Breaking down the
Walls
TITLE:
"Breaking down the walls" Chapter 5 - 5/12 - Rated PG - B/A Angst,
series 6 predictions
AUTHOR: Charlie/Selwyn29
EMAIL: selwyn29@ntlworld.com
DISCLAIMER: They're not mine, they're Joss's. But if they were mine I give them to Duck's for safekeeping J
PAIRING: B/A, and loads more
TIMELINE: After end of series 5 Buffy, series 2 Angel
SPOILERS: Anything is possible... say all, up to B5/A2
SYNOPSIS: My take on series 6 and what should happen, please read Chapter One
or none of this will make sense.
FEEDBACK: Come on, give me some help here, do you like it?
RATING: PG CONTENT
DEDICATION:
To Trammie and Mark my Beta readers and Duck's who without her epics I would
never had started this one. Also to the
Babble Board posters, who have been an inspiration for some storylines
"Angel?" Giles asked, curiously.
"Is Buffy with you?"
"Yes, she's here, Giles."
"In Los Angeles?"
"No, I found her at the mansion."
"The mansion?" Giles replied, confused at this strange turn of events.
"I think you need to come over." Angel said, trying to keep the conversation as brief as possible. He thought he could see Buffy beginning to stir in the other room.
"Yes, of course, straight away." Giles hung up the phone.
Angel went back into the lounge where, thankfully, she was still asleep on the couch. He'd found some blankets to cover them with and she lay there now, a peaceful look on her face. Gently, he sat at the end of the sofa and just watched her. Breathing in and out, even though she didn't need to anymore. Watching her like this reminded him of the many times he had watched her sleeping over the years. The nights he sat outside her window after they had patrolled together, needing to be close to her, unable to return to his quiet apartment, making sure she was all right, before the daylight arrived once more, to protect her. He remembered the night when he had been human, when she had slept in his arms at the apartment in LA. Although his body desperately longed for sleep that night, his eyes would not close; they were mesmerised by the beautiful body lying in the bed next to him. Watching her now, she looked so innocent, untouched by evil or duty. He reached out a hand and brushed a stray lock of hair away that had fallen across her face. She responded, in her slumber, with a slight murmur and turned her cheek, so his hand caressed the side of her face. He sat there, hypnotised by the movement. It was only the polite cough from the doorway that made him look round.
"Giles." he said, walking over to where the Englishman stood in the French windows.
"Please, come in." The irony of the vampire inviting the Watcher into his home was not lost on either of them.
Angel led the older man into one of the rooms just off the living room where Buffy slept. Giles followed him, his eyes barely leaving the sleeping form of the slayer until it was impossible to see her any longer.
"How is she?" he asked.
"She's very upset, and incredibly confused. As am I."
"I think we all are confused over this situation." Giles replied.
"How's Dawn?" Angel asked.
"She isn't taking this very well at all. It's like losing Buffy all over again."
Angel nodded.
"How did you find her?" Giles asked. Angel saw the unspoken question in the Watcher's eyes 'And what are you doing in Sunnydale?'
"I came back last night, to say goodbye, for the last time. I went to the cemetery, while I was there, I thought I should come here and have one last look. When I came in, Buffy was already here."
"We should have known," Giles chastised himself, "she went to the cemetery."
"She saw the gravestones and she'd been to the house as well. It confirmed everything you had told her, but she couldn't remember, and she didn't know what to do."
"So she came here." Giles completed.
"What happened Giles?"
"Willow cast a resurrection spell, but she failed to complete it, she assumed it was unsuccessful. However, Xander then found Buffy unconscious at the site where she died about a month ago. A spell was cast two nights ago to try and return her soul to her body and when she awoke, she was in this confused state."
"She's 18 again."
"That's it!" Giles exclaimed. "Willow said that a part of the spell consisted of her counting Buffy's living years, she had only reached 18 when the spell was destroyed. Buffy must have been resurrected at that age!"
"Is there any way of fixing this?"
"I'm not sure, I'll have to see if I can find a book on it."
"Then be sure," Angel said, angrily, "she's in too much pain like this. She can't go on."
