“Get him into the O.R. immediately!” said an urgent male voice.

Gunn was being pushed on a stretcher down a hospital hallway. The Wound on his chest was bleeding heavily. His life hung on the line.

“We’ll need you two to stay out in the waiting room,” replied a nurse that didn’t follow into the Operating room. Spike and Angel stood there, beaten badly, “We’ll have you two looked at in a couple of moments.”

Angel and Spike were quiet. They stood there beaten up from the fight against Wolfram and Hart’s army of demons.

Angel made his hands clasp together like easing arthritis pains, “We’ll be fine, just help Gunn.”

“We’ll do what we can for your friend,” said the woman, “We’ll do our best.”

“Thank You,” answered Angel.

“Come on Angel,” said Spike.

The nurse had walked off into the O.R.

“His heart is weak Spike,” said Angel.

“And you don’t know if he’ll make it,” sighed Spike, “It’ll be fine.”

“You don’t understand,” groaned Angel walking towards the waiting room water and blood dripping off his jacket lightly, “He’s been fighting at my side too long.”

Spike just watched him for the moment, Angel walked off, “Just watch where your drippin’.”

Illyria hadn’t been able to come into the Hospital, her presence would of raised eyebrows. She went back to Wesley’s resting place.

Laying in that mansion death upon him. Illyria stood over him looking at his lifeless body.

“A cellular fragment gone a waste,” she knelt down next to him, “Such a time,” she picked up his wrist and dropped it, “Time ago you would of lasted ages if it was up to I,” she touched his forehead, “If I had chosen, you would of ruled over whatever you wanted.”

Illyria knelt there for a long moment then held his hand again. Her gloves slowly seeped into her skin and her suite’s red changed to blue The leather became thinner of make. Her suite looked of more human like but still abnormal with her skin. She felt his hand, fingers brushing it.

“I shall make your burial rightful, a king’s burial, without all of the people to watch, but just as well,” she bent down and picked him up and put him over her shoulder.

Spike sat in the waiting room watching Angel. Angel just sat forward his elbows on his knees. His hands folded. Angel looked to be looking at the floor, or his hands.

“We’re going to need to find a place to go,” said Spike.

“You’ve already got somewhere Spike,” replied Angel, he didn’t look up from his 250 some year old hands, just at them.

“Yes I know very well that I have somewhere to live,” said Spike, “That’s not what I bloody mean.”

“You mean a place to work,” stated Angel, he looked up at Spike, “Well Spike, I might just loose one of my employees. A dear friend- Find something for yourself.”

“Can’t, and Gunn will be fine.”

“Fine, he’s got enough blood loss that I can smell it out here,” he growled sitting up against the back of his seat.

“Charlie boy is a fighter Angel,” replied Spike.

“Yes, always has,” he stood up and started pacing as Spike sat against his seat watching him, “Maybe it’s finally time for him to stop fighting so hard.”

“I doubt it,” said Spike, “That’s like telling a happy pup to stop wagging it’s tail and lickin’ faces, bloody near impossible.”

Angel stopped pacing, “He’s human, human’s don’t live forever.”

“Well, I hate to burst your bubble, or,” Spike thought about what he was going to say, “Or, make it bigger, but if he’s going to kick the bucket then he’s going to kick it, just that’s no reason to stop saving lives.”

“I didn’t say I was going to just stop saving lives,” said Angel.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that Angel Investigations may not come back and you shouldn’t worrying about a job, plus, your presence disturbs me.”

“Thanks,” Spike said sarcastically, “Tell me then, what are you goanna do when you’re livin’ the high life in a bloody sewer eating vermin, lots of laughs, you won’t save very many lives if you have no where to live.”

“What’s where I have to live have to do with it?”

“Well, homes have showers, you don’t want to go around saving people when the only thing they’ll do is run off from you.”

Angel just looked at him for that time, long moment.

“Gunn boy is going to make it,” he stated, “And Illyria is out there probably waiting for us, talking to cars, etc.” Spike paused, he thought about it, “ I’m saying that, I’m not even 150 yet, I can’t just quit life now. Even if I was you, yeah my comrades are dropping heads, but they wouldn’t want me brooding all the way around.”

Angel stood there again looking at him, he saw the point, he felt the point, “Wesley’s gone.”

“I kind of noticed, but does he want you hanging out with him now?” questioned Spike.
----------------------------------

Illyria was filling a hole with the shovel she had come by. She looked down at him in her new suite. A suite of black a blue leather. Her hands showed as she threw down the shovel. She looked at the dirt of the filled hole her eyes grimacing with their blue.

