It was early afternoon and Angel was relaxing on the couch as Buffy kept a watchful eye on their children.
Every now and again, one of the kids would go jump up on their father before he tickled them and they escaped laughing and hurrying away to repeat the cycle again a few minutes later.
Buffy thought the game looked tiring, yet the three playing never seemed to grow bored of it.
She was watching as Liam chased his sister for a toy she'd snatched and was about to intervene when Katie got tackled by her baby brother and screamed in frustration.
'I'm sure Angel would have been dreaming of Liam becoming a linebacker had he seen that.' She mused as she glanced over at him.
Buffy watched as Angel's head whipped around to where the two toddlers were wrestling, his face looking worried. 'How did he know what happened? Did he hear her scream?'
"Liam, let your sister up." The mother in her demanded as she picked up her baby boy so Katie could stand, "Katie, give Liam back his toy and tell him you're sorry for stealing it." She addressed her oldest, not willing to let theft develop between the siblings. Afterwards she had the boy apologize for tackling his sister.
Once she knew both were ok and the skirmish was settled, Buffy moved to stand beside her sitting spouse and as an experiment loudly called his name.
He gave no reaction.
Figuring he may have felt the vibrations of the two toddlers impacting the ground, she sat down beside him and wrapped her hand around his as she leaned her head against his shoulder, letting him know with touch that everything was alright.
She smiled as she felt his lips press against the top of her head and him nuzzling against her.
For a few long minutes, the two children were playing separately and Buffy was content to sit with her lover.
...
That night, Buffy rolled over in her half-wakefulness and reached out for her husband's warmth, wanting to snuggle back up to her person heater to chase out the chill that had crawled into bed beside her.
Instead of connecting with his warm skin, her hand enclosed over cool cotton.
When her groping hand came back empty, Buffy's mind popped awake as she sat up and called Angel's name. Although she knew he couldn't hear her, she reflexively called again as she leaned over and switched on the bedside lamp, looking around for her lover. 'He's not in here.' She knew already, he didn't feel close, so she knew he wasn't just in the bathroom. 'Where the hell did he go?'
Pulling on her robe and slippers, Buffy exited their bedroom and went to search for her MIA spouse.
Being without his senses, Buffy wouldn't have thought he'd have wandered off, especially not out of bed with her naked in it.
When a quick search on the second floor revealed no husband, Buffy headed downstairs and was immediately relieved to feel that warm tingle in her spine that alerted her that Angel was near.
'Ok, so he's in here someplace…where? Why?' She wondered as she searched.
A few more moments and she finally located her husband, he was standing outside in the freezing January night air on the back porch, wearing nothing more than a pair of thin sweats. 'What the heck is he doing out there?' Buffy thought as she quickly exited the kitchen and onto the porch to drag him back inside.
He didn't seen surprised when she rested her hand on his arm to get his attention, in fact, he quickly pulled her against him and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
Buffy certainly didn't mind, as he was far warmer that the cold winter air that had been seeping though her robe to chill her bones the moment she'd stepped outside. As a former California girl, the cold was not her friend.
"God, I've missed this so much." He muttered into her neck as he nuzzled against her, his nose buried in her hair as she felt him take a deep lungful.
As he inhaled and pulled her closer, she realized what he'd meant. "You can smell me?" She asked in an excited tone aloud but to deaf ears, turning in his grasp and stealing a kiss to his nose.
"I awoke to your scent surrounding me." He said quietly into her golden hair by way of explanation, "Excited to have a sense back, I wanted to smell everything."
Buffy hugged him closer, happy for him. Being without any of his senses had been driving her husband both crazy and depressed, it was hard enough being blind, but deaf and without smell as well were a second and third kick while he was already down. Having one back gave him at least some ability to interact with the outside world again, to not be trapped within himself. He may already have his voice back, but with no ability to hear, he didn't use it much.
His sightless gaze turned out to face the cold night air as he inhaled again, smelling the trees beyond their backyard, the fresh crisp air, snow, car gasoline, smoke from fireplaces, animals, salt and pavement. Everything seemed so vivid as his brain processed all the smells carried on the breeze, his nose feeling more sensitive that ever before.
After a moment of savoring the feeling of his wife's body pressing against him for warmth, he began to smell something else. That smell voided out everything else as he turned to face to where he knew she was.
Her lips found his as she stood on her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down and closer to her.
He came willing enough, the scent of her arousal was more motive than anything else ever was. Her desire was swirling around him like a tornado, whirling his mind into overdrive.
Feeling her shiver in the cold, he nudged her and she led then back to the door and quickly back inside the kitchen.
The door was barely shut and locked before his arms drew her flush up against him, his hands glided up her hips and waist as his mouth explored her neck, finding her scar was firmly drawing his attention.
Buffy smiled and felt her body heating up, which had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature change between inside and out. Even in the 20 degree wind, she'd already been growing warmer.
Snagging his hand, she pulled him along, eager to get back to their bedroom. The last thing she wanted was to have to power wash the kitchen of their passion before the kids were ready to eat breakfast here in the morning.
Angel moved quickly as if he read her mind, and the moment he felt their bed was behind him, he turned around and knocked his wife onto it.
He felt her pulling at his arms to join her on the mattress, but he took her hands and laid them on the bed on either side of her head, gently leaned over the edge where he stood between her legs and pressed his lips to her forehead, "Close your eyes and relax."
Buffy had no idea what he was up to, but quickly surrendered as his lips began to caress her neck and his fingers slowly untied her robe.
He felt as if his wife's scent was a physical thing, her womanly aroma was so strong and vivid in his nose, he could almost see her. His tongue salivated as he though of how she'd taste.
