Title: Unwilling Btide

Author: Neamh1

Disclaimer: Not mine, wish they were!

Warnings: This chapter hints at gang rape and there is a character death - though not one of the main characters, please do not read if you are offended by this.

Feedback: Thanks again for the reviews, please keep them coming and enjoy the next chapter.

Buffy woke early the next morning, looking out her window she saw that it wasn't even dawn yet. She'd slept the whole night and not even woken for dinner. Sitting up in bed she decided to get dressed and go for a walk before breakfast, the fresh air would help to clear her mind. She was dreading the next few hours, Angelus would be leaving at dawn and her world would once again be turned upside down.

The cool morning air chilled her cheeks as she walked around the house, the servants were already up and busy, the maids cleaning, the hired hands heading out to check fences and maintain the estates grounds. She spoke to no one and they seemed to understand her need for solitude.

Walking around to the back of the house she heard noises coming from the stables and went to see what was going on. The stable hands didn't usually arrive until after dawn to start mucking out and training the horses.

Walking inside she followed the sound of the movements until she came upon a man saddling a horse. Recognizing the large strong frame of Angelus, she ducked into one of the empty stalls and watched him.

As she watched she grew angrier by the second, he had his horse saddled and all his supplies stored in his saddlebag. She watched as he mounted his horse and rode out of the stables, quietly she followed and watched as he rode not to the house but straight out of the grounds and along the road away from the estate. He was leaving without a word? Her temperature reached boiling point as she remembered the almightily speech he'd given her about running away without a word to anyone. How dare he be so condescending!

"Ma'am, are you alright?" Asked Toby, one of the grounds keepers, as he approached her on his way into work.

"Yes, may I borrow your horse, Toby?" She asked and without waiting for an answer mounted and took the reins from Toby then rode out of the grounds. Buffy didn't look back, she just rode hard and fast in the direction that Angelus had taken, the rode was long until it approached the city so she knew that if she couldn't reach him before she got there then she would have little chance of finding him.

Fifteen minutes and there was still no sign of him, her horse was beginning to tire from the fast pace she had set and her cheeks and bare arms from the elbow down were red raw from the cold wind as it blew at
her. Far in the distance she could barely make out a rider, she couldn't tell if it was him so she pushed her horse a little harder to catch up.

Angelus heard a horse being ridden hard behind him and turned to see a woman riding at full speed toward him. At first he mistook her for someone in trouble and stopped to see if he could help, her lack of cloak or bonnet made him realize she must have fled in a hurry.

As she got nearer his concern turned to disbelief and then anger as he realized whom the rider was. He waited for her to approach and stop but still didn't say anything. She must have seen him leave and took off
after him; he was impressed that she had caught him but it wasn't without consequences. Her breathing was as labored as the horses and her bare arms and face had turned red raw from the cold. Waiting until her
breathing slowed so that she would be able to reply he spoke to her.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"You left...you just left?" she said in an almost confused voice - almost; there was anger surfacing underneath.

"What? You wanted a tearful goodbye? I thought I'd save us the bother." he replied sarcastically.

"You preached to me about running away on our wedding day yet you didn't have the respect or decency to even say goodbye? I don't understand, do you consider yourself above it all?"

"Look, I've a long ride a head of me and I don't want to be tired out by having an argument with you before I've even gotten half way. I just thought that if I left before you woke things would be better. There
wouldn't be that awkwardness when I left and you wouldn't have to pretend in front of the staff that you would miss me, okay? Now will you please just...go home." he said and turned his horse back in the direction of the city and started his horse at a slow pace. He expected her to ride after him and felt slightly disappointed when she didn't.

She watched as he turned his back to her and she realized that they could never be together and be happy. It was best to let him go but she couldn't let them part on bad terms. "Angelus!" she shouted before he'd gotten too far to hear her, he stopped and looked back in her direction, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye Buffy" he said back and then continued on, he was too far to see the tear fall from her eye.

As he rode on he felt worse and worse about trying to leave without saying goodbye. She was right, he had preached to her about running away and he'd gone and done the same thing, not even considering that he was contradicting himself. Turning the last corner and entering a small wooded area just before the outskirts of the town he looked back but he could no longer see where she had been. It was a long way from the estate and he didn't like the thought of her being so far away without an escort. He should have ridden her back to the house before leaving; he never should have left her in the road like that.

Turning his horse he headed back around the corner and was at first relieved to see that she was still there in the distance where he had left her. The only thing was that she wasn't alone.

He stayed where he was for a few minutes looking at the three men that had dismounted their horses and were standing around her. He couldn't make out whom they were and he wasn't going to do anything until he knew their intentions. They could be some of the grounds keepers that were in her employment, but when one of them pulled Buffy roughly from the saddle he shoved that idea aside. He couldn't go in all guns
blazing, that would likely get them both killed, so he quietly took his horse off track and headed through the woods that lined the left side of the road and went in a circle as close as he could get without them hearing him.

"Well lookie what we have here men; if that ain't just the most fine piece of flesh we've seen in a long while."

Buffy turned at the crude remark and saw three men approaching from behind her, their tracks seemed like they'd been traveling off the road and she didn't recognize any of them. "I'm sorry, I have to be going." she said and attempted to turn her horse before being roughly pulled from the saddle by the tallest man. They were all dirty and reeked of sweat as though they'd been on the road for weeks without bathing. She repulsed slightly at the smell and the tall ginger man who'd pulled her down noticed and wasn't happy.

"What's the matter ducks, a little too manly than you prefer? You look like one of them prissy little women who spend all their time drinking
tea and hanging around men who smell sweater than wild flowers."

