Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Buffy…or any related characters…Why? Because Joss is too selfish to share, watch, when I create my own hit show, I won't share with him either. Man, I don't really own the plot either because it's largely based off of the drama, Stairway to Heaven.

Chapter 35

If love was meant to be between two people,

Then they will always find each other,

No matter how long it takes,

No matter how far,

No matter how many obstacles stand in the way,

In the end, they will always end up in each other's arms.

And the voting so far goes like this:

By Moonlight: 3

Caught: 1

Thanks for reviewing: naiyaisis, orlando-is-a-hottie, Mita427, Brittany, Chelsea, Shitaka, Freak Goddess of the Crypt, hotspike7, Ally H, Celestia and bloodywitme

naiyaisis: You needn't be so harsh! sobs hysterically

chelsea: Yes, drama…but you know, ironically, I don't really like the O.C…am I spewing blasphemy? You reviewed for a lot of chapters! Yeah, Angel…poor guy, I'm sorry about the Chapter 4, I'll have to change it. If the rest of the chapter was there, the rest might have made sense and etc. because that was the chapter where Angel 'misread' something…

Shitaka: Ah, yes, I guess I could always hold that to my advantage! Glad you liked the chapter.

Freak Goddess of the Crypt: Tis quite alright, we're all always busy…cruel cruel world.

Ally H: A usually diehard BA fan eh? I'm so glad that you're in limbo…just maybe another 'push' and you'll be a Spuffy fan? Here's for hoping!

Celestia: Dunno whether or not to be happy that you were crying…

"I see you met the other side of Drusilla." came the smug and overly saccharine voice.

Giles face took on a reddish hue as he saw a certain blonde haired woman draped across a scarlet plush couch. The whole suite was lavishly decorated and there was the scent of roses everywhere. Despite the beautiful image it sent across, he couldn't help but feel a freakish eerie-ness being exuded from the room…from Darla. 'Every rose has its thorn,' he thought, 'Some more than others, and some are dipped in poison.' "It was you the whole time."

"I do suppose I deserve credit." Darla replied with an airy laugh and feigned modesty.

"You were the one buying the paintings, sending Drusilla and those men, and the ones making Angel's life miserable!" Giles exclaimed, slowly piecing everything together. "Why on earth would you do such a thing Darla? Angel's your son, your own flesh and blood. I can certainly understand why you would bear such a spite against me, but what has Angel done?"

"Not all things have to have a reason Giles," Darla spat, her cheerful tone gone, and a dark look in her eyes.

"You're insane Darla. Please excuse my language, but you've gone soddin' insane! I don't know you, and you don't know me or Angel. Leave us alone!"

"Keep your pants on," Darla snapped, several different meanings implied. "And I highly doubt that you will want to anger the person who holds you and your sons miserable lives in their hands."

"I'll report you to the cops." Giles threatened.

Darla laughed. "Don't kid yourself Giles. I own the cops."

"Empty threat," Giles replied, dismissing it.

"Oh, shall we find out? I hold more power in my pinky than you do in your whole body Giles. I am a successful actress, and you are a bum. Who will the authorities respond better to? A famous actress or a dirty scoundrel like you?"

"At least my heart isn't black." Giles spat. "It's one thing to shelter Glory from what she did to Buffy, but it's another thing to terrorize your own son!"

"You just had to bring Buffy up." Darla muttered. "Buffy isn't important…right now, your son and your lives are at the top of my list."

"I see. Make our lives miserable as hell, if not more, and then eliminate us so that we can't blackmail you and expose your evil to the public? How clever of you Darla. You always were the scheming sort. But if you think that you can silence me and Angel, you're wrong. We will tell everyone what you've done. It's all a matter of time."

"Since when were you the ones issuing threats Giles?! I am still the one in charge! You are still scum!" Darla screamed, now infuriated. "If you really cared for Angel, you would not have fallen for Drusilla's trick. You call yourself a father? You call yourself strong-willed? You don't have the guts to help Buffy. You never had a back bone and you never will!"

Giles glared at Darla. "I don't know what has gotten into you Darla, but mark my words, you will pay for what you have done to me and Angel....and Buffy."

Darla's face paled considerably, but that didn't stop her from screaming at Giles's retreating back. "What makes you think you will have the courage to do that Giles? You're weak! Drusilla seducing you only proved it! You've betrayed Angel, and you'll only betray Buffy too! Admit it, you're too scared to do anything. You talk big Giles, you really do. Don't you remember all those promises you made me? They were all nothing! They were all empty! And all of your promises and threats are still empty. I know you value your life more than you value anyone else's, I know you won't say a word!"

