why?"

Her eyes slotted. "I'm thinking of taking you home and chaining you in the kitchen."

Connor's mouth went into a little 'O'. "Do I get any fringe benefits?"

Faith grinned. "What did you have in mind?"

Connor shrugged, turning on his best innocent look. "Oh, I'm sure you can think of something."

"Yeah, and I could probably include this ice cream." Faith licked her lips.

"Take me." Connor tried to keep his dubious control.

Faith snorted, slapped his thigh and dug back into the ice cream. Connor sighed. So close, how did I lose her? He decided to give up on tormenting himself about how wrong this was. He looked up at the golds and roses in the sky and pointed up.

"Look at the view," he said, moving closer to her.

Faith craned her head up as he got so close their shoulders were touching. "It's beautiful. I'm really glad you brought me here."

"Good." He looked up at the sky with her for a few moments then moved in for a kiss. To his horror, she reacted more with shock than desire. Connor backed away. "Sorry, I don't...sorry." He started putting the containers back in his saddlebags. "I didn't mean..."

"Connor, stop." Faith caught his hands, halting the flurry of motion. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry." He couldn't look at her. "I didn't bring you out here because..."

"You wanted to thank me and that's cool."

"I had one last thing planned, too, but now I guess you'd rather I just take you home," Connor said, still staring at his saddlebags.

Faith turned his head with one finger under his chin. "I'd love to see what else you had planned." She kissed him lightly.

"Really?" he asked when she broke the kiss.

"Really."

He smiled faintly. "Okay. Help me pack up."

Once everything was in the saddlebags and back on his bike, Connor drove to a dumpy little building in a northeast section of the park. "That really pretty building on top of the hill, that's where I really wanted to take you but it's under renovation and it's not open."

"What is it?"

"The Griffith Observatory. They're using this building for the next couple of years." Connor held out his hand to her. "They let you look at the stars and moon and Mars and all of that. It's cool."

"Neat."

Connor let Faith chose what to do first inside the temporary observatory. He could sense this wasn't her normal thing but she took to it fast. It was practically closing time when they finally headed out. Connor paused, feeling eyes on him. He looked around and saw nothing.

"What's wrong?" Faith asked.

Connor shook his head. "I'm just easily spooked any more. I thought someone was watching me."

Faith surprised him by going instantly alert. He was suddenly reminded she was a detective. "Let's go home."

Connor didn't argue. He pushed the bike fast along the streets and Faith walked him up to his friend's apartment. He looked at her, eyes full of need. "Can you come in for a while?"

"Sure. Let me check the place out."

Connor shuddered at the idea that she thought someone might be in his place and he let her do the cop-type stuff while he dumped the saddlebags on the kitchen floor. He didn't feel like doing dishes.

"Looks clear," Faith said. "Want me to stay?"

"Yes," he said, flicking the tv on. He didn't want to watch. He just needed the noise. He slumped on the couch.

Faith sat beside him. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He sounded anything but.

"I had a good time today. Thanks."

He summoned up a smile. "I'm glad." He looked over at her. Her eyes were filled with concern. Connor leaned in and dared another kiss.

This time she responded not with shock, nor light, friendly encouragement but with heat. Her hands slid around him, pulling him closer. Connor wrapped his arms around her, feeling her strength as she pressed her tongue into him. She moved faster than he was used to, her hands probing and caressing, no, that was too gentle a word. Her hands demanded things of him and his body was willing to give in.

She had his shirt off, nuzzling his neck before he could have second thoughts. The tip of his cock hurt, pressing against his zipper and into the curve of her hip. Her teeth caught his earlobe and suddenly he was reminded of Dru, of his dead friends, of the things that happened the last time he brought a girl home and he pushed away.

"I'm sorry," he rasped out.

"What?" Faith said sharply, then she reached out, stroking his hair. "Oh."

"I can't. I just...I shouldn't have." Connor tried to fight back the wave of emotion. Why had it chosen now to come crashing to shore? He couldn't help himself, feeling the tears racing down his cheeks. "Last time..."

