David watched from Fred’s office as she walked into the lab. He crouched out of sight, just peeking through the bottom of the windowpane as he watched the last lab assistant leave. He’d seen Spike trying to work on his haunting techniques and was curious to see how it ended. David had been practicing for a while as well, but he didn’t usually go for the scare. Instead, he preferred to tease people, usually by doing an impression of them just out of sight.

  Fred must have noticed Spike though, because the scared jump she gave him was obviously forced. Points for effort, luv, David thought to himself as he giggled.

  “How long’d you know I was there?” Spike asked, disappointed.

  “Just since the lobby,” Fred tried to reassure him. Which made David giggle harder, causing Spike to glance up and notice him. He rolled his eyes, none too pleased to realize he had an audience. “But that popping up behind me was really scary. Look! I dropped my papers.”

  “Nice touch.”

  “Thanks,” she said as she smiled at Spike. David couldn’t help but grin. She was adorable.

  “I’d give you a hand with that, but, uh …” Spike started, then waved his hand through a canister on the lab table. He looked back towards her as she picked up the papers she’d dropped, unamused. David walked down the steps into the lab, figuring he might as well join now that he’d blown his cover.

  “Oh. Still no interaction,” Fred sounded a little disappointed.

  “Not a twinge. Can’t spirit the knickknacks about. Can’t willie the locals. Bloody sad ghost I turned out.”

  “I told you before. You’re not a ghost,” she said turning back to Spike. “Neither of you,” She added looking at David as he walked over.

  “Chipper! Give us a hug,” Spike threw out his arms as David rolled his eyes.

  “You know what I mean. You’re more than a common spectral disturbance. I’ve never seen anything like you,” Fred continued as she pulled a scanner and started to scan Spike first.

  “Bet you say that to all the spirits,” Spike teased, drawing a warm smile from Fred. David turned away and walked towards her computer, looking for a distraction from Spike’s endless flirting.

  “Oh,” Fred sounded concerned as she peered at the scanner in her hand. “Your radiant heat signature’s dropped another .02 degrees.”

  “Thought it was a bit nippy,” Spike noted.

  Fred turned and scanned David. “Hmmm. Same for you. You two are roughly the same temperature now.”

  “Lovely,” David said, frowning.

  “Is, uh, everything … are you…”

  “Feeling the tug of eternal damnation?” Spike volunteered. Fred frowned back at him. “Maybe that’s why I can’t touch anything. Using all my mentalies just to keep from slipping into hell.”

  “Tell me about it,” David muttered. Spike glanced up at him, and David forced a smile.

  “I won’t let that happen,” Fred reassured them as she looked at first Spike, then David. “I’ve been working on a theory. Well, more of a hunch actually,” Fred stated proudly. “But I think I’m getting close.”

  “To making me a real boy again?” Spike asked with a smirk.

  Fred chuckled. “To making David human again, and you back to being as real as a vampire with a soul can be. It won’t be like Angel’s thing with the prophecy, but …”

  “What prophecy?” Spike interrupted her, looking at her intently.

  “The ‘Shan-shoe-ha’ something or other,” Fred said, like it was no big deal. “It says that if Angel helps enough people, he gets to be human again.”

  “Oh. Really? Good. Goody for him,” Spike couldn’t keep the venom out of his voice – he was both confused and irritated.

  “Human again?” David asked. “Angel? The Great Angelus has a prophecy just for him? Who the bloody hell wrote that load of crock?” Spike chuckled at David’s reaction and had to agree.

  “Ahh! That totally makes sense!” Fred had stopped listening to them, distracted by something on her computer.

  “What does?” Spike and David said at the same time, then looked at each other. Spike seemed slightly annoyed when that happened, but David just chuckled softly as Spike looked back at Fred.

  “The fluctuations in your readings. A lack of particle cohesion. I…it’s almost as if your essence is straddling a dimensional void.”

