Part 3
It was the zenith of incongruity that when Joyce at long last slipped away from life, it was a rainy afternoon and yet the morning of her funeral, the skies were nothing but blue in color and the sun was shining at it's brightest. Regrettably the funeral participants - Buffy, Oz, their cousins and the family's two resident whitelighter's - were not in the disposition to enjoy the exquisite weather. Instead their moods weighed heavily as they committed their loved one to the ground.
Returning to the Summers' household for the private wake and the reading of Joyce's will was a solemn - to say the least - instance, with no one with the disposition to talk about Joyce or anything else. As for the will, it was going to be a total surprise to everyone - including Giles - Joyce had never told what was in the document or given any hint as to the guardianship arrangements for the children. The group simply sat around the Summers' comfortable living room in a discouraging silence as they waited for the lawyer to arrive and set up.
The lawyer wasted no time upon arrival, only stopping to check that all parties to the will were in fact in attendance. "Ladies and Gentlemen. We are congregated here to hear the last will and testament of Joyce Pamela Halliwell-Osborne-Summers. Before we begin, does anyone have any questions?"
There was no sound made to end the disconcerting silence that swathed the group as they all individually absorbed and dealt with the events of the past six weeks. It was all so agonizing and dreadful - horrifically shocking - to lose a beloved family member the way that they had lost Joyce. No real warning, one minute she was planning to leave the hospital and the next she was dead - a brain aneurysm they told them and there was nothing that could've been done even if they had known.
The lawyer continued on, ignorant to all the pain and suffering around him. He merely named the bequests to an assortment of charities, distant family members and to long-time friends. After what seemed like an infinity the lawyer at long last arrived at the guardianship arrangements for Buffy - Oz being eighteen was free to do his own thing.
"I leave all my worldly possessions to my children, Daniel Peter Osborne and Elizabeth Patience Summers. However lastly I leave the custody of the afore mentioned children to my nieces, Prudence, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, until such a time that they reach the age of consent."
Everyone just sat there irresolute of what to do or say as the lawyer began to pack up his belongings. "One last thing," the lawyer said drawing their awareness back to him, as he deposited a bundle onto the oak coffee table. "Mrs. Summers left some letters behind, addressed to each of you. She wished for you to read them once I was gone."
Giles stood up and walked the lawyer out of the house, "Thank you for coming."
"It's not the most pleasant part of my job; regrettably someone has to do it," the lawyer replied as he walked away.
Giles returned to the living room and found that everyone but Leo was engrossed in a letter. He was about to fade off into the background when Buffy handed him something. The briefest of glances told him that it was from his beloved Joyce and he placed it reverently within the breast pocket of his tweed jacket to read in private later on.
He laid a supportive hand upon Buffy's shoulder as she read her letter. He knew the contents of her letter by heart; after all he had facilitated Joyce in composing it. The letter told Buffy all that she needed to know, to comprehend at this point about her destiny - her *true* destiny. Buffy was going to be so much more than simply a natural born witch and mate to a Master vampire. She was to be the final Charmed One - the witch who would maintain the balance of good and evil for all of perpetuity. To this she had to be immortal and therefore her mating to Angelus had been prophesized for over a millennia. It further went on to explain that her cousins were to take her in and teach her all they know - mentor her - and turn her into the witch she was meant to be.
Two weeks later, Buffy completed packing up the bedroom that had been her sanctum for the past seventeen years and endeavored to hold back the inundation of tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. She in actuality had not had any idea of how excruciatingly painful it would be to simply pack up some random personal effects, but then again she had not counted on the flow of recollections allied with each item she owned.
On top of all the anguish and ambiguity she felt, there was a very valid apprehension. She barely knew her elder cousins, the two parts of the family had never - if truth be told - gotten along and now all of a sudden she was being forced to leave her life, her brother and her friends to move hours away to live them. Buffy however did have one thing to look forward too, Oz would be joining her at the end of the school year and would be attending a small college in San Francisco to be near her.
Closing the last cardboard box and taping the lid firmly shut, Buffy proceeded downstairs to where she knew that Giles and Oz would be waiting for her. Not seeing them instantaneously when she descended the stairs, she wandered into the living room and received a shock. Three people jumped out from behind the door and yelled, "Surprise!"
"Happy Birthday," Cordelia whispered to her best friend as she handed her a vibrantly gift wrapped package. "I hope you like it."
Not wanting to disappoint her friend by telling her she wasn't in the mood for presents or celebrating her seventeenth birthday, she tore into the dazzlingly wrapped gift and found the expensive blood red leather jacket she had admired during one of their many shopping trips.
"Oh, Cordy. It's perfect."
"I figured that you could wear it on your first day of school and think of me," Cordy told her.
Buffy hugged her, "Thank you and I promise I will."
Cordelia removed herself from the hug, "I gotta get back to class or Principal Nixon will kill me. Promise that you'll write and call and... maybe occasionally visit?"
