WOAH! Thank you to everyone that sent me feedback on the last part that I just sent out. Thanks!! Its you guys that keep my frantically typing away on my PC, even though I'm sick as can be!
Mistakes are purely my fault...I'm not the world's greatest typist.
Disclaimer in part 1!
Feedback is much appreciated @ LuVnAnGeLNBuFfY@aol.com
Finding Herself (6/?)
By *~Rachel*~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy ran back to Giles' faster than she had ever remembered. Faster than she had run after Riley, faster than she had run back to Sunnydale High after her fight with Angelus...faster than she thought was possible. She had to get back to him. She still couldn't believe that she had just left- deserted- Angel like that. She should have stayed and helped- she could have beaten Glory's 2 lackeys. It was Glory that was the problem. Now, who knew what she was doing to Angel- whether he was still alive or- no! I don't think that way. Buffy thought, nearing Giles' house. Angel will be fine, because I won't accept anything else.
However, Buffy finally knew what she did want. After everything she'd been through in the past 48 hours, she'd realized how precious life really was. Sure, Buffy knew that life was precious before- being the Slayer will do that to you. But now she'd realized that she'd let Angel slip through her fingers too easily. Okay, yeah...two years ago she was an entirely different person, but now, she was more mature. She knew what she wanted, what she had *always* wanted- Angel. The minute she got him out of there, she was going to make this work!
Buffy rounded the corner and neared Giles' house. Finally! She thought, walking up to the door. "DAWN!" Buffy shouted out the second after she opened the door. Breathless, bruised, beaten, but still in tact, the Slayer ran inside.
"Buffy!" Dawn shouted back, running up to her older sister. With tears in the each other's eyes, Dawn pulled Buffy closer to her, hugging her tightly. Thank God she's safe." Buffy thought. Dawn tightened her hold onto Buffy and Buffy suddenly hissed in pain, taking a step back. "Ooh, sorry." Dawn apologized.
"No...no, I'm okay." She looked around the room- sure was quiet. Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn were off in the corner of the room, talking among each other. Everyone else- the Sunnydale Scooby gang- sat around the couches. Everything was clearly divided. "I...I just need to sit...sit down." Buffy croaked out, moving over to the couch and sitting. "Giles?"
"Hmm?" Giles asked back, watching his beaten Slayer very slowly sit.
"Ice, please?" Buffy asked. Giles nodded and walked back into the kitchen. Dawn sat down next to Buffy, holding her hand. Buffy took her other hand and ran it through Dawn's hair. "Are you okay?" She asked her sister.
"Yeah." Dawn nodded. "I'm not the one that just got body slammed."
"You let me worry about myself." Buffy replied. She paused, taking in a breath before continuing to speak. "Did Glory do anything to you? Did she hurt you at all?"
"No...I'm fine. Just a little shaken up, that's all." Dawn replied.
"Here you are, Buffy." Giles said, handing her a pack of ice.
"Thanks Giles." Buffy replied, taking it from him and placing it on her right shoulder and neck area. Buffy rested silently for a minute before standing back up. She was still sore as hell, but managed to climb to her feet. "You guys, we gotta go back there."
A chorus of "What's" echoed throughout the room- even from the Angel team. "Why go back to there, Buffy?" Willow asked. "We got Dawn out, that's all that mattered."
Giles nodded. "And you are in *no* condition to go *any*where." Giles said. "You need to heal up and get some rest- now sit."
Buffy looked as though se were going to protest, but she sat back down on the couch, groaning all the way. Everything was silent in the room- no one was speaking. Oh God...Angel. she thought. Her excitement from getting to Dawn had momentarily put Angel out of her thoughts...until everything came crashing back to her.
"Hey, I don't wanna interrupt anything here or nothing," Gunn started. Everyone turned his or her attention towards him. "But, uh, in case y'all haven't noticed, our boss, *Angel* isn't here too."
Everyone turned his or her heads to Buffy. She could only bury her head in her hands and suddenly let out a sob. God, I've lost him too. They'll never forgive me...I'll never forgive myself. Buffy thought. She started crying, crying for another loved one that she had lost.
"Buffy?" Xander questioned, sitting down on her other side of the couch. "Did you see Angel? Did he catch up to you?" Buffy could only silently nod her head.
Cordelia stood up and moved closer to Buffy. The entire time she had been here, she'd stuck next to Wesley and Gunn, her only true friends now. Honestly, she wanted as little as possible to do with Sunnyhell. She wanted to forget everything that had ever happened in this town...she wanted to move on for good. However, if Angel, her boss, best friend, and vampire that would soon Shanshu, was missing, well...Cordy was just as worried as the rest of them. "Buffy? Where is Angel?"
