Part 5.
When Angel arrived, bright and early the next morning, he was carrying an armful of expensive looking shopping bags.
Just finishing her nightshift, Tara Giles caught sight of the handsome young man as she wearily headed for home. She watched for a moment as he slowly climbed the hospital stairs. Liam looked tired again, his shoulders were slightly slumped and his deep brown eyes seemed lost in a world of their own.
Tara was usually a good judge of character and she knew immediately that things were not as they seemed with this man.
While working on Buffy's rehabilitation, she hadn't failed to notice how he acted around his young wife. Liam Angelus always seemed so cool, calm and collected with Buffy, but when he thought he wasn't being observed, his emotions were an entirely different story. Where Buffy was concerned he was definitely hiding his true face behind a stoic mask.
As she studied him more closely, Tara noticed a sadness about Liam that she'd rarely seen before. He showed all the classic signs of nursing a badly broken heart and yet that little scenario didn't make any sense at all. His wife, who even a complete stranger could see he adored, had miraculously survived the accident intact. Memory loss might be troublesome but it was far from being life threatening. Dr. Walsh had already confirmed that Buffy's amnesia had a 90% chance of being only temporary, and that the rest of her injuries would soon fade from sight. In no time at all Buffy had a great chance of being the same person she was before the accident.
On that information alone, Liam should have been the happiest man alive, but it was very clear to Tara that for some unknown reason he wasn't. From the dark look on his face as he reached the top step, Liam was a million miles away from being happy.
As he rounded the corner of the hospital and finally disappeared from her view, Tara sighed. Her patient, who she had grown very fond of, was going home with this man in a few days time.
Turning towards her car, Tara Giles hoped with all her heart that Buffy wasn't making a big mistake.
******
After inquiring about his wife's condition with the nurse on reception, Angel pushed open the door and quietly entered her room.
That morning the small, sterile room was bathed in soft golden sunlight, its' warm rays falling gently across Buffy's bed. As Angel moved closer he noticed that she was still sleeping peacefully. Her pale face resting against the hard pillow looked totally relaxed in its slumber. The swelling to her left eye seemed to have reduced and the beauty that lurked beneath the bruises shone out like a beacon in the dark.
"Angel" The sudden murmur of his name was so quiet that he almost missed it.
For a second he thought she was waking, but Buffy only sighed in her sleep and rolled over. In her new position, the soft rays of golden sunlight now highlighted her whole face. Her long blonde hair spilling softly across the pillow like an angelic halo.
At the sight, Angel's breath hitched in his throat and he was certain he felt his heart break for the millionth time.
Sitting quietly in the bedside chair, he watched as she continued to sleep for another hour, all the time refusing to give into the bitter tears that stung the back of his eyes.
With every minute that slowly ticked by, Angel's resolve grew stronger.
**It didn't matter how beautiful she looked, he would never let her get close enough to hurt him again**
****
"Good morning, or should I say afternoon?"
At the sound of his smooth voice Buffy's lashes flicked and slowly opened.
For a few seconds she seemed disorientated but as the haze of confusion lifted, the corners of her mouth turned into a small smile.
"Hi....." She finally returned the greeting to her early morning visitor.
**He's not a visitor, he's your husband** The little voice inside her head reminded her quickly.
Although Buffy still had problems thinking of Liam as her husband, she made a firm decision the night before to try a lot harder. If they were ever to get back to normal, or as close to normal as possible in the circumstances, she would have to accept without question that they had once shared a life together. It would be hard but it wouldn't be impossible... Or at least she hoped it wouldn't
Slowly sitting up she curiously eyed the bags he was holding.
"Your nurse, the one who was in here last night, she told me you needed a few things. I went shopping," Angel said casually dropping the parcels he'd purchased onto her bed.
"A few?" Buffy's eyes lit up.
" It looks like its Christmas morning." She smiled and reached excitedly for the first bag.
Angel watched quietly as an almost childish quality covered her beautiful features. For a second he was almost tempted to question her answer, which Christmas morning was she referring to? But just the look in her eyes made him hold back. For the first time since she had woken from the accident, the pain and confusion that had taken residence upon Buffy's face seemed to have faded from sight. A few parcels had done more than any pep talk could have. Without meaning to, Angel found his own face smiling back at her.
