Part 2
"I'm most dreadfully sorry to disturb you sir, it seems we have the wrong vampire slayer. This young woman informs me her name is Buffy, not the expected Faith" Archangel Jordan looked highly embarrassed on greeting his superior. The elderly man carefully opened the book and studied it, his forehead creasing in concentration.
" Well, I think you may be right. There seems to be a slight
misunderstanding, Miss Summers" The white haired man dressed in long flowing robes spoke in a soft velvet voice. Saint Peter closed the book and moved away from the desk.
Buffy noticed that the man had a glow about him that shimmered as he moved, she couldn't help being slightly awed by the presence of such a pure hearted soul.
" Actually, for the record my full name is Buffy Anne Summers-O'Conelly. I'm married" Buffy's eyes saddened as her tongue caressed Angel's name.
" My own Angel" she whispered missing him desperately. Buffy hugged her arms around her small body for comfort. She then noticed Saint Peter and Archangel Jordan glancing towards each other.
" Well that settles it; the fact that you are missing your loved one so severely proves your calling is too early. When a soul is called home it is granted the peace of acceptance. In other words, you do not grieve your lost life, you accept it as passed and wait for your loved ones to follow. There should be no regret on your part only a complete feeling of tranquillity." Saint Peter tried to explain the rules of heaven.
All human baggage was left behind, pain, suffering, regret and grief were left on earth leaving the soul free to remember it's past life with nothing but happy memories. There were no unhappy souls in heaven.
" Well the tranquillity lasted about five minuets and as far as no
regret.... Oh no, my baby" Buffy cried placing her hand lightly over her stomach.
" Please do not distress yourself, the soul of your unborn child is perfectly safe. Once this mistake has been rectified things will be as they were meant to be."
" If you were expecting Faith then why am I here?" Buffy felt slightly calmer knowing that her unborn child was safe.
" Honest answer, we made a mistake. It's as simple as that"
Buffy cast a quick glance towards Archangel Jordan; her eyes couldn't resist a quick *I told you so. * Looking back towards Saint Peter her face softened
"Okay, I guess mistakes happen. Just take me back home and we'll forget all about it, no harm done. Well except for my jeep and I seriously doubt your insurance will cover it. " She teased, feeling a load lifted off her shoulders. The mistake was theirs not hers and as long as she was placed back in the arms of her lover she could afford to joke.
Saint Peter nodded
" There shouldn't be any problems doing that, Jordan here will escort you safely back to Earth and reunite you with your body. Goodbye Buffy, we shouldn't meet again for many years"
In a flash of bright light Buffy found herself back in Sunnydale.
" Wow! Beats taking the stairs anyday" she smiled relieved to have her feet planted firmly on solid ground.
Buffy looked around and noticed that she hadn't been returned to the scene of the accident, although the place did looked vaguely familiar. In the distance she noticed a small group gathered in somber mood, moving closer, Buffy started recognising some of the faces.
It was a bright sunny day, her family and friends had gathered on a small hillside over looking the sea. Buffy caught sight of Xander holding a distraught Willow in his arms gently stroking her hair. Her mother, father, Wesley and Cordelia all stood quietly as Giles quoted from a small book of poetry. Her eyes moved slightly to the left and there she saw Angel, standing tall and detached from the rest of the group. His face was a picture of total misery, dark rings framed his once beautiful brown eyes as he looked on, deep in despair.
"Angel?" Buffy ran towards her husband
" Buffy, until you're back inside your body you have the same presence as a ghost. Nobody here can see or hear you" Jordan explained as to why Angel failed to look up.
Buffy stopped right in front of the man she had loved longer then she could remember. The sight of this beautiful man kissed in sunlight always made her heart skip. Buffy could still feel that quickening even though she no longer possessed a physical heart.
Angel lifted his head and looked straight through her.
" I love Buffy, you always held my soul in the palm your hand" Angel reached out his own hand and shook the contents of a small silver urn. A light ash spilled from the container and fluttered in the air, it swirled
for a moment before being caught up in the warm sea breeze and carried away.
" Goodbye, Buffy. I'll love you forever" he whispered to the breeze as the ash danced away on the horizon. Angel closed his eyes as a single tear slipped down his cheek.
Wesley walked slowly towards his friend and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.
" Everybody is leaving now, Angel. Come on, it's time to go"
Angel looked down at the now empty canister in his hands; he still couldn't believe something so small had held such a large part of his life. A part of his life that was now gone forever.
"Not yet, I want to be alone with her one last time" Angel didn't turn around, he continued to watch the gentle waves lap at the shoreline and his heart broke beyond repair. Clinging to the empty urn like a drowning man would cling to a raft, Angel felt his legs sway with the loss. He fought with what little strength he had left to hold on to his dignity, today was Buffy's day, tomorrow when the reality of it all sank in, he would allow himself to sink into the darkness of despair.
