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Part 4
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Cordelia stealthily poked her head out of the kitchen door and peered out into the quiet, dim club. They had closed almost an hour ago and were now just finishing up shutting everything down for the night. The focus of her attention, though, wasn't on the club's nightly processes, but rather on the sullen blonde seated at the bar going over inventory. Cordy couldn't help but shake her head. Things were so far from right it was ridiculous. Something had to be done about it.
"What are ya looking at?" Doyle whispered into her ear from behind.
The unexpected question startled her and she quickly jumped away from the door, cringing when it clunked shut. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," he grinned unrepentantly. "What were ya lookin' at?"
"Buffy," Cordy answered with a sigh.
"Is she still sitting out there?" Willow asked from where she was leaning against one of the counters next to Oz.
"Yeah, and she's got that 'someone just killed my puppy horribly' look on her face again," the brunette explained and walked further into the kitchen to where everyone else was standing.
"She doesn't look like someone killed her puppy," Lindsay crossed his arms over his chest and glanced toward the door. "She looks like someone killed a litter of puppies."
"I don't get it," Cordy worriedly glanced at the others. "She's been like that ever since they got back from the Oracle."
They were all shocked, to say the least, at the turn of events since Angel became human. Doyle and Angel had quietly explained what had happened once they returned that day while Buffy just sat there quietly. They almost couldn't believe what they were hearing. They all thought Angel was gone for good and then there he was, standing before them with a newfound heartbeat, among other things. It should have been the best news ever, but it didn't seem like everyone thought so.
Ever since Angel had returned Buffy had become quiet and withdrawn. She and Angel avoided each other like the plague. It made no sense whatsoever. The biggest obstacles between them had finally been removed. They could finally be together, but it wasn't working out that way and no one understood it. Barely two words had been spoken between the two in the six days since Angel's change, and with each day that passed they were becoming increasingly worried.
During the day, Angel would hide away from everyone. He'd either sit in the room he'd been given, or go up onto the roof of the building and sit. In both cases he was always alone; never accepting the company of anyone. Then at night when Buffy was down working in the club he would go down to her apartment and spend the evening with Ashlynn. When she would return, they'd ignore each other and Angel would go back to his room. If Cordy wasn't mistaken, it always looked as though Angel wanted to talk to her, but he never did. And Buffy wouldn't even look him in the eye, just mumble some words and go to Ashlynn's room to kiss her goodnight.
Buffy, on the other hand, tried to act like everything was normal, at least when she was around other people. When she was alone, though, her walls seemed to crumble. More than once since Angel's return the members of the group had spied her sitting alone with a pained, confused look on her face. They had all tried to talk to her at one point or another, but Buffy only pushed off their concern saying she was perfectly fine. She was anything but fine and they all knew it. Even so, they had no idea what exactly the problem was or how to fix it.
"I tried to talk to her last night, but she just told me she was-."
"Fine." Cordelia jumped in and finished Willow's sentence.
"She's hardly fine, dumplin'," Lorne said as he strolled out of the walk-in freezer at the back of the kitchen.
"No duh!" Cordy rolled her eyes at the obvious statement.
"Has Angel said anything to anybody?" Willow looked around the room as she asked the question, hoping that someone would be able to shed some light on the situation.
Oz shook his head no in response. "I don't think he's talked to anybody except for Ashlynn."
"I see now what ya meant by Angel broodin'." More than once Doyle had caught the now ex-vampire sitting and staring off into space with a pensive look on his face. It was a bit disturbing that someone could sit and think for that long and that much.
Lorne didn't mean to laugh, but he did. "That man could win an Olympic medal in power brooding."
"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Cordelia repeated her earlier sentiment.
"I hate to say it, but Cordelia's right." Willow ignored the annoyed glare from her friend. "It makes no sense."
"Yeah, I mean, they finally have a real chance to be together, but they can't even look each other in the eye!" Cordy exclaimed, frustrated.
"Now 'Delia." Doyle looked at her in a chastising manner. "They will work it out on their own time."
"How can they work it out if they won't even talk to each other?" she hotly retorted.
"Again I have to agree with Cordy." Willow cringed internally, wondering when she'd become such a Cordelia fan. "They need to talk to each other."
"Got any ideas in that fiery little head of yours?" Lorne asked though his eyes were trained on the paperwork in front of him.
"Unfortunately, no," she said with a sigh.
