Chapter Five: Just When You Think It Can't Get Any Worse...
Buffy couldn't help sigh wistfully as she got out of the car. She felt like a walking paradox. The afternoon sun warmed her skin, and she felt as though she was finally getting her oomph back after her long, stifling confinement. But she still couldn't shake the melancholy that hung over her.
Her feeling of being split down the middle emotionally was no doubt caused by her visitors, late last night. Riley had come first, bearing the news that they had destroyed the Kasala once again, without even a single injury to the troops. He was sweet and attentive to her, in a strange, new way that he never had been, before. It raised a little mental flag in her, but she brushed it off to his shame at having avoided her for so long since her… accident. Indeed, he had apologized, and made a dramatic, sweeping speech about wanting to take care of her and her child. For a few minutes, she had felt like the belle of the ball, and had visions of white picket fences, her handsome, blonde husband, a dog named Fluffy, and a minivan.
But it didn't last long. He left after half an hour, and she had dropped into a deep, dreamless sleep. Even in unconscious repose, the tingling sensation of Angel nearby registered in her heart, and she woke, looking up to see him sitting in the tree outside her window once again.
"Hi." He said quietly, when he saw her looking at him.
Buffy sat up and propped herself against her pillows. "You don't have to sit out there, you know… you're already pretty much invited."
It was meant to be a joke, Angel knew, but he still felt the need to explain himself. "I didn't want to wake you."
Buffy sighed. Was it always going to be like this, between them? Awkward and uncertain, full of questions and hurt and the tinge of fear that hovered around them like a dark stain on their otherwise spotless chemistry? Would he always be shy and reticent around her, when once there had been nothing that could keep them from sharing the deepest secrets of their souls with one another?
"There's not much you can do about that…" she said, "Besides, I'm hungry."
Angel took that as his final cue, and climbed in the window, sitting beside Buffy on the bed. He held out a brown paper bag with a big grease stain on the bottom for her inspection. She smiled, eyeing him with mock suspicion, and took it.
"I'm not going to find something from the butcher shop in here, am I?" she quipped.
Angel couldn't help but smile. "No. Clam fritters, fried broccoli, and beer batter French fries." He said.
She grinned broadly at him. "Grease and iron. You sure do know the way into a girl's heart…" she said.
He tensed noticeably, and smiled weakly in response.
Buffy looked carefully at him, as she pulled the pint boxes, one by one, out of the bag, and began stuffing their contents into her mouth. "What is it?" she asked through a mouthful of broccoli.
Angel fidgeted a little. "I've been thinking… about going home. I mean, back to L.A., for a while." He said.
Buffy stopped in mid fritter-lift, and stared at him. "What?"
He lowered his eyes. "You don't need me, here, Buffy… you have plenty of people around to take care of you. And… Finn…"
Buffy thought of Riley's grand speech a few hours earlier. Her little thrill of joy at hearing it paled in comparison to the unbearably stunning attraction between herself and Angel. She could almost hear the energy, crackling in the air between them. Her heart pounded and twisted, and her breath came fast in spite of her best attempts to stay cool.
However sweet he was, and gorgeous, she just didn't feel that way about Riley Finn.
Angel went on, "I'm in the way. I make everyone here uncomfortable, including me. And… there's so much that needs to be done, in L.A. I have responsibilities there… people who depend on me."
Buffy dropped the fritter back in the box and set it on her nightstand. Pouting furiously, she turned back to him. "What about me? What about your responsibilities to me? What about the baby?"
Angel closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Buffy…" he began, like he had begun a million heart-breaking conversations with her before, "Nothing has changed, between us. Despite what's happened… despite…" he stared woefully down at her growing belly, "Despite this. There's still no way we can make this work."
Buffy felt a sinking feeling plow through her, and she was certain for a moment that what little food she had gulped down so far was going to come right back up. She fought the tears just behind her eyes.
"I thought you said it was my decision. I thought you said I could choose how I wanted things to go." She whined softly.
He looked at her, wishing he had never said that at all… wishing he had never put that seed of ill-fated hope into her heart. //Better it be like this, than the alternative…// "I meant, with the baby." He said. "I'll do whatever you decide, when it comes to our child. But when it comes to us…"
Buffy cast her eyes down. So, there it was… he was abandoning her, once again. She felt a stab of something akin to hate rip through her.
Angel reached out and cupped her chin in his big hand, and lifted her eyes to meet his. "Buffy, I don't have to tell you how much I love you. And I will always be here for you. But I can't… we can't… make this work. You know that. We've tried, and all anyone ever got from it was pain."
Buffy was angry, now, "SO? Anything worth having is hard to get! We should be trying to get around all this, not run away from it! What about that day we spent together? Doesn't that mean anything?"
Angel flinched, and inched away from her. "How can you say that? How can you even think that? That day means everything to me."
She felt badly for hurting him. But he was hurting her so much…and it was just her instinct to lash out at whatever hurt her… She moved closer to him again, and looked up into his sad eyes. "Don't you want us to have that? Don't you want the baby to have that? Doesn't he or she deserve it?"
His expression became hard. "We don't have that, Buffy. We never will again. What the baby deserves is two normal parents."
Buffy shook her head, bringing herself back to the present. They had reached an impasse, and there didn't seem to be any way to get around it. So, he was going home.
She felt the slight rolling in her belly once again, as if the baby were crying, too. Buffy turned to look at Joyce.
"I'm going for a walk, mom." She said.
"Oh, Buffy… are you sure you feel up to it?" Joyce's brow scrunched worriedly.
"Mom, I'm fine." She insisted, "The doctor said low impact exercise is good for me and the baby, remember? It doesn't get less low impact than walking…" Besides, she desperately wanted to spend some time alone while she had the chance, and her mind felt so clear. She had a lot to think about.
"Maybe I'll go with you…" Joyce suggested, fidgeting with her keys.
Buffy approached her, and took her hand, "No action, mom, I promise. No big evil… not even a demon. I just… I need to be alone for a while… to think."
Joyce looked down at her beloved daughter for a long moment, then sighed. "Okay. Just… take it easy, Buffy. And if you feel tired, just come right home, okay? Promise me."
Buffy smiled. "I promise." She said, and headed off down the street.