"I bought you some nightwear, a few toiletries and some clothes to travel home in. I hope they fit, Buffy. The jeans and shirt might be a little on the large size, you seem to have lost weight recently." His eyes hadn't failed to notice how tight her skin now stretched over her small frame.
**You seem to have lost weight recently**
Buffy thought the remark a little strange, surely she couldn't have lost that much weight in just a few days. But as she opened the next bag her attention switched to its contents.
"I..... I wasn't too sure of your bra size so I brought a few different ones" Angel stuttered slightly as the garments came into view.
Buffy looked up and caught the blush that crossed his cheeks before he had time to remove it. Looking back at the cream silk and lace underwear, she found herself wondering if he had ever bought her gifts like this before.
"They're lovely and I really appreciate you going to so much trouble..." Buffy gasped as she pulled a pale blue, silk, nightgown from a gift-wrapped package. When she looked back up, her eyes were once again filled with questions.
"What about my own clothes?" she asked quietly.
Angel sat back down in the chair next to her bed.
"The ones you were wearing were ruined in the accident. If you had any luggage on the bus it was destroyed in the fire. Of course, there's a possibility that the rest of your clothes are safe but because you can't remember where you were staying..."
"But surely you must know, I must have told you where I was going" Buffy interrupted.
Angel slowly shook his head.
"No" His voice was cold.
"This is getting more confusing by the second. How did the hospital know who I was? How did they know where to find you?
"They found your driving license and passport close to the wreckage" Angel noticed how pale she suddenly looked. Leaning forward he gently picked up the new nightgown, running the soft material through his fingers. The second he had seen it in the shop window he knew it would look beautiful against her golden skin.
" Buffy, why don't you get changed, I'm sure you'll feel much better once you're back in normal clothes." The subject was changed.
"Liam, please, I really need to understand..." Buffy changed it straight back again.
But Angel wasn't in the mood to be manipulated; the darkness that passed across his eyes made it perfectly clear that the conversation was over.
"We can talk about this later" Standing abruptly, he turned and walked towards the door.
"I'll see if that nurse is around, you might need some help" Without even looking back, Angel carried on out the room.
******
Five days later
The fire burned.
It tickled and teased, as it's hot red tentacles licked at her skin. Buffy reached out her hand and watched in horror as the once smooth texture of her tanned arm crinkled and blistered as it slowly melted from the bone. Pain bubbled up in her throat but when she tried to scream, the sound was lost. Lost deep in a maze of confusion. There was nowhere left to run nowhere safe to hide and no one she could trust. Backing into her shell she watched as the red evil moved ever closer, engulfing her in its heat and anger.
With her last breath she screamed.
"ANGEL.."
"Hey!"
The soft calming word instantly brought her out from the terror of her dream. Buffy slowly opened her eyes and blinked as warm brown orbs filled with concern stared deeply into her face.
"You were dreaming, only dreaming, Buffy" his gentle voice smothered her, washing away the pain of the fire.
Buffy's whole body trembled as she tried to sit up in her seat. All around her, the other passengers on the aircraft were already beginning to look away from the strange young woman who had called out so fearfully in her sleep. Forgetting the embarrassment that would have normally turned her cheeks scarlet, Buffy concentrated on controlling the violent trembling that had invaded her body.
"Sssh, It was only a dream" Angel continued to try and reassure his wife. The look of terror on her face was beginning to scare him.
"But it seemed so real" Buffy shook her head refusing to accept the truth for a few moments. Everything about the dream had been so real she could almost taste it.
"Was it the accident? Did you remember something?" Angel leant forward curiously.
Buffy closed her eyes as the visions continued to taunt her head. But no matter how hard she tried to put them in order, they were still nothing more than a jumbled mess.
"No, I don't think so. But even if it was, it didn't make any sense"
Angel couldn't help the small sigh of disappointment, for a moment he actually believed his wife was breaking through her blocked mind. He should have known better.
Buffy laid her head back against the headrest of her seat and let the low drones of the aircraft soothe her fragile nerves.
