Title: Missing
Author: Neamh1
Warnings: NC17
Disclaimer: Not mine
AN: I'd like to say you all Rock! You're great, the reviews have been brilliant, please keep them coming and here's the next chapter for you.
Buffy had made it to work early in morning and so she went straight up to Wesley's office, she was hoping that he would take her down and could start her on some work for the day. She had decided to wear a knee length black pencil skirt with a plum satin shirt. She wanted to look stylish and smart on her fist day, plus she thought the outfit made her look very shapely. Knocking on his door Buffy heard Wesley shout 'come in', when she did she saw him fusing around with papers, shoving them into his briefcase and trying to get it to close properly.
"Good morning Buffy, I'm glad you could make it. Now…I'm afraid I have to go out of the office today to meet with some clients so if you have any problems you'll have to speak to Terry, you know, the director I introduced you to? You'll be working for him today, anything he or the actors need that you know how to do; you'll do it. Lunch is at 1:00pm but don't count on that, it depends on the shooting schedule. Well, I'll see you later, have a nice day." Wesley said as he rushed out of his office, briefcase in hand.
"Bye" said Buffy, who stood shocked as hell. She was expecting for Wesley to spend at least half of the day showing her around again and helping her to settle in but now she was completely on her own. She started making her way down through the building to try and find the studio that she would be working in. She must have spent 15 minutes looking and she still couldn't find it.
"Take it yer lost?" Buffy heard someone say from behind her. She turned around to find one of the part time actors who Wesley had introduced her to, she couldn't quite remember his name though. "It's Alan Doyle. Don't worry lass, I don't expect yer to have learnt me name already. Come on, the sets this way." He said and took Buffy's arm gently, leading her to the studio.
"Thanks so much Alan. I've been searching for the right set for fifteen minutes now, Wesley totally ditched me this morning, said he had to go to some client meeting or something. I thought he would have at least stayed for a couple of hours to help me settle in." she said with a grateful smile.
"That sounds like Wesley, he's hardly ever 'ere. Don't worry, I'll look after yer, and call me Doyle, everyone else does, sounds less formal than Alan don't cha think." He smiled. Buffy immediately liked him. There was just something warm and friendly about him, he reminded her in some ways of Xander, except with an Irish accent.
They walked in comfortable silence for a while until they reached a building and Doyle opened the door for her, signalling for her to be quiet in case they were shooting a scene. As they entered through another door the only noise was coming from a female and a male having a conversation. Buffy figured they must have been acting and as she got closer to the set she could see she was right. She followed Doyle to a suitable place and they watched Liam and Cordelia having a conversation until Terry shouted 'Cut' and they both immediately walked off the stage over to Buffy and Doyle.
Doyle gave Cordelia a kiss on the cheek. "Nice work there princess, 'ave you two met Buffy yet, she's start' in work 'ere today."
"I'm Cordelia, nice to meet you; I see you've already met my boyfriend Doyle." Cordelia said, Buffy could see that she was stating her claim as she placed a well manicured hand to Doyle's chest and gave him another kiss.
Buffy really didn't want to have any misunderstanding with the actress, especially on her first day, so she cleared the air by saying,
"Yeah, I got lost outside and Doyle kindly showed me where the studio was, this place is like a maze." She then turned to Liam who hadn't yet spoken and smiled at him, he was starring at her and didn't realise that she had smiled until Doyle elbowed him in the chest and Liam winced.
"Hi, I'm…" he started but was but off by Buffy.
"Liam, yeah I know. Wesley introduced us on Friday when he gave me the whole 'Big Tour' thing. You were really great up there." She said smiling and pointing to the set where Liam had just been acting out his scene with Cordy. Buffy congratulated herself on how cool her voice sounded, even though she though that at any minute her legs might give way beneath her.
Liam shrugged his shoulders and smiled back at her, he hadn't been able to keep his mind off her all weekend and seemed to find himself feeling like a love struck school boy when she was around.
"Hi Honey, I missed you this morning, traffic was hell." Said a blonde woman as she approached Liam from behind wrapping one of her arms about his waist and kissing him on the cheek. "Oh, Hi, I'm Liam's girlfriend Darla, are you the new hired help around here." Darla smiled to Buffy.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for Buffy as she saw the woman that was Liam's girlfriend walk up and kiss him on the lips. Her heart felt as though it was being torn into pieces and she tried so hard not to let the pain of rejection show on her face. How could she have been so stupid as to think that someone like Liam didn't already have a girlfriend, or maybe they were married, Buffy didn't know, nor did she care at that moment. The only thing running through her head was to get away from them all as fast as possible. Before she embarrassed herself even more Buffy answered Darla's question with as much sincerity as she could muster. "Yeah I am, Wesley hired me, it's my first day." She said. Everything about Darla screamed that she was rich and successful and not the type of person to be messed with. Buffy had a flash back of a magazine that she had been reading at home and remembered seeing a picture of Darla and Liam at the time. She hadn't looked too hard and had just flicked past the page but now she wished she had read the article.
"Oh that's great. Just over there through that door," said Darla as she pointed across the room to Buffy and Buffy turned to see what she was pointing at "That's the canteen, I'll have a low fat latte, and make sure it's really hot." She said with a cruel grin on her face.
Liam couldn't believe Darla, she was being such a bitch to Buffy and he could see that Buffy wasn't happy about it. The whole glow that she seemed to radiate when she walked into the room had been stripped away by a few cruel words from Darla. He didn't know whether to say anything in her defence or keep his mouth shut in his defence against Darla.
"Come on Buffy, I'll come with you, I'm finished for now and I could do with a glass of water to wash away the foul taste of Darla." Said Cordy as she linked arms with Buffy and they headed for the kitchen without a backward glance at Darla. Darla was fuming but refused to give Cordy the satisfaction of retaliating to the comment.
"Darla, do yer have to be such a bitch?" Said Doyle and then turned his back on her and walked away shaking his head. Darla dismissed Doyle without a second thought and turned her attention back to Liam who was still staring after Buffy and Cordelia.
