Author's notes:
Nearing the end of this story, folks!
For you Buffy/Angel fans, I'm planning an event of MarySue proportions! That's right, I figure if Angela falls under that devilish category, she might as well find a way to permanently affix her brother's soul. But that's the end of Angela's major MarySueness. I swear! She's not going to marry House and suddenly be able to have children. Well, she will, but Lily will be the one doing the actual pregnancy bit.
Also, I am shamelessly plugging my co-write with author Ms.Orange21, 'When Worlds Collide', which is a 'House'/'Law & Order:SVU' crossover. The author name for this little baby is The Orange Elf of Oblivion.
Enjoy, all!
London Heathrow Airport
Angela was nervous at seeing House again. It was weird, but she'd never been nervous at waiting for a guy before. Sighing, she got up from her chair and started pacing. His flight was due in any moment, and in addition to being nervous, a second feeling—fear—caught her. Sirius would be coming back as well, and Angela wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that. Would Sirius still think he could get her back? If he did, she'd just have to wallop him over the head with her cane. That'd teach him.
"Attention, please. Flight 268 from Los Angeles is now docking."
Angela stopped and waited. A few minutes later, the passengers started coming out. Angela's breath quickened as she looked for House. Sure enough, he came right behind Wilson. Seeing her, House moved quicker and in what seemed to be the blink of an eye, he'd tossed his cane aside and pulled her into a warm, tender, loving embrace. Angela let her own cane fall and threw her arms around his neck.
"Did you miss me?" Angela asked, after she and House shared a few more minutes.
House shrugged. "Possibly. Did you miss me?"
Angela leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Ask me that again when we get home. I think you'll find the answer is better in the bedroom."
"Then what are we waiting around for? Wilson, come on."
Wilson and Sirius grabbed the bags and handed the two fallen canes to their respective owners. Arm in arm, House and Angela led the way out of the airport and to where Angela's car was waiting.
Once in Angela's ranch-style home, House closed the door. "Anyone home?"
Angela shook her head. "Angel and Lily are working on wedding stuff. Lily told me she'd handle everything."
"Perfect. So… Did you miss me?"
Angela pulled him into a kiss that was all heat and passion. "Yes. I really, really did. So… couch or bedroom?"
House looked into her eyes. "Bedroom. If we're going to indulge in pre-marital sex, we might as well do it right."
"You know, when you phrase it that way, it kills the mood a bit."
"So now you don't want to-"
"Well, yeah. But, I… wait, do you?"
"Absolutely. Well… i-if you're sure."
"Definitely. You?"
"I just said I was."
Angela closed her eyes for a second. "Bed. 2 minutes. Go."
The two hobbled as fast as they could and managed to get undressed and under the blankets with 10 seconds to spare. Once in each others' arms, they spend the next few hours reuniting.
That evening, Angela and House were going over the final guest list for the wedding. Angela had drawn up a rough sketch of the seating, and House had noticed that there weren't segregated groom and bride sides. "The church is small, so… I-I hope you don't mind."
"It's fine."
"And I need to know who you're inviting," Angela said, grabbing a pen.
House considered for a moment. "Well, my parents, of course. I guess my team. Cuddy."
"The hospital admin.? Okay." Angela scribbled the names down. "Anyone else?"
"Nope." Angela gave him a smile. "You really don't have that many friends, do you? It's okay."
"Where are we getting married?"
Angela got up slowly, walking carefully to the bookcase and grabbed an envelope. She came back slowly, her leg aching. In all her years, Angela had never had pain like this. The kind that kept with you- never left you alone. Sitting down again, she looked at House. "Is this what you deal with every day? This kind of pain?"
House nodded. "Yeah, it is."
Angela leaned back on the couch. "How long?"
"8 years. Hasn't changed much."
"I just… keep thinking about how long I'll live with this. 8 years? 80? The worst part is… It may be 80 years from now that I die for good. And you won't be with me."
House leaned back and put an arm around Angela's shoulders. Angela rested her head against his shoulder. "Promise me something, Greg? Promise me… you won't leave me alone."
House didn't know what to say. How could he promise that without knowing what could happen? But feeling Angela close to him… What would come would come, and they'd have to face it when it did. Now though, they were here and they were together. "I'll always be here," he said, hoping that was true. "One way or another."
When Lily and Angel got back late that night, they found House asleep, stretched out on the couch, with Angela lying across him. House's arms were around her, and they were both sleeping soundly. Lily set a stack of papers on the table and orbed out. Angel grabbed a throw blanket off the back of a chair and draped it over the sleeping couple.
He went back to his room and sat on the bed. Grabbing the phone, he dialed the number of Buffy Summers. The phone rang 4 times before Buffy's sister, Dawn, picked up. "Summers residence."
"Hey, Dawn."
"Hey, Angel. Did you want to talk to Buffy?"
"Yeah, is she free?"
"Yeah, let me get her." Angel waited for a moment before Buffy picked up. "Angel? What's going on?"