Giles ignored her, and left.

"I can kick your sorry behind any day!"

"I know that you can talk, but let's see if little Buffy can act." Spike taunted.

"I have a strong right kick," Buffy warned.

"Oh sure, my knees are trembling love."

"You're asking for it!" Buffy took several steps forward, and kicked the black and white soccer ball in front of her. Spike prevented it from entering the goal with a single raise of his hand.

"You talk big luv." Spike commented as he tossed the ball back to her.

Buffy caught it, and set it down on the ground, unfazed by Spike's remark. "Just you wait," she muttered as she eyed the ball again. She kicked the ball once again, and Spike managed to catch it. But this time it required more effort from him on his part as he had to throw himself to the far right. Spike landed hard on the ground.

"Still not seeing this whole 'I can kick your sorry arse any day' thing Buffy." Spike joked as he gave the ball back to Buffy.

Buffy rolled her eyes, and kicked the ball again. It sailed into the goal, and Spike narrowly missed hitting his head on the left goal post. "Serves you right you pompous pig!" Buffy shouted as she jumped into the air. "I am good!"

"You've made me very angry now luv. And when Spike gets angry…" Spike never finished his sentence. He made a mad dash at Buffy who ran down the field yelling about how she was really going to make him pay as soon as this 'childish game' was over. Spike let out a primal goal as he leaped, sending Buffy laughing to the ground. "And now the predator has caught his prey,"

"You are an animal. And animals are smelly and dirty." Buffy told him, a big smile on her face.

"Yes, but I'm sexy….and irresistible." Spike replied as he kissed the tip of her nose.

"You are so full of it." Buffy muttered, laughing slightly.

Spike rolled off of her, and got up off the ground. "That reminds me, get out that box I gave you a long time ago…you know the empty box."

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"You'll see why."

"But I don't have it with me." Buffy told him.

"What?! And why do you not have it with you?" Spike asked.

"I don't carry empty boxes with me." Buffy replied in monotone.

"Well, I have a present for you all the same…open it." Spike held out a closed fist. Buffy looked at him with skepticism, and then opened it. Only to find nothing. She smiled, and slipped her hand into his. "Did you see it?" he asked softly as he gave her hand a squeeze. Buffy nodded, and rest her head on his shoulder. "Did you like it?" he asked her. Buffy nodded again.

"I'm never letting go of this hand again." He whispered.

And Buffy nodded again.

The Next Day

"I'm leaving for lunch!" Buffy announced.

"Alright Buffy." Willow replied.

Smiling, and humming lightly to herself she left the room, and headed down the hallway. She entered the elevator, and left when it came to the main floor of the building. She headed for the exit, but felt someone grab her shoulder and spin her around. "What time did you come in last night?" a cold voice asked.

"It's none of your business." Buffy replied in an equally cold tone.

"You were with him the whole time, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was." Buffy informed Glory. She wretched herself from Glory's grip, and continued heading for the doors.

"You think you're something aren't you?" Glory hissed. Buffy ignored Glory, and left the building, Glory still following her. "You're head is getting too big for your own good Buffy Summers." Buffy tried not to snort. Who was Glory kidding?

"Just leave me alone Glory." Buffy said, almost pleading.

But Glory continued following and angrily telling Buffy that she should enjoy Spike while she could, and not to get too attached when a hand from an alley grabbed Glory. Glory let out a shriek, but it was stopped. Buffy looked behind her in surprise, and ran back into the alley, only to see Glory up against the wall, and Angel towering over her. His name came out as a whisper from her lips.

"What's wrong with you?" Glory screeched as Angel dragged her down the alleyway, far from the street, and away from anyone's hearing.

"Shut up." Angel commanded.

Buffy cautiously followed.

"I'm warning you! If you don't let me go I'll-"

"You'll what?" Angel demanded. He then leaned in close to Glory's ear so that only she could hear. "Are you going to run me over, and dump me at someone's house too?"

Glory's hands began shaking, and her face paled, but she continued screaming nonetheless. "I don't care Angel! LET ME GO NOW!"

"SHUT UP!" Angel roared. "Just SHUT UP Glory!"

Glory immediately shut her mouth.

