Chapter 6

Maria laid in her bed, duvet pulled up over her head in a vain attempt of blocking the suns rays which crept into her room. It had been three days since she had slept so well. She gave up the battle and opened her eyes the lilac duvet looked bright to her eyes and she scrunched them closed again pushing the duvet down in frustration she was to comfortable to move. The phone rang in the kitchen.

"Oh why didn't I get one in here?!" she ran for the phone

1984

"As many as you want sweetie" John looked down at his daughters angelic face, tongue stuck out with concentration a stray curl of red hair dropped into her face, he reached down and softly tucked it behind her ear.

"Done?" a willowy brunette leant against the open door hair piled atop her head, she smiled

"Not yet honey2 John walked over to his wife avoiding the yellow crayon which had rolled off the small desk positioned next to his own. Father and daughter would work in the study together, she coloured various images for her mothers fridge and he did accounts.

"Almost Mommy" the young Maria's eyes searched for the last crayon she needed, the yellow, her brow furrowed.

"What are you looking for darling?" Kelly asked a concerned look on her face, it was unlike her cheerful daughter to frown.

"My gift" she said simply, lips quivering slightly; fear and anger crossed John's face.

"What gift?" the words had come out more harsh than he had meant, he rushed to his daughter, stepping on the crayon crushing it to pieces.

"The yellow crayon, its my gift, the ." a tear slid down her cheek "the man said I must look after his gift until he came for it, he.he said I had to choose the gift so I chose the yellow one, but I can't find it" tear freely fell from her eyes, she was innocent and thought nothing of a stranger expecting a gift from her.

After it had all calmed down, Maria was in bed sleeping peacefully. John cleared up the crushed crayon. "Why would he want a crayon?" Kelly whispered voice quivering.

"I don't know" he shook his head "I just don't know" he picked up a bunch of papers from Maria's desk, smiling ruefully it was her birthday soon a day that brought so much joy into their life but also so much pain for the four years of her life they had tried to mask it out deny its existence but now; his face went a ghostly shade as he frantically flipped through the invitations his daughter had so carefully written out his hands began to shake as he sorted them out into three piles, ones written in red then blue then. a pile of names written in the sunshine yellow of the crayon the most numerous.

"What?!" Kelly rose "What is it?" he handed her the large pile of brightly coloured birthday invitations, she paled staggered and sunk back into the couch as realisation swept over her "No.No" she sobbed "We can't let him have them, not this time, he's had enough! We've paid him back.we paid him back.." Her voice quieted to a bare whisper nearly inaudible as she repeated those four words. John moved beside her.

"We have to," he said voice as low as hers "We have to or he'll."

"Mommy, Daddy, I'm not tired anymore" Maria shuffled into the room clutching her blanket.

Present Day

There was no party, only twelve child sized caskets, twelve funerals and a phone call.

"Thank you for my gifts" Maria paled a glimmer of recognition flickered across her face but left in an instant to be replaced by fear she dropped the receiver to the floor "Eleven to go" a mans voice could be heard on the other end laughing, Maria crumpled to the floor.

Pylea

Cordelia tossed and turned in the huge four poster, Groo had kept possession of the castle leaving the council chambers to the new united government of Pylea, a neutral ground for the parties to come together. And a cosy crib for him to return to if he needed or wanted to. Cordelia sat up quickly she rubbed her eyes "Princess?" she turned to him hiding the disappointment of finding herself there with him.

"Just a Technicolor nightmare from the one and only PTB satellite channel "We'll cross dimensional boundaries just for you!"" she said sarcastically

"The visions are more frequent? And not of Pylean misfortunes?" Groo asked concerned

"Yea, maybe they don't get it" she said "I'm not in L.A.!" she shouted she grabbed a pen and paper, "the messages should get to him this afternoon" she said scribbling details down on the pad.

"Princess?" Groo paused "Why do you not say his name?"

"Whose name?" Cordelia said glad her back was to him so her couldn't see her grimace, they had been gone 3 days, she hoped it wouldn't occur to him or it would have taken him longer to bring it up.

