NEW Author's Note: Yes, this is a new chapter! Sort of! I revised some things. For a longer explanation, read the A/N at the bottom.
A/N: Okay, hopefully this chapter will be longer. Thanks for reading! Please review! PS- Sorry to Dawn fans, but I just really don't like her.
Sunnydale 1998…"What do you need to tell me?" Buffy asked, turning to look at Angel.
There's no going back now. I have to tell her.
"Buffy, I'm from the future." There. I said it.
Buffy's face remained expressionless for almost a full minute, then she burst out in hysterical laughter. "You've…got…to be…kidding…me!" she gasped, clutching her side. Angel frowned. "Okay, that may have come out wrong, but it's true."
Buffy stopped laughing long enough to answer. "Angel, if anything you're from the past."
Angel shook his head. "If that were the case, you might be dead right now."
That sobered Buffy up.
"Angel- are you serious?" she asked. Angel nodded. Buffy sat down on his bed. "Would you care to elaborate?"
"In my time, about four years in the future, Willow came to test a spell on me." Angel began. Buffy frowned. "Came to you? You aren't in Sunnydale in the future?"
Angel shook his head. "I'll get to that. She came to test this spell, and it backfired," he continued. Buffy interrupted his narrative again. "Wait- Willow does spells in the future? Wow."
Angel was beginning to get agitated. He had forgotten how Buffy used to have a short attention span. It's like she has ADD, he thought. "Yes. Anyway- it switched the Angel from this time with me." He paused after saying this part, expecting Buffy to make a comment. "Now you can ask questions," he added.
"So, you're from the future. Willow is a witch, you're not in Sunnydale, and…" she trailed off.
"And?"
"Can you tell me more?" she asked. Buffy stood up and began to pace around the room. "I mean, you know everything that will happen to me in the next four years…"
Angel was silent; he knew she was just thinking aloud. Some of the questions she was asking he knew she wouldn't want answered. She seemed to be finished.
"So, which do you really want to know the answers to?" Angel asked.
Buffy took a breath. "Why are you in a different town…and not with me?"
Crap! She asked the hard one!
"Buffy, you may not want to know. It could change history – and let me tell you- you may not want to know." Angel said, suddenly realizing that this Buffy would be heartbroken to know that in a few days she was supposed to cause him to lose his soul.
Buffy looked him directly in the eye. "Angel. I want you to tell me."
Damn.
Angel looked at his hands. "Okay. It's a long story, but I'll start from the beginning. When Darla and I were in Romania, she gave me a gypsy to…eat. She was a princess of sorts, and the gypsies were upset. The elders of the tribe cursed me with a soul. Another part of the curse, that I'm not supposed to learn until a few days from now, is that if I experience one moment of true happiness, I'll lose that soul I was cursed with. I'll become Angelus again." He paused to let this sink in. Buffy remained silent, thinking about what he just said. "So-so you're saying that in a few days you're going to lose your soul?"
Angel nodded. "Why?" Buffy asked.
"The reason I'm having second thoughts about telling you is that none of this has happened yet in your time, Buffy. We could be changing things that shouldn't change. If I tell you this, then it can be prevented, because the other me that I switched with doesn't know about this part of the curse. It's supposed to happen."
Buffy looked at Angel for a long time. "Angel," she said. "I have to know. How can you be sure that it's not supposed to be prevented? Maybe you're being given a second chance."
"All right," Angel said. "I'll tell you this, but Buffy, you have to promise. You can't tell anyone else what I tell you. I know things, Buffy. Not just what will happen to me in the future, but you and your friends as well. Our futures aren't the only ones at risk. Giles, Xander, Willow- all of them, and ones you haven't even met yet. Even Spike."
Buffy just nodded.
"On your seventeenth birthday, you and I have to do something at the docks. Spike's lackeys intercept us and we have to come back here. We, uh, get a little…intimate."
Buffy's eyebrows shot up. "How intimate?"
Angel raised his eyebrows in return.
"And that's-that's your moment of true happiness?" she said. Angel nodded. "I lose my soul, and the things I do…Buffy, I really don't want that to happen, but I'm not sure-"
Buffy held her hand up. "Angel, if whatever happens tears us apart, you don't even need to tell me. Just make sure it doesn't happen. You're…different than the Angel from this time. You talk a lot more. But that's not the point- you're right about the time line. I don't want that to happen anymore than you do, but we can't change what happened. Just promise me that the future is-tolerable. If you tell me it's okay, then it must be."
