A Time To Love
By Lady Callista
Disclaimer: Buffy characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. Angel's last name was made up by me in a different story and I'm just gonna keep using it. General Hospital characters and places belong to Wendy Riche and Bob Guza (I think they were the main headwriters during this storyline anyway) ABC, and whoever else wishes to claim them. If they belonged to me the shows would be drastically different. I'm making nothing from this.
Spoilers: Nothing Buffy. Nothing really on GH either since I've changed so much. This story was written somewhere in 2000, I think, and follows a storyline that was happening then. [For those of you who watched GH in 2000, try to remember what it was like then, then realize that I've changed it majorly to fit my needs. Sonny and Brenda are still together, he never left her at the alter and they are married as planned. Carly never existed. The fire never happened, so Liz and Lucky are still the perfect couple. Emily has Juan and all the problems that go with him. Nikolas doesn't really have anyone. He does not have a crush on Liz or Emily. Robin and Jason are still together and on the show.
Now to add in Buffy and Angel. Buffy is Robin's cousin on her mom's side. Angel is one of Sonny's bodyguards who also works with him in the organization and gets assigned to Buffy after Sonny finds out why she's in town.
Author's Notes: Yes, I've taken up another one of Ryan's challenges. Here's what I'm working with...
Ok this is a crossover challenge between General Hospital and Buffy kinda...Buffy is a normal girl and she lives in Port Charles who somehow has bad guys after her...Angel is one of Sonny Corinthos body guards who is protecting Buffy...basically they fallin love and have lots of fluff
Oh, and if you've never seen General Hospital, and are reading this story and going 'what the heck,' just ask me and I'll explain anything you want. I've tried to do that in AN's anyway, but if I miss something let me know.
Chapter 1 - Welcome to Port Charles
It was early one Saturday morning when a blond girl with rumpled clothing made her way up the elevator of the Harbor View Towers.
When she got off of the elevator on the Penthouse floor, she looked around in concern. There were two penthouses on this floor that she could see, and each of them had a man in a suit standing stiffly at the door. The suits made her nervous. She only hoped she had made the right choice in coming here.
The last time Robin had written to her she had said she was living in PH #5 with her boyfriend, Jason. The girl walked up to the door of the penthouse and the guard addressed her.
"Are you lost ma'am?" He knew he had never seen her before.
"No, um, my cousin Robin Scorpio said she lives here with her boyfriend."
"Robin didn't say anything about you coming." He said suspiciously.
"Well, she doesn't know. I got into some trouble at home and, well, she had always said to come here if I needed anything."
"Name?"
"Buffy Summers." The blond girl replied.
The guard made eye contact with the one standing at PH #4 as if to say 'keep an eye on her,' then opened the door to the PH and went in. He came out a moment later and gestured for her to go in.
Buffy nodded at him gratefully and walked in to the PH.
Robin flew over to her. "Buffy!" She said as she drew the girl into a hug. "It's been too long!!"
"It sure has, Robin." Buffy said as she warmly returned the hug. "Sorry about never coming to visit, but the adults wouldn't let me."
"Yeah, I heard all about it from them. Something about not wanting you around a mobster."
"Yeah, well, they were overprotective. I guess that's understandable though, they lost their best friends when my parents died, and I know they had promised them to take good care of me." Buffy said sarcastically.
"You okay?"
"No, no I'm not okay. Let's just say they're not very good parents." Buffy started as Robin motioned for them to sit down. They sat together on the couch and Buffy continued, "They never gave me the attention I wanted, so I started acting out just to get it. And this time I really got myself into trouble, and you said that, you know, I could come here if I ever needed anything, and I just thought that..."
"I'm glad you came, Buffy. Really I am. What kind of trouble are you in?"
"Can I ask you something first?"
"Of course." Robin replied.
"Your boyfriend, Jason, he's basically the right hand man of the kingpin my rents were talking about, right?" Robin didn't reply but Buffy pressed on. "And the head of the whole East Coast, he's Sonny Corinthos, isn't he?"
Robin looked at her strangely for a moment, then said carefully, "Why?"
"Cause the trouble I'm in concerns a man named Sonny Corinthos."
OoOoOoOoO
Twenty minutes later Robin and Buffy were ushered into PH #4 by the guard who had let Buffy into Jason's penthouse and by the guard who stood at the door of Sonny's. Both guards now stood at the door to Sonny's place.
Robin and Buffy walked into the elaborately furnished penthouse to see three men waiting for them. Robin walked over to the blond one and gave him a quick kiss.
