Fic: What We Have Here

[dreamerjules.livejournal.com]

Finally came up with a title this week. From Cool Hand Luke, one of the ultimate boy movies, "What we have here, is a failure to communicate."

Title: What We Have Here
Author: Julie
Fandom: BtVS/AtS
Prompt: #48 – horoscope
Warnings: None
Rating: Everyone
Summary: Post-Chosen and Post-NFA, a meeting is held to figure things out.
A/N: I read a take of Joss's on how NFA turned out – Illyria lived, Gunn died, Angel lost an arm and Spike became a real boy. I don't remember where I read it, nor can I find it now. Oh, well. Also deals with the lack of communication between the Sunnydale and LA groups and Xander's been in Africa.


Before high school, Xander would have called what happened after Dawn entered the conference room as all hell breaking loose. After having actually seen hell break loose more than once, Xander knew he couldn't really call it that, but it was closer than he would have liked. If the table top hadn't been glass, he would have looked under it for Ethan Rayne.

Dawn had lit into Buffy about reverting to her overprotective tendencies; Buffy, Robin and Giles were all trying to explain to Dawn that she shouldn't be here, each with a different reason. Faith was up in Robin's face, defending Dawn's right to be there. Willow started crying, which Xander supposed was slightly better than her eyes and hair turning black. Andrew was furiously trying to take minutes and wailing about how fast everyone was talking.

Spike stood up quickly, looking ready to take heads if only it would stop the flood of words.

"Spike," said Angel quietly and gave a small shake of his head. He stood and headed for the door, Spike and Illyria following.

Seeing a successful escape, Xander grabbed Willow's hand and exited quietly.

"Can we come?" Xander had pulled Willow close as soon as they were out of the conference room and had caught up with the others at the elevators.

"Shouldn't you two be back at the playground with your little friends?" growled Spike.

"I'm actually thinking it's gonna take 'em a while to notice who is and isn't there any more and I'd like to know what's going on before they figure it out."

"Why do you not have sufficient information about recent events?"

The chime sounded, announcing the arrival of the elevator. They got on and Spike hit the button for the ground floor before Xander answered.

"I've been in Africa for most of the past year. Finding new Slayers, helping defeat evil monsters, avoiding armed patrols and trying, successfully for the most part, to not get my wallet stolen. I guess some things just fell through the cracks."

"Did you hear about Cordelia?" asked Angel, knowing exactly how much everything else would pale in comparison for Xander.

"Yeah. Not a lot of details other than mystical coma and I kinda like it like that."

They rode down in silence. Willow, though no longer crying, was still burrowed into Xander's side. Illyria, unconsciously perhaps, was as far from them as possible.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. Is there any place decent to eat close by?" Xander, oddly, wasn't quite ready to be alone with Willow. Africa had taught him many things, but getting all available information on a given situation, not just one side's take on it, had been hard learned.

"There's a curry house a few block over. They have a wonderful veggie masala," said Willow.

"Wills, my love, while I might be willing to forgo Mickey D's on my triumphant return to the land of tea and crumpets, I can safely say no to spicy foreign food. Surely I can get a decent slab of cow - grilled or grounded, it matters not, but beef I must have."

"There's a decent chippy shop around the corner. It's not beef, but it's fried." Spike knew what the whelp liked.

A slightly glazed light came into Xander's eye as he contemplated the joys of hot grease. "Umm, fried. Yep, let's have some of that artery clogging goodness."

"Or there's a pub that serves dinner for those of us not looking forward to strokes and heart attacks," said Willow.

"Or there's a pub that serves dinner," said Xander in overly perky tones.

"Even better. Haven't had a chance to introduce Blue here to a pint of Guinness yet. Lead on, MacDuff."

Willow extracted herself from Xander's side, but held on to his hand, and took the lead. There was a local pub that she and Buffy would go to sometimes. They still preferred iced mochas, but the atmosphere was perfectly British and Willow adored it.

It was early enough in the evening that the pub wasn't packed and they found a booth in the back.

"Okay. Now, please, would somebody fill me in. I'm starting to get a complex here and not the good apartmenty kind."

"Do you remember when I went to LA to help restore Angel's soul when we were helping Spike get de-programmed from the First?"

