Disclaimer ~ I lived in the icebox of the world. I can give you ice cubes if you want to sue. Works of love is all I own, and the thoughts that became the stories you see. Any of the characters you don't recognize are mine. Including the Circle
Timeline ~ 7 years after Restless, To Shanshu From LA 2007
Spoilers ~ On the safe side, everything current to the end of Season 4 & 1
Synopsis ~ Angel gets his redemption on Buffy's 23 birthday. 2 weeks later they are married. They have twins 2 years later. When the twins are 1 they take a trip to Europe...
Feedback ~ Greatly appreciated, even though doubts of my sanity have been claimed since the inception of this
Rating ~ I gonna say it is R because I am not pulling any stops with this one.
With evolution, the end is destiny. To those with power, the journey is destiny.
She felt him coming. He was in her soul. In her head. He was so far embedded within her spirit that she could feel his pain. His despair of never finding her. And yet she ran.
She ran like she had wings on her feet. Through the alleys, down the streets she ran. She ran for what seemed like forever.
She stopped. Taking a needless breath, she thought frantically. How could she see him? What would he say? What would he say when he felt the unbeating heart in her chest?
Lifting the man hole cover she slipped into the solace of the dark. She ran again. She ran from her past, her future, and her love. She was of no use to him. She was a monster. And though it pained her, she could not be with him.
To stand next to his soul and bask in the warmth of his love.
She would never again feel the joy in his slow smile. She would never see the sleepy look of love on his face when he held her close at sunrise.
With seeming impossibility she ran faster. She ran and ran until she felt as though her dead heart would burst. She ran from memory. Her eyes blurred over as she remembered the love they had shared. The joy and warmth in their life.
She remembered the beach they had made love upon. It had been her 23 birthday and he had finally become human. They turned their backs upon her calling. Faith was more than capable.
As she ran through the catacombs, likewise her memories ran through her mind. The wedding in May. They had been wedded right on the opening of the Hellmouth. Everything was perfect and the sanctity of their union had sealed it.
The birth of their twins floated on it's heels. She remembered when their little son had held her finger so tight. Her daughter's voracious feeding habits. Their gleaming brown eyes tied them to her soul, just like their father's.
Their first steps, taken on a beach in Greece. The long nights spent in his arms. The loverly walks in the parks. The romantic dinners took hold in her mind, making tears course down her face.
The attack and the death of her babies. She had failed to protect them. She remembered scrambling to their lifeless bodies. She cradled her babies and screamed her pain to the skies. She screamed at the stars that looked down so carelessly. She felt nothing when the vampire bit her.
She remembered the force of blood to her mouth. The painful awakening of her new form monopolized her mind, making her stumble. She remembered killing the others.
She remembered taking the head of her sire in her hands. She took it and held it gently, like a mother holds her children. Her whispered words, spoken in a sweet tone, informed him of his end.
She remembered very slowly caressing his skull as she ripped his ear off his head. She whispered small thing to him as she removed his eyes with a stake. She very delicately took his head between her hands and twisted ever so slowly. She felt every vertebrae stretch before popping.
She left him with only enough life to be seen by the Hunters. Then she ran. She carried with her the blankets from her babies. Her wedding ring graced her left hand, heart pointing in. And yet she ran from him.
She had never wanted to die. She wanted only to love him and be loved in return. She wanted to watch her children grow. She wanted to make love with her husband beneath the stars. To awake in his arms and bless the day they had met.
But because of that monster she would never again be allowed to rejoin her former life. Her babies had never gotten to see the world in all its glory. They never felt the joy of first love. They never got to feel the triumph of Graduation. They never got to find out their contribution to the world.
She kept running. The pain followed like a faithful dog. She banished it from her mind as she climbed up the ladder. She ran down the pier to the waiting ship. Stowing aboard, she vowed that this would never happen to another family. As long as she walked the earth in any form, the innocent would never find their lives cut short.
They would see the new day and would discover loves mysteries. They would pass on and their children would become the future. She solemnly swore an oath. Those who stalked the night in search of a life to end would never succeed. They would be the ones to perish.
Long ago, evil had declared war on her. She simply returned the favour.
Atop a mountain to the west, a shrouded figure turned to her companions. She spoke in a calm, dangerous voice. "Thus you hath brought the change. Be warned. She hath the power and the will to destroy thee. Thou must learn when and when not to interfere in path of her kind."
"She is but a lesser. She is of no concern. Their lives are the toys of us. Existence is wrought upon a whim. And ended upon a whim." A male sneered at the woman.
"With ordinary beings, thou decree is at best foolish. But thou, brother, hath forgotten the legends. With this move thou hath brought on the end."
"She is a lesser. What can she do?"
A snarl silenced the other male. " She is not a lesser and never has been. Are thou so inept that thou hath forgotten the consequences?"
"Consequences to what?"
She returned to her post watching the ship sail away. In a quiet voice she said, "Bringing about the Evolution."