Moving steadily south, he felt Buffy's skin shiver and muscles tense as he kissed and nipped and licked along her exposed body, savoring everything he could about her without sight or sound.
Her hands had long ago moved off the bed and were fisting his hair, but as he moved lower her grip became weaker as she was lost in the sensation.
Sliding his lovers body to the edge if the bed, he knelt on the floor and breathed deep her arousal, he could feel her heated core as it hovered inches from his face.
He slipped her legs over his shoulders and leaned forwards, his own flesh hardening at the smell of her womanhood and it's weeping for his touch.
Buffy gasped as his hot tongue found her lower lips, teasing and licking and sucking at her sensitive flesh.
Angel took a deep breath of his wife's pulsing arousal, her liquid honey was flowing for him as he savored her wonderful taste. He could feel her muscles tightening around him, her legs tensing and her hips beginning to rock to his ministrations. He missed her moans of pleasure, but he could practically feel them with his mouth on her body. Touch and taste and smell were his only outlets to the world around him, and right now, they were all he needed.
With a soundless yell, her back arched off the bed and her heels dug into his back as his fingers and mouth brought her to completion.
As the shutters coursing though-out her body receded, Buffy opened her eyes and found her lover laying on the bed, pressed up beside her, his arm around her waist and his nose in her hair. He was watching her with sightless eyes, a ghost of a grin on his lips as he inhaled the sweet aroma of her sex and sweat.
Her hand lashed out and grasped his hair, pulling his mouth to hers in a heated and hungry kiss. Her orgasm had only made her want her lover even more, and judging by the stiffness in his sweatpants, she wasn't the only one.
Pulling her still tensing legs up, she slid her feet along his hips and pushed down his pants as her arms wrapped around his bare chest and held him against her. His arousal sprang free as the fabric was pulled down, her legs tightening to bring it closer to her pulsing depths.
"I love you." He mumbled into her mouth as he slid inside, her body molding around him like a perfectly fitted glove.
They moved together, slow and steady at first, but building quickly as their bodies demanded more.
Second? Hours? Time lost all meaning as they joined, flesh and souls blending as one. They both cried out as their love overtook them, orgasmic bliss settling over them and lulling them to a deep and peaceful sleep.
...
It was barely late enough to be considered morning when Buffy awoke, the sun was still below the horizon but would be making an appearance soon enough. Her lover was draped over her, his head pillowed between her breasts, one hand on her waist as another lay over her shoulder. He'd fallen asleep almost immediately after their passion had ended.
Buffy smiled down at him, her arms still wrapped around his neck and shoulders. Her thumb moved to trace a feathery light trail on the back of his neck.
What spoiled the moment, was a very unwanted but extremely necessary need to pee.
'Damn it!' She thought annoyed, hating her usual iron bladder for ruining her pleasant lounge.
No matter how gentle she was, her movements roused him, his arm tightening around her waist accompanied by a sleepy growl, "Stay."
"Be right back, really need to pee." She said aloud, wishing he could hear her. Instead, she leaned down and kissed the top of his head, trying to let him know to stay here by gently holding him down as she slid out from under him.
He growled into the warmth of the mattress where her chest had been a moment ago, "Hurry up."
Rolling her eyes, she grinned and went to the bathroom for relief.
Less than 30 seconds later, she was sliding back into bed when his arm wrapped around her and pulled her under the covers with him.
"Angel." She half scolded, half moaned in pleasure as he greedily sucked her right nipple between his lips.
She glanced over at the clock, knowing the sun would be rising soon and with it the kids. "We don't have time for this." She sighed out, really wishing they'd woken sooner.
"We have 30 minutes." He replied, his hand traveling south. A vampire, even alive, always knew exactly when sunrise happened, now that he could smell it.
Buffy moaned again as his fingers did very naughty things to the place her panties usually sat, his other hand finding her left breast and kneading it like play-dough.
"Not fair." She groaned out, quickly finding her unwillingness flying right out the window.
He rolled on top of her, his mouth finding her scar, "Never said I played fair."
"You're evil." She told him as she felt that familiar pressure building in her belly.
His deep growly laughter vibrated against her as he leaned in closer, removing all the unnecessary space between them.
'The hell with it, I want him.' She thought as she wrapped her legs around his waist and ass and pulled him into her.
Their lips met as their lower bodies merged, quickly finding a pleasurable rhythm as they rolled and danced beneath the sheets.
It wasn't until she collapsed down on his chest after their shared bliss that her brain began to think outside sex again.
Something was nagging the back of her mind, so she asked into his chest, "Does a Jasper demon loose it spines in winter or spring?"
His chest vibrated beneath her ear as he laughed out a reply, figuring she was more interested in 'if' he would reply as opposed to what, "Winter."
The answer was irrelevant, it was the fact he heard the question.
Quickly she sat up and smacked his chest, "You can hear me?"
That smirkish grin on his lips widened, "It's somewhat muffled, but yeah, I mostly can hear you."
Excitement washed over her, but even in the pale morning sun just peaking over the horizon, when she looked into his eyes she could tell they were still sightless.
His hand reached up and found her cheek even without the gift of sight, "I don't know if I'll get my eyes back."
She took his hand in hers and leaned down to kiss him, "I love you no matter what."
After they shared a few loving kisses, she pulled back and nested against the warmth of his chest, eager to actually be able to talk to her spouse. As much as she enjoyed making love to him, she also craved conversation. "Scale of 1 to 10, how well is your sense of smell?"
He ran his fingers down her spine as she leaned against him, that smirk still on his on his lips, "Pretty sure it's overcompensating at around 25."