"Well, Angela's getting married and…"
"Yeah. I… We—Xander, Willow, Dawn, Giles… we got invitations already."
"Oh. Well, would you want to go---with me?"
"Oh. Oh! Like a, uh... a-a-a…date?"
"Sure. Except for the 'date' part. Cause—well, I mean, we aren't dating."
"Angel, I would love to go with you."
"Great. Angela's boss is flying everyone down next week. I'll see you then."
"Okay. Bye, Angel."
Sunnydale, California
Buffy hung up the phone and felt a very warm, fuzzy feeling. She and Angel at a wedding. Sure, it was his sister's, but still. Looking up, she saw Xander standing in the door way to her room. "What?" she said, defensively. "It's nothing. I'm Angel's date to the wedding. Nothing more."
"Angel's never going to be 'nothing more' with you, Buffy. I know that. And so do you. I just want to make sure you know what you're doing. Because when it comes to Angel… I know that you can't think straight. So I just want you to be careful.
"Xander, I know. And I am not going to let him win me back. I can handle myself."
"But can you handle him?"
Godric's Hollow, England
1 week later
Angela wanted to be rushing around, getting ready to leave. Instead, Lily had told her to relax. Relaxing wasn't normal for Angela. She was always in the middle of something and doing nothing just made her agitated. The jet was leaving for New Zealand in 6 hours, and Angela couldn't wait. In two weeks, she would be Mrs. Gregory House. Well, Mrs. Angela McKeaten-House. Oh, there was still so much to do, but New Zealand would be wonderful.
Looking at the clock, Angela decided to go for a short walk. She grabbed her cane and left the house, leaving a note just in case.
Outside was perfect English summer weather. The trees were beautiful and green, and the lawns were rich and lush.
'Free is all you gotta be
Dream dreams no one else can see
Sometimes you want to run away
But you never know what might
Be coming around your way
'On a day like today
The whole world could change
The sun's gonna shine
Shine through the rain
On a day like today
You never wanna see the sun go down
You never wanna see the sun go down'
Angela's mouth pulled into a smile. Today was the start of a brand new life for her. A life she'd always wanted since she was a little girl. To be loved deeply, and to have a man who wanted nothing more from her than her affections. There was a place in the world for her, and she found it in the arms of a 45-year-old diagnostician with a bad leg. Strange how things worked out.
'Somewhere there's a place for you
I know that you believe it too
Some times if you want to get away
All you gotta know is what
We've got is here to stay'
'All the way'
'On a day like today
The whole world could change
The sun's gonna shine
Shine through the rain
On a day like today
No one complains
Free to be pure
Free to be saved
On a day like today
You never wanna see the sun go down
You never wanna see the sun go down'
Angela spent a good hour and a half walking around Godric's Hollow, passing witches and wizards doing chores, and playing with their kids. One little girl, who couldn't be any older than 5 almost ran into Angela. She managed to avoid bumping Angela's leg and stopped, looking apologetic. "Sorry, lady. I didn't mean to."
"It's okay," Angela said, smiling. "Go on, now."
The girl beamed and raced off. Angela watched as the little girl started chasing a friend around the yard. She wanted children so badly. A way to leave something behind-- something to enjoy. A miracle to share with friends and family.
Turning back, Angela started to head back home.
'Free is all you gotta be
Dream dreams no one else can see
But you never know what might be
Coming for you and me'
'Yeah, it's gotta be'
'On a day like today
The whole world could change
The sun's gonna shine
Shine through the rain
On a day like today
No one complains
Free to be pure
Free to be saved
On a day like today
You never wanna see the sun go down
You never wanna see the sun go down'
When Angela got back home, House was standing outside next to her car. "You ready?"
Angela nodded. "I'm ready. Let's go."
Wellington, New Zealand
The estate that Kyle Wyle had put up Angela's entire wedding party in overlooked a large lake. Angela stood on one of the decks and looked out at the water. It was like something out of a dream. The entire valley was framed by snow-capped mountains, and the surface of the lake was so still it created an almost perfect reflection of the surrounding landscape. Angela wasn't aware of anything else until she felt an arm slide across her waist.
Looking around, she saw House standing next to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's so beautiful here," she said as the sun started to set.
"Well, it's nice, but not as beautiful as you."
"Yeah, but I don't reflect like that lake does."
"Your eyes reflect more than enough. The blue of the sky and the green of the grass…"
"Where's the cynic I first met? That sounded downright romantic."
"Well, I blame it all on you."
Angela pulled away and looked at House with mock-irritation. "Excuse me? How is it my fault?"
House saw that she was kidding, but decided to have some fun with her. "Well, you came along, impeded a medical investigation, and seduced me?"
"I seduced you. And at what point did I do that?"
"Let's see," House said, tapping his chin with a finger in mock-thought. "When you invited me into your apartment on out first date. Then you did the Irish flute."
"Well, that was a little trick my mother taught me," Angela said, smiling.
House stepped closer. "Am I forgiven?"
Angela gave him a kiss. "What do you think?"