Awkward Moments
The following morning, sunlight began to filter through the gauze-like curtains in the spare room. Buffy gave a soft moan and rubbed at her eyes, as if the motion would make the sun go away. She blinked several times, the surroundings unfamiliar. Maybe it was the groggy feeling in her head. A minute or two more and the fog cleared from her brain. She was certain she had never seen the room before. She pushed the bedcovers aside and climbed down. The movement was too sudden for her still bruised ribs and she let out a gasp of pain.
"Great." She moved more gingerly towards the window, pulling the curtains aside.
The streets below were dotted with horse-drawn carriages and people in suits and dresses. She couldn't help but flash back to Halloween the previous year. Buffy leaned against the window sill, just watching the activity below her. Things were slowly starting to come back to her. She'd arrived here in London the day before. Her bruises and aches reminded her of the confrontation with Darla and Angelus. Just as she was about to step away from the window, the door to the room opened. She spun around, wincing as she did so to see William standing in the doorway holding a tray with a teapot and cups.
"William," she gasped, trying to hide the pain on her face.
"I didn't mean to startle you. I wasn't certain you would be awake."
"It's ok. I just…didn't hear the door." She moved to sit back down on the bed.
He gave her a small half smile as he set the tray down next to her. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah…thanks for letting me stay."
They fell into an awkward silence, Buffy twisting the hem of her shirt between her fingers. It was then that she realized how odd she must look to William and his mother. Finally, he cleared his throat, causing her to look up.
"I will leave you to your tea then. I will be in the sitting room if you need anything." He started to walk away when she pushed herself off the bed. He could see by the way she moved that her ribs were still bothering her.
"Should I call for the doctor?"
"Oh…no that's alright. I heal fast." She tried to give him a reassuring smile but it looked more like a grimace.
"I really think you should see him."
She took a breath. "Really, I'll be ok."
Another nod and he took his leave. She could hear him out in the hall, talking with his mother. It sounded as though he was having the same conversation with her about calling for the doctor. His concern made Buffy smile to herself as she poured herself some tea.
The morning moved slowly as Buffy kept to herself. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do here. She didn't fit in and for all his assurances that everything would be fine, she didn't want to impose on William. Around midday, a knock came on the door. Buffy rose from her perch by the window and opened it to find Anne standing opposite her.
"Would you care to join us?" the older woman asked.
"I'd love to."
They walked down to the parlor where William pulled out a chair for each. Buffy shivered as his hand brushed her bare arm. The meal began quietly, all occupied by the food in front of them. Through the open windows, the sounds of the hustle and bustle on the street floated in, making the silence a little less strained. Buffy set her utensils down, finding herself full. Anne looked at the young woman quizzically for a moment before speaking.
"Perhaps we could go into town and get you some new things."
Buffy glanced down at her jeans, tank top and sneakers. "That's probably a good idea but…I don't think I have any money."
"No worries, Miss Summers. A beautiful woman should always have beautiful things." William couldn't hide a smile as he spoke.
"That's really sweet of you."
A short while later, Buffy found herself walking through the streets of London, William at her side. As they passed by the shops and vendors hawking their wares, she looked around, trying to sense the danger she knew was there. But it was daylight; the vampires didn't come out until sunset. She was so lost in her thoughts that she kept walking when William stopped at the door to a dress shop.
"Anne!" he called.
For a moment she wondered who he was talking to. She finally stopped when she felt his hand on her shoulder.
"Oh…sorry."
He led her into the shop, allowing her to browse the plethora of garments. She let her hands move over the fabric, some soft, some coarse. They all looked expensive. She finally picked three out.
"What do you think?" she asked, holding them up against her body.
He nodded in approval. "Absolutely breathtaking."
"Flattery will get you everywhere." She caught his confused look but just shrugged it off. Apparently that phrase hadn't been invented yet. She took them to the back of the shop and the owner wrapped them in what appeared to be tissue paper.
William paid for the dressed and they walked out of the shop back into the harsh natural light. In that moment, Buffy wished that sunglasses had existed in whatever time this was. The sun was brutal. Suddenly, something triggered her memory. She looked around to see they were by the pub. She looked down at her hand. The ring she'd found in the library was gone. She tried to recall whether she'd still had it when she came to in William's house.
'William?"
He stopped walking and looked at her. "Yes?"