"We all care for her Angel! And we'll do whatever we can to help her!"
"I'm sorry Giles. I just can't bear to see her in so much pain. I never expected this to happen."
"None of us did."
The quiet understanding between the two men was abruptly shattered with an anguished cry from the other room.
"Angel?"
The vampire ran into the lounge. Buffy was sitting up on the couch; looking around the room, fear in her eyes. Angel raced over to where she was.
"Buffy? What's wrong?"
"I woke up, I didn't know where you were." she answered, fear in her voice.
"I'm right here, I promise."
He wrapped his arms around her and she clung to him, unwilling to let go. Over his shoulder, however, she caught sight of Giles, standing in the doorway.
"Hello." she said, cautiously.
"Buffy, we're going to do everything we can to put things right. I won't rest until I find some sort of cure for this." Giles said, solemnly.
"Thank you," she whispered, still clinging to Angel.
Angel turned to her once more.
"I'm just going to see Giles out, then I'll be back."
He got up, out of her embrace, and walked over to the Englishman.
"The sooner we can work this out the better." he said.
"I'll get on to it straight away." Giles replied.
"I'll call Wesley in LA and see if he can come up with anything."
Giles nodded and looked over to where Buffy sat on the sofa, staring into space.
"I'll look after her, Giles, no harm will come to her."
"That would be appreciated." Giles said and he walked out of the mansion.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Giles opened the door to his apartment to be met with the worried faces of Willow and Xander.
"Giles, have you found her?" Willow asked, anxiously.
"Yes, she's at the mansion."
"The mansion?" Xander asked.
"Angel…Angel is with her."
"Fantastic, we go to all the trouble of bringing her back and Peaches comes swooping along and takes all the credit." Spike appeared from the kitchen.
"Thank you, Spike." Giles said. "At the moment, she is in a terrible state. Angel appears to be the only person she feels comfortable with."
"What can we do, Giles?" Willow asked.
"Well, it seems the resurrection spell brought Buffy back, at age 18, about the time she was contaminated by the demon blood. We need to try and restore her fully. There may be a ritual somewhere which can help us."
"Book patrol reporting for duty." Xander said, saluting to Giles.
"Any help we can get is essential." Giles said. "How is Dawn?"
"The same." Willow said. "She's just staring at the walls in her room. Tara is with her, but she won't talk."
"I don't think I need to emphasis this, but time is of the essence here, the sooner we can restore Buffy back to full capacity, the better."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Angel picked up his cell phone and called the office number. It only rang once, before being picked up.
"Angel Investigations, we help the helpless… is that you Angel?" Cordelia babbled, on the other end.
"Hi, Cordelia."
"Hi? Hi? Don't you give me hi! Have you any idea how worried we've been, running off into the night like that, leaving poor Fred all alone and then ignoring my calls?! You'd better have a good explanation for this and it had better not begin with Darla."
"I'm fine, thanks for asking, by the way. I'm in Sunnydale."
Angel waited a moment for this to register with Cordelia.
"Sunnydale? Why couldn't you tell us that you were going there? We would have come with you."
"Cordy, this was something I needed to do on my own, I just needed a bit of time."
"Are you coming back today?"
"Well, I think I might be staying on here a little while, there's a bit of a situation."
"What? What's going on?"
Angel saw Buffy watching him from the couch.
"I can't really explain now, but I promise I will. Could you put Wesley on for me?"
"Fine." Cordelia huffed into the phone and shouted Wesley over.
"Angel? Is everything alright?"
"Wesley, I need you to try and track a ritual or spell down for me, if you can. We're looking for something that can restore memory that has been lost, magically. Do you think you might be able to find something?"
"Of course, we'll try our best."
"Thank you Wesley."
"Angel, is everything all right?"
Angel looked over in the room at Buffy's hunched form.
