A/N-I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for your kind reviews. It really keeps my creative juices going. I can't thank you all enough! Chapter 6 will likely be a little less funny as I should probably throw the plot in there somewhere. But until then...enjoy!
**********
Chapter 5
Angel woke slowly, the sounds of voices drifting up to him. He looked confusedly around the room before remembering where he was and he groaned. He sat up slowly scrubbing his face with his hands and running them through his hair, where they proceeded to get stuck in a mess of tangles.
Uttering a string of curses, Angel rose out of bed and rummaged around in Buffy's drawers, noticing appreciatively several of her more intimate things. Holding up the rather skimpy undergarments, a sudden image of himself , in his own body, in said garments flashed through his mind. With a large shudder Angel continued digging around the drawer until he found more modest apparel and quickly made his way to the bathroom.
After showering Angel stood in front of the mirror for several minutes, just staring at the image looking back at him. He had so missed her, her face, her body, her movements, her voice, all of it. Well, now he had all of that, but not quite in the way he had desired he chuckled to himself.
Deciding he should get downstairs to the waiting group, Angel tried to some how corral Buffy's mane of unruly hair. He had found gel, mousse, and hair spray, but was uncertain as to what to use. He hadn't ever watched her fix her hair before, and his own had never been so full. After several styling attempts, he finally decided to put it up into a low ponytail. When his hair had been long, he had often worn it that way. He dressed quickly and made his way to the kitchen.
"Hey Buffy," Dawn said casually as she was buttering her toast. Suddenly she stopped and looked up at Angel, "Oh, Angel, sorry! This is *so* going to take some getting used to. Giles filled me in on everything. Nice hair by the way."
Angel reflexively brought a hand up to brush down the blond ponytail, "What? Does it look bad?" He asked worriedly.
"Smooth Dawn," Xander said, sipping a cup of coffee while leaning on the counter next to the stove, "you just insulted the one guy who cares more about his hair than Spike. He'll probably be fixing it all day now."
"Hey!" Spike and Angel both exclaimed. Both now looked indignantly at Xander and his grin grew in intensity.
"Just an observation." Xander held his hands up in a gesture of innocence.
"Hey, Angel, how about some breakfast?" Willow asked. "You cleaned out a lot of stuff last night, but I think we still have some eggs."
Angel's thoughts were suddenly drawn from his hair to his very upset stomach. He decided that eating was probably not a good idea at the moment, as his hand unconsciously settled over his painfully uncomfortable stomach.
"No, I don't think that's such a good idea." He said pointedly. "Let just figure this out and fix it." He ordered to no one in particular. "So, anyone find anything?"
"Nothing as yet, Angel. We are still looking into it though." Giles said. "I went by the Bronze on my way home this morning, but didn't find anything unusual or outstanding."
"We are still looking through the books for spells that could have done this." Willow offered. "There's plenty of info on switching, but most all of it involves both people being together in the same place."
"Thanks," Angel started, "keep looking, maybe there's something we're missing here." Angel said as he reached for a book to peruse.
Much of the morning had gone by with the entire gang focusing on research. They had also tried to reach Wesley and Cordelia at their apartments, leaving several messages. Angel also found his stomach discomfort growing more intense. He was practically doubled over now as he tried to focus on the page of the book in front of him. Noticing everyone was watching him, Angel decided to head back to the kitchen. Perhaps some toast would help settle his stomach.
As Angel returned to the dining room toast and water in hand, he was hit with a particularly bad wave of pain and more nausea, causing him to drop the glass and toast as he grabbed the back of a chair and doubled over. Giles and Spike were up and bracing him in a second.
"Angel, what is it? Are you all right?" Giles asked
"No, I'm beginning to think your idea of getting checked out might not be so bad. May Buffy had food poisoning or something. Feels like I've been run through with a dull sword." Angel gritted out. That was when he noticed Spike leaning in closer towards him and........sniffing? "Spike, what the hell are you doing? Why are you even here anyway?" Angel spat.
Spike just ignored Angel's tirade and took another quick whiff. He was certain now. He looked into Angel's face with a moment of confusion before a smile slowly spread across his face.
"What?" Angel asked with no small amount of contempt in his voice.
"Spike, do you sense something? Is something wrong?" Giles asked looking back and forth between Spike and Angel. "Should we get him to a doctor?"
Spike just stepped back from Angel, his smile growing larger and larger until eventually he gave a small laugh. Then he proceeded to burst into full fledged laughter.