***
It was a long; tiring, flight from New York back to Sunnydale but the first class seats had made the journey slightly more bearable. Buffy's foot was still heavily bandaged and every thirty minutes she had to manoeuvre it in an attempt the stop the beginnings of cramp from setting in.
Originally, Angel had offered to drive them back to Sunnydale in his hire car, but the thought of travelling on the freeways so soon after almost being killed, was simply too much for Buffy's state of mind.
Just the short ride to the airport had been a nightmare. To Buffy, it seemed as if her whole new life was just one long nightmare after another.
The last week had passed in a blur and before she had time to realise it, she was being discharged and sent home.
It felt strange leaving the hospital, in its own way it had become a security blanket, a place where she actually felt safe. Now faced with the outside world and a husband she still didn't know, Buffy was hesitant to take the first step to rehabilitation. For some strange reason she couldn't quite understand, she felt as if she was stepping out of the frying pan, straight into the fire.
Standing on the steps outside the hospital entrance, her new friend had hugged her and wished her well. Tara slipped a small piece of paper into Buffy's pocket and told her that if she ever needed somebody to talk to, all she had to do was pick up the phone. At the sweet gesture, Buffy hugged her back, almost afraid to let go.
Adam Walsh then approached her; the good-looking doctor shook her hand and informed her that all her notes had been transferred to the hospital in Sunnydale. With an almost sad smile, he told his patient that any future treatment would be carried out there and he hoped it wasn't too long before her life became clearer. Lowering herself into the passenger seat of Angel's car, Buffy waved goodbye to her new friends until her eyes were so blurred with tears she could no longer see them.
***
Buffy shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She still couldn't believe she'd actually agreed to go home with a man she still had no memory of even marrying. Turning her head slightly, she carefully studied her travelling companion/husband.
He was handsome, in a drop dead gorgeous sort of way. He seemed intelligent, even considerate on occasion. The clothes he had brought her were expensive and tasteful. But what did she really know about this man.
**Nothing**
**No, that wasn't true**
He was cold and distant and sometimes even hostile..
Buffy struggled to find it in her heart to accept the truth. How could she have married a man who plainly didn't love her? She sneaked another look at him and found his enigmatic eyes studying her intensely- as if he too, was reassessing the person he had once known.
**The person she couldn't remember being.**
**The person that might be lost forever.**
She needed answers and he was the only one that could tell her.
"Liam, how did we meet?" Buffy started nervously.
Angel thought about the question very carefully before replying. He knew it made no sense lying. He understood that if he wanted to help Buffy remember her past, he would have to tell her certain things about their life together. Taking a deep breath, he brought the memory of their first meeting to the front of his mind and let it play out painfully before his eyes.
" You said it was lust at first sight. It must have been, because you chased me clear across Sunnydale, as I remember" Angel found himself smiling at the reminiscence. In his mind, he could see the younger version of Buffy as clear as day. Her hair was much longer in those days and she had the largest hazel eyes he had ever seen.
At the revelation, Buffy's jaw dropped open in shock. After the way Liam had behaved towards her the last week, it was the last thing she had expected to hear.
If Angel noticed the amazed expression cover her face he didn't comment on it.
His own expression seemed to take on a whole new life. For the first time Buffy saw the real man behind the mask he wore so securely.. Lost in a trip down memory lane, Angel continued with his story.
" You were relentless and ruthless" he grinned " But that's you all over Buffy. When you set your mind to something there's no changing it"
"Oh?" Now she really was speechless.
"Not that I didn't want to be chased." He chuckled lightly and the warm sound tugged at her heart.
"You were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, but that was the problem..."
Buffy opened her mouth again but she was still doing an impression of a goldfish. Her lips moved but no sound was made as she struggled to come to terms with the information about her past..
"You were a mere girl when we first met and I was terrified about the difference in our ages. At the time your mother had just died and I was acting on behalf of your father, he wanted custody of Dawn. I was working for Wolfram and Hart in those days; they were a large law practice in LA. It was a Friday afternoon, I'll never forget, you flew into my office like a tornado from hell. " At that point Angel looked up, his eyes burning with repressed feelings.