"Ok, so we need to force them to talk," Cordy mumbled to herself as she paced across the room. There had to be something they could do to get the ball rolling on a Buffy/Angel reunion. She was not going to stand by and let them throw this chance away. "Think. Think. Think."
"Cordy?" Doyle wasn't sure he'd ever seen such a determined look on his fiancée's face before.
"I've got an idea!" Cordelia's voice reverberated around the room loudly and she slapped her hand over her mouth hoping that Buffy hadn't heard her out in the club. She really didn't need to be cluing the Slayer in on her absolutely perfect plan to get her and Angel back together.
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the next day
The moment the elevator doors closed behind her, Buffy slumped against the back wall and glanced down at her watch. Three a.m. Damn. How had it gotten to be so incredibly late? It was her fault though. She'd stayed down in the club trying to find anything possible to keep her busy. Her hope had been that Willow or Oz would return to the apartment before her so that Angel would be able to leave and not be there when she went up. Unfortunately, her two friends weren't cooperating with her well thought out plan.
She wasn't trying to avoid Angel. Really she wasn't. Ok, who was she kidding? She was avoiding Angel. And she hated herself for it. Immature and petty. Yes, that's what it was. But she just couldn't face him. Every time she saw him she remembered how he planned to leave her again even though he now knew about Ashlynn. And she remembered how he tried to turn down the Oracle's deal because he thought she couldn't possibly make such a decision by herself. The seemingly little amount of faith he had in her stung and so facing him wasn't something she was prepared to do yet.
At the same time, it was taking every ounce of her willpower to not throw herself into his arms and weep over the fact that he was now basically human. It was everything she'd ever dreamed of and more. Just yesterday she had spied him standing in front of a window in a patch of sunlight and her heart ached to be there with him. But pride and anger kept her away. She just needed time. That's all. Just a little bit of time to let her feelings settle. And then...well, Buffy had no idea what would come after that.
Her mind was drawn back to the present by the clatter of the elevator reaching her floor. She pried herself away from the back wall and pulled the gates open before strolling into the apartment she shared with Willow and Oz. Sighing loudly, Buffy dropped her bag near the couch and stood there for a moment. Her lips formed a frown at the continued silence and emptiness. Usually, Angel shuffled out of Ashlynn's room and was gone within moments of her return from the club. Feeling slightly panicked, she hurried down the hall to her daughter's door and pushed it open. The room and the bed were empty. No Angel and no Ashlynn.
Absolute terror gripped Buffy for nearly a minute as she tried to comprehend the situation. Ashlynn was gone, and Angel was...she stumbled back against the door-jam as a horrible thought occurred to her. Had Angel taken Ashlynn? No. He'd never do that. Would he? No. He wouldn't do that to her. She had to find them. Both of them.
Needing to take action, she dashed out of the room, down the hall, and into the living room. She was almost to the door leading to the staircase when it opened and Angel appeared before her. To her dismay, there was no sign of Ashlynn.
"Where's Ashlynn?" she blurted out before he could say a word to her.
"What?" Something in her tone worried Angel, and he found himself growing concerned despite the fact that he had no idea what she was talking about.
Buffy's body started to tremble at his confused look. "Ashlynn! Is she with you?!?"
Angel shook his head as his newly beating heart started to thump in his chest. "No. Your friend Tara came by earlier and wanted to spend sometime with Ash so I went up to my room. Aren't they here?"
"No," Buffy spoke in a whimper. "There's no one here."
"Come on." He grabbed her arm and dragged Buffy toward the door he'd just come through. "They've got to be around here somewhere. We'll find them."
Gripping the handle he went to turn and pull the door open, but it didn't budge. "What the Hell?" He put more force into his actions, but still the door remained closed.
Buffy broke away from Angel and rushed to the elevator but found that it, too, resisted any attempt to open it. "No!" She banged on the sturdy metal, hoping it would open.
"Buffy!" Angel screamed to get her attention and pulled her reddening fists away from the gate. "I'm sure everything's fine." At least he hoped it was.
"No! It's not!" She struggled to get out of his strong grip. She needed to find her daughter. Now!
Their actions stilled as a bright light flashed all around them. Both shielded their eyes against the blinding light that lasted only a few seconds. As their vision adjusted, a plain white envelope floated to the floor at their feet.
