Part Ten
Angel understood for the first time in his life the true meaning of the word *Perfection*
His breath caught deep in his throat as the young woman, kissed and warmed by the glow of early morning sunlight, turned and lifted her large hazel eyes towards him. But this vision was more than just perfection; for the first time in his life Liam Pryce felt whole.
As the sunlight danced lazily through Buffy's hair, Angel knew - in that moment - that he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life.
Everything seemed to fall into place. The confusion, which had tortured his soul over the last few months, drifted slowly away like an early morning mist dissolving into the sea.
Questions that had never been asked were suddenly answered.
He understood now, that this lovely young woman was the reason he had never fallen in love, the reason why nobody had ever managed to touch his heart. Until Buffy Summers had walked into his world, love had never been that important. *Liam* had never really worried about not finding love, he knew that when the time was right, love would find him. It certainly did! A few short months ago, love had knocked him on his ass in that alleyway and he had never recovered. Correction - he never wanted to recover.
Hypnotised by the way her hair flowed down her neck and caressed her shoulders, Angel longed to wrap his fingers in its golden warmth, and find the comfort he had been searching for all these months. In honesty, without even knowing it, *Liam* had been searching for this side of heaven all his life.
As her eyes blinked against the direct sunlight, Buffy nervously slid her tongue across her suddenly dry lips
**Lovely, so incredibly lovely** Angel's lonely heart sang out with painful longing.
No matter what happened between them in the next few minutes, Angel would take the memory of Buffy Summers bathed from head to toe in sunlight to his grave and beyond. There was no logical reason why this particular image touched his heart so deeply; there was nothing logical about any of the feelings he felt for this woman. But, as he watched the sun's early morning rays sink softly in to her flesh and brush lightly against her tanned skin, Angel knew that even if he never saw her again after this day, this is the vision he would carry with him into death. Once again the only word adequate enough to describe what he saw was *Perfection*
As he took a small step forward, the months of searching for the girl who had crawled inside his soul and had refused to move out, came to end.
" I was hoping we could talk?" Angel's gentle voice asked as he watched a dozen different emotions move across Buffy's beautiful eyes. Some of the feelings he recognised but others were strangely out of place.
He was still having difficulty believing she was real. This girl had filled his dreams for so long now and to finally be standing here, within kissing distance, and not touch her was almost unbearable.
As Buffy stared into his eyes, his gaze swept over every contour of her face, finally lingering hungrily on her mouth.
**Would she taste the same as in my dreams? If I kissed her would she taste of heaven?** Angel tore his mind away from the delicious thoughts flooding his head and, after taking a deep breath, started what could possibly be the most important conversation of his life
" I know you won't remember me and this is going to sound completely insane, believe me, there's no other word for it....." He took a slight pause to see if there was any response and when Buffy remained silent, he quickly continued
"But.... from the first second I saw you in London, I haven't found a moment's peace. I feel as I've known you all my life and I know that's not possible" Angel knew he was rambling and quickly tried to control the rush of words. The last thing he wanted to do was panic the girl into running away. Angel's worst nightmare was that Buffy would mistake him and his crazy story for a stalker or even worse, a madman. But so far, although Buffy hadn't replied, she also hadn't tried to run.
**If the girl was scared of him, she hid it well** he pondered as he watched her lips start to move
"I remember you" She whispered the words so softly that Angel, caught up in his own worries, almost missed them completely.
"You do? " he breathed a deep sigh of relief, but an almost quizzical expression covered his handsome face.
"Something has been driving me crazy for months now, please, I need to know...Why did you kiss me? I'm not saying that it wasn't wonderful, it was. In fact it was incredible but, we're strangers..... What I'm trying to say, and making a real mess of it is... why me?" He finally asked the one question that always came to him after his dreams. **Why had she kissed him?**
**Why me?** How she hadn't physically flinched, Buffy would never know. Irrationally, the question had stung her heart that he didn't remember the answer; and in that split second, she longed desperately to him tell the truth.
** Because I needed you, because I missed you so much I could hardly think straight. Because I love you Angel, with every beat of my heart and I will until the day this world really does come to an end.**
That was the reason she had kissed him in London, and it was also the reason why she desperately wanted to knock him to the ground, right this second and kiss him until *he* couldn't think straight.
But she couldn't say that, Buffy knew that this was make or break time for both of them. Whatever she told Angel next, would set the course for the rest of her life. If she were going to carry out a charade that would have to last until the day they died, it would all begin with her next words.
