"Buffy!?" Angel cried as he burst into the house. "Buffy? Are you here?"
No one answered. "Buffy?"
Giles came down the stairs. "Angel? What's the matter?"
"Buffy's missing."
"Missing?"
"We were on patrol. We found two newbies that had just risen. I heard Buffy stake hers and then I staked mine. When I turned around, she was gone."
"Gone?"
"As in not there. Poof. Out of thin air. She didn't have time to run away or get captured. I just wish.." Angel looked over at the fireplace. "What is that?"
"What?"
Angel walked over to the fireplace and picked up the half melted bag of herbs. "This."
"I-I don't know. That wasn't there when I went to.. Willow."
"Willow?"
"She stayed after to make sure Dawn was ok. She must've done a spell of some sort."
"Why would she make Buffy disappear?"
"Maybe it backfired?"
"I'm calling her."
"This early?"
"My fiancé is missing. It could be Willow's fault. Yes, I'm calling." Angel picked up the phone and dialed Willow and Tara's number. The line was picked up after about 20 rings.
"Hello?" Willow's groggy voice asked.
"Willow?"
"Yeah."
"What did you do?"
"What?"
"Buffy is missing and we found a bag of burned herbs on the fireplace. I don't know what you were doing, but you are definitely climbing down my ladder of goodness."
"What?"
"Buffy: missing. Burnt herbs on fireplace. You possibly do spell that backfire. Understand now?"
"I didn't do any spell to make Buffy disappear."
"First you rip her out of heaven and now you make her disappear? What spell did you do Willow?"
"Nothing.. much."
"Much?"
"I did a spell to make Buffy forget she was in heaven and you to forget about all the sadness of loosing her and then the anguish of getting her back from heaven. It was all out of good intentions."
"Well it made her disappear!"
"I'll be right over." Willow hung up before Angel could say anything more.
"She hung up!" Angel said, putting the phone down gently so he didn't wake Dawn.
"She hung up?" Giles asked.
"Yeah!"
"What did she say?"
"She did a spell to make Buffy forget about heaven and me to forget about how sad I was about all of it."
"And it made her disappear?"
"She's not here is she?"
"All right, calm down Angel.
"I'm sorry.. What if she's dead again? What if Willow's spell backfired and made her dead again?"
"Angel.."
"I couldn't handle that. Not twice. I just got her back to normal almost."
"Angel.."
"Willow better find her and bring her back to me. I'll kill her if she doesn't."
"Angel!"
"What?"
"That last one was shock actually."
"I'm serious Giles. Willow has put Buffy through way more than any human, demon, or vampire should ever go through. She's lucky I don't just take Buffy and Dawn away for good. I don't because Buffy loves her friends and she would hate me for it. But I swear to God, if Willow has lost Buffy for good, I'm going to kill her. If she doesn't get Buffy back to me, I'm going to kill her for this."
"I understand you're upset.."
"I'm more than upset Giles. There is no word for how I'm feeling right now."
Willow came in through the door wearing a huge t-shirt and PJ pants. Her hair was tossed back messily into a ponytail and she wasn't wearing any makeup. "I'm here."
Angel walked over to the couch and sat down. Giles stared at him for a moment and then decided it was best for him to take over. "Willow, I'm going to get right to the point. What spell did you use on Buffy and what herbs were in that bag?"
"Um.. There was some Lethe's Bramble, Witch Grass, Saffron, Dittany of Crete, Poplar, Adam and Eve Roots, a Passion Flower, Bracken, Balm of Gilead, a little bit of mugwort, and a small bag of Bay. That stuff is expensive! Now I have to go buy more."
"What spell did you use?"
"Tabula Rasa."
"Did the crystal turn black?"
Willow reached into her bag and pulled the crystal out. "No."
"How long will it take?"
"Depends."
"How long does it usually take?"
"The book said it can take anywhere from one hour to two days. Maybe even longer depending on the power of the root."
"What happens if you destroy the crystal?" Angel asked.
"The person's memory comes back. Or, depending on the spell.. Some other stuff. When used with Bay, it can cause the person's spirit to lose its way. If Buffy's spirit is gone, we don't want to break the crystal. We could lose her."
"Buffy's spirit isn't gone. It's still with her. Her body's gone too."
