Author: Jill Missed any of the previous parts? Find them here: "Why do we get to watch Dawn?," Anya asked, looking up from the counter of the
magic shop, where she was counting the day's cash.
"Because the Buffster needed some days off," Xander replied, flipping through his
comic.
"Does that mean we have to be ... quiet again?," Anya wanted to know, her
expression not that of a happy ex-demon.
"If this is a problem for ... uh ... you," Giles said, coming from the back room,
taking off his glass, but instantly put them back on again, "I can look out
for Dawn."
"Hey, I'm not a little kid, you know," the slayer's younger sister cut in from
her spot behind the stacks. "And I'm here. You don't have to talk to me as if
I'm not there."
"I'm sorry," Giles replied, sending her an apologizing smile, she returned
hesitantly.
"I could stay with Spike," Dawn offered, walking towards the table.
"Spike?," Xander sat straight up in his chair. "No, Spike is ... not a good idea.
Not at all. I mean after what he ... uh ... well," he remembered that Dawn knew
nothing about the Buffybot, at least not the x-rated details, "Buffy and he ...
they had an ... uh ..."
"... argument," Giles came to his rescue. "I'm afraid it was quite serious."
"Oh," Dawn looked surprised. "So he isn't going to watch me anymore, or what?"
She sounded disappointed and the watcher couldn't help but raise an inquiring
eyebrow.
"I wouldn't go that far," Giles said, "But I'm sure she wouldn't want you there
tonight."
"Uh-huh," the teenager nodded. "I understand. No fun for Dawn," she frowned,
"Spike can tell such great stories. You know about all the bloodshed," she smiled
brightly, but it slipped instantly when she saw the worried gazes of her three
friends. Well, actually only Xander and Giles were looking worried. Anya looked
merely ... bored.
"Maybe you shouldn't tell Buffy about this," Xander told her, "In her current
mood she might just go and stake him." Then suddenly realising how it sounded, he
added, "Not that I would mind. Just he's ... strong ... and he might be able to
help. Against Glory, you know."
"Oh, yeah, the wonderful Glory," Dawn rolled her eyes, "Isn't my life fun?" She
shook her head slightly, then went back to the stacks.
"I still can't get over the part where Angel suddenly became some sort of
constant visitor around here," Xander sighed, and looked at Anya, who only
shrugged.
"Angel was here?," Dawn stopped in mid-stride and turned back, "Again?"
"See," Xander gestured at the girl, looked at Giles, "That's what I mean.
Something's going on here. And I can't shake off the feeling that we're
completely left out," he looked pointedly at Dawn, "again."
"Xander doesn't like to be left out," his girlfriend stated, came over to him and
patted his shoulder. He glanced at her irritated.
"Xander," Giles sighed slightly, "What are you trying to tell us?"
"Gee," the younger man rolled his eyes, "I thought I was speaking plain English."
He saw the watcher raise a brow and grinned. "Well, plain American then."
The watcher removed his glasses and held them for a moment in his hand, "We all
know why Angel left Sunnydale. The reason, or at least part of it, was to remove
the temptation. He behaved very reasonable then, and I trust him. Besides,
Buffy's grown up too. And with her mother just gone, I cannot see her engaging
herself in such a ... er ... dangerous ... affair."
"Affair," Xander slapped his flat palm on the table. "Just the word I was looking
for."
"Buffy isn't having sex with Angel," Dawn said matter-of-factly. "They can't have
sex. Because he would go all evil, and that wouldn't be a good thing. Besides,
she's still grieving because Riley has left."
At that Giles raised a brow and over her head exchanged a meaningful gaze with
Xander, who shrugged, "Well whatever she's doing tonight, she was in a hurry. And
I wonder why she needed my car."
*****
"I've got a murderous hand on me and you're telling me to team up with the guy
who cut mine off in the first place?," a blond man was asking when Buffy entered
the Caritas that night. Thanks to Xander's car her drive to L.A. had been smooth
and fast, and after finding the Hyperion hotel deserted, she'd gone to the club
Angel had told her about.
"I'm telling you what's what, sugar," a red horned, green-skinned demon was
replying. "What you *do* with it is up to you."