Slowly stepping forward she gazing up into heartbreakingly beautiful eyes and started the pretence.
"The truth? The truth is that you reminded me of someone else, somebody from my past, somebody I knew a long time ago." Buffy answered without letting any emotion slip into her words. It wasn't a lie, as such. Just a slight bending of the truth. Although the man standing in front of her was a living, breathing human being; a man with the world at his feet and no guilt to atone for, there were still deep traces of her lover left behind. Deep traces of that *somebody else*
Liam Pryce might be a new man but, deep down in her heart, he would always be her Angel. Sadly, he could never be told that.
**Somebody else**
Buffy watched as Angel took in the information and ran it behind his deep-set dark eyes. His expression slowly turned to disappointment that the reason had been something so painfully obvious.
**Of course it wasn't him she wanted, he had only reminded her of somebody else** with that thought he felt his heart sink.
"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have kissed you like that but..." Buffy hated to see the look reflecting in her ex lover's eyes. Her words had hurt him and that was the last thing she wanted.
**But it was the only explanation she could hope he would believe**
"This somebody, you cared about him a lot?" Angel raised his eyes but the hurt still remained.
Buffy nodded her head
"Lover?" Angel mumbled and knew instantly that he didn't want to know the answer. The thought of Buffy and this *lover* filled him with an illogical jealousy he knew he had no right to feel. Sadly, even accepting that he was being ridiculous didn't stop the pain tearing into his heart.
**Lover? Wow! get out of that one Buff** she inwardly cringed
"It was a dream I once had but, it wasn't meant to be" she bit hard into her lip as her mind brought forth the sight of Angel being taken away from her, time and time again.
"And he's not in the picture anymore?" As Angel asked the question, he found his heart desperately wanting the answer to be no. All the time he had been searching for her, it had never once crossed his mind that there could be somebody else.
"That part of my life ended a long time ago" Buffy shook her head as her eyes misted slightly, she knew it wasn't his fault but every question brought back so many painful memories. TPTB hadn't been joking when they had questioned her strength to carry this secret.
** Could she keep up this charade for the rest of their lives?** The answer was simple. If it meant keeping Angel by her side, and keeping his new life safe and happy, she could and would.
Buffy knew that, in order for them to have any chance at normal and happy ever after, she would carry the deception to her grave
"Liam" the name sounded strange but it seemed to fit his new life.
"Why did you kiss me back?" the second the question left her lips, Buffy knew she should never have asked it, it was a low shot and Angel couldn't possibly hope to know the answer. The flustered look that appeared on his face proved her right, straight away
"I don't know. No, that's not true. I know exactly why I kissed you. I kissed you because from the moment I first saw you walking out of that theatre, I realised I'd been waiting for you, waiting for you my whole life" Angel watched the colour fade from Buffy's face and cursed himself for sounding like a lovesick school boy.
"Sorry, I have no idea what's got into me lately. Buffy, do you believe in destiny, that fate brings people together for a reason?"
Buffy's eyes widened as she listened to the love of her life repeat every word her heart longed to believe in.
"Yes, I believe in destiny"
"I was thinking.... well, hoping really, that you might...... No, of course you wouldn't" he stopped suddenly feeling embarrassed and foolish
Buffy reached out her hand and softly touched his arm.
"Try me, you might be surprised" she replied hopefully, while a swarm of butterflies attacked her stomach.
"I was going to suggest that maybe we could go get a cup of coffee some place, maybe get to know each other a little better. You could tell me the story of your life" without thinking he reached out and let his fingers move to a stray lock of her hair, rubbing the silky strands gently between his fingers, Angel tucked it softly behind her ear.
"I'd really, really, like that - just one condition," Buffy's eyes smiled as she slipped her fingers around his warm hand. She only realised that she had done it when her palm came into contact with a shock of warm skin.
"Anything" closing his fingers around her tiny hand, Angel's lips curved into a small smile.
"You tell me all about your life first" Buffy almost flirted as she stepped closer.
"My life?" Angel's smile grew until his face positively beamed.
"My life started just about here" he reached out his other hand and slipped it around her tiny waist, pulling her willing body up against his.
Buffy gasped as his lips then brushed softly against her mouth.
Only one coherent thought danced inside her head, as her lonely body responded for only the second time in over five years.
