.
Part Five.
**Who are you?**
Buffy ran, she didn't know where she was going and she didn't care. Her blood was on fire, as it rushed through her veins at a thousand miles an hour, roaring its outrage into her ears. Her small feet pounded along the crowded pavement as her flailing arms pushed out at anything that dared to stand in her way. People in her path soon stepped back when they realised that she had no intention of stopping, if they didn't move they feared the deranged looking woman would go straight through them. They weren't wrong.
Buffy was running blind, there was only one thought seeping through her mind as her chest began to ache with the exertion......She needed to put as much distance between herself and that alley way as was humanly possible.
**Who are you?** the rich husky voice inside her head just wouldn't let her go, it clung on to her memory like ivy, continually twisting it's torment.
**I'm Buffy, the vampire slayer.... AKA the chosen one.... I'm the bitch that sent you to hell.... I'm the one girl in 243 years.... I'm nobody.........I'm the girl that will love you forever** Buffy's heart sadly cried back, but she knew it would never make a difference.
** I'm the girl you must never remember **
With that last thought taking over from all the others, Buffy ran until the rational part of her brain screamed * That's enough* *its safe to stop* *nobody chasing you, dammit*
Gasping for breath and holding the stitch that was burning her side, she stopped.
The running was now out of her system but, the trouble was, by then it was already too late. Looking at her surroundings, Buffy discovered to her horror that she was hopelessly lost. She then made another discovery, somewhere on her flight to escape she had dropped her bag, meaning her keys, money, cell phone, driving license, and all her personal belongings were now long gone. Luckily her passport and ticket home were locked away in the hotel safe; the loss of those items would have caused serious problems, especially as she knew she would be heading for home the second she found the hotel.
When she finally came to her senses, Buffy found herself standing on an unknown street, in a strange country, in the middle of night. Without her bag she had no money, no phone and no way of calling for help. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Lost and desperately alone, the floodgates that had been holding back the dam of her desperation burst open, causing Buffy to sob her heart out. Her small frame shook violently as all the pent up rage; confusion; loss and unfairness of the last five years bubbled to the surface and erupted into an explosion of uncontrollable weeping.
Passers-by immediately stepped across the street to avoid the traumatised woman; compassion after all, was a thing of the past.
With no more tears left to cry the exhausted Slayer sat down on a small garden wall jutting out from behind her and dropped her head in her hands.
Buffy was tired, not everyday tired, not jet lagged tired, Buffy Summers was *stop this life I want to get out* tired. She couldn't believe that TPTB had been so fucking evil. After making the most difficult decision of her life and letting Angel go, they waited five years and then dangled him on a piece of string, right in front of her eyes but always out of her reach.
**That was the Buffy and Angel Show all over, one of them was always just out of reach.**
Sitting there in the dark feeling totally forgotten, the Slayer found herself making futile wishes.
She wished the meteorite had hit the earth five years ago as she slept in the arms of her lover. She wished she could be sixteen years old again but, this time with hindsight. She wished for one more day with her dear friend Willow but more than anything, she wished that when Angel had turned to her in that alley tonight and asked *who are you* she could have replied *I'm the girl that died inside the day you were reborn, I'm Buffy Anne Summers and I love you.* But wishes didn't come true, not for Buffy, not ever for Buffy.
"Miss, are you all right?" a quiet female voice asked as Buffy felt a soft hand brush lightly against her left shoulder. Looking up, Buffy notice a smartly dressed middle aged woman in her early fifties, with a face filled with concern looking back at her.
"Are you hurt? Did somebody hurt you?" the gentle voice asked again, clearly distressed for the younger woman's plight.
Without knowing why Buffy found herself replying.
"I dropped my bag, and I'm lost and....." **my heart's in a million pieces** she silently added, but knew this was not the time or the place. The kindly woman didn't need to hear her problems.
"You're an American, I recognise the accent. I have a son living there, he's out in New Mexico at the moment." The woman stopped when she saw that the girl wasn't really listening.
"Let me help you? Just tell me what do you need?"
At this sudden unexpected kindness Buffy felt fresh tears blurring her vision.
"I need to get back to my hotel, I'll be safe there. Giles will know what to do" she whispered more to herself than her good Samaritan.