"Yeah, so what 'pray tell' are you doing all the way out here?" asked the second man who was extremely small and was chewing something as he spoke.

"And she ain't even got her cloak, must 'ave left in a hurry." said the third man, a tall dark and muscular man who looked slightly smarter than the other two.

"I was looking for my husband." Buffy said and received a sharp backhand to her left cheek which knocked her to the floor.

"You don't say nothin' 'till we tell you too, got that?" said the tall ginger man.

Buffy nodded and remained on the floor, not wanting to anger them further, she briefly glanced in the direction that Angelus had gone hoping that he might have come back to see if she had left but there was no sign of him, she was on her own now.

"Lookin' for someone?" asked the dark haired man who seemed to be in charge, "Your husband perhaps, well he's long gone by now, nice little spat you two had, real amusing. Don't think he'll ever be coming back -
his loss, our gain. Pick her up Jack, she's getting that pretty dress all dirty."

Jack lifted her from the floor roughly but didn't relinquish his hold of her arm. "I want her first Clay, it's my turn, I always get the leftovers." Buffy gasped at their meaning and started to struggle but Jack swung her easily into his arms and held her struggling body tightly. "Mmm, keep doing that, that wriggling is givin' me a hard one." he whispered in her ear. She felt sick from his words and without thinking brought her knee up between his legs as hard as she could. Jack stumbled back at a loss for breath and fell onto the floor.

"You little Bitch!" shouted the small man as he charged at her, he didn't get far before a shot rang out and he went down to the floor clutching his leg.

Buffy's eyes darted around terrified and Clay withdrew his gun from its holster and looked towards the trees where the shot had come from but couldn't see anyone, so he ran for Buffy and used her as a shield.

"Come out now or the girls gonna drop!" he shouted but nothing moved, "I mean it, you've got till five!" he started counting and on four they heard a shout and Angelus stepped out from behind one of the tree's.

Buffy was only half relieved to see him, she wasn't alone now but they were far from saved. "Drop the gun and whatever else you have and walk slowly towards me, keep your hands where I can see 'em." Clay shouted and reluctantly Angelus did as he said, he could do little more when Buffy was at the man's mercy.

"Who are you?" Clay asked when Angelus was a few feet away.

"He's my husband." Buffy replied and Clay gave a rough yank to her hair with his gun hand and she cried out in pain.

"Bitch, you're gonna learn not to speak until I tell you too if I gotta beat it into you."

"Just let her go, we only live a short distance down the road, we can pay you well." Angelus tried to bargain.

"Really, well now that changes everything." Clay said with a smile. "You ride on home and come back with as much cash as you can get your hands on, pretty girl here's gonna wait with me, we gonna have us a bit of
fun." Clay said and he pulled at the front of her bodice tearing it in half and revealing her corset, her heavy breathing causing her breast to rise and fall rythmatically as Clay admired her body. "She's got a nice pair, any good in the sack?" he asked Angelus.

"I'm not leaving her and you're not going to touch her." Angelus replied between gritted teeth, he was at a loss for what to do; one of Clay's men approached them then, the one that Buffy had knocked to the floor, the other man had passed out from loss of blood.

"Oh I think I am. You can either stay, watch and then I kill you both or you can go and get that money and come back. We'll be done with her by time you do and I might be generous and let you have her back if there's enough money."

"I told you I'm not leaving her." Angelus replied looking around for something he could use as a weapon.

"Suit yourself." said Clay and threw Buffy to the floor, he handed Jack his gun and lowered himself down on top of Buffy, pinning down her legs as he straddled her and holding her arms above her head with one hand while fondling her breast roughly with the other.

Before he could lower his face to hers, another shot rang out and he turned to see Jack fall to the floor and Angelus charging toward him. He jumped up from Buffy just as Angelus tackled him and they rolled to the floor on the other side of her.

Before she knew it a fourth person was lifting her from the ground and placing a jacket around her shoulders. Lifting her head she looked into the concerned eyes of William. "You okay pet?" he asked but she didn't answer, she turned her attention back to Angelus and Clay as they fought, both had knifes in their hands and were circling each other, slashing out
with their weapons and causing various cuts on each others body. Their fight seemed to only last a few seconds before everything turned to slow motion as Clay charged at Angelus with his blade aiming straight
for the heart. Buffy screamed and made to run for him but William held her firmly back with both arms around her waist, both Angelus and Clay collided and stood still locked in a tight embrace before Clay fell backwards to the floor, Angelus' blade buried deep in his chest.

Angelus looked down at Clay as he spluttered for breath then his eyes closed slowly and his shaking body stilled. Turning slowly around, he looked to where Buffy and William were standing but was quickly assaulted by a female body flinging herself into his arms. Looking down he rested his cheek against Buffy's golden hair and wrapped his arms around her shaking body. Looking to William he nodded his thanks before noticing one of the stable boys walking to them with his horse and two others.

William approached Buffy and Angelus after a few moments, "Toby here said that Elizabeth had stolen his horse and rode off; said he'd also seen you riding out of the estate a short while before. Figured she was chasing you and there might be some fireworks but didn't expect anything like this. You take Buffy home, I'll stay here with the bodies and Toby can ride into the city and get the law. I'll try and keep them back from the house as long as possible but they'll want to peak with you both sooner or later."

"Thanks Will." Angelus said and lifted Buffy into his rms and on to the horse, climbing up behind her and holding her tightly he took them back to the estate hile William and Toby took care of the three men who would have raped and killed his wife if he hadn't come back for her.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you again." Angelus whispered to her passed out form as they headed back to the estate.

tbc..