**Angel's come back to me, Angel's home**
*****
Epilogue
Twelve months later
London
Angel walked over to the large window behind his desk and stood quietly letting the sights of a busy London rush hour wash over him. As he watched the nameless masses race past his window, he reflected on how much his life had changed over the last eighteen months.
Life certainly was different now. So much so, that Angel hardly recognised the new man he had become, and all because of a girl.
As thoughts of Buffy wrapped themselves around his tired body like tiny little fingers, a large smile covered his contented face.
Angel was always smiling these days. Everybody at the museum now joked openly about the transformation that had taken over the once quiet, shy, workaholic. The talk in the staff room, nowadays, was how Liam couldn't wait to get away at the end of the day and then, how tired he always looked in the mornings. Not only did he appear to be suffering an acute case of love, Liam Pryce, had got the disease really bad
Angel couldn't have cared less what the gossipmongers spread. He had Buffy; both in his heart and in his bed each morning and that made everything in his world perfect.
The girl who had so briefly touched his heart in that alleyway, now owned it completely - along with his mind, body and soul. But, more importantly to him, he now knew that Buffy felt exactly the same.
**I love you, only you, always you, my Angel** Buffy had moaned so sweetly as his tongue delved into her mouth and kissed her until they were both breathless. Angel's arms had then pulled her so far into his body that he feared he would crush her small frame beneath his weight. But he hadn't crushed her; Buffy had just gripped him even tighter as if never wanting to let go. From that second on, it had been settled, they would never be parted from each other again.
**My Angel**
Angel had joked that the nickname Buffy had used, suited her more than it did him. At the time, she had tried laughing it off saying it was his fault he was so damn beautiful. All thoughts of the name were quickly forgotten as the two lovers discovered a different type of communication, one that didn't include actual words but involved a lot of sweating and moaning.
Later, when he was lying by her side, he thought of the name again and the way her lips had softly caressed it. Angel decided he secretly liked the name and never complained again when she whispered it lovingly to him in her sleep. After their first few weeks together, he no longer feared that she was thinking about *somebody* else when she whimpered the name, the deep adoration that shone in her eyes was only ever focused on him. So, after the first few slips the nickname had stuck and Liam didn't mind it at all, Buffy could call him anything she wanted, as long as she loved him. And the most wonderful part of his new life was that Buffy never got tired of telling him how much she loved him.
**Buffy Summers loved him**
Staring at his reflection in the large glass window, Angel couldn't help counting his blessings. Every morning when he opened his eyes and gazed at the beauty pressed into his body, he realised just how lucky he really was.
Fate had blessed him; there was no doubt in his mind of that. Fate had opened his eyes and although it had seemed like torment at the time, it had eventually pushed him in the right direction, in the direction of Buffy Summers. **The love of his life.**
But it hadn't stopped there; fate had also played a hand in his cousin Wesley's love life.
Two months after their first date, Wesley had travelled out to America for their wedding day and had fallen head over heels in love with one of the guests.
Grateful for all her help, Angel had invited Cordelia Chase, the pretty dark haired woman from Angel Investigations to the ceremony.
As Angel promised to love his new wife until the day he died, he noticed the way his cousin's eyes never once left Cordelia. He wasn't at all surprised, when a few months later, they announced their own engagement.
To Liam, fate had killed two birds with one stone.
After the wedding, Wesley and Buffy had swapped countries. Buffy had wanted to move to London to start her new life with her English husband, while Wesley decided that he wanted to help Cordelia run her agency in Los Angeles.
Angel and Wesley had hugged warmly at the airport as the two cousins/friends separated to start their new lives, both men blissfully happy that the other had found contentment.
So, after everything that had happened in the last eighteen months, nothing surprised Angel anymore.
A small tapping on the office door brought his attention back to the present day.
"Liam, your wife just called" without waiting for a reply his PA's smiling face looked around the door.
"Buffy?" Angel raised his eyebrows and walked forward. He wouldn't admit it but, he loved hearing people saying those words ** Your wife** just the sound made him grin like that cat that had swallowed the cream.
Maria Temple laughed as she watched the love this man held for the woman he'd married, dance in his eyes. It was just like she had always said, all he needed was a good wife, and that's just what he had found in the spirited young American. The fact that Liam though the sun rose and shone in his young wife's eyes was all it needed for Maria Temple to take Buffy Price to her own heart.
