Chapter Ten

A dive bar was kind of an understatement. At least, that was her thought as she opened the doors to the pub and looked around, taking in the dirty interior and even dirtier clientele. In an instant, all eyes were on her and she felt as though she was an animal in a cage at a zoo. Well, maybe that wasn't the best description, no, she felt like a piece of meat on display for a bunch of hungry men.

"Hey baby." She heard being called at her and she did her best to ignore it, pulling her sweatshirt closer to her body as she crossed her arms over her chest. If there was one thing she hated more than demons, it was pervert, drunk, old me who thought they had the right to hit on girls half their age.

In that moment she was angry, angry that he had allowed this to happen, that he was pulling her out of her comfortable house at midnight, and putting her in a situation that made her uncomfortable. Although, of course she didn't have to come, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Sending Willow to do her dirty work was the worst thing she could have done. He probably wouldn't have even been there drinking if it hadn't been for her, for her harsh treatment of him since he had shown up.

The bar was dark and she thought that she saw him at the other end, sprawled out across a booth but, wanting to be sure first she headed to the bartender. His voice had been friendly on the phone, probably skill he had acquired after a few years of experience dealing with customers who drank more than their body could handle, and she figured that he would point her in the right direction.

"You're Buffy right?" He asked, a pleasant smile gracing his face as she approached. He had been expecting her. "Sorry to wreck your night but there was no way I could let big guy over there drive home." He pointed to the booth that she had suspected he was at and then turned his attention back to her. "I would have called another number that was in his phone but he had been going on and on about you all night. You're together right? You had a fight?"

She was about to respond, to tell him that he was mistaken, that they weren't a couple but, after taking in the scene in the room, she figured she was better off letting the leeches think she was taken. Well, that and the bartender didn't give her a chance to respond. "He is a wreck. I'll admit that I don't know much about your situation but I've been a bartender for ten years now, and I've never seen any man as remorseful as he is."

"How much did he drink?" She wanted to change the subject, not wanting to hear it from this nice man before her but instead to hear it from Angel. She couldn't help but wonder if all bartenders were this nosey, if they all liked to put their foot into a situation in which they really didn't know the extent of how deep the emotional cut was. "And I guess what did he drink? I guess I need to know if I'll be cleaning up a bathroom tonight."

He laughed. She guessed it was something he had heard before. It wouldn't have been surprising, especially if he had been working the bar for ten years. This was probably a common occurrence for him, even if she felt out of place. He probably would have felt the same way if he was defeating some big evil, out of place and confused. Of course, she'd been drunk before, granted, it seemed like every time she ingested the substance, which, at her current age she began referring to as poison, something terrible happened. It was just, this was the first time she had seen him like this. In all the years that they had known each other, she had never thought of him in this light. Granted, she knew that prior to his transformation into a vampire, he had acquired a taste for liquor, she thought that he had kicked it as a vampire.

Then again, the reason she had turned to beer so many years ago, besides how good it felt to just let go, had been to get over a broken heart. It hadn't exactly been a stellar time in her life. Angel had walked out on her for the first time, claiming that she deserved better, that he couldn't give her the life that she wanted, or at least, would want. All she could think about at the time was how could he make that decision? How could he tell her what she wanted? How could he make that decision? Granted, she knew he was right, it just didn't seem fair to make that choice. And well, then there was Parker. But that was history, a bad decision made with a boy who knew she was vulnerable and just wanted to exploit it.

"A few beers, some shots of whisky…" His voice interrupted her train of thought and she realized that she wasn't in the comfort of her own home contemplating her history but rather in a dive bar off of Grand. "He already threw some of it up in the bathroom. I'm assuming he's done for the night."

"Can I get some water? I'm requesting he drink at least three glasses and visits the bathroom at least one more time before I let him into my Benz." She said, watching as the bartender pulled a glass out and filled it with the clear liquid before handing it to her with a sympathetic smile. "Thanks." She smiled back at him and walked over to the booth trying to figure out how she was going to wake him up and persuade him to drink the water.

She climbed into the booth, moving his legs off the seat so she could sit next to him. His spicy scent filled her nostrils and in a moment she was transported back into her history, she was so sensitive to everything lately, a simple touch or scent seemed to stir up a mixture of emotions and memories. This time however, before she let the thoughts take over her mind, she pushed them out, she had a job to do first. He was slouched against the side of the wall and his eyes fluttered open as her hand touched his shoulder and gentle shook him awake.

"Angel." She said softly, her own heart racing in her chest as she touched him. He slowly gained consciousness as to where he was as he sat up straighter, but still propping himself against the wall for support.

