Chapter Twelve
Buffy performed a back leg sweep, sending the vamp to the ground. She flipped around and shoved a stake through his heart. Angel was bogged down with three vamps. He grabbed one by the shirt front and tossed him toward Buffy.
"Thanks for sharing, Sweetie." Buffy quipped.
"No problem, it's the secret to a lasting relationship I hear." Angel responded.
Buffy threw a right hook, the vamp deflected it with his forearm and hit her with an uppercut. Buffy fell backwards and clipped her head on a tombstone. It felt like her head exploded. The vision left her screaming in pain. Images of children and demons seared themselves into her mind. When the vision left as quickly as it had come, she was still screaming and sobbing.
Angel was on his knees next to her. His hands glided over Buffy's body, searching for wounds that he knew weren't there. She grabbed his arm and practically crawled into his lap, trying to hide in his chest. Her sobs were hysterical.
"Buffy, baby, calm down, you've got to calm down and tell me what you saw," Angel said.
She shook her head, "Horrible, too horrible, orphanage in LA, yellow demons with too many teeth, sharp, sharp teeth. Call Wes and Gunn and then go."
Angel scooped her up in his arms. He ran to Giles' apartment. He pounded on the door until Giles answered the door clad in sweats and a white tee shirt.
"Take her, calm her down. I have to go to LA, vision. I'll call when it's over and I'll be back as soon as I can." Angel said. He handed Buffy off to Giles. She was still sobbing almost hysterically. Angel was gone before Giles had time to ask questions.
Giles tucked Buffy into the corner of the couch. He draped a blanket over her and went to make tea.
Angel got in the GTX and drove like a bat out of hell to LA. He called Wes and Gunn on a cell phone as he drove.
"Wes, I need you and Gunn to find all the orphanages in LA. I don't know which one but there are going to be some yellow demons with sharp teeth attacking it tonight."
"We'll get right on." Wes said.
"Wes, be careful take lots of weaponry and hurry. Whatever Buffy saw was bad enough to send her into hysterics." Angel said as he hung up the phone. He pushed the gas pedal harder and willed the car to go faster.
*
Giles made Buffy's tea the way he knew she liked it, cream and lots of sugar. He handed her the thick cup. Buffy wrapped her hands around the cup. It shook, threatening to slosh tea out. Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the tea.
"Buffy, Angel said you had a vision. What happened?" Giles asked.
Buffy exhaled the breath she had been holding and it came out shaky. At first Giles didn't think she was going to answer him. "Aspirin first, please," she croaked.
"Oh, bloody- how thoughtless of me. I didn't think." Giles apologized. He retrieved a bottle of aspirin from the bathroom and jiggled two out of the bottle. Buffy looked up at him, pain streaking across her eyes with each heartbeat. "It takes four now," she said quietly.
Giles leveled a gaze at her, but added two more tablets to the ones already in his hand. He handed the tablets to her and Buffy swallowed them with a mouthful of tea.
"Perhaps, when this is over, you should go talk to a doctor." Giles said.
"And tell them what? I get mind numbing visions from the Powers that Be?" Buffy asked. Her tone was half sob half sarcastic laughter.
"Migraines, many people have horrible migraines. Perhaps, you could get a prescription for a stronger pain killer," Giles suggested.
Buffy shrugged. Giles made a mental note to speak to Angel about it.
"It was an orphanage filled with little kids, some of them just babies. This pack of demons went there. They had kind of yellowish green skin and too many teeth, sharp teeth. Giles, what they did-"Buffy closed her eyes and shook her head. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
Giles nodded. There was no use making her go over the details. He could only imagine a few things that would render his slayer hysterical.
"I felt them, Giles. I felt their pain, how much it hurt. I hear their screams, smell the blood. I-"Buffy stopped. She gripped the back of the couch with such force Giles heard the wood crack.
"Oh, my dear girl," Giles cooed and drew her into his arms. He wasn't overly affectionate but he couldn't let her sit there and cry without offering some sort of comfort beyond tea.
Buffy knew the contact made Giles uncomfortable and she drew away as soon as she had calmed down some. "I should have gone with Angel," she said.
"I'm sure Angel and Gunn have it under control. If they need assistance I will drive you up there," Giles said.
Buffy grinned, "Please with your driving, we'd get there next week."
"I do not drive that slowly. I am merely cautious," Giles protested. He was glad to see his slayer teasing and joking. It was an intricate part of who Buffy was and he worried when it was missing. "Angel said he'd call when the threat was neutralized and that he would return here as soon as possible."
