Support

By: BellsConlon

Summary: Elena roadtrips to California at the urging of Alaric, who puts her in contact with Buffy Summers, another girl loved and lost by a vampire. TVD/Buffy crossover.

Distribution: Just ask.

Notes: In canon with TVD through Season 2; takes place in the hiatus between S2 and S3. Season 3 speculation. Buffy, post S7 of the show and S8 of the comic.

Twoshot.

Author's Notes: I'm a huge Buffy fan and, when watching old episodes of both 'Buffy' and 'Angel' and reflecting on the perfection that is Buffy and Angel as a couple, it dawned on me the similarities of the situation between Buffy and Elena. Both are in love with vampires who ultimately leave them. That was the inspiration for this little ditty. And the 'incident' in California that occurred in 2003 that Alaric will tell Jeremy about? Made up. Just go with it- it works with the story. Also, I'm only halfway through reading the Buffy S8 comics- I'm working off of the Buffy Wiki to fill in the blanks, so just please excuse any inaccuracies.

For the first week, Elena didn't emerge from Stefan's room. She alternatingly slept and wept, a pile of dirty tissues building up, Damon cleaning them when he came in to try to talk to her, or at least offer her a plate of food.

As the weeks went on, turning into a month, and then two, small improvements were made- she was able to get up and dress, go out for short periods of time to the Grill with Bonnie and Caroline. But only for instances- she'd see something, hear something, or just close her eyes and see his face and break down into tears and that would be that.

Eventually, Damon made her move out, something about helping her heal and finding herself again. Plus, he had decided to follow a lead from an old lover who had said to have spied Klaus and Stefan wrecking havoc through the outskirts of London. And so she had gone, bringing the cloud of depression and misery with her into the house already tainted with the somber memories of Jenna.

It was originally Jeremy's idea: he and Alaric had been sitting downstairs one night, cartons of half-eaten Chinese food littering the countertop, the muted sounds of Taylor Swift mixed with Elena's sobs drifting down the stairs.

"Damon called today and asked Caroline to go to the school and unregister Stefan," Jeremy had explained. "She heard the call. And then the sobbing started."

Alaric sighed and ran a hand over his face before reaching out to pat Jeremy's shoulder. He had moved in after Jenna's death and, at Jeremy's request, applied for guardianship of the siblings-they had no one else left.

"We need to do something," Jeremy continued. "She needs to talk to someone and she won't talk to any of us. Isn't there like, a support group or something? Scorned lovers of vampires? C'mon, they have therapy for everything else," he joked ruefully.

Alaric shook his head, about to cut with a disappointed "No" before his eyes widened and he stood up quickly, nearly knocking over the stool as he dashed to the living room, reaching for his laptop.
"That's it!" he exclaimed, turning on the computer and logging in. It was the most excited Jeremy had seen him since Jenna's passing. "You're a genius, kid."

"Uh, not sure what I said," Jeremy replied, sitting next to Alaric, who was now furiously typing.

"You made me remember something," Alaric replied. "An important contact I made when I first got into this vampire crap, however many years back." He grinned as he hit a final keystroke, placing his laptop back onto the coffee table before turning to Jeremy. "Would you believe me if I told you something that sounds completely convoluted?"

Jeremy, looking up to see Anna staring down at him, shook his head. "Honestly, nothing shocks me anymore. I'm just thinking every bedtime nightmare story I heard as a kid is just actually true."

Alaric snorted. "You're not far off." He shifted, making himself more comfortable, before continuing. "Remember that earthquake in the Los Angeles suburb a few years back- 2003?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Jeremy nodded. "I was in like, second grade. Huge quake, major crater, like wiped out the city?"

"Yeah except it wasn't a quake," Alaric explained. "There's powers out there, far greater than what we've experienced so far. Vampires and witches are only part of the whole supernatural pie. There's other dimensions, Jeremy, full of thousands of kinds of demons- vampires are only one. Eight years ago, the highest power of the demonic world, the First Evil, took control. In order to defeat it, an amulet that channeled the power of the sun was needed. It was used, and destroyed all demonic energy in the area. It caused the city, Sunnydale, to collapse in on itself."

"Huh." Jeremy nodded. "Shoulda figured some supernatural power would be involved."

"There's more," Alaric warned. "The only reason I bring the incident up is because it involves this contact I made. Some very smart shamans, thousands of years ago, created the 'Slayer,' one girl in each generation given the powers to fight the forces of evil."

Jeremy snorted. "Wow, that sounds very Hollywood. And you sure this curse is real? Not some made up shaman deal like Klaus and Elijah tried to spin?"

Alaric smiled. "Yes. It's true. And this girl, Buffy, reminds me a lot of Elena."

"Elena doesn't have supernatural powers. Just a crazy-ass doppleganger."

Alaric grimaced at the mention of Katherine. "We can't all be so lucky."

