Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own anything, yada, yada, yada.
Okay, I know the last two were short. I hope his is long enough for ya!
Buffy woke before Angel the next morning. Moving quietly so as not to wake him, she quickly got dressed and made her way downstairs. The lobby was deserted, but she followed voices down a little used hallway. She paused in the doorway of a huge room, apparantly once used as a ballroom. Faith, Spike, and Ilyria were there, along with the slayers. They were training, and Buffy watched for a few moments, before deciding they had things under control. She turned and walked back to the lobby.
As she reached the lobby, she saw Connor, standing there, his back to her, looking up the stairs, as if deciding whether to go up or not. Connor. Angel's son. Willow had told her about him, the miracle child of two vampires. The child that grew up in a hell dimension, 18 years in just a few short weeks. The child that she wished with all her heart was hers.
Angel had explained to her last night about the deal he had made with Wolfram and Hart, to erase his memories, and the memories of all those at Angel Investigations. He wanted to give Connor a new life, one with only good memories, memories of a loving childhood, a family. But now he had the old memories back, mixed in with the new ones.
Connor seemed to feel her gaze on him, and he turned. "So, you're Buffy."
"Guilty."
Connor studied her for a moment. He had, of course, heard of her. Whispered conversations between Fred, Gunn, and Wes, back before he had his memory wiped. And Faith had told him some, when she had come here to save Angel. He hadn't really wanted to hear the stories then, he had hated Angelus, but now he was intrigued. "The slayer that fell in love with a vampire."
Buffy smiled. "Guilty again." She moved toward him.
"So, are you and my dad getting back together?"
Buffy stopped. The kid certainly was straightforward. "Yeah." She took a deep breath, and went on. "Angel told me what happened to you, about your memories."
Connor shook his head. "It's like I have all these voices whispering inside my head. Holtz, telling me how evil Angelus is, Angel telling me that he wasn't that man anymore, that he loved me, and tried to get me back. Then there's the voices of the people I think of as my family. It's a little crazy."
Buffy could believe that. "Look, I can't even begin to imagine what you've gone through, but Angel...he's a good man. And I know he loves you."
He sighed. "I know. He gave me up so that I could have a better life, a normal life. To erase the horrible memories of growing up in hell. I'm thankful, really I am. I...It's just hard." He sighed again. "And I don't know how I feel about him. Or me, for that matter."
"But yet you showed up to fight with him. I think that shows exactly what kind of person you are. And, maybe, how you really feel about your father."
He shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe." He seemed to make a decison then, and turned and walked up the stairs.
BBBBBBBBB
Dawn and Spike walked down the hallway from the training room. "Have you seen Buffy this morning, Spike? 'Cuz I..." They rounded a corner and nearly ran into Buffy, coming the other way.
"Hey guys. What's up?"
"I was just about to ask you the same thing." Dawn grabbed Buffy's arm, led her back down the hallway to the lobby, and sat down. "Where have you been?"
"Here and there."
"Here and there with Angel?" Dawn couldn't resist teasing her sister just a bit.
Buffy shook her head. "Ha ha, Dawn. No, Angel and Connor went to the hospital to see Gunn."
Spike sat down beside them. "So, how is old Charlie boy, anyway?"
"Angel said that he woke up briefly yesterday, but they're still not sure if he's gonna make it."
"Charlie's a fighter. He'll pull through. The last time I saw him, I didn't think he'd last 5 minutes. Here it is 2 days later, still kicking."
Buffy sighed. "I hope so. Angel's lost so much, Spike. I don't know if he can handle much more."
"It's so sad. I feel so sorry for Angel."
"Don't feel too bad, little bit. If the Shanshu prophecy comes true for him, Angel will be human again, and everybody will live happily ever after." Spike said this with just a trace of sarcasm.
Buffy froze, and stared at Spike. "What did you say?!"
Spike went on, oblivious to her shock. "Peaches doesn't seem to think either of us are going to get rewarded, mind you, but if that battle didn't count as the final apocalypse, I don't..." His voice trailed off as he finally saw Buffy's stunned look.
