Chapter Fourteen

"Buffy, Buffy, it's time to get up." Joyce Summers told her daughter the next morning. She sat next to her on her bed. "Buffy, it's after noon, are you feeling all right?"

Buffy rolled over and looked at her mother. Her mother had no idea what had happened to her the night before. Buffy pulled the covers over her head. "Mom, just leave me alone."

Joyce was puzzled. She had been lying awake on the couch when Buffy came home. She saw Xander and Cordelia drop her off early in the morning. When Buffy walked through the door she appeared all right. "Honey, what's the matter? What's wrong?"

Annoyed Buffy rolled over with her back towards her mother. "Nothing, I want to sleep."

Joyce could not understand why Buffy was acting the way she was. "Buffy, did something happen last night? What is going on?"

Once more Buffy rolled over. She took the covers off from over her head and sat up. She pushed her hair behind her ears and looked at her mother. "Angel is dead. There, I said it. I would like to go back to sleep now please."

"What?"

"He's dead. He is no longer among the living the living as Oz so kindly put it last night."

"Did he turn into dust like that other man did a few nights ago?" Joyce asked recalling one of Angelus' men she had and Spike had dusted.

"No. He died form other causes. I-I don't want to get into it now. I just want to stay in bed a little longer, " Buffy told her mother as she rested her head on her shoulder.

Joyce stroked Buffy's long golden hair. She wished she could have made her pain go away. "Do whatever you need sweetheart. I'm going to the gallery for a few hours and then I'll be here all tonight if you want to do something or go some place."

"Nothing tonight. We are going to bury him tonight."

"We?"

"The gang and I. Wil and Oz, Xander and Cordelia."

"What about Mr. Giles? Will he help you?"

Buffy was thinking about how Giles did not know the news yet. If he had heard the news it was through someone else. She bet that he didn't care. Angelus had killed Jenny and tried to do the same to Giles. "I don't think he knows yet. I suppose I should go tell him. Arg! I don't want to get out of bed." Buffy whined as she pulled the covers off of her and crawled out of bed. She opened her closet door and searched for an outfit to wear.

Her mother was sitting as she watched her daughter who has in so much pain. Joyce was thinking about how hard it was to get over any first love but throw in the fact that her daughter's first love was not human and now dead really made her feel bad for Buffy. "I could call into work and we could just hang out together. Or we could just go to the mall. Do you want a new outfit?" What was she doing? Joyce knew that Buffy's pain could not heal over ice cream and some new pretty things.

"No that's all right. You go to the gallery. I have to go and talk to Giles. I should do that now."

Joyce nodded. She wondered how a man her age could relate so well to her own teenage daughter. Why would Buffy go to Giles over her own mother? Joyce was almost jealous. She wanted to be the one who comforted her daughter and to hold her. She didn't want some man old enough to be her father to take her place. She wondered how he could relate to her daughter so well. "Okay Buffy but promise me that if you need anything, anything at all you will call the gallery. Promise?"

Buffy agreed. "I promise. I have to take a quick shower and then I am leaving. I may not be home for dinner, so I will se you later." And with that being said, she rushed into the shower. When she was finished with her shower and dressed, Buffy looked around and found that her mother had left for work. Buffy hurried and went over Giles.

"Buffy, hello. Please come int." Giles told her. He had known about Angel. Xander had stopped by to tell him earlier that day. "You just missed Xander. He was here earlier. We-"

Buffy was relieved that she didn't have to go through the story about the previous night. She just wasn't ready to talk about it. "So you know?"

"Oh yes. Xander explained everything to me this morning." Giles told her as she sat on his couch. He wanted to comfort the young woman who was like his daughter. He had wondered how her father could abandon her. Buffy had excelled during her first year in Sunnydale. She may have missed classes but she had almost straight A's in every one of them. She worked really hard in her academic life as well as in her slaying life. She was such a strong young woman and he was proud to be fighting by her side. He wished there was something that he could do to ease her pain. Though he was never really found of Angel, even when he wasn't evil and didn't kill his girlfriend, he was more concerned with Buffy.

"Giles, I don't know what to do or think or…or feel. It just hurt so badly. I know that you don't care about him," Buffy knew that Giles didn't like him, especially after Jenny's death. She stopped thinking as she continued, "but I didn't know who else to go to. Wil feels horribly and Xander, well he's not very compassionate when it comes to Angel. And-"

"Buffy, it's-" Giles was interrupted.

"Not that you really cared for him, especially after things that have happened recently but your older and, -" Buffy was interrupted this time.

"Buffy, it's okay that you are here. I know that you are hurting and need to talk to someone. That's one of the reasons I am here for you." Giles told her.

Buffy forced a smile on her face. "Thank you. I don't really want to talk about since you know. I don't know what I want." She paused as tears filled her eyes. "I know what I want, I want to stop hurting."

Giles wrapped his arm around Buffy and held her as tears flowed freely from her eyes. The only thing Giles was able to do was console her.