***A new part, finally!! My apologies for taking so long to get this part out, but my computer crashed last week and I lost everything I had on it.which was a lot. I spent days trying to get my computer back to normal. It's about as close as it can get to normal, finally. So that's why it's been over 2 weeks since the last part. I promise the next part will be out quicker. Isis***

Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who sent feedback on Part 13: Rain, Wendy, Christine, TK, Emma, NorthernStar, clules4eva, shahid, MaleahDaila, Tariq, Buffy/Friends Fan, and Alicia (and anyone I missed!)

Warning: *holds up a sign that says 'Beware: Cliff Ahead'*

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^ Part 14 - ^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

~One Week Later~

Angel sat at his desk staring at his computer, trying his hardest to get something accomplished, but not having much success. The only thing that his mind could focus on was a certain petite blonde. He just couldn't seem to think about anything else. Not that constantly thinking about her was unusual for him, but for the past week it had been even worse. It had been a week since he'd sent the letter to her.

One week. Seven days. One hundred and sixty-eight hours since he had poured his soul out in the letter. A letter which he hoped would persuade her to give him a second chance. But a week during which she had made no attempt to contact him.

He knew she had read the letter. At least he knew that. Xander had provided him with that information courtesy of Cordelia. Other than that he knew nothing. Cordelia had only told Xander that Buffy had read the letter, nothing else. It was killing him to not know what she was feeling or if she would forgive him.

To know that she had at least read it was only somewhat comforting. He knew it was unrealistic, but part of him had hoped that she would come running back to him. With each passing day that he did not see or hear from her it became harder and harder to hope that she would forgive him at all.

And so he found himself, seven days later, unable to think about anything other than her. He was tempted to go see her, but he knew that would possibly make things worse. She would come to him on her own, when she was ready, if she was ever ready. Still, the waiting was likely to drive him insane.

Shaking his head slightly, Angel forced his focus back on the computer screen in front of him. He needed to get some work done. It wouldn't do him any good to lose his job because he had been slacking off. Plus, maybe doing some work would keep him from thinking about her for even just a few minutes.

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

Standing at the top of the stairs, Buffy looked up and down the hallway. Which direction was the damn study? All she wanted to do was use the computer that Willow had shown her a few days ago, but she couldn't remember where the damn room was. Her brow scrunched as she tried to remember if it was even on the second floor.

She looked toward each end of the hallway once again, trying her hardest to remember where the room was, but it was no use. She had no clue where the study was. For a moment she contemplated searching each room until she found it, but she quickly vetoed that idea. Her body was still weak and tired easily and the house was just too big to search. With a sigh, Buffy walked slowly back to her room. At least she knew where that was.

Once inside her room, Buffy flopped down on the bed. Unwanted tears formed in her eyes as her frustration over her memory loss became too much. She hated having such a big part of her life missing. In a way, she didn't even feel like it was her life she was living. Nothing was familiar. It was like she had Quantum Leaped into someone else's body where she knew nothing about what was going on around her.

[AN: for those of you who don't know, Quantum Leap was a TV show.if you don't know it and want to know what it was about, email me and I'll tell you]

Pushing herself up to sit at the head of the bed, Buffy glanced around her room. Outside of her memory loss, she couldn't get past the feeling that something else wasn't quite right. Her room itself had initiated the feeling.

She studied the room as she sat there on her bed. It was, by all means, a very nice room. The walls were off white, the matching furniture was lightly stained oak, the bed was covered in a very pale peach soft down comforter, and the large windows provided lots of light. Yes, it was definitely a nice room. But it just wasn't.her.

There were no pictures or posters on the walls. The dresser and closet had the bare minimum of clothes. There were few personal momentos, and the bathroom lacked her usual wide variety of toiletries. In essence, it felt like she was living in a guest room rather than a room that was hers.

Of course, it had occurred to her that maybe her things where in an apartment that was hers, but even so, wouldn't they have moved the stuff to her room at the house? It wouldn't make any sense to keep an empty apartment when she was in a coma. And even if her things were in an apartment somewhere, wouldn't she have made her room at the house a little more homey?

The whole thing just made no sense. She also got the feeling that there were things that the others weren't telling her. Whenever she would ask them about something from the previous four years there would be this look on their faces and they would tell her it was important for her to remember on her own. The look told her that they were hiding something. What could they possibly be hiding and why?

With those thoughts in her mind, Buffy's eyes began to drift shut. She wondered if sleep would give her some peace of mind. The last week had been an endless parade of stresses and it was beginning to wear on her already depleted body. But she knew that sleep wouldn't provide any release for there was a certain sexy, dark haired man who always visited her dreams.

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

~somewhere else in Sunnydale~

Hidden in the shadows of a dimly light alley stood a tall, nervous man. He glanced down at his watch, pressing the button to light the face so he could tell the time. It was fifteen minutes past when his contact was supposed to show up. He wasn't normally one to be easily scared, but the alley was giving him the creeps.