The blond man huffed at that, sipped from his drink, then went towards the exit,
first passing Angel, threatening him, then Buffy, where he stopped for a moment,
his eyes travelling down her body, before they narrowed as if he remembered
something. After another short moment he left.
"Uh, resentment is such an ugly emotion. I hope you've overcome yours, Angel,
because right now he's got your case in - forgive me -," he laughed slightly, "in
the palm of his hand. Toodles."
"You said the guy in the vision got a new eye," Angel said, looking at Cordelia,
"And Lindsey got a new hand."
"Right," Wesley nodded, "Then we should find out where the transplants took
place."
Gunn turned towards the door, "So we're following him, right." He stopped
abruptly when his eyes fell on the slayer who was standing near the door,
a smile on her mouth, her eyes on Angel.
"Actually," Angel mused, picking up Lindsey's glass, "what we need to follow is
his new hand." He lifted the glass and looked at it, again. "Wonder who it
belonged to."
"Actually," Gunn suddenly grinned, "I just wanted to say you have a visitor,
Angel."
Buffy could see Angel looking at his friend in confusion, then following his
gaze, he became aware of his lover's presence and a smile appeared on his face.
She smiled back at him and walked towards the group.
"Oh, look," Cordelia exclaimed, forcing a smile of her own. "Buffy is here.
Buffy. Again."
"Yes, Cordelia," Wesley commented dryly, "I believe we've already established
that. Hello, Buffy. How nice to see you again."
"Hi, Wes," the slayer replied, her eyes only for a second flickering towards the
former watcher. "Hi, Cordy," she said then, not looking at the brunette. "Nice
hair."
"Oh," the former cheerleader smiled in surprise, then touched her hair, "Thanks.
See," she told Wesley and Gunn, "that's the difference between women and men, she
saw it at once."
Buffy saw Angel chuckle silently, and had a hard time keeping a straight face.
"Hi," she said, trying to distract herself from Cordelia. "How are you?"
"Fine," he replied, his amused expression instantly turning into concern when he
saw the dark smudges beneath her eyes. "What about you?"
"Have been better," she said honestly and sighed. Combing a hand through her
hair, she frowned slightly, "Did you really take off the guy's hand?"
"Huh?" Angel looked at her in confusion.
"Oh, I came earlier," she explained, "and the blond guy was still standing at the
bar. Who's he?"
"Lindsey," Cordelia explained. "He's a lawyer with Wolfram & Hart. That's-"
"Oh, the evil law firm," Buffy nodded, "I remember."
"It's a longish kind of story," Angel answered her question.
"You already told her about Wolfram & Hart?," the brunette asked, raising a brow.
"You seem to talk a lot lately." Her gaze turned speculative and she tilted her
head, studying Slayer and vampire.
A little bit uncomfortable, Buffy shifted on her legs, "Yeah, we - uh - well, we
talk. And I need to *talk* to you again," she told Angel. Then she sighed, "And I
just needed a night off. The whole mess with the robot," she shook her head, "and
Spike-"
Angel was instantly alert, forgetting the presence of his friends, he put a hand
on Buffy's arm, "Did he do anything?," he growled.
"No," she covered his hand with hers. "He didn't. Or rather he couldn't, because
we're ignoring him, in the Spike-doesn't-exist way." She saw him relax, and
smiled. "So, is there time to talk?"
"You could come with me," he offered. "I need to find out to whom those
fingerprints belong."
She gazed at him in confusion, "Uh ... the guy just left the bar. And you told me
his name, remember?"
"Another long story," the vampire replied. "I can tell you on our way." Turning
to his friends, he nodded, "See you at the hotel." With that he left the bar,
pulling Buffy with him.
Cordelia's eyes narrowed, "What's going on there?"
"They're friends," Wesley said, "And I'm glad. After what he's been through,
Angel needs a friend. And Buffy certainly can hold her own in a fight."
"Yeah, I'm with English there," Gunn agreed.
"Guys," the brunette crossed her arms, "This is Buffy, okay. Buffy in Angel's
life equals disaster. There never came anything good of them being together. Just
remember, him going all grrr and psycho after they did the horizontal."
