Hello awesome readers... so I think not my best work but I have read it over and over again and I just don't how to make it better. I hope that this is just myself being hard on myself to please you, but I guess you guys will let me know. PLEASE let me know what you think...
Love all your reviews :) Happy reading and sorry it took longer than I expected. I'm planning maybe 1-2 chapters and epilogue :) What do you guys think? Anyways, enough of my blabbing and onto the reading...
Chapter 12
Buffy and Angelus were thoroughly kissing each other, she loved that she was the only one to get to see this side of Angelus; she knew he hated it, but because he loved her, he knew it was necessary. He just relished in the fact that she accepted him… the real him, evil and all, the whole package. And it was because she was this amazing that he didn't mind showing her how much she affected him.
Someone suddenly opened the door then…
"Hey Buffy we… uh… oh shit! Sorry…" Faith said turning quickly around covering her eyes.
Angelus rolled his eyes and snarled as Buffy gasped and hid in his chest… "Thank you very much for the mood kill…" he accused annoyed in a deathly tone.
"I… am… so… sorry… I would've never assumed that…"
"Faith!" Buffy yelled, "Just… give us a sec…"
Angelus climbed off of her putting on his shirt and then handed hers to Buffy…
"I'll go check how everyone else…" Angelus began, a foul mood creeping on him.
"Not necessary…" Buffy said, "What's up…?" she said to Faith as she turned back around to face them.
"I just had an encounter with the First…" she said slightly embarrassed, "it just made me face some things… what I did to you. I just want you to know that I'm sor…"
"I know…" Buffy told her approaching her, "its okay… things happen for a reason. Just… you're okay now right?"
/
Angelus stood out of the way as the slayers had their conversation… his expression showed he was ready to kill someone, but inside all he felt was lust and love for his slayer. He may have shown Buffy his sort of good side, but that didn't mean he was going to go with the bonding with her friends…
*This is good…* Angel said, *they needed to clear the air…*
I need a different type of clearing… Angelus responded glancing down at himself.
*Oh, shut up… that's my normal stance, you'll deal…*
Yeah… not okay with that…
/
"I am…" Faith said nodding her head, "staying locked up does that to you…"
Buffy smiled, "Well I'm glad… I mean, not that you had to be locked up to change, but that you did…"
"Yeah…" Faith said eyeing an uncomfortable Angelus, "anyway… sorry for barging in… we should get some rest. Tomorrow's the big night…"
"Yeah… night…" Buffy said.
"Good night…" Faith said as she slipped out.
"Well that wasn't awkward…" Angelus said pulling Buffy against him, pressing her groin against his firm arousal, "Now… where were we…?"
Buffy allowed him to pull her, and as he tried to pick up where they left off by wanting to kiss her… she asked…
"Who's Connor…?" Not the best timing, she knew, but she needed to know.
*Oh ooh…* Angel tensed.
Fucken great… Angelus cursed himself, well there goes the mood, that's for sure…
He attempted to get himself out of the topic, "The kid you met with the gang obviously…"
Buffy pulled herself out of his embrace, her face serious, "you know that's not what I meant…"
Angelus sighed, "It's soul boy's fault…"
*Wow… real mature of you Angelus…*
It's true…
"Soul boy…?" Buffy asked.
"Connor is Darla's and his…mine, well… our kid…" he said taking a seat on the side of the bed, forearms to his knees.
Buffy began to pace… why was he referring to Angel as a second person? Wait… Darla…? She stopped.
*Oh God… she's not going to forgive us… she's…*
Shut up! You're making me worry crazy…
"Darla…?" Buffy said looking at Angelus straight in the eye… her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
Angel knew that if he could feel his heart break… it would right at this moment. He didn't regret his son, but to see her like this… hurt.
Angelus stood to embrace her, but she put up her hand to stop him… "I… I just need a minute…" she said.
He nodded… what could he do or say to make it... this better.
Buffy tried to process it… it hurt… but not as bad as she thought it would. Could it be because of how she had felt when they'd shook hands? That his presence of goodness gave her ease, that his soul gave her some kind of recognition…?
She turned around to face a mortified looking Angelus… "Why did you say soul boy… why did you refer…"
"Because we are two different sides of the same man…" Angelus interrupted, "both polar extremes you could say… the rugrat was conceived under his watch…"
*Way to throw me under the bus…*
Buffy nodded, "Right…" what else could she say? She understood the difference between the two… she'd lived it for God's sake, both types of different passionate loves and as much as she was trying to hold onto the feeling of betrayal… something inside her just wouldn't let her.
"Let's… let's just go to bed…" Buffy finally said.
*What? Bed? That's it…*
Angelus raised an eyebrow as she slid under the covers, tugging at his hand…
"Okay…?" he slipped of his shirt off and slid under the covers with her. He expected her to not want to cuddle when he pulled her near, but she molded her body against his, sighing…
"Love you…"
He kissed her temple as he spooned her and answered, "Love you…"
Guess this was as far as they were going to discuss Connor today…
/
Early the next morning…
"Thank you for being here…" Giles said as he served himself a cup of tea and did the same for Wesley.
"You're welcome…" Wes said taking the tea, "seeing as this might be our last day on earth, if we fail… don't you have anything stronger…?"