"Really?" She was surprised, "What can you smell?"
He shook his head, "Just trust me, it's working overtime." He honestly didn't want to go into detail about every single smell right now, his brain was having trouble processing them all.
"And your hearing?" She inquired, speaking a little louder than usual.
He shrugged, "Maybe 50%". He touched a hand over her heart, "I can hear your voice, and this clearly enough when you're close, but I can't make out quiet sounds or the kid's heartbeats across the hall."
"You will." She encouraged, taking and kissing the hand he'd placed over her heart.
Although he couldn't see it in her face, he could hear her sincerity and love in her voice.
Not long after, their bedroom door opened for a quick second and Katie yelled in, "Mom, Liam's hungry!" before slamming it shut again.
Sitting up, Angel grinned and kissed his wife's cheek, "I heard that."
With a shared smile, they got out of bed, Buffy searching the floor for discarded clothing.
"I'm going to take a quick shower, meet you downstairs?" He asked as Buffy tied her robe and headed towards the door while he remained standing by the bed.
She turned to face him, looking over that perfect nude body and wanting to wrap back around it, but she had kids to feed. She could tell he was trying to be independent; being led around and supervised was slowly chipping at his sanity.
He needed time alone to reclaim his independence and work out his feelings.
"Don't be long." She spoke towards him before she went downstairs to join the kids and start the day.
Glad she was letting him be self-sufficient, he took a moment to orient himself and headed into the bathroom.
...
Angel turned his head up and blinked into the hot water.
The burning in his eyes had nothing to do with the shower, it had been a constant sensation from the moment he'd opened them underground in the collapsing chamber.
The intense emanation of sulfur had ebbed over time to allow for other scents to enter his nose, the ringing between his ears had descended over the days until the first thumps of his wife's heart had finally penetrated the silence.
But his eyes, he had felt no improvement in his sight from over a week ago until now.
He had a sinking feeling his sight wasn't going to return.
Shutting the water, he could feel the heat and steam in the bathroom as he patted a towel over his skin. He could smell the fresh laundered cotton of the towel, the mint in the shampoo was almost strong enough for him to taste and the soap had been almost painful. He could smell the various lotions and perfumes Buffy had scattering within the cabinets even though the closed lids.
He really hoped his scene of smell settled soon, it was giving him a headache.
Once out of the bathroom, the temperature shift into their bedroom was starkly noticeable, especially now that his nose was assaulted by the lingering aroma of sex. Doing his best, and failing to ignore the potent perfume, he managed to pull on some clothes from his drawers and hoped the colors matched. Now that he had Buffy purchasing his garments, his collection wasn't all matching shades of black anymore.
Exiting into the hall, he could smell his children's lingering scents, the higher concentration coming from the stairway as they were below in the living room playing.
Counting steps, he carefully descended the stairs, his bare feet keeping lookout for stray toys as the low sounds of voices slowly entered his quiet world.
"Daddy!" He heard Katie yell excitedly, her voice loud and clear in her enthusiasm. Her feet pounding along the floor towards him alerted him to her intend to jump, her scent increasing as she came closer. Even without eyes, he easily caught her as she leaped into his arms, her little legs working like a frog at times to propel her higher than a normal nearly four year old.
Although the kids weren't demonic or slayers, similar to Connor, they were well above average when it came to athletics.
"Hi there Princess." He greeted, kissing her cheek before she wormed out of his grasp and he tickled her ribs before she darted away. The sound of her laughter warmed his heart.
He felt Liam wrap an arm around his leg, and could smell the plastic of the toy the boy was holding up, forgetting Angel couldn't see it. Crouching to the little blonde's level, he held out his hand, "What do you have? Can I feel it?"
The wheels of a truck rolled over his palm and Angel smiled, "That's a nice car, what color is it?"
"Blue!" Liam replied with a big grin, his favorite color.
Scooping his boy up, Angel stood and held him a moment, listening to the two heartbeats he'd desperately missed all week. His son's hair smell like bubble gum shampoo and his skin like grape soap, his onesie had a slightly sweaty smell mixed with a bits of tomato sauce, chocolate and cheese, all likely stains from spilled meals.
"Daddy, mommy said breakfast is ready!" Katie announced, him not having heard his wife's voice from the kitchen. She grabbed his hand and led him towards the doorway, Liam enjoying the ride from the vantage point of his father's arm.
Angel hadn't needed to be told about breakfast, he could smell everything in the refrigerator and cabinets and most strongly the opened boxes.
He put Liam down as he felt almost dizzy from the rush of scents, his brain rushing to identify so many mixed aroma's. Even the remnants of previous meals lingered in the room, confusing his brain even more.
Buffy must have seen the discomfort on his face since she addressed for the kids to sit down and eat while she took his hand and led him to the couch. "Angel? Are you ok? Is something wrong?"
'God I love the way she says my name.' He thought before cupping her cheek in his hand, "I'm ok, it's just...my nose is still oversensitive." Even Buffy's scent was distracting, her skin held a tempting mix of dried sweat and sex that threatened to go right to his groin.
"I want Cass to look at you." His worried wife said into his ear to make sure he heard, glad his senses were returning but not if they were going to be debilitating.
"I'm fine." He countered with a scowl.
"You're going." She shot right back, knowing when he said, 'I'm fine.' it was a big blaring sigh that meant the opposite.
Those sightless brown eyes glared at her, but she didn't waver, "I'll bring our breakfast out here when the kids finish." It was the end of that discussion. She went to supervise the toddlers as Angel rubbed at the tension building under his temples.
...