"Dru killed your friends," Faith said, flatly. "Shit, I should have remembered what you went through. I'm the one who's sorry for rushing you."

He shook his head. "Oh god, I killed them. It's all my fault."

Faith's arms went around him but there was nothing sexual in her touch this time. She squeezed him tight. "It wasn't your fault. You had no way of knowing Dru was a killer."

"My fault," he choked then couldn't find any more air.

"No, baby, it's not." Faith rubbed his back. "Just let it out. Let go of it. You've been holding it in too long."

He wept until his throat felt too sore to draw breath, until his body was shaking so hard he thought he'd slide off the couch if not for Faith, wept until he had no more strength left. "Sorry." He muttered, his head resting against her shoulder, tears and snot, flowing onto her shirt.

"It's okay. Come on." Faith helped him up.

Connor was only dimly aware she was leading him to his bed. He sat on the edge of it and accepted the box of tissues she gave him. He wiped his face, blew his nose then stripped down to his underwear. Only then did he realize she had raided Tamar's closet and had on one of her nightgowns.

Faith slid under the covers and held out her arms to him. Connor went into them and she flipped the covers over them. "I'll stay the night. You need someone to hold onto."

"Thanks," he mumbled wearily, tucking into her. She held him tight. As Beggar the cat joined them, he was already drifting off to sleep, too mentally wasted to fight his exhaustion.

*
Faith found Angel in the hallway, looking baffled by the digital camera he had in hand. She had slept later than she intended to, almost to eight, with Connor still having a death grip on her. She wasn't used to being practically slept on. Hell, she wasn't used to hanging around to actually sleep with a man. Every time she wriggled away from Connor, he'd find her again in his sleep so she just gave up. She had to admit, it wasn't all that bad. He didn't snore much but he did talk in his sleep. His dreams were strange. She only hoped she had comforted him. She wasn't used to doing that. It made her feel awkward.

"Still roaming the halls?" she asked. "You don't sleep much, do you?"

"I'm heading to bed, as soon as I find Spike. He didn't check in with a report. Not that I actually expected him to. This is Spike, after all. He prefers I come find him," Angel said, with a shrug. "Make him feel important."

"What's up with the camera?" Faith fell in step with Angel.

"Fred gave one to all of us for the Christmas party, which you're invited to, of course. Christmas day, my suite, just you, me, Fred, Wes, Lorne, Gunn and unfortunately Spike. Luckily Knox went home to his family because I'm not in the mood for all the tension. Anyhow, she wants lots of candids and insists we all use one of these." Angel scowled at the camera. "I don't know how to use this thing and I hate having my picture taken."

"Buck up, big guy." Faith grinned. "I know Willow's doing the same thing over in England."

"Was it a quiet night?" Angel asked, changing the subject. "I know you were looking out for Connor yesterday."

"If you could call it that."

His eyes narrowed, danger filling them. "What would you call it?"

"A date," she replied. "I spent the night."

"Faith!" Angel yanked her to a halt. "That's completely inappropriate."

She jerked free. "Listen, dad, I can do what I want. He's not my client. I'm looking out for him as a favor and he's legal. Besides, it wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like?" he asked, his voice rough.

"Okay, it could have been what you're thinking and I don't see where it's any of your business, Angel. But I spent the night because the kid finally fell apart. He's alone and scared and I stayed there because no one should be alone when they're in that kind of place. He really didn't want me to leave this morning. I told him I had to. If you and Spike didn't find any signs of Dru or your troublesome son, then it's back to me to look for clues in the daylight."

Angel glanced away, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, you're right. It's not my business but I'm glad you could help him."

"Besides, he was sweet, Angel. He took me to Griffith Park and we hiked in the woods. He planned out a picnic for afterwards and let me tell you, the kid can cook. He even took me stargazing at the Observatory. I know he's young for me, and I know I shouldn't be taking advantage of someone that fucked up, but it felt good, you know."