"Don't worry about her Buffy, you'll get used to Darla she's just a bitch. Anyway…Wesley said that you lived in Sunnydale, about 23 hours from here. You're not driving all that way every day are you?" She said as she pushed open the door to the canteen and Buffy followed her inside.
"No, I took one of the company properties, I moved all my stuff in yesterday with my parents help. I'm all settled now though and it's a lovely place." Replied Buffy, maybe her and Cordy could be friends, they both seemed to hate Darla so that was one thing they had in common.
"So do you have a boyfriend or are you enjoying the single life." asked Cordy with a mischievous grin as they went and asked for Darla's drink, Cordy got a bottle of mineral water and Buffy had a glass of juice.
"No boyfriend, but I wouldn't say I was enjoying the single life. Just alone by default I guess." Buffy said with fake laugh which Cordy picked up on.
"Bad break up? Well, we'll have to sort out that problem, don't worry I'm a great matchmaker." Cordy said as they headed back out of the canteen after disposing of Buffy's empty glass.
"I had a bad break up in college, I have dated since then but…I guess I haven't found the right one yet." Buffy said and turned to smile at Cordy who smiled back.
"Here give me Darla's coffee, I'll take it to her, give me chance for another jab at her, then I'm going to find Doyle before his next scene. You okay on your own? If you go over to Terry he'll let you know what he wants you to do today." Cordy said and when Buffy nodded she headed away from her towards where Darla and Liam were talking by the stage. Buffy stood there for a few seconds trying to pull herself together; she couldn't believe how unlucky she was sometimes. She had gotten her hopes up that maybe she and Liam could get together, now she felt so crushed. As she started to walk over to where Terry the director was sitting she looked back over to Cordy who was arguing with Darla whilst Liam stood there in the middle starring at Buffy. She smiled sadly to him and then turned away; she didn't think that her wounded heart or pride could take anymore punishment for the day.
"Um, hi Terry. My name is Buffy, I'm starting here today and Wesley couldn't be here to show me what to do so he suggested I ask you if you have any jobs for me?" said Buffy as Terry looked up and smiled at the young girl in front of him.
Terry seemed nice, a tough boss to work for but all in all a nice person. He was small with short curly ginger hair and lots of freckles.
"Sure thing Buffy. We are just about to shoot another scene so if you want to just check that the actors have everything they need and then…the trolley over there," he said whilst pointing out a trolley full of clothes to Buffy, "They are the costumes for the various actors, they need going back in the store room where we keep all the costumes. The room is over there and Jess should be in there, she'll show you what you need to do, that should keep you occupied until lunch." Said Terry as he pointed out a room to the other side of the studio where Buffy could find Jess. Buffy smiled and headed over to where Cordy and the others were sitting on the set still arguing. As Buffy approached she made every effort not to look Liam in the eyes, maybe if she avoided speaking with him and being with him as much as possible she get over this little crush and get on with her job, then maybe in a few millennia they could be just friends.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Terry asked me if there is anything you guys need before you start shooting." Said Buffy looking at Doyle who was nearly in hysterics over the argument Cordy and Darla were still having, they hadn't even noticed that Buffy had approached.
"I think we're good to go darlin', but thanks anyhow." Doyle said in his usual Irish accent. Buffy smiled to him and began walking away until she felt someone take her arm from behind; she turned around to find Liam behind her. As soon as he had taken her arm he let go, as much as he wanted, craved to touch her, every time he did he came that much closer to just grabbing her and kissing her, and that was something he couldn't do.
"Buffy, I just wanted to apologise for Darla's behaviour earlier. She's like that with everyone; I didn't want you to take it personally." He said "and I would really like it if we could be friends." He choked out the last word of his sentence but Buffy didn't seem to notice.
"I'd like that too, and you don't have to apologise for Darla, if that's the way she wants things to be then I'm game." Said Buffy with a shrug of her slim shoulders. Liam smiled at her 'well aren't you the little spitfire' he thought to himself. "Okay, I'd better get going, I'll see you later." Buffy said, she couldn't stay there any longer, the longer she spent looking into those dark chocolate eyes the further she fell. Buffy hurried off leaving Liam to watch her back as she grabbed the trolley and pulled it over to the door that Terry had pointed out to her. She took a few deeps breathes to try and calm herself down and then entered the store room.
Buffy spent the next six hours in the store room with a girl named Jessica, Jess as she liked to be called, worked in there with the costumes all the time. She made alterations and kept the costumes in top condition. She showed Buffy how to use the sewing machine and where the log was for the costumes which had to be checked in each time one was taken out or put back into the store room. When Buffy finally emerged Terry was telling everyone that he was mostly pleased but there were a few scenes that he might want to re-shoot after lunch. People started to head towards the canteen for their lunch and on the way Cordy shouted Buffy over to her and Doyle and they headed into the canteen together. They grabbed some lunch and Gunn joined them at their table as they all sat down to eat. Buffy couldn't help feeling a pang of disappointment when Liam walked in with Darla clinging to his arm and they went and sat across the room at another table.
"Don't worry Buffy; Darla's just trying to keep him to herself. She knows that you two are attracted and she's feeling threatened, that's why she's being such a super-bitch today!" Cordy whispered in Buffy's ear. Cordy had noticed the way the two looked at each other, she knew Liam better than anyone and she could tell when he was attracted to a woman. As for Buffy, Cordy could read her like a book; it was her duty to bring them together.
"Oh, no - I don't…" Buffy started to deny it to Cordy but she interrupted her.
"Come off it Buffy, you don't have to deny it to me, I'd be happy to set the two of you up. It would be a pleasure to get misses 'I'm so beautiful and rich' out of Liam's life, he's way too good for her."
"Cordy, please don't say anything to Liam, maybe if he was single things would be different but he wouldn't be with her if he wasn't happy so please don't say anything." Buffy pleaded.
"Okay, I won't say anything to him whilst he's seeing Darla. I'll just have to work on getting him to not see Darla then won't I?" she said with a mischievous grin to which Buffy shot daggers at her and then both girls burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked Gunn and Doyle at the same time.