Wesley sighed deeply, "Cordelia, that happened a long time ago. They are aware
of the problem now. They wouldn't risk it. Besides they are friends now."
Cordelia rolled her eyes, "Wesley," she put a hand on his shoulder, "You have
absolutely no idea what you're talking about. We're talking about passion here.
Passion, Wesley," she shook her head, "No wonder your girlfriend dumped you."
Tapping a finger against her lips, she shook her head again, and looked at the
door. "Something's going on there. And I'm going to find out what."
*****
"Angel ... uh ... God, Angel," Buffy hissed, arching her neck to give the vampire
better access to her sensitive spots there. "I thought ... we ... would check out
something. I thought weeeeeee ... God ...," she panted, glad the wall was keeping
her upright, her legs were turning to jelly under Angel's attention. She heard
him chuckle wickedly, and hit him playfully on the back, "Didn't you say
something about ... uh ... fingerprints?"
"Yeah," he replied, busy nibbling at her earlobe, "God, that feels ... good," he
whispered, his mouth trailing lower, along her neck. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," she told him. "But what about ... Gawd," she moaned, when his
hand suddenly slipped under her blouse and began to caress the sensitive skin on
her abdomen, "... your case?"
"The ... uh ... you're so soft there," he whispered against her ear, "like silk."
"Angel, the case?"
He pulled back from her then, looking at her with annoyance. "I'm trying to
seduce you here," he told her, pulled out his cell and dialed a number. "And all
you can talk about is the case. You're worse than any of the others."
"I'm not," she told him indignantly, "And I really appreciate your ... er ...
efforts," she grinned at him, and his annoyance faded. "But we're still sort of
undercover here, and I don't want Cordy to start ask questions. Xander is
suspicious enough as it is."
"You think?," Angel asked, then listened to the phone. "Oh, hi, Tim. It's Angel.
I need a favour. ... I know, it's late, but I need to find some fingerprints.
... Yeah ... I'll bring you the evidence. Good, thanks." He shut off the phone.
Stuffing it back into his pocket, he looked back at Buffy, "There, all done. All
we have to do now is to bring the glass to Tim, and he'll give us the name in no
time."
Buffy raised a brow, laughter bubbling up in her, "I see. That's how you're doing
your detective work, huh? Very impressive, Angel."
"Are you mocking me, Miss Summers?," he asked, raising a brow of his own, a
devilish expression entering his eyes.
"Mr. Angel," she batted her lashed, put a hand on her chest, "I would never
dare." But then she couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing. "God,
Cordy's going to love this."
"Who says she needs to know."
"So you're not going to tell her, huh? I see," she grinned at him.
"Hey I'm buying us some private time here," he told her.
"If you put it that way," Buffy stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around
his neck. "I can relate to that," she whispered, kissing him deeply.
*
Walking into the Hyperion some hours later, Buffy hoped that her clothes didn't
look too dishevelled. There was something to be said about having sex with a
vampire in a dark alley, but she'd had a hard time to remove the stain from her
pants, so that Cory wouldn't ask questions, none of them wanted to answer right
now. There would be time for it later. After Glory was gone, Dawn was safe, and
the situation in Sunnydale calmed down. She knew that their friends would be not
too happy about keeping the truth about Angel's soul from them, and Buffy wasn't
ready to deal with their anger. Not when all her concentration was focussed on a
god that wanted to use Dawn for her insane plans.
Holding out a folder, Angel walked over to his friends, "I got it. The hand
belongs to a thirty year old white male named Bradley Scott, served two and a
half years at Soledad for embezzlement, paroled last month."
"How'd you find all this?," Gunn asked.
"I'm a detective," Angel replied and Buffy had to bite her lip, to hold back a
laugh.
"Did he have a life before prison?," Cordelia wanted to know, eyeing Buffy for a
moment, frowning when she saw the state of the slayer's hair. Buffy had tried her
best to rearrange it, but Angel's hands had made a mess of it. Not that she
minded. No, she loved to feel his fingers comb through her hair. But she could
almost see the wheels in Cordy's head turning.