Joyce watched her go, glad to see her feeling so much better, but worried, nonetheless. Whatever her daughter's intentions, it seemed like trouble followed Buffy wherever she went. She looked down at the sonogram picture clutched in her hand. The little shape in it was barely distinguishable as human, at this point… the first photograph of her first grandchild…
As she went back into the house, she silently prayed that Buffy would be safe… for once.
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Forest quietly closed the office door behind him and looked around. Professor Walsh sat at her desk, surrounded by piles of maps and reams of notes.
He cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Professor? You wanted to see me?"
Maggie looked up, not the least surprised by his arrival.
"Yes, Agent Allan. I'm glad you've come. I'd like to speak with you for a moment. Please, have a seat." She said, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk. Forest complied uneasily.
"Agent," Walsh went on, "It has come to my attention that there has been some… excitement… in Sunnydale lately."
Forest gulped. Could she have found out about their mobilization the night before?
"Ma'am?"
She looked evenly at him, and he felt a touch of panic threaten, creeping up his spine. He felt like she was looking through him.
"Professor Walsh, I can explain…."
She held up her hand. "No need, Agent. I'm aware that you and Agent Finn are close. What happened to his young friend was… upsetting. It's perfectly understandable that the two of you would be…distracted. That's why I've asked you here."
"Ma'am?" Forest asked, confused.
Maggie got up from her seat, moved around to the front of the desk, and perched on its edge, directly across from him.
"I want you and Agent Finn to take some leave… a day or two, R&R." she said.
Forest continued gaping at her.
"Did you hear me, Agent Allan? Take Agent Finn, and get out of town for a couple of days… you're relieved of your duty until both of you get some rest."
Forest looked at her for a moment, then to the map that lay open on her desk. It was a detailed satellite map of one of Sunnydale's many small, upper-middle class residential neighborhoods. He was suddenly twice as uncomfortable with the unusual situation.
"Ma'am. Permission to speak freely?" he asked.
"Of course."
"Is there something going on we should know about, ma'am?" he said, not taking his eyes from the map.
Maggie turned, picked it up, and rolled it into a tube. "Nothing that need concern you for at least 48 hours. Thank you, Agent." She got up and returned to her chair.
"Ma'am?" Forest queried as she sat down. This was all wrong… he could feel the willies crawling up and down his spine like it was an Olympic event.
"Dismissed, Agent." She said firmly, not looking up from her notes.
Forest turned and left.
As he walked to the locker room, he couldn't get the image of the map out of his mind. Why did she have it? He hadn't heard of any particularly heavy activity in that area.
He tried to shake off his discomfort. He and Ri could use some rest… and it had been a long time since they'd taken a road trip together. Maybe San Francisco… or Baja…
This could be exactly the thing Riley needed to distract him from his Slayer troubles.
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Angel's eyes snapped open at the end of the nightmare, and he bolted upright, panting and bathed in sweat. He had been dreaming that he and Buffy's child had been born a putrid green, slimy, hideous monster. Willow had been acting as midwife, and delivered the howling thing to Buffy, who beamed at it with pride.
Angel screamed and screamed as it opened its cavernous maw and devoured them all…
He caught his unneeded breath. Gods, he hated having dreams like that… they were usually a warning that something momentous -- and usually heartbreaking -- was about to transpire. He remembered, briefly, the horrifying dreams he had had of his and Buffy's grisly wedding, back before he left Sunnydale.
He sat up and looked over at the clock. Barely 4:00 p.m. Hours until sunset, when he could be out, watching her again.
The truth was, he hadn't been able to get her out of his mind for even a moment, since he'd been back on the Hellmouth. He had no intention of leaving her, of course, but it was better that she think he had. He could conduct his business as easily here, as anywhere else, and it was a quick drive to return to L.A. if he were needed there. Cordy and Wesley, he would send home, to be his eyes and ears.
He wanted to go and see her one last time before he stepped back into the shadows forever. It might be his last chance to spend a private moment with his family… Once Finn made his move, Angel himself would return to Los Angeles -- get out of their way…
He could only hope that Finn would be true to his word. The way he had left Buffy's house last night, smiling and whistling happily, he assumed that things had gone well, and that the boy had laid some foundation for himself. Angel knew it must be hard him… he seemed old-fashioned, much like himself, and probably a little chauvinistic. But more important than any of that were the feelings Finn obviously had for Buffy. He was relatively certain that the boy loved her--and hated Angel. That would hopefully override any lingering archaic problems he might have with whose sperm conceived whose child…
But even with that decided, and his chance to see Buffy cause for a genuine, private smile, Angel was still ill at ease. He got up and dressed, and took to pacing the main floor of the mansion from one end to the other, lamenting its poor sewer access. There was simply no safe, direct line from here to Buffy's house in the broad daylight. Of course, he hadn't exactly been thinking about popping by for a nice visit with Buffy when he'd bought the place…
He fidgeted for several more minutes, feeling a throbbing headache coming on, and decided to settle his mind with some Tai Chi. After a couple of movements in the kata, an idea dawned on him. A solution so obvious, he could have kicked himself in the head for not seeing it earlier. He picked up his dread cell phone and dialed Giles' number from memory. All of the day crew should be there, on duty, by now… if Buffy hadn't dragged them off shopping or something…
"Giles." Came the crisp British greeting.
"It's Angel. May I speak to Cordelia?"
"Of course."
There were muffled tones of the phone being passed, and Cordelia whining softly about being busy, then:
"Yes? What!" she snapped. He'd probably interrupted her flirting with Wesley.
"Have you heard from Buffy yet today?" he asked, too concerned for Buffy's safety to take issue with Cordelia's tone.
"Oh. Hi. No." She said, "I don't think she's back from the doctor, yet. Willow's supposed to go over there in about an hour." Her voice was more friendly, now…
"Good… okay…" Angel said, trying to pretend that that was good enough to make him feel better. It wasn't. "No. Listen, I need the car. I'm on my way over."
"But…" Cordy said, but he had already hung up. "…why don't I come over and get you?" She said, exasperated, and hung up her end.
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Chapter Six: If it's Not One Thing, It's Another...
Buffy sat down on a nearby bench, and looked out over the park's rolling hills. How many times had she patrolled here, with Angel, over the years?
