Escape
Chapter Thirteen: Breathless
Fred leaned over the tiny balcony of her room at the Hyperion, head thrown back as she gazed up at the sky. Dusk was slowly falling and Fred thought LA was never more beautiful than at dusk, with the darkness gentle and soft instead of hard and threatening. The lights of the town brightening like stars fallen from the Heavens.
"You know," she said to Wesley, who was at her side, staring at her rather than the sky. "There are more stars back home. You'll have to see that sometime."
"I'd like that," he answered, turning his attention to some distance point, frowning slightly.
"What?" she asked, suddenly aware that he was distant.
She felt a little cold, wondering whether he was thinking that maybe this was a mistake, that maybe he thought they wouldn't work as a couple. The laughter from earlier had faded and his brow was furrowed in concentration.
"I've been thinking," he answered slowly.
"Oh?"
"Yes. About Wolfram and Hart. I think I might have found an answer."
Relief made Fred giddy and she giggled at the very idea that he would want to end it. He felt the same way she did – he had said so over Chinese – so he wouldn't want it to ever end. She closed the tiny distance between them, snaking her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder. He turned his head to kiss her head and twined his fingers through hers, heaving a happy sigh.
"Tell me," Fred prompted.
"We run it, do we not?" Wes asked.
"Yeah, they handed over total control."
"Then why not do with it what we will?"
"Huh?" Fred lifted her head to look at him, not sure what he meant.
"We only run the LA branch, but we can do what we want with it, that's part of the contract – they knew we wouldn't sign if we were forced to run an evil company. So we were allowed to change things. If that's the case, couldn't we just shut it down? Give the employees a severance payment and pack them off to another branch? Preferably in Timbuktu?"
Fred didn't answer for a moment, she was thinking about what he said. Then she grinned at him.
"That's a great idea, Wes!" she said, hugging his arm. "They can't complain if we give 'em severance, we don't have to worry about Wolfram and Hart operating in LA anymore and we can get all their files before we shut it down. I know there's some weirdness going on between Buffy and Angel, so maybe we shouldn't bring up the cure for his curse just yet, but if all we're doing is shutting it down, we can handle it and the gang can help us, so Angel doesn't have to worry. He can focus on this thing with Buffy. I knew there was a reason I loved you, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce!"
She leapt into his arms and he spun her round before setting her back on the ground, hugging her tightly and smiling into her hair.
"And I knew there was a reason I loved you too, Winifred Burkle," he murmured in reply.
Lorne had noticed Fred and Wes carrying armfuls of leftovers up to her room and he had chuckled at Fred's waste-not-want-not attitude to food.
He had also smiled at the obvious couple-ness of them. The looks, the smiles, Wesley's obvious appreciation of Fred's butt when she strode up the stairs ahead of him.
He sighed and sank back on the couch, glancing at his teenage companions.
"How many is that now?" he asked.
"What?" Andrew asked.
"Couples, Muffin, how many couples is that now?"
"He called me Muffin," Andrew said smugly to Dawn, who looked up from painting her toe nails long enough to roll her eyes at Lorne.
"About four, isn't it?" Dawn asked. "There's Gunn and Gwen, Willow and Kennedy, Wes and Fred and I'd put money on Faith and Principal Wood."
"Wesley and Fred are an item?" Andrew asked, suddenly sitting up with an incredulous expression. "Since when?"
"Since forever, little buddy," Lorne replied. "Or, since they started working on those contracts at least. There's been a spark, Andrew, where've you been looking?"
He gave the boy a pointed look, then looked at Dawn. Andrew blushed and looked away, humming and eyeing the ceiling.
"Sit still, Andrew," Dawn complained. "You're ruining my Slut Red nail polish."
"Tell me that's not its real name, Sweet cheeks," Lorne groaned. "Because if it is, I'm gonna need a lie down. I thought it was bad when they renamed my favourite eyeliner Hooker. Can you say obvious?"
"Nah, it's really called Scarlet Woman," Andrew told him, grabbing the small bottle and sniggering. "Is that like Scarlet O'Hara? 'Oh, Rhett, Rhett, I do love you,'" his voice lowered from the high pitch, to a low rumble. "'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.'"
"You're such a girl, Andrew," Dawn giggled, stretching her long slender legs out in front of her and wiggling her toes. "What d'ya think?"
"Nice," Andrew mumbled, shrugging.
"Gorgeous, sweetie, and you know it," Lorne said, smiling graciously.
"Good," Dawn nodded. "Because I'm gonna show 'em off in my new sandals and you, Andrew, are coming with me."
"I am? Where?" Andrew asked, looking up at her as she crossed the lobby barefoot.
"To the mall. I'm thinking sodas, ice cream, maybe some shopping. You man enough?"
"Uh, sure," Andrew squeaked.
"I'll be a few minutes," Dawn called over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs.
