Save Me
By Evil Willow
Feedback: Of course, I live for it! evlwillow77@aol.com
Rating: PG-13
Distribution: As with all my other fics, if you've got permission for
others go ahead and archive this one if you'd like. If you don't have
permission just drop me an email with the addy of your archive, and
the answer's always yes providing you give me credit.
Disclaimers: The GH characters belong to ABC and Wendy Riche or
whoever is the current writer. They can claim full ownership of all
the characters, except Johnny Rivera, he's my creation. Buffy and
Angel belong to Joss and WB usually, but I doubt they would care to
take credit for them in their current form. ;-) The Title is taken
from the song "Save Me" by the ultra-talented Aimee Mann, lyrics are also
Category: Story, semi-crossover with General Hospital.
Romance/Humor/Adventure
Keywords: Alternate Universe, Couples: Buffy/Angel; minor Sonny/Carly
Spoilers: None for Buffy or Angel, some general ones for GH for this
season I guess. Very general though. There are some deviations in the
GH storyline, and you will just have to read to see what they are.
The major one is Johnny Rivera though, he's my creation.
Summary: This is somewhere between an AU fic and a Crossover. Buffy
and Angel are both normal people, and part of the General Hospital
world. Buffy is a girl in need of protection, Sonny puts his best
(human) bodyguard Angel on the job, and sparks fly.
Author's Notes: This is a response to Ryan's fic challenge to
BufAngLoveImmortal and BuffyAngelFanfic. Items requested were: Buffy
and Angel are part of the life of Port Charles; Angel is one of
Sonny's bodyguards, who is asked to protect Buffy; they fall in love,
and the most important requirement was fluff. I'll do my best! ;-)

Lyrics in Thoughts in * *

**************
You look like a perfect fit
For a girl in need of a tourniquet

But can you save me
Come on and save me
If you could save me
From the ranks of the freaks
Who suspect they could never love anyone
Save Me - Aimee Mann - Magnolia Soundtrack

*********

Friday Night
8 pm

Buffy Summers arrived at the penthouse apartment of Mr Sonny
Corinthos, and found herself face to face with the most beautiful man
she'd ever seen in her 19 years. He was probably at least five years
older than her, 6 inches taller than her, with dark hair and tan
skin. He had broad shoulders, and an athletic build, and last but not
least, she noticed his brown eyes.
*Brown eyes. Geez, did he have to have brown eyes? That's not
fair!....Oh, God. I must be making a total fool of myself,* she shut
her mouth quickly before she started drooling. She saw with not a
little embarrassment the laughter dancing behind those before-
mentioned brown eyes.

Angel's thoughts were none too intellectual either at the
moment. "God, she's beautiful. She's probably jail-bait though--huh?
where the heck did that come from??? She almost succeeded in hiding
that black eye with her makeup, but not quite. Another girl in
trouble come to Sonny for help, I guess. I've seen that deer-in-the-
headlights look way too many times; I wonder what her story is?*

"Hello," Angel said, and the sound of his voice, deep yet gentle,
made her knees weak. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.

"Um, well, I dunno," Buffy replied hesitantly. "I was kind of hoping
to see Mr. Corinthos."

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked, a frown on his face. "He
didn't mention--"

"No, no. I don't, it's just kind of..." she paused to readjust the
backpack hanging over one shoulder. This backpack held her only
remaining possessions, such as they were. There were a few items of
clothing, and less than $20 in cash. She'd had to get out of her
apartment in a hurry, and knew she was taking a huge chance coming
to Mr. Corinthos for help. She'd been told he would help her though,
and she just hoped that Jake had been right about that.

"Miss?" the young man broke into her reverie.

"Sorry," Buffy said. "I don't have an appointment, but I don't have
anywhere else to turn. I need help, and I need it yesterday. A friend
of mine, Jake, told me that Mr. Corinthos would be able to help me,
so here I am."

"Well, Sonny doesn't usually see uninvited visitors...." Angel
replied. At her crestfallen look, he softened, adding, "But he knows
Jake, so...Let me go ask him. You wait here...what's your name?"

"Buffy," she said with a smile. "Buffy Summers."

"Nice to meet you Buffy," he replied with a smile of his own. "I'm
Angel," he offered his hand in a handshake and she took it. "I'll go
talk to Sonny," he said, and turned to enter the apartment.

Buffy looked around nervously. *It's safe here,* she tried to
reassure herself. *Even if Johnny knows I'm here he wouldn't dare
come within ten feet of Sonny Corinthos.*

***********
Inside:

"Sonny?" Angel called as he entered the apartment.

"Yeah," he heard Sonny's voice from his kitchen. "Gimme a minute."

