Chapter 14
Waiting in the Wings
"Now I'm all superhero-y and the best action I can get is an invisible ghost who's good with the Loohfah." Cordy was saying.
"I'm sorry. I missed that last part." Wes said.
"You are a gentleman."
"Who's doing what with the Loofah?" Angel asked. He and Buffy had just walked in and Angel had a huge smile on his face.
"Not Loofah, Looh-fah. Nooctm... Skumth. It's a demon." Wes said, a little flustered.
"So, you went with the dark clothes today." Cordy said to Buffy and Angel who were both dresses mainly in black.
"Ask me why I'm smiling."
"Please ask him. It's a little unnerving." Buffy said.
"I will, because it's scaring me too." Cordy said.
"We are stepping out." Angel said, pulling tickets out of his pocket.
"Where?"
"You'll see." Angel led Buffy up the stairs and to their room.
Buffy stopped on the second floor overlooking the lobby. "Cordy?"
"Yeah?"
"Did Dawn go to bed?"
"Yup. She's two rooms down from you."
"The luxury sweet?"
"You know it."
"See you tomorrow Cordy!"
"Bye." Cordy shut off the lights downstairs and headed towards the door with a wave. Buffy took Angel's outstretched hand and they went to their room to get some sleep.
"Morning friends and neighbors. Ooh, are those the tickets? You got 'em?" Gunn asked, coming into the lobby with Fred. "Oh, and French toast."
"We can thank Buffy for the food." Cordy said, putting a forkful in her mouth.
"I had a craving, Angel fulfilled it." Buffy said. They all stared at her. "For food."
"Want some? I made plenty." Angel said.
"No, I already ate." Gunn said.
"Fred?"
"Me too." Fred said.
"So.. tickets." Gunn said.
"Well, I got to the ticket place and.." Angel started.
"I'm paying you back. This one's on me. Mahta Hari is the tightest band in LA. You guys are gonna be trippin' out."
"The only thing is.."
"Look, I said I'm good for it, man. Don't have to worry about dippin' in the Conner college fund." Gunn took the tickets from Angel. "The time I saw the Mahta Hari at the Troubadour they where the." He read the tickets, "Blinnikov World Ballet Tour. What's going on?"
"I was trying to tell you. I got to the ticket place and boom! Tonight only!"
"But you got ballet on my Mahta Hari tickets?"
"This is the Blinnikov World Ballet Corps."
"He's been saying that like it has meaning." Buffy said. "Entertain him."
"This is one of the premier companies in the world. And they're doing Giselle! It's their signature piece."
"This is all like some horrible dream." Gunn said.
"I think I've heard of them. Very ahead of their time." Wes said putting his plastic plate in the garbage can with the rest of them.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah. I saw their production of Giselle in eighteen-ninety. I cried like a baby. And I was evil!" Angel said.
"I.. I think it sounds exciting." Fred said.
"Yes." Wes agreed.
"No. No! This is not Mahta Hari. This is tutus, and guys with their big- ass packages jumping up and down. This is just.. I will never trust you again. The trust is gone." Gunn said to Angel.
"Oh, get over it. Do we get dressed up?" Cordy asked.
"Of course." Angel said.
"I'm in."
"Guys, seeing real ballet live it's.. it's like another world. Gunn, these guys are tight, and you're gonna be trippin' out."
"Don't be usin' my own phrases when we lost the trust." Gunn replied.
"Come on, guys. Working day, cases to solve." Cordy interjected.
"Okay. But I'm not still paying, right. Because this is.. this is.. It's like a nightmare."
"I think it'll be fun." Buffy said.
"You're just taking his side cause you're married to him. And didn't you go with him?"
"Yeah. There was no stopping him when he saw the ad for it. Sorry Gunn. I still love you. Trust?"
"Yeah. There's still trust here, girl. Don't worry about it. Where's littlest Summers?"
"Right here." Dawn came out of the kitchen with a plate stacked with four pieces of French toast drenched in syrup and butter.
"Damn Dawn!"
"That's her second plate." Buffy said.
"I'll say it again with more feeling. Damn Dawn!"
