I had the idea for this story a while ago, and it's been sitting in my files ever since. It's not a long story, and although I'm writing several at the moment, I thought, what the heck, out with it. So here it is. Tell me what you think about it, and if you want to read the rest.
FIC: Love's Gift (1/5ish)
Author: Jill
Disclaimer: let me check ... nope, still don't own them. And I have to
mention Kelly Rowe's story, "What I Need", because it gave me the
inspiration.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: B/A, and the usual pairings from the show
Distribution: my site (http://www.never-ending-love.de), Land of Denial,
if you have any of my stories, take it; anybody else tell me where it goes
Spoilers: BtVS up to the scene in "Passion" where Angel climbs into Buffy's
bedroom is a fair game. It slips into AU after that.
Feedback: oh yes, please, and give some to Kelly, too!
Dedication: this goes to Kelly, because her story gave me the inspiration.
Thanks, sweetie!
Note: if you want to read Kelly's story, it's at her site, but be aware
that it's NC-17 (strong), http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/abt/af/sawhatineed.html
The water in the teapot spilled all over the kitchen counter, Giles'
hands were shaking so badly. He knew it was a belated reaction to
shock, knew it all too well, because he'd experienced it before,
several times in fact.
He encountered demons, fought vampires, averted apocalypses by
helping the Slayer to understand their workings, and he'd seen
things nobody would believe, but try as he might, he couldn't
remember even having been so shocked before.
The evening had started so promising. He invited Jenny to come
over, to settle the problems between them, knowing they couldn't
go on like this. With Angelus wracking havoc all over town they
couldn't afford to ignore her knowledge about the nature of
Angel's curse. Besides after weeks of resenting her, Giles
realised he missed her dearly, her beautiful face, her fancy
clothes, her laugh, and so he'd tried to get over the anger he
was still harbouring against her, the disappointment of her
betrayal, and had invited her.
And now she was sitting in his living room, wearing an equally
shocked expression, he guessed, waiting for him to come back
so that they could talk and somehow understand what had occurred
last night.
"Tea will be ready in a few minutes," he called over his shoulder,
deliberately avoiding to look at the people assembled in his
living room.
To think he'd been worried sick when Buffy hadn't come back to
report last night, to think he'd been worried even more when he
couldn't find her the whole day. Granted, it was Saturday and
for that no school, but he hadn't been able to contact her by
phone either. He had called her house, only to find out that
her mother had gone, too. Probably one of her art exhibitions.
Giles sighed, realising with dread the tea was ready and there
was no way to put this off any longer. Loading a tray with two
more cups, the fresh tea, and some cookies, he took a deep
breath, then walked back into the living-room.
Summoning a smile, he placed the tray on the table. "Here we
go. Some fresh tea, and something to nibble at."
Jenny laughed nervously, her eyes restless, her fingers
entwined tightly, her knuckles white. "Thank you, Rupert."
The other two persons didn't say anything. They just watched
him fill the cups, waited until he sat down, looking at them.
Had there been a tense silence while he'd been brewing the tea,
it was awkward now, none of them knowing how to begin, what to
say.
Giles finally cleared his throat, "So," he began. "Anyone
explain this to me now?"
They shifted in their seats, exchanged glances, but didn't say
a word.
"It could get a little bit one sided if I'm the only one talking
tonight," the watcher went on, not bothering that a sarcastic
note had entered his voice. "Besides, you came to me, and ...
after the initial shock has worn off now, I find myself quite
interested to hear what exactly caused this." He steeled
himself for a moment, then turned his head, for the first
time looking directly at the vampire sitting in front of him.
Ever since he'd found Buffy and Angel standing in front of his
door tonight, he'd avoided looking at the vampire. He wasn't
sure why, maybe because he would hate to see the emptiness in
their former ally's eyes, or maybe because he had to acknowledge
he was really here. Not just some projection his imagination had
made up.
But Angel was sitting there, his eyes showing feelings only a
soul could cause.
Or maybe, Giles thought, he'd hadn't wanted to see the deep
guilt, the remorse, the shame, he was seeing now. "Maybe you
could explain," the watcher urged, getting more impatient
with each passing moment. The adrenaline had worn off by now,
and he was anxious to understand what was going on.
The last time he'd seen Angel, the vampire had been evil,
vicious, and ... well, soulless. He wasn't anymore.
Giles simply hated being left in the dark.
"Actually," Buffy managed to speak at last, "we're not sure."