Buffy nodded. She highly doubted Angel used the words threat or neutralized but she got the point. "I'll know when it's taken care of. The pain will go away."
Giles furrowed his brow and poured himself more tea. "Is that getting any better?"
"No, in fact most of the time I think it's worse, maybe it's just the high quality of the visions I've been having lately," Buffy said shaking her head.
"They are getting worse?" Giles asked.
Buffy shrugged, "I'm fine. I'm the slayer. I can deal." Buffy drained her tea cup and stood up. "I'm going to go home. I need a hot bath and my own bed." She stooped over and kissed Giles on the cheek. "Thank you,"
Giles colored pink. He nodded and cleared his throat. "Of course, don't hesitate to call me should you need anything."
Buffy smiled, "I won't."
She walked slowly back to her house, taking deep breaths of the night air and hoping it would chase away some of the pain in her head. It didn't really work but it made her feel better. She walked in the front door and smiled at the sight of Willow and Dawn vegged out on the couch watching TV.
"Hey," Buffy said, fatigue coloring her voice.
"Hey, Buff, we're watching re-runs of Alias. Wanna come watch with?" Willow asked.
Buffy shook her head, "No thanks. I had a pretty intense vision earlier. I just want a bath and a bed."
"A vision? Wes and Gunn taking care of it?" Dawn asked.
"No, Angel went. If he calls, wake me up," Buffy said as she went up the stairs. She went into the bathroom and turned the hot water on full out. She poured vanilla bubble bath in the water and sat on the edge of the tub, watching it foam up. There was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in," Buffy said.
Willow eased through the door and sat down on the toilet. "Did you and Angel have a fight?" It was the most obvious, at least to her, conclusion when Angel went back to LA without Buffy.
"No, no, not at all. This vision was pretty bad. It kind of threw me in the hysterical way. Time was really an of the essence thing, so he went without me," Buffy said.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Willow asked.
"I really don't,"
Willow nodded and stood up. "I'll let you take your bath then and I promise to wake you up if Angel calls."
"Thanks, Will," Buffy said.
*
Buffy woke to someone gently shaking her. Willow pushed the phone into her hand.
"Hello," she said groggily.
"Buffy,"
Buffy smiled. There was no question who it was on the phone. There was only one person who said her name like that. "Angel,"
"We took care of it. Everyone is fine. A couple kids are in the hospital but they are going to be okay," Angel said.
Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. She noticed the pain in her head was gone. "Thank you."
"It's too late for me to start back now but I'll be there as soon as I can leave here," Angel promised.
"Okay, thanks and I'm glad you got there in time."
"Are you okay?" Angel asked.
"I'm fine. It was just sort of an extreme vision, but hey living life on the wild side now," Buffy tried to joke.
"Okay, go back to sleep and get some rest. I love you," Angel said.
"I love you always," Buffy responded. She listened until she heard a soft click in her ear. She placed the phone on her nightstand and closed her eyes. She might be able to get a few more hours of sleep before the house came awake for the day.
*
At Giles' request, Angel stopped by his apartment first. He knocked on the door. Giles answered it and stepped aside. Angel walked inside. "You wanted to talk to me?" he asked.
Giles nodded, "Please, have a seat." Giles gestured to one of the chairs.
Angel sat down warily. Buffy wasn't here, neither were Willow or Xander. It was odd. He and Giles had gotten past their issues but they didn't have tea together and talk about old times.
"Would you like some tea?" Giles asked.
"No, thanks, what's going on?" Angel asked.
Giles took a sharp breath. "I'm worried about Buffy."
"Did something else happen after I left her with you?" Angel asked, instantly on alert.
Giles shook his head, "No, but the visions seem to be getting worse. She's taking four aspirin instead of two and what worries me more is that it's beginning to show. Last night, she looked horrible and I don't think it was just the content of the vision. She looked like she was in pain. I can count the number of times I have seen pain on Buffy's face on one hand. She's a very strong woman. I thought perhaps if she went to a doctor and told him she had migraines, he might prescribe her some stronger pain pills," Giles said.
"It's a good idea. I'll make an appointment for her tomorrow," Angel said.
"She's not going to be happy that I spoke with you about it," Giles warned.
Angel smiled at the elder man. "I can handle Buffy's unhappiness if it means the aftermath of the next vision will be more bearable for her."
"My thoughts exactly," Giles said.