"Buffy?" He questioned, not sure if he was dreaming or if she really was there. The night was pretty much a blur and he was still having difficulty remembering where he was and why he was there. Then again, that didn't really matter much to him anymore, she was there, sitting next to him. They were closer in this moment than they had been in five years and he was just going to try to savor the moment, as drunk as he was.

"I'm here." She whispered, pushing the glass of water towards him. "I need you to drink this." He took the water without hesitation and gulped down the contents.

After thirty minutes, three glasses of water, and a still very drunk Angel on her hands, the bar was closing and she hand to find a way to get Angel from the booth that he was almost passed out in and into her car. Then there was still the ordeal of where to take him. Was it proper to take him back to her house, she had no idea where he was staying and she wasn't sure she wanted to drive from hotel to hotel trying to figure it out. But at the same time, she had a four year old son at home who would surely ask her questions she didn't have an answer to.

With help from the bartender, she was able to move Angel from the booth and into the front seat of her Mercedes. She figured she had about thirty to forty five minutes before he would be ready to throw up again, which gave her an ample amount of time to get from the bar and back to her house. Although she realized that Liam would have answers if he discovered Angel but she also knew that she couldn't keep this secret anymore, she couldn't continue to hide Angel from him. She understood that the longer she kept him a secret, the more her son would resent her, resent her decision and that was something she couldn't bear to happen. Liam was her whole world and if he resented her instead of looked up to her like she knew he did, she would never be able to forgive herself, especially if it was for something like this. She knew Angel loved her; she had to stop worrying about what the future would bring and just accept the present.

She pulled into her drive way twenty minutes later, and lucky she did because as soon as she got him up the stairs, she steered him directly into the bathroom where he proceeded to spent a good twenty minutes in. The noise must have woken Liam because five minutes after she had left him in the bathroom and went to look through her things for something that he could put on, clean towels so he could clean up, and water, so he could hydrate, her son stood by the door, clutching his teddy bear in one hand.

"Mommy?" He asked softly, looking into the room, noticing a strange man in the bathroom on the floor by the toilet, and his mother by her dresser.

"Baby what are you doing up?" She stopped what she was doing and walked over to him, bending down and picking him up in her arms before making her way back to his bedroom.

"Who was that?" He asked, resting his head on her shoulder.

"We will talk about that tomorrow okay baby? Right now I just want you to go to sleep. I'll close your door so that it's quiet okay?" She said, laying him back down in his bed before pulling the covers up over him and tucking him in. He nodded and she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight baby, I love you."

She walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her before walking back into her room and finding Angel standing in the middle of the room. He looked at her as though he thought he was dreaming, and she could understand that, it wasn't like she had been kind to him as of late and here she was, taking care of him and letting him sleep in her house. She could tell he was still unsteady on his feet but she also knew he would probably want to clean up, he couldn't have felt that great after spending that much time on the bathroom floor. And she still didn't know how sick he had been when he was at the bar, the bartender failed to tell her that.

"Here, you should clean up. You'll feel better." She said, breaking the silence and handing him the towel she had taken out. He took it from her, still not saying a word. She figured he was afraid he would be sick again if he opened his mouth. "I think I still have some of your things… I'll get you something clean to wear, and I can throw your things in the wash so you have clothes tomorrow."

She walked back to the dresser and pulled out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt that he had left, that she would wear to bed when she wanted to be closer to him. "Here," She said and handed it to him. She heard the door to the shower close and she walked in, grabbed his clothes and headed back down the stairs to put them in the wash and grab a few bottles of water to put by the bedside if he needed them.

"Is he okay?" Willow's voice startled her. In the series of events of the night, she had forgotten that Willow was even staying at the house with her.

"He will be. He'll feel like crap in the morning but he really doesn't have anyone to blame but himself."She responded, pressing the button on the washing machine and turning to face Willow.

"So…"

"Yes, he's staying here. I didn't know where he was staying, as soon as he got in the car he passed out and the last thing I wanted to do was drive around for hours on end trying to figure it out."

"Are you going to tell Liam?" Willow knew that this wasn't exactly an easy time in her friends life, but she wasn't sure she was thinking right either. Although she had always been an Angel enthusiast, compared with the rest of the clan, she knew that Buffy always seemed to move faster than she should when it came to Angel. She hoped that this time things would be different, he did seem changed, at least he wasn't a wreck like the last time he showed up at her door step, he actually seemed to have his stuff together, seemed to know exactly what he wanted.

"I have to Will. I mean, I'm not thrilled about it but I know that the longer I keep this from him, the more he will resent me in the future and that would kill me."

"Alright, I'm sure you'll do what is right." Willow said, walking closer to her friend and pulling her into a hug. "Goodnight."