As his eyes looked upwards he caught sight of headlands coming down toward him. Letting out a restless sigh, he waited for the car to come to a stop next to him.

"Your late," the man growled at the occupant of the car.

"Yeah, your point?"

"You were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago!" the man stated sharply.

"You're such a fucking stiff sometimes."

"Let's just get this over with," he answered, running a hand through his hair.

"Fine, whatever. Just tell me what I need to know."

"She doesn't remember anything. Apparently, her memory for the last for years is gone," the man explained.

"Is it permanent?"

"Don't know. It might be and it might not be," he replied hastily, wanting nothing more than to get out of the alley.

"She better hope it is. Anything else?"

"No, that's it," he stated anxiously.

Without another word, the car sped off. The driver thought about the new information. She was a loose end. But which risk was greater? Tying up the loose end or hoping that she'd never remember?

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

The slight noise of her door closing startled Buffy out of her sleep. She glanced around and saw no one in the room with her. Someone must have been checking on her. They did that often, as if they expected her to just disappear or something. It was annoying to a certain degree, but it also told her they cared about her.

Her eyes gazed out the window for a few seconds, noticing the orange and pinks in the sky she realized that it was almost night. Slightly shocked that she had slept for almost two hours, Buffy rolled over onto her side. The moment she did, she found herself staring at a few sheets of cream colored paper with a wilting rose sitting atop them.

The sight caused her eyes to water. Hesitantly, her fingers reached out to lightly touch the dying edges of the once beautiful flower. She hadn't found it in herself to put it in water, but she also hadn't been able to throw it away. So it had sat on her nightstand for the past week, dying a little more each day.

As much as she tried to, she hadn't been able to force Angel out of her mind. Over and over she told herself that he'd broken her heart, that he would only do it again. But each time she did, she also remembered all the times they had laughed together, all the times he'd held her safely in his strong arms, all the times he'd surrounded her with his love.

She didn't want to believe that he still loved her, didn't want to believe all that he had said in the letter. It was easier not to believe than it was to allow her heart to open itself up to him again. But deep down, she knew everything he had written was the complete truth. Just as she knew that she would always love him.

Did it matter, though, what she felt? Or what he felt, for that matter? Could she allow herself to fall into him again? That was what she didn't know. And the week spent mulling over, and trying to ignore, the letter had yet to provide any clarity on the situation.

Her thoughts drifted back to the conversation she had had with Cordy a week earlier. The brunette's words had stuck in her head. A couple times she'd caught herself during the past week watching Cordelia and Xander together. They looked so happy even though they tended to bicker a lot. It was just part of who they were, but they were happy with each other. And they almost hadn't had that because Cordy had almost given up on them years ago. But her friend hadn't given up, and now she had a life and a companion she was happy with.

Did she want to give up her own chance at happiness? And was her happiness tied to Angel? Buffy thought about those two questions intently. She thought about her dreams for the future, the things she wanted, and the person she wanted them with. Images flashed within her mind, filling her with desires she thought long dead. She craved to reach out and grab them before they disappeared.

The clarity over the situation hit her suddenly. She knew what she needed to do, what she wanted to do. There were still doubts. How could there not be? But she now knew in her deep in her heart what it was that she wanted.

With a steadfast determination, Buffy picked up the phone, there was someone she needed to ask a favor of.

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

Angel stood in his kitchen mindlessly stirring the chicken noodle soup he'd opted to have for dinner. He could have eaten cardboard he wouldn't have cared. Nothing mattered. Not when he believed that he'd lost his true love, forever.

He moved around the small kitchen with sagged shoulders. His movements were dull and void of emotion as he pulled out a bowl and spoon. After pouring the contents of the pan into the bowl, he sat at the table. As he waited for the soup to cool, his mind thought back to the first time he had seen Buffy.

The gang had designated him to go pick up some videos for their movie night. And as he walked around the store he'd bumped into her as she came out of one of the aisles. The moment he saw her, his heart was lost to the enchanting blonde beauty. They'd stared at each other for nearly five minutes before he had snapped himself out of his daze and introduced himself. She had smiled shyly at him before saying her name. And when he had shook her hand he had known somewhere in his heart that she was his future.

Memories of Buffy swept through his mind causing his heart to ache even more. Words couldn't even begin to describe how much he missed her presence in his life. Through the din of his thoughts, the knocking at his door barely registered in his mind.

Shaking the images of years past out of his consciousness, Angel slowly ambled to the door, not even bothering to put on the shirt that was slung over the back of a chair. He figured it was probably Willow, Xander, or Cordelia coming over to check on him as they had been doing the past week.

He swung the door open, planning to tell his unexpected guest that he was fine and that they could go home, when his eyes landed on the person on the other side of the door.

"Hi.," spoke a soft, beautiful voice.

"Buffy?" he gasped out in response, almost not believing that she was really there.

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TBC!

.evil me! But I will make it up to you all next part!