"With Some Scoobies on the Side Series"
By: Lynn
DISCLAIMERS: Duh guys! Nothing's mine!
DISTRIBUTION: You ask me, I ask you... you know the process. I got the transcripts from Link to previous parts: http: This is a re-write of most of the Angel episodes with the Scoobies in the mix. Whoohoo! This is gonna be fun!
SPOILERS: I guess the beginning of Ats.
A/N: Okay, so during the Ascension thing, Angel didn't tell Buffy he wasn't saying goodbye, and the whole "one last look by the fire trucks" thing didn't happen. And Faith didn't go all psycho. In my story, her association with the mayor was just a decoy.
Thanks to everybody who sent me feedback!
Part 2
Sitting at the small table in the little coffee shop, Angel sipped at his coffee, trying to avoid the other group of customers and scanned for any clues that the mysterious Tina was around at the same time.
He really didn't want to be there. The last time he really "mingled" with the human crowd was when he was with Buffy. She always tended to put him at ease wherever they were at. Knowing that she was there made him more comfortable to be around a crowded area of people. To him, she was the only one that existed, so it really didn't matter.
That feeling was gone now. He left it behind in Sunnydale months ago, where he left her, his heart, his love, his everything.
While he sat and observed his surroundings, he pondered about what happened earlier. When he entered the Coffee Spot, he immediately had a vibe he always got whenever she was around. He saw a blonde sitting alone in the back, her back towards him, but he knew it couldn't have been Buffy, she was in Sunnydale, hopefully living the normal life he wanted for her. He figured it was his imagination getting the best of him. The loneliness after being with his soulmate for three years was getting to him. He missed her so much, but she deserved better, much better.
Hearing the name Tina, he remembered why he was there in the first place and watched as a guy and a blonde waitress, he assumed the girl he was looking for, talked behind a counter.
When their conversation about her wanting to clock in some extra hours ended, Tina started to walk towards Angel. Quickly trying to think of way to start a conversation with her, he spotted the shaggy white dog at the next table he saw earlier. He leaned forward so his forearms rested on his thighs.
As Tina got closer, Angel plastered on a hesitant smile and said, "Sure is a cute little," Tina passed by him without any acknowledgment and he finished his sentence to himself, feeling rather moronic, "doggie?" He sat back into his chair.
When Tina passed him again, Angel tried again, hoping that she would listen to him this time. "So do you... How late are you open?"
Finally, Tina turned around and stared at Angel questioningly, "Are you talking to me?"
Angel sighed in relief. The hard part of finding her and getting her attention was over. The trouble was, he didn't know where to go from there.
"Um... yeah," he answered, getting up from his chair to stand next to her while she cleared off another table.
"You wanted to know what time we close," she wondered, not looking up at him from her task at hand.
Angel played with his own fingers in a new nervous habit, getting way passed uncomfortable. "Well, um, no. Actually, I just wanted to know if you're... are you happy?"
She paused for a moment to look at him and furrow her eyebrows at the weird question, "What?"
"Well you looked sort of down."
Tina stared at the creepy yet handsome man suspiciously, "You've been watching me?"
"No," Angel quickly defended himself, not wanting to sound like some pervert stalker. "I was looking towards there," he pointed towards the door, "and you kind of walked through- there..." Well, he didn't want to sound sick, so he settled for just plain retarted. You're doing great Angel.
Tina had to smirk at his awkward attempt to save himself, "You don't hit on girls very often do you?"
Again, Angel felt relieved. The ice was finally starting to melt.
"No, it's been awhile. I'm sort of new in town."
"Do yourself a favor; don't stay." She grabbed the gray bin of small dishes and cups and went to turn away, but was stopped when Angel stated, "You never answered my question."
"Am I happy? Do you have three hours?"
"Do I look busy?"
After a beat, starting at him up and down, Tina told him, "I get off at ten."
Flashing her a small smile, Angel said, "Great. I'll be waiting out back."
Just then, Angel felt a tingle on the back of his neck and heard a familiar voice gasp his name.
His eyes widened in shock. "Buffy," he whispered, whipping around to clarify his suspicions. In the process of turning around, he accidently knocked a full cup of coffee off of the table he was standing next to. Both Angel and Buffy quickly reacted and caught the cup at the same time before it hit the ground without spilling a drop.