“And this is your resting place, mortal, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. You fought till the end fell upon you like a fire of infinity,” she knelt down a tear went down her cheek, “My friend, I say good bye.”

The tear fell on the dirt. She stood up and wiped her eyes. Pulled away from the hole and walked out of the forest that she had stood in.

The Wolfram & Hart building stood in ruins. Stood like it’d stood when Angel made it serve as his battle field against Hamilton. The office was in it’s same destruction around Hamilton’s dead body.

Hamilton slowly stood up, his neck wound from Angel’s bite slowly disappeared. His suite even looked brand new. Looked like he was never in a fight at all. Looked around him.

“What a shame,” he sighed looking around, “This’ll take some time to repair, aren’t I right, Lilah?”

“Of course Hamilton,” she said standing behind him, “But we just need to get to the problem at hand.”

“What is that may I ask?” questioned Hamilton.

“Ah, but Angel Investigations,” she smiled, “Give Angel a hard time.”

He stood there for a moment looking straight forward and so straight he replied, “That just makes me all giggly inside.”

Angel stood at a pay phone in the hospital he had the receiver to his ear and he kept listening for someone to pick up a ringing was going to whole time.

“Who are you calling?” questioned Spike from behind.

Angel just looked straight forward at the wall a little annoyed with Spike he replied, “Buffy.”

“What for?” questioned Spike.

Angel hung up, “She could help us.”

“How can she help us?” asked Spike, “Really?”

“We have no money, no jobs, a friend in the hospital. Spike, do I need to write it down?” asked Angel.

“No, but she’d be as sure as hell bloody pissed that I never called her and told her I was alive and kicking.”

“That’s not my fault, I don’t have to worry about that,” stated Angel turning towards him his arms folded.

“Don’t, she’ll wonder why you never told her,” smarted Spike, “She loves me.”

“Yeah, that’s a little information in my head I’m trying to block out,” Angel stated.

“Denial,” replied Spike.

“Wait, Spike, had she been abusing any form of drugs at the time she said this?” Angel questioned.

“Shut up, if you’re going to find help try finding it with someone who knows I’m around and that stuff,” said Spike.

“Does Andrew look like he has money?” asked Angel.

Spike tried switching the subject, “You know you do have a friend in the hospital getting surgery done right now?”

Angel didn’t reply. Spike didn’t, they just looked each other in the faces.

“Our best chance might very well be with Andrew,” said Angel.

“Oh, now you want to call him,” smiled Spike.

The nurse stepped forward to greet Angel and Spike, “Um,… I don’t guess you’re relatives or family friends of a Charles Gunn?”

Spike quickly answered, “I don’t look like his brother do I?” he smiled, “But hey, Angel man here’s his boyfriend.”

The woman looked at Angel funny. Angel looked at Spike.

“Well,” she started again, “He should make it, we still have him in critical state but we were able to stop the bleeding and do a blood transfusion in time. He should recover well, but I was wondering.”

“Yes?” asked Angel.

“How did you guys get this way?” she questioned, “Does it have anything to do with the Earth quake?”

“Yes,” Angel replied, “a lot of things happened.”

“You two should get checked out,” she replied.

“We’ll be fine,” replied Angel.

“Especially Angel,” said Spike, he sighed like he was relieved, “Little Charlie being gone would of broken his poor heart.”

She turned around and went to walk away, “Well congratulations. You can go see him in an hour or so, he’s sleeping.”

“Thanks,” said Angel, he looked back at Spike, “You’re immature Spike.”

“So, at least your hearts not broken from a loss,” replied Spike.

“What if we had lost him?” demanded Angel.

Spike folded his arms, “Then I would have been sorry about what I’d said, but I’m not. Now, you’ve got Gunn, and Blue on your side, might as well start up the whole Angel Investigations cause Charlie boy eats and Wolfram & Hart didn’t just disappear.”

“So where are we goanna be staying?” questioned Gunn, he was sitting up in his hospital bed taking a drink from his straw in his cup of water, “Wolfram & Hart certainly knows where to bite us in the ass when ever we let them.”

“We’re not going to let them,” replied Angel.

“Well then we’ll need to find somewhere,” stated Spike.

“Where’s Lorne?” questioned Gunn.

“That we don’t know yet,” sighed Angel.

“Illyria?” questioned Gunn.

“Out there,” said Spike.

“Spike you should go find her,” suggested Angel.

“I may want to work with you but I don’t want to take orders from you,” Spike replied, he looked at Angel, “Fine, but I’ll see you in the sewers by day.”

