TITLE: RAGING MOON

DISCLAIMER: I ONLY OWN THE STORY AND THE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS I MAKE UP.

DISTRIBUTION: PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF IT GOES ANYWHERE.

SUMMARY: SEQUEL TO DARK HEART - AU. BUFFY AND ANGELUS ARE WOLVES. NEW CHALANGES ARISE FOR BUFFY AND ANGELUS WHEN AN UNEXPECTED CHARACTER FROM ANGELUS' PAST SHOWS UP, HOW WIL BUFFY DEAL?

REVIEWS/FEEDBACK: IF YOU LIKE IT, DROP ME A NOTE. LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU WANT THE NEXT PART…*Wink * Wink*

CHAPTER TWENTY

SUNNYDALE

"Buffy? You ok in there?" Faith called through the bathroom door. Buffy had been in there for nearly an hour and she was starting to get worried.

The bathroom door opened and revealed a freshly showered Buffy still wrapped in her towel. "Sorry Faith. I didn't realize how long I'd been in there." Buffy answered trying to reassure her friend, she didn't want Faith getting suspicious of her.

"That's ok. I was just starting to worry about you. So are you meeting Lindsay for lunch later today?"

"Um, yeah I am…" Buffy trailed off, not really wanting to discuss the matter.

Faith smiled as she noticed Buffy trying to dodge the subject. "That's good. I think dinner went very well the other night. It's very obvious that Lindsay is still very smitten with you." Faith smiled thinking back to the dinner the three of them had shared.

Lindsay was a very nice guy. He was successful and had great manners, he even pulled both their chairs out when they got to the restaurant. Even though it was obvious he wanted to be alone with Buffy, he had included Faith in the conversations and they all enjoyed themselves.

Faith couldn't help but wonder why Buffy never took a chance with Lindsay. Any woman would be lucky to have him. That southern drawl of his was irresistible and he surely had to know the effect he had on women. Maybe Buffy had never realized that Lindsay liked her. Then that jerk Riley showed up and all hope was lost.

"Don't get any ideas Faith. I'm meeting him on a strictly friendly basis." Buffy told her friend before she got any ideas. And Faith was always full of ideas, she knew that look on Faith's face. The wheels where spinning a mile a minute in her head, she was sure of that.

"Sure, if you say so." Faith smiled with her back to Buffy. When Buffy just groaned in frustration at her and decided to ignore her. "I'm just saying…Lindsay is a great guy…you never know, maybe you like him more than you realize…" Faith trailed off in a sing song voice.

"I'm not discussing this any further Faith." Buffy said not looking at her friend. She had to get dressed.

"So are you coming to the hospital with me or what?" Faith called after her, giving in for the moment.

"Yes I am. I'm just getting dressed then we can go." Buffy answered. Faith had convinced her to join her for a few hours on her shift. She didn't like Buffy moping around at home all day and she wanted to get her out of the house for a bit.

A beeping sound alerted Faith that either she or Buffy had a new voice message waiting. Looking everywhere for the phone, she finally found it stuffed between the sofa cushions. It wasn't hers so she placed it on the counter and continued sipping her coffee while she waited for Buffy to finish up.

Buffy finally emerged a few minutes later and they grabbed their stuff then headed out to Buffy's car. Faith was driving so Buffy took the passenger seat and listened to her voicemail.

"What's up B?" Faith asked as she glanced over to Buffy. She could guess who it was but didn't say anything.

"It's Angel again. He says he misses me and the kids have been asking after me. What am I going to do Faith?" Buffy said as she placed her head in her hands. She missed Angel very much but she still had trouble dealing with his betrayal. Faith placed her hand on her arm but didn't know what to say to make her friend feel any better. No words could heal a broken heart.

"What do you want to do?" Faith asked her instead. Maybe if Buffy just listened to her heart she would know what to do.

"I don't know. I love him and I miss him so much. I just don't know how to deal with what he did." Buffy said truthfully. "I want to forgive him but how do I know it won't happen again?"