*
They were back in LA. Buffy had her brand new prescription for painkillers. The doctor had talked with her about it and prescribed the pills without much of an argument. If they didn't help she was to come back and see him.
When the visions weren't tormenting her with agonizing pain, Buffy tried to make some sort of sense of the filing system Wes used. She was sitting in the middle of a pile of file folders when she heard the hotel door open.
Buffy scrambled to her feet, "Welcome to Angel Investi-"the words died on her lips as she saw who the visitor was. "Whistler." He was wearing his typical loud shirt, a rumpled suit jacket that was some sort of puce tweed and a battered fedora. He smelled like stale whiskey and cigarette smoke.
"Nice to see you again, Slayer, you're looking better then when I saw you last." Whistler said raking his eyes over her lithe form.
"Yeah, now what the hell do you want?" Buffy crossed her arms over her chest.
"Ouch, why all the hostility?" Whistler asked holding his hands out in front of himself and backing up a couple of steps.
"Oh, lets see, couldn't have anything to do with the fact that last time I saw you I was about to run a sword through my lover's heart and you didn't say a word to me about it," Buffy snapped.
"Hey, I've got certain disclosure rules I have to follow," Whistler said.
"Yeah, well get to disclosing before I throw you out of here," Buffy said.
"Relax, I'm here to see Angel. He asked me for a favor and I've got his answer," Whistler said.
Buffy arched an eyebrow at him. She regarded him for a moment and then vaulted easily over the desk.
Whistler chuckled and muttered under his breath, "Always gotta make it pretty."
Buffy stalked up to him and jabbed a finger in his chest. "You stay right here. Don't move a muscle. I'll be right back with Angel."
Buffy loped up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She knocked on Angel's door. It was early afternoon and she really wasn't sure if Angel was awake or not. He answered the door already dressed, a book in his hand.
"Hey, you've got a visitor, Whistler. I can toss him if you want, in fact it'll be my pleasure," Buffy said.
"No, no I asked him to do something for me. I need to talk to him," Angel laid the book down on a chair and walked out of the suite leaving the door open. Buffy followed him down the steps. Angel shook Whistler's hand and offered him a seat on the couch. Whistler sat down. Angel pulled a chair out and turned it backwards. He sat down, resting his arms on the back.
Buffy stood just behind Angel, her arms crossed over her chest, still wary about Whistler's intentions.
"Can a guy get a beer in here?" Whistler asked.
"No, you really can't," Buffy said with a glare.
Angel shrugged. "What can I say? She's still mad at you over your involvement in sending me to hell."
"Yeah, I get that," Whistler grumbled. "Okay, so I delivered your message and I gotta tell you, they were none too happy with it. The first time they sent me away, I ended up in Siberia, not a fun place. The second time, they landed me in Amish country, not a drop of beer to be found." Whistler shuddered. "They called me back a third time and actually listened."
Buffy glanced from Angel to Whistler. "Why do I feel like I walked in the middle of a foreign language film and have I mentioned I don't really speak any foreign languages?"
"It's a long story, Buffy," Angel said.
"Angel here wanted me to go talk to the Powers about his curse," Whistler said.
Angel shrugged, "Apparently not that long."
Buffy swallowed hard. "So what did they say?"
"Oh yeah, you're all ears now. Could I get that beer?" Whistler asked.
"Don't push it," Buffy warned.
"Ok so they actually listened this time. Their first reaction was it's a matter of love we don't dabble in those yadda yadda same story different verse. Then I mentioned Angelus and reminded them about the damage he could do. That sorta had an effect," Whistler said.
"And they say evil never pays," Buffy quipped.
"Getting to the point anytime soon, Whistler?" Angel asked. His voice was tense and Buffy could practically feel it rolling off him.
"Yeah, yeah, in short, they agreed anchoring your soul was the best idea," Whistler said with a shrug.
Angel swallowed hard. Buffy grabbed a hold of the edge of the desk to keep her balance.
"So that's it?" Angel croaked.
"Yeah, whaddya expect? Parade and flashes of light, maybe some confetti falling from the sky?" Whistler asked.
"I-I don't know-I just-"Angel stammered, at a loss for words. He turned around, his eyes meeting Buffy's. She was pale.
Whistler chuckled. "I'm sure Blondie has got the parade and flashes of light all planned out for you." He stood up and walked toward the door. "You're welcome and for the record, I'm rooting for you two. Call me a sap or a romantic, but I'd like to see you two kids make it. The odds are stacked against you, but then I've always bet on the long shots." He shut the door behind him, leaving the hotel strangely silent.