"Oh God," Buffy moaned into her hands. They're going to all hate me. "He...he's not coming back..."
"Angel?" Wesley asked, looking over at her in wonder.
"Yeah, when he set me free, he said that you two would be right behind me." Dawn added, looking at her sister.
"What happened, you two get into a fight again? You bitched his mouth off and then tried to stake him again?" Cordelia asked. Typical Buffy.
"Cordelia!" Buffy shouted, raising her head and looking at her with tears in her eyes. Immediately, Cordelia softened, realizing what a mistake it was the yell at Buffy right now. She was so fragile, she couldn't take much more. "I...he...Angel's de..."
"Angel's dead?" Cordelia asked. So much emotion went into those two words...everyone was slightly surprised. Instantly, Cordelia thought back to almost a year ago when there was a prophecy... "NO. He CAN'T die!" Everyone turned to look at her, once again surprised by her outburst.
"No way, man. I know Angel...he's got the moves." Gunn added. Everything here was so new to him- he didn't know anyone except his friends that he came with. But the shock of the vampire that he had formed a bond with and worked for was just too much.
"Buffy...What happened?" Giles asked her soothingly.
"I..." Buffy started. "Giles, I can't-" But she looked around at everyone- Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn with their worried expressions, Willow, Tara, Anya, and even Xander with their expressions of worry and pity on their face. They had been through the Buffy and Angel saga before, but this...this was new.
Buffy wiped her tears and started speaking. "Okay...you deserve to know. We...I was fighting Glory to distract her from Dawn so Angel could get her out of there. I...I was down, and then Angel was there..." Buffy stopped talking, pushing back her feelings right now. "Her two minions had him...told her that he helped me...and...then, when Glory threatened to kill me unless Angel told her who the key was, he said it was him. Angel lied...told her that he was the key, got her to believe it...and then he told me to get out. Told me to get back to Giles and forget about him." Buffy couldn't talk anymore...she put her head back in her lap and cried.
"Oh, Buffy..." Willow whispered, getting up and walking over to her best friend. She tried to move and comfort Buffy, but Buffy instinctively moved away, wanting to be left alone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, Cordelia, Gunn, and Wesley had left the main room and were now back in Giles' back dining room, talking among themselves. They had heard what Buffy was talking about and Cordelia was mad...OK, that's an understatement. "Oh my God!" Cordelia hissed. "We *just* got him back and now he's gone? Uh huh....well, at least he's keeping up with the consistency! Buffy, once again, driving him insane. Just like NORMAL, he's ready to give up his life for her!"
"You can't blame him, Cordelia." Wesley said. "I mean, this IS Buffy we're talking about. And Dawn was in trouble...and that's his job. To help the ones in trouble."
"And *of course* it's Buffy." Cordelia said sarcastically.
"Who *is* this chick, anyway?" Gunn asked, pointing back out to the main room. "I mean, I get the whole Slayer thing...I'm okay with that. But how come Angel's never come down here to help her out before? And what's with the who air out there?"
"Boy...you have *no* idea, Gunn." Cordy replied, looking at him. "Fine. You want to know the whole Buffy and Angel epic? Okay...here we go..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is there anything I can do?" Dawn asked Buffy back outside. Buffy only shook her head no. "Okay..."
Oh God, I can't do this anymore. Buffy thought. In less than one week, the two people that she had loved the most had left her...suddenly, unexpectedly, and unfairly. I thought we were on the path to being together again. I thought I could work this out. I thought...hell, I don't know what to think anymore.
Everyone around the room was dead silent. How could they carry on a conversation after what Buffy had just told them. Once again, Angel had been more than willing and able to save Buffy's life by giving up his own. Their love was still there...it would *never* leave.
"Buffy...y'know...everything will be all right." Xander said to her from the chair across from her.
"All right?" Buffy asked, looking back up at him. "Xander...I can't do this...not again."
"This? This what?" He asked to her. He talked slowly and calmly to not sound like he was accusing her or getting upset with her, because honestly, he wasn't. Poor Buffy, He kept thinking.
"I lost him...again! This makes it three times...three times that I've lost him." Buffy said. This was what she had been thinking about the whole time. "But at least he came back, or what just two hours away. Glory *killed* him...took him from me, and this time he'll never be coming back." Buffy hid her face, bending over and continuing to cry everything out.
Xander and everyone else looked upon her with pity. Okay, it wasn't fair. Buffy was right, too much had gone on between her and Angel. Shouldn't they get some peace? And although Tara and Anya really didn't fully understand what was going on, they sympathized along with her.
Suddenly, the front door to Giles's house burst open. Buffy stood to her feet, ready for another attack from Glory or her minions. In the darkness, everyone in the room could see a shadow- a silhouette from the moon beaming down outside. Buffy slowly raised her head as her tears continued to fall down her cheeks. Oh God...