Angel sat on the couch with his eyes shut, taking slow and shallow breaths to limit the number of smells that assaulted his brain at any one moment.
His ears occasionally picked up elevated sounds from the kitchen, one of the kids laughing or slamming a hand or cup down on the table. He was sure he heard a pan drop at one point.
He wished he was more helpful at the moment, his recovery was still going far too slow for his liking.
It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes when he felt the couch depress beside him and Buffy's warm hands press two pills into his right hand.
Grateful, he swallowed the pain relief with the water she offered and resumed trying to ignore the grinding headache that was pounding behind his eyes.
He could smell the kids playing with their toys, the plastics and wood and metal all combining and charging his nasal passages.
He felt himself wince.
His eyes popped open in surprise when Buffy clamped a clothes pin over his nose.
The clothes pin helped keep him from breathing though his nose, which didn't eliminate all the smells entirely, but did quickly lower them to more manageable levels. Breathing though his mouth wasn't as easy as his nose, but he was glad he'd brushed his teeth at least.
She caught his hands when he instinctively moved to remove the annoying object, placing them in his lap as she leaned over and began to massage his temples as she'd caught him doing earlier.
Any resistance on his part vanished at the feeling of her fingers circling over the pressure points on his head, relief settled over him, her touch working its magic whenever he was hurting. The aspirin was likely helping too, but he was sure it was mostly Buffy's touch that smoothed him.
He hadn't even noticed he'd fallen asleep until Buffy's voice roused him, "Come on sleepy head, the kids are in the car, time to go."
His mouth was dry, but a glass of water was at his lips while he felt his shoes being pushed against his socked feet. Holding his breath, he took a few swallows, never realizing how much he took breathing though his nose for granted until he couldn't.
Regaining full wakefulness, he took the glass and drained it as he pushed his feet into the boots and Buffy quickly laced them.
"I don't need Cass poking me again." He countered when he remembered why she'd wanted him to leave the house.
"You're going, even if I have to knock you out and carry you, so stop being a baby and get in the car." She shot back at him.
He growled something under his breath she didn't catch as he stood and pulled the clothes pin off his nose.
Scent returned in 100 fold.
The smell of motor oil, gas, snow, ice, air, wind, asphalt, trees, rocks, hell the entire damn city smacked him harder than the cold outside his front door. Heck, it hit harder than a charging Ilyria at full power. His headache rushed back in a second, staggering him a moment under the onslaught of odors as he gasped and held his head.
"Angel!" He heard his wife's panicked voice as she grabbed his arm and held him upright.
Quickly putting the clothes pin back on his nose, he grumbled out, "Which way is the car?" By then his scenes were shot and he had no idea where he stood.
Guiding him, she silently brought him to their warmed up GTX and helped him inside before climbing into the drivers seat and piloted them to AI. An 'I told you so' was deserved, but her worry over him had dissolved it from her mouth.
Annoyed at his own inability to function, he took slow and shallow breaths out his mouth as he sat with his eyes clamped shut and listened to Katie and Liam chatting in the backseat growing louder. His head was spinning and the car motion was making him more dizzy, especially his wife's driving which was bad enough when she wasn't worried.
By the time the car pulled up to Angel Investigations, he was nauseous, his skull felt like it was cracked open and he was royally pissed about it.
'Can't even go for a short car ride without feeling like your gunna hurl, yeah Angel, real useful.'
Thankfully without sight, Angel didn't see the wheelchair Cassidy brought to take him inside. Buffy had talked to the medic before waking Angel, alerting her they were on the way and to expect him resisting.
Angel yanked his door open and quickly got out of the car, feeling like he might hurl any moment.
He didn't know where he was, but was too angry to give a shit. 'Smell and hearing might be back, but I'm still useless.' He thought as he clenched his fist in equal parts frustration and pain.
The pounding in his head wasn't going away and his ears were beginning to pick up far more sounds that earlier. He had a bad feeling they were about to start over-responding like his nose.
He knew someone was behind him as the gravel under their feet crunched, he also knew it wasn't Buffy.
"Cass, don't." He heard Buffy warn the person approaching him, knowing he was on edge and his demon was acting on impulse.
Buffy could feel the vampire fighting inside him, being agitated when Angel was in pain, and with her hands full getting the kids from the GTX, she knew she wouldn't be able to grab Angel if he swiped at the doctor.
Angel heard her heartbeat now, the medic's scent finding it's way into his nose despite the clothes pin. His fists clenched tighter but he forced them to remain at his sides as he tried to regain control of his head again.
His ears were beginning to pound and sounds were getting louder. He could hear the kid's heartbeats, the sound of their shoes hitting the pavement, the clip of the car seats unbuckling, cars tires pounding down the streets, birds sketching in the trees, the damn drumming of leaves in the branches in the howling wind.
His hands clamped down over his ears as the noises intensified further.
He felt Buffy rush up next to him, and barely noticeable sting from a needle sliding into his arm, it only brought welcomed relief as his chaotic world faded out to blessed nothingness.
...
Buffy caught Angel as his body sagged from the sedative Cass had handed her, quickly maneuvering his limp form into the wheelchair. Cass pushed the chair inside to the Med-ward as Buffy called on her cell for someone to come baby-sit for a little while.
Once Giles arrived to collect his grandkids, Buffy helped Cass move Angel onto a cot, Buffy stripping his top half as the medic inserted an IV and took blood for tests.
She barely noticed the the absence of the slayers that had once filled the room scarcely a week ago, the accelerated slayer healing had gotten them discharged quickly, and since most were living on the upper floors, home-visits weren't very demanding for Cassidy.
The worried wife paced the Med-ward for an hour as Cass examined her husband, running a few scans of his head and checking his vitals.
