Title: Written In The Stars, Part 16 – Friends and Logistics Author: Xanfan Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters Pairing: m/m Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal. Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game. Warnings: SLASH Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it’s up to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them and brings them to Daddy.
A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing. Also, Cordy has a spare room. And the Hyperion thing happened earlier than the blowing up thing, because I need a place to house all these people, so I can pull them out to play with them at my will. ___________________________________________
Last Time:
Just as Angel opened his mouth, probably to ask about Joyce, another person rushed down the hallway toward them.
“Is he okay? Where is he?”
Most of the group stared at the new person in shock.
Willow broke the stunned silence by practically shouting, “Oz?”
*******************
Oz looked at Willow for a moment, then turned to Tara and repeated his question.
“Is he okay?”
Tara smiled that sweet smile of hers and nodded.
“H-he’s going to be. D-did Cordelia tell you what was going on?” Tara said, ignoring the looks of astonishment she and the young werewolf were receiving.
“She did,” Oz confirmed.
“J-Joyce is in with him now; h-he can only have a couple of visitors at a time. We haven’t figured out who is g-going after that, b-but we can add you to the l-list,” Tara said.
Oz smiled a bit at Tara’s teasing.
“I’m guessing Cordy didn’t tell anyone she called me?” Oz said, nodding towards the other Scoobies, past and present, who were watching their conversation, heads going back and forth like at a tennis match.
Tara smiled. “I-I guess not.”
Oz gave a half smile and turned towards his audience.
“Cordy called me,” he said with his typical lack of loquaciousness.
“Why?” Buffy asked bluntly.
“She knew I’d want to know.”
“Why do you care? And why are you talking to Tara like you like her?”
“Buffy!” Giles said in warning.
“I care about my friends,” Oz said simply.
The older members of the Scooby gang, not elderly, but those who had been around the longest, just stared at him. The others were mostly just confused by the situation.
Oz finally took pity on them and explained, “Xander usually calls me every couple of weeks and emails me almost every day to check in with me. When I stopped hearing from him, I emailed Cordy to see if she knew if anything was up, and she called me back. I was on my way to L.A. for a gig anyway, so I headed straight here. And Tara and I are friends.”
“The last time you were in Sunnydale, you attacked Tara,” Willow pointed out.
“H-he called me to a-apologize, l-later. X-Xander gave h-him my number. W-we keep in t-touch,” Tara said in defense of her friend.
“You gave Xander your number, but not me?” Willow accused Oz.
“I didn’t give Xander my number,” Oz said.
“Then how did he first get in contact with you?” Giles asked.
Oz shared a slight smile with the other fringe Scoobies before he responded, “Xander works in mysterious ways.”
No one knew quite what to say to that.
Just then, Joyce stepped out into the hallway. She glanced over the group, raising an eyebrow at the newest arrival, but not commenting or seeming really surprised.
They all looked at her expectantly, even Angel and Spike, who had already seen Xander.
“He woke up for few moments, but he was pretty groggy, so I’m not sure if he’ll even remember talking to me, but he did. He may use the ‘happy pills’ as an excuse not to remember that I told him he won’t be getting out of the hospital early, but I’ll remind him if necessary,” Joyce said with a smile.
“H-how did he look?” Tara asked.
Joyce hesitated for a moment before she spoke, “I’ll be honest, he looks bad, so be prepared.”
Tara nodded her thanks for the warning.
Joyce nodded back, then straightened her shoulders and addressed them all, “Now you will all get a chance to visit him, so don’t worry. However, he is still asleep, so we can peek at him now and wait to try and talk to him when he is a little more conscious, okay?”
She turned to Angel. “We didn’t really get much sleep last night, would you know of a place that we could get some rest?”
Angel smiled, “Actually, I do. We ran across an abandoned hotel a few weeks ago and have been slowly trying to make it inhabitable, not as a working hotel, but as an office and home. We haven’t moved in yet, but we finally got it cleaned and several of the rooms have beds and linens. And the utilities are on, so you have facilities.”
“That sounds perfect,” Joyce agreed.
“Okay, why don’t you guys get your look at Xander, then we can head over there. Spike just got here to start his watch shift, so I’ll take you over myself,” Angel offered.
The man Angel hadn’t yet been introduced to stepped forward, “I would like to volunteer to stay with for Spike’s watch. We still don’t know who did this to them and they could still be a threat. If they’re human, Spike might need help. Plus, someone needs to keep Spike out of trouble.”
“Oi, I’m not the little bit, I don’t need a baby-sitter,” Spike said in mock indignation at Graham’s words and accompanying smirk. Secretly, he was relieved; the soldier boy had a point about the human thing and he’d proven to be decent company in the past few months.
“Hey! I don’t need a baby-sitter either,” Dawn said in typical adolescent frustration.
“And you are?” Angel asked Graham, ignoring both Spike’s and Dawn’s outbursts.
Riley answered for him, “This is Graham, a friend of ours, and we used to work together.”
Graham offered his hand to Angel, who only hesitated a moment before shaking it.
“Nice to meet you, Angel,” Graham said.
“You too,” Angel replied. He had caught the Initiative reference, but he figured if Spike was comfortable enough to joke with him, then he would let it be.
Joyce spoke up again, “Okay, Riley, Tara and Dawn, you are up first for your Xander fix. Oz and Graham, you’re after them. Giles, Buffy and Willow are after that. Then we’ll head over to the hotel.”
Buffy and Willow opened their mouths to object, but quickly shut them when they received deadly looks from pretty much everyone.