Their hands were touching and feelings they tried to once abandon came rushing right back. They stared into each other's eyes in awe, not believing the odds that they would end up in the same city.
"Wow," Tina looked at the two staring at each other so intently in amazement, "Good reflexes." After a few moments of watching the couple caught up in each other and still holding the coffee cup between them, Tina shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "Are you guys going to give up the cup or do you two prefer old and cold coffee," she joked, attempting to break the great tension that suddenly filled the air.
Buffy was the first to snap out of the trance. She managed to get the coffee cup out of Angel's hand, which wasn't too hard considering how shocked he was, and gave Tina an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry," the smaller blonde apologized, and handed over the coffee to the waitress.
"No problem. These come out of my paycheck anyway, so thanks." She glanced over at Angel, who now seemed to be out of his shocked state, "So, um, ten minutes?"
Angel nodded without a word spoken. After Tina left, the estranged couple made eye contact once again.
"Buffy...," Angel started to say, but was cut off when Buffy threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
"Thank God you're okay," he heard Buffy whisper. He laid one hand on her lower back and the other stroked her long blonde hair.
"Shh... It's okay, I'm okay," soothed Angel, not sure what she was talking about, but comforted her anyway. Taking a look around, he noticed that they had suddenly attracted attention to themselves. Gently, Angel pried Buffy off of him so he could look into her teary green eyes. "Let's go outside," he suggested, to which she nodded. He took her smaller hand in his and lead her out back to his car.
Once they reached his black Plymouth, Angel turned to face his blonde love, only to be met with her fist. After stumbling back a step, Angel looked at Buffy bewildered, with a hand against his aching cheek.
"That was for leaving without saying goodbye," she spat. "God Angel! I didn't even know if you survived the Ascension," she yelled at him, she didn't know whether to burst into tears of joy that he was alive and well, or be incredibly pissed that he just left without a word. Her tone softened when she said, "Do you even know how worried I was about you?"
"I'm sorry, I really am. I just... I thought it would've been better that way," Angel apologized, dropping his brown eyes to the ground. He felt guilty for making Buffy worried about him, which just added to the immense amount of guilt he felt already.
"How Angel? How could you possibly think that would be a better way?"
Angel raised his gaze to look directly back into Buffy's eyes, "Because I knew if I said goodbye or if I even saw you once before I left, I wouldn't have been able to go through with it."
Buffy tore her eyes away from his, wanting to ask if he felt that way then why did he leave anyway, but she didn't want to start up the normal life conversation again. Silence enveloped the two as they stared anywhere but at each other, until Buffy remembered what the blonde waitress inside had said to Angel a few minutes ago.
"D-did you have a date or something," Buffy frowned, jealousy boiling at the pit of her stomach and her heart felt a pang at the thought.
Angel sensed the sadness in her voice and shook his head, "No, it's just that... This guy, er, um, half-demon, Doyle, came to me and talked about the higher powers and such. He said he gets visions and was sent to help me. He told me I was supposed to help, help people, including that girl Tina."
"Help with what," she repeated Angel's earlier question.
"I don't know, I'm supposed to find that out."
After a moment of awkward silence, Buffy asked, "Is it one of those things where you have to do it alone?"
Before Angel could answer, he saw Tina making her way over to them. She had changed from her work uniform to a black, sleeveless evening dress, and her long blonde hair was swept off her neck in a stylish updo.
"Wow," Angel changed his tone of voice and focused his attention to Tina, "I suddenly feel underdressed. Did you want to have a drink or something." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the sadness wash over Buffy's face, and he slyly shot her an apologetic look.
Surprising both Angel and Buffy, Tina pulled out a bottle of mace from her purse and held it up to aim at Angel's face.
"I know who you are and what you're doing here. Stay the hell away from me. And you tell Russell to leave me alone," she said with much venom in her voice.
"I don't know anyone named Russell," Angel calmly defended himself. Buffy's eyes darted between the two, wisely deciding to stay out of the exchange, but ready to pounce if the need should arise.
"You're lying," Tina accused.
"No I'm not."
"Then why were you watching me?"