"Angel's" he said simply

She grimaced again, "I do say his name, I just don't need to you know who I'm talking about" she placed the pad on the bedside cabinet and turned to him with a bright smile on her face, not quite her usual 100 watt but as close as she could get. "What do you want for breakfast?" she said changing the subject.

The Hyperion - 3 days ago

Buffy's P.O.V

I can't believe it, but somehow I know its true and my body is numb I don't think I can move. It was Angel. He said those things to me. Not Angelus or anyone else and he was so calm.

The Argument

How dare you do that to my friends!!" Buffy screeched

Angel just glowered at her his demon enraged inside him he didn't need to have this argument right now but somehow he wanted to.

"What are you just gonna stand there!" she yelled at him wanting confrontation from the vampire, some sign that the Angel she knew in Sunnydale might still be there, but inside she knew that the Angel she had know wouldn't have confronted her either.

"Just because that bitch of an ex-cheerleader has run away with some demon lover and left you business in the lurch. In my opinion she was probably only here to run off with the next millionaire client that came her way. Cordelia, Queen Bitch of sunnydale turned a new leaf, yea right!

That was it that was the trigger, he had regretted telling her to leave his town the year before but her saying this but now after she said that he didn't care what he said to her.

The wave of calm anger hit him like a tidal wave inside of him. He didn't know where it came from. In all possibilities it could have been the powers re-enforcing the need for the champion to protect his seer, his link to them his link to redemption. Or it could have been him making the choice between the past that stood before him changed darker and bitter or the future that was bright and sweet filling him with light.

"You don't know her, the pain she has gone through" Angel said calmly anger shone in his voice.

"Pain! She doesn't know pain other than breaking a nail before a date! And having to wear a press on! Real pain is knowing your mom is dying and not being able to save her, when every day you save everyone else, real pain is dying yourself and being ripped away from the light having to come back."

Angel stood silent for a moment, he had thought to skirt around the death issue but now she had brought it up he didn't care. "What do you as the slayer hate the most?" he asked totally knocking her back she didn't know where this was going.

"Demons, but what the hell."

"What's the most horrific thing you have seen a demon do to a human?" he cut her off.

"I don't know there have been lots of things!"

Angel glowered "Well think of one, the most horrid adult or child it doesn't matter"

"Just get to the point already!" she didn't want to focus on the things he wanted her to.

Angel tried to stay calm, he had changed since Sunnydale and she was still treating him the same, but he had gone through things seen the side of him he didn't want to get out again to hurt the people he loved, the person he loved, he gave in.

"Well think of that event blasted into your head with a force so hard it starts to kill your brain off bit by bit, and knowing that you'll be dead soon after a multitude of MRI scans all showing you your brain is dead and you shouldn't be walking and talking but a vegetable. Having to take overdoses of powerful painkillers that are only prescribed for terminal patients; which don't work, the pain stays, then keeping that to yourself because you didn't want everyone around you to worry" "Then there's the actual event you've seen a horrific scene, a brutal killing replayed in your head over and over until its sorted; prevented, but you see it not being able to help you watch, you feel the fear."

He paused

"The parents that brought her up wouldn't know her now, they didn't even know her then. At least your parents cared if you died or not"

He stood silent again for a few moments, Buffy made no move to speak, so he carried on.

"Then imagine being given a choice between your dream life and death, and choosing to die because of the consequences of you so called "gift" affecting me, and the rest of your family. Only to be given another option, to be turned into a part demon making the only dream you ever have impossible to attain"

Silence again.

"Imagine loving someone and knowing that they don't love you, that you could never be together, so you run away to stop the pain and the hurt."

"She loves you?" Buffy whispered under her breath.

"but they do love you and just didn't say it when he had the chance and now she's gone" Angel turned and walked away from Buffy who stood stock still.

"You love her?" but he didn't hear her or if he did he ignored it as he went up the stairs into the darkness.