"Then maybe you should talk to him. Hear him out and then ask him everything you want to know. There's no use beating yourself up wondering about everything. The only way to get answers is to get them from him." Faith answered

"I don't know if I'm ready to talk to him yet Faith. It's still too hard…What if he says he wants her…how…what then?" Buffy couldn't keep the sadness out of her voice no matter how hard she tried. At least she didn't hide around Faith.

The thought of Angelus wanting Darla scared the hell out of her. She could see why he was attracted to her, Darla was a beautiful, mature woman. She wasn't like Darla, where Darla had an air of confidence, she was plagued with insecurities. Angelus would probably be relieved to be with a woman he didn't have to reassure the whole time.

"Ok then, talk to him when you feel ready. Don't push yourself. Give your mind some time and when you feel ready, call him. There's no rush." Buffy smiled at Faith. Faith never really gave advice on anything but what she had said made sense. She still needed some time before deciding anything and she knew she shouldn't make any rash decisions. No one had to know that she was actually scared to speak to Angelus, scared that he might say the words she dreaded.

They came to a halt at the Sunnydale General Hospital and got out to make their way into the building. Buffy hadn't been to the hospital since her attack and it felt kind of strange being back there after all this time. She pushed her uneasy feeling aside and followed Faith inside.

An hour later Buffy was just getting ready to meet Lindsay for lunch when a tall brown haired doctor made his way over to them. He halted dead in his tracks when he saw her and Buffy couldn't understand why. After a few seconds he continued walking and stopped right in front of her. Faith was still working on a chart and hadn't noticed the strange look on the doctor's face.

"Buffy? Buffy Summers?" He asked stunned.

"Umm, yes that's me." Buffy felt very uneasy around this guy but couldn't place why. He seemed vaguely familiar but she couldn't place him. Something in the pit of her stomach told her that he could not be trusted even though her was a doctor.

"It's me, Ben Webber…?" He trailed of waiting for her to catch on. When she didn't say anything he pressed on. "I was the attending doctor that night you came in for that biking accident. Remember I used to buy art from your mother's gallery… " As he said that he moved closer and took her hand in his, startling her.

"I'm sorry I don't remember a lot about that night." Buffy said in explanation and pulled her hand from his. Who the hell is this guy? This doctor acted as if he had known her all her life and like he expected her to greet him as such. She couldn't help the uneasy feeling she got when he arrived. Something about him was off. Her mind screamed at her to remember him but she couldn't understand why or what. He said he used to buy art from her mother; maybe that was what she was supposed to remember.

Faith had also joined in with the conversation and see could see Buffy was staring to get very uncomfortable. "Hey B, you have to get going otherwise you're going to be late." She reminded her. It was obvious Buffy was looking for an escape and she would be damned if she didn't help her friend out of an uncomfortable situation.

Faith had never like Ben Webber much, he often lost his temper and she believed that a doctor should keep his cool at all times. They had squared off once or twice before and Faith suspected that he didn't like her because she wouldn't stand down to him like all the other personnel did. He had once called her 'unprofessional' and Faith took offense to that. If anyone was unprofessional it was him.

Ben Webber was a jerk in her eyes an nothing anyone said would change that. Once she made up her mind about someone she rarely changed it. Webber always acted creepy and strange and she couldn't for the life of her figure the guy out. She also had a bad feeling about the guy but couldn't do anything about that.

"You're right. See you later. Goodbye Doctor Webber." Then she turned on her heels and strode out of the hospital. Neither she nor Faith saw the disappointed look in Doctor Webber's face. Faith left to finish her rounds and he was left standing on his own in the busy hallway.

Ben quickly turned around and made his way over to his office where he promptly shut the door behind him and slid the look in place. His face was turning red with anger and his hands were shaking so badly he had to hold on to the door to steady himself.

She didn't recognize him! After all those years she still hadn't noticed him. Buffy still looked at him like he was a stranger. She was supposed to know who he was. Buffy should have run into his arms! How could she forget? She was supposed to know who he was!

He grabbed the glass on his table and threw it against the wall. The shattering made him feel no better. There was only one thing that would ever make him feel better and there was only one way to get it.

