Chapter Six
Buffy was strangely silent, as the cab drove her, Dawn, and Giles, to the airport.
"Is something wrong, Buffy?" Giles asked as he watched her stare blankly out the window.
"No, nothing's wrong," Buffy lied as Giles looked at her sternly.
"Now, Buffy," he scolded, "You should know that as your Watcher, I have learned to know when you are not being completely truthful with me."
Buffy looked at her hands and began to fiddle with her wedding ring, hoping to think of something she could say to appease Giles, and her sister.
"It's Brian," She finally said. "He came home last night complaining of coughing spells and headaches again."
Although she had said that so she would not have to think anymore about Angel, the truth was that she was also worried about Brian. The symptoms he had told her about had her a tad on edge. She wondered what could possibly be wrong.
"Oh, dear," Giles said as he pushed his glasses up on his nose, "Have you contacted a doctor?"
"Brian said he would have Edith set up an appointment with the doctor, but he didn't tell me if he had a date yet."
Buffy continued to spin her wedding ring, and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.
"You really should find out," Dawn finally said, as she still grappled with the notion that Brian could be gravely ill.
"The sooner you find out what's wrong the better."
"I know. I just don't want to press too hard and upset him," Buffy said as the cab pulled up at the airport terminal.
Giles exited the car, and helped Dawn and Buffy out, while the driver unloaded the luggage from the trunk.
Buffy grabbed a luggage cart, and Giles loaded the cart, before allowing Dawn to push the cart towards the entrance, and ticket counter.
Once luggage was checked, and their boarding passes prepared, the three of them sat at the inside lounge, to wait on final boarding procedures.
"So, how long as Angel been in town," Dawn asked Buffy, when Giles walked away to use the men's restroom.
"What!" Buffy exclaimed as she almost spewed her latte.
"You heard me," Dawn said as she looked her sister in the eye. "When did Angel come to town?"
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," Buffy said trying to laugh it off.
"Don't play games with me, Sis. You've been in a funk since Christmas, and it wasn't because of Brian's present."
"Is it that obvious?" Buffy nervously admitted as she hunched her shoulders, waiting for Dawn's reply.
"Yeah, kinda," she said as she looked at Buffy and placed a hand on Buffy's.
"Who all knows?"
"Me and Xander."
"Xander!" Buffy laid her head on the table and groaned. "Oh, he has never liked that Angel could make me all gloomy," Buffy said as she ran a hand through her hair.
As Buffy's golden curls fell back around her face, Dawn said, "Well, you can't really blame him. I mean, after all, Every time you and Angel got together, one of you ended up having to avert an apocalypse or something."
"I know, I know, but I just can't help that I feel what I feel for Angel."
"And what about Brian?"
"What do you mean 'What about Brian'?" Buffy said, as she looked at Dawn's face.
"I love Brian, I do, and that's what makes all this so hard."
"I should think it would be easy," Dawn said sipping her coffee. "I mean one night of doing 'the wacky' and it's Angelus all over again."
"That's just it, Dawn," Buffy said as he eyes became sad, "Angel's human."
Now it was Dawn's turn to almost spew her drink.
Wiping her face, she said, "Angel's human?"
"Yeah."
"Wow", said Dawn as she leaned against the back of the chair. "That certainly changes things."
"Yeah, no kidding."
"When did you find out?"
"You remember when you guys sent me out to the store for awhile, on Christmas Eve?"
"Yeah," Dawn nodded.
" I bumped, literally, into Angel that night, and we talked for awhile. When I went to get the paper the next morning, Angel had left a card, telling me to look across the street, and there he was, standing in the sunshine, like some sort of miracle."
"Oh my god," Dawn said Buffy continued.
"Yeah, that's why I took so long to get home the other day."
"When you were at the park?"
"Yeah, Angel found me there and we began talking again."
Both girls fell into an awkward silence as they tried to understand the situation.
"Just don't do anything stupid, Buffy," Dawn warned, looking at Buffy as she placed a hand her arm. "Brain's been too good for you."
"I know," Buffy said. "I'm not going to leave Brian for Angel, Dawn. There's still too much bad blood between us."
"Between who?" The sounds of Giles' voice startled both girls.
"Geez, Giles," Dawn said as Buffy still tried to catch her breath, "You couldn't have said that just a tad louder, so that we could have the heart attacks before we fell to the ground?"
"I'm sorry," Giles said as the overhead called their plane.
"Well, it looks like its time for us to go," Dawn said as she walked Buffy over to the boarding counter. "I'm going to miss you."