"I'm not sure," the vampire said, "Why don't you just look him up on-"
"I am," Cordy shot back, already sitting down at the computer and typing rapidly.
Buffy couldn't help to raise a brow. This was a Cordelia she had never seen
before. Effective. All business.
Wesley nodded at the vampire, "That's impressive, Angel."
Keeping a straight face, he replied, "Yeah, well, sometimes you just got to
follow your ...," he trailed off, pointing at his nose. Buffy stifled a moan,
trying not to think about all the places his nose had touched only a short time
ago. Instant blushing would be a dead give-away.
"So," Wesley tilted his head, "How did your," he pointed at his own nose, "get
you into the N.C.I.C.?"
"The what?," Angel asked confused,
"The National Crime and Information Center," the former watcher clarified.
"Oh that," the vampire shifted uncomfortably, "Kind of a long story ...," he
started, exchanged a short glance with Buffy, then walked towards Cordelia's
desk, "How's it coming over there?"
"We got time," Gunn said dryly, and this time Buffy couldn't stop the grin
anymore.
"You know," Angel said, annoyance audible in his voice, "When I was in charge
here, nobody questioned my methods or my singing. Ask Buffy, we had a hard time
getting the information."
"They don't like your singing?," Buffy interrupted, coming closer. No, don't
think about the things you did with Angel just recently, she told herself firmly.
Don't think about his lips, and his clever hands, and ... STOP, she shouted
inwardly, feeling herself getting warm at hidden places.
"So they're telling me recently," he sighed, looking back at the screen.
"Is he bad?," she inquired, gazing at Gunn and Wesley.
"He's ... interesting," Wesley replied, clearly feeling uncomfortable with the
question.
"Yeah, interesting," Gunn snorted. "So did you?," he asked then, looking at
Buffy.
"Did we what?," she asked, suddenly alarmed.
"Have a hard time, getting the information?"
"Oh," she let out a pent up breath, and smiled in relief. "Uh ... yeah," she told
him. "A really hard time. It got very close and ... uh ... personal." She heard
Angel chuckle. A soft sound, none of the others were able to hear, but she could
thanks to her slayer abilities.
"Bradley Scott," Cordelia announced then, "Guess where he worked while he was
dumping bearer bonds on the black market. Wolfram and Hart."
"I wonder if he's still alive," Wesley mused.
"He goes to jail," Gunn replied, "They wait for him to get out, then," he
indicated his right wrist and made a chopping motion, "Whack. Wolfram and Hart
gives his hand to Lindsey. I guess they really want to give their boy
everything."
*****
"Are you sure you are okay?," Buffy asked concerned, looking at Angel while he
was driving his convertible down the street.
"I'm fine," he replied, not taking his eyes off Lindsey who was sitting beside
him. "Remember, vampires can't die from bullets."
"Yeah," she said sarcastically, "But they still hurt like hell."
"You know," the lawyer suddenly cut in, "I was thinking and thinking, and then it
suddenly hit me. You're the slayer. Or rather one of the two."
Buffy narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm the *only* slayer. Well, there is this other
girl. But she's gone all psycho, and as far as I'm concerned she can just rot in
jail."
Lindsey glanced quickly at Angel who had quietly followed the exchange. Catching
the other man's look, the vampire just shrugged.
"We don't agree there," Buffy said from behind him. "I doubt we ever will. But
Faith is in jail and so we don't really need to talk about her, right?"
"A funny thing happened the other day," Angel said then, changing the subject,
"Guy picks up a butcher knife, sticks it in his own eye. - yow - I guess he went
to the same clinic you did. - Your hand hasn't been doing anything - funny
lately, has it?" He exchanged a look with his girlfriend through the rear window,
then went on, "I know it's none of my business, but you don't seem all that happy
lately."
"You know," Lindey gritted his teeth, "I know you're Mr. Save-a-soul now, but at
least you used to throw down your enemies. What do you wanna do now? You wanna
share?"
"I guess it's a lot to carry," Angel continued as if the lawyer wouldn't have
said a word. "I mean," he took another glance at Buffy, who was listening
intently, "losing Darla - and even me in a way, as a place to focus your rage.
