There is a lot of changed perspectives in this chap, but I decided not to use those green lines. You guys are intelligent enough to figure it out. I hope you enjoy this chapter - I quite like it.

We'll Meet Again

Chapter Fourteen

Buffy gasped at the shrill sound. It rang through her silent bedroom eerily; Angel still held Buffy's head to the side, and Drusilla was still watching eagerly, waiting for him to pierce her skin with his fangs. Joyce drummed on the door urgently, and all three of them jumped.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!"

Buffy slipped out of Angel's grasp and made for the door, throwing herself out of her room and startling her mother. "Go!" she urged her, and Joyce scurried down the stairs. Buffy turned and locked her door, hurriedly, hoping to slow Angel and Drusilla down. She scanned the landing for something to barricade the door – all the while the air raid siren was still wailing, and a buzz of aeroplanes could be heard in the distance. Buffy's eyes gleamed as she suddenly spotted something.

The bookcase.

William gazed up at the sky as soon as he heard the air raid siren ring. The lampposts were out, and a frightened murmur of noise came from every house on the street. He was standing outside the church – would Reverend Giles share his shelter? The dreaded buzz of aircraft began to fill the sky, and Will's heart pounded – it wasn't a drill. It was real life, and he could die if he didn't move quickly.

He dropped the only bag he was carrying and ran as fast as his wounded leg would allow him round the back of the vicarage, to see Reverend Giles and his daughter Dawn make their way to their air-raid shelter. The buzz was getting louder. He shot the reverend a desperate look. "Please, Reverend?" he called.

"William!" The Reverend's wife, Jenny called. "William what are you doing? Come in, immediately?" She ushered him into the air-raid shelter, before the Reverend secured the door. Will squeezed in next to Dawn, and crossed his fingers, thinking of Buffy as the first bang sounded.

It wasn't easy – Angel and Drusilla were pounding against the door as Buffy pushed herself against the heavy bookcase. She tipped it slightly, so that some of the books fell out. That certainly made things easier. She shifted all her weight and heaved one more time; the bookcase slid into place in front of her bedroom door.

"Elizabeth!" Joyce's panicked voice sounded from outside. "Elizabeth, where are you?"

"For goodness' sake, Joyce!" Hank cried to his wife. "Didn't you check Elizabeth was behind you?"

"I'm here, Mama!" Buffy called, as she hurried outside, hitching up the skirts of her dressing gown. "Let's go – the aeroplanes are getting closer!" Sure enough, the loud swooping noises of the German airplanes were getting louder, and Buffy's heart was beginning to pump harder against her ribcage. Joyce pushed her daughter into the shelter first, placing a hand in the small of her back. Hank nodded to Joyce, who slipped in second, and then Hank followed, closing the door to his shelter moments before the first bang sounded. Buffy gripped her mother's cold hands fearfully, thinking of William.

"William," Dawn said, trying to distract herself from the noises outside. "What are you doing back from the war so early?" William raised his trouser leg and showed her the wound. She gasped daintily and held a hand to her mouth in horror. "William!" she cried. "It's awful!"

Will winced as the trouser material scratched at his wound, and took the cup of water the Reverend's wife handed to him. "Thank-you, Mrs Giles," he said. "You come well-prepared."

"Well," answered Jenny, with a blush. "I have always been good in a crisis, haven't I Rupert?" The three of them turned to face the Reverend, to see he was deep in prayer. Jenny smiled sadly. "He's such a good man," she said. "Always thinking of others at a time like this."

Buffy buried her head into her mother's shoulder, trying to sing herself calm. "We'll meet again, don't know where don't know-" A loud bang interrupted her singing, and she trembled. The latest bomb had sounded near. "But–" Bang. "–I know w-we'll meet again some sunny day…" Her mother piped up the singing.

"Keep shining through, just like you always do…" Hank took hold of his daughter's other hand, and joined in. "Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away." There was an eerie silence as they finished singing, quickly filled by a falling bomb.

BANG.