"Do you know what the hotel's called? What street it's on?" again the gentle concern shone out like a beacon in the night.
Buffy nodded slowly getting to her feet, she was beginning to feel slightly foolish telling her troubles to a stranger but, somehow she got the feeling that this motherly figure really seemed to care.
"Good, then we don't have a problem any more" the woman raised her hand and brought the passing black cab to an abrupt halt. Guiding Buffy forward, she opened the back door and watched as the small blonde girl almost disappeared into the large leather seat. She then pulled a twenty-pound note from her purse and passed it to the driver.
"I think she's had a bit of a shock, get her home as soon as possible" she nodded and then turned back towards Buffy.
"Tell him where you need to go, you'll be there in no time at all" the woman then started to close the door. Buffy reached out and touched her hand.
"How can I ever thank you?" she whispered in genuine gratitude at the unexpected kindness. Buffy realised that she didn't even know the stranger's name or where she could return the money.
"There's no need for thanks, you take care of yourself" the door was quickly closed and the cab drove off.
Maria Temple watched until the black cab was completely out of sight before turning for home. It was strange, she was never usually out this time of night and she rarely walked this way home.
** It must have been fate** she smiled as she thought of her good deed. The girl had looked so lost and so frightened that she really had no choice but to help her.
As she walked to her front door, Marie's mind was working overtime.
**She was a pretty little thing too, too bad she was only here for a visit. ** Always happy to play cupid, Marie had already decided that the girl would have been a great match for her boss....* Liam*
****
Giles was having the most wonderful dream. A beautiful red headed woman was feeding him grapes and softly caressing his chest while he quoted passages from Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley. In the background the soft strumming of a classical guitar only added to the perfection of his restful slumber. Even as he lay there, Giles knew he was dreaming, but that didn't matter, he was still happy to be pampered by the illusion. That was until something resembling World War Three broke into his bliss.
The pounding coming from his door was enough to wake not only him but also the dead in the cemetery five miles down the road. That was a thought he didn't want to consider, luckily they hadn't encountered a vampire for the whole of their visit.
"Alright, alright keep your hair on" Giles swung his legs over the side of his bed and after dropping his feet into his slippers, he reached hastily for his dressing gown. The small lights flashing from the clock on his bedside cabinet read 1.45am.
Buffy rushed into the room in a whirlwind of blind panic
"Good lord, what on earth is the matter?" Giles watched in amazement as she dashed past him and threw open the closet door. Pulling his large suitcase from the top shelf, Buffy proceeded to drag her Watcher's clothing from its hangers and pack his case.
"We have to get out of here. TONIGHT" there was urgency in her voice that left him with little doubt that something was dreadfully wrong.
Giles immediately crossed the room and when Buffy made no attempt to stop her packing, he grabbed her arms and pulled her towards him.
"What happened?" a small particle of fear was already slipping down the back of his spine as he looked deep into her troubled eyes. These were not the eyes of a few hours ago, the last time he had witnessed pain as raw as this was...**Oh dear God**
"Angel" Buffy whispered the word that Giles' brain had already suspected.
"That's impossible" Giles replied with his head but just from the look on Buffy's face he knew that it wasn't.
"Did he see you?"
Buffy thought back to how Angel had pinned her up against the alley wall, how the cold brick work had pressed into her back as his hot tongue had ravished her willing mouth.
**Did he see you**
She slowly nodded her head
"I think you can take that as guaranteed."
"Did he recognise you?"
Buffy shrugged her shoulders; she had no idea what was going through Angel's mind when he had almost ravished her into the cold hard wall. Secretly she hoped that on some level that he had known it was her, that his soul had unknowingly reached out in the darkness for its mate. The alternative was too awful to comprehend, the alternative was that Angel had turned into some kind of pervert, somebody that followed women into dark places and... that was something she could never accept.
** Her Angel would never have done that** she angrily defended the man she would always love. A chilling voice struck her right back.
**BUT...He's not your Angel anymore**
Giles picked up the hotel phone and asked for an outside line, when the dialing tone came on his fingers quickly pressed the buttons.
"Who are you calling?" Buffy asked running a tired hand through her tangled hair.