The rest of the day sped by and Buffy was beginning to settle down and really enjoy herself, Terry had asked Buffy to be a stand in for a short scene as the usual stand in had to go home sick. She had been really nervous but she managed to pull it off and got a small applause after to which she couldn't stop blushing.
At 6:30pm Terry announced that it was a wrap for the day and everyone could leave. Buffy was shouted over by Darla and as much as she wanted to ignore her she couldn't, Darla asked for another coffee before Buffy left. She was surprised that Darla seemed so nice about it, she had even said please this time with no snide remarks. 'Maybe Liam had said something to her and she had promised him she would try and be nicer towards her' thought Buffy. In any case she went and got the hot drink and then headed back over to Darla.
"Oh, thanks Buffy." Darla said attempting to take the drink away from Buffy but knocking it out of her hands, intentionally spilling it all down Buffy's blouse as though it was an accident.
"Oh! Hot! Very hot!" shouted Buffy as the hot drink went through her top and burnt her skin.
"Oh honey, you should be more careful, it's really hot and you could scald yourself."
"Darla, what the hell are you playing at!" shouted Liam, he had watched what had happened and stormed across the room drawing everyone's attention to the threesome.
"It was an accident dear; Buffy needs to be more careful with what she's doing rather than day dreaming around the studio. Isn't that right Buffy?" Darla said making her point to Buffy that she had better stay away from Liam or there would be more trouble.
"Yeah right." Liam said in a sarcastic voice as he looked at Darla shaking his head. "You okay?" he asked Buffy as he checked her over.
"Yeah just a little wet." She replied "And burnt. Ow." She said again whilst tenderly checking her skin.
"Come on." He said taking her hand and pulling her behind him in the direction of the store room.
"Where do you think you are going? Liam! Get back here now!" Buffy could hear Darla shouting behind them but Liam paid her no attention as they walked away, the show was over and people started packing up again and leaving for the night. Liam led Buffy over to the store room and asked Jess if there was something that Buffy could lend until tomorrow. Jess picked Buffy a red halter-top; Buffy was so small she hardly had anything that would fit her. Buffy went into the sewing room; closing the door behind her she changed her shirt putting her wet one in a carrier bag and then went back out where Liam and Jess were waiting for her.
"Thanks Jess, I owe you." Buffy said, giving her a quick hug.
"Are you burnt badly?" Liam questioned his concern evident in his voice. She looked stunning in the top that Jess had given her to lend, the top was low cut enough to show a small amount of cleavage that nearly made Liam choke when she had emerged. He could see now where the coffee had burnt her, her chest was an angry shade of red and he was worried that it might permanently mark her.
"Just a little red, nothing that won't be fixed by a bit of moisturiser cream." She replied to him.
They said goodbye to Jess and then headed out in silence, Buffy started to feel uncomfortable again with their closeness and so she excused herself saying she needed to visit the bathroom before leaving. She thanked Liam for his kindness and said that she would see him tomorrow.
Liam was a little disappointed, he had hoped that they could walk out to their cars together and get to know each other a bit better. He hadn't really seen much of her today, Darla had been clinging to his arm all day after she had met Buffy and she had warned Liam that if he cheated on her it would be the end of his career. Liam started to head for his car but got sidetracked when he met up with Gunn in the parking lot.
Buffy waited in the bathroom for five minutes before heading out to her car, she got in and fished out her keys from her handbag then attempted to start up the car. The car wasn't going anywhere; she couldn't get it to start. After a couple of attempts she gave up and got out of the car and headed for the pay phone at the end off the lot. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw someone standing behind her after using the phone; until she recognised that it was Cordy.
"Jesus Cordy, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she said half laughing.
"I was just on my way to my car when I heard about what Darla did to you; I can't believe the nerve of that woman. I would have smacked the smirk off the bitches face within two seconds. Buffy, you shouldn't have let her get away with it; she can't keep treating you like this." Cordy said.
"Oh don't worry. I think in the end I got the upper hand." Buffy replied and at Cordy's expression she elaborated. She told Cordy how Liam had seen everything and had a go at Darla, then took her to get a change of clothes from Jess.
"So, you're having some car problems?" Cordy asked, a scheme brewing in her mind.
"Yeah the damn thing decides to pick today of all days to break down for the first time ever. Like I haven't had a bad enough first day, then this has to happen. I don't suppose there's any chance you could give me lift, save me getting a cab? The car repair people can't get here today." Buffy asked hopefully.
"Sorry, no can do. I only live a few blocks away and Doyle and I are going out for dinner tonight so I need to rush home to get ready. But…I did see Liam up there talking to Gunn, you could always ask him for a ride?" she said, again smiling like a Cheshire cat.
Buffy could see what she was up to. "No that's okay I'll just call a cab, I'm sure they can get one out to me within the hour. It's not like I'm in any rush to get home." She said
"Suit yourself, but if you change your mind you'd better be quick." Replied Cordy as she began walking off in the hopes that Buffy would get over her pride and just go ask Liam for a lift.
Buffy checked to see if she had any more change for the phone after saying goodnight to Cordy.
She had called her breakdown company but they said that they couldn't get out to the car for at least 4 hours and by then the gates would be locked; they had been swamped with calls and were too busy. Buffy told them to leave it until morning, she started to walk back to the pay phone to call a cab when she heard a call pull up behind her and beep.
"Cordy! I told you no." shouted Buffy, trying to convince her friend that she would not go and ask Liam for a lift home.
"Sorry to disappoint you." She heard a male voice saying and she turned around to find Liam trailing her in a black convertible. "Cordy said you needed a ride, jump in." he said
"Yeah I bet she did." Buffy said under her breath so that Liam couldn't hear her, she gave him a grateful smile as she walked around to the other side of the car and jumped in.
They drove out of the main gates saying goodnight to the guard on their way and Buffy told Liam where she lived. They drove for fifteen minutes in silence until Liam finally found the courage to say something to her.
"So what's wrong with your car?" he asked, trying anything to break the silence and get her to talk to him.