"No," he said between his fits of laughter, "Everything's right at rain watcher." His laughter continued as he noticed everyone in the room staring at him in confusion. They all probably thought he had lost his mind. "Promise folks, not a thing wrong with him." Spike said as he continued laughing. He was now bracing himself on the back of his chair.
"Tell you what, pet, er, Angel (laughing) you run on back up to bed (laughing) and I'll send one of the witches up (laughing) with something that'll fix you right up." Spike said, doing his best to reign in his laughing a little.
"Perhaps he's right Angel, a bit of rest couldn't hurt" Giles added. "This could be some sort of...side effect of the spell used."
"I think he's right Angel, I mean, you should take it easy until we know what's going on." Willow said
Deciding that if he didn't get away from Spike he was going to stake him, and that he was rather tired still, and laying down really couldn't hurt anything, Angel nodded his agreement to Giles and Willow and headed back up to Buffy's bedroom.
Once Angel had gone, Giles and Willow both turned to Spike.
"Ok, Spike, out with it. What wrong with Angel?" Willow said, putting on her best scowl. Spike simply renewed his laughter.
"Who ever did this has a bloody twisted sense of humor!" Spike said, still laughing.
"Spike!" Giles said grasping one of Spike's arms, to ensure he had his attention. "If you don't tell me what is wrong right this bloody second, I will stake you myself!"
"He'll be fine watcher, 's just, who ever did this popped Angel into Buffy's body at the wrong time of the month." Spike managed to say before he finally collapsed back against the wall and sank to the floor clutching his own stomach in laughter.
**********
After thirty minutes, Spike had finally stopped laughing for the most part, and the rest of the gang now sat around the table alternately staring at their hands and the table. They had all argued as to the best coarse of action to take next. Xander was looking decidedly green. Giles was flushed and continuously alternated between rubbing his forehead and cleaning his glasses. Willow had argued that they should ignore the situation and go about their business. Dawn had argued that it would be really mean to not help him.
"Someone should tell him what's going on. Spike, you're the one who found out, you go talk to him." Dawn urged.
"OH no, not me. Not only am I a vampire and a man, that's been dead for over 100 years, but I hail from time when no one talked about why the women just retired to their chambers once a month. I think things have changed just a bit since then. No, it should be one of you ladies. What about you Red?" Spike asked
"Who me?" Willow said, pointing at herself, a look of terror on her face. "Oh no, I don't think I could. It would just be oookey. And if we get them switched back, I don't think I could forget that kind of conversation. Anya, you do it. You're always.....factual."
"You're kidding me, right? I mean, I don't even know the guy. Besides, *I'm* still getting the hang of this human body thing." Anya replied.
"I'll go." Tara said, rolling her eyes. "Ca...can you make some Chamomile tea Will? I'll make some more toast are take it up with me. Dawn, do you know where the heating pad is?" Having collected everything, Tara set off for Buffy's room, Hoping she could find a way to gently break it to Angel that his debilitating symptoms were just PMS.
Tara knocked on the door as best she could, balancing the tray on one hand. "Angel, can I come in?" She asked shyly. Hearing a muffled "mmmfppft" that she took for "come in", she pushed open the door and walked in. Angel rolled over to see Tara holding a tray and sporting a very pained look.
"Well, it can't be too bad if they sent you in." Angel said, then thought better, "or maybe it is and they couldn't tell me...." Angel's sentence drifted off as he stared into space, contemplating what could be wrong with Buffy's body.
"Oh no, it's not bad at all!" Tara quickly fished. She set the tray down in Angel's lap. "The uh, the tea should help with the pain and the nerves, and the toast will settle your stomach." She said without looking him in the face.
"Then you know what's wrong with me..her...me, whatever?"
Tara looked Angel in the eye, "Angel, everything you are feeling is a normal part of Buffy's life. She may have superpowers and stuff, but she's still a woman." Tara paused to see if this was sinking in but got only a blank stare from Angel. "All of this is a *normal* part of being a woman." Still no reaction. "The part that *every* woman goes through *every* month."
Realization finally hit Angel as he understood her meaning. He contemplated a moment before stating flatly, "I've died. I died and went to hell and this is it."
Tara let out a small giggle, "No this isn't hell, it just feels like it for a few days. Now, there's um, a lot of *stuff* we need to go over when you're feeling a little better."
"Please, kill me now." Angel responded, "Hell has to be better than this. I was there, I should know. Just, kill me now."
