Chapter Ten
Buffy knocked on Giles' front door. She had left Angel less then three hours ago with a promise that she'd be back to visit within a couple of weeks. He had promised to call her as soon as he found out who his new seer was. Buffy wasn't entirely sure she trusted the Oracles to keep their word.
Giles opened the door. He smiled at her and stepped back. Buffy walked inside. Willow, Xander and Dawn were already there.
"Hey, Buff. Good to have you back." Xander said.
"It's nice to be back." Buffy said with a smile.
"So Angel isn't all crazy anymore?" Willow asked.
Buffy shook her head. "Nope he was as sane as-well as he was before I guess. I don't know. Anyway he's his normal Angel-y self."
"What happened?" Giles asked.
Buffy sat down on the couch and curled her legs up underneath her. "You remember the guy who had the vision about me four years ago? Doyle? When Angel came here for Thanksgiving and no one saw fit to tell me?"
Giles cleared his throat and took his glasses off. He cleaned them with his handkerchief. "Yes, I remember the time well."
"Thought you would, Anyway, Doyle died and passed his visions to Angel. Apparently these visions are pretty surround sound. He feels, smells, and tastes what the people in the visions do. It's almost as if he is that person, plus wicked painful headaches. Combine all that with a century and a half of guilt and a gypsy curse you get insane Angel. Anyway, there was no cure for it. He-"Buffy lowered her head. Her hand instinctively went to the right side of her neck, where Angel's bite still law angry and red. It was healing but it was still only a day old. "I fed him. My blood made him lucid for a little while but when the effects wore off he thought he'd killed me. It did a lot more damage then good. So I went to talk to the Oracles." Buffy said.
"Good Heavens, Buffy. The Oracles? The direct conduit for the Powers that Be?" Giles said.
"Shiny gold guys with nifty swirly tattoos?" Buffy said.
Giles shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen a picture of the Oracles."
"They were rude. Anyway, I was rude back and finally convinced them that Angel was more use to them sane and to give the visions to someone else. He's supposed to get a new seer within a couple of days." Buffy said.
Giles looked rather perplexed. "How did you convince them?" Giles asked. There was concern in his voice.
Buffy shook her head. "Come on, Giles. You know how stubborn I can be."
"Yeah and plus Angel equals extra stubborn." Willow said.
Buffy smiled at Willow. "So what's up, Giles? Why the need for a Slayer?"
"A vampire nest. They seem to need reminding that a Slayer lives on this particular Hellmouth." Giles said.
"Okay, so we remind." Buffy said. "Where is it?"
"An old warehouse down near the docks." Giles said.
Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Like they couldn't find a warehouse to move into that didn't carry that fishy smell. Okay, so I hit it just before sundown, maybe catch them sleepy."
Giles nodded. "Are you planning on returning to LA?" There was a hint of disapproval in Giles' voice.
Buffy shook her head. "Only to visit. Angel and I-we don't work together but we don't work apart either. We're trying to do a see you sometimes talk to you occasionally type thing." She shrugged.
Willow smiled a little sadly. "Still a curse issue?"
Buffy took a deep breath and let it out as she spoke, "Oh yeah, in a big way. But there was a bit of a bright spot besides the Angel's sane again one."
"Yeah?" Willow said.
Buffy nodded. "Something called Sushi or sanshi maybe shoeshine, I'm not sure. Anyway it's a prophecy. It says that after Angel finishes jumping through all Powers hoops that he gets to be human."
"Wow," Willow said.
Buffy nodded.
"So one day if Deadboy is real good he'll get to be a real boy." Xander said.
Buffy smirked at him. "Something like that."
Buffy made the same sort of entrance into Sunnydale's vamp nest that she had in LA's. The sun was lower. She only managed to kill one vamp out of the five with the sun. That made the odds more even for her. Giles took one out with a cross bow. Willow and Xander staked another. Buffy dusted the other two in short order. She made a show of yawning and dusted her hands off. "Maybe we should have let one go so it could run to all its friends and tell them the slayer's back in town."
Giles chuckled. "I'm sure the word will spread quickly enough."