"The airport. We need to get out of here as soon as possible, we have to find out what this all means and then we have to deal with the consequences."
*****
Angel knew Wesley was home by the slamming of the front door.
"Well, what happened to you? I waited for hours...." Wesley's annoyed voice trailed off at the sight of their living room. There were phone books and torn out pages everywhere.
"Wh..... What on earth" he stuttered slightly as he looked around the room. Something had managed to get his friend/cousin extremely flustered.
"You're quite sure there's nobody staying at the hotel with that name?" Angel's face frowned with disappointment as he hung up the receiver and tore out yet another sheet from the yellow pages. Crushing the useless paper in his large fist, he threw it across the room with temper. There were so many Hotels in London he knew that this was going to take forever. He suddenly understood that old expression *pissing in the wind*
"I met a girl" he offered up the only explanation for missing their meal. By then, he was already dialing the next number on the new page and drumming his fingers with impatience.
"So what's all this litter for, are you planning a paper chase?" Wesley couldn't resist the small snigger that slipped over his lips. He had never seen *Liam* act so irrationally before. He'd never known Liam show that much interest in a girl before and, after that nightmare last night, Wesley believed that this new girl couldn't have come at a better time.
"Come on, pick up the phone, damn you" Angel demanded impatiently as the ringing went unanswered.
"I lost her and I'm trying to find her again" he muttered back at Wesley's stupid question before being drawn back to his call.
"Yes, hello. I'm trying to find out if you have a Miss Summers staying at your hotel. That's right, S.u.m.m.e.r.s. first name is Buffy"
Wesley felt as if he had stepped into the twilight zone, any moment now the haunting music would start playing and the room would fade to black and white.
As Angel replaced the receiver with fresh disappointment, Wesley knew he had to speak, he just didn't know what to say.
"What do you mean you lost her?"
"This is going to sound insane, but " Angel didn't even know where to start he was still having difficulty trying to believe it himself.
"Do you remember that girl I told you I dreamed about last night?"
Wesley nodded; he remembered that dream only too well. An icy feeling resembling frostbite started gnawing away at his toes.
"I was walking down the street on my way to meet you, and there she was, as large as life" Angel's whole face came alive as he smiled.
**Have we met? **
**My names Liam and you are?**
**WAIT!**
The smile didn't last.
"And then she was gone, but she dropped her bag and this fell out" he held up an American driving license with a small picture of Buffy clearly in the corner. Wesley almost swallowed his tongue
** What the hell was she doing here in London?**
"Liam, the woman is clearly a tourist, just another American over to see the *Changing of the Guard*. It sounds to me like you've been working too hard at the office. You see a pretty girl in the street and you think she's the same as this gypsy dream nonsense. Can you hear yourself for God's sake? It's preposterous. " Wesley replied desperately clutching at straws.
But Angel wasn't buying it
"She was the same girl. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. And what's more, I'm sure she knew me too "
**She had to have known me the way her arms had slipped so perfectly around my neck**
Wesley's frostbite was now travailing up his legs with the speed of light
"You didn't. Tell me you didn't pester this poor woman"
**Dear God. Poor Buffy** he would never know how he kept the panic from his voice.
Angel stood very still as he remembered the fear in those breath-taking eyes. **She had looked so upset and...**
"She ran" he whispered sadly.
**Ran was the understatement of the year. The girl took off so fast she could have taken the one hundred metres gold medal at the Olympic games**.
With that last statement Wesley felt the feeling return to his legs
**Buffy had run, the damage wasn't that bad** He knew by now that the Slayer would be on the first flight out of the country. Buffy knew the consequences only too well; she would never risk another encounter.
"Well, if you just want to return her bag I can drop it into the police station for you" Wesley offered quickly, hoping there was nothing more incriminating inside.
Angel picked up the driving license and gently ran his finger over the blurred picture; it really didn't do her justice.
**His angel**
No matter what Wesley had said, he knew it was the same girl. Running his eyes lovingly over the photo he committed her name not only to his memory but, also to his heart.
**Buffy Anne Summers...** The name sang sweetly as it flowed through his veins.
Angel handed Wesley the bag, but palmed the licence. He then made himself a promise.
**No matter what, he was going to find this girl if it was the last thing he ever did.**
TBC....