Tara gave Angel a small smile, "Welcome to womanhood."
**********
TBC
**********
Chapter 5
Angel woke slowly, the sounds of voices drifting up to him. He looked confusedly around the room before remembering where he was and he groaned. He sat up slowly scrubbing his face with his hands and running them through his hair, where they proceeded to get stuck in a mess of tangles.
Uttering a string of curses, Angel rose out of bed and rummaged around in Buffy's drawers, noticing appreciatively several of her more intimate things. Holding up the rather skimpy undergarments, a sudden image of himself , in his own body, in said garments flashed through his mind. With a large shudder Angel continued digging around the drawer until he found more modest apparel and quickly made his way to the bathroom.
After showering Angel stood in front of the mirror for several minutes, just staring at the image looking back at him. He had so missed her, her face, her body, her movements, her voice, all of it. Well, now he had all of that, but not quite in the way he had desired he chuckled to himself.
Deciding he should get downstairs to the waiting group, Angel tried to some how corral Buffy's mane of unruly hair. He had found gel, mousse, and hair spray, but was uncertain as to what to use. He hadn't ever watched her fix her hair before, and his own had never been so full. After several styling attempts, he finally decided to put it up into a low ponytail. When his hair had been long, he had often worn it that way. He dressed quickly and made his way to the kitchen.
"Hey Buffy," Dawn said casually as she was buttering her toast. Suddenly she stopped and looked up at Angel, "Oh, Angel, sorry! This is *so* going to take some getting used to. Giles filled me in on everything. Nice hair by the way."
Angel reflexively brought a hand up to brush down the blond ponytail, "What? Does it look bad?" He asked worriedly.
"Smooth Dawn," Xander said, sipping a cup of coffee while leaning on the counter next to the stove, "you just insulted the one guy who cares more about his hair than Spike. He'll probably be fixing it all day now."
"Hey!" Spike and Angel both exclaimed. Both now looked indignantly at Xander and his grin grew in intensity.
"Just an observation." Xander held his hands up in a gesture of innocence.
"Hey, Angel, how about some breakfast?" Willow asked. "You cleaned out a lot of stuff last night, but I think we still have some eggs."
Angel's thoughts were suddenly drawn from his hair to his very upset stomach. He decided that eating was probably not a good idea at the moment, as his hand unconsciously settled over his painfully uncomfortable stomach.
"No, I don't think that's such a good idea." He said pointedly. "Let just figure this out and fix it." He ordered to no one in particular. "So, anyone find anything?"
"Nothing as yet, Angel. We are still looking into it though." Giles said. "I went by the Bronze on my way home this morning, but didn't find anything unusual or outstanding."
"We are still looking through the books for spells that could have done this." Willow offered. "There's plenty of info on switching, but most all of it involves both people being together in the same place."
"Thanks," Angel started, "keep looking, maybe there's something we're missing here." Angel said as he reached for a book to peruse.
Much of the morning had gone by with the entire gang focusing on research. They had also tried to reach Wesley and Cordelia at their apartments, leaving several messages. Angel also found his stomach discomfort growing more intense. He was practically doubled over now as he tried to focus on the page of the book in front of him. Noticing everyone was watching him, Angel decided to head back to the kitchen. Perhaps some toast would help settle his stomach.
As Angel returned to the dining room toast and water in hand, he was hit with a particularly bad wave of pain and more nausea, causing him to drop the glass and toast as he grabbed the back of a chair and doubled over. Giles and Spike were up and bracing him in a second.
"Angel, what is it? Are you all right?" Giles asked
"No, I'm beginning to think your idea of getting checked out might not be so bad. May Buffy had food poisoning or something. Feels like I've been run through with a dull sword." Angel gritted out. That was when he noticed Spike leaning in closer towards him and........sniffing? "Spike, what the hell are you doing? Why are you even here anyway?" Angel spat.
Spike just ignored Angel's tirade and took another quick whiff. He was certain now. He looked into Angel's face with a moment of confusion before a smile slowly spread across his face.
"What?" Angel asked with no small amount of contempt in his voice.
"Spike, do you sense something? Is something wrong?" Giles asked looking back and forth between Spike and Angel. "Should we get him to a doctor?"
Spike just stepped back from Angel, his smile growing larger and larger until eventually he gave a small laugh. Then he proceeded to burst into full fledged laughter.