"Well? What's wrong? Is he going to be Ok?" The nervous blonde demanded as Cassidy walked in with an x-ray.
The medic put the image down and glanced at another, some sort of computer generated scan and shook her head, "Honestly, other than minor inflammation of his optic nerves, I can find nothing physically wrong with Angel."
Buffy stopped her pacing short and started at the doctor before looking over at her sedated lover. "What do you mean nothing wrong? There is obviously something wrong. Pain is wrong."
Cass walked over to Angel, Buffy joining her, shaking her head she explained, "Nothing physically wrong." The Medic repeated, "As in medically speaking, he's fine. His vitals are stable and his body has healed almost all the damage from escaping the tunnels under the Hellmouth. His nasal passages are clear and his eardrums are intact. Even after the obvious stress from earlier, I see no signs of inflammation or bleeding. However, I'm pretty sure his demon is the reason his senses are overreacting and causing the pain."
"How so?" Buffy asked, taking her husband's limp left hand into hers and toying with his Claddagh wedding band as she listened to Cassidy speak.
"His brain is still trying to catch up to his body being without scent or hearing for almost two weeks to suddenly having it come charging back. His demon sped up his healing before his mind could reprogram to process the new information. Also, I'm pretty sure a good deal of it is his head trying to overcompensate for lacking vision, his brain is trying to 'see' with his other senses."
Buffy's brow furrowed, "And how do we fix this?" She was really hoping surgery wasn't going to be an answer.
Cassidy shrugged, "I think we may have already."
The slayer's hazel-green eyes focused on the MD, "What? How?" She looked down at her husband's sleeping body, trying to figure out how him having a mental breakdown in the parking lot an hour ago was considered being 'fixed'.
Walking around the bed, Cassidy adjusted Angel's IV, restricting the flow just a little bit to wean him off it slowly. "We hit the 'off' button earlier by sedating him, I'm thinking if we take him out of the sedation slow enough, his mind will have the time to process the increased information from his ears and nose."
At Buffy's quizzical expression she tried again, "Ok, picture a dam on a river, then debris cuts off all water flow exiting the dam. The downstream riverbed dries up to a trickle. Now you unclog the dam completely and let all the water back in at once, and it floods and washes out everything it its path. However, if you were to open the dam slowly and let the water flow increase at the measured rate, the river will return to as it was before the blockage without causing a surge."
Buffy nodded, "So he was hit with the floodgate earlier." She glanced down at her spouse, seeing how peaceful his expression was while unconscious.
"Pretty sure." Cass agreed but added, "This is just a theory though, not a guarantee."
The blonde's eyes turned back to Cassidy, "What happens if this doesn't work?"
The redhead shook her head, "We'll cross that dam if we get to it."
...
Buffy ran her fingers though Angel's hair, she could tell he wasn't as far under as he'd been earlier, but he was still sedated enough to not awaken as she ran her hands though his dark spikes.
Every ten minutes, Cass was knocking down the amount of sedative entering Angel's IV line, it was down to a quarter of what took him down in the parking lot.
Her heart thumped quicker as he stirred slightly, but instead of waking, he turned his head into his pillow and settle again, his breathing slow, deep and steady.
"Angel?" Buffy called to him, brushing her thumb along his cheek. She wanted him to wake slowly, to test if his senses were still overloading. If he showed signs of pain, Cass could quickly flood the IV with liquid sleep again.
He groaned, but it didn't sound painful as opposed to just plain-old tired, his eyes remained shut.
Cass knocked down the IV drip again, enough to keep him drowsy and quiet but not enough to keep him asleep.
"Angel, are you awake?" Buffy called to him again, sitting closer on the bed and leaning over him, her fingers still caressing his face.
He gave no visible reaction.
Buffy was getting worried. "Cass, what happened? Did you up the IV on accident?"
Before the medic could respond, Buffy yelped in surprise as Angel's arm hooked around her waist and pulled her down beside him. She could feel his heart beating against her ear as his face turned into her hair, his chest expanded as he took a deep breath of her scent. "Tired." He whispered in exhale, as if ready to fall back to sleep. "Why am I so tired?"
"I had to sedate you." A guilty expression washed over her face as she ran her fingers down his neck, "Your senses were overloading, you were in pain."
"Hmm." He breathed into her neck, she wasn't sure if it was a positive or negative response, but his warm breath tickled and she smiled, relieved he was at least partly awake. "Angel, open your eyes for me please." If she could see his eyes, she might be able to read him better.
He groaned into her hair, "Why? I can't see."
The smiles fizzled out as a frown replaced it, "You can't see out, but I can see in. Please? For me?"
He didn't move for a moment, she wasn't sure if he was ignoring her plea or if he'd fallen back to sleep.
As she sat up against him to better see his face, his eyes slid open, those dark brown orbs unfocused but pointing about where her face was.
Her smile came back as she ran and fingers down his cheek, looking deep into his blank yet animated gaze. "I'm sorry I had to sedate you, I know how much you hate that."
His hand moved up her back, stroking down her spine. "Due to the circumstances, I'll let it slide...this time"
He was teasing her, she could see the amusement in his eyes, even while his face remained neutral. Instead of a verbal reply, she leaned down and kissed him. Words from his mouth couldn't always be trusted when she wanted to know how he was, but his lips never lied.
Cassidy cleared her throat after a few moments, getting impatient to examine her patient.
"We'll finish that later." Buffy whispered into her husband's ear when she broke the kiss.
"Looking forward to it." He replied with a knowing smirk, defiantly awake now.
