Chapter 25
4:30 pm
Sunnydale Park
"As much as I hate to break this up," Doyle sighed, "I really should
get to Giles' place and check on Charlie. If I let her out of my
sight for too long, she gets into trouble."
"Okay, let's go then. I'm sure most of the gang are there by now
anyway. Most," Cordelia shook her head and sighed.
"What's the gloomy look for?" Doyle asked as they walked down the
street.
"Oh," Cordelia said, "I was thinking about Xander. Angelus hurt him
pretty badly. He's shut Buffy and Willow out, he feels like they chose
Angel over him. This is the first time I've ever seen the group
fractured like that."
"Xander. Isn't he your--"
"Ex, yeah. How on earth did you know that?!" Cordelia stopped and
looked at him, bewildered.
"Oh, uh, I kind of had Angel tell me everything he knew about you a
long time ago," Doyle said, looking at her sheepishly.
"Men," Cordelia muttered, and started walking again. "Always trying to
get a tactical advantage."
"Cut me some slack, Cordelia. I didn't think you'd ever accept me as
more than just an annoying co-worker, but I still hoped for more than
that. I figured if I knew a little more about you, it would make it
easier for me to get up the nerve to ask you out."
"It still took you long enough," she said, smiling.
"Yeah, well, that just means I have to make up for lost time, then,"
Doyle said, kissing her on the cheek.
"That sounds promising," Cordelia replied.
&&&&&&
Giles' House
5 pm
"I don't know why I even bothered to come," Xander said. "I'll go," he
grabbed Anya by the hand and turned to leave.
"Wait," Angel said softly. "I'll go."
Xander heard the back door close, and Buffy said, "Please come in,
Xander."
He turned and walked inside, Anya trailing after him. "I'm not going
to stay long, I just came to say something," he said.
"Before you do, Xander, there's something I need to tell you," Buffy
said, looking at Willow. Willow nodded her agreement. "I don't know
how to say this," Buffy continued, "but you deserve to hear it from
me, rather than find it out another way."
"Go ahead," Xander said.
Buffy met his eyes, but looked away again. She took a deep breath,
bracing herself. "Angel's alive, Xander. As in breathing, heart-
beating, alive." She waited, still unable to look at him, expecting a
reaction of some kind. She got it.
"WHAT?!" he yelled angrily. "What do you mean, he's alive!"
"Charlotte, why don't we go find your brother," Wesley said, standing
quickly.
"That's a good idea," Charlotte replied with a smile and they fled out
the door.
"That was tense," she remarked, when they were both outside.
"Yes, whenever Angelus is involved, the results are far from pretty,"
Wesley agreed. They walked toward the hotel in silence, and met up
with Cordelia and Doyle.
"Where have you been!" Charlotte demanded of her brother.
"Sorry, guess I lost track of time" he shrugged, but couldn't remove
the dopey grin from his face. Charlotte looked to Cordelia and saw
how she looked at Doyle. She began to understand what had made her
brother lose track of time.
"Well, it looked like the beginnings of World War Three in that
place, so Mr. Price and I decided to escape," Charlotte said.
"What do you mean?" Cordelia questioned, a worried look on her face.
"Xander showed up," Wesley answered, "And he wasn't happy to find that
Angel was there. Angel left, but I think Buffy's news that Angel is
alive was not something Xander wanted to hear."
Cordelia sighed, and said, "I've gotta get over there."
"I'll catch up with you later," Doyle said, kissing her lingeringly.
The gasp of surprise from Charlotte was not missed by the two lovers,
and they exchanged an amused smile.
"Okay, later," Cordelia said, and ran the rest of the way to Giles'
apartment. Right before she was out of hearing range, she heard
Charlotte say, "What the HELL was that!"
&&&&&
Motel 6
5:15
Wesley walked back to the motel, and found Angel sitting in a chair
staring out the window. "Hi," Angel said quietly.
"If you'd like to be alone--"
"No, you're fine," Angel replied. "I don't deserve it, you know."
Wesley sighed, and sat in the other chair. "Nobody deserves a second
chance, Angel. But I don't think that you should let your guilt keep
you from seeing what will come of it."
