DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it
all belongs to Joss Whedon.
Author's Note: I know you're all really eager for Anya and Spike to meet up with the Scoobies; I promise, it will happen, and very soon, you just have to be patient.
Chapter 5
'Take a seat,' he pointed at the two chairs in front of him, and invited Cordelia to sit on his side of the table. There was a moment of silence, and then-
'What the hell is going on?!' Cordelia burst out. 'Weren't you two dead?'
Anya and Spike gave each other a look. They turned back to Cordelia and Angel. Spike began: 'What happened was we reached the gates of what we think was heaven, and they told us that we deserved to be back on Earth.' He paused, and then added as an afterthought, 'As humans.'
'I don't understand; how did you both become human?' Angel was protesting slightly.
'We don't really fully know.' Anya answered him. 'This invisible voice just told us we had done something "remarkable",' she used air quotes. 'And that we both deserved to be on Earth as humans.'
Angel sat silently for a moment. Cordelia, however, was ecstatic.
'This is so amazing you guys! You get a whole new chance at life!' She ran over to their side and hugged them both, almost choking them.
'So what do you two want?' Angel asked bitterly.
'We wanna know where everyone went. And how they're all doing.' Spike started contemplating whether or not to mention someone. 'Have you heard from Buffy since the disappearance of Sunnydale?'
Angel and Spike glared at each other at the mention of her name. Anya and Cordelia felt a lot of tension.
'Yeah, we've heard from them all.' Angel answered eventually. 'Apart from Giles, who went to England, and Andrew who went to Nashville.' Anya perked up at the mention of Andrew's name. 'Oh, great - did he become a Buddhist like he said he wanted to?'
All three of them gave her a weird look. 'I think so.' Angel replied confused. 'Anyway, as I was saying, apart from them, the rest of the gang moved to San Francisco.'
'What about the other Slayers?' Spike asked, genuinely interested.
'They went back to their homes to defend their area. Faith and Robin Wood are both here in LA though.' Spike raised his eyebrows at the mention of their names. He hadn't exactly gotten on with either of them recently.
'So, they're in San Francisco?'
'Yeah, Buffy, Willow, Dawn and Willow's girlfriend Kennedy all bought a place together.' Angel went on. 'Xander bought his own apartment, or as he called it, his "bachelor pad".' This time Angel used air quotes.
'Hey, how did they, um, react when we, uh, died?' Anya asked curiously.
Angel took a deep sigh. 'They didn't take it well. It took them a while to move on; in fact I think they're still pretty much mourning you guys.' Spike and Anya looked at the floor. Anya looked up quickly. 'Could we get their address? We'd really like to reunite with them.'
Angel paused for a moment, just looking at the both of them, thinking how happy the rest of the gang were going to be when they saw them again. Angel quickly came back to Earth to answer her. 'Yeah, sure - it's here somewhere,' Angel turned around and started looking in the drawers. 'Ah, here we go. Cordy, write this out will you?' He handed Cordelia the sheet of paper, she glanced at it briefly, and then went on to write and chat to Anya at the same time.
Meanwhile, Angel sat on the desk, and he and Spike were looking deeply at each other. 'Listen, I'll be honest with you Spike.'
'About what?' He adjusted himself in his chair.
'About Buffy.'
They were silent, yet Cordelia's and Anya's chattering filled up the silence.
'She loves you, Spike, not me.'
Spike snorted and rolled his eyes. 'Yeah right, mate. Nice of you to try and cheer me up, but we both know that you're the one-
'Then why has she not talked to me since she moved, and all that she's been thinking about apparently is you?' Angel interrupted.
'Really?' Spike was surprised.
'She told you she loved you before you died, don't you remember?'
Spike frowned. 'If that's all you're basing it on, she didn't mean that. She just said that so she could make me happy-
Angel interrupted again. 'Maybe then, but she loves you Spike. More than she'll ever love me.' He looked down at the desk he was sitting on. 'I gave up hope because I knew most of her heart would forever be with you. I was just sad that you couldn't be here to return the love.' He looked back up at Spike. 'But now that you're back, I think you have something to do.'
'I'll only believe it, Angel, when I hear it from her.' Spike fired back.
'Then do that, if that's what it takes. At least be grateful that you can see her in the sunlight.' This made Spike feel guilty. He did have an amazing gift now, and had a lot of things Angel never could have.
Angel turned to Cordelia. 'Finished Cordy?'
