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Hell Is In the Details	By : SpikesHeart Category: Angel the Series > Het - Male/Female Views: 2390 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Angel: The Series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Hell Is In the
Details � Chapter 9 � To Be Or Not To Be

Lorne awoke to the odd sensation of being watched. Slowly
and cautiously he rose from his rocking chair and headed over to the bed. Spike
hadn�t moved an inch from the position Lorne had left him in.

He tried to remain calm and soothing. �Hey, it�s okay. I�ll
just bet you were checking out Uncle Lorne when my eyes were closed. It�s all
right, Spike. I�m just here to help. You can trust me.�

No reaction.

He sighed. �Didn�t think that would be enough to convince
you, kiddo � but you have to give me points for trying.
I�ll be back in a flash. Just gonna heat up some
breakfast downstairs. You�ve got to be hungry.�

When he was sure the demon had left the room, Spike opened
his eyes. He was weak � weaker than after that church organ honsionsigned him
to a soddin� wheelchair for months. He�d be unable to
defend himself if this one wanted to hurt him.

But Spike knew he�d been with� Len?
No, Lorne � that�s what the other being called him � for hours already. He
hadn�t taken him or hurt him once since he�d regained consciousness. Pret had never allowed him so much rest between
appointments before.

He attempted to test his limbs, to see his range of movement
and muscle strength.

Nothing.

Not so much as a bloody twitch.

What the fuck had they done to him?

Exhausted from his feeble attempts to move his body, Spike
barely heard the green-skinned demon re-enter the room in time to shut his own
eyes.

Lorne laughed, softly. �It�s okay,
Spike. I�m not going to hurt you. It�s safe for you to open your eyes. C�mon,
sweet-cheeks. Open up those baby blues and see if you recognize me. We�ve met
before, you know. Briefly.�

Spike opened his eyes again, and returned Lorne�s gaze as
the demon stood to the side of the bed, holding a mug of ~human, by the smell of it~ blood. Spike wavenovenous.

Lorne reached for a straw, and sat down on the side of the
bed, next to Spike. �Do you want to try and feed yourself, or do you want me to
hold the mug for you?�

Spike tried to do two things. First � to
raise his arm. Spectacularly unsuccessful. Second � to ask for the proffered help. The resultant croak
surprised both men.

�Never mind, sugar. You�ll be your
old self in no time,� Lorne soothed.

Spike�s eyes widened tremendously and he began to shudder.
Lorne blinked in surprise. An odd reaction � why would he be shaking his head
�no� at the mention of getting his voice back? Could they have damaged him more
than�?

He pushed on, trying to calm the beleaguered creature. �If you can suck this goop up through the straw, fine. If
not, I�ve got a spoon here with your name on it. You can thank me, later.�

Fear, then resignation skittered across the vampire�s face, reerinering
in the droop of his head and rigid body language.

Realizing that he�d been totally misunderstood, Lorne rushed
to set the vampire�s mind at ease. �Oh, Spike! No, no, no � I didn�t mean what�
oh hell no. No monkey business, I swear. I just meant you can show off your
party manners when you�re able to speak. So you can tell me what happened.�

Spike swallowed convulsively, trying to calm down. He�d been
prepared to vanish within himself again. There was no way he�d be able to
survive another round of �hurt me � fuck me� the way he was feeling.

Lorne could see the incredible effort Spike was making to
stay with him. Such a bad choice of words to have panicked
him so badly, though he wasn�t sure what or why. Placing the mug down on
the night table, he fluffed a few pillows , and helped
prop the vampire up into a reclining position � all the better to drink if he
was able.

Lorne held the straw to dry lips, pleased when Spike managed
to open his lips to take it in. With an obvious effort, the sable haired
vampire managed to suck down half the contents, before closing his eyes from
exhaustion.

�You done, kiddo?� the empath
asked, moving the mug away.

Spike slowly shook his head �no� and opened his mouth once
more for the straw. The rest of the mug�s contents were consumed rapidly.

�Good job, mi amigo. You sleep now and let all that yummy
goodness work its magic on you. I�m off to the showers, then downstairs to try
and figure out our next step here, and I�ll be back to see if you need
anything, soon. Sleep well.�

~*~

Food
and rest.

