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Part 21
Summers’ House
Buffy ran as fast as she could back to her house. She only looked back at her ex-lover once, to see him seemingly passed out on the pavement. Hot tears streaked her face, falling faster the farther she got from him. Their bond was still strong, so she knew he wasn’t dead, but there was something not right about it. She just couldn’t place what the problem was.
“Buffy! Ohmigod, are you okay?” Willow questioned, running up to her best friend.
“Yeah, Buff, you look horrible.”
“Thanks a lot, Xand. I really needed to hear that.” She said, sarcastically.
“Yeah, what happened, Buffy?” Tara asked, also joining her friends at the Slayer’s side.
“No, actually, I’m not okay. Something is wrong with Angel. When we got near the mansion, he dropped down in pain, and told me to leave. I saw his eyes glow some strange orange color. They looked just like the time you recursed him in our battle with Acathla. God, I can’t lose him again, Will.” She hugged her friend like it was the end of the world, which in their current situation; it may very well be just that.
“It’s gonna be okay. Tara and I will start the reversal spell, just in case they succeeded with the soul-stealing.” In her head, Willow prayed to the PTB for help, since they had no idea if the spell could even work.
* * *
The Mansion
All the vampires were impatiently waiting out in the garden for their newbie to rise.
“Come on. What’s taking her so bloody long?”
“Don’t worry, Spike. She’ll rise soon enough.”
“Why did you have to keep her, Pet? You could have just killed her.” He replied, looking disgusted at the pile of dirt, where the vampire was buried.
“I could see inside her. She’s not like the rest of us.” Drusilla replied, gazing at the ceiling. ,p>“What do you mean, luv? I don’t understand.”
“She’s not human.”
“WHAT?!” Spike and the minions replied in unison.
“She’s part demon.”
“What kind of demon? We need to research it, so we know what powers she has.”
“Don’t worry, my darling. I already had it done.”
“Well?” He asked, growing restless and impatient with the crazy vampire’s musings and delays.
“She’s a Rispivitel demon. I checked it out for Dru earlier today.”
“Great work, Dawnie. Now, tell me what I want to know.”
“Well, she can sustain extremely high levels of pain…” The young vampire supplied.
“What does that mean?”
“Pretty much, you could, I don’t know, set her on fire, and she wouldn’t break a sweat.”
“But fire would kill her.” Spike said, expecting the new vampire to know that little piece of information.
“No, not her. See, when she was turned, Dru made sure that she kept her demon half. Therefore, making her fairly unkillable.”
“Really?! Now, I like the sound of that.” The newly-restored vampire said, laughing evilly.
“But, that’s not all.” Dawn cut in, stopping his laughter to look at her. “She can also levitate.”
“What does that mean?”
“She can float.” Drusilla commented, still gazing around at the sky and holding her head.
“Well, that will certainly come in handy.” He said, noticing the dirt pile starting to move. “Hector, go bring her dinner here. Quickly.” He ordered to his minion.
* * *
Outside the Mansion
The vampire’s limp body was still lying on the sidewalk. He was starting to recover from the terribly painful blackout that he was hit with almost twenty minutes ago. Ever so slowly, he picked himself up and shook his head to finish getting rid of the pain. A little girl, about the age of eight or so, was watching him from her front porch and hesitantly walked over to him.
“Are you okay, mister? Do you need me to call an ambulance or something?”
“No, little girl, I’m just fine.” The vampire replied, turning to look at the girl. She was small with blond hair and hazel eyes. She looked just like Buffy must have when she was that age. Suddenly, he vamped out and sunk his fangs into the girl’s neck, draining her. When he dropped the lifeless body, Angelus chuckled aloud and headed towards the mansion.
* * *
Summers’ House
In the house, things were very quiet. The only sounds came from the chanting of the two resident Wiccans. They were sitting in a circle of herbs and powder that now covered the living room floor. Xander was eating another slice of pizza and a bag of Doritos, while Anya slept beside him, with her head on his shoulder. Buffy was trying to sleep on the couch, but couldn’t seem to keep her eyes closed. Every time she did, she imagined all the horrible things that could have happened to her Angel.
Out of breath and very tired, the witches stopped chanting and looked at each other. The look between them showed their hopelessness over the situation. This was the third time they tried the spell, and so far the red candle in the center of the circle was still shining brightly. They weren’t sure how many more times they could try before they passed out with exhaustion.
Suddenly, Buffy screamed out for Angel and clutched her head. This caused everyone to stop what they were doing and run over to her. Well, everyone except Anya, who after 1100 years, learned to sleep through anything. Willow, after glancing at Xander, who was holding the Slayer’s shaking body, went to get aspirin and water for the headache that was certain to follow the vision.
When Willow returned, she saw that her best friend had stopped shaking from her vision, but was now shaking with the sobs that tore through her body. ‘This must have been a bad vision,’ was the only thought that the witch could put together at the moment.
Xander, who still held her as she cried into his shirt, tried to find out from Buffy what happened. “Buff…Buffy…talk to us. Please, what happened? What’s going on?”
“Ohmigod!! Angel!!!” She sobbed, clutching Xander’s shirt in her hands.
“What’s wrong with Angel, Buffy?” Tara asked, tightly holding the hand of her lover.
“He’s…he’s…oh, god!! NO!!!! He can’t be!!!”
“He can’t be what, Buff?”
“NO, I can’t do it again. I just can’t!!!” She screamed, crying even harder.
Reluctantly, her friends got up and walked into the kitchen, leaving Buffy to cry. They all held the same look of pain and despair. They needed to know what was going on and how they could fix it before they lost their friend for good.
“What do you think happened?” Xander asked, breaking the silence.
“From what she told us before and what she’s saying now, I would guess that Angelus is back.” Willow said, tears starting to glisten in her eyes as she remembered what happened the last time.
“No, that can’t be true!” Xander said, trying to deny what he also guessed to be true.
“Sorry, guys, but the Slayer’s right.” A short man in unmatching clothes said from the doorway, getting the attention of the Scooby Gang.
* * *
Part 22
Summers’ House
“W-w-who are y-you?” Tara stuttered nervously, as she gazed at the stranger who now stood in the kitchen.
“The name’s Whistler. Don’t worry. I don’t bite!” The poorly dressed demon joked, a smart-ass grin on his face.
“What do you want Whittler? And you had better tell me now before I…” Xander’s hand reached over to the island and grabbed a rolling pin, holding it up in the air.
“What? Roll me to death? Of course you won’t. Besides, I have the information that you need, and it’s Whistler.” Xander just lowered the pin and ignored the comment. He already didn’t like this guy. Wasn’t he supposed to be the one to make the wisecracks?
“So, what do you have for us?” Buffy said, as she emerged from the living room. Her eyes were extremely puffy and red, but she seemed to be well-composed considering the trauma she just experienced, compliments of the PTB.
“Well, Slayer, you decided to join us. Nice to see that things haven’t changed much since the last time we met.”
“Cut the cryptic, Whistler. Either tell me what you know, or get the Hell out of my house!! I’m not in the mood to deal with your sarcasm, and as you probably remember, when I’m in a bad mood…”
“Please, stop. I remember perfectly well how things went last time. The visual still won’t leave my head.” The demon cut in, wincing as he recalled her comment of wearing his ribcage as a hat. He even adjusted the black fedora hat that he had on, showing just how much he was disturbed by the image. “Fine. I’ll tell you all that I know.”
* * *
The Mansion
The new vampire had risen and walked over to her new family. “Welcome home, Cordy.” Dawn greeted cheerily.
“Hungry,” was her only reply.
“Of course. Hector has your dinner over there.” Dawn commented, pointing to the overweight man that they found exiting the grocery store that night. “Enjoy.”
Cordelia didn’t waste any time in getting over to the man, and sank her new fangs into him immediately. She drained him, sucking the blood loud enough for all the others to start drooling over the scene. When she finished, she dropped the large body on the ground and licked the remaining blood off her lips.
“Okay, I’m hungry now too. Let’s go make some trouble out in Sunnyhell.” Spike said, heading toward the garden entrance. Suddenly, he bumped into a large, hard surface. Looking up, he couldn’t believe what he saw in front of him.
“Surprised to see me, Spike?”
“Angelus? I think ‘surprised’ doesn’t quite cover it, mate.”
“Oh, my Angel, you’ve come home!!” Drusilla mused happily, entering the moonlit garden with Dawn and Cordelia.
“Yeah, baby, I’m back!”
* * *
Summers’ House
“It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. No one saw her coming.” Whistler stated.
“What do you mean? Who are you talking about?” Willow asked, still having no idea what this guy’s purpose was.
“Cordelia kinda came out of no where. We never expected the thing with Angel to go that far. Her jealousy is more powerful than we could have ever realized. I mean, she knew all along that Angel’s heart always belonged to Buffy. I guess that she just lived in denial so long that when she finally came to understand the truth, she couldn’t deal.”
“So, you’re saying that all of this mess happened because of Cordelia?” The Slayer questioned, having a difficult time believing that such a selfish brat could change the world so much.
“Well, not completely. Your lover had something to do with it too.”
“WHO?!” Buffy yelled, not noticing the shocked faces of her friends. Tara was the only one who knew about the entire fiasco with Spike, but obviously the short demon had other plans for that secret.
“You know, the evil vamp that you’ve been banging for the last few months! We didn’t see that one coming either. Damn! I thought you had better taste than that, Slayer!!!”
At that statement, Buffy got pissed and grabbed Whistler by the throat and pushed him against the kitchen door. “You had better watch it, buddy. Besides, I was going through a rough period in my life.”
“I’ll bet you were.” The demon wisecracked, causing his throat to be gripped *a lot* tighter. “Ok, ok, I get it. Enough with the joking.”
“So, w-what do we do now about Angelus?” Tara asked, changing the subject. She knew that no one, not even the smartass demon, wanted to deal with this situation.
“Well, actually he’s the least of your problems. It’s the demon-vampire that you have to worry about.”
“What?”
“Oh, I guess I left that part out, huh?” He replied, a grin on his face.
Tightening her grip even more, Buffy answered firmly, “Yeah, I guess you did.”
“Come on; lay up on the vocal cords, Slayer. I can’t tell you if you break my neck.” She let him go, but didn’t budge from her position in front of him. “Cordelia is now a vampire, but the problem is that the crazy chick made sure that her demon half stayed in tact after the transformation.”
“So, Cordy’s part demon-part vampire now? This is just great!” Xander said sarcastically, getting evil looks from everyone in the room. “What?!” he said, defending himself, as he grabbed a bag of Doritos and started to munch on them nervously.
“What do I have to do to beat them?” Buffy queried, growing really impatient with the demon.
“Well, actually all of you have a role to play in this battle. First, Willow and Tara, I have a spell for you from the PTB. It will help the other one to work. Xander, you and Anya need to protect the house while the witches do the spell. There will be minions coming here to try and stop them from finishing it.” Those who were present nodded in acceptance of the plan. Anya, however, was still asleep on the sofa, so Xander decided to fill her in later.
“What’s my job?” Buffy asked, trying to seem lighthearted, but failing miserably.
“Slayer, you’re job is going to be the hardest, of course. You have to go one-on-one against Angelus and Cordelia. With the spell I have, the others will be taken out of the picture.”
“I’ll do whatever I have to.” She replied, simply.
“Yeah, but how much are you prepared to give up?” He asked, concerned that she wouldn’t be able to make it out of this fight with her sanity in tact.
“Oh, don’t pull that ‘you care’ crap on me. I did it once; I can do it again.”
“I just hope you’re right.”
* * *
Part 23
Summers’ House
“Okay, guys, you heard what the demon said. Let’s get in gear people!” Xander said, trying to pep everyone up for the big fight. Of course, they all looked at him like he grew a second head or something.
“Shut up, Xander.” Buffy said, half-heartedly. Her mind was still reeling over the fact that Angelus was back.
“Well, I’ll take that as my cue to leave. Just remember what you have to do, Slayer.” Whistler reminded, cryptically. “If you get into trouble, the PTB will do their best to help you out. We can’t have a repeat performance of the last time. Too much hangs in the balance now.” With that, the demon walked back outside and vanished.
No one moved for a moment. They just kept staring at Buffy, who was seemingly still in shock, staring out the door where the demon just exited.
Tara decided it was going to be up to her to break the ice. “So, Buffy, what should we do?”
She slowly looked over at the witch and then at all of her friends. She knew what she had to do, but it scared the Hell out of her, just the thought of seeing her lover’s evil side again. After a long silence, she answered, “We have to save the world…again. You heard Whistler, so you know what tasks you have.” She then slipped into Slayer mode, and for the moment forgot all the problems she was about to face. “I have to go upstairs and get weapons. Xander, you should probably go wake up Anya. I’ll make sure you two have enough supply to get you through your end of the fight. Tara and Will, are you guys going to need any supplies?”
“No,” Willow responded, sharing a glance with her lover. “Everything on this list we have in our room.”
“Good. Then, if everyone’s set, we’ve got work to do.” Buffy walked out of the room with a new purpose as she went to retrieve weapons. She knew what she had to do, and she wasn’t going to let Angelus scare her again. Instead, she was going to play his game.
* * *
The Mansion
“It’s really true?” Spike asked, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu at the situation.
“It’s really true.”
“Yeah, I told you, Spike. We brought him back.” Dawn explained.
“I’m so happy!” Drusilla said, dreamily. “We’re a family again!!!”
“That’s right, baby. We are.” Angelus said in a low voice, pulling the crazy vampiress to him roughly. She purred happily until she heard Spike’s disapproving growl. “Don’t worry, *mate*. I know she’s yours. Besides, I’ve got other plans.” The dark vampire reassured, releasing the hold on his child, who returned to her lover and planted a hard kiss to his mouth.