She wrote the last couple of words. 'Yep.here you go.' She handed it to Angel, who glanced at it briefly, and then gave it to Spike. Angel looked meaningfully at him, and Spike was starting to believe that he really was telling the truth.
'Thanks,' Spike said. 'Just one last thing - how exactly can we get there? We don't have any money or anything on us.'
'We'll give you guys money for a cab.' Angel seemed to want to get rid of them as quickly as possible.
'I think a cab to San Francisco will be a tiny bit far.' Spike pointed out.
'Oh, Angel, can I drive them there in my car?' Cordelia suggested.
'Will you be able to get there?'
'Yeah, sure, getting to San Francisco is easy enough. We'll just use a map from then on. It might take a few hours, but it'll be fun.' And then she added whispering, 'and also, I can't wait to see the looks on all their faces.'
'Are you sure, because we could definitely-
'Angel, I wanna do this.' She smiled. 'It gives me time to catch up with these guys.' She put her arms around them. 'Hey, do you wanna join us? We could make a big fun trip of it, leave at sunset,' Cordelia suggested.
'No!' Angel immediately replied. 'Too risky. Besides, I have a date tonight with that girl Laura.'
Spike and Anya looked surprised.
'You got a date?' Spike said, looking amazed.
'Yeah, why's that so hard to believe?' Angel challenged him.
Spike looked at him defensively. 'Oh, nothing - I wasn't insulting your manhood or anything. It's just.apart from you-know-who, you never go out on a date.'
'Well, this one's special. She knows all about the "vampire with a soul" thing - she's cool with it. And she's really sweet too.'
They all smiled, even Spike, seeing Angel happy in 'life after Buffy' mode.
'Anyway, you guys better go now.' Angel said returning to their previous subject. 'Try to get back a.s.a.p, OK Cordy?'
'Sure.' She walked towards the door and opened it.
Lorne, Gunn and Wesley hadn't gone down to Fred's lab like they said they would, but were standing there, quite obviously eavesdropping. They quickly turned around and pretended to be deep in conversation with one another.
The four of them in the office raised their eyebrows.
**********
Author's Note (again): By the way, towards the end, if you're wondering why I gave Angel a girlfriend called Laura, it's just because one of my best friends Laura is totally obsessed with him, and when she read this (she's naturally B/A) she said: 'Spike can have Buffy.'
Author's Note: I know you're all really eager for Anya and Spike to meet up with the Scoobies; I promise, it will happen, and very soon, you just have to be patient.
Chapter 5
'Take a seat,' he pointed at the two chairs in front of him, and invited Cordelia to sit on his side of the table. There was a moment of silence, and then-
'What the hell is going on?!' Cordelia burst out. 'Weren't you two dead?'
Anya and Spike gave each other a look. They turned back to Cordelia and Angel. Spike began: 'What happened was we reached the gates of what we think was heaven, and they told us that we deserved to be back on Earth.' He paused, and then added as an afterthought, 'As humans.'
'I don't understand; how did you both become human?' Angel was protesting slightly.
'We don't really fully know.' Anya answered him. 'This invisible voice just told us we had done something "remarkable",' she used air quotes. 'And that we both deserved to be on Earth as humans.'
Angel sat silently for a moment. Cordelia, however, was ecstatic.
'This is so amazing you guys! You get a whole new chance at life!' She ran over to their side and hugged them both, almost choking them.
'So what do you two want?' Angel asked bitterly.
'We wanna know where everyone went. And how they're all doing.' Spike started contemplating whether or not to mention someone. 'Have you heard from Buffy since the disappearance of Sunnydale?'
Angel and Spike glared at each other at the mention of her name. Anya and Cordelia felt a lot of tension.
'Yeah, we've heard from them all.' Angel answered eventually. 'Apart from Giles, who went to England, and Andrew who went to Nashville.' Anya perked up at the mention of Andrew's name. 'Oh, great - did he become a Buddhist like he said he wanted to?'
All three of them gave her a weird look. 'I think so.' Angel replied confused. 'Anyway, as I was saying, apart from them, the rest of the gang moved to San Francisco.'
'What about the other Slayers?' Spike asked, genuinely interested.
'They went back to their homes to defend their area. Faith and Robin Wood are both here in LA though.' Spike raised his eyebrows at the mention of their names. He hadn't exactly gotten on with either of them recently.
'So, they're in San Francisco?'
'Yeah, Buffy, Willow, Dawn and Willow's girlfriend Kennedy all bought a place together.' Angel went on. 'Xander bought his own apartment, or as he called it, his "bachelor pad".' This time Angel used air quotes.