Hands shaking, Buffy reached down and retrieved the object and stared at it warily. Millions of thoughts were running through her head. Was whatever was inside the envelope a ransom letter? A threat? A detailed account of her daughter and Tara's demises? Well, only one way to find out.
Pulling out the crisp white paper inside, Buffy read the neatly printed words.
Angel looked at her oddly, not understanding the anger. "What's going on?"
She didn't answer him. Instead she just shoved the letter into his hands and then stomped away, mumbling under her breath about how she knew this was Cordy's idea and that her friend was as good as dead next time she saw her.
Angel quickly read the letter and understood Buffy's reaction. It seemed their friends, well technically her friends, were running a little interference. And judging from Buffy's annoyance, she wasn't the least bit happy with their scheme. It hurt that she hated him so much that the idea of being locked together for a weekend would make her so angry.
If there was one thing that had become painfully clear since leaving the Oracle's chamber with his new human body it was that Buffy wanted nothing to do with him. She'd hardly spoken to him since they'd made the deal to return his humanity and she seemed to avoid him at all costs. He didn't know if she'd admit to what she was doing, but he wasn't stupid. Her actions were quite obvious. And it tore at his heart.
He wanted to cry. He wanted to run. He wanted to shake her and force her to talk to him. But really he just wanted answers. Did she hate him? Was she just angry with him? Did she not love him anymore? He felt like his life was in stasis, not knowing where things stood or where they were going. Here he was, now human with so many doors finally opened, and he didn't know where to go. And he had a daughter to get to know. If Buffy didn't want him around, though, Angel didn't know what he was going to do. How was he supposed to stay and be a father if Buffy has such obvious disdain for him?
If he had any doubts about Buffy's feelings, they were quashed when he took notice of her frantic movements around the room. She was checking each and every single window as well as trying the staircase and elevator doors again, searching for any way out.
"They're magically sealed, Buffy," he spoke in resignation.
"Well, at least I'm trying!" she snapped harshly at him.
Angel shook his head and leaned back against the nearest wall. "I should have just stayed upstairs." He didn't mean for her to hear that, but she did.
"Why are you here anyway?" Buffy asked, stopping her search for a moment.
Opening his eyes, he looked at her warily. "When Cordy came up, she told me you wanted to see me."
"Sneaky little bitch," she muttered to herself before stalking out of the living room and down the hall.
This was going to be a very, very long weekend, Angel knew, if Buffy was going to continue to act so hostile. There wasn't anything he could do about their situation, though, so he supposed they'd just have to make the best of it and try not to drive each other nuts.
He was just sitting down on the couch when Buffy stomped back into the living room, her arms laden down with several heavy books. She completely ignored his presence, just slammed the books down on the coffee table and flopped down on the chair farthest away from him.
For the next several minutes, the room was silent except for the periodic rustle of paper from Buffy going through the books. Angel contemplated asking what she was doing, but thought better of it. It seemed as though anything he said to her pissed her off so maybe it was better if he stayed quiet.
"You could help, ya know!" Buffy finally said sometime later.
"Help with what?" he asked her cautiously.
She eyed him like he was an idiot before replying. "I'm looking for a spell to get us out of here!"
"You're looking..." He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Buffy, you don't even know how to perform magick."
"No, but you do," she told him without even glancing up from whatever book she was currently searching through.
Her attitude was really starting to get to Angel. She was treating him like some stray dog that wouldn't go away. Maybe Cordy and the others had the right idea. Maybe they needed get to the root of whatever was going on. They certainly couldn't keep going on like this. If he was going to stay and be there for Ashlynn, they had to at least come to a compromise for the sake of their daughter.
"I'm not going to do any spells." No, he definitely wasn't going to do anything to help her get away from him. They were going to settle this whether she liked it or not.
"Why the Hell not?" she yelled in exasperation.
What was his problem? Did he want to stay locked together for the entire weekend? Buffy saw little appealing about that idea. She didn't think she could handle being so close to him for so long. Could she trust herself? Yes...no...maybe. It didn't matter. What did matter was that she couldn't trust him.
Yes, she was angry with him, and hurt over everything. Even now, seven years later, his leaving Sunnydale was still a thorn in her heart. Sure, she understood his reasons, even accepted them to a certain degree, but all the logical reasoning in the world couldn't overrule the fact that he'd left her and that he'd done it without even talking to her about his decision. And it didn't change the fact that he'd stayed gone for so long without bothering to check up on her or let her know he was still existing.
