Guess Who's Coming With Me?

Part Three

By Marie Nomad

The Library was quiet as Giles and the other scoobies were sitting around. "Bright move. You guys pulled me out of a hair appointment to fight a poor street thug who couldn't even afford a real weapon. I mean, a hubcap ax, how lame is that?" Cordelia said breaking the silence.

"I can't believe you." Willow glared at Xander. "How could you lie to Buffy like that? I cast a major spell with a concussion just to prevent Buffy from losing Angel. I… I thought that she just ran off with Angel! I… I don't know what to do with you!"

"Hey, I just thought that if Buffy knew, she wouldn't fight as hard as she could have and the world would go to Hell."

"Or Angel and Buffy would be enjoying themselves this summer. Thanks to you, we would never know." Willow fumed. "You lied and… you never told me. I'm your best friend, we knew each other since we could walk. I… it hurts. Angel suffered three months of Hell thanks to you. "

"Or more."

The group looked at Giles who was adjusting his glasses. "There are Hell worlds where time passes faster than here. A day here would equal a year over there. Possibly, Angel would have suffered years of Hell. That would explain his… unusual behavior."

"Okay, so how do we fix him? Send him to a vampire psychiatrist?" Cordelia asked, "Or maybe find some magic potion that cures the undead?"

"Nothing like that exists. Except for Drusilla, vampires do not become insane unless they have not fed for a very long time. Insane vampires do not live long since they are helpless. Right now, my main concern is Buffy and her friend. She is emotionally vulnerable and… I don't want her to be that mad at me." Giles sighed, "She is needed here. Any ideas?"

"Gifts." Cordelia suggested, "Give Buffy a whole new wardrobe. That would work with me if I'm pissed off at anyone here." She looked at Xander who stared back.

"What about this Gunn fellow?" Giles said, "Perhaps, we can make amends for this grievous misunderstanding."

"Do you think that he and Buffy…" Xander trailed off as the Scoobies thought of the mysterious black man.

"I would rather not think about that." Giles muttered, "Right now, the best course of action would be to try to deal with Buffy slowly and calmly without scaring her away. Time and space is what could be best."

"What about Mrs. Summers?" Willow spoke up.

"We won't tell her anything yet. I believe, Buffy will deal with that on her own."

XXX

"I don't know if I can deal with this on my own." Buffy said as she looked in the mirror. "Do I look okay?"

"You're fine. Maybe, I can come with you. Give you moral support." Gunn offered. "The dog's asleep." He said as he pointed to a corner where Angel had curled up around Mr. Gordo.

"I… I don't think so. For one thing, Mom is really iffy about my choice in men and… well…"

"Bringing home a street thug won't make her feel any easier." Gunn guessed.

"Exactly and besides, my 'friends' are still out there and I don't want Angel alone." Buffy added on. "Don't worry, I'll tell Mom about you and she might like you."

"Yeah, a big black man who lived on the streets and fights vamps while being attracted her little girl." Gunn sighed, "I'm not starting to like this place. A brother jokes about sacrificing virgins and he nearly gets killed."

"That happens in Sunnydale. Don't joke about anything that involves the dead." Buffy warned, "Be careful."

"Hey, you know me." Gunn smiled at her.

"That's why I'm telling you, Charles Gunn." Buffy smiled back and then ran out. Her heart pounded as she rushed towards her home. A part of her wanted to run away to the safety of LA but she didn't have that luxury. She was the Slayer. She has her destiny. Not only that, but Gunn and Angel needed her. Gunn and Angel, two very different men who seemed so wrong and yet so right. One of them was a street thug who dropped out of high school and knew a lot about her world. The other was a well educated man who had lived back when the United States were just thirteen colonies. They both loved her and she liked them both.

Unfortunately, Angel was dead and can't be completely happy without losing his soul while Gunn didn't feel right. He was like someone she can turn to, a man who would protect her like an older brother. She loved Angel but she can't have him. She can have Gunn but can't love him. Why must things be so complicated?

Buffy found herself at her house. "Take a deep breath, Buffy. You can do this." She raised her hand and knocked on the door. Right now, she must try to get back to her mother. She had to focus on what's in front of her.

Slowly, the door opened and Joyce peeked out. "Buffy."

"Mommy…"

Joyce came up and hugged her. "It's okay. Mommy's here."

XXX

Willow's heart pounded as she stood outside of the mansion. It was morning and so no vampires would dare attack her. In her arms was a basket of home made cookies for Buffy and Gunn and a jar of pig's blood for Angel. She wanted to be Buffy's friend again and hopefully, this token of friendship can open the door for her. She had spent the whole night baking them.

She knocked on the door and Gunn opened it. "Yeah, what do you want?"