  “That’s about what it feels like,” David agreed. Spike glanced at David, then back at Fred as she picked up the amulet. David cursed under his breath as he looked at it.

  “Which may be the key, assuming that the amulet you used to save the world is some sort of trans-reality amplifier capable of focusing massive quantities of mystical energy,” Fred spoke animatedly. David started nodding, then his eyes got a little wide as he contemplated the implications of what she was saying. Fred didn’t seem to notice. Bloody hell. The blasted amulet – it bends reality. That must have been the key that started this whole bloody mess in the first place, he thought as he remembered the first time he’d seen the thing and cursed again under his breath.

  “And what in the Queen’s English does that mean to the dearly almost departed?” Spike asked.

  “It means that if I can defy most of the laws of nature, there’s a good chance I’ll be able to anchor you to this plane and make you corporeal.” Fred smiled at them both. Spike nodded as he let the knowledge sink in while David gave her a nervous half smile.

  “Well, might be a hug in your future after all,” Spike purred, as he tried to lean against the table and failed. David laughed as he watched Spike stumble and fall through the floor.

  “Spike?” Fred called, concerned. He usually stopped at the floor.

  “Man’s learning how to spook a little bet …” David's eyes went wide, and Fred watched in surprise as he disappeared before her in midsentence.

  “David? What the hell?” Fred exclaimed as she looked around at the now empty lab.

  David landed on top of Spike in the basement, rolling off him to the floor as Spike groaned at the impact. “What the bloody hell?” he yelped.

  “Why’d you go and do that for?” Spike snapped as they climbed to their feet.

  “Well, I didn’t do it on purpose, now did I?” David retorted.

  “Thought you liked to jump through the floors for fun?” Spike asked, cocking one eyebrow skywards.

  “Yeah, well that wasn’t exactly fun,” David grumbled, as they looked around the dark basement. “’Sides, I try to stay out of the basement.” David admitted, bristling at Spike’s incredulous look. “What? It’s creepy down here!”

  Spike just shook his head. “You know how to get back upstairs?” he asked warily.

  “Oh hell, the couple times I accidentally landed down here, I climbed back up. Didn’t even bother looking for the stairs,” David said as he looked up at the ceiling, trying to plan his escape.

  “Yeah, well, I’m fine just looking around for the stairs, thanks. How did we get down here?” Spike scanned the room, looking for a handy exit sign.

  “Beats me,” David said and shrugged. “You fell, and I, well, I followed.” He grimaced. Spike shook his head again, chuckling at David.

  “Brilliant.” They both noticed a sound ahead at the same time. It sounded like something being chopped or ripped, a bit like someone chopping vegetables. They looked at each other, and Spike tilted his head a little towards the sound. David shrugged and they started walking towards the sound.

  “Yup. Bloody creepy down here,” David said softly.

  Spike turned and frowned at him. “Quite the spook you are.”

  “You gonna tell me …” David started, but Spike cut him off with wave of his hand as they continued towards the sound. As they came around the corner, they found a man sitting at a desk under a single light bulb. Spike cleared his throat trying to get the man’s attention. David’s face twisted in confusion as he tried to figure out where the noise was coming from.

  “Don’t mean to interrupt the sitting in a dark basement, mate, but could you point us the quickest way back to the lab?” Spike asked as he continued to walk towards the man. “As the ghost flies, I…” he trailed off as he came around and got a good look at what the man was doing, and where the noise had been coming from.

  “Bloody hell,” David breathed as the table came fully into view. The man was slicing off his own fingers as blood pooled on the table. Suddenly the man turned to look back at them. He had cuts all across his face and his eyes were missing. David screamed and jumped back, grabbing onto Spike, as the man disappeared leaving the table empty and clean.

  “I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then,” Spike remarked as he looked around, then down at his arm where David was gripping him and back up at David. David grimaced and let him go. “Things go through you and you can’t touch anything. What are you afraid of, mate?”

