Buffy2

Giles sighed as the machine picked up. Apparently, the Xanders were
still out.

"Um.. This is hard to say, harder still to believe. Buffy is
sitting in my living room. Oz and I found her outside my house. Um,
call me back, please."

He hung up and turned to Oz and Buffy.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you all." The whisper came so low that Giles barely caught it.

Giles frowned, immediately concerned. "You have absolutely NOTHING
to be sorry for. All that matters now, is that you're back with us.
And we'll all do our best this time around to make sure you stay with
us."

Oz nodded in agreement with what Giles had said and took a hold of
Buffy's shoulder's gently to look her in the face.

"Giles is right, Buffy. From what I heard, there was no other way.
Once Dawn's blood was spilt the only way for that portal to be closed
was to do something like that. You had only a few minutes at the
most, and of course you would protect her, protect everybody. That's
you. It's what you do." He gave her a hug then.

"You're a special lady, Buffy Summers." Oz moved back then as he saw
Giles moving over.

He crossed the room and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "I swear to
you, this time I'll protect you."

Oz smiled slightly at them both.

"See? Giles can do it. And he's not the only one here for you. I know
Xander and Xander are, and W...willow, and so am I now. I'm done
traveling for a while."

/I am, too, I want to see what can happen with me and Giles. The
Wolf's mostly under control now, so I can help Buffy with her duties.
But why is she blaming herself?/

Giles smiled at Oz, liking the thought of the young man sticking
around for a while. Maybe, just maybe, there was a bit of light in
his life.

"We're all here for you, Buffy. Don't forget that. We all love you,
in our own way, and we'll do what we can for you."

Giles looked up at the peal of the doorbell. "Ye Gods!! Now what??"

Oz looked up from staring at Buffy and Giles, agreeing silently with
Giles.

/Giles seems to be way more active socially since I left. Or may be
not, he looks pretty frazzled now./

Oz began to think of ways to help the librarian relax as he watched
him got o the door.

/Definitely tense. Maybe a little massage?/

He threw open the door, rather at the end of his rope for the day.
Seeing who it was, he gave out a rather undignified squeak.

Oz jumped up at the look of surprise on Giles face.

/He squeaked? Huh. Ah, now I see./

"Angel!!!"

Oz nodded to the vampire standing at Gile's door.

"Angel. Been a while."

The werewolf diverted Angel's attention from the man in front of him, and he wasn't sure if he felt relaxed, or more uncomfortable. "Yeah. It has" His eyes flickered from one to the other, as he knew this really *had* been a bad idea. Buffy was gone, and that was that.

What could coming here do to change, or make that better? Angel
swallowed heavily, and he looked up at the sky. Even though it was very early morning, and would be getting light soon, he could still go. Get into his protective car, and drive back the way he had come. "Um...that is." He was turning back again, looking into the Englishman's eyes, and trying to decipher what he saw. Angels eyes went down to the floor, in some kind of embarrassment, as finally he muttered out in submission.

"Can I come in? Please?"

Giles winced when the vampire asked for permission to enter.

"Erm... That may not be for the best.. Um.. Oh, dear." The ex-
Watcher twittered for a few moments more, then relented.

"Oh, all right. Come in.. Just don't freak out on us, please.."

Angel frowned, and shook his head as he started forward. "Why would I...."

He stepped aside to let Angel in, and saw Ripper and one of the twins
over his shoulder.

"Where's the other Xander, and where's Spike?" he asked.

Hearing that familiar voice, Buffy looked up and realized Oz was blocking Angel's view of her. But, truth be told, she had know, deep inside, that he was in Sunnydale. Standing up, she moved into full view.

Like a shy schoolgirl, she gently leant her head to the right, and said
quietly, "Hi, Angel."

Angel stopped in mid stride and mid question and stared. "Buffy?" What the hell was going on? She was supposed to be dead. The fact that Giles had a twin, or something similar, failed to fully register, as he stood there looking at someone he had thought he'd lost forever. "Buffy?" He took another step, speechless. Really, what could he say. “I...um...You're...alive?"

Giles stepped around Angel and went to meet Ripper and the twin.

"Where are Spike and the other Xander?" he asked. "And which one are
you?" He peered at the twin, trying to determine if this was the
more aggressive or the shyer of the two.

"This is Xander. Alex and Spike went to go kill things." Ripper
shrugged. "We got the message after they left."

Oz stood back and watched everybody. Angel and Buffy both looked so
anxious. Giles looked about to collapse, Xander seemed ready to follow
while Ripper actually looked concerned for his older self.

He cocked his head to one side. "Are you all right? You look like
you need a stiff drink."

Ripper could recognize the signs of too much strain in himself? and
Giles looked about ready to fall over.

The older man shook his head. "Unfortunately, I need to be sober for
this. There's still so much we don't know."

"Why don't we go sit?" Oz suggested. "You too, Giles. You sit, I'll
go raid the kitchen."

