Disclaimer: See chapter 1…
Authors note: Gru did not come back, but other wise Angel is post 'Waiting in the Wings' Nothing past that has happened…I know the timelines don't' fit, but I'm the author so :p!
Reviews: Please! Let me know how I am doing! All are much appreciated and will be taken good-naturedly. It is very hard to insult me.
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"Why not? Slayer turned keep their souls, most are driven insane and end up dusting themselves, but not surprisingly, Buffy is gonna be just fine…That scares me."
"I heard that! Humph!" Buffy called down.
"Angel, can Buffy hold Conner?" Cordelia called down after her.
"Only if he is awake!" Angel shook his head and tapped Wes on the shoulder. "Can we talk?"
"Sure Angel. Lets go into the office. I want to look this up. Very interesting." Angel and Wes sauntered into the office while Gunn and Fred stood in the lobby.
"This is strange. A vampire to never even loose their soul. I wonder if it is genetic. I must ask for a sample of Buffy's blood. And compare it to Angel's and one of ours. It would be interesting if we could program Angel's DNA To allow him to keep his soul without the clause. Then he wouldn't go all Grr when he got a happy!" Gunn laughed.
"You lost me when you said DNA."
"Deoxyribonucleic Acid is the strand of phosphate, deoxyribos which is a five carbon sugar, and nitrogen bases A, T, G, and C, all of which form a Double Helix. RNA is similar…"
"You don' have to explain it to me Fred, DNA and RNA hold the genetic information for reproduction, be it on a cellular level, of bodily level. I get it. And I think I know where you are going with this theory. You want to see if it is something in Buffy's DNA that allows her to keep her soul, even while dead, and if so, if you can transfer the trait to Angel so he can have his soul with out ever having to worry about losing it. Right?" Fred looked at Gun like he had grown another head.
"You've never understood any tangent I've gone off on before. Who are you and what have you done with my Gunn?" Fred laughed at this.
"Didn't know that I was a closet scientist. I have actually understood everything you've ever tried to show me. I just didn't want to take away the glow you get when trying to teach one of us something. So I say, let you teach, because you are just so hot when you 'go off on a tangent'." Big Smiles! Fred blushing. Fred walked over to her boyfriend and wrapped arms around his waist, smiling up at him.
"Wanna help?"
Meanwhile, in Angel's office…
"So you want me to call Giles and ask him if he knows of any, absolutely ANY, circumstance where a turned vampire keeps his or her soul? What do you want me to tell him, that you lost control and turned a girl?"
"NO! Tell him Faith got out on patrol, and she is missing, nothing we can't handle mind you, and want to know if we should be worried."
"So I should ask him what would happen if a slayer was turned?"
"Yeah, but keep it to Faith, I don't think Buffy wants anyone besides us to know yet."
"Alright. Go on, I'll make the call and tell you what I get later. I might also have more sources to ask about a turned slayer. It seems I remember about one who didn't go insane, or get dusted by her protégés. I'll get back to you."
"Thanks Wesley. I really don't know what we'd do with out you. Promise me that you'll never leave, or die on us?" Angel smiled foolishly at his own stupidity.
"I'll try my best." Wes smiled back and went to work.
Meanwhile, upstairs…
"So, Willow is major powerful and back in the dating game but nothing serious, Oz left not long after me because he wanted to control his wolf, Xander started to date my vengeance demon, and ditched her at the alter so he is living with Giles. Dawn is still sweet as ever, and growing fast with an attitude like yours, you slept with 2 guys in the first year of college, but both left, you had Riley who was a commando in a government program called the Initiative run by a corrupt bitch who got killed by her own creation, he left after about a year, and came back a little while ago, married to a woman that no mater you all tried to hate, you just couldn't, and you hooked up with Spike, fell in love with him, and were on your way to tell him that when you got turned. You killed your sire, blew up his lair, and came here because no one in Sunny dale would believe you have you soul." Buffy saw that Cordelia was breathless as ever. And as apt.