####

Buffy rushed into the coffee shop and smiled apologetically at Lindsay. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I went with Faith to the hospital and I got held up." She explained as he pulled her chair out and she took a seat.

Lindsay smiled at her and laughed at her explanation. "It's fine don't worry. I haven't been waiting long." He hoped to put her at ease. He had only arrived a few minutes earlier so there was no harm done. He would have waited hours for her if he had to.

"Oh that's good. You won't believe what just happened at the hospital…" Buffy then continued to tell him what had happened. She still felt her skin crawling from where he had touched her and she wanted to go wash her hands over and over again just to get the feel of his touch off her.

"That's very strange. I've met the guy once before but I can't say that I know him very well. I know he transferred here from Arizona a few years ago. He mostly keeps to himself. I can have him checked out if you want?" Lindsay asked her, unease creeping into his stomach. Just the thought of the man invading her space was reason enough for him to have him checked out.

He wouldn't say anything to her but he was going t have the guy checked out anyway. He had gotten a complaint about Benn Webber a few weeks ago but couldn't prove anything so he had to drop the case against the doctor. He wished he had enough evidence against the guy to have his medical license revoked. None of the patients or staff liked Ben Webber.

"Oh no, please don't. I'm sure he meant to harm." Buffy tried to reassure him. She then changed the subject and hoped Lindsay would drop it. She didn't want any trouble and frankly she had no plans on seeing the doctor again anytime soon. Oh no, she was going to steer clear of the hospital that was for sure. Ben Webber made her very uneasy for some reason, her instincts screamed at her to stay away from him, and she had learned the hard way to trust her instincts.

"It's nice having lunch with you, I feel like we didn't get much chance to catch up the other night. Lindsay said as he smiled at her. He didn't mind Faith being there, he actually enjoyed her company very much, but he would have liked to have had Buffy alone. After all these years she still made his heart flutter. Time and distance hadn't changed that.

Buffy smiled at him, "Yeah, at least Faith had a good time reminding us of all the stuff I would have rather forgotten." She was laughing softly as she thought back to that night.

Lindsay joined in, "Yeah Faith sure knows how to enjoy the moment."

They had a small lunch and chatted for a while. Lindsay then had to go because he had a meeting scheduled and Buffy had to go pick Faith up.

Lindsay was just about to say goodbye but he swirled around and faced her, "Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow night? I'll cook so we don't have to be in a crowded place." He asked. Lindsay normally never had trouble asking women out but he had a lump in his throat while asking and waiting for her answer.

Buffy really didn't feel up to it but when he asked so nicely she had trouble saying no. She now noticed that Lindsay had said 'we'. So he intended for it only to only be the two of them…like a real date. That thought made her uneasy but she had already agreed and couldn't back out now.

They said their goodbyes and Buffy got a bit uncomfortable when Lindsay took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. She didn't expect it but she smiled at his as he left the restaurant. There was no missing the grin that spread over Lindsay's face as he pulled away from her.

Sighing to herself she got into her car and drove back to the hospital. Faith's shift was about to end in fifteen minutes so she figured she'd wait for her outside.

As she stopped in the parking lot she pulled a magazine from the back seat then texted Faith she would wait for her in the lot till she was done. Faith replied immediately. Buffy was paging through the magazine when she heard someone tap on her window. She looked up into the face of Ben Webber and couldn't contain her gasp of surprise. What was he doing out here? The staff had their own parking area so he couldn't be on his way to his car.

"Buffy? You Ok in there?" he asked. She looked started and felt bad for giving her a fright. She should know that she didn't have to be scared of him. He didn't miss to panicked glance she threw at the lock, so she wanted to lock herself away from him? The thought instantly angered him.

She glanced down and noticed that the doors were unlocked and wanted to hit herself in the head for forgetting. "I'm fine thanks, just waiting for Faith." She called through the window, hoping he would leave her alone. She tried to give him a smile in hopes of him leaving her alone but the look on his face was anything but concerned or friendliness.

Suddenly he pulled her door open, "She won't be done for another few minutes. Why don't we sit and talk while we wait." He said taking her arm in a harsh hold and pulling her from the car. His skin tingled where it touched hers. He wanted to pull her over to a nearby bench and speak with her.