Buffy performed a back leg sweep, sending the vamp to the ground. She flipped around and shoved a stake through his heart. Angel was bogged down with three vamps. He grabbed one by the shirt front and tossed him toward Buffy.
"Thanks for sharing, Sweetie." Buffy quipped.
"No problem, it's the secret to a lasting relationship I hear." Angel responded.
Buffy threw a right hook, the vamp deflected it with his forearm and hit her with an uppercut. Buffy fell backwards and clipped her head on a tombstone. It felt like her head exploded. The vision left her screaming in pain. Images of children and demons seared themselves into her mind. When the vision left as quickly as it had come, she was still screaming and sobbing.
Angel was on his knees next to her. His hands glided over Buffy's body, searching for wounds that he knew weren't there. She grabbed his arm and practically crawled into his lap, trying to hide in his chest. Her sobs were hysterical.
"Buffy, baby, calm down, you've got to calm down and tell me what you saw," Angel said.
She shook her head, "Horrible, too horrible, orphanage in LA, yellow demons with too many teeth, sharp, sharp teeth. Call Wes and Gunn and then go."
Angel scooped her up in his arms. He ran to Giles' apartment. He pounded on the door until Giles answered the door clad in sweats and a white tee shirt.
"Take her, calm her down. I have to go to LA, vision. I'll call when it's over and I'll be back as soon as I can." Angel said. He handed Buffy off to Giles. She was still sobbing almost hysterically. Angel was gone before Giles had time to ask questions.
Giles tucked Buffy into the corner of the couch. He draped a blanket over her and went to make tea.
Angel got in the GTX and drove like a bat out of hell to LA. He called Wes and Gunn on a cell phone as he drove.
"Wes, I need you and Gunn to find all the orphanages in LA. I don't know which one but there are going to be some yellow demons with sharp teeth attacking it tonight."
"We'll get right on." Wes said.
"Wes, be careful take lots of weaponry and hurry. Whatever Buffy saw was bad enough to send her into hysterics." Angel said as he hung up the phone. He pushed the gas pedal harder and willed the car to go faster.
*
Giles made Buffy's tea the way he knew she liked it, cream and lots of sugar. He handed her the thick cup. Buffy wrapped her hands around the cup. It shook, threatening to slosh tea out. Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the tea.
"Buffy, Angel said you had a vision. What happened?" Giles asked.
Buffy exhaled the breath she had been holding and it came out shaky. At first Giles didn't think she was going to answer him. "Aspirin first, please," she croaked.
"Oh, bloody- how thoughtless of me. I didn't think." Giles apologized. He retrieved a bottle of aspirin from the bathroom and jiggled two out of the bottle. Buffy looked up at him, pain streaking across her eyes with each heartbeat. "It takes four now," she said quietly.
Giles leveled a gaze at her, but added two more tablets to the ones already in his hand. He handed the tablets to her and Buffy swallowed them with a mouthful of tea.
"Perhaps, when this is over, you should go talk to a doctor." Giles said.
"And tell them what? I get mind numbing visions from the Powers that Be?" Buffy asked. Her tone was half sob half sarcastic laughter.
"Migraines, many people have horrible migraines. Perhaps, you could get a prescription for a stronger pain killer," Giles suggested.
Buffy shrugged. Giles made a mental note to speak to Angel about it.
"It was an orphanage filled with little kids, some of them just babies. This pack of demons went there. They had kind of yellowish green skin and too many teeth, sharp teeth. Giles, what they did-"Buffy closed her eyes and shook her head. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
Giles nodded. There was no use making her go over the details. He could only imagine a few things that would render his slayer hysterical.
"I felt them, Giles. I felt their pain, how much it hurt. I hear their screams, smell the blood. I-"Buffy stopped. She gripped the back of the couch with such force Giles heard the wood crack.
"Oh, my dear girl," Giles cooed and drew her into his arms. He wasn't overly affectionate but he couldn't let her sit there and cry without offering some sort of comfort beyond tea.
Buffy knew the contact made Giles uncomfortable and she drew away as soon as she had calmed down some. "I should have gone with Angel," she said.
"I'm sure Angel and Gunn have it under control. If they need assistance I will drive you up there," Giles said.
Buffy grinned, "Please with your driving, we'd get there next week."
"I do not drive that slowly. I am merely cautious," Giles protested. He was glad to see his slayer teasing and joking. It was an intricate part of who Buffy was and he worried when it was missing. "Angel said he'd call when the threat was neutralized and that he would return here as soon as possible."