“So, what would those plans include?” Cordelia, the super vamp, asked, as she sidled up to the vampire and licked her lips seductively.
“Leave me alone, bitch!” He replied, growing quite disgusted by her displays. “I seriously don’t know what my soul-having side saw in you, but I have no intentions on wasting my time with someone like you.”
Hurt by the comments, she replied, “Oh yeah? Well, who do you plan on spending the rest of your lonely eternity with? Cuz, you know that no nice, decent, innocent girl will have anything to do with you.”
That comment pissed Angelus off royally, causing him to grab her. “Fine. Is this what you want?” He asked, as he kissed her roughly. In fact, it was so hard that he drew blood. When he pulled back, her blood had run down her chin, so she looked like she had just fed. Angelus licked his lips, showing the satisfaction in his actions.
Licking her lips even more seductively, if that was possible, to clean the blood off, Cordelia walked up to him and said, “Yeah, baby. I want you.” With that, she pushed him against the wall and attacked him with her mouth, as Drusilla, Spike, and Dawn walked away in disgust.
* * *
Summers’ House
“Okay, are we ready now?” Buffy asked, in full game mode by now. Willow and Tara were back in the circle they made on the floor. This time, they had all of the things they would need to ensure that the spell worked. Xander finally got Anya to wake up. They were currently sorting out their weapons and gathering near the door.
“We’re ready.” Tara called from the circle.
“We’re set, Buff.” Xander said, but immediately regretted his choice of words. He should try to use his brain next time he opened his mouth. When he looked over at his best friend, the blonde was starting to cry and placed her hand over her mouth to quiet her sobs. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He apologized, hugging her.
After only a few moments, she calmed down and looked up into his eyes. Hers were a little red and puffy, but nothing like they were earlier. She seemed almost resolved, and it worried him. “Don’t worry about it, Xand. I know that you didn’t mean it. Besides, he only called me that because you guys did, and I won’t let him get to me again.”
“Good for you.”
“Alright. I’m going to head out now. Promise me that you’ll be careful, all of you. Only do what fighting you have to do, and I’ll try to hurry and get back here. My guess is that when Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla are gone, the minions attacking here will leave. Tara and Will? Please do the reversal spells as quickly as possible. The less of them I have to deal with, the better it’ll be for everyone.”
“We got it. Good luck, Buffy.”
“Thanks, Will. Be careful.” With that, the Slayer walked out the front door with her weapons bag slung over her shoulder. One way or another, this would all be over soon.
* * *
The Mansion
Angelus was shocked at first with the new vampire’s strength and desires. He was also extremely appalled. Shoving her away from him, he growled, “Never, *ever*, do that to me again.”
Noting the deadly serious expression on her ex-lover’s face, Cordelia backed up slightly. “Why not?” She challenged. “You know you want it.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, Cordy.” Angelus said, lightly. His demeanor changed from angry to light-hearted. His trademark half-smile was also in place. He walked over to her, cupping her cheek with his hand. “Even with my weaker half, you always knew how I felt about you, or should I say, didn’t feel about you? I should have known you wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“Get off me, asshole.” She replied, forcefully removing his hand. “I can’t believe it!! Even without your stupid tortured soul, you just can’t get enough of *her*, can you? Did I mean nothing to you?”
“Well, what can I say? I was going through a phase.”
“Bastard.”
“Hey, are you two lovebirds finished yet? I’d like to get in a good feedin’ before the sun comes up.”
“Yeah, Spike, we’re all finished here.” Angelus said, as he sauntered out of the building. Things were looking really good for him, and he was smiling when the others caught up with him.
“Everything alright, mate?”
“Yeah, *mate*, it is.”
“Then, why are you so bloody happy?”
“Cuz things are about to get *very* interesting.”
* * *
Part 24
Somewhere in Sunnydale
Angelus led the other vampires around the town, feeding on anyone that crossed their path, which so far equaled two people. They were growing more bored by the minute and actually just considered lowering themselves to just robbing a few stores. Just when they were about to break into a jewelry store for Drusilla and Dawn, an old-fashioned truck could be seen driving towards them from the horizon.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we have a winner!” Angelus joked and the others laughed as they watched the car approach. He was not shocked when it stopped about 75 feet in front of them. Over the last few centuries, they learned what to expect from humans when they actually see a vampire. They freeze up. Angelus just loved the way their minds worked.
Suddenly, however, the truck started to move forward. This didn’t surprise them as much as the speed at which it moved…right at him. In that instant, he knew exactly who the driver was. Lindsey McDonald.
* * *
The Slayer had been following the vampires all night. She watched them walk around the town, and even saw the bodies they left behind. Feeling really guilty about the deaths she was unable to stop, Buffy knew that she would have died to in an attempt to stop them. There was no way to take on all five, really strong vampires. So, she continued to stalk them from afar, making sure to keep enough distance so that Angelus wouldn’t be able to feel her presence. Now, all she could do was wait until Willow and Tara’s spells take effect. That thought soon left her mind when she was knocked down from behind. Buffy’s head was pounding when she looked up to see her attacker. What she saw made her pale. “Oh, God.”
* * *
Summers’ House
“Shouldn’t they be here by now?” Xander asked for the twentieth time in the last minute. He had been pacing and hyper all night, but it was starting to get ridiculous. Besides, he was driving everyone crazy.
“How can you possibly be anxious for them to come? You know they’re probably going to kill us all.” Anya stated, rather annoyed. She loved her husband and all of their crazy animal sex, but sometimes, he can just drive her up the wall with his stupid comments and sarcasm.
“Sorry, An, if I care that my friend is out on her own to save the world, and I can’t even do my part to help her.” He said, trying to be sarcastic, but failing miserably. He was really starting to get worried. From all the weapons and things she left with him, Xander was expecting a steady stream of vamps until Buffy’s task was complete. Unless she was able to stop them from coming all together, he automatically assumed that they followed her instead, which was definitely not good. “I’m going after her.”
“WHAT???” Anya screamed. He was going after them, and leaving her to fend for the witches? Was he crazy??
“I can’t just stand here knowing that they are probably after her and not us.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“Yeah? Watch me.” He answered, fuming. Walking towards the door, he was stopped when his wife grabbed his arm and spun him around.
“She told us to stay here and protect the witches because they will be completely vulnerable during their spells. I know you, Xander, and you won’t be able to live with yourself if you went to help Buffy and your best friend, her lover, and your wife die while you’re gone.”
“Dammit.” He said under his breath, frustrated to know that she was right. He wouldn’t leave, but he would be left to worry sick about her until the minions come. If they come.
* * *
Glancing around to assess the situation, Buffy finally realized what had happened. ‘Dammit,’ she thought. Angelus must have predicted her actions and sent the minions after her instead of her friends. There was about 20 of them here, and she knew from experience that it was several too many. Even though these were mere fledgelings, the number of them would be enough to take her down. That didn’t mean, however, that she wasn’t going to fight back.
“Slayer,” the closest one hissed.
Flipping herself into a standing position, Buffy retaliated by throwing a punch hard enough to propel the vampire about 100 feet backwards, “Well, at least you know my name.” She quipped, noting that the others were coming after her. She dusted the first three very easily. Then the group left, all seventeen of them, jumped her at once. “Shit,” she yelped, as she fell under a pile of the dead bodies that were attacking her.
* * *
Angelus continued to watch the truck as it came straight towards him. The rest of his family moved off to either side of him, knowing that he wanted this one for himself. The dark vampire just chuckled, even as the truck ran him over.
Once it had passed, Lindsey threw it into reverse and did it again, somehow loving the bumping sound his car made when he ran over the demon. After doing it, the ex-lawyer stopped the truck and jumped out, carrying a stake and a rifle.
“Lindsey, what a nice surprise!” Angelus chuckled, showing his likeness of the pain. However, the vampire grunted while picking his beaten up corpse off the ground.
“Can’t say I disagree with that, Angel,” Lindsey replied, smugly.
“So, I thought I told you never to come back. Did you decide to go back on your word?”
“No. This isn’t LA, and I never agreed to stay out of Sunnydale. Besides my band and I have a gig at the Bronze this weekend, so I thought I should look up some old friends.” Pointing the rifle at the vampire’s right knee, Lindsey shot at him. “Oooooohhhhhh, that’s gonna hurt in the mornin’!!!”
“Fuck!!” Angelus said, while laughing some more. “What was that for?”
“Angelus?”
“Yeah, that’s right, dumbass. The wimpy dork which used to possess this body is officially gone.”
“Well, that’s going to make this *so* much easier, knowing you don’t have a soul.”
“Really? You’re playing some deep odds here. Do you really think you can take us all on?”
“I don’t think I have to. Besides in case you forgot, I still have an evil hand.”
“Oh, that’s right. By the way, how is that working for you?” Angelus asked, sarcastically.
“Not bad. It actually makes the killing all that much enjoyable.” The ex-lawyer commented, walking around behind the circle that the other vampires had created. Once he walked past Cordelia and grabbed her ass. She growled and shot him a dirty look, but didn’t move. They just continued looked at his movements, but made no effort to attack. That changed, however, when Lindsey reached the bleach-blond vampire. He rubbed the demon’s head, messing up his hair, and said, “Spikey!!” That caused said vampire to turn around and grab the man by his throat.
“You’re gonna pay for that, mate!”
* * *
Part 25
Streets of Sunnydale
Spike’s hold on Lindsey’s neck seemed to get stronger every second. The ex-lawyer knew that he only had about a minute before his head was ripped from his body. ‘Note to self: Not a good idea to piss off an old, strong vamp,’ he thought, as his life slipped away slowly.
The other vampires were standing around the musician and their friend, with amused faces. This night was certainly getting more interesting by the minute.
* * *
Summers’ House
The pre-spell ritual that Whistler provided had finally been complete, and the Wiccans were now setting up the candles for the first spell.
“How are you ladies doing?”
“We’re good, Xand. Are the minions still MIA?”
“Yeah, seems they stood us up.”
“Okay, Will, we’re ready.” Tara spoke up, casting a loving glance at the girl beside her.
“Well, let’s just hope this works now.” Willow said, finishing the lighting of the smelly herbs. In the circle, the two witches were facing each other, surrounded by candles, magic powders, and incense. Holding hands, they began their chant:
What once was captive
Now set free
By Moon and Shadows
Return to what should be!
They repeated the words over and over again, getting louder each time. With each saying of them, a swirling light surrounding the circle rose higher and higher. Suddenly, once the chanting stopped, the candle in the center between the girls blew out, and the light disappeared.
* * *
Streets of Sunnydale
Buffy brushed herself off, as she stood up. Coughing, she realized that she actually killed all seventeen vamps that had fallen on top of her like she was a receiver in a football game. ‘Or maybe it was a quarterback? Who cares!! I hate football!!’ The Slayer thought to herself as she went to follow the other vampires again.
When she reached a safe distance away from them, she couldn’t believe what she saw. Lindsey McDonald, the attorney that Angel had told her about many times, was standing in the center of the circle of the vampires and acted like he hadn’t a care in the world. He had to be losing it. Then she saw him walk behind the circle, without any movement from the demons. That changed when he messed up Spike’s hair, sending the demon attacking the defenseless attorney. “Now that was stupid.” She commented aloud, but very quietly. “He should have done his homework before messing with these guys. Spike has to things you don’t mess with or make fun of: his hair and his cheekbones!! What a dumbass!!”
She watched the altercation between the two, debating whether to give away her position and help him, or hope that she won’t have to yet. All of a sudden, her mind was made up for her.
* * *
Lindsey was feeling very faint now. His sight was becoming blurry, and he knew that this was the end. Suddenly, the grip on his throat got very loose, causing him to fall on the floor.
“NO!!” He heard in the background, but then he passed out.
* * *
“NO!!!” Drusilla yelled, running over to where her lover had just stood.
Angelus came up behind her and just shook his head. He had never seen anything like it, and that’s saying something since he’s been around for two and a half centuries. His grand-child had been ready to kill the musician that dared to mess with his greased back hair, and then, he was dust. No explanation, no stake. Just dust. “Well, let’s not let this ruin a perfectly good night! There is still much fun to be had” Angelus said light-heartedly, as he started to head back towards the residential part of town, leaving Lindsey where he passed out. The others followed him, Dru and Dawn more reluctant than the others, but if their master promised fun, he wouldn’t disappoint.
* * *
Buffy watched as Angelus led the vampires towards the residential streets, and incidentally towards her. Panicking for a moment, she realized that she had to stop them. But how? There was still four of them, and only one of her. She needed help.
“Don’t worry, Buffy. It’s going to be okay.”
Using her Slayer speed, she turned around very quickly and couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Connor?”
* * *
Part 26
“Connor?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” The ghost said soothingly.
“But how? You… you’re dead?!” She stammered.
“I know. The Powers heard your call for help, and they sent me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, they’re actually pretty nice beings. You know, when they aren’t screwing with people’s lives.”
“I can really believe that one.” Buffy replied sarcastically, causing the ghost to chuckle. “So, how are you supposed to help me? I mean, you’re a ghost!”
“Well, see they gave me a plan, as long as you’re up for it.”
“At this point, I’ll take anything I can get. I just hope it doesn’t take long. Angelus is about to find me.”
* * *
Willow and Tara were pretty exhausted after the first spell was completed. They knew it had to have succeeded because the red candle finally blew out. The problem was that it took too long and the incense they used burned up, so there wasn’t enough left to complete the spell for Angel’s soul.
“Dammit!” Willow yelled in frustration.
“It’s going to be okay, baby. We’ll figure something out.”
“Hey, is something up?” Xander asked, strolling in from the kitchen with yet another bag of chips in his hands. At the rate he was eating, Anya was worried that she would have to roll him home in the morning.
