Okay, a new chapter. I'm trying to get more done here, but I'm not sure if I should continue with this story. Reviews will ease my worries!*Insert wink here*
Scene 11 - In the kitchen with Dawn and Ian. She is reaching into the cupboard for two glasses. Ian is leaning against the counter. He scooted the bottle of soda when he stood. He came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck. He put his arms around her waist. She turned and kissed him.
DAWN: What has gotten into you tonight? ( She asked jokingly.)
IAN: Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking since we started dating. You mean to tell me you never told Buffy?
DAWN: She never asked. I know I should have, even though we've only been together a little while.
IAN: You're still afraid that I'm gonna turn out like my buddy?
DAWN: No, I know you're not a vampire.
IAN: Well, why not. ( He smiled.) C'mon, Hon, I'm not mad. ( He moved his arms from around here waist to her shoulders.) Okay, so now everybody knows, kind of removes the mystery, huh?
DAWN: ( Nodding her head. Jokingly, she smiled.) I guess it does, doesn't it?
IAN: Well, no worries, from now on, everything's going to be great. Nothing is going to change.
DAWN: You know all about this stuff, and you've been fighting for so long. I think we should tell Buffy.
IAN: I know she's the Slayer, but I'm not sure she'd believe me. This thing, with the vamps I fight.
DAWN: Buffy's dated a commando trying to rid the world if evil, a vampire with a soul...
( She trailed off, because she saw Ian clutching his stomach slightly. She rushed to his side to hold him. He pushed her away and looked at her with glowing eyes.)
IAN: S'okay, I just forgot my medication. ( He pulled the tablets out of his pockets and took them.)
Scene 12- Back at the hotel in L.A, Wesley has reviewed the text several times, he showed it to Gunn and Fred. He hadn't shown it to Cordelia. She had never read the text, she planned on reading after Angel did. She hadn't planned on him being freaked about it. Angel sat on the couch with his head in his hand. Paige sat next to him.
PAIGE: May I? ( Wesley handed her the page. She read it aloud.) " A child will be born unto two vampires. The child shall die before it is born and the vampires will not survive much longer. If the child lives, the mother shall die, and the true mother will be revealed soon thereafter. She shall be the last the father has consummated with before the mother."
CORDELIA: Is this about Conner?
WESLEY: Yes, it is. Angel, does that mean?
ANGEL: What do they mean?
PAIGE: They mean that, on a biological test, the mother will be revealed as the last woman you slept with, before Darla. Since Darla was the mother, she's dead.
GUNN: I don't get this. How is that possible, man? You can't change DNA. Conner is yours and Darla's, not some other chick.
WESLEY: Angel, does this mean what I think it does? Does this mean that, if you took Conner to get a Maternity test done...
ANGEL: ( Standing up , with his hands behind his head in thought and aggravation both.) Yes, Wesley, it means that she would be the mother.
CORDELIA: She? Who's she? Angel, who was the last woman you slept with?
FRED: I've only been here a little while, and I know the answer to that. ( She shook her head, not believing Cordelia hadn't figured it out yet.)
CORDELIA: You mean that Buffy is the mother? ( Shocked, she sat down and leaned her head back.)
ANGEL: How am I supposed to tell her that? I've already got to tell her that the long lost sister she never knew about wants to see her.
PAIGE: Don't worry about that. I'll tell her about me. I think we both have the right to speak to each other.
CORDELIA: Buffy has two sisters?
PAIGE: ( Nonchalantly.) Yes, Angel, why don't we get finished packing? We need to go soon.
CORDELIA: Angel, you can't go now. The sun will rise before you get there. It's about one o'clock now.
ANGEL: I've got a plan.
CORDELIA: ( Disappointed.) Oh. I packed Conner's things. If you insist on going, then make sure you let him sleep.
PAIGE: I can take care of Conner while Angel is driving. And, Angel, you have no idea how much I appreciate this. I'm sorry if I brought back some bad memories.
ANGEL: Yeah, well. ( His eyes flashed with a bit of sorrow as we see a scene from the episode Amends with Angel standing on the hilltop. Buffy has just arrived on the hilltop, he sees her, but merely glances for only seconds.)