Buffy couldn't speak, or move, or hardly breathe as she waited for the story to continue.
"You were so tiny but you fought like a tiger. I don't think Hank Summers ever knew what really hit him..."
Buffy finally found her voice.
" You were helping my father take my little sister away from me?" she finally asked with disbelief.
Angel nodded
"For a while. After I read the case notes and talked to you and Dawn, I realised how wrong it was. I could see with my own eyes how much you loved your sister. I quit working for W&H and took your side instead, not that you needed me. Within a month you had won over your father, you were awarded custody of Dawn and..."
"And...?" Buffy bit hard into her bottom lip.
"I stopped running and let you catch me. I didn't care about our age difference any longer, I knew I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life..." Angel trailed off and looked down. He was suddenly worried that maybe he'd given too much of himself away.
"Did you love me?"
There was a faint uncertainty in her voice as Buffy struggled to accept the possibility. Coming from a man, who wouldn't even touch her, this was almost too hard to believe
Angel let out a deep breath and nodded his head sadly.
" Yes, I did"
"And did I love you?"
At her question he physically flinched.
**And did I love you**
Angel felt so frustrated he wanted to scream.
In that split second Buffy could see pure pain in the depths of his dark chocolate eyes. Pain and a deep-rooted sadness.
She waited for the answer but it never came.
The aircraft landing lights chose that precise moment to start flashing, warning that Sunnydale airport was fast approaching and that the pilot was getting ready to descend.
When Buffy looked back from the flashing light, her husband had turned his back and was now gazing out of the window. His broad shoulders seemed rigid and as far as he was concerned, the conversation was over.
Buffy checked her seat belt and laying her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes and tried to make sense of all the information she now knew..
Just watching Liam speak, she could feel the emotion of their past radiating off his body like heat on a warm summer's day. At times, when he spoke, there had been real passion in his eyes, both passion and tenderness. But there had also been bitterness and something a lot worse. Buffy almost swore at one point she saw outright hatred. It terrified her but it also sent her mind searching for answers.
If they really had fallen so hopelessly in love just a few short years earlier, what on earth could have ripped them apart?
TBC...
When Angel arrived, bright and early the next morning, he was carrying an armful of expensive looking shopping bags.
Just finishing her nightshift, Tara Giles caught sight of the handsome young man as she wearily headed for home. She watched for a moment as he slowly climbed the hospital stairs. Liam looked tired again, his shoulders were slightly slumped and his deep brown eyes seemed lost in a world of their own.
Tara was usually a good judge of character and she knew immediately that things were not as they seemed with this man.
While working on Buffy's rehabilitation, she hadn't failed to notice how he acted around his young wife. Liam Angelus always seemed so cool, calm and collected with Buffy, but when he thought he wasn't being observed, his emotions were an entirely different story. Where Buffy was concerned he was definitely hiding his true face behind a stoic mask.
As she studied him more closely, Tara noticed a sadness about Liam that she'd rarely seen before. He showed all the classic signs of nursing a badly broken heart and yet that little scenario didn't make any sense at all. His wife, who even a complete stranger could see he adored, had miraculously survived the accident intact. Memory loss might be troublesome but it was far from being life threatening. Dr. Walsh had already confirmed that Buffy's amnesia had a 90% chance of being only temporary, and that the rest of her injuries would soon fade from sight. In no time at all Buffy had a great chance of being the same person she was before the accident.
On that information alone, Liam should have been the happiest man alive, but it was very clear to Tara that for some unknown reason he wasn't. From the dark look on his face as he reached the top step, Liam was a million miles away from being happy.
As he rounded the corner of the hospital and finally disappeared from her view, Tara sighed. Her patient, who she had grown very fond of, was going home with this man in a few days time.
Turning towards her car, Tara Giles hoped with all her heart that Buffy wasn't making a big mistake.
******
After inquiring about his wife's condition with the nurse on reception, Angel pushed open the door and quietly entered her room.
That morning the small, sterile room was bathed in soft golden sunlight, its' warm rays falling gently across Buffy's bed. As Angel moved closer he noticed that she was still sleeping peacefully. Her pale face resting against the hard pillow looked totally relaxed in its slumber. The swelling to her left eye seemed to have reduced and the beauty that lurked beneath the bruises shone out like a beacon in the dark.