“Yeah, we ran out of the black incense.” Tara said, stroking her lover’s hair.
“Need me to run to the Magic Box and pick some up?”
“Actually, yeah, that would be great!” Willow said, her spirits lifting.
“Wait a minute, honey. What about the minions?”
“An, they have to do the spell, so Angelus doesn’t reek havoc on the city. Besides, I can’t imagine that the minions are just running an hour and a half late!”
“Well, yeah…” His wife trailed off, contemplating his comment.
“They aren’t coming.”
“Will, what did you say?”
“I could sense them before, but I think they are dead now. I can’t feel their aura anymore.”
“Okay, then. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” With that, Anya pulled Xander out the door, desperate to get him away from the food.
* * *
Angelus and his ‘family’ were scanning the area, when he started to sense a presence. Not just anyone, though, his lover. Looking around, he spotted her hiding behind a tree, watching them. Pretending not to notice her, he turned around to face the other vampires. “You know what? I think we should split up. We aren’t going to be able to get much food if we have to share it between the four of us.” The others just nodded their heads, not sure when he started to care about anyone other than himself. “Okay, Dawn you go with Dru, and Cordy, you come with me. See you back at the mansion at sunrise.” Finishing his orders, he grabbed Cordelia’s arm and pulled her after him, heading in the direction of Buffy.
* * *
“Shit! He’s headed this way!” The Slayer said to the ghost of her lover’s son. “I just hope this works.”
“Don’t worry, Buffy. It will. You just have to stall Angelus for about ten minutes for the spell to take effect.” Connor reassured, as he backed up into the shade of a tree, where he disappeared. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.” She grumbled to herself, careful not to draw attention to herself. “Why is it that when I really need help the most, the Powers take it away?” Noticing the closeness of the vampires, Buffy started to back up into the shadows more, praying to hold off the confrontation just a little longer.
* * *
“Hey, we’re back!” Anya called, as she walked into the house.
“Great! Then we can get this spell finished.”
“Yeah, the sooner the better,” Tara agreed with her partner. They both knew that they didn’t have much time to complete it. Angelus was a big threat to everyone, especially Buffy, and they didn’t know what he could be doing right now. Or even if their friend was still alive.
“Okay, let’s get this over with.” Willow replied, setting up the incense again.
* * *
Angelus knew that they were closing in on Buffy. The farther they walked, the stronger his feelings were becoming. He didn’t falter in his steps, not fearing the tiny warrior. She was putty in his hands all those years ago, and he knew that she would be again. Cordelia had been getting closer and closer to him during the walk, even going as far as to hold his hand. It was starting to piss him off. He didn’t take it too well when someone refused to listen to his orders. “Cordelia, get the FUCK off me!!” He shouted, ripping his arm from her grasp. The shock on her face actually made him laugh, which caused a pained look on her face. That, of course, made him laugh so hard that he almost fell over.
“Stop it!”
“What? You dare to question a master?” Angelus challenged.
“You’re just a fucking jackass!!” She returned, not hiding the pain that he rejected her again.
With that comment, he slapped her across the face, and yelled, “BITCH!! Don’t you EVER question my authority again!!”
“Well, finally, I managed to get a reaction from the mighty Angelus!” The half-demon quipped, earning her another slap, at which she just chuckled. “Yeah, baby, do it again!” She teased, pulling him to her for a rough kiss.
* * *
Buffy watched the confrontation between the two vampires, growing more nauseous by the moment. ‘Seems they are lovers in this world too,’ she thought, a frown coming over her face. ‘Well, if I going to go through with this, I had better go now, while they’re distracted.’ Pulling together all of her resolve and inner strength, the Slayer stood up and walked out of her cover. This drew the attention of Angelus, whose gaze was followed by the other vampire. ‘At least that part didn’t take long.’ “Hello, lover.”
“Why, long time, no see, lover.”
“I know. It’s really quite a shame. I’ve wanted to talk to you for a long time now.”
“Oh, really?” Angelus questioned, approaching the tiny Slayer. “What did you want to discuss?”
“Well, it wasn’t really a message that you tell, but for you, lover, I’ll make an exception.” With that, she walked up and kicked him in the crotch, sending him to the ground, doubled over. “You are a fucking bastard who should die a thousand deaths, and even that wouldn’t be enough!” She yelled at his pained body, continuing to kick him in any place her shoe would touch.
“Is that all you’ve got, Slayer? See, I figured you’d be a little tougher than that. But then again, I always knew you wouldn’t be able to kill me.” The master vampire replied smugly, his hauntingly familiar half-smile gracing his features, as he stood up. He glanced at the other vampire and then at Buffy, just for a brief moment before his ex-lover attacked him again.
Suddenly, a semi-shocked Cordelia ran at the Slayer and threw her off of her master. “You’re gonna pay for messing with my boyfriend, Bitch!” The half-demon screamed, charging at the other girl with lightning-like speed. Catching Buffy off guard, she plowed into her, knocking her across the street and into a building. Drifting into unconsciousness, the Slayer barely saw the outline of the two vampires as they approached her body before her world went dark.
* * *
With the incense in place, the Wiccans were able to start the final spell, the one to restore Angel’s soul. Again, in a circle, with the orb of Thesula in the center, the witches began their chants:
Through the essence of its other
And the soul of its lover
May the soul be quickly found
And that it be forever bound
After reciting the spell, the orb glowed brightly and vanished.
* * *
Part 27
Buffy lay completely still against the house, as the two vampires approached her. Just as they reached her, Angelus let out a pained cry and dropped to his knees. Cordelia panicked and fell beside him staring at his face. “What’s wrong, love?” She noticed a strange flicker of orange in his eyes, not that of his demon, but something different. It was there for only a brief moment before it vanished, so she didn’t give it another second’s thought. The dark vampire just shook his head, and then got up, not even bothering to answer her question.
* * *
Willow and Tara looked completely relieved when the orb vanished. Everyone in the house was cheering for the witches because they were responsible for saving the world…again. After about two minutes or so, the cheering stopped, and three pairs of eyes flew to the shrieking Willow. Then, they followed her glaze down to the basket that had held the orb.
“NO!” Xander screamed, “No, no, no, no, it can’t be!!” No one else said a word because he spoke what they were all thinking, as they stared at the orb, back in its place in the basket.
* * *
When Buffy finally woke up, she panicked. The last thing she remembered was getting cornered by Angelus and Cordelia. Glancing around in the darkness, she tried to recognize where she was. It was Angel’s bedroom in the mansion. ‘Shit!’ she thought, as she struggled against the chains she was tied up with against the wall. ‘The spell must not have worked. ‘God, I can’t do this. I can’t lose him again!’ Just as the tears started to form in her eyes, a brilliant light flashed inside her head. “Aaahhhh!!” Visions floated in her head of her friends, performing the spell. They quickly flashed from that to Angelus. He was drinking her blood. ‘WHAT??’ She thought as she continued to watch the visions. The next one was of Angel standing in a strange white room. If she didn’t know any better, she could swear it looked like a hospital. Then, just as suddenly, the visions stopped.
“What the FUCK is going on in here?” Angelus shouted as he strolled into the room. It was only then that Buffy realized that she had been screaming and crying the entire time. But at least now, she knew what she had to do.
* * *
The Scooby Gang was in serious panic mode after they realized the spell didn’t work.
“I just don’t understand it. What did we do wrong?” Willow kept saying, over and over again. She and the others were continuing to research the spell they just performed. No one knew exactly what they were looking for, just anything that they may have overlooked the first time around.
“Hey, I think I found something!” Tara shouted, causing everyone to jump up and run over to her. “Okay it seems that Angelus must have some of his soul mate’s life essence in him to complete the ritual.”
“So, you’re saying that Angelus must drink Buffy’s blood in order to regain his soul?” Xander asked.
“Well, yeah. That’s what it said. It just means that we didn’t mess up.”
“That’s good.” Anya commented. “But how much does he have to drain?”
“Um…it doesn’t say. I’m not really sure.”
“Well, the last time a ritual called for the Slayer’s blood, it required a lot of it.” Willow said, recalling the days just prior to graduation.
“Okay, there are only two problems with this scenario. First, how do we let Buffy know that we need her to get her lover’s demon drink her blood? And second, how do we keep Angelus from killing her before his soul returns?” His only answer was silence.
* * *
“I said, what the FUCK is going on in here?” The vampire raged, after receiving no answer from his hostage.
“Nothing,” Buffy said as coyly and innocently as she could. Using the chains to her advantage, she stretched out, showing an ample amount of cleavage through her tank top. It felt strange to being playing the role of the seductress, but she didn’t have much choice in the matter. He had to drink her blood, and this was the only way she could think of to get him to do it. Well, without him killing her anyway.
“It certainly didn’t sound like nothing.” The dark vampire countered.
“Oh, that? Sorry, but I was trying to get someone’s attention. I have to go to the bathroom.” She replied, doing her best to fake anything that would get her unchained.
“Really? Now see, I think you’re lying to me, and I don’t handle liars very well.” He said, walking with dangerously slow speed to stand in front of her. The fear evident in her eyes was making him crazy, and he showed it through his trademark half-smile. As much as he despised the tiny Slayer in front of him, she turned him on like no other woman did. He was so hot that he wanted to take her right then and there.
“So what if I am lying? What are you going to do about it, hurt me?” She questioned, contemplating her next move. This job was getting harder than she thought. Being so close to his body caused her nerve endings to ignite like a wildfire, but her head was screaming against the entire idea. She had to be crazy to think she could pull this off and live to see another day.
“Is that an invitation?” Angelus softly trailed a finger down her cheek to her breasts and back up, leaving a searing trail of heat in its wake. Looking into his eyes, she noticed the lack of emotion in them. They were cold and empty even though he touched her so gently. As he reached lower on her face, Buffy turned her head and took his pointer into her mouth, biting on it hard. The vampire growled in response, but was highly aroused by her aggressiveness. He pressed her against the wall, making certain that she could feel his painfully large erection against her stomach.
Hearing his call to her, she bit harder on his finger, causing blood to draw, before she released it. “Wow, you really do think highly of yourself, don’t you? You actually think I would want a repeat performance of *that*?” Remembering her 17th birthday and the way that Angelus taunted her before, she took this moment to throw some of it back in his face. ‘Let’s see how much he likes it!’ His confused look, even if it was only there for a millisecond, was enough of an answer.
“Are you sure about that?” He countered, successfully covering his sudden, but brief, feelings of insecurity. He wasn’t lying though. He could smell her wetness so strong, it was making him light-headed. Taking control, Angelus let one of his hands snaked down to caress her through her pants.
“Yeah, right!” She spat, hoping to get some power over the creature in front of her. It was getting really difficult, though, because what he was doing to her felt *so* good. “*Spike* was a better fuck than you *ever* were!!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew that they would be regretted. Angelus immediately vamped out and very roughly grabbed her chained arms and pulled her to him, crushing her mouth to his. In doing so, the chains ripped off the walls, leaving major wounds bleeding from her wrists, and his fangs managed to pierce her tongue, causing it to bleed as well. Buffy let out a loud cry of pain as he jerked her over and threw her on the bed.
* * *
Cordelia was sitting down in the great room of the mansion waiting for the rest of her family to arrive. Angelus had specifically told her not to go out, when he went to go check on their screaming hostage upstairs.
“What the Hell is taking him so long?” She grumbled to the empty room. “All he had to do was beat the bitch up a little bit and then he could spend some time down here with me…alone.” That’s when she heard another loud scream coming from upstairs. This time, however, it sounded a little differently, almost like a moan, and she didn’t like it. ‘Well, he never said that I couldn’t go upstairs.’ She thought, as she rose from her seat on the couch and proceeded up the stairs of the large mansion.
* * *
After Angelus had thrown the Slayer down on the bed, he swiftly took his clothes off and moved onto the bed beside her. He ripped hers off in a matter of seconds and tossed the tattered fabric behind him. This elicited another pained scream from Buffy. She knew that this wasn’t such a good idea anymore. Not only was he strong, but he was also *very* pissed off about her comment on Spike. He was ready to claim her, to dominate her, and it didn’t matter if he broke her in the process. Hovering over her, Angelus took possession of her mouth, again drawing blood with his fangs. His hands moved down and pulled apart her legs, allowing him entrance into her small body. His erection entered her quickly, not giving her a moment’s time to adjust to his size. She felt like she was going to be split in two. It’s not that she hadn’t had sex before, of course she had, but it had been over a month, and this demon wasn’t holding back. All she could do was hold on to him, and pray that he bit her soon and this would all be over with.
Pulling back from her mouth, Angelus asked coolly, as he pounded into her tiny frame, “So, do you still think Spike was better than me?” He tightened his hold on her hips, almost breaking them with the force of his grip, leaving her in a breathless agony.
Taking time to get air back into her lungs, she grunted, “Definitely.” This comment rewarded her with a slap across the face and more painful thrusts from the dominating vampire. Buffy screamed out again, through gritted teeth, feeling as though she was being impaled by his relentlessness. This wasn’t like the pleasure/pain she felt with Spike. Even though she was certainly responding to the fact that her soul mate’s body was inside her, the pain that was coursing through her seemed to overpower that pleasure.
“We’ll just see about that.” He dipped his head down and captured one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking on it forcefully. For awhile, he managed not to bite her, alternating from one breast to the other. However, when his orgasm was close, and since it was second nature to him anyway, Angelus sank his teeth into her breast and began to drink her life’s essence greedily.
* * *
Cordelia followed the screams down the hallway, figuring that her lover had decided to kill the little bitch that tried to ruin their lives. So, when she reached his bedroom, she happily walked in, hoping to join in on the fun. However, what she saw wasn’t what she expected. Her lover was pounding the life out of the only person she ever hated. And to make matters worse, she watched as he sank his teeth into her and proceeded to drain her. Her typically brown eyes turned green with jealousy, knowing that in no matter what lifetime, Angel would never do that to her. Furious, she stormed off and planned her revenge.