"To be honest I'm not sure, it just wouldn't start up, and I'm not really good with cars when they break on me. The breakdown company couldn't get out to me for another 4 hours so I was going to call a cab, Cordy said she had a date with Doyle so I couldn't get a lift from her and I thought you had already left." She said, lying slightly to cover up the real reason why she hadn't wanted to ask him for a ride.
Liam's cell phone started to ring and he pulled it out of his glove compartment to see that the caller display said it was Darla calling. He really didn't want to answer the phone but knew that she would just keep calling until he did answer.
"Hello…On my way to drop Buffy at her house…after your little display today?...I thought I'd let you cool off first…you can't honestly expect me to do that…well I won't…It's not that…Darla…will you please listen to me?..." The phone went dead and Liam replaced it in the glove department with a sigh.
"I take it that was Darla; did I get you into trouble?" Buffy asked at the look on his face when she mentioned the other woman's name.
"I think I was in trouble way before the phone call. Don't worry about it, she'll get over it in about a month." He said, and he wasn't exaggerating either. He had never known someone who could hold a grudge longer than Darla could. Liam had an idea and turned to Buffy and smiled to show her that he wasn't bothered by Darla's call.
"You haven't had anything for dinner yet have you?" he asked and at the shake of her head he said "Well would you like to come and have some Chinese with me now, I know this great little place not far from here. Then after I'll drop you off at home?"
"Sure, why not." Said Buffy smiling to him, inside she was feeling as though she had just jumped off a cliff. What was she thinking, she had always said that she would never get involved with a man that already had a partner, and whether he and Darla were arguing at the moment was beyond the point. The problem was that Buffy really didn't trust herself with Liam; every time she was near him she felt all tingly inside. It felt so right to be with him that it scared her, nothing like this had ever happened to her before, well except for Parker and look where that got her. She just wanted to take back what she had just agreed to and go home and hide under her covers but it was too late now, she had already agreed.
Ten minutes later and they pulled up outside a small Chinese restaurant; even though small it was very elegant. Inside a Chinese lady stood next to a stand with menus and when they approached her she greeted them both with a warm smile.
"Liam my dear, it's so nice to see you. You haven't been around for a while, we were starting to worry, and the food was stacking up in the kitchen." Both Liam and the woman laughed and he gave her a kiss on the cheek, she showed them to a table and left them to choose from the menu.
"Liam, when you said a Chinese restaurant I wasn't expecting this. I don't mean to be a pain but right now I can't afford this; I haven't even had my first pay check!" Buffy rambled on quietly but nervously.
"Don't worry about it Buffy. The owners are friends of my family, I come here all the time and they never charge me full price. Anyway, I'll pay for our food that way you owe me a dinner, okay?" he said smiling at her mischievously. This way he could get two meals with her and they could spend some more time together.
Her stomach did a flip flop at the suggestion of another meal, possibly a date. "Okay, but be warned, your meal may come as fish and chips in paper sitting on the beach not in a fancy restaurant." Said Buffy smiling back, she couldn't hold back from him any longer and so she just relaxed and planned to enjoy herself. This might be the only chance she got to enjoy his company alone so she'd make the most of it whilst she could.
"That sound's nice." Said Liam, he was enjoying her company so much that he didn't notice that Mia had returned for their order.
"Are you two love birds ready?" she asked smiling at them, Mia liked the new blonde girl a lot more than Liam's previous girlfriend.
"Oh no Mia, we're not together." Liam said.
"Shame. Anyway, what would you like tonight?" she asked, and they both gave Mia their orders.
When they had finished ordering Mia took away their menus and told them their food would be about twenty minutes. Buffy was worried that it would seem a lot longer than that and they would be stuck in one of those uncomfortable silences, boy was she wrong. They chatted about everything from family and friends to hobbies, they couldn't believe they had been talking for twenty minutes when Mia came with their food and set it all out on the table. They sat and ate their food whilst chatting in between and occasionally sharing their food with each other. When they were finished Buffy was slightly disappointed to have to leave the little restaurant. Unlike some places that were very snobby, the restaurant had been lovely with a relaxed atmosphere.
When Liam pulled up in Buffy's driveway he got out of the car and went around to the other side to open the door for her as she got together her things. He walked her up to the front door.
"Would you like to come in for some coffee?" Buffy asked as she turned around at her door and Liam took a step closer to her, if Buffy took one step forward their bodies would be touching and both were painfully aware of that fact.
"I would…" said Liam struggling with his answer
"But?" said Buffy, she knew that something was coming after and she knew it wasn't something she wanted to hear.
"I should really get going, I don't think it would be…right," he said quietly as he took that one step forward and lowered his head to hers and their lips met in an electrifyingly bittersweet kiss. Before the kiss could turn more serious Buffy had a flash of Darla in her head and pulled away from him, he looked at her breathless and confused.
"Darla, we shouldn't…" Buffy panted, but Liam no longer cared and claimed her lips again, this time the kiss was soft and gentle, claiming her and making Buffy's knees weak, she held onto his strong body for support. They slowly broke apart and Liam rested his forehead against hers, he smiled to her and Buffy returned his smile.
"I should really get going now." He said and struggled to pull himself away from her firm but supple body. "Would you like me to pick you up in the morning and give you a ride to work?" Liam asked as he slowly backed a few feet away from Buffy.
"That would be nice" she said huskily, she really didn't want Liam to go but she knew that he if came inside with her now that he most likely wouldn't leave until morning and that could have some really bad ramifications, especially if Darla found out.
Liam walked back up to Buffy and gave her a quick kiss on the lips telling her he would see her tomorrow morning at about 6:00 and they would have breakfast on the way to work. Buffy watched as Liam got inside his car and backed up from the driveway and waved to her. Little did either of them know that there was also someone else watching Liam drive away from a short distance down the street. In a red Porsche sat a seething Darla, she had decided to go out and pick up some food for herself on her way home when she noticed Buffy and Liam walking into the Chinese restaurant that he usually took her. Darla had waited outside for them to finish their meal and then tailed them back to Buffy's house and seen everything that had taken place outside her front door. She was in two minds whether to follow Liam and have it out with him or breakdown Buffy's door and kick the shit out her for messing with her man. Darla had a better idea and drove down the street in the opposite direction. She headed to the closest club and got herself completely drunk thinking about how she was going to make Buffy pay for humiliating her. She wasn't going to let the little tramp get away with it, not for anything.
