First I must thank a couple of people: First, I must thank MacKensie Creations, for her help in getting my jumbled thoughts together! Thanks for listening to my babbling! Second, AngelicEagle, your posts have encouarged me, even when I felt like giving up! Thank you.
And now, on with the Buffy/Angel action!
Chapter Ten
Buffy walked through Central Park, keeping to the shadows, as so not to be seen by either her prey, or any potential bystanders.
Her grey, wool coat was doing its job, keeping out the Winter snow that was beginning to fall.
Buffy quietly walked on the white snow, keeping her eye on a man in a black trench coat.
Her Slayer radar, had gone off the second he passed her.
At first, she brushed it off, but when he was out of sight, Buffy turned and darted into the shadows, and followed.
Now she stood quietly behind a row of bushes, and watched as the man appeared to wait.
Seconds later, a smaller shape came into view and walked up to the man. The smaller shape, turned out to be a woman, dressed an a long, tan coat. Her hair was crimped, and red, just like the woman Angel had left with the other night.
What's she doing talking to a vampire?
Buffy leaned her ear to the two, and tried to hear what the woman was saying to the vampire.
Their voices were hushed, which made it hard for Buffy to hear much, but what she saw gave her cause for alarm.
Angel's date and the vampire looked around, making sure no one could see, before the vampire pulled out a small vile, and handed it to the woman.
"You do know what to do, right, Amber?" The vamp asked the woman.
"Yes," she replied, before slipping the vile into her coat pocket.
Buffy watched as Amber and the vampire began to walk away from each other.
When Amber was out of range, Buffy jumped out from behind the bushes, and knocked the vampire to the ground.
He recovered quickly, and faced Buffy, in full fighting stance.
"I thought I smelled a Slayer," he teased.
"Yeah, well, I don't like to disappoint," Buffy quipped.
Then she spun around, and kicked the vampire in his chest sending him to the ground.
Buffy put her knees to his chest, but he just threw her off, and she landed a few feet away.
Buffy was stilling getting her bearings, when the Vampire grabbed her by her collar, and pinned her against a tree.
"I look forward to this," he said as his true visage became exposed.
Buffy struggled to get free, but she couldn't really move. She wrapped her hands around the vampire's arm, but he had a good grip.
Buffy then remembered her necklace and taking it, touched it to the vampire's arm. The burning, smoking arm, let go of her, and Buffy slipped to the ground. Quickly, she grabbed the vampire by the throat, and took her necklace, placing it against the vampire's face.
"Now, then," she said, as fire flew through her eyes. "You're going to tell me what you gave that woman, or I am going to make you swallow this necklace."
"You wouldn't do that," The vampire said wheezing.
"Wanna bet?"
And Buffy forced open the vampire's mouth, placing the cross inside.
"OW! Hot! Hot!" said the Vampire as he spit out the necklace.
"Care to try me again?"
"Okay, okay," The vampire said as Buffy dangled the silver object in front of the Vampire, "You win. I gave Amber some poison to kill her boyfriend."
"And why does she want him dead?" Buffy asked as she tightened her grip on the Vampire's throat.
"Because," he choked out, "He turned his back on us."
"Us," Buffy questioned. "Who's us?"
"Vampire's," he answered, "He used to be one of us, and now he went and got his humanity back."
"Does this "traitor" know who Amber is?"
"If he did, she'd be dead by now."
"And so, Amber is killing him because he's human?"
"Human's are weak," Replied the vampire with a sly smile. "They are only one notch from the bottom of the food chain."
Buffy released her grip on the vampire, and stepped back. Angel's more vulnerable now, than when he was a vampire, Buffy thought.
Placing the necklace back around her neck, Buffy started to turn away, but suddenly spun around, and caught the vampire by surprise, plunging her stake deep into the vampire's chest.
The vampire turned to dust, as Buffy came back up.
"One down, one to go," Buffy said as she began to run out of the park.
Standing on the curb, Buffy asked herself aloud, "Where would Amber go?"
Thinking hard for a few minutes, Buffy remembered that Angel was probably still staying at the Plaza.
Quickly, Buffy ran down the sidewalk, heading towards the hotel.