It's ironic. I mean, here you are. You're young, and healthy, good job, new
hand," the lawyers gaze flickered to his right hand, and Angel saw it, "Seems
like the more you get, the less you have. - Am I getting through here?" He saw
Buffy smile at him with understanding and he smiled back. Lindsey only stared
straight ahead, "You just keep moping," Angel told him. "You're good at that."
*
When the car came to a halt, the three climbed out and Angel opened the trunk,
pulling the bound and gagged parole officer, he and Lindsey had taken prisoner
before, up, "Is that were you took him?," he asked. When the guy nodded, the
vampire shoved him back down and closed the trunk again.
"You two back together?," Lindsey asked, looking at Buffy.
"We - uh - what?," she stammered, surprised by his blunt question.
"We're friends," Angel answered, reaching into his car, to pull out an axe. "You
need a weapon?"
"Uh ...," Buffy reached into her pocket, producing a stake, "No, thanks. Got all
I need."
"We're not going to find any vampires there," Lindsey said.
She shrugged, "I know. But I'm best with a stake. Besides. You were talking about
the other slayer. She proved that it doesn't really matter if you stick it into a
vampire or a human. The result is the same, they die."
"Do you know this place?," Angel asked the lawyer.
"No."
"Well, I'm thinking," the vampire said, walking towards the shop, "if it has
anything to do with you guys security will be top drawer. Window sensor motion
detectors, cellular backup, guards, obviously."
"Yeah," Lindsey agreed, "I don't have my laptop."
Buffy and Angel came to an instant halt, stared at him, "Huh?," they said unison.
"My computer," the lawyer replied, as if it was obvious, "You want me to hack
into the system and break the codes we're definitely gonna need-"
"Wait, wait, wait," Angel interrupted him. "That's like big brother. How about
some old fashioned fighting, huh?"
"Yeah, I could do with some violence," Buffy said from beside him, playing with
the stake in her hand, then just stared when the lawyer raised his fists, bracing
himself for a fight - against Angel.
Vampire and Slayer exchanged an amused glance, then shook their heads, "Wanna
step
aside?," Angel asked, then grinned again, when Lindsey seemed to understand.
"You really cut the guy's hand off, huh?," Buffy whispered.
"Yeah," the vampire replied equally quiet.
The slayer looked back at Lindsey, then at Angel, then nodded, "One day, when all
the mess in Sunnydale is cleaned up, I want to hear the details."
"Okay," the vampire whispered, then turned towards Lindsey, "Come on. Work off
some of that aggression, huh?"
*
"You know," Buffy sighed happily, leaning her head against Angel's chest, holding
him close. They were standing beside Xander's car, his head resting above hers.
"I could stand like this forever."
"Yeah?," he tightened his arms around her as well, "Maybe, but I'd trade it every
day against a nice bed and your naked body close to me."
She chuckled, hit him playfully on the chest. "You're a sex-maniac. Well, after
that long of living without it, you are probably entitled to be."
A stab of guilt hit him, remembering him of the secrets he still hid from her.
The day, she didn't even remember, the possibility of he becoming human, and
finally Darla, his greatest sin. He would tell her, he vowed. He would tell her
everything. But not now. She was carrying so much at the moment, he couldn't dump
any more on her. Darla was his guilt to carry, he had no right to pull her into
it. "I just love to feel you close to me. Without barriers between us."
"Yeah," she sighed again, "I know what you mean."
"How is it going with Glory?," he asked.
"It isn't," she replied, "We're not closer to finding a solution than we were ...
ages ago. Okay, so those watcher guys helped - a little. Now we know a bit more
about her. Where she comes from, what she wants. But she's still as strong as
ever, and frankly, the idea that she's going to transfer my little sister into
this gigantic ball of energy scares the hell out of me." She pulled slightly
back, looked up at him, "I can't lose her, Angel. I just lost my mom. I cannot
lose Dawn, too. I know she isn't real, but she feels real to me, and I love her."
Holding her close again, he stroked over her hair, kissing her crown, "Shhh," he
soothed, "Everything's going to be alright."