Buffy went inside her house feeling great and way too excited to sleep. She felt like going for a jog around the block but decided against it as it was already late. She was just about to head on upstairs and take a shower when she noticed she had a message on her phone. She went back and listened to it, it was her mom trying to find out how her first day had gone. The message told Buffy to call her no matter what time she got in so she switched on the TV and took her shoes off, settling herself on the sofa to call her mom back.
Buffy was on the phone for an hour when she finally said goodnight to her mom and went to bed. She had told her mom everything that had happened during the day including the kiss with Liam. Her mom was happy that she was finally moving on and starting to date again. Although Buffy had said it was just dinner and a kiss, her mom could tell that she really liked this man and she was happy for her daughter. She wished Buffy sweet dreams and said that she would call again the next day and they could arrange to meet at the weekend if possible.
The next morning Buffy was waiting for Liam in her living room when she heard his car pull into the driveway. She came out and locked the front door behind her and turned to see Liam leaning back against his car. She wasn't sure whether she should just say 'Hi' or give him a kiss but the question was answered for her when he smiled and took her hand giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Good morning, you look nice." He said. She was wearing a pair of cream bootleg trouser and a black strapless top with thin cream diagonal lines on it. It had taken Buffy almost and hour to decide what to wear today, she had wanted to look really nice for Liam and now she was convinced she had chosen the right outfit.
"So do you" she said checking out his clothes. He wore a pair of black jeans and a cream shirt with the top few buttons open. "Liam I think we need to talk about last night." Buffy blurted out.
"We need to talk about last night" said Liam at the exact same time, they both laughed and Liam opened the door for her to get in then he went around and got in himself starting up the car. "We'll talk later, at lunch. I'll meet you outside the studio and we'll go grab something to eat, okay?"
"What about Darla, don't you think she'll get suspicious?" said Buffy worrying about the scene the other woman would cause if she saw Buffy and Liam heading out together.
"Don't worry, Darla isn't going to be at work today, it's in her contract, everyone else works nearly all week if needed but Darla gets every Tuesday off." He said smiling at Buffy's nervousness; Liam had decided last night that he was going to break it off with Darla and try to make things work with Buffy. He knew it was crazy, they had only really known each other for one day but he felt like he had known her forever. It felt so comfortable to be around her and to talk to her. He knew that this was right; he just hoped that she felt the same way about him. Things with Darla had been great for the first couple of months but after that they had been going downhill ever since. She was so controlling and stuck up and Liam hated the way she always argued with his friends. Breaking up with Darla was something he should have done a long time ago; it was about time that he moved on to better things.
After stopping for pancakes for breakfast they arrived at the studio ten minutes late and parked up, each of them wanting to take the others hand but not daring to for more than one reason. When they entered the studio the shooting hadn't started yet, most of the actors were getting their makeup done. Buffy and Liam noticed how everyone seemed to stare at them when they walked in. Liam gave Buffy a puzzled look and they headed over to where Cordy and Doyle were sitting have their hair and makeup done.
"Hey guys what's going on, it's like we walked in on our own funeral." Liam joked but no one laughed.
"Well in a way you did. Darla stormed in twenty minutes ago and dragged Wesley up to his office raving about you and Buffy. Care to elaborate? All we managed to get from her hysterics was something about kissing and Buffy being an 'interfering little bitch' - those were her exact words I think." Cordy said to Liam and Buffy, Doyle nodded to confirm Cordy's story and Buffy felt like she was going to barf.
"Hey Buffy, Wesley wants to see you in his office, now." Wesley assistant Jonathon shouted through the door to her.
"Oh God…oh God, I'm so going to be fired." Buffy panicked and started to walk away from the gang; Liam caught up with her and turned her around to face him. He cupped her face with his hands and tilted her head to look him in the eye.
"Buffy don't worry, you'll be fine, Darla has most probably just grilled Wesley and he'll just be warning you to be more careful." He said and smiled, then he gave her a kiss, to which they could both hear gasps around the room, and when he pulled away he smiled to her and she turned around and headed up to Wesley's office.
Buffy knocked on the door three times and heard Wesley telling her to come in.
"Buffy please take a seat, no doubt you have been informed that Darla has been ranting and raving about you and Liam and what happened last night. Apparently she saw you two on her way home and well, I don't think I need to relay the story to you. I'm afraid Darla has given me a rather cruel ultimatum and under any other circumstances she would be fired for doing so. However, Darla is a well known actress and worth a lot to this company and show. She has given me one day to decide who stays in their employment with the company, you or her. I'm so sorry Buffy but we can't afford to lose her. There's no one we could find to take her place at such short notice and we can't afford to wait to find someone. Do you understand what I am saying?" Wesley asked her and Buffy nodded her head, she had one solitary tear sliding down her cheek and Wesley felt so sorry for the poor girl, nobody should have this done to them, especially on their second day of work. "Don't worry about the property, you can stay there for a little while longer but I'm afraid you will have to move out after a few weeks, it isn't company policy to rent the properties to someone who is not in our employment. You will be provided with a lump sum for your troubles and I can not apologise enough, I really am sorry Buffy. I think it would be best for all if you went straight home today, you don't have to work any notice, just go home and relax. And again my apology's." Buffy stood up and Wesley watched as she left his office, he felt bad about having to do that to her but it was out of his hands.
Buffy leaned against the wall outside Wesley's office but when she heard voices heading her way she quickly ducked into the ladies bathroom just down the hall. Once inside she sunk to the floor in the corner and her tears fell hard and fast. She should have never taken the job, it had just been one disaster after another and she had only been working there for one day! What was she thinking off, taking on the likes of Darla; an actress. How could she possibly stand up to that? Now she would have to move back home and show her parents what a failure she was at living her own life. She felt like dying and wished that Liam was there to hold her and make everything better. The door to the girls' bathroom opened and Buffy attempted to move from her position until she noticed it was only Cordy.