"Then that must've been the doing of the Balm of Gilead. We can't destroy the crystal until it's black."
"Great. Do you have any idea where Buffy could be?"
"Not really. Some other dimension most likely."
"What kind?"
"Nothing bad. I don't think. All the roots in that bag were of good nature. She couldn't be in any place bad. Not anywhere she has to fight.. I hope."
LA (other dimension)
"Guys, the Lilliad demons are starting their mojo on the force field." Gunn said. Everyone loaded up on weapons. "Ah, right, sun's down, vamps can come out, too. Wait, they're headed towards the bikers."
"What are they doing?" Fred asked.
"They, ah, having a brawl over who gets to kill us first."
"We have to hold our ground." Wesley said.
"What if we can't?" Cordy asked.
"If we're forced to fall back we'll do so towards the cellar. We can make a retreat through the sewer."
Buffy and Angel stood on the stairs. Buffy held the baby and Angel held her hand while stroking the baby's cheek and hair with his other. "This isn't going to work."
"I checked it. It's primed and ready." Wesley said, motioning to the flamethrower.
"Not the weapon, the plan."
"I'm so glad somebody finally said that, because sitting here waiting to die never was much of a plan. Sorry. So, what kind of genius idea you got hidden up that well tailored sleeve of yours, huh?" Lorne said. He had come in earlier and met Buffy. Angel had told her that when this was all over, Lorne could help Buffy find a way back to where she belonged.
"Plan is Buffy and I go. Take the baby somewhere safe."
"What?" Cordy asked.
"He was born in a siege, he's not gonna die in one."
"But if you stay and help us fight.. You said it yourself: we're in a war." Wesley said.
"And now I'm in a retreat."
"What happened to taking them out?"
"There's too many of them. We can get out through the sewers. With any luck we'll get a couple miles before anyone notices that we're gone."
"So you're just gonna leave? Run away?" Cordy asked.
"Why not? That's what he's good at. Sure you don't wanna fire us first? A little icing on the cake while you leave us here to do the fighting?" Gunn asked bitterly.
"What's he talking about?" Buffy asked.
"I'll explain later." Angel said.
"I thought we already established this as a bad, bad idea." Lorne said.
"No, you're gonna be all right. Once they break the spell and storm the place they'll realize that the baby's gone and they'll go after Buffy and me. Wesley, stall them if you can."
"I'm sure tripping over our dead bodies will slow them down." Cordy said.
"Angel! Don't leave us." Fred said.
Angel and Buffy didn't even look back. They walked down to the cellar and hit the sewers. Once there, Buffy took the baby and went in an opposite direction. Angel took the fake baby and went up to the surface. Buffy knew where she was going. She had to get to the hospital and make sure the baby was ok. Get him checked out. Once Angel had dealt with bad guys, he would meet Buffy there. None of the others knew what was going on. Apparently a law firm called Wolfram and Hart were after the baby in full force and they had bugged the whole place with cameras and microphones.
Buffy arrived and gave the baby over to the doctor. Angel had made the call earlier to let the doctors know that Buffy was coming in. She answered a few questions about the baby. Everything but the name that is. She couldn't name him. It was Angel's baby, not hers. She went into the waiting room and sat down. About an hour later, Angel showed up.
"How is he?" he asked.
"He's fine. He's still with the doctor." Buffy said. "How are you doing?"
"I'm ok."
"For a newbie dad."
"Yeah."
"Are you scared?"
"Kind of. The part that scares me is all the questions. Why is the sky blue? Why do people get sick? Why is there always pigs' blood in the fridge? I don't have all the answers. Well, I do to that last one."
Buffy was about to answer, but the doctor came out and handed the baby over to Buffy. "I'm happy to report you have a healthy baby boy. He looks exactly like you and Mr. Angel here."
"I'm not.. You know.. I'm not the.." Buffy said uncertainly.
"How's he doing?" Angel asked, cutting Buffy off.
"His height and weight are in the ninety percentile. We gave him his vitamin K and his PKU and he's doing very well. We don't seem to have his.. what's his name?" the doctor asked.
"Connor. His name is Connor." Angel said.
"Connor. Thank you, Mr. Angel. And congratulations to you both."
"Angel, what was that?"
"I want you to be his mother."