"It will be." he said, and added in his own head, 'It has to be."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Angel felt helpless as he paced around the mansion that afternoon. Buffy was asleep once more, the trauma of the past 24 hours taking their toll. He hated seeing her like this, knowing that, for the moment, there was nothing they could do to help her. She had been awake for a short time after he had finished talking to Wesley, but the pain of not remembering key moments in her life had been too much. He had managed to get her to drink a little tea, but that had been all. His quick exit from Sunnydale after the Graduation had brought the blessing that there were still some basic necessities left in the house such as tea and sugar, unfortunately, fresh milk had been absent, but he doubted she had noticed. He had managed to find her some old clothes of his to wear, a pair of dark trousers he used to do Thai-Chi in and a silk shirt that had been left behind in his old wardrobe. She had put them on, discarding the pink dress, not remembering its significance in her life. The clothes had drowned her, making her look like a little girl again. They had been on the couch, Buffy leaning against Angel, curving into his body, just taking comfort in one another's presence, and then she had fallen asleep against his chest again. He sat there, with her lying across him, for hours.
He had kept in contact with both Giles and Wesley. He felt as if he should be helping in some way, trying to find a cure for all of this, trying to help her more. He had wanted to go to Giles' and assist in some way, but that would have meant taking Buffy with him and both men had agreed that it would only distress both Buffy and Dawn further to be in the same room, until something could be worked out.
So he sat there, watching her as she slept. It was difficult to conceive, here in his arms was Buffy. Her body showing the scars of her 20 years, yet her soul was still that of the young schoolgirl, still tainted by her calling and the atrocities she had already seen. But, yet, to face the life changing events that her body had, the events that had matured her into the Buffy he had been with on the night of her mother's funeral.
Now, he had quietly removed himself from the couch and was continuing his journey around the room. Dusk was beginning to fall outside, he could feel his weary senses trying to sharpen and come alive. He walked over to the window and looked out into the coming night. His eyes swept across the landscape before him, the twilight beginning to bring the shadows into focus. As his viewed the vista before him, some part of his senses kicked in. There was something out there, something not right, something that was evil. It was nothing he could put his finger on, just an overwhelming sense of badness. He looked back at Buffy's sleeping form. The sooner they could get the Slayer back into action the better.
The shrill ring of his phone broke his thoughts, once again.
"Angel, it's Wesley. I think I've found something."
"Go on."
"Its an ancient ritual I found in the Books of the Lost. Thousands of years ago, there was a mighty war waged between two powerful armies, and there was a sect called the "Lost Soldiers". It appears that a spell was used, by one side, to wipe the memories of some of the enemy soldiers, so that they could be tricked into changing sides. The ritual was created to restore the soldiers back to the side of good."
"Can you fax the relevant pages to Giles?" Angel asked.
"The spell is very complex Angel, its also very powerful and requires a large number of casters. May I suggest that we bring the spell to Sunnydale tonight?"
"I can't expect you all to come here, not knowing what is going on." Angel replied.
"Whatever you are doing Angel, is it important to you?"
"Yes."
"Then we will be there before midnight."
Angel put the mobile phone back into his pocket and walked over to where Buffy was sleeping. He crouched down next to her and gently stroked her face.
"Buffy?" he whispered.
She slowly opened her eyes, and he was faced, once more, with those deep pools of green that he knew he could get lost in.
"We have to go."
"Go where?" she asked.
"We have to go see Giles. We've found something."
"A cure?"
"I hope so."
Angel watched her get to her feet and was gladdened to see a familiar resolve set in her face. They made their way out of the mansion and across the cemetery, to where Angel had left his car the night before. He reached into the back and produced a blanket to wipe the seats down, silently cursing the rain from the previous night.
"I can't believe you own a car like this!" Buffy said, as they set off.
Angel looked over, and for the first time since he'd found her in the mansion, he saw the beginning of a smile on her face.
"What do you mean? I like this car."
"It's the kind of car that Giles would pick."
"It's a classic, thank you."
"That's code for slow, isn't it? I have a severe problem with the taste of all the important men in my life." Buffy decided.
Angel noted the word 'important' in that sentence. However, all too quickly, the mood turned dark, once more, as they pulled up outside Giles's apartment block.
"Who's going to be there?" Buffy asked, as they sat in the car.