"Angel" The sudden murmur of his name was so quiet that he almost missed it.
For a second he thought she was waking, but Buffy only sighed in her sleep and rolled over. In her new position, the soft rays of golden sunlight now highlighted her whole face. Her long blonde hair spilling softly across the pillow like an angelic halo.
At the sight, Angel's breath hitched in his throat and he was certain he felt his heart break for the millionth time.
Sitting quietly in the bedside chair, he watched as she continued to sleep for another hour, all the time refusing to give into the bitter tears that stung the back of his eyes.
With every minute that slowly ticked by, Angel's resolve grew stronger.
**It didn't matter how beautiful she looked, he would never let her get close enough to hurt him again**
****
"Good morning, or should I say afternoon?"
At the sound of his smooth voice Buffy's lashes flicked and slowly opened.
For a few seconds she seemed disorientated but as the haze of confusion lifted, the corners of her mouth turned into a small smile.
"Hi....." She finally returned the greeting to her early morning visitor.
**He's not a visitor, he's your husband** The little voice inside her head reminded her quickly.
Although Buffy still had problems thinking of Liam as her husband, she made a firm decision the night before to try a lot harder. If they were ever to get back to normal, or as close to normal as possible in the circumstances, she would have to accept without question that they had once shared a life together. It would be hard but it wouldn't be impossible... Or at least she hoped it wouldn't
Slowly sitting up she curiously eyed the bags he was holding.
"Your nurse, the one who was in here last night, she told me you needed a few things. I went shopping," Angel said casually dropping the parcels he'd purchased onto her bed.
"A few?" Buffy's eyes lit up.
" It looks like its Christmas morning." She smiled and reached excitedly for the first bag.
Angel watched quietly as an almost childish quality covered her beautiful features. For a second he was almost tempted to question her answer, which Christmas morning was she referring to? But just the look in her eyes made him hold back. For the first time since she had woken from the accident, the pain and confusion that had taken residence upon Buffy's face seemed to have faded from sight. A few parcels had done more than any pep talk could have. Without meaning to, Angel found his own face smiling back at her.
"I bought you some nightwear, a few toiletries and some clothes to travel home in. I hope they fit, Buffy. The jeans and shirt might be a little on the large size, you seem to have lost weight recently." His eyes hadn't failed to notice how tight her skin now stretched over her small frame.
**You seem to have lost weight recently**
Buffy thought the remark a little strange, surely she couldn't have lost that much weight in just a few days. But as she opened the next bag her attention switched to its contents.
"I..... I wasn't too sure of your bra size so I brought a few different ones" Angel stuttered slightly as the garments came into view.
Buffy looked up and caught the blush that crossed his cheeks before he had time to remove it. Looking back at the cream silk and lace underwear, she found herself wondering if he had ever bought her gifts like this before.
"They're lovely and I really appreciate you going to so much trouble..." Buffy gasped as she pulled a pale blue, silk, nightgown from a gift-wrapped package. When she looked back up, her eyes were once again filled with questions.
"What about my own clothes?" she asked quietly.
Angel sat back down in the chair next to her bed.
"The ones you were wearing were ruined in the accident. If you had any luggage on the bus it was destroyed in the fire. Of course, there's a possibility that the rest of your clothes are safe but because you can't remember where you were staying..."
"But surely you must know, I must have told you where I was going" Buffy interrupted.
Angel slowly shook his head.
"No" His voice was cold.
"This is getting more confusing by the second. How did the hospital know who I was? How did they know where to find you?
"They found your driving license and passport close to the wreckage" Angel noticed how pale she suddenly looked. Leaning forward he gently picked up the new nightgown, running the soft material through his fingers. The second he had seen it in the shop window he knew it would look beautiful against her golden skin.
" Buffy, why don't you get changed, I'm sure you'll feel much better once you're back in normal clothes." The subject was changed.
"Liam, please, I really need to understand..." Buffy changed it straight back again.
But Angel wasn't in the mood to be manipulated; the darkness that passed across his eyes made it perfectly clear that the conversation was over.
