CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: DONNGEL
Wednesday: 10:15pm
2nd September 1998
California: Los Angeles
Melish grabbed McNamarra's wrist and held it tightly while the other demon, Baker, fastened one of the metallic wrist cuffs to the man. McNamarra looked at the silver object, panicking.
In a combined effort, Baker and Melish lifted McNamarra and tossed him up into the air, throwing him above the red line that the wrist cuffs wouldn't allow you to cross. In a rush of dust, McNamarra was no more. The three demons grinned at each other before Angel suddenly remembered his young friend. He turned, panicked and saw Buffy backed against a wall trying to defend herself against four demons.
He raced towards her, throwing two demons to the side, and pushing the other two away from the young Slayer. He turned and stood in front of her protectively.
"Stay away from her," Angel growled angrily, his game face coming out.
One of the demons, Krantanik, scowled at the vampire.
"She's just a Slayer! One filthy little human. And you defend her!"
"Yes, I defend her," Angel replied. "I protected her inside, and I'm gonna keep doing it. You want to take her, then you're gonna hafta come through me."
Krantanik hesitated for a moment before backing down.
He mumbled something softly as he walked away. "Stupid vampire."
The other three demons grudgingly gave up the fight and followed Krantanik out of the arena. Angel bent down to where Buffy had fallen to the ground.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded and tried to stand, her knees giving the second she put her entire weight on her feet. Angel caught her and put an arm under her to keep her standing.
"You're not about to pass out on me are you?" he asked lightly.
"You wouldn't think I was a total wuss if I did, right?"
He chuckled slightly and lifted her completely, cradling her in his arms. She sighed, thankful that she didn't have to try and walk anymore. She rested her head against his shoulder.
"Yeah, I love those girls who can play a coupla hard sets of tennis with major injuries like yours," he teased.
She half-heartedly hit him across the chest.
Gunn and Doyle met them at the exit, worriedly looking over Angel.
"Geez man, are you alright?" Gunn asked.
Angel nodded and shifted Buffy's weight in his arms. "I'm fine. It's Buffy I'm worried about."
Doyle looked at the girl in concern.
"She alright?" Doyle asked.
"Mainly tired I think. Probably starving. Dehydrated as well," Angel answered.
"If you add homesick to that list, you're pretty spot on," Buffy said tiredly.
Gunn opened the door to the car, letting Angel sit in the backseat with Buffy next to him, her head on his shoulder.
"Back to your apartment, yeah?" Gunn asked, seating himself behind the wheel as Doyle took the passenger seat.
Angel just nodded.
------------------------
Thursday: 11am3rd September 1998
California: Los Angeles
Buffy awoke, completely disoriented. She looked around her, trying to work out where she was. She jumped when she saw a man sitting beside her bed in a chair, his eyes closed, a book spread open on his chest. Her startled and frantic movements awoke Doyle.
"Hey there lass," he greeted softly.
She looked at him confused, and suddenly remembered him as one of the men from the night before.
"You're Doyle," she said quietly.
Doyle grinned. "Angel's been talking about me again, I take it."
"Where is Angel?" she asked.
"He's still sleeping. He asked me to sit with ya to make sure you did'na wake up on your lonesome," Doyle explained.
Buffy nodded and forced herself to relax.
"You hungry?" he asked, standing up.
"Famished," she replied, her stomach growling at the thought of proper food.
"I'd offer to make ya breakfast in bed, but Angel's mighty picky about not letting people eat in here," Doyle said apologetically. He suddenly rethought his last words and looked at her, panicked. "Not that I know that from experience or nothing, mind you."
She giggled a little and nodded.
"S'okay Doyle. I get what you're saying."
He nodded and watched as Buffy pushed the bedcovers aside. She looked down to see that she was wearing a man's dress shirt with a pair of boxers as well. She didn't feel entirely comfortable knowing that someone had undressed her, but she could tell that nothing else had happened to her.
She looked towards the chest of drawers next to the bed and saw that her necklace, watch and the key that had miraculously survived in her jeans pocket for the week and a half had been placed neatly atop the wooden chest.
"Kitchen's this way," Doyle said, motioning the girl to follow him.
Buffy walked behind him and into the kitchen in the small apartment. She saw Gunn seated at the table and he gave her a small smile.
"Hey girl," he greeted. "How you feeling?"
"Like I just got beaten up by a couple of demons," she replied flippantly.
He grinned and motioned for her to take a seat. He quickly poured her a cup of coffee that she took from him gratefully. She sipped at it and sighed in contentment.
"Ahhh, caffeine. How I've missed you," she said.
Doyle and Gunn grinned and Doyle quickly set a plate of toast and bacon in front of her. She shot him a thankful smile and began eating ravenously.
Angel had convinced her to eat some of the bread that they had been given whilst being held captive, but apart from a few pieces of stale bread, she hadn't eaten properly in almost eight days.
"So, we should probably call your Watcher or something," Doyle said. "You know the number?"
She shook her head. "We only just moved here the night I was taken. I didn't even write the number down."
"You know the address?" Gunn asked.
"No. I just know that it was near the beach."
"That sort of narrows it down," Gunn said optimistically.
Doyle reached for a pen and paper.
"Here, write down your Watcher's name, and I'll see if we can find him. He's probably been looking for you all week, so it shouldn't be too hard to track him down the other way," he explained.
"If you wanted, I could take you down to the beach, see if you could recognise the apartment from the outside," Gunn offered.
