*********
Part Seven
Bobbie's Diner
Thursday 10 am
Buffy looked over from her post behind the cash register at Angel,
who was sitting at a table in the corner. He was watching the door
intently, and she smiled. Even though Johnny hadn't tried anything,
and she didn't think he would, she felt safer with Angel watching out
for her. As if he sensed her looking at him, he turned to look at
her. He flashed her a dazzling smile that made her knees weak, and
she looked away, busying herself with cleaning the counters. To her
dismay, she felt a blush spreading across her cheeks. She'd been
caught openly admiring him, and she hated when that happened.
They hadn't been out again since that night almost a week ago, and
Buffy had begun to wonder if he'd changed his mind about her. They'd
spent friendly evenings at home, but he hadn't asked her out again,
or approached the subject. *It's better this way,* she told herself
for the hundredth time that week. *I can't let myself get too
attached to him anyway, when he's just doing his job.*
Angel looked up to see Buffy watching him, and had to smile. He
realized it probably wasn't a fair advantage that thanks to his work
for Sonny, he'd developed a better poker-face. He so liked to make
her blush, though, which he'd learned he could do with a well-timed
grin in her direction. He chuckled and turned back to the door.
"Dammit," He muttered under his breath and stood to head off the
visitor. "You're not wanted here," he said softly but firmly.
Buffy heard the anger in Angel's voice, and steeled herself as she
looked up. She saw Johnny Rivera at the door, and standing between
them was Angel. His back was to her, but she could sense the tension
emanating from him.
"This is a public place," Johnny replied. "So I'm not going anywhere,
except to the counter to order my meal."
"Angel, it's okay. I don't want a scene." Buffy didn't quite know
where the steadiness of her voice came from but was grateful for it.
Angel stepped aside, but kept his eyes on the other man.
Johnny walked up to the counter, continuing to leer at her. "Hey,
Babe. Get me an order of pancakes, and an orange juice. I think I'll
sit here at the counter," he added, sitting on a barstool right
across from her.
Buffy stilled the panic she was feeling, and took a deep breath.
*Angel won't let him hurt you,* she reminded herself. She looked up
to see Angel sit next to Johnny, still staring at him. *If looks
could kill...well, then a lot of my problems would be fixed a lot
easier.*
She nodded and walked back to the kitchen to place the order. She
didn't have to go into the kitchen really, but needed to take some
time to gather her thoughts. Johnny still had the ability to
intimidate her, but hopefully for not too much longer. The DA had
told her that she'd given them enough to bring up murder charges
against Johnny, and they would be filed within a few days. Maybe then
this nightmare would be over for her.
She went back out to her place bhind the counter, and Angel caught
her glance. He was worried, she could tell, and looked at her asking
a silent question. She smiled in reply, and he took that as a good
sign. He smiled back, and returned his attention to Johnny.
"So how you paying your bodyguard here for his services?" Johnny
asked. "You don't have any money, but we both know you have other ...
assets," his gaze traveled down her body and back up to her face.
"Shut up," Buffy said softly. "You don't have any idea what you're
talking about."
"Oh, aren't you paying him?" Johnny asked with an innocent expression
on his face. "Well, then you're paying Corinthos. So to speak. That
is more your speed, of course. You always go for the men with the
real power, don't ya, Babe?" He smiled cruelly at her.
"That's not fair, Johnny," Buffy protested. "I loved you, you're the
one who turned on me."
Johnny looked at her for a moment, and said, "I would've let you come
back, but you went to the cops and told them all kinds of lies about
me."
"So now what're you going to do?" Buffy challenged him, sounding
braver than she felt. "Kill me?"
He just smiled at her in reply.
Buffy felt a shiver travel down her spine, and was glad when the cook
informed her the order was ready. She tossed the plate in front of
Danny, and went into the main dining area to clear some tables. She
felt Johnny's gaze following her the whole time and ignored it. She
looked up relieved as the first of the early lunch rush began.
Anything to get her mind off the fact that her ex was hanging around
with the intention of harrassing her.
She took care of the new customers who had entered, then reluctantly
returned to the counter. Jake walked out of the kitchen, and
said, "Hey, Buffy. Why don't you take your break now, out on the
patio. I'll cover in here." Buffy threw Jake a grateful look and
retreated to the patio, Angel close behind her.
She let out her breath when she got outside, and collapsed in a chair
in the corner of the patio. Angel sat across from her and said, "You
okay?"
She looked into concerned eyes and tried to smile. "Perfect," she
responded sarcastically. "So you think this is his plan? Talk me to
death?"
Angel chuckled in reply, but looked behind him as he heard the door
open. Johnny walked out and looked at his watch. Three of his men
walked up then from the parking lot. They talked in hushed tones, and
then two of his men took a table next to Angel and Buffy. Johnny
smiled at her, and then left.