"Because you looked lonely," he admitted, "And I figured that we have something in common." His eyes contacted with Buffy's after his confession. Her green orbs filled back up with unshed tears again, knowing the underlying message was to her. He missed her and the feeling was mutual.
Tina, for the first time, noticed the blonde from the coffee shop standing next to the large man and the look towards Angel became even harsher.
"So you decided to make this a party? You're sick," she accused.
Buffy angrily glared at Tina, figuring now was the time to butt in, "Excuse me!"
"Buffy...," Angel softly warned her to stop so she wouldn't scare off the person he was meant to help . When he saw Buffy clamp her mouth shut and back off, he turned back towards Tina, who still hadn't given up on the mace.
"Buffy's... an old friend. Her car broke down, so I offered to give her a ride home. That's it, nothing more," Angel told Nina, at the same time discreetly telling Buffy that he wanted her help.
Tina's hard expression melted and she lowered her mace, "Oh. I'm sorry. I'm really..." she apologized.
"That's okay," Angel assured her and Buffy nodded in agreement.
"No it's not. I'm sort of having relationship issues."
"Who's Russell," Angel questioned, immediately changing the subject back to the man Tina accused him of knowing. He had a feeling that he was the problem he was supposed to help Tina with.
Tina shook her head in refusal to talk about the man, and tried to walk past him, but the stubborn Angel refused to give up.
"I'd like to help."
"The only help I need is a ticket home... And that wasn't me asking for money."
"Where's home," Buffy finally spoke up. All three of them leaned on Angel's car.
Tina finally smiled at the thought of her home, "Missoula, Montana." She saw Angel's smirk, "You've been to Missoula?"
"During the Depression," Buffy cleared her throat and tried to choke down laughter at Angel's slip up and then at the way he tried to fix it. Never had she seen Angel so nervous and uncomfortable. "Uh, my depression. I-I was depressed there... It's pretty country though."
"Lots of open land, lots of nothing else... I came here to become a movie star. But they weren't hiring," Tina said thoughtfully, "Well I have a fabulous Hollywood party to go to. Hence the glamour. The girl giving it owes my security deposit. Well it was nice threatening you."
Angel looked towards Buffy who was motioning towards the car and then to Tina, and before Tina could walk away, Angel asked, "You need a lift?"
About twenty minutes later, Angel drove his black convertible up to a fancy apartment complex. And after a silent, awkward ride up the elevator, the three finally made it up to the fabulous Hollywood party, where they were met with a red headed woman with a camera.
"Tina," the woman exclaimed, "Smile for the camera," she noticed Angel and practically swooned, "And who is this hunk of tall, dark and handsome?" Buffy stepped out from behind Angel, and possessively put her hand on Angel's muscled arm unconsciously, causing Margo to raise her eyebrow, "And this young blonde thing. I didn't know you had a sister, Tina." Margo and Buffy exchanged bitter smiles, Buffy deciding then that this lady would not be her favorite person.
Tina shook her head is response, "They're just friends, Margo. I really need to talk to you."
"Oh, grab yourself a drink. I'll be right there." Margo wandered off into the crowd, and Angel and Buffy followed Tina to the refreshment table.
Tina picked up a small star-shaped sandwich and chuckled, yet the sadness never leaving her face, "Cute. Everyone's a star." She put it back down on the platter and traded it for a much needed glass of wine to calm her nerves.
Ever the relentless one, Angel asked again, "Who's Russell?"
"He is someone I made the mistake of trusting," she sadly replied.
At that moment, Margo popped up behind Angel, and was a little too close to him for Buffy's liking.
"Here I am," she cheerfully announced.
Tina sat down her glass of wine and informed Buffy and Angel, "This won't take long."
"I would not leave that one unattended," Buffy heard Margo say, and she fixed a glare to the red head's back as Tina and her walked away.
"I don't like her," Buffy stated as she and Angel wandered around the party, looking a bit lost; one more than the other.
"Tina," Angel questioned.
"Oh no. Margo, She's giving off the bitch vibe towards me, but she seems to be totally into you."
As soon as Buffy finished her sentence, a short man with thin glasses and a graying goatee approached them.