"Jason, this is my cousin Buffy Summers. Buffy, Jason Morgan. That's Sonny Corinthos, and that is..." She looked curiously at the man in his late twenties who stood next to Sonny.
"Angel O'Conner." Sonny filled in for her. "He just got back. He's been helping me with some stuff out in Chicago."
"Chicago?" Buffy asked uncertainly, taking a step back. "Are you sure...um..."
"He's worked for me for a long time, Miss Summers." Sonny replied before she could even finish her question. He knew what she was going to imply. "I trust him, and Jason, with whatever you have to tell me."
Buffy nodded quickly. "Of course, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that..."
"What seems to be the trouble? And how did you hear my name" Sonny again cut her off to save her embarrassment.
"Um, well, it's kinda a long and boring story."
Sonny smiled at her and gestured her and Robin over to sit down. They sat on the long curved couch, Buffy grabbing a pillow and putting it in her lap as she sat next to Robin. Jason sat on Robin's other side and put an arm lazily around her. Sonny sat a little ways down from Buffy so that he could see her better, and Angel remained standing behind the couch, turning so he could watch and listen.
Robin smiled at her cousin encouragingly and Buffy began the sad story of her life.
"Well, my parents worked for the WSB, just like Robin's did. They were killed when I was 10 and some friends of my parents took me in. They didn't ever really give me much attention though. I think they just wanted all the inheritance I got from my parents. So when I was 16 or so, I started really acting out, trying to get their attention. Failing school, starting fights, drinking, smoking, staying out all night. I fell in with a really bad crowd that hung in the worst parts of Chicago." She looked at Angel briefly as she mentioned the city he had been in, then turned her attention back to Sonny. "One day when we were hanging at a bar some street pharmacists, well, they came up to the five of us and asked if we wanted to buy some stuff. Me and Jean wouldn't, but the three guys all got some grass. A few days later they got Jean to join them, and I was kinda left on my own. For some reason I just didn't want to get into drugs."
"Cause you're a smart girl." Robin said gently, squeezing her hand.
Buffy smiled at her, unable to believe that Robin could still think that after all she had said. But she pressed on. "They started hanging out with these dealers more and more. I'd see them getting into limos or coming out of back rooms in bars. I just started ignoring them. Then one day as I was coming out of a bar with some guy, four guys jumped us. They were all after him, barely gave me a second look. But I knew them. Two of them were guys who used to be my friends, the other two were the dealers who had started them on this path. They started talking to him about how he had betrayed some guy named Lachlan. That he had let down their organization by feeding information to Sonny. That Sonny's guys were breathing down their necks and were almost ready to take them over."
Both Sonny and Angel had leaned closer to her as she was talking, very interested in what she was saying.
"Who was this guy you were with?" Angel interrupted her.
Buffy looked up at him, seeing him for the first time. She had been so distracted when she first came into the penthouse, she had barely looked at anything but Sonny. Now she looked at the young man who was facing her.
Angel was tall, with dark hair and eyes. In contrast his skin was pale, as if he never got outside. He was dressed in a dark suit, just as Sonny was, and she could tell that underneath it he had a very muscular build. But it was his face that caught her attention. He was probably the most handsome man she had ever seen.
"Miss Summers?" Angel said softly.
Buffy realized that she was staring and quickly looked down. "Um...his name was Mark. He was probably about your height, but skinny, black hair, blue eyes, very tan. He had an accent too, it was, um..." Buffy tried to place it.
"Italian?" Angel supplied.
"Yeah, Italian, that was it. He spoke pretty good English though."
"You know him?" Sonny turned to Angel.
"I did. He was killed two days ago. That's one of the reasons I came back, cause without him I'm not sure we can pull this off. We don't even know who to trust now; about half of the Chicago guys are on our payroll, but it must be one of them who turned him in to Lachlan. And Mark was Lachlan's number two man, so someone had a lot of guts and a lot of info to get Lachlan to turn on him. Do you know anything else?" Angel turned back to Buffy.
"Just that whoever turned him in had a really weird name."
"You know who it is?" Sonny's attention focused to a single pinpoint, and Buffy looked down nervously.
"Well, the one guy told Mark that Vaquero was on to him and had told Lachlan everything that he had done." Buffy told them.
"Damnit!" That came from Jason. Angel went silent.
"That's bad?"
"No, but it's no help. We have no clue who Vaquero is." Jason told her.
Buffy looked at him curiously and Sonny told her, "Vaquero is Spanish, it means "cowboy." It's a code for someone in the organization, but no one's been able to figure out who it is. But it's gotta be someone pretty high up, which means we might just have to call off our whole operation."