"So you think there's some reason behind why I'm human again. Some
purpose for it," Angel said.
"Yes, I do," Wesley replied. "And in the meantime, just keep doing
what you've always done, Angel. You don't have to be a vampire with a
soul to help people."
Angel smiled, saying, "Good point, Wesley. And I am planning on
keeping the business open for a while. I still feel like I have too
much to try to make up for. You've read about things I did as
Angelus. But those stories, they're probably only half of the
reality. I'm sure there's hundreds, if not thousands, of atrocities
that nobody knows about. But last night... Buffy should hate me, you
know. After what I did to Xander..."
"Angel, Buffy does hate the demon, the one who caused all this pain.
But the part of you that was human, the soul, that's the part Buffy
never hated. Not everyone involved can make the distinction between
Angel and Angelus, though. Not now, anyway. But that doesn't mean
that given enough time things can't change," Wesley said.
"I just don't want to be the reason Buffy loses another friend," Angel
replied. "Being the Slayer, she doesn't have the opportunity to let
many people get close to her. I think that her friends are the reason
that she has outlived all the other Slayers before her. And if she
loses Xander because of me, I'm afraid it might ruin her friendship
with Willow as well."
&&&&&&&
Near Giles' Apartment
5:15 pm
"What the hell was what?" Doyle asked Charlotte, trying to suppress
the urge to laugh.
"You kissing that girl, that's what!" Charlotte said. "If you laugh,
I'll hurt you so bad, Doyle..." she warned.
"I'm trying not to, really, Charlie. I guess that had to be a shock
to see."
"Understatement, Doyle. I mean, I know how you feel about her, you
never stop talking about her. I just didn't expect things to work out
so well, or so fast. I'm happy for you, but shocked..."
"Thanks, kid," Doyle replied, putting his arm around her shoulders. "I
can't wait for you two to get to know each other," he said as they
walked back to the motel where they were staying.
"She loves you, I could see it in her eyes. So I like her already,
Doyle. And if she's even half as great as you say, I'm sure we'll get
along fine," Charlotte told him.
"I hope so, because if you don't I don't know how we'll work out the
future situation," Doyle replied with a grin.
"I'm not even going to ask, because you do that cryptic thing on
purpose. I'm not going to give you the satisfaction this time,"
Charlotte said with a sigh of exasperation.
"So what did you think of Buffy?" Doyle asked.
"Okay, subject change so major it made me dizzy," Charlotte said,
shaking her head. "She was....interesting," Charlotte shrugged. "She's
already got my admiration for having lived to be nineteen. I'm looking
forward to getting to know her. I think the real question is will
Buffy be able to put aside what Faith did to her long enough to give
me half a chance. If she can do that, I think in theory we can make
this work."
"What do ya mean, in theory," Doyle ased, a puzzled expression on his
face.
"Well, now that I've seen Buffy and her friends all in the same room
together, I'm a little worried about the plan to take out Adam,"
Charlotte said. "There's a lot of underlying tension between Buffy and
her friends, and things are about to blow in a big way.
"Angel as Angelus tortured one of Buffy's closest friends, not
endearing that friend to Angelus or Angel. Mix that with the fact
that Angel is now human, and he and Buffy obviously are back
together. Like I said before, World War III was brewing back there
when I ducked out; and I don't think it will end any time soon.
"You're the one who constantly reminds me, Doyle, that a Slayer can't
let things get in the way of her duties. To do that is a death-wish.
Well, it seems like Buffy has a lot of distractions right now, and
it's not just a death-wish for her, it is for me too. I have no doubt
that she's powerful and that I can learn a lot from her as far as
Slaying goes. I'm just not dying to go up against Adam, when Buffy's
mind won't be on it 100%."
"I understand that, Charlie. Trust me, I'm not going to send you into
a no-win situation, and the Watchers Council can go to hell if they
don't like it."
Charlotte laughed at that, and hugged Doyle impulsively. "I do, you
know," she said.
"What's that, kid?"
"Trust you, Doyle. You've been a great brother, and I'm glad you're
looking out for me. And--Doyle!" she shoved him out of the way, as a
demon covered with scales charged their way.