"Will you be all right?" Wesley asked reluctant to walk away. He could feel the heartbreaking sadness seep through Angel's body and it worried him terribly, this was so much more then grief. Wesley worried that a part of Angel's soul had died that day too.
" Honestly, I doubt if I'll ever be alright again. But you don't have to worry about me waiting for the sun to rise. I'll live, I've got no other option now" Angel looked out towards the sea again, straining his eyes for just a glimpse of something, anything that would tell him Buffy was somewhere safe, somewhere better. Little did he know that the love of his life was standing a few feet away from him, in as much pain as he was.
" Where ever you are, know that someday, somehow I'll find you" Angel spoke so softly even Wesley missed his pledge.
Buffy watched Wesley turn and leave and a look of absolute horror crossed her face. She then turned towards the archangel, her soul desperate for answers.
" Oh dear, it seems you've been cremated" he looked increasingly uncomfortable. He had heard the relatives talking in the background that there had been a quick cremation to prevent the possibility of something dark tampering with the body. The body of a dead slayer was an easy target for demons.
" This is so unexpected, we couldn't have possibly known it would happen so quickly. Heaven time moves so much slower then earth time" he shuffled nervously from one foot to the other. Nobody had seen the cremation coming, this mistake was just multiplying out of all proportion.
" AND????" Buffy demanded, that non-physical heart of hers was now well and truly stuck in her throat.
" Your body has gone, it's been burned into ash, we can't put you back inside. I'm sorry Buffy, but it's no longer possible"
Buffy looked back towards her heartbroken husband and the impact hit her like a fast moving train. She collapsed onto her knees as a soul-destroying scream started in her toes and worked its way up.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
*****
" Please try not to panic"
" Panic! My husbands just tipped my ashes into the deep blue sea and your only comment is try not to panic" Buffy continued to paced back and forth, no mater how hard she tried she just couldn't get her head around this new change of events.
Jordan had transferred her straight back to heaven for further evaluation. Saint Peter, who had been informed of the development was waiting for them on arrival.
" I'm afraid Jordan was correct, once a body has been cremated there is no possibility of reuniting you."
Buffy's eyes widened in horror, one moment they were promising her that everything was going to be all right and now...
" Apart from staying here there are only two roads open to us, the first is reincarnation"
Buffy's eyes lit up, she had read about reincarnation in high school. It sounded promising.
" Okay, I've heard about that, you give me a brand new body" Buffy considered that option carefully.
" Your friend Cordelia is about to become pregnant in the next few months, we could transfer your soul into her new baby, Of course it would mean you coming back as her daughter"
" Cordy would be my new mother, oh please." Buffy rolled her eyes "Wait! I've just thought of something, if I'm reborn it will take me twenty years to grow up and become a woman again, Angel will be in his fifties and there's still no guarantees that he would fall in love me, especially if I'm his best friends daughter. No, no, no that is a bad choice." Buffy shuddered at the thought and quickly dismisses it.
"Well that only leaves option number two, we put you into a body that's no longer needed"
" How can anybody no longer need their..Oh ewwwww! That's gross" Buffy's nose wrinkled in disgust.
" As long as the body hasn't been discovered we just wait until the soul makes it's final destination and then we drop you in. The body will be a completely empty shell, no memories, no feeling. Your essence will fill it and take it over so technically it becomes you."
"That sounds strangely familiar in a *let's create a vampire* kinda way" Buffy frowned
" The difference being there are no demons involved here, only the body of a pure soul will be offered" Saint Peter watched the small girl digest the offer.
Buffy was wigging out at the prospect of having somebody else's body. Body swapping had been forced on her once before and it wasn't something she recommended. But what other choice did she have, if she was ever going to return to Angel she had some hard decisions to make.
1. She could stay here. 2. She could become the new Cordelia Chase, mark two. Or 3. Three was still something she would have to get her head around. But at least with number three she could be back on earth with Angel now, rather then in twenty years.
Reluctantly she agreed to the third option. Buffy was then shown an assortment of candidates; time after time she refused the body. Too fat, too tall, too old, too young. Jordan patiently ticked the rejected names off their list and moved on. Buffy knew she was being picky but she had an ulterior motive. In her heart she knew she wasn't just choosing the body she would spend the rest of her natural life in. No, she was trying to find a face that Angel could possibly fall in love with. A stream of beautiful women passed by her but Buffy wasn't happy with any of them. They returned to heaven defeated.
" There will be another list available tomorrow" Jordan tried to sound hopeful but secretly doubted Buffy would ever be satisfied with second best.
" Buffy, I've been waiting for you, I have the best news" Saint Peter smiled as Buffy reappeared in front of him.
" I have found you the perfect body, you're going home"
TBC