"How did you get away?" Angel asked suddenly, looking back at Buffy. "If these guys killed Mark, why would they let you go? Especially since you know who they are."
"Well, when they attacked him, I started backing away. I guess they figured they'd get me when they were done with him. I was pretty drunk, I guess they figured I couldn't get away or anything. But as soon as I say Tray pull out a gun I started to run. I wasn't that far away when it went off, and then I ran ever faster. They started to follow me but I lost them pretty easily. "
"How could you do that?" Angel looked slightly suspicious of her.
"Because she grew up with WSB parents just like I did." Robin cut in. "I learned pretty early how to lose people tailing me, following me, or whatever."
"Yeah, me too." Buffy replied. "My parents also got me into marital arts and self defense classes. They wanted to make sure that even if something happened to them I'd be okay. And the people who took me in let me keep taking those classes, as well as gymnastics. So I'm in really good shape and all. And I know how to lose people who are trying to follow me. I had to do it once more on the way here. When my bus was in Albany I spotted people at the station who were trying to follow me. I got away by switching trains at the last minute, getting them stuck on a different one going to Buffalo. "
Angel and Sonny seemed to accept this explanation. They locked eyes for a moment, then Sonny motioned to Jason to come with them. "Excuse us for a moment, ladies." Sonny said as the three headed down a hallway.
Buffy looked at Robin in confusion. "They try to keep their women out of things as much as possible. The less we know, the easier it is on us if the cops come around asking questions. Plus it's safer if the other guys know that we don't know anything." Robin said.
Buffy nodded her head in understanding and was just about to comment as the door to the penthouse opened.
Both girls turned to see who it was. "Oh, hey Brenda." Robin called as the brunette came in the door with several shopping bags.
Buffy looked at her in confusion for a moment. She looked so familiar...Brenda..."Brenda Barrett? The model?" She asked as things clicked.
"Yeah. Brenda Corinthos now, though." Brenda said as she set down the bags and approached the couch.
"Congratulations." Buffy replied politely. Brenda smiled at her.
"Brenda, this is my cousin, Buffy Summers. She's in a little bit of trouble and it concerns Sonny. I'm sure he'll fill you in when he can." Robin said as Brenda took a seat.
"Yup, I'm sure he will." Brenda replied as she put her feet up on the table.
Just then the guys came back into the room.
"Miss Summers..." Sonny started off, then saw his wife. "Oh, hey Bren." He gave her a quick kiss before continuing. "Thank you so much for the information you've given us. We weren't sure before this just how much of the drug traffic was coming from Lachlan, but it seems if he has dealers recruiting kids for the business that he must have a huge drug empire. We're pretty sure it extends even into our city, despite my efforts to keep drugs and prostitution out of Port Charles. But I want you to know that you're safe here. You're under my protection now, and even Lachlan will think twice before going against me, no matter how badly he wants you."
Buffy smiled at him and stood to face him. "Thank you, Mr. Corinthos. I'm most grateful."
"You're welcome. And please, call me Sonny."
She nodded and smiled softly at him. "Then call me Buffy."
He nodded.
Jason spoke up then. "While you're here, you're going to stay at the other penthouse with Robin and I. You'll be safe there. And you're going to have a guard on you at all times, just like everybody else in this room does."
"Except for me." Angel spoke up then, turning to Sonny as he started to speak, "And no, I still don't want one. I never could get used to them. Hell, I was one for a few years."
"Yeah, one of the best." Brenda said, remembering in his early days when he had been her personal guard. "Maybe you should be Buffy's guard." Brenda suggested, partly because she saw how Buffy was looking at him.
"Actually, Sonny suggested that too." Angel said, almost too quickly. "It also makes sense since the people who might be coming after her will be from Lachlan's organization, and since I was a spy there for almost a year I know quite a few of them on sight. So I'd know if they were after her."
Buffy's eyes had fallen to her lap and both Robin and Brenda looked at her with knowing smiles.
"Would that be alright with you Miss Su...Buffy?" Sonny corrected himself.
"Yeah, that's okay." Buffy said softly. "I've had guards before, I know how it works."
The men nodded. "Well then, Jason and I have a few things left to discuss..."
"Of course." Robin said as she and Brenda stood up beside Buffy. "Why don't the three of us go out and get something to eat? We can show you around the city."
"That sounds good, I haven't had a decent meal in a while." Buffy said, following the others around the couch to the door.