"Yes, your wife Buffy. Unless you've divorced her and remarried in the last twenty-four hours" Maria replied with a twinkle in her eye. She couldn't resist the little tease. ** The world would end before Liam left Buffy**
"Very funny, Maria. Now, unless you want to get yourself fired......" Angel laughed good heartedly at the leg pulling
" What did my beloved want?"
Maria smiled; knowing the message she was about to deliver was going to bring real joy
"Oh, I almost forgot. She said you had better but your skates on"
Angel's face paled
"Oh God, there's still two weeks yet, it's far too early" his shaking fingers ripped his jacket from the back of his chair and forced his arm through the wrong sleeve. Maria laughed hysterically as the father to be, continued to panic and bolted towards the door.
"Give Buffy my love" she called out as Liam ran noisily down the stairs
*****
Buffy turned her tired eyes and gazed in wonder at the tiny infant lying in the crib next to her bed. She lovingly reached out an exhausted hand and softly caressed it's tiny head still trying to convince herself that the small bundle, wrapped firmly in the pink hospital blanket, was really hers. No, correction, theirs.
The labour had lasted almost fourteen hours and the birth had been unbelievably painful, even with her Slayer's strength every contraction had brought about loud screaming and the odd four lettered curse. But now, as their newborn daughter lay peacefully in her crib, the pain and hard work could be forgotten.
Angel had been amazing; as he cut through the umbilical cord he remarked that his new daughter had arrived kicking, screaming and ready to take on the world, the image of her mother.
Too exhausted to do anything more, Buffy had just smiled happily thinking just how fitting that statement might once have been.
An hour later, Angel had slipped away to shout their news to the whole world while she tried to grab a few seconds rest. As she closed her eyes, Buffy relived the first few minutes of their daughter's life
**Buffy reached out and wrapped her fingers around Angel's large hand as he looked lovingly into their child's tiny pink face.
"I love you" her soft lips pressed against the skin of his hand and even after a year, the sensation of warmth beneath her lips still had the ability to reduce her to tears.
Angel closed his eyes, he had known a lot of perfect moments in these last twelve months but, after today, he knew in his heart that this one would really take some beating.
"After what you have just given me that's supposed to be my line" he turned and crushed his wife's exhausted body into his chest, ignoring anybody who dared to walk in on their moment.
Buffy found just enough energy to smile as she let the sound of his heartbeat wash over her body. The gentle sound soothed away all the aches and pains of the last few hours. After a few moments, Angel reached down and placing a finger beneath her chin he tilted her face towards his.
"Okay, you're allowed to say it too" Buffy sighed and looked into his large, tear stained eyes.
"Don't worry, I was planning to do just that " he teased and softly kissed her lips. Wrapping his hands in her hair, Angel brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered the words with all his heart
"I love you, Buffy. Always" **
*****
Back in the present, the sound of a question being asked broke Buffy away from her memories.
"And does baby Pryce have a name yet?" the midwife who had delivered her daughter, asked as she passed Buffy a strong cup of tea and smiled down at the sleeping infant. Considering the child was two weeks early, the little girl was perfectly healthy, and an ideal weight.
Buffy sipped the strong sweet liquid and continued to smile, motherhood was painful but extremely satisfying.
"Willow, her name is Willow"
There had never been any other choice as far as Buffy was concerned. When she had first raised the subject of a name for their daughter, Angel had seemed surprised by the unusual request but, as with everything else where Buffy was concerned, he accepted it knowing that it would make his love happy. Strangely, as the weeks went by, Angel had grown to love the name as much as his wife and the pair were both overjoyed when the baby had been announced a little girl.
"Well, little Willow here is a real sweetie, just like her mother" the midwife finished her check on the baby and switched her attention to the mother. Buffy looked very tired but the birth hadn't caused any real complications, after a few hours bed rest she and the baby could leave for home.
Buffy turned her eyes towards baby Willow's tiny pink face
"She has her fathers dark hair, and I'm sure she'll also have his eyes" she replied dreamily as she allowed her temperature to be taken.
"After seeing your husband's eyes, there's nothing wrong with wanting that" the middle aged woman laughed as she wrote on Buff's chart. She had watched how her younger colleagues had fluttered their eyelashes at the handsome young man in question. She also noticed how he only had eyes for the woman giving birth to his child.
"And where is the proud father now?" the midwife asked adjusting Buffy's pillows and accepting her empty cup.
Buffy laid her head back into the fluffy softness of her bed; a smug grin still turned at her lips.
