Wesley reached for the phone, cradling it between shoulder and ear as
he dealt with the unexpected side effects of murmuring an incantation
under his breath as he tried to translate it. It wasnât easy, but the
magic that compels one to answer a ringing phone or a knock on the
door, no matter how inconvenient the timing, was one against which
there was no effective counter spell.
“Wyndam-Price here.”
“Who?”
“Wesley Wyndam -”
“No, I know itâs you, Wesley, just expected...never mind.”
“Buffy?”
It wasnât just astonishment that kept him from giving her a less terse
response but once his fingers curled around the hilt of his letter
opener...ah, yes. Much better. The tentacles digging into his neck had
made coherent speech difficult but they shrivelled nicely at the touch
of silver.
“Is this a bad time, Wes? Because I can...well, Iâd rather not call
back. Itâs taken me all my time to - well, is it?”
“Not a,” slice, “bad time,” chop, “at all.” There was a final quiver
and he hurled the letter opener, watched it thunk satisfyingly deep in
a gelatinous eye, and settled back in his chair. “Just a little
paperwork to clear up. How can I help you?”
The silence was thick and sticky and Wesley answered his own question.
“Youâve found out then?”
“Yes, I have, Wesley.”
Her voice was full of frustration and pain and Wesley felt sympathy
stir. “Iâm sorry. If it had been up to me, I would have told you much
earlier. Having said that, I can understand why both of them felt -”
“I should have been told! It concerns me. At least I thought it did...”
“Buffy, believe me, youâve been very much on their minds.”
“Whose minds? Does everyone know about this?”
The tortured shriek had him wincing, both for his pain and hers.
Cautiously moving the phone away from his ear, he said, “Well...”
He got no farther than that. “Wesley, that is unbelievable! I cannot
believe it.”
“Thatâs generally a given with something unbelievable,” Wesley pointed
out absent mindedly. The calm silence in his ear was strangely ominous
and he played back his last words. What had he -?
“Wesley. Will you try, for a moment, to forget that youâre English and
born to be pedantic - yes, I know big words too - and tell me where
Angel is and why youâre answering his phone?”
Grateful for the opportunity to be able to answer without the necessity
of choosing his words carefully, he said, “Angelâs in a meeting with
the heads of three local demon clans.” And I hope the heads are still
attached to bodies, he thought. “Iâm using his office for some research
as itâs bigger than mine.” And when he sees the carpet...
“Connect me. Get him. Put him on the line.”
“Canât, Iâm afraid.” Wesley smiled. His former Slayer was formidable,
but she was many thousands of miles away and he was far from being the
insecure, self-conscious...
“Iâm waiting.”
Chills chased up and down his spine. Buffy could pack an avalanche of
ice into a sentence. “Iâm sorry, Buffy, but I really canât disturb him.
These negotiations are crucial. Lives depend on them.”
He was pleasantly surprised by how resolute he sounded. Perhaps he had
changed...
“Wesley...” Was that a sob?
“Please, Buffy...if thereâs anything I can do to explain this, to make
you see how it happened...possibly Iâd be a better person to do that.
Less involved?”
“I thought he loved me!”
“He does. I know he does.”
“Then, why would he...oh, I canât -”
“I know,” Wesley said, cutting in hastily. “Iâm finding it a little
hard to grasp myself. We all are.”
This time the silence seemed puzzled. “I know why Iâm ready to slide
and dice a certain someone,” Buffy said, “but whatâs it got to do with
you?”
Wesley found himself flushing. “There have been times...perhaps I read
too much into them...I had hoped. Never mind. It doesnât matter now.
Some things are just fated. Destiny. Their history alone...Iâm
resigned, truly I am.”
“Wes? Are you making any sense? Because one of us isnât making any
sense. Please let it be you.”
Wes paused, regrouped and said cautiously. “What, precisely, are you
angry about?”
“My Christmas card.”
“He forgot to send you one? I think you have to appreciate that to a
vampire -”
“Oh, I got one.”
“Then?” Wesley probed delicately.
“Want me to read it to you, Wes?”
Did he have a choice? Possibly not. “Of course!”
“The staff of Wolfram and Hart would like to take this opportunity to
wish all their customers, staff, friend and -”
“Yes, I got that one too,” Wesley interrupted. “The demons get
different ones, of course.”
“ - a profitable new year in which we will be delighted to assist you
in any way we deem necessary within negotiable limits, up to and
including -”
“Carefully worded, yes. I really donât see -”
“Signed ‘Angel and Eveâ. Who is she? Who is ‘Eveâ?”
Wesley was stunned. “Ah...sheâs...that is -”
“His secretary? Too dumb to know how to sign something on behalf of
someone else?”
“No; that would be Harmony. Eveâs more in the nature of -”
“âHarmonyâ? You donât - tell me you donât mean -”
“If you interrupt me one more time, Buffy, Iâm ending this call.”
Wesley counted to three and then continued. “Yes, itâs that Harmony,
No, sheâs not souled but she is drinking animal blood these days.
Cordelia, thank you for enquiring, is still in a coma -”
“Wesley? Iâm sorry.”
He allowed that to go by, “- and Eve is a troublemaking, annoying,
irritating young woman who no doubt knew exactly the effect that card
would have on you and now Iâm starting to worry. Since she slept with
Angel sheâs become rather more -” He paused but Buffy seemed beyond
speech. “It was a spell and heâs still himself, donât worry. Since
then, however, she may have had expectations that have been...thwarted
shall we say. Knowing how they both feel about you - and they do, they
really do - she may be just taking a childish revenge. Iâm sorry. Iâll
speak to her, but you can be sure that Angel had nothing to do with
it.” He waited and then said gently, “Iâm finished.”
“Wesley? Willow can teleport me into your lap anytime I ask her to. And
after Iâve sorted you out, Iâll go looking for Angel.”
“Delightful,” Wesley managed. Did she mean it? Was Willow really that
powerful these days?
“Iâll do it if you donât tell me everything thatâs going on.”
Wesley thought quickly. Angel hadnât actually forbidden anyone telling
Buffy...she deserved to know...he could always emigrate...
“He and Spike have become lovers.”
The sound she made wasnât a word.
“Buffy? You did know Angel was inclined - oh, you must have!”
She made the sound again and this time he understood it. “Did you say,
‘Spikeâ? You did know Spike was back? Buffy? Buffy? They told you,
didnât they? Iâm sure they must have done...”
She didnât teleport into his lap after all, but Angel said later that
her sudden appearance in the centre of the table, stake in one hand,
axe in the other, was the turning point in his discussion with the
demons.
At least, thatâs what Wesley thought he was trying to say. Heâd clarify
it once the bandages were removed...
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