After Willow had gone back up the stairs, she grabbed a few bottles of water from the refrigerator. She stopped and stood in the middle of the kitchen for a while, trying hard to grasp the events of the night, to understand what was happening and to figure out how she was going to explain things to Liam in the morning. It went beyond explaining Angel to him; she also had to tell him that he couldn't go back to school and that they were moving. She knew he probably wouldn't take it well. She had no idea how she was going to go about doing this, she had thought that giving birth to him would be the hardest thing she would ever do, but she realized that she had never been more wrong, tomorrow would be a true test of her abilities.

When she got back upstairs she saw that Angel had passed out on the bed already. His long, tan legs were exposed to her eyes and she felt something stir within her. Even drunk off his ass, he still had the ability to turn her on and now she had to sleep in the same bed with her. After five years of celibacy, of a dormant sex drive, she could feel it start to come out of hibernation as she looked at him. With all that she had left inside of her, she pushed the thoughts aside and placed the cool bottles of water on the night stand next to him before pulling the covers up and making sure he was covered as to not catch cold.

Then, quietly she walked into the bathroom, changed into shorts and a tank top and crawled into the bed next to him. It took everything she could to make sure her hands stayed to herself and her head didn't find the nook in his chest that she often dreamed about on lonely nights when all she wanted to do was cuddle up against him.

Later That Night…

He woke a few hours later, his mouth dry and craving water. He was disoriented for a moment, trying to figure out where he was and how he had gotten there. It was only when he noticed the warm body sleeping next to him and turned and saw his soul mate next to him that he was able to put the pieces together.

He had gone to the bar shortly after his conversation with Willow. He had so many thoughts running through his mind that all he wanted to do was silence them and he thought that the alcohol would do that. He had spent the whole night talking to the bartender, telling him about Buffy in-between drinks. What he hadn't expected was the bartender to call Buffy to pick him up. And she did, and she took care of him. It was almost as though they were together.

He looked to the side and saw that she had left a few bottles of water and he opened them, letting the liquid drain from the bottles and quench his dry mouth. The two bottled had not satisfied his thirst, making him realize that he needed to get more water. Quietly, as he didn't want to wake her from her sleep, he pulled the covers off him, and got out of the bed. She had not changed the house at all since he had been there and he knew exactly where to find more water. As he made his way down the hall, he noticed that the door to Liam's room was slightly ajar. Poking his head in, he saw the boy sleeping soundly in his bed, clutching the bear tightly as though he was afraid that if he let it go he would lose it.

He felt a smile creep across his face as he watched his son sleep. It took everything in him not to go in there and touch him, to make sure that what was happening was real because the events of the night seemed surreal to him. After everything that the two of them had been through the past few days, the last thing he expected was for her to welcome him into her home and take care of him as she had. He was especially surprised, as he knew she had not told Liam about him yet, and by letting him into the house, he was aware of the situation that she was putting herself in.

He stepped back from the door, not wanting to wake the boy and went downstairs to grab more water. He found the bottles in the fridge and quickly drank one as he stood at the sink, his eyes on the front lawn, looking carefully to see if anyone was watching the house. When the bottle was empty, he tossed it in the plastic recycling bin, glanced once more out the window to reassure himself that the house was safe, and took one more bottle out of the fridge to bring back upstairs.

When he got back to the room, he placed the water on the table and crawled back under the covers. He wrestled with the decision to wrap his arms around her, unsure as to how she would react if he woke her up. Finally, he just pushed the thoughts from his mind and turned towards her, wrapping an arm around her waist lightly as he pulled her into a spooning position. She didn't stir and he smiled, his nose next to her hair, breathing in her clean scent. He had thought about this for such a long time now that he couldn't believe that he was there, in her house, in her bed, with his arms around her and she wasn't protesting. After a few minutes, she turned and faced him, her eyes opening just slightly but he knew she was still half asleep. She nestled herself closer to him, resting her head on his chest and draping her arm over his stomach.

"I love you…" She murmured into his chest causing his heart to race. Although she was asleep, she had said the words that he had been longing to hear since he had returned to San Diego.

"I love you." He whispered into her hair, kissing the top of her head softly before drifting back to sleep, thanking his lucky stars that he was falling asleep holding the one woman that he had ever fully loved.

Authors Note (Brighteyes):

Hey guys! I couldn't sleep, bad news for me, good news for all you who like to read this story! So I decided to turn that into a productive few hours and write a new chapter. Anyways, I noticed in a review that someone didn't know who Pike was so I'm going to clear that up. For those who don't know, Pike is Oliver Pike, Buffy's love interest from the movie. Although he really hasn't been canonized I wanted to put him in the story, STRICTLY a platonic relationship for the two as this is a Buffy/Angel story because I can't bring myself to put Buffy with anyone else, I love Angel too much! Anyways, as always, I wanted to thank everyone who continues to read this story! And please continue to leave reviews and let me know what you think! I love hearing from you!