By some miracle, Buffy was able to run the distance, and beat Amber, to the Plaza by mere seconds. Buffy watched, as Amber walked up the stairs of the Plaza.
Buffy crossed the street, and entered the hotel.
If she were here on a more casual call, Buffy might have taken the time to admire the old world look of the cravings and furnishings the Plaza lobby had to offer. But her eyes were trained on Amber as she walked into an elevator.
Buffy watched as the dial above, moved, counting off the floors. Stopping on the number 14, Buffy jumped into another elevator, and pushed the button.
When the doors opened, Buffy walked on the floor and looked down the hall.
To her right was no one, but on her left, she saw red, crimped hair, floating down the hall.
She was a good distance ahead, so Buffy could easily run and not be caught.
So Buffy flew down the hall, and hoped she could reach the door to Angel's room in time.
She watched Amber knock on a door, and allowed entry inside.
Oh no, Angel, she thought as she hurried to catch up. But by the time she had arrived, the door had already closed. The room number was 252, and Buffy found a strange irony in the number.
Thinking quickly, Buffy looked for an empty adjoining room. Sadly, she found them all locked. She looked down the hall, and saw that there was a small window at the end, allowing a small breeze to blow through. Buffy darted towards the window and took a look at her obstacle. Buffy realized she was very high, and that window climbing was best left to Spiderman.
Knowing time was of the essence, Buffy just decided to go for it, and kicked the door open.
Buffy walked in, and found a surprised Amber, clutching her chest.
"What do you want?" she asked, fear radiating in her voice.
"To stop you from killing Angel," Buffy said as she leaped at Amber and they tumbled to the ground.
Amber screamed for Angel, as she fought to get Buffy off her. Buffy was trying to reach Amber's throat, but Amber was able to throw her off, and stand.
Buffy got to her feet, just as Angel entered from the bathroom.
Buffy was about to leap at Amber again, But Angel wrapped his arms around Buffy and held her down.
"Buffy, stop this!" he said as Buffy continued to struggle against him.
"Let me go, Angel," she ordered, " Amber's trying to kill you!"
"I don't know what she's talking about," Amber said staring into Angel's eyes. "But my name isn't Amber."
"I know Julie," Angel said as he continued to try and calm Buffy down.
"Julie?" Buffy said as she finally stopped kicking. "Her name is Amber, what's wrong with you!"
Angel spun Buffy around and looked her in the eyes. "Buffy, listen to me, I don't know what you heard, or what you saw, but Julie is not out to kill me."
"Oh really?" Buffy said as she took off her necklace and threw it over to Amber, yelling, "Here, catch!"
Angel watched as the necklace flew across the room, and fall into Amber's hand.
Immediately, Amber dropped the necklace to the ground as she bent over and clasped her hands.
When she looked back up, the tell-tale signs of a Vampire marred her once beautiful face.
"You betrayed your own kind," she hissed, as Angel stared at Amber in shock.
"I was never one of you," Angel said as Buffy brought out her stake and prepared to stake Amber.
"No, wait," Angel said as he took the stake from Buffy's hand. "Let her live with the humiliation of her failure."
Buffy stared at Angel confused, as Amber quickly gathered her things and rushed for the door.
She didn't make it out of doorway, before a stake was lodged in her back.
"I changed my mind", Angel said as Amber became dust, and the hall breeze blew her away.
Afterwards, Angel sat on the edge of the bed, as Buffy gathered her stake, closed the door and picked up her necklace from the floor.
"I'm really sorry, Angel," Buffy said as she took a seat beside him on the bed.
Angel continued to lean with his arms on his knees, staring out the window.
Buffy stared at Angel as he looked out the window. What's wrong with him, Buffy thought to herself. Then it dawned on her, He truly loved her.
"You loved her, didn't you?" she asked, placing a hand on his back.
Angel hung his head. "Yeah, I did," he said as he stood and walked over to where Amber's things lay on the floor at the door.
He gathered them up and took them over to the fireplace and tossed them in, allowing the flames to consume what had once belonged to someone he loved.
"I really am sorry, Angel," Buffy said as she watched Angel stare at the flames.
"How did you find out," Angel said, signaling that he wanted to change the subject.
"I was following a vamp through Central Park when Am- I mean Julie, met up with him and was given some poison to kill you with."
