Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Escape – Chapter 9

It had been 2 months since Shana had died. Errol had recovered from it well but still sometimes woke in the night imagining she was still alive. He looked around his little bedsit and frowned. This room held so many memories of him and Shana, when she had first told him about her abusive family, when he had told her that he loved her, when they had made love for the first time. So many happy memories, it was hard to believe Shana didn't exist anymore. He would think back and she seemed so real but now it just seemed like maybe it was a distant memory, that apart from him, Buffy, Angel, Shana's family and a couple of their friends, that no-one really cared. No-one but them knew how brave she was or how much she had been through in the past. It was easy for some people to look at her and say slag and druggie but she was a kind, misguided girl who with Buffy's help had tried to have a successful life.

Laying down again, Errol closed his eyes and once again fell into dreams of what his and Shana's lives could have been like, the children, the house and the pet dog, all stolen by a jealous boy who couldn't have her.

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Walking into the mansion, Buffy smiled when she saw Angel asleep on his couch. He only ever looked peaceful in his sleep, when he was awake he always thinking, about what he had done in the past as Angelus and worrying about her. After Keenan had stabbed her, Angel had been furious and the only reason he had not gone and murdered him was Buffy. She had needed him and Keenan would meet his end one day.

Buffy gently placed her bag on the floor and walked up to him, smiling as he let out a soft moan, as her hand ran through his hair. Opening his eyes, he smiled at her before pulling her down so she lay on top of him, her head snuggled into his neck.

"Was it bad?"

"They were really upset; I think they all feel guilty about how they have treated Shana"

2 hours previously….

Opening the door, Father David froze slightly, his bloodshot eyes focusing on the young blonde haired girl in front of him.

"Hello Father Williams, My names Buffy Summers, Shana was one of my best friends. I just wanted to see whether you and your family were coping."

"Shana had never mentioned you to me before"

"Well Father, you haven't really had a conversation with Shana for the past year so what would you know"

Father David turned and looked behind him up the stairs to where Maria stood.

"Buffy, come upstairs for a little while and we can talk"

Smiling at Father David as she passed him, she headed up the stairs and followed Maria into a bedroom. From the looks of it Shana's room, the whole place screamed her, it showed her personality perfectly. Photos of her and Shana with Errol, Willow and Xander covered the walls. Of course there were no pictures of Angel, for as a vampire he had no reflection so no picture of him would show up. Sitting down on the rose quilt, Maria looked up at Buffy, tears filling her eyes. Walking forwards, she embraced the girl, trying to offer whatever comfort she could.

"The police came round yesterday. They said when they did the post-mortem that she had been stabbed in the liver and she would have been ok if she hadn't panicked and pulled the safety bar loose. She broke her neck when she hit the barrier."

"I'm so sorry Maria, I was there when she died, I held her hand"

"Was she scared?"

"No, she was smiling"

"They said she had signs of rape on her, that it probably happened a few months ago. They asked me if I might know who it was but I couldn't, I promised Shana I would never tell anyone about what Keenan did to her."

Looking down for moment, she looked back up at Buffy, her huge eyes; with there long lashes filled with tears made Buffy want to cry herself.

"She was pregnant. It wasn't Errol's because she told me her and Errol only made love a couple of weeks before, it must have been Keenan's"

"Do you have any idea who might have hurt her, I think Errol knows but he doesn't want to tell me"

"It was Itchy, he was always jealous of what she and Errol had. He was obsessed. Mum, Dad and the others think they know what they are going throught but over the past 2 years none of them cared about her. When she went off the rails, no one was there but me and you, they didn't care about her. They are crying because they feel guilty."

2 hours in the future…..

Angel looked down at Buffy as she explained what Maria told her.

"I wonder if Shana knew. If Errol had known it wasn't his it would have killed him."

"So, I take it Errol isn't going to know?"

"Errol doesn't know about the rape, Shana didn't want him to know and besides, he doesn't need to know. It will make him feel guilty he wasn't there to protect her."

Nodding his head, Angel smiled at Buffy, looking down at there entwined fingers, that lay on his chest.

Lying, with her in his arms, felt so right, they fitted perfectly together, like they were the same being. It was impossible that they could ever be without one other, even for a little while. When Buffy had chosen Keenan, he could have sworn he felt a part of himself die inside. He had promised Buffy he would stay away from the boy, but he was going to get him, sooner or later.

Nobody hurt Buffy and got away with it.

Author's Note – Hiya, Sorry I haven't updated this story but I intend to finish it soon. The feelings and thoughts Errol expressed on Shana's death were hard to write, I basically wrote how I felt when my dad died 2 moths ago. He suffered a long, painful illness lasting nearly 15 years; he was diagnosed 2 days after I was born and whiles many who had Progressive Multiple sclerosis give up, he tried to make the most of his life. My Dad was so ill, in some ways for me it was a relief that he was no longer suffering. He could do nothing but lay in bed, he was nearly blind, could barely move but he kept on fighting. He lived life as best as he could in the situation he was in and always had a smile on his face no matter what. Many have said, it was even said at his funeral that he lived through me and my sister. One of the things he always said was "so many places to go, so many things to do, so little time to do it in" I think in the world there are two types of bravery. The bravery of our soldiers fighting and dying in other countries now and in the past but also I think people like my Dad are brave. If I had MS then I would have given up, because where people in car-crashes have lost use of there legs, MS takes away everything. If anyone wants more information on my Dad look at my profile.

Every story I write any are all dedicated to him.

Thank you for reading my story,

Huggins and Love,

Little Glass Heart x