ANGEL;: I bet half the kids down there are already awake. Lying in their beds... sneaking downstairs... waiting for day.
BUFFY: (Out of breath.) Angel, please. I need for you to get inside. Th-there's only a few minutes left.
ANGEL: I know. I can smell the sunrise long before it comes.
BUFFY: (Anxiously and hurried.) I don't have time to explain this. You just have to trust me. That thing that was haunting you...
ANGEL: (Interrupts) It wasn't haunting me. It was showing me.
BUFFY: (Confused) Showing you?
ANGEL: What I am.
BUFFY: (Insistently) Were.
ANGEL: And ever shall be. I wanted to know why I was back. Now I do.
BUFFY: You don't know. Some great evil takes credit for bringing you back and you buy it? You just give up?
ANGEL: (Harshly.) I can't do it again, Buffy. I can't become a killer.
BUFFY: Then fight it.
ANGEL: It's too hard.
BUFFY: (Desperately.) Angel, please, you have to get inside.
ANGEL: It told me to kill you. You were in the dream. You know. It told me to lose my soul in you and become a monster again.
BUFFY: I know what it told you. What does it matter?
ANGEL: (Raises his voice.) Because I wanted to! Because I want you so badly! I want to take comfort in you, and I know it'll cost me my soul, and a part of me doesn't care.( He sobs. Buffy is at a loss for words.) Look, I'm weak. I've never been anything else. It's not the demon in me that needs killing, Buffy. It's the man.
BUFFY: You're weak. Everybody is. Everybody fails. Maybe this evil did bring you back, but if it did, it's because it needs you. And that means that you can hurt It. ( Angel doesn't want to believe her.) (Pleadingly.) Angel, you have the power to do real good, to make amends. (Raises her voice.) But if you die now, then all that you ever were was a monster.
( She looks out at the sky as it begins to lighten.)(Begging frantically) Angel, please, the sun is coming up.
ANGEL: ( Insistently.) Just go.
BUFFY: I won't!
ANGEL: ( Becoming exasperated.) What, do you think this is simple? You think there's an easy answer? You can never understand what I've done! Now go!
BUFFY: You are not staying here. (Grabs his arm) I won't let you!
ANGEL: I said LEAVE!
(He jerks his arm free of her grasp. In her anger and desperation Buffy punches him. He reacts by shoving her away from him roughly, making her fall face forward, hard to the ground.)
ANGEL: (Quietly to himself) Oh, my God...( He goes to her and crouches over her, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her around to face him. Buffy fears his intentions and cries out.)
BUFFY: No! No! ( He grabs her roughly by the arms and holds her firmly.)
ANGEL: Am I a thing worth saving, huh? (Shakes her.) Am I a righteous man? (Shakes her.) The world wants me gone!
BUFFY: (Tearfully.) What about me? I love you so much... And I tried to make you go away... I killed you and it didn't help.( She shoves him off of her and gets up.)
BUFFY: (Crying.) And I hate it! I hate that it's so hard, and that you can hurt me so much. (Sobs, then harshly.) I know everything that you did, because you did it to me. Oh, God! I wish that I wished you dead. I don't. (Whispers.) I can't.
(Angel gets up now, too.)
ANGEL: Buffy, please. Just this once... let me be strong.
Buffy: Strong is fighting! It's hard, and it's painful, and it's every day. It's what we have to do. And we can do it together. (Angel struggles with himself, knowing she's right.)
BUFFY: (Resolvedly.) But if you're too much of a coward for that, then burn. If I can't convince you that you belong in this world, then I don't know what can. But do not expect me to watch. And don't expect me to mourn for you, because... ( Suddenly, he jolts back to reality. No one except Paige sees this go on.)
ANGEL: Thank you, Cordi. I'll grab the bags and, Wesley, can I borrow your car.
WESLEY: Yes, it's never used, but I'm sure it still works.
ANGEL: Thank you. ( Wesley throws him the key-ring. In jingles when it lands in his palm. He grabbed the bags Cordi had brought into the room, and nods at Paige.) Let's go. ( They exit.)