"Oh Buffy, Wesley just told us what happened, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" she asked Buffy as she sat down next to her on the floor, Buffy just couldn't stop crying and Cordy took the shaken girl into her arms whispering soothing words of comfort.
Meanwhile, in Wesley's office Liam was about to pound a hole into something and at that moment Wesley's face seemed very appealing.
"I can't believe this, fire Darla not Buffy, she didn't do anything wrong Wesley. What we do in our own time has nothing to do with our jobs."
"Liam, I know that but it's out of my hands, there is nothing I can do. Darla knows that we can't fire her which is why she did this; we can't find anyone to replace her at such short notice. You know that the interviews for actors take an obscene amount of time and for Terry to find an actor he thinks fits the part, well, we'd be looking at another 2 weeks at least! We simply don't have the budget to wait that long." Said Wesley, he could understand Liam's frustration and was trying not to anger the young man any further, the last thing he needed was for Liam to quit himself because of the situation.
"Buffy!" Liam exclaimed out of the blue, Wesley looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Buffy, she used to act in plays at the theatre where she lived and she worked in Boston before. She did a great reading yesterday as one of the stand-ins. Let her try for the part." Liam suggested.
"Liam, I know you're trying to be helpful but that is the most preposterous idea I've ever heard. You can't honestly expect me to fire an actress of Darla's calibre for a young lady who has performed in a few theatre plays?" said Wesley.
"Come on Wesley, give her one chance, let her do a reading this afternoon and if Terry and you aren't one hundred percent happy with her performance I won't give you any more arguments. You owe her this Wesley…and besides, she could always sue you for unlawful dismissal." Said Liam in a threatening voice, he knew that Wesley would buckle under the pressure. He just hoped that they could pull this off.
"Fine, I'll go and see Terry now, we'll choose the scene and then you have until 3:00pm this afternoon to have rehearsed the lines with her. One chance Liam, that's all I can give you." said Wesley.
"That's all we need. Thanks Wes." Said Liam as he quickly ran out of the room and headed for the last place that Cordy had said she was going to check for Buffy.
Doyle was standing outside the ladies bathroom when he saw Liam come along the hallway. He had been waiting outside now for fifteen minutes and Cordy still hadn't come out so he figured either she had found Buffy or she really liked looking at herself in the mirror.
"Are they in there?" asked Liam as he got closer to Doyle, when Doyle nodded his head Liam walked straight in and saw Cordy crouched on the floor with a sobbing Buffy in her arms. He knelt down on the floor and nodded to Cordy, she let go of Buffy and went outside to wait with Doyle whilst Liam spoke to her.
Liam pushed the hair out of Buffy's face and lifted her chin up with his finger so that she would have to look at him.
"Are you okay?" he asked her whilst tenderly wiping the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "I spoke to Wesley, he's going to let you read for Darla's part this afternoon, if Terry is satisfied then they will keep you on and fire Darla instead. We have a lot of work to do, we only have until 3:00 to practice the lines, they're choosing the scene right now. Are you up to it?" he asked, hoping with all his heart that she would say yes. She smiled at him but it was full of sadness.
"Liam, I'm sorry but I can't do this. I'm a theatre actor, not a TV star. And I can't do this whole us thing right now, it's just not working, everything's just gone wrong from the start and I think its fate's way of telling us to stop. I think I should just go home, pack my things and move back in with my parents. I want to thank you though, you've been really nice and…"
"Really Nice! That's all you have to say to me, I just stuck my neck out for you and your going to pack up your things and go!" he shouted then turned his back on her. He realised that he shouldn't be acting like that but he was hurt that it was that easy for her to just forget him and move away. He felt a trembling hand rest on his shoulder and he turned to see fresh tears in Buffy's eyes. The anger he felt instantly drained away as he pulled her into his arms and embraced her.
"It's going to be okay, we can do this." He whispered softly into her ear and after a few minutes she pulled slightly away from him and he could see the determination in her eyes.
Buffy and Liam left the bathroom holding hands and Liam nodded to Doyle and Cordy who followed them out of the office building and back to the studio to meet Wesley and Terry.
When they got in the building they were both discussing something over a piece of paper and the four young actors approached the director and manager.
"Here, we have marked out the scene that we want you to perform," said Wesley handing both Liam and Buffy a script book. "Liam, you should have already learned the lines for this so you can take Buffy back to your dressing room and practice there, Terry will send someone for you when I arrive down here at about 3:00. Good luck Buffy." Wesley said as he walked away from them back up to his office. Wesley was hoping that Liam and Buffy could make this work, he didn't want to fire Buffy and if she could act the scene out well enough to please Terry then Wesley would enjoy firing Darla.
Liam led Buffy back to his dressing room and suggested they both read over the script a couple of times to let Buffy know what her lines were. Truth be told, Liam just didn't know what to say to her. Before they got to work he was sure that they were going to try to make it work between them but after her little speech in the bathroom he wasn't sure whether that was what she wanted anymore. He decided to play it cool and not make any further moves towards her until he knew what she wanted. The problem was that if Buffy got Darla's part he would have to be close to her all day long, and in more than one way. There were scenes a few episodes on where Beth and Angel kissed and got extremely intimate. That would mean Liam would have to try and put aside his feelings and kiss Buffy in front of everyone without getting carried away with his feelings for her.
On the other hand if she didn't get the part then she would likely move back to Sunnydale to live with her parents and he had little doubt that he would never see her again.
They practiced for hours trying to get Buffy's character right, Liam was really impressed, she seemed to have it down almost as good as Darla but he could tell the difference which wasn't good. Unfortunately they were out of time; Doyle knocked on the door and told them that everyone was ready. The thing that made it worse was the fact that everyone had heard what was going on and had gathered around to watch the performance.
Terry shouted Buffy over to him and spoke with her about the character of Beth, he tried to explain the background between Beth and Angel, Liam's character, so that Buffy could try and understand the anger and hurt of her character in this scene. After a few minutes Terry clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and Buffy and Liam walked on to the set. The camera men were ready to film the scene and the lighting was all set. The scene began by Beth walking in to Angel's office and confronting him about the past few years. As Buffy walked through the set's fake door her stomach flipped and she was full of doubt but it was too late to go back by then.