"You guys go on home. I know you've been extra vigilant with the patrol since I've been gone. Watch out for Dawn; make sure she does her homework. I'm going to do a sweep of some of the cemeteries." Buffy said.
"You sure?" Xander asked.
"Yup, positive. Go on; tell Dawnie I'll be home later." Buffy said.
"Alright, you're the boss." Xander said with a mock salute.
Buffy watched them get into Giles' car. Once they were out of sight Buffy started toward the first cemetery. Things were wild. She staked three vamps before she ever got inside the gates of Sunny Rest.
"Geez, take a mini vacation and you guys set up shop in full force. I'm glad you missed me. I mean a girl always likes to be missed but next time you should really go for a card." Buffy punned as she ducked a hook punch from her fourth vampire. She grabbed the vamp's wrist and flipped him on his back. She plunged the stake into his heart.
She meandered through the headstones on full alert. Things had been much too hairy to relax. A scream sounded from the north end of the cemetery. Buffy put on a burst of speed and ran as fast as she could in the direction. There was vamp bent over a girl. He had smacked the girl's boyfriend into a tree trunk. The poor guy was shaking his head, obviously seeing stars.
"You never call, you never write and then I find you flirting with other girls. I am not a happy girl." Buffy said.
The vamp growled and glanced up at her. He let the girl beneath him go as he grinned. "Slayer, I heard you were out of town."
Buffy shrugged. "I came back, home sweet Hellmouth." She said as she caught the vamp with a sharp jab. He staggered back but recovered quick coming at her with a cross punch. Buffy ducked but she was too late. The vamp caught her in the chin and Buffy went down. She kicked up, catching the vamp in the body with a kick. She unleashed on him with a combination of jabs and punches. She drew her stake back for the killing blow and stumbled to her knees as something exploded behind her eyes.
The cemetery was gone. She was kneeling in an alley. Tiny rocks and bits of glass bit into her knees. A group of girls walked out of a nightclub. The music rolled out of the open door and washed over her. She could smell the trash from the alley. One of the girls laughed. Buffy looked again. There were two guys with them. Buffy would bet money they were vampires.
"My car is parked right back here." One of the vamps said as he guided the women into the alley, his hand on the small of the brunette's back. Buffy tried to stand. The pain in her head pushed her back into the dirt of the alley.
Dual screams came from the girls as the vampires showed their true faces. Buffy felt their fear roll her under and she vomited. She'd never felt fear like that in her entire life. She screamed out loud as she felt the vampire's fangs pierce her neck.
The pain rushed away, leaving a sharp ache behind. Buffy was on her back in the cemetery. The vampire hovered over her, salivating. His fangs were inches from her throat. Buffy shoved up as hard as she could, knocking the vampire off her. She was woozy when she stood. The ground beneath her feet swam and she fought to keep her footing. The vampire rushed her again and she was an easy target. She went down. She had the forethought to clutch her stake to her chest, pointed end up. The vamp fell on it when their bodies impacted the ground.
Buffy lay there in the cool night air taking big gulps of it. She got slowly to her feet. She had to talk to Giles and she needed to call Angel. She was pretty sure she knew who his new seer was.
*
Buffy sat on Giles' couch with her hands wrapped around a cup of tea. She had already called Angel and given him the details he needed to save the girls. He was supposed to call her back when he'd saved them. He said they were going to have a talk.
"Are you alright?" Giles asked.
"Besides the intense pain in my head and the fact that I almost got killed tonight, I'm peachy." Buffy said.
"Sorry, silly question. So you're quite certain you are Angel's new seer?" Giles said.
"Again with the intense pain in my head plus surround sound movie," Buffy almost growled. She apologized. "I'm sorry, it hurts and I'm cranky."
"Quite understandable. Perhaps it would be best if we went to Angel's hotel. I'll need to contact the council. It couldn't hurt to hear what Wesley knows about the visions also." Giles said.
"Yeah, road trip and normally I'd be all for one. Right now, I really just want to sleep for a really long time." Buffy said.
Giles smiled. "Get your blanket and a pillow. You can sleep in the car. I'll call Xander and Willow."