"Calling everybody we have ever known with the news" she laughed thinking that her darling husband would probably be on that phone half of the night, he was that proud.
Satisfied that mother and baby were both doing well, the midwife picked up her bag.
"I'll let you get a little sleep now. Baby Willow will need feeding in a couple of hours, so rest as much as you can" with one last smile she turned and left the room.
Buffy was tired but far too excited to sleep. While the sky outside her window darkened over, she watched from her bed as the stars appeared.
Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, Buffy reached into the crib and, gently supporting her daughter's head, she lifted the tiny infant up in her arms and slowly crossed the room to the large hospital window.
Still nervously holding her daughter in one arm, Buffy reached out and pulled up the blinds in order to get a perfect view of the night sky.
Tilting the baby slightly, Buffy gazed up past the glass and into the clear black heavens.
It wasn't as beautiful as Sunnydale. **Then again, nowhere on earth was the sky as beautiful as her hillside in Sunnydale** Not that Buffy wasn't happy living where she was, she loved London and it was home to all three of them now.
It was simply her own personal opinion; the stars would always shine brighter in Sunnydale.
Switching off the wall light to get a better view, the room fell into darkness.
"See those pretty lights up there, those are called stars" Buffy's voice was barely a whisper as she spoke to her sleeping child. The small infant didn't seem at all bothered by being removed from her crib; she just lay contentedly in her mother's arm as Buffy fondly reminisced
"One day I'll tell you all about the star, with the long tail, that almost destroyed the world and brought about Armageddon. Needless to say, it missed, and the world didn't end that time." Buffy leant forward and brushed her lips against the child's shock of dark hair.
As a fierce feeling of protectiveness swept over her, she held the baby closer to her chest.
"You don't have to worry about the world ending, little one. Mommy and Daddy have taken care of that for the next thousand years. You didn't know that your daddy was a hero, did you? I'll let you in on my secret, neither does he" Buffy smiled, she finally had somebody to share her secrets with
** Well, for a few weeks at least**
"There's a lot of secrets I can't ever tell your daddy but, while you're this tiny, I can tell you" her voice never rose above a whisper, she turned her eyes back to the stars and watched how they seemed to sparkle even clearer tonight
"They're not all stars you know, some of those lights, the brightest ones, they are called souls. Souls of those that watch over us, people who loved us and have now passed over." At this point the baby stirred slightly in her mother's arms, Buffy rocked her gently as she looked back out into the darkness
"See that one, the brightest one, that's Willow. That's where you get your name from, little one. Without her advice and kick in the right direction, you might never have been born. Kind, gentle Willow, she would have loved you dearly. " A single tear slipped over Buffy's cheek as she continued.
"And that one there, that's Kendra, she was a Slayer like mommy. And the one to the right, that's Jenny, she helped bring daddy back the first time I sent him away" Buffy continued to point out the various lights she considered significant. It didn't matter that the child would never understand, Buffy just needed to tell her, just this once.
"And then there's the two that seem stuck together, those mischievous two are called Spike and Drucilla. Oh, the stories I could tell you about them" she laughed softly as she remembered days long gone by.
Sometimes she missed those days, she certainly missed Willow and she'd even been known to miss Spike on the odd occasion. It was hard not having anybody to share her memories with, but she accepted that it was truly a small price to pay for her blissful new life.
Every time Angel touched her skin with his warm hands, Buffy silently thanked the PTB for their gift of a second chance. All the pain and suffering they had had been forced to endure finally made sense, with the feel of Angel's heart beating up against her own, Buffy finally put aside the years of loneliness. Looking down at the child their joint bodes had made, a mixture of dark and light, ex slayer and ex vampire, it suddenly hit her. The dark days really were behind them and they were never coming back. With that thought she held her child even tighter in her arms and sighed.
**This time they really were going to live happily ever after**
*****
Angel stood quietly watching his wife and newborn daughter from the darkness of the doorway. A feeling of utter peace and contentment that he never believed possible stole over his soul. There had been times in this last year when he had feared his life was so perfect it couldn't possibly be real. Nights when he had woken terrified that his perfect world had vanished inside a dream, never to be seen again. But, that was all behind him now.
As soon as their daughter had entered the world, Angel knew it was finally real, that this was just how his life was meant to be.
Watching his love whisper fairytales to their child about the stars, Angel smiled.
He really was the luckiest man alive; life simply couldn't get any better than this....
THE END!!!!!