//Boy, I really *am* tired, after all.//
She promised herself she would rest for five minutes, then head for home. A nap didn't sound like too bad of an idea, right now…
She thought again of the incredible story Willow had told her about the adventure the night before… the part that neither Angel or Riley had thought to tell her. The two of them, locked in a basement together? She could barely imagine what might have passed between them. Of course, more than likely, knowing them, neither had said anything to one another at all… they probably just sat on opposite sides of the room, scowling at each other.
Buffy couldn't help but giggle a little, at the visual.
But the mirth was short lived when she remembered once again the cause of her two loves being thrown together… and the fact that one of them was removing himself from the equation. She looked down at her belly for the four millionth time.
There wasn't any doubt who the father was, whether she remembered it happening or not. The idea of Angel being human… then giving that gift back -- for her, no less -- exhilarated, upset, and angered her all at once. All of that was great, for him… his life more or less went right back to the way it was before that day. She, on the other hand, was stuck with a living reminder of that day, and not even any memories of it to comfort her.
Which really begged the question. What would they do now? Buffy was utterly torn between her feelings for Angel, which had been central to her for as long as she could remember, practically, plus her belief that a child should be raised by its real parents, if at all possible; and the simple fact that nothing else had changed between them. There was still no way for them to be together, as a couple. He was right there, as usual.
And that led her back to thinking about Riley, and the things he had said last night. She didn't know if she could honestly say that she loved him, but she knew these months they'd been together had been some of the happiest she could remember-- and that included her time with Angel. She always felt safe, with Riley… like nothing in the world could harm her, even the Hellmouth itself. She had even begun to dream, before all of this started, that they might have a future together… a home, kids, maybe. But now? Even after his grand monologue about honor and duty and love, she still couldn't buy it. It seemed too unlikely, knowing how old-fashioned he was. Even if Riley really did want to raise Angel's child, could she set aside her feelings for Angel himself enough to pretend it didn't matter that he was the father?
She didn't see how she could, even if Angel was leaving her again.
Maybe she should just raise it herself. There were plenty of solid male role models in her life for a baby to learn from… Giles… Wesley… Xander, even. Good men, who cared about doing the right thing. Smart, strong, giving men.
Not so much Spike, though.
Buffy got up and began the long trek home, letting her thoughts continue to wander, to distract her from her exhaustion. She couldn't say she wasn't surprised at Angel's decision to leave. Why should he stay, and have to spend every day looking into the face of a living reminder of his one lost chance at humanity?
If only she could remember… If only there were some way to get those memories back, then the choices she had to make would be more clear. She felt… unanchored… insecure, without all the important background information.
Before the thought finished forming in her mind, Buffy caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She spun to look at it, but it was moving too fast…
"Damn it, not now!" She snapped, yanking a stake out of her purse. It couldn't be a vampire, of course… due to the extreme broad daylight, but she had found over the years that pointed sticks were effective against a lot of things. She never left home without one.
Buffy closed her eyes for a moment, reaching out with all of her other senses to track her opponent. She opened them once more and kicked quickly to her left, and one green-clad figure flew ten feet across the grass and landed with a painful 'thud'.
Another ducked her punch and got behind her, trapping her arms with one hand, and using the other to cover her face. It covered her nose and mouth with a warm, damp rag, which smelled a little bit like kerosene.
"Oh no…" Buffy moaned. As the world went black, she saw the opponent she had just vanquished come running back to help his partner. The last thing she thought as she lost consciousness was how much her attackers' uniforms looked like Riley's…
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Riley stared at Forest.
"What do you mean, R&R?" he asked.
"I mean, that Walsh wants us gone." Forest explained.
"Why?" Riley asked him.
"I think that, unfortunately, is the real question." He answered. His heart sunk. He'd been trying his hardest to ignore all the signs… the gut feeling that something was desperately wrong with this situation. Walsh… the unscheduled leave, the map of Ravello drive. What he'd really been hoping for was a vacation, not a bigger, badder adventure with the Slayer.
"I think so. Why didn't you tell me right away?" Riley snapped as he tossed his books into his bag and jogged for the door.
"I didn't… I mean, I hoped… I couldn't believe it was true… How would they even know…" a realization hit him, "Oh, hey, man! I didn't tell them! I swear! I never said a word to anyone!" He chased his friend out the lecture hall door, toward their house on the far side of Campus Row.
"I know you didn't." Riley said, "But I intend to find out who did."
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Angel barreled in through the front door. He didn't see anyone immediately, and then he heard gasping and mumbling nearby. He sprinted behind the couch, where he found Anya and Xander cradling Cordelia between them. She was rubbing her temples furiously.
"No guys, I'm fine, really…" she was saying, "I just had a vision. OH! We have to find…"
She looked up.
"Angel." She said.
//Talk about coincidence…//
He looked into Cordy's eyes for a moment before he turned and bolted back out the way he came.
Cordelia turned and looked at Xander, "Buffy's in trouble." She said sadly.
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Even gagged, the Slayer's furious screams still echoed off the cold, barren tile walls of the Initiative. Every demon in captivity there cringed in terror at the sound of it, but some part of them still rejoiced:
Their captors had also captured the Slayer.
The soldier rolled Buffy's gurney into an examining room, where Professor Walsh washed up, dressed in green scrubs. She almost seemed to delight in watching Buffy's eyes fly open in shocked horror.
"Ah, Buffy… good." She said, and indicated where the soldier should put the gurney.
A second soldier locked the thick door behind him. It could only be opened from the outside, or by a password to be spoken by each person scheduled to be inside. The Initiative wasn't taking any chances on the Slayer escaping.
"Take that gag off her! She's not a demon, for God's sake!" Walsh snapped at the guard.
The first soldier obeyed, releasing the gag on Buffy's mouth. She spit it away and glared at Professor Walsh.
"I already had my prenatal today, thanks." She spat, struggling against her bounds.
"You have nothing to worry about, Buffy…" Walsh assured her, "We have no intention of doing you or your baby any harm." She reached out and gently probed Buffy's belly firmly. Buffy struggled to get away once more, but found herself held fast. "We just want to see what's going on inside you… A Slayer… pregnant… by a vampire? Who knows what things we might learn from this?"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Buffy screamed, panicking, "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! YOU CAN'T HAVE MY BABY!!!"
