The Night Remembers

by Jill2

This is my second attempt to clean up the mess Joss left us after "The Gift". If you want to know more, read it!

4. Part 4

Disclaimer and stuff in the first part.

The Night Remembers - Part 4
By Jill


Willow opened the door to the Summers' house the same evening and was surprised
to find only Giles sitting there. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at
Tara, who was with her tonight. "Hi Giles," she said, and removed her coat.

The watcher looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at the young women. "Willow, Tara. What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"N-no," the blond witch replied and sat down opposite to him.

"We wanted to know how it is going. With Buffy and Angel, I mean," Willow
explained while she poured herself a cup of tea. Tea wasn't really one of her
favourite drinks, but at the moment it felt good to hold a hot cup in her hand.

"Ah," Giles removed his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. "They had a training
session tonight, which went quite well. Angel is pretty strong and fast," he
paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Anyways. They're gone out on patrol."

The redhead's eyes widened, "You let her go with him? But never let her go with
Spike?"

"I trust him, Willow," the watcher replied. "And yeah, I know my feelings towards him, but as long as he is in possession of a soul he's reliable, while Spike...," he trailed off, but knew that the two women understood what he was referring to.

"The operative word would be soul, wouldn't it," Xander said strolling into the
living room. Seeing the surprised gazes of the three others, he explained, "Took
the back door. Very careless to leave it open like that."

"With a slayer in the house you don't really have to be afraid of criminals,"
Willow reminded him.

He ignored her reply, took a look at the tea and grimaced, "With the coloured
water again," he shook his head in disgust. With a sigh he sat down with the
other, "So Dead Boy went out with the Slayer. Where is the rest?"

"Spike insisted of patrolling himself and of course Dawn followed him. She seems
to develop more and more interest in all this," Giles said with more than just a
little bit concern in his voice.

"So you trust him with Dawn, but not with the old Buffster," Willow tilted her
head, "How come?"

"Because the G-man sees that Dead Boy junior seems to care for the little sister
while as soon as Buffy is concerned ... what is it about our little Slayer, all
the vampires seem incredibly attracted to her." Xander slightly shook his head,
then leaned back on the sofa.

"Almost correct," Giles pulled a tissue from his pocket and began to clean his
glasses, "Spike has developed some kind of ... infatuation with Buffy. I don't
know what to think of it. But it seems ... more than just strange. Twisted in
some kind of way, especially thinking about Spike's history with slayers and the
fact that only a little chip is preventing him from following his instincts."

"Maybe you should tell Angel," Willow suggested.

"I thought about it," the watcher put his glasses back on his nose and sighed.
"But I'm not sure how he's going to react."

"Angel isn't stupid," the witch said thoughtfully. "Sooner or later he's going to find out. It think it's better to tell him."

"I second that," Xander said, "Dead Boy might not be my bestest bud, but like
Giles I put my cents on him. Spike might have helped us, but I don't trust him."

"We really should mark this day," Willow grinned at him. "Did you just say you
trusted Angel?"

He shrugged uncomfortably, "Guess I did. At least more than Spike." **God, what's happening to me. I should probably found a cheerleading squad for Angel
tomorrow,** he thought, groaning inwardly. Then another thought entered his mind, "Talking about souls," he said. "Do you think it was the wisest move to put Angel and Buffy on patrol together. I mean with all their history in graveyards...," he grinned at the stern look he received from Giles.

"Angel is old enough and he knows about the danger," the watcher said firmly.
"And besides, I don't believe they are really on their own."

****

"This is nice," Buffy sighed while she and Angel were strolling through
Sunnyrest. They were on patrol for about an hour and had barely spoken three
words with each other. The vampire avoided looking at her, he always kept his
distance, pretending - or not - to look out for vampires and demons.

Buffy knew she was the Slayer and that she was meant to look out as well, that
this was her destiny, as Giles was telling her ten times a day, but with her
memory loss a lot had changed, and for the moment she was much more interested in the good-looking man at her side. The one who tried to ignore her.

"What do you mean, this is nice?," he asked and she saw him watching her from the corner of his eye.

"This," she motioned around her. "Isn't it romantic," her voice was dripping with sarcasm, "A cemetery at night, two people - a man and a woman - no, wait. One people and one ... well, non-people," she stopped, turned towards him, and
flashed him a quick, apologetic grin.

He smiled, "I don't mind. I am a vampire. There's no way around it."

"No," she sighed again. "I guess not." She bit her lower lip then looked back at
him, "So tell me. Did we do this a lot? Patrolling together I mean." **Did my
stomach always flutter like this in your company? Did my heart always beat like
crazy?** Why on earth was it not important at all that Angel was a vampire while
Spike's presence made her uneasy?

"Yeah," he nodded and continued walking. **What the hell is going on in her
head?**

Buffy grinned inwardly, he was squirming already. **No doubt, he's attracted to
me.** "Was it always like this?," she wanted to know, looking at him innocently.

"Like what?"

"Well, we both, walking together, talking ... barely..."

"You talk quite a lot," he shot back, scanning the surroundings.