  “Yeah. Everything goes through me except for you. As I recall, you happen to punch quite hard too and it bloody hurt. It seems that I can also land on you, so forgive me for being a little hesitant when it comes to other spooks.” David groused, still embarrassed at his behavior.

  Spike nodded his head. It was a fair assessment. “Let’s just get the hell out of here.” David continued. “First spook I’ve seen since we got here, and if that’s the kind they have around here, I think I’ll just continue to skip visiting the basement. Thanks though. You sure you don’t want to climb out through the ceiling? I’ll even help lift you!”

  Spike shook his head. “I know there’s stairs around here somewhere. Come on,” he said as he led the way. David followed closely behind him, shooting nervous glances around his surroundings.

  ****

  By the time they made it back to the lab, David had decided that he was going to try to stick by Spike. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong. Spike seemed a little annoyed that David didn’t wander off like usual, but he didn’t push it. David walked up to Fred’s office while Spike looked around the lab. “She’s not up here either,” David called back to Spike.

  “Never a fetching mad scientist around when you need one,” Spike mumbled as he walked around, finally stopping next to Fred’s notes and the amulet. David walked back over, as Spike continued to mumble to himself. “Whatever you’re cobbling together, pet, think you better hurry it along...”

  “If anyone can figure it out, it’s Fred,” David reassured him, staring at the amulet on the table with a haunted expression. Spike glanced up at him and noticed the look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped as a buzzing noise started. They both looked around for the source of the noise. A lamp on one of the tables was flickering, and Spike walked over to take a closer look. David rolled his eyes, but followed, not about to let Spike out of his sight if spooky things were afoot.

  As they approached the flickering light, David couldn’t shake the feeling that something was moving through the lab behind them. He and Spike both whirled around to look, but there was nothing. David watched Spike intently, hoping his vampire senses might pick up on something, but was disappointed to realize that Spike seemed as confused as he was. “Done chopping your feelers off in the basement?” Spike called out. “Flown upstairs for a few chuckles now?” Another light near the hallway started flickering and Spike rolled his eyes a little. “Right. Vampire ghost here, you sod. Bloody well invented afraid of the dark,” Spike said dismissively, then he glanced at David who shrugged but added nothing. Spike steeled himself and walked out into the hall where the lights continued to flicker. David sighed and followed him.

  “Bugger this,” Spike growled. “I’m not playing follow-the-blinking-lights for the rest of the…” He trailed off as the lights in the hallway went out one by one, leaving only the far end of the hallway lit towards the lobby before those went off too. David looked back into the lab to see the lights in there were off too, while Spike slowly started walking down the hallway towards a faint sobbing sound. David frowned and followed. “All right. You lured us here with the creep show. Now what?”

  A figure appeared of a woman dressed in white, with a white bonnet on, crouched on the floor near the end of the hall. David jumped a little, but Spike continued to walk slowly forward, determined to show the spooks he wasn’t as terrified as David suspected he might be. David certainly was. It felt like something was coming at them now. No ghosts the entire time they’d been there, and now this? Was hell finally reaching back out into the building itself?

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The woman stood, and David realized her clothing looked like it could have come from his childhood. She stood there with stumps for arms, looking desperate. “Please,” she begged. “Hold me. Hold me, please.” Tears began to drop down her face as she stepped towards them. Spike and David began to back away. “It’s coming.” She wailed as she shot towards them and suddenly disappeared, causing both of them to jump. They spun, looking around them to see if she was still there, then looked at each other again.

  “What the bloody hell is going on?” David wondered.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t like it,” Spike commented, and David nodded.

  “Think hell’s finally reaching back?” David asked and Spike stared at him, unsure what to say.

  “You’ve been seeing it too?” Spike finally asked.