"My brother-in-law can cook. What else can I do?" Dawn said.
"You and Fred are the biggest eaters I have ever seen!"
"Thank you." Fred and Dawn said together. Fred had gone and gotten a plate of French toast too.
Lorne was helping him fix his tux while Buffy was in another room getting dressed. She had wanted to surprise him with the dress she had bought.
"We got a little term back in Pylea. Kyrumption?" Lorne said.
"I know it." Angel replied.
"Okay. When two great heroes come together.."
"Lorne, we're going to the ballet. There will be no coming together."
"Can't fight Kyrumption, cinnamon buns. It's fate. It's the stars. Kyrumption is.."
"Stop saying that. And stop calling me pastries."
"You're a man of many limitations, Angel. But you're a man. You got a heart. And Buffy is a hell of a lady. I mean, if I thought she'd like to wear green, I'd be elbowing you out of the way. But she's out of my league. She's a champion, Angel, old school."
"Lorne, Buffy, she's.."
"She's what?" Buffy asked, coming into the room.
"I..I was just saying that you're not much of an ballet fan." Angel said. He couldn't help but gape at Buffy. She was gorgeous. She was wearing a dress very similar to what she wore the first time she ever died. The only difference was the satin under the chiffon was all the way to the ground. "You.. you look like.."
"Like a ballet fan? An aficionado? A devotee, in fact?" Buffy reached up to adjust Angel's bow tie. "Tonight I've decided that we don't have to be our incredibly dreary selves. Tonight we're just a couple of young sophisticates enjoying an evening of classical dance. How does that sound?"
"Sounds just right."
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah. Is Dawn coming?"
"Yes. She's waiting downstairs with everyone else."
"Well, let's go." Angel held his arm out for Buffy and Buffy slipped her arm through. They walked to the stairs, Lorne not too far behind even though he wasn't going. They heard Gunn and the others talking.
"Yes. Isn't she a vision." Wes said.
"A lot of that going around." Gunn said.
"Thank you, but no thank you. There will be no visions tonight." Cordy said.
"How can you be sure?" Angel asked. They all looked up at them.
"Buffy, you look absolutely marvelous." Gunn said.
"Thank you." Buffy said taking Gunn's hand he offered to help her down the stairs.
"I had a vision." Cordy said as Wes draped his coat over her shoulders.
"Oh." Angel said.
"Let's go then!" Angel said. He held his arms out for Buffy to take again and Dawn to take. "Shall we?"
"We shall." Buffy replied.
Thirty minutes later they were entering the lobby of the theatre and headed towards their seats. Fred and Dawn looked around excitement. They all sat down, Wes, Cordy, Fred and Gunn sitting together in one row Angel, Buffy, and Dawn sitting in the row just behind them.
"Sorry they're not closer. Getting seven seats together.." Angel said.
"Don't be silly. Best place. We get the whole panorama from here." Wes said.
"Besides, back here we stand less chance of setting off the 'under seventy' alarm." Dawn said.
"Back in the day I'd always get box seats. Or I'd just eat the people who had 'em." Angel said to Buffy.
"Don't lets-reminisce. We're here. Enjoy." Buffy said.
Below them, the curtain opened and the show began. After a while, Gunn sat forward in his seat intent on the whole thing. Cordy was asleep. She was snoring lightly on Wes's arm. Dawn leaned her head on Buffy's shoulder. Buffy held Angel's hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. Fred watched the whole thing with awe and Wes watched her in awe. The whole time, Angel's frown grew deeper.
The act came to an end and Gunn flew to his feet. "Bravo! Bravo!"
Cordy jerked awake. "I love it!"
"It's just intermission." Angel said.
"Oh." Cordy wiped her face.
"Bravo! Bravo!" Gunn continued.
The group got up and walked out into the lobby.
"I say it once, and gloat all you want: these guys are tight, and I am trippin' out." Gunn said.
"They certainly live up to their reputation. Has the choreography changed much since.." Wes started.
"No. Nothing's changed." Angel said.
"Well, it's wonderful they're able to.."