"What!? I-I can't. I don't belong here. I belong with you in another world. We can't be together here."
"That doesn't matter. We'll talk to Willow. Maybe she can find a way to make my soul permanent."
"Angel.."
"I still love you Buffy. I want to be with you more than ever. Connor, he just seems so.. You both seem right for each other. My son deserves a mother that will care for him and be there for him no matter what. He deserves you."
Buffy started to cry. "God Angel. I don't know what to do. I've always wanted a baby with you and I was prepared for not being able to have any kids with you.. and now I can.. But I can't. I don't belong here."
"But Buffy, we can be together if Willow can find a way.."
"And what if she can't?"
"She was powerful enough to bring you back normal."
"Even so.."
"She can figure it out Buffy. I know she can. You can't just waltz on into my life again, make me fall for you like I'm seeing you for the first time again, let my son fall in love with you, and then leave. I know you don't belong here Buffy, but what's stopping you from staying? Everything you've ever wanted is here. Cordelia's alive, we can have a son together, we can be together if Willow can do it.. I love you Buffy. Please stay?"
Buffy stared at Angel. Tears fell down her cheeks and onto Connor's blanket and face. She looked down at him and wiped away the tears. "I'm sorry little guy. I didn't mean to cry on you."
"Buffy?"
"There. You're all dry now."
"Buffy?"
She looked back up at him, still crying. She didn't know what to do. Angel was right. Everything she had ever wanted was right here in front of her. What was to stop her from going back? In her reality, she and Angel couldn't have children, Cordelia was dead, Lita was a constant reminder of where Buffy had been before she had been brought back, a constant cloud loomed over her shoulder, and she was utterly unhappy unless she was with Angel. On the other hand, Angel could go out into the sunlight with her in her reality. He could make love to her without a spell from Willow, they were engaged, Giles was back in Sunnydale, she was ready to forgive her friends, Angel always treated her like she was a goddess, and when she was with him, everything was right. What did she have here? Angel and her could raise a child together, he loved her, she loved him, Cordy was alive, Willow was powerful enough to bind his soul to him forever and allow them to be together, and everything was peachy with a side of keen. What was to stop her from staying?
"I love you Buffy." Angel said. "Will you stay here, with me and Connor?"
Giles came down the stairs. "Angel? What's the matter?"
"Buffy's missing."
"Missing?"
"We were on patrol. We found two newbies that had just risen. I heard Buffy stake hers and then I staked mine. When I turned around, she was gone."
"Gone?"
"As in not there. Poof. Out of thin air. She didn't have time to run away or get captured. I just wish.." Angel looked over at the fireplace. "What is that?"
"What?"
Angel walked over to the fireplace and picked up the half melted bag of herbs. "This."
"I-I don't know. That wasn't there when I went to.. Willow."
"Willow?"
"She stayed after to make sure Dawn was ok. She must've done a spell of some sort."
"Why would she make Buffy disappear?"
"Maybe it backfired?"
"I'm calling her."
"This early?"
"My fiancé is missing. It could be Willow's fault. Yes, I'm calling." Angel picked up the phone and dialed Willow and Tara's number. The line was picked up after about 20 rings.
"Hello?" Willow's groggy voice asked.
"Willow?"
"Yeah."
"What did you do?"
"What?"
"Buffy is missing and we found a bag of burned herbs on the fireplace. I don't know what you were doing, but you are definitely climbing down my ladder of goodness."
"What?"
"Buffy: missing. Burnt herbs on fireplace. You possibly do spell that backfire. Understand now?"
"I didn't do any spell to make Buffy disappear."
"First you rip her out of heaven and now you make her disappear? What spell did you do Willow?"
"Nothing.. much."
"Much?"
"I did a spell to make Buffy forget she was in heaven and you to forget about all the sadness of loosing her and then the anguish of getting her back from heaven. It was all out of good intentions."
"Well it made her disappear!"
"I'll be right over." Willow hung up before Angel could say anything more.
"She hung up!" Angel said, putting the phone down gently so he didn't wake Dawn.
"She hung up?" Giles asked.
"Yeah!"
"What did she say?"
"She did a spell to make Buffy forget about heaven and me to forget about how sad I was about all of it."
"And it made her disappear?"
"She's not here is she?"
"All right, calm down Angel.