"Well, Giles, Willow and Xander. Much as it pains me, I think Spike will be there, Dawn will be as well. Some other friends of yours and some friends of mine are coming from Los Angeles with the book."
"Friends from Los Angeles?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn and Fred I think."
"Cordelia? She's with you in Los Angeles?"
"Yes, she works for, well with me…"
"Cordelia gets to be with you and I don't?"
"Buffy, it's not like that."
"Do you love her?" Buffy asked in a small voice.
"As a friend, yes, but there is nothing between Cordelia and I, nor with anyone else." Angel said, trying to reassure, without confusing her too much.
"What did I do wrong? What did I do to make you leave?" Buffy asked, tears in her eyes.
Angel took a deep breath, unnecessary but involuntary, tears were pricking at the back of his own eyes in response to the question before him.
"You didn't do anything wrong. I just couldn't give you what I thought you needed."
"Which was?"
"A normal life."
"So you just left?"
Angel turned to face her taking her small, cold hands into his large ones.
"Buffy, if I had the chance again, I would never leave you." he paused for a moment before adding, "We'd better go inside. Are you ready?"
"Do you love me?"
"I've never stopped and I always will."
She leaned over the seat and gently pressed her lips against his, tenderly searching his mouth with her tongue. He responded in kind and crushed her small body against his. She pulled back and looked into his eyes.
"Then I'm ready."
He got out of the car and opened her door for her. She reached out to him and he helped her out, and then, hand in hand, they headed towards the apartment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hours passed uncomfortably in the apartment. After they had arrived, the group of friends sat around like strangers, no one sure what to say. Dawn had huddled in one corner talking to Spike, Buffy sat by Angel's side. Angel had repressed the desire to go over to the younger vampire and beat him senseless, knowing, for the moment, he had to stay focused on Buffy and help her through this. Spike was looking after Dawn, after all, although that didn't make Angel warm to him anymore. Tara had stayed close to Dawn, with Willow next to her. Xander and Anya had taken the sofa and Giles was in an armchair.
Very little had been said between the different groups since Angel and Buffy had walked in. Buffy had asked a few questions about the ritual, but Giles didn't have many answers until Wesley arrived. She had finally gone into one of the other rooms with Angel, to prepare herself for the ritual.
Angel came out of the room, briefly, while Buffy was having a rest. He took the opportunity, while Spike was getting some beer, to go and speak to Dawn.
He sat down on the floor next to her.
"Hi Angel." the young girl said.
"Hi, Dawn. How are you?"
"Not brilliant." she said, emphasising the point by sniffing.
"I can understand that."
"Is Buffy OK?"
"She's as well as can be expected, but very confused."
"I'm glad you're here." Dawn said, giving him a small smile.
"So am I." Angel replied.
"Things always seem better when you're around. Will this spell work?" she asked.
"I hope so."
"I just want her back, Angel, it's too hard without her." she wrapped her arms around him, sobbing quietly.
He gently stroked her back as she cried into his chest.
"I know." he whispered.
Around midnight, the welcome knock on the door came and Giles opened it to greet Wesley and Cordelia and two unfamiliar faces.
Angel came over to where his friends were. Cordelia immediately embraced him in a hug and Wesley placed a hand on his shoulder, just to let him know that they were there for him.
Angel turned to face the Sunnydale gang once more and began introductions.
"Everyone, here are Wesley and Cordelia, who most of you know, and with them, Gunn and Fred.
"That's a girl!" Anya exclaimed, "but with a boy's name."
Xander tried to quiet her, as Fred blushed bright red at the attention.
"It's, it's short for Winifred," she almost whispered.
"Thank you all for coming." Giles said.
He briefly introduced everyone in the room, for the benefit of the Los Angeles group. Fortunately, it seemed that the monk's spell, regarding Dawn, had ventured as far as Cordelia and Wesley, so they didn't think anything was amiss.
"Have you got the book Wesley?"
"Yes, it's here, maybe you'd better fill us in, so to speak."
Before Angel could begin to explain what had happened, a small voice came from the doorway.
"Is it time?"