Scene 11 - In the kitchen with Dawn and Ian. She is reaching into the cupboard for two glasses. Ian is leaning against the counter. He scooted the bottle of soda when he stood. He came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck. He put his arms around her waist. She turned and kissed him.
DAWN: What has gotten into you tonight? ( She asked jokingly.)
IAN: Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking since we started dating. You mean to tell me you never told Buffy?
DAWN: She never asked. I know I should have, even though we've only been together a little while.
IAN: You're still afraid that I'm gonna turn out like my buddy?
DAWN: No, I know you're not a vampire.
IAN: Well, why not. ( He smiled.) C'mon, Hon, I'm not mad. ( He moved his arms from around here waist to her shoulders.) Okay, so now everybody knows, kind of removes the mystery, huh?
DAWN: ( Nodding her head. Jokingly, she smiled.) I guess it does, doesn't it?
IAN: Well, no worries, from now on, everything's going to be great. Nothing is going to change.
DAWN: You know all about this stuff, and you've been fighting for so long. I think we should tell Buffy.
IAN: I know she's the Slayer, but I'm not sure she'd believe me. This thing, with the vamps I fight.
DAWN: Buffy's dated a commando trying to rid the world if evil, a vampire with a soul...
( She trailed off, because she saw Ian clutching his stomach slightly. She rushed to his side to hold him. He pushed her away and looked at her with glowing eyes.)
IAN: S'okay, I just forgot my medication. ( He pulled the tablets out of his pockets and took them.)
Scene 12- Back at the hotel in L.A, Wesley has reviewed the text several times, he showed it to Gunn and Fred. He hadn't shown it to Cordelia. She had never read the text, she planned on reading after Angel did. She hadn't planned on him being freaked about it. Angel sat on the couch with his head in his hand. Paige sat next to him.
PAIGE: May I? ( Wesley handed her the page. She read it aloud.) " A child will be born unto two vampires. The child shall die before it is born and the vampires will not survive much longer. If the child lives, the mother shall die, and the true mother will be revealed soon thereafter. She shall be the last the father has consummated with before the mother."
CORDELIA: Is this about Conner?
WESLEY: Yes, it is. Angel, does that mean?
ANGEL: What do they mean?
PAIGE: They mean that, on a biological test, the mother will be revealed as the last woman you slept with, before Darla. Since Darla was the mother, she's dead.
GUNN: I don't get this. How is that possible, man? You can't change DNA. Conner is yours and Darla's, not some other chick.
WESLEY: Angel, does this mean what I think it does? Does this mean that, if you took Conner to get a Maternity test done...
ANGEL: ( Standing up , with his hands behind his head in thought and aggravation both.) Yes, Wesley, it means that she would be the mother.
CORDELIA: She? Who's she? Angel, who was the last woman you slept with?
FRED: I've only been here a little while, and I know the answer to that. ( She shook her head, not believing Cordelia hadn't figured it out yet.)
CORDELIA: You mean that Buffy is the mother? ( Shocked, she sat down and leaned her head back.)
ANGEL: How am I supposed to tell her that? I've already got to tell her that the long lost sister she never knew about wants to see her.
PAIGE: Don't worry about that. I'll tell her about me. I think we both have the right to speak to each other.
CORDELIA: Buffy has two sisters?
PAIGE: ( Nonchalantly.) Yes, Angel, why don't we get finished packing? We need to go soon.
CORDELIA: Angel, you can't go now. The sun will rise before you get there. It's about one o'clock now.
ANGEL: I've got a plan.
CORDELIA: ( Disappointed.) Oh. I packed Conner's things. If you insist on going, then make sure you let him sleep.
PAIGE: I can take care of Conner while Angel is driving. And, Angel, you have no idea how much I appreciate this. I'm sorry if I brought back some bad memories.
ANGEL: Yeah, well. ( His eyes flashed with a bit of sorrow as we see a scene from the episode Amends with Angel standing on the hilltop. Buffy has just arrived on the hilltop, he sees her, but merely glances for only seconds.)