Angel felt his heart break. Here Buffy was, not even seventeen yet, making a very adult decision. "Buffy-" his voice cracked a bit- "I wish it didn't- Giles will be able to find a spell to switch us back. But before we go talk to him, I want to tell you a story. Three years from now, when I'm in L.A., you come to visit. I get exposed to a demon's blood, and it turns me into a human-"
Angel proceeded to tell Buffy of the day where he became human and they had everything they ever wanted. He then told her that she wouldn't remember it afterwards, but he had wanted to give her the knowledge that she would have that one day- that for one day they would be together with no consequences.
Sunnydale, present times…
"Angel, you lose your-" Buffy was in the middle of telling everything to Angel when Xander came running in. "Buffy! Don't say anything!" he said, waving his arms around like a moron. "I just talked to Willow. She said that if you tell him anything there's a chance he might remember when we send him back."
Buffy's mouth was still open. She closed it. "Is that such a bad thing, Xander?" she asked.
This time Xander's mouth was open. "You're kidding, right? You can't be serious."
Buffy stared at him without even blinking.
"Okay, so maybe not. But Willow is on her way."
Buffy looked sad at this news, but she knew that it had to happen. She smiled at Angel. "So Willow can probably send you back," she said.
Angel frowned. "Okay, but I have one more question."
Buffy nodded. "Sure."
"Who was that kid I ran into on the way here?"
Buffy frowned. Kid? "What kid? What did he look like?"
Angel shrugged. "He acted like I should know him. He was actually kind of annoying."
Buffy glanced at Xander. They were both thinking the same thing. Crap! He met Connor!
"Yeah, it's a really funny story-" Buffy said, looking back at Angel. He looked at her expectantly. Buffy took a deep breath. "Well, he's your son."
Angel's eyebrows shot up. "Buffy, did you hit your head?" he asked.
Buffy was getting slightly annoyed. "No. I'm serious. No one can figure out how it was possible. Not even now, and he was born like, two years ago."
"Then why the hell does he look like a teenager?"
Buffy sighed. "Okay, I'll try to tell the story as best I can, because you didn't exactly tell me right after it happened." She paused to collect her thoughts, noticing the realization on Angel's face that the one child he would ever have wasn't with her. "Basically, this evil law firm brought Darla back to life, and then had her drive you crazy through dreams. When they found out she was dying from the same disease as before the Master made her a vampire, they had Drusilla come back and re-vamp her. This drove you even more over the edge, so you set them on fire."
Angel seemed…amused so far. Buffy continued. "That didn't do the trick, and one night Darla came to you. You thought it was what you wanted, but…anyway, you two….yeah. So, in the morning she realized you still had a soul and you kicked her out. Months later she came back, almost ready to pop."
Angel scratched the back of his head. "I did that? With Darla? Who was brought back to life, only to be turned again- by Drusilla."
Buffy nodded. "That's what you told me."
"So, is Darla still around?" Angel asked. Buffy couldn't read the expression on his face, but he almost seemed happy that she might be the living dead again.
Buffy shook her head. "No. There's more to the story. When Connor was inside her, they shared his soul. She didn't want to have him leave, only to make her evil again. When she went into contractions it didn't look like Connor would survive. She staked herself, and that allowed Connor to live." Buffy paused again to let that sink in.
Angel looked slightly shocked. "She actually did that?"
"Yeah."
Angel nodded. "Okay, but that still doesn't explain why he's a teenager."
"Oh yeah. Well, this demon named Sahjhan brought Holtz back, and he kidnapped Connor to some hell dimension named Quortoth. He came back a teenager because the time there moved differently."
Angel rubbed his temples. "I think I have a headache," he said.
"Yeah, I bet," Buffy said. "I'm sorry I had to tell you."
"No," Angel replied. "I'm glad it was you. But maybe Willow should find a way to erase my memory. Whatever's supposed to happen, I'm sure I don't need to know about Connor too."
Buffy swallowed. "Yeah." She glanced at Xander, who knew what she was thinking. He would probably say, "You can't tell him about the perfect happiness thing- it would be wrong". Buffy still didn't know if she liked the way things were. So what if stuff changed? She hated thinking this, but maybe if Angel had never lost his soul Dawn would never have come.
"So, when is Willow coming?" Angel asked. Buffy shrugged. "Xander said she's on her way."
On the streets of Los Angeles…Lilah had permission from the Senior Partners to look into the new deal with Angel. She was in her limo searching for Connor. Maybe we can get the kid on our side, and then Angel will soon follow, she thought.
After searching for half an hour Lilah saw Connor on the sidewalk, walking slowly.
She knocked on the divider and had the driver pull over. Lilah rolled the window down. "Hey, kid. Heard about Angel. Want to talk about it?" she said, feigning politeness.