"I thought you didn't patrol anymore?" Angel said, leaning against the desk that stood across from Buffy, whose face became suddenly solemn.
"Yeah, well with Brian in the hospital, I had to get my mind off things."
"Brian's in the hospital?" Angel asked concerned, walking back towards Buffy.
"Yeah, he went in the day before New Year's Eve."
"But, why were you at that club if Brian was ill?"
"Brian asked me to go have fun," Buffy said with a sad smile. "It didn't work. At least until you showed up."
Angel smirked, and Buffy felt herself relaxing for the first time all day.
"I'm scared Angel," Buffy admitted finally, as Angel sat down and put an arm around Buffy. "We won't know anything till tomorrow, but the doctor thinks Brian has lung cancer."
"Buffy, I'm so sorry." Angel said as he kissed the top of Buffy's head.
"I can't lose him," Buffy sobbed, as all the fear and emotion she had kept hidden, came pouring out.
"Shh," Angel said as he leaned against the headboard, "It's going to be alright. Brian's fine."
"But what if they're right, Angel? Brian could die!"
"You don't worry about that now," Angel said as Buffy continued her cry, "Let's keep our hopes up that it's all a misunderstanding."
"I hope you're right," Buffy sniffled. "I'd be lost without him."
As badly, as those words hurt Angel, he knew that Buffy could not bear losing another loved one to cancer. First her mom, and now, possibly Brian, it would be too much for Buffy to handle.
Angel continued to hold and console Buffy, realizing that she would need him, if Brian did indeed have cancer.
Softly, Angel continued to stroke Buffy's hair as she sobbed. Even though he was no longer a vampire, he had been around Buffy long enough to tell that she was scared senseless. Angel closed his eyes, and held Buffy tighter. Buffy began to sob harder, but as the minutes passed, Buffy's sobs lessened, and her breathing began to regulate itself, and Angel realized that Buffy had fallen asleep.
He tilted his head so he could see Buffy's sleeping face.
Still beautiful as ever, Angel thought as he laid his head against the headboard and closed his eyes.
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When Buffy awoke, the first rays of sunlight were streaming through, illuminating her face, and warming her covers. Buffy sat up and realized she was still in Angel's room.
The last thing she could remember, she was crying on Angel's shoulder, and the next thing she knew, she was in a field of summer grass, having a picnic with Brian.
She was still dressed, and draping her body was a large, white & gold trimmed comforter.
Buffy pulled back the cover, and stood up to stretch. She walked over to the window, and smiled at the sunlit scene below.
The snow that had fallen overnight, now illuminated everything in an angelic, white light, as people hurried to start their days.
"Good morning."
Buffy spun around, and saw Angel standing in the doorway of the adjoining room, buttoning up his peach colored shirt.
"Good Morning," Buffy said, as her heart skipped when she saw how handsome Angel looked, the sunlight bathing him in all it's glory.
He was wearing brown slacks with his peach shirt, and the colors, blew Buffy away. Brian could never look as good as Angel did in regular clothes. Buffy then quickly turned away from Angel.
"What's wrong?" He asked as he walked over to Buffy.
"It's just- You look- I need to get back to the hospital," she said as she gathered her coat. "Thank you for letting me crash, I'll let you know what they tell Brian."
Angel rushed over and stopped Buffy. "Whoa, whoa. Buffy tell me what's wrong? One minute you were smiling, the next, you're close to tears."
"I don't think I could tell you, Angel," Buffy said as she stifled her tears.
"Buffy, you can always tell me. Anything."
Buffy brushed back a strand of hair, and sighed.
I can't tell him, I can't tell him, she told herself as she looked at his face.
Angel looked at Buffy, and pleaded with his eyes, for her to tell him what made her so upset.
Buffy shook her head and scoffed, as she realized Angel was always the one weakness she couldn't defend against.
"It's you," she said after taking a deep breath. "Alright? It's all about you."
"What about me," he asked, probing for more info. "What did I do?"
"It's not really what you did," Buffy said as she walked over to a small table and chairs set, that was just inside the doors.
"Okay, I'm thoroughly confused," Angel said as he joined her.
Buffy looked at Angel as the sunlight kissed the side of his face.
