A Time to Love

by Lady Callista

Chapter 2 - Making Friends

"So, um, you know where there's a gym around here?" She asked him.

"Yeah, there's one about five minutes away. Shall I have the car ready, Miss Summers?" He asked.

"Sure, that'll be fine, Mr...um..." She trailed off, unable to remember his last name.

"Just call me Angel." He said, looking into her eyes.

"Angel, right." She felt her heartbeat accelerate. "And call me Buffy. I'll just change and be out in a minute."

Angel nodded and pulled a phone from his pocket, calling for the car.

Buffy closed the door behind her and went up to change. She appeared about five minutes later in sweatpants, a tee-shirt, tennies, and her hair pulled up into a high ponytail.

"Ready?" He asked, looking her over.

She nodded and he locked the door behind her, following her into the elevator.

They said nothing on the way down, although the air cracked with the electricity between them. When they reached the limo Angel opened the door for her and offered his hand.

Buffy's face took on a look of shock for a moment, it was a long time since she'd been treated like a lady. But then she smiled, taking his hand for leverage as she got into the sleek black limo. She once again felt the shock of his touch and released his hand as quickly as was possible. He looked at her a second longer, and there was a look in his eyes that she couldn't place. Just as quickly it was gone and he closed the door, getting in front next to the driver. She felt as wave of disappointment go through her.

'What am I thinking?' Buffy's thoughts raced as the car began to move. 'I've known him for a few hours, seen him only for a few minutes, and I'm already going nuts about him? What is going on with me?' Brenda or Robin could have told her easily, but Buffy had so little experience with positive emotions that the notion that she was falling in love was completely beyond her. Her thoughts continued to race until she felt the car stop.

The door was opened and a hand offered to her. She took it, again feeling the shock, and stepped out of the limo and into the bright afternoon sunlight. Angel released her hand then, but continued to stare at her for several seconds. Finally, he smiled, "Aren't you going in?"

"Huh?" Buffy was still lost in his eyes. When they lightened in amusement, she tore herself away. "Oh, right. I wasn't sure if you wanted to check it out first or not." She lied.

"Nah, you weren't planning on going here, so no one could have overheard plans and be lying in wait. I'm gonna stick close to you inside though, just in case."

Buffy nodded, understanding. No one would have dared to go after her when she was with Brenda and Robin, cause they'd know that they would have to answer to Sonny. But now that she was alone, if she was spotted no one would know she was under Sonny's protection. Unless she had some of his muscle by her side, that is.

Buffy walked into the gym with Angel close on her heels. Many of the patrons looked up at her curiously as people knew the regulars at the gym, but then they noticed the limo just pulling away and the man in the suit behind her. They quickly went back to their own business.

Buffy's expression didn't change in the slightest, but her smile on the inside grew a little wider.

"Is there anything I can help you with ma'am?" A trainer came up to her nervously.

"Actually, yeah. I'm new here and I'm wondering if you can give me a little tour, kinda show me where all the different stuff is." Although it was a rather large place, Buffy knew her request was well out of the ordinary. Most people would just look around to find what they wanted.

"Of course, ma'am. If you could tell me what you're interested in..."

Standing a few feet behind her and carefully scanning the place for anything out of the ordinary, Angel could barely contain a chuckle. He knew she was getting a thrill out of being treated like she was so important. He had seen it in her face when he handed her in and out of the limo, and he heard it now in her beautiful voice. It didn't surprise him much though, most people reacted this way at first. And after hearing her story of how she had grown up, he realized it must be really different for her to get this kind of treatment.

Buffy grinned on the inside as the trainer glanced back at Angel nervously as he followed them around the gym. The woman explained where things were, pointing out all the different machines and equipment proudly.

When they were back near the front door, Buffy thanked her. "Oh, and one more thing. I didn't notice a training ring anywhere. Do you have one?"

The trained looked at the slip of a girl skeptically but answered her respectfully. "Yes, we do. It's in the back corner there." She pointed. "It's occupied now, but there's always people waiting around looking for opponents."

Buffy nodded and thanked her again. As the woman left she felt Angel come up behind her, chuckling softly. "Nice shock tactic." He said softly.

She turned to face him. "You think I was kidding?"

He looked her over, head to toe. Underneath her baggy pants and tee shirt that came to her elbows she looked pretty skinny. "Weren't you?"

"No way. I told you I took self defense classes and was trained in martial arts."

"What, as a white belt?" He asked, naming the lowest belt of tae kuan do.

She didn't reply, but spun angrily on her heel and marched over towards the ring. He looked at her for a second, then hurried to keep up.