"Ah," the watcher nodded. "That's ... er ... not very helpful,
I'm afraid. I mean, Angel obviously is in full possession of his
soul again, and for all our sakes, I'd like to understand what
happened."
"So would we," Angel agreed, looking at the older man seriously.
"That's why we came."
Giles quickly glanced at Jenny, only to see her staring at the
carpet, then shifted his attention back at Angel. "Fine. Well,
maybe it would be helpful if you just told me what happened.
Maybe if I knew ... we would be able to find the reason for
the ... the change."
"Maybe someone just cursed him again," Buffy offered, her voice
uncertain, a blush staining her cheeks.
"That's not very likely." Jenny spoke up for the first time,
her voice strained. "I cannot see my people repeating the
curse. It was a single act. Born from pain. By a need for
revenge. They wouldn't just do it again - hundred years
later."
"They are the ones who cursed him with a stupid loophole," the
slayer replied, feeling anger boiling up inside of her. It was
a good feeling. Safe. "It wouldn't surprise me if they held a
grudge for even longer. That strange uncle of yours certainly did."
"My uncle ...," Jenny looked at the ground again, frowned, then
gazed at Angel, "He was very caught up into the traditions of my
people. I agree that his ... behaviour, his actions, weren't
justified."
"Believe me, they were," was all Angel said to it, his eyes
serious and so incredibly sad, the gypsy felt doubly ashamed
for having been part of this whole affair.
"Angel," she said, "whatever you did. Or rather the demon did,
it didn't give them ... us ... a right to inflict this kind
of torture on your soul. I cannot tell you how it makes me
feel to actually have supported what happened to you. My only
excuse is that I had no idea what I was getting into when
they sent me to Sunnydale to watch you."
"Jenny." Angel's voice was soft, "I would never blame you.
I'm hardly in a position to blame anyone."
"But I did," Buffy cut in, "And I'm resenting you for not
telling us. You knew Angel and I loved each other, you saw
us together. You knew what was going to happen, or at least
could have guessed it. But you did nothing to prevent it. You
only came out with the truth when it was too late already."
"Buffy," the vampire took the Slayer's hand. "Let it go. We
shouldn't dwell on it. There's more important stuff we have
to worry about."
She looked at him for a moment, then sighed, "Okay. Fine.
Let's forget about it." Her gaze shifted at Jenny. "Maybe
we could start out new."
The computer teacher's smile was wobbly, "I'd like that."
"Well, now that we've established that," Giles' impatient
voice intruded their little reunion, "can we come back to
the matter at hand. How Angel regained his soul. I still
don't understand it."
He saw Buffy blush again, clear her throat, then she looked
away, but Giles had already seen the flash of embarrassment
flicker through her eyes. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable
himself, he turned towards Angel again.
Taking an unnecessary breath, the vampire got the hint.
"Last night I ... that is the demon ... climbed into Buffy's
bedroom." He took another breath, combed a hand through his
hair, "I don't know how much the watcher diaries say about
Angelus, but in my soulless state I do have a thing for
mind-games. And I tend to get obsessed with things."
"I see," Giles nodded. "Obsessions like - Buffy?"
"Yes. Like her. The fact that I'm in love with her only adds
to the temptation." He shook his head, "Anyways. I intended
to draw a picture, leave it on her pillow, for her to find it
in the morning. I even started to draw when Buffy suddenly
woke up."
He grew quiet for a moment, looked at the girl beside him.
She gave him a quick smile, squeezed his hand. It gave him the
courage to go on. "Well, I ... don't exactly know what happened.
She was still half-asleep, and she looked so tempting and ...,"
he cleared his throat, not comfortable with the subject, even more
hating the fact he had to talk about it in public.
Angel had always been an intensely private person. He didn't
go out to share his feelings. Hundred years of brooding on his
own had shaped him. This, plus his upbringing at a time when
subjects like this were never discussed in public, barely
mentioned in private, only added to his distress. For the
first time he was actually glad he couldn't blush.
He was glad to see that Giles and Jenny seemed as uncomfortable
as he, and he was even more glad to see that they'd obviously
understood what he had hinted at. "So you ... uh ... you know,"
the watcher cleared his throat, "And what then?"
"Only seconds afterwards he ... he started to groan, clutched
his head, then became unconscious," Buffy told them, realising
that this was the part she had to explain. "When he woke up,
he was Angel again." She shrugged, as if to indicate that she
had not the slightest idea what had caused this.