"No. I mean, nothings changed. These are the same dancers I saw before."
"That's impossible. We're watching the exact same troupe you saw in nineteen-ninety?" Fred said.
"I think he said eighteen-ninety." Gunn said.
"Oh. Ok, that's much more impossible."
"So, somebody wanna tell me how we're watching a show starring people who should have died sixty years ago?" Angel asked.
"Well, it's a puzzler. Are there snacks?" Cordy asked.
"So what are we thinking? Vampires?" Dawn asked.
"Well, they're not a deeply tanned bunch."
"That would explain the precision and the athleticism. I mean, some of those jumps were.." Gunn said. He saw the others looking at him. "You know, I was cool before I met you all."
"Dancing vampires. Who's not scared?" Cordy said.
"Not it. I'd know. I'd sense it." Angel said.
"Even all the way back there.. with the panoramic view?" Wes asked.
"I'd be able to sense it too. So they are definitely not vampires." Buffy said.
"We should check it out." Angel said.
"Maybe after the show we should head backstage?" Fred asked.
"I was thinking now. You guys should go back. I'll snoop."
"I'm with snoopy. The magic of the ballet not really getting to me to me anymore." Buffy said.
"Go." Angel said to the others.
"Hurry." Gunn said.
Buffy and Angel headed off towards the stairs that led to backstage. They descended and found a big security guard standing in front of the doors.
"Check out the zeppelin." Buffy said.
"Awful lot of muscle for a ballet company." Angel replied.
"You want, I could distract him? Make with the nice, nice while you slip by?"
"Don't be stupid. I'm that guy and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen is making eyes at me? It's either bachelor party or a scam."
"What did you just call me?"
"I'm sorry. You're not stupid."
"No. After that."
"I think I'll just have to go with our patented sudden burst of violence."
"Hey, hold on. I think I might have an approach that is a little more subtle." Buffy walked up to the guard. "Hey, do you like bribes?"
"Do I ever!" the guard said.
"Well, we REALLY wanna go backstage." Buffy said, handing him some money.
"Yeah, okay, but this isn't so much a bribe as it is a tip. And since I'm not parking your car, there's really no way that.." The guard was cut off when Angel clocked him.
"Ok, that's how we do it." Angel said.
They walked through the door. "Okay. You saw the building as we drove by. Do you remember it going on forever?" They stared at a corridor that stretched on without so much as an ending anywhere in sight.
"It's clearly a spell, or a time flux, or something. I don't think we wanna be rushing in here."
"Well, lets get the others and talk options."
Buffy and Angel turned around to find that the door was gone.
"Works in theory." Angel said deadpan.
"Ok, so.. I'm guessing we explore?"
"Have to." Angel started to walk, then stopped. "Why did I let you come with me?"
"What!?"
"You're beginning your ninth month and I'm letting you come on a dangerous adventure."
"Angel. I think I'm going to be ok. Something has been protecting this baby from day one."
"I only meant: what if you go into labor here? There's not exactly a doctor around here, I don't know how to deliver a baby, and we all remember what happened with the fake contractions."
"Angel. I'll be fine."
They started to walk again. Soon they came to a door that caught their attention. They opened it up and walked inside.
"This is her dressing room." Angel said.
"The prima ballerina." Buffy said.
"It's unchanged."
Buffy sat down at the dressing table and looked at a necklace with a cross on it. "She would wait for him here."
"It's warm. It's very warm."
"I feel it." Buffy turned to him.
"Something happened here."
"Angel?"
"Yeah?"
"I want you.. to undress me."
"You what?"
"It's just another costume. I want you to see who I really am. You're the only one who can."
"I.. This isn't us. Buffy," Angel licked his lips, "we're acting this out. Someone is.."
"Whoa! Did.. did I actually just ask you to undress me?"
"Is that what you want?"
"Please.. I.."
"You want me to make love to you right here?"
"You know I do."
"But you're afraid." Angel whispered as he caressed Buffy's cheek.
"What if he finds us?"
"I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of anything."
"I'm only alive when you're inside me."
They started to kiss passionately. Suddenly there was a hiss and Buffy and Angel jumped apart.
"Buffy!"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry."
"No. We so need to be out of here."
"Yes."
They started to breath hard and move towards each other.
"This isn't out of here." Buffy said.
"I know. Right."
They started to move towards the door, on the verge of another kiss. Buffy turned her back to Angel and snaked an arm around his neck.
"Open the damn door." Buffy said.
"Kinda hard."
"Kinda noticed."
Never losing his touch on Buffy, Angel got his hand to the door and turned the knob. The broke apart and headed through the doorway. Angel slammed the door shut.
"Whoa!" Buffy said.
"That's a fair assessment." Angel said.
"What the hell is that place?"
"There's spirits in there. Energy trapped in time. It took us over."
"Yee. Scary. Well, it's a good thing it wears off right away."
"Yeah. Good thing." Angel took his jacket off and laid it across his arm as they started to walk.
"How was that bad?"
"What?"
"We're married. We've done stuff kinda like that on a regular basis. How was that bad?"
"Wasn't. I was just.. I don't know."
"Well, the last time we were possessed by spirits, we kinda fixed things for them."
"Yeah."
"Are you sure this is the way?"
"I'm sure it's A way. Place is a maze. I'm just hoping there's another room. We can just go.."
"Damn it!"
"What?"
"I said something. Back in that room. Something important. Do you remember?"
"Um, you.. you're only alive when I.. I'm.."
"Not that!"
"No. Of course. I.. I was just.. Oh. Hey! I said you were afraid."
"And I said, what if he finds us?"
"She had a secret lover."
"They were afraid of someone. And I'll bet you anything that someone is the reason why we're stuck here! We left too soon."
"We.. who? The room?"
"It's a clue! Those spirits or.. or energy or.. or whatever are still in there. So we can figure out what happened. We have to go back in!"
"I don't know. What if it ends bad, like the last time, and one of us ends up dead?"
"All you got was shot! You wanna wander around backstage like Spinal Tap for the next.. ever?"
"I'm sure there are other rooms that.."
"All we have to do is play the scene. Get in, get out."
"What if there is no more talking in that scene?"
"Well, I've got my little cross if things get out of hand."
"Sure?"
"Positive."
They headed back towards the room and went in. They walked back to where it had all started and stood there.
"Anything coming?" Angel asked after a few minutes.
"Um.." Buffy paced in a little circle around Angel. "Ok. Let's take it from the middle. I want you to undress me."
"You want me to have sex now with you here?"
"Yes, but I'm scared."
"But you're afraid."
"And afraid. What if we.. he.. finds us?"
Angel took Buffy's shoulders and gently pulled her forward towards him. "Well, I'm not afraid of anything."
"Only good inside, blah, blah, blah.." Buffy looked up at Angel and shrugged. She reached up and kissed him.
"Maybe it only works the one time. You know, when the energy.."
Angel didn't get to finish. Buffy pulled his head down into a fiery kiss. She dropped the cross necklace behind Angel's back.
He moved her back towards the couch and gently laid he down. Angel gently laid kisses all over her neck.
"This is wrong." Buffy said.
"Hush."
"You don't know him. He has power."
"The power to do this?"
Buffy gasped, took a deep breath, and another.
"Stephan, his power is unnatural. He could..."
"What? Kill us?"
"Worse."
"Kurskov owns the company. He doesn't own you."
"He doesn't know that. He thinks I'm his." Buffy sat up as a Russian accent entered her speech. "That I dance for him. He is nothing but a deluded fan. He thinks I love him."
"Come away with me. Now. Tonight. We'll disappear. Even he won't find us."
"I.. Stephan, everything I worked for is here."
"You can still dance."
"Can I? I don't.. Not yet. Maybe when we're.."
"Don't. Don't make promises."
"Help me. Help me be not afraid."
She sank back onto the lounge and Angel went back to kissing her neck. After a while, the top of Buffy's dress ended up at her waist and Angel made his way south with kisses.
"Oh, no!" Buffy sat up "Oh, no!"
Angel sat up just in time to get knocked to the floor by a person in a gray 'comedy' mask.