  David nodded. “Same as you, I reckon. Told you, where you go, I go.” He looked back at Spike steadily and swallowed hard, unsure what else to say. Spike stared back, trying to process what David was saying.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, that if you fall, I fall. Like earlier. Stuck together for some bloody reason or another,” David said, his stomach twisting up to voice it aloud. “If you’re headed to hell, it appears I’m bound to follow.” David tried to force a smile but gave up quickly. Spike looked him up and down again, and David just shrugged, unsure what else to say.

  “Something to do with the amulet?” Spike asked.

  David nodded. “I really don’t know anything for sure, mate. Got my guesses, but nothing I’m ready to share yet. Nothing that’s gonna help us or Fred right now at any rate.” Spike frowned at him. Now would be the time for sharing, especially if he thought it would keep them from hell. Spike studied him, then decided that David would probably share if it kept them out of hell. He was annoying and stubborn, but he certainly didn’t come off as stupid. “Now what?” David asked.

  Spike shrugged. “Think I’m going to go wander about. Haunt someone myself or something.” He didn’t like that David was still keeping secrets, and while he might not be stupid, that didn’t mean Spike trusted him either. “You can do whatever you like,” he said dismissively and walked away. David sighed and looked around. Just bloody brilliant. Wouldn’t help if I told you everything I knew, mate. Promise you that. Just cause bigger problems. Wouldn’t be safe if I did, David reassured himself and wandered in the opposite direction, looking around nervously in case the ghosts made another appearance. If Fred wasn’t around, maybe he’d get lucky and someone else worth visiting would be. He’d tried Gunn’s and Wesley’s offices and was about to give up when he decided to try Lorne’s. David was in luck - Lorne was still sitting in his office, Aretha Franklin playing softly on the stereo as he flipped through some papers at his desk.

  “Hey, mate,” David said. Lorne turned around.

  “David! What are you doing here? I’m a little busy, cupcake. Did you need something?” Lorne asked, seeming a bit distracted as he set the papers down. David tried to smile. Right now, he just needed a friend to talk to. He also really didn’t want to be alone in the building.

  “Just quiet tonight, and Fred didn’t turn on the radio like she usually does for me, or I’d be jamming out in the lab,” David lied smoothly. Lorne studied him. He could tell that David wanted to say something, but he couldn’t quite get a read on the man. It gave him a headache to try. The feelings that came off David felt more like static or crossed radio waves when Lorne managed to get anything at all. Lorne waited to see if David would tell him why he was really there, since he rarely visited Lorne. David swallowed. “You read people, right? Sing and you get a sense about them? See their futures or some such?”

  “That’s about the size of it, yeah. Except when it comes to you, I’m afraid,” Lorne admitted. David looked at him confused. “I haven’t heard you sing, but when I try to get any readings on you, it all comes out jumbled and hard to decipher.”

  “But you can still sense something?” David asked. Lorne couldn’t tell if he was disappointed or hopeful, or a sad combination of the two.

  “Honestly, David, I can’t get much of a read on you. It’s a little like multiple radio stations coming through on the same wavelength, and I end up getting a bit of a headache if I try to tune into any single thread,” Lorne admitted. David nodded and thought about that for a minute.

  “Do you think it might help if I tried to sing something?” David asked hesitantly.

  “I honestly don’t know. Is there something you’re hoping to find out from me?” Lorne asked, curious what really brought David to seek him out now.

  “I … I feel like I’m coming to the end of the line. I suppose I don’t know quite what I wanted to ask, but you were here, so I ….” David trailed off. Lorne waited. He could see the man was chewing on something inside himself. “I think I deserve to go to hell, but there’s a small part of me that doubts it. That wonders if that’s true.” Lorne frowned. That wasn’t quite what he was expecting to hear.

  “Think you deserve to go to hell?” Lorne repeated. David nodded. “Well, sweetheart, you don’t exactly give off the evil vibes even if I am having trouble reading you. What could you possibly have done to warrant being sent to hell?” Lorne studied David closely, his head beginning to throb as he tried to read him.