"ANGEL!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC...
Mistakes are purely my fault...I'm not the world's greatest typist.
Disclaimer in part 1!
Feedback is much appreciated @ LuVnAnGeLNBuFfY@aol.com
Finding Herself (6/?)
By *~Rachel*~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy ran back to Giles' faster than she had ever remembered. Faster than she had run after Riley, faster than she had run back to Sunnydale High after her fight with Angelus...faster than she thought was possible. She had to get back to him. She still couldn't believe that she had just left- deserted- Angel like that. She should have stayed and helped- she could have beaten Glory's 2 lackeys. It was Glory that was the problem. Now, who knew what she was doing to Angel- whether he was still alive or- no! I don't think that way. Buffy thought, nearing Giles' house. Angel will be fine, because I won't accept anything else.
However, Buffy finally knew what she did want. After everything she'd been through in the past 48 hours, she'd realized how precious life really was. Sure, Buffy knew that life was precious before- being the Slayer will do that to you. But now she'd realized that she'd let Angel slip through her fingers too easily. Okay, yeah...two years ago she was an entirely different person, but now, she was more mature. She knew what she wanted, what she had *always* wanted- Angel. The minute she got him out of there, she was going to make this work!
Buffy rounded the corner and neared Giles' house. Finally! She thought, walking up to the door. "DAWN!" Buffy shouted out the second after she opened the door. Breathless, bruised, beaten, but still in tact, the Slayer ran inside.
"Buffy!" Dawn shouted back, running up to her older sister. With tears in the each other's eyes, Dawn pulled Buffy closer to her, hugging her tightly. Thank God she's safe." Buffy thought. Dawn tightened her hold onto Buffy and Buffy suddenly hissed in pain, taking a step back. "Ooh, sorry." Dawn apologized.
"No...no, I'm okay." She looked around the room- sure was quiet. Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn were off in the corner of the room, talking among each other. Everyone else- the Sunnydale Scooby gang- sat around the couches. Everything was clearly divided. "I...I just need to sit...sit down." Buffy croaked out, moving over to the couch and sitting. "Giles?"
"Hmm?" Giles asked back, watching his beaten Slayer very slowly sit.
"Ice, please?" Buffy asked. Giles nodded and walked back into the kitchen. Dawn sat down next to Buffy, holding her hand. Buffy took her other hand and ran it through Dawn's hair. "Are you okay?" She asked her sister.
"Yeah." Dawn nodded. "I'm not the one that just got body slammed."
"You let me worry about myself." Buffy replied. She paused, taking in a breath before continuing to speak. "Did Glory do anything to you? Did she hurt you at all?"
"No...I'm fine. Just a little shaken up, that's all." Dawn replied.
"Here you are, Buffy." Giles said, handing her a pack of ice.
"Thanks Giles." Buffy replied, taking it from him and placing it on her right shoulder and neck area. Buffy rested silently for a minute before standing back up. She was still sore as hell, but managed to climb to her feet. "You guys, we gotta go back there."
A chorus of "What's" echoed throughout the room- even from the Angel team. "Why go back to there, Buffy?" Willow asked. "We got Dawn out, that's all that mattered."
Giles nodded. "And you are in *no* condition to go *any*where." Giles said. "You need to heal up and get some rest- now sit."
Buffy looked as though se were going to protest, but she sat back down on the couch, groaning all the way. Everything was silent in the room- no one was speaking. Oh God...Angel. she thought. Her excitement from getting to Dawn had momentarily put Angel out of her thoughts...until everything came crashing back to her.
"Hey, I don't wanna interrupt anything here or nothing," Gunn started. Everyone turned his or her attention towards him. "But, uh, in case y'all haven't noticed, our boss, *Angel* isn't here too."
Everyone turned his or her heads to Buffy. She could only bury her head in her hands and suddenly let out a sob. God, I've lost him too. They'll never forgive me...I'll never forgive myself. Buffy thought. She started crying, crying for another loved one that she had lost.
"Buffy?" Xander questioned, sitting down on her other side of the couch. "Did you see Angel? Did he catch up to you?" Buffy could only silently nod her head.
Cordelia stood up and moved closer to Buffy. The entire time she had been here, she'd stuck next to Wesley and Gunn, her only true friends now. Honestly, she wanted as little as possible to do with Sunnyhell. She wanted to forget everything that had ever happened in this town...she wanted to move on for good. However, if Angel, her boss, best friend, and vampire that would soon Shanshu, was missing, well...Cordy was just as worried as the rest of them. "Buffy? Where is Angel?"
"Oh God," Buffy moaned into her hands. They're going to all hate me. "He...he's not coming back..."
