Before I begin, I would like to point out to a certain reviewer who was arguing about the appearance of Connor given that it doesn't fit within the timeline. Allow me a look of puzzled confusion. I know it doesn't fit with the timeline that's why he's not in anyway shape or form Angel's son… he's not Buffy's either, if that's what you're thinking (She would have had to have been eleven when she gave birth for that to work!). This is an AU fic, and it doesn't correspond with the canon of Buffy or Angel and while there are references it's not meant to, so thank you for pointing it out, but kindly bear it mind that I only ever write AU. Connor is here for a very specific reason though, I assure you, and things are most definitely not as they seem.

On the other hand, thanks to everyone who sent me reviews they are as always - greatly appreciated.

Weasy

Part Nineteen

Remember the times, together we're strong, never give up this life

For the second time in two days Buffy woke with the warm fluffy feeling in the pit of her stomach that hopefully signalled the beginning of the end of Buffy's-worst-year-ever. She didn't have much time to contemplate this though, because her waking was mired by the shrill ringing of her doorbell. Slipping out from under the covers she idly ran one hand through her hair. Buffy seriously doubted her doorbell had seen this much action since it was installed, slipping on one of Angel's shirts and a pair of jeans she watched Angel's sleeping form enviously. He slept like the dead, which he was, but that was no excuse to not be woken by the doorbell's incessant ringing. What ever happened to vampiric super hearing? She was musing over the possibility that he was just trying to annoy her, as she pulled open the door - only to promptly have all rational thought shut down and her jaw drop open in shock.

Coming to her senses she squealed. "Doyle!" and ran into his arms. Wrapped up in his embrace she felt the soft warmth of his frame holding her tight as he kissed her hair. Closing her eyes Buffy revelled in the moment of comfort her brother offered and wished she had always known him… that he'd never gone away, and that he would never leave again. Feeling Doyle move away a little, she opened her eyes and met his concerned gaze. "What's goin' on?" he demanded.

Poking him she glared right back. "What do you mean what's going on? You're the one who just turned up… maybe you shouldn't be here Doyle… not around me."

Doyle shook his head. "I'm not worried 'bout that. I'm worried 'bout you."

Her nose scrunched up in confusion. "What?"

"Visions." He said, tapping one finger to his head. "Mighty useful things, when you're not being fed them by the Watchers' Council." Glancing into the depths of the apartment. "I… is this the right weekend… is Connor?"

"Sleeping."

"Can I?" She nodded, but he barely waited for this agreement before he brushed into the apartment, and seeking out his son's door he crossed the apartment in the briefest of moments, pausing for a moment, he surveyed the solid wood before gently pushing it open. Pushing the front door closed Buffy watched him take in the vision of his baby sleeping, she could only guess what he was thinking… seeing how much he'd grown wondering what he'd missed, his obsessions had all changed over the last year, Lord of the Rings and medieval knights had taken the place of the starship battles he used to wage all over the apartment. Doyle had missed out – whether he had any control over that fact or not.

Distracted by her brother's obvious distress she barely noticed when Angel joined her side, and slipped his hand into hers. Her skin jolted at the touch, and she was instantly reassured, turning to Angel she studied his eyes, they weren't anxious or overly concerned or oddly, even terribly reassuring, just filled with the usual lust and anger… but underneath… underneath there was the tiniest shimmer of something else… something remarkably similar to compassion. Pulling in her breath sharply, she barely noticed as Angel ran his spare hand down her cheek asking her if she was okay. The vampire Angelus that she knew and loved was appearing less and less often in Angelus behaviour… instead he was becoming more caring and considerate, anger tempered and bloodlust reigned in. He really was becoming the Angel she deigned to call him, though his demon was putting up a terrific fight. Was it possible? She knew he loved her in his own way, but was he beginning to love her in the human way too?

"Buffy?" He repeated.

"Uh… yeah." Smiling distractedly, she shrugged before flashing him a lightning smile. "Sorry, just thinking."

"Okay." He raised an eyebrow. "So who's the guy?"

"Oh!" The blood that had previously drained from Buffy's face flooded back and tinged her cheeks crimson. "That's Doyle. My brother."