Buffy didn't think she'd be able to sleep with the nagging pain behind her eyes. She did though. She only woke up when the car pulled to a stop in front of the Hyperion. She noticed the pain in her head was gone and it was a welcome relief.
Angel rushed out into the courtyard to meet them. His arms went around Buffy, coddling her and helping her into the lobby. "The girls are safe, scared but safe." He said.
Buffy nodded. "And the migraine seems to be gone."
Angel nodded. "My headaches always got better after the person I'd had a vision about was safe."
"Extra incentive to take care of it I guess." Buffy grumbled.
"I don't understand this." Angel said. "You already have your job, your destiny. You're a Slayer, not a seer. What were the Oracles thinking?"
Buffy bit her bottom lip. "Uhm, well-I sort of agreed to take the visions, but I didn't think they were serious. They made it seem like they were going to give them to someone else." Buffy said.
Angel looked at her. She couldn't read what was in his eyes, maybe rage, maybe disbelief. "Ok, tell me exactly what was said."
"Ok, they were rude. They were all like this is Angel's destiny and if you couldn't handle and were going insane, they didn't care. It was their problem. So I argued with them. And the girl asked who I wanted to take on the visions. She asked if I'd take them on myself. I said yeah. She asked even if it killed me. So I gave her a little re-run on Buffy/Angel." Buffy's eyes softened. She reached over and laid her hand on Angel's chest, over his dead heart. "If I could save you, it's worth it."
Angel crushed Buffy to him, not caring about the other people in the room. Tears clouded his eyes and he buried his face in the crown of her hair. "Buffy, you shouldn't have." He whispered.
"I really thought they were going to send someone else. She just wanted to see if I'd do it, if it was worth it to me. She said I was needed elsewhere and that the Powers didn't keep us apart just because it was fun. Then she told me about the Sunshine prophecy, sort of, and said they'd send you someone else."
"Shanshu," Angel said.
"Bless you," Buffy said.
Angel chuckled. "No, it's called the Shanshu prophecy, not sunshine."
"It'll let you go out in the sunshine, won't it?" Buffy said.
Angel smirked. "Point taken." He sat back, releasing Buffy. She scooted next to him and curled up next to his body.
"So, we've got to figure out what to do now. Wes, Giles, any ideas?" Angel said.
"As much as I dislike the council, I'm afraid we need to contact them. There has never been a Slayer, as far as I know, that was also a seer, particularly a seer for the Powers that be." Wes said.
"Oh Yay. This will bring the stuffy old guys down here to poke and prod at me, won't it?" Buffy said turning to Giles.
"It is possible-yes, it probably will." Giles answered.
Buffy tilted her face up to Angel, "I can't have these visions things at will, can I?"
"Not that I'm aware of." Angel said.
"Wes, make sure you tell them that when you talk to them. The last thing I need is a Brit standing there commanding me to have a vision as part of their 'tests'" Buffy said.
Wes nodded. He and Giles disappeared into his office to talk to the council.
Buffy rested her head against Angel's chest, her expression serious. When she finally spoke she made sure not to meet Angel's eyes. "Angel, I need to know. Did the visions kill Doyle?" Wes had never told her how Doyle died.
Angel shook his head. "No, Doyle died saving a ship full of half human half demons. There was a group, a little like demon Nazis, called The Scourge. They wanted to kill every half human so that the demon race would be pure again. They made this bomb. When it exploded it would kill everything with any humanity in it. By the time we got there the bomb was already activated. Doyle deactivated it, but it cost him his life." Sadness and regret etched every word.
"So as long as I don't have visions in the middle of slaying vamps, I'll be good." Buffy said.
"Buffy, what happened tonight? When you had the vision?" Angel said pulling away from her and looking into her face.
Buffy glanced down at the floor. "I was fighting a vamp. The vision took me by surprise. When it was over, the vamp was on top of me. But, he didn't bite me because hey look Ma, no bite-well bite but yours not his. Anyway, it's of the good. I'm alive and kicking and he's dust."
Angel shook his head and sighed. "No, you can't risk it."
"What am I supposed to do Angel? I'm the slayer." Buffy said.
"There's got to be something you can do. It's too much, slayer and seer." Angel said.