At that moment, the door latch beeped and clicked, and Riley came crashing through the door with Forest in tow.
"Professor Walsh!" He shouted, "You can't do this!" He stood before her, quivering with barely contained anger.
"Agent Finn." She said calmly, "Stand down!"
Riley glared at her, then stole a glance at Buffy, still struggling on the gurney.
"Riley…" Buffy cried, her terror clear in her eyes, "Please…"
He looked down at the examination tray… it was covered with needles for drawing blood and amniotic fluid… a sonogram wand… monitors… and other tools he didn't recognize.
"Maggie, she's not a demon!" he shouted, "You have no right to just take her off the street, against her will!"
Professor Walsh regarded her protégé evenly, "Riley, we intend her no harm. Don't you understand how important this could be to us? What we could learn from her? This could do more for the cause… your cause… than any other discovery thus far!"
Riley's face twitched with fury. "This is not my cause." He snarled.
Maggie looked at him sadly for a moment. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Riley." She turned to the doorway, "Take him away."
Two men Riley didn't recognize grabbed him from either side, and dragged him out the door. He struggled as hard as he was able, but the guards held him fast.
A doctor in a white lab coat approached, and quickly injected Riley with a large needle. He looked to the side of him, and saw Forest already crumpled in a heap on the hall floor. His vision was losing focus, and he couldn't see more than faded outlines as he fell, turning his head toward the door.
"Buffy…" he whispered, and lost consciousness.
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Angel shot out of the car moments after the sun had set, and took off on foot down the street. He'd cruised every sleepy avenue in Sunnydale for hours, after going to Buffy's house, only to find a hysterical Joyce blubbering that Buffy had gone for a walk hours ago, and never came back.
He scoured every inch of the neighborhood, looking for clues… any sign at all… on the sidewalk, in the brush, in yards and under porches in every direction. Finally, near the park, he found some signs of a struggle… crushed grass, broken foot prints, spots of fresh blood… He sniffed it. Not Buffy, but she had, without a doubt, been there. And fought. Hard.
Angel suddenly noticed the moonlight glinting off of something lying in the grass nearby. He leaned down, and saw what it was. If he had breathed, he would have stopped.
He found Buffy's thin, silver chain lying broken in the grass, the ring he had given her for her 17th birthday still strung on it.
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The guards had finally left Buffy alone in a bare room with nothing in it but a steel cot attached to one wall.
She eased her heavy, aching body on to it and closed her eyes, fighting frantically against the dizziness that threatened to consume her. She was unsuccessful, and felt herself becoming unconscious again.
It wouldn't be long… Angel would come… or Riley would be back. She would be safe… she and the baby… any minute now…
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Chapter Seven: Escape
"Riley…"
He could hear the voice, but it was so far away…
"Riley. Hey, man, snap out of it."
Forest was slapping him lightly in the face.
Riley shook his head to clear it, and slowly sat up. They were in a holding cell… for a moment, he couldn't remember what happened. Then it dawned on him. Maggie, his mentor, had drugged him, and thrown them in a cage like a couple of HST's. How long had he been out? What were they doing to Buffy?
He took a long look around the room. The Initiative took security very seriously, and there were, of course, no immediately apparent ways out.
He had to try anyway. "One Girl." He said to the door monitor.
"Security code invalid." The door replied, "Access denied."
"DAMN IT!" He shouted, and smashed his hand into the steel door.
"I'm thinking they don't want us rescuing your girlfriend." Forest observed helpfully.
"No kidding." Riley replied testily, and pulled a small laser torch from his watchband. He sparked the tiny red light and began painstakingly cutting away at the security computer panel on the door.
"What about the radio?" Forest suggested.
Riley shook his head without looking up. "It won't work through these walls… and besides, who's going to come help us here at HQ?"
"Right." Forest said, "Lock down."
"See if you can tap into the main phone lines with the cell… we can call Mr. Giles, if we can get a line out. We have to get help here, now."
Forest nodded and grabbed the phone from his belt, punching buttons and saying a little prayer his grandmother taught him when he was a boy.
Something about fools needing guidance…
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Angel now paced the length of Giles' living room instead of his own. He scowled deeply, his brow furrowing, with Buffy's necklace clutched so hard in his hand, it drew blood.
"Angel, stop. You're making me nauseous." Cordelia snapped at him.
He didn't even slow down enough to shoot her a look.
"So, the question is, where was Buffy taken, and by whom?" Wesley asked.
"That's two questions." Cordy mumbled.
"Don't we kind of have to answer one in order to answer the other?" Willow asked.
Cordy shrugged "I don't know the answer to either. Just that the guys were big, and green… and they drove a black van."
"You're certain." Giles said.
"Yeah. They took her right off the street…" she repeated sadly, "Right near her house…"
"Why would demons snatch the Slayer in broad daylight and spirit her away in a van? Why not just take her out of her room at nightfall?" Wesley babbled on.
"Because whoever they are, they know we'll be watching her, then." Angel finally stopped pacing and approached the table. "Where's Finn?"
Giles, Oz and Xander exchanged looks.
"Finn? Who is this, Finn?" Wesley asked, obviously befuddled.
"Buffy's boyfriend." Xander said helpfully. Everyone but Angel shot him a look. Angel ignored him.
"And what, pray tell, does he have to do with any of this?" Wesley whined.
Angel ignored Wesley, too. "Xander, call Willow. She's at Buffy's house with Joyce. Find out how we can track down Riley and his gang."
"Gang?" Wesley squealed, "Buffy's boyfriend is in a GANG?"
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Forest shook his head. "Nothing." He said, taking the cell phone away from his ear, "I can't get a line out."
Riley looked around. "We have to get out of here." He turned to Forest, "Give me the phone."
Forest tossed it to him and watched with amazement as his CO pulled it apart and began fiddling with the circuits inside.
"MacGuyver time…" he said hopefully.
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Xander hung up. "Willow doesn't know where he is. She tried calling the dorm, but nobody's answering. She's heading over there now."
"Good." Angel said.
"Do you really think Riley took her?" Oz asked. He found the concept surprising -- he always had Riley nailed as a pretty stable guy.
"No. I don't." Angel said, "But the Initiative might have. And if we find Finn, we find them."
