Part Three
**********
you struck me dumb
like radium
like peter pan, or superman
you will come
to save me
come on and save me
if you could save me
from the ranks of the freaks who suspect
they could never love anyone
"You know, there's really nothing here that I'm _that_ fond of," Buffy
said. She, Angel, and several of Sonny's men had arrived outside the
door to her apartment, and she was not looking forward to the possibly
second confrontation of the day.
"It's the principle of the thing," Angel replied. "You can't let
Johnny Rivera keep walking all over you."
"I'm not, I just want him to leave me alone," Buffy said. "And
something tells me this is _so_ not the way to get that result."
"Listen, Buffy, you came to Sonny because Johnny _wasn't_ going to
leave you alone. Right?"
"Well, yeah..." Buffy admitted.
"Okay, then, what makes you think the 'ignore him and he'll go away'
tactic will work all of the sudden?" Angel questioned.
"Good point," Buffy replied with a sigh. "I don't exactly have a key
to the place, though. It wasn't a high priority when I left last."
"That's easily taken care of," Angel replied. He nodded to the man
Buffy remembered was called Richie, and Richie knocked the door in.
Buffy winced, and said, "Yeah, that was inconspicuous." She walked in,
followed by Angel and the others. "At least Johnny's still at the
Diner," she added. She walked back to the bedroom, and Angel followed
her. She had her backpack with her, and laid it on the bed and walked
to the closet. When she opened it, her only statement was, "Oh."
"Angel, we got company," they heard from the living room. Angel and
Buffy walked back out to see that Johnny and several of his men had
entered the apartment.
"Well, surprise, surprise," Johnny said with a smile. "Looking for
something, Babe?"
"All my things," Buffy said, slowly. "My clothes, my jewelry--"
"_My_ clothes, _my_ jewelry," Johnny interrupted coldly. "Don't forget
who paid for all of it."
"What?" Buffy looked at him in confusion. "But what good is any of
that stuff to you?"
"Those things were a bad investment, so I got rid of them and got my
money back," Johnny said, grinning in satisfaction.
"You son of a--" Buffy ran at Johnny, but Johnny backhanded her and
knocked her to the floor.
Angel's hand was around his throat before Johnny saw him coming, and
he pinned him to the wall. "Don't you _ever_ lay a hand on her again,
you got that?" he said menacingly.
Johnny's other men drew their weapons in response, and Sonny's men did
the same. "No!" Buffy yelled. "Stop this," she pleaded, getting to her
feet. "I'm okay," she said, walking up to Angel and laying a hand on
his arm. "Let him go, it's okay," she said.
"It's _not_ okay," Angel said, but he released Johnny anyway. Johnny
fell to the ground, gasping. "Tell your thugs to holster their
weapons," he told Johnny.
"Now, why would I do that?" Johnny replied, getting to his feet.
"Johnny, I don't want any trouble," Buffy said calmly. "It was a
mistake to come here, I understand that now. I don't care about any
of that stuff, you can have it all. It's not important to me. I just
want to go, and I want you to leave me alone."
"Put the guns away," Johnny ordered, and his men obeyed. Angel looked
over at Sonny's men, and they did as well. "I'm afraid I can't leave
you alone, though, Babe," Johnny said. "You're my girl, and we belong
together. I love you."
Buffy laughed humorlessly, rubbing her jaw where he'd hit her. "You
have a really unique way of showing it. And I'm not your anything, not
anymore. I'm my own person, and I just want to get on with my life."
She walked out the door, followed by the others. Angel was last, and
as he left, said, "Leave her alone, or next time I'll kill you."
"She's just using you!" Johnny called after Angel's departing
form. "She used me to get what she needed, you won't be any
different."
Buffy was waiting outside in the limo when Angel caught up with them.
"He's going to kill me, no matter what I do," she said sadly.
"No, he isn't," Angel replied firmly. Buffy just shook her head,
looking out the window on her side. Angel put his hand under her
chin, turning her face to his. "Buffy, he's not going to hurt you
anymore," Angel said. "Sonny told me to protect you, so that's what
I'm going to do."
"Why?" Buffy questioned, pulling away from him.
"Because it's my job," Angel said. "And also because I like you. I
think you're a good person who got trapped in a bad situation."
"You don't even know me," Buffy protested.
"Not yet, but I want to," Angel said.
"Why?" Buffy asked again.
"Why do you ask so many questions?" Angel replied with a smile,
shaking his head at her. "For the most beautiful girl I've ever laid
eyes on, you are incredibly insecure."
"You think I'm beautiful?" Buffy asked slowly, blushing slightly.
"Yes, I do," Angel replied, smiling back at her. "And now that we've
got that out of the way...would you consider going out with me this
evening?"
"What am I gonna say, no? You're not supposed to let me out of your
sight, remember?" Buffy teased.
"Well, there's a difference between hanging out at your apartment as
your bodyguard, and taking you out to a nice restaurant for dinner and
dancing," Angel said.
"Oh. But I'm afraid all my evening wear has been done away with,"
Buffy said with a frown.
"So? That's something that can be easily remedied," Angel said.
"No," Buffy said firmly. At Angel's hurt expression, she added, "Not
that I'm not grateful for the offer, Angel. Really. But that's how I
got myself into this situation in the first place. I'm not comparing
you with Johnny, but I think it's time that Buffy got a little bit
more independent, at least in the areas that I can be."
"I understand," Angel nodded.
"Tell you what," Buffy said. "Since it's not likely that I'm getting
access to a lot of money anytime soon, I think Jake will loan me some
money for a dress tonight. If, that is, you still want to go out with
me?"
"Of course I do," Angel replied with a smile. He saw out the window
that they had arrived at the police station. "Well, we're here."
Buffy looked up, and took a deep breath. "Yeah, we are. You're coming
in with me, right?"
"I'll go in with you, but they'll probably want to talk to you alone,"
Angel said. "Sonny, and anyone who works for him, are not really high
on the cops' list of favorite people."
"I figured," Buffy shrugged. "Okay, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever
be," she added as she exited the car and walked into the police
station.
*********
12 pm
Bobbie's Diner
Buffy had gone up to Jake's room, and Angel and the others were
waiting downstairs. Angel had wanted to follow, but Buffy had
insisted that Angel and the others were perfectly capable of watching
both doors from there. *She'd won that round,* Angel realized.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to antagonize Johnny like that?" Jake
asked Buffy worriedly. Buffy had explained that she was helping the
police build a case against Johnny.
"What else am I gonna do? Wait around until he or someone else gets
off a good kill shot?" Buffy replied, finishing off the sandwich Jake
had insisted she eat. "It's one of those 'lesser of two evils' things,
Jake." She put the $500 Jake had given her into her purse. "And this
is a loan, I promise I'll pay you back," she added.
"We're always in need of help here," Jake offered. "You could wait
tables, I'm sure I could talk Bobbie into hiring you. She trusts my
judgement about people. Or you _could_ go back to your parents you
know."
"That's a bridge that's been burned so completely there's no way
back," Buffy said sorrowfully. "They saw who Johnny Rivera was long
before I was ready to accept it. I didn't listen, so it's my fault.
Maybe some day... but I'm not holding my breath. Besides, it's safer
for them if I'm out of their lives. Johnny doesn't think they mean
anything to me, and that's the way I want it right now."
"And another thing," Jake said. "Do you really think it's a good idea
to get involved with one of Sonny's guys? You know I adore Sonny, but
I don't kid myself about who he is and what he does. A lot of people
in his life have died because of it. Anyone who works for him would
have the same dangers surrounding him. Besides, how do you know this
Angel doesn't enjoy beating his girlfriends as much as Johnny does?"
"I don't," Buffy said. "I'm not moving in with the guy, Jake... Well,
technically he's moving in with me. But that's just the work side of
his life. I know that I have to be careful, and I will be. It's just
dinner, and we'll see where it goes from there."
Jake sighed, "I remember when you first started dating Johnny. You
said the same thing about him, too 'It's just a date. It's just a
party. I'm just meeting his father'. And then you started telling me
how different he was from his father, and how he didn't want to have
anything to do with Rivera's business. You were wrong about him once
too, sweetie."
"I was wrong, but I was so young then, Jake," Buffy said. "I'm not as
trusting as I used to be. Johnny cured me of that. I get that you're
worried about me, and I love you for it. You've been an awesome friend
to me. Please give me the benefit of the doubt here?"
"Okay," Jake sighed, shaking her head. "Just promise me you'll be
careful? And that goes for Johnny _and_ Angel."
"I will," Buffy replied with a smile. "And as for the job offer, give
me a day to think about it?"
"That's fair," Jake said. She hugged Buffy, and said, "And did I
mention be careful?"
"You did," Buffy said with a laugh. She stood to leave, and added,
"Thanks for everything. You're one of the few real friends I have in
Port Charles.
She went downstairs to find Angel waiting at the foot of the stairs.
"Hey, thanks for giving me a little time alone with her."
"You're welcome. Just don't make a habit of it. Makes me nervous when
I can't be sure you're safe," Angel said. "Ready to go back home?"
"Home," Buffy repeated as he followed her back to the limo. "It might
feel like that eventually. Actually, first I need to go shopping."
"Shopping it is, then," Angel agreed, holding the car door open for
her.
************
4 pm
Angel stifled a yawn of boredom as he waited outside the ladies' room.
This was the tenth store they'd been to in 3 hours, and she'd been in
the dressing rooms of those stores for half of it.
"'Kay, I found the one," she said, walking out of the dressing room
with several dresses laid over her arm.
"Which one?" Angel asked curiously.
"Not 'til later tonight," Buffy insisted. "You go stand over there,"
she pointed a few feet away.
"But--"
"Richie can play shadow for a little bit," Buffy said, grabbing the
other man by the arm. "You are not going to see the dress yet, so deal
wit it!"
"Fine," Angel sighed in resignation and moved further away, facing the
other direction.
A few minutes later, she walked up, shopping bag in hand. "We can go
now," she said. "Thanks for putting up with this afternoon past-time,"
she smiled at him.
Angel had given up on arguing with himself about his attraction to
Buffy. *She's got beautiful eyes, and I love how her face light up
when she smiles. I'm going to have to figure out how to make that
happen more often.*
"You're welcome," Angel smiled back at her.
Buffy was not quite done arguing with herself about her attraction to
Angel. *He's just too amazingly sexy for it to be fair at all. ... Bad
Buffy, you don't trust him yet, remember? ... Oh, but that doesn't
mean I can't appreciate his beauty. ... Stop that!*
"Buffy?"
Buffy looked up and realized that Angel had been talking to her and
she hadn't heard a word. "Sorry," she apologized. "I was thinking
about something."
"No problem," Angel replied. "I was just asking if you were ready to
go home _now_????"
Buffy giggled, "Yes, Angel. Take me home."
End Three
**********
you struck me dumb
like radium
like peter pan, or superman
you will come
to save me
come on and save me
if you could save me
from the ranks of the freaks who suspect
they could never love anyone
"You know, there's really nothing here that I'm _that_ fond of," Buffy
said. She, Angel, and several of Sonny's men had arrived outside the
door to her apartment, and she was not looking forward to the possibly
second confrontation of the day.
"It's the principle of the thing," Angel replied. "You can't let
Johnny Rivera keep walking all over you."
"I'm not, I just want him to leave me alone," Buffy said. "And
something tells me this is _so_ not the way to get that result."
"Listen, Buffy, you came to Sonny because Johnny _wasn't_ going to
leave you alone. Right?"
"Well, yeah..." Buffy admitted.
"Okay, then, what makes you think the 'ignore him and he'll go away'
tactic will work all of the sudden?" Angel questioned.
"Good point," Buffy replied with a sigh. "I don't exactly have a key
to the place, though. It wasn't a high priority when I left last."
"That's easily taken care of," Angel replied. He nodded to the man
Buffy remembered was called Richie, and Richie knocked the door in.
Buffy winced, and said, "Yeah, that was inconspicuous." She walked in,
followed by Angel and the others. "At least Johnny's still at the
Diner," she added. She walked back to the bedroom, and Angel followed
her. She had her backpack with her, and laid it on the bed and walked
to the closet. When she opened it, her only statement was, "Oh."
"Angel, we got company," they heard from the living room. Angel and
Buffy walked back out to see that Johnny and several of his men had
entered the apartment.
"Well, surprise, surprise," Johnny said with a smile. "Looking for
something, Babe?"
"All my things," Buffy said, slowly. "My clothes, my jewelry--"
"_My_ clothes, _my_ jewelry," Johnny interrupted coldly. "Don't forget
who paid for all of it."
"What?" Buffy looked at him in confusion. "But what good is any of
that stuff to you?"
"Those things were a bad investment, so I got rid of them and got my
money back," Johnny said, grinning in satisfaction.
"You son of a--" Buffy ran at Johnny, but Johnny backhanded her and
knocked her to the floor.
Angel's hand was around his throat before Johnny saw him coming, and
he pinned him to the wall. "Don't you _ever_ lay a hand on her again,
you got that?" he said menacingly.
Johnny's other men drew their weapons in response, and Sonny's men did
the same. "No!" Buffy yelled. "Stop this," she pleaded, getting to her
feet. "I'm okay," she said, walking up to Angel and laying a hand on
his arm. "Let him go, it's okay," she said.
"It's _not_ okay," Angel said, but he released Johnny anyway. Johnny
fell to the ground, gasping. "Tell your thugs to holster their
weapons," he told Johnny.
"Now, why would I do that?" Johnny replied, getting to his feet.
"Johnny, I don't want any trouble," Buffy said calmly. "It was a
mistake to come here, I understand that now. I don't care about any
of that stuff, you can have it all. It's not important to me. I just
want to go, and I want you to leave me alone."
"Put the guns away," Johnny ordered, and his men obeyed. Angel looked
over at Sonny's men, and they did as well. "I'm afraid I can't leave
you alone, though, Babe," Johnny said. "You're my girl, and we belong
together. I love you."
Buffy laughed humorlessly, rubbing her jaw where he'd hit her. "You
have a really unique way of showing it. And I'm not your anything, not
anymore. I'm my own person, and I just want to get on with my life."
She walked out the door, followed by the others. Angel was last, and
as he left, said, "Leave her alone, or next time I'll kill you."
"She's just using you!" Johnny called after Angel's departing
form. "She used me to get what she needed, you won't be any
different."
Buffy was waiting outside in the limo when Angel caught up with them.
"He's going to kill me, no matter what I do," she said sadly.
"No, he isn't," Angel replied firmly. Buffy just shook her head,
looking out the window on her side. Angel put his hand under her
chin, turning her face to his. "Buffy, he's not going to hurt you
anymore," Angel said. "Sonny told me to protect you, so that's what
I'm going to do."
"Why?" Buffy questioned, pulling away from him.
"Because it's my job," Angel said. "And also because I like you. I
think you're a good person who got trapped in a bad situation."
"You don't even know me," Buffy protested.
"Not yet, but I want to," Angel said.
"Why?" Buffy asked again.
"Why do you ask so many questions?" Angel replied with a smile,
shaking his head at her. "For the most beautiful girl I've ever laid
eyes on, you are incredibly insecure."
"You think I'm beautiful?" Buffy asked slowly, blushing slightly.
"Yes, I do," Angel replied, smiling back at her. "And now that we've
got that out of the way...would you consider going out with me this
evening?"
"What am I gonna say, no? You're not supposed to let me out of your
sight, remember?" Buffy teased.
"Well, there's a difference between hanging out at your apartment as
your bodyguard, and taking you out to a nice restaurant for dinner and
dancing," Angel said.
"Oh. But I'm afraid all my evening wear has been done away with,"
Buffy said with a frown.
"So? That's something that can be easily remedied," Angel said.
"No," Buffy said firmly. At Angel's hurt expression, she added, "Not
that I'm not grateful for the offer, Angel. Really. But that's how I
got myself into this situation in the first place. I'm not comparing
you with Johnny, but I think it's time that Buffy got a little bit
more independent, at least in the areas that I can be."
"I understand," Angel nodded.
"Tell you what," Buffy said. "Since it's not likely that I'm getting
access to a lot of money anytime soon, I think Jake will loan me some
money for a dress tonight. If, that is, you still want to go out with
me?"
"Of course I do," Angel replied with a smile. He saw out the window
that they had arrived at the police station. "Well, we're here."
Buffy looked up, and took a deep breath. "Yeah, we are. You're coming
in with me, right?"
"I'll go in with you, but they'll probably want to talk to you alone,"
Angel said. "Sonny, and anyone who works for him, are not really high
on the cops' list of favorite people."
"I figured," Buffy shrugged. "Okay, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever
be," she added as she exited the car and walked into the police
station.
*********
12 pm
Bobbie's Diner
Buffy had gone up to Jake's room, and Angel and the others were
waiting downstairs. Angel had wanted to follow, but Buffy had
insisted that Angel and the others were perfectly capable of watching
both doors from there. *She'd won that round,* Angel realized.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to antagonize Johnny like that?" Jake
asked Buffy worriedly. Buffy had explained that she was helping the
police build a case against Johnny.
"What else am I gonna do? Wait around until he or someone else gets
off a good kill shot?" Buffy replied, finishing off the sandwich Jake
had insisted she eat. "It's one of those 'lesser of two evils' things,
Jake." She put the $500 Jake had given her into her purse. "And this
is a loan, I promise I'll pay you back," she added.
"We're always in need of help here," Jake offered. "You could wait
tables, I'm sure I could talk Bobbie into hiring you. She trusts my
judgement about people. Or you _could_ go back to your parents you
know."
"That's a bridge that's been burned so completely there's no way
back," Buffy said sorrowfully. "They saw who Johnny Rivera was long
before I was ready to accept it. I didn't listen, so it's my fault.
Maybe some day... but I'm not holding my breath. Besides, it's safer
for them if I'm out of their lives. Johnny doesn't think they mean
anything to me, and that's the way I want it right now."
"And another thing," Jake said. "Do you really think it's a good idea
to get involved with one of Sonny's guys? You know I adore Sonny, but
I don't kid myself about who he is and what he does. A lot of people
in his life have died because of it. Anyone who works for him would
have the same dangers surrounding him. Besides, how do you know this
Angel doesn't enjoy beating his girlfriends as much as Johnny does?"
"I don't," Buffy said. "I'm not moving in with the guy, Jake... Well,
technically he's moving in with me. But that's just the work side of
his life. I know that I have to be careful, and I will be. It's just
dinner, and we'll see where it goes from there."
Jake sighed, "I remember when you first started dating Johnny. You
said the same thing about him, too 'It's just a date. It's just a
party. I'm just meeting his father'. And then you started telling me
how different he was from his father, and how he didn't want to have
anything to do with Rivera's business. You were wrong about him once
too, sweetie."
"I was wrong, but I was so young then, Jake," Buffy said. "I'm not as
trusting as I used to be. Johnny cured me of that. I get that you're
worried about me, and I love you for it. You've been an awesome friend
to me. Please give me the benefit of the doubt here?"
"Okay," Jake sighed, shaking her head. "Just promise me you'll be
careful? And that goes for Johnny _and_ Angel."
"I will," Buffy replied with a smile. "And as for the job offer, give
me a day to think about it?"
"That's fair," Jake said. She hugged Buffy, and said, "And did I
mention be careful?"
"You did," Buffy said with a laugh. She stood to leave, and added,
"Thanks for everything. You're one of the few real friends I have in
Port Charles.
She went downstairs to find Angel waiting at the foot of the stairs.
"Hey, thanks for giving me a little time alone with her."
"You're welcome. Just don't make a habit of it. Makes me nervous when
I can't be sure you're safe," Angel said. "Ready to go back home?"
"Home," Buffy repeated as he followed her back to the limo. "It might
feel like that eventually. Actually, first I need to go shopping."
"Shopping it is, then," Angel agreed, holding the car door open for
her.
************
4 pm
Angel stifled a yawn of boredom as he waited outside the ladies' room.
This was the tenth store they'd been to in 3 hours, and she'd been in
the dressing rooms of those stores for half of it.
"'Kay, I found the one," she said, walking out of the dressing room
with several dresses laid over her arm.
"Which one?" Angel asked curiously.
"Not 'til later tonight," Buffy insisted. "You go stand over there,"
she pointed a few feet away.
"But--"
"Richie can play shadow for a little bit," Buffy said, grabbing the
other man by the arm. "You are not going to see the dress yet, so deal
wit it!"
"Fine," Angel sighed in resignation and moved further away, facing the
other direction.
A few minutes later, she walked up, shopping bag in hand. "We can go
now," she said. "Thanks for putting up with this afternoon past-time,"
she smiled at him.
Angel had given up on arguing with himself about his attraction to
Buffy. *She's got beautiful eyes, and I love how her face light up
when she smiles. I'm going to have to figure out how to make that
happen more often.*
"You're welcome," Angel smiled back at her.
Buffy was not quite done arguing with herself about her attraction to
Angel. *He's just too amazingly sexy for it to be fair at all. ... Bad
Buffy, you don't trust him yet, remember? ... Oh, but that doesn't
mean I can't appreciate his beauty. ... Stop that!*
"Buffy?"
Buffy looked up and realized that Angel had been talking to her and
she hadn't heard a word. "Sorry," she apologized. "I was thinking
about something."
"No problem," Angel replied. "I was just asking if you were ready to
go home _now_????"
Buffy giggled, "Yes, Angel. Take me home."
End Three