"Beth?" he said in a slightly breathless tone as he looked up and saw her standing in his doorway.
"Angel, thought I'd drop in and see how you were doing, I can see you look fine, I'm good by the way, although, you already know that don't you?" She said in a sarcastic tone.
"Beth, I don't want to fight. How did you find me?" he asked and at the look of anger flashing in her eyes he knew it was the wrong question to ask.
"How did I find you!" she yelled at him pacing back and forth in his office. "Alex slipped up at Christmas about your visit. I'm sure you can imagine how the conversation went from there. Yelling here, screaming there and then a lot of being extremely pissed off. Who the hell do you think you are? I thought you were dead, do you have any idea what my life has been like? The amount of nights I've cried myself to sleep missing you…wanting you to be there just to hold me. And all along you've been here, right under my nose and you've been spying on me when you decided to drop into town for a day! I can't believe how selfish you've been, and I can't believe that the people I called my best friends could keep this secret from me knowing how much I've been hurting over the past four years." She said, wanting to breakdown but she was not willing to shed anymore tears for him.
He desperately struggled not to walk over to her and take her in his arms. "It's not like it's been easy for me either, not being with you but watching you suffer and knowing that I could end that suffering-"
"Then why didn't you!" she shouted, and she couldn't hold back her tears any longer as they cascaded down her face like a river.
"Because you deserve better than me. Than what I could give you, I'm no good for you Beth and we both know it." He shouted back, the anger of the familiar argument raising his voice. "I thought that if I just gave you time to come to terms with it, everything would be better this way, I did what I thought was the right thing to do. I did it for you."
"Angel, I love you."
"Don't say that, it's been four years, you've been happy for some time now, why did you have to come here and ruin it all. You could be at home with your family now or out with Pete on a date like a normal couple. Instead you're here with me, arguing."
"Wow, you didn't notice at Christmas?" she replied in an astonished tone. "Pete and I broke up; he left because I couldn't give him what he wanted from me…my heart…my love, because it belongs to someone else – to you." She said taking a step towards him, he took a step back and saw the hurt that the single movement had caused her.
"I didn't come here to fight with you Angel…well…I did but…that's not the way I want things to be. In a minute I'm going to walk out that door and go home. I just want you to know this – I'm not going away for good, and I will be back here to see you whether you want me to or not, I can't let go. And if you leave here, I will find you, no matter what it costs me." She walked back towards the door and before she walked through it she turned to him one last time, "I still love you." She said and then walked out leaving the door open behind her.
"I love you too." Angel said, but she was gone.
Liam's heart was screaming to him by this time, the whole scene had brought out feelings in him that he didn't want to think about. The little audience that had been watching their scene applauded them which snapped Liam out of his reverie.
He and Buffy walked over to Terry and Wesley who were both smiling, Buffy had actually performed the scene better than they had rehearsed in his dressing room and Liam was sure by the looks on both of their faces that she had got the part.
"Congratulations Buffy my dear. You are our new Beth, I have a few things to speak with you about, just things like contracts and salary but that can be done tomorrow. For now Terry and I have agreed that you two can finish up for the day to practice your lines, or if you rather you can practice them here, your choice. I'll just go and inform Darla of our choice, this should be quite entertaining." Said Wesley with a smile as he walked away from them. Terry began to do some work on the script which left Liam and Buffy standing in silence.
"Buffy I know we need to practice but I could do with going home to let my dogs out." Liam said, wanting to put some distance between them. He needed some time alone to think about what had happened in the short two days that he had known her.
"Oh…well if you want I could come with you and then we could run some lines after, it's just that…well…my car's still not working and I have no way of getting home unless I get a lift. Then again its okay, I can ask Cordy." She said turning from him, he didn't want to be with her, she could tell. She'd just get a cab home and spend the night reading her lines and eating a take out, she felt so bad but didn't know how to make things right between them. She knew that the reason he was being distant was because of the talk they had in the bathroom. He had been so mad when she had said that she was just going to leave, Buffy hoped that it was because he wanted to see her again but the way he was acting now made her unsure.
"Buffy," he said taking her arm before she could get much further away from him. He knew that he should have just let her leave, his head was saying one thing but his heart was saying another, that's the reason he always ended up getting hurt in relationships. "You can come with me, it would be nice to have some company, I'll make us something for dinner as well if you'd like?" he asked and got a huge smile from her in return.
"I'd like that a lot, I'm just going to go and grab my purse, I left it in your dressing room, I won't be long." She said and rushed off to get her purse before he changed his mind.
When Buffy returned she could see Liam talking to Wesley and the news didn't look good, she suddenly had butterflies in her stomach and she felt as though she was going to bring back all the food she had eaten for breakfast. Maybe Darla had made Wesley change his mind and he was telling Liam that Buffy would have to leave anyway. She approached the pair with caution and when she reached them they both turned to face her with solemn looks.
"Buffy, Wesley managed to get a hold of Darla and let her know that you are staying here. Apparently she went ballistic when she found out that you would be playing her part and she passed a threatening message onto Wesley to give to you." Liam said to Buffy and saw the colour drain from her face.
"Buffy, might I suggest that you stay at a friend's house tonight, as Darla knows where you live it might be tempting fate for you to stay on your own tonight. Is there anyone that you could stay with?" asked Wesley.
"I don't know anyone well enough here; I'll have to go back to my parent's house tonight, I think that will be best." She replied and smiled her thanks to Wesley as he walked off and left them alone.
"You ready?" asked Liam
"Yeah, but I need to use the phone first to call my mom, she'll have to come pick me up later. I got a message on the way to get my purse, they need a new part for my car, and they won't have it until the weekend so it looks like I'm stranded till then. They're taking it to the garage and are gonna drop it off when it's fixed." She said smiling and walking with Liam towards the pay phone in the parking lot.
"Buffy, this seems like a lot of trouble for your parents to go through, why don't you ask Cordy if you could stay at her place for the night?" suggested Liam. Buffy agreed and ran over to ask Cordy. When she returned to Liam she shook her head and said that Cordy was throwing a party for her father's birthday. She had said that Buffy was welcome to stay if she didn't mind the noise but Buffy said that she would feel she was intruding.