Faith had told her what Angel said when he saw in her Sunnydale. For some reason he'd thought she was dead. She may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but she wasn't dumb. There was little doubt in her mind that if he hadn't believed she was dead he would have stayed away. And she also knew he hadn't meant for her to find him that night out on the streets. All he wanted to do was see her and then he was going to run off again.
How was she supposed to trust him to stay? He'd even said in the Oracle's chamber that he would leave. And then he didn't want to take the deal to become human. There was nothing in their way now, but how was she supposed to trust him? How did she know he wouldn't find some other reason to leave? The answer; she didn't.
Angel was silent for a moment as he stood and paced around the room. Instead of answering her question, he asked the foremost one on his mind. "Do you hate me so much that you can't stand to be in the same room as me?"
That certainly hadn't been what she'd thought he'd say, and she wasn't sure how to answer. "What?"
"You heard me." He stood his ground, determined to get to the bottom of her actions.
Fueled by anger at Angel's bating, Buffy threw the book on her lap to the floor and stood up to face him. "Yeah, I heard you. I'm not deaf nor am I a child."
"I know you're not a child," he replied forcefully. Why would she say such a thing?
Buffy snorted at his denial. "Yeah, sure. Your actions say differently though!"
Angel didn't respond to her claim. He was suddenly too mesmerized by her beauty as she stood there staring at him, eyes blazing in anger. Gods she was stunning. And she was standing so close. All he had to do was reach out and touch her. He knew he shouldn't. He knew she wouldn't want him to. But right at that moment, he didn't care. He simply did the first thing that came to mind.
He kissed her.
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TBC!!
Part 4
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Cordelia stealthily poked her head out of the kitchen door and peered out into the quiet, dim club. They had closed almost an hour ago and were now just finishing up shutting everything down for the night. The focus of her attention, though, wasn't on the club's nightly processes, but rather on the sullen blonde seated at the bar going over inventory. Cordy couldn't help but shake her head. Things were so far from right it was ridiculous. Something had to be done about it.
"What are ya looking at?" Doyle whispered into her ear from behind.
The unexpected question startled her and she quickly jumped away from the door, cringing when it clunked shut. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," he grinned unrepentantly. "What were ya lookin' at?"
"Buffy," Cordy answered with a sigh.
"Is she still sitting out there?" Willow asked from where she was leaning against one of the counters next to Oz.
"Yeah, and she's got that 'someone just killed my puppy horribly' look on her face again," the brunette explained and walked further into the kitchen to where everyone else was standing.
"She doesn't look like someone killed her puppy," Lindsay crossed his arms over his chest and glanced toward the door. "She looks like someone killed a litter of puppies."
"I don't get it," Cordy worriedly glanced at the others. "She's been like that ever since they got back from the Oracle."
They were all shocked, to say the least, at the turn of events since Angel became human. Doyle and Angel had quietly explained what had happened once they returned that day while Buffy just sat there quietly. They almost couldn't believe what they were hearing. They all thought Angel was gone for good and then there he was, standing before them with a newfound heartbeat, among other things. It should have been the best news ever, but it didn't seem like everyone thought so.
Ever since Angel had returned Buffy had become quiet and withdrawn. She and Angel avoided each other like the plague. It made no sense whatsoever. The biggest obstacles between them had finally been removed. They could finally be together, but it wasn't working out that way and no one understood it. Barely two words had been spoken between the two in the six days since Angel's change, and with each day that passed they were becoming increasingly worried.
During the day, Angel would hide away from everyone. He'd either sit in the room he'd been given, or go up onto the roof of the building and sit. In both cases he was always alone; never accepting the company of anyone. Then at night when Buffy was down working in the club he would go down to her apartment and spend the evening with Ashlynn. When she would return, they'd ignore each other and Angel would go back to his room. If Cordy wasn't mistaken, it always looked as though Angel wanted to talk to her, but he never did. And Buffy wouldn't even look him in the eye, just mumble some words and go to Ashlynn's room to kiss her goodnight.
Buffy, on the other hand, tried to act like everything was normal, at least when she was around other people. When she was alone, though, her walls seemed to crumble. More than once since Angel's return the members of the group had spied her sitting alone with a pained, confused look on her face. They had all tried to talk to her at one point or another, but Buffy only pushed off their concern saying she was perfectly fine. She was anything but fine and they all knew it. Even so, they had no idea what exactly the problem was or how to fix it.
"I tried to talk to her last night, but she just told me she was-."
"Fine." Cordelia jumped in and finished Willow's sentence.
"She's hardly fine, dumplin'," Lorne said as he strolled out of the walk-in freezer at the back of the kitchen.
"No duh!" Cordy rolled her eyes at the obvious statement.
"Has Angel said anything to anybody?" Willow looked around the room as she asked the question, hoping that someone would be able to shed some light on the situation.
Oz shook his head no in response. "I don't think he's talked to anybody except for Ashlynn."
"I see now what ya meant by Angel broodin'." More than once Doyle had caught the now ex-vampire sitting and staring off into space with a pensive look on his face. It was a bit disturbing that someone could sit and think for that long and that much.
Lorne didn't mean to laugh, but he did. "That man could win an Olympic medal in power brooding."
"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Cordelia repeated her earlier sentiment.
"I hate to say it, but Cordelia's right." Willow ignored the annoyed glare from her friend. "It makes no sense."
"Yeah, I mean, they finally have a real chance to be together, but they can't even look each other in the eye!" Cordy exclaimed, frustrated.
"Now 'Delia." Doyle looked at her in a chastising manner. "They will work it out on their own time."
"How can they work it out if they won't even talk to each other?" she hotly retorted.
"Again I have to agree with Cordy." Willow cringed internally, wondering when she'd become such a Cordelia fan. "They need to talk to each other."
"Got any ideas in that fiery little head of yours?" Lorne asked though his eyes were trained on the paperwork in front of him.
"Unfortunately, no," she said with a sigh.
"Ok, so we need to force them to talk," Cordy mumbled to herself as she paced across the room. There had to be something they could do to get the ball rolling on a Buffy/Angel reunion. She was not going to stand by and let them throw this chance away. "Think. Think. Think."
"Cordy?" Doyle wasn't sure he'd ever seen such a determined look on his fiancée's face before.
"I've got an idea!" Cordelia's voice reverberated around the room loudly and she slapped her hand over her mouth hoping that Buffy hadn't heard her out in the club. She really didn't need to be cluing the Slayer in on her absolutely perfect plan to get her and Angel back together.
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the next day
The moment the elevator doors closed behind her, Buffy slumped against the back wall and glanced down at her watch. Three a.m. Damn. How had it gotten to be so incredibly late? It was her fault though. She'd stayed down in the club trying to find anything possible to keep her busy. Her hope had been that Willow or Oz would return to the apartment before her so that Angel would be able to leave and not be there when she went up. Unfortunately, her two friends weren't cooperating with her well thought out plan.
She wasn't trying to avoid Angel. Really she wasn't. Ok, who was she kidding? She was avoiding Angel. And she hated herself for it. Immature and petty. Yes, that's what it was. But she just couldn't face him. Every time she saw him she remembered how he planned to leave her again even though he now knew about Ashlynn. And she remembered how he tried to turn down the Oracle's deal because he thought she couldn't possibly make such a decision by herself. The seemingly little amount of faith he had in her stung and so facing him wasn't something she was prepared to do yet.
At the same time, it was taking every ounce of her willpower to not throw herself into his arms and weep over the fact that he was now basically human. It was everything she'd ever dreamed of and more. Just yesterday she had spied him standing in front of a window in a patch of sunlight and her heart ached to be there with him. But pride and anger kept her away. She just needed time. That's all. Just a little bit of time to let her feelings settle. And then...well, Buffy had no idea what would come after that.
Her mind was drawn back to the present by the clatter of the elevator reaching her floor. She pried herself away from the back wall and pulled the gates open before strolling into the apartment she shared with Willow and Oz. Sighing loudly, Buffy dropped her bag near the couch and stood there for a moment. Her lips formed a frown at the continued silence and emptiness. Usually, Angel shuffled out of Ashlynn's room and was gone within moments of her return from the club. Feeling slightly panicked, she hurried down the hall to her daughter's door and pushed it open. The room and the bed were empty. No Angel and no Ashlynn.
Absolute terror gripped Buffy for nearly a minute as she tried to comprehend the situation. Ashlynn was gone, and Angel was...she stumbled back against the door-jam as a horrible thought occurred to her. Had Angel taken Ashlynn? No. He'd never do that. Would he? No. He wouldn't do that to her. She had to find them. Both of them.
Needing to take action, she dashed out of the room, down the hall, and into the living room. She was almost to the door leading to the staircase when it opened and Angel appeared before her. To her dismay, there was no sign of Ashlynn.
"Where's Ashlynn?" she blurted out before he could say a word to her.
"What?" Something in her tone worried Angel, and he found himself growing concerned despite the fact that he had no idea what she was talking about.
Buffy's body started to tremble at his confused look. "Ashlynn! Is she with you?!?"
Angel shook his head as his newly beating heart started to thump in his chest. "No. Your friend Tara came by earlier and wanted to spend sometime with Ash so I went up to my room. Aren't they here?"
"No," Buffy spoke in a whimper. "There's no one here."
"Come on." He grabbed her arm and dragged Buffy toward the door he'd just come through. "They've got to be around here somewhere. We'll find them."
Gripping the handle he went to turn and pull the door open, but it didn't budge. "What the Hell?" He put more force into his actions, but still the door remained closed.
Buffy broke away from Angel and rushed to the elevator but found that it, too, resisted any attempt to open it. "No!" She banged on the sturdy metal, hoping it would open.
"Buffy!" Angel screamed to get her attention and pulled her reddening fists away from the gate. "I'm sure everything's fine." At least he hoped it was.
"No! It's not!" She struggled to get out of his strong grip. She needed to find her daughter. Now!
Their actions stilled as a bright light flashed all around them. Both shielded their eyes against the blinding light that lasted only a few seconds. As their vision adjusted, a plain white envelope floated to the floor at their feet.
Hands shaking, Buffy reached down and retrieved the object and stared at it warily. Millions of thoughts were running through her head. Was whatever was inside the envelope a ransom letter? A threat? A detailed account of her daughter and Tara's demises? Well, only one way to find out.
Pulling out the crisp white paper inside, Buffy read the neatly printed words.
"I'm so going to kill them," Buffy muttered.Dear Buffy and Angel,
By now you've realized that Ashlynn is missing. Well, actually, she isn't missing. She's with us. Cordy and Doyle are going to take her down to Lorne's beach house for the weekend.
Why? Good question.
We all think that you both need to sit down and talk about whatever the Hell is wrong, but you're both too stubborn to do it. Don't try to deny it. We're not stupid. You guys need to work out your issues.
So we've decided to give you a little push. You've probably noticed that the door and elevator won't open. That's our doing. They're magically sealed so you won't be able to open them. And that means that you're stuck in the apartment, together, for the entire weekend.
Cordy and Doyle will have Ash for the weekend, and the rest of us will be staying here to take care of the club and anything else that might arise. Oh, and the phone doesn't work either so you can't call and yell at us. There's plenty of food, too. We didn't pack you any extra clothes, Angel, but we're hoping that you won't need any.
Have fun and try not to kill each other! We expect you to have things worked out by Monday because if not, well, we'll just leave you there until you do.
Sincerely, Your Friends,
Cordy, Doyle, Willow, Oz, Lindsay, Lorne, Giles, and Faith
Angel looked at her oddly, not understanding the anger. "What's going on?"
She didn't answer him. Instead she just shoved the letter into his hands and then stomped away, mumbling under her breath about how she knew this was Cordy's idea and that her friend was as good as dead next time she saw her.
Angel quickly read the letter and understood Buffy's reaction. It seemed their friends, well technically her friends, were running a little interference. And judging from Buffy's annoyance, she wasn't the least bit happy with their scheme. It hurt that she hated him so much that the idea of being locked together for a weekend would make her so angry.
If there was one thing that had become painfully clear since leaving the Oracle's chamber with his new human body it was that Buffy wanted nothing to do with him. She'd hardly spoken to him since they'd made the deal to return his humanity and she seemed to avoid him at all costs. He didn't know if she'd admit to what she was doing, but he wasn't stupid. Her actions were quite obvious. And it tore at his heart.
He wanted to cry. He wanted to run. He wanted to shake her and force her to talk to him. But really he just wanted answers. Did she hate him? Was she just angry with him? Did she not love him anymore? He felt like his life was in stasis, not knowing where things stood or where they were going. Here he was, now human with so many doors finally opened, and he didn't know where to go. And he had a daughter to get to know. If Buffy didn't want him around, though, Angel didn't know what he was going to do. How was he supposed to stay and be a father if Buffy has such obvious disdain for him?
If he had any doubts about Buffy's feelings, they were quashed when he took notice of her frantic movements around the room. She was checking each and every single window as well as trying the staircase and elevator doors again, searching for any way out.
"They're magically sealed, Buffy," he spoke in resignation.
"Well, at least I'm trying!" she snapped harshly at him.
Angel shook his head and leaned back against the nearest wall. "I should have just stayed upstairs." He didn't mean for her to hear that, but she did.
"Why are you here anyway?" Buffy asked, stopping her search for a moment.
Opening his eyes, he looked at her warily. "When Cordy came up, she told me you wanted to see me."
"Sneaky little bitch," she muttered to herself before stalking out of the living room and down the hall.
This was going to be a very, very long weekend, Angel knew, if Buffy was going to continue to act so hostile. There wasn't anything he could do about their situation, though, so he supposed they'd just have to make the best of it and try not to drive each other nuts.
He was just sitting down on the couch when Buffy stomped back into the living room, her arms laden down with several heavy books. She completely ignored his presence, just slammed the books down on the coffee table and flopped down on the chair farthest away from him.
For the next several minutes, the room was silent except for the periodic rustle of paper from Buffy going through the books. Angel contemplated asking what she was doing, but thought better of it. It seemed as though anything he said to her pissed her off so maybe it was better if he stayed quiet.
"You could help, ya know!" Buffy finally said sometime later.
"Help with what?" he asked her cautiously.
She eyed him like he was an idiot before replying. "I'm looking for a spell to get us out of here!"
"You're looking..." He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Buffy, you don't even know how to perform magick."
"No, but you do," she told him without even glancing up from whatever book she was currently searching through.
Her attitude was really starting to get to Angel. She was treating him like some stray dog that wouldn't go away. Maybe Cordy and the others had the right idea. Maybe they needed get to the root of whatever was going on. They certainly couldn't keep going on like this. If he was going to stay and be there for Ashlynn, they had to at least come to a compromise for the sake of their daughter.
"I'm not going to do any spells." No, he definitely wasn't going to do anything to help her get away from him. They were going to settle this whether she liked it or not.
"Why the Hell not?" she yelled in exasperation.
What was his problem? Did he want to stay locked together for the entire weekend? Buffy saw little appealing about that idea. She didn't think she could handle being so close to him for so long. Could she trust herself? Yes...no...maybe. It didn't matter. What did matter was that she couldn't trust him.
Yes, she was angry with him, and hurt over everything. Even now, seven years later, his leaving Sunnydale was still a thorn in her heart. Sure, she understood his reasons, even accepted them to a certain degree, but all the logical reasoning in the world couldn't overrule the fact that he'd left her and that he'd done it without even talking to her about his decision. And it didn't change the fact that he'd stayed gone for so long without bothering to check up on her or let her know he was still existing.
Faith had told her what Angel said when he saw in her Sunnydale. For some reason he'd thought she was dead. She may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but she wasn't dumb. There was little doubt in her mind that if he hadn't believed she was dead he would have stayed away. And she also knew he hadn't meant for her to find him that night out on the streets. All he wanted to do was see her and then he was going to run off again.
How was she supposed to trust him to stay? He'd even said in the Oracle's chamber that he would leave. And then he didn't want to take the deal to become human. There was nothing in their way now, but how was she supposed to trust him? How did she know he wouldn't find some other reason to leave? The answer; she didn't.
Angel was silent for a moment as he stood and paced around the room. Instead of answering her question, he asked the foremost one on his mind. "Do you hate me so much that you can't stand to be in the same room as me?"
That certainly hadn't been what she'd thought he'd say, and she wasn't sure how to answer. "What?"
"You heard me." He stood his ground, determined to get to the bottom of her actions.
Fueled by anger at Angel's bating, Buffy threw the book on her lap to the floor and stood up to face him. "Yeah, I heard you. I'm not deaf nor am I a child."
"I know you're not a child," he replied forcefully. Why would she say such a thing?
Buffy snorted at his denial. "Yeah, sure. Your actions say differently though!"
Angel didn't respond to her claim. He was suddenly too mesmerized by her beauty as she stood there staring at him, eyes blazing in anger. Gods she was stunning. And she was standing so close. All he had to do was reach out and touch her. He knew he shouldn't. He knew she wouldn't want him to. But right at that moment, he didn't care. He simply did the first thing that came to mind.
He kissed her.
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TBC!!