  “I just … I feel like I’ve made too many mistakes. Strapped to a monster, somehow, and I’ll follow him down to hell regardless but … I think I somehow deserve it too. I don’t know if I’m making any sense,” David said and turned. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have bothered you.” Lorne could hear the emotions in his voice. It sounded like he was about to cry.

  “David?”

  David paused, and turned around but didn’t meet Lorne’s face. “Whatever you did, sweetheart, if it was a mistake, I can’t imagine you deserve to go to hell for it. I’ve seen some truly dark auras, but even as hard to make out as yours is, it isn’t dark sweetie.” David finally met his gaze.

  “Really?” he asked softly.

  “Truly. But let me take an ibuprofen and then you can sing for me if you want. I’ll see what I can read on you, if anything.” Lorne said and went to pull out the bottle he kept in his drawer. He was going to need one regardless of whether the boy sang or not, after just trying to read him. David stood there, chewing on his cheek and thinking. He was nervous about what might come out. Terrified that Lorne might actually see something, even with his protections against it being possible. Lorne was a demon from another dimension. Surely David’s protections hadn’t included unknown hell dimensions, though they seemed to be blocking a little bit. If I’m about to tumble into hell, I might as well try and sort out whether or not I deserve it, shouldn’t I? Dunno what I’d sing though, he mused to himself, before a slow smile spread across his face. Perfect, he thought.

  “If you’d be willing, I’d appreciate it. But would you turn on something I could sing along with?” David asked hopefully. Lorne turned to him, curious as to what David would pick.

  “Well, that depends on what it is cupcake,” Lorne admitted. He only had so much to choose from.

  “Do you have Queen?” David asked. A fan of the classics, Lorne thought, smiling.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “We Are the Champions,” David said, and half his mouth lifted in a smile as he looked up and Lorne with his head still tilted down, almost a little embarrassed. Lorne smiled and chuckled. Interesting song choice, he thought.

  “Yeah. I think I might have something you can sing along to,” Lorne smiled at David and went to turn on the requested song.

  “Can you turn it up? Drown out my poor singing voice a little,” he chuckled embarrassed. Lorne looked at David and shook his head.

  “I’m sure it isn’t that bad, David.”

  David blushed. “Been an age since anyone’s heard me sing,” he said and took a deep breath in then sighed. Lorne pressed play and then gasped as David’s appearance shifted completely. Suddenly, instead of a young man dressed like a skater, he was staring at a Freddie Mercury look-alike. It was definitely still David, but the man’s clothing and hair were completely different. David’s hair was now black, clipped short and slicked back against his head. He was even sporting a mustache. His baggy jeans shifted to a tighter fitting light wash, with a black belt complete with silver studs and buckle, and white Adidas shoes with black stripes down the sides. He had on a tight white tank top with a black leather jacket on top and a necklace with a gold band threaded on it hanging around his neck. Lorne also noticed tattoos that looked like glyphs or maybe some kind of tribal designs that he couldn’t place along his chest and shoulders, disappearing underneath his shirt and jacket. David closed his eyes as he sang.

  I've paid my dues

  Time after time

  I've done my sentence

  But committed no crime

  Lorne smiled appraisingly. David’s voice was actually really good, Lorne mused. With a little coaching, the man could have sung professionally. The static cleared a little bit, but it was still incredibly hard to pick out any themes or images that weren’t blurry and difficult to interpret.

  And bad mistakes

  I've made a few

  I've had my share of sand kicked in my face

  But I've come through (and I mean to go on and on and on)

  Lorne smiled as he listened, despite the headache. Of all the songs David could have picked, this one seemed to fit him well, even if Lorne couldn’t put his finger on precisely why yet.

  We are the champions, my friends

  And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end

  We are the champions

  We are the champions

  No time for losers

  'Cause we are the champions

  Of the world

  David opened his eyes for a moment and looked at Lorne who smiled encouragingly, as he studied David intently. David closed his eyes, feeling suddenly very nervous again.