"I remember." Turning his gaze back on Doyle he assessed him, with the in-built instinct of a born warrior. "I can leave." He finally murmured.

Buffy shock her head. "As much as I'd like to I can't hide you forever." She pulled a face. "God, mom is going to be here tomorrow… I hope it's a funny hernia." She added bitterly.

"Having Doyle on our side before then would help, I take it?"

"Yup." Shaking her head. "All I can hope is that he doesn't know as much about us through visions as Willow knew through the link."

Angel considered this for a moment.

Then wondered just how immortal the Gem of Amara made him.

Glancing back at Doyle he saw he was now eyeing him suspiciously. Feeling his mental hackles rise up at the nerve of the boy to question his presence with his mate, he purposefully schooled his features. He couldn't use charm tactics with this one, judging by his messy appearance he would never be vain enough to fall for those, but there where always ways to get people on his side. Buffy was sending be yourself vibes at him through the link, as her hand tightened its grip on his. He almost laughed at her, if he was going to make Doyle trust him he could most certainly not be the ruthless vampire master he was. Trying not to slip into his vampiric guise, Angelus mentally growled. Time to be Angel.

As it was they managed to avoid discussing Buffy's living arrangements for a while, the three of them settled down on the sofa and Doyle told them everything that had happened to him since he had been forced to go into hiding almost a year before.

At first he'd gone to Milwaukee figuring no one would ever suspect anyone to run to such a sincerely ordinary place, however he quickly realised that this was the very fault of the place, he stuck out far too much and headed off to New York instead, things where much easier there. Well sort of. Having very little money except the small amount he had saved and the little Buffy had been able to spare from what was left of their father's accounts he had rented a small apartment in one of the less fabulous parts of town and watched it snow. When Doyle spoke about the snow anyone listening to the conversation would've thought he was his own six-year-old son not his twenty-four-year-old self, but then he'd lived in Los Angeles his entire life and he'd never seen snow, past the very occasional sleet that turned into brown mush and melted as soon as it touched the ground.

But it snowed in New York so that's where he stayed, he managed to get a job helping the owner of the shop below him, it was all manual - he made little money and required none of the college education he had fought his father for the money to receive, but he daren't try for anything bigger, too scared the Watcher's Council might get wind of him. If they found him, Buffy would have been cut off completely from the Powers That Be and would've been entirely blind in her fight against demons and darkness. Knowing she was already neatly digging her own grave, desperate as she was to find some way out of the isolated life she led, he refused to take away the only help she had. Even if that meant they lost each other.

He was trying to work out how to post the presents he'd bought for Connor's birthday to him without anyone being able to track the post when he was hit by the vision of Buffy by Éire Shaor. He rang Giles and told him the details, Buffy'd then gone out to fight the demon. Three days later Doyle got a second vision which for the first time in his life showed him the past. A red-headed shaman at the Watchers Council had sent a false vision to him, to set up Buffy to be captured by Initiative soldiers, when Doyle was finally able to get in touch with Giles they agreed that there only option was to get Angelus to help find Buffy.

"Why did you go to Angelus?" Buffy asked Doyle quietly, there was no regret in her eyes, only curiosity and the faintest trace of reprimand.

"Giles found the all tha books on him under your bed, it was obvious you'd met." He replied a sparkle of amusement in his eyes.

Buffy blushed, "Why was he looking under my bed anyway?" She mumbled.

Doyle rolled his shoulders. "He was looking for drugs." He replied seriously.

"WHAT!?" Buffy yelled jumping out her seat in shock.

Angelus eyes flashed yellow in warning at Doyle. "Don't you think I'd've known if there were drugs in her blood?"

Doyle shot to his feet as well. "You drank her BLOOD?!" He shouted.

Angelus just leaned lazily back against his seat, uncaring that Buffy, who was now standing behind Doyle had stopped looking quite so dazed and confused and was now violently motioning that he should shut up. "Well…" Angelus drawled. "It's what vampires do when they have sex."

Buffy made staking motions behind Doyle's back, Angelus just twisted his lip into a smirk, one eyebrow raised and she stopped abruptly slamming one hand against her forehead instead.