"Ignore them," Angel said. "This is a classic intimidation move with
Rivera. He's trying to scare you into backing down from testifying
against him."
"It won't work. Having him in jail is the only safe way to have a
life after him."
"Unfortunately, that's true," Angel replied, nodding. "So a few more
hours of this today, and then we're back to the safety of home. Think
you can hold out until then?"
"Yeah," Buffy said with a smile.
"Good girl," Angel said, and smiled at her, reaching across the table
to squeeze her hand encouragingly. It was a momentary touch, but it
made her feel safe and warm.
She looked away, watching the people passing by along the sidewalk.
She heard the scrape of a chair on concrete, and felt him pull his
chair closer to hers. He put his arm across the back of her chair,
and it was all she could do not to lean into that touch. *Self-
control, Buffy* she reminded herself.
Carly walked up then, in a white sleeveless sundress. "Hey, you two,"
she greeted them with a smile. "Buffy, when do you get off work?"
"Uh, one," Buffy replied. "I've been here since five am, breakfast
rush. Why?"
"Well, if you're up to it, I was wondering if you wanted to go
shopping with me later," Carly said. Angel gave her a surprised look,
and she glared back. "What, I'm not capable of being nice?" she asked
defensively.
Angel laughed, hands up in a 'I give' gesture. "Down girl," he
replied with a smile. "I didn't say a thing. I'm going to make myself
a shadow so you two can talk." He rose and moved to a table a few
feet away, keeping his attention on the two men Rivera had appointed
to shadow Buffy.
Buffy gestured for Carly to sit down, and she did. "I'd love to go
shopping with you," she said with a smile. "Although poor Angel, I'm
not sure he wants to be put through that again."
"Tough," Carly said with a shrug. "If he wants to get to know you,
and spend more time with you, he'll have to learn to deal with things
you like to do. And I could tell that about you, that you like to
shop," she added with a grin. "You've got great taste in clothing, by
the way."
"Thanks," Buffy replied. "But I think you're assuming something about
Angel and me that isn't the case--"
"Oh, please!" Carly cut her off. "Are you blind? I see the way he
looks at you, don't tell me you haven't noticed too."
Buffy glanced over at Angel, and saw him look away quickly. *Gotcha!*
she giggled. For once she'd caught him looking. She shook her head,
though, "So he's attracted to me. That doesn't mean anything. I'm
sure if he wasn't working for Sonny protecting me, he'd be steering
clear. I'm bad news, being Johnny's ex."
"Buffy," Carly looked at Buffy in amazement. "You seriously think
he's just doing this because Sonny told him to?"
"Well, yeah, he works for Sonny," Buffy replied, giving Carly a
puzzled look.
"You don't know," Carly shook her head. "That figures. Angel's Mr.
Modesty, of course. Buffy, Angel is Sonny's ...oh, what would he call
it... Second in Command or whatever," she shrugged. "Angel would not
normally be doing something like this full-time for Sonny. He usually
has more important jobs to take care of. No offense or anything. But
my point is, with any other person needing protection, Angel would
have gotten them settled in and then two days later handed off the
responsibility to a few other guys he trusts. He hasn't done that
with you, though. And do you know why?"
Buffy just shrugged in reply. "How should I know?"
"He really likes you," Carly said confidently. At Buffy's
disbelieving look, she continued, "I can tell. I've seen Angel with
quite a few women in the past couple of years. And he's a great guy,
perfect gentleman, and all that. But I've never seen him look at any
of them the way he looks at you. Now I've seen the way you look at
him, so the question is, why aren't you two together?"
Buffy couldn't help blushing at Carly's assessment of her attraction
to Angel. "Even if you're right," she said, ignoring Carly's look of
exasperation, "it's too complicated. I'm Johnny's ex, Angel's got a
dangerous life of his own. Besides since Friday, he hasn't even acted
interested."
"Maybe he's just giving you space to get free of Johnny," Carly
suggested. "Anyway, enough deep talk for one day. I'll come by your
apartment at two, okay?"
"Sounds great, thanks, Carly. I'm looking forward to spending time
with another woman. I haven't done that in quite a while, with the
exception of Jake. She is my only girl friend in this town, until now
anyway."
"Well, you started with one more than I have," Carly said with a
smile. "I didn't make a lot of female friends. Something I'm trying
to change. I think we could get along well."
"I agree," Buffy replied. "Well, I need to get my lunch, so I'll see
you later."
Buffy stood as Carly walked off and Angel rose to follow her back
into the Diner. "Why do I get the impression you two were talking
about me?" he leaned forward to ask in her ear.
She jumped slightly at the feel of his breath on her skin. "Now why
would we do that?" she turned back to look at him innocently. He
raised an eyebrow at her, and she giggled. "I plead the fifth," she
said and walked to the kitchen to get them lunch.