"So I made you think of this chick why? Not really connecting the sobbing sister and vampire killer chick."

Alaric nodded and turned back to his computer. "Technically, I made contact with Giles, the man who, for all purposes, is Buffy's mentor. He's involved in a secret circle that works to fight the supernatural. If my contact information is still correct, we should be able to get a hold of him."

Jeremy's head hurt, taking in all the new details of the realities of the supernatural while still trying to connect it back his sister.

"So Elena comes into the picture...?"

"Buffy fell in love with a vampire," Alaric explained, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. "And he left her. A lot like someone else we know. Putting it together now?" He bent to look at the number of his computer screen as a smile spread across Jeremy's face.

"Scorned lover of vampires support group," he said. "Awesome."

And so one phone call to Scotland later, Elena found herself forced onto a flight bound for LA, given no details as to exactly why except assurance from Caroline and Bonnie that she would return feeling much better. Elena didn't believe them, but at this point, with the ever-present weight of depression sitting on her shoulders, she did not have the energy to put up a fight to say no.

She emerged from the flight, clad in yoga pants and Stefan's grey sweatshirt, blinking as the bright LA sunlight hit her eyes. Alaric had assured her someone would be waiting for her when she departed and so she stood, the bustle of LAX passing her by, as she searched for an unknown.

"Elena?"

A soft voice snapped her back to reality as she turned to see a man a few years older than she, clad in all black complete with a duster, with spiky brown hair and kind eyes look at her from under the shadow of the nearby potted tree, as if avoiding the sunlight the window she stood next to was letting in.

"Um, y-yes," Elena confirmed. "I'm Elena."

"Angel," the man replied, reaching out to take the handle of her suitcase. "I'm with Giles, and Buffy."

Elena nodded, recognizing the names and feeling comfortable around this man, safe. She followed him to an elevator, which they took down to the lowest level of the parking garage, where he lead her to a small black convertible with the hood up. He placed her bag in the trunk and opened the passenger side door for her. She slid in, looking around as they pulled outside.

"Sorry, have to keep the roof up. Keeps the air conditioning in," the man said with a smile as he drove down the interstate. "Defeats the purpose of a convertible, I know. But I forgot LA weather is not at all similar to Scotland's, and I didn't pack for the weather."

Elena shrugged.

"It's okay," she said. "The sun kind of hurts my eyes. I've been living with the shades drawn lately." Her brain processed the last part of his statement and she added, "You're from Scotland?"

"Living there temporarily," he explained. "Where the demons go, I go."

Elena nodded and turned her head to look out the window; Angel picked up on her cue and allowed the car ride to lapse into silence.

As he was pulling onto the freeway, Elena, her eyes closed, head turned away, said, "You know I know. I've been around it long enough to pick up on it."

Angel drummed his fingers against the steering wheel before asking, "Know what?" though he was sure he knew the answer.

"That you're a vampire," Elena replied, opening her eyes and turning her head in his direction. "I've seen my fair share of you guys, sadly enough." Angel noted how tired she sounded; the tone of her voice was a match to the pallor of her skin and the bags under her eyes. "No offense, but you're all a pain in the ass. You cause way too much heartbreak."

Angel nodded. "That I won't deny," he agreed. "It's not a fun world to get caught up in."

Elena didn't reply, merely taking him in; Angel, keeping his eyes on the rode, felt her gaze.

"But you're different," she continued. "Good, like St- good. You're a good one."

Angel laughed ruefully, flashbacks of the horror times of Angelus playing on a clip through his memory. "Now, at least." He took a moment to look over at her. "You're very perceptive. And trusting. You knew what I was and willingly got into a car with me."

She shrugged, turning her gaze back to the window, taking in LA as it passed by.

"Like you said, I'm perceptive. I can tell who the good guys are. Usually," she replied. "Plus, Alaric wouldn't have sent me anywhere near you unless he trusted you. And I trust Alaric."

"You're incredibly loyal," Angel noted.

"I trust to easily," Elena said. "And because of that, I get hurt. A lot."

Angel swiped the keycard and held the door open for Elena, following behind her with her suitcase.

"Buffy should be here someone," Angel said. Elena recognized the name from Alaric's email. "Make yourself at home until we figure out what room you can take."

Elena sat awkwardly on the edge of the nearest couch, taking in the large suite before her. She was sitting in a living room done out in an art deco theme, sunlight streaming in from the large balcony overlooking the Pacific. Her heart ached looking out at the ocean-it reminded her entirely too much of the lake house and the last time she had been there.

The sound of footsteps diverted Elena's attention and she turned just in time to see a tiny, blonde figure jump into Angel's arms. Elena, watching their embrace, felt herself flush and didn't know whether to feel awkward or the slightest bit jealous.

Angel pulled away and sheepishly looked at Elena, saying, "Um, yea. This is Buffy."

Part 2 should be up within the week.

Reviews are lovely.