"Did I…have a ring on when you found me yesterday?"
His brow furrowed in thought for a brief moment. "No I don't remember seeing one."
"No good. I…I had one when I got here…"
"Don't fret. We shall look for it." He too had realized they were near the pub.
Buffy gave him a nervous look as she began to scan the dirt streets. As she looked, she tried to recall every detail of the fight. Had Angelus torn it from her hand? Had it just fallen off in the fray of it all? Her thoughts distracted her as she lifted up blankets atop a cart. She was almost certain the cart had been there. William searched the opposite side of the street, turning bales of hay and buckets over. They both came up empty.
"I'm sorry Anne, I could not find it."
"I couldn't either." There was the slightest hint of panic in her tone.
"Was it a family heirloom?"
She shook her head. "No…but I think it might answer a few questions."
On the other side of town, in the dark cover a house, something gold glinted in the tiny slivers of sunlight filtering through the boarded up windows. A voice spoke in the darkness.
"I've brought you a present, Drusilla."
A hand reached out to take the ring. "Daddy's brought a gift…from a strange little girl in the square."
"I thought you'd like it."
--
Willow paced back and forth in front of the doors to the library. They'd been waiting for fifteen minutes and Giles still hadn't arrived.
"I'm worried…he should be here by now."
"Maybe he got caught in traffic." As soon as the words left Xander's mouth he let out a groan. "But there's no one in this town out late at night that drives."
"Vampires drive," Angel interjected.
"I'll go look for him," Faith muttered, pushing herself off the table. She got as far as the hallway when Giles came hurrying towards her.
"Took you long enough."
"So sorry. I wasn't sure what we would need so well I…brought everything I had." He was walking lopsided under the weight of the texts in his arms.
Faith took the top few and they returned to the library. Willow let out a sigh of relief when Giles walked into view. She too went to take several of the books from his arms.
"So…what's the deal?" Oz asked, looking around the room.
"Buffy disappeared. We can't find her anywhere," Xander answered.
"Weird."
"So…it's Hellmouth-y right, Giles?" Willow asked, avoiding Oz's gaze.
"Well…I can't be certain but it is possible."
"Oh…what if…what if she went all invisible...like Marcie?" Xander offered.
"But she hasn't been feeling ignored," Willow replied.
"Whoah, hold on a second here. Who is Marcie?"
Willow waved it off. "A girl that felt so ignored she turned invisible. Buffy stopped her from killing people two years ago."
"I have to agree with Willow on this one. I don't think Buffy was feeling ignored."
They fell into an uneasy silence, trying to come up with some plausible reason for Buffy's disappearance. But nothing they'd dealt with seemed to fit.
"It could be like with Homecoming. You know…getting kidnapped."
"No, B nixed all of those guys."
Angel watched the group debate, anger growing inside him. He'd just gotten Buffy back. He couldn't lose her again. Certainly the first time had been his own fault but he still loved her. He started to pace, finally catching Giles' attention.
"Do you have any ideas?"
Angel shook his head. "I keep trying to think but nothing seems to fit, to make sense."
"And you found nothing on your patrol in the cemetery?"
"No. But we didn't check every cemetery."
"So what…you're thinking she might be…like lying somewhere…unconscious or…hurt or something?" Willow rambled.
"No. Of course not…she's smarter than that…she wouldn't let a vampire sneak up on her like that."
"So why don't you and I go back and check…"
"I don't think it will do any good," Giles interrupted.
"What? Giles, you aren't giving up already are you?"
"Absolutely not. But I believe our resources would be better used focused here."
"I don't see how. We've got no leads. We can go, maybe beat that Willy guy up some. Maybe he's seen something."
"That's a good idea. He sees what goes on with the undead crowd."
Giles let out a slow breath. "Alright. See what you can find out. But hurry back."
Angel and Faith headed for the door, leaving Willow, Xander and Oz to dodge glances. Things were still rocky between them. Willow swallowed and looked at Oz.
"So…how…how are you?"
He shrugged. "Alright."
"That's good."
"We should help Giles." The werewolf stood up and went to sift through books with Giles.
Just outside the school, Angel stopped walking. He inhaled, the breath catching in his throat. Faith looked at him with a raised brow.
"You ok?"
He looked at her. "I can smell him."
"Who? And has anyone ever told you that smelling people is kind of disgusting?"
"Spike."