"And I'm going to miss you too, Dawn." Buffy gave Dawn a big hug before turning to Giles.
"Thanks for coming for Christmas."
"It is always my pleasure," Giles smiled as he bent over and gave the former Slayer a hug.
"See ya next year?" Buffy asked as Giles picked up his carry-on.
"Most assuredly."
"If not sooner," Dawn piped in. She gave Buffy another hug and whispered in her ear, "You make sure and let me know how things go with Angel."
Buffy nodded silently as Dawn and Giles turned and walked to the counter, and the flight attendant approved their passes.
Buffy stood watching her sister and Watcher, walk onto the plane.
Once the plane began to venture onto the runway, Buffy realized how incredibly lonely she would now be, without two of the most important people in her life.
Brian sat at his desk, going over the plans for the Sunnydale Town Hall.
He was leaning over his desk, with his head in his hand, when he heard a knock at the door.
"Come in," he said as he looked up to see a beautiful blond walk through the door.
""My isn't this a lovely surprise?"
"I thought you could you use a distraction," Said the blond as she rounded the corner of his desk.
"Especially, if it's you." Brian set the blond on his lap, and gave her a deep kiss.
"So, how were Giles and Dawn?" he asked as Buffy moved from Brian's lap to his desk.
"They were fine," Buffy said as she grabbed a Kiss from the candy bowl on Brian's desk, "I'm beginning to feel to a tad lonely though."
"Why is that, Princess?"
Buffy smiled at his nickname for her.
"I don't know. I guess I just had so much happen to me and they were always there, and now everyone's leaving for bigger and better things and I miss feeling that sense of closeness I had with them."
Brian knew little about Buffy's past, just that her teenage years were filled with dangerous situations, that Buffy had admitted to him once, made her feel very lucky she had lived as long as she has.
He knew that Willow, Xander, Dawn, and Giles were family, and the only ones that were still alive for some reason.
He never questioned Buffy's actions. He trusted her with every fiber of his being, and it was her fighting spirit that he had come to fall for, all those years ago, back in Italy.
She was feeling pretty beaten down, emotionally, and he had offered his friendship to her as another shoulder to cry on. She took it, gladly, and slowly, friendship turn into love, and Brian found himself whisking her to Paris to ask her to marry him.
Ever since, he had bent over backwards, to make sure his golden goddess, was happy.
Brian pushed himself closer to her and took her hands.
"Well, we will just have to visit them soon, " he said as he wiped a single tear from Buffy's cheek.
Buffy smiled and embraced her husband. I am so incredibly lucky to have someone like Brian, Buffy thought to herself as her brain began to send her flashes of Angel. Angel is too unstable for me. I need someone who can make me feel more than lust.
"So," Buffy said as she broke the embrace, "Has Edith called the doctor yet?"
Brian had a thoughtful look on his face for a moment before saying, "Uh, yeah. She told me the doc would see me next Tuesday."
"Good," Buffy jumped off the desk and walked over to the chair to grab her coat, " Cause I want to be with you when you go."
"Oh, honey don't worry about going," Brian said, "I'm sure it's nothing."
"Nothing or not, I want to be there."
Buffy walked over to Brian and gave him a peck on the lips. "I'm going to head back to the house and see what I can whip up for dinner. See you later."
"See you later," Brian said as Buffy walked out of the office.
Buffy walked in the door, and hung up her coat before heading to the kitchen to cook.
As she opened the cabinets to search for dinner, Xander walked into the room.
"Hey Buff," he said as walked over to the refrigerator.
"Oh, hey Xand," Buffy said as she pulled a box of Shake N Bake from the shelf.
"Giles and Dawn set off okay?" Xander asked, pulling a container of orange juice form the fridge.
"Yeah", Buffy said, as she walked behind Xander to open the freezer door. "They made it safely onto the plane, and are London bound as we speak."
Buffy pulled a package of frozen chicken from the freezer, while Xander took a glass from the cabinet beside the sink, and poured himself a glass.
"So why didn't you tell me you knew, that I knew, Angel was in town?"
Xander looked at Buffy as he took a sip from the glass. His one good eye, as big as a quarter.
Setting the glass down on the counter, Xander told Buffy, "Dawn told you didn't she?"
Buffy nodded as she ran water over the chicken to thaw. "Yeah, at the airport," She said.
"Why didn't you say something to me?"
"Because it wasn't my place."
"Since when has that stopped you, Xander!" Buffy stopped what she was doing, and placed a hand on her hip. "You have been the loudest anti-Angel campaigner, that I can think of!"