/Let me take care of you. Looks like this is not going to be a night
for sleeping after all./

Giles and Ripper both flashed Oz identical smiles of gratitude.
Well, they would have been identical if one of the faces hadn't been
more age-lined than the other.

"Thank you, Oz," Giles said quietly as he headed for the kitchen.
From the looks of things, Angel and Buffy needed some time alone, to
talk.

Ripper looked to Xander. "Feel like sticking around? Or, would you
rather I walk you home?"

Xander considered his options, stay here and possibly
pass out on the couch from exhaustion or walk back
*again* to his apartment through Sunnydale at night
and pass out there. "I'll stay thanks." Despite
popular belief Xander did know, ~well occasionally
knows~ when to shut up. This was defiantly feelin'
like one of those times.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ripper studied the blonde girl and the
male stranger. The girl was attractive, if one was into the petite
blond thing. The stranger was disturbing.. There was something so
very melancholy about him.

Meanwhile, Giles sat down at the kitchen table, and propped his chin
on his hands. He watched the dark-haired vampire and the Slayer
closely. It wasn't really Angel he was worried about.. After having
been tortured by Angel's demon, he was rather inclined to keep as
much distance between them. It was Buffy that concerned him. Why
was she back from the dead? How? Why? Ripper smiled. "All right, then, come on. Let's go raid the old man's refrigerator. I haven't eaten in hours!"

He took Xander's hand and pulled him along. He snuck a glance behind
him, to see the girl Buffy utter those oh so fateful words. "We need
to talk."

The younger one just nodded. Something was rotten in Sunnydale, but
he didn't know what. And didn't know enough of the people here to voice his opinion. Little did Giles know but these very same thoughts were running through Xander's head, with a few quires about
Alex tossed in there for good measure.

Ripper smiled. "All right, then, come on. Let's go raid the old
man's refrigerator. I haven't eaten in hours!"

Making her fingers click, then cringing when she remembered Angel hated that, Buffy sat down and patted the sofa in a gesture for Angel to sit.

"We need to talk."

He took Xander's hand and pulled him along. He snuck a glance behind
him, to see the girl Buffy utter those oh so fateful words. "We need
to talk."

Making her fingers click, then cringing when she remembered Angel hated that, Buffy sat down and patted the sofa in a gesture for Angel to sit.

"We need to talk."

Huh. And how often had those self-same words ripped his heart out?
Ripper could list at least five times, and that was just the serious
relationships.

In the kitchen, Ripper took a seat opposite Giles. "So, that's
Buffy."

Giles looked at him wearily. "I see you've heard a few things about
her already. But, yes, that is Buffy, the Slayer."

Ripper nodded. "I take it from your reaction that you've no ideas as
to the hows and whys of the resurrection thing."

The older man shook his head. "None what so ever."

The younger one just nodded. Something was rotten in Sunnydale, but
he didn't know what. And didn't know enough of the people here to
voice his opinion.

Huh. And how often had those self-same words ripped his heart out?
Ripper could list at least five times, and that was just the serious
relationships.

In the kitchen, Ripper took a seat opposite Giles. "So, that's
Buffy."

Giles looked at him wearily. "I see you've heard a few things about
her already. But, yes, that is Buffy, the Slayer."

Ripper nodded. "I take it from your reaction that you've no ideas as
to the hows and whys of the resurrection thing."

The older man shook his head. "None what so ever."

The younger one just nodded. Something was rotten in Sunnydale, but
he didn't know what. And didn't know enough of the people here to
voice his opinion.

Oz sighed and looked at Xander and the Englishmen, before turning to
rummage through Giles cupboards again.

/Two Giles, two Xanders, what was next? Two of me, two of Buffy?
Aha!/

Smiling to himself, he found a large tin and opened it to find
cookies. He could have used his sense of smell but hunting like this,
figuring out where Giles put things, was fun. And listening to the
halting conversations was as well.

Angel shook his head, just not sure what to do or say. Everyone else was carrying on, like nothing of interest could be found in his discovery that Buffy was alive...and right in front of him. "Giles. How did this happen? What...something must have..."

The vampire stopped in mid sentence, as a new look dawned on his face.
"What?" His eyes went from Ripper to Giles and back again, as he took in the new information. "Is it just me, or there two Giles in here?"

"Buffy?" At her words, the rest no longer mattered. Another Giles, though younger...another anyone, just didn't matter. Buffy, for whatever reason, was alive.

Angel quickly sat down, looking over to the one he had thought he lost,
and had mourned in his own particular way. "Are you ok? When did you come back..." What could he ask? Angel wasn't sure. "Is here...anything I can get you?"

"Buffy?" Angel was looking at the one thing he had never expected to see, ever again in this world. The only one he'd truly loved, and who had been lost to him, even before her sacrifice to the people of this world.

   In the kitchen, the vampire could hear conversations going on, and in the mist of his brooding and confusion about Buffy, he had sworn that at least, someone had come in. Had that been Spike? What was he doing here? No. Angel shook his head mentally, as he was just not ready to cross that bridge yet. The idea of being in the same room with his Grand childe, let alone talking to him, just made him feel tired, sorry, and gave him the urge to start punching things. Not really helpful, at this point.