"See this hand?" he yelled as he held his right hand up. His right wrist was wrapped with long strips of cloth bandages, his fingers stiff from the pain. "I can't use this hand anymore because you Glory! You and your fuckin' mother! I was going to leave you and your mother alone, but I can't now. Not now! LOOK AT MY HAND!"

Glory shrank from Angel. Buffy watched, her eyes wide. "What?" she gasped. "Is this true?"

Glory glared at Buffy. "Yeah it is. So what?"

Angel slapped the wall next to Glory's face. She let out cry of fear. "I am going to pay you back Glory. I'm going to reveal everything. I am going to reveal everything and tell everyone the truth! I told you before to give everything back to Buffy, and I'll tell you again. Return everything you stole from Buffy!"

The fire returned to Glory's eyes. She spat into his chest. "NEVER!"

Angel slapped her.

"You're going to pay for that Angel! You don't know who you're dealing with! I can have you put in jail, and keep you there!" Glory screeched back at him.

Buffy began to feel hot. She swayed slightly, and leaned against the wall for support. Her heart beat faster and her chest heaved as her vision began to swim. What was happening to her? She figured it was from the shock of all this…she never knew.

"One more thing Glory. I have one more thing to confess, the car-"

"NO ONE WILL BELIEVE YOU! NO ONE WILL!" Glory screamed as she beat at Angel's chest. "NO ONE!!!"

Angel grabbed Glory's wrists, and shoved her back against the wall again. "Don't worry about it Glory because there's one more witness, DAD." He then let Glory go. Glory began to run out of the alley. "JUST YOU WAIT GLORY. YOU BETTER WATCH OUT!" he shouted.

Glory stopped where the alley met the street, and turned around. "You keep telling yourself that Angel. But it's my word against you and dad." She then disappeared around the corner.

Angel walked past Buffy without even acknowledging her. "Angel…wait!" Buffy said. She reached out to grab him, but he was too far. She tried to run after him, but everything looked so fuzzy…and everything seemed to run together. Buffy ran out of the alley, and looked for Angel. Even though he was only several yards away, she couldn't see him, and didn't know where he went. What was wrong with her?! Scared out of her mind Buffy sank to the cold sidewalk, and tried to rub her eyes. But when she looked again, everything was still blurry.

Not too far away, a certain dark haired man watched. His eyes were of a mixture of happiness to see her, sadness for he couldn't talk to her, and regret. He knew there was something wrong with her…but he fervently prayed and hoped that he was wrong.

Several days later…

"Yes! I promise I'll be there!"

"What do you mean that's not good enough?"

"No!"

"Fine…I Buffy Summers solemnly swear to show up at exactly 2:30 pm at Ricci's Café."

"Ok! I won't be late!"

"Yes, I know how much you hate waiting."

A small smile, and blush, like that of a school-girl's lit Buffy's face. "I love you too." Buffy flipped her cell phone closed, her emerald eyes sparkling. Sometimes it seemed that she was dreaming all this, and that she would wake up Elizabeth Johnson once again. Her eyebrows furrowed as she was reminded of Angel. She still didn't understand what she had witnessed several days ago. She understood about Darla hiring some goons to beat Angel up, but what was Angel yelling about? What did he have that he could use against Glory?

She had been feeling a bit stressed the last few days because of Angel…and she still didn't understand what happened to her. She didn't tell anyone about it because it was the first time that had happened…besides the fact that she was frequently 'sick' with extremely high fevers and high core temperatures. She guessed that she got dizzy because of the shock and news. But she figured it was nothing to get all high strung about.

Buffy resumed working. Her scarf last time had been a success, and she had to come up with something new. Buffy supposed that she could just create a new line of clothes like Willow and Anya did, but she just wanted to do something different. Something quirky and something never done before, so far she hadn't much luck. Before she knew it, it was 2:20 pm. She hurriedly grabbed her purse and jacket, and headed for the door. "I'm going out!" she yelled.

"See you later." Wesley yelled back.

Buffy raced out of the building, and waited with a group of people to cross the street. "I feel like a sheep." she muttered as everyone was herded across the street by the cross walk lights. "Or a buffalo." she added as the stampede of people almost bowled her over.