"I remember you came back with Faith, but I don't remember anything about giving Dead Boy his soul back. What the hell?"

"I never lost my soul," piped up Spike.

"No, you just killed and turned a bunch of people after you got yours."

"Oi. I was brain washed. Not responsible."

"Yeah, yeah. Like we haven't heard that before."

"Anyway," broke in Willow, "Fred was the one who called me. We really connected on a geek level, ya know. Anyway. After they went to Wolfram and Hart, Fred got infected with Illyria. They called Giles for help and because of the whole Wolfram and Hart is evil thing, he turned them down. I would have wanted to help, to try at least, and I didn't even know Fred was dead til they arrived with Illyria." Willow looked on the verge of tears again. Xander pulled her close again and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"If it is any consolation, Fred had fond memories of you," said Illyria in a tone that seemed to carry some real sympathy.

Willow nodded.

"Okay, that doesn't explain Spike. All right, there's no explanation for Spike, but he died in\dale. He didn't make it out. How can he be human now? And Angel's arm? Shouldn't it like, grow back or something?"

"Doesn't work that way. It'd be nice, but it doesn't. Certainly not after a dragon sets it on fire," said Angel before taking a long drink of his neat scotch.

"Dragon? Really? You got to fight a dragon? Cool."

Angel smiled. "Yeah, it was." With the smile, Angel's face took on a glow that almost chased away the deepest shadows in his eyes.

"Hey, look who's here. Brits in a pub, who'd a thunk it."

Faith's voice rang out over the growing din of the pub. Dawn was close behind her. She was looking less upset than she had in the conference room, but she still wasn't happy. Faith was looking a little more relaxed.

"Scoot." Faith sat down next to Xander. Willow scowled, but made room. Dawn remained standing. "Park it, pip squeak."

But Dawn didn't move, looking at Spike with an unreadable expression. Spike was looking more uncomfortable by the second.

Angel stood and got a chair from a nearby table. "Dawn, take my seat. It's getting a bit cramped in there for me."

Yet Dawn still stood, silently watching Spike. Time stretched and narrowed down to just Spike and Dawn.

"Nibblet, it had nothing to do with you."

"Of course not. But it had everything to do with Buffy, right."

"No. It was me. All me. I couldn't figure out how to explain how or why I came back. I didn't know. I thought it would be better for Buffy, for you, if I hadn't come back. And then when Andrew showed up, I figured the jig was up, but you lot never did anything, so I though, well, that's that then, idn't it."

"Andrew never said anything. It wasn't his place to say anything. It was yours. I can't believe you let me think you were dead. You know how much I needed you."

"I seem to remember you threatening to se me on fire. You couldn't have needed me too damned much."

"Spike!" Dawn stamped her foot, looking for all the world like a child on the verge of a temper tantrum. "I missed you. I missed you even when I threatened you. I've missed you since Buffy came back, if you want the truth. You were there for me that summer. You all were, but you never made me feel like a little kid."

"Dawnie," began Willow, but Dawn cut her off.

"I honestly didn't mind all that much, Will. It felt good to be sheltered and protected after... after Mom and Buffy, but it was having Spike treat me like a person that made it easier to take. Gaah, I'm not really saying it right. You did a wonderful job that summer. I'm a teenager. I'm supposed to be difficult, okay."

"If that is your purpose, you are most successful," contributed Illyria.

Giggles erupted around the table, growing into belly laughs, complete with tears running down faces. Except
Illyria, of course, who was merely perplexed by their reaction.

"I missed you, too, Bit," said Spike and he pat the seat Angel had vacated. Dawn made a good attempt at being a blur as she took him up on the offer.

"So, what'd we miss?" asked Faith, stealing one of Xander's fries.

"Just getting some background. What'd we miss and how's you guys get away?" Xander moved his plate over where Willow promptly stole a fry. Xander made a show of protecting his plate from his bench mates.

Dawn couldn't resist and tried stealing one herself, but Xander blocked her. Spike zipped in and pilfered two while Xander was focused on Dawn. Grinning happily at Spike and Xander, she and Spike devoured their illicit fries.

"You know, my horoscope said I was in danger of losing something important to me today, but I thought it was just my life, like always," lamented Xander. "Not my fries."

"Chips," chorused Spike, Angel, Faith, Dawn and Willow, laughing.