Part Five.
**Who are you?**
Buffy ran, she didn't know where she was going and she didn't care. Her blood was on fire, as it rushed through her veins at a thousand miles an hour, roaring its outrage into her ears. Her small feet pounded along the crowded pavement as her flailing arms pushed out at anything that dared to stand in her way. People in her path soon stepped back when they realised that she had no intention of stopping, if they didn't move they feared the deranged looking woman would go straight through them. They weren't wrong.
Buffy was running blind, there was only one thought seeping through her mind as her chest began to ache with the exertion......She needed to put as much distance between herself and that alley way as was humanly possible.
**Who are you?** the rich husky voice inside her head just wouldn't let her go, it clung on to her memory like ivy, continually twisting it's torment.
**I'm Buffy, the vampire slayer.... AKA the chosen one.... I'm the bitch that sent you to hell.... I'm the one girl in 243 years.... I'm nobody.........I'm the girl that will love you forever** Buffy's heart sadly cried back, but she knew it would never make a difference.
** I'm the girl you must never remember **
With that last thought taking over from all the others, Buffy ran until the rational part of her brain screamed * That's enough* *its safe to stop* *nobody chasing you, dammit*
Gasping for breath and holding the stitch that was burning her side, she stopped.
The running was now out of her system but, the trouble was, by then it was already too late. Looking at her surroundings, Buffy discovered to her horror that she was hopelessly lost. She then made another discovery, somewhere on her flight to escape she had dropped her bag, meaning her keys, money, cell phone, driving license, and all her personal belongings were now long gone. Luckily her passport and ticket home were locked away in the hotel safe; the loss of those items would have caused serious problems, especially as she knew she would be heading for home the second she found the hotel.
When she finally came to her senses, Buffy found herself standing on an unknown street, in a strange country, in the middle of night. Without her bag she had no money, no phone and no way of calling for help. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Lost and desperately alone, the floodgates that had been holding back the dam of her desperation burst open, causing Buffy to sob her heart out. Her small frame shook violently as all the pent up rage; confusion; loss and unfairness of the last five years bubbled to the surface and erupted into an explosion of uncontrollable weeping.
Passers-by immediately stepped across the street to avoid the traumatised woman; compassion after all, was a thing of the past.
With no more tears left to cry the exhausted Slayer sat down on a small garden wall jutting out from behind her and dropped her head in her hands.
Buffy was tired, not everyday tired, not jet lagged tired, Buffy Summers was *stop this life I want to get out* tired. She couldn't believe that TPTB had been so fucking evil. After making the most difficult decision of her life and letting Angel go, they waited five years and then dangled him on a piece of string, right in front of her eyes but always out of her reach.
**That was the Buffy and Angel Show all over, one of them was always just out of reach.**
Sitting there in the dark feeling totally forgotten, the Slayer found herself making futile wishes.
She wished the meteorite had hit the earth five years ago as she slept in the arms of her lover. She wished she could be sixteen years old again but, this time with hindsight. She wished for one more day with her dear friend Willow but more than anything, she wished that when Angel had turned to her in that alley tonight and asked *who are you* she could have replied *I'm the girl that died inside the day you were reborn, I'm Buffy Anne Summers and I love you.* But wishes didn't come true, not for Buffy, not ever for Buffy.
"Miss, are you all right?" a quiet female voice asked as Buffy felt a soft hand brush lightly against her left shoulder. Looking up, Buffy notice a smartly dressed middle aged woman in her early fifties, with a face filled with concern looking back at her.
"Are you hurt? Did somebody hurt you?" the gentle voice asked again, clearly distressed for the younger woman's plight.
Without knowing why Buffy found herself replying.
"I dropped my bag, and I'm lost and....." **my heart's in a million pieces** she silently added, but knew this was not the time or the place. The kindly woman didn't need to hear her problems.
"You're an American, I recognise the accent. I have a son living there, he's out in New Mexico at the moment." The woman stopped when she saw that the girl wasn't really listening.
"Let me help you? Just tell me what do you need?"
At this sudden unexpected kindness Buffy felt fresh tears blurring her vision.
"I need to get back to my hotel, I'll be safe there. Giles will know what to do" she whispered more to herself than her good Samaritan.