"We can talk about this later" Standing abruptly, he turned and walked towards the door.
"I'll see if that nurse is around, you might need some help" Without even looking back, Angel carried on out the room.
******
Five days later
The fire burned.
It tickled and teased, as it's hot red tentacles licked at her skin. Buffy reached out her hand and watched in horror as the once smooth texture of her tanned arm crinkled and blistered as it slowly melted from the bone. Pain bubbled up in her throat but when she tried to scream, the sound was lost. Lost deep in a maze of confusion. There was nowhere left to run nowhere safe to hide and no one she could trust. Backing into her shell she watched as the red evil moved ever closer, engulfing her in its heat and anger.
With her last breath she screamed.
"ANGEL.."
"Hey!"
The soft calming word instantly brought her out from the terror of her dream. Buffy slowly opened her eyes and blinked as warm brown orbs filled with concern stared deeply into her face.
"You were dreaming, only dreaming, Buffy" his gentle voice smothered her, washing away the pain of the fire.
Buffy's whole body trembled as she tried to sit up in her seat. All around her, the other passengers on the aircraft were already beginning to look away from the strange young woman who had called out so fearfully in her sleep. Forgetting the embarrassment that would have normally turned her cheeks scarlet, Buffy concentrated on controlling the violent trembling that had invaded her body.
"Sssh, It was only a dream" Angel continued to try and reassure his wife. The look of terror on her face was beginning to scare him.
"But it seemed so real" Buffy shook her head refusing to accept the truth for a few moments. Everything about the dream had been so real she could almost taste it.
"Was it the accident? Did you remember something?" Angel leant forward curiously.
Buffy closed her eyes as the visions continued to taunt her head. But no matter how hard she tried to put them in order, they were still nothing more than a jumbled mess.
"No, I don't think so. But even if it was, it didn't make any sense"
Angel couldn't help the small sigh of disappointment, for a moment he actually believed his wife was breaking through her blocked mind. He should have known better.
Buffy laid her head back against the headrest of her seat and let the low drones of the aircraft soothe her fragile nerves.
***
It was a long; tiring, flight from New York back to Sunnydale but the first class seats had made the journey slightly more bearable. Buffy's foot was still heavily bandaged and every thirty minutes she had to manoeuvre it in an attempt the stop the beginnings of cramp from setting in.
Originally, Angel had offered to drive them back to Sunnydale in his hire car, but the thought of travelling on the freeways so soon after almost being killed, was simply too much for Buffy's state of mind.
Just the short ride to the airport had been a nightmare. To Buffy, it seemed as if her whole new life was just one long nightmare after another.
The last week had passed in a blur and before she had time to realise it, she was being discharged and sent home.
It felt strange leaving the hospital, in its own way it had become a security blanket, a place where she actually felt safe. Now faced with the outside world and a husband she still didn't know, Buffy was hesitant to take the first step to rehabilitation. For some strange reason she couldn't quite understand, she felt as if she was stepping out of the frying pan, straight into the fire.
Standing on the steps outside the hospital entrance, her new friend had hugged her and wished her well. Tara slipped a small piece of paper into Buffy's pocket and told her that if she ever needed somebody to talk to, all she had to do was pick up the phone. At the sweet gesture, Buffy hugged her back, almost afraid to let go.
Adam Walsh then approached her; the good-looking doctor shook her hand and informed her that all her notes had been transferred to the hospital in Sunnydale. With an almost sad smile, he told his patient that any future treatment would be carried out there and he hoped it wasn't too long before her life became clearer. Lowering herself into the passenger seat of Angel's car, Buffy waved goodbye to her new friends until her eyes were so blurred with tears she could no longer see them.
***
Buffy shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She still couldn't believe she'd actually agreed to go home with a man she still had no memory of even marrying. Turning her head slightly, she carefully studied her travelling companion/husband.
He was handsome, in a drop dead gorgeous sort of way. He seemed intelligent, even considerate on occasion. The clothes he had brought her were expensive and tasteful. But what did she really know about this man.
**Nothing**
**No, that wasn't true**
He was cold and distant and sometimes even hostile..