"I'm sorry.. What if she's dead again? What if Willow's spell backfired and made her dead again?"
"Angel.."
"I couldn't handle that. Not twice. I just got her back to normal almost."
"Angel.."
"Willow better find her and bring her back to me. I'll kill her if she doesn't."
"Angel!"
"What?"
"That last one was shock actually."
"I'm serious Giles. Willow has put Buffy through way more than any human, demon, or vampire should ever go through. She's lucky I don't just take Buffy and Dawn away for good. I don't because Buffy loves her friends and she would hate me for it. But I swear to God, if Willow has lost Buffy for good, I'm going to kill her. If she doesn't get Buffy back to me, I'm going to kill her for this."
"I understand you're upset.."
"I'm more than upset Giles. There is no word for how I'm feeling right now."
Willow came in through the door wearing a huge t-shirt and PJ pants. Her hair was tossed back messily into a ponytail and she wasn't wearing any makeup. "I'm here."
Angel walked over to the couch and sat down. Giles stared at him for a moment and then decided it was best for him to take over. "Willow, I'm going to get right to the point. What spell did you use on Buffy and what herbs were in that bag?"
"Um.. There was some Lethe's Bramble, Witch Grass, Saffron, Dittany of Crete, Poplar, Adam and Eve Roots, a Passion Flower, Bracken, Balm of Gilead, a little bit of mugwort, and a small bag of Bay. That stuff is expensive! Now I have to go buy more."
"What spell did you use?"
"Tabula Rasa."
"Did the crystal turn black?"
Willow reached into her bag and pulled the crystal out. "No."
"How long will it take?"
"Depends."
"How long does it usually take?"
"The book said it can take anywhere from one hour to two days. Maybe even longer depending on the power of the root."
"What happens if you destroy the crystal?" Angel asked.
"The person's memory comes back. Or, depending on the spell.. Some other stuff. When used with Bay, it can cause the person's spirit to lose its way. If Buffy's spirit is gone, we don't want to break the crystal. We could lose her."
"Buffy's spirit isn't gone. It's still with her. Her body's gone too."
"Then that must've been the doing of the Balm of Gilead. We can't destroy the crystal until it's black."
"Great. Do you have any idea where Buffy could be?"
"Not really. Some other dimension most likely."
"What kind?"
"Nothing bad. I don't think. All the roots in that bag were of good nature. She couldn't be in any place bad. Not anywhere she has to fight.. I hope."
LA (other dimension)
"Guys, the Lilliad demons are starting their mojo on the force field." Gunn said. Everyone loaded up on weapons. "Ah, right, sun's down, vamps can come out, too. Wait, they're headed towards the bikers."
"What are they doing?" Fred asked.
"They, ah, having a brawl over who gets to kill us first."
"We have to hold our ground." Wesley said.
"What if we can't?" Cordy asked.
"If we're forced to fall back we'll do so towards the cellar. We can make a retreat through the sewer."
Buffy and Angel stood on the stairs. Buffy held the baby and Angel held her hand while stroking the baby's cheek and hair with his other. "This isn't going to work."
"I checked it. It's primed and ready." Wesley said, motioning to the flamethrower.
"Not the weapon, the plan."
"I'm so glad somebody finally said that, because sitting here waiting to die never was much of a plan. Sorry. So, what kind of genius idea you got hidden up that well tailored sleeve of yours, huh?" Lorne said. He had come in earlier and met Buffy. Angel had told her that when this was all over, Lorne could help Buffy find a way back to where she belonged.
"Plan is Buffy and I go. Take the baby somewhere safe."
"What?" Cordy asked.
"He was born in a siege, he's not gonna die in one."
"But if you stay and help us fight.. You said it yourself: we're in a war." Wesley said.
"And now I'm in a retreat."
"What happened to taking them out?"
"There's too many of them. We can get out through the sewers. With any luck we'll get a couple miles before anyone notices that we're gone."
"So you're just gonna leave? Run away?" Cordy asked.
"Why not? That's what he's good at. Sure you don't wanna fire us first? A little icing on the cake while you leave us here to do the fighting?" Gunn asked bitterly.
"What's he talking about?" Buffy asked.
"I'll explain later." Angel said.
"I thought we already established this as a bad, bad idea." Lorne said.