"Angel? Become human?!"
"He didn't tell you?"
She shook her head. "No." She looked at Spike. "This prophecy. What exactly did it say?"
"Well, I never actually saw it, but essentially, it said that the vampire with a soul would go through battles and a few apocalypses, and eventually he'd be rewarded. Become human."
Buffy tried to absorb everything, but she was floored. Why hadn't Angel ever told her? And why, after all he'd done, wouldn't the Powers That Be give him his reward? She stood up suddenly. "I have to go." She turned and walked out the doors.
Spike watched her go, a little hurt that she hadn't even considered that the prophecy was about him. Then he shrugged. Who was he kidding? He knew the prophecy was about Angel, and he knew one other thing. When it came to Buffy, he would always be second best.
BBBBBBBB
Buffy walked the streets of LA, lost in thought. So many thoughts were swirling around in her brain. A prophecy about Angel becoming human? And he hadn't told her. Why? She let her mind drift, remembering back to their perfect day, so long ago. Kissing him in the sunshine. Making love, with no worries of him becoming evil. She went further then, imagining walks in the sunlight, hand in hand. Picnics. Children. A normal life. To be with Angel, like a normal couple, doing all the things couples did.
She had to talk to him, ask him about the prophecy, but she didn't want to go to the hospital. She'd wait until tonight, when he got back.
She felt a shiver run down her spine, and she looked up. She stood in the shadow of a slightly collapsed building, evil emanating from it. A broken sign lay at her feet, and she could just make out the words. 'Wolfram and Hart'. The law firm that had been trying to ruin Angel for 5 years. The law firm that had finally succeeded in bringing him into the fold, bribing him with help for Connor. But their plan had backfired. Angel hadn't been corrupted. He hadn't turned evil, and instead had brought them to their knees.
She smiled slightly, thinking of Angel, of how strong he was. After all he'd been through, all that he'd lost, he still put everyone else first. As long as his friends were okay, and happy, he didn't care how miserable he was. Well, she was going to change all that. After all he'd done, he deserved to be happy. And she was going to make sure that happened.
The building was mostly intact, some walls crumbling, but she could clearly make out how intimidating it had been, still was, in fact. She felt drawn to it for some reason, and she walked slowly to what had been the front doors. She slipped through the opening.
She looked around slowly, noticing the stairs, still intact, rising up through the partially ruined building. She didn't know why she was here, just knew that it was something she had to do. She paused, then slowly started up the stairs. She continued climbing higher and higher, passing ruined offices, glass and debris everywhere.
She stopped as she reached a large open area, invisibly pulled toward a set of offices on her left. Books and papers were strewn everywhere, splintered wood and shattered glass littered the floor.
She stopped when she saw a man's body, lying beneath the rubble. His head was at a strange angle, and she knew his neck had been broken. She gingerly stepped around him, her eyes inadvertantly drawn to him, and she noticed the bite marks on his neck. She shuddered. Angel. Angel had killed this man. She wondered briefly if he was a member of the Black Thorn.
She shook her head and moved on, stepping through the ruined doorway of an office, immediately sensing Angel's presence. The office had been spacious, a long conference table, now ruined, on one end of the room, and a desk on the other. She could imagine him sitting here, and she sensed the despair he had felt, trying to do good in this haven of evil.
She heard a noise, and turned suddenly, pulling her stake out of her pocket, holding it up, ready to strike. A woman cowered before her, her straight, dirty blonde hair hanging in her eyes. Buffy lowered her hand slowly. The woman stood up, and her gaze flickered on Buffy for a moment. "Buffy Sommers."
Buffy started, hearing her own name coming from this stranger's lips. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"
The woman smiled, a strange, bitter smile. "I know you. Angel's soul mate. His true love." She uttered a harsh laugh. "I'm Eve."
Okay, please, please, please review! Oh, and I should have the next chapter up tomorrow. I'm done with my Bones fic, so I should be able to keep up on this one.