Andrew watched her until she disappeared and fidgeted and babbled about nothing in particular to a silent Lorne. Andrew leapt to his feet as though he'd been electrocuted when Dawn came back down the stairs, wearing the aforementioned sandals, possibly the smallest t-shirt Andrew had ever see and Capri pants that he could have sworn were so last summer according to Dawn herself.
"It's retro," she said, noticing his sceptical glance at her pants. "Wanna come, Lorne? There's this top I want your opinion on."
"Not tonight, honey-bun," Lorne replied. "I don't think Andrew could stand the pace. You kids have fun. You and me can shop and drop tomorrow."
"Ok, see ya later, Lorne," Dawn said, waving as she pushed open the door and waited for Andrew.
"Fare thee well, Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok Clan," Andrew intoned, saluting proudly. Lorne wondered why he had ever revealed his true name to the eager teen.
"C'mon, you geek," Dawn said with a put-upon smile as she grabbed his elbow and yanked him out the door.
Lorne chuckled; shaking his head, then leaned back in the couch and sighed.
"Chalk up another one for Cupid," he said. "That'd be five. Now, if we could just sort out our own fairytale couple, I think love could well and truly be in the air…" he stood up, heading towards his room, singing in a love voice, "Love is in the air, everywhere I look around. Oh, love is in the air, in every sight and every sound…"
Angel was flicking through a pile of old files. Stuff from way back, covered with Cordy's cheerful scrawl and Wes's upright letters. He smiled at the notes crammed in the margin of one file.
You've misspelled Fran'ni'kheim, Cordelia, the 'k' comes before the 'h.' And it's not exactly a demon, more of a spirit than anything else.
It was a demon. It had hair, Wesley. And really bad taste in clothes.
The same could be said for you, Cordy.
You are so without doughnuts for the next month!
Angel chuckled, vaguely remembering a frostiness back in the days when they worked out of Cordy's apartment, whenever Cordy brought in a box of doughnuts. He remembered asking Wes if he wanted one, but Wes had glanced at Cordy and replied stiffly that he was watching his figure.
He set the file to one side, intending to show it to Wes one day. They should remember the good old days. They should remember Cordy. She was part of the family after all.
"Mind if I interrupt?"
Angel glanced up, hiding the written war of words in a top drawer as he glared at Spike.
"Come to gloat?" he asked flatly.
"If only," Spike snorted, sitting down uninvited. "But as it happens, no, I've not come to gloat. I've come to talk."
"Annoy the hell outta me you mean. Just like always."
"It's about Buffy, you great tosser, but then, you already knew that."
"So you have come to gloat."
"No. I've come to tell you you're an idiot. You just have to play the bloody martyr all the time, don't you?"
"One of us has to, Spike," Angel answered. "And you aren't."
"Think you'll find you're wrong there," Spike muttered bitterly.
"What?" Angel asked, looking at Spike in confusion.
Spike sighed, shifted in the chair and ran a hand over his hair.
"She came to mine earlier," he said. "Buffy, I mean. Said she'd made a mistake, that it was me, not you. Said all the things I wanted to hear," he paused, meeting his Grandsire's eyes. "And she didn't mean a damned word."
Angel clenched his jaw, forcing himself to settle back in his chair.
"What do you mean?" he asked, voice hard.
"I mean she was lying," Spike smirked. "Almost had herself fooled. I coulda had her. Coulda taken her and the Bit to Cleveland with me, far away from you. She coulda been mine. But then I realised."
"Realised what?" Angel prompted impatiently, when Spike didn't go on immediately.
"That she'd never be mine," Spike answered. "She could be mine in every physical sense of the word. But it'd be Dru all over again. You remember her, don't you? I loved her more than anything, but you were always there, her Daddy. Even when you had your soul and disappeared, you were still there, between us. Thing is, Drusilla didn't mind begging you. Didn't mind begging you for anything. The Slayer… Well, she's got her pride. She doesn't beg."
"Spike," Angel gritted out. "You don't want to be talking to me anymore than I want to be talking to you, so why don't you say what you want to say and get the hell out of my hotel."
"Huh," Spike laughed. "You're still quite the party pooper. Thing is, Angel, I'm outta here in a couple of days. I'm off to Cleveland with whoever's going, whether they want me or not. So I'm gone, whether you two end up together or not. And that's what I don't get, why you broke up with her when I'm not even a threat."
"She told you she loved you before you died," Angel replied in a dull voice.
"So? She didn't mean it. You gonna dump her every time she tells Xander she loves him? Grow up, will you? If you want to be with her, for God's sake, will you go and tell her? Because she's never gonna ask you again. Ever. Your entire future and hers depend on what you're gonna do now. Make the right decision for once, Angel."
And with that, Spike stood up and left, leaving Angel staring at the empty chair.
When he heard the main door shut behind Spike, Angel stood and left the office, crossing the empty lobby to the main door. It was dark out and he was halfway across the courtyard when he ran into someone.
"Sorry," he muttered, starting to move past them. Then he stopped. "Buffy?"
"Angel?" the woman looked up at him, as though suddenly realising who he was.