"No, Angel. There's nothing I can do. New slayer doesn't get called unless the old slayer dies. There you have it. I could die." Buffy said.
"Don't even say it, Buffy." Angel's voice was hard and cold.
"Sorry, it's a little overwhelming, I'll admit but I asked for this. It's what I wanted and I'll deal. At least it wasn't like the slayer gig, I got a choice in this." Buffy said.
"Okay, so you don't patrol alone anymore." Angel said.
"And what? Endanger all my friends with their non slayer powers because they have an incapacitated slayer with them?" Buffy sounded outraged. "No, Angel, no. It'll get them killed and I can't do that."
Angel took a deep breath. "Then we set up two bases of operation. One here, one in Sunnydale. We'll make sure we keep in touch with Giles when we're here and with Gunn and Wes when we're there but I stay with you. There's no room for compromise here."
"What about the curse and the whole can't be around me all the time thing?" Buffy asked.
"If the choice is that or your life, I pick your life any day."
"I don't know if we can do this, Angel." Buffy said. Her voice trembled as she spoke. He was offering to stay with her but it wasn't offering because he loved her. It was because she was having visions. Somehow she felt like she'd been downgraded from love of his life to just a seer.
Angel placed his fingers under chin and tilted her face up to his. Tears hovered on the edges of her lashes. "We can do anything together."
Buffy swallowed hard. "Yeah, because I'm your seer now, can't get rid of me." She glanced away, even though he still held her face up to his.
"Buffy, you're my soul mate. The visions are just another part of you, like your hair or your eyes, no more important and no less." Angel said.
"But if I weren't your seer, you wouldn't be suggesting we stay together." She said.
"It's the part about your life being in danger that is the cause for the suggestion, not the seer part. If I didn't think you were in danger, I'd suggest you call me every time you had a vision. I've always protected your life with my own, the visions won't change that." He said.
Buffy took a deep breath. "So, you still-I'm still-"She stopped, tears choked her.
"I love you, Buffy. I will always love you. That's never gonna change as long as my soul exists in this plane or the next."
Buffy knocked on Giles' front door. She had left Angel less then three hours ago with a promise that she'd be back to visit within a couple of weeks. He had promised to call her as soon as he found out who his new seer was. Buffy wasn't entirely sure she trusted the Oracles to keep their word.
Giles opened the door. He smiled at her and stepped back. Buffy walked inside. Willow, Xander and Dawn were already there.
"Hey, Buff. Good to have you back." Xander said.
"It's nice to be back." Buffy said with a smile.
"So Angel isn't all crazy anymore?" Willow asked.
Buffy shook her head. "Nope he was as sane as-well as he was before I guess. I don't know. Anyway he's his normal Angel-y self."
"What happened?" Giles asked.
Buffy sat down on the couch and curled her legs up underneath her. "You remember the guy who had the vision about me four years ago? Doyle? When Angel came here for Thanksgiving and no one saw fit to tell me?"
Giles cleared his throat and took his glasses off. He cleaned them with his handkerchief. "Yes, I remember the time well."
"Thought you would, Anyway, Doyle died and passed his visions to Angel. Apparently these visions are pretty surround sound. He feels, smells, and tastes what the people in the visions do. It's almost as if he is that person, plus wicked painful headaches. Combine all that with a century and a half of guilt and a gypsy curse you get insane Angel. Anyway, there was no cure for it. He-"Buffy lowered her head. Her hand instinctively went to the right side of her neck, where Angel's bite still law angry and red. It was healing but it was still only a day old. "I fed him. My blood made him lucid for a little while but when the effects wore off he thought he'd killed me. It did a lot more damage then good. So I went to talk to the Oracles." Buffy said.
"Good Heavens, Buffy. The Oracles? The direct conduit for the Powers that Be?" Giles said.
"Shiny gold guys with nifty swirly tattoos?" Buffy said.
Giles shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen a picture of the Oracles."
"They were rude. Anyway, I was rude back and finally convinced them that Angel was more use to them sane and to give the visions to someone else. He's supposed to get a new seer within a couple of days." Buffy said.