"Sounds nice," Angel grumbled, still obviously unhappy.

"Very nice. I've been with a lot of guys but I haven't been on many dates, if you know what I mean. Usually we just skip that and get right down to it. Robin took me on a few dates but that was after we had done it. Of course, he and I thought we were gonna die inside the Hellmouth so it made sense to have sex first and if we lived...well, I generally don't go back for seconds." Faith shrugged, not seeming embarrassed. It just the way things were in her world.

"You said Robin was teaching you better." Angel's voice gentled.

Faith nodded. "He tried and it helped. Otherwise I might have been weirded out by the kid and his big plans. But I wasn't. He made me feel special. No one's ever really tried to do that before...except maybe you but not in a sexual way, of course."

He smiled tenderly. "I knew what you meant."

"I guess I'm finally learning. Better late than never." Faith paused at Spike's door. "Do you have a key like he does for your place?"

"He has an actual key? I thought he was just jimmying the lock. That's it, I'm going to a combination lock that changes daily," Angel said, pulling out a key and wagging it. "I have a key to everything."

"Good to know."

Angel unlocked the door and they both went in. They heard a grunt from the bedroom and Angel pushed Faith in first. They froze. Spike was handcuffed wrists and ankles to the bed. His naked body had been wrapped in lit Christmas lights. A stuffed snowman had been tethered into his mouth but he seemed to be working it free, chewing on it in vamp form. Bows had been placed on his head and over his nipples and the words "Happy Christmas" had been carved into his abdomen. A Celtic cross was around his neck, the cross having burnt to bone just north of his heart. Most painful of all was the raging erection that couldn't find release thanks to the red ribbon tied far too snuggly at the base of his cock, now a deep purple hue. A Christmas bulb had been speared through his foreskin. The room smelled of stale sex and perfume.

"Ouch." Faith flinched then looked behind her hearing the click of the digital camera.

"What?" Angel asked, as Spike snarled behind his snowman gag. "I have to learn to use this thing."

"Tell you what, Angel, why don't you just roll out the red carpet for Dru? She seems to waltz in here no problem," Faith said, pointedly.

"I see your point. Dru's very crafty about getting around magical barriers," Angel said, practicing with his camera some more.

Faith glanced at Angel. "I guess we'd better release him."

Angel shrugged. "I was thinking of selling tickets to the show."

Spike's handcuffs rattled as he flipped Angel off.

"Got bolt cutters?" Faith said, going over to Spike's bed. She took the cross off his neck. "These look pretty damn sturdy."

"I'll send for some." Angel headed into the other room.

Faith ran a finger over Spike's forehead ridges. "You are ugly in this form."

His blue eyes narrowed and she thought he was cursing behind the gag. She untied the tether and pulled what was left of the snowman free. Spike coughed and choked. "Fuck it, get that thing off my todger before it falls off."

Faith glanced down at Dru's knot work. "I don't want to touch that. Angel?"

"Have you gone insane?" he answered from the other room.

"Just do it, damn you. It's not like you haven't touched a barrel full of pickles in your day, Faith."

Faith scowled and shoved the snowman back into Spike's mouth. She surveyed the too-tight Grecian sandal on Spike's dick and gave the bow a tug. It slid free effortlessly and the ribbon loosened. Spike shrieked in agony as blood rushed back out of his cock.

Angel came back in with the bolt cutters. "We have some fast maintenance men around here." He cut through all the handcuffs. Spike curled into a ball, still wrapped in lights, which Faith unplugged. She could see where they had burnt blisters all over him. His back was a mess of furrows, no doubt dug by Dru's nails. Spike freed himself from the offending Christmas bulb and tossed it against the wall where it shattered loudly.

"Thought you'd never come to the rescue," Spike moaned.

"We almost didn't. If I hadn't been curious to see if you found Dru, you'd have been here all day," Angel said.

"Guess you found her," Faith said.