"Yes, that sums the past several years nicely." Buffy rocked a quietly fussing Conner, feeding him a luke warm bottle. Cooing at him periodically. "Can you sum up events here as nicely?"
"Sure. I came, Angel, Doyle and I started the agency, I discovered I had a ghost in my apartment. Wes came, Gunn came, we met Lorne, We went to a different dimension where I was queen, rescued Fred, came home, found out you were dead, recovered, found out you were alive. Angel got stir crazy, slept with Darla, she shows up 9 months later and steaks herself to let Conner live. Oh! Doyle, the guy that came before Wes and Gunn was a half demon with visions. When he died, he gave them to me, I went into a coma this last birthday, and had the guardian of the lowest level of hell, Skip, turn me into a half demon. We still haven't figured out what I am. I think that is it." Buffy smiled and shook her head. Conner had fallen asleep. She laid him down in his crib and pushed Cordelia out of the door. They woman walked down the stairs to the rest of A.I.
Angel looked up and saw Cordelia smiling at Buffy. His heart twisted (in a good way) in his chest. He realized that the he still loved Buffy, but wasn't IN love with her. He was in love with Cordelia. He smiled as his eyes met Cordelia's. He was walking to meat her when the lobby doors pushed opened to reveal a smoking figure carrying another figure. Both were draped in blankets.
"Peaches! Where are you?" Spike's voice rang out. Buffy froze on the stairs and hid where the wayward vampire couldn't see her.
"Spike? What in the hell are you doing here, and who is that you are carrying?"
"Get her some first aid, but don't take her to the hospital. And get me some blood, a cow's preferably. What are you waiting around for? Damnit! This girl needs help!" Spike collapsed on the round couch, the girl still in his arms. The blanket fell away from the both of them, and the girl was a woman smaller than Buffy, and dressed in only a loin cloth. The woman had dark brown hair, and a well proportioned body. Small waist, larger hips, full breasts. The loin cloth was a white doe skin. She had large gashes down her arms and legs, and her stomach we nearly ripped open. Her face was one big bruise, with a gash from her forehead to chin, crusted over. It seemed that every thing had started to heal. Buffy gasped. She knew this girl! She was her familiar! She hadn't seen her in 2 years except in her dreams. Of course, in her dreams the girl was in much better shape. And she wasn't human, but Buffy doubted Spike knew that.
"What in the hell happened to her?" Gunn walked in from the kitchen.
"Drusillia put her on the doorstep to my hotel room. She's in LA. I came to LA because Buffy disappeared, and I thought I'd check at her father's place, but she isn't there. Have you seen here? I'm worried. The only thing she left was a note telling us she'd be back Friday, and explain them. The note smelt wrong. Plus the most powerful master in Sunnydale – besides me of course – had his lair blown up. Word has it by the dolts first true childe. Then Buffy skipped town, Dru showed up, and the lil' bit has powers cropping up. Buffy really needs to get home. Willow is panicking because of magic she is feeling from Dawn. I sent Dawn to Giles and Xander's place till I could get back."
"Dru is in town. Damn it! Celia said something about an old enemy, and old love of my new love. Damn it damn it damn it. I have to get home in case she is going to Sunnydale. Spike? Talk?" Buffy burst out from her hiding place, shocking the hell out of Spike. He gently moved the woman off his lap so Cordelia could tend her better and moved to the slayer. Something was different about her, like she was dead, but that couldn't be, because she was wearing the golden cross he had gotten her for her birthday. The one that had and 'S' on the front side, right below a tiny blood ruby, and a 'B' on the back, below a tiny emerald. The cross could be worn either way. But the 'S' was face up. Spike smiled and motioned for her to lead on. Buffy looked at the woman on the couch, and caught eyes with Cordelia. Cordelia smiled and gave Buffy a thumbs up sign. Buffy nodded with confidence and turned up the stairs. The two moved to the room Cordelia had showed Buffy to. Buffy sat on the bed and motioned for Spike to do the same.