* * *
As the Slayer’s powerful, intoxicating blood ran over his tongue, Angelus came into her body, thrusting wildly. Buffy felt very little of anything at this point. She vaguely recalled seeing Cordelia’s face in the doorway, but just as soon as she felt the demon’s cold, lifeless seed flood her body, the world went dark.
* * *
Part 28
Angelus collapsed on the unconscious Buffy, suddenly feeling a large amount of pain coursing through his body. His entire body hurt, and he knew it had nothing to do with his previous ‘activities’. Something wasn’t quite right with him, but he couldn’t figure what it was. It felt like something was trying to invade his body and mind. “Dammit! Not again!” The vampire said, just as his eyes glowed orange, and he passed out on top of his lover.
* * *
“Hey, Guys?” Willow called into the house. Some of the others went to get more coffee and the others went to take a nap, knowing that there was nothing they could do for Buffy until the sun came up.
“Tara walked into the living room and peered over her lover’s shoulder. “Oh my God!! It worked!!” She shouted, hugging Willow tightly.
“What’s going on?” Xander mumbled, tugging his shirt on over his head.
“Yeah, you just interrupted our entire afterglow moment.” Anya stated bluntly, receiving a bunch of stares from the others in the room. “What?”
“Hey, An, did you forget our talk about private and public information?” Her husband asked, tenderly wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
“No, but they ruined my favorite part. Well, except for when you…”
“ANYWAY, the orb is gone!!” The red-head cut in, not wanting to know the rest of her statement.
“What?!! Are you serious?!!”
“Yeah, Xand. Do you know what this means?”
“Um…Angelus is gone for good?”
“Yeah, and Buffy’s still alive!!”
“How do you know that, Will?”
“Well, he drank her blood and…oh.” The witch suddenly realized what her friend was trying to point out. “She would never let that happen.”
“You’re right, she wouldn’t *let* that happen, but how much control do you think she has over Angelus?”
“She’s still alive, Xander. She has to be.” Willow whispered the last part, praying to anyone that would listen to her that her friend would make it through this.
* * *
After only a moment or two, Angel lifted his pounding head, and tried to figure out where he was and what was going on. “Buffy?” He asked, looking down at her bruised and bleeding body. When he noticed the puncture marks on her breast, his memories came flooding back. “Oh, God, what have I done?” He immediately got up and threw on whatever clothes he could find. Then he retrieved a t-shirt and sweats for Buffy and dressed her. Picking up her unconscious body, he ran into the night and to the emergency room. “Hang on, Buffy. Please, hang on!!”
* * *
Drusilla and Dawn sauntered into the mansion a few hours before sunrise. They had some fun of their own after the split, killing three more mortals. At one point they ran into Lindsey again, but since they were feeding, they decided to leave him alone. Spike had already messed him up pretty bad, and his blood wouldn’t taste very good with dirt in it!! Anyway, when they walked into the great hall, Drusilla noticed her child was crying and pacing angrily.
“Uh-oh, baby’s not happy.” The crazy vampire commented.
“You’re damn straight, I’m not! That fucking bastard is going to pay for double-crossing me!!” Cordelia said, bounding her fists against the wall.
“What happened, Dru?” Dawn asked, not understanding her tears. Did vampires cry?
“I meant nothing to him. He bit her!! He just fucked her and then he fucking drank her blood!! We were supposed to be together for all eternity, and he didn’t waste any time getting back in the Slayer’s pants!!” The distraught demon babbled furiously.
“Are you talking about Angelus? Cuz all I can say about that is ‘Duh!!’”
“Dawn, what the HELL are you talking about? And you had better watch what you say next because I won’t be held responsible for my actions! Got me?”
The younger vampire nodded and elaborated, “Well, you should already know that the last time Angelus showed his face, all he could think about was my former sister. He was obsessed with her, and the only thing he wanted more than killing her was to screw her. Everyone knew that, even you, so why are you acting so bloody stupid all of a sudden.”
As soon as the words were in the air, Cordelia grabbed the closest weapon to her, a shovel, and ran at Dawn with it. She took a swing, and knocked the younger vampire unconscious.
“I’m going to get him back!! I don’t care what I have to do, or kill, to get the job done!! So, are you with me, Dru, or do I have to take you out, as well?” The demon asked, raising the shovel above her head.
“Of course, I’ll help you. Especially if Daddy will come home for good this time. No Slayer to mess it up.”
“Good! So, here’s the plan.” Cordelia set about explaining her revenge to her crazy Sire.
* * *
“HELP!! I need some help!!” Angel shouted as he ran into the emergency room, carrying Buffy in his arms. She hadn’t moved since he realized what was going on, and it scared him…a lot. A nurse and doctor ran up to him and showed him where he could take her. Once he laid her down, the doctor asked him a few questions.
“Okay, what happened?”
“I’m not sure. I just came home and found her like that. It looks like something bit her. I don’t know what. Please, you have to help her.”
“We will. Although, from the looks of things your…”
“Wife,” Angel supplied. Well, technically she was.
“She looks like she was raped.”
“Raped?” ‘Oh, God, no!’
“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything, though if it is, the police may need a statement from you. Go ahead and take a seat. I’ll come and talk to you as soon as I can.” With that, the doctor left to start treating Buffy.
Angel slowly walked out of the room, his head hung down and his hands in his pockets. He did it again, only much worse this time. His mind wandered back to the day before Buffy’s graduation. He never felt as guilty in his entire existence as he did that day. Well, until now. This time he not only drank from her, but he also violated that perfect, goddess-like body of hers. There is no way that she will forgive him for this. Hell, there was no way he was going to forgive himself for this. When he reached the pay phone, Angel put the change in the machine and called Buffy’s house. He knew that the gang would be there, researching or something.
“Hello?”
“Willow?”
“Angel?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m at the hospital.”
“Is Buffy okay?” The witch immediately knew why he was calling. Wow. Talk about déjà vu.
“I don’t know, but I need you guys to come up here.”
“Of course, Angel. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just have some unfinished business to take care of.” As he hung up the phone, he felt his anger for the first time. It was coursing through his veins, feeling almost as strong as his love’s blood. Angel knew right then what he had to do. If he was to ever have a relationship (of any kind) with Buffy again, he had to take care of the bastards that started this mess. All he could do now, though, was wait until her friends arrived. The last thing he needed to add to his suffering conscience was leaving her alone after what he did.
* * *
“Willow, who was that?” Tara asked, as her girlfriend came back into the living room.
“It was Angel. Buffy’s at the hospital.”
“God, not again. Doesn’t Dead Boy ever learn his lesson?”
“Xander, this wasn’t his fault. Angelus was the one to drink her blood, not Angel.”
“Well, that may be true, but it was his fault that this all happened anyway.”
“Xand, honey, get over it!” He shut up after hearing his wife’s words. She was right, as always.
“Anyway, Angel wants us to meet him there. Apparently, there’s somewhere he has to go, but he doesn’t want to leave Buffy alone.” The Scoobies all nodded there heads and headed for the door.
* * *
Angel sat in the waiting room, his head in his hands, waiting for the others to arrive. In the back of his mind somewhere he was amazed how easily brooding came to him. It took a couple of centuries, but he seemed to have perfected his skills in that area. He just shook his head, letting the tears fall, as he recalled the doctor’s words. ‘Raped? How could I do that to her?’ He felt his loss spread throughout his body. There was no going back, no forgiveness this time. He ran out of second chances.
“It’s not your fault.” A voice said from across the room.
“What?” Angel asked, looking in the direction of the sound. Once his eyes hit the figure, his face became even paler. “Dear God! Connor?”
“Yeah, Dad, it’s me. Please don’t go all wiggy on me, ok?”
“Uh-huh,” was his father’s only reply. The vampire was completely stunned to see the ghost of his son standing there in front of him.
“It wasn’t your fault. She knows that.”
“What? How does she know…what? How are you here?” He asked, still shocked.
“The Powers made me a messenger for you and Buffy. They need you two together, but it won’t work if you keep blaming yourself.”
“But how?”
“Dad, I don’t have much time. Just trust me okay.”
“Ok, Connor. What did you mean before? She knows?”
“Yeah, she had a vision before Angelus came to her. She knew that they only way to get you back was for the demon to drink her blood.”
“So, she knew?”
“Duh! You actually think that she would just let a demon bite her?” Angel had to think about that for a second. He knew that his son was right, but why would she sacrifice her life for his?
“She loves you, Dad.” The ghost said, reading his father’s mind. “She always has, and always will. And you know that’s true.”
“That may be true, but what I’ve done is unforgivable. I killed you and her sister. I raped her. It’s all over.” He said, his tears falling even harder.
“Okay, I’m going to give you some advice. Get over it!! You had no control over the demon. She knows that. I know that. The Powers know that. The only one that doesn’t is you.” After waiting for a reply from his father and not getting one, Connor continued, “You don’t need forgiveness from her or me. We did that a long time ago. The only person you need to get it from is you.”
“It’s not that easy.” Angel replied, still not having much hope in the future.
“No, I guess not.” The ghost replied sarcastically. “Well, I have to go now.”
“Wait!! Connor…I-I’m so sorry that I wasn’t able to save you.”
“It’s okay, Dad. I’m happy here. There aren’t demons chasing me around all the time. Besides there’s this really cute girl from France that died last month…”
“Connor,”
“Sorry. Anyway, don’t worry about me now. You have a whole world here that needs you, and a beautiful woman who loves you. Just take a chance and be happy for once.”
“But the curse…”
“I love you, Dad.” With that, the apparition vanished.
“I love you, Connor.”
* * *
Part 29
Angel sat in the waiting room for a while after his son’s ghost paid him a visit, just thinking about what he said. A lot of it made sense, even if it was still painful, it made sense. He still wasn’t sure what to do, though. Should he stay with her, as long as she will still talk to him after what he did? Should he just go back home and brood for a few years, maybe even decades?
Suddenly, the doctor pulled him out of his thoughts. “Mr. Angel?”
“Yes, sir, that’s me.” Angel said, wiping the tears from his face and standing up.
“We’ve finished examining and stabilizing your wife.”
“How is she?”
“Well, she’s fine, considering the extent of her injuries. We are still sticking with the initial observation of her rape, but she has refused to have a rape kit performed. We were hoping that you could convince her to do it.”
“Does that mean I could see her?” Angel questioned eagerly, although still tentative about seeing her so soon. He just felt that he needed to.
The doctor chuckled slightly. “Of course, sir. Follow me.” The doctor led him down the hall to room 214. Angel considered the irony of that, but once he arrived outside the door, his humor left him.
“Oh God!”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Angel. She looks a lot worse than she really is. We are all amazed by her immune system. Your wife’s wounds are almost completely healed already. It’s quite unprecedented! Oh, and please, don’t forget to ask her to allow us to complete the kit.” The doctor reminded, as he walked off to go and check on another patient.
Angel looked nervously at his hands for a minute or two, and then gathered all his courage and walked into the room.
“Angel?” Buffy called, her eyes still closed. Even though she couldn’t see him, she always knew when her soul mate was around.
“Yeah, Buffy, I’m here.” The vampire replied, as he sat down in the chair beside her bed. He reached over to take her hand in his, but once he noticed the bandages on her wrists, he pulled it back and set it in his lap.
Buffy opened her eyes, and tentatively asked her next question. “Is it really you? Not…Angelus?”
“No, honey, he’s gone. It’s just me.” He almost felt like he was lying, especially since his demon was taunting him in his mind about how great it felt to fuck the Slayer. “How are you?”
“Peachy. Seems that I impress all of the staff here with my super fast healing.” She answered, smiling as much as her bruised and swollen face would allow. Just looking at her made him want to fall on his knees, sobbing and asking for her forgiveness. His heart constricted, as his mind replayed the events of the previous night. Noticing his silence, Buffy asked, worriedly, “Angel, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just…” He trailed off, not sure how to put his feelings into words.
“Just what?” She pressed.
“God, I’m so sorry, Buffy.” He started, tears streaming down his pale face. “I can’t believe that I…that you were…oh God!” His head fell between his hands, as he tried to cover up his pain from her. At that moment, all he wanted to do was walk out into the sunrise to show her how sorry he really was. The only problem was that the sun wasn’t going to rise for another hour. Until then, he was stuck here, looking at her gorgeous body that was marred and violated at his hand.
Buffy sat up and scooted to the edge of the hospital bed. Taking his face in her hands, she lifted it up and made him look at her. “Angel, listen to me. This is *not* your fault. Angelus did this, and I let him. Well, sort of. Anyway, I needed him to drink my blood in order to complete the ritual. This was the only way to keep him from drinking it all, and the only way to get you back. I’m the one who should be apologizing to you.”
“No, Buffy. You didn’t make this happen.” He countered, pointing at her wrists and face. “You were raped…by me!” Angel’s tears started falling harder. The minute he saw her body, Connor’s words left his mind. All he could think about now was his guilt.
“Baby, no.” His love said, soothingly, placing a small kiss on his mouth, tasting his tears. “I know you better than that. You would take up sunbathing or go on a trip to Hell before you laid a hand on me in any way that would not be considered loving. This had nothing to do with you, okay? Besides it’s over now, and we can be together again.”
“How is it that you always know what to say to make me feel better?” The vampire asked lovingly, a tiny half-smile starting on his face.
“Because I know you, Angel. You’re a part of me, always.”
“Always.” He responded by kissing her tenderly, trying as carefully as possible not to hurt her. “Oh, by the way, the doctor wants me to convince you to have a rape kit done.” He said, once the kiss was broken.