Spike flopped onto his back, giving her the evil eye. "She found me, was waiting for me with a cattle prod when I got back. She loves those things. After giving me a little pay back for the time I used one on her, she chained me up, had a little fun with me and left me like you found me."

"Did she say why?" Faith asked.

"She said she was going to torture me until I loved her again," Spike said. "Which was what I had said once about her. Guess the stars told her, or maybe Miss Edith or who the hell knows. And she was ranting about someone called Little Brother betraying her and that she was going to make him pay."

Angel grabbed Spike, glass lights shattering under his hand. "Did she say how?"

Spike pulled back, blood streaking down his arm. "Not a clue. She seemed to think it would hurt you, too, and it sure looks like the barmy bint was right. You know what she's talking about."

"I'm with Spike on this, Angel. What's up?" Faith asked.

Angel left the room.

"Stop him," Spike said stripping the lights off his body. "Owww, and bring him back here 'cause I can't bloody walk just now."

Faith ran after Angel, catching him before he got out of the suite. "You can't run out on us, Angel. You know something, you have to share. The seer said this was big and bad and damn it, my life's on the line so you tell me everything I need to know. Now get back in there before I make you."

Angel yanked away. "Faith, this isn't something I can tell you."

"Would you keep it hidden from Buffy?" she asked, cuttingly.

"Yes."

"Not good enough. You can risk your own ass, Angel. Fine by me. But not mine. And what about Connor's? If Dru's really after him and I don't know the whole story how the hell can I protect him?"

Angel sagged. "All right."

He went back into the bedroom and prowled around the wall. "I know who Little Brother is."

"Care to share?" Spike asked, trying to find a comfortable way to rest his battered body.

"He's the boy in the seer's vision."

"Another one of your little vampire kids? We knew that much. Any clues where he is?" Faith asked, sitting down on Spike's floor after tossing him some clothes.

"No, not a vampire kid." Angel's pacing picked up speed. "He's a living child."

"That's not possible." Faith dragged him to a halt. "Vampires can't have children."

"There was a prophesized one," Angel said. "I never even knew about it until it happened."

"Wait, you mean that vamp messiah kid? Dru used to go on about him but I guess that was after you got all souled and weepy and left us," Spike said, suddenly interested in the conversation. "That's a bunch of bollocks, vampires gone soft in the head, waiting for a vampire child to be born and lead them."

"It's true. Darla and I had a living son," Angel said, leaning against the wall. "Dru's after him. She knows I'll do anything she wants as long as she doesn't hurt him."

Faith shook her head. "How is this possible? Angel, no one here has ever given a sign that you have a kid. I mean, someone would. No one here is that good at keeping secrets."

"They don't remember." Angel started pacing again, the broken Christmas bulb grinding underfoot. "I had Wolfram and Hart work a spell. They removed him from everyone's memories."

Faith gasped. "Angel, diddling with our memories, that's fucked up and trusting Wolfram and Hart, what the fuck is wrong with you? These people paid me to kill you."

"You did a lousy job," Spike said. "But I'm with you on the whole big magic. Come on, Peaches, you've been around long enough to know how bad that always goes."

Angel punched a wall. "I know but I panicked. I didn't know what else to do."

"He's the baby in the picture with Cordy, the one you didn't want me to see," Faith guessed and Angel nodded. "What did you do with the baby, Angel?"

"How could a baby betray anyone?" Spike asked.

"He was taken from me by Holtz, you probably remember me and Darla talking about him, Spike. He pursued us through time. He took my son and they ended up in Quor-Toth. My baby grew up in hell. He's a teenaged boy."

"If he grew up there, he's a fucked up boy," Spike said, wincing as he shifted on the bed. He grabbed for his abused chest as the motion pulled apart the healing undead flesh.

"That's a good way of putting it," Angel agreed. "He was taught to hate me and things went from bad to worse with the Beast and Angelus."

"I was here for Angelus and you messed with my brain, too." Faith shot him a hot look.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice." Angel's voice grew brittle. "He ended up taking a bunch of people hostage and he was going to kill them."