"Uh-huh," she grinned. "Sure I do. But you know what I mean. Did we always behave like ... strangers?" **Come on, big boy, talk to me. I know there was
something.**

"We ... uh ... were friends," he replied evasively.

"Friends, huh?," she rolled her eyes at his reply, but didn't say anything.
"Friends like, say, Xander and I?"

"No," he said quickly. "Not like Xander and you." He frowned and then muttered
under his breath, "Certainly not like Xander. Or at least I hope." **No way!**

"I see, not like Xander and I. Hmmm." She stopped again, crossed her arms in
front of her chest and looked at him, sighing loudly. "It's like pulling teeth,"
she said angrily. "What I want to know is, was there something between us or
not?"

Angel turned slowly.

**Help.**

And swallowed.

God, she was beautiful, all angry and demanding. And he had missed her so. But it
couldn't be. There was no chance and the pain almost closed up his throat.
"Buffy," he began, but was cut off by her stomping her foot on the ground.

"Don't Buffy me," she shouted, completely unconcerned about the possible dangers
around her. "Everyone's tiptoeing around me all the time. Sometimes I just want
to scream. I know that I have to regain my memory on my own. But Willow told me
she was my friend, Xander told me the same. Giles told me I am the Slayer and
he's my watcher. So who are you?" Her eyes dared him to lie, dared him to evade
the answer.

"We ...," he had to clear his throat, his mouth feeling suddenly dry at the
frustration radiating from her, her eyes blazing, her nose slightly wrinkled, her
mouth showing the slightest pout. If he had circulation his blood would boil
right now. **God, I want her.** "There was a time when we were ... lov ... I
mean, when we were more than just friends." **And I would do almost everything
for just a glimpse of that again.**

"Ha!," she said triumphantly. "I knew it. I knew it all the time. What happened?
Because I can see you're still attracted to me and I ... well, I wouldn't throw
you from my doorstep," she declared bluntly.

Angel was sure that his heart, had it been beating, would've stopped the same
moment. **Obviously there happened more to her than just a memory loss.** "Uh ...
you wouldn't?," was all he could manage, his voice sounding strange even to
himself.

"No," she shook her head, then continued walking, feeling better now. Still ...
"Why did we split up. I mean, we obviously did, right? There must have been a
reason?"

The pain was quick, like a knife slicing into flesh, and although it was familiar it closed up his throat. He had to take a deep breath before he was able to speak, "It's complicated, we ... first of all you are a slayer and I am a vampire. We're living in different worlds." **I can't tell her the truth, God, I can't,** he thought, remembering Giles' warning that she had to regain her
memories on her own. At least the more important ones. **And that certainly
classifies as important, doesn't it."

"Really?," it didn't sound convinced. "And here I thought we were patrolling
together. Must be my fault," the sarcasm was back in her voice. She didn't
believe one word. "We're both fighting evil, right? We're both on the same side,
right? Thanks to my *calling* my private life sucks or that's what my friends
tell me and honestly, I mean look at me."

She stopped again, "I mean, do I have warts? No. Do I have bad hair? Not really.
Am I utterly unattractive? No. But yet I don't have a boyfriend. That speaks loud and clear."

He couldn't do anything but stare at her. **You are the most beautiful creature
on this planet,** he wanted to shout. He wanted to kiss her, cherish her, show
her that she was wonderful, desirable. He wanted to make love to her, thoroughly, for hours, night after night, but he couldn't. Mustn't. There was no way. Instead he said, "I know it is hard. Believe me, I know."

She looked at him for a long while, then nodded, "Yeah, you probably do. But why
then is it wrong for you to be with me? I don't understand."

"Buffy, please," he wasn't able to hide the pain in his voice anymore. "I can't
tell you. I ... want to ... but ...," he shook his head, feeling desperate,
"Things happened. Between us. You need to remember them yourself, I can't just
tell you."

"Or is it that you just desire my body and once you had it, the fascination was
over?" She couldn't let it go. She needed to know.

"Buffy, please no," his voice was barely a whisper now. "Please," he pleaded
again.

"But ...," she was about ask something else, but suddenly a noise between the
bushes had their full attention.

"Left behind the crypt," she whispered.

He merely nodded to show her he'd heard it as well.

"Alright, then," she said loudly, "come out here. I really hate to play hide and
seek with vampires." She frowned slightly and quickly glanced at Angel, "I do
hate playing hide and seek with vampires, right?"

He couldn't help but smile. "Yes, you do."

"Good," she was relieved. "Come on then," she spoke towards the noise. "Show
yourself."

"I told you to be quiet," came the annoyed answer, and after a second Spike came
out behind the crypt, followed by Dawn whose face wore a sheepish expression.

"What the hell..?," Buffy exchanged another quick glance with Angel who seemed as
stunned as she. Planting her hands at her hips she glared at the bleached blond
vampire. "What are you doing here?," she demanded.

"What does it look like? I'm patrolling."

"*We* are patrolling tonight," Buffy retorted, then turned to her sister. "And
you should be in bed, not strolling around in graveyards with un-dead
bloodsuckers."

"HEY," Dawn and Spike shouted unison.

Angel sighed loudly, then asked, "What are you doing here, Spike?"