Giles looked rather perplexed. "How did you convince them?" Giles asked. There was concern in his voice.
Buffy shook her head. "Come on, Giles. You know how stubborn I can be."
"Yeah and plus Angel equals extra stubborn." Willow said.
Buffy smiled at Willow. "So what's up, Giles? Why the need for a Slayer?"
"A vampire nest. They seem to need reminding that a Slayer lives on this particular Hellmouth." Giles said.
"Okay, so we remind." Buffy said. "Where is it?"
"An old warehouse down near the docks." Giles said.
Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Like they couldn't find a warehouse to move into that didn't carry that fishy smell. Okay, so I hit it just before sundown, maybe catch them sleepy."
Giles nodded. "Are you planning on returning to LA?" There was a hint of disapproval in Giles' voice.
Buffy shook her head. "Only to visit. Angel and I-we don't work together but we don't work apart either. We're trying to do a see you sometimes talk to you occasionally type thing." She shrugged.
Willow smiled a little sadly. "Still a curse issue?"
Buffy took a deep breath and let it out as she spoke, "Oh yeah, in a big way. But there was a bit of a bright spot besides the Angel's sane again one."
"Yeah?" Willow said.
Buffy nodded. "Something called Sushi or sanshi maybe shoeshine, I'm not sure. Anyway it's a prophecy. It says that after Angel finishes jumping through all Powers hoops that he gets to be human."
"Wow," Willow said.
Buffy nodded.
"So one day if Deadboy is real good he'll get to be a real boy." Xander said.
Buffy smirked at him. "Something like that."
Buffy made the same sort of entrance into Sunnydale's vamp nest that she had in LA's. The sun was lower. She only managed to kill one vamp out of the five with the sun. That made the odds more even for her. Giles took one out with a cross bow. Willow and Xander staked another. Buffy dusted the other two in short order. She made a show of yawning and dusted her hands off. "Maybe we should have let one go so it could run to all its friends and tell them the slayer's back in town."
Giles chuckled. "I'm sure the word will spread quickly enough."
"You guys go on home. I know you've been extra vigilant with the patrol since I've been gone. Watch out for Dawn; make sure she does her homework. I'm going to do a sweep of some of the cemeteries." Buffy said.
"You sure?" Xander asked.
"Yup, positive. Go on; tell Dawnie I'll be home later." Buffy said.
"Alright, you're the boss." Xander said with a mock salute.
Buffy watched them get into Giles' car. Once they were out of sight Buffy started toward the first cemetery. Things were wild. She staked three vamps before she ever got inside the gates of Sunny Rest.
"Geez, take a mini vacation and you guys set up shop in full force. I'm glad you missed me. I mean a girl always likes to be missed but next time you should really go for a card." Buffy punned as she ducked a hook punch from her fourth vampire. She grabbed the vamp's wrist and flipped him on his back. She plunged the stake into his heart.
She meandered through the headstones on full alert. Things had been much too hairy to relax. A scream sounded from the north end of the cemetery. Buffy put on a burst of speed and ran as fast as she could in the direction. There was vamp bent over a girl. He had smacked the girl's boyfriend into a tree trunk. The poor guy was shaking his head, obviously seeing stars.
"You never call, you never write and then I find you flirting with other girls. I am not a happy girl." Buffy said.
The vamp growled and glanced up at her. He let the girl beneath him go as he grinned. "Slayer, I heard you were out of town."
Buffy shrugged. "I came back, home sweet Hellmouth." She said as she caught the vamp with a sharp jab. He staggered back but recovered quick coming at her with a cross punch. Buffy ducked but she was too late. The vamp caught her in the chin and Buffy went down. She kicked up, catching the vamp in the body with a kick. She unleashed on him with a combination of jabs and punches. She drew her stake back for the killing blow and stumbled to her knees as something exploded behind her eyes.
The cemetery was gone. She was kneeling in an alley. Tiny rocks and bits of glass bit into her knees. A group of girls walked out of a nightclub. The music rolled out of the open door and washed over her. She could smell the trash from the alley. One of the girls laughed. Buffy looked again. There were two guys with them. Buffy would bet money they were vampires.