"I can't believe this," Giles said, his movements suddenly jerky.
"Neither could I," Buffy agreed, suddenly eager to get this
over with, pleasantly surprised it was going to well. "I mean,
I ... I even handcuffed him. To my bed. And ... and ... and ...
God, I was so glad mom wasn't at home. And then he woke up ... and
here he was. Angel."
She shot the vampire a quick glance. She would never tell
anybody, how she had felt when she'd finally realised he'd
really come back. Nobody would ever know how he'd broken down
in front of her, sobbing uncontrollably when his memory returned,
when he realised what had happened and more importantly what had
caused it. That one moment of true happiness, a moment of beauty,
had caused such pain and chaos.
Giles would never know that they held each other the rest of
the night and the whole day, needing the contact, the feeling of
the other near by, to assure themselves this was true, and not
just a dream. That only afterwards they had been able to face the
world, to find out what had happened.
These things were private, and would stay between them. It was
nobody's business but theirs. And it would stay that way. Buffy
knew that the coming weeks would be hard, and she could almost
hear Xander. He was already carrying so much resentment towards
Angel, she could imagine his reaction. But she would never betray
Angel's trust by telling the others what had occurred the last
24 hours, even if it would help for them to understand how it was
for him. That Angel - with his soul - was as much a victim, if not
even more, than they were.
She jerked almost as if she'd been slapped when Giles suddenly
stood up, and shouted, "This was incredibly irresponsible of you.
Not to say extremely foolish. He might have killed you after ...
well, afterwards."
"Rupert." Jenny reached out, but the watcher avoided her touch,
gesturing wildly at the couple.
"There is no excuse. You behaved immaturely, and ... I don't know
what to say. I can ... up to a certain degree ... understand Angel.
He was a soulless demon after all. But you ..."
"I know that," Buffy whispered, tears welling up in her eyes,
her whole body vibrating, "I know it, okay. I know it was
irresponsible, and foolish, and ... really bad, but it happened.
It just happened. I'm human. I make mistakes. Those things happen."
Her voice had been raising during her speech and in the end she
was yelling at him, her eyes blazing.
"You are the Slayer," Giles countered, noticing with irritation
that Angel ran his hand up and down Buffy's bare arm, telling her
without words that he would be there for her, no matter what.
The watcher knew it shouldn't surprise him. After all Slayer and
vampire had touched each other much more intimately already, but it
did, and so he added, "You're *not* just a regular human girl."
"I know that, too," she shot back. "Don't you think I realise that?
I don't have a normal life, I will never have a normal life.
It ended the day some strange English guy came into and turned
it upside down." A sob escaped her, and she pressed her free
hand on her mouth.
"Buffy."
She took several breaths, then turned towards Angel. He was
watching her with concern, his eyes full of love, full of all the
feelings she had missed for too long. "What?," she asked, trying
to calm down.
He gave her a slight smile, then his gaze shifted towards Jenny,
who hadn't said very much so far, but there was understanding and
compassion in her eyes. Finally he settled on Giles. "Yelling and
shouting at each other will lead us nowhere," he said slowly.
"I know I don't really have a right ...," he swallowed, quickly
looking at the ground, then back up, "But ... Slayer or no,
Buffy is still a seventeen year old girl. She already carries the
weight of the world more often than any of us can understand. She
didn't ... do what she ... we ... did deliberately. It happened."
Letting go of her hand, Angel stood, walked towards the door,
then back, "Don't think we don't know that ... this," he gestured
at Buffy, at him, "Us. We know that it shouldn't happen. But it
did. It does. When we were together the night of her birthday, none
of us could know what might happen."
"Well, one of us did," Buffy interrupted him flippantly, glaring
at Jenny. The Slayer knew she was behaving unreasonable with this,
knew she'd just promised to forget about it, but she just couldn't
forget what Jenny had done. The wounds the teacher's actions - or rather
non-actions - had caused, were to deep. Angel might have his soul
back, but Buffy wasn't certain if she would ever wake up without being
afraid she'd lost him again.
The computer teacher fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, shifting
uncomfortably in the chair. "I've repeatedly announced how sorry I am
for the things that happened. I ... I know I deceived you and
deliberately let you believe I was your friend, when I was spying on
you all the time. But if you let me, I'd do anything to help. To redeem
myself in your eyes."