"Wait a minute…" Anya piped in, "Doesn't Spike know where the underground headquarters are?"
All eyes turned to the couch, where Spike lounged lazily, gulping down Guinness after Guinness, watching Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on Giles' tiny black and white television.
"No, NO, you MORON! D! It's D!" he shouted, shaking his bottle menacingly at the screen. He suddenly realized the room had become still, and turned to see everyone staring at him.
"Oh, fine, right. Get good old Spike to save the day once again." He said, and got up from the couch, "Getting low on tragic irony, eh? Alright… I'll show you. But you won't find anything there, I'm sure."
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Even Riley was surprised when the door sprung open. He honestly hadn't thought he would be able to force the cell phone microchip to communicate with the door's security computer. But it had, and he was wasting time looking a gift horse in the mouth. Forest was already out the door.
"Forest!" He hissed, "Where are you going? We need a plan!"
"I plan on getting out of here." He said, "Someplace quiet. The Outback, or the South Pole, maybe."
"We have to find Buffy first." Riley said, joining him in the hall and looking in the opposite direction toward the other holding cells.
"Forget her, man! Listen, they've got her locked down tight. We can send someone back for her."
"No! We can't just leave her here! Who knows what they'll do to her!" Riley cried.
"Look. Hostile 17 is on her team, right? Sooner or later, he'll lead them here!" Forest insisted.
"And then what? How will they get in? How will they find her? Will they be in time? How will they get out? No. We have to do it." He said firmly, and crept down the hall toward the power room.
"Damn it." Forest said to himself, and followed.
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"Where?!" Angel barked at Spike again, clutching harder at the back of his neck. It was barely 11 p.m., and the campus was still crawling with students. They had to get underground before somebody noticed them lurking around, staring at the grass, and called the police.
"Here! There was a ventilation shaft that opened out here!" Spike said.
Angel let him go and dropped to the ground, pressing his ear to the grass to listen for the hollow echoes that would be a signal that tunnels were dug deep below. He heard nothing but the sound of worms and bugs, moving through the soil.
"There's nothing here, now." He said, and got to his feet. Angel took in everything around him, trying to figure any place where there might be an entrance to the complex below. He notices several houses nearby, lining the park where they stood.
"They're students, right?" Angel asked.
Spike shrugged, "I guess…"
Angel looked at him. "Then they must live somewhere…"
Spike thought about it for a minute, then his eyes shot to a house where Buffy and Willow had once said they were going to a party. "Hang on a minute. That one, over there! I think that's where Soldier Boy lives!" He pointed to the nearest house.
"Then that's where we'll start looking." Angel said, and walked away.
"Yeah. Great." Spike said, and followed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willow wandered slowly through Riley's house. It wigged her thoroughly that there was not a soul to be seen anywhere inside. It was after 11, shouldn't someone be home? There was something not quite right about this place...actually, a lot of somethings... She hadn't noticed at the party, because, well… other things had been going on at the time.
But now? Now she noticed the incredible number of full-length mirrors and walk-in closets… and awful lot for a house full of guys… She checked each closet, and found most of them either empty, or close to it. Did twenty people really live here?
"Hey, what's going on here?" She said out loud, trying to shake the feeling that she was being watched.
"That's what we'd like to know."
Willow jumped and spun toward the door. Angel and Spike stood barely five feet away, silhouetted against the moonlight pouring in through the front door. She knew they could both see her in the dark, so she held herself as straight as she could to hide her fear.
"Is this Finn's house?" Angel asked, looking around.
Spike wandered off.
"Yeah. This is where the whole unit lives." Willow was shaking so hard, she could barely talk.
"There are tunnels under here!" Spike shouted from the library.
"And demons." Angel observed, "Lots of them." He could smell them everywhere… the foul stench of pure evil, mixed with rage and terror.
Willow looked into the mirror beside her once again. She could still only see a perfectly natural reflection of herself, and an utter lack of one for Angel. She centered herself, closed her eyes, and began to chant softly in Latin.
Angel watched the mirror's surface shimmer like water and separate, revealing clearly the elevator mechanics inside and behind it.
"Wow." Spike said, rejoining them in the hall.
Willow shook her head, opened her eyes, and the mirror became solid once again. She felt all around the mirror's frame.
"I'm thinking Open Sesame won't work." She lamented.
Angel looked at her. "I'm thinking you're right. We need a plan."
"And an army…" Spike added.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy's eyes snapped open at the sound of a ruckus outside her cell door. Fighting… she thought. Finally, they were there… She ached all over, and she was starving. She got up and stood aside, waiting for the door to burst open.
She wasn't disappointed. The noise stopped, and the door clicked open, followed by a heavily armored and armed Riley.
"Thank GOD!" she shouted, crushing him and his rifle in a bear hug.
He smiled at her, warmly, but briefly. "Come on. We have to get you out of here." He said, and turned to help Forest drag the guard that had been outside Buffy's door into the room. They bound and gagged the unconscious soldier, and hurried out.
"We need direct access to the surface." Riley said to Forest, "What's closest?"
"The dorm elevator. South wing." Forest said, shutting the door behind them.
"Right. Let's go. Buffy, are you okay? Can you walk?"
Buffy nodded stiffly. Riley paused for a moment, reaching out to touch her face tenderly. She lay her hand gently over his, and almost forgot where they were in the depths of his kind blue eyes.
"Come on. Time for romance, later." Forest said, and the three began jogging down the hall, just as the alarms began to ring out through the compound.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Eight: Not What We Expected
"Wait." Angel said, holding his hand up to halt the advance of the troops behind him.
Spike plowed into Willow, making her spill some of the steaming concoction she held in the goblet before her.
"Watch it!" She hissed at the vampire.
Spike stuck his tongue out at her.
"Enough." Giles scolded them.
They were in the trees only yards away from Riley's house. Everyone had volunteered to come, and everyone was part of the plan.
"Something's happening inside." Angel said, nodding up to the windows. Bright lights and the sound of fighting and gunfire filled the air.
Angel shot out of the bushes, on a direct course toward the front door of the house. He unsheathed his sword as he raced up the steps.
"Why doesn't he just use a bloody gun?" Spike complained as he slid his shiny new Luger out of his pocket, "They're not vampires!"
