Ok, first off I want to say that this story is in three parts or "books".
Second, It will start out with Angel/Other But He and Buffy WILL BE TOGETHER by the end of the very last chapter of this series.
Third, I am VERY, VERY, nervous about this, as this story is my baby, and like any mother worries. So, please read and review, but also be kind. If you spot ANY inconsistancies that I may have missed, please, let me know.
That's it, other than the only characters I own, are Emma, Hannah, and Wendell. All others are property of Fox, Mutant Enemy, and of course, Joss Whedon.
Please enjoy!
Shanshu
Book One: Soul Searching
Chapter One
The sun was setting as Emma sat with her leg propped up against the front window of Mr. G's Antique bookstore, reading a 1947 copy of Anderson Fairy tales and eating an apple.
It was almost closing time and the store was empty of customers.
So, instead of stacking the shelves like her boss, Mr. G wanted, she decided to catch up on some reading.
She was enjoying the adventures of "The Steadfast Tin Solider" when the bell above the door rang signaling a customer had appeared.
"Hi, Welcome to Mr. G's," Emma said after quickly stashing the book and her apple under the counter.
"Do you know where I can find books on Magic?" Replied the plump old woman who had entered the store.
"Uh, Yes on the back wall third shelf down," Emma pointed to the back of the store.
"Thank You." The woman said as she sauntered towards the back.
After the old woman disappeared behind a shelf, Emma picked up her book and continued to finish where she had left off.
A few minutes passed and the bell rang again and this time Emma's eyes lit up as she saw who her next customer would be.
"Hey Danni!" Emma cried as she walked around the corner to give her friend a hug.
"Hey Emma, how's business?" Danni asked as she returned the hug.
"I'm fine, I would be closing right now but I still have a customer in the back."
Danni nodded her head in understanding, and joined Emma at the counter.
"So how is Jamie?" Emma asked about Danni's boyfriend as she chewed her apple.
"Ugh, don't even get me started," Danni groaned as she sat down on the stool in front of the counter.
"That man is so aggravating," Danni said a wide smile forming on her face. "But I love him so much."
As both girls broke into a laugh, Emma found herself secretly wishing she could find someone to love.
But she felt she was too plain looking to catch someone's eye.
Always sensing her friend's pain, Danni touched Emma's shoulder and comforted her.
"Don't worry Sis," Danni said, calling Emma by her nickname, "You will find someone soon enough."
Emma nodded quietly as the old woman from the back returned with her selections.
Emma very quietly rang up the woman's total and slid the credit card through the scanner.
Printing the receipt, the woman signed her name while Danni placed the books in a small paper sack.
Smiling at the girls, the woman took her sack and left the store.
Danni left the store not long after the woman did, which left Emma to enjoy the rest of her story in peace.
Just as the Tin Soldier was burning, Emma heard a voice call from the back, "Have you finished closing out the store?"
Oh Crap, Mr. G! Emma thought as she raced to throw her apple core away and put the book back on the shelf.
"Almost," she called back as she hurriedly tried to hide the evidence of her snack.
"Well, when you finish eating, perhaps you could help me?" Said Mr. G.
A middle aged man of about 45 or 50, Mr. G had thinning hair and wore thin framed glasses which he would remove and clean when he was nervous or agitated. He had a British accent which Emma loved. He was the only man, since her father had died, that she truly looked up to. He was a kind man who treated Emma like a daughter.
Mr. G knew Emma's aunt, and that was how she had secured the job at the store. He really did not need the help but seeing Emma's passion for antiques and especially books, he relented and gave Emma a job three days week, on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday after school, helping him out in the store.
As he came behind the counter Emma asked, "How do you know that?
Mr. G took the book from her hands and placed it on a stack of other books that were to be put away.
"Because I know you my dear," he said and turned to the counter.
"I've only been working here six months and already you know me like a book, pardon the pun."
Mr. G grinned. "Yes well, when you have been around people as long as I have, you get to know people."
Emma smiled gently as she was being "scolded".
" I wish I could get others to know me that well."
Mr. G placed a hand on Emma's shoulder. "You have to let people in. Don't shut down just because others shut you out."
Emma froze. "ME? Talk to people? Oh no, they'd just make fun of me," she said as she shook head and picked up a stack of books to put away.
"I couldn't even get a date to the Senior Prom, I was so shy."
Mr. G took off his glasses and examined Emma.
She was average height about 5' 4" and had a porcelain complexion. Her fiery red hair fell to her elbows, and tight curls framed her face. Her eyes were an icy blue, that would turn colors depending on the outfit. Mr. G could never remember seeing Emma ever wearing a skirt or dress. She always seemed to wear the same thing, a large, oversized sweatshirt, and baggy blue jeans.