When he got there, he found the two fighters just leaving the ring. The next person to get into the ring was a tall, muscular man who was probably in his early thirties.

Angel looked at him, wondering who would dare to take on someone as built as this man was.

He was shocked out of his mind when Buffy rose up to answer the man's request for a sparring partner.

The man was obviously just as shocked as Angel was, for he looked at Buffy, almost laughing. "Why not find someone your own size, little lady?"

"Because people my own size no longer challenge me. They're too easy to beat." She shot back in a split second.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." The man said, a little nicer this time.

"I won't. Trust me. I'd worry about myself if I were you."

That said, a loud undercurrent went through the crowd that was rapidly gathering around the ring.

The man had no choice but to accept the challenge.

He took his shirt off, leaving him with only tight black shorts on as he stepped into the ring.

Buffy walked over to Angel and removed her tee shirt and baggy pants, revealing a sports bra and gray spandex shorts. She handed them to him, and he put them over his arm.

"Buffy, don't do this. You're gonna get yourself hurt, and..." His eyes pleaded with her, at the same time devouring the sight of her body. She had more muscle than he had thought. A lot more.

She put a hand on his arm, stopping him dead. "I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry I teased you about the white belt thing, you don't have to..."

"Yes, I do." Buffy said as she walked up into the ring.

Twelve minutes and four pins later, Buffy exited the ring to the cheers of the now huge crowd that had assembled. Her opponent still lay on the floor of the ring, trying to catch his breath after having been flipped, for the second time in five minutes, over Buffy's shoulder and unto his back.

She walked up to Angel and took her tee shirt, using it as a towel to wipe sweat off of her face.

She looked up at him with a huge smile on her face.

"You sure know how to make a guy feel stupid. And I don't just mean your opponent." He said with a small chuckle. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Catholic school." She glibly quoted a line from one of the Lethal Weapons.

He looked at her oddly as they walked away. "Seriously? I told you I've been talking lessons since I was little. I'm about as strong as I can be at my size, but I also know how to use another person's momentum and moves against them." Buffy told him as she sat down to pull her long pants back on.

He only shook his head. "You so don't need a body guard. God, you're probably a better fighter than I am."

"I don't know, I've never seen you fight." She reminded him. "But even if I am, I don't have the cell phone," she lowered her voice, "the gun, or the years of training to see things before they happen. Sure, I can tell when someone's following me, but it usually takes me a while. And I can't do it without fail, as I'm sure all of Sonny's guards can. Plus I may have a lot of guys after me in the near future and I can't fight them all at once."

He looked at her in admiration. She was trying to keep from hurting his feelings by not saying she didn't need him, even though they both knew she didn't. He handed her into the limo again, and this time climbed in beside her, still wanting to talk with her. He didn't miss the flash of happiness in her eyes as he did so.

"What belt are you anyways?"

"In what?"

"You mean you've learned more than one form?" Angel asked in amazement.

"Well, let's see. I'm a double black belt in Tae Kwon Do, I'm a black belt in Katate, and I hold the rank of khru muay in Muay Yhai. I've taken extra classes in kickboxing, street fighting, and self defense. I'm a level 8 gymnast. And all of that together gives me a huge advantage in that I can adapt to almost any moves." She said as she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her purse and pulled one out. She put it in her mouth and had the lighter halfway to her mouth before Angel grabbed it from her.

He put it into his pocket without comment, then continued as if nothing had happened. "You've taken all those different things? You've got black belts in three forms and you're what? 20? 21?"

"21." She confirmed, for some reason not minding that he knew how old she was. She reluctantly put her lighter away after realizing he didn't want her to smoke. She could have pushed the issue and won but decided not to. "Well, what about you?"

"I'm a single black belt in Tae Kwon Do, a brown belt in Karate, and I've taken street fighting too. I'm 28 though, I've had a little more time to take the classes and stuff. I've never known anyone so young who was so skilled." He said with admiration and a trace of jealousy.

"Well, when I was little, I wanted so much to be like my parents. They were both martial arts experts. They used to say how much it helped them in their WSB work. So I took all the classes they said they had taken, and I was a really quick learner they said. When they died, it was kinda like I was doing it for them, so I worked twice as hard. Then when I was 16 and started getting into trouble, I was sent to even more classes because they wanted to occupy my time and martial arts are supposed to be good for teaching discipline. And since I'd need the skills to stay alive on the streets I worked really hard at it."

He had been watching her the whole time she spoke with unhidden interest. "You're so different from anyone I've ever met." He said softly.

She looked down at her lap nervously, not knowing what to say. She somehow got the impression that this was wrong. He was supposed to be her guard. What was starting to happen could be dangerous, she realized instinctively. But she also found that she didn't care.