Buffy lost all rational thought as the man pulled her from the car. Once her feet made contact with the pavement she wrenched herself free. "No thank you. I prefer to wait alone." She tried to get back in but he spun her around and pushed her up against the car, locking her between his unyielding body and the car.

Buffy managed to hold back her scream but couldn't help the gasp that fell from her lips. He had a dangerous look in his eyes. What was happening? "What are you doing? Let go of me!" She said as she tried to push him away from her.

He didn't even budge and pressed more insistently against her. It felt so wonderful having her body against his that his eyes almost rolled back in their sockets. How long had he wanted to feel her pressed against him like this?

Buffy felt his body press harder into hers, he pressed his lower half against hers and her eyes grew even wider at what she felt. He was turned on. The thought repulsed her and she tried franticly to get him off her.

"You don't remember me do you?" He asked through clenched teeth as he stared her straight in the eyes.

"No I don't. Should I remember you?" Buffy asked, her anger and fear rising. His nostrils flared as he picked up the scent but didn't say anything. Buffy noticed his reaction and her fear soared to new heights. There was only one explanation for his reaction…

"Buffy? Dr Webber? What's going on?" Buffy sighed in relief at Faith's appearance. Ben let her go immediately and Buffy sagged against the car. Ben looked at her with warning in his eyes and Buffy had a feeling this was not over. He stalked away without saying a word, leaving two stunned females behind.

"Are you okay? What the hell happened?" Faith asked Buffy bewildered as she rushed over to her. She had seen that Ben had Buffy pushed up against the car and Buffy was frightened. She helped her into the car then climbed in and locked the doors in case the psycho doctor decided on making another appearance.

"I don't know. I was waiting for you and then he appeared at my window. He opened the door then pulled me out before I even knew what was happening." Buffy answered trying to catch her breath.

"I've always had a bad feeling about that guy. No one likes him. Did he hurt you? Are you okay?" Faith couldn't describe how panicked and shaken up she felt. When she came out of the hospital she had stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Ben pressed up against Buffy. The lethal look in his eyes scared her more than she would like to admit.

"No, I'm fine. Just my arm is a little sore where he grabbed me." Buffy said as she rubbed her arm. She was surprised at the force he had grabbed her with. Ben seemed like a timid person but he had just proved that looks could be deceiving. Luckily for her Faith had showed up, there was no telling what might have happened if she didn't.

"You have to call Angelus…" Faith insisted. Could it be so hard to convince Buffy? She and Buffy were both stubborn but surely Buffy had to see reason. Ben obviously had it out for her and she knew couldn't protect Buffy from Ben, only one man could and she knew Buffy would refuse.

"What? No! It's no big deal Faith…" Buffy stammered, feeling shocked that Faith would even suggest it. She wasn't going to run screaming and terrified to Angelus just because of a little incident. She had more pride than that. She could look after herself and she didn't need Angelus to always protect her.

"Like hell it's no big deal! You should have seen how he was looking at you, like you were a piece of meat or something. Buffy, I don't think you should ignore this. Just call Angelus and have him check the guy out." Faith couldn't believe what had just happened and Buffy was acting like it was nothing.

"I'm not going to call Angelus so just drop it Faith ok?" Buffy said wishing Faith would just give in this one time. Lindsay had offered to check the guy out earlier so if Faith wanted info on the guy she could go ask him herself.

"Why won't you call him?" Faith pressed on. Was she hearing correctly? Was Buffy so blind to what had just happened? She had just been attacked, there was no telling what else he would have done if she didn't show up.

"I just can't…"

"Buffy…" Faith whined, there was no way she was backing down. Buffy just had to see reason and if they had to bicker like school kids then so be it. Faith never lost a bickering contest in her life and she wasn't about to back down from this.

"I think I'm pregnant Faith …and I'm not ready to deal with him yet." Strange enough, that had the desired affect and Faith shut her mouth with an audible gasp as she stared wide eyed at her.

END CHAPTER TWENTY