"That's not a bad idea," came a new voice from the doorway.
Buffy looked up and smiled at the vampire who had saved her life.
"Hey Angel," she greeted.
"Morning Buffy. How're you feeling?" he asked.
She shrugged and gave him a small grin.
"I'm not in hell anymore, so that's a plus," she said.
He grinned and seated himself at the table. Doyle and Gunn exchanged secretive glances at the sight of their boss actually smiling. It wasn't something that they ever saw. They also noticed that he'd failed to do his hair. He'd obviously heard Buffy's voice and rushed to make sure she was alright with two practical strangers.
"You didn't open the agency this morning?" Angel asked Gunn and Doyle.
"Nope. Figured that we'd give ourselves the day off while you guys recovered," Gunn explained.
"Agency?" Buffy asked.
"Donngel Investigations," Gunn replied proudly.
"Donngel?"
"Doyle, Gunn and Angel," Doyle explained. "Put em together, and what have you got? Donngel."
Buffy nodded. She vaguely remembered Angel telling her something about the Agency, but he hadn't gone into detail about it all.
"Anyway, if you guys want to head out soon," Angel said. "Make sure you keep your cell on in case we find an address before you guys do."
Gunn nodded and looked towards the Slayer.
"You ready?" he asked.
She looked down at her attire and shook her head. "I'm thinking I might need some clothing here," she said.
"Pity," Gunn mumbled, soft enough so that no one heard, except for Angel. Angel growled at his employee who looked startled by the low rumble coming from the vampire.
"I'll go pick you up something," Doyle offered. "What size are ya girlie?"
She told him her measurements and he left with Angel's credit card, promising to be back soon.
------------------------
Thursday: 1pm3rd September 1998
California: Los Angeles
Gunn and Buffy strode down the street that ran adjacent to the beach, Buffy switching between looking at the apartments and staring longingly at the water. After half an hour, and with no luck, Buffy finally sighed and gave in to temptation. She turned off the road, pulling Gunn onto the sand with her.
"What are we doing?" he asked.
"Going near the water," she explained.
"I can see that," Gunn replied. "Why?"
She shrugged and took her sandals off, walking towards the edge of the water. Doyle had bought a knee-length denim skirt for her. It had been surprisingly fashionable, and Buffy had had to compliment Doyle for his taste in women's clothes. He had also bought her a pale blue peasant top to go with the skirt. She had just been thankful that the back of the shirt covered her entire back. She didn't particularly feel up to explaining why her back still had scars running across it.
Buffy dipped her feet into the water and grinned happily. This was her first trip to the beach, though she had vague childhood memories of doing this with her parents before she had been taken to the Council.
Gunn saw the contentment written across the girls face and smiled at the sight of it. She really was gorgeous.
"So, where'd you learn to fight like that?" he eventually asked.
"I've been training for this since I was little," she explained.
"How little?" he asked with a smirk. "Cos honestly, you ain't really that big."
She glared at him. "I've had at least twenty people comment on my height, and you know what's happened to each and every one of them? They're dust blowing in the wind, my friend, so if you're not careful, you may find yourself being drowned."
He put his hands up in a show of surrender and just watched as she calmed herself down, looking out into the ocean. Buffy sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the wind on her face. She looked out at the water once more and smiled.
"I never knew it was this big," she said quietly.
Gunn looked at her in confusion.
"Knew that what was this big?"
"The ocean," she said.
"You're never seen the ocean before?" he asked.
"Not that I can remember. It's beautiful," she said wistfully.
He felt something in his heart twist at the sadness in her tone. The comments he'd made to Doyle about this girls life sucking hadn't been too far off.
"Tell me something about you that no one else knows," Buffy said suddenly.
Gunn looked at her, completely off-guard by the random question. He thought about it for a moment before grinning.
"I once ate a whole jar of crunchy peanut butter with my fingers," he said. "My momma just thought she'd forgotten to buy it at the store."
She laughed and wrinkled her nose. Gunn just grinned and wondered whether he would ever meet anyone like this sad blonde girl ever again.
------------------------
Thursday: 1:45pm3rd September 1998
California: Los Angeles
Gunn's cell phone rang insistently, and the young man answered it with a groan.
"Donggel Investigations, this is Gunn," he said professionally. He poked his tongue out at Buffy when she giggled at his phone manner.
"Gunn, it's Doyle," came the reply.
"Doyle man, you found an address?" Gunn asked, incredibly disappointed. He didn't want to have to take her back to her apartment so soon.
"Yeah, I got it."
Gunn listened carefully and memorised the address that Doyle recited to him.
"Alright, thanks man. Yeah I'll make sure she gets there safe and sound."
With that, he hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket.
"Looks like they found your Watcher," he explained.
She gave him a tired smile and stood up.
"Not that I haven't enjoyed hanging with you Gunn, but I really just wanna get back there," she said.
He nodded and forced himself to stand. "No need to explain blondie. Trust me, I'd be homesick in your situation as well."
With that, they walked away from the water towards the address that Gunn had been given.
Hey ppl!
I finally got a chance to get into my room. Don'tcha hate when you have family over and you hafta give up ur room for one of them? *sighs* so sad. Anyways, may I just state that this fic isn't B/A, but that I have written it as an alternate. I won't be posting it until the next time I update though. There's four chaps of B/A stuff, which, lucky you, will be posted in a block rather than in four separate updates. Anyways, hope you all had funky Christmases!
Toodles.
K.