"Angel?" Wesley asked, looking over at her in wonder.
"Yeah, when he set me free, he said that you two would be right behind me." Dawn added, looking at her sister.
"What happened, you two get into a fight again? You bitched his mouth off and then tried to stake him again?" Cordelia asked. Typical Buffy.
"Cordelia!" Buffy shouted, raising her head and looking at her with tears in her eyes. Immediately, Cordelia softened, realizing what a mistake it was the yell at Buffy right now. She was so fragile, she couldn't take much more. "I...he...Angel's de..."
"Angel's dead?" Cordelia asked. So much emotion went into those two words...everyone was slightly surprised. Instantly, Cordelia thought back to almost a year ago when there was a prophecy... "NO. He CAN'T die!" Everyone turned to look at her, once again surprised by her outburst.
"No way, man. I know Angel...he's got the moves." Gunn added. Everything here was so new to him- he didn't know anyone except his friends that he came with. But the shock of the vampire that he had formed a bond with and worked for was just too much.
"Buffy...What happened?" Giles asked her soothingly.
"I..." Buffy started. "Giles, I can't-" But she looked around at everyone- Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn with their worried expressions, Willow, Tara, Anya, and even Xander with their expressions of worry and pity on their face. They had been through the Buffy and Angel saga before, but this...this was new.
Buffy wiped her tears and started speaking. "Okay...you deserve to know. We...I was fighting Glory to distract her from Dawn so Angel could get her out of there. I...I was down, and then Angel was there..." Buffy stopped talking, pushing back her feelings right now. "Her two minions had him...told her that he helped me...and...then, when Glory threatened to kill me unless Angel told her who the key was, he said it was him. Angel lied...told her that he was the key, got her to believe it...and then he told me to get out. Told me to get back to Giles and forget about him." Buffy couldn't talk anymore...she put her head back in her lap and cried.
"Oh, Buffy..." Willow whispered, getting up and walking over to her best friend. She tried to move and comfort Buffy, but Buffy instinctively moved away, wanting to be left alone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, Cordelia, Gunn, and Wesley had left the main room and were now back in Giles' back dining room, talking among themselves. They had heard what Buffy was talking about and Cordelia was mad...OK, that's an understatement. "Oh my God!" Cordelia hissed. "We *just* got him back and now he's gone? Uh huh....well, at least he's keeping up with the consistency! Buffy, once again, driving him insane. Just like NORMAL, he's ready to give up his life for her!"
"You can't blame him, Cordelia." Wesley said. "I mean, this IS Buffy we're talking about. And Dawn was in trouble...and that's his job. To help the ones in trouble."
"And *of course* it's Buffy." Cordelia said sarcastically.
"Who *is* this chick, anyway?" Gunn asked, pointing back out to the main room. "I mean, I get the whole Slayer thing...I'm okay with that. But how come Angel's never come down here to help her out before? And what's with the who air out there?"
"Boy...you have *no* idea, Gunn." Cordy replied, looking at him. "Fine. You want to know the whole Buffy and Angel epic? Okay...here we go..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is there anything I can do?" Dawn asked Buffy back outside. Buffy only shook her head no. "Okay..."
Oh God, I can't do this anymore. Buffy thought. In less than one week, the two people that she had loved the most had left her...suddenly, unexpectedly, and unfairly. I thought we were on the path to being together again. I thought I could work this out. I thought...hell, I don't know what to think anymore.
Everyone around the room was dead silent. How could they carry on a conversation after what Buffy had just told them. Once again, Angel had been more than willing and able to save Buffy's life by giving up his own. Their love was still there...it would *never* leave.
"Buffy...y'know...everything will be all right." Xander said to her from the chair across from her.
"All right?" Buffy asked, looking back up at him. "Xander...I can't do this...not again."
"This? This what?" He asked to her. He talked slowly and calmly to not sound like he was accusing her or getting upset with her, because honestly, he wasn't. Poor Buffy, He kept thinking.
"I lost him...again! This makes it three times...three times that I've lost him." Buffy said. This was what she had been thinking about the whole time. "But at least he came back, or what just two hours away. Glory *killed* him...took him from me, and this time he'll never be coming back." Buffy hid her face, bending over and continuing to cry everything out.
Xander and everyone else looked upon her with pity. Okay, it wasn't fair. Buffy was right, too much had gone on between her and Angel. Shouldn't they get some peace? And although Tara and Anya really didn't fully understand what was going on, they sympathized along with her.
Suddenly, the front door to Giles's house burst open. Buffy stood to her feet, ready for another attack from Glory or her minions. In the darkness, everyone in the room could see a shadow- a silhouette from the moon beaming down outside. Buffy slowly raised her head as her tears continued to fall down her cheeks. Oh God...
"ANGEL!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC...