Okay, I'm a total ass for forgetting to say this in the beginning, but
Joyce DIDN'T die. The Body & Forever NEVER HAPPENED.
Which is a duh since this is right after Reprise, but remember how in the Buffy timeline we're at the end of Tough Love? See how this all makes the kind of sense that doesn't? Yes, it's tragic, but oh well. Um, yeah. So Joyce is still in the hospital and I'm hardly even going to mention her beyond this chapter. Just forget about her. And don't bitch at me because I'm leaving out her tragic illness and stuff. Because is the story about Joyce's sickness? NOOOOOO. It's about other stuff.
Good. There we go.
Ugh, these things are so messed up.
(I'm sorry I'm being so annoying and bitchy. The feeling of Angel's cancellation is sinking in and making me retarded.)
Chapter 6
Buffy Summers looked around her dining room; the empty chairs, the small pictures, drapes and curtains, and the big fat stack of bills that currently sat right in front of her. She made a small groan as they gleamed at her with evil intentions. Bills sucked. Life sucked. There was way too much going around for her to be worrying about the water or the electricity. Glory was after the Key, aka Dawn, her mom was in the hospital, Riley left, the wonderful news that death was her gift, and Spike with his gross, sick robot that looked exactly like her. The thought of Spike going pelvic with something that merely resembled her, mind you that the thing was a complete replica, made her want to gag.
Stifling another groan she stared at the pile of envelopes. If bills were a lot like vampires, this would have been a piece of delicious cake right now. Kick. Stake. Poof. Easy. Maybe Willow could make it go away with some of that handy-dandy magic she had going these days. Her best friend was getting pretty good with all that magic and things which Buffy had no understanding of. Buffy guessed it was partially from being around Tara, Willow's girlfriend. Tara had been a witch before they had met each other; she helped Willow along from using magic for just play to using magic for kick some major demon butt. Willow was quite the bad ass.
Buffy put her head in her hands. Things were just so hard these days. Everyone had their hubbies and their girlfriends, but Buffy had nothing. She used to have Angel, Parker(if you could call him something,) Riley, but they all left her, tearing her heart out in the process. She didn't know how much of this she could stand; all she wanted was a stable relationship with someone she loved. But didn't she love Angel? She didn't know if she loved Riley as much as she did Angel. Angel used to be her everything and she bowed her head when she remembered what she had bitterly thrown at him down at the police station a year ago.
((I have someone in my life now. That I love. It's not what you and I had. It's very new. You know what makes it new? I trust him. I know him.))
A tear was now forcefully trying to tumble its way down her cheek, but she held it back. What she said wasn't true, she did trust him, she did know him. She trusted him with her life when she offered her throat. She trusts Angel as much as she trusts Willow, Xander, or Giles. She had felt jealous. Jealous about the fact that Faith was the one crying into Angel's chest, not her. Jealous that Angel wasn't in her life anymore, but he was in so many others' lives, helping them. She knew it was overly selfish, but it was sadly true. It just hurt her to think that the person who had spat in Angel's face that night wasn't the Buffybot, but her, the real Buffy.
"Buffy, do we have anymore peanut butter?!" Dawn's voice echoed from the kitchen as Buffy heard cabinet doors open and slam closed.
She sighed, tilting her head back on the chair. "No, Dawn. You ate the last of the crunchy one last week, remember? I'll go to the supermarket tomorrow and we'll stack up on that stuff."
Dawn made a face as she stepped into the room. "I thought Xander said there was some hidden behind the plates," she pondered out loud. She shrugged her shoulders, sitting besides Buffy. "Whatcha doing?"
"Bills" Buffy grumbled. "I don't even see why we have to pay for these. Water's always free at those little drinking fountains, aren't they?"
Dawn smiled. "If money grew from trees..." she mocked, smiling.
Buffy gave a small grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I get it." Suddenly she frowned. "It's just, I don't really know if I'm ready to be a grownup. This feels like a small reality check to see if I'm ready to take care of all this if Mom..."
"Don't say that," Dawn said, hugging her sister. "You're doing just fine. I mean, what grownup has to fight evil hell Gods and stake vampires? I'm sure someone will cut you some slack one of these days."
"Thank you, Dawn," Buffy said, hugging her sister back. She loved Dawn and she was never going to let Glory or anyone else take Dawn away from her. Hell Gods, minions of evil, get ready because the Slayer is ready to kick some serious demon butt. "It's just - "
Then the doorbell rang.
Buffy's brow furrowed in confusion. The Gang hadn't said anything about coming over tonight, they had just been over a couple hours ago. She knew it couldn't be Glory. Glory wasn't really for knocking; more of the type who pulls down your wall and then eats your brains out. She looked at Dawn, who was also had her eyes fixed on the door. "Stay here," Buffy said, but changed her mind, "or... get back into the kitchen..."
Dawn nodded, obeying her sister's words. When she was out of sight, Buffy crept slowly towards the front door, listening for any sound of trouble. Not hearing anything out of the ordinary, Buffy put her hand on the doorknob, swallowing. Then she cracked open the door to peer outside. The sight before her almost stopped her heart.
Angel.
He was standing right there in front of her, no coat on, just the usually black on black look. His eyes were worried and scared as he looked longingly at her, she felt something amiss that floated around him. He looked pale, too pale. But, God, did he take her breath away. She wanted to jump him and smother him with soft kisses, tell him to stay forever and ever; never leave her side again. Geez, talk about weird, he was just on her mind a couple minutes ago. "Angel," her voice was soft.
Angel looked at her. She was here, she wasn't dead, his Buffy was alive. She looked a little worn out, tired. "Buffy," he said. "Can I... can I come in?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," she said, stepping aside. Relishing the moment as he stepped passed her, brushing his arm across hers. Mentally slapping herself, she told herself to stop acting like some teenager who was having her boyfriend over for the first time. Angel wasn't even her boyfriend! "So, you gonna tell my why your back in Sunnydale," she started, trying to put on her bitter, I-am-the-bitch façade. "Oh, wait, let me guess. Some big evil's stirring up in LA and your phone just happened to have some kind of malfunction or whatever... "
"Buffy..."
"And it would be sensible to come down and tell me like the last time."
"Buffy!"
She stopped.
"Buffy... Cordelia... she had a vision," he pursed his lips and looked away before looking back at her hazel-green eyes. "She saw you... dead."
The last word hung in the room and punched all the air out from her body. "Wh - what? Excuse me?" she stared at Angel, waiting for him to jump at her and say "April Fools!" But nothing came, just a grim look on his face like his new puppy, or something, died. Then again, she had been prophesied to die once, and although she technically did, she had walked away triumphant. "W - wait, you - you don't just come to my town and tell me I'm going to - "
"Angel?" it was Dawn. She stepped out from behind Buffy who instantly shut her mouth.
"Hi, Dawn," he said, hoping she didn't hear what he had said. He didn't need Buffy's little sister knowing that her sister was going to die if no one prevented it.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Buffy turned around. "Dawn, can you go up in your room for a second," she said, trying to make her voice sound strong and not completely scared. "Angel and I have to talk for a while."
Dawn eyed Buffy, crossing her arms. "What? Angel just got here. I mean, hello, I know I'm the Key, or is there something else you guys are talking about behind my back."
"Dawn," Buffy growled. "This has nothing to do with you, just go up to your room."
"Buffy," she huffed, "this is so unfair. You mean, I can't even say hi to him?" Buffy just looked at her and Dawn sighed, turning around and angrily making her way upstairs into her room. "I can't believe this."
Buffy turned back to Angel, waiting to hear Dawn's door close. "What - how do you know I'm going to..." she couldn't bring herself to say it. Death was her gift, right? It did make some kind of uncanny sense. The kind of sense that she always hated.
"Cordelia... she had a vision," Angel whispered. "She said you die."
Buffy looked hard at him. "And you believe her?"
"This isn't the first time you've been in a vision, Buffy, this is serious!" Angel barked. "Cordelia would never lie about something like that!"
"And of course you believe her, the girl who hated me in high school. So you and her are buddies now?" Buffy accused.
"Cordelia's changed, Buffy. You don't know her anymore."
"Right. Of course I don't," she bit out. Doesn't that mean you don't know me anymore, she wanted to ask.
"Buffy, Cordy is the least of our worries right now," Angel snapped, annoyed at the rivalry that had formed between the two in their last three years of Sunnydale High. "You might die, doesn't that ring some sort of bell?!"
"What? You don't think I realize that?!" Buffy said, she sighed when she realized she was being a little rude. She saw the rejection and pain in his eyes and tried hard not to touch his face, hold it between her fingers. "I - I'm sorry. I just..." tears again began to form in her eyes and Angel started to walk towards her, his features softening.
"Buffy, I just came here to - "
"There's too much going on, Dawn's in danger," she said in a small voice "We have a hell Goddess after us and now this. Angel, I don't know what to do."
Angel wrapped his arms around Buffy, holding her head to his chest as the tears started to spill over. "Shhh... Buffy..." he licked his lips. The smell of her hair filled his senses and he felt himself wanting to cry too. It had been so long since he's felt her in his arms, her small figure fitting his. It felt right and sure and everything else that Angel had been longing for. "I'm going to stop this."
Buffy pulled away, wiping away scattered tears. "Look at me, I'm supposed to be the Slayer and here I am crying because I might die. I'm supposed to be strong and brave for my friends, but at the end of the day all I find is a scared little girl."
"Don't worry; it's going to be okay. You're entitled to be scared. But you're not going to die," Angel reassured. "I'm not going to let go of you."
Buffy smiled, leaning into his chest. "Thank you, Angel."
He just nodded, resting his chin on her head.
- - - - - - - - -
"Wait, Buffy's going to die?" Willow's scared voice asked as Buffy finished what Angel had tolled her. "I - I mean, Cordelia saw her... die?" she gave Buffy an apologetic glance.
"That's it in a nutshell," Buffy quipped. Willow, Xander, Giles, Tara, Anya and Dawn were in the living room listening to what Angel had to tell them. Everyone had become extremely freaked out at first, but things had calmed down. A little.
Buffy looked towards Dawn, she was worried now, for her sister's sake. Dawn was going through a lot for just being 15 years old. Buffy sighed when she realized her sister was walking in her footsteps. 15 going on 30. Grownup- size. "But it's not going happen, now that we know."
"Angel, are you sure Cordelia's visions are accurate?" Giles said, this was the second time Angel had come to Sunnydale claiming there was a vision with Buffy in it. Although he knew not to doubt the vampire's instincts when it came to Buffy and her safety, he just wanted to be sure Angel knew what he was doing.
"Yeah," Angel said. "Cordelia's visions have always been somewhat telling, we've prevented a lot of them from happening." He shot a glance toward Buffy who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "I just... I thought I should come down here since..."
"No, no," Giles said, correcting himself. "It's good that you've come here. It's just a... shock to all of us."
"Yeah, I know," Xander agreed, wiping his hand down his face. Buffy and Willow were his best friends, if anything happened to either one of them, he couldn't forgive himself for not saving them. He turned to Angel, "Do you EVER have good news when you visit?"
Angel just stared at the boy, not even bothering to make a comeback.
"Xander," Buffy warned, "just... just drop it okay?"
He nodded, not really feeling in the joking mood, either.
"So what's this Glory God up to?" Angel asked; he hadn't had the time to get filled in on what was happening.
"W - well," Tara started. Angel liked the girl from the moment she stepped into the Summers' house. She vibrated with nothing but pure and powerful energy, a perfect match for Willow. "She's a hell God a - and she's looking for a Key, we're not really s - sure why. It's kind of all hectic."
Willow nodded, grabbing her girlfriend's hand. "And we figured out that Dawn's the Key," she noted the look of shock on Angel's face and grimaced. "Yeah, we were kind of wigged out too. It was created by monks... who sent it to Buffy to protect. Technically, she's only been around for six months," she gave a small smile towards Dawn. "Our memories are all fake, but it doesn't matter because she's our Dawnie." "Does Glory know?" Angel asked, a little freaked that some of his own memories were just something someone created.
"Hardly," Buffy shook her head, staring of into space. "She does know the Slayer is somehow connected to it, but she doesn't know who it is. If she did, I don't know what we could do. She's too strong - we wouldn't be able to stop her if she knew."
Dawn felt herself shiver with fear and she scooted back into the couch, tucking her legs under her chin. She closed her eyes, trying to get the empty feeling inside her gone, trying to remember that her friends and her sister loved her.
"No weaknesses?" Angel wondered.
"No," Giles answered, taking his glasses off and cleaning them, a simple habit that had become consistent over the years. "None that we know of, at least. She's extremely powerful, not even Buffy could substantially hurt her."
"Giles actually sold a book to her once," Anya said, somewhat cheerfully. Angel glanced at the ex-vengeance demon, a little wary of her. "Then she made a big giant snake and Buffy had to kill it. It was all very intense."
"Uh, I'd appreciate if you didn't bring that up anymore, Anya," Giles said wearily and Anya nodded, snuggling into Xander's arms.
"I say we're screwed, anyone with me raise your hands and say I" Xander said, wrapping his arms around Anya.
Surprisingly, everyone except Giles, Angel, and Dawn raised their hands. "Well," he said, looking around at all the hands. "That pretty much sums up the 'we're-screwed-so-help-us' part. So, Angel. Since you're the one bearing the bad news, what do you think we should do?"
"Honestly," Angel started, crossing his arms "I have no idea."
"There seems to be a lot of that going around," Dawn said, it was the first time she had spoken since everyone had come over.
Buffy smiled, trying to reassure her. "We're going to get through this, Dawn. I promise."
"How can you?" Dawn said, switching to rebellious teenager mode. "I mean, if Angel hadn't come here, you would have died! How is anything going to be alright?!"
"Dawn..." Xander said, trying to calm her down.
"No, really! Someone please tell me, how the hell are we supposed to get through this?!" she growled out, they were all acting like this was something that would blow over. "Because we will," Angel said. "We always do and we're going to protect you."
Dawn glared at Angel. "How do you know? You haven't even been here for the past two years!" Her voice grew louder and she leaned toward Angel. "Why don't you just stay in LA and stop breaking my sister's heart every time you leave!"
Buffy turned to face her sister. "Dawn - "
"No, Buffy, every time Angel's here you get sad and mope around the house! Why should he be here?! He lives in LA, remember?" Dawn said. Angel looked down, feeling guilty about what he had done to Buffy. Although it wasn't like that was anything new.
"Hey, now why don't we all just simmer down... " Xander said, standing up. "Dawn," he turned to her. "Cut Angel some slack, although I too think Angel leaves Buffy in pieces when he leaves," Xander shifted his gaze to Angel for a moment who met his gaze. "But he's responsible for you sister's un- death and that's more than any of us could say."
Dawn rolled her eyes, getting up from her seat. "Whatever," she made her way up the stairs, slamming her door.
Angel stared at the space where Dawn sat then looked to Buffy. "Maybe she's right, maybe I should just..."
"No," Buffy said, grabbing Angel's sleeve. "She's just a little emotional, it didn't mean anything. I'm glad you came, Angel. I'm actually thankful that you came, I need someone that can also protect Dawn."
"But she's right," he said, looking down. "I always end up..."
Buffy finally silenced him with a kiss. She pressed her lips on his and at first she felt a little overwhelmed with what she had just done. It was irrational and something she probably shouldn't have even thought about, but it felt so right. She had been longing for Angel's lips on hers, not Riley's or Spike's, but his. Her heart fluttered and she felt herself come alive again, no matter how corny it sounded. Pulling away slowly, she looked up at him; his eyes were closed for a moment then he opened them, taking in her radiant beauty. "Stay. Please."
"Okay," Xander said, totally stunned. "May I just say whoa, what the hell was that?" Giles looked away as Willow and Tara watched with curious eyes.
"Please do it again," Anya said. "It makes Xander horny and want to have sex."
Xander abruptly turned to Anya. "An, please just stop talking for a second."
"Fine," she grumbled. "But I still think..."
"Sorry," Buffy mumbled, sheepishly looking away.
"No - " Angel started, but Xander interrupted.
"Well! We better be going. Anya?" he stood up off the couch, stretching his arms around. He didn't like the thought of Buffy kissing Angel and decided he had better leave.
"Yeah, yeah. Coming," she said, getting up along with Xander. "Can we go home and have...," she stopped when Xander gave her a look.
"Call me if anything, Buff," Xander said, giving her a small wave and walking out of the door.
"I think we should all go home, tomorrow's another day," Giles said, making his way to the door. "We can plan on how to... prevent Buffy's..." he couldn't bring himself to say it and just trailed off. "Goodnight, Buffy."
"Angel can stay here," Buffy said, licking her lips.
Xander popped his head back in, pointing a finger at the both of them. "Anything pelvic and I'll have to stake the both of you."
Which is a duh since this is right after Reprise, but remember how in the Buffy timeline we're at the end of Tough Love? See how this all makes the kind of sense that doesn't? Yes, it's tragic, but oh well. Um, yeah. So Joyce is still in the hospital and I'm hardly even going to mention her beyond this chapter. Just forget about her. And don't bitch at me because I'm leaving out her tragic illness and stuff. Because is the story about Joyce's sickness? NOOOOOO. It's about other stuff.
Good. There we go.
Ugh, these things are so messed up.
(I'm sorry I'm being so annoying and bitchy. The feeling of Angel's cancellation is sinking in and making me retarded.)
Chapter 6
Buffy Summers looked around her dining room; the empty chairs, the small pictures, drapes and curtains, and the big fat stack of bills that currently sat right in front of her. She made a small groan as they gleamed at her with evil intentions. Bills sucked. Life sucked. There was way too much going around for her to be worrying about the water or the electricity. Glory was after the Key, aka Dawn, her mom was in the hospital, Riley left, the wonderful news that death was her gift, and Spike with his gross, sick robot that looked exactly like her. The thought of Spike going pelvic with something that merely resembled her, mind you that the thing was a complete replica, made her want to gag.
Stifling another groan she stared at the pile of envelopes. If bills were a lot like vampires, this would have been a piece of delicious cake right now. Kick. Stake. Poof. Easy. Maybe Willow could make it go away with some of that handy-dandy magic she had going these days. Her best friend was getting pretty good with all that magic and things which Buffy had no understanding of. Buffy guessed it was partially from being around Tara, Willow's girlfriend. Tara had been a witch before they had met each other; she helped Willow along from using magic for just play to using magic for kick some major demon butt. Willow was quite the bad ass.
Buffy put her head in her hands. Things were just so hard these days. Everyone had their hubbies and their girlfriends, but Buffy had nothing. She used to have Angel, Parker(if you could call him something,) Riley, but they all left her, tearing her heart out in the process. She didn't know how much of this she could stand; all she wanted was a stable relationship with someone she loved. But didn't she love Angel? She didn't know if she loved Riley as much as she did Angel. Angel used to be her everything and she bowed her head when she remembered what she had bitterly thrown at him down at the police station a year ago.
((I have someone in my life now. That I love. It's not what you and I had. It's very new. You know what makes it new? I trust him. I know him.))
A tear was now forcefully trying to tumble its way down her cheek, but she held it back. What she said wasn't true, she did trust him, she did know him. She trusted him with her life when she offered her throat. She trusts Angel as much as she trusts Willow, Xander, or Giles. She had felt jealous. Jealous about the fact that Faith was the one crying into Angel's chest, not her. Jealous that Angel wasn't in her life anymore, but he was in so many others' lives, helping them. She knew it was overly selfish, but it was sadly true. It just hurt her to think that the person who had spat in Angel's face that night wasn't the Buffybot, but her, the real Buffy.
"Buffy, do we have anymore peanut butter?!" Dawn's voice echoed from the kitchen as Buffy heard cabinet doors open and slam closed.
She sighed, tilting her head back on the chair. "No, Dawn. You ate the last of the crunchy one last week, remember? I'll go to the supermarket tomorrow and we'll stack up on that stuff."
Dawn made a face as she stepped into the room. "I thought Xander said there was some hidden behind the plates," she pondered out loud. She shrugged her shoulders, sitting besides Buffy. "Whatcha doing?"
"Bills" Buffy grumbled. "I don't even see why we have to pay for these. Water's always free at those little drinking fountains, aren't they?"
Dawn smiled. "If money grew from trees..." she mocked, smiling.
Buffy gave a small grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I get it." Suddenly she frowned. "It's just, I don't really know if I'm ready to be a grownup. This feels like a small reality check to see if I'm ready to take care of all this if Mom..."
"Don't say that," Dawn said, hugging her sister. "You're doing just fine. I mean, what grownup has to fight evil hell Gods and stake vampires? I'm sure someone will cut you some slack one of these days."
"Thank you, Dawn," Buffy said, hugging her sister back. She loved Dawn and she was never going to let Glory or anyone else take Dawn away from her. Hell Gods, minions of evil, get ready because the Slayer is ready to kick some serious demon butt. "It's just - "
Then the doorbell rang.
Buffy's brow furrowed in confusion. The Gang hadn't said anything about coming over tonight, they had just been over a couple hours ago. She knew it couldn't be Glory. Glory wasn't really for knocking; more of the type who pulls down your wall and then eats your brains out. She looked at Dawn, who was also had her eyes fixed on the door. "Stay here," Buffy said, but changed her mind, "or... get back into the kitchen..."
Dawn nodded, obeying her sister's words. When she was out of sight, Buffy crept slowly towards the front door, listening for any sound of trouble. Not hearing anything out of the ordinary, Buffy put her hand on the doorknob, swallowing. Then she cracked open the door to peer outside. The sight before her almost stopped her heart.
Angel.
He was standing right there in front of her, no coat on, just the usually black on black look. His eyes were worried and scared as he looked longingly at her, she felt something amiss that floated around him. He looked pale, too pale. But, God, did he take her breath away. She wanted to jump him and smother him with soft kisses, tell him to stay forever and ever; never leave her side again. Geez, talk about weird, he was just on her mind a couple minutes ago. "Angel," her voice was soft.
Angel looked at her. She was here, she wasn't dead, his Buffy was alive. She looked a little worn out, tired. "Buffy," he said. "Can I... can I come in?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," she said, stepping aside. Relishing the moment as he stepped passed her, brushing his arm across hers. Mentally slapping herself, she told herself to stop acting like some teenager who was having her boyfriend over for the first time. Angel wasn't even her boyfriend! "So, you gonna tell my why your back in Sunnydale," she started, trying to put on her bitter, I-am-the-bitch façade. "Oh, wait, let me guess. Some big evil's stirring up in LA and your phone just happened to have some kind of malfunction or whatever... "
"Buffy..."
"And it would be sensible to come down and tell me like the last time."
"Buffy!"
She stopped.
"Buffy... Cordelia... she had a vision," he pursed his lips and looked away before looking back at her hazel-green eyes. "She saw you... dead."
The last word hung in the room and punched all the air out from her body. "Wh - what? Excuse me?" she stared at Angel, waiting for him to jump at her and say "April Fools!" But nothing came, just a grim look on his face like his new puppy, or something, died. Then again, she had been prophesied to die once, and although she technically did, she had walked away triumphant. "W - wait, you - you don't just come to my town and tell me I'm going to - "
"Angel?" it was Dawn. She stepped out from behind Buffy who instantly shut her mouth.
"Hi, Dawn," he said, hoping she didn't hear what he had said. He didn't need Buffy's little sister knowing that her sister was going to die if no one prevented it.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Buffy turned around. "Dawn, can you go up in your room for a second," she said, trying to make her voice sound strong and not completely scared. "Angel and I have to talk for a while."
Dawn eyed Buffy, crossing her arms. "What? Angel just got here. I mean, hello, I know I'm the Key, or is there something else you guys are talking about behind my back."
"Dawn," Buffy growled. "This has nothing to do with you, just go up to your room."
"Buffy," she huffed, "this is so unfair. You mean, I can't even say hi to him?" Buffy just looked at her and Dawn sighed, turning around and angrily making her way upstairs into her room. "I can't believe this."
Buffy turned back to Angel, waiting to hear Dawn's door close. "What - how do you know I'm going to..." she couldn't bring herself to say it. Death was her gift, right? It did make some kind of uncanny sense. The kind of sense that she always hated.
"Cordelia... she had a vision," Angel whispered. "She said you die."
Buffy looked hard at him. "And you believe her?"
"This isn't the first time you've been in a vision, Buffy, this is serious!" Angel barked. "Cordelia would never lie about something like that!"
"And of course you believe her, the girl who hated me in high school. So you and her are buddies now?" Buffy accused.
"Cordelia's changed, Buffy. You don't know her anymore."
"Right. Of course I don't," she bit out. Doesn't that mean you don't know me anymore, she wanted to ask.
"Buffy, Cordy is the least of our worries right now," Angel snapped, annoyed at the rivalry that had formed between the two in their last three years of Sunnydale High. "You might die, doesn't that ring some sort of bell?!"
"What? You don't think I realize that?!" Buffy said, she sighed when she realized she was being a little rude. She saw the rejection and pain in his eyes and tried hard not to touch his face, hold it between her fingers. "I - I'm sorry. I just..." tears again began to form in her eyes and Angel started to walk towards her, his features softening.
"Buffy, I just came here to - "
"There's too much going on, Dawn's in danger," she said in a small voice "We have a hell Goddess after us and now this. Angel, I don't know what to do."
Angel wrapped his arms around Buffy, holding her head to his chest as the tears started to spill over. "Shhh... Buffy..." he licked his lips. The smell of her hair filled his senses and he felt himself wanting to cry too. It had been so long since he's felt her in his arms, her small figure fitting his. It felt right and sure and everything else that Angel had been longing for. "I'm going to stop this."
Buffy pulled away, wiping away scattered tears. "Look at me, I'm supposed to be the Slayer and here I am crying because I might die. I'm supposed to be strong and brave for my friends, but at the end of the day all I find is a scared little girl."
"Don't worry; it's going to be okay. You're entitled to be scared. But you're not going to die," Angel reassured. "I'm not going to let go of you."
Buffy smiled, leaning into his chest. "Thank you, Angel."
He just nodded, resting his chin on her head.
- - - - - - - - -
"Wait, Buffy's going to die?" Willow's scared voice asked as Buffy finished what Angel had tolled her. "I - I mean, Cordelia saw her... die?" she gave Buffy an apologetic glance.
"That's it in a nutshell," Buffy quipped. Willow, Xander, Giles, Tara, Anya and Dawn were in the living room listening to what Angel had to tell them. Everyone had become extremely freaked out at first, but things had calmed down. A little.
Buffy looked towards Dawn, she was worried now, for her sister's sake. Dawn was going through a lot for just being 15 years old. Buffy sighed when she realized her sister was walking in her footsteps. 15 going on 30. Grownup- size. "But it's not going happen, now that we know."
"Angel, are you sure Cordelia's visions are accurate?" Giles said, this was the second time Angel had come to Sunnydale claiming there was a vision with Buffy in it. Although he knew not to doubt the vampire's instincts when it came to Buffy and her safety, he just wanted to be sure Angel knew what he was doing.
"Yeah," Angel said. "Cordelia's visions have always been somewhat telling, we've prevented a lot of them from happening." He shot a glance toward Buffy who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "I just... I thought I should come down here since..."
"No, no," Giles said, correcting himself. "It's good that you've come here. It's just a... shock to all of us."
"Yeah, I know," Xander agreed, wiping his hand down his face. Buffy and Willow were his best friends, if anything happened to either one of them, he couldn't forgive himself for not saving them. He turned to Angel, "Do you EVER have good news when you visit?"
Angel just stared at the boy, not even bothering to make a comeback.
"Xander," Buffy warned, "just... just drop it okay?"
He nodded, not really feeling in the joking mood, either.
"So what's this Glory God up to?" Angel asked; he hadn't had the time to get filled in on what was happening.
"W - well," Tara started. Angel liked the girl from the moment she stepped into the Summers' house. She vibrated with nothing but pure and powerful energy, a perfect match for Willow. "She's a hell God a - and she's looking for a Key, we're not really s - sure why. It's kind of all hectic."
Willow nodded, grabbing her girlfriend's hand. "And we figured out that Dawn's the Key," she noted the look of shock on Angel's face and grimaced. "Yeah, we were kind of wigged out too. It was created by monks... who sent it to Buffy to protect. Technically, she's only been around for six months," she gave a small smile towards Dawn. "Our memories are all fake, but it doesn't matter because she's our Dawnie." "Does Glory know?" Angel asked, a little freaked that some of his own memories were just something someone created.
"Hardly," Buffy shook her head, staring of into space. "She does know the Slayer is somehow connected to it, but she doesn't know who it is. If she did, I don't know what we could do. She's too strong - we wouldn't be able to stop her if she knew."
Dawn felt herself shiver with fear and she scooted back into the couch, tucking her legs under her chin. She closed her eyes, trying to get the empty feeling inside her gone, trying to remember that her friends and her sister loved her.
"No weaknesses?" Angel wondered.
"No," Giles answered, taking his glasses off and cleaning them, a simple habit that had become consistent over the years. "None that we know of, at least. She's extremely powerful, not even Buffy could substantially hurt her."
"Giles actually sold a book to her once," Anya said, somewhat cheerfully. Angel glanced at the ex-vengeance demon, a little wary of her. "Then she made a big giant snake and Buffy had to kill it. It was all very intense."
"Uh, I'd appreciate if you didn't bring that up anymore, Anya," Giles said wearily and Anya nodded, snuggling into Xander's arms.
"I say we're screwed, anyone with me raise your hands and say I" Xander said, wrapping his arms around Anya.
Surprisingly, everyone except Giles, Angel, and Dawn raised their hands. "Well," he said, looking around at all the hands. "That pretty much sums up the 'we're-screwed-so-help-us' part. So, Angel. Since you're the one bearing the bad news, what do you think we should do?"
"Honestly," Angel started, crossing his arms "I have no idea."
"There seems to be a lot of that going around," Dawn said, it was the first time she had spoken since everyone had come over.
Buffy smiled, trying to reassure her. "We're going to get through this, Dawn. I promise."
"How can you?" Dawn said, switching to rebellious teenager mode. "I mean, if Angel hadn't come here, you would have died! How is anything going to be alright?!"
"Dawn..." Xander said, trying to calm her down.
"No, really! Someone please tell me, how the hell are we supposed to get through this?!" she growled out, they were all acting like this was something that would blow over. "Because we will," Angel said. "We always do and we're going to protect you."
Dawn glared at Angel. "How do you know? You haven't even been here for the past two years!" Her voice grew louder and she leaned toward Angel. "Why don't you just stay in LA and stop breaking my sister's heart every time you leave!"
Buffy turned to face her sister. "Dawn - "
"No, Buffy, every time Angel's here you get sad and mope around the house! Why should he be here?! He lives in LA, remember?" Dawn said. Angel looked down, feeling guilty about what he had done to Buffy. Although it wasn't like that was anything new.
"Hey, now why don't we all just simmer down... " Xander said, standing up. "Dawn," he turned to her. "Cut Angel some slack, although I too think Angel leaves Buffy in pieces when he leaves," Xander shifted his gaze to Angel for a moment who met his gaze. "But he's responsible for you sister's un- death and that's more than any of us could say."
Dawn rolled her eyes, getting up from her seat. "Whatever," she made her way up the stairs, slamming her door.
Angel stared at the space where Dawn sat then looked to Buffy. "Maybe she's right, maybe I should just..."
"No," Buffy said, grabbing Angel's sleeve. "She's just a little emotional, it didn't mean anything. I'm glad you came, Angel. I'm actually thankful that you came, I need someone that can also protect Dawn."
"But she's right," he said, looking down. "I always end up..."
Buffy finally silenced him with a kiss. She pressed her lips on his and at first she felt a little overwhelmed with what she had just done. It was irrational and something she probably shouldn't have even thought about, but it felt so right. She had been longing for Angel's lips on hers, not Riley's or Spike's, but his. Her heart fluttered and she felt herself come alive again, no matter how corny it sounded. Pulling away slowly, she looked up at him; his eyes were closed for a moment then he opened them, taking in her radiant beauty. "Stay. Please."
"Okay," Xander said, totally stunned. "May I just say whoa, what the hell was that?" Giles looked away as Willow and Tara watched with curious eyes.
"Please do it again," Anya said. "It makes Xander horny and want to have sex."
Xander abruptly turned to Anya. "An, please just stop talking for a second."
"Fine," she grumbled. "But I still think..."
"Sorry," Buffy mumbled, sheepishly looking away.
"No - " Angel started, but Xander interrupted.
"Well! We better be going. Anya?" he stood up off the couch, stretching his arms around. He didn't like the thought of Buffy kissing Angel and decided he had better leave.
"Yeah, yeah. Coming," she said, getting up along with Xander. "Can we go home and have...," she stopped when Xander gave her a look.
"Call me if anything, Buff," Xander said, giving her a small wave and walking out of the door.
"I think we should all go home, tomorrow's another day," Giles said, making his way to the door. "We can plan on how to... prevent Buffy's..." he couldn't bring himself to say it and just trailed off. "Goodnight, Buffy."
"Angel can stay here," Buffy said, licking her lips.
Xander popped his head back in, pointing a finger at the both of them. "Anything pelvic and I'll have to stake the both of you."