"I will. Bye Cordy."
Cordelia gave her friend a quick hug and departed with a, "Bye Buffy."
Buffy watched the best friend she had ever had leave before she turned towards Giles and Oz who were standing nearby with sheepish looks on their faces. Spotting the pile of presents, she sat down on the overstuffed couch and opened each gift as they were passed to her, exclaiming delight even though she did not feel it. Overshadowing all the efforts made by her brother and whitelighter was the pain that accompanied the absence of two very important people, her late mother and Angelus.
The three of them were just concluding cleaning up the remnants of the birthday fest, when the doorbell rang interrupting them. Figuring that it must be the removal company arriving to collect Buffy's things, Giles rushed to the door. A split second later he returned with an eye-catching man dressed in an expensive looking suit and carrying a hefty leather briefcase.
"Ms. Summers?" the man questioned. At Buffy's slight nod, he continued, "I'm Lindsey McDonald, an associate with Wolfram and Hart. I am here on behalf of one of my client's, Mr. Angelus O'Connor."
"Is he okay?" Buffy asked, apprehensive that something might have happened to him.
Placing his briefcase on the oak coffee table, Lindsey took a seat across from where Buffy was sitting. "There's no need to worry, the last time I spoke to my client he was fine. I am here because I am under orders to deliver something to you if he had not returned to the U. S by a certain date."
Buffy just stared at the young man in confusion as he opened his briefcase and pulled out two sealed boxes and handed them to her. As she took them into her hands she was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of Angelus on the boxes. Placing the smaller box beside her on the couch, Buffy undid the wrapping on the larger package. Upon opening she found that it contained a book of romantic poetry, inscribed by Angelus. It was something so vividly erotic that it made her blush with embarrassment. She placed the book aside and before she had a chance to stop him, Giles picked it up.
"Not exactly a typical gift for a teenager," Giles commented looking over the cover. Opening it he got another surprise, "Oh dear."
Buffy sighed as removed the book from Giles' shaking hands. "Angelus isn't exactly a typical guy, Giles. Besides he used to read me passages from it. Apparently every great romance needs a little romantic poetry."
Turning her attention to remaining package, she picked it up and for a moment reveled in the connection to her absent lover. Opening the box she was shocked to find a ruby and diamond choker laying on a bed of black velvet, the jewels so exquisite in color were set into platinum.
"Wow," Buffy breathed. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"Excuse me," Lindsey interrupted. "I'm sorry to break this up, but I need Ms. Summers to sign this release so that I may leave."
"Sure," Buffy replied handing the gift to Giles and quickly signing the form the lawyer handed her.
As Lindsey left the residence, both Oz and Giles admired and examined Angelus' token of esteem. However their admiration was cut short by the arrival of the removal company.
It didn't take them long to take all of Buffy's worldly possessions out to their truck and drive away and as soon as they were gone, Buffy knew it was time to bid her brother goodbye - at least for the now. All too soon Giles informed her that it was time to leave for San Francisco and her new home. Buffy and Oz kept eye-contact as Giles grasped her hand and orbed her away towards her destiny.
Angelus was not a patient vampire at the best of times and now was not the best of times. He had separated from his mate for almost eight months - suffering from more than simply sexual frustration, he needed to just be with her - and had been waiting for hours for that stupid lawyer of his to call and inform him of Buffy's reaction to the gifts he had left there for her. However the phone just did not ring. Spike, Dru and all of the minions - both his and the Master's - had given him a wide berth all day, knowing instinctively if they approached him in this type of mood they would end up a tiny pile of dust on the floor instantly.
Ultimately the phone did ring and Angelus pounced upon it immediately. Luckily for everyone it was the lawyer, Lindsey McDonald calling with the news. Angelus was on the phone nearly three hours grilling his lawyer on every tiny detail of what Buffy did, said and the expressions she had on her face during his visit. Eventually he allowed the relieved lawyer to hang up and turned around to see Spike waiting for him.
"Why don't you just call Fluffy already?"
"Mind your own business, *William*," Angelus seethed at Spike.
Spike was not the least bit intimidated by his grand-sire's posturing. "It is *my* business. You're my grand-sire... whatever affects you, effects me and Dru."
Angelus just stared at the younger vampire, "You've been watching Oprah again, haven't you?"
Spike moved over to him and placed a hand upon his shoulder in a gesture of caring. "I told you, I don't watch it. It just so happens that Oprah comes on right before Passions."
Angelus shrugged Spike's touch away, "I'll be in my room. I do *not* want to be disturbed for any reason."
Spike watched Angelus walk away once again, silently wondering why he was pushing them away. He and Dru only wanted to comfort him, to be a part of him again; but since they had arrived in England Angelus had been a distant shell of his former self. Eventually Spike wandered back to his and Dru's room - across the vast estate - to work off some frustration and feel at least partly whole once more.
TBC...