Connor stopped walking so he could look at this strange woman properly. After looking her up and down he said, "No." Connor continued walking.
Lilah was angered, but not surprised at Connor's abrupt answer. She knew the kid wouldn't be that easy to break. She smiled her waspish lawyer smile. Time for the second approach; the one she personally preferred. "I know how you can take advantage of the situation," she called.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Connor stopped walking once again. He walked over to the limo, opened the door, and waited for Lilah to scoot over. When she did, he got in and closed the door behind him. "What?"
Lilah quirked an eyebrow. "You sure don't beat around the bush, do you?" she said.
Connor stared.
Lilah cleared her throat. "Right. Well, the Angel that's currently here doesn't know who you are. You can change anything you want about him right now, and then he'd be different now."
Connor narrowed his eyes. "Who says it would work? You could just be trying to trap me."
"Oh, please. Don't flatter yourself. We just want Angel…on our side. You're really just a tool to get to him," Lilah said, pulling out her compact mirror and checking her perfect makeup.
She turned to glance at Connor, but he was gone.
The Hyperion Hotel, present times…Wesley had just said goodbye to Willow when he found the spell. "Eureka!" he said, leaping up from the floor where he had been sitting.
In another room, Gunn shook his head. "He still actually says 'eureka'."
Wesley phoned Sunnydale, and wasn't surprised when Buffy answered the phone. Willow would most certainly not be back yet. "Hello, Summers residence," Buffy said. Wesley could tell from her voice that something was bothering the young Slayer. It was probably the fact that the Angel before her seventeenth birthday was sitting in front of her, not knowing what horrors were to happen.
"Hello, Buffy. This is Wesley."
Buffy was surprised, but not unhappy to hear from him. "Hi, Wes. Why with the calling so soon?" she asked. After all, they had just heard from him about Willow coming back.
"I've found the spell. I'm sure Giles has it in one of his books, so I'll just tell you the name and then Willow can perform it."
"Okay, sure." Buffy reached over the counter and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen. Wesley said some weird Latin name and she had to have him spell it out. "Okay, thanks Wesley. We'll get right on it."
Wesley hung up. "Poor girl," he said to no one in particular.
Sunnydale, 1998…Going back to The Library brought back so many memories for Angel. So much had happened to him during Buffy's high school years. The Hellmouth had never been boring, that was for sure.
Buffy had insisted they tell Giles so he could help get Angel back. Angel had finally agreed to go.
"Good Lord," was all Giles had said when they told him. He had taken his glasses off to wipe them. Angel felt himself grinning. Everyone was there; Willow, Giles, Buffy, Cordelia, Oz…even Xander.
"So, you're from the future." Oz said. Oz never really asked questions; they always sounded more like statements. Angel nodded. "Yep. The future."
Willow was walking around him in circles, poking every inch of his body that she could without embarrassing herself. "But you look and sound exactly the same!" she said.
Angel gave her a look. "Yeah, that tends to be the case when you're a vampire."
Willow grinned sheepishly. "Oh yeah."
She's the one that changed the most, Angel thought, thinking of all the things that used to define Willow, things that no longer did.
"So, what am I like in the future? I'm still rich, right?" Cordelia asked bluntly.
Angel almost told her that she became poor and fell for a half-demon when Giles gave him a look that said, "Anything you say could compromise history's time line."
Angel shrugged instead. "You'll just have to find out."
"We'll begin searching at once," Giles said, placing a pile of old, musty books on the table. Xander groaned. "How about I get some pizza?" he said, hoping his usual escape route worked more than once a week.
"I'm starved," Cordelia said, not even looking up from the tome she was flipping through. "And while you're at it, get me a non-fat milkshake. Make sure they don't add too much sugar. Oh, and I could use some moist wipes in case it spills. Which it better not."
Xander rolled his eyes, but left without comment. Angel laughed out loud thinking about Cordelia and how if she could see her past self, she'd probably slap her.
"What is so funny?" Cordy asked, seemingly hurt.
Angel stopped laughing. "You just-Cordy, you're just you."
Everyone thought this was weird. They were so used to Angel being reclusive and silent. Whenever he did hang around, you usually had to beat a sentence out of him. Also, he had never called Cordelia "Cordy" before.
Sunnydale, present times…Willow had returned and soon found out that Wesley found the counter spell. "Good, we should get started then."
In a few minutes, after commanding everyone on what to do, Willow had Angel sitting in a circle like before. She, Giles, Buffy, Xander, and Dawn were around him just like when Willow had done the first spell. "Basically, what we're doing is exchanging his souls. It's not difficult; all you need to do is sit still and let me do the talking."
Everyone nodded. Willow was about to begin when Buffy interrupted. "Will, what about the memory spell?"