Sonny emerged from the kitchen, and Angel could smell the pleasant
aroma of Sonny's current culinary expedition. "Sorry to interrupt,"
Angel said, "but there's a girl waiting in the hallway, and she says
she needs your help. She seems harmless enough, actually she looks
like she just may die of fright at any moment."

"What's her name?" Sonny asked, barely interested, as he went through
his stack of mail.

"Buffy Summers," Angel replied.

Sonny looked at him, startled, "Did you say Buffy Summers?"

"Yeah...why?" Angel asked, curious as to the reasons behind Sonny's
sudden interest.

"Just let her in," Sonny said, "but frisk her first."

"Are you sure that's necessary?" Angel asked. "She didn't look like
she was a waiting assassin--"

"Just do it," Sonny ordered. Angel nodded, and returned to the girl
waiting outside.

*********

Buffy was relieved when Angel finally returned. *Silly,* she told
herself. *You don't know anything about this guy, he could turn out
to be another Johnny. Or if he is just the greatest thing in the
world, he wouldn't give you a second thought. And stop wandering,
mind!*

Having told her mind who was boss, she said, "So?"

"He'll see you. There's just...one thing. It's just what we do
whenever anyone comes to see Sonny," he said apologetically. "I need
to see your bag, and I uh, need to, um," he cleared his throat
nervously, "make sure you're not hiding any knives or anything in
your pockets..."

"Oh," Buffy smiled reassuringly. "Fine, whatever," she shrugged. *Not
like I'm not used to that from living with Johnny. He never trusted
me, and a lot of that was thanks to his father.*

She handed Angel her backpack, and he went through it quickly,
handing it back to her. He then frisked her quickly. "Okay, uh, go on
in," he said, opening the door for her.

"You're not...oh, of course you wouldn't be part of this," Buffy
realized.

She entered, and saw Sonny Corinthos sitting on the couch. She
recognized him from the many pictures of him lately in the
newspaper. "So, Buffy Summers," Sonny said.

"You know who I am?" Buffy asked, and then answered her own
question. "Of course you would. You're a smart man, so you would keep
up on who your...should I say rivals?...hang out with."

"Something like that," Sonny said, as he walked up to her. "Come on
in, I'm not going to hurt you," he added. "But you would already know
that if you came here. Whose fist did your eye run into?" he asked
bluntly.

Buffy had to shut her mouth for the second time, and put her hand to
her left eye instinctively. "Oh, that," she shrugged. "Well, I could
give you the short story now and the long story later; or I could
give you the long story now and the short story later...wait that
second idea would be kind of pointless--"

"Miss Summers," Sonny interrupted her nervous ramble.

Buffy giggled, "The last person who called me that was my math
teacher in highschool. Call me Buffy, please."

"Fine, Buffy," Sonny smiled at her, "And I'm not Mr. Corinthos. Not
even to most of my guys. Sonny. Have a seat and tell me the long
story. I can't help you unless I know it."

"You mean you really will help me?" she asked hopefully.

"I'll see what I can do," Sonny replied. He took her arm and led her
to the couch. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Water?" she asked.

"I think I can manage that," Sonny said. "I'll be right back."

He returned with a glass of water for her, and sat next to her,
saying, "So, Buffy. I know you've been seen with Johnny Rivera and
the word on the street is you two are engaged. What brings you to my
door?"

"Well, you said long story," Buffy said. "I met Johnny at PC High.
When I was a sophomore, he was a senior. We started dating, and we
have been together off and on since then. I knew who he was, everyone
in Port Charles does. But at first, he seemed so sweet, so different.
Then he changed, or maybe I just realized things slowly. If I was
late for a date, he'd yell. When we fought and I wouldn't back down,
he'd hit me. We'd break up occasionally, and he'd usually win me back
by returning to the sweet guy that I fell in love with. I think I
might have gone on like this for a long time if it wasn't for what
happened a few nights ago..." Buffy paused to take a sip of the
water, and noticed her hands were shaking. She took a deep breath,
and continued.

"A few nights ago, Johnny was supposed to meet me for dinner at the
Port Charles Hotel. He was late, and I got ticked. I had my usual
band of shadows, but I managed to ditch them by going out the ladies'
room window. I walked back to our apartment, and on the way there I
found out why Johnny was late. I guess he had some business to take
care of. Johnny and a few of his men....I never thought that Johnny
was capable of it. I guess I knew that he was ultimately responsible
for a lot of the stuff that happens, but...I watched him kill
someone. He had a gun... and...." Buffy couldn't go on, her entire
body was shaking now.