"Well…you're welcome to stay at my house…if you'd like. We could collect some of your things now then head over there. That way we'll have all-night to practice your lines ready for tomorrow." Liam suggested, he knew it was a gamble but maybe if they could spend some time alone away from work and everyone else, they could get a chance to talk.
"Well, I don't want to be a bother but that would be really great. It would save me the journey tonight and tomorrow morning. You sure you don't mind?" She said and when he shook his head they headed for his car.
They drove to Buffy's house first and Liam waited in the living room whilst Buffy gathered a change of clothes and some other things she needed. When she had finally got everything together she got to the top of the stairs and had to shout Liam for some help.
He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that she was struggling to bring down a small suitcase on wheels and a holdall. "Buffy, you're only staying one night right? Cause with all this luggage it seems like your moving in permanently." Liam said and she playfully hit him on the arm.
They got her luggage in the car and then headed to Liam's house, when they arrived Buffy was in awe at the size of the place, it was a mansion, she couldn't believe that he lived there. There was a set of electrical mains gates to the grounds and a long driveway up to the front of the house where Liam parked up the car and let Buffy out. She had somehow managed to forget that Liam had been acting his whole life and whilst not being as popular as someone like Sean Connery, he was still well known and obviously very well-off. They headed up the few of steps to his front door and Liam let them in with his security key card, once inside they were bombarded by two huge dogs. One dog, Bertha a Spaniel and the other Fritz was a Dalmatian, both dogs ran up and Liam dropped Buffy's bags to greet them. Buffy stood a distance back unsure of whether the dogs were friendly or not. When the dogs noticed her they went to her and Buffy let them sniff and check her out for a few seconds before petting them, the dogs went crazy trying to lick her and Buffy got down on the floor playing with them. Liam was surprised by the dogs actions, normally when he brought a girlfriend around the dogs would come to greet him and then steer clear, both dogs hated Darla but they seemed to like Buffy. Another clear sign that she was the right woman for him. When they calmed down Liam led Buffy up the stairs to the one of the guest rooms with the dogs hot on their heels. He showed her into the room next to his and then placed her things down next to the bed. The dogs were going wild at him and barking at something up the hallway. Looking at his watch and seeing that it was already turned six he suggested that Buffy read through some lines whilst he fixed them something for dinner and let the dogs out in the garden for a while. He made them honeyed chicken with potatoes and green beans and took in two slices of kiwi cheesecake for dessert. They ate their food in comfortable silence and after rehearsed lines and scenes together whilst chatting and joking in between.
"Buffy you're a complete natural to this; it took me hours to learn the lines." He said to her, he couldn't believe how easy she could memorise everything.
"Like a steel trap." She said tapping the side of her head with her finger then uncontrollably yawning as Liam laughed at her.
"Yeah, I guess it is getting late, it's already turned one. Maybe we should hit the sack – not together of course…you know what I mean." He said getting a little flustered.
"Yeah" she asked as she leaned a little closer to him across the sofa.
"I just…" he forgot what he was about to say when her small pink tongue came out of her mouth to moisten her plump lips. Leaning forward he took her bottom lip in his mouth worrying it tenderly between his teeth and earning a small moan from her.
God she loved this, the feel of him, the taste of him on her lips and the smell of him on her skin when he touched her. When they kissed it seemed like all the lights everywhere else dim and it was just them, no sounds, no movement…nothing but the feel of his tongue gently massaging hers.
They both pulled away breathless, foreheads touching and staring straight into each others eyes.
Buffy didn't want to break up what was happening but she feared what it might lead to if she continued on the same path with him. "Maybe I should head up to bed; it's going to be a long day tomorrow and I'm gonna need a lot of rest if I'm going to keep up with your acting skills." She said smiling to him as she slowly pulled away and stood up.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Don't worry Buffy, from what I've seen tonight you're going to blow Terry out of his seat tomorrow." He said with a smile, getting up. "Anyway, I'm just going to go and get a drink before I go to bed, if you'd like I can bring you one up too."
"Please, I'll just have a glass of water; it'll save me getting up later. I'll see you in a minute." Buffy said as she headed up to her room.
The room she was staying in was beautiful, it was decorated in ivory and deep red, the sheets on the bed were satin and there was a large fireplace opposite the bed. The door to the other side of the bed which Buffy hadn't noticed before led her through to a bathroom. From the bathroom was a door leading into another room which was similarly decorated only with some hints of black. The whole house was decorated in an 18th century style and she really liked it, it felt very homely. She got her clothes out of her bag and placed them in the bedside drawers that Liam had said she could use. She then put on her pink shorts and vest top for bed and grabbed her tooth brush going into the bathroom to brush her teeth and have a wash.
Liam knocked on Buffy's door with her glass of water but he got no reply so he slowly opened the door and peeked inside, when he couldn't see her he walked in calling for her and she came out from the bathroom.
"Oh hey, thanks." She said taking the glass from him and setting it on the night stand beside the bed. He couldn't move from the spot he was standing, she looked so adorable in her little pink pyjamas. He didn't realise that he was starring at her until she smiled at him and said jokingly "Liam? You got a little drool, just there." She indicated on her own face to the corner of his mouth. He averted his eyes and laughed.
"Sorry, it's just, you look really cute." He said slightly embarrassed.
"You think I look nice now, you should see me in my Sunday best." She replied.
"Maybe someday I will. Anyway, I'll just be next door if you need me. Good night Buffy." He said and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She bid him goodnight and then climbed into the large bed and snuggled under the covers falling fast asleep.
Liam, however, couldn't sleep at all, he kept thinking about the small beautiful woman wrapped up in the bed next door. He must have gotten out of bed and headed for her door at least ten times, just wanting to see if she was still awake but every time he stopped himself. His feelings were running away with him and he needed to get them under control or he would scare her away. With those rational thoughts in his head he again attempted to fall asleep and finally managed to a couple of hours before he needed to get up.
TBC