Visit With A Ghost Skitty

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah yeah, you know I'm not Joss or any of his friends.

Distribution: Take it take it, just e-mail me.

Rating: G

Summary: Buffy get's visited by an old friend with some news about Angel...

Author's Note/Spoilers: Nothing nothing. Spoilers from the movie, I guess, but we all know how that story goes... basically, all you need to know is Merrik was Buffy's first watcher, and he died. Oh, and the first season of Buffy.

Story:

Buffy drop-kicked the newbie, who landed on her own grave. It was yet another class mate, well, former class mate. It was a good thing Buffy wasn't popular, or it might be hard to fight them each night.

She threw her stake and it landed perfectly. "Weak," an English voice said, from behind her. She spun. "I told you not to let your emotions control your Slaying. You're clearly putting that vampire's leaving first."

"Merrick?" Buffy whispered. "But..."

"I died? So did you Buffy," he said.

"But... they burried you. I was there."

"I know. Buffy, I can't stay. But the Powers feared you would not let your current Watcher tell you. You will put yourself and the world in danger if you do not put more effort into saving it."

"My world already ended. Tell the Powers to back off. If they don't like the job I'm doing, call someone else."

"Buffy..."

"No! It's not fair! I did not ask for this!"

"I know, Christian Slater, Beverly Hills, but Buffy, it is who you are. You have to do it."

"NO! I didn't mean that! I meant Angel! I didn't ask to love him this much! I didn't ask to be what made him lose his soul! I didn't ask for my mom to tell him to leave! I sure as hell didn't ask for him to leave! And I didn't ask for my heart to break into a million tinnier pieces that it already was in when he did." Buffy was sobbing at that point. Merrik seemed at a loss of what to do.

"Buffy, that wasn't the powers fault," he said tentatively.

"Who the Hell's fault was it then? Why can't a stop loving him?"

"Because you love him. You feel what you were never supposed to. You both strayed from your destineys on your first kiss. He was to be a friend, nothing more."

"Great job with that," Buffy snarled sarchastically.

"However, you clearly are meant to be together, and so on the behalf of the Powers, I erase the clause, but you must tell him. Your heart must guide you..." Merrik was fading.

"Merrick! Wait! I... I'm sorry!" Buffy yelled at the disappearing figure. "I'm so sorry! I should have saved you! I shouldn't have let you die!"

"You didn't," his voice came through the wind. "You set me free...."

Suddenly his visit sank in. 'On behalf of the Powers, I hearby erase the clause...' The clause was gone. Like 'poof! here Buffy have everything you ever dreamed of, risk free!'

Buffy scrawled a note and left it on Giles's stoop, then ran. She had a heart follow: hers. "I'm coming, Angel!"

*******

Cordelia paced the floor nervously. Angel had been down in his apartment all day. Doyle had given up half-way through the work day and just gone home. Cordelia, on the other hand, had blown off an audition to stay late. Someone had to get him to talk. It wasn't healthy for him to brood by himself all day and not talk to anyone. He had to open up to someone, tell them what was going on. He'd been even worse than usual ever since Spike's little visit, and Cordelia was pretty sure she knew why: the vampire must have said something about Buffy.

That was really all it took. A little petite blond, or a demon mentioning how many Slayer's they've killed, or flat out mentioning her... and Angel went wacko again. The door creaked open, and a young woman slipped in. "Speak of the Devil," Cordelia muttered.

"Is Angel here?" Buffy asked, fidgiting with the hem of her shirt nervously.

"Just what he needs... you here to send him furthur into brood mode," Cordy snapped sarchastically.

"Actually, I..." Buffy tried to explain, but Cordelia cut her off.

"Why don't you stop thinking of yourself for once and think of him? Do you have any idea what he went through when he left? Do you have any idea how hurt he is? Hello! He's the one who went to hell. He's the one who has all this guilt from centuries of a demon controlling his body and torturing people. What the Hell gives you the right to act like the scorned one?" she yelled.

"Cordelia I just want to tell him that the Power's had the clause erased!" Buffy shouted back.

"What?" the actress gasped.

"A little birdy told me," Buffy murmured. "A little dead birdy who was once my Watcher."

"What?" Cordy looked confused. Buffy shook her head.

"Never mind, can I just talk to him?" the Slayer asked quietly. Her companion nodded and pointed to the elevator. "Thanks."

********

Once downstairs, Buffy slipped quietly into the apartment, not wanting to gather his attention. He was lying in bed, eyes closed, but she knew he wasn't asleep. She knew he could feel her, but assumed she wasn't really there, that it was wishful thinking. She'd done some wishful thinking of her own as of late. She slid in behind him, running her arms up and down his bare shoulders. It had been so long...

Startled, Angel jumped a little and turned over onto his other side.. "Buffy," he croaked, sitting up. "What are you doing here?" He looked very uncomfortable, and with a mischevious grin she remembered his tendancy to sleep in the nude.

"I was visited by three ghosts, okay, one, but..." she started.

"Who?" he asked quietly.

"My first Watcher, but that's not the point," Buffy said.

"It's not?" Angel pulled the blankets higher up on him. Buffy smiled again.

"No, the point is why I was visited," she told him.

"And why were you?" he wanted to know.

"He sent me a message," Buffy answered. "For you."

"A message? For me?" Angel looked confused. "You gonna tell me what it was?"

"Maybe I should just show you," she whispered teasingly, sitting up, and kissing him passionately. He pulled away gently.

"Buffy..." he warned.

Sighing she rolled her eyes. "He told me they took away the clause. Get as happy as you want, nothing's gonna happen," she said.

"That doesn't change anything," he said sadly. "You still deserve..."

"Normal?" Buffy finished. "Normal isn't what normal was in your time, Angel. Normal is loveless marriages ending in divorce. Normal is ass holes thinking they can control you. Normal is guys who know nothing about me or what I am, guys who's lives I'm putting in danger, guys who have no clue that they're girlfriend might be dead by morning. Normal is a life without love. Do you want that for me?"

"Sunlight," he managed to get out, as she shifted herself into his lap.

"Hello? Slayer here. Don't see it much anyway. And before you say picnics and kids, how fair would it be to have kids when I don't have a garantee of living past 25. Actually, I don't have a garantee of living through the night. Plus, even if it was fair, Giles found out I physically can't, so there goes that one. And picnics can be had at night, in the starlight. More romantic and fewer ants. So shut up and be happy already," Buffy scolded.

"Well if you say so," he murmured, smiling. After all, Angel knew better than to attempt to refuse Buffy when she was determined. He kissed her gently, passionately, folding her underneath him. Neither left the bed for a few days.

The End