Wesley, Cordelia, Gunn and Fred all turned to look at the new arrival.
"You brought her back!" Cordelia cried, "You brought her back and didn't tell us, it's like Darla all over again."
"It's nothing like that, Cordy." Angel said, "I didn't bring Buffy back, I just found her, last night. I'd come back to visit her grave."
"I brought her back." Willow's voice came from the centre of the room.
"This is what you need the spell for." Wesley concluded.
"Yes, for some reason, Giles will explain, Buffy has been restored to age18, we need to bring all the other memories back."
Giles took Wesley over to the kitchen area and the two Englishmen started talking animatedly about the ritual.
Spike was sent to the Magic Shop with Anya and Tara to get the supplies needed for the spell, leaving Willow and Xander with Dawn.
Cordelia went over and sat with them.
"Hi Cordelia." Willow began.
"Hi Cordy."
"So, what's been happening in good ol' Sunnydale, then?" she asked.
"The usual," Xander replied, "killing demons, averting the apocalypse, resurrecting old friends. It never changes, does it?"
"Are things all right with you, Willow?"
"Everything's great, thanks, Tara and I are getting along really well."
"That's good." Cordelia looked at the floor, as silence came over them all once more.
"Oh, Xander has some news." Willow said, looking pointedly at Xander.
"I do? Oh, yeah, Anya and I are engaged."
Cordelia looked shocked for a moment.
"Congratulations," she said, a false smile across her face, "you two make a nice couple."
"Thanks, Cordy! So how's the glamorous life in LA? I'll bet you're wowing them all at those Hollywood events."
"Events, me? Oh yeah, of course, parties every night, I can barely keep up with it all. So many men to date, so little time." She added a little laugh onto the end and hoped her acting skills had convinced them. She got up and walked over to Angel.
"Stake me now!" she requested.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm 20 years old and I have no life. I used to be Cordelia, Queen of Sunnydale High, beating the men off with a stick. Now look at me. I think sweat pants are a good idea for daywear; I don't meet any men because I work all night and sleep all day. I share my house with a poltergeist and if I did get to go on a date, I'd scare the living hell out of any man, when I suddenly collapsed on the floor with a mind-blowing vision. Oh yeah, and I forgot, the one time I did get a date I ended up pregnant with a litter of demon babies. Yeah, I've changed since high school. I was going to be a famous actress! I'm that un-practiced in my acting skills now, that I could only get a job on Spelling's new soap!"
"Heard about Xander and Anya then?" Angel hazarded a guess.
"I mean, I was the popular one. It's my right to move on first, he's not supposed to be able to replace me just like that, and with a demon!"
"Ex-demon." Angel corrected.
"Yeah, like that matters."
Cordelia slumped against the wall, sulking.
Angel turned to where Buffy was trying to make polite conversation with Gunn and Fred, however, none of them were very talkative and he could tell that Buffy was getting anxious. He walked over to where she was standing and put his hand on her shoulders; she sank back into his body and looked up at him.
"Is it time?"
"Nearly."
He could hear the sound of Spike and the girls returning with the ingredients.
They came in through the door and the group reassembled, as a whole, in the lounge, with Wesley and Giles at the head.
"We need the strong casters to form a circle. That will be myself, Wesley, Willow, Tara and Anya as the five needed. The rest of you will form an outer circle of concentration, to bring more power into the spell." Giles looked up to his Slayer. "Buffy, are you ready?"
She turned to Angel.
"Whatever happens, remember that I love you." she whispered.
He squeezed her hand gently, "I love you too."
"I'm ready."
She walked into the middle of the room and sat on the floor. The five casters sat around her and the outer circle formed behind them. Dawn was on the outer edge, with Spike on one side and Angel on the other, Angel had Cordelia next to him, which he appreciated. Gunn and Fred found themselves between Spike and Xander. The inner circle began the preparations for the ritual. Buffy sat silently, never taking her eyes from Angel's, and he did the same.