   "Come on, Buffy. We need to talk." Before she could protest, or try to move away, Angel took the slayers hands and gave them a tug. At the same time, he stood, so they were both up and that was a good start. "I know just the place." Saying that, Angel hastened toward the door, and slipped outside, pulling his blond headed obsession along.

    The mansion wasn't that far away, and Angel moved quickly. If Buffy commented or made any protests on the way, he didn't notice. He only knew that this was the most confusing day of his unlife, and that was saying a lot. After all, he'd seen a lot of strange things, and a lot of them had made him confused.

   Angel paused outside a door, and he sighed. The mansion. Too much had happened in this place. He had tried to open the gateway to hell, with a sword, and a demon. That was when Spike betrayed him, and even though he was glad now that it had happened, a part of him still fumed at it. For that, Angel had been sent to Hell, to torment for what seemed like an eternity, and maybe it was. Still, he had come back, and Buffy and he had done other things here as well. Things, maybe they shouldn't have, but things that were better.

   He had tried to save Faith here too. Chained her to a wall...and that had failed as well.

   Enough reminiscing. Angel pushed open the door, and entered, letting Buffy come on her own now, but making sure that she did follow. Too many memories. Too many to count. Angel entered the familiar den, with it's blackened fireplace, that had been dark since he'd been gone. "Sit," he said to Buffy, and then did so himself. "Now...we can talk."

Looking at her ex lover for the first time, Buffy stood, towering over Angel as he still sat.

"How dare you?" Anger fired in her eyes.

"Excuse me?" Angel stood, wondering what had gotten into Buffy.

Wiping her forehead, she turned back to him. "I mean, I've been dead for a good few months. Dead. Not drowned-dead because some stupid Master vampire couldn't drain me properly. I was dead. And right now, I can't remember anything. I might have been in hell. Or I could have been living in Heaven with Brad Pitt feeding me grape-fruits. But I'm not. I'm back. Right now, I don't know why. But I'll find out. But all I really wanted to do was see my friends once I got my head straight, which I've done, and you take that away from me. What the hell gives you the right?"

   "The right?" Angel could feel the old anger rising him in, every time they had talked in the last...what was it, half a year or more? He found himself standing then, and that felt good, because he was more than a little taller than the slayer. Not that it would completely help him, if things go ugly, but it made him feel better at the moment. "You said you wanted to talk. What did you want to do? Say everything with all those people in just the other room?" He growled, and wasn't sure if he wanted to kiss her or hit her. Dead. Buffy was dead, and now she was back. It was just too impossible.

"Buffy. I missed you. Doesn't that mean anything?" He realized that his voice had softened, and he could feel the urge to cry some place back in his mind. Not something he wanted to do at this point. "Doesn't that give me a little slack, or are you going to be just as stubborn as you always are?" Being dead didn't seem to have dulled her spirit too much, or not that he could tell. "What do you want from me?"

Angel watched Buffy, waiting for an answer, but none seemed to be
coming. Why was he even here with her? It was pointless, as it
always was when they had tried to talk in the past. Just like before
he had left, there were already fighting. Still, Buffy had died and
come back. She must need something from him, because of it.

"What happened, Buffy? Do you know how you came back?" The vampire
could smell her sent, but he could find nothing wrong with it. If it
was mystical though, there might be some kind of anti detection in
the spell that had brought her back. If it was a spell. It had to be.
How else could she have come back. "Buffy? Tell me what you want me
to do."

Rubbing her eyes, Buffy smiled faintly.

"Sorry, I spaced out. I don't think... I don't think I can control
it."

Walking across the fireplace, Buffy placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry. I had no right to shout at you. It's just been a really
weird day."

Finally deciding to take a seat and the extremely dusty couch, Buffy
looked up at Angel.

"So, you want to know how I came back. Well, here's what I know."

Angel frowned, at Buffy's comment about spacing out. That couldn't
possibly be good. The vampire didn't like the idea of anything wrong
happening with the slayer, but then again...she had been dead. A
certain amount of disorientation might be normal.

keeping his eyes on Buffy, he heard her finally answer the
question he's posed only a few moments before. "It’s ok." Tensions
were high, on both sides, and loosing his temper, wasn't helpful
either. At least now, it looked like they could get started. Buffy
might actually have some idea of what was going on, and hopefully, it
wouldn't be some dark slimy demon thing that had brought her back.
Still...coming back from the dead, wasn't something to take lightly.
No matter how it had happened, there could be a very high price.

"I'm a little tense, I guess. You coming back...I guess it
startled me." Angel moved over to Buffy, trying a smile, and finding
that it worked in some sense of the word, but most likely couldn't be
called anything close to his 'happy' face. The vampire licked his
lips, letting it go, as he sat down beside his ex-girl
friend. "I'll...try to take it a little easier." and then. "So...what
do you know?"