But all in all, Emma could be quite beautiful if she wanted to be.
Knowing Emma needed a confidence boost, Mr. G calmly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Emma, you are a beautiful soul," Mr. G said kindly. "Anyone who doesn't see that is blind and you don't need them anyway."
Emma tilted her head and smiled.
"Thanks Mr. G." Emma said walking around the corner.
As Emma walked down one of the aisles to put away books, a sudden pain shot through Emma's legs, making her drop the stack of books, and she fell to the floor.
Mr. G rushed to her side and checked to make sure she was alright.
"Emma, what's wrong? What happened?"
"It's nothing, Mr. G," Emma groaned as she picked herself up of the floor.
"Just another one those weird muscle cramps I keep telling you about."
"Emma, I really am beginning to get worried about you," Mr. G said as he hand her back the stack of books.
"For months you have been telling me about these weird muscle cramps and nightmares that you have been having. I really wish you would see someone about it."
"It'll be okay," Emma tried to assure her boss. "Give it a week and if it doesn't go away then I'll go in."
"That's what you said last week," Mr. G chastised as he pulled his glasses off to clean them, a sign of his frustration.
"I know, I know. But I really will this time, I promise." Emma crossed her heart with a free hand.
"I must admit I don't quite believe you," Mr. G said as he turned to finish closing the register.
"But I will have to trust you."
"Yes, Daddy," Emma joked as she disappeared behind one of the book shelves.
Soon the books were shelved and the money safely locked in the safe.
At the strike of seven, Giles walked Emma out the door and locked the iron bars that kept thieves out.
"Good night, Emma." Said Mr. G as he walked away.
"Night," Emma called back as she started for home.
The night was cool, and a warm breeze was beginning to blow. Emma closed her eyes and inhaled the late September winds. The mild breeze soothed Emma.
As she stared at the night sky, she saw the constellations of the "Summer Triangle" and her own birth sign, Aries.
The moon was starting to rise and its small, bright light began to glow in the sky.
Emma loved how the seasons would change, and wished that she had the courage to change herself. When fall came, Emma was in her own element. She had no insecurities, but that was usually because she was not around people.
But as she thought back to what Danni and Mr. G had said, Emma was beginning to think that maybe it was time she changed how she looked and felt about herself.
As she waited to cross the intersection, she heard the sound of a engine approaching fast.
"Sounds like a Pontiac," Emma thought to herself as the car approached. She remembered being a child and helping her dad restore classic cars, mainly the Ford Mustang.
With a screeching of the back tires bringing her back to the present, Emma saw a black car, glistening like an Onyx , sitting at the light across the street.
"No, a '69 GTX," Emma whispered.
The black car shone like a jewel as the street lights caressed every curve of the car's body. Emma thought that the black paint looked like the kind her dad had used to stripe his own jewel, a '69 Boss 302.
Sunday drives were a blast as the motor hummed, taking Emma and her father on long country drives.
Emma stared at the driver's window and caught the shilouette of a man dressed in black. His hair was spiked and he appeared to have the most intense eyes Emma had ever seen. The man turned to look at her but sped off as the light changed.
Emma wasn't sure which was more beautiful, the car, or the man driving the car.
Feeling a sudden headache coming on, she crossed the street and continue to walk home.
Opening the door to her townhouse, Emma rubbed her head as she walked into her bedroom and opened her dresser drawer. Grabbing the bottle of aspirin she kept there, she doubled over as pain engulfed her head and images raced through her mind like a speeding train. She tried to maintain some sort of focus, but the pain was overwhelming.
After a few minutes of writhing agony, the pain subsided.
Walking into her bathroom, she fixed a glass of water and took two aspirin.
Lying down on her bed, Emma tried to figure out what had happened. It had been years since she had had a headache like this.
The last time, was when she got the news that her dad had died in wreck while driving the Boss.
She was devastated and had stayed in bed for a week complaining of a migraine.
As she got older, she would sometimes get pictures from a person's past, and /or present when she met someone new, but they never made her cry out in pain before.
It must have been because of that man, Emma thought rubbing her head. There's something about him.
Turning over on her side, Emma turned out her lamp and tried to go to sleep. She dreamed about a lot of things, but the same things kept coming to mind; a strange looking object, a name written in blood. And two words, Old Soul.
Emma sat up in bed and grabbed a pen and paper. After noting what she had seen, she went back over the words and was puzzled about the words Old Soul.
What was a Old Soul and why was that man involved?
End chapter One