Brenda stuck her head out the door, saying, "Johnny, can you have the car ready for the three of us ladies?"
"Of course, Mrs. Corinthos." Buffy heard one of the guards at the door say.
Robin was facing Jason, giving him a kiss before they left. "See you later?"
"Of course." Jason replied.
Robin then gave Sonny a quick hug.
Brenda came back in long enough to kiss Sonny goodbye and grab her purse.
Buffy thanked both Sonny and Jason for their help and shook hands with them. She then followed Robin and Brenda out the door, noticing that one of the men at the door was leading them. She felt Angel behind her, his hand lightly brushing the small of her back. She felt a shock run through her at his touch. His hand quickly moved away, and she knew he'd felt it too.
But he said not a word as the five of them got into the elevator and headed towards the limo.
The limo dropped Brenda, Robin, and Buffy off at Kelly's Diner about 10 minutes later. Angel went in first, placing himself at a table near the door. The girls came in a minute later, the other guards waiting outside to keep an eye on things.
They passed a table where a teenage girl and two teenage boys sat in a deep and private discussion about something. They went silent as the three girls came near.
"Hey Nikolas!" Robin said as he stood up to greet her. "Hey, Lucky, Emily." Both teens rose to greet the women, Emily giving Brenda a quick hug as she greeted them.
"Buffy, these are some of my friends, who are about your age." Robin introduced them. "This is Nikolas Cassadine, that's Lucky Spencer, and this is Emily Quartermaine. Guys, this is my cousin, Buffy Summers. She's in town for a while visiting." All of them had been warned to say nothing about the real reason Buffy had come.
"Hi Buffy." The guys said at almost the same time while Emily said, "Welcome to Port Charles."
"Thanks." Buffy said, and was about to say something else when a waitress about their age walked over with a tray of four sodas.
She set them down on the table, taking the last seat for herself.
"That's Elizabeth Webber." Brenda supplied, introducing Buffy.
"Hi." Buffy said slowly, feeling slightly overwhelmed at all the new faces.
The teens all just sat there for a moment, bathed in an uneasy silence. It was obvious to Buffy that they had interrupted something very private. Robin must have realized it too, because she said, "Well, we'll leave you guys to talk. Just wanted to say hi."
"It was nice meeting you all." Buffy said quietly.
A chorus of "See you later's" and "Nice to meet you too, Buffy" echoed around the table as Buffy, Brenda, and Robin headed over to another table.
They ordered from another waitress and got their drinks. When Buffy looked back towards the four teenager's table, she noticed them whispering, their head close together. They looked way to serious for a group of kids on summer vacation.
Although so did she, she realized. Maybe they had problems too.
Hours later, the three women returned to their penthouses. They had spent the morning showing Buffy around Port Charles. They also carried many shopping bags full of clothing, shoes, and accessories since Buffy had brought nothing with her.
Brenda mentioned something about a double date her and Robin had with their guys for lunch, and Robin replied that she'd just have to cancel it.
"You'll do no such thing." Buffy said as they stood in the hallway of their floor. "Go ahead, have fun. I wanna find a gym and get a good workout in anyways."
"Are you sure?" Robin asked, uneasy about leaving her cousin and friend alone.
"Sure am. I'll be fine, don't worry." Buffy replied. "I've got a guard to protect me, and if I get lost I'm sure he knows..."
"Sonny's got a car for you hon." Brenda cut her off. "You can't get lost. Just tell the driver where you want to go."
"A car? Just for me? Wow." Buffy couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, just for you. It's cause of Mark that you're in this trouble, and since Mark was one of his guys he feels responsible. Plus he's just got a thing about damsels in distress." Brenda grinned.
"Does he now?" Buffy asked with a smirk.
"Oh, yeah. His one weakness." Robin laughed.
All three were still laughing a minute later when Sonny and Jason exited Sonny's penthouse.
"What's so funny ladies?"
"Oh, nothing baby." Brenda got herself under control, walking over to stand by him.
"You ladies ready for lun..." He trailed off on seeing Buffy.
Sonny was about to back peddle when Buffy said, "Yes, they are. I'm just gonna change and then go to the gym for a workout. Have fun guys!"
They took a moment to place the shopping bags in the guest room of Jason's penthouse, then hugged Buffy goodbye.
As the four walked off, guards trailing them, Buffy found herself alone in the hallway with Angel.
TBC…
Any opinions so far? Please let me know, this is the only crossover I've ever written, and I don't want people who don't know GH to get lost. Just PM me if you have any questions.