Wesley grabbed the vampire's arm, "Wait there just a minute, you! We need to avoid killing if we can! Remember, these are members of the American armed forces… Human beings!"
Spike elbowed him in the face, sending the wanker crashing to the ground, clutching his nose and squealing like a pig being slowly tortured with a hot poker.
"Shut UP, you bloody GIT!" he snapped, now in game face, "Alright… now I'm grouchy." He said, and bolted off after his sire, bellowing some battle song at the top of his lungs.
The others stared after him, except Wesley, who rolled about in the wet grass, moaning.
"Not the coolest plan of action." Oz observed, swinging a semi-automatic rifle from his back, "But he is kind of right."
Willow smiled at him, and began chanting over her goblet. Its previously mild grey smoke turned a violent, putrid green, clouding she and Oz as they headed in the direction the others had gone.
Giles and Xander began to follow, their own guns raised.
"Hey, wait. What about him?" Anya asked, pointing back to where Wesley now lay, cradled and bleeding in Cordelia's arms.
Giles looked at them. "Take him -- go get Oz's van, and come to the front steps, immediately. And one of you, be ready to drive."
"Drive?" Anya asked, confused.
"I've got it." Cordy said, "And my dad said it never paid to speed…"
Giles turned as they heaved Wesley to his feet and started back to the van. He could see fire breaking out on the first floor of the house.
"Bloody Hell." He said, and ran toward the battle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy snatched one of the pistols from Riley's belt, and popped up above the heavy steel table, peppering the room with well-aimed bullets. She heard a thigh go, here… a shoulder, there… just enough to slow them down, but not to kill.
Riley grabbed her by the straps of her overalls, and threw her back at Forest.
"Will you keep her down?" He shouted at his best friend above the din.
Forest shrugged apologetically as he divested Buffy of her gun, and knelt forward to fire once again.
They were trapped in the back room, which was windowless, and every exit seemed to quickly be filling with troops, smoke, and fire.
Riley fired, as Buffy had, avoiding heads, chests, and stomachs, trying desperately to stem the tide without having to kill anyone. The idea of fighting his own troops made him more nauseous than the smoke…
"Damn it! There are too many of them!" He shouted, packing another clip into his pistol.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers who had been in the leftmost hallway come in violent contact with something dark and hard, and flew backward toward him. Without waiting to find out who… or what… had arrived to help, Riley swung the butt of his gun and thumped the man's head soundly.
The room filled with acrid, green smoke, and there seemed to be people fighting and shouting everywhere… far more than the number of troops on duty...
A deafening explosion rocked the first floor.
"There go the elevators." Forest said to Buffy.
She knew the plastique would be a good idea.
Forest peeked out around the table once more to assess the situation. All he could see were shadows and smoke.
"Shit." He said, ducking behind again. He snatched up his night stick from where he'd placed it on the floor, and looked at Buffy for a moment.
"Stay here. Shoot anything that comes near you." he said, handing her back the gun, and crawled out into the smoke.
Buffy waited, trying to hold the gun steady, her head spinning. The noises… was that somebody calling her name? The shouting… the fire raging, the sounds of battle… with her exhaustion and the smoke, she felt so dizzy, she could barely sit up anymore. She knew she had to get out, but she couldn't seem to wrap her mind around how or why…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel knew that time was short before the authorities -- the other authorities -- came in response to the small war going on in the house. To punctuate his belief that everyone on campus must already know something was going on, he tossed the soldier he had been fighting out the first story window.
He could see perfectly, even in the smoke. The spell didn't actually generate anything at all -- it only tricked the unwary into believing they were being gassed, and the victim responded with the appropriate physiological symptoms… blindness, choking, and eventual unconsciousness. If one knew about the illusion, however, it had no effect.
That was how Angel was able to see the giant steel table pulled down as if as a shield, and then Riley's body crumpled in a heap nearby.
Angel dove across the room, coming to his feet directly to the right and behind the table.
Buffy was unconscious, too. Whether overcome by the smoke, or… something else… he couldn't tell. She was curled up in a tight ball in the far corner, a gun pointed straight out in front of her.
"Buffy!" He shouted, crouching down beside her. Not waiting to check to see if she was breathing, he scooped her up into his arms and plowed through the panicking crowd, and out the front door.
Ambulances and fire trucks were pulling up all around, and volunteers dashed here and there, struggling to herd the dazed and injured… students, soldiers, and Scoobies alike, who seemed to wander in all directions. Angel dashed for the nearest ambulance, as its back door opened.
He held Buffy's limp body up to the first medic. "Please, help her! She's pregnant!" he shouted. One of the EMT's jumped down to help, while the other slid out a ramp.
"We'll take care of her, son. Why don't you sit down?" The older of the two men said to him, as they took Buffy from his arms and put her into the ambulance. Angel shook his head.
He stared after them for a moment, as Buffy disappeared into the ambulance, then turned back toward the house. It was fully engulfed in flames.
He searched the clutches of people gathering nearby, scanning for any familiar faces. They were running out of time, if there was anybody left inside. Finally, he spotted Cordelia. He sprinted to where she stood, sipping a cup of coffee a Red Cross volunteer had given her, and quickly glanced around, trying to count heads.
"Is everybody here?" Giles was calling, as though he were a kindergarten teacher, herding an unruly class after recess.
"Where's Finn?" Angel asked, looking for the man's tall figure in the crowd.
"Oh my god! He must still be inside!" Willow cried.
Angel turned and ran back into the house.
Buffy was regaining consciousness, and looked up just in time to see Angel sprinting straight into the flames.
"Angel, NO!!!" She screamed, struggling to get up. The EMT's held her down.
"Relax, sweetie… there's nothing you can do in there, now…" he said.
The house groaned as the last of its infrastructure gave way… new explosions seemed to go off every few seconds, shaking the ground under their feet. After a moment, it appeared to vaporize under a sheet of smoke and flame, collapsing in on itself. Soon, there was no evidence remaining to prove that there had ever been a building there, at all.
Buffy sobbed into her oxygen mask.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Epilogue
Angel moaned a little as he turned over on the couch. He was still stiff, and seemed to have burns, everywhere. The last couple of days had been the most painful he could remember.