Buffy nodded. She highly doubted Angel used the words threat or neutralized but she got the point. "I'll know when it's taken care of. The pain will go away."
Giles furrowed his brow and poured himself more tea. "Is that getting any better?"
"No, in fact most of the time I think it's worse, maybe it's just the high quality of the visions I've been having lately," Buffy said shaking her head.
"They are getting worse?" Giles asked.
Buffy shrugged, "I'm fine. I'm the slayer. I can deal." Buffy drained her tea cup and stood up. "I'm going to go home. I need a hot bath and my own bed." She stooped over and kissed Giles on the cheek. "Thank you,"
Giles colored pink. He nodded and cleared his throat. "Of course, don't hesitate to call me should you need anything."
Buffy smiled, "I won't."
She walked slowly back to her house, taking deep breaths of the night air and hoping it would chase away some of the pain in her head. It didn't really work but it made her feel better. She walked in the front door and smiled at the sight of Willow and Dawn vegged out on the couch watching TV.
"Hey," Buffy said, fatigue coloring her voice.
"Hey, Buff, we're watching re-runs of Alias. Wanna come watch with?" Willow asked.
Buffy shook her head, "No thanks. I had a pretty intense vision earlier. I just want a bath and a bed."
"A vision? Wes and Gunn taking care of it?" Dawn asked.
"No, Angel went. If he calls, wake me up," Buffy said as she went up the stairs. She went into the bathroom and turned the hot water on full out. She poured vanilla bubble bath in the water and sat on the edge of the tub, watching it foam up. There was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in," Buffy said.
Willow eased through the door and sat down on the toilet. "Did you and Angel have a fight?" It was the most obvious, at least to her, conclusion when Angel went back to LA without Buffy.
"No, no, not at all. This vision was pretty bad. It kind of threw me in the hysterical way. Time was really an of the essence thing, so he went without me," Buffy said.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Willow asked.
"I really don't,"
Willow nodded and stood up. "I'll let you take your bath then and I promise to wake you up if Angel calls."
"Thanks, Will," Buffy said.
*
Buffy woke to someone gently shaking her. Willow pushed the phone into her hand.
"Hello," she said groggily.
"Buffy,"
Buffy smiled. There was no question who it was on the phone. There was only one person who said her name like that. "Angel,"
"We took care of it. Everyone is fine. A couple kids are in the hospital but they are going to be okay," Angel said.
Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. She noticed the pain in her head was gone. "Thank you."
"It's too late for me to start back now but I'll be there as soon as I can leave here," Angel promised.
"Okay, thanks and I'm glad you got there in time."
"Are you okay?" Angel asked.
"I'm fine. It was just sort of an extreme vision, but hey living life on the wild side now," Buffy tried to joke.
"Okay, go back to sleep and get some rest. I love you," Angel said.
"I love you always," Buffy responded. She listened until she heard a soft click in her ear. She placed the phone on her nightstand and closed her eyes. She might be able to get a few more hours of sleep before the house came awake for the day.
*
At Giles' request, Angel stopped by his apartment first. He knocked on the door. Giles answered it and stepped aside. Angel walked inside. "You wanted to talk to me?" he asked.
Giles nodded, "Please, have a seat." Giles gestured to one of the chairs.
Angel sat down warily. Buffy wasn't here, neither were Willow or Xander. It was odd. He and Giles had gotten past their issues but they didn't have tea together and talk about old times.
"Would you like some tea?" Giles asked.
"No, thanks, what's going on?" Angel asked.
Giles took a sharp breath. "I'm worried about Buffy."
"Did something else happen after I left her with you?" Angel asked, instantly on alert.
Giles shook his head, "No, but the visions seem to be getting worse. She's taking four aspirin instead of two and what worries me more is that it's beginning to show. Last night, she looked horrible and I don't think it was just the content of the vision. She looked like she was in pain. I can count the number of times I have seen pain on Buffy's face on one hand. She's a very strong woman. I thought perhaps if she went to a doctor and told him she had migraines, he might prescribe her some stronger pain pills," Giles said.
"It's a good idea. I'll make an appointment for her tomorrow," Angel said.
"She's not going to be happy that I spoke with you about it," Giles warned.
Angel smiled at the elder man. "I can handle Buffy's unhappiness if it means the aftermath of the next vision will be more bearable for her."
"My thoughts exactly," Giles said.
*
They were back in LA. Buffy had her brand new prescription for painkillers. The doctor had talked with her about it and prescribed the pills without much of an argument. If they didn't help she was to come back and see him.