"Do you know what the hotel's called? What street it's on?" again the gentle concern shone out like a beacon in the night.
Buffy nodded slowly getting to her feet, she was beginning to feel slightly foolish telling her troubles to a stranger but, somehow she got the feeling that this motherly figure really seemed to care.
"Good, then we don't have a problem any more" the woman raised her hand and brought the passing black cab to an abrupt halt. Guiding Buffy forward, she opened the back door and watched as the small blonde girl almost disappeared into the large leather seat. She then pulled a twenty-pound note from her purse and passed it to the driver.
"I think she's had a bit of a shock, get her home as soon as possible" she nodded and then turned back towards Buffy.
"Tell him where you need to go, you'll be there in no time at all" the woman then started to close the door. Buffy reached out and touched her hand.
"How can I ever thank you?" she whispered in genuine gratitude at the unexpected kindness. Buffy realised that she didn't even know the stranger's name or where she could return the money.
"There's no need for thanks, you take care of yourself" the door was quickly closed and the cab drove off.
Maria Temple watched until the black cab was completely out of sight before turning for home. It was strange, she was never usually out this time of night and she rarely walked this way home.
** It must have been fate** she smiled as she thought of her good deed. The girl had looked so lost and so frightened that she really had no choice but to help her.
As she walked to her front door, Marie's mind was working overtime.
**She was a pretty little thing too, too bad she was only here for a visit. ** Always happy to play cupid, Marie had already decided that the girl would have been a great match for her boss....* Liam*
****
Giles was having the most wonderful dream. A beautiful red headed woman was feeding him grapes and softly caressing his chest while he quoted passages from Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley. In the background the soft strumming of a classical guitar only added to the perfection of his restful slumber. Even as he lay there, Giles knew he was dreaming, but that didn't matter, he was still happy to be pampered by the illusion. That was until something resembling World War Three broke into his bliss.
The pounding coming from his door was enough to wake not only him but also the dead in the cemetery five miles down the road. That was a thought he didn't want to consider, luckily they hadn't encountered a vampire for the whole of their visit.
"Alright, alright keep your hair on" Giles swung his legs over the side of his bed and after dropping his feet into his slippers, he reached hastily for his dressing gown. The small lights flashing from the clock on his bedside cabinet read 1.45am.
Buffy rushed into the room in a whirlwind of blind panic
"Good lord, what on earth is the matter?" Giles watched in amazement as she dashed past him and threw open the closet door. Pulling his large suitcase from the top shelf, Buffy proceeded to drag her Watcher's clothing from its hangers and pack his case.
"We have to get out of here. TONIGHT" there was urgency in her voice that left him with little doubt that something was dreadfully wrong.
Giles immediately crossed the room and when Buffy made no attempt to stop her packing, he grabbed her arms and pulled her towards him.
"What happened?" a small particle of fear was already slipping down the back of his spine as he looked deep into her troubled eyes. These were not the eyes of a few hours ago, the last time he had witnessed pain as raw as this was...**Oh dear God**
"Angel" Buffy whispered the word that Giles' brain had already suspected.
"That's impossible" Giles replied with his head but just from the look on Buffy's face he knew that it wasn't.
"Did he see you?"
Buffy thought back to how Angel had pinned her up against the alley wall, how the cold brick work had pressed into her back as his hot tongue had ravished her willing mouth.
**Did he see you**
She slowly nodded her head
"I think you can take that as guaranteed."
"Did he recognise you?"
Buffy shrugged her shoulders; she had no idea what was going through Angel's mind when he had almost ravished her into the cold hard wall. Secretly she hoped that on some level that he had known it was her, that his soul had unknowingly reached out in the darkness for its mate. The alternative was too awful to comprehend, the alternative was that Angel had turned into some kind of pervert, somebody that followed women into dark places and... that was something she could never accept.
** Her Angel would never have done that** she angrily defended the man she would always love. A chilling voice struck her right back.
**BUT...He's not your Angel anymore**
Giles picked up the hotel phone and asked for an outside line, when the dialing tone came on his fingers quickly pressed the buttons.
"Who are you calling?" Buffy asked running a tired hand through her tangled hair.