&&&&
End of 25
4:30 pm
Sunnydale Park
"As much as I hate to break this up," Doyle sighed, "I really should
get to Giles' place and check on Charlie. If I let her out of my
sight for too long, she gets into trouble."
"Okay, let's go then. I'm sure most of the gang are there by now
anyway. Most," Cordelia shook her head and sighed.
"What's the gloomy look for?" Doyle asked as they walked down the
street.
"Oh," Cordelia said, "I was thinking about Xander. Angelus hurt him
pretty badly. He's shut Buffy and Willow out, he feels like they chose
Angel over him. This is the first time I've ever seen the group
fractured like that."
"Xander. Isn't he your--"
"Ex, yeah. How on earth did you know that?!" Cordelia stopped and
looked at him, bewildered.
"Oh, uh, I kind of had Angel tell me everything he knew about you a
long time ago," Doyle said, looking at her sheepishly.
"Men," Cordelia muttered, and started walking again. "Always trying to
get a tactical advantage."
"Cut me some slack, Cordelia. I didn't think you'd ever accept me as
more than just an annoying co-worker, but I still hoped for more than
that. I figured if I knew a little more about you, it would make it
easier for me to get up the nerve to ask you out."
"It still took you long enough," she said, smiling.
"Yeah, well, that just means I have to make up for lost time, then,"
Doyle said, kissing her on the cheek.
"That sounds promising," Cordelia replied.
&&&&&&
Giles' House
5 pm
"I don't know why I even bothered to come," Xander said. "I'll go," he
grabbed Anya by the hand and turned to leave.
"Wait," Angel said softly. "I'll go."
Xander heard the back door close, and Buffy said, "Please come in,
Xander."
He turned and walked inside, Anya trailing after him. "I'm not going
to stay long, I just came to say something," he said.
"Before you do, Xander, there's something I need to tell you," Buffy
said, looking at Willow. Willow nodded her agreement. "I don't know
how to say this," Buffy continued, "but you deserve to hear it from
me, rather than find it out another way."
"Go ahead," Xander said.
Buffy met his eyes, but looked away again. She took a deep breath,
bracing herself. "Angel's alive, Xander. As in breathing, heart-
beating, alive." She waited, still unable to look at him, expecting a
reaction of some kind. She got it.
"WHAT?!" he yelled angrily. "What do you mean, he's alive!"
"Charlotte, why don't we go find your brother," Wesley said, standing
quickly.
"That's a good idea," Charlotte replied with a smile and they fled out
the door.
"That was tense," she remarked, when they were both outside.
"Yes, whenever Angelus is involved, the results are far from pretty,"
Wesley agreed. They walked toward the hotel in silence, and met up
with Cordelia and Doyle.
"Where have you been!" Charlotte demanded of her brother.
"Sorry, guess I lost track of time" he shrugged, but couldn't remove
the dopey grin from his face. Charlotte looked to Cordelia and saw
how she looked at Doyle. She began to understand what had made her
brother lose track of time.
"Well, it looked like the beginnings of World War Three in that
place, so Mr. Price and I decided to escape," Charlotte said.
"What do you mean?" Cordelia questioned, a worried look on her face.
"Xander showed up," Wesley answered, "And he wasn't happy to find that
Angel was there. Angel left, but I think Buffy's news that Angel is
alive was not something Xander wanted to hear."
Cordelia sighed, and said, "I've gotta get over there."
"I'll catch up with you later," Doyle said, kissing her lingeringly.
The gasp of surprise from Charlotte was not missed by the two lovers,
and they exchanged an amused smile.
"Okay, later," Cordelia said, and ran the rest of the way to Giles'
apartment. Right before she was out of hearing range, she heard
Charlotte say, "What the HELL was that!"
&&&&&
Motel 6
5:15
Wesley walked back to the motel, and found Angel sitting in a chair
staring out the window. "Hi," Angel said quietly.
"If you'd like to be alone--"
"No, you're fine," Angel replied. "I don't deserve it, you know."
Wesley sighed, and sat in the other chair. "Nobody deserves a second
chance, Angel. But I don't think that you should let your guilt keep
you from seeing what will come of it."
"So you think there's some reason behind why I'm human again. Some
purpose for it," Angel said.
"Yes, I do," Wesley replied. "And in the meantime, just keep doing
what you've always done, Angel. You don't have to be a vampire with a
soul to help people."
Angel smiled, saying, "Good point, Wesley. And I am planning on
keeping the business open for a while. I still feel like I have too
much to try to make up for. You've read about things I did as
Angelus. But those stories, they're probably only half of the
reality. I'm sure there's hundreds, if not thousands, of atrocities
that nobody knows about. But last night... Buffy should hate me, you
know. After what I did to Xander..."
"Angel, Buffy does hate the demon, the one who caused all this pain.
But the part of you that was human, the soul, that's the part Buffy
never hated. Not everyone involved can make the distinction between
Angel and Angelus, though. Not now, anyway. But that doesn't mean
that given enough time things can't change," Wesley said.
"I just don't want to be the reason Buffy loses another friend," Angel
replied. "Being the Slayer, she doesn't have the opportunity to let
many people get close to her. I think that her friends are the reason
that she has outlived all the other Slayers before her. And if she
loses Xander because of me, I'm afraid it might ruin her friendship
with Willow as well."
&&&&&&&
Near Giles' Apartment
5:15 pm
"What the hell was what?" Doyle asked Charlotte, trying to suppress
the urge to laugh.
"You kissing that girl, that's what!" Charlotte said. "If you laugh,
I'll hurt you so bad, Doyle..." she warned.
"I'm trying not to, really, Charlie. I guess that had to be a shock
to see."
"Understatement, Doyle. I mean, I know how you feel about her, you
never stop talking about her. I just didn't expect things to work out
so well, or so fast. I'm happy for you, but shocked..."
"Thanks, kid," Doyle replied, putting his arm around her shoulders. "I
can't wait for you two to get to know each other," he said as they
walked back to the motel where they were staying.
"She loves you, I could see it in her eyes. So I like her already,
Doyle. And if she's even half as great as you say, I'm sure we'll get
along fine," Charlotte told him.
"I hope so, because if you don't I don't know how we'll work out the
future situation," Doyle replied with a grin.
"I'm not even going to ask, because you do that cryptic thing on
purpose. I'm not going to give you the satisfaction this time,"
Charlotte said with a sigh of exasperation.
"So what did you think of Buffy?" Doyle asked.
"Okay, subject change so major it made me dizzy," Charlotte said,
shaking her head. "She was....interesting," Charlotte shrugged. "She's
already got my admiration for having lived to be nineteen. I'm looking
forward to getting to know her. I think the real question is will
Buffy be able to put aside what Faith did to her long enough to give
me half a chance. If she can do that, I think in theory we can make
this work."
"What do ya mean, in theory," Doyle ased, a puzzled expression on his
face.
"Well, now that I've seen Buffy and her friends all in the same room
together, I'm a little worried about the plan to take out Adam,"
Charlotte said. "There's a lot of underlying tension between Buffy and
her friends, and things are about to blow in a big way.
"Angel as Angelus tortured one of Buffy's closest friends, not
endearing that friend to Angelus or Angel. Mix that with the fact
that Angel is now human, and he and Buffy obviously are back
together. Like I said before, World War III was brewing back there
when I ducked out; and I don't think it will end any time soon.
"You're the one who constantly reminds me, Doyle, that a Slayer can't
let things get in the way of her duties. To do that is a death-wish.
Well, it seems like Buffy has a lot of distractions right now, and
it's not just a death-wish for her, it is for me too. I have no doubt
that she's powerful and that I can learn a lot from her as far as
Slaying goes. I'm just not dying to go up against Adam, when Buffy's
mind won't be on it 100%."
"I understand that, Charlie. Trust me, I'm not going to send you into
a no-win situation, and the Watchers Council can go to hell if they
don't like it."
Charlotte laughed at that, and hugged Doyle impulsively. "I do, you
know," she said.
"What's that, kid?"
"Trust you, Doyle. You've been a great brother, and I'm glad you're
looking out for me. And--Doyle!" she shoved him out of the way, as a
demon covered with scales charged their way.
&&&&
End of 25