"As I said," the younger vampire shifted his attention towards his grand-sire.
"I was patrolling. And anyways. It's none of your business. You haven't shown your hide in town for an eternity so who died and made you the captain?"

"Certainly not you," Buffy hissed at him. "You were spying on us," she accused,
stepping closer to the blond vampire. "I already noticed your sneaky little hide
more than once behind my back. To make this clear once and for all. Keep out of
my way. If I had a crossbow you'd be dust by now."

"In your dreams," Spike retorted, an arrogant look in his eyes. "You wouldn't
even have known I was there, if Little Bit hadn't given away our hiding."

"Now it's my fault again," Dawn crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at him.

"Yeah," he shot back. "Sure it is. You are human. Vampires are stealthy by
nature, we aren't easily detected."

"Oh really," the slayer's sister raised a brow. "It was your idea to follow them, as I recall. I didn't like it from the beginning." She turned towards her sister and the dark-haired vampire, "Sorry," she apologised.

"It's okay," Angel smiled at her, then his gaze met the one of his grand-childe
and his eyes went cold. "You better hide your sorry existence in one of the
crypts or I might feel tempted to end this unlife of yours." And his eyes said,
'don't think I haven't realised what you're up to.' And he had. The way Spike
looked at Buffy wasn't anything to be missed.

"Oh yeah?," Spike's eyes flashed yellow for a moment, then he cast his
challenging blue gaze on his sire. "Want to give it a try?"

"Nothing would give me more pleasure," Angel hissed through gritted teeth. "Don't think the fact that a misfortune made you some sort of relative will protect you, *boy*."

Buffy looked back and forth from enraged vampire to enraged vampire and decided
it was time to intervene, "Uh ... guys," she began stepping firmly between them.
"As nice as this might be, but this stops now," her voice was sharp as a razor
now and instantly both men stepped back, Angel muttering something under his
breath, Spike only shrugging, but obeying nonetheless.

"Good boys," she barely suppressed the grin that threatened to spread over her
face. Testosterone did funny things sometimes. Where did that come from? Like a
flash she had suddenly an image in front of her eyes. Two males, a similar
situation and one of them was Angel. The other ... she slightly shook her head
... no, she wasn't able to recognize the other. He was tall and blond and had
blue eyes, but it wasn't Spike.

"Buffy."

She shook her head again and met Angel's concerned gaze when she was able to
focus again. "Nothing," she said quickly. "I just thought I remembered
something."

"You did?," Dawn was instantly excited.

"Yeah," the slayer blinked, "at least I guess. I'm not sure." Her confused eyes
were seeking Angel, who was watching her. Taking a deep breath, she looked at
Dawn, "Anyways. Listen, Dawn, please go home. Take Spike with you. Angel and I
will do another round and then I'll be back as well."

"Sure," her sister replied eagerly, sensing that Buffy wanted to talk to the dark haired vampire. "Come on, Spike, we're leaving."

She turned and with a last glare at his grand-sire and a grunt, the blond vampire followed her into the night.

As soon as they were out of sight, Angel turned towards the blond, "What is it?," he asked, suppressing all the irritation he still felt regarding Spike's behaviour towards the Slayer. He would analyse the disturbing facts later. His
grand-childe had been positively possessive and Angel didn't like that one bit.
But at the moment it wasn't important. At the moment all that counted was the
confusion he saw in Buffy's eyes.

"I ...," she shook her head again as if to clear her mind. "I ... saw you. When
you and Spike were nose to nose just before, I remembered you and ... someone
else. I didn't recognize him, but you two were almost at each other's throats."

"Can you describe him?," the vampire asked, touching her shoulder with his palm
to assure her of his support.

She slowly nodded, "Yeah, he was tall. I think even taller than you, blond, blue
eyes ... quite ... normal looking guy. Not ugly, but ... kinda like your average
Joe. Does this help?," she looked up in his eyes, hers asking for help and
shining with hope that she wouldn't stay lost in this world without memories.

Angel took a deep breath. Of course he knew whom she was describing. **I'm really the person to talk about this,** he thought frustrated. "Yeah, I know who he is."

"Really?"

The way her eyes lit up caused another wave of pain deep inside his heart. She
wanted to remember and given time she would and then their time in Sunnydale
would end and he would go back to L.A. and ..., "His name is Riley. He used to
live here," he said quickly, starting to walk again.

She was with him in a flash, catching his arm, "Riley? I don't remember him. Was
he a friend of mine?"

"Buffy," his voice was harsher than he intended, but at the moment his emotions
were too raw, to be nice. He didn't want to talk about Riley, he didn't want to
be the one to tell her about him, all he wanted was to deny the commando had ever existed. Sure, he had left her and wanted her to lead a normal life, but that didn't mean he enjoyed talking about the men in her life. "I'm not the person, to tell you this. Ask Willow ... or Xander."

"But I'm asking you," she stopped again and held his arm, so that he was forced
to stop as well. "Please. I need to know this. Who is Riley?"

Angel closed his eyes for a short moment, then pulled himself together and said,
"He was your boyfriend, Buffy. Riley was your boyfriend for over a year." Then he turned, not able to look at her any longer.

... to be continued