At least physically…
And emotionally, too, he realized. He hadn't seen Buffy, or any of the others, for that matter, with the exception of Cordelia, Willow, and Wesley. They kept insisting on coming by to check on him. They told him everything was fine… everyone was fine, and that he should just rest and relax until his was ready to leave.
Leave. He had forgotten that he planned to leave. In the panic of Buffy's kidnapping, and the fury of his mission to rescue her, he had let all of that slip from his mind.
Could he still go, having almost lost her yet again?
He heard a shuffling in the garden, and looked up, surprised to see Riley Finn standing in his doorway. He struggled to sit up.
"Hello." Angel said to him.
Riley remained where he was, fidgeting uncomfortably. "Hi." he said.
"Would you like to come in?" Angel offered. He felt bad for the boy, as uneasy as he obviously was, to be entering the home of a vampire… or perhaps the lover of the woman he loved?
Riley came in and stood a few feet away, watching Angel as he rose. He fought his instinctual urges: the first, to turn and flee, the second, to turn this creature to dust.
"I'm sorry to bother you." he said.
Angel looked at him. "You're not. How are you feeling?"
Riley shrugged. "Better. Okay. You?"
"Fine." Angel replied.
Both men stood awkwardly, for a moment.
"Listen…" Riley said, "I came to talk to you… to… thank you for saving my life. And… to tell you that…" he ran his hand through his hair, then looked up into Angel's face, "I won't be able to stay and look after Buffy, like you asked."
Angel nodded. "I understand."
Riley shook his head, "No… it's… it's not that I don't want to… I do. I would have, if none of this had happened… with the Initiative. But… I have to leave town. Forest and I need to disappear."
"I imagine what you've done is against regulations." Angel joked.
Riley hardly smiled. "A little bit. So… I guess I've come to ask you more or less what you asked me, the other night." He looked at the vampire's intense expression, "But I somehow doubt I even need to."
He turned and began to walk the way he came, but paused once more before he left. "She never stopped loving you, you know." He said quietly, not turning around, "She never stopped missing you. She tried to pretend, but I knew it wasn't true."
Angel watched him as he walked away, and felt something akin to admiration wash over him.
A man after his own heart...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The afternoon was bright and warm, and Buffy was glad for the opportunity to throw the windows wide open, and let some fresh air into her stuffy room After her second dangerous adventure, she had been relegated to bed rest for yet another week. But honestly? She wasn't in any mood to leave her room anyway. Maybe not until after the baby was born.
She sat in the window seat, listening to the birds singing and the children's laughter that floated from the park up the street. She was concentrating so hard on absorbing the happy sounds into herself, hoping to chase away her depression, that she almost didn't hear the footsteps enter her room. But the floor just inside her doorway was a little soft, and creaked as Riley settled his weight on it.
Taking a deep breath, Buffy turned around to look at him.
"Hi." She said.
He smiled at her.
Buffy patted the bed next to her, and Riley sat. He didn't look at her.
"So… you're okay? You're feeling better?" Buffy asked him.
He nodded. "The burns weren't as bad as they looked, and Willow's potion really did the trick on the smoke inhalation… Cleared me right up."
"Hair of the dog…" Buffy joked.
Riley chuckled, "Best hangover cure I've ever had." He said, then his face became serious again. "Buffy, I… I came to say goodbye." He said softly.
Buffy cast her eyes down, and chewed her lip. "You're leaving?" she asked, although she wasn't really surprised.
"I have to." He said, "It won't take long for the Army to come looking for me and Forest."
"Well, you did kind of destroy a government installation." Buffy said.
"Treason." He replied, "So…"
"Disappear, right?" she asked.
"Right."
"Where will you go?"
"Out of the country, I guess…" he chuckled bitterly, "Where's the chic place to go into exile, these days?"
Buffy looked up at him again. "You don't have to. You could stay here. We'll protect you."
Riley smiled down at her. "I don't think that's a good idea, do you?" He reached out and lay his hand flat against her stomach, looking into her eyes.
Buffy let a tear fall from her eye, and shook her head sadly. "No… I guess not."
"Buffy… You have to know how I feel about you. I meant everything I said the other night. And if things were different, well…" he gently rubbed her belly, "I'd be glad to call both of you my family. But… the baby has a father. And he wants to be involved in her life whether he'll admit it or not. I think the best thing you could do is let him. And let him be in your life, too. He loves you."
Buffy stared at him. Was she hearing this? From Riley? "But…" She began. Angel was leaving her…
"I'd only be in the way." He went on, and gave her a small smile, "It's right, that I go. One way or the other."
"Riley, I… please, don't… Angel… it's complicated, between he and I… it's not just like we're just going to pick up the pieces." She knew, suddenly, that some part of her didn't want Riley to leave… it wanted all of the simple things he had to offer her… even if they had to do them in the Antarctic…"I don't want you to go." she said.
He shushed her with a fingertip to her lips, "Buffy… you know as well as I do where you belong. I know you care about me… I've never doubted it. But… there's always been some part of you missing. Some part that I could never have of you." He turned and stared out of her bedroom window, into the last, soft rays of the day, "Half of you isn't enough for me, Buffy. It never would be. And you would never really be happy, with me." He turned to look back at her, feeling badly for making her cry, "Angel risked everything to save me… and you. The least I can do for him is this."
Buffy could do nothing but watch him get up. He crossed the room with two long strides, and stopped once more in the doorway. She swung her feet off the bed and got up to follow him. When she reached the spot where he stood, she looked up at him, and then reached out and grabbed him in a crushing hug. He hugged her back, hesitating, for a moment. How could he leave her?
But then he remembered. He gently kissed the top of her head, and then pulled her away. "Buffy?" he asked, unable to look into her eyes for fear he would begin crying himself.
"Yes?"
"Do you… do you love Angel?"
"Yes." She said, without hesitation.
He smiled at her one last time. "Then everything else is just details." He said, and walked away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel wasn't even trying for stealth. If he was going to become a member of the family… kind of… he would need to stop acting like a creature of the night, and start acting like the father of Buffy's child. He knocked on the front door.
Joyce was civil, but not enthused. "Hello, Angel. How are you?" she asked.
"I'm fine, Joyce, thanks. I came to see… uh… is Buffy still up?"
//Oh, good… Very slick. Smooth and debonair.//
Joyce moved aside to let him in, and they stood in the foyer.