"Oh yeah! Angel, I'll have to knock you unconscious afterward so you don't go through it all again." Willow said. She was almost finished when Angel shouted, "Wait!" There was silence as everyone stared at him, waiting for an explanation. He swallowed. "Buffy, what happened that caused us to drift apart? I want to know." The silence grew uncomfortable as everyone turned to look at Buffy. "Well, I don't think it matters-"
Angel was gazing at her intently. "It matters to me," he said in a low voice, just the way he used to that made her feel like agreeing to everything he said. She sighed resignedly. "Okay. On my seventeenth birthday you and I-"
"Let's just say you get a little friendly," Xander interrupted. After Angel had left Sunnydale Xander had started to like him better, but this was the Angel from the time that he had the most hostility towards him. Angel quirked an eyebrow. "Friendly?"
No one said anything. It seemed like this was an essential moment, on which the very course of history was in the balance. Dawn sighed impatiently. "You have sex and lose your soul."
And Angel laughed.
Sunnydale, 1998…It was late, and no one had found a way back yet. Angel, Buffy, and Giles were the only ones awake. "Buffy," Angel said, interrupting the silence that had lasted for more than an hour. She glanced up at him. "Yeah?" He closed the book and moved a little closer to her. "This might be crazy, but what if we don't erase your memories? What if I leave and you keep the knowledge of what I told you. You could stop what happens on your birthday, or maybe even find a way to get around it, I don't know. Just something. I've been thinking while I was here, and as much as my life is okay, I know it can be better. Especially if you're still in it."
For a while Buffy didn't say anything. "Angel, duh! What do you think I've been thinking about this whole time you've been here?" Angel grinned. Sunnydale, present times…
"Um, sorry, but I fail to see the funny," Xander said. Angel stopped laughing so he could reply. "Funny! Buffy, don't you see? We were doomed from the beginning. Why did we even bother? We must have known that this was-." He stopped his rant. "You know what? Just send me back." Everyone uneasily held hands again and Willow began the spell. A bright pillar of light appeared in the circle and everyone closed their eyes. Only one thing was going through their heads: We forgot to erase his memory.
Sunnydale, 1998…Angel went rigid. "Angel? Angel!" Buffy began to shake him. Giles noticed what was happening and put a hand on her shoulder. "Buffy, I think our future counterparts have figured out the spell." Buffy looked up at the person she viewed as a father, her eyes shining. "So our Angel is coming back?" Giles nodded, trying to smile convincingly. The truth was, he really didn't know if that's what happened or not. Angel began to stir. When his eyes finally opened and saw Buffy inches away from him, he jerked back. Concern showed on her face. "Angel, what…?"
He looked afraid. "Just stay away from me!" He pushed past Buffy and ran out of the library. "What the hell was that?" Buffy exclaimed.
Angel went to his apartment (basement) by the Bronze and sat down on his bed. What's wrong with me? I have a chance to fix everything, and what do I do? I run!
Of course you ran, Angel. You're weak.
Shut up! I was just afraid. There's nothing wrong with that.
Nothing wrong? Of course there's something wrong! You are afraid to take a chance, and so you will spend the rest of our long life moping about what you missed out on! God! You are so pathetic! I mean, just because I hate the Slayer doesn't mean I wouldn't rather have you with her than brooding in a dark hole!
There was a knock on the door. Buffy's muffled voice came from the other side. "Angel?" He glanced up and sighed. "Come in."
Buffy came storming in looking like she meant business. "Angel. Why did you run? What was that?"
"They told me things in the future! Things that I can't let happen." Buffy rolled her eyes. "The future you told me." When Angel averted his eyes, Buffy continued. "The reason is so we can change it, make it better! Not run away."
"Are you sure it's worth it, Buffy? What if everything turns out the same? What if we can't…"
Buffy walked forward and put her hand over his mouth. "I don't care about what ifs. We have the chance now, so let's take it."
Angel smiled.
The End
New Author's Note: Some people pointed out how the previous ended kind of made everything pointless, and after long contemplation I decided that I agree. So, I wrote this (while watching Charmed). I hope you like it better. On another note, now that it's different, a sequel isn't out of the question…
11/6/05
A/N: So, there it is! In the first "Sunnydale, 1998" part, the story Angel tells at the end is the episode "I Will Remember You" from the first season of Angel. If you haven't seen it, it's hard to explain. That's why I kind of didn't. Anyway, there is the end. I hope you like it, and I hope this chapter was long enough. I really enjoyed writing this story, and I'm glad so many of you liked it! Reviews are greatly appreciated. Until I write again, The Spooky Mulder