"Hey." Buffy wasn't sure how to begin, so she just said that.
"Hi. You seem different. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Actually, I'm not. There are two things I need to talk to you about. First, a question."
"Sure. Ask away."
"Do you have any stakes on you?"
"No." Spike wasn't sure, but that seemed to be the right answer. Buffy relaxed a bit.
"Right. First off, I want to tell you something that I was heading to tell you Monday night. I was thinking about us, and figured out something. I know that you love me, but I didn't know how I felt." Spike stopped breathing. There was tow or three things he could here right now. 1) Buffy hated him and wanted him to get out of town. 2) She was ashamed of what they had, and was just using him, and break it off. Or 3) she loved him. Spike really hoped against all hopes that it was 3, but he doubted it. At his nod, Buffy continued after drawing a shaky breath. (one she didn't need, but she need Spike to think she was alive until she was ready to tell him otherwise) "I…um…I…Oh god! Why can't I do this?" She shouted at the ceiling. The only answer she got was thinking she ought to tell him about her state of…not-aliveness. "Ok, skip that for a moment. I am going to tell you the second thing first. I, Monday night, I was caught distracted. I…um…the master of the group of vampires that have been bothering me lately caught up with me. There were 13 of them. The master drained me. When he offered me his bleeding wrist, I remembered what you told me about the more blood a childe drinks, the stronger they are, so I drained him dry. I woke up Wednesday morning, and discovered two things. I wasn't hungry for the girls he had chained to the wall, I was hungry for his, and the two guards' blood. I killed them three, set the girls free, and blew up the lair with all my sire's minions in it. I spent the rest of the day at the mansion. That night I went shopping, when home for my favorite weapons, and wrote the note, got on a bus, and came here. I just got here this morning. I was going to spend the day convincing Angel to come back with me to convince you and the rest of the Scoobies I still had my soul. I was scared that if I just showed up at the magic box as a vampire, they would stake me, and weather or not you trusted me, you couldn't stop them. So I came here." Buffy closed her eyes tight waiting for his reaction. When he was just silent, she added, "I do have my soul. Angel said that a slayer turned kept their soul, but drove themselves insane, and that he doubted that I would." Buffy sat stock still waiting…just waiting. Spike launched at her and began kissing her. She rolled him on his back, her on top of him, and broke the kiss. She had a large and sunny smile on her face. "I take it that you aren't going to kill me. Okay. Now for the first thing I wanted to tell you. Maybe now it will be easier to say. I know why I keep trying to avoid it. I mean, it shouldn't be that hard to say. I should be able to come right out and say it. Instead of babble like I am doing now. Oh boy." Spike put his finger on her lips.
"Let me have one more kiss before you say anything." He told her, thinking she would break it off. Buffy smile and bent down and kissed Spike with all the emotion she was feeling. The overwhelming but glorious love she felt for him, the pain, grief, fear, and a waterfall of others fell past her lips into him.
"Oh yeah, that should make it easier." Buffy smiled sweetly and kissed Spike's jaw. "I Love you Spike. With all my heart and soul. I am so so sorry that it took me dying a 3rd or 4th time to realize it. After I came back from Heaven, you and dawn were the only things that made me want to stay on this hell of an earth. You two made it less of a hell. Your unwavering love for me and Dawn gave me the time I needed to completely come back to this earth. I've always been attracted to you, even when I was with Angel. I pushed you away even after I came back, because I was afraid. Afraid that you'd leave me like everyone else. Afraid that I'd be alone once again. I couldn't handle that, so I denied my feelings. But you were always there, no matter how hard I pushed. I was evaluating my feeling for you Monday night." Spike's face, which until now had been aglow with the joy of unexpected love, fulfilled dreams, and pure joy that he was wanted, fell to a state of it's-my-fault-she-died-my-fault-again. Buffy pushed him up, until she was straddling his lap. She grabbed his face in her hands. "Oh no. It is not your fault mister! Don't you dare think that. It was mine! All mine! Don't even pull that 'if you hadn't been thinking of me' crap! If I hadn't, I would have been distracted by something else! Everything happens for a reason Spike! My death IS NOT YOUR FAULT, do you understand me?" Spike looked at his slayer with tears in his eyes, and nodded.