"She is. She seems to have been pacing all day, after her friend…er… " She looked into the pale, handsome face of the demon who might as well be her son-in-law, and smiled warmly as she lay a hand on his arm, "Try to talk her into getting some sleep, would you?" she asked, and went back to the kitchen to her coffee and bills.
Angel walked slowly up the stairs, running his hand along the banister as if memorizing the feeling of being supported to shore him up for what was about to come… to prepare him to meet his destiny, who waited, down the hall.
Her lights were off, and she was laying down, but he could see in the dark that her eyes were wide open.
"Hi." He said softly, closing the door behind him, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the room.
Buffy's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him, and she mumbled, "Hi to you…"
He didn't hesitate, but sat next to her on the edge of the bed. It sank under his weight, and Buffy shifted a little to accommodate him.
"How are you feeling? He asked her, gently brushing a stray hair away from her cheek.
"Ducky." She lied, and sat up. "Except I think I'm getting fatter by the minute."
He smiled gently at her. "You're not fat. You're becoming more beautiful than ever…"
She grinned. "Good answer." She said.
"I thought so."
"And how are you feeling?" she asked him.
He nodded. "Fine."
They sat quietly, holding hands for a few minutes in the dark, watching the moon in the night sky.
Angel reached into his coat. "I brought you something." He said.
Buffy wiggled excitedly. "Oh, goody! Presents!"
He handed her what appeared to be an ancient parchment scroll, and gently undid the heavy velvet tie for her. It was a long list of names, dates, places, relationships… all written in fine script.
Buffy stared at it. The edges were finely embroidered with velvet and satin, and the material was worn from use. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen… and she wasn't really into old things. It was what the handwriting told her, that mattered…
She looked up at him in wonder, and then down again. She slowly skimmed the names through the top of the list, only slowing when she came to the last two rows… right before the vast, empty space once reserved for future generations Angel must have assumed would never be born. And they wouldn't have been, if it wasn't for that single day that never was…
She gently traced the center section of the second to the last row:
Angelus O'Connor
B. 7 May, 1726
D 18 October, 1753
To either side were the names of his siblings: Eileen, his elder sister, Jack and Allan, his younger brothers, and Colleen, his younger sister. Two names appeared below Eileen's: Aingeal & Roger.
All of them, even the children, had died within a few months of one another, beginning less than a week after Angelus himself. The same time frame found the deaths of his parents, his aunts and uncles, his cousins, and even his grandparents.
Buffy had no idea how to respond to such a sad and horrible testimonial… or such an incredibly heart-breaking gift.
"I don't know why I kept it, all this time. I ended my own line… there were to be no more after me. Maybe… maybe I kept it as a reminder… or maybe part of me knew…"
Buffy's throat was so choked, she couldn't respond.
"When the baby is born," he went on, "I'll put your name here, and the baby, here… It's the eldest son's job to keep the line. See? Here, I put in the names of my sister's children. The girl was named after me." Angel put his arm around Buffy and pointed here and there on the parchment. He seemed happy, almost relaxed, and no pain shadowed his features.
She could have melted into a happy little puddle on the spot. Never, in all of the time that she had known him, had he shared so much of himself with her. She felt honored, and privileged, but some part of her was still angry, too.
She pulled away from him. "Why are you telling me this now?" she asked him, "What is the purpose of this little history lesson?" She knew she was being harsh, but there was too much here, between them, that just wasn't right. He was acting as though nothing had ever come between them since the day they met. "You're leaving me, remember?"
He looked down at Buffy's hands, now clutched in her lap, "I just… I want my child to know where he comes from. Or she…" he corrected himself, and re-rolled the parchment.
Buffy was torn between her anger, and the overwhelming sensation of having him so close to her again.
"Riley came to see me today." Angel told her.
She was shocked, and didn't bother to hide it. "He did?"
Angel nodded.
"What did he say?"
"He came to thank me… and to say goodbye." He said.
"That's it?"
"That's it. More or less."
Buffy sighed. "He came to see me, too. He told me I should… oh, never mind, it's not important."
Angel imagined Finn had probably said similar things to Buffy as he had said to him. And, it appeared, neither of them wanted to talk about it. But it did remind him of what he had come to say.
"I'm going to stay." He said, "I want to take care of you. Both of you."
Buffy looked at him, "You want to take care of us?" She had not been so impressed by Riley's speech, "I see. Now that there's us, you want to stay and try, right? But when it was just you and me, you tossed me aside like so much garbage. Twice. And you were about to do it again." She said angrily.
"Buffy, that's… that's not entirely true… I mean, I didn't toss you aside…"
"No? We've had so many chances to be together, Angel, and every time, you've thrown them away. Instead of staying and fighting for me, you let me go!" She burst into tears and sagged back onto the bed.
Angel found he was so surprised by her angry outburst, he couldn't even move to comfort her. She was right, in a way… He had always walked away from every chance they had to be together. But… there were reasons. Practical reasons, that she always tended to forget.
But were there, really? Were there really enough reasons in the world to truly keep them apart? And did he have the right to decide if they did?
"I'm sorry, Buffy…" he said, tears edging his own voice, "I've only done what I thought I had to do to keep you safe… to allow you whatever happiness you could get, for your life…"
Buffy blinked away some of her tears and looked up at him. "What about now? What's really different now?" she cried, "Why should you all of a sudden decide what I feel is important?"
He looked at her with sad eyes for a long time, and then scooted up the bed and lay down behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and leaned his face in her hair.
"Nothing's changed." He said softly, breathing her in, "And everything... I've been wrong, and I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Buffy sighed once more and leaned into his strong body. She wondered, briefly, what he had felt like, warm. "This doesn't make it better, you know…" she said weakly.
"I know" he said, closing his eyes.
"Good." She said, "Just so you know. This isn't over. Not by a long shot."
"I know." He repeated, and kissed her softly on the top of her head, "It's never over."
She didn't reply. The Slayer was already sound asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finis!
Will Buffy and Angel be able to work through their differences, and all their painful history, to be able to build a home… a family… for their child?
Will Buffy remember the Day That Wasn't?
Is the baby as normal as everyone assumes?
Stay tuned for Simple, But Never Easy to find out!