Xander looked at his glass, and topped it of saying, "Buffy, you're married and an adult, and I figured that you were adult enough to figure out that Angel's nothing but bad news, in capital letters."
"Yes, Xander. Angel was, is, used to be, oh, damn it!" Buffy slammed her fist on the counter, as her thoughts became jumbled.
"You were right Xander," Buffy said as she took a deep breath, "I am an adult, and I thought I could handle Angel. After all, I was human, and he was a Vampire."
"Let's not forget the whole, one moment of perfect happiness and he's a killer, part."
"Yes, Xander, there's that too," Buffy said with a sarcastic look on her face.
"But it's the "Hi, I'm the human Angel" part that I can't wrap my head around."
"Whoa!" Xander said he tried to keep his juice down. "Back the Confused Buffy Train, up a sec. Angel's human?"
"That's what's making everything so hard to understand. How can Angel be human and me married to someone else? I though that he was supposed to turn human so that it would be Angel and I that would be married."
Realizing how upset Buffy was, Xander put aside his personal hatred of the vampire with a soul, turned human, and asked Buffy, "Do you know how long Angel's been human?"
"A little over a year, if I heard him right," Buffy said as she leaned against the sink counter and folded her arms.
"It's just not fair, Xander. I mean. The PTB gave Angel his humanity, but I thought he was supposed to get it so we could be together."
"Well," Xander said, as he joined Buffy against the counter, "Since when have the PTB been exactly fair?"
"Yeah, I know, But I can't help it."
"Look, I'm going to sound like Willow when I say this, but maybe sometime in the future you guys will get your chance."
"You did sound like Willow," Buffy said as she glanced at Xander.
"Yeah, well, don't let it fool you, I still think Angel is a bad idea, but I also know that he's the only one you have never been able to let get to you."
Buffy pushed Xander playfully, and turned back to her thawing chicken. "Just try not to stake him if you ever see him, okay?"
"Deal," Xander said as he began to walk away.
"Ahem," Buffy said as she pointed to the juice container still sitting on the counter.
Xander turned back around, walked over to the counter, and placed the juice back in the fridge.
"Thank you, Xander," Buffy sang.
"You're welcome," Xander sang back, as he left the kitchen.
That next afternoon, Buffy was sitting in a local café, wondering how things would go at Brian's doctor's appointment, when she heard, "Buffy?"
Turning towards the direction the voice came from, she saw Angel, dressed in blue jeans and navy button up shirt, looking at her as he if she were out of place.
"Angel?"
"Yeah, I didn't think I would see you here."
Buffy stared in silence as she took in a human Angel.
Angel in blue jeans is a dangerous thing, Buffy thought as Angel took seat beside her at the table.
"The black wardrobe not doing it for you, anymore?" Buffy managed to say as she tried to keep her thoughts.
"Undercover work," Angel explained as he pointed out his shirt, "I figured if I dressed like the rest of the population, then I would get further with my investigations."
"Good thinking there," Buffy chided, "It took you six years to figure that one out?"
"What turned you cold all of a sudden?" Angel looked puzzled at Buffy.
Buffy sighed heavily, and rubbed her face before she spoke.
"I'm sorry. I just- I can't- It's Brian."
"What's wrong?" Angel said as he leaned on the table.
"He's been having these headaches and coughing fits, the last few days," Buffy explained. "I asked him to set up a doctor's appointment, but I feel like he's blowing me off."
Buffy leaned into her hand as Angel asked, "Why do you think he's blowing you off?"
"Because," she said, running her hand through her hair, "He doesn't want me to worry."
"Would you worry?"
"Of course I would!" Buffy yelled at Angel. "Contrary to what you might think, I do love Brian!"
Angel's eyes flashed as the pain of Buffy completely loving someone other than him finally sunk in.
"Look, I didn't mean to yell at you like that," Buffy apologized.
"Yeah, you did," Angel said as he stood from his seat. "But I'm glad you apologized."
Buffy looked at Angel with a sadness in her eyes as Angel turned to leave.
"Please, Angel, don't go? Stay."
Angel cringed as his dream came to life. As badly as he had wanted to hear her say that, he knew that he couldn't.
For he and Buffy to have any kind of future friendship, Angel had to move on with living his humanity, and that meant finding someone other than Buffy to lean on.
Angel swallowed hard as he said, "You take care of yourself."
And before Buffy could say another word, he put his coat on his shoulders, and walked out into the falling snow.
End Chapter Six
I hope you liked! I can't promise when I will update next, it depends on time, reviews and any ideas my head thinks up next! I have new ideas to try with my other fic, but I will update this one I promise!
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