Waiting in the Wings
"Now I'm all superhero-y and the best action I can get is an invisible ghost who's good with the Loohfah." Cordy was saying.
"I'm sorry. I missed that last part." Wes said.
"You are a gentleman."
"Who's doing what with the Loofah?" Angel asked. He and Buffy had just walked in and Angel had a huge smile on his face.
"Not Loofah, Looh-fah. Nooctm... Skumth. It's a demon." Wes said, a little flustered.
"So, you went with the dark clothes today." Cordy said to Buffy and Angel who were both dresses mainly in black.
"Ask me why I'm smiling."
"Please ask him. It's a little unnerving." Buffy said.
"I will, because it's scaring me too." Cordy said.
"We are stepping out." Angel said, pulling tickets out of his pocket.
"Where?"
"You'll see." Angel led Buffy up the stairs and to their room.
Buffy stopped on the second floor overlooking the lobby. "Cordy?"
"Yeah?"
"Did Dawn go to bed?"
"Yup. She's two rooms down from you."
"The luxury sweet?"
"You know it."
"See you tomorrow Cordy!"
"Bye." Cordy shut off the lights downstairs and headed towards the door with a wave. Buffy took Angel's outstretched hand and they went to their room to get some sleep.
"Morning friends and neighbors. Ooh, are those the tickets? You got 'em?" Gunn asked, coming into the lobby with Fred. "Oh, and French toast."
"We can thank Buffy for the food." Cordy said, putting a forkful in her mouth.
"I had a craving, Angel fulfilled it." Buffy said. They all stared at her. "For food."
"Want some? I made plenty." Angel said.
"No, I already ate." Gunn said.
"Fred?"
"Me too." Fred said.
"So.. tickets." Gunn said.
"Well, I got to the ticket place and.." Angel started.
"I'm paying you back. This one's on me. Mahta Hari is the tightest band in LA. You guys are gonna be trippin' out."
"The only thing is.."
"Look, I said I'm good for it, man. Don't have to worry about dippin' in the Conner college fund." Gunn took the tickets from Angel. "The time I saw the Mahta Hari at the Troubadour they where the." He read the tickets, "Blinnikov World Ballet Tour. What's going on?"
"I was trying to tell you. I got to the ticket place and boom! Tonight only!"
"But you got ballet on my Mahta Hari tickets?"
"This is the Blinnikov World Ballet Corps."
"He's been saying that like it has meaning." Buffy said. "Entertain him."
"This is one of the premier companies in the world. And they're doing Giselle! It's their signature piece."
"This is all like some horrible dream." Gunn said.
"I think I've heard of them. Very ahead of their time." Wes said putting his plastic plate in the garbage can with the rest of them.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah. I saw their production of Giselle in eighteen-ninety. I cried like a baby. And I was evil!" Angel said.
"I.. I think it sounds exciting." Fred said.
"Yes." Wes agreed.
"No. No! This is not Mahta Hari. This is tutus, and guys with their big- ass packages jumping up and down. This is just.. I will never trust you again. The trust is gone." Gunn said to Angel.
"Oh, get over it. Do we get dressed up?" Cordy asked.
"Of course." Angel said.
"I'm in."
"Guys, seeing real ballet live it's.. it's like another world. Gunn, these guys are tight, and you're gonna be trippin' out."
"Don't be usin' my own phrases when we lost the trust." Gunn replied.
"Come on, guys. Working day, cases to solve." Cordy interjected.
"Okay. But I'm not still paying, right. Because this is.. this is.. It's like a nightmare."
"I think it'll be fun." Buffy said.
"You're just taking his side cause you're married to him. And didn't you go with him?"
"Yeah. There was no stopping him when he saw the ad for it. Sorry Gunn. I still love you. Trust?"
"Yeah. There's still trust here, girl. Don't worry about it. Where's littlest Summers?"
"Right here." Dawn came out of the kitchen with a plate stacked with four pieces of French toast drenched in syrup and butter.
"Damn Dawn!"
"That's her second plate." Buffy said.
"I'll say it again with more feeling. Damn Dawn!"