Trying to smile, Buffy held out her hand, and touched the side of Angel's face that was in the sun.
"This," she said as she traced his face, "is the reason why I'm upset."
Then she allowed her hand to go down Angel's chest and touch his shirt.
"And this," she said as she felt of Angel's collar. "Angel in sunlight, is so beautiful."
Angel looked at Buffy and saw that, deep inside, she still loved him.
And seeing him in the sunlight, had made her fall in love with him all over again.
The feeling was mutual for Angel, as he had fallen in love with Buffy again, the moment she had fallen asleep in his arms.
"There's not really much I can do about it," he said, his famous half-smile gracing his lips, as he leaned closer to Buffy.
Buffy smiled as she realized it too.
"I know," she said leaning closer, "But I can't help it, either."
For a moment, both of them stared at one another, just basking in each other.
Slowly, they moved closer to each other, not realizing just how close they really were.
As Angel leaned closer, he knew deep down, he should stop what he was doing. Buffy was vulnerable because Brian was sick. And what she could be feeling was not really about him. But, as Buffy closed her eyes, Angel found himself doing the same, and throwing caution to the wind.
Buffy watched as slowly, she inched closer to Angel.
What am I doing? I can't do this! But it feels so right. I can't do this!
Buffy's thoughts became more and more frantic, and soon they all disappeared as her lips touched Angel's.
Angel smiled to himself as he kissed Buffy, truly kissed Buffy, for the first time since he became human. Carefully, Angel reached up, and placed a hand under Buffy's cheek.
Buffy almost came to tears as she shared her first human kiss with Angel. The gentleness of Angel's touch, made Buffy wish she could never leave. When Angel placed his hand on her face, Buffy instinctively reached for Angel in return.
Together, they both allowed the world to fade away, and share at least one moment, as if on one else but them, mattered. They stood not parting, and slowly, Angel wrapped an arm around Buffy, pulling her closer. Buffy responded by wrapping her arms around Angel's neck, deepening the kiss.
Angel could slowly feel his self control fading, as the sunlight bathed the star-crossed pair in a radiant light. Finally, he was able to say to himself, thank god I'm human, or this would be dangerous.
Buffy ran a hand through Angel's hair, but before the pair could cross that point of no return, Buffy's pocket began to buzz.
Breaking the kiss, Buffy and Angel stared at each other, realizing at last, what had just transpired. Hearing the ring again, Buffy reached into her pocket and grabbed her cell.
"It's from Xander," she said, turning back to Angel. "He wants to know where I am."
"What are you going to tell him?" Angel asked as he began to fidget with his hands.
Buffy thought for a moment, before saying, "The truth. I was on patrol and slayed two vamps."
"What about me? What are you going to tell him about me?"
"It's none of Xander's business, who I saw last night. He's not Brian, and he wouldn't have cared, anyway." Buffy placed the phone back in her pocket, and put her coat on.
"Although, I have to say, if he hadn't have called just now, I might have never left."
Angel smiled. "Yeah, same here."
Buffy walked over to the door and opening it said, "See you later?"
"Definitely."
"How about I swing by your office after I see Brian, that is, if you unlock your doors by then?"
"I promise, they'll be unlocked," Angel smirked, as Buffy gave him a kiss on his cheek, and left the hotel room.
Quietly, Angel closed the door behind Buffy, leaning against it as he closed it. After a moment of silent remembering, Angel pushed himself off the door, and headed towards the bathroom, for another shower.
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Buffy smiled and hummed silently to herself as she made her way home.
She walked up the steps of her house, opening the door yelling, "I'm home!"
Hanging up her coat, Buffy ascended the stairs two at a time. Just as she reached the top, the phone by the stairs, began to ring.
"I'll get it," Buffy yelled as she darted back down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, Xander had already grabbed the phone.
"Hello," He said as Buffy made it to him. "Yeah, she's here… Okay, anything else? Yeah… ah huh… got it. Talk later. Bye."
Xander hung up the receiver and turned to look at Buffy as the rest of the household came into the room.
"That was Brian," he said, watching Buffy's face. "The results are back."
End Chapter Ten
Finally more B/A! I will try to warn, the next time I have a B/Brian chapter! LOL
FEEDBACK: That is a MUST! LOL