The Slayer's expression turned sly. "Well, you could," she said,
"How about you help to find out what's going on. And more importantly,
what the state of Angel's soul is now."
... to be continued
FIC: Love's Gift (1/5ish)
Author: Jill
Disclaimer: let me check ... nope, still don't own them. And I have to
mention Kelly Rowe's story, "What I Need", because it gave me the
inspiration.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: B/A, and the usual pairings from the show
Distribution: my site (http://www.never-ending-love.de), Land of Denial,
if you have any of my stories, take it; anybody else tell me where it goes
Spoilers: BtVS up to the scene in "Passion" where Angel climbs into Buffy's
bedroom is a fair game. It slips into AU after that.
Feedback: oh yes, please, and give some to Kelly, too!
Dedication: this goes to Kelly, because her story gave me the inspiration.
Thanks, sweetie!
Note: if you want to read Kelly's story, it's at her site, but be aware
that it's NC-17 (strong), http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/abt/af/sawhatineed.html
The water in the teapot spilled all over the kitchen counter, Giles'
hands were shaking so badly. He knew it was a belated reaction to
shock, knew it all too well, because he'd experienced it before,
several times in fact.
He encountered demons, fought vampires, averted apocalypses by
helping the Slayer to understand their workings, and he'd seen
things nobody would believe, but try as he might, he couldn't
remember even having been so shocked before.
The evening had started so promising. He invited Jenny to come
over, to settle the problems between them, knowing they couldn't
go on like this. With Angelus wracking havoc all over town they
couldn't afford to ignore her knowledge about the nature of
Angel's curse. Besides after weeks of resenting her, Giles
realised he missed her dearly, her beautiful face, her fancy
clothes, her laugh, and so he'd tried to get over the anger he
was still harbouring against her, the disappointment of her
betrayal, and had invited her.
And now she was sitting in his living room, wearing an equally
shocked expression, he guessed, waiting for him to come back
so that they could talk and somehow understand what had occurred
last night.
"Tea will be ready in a few minutes," he called over his shoulder,
deliberately avoiding to look at the people assembled in his
living room.
To think he'd been worried sick when Buffy hadn't come back to
report last night, to think he'd been worried even more when he
couldn't find her the whole day. Granted, it was Saturday and
for that no school, but he hadn't been able to contact her by
phone either. He had called her house, only to find out that
her mother had gone, too. Probably one of her art exhibitions.
Giles sighed, realising with dread the tea was ready and there
was no way to put this off any longer. Loading a tray with two
more cups, the fresh tea, and some cookies, he took a deep
breath, then walked back into the living-room.
Summoning a smile, he placed the tray on the table. "Here we
go. Some fresh tea, and something to nibble at."
Jenny laughed nervously, her eyes restless, her fingers
entwined tightly, her knuckles white. "Thank you, Rupert."
The other two persons didn't say anything. They just watched
him fill the cups, waited until he sat down, looking at them.
Had there been a tense silence while he'd been brewing the tea,
it was awkward now, none of them knowing how to begin, what to
say.
Giles finally cleared his throat, "So," he began. "Anyone
explain this to me now?"
They shifted in their seats, exchanged glances, but didn't say
a word.
"It could get a little bit one sided if I'm the only one talking
tonight," the watcher went on, not bothering that a sarcastic
note had entered his voice. "Besides, you came to me, and ...
after the initial shock has worn off now, I find myself quite
interested to hear what exactly caused this." He steeled
himself for a moment, then turned his head, for the first
time looking directly at the vampire sitting in front of him.
Ever since he'd found Buffy and Angel standing in front of his
door tonight, he'd avoided looking at the vampire. He wasn't
sure why, maybe because he would hate to see the emptiness in
their former ally's eyes, or maybe because he had to acknowledge
he was really here. Not just some projection his imagination had
made up.
But Angel was sitting there, his eyes showing feelings only a
soul could cause.
Or maybe, Giles thought, he'd hadn't wanted to see the deep
guilt, the remorse, the shame, he was seeing now. "Maybe you
could explain," the watcher urged, getting more impatient
with each passing moment. The adrenaline had worn off by now,
and he was anxious to understand what was going on.
The last time he'd seen Angel, the vampire had been evil,
vicious, and ... well, soulless. He wasn't anymore.
Giles simply hated being left in the dark.
"Actually," Buffy managed to speak at last, "we're not sure."