"My brother-in-law can cook. What else can I do?" Dawn said.
"You and Fred are the biggest eaters I have ever seen!"
"Thank you." Fred and Dawn said together. Fred had gone and gotten a plate of French toast too.
Lorne was helping him fix his tux while Buffy was in another room getting dressed. She had wanted to surprise him with the dress she had bought.
"We got a little term back in Pylea. Kyrumption?" Lorne said.
"I know it." Angel replied.
"Okay. When two great heroes come together.."
"Lorne, we're going to the ballet. There will be no coming together."
"Can't fight Kyrumption, cinnamon buns. It's fate. It's the stars. Kyrumption is.."
"Stop saying that. And stop calling me pastries."
"You're a man of many limitations, Angel. But you're a man. You got a heart. And Buffy is a hell of a lady. I mean, if I thought she'd like to wear green, I'd be elbowing you out of the way. But she's out of my league. She's a champion, Angel, old school."
"Lorne, Buffy, she's.."
"She's what?" Buffy asked, coming into the room.
"I..I was just saying that you're not much of an ballet fan." Angel said. He couldn't help but gape at Buffy. She was gorgeous. She was wearing a dress very similar to what she wore the first time she ever died. The only difference was the satin under the chiffon was all the way to the ground. "You.. you look like.."
"Like a ballet fan? An aficionado? A devotee, in fact?" Buffy reached up to adjust Angel's bow tie. "Tonight I've decided that we don't have to be our incredibly dreary selves. Tonight we're just a couple of young sophisticates enjoying an evening of classical dance. How does that sound?"
"Sounds just right."
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah. Is Dawn coming?"
"Yes. She's waiting downstairs with everyone else."
"Well, let's go." Angel held his arm out for Buffy and Buffy slipped her arm through. They walked to the stairs, Lorne not too far behind even though he wasn't going. They heard Gunn and the others talking.
"Yes. Isn't she a vision." Wes said.
"A lot of that going around." Gunn said.
"Thank you, but no thank you. There will be no visions tonight." Cordy said.
"How can you be sure?" Angel asked. They all looked up at them.
"Buffy, you look absolutely marvelous." Gunn said.
"Thank you." Buffy said taking Gunn's hand he offered to help her down the stairs.
"I had a vision." Cordy said as Wes draped his coat over her shoulders.
"Oh." Angel said.
"Let's go then!" Angel said. He held his arms out for Buffy to take again and Dawn to take. "Shall we?"
"We shall." Buffy replied.
Thirty minutes later they were entering the lobby of the theatre and headed towards their seats. Fred and Dawn looked around excitement. They all sat down, Wes, Cordy, Fred and Gunn sitting together in one row Angel, Buffy, and Dawn sitting in the row just behind them.
"Sorry they're not closer. Getting seven seats together.." Angel said.
"Don't be silly. Best place. We get the whole panorama from here." Wes said.
"Besides, back here we stand less chance of setting off the 'under seventy' alarm." Dawn said.
"Back in the day I'd always get box seats. Or I'd just eat the people who had 'em." Angel said to Buffy.
"Don't lets-reminisce. We're here. Enjoy." Buffy said.
Below them, the curtain opened and the show began. After a while, Gunn sat forward in his seat intent on the whole thing. Cordy was asleep. She was snoring lightly on Wes's arm. Dawn leaned her head on Buffy's shoulder. Buffy held Angel's hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. Fred watched the whole thing with awe and Wes watched her in awe. The whole time, Angel's frown grew deeper.
The act came to an end and Gunn flew to his feet. "Bravo! Bravo!"
Cordy jerked awake. "I love it!"
"It's just intermission." Angel said.
"Oh." Cordy wiped her face.
"Bravo! Bravo!" Gunn continued.
The group got up and walked out into the lobby.
"I say it once, and gloat all you want: these guys are tight, and I am trippin' out." Gunn said.
"They certainly live up to their reputation. Has the choreography changed much since.." Wes started.
"No. Nothing's changed." Angel said.
"Well, it's wonderful they're able to.."