'Hey, how did they, um, react when we, uh, died?' Anya asked curiously.
Angel took a deep sigh. 'They didn't take it well. It took them a while to move on; in fact I think they're still pretty much mourning you guys.' Spike and Anya looked at the floor. Anya looked up quickly. 'Could we get their address? We'd really like to reunite with them.'
Angel paused for a moment, just looking at the both of them, thinking how happy the rest of the gang were going to be when they saw them again. Angel quickly came back to Earth to answer her. 'Yeah, sure - it's here somewhere,' Angel turned around and started looking in the drawers. 'Ah, here we go. Cordy, write this out will you?' He handed Cordelia the sheet of paper, she glanced at it briefly, and then went on to write and chat to Anya at the same time.
Meanwhile, Angel sat on the desk, and he and Spike were looking deeply at each other. 'Listen, I'll be honest with you Spike.'
'About what?' He adjusted himself in his chair.
'About Buffy.'
They were silent, yet Cordelia's and Anya's chattering filled up the silence.
'She loves you, Spike, not me.'
Spike snorted and rolled his eyes. 'Yeah right, mate. Nice of you to try and cheer me up, but we both know that you're the one-
'Then why has she not talked to me since she moved, and all that she's been thinking about apparently is you?' Angel interrupted.
'Really?' Spike was surprised.
'She told you she loved you before you died, don't you remember?'
Spike frowned. 'If that's all you're basing it on, she didn't mean that. She just said that so she could make me happy-
Angel interrupted again. 'Maybe then, but she loves you Spike. More than she'll ever love me.' He looked down at the desk he was sitting on. 'I gave up hope because I knew most of her heart would forever be with you. I was just sad that you couldn't be here to return the love.' He looked back up at Spike. 'But now that you're back, I think you have something to do.'
'I'll only believe it, Angel, when I hear it from her.' Spike fired back.
'Then do that, if that's what it takes. At least be grateful that you can see her in the sunlight.' This made Spike feel guilty. He did have an amazing gift now, and had a lot of things Angel never could have.
Angel turned to Cordelia. 'Finished Cordy?'
She wrote the last couple of words. 'Yep.here you go.' She handed it to Angel, who glanced at it briefly, and then gave it to Spike. Angel looked meaningfully at him, and Spike was starting to believe that he really was telling the truth.
'Thanks,' Spike said. 'Just one last thing - how exactly can we get there? We don't have any money or anything on us.'
'We'll give you guys money for a cab.' Angel seemed to want to get rid of them as quickly as possible.
'I think a cab to San Francisco will be a tiny bit far.' Spike pointed out.
'Oh, Angel, can I drive them there in my car?' Cordelia suggested.
'Will you be able to get there?'
'Yeah, sure, getting to San Francisco is easy enough. We'll just use a map from then on. It might take a few hours, but it'll be fun.' And then she added whispering, 'and also, I can't wait to see the looks on all their faces.'
'Are you sure, because we could definitely-
'Angel, I wanna do this.' She smiled. 'It gives me time to catch up with these guys.' She put her arms around them. 'Hey, do you wanna join us? We could make a big fun trip of it, leave at sunset,' Cordelia suggested.
'No!' Angel immediately replied. 'Too risky. Besides, I have a date tonight with that girl Laura.'
Spike and Anya looked surprised.
'You got a date?' Spike said, looking amazed.
'Yeah, why's that so hard to believe?' Angel challenged him.
Spike looked at him defensively. 'Oh, nothing - I wasn't insulting your manhood or anything. It's just.apart from you-know-who, you never go out on a date.'
'Well, this one's special. She knows all about the "vampire with a soul" thing - she's cool with it. And she's really sweet too.'
They all smiled, even Spike, seeing Angel happy in 'life after Buffy' mode.
'Anyway, you guys better go now.' Angel said returning to their previous subject. 'Try to get back a.s.a.p, OK Cordy?'
'Sure.' She walked towards the door and opened it.
Lorne, Gunn and Wesley hadn't gone down to Fred's lab like they said they would, but were standing there, quite obviously eavesdropping. They quickly turned around and pretended to be deep in conversation with one another.
The four of them in the office raised their eyebrows.
**********
Author's Note (again): By the way, towards the end, if you're wondering why I gave Angel a girlfriend called Laura, it's just because one of my best friends Laura is totally obsessed with him, and when she read this (she's naturally B/A) she said: 'Spike can have Buffy.'