"The airport. We need to get out of here as soon as possible, we have to find out what this all means and then we have to deal with the consequences."
*****
Angel knew Wesley was home by the slamming of the front door.
"Well, what happened to you? I waited for hours...." Wesley's annoyed voice trailed off at the sight of their living room. There were phone books and torn out pages everywhere.
"Wh..... What on earth" he stuttered slightly as he looked around the room. Something had managed to get his friend/cousin extremely flustered.
"You're quite sure there's nobody staying at the hotel with that name?" Angel's face frowned with disappointment as he hung up the receiver and tore out yet another sheet from the yellow pages. Crushing the useless paper in his large fist, he threw it across the room with temper. There were so many Hotels in London he knew that this was going to take forever. He suddenly understood that old expression *pissing in the wind*
"I met a girl" he offered up the only explanation for missing their meal. By then, he was already dialing the next number on the new page and drumming his fingers with impatience.
"So what's all this litter for, are you planning a paper chase?" Wesley couldn't resist the small snigger that slipped over his lips. He had never seen *Liam* act so irrationally before. He'd never known Liam show that much interest in a girl before and, after that nightmare last night, Wesley believed that this new girl couldn't have come at a better time.
"Come on, pick up the phone, damn you" Angel demanded impatiently as the ringing went unanswered.
"I lost her and I'm trying to find her again" he muttered back at Wesley's stupid question before being drawn back to his call.
"Yes, hello. I'm trying to find out if you have a Miss Summers staying at your hotel. That's right, S.u.m.m.e.r.s. first name is Buffy"
Wesley felt as if he had stepped into the twilight zone, any moment now the haunting music would start playing and the room would fade to black and white.
As Angel replaced the receiver with fresh disappointment, Wesley knew he had to speak, he just didn't know what to say.
"What do you mean you lost her?"
"This is going to sound insane, but " Angel didn't even know where to start he was still having difficulty trying to believe it himself.
"Do you remember that girl I told you I dreamed about last night?"
Wesley nodded; he remembered that dream only too well. An icy feeling resembling frostbite started gnawing away at his toes.
"I was walking down the street on my way to meet you, and there she was, as large as life" Angel's whole face came alive as he smiled.
**Have we met? **
**My names Liam and you are?**
**WAIT!**
The smile didn't last.
"And then she was gone, but she dropped her bag and this fell out" he held up an American driving license with a small picture of Buffy clearly in the corner. Wesley almost swallowed his tongue
** What the hell was she doing here in London?**
"Liam, the woman is clearly a tourist, just another American over to see the *Changing of the Guard*. It sounds to me like you've been working too hard at the office. You see a pretty girl in the street and you think she's the same as this gypsy dream nonsense. Can you hear yourself for God's sake? It's preposterous. " Wesley replied desperately clutching at straws.
But Angel wasn't buying it
"She was the same girl. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. And what's more, I'm sure she knew me too "
**She had to have known me the way her arms had slipped so perfectly around my neck**
Wesley's frostbite was now travailing up his legs with the speed of light
"You didn't. Tell me you didn't pester this poor woman"
**Dear God. Poor Buffy** he would never know how he kept the panic from his voice.
Angel stood very still as he remembered the fear in those breath-taking eyes. **She had looked so upset and...**
"She ran" he whispered sadly.
**Ran was the understatement of the year. The girl took off so fast she could have taken the one hundred metres gold medal at the Olympic games**.
With that last statement Wesley felt the feeling return to his legs
**Buffy had run, the damage wasn't that bad** He knew by now that the Slayer would be on the first flight out of the country. Buffy knew the consequences only too well; she would never risk another encounter.
"Well, if you just want to return her bag I can drop it into the police station for you" Wesley offered quickly, hoping there was nothing more incriminating inside.
Angel picked up the driving license and gently ran his finger over the blurred picture; it really didn't do her justice.
**His angel**
No matter what Wesley had said, he knew it was the same girl. Running his eyes lovingly over the photo he committed her name not only to his memory but, also to his heart.
**Buffy Anne Summers...** The name sang sweetly as it flowed through his veins.
Angel handed Wesley the bag, but palmed the licence. He then made himself a promise.
**No matter what, he was going to find this girl if it was the last thing he ever did.**
TBC....