********
End Seven
Part Seven
Bobbie's Diner
Thursday 10 am
Buffy looked over from her post behind the cash register at Angel,
who was sitting at a table in the corner. He was watching the door
intently, and she smiled. Even though Johnny hadn't tried anything,
and she didn't think he would, she felt safer with Angel watching out
for her. As if he sensed her looking at him, he turned to look at
her. He flashed her a dazzling smile that made her knees weak, and
she looked away, busying herself with cleaning the counters. To her
dismay, she felt a blush spreading across her cheeks. She'd been
caught openly admiring him, and she hated when that happened.
They hadn't been out again since that night almost a week ago, and
Buffy had begun to wonder if he'd changed his mind about her. They'd
spent friendly evenings at home, but he hadn't asked her out again,
or approached the subject. *It's better this way,* she told herself
for the hundredth time that week. *I can't let myself get too
attached to him anyway, when he's just doing his job.*
Angel looked up to see Buffy watching him, and had to smile. He
realized it probably wasn't a fair advantage that thanks to his work
for Sonny, he'd developed a better poker-face. He so liked to make
her blush, though, which he'd learned he could do with a well-timed
grin in her direction. He chuckled and turned back to the door.
"Dammit," He muttered under his breath and stood to head off the
visitor. "You're not wanted here," he said softly but firmly.
Buffy heard the anger in Angel's voice, and steeled herself as she
looked up. She saw Johnny Rivera at the door, and standing between
them was Angel. His back was to her, but she could sense the tension
emanating from him.
"This is a public place," Johnny replied. "So I'm not going anywhere,
except to the counter to order my meal."
"Angel, it's okay. I don't want a scene." Buffy didn't quite know
where the steadiness of her voice came from but was grateful for it.
Angel stepped aside, but kept his eyes on the other man.
Johnny walked up to the counter, continuing to leer at her. "Hey,
Babe. Get me an order of pancakes, and an orange juice. I think I'll
sit here at the counter," he added, sitting on a barstool right
across from her.
Buffy stilled the panic she was feeling, and took a deep breath.
*Angel won't let him hurt you,* she reminded herself. She looked up
to see Angel sit next to Johnny, still staring at him. *If looks
could kill...well, then a lot of my problems would be fixed a lot
easier.*
She nodded and walked back to the kitchen to place the order. She
didn't have to go into the kitchen really, but needed to take some
time to gather her thoughts. Johnny still had the ability to
intimidate her, but hopefully for not too much longer. The DA had
told her that she'd given them enough to bring up murder charges
against Johnny, and they would be filed within a few days. Maybe then
this nightmare would be over for her.
She went back out to her place bhind the counter, and Angel caught
her glance. He was worried, she could tell, and looked at her asking
a silent question. She smiled in reply, and he took that as a good
sign. He smiled back, and returned his attention to Johnny.
"So how you paying your bodyguard here for his services?" Johnny
asked. "You don't have any money, but we both know you have other ...
assets," his gaze traveled down her body and back up to her face.
"Shut up," Buffy said softly. "You don't have any idea what you're
talking about."
"Oh, aren't you paying him?" Johnny asked with an innocent expression
on his face. "Well, then you're paying Corinthos. So to speak. That
is more your speed, of course. You always go for the men with the
real power, don't ya, Babe?" He smiled cruelly at her.
"That's not fair, Johnny," Buffy protested. "I loved you, you're the
one who turned on me."
Johnny looked at her for a moment, and said, "I would've let you come
back, but you went to the cops and told them all kinds of lies about
me."
"So now what're you going to do?" Buffy challenged him, sounding
braver than she felt. "Kill me?"
He just smiled at her in reply.
Buffy felt a shiver travel down her spine, and was glad when the cook
informed her the order was ready. She tossed the plate in front of
Danny, and went into the main dining area to clear some tables. She
felt Johnny's gaze following her the whole time and ignored it. She
looked up relieved as the first of the early lunch rush began.
Anything to get her mind off the fact that her ex was hanging around
with the intention of harrassing her.
She took care of the new customers who had entered, then reluctantly
returned to the counter. Jake walked out of the kitchen, and
said, "Hey, Buffy. Why don't you take your break now, out on the
patio. I'll cover in here." Buffy threw Jake a grateful look and
retreated to the patio, Angel close behind her.
She let out her breath when she got outside, and collapsed in a chair
in the corner of the patio. Angel sat across from her and said, "You
okay?"
She looked into concerned eyes and tried to smile. "Perfect," she
responded sarcastically. "So you think this is his plan? Talk me to
death?"
Angel chuckled in reply, but looked behind him as he heard the door
open. Johnny walked out and looked at his watch. Three of his men
walked up then from the parking lot. They talked in hushed tones, and
then two of his men took a table next to Angel and Buffy. Johnny
smiled at her, and then left.