"Okay," Sonny took the glass out of her hand, "I think you need
something a little stronger than water. He poured her a glass of
brandy. "Drink it," he said. Buffy wrinkled her nose at it, and he
said, "It's not a suggestion, and it's just brandy. It'll calm you
down."

She nodded and took the glass, sipping the brandy. "Take a few deep
breaths," Sonny suggested. He waited until she had regained her
composure and said, "Now I think I understand why you're here. Johnny
saw you?"

"Yeah," Buffy replied. "He freaked out, I thought for certain I was
dead. He dragged me to the car, and back home. He beat me up, and I
think he would have killed me, but I got hold of a heavy vase and hit
him over the head with it. While he was unconscious, I grabbed some
things, and got out of there. I went to a cheap motel, and then I
switched to a different motel last night. Today I was talking to a
friend of mine, her name's Jake, and she told me to come see you.
I'll understand completely if you don't want to get involved, but I
don't have anywhere else to go--"

"Buffy, it's okay," Sonny said. "I'll help you."

"What's the catch?" she asked suspiciously.

"No catch," Sonny said. "There's no love lost between me and the
Riveras, and the fact that he beats his girlfriend doesn't endear him
to me either. I will keep you safe from him, although I also suggest
you go to the police. Telling what you saw could put him behind bars
for a long time."

"What if I can't do that?" Buffy asked sadly.

"Then, I will still help you, but my methods would be a little
different. I'd have to get you out of town, somewhere you could start
a new life. Either way, you're safe now."

"Why are you helping me?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I've always been a sucker for a beautiful woman in trouble,"
Sonny said with a grin. "And besides that, it's not like I won't get
any satisfaction out of keeping you free of Rivera. Even if you don't
agree to testify against him, he won't know that. I'll enjoy watching
him sweat. How's that for an answer?"

"It's a good, honest answer. Thank you, Sonny. I don't know what I
would've done if you'd refused to help me."

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore. So where are you
staying?"

"Motel room near Pier 8. Not the best part of town but an easy part
to hide in."

"You're not there anymore," Sonny said. "I own the apartment on the
other side of the hall and you'll stay there. Uh-uh," he cut off her
protest with a wave of his hand. "You came to me for help, Buffy, now
you're going to have to get used to accepting it. Now another
question: is that all you took with you out of the apartment?" he
indicated her backpack.

"Yes. I kind of had to leave in a hurry"

"Okay, Angel and a few of the others will go back there with you
tomorrow. You can get the rest of your things, and I'm sure that will
make the transition easier on you."

Buffy protested, "I really don't want to cause trouble. There's not
really anything important."

"Buffy, he's taken enough from you, it's time you start making it
clear he won't be doing that anymore. And I'll help you with it."
Sonny said. "Now, I've got some calls to make. Starting now I will
know where Johnny Rivera is at all times, so we'll know when he's too
close. Angel!"

"Yeah, Sonny?" Angel asked as he opened the door and stepped inside.

"Buffy's going to stay in Jason's old apartment. The spare keys are
in my desk there, you get her settled in, and then come back here."

"Got it," Angel nodded, and retrieved the keys from the desk drawer.

"Thanks Sonny, for everything," Buffy said with a smile.

"No need to thank me for doing the right thing. Just try to get some
sleep, and we'll talk about what the next move will be tomorrow.
Okay?"

"Okay," Buffy agreed, and followed Angel to the other apartment.

He opened the door, and her jaw dropped for not the first time that
evening. She didn't know what she had expected, but she hadn't
expected Sonny's "spare apartment" to be as well-furnished as Sonny's
own.

"Nobody lives here?" she asked Angel with a frown. "It's so nice."

"One of Sonny's associates used to live here, but he left town,"
Angel replied. "Sonny's kept the place up in case he needed it."

"Well, I guess I'm glad he did," Buffy replied. "It beats the sleazy
motel I've been stuck at."

"Well, you'll be safe here. On my way out, I'm going to make sure
that nobody else is allowed upstairs. Here's the keys," he handed
them to her.

"Angel?" she stopped him as he went to the door. "Thanks," she smiled
at him.

"For what?" Angel asked. "Sonny's doing everything."

"Yeah, but you're the one who got me in to see him," Buffy
said. "Like you said, you weren't supposed to even give me half a
chance since I didn't have an appointment."

"You obviously need help, and I knew that Sonny could help," Angel
said. "It's the least I could've done. Well, I'm sure I'll see you."

"I hope so," Buffy said, before she could stop herself. "Okay, I"m
going to go away now so I stop embarrassing myself," she added. She
retreated to find the bedroom, leaving Angel to let himself out.

Angel chuckled to himself, and as he left, thought, *Oh, yeah. I
think there's definite possibilities here. I hope she's not
jailbait....*

End of part One