Conversations In Rome- The Girl in Question
The room is pitched into complete darkness. I don't even have the drapes open to let in the sunlight I have come to cherish. I pace the darkness of the room. I thought I could handle seeing her, even if I hadn't actually seen her face, her eyes, her mouth, instead it ripped me open and gutted me. I keep flashing back to the moment in the club when I saw her, all blonde hair and grace. It had taken me a moment to find her in the din- wait...it had taken me a moment to find her because I hadn't felt her. I hadn't felt her. I always felt Buffy. I felt Buffy that night at The Well when Fred died. I felt Buffy the first moment I saw her sitting on the steps of Hemery High, before she became a slayer and she feels me. She's always felt me inside, the same way I feel her.
I tear through my desk in the darkness, looking for the note that had come with the bag the head was in. My eyes scan over the elegant script writing. The Immortal, he had sent the head to me. He could have sent the head to me at any point and time, instead he let me go to Rome. He wanted me in Rome, or someone he's working with wanted me in Rome, like the Senior Partners. My mouth goes cotton dry. I pick up the phone and press the intercom button.
"Harmony, connect me with the Rome office. I don't care what time it is in Rome, I'm sure there will be someone there to talk to me," I seethe through gritted teeth.
There are several clicks on the line followed by a few rings. A computerized voice comes over the line, "I'm sorry but the number you are trying to reach has been disconnected. If you feel you have received this message in error please hang up and try the number again," a pleasant voice says in Italian.
I ring Harmony again. "Find out what the hell is up with the Rome office and do it now. Hold all my calls, all my visitors. If it's not about the Rome Branch, I don't want to hear it." My next call is to Lorne. He's going to make every employee in this office sing until we know for sure no one in this dimension was involved with whatever happened while I was gone. If I find out someone was, heads will roll, literally. Gunn is next on my list. He's going to contact the Senior Partners. He may not like it but he'll do it. Wes puts his nose to the grindstone going through the paper trail, trying to account for every second of every minute that I was gone.
I sit down and bury my face in my hands. I let them distract me. All they had to do was wave Buffy in front of me and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I swallow hard, if it was even Buffy. I should have felt her, even if that special connection that tingles my spine in a way completely different from every other slayer in the world, even if that was gone, the vampire in me should have sensed the slayer. There was nothing. There was no flight or fight instinct. Angelus hadn't done a running commentary in my head about bathing in Buffy's blood, drinking it down (sweet like wine) and then fucking her until she begged for more, an opportunity he would never miss. Just the thought of it sends him charging the bars of his cage. I mentally smack him and buckle the locks down harder. The only rage I felt in that club was mine. It was just me wanting to beat the crap out of the Immortal, not for the greater good, but because he was Buffy's boyfriend.
My last phone call is to the girl in Rome. I let the phone ring fifteen times before hanging up. I dial Giles' number, not something I'm looking forward too. I remember all too well the last time I'd talked to him he denied us assistance. Doesn't matter, if anyone knows where Buffy is, he will.
"Giles, hi, it's Angel. Don't hang up, I'm not evil. I'm looking for Buffy," I say swallowing my pride and my ego.
I am beyond surprised when he says she's there. I hear the shuffling of the phone and some whispers. I can't make them out though. One sounds like Buffy and even at the sound of her voice a tingle goes up and down my spine. I curse myself for not remembering this sooner, like when we were in Rome.
"Angel," she says.
"Buffy,"
"Is something wrong?" She asks.
"No, I mean, I don't know," I resume my pacing. "I'm-I-I'm not trying to be overbearing but do you know a vampire that goes by the name of The Immortal?"
She laughs. It's one of those full blown laughs. I can almost see her in my mind, bent at the waist, her eyes crinkled up and her gorgeous mouth open, laughter spilling out. The laughter is cut short. "Oh, you're serious," she says.
"Yeah," I say uncomfortably.
"No. I mean I thought you were kidding because that's almost as cheesy as The Prince of Darkness," she says.
"So, he's not-he's not your boyfriend?" I say in a rush.
"What? Angel, did Dawn put you up to this?" She asks.
"No, Buffy I'm serious," I say.
"No, I don't know anyone named The Immortal and he's certainly not my boyfriend," she says.