  I've taken my bows

  And my curtain calls

  You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it

  I thank you all

  David bowed his head as he sang and let himself sink into the lyrics and sang louder, as though his soul was singing.

  But it's been no bed of roses

  No pleasure cruise

  I consider it a challenge before the whole human race

  And I ain't gonna lose, ah (and I mean to go on and on and on)

  Lorne sat forward as he studied David. He was starting to get some images coming through more clearly the more David sang from his heart. Lorne started to wonder whether or not David himself was able to clear up his own aura, though he suspected it was far more complicated than that. The images were jumbled, but the emotions that came through took Lorne’s breath away. David felt things very deeply, and those feelings washed over Lorne as he watched and listened.

  We are the champions, my friends

  And we’ll keep on fighting ‘til the end

  We are the champions

  We are the champions

  No time for losers

  ‘Cause we are the champions

  Of the world

  Lorne caught flashes of a very small child falling out of a tree, but landing in a very unchildlike manner, then rolling out of the way of a falling branch. Of a young boy laying on a table in what looked like a large library, receiving tattoos from a hooded figure while a man dressed in what appeared to be 19th century clothing stood above him watching, and two other hooded figures standing along the other end of the table, chanting, while the boy grimaced in pain. He saw that same young man, older now, standing in a burning house staring in shock and grief at a body on the floor both covered in blood. He saw him as an older teenager backing against a door, looking scared as a young blond girl wearing barely anything approached him smiling. He saw them again later, her arms wrapped around him from behind as they rolled out dough in a kitchen laughing together. He saw the man standing in graduation robes smiling, his eyes full of pride and love and he reached out to shake an older woman’s hand. He saw David saying wedding vows, his eyes filled with love. He saw him the age he was now, standing on the deck of a ship happily looking out at a harbor and Lorne gasped as he saw someone who looked like Spike, but with dirty blonde curly hair, gold wire-rimmed glasses, and 19th century suit step up beside David who was dressed similarly, as the two grinned at each other.

  We are the champions, my friends

  And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end

  We are the champions

  We are the champions

  No time for losers

  'Cause we are the champions

  Lorne saw David crouched on the ground, holding a figure Lorne couldn’t make out, as he grieved. Then came what felt like a whoosh of images that Lorne couldn’t make out. It was like being blasted by time itself and took Lorne’s breath away. They came too fast to make out, but lingered on one image of a shirtless Spike, beaten and battered as a figure put their hand to his chest as he seemed to light up from the inside, then he and David screamed in pain. The final image that lingered in Lorne’s head was of Spike bursting into flames as a cavern fell in. The hellmouth falling was Lorne’s best guess. He could see so many flashes of David’s past, but his future remained shrouded.

  The song ended and Lorne just sat there staring at David for a few moments, his jaw agape. David studied Lorne nervously and started to chew on his lip while he waited for a response from Lorne. He was starting to get scared of what Lorne had seen. He was bound and determined to go to hell, wasn’t he? Lorne must have seen so many awful things that it had struck him speechless. David looked at the floor, ready to be taken down to hell, convinced that he must deserve it if Lorne couldn’t even speak. Finally, Lorne stood up and quietly made his way over to his stereo and turned off the next song that had started to play. David swallowed.

  “Why Freddie Mercury?” Lorne asked, watching David as he went and sat back down. David was confused.

  “What do you mean why Freddie Mercury? What did you see?”

  “Just answer the question, Freddie,” Lorne said with the hint of a smile. David sighed as his clothing shifted back to his usual outfit, mustache vanishing and his hair returning to its usual color and length.

  “Just like him is all,” David said shrugging. Lorne stared at him, waiting for more. David sighed again. “The man’s a legend. An icon. A rock god. He’s been an inspiration to me for a long time. The fairy king. A true showman.” David looked at Lorne, hoping he’d given Lorne enough. Lorne nodded.