"Ah," the watcher nodded. "That's ... er ... not very helpful,
I'm afraid. I mean, Angel obviously is in full possession of his
soul again, and for all our sakes, I'd like to understand what
happened."
"So would we," Angel agreed, looking at the older man seriously.
"That's why we came."
Giles quickly glanced at Jenny, only to see her staring at the
carpet, then shifted his attention back at Angel. "Fine. Well,
maybe it would be helpful if you just told me what happened.
Maybe if I knew ... we would be able to find the reason for
the ... the change."
"Maybe someone just cursed him again," Buffy offered, her voice
uncertain, a blush staining her cheeks.
"That's not very likely." Jenny spoke up for the first time,
her voice strained. "I cannot see my people repeating the
curse. It was a single act. Born from pain. By a need for
revenge. They wouldn't just do it again - hundred years
later."
"They are the ones who cursed him with a stupid loophole," the
slayer replied, feeling anger boiling up inside of her. It was
a good feeling. Safe. "It wouldn't surprise me if they held a
grudge for even longer. That strange uncle of yours certainly did."
"My uncle ...," Jenny looked at the ground again, frowned, then
gazed at Angel, "He was very caught up into the traditions of my
people. I agree that his ... behaviour, his actions, weren't
justified."
"Believe me, they were," was all Angel said to it, his eyes
serious and so incredibly sad, the gypsy felt doubly ashamed
for having been part of this whole affair.
"Angel," she said, "whatever you did. Or rather the demon did,
it didn't give them ... us ... a right to inflict this kind
of torture on your soul. I cannot tell you how it makes me
feel to actually have supported what happened to you. My only
excuse is that I had no idea what I was getting into when
they sent me to Sunnydale to watch you."
"Jenny." Angel's voice was soft, "I would never blame you.
I'm hardly in a position to blame anyone."
"But I did," Buffy cut in, "And I'm resenting you for not
telling us. You knew Angel and I loved each other, you saw
us together. You knew what was going to happen, or at least
could have guessed it. But you did nothing to prevent it. You
only came out with the truth when it was too late already."
"Buffy," the vampire took the Slayer's hand. "Let it go. We
shouldn't dwell on it. There's more important stuff we have
to worry about."
She looked at him for a moment, then sighed, "Okay. Fine.
Let's forget about it." Her gaze shifted at Jenny. "Maybe
we could start out new."
The computer teacher's smile was wobbly, "I'd like that."
"Well, now that we've established that," Giles' impatient
voice intruded their little reunion, "can we come back to
the matter at hand. How Angel regained his soul. I still
don't understand it."
He saw Buffy blush again, clear her throat, then she looked
away, but Giles had already seen the flash of embarrassment
flicker through her eyes. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable
himself, he turned towards Angel again.
Taking an unnecessary breath, the vampire got the hint.
"Last night I ... that is the demon ... climbed into Buffy's
bedroom." He took another breath, combed a hand through his
hair, "I don't know how much the watcher diaries say about
Angelus, but in my soulless state I do have a thing for
mind-games. And I tend to get obsessed with things."
"I see," Giles nodded. "Obsessions like - Buffy?"
"Yes. Like her. The fact that I'm in love with her only adds
to the temptation." He shook his head, "Anyways. I intended
to draw a picture, leave it on her pillow, for her to find it
in the morning. I even started to draw when Buffy suddenly
woke up."
He grew quiet for a moment, looked at the girl beside him.
She gave him a quick smile, squeezed his hand. It gave him the
courage to go on. "Well, I ... don't exactly know what happened.
She was still half-asleep, and she looked so tempting and ...,"
he cleared his throat, not comfortable with the subject, even more
hating the fact he had to talk about it in public.
Angel had always been an intensely private person. He didn't
go out to share his feelings. Hundred years of brooding on his
own had shaped him. This, plus his upbringing at a time when
subjects like this were never discussed in public, barely
mentioned in private, only added to his distress. For the
first time he was actually glad he couldn't blush.
He was glad to see that Giles and Jenny seemed as uncomfortable
as he, and he was even more glad to see that they'd obviously
understood what he had hinted at. "So you ... uh ... you know,"
the watcher cleared his throat, "And what then?"
"Only seconds afterwards he ... he started to groan, clutched
his head, then became unconscious," Buffy told them, realising
that this was the part she had to explain. "When he woke up,
he was Angel again." She shrugged, as if to indicate that she
had not the slightest idea what had caused this.
"I can't believe this," Giles said, his movements suddenly jerky.
