"Introductions"
The noise of the police station made Angel even more jumpy. Buffy Summers had almost died tonight. He didn't know who or what saved her, but he knew that he needed to speak to her, and urgently. The Night Stalker, a vicious serial killer had murdered thirty girls already, and Buffy Summers had almost been the next victim. Angel adjusted his belt as he entered the interrogation room. A tinge of resentment and annoyance went through Angel as he looked at Buffy's beautiful face. She was sitting in a hard wooden chair, and she was staring blankly at the table. Her blonde hair was still in disarray, and she looked as if she was in a permanent state of shock. Buffy looked up at Angel's tall figure, and weakly smiled. He curtly nodded back. She frowned.
"Ms. Summers, you say you were walking home in the dark, and you were attacked?"
Angel adjusted his tie, and then sat in the chair adjacent to Buffy.
"No, I wasn't attacked, I just saw...I saw!"
A tear ran down her cheek. Angel felt sorry for her. He hated, but felt sorry for her. Was that possible? Maybe she was just the daughter of someone he hated. Maybe she had nothing to do with his hate. She wiped her tear away, and continued to speak,
"I saw a young girl walking down the street, and a man grabbed her. But, I couldn't see him that well. It was dark. So, so dark. I...I ran to help her and he hit me. I passed out, and when I woke up you were screaming and then you touched me. I felt blood, and I saw blood."
She closed her eyes as the images danced through her memory. Then she slowly opened them to look at Angel while she was talking,
"I still see blood. Everywhere. Is that bad? Oh, God! Am I crazy? There has to be something wrong with me. I see blood in everything. I even see it in your eyes."
Tears flowed freely from her eyes now, and her dirtied face had sectioned streaks on it where tears had run down her cheeks. Angel touched her face. Her watery green eyes looked up at him in surprise.
"No, you aren't crazy. You've been through alot. It's okay..." A knock on the door interrupted Angel's sentence.
"BUFFY?" An older man called.
"Daddy! Oh Daddy, I'm so scared...I was so scared." Angel looked hatefully at her father. Hank stared at Angel with emotionless eyes.
"Thank you Mr. Jonnson. You saved my daughter. I'm in your debt." Hank said, bitterly. Angel glared at Hank. A small teasing smile played on Hank's lips. He was enjoying Angel's discomfort.
"I'll have an officer over at your house just incase the killer follows you. There must be some reason he kept you alive." Buffy nodded.
"I think you should come to my house and keep watch. If the killer comes back I don't want some incompetent rookie, who gets a high off of coffee and doughnuts to watch me! I deserve better, I want to live, and I don't want to end up like some girl who ran and screamed for her life, when in actuality she had no chance of survival. "
Buffy sniffled, and wiped a stray tear away from her eye. Angel's mouth hung open and he almost laughed at how passionate Buffy was. She was definitely dramatic. A young girl walked into the room.
"Buffy? Are you okay? I was so worried!" Buffy looked teary eyed at her sister.
"Dawn! I'm fine. You knew I'd be okay. I'm always okay." Dawn rushed into Buffy's petite arms. She dug her head in the safety of her sister's embrace.
"I know. It's just that after losing mom, I couldn't stand if anything happened to you. I love you." Buffy kissed Dawn's forehead.
"I love you too Dawn. I love you too. I'll always protect you. Always." Buffy hugged Dawn harder. She looked up and her gaze met Angel's. It was a soft appreciating gaze. Hank cleared his throat, and Buffy looked guiltily away.
"We should be going now. Thank you, for all your help, and I'll call you if we need anything." Dawn clasped her father's hand.
"You know what Hank, I think I will stay over at your house to help take care of Buffy. We don't want to comprise her safety. That killer's very dangerous." Hank glared hatefully at Angel. Angel smirked. Buffy nodded appreciatively.
"I don't think we need your help." Hank sarcastically said.
"Nonsense daddy. If Mr. Jonnson thinks it best that he come and stay then he will. No arguments." She looked her father in the eyes. He sighed. No father could resist his little girl, and Buffy knew she had that persuasive power.
"Alright." Hank bitterly muttered. Dawn smiled politely at Angel before exiting the room. Buffy comfortingly looked at Angel and he acknowledged her by nodding.
The drive to Buffy's house was short, and Angel almost turned back several times. He couldn't face that man. He couldn't face Hank. Not the man responsible for his father's disappearance, and possible murder. Angel hated him; in fact he hated the entire Summers family. They were all alike: snobby, conceited, and worst of all liars. Or at least he used to hate them all. And he didn't understand why he wanted to be kind to Buffy Summers. He almost liked her. Almost. Angel's blue car pulled into the driveway of the Summers' mansion. Angel gulped. He had forgotten how big and intimidating the house was. He walked up to the door, and knocked. Deep down he hoped no one would answer, or that the killer would be there, but dead and laying on the floor. Everyone would scream, he would save the day, and he could go home not have to face his fears. But unfortunately, nothing is that simple, and the butler answered the door. The butler, a young man in a tuxedo smiled kindly at Angel and moved so that Angel could enter.
