Heroic Deeds

By Ayisha

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the story. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters belong to Joss Whedon. Smallville doesn't belong to me, either.

Author's Notes 1: Sorry it took a really long time for me to upload. I had a lot of things to do this pass couple of weeks. Sorry if this is short. I promise to make the next chapter longer.

Author's Notes 2: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and is still reviewing the fic.

Regarding anonymous reviews: *looks sheepish* I am really sorry about that. I had no idea I had blocked out anonymous reviews but I've already done something about it. Anonymous reviews are now allowed.

Chapter 3:

Los Angeles, California

"Answer the phone, damn it." Wesley muttered. The phone continued ringing yet there was no answer from the other end. Wesley started to go back and forth.

"Where in the world are you?" It has been two weeks ever since Buffy left for Smallville. Since then, Wesley has been trying to get ahold of her. But to no avail. The cellphone Wesley had given Buffy before she left continued ringing.

"Who are you calling?"

Wesley instantly turned off his cellphone. "Cordelia."

"Wesley." Cordelia Chase said as she made her way down the stairs of the Hyperion Hotel.

"What are you doing here?" Wesley asked.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious?" She flopped down on the couch. "By the way, you still haven't answered my question."

"I'm calling a friend of mine," Wesley fibbed.

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "At this hour?"

"My friend's from England." Normally, Wesley wouldn't feel too uncomfortable with Cordelia. But since Buffy had gone missing, she had started to become suspicious of him. It was as if she knew that he was hiding something.

That thought made Wesley uneasy.

"How is he?" Wesley asked, trying to change the subject.

Cordelia sighed. "What do you think?" She looked at the door. "Whenever I talk to him, he keeps on telling me he's alright." She paused. "But I know that's not true. No matter what he says, I know it still hurts him. He cares about her."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

Cordelia shook her head. "Strangely enough, it doesn't. Maybe because I know that Buffy was a big part of his life. She made him what he is today. Who he is. A loving and caring man. I can't change that and I don't think I ever will."

"Maybe that's what he needs to hear," Wesley said gently. "That you understand and that you're not angry about it."

Cordelia smiled ruefully. "Maybe."

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She's gone. Angel stared at his hands. He had seen it with his very own eyes. The vampires who had killed her. Savaged her brutally that he wouldn't have recognized her. Except for his mark on her neck.

Angel closed his eyes. I didn't get the chance to save her. No matter how strong he was, there was still something he can never do: save the Slayer on time.

"When are you going to stop blaming yourself?"

Angel turned around. Cordelia had come to the room without his knowledge.

"Cordy. What are you talking about?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Don't play games with me, Angel. We both know who I'm talking about."

"I'm not blaming myself. I'm just-."

"What? Blaming the Powers for not informing you sooner? The circumstances? Your own capabilities?"

"I was just thinking what if I came there a few minutes earlier. I was wondering if it would've made a difference."

Cordelia took a deep breath. "You can't change what happened, Angel."

"You said that before."

"And I'm saying it again." Cordelia said. "Because I know it's true. Buffy- I didn't like her that much but she was important to you. I know that. And I know that you're hurting right now." She looked Angel in the eye. "I can't make the pain go away. But I can be here for you if you need me. If you need us. Gunn, Fred, Wesley. We're your friends. We care about you. Please remember that."

Angel smiled. "I will." A cry suddenly resounded over the room. Angel stood up from where he was seated. "Well, I guess I have to check up on Conner."

"Yeah," Cordelia nodded. "I guess you should."

Before Angel left, he gave Cordelia a kiss. "Thank you." With that, he was gone.

"You're welcome," Cordelia whispered.

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"Dawn, it is so nice to see you again!" Clarissa Hennings said.

Dawn Summers smiled as she hugged her aunt. "It's nice to see you too, aunt Clara."

"Have a seat." As Dawn obliged, her aunt did the same. "To tell you the truth, I was quite relieved to hear that you're now staying with your father. It's been almost 5 months ever since your sister passed away. Everyone was wondering why you were still staying in Sunnydale."

Dawn reminded herself that her aunt didn't know Buffy came back to life. Besides, it was still too painful to know that her sister was gone. And she would never come back. Dawn made sure of that. She didn't want Willow to bring her back. Her sister deserved to be happy wherever she was. That was the only thing they could give her after everything she's done.

"How's Becky?" Dawn asked, trying to change the subject.

At the mention of her only daughter, Clarissa's face fell. "Your uncle Todd and Becky had a fight and she hadn't come home for almost two weeks now."

Dawn understood. Rebecca Hennings looked a lot like Buffy. In fact, they were oftentimes mistaken as twins instead of cousins. The only difference between them physically was the color of their eyes. If there was one person Dawn was closest to aside from Buffy, it was Becky.

Dawn touched her aunt's hand. "I'm sure everything will be alright, aunt Clara. We both know Becky. She always comes home."

Clarissa smiled. "Yeah. She always does, doesn't she?"

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"You killed the wrong girl." Lindsey said it matter-of-factly.

"You said I had to finish off the Slayer," the demon said. "I did, didn't I?"

Lindsey's eyes flashed with anger. "Fool," he hissed. "Don't you think we didn't know? You were too scared to get near the Slayer. You were afraid that she would be too strong for you."

"That is not true."

Lindsey sneered. "Isn't it? You paid three vampires and told them to kill a girl who looked like the Slayer. And they succeeded, didn't they? They found someone who was an exact replica of her except for the color of her eyes. You thought we would never find out."

"Though I have to wonder why you didn't finish her. They said you were one of the best. Or was it just a lie?"

"I never lie." The demon said sharply. "You paid me to do my job and I did it."

"You didn't kill the person we wanted you to kill." Lindsey smiled menacingly. "And now you're going to pay the price. Dearly."

The demon blazed into fire. He screamed in pain.

Lindsey walked out of the room and left the demon to die.

"That was a very harsh punishment," Lilah commented as she walked beside Lindsey.

"The idiot deserved it for thinking he could deceive us."

Lilah raised an eyebrow. "Us? Don't you mean you? You were the one who hired him."

"You were the one who recommended him." Lindsey said snidely.

"What are you going to tell the higher-ups?" Lilah asked.

Lindsey stopped in front of the elevator. He turned to face Lilah. "That it worked better than we could have hoped for."

The elevator opened. Lindsey and Lilah got in. "And why is that?"

"Because the vampire thinks the Slayer is dead." A smile began to form in Lindsey's lips. "And we can use that against him."