Doyle was very, very pale. "Buffy…" he croaked.

Trying to smile demurely Buffy moved into Doyle's line of sight. "Yes, Doyle."

"Please tell me he's just trying to piss me off."

"He is trying to piss you off." Buffy agreed, not quite meeting Doyle eyes.

"But he's not lying either." Doyle finished.

Buffy said nothing.

"What did you expect demon-boy? You knew we where mated."

Doyle's own demonic guise flashed up to meet Angelus' yellow eyes. Very slowly, Angelus fangs shifted into place, and then with practiced control the rest of his features followed. They stared each other down for long moments before Doyle moved away. Going into the kitchen Buffy heard the sounds of running water through the ajar door, moving quickly to Angel's side she pushed him back into his seat.

"You are such an asshole!" She hissed.

"You told me to be myself." Angelus shot back cockily.

"I did not!"

"You thought it, it's the same thing."

Buffy glared at him. "Well do me a favour and stop it. If this is a dry run for tomorrow you'd better get your sunscreen packed 'cos that ring's going bye-bye, and you are going to be going for a flying lesson. Out the window." Angelus just smiled. Buffy huffed. "Fine enjoy sleeping with Spike then, 'cos if you're not going to listen to me you're not coming anywhere near me either."

Angel was instantly on his feet. "Shh, lover, don't be so temperamental. I was just teasing the boy."

Buffy sighed, one ear carefully listening to he brother's movements in the adjacent room, anxious that he shouldn't walk in on their argument. "Why are you being like this anyway? I never figured the Master Angelus as a throw himself to the lions type."

"What can I say, I like it when you're angry." He whispered, she hadn't noticed til now but his body was now only a hairs breadth away from hers and his breath tickled her skin as he spoke against her neck. "I'm sorry…" He murmured softly. "I don't see why our lives have to be everyone else's business."

Kissing the smooth wall of chest in front of her Buffy sighed and wrapped her arms around him. He might be treading on extremely thin ice at the moment, but at least he was hers. It felt as though she'd been his forever, and the thought warmed the cold that seeped from her broken heart. Eternity with Angel was certainly looking like an interesting prospect. "Doyle knows where he stands. Now please stop being such an asshole and be nice for once. It won't kill you." She whispered against his chest.

"Do you promise?" He replied teasingly.

She rolled her eyes.

Doyle moved back into the room a few moments later. His demon side had disappeared. His pink tinged face and dripping wet hair pointed to the fact that he had just stuck his head in the sink to make it go away, a trick he had picked up for when he was too angry for sheer power of will to work.

"When mom comes tomorrow I'm not going to jump up and down in favour of him." He said, spitting out 'him' as though it where a dirty word.

Buffy nodded. "I'm not asking you to do that."

He sighed. "Then what do you want?"

"Just… to be honest."

"I had a son at eighteen years old and rushed into a marriage that nearly drove myself and my ex-wife off the rails."

"I know."

Doyle shook his head. "No you don't. You can't. Not unless you've done it."

"I'm seventeen years old and my entire existence is linked to that of one man." Buffy paused, drawing in a ragged breath, her hand clutching blindly to catch Angel's. Seeing her fear, Angel drew closer to her side, and ran one hand down her arm supportively, instantly dropping his earlier arrogant attitude. "I have done what you did Doyle."

Doyle opened his mouth to say something but Buffy waved her hand to stop him and after a moment's pause as she tried to order her thoughts. "With all the regrets about your marriage to Harry do you ever regret knowing her? Or having Connor?"

Doyle's brow furrowed. "Never."

"And I don't regret meeting Angel, or this link we've got between us and all the problems we've ever so neatly fallen into, the ones that've just happened. The ones that are my fault… and the ones that are his. I can't regret them, because if I did I would regret loving him, and I can't do that."

Behind her Angel's face gave nothing away off his feelings, but she felt for a moment a warm flush of pride spreading through the link. "If you aren't okay with this then I understand. But there are more important things going on, and they matter more then whether you approve or not."

"An' I understand that." Doyle agreed. Shaking his head, so that the water droplets in his hair flew out around the room, he spread his arms wide. "Where do you need me?"

TBC...

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