Angel of Mine

By: Andrea

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Buffy or Angel…or even the title.

Setting: Post NFA, BA pairing.

The room was dark. The only light came from the moonlight, shining through the single window. Buffy sat on her bed looking through a small box. It was her box of memories. A little box that she had thrown in her bag before the last fight in Sunnydale. The box that contained her life with Angel. Pictures taken, notes written, presents given. Her claddagh and cross lay among the papers. The jacket lost with Sunnydale. Now she wishes she had packed it.

She pulled the ring and cross out. Slowly looked them over, re-memorizing them. It had been so long since she had worn either one. But she had never forgotten about them, or the man they had come from. For the first time in four years, Buffy slipped the silver ring on her finger, heart pointed in. The circle of metal providing a connection to the past, the man, she needed. Next, she placed the cross necklace around her neck. The weight felt nice, familiar.

They had learned of the battle only hours ago. Downtown L.A. had been destroyed. Wolfram and Hart had fallen in on itself. The circle of the Black Thorn, a group Buffy had never heard of before, dead. A demon army, the equal they had never seen, had descended onto the city. Reports of giants, dragons, and every kind of demon imaginable. What was fact or fiction was unknown.

But L.A. was in ruins and the Angel Investigations team that had taken over Wolfram and Hart had vanished. Buffy wondered why no one had called them. Did they know of the danger? Had it been a surprise? Had they thought no one would come? Buffy wished she knew. Wished to know what had happened. Why no one called. Where everyone was. Where Angel was. Was he dead? A pile of ashes that would be impossible to find in the destroyed city? Was he hurt? Was he fine and simply planning his next move? Was he still out there fighting? The questions refused to stop. They continued to grow and play on repeat.

The hours since she found out blended together. She needed Angel. Needed to hear his voice. Needed to see him. Her heart told her he was alive…well as alive as he ever was. He had not disappeared into the ashes of the city. But her heart had been wrong before. Her heart tended to believe what it wanted to be true, rather than what was actually true.

Buffy continued to look through the pictures and letters in her box, finding the little book of poems Angel had given her for her eighteenth birthday. She opened it to the first page. Her eyes lovingly traced the words written there. 'Always, Angel.'

The phone next to her began to ring, but she ignored it as she leafed through the small box. The answering machine picked up on the fourth ring.

"Buffy."

Buffy's head jerked up and the book fell from her hand.

"Buffy, I don't know if you've heard what happened yet, but…"

Buffy couldn't comprehend what the voice was saying. All she knew was that it was Angel. Angel was calling her. He was okay. Quickly, Buffy reached out and snatched the phone up.

"Angel?" She cut off whatever he was saying.

There was a short pause, then, "Buffy."

"Angel." Everything they ever had to say seemed to fit into those words.

"You heard?" Angel asked.

Buffy didn't know if he was talking about L.A. or the message. "Yes."

"I'm sorry. I wanted to call you sooner, but we had to get out of town."

"That's okay. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Yeah." There was another pause.

"Is everyone else okay?" Buffy asked, even though she knew the answer. There was no way they had it through the fight without casualties.

"Wesley's dead."

Buffy didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry."

"Me too. Fred died months ago. I guess it's only fitting. Maybe they can be together now. Thought I don't know how all that works."

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, I've been there and I still don't get it."

"Guess we weren't meant to."

"Guess not."

Angel sighed, "Spike and Gunn are gone too. It's just me and Illyria left."

"Spike?" Buffy knew she had heard wrong. Spike had been killed a year ago in Sunnydale.

"Yeah, he came back as a ghost at Wolfram and Hart, then later got his body back. But he's gone again. He was the last to fall."

"That's what he would have wanted." Buffy couldn't believe no one had told her Spike was alive. She wondered what else she didn't know.

"Yeah, he would." Buffy could hear the slight smile in his voice.

"Who's Illyria?"

"Oh, um, she's kinda hard to explain. She's a million year old god residing in Fred's body."

"A god?" Buffy didn't like the sound of that.

"Yeah, but not like Glory. She's not evil. Although, I don't know if she's good either. It's confusing."

"Sounds it. So it's just the two of you?"

"Yeah…well Connor's with us too."

"Connor?" Buffy didn't remember hearing about him either.

"That's another long story. One best told in person."

"Person?" Buffy could feel the hope rising in her chest.

"Well, uh, I was thinking that since I currently have no job, what with the building collapse and killing the leaders, that I might take a vacation." Angel explained.

"Vacation, huh?" Buffy smiled, giddiness taking over.

"Yeah, and I always did have a thing for Italy."

"Really?" Buffy could feel her whole body humming with the possibility of seeing Angel again.

"Definitely."

"Well, I think I know somewhere you can stay?"

"We'll be there in a couple of day."

Buffy smiled at the eagerness in his voice. "Okay…and Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"I missed you."

The End