"Buffy, I need to talk to you," he said urgently, reaching for her.
"I think you said it all, don't you?" she replied icily, pulling away from him and starting to head back into the hotel without so much as a backward glance.
He watched her go, hands balling into fists at his sides, mouth gaping as he struggled to find the right words to say. He had really screwed up this time. For the first time since he had first met her, Angel thought this was truly the end. This was the thing they didn't come back from.
And he didn't know what to do.
"Your entire future and hers depend on what you're gonna do now."
Spike's words echoed in his ears, making his skin prickle in annoyance, even as he realised Spike was right. This was the one moment he could change things, after this, there was no going back.
"I love you, Buffy!" he shouted, loud enough for everyone in the hotel to hear.
She froze, hand on the door of the hotel and glanced back over her shoulder at him.
"I think that's a bit late, don't you?" she answered, but her voice trembled slightly.
"Is it?" he asked, coming towards her. "Has it ever been too late for us?"
"Angel, you broke up with me. For no good reason!" her voice rose in anger, frustration and God, she just wanted to hit him for bringing this up again.
"I was scared," he protested.
"Of what? Me?" her eyes widened and she looked so hurt he took a step back and sat down on a nearby bench.
"No," he shook his head and took a deep breath. "I was scared of me. Of what I feel. I was scared that someday in the future, you'd realise you chose the wrong guy and I knew that that would kill me. So I did what I always do."
"You're an idiot, you know that?" Buffy asked, lips pursed.
"It had been brought to my attention," he replied, with a wry grin. "You think you'd be willing to give this idiot another chance?"
She stared at him and he realised she was actually thinking about it. She was actually considering the two options that lay before her.
Her first option was say no, turn around, walk away, pack her things and get ready to leave for Cleveland in the morning.
Then she would live the rest of her life doing what she had always done. She would watch her friends fall in love, take care of Dawn until she finally left for college, marriage and a normal life. And she would be left alone, stuck with a sense of duty that would never leave her, despite all that had changed.
She would fall in and out of relationships that never quite fulfilled her, always wondering whether things might have different had she just taken that leap of faith.
Her second option was that leap of faith.
She could fall into Angel's arms now, feel those lips and arms again. Be one of her friends in love instead of just watching them. She could stay in LA, fighting the fight because she wanted to, let someone else help her take care of her sister, her friends, the world. She could wake up every morning in the arms of someone.
She would never have the regret, the what if that would constantly on the perimeter of her mind.
And if it went wrong? Well, if it went wrong, she would pick herself up and move on, like she had done countless times before. Sure, it would hurt like hell, just like the last time, but at least she would know it was over. For good. At least she would know she had tried.
Before she answered, she looked away, swallowed hard and closed her eyes. Then she turned to him and looked him dead in the eye.
"You break my heart again, Angel," she warned in a low voice. "And you're a dead man."
He shook his head and pulled her, laughing, into his arms, kissing her deeply enough to leave her breathless.
"Oh, look, an audience," Fred said, looking a little uncomfortable.
Dawn and Andrew had returned from the mall and were crammed onto the couch with Giles, Xander and Lorne. Gunn was in one of the chairs; Gwen perched on his knees, Buffy and Angel mirroring their position in the opposite chair. Willow and Kennedy were sitting on the floor with three of the Potentials that had remained with them.
"We've got an announcement to make," Wes said, clearing his throat a little.
"You're getting married?" Andrew asked, giving a delighted squeal that he quickly covered with a cough. "Uh, I mean, congrats."
Fred blushed and Wes looked awkward as he shook his head.
"No," he replied. "We've got an announcement concerning Wolfram and Hart."
"Oh?" Angel said.
"Yeah, Wes came up with a brilliant idea about getting out of it!" Fred beamed proudly at Wes who attempted to look modest.
"Come on, Wes, don't keep us in suspense," Dawn prompted. "We're dying to hear your brilliant idea."
"It's rather simple," Wes said slowly. "I just thought that as we run the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart, we could shut it down. Fred and I thought we could give the employees a small severance pay and send them to work in another branch. Fred suggested we keep as many of the files as we can for our own reference. This way, we're not breaking the contract, since we didn't agree to run it, just agreed to take over control. So we don't lose what we gained from our contract," he glanced shrewdly at Angel, knowing instinctively the not losing part would mean something to him. "And we gain a bit more in not having to worry about them anymore."
"Give the man a cookie!" Lorne cried. "That's pure genius. Oh, and you know when you mentioned keeping some files? Does that mean I get the entertainment files?"
"I'm sure we can work something out, Lorne," Wes smiled.
"That's great work, you two," Angel said, smiling sweetly at Buffy who kissed him with a girlish giggle.
"Oh my God!" Fred cried. "Are you two back together? Properly this time?" she looked delighted and grabbed Wes's hand with a happy grin. "Does this mean we can tell them about the cure for the Romany curse now?"
"Cure?" Angel asked, looking up sharply.