She was almost there, she just had another street to cross when everything started to blur together again. Her head throbbed, and no matter how hard she rubbed her eyes, she couldn't see clearly. She felt the people beside her moving, and followed, but she fell after several steps. She could hear the people shaking her and screaming for 9-1-1, but she couldn't move and she couldn't see…

Spike looked at his watch again. It was 2:35 pm, and Buffy still wasn't here. She had even made a bloody oath to show up on time. Soon it was 2:45 pm, and still no sign of Buffy. Thinking maybe she was lost, or still at work, he decided to go there, and wait for her if that was the case. As he crossed the street he passed a group of people, who were stopping traffic both ways. He didn't know why, and he had to admit that he was slightly curious, but Buffy was more important. He heard an ambulance with its sirens on coming closer. He pulled out his cell phone to call her, and got her voice mail. His forehead creased with concern, he continued walking, "Where the hell are you?"

"I honestly don't know what happened. Maybe it's because I've been so stressed lately." Buffy hastily explained.

"It's alright." the man insisted. "Now tell me, can you see fine now?"

Buffy nodded. "I can see fine now…but a while ago, I couldn't. Everything was blurry."

The doctor nodded. "Alright then Miss Summers, I am going to have a look at your eyes." The doctor opened Buffy's eyes with his fingers, and held a small black pointer flashlight in his other hand. "Ok Miss Summers, I need you to look to the right…good, now the left…now can you please look up for me, that's good." The doctor nodded to himself, and then scribbled down some things onto his pad of paper. Buffy tried to read what he wrote, but the doctor's handwritings was definitely illegible.

"Is that all?" Buffy asked tentatively. She liked the doctor, he was nice and friendly, but this room just gave her an ominous feeling.

"Just about." the doctor told her. Buffy frowned, the doctor didn't sound as cheerful as he did a while ago, although he was doing an excellent job at trying to mask any 'gloom'. "Miss Summers…" the doctor began, "Your medical records…though very…bare, indicate that you have had a core temperature of 107 degrees, and sometimes even more, several times through out yours life."

Buffy nodded in agreement. "Yeah…once when I was 14…"

"Yes, and the other two times were within the last few years…correct?"

Buffy nodded again.

The doctor nodded too. "107 degrees…is a dangerously high temperature…it is the temperature where most internal organs cannot survive." Buffy's eyes widened. "But it seems that all of your internal organs are fine," Buffy immediately relaxed, "But I am unsure if your eyes were unharmed…I would like to do tests in a few days if that is alright with you, that way we could not only see if something is wrong, but we could also see what is causing these fevers."

Buffy felt her heart sink…but at least she wasn't dying. "Sure." she replied, her voice raspy. Buffy cleared her throat, her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about what she could tell Spike. He would probably overreact, and send her to Europe or something to see the best doctors in the world. She smiled slightly, but then felt her smile fade. Spike…they had a lunch date…she had promised…she had vowed… Buffy began to bite her lower lip.

"Have you ever injured your eyes in any other way?" the doctor asked. "Had something poked them…surgery…an accident?"

"I was in a car accident some years ago." Buffy said, rather quietly.

"I see…hmm…that isn't in your records anywhere…" the doctor said confused.

"I didn't go to a hospital."

The doctor stopped shuffling through papers, and stared at her. "You weren't taken to a hospital?" Buffy shook her head. "That could mean that something inside you was perhaps 'jostled' or 'loosened'….and you've been like that without professional attention."

Buffy felt her skin go clammy and cold.

"While I was examining your eyes Miss Summers…I…well…it seems that there is something wrong with your eyes…and the wiring that attaches your eyes to the brain. It may be either that they are just a little loose, and could be fixed with surgery…or they could be seriously damaged…and you might need a transplant…I highly doubt it is the latter…I'm sorry Miss Summers."

Buffy tried to speak, but her mouth was dry. 'He said it might be nothing!' she told herself, but nevertheless she felt…like she had just been punched in the stomach.

"I'm surprised that symptoms haven't affected you sooner. You've never noticed your vision blurring? Headaches?"

His voice echoed to her. It sounded hollow…and she felt like she was watching him tell her…what if there was something seriously wrong with her? What would she do? No…why? She knew it…life had been too good to be true…her heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest…how would this affect Spike? Spike…her heart ached…Spike didn't deserve this! She didn't deserve this! After all Spike had done for her…was this how she was going to repay him? She wanted to cry…but she couldn't.

"For the time being, I suggest you wear glasses."

((A/N: Yes…a little shorter than usual…but…yes…does everyone hate me? I am quaking with fear…at least I updated soon?))