Peace.

It would have been so
easy just to slip away again.

Who was this Lorne,
and why does he seem familiar?

Don�t care right now.
Want to trust him. Need to trust someone.

Sleep is� good.

~*~

Freshly scrubbed and dressed � totally blood and other
substances free, Lorne felt like a new man. A little breakfast settled his
nerves. A few moments reprieve from his patient upstairs were all he asked for.

It wasn�t as if Spike was much trouble. Outside of the whole
Nurse Lorne routine, with the added perk of removing the most horrific body accessories
he�d ever seen, Spike was not difficult to care for. Heating up a couple of
mugs of blood wasn�t an imposition.

No, what stressed him out wasn�t the physical work involved
in caring for the vampire � it was the emotional toll of seeing his suffering
due to the actions of another. A man he�d called a friend without hesitation
less than three days before.

If he felt
betrayed by Angel, he could only imagine how crushed Spike must have been upon
learning of his Sire�s treachery.

Lorne also knew that he couldn�t avoid Angel forever. The best defense is � hell, the best defense
would be runningy, by, but since that wasn�t an available option � the best
defense is a good offense.

And so, though plenty nervous, the empath
called in to the office, in hopes of heading off any angry vampire vibes from
the boss.

�Hello, Angel-kins,� he chirped
before Angel could start talking � or ranting. �Just wanted to tell you how so so sorry I am for not getting to party with you and your
little twinkie last night. My poor Ramone was just a mess, and he needed me to��

Angel�s glower could be felt through the phone. �Look, Lorne
� that was an important party for me. Buffy�s giving up the whole slaying deal
to be in my life again. I need my people to show a united front. To show Buffy
that Wolfram & Hart is more than just its evil reputation � that it�s about
family and friends.�

The emotionally overwrought demon snapped; the absolute
hypocrisy in Angel�s words made him ill. �What the hell do you want from me,
Angel? I�m tired. I�ve been up all damned night between Ramone
puking his gout out and askin� for his mama. I�ve
already apologized for not being there to greet the little woman. Give me
another week or so and I�ll mount a damned musical number for everyone�s enjoyment.�

At the anger from the normally placid Lorne, Angel
backpedaled faster than a biker in traffic. �Whoa, big guy �
calm down. I didn�t mean to imply that you�re not entitled to a little
personal time. And tell Ramone I hope he feels
better. You�ll have to bring him around sometime, maybe to our next
fundraiser,� Angel demurred.

Lorne wilted. God, it all sounded so fake now. �No, I�m
really sorry, Angel-cakes. It�s been� a really long night,
and I just nee cra crawl into my little bed and��

The door swung open at that moment; Lorne waved his hands
frantically, hoping Gunn would keep quiet until he got off the phone.

�Sorry for the interruption � the mailman was at the door. llE>Ramone, fundraiser, yeah � sounds good. Another time then,
boss?�

Paying no attention to Lorne�s farewell cue, Angel
continued. �Tell you what. I need a favor, and it�ll make things copasetic
between us. I�m going to be stuck in meetings all Friday,
and since your schedule is already freed up and if Ramone
feels better in three days, I�d like you to take Buffy out on the town for the
day. Some shopping, a little lunch � you know, schmoozing. As
a favor to me.�

~Shit, he should have known he�d get stuck chauffeuring
Angel�s trophy girl around like a glorified babysitter. He�d have to get Spike
to a healthier place before Friday if he had any hopes of leaving him alone for
hours.~ But what use fighting it? �Fine,
babe. Just tell me the when and where and I�ll pick the little lady up
and squire her around. Gotta go now, lamb. Nature calls. Ciao.�

He barely had time to close out the phone call when Gunn
grabbed his shoulders>

>

�Man, I thought you�d never get off the damn phone. I�m tellin� ya, we�ve got a big
problem. You an� me were all over Spike. And last
night, despite several showers, Angel was sniffing me up and down like I was
the only available fire hydrant around for miles. It freaked his little girl
out.�

Jamming his hands into his pockets, along with his phone,
Lorne couldn�t contain his curiosity. �So dish, cookie. What�s the what with little Miss Buffy Summers?�
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Hell Is In the Details