"Ignore them," Angel said. "This is a classic intimidation move with
Rivera. He's trying to scare you into backing down from testifying
against him."
"It won't work. Having him in jail is the only safe way to have a
life after him."
"Unfortunately, that's true," Angel replied, nodding. "So a few more
hours of this today, and then we're back to the safety of home. Think
you can hold out until then?"
"Yeah," Buffy said with a smile.
"Good girl," Angel said, and smiled at her, reaching across the table
to squeeze her hand encouragingly. It was a momentary touch, but it
made her feel safe and warm.
She looked away, watching the people passing by along the sidewalk.
She heard the scrape of a chair on concrete, and felt him pull his
chair closer to hers. He put his arm across the back of her chair,
and it was all she could do not to lean into that touch. *Self-
control, Buffy* she reminded herself.
Carly walked up then, in a white sleeveless sundress. "Hey, you two,"
she greeted them with a smile. "Buffy, when do you get off work?"
"Uh, one," Buffy replied. "I've been here since five am, breakfast
rush. Why?"
"Well, if you're up to it, I was wondering if you wanted to go
shopping with me later," Carly said. Angel gave her a surprised look,
and she glared back. "What, I'm not capable of being nice?" she asked
defensively.
Angel laughed, hands up in a 'I give' gesture. "Down girl," he
replied with a smile. "I didn't say a thing. I'm going to make myself
a shadow so you two can talk." He rose and moved to a table a few
feet away, keeping his attention on the two men Rivera had appointed
to shadow Buffy.
Buffy gestured for Carly to sit down, and she did. "I'd love to go
shopping with you," she said with a smile. "Although poor Angel, I'm
not sure he wants to be put through that again."
"Tough," Carly said with a shrug. "If he wants to get to know you,
and spend more time with you, he'll have to learn to deal with things
you like to do. And I could tell that about you, that you like to
shop," she added with a grin. "You've got great taste in clothing, by
the way."
"Thanks," Buffy replied. "But I think you're assuming something about
Angel and me that isn't the case--"
"Oh, please!" Carly cut her off. "Are you blind? I see the way he
looks at you, don't tell me you haven't noticed too."
Buffy glanced over at Angel, and saw him look away quickly. *Gotcha!*
she giggled. For once she'd caught him looking. She shook her head,
though, "So he's attracted to me. That doesn't mean anything. I'm
sure if he wasn't working for Sonny protecting me, he'd be steering
clear. I'm bad news, being Johnny's ex."
"Buffy," Carly looked at Buffy in amazement. "You seriously think
he's just doing this because Sonny told him to?"
"Well, yeah, he works for Sonny," Buffy replied, giving Carly a
puzzled look.
"You don't know," Carly shook her head. "That figures. Angel's Mr.
Modesty, of course. Buffy, Angel is Sonny's ...oh, what would he call
it... Second in Command or whatever," she shrugged. "Angel would not
normally be doing something like this full-time for Sonny. He usually
has more important jobs to take care of. No offense or anything. But
my point is, with any other person needing protection, Angel would
have gotten them settled in and then two days later handed off the
responsibility to a few other guys he trusts. He hasn't done that
with you, though. And do you know why?"
Buffy just shrugged in reply. "How should I know?"
"He really likes you," Carly said confidently. At Buffy's
disbelieving look, she continued, "I can tell. I've seen Angel with
quite a few women in the past couple of years. And he's a great guy,
perfect gentleman, and all that. But I've never seen him look at any
of them the way he looks at you. Now I've seen the way you look at
him, so the question is, why aren't you two together?"
Buffy couldn't help blushing at Carly's assessment of her attraction
to Angel. "Even if you're right," she said, ignoring Carly's look of
exasperation, "it's too complicated. I'm Johnny's ex, Angel's got a
dangerous life of his own. Besides since Friday, he hasn't even acted
interested."
"Maybe he's just giving you space to get free of Johnny," Carly
suggested. "Anyway, enough deep talk for one day. I'll come by your
apartment at two, okay?"
"Sounds great, thanks, Carly. I'm looking forward to spending time
with another woman. I haven't done that in quite a while, with the
exception of Jake. She is my only girl friend in this town, until now
anyway."
"Well, you started with one more than I have," Carly said with a
smile. "I didn't make a lot of female friends. Something I'm trying
to change. I think we could get along well."
"I agree," Buffy replied. "Well, I need to get my lunch, so I'll see
you later."
Buffy stood as Carly walked off and Angel rose to follow her back
into the Diner. "Why do I get the impression you two were talking
about me?" he leaned forward to ask in her ear.
She jumped slightly at the feel of his breath on her skin. "Now why
would we do that?" she turned back to look at him innocently. He
raised an eyebrow at her, and she giggled. "I plead the fifth," she
said and walked to the kitchen to get them lunch.
********
End Seven