"Hi. I'm Willow from yesterday." Willow said feeling very small. Gunn was tall and scary looking even though she faced worse. In his hand, he was wielding the hubcap ax. She raised her basket, "I have some… cookies for Buffy and you too of course and some yummy pig's blood for Angel. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure." Gunn said as he stepped back. He checked to make sure she was alone. "So, what brings you to this side of Hell?"

"Oh, I… want to drop off these cookies and talk to Buffy. Is she here?"

"Nah, she went to her mother's but you can stay." Gunn said, "So, you're that computer wiz kid that turned into a witch?" He said as he escorted Willow to a couch.

"Well, I haven't cast any major spells all summer except for a few small ones, including one to hide a zit." Willow said as she put the basket down. "Oh, here you go." She got out a jar of pig's blood and gave to Gunn. "I hope Angel likes it. Vampires can't eat real food you know."

"So I hear." Gunn said as he smiled slightly at her. The girl was scared to death around him with good reason.

"So… how did you and Buffy meet?" Willow asked. "Did she save you or did you save her? Not like she needed saving since she's… you know what she is right?"

"Yeah, a Slayer. We kinda saved each other. She jumped in when me and my crew were fighting a nest of vamps."

Willow's eyes widened. "So, you're a leader of a professional vampire fighting team?"

Gunn laughed. "I wish. We just defend our turf. Me and my crew, we defend our neighborhood from the vamps. I've been fighting vamps for years. No one knows or cares of course. People think that we're a street gang and we are, just that we hunt vamps too."

The redhead shook her head. "I… I never thought that there would be vampires in LA. I mean, of course, Buffy started fighting vampires in LA but not like that… they… wow. I had no idea."

"Don't worry, Anne didn't know at first."

"Anne?"

"You called her Buffy. She went by that name when I met her. I still call her that name."

"I didn't even know Buffy go by that-" Willow stopped when she turned to see Angel right next to her sniffing her. "AH!" She jumped back and then patted his head. "Hi, Angel."

"Relax, he likes you. Acts like a real puppy until he thinks someone is in trouble." Gunn said as Willow tried to calm herself down.

"I… see." Willow smiled slightly. The last time she remembered seeing Angel before as Angelus, the sadistic monster who loved to torture Buffy and the others. She remembered his taunts in her nightmares. She thought she had failed in her spell but she was wrong. She casted it all right, but it was far too late. She, Xander, and Buffy had helped send Angel to Hell. Now, she didn't see Angelus. All she saw was a very confused man who had reverted to his primal ways only in a more… puppy like way. "He's… adorable."

Angel stared at her and almost frowned like it was an insult. "Can he… understand me? He seems kinda insulted."

"Don't know. He knows not to go near crosses or sunlight. When me and Anne talk, he listens and I guess so." Gunn rubbed Angel's head. "I'm not the expert on vamps. I just slay them. I don't ask about their brains."

Willow looked at the two. Angel seemed pretty comfortable with Gunn despite what he just said. "Why are you nice to Angel? I mean, you hunt vampires and he's a vampire…"

"Anne needed him. Every night in LA, she screamed out Angel's name in her sleep. When she told me that he was a vamp, I went ballistic. But, when she went into Hell to get him back, I had to follow. She's my girl even if… I'm not her guy. We don't leave one of our own alone. Part of the code. Besides, she was alone. She was expelled from her school and her mom tossed her out-"

"What!"

Gunn looked at Willow. "Didn't she tell you? She got expelled by that Principal Skinner dude."

"Snyder. I… she was tossed out by Mrs. Summers? Why did she come back here?"

"Don't know. When we came back from Hell, we got tossed back here. I offered her to come back to LA with me but she said that it's her duty to stay here. The Hellmouth and all. She figured that if she's gone and there's another bad dude, she won't be there to stop him."

Willow paled. Buffy could have gone back to LA but she didn't. She had a duty to perform and she managed to pull herself though. "Oh goddess. I… I…" She stood up. "I'm going to make this better. I promise. I… tell Buffy that I'm going to help her as much as possible, I'll… do what I can." She paused and glared at Gunn. "And you better tell it to her or I'll skin you alive."

"I got ya. You have my word and my word is good." Gunn vowed, "She'll happy to know that you're going to help out."

"Yeah, maybe there's a spell that can fix Angel's mind or maybe I can hack into the school system and get rid of that record." Willow said, "I promise, I'll help. It was nice meeting you, Gunn." She bowed her head and ran off.

Gunn shook his head. "Well at least we finally have a girl we can trust. " He took a cookie and ate it. "Hmmm… chocolate chip."

XXX

After the initial tears, Buffy and Joyce looked at each other from across the table. "So… how… how are you?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"You should be. I… I didn't know what I was thinking." Joyce confessed. "I thought you would come home but you didn't."

"I had a lot of stuff to deal with. With the expelling and the… other stuff, I'm fine now."

"Good, I think that I can convince Principal Snyder to let you back in soon. The charges are cleared."