Buffy struggled to find it in her heart to accept the truth. How could she have married a man who plainly didn't love her? She sneaked another look at him and found his enigmatic eyes studying her intensely- as if he too, was reassessing the person he had once known.
**The person she couldn't remember being.**
**The person that might be lost forever.**
She needed answers and he was the only one that could tell her.
"Liam, how did we meet?" Buffy started nervously.
Angel thought about the question very carefully before replying. He knew it made no sense lying. He understood that if he wanted to help Buffy remember her past, he would have to tell her certain things about their life together. Taking a deep breath, he brought the memory of their first meeting to the front of his mind and let it play out painfully before his eyes.
" You said it was lust at first sight. It must have been, because you chased me clear across Sunnydale, as I remember" Angel found himself smiling at the reminiscence. In his mind, he could see the younger version of Buffy as clear as day. Her hair was much longer in those days and she had the largest hazel eyes he had ever seen.
At the revelation, Buffy's jaw dropped open in shock. After the way Liam had behaved towards her the last week, it was the last thing she had expected to hear.
If Angel noticed the amazed expression cover her face he didn't comment on it.
His own expression seemed to take on a whole new life. For the first time Buffy saw the real man behind the mask he wore so securely.. Lost in a trip down memory lane, Angel continued with his story.
" You were relentless and ruthless" he grinned " But that's you all over Buffy. When you set your mind to something there's no changing it"
"Oh?" Now she really was speechless.
"Not that I didn't want to be chased." He chuckled lightly and the warm sound tugged at her heart.
"You were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, but that was the problem..."
Buffy opened her mouth again but she was still doing an impression of a goldfish. Her lips moved but no sound was made as she struggled to come to terms with the information about her past..
"You were a mere girl when we first met and I was terrified about the difference in our ages. At the time your mother had just died and I was acting on behalf of your father, he wanted custody of Dawn. I was working for Wolfram and Hart in those days; they were a large law practice in LA. It was a Friday afternoon, I'll never forget, you flew into my office like a tornado from hell. " At that point Angel looked up, his eyes burning with repressed feelings.
Buffy couldn't speak, or move, or hardly breathe as she waited for the story to continue.
"You were so tiny but you fought like a tiger. I don't think Hank Summers ever knew what really hit him..."
Buffy finally found her voice.
" You were helping my father take my little sister away from me?" she finally asked with disbelief.
Angel nodded
"For a while. After I read the case notes and talked to you and Dawn, I realised how wrong it was. I could see with my own eyes how much you loved your sister. I quit working for W&H and took your side instead, not that you needed me. Within a month you had won over your father, you were awarded custody of Dawn and..."
"And...?" Buffy bit hard into her bottom lip.
"I stopped running and let you catch me. I didn't care about our age difference any longer, I knew I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life..." Angel trailed off and looked down. He was suddenly worried that maybe he'd given too much of himself away.
"Did you love me?"
There was a faint uncertainty in her voice as Buffy struggled to accept the possibility. Coming from a man, who wouldn't even touch her, this was almost too hard to believe
Angel let out a deep breath and nodded his head sadly.
" Yes, I did"
"And did I love you?"
At her question he physically flinched.
**And did I love you**
Angel felt so frustrated he wanted to scream.
In that split second Buffy could see pure pain in the depths of his dark chocolate eyes. Pain and a deep-rooted sadness.
She waited for the answer but it never came.
The aircraft landing lights chose that precise moment to start flashing, warning that Sunnydale airport was fast approaching and that the pilot was getting ready to descend.
When Buffy looked back from the flashing light, her husband had turned his back and was now gazing out of the window. His broad shoulders seemed rigid and as far as he was concerned, the conversation was over.
Buffy checked her seat belt and laying her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes and tried to make sense of all the information she now knew..
Just watching Liam speak, she could feel the emotion of their past radiating off his body like heat on a warm summer's day. At times, when he spoke, there had been real passion in his eyes, both passion and tenderness. But there had also been bitterness and something a lot worse. Buffy almost swore at one point she saw outright hatred. It terrified her but it also sent her mind searching for answers.
If they really had fallen so hopelessly in love just a few short years earlier, what on earth could have ripped them apart?
TBC...