"Am I now?" Buffy quipped back with a small smile.

He only nodded, reaching up a hand to stroke her cheek. Her eyes closed at his caress, and when she opened them again they were staring into the chocolaty depths of his own eyes.

Buffy looked at him uncertainly for a moment, and just as she could feel he was about to kiss her the car stopped suddenly.

He looked down for a moment, and when he looked back up his eyes were normal again. The fire she had seen in them was gone. 'No, not gone.' She corrected herself a second later. 'Just hidden.'

He moved to open the limo door and then offered his hand to her as she got out. They held hands a second longer than was necessary, quickly breaking apart as a limo pulled up behind them. Sonny got out and reached in for Brenda, then Jason got out and offered a hand to Robin.

The six looked at each other a began to laugh. "Great timing, huh?"

"Did you have a good workout?" Robin asked her cousin.

"Yeah, it was great." Buffy looked at Angel, indicating with her eyes that he shouldn't say anything about her performance.

Brenda saw the look that passed between the two and took it to mean something different.

So when everyone else started back up towards their homes, she lagged behind a little, drawing Angel to her. "You like her, don't you?" She asked her former bodyguard and close friend.

"Yeah." He admitted softly. "I like her a lot."

"Just don't get one of you killed." Brenda admonished softly, knowing how bad it could be for him to fall for the one he was supposed to protect.

"I won't."

Ahead of them, Sonny and Jason walked in quite conversation, not hearing their comments.

And ahead of the guys, Robin walked with her arm linked through Buffy's.

"He's pretty cute, huh?" Robin asked.

"Angel?" Buffy asked. Robin gave her a 'duh, who else?' look and Buffy continued, "Hot is the word I would use." They both giggled.

Then they entered the elevator and there was no further opportunity to talk.

OoO

Across town at Kelly's Diner, the four teenagers were assembled once again.

"You got another call from the blackmailer?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, she said the ten thousand should be left in the same alley as the first drop we made. At eleven tonight." Emily said softly.

"You get the money?" Lucky asked.

"Yeah, I got it. No questions asked. Not that anyone would dare since the estate is mine now." Nikolas answered his brother's question.

"I still don't like this, it's not safe." Emily tried again to persuade the guys from staking out the drop point.

"But it's the only way we're ever gonna catch this girl." Lucky replied.

"Yeah, and once we do we can see what she actually knows." Nikolas added.

"But it's so dangerous." Elizabeth seconded her best friends worry. "If you'd just let me go to Sonny, I'm sure he..."

Emily nodded in agreement but the boys both said no.

"The last thing we need is Sonny in on this." Lucky said, taking his girlfriend's hand. "Especially since we found out that Ted was an undercover cop."

"But you know he'd help us. He might even know what's going on with the drugs and all." Elizabeth continued to argue.

"No way. We're gonna catch her tonight and that's gonna be it." Lucky said.

They arranged to meet again at ten thirty that night. The boys could stake out positions and the girls make the drop.

TBC…..

AN: Okay, for those of you who don't watch GH and need backstory, here's the deal: The four teenagers went to a rave one Friday night because Emily's boyfriend Juan dragged her to it. The other three went to make sure she didn't get hurt. While they were there Emily and Juan had a fight, and being the jerk that he is he went off with another girl. Some guy slipped something into Emily's drink. Emily, already kind-of drunk and wasted, caught Juan kissing another girl and in retaliation drank even more and picked up some guy. His name was Ted. She left the party with him. Elizabeth, Lucky, and Nikolas tried to follow her but couldn't. They started searching all the hotels and everything. Lucky finally found her the next morning, naked and passed out in a bed with Ted. Ted was dead of an OD and Emily was holding the needle. They knew Emily hadn't killed him, so they stashed the body and pretended like nothing had happened. Emily went to a clinic and found out that she hadn't been raped, so they wondered how she ended up naked in the bed. They decided that someone was setting her up because they knew she was a Quartermaine and had lots of money.

Then a girl called Emily saying "I know what you did last Friday night." She was going to blackmail them. They paid the five thousand she asked for and assumed it was over but then she called again demanding another ten.

Meanwhile, Lucky and Nikolas wondered why no one was missing Ted so they investigated and discovered that he was an undercover cop who was trying to bust up a drug ring. They realized he must have taken Emily away from the party because he saw her get drugged and was worried. They know that someone else killed him and now know they're in way over their heads.

Oh, and the WSB is the World Security Bureau, which is exactly what it sounds like. They're kinda like the American FBI, only they're in charge of the whole world. Robin's parents were both WSB agents and were killed when she was quite young.