"My car is parked right back here." One of the vamps said as he guided the women into the alley, his hand on the small of the brunette's back. Buffy tried to stand. The pain in her head pushed her back into the dirt of the alley.
Dual screams came from the girls as the vampires showed their true faces. Buffy felt their fear roll her under and she vomited. She'd never felt fear like that in her entire life. She screamed out loud as she felt the vampire's fangs pierce her neck.
The pain rushed away, leaving a sharp ache behind. Buffy was on her back in the cemetery. The vampire hovered over her, salivating. His fangs were inches from her throat. Buffy shoved up as hard as she could, knocking the vampire off her. She was woozy when she stood. The ground beneath her feet swam and she fought to keep her footing. The vampire rushed her again and she was an easy target. She went down. She had the forethought to clutch her stake to her chest, pointed end up. The vamp fell on it when their bodies impacted the ground.
Buffy lay there in the cool night air taking big gulps of it. She got slowly to her feet. She had to talk to Giles and she needed to call Angel. She was pretty sure she knew who his new seer was.
*
Buffy sat on Giles' couch with her hands wrapped around a cup of tea. She had already called Angel and given him the details he needed to save the girls. He was supposed to call her back when he'd saved them. He said they were going to have a talk.
"Are you alright?" Giles asked.
"Besides the intense pain in my head and the fact that I almost got killed tonight, I'm peachy." Buffy said.
"Sorry, silly question. So you're quite certain you are Angel's new seer?" Giles said.
"Again with the intense pain in my head plus surround sound movie," Buffy almost growled. She apologized. "I'm sorry, it hurts and I'm cranky."
"Quite understandable. Perhaps it would be best if we went to Angel's hotel. I'll need to contact the council. It couldn't hurt to hear what Wesley knows about the visions also." Giles said.
"Yeah, road trip and normally I'd be all for one. Right now, I really just want to sleep for a really long time." Buffy said.
Giles smiled. "Get your blanket and a pillow. You can sleep in the car. I'll call Xander and Willow."
Buffy didn't think she'd be able to sleep with the nagging pain behind her eyes. She did though. She only woke up when the car pulled to a stop in front of the Hyperion. She noticed the pain in her head was gone and it was a welcome relief.
Angel rushed out into the courtyard to meet them. His arms went around Buffy, coddling her and helping her into the lobby. "The girls are safe, scared but safe." He said.
Buffy nodded. "And the migraine seems to be gone."
Angel nodded. "My headaches always got better after the person I'd had a vision about was safe."
"Extra incentive to take care of it I guess." Buffy grumbled.
"I don't understand this." Angel said. "You already have your job, your destiny. You're a Slayer, not a seer. What were the Oracles thinking?"
Buffy bit her bottom lip. "Uhm, well-I sort of agreed to take the visions, but I didn't think they were serious. They made it seem like they were going to give them to someone else." Buffy said.
Angel looked at her. She couldn't read what was in his eyes, maybe rage, maybe disbelief. "Ok, tell me exactly what was said."
"Ok, they were rude. They were all like this is Angel's destiny and if you couldn't handle and were going insane, they didn't care. It was their problem. So I argued with them. And the girl asked who I wanted to take on the visions. She asked if I'd take them on myself. I said yeah. She asked even if it killed me. So I gave her a little re-run on Buffy/Angel." Buffy's eyes softened. She reached over and laid her hand on Angel's chest, over his dead heart. "If I could save you, it's worth it."
Angel crushed Buffy to him, not caring about the other people in the room. Tears clouded his eyes and he buried his face in the crown of her hair. "Buffy, you shouldn't have." He whispered.
"I really thought they were going to send someone else. She just wanted to see if I'd do it, if it was worth it to me. She said I was needed elsewhere and that the Powers didn't keep us apart just because it was fun. Then she told me about the Sunshine prophecy, sort of, and said they'd send you someone else."
"Shanshu," Angel said.
"Bless you," Buffy said.
Angel chuckled. "No, it's called the Shanshu prophecy, not sunshine."
"It'll let you go out in the sunshine, won't it?" Buffy said.