“Well, I already told him no. I wasn’t raped, and I have no intentions on going to the police, so there is no point in making one.” Buffy replied firmly, leaving no room for argument.
“Okay, baby.” Angel kissed her again, with a little more passion this time, but still gently. He wanted her to know how much he loved and treasured her. It was only broken when he felt her need for oxygen was too great. While she was regaining her breath and recovering from the blissful high that the kiss gave her, she yawned. “Hey, you should probably get some rest. You’ve had a really long night.”
“Yeah, I did.” She said, yawning again. “Angel?”
“Hmmm?”
“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”
“Of course, love. Anything you want.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Angel sat there and held her hand, mindful of her sore wrist, and watched her until her breathing evened out, and he knew she was asleep. Realizing that the gang was probably waiting for him, he stood up, placing a gentle kiss on the inside of her palm, and quietly walked to the waiting room.
* * *
“What could be taking him so long?” Xander asked, pacing the room for the fiftieth time in the last few minutes.
“Xander, will you stop it?” His wife asked. “I swear, if you don’t I’m going to cut off your coffee supply!!” Immediately, her husband stopped.
“Sorry that I was late.” Angel said, as he walked into the small room.
“How is she?”
“She’s going to be fine, Willow. She just fell asleep.”
“How are you?” The witch asked, noticing the tear stains on his face that went along with his guilty look.
“Coping, but thankfully back to myself again.”
“That’s g-good.” Tara said, smiling at the vampire.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice. I have a few things that need to be dealt with, and I have to go before the sun comes up.”
“Yeah, no problem, Dead Boy.”
“I *really* wish you’d stop calling me that!”
“I know, but it’s too much fun!” Xander said, chuckling briefly. He stopped when he heard a low growl coming from the vampire.
“I talked to the doctor on my way here. He said that you guys can visit her if you want to, just as long as you don’t get her worked up. I told him that it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Thanks, Angel.” He just nodded his head.
“Well, I have to get going. I have about twenty minutes before I get in trouble. Thanks again!” With that, he walked out into the color-streaked sky.
* * *
Part 30
Angel strolled into the mansion just as the sun was at the horizon. He noticed Cordelia, sitting on the couch reading a book on Chinese torture. “Hey, Cordy!! How’s my favorite demon doing today?” He said, in his best Angelus voice.
“Angelus?”
“Yeah, baby. Who’d you think it was?” He said smugly.
“I just figured that you would be off screwing your precious Buffy.”
“Well, how can I say this? It started to get boring. I mean seriously, that girl needs to get around some more. She’d make a priest fall asleep before the foreplay was over. And you know how I *love* foreplay!”
“So, where were you anyway?” She asked, changing the subject even though her mind was wandering to Angelus and foreplay and all the things they could do together with his chest of weapons in his room.
“Of course, I fell asleep, being so bored and all, and when I woke up, she was gone. So, being the good captor that I am, I went to track her down and beat her sorry ass. It was pretty nice too. I had her trapped in an abandoned warehouse that was used for wood-cutting. I swear I haven’t had that much fun with a chainsaw since Rupert.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, how come you didn’t invite me?” The demon asked, sounding almost hurt by the fact that she didn’t get to play, too.
“Well, I would have, but you were all tears-girl, and I’m not one for ruining sad moments.” She didn’t respond, but looked away instead. “So, did my children come home yet?”
“Yeah, they did. Dru’s upstairs playing with her dolls, and Dawn went to bed. It *is* sunrise after all.”
Hey, no need to get testy!” He said, raising his hands in mock protest. Really, he just wanted to rip her throat out for being a smartass, but that wouldn’t help him out right now. “I just wanted to know if they were back because I have to tell Dawn the bad news.”
“Oh.”
“Well, since that won’t take too long, why don’t you meet me in my room in about five minutes, okay, baby?” He asked, winking at her to show her what he wanted.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll be there in five minutes.” Cordy said, as she ran off to go get into something more comfortable.
Angel then proceeded upstairs, thankful that Cordelia had chosen the downstairs bedroom, so she wouldn’t hear him. He walked into Dawn’s room, where she lay fast asleep. He silently removed a stake from his jacket and pierced her heart, watching as she combusted on the bed. This was definitely one of those times that it was handy to be a vampire. He knew that once the sun came up most vampires, especially young ones, were dead to the world (so to speak) until nightfall. Dawn, however, won’t be waking up today. ‘Okay, one down and two to go.’ Angel thought, as he sauntered into his bedroom.
* * *
“Hey, guys!”
“Buffster, how are you feeling?” Her best friend asked, checking out the not-so-cool bruises and cuts she had covering her.
“Much better, actually. Angel’s back!” She replied, smiling. Most of her injuries were faded to where they were barely noticeable. The swelling on her face was a lot less than it was when her lover had been there.
“Yeah, we saw him out in the waiting room.”
“Hey, Will and Tara, thank you so much for helping me tonight. I wouldn’t be here now if you didn’t.” The witches just blushed, not able to handle compliments well.
“So, how’d you figure it out?”
“Actually, Anya, it was really easy. The Powers gave me a vision that told me what I had to do.”
“So, you let him practically rape you?” Xander was finally letting his anger out over the situation. He hated to think of what that vampire did to his first love and best friend.
“NO! Xand, I didn’t *let* him rape me. I knew that if I just let him drink from me, he would take it all. The only way to get him to do what I needed was for him to be out of his normal frame of mind. I remembered him from the last time and the two things he wanted from me were my death and a good fuck. So, I just did what was necessary. Besides most of this,” she gestured towards her injuries, “came from before that happened.” Her friends didn’t know what to say. Their friend’s explanation wasn’t exactly what they expected to hear. Breaking the silence was Buffy’s loud scream.
“AAAAHHHHHH!!!” She cried, clutching her head.
“Oh no, another vision.” Tara said, reaching for some aspirin in her purse.
Once it was over, Buffy sat up perfectly straight, her mind trying to process the information.
“What happened, Buffy?” Tara asked, handing her the medication.
“I gotta go!” She answered, ripping her IV out of her hand and pulling all of the other gadgets off of her body. She ran to the closet and threw on some clothes, luckily they let her keep her underwear on, or she would have been flashing her friends. Once she was dressed, she ran out of the room and headed right into trouble, with her friends standing, still shocked, in her room.
* * *
Angel entered his bedroom to find Cordelia lying on the bed in a tiny red negligee.
“Hey, baby. Wanna play?” She asked, holding up a pair of handcuffs.
He was stunned, but couldn’t break his cover. So, he let out a low growl, pulled her off the bed, and pressed her into him. “Yeah, baby. Let’s play.” He kissed her roughly, as he pulled out a stake from his sleeve. Just as he was about to jab it into her back, something hit his head, and hard. He fell to the floor, as his world was black.
* * *
Part 31
Buffy just kept running towards the pain. His pain. She knew that there wasn’t much time left, so she pushed herself a little bit more, as she approached the mansion. The vision she just had frightened her so much that the burning in her lungs and legs for running so fast was overshadowed. After all that they had been through in the past few days, there was no way she was going to lose him now, especially to Drusilla, Dawn, and Cordelia. No way in Hell. With that in her mind, she slowed down to enter the mansion.
* * *
Angel clenched his jaw, trying not to scream out from the pain on his chest. Drusilla was having her way with him, after she and Cordelia chained him up to the wall. She had been pouring holy water on him for about fifteen minutes, pulling him out of the unconsciousness he wished he was still in. At least then, he couldn’t feel the searing pain shoot through his body from the burns on his chest.
“Now, say ‘uncle’,” The crazy vampire crooned. “Oh, that’s right. You *killed* my uncle!” She dumped the rest of the holy water onto his chest, finally eliciting the scream she had been waiting to hear from him. “Oh, Cordelia!! It’s your turn!” Drusilla said, as she stood up and left the room. Angel took as many deep breaths as his confines would allow, trying to recompose himself. The pain was reaching unbearable heights, and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. Just then, his ex-lover waltzed into the room, a sharp dagger in her hand.
“So, lover, you tried to kill me, huh?” She asked, holding the knife up to the light so he could see the sharpness of its blade.
“Cordelia, I didn’t…”
“SHUT UP!!” He closed his mouth immediately, knowing full well that it didn’t matter what he said. She had him as vulnerable as he would ever be.
“You’ve been a very bad boy,” she said, mimicking her sister vamp. “I think it’s time to teach you a lesson, ‘Angelus.’” She drew the blade slowly across his left cheek, leaving a moderately sized gash, which oozed fairly large amounts of blood. “It seems that your little whore gave you more than just her body tonight, didn’t she?” Cordelia commented, after she licked the cut from bottom to top, noticing the Slayer’s powerful blood mixed with his. He moaned loudly at the painful contact on his now tender flesh. The cut was deep, and her tongue was only aggravating it more.
* * *
As Buffy entered the mansion, she heard a loud scream coming from a room upstairs. Without thinking twice, she raced up the stairs to help her Angel. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she encountered a rather happy Drusilla.
“You shouldn’t have come back here,” the Slayer warned.
“Oh, you’ve come to rescue Daddy. But he’s a little tied up at the moment.” With that the vampire lunged at Buffy, who sidestepped her and watched her fall down the stairs. Hoping that would buy her time, she continued down the hall, following the cry of his soul.
“Cordelia,” the blonde said, when she walked into the room. She couldn’t believe what she saw. Her lover was tied to a wall with chains, his face bleeding heavily from a cut and his chest was blistering more every second. Tears were welling up in the Slayer’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Right now she had more important things to worry about.
“Well, isn’t it the knight in shining armor?! Are you here to save the day, little girl?” Cordelia mocked, as she held the dagger to Angel’s throat.
“You know, that all depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether or not, you’re prepared to DIE!” Buffy attacked the demon, pushing her away from Angel and managed to knock the blade out of her hand and across the room. As the demon regrouped, the blonde yanked the chains that bound him to the wall, breaking them.
“BUFFY, LOOK OUT!!” The dark vampire screamed, at the moment he was finally free. Drusilla had snuck up behind the girl, and threw her out of the room. Once the crazy vampire found her outside, she kicked the Slayer down the stairs. Angel chased down after her, ignoring the other demons that followed him. When he got to the bottom, Buffy had already picked herself up and stood in a battle stance, ready to attack. Once Angel saw this, he joined in at her side.
“Well, isn’t this a pretty picture?” Cordelia said, sarcasm dripping from her words. “It’s actually quite romantic if you think about it.”
“What the Hell are you talking about?” Buffy grumbled, getting rather frustrated with the stupid banter that continuously happened in fights to the death.
“It sweet to see the two of you, soul mates, prepared to die together. It’s almost like “Romeo and Juliet,” except that you won’t die so nicely.”
“Cordy, are you going to talk us to death, or are we actually going to fight?”
“Have it your way, BITCH!” The demons ran at the two warriors, each picking one to fight. Drusilla went after Buffy, and Cordelia, of course, went for Angel. Dru and the Slayer were struggling against each other, taking turns in launching the other into a chair or a table. Angel, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Cordy was taking advantage of her demon qualities, so every time that he attacked, she just floated into the air, missing the hit completely. Once in the air, she would kick him in the face or the back, knocking him to the ground. This elicited quite a loud chuckle from her. ‘The mighty Angelus can’t even lay a hand on me.’ She thought. ‘But that’s all I wanted, wasn’t it? Just for him to touch me, to love me. But no.’ Her inner monologue was getting her pissed off, so she kicked him again. ‘He could only love his little whore, Buffy. He lied to me and used me, and I hate that fucking asshole!!!’ The angrier that the demon got, the more she seemed to glow. Then she sent a roundhouse in Angel’s direction, sending her opponent flying and screaming across the great hall.
“ANGEL!!!” Buffy screamed, throwing Drusilla into Cordelia, and ran after her lover. She reached his side in a matter of seconds, and helped him to his feet. Between the two of them, they were still badly hurt, and noticed that they were quickly losing this battle. “Hey, I need to tell you something.” She said quickly and quietly, as she watched their enemies get to their feet.
“What?”
“No matter what happens, I love you. Always have.”
“Don’t say that, we’ll make it out of this. I promise.” Angel knew that this fight was going to be the end of things, one way or another, but he refused to believe that they wouldn’t make it.
“I just wanted you to know. Just in case…”
“I love you too, but this is not the end. We’re going to win this. We always do.” That was the last word spoken, for she saw in his eyes that he refused to let them win. She just hoped they were both strong enough to do it.
* * *
The Scooby Gang stood in total shock, as they watched their best friend flee the hospital. They didn’t know what was in the vision or where she went, but where ever it was, something big was going down.
“I bet she went to Angel.”
“I think you’re right, Will. He did leave, saying that he had some unfinished business to attend to.” Willow just looked in awe at her girlfriend. Tara was always so supportive and perfect. It seemed that she loved the witch more every day.
“Okay, but where would Angel have gone?” Xander asked, trying to think of something to help his friends. “Oh, I know. He probably went to the mansion. Isn’t that where his alter-ego and friends were staying last night?” His friends all looked relieved and happily at him. At least they knew now where they had to go.
“Good work, Xand.” Willow beamed. She always knew her friend would come through when they needed him.
"You think they'll need us?" Anya asked, not knowing how they were supposed to help.
"Of course, they'll need us. They always need us!" Willow said, almost in a panicked way. "So, how are we going to get there?"
“We can use our car, right, honey?”
“Sure, An. There’s plenty of room in the SUV. It’s a good thing I brought it tonight.” With that, the assembly walked out the door, and headed into battle.
* * *
Part 32
Drusilla and Cordelia were not stupid vampires. Crazy? Yes, but not stupid. They knew that their opponents were severely weakened and wouldn’t last much longer. The vampires understood that all they had to do was wear them out just a little more before they drain and kill them.