Giles laughed, "I do…" he pulled out an old bottle of scotch that he'd been holding for years waiting for the perfect moment, "I'd been waiting for the right time to open this, but I guess there is no such thing so…" he pulled out two glasses and poured…
They toasted their glasses… it was nice. A couple of old friends, having a drink worst of circumstances, but still…
"Mmmm…" Wes swirled the liquor in the glass while taking a sip, "smoky and smooth…"
"Yes…" Giles said, "Should be… it's the best…"
Wes nodded, switching to battle mode, "So do you think the girls are ready…?"
"Well…" he sighed, "the instincts and the moves are there… what's lacking is there confidence, but let's hope that Willow pulls this off and we should have the real deal in our hands…"
"Let's hope…" Wes said.
"Let's hope…" Giles agreed.
"Way to have confidence on your team…" Spike said walking in to the dining room joining them.
"What are you doing here Spike…? And how did you even get in here?" Wes quickly got up, ready to attack.
"I snuck in last night…" he answered ready to fight him when…
Giles stopped him, "He's been working with us… he got a tip on some information about the First, so he had to leave…"
"Where, with who, why would we believe you?" Wes questioned.
"Look you bloke…" Spike began, his temper rising when Giles stepped in again.
"Because he has a soul now…"
"A soul…?" Wes eyed him suspiciously.
"Yeah… and the information I was given by my contacts, tells me I'm playing key part in this fight… It's why I'm here." Thank you Wolfram & Hart, he thought.
Wes crossed his arms and said nothing. Even if he had a soul, he just didn't feel that he could trust him, but he'd have to at least pretend.
"And what is this key part…?" Giles asked.
"The amulet…" Spike said picking up the bottle of scotch drinking, "I'm to be the one to wear it…"
*That's not like him…* Angel said listening.
It's because it's not…
"I don't think so Spikey…"Angelus said joining them with Buffy by his side.
Spike cringed at the image of Angelus holding onto Buffy possessively, but he masked it. Buffy looked up at Angelus in confusion.
"I actually think that's a stupendous idea…" Gunn said, "why not let the vampire wear it…"
*Of course he'd say that…*
"Thank you… whoever you are…" Spike grinned.
"Shut up Gunn…" Angelus growled.
"He may be our only choice Mr. Flamin Evil One…" Lorne said coming in.
"And why's that…?" Buffy questioned, taking the words right out Angelus mouth.
Fred came in with scrolls in hand while saying; "Because it says that for it to work it must be worn by someone with a soul, but more than human…" she finished looking up from the papers.
Wes looked at her with love; she'd figure out the translation for the last word they couldn't make out.
*That would have left only Me, if I had my soul, Spike, Buffy, and…*
"That makes me the candidate…" Buffy said quickly stepping forward.
Connor…
*Connor…*
Angelus noticed Connor about to put himself out there as a candidate, but Angelus glared with a fiery warning; defying him to go against him. Connor wasn't the type to listen to his father, either one, but there was something in that look that had been so powerful… that it put him in his place fast. Well that, and that witch put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head in no…
/
The moment Willow place her hand on Connor… she got a vision… she saw Angel and Buffy in what seemed like a small apartment, dark, not very lighted. They were acting awkward around each other…
So how does the mature plan go? I call you, you call me? What?
We stay in touch, just not…
Literally, funny… Okay, I'd better…
Right, remove the temptation… Images of Buffy and Angel making love then swiftly came forward…
Willow gasped and let go. She stared in shock at the young man… He gazed at her with confused brilliant orbs, a very familiar brilliant…
"No…" she said to herself, "It can't be…"
/
"No can do Buff…" Xander said looking to the scrolls from over Fred's shoulder.
"Why not…?" Buffy began to argue.
"It's… it's…" Fred began.
"Volatile…" Wes filled in, "that much we do know… it could be… deadly…"
"This is where I come in…" Spike stepped up.
Buffy eyed him with worry. She cared about him, after everything that he'd done for her, it was hard not to. And she didn't want to lose him… he was a friend.
"No…" Buffy said after a moment determined, "I'm sure I can…"
"You'll wear it…" Angelus said to Spike against Buffy's wishes, "It's your mission, isn't it?"
Spike nodded with a smirk, "Glad we're all on board…"
Buffy was about to protest when Angelus pulled her slightly to face him, pleading with his eyes for her not to argue. The look was so intense that Buffy felt herself tremble from the inside… He only became this vulnerable man for her, she knew she could, should argue… but not wanting to make a scene in front of everybody, she just nodded slightly.
*Thank the powers that she agreed…*
Yeah… for a moment there I was sure she'd argue…
*Yeah… I thought so too…*
"Wait a minute…" Giles said, "How did Angelus get here seeing that there's light out…?"
Willow made her presence known, "It's a spell…" she said sort of proud glancing at Buffy, "It's temporary protection from the sun…"
Buffy knew Willow was going out of her way to make up for what they'd done, but she wasn't ready to forgive them just yet. Willow looked at Buffy oddly… sometime today she'd have to speak to Giles, this had to be impossible.
"Yeah…" Connor said, "Neat little trick… anyway when do we get to go…?" he said getting to the point.
Buffy turned around to face everyone… "Just before sundown we'll head there… Let's go over the plans… who has…"
"Here…" Wood said with Faith by his side. Right… she thought, with her being all the First and Angelus involved, aside from the potentials, she'd forgotten about the principal's involvement in all this.
"Who are you?" Angelus glared, but Buffy put her hand on his string into his gorgeous eyes asking for trust. He twitched his lips in disapproval but nodded.
They laid them out on the table and everyone joined surrounding the table. This was that time for last minute review and tweaks… it was nice… the Scooby gang and the AI team all working together.
