Chapter Two:There's No Place Else To Go
Okay, yay, Willow made the phone work, but now there's the problem that I really have no idea who to call anyway. Actually that's not true I know exactly who to call... I'm just having trouble bringing myself to do it. I don't know why exactly. It's fear probably that I'll go running into his arms as *always.* That he'll hold me and tell me everything is okay and I'll fall asleep, which are three things I can not do. I can not sleep. I need to stay awake. I need to watch Dawn. I can not be held. I need to be an adult here. I have to grow up and I can not believe that everything is okay, because it isn't and it won't be until I can make it.
So I'm standing here with my fingers itching to dial his number and Will's gone back to Tara and Spike is somewhere. Dawn is with Anya. And Xander is standing over Giles, watching him. Oh G-d, Giles... Yes that makes my fingers move. So maybe it won't be that way. Maybe I can make Angel understand that I need to be adult commando girl and maybe he won't try to make everything better for me... Yeah right, that's almost as good as telling myself that I can defeat Glory without Angel. I can't. I don't even know if I can defeat her with Angel. But think if I have a Wicca's magic, a slayer's power, two vampires, and whatever resources Wesley and Giles can manage to pull together, maybe we'll stand a chance. I hope so.
The connection has been made and the phone is ringing, but he isn't picking up. I check my watch. It's night. He should be awake. The answering machine picks up and I hear Cordy's cheerful voice. "Hi, you've reached Angel Investigation, we help the helpless. Please leave a message after the tone and we'll try and get back to you."
"Hi Angel. It's Buffy," I start to ramble. "I'm calling you from somewhere," I rattle off some locations. "Glory found out that Dawn is the key," I told him all about it the night when he came to visit me after my mom... " So we went away and we're running, but I don't have any other place to go to and so I was hoping that we could come to your place. I don't know... if we'll make it there. If you could, well it's gonna be light soon, I guess," Buffy started. She was so afraid she would break down crying and then the tears started to trickle down. "Angel I need your help," she said, positively certain that whenever he got the message he would run to her. "I really, I don't think I can beat Glory without you. I can't loose Dawn and I... I need you, please," Buffy said. Buffy hung up the phone feeling oddly better. Then she thought about Giles and it dawned on her that she should call Ben... But she wouldn't have done so, so eagerly or with a hint of a smile if she had heard her message ring through Angel's empty hotel. He was gone.