At the moment, Buffy and Angel were still clinging to each other on the floor in front of the fireplace. They needed a strategy and fast. Looking around the room, Buffy spotted a shovel, a chair, but nothing of particular use. Suddenly, a great idea popped into her head. Glancing towards Angel, she told him her plan, but not through words. They may have been separated for a long time, but they could still communicate perfectly just with their eyes. Angel nodded his assent, and then watched her go to work, hoping it wouldn’t get her killed.
“Hey, Cordelia.” The Slayer said, standing up and walking halfway between where Angel was still crouching and where the vampires stood.
“What do you want?”
“First of all, I think you and I need to clear the air about a few things. See, I know you saw us together tonight.” Buffy took a big breath, and started to walk around the demons, which turned to face her as she spoke.
“And what if I did?”
“I realized a few things while he was touching me, and I just thought you could use some pointers, that’s all. You know, woman to woman, and all that.”
“What the HELL are you talking about?”
“It was pretty obvious that’s our Angel here’s not been too happy, if you know what I mean.” The Slayer commented, pointing toward her lover, who was standing up beside the fireplace.
“No, I don’t think I do. He and I have been very happy now for a long time. Isn’t that right, baby?” Cordelia asked, looking to the souled vampire for support. All she saw, however, was a blank stare.
“I don’t doubt that *you* were completely sated while you were together. What female on this planet wouldn’t be if her lover had over 200 years of experience? I certainly don’t know any.” At this point, the Slayer had walked all the way around to the other side of the room, so the demons’ backs were now facing Angel.
“He was happy, too. I know he was. We share a bond, you know.” Cordy said, with an air of confidence.
“I bet you do.” Buffy answered sarcastically. As she continued to taunt the demon, she watched as Angel walked silently over to the shovel and picked it up. “He wanted me tonight. When I was all chained up and helpless, he was so eager to fuck the only person who really knew his needs, his fantasies. When he slept with you, it was sweet and tender, wasn’t it, Cordelia?” The demon just hung her head, not wanting to recognize the truth that was starting to plague her mind. “That’s what I thought. You see, with me, he could let go. He didn’t have to worry about me getting hurt or not having the stamina to last through a night of lovemaking.”
“I don’t have to take this. I could just kill you right now.”
Ignoring the demon’s statements, the Slayer continued her torment. “Has he ever fed off of you, Cordy? He drank from me tonight, but then again, you probably saw it, didn’t you? Angelus sank his fangs deeply into my breast and drank like he had been denied blood for months. It had to be one of the most erotic moments of my life. I know it was for him. I could feel his orgasm hit him the minute my blood ran over his tongue. Have you shared anything that intimate with him? No, I’ll bet you never bared you neck for him and asked him to bite you. You never knew him like I do, and he never loved you the way he will ALWAYS love me!”
“Fuck you, bitch!!! Now, it’s my turn!!!” Just as the demon was about to strike, Angel swung the shovel, catching her off-guard, and bashed her in the side of the head, knocking her to the ground. At the same time, Drusilla charged at her sire, trying to protect her child. She was blindsided by Buffy, who tackled her to the ground, as well. Angel broke the handle of the shovel, and jabbed it into Cordelia, even before she had a chance to sit up. Drusilla didn’t take long to get the upper hand on the severely weakened Slayer. The vampire picked up the petite woman and dropped her back first onto the chair. Infuriated, Angel screamed and threw himself in Dru’s direction, preventing another attack on his beloved, who was laid out on the ruins of the chair. He punched his child several times in the face and stomach, bruising her tiny body easily. Picking her up, he slammed the crazy vampire onto the floor near the pieces of the chair. Angel grabbed one quickly and staked Drusilla right through the heart. Not bothering to watch her explode into dust, he rushed over and helped the newly conscious Slayer off the ground, taking her into his tight embrace.
“Thanks.” She said, still in pain, but feeling better now that the danger was over, and she was in her lover’s arms.
“I can’t believe you said those things to her. I thought you still hated me for the relationship we had.” Angel said, sort of shocked at the comments his tiny warrior made to his ex-lover.
“I never hated you, especially not for that. If you could accept me with Spike, then what right do I have judging you? Besides, those things were true, weren’t they?”
“Of course they were true.” He reassured Buffy. “I would never do any of those intimate things with her, even if I could. Those are only things I’ve shared with you.”
“CHAAAAAARRRRRRRRGE!!!” Xander yelled, as the Scooby Gang rushed into the mansion, holding raised weapons in their hands and ruining the quiet moment.
“What the HELL are you doing, Xander?” Buffy yelled back, as she watched her friends lower their weapons and look around confused. There was a big mess in the room: broken chairs, pieces of wood everywhere, a bent and broken shovel. The Slayer and her vampire were now separated, but still stood near each other in the center of the disheveled room.
“We came here to rescue you.” Anya stated, causing Angel to chuckle quietly, so only Buffy could hear him. She had to stifle a laugh herself, so she wouldn’t insult her friends.
“Thanks, guys, but I think everything is under control now.” Angel said nicely, once the laughter had past.
“So, the world’s not going to end?”
“No, Will. The world will live to see another day.” Buffy said, as she wrapped an arm around Angel’s waist and his went around her shoulders. She led him and the rest of the group towards the door to leave, but were stopped when Angel did. Looking outside into the morning sun, she realized why. “Hey, Xander, why don’t you drive everyone back to my place, and try to catch up on your sleep. I’ll stay here with Angel to make sure everything is okay, and we’ll come by after sunset.”
“Okay.” Xander replied, as the Scoobies walked out the door, leaving Buffy and Angel stuck in the mansion for the rest of the day.
* * *
Part 33
Buffy looked over at Angel, as she heard the engine of her friend’s SUV start up, and the car pull away. He had blisters covering his chest, a deep cut on his cheek, and broken skin on his wrists from the manacles used to tie him up.
“Come on, come with me.” She said, taking his hand in hers, and leading him up the stairs. Once they reached the bedroom, she led him over to the bed. “Lie down, and I’ll be right back.” Angel silently complied, as Buffy walked out of the room. A couple of minutes later, she returned, holding a first-aid kit and a bowl of water with a washcloth in her hand.
“Buffy, what are you doing?” He asked finally, knowing full well, that she was in far worse shape than he was.
“I’m treating your wounds. What does it look like?” She playfully questioned, as she set up her supplies on the bedside table.
“That’s not necessary. I’m fine. You are the one that needs the treatment.” He countered, taking in her appearance. Buffy still had her wrists bandaged from the hospital, but blood had already started to seep through the gauze. Her back was cut in several places from the splintered wood of the chair she fell through during the fight. She also had a gash across her forehead from hitting it on the hearth. Raising his hand slowly, Angel tenderly traced the cut, realizing that it had almost completely healed already. Buffy instinctively leaned into the touch, reveling in the closeness between them. Suddenly, however, he pulled his hand away, and looked down sheepishly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“No, don’t worry about it.” She reassured him, as she set about cleaning his wounds.
* * *
“Wow! That was one Hell of a night!” Xander commented, as he and his friends wandered back into the Summers’ house.
“You can say that again.” Willow said.
“Wow! That was…”
“Xander!” Willow rebuked, sleepily. “It’s too early…or late…or whatever for you dry humor.” No one else said a word, but they nodded their heads in agreement, as they headed to their particular ‘quarters’ for a long nap.
* * *
Once Buffy had finished cleaning and bandaging Angel’s wounds, he decided that it was his turn. Working in pleasurable silence, he tenderly washed the blood from the cut on her forehead, which had mostly healed since it was fairly shallow. Next, he set to work on her wrists. Taking on in his hands, Angel unwrapped the bandages from the hospital and discarded them. Buffy just sat there and watched silently, as he regarded her with such love. It nearly took her breath away, and he was simply holding her forearm in his large hands, while he put ointment and dressings on it.
When he had finished, Angel put the supplies on the table, and looked back at Buffy. She sat in front of him on the bed, her eyes closed and a smile on her face. It was obvious that she was just enjoying the feeling of his attention and his touch. She looked so beautiful, that if Angel had a heartbeat, it would have skipped a few. Leaning forward slowly, he brushed his lips against hers, bringing her delightfully out of her meditation. Buffy returned the kiss just as softly, leaving it as a simple, yet passionate caress. When Angel broke away, he sat back again, and watched as her eyes slowly opened to gaze happily at him.
“That was nice.” Angel smiled.
“It was.” He agreed.
The couple sat there for a few more moments, just staring into each other’s souls. Then Buffy made the move to get up, but was held back by Angel’s hand.
“Where are you going, love?”
“I was just going to put the first-aid stuff away. That’s all.” She answered, smiling brightly at him. Angel just shook his head.
“You can’t. We’re not done here.”
“We’re not?” She asked, perplexed by his almost cryptic comment.
“No. I haven’t finished your back, yet.” She simply smiled back in response, and returned to her previous position in front of the vampire. Just as she was preparing to turn around so he could examine her back, he stopped her again. Angel reached down and carefully began to unbutton the front of her tiny blouse.
“Angel, wha-?” He silenced her with a finger to her mouth, and looked her deeply in the eyes.
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course, but…”
“Then, just let me help you, okay?” She nodded, and let his nimble fingers continue their journey. Once all of the buttons were freed, he urged Buffy to turn around, which she did. With her back to him, he very gently slid the blouse towards him, removing it from her body, wary of the splinters and tiny cuts covering her upper back. Since she was wearing a strapless bra, Angel was able to work around it, as he removed the small pieces of wood that protruded from her tanned skin. Most of them were so small that, had he not been a creature of the night, he never would have been able to find them all. Nevertheless, he treated the wounds and placed small bandages on them. “Okay, love, now I’m finished.” She could almost hear his smile in the words. Standing, she picked up the supplies, and returned them to the bathroom.
When Buffy walked back into Angel’s bedroom, she saw him peacefully asleep on top of the comforter. Quietly, she stripped off her pants, bra, and shoes, finding a blue silk shirt in his wardrobe to put on. Once she was changed, the tiny blonde crept over to the bed, somehow pulled the blankets down while Angel slept, and covered them both up. Snuggling into her love’s side, Buffy was finally able to get some much-needed rest.
* * *
Part 34
It was just before eleven when the last of the Scoobies woke up. Xander, of course, stumbled down the stairs and headed straight for the food.
Willow noticed her best friend’s actions, turned to his wife, and said, “If you don’t keep that boy’s food intake in check, you’ll have to go shopping with him to get new belts and pants. Probably tomorrow!!”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, that gives me more surface area to lick when we’re copulating!!”
“Ewwww!!! God, I *SO* didn’t need to know that!!!!!” Both Tara and Willow shrieked.
“I think the pudge look is sexy! What’s wrong with that?”
Tara piped in. “Anya, you think anything male that breathes is sexy!”
“And some males that don’t!!!” Willow added. The two witches busted out in giggles, while Anya just huffed and went to join her husband in the kitchen.
“So what do you think our favorite doomed couple is doing today?” Xander asked, walking into the living room accompanied by his wife, and carrying a plate of 5 waffles coated in maple syrup, butter, and fruit.
“I bet there’s some serious smooching going on!!” Willow commented, happy that her friend will finally get what she’s always wanted.
“Yeah, I agree.” Tara said, smiling at the others. She always knew that Buffy and Angel would end up together. Soul mates often do, especially two as close as they were.
“Well, I think they’re probably having wild, crazy, animal sex right now.” Anya said, a wicked grin on her face.
“Yep. I so agree.” That’s when Xander broke in song, while doing the Snoopy Dance: “You and me baby ain’t nothin’ but mammals, so let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel.” After his third time through the refrain, he was pegged with pillows and cushions by the ‘audience.’
“Hey, wait a sec, guys!”
“What is it, Tara?”
“Will, do they know about the changed status of Angel’s soul?”
“Um…no, honey, I don’t think they do. God, that means they are probably sitting around at opposite ends of the mansion, just trying to avoid the temptation.”
“Well, you should probably call them!” Xander suggested. “If I do it, I will probably end up singing again. Then, Deadboy will kill me for thinking those thoughts about Buffy.”
“True. Okay, I’ll do it.” Willow got up, and walked over to the phone in the kitchen, hoping for a little privacy, so she can get any good details out of her best friend.
* * *
Buffy woke up when she heard the phone ringing. Moving over in the loose embrace she found herself in to the edge of the bed, she picked it up.
“‘Lo?” The blonde said sleepily.
“Hey, Buffy!!”
“Will? All the bad guys are dead, so whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow.” She grumbled, even though she noticed that it was almost noon already.
“Oh, no bad guys here. Actually, I called to tell you some good news.” The red-headed witch said in her perkiest voice.
“Hmmm?” Buffy was getting distracted by the hand that lay across her silk clad waist. Angel was starting to caress her stomach in his sleep, and it was sending bolts of searing pleasure through her body.
“Well, when we did the spell on Angel’s soul, the blood you gave him bound it.”
“Will, what are you saying?”
“His soul is permanent now. So, no more grrrrr!!!!!”
“Are you serious???” Buffy asked more loudly, seemingly shocked by the news.
“Yep. We’re sure and serious. But I have to go now. Tara’s getting antsy and is irritated that I’m talking too much. So, anyway, bye!!”
“Bye?” Hanging up the phone, the blonde stared at it for a moment to let everything sink in. Then, with a grin on her face, she rolled over to return to sleep. However, she was met by a sparkling-eyed, happy-faced Angel.
“Hey.”