"No, you're gonna be all right. Once they break the spell and storm the place they'll realize that the baby's gone and they'll go after Buffy and me. Wesley, stall them if you can."
"I'm sure tripping over our dead bodies will slow them down." Cordy said.
"Angel! Don't leave us." Fred said.
Angel and Buffy didn't even look back. They walked down to the cellar and hit the sewers. Once there, Buffy took the baby and went in an opposite direction. Angel took the fake baby and went up to the surface. Buffy knew where she was going. She had to get to the hospital and make sure the baby was ok. Get him checked out. Once Angel had dealt with bad guys, he would meet Buffy there. None of the others knew what was going on. Apparently a law firm called Wolfram and Hart were after the baby in full force and they had bugged the whole place with cameras and microphones.
Buffy arrived and gave the baby over to the doctor. Angel had made the call earlier to let the doctors know that Buffy was coming in. She answered a few questions about the baby. Everything but the name that is. She couldn't name him. It was Angel's baby, not hers. She went into the waiting room and sat down. About an hour later, Angel showed up.
"How is he?" he asked.
"He's fine. He's still with the doctor." Buffy said. "How are you doing?"
"I'm ok."
"For a newbie dad."
"Yeah."
"Are you scared?"
"Kind of. The part that scares me is all the questions. Why is the sky blue? Why do people get sick? Why is there always pigs' blood in the fridge? I don't have all the answers. Well, I do to that last one."
Buffy was about to answer, but the doctor came out and handed the baby over to Buffy. "I'm happy to report you have a healthy baby boy. He looks exactly like you and Mr. Angel here."
"I'm not.. You know.. I'm not the.." Buffy said uncertainly.
"How's he doing?" Angel asked, cutting Buffy off.
"His height and weight are in the ninety percentile. We gave him his vitamin K and his PKU and he's doing very well. We don't seem to have his.. what's his name?" the doctor asked.
"Connor. His name is Connor." Angel said.
"Connor. Thank you, Mr. Angel. And congratulations to you both."
"Angel, what was that?"
"I want you to be his mother."
"What!? I-I can't. I don't belong here. I belong with you in another world. We can't be together here."
"That doesn't matter. We'll talk to Willow. Maybe she can find a way to make my soul permanent."
"Angel.."
"I still love you Buffy. I want to be with you more than ever. Connor, he just seems so.. You both seem right for each other. My son deserves a mother that will care for him and be there for him no matter what. He deserves you."
Buffy started to cry. "God Angel. I don't know what to do. I've always wanted a baby with you and I was prepared for not being able to have any kids with you.. and now I can.. But I can't. I don't belong here."
"But Buffy, we can be together if Willow can find a way.."
"And what if she can't?"
"She was powerful enough to bring you back normal."
"Even so.."
"She can figure it out Buffy. I know she can. You can't just waltz on into my life again, make me fall for you like I'm seeing you for the first time again, let my son fall in love with you, and then leave. I know you don't belong here Buffy, but what's stopping you from staying? Everything you've ever wanted is here. Cordelia's alive, we can have a son together, we can be together if Willow can do it.. I love you Buffy. Please stay?"
Buffy stared at Angel. Tears fell down her cheeks and onto Connor's blanket and face. She looked down at him and wiped away the tears. "I'm sorry little guy. I didn't mean to cry on you."
"Buffy?"
"There. You're all dry now."
"Buffy?"
She looked back up at him, still crying. She didn't know what to do. Angel was right. Everything she had ever wanted was right here in front of her. What was to stop her from going back? In her reality, she and Angel couldn't have children, Cordelia was dead, Lita was a constant reminder of where Buffy had been before she had been brought back, a constant cloud loomed over her shoulder, and she was utterly unhappy unless she was with Angel. On the other hand, Angel could go out into the sunlight with her in her reality. He could make love to her without a spell from Willow, they were engaged, Giles was back in Sunnydale, she was ready to forgive her friends, Angel always treated her like she was a goddess, and when she was with him, everything was right. What did she have here? Angel and her could raise a child together, he loved her, she loved him, Cordy was alive, Willow was powerful enough to bind his soul to him forever and allow them to be together, and everything was peachy with a side of keen. What was to stop her from staying?
"I love you Buffy." Angel said. "Will you stay here, with me and Connor?"