Angel smirked. "Point taken." He sat back, releasing Buffy. She scooted next to him and curled up next to his body.
"So, we've got to figure out what to do now. Wes, Giles, any ideas?" Angel said.
"As much as I dislike the council, I'm afraid we need to contact them. There has never been a Slayer, as far as I know, that was also a seer, particularly a seer for the Powers that be." Wes said.
"Oh Yay. This will bring the stuffy old guys down here to poke and prod at me, won't it?" Buffy said turning to Giles.
"It is possible-yes, it probably will." Giles answered.
Buffy tilted her face up to Angel, "I can't have these visions things at will, can I?"
"Not that I'm aware of." Angel said.
"Wes, make sure you tell them that when you talk to them. The last thing I need is a Brit standing there commanding me to have a vision as part of their 'tests'" Buffy said.
Wes nodded. He and Giles disappeared into his office to talk to the council.
Buffy rested her head against Angel's chest, her expression serious. When she finally spoke she made sure not to meet Angel's eyes. "Angel, I need to know. Did the visions kill Doyle?" Wes had never told her how Doyle died.
Angel shook his head. "No, Doyle died saving a ship full of half human half demons. There was a group, a little like demon Nazis, called The Scourge. They wanted to kill every half human so that the demon race would be pure again. They made this bomb. When it exploded it would kill everything with any humanity in it. By the time we got there the bomb was already activated. Doyle deactivated it, but it cost him his life." Sadness and regret etched every word.
"So as long as I don't have visions in the middle of slaying vamps, I'll be good." Buffy said.
"Buffy, what happened tonight? When you had the vision?" Angel said pulling away from her and looking into her face.
Buffy glanced down at the floor. "I was fighting a vamp. The vision took me by surprise. When it was over, the vamp was on top of me. But, he didn't bite me because hey look Ma, no bite-well bite but yours not his. Anyway, it's of the good. I'm alive and kicking and he's dust."
Angel shook his head and sighed. "No, you can't risk it."
"What am I supposed to do Angel? I'm the slayer." Buffy said.
"There's got to be something you can do. It's too much, slayer and seer." Angel said.
"No, Angel. There's nothing I can do. New slayer doesn't get called unless the old slayer dies. There you have it. I could die." Buffy said.
"Don't even say it, Buffy." Angel's voice was hard and cold.
"Sorry, it's a little overwhelming, I'll admit but I asked for this. It's what I wanted and I'll deal. At least it wasn't like the slayer gig, I got a choice in this." Buffy said.
"Okay, so you don't patrol alone anymore." Angel said.
"And what? Endanger all my friends with their non slayer powers because they have an incapacitated slayer with them?" Buffy sounded outraged. "No, Angel, no. It'll get them killed and I can't do that."
Angel took a deep breath. "Then we set up two bases of operation. One here, one in Sunnydale. We'll make sure we keep in touch with Giles when we're here and with Gunn and Wes when we're there but I stay with you. There's no room for compromise here."
"What about the curse and the whole can't be around me all the time thing?" Buffy asked.
"If the choice is that or your life, I pick your life any day."
"I don't know if we can do this, Angel." Buffy said. Her voice trembled as she spoke. He was offering to stay with her but it wasn't offering because he loved her. It was because she was having visions. Somehow she felt like she'd been downgraded from love of his life to just a seer.
Angel placed his fingers under chin and tilted her face up to his. Tears hovered on the edges of her lashes. "We can do anything together."
Buffy swallowed hard. "Yeah, because I'm your seer now, can't get rid of me." She glanced away, even though he still held her face up to his.
"Buffy, you're my soul mate. The visions are just another part of you, like your hair or your eyes, no more important and no less." Angel said.
"But if I weren't your seer, you wouldn't be suggesting we stay together." She said.
"It's the part about your life being in danger that is the cause for the suggestion, not the seer part. If I didn't think you were in danger, I'd suggest you call me every time you had a vision. I've always protected your life with my own, the visions won't change that." He said.
Buffy took a deep breath. "So, you still-I'm still-"She stopped, tears choked her.
"I love you, Buffy. I will always love you. That's never gonna change as long as my soul exists in this plane or the next."