“Hey, baby.” He replied in his deep, sexy voice, as he moved a stray hair out of her face and behind her ear. His fingers lingered at her hairline for a minute before tracing her jaw line. Tilting her chin with this thumb and forefinger, Angel placed a gentle kiss on her lips. It was brief, however, and he pulled away with a sheepish look on his face. He may have overheard the phone conversation, but that didn’t necessarily mean that she wanted him, too.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” He apologized, praying that she would tell him that she didn’t mind.
“No, don’t be sorry. It was nice.”
“Nice?” He asked, a mock pout on his face.
“Yeah, nice.” She answered teasingly.
“Fine.” The sexy vampire replied as he rolled out of bed, and padded his way to the bathroom. While inside, he removed his dressings and inspected the exposed wounds. They were completely healed, except for the faint markings that remained, which would most likely be gone in an hour or so. This was another one of those moments that he was happy to be a demon with super fast healing abilities. Now, he was not only physically capable of being with Buffy again (since he didn’t have so much pain anymore), but his soul was also in tact!! This day could not get any better. Well, except for one thing, but he was working on that at the moment. Right now, all he wanted to do was finish what he attempted to start a few minutes ago. The only problem was making sure that she was okay with it, too. But he was going to guarantee it with his next performance.
* * *
Buffy sat, fairly confused, on the bed, as she watched her …boyfriend? …ex-lover? escape to the bathroom. She was certain that he knew she was just teasing him. That kiss was…wow!!! It was gentle, tender, but it was also very passionate. Even if it was only a brief kiss. It was obvious that he wanted more than just that. Lying in his bed, in his shirt, Angel’s smell was everywhere. The entire situation had her so wet, so hot for him, but for some reason he left. She just couldn’t figure it out.
It was then that she heard the shower turn on. Damn! She could picture how beautiful he would look in the shower. Gloriously naked with hot water running down every inch of his body. At this point, Buffy was more than ready for him. All she wanted to do was climb in there with him. ‘I’ll bet he wouldn’t expect that!’ She thought, as she rose from the bed. Shedding the silk shirt and whatever dressings he placed on her wounds last night, the blonde walked over to the bathroom door. It was cracked open. Good. At least now, he wouldn’t be able to hear her come in. Very quietly, Buffy gingerly stepped into the shower. She was right. As he was facing the stream of hot water, rinsing soap from his face, Angel had never looked sexier. She approached him from behind, and without warning, slipped her arms around his waist. He jumped slightly, not expecting her to join him. This wasn’t part of his plan, not that he minded at all. Buffy started to place open-mouthed kisses to his wet shoulder blades. She also traced his Griffin tattoo with one hand while the other rubbed back and forth across his tight abdomen. When she realized that Angel was purring, she spoke for the first time.
“Hello, love. Expecting me?”
Smelling her vanilla scented skin mixed with her arousal, he turned around and answered, “Not yet, baby, but that’s fine with me.” Leaning over, Angel pulled her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly, putting all of his pent-up lust and need for her into that long kiss in an attempt to show her how much she meant to him. He was already hard thinking about her lying on his bed in his shirt, but the moment he saw her standing naked in front of him with that dark look of passion in her eyes, his erection became much harder and more painful. It pressed itself into her wet, smooth abdomen, searching for release. When she started to need air, Angel pulled away, but rested his forehead against hers.
Breaking the silent moment after recovering from her high, Buffy looked at him happily, “Angel. The curse…”
He placed his fingers over her mouth. “I know, baby. I know.” The vampire kissed her more deeply this time, going crazy from not holding her, touching her for so long. He had planned to make slow, beautiful love to her after teasing her with thoughts of him in the shower, but from the moment she joined him, all he wanted was to be inside her. Slow and beautiful could wait. Without breaking the kiss, Angel spun them around, pushing Buffy into the wall underneath the hot spray of water. She gasped from the unexpected change in position and the change in her lover. Slowly but firmly, he began to trail kisses down her throat, reveling in the moans he elicited from her. She gripped the thick hairs on the back of his head, holding on for dear life as the fire began to ignite her entire being. His lips continued their path down to her chest, stopping only for a moment to suck gently on her scar, as his hands caressed every part of the blonde’s body that they could reach. Once he reached the valley between her breasts, Buffy threw her head back against the hard tile. She knew that he was very talented in all forms of sex, but she was amazed that he could almost make her come just from his ministrations to her breasts. She was in a very relaxed and pleasured state when she realized that he was no longer touching her.
“Angel, wha-?” She started to ask when she opened her eyes, but trailed off when she saw the tears in his brown ones. “God, honey, what’s wrong?” Her hand moved up to cup his cheek in its palm. Buffy watched, as her lover’s trembling hand reached out to her left breast. He was always amazed that even after only one night of passion, he knew every detail and curve of her body. However, something had changed. On her breast, he found a new scar: two tiny holes just above her nipple.
“God, what have I done??” Angel cried, dropping to his knees and looked up at her, tears mixing in with the warm water on his face. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!!” He repeated over and over again, as the terrible memories of last night returned to him. Pressing his face into her abdomen and leaving his left hand over the scar, he held her and allowed his tears to flow unchecked. Buffy was shocked. She didn’t realize that she had a scar; much less that Angel blamed himself for it. She tried to take a look at it, but his hand was still covering it. Although she knew this was a sad moment, his palm and fingers were brushing over her nipple, and she was forced to hold back her moans of pleasure at the friction it created on her rosy buds.
Leaning over, Buffy helped Angel back up to his feet. Holding his head in place, she told him, “Love, this is not your fault. You’ve done nothing wrong. I love you.” Hearing her words, he whimpered and continued to cry, knowing that after his previous actions, he shouldn’t be here with her, that she shouldn’t love him. “Angel, look at me.” The blonde demanded, when her lover lowered his head and looked away, slowly losing himself to the guilt and pain. He raised his head and met her gaze. She was shocked to see how much torture he was putting himself through. “Don’t do this to yourself. I need you here with me. I-I can’t lose you again.” When he saw her tears and the love in her blurry eyes, Angel realized that she was right. As much as he hated himself for his actions and for scarring this perfect body in front of him, he needed her too. Finally he removed his hand from the scar on her breast, and leaning over, he placed a tender, loving kiss to his mark. From that moment on, he vowed never to let his demon ruin her life or their relationship again. Capturing her lips again in a searing kiss, Angel pulled her flush up against him. He did need her, and his body continued to protest at how long he was waiting to be surrounded by her. His erection was very painful now, as he felt the lust shoot through him at the touch of her tiny hands when they grabbed his clenched ass. Breaking off the kiss, he went straight for her wet, pert nipples. Taking one in his mouth, he nipped and suckled the bud, while his other hand fondled the neglected breast.
“Oh, yes, Angel!!” Buffy moaned, again marveling at the power he has over her and her body. He continued his ministrations to her breasts, alternating from one to the other, for what seemed to be an eternity. She was desperate for release, as he dragged out her orgasm. “Please, Angel, I need…”
“Shhh…” He moved up and placed a gentle kiss to her mouth, nibbling on her pouting lower lip. “I love you.” He whispered in her ear, as one of his hands snaked down to play with her curls.
“Aahhhh…love you…too.” She stuttered, slowly going crazy from his torment. He dropped to his knees again, which placed him at eye level with her dripping entrance. Separating her thighs, he plunged his face between them, licking a sinuous path over her nether lips. Wasting no time for he wanted her too much, Angel searched out her pulsing clit and began to nibble on it gently. He thrust two fingers into her tight passage, causing her pleasure to be too much. She came, shouting his name, as her head thrashed about against the tiles and her body quivered beneath his touch. He lapped up her honey like it was water, even as she started to come down from the ecstasy she just experienced. Finally, he stood up and held her close, as she recovered from the powerful orgasm.
“Are you okay?” He asked, several minutes later as she still held onto him.
“Mmmm…yeah, definitely okay. More like perfect.” Her voice muffled against his shoulder. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, baby.” He said, accentuating his words with kisses to her neck and shoulder. Quickly and without warning, Angel lifted her up and thrust his steel cock into her tight, wet heat. She moaned loudly and wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her feet at the small of his back. He stayed still, giving both of them the time to adjust to the position and the overwhelming sensations that flowed through their connected forms. “God, Buffy, you’re so hot, so tight!” He commented, as the pleasure overtook him, and he began to pound gently, yet forcefully into her core. He pulled almost completely out of her, just to thrust back in, bumping the mouth of her womb. She cried out in pleasure, as she kept the near frantic pace at which he was setting. He was filling her completely, touching all of her most sensitive places. How she ever thought anyone else could replace her first lover was beyond her at this point. All she knew now was the searing heat and heavenly feelings that his touch and his body were eliciting in her. Feeling his climax approaching and wanting her to join him, Angel moved a hand in between their bodies. Searching out her clit, he rubbed and pinched the bundle of nerves, which sent her spiraling into a pleasure-filled oblivion. As she came, her inner muscles clenched and gripped his cock, triggering his release as well. They cried out together, holding and caressing each other as their passion claimed them. Out of strength, Angel collapsed against her underneath the now cool stream of water, pressing her further into the wall.
After she caught her breath and her heartbeat returned to normal, Buffy pulled away slightly and looked at the head that was still resting against her chest. This was where she belonged. Here, with her lover’s body still embedded in her own, she felt whole and at peace. Slowly, Angel raised his head, and looked deeply into her eyes, allowing them to have a complete conversation without words. Regretfully, he pulled out of her, causing a strangled moan to be released from his goddess. Taking her hand, he led her out of the shower, grabbed two fluffy bath towels, and hurriedly, dried them off. Once that task was finished, he guided her to the bed, where they fell asleep in each other’s arms, weary from the past day’s fighting and their love making. As soon as they closed their eyes, the lovers had nothing but peaceful dreams about themselves and happiness.
* * *
Part 35
Angel had been awake for about an hour now. He found himself strangely well rested and content after the night he had been through, and decided that it had to be his lover’s presence. Looking at her, he wondered how he ever managed to live without this tiny Slayer for so long. Since he had awoken, Angel had stared at Buffy, trying to memorize how amazing she looked after being thoroughly loved and falling deeply into sleep. Using his left hand, for his right arm was currently underneath the girl’s body and its hand lay across her tight stomach to hold her in place, he reached up and pulled a stray hair out of her eyes. As soon as his moving hand touched her, Buffy moaned lowly and snuggled back against her vampire, who had to suppress a laugh and a groan as she seemingly enjoyed his touch in her sleep. It had been way too long without her, and even though he was loathe to wake her, Angel’s body was already screaming for her to surround him and all she did was moan. So the hand that had moved her hair now proceeded to outline the side of her body under the sheets. Just slightly feeling her skin under his fingertips, his hand worked its way down her body, over her throat, over the swell of her perfect breast, along her ribs and hip bone, all the way to her knee cap. Even in her sleep, Buffy’s body called to him, her arousal starting to seep slowly from her core. His hand ventured back up the same path, but once he smelled her flowing juices, it veered off course, and headed straight for the source. He stopped at her pubic bone, just moving back and forth along the line of curls she had there, waiting for a response or signal to continue. The blonde, still deep in sleep, rolled over onto her back and spread her legs to give him access to her secrets. Accepting her “request,” Angel slipped his hand further down, letting one nimble finger slid down her center in a teasing fashion.
“Mmmm, Angel.” She moaned, arching into his touch. He knew now that she thought she was dreaming and was reacting in kind. However, he was very much awake and had plans to take advantage of the situation. His hand began to trace the outside of her plump lower lips, leaving a trail of heat and lust in its wake. Angel continued with feather light touches, never entering her steaming core, until he heard her frustrated groan. Looking at her face, Buffy was still asleep, but seemed to be wiggling around, trying to get his hand to rub her in the right places. He never imagined she could look as beautiful as she did now, nearing the edge of orgasm, and desperate for release. Taking pity on her, Angel slipped two fingers into her dripping heat. He heard Buffy’s sharp gasp at the intrusion of her body, and felt her hips as they rose in response. Seeking her g-spot, his fingers rubbed her mercilessly, as his thumb found her throbbing clit.
“Aaaaaahhhh!!” She screamed, as she awoke to the overpowering ecstasy that took control of her tiny body, sending her panting and shaking over the edge. Hearing her cry, Angel looked over to her, and they locked eyes. Leaning closely to press his lips to hers, he brought her down slowly, occasionally teasing her with a flick to her swollen nub.
“Good morning, love.” Angel said softly, after breaking his lingering kiss.
“Mmmm. Yeah, good morning to you, too.” Buffy answered, bestowing upon him one of her million dollar smiles. “Thank you.”
“For what?” The vampire asked, not understanding what he did that deserved recognition like that.
“That has to be my favorite way to wake up in the morning.” His lover replied, snuggling into him more deeply.
“Really? That’s your *most* favorite way to wake up?” He questioned, never even considering that his lack of self-control would be a good way to wake up. Especially since he had other ways in mind.
“Well, maybe not my most favorite, but it’s certainly up there. Besides, I just love it when you touch me.” Buffy informed him, blushing slightly at her own response.
Suddenly, Angel rolled over, pulling her underneath his body. Settling his weight between his forearms and her body, he leaned back and asked, “You like it when I touch you, huh?” Playfully, he ran a hand down her body, starting at her cheek and running down its center, stopping when he landed on her breast. “What about when I make love to you?” He leered, his voice deep and seductive. Just as she was about to reply, Angel sealed his mouth over hers and proceeded to find out just which one she liked better.
* * *
Wesley was starting to worry. It had been a whole 24 hours, 10 minutes, and 35 seconds since he left Sunnydale, and still there was no word from anyone. He sent Fred and Gunn home a long time ago, since they refused to stop complaining and pestering him. He couldn’t understand why they thought he was overreacting or freaking out. He didn’t know if they were still alive, or what had happened in the hospital, once he left, which gave him good reason to panic. If he didn’t know it before, the ex-watcher was certain of his love for the brunette, half-demon, seer. This new information left him all the more paranoid, debating over whether or not to call them. Making up his mind, Wesley picked up the phone and called the first person he could think of. When there was no answer at Buffy’s house, he called the only person he never wanted to talk to.