When the visions weren't tormenting her with agonizing pain, Buffy tried to make some sort of sense of the filing system Wes used. She was sitting in the middle of a pile of file folders when she heard the hotel door open.
Buffy scrambled to her feet, "Welcome to Angel Investi-"the words died on her lips as she saw who the visitor was. "Whistler." He was wearing his typical loud shirt, a rumpled suit jacket that was some sort of puce tweed and a battered fedora. He smelled like stale whiskey and cigarette smoke.
"Nice to see you again, Slayer, you're looking better then when I saw you last." Whistler said raking his eyes over her lithe form.
"Yeah, now what the hell do you want?" Buffy crossed her arms over her chest.
"Ouch, why all the hostility?" Whistler asked holding his hands out in front of himself and backing up a couple of steps.
"Oh, lets see, couldn't have anything to do with the fact that last time I saw you I was about to run a sword through my lover's heart and you didn't say a word to me about it," Buffy snapped.
"Hey, I've got certain disclosure rules I have to follow," Whistler said.
"Yeah, well get to disclosing before I throw you out of here," Buffy said.
"Relax, I'm here to see Angel. He asked me for a favor and I've got his answer," Whistler said.
Buffy arched an eyebrow at him. She regarded him for a moment and then vaulted easily over the desk.
Whistler chuckled and muttered under his breath, "Always gotta make it pretty."
Buffy stalked up to him and jabbed a finger in his chest. "You stay right here. Don't move a muscle. I'll be right back with Angel."
Buffy loped up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She knocked on Angel's door. It was early afternoon and she really wasn't sure if Angel was awake or not. He answered the door already dressed, a book in his hand.
"Hey, you've got a visitor, Whistler. I can toss him if you want, in fact it'll be my pleasure," Buffy said.
"No, no I asked him to do something for me. I need to talk to him," Angel laid the book down on a chair and walked out of the suite leaving the door open. Buffy followed him down the steps. Angel shook Whistler's hand and offered him a seat on the couch. Whistler sat down. Angel pulled a chair out and turned it backwards. He sat down, resting his arms on the back.
Buffy stood just behind Angel, her arms crossed over her chest, still wary about Whistler's intentions.
"Can a guy get a beer in here?" Whistler asked.
"No, you really can't," Buffy said with a glare.
Angel shrugged. "What can I say? She's still mad at you over your involvement in sending me to hell."
"Yeah, I get that," Whistler grumbled. "Okay, so I delivered your message and I gotta tell you, they were none too happy with it. The first time they sent me away, I ended up in Siberia, not a fun place. The second time, they landed me in Amish country, not a drop of beer to be found." Whistler shuddered. "They called me back a third time and actually listened."
Buffy glanced from Angel to Whistler. "Why do I feel like I walked in the middle of a foreign language film and have I mentioned I don't really speak any foreign languages?"
"It's a long story, Buffy," Angel said.
"Angel here wanted me to go talk to the Powers about his curse," Whistler said.
Angel shrugged, "Apparently not that long."
Buffy swallowed hard. "So what did they say?"
"Oh yeah, you're all ears now. Could I get that beer?" Whistler asked.
"Don't push it," Buffy warned.
"Ok so they actually listened this time. Their first reaction was it's a matter of love we don't dabble in those yadda yadda same story different verse. Then I mentioned Angelus and reminded them about the damage he could do. That sorta had an effect," Whistler said.
"And they say evil never pays," Buffy quipped.
"Getting to the point anytime soon, Whistler?" Angel asked. His voice was tense and Buffy could practically feel it rolling off him.
"Yeah, yeah, in short, they agreed anchoring your soul was the best idea," Whistler said with a shrug.
Angel swallowed hard. Buffy grabbed a hold of the edge of the desk to keep her balance.
"So that's it?" Angel croaked.
"Yeah, whaddya expect? Parade and flashes of light, maybe some confetti falling from the sky?" Whistler asked.
"I-I don't know-I just-"Angel stammered, at a loss for words. He turned around, his eyes meeting Buffy's. She was pale.
Whistler chuckled. "I'm sure Blondie has got the parade and flashes of light all planned out for you." He stood up and walked toward the door. "You're welcome and for the record, I'm rooting for you two. Call me a sap or a romantic, but I'd like to see you two kids make it. The odds are stacked against you, but then I've always bet on the long shots." He shut the door behind him, leaving the hotel strangely silent.