Giles began by daubing blood on Buffy's head, to signify the loss of life in battle, and then he mixed in a black powder said to be the ashes of the phoenix that arose from the flames. Elephant tusk and various herbs were ground in a pestle by Willow, who then set them on fire to produce a greenish, acrid smelling smoke in the air. Then the central circle began to chant.
Volere, cerchiamo il
seguente
restore le memorie in
questo corpo
le memorie che sono
state
perso noi possono
disposte e
e diamo questi regali
voi[1]
They chanted this over and over again, the words coming from five different mouths and in five different pitches, but they sounded like one. The outside circle closed their eyes and began to concentrate the magic. Angel was the last one to join in; his final view was of Buffy staring at him, her eyes not registering, a green cloud swirling around her beautiful blonde hair. He closed his eyes and prayed to any god that existed, to bring her through this, to bring Buffy back to them.
Buffy sat in the centre of the circle, her mind totally blank, she was beginning to think that this was all just a light show that it wasn't going to work, when images began to flash in her mind, slowly at first. The fight in the sewers, the prom, the last dance with Angel, graduation, college, Thanksgiving, the Initiative, Riley, Maggie, Faith, Adam, the first Slayer, images faster and faster now, almost too hard to differentiate... Dawn, her Mom sick, Riley leaving, Glory, her Mom dying, then the tower, the fall... too many images, too fast, too much to process. Tears streamed down her face as the emotions ran through her like a steam train. Everything she had experienced in two years condensed into five minutes, all the happiness, pain, anger and heartache in one big blow. It was too much for her; she pushed her hands against the side of her head, trying to squeeze the images out of her head. She screamed out in anguish and collapsed to the floor.
The room broke out into chaos; everyone's eyes were wide open at this point. At least five people were rushing to Buffy's side, but Angel, who seemed to have materialised by her side, beat all of them, he was there that quick. Her head was resting on his lap and he was gently stroking her face. Dawn was crouched by his side, her face holding a stunned expression. Giles was standing above them, with Spike and Willow flanking Dawn. Xander found himself standing just off from this group, one hand holding on to Anya and one holding on to Tara, it was an unconscious thing, he'd just needed to feel real people on both side of him. The LA gang had moved off to one side, but not too far from Angel.
"Do something, please!" Dawn was screaming at Angel. "Wake her up, please Angel, please, she can't die again."
Angel put his free arm around the young girl as he stared down into the face of his soulmate. She seemed so peaceful and calm just lying there, like she was asleep. He could hear Willow sobbing above his head, murmuring about it all being her fault, but to him, it seemed like they were all in another place and all that existed in this place and time was Buffy.
He caressed her cheek, once more, and was stunned when she moved her head slightly, just as she had done in the mansion when she was asleep. He stroked his thumb down the edge of her eye and her lids slowly opened until he was looking into those vast pools of hazel. She opened her delicate lips and began to speak.
"An angel, boy, I really died this time!" Then she looked around the room and saw everyone else standing around her.
"Geez, crowd the casualty why don't you?"
She barely sat up when Dawn threw herself around her neck.
"Dawn!" she cried, in response, and hugged her little sister to her body, both crying tears of joy.
"You came back, you really did!" the young girl was saying.
Angel's hand had fallen from her face when she sat up and he stepped back towards the LA gang, behind her. Cordelia welcomed him, with a hand gently on his arm, and they watched the reunion scene unfold.
Giles walked up to where Buffy and Dawn were crumpled on the floor and after a moment's hesitation clasped his arms round both girls. After a moment he sat back and looked at the Slayer.
"How old are you Buffy?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm 20 aren't I?"
Giles nodded, a smile on his face.
"And what can you remember from before you woke up just now?"
"Not much from immediately before, a little hazy and very confused."
"Do you remember Glory?"
"Definitely, did I get a 10 for that dive off the tower?"
Everyone around the room looked slightly relieved at the answers she gave and the fact that she seemed to be back to 'Buffy standard'.
Xander walked over to her, next, and pulled her to her feet, he clasped her round the waist and spun her round in the air.
"Buffster! You're back."
Buffy squealed slightly, in reaction to the spinning, but when Xander put her back down she had a huge smile on her face. Anya walked over to her.