"Oh, good-wait-you have a boyfriend? I mean that's great, right good-"I stop. I did call Nina my girlfriend in Rome, but that was only because I thought Buffy had a boyfriend. I don't want her to have a boyfriend. If I can't have cookie dough, no one else is getting cookie dough even if that means I have to kill every male under the age of 70 in Rome.
I can hear her grinning over the phone. "I don't have a boyfriend, but it's good to know you'd think it was great if I did have one. I'll place that ad in the personals as soon as I get home."
"No, I-if you-I-"I sputter and finally say, "please don't."
"Relax, I was teasing you. So what's this all about? Besides someone told you I had a boyfriend," she says.
"Wolfram and Hart doing some distraction I'm afraid. How long have you been in London?" I ask.
"Almost a week, I'm helping Giles with some slayer things. I'm actually writing the handbook, imagine me the girl who didn't even get a handbook," she says and she sounds proud. I chuckle. If anyone is qualified to write a slayer handbook she is. She broke every rule the slayer handbook had.
She wasn't there. She hasn't been there for several days now. I can't seem to wrap my mind around it even though Angelus is smirking in my head (You think I wouldn't have known if our mate was even in the country?) "You haven't been back to Rome the entire week?" I ask, wanting clarification.
"Didn't even step a toe in that direction, Giles has had me cloistered in the library believe it or not. Angel, what's this all about?" She asks.
"There was this demon leader there. He died and we had to go get the head to bring it back here so these rituals could be performed. The head was in Rome. I stopped by your apartment to see you, since I was in the neighborhood-"
"This would have nothing to do with you hearing I had a boyfriend, right?" she says with laughter in her voice.
"Well, yes but I really was in the neighborhood. Anyway, Andrew was there," I say.
"Yeah, he's watering my plants. See I had a goldfish and I killed him within like 48 hours and so in AA meetings, not that I've gone but one of the slayer's brothers is like a devotee converted alcoholic or whatever, anyway in AA meetings they tell you to get a plant and if you can keep a plant alive for like a year then you can move onto a pet and if you can keep the pet alive for another year then you're all set to have a relationship with a real live person-"
"Two years? I mean I know you said years in Sunnydale but I thought it was an exaggeration. You really might take two years?" I interrupt.
"No, Angel, it was-"she sighs, "Andrew was watering my plants, which by the way I've had for almost a year and they are thriving," she says.
"So a pet is next?" I ask.
"Yup," she says.
"And then?" I ask.
"And then an Angel," she says almost nonchalantly.
My mouth goes dry again and I sit down. "I-uhm-I-you do realize I'm a little harder to kill then a puppy or a plant, right?"
She laughs and the sound dribbles over me like cool water on a hot day. "Actually, I kind of did realize that. I was thinking of giving the puppy 6 months."
My mind starts whirling and I can't remember why I even called her in the first place. Six months, do you realize how short six months is to someone who has lived two hundred and fifty years?
"So, what did Andrew tell you?" She asks, bringing me back to focus.
"He-he told me The Immortal was your boyfriend, that you snuggled on the couch," I say.
"I am so going to kill the little twerp. I don't even care if he's evil or not," she mutters.
"He-well he could have been under The Immortal's thrall. He's old, really old and I've had run ins with him before. I'm pretty sure he can do mind tricks, like Dracula," I say.
"If he's eating bugs on my new leather couch, I'll kill him twice for good measure," she says.
I furl my brow, apparently I missed something, but then I've missed a lot so I let it go. "No, he was acting very strangely though. Be careful, Buffy," I warn.
"Hey, I'm not the one that has other dimensional lawyers trying to apocalypse my city," she reminds me.
"Just, be careful, I mean it," I say.
I can hear her smile and it seems like the room becomes brighter. "Because you didn't mean it the other two hundred times you've told me to be careful," she says.
"Buffy-"I start.
"I know. I'll be careful. The same goes for you," she says.
"Always," I respond. Wes pokes his head in the door and waves some papers at me. "I've got to go. Wes needs to speak with me, but I'll call you later and hit Andrew really hard for me," I say.
"That's a promise," she says and hangs up the phone.
I start to replace the phone in the cradle and then on second thought dial Harmony's extension. "Harmony, call a couple of the pet shops in town. Let them know I'll be by after dark tonight and would they mind staying open for me." I hang up the phone and look expectantly at Wes.
"Lonely?" Wes asks as he gives me a puzzled look.
"Do you think they ship puppies to Rome?" I ask.