ANGEL;: I bet half the kids down there are already awake. Lying in their beds... sneaking downstairs... waiting for day.
BUFFY: (Out of breath.) Angel, please. I need for you to get inside. Th-there's only a few minutes left.
ANGEL: I know. I can smell the sunrise long before it comes.
BUFFY: (Anxiously and hurried.) I don't have time to explain this. You just have to trust me. That thing that was haunting you...
ANGEL: (Interrupts) It wasn't haunting me. It was showing me.
BUFFY: (Confused) Showing you?
ANGEL: What I am.
BUFFY: (Insistently) Were.
ANGEL: And ever shall be. I wanted to know why I was back. Now I do.
BUFFY: You don't know. Some great evil takes credit for bringing you back and you buy it? You just give up?
ANGEL: (Harshly.) I can't do it again, Buffy. I can't become a killer.
BUFFY: Then fight it.
ANGEL: It's too hard.
BUFFY: (Desperately.) Angel, please, you have to get inside.
ANGEL: It told me to kill you. You were in the dream. You know. It told me to lose my soul in you and become a monster again.
BUFFY: I know what it told you. What does it matter?
ANGEL: (Raises his voice.) Because I wanted to! Because I want you so badly! I want to take comfort in you, and I know it'll cost me my soul, and a part of me doesn't care.( He sobs. Buffy is at a loss for words.) Look, I'm weak. I've never been anything else. It's not the demon in me that needs killing, Buffy. It's the man.
BUFFY: You're weak. Everybody is. Everybody fails. Maybe this evil did bring you back, but if it did, it's because it needs you. And that means that you can hurt It. ( Angel doesn't want to believe her.) (Pleadingly.) Angel, you have the power to do real good, to make amends. (Raises her voice.) But if you die now, then all that you ever were was a monster.
( She looks out at the sky as it begins to lighten.)(Begging frantically) Angel, please, the sun is coming up.
ANGEL: ( Insistently.) Just go.
BUFFY: I won't!
ANGEL: ( Becoming exasperated.) What, do you think this is simple? You think there's an easy answer? You can never understand what I've done! Now go!
BUFFY: You are not staying here. (Grabs his arm) I won't let you!
ANGEL: I said LEAVE!
(He jerks his arm free of her grasp. In her anger and desperation Buffy punches him. He reacts by shoving her away from him roughly, making her fall face forward, hard to the ground.)
ANGEL: (Quietly to himself) Oh, my God...( He goes to her and crouches over her, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her around to face him. Buffy fears his intentions and cries out.)
BUFFY: No! No! ( He grabs her roughly by the arms and holds her firmly.)
ANGEL: Am I a thing worth saving, huh? (Shakes her.) Am I a righteous man? (Shakes her.) The world wants me gone!
BUFFY: (Tearfully.) What about me? I love you so much... And I tried to make you go away... I killed you and it didn't help.( She shoves him off of her and gets up.)
BUFFY: (Crying.) And I hate it! I hate that it's so hard, and that you can hurt me so much. (Sobs, then harshly.) I know everything that you did, because you did it to me. Oh, God! I wish that I wished you dead. I don't. (Whispers.) I can't.
(Angel gets up now, too.)
ANGEL: Buffy, please. Just this once... let me be strong.
Buffy: Strong is fighting! It's hard, and it's painful, and it's every day. It's what we have to do. And we can do it together. (Angel struggles with himself, knowing she's right.)
BUFFY: (Resolvedly.) But if you're too much of a coward for that, then burn. If I can't convince you that you belong in this world, then I don't know what can. But do not expect me to watch. And don't expect me to mourn for you, because... ( Suddenly, he jolts back to reality. No one except Paige sees this go on.)
ANGEL: Thank you, Cordi. I'll grab the bags and, Wesley, can I borrow your car.
WESLEY: Yes, it's never used, but I'm sure it still works.
ANGEL: Thank you. ( Wesley throws him the key-ring. In jingles when it lands in his palm. He grabbed the bags Cordi had brought into the room, and nods at Paige.) Let's go. ( They exit.)