"I love you so much Buffy. I am so glad that I can spend eternity with you, but what about nibblet? And the rest of our family? What of them when they die? They can't all be vampires to. First of all, Willow and Xander would be to damn sadistic. Giles, yeah, he'd make an excellent vamp, but scary as hell. Dawn is the key, can't be turned, Tara is a witch. Turned witches have a tendency to turn on their sires. It will destroy you to see them die. It would destroy me as well, and then all over again to see you destroyed. I know Buffy. I have lived through 3 families, and each took a piece of my heart. That is why turned slayers go insane. They can't stand to be a part of what they were made to destroy, sure, but they also can't stand to loose those they love. The only reason Angel isn't insane is because he thinks he deserves the pain." Buffy cut him off with a sweet kiss. Spike let his love for her pour through to her, reveling in the feel of her's.
"We will deal when we get there. But, I for one, plan to keep our family safe so they can die of old age in the arms of their true loves. Fairytales come true, mine did. In a twisted way, okay, but I still get to spend eternity with you. As long as we have each other, we can survive." Buffy smiled and leaned down to kill Spike. Cordelia burst in the room.
"The woman is asking for you Buffy, Oh, and congrats you two!" Cordelia spun back out with a speed not very characteristic to humans.
"Is she half-demon or something?"
"Half-demon. Lets go see how Celia is doing. Hum?"
"You know the woman?"
"She comes to me in my dreams. She isn't human, she is a were-leopard, and my familiar. Slayer thing, I'll explain when she is okay. I have to find out what happened to her. Coming my love?" Spike smiled at the endearment and took her outstretched hand.
"Buffy? How does this woman know your name, and how is she healing so fast?" Buffy walked past Angel, still holding Spike's hand, to Celia's side. Buffy kneeled on the floor, and swept the woman's hair out of her face. The woman opened her eyes when she felt the brush of a tiny, cold hand.
"Elizabeth? Is that you? Did I find you?"
"You found me Celia. Why don't you tell me what happened? Angel, get her some boiling water in a glass, and a glass of blood, I'm hungry."
"Dark, evil, bitchy, crazy. She was pale. She beat me Elizabeth. She said you were dead, that you weren't coming back, but I think that I would have felt if you weren't walking this earth. You're a vampire aren't you. The evil lady said your love wouldn't kill her. Where am I Elizabeth? I want to go home. I want to see Dawnie. Can we see Dawnie? I haven't seen her in so long. The evil lady wants her. She said so right after she cut my back. We have to protect Dawn. We have to get to Dawn!" Celia rambled in her fever, but Buffy trusted every word she said.
"We have to get to Sunnydale. Angel, come with," After a moment of indecision, she added, "Bring the whole AI crew. I wouldn't put it past your childe to try and take the here while you were out. So we all go." Buffy picked up Celia, and went out to Angel's car. It was dusk, but she could stand it. It didn't take 5 minutes to get in and out of the car. Everyone was staring at her when she came back inside. "What? I'm not totally immune to the sun. I can stand in direct sunlight for up to 5 minutes. Let's Go! We don't have much time."
"Alright, let me call Lorne, and see if will watch Conner in his violence proof bar." Angel said. Gunn (all the A.I.s live in the hotel, it works better that way.) packed for himself and Fred, while she packed Connor up to go to Lorne's.
10 minutes later, everyone was packed and in Angel's mini-van (I know he doesn't have one, but I am giving him one!) headed to get Spike's stuff from the hotel. Once Spike was signed out and they had dropped off Connor at Lorne's, they were on their way to Sunnydale. By the time they got there, the sun would be just getting up, so they could all get to Giles' place before Dru had a chance to get there.
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