Spike walked out of the room, Angel closed the door, “I’m looking around for Andrew, I left a message on his cell phone.”

“I don’t heal fast enough Angel,” sighed Gunn, “I can’t do this.”

“Yes you can,” assured Angel, “We’ll find you another home and we’ll work together.”

“Wesley is gone, Fred is gone into that Blueberry and it’s only me and you Angel, the only ones left,” sighed Gunn folding his hands and putting down the cup on his little table.

“I know,” said Angel, “but we’ve still got Wolfram & Hart.”

“I want to heal up and get out there and kick some Wolfram & Hart ass just as much as the next person but, I don’t think I’ll make it through the next battle, and then the next, then the next, I’m too old for that, I admit.”

“I’m too old for it” said Angel, “So is Spike, but of course he’s had a good point this whole time,” replied Angel.

“What’s that?” asked Gunn.

“We need to save the world. Even if the people around us are kicking the bucket, that’s his point. Said so himself. Something like that.”

“But he has a point,” stated Gunn, “I can do this Angel.”

“Then why did you say you couldn’t?” questioned Angel.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, maybe I’ll just sit in this bed for eternity, or at least till me and my balk head are old and wrinkly.”

“I wouldn’t choose to do that if I were you,” said Angel.

“I don’t’ even agree with my own idea of slothing here till my heart kicks out.”

“We’ll find somewhere to go then we’ll go there and fight the Good fight over and over again .”

Spike walked a dock, next to the ocean, “Come on Blue Bird, come out, I can smell you.”

“I am not hiding,” she said from behind making Spike jump.

“Bloody hell,” he said backing up automatically one step, “You trying to make me jump out of my skin.”

“No,” she replied, “Your skin rather prefers your existence.”

“Where have you been off too,” he said looking at her new suite, “Shopping?”

“Shopping?” she questioned confused of what this word meant.

“Well, where?” he asked.

“I have given Wesley his burial,” she said.

“Burial?” he thought about this for a moment,” Where at!”

“You have no mind to know,” she said walking past him holding her arms like she was hugging herself.

“I sure as hell do, if he is found they, by they, the police, our law maker’s men, army, whatever you want to call them, Flying Yankees are going to hunt us down and start an investigation because of his murder,” said Spike outraged getting in front of her, “Sorry Luv, but this is the twenty-first century, I couldn’t believe it either, but things on hiding bodies have changed.”

Illyria slammed him against the post on the dock, she spoke quickly angrily at him, she held him there by the throat, “I shed water like a sad human, I let out what wasn’t supposed to be let out. I am weak, I shed a tear like blood of my victims.”

She let go abruptly, Spike rubbed his throat and winced, “Get used to it, whatever you’re doing, don’t fret, I’ve cried before.”

Illyria tried to change the subject, or at least answer his question, “He will not be found, I made sure of that.”

“He was your friend, wasn’t he?” questioned Spike, “You do have a bit of humanity left in ya-”

“SHUT YOUR THROAT!” Illyria demanded looking at him, “ You are wrong, I’m a superior being to the dirty race you come from, I know my better, I am better. I am weak with your words, I am weak with your feelings!”

“Well they’re certainly not my feelings,” said Spike.

“I don’t want to be of this body any longer, I want to become something better,” she said.

“This the body you’ve got, unless you can travel outside of it I say your whining is pointless.”

“Whining, I sorrow like no child, I am far to infinite for that,” she growled.

“Whatever you say Blue, just don’t go running into any baddies,” he replied turning and walking away form Illyria. “Be needin’ ya on the team when that time rolls around.”

Conner walked into the Hospital room. Gunn looked at him. He knew who he was. Angel got up from his seat.

“Conner,” said Angel hugging him, he pulled away from him and held him by the shoulders, “What are you doing here, this time of night?”

“I wanted to know if you guys were good?” he replied.

“Well Spike is out finding Illyria, Gunn will live,” said Angel.

“I sure hope I will,” said Gunn.

“How are you doing?” asked Angel.

“Aches and pains,” assured Conner. He pulled a newspaper out of his back pocket of his jeans, “I think you would be interested in this.”

“Today’s newspaper?” asked Angel taking it and looking at the side it was folded on.

“Yeah, well I know some people,” he said, “Thought you might be needing some help. At least somewhere to stay.”

“How?” Angel questioned flipping through the pages. How did his son know that he would need some place to start up Angel Investigations again. At least some place for his small Calvary.

“How else,” he said pointing to the picture of the Hyperion on the page, it was circled in red ink, “It’s for auction, today.”

Gunn leaned up to see the picture.

“Open for highest bidder,” answered Angel.