"You are a gorgeous girl," he said to Buffy, causing Angel to now be the possessive one and placed his hand on her back. The man's attention on Buffy seemed to be short-lived, because he turned to Angel, and became more intent upon him. "And you are a beautiful, beautiful man."
Angel, unsure of how to react, said, "Thanks," slightly rattled.
"You two are actors."
"No," Buffy and Angel disproved.
"That wasn't a question. I'm Oliver. Ask anyone about Oliver. I'm a fierce animal," he pulled out two business cards out of his wallet and handed them over, but was solely concentrated on Angel, much to his disturbance and Buffy's amusement. "I'm your manager as soon as you call me."
"We're not actors," Buffy clarified, she and Angel both trying to give back the cards.
"Funny. I like the humor. I like the whole thing," Oliver looked Angel up and down, "Call me. This isn't a come-on. I'm in a very serious relationship with a landscape architect." With that, he breezily walked off and they frowned at the business cards.
"I stand corrected... HE's totally into you," Buffy half-joked.
Angel just stared at Buffy. They really needed to talk. Questions came to mind, like why was she here? Who's watching the Hellmouth? Was she here alone?... Did she still love him?
He opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but was interrupted when they heard a familiar voice, talking about call backs and being an actress.
"Oh my God," Buffy gasped when the owner of the prideful voice came to view.
"Cordelia," Angel asked out loud.
The long haired brunette turned away from the two businessmen she was talking to.
"Oh my God! Angel? Buffy?"
"Nice to see another familiar face," Angel commented and grinned when Cordelia came up to them.
"I didn't know you two were in LA. I thought he left you," Cordelia said in her usual tactless way. Angel looked away guiltily while Buffy was a cross between being hurt and about to bring hurt to Cordelia. "Wait, you two aren't back together are you?"
"No Cordelia, we're not," Buffy assured her slowly, "I'm going to school here now with Willow, Oz, and Xander and I just happened to bump into him."
"Oh. So the gang's all here, huh?"
"Yup."
"Geez, just when I tried to get away from Sunnydale, it comes to me. You can never get away from it can you?"
"No, I guess not."
"So, are you living here," Angel politely questioned.
"Malibu. A small condo on the beach. It's not a private beach, but I'm young so I forebear," Cordelia told them, which had Buffy wondering if she was telling the truth or not. Last she heard, Cordelia's family had next to nothing.
"You're acting," he asked, remembering the part of the conservation they heard Cordy having with the businessmen.
"Can you believe it? I mean I just started it to make some quick cash, and then boom, it was like my life!... So are you still," she made an attempt to imitate a vampire face and held up her hands like claws, "grrr?"
Buffy rolled her eyes while Angel gazed at her strangely. "Yeah, there's not actually-a cure for that."
"Right. But are you sure you two didn't do it and he back all evil. I mean, you're not here to bite people."
Buffy clenched and unclenched her fists. Three years with Cordelia Chase had taught Buffy how to maintain self-control when it came to the urge to release her anger on Cordelia whenever she opened he mouth. At the moment though, that self-control was slowly diminishing.
"No," Buffy ground out, "We just gave a friend a ride."
"Oh, good. Well, I better get mingly. I really should be talking to people that ARE somebody." Cordelia turned and sauntered away, leaving Angel and Buffy to stare after her.
"It's nice to know she's grown as a person," Angel sarcastically commented to Buffy.
"You're telling me," she returned.
For a minute or two, the two walked around, observing the people of Hollywood. There were many actors and actresses mingling around as Cordy did, trying to get in good with powerful people with connections. They even saw some scantily clad women making out with men way past their prime, undoubtedly gold diggers. Amongst the "high-class" LA party goers, Buffy and Angel spotted a black haired man in a fancy suit tightly hold on to Tina's arm as she tried to get away.
"Russell just wants to see you," the man said.
"Leave me alone," Tina growled in return and yanked her arm from his grip. She walked away, and tried to rub the pain from her arm. She saw Buffy and Angel and plastered a fake smile on her face as she approached them.
"Of course she doesn't have the money yet."
"Who's that," Buffy immediately asked.
"Stacy? He's just a creep. Can we please go?"
"Yeah," Angel nodded, and the three left the crowded apartment behind them.
TBC...