Joyce studied Buffy carefully. "Can't you just find someone else to be the Slayer?"

"It doesn't work like that. The only way for me to stop being the slayer is when I die and then the mantle gets passed down. This is a lifetime position."

"Isn't there anything that you can do?" Joyce asked, "Like… perform a ritual or ask someone else to accept the responsibilities?"

"No. There's nothing that I can do. Trust me; I'm stuck with this job."

Joyce sighed as she shook her head. "Why did you run away?"

"You tossed me out, remember?" Buffy took a deep breath. "Like I said before, I'm fine. I won't run away again, there's too much for me here to leave."

"Good. Let me go and get you some food, you must be starving."

"That would be great."

XXX

Buffy lay on her back as she stared at the ceiling. She wanted to get back to the mansion but her mother was worried she might run away. "Oh no, I won't run away. My vampire boyfriend and street thug sort of boyfriend are here with me."

"Hey, Anne."

Buffy looked to see Gunn outside of her window. "Gunn! What are you doing here? Where's Angel?"

"Relax, Angel's with me. The dog's got a great sniffer." Gunn said as he pointed to Angel who was pawing at the invisible barrier. "How did it go?"

"Fine, my Mom let me back in." Buffy sighed as she sat at the window. "She's worried that I'll run away again. I don't blame her. She's going to get me try to get back into school. Snyder has it in for me."

"You don't have to go back to school. I dropped out of high school during my Sophomore year and look how I turned out." Gunn said as he pointed to himself.

"No thanks. I want to believe that I will have some resemblance of a normal life. When I move out, I am getting a real job." Buffy said, "No offense, but I don't want to work at some fast food place."

"Well, you can be a professional demon hunter. Have the right people pay you for your services…"

Buffy pondered. "No, I can't ask people to pay for what I have to do. Besides, there are fun things to do in high school, like the Prom and the Homecoming Parade. I want to go back."

"Fine, just saying."

"I know." The slayer took a deep breath. "Thanks. Nice to know that I have at least one human friend here."

"Oh, there's that Willow chick. She came by the mansion and gave us cookies." Gunn reached into his backpack and handed the girl a plate of cookies. "They were great. She said that she's going to help you out as much as possible with the dog's mind and you getting expelled. Something about hacking the computer or something like that."

"Oh… that's great. Except for the hacking part. I better tell Willow before she gets into trouble." Buffy took the cookies. "You two better go. I'll try to get to you tomorrow and get you some more stuff. Please, be careful."

Angel whined as he pawed again at the barrier.

"I'm sorry, Angel but Mom would freak if she sees two strange men in my bedroom." Buffy kissed him on the cheek. "I love you."

"Come on, we gotta go back before we run into a torch carrying mob." Gunn said as he picked up a leash and pulled at it.

Buffy glared at the leash. "And loose the leash!"

"I had to keep him close. The dude's fast." Gunn said as he grinned. "Bye." The two climbed down and Buffy closed the window.

"He's enjoying it a little too much." She muttered.

"Who are you talking to?" Joyce asked from the other side of the door.

"No one!" Buffy called out as she dialed on the phone.

XXX

Willow was busy at home. Her head spun as she tried to think of how to help Buffy. Buffy needed her and she can't be selfish.

The phone rang. "Hello? Rosenburg residence." Willow answered.

"Will, this is Buffy. Please, tell me you haven't hacked into the school computer yet."

"Nope, but I'm just about to. I'm going to get Snyder for this. I was thinking of tinkering with his driving record to add in a few tickets."

"No. No! Don't. This is my problem, I'll deal with it. Besides, if Snyder finds out, he will figure out that you're responsible. You're the computer whiz and all."

"Oh."

"But, thanks. I can't let you risk your future because of me."

"But, I screwed things up. I put Angel's soul in at the wrong time and now he's imitating OZ during that time of the month. If I hadn't done that, you might not have run away and Angelus would be punished."

"I might have run away and Angelus would have escaped. We don't know but it's not your fault. You… you were the only one who really supported me and Angel. I'm glad for that."

"No problem. How's your Mom?"

"Hovering over me. She let me back in… and is afraid that I will run away again."

"You won't right?"

"Of course not. My destiny and all that. Besides, maybe the Hellmouth can help Angel with those dark energies of its. We have to make that stupid Hellmouth work for us somehow."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just… be my friend. And maybe check on Angel and Gunn. I have to stick with Mom and I don't know when I can sneak off again."

"Gotcha. Things will get better, right?"

"Yeah, sure. They'll get better."

XXX

Gunn watched from his spot as Angel tossed and turned in his bed. He whined and whimpered in such a way that it even made the black man's heart break.

"For a dead guy, he sure moves around." He muttered as Angel turned away from him. Unseen by anyone, tears came down his face.

To Be Continued…