"Neither could I," Buffy agreed, suddenly eager to get this
over with, pleasantly surprised it was going to well. "I mean,
I ... I even handcuffed him. To my bed. And ... and ... and ...
God, I was so glad mom wasn't at home. And then he woke up ... and
here he was. Angel."
She shot the vampire a quick glance. She would never tell
anybody, how she had felt when she'd finally realised he'd
really come back. Nobody would ever know how he'd broken down
in front of her, sobbing uncontrollably when his memory returned,
when he realised what had happened and more importantly what had
caused it. That one moment of true happiness, a moment of beauty,
had caused such pain and chaos.
Giles would never know that they held each other the rest of
the night and the whole day, needing the contact, the feeling of
the other near by, to assure themselves this was true, and not
just a dream. That only afterwards they had been able to face the
world, to find out what had happened.
These things were private, and would stay between them. It was
nobody's business but theirs. And it would stay that way. Buffy
knew that the coming weeks would be hard, and she could almost
hear Xander. He was already carrying so much resentment towards
Angel, she could imagine his reaction. But she would never betray
Angel's trust by telling the others what had occurred the last
24 hours, even if it would help for them to understand how it was
for him. That Angel - with his soul - was as much a victim, if not
even more, than they were.
She jerked almost as if she'd been slapped when Giles suddenly
stood up, and shouted, "This was incredibly irresponsible of you.
Not to say extremely foolish. He might have killed you after ...
well, afterwards."
"Rupert." Jenny reached out, but the watcher avoided her touch,
gesturing wildly at the couple.
"There is no excuse. You behaved immaturely, and ... I don't know
what to say. I can ... up to a certain degree ... understand Angel.
He was a soulless demon after all. But you ..."
"I know that," Buffy whispered, tears welling up in her eyes,
her whole body vibrating, "I know it, okay. I know it was
irresponsible, and foolish, and ... really bad, but it happened.
It just happened. I'm human. I make mistakes. Those things happen."
Her voice had been raising during her speech and in the end she
was yelling at him, her eyes blazing.
"You are the Slayer," Giles countered, noticing with irritation
that Angel ran his hand up and down Buffy's bare arm, telling her
without words that he would be there for her, no matter what.
The watcher knew it shouldn't surprise him. After all Slayer and
vampire had touched each other much more intimately already, but it
did, and so he added, "You're *not* just a regular human girl."
"I know that, too," she shot back. "Don't you think I realise that?
I don't have a normal life, I will never have a normal life.
It ended the day some strange English guy came into and turned
it upside down." A sob escaped her, and she pressed her free
hand on her mouth.
"Buffy."
She took several breaths, then turned towards Angel. He was
watching her with concern, his eyes full of love, full of all the
feelings she had missed for too long. "What?," she asked, trying
to calm down.
He gave her a slight smile, then his gaze shifted towards Jenny,
who hadn't said very much so far, but there was understanding and
compassion in her eyes. Finally he settled on Giles. "Yelling and
shouting at each other will lead us nowhere," he said slowly.
"I know I don't really have a right ...," he swallowed, quickly
looking at the ground, then back up, "But ... Slayer or no,
Buffy is still a seventeen year old girl. She already carries the
weight of the world more often than any of us can understand. She
didn't ... do what she ... we ... did deliberately. It happened."
Letting go of her hand, Angel stood, walked towards the door,
then back, "Don't think we don't know that ... this," he gestured
at Buffy, at him, "Us. We know that it shouldn't happen. But it
did. It does. When we were together the night of her birthday, none
of us could know what might happen."
"Well, one of us did," Buffy interrupted him flippantly, glaring
at Jenny. The Slayer knew she was behaving unreasonable with this,
knew she'd just promised to forget about it, but she just couldn't
forget what Jenny had done. The wounds the teacher's actions - or rather
non-actions - had caused, were to deep. Angel might have his soul
back, but Buffy wasn't certain if she would ever wake up without being
afraid she'd lost him again.
The computer teacher fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, shifting
uncomfortably in the chair. "I've repeatedly announced how sorry I am
for the things that happened. I ... I know I deceived you and
deliberately let you believe I was your friend, when I was spying on
you all the time. But if you let me, I'd do anything to help. To redeem
myself in your eyes."
The Slayer's expression turned sly. "Well, you could," she said,
"How about you help to find out what's going on. And more importantly,
what the state of Angel's soul is now."
... to be continued