"I like you better alive than dead, now I can have my spare bedroom back."
"And thank you, Anya." Buffy said.
Spike ventured over, next, and threw his arms around her shoulders.
"Spike, I swear I'll stake you if you try to cop a feel."
"Slayer, would I?" Spike said, glaring across the room at where Angel was stood staring at Buffy's back. Any opportunity to upset his Sire he'd use to its full potential.
Spike finally let her go and Dawn took his place by her side again, however, Buffy was looking over to where Willow sat on the sofa with Tara. She was leaning heavily on Tara, tears streaming down. Buffy walked over and crouched down in front of her.
"Hey come on, Will, I'm OK, I'm back, isn't it supposed to be a happy occasion."
Willow looked up at her, her eyes all bloodshot.
"But I'm the one who did it, I'm the one who brought you back. This is all my fault, all this trouble and confusion."
Buffy took hold of her hand.
"Will, I love you, you're my best friend and you did what you thought was right. And I do hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think that all this was you. I was called before The Powers That Be, when I was, you know, up there, and they asked me to come back. They said they were going to give a little heavenly assistance to one of your spells. So it's OK, I wanted to come back, you did the best thing for me."
She hugged her best friend tightly. Then she looked up towards Tara.
"I hope you looked after her for me." She said to the shy witch.
Tara nodded.
"Thank you." Buffy said.
"So the Powers were involved in your return?" Giles asked.
"Yeah, they had that old 'end of the line' problem. Rogue slayer, no replacement, so they thought I fit the job description quite well."
"They can't help, but meddle, can they? They could have at least sent a vision."
Cordelia's comment made Buffy spin round until she was facing the LA gang. The look on her face told them, that in all the confusion, she had forgotten that they had come.
"Angel? I thought I was dreaming when I saw you."
"We came to help with the spell." he said, by way of explanation. He could tell, by her eyes, that she couldn't really remember much of the past day or so.
She walked over to where they stood. Cordelia hugged her first and then she was passed on to Fred, who nervously welcomed her back and then Gunn. Wesley hemmed and hawed a little, but then, grasped her in a hug.
"Thank you, even though I don't entirely know who you all are. But thank you for all your help and your support."
Then, before she knew it, she was standing in front of him, looking up into those dark chocolate eyes.
"Angel" she whispered.
"Welcome back." he said and he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her small body. She sunk into his embrace and her body warmed to his as he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. She looked up into his eyes.
"My head feels kinda fuzzy," she explained, "I get the feeling we need to talk, but I'm not quite sure what's happened yet."
Angel's kind, understanding eyes stared back down at her.
"Can you give me a bit of time to sort of this out? Get things clear in my head?" she asked.
"Take whatever time you need," Angel told her, "I'll be waiting."
"I think Dawn needs you more than anyone at the moment," he continued.
Buffy nodded, tears in her eyes.
"Thank you. I'll come to see you before sunset tomorrow. I promise. Where will you be?"
"The mansion." Angel replied.
Buffy pulled him close once more; knowing in her heart it was the right thing to do. Then she let go and was pulled into the circle of her family once more. Angel stood there for a moment, at a loss without the feel of her body close to his.
Wesley spoke out.
"Giles? Would it be better if we were to patrol Sunnydale for you tonight? Give you all some time to sort things out."
"Thank you Wesley, that would be appreciated."
Wesley nodded and herded the LA gang towards the door, Cordelia practically dragging Angel, with his eyes kept firmly on Buffy. She, in turn, watched him from her position in the centre of the room until the door closed behind him.
However, she was soon overcome by her family, all of whom wanted to hug her, or touch her, or talk to her, or ask her some question.
"OK, stop with the Buffy petting." she said, laughing. "Can we sit down, and then, maybe, I can start piecing all of this together a little."
They all sat down in Giles' lounge. Dawn stuck close to Buffy's side, Willow and Tara sat together on an armchair, Xander and Anya mirroring their position on the opposite chair and Giles stood in front of the mantelpiece.