"I don't know," she said, and he was shaken by the fear he heard in her voice.
"I'm scared, Angel."
"I know," he took a deep breath, "And I'm scared, too. If anything should happen
to you ...," he trailed off, not able to finish the thought. The idea of losing
her, permanently, was too frightening to consider. She was his centre, his
everything. He couldn't picture a world without her in it. Then he took another
deep breath, straightened, "But nothing's going to happen. And if there's any
problem, something you can't handle. Call me. I'll be there. It's not even two
hours. Even during the day. Cordy can drive."
"And you're going to survive it?," she asked, only half-joking. She had seen
Cordelia driving a car. Had even sat in one once or twice. She didn't care to
repeat it any time soon.
"She's gotten better," he informed her, kissing her crown again.
"Yeah," she nodded against his chest, her hand moving down his back, "She's
changed. I agree. I think the visions have made her think. She's seen people
suffer. Up close and personal. I mean, if people get slaughtered in your head ...
that's personal, right? She wouldn't be human if it wouldn't change her."
"Cordy is a good girl," Angel said, leaning against Xander's car. "She had a
rough start. I know it didn't seem so, her parents were rich, she had everything,
nice clothes, a car, but her parents never really cared for her. They hardly
call. I can only remember twice since she's with me, and that's ... long. They
even forgot her birthday. And then, after they were broke, they just pushed her
out. And there she was, lost and lonely. But she always kept her head up. Yeah,
she came a long way."
"I'm glad you are such good friends," Buffy said suddenly. "I would worry if you
were on your own. Friends are important."
He chuckled, "Yeah. Seems we're getting there again. I'm not sure if they really
trust me, but it feels good to be back. I never thought I'd say that, but I need
them."
"Yeah. I know," she sighed, then looked up. "I love you, Angel. I'm so glad we're
given this second chance. I'm glad we have a life to live, together."
"Yeah. We have," he agreed, lowering his head, kissing her softly. "A whole life
together. Sounds good to me."
"To me too," she replied, sighing into his lips, kissing him back. Then finally
pulling back, she sighed again, "I need to go now. Xander and Anya are watching
Dawn, and after a while Anya gets annoyed."
"She's ... interesting."
"Interesting, huh?," she grinned, slipped behind the steering wheel, gazed up,
"Like your singing?"
"I'm not that bad," he said, looking offended.
She laughed, "I believe you. I'm sure you've got a voice like Elvis."
He laughed as well, "Not really. Call me as soon as you're there."
"I will," she promised, reaching up, pulling him down. "I love you," she
repeated, and kissed him.
"I love you too. Forever," he whispered against her lips.
He straightened and she started the ignition. He waited until the taillights
disappeared in the darkness, then walked back to the hotel, a smile playing
around his lips. A whole life together, he thought, and his smile widened. Things
certainly could be worse.
END
Back to Jill's Rewrite Courses
Disclaimer: let me check ... nope, still don't own them. Sigh! Parts of this is
taken from the Angel-season-2-episode "Dead End". They're not mine.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: B/A (strong in this part!), and the usual pairings from the show
Distribution: my site (http://www.never-ending-love.de), Land of Denial, if you
have any of my stories, take it; anybody else tell me where it goes
Summary: Set within "Dead End". Still shaken from the events in "Intervention",
Buffy needs to get away from Sunnydale for one night. Where do you guess she's
going?. This is set into canon, in an attempt to make the whole series more
B/A-friendly. But don't expect too many smootchies!
Spoilers: the whole B/A-canon to be sure, follows loosely "Midnight Angel",
"Midnight Whispers", "Midnight Rainbow", "Midnight Hour", "Midnight Memory",
"Midnight Letter", "Midnight Encounters", "Midnight Eyes, "Midnight Lovers", and
"Midnight Song". You should probably read it to understand this. And you should
have seen season 5/2 or at least read the transcripts
(http://www.psyche.kn-bremen.de), or you won't know what they're talking about.
Feedback: oh yes, please
Dedication: to Alee, for continuing her great story, Flowers!
http://www.never-ending-love.de/My_series/Midnight_series/midnight_series.html
******
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