William and Dawn jumped at the loudest noise yet, and Dawn began to cry. Will rubbed her back comfortingly, but was worried himself. That sounded close – it had to have landed somewhere in the street. He glanced at Jenny and Rupert's anxious faces.

"It sounded close, Rupert," said Jenny. "Near the Joneses' old house – maybe over a bit." Something somersaulted in Will's stomach.

"The Summerses?" he asked, terrified. Jenny gulped.

"No dear," she replied, but Will spotted the worried look on her face. "I'm sure Elizabeth will be just fine." As she finished speaking, the all-clear siren rang through the town. "The raid's finished." She looked at her husband. "Shall we get out?"

Rupert unlocked the door carefully, and the air that met them was thick with fumes. The bomb had landed close; William could smell the burning debris. It was time to investigate. He whirled around to inform Jenny. "Mrs. Giles, please may I-"

"Go, lad!" she urged him, and Will ran as fast as he could around the vicarage and onto the main road. A string of destroyed houses were in the distance. His heart sank as he neared, seeing the residence that had been like his second home in tatters. Buffy's house had been rendered to a pile of rubble, and her air-raid shelter was in a bad state too. The roof had caved in, causing a huge dent. Suddenly, a bubble of grief and hysteria rose up his throat, and he fell to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Buffy!" he cried, slamming his fists onto the cold pavement. "Buffy, no!" He made no attempt to dry his wet cheeks. "Buffy!"

"Will?" His ears perked – a familiar voice was calling his name in the distance. He shook it off – it must have been his imagination… "Will?"

No, someone was definitely calling him. He stood up, wiping his cheeks on his blazer. "Hello?" A sigh of relief came from the Summerses' back garden, and Will rushed to follow it. "Buffy?"

"Will!" An excited cry came from the decrepit air-raid shelter. "Will, help us out, please!"

"Buffy!" Will bent down to see the entire Summers family straining underneath the large piece of metal that had collapsed. "Wait there – I'll get help!"

"Joyce, Hank, Buffy!" Anne came scurrying into her neighbour's back garden. "I've called the reverend, he's coming to….William?" Will nodded, and ran into his mother's arms, sobbing for joy instead of despair, like he had been five minutes ago. His mother held him softly, before releasing him and turning towards the air-raid shelter. "We have to move this." Will nodded.

"Do you think the two of us will be enough to move it?" he asked, and Anne looked doubtful.

"We could try," she replied, and the two of them moved either side of the large chunk of metal and tried to lift. Shouts came from the front garden, and Reverend Giles, Jenny, and Dawn appeared down the side of the house.

"Let us help!" they called in unison, and together, they slid the large piece of metal from over the Summerses' heads.

Buffy emerged from the shelter, looking in horror at her ruined house. Then she caught side of William, and threw herself into his arms, kissing his neck earnestly. "Will," she muttered, over and over again. "I never thought…I thought you were…I can't believe…" She seemed unable to finish her sentences.

"Ssh," soothed William. "I thought you were….. after I saw the house and the shelter…oh, I love you Buffy." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so glad to be back."

"Me too," she replied, and she stood on tip-toes to kiss his cool lips. "I love you too, Will." They broke apart, and Buffy's fingers ran down his arm to hold his hand. "I can't believe what's happened to my house, though." Her eyes welled up. "My room – our kitchen! Where are we going to stay?"

"You can stay with us," William offered, and Anne nodded. "You'll have to have a separate room till we're married, of course – but afterwards…" He trailed off. "It's going to be great."

Buffy stepped forwards to examine the ruins of her house, Will close behind her. He bent down and picked something off the ground. "This yours?" he asked, handing it to her. She looked at it and saw in surprise that it was her party dress – the dress Drusilla had been wearing. It was scorched, and the edges were frayed. A string of pearls dropped out from inside of it – the necklace Buffy realised now that Drusilla had been wearing. She scanned the rubble for any evidence that Angel had been trapped inside the house when the bomb dropped. She spotted a leather jacket. William studied his beloved's face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as Buffy fingered the burnt material pensively.

"Yes," she replied, finally. "I'm more than alright. I think this is the start to our happily ever after, Will."