"No," he said between his fits of laughter, "Everything's right at rain watcher." His laughter continued as he noticed everyone in the room staring at him in confusion. They all probably thought he had lost his mind. "Promise folks, not a thing wrong with him." Spike said as he continued laughing. He was now bracing himself on the back of his chair.
"Tell you what, pet, er, Angel (laughing) you run on back up to bed (laughing) and I'll send one of the witches up (laughing) with something that'll fix you right up." Spike said, doing his best to reign in his laughing a little.
"Perhaps he's right Angel, a bit of rest couldn't hurt" Giles added. "This could be some sort of...side effect of the spell used."
"I think he's right Angel, I mean, you should take it easy until we know what's going on." Willow said
Deciding that if he didn't get away from Spike he was going to stake him, and that he was rather tired still, and laying down really couldn't hurt anything, Angel nodded his agreement to Giles and Willow and headed back up to Buffy's bedroom.
Once Angel had gone, Giles and Willow both turned to Spike.
"Ok, Spike, out with it. What wrong with Angel?" Willow said, putting on her best scowl. Spike simply renewed his laughter.
"Who ever did this has a bloody twisted sense of humor!" Spike said, still laughing.
"Spike!" Giles said grasping one of Spike's arms, to ensure he had his attention. "If you don't tell me what is wrong right this bloody second, I will stake you myself!"
"He'll be fine watcher, 's just, who ever did this popped Angel into Buffy's body at the wrong time of the month." Spike managed to say before he finally collapsed back against the wall and sank to the floor clutching his own stomach in laughter.
**********
After thirty minutes, Spike had finally stopped laughing for the most part, and the rest of the gang now sat around the table alternately staring at their hands and the table. They had all argued as to the best coarse of action to take next. Xander was looking decidedly green. Giles was flushed and continuously alternated between rubbing his forehead and cleaning his glasses. Willow had argued that they should ignore the situation and go about their business. Dawn had argued that it would be really mean to not help him.
"Someone should tell him what's going on. Spike, you're the one who found out, you go talk to him." Dawn urged.
"OH no, not me. Not only am I a vampire and a man, that's been dead for over 100 years, but I hail from time when no one talked about why the women just retired to their chambers once a month. I think things have changed just a bit since then. No, it should be one of you ladies. What about you Red?" Spike asked
"Who me?" Willow said, pointing at herself, a look of terror on her face. "Oh no, I don't think I could. It would just be oookey. And if we get them switched back, I don't think I could forget that kind of conversation. Anya, you do it. You're always.....factual."
"You're kidding me, right? I mean, I don't even know the guy. Besides, *I'm* still getting the hang of this human body thing." Anya replied.
"I'll go." Tara said, rolling her eyes. "Ca...can you make some Chamomile tea Will? I'll make some more toast are take it up with me. Dawn, do you know where the heating pad is?" Having collected everything, Tara set off for Buffy's room, Hoping she could find a way to gently break it to Angel that his debilitating symptoms were just PMS.
Tara knocked on the door as best she could, balancing the tray on one hand. "Angel, can I come in?" She asked shyly. Hearing a muffled "mmmfppft" that she took for "come in", she pushed open the door and walked in. Angel rolled over to see Tara holding a tray and sporting a very pained look.
"Well, it can't be too bad if they sent you in." Angel said, then thought better, "or maybe it is and they couldn't tell me...." Angel's sentence drifted off as he stared into space, contemplating what could be wrong with Buffy's body.
"Oh no, it's not bad at all!" Tara quickly fished. She set the tray down in Angel's lap. "The uh, the tea should help with the pain and the nerves, and the toast will settle your stomach." She said without looking him in the face.
"Then you know what's wrong with me..her...me, whatever?"
Tara looked Angel in the eye, "Angel, everything you are feeling is a normal part of Buffy's life. She may have superpowers and stuff, but she's still a woman." Tara paused to see if this was sinking in but got only a blank stare from Angel. "All of this is a *normal* part of being a woman." Still no reaction. "The part that *every* woman goes through *every* month."
Realization finally hit Angel as he understood her meaning. He contemplated a moment before stating flatly, "I've died. I died and went to hell and this is it."
Tara let out a small giggle, "No this isn't hell, it just feels like it for a few days. Now, there's um, a lot of *stuff* we need to go over when you're feeling a little better."
"Please, kill me now." Angel responded, "Hell has to be better than this. I was there, I should know. Just, kill me now."
Tara gave Angel a small smile, "Welcome to womanhood."
**********
TBC