"We've been expecting you." Angel shivered; it was almost like the Adams Family, except with normal people. The butler although nice, was definitely creepy.
"What's your name?" Angel asked the butler. The butler smiled.
"It's Jeeves. I know, it was like I was destined to become a butler. I think that's what my parents were aiming for. I also double as chauffeur, so if you need to travel anywhere just ask." Angel grinned and nodded towards the door.
"I have a car, thank you. Could you please tell me where Ms. Summers is?" The butler led the way up the stairs.
"Mr. Summers told me to take you to your quarters and then Ms. Summers will see you in the library." Angel blinked in shock as he walked into his room, which the word large doesn't even describe,
"I hope you will be comfortable here, and if you have any questions, complaints, or needs, you know where to ask." The butler pointed toward the phone, "Just pick it up and press one, someone will answer and you will get what you need." The butler attempted to take Angel's bags. Angel politely refused the creepy man's help and held on to his bags.
"I can take care of my own bags Jeeves. Thank you. Would you please just tell me where the library is?" The butler grinned a toothy smile, and nodded. Angel almost shuddered.
"If you set down your bags, the library is down the hall and to the right." Angel thanked the butler as he left the room. The hallway was extremely wide, and long, and there were various right turns that could have been made, and none of them led to the library. Finally, when the correct right turn was made, Angel saw a large library come into view. Buffy looked up and smiled at the sight of Angel walking into the room.
"Mr. Jonnson," Buffy said as a smile formed on her perfect red lips, "Good to see you. Is your room satisfactory?" She asked politely. Angel laughed.
"Quite. Infact, I believe you out-did yourself. But please, just call me Angel. I hate formalities."
"You look nice when you laugh. You should laugh more often." Angel stopped smiling and sat down, "Do you hate me? Or do you hate my father?" Buffy bluntly asked, as she toyed with her pen. Angel coughed nervously.
"What do you mean?" Buffy laughed.
"Don't play coy with me Angel. I know that you have some sort of hate against my family. Why do you hate us? I think I have a right to know."
"I don't hate you, per say. I just don't really like your father. Okay, to be truthful I hate your father. You see, my father used to work for yours. He was a company executive. I guess he found some unwanted information out about your father's company, and then he disappeared. I haven't seen my father since I was six years old. I used to think that he would come back one day, and say that it was all just a game of hide and seek, and that he has been waiting for me to find him. I never found him. I have often wondered if he would be disappointed that I never found him, but then I think he would have loved me anyway." Buffy sadly smiled.
"I don't know how my father fits into this." She pushed her hair behind her ear. Angel almost laughed at how stupid people could be when they didn't want to see the truth.
"My father brought incriminating evidence to your father, your father became very upset, and the next day my dad disappeared. Can't you see? There's a motive there, a reason for your father to harm mine." Buffy shook her head in denial.
"My dad had nothing to do with your dad's disappearance! He's a good man. Just let it go, your search's futile. If you haven't found evidence by now you're never going to!" A wave of emotion passed over Angel's face.
"Don't take away my hate! It's all I have! I have to keep searching because I can't let my father go, until I know. I deserve that much. He deserves that much." Angel looked away from Buffy's surprised gaze.
"If you hate my father so much, why are you protecting me?" Angel looked back at Buffy. A solemn look on his face.
"Because you're not you're father." Buffy became silent.
" I'm sorry about your dad. I bet he was a good man, you seem to love him very much."
"He was. He's the reason that I became a cop. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled and gotten all emotional." Buffy touched Angel's hand, and he changed the subject, "What happened to your mother? Your sister said that your mother died."
A tear ran down Buffy's cheek. Angel handed her a tissue, which she gratefully accepted.
"She died two years ago. Cancer. It was her time; you could see the pain in her eyes when she moved. You have to love someone enough to let them go. I loved her more than anything, and I let her go. I think she would have been proud of me for that. Hell, I'm proud of me for that." Angel touched her shoulder and she weakly smiled in return.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
"You didn't kill her. No need for apologies."
"It's just..." Angel said, trying to explain himself.
"I know."
"What was her name?" Angel asked, it had been so long since he thought of Buffy's mother.
"Joyce. It was such a perfect name for a woman who was always happy." Angel smiled. Buffy was different. She was just like him, scared and hurting. He liked her more than ever at this moment. At this moment, she was no longer a Summers, she didn't even have a name. A person that Angel didn't have to hate...