"No. I mean, nothings changed. These are the same dancers I saw before."
"That's impossible. We're watching the exact same troupe you saw in nineteen-ninety?" Fred said.
"I think he said eighteen-ninety." Gunn said.
"Oh. Ok, that's much more impossible."
"So, somebody wanna tell me how we're watching a show starring people who should have died sixty years ago?" Angel asked.
"Well, it's a puzzler. Are there snacks?" Cordy asked.
"So what are we thinking? Vampires?" Dawn asked.
"Well, they're not a deeply tanned bunch."
"That would explain the precision and the athleticism. I mean, some of those jumps were.." Gunn said. He saw the others looking at him. "You know, I was cool before I met you all."
"Dancing vampires. Who's not scared?" Cordy said.
"Not it. I'd know. I'd sense it." Angel said.
"Even all the way back there.. with the panoramic view?" Wes asked.
"I'd be able to sense it too. So they are definitely not vampires." Buffy said.
"We should check it out." Angel said.
"Maybe after the show we should head backstage?" Fred asked.
"I was thinking now. You guys should go back. I'll snoop."
"I'm with snoopy. The magic of the ballet not really getting to me to me anymore." Buffy said.
"Go." Angel said to the others.
"Hurry." Gunn said.
Buffy and Angel headed off towards the stairs that led to backstage. They descended and found a big security guard standing in front of the doors.
"Check out the zeppelin." Buffy said.
"Awful lot of muscle for a ballet company." Angel replied.
"You want, I could distract him? Make with the nice, nice while you slip by?"
"Don't be stupid. I'm that guy and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen is making eyes at me? It's either bachelor party or a scam."
"What did you just call me?"
"I'm sorry. You're not stupid."
"No. After that."
"I think I'll just have to go with our patented sudden burst of violence."
"Hey, hold on. I think I might have an approach that is a little more subtle." Buffy walked up to the guard. "Hey, do you like bribes?"
"Do I ever!" the guard said.
"Well, we REALLY wanna go backstage." Buffy said, handing him some money.
"Yeah, okay, but this isn't so much a bribe as it is a tip. And since I'm not parking your car, there's really no way that.." The guard was cut off when Angel clocked him.
"Ok, that's how we do it." Angel said.
They walked through the door. "Okay. You saw the building as we drove by. Do you remember it going on forever?" They stared at a corridor that stretched on without so much as an ending anywhere in sight.
"It's clearly a spell, or a time flux, or something. I don't think we wanna be rushing in here."
"Well, lets get the others and talk options."
Buffy and Angel turned around to find that the door was gone.
"Works in theory." Angel said deadpan.
"Ok, so.. I'm guessing we explore?"
"Have to." Angel started to walk, then stopped. "Why did I let you come with me?"
"What!?"
"You're beginning your ninth month and I'm letting you come on a dangerous adventure."
"Angel. I think I'm going to be ok. Something has been protecting this baby from day one."
"I only meant: what if you go into labor here? There's not exactly a doctor around here, I don't know how to deliver a baby, and we all remember what happened with the fake contractions."
"Angel. I'll be fine."
They started to walk again. Soon they came to a door that caught their attention. They opened it up and walked inside.
"This is her dressing room." Angel said.
"The prima ballerina." Buffy said.
"It's unchanged."
Buffy sat down at the dressing table and looked at a necklace with a cross on it. "She would wait for him here."
"It's warm. It's very warm."
"I feel it." Buffy turned to him.
"Something happened here."
"Angel?"
"Yeah?"
"I want you.. to undress me."
"You what?"
"It's just another costume. I want you to see who I really am. You're the only one who can."
"I.. This isn't us. Buffy," Angel licked his lips, "we're acting this out. Someone is.."
"Whoa! Did.. did I actually just ask you to undress me?"
"Is that what you want?"
"Please.. I.."
"You want me to make love to you right here?"
"You know I do."
"But you're afraid." Angel whispered as he caressed Buffy's cheek.
"What if he finds us?"
"I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of anything."
"I'm only alive when you're inside me."
They started to kiss passionately. Suddenly there was a hiss and Buffy and Angel jumped apart.