  “And why did you choose that song then out of all the phenomenal choices the great Mercury created?” David smiled to hear Lorne acknowledge his favorite artist, then thought for a moment.

  “Bad mistakes,” he said, then smirked. “I’ve made a few,” he shrugged.

  “And?” Lorne asked.

  “I’m still here. Still fighting the good fight, I suppose. Or at least, I thought I was. Still not sure how well I did that either. Or if it was even much of a fight. Bugger, I don’t know. I just like the song, yeah?” He shrugged, struggling to think of what else to say. He suddenly felt even more vulnerable than he had singing as he searched for words to describe why the song had called to him.

  “It was a good fight. Still is lambchop,” Lorne said simply and stared steadily into David’s eyes. David gulped. “You’ve been through an awful lot. A lot of bad certainly, but there was a lot of good in there too. But all I could see was your past. I couldn’t see your future. I do think you have one, I just can’t see it.”

  “It’s because I’m going to hell,” David said sadly.

  “Why would you say that?” Lorne asked confused. David sighed.

  “Because I can feel it. It’s happening.”

  “What do you mean it’s happening?”

  “You know when I disappear? Well, Spike and I both disappear,” he looked at Lorne nervously. Lorne leaned in to listen. “We’re either reliving old memories or … being pulled into hell. Fred’s been looking into it for us. Didn’t want anyone else to know.”

  “Why would you hide something like that?” Lorne asked, studying David’s face.

  “Felt dangerous. Trying to stay safe. I didn’t want anyone to worry. Didn’t want Angel to know. Spike barely speaks to me and it’s his life too. I dunno.” David said haltingly, not making total sense. Then, he shrugged, looking very lost.

  “You were stuck like that for a long time, weren’t you? As a ghost?” Lorne reached out, wanting to pat David on the shoulder, then awkwardly drew his hand back as he caught himself remembering that he couldn’t touch David. David just nodded.

  “Lost for a long while, yeah.”

  “Well, Freddikins called it,” he mused to himself. David looked confused, but Lorne continued. “Your secret’s safe with me too, you know,” he said, fixing David with a steady knowing gaze, and David looked away. “I won’t tell anyone your secrets. But if you insist on keeping them, it will hurt people when they come out.” David frowned.

  “Hurt no matter when they come out. If they come out. Think it’s better to just keep the past in the past, yeah?” David said as he nodded to himself.

  “If you wanted to keep it in the past, then why did you really come here? You don’t actually think you deserve to go to hell do you?”

  “I … the mistakes I made. People got hurt. A lot of people. Spike … that’s where we both belong,” David stammered.

  “That wasn’t all your fault though sweetheart.” David stubbornly shook his head at Lorne. Lorne sighed.

  “Thanks, Lorne. For listening to me. I … I’m sorry if I gave you a headache.”

  “You’re welcome. And I know I’m busy, but you can come by anytime. I’ll turn on some Queen for you, alright?”

  “I don’t think I’ll be around much longer.”

  “You said that Fred was trying to keep you out of hell? Why don’t you try Wesley if you don’t want to talk to Angel? I mean, your ghostliness does seem like a bit of a metaphysical problem.”

  “Honestly, I wasn’t going to tell anyone. Spike went to Fred for help. I only just found out about it.”

  “What do you mean you weren’t going to tell anyone?”

  “Well … no one had any time for me. And I suppose I’m used to being alone. On the outside. On my own. The lone wolf.” David sighed. “Didn’t feel any different. Just like my life has been for years now, except I had an audience sometimes. And it’s a slower death. Slowly dragged to hell.” Lorne’s heart broke for David. The man really seemed to believe he didn’t deserve good things anymore. That he must deserve to go to hell. “Thanks again, Lorne,” he said as he started walking to the door. “I appreciate you lending me an ear.”

  “Anytime David,” Lorne said concerned as David waved and disappeared before Lorne could say anything more to him.