Silence chilled both ends of the phone call. "Are you still there?" Wesley brought his hand up to his forehead and rubbed it with frustration as he received a reply. He hated having to be the bringer of bad news. "She-she's planning to resurrect Buffy… Yes, Giles. I'm well aware she must be stopped. That's where you come in." Wesley glanced around at the destroyed room that surrounded him, embracing the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Most of our resources have been cut off with the barrier Willow has put on the house. We only have a few books and--" Wesley sighed with relief as he her Giles' kind words. "Yes, it would e great if you could do some research… Yes. Then stay in touch."
Wesley took a few steps and stumbled out of the kitchen. He tried to watch his steps a little more carefully as he made his way back upstairs. He walked past the research room and saw Cordelia and Anya still hard at work, with the occasional dirty glare towards each other. He walked a little further and turned into the room with the others making a game plan.
"So, what's the verdict?" Gunn asked immediately.
Scratching his temple slightly with his finger, Wesley glanced at all the worried faces. "Giles doesn't know much about the certain resurrection, but he'll do some research."
Xander nodded and clasped his hands together. "G-Man and his research… Glad he hasn't changed much," he stated, hoping to lighten the mood a little.
Taking a deep breath, Wesley could tell that Xander's effort hadn't helped much. Everyone was on edge and there wasn't really anything they could do. "We should probably do the same until a solution is found," he offered. Wesley was just trying to find some way to get everyone's minds in the right focus.
"Aye-aye!" Xander replied, still trying his best. He stood quickly and looked at the long faces that weren't so anxious.
Gunn stood as well, but with a little uneasiness. He didn't know where to even start, since there resources were so limited to begin with. "Uh, you guys got a computer in this place?"
Xander nodded and replied, "Yeah." He waved his arm at Gunn, over in the direction of the door. "Come on, it's in Willow's room."
Looking Angel dead in the eye, Wesley reassured, "We'll find something."
As he started to nod, Angel saw the beauty of Buffy glisten in the mirror behind Wesley. For a moment, he was completely lost in her beauty, but he couldn't let himself give in to her. He needed to be stronger than that and fiercely looked back into Wesley's eyes. "Please do," Angel stated coolly.
Wesley nodded, unaware of the reasoning for Angel's response. He understood all of them were anxious to find a solution and end this dilemma as soon as possible, but Angel had never seemed so sure and calm at the same time. Gunn and Wesley followed Xander out of the room and down the hall.
Spike turned his attention to Angel with a raised eyebrow. He cleared his throat and commented, "I thought you wanted her back."
"I thought I did too. I just…" Angel crossed his arms over his chest and tried his hardest to avoid Buffy and his own urges. He tilted his head down and concentrated on the way his arms folded over each other. "I don't think I could let her go again."
Squinting at Angel, Spike was in a full state of shock. "So let me get this straight," he started. "You're saying that I'm right; that she'd come back wrong… Angel wrong, Spike right."
Angel looked up and turned his attention to Spike. "Sorry," he apologized. He could see Spike was a little too happy in this situation. "That wasn't exactly what I meant."
Swiftly, Spike stood up in a fit of outrage. "You're just trying to take my glory away!"
"No, I mean…"
"Oh!" Spike exclaimed like an idea had struck him like lightening. "You're going to skip town again! Leave Buffy high and dry." Shaking his head in disapproval, Spike scoffed at the thought. "I don't get you, man! You say you love the girl and then you leave her. It's fine by me so I can have my change, but--"
"You were closer to being right the first time," Angel cut Spike off. "It's…" He hesitated, but finished with, "difficult. I do love her, but--" As he turned away from Spike and back to Buffy's image, she was gone. He could never have her when he wanted her. "It never works out… We're… We're better when we're not together."
Spike huffed again and threw his head back. He was so tired of the tortured romance of Buffy and Angel. All he knew was that it's overrated and not his favorite bedtime story. "And you think that's loving her?" Spike made his way over to Angel and got in his face. "Make it work. Fight together and then die together instead of being a sad puppy because you weren't there for her. The two of you letting yourselves be happy wouldn't be the end of the bloody world."
Angel's hands stiffly became fists. He looked down at his clenched hands, trying to break his stare from Spike. "Yes it would," he replied coldly. "I'm just the only one that knows."
Following his eyes, Spike also saw the tension in Angel's body surfacing through his hands. "What are you talking about? Another stupid prophecy?" Spike mocked.
"No." He hesitated to speak the truth, knowing that it wasn't necessary for the whole world to know. And at the same time, there was almost a comfort in letting the secret escape. It would especially help when no matter how awkward it would be, Angel knew that Spike would understand better than anyone else could because he could relate.
"Uh… Awhile back, Buffy came to visit and-and… I was human again." Angel's eyes met Spike's again. Both of them just seemed to be too filled with emotion to actually show a reaction at this point. Both of them just wanted to finish the story. He tried looking away again to preserve himself. "I couldn't fight and Buffy was going to die alone. I-I couldn't let that happen, so I asked the Oracles to take the day back… I'm the only one that remembers."
Tilting his head, Spike tried to understand Angel's point of view. "There's just one thing wrong with that, Champ." But as usual, Spike just couldn't agree with Angel's ways. "She did die alone."
Angel looked up to see Spike staring deeply into him. Both shocked and pained, Angel huffed loudly. He took one quick step after another, preparing himself to charge at Spike. Spike backed away, but Angel gained speed. Angel swung his arm at Spike, but missed as he ducked. Angel kept moving forwards with his arm in motion and took a clean shot at the mirror where Buffy once reflected. The mirror shattered into pieces and hit the floor with a loud clutter.
Spike found himself leaning against the bed, trying to regain himself from the punch dodging. Puzzled, he stared at Angel who was now losing himself. Angel could hardly stand as blood drizzled down his arm and into the shards of glass. Spike could see that the hit wasn't for him, but he still couldn't understand what had made Angel do it.
A moment later, Cordelia came running into the room. She flashed glances between the two, trying to figure out what had taken place. "What happened in here? Are you guys ok?" she asked worriedly.
Closing his eyes tight, Angel wouldn't let his ready tears fall. He placed his hand on the wall for support as he leaned forward. "Everything's fine, Cordelia." His emotions suddenly turned into frustration as he turned around to face the two of them. "We're just dandy! Spike and I are both in love with the same corpse, but in ten minutes when you ask how we're doing, I'm still gonna be fine!" He took a step towards her, but kept his fingertips tracing the wall as he inched closer. "So don't waste your energy checking on me and find a Goddamn way to stop this ressurection."
Cordelia took small steps, backing away from Angel. She was expressionless as she took her last backwards step into the wall. Feeling the cold wallpaper against her skin, she closed her eyes. When she opened them back up, she still saw a frustrated Angel and she couldn't take it anymore. Cordelia turned sharply and made her way out of the room.