Cassidy grabbed her scope and began checking Angel's ears and nose, much to his displeasure. Sitting still while having a scope shoved in his orifices wasn't the most pleasant use of his time when he could otherwise be making out with his wife.
"I'm fine." He complained when he'd had enough, which was nearly a full minute after the medic started, which might have been a new record.
Buffy ran her hand over his shoulder and back, "Just relax Angel and let her do what she needs to do. I don't need you having any relapses on me."
He scowled but let Cassidy finish, "Ok, I see no swelling or bleeding, so I'm going to put that down as a good sign."
Before Cassidy could say anything, he pulled the IV out of his arm and began to rip off the monitoring pads that were stuck to his chest. Angel made to get up, "Good, I'm leaving then." He was already itching to escape.
Buffy's hand on his shoulder tightened to keep him down at Cass's head shake.
"Not yet." The medic told him as she switched off the alarming machines that hadn't been happy about losing their sensory devises, "I still have a few more tests to check the quality of your hearing and sense of smell before I give you a 'pass' to leave." She bit her tongue on the verbal lashing she'd wanted to give him for removing her equipment from himself before she was done with it, but decided that getting him more annoyed would only make the next few minutes even longer.
"I'm fine." Angel repeated, his mouth in a hard line as he threw a dirty look to about where Cass was standing.
"I'm sure you are." The redhead bounced back, "But as a medical professional, I like to see that statement reflected in test results. I'll just be one second." She quickly exited the room to gather the testing equipment she needed.
Buffy could feel the tension in her husband's shoulders, so she moved her hands onto the tense muscles and began to massage the knots out. "We'll be out of here soon, just hang on for a few more minutes, ok?" Despite his 'I'm fine' answers which usually screamed the opposite, she was hoping he was just being testy from being poked and prodded. She couldn't see pain flashing in his eyes nor feel his demon stirring as it had been in the parking lot.
An irritable husband was much preferred over an unconscious one.
He nodded, but her hands hadn't help ease as much of his tension as she'd hoped.
The blonde released her lover's shoulders and took a seat beside him when Cassidy returned with her laptop, a mini suitcase and a thick pair of headphones.
"What is that?" Angel asked, his nose picking up some odd scents coming from whatever he'd heard her put down on the table beside his bed.
"Don't worry, nothing invasive. I'll start with the hearing test. I'll put the headphones on you and when you hear a sound, just press this button." The redhead placed a small handheld button that was similar to a click pen into his hand. "If the sounds are too loud, tell me and I'll shut it down, Ok?"
He nodded and Cass placed the headphones over his ears, she plugged the USB end into her laptop and gave him a second to get used to the feeling of the phones before hitting start on the program on her computer.
Both women watched quietly as Angel clicked the button every few seconds until the program finished a few minutes later.
While Cass was reading the results on her screen, her raised eyebrow was a sign that something wasn't right. "What's wrong? Did he fail?" Buffy asked, looking over the medic's shoulder.
"Just the opposite." Cass answered, "He can hear tones outside normal human hearing."
"Duh, vampire." Angel muttered, annoyed he was still here now that the pain was gone.
Removing the headphones, he dropped them onto the bed beside him, "Can I go now?"
"Just one more quick test." Cass replied, opening her suitcase and arranging a series of vials. "I'm going to have you close one nostril and sniff each of these vials to check…"
He cut her off mid sentence. "Cinnamon, cloves, mint, coffee and lavender…are we done?"
Cassidy's mouth dropped open as she read the labels to the closed vials, each exactly as he'd said and in the right order. "Uh…" She replied shocked that he could smell them each from a distance without even being open.
Taking her shocked silence as a 'pass', he slid off the cot, stood, turned and headed towards the direction where he assumed was the door, "Great, thanks, bye."
Buffy blinked, looked over at a surprise washing over Cass's face, then grabbed Angel's shirt and coat off the chair before hurrying after him and snagging his hand to help guide him before he blindly walked into a table.
She sent Cass a quick nod of thanks mixed with apology for her impatient lover and quickly guided him down the hall, making a mental note to scold Angel later for being a dink to his caregiver (again).
Angel shrugged his shirt on in the elevator as they rode up in the car in silence.
Buffy glanced over at him, studying his face for what was bothering him. She knew he was annoyed, it was practically dripping off him, she just didn't know if it was directed towards her or something else.
He turned his face in her direction, picking up on her uncomfortable feeling, "Are you ok?" He asked, tightening his hand around hers and stroking his thumb over her knuckles.
She'd forgotten their hands were linked until he tugged her closer. Glad he obviously wasn't upset with her, she came willingly and leaned against him, "I'm good now, how are you?"
She watched his eyes as he spoke, "Lot better than earlier and glad to be out of the Med-ward, the medical smell was starting to give me a headache."
Buffy's eyes widened, "Angel, if you're still oversensitive…"
Cutting her off he assured, "I'm not...there's no pain." He admitted, "My sense of smell and hearing are stronger than normal, but it's not out of control anymore. I can handle it now."
"What if it gets worse again?" She protested, not wanting to see him go though what happened earlier.
He pressed his lips to the top of her head, "Then you'll be the first to know."
…
They reached the top floor and Buffy led him down the hall to the kid's playroom. The babysitting former librarian watched silently as they entered, waiting to speak with Buffy alone for a moment about how Angel was doing.
After the toddlers assaulted their parents with hugs and kisses, they drifted back over to their toys, finding play far more important than socializing.
Giles was just about to ask Buffy to step outside when Angel turned towards him, "Giles, any updates from LA?"
The watcher was startled a moment, not having known the living vampire knew someone else was here, much less who exactly. "Umm, well, yes actually." He stuttered out, his mind taking a second to switch gears as he acknowledged his son-in-law now had voice and audio back.
"What's the yes?" Buffy asked, slay-interests peaking for info on the new baby Hellmouth.
Taking a seat on the couch, Giles removed his glasses and began to clean them on his shirt, "Well, reports show the new Hellmouth is currently active, slayer teams have been kept busy over the last few nights, nothing intense, but an average level of activity for a Hellmouth…if not slightly over."
"So, normalish?" Buffy asked for clarification.
Putting his glasses back onto his face, Giles nodded, "Yes, LA's newest gateway is currently acting on a similar activity level as was Sunnydale's Hellmouth."
"What's the catch?" Angel asked as he leaned against the wall with his arms folded over his chest.
Giles cleared his throat, "Well it seems that the new redirection of the energy flow has resulted is a drastic drop in Cleveland's activity. As of now, the Hellmouth here is almost dormant."
"Not seeing the bad." Buffy commented, somewhat happy about the turn of events, but then she thought of something else, "Except now we're no longer in the 'happening' side of the continent."
Stopping an apocalypse had been a 30 minutes speeding trip from here to Cleveland, it would take a few days by car to LA…and buying a plane ticket for a few hundred slayers would get costly real fast.
"So far the teams that are still in LA have been doing well, housing and meals are costly but all the girls are accounted for." Giles assured.
"The Hyperion." Angel said in the moment of silence.
"What?" Giles asked.
"I still technically own the property, it needs a few repairs, but it could be the base of operations. There are over 300 rooms, a kitchen, space in the basement for training, and several currently closed off sections that can be opened up for a medical wing and library."
Giles peaked at the last word, "Well that would save immensely on expenses, and offer a safer environment for the slayers to live and train."
"Not to mention it's centrally located and has convenient sewer access." Buffy added.
"Yes." Giles said almost to himself as he stood and talking it over, "I should contact Xander and have him generate an evaluation of the hotel, compile a list of repair recommendations and price out the instillation of the required alterations."
The now pacing watcher murmured to himself for a few more moments before turning to his ward and her husband, "Yes, this could be precisely what we need. I'll update you both on the progress once I've spoken to Xander." With that said, the former librarian hurried out and went to make his phone calls, forgetting all about speaking to Buffy privately.
Buffy's fixed face broke into a grin after her father-of-the-heart hurried out, "Wow, you'd think he was planning a hot date instead of a restoration project."
Angel shook his head, "Somehow I think a restoration project is a hot date for him."
Noting the frown on her lover's lips, Buffy rose from the couch and made her way over to him, slipping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his chest once she reached him, which forced him to uncross his arms from his chest.
The stoicism on her husband's face cracked slightly under her touch, her cheek warming from the heat radiating from under his navy blue cotton sweater. His arms moved to hug her waist, pulling her that much closer to him.
He leaned down and nuzzled her blonde hair, his nose filling with her scent, his ears her heartbeat, his skin her warmth.
Lifting her head, she ran her fingers along his jaw as she leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips, he eagerly reciprocated and savored the taste of his slayer on his tongue.
'If only I could see her too.' He thought dejectedly as he opened his eyes and looked down at the darkness that filled his vision. 'Oh well, four out of five aren't bad.' He admitted as she pulled him closer.
He could touch his wife's soft skin, smell her enthralling scent, taste her sweet lips and hear her quiet moans. He'd memorized every single inch her face and body, even without vision, he could easily picture her standing before him using his mind, giving him her heart stopping megawatt smile that took his breath away.
"Mmm" She sighed into his mouth, "I'm so totally making love to you later."
His lips quirked back at that as she leaned back to draw in a breath, "Are you now?"
"Oh yes." She affirmed, kissing him again.
When he got his lips back he smirked at her, "Why wait?"
Liam's 'Vroom, vroom' noises sounded from behind them as he ran his toy truck over the little streets drawn on his bird's eye view of a city rug, "Do I need to say anything else?" She questioned with a grin, reminding them they weren't alone.
He rolled his blind eyes, "Ok, so I'll make sure they get good and tired."
He slipped from her arms and headed over to the two playing toddlers, noting their location from the sounds of the hearts and the noises they made with their toys.
Angel dropped down onto the floor beside his kids and dove into play mode as Buffy watched with an amused glint in her eyes.
Grinning herself, she joined the three and for a long while, completely forgetting about all the horrors and fears she'd dealt with over the last few days.
…
Lying tangled together in their bed that night, they both felt happy and sated, however sleep didn't seem to be following as quickly as usual after their lovemaking.
"Angel?" Buffy asked, her face pressing against the warm muscular skin covering his smooth chest as she lay curled up in his arms.
His answer was a sleepy, "Yeah?"
After a second of indecision Buffy decided to bail on the idea, for tonight at least. "Never mind, it's late."
Angel didn't need his eyes to see Buffy was holding something from him. Earlier in the day he'd noticed her mood changed slightly, right around the time they were discussing the new LA Hellmouth with Giles. Although they hadn't had any vacation time while on their trip across the country, Angel had noticed his wife seemed more comfortable on the West coast than in the center of the continent. After discovering the Hellmouth they were currently guarding was becoming dormant, Buffy had carried around a slight air of melancholy for the rest of the day. Nursing a suspicion, he ventured with, "You're thinking about moving back to LA."
Stiffening in his arms, Buffy turned to face him with wide eyes. "What? No! Of course not." After a moment of watching his sightless but accusing eyes, the truth was released, "…ok maybe."
They both were silent for a few seconds, gathering thoughts.