"So, anyone want to fill me in on what's happened since I was brought back? 'Cause I have to say, all a bit fuzzy for me." Buffy said.
Spike loitered in the kitchen for a moment. He wanted to sit there with them all, to add in the sarcastic comments and the little snipes and generally just be in the area where she was, but he had another pressing engagement. He took one look at the group in the lounge and crept quietly out of the front door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The LA gang was walking the streets of Sunnydale, Cordelia up front, giving Gunn and Fred a guided tour of her hometown.
"And that's my old high school," she said, pointing at the burnt out building. "God, those were good years, you know, apart from it being on the Hellmouth and all…"
Angel walked slowly at the back, Wesley by his side. He was concentrating on trying to tune Cordelia out; he had enough racing through his mind at the moment without bringing back even more old memories.
"Penny for them?" Wesley said, cautiously.
"What? Oh." said Angel. "Just got a few things on my mind."
"May I hazard a guess that they all involve Buffy?"
"It's just, I thought I knew what was going on, what we wanted, but that was yesterday. She was 18-year-old Buffy and none of the past two years had happened. We were still hopelessly in love with one another."
"And now?"
"She has an entire life here without me."
"Do you love her?"
"Without question."
"Then you have to do what feels right."
Angel looked at his friend for a second, but a shadow in the alleyway near the school caught his eye. He moved over closer and reached out an arm.
"Oh look, I caught a Spike," he growled.
"Hey, Peaches, wanna try putting me down, you're half strangling me here."
"And?"
"And I'm no bloody good to you dead."
"Give me one good reason why?" Angel replied.
"Buffy."
The sound of her name made Angel drop his catch for the moment, but his body tensed ready to jump again at a second's notice.
"What about Buffy."
"Well, you know, I guessed you'd be out here, brooding over the tragic love affair that is the two of you, so I thought I'd give you some friendly advice."
"I don't need advice off you."
"No, course not, its just, you see, where have you been for the past two years? 'Cause me; I've been by the Slayer's side, day after day, week after week. I've seen her cry over you mate, seen her go all dark and broody every now and again, thinking of you."
"Where's this heading, Spike, because I'm losing my patience."
"There's no place for you in her life anymore, Peaches. I'm the all the vampire she needs and she's got friends around her to take care of her. She doesn't need you."
"That's for her to decide."
"What, you think she still pines after you, still loves you? Let me tell you something mate, just because she's given you the 'Riley left 'cause I didn't love him enough story', and sniffled into your shoulder after her Mom died, doesn't mean she wants you back."
"Riley did leave her, I believe her."
"Oh yeah, he did leave her, but did she mention that she ran screaming after him? Or that she cried for two days after he left?" Spike grinned in the moonlight. "Face it, Sire, a few whispered platitudes yesterday don't mean jack. She thought she was 18, that the world revolved around you. She's grown up again now, she's found her life again and you're not in it."
Angel swung round and landed a punch on Spike's jaw that knocked the younger vampire on the ground.
"You can't dust me, Peaches, I'm you're substitute, I'm one of the Scoobies. How would you explain that to our little Slayer."
Angel glared at his offspring on the ground. He took a quick glance about the alley and then picked the skinny body of Spike up and dropped the kicking and yelling vampire into the nearest dumpster.
"I can't kill you, but I'll make damn sure you don't go near her for a while." he muttered under his breath.
He turned around and walked off down the street, shortly followed by the rest of his friends.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Spike waited until he heard their footsteps die away and then he climbed out of the metal container. He had to admit, Angel had picked wisely, a dumpster full of rubbish from the fish restaurant nearby. But in spite of the mess he looked, and the way he smelt, Spike smiled to himself. It might not have done a lot of good, goading Angel like that, but he had the feeling that it had set the tiniest bit of doubt into his mind. With any luck, the big poof would up and leave before Buffy even had chance to speak to him, and then everything would be back to normal again.
END OF CHAPTER 5
Feedback (how will I know if people want me
to carry on if you don't give me some feedback!)
[1] We the willing, seek the
following
Restore
the memories into this body
The
memories that have been lost
We are willing and able and give these gifts to you