* * *
When the phone rang in their apartment, Anya cursed and reached over to pick it up.
“WHAT?” She yelled into the receiver, as she looked over at her lover.
“Anya? This is Wesley. I need to t-talk to you.” He said, growing nervous at the smacking sounds he could hear coming from the other line.
“This…uh…really isn’t…oooohhhh…a good…time.” She forced out, not covering up her moans. Xander was pleasuring her in the most delightful ways, and she had no intention on disguising her happiness.
“Yes, quite right. However, I need to know how Cordelia is doing?” The ex-Watcher began to clean his glasses as the phone rested between his ear and shoulder. The thought of anyone having sex in his presence bothered him tremendously, but it was a thousand times worse when the couple included Xander.
As the smacking and grunting grew louder, Anya bluntly answered his question. “She’s dead. Now…OH GOD…do you mind? XAAANNNNDDDERRR!!!” Wesley heard the phone drop, but didn’t notice as he ran to the bathroom. As his stomach emptied itself, he couldn’t tell if it was due to the extremely disheartening news about his love, or if it was hearing Anya in the midst of an orgasm with Xander.
* * *
“You were right.” Buffy sighed, as she rolled over, her breathing slowly returning to normal.
Spooning her small frame, Angel asked confused, “About what, love?”
“I definitely like it better when you make love to me.” The comment earned her a low, quiet growl from her mate and a series of kisses on her neck and shoulder.
“Well, if it helps, I like it much better when I’m deep inside you, too.”
“Mmmm, yeah.” She replied sleepily, as she burrowed further into the bed and closer to the chest behind her. Placing her hands over top of his on her stomach, she whispered, “I love you, Angel.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.” He stayed awake just long enough to hear her fall into a deep, peaceful slumber, before he joined her in their dreams.
* * *
Epilogue
Wesley was deeply distraught, as he paced the hotel lobby and tried to clear his mind. All he could think of was Cordelia and the news that she was dead. Maybe they could bring her back. After all, Willow did manage to bring Buffy back from the dead, even after three months. She could do it again, and bring his love back to him. With that thought in mind, the rogue demon hunter set off for his apartment to rest a while before calling the gang in Sunnydale.
* * *
Buffy woke up about an hour later, never having felt this good in a very long time. Rolling over, she noticed that her lover was no longer in bed. In fact, the sheets were cold, signaling that he had been gone for quite some time. Getting up, she threw on one of Angel's silk shirts and walked out in search of him.
* * *
Angel had been up for hours. After making love to Buffy, he watched her sleep for a while before disentangling himself from her and wandering into one of the guest rooms. He stood in the doorway, beholding the dust of his lover's sister on the bed, and his guilt started to overtake him. There had to have been some other alternative to killing her. He never even tried to save her. Instead, he just staked Dawn, without a second thought of it, until now. How in the world was he ever going to explain to Buffy what he had done? Angel knew that she would be so angry that she would leave him again. And he couldn't live through that another time. Walking away from his soul mate was one thing, but having her tell him that she hated him and wanted him dead was another entirely different thing. All she had to do was say the word, and he would gladly greet the sunrise. The creaking floorboards alerted him to her awakened presence, and he prepared for the worse.
* * *
Buffy found him in one of the old, unused bedrooms of the mansion. He was sitting on the window seat, just staring out into the morning. Thankfully, he was facing the wrong direction, so the sun was hitting the other side of the window. "Angel?" She whispered, entering the room. Buffy was worried the moment she found him. He had tear stains on his face and seemed to be deep in his brooding. Walking over to him, she slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder, so that she was looking at his profile. "Baby, what's wrong?" Angel only sighed, and pulled her into a strong embrace.
"Buffy, we need to talk." He answered, after a drawn out silence in her arms. Angel knew that he needed to get this over with because delaying it would only cause both of them more pain.
Sitting across from her lover, Buffy looked deeply into his eyes. She saw all of the pain he was trying to hide, but never could from her. Whatever it was that she was about to learn, it was not going to be good news.
"Before I tell you this, I just want you to know that I love you. It's only been you for the last 250 years. And you may decide to hate me or want to stake me, but I just wanted you to know. What ever you decide to do, I will accept it and..."
"Angel," Buffy interrupted his ramblings. "No matter what you have to tell me, it could never stop me from loving you. Never. Do you understand?"
"But..."
"No buts." She countered, taking his hands in hers. "I will ALWAYS love you. Nothing can change that." She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in. "So, what did you have to talk to me about?"
Calming himself down, Angel nodded in assent to her words before continuing his explanation. "I never got to tell you what happened once I was turned yesterday."
"Angel, you don't."
"Yes, I do." He said, cutting her off this time. "You have to know this. Anyway, the first thing is about your scars."
"My scars?" She questioned, raising one hand to her neck.
"Yeah. The first one is mine. I knew then, that I was going to leave you. That I had to leave you. So, I left my mark on you, hoping that even if I wasn't with you, I could protect you." He stopped to wipe the tears off Buffy's cheeks that had started to fall. "The other one belongs to Angelus."
"WHAT?" She said, more forcefully than she meant. Noticing his wince at her outburst, Buffy placed a hand tenderly on Angel's, showing him that he should continue.
"When Angelus came out, he was very pissed off about my attraction towards you. He was even more pissed off about the fact that I marked you. So, when you came on to him, he decided to take advantage of the situation."
"So, you're saying that he marked me too?" She said, her hand moving from the scar on her neck to where the scar sat underneath the dark red shirt.
Placing his hand over hers on her silk-covered breast, Angel answered her with a nod. "Yes, he did. I'm so sorry." As tears started to form in his eyes, Buffy leaned over and kissed him softly.
"What was that for?" He asked, after she broke the kiss.
"I told you I love you. That means all of you. If Angelus wants to mark his territory, then so be it. He just better know that it won't happen again." A small smile broke out on Angel's face at her lightheartedness. Well, now there was only one more thing to tell her.
* * *
Wesley was finally able to fall into a restless sleep after an hour of crying. He really loved Cordelia and was still having a hard time dealing with her death. Suddenly, the room became really bright, so much so that he had to close his eyes. When the light faded a little, Wesley tried to open them again. Standing at the foot of his bed was his love, in a flowing white dress. She seemed to glow with this ethereal light and even had what looked like a halo above her head.
"Cordelia?" He asked, tentatively.
"Yeah, Wes, it's me." She said, smiling widely.
"But how?"
"That's not important. What is important is that I was given a choice. The Powers were so happy with me that I was taken to Heaven and made a Saint. But I decided to give that up so that I could come back as an immortal with the visions to help Angel and to be with you. I love you, Wesley." As soon as the words left her mouth, Cordelia morphed into a hideous red demon with large, pointy horns coming out of its head and a long tail.
* * *
Angel took a deep breath before continuing. "When I came back here, after I took you to the hospital yesterday, I…"
"You what?" She asked, knowing for some reason that he had to tell her this information, whatever it was.
"I killed Dawn." He sat there, silently trying to gauge her hatred for him. Surprise took over his features when he realized that she was not angry at all. In fact, she pulled him to her and hugged him tightly.
"It's okay, baby." She whispered into his ear, as she stroked his back soothingly.
Pulling back forcefully, Angel yelled at her. "How can you be so calm??? I killed your sister!!! I. KILLED. DAWN. Why aren't you angry??? Be mad at me!!!!"
Buffy was shocked by his statements, and stood up. Calmly and quietly, she answered, "Why should I be angry with you? Huh? You watched me kill your SON, but you aren't even slightly upset with me! I can't possibly hate you, not even if I tried, so don't try to turn yourself into some guilt-ridden, worthless nobody, cuz I won't help you. I love you." With that, Buffy firmly held her position in front of her lover, and waited for some kind of response. His only reply was to lean his head against her stomach and sob for both of their losses.
* * *
Wesley sat up in bed, covered in sweat. The dream he had kept repeating itself in his mind. 'Cordelia was willing to give up peace and happiness to stay here with me and Angel?' He thought. 'She was really the devil incarnate???' "What the Hell???"
* * *
Buffy was getting dressed in their bedroom when the phone rang. Since Angel was in the shower, she walked over and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Buffy?"
"Hey, Will!! What's up?"
"Nothing. We were just wondering if you and Angel wanted to join us at a we-saved-the-world-again party at the Bronze."
"I'm sure I can talk him into it. I can be pretty persuasive." Buffy said, smiling wickedly, although no one else could see her.
"I'll bet you can. So, how does eight sound to you?"
"That'll be great. There's only one thing we have to do first, and then we'll be there."
"Great! See you later then!"
"Later!" Buffy hung up the phone, and went to finish getting ready. As she put her waterproof mascara on, she knew that her plan was going to be good for both herself and Angel if they were ever going to move on.
* * *
About an hour later, the couple arrived at Restfield Cemetery. Taking his hand in hers, Buffy led Angel deeper into the large burial ground. They eventually came upon a large pond with two trees overlooking it. Angel slowly walked over to the trees and noticed a pair of headstones sitting happily underneath them.
"Buffy," he almost moaned, a pained expression on his face. She walked over to him and held him as he looked at the resting place of his son and her sister.
"I thought this would be good for both of us. To know that they are in a beautiful place now and happy." She said, looking at the stones as well.
"You picked a perfect spot."
"Thanks. If you want, I can leave you alone, so that you can say something to Connor. Or whatever."
Gripping her hand, he replied, "No. Please stay with me."
"Always." She stood there and watched as Angel kneeled, leaned over, and recited something in Gaelic that she didn't understand. He then placed a kiss on the top of the stone and backed up to stand beside Buffy again.
"What did you say to him?" She inquired.
"Well, I told him that he was the best son a father could ask for and that I love him and will miss him with all my heart."
"That's beautiful." She commented, as they walked back to his car.
"I also told him that the next time I see him, he'll be grounded for hitting on the love of my life." Both of them broke out into laughter, finally feeling some type of closure in their lives.
* * *
At eight o'clock sharp, Angel and Buffy walked into the Bronze. Arriving at their usual table, they found everyone already waiting for them, including Wesley, Gunn, and Fred.
"Hey, guys!! What a surprise!!" Buffy said cheerfully, as she greeted her newfound friends.
"Wesley was just telling us the funniest story!!!" Fred said, cuddling with Gunn in his chair.
"Oh, really? Well, don't let us stop you!" Angel said, giving the floor back to Wesley.
"Okay, so I was just telling everybody that Cordelia appeared to me in a dream. She was like an angel or a Saint sent from Heaven." This earned a few laughs from everyone.
"Yeah, right!!! Cordy, a Saint?!!!" Angel burst into an uncontrollable laughter at the thought alone.
"Anyway, she told me that she was going to give up her eternity of peace to return to us and help with the visions. Then she morphed into what resembled the devil. Or maybe Satan, I'm not sure."
"Now that I believe!!!" Buffy said, sharing a look with Angel. Just then, an announcement came over the speakers.
"Good evening, everyone!! We have a special guest tonight!!! Straight from LA, here's Lindsey McDonald!!!! All of the LA crew snapped there heads towards the stage to see the infamous ex-lawyer for Wolfram and Hart step onto the stage, his acoustic guitar in hand.
"So that's where he's been all this time!" Gunn said, breaking the stunned silence of the table.
"Well, at least we know he didn't die from the fight with the circle of vamps." Buffy said, giving a knowing glance to her lover. The others didn't understand the comment, but figured they would just find out later. Besides, they were just dying to hear the gorgeous or talented (depending on which person you asked) man sing.
After adjusting the mic, Lindsey began the first song. Noticing the slow tempo, Angel took Buffy's hand and led her to the dance floor.
I cannot help it
I couldn't stop it if I tried
The same old heartbeat fills the
emptiness I have inside
And I've heard that you can't fight love,
So I won't complain
'Cause why would I stop the fire that
keeps me going on?
'Cause when there's you, I feel whole
And there's no better feeling in the world
But without you I'm alone
And I'd rather be in love with you
Turn out the lights now
To see is to believe
I just want you near me
I just want you here with me
And I'd give up everything only for you
It's the least I could do
Buffy raised her head off of Angel's chest to stare into his deep brown eyes. The words to the song struck a spot in her soul, when she realized how true they were. Both of them have given up everything they had for the other, and yet all they really wanted was to be together. Just like they were right now. Holding each other close, with nothing standing in the way of a happy future filled with love and hope.
'Cause when there's you, I feel whole
And there's no better feeling in the world
But without you I'm alone
And I'd rather be in love with you
And I feel you holding me
Why are we afraid to be in love?
To be loved
I can't explain it
I know it's tough to be loved
And I feel you holding me
Oh, oh
And when there's you, I feel whole
And there's no better feeling in the world
But without you I'm alone
And I'd rather be in love
Yes, I'd rather be in love
Oh, I'd rather be in love with you
When the song ended, Angel pulled back slightly and looked down at Buffy, noticing the tears shimmering in her hazel eyes.
"Is something wrong, love?" He asked, wiping away the tears.
"No. It's just that that song reminded me of us. No matter what, I'd rather be with you than anyone one else."
"I know the feeling." Her lover answered, placing a gentle kiss to her lips.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Buffy asked, as they headed back for the table.
"We'll work it out somehow."
"But how? I don't want to be alone anymore. And I don't want another meaningless relationship just because you don't think we can work it out." It seemed that she just needed an answer, any answer, to ensure his stay in Sunnydale and her life.
"We'll find a way to stay together, I promise. Love always finds a way."
The End!!