"Buffy!"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry."
"No. We so need to be out of here."
"Yes."
They started to breath hard and move towards each other.
"This isn't out of here." Buffy said.
"I know. Right."
They started to move towards the door, on the verge of another kiss. Buffy turned her back to Angel and snaked an arm around his neck.
"Open the damn door." Buffy said.
"Kinda hard."
"Kinda noticed."
Never losing his touch on Buffy, Angel got his hand to the door and turned the knob. The broke apart and headed through the doorway. Angel slammed the door shut.
"Whoa!" Buffy said.
"That's a fair assessment." Angel said.
"What the hell is that place?"
"There's spirits in there. Energy trapped in time. It took us over."
"Yee. Scary. Well, it's a good thing it wears off right away."
"Yeah. Good thing." Angel took his jacket off and laid it across his arm as they started to walk.
"How was that bad?"
"What?"
"We're married. We've done stuff kinda like that on a regular basis. How was that bad?"
"Wasn't. I was just.. I don't know."
"Well, the last time we were possessed by spirits, we kinda fixed things for them."
"Yeah."
"Are you sure this is the way?"
"I'm sure it's A way. Place is a maze. I'm just hoping there's another room. We can just go.."
"Damn it!"
"What?"
"I said something. Back in that room. Something important. Do you remember?"
"Um, you.. you're only alive when I.. I'm.."
"Not that!"
"No. Of course. I.. I was just.. Oh. Hey! I said you were afraid."
"And I said, what if he finds us?"
"She had a secret lover."
"They were afraid of someone. And I'll bet you anything that someone is the reason why we're stuck here! We left too soon."
"We.. who? The room?"
"It's a clue! Those spirits or.. or energy or.. or whatever are still in there. So we can figure out what happened. We have to go back in!"
"I don't know. What if it ends bad, like the last time, and one of us ends up dead?"
"All you got was shot! You wanna wander around backstage like Spinal Tap for the next.. ever?"
"I'm sure there are other rooms that.."
"All we have to do is play the scene. Get in, get out."
"What if there is no more talking in that scene?"
"Well, I've got my little cross if things get out of hand."
"Sure?"
"Positive."
They headed back towards the room and went in. They walked back to where it had all started and stood there.
"Anything coming?" Angel asked after a few minutes.
"Um.." Buffy paced in a little circle around Angel. "Ok. Let's take it from the middle. I want you to undress me."
"You want me to have sex now with you here?"
"Yes, but I'm scared."
"But you're afraid."
"And afraid. What if we.. he.. finds us?"
Angel took Buffy's shoulders and gently pulled her forward towards him. "Well, I'm not afraid of anything."
"Only good inside, blah, blah, blah.." Buffy looked up at Angel and shrugged. She reached up and kissed him.
"Maybe it only works the one time. You know, when the energy.."
Angel didn't get to finish. Buffy pulled his head down into a fiery kiss. She dropped the cross necklace behind Angel's back.
He moved her back towards the couch and gently laid he down. Angel gently laid kisses all over her neck.
"This is wrong." Buffy said.
"Hush."
"You don't know him. He has power."
"The power to do this?"
Buffy gasped, took a deep breath, and another.
"Stephan, his power is unnatural. He could..."
"What? Kill us?"
"Worse."
"Kurskov owns the company. He doesn't own you."
"He doesn't know that. He thinks I'm his." Buffy sat up as a Russian accent entered her speech. "That I dance for him. He is nothing but a deluded fan. He thinks I love him."
"Come away with me. Now. Tonight. We'll disappear. Even he won't find us."
"I.. Stephan, everything I worked for is here."
"You can still dance."
"Can I? I don't.. Not yet. Maybe when we're.."
"Don't. Don't make promises."
"Help me. Help me be not afraid."
She sank back onto the lounge and Angel went back to kissing her neck. After a while, the top of Buffy's dress ended up at her waist and Angel made his way south with kisses.
"Oh, no!" Buffy sat up "Oh, no!"
Angel sat up just in time to get knocked to the floor by a person in a gray 'comedy' mask.