"It was just a thought…I'm happy here if you are." She didn't want to pressure him, as much as she'd like to live in a temperate climate again, she wanted what made Angel happy too.
"You're not happy here." He stated, having seen numerous times throughout the last few years how much Buffy was not a fan of winter. If truth were told, he could use without the shoveling, especially now his mortal body had to deal with sore muscles.
"Of course I am!" The slayer defended, the town wasn't all bad, just the long months of snow were kinda miserable.
Angel just lay there quietly, giving her a moment to see now much she really wasn't happy with Ohio.
"Ok, so maybe I do miss the constant summer temps…" She muttered, "and the gravity of a big city…the boutiques I could never actually afford to buy anything in…but that doesn't mean I hate it here."
"I never said hate." He pointed out, "I just know Ohio isn't in your heart like California is."
"I was born in LA." She said quietly against his chest as she realized it herself, "It's where I've always lived."
Speaking honestly, he offered, "If you want to move back, I won't mind."
Buffy sat up and looked down on him with doubtful eyes, "You love this town, did the second you saw what it was called, Doylestown. You said it was fate."
Angel thought down deep into himself, looking for the most truthful way to answer her. "Yes, I did, and most of that love was for the name itself and this house. The truth is Buffy, I've never lived any where near as long as we've lived here together. I've traveled so much over my life, the act of settling down was what I'd really enjoyed. There was a novelty of staying in one place, of having a home."
Buffy took a deep breath, "I love having a home too. I thought Revello Drive was home once, but it was really Mom's home, not mine. This house feels like home, but this town…well it's nice enough…in summer…but I guess I never really noticed how much I missed California."
Angel's lip twitched into a smirk, "Go figure, the majority of the time I'd spent there I couldn't even enjoy the sun."
"You always did do everything backwards." She teased, "Besides, LA has some great schools; I think Katie and Liam will love it there." Buffy grinned enthusiastically as she thought back to some of her own childhood memories of her and Dawn playing at local parks, beaches and attractions.
"What about AI? Will we move the business along with the Slayer school?" The living vampire inquired to his daydreaming wife.
A frown spread across her lips, "Crap, we'd have to move that too, wouldn't we? You think there's a spell for that? Just shift the whole building to LA?"
A chuckle escaped from between his lips, he could picture the creased brow on his wife's forehead as she scrunched her face in thought. "We'll have to run it by Willow tomorrow, she'll either be all for it, or laugh at you for even suggesting it."
"Oh come on, Will single handedly created over 2000 slayers in like a minute, what's moving one little building?"
"I wouldn't call anything over 5 stories little, nor the fact you are moving it across an entire continent." The dark hair Irishman pointed out.
"Hey, stop ruining my fantasies with your lousy logic." The hazel-green eyed blond smiled as she rolled her eyes.
"If buildings are what you fantasize about…you can always take up construction with Xander." He teased her.
"Ha Ha, very comical." She sarcastically replied, "And I did try construction once, it didn't go well. Besides, you know my fantasies are reserved just for you." She finished by leaning down and giving his lips a light peck.
His lips quirked up when she pulled away, "Wow, that's the lamest fantasy I've ever participated in."
After Buffy finished play-decking her spouse, she sat up and looked over at him, drinking in his dark image in the low moonlight from their bedroom windows. "So do you want to stay or go?" Buffy asked with a note of worry in her voice. Before he could answer she added, "And don't say 'whatever you want' or I swear I'll make you sleep on the couch for a month."
He grinned at that, knowing that even if she did make good on her threat, the first night she'd miss his warmth too much and come down to sleep beside him, "Like you'd last that long without me."
"Stop being avoidy and answer the question please." She stated, the playfulness receding from her tone as seriousness washed in.
He took a deep breath and thought it over, he honestly wouldn't mind LA again, but there were other things to consider now he'd lost his sight. "I liked LA, but I just…well…I know this house, everything is familiar. I don't need my eyes to know where I am. If we were to move somewhere new…I'd be lost."
"Oh, right." She said quietly, having almost forgotten about his lack of sight. At times like this, when they were lying in bed together, she could easily forget he'd lost his vision. In the blackness of the night, sight wasn't a noticeable loss.
After a moment her uncomfortable rambling continued, "Well we can't move immediately, we still need to make the arrangements and talk to Willow about the ability to transport AI magically, shop for a place, pack our stuff…it could takes months." After a slight pause she added, "Your vision might be back by then."
"It might." He said quietly, unsure if he really dared hope to regain his sight. Cass hadn't really given him a definitive answer about the subject, she'd sounded hopeful when Buffy had asked, but when Angel questioned the medic alone, the response was closer to "I have no medical reasons to suggest it will return in time, but I also have nothing to suggest it won't, it is possible your demon healing could repair the damage."
"So I guess I slayed the post-sex happy." Buffy sighed out, feeling the tension that had crawled in between them while they'd spoken.
"No, you didn't, that's immortal." He smiled, pulling her back down against him and nuzzling his face into her neck as they both got comfy again, "We'll talk more tomorrow, but right now, I just want to be with my true home."
Resting her head over his heart, Buffy yawned, "Don't you mean 'in' your true home?"
He turned his head and kissed her crown, "They say home is where the heart is. The fact is, you own my heart. So that means my home isn't a place or a building or a town, it's you. You are my home."
Buffy practically melted at his words, "Stop temping me, it's hard enough when I'm not already naked." She pouted, wishing it was earlier in the night so she could ravish her velvet tongued hubby again.
He smirked and kissed her forehead, "Sleep Beloved, you can ravish me in the morning."
With a smile, Buffy agreed, "Count on it."
…
TBC...