"Why?" Faith asked.

"For the same reason you tortured Wesley," Angel replied frankly.

"To get you to put him out of his misery," Faith whispered, glancing away.

"Exactly. He was losing his mind. He wanted to die. I couldn't kill him so I had Wolfram and Hart give him a new life and remove him from ours," Angel said.

Faith's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. "That's why you've been so nuts about Connor, how you knew Dru might want him, why you want to know everything I've done with him. He's your kid."

"He can't know that, Faith. He can't ever know it," Angel said, grabbing her arms.

"You gave him a new rich family and he was happy until Dru came along," Faith said, pulling free.

"You should have known Dru would figure it out," Spike said. "You made a real arse-up of this, Angel."

"You think I don't know that, Spike?" Angel snarled. "I want to protect him and I can't risk letting the truth out."

"I'll go right back over there now. I won't leave him," Faith said.

"Thank you, Faith. Dru's holed up somewhere. Spike and I will find her," Angel said.

"You can thank me by never fucking with my brain again," Faith snapped.

He looked horribly abashed. "I won't. Keep him safe for me, Faith."

"You can count on me."

*
Dru looked around the morgue at her new children. Daddy had been so distracted by what she had done to spike he had forgotten to keep an eye on these three. She looked at Damien, Brian and Javier who were still sucking down some morgue attendants. "You know where to go when the sun comes up. I will meet you there. Tomorrow, we will go and play with your friend," she told them and they grunted at her.

Dru didn't care if they didn't show up as instructed. It would be better if they did but she could handle things if they didn't. Last night, seeing Little Brother watching her stars with the Slayer, Dru had known the heat of fury and took it out on her darling Spike. Tonight, it was Little Brother's turn to pay for his fleshy indiscretions.

Dru knew best how to handle a Slayer. She patted her velvet bag as she left the morgue. Everything she needed was in there. When she got to Little Brother's new home, she knew the Slayer was inside. Dru didn't need to knock or be invited. She had been paying Little Brother visits. Daddy's spies hadn't kept her from the place. Little Brother had even given her a key and when she left him time after time, thought she was nothing more than a bad dream or a bit of underdone potato.

Dru was inside before the Slayer even knew she was there. Faith cried out, seeing her and jumped off the couch. Dru already had cattle prod in hand and met Faith's charge. Little Brother screamed as Faith went down, striking her head on the edge of the table. Blood spattered the carpeting. Little Brother attacked her, not knowing the strength behind his fists, not knowing Daddy had taken away his ability to do battle. He swung wildly. Dru's counterblow sent him flying into the wall. His head shattered the plaster and he slid down the wall, leaving a red streak behind him.

Dru took shackles out of her bag and bound the Slayer. She ran a finger along Faith's bleeding scalp and tasted her. Exquisite, but she found she preferred Little Brother. Dru hauled him up, dragging him toward the bed room. He moaned as she flung him on the bed. Dru leaned over him and his eyes fluttered open.

"No," he cried. "You can't be here."

"You betrayed me, Little Brother," Dru said, "lying with that naughty girl."

"Faith...." He twisted, trying to see into the other room. "Don't hurt us, please. I'll do anything you want. Just don't hurt us."

"Bad boys must be punished," Dru said, slipping a hand into his pants. Her nails pricked into his testicles. Connor shrieked. Dru withdrew her hand and tapped his forehead. "Forget now, Little Brother."

He went slack on the bed. Dru lifted him up and bit into his neck. His blood flowed over her tongue like a pure, mountain stream. Dru drank deeply. She was barely able to stop herself. She finally let him go. His body shivered on the bed. He would be weak but she knew he wouldn't die.

Dru went back out into the living room and stood over Faith. "I should kill you," she said. "But I made you and you are perfect; dark, deadly and beautiful."

Dru knew she didn't want this Slayer dead